bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
P176 Left ventricular diastolic function by gated myocardial perfusion SPECT strongly reflects NT-ProBNP
Authors: Hata S , Sakai K , Otsuka K , Kusumoto S , Sonoda K , Muroya T , Shinboku H , Ikeda S , Maemura K
Published: January 2020

Background

The importance of left ventricle diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) has been recognized widely, as it is well established that heart failure with preserved ejection fraction has a poor prognosis. Furthermore, N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-ProBNP) is used as a marker of heart failure. However, the association between LVDD and NT-proBNP is unclear. 

Purpose

The aim of this study was to clarify the association between LVDD and NT-ProBNP. 

Methods

In this study, an index based on gated myocardial perfusion SPECT using CardioREPO software for the diagnosis of LVDD was used. Out of the 171 patients who underwent myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) between January 2015 and December 2018, 163 individuals (116 men and 47 women) completed MPI and NT-ProBNP. Patients were classified into 4 groups: NT-ProBNP levels below 125 pg/ml (n = 52), NT-ProBNP levels 125 to 400 pg/ml (n = 33), NT-ProBNP levels 400 to 900 pg/ml (n = 23), and NT-ProBNP levels over 900 pg/ml (n = 37). CardioREPO parameters (peak filling rate　(PFR), 1/3 mean filling rate (MFR), and time to peak filling rate/R-R (TTPFR)) were compared between the 4 NT-ProBNP groups. 

Results

Of the 163 patients, 55 had LVDD. The PFR and 1/3MFR were associated with LVDD. There was a statistically significant difference in PFR and 1/3 MFR between the NT-ProBNP levels below 125 pg/ml group and the NT-ProBNP levels 400 to 900 pg/ml group (PFR = 2.51+/-1.11 vs. 1.80+/-0.65, p = 0.001; 1/3 MFR = 1.41+/-0.55 vs. 1.06+/-0.47, p = 0.006, Table).

Conclusions

The MPI indices obtained by CardioREPO software were useful in the diagnosis of LVDD. The evaluation of LVDD by MPI correlated with NT-Pro BNP level is thought to have a clinical utility in the diagnosis and management of LVDD.

Variable: NT-ProBNP 　 0-125 (n = 52) 125-400 (n = 33) 400-900 (n = 23) 900- (n = 37) p Age 66 ± 11 72 ± 11 68 ± 17 70 ± 12 0.133 Male 40 (77%) 22 (12%) 18 (78%) 23 (62%) 0.36 Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction 8 (15%) 4 (12%) 10 (43%) 27 (73%) <0.001 E/A 0.9 ± 0.3 0.8 ± 0.2 1.1 ± 0.7 1.4 ± 0.9 (35) <0.001 E/e" 10.27 ± 3.69 (20) 8.83 ± 3.56 (10) 12.46 ± 3.75 (12) 20.25 ± 8.30 (25) <0.001 rest-PFR /s 2.51 ± 1.11 2.06 ± 0.58 2.16 ± 0.65 1.80 ± 0.65 0.001 rest-1/3 MFR /s 1.41 ± 0.55 1.19 ± 0.41 1.16 ± 0.50 1.06 ±0.47 0.008 rest-TTPFR ms 177 ± 53 181 ± 69 198 ± 80 166 ± 85 0.38 rest-TTPFR / R-R 　 0.19 ± 0.06 0.20 ± 0.11 0.21 ±0.09 0.21 ± 0.15 0.92
P194 Trimetazidine preserves right ventricular function on pulmonary arterial hypertension patients in national cardiovascular center harapan kita hospital indonesia
Authors: Sakti Muliawan H , Widyantoro B , Soerarso R , Hersunarti N , Sahara E , Atmadikoesoemah C A , Kasim M , Adiarto S , Raharjo S B , Sukmawan R , Siswanto B B
Published: January 2020

Funding Acknowledgements

National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita Hospital

Background

Right ventricular dysfunction is the worst mortality predictor in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Recent animal PAH studies have demonstrated the benefit of partial fatty acid inhibitor such as trimetazidine in improving right ventricular function. Therefore, we hypothesize that trimetazidine can improve right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) in PAH patients.

Purpose

Investigating the effect of  trimetazidine on right ventricle function in PAH patients.

Methods

We conducted 3 months randomized double blind placebo controlled trial on PAH patients at outpatient clinic in National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita Hospital Indonesia. Those who fulfilled the inclusion criteria will be randomized into trimetazidine or placebo group for 3 months on top of their standard PAH regime. Clinical and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) parameters will be evaluated before and after 3 months therapy. The primary outcome of this study is the differences of RVEF from CMR.

Results

We randomly enrolled 26 PAH patients equally to receive placebo or trimetazidine for 3 months on top of their standard PAH regime. Total of 10 patients in each group was able to finish the study. There was significant improvement of RVEF in trimetazidine group 3.78 + 1.5% compared to placebo 2.76 + 1.6% (p 0.008, CI 1.96 to 10.96). Furthermore, we also observed improvement of functional capacity in trimetazidine group 0.24 + 0.09 compared to placebo -0.44 + 0.16 (p 0.002, CI 0.28 s/d 1.08).

Conclusions

Trimetazidine therapy for 3 months on top of standard PAH regime significantly improve RVEF and functional capacity in PAH patients.

Abstract P194 Figure. Effect of trimetazidine on RV function
P203 Unsupervised one-class classification and anomaly detection of stress echocardiograms with deep denoising spatio-temporal autoencoders
Authors: Loh B C S , Fong A Y Y , Ong T K , Then P H H
Published: January 2020

Introduction

The combination of medical knowledge, experience and AI algorithms have supported the advancement of patient care and the lowering of healthcare costs. Machine and deep learning methods enable the extraction of meaningful patterns that remain beyond human perception. Numerous computer-aided diagnosis and detection systems have been developed to assist in the assessment of stress echocardiograms. However, issues are encountered when facing imbalanced, limited, and unannotated datasets. Learning from imbalanced medical datasets impairs diagnostic accuracy due to classifier bias and overfitting. Furthermore, datasets comprising of all existing abnormal classes are impossible to obtain, hence supervised algorithms would fail to generate predictions for classes devoid of training samples. Moreover, reliance on prior knowledge in the form of expert annotation and anatomical region extraction impairs scalability, as these procedures are time-consuming, computationally expensive, and limited to specific tasks.

Purpose

We aimed to perform one-class classification and anomaly detection of stress echocardiograms using unsupervised deep learning techniques to discriminate between normal and abnormal videos as well as to localise wall motion abnormalities within individual frames.

Methods

Deep denoising spatio-temporal autoencoder networks were employed to learn visual and motion representations from multiple echocardiographic cross-sections and stress stages. Extracted middle layer features were modelled by one-class support vector machines to discriminate between regular and irregular echocardiograms despite the absence of abnormal training samples. Reconstruction errors allowed for direct visualisation and localisation of anomalous cardiac regions, without the need for annotated training data or segmentation of structures.

Results

2D B-mode stress echocardiograms acquired from 36 patients were classified as normal or abnormal based on patient reports and served as the ground truth. Results revealed that learnt features extracted from spatio-temporal autoencoders trained solely on normal data can be utilised to classify abnormal echocardiograms with a high level of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. In addition to that, as validated by an expert reader, spatio-temporal autoencoder reconstruction errors were capable of detecting and localising wall motion abnormalities in specific cardiac regions without prior knowledge of abnormal segments.

Conclusions

The trained model enables the classification and detection of spatio-temporal abnormalities in stress echocardiograms. Therefore, the proposed networks have the potential of assisting in the global and regional assessment of stress echocardiograms.
P258 Pharmacometabolomics analysis of plasma and urine to identify clopidogrel exposure metabolic biomarkers
Authors: Mohamed Amin Mostafa A , Mostafa H , Sk Abdul Kader M A , Kah Hay Y
Published: January 2020

Funding Acknowledgements

This research was funded by Universiti Sains Malaysia

Introduction

Clopidogrel is a widely used P2Y12 antiplatelet drug. Patient"s compliance to clopidogrel is crucial to achieve therapeutic outcome and prevent thromboembolic events. While measuring serum level of clopidogrel and/or its active metabolite may indicate compliance, many confounding factors interfere, however, often compromising the reliability of the results. Identifying drug exposure metabolic biomarkers is reliable and fast tool to evaluate patient"s compliance, as well as getting in-depth information on the metabolic perturbation associated with drug exposure. We hypothesized that Nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) pharmacometabolomics analysis of plasma and urine can phenotype clopidogrel loading dose (LD) in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.

Purpose

We aimed to phenotype clopidogrel exposure in plasma and urine of CAD patients using 1HNMR pharmacometabolomics. 

Methods

We analysed pre-dose and post-dose plasma and urine samples from 79 CAD patients who had clopidogrel 600 mg LD using 1HNMR pharmacometabolomics technique. Data analysis of 1HNMR spectra was performed by developing preliminary orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis models (OPLS-DA). This was followed by univariate logistic regression (ULR), factor analysis (FA) and multivariate logistic regression (MVLR) for the 1HNMR spectral regions with variable influence on projection (VIP) > 1 in the OPLS-DA preliminary models to indicate the best discriminating models (metabotypes). Area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) was used to evaluate the OPLS-DA and MVLR models. 

Results

OPLS-DA models discriminated between pre-dose and post-dose in plasma and urine with accuracy of 91.77% and 100%, respectively. MVLR indicated final plasma and urine metabotypes with accuracy of 84.2% and 82.2%, respectively. From the final exposure metabotypes, 27 and 20 metabolites were found perturbed in plasma and urine upon exposure to clopidogrel LD, respectively.

Conclusion

1HNMR pharmacometabolomics analysis of plasma and urine was efficient in phenotyping clopidogrel exposure with good accuracy. The study is ongoing to indicate metabolic pathways associated with clopidogrel exposure.

Models Accuracy Metabotype OPLS-DA Model MVLR Model Specificity Sensitivity Accuracy AUROC Specificity Sensitivity Accuracy AUROC Plasma 96.20% 87.34% 91.77% 0.99 97.5% 70.9% 84.2% 0.88 Urine 100% 100% 100% 1.0 93.2% 71.2% 82.2% 0.924 OPLS-DA: orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis, MVLR: multivariate logistic regression, AUROC: Area under receiver operating characteristic
P276 A meta-analysis on the association of febuxostat compared to allopurinol on blood pressure and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) among adult patients with hyperuricemia
Authors: Barrientos M , Macabeo R A , Ragasa R A
Published: January 2020

Background

Increased uric acid levels have been known to be associated with different cardiovascular and renal diseases.  Over the last few years, several studies have examined the role of urate-lowering therapy (ULT) in hypertension and Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE) and results are pointing to a potential role of elevated serum uric acid as an emerging independent cardiovascular risk factor.

Objective

 To determine if urate-lowering therapy (Febuxostat vs Allopurinol) has an association on blood pressure and MACE among adult patients with hyperuricemia.

Methodology

Randomized controlled trials with outcomes of blood pressure, all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke were searched through PubMed and Cochrane database.

Results

Pooled analysis of studies on hyperuricemic patients showed that Febuxostat 40 mg has no significant difference compared with Allopurinol 100/300mg with respect to lowering diastolic (MD -0.56 with 95% CI of -4.28 to 3.15) and systolic blood pressure (MD -0.72 with 95% CI of -4.87 to 6.31).  No significant differences were also noted on all-cause mortality (OR 1.21 with 95% CI of 0.35 to 4.12) and myocardial infarction (MI) (OR 1.38 with 95% CI of 0.19 to 9.94). Outcomes on non-fatal stroke were only reported by Becker, et. al (2010) with only 2 events reported in the Febuxostat 80 mg group (0.26%) and no event in the Allopurinol group (CI= 0.082 to 1.155).

Conclusion

The results of this meta-analysis showed that urate-lowering therapy (Febuxostat vs Allopurinol) has no significant association on blood pressure among adult patients with hyperuricemia.  No significant association was also found with respect to all-cause mortality and MI. Outcomes on stroke were inconclusive since only one study reported on its events.
P282 Elevated serum uric acid associated with both electrocardiographic and echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy independent of blood pressure in healthy individuals
Authors: Liu C W , Chang W C , Pan R H
Published: January 2020

Funding Acknowledgements

TSGH 108-11

Background

Elevated serum uric acid (SUA) is associated with cardiac fibrosis and hypertrophy. A growing body of evidence showed the positive correlation between hyperuricemia (HUA) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), but most studies defined LVH by a single method such as electrocardiogram or echocardiogram; the former is generally used in massive screen but the latter take advantage of the accuracy of LVH.

Purpose

We conducted this study to concomitantly investigate the association between SUA and electrocardiographic and echocardiographic LVH.

Methods

We initially enrolled 17,913 healthy individuals, who routinely underwent an annual health exam at our hospital between 2016/1/1∼2016/12/31. Of them, 347 individuals received transthoracic echocardiography because of abnormal results in their electrocardiogram. Amplitudes of 12-lead electrocardiogram were artificially measured by a study assistant under the supervision and by artificial intelligence. HUA is defined as an SUA level of ≥7 mg/dl in men and ≥6 mg/dl in women. Electrocardiographic LVH is defined by the criteria of Cornel voltage and product and Sokolow-Lyon and the Minnesota Code ECG classification. Echocardiographic LVH is defined by LV mass index ≥115g/m² in men or ≥95g/m² in women.

Results

The HUA group (n = 233) vs. normouricemic group (n = 114) was older and predominant male with greater values of body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and laboratory biomarkers, including non-high density total cholesterol, fasting glucose impairment, creatinine clearance, and haemoglobin. The two groups had comparable lifestyle choices, including tobacco use, alcohol intake, and physical activities per week. The HUA group compared with the normouricemic group had greater values of S amplitude of V1 plus R amplitude of V5 (3031 ± 2055 uV vs. 2566 ± 1021 uV, P = 0.005), R amplitude in lead I plus S amplitude in lead III (842 ± 443 uV vs. 696 ± 386 uV, P = 0.002) and LV mass index (95 ± 23 g/m² vs. 85 ± 30 g/m², P = 0.001). The prevalence of electrocardiographic and echocardiographic LVH was greater in the HUA group than the normouricemic group (7.0% vs. 2.1%, P = 0.034 for electrocardiographic LVH and 15.8% vs. 7.7%, P = 0.025 for echocardiographic LVH). In multivariate logistic regression analyses, elevated SUA was associated with LVH after the confounders were fully adjusted (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.07-1.77, P = 0.012 for electrocardiographic LVH and OR: 1.58, 95% CI 1.15-2.17, P = 0.004 for echocardiographic LVH).

Conclusion

Elevated SUA is independently associated with the prevalence of both electrocardiographic and echocardiographic LVH in healthy individuals from Taiwan. Future studies might evaluate urate-lowering effects on the regression of LVH.
Surgical access trauma following minimally invasive thoracic surgery
Authors: Chan Joyce W Y , Yu Peter S Y , Yang Jack Hong , Yuan Evan Qize , Jia Hao , Peng Jia , Lau Rainbow W H , Ng Calvin S H
Published: January 2020

Surgical access trauma has important detrimental implications for immunological status, organ function and clinical recovery. Thoracic surgery has rapidly evolved through the decades, with the advantages of minimally invasive surgery becoming more and more apparent. The clinical benefits of enhanced recovery after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) may be, at least in part, the result of better-preserved cellular immunity and cytokine profile, attenuated stress hormone release and improved preservation of pulmonary and shoulder function. Parameters of postoperative pain, chest drain duration, hospital stay and even long-term survival are also indirect reflections of the advantages of reduced access trauma. With innovations of surgical instruments, optical devices and operative platform, uniportal VATS, robotic thoracic surgery and non-intubated anaesthesia represent the latest frontiers in minimizing trauma from surgical access.
Bacterial community profile after the lethal infection of Steinernema–Xenorhabdus pairs into soil-reared Tenebrio molitor larvae
Authors: Cambon Marine C , Lafont Pierre , Frayssinet Marie , Lanois Anne , Ogier Jean-Claude , Pagès Sylvie , Parthuisot Nathalie , Ferdy Jean-Baptiste , Gaudriault Sophie
Published: January 2020

The host microbiota may have an impact on pathogens. This is often studied in laboratory-reared hosts but rarely in individuals whose microbiota looks like that of wild animals. In this study, we modified the gut microbiota of the insect Tenebrio molitor by rearing larvae in soil sampled from the field. We showed by high throughput sequencing methods that this treatment modifies the gut microbiota so that it is more diversified than that of laboratory-reared insects, and closely resembled the one of soil-dwelling insects. To describe what the entomopathogenic bacterial symbiont Xenorhabdus (Enterobacteriaceae), vectored by the soil-dwelling nematode Steinernema, might experience in natural conditions, we studied the infestation of the soil-reared T. molitor larvae with three Steinernema–Xenorhabdus pairs. We performed the infestation at 18°C, which delays the emergence of new infective juveniles (IJs), the soil-dwelling nematode forms, but which is a temperature compatible with natural infestation. We analyzed by high throughput sequencing methods the composition of the bacterial community within the insect cadavers before the first emergences of IJs. These bacterial communities were generally characterized by one or two non-symbiont taxa. Even for highly lethal Steinernema–Xenorhabdus pairs, the symbiont does not dominate the bacterial community within the insect cadaver.
Fast collocation for Moho estimation from GOCE gravity data: the Iran case study
Authors: Heydarizadeh Shali H , Sampietro D , Safari A , Capponi M , Bahroudi A
Published: January 2020

The study of the discontinuity between crust and mantle beneath Iran is still an open issue in the geophysical community due to its various tectonic features created by the collision between the Iranian and Arabian Plate. For instance in regions such as Zagros, Alborz or Makran, despite the number of studies performed, both by exploiting gravity or seismic data, the depth of the Moho and also interior structure is still highly uncertain. This is due to the complexity of the crust and to the presence of large short wavelength signals in the Moho depth. GOCE observations are capable and useful products to describe the Earth’s crust structure either at the regional or global scale. Furthermore, it is plausible to retrieve important information regarding the structure of the Earth’s crust by combining the GOCE observations with seismic data and considering additional information. In the current study, we used as observation a grid of second radial derivative of the anomalous gravitational potential computed at an altitude of 221 km by means of the space-wise approach, to study the depth of the Moho. The observations have been reduced for the gravitational effects of topography, bathymetry and sediments. The residual gravity has been inverted accordingly to a simple two-layer model. In particular, this guarantees the uniqueness of the solution of the inverse problem which has been regularized by means of a collocation approach in the frequency domain. Although results of this study show a general good agreement with seismically derived depths with a root mean square deviation of 6 km, there are some discrepancies under the Alborz zone and also Oman sea with a root mean square deviation up 10 km for the former and an average difference of 3 km for the latter. Further comparisons with the natural feature of the study area, for instance, active faults, show that the resulting Moho features can be directly associated with geophysical and tectonic blocks.
Art, Collaboration and Multi-Sensory Approaches in Public Microhistory: Journey with Absent Friends
Authors: Hammett Jessica , Harrison Ellie , King Laura
Published: January 2020

In this article we reflect upon the many advantages of collaborations between academic historians and artists, as a method for presenting our work, communicating with different audiences and, most importantly, beginning conversations which cause us to think about our research in new and creative ways. We argue that collaboration allows us to rethink the boundaries of expertise, it opens up both historical knowledge and the process of knowledge creation to different audiences in more egalitarian ways, and it provides innovative ways of doing historical research.
The Body Inside the Art and the Law of Marikana: A Case for Corporeality
Authors: Gill-Leslie Robyn
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACT∞

This article positions the Marikana Commission of Inquiry as a transitional justice moment for South Africa. Using aesthetic and affect theory, the article examines instances of bodily engagement at this Commission and in the art related to it. The resultant foregrounding of physicality reveals the possibility of both resistance and conformity that has been overlooked in current arts and transitional justice literature. Such resistance and conformity, present inside both the law and the art of Marikana and its Commission, suggest that a binaristic approach to arts and transitional justice misses the full critical potential of each discipline. Softening the boundaries of each discipline through a corporeal approach can reveal different evaluations of the efficacy of transitional justice – in this case, challenging the efficacy of the Marikana Commission’s goal of stakeholder inclusion.
Settling Resistant Territorial Disputes: The Territorial Boundary Peace in Latin America
Authors: Schenoni Luis L , Goertz Gary , Owsiak Andrew P , Diehl Paul F
Published: January 2020

Why do some territorial disputes defy settlement? Through what mechanism might these resistant territorial disputes be settled? We propose that the answer involves three individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions. First, the dispute must receive attention—i.e., be (re)placed and (re)prioritized on the dyad's agenda. Second, governments need altered preferences that expand the bargaining range so they can break deadlock and pursue settlement. Finally, disputing states need third-party assistance to facilitate, locate, incentivize, and support a settlement of their protracted dispute. We test this “AAA Model” in post–World War II Latin America. To do this, we first theorize the particular form of the general model; in post–1945 Latin America, attention, altered preferences, and third-party assistance operate through the mechanisms of militarization, democratization, and mediation respectively. We then identify resistant territorial disputes and advance a novel, multimethod research design to evaluate our hypotheses—one that relies more heavily on within-case counterfactual analysis. An extensive series of these counterfactual analyses, along with a statistical analysis, produce consistent, significant support for our model. When resistant territorial disputes in post–1945 Latin America have attention, altered preferences, and third-party assistance simultaneously, they always settle; when they lack any one factor, however, settlement never occurs.
Temporal condition pattern mining in large, sparse electronic health record data: A case study in characterizing pediatric asthma
Authors: Campbell Elizabeth A , Bass Ellen J , Masino Aaron J
Published: January 2020

Objective

This study introduces a temporal condition pattern mining methodology to address the sparse nature of coded condition concept utilization in electronic health record data. As a validation study, we applied this method to reveal condition patterns surrounding an initial diagnosis of pediatric asthma.

Materials and Methods

The SPADE (Sequential PAttern Discovery using Equivalence classes) algorithm was used to identify common temporal condition patterns surrounding the initial diagnosis of pediatric asthma in a study population of 71 824 patients from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. SPADE was applied to a dataset with diagnoses coded using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) concepts and separately to a dataset with the ICD codes mapped to their corresponding expanded diagnostic clusters (EDCs). Common temporal condition patterns surrounding the initial diagnosis of pediatric asthma ascertained by SPADE from both the ICD and EDC datasets were compared.

Results

SPADE identified 36 unique diagnoses in the mapped EDC dataset, whereas only 19 were recognized in the ICD dataset. Temporal trends in condition diagnoses ascertained from the EDC data were not discoverable in the ICD dataset.

Discussion

Mining frequent temporal condition patterns from large electronic health record datasets may reveal previously unknown associations between diagnoses that could inform future research into causation or other relationships. Mapping sparsely coded medical concepts into homogenous groups was essential to discovering potentially useful information from our dataset.

Conclusions

We expect that the presented methodology is applicable to the study of diagnostic trajectories for other clinical conditions and can be extended to study temporal patterns of other coded medical concepts such as medications and procedures.
An evaluation of the economic effects of bovine respiratory disease on animal performance, carcass traits, and economic outcomes in feedlot cattle defined using four BRD diagnosis methods
Authors: Blakebrough-Hall Claudia , McMeniman Joe P , González Luciano A
Published: January 2020

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) causes significant economic losses to the feedlot industry due to decreased production and increased costs associated with treatment. This study aimed to assess the impacts of BRD on performance, carcass traits, and economic outcomes defined using four BRD diagnosis methods: number of BRD treatments an animal received, pleural lesions at slaughter, lung lesions at slaughter, and clinical BRD status defined using both treatment records and lung and pleural lesions. Crossbred steers (n = 898), with an initial body weight of 432 kg (± SD 51), were followed from feedlot entry to slaughter. Veterinary treatment records were collected and lungs scored at slaughter for lesions indicative of BRD. There was an 18% morbidity rate and a 2.1% BRD mortality rate, with an average net loss of AUD$1,647.53 per BRD mortality. Animals treated ≥3 times for BRD had 39.6 kg lighter carcasses at slaughter and returned an average of AUD$384.97 less compared to animals never treated for BRD (P < 0.001). Animals with severe lung lesions at slaughter grew 0.3 kg/d less, had 14.3 kg lighter carcasses at slaughter, and returned AUD$91.50 less than animals with no lung lesions (P < 0.001). Animals with subclinical and clinical BRD had 16.0 kg and 24.1 kg lighter carcasses, respectively, and returned AUD$67.10 and AUD$213.90 less at slaughter, respectively, compared to healthy animals that were never treated with no lesions (P < 0.001). The severity of BRD based on the number of treatments an animal received and the severity of lung and pleural lesions reduced animal performance, carcass weight and quality, and economic returns. Subclinical BRD reduced animal performance and economic returns compared to healthy animals; however, subclinical animals still had greater performance than animals with clinical BRD. This information can be used to plan for strategic investments aimed at reducing the impacts of BRD in feedlot cattle such as improved detection methods for subclinical animals with lesions at slaughter and BRD treatment protocols.
Translation and Cross-cultural Validation of the English Young Adult Burn Outcome Questionnaire (YABOQ) in Spanish
Authors: Brady Keri J S , Ni Pengsheng , Grant Gabrielle G , Thorpe Catherine R , Nadler Deborah , Lee Austin , Shapiro Gabriel D , Kogosov Ann , Palmieri Tina L , Tompkins Ronald G , Schneider Jeffrey C , Kazis Lewis E , Ryan Colleen M
Published: January 2020

The Young Adult Burn Outcome Questionnaire (YABOQ) is a validated, English-language patient-reported outcome assessment of young adults’ recovery from burn injury across 15 scale domains. We evaluated the cross-cultural validity of a newly developed Spanish version of the YABOQ. Secondary data from English- and Spanish-speaking burn survivors (17 to 30 years of age) were obtained from the Multicenter Benchmarking Study. We conducted classic psychometric analyses and evaluated the measurement equivalence of the English and Spanish YABOQs in logistic and ordinal logistic regression differential item functioning analyses. All multi-item scales in the Spanish YABOQ demonstrated adequate reliability except the Pain and Itch scales. One item in the Perceived Appearance scale showed differential item functioning across English- and Spanish-speaking burn survivors, but the observed differential item functioning had no clinically significant impact on scale-level Perceived Appearance scores. Our findings support the cross-cultural validity of the YABOQ Physical Function, Perceived Appearance, Sexual Function, Emotion, Family Function, Family Concern, Satisfaction with Symptom Relief, Satisfaction with Role, Work Reintegration and Religion scales among English- and Spanish-speaking young adult burn survivors. This work supports the use of these English and Spanish YABOQ scales to assess the effect of therapeutic interventions on young adults’ burn outcomes in pooled analyses and to assess disparities in young adults’ burn outcomes across language groups.
Aluminium–silicon interactions in higher plants: an update
Authors: Hodson Martin J , Evans David E
Published: January 2020

Aluminium (Al) and silicon (Si) are abundant in soils, but their availability for plant uptake is limited by low solubility. However, Al toxicity is a major problem in naturally occurring acid soils and in soils affected by acidic precipitation. When, in 1995, we reviewed this topic for the Journal of Experimental Botany, it was clear that under certain circumstances soluble Si could ameliorate the toxic effects of Al, an effect mirrored in organisms beyond the plant kingdom. In the 25 years since our review, it has become evident that the amelioration phenomenon occurs in the root apoplast, with the formation of hydroxyaluminosilicates being part of the mechanism. A much better knowledge of the molecular basis for Si and Al uptake by plants and of Al toxicity mechanisms has been developed. However, relating this work to amelioration by Si is at an early stage. It is now clear that co-deposition of Al and Si in phytoliths is a fairly common phenomenon in the plant kingdom, and this may be important in detoxification of Al. Relatively little work on Al–Si interactions in field situations has been done in the last 25 years, and this is a key area for future development.
The High Time Resolution Universe Pulsar Survey – XVI. Discovery and timing of 40 pulsars from the southern Galactic plane
Authors: Cameron A D , Champion D J , Bailes M , Balakrishnan V , Barr E D , Bassa C G , Bates S , Bhandari S , Bhat N D R , Burgay M , Burke-Spolaor S , Flynn C M L , Jameson A , Johnston S , Keith M J , Kramer M , Levin L , Lyne A G , Ng C , Petroff E , Possenti A , Smith D A , Stappers B W , van Straten W , Tiburzi C , Wu J
Published: January 2020

We present the results of processing an additional 44  per cent of the High Time Resolution Universe South Low Latitude (HTRU-S LowLat) pulsar survey, the most sensitive blind pulsar survey of the southern Galactic plane to date. Our partially coherent segmented acceleration search pipeline is designed to enable the discovery of pulsars in short, highly accelerated orbits, while our 72-min integration lengths will allow us to discover pulsars at the lower end of the pulsar luminosity distribution. We report the discovery of 40 pulsars, including three millisecond pulsar-white dwarf binary systems (PSRs J1537−5312, J1547−5709, and J1618−4624), a black-widow binary system (PSR J1745−23) and a candidate black-widow binary system (PSR J1727−2951), a glitching pulsar (PSR J1706−4434), an eclipsing binary pulsar with a 1.5-yr orbital period (PSR J1653−45), and a pair of long spin-period binary pulsars which display either nulling or intermittent behaviour (PSRs J1812−15 and J1831−04). We show that the total population of 100 pulsars discovered in the HTRU-S LowLat survey to date represents both an older and lower luminosity population, and indicates that we have yet to reach the bottom of the luminosity distribution function. We present evaluations of the performance of our search technique and of the overall yield of the survey, considering the 94  per cent of the survey which we have processed to date. We show that our pulsar yield falls below earlier predictions by approximately 25  per cent (especially in the case of millisecond pulsars), and discuss explanations for this discrepancy as well as future adaptations in RFI mitigation and searching techniques which may address these shortfalls.
A new and unusual LBV-like outburst from a Wolf–Rayet star in the outskirts of M33
Authors: Smith Nathan , E Andrews Jennifer , Moe Maxwell , Milne Peter , Bilinski Christopher , Kilpatrick Charles D , Fong Wen-Fai , Badenes Carles , Filippenko Alexei V , Kasliwal Mansi , Silverman Jeffrey M
Published: January 2020

MCA-1B (also called UIT003) is a luminous hot star in the western outskirts of M33, classified over 20 yr ago with a spectral type of Ofpe/WN9 and identified then as a candidate luminous blue variable (LBV). Palomar Transient Factory data reveal that this star brightened in 2010, with a light curve resembling that of the classic LBV star AF And in M31. Other Ofpe/WN9 stars have erupted as LBVs, but MCA-1B was unusual because it remained hot. It showed a WN-type spectrum throughout its eruption, whereas LBVs usually get much cooler. MCA-1B showed an almost four-fold increase in bolometric luminosity and a doubling of its radius, but its temperature stayed ≳29 kK. As it faded, it shifted to even hotter temperatures, exhibiting a WN7/WN8-type spectrum, and doubling its wind speed. MCA-1B is reminiscent of some supernova impostors, and its location resembles the isolated environment of SN 2009ip. It is most similar to HD 5980 (in the Small Magellanic Cloud) and GR 290 (also in M33). Whereas these two LBVs exhibited B-type spectra in eruption, MCA-1B is the first clear case where a Wolf–Rayet (WR) spectrum persisted at all times. Together, MCA-1B, HD 5980, and GR 290 constitute a class of WN-type LBVs, distinct from S Doradus LBVs. They are most interesting in the context of LBVs at low metallicity, a possible post-LBV/WR transition in binaries, and as likely Type Ibn supernova progenitors.
Different evolutionary pathways for the two subtypes of contact binaries
Authors: Zhang Xu-Dong , Qian Sheng-Bang , Liao Wen-Ping
Published: January 2020

Secondary components of W UMa-type contact binaries (CBs) have many special properties, two of them are excess in radius and luminosity. In order to make these specialties clear, we propose radial density distribution to roughly detect the interior structure of the secondaries in CBs. By comparing the radial density distribution between secondary components of CBs and main-sequence stars, we find the radial density distribution of secondaries in A-subtype CBs are similar to main-sequence stars whose masses higher than 1.8 Msun, which suggests that these two kinds of stars may have some evolutionary relationship. While secondary components of W-subtype CBs are closely connected with stars whose masses lower than 1.8 Msun. Then, we investigate the mass–luminosity relation of secondaries in CBs, the big differences between two subtypes suggests that the overluminosity of secondaries in these two subtypes are caused by two different reasons. Overluminosity in A-subtype is because the secondary components are evolved from initial more massive stars, while in W-subtype is due to energy transfer.
LoCuSS: exploring the connection between local environment, star formation, and dust mass in Abell 1758
Authors: Bianconi M , Smith G P , Haines C P , McGee S L , Finoguenov A , Egami E
Published: January 2020

We explore the connection between dust and star formation, in the context of environmental effects on galaxy evolution. In particular, we exploit the susceptibility of dust to external processes to assess the influence of dense environment on star-forming galaxies. We have selected cluster Abell 1758 from the Local Cluster Substructure Survey (LoCuSS). Its complex dynamical state is an ideal test-bench to track dust removal and destruction in galaxies due to merger and accretion shocks. We present a systematic panchromatic study (from $0.15\, \mu$m with GALEX to $\rm 500\, \mu$m with Herschel) of spectroscopically confirmed star-forming cluster galaxies at intermediate redshift. We observe that the main subclusters (A1758N and A1758S) belong to two separate large-scale structures, with no overlapping galaxy members. Star-forming cluster members are found preferentially outside cluster central regions, and are not isotropically distributed. Rather, these galaxies appear being funneled towards the main subclusters along separate accretion paths. Additionally, we present the first study of dust-to-stellar (DTS) mass ratio used as an indicator for local environmental influence on galaxy evolution. Star-forming cluster members show lower mean values (32$\rm {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ at $\rm 2.4\sigma$) of DTS mass ratio and lower levels of infrared emission from birth clouds with respect to coeval star-forming field galaxies. This picture is consistent with the majority of star-forming cluster members infalling in isolation. Upon accretion, star formation is observed to decrease and warm dust is destroyed due to heating from the intracluster medium radiation, ram-pressure stripping, and merger shocks.
Three-dimensional simulations of clump formation in stellar wind collisions
Authors: Calderón D , Cuadra J , Schartmann M , Burkert A , Prieto J , Russell C M P
Published: January 2020

The inner parsec of our Galaxy contains tens of Wolf–Rayet stars whose powerful outflows are constantly interacting while filling the region with hot, diffuse plasma. Theoretical models have shown that, in some cases, the collision of stellar winds can generate cold, dense material in the form of clumps. However, their formation process and properties are not well understood yet. In this work, we present, for the first time, a statistical study of the clump formation process in unstable wind collisions. We study systems with dense outflows (${\sim }10^{-5}\rm \ M_{\odot }\ yr^{-1}$), wind speeds of 500–$1500\rm \ km\ s^{-1}$, and stellar separations of ∼20–$200\rm \ au$. We develop three-dimensional high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of stellar wind collisions with the adaptive-mesh refinement grid-based code ramses. We aim at characterizing the initial properties of clumps that form through hydrodynamic instabilities, mostly via the non-linear thin-shell instability (NTSI). Our results confirm that more massive clumps are formed in systems whose winds are close to the transition between the radiative and adiabatic regimes. Increasing either the wind speed or the degree of asymmetry increases the dispersion of the clump mass and ejection speed distributions. Nevertheless, the most massive clumps are very light (∼10−3–$10^{-2}\rm \ M_{\oplus }$), about three orders of magnitude less massive than theoretical upper limits. Applying these results to the Galactic Centre, we find that clumps formed through the NTSI should not be heavy enough either to affect the thermodynamic state of the region or to survive for long enough to fall on to the central supermassive black hole.
DNA-mediated coupling of ATPase, translocase and nuclease activities of a Type ISP restriction-modification enzyme
Authors: Chand Mahesh Kumar , Carle Vanessa , Anuvind K G , Saikrishnan Kayarat
Published: January 2020

Enzymes involved in nucleic acid transactions often have a helicase-like ATPase coordinating and driving their functional activities, but our understanding of the mechanistic details of their coordination is limited. For example, DNA cleavage by the antiphage defense system Type ISP restriction-modification enzyme requires convergence of two such enzymes that are actively translocating on DNA powered by Superfamily 2 ATPases. The ATPase is activated when the enzyme recognizes a DNA target sequence. Here, we show that the activation is a two-stage process of partial ATPase stimulation upon recognition of the target sequence by the methyltransferase and the target recognition domains, and complete stimulation that additionally requires the DNA to interact with the ATPase domain. Mutagenesis revealed that a β-hairpin loop and motif V of the ATPase couples DNA translocation to ATP hydrolysis. Deletion of the loop inhibited translocation, while mutation of motif V slowed the rate of translocation. Both the mutations inhibited the double-strand (ds) DNA cleavage activity of the enzyme. However, a translocating motif V mutant cleaved dsDNA on encountering a translocating wild-type enzyme. Based on these results, we conclude that the ATPase-driven translocation not only brings two nucleases spatially close to catalyze dsDNA break, but that the rate of translocation influences dsDNA cleavage.
Shedding of Yellow Fever Virus From an Imported Case in the Netherlands After Travel to Brazil
Authors: Phan My V T , Mendonca Melo Mariana , van Nood Els , Aron Georgina , Kreeft-Voermans Jolanda J C , Koopmans Marion P G , Reusken Chantal , GeurtsvanKessel Corine H , Cotten Matthew
Published: January 2020

We report yellow fever infection in a Dutch traveler returning from Brazil. Yellow fever virus (YFV) was identified in serum and urine samples over a period of 1 month. Yellow fever virus genome sequences from the patient clustered with recent Brazilian YFV and showed with limited nucleotide changes during the resolving infection.
Microsurgical Clip Ligation of an Unruptured Azygos Bifurcation Aneurysm Indented by the Falx Cerebri: 3-Dimensional Operative Video
Authors: Taylor Blake E S , Say Irene , Patel Pratit , Tomycz Luke D
Published: January 2020

Dissecting pericallosal aneurysms from the falx cerebri is technically challenging, as one must release the adherent dome but minimize shearing injury, which could result in intraoperative rupture. We discuss a 51-yr-old woman with a history of hypertension and smoking who presented with severe headaches and was found to have a 6-mm unruptured, multilobulated pericallosal aneurysm abutting the falx, with anterior and superior projecting domes on either side. She also had an azygos anterior cerebral artery (ACA), a rare anatomic variant associated with pericallosal aneurysms, where both A1 segments form a single A2. After considering endovascular and open surgical techniques, we proceeded with clip ligation given her younger age, smoking history, daughter aneurysms seen on angiography, and azygos ACA. We positioned her supine with her head turned lateral, left side down to maximize gravitational retraction, mapped a bicoronal incision, and performed a small craniotomy, followed by an interhemispheric approach. Rather than cutting the falx around the dome, a described technique that risks blind vessel injury, we temporarily clipped inflow vessels to reduce the dome's turgor and sharply and bluntly dissected apart its attachments, which freed the aneurysm from beneath the falx and allowed visualization of associated vessels. Using suction to manipulate the dome, we then placed stacked, angled clips, and used a micro-Doppler to confirm brisk inflow and outflow. Postoperatively, she was neurologically intact, and her angiogram showed no residual aneurysm. Our 3-dimensional video demonstrates a safer, alternative approach to treating this rare aneurysm with its associated anatomical variant. Patient consented to her clinical presentation and microscope media being used for academic purposes.
Hypoalgesic Effects of Aerobic and Isometric Motor Imagery and Action Observation Exercises on Asymptomatic Participants: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial
Authors: La Touche Roy , Fernández Pérez Juan José , Martínez García Sergio , Cuenca-Martínez Ferran , López-de-Uralde-Villanueva Ibai , Suso-Martí Luis
Published: January 2020

Objectives

The objective was to explore whether action observation (AO) and motor imagery (MI) of aerobic and isometric exercise could induce hypoalgesic responses in asymptomatic individuals compared with placebo observation (PO).

Methods

A randomized controlled pilot trial was designed. Twenty-four healthy participants (mean age = 21.9 ± 2.1 years) were randomized into three groups: AO+MI (N = 8), AO, (N = 8), and PO (N = 8). All participants performed an actual aerobic running exercise (three series of 90 seconds at 85% of their VO2max and 30 seconds at 65% of their VO2max) and an isometric exercise protocol (isometric squats). A day later, they all performed the mental intervention, observing or imagining exercise execution performed the day before, according to their allocated group. Pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) of the quadriceps and epicondyle regions were assessed at baseline, postintervention, and 15 minutes postintervention.

Results

Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences in the group*time interaction for PPT in the quadriceps. The AO group showed a statistically significant increase at postintervention and at 15 minutes postintervention. The AO+MI group obtained a statistically significant increase in the two PPT regions compared with the PO group at Δpre–post. The AO group obtained a greater increase in the PPT in the quadriceps femoris than the PO group at Δpre–post and Δpre–post 15 minutes.

Conclusions

AO and MI induce hypoalgesic responses compared with PO. AO isolated training showed pain modulation responses in the PPTs of the quadriceps region in young physically active adults. These findings highlight the potential role of brain training in pain management.