bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sardinian Type 1 diabetes patients, Transthyretin and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infection
Authors: Masala Speranza , Cossu Davide , Pacifico Adolfo , Molicotti Paola , Sechi Leonardo A
Published: December 2012

Background

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the cause of Johne’s disease, an enteric granulomatous disease. Recently, MAP has been associated with different autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes (T1D) and multiple sclerosis. Transthyretin (TTR) is a plasma transport protein for thyroid hormone and forms a complex with retinol-binding protein. Reduced TTR plasma levels in MAP infected ovines have been reported.

TTR exerts also a functional role in the pancreas promoting insulin release and protecting β-cells from death.

Our objective was to identify a protein that could be used as a diagnostic marker of T1D for determining disease progression and monitoring at-risk patients. We postulate that serological TTR levels would be reduced in T1D MAP exposed patients. Our hypothesis is based on the observation of cases of T1D patients with decreased TTR levels beside the reduced TTR plasma levels in ovines with Johne’s disease.

We quantified the plasma protein levels of TTR in 50 people with T1D and 51 age-matched healthy controls (HCs) by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).

Findings

Our pilot study showed that plasma TTR levels were not significantly lower/higher in T1D Sardinian cases compared to the HCs.

Conclusion

These preliminary data indicate that plasma TTR may not be a good candidate biomarker for T1D diagnosis and further studies to elucidate the possible link are needed.
SOAPdenovo2: an empirically improved memory-efficient short-read de novo assembler
Authors: Luo Ruibang , Liu Binghang , Xie Yinlong , Li Zhenyu , Huang Weihua , Yuan Jianying , He Guangzhu , Chen Yanxiang , Pan Qi , Liu Yunjie , Tang Jingbo , Wu Gengxiong , Zhang Hao , Shi Yujian , Liu Yong , Yu Chang , Wang Bo , Lu Yao , Han Changlei , Cheung David W , Yiu Siu-Ming , Peng Shaoliang , Xiaoqian Zhu , Liu Guangming , Liao Xiangke , Li Yingrui , Yang Huanming , Wang Jian , Lam Tak-Wah , Wang Jun
Published: December 2012

Background

There is a rapidly increasing amount of de novo genome assembly using next-generation sequencing (NGS) short reads; however, several big challenges remain to be overcome in order for this to be efficient and accurate. SOAPdenovo has been successfully applied to assemble many published genomes, but it still needs improvement in continuity, accuracy and coverage, especially in repeat regions.

Findings

To overcome these challenges, we have developed its successor, SOAPdenovo2, which has the advantage of a new algorithm design that reduces memory consumption in graph construction, resolves more repeat regions in contig assembly, increases coverage and length in scaffold construction, improves gap closing, and optimizes for large genome.

Conclusions

Benchmark using the Assemblathon1 and GAGE datasets showed that SOAPdenovo2 greatly surpasses its predecessor SOAPdenovo and is competitive to other assemblers on both assembly length and accuracy. We also provide an updated assembly version of the 2008 Asian (YH) genome using SOAPdenovo2. Here, the contig and scaffold N50 of the YH genome were ~20.9 kbp and ~22 Mbp, respectively, which is 3-fold and 50-fold longer than the first published version. The genome coverage increased from 81.16% to 93.91%, and memory consumption was ~2/3 lower during the point of largest memory consumption.
First biochemical characterization of a novel ribonuclease from wild mushroom Amanita hemibapha
Authors: Sekete Malota , Ma Duanzheng , Wang Bo , Wang Hexiang , Ng Tzibun
Published: December 2012

A 45-kDa ribonuclease (RNase) was purified from dried fruiting bodies of the wild mushroom Amanita hemibapha. It was adsorbed on DEAE-cellulose, S-sepharose, and finally purified on Superdex 75. The RNase exhibited maximal RNase activity at pH 5 and in a temperature range between 60-70°C. It demonstrated no ribonucleolytic activity toward four polyhomoribonucleotides. The amino acid sequence analysis (GDDETFWEHEWAK) showed this RNase was a ribonuclease T2-like RNase. It exhibited strong inhibitory activity against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1 RT) with an IC50 of 17 μM.
The effects of living wage laws on low-wage workers and low-income families: What do we know now?
Authors: Neumark David , Thompson Matthew , Koyle Leslie
Published: December 2012

We provide updated evidence on the effects of living wage laws in U.S. cities, relative to the earlier research covering only the first six or seven years of existence of these laws. There are some challenges to updating the evidence, as the CPS data on which it relies changed geographic coding systems in the mid-2000s. The updated evidence is broadly consistent with the conclusions reached by prior research, including a recent review of that earlier evidence. Living wage laws reduce employment among the least-skilled workers they are intended to help. But they also increase wages for many of them. This implies that living wage laws generate both winners and losers among those affected by them. For broader living wage laws that cover recipients of business or financial assistance from cities, the net effects point to modest reductions in urban poverty.

JEL codes

J23, J38
Anonymous job applications in Europe
Authors: Krause Annabelle , Rinne Ulf , Zimmermann Klaus F
Published: December 2012

Numerous empirical studies find a substantial extent of discrimination in hiring decisions. Anonymous job applications have gained attention and popularity to identify and combat this form of discrimination. To test whether their intended effects result in practice, in several European countries such as Sweden, France and the Netherlands field experiments were recently conducted. Also in Germany, a large field experiment has examined the practicability and potentials of this approach. Against the background of the recent German findings as novel evidence, this paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this new policy proposal.

JEL codes

M51, J71, J78
Protease-activated receptor-1 impairs host defense in murine pneumococcal pneumonia: a controlled laboratory study
Authors: Schouten Marcel , van't Veer Cornelis , Roelofs Joris JTH , Levi Marcel , van der Poll Tom
Published: December 2012

Introduction

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common causative pathogen in community-acquired pneumonia. Protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) is expressed by multiple cell types present in the lungs and can be activated by various proteases generated during acute inflammation. The cellular effect of PAR-1 activation partially depends on the specific protease involved. We here determined the role of PAR-1 in the host response during murine pneumococcal pneumonia.

Methods

Wild-type (WT) and PAR-1 knockout (KO) mice were infected intranasally with viable S. pneumoniae and observed in a survival study or euthanized at 6, 24 or 48 hours of infection.

Results

PAR-1 KO mice had a better survival early after infection compared to WT mice. Moreover, PAR-1 KO mice had lower bacterial loads in lungs and blood at 24 hours and in spleen and liver at 48 hours after infection. This favorable response was accompanied by lower lung histopathology scores and less neutrophil influx in PAR-1 KO mice.

Conclusion

PAR-1 impairs host defense during murine pneumococcal pneumonia.
Reduced Risk of Colorectal Cancer With Use of Oral Bisphosphonates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Thosani Nirav , Thosani Sonali N. , Kumar Sheetanshu , Nugent Zoann , Jimenez Camilo , Singh Harminder , Guha Sushovan
Published: December 2012

Purpose

The association between oral bisphosphonate (BP) intake and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk has been investigated in several recent studies with conflicting results. We summarized the evidence from the published studies in a categorical, dose-response meta-analysis.

Methods

Relevant studies were identified by a search of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases through January 15, 2012. We included studies that reported effect size estimates with 95% CIs for the association between exposure to oral BPs and risk of CRC.

Results

Three case-control studies with a total of 16,998 CRC cases and 108,197 controls and one cohort study with 94,405 individuals exposed to BPs and 283,181 unexposed to BPs were included in meta-analysis. The random effect model meta-analysis suggested reduced risk of CRC with exposure to oral BPs with pooled odds ratio (OR) of 0.87 (95% CI, 0.78 to 0.97). Significant inverse relationship was noted for 10 or more prescriptions categories, with pooled ORs of 0.71 (95% CI, 0.58 to 0.87). Similarly, the analysis for 1 to 3 years of use and more than 3 years of use of BPs suggested a significant inverse relationship, with pooled ORs of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.68 to 0.85) and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.61 to 0.99), respectively.

Conclusion

This meta-analysis suggests that the use of oral BPs at a dose of 10 or more prescriptions or 1 or more years of duration is associated with reduced risk of CRC. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to prove this association.
The costs and potential savings of telemedicine for acute care neonatal consultation: preliminary findings
Authors: Armfield Nigel R , Donovan Tim , Bensink Mark E , Smith Anthony C
Published: December 2012

Telemedicine was used as a substitute for the telephone (usual care) for some acute care consultations from nurseries at four peripheral hospitals in Queensland. Over a 12-month study period, there were 19 cases of neonatal teleconsultation. Five (26%) cases of avoided infant transport were confirmed by independent assessment, four of which were avoided helicopter retrievals. We conducted two analyses. In the first, the actual costs of providing telemedicine at the study sites were compared with the actual savings associated with confirmed avoided infant transport and nursery costs. There was a net saving to the health system of 54,400 Australian Dollars (AUD) associated with the use of telemedicine over the 12-month period. In the second analysis, we estimated the potential savings that might have been achieved if telemedicine had been used for all retrieval consultations from the study sites. The total projected costs were AUD 64,969 while the projected savings were AUD 271,042, i.e. a projected net saving to the health system of AUD 206,073 through the use of telemedicine. A sensitivity analysis suggested that the threshold proportion of retrievals needed to generate telemedicine-related savings under the study conditions was 5%. The findings suggest that from the health-service perspective, the use of telemedicine for acute care neonatal consultation has substantial economic benefits.
Telemedicine, telehealth or e-health? A bibliometric analysis of the trends in the use of these terms
Authors: Fatehi Farhad , Wootton Richard
Published: December 2012

The terms ‘telemedicine’, ‘telehealth’ and ‘e-health’ are often used interchangeably. We examined the occurrence of these terms in the Scopus database. A total of 11,644 documents contained one of the three terms in the title or abstract. Telemedicine was the most common term, with 8028 documents referring to it, followed by e-health ( n = 2573) and then telehealth ( n = 1679). Telemedicine was referred to in documents from 126 countries; the terms telehealth and e-health were found in publications from 55 and 99 countries, respectively. Documents with telemedicine in their title or abstract first appeared in 1972, and continued to appear at a low rate until 1994 when they started to increase rapidly; telehealth showed a similar pattern, but with the growth beginning about five years later. Although articles containing the term e-health appeared later than the other two terms, the rate of increase was higher. Articles (journal papers) were the most common type for the three key terms, followed by conference papers and review articles. Publication rates for telemedicine or telehealth or e-health were compared with two other relatively new fields of study: Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) and Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). Publications concerning HAART seem to have reached a peak and are now declining, but those with the three key terms and those concerning MIS are both growing. The variation in the level of adoption for the three terms suggests ambiguity in their definition and a lack of clarity in the concepts they refer to.
Interactive multicentre teleconferences using open source software in a team of thoracic surgeons
Authors: Ito Kazuhiro , Shimada Junichi , Katoh Daishiro , Nishimura Motohiro , Yanada Masashi , Okada Satoru , Ishihara Shunta , Ichise Kaori
Published: December 2012

Real-time consultation between a team of thoracic surgeons is important for the management of difficult cases. We established a system for interactive teleconsultation between multiple sites, based on open-source software. The graphical desktop-sharing system VNC (virtual network computing) was used for remotely controlling another computer. An image-processing package (OsiriX) was installed on the server to share the medical images. We set up a voice communication system using Voice Chatter, a free, cross-platform voice communication application. Four hospitals participated in the trials. One was connected by gigabit ethernet, one by WiMAX and one by ADSL. Surgeons at three of the sites found that it was comfortable to view images and consult with each other using the teleconferencing system. However, it was not comfortable using the client that connected via WiMAX, because of dropped frames. Apart from the WiMAX connection, the VNC-based screen-sharing system transferred the clinical images efficiently and in real time. We found the screen-sharing software VNC to be a good application for medical image interpretation, especially for a team of thoracic surgeons using multislice CT scans.
An analysis of an ongoing trial of rural videoconference fracture clinics
Authors: Mcgill Alison , North John
Published: December 2012

Since January 2011, videoconference fracture clinics have been held between the rural Mt Isa Hospital (MIH) and the tertiary referral centre, the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, approximately 900 km away. We have examined the activity and costs of the videoconferencing clinics over a 17-month period. During the study period, 27 clinics were held and 21 patient transfers (four of whom were children) were saved. The cost of a transfer was estimated to be $1269 for an adult and $2134 for a child with an accompanying adult. The cost of holding a videoconference fracture clinic was estimated to be $1285 per clinic. During the first 12 months of the study, the savings in avoided transfers were outweighed by the cost of running the clinics. However, in the final 5 months, there were overall savings of $11,334 for the health service. Improvements in the areas of administration and radiology were identified, which could enhance the application of telemedicine in multiple locations in rural and remote areas.
Web versus App - compliance of patients in a telehealth diabetes management programme using two different technologies
Authors: Schreier Günter , Eckmann Harald , Hayn Dieter , Kreiner Karl , Kastner Peter , Lovell Nigel
Published: December 2012

Patients with diabetes were enrolled into a telemonitoring programme. They were offered the choice of collecting their health data either by using Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled mobile phones equipped with a dedicated application (App), or by means of a web-browser based user interface (Web). At the end of the study, each patient was categorized as belonging to either the App or Web group, based on the proportion of data they had transmitted using each method. Of the 403 patients, there were 291 in the App group and 112 in the Web group. The two groups were similar in their demographics, except for gender distribution where 68% of men preferred using the App method in contrast to 95% for women ( P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a steady decline of the compliance rate for both groups, at a similar rate during the first year. It also showed a more rapid decline of the compliance rate thereafter for the Web group, which resulted in a significantly higher rate for the App group over the whole observation period ( P = 0.03). We conclude that different types of data acquisition technologies may have an important effect on patients’ willingness to participate in telehealth programmes in the long-term.
Project ECHO: a model for complex, chronic care in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
Authors: Scott John D , Unruh Kent T , Catlin Mary C , Merrill Joseph O , Tauben David J , Rosenblatt Roger , Buchwald Dedra , Doorenbos Ardith , Towle Cara , Ramers Christian B , Spacha David H
Published: December 2012

The Pacific Northwest of the US is a large, sparsely populated region. A telehealth programme called Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) was tested in this region in 2009. Weekly videoconferences were held in the areas of hepatitis C, chronic pain, integrated addictions and psychiatry, and HIV/AIDS. Rural clinicians presented cases to a panel of experts at an academic medical centre and received management advice and access to best practices. During the trial, more than 900 clinicians participated, and more than 700 patient cases were presented. At the end of June 2012, a total of 23 videoconference clinics for hepatitis C had been held, 16 clinics in addiction and psychiatry, 97 in chronic pain and 13 in HIV/AIDS. The Project ECHO model improves access to health care. It may provide a way to bring specialist care to rural areas in developing countries.
Stapes surgery under local anaesthesia
Authors: Lavy JA , Powell HRF
Published: December 2012

In the UK, stapes surgery is performed almost universally under general anaesthesia. In 1984 there was consensus that local anaesthesia should be the technique of choice in stapes surgery. Despite reports of successful use of local anaesthesia for middle ear surgery, this is still not widely accepted practice in the UK. We describe the senior author’s technique for local anaesthetic stapes surgery and present the hearing results for a series of 100 consecutive cases.
Small intestinal angiosarcoma masquerading as an appendiceal abscess
Authors: Liu DSH , Smith H , Lee MMW , Djeric M
Published: December 2012

Angiosarcomas of the small intestine are rare and present non-specifically. They usually manifest with abdominal discomfort, altered bowel habits, anaemia and gastrointestinal bleeding. Diagnosis is often challenging and occurs at an advanced tumour stage. We describe a case of a terminal ileum angiosarcoma masquerading as an appendiceal abscess, and discuss salient clinicopathological features in diagnosing and managing this disease.
Tuberculosis of the patella masquerading as prepatellar bursitis
Authors: MacLean S , Kulkarni S
Published: December 2012

Tuberculosis of bone is an uncommon entity in the Western world. We present a case of tuberculosis of the patella mimicking prepatellar bursitis in an otherwise fit and well woman of Bangladeshi origin. We believe tuberculosis of bone should form a differential diagnosis of the swollen knee in high risk patients.
Thoracotomy versus VATS: is there an optimal approach to treating pneumothorax?
Authors: Joshi V , Kirmani B , Zacharias J
Published: December 2012

Introduction

The 2010 British Thoracic Society guidelines recommend that a weighted decision be made by clinicians with regard to surgical intervention for pneumothorax as the video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) approach is better tolerated by patients but carries a higher rate of recurrence (5% vs 1%).

Methods

Overall, 163 patients underwent surgical intervention for pneumothorax at our institution and data were collected prospectively for almost 7 years. Of these, 86 patients underwent VATS under a single surgeon with extensive VATS experience to compensate for the associated learning curve while 79 patients underwent an open procedure.

Results

There was no statistically significant difference in the recurrence rate between the open and the VATS group (1% vs 3.5%, p=1.0). The VATS group was superior to the open group in terms of reduced postoperative bleeding (7.5% vs 0%, p=0.01), reduced number of intensive care unit admissions (16% vs 0%, p<0.01) and a reduced adjusted length of stay (3 vs 5.5 days, p<0.01).

Conclusions

A comparable recurrence rate is attainable with a VATS approach once the learning curve is surpassed and a reduction in morbidity is an additional merit.
Endoscopic stent insertion for anastomotic leakage following oesophagectomy
Authors: Schweigert M , Solymosi N , Dubecz A , Stadlhuber RJ , Muschweck H , Ofner D , Stein HJ
Published: December 2012

Introduction

Intrathoracic anastomotic leakage following oesophagectomy is a crushing condition. Until recently, surgical re-exploration was the preferred way of dealing with this life threatening complication. However, mortality remained significant. We therefore adopted endoscopic stent implantation as the primary treatment option. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and results of endoscopic stent implantation as well as potential hazards and pitfalls.

Methods

Between January 2004 and December 2011, 292 consecutive patients who underwent an oesophagectomy at a single high volume centre dedicated to oesophageal surgery were included in this retrospective study. Overall, 38 cases with anastomotic leakage were identified and analysed.

Results

A total of 22 patients received endoscopic stent implantation as primary treatment whereas a rethoracotomy was mandatory in 15 cases. There were no significant differences in age, frequency of neoadjuvant therapy or ASA grade between cases with and without a leak. However, patients with a leak were five times more likely to have a fatal outcome (odds ratio: 5.10, 95% confidence interval: 2.06–12.33, p<0.001). Stent migration occurred but endoscopic reintervention was feasible. In 17 patients (77%) definite closure and healing of the leak was achieved, and the stent was removed subsequently. Two patients died owing to severe sepsis despite sufficient stent placement. Moreover, stent related aortic erosion with consecutive fatal haemorrhage occurred in three cases.

Conclusions

Stent implantation for intrathoracic oesophageal anastomotic leaks is feasible and compares favourably with surgical re-exploration. It is an easily available, minimally invasive procedure that may reduce leak related mortality. However, it puts the already well-known risk of stent-related vascular erosion on the spot. Awareness of this life threatening complication is therefore mandatory.
Positron emission tomography detected thyroid incidentaloma
Authors: Goddard J , Gaunt A , Markham DH
Published: December 2012

We describe the case of a 48-year-old woman who presented with a thyroid lesion incidentally detected on positron emission tomography/computed tomography for a suspicious lung lesion. Subsequent clinical examination and investigations revealed a 3cm nodule in the left lower pole of the thyroid. Fine needle aspiration was indeterminate for malignancy. A left hemithyroidectomy was performed and histology confirmed a benign thyroid adenoma with an incidental micropapillary carcinoma. The literature regarding the best management for thyroid incidentalomas remains uncertain and, as such, each patient must be managed on an individual basis.
The Diagnostic Utility of the Minimal Carcinoma Triple Stain in Breast Carcinomas
Authors: Ross Dara S. , Liu Yi-Fang , Pipa Jennifer , Shin Sandra J.
Published: December 2012

Pathologists are expected to accurately diagnose increasingly smaller breast carcinomas. Correct classification (ie, lobular vs ductal or in situ vs invasive) directly affects subsequent management, especially when the focus is near a surgical margin or present in a needle core biopsy and is further challenging if the lesion is morphologically ambiguous. We assessed the diagnostic utility of a multiplex, trichromogen immunostain of 3 commonly employed antibodies (CK7, p63, and E-cadherin) developed in our laboratory to evaluate these small lesions. Of the 147 specimens containing minimal (defined as ≤3 mm in size) invasive carcinoma, 81 also contained in situ carcinoma. In each case, the Minimal Carcinoma Triple Stain was prepared with a parallel H&E-stained slide. Observations of staining characteristics in the focus of interest were recorded. The Minimal Carcinoma Triple Stain was diagnostically useful in all but 1 case. In a case of invasive lobular carcinoma in an excisional biopsy, the Minimal Carcinoma Triple Stain stained only the surrounding breast tissue (appropriately) and not the focus of interest. Also, a subset of 29 of 81 excisional biopsies had minimal invasive carcinoma located 2 mm or less from the inked surgical margin, in which in all cases the Minimal Carcinoma Triple Stain was fully interpretable despite morphologic distortion due to concomitant cautery artifact and tissue disruption in some cases. The Minimal Carcinoma Triple Stain offers an accurate and tissue-conserving method to diagnose small, morphologically problematic foci of breast carcinoma while ideally leaving more tissue for additional adjunctive studies.
Diagnostic Accuracy of Histopathologic and Cytopathologic Examination of Aspergillus Species
Authors: Shah Akeesha A. , Hazen Kevin C.
Published: December 2012

To assess the diagnostic accuracy of histopatho-logic and cytopathologic examination (HCE) of Aspergillus species (spp), we performed an 11-year retrospective review to correlate surgical/cytology cases with a diagnosis of Aspergillus spp with their concurrent fungal culture results. Diagnostic accuracy was defined as the percentage of cases with culture-proven Aspergillus spp divided by the number of cases diagnosed as Aspergillus spp on HCE that had growth on fungal culture. Ninety surgical/cytology cases with concurrent fungal culture were reviewed, 58 of which grew a fungal organism. Of these 58 cases, 45 grew an Aspergillus spp, whereas 13 grew an organism other than Aspergillus spp, including both common (Scedosporium, Fusarium, and Paecilomyces spp) and uncommon mimickers (Trichosporon loubieri), resulting in a diagnostic accuracy of 78%. The low diagnostic accuracy indicates that several fungal organisms can morphologically mimic Aspergillus spp and can only be distinguished by fungal culture and DNA sequencing.
Is It Necessary to Evaluate Nuclei in HER2 FISH Evaluation?
Authors: López Carlos , Tomás Barbara , Korzynska Anna , Bosch Ramón , Salvadó Maria T. , Llobera Montserrat , Garcia-Rojo Marcial , Alvaro Tomás , Jaén Joaquín , Lejeune Marylène
Published: December 2012

A new method that simplifies the evaluation of the traditional HER2 fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) evaluation in breast cancer was proposed. HER2 status was evaluated in digital images (DIs) captured from 423 invasive breast cancer stained sections. All centromeric/CEP17 and HER2 gene signals obtained from separated stacked DIs were manually counted on the screen. The global ratios were compared with the traditional FISH evaluation and the immunohistochemical status. The 2 FISH scores were convergent in 96.93% of cases, showing an “almost perfect” agreement with a weighted k of 0.956 (95% confidence interval, 0.928-0.985). The new method evaluates at least 3 times more nuclei than traditional methods and also has an almost perfect agreement with the immunohistochemical scores. The proposed enhanced method substantially improves HER2 FISH assessment in breast cancer biopsy specimens because the evaluation of HER2/CEP17 copy numbers is more representative, easier, and faster than the conventional method.
The Effect of Dabigatran on Select Specialty Coagulation Assays
Authors: Adcock Dorothy M. , Gosselin Robert , Kitchen Steve , Dwyre Denis M.
Published: December 2012

Dabigatran etexilate is a new oral anticoagulant that functions as a direct thrombin inhibitor. An inhibitor of thrombin has the potential to interfere with essentially all clot-based coagulation assays and select chromogenic assays, whereas the drug would not be expected to interfere in antigen-based assays. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of dabigatran on various specialized coagulation assays using normal plasma specimens with varying concentrations of dabigatran (the active form of dabigatran etexilate). We have demonstrated that samples containing therapeutic levels of dabigatran may lead to underestimation of intrinsic factor activities with abnormal activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) mixing study results and a false-positive factor VIII Bethesda titer; overestimation of protein C and protein S activity and activated protein C resistance ratio when determined using aPTT-based methods; and overestimation of results based on chromogenic anti-IIa assays but no effect on antigen assays and select chromogenic assays.
Novel Contrasting and Labeling Procedures for Correlative Microscopy of Thawed Cryosections
Authors: Karreman Matthia A. , Van Donselaar Elly G. , Agronskaia Alexandra V. , Verrips C. Theo , Gerritsen Hans C.
Published: December 2012

One of the major challenges for correlative microscopy is the preparation of the sample; the protocols for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and fluorescence microscopy (FM) often prove to be incompatible. Here, we introduce 2+Staining: an improved contrasting procedure for Tokuyasu sections that yields both excellent positive membrane contrast in the TEM and bright fluorescence of the probe labeled on the section. 2+Staining involves the contrasting of the immunolabeled sections with 1% osmium tetroxide, 2% uranyl acetate and lead citrate in sequential steps, followed by embedding in 1.8% methyl cellulose. In addition, we demonstrate an amplification of the fluorescent signal by introducing additional antibody incubation steps to the immunolabeling procedure. The methods were validated using the integrated laser and electron microscope (iLEM), a novel tool for correlative microscopy combining FM and TEM in a single setup. The approaches were tested on HL-60 cells labeled for lysosomal-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP-2) and on sections of muscle from a facioscapulohumeral dystrophy mouse model. Yielding excellent results and greatly expediting the workflow, the methods are of great value for those working in the field of correlative microscopy and indispensible for future users of integrated correlative microscopy.
A Correlative Method for Imaging Identical Regions of Samples by Micro-CT, Light Microscopy, and Electron Microscopy
Authors: Sengle Gerhard , Tufa Sara F. , Sakai Lynn Y. , Zulliger Martin A. , Keene Douglas R.
Published: December 2012

We present a method in which a precise region of interest within an intact organism is spatially mapped in three dimensions by non-invasive micro-computed X-ray tomography (micro-CT), then further evaluated by light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tissues are prepared as if for TEM including osmium fixation, which imparts soft tissue contrast in the micro-CT due to its strong X-ray attenuation. This method may therefore be applied to embedded, archived TEM samples. Upon selection of a two-dimensional (2-D) projection from a region of interest (ROI) within the three-dimensional volume, the epoxy-embedded sample is oriented for microtomy so that the sectioning plane is aligned with the micro-CT projection. Registration is verified by overlaying LM images with 2-D micro-CT projections. Structures that are poorly resolved in the micro-CT may be evaluated at TEM resolution by observing the next serial ultrathin section, thereby accessing the same ROI by all three imaging techniques. We compare white adipose tissue within the forelimbs of mice harboring a lipid-altering mutation with their littermate controls. We demonstrate that individual osmium-stained lipid droplets as small as 15 µm and separated by as little as 35 µm may be discerned as separate entities in the micro-CT, validating this to be a high-resolution, non-destructive technique for evaluation of fat content.
Assessment of Implant Stability of Patients With and Without Radiotherapy Using Resonance Frequency Analysis
Authors: Karayazgan-Saracoglu Banu , Atay Arzu , Zulfikar Haluk , Erpardo Yuksel
Published: December 2012

The purpose of this study was to clinically monitor the stability of dental implants in patients with and without a history of radiotherapy, using resonance frequency analysis over 1 year. The stability of patients with 80 implants was monitored with resonance frequency analysis (Osstell Mentor) over 1 year. Data were assessed with Mann-Whitney U test and correlation analysis. Irradiated maxillary implants showed statistically lower values than the mandibular implants at a significant level (P < .05).
Complex habitat changes along elevational gradients interact with resource requirements of insect specialist herbivores
Authors: Damken Claas , Perry George L. W. , Beggs Jacqueline R.
Published: December 2012

Stenothermal habitat specialists such as monophagous insects may be threatened by climate‐change induced range shifts, if resource requirements along migration routes or future habitats are not met. Little is known about altitudinal shifts of inconspicuous, less mobile species relative to latitudinal range shifts in prominent, mobile organisms such as butterflies. Here, we address three questions: What are the resource requirements—habitat area, quality and fragmentation—for two specialist herbivores? How do habitat characteristics change with altitude? Do species resource requirements suggest an increased vulnerability towards temporal or spatial bottlenecks under climate change?

We mapped the spatial distribution of a riparian shrub, Veronica stricta (Plantaginaceae), at local (300 m elevational gradient, n = 252 patches) and regional scales (600 m gradient; n = 102) in the Tongariro National Park, New Zealand. Patch occupancy and patch‐level population dynamics of Trioza obscura (Hemiptera: Triozidae) and an undescribed gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) were recorded in 2010 and 2011. Habitat suitability and population dynamics were predicted with generalized linear models, applying information theoretic model averaging.

Habitat area had the largest positive influence on insect presence and survivorship, the latter benefitting from larger insect populations. Habitat quality showed a species‐dependent effect on occurrence (T. obscura: negative effect of plant shade; cecidomyiid: positive effect of host inflorescences) and survival (T. obscura: positive response to leaf‐nitrogen and host size; cecidomyiid: positive response to inflorescence abundance). Only cecidomyiid colonization had a weak negative response to habitat fragmentation. Altitude contributed positively to patch suitability and survivorship of the cecidomyiid, but decreased survivorship of T. obscura.

Altitude‐related changes in the landscape matrix, such as the transition from forested to subalpine vegetation, positively affected habitat area and fragmentation, which in turn offset a steady decrease in host plant size (i.e., patch quality). Our study revealed that habitat area, quality and fragmentation do not always follow simple linear trends along elevational gradients. We recommend that species distribution models should consider these complex patterns when predicting range shifts. We suggest that species vulnerability to climate change depends on whether resource requirements allow for upward migration and suitable habitats are available in future distribution ranges.
Restoring wetland prairies: tradeoffs among native plant cover, community composition, and ecosystem functioning
Authors: Pfeifer-Meister Laurel , Johnson Bart R. , Roy Bitty A. , Carreño Santiago , Stewart Julie L. , Bridgham Scott D.
Published: December 2012

Despite a U.S. goal of ‘no‐net‐loss' of wetland structure and function, restoration performance standards are typically based on limited criteria, with soil carbon, nutrient, and microbial criteria being particularly rare. We examined plant community composition, diversity, and various soil functional variables for two different restoration techniques, topsoil‐removal and solarization, in wetland prairies in Oregon, USA. We compared three site‐level replicates of each treatment to three high‐quality remnant wetland prairies. We found significant tradeoffs among diversity, native cover, and ecosystem functioning between restoration treatments. Wetlands with topsoil removed had similar diversity to remnants, but lower productivity, soil carbon and nitrogen, microbial biomass, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal infection rates. Solarization sites had the highest native cover, but diversity was approximately half that of remnant wetlands. We attribute this to both a priority effect of seeded native perennial bunchgrasses establishing early in the restoration process and competitively excluding other species, and to a lack of microtopographic variation in the restored sites. Our results suggest that restoration projects should evaluate both structural and functional processes, since they may reveal tradeoffs among important goals. Mitigation efforts should strive to understand the mechanisms causing these tradeoffs among structure and function and try to minimize these in restoration designs.
Declines in pinyon pine cone production associated with regional warming
Authors: Redmond Miranda D. , Forcella Frank , Barger Nichole N.
Published: December 2012

Global climate change is expected to produce large shifts in vegetation distribution and has already increased tree mortality, altering forest structure. However, long‐term shifts will be partly dependent on the ability of species to reproduce under a novel climate. Few studies have examined the impact of climate change on the reproductive output of long‐lived ‘masting' species, or species characterized by episodic reproductive events. Here, we show that seed cone production among pinyon pine (Pinus edulis), a masting species, declined by 40% from the 1974 decade (1969–1978) to the 2008 decade (2003–2012) in revisited stands throughout New Mexico and northwestern Oklahoma. Seed cone production was highly correlated with late summer temperatures at the time of cone initiation. Further, declines in seed cone production were greatest among populations that experienced the greatest increases in growing season temperatures, which were the populations located at the cooler, upper elevations. As growing season temperatures are predicted to increase across this region over the next century, these findings suggest seed cone production may be an increasingly important bottleneck for future pinyon pine regeneration, especially in areas with greater increases in temperature. Declines in seed cone production may not only affect pinyon pine population dynamics but also the various wildlife species that rely on pinyon pine seeds. Because pinyon pine has similar reproductive strategies as other semi‐arid pine species, increasing temperature may negatively influence reproductive output of other conifers. Further investigation into the full geographic and taxonomic extent of these seed declines is warranted.
Community assembly responses to warming and increased precipitation in an early successional forest
Authors: Rollinson Christine R. , Kaye Margot W. , Leites Laura P.
Published: December 2012

Experimental climate manipulations provide the opportunity to link predicted changes in climate to the process of community assembly. We studied plant community assembly of a recently harvested forest exposed to three years of experimental 2°C warming and 20% increased precipitation. By the end of the experiment, trees were the only functional group that shifted composition in response to warming and precipitation treatments (p = 0.03), while the composition of the grass, forbs, and shrub/small tree/vine functional groups were unresponsive. Individual species within groups were associated with specific treatments, but did not result in a predictable community composition shift. Temporal dynamics of functional group cover were more sensitive to treatment effects than single, static measures of plant community responses such as biomass. Both static and dynamic plant analyses revealed interactive effects of warming and increased precipitation on cover and biomass of grass and all plants together (grass cover p < 0.01, grass biomass p = 0.02, total cover p < 0.01, total biomass p = 0.05). Short forb cover was negatively affected by increased precipitation throughout our experiment (p = 0.03). Grass, tree, and shrub/small tree/vine functional groups showed independent year effects on cover that can be attributed to successional development of the forest community (all p ≤ 0.01). Random forest modeling indicated that cover of other plant functional groups and static plot‐level variables such as plot location and components of soil texture were often the most important predictors of cover for a given functional group, while temperature and moisture availability measures were the least important. Importance of predictors of functional group cover varied greatly among random forest models from different treatments, suggesting that diverse environmental factors constrain functional group cover and may provide resilience of community assembly to climate change.
The Effect of IFRS Adoption on Financial Reporting Pedagogy in South Africa
Authors: Coetzee Stephen A. , Schmulian Astrid
Published: December 2012

South Africa has for many years been involved in and supported the work of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) (formerly the International Accounting Standards Committee [IASC]). Accordingly, South Africa was an early adopter of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This paper highlights two significant effects that the adoption of IFRS has had on accounting education in South Africa. First, both “English” and “Afrikaans” universities have faced, to varying degrees, the challenge of shifting from rule-based pedagogy to framework-based teaching of financial reporting. Second, the Afrikaans universities' primary source of reference for their financial reporting students, namely the financial reporting standards, is no longer available in Afrikaans and as a result introduces the risks and complexities associated with the translation from English into Afrikaans.
Quantitative analysis of mechanically retentive ceramic bracket base surfaces with a three-dimensional imaging system
Authors: Kang Da-Young , Choi Sung-Hwan , Cha Jung-Yul , Hwang Chung-Ju
Published: December 2012

Objective:

To investigate the three-dimensional structural features of three types of mechanically retentive ceramic bracket bases.

Materials and Methods:

One type of stainless steel (MicroArch, Tomy, Tokyo, Japan) and three types of ceramic maxillary right central incisor brackets—Crystaline MB (Tomy), INVU (TP Orthodontics, La Porte, Ind), and Inspire Ice (Ormco, Glendora, Calif)—were tested to compare and quantitatively analyze differences in the surface features of each ceramic bracket base using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a three-dimensional (3D) optical surface profiler, and microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). One-way analysis of variance was used to find differences in bracket base surface roughness values and surface areas between groups according to base designs. Tukey's honestly significant differences tests were used for post hoc comparisons.

Results:

SEM revealed that each bracket exhibited a unique surface texture (MicroArch, double mesh; Crystaline MB, irregular; INVU, single mesh; Inspire Ice, bead ball). With a 3D optical surface profiler, the stainless steel bracket showed significantly higher surface roughness values. Crystaline MB had significantly higher surface roughness values than Inspire Ice. Micro-CT demonstrated that stainless steel brackets showed significantly higher whole and unit bracket base surface areas. Among ceramic brackets, INVU showed significantly higher whole bracket base surface area, and Crystaline MB showed a significantly higher unit bracket base surface area than Inspire Ice.

Conclusion:

Irregular bracket surface features showed the highest surface roughness values and unit bracket base surface area among ceramic brackets, which contributes to increased mechanically retentive bracket bonding strength.
Use of a real-time three-dimensional motion tracking system for measurement of intrafractional motion of the thoracic wall in dogs
Authors: Mayer Monique N. , Lanovaz Joel L. , Smith Michael J. , Sidhu Narinder , Waldner Cheryl L.
Published: December 2012

Objective—To measure respiratory motion of the thoracic wall region in dogs using a real-time motion tracking system and compare the amount of respiratory motion between dogs positioned with and without a vacuum-formable cushion.

Animals—8 healthy adult mixed-breed dogs (median weight, 23 kg).

Procedures—Dogs were anesthetized and positioned in sternal and dorsal recumbency with and without a vacuum-formable cushion. Three-dimensional movement of anatomic landmarks was measured with a real-time motion capture system that tracked the locations of infrared light–emitting diodes attached externally to the dorsal or ventral and lateral aspects of the thoracic wall.

Results—Dogs positioned in sternal recumbency had significantly less cranial-to-caudal and left-to-right respiratory motion at the lateral aspect of the thoracic wall, compared with dogs positioned in dorsal recumbency, whether or not a cushion was used. For dogs treated in sternal recumbency, use of a cushion significantly increased the peak displacement vector (overall movement in 3-D space) for 3 of 4 marker locations on the dorsal thoracic wall. As respiratory rate increased, respiratory motion at the lateral and ventral aspects of the thoracic wall decreased when data for all dogs in dorsal recumbency were evaluated together.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Associations between respiratory rate and respiratory motion suggested that the use of rapid, shallow ventilation may be beneficial for dogs undergoing highly conformal radiation treatment. These results provide a basis for further research on respiratory motion in anesthetized dogs.