bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Transforming Health Care One Team at a Time: Ten Observations and the Trail Ahead
Authors: Salas Eduardo , Zajac Stephanie , Marlow Shannon L.
Published: February 2018

The present review synthesizes existing evidence and theory on the science of health care teams and health care team training. Ten observations are presented that capture the current state of the science, with applications to both researchers and practitioners. The observations are drawn from a variety of salient sources, including meta-analytic evidence, reviews of health care team training, primary investigations, and the authors’ collective expertise in developing and implementing medical team training. These observations provide insight into the team (e.g., psychological safety) and organizational-level (e.g., culture for teamwork) factors that drive effective health care teamwork, as well as advancements and best practices for designing and implementing team training initiatives (e.g., multilevel measurement). We highlight areas where new knowledge has emerged, and offer directions for future research that will continue to improve our understanding of health care teams in the future.
Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk With Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Using an Alternative Measure to the Hazard Ratio
Authors: Kaneko Masayuki , Narukawa Mamoru
Published: February 2018

Background: Randomized clinical trials with the aim of evaluating the cardiovascular risks associated with glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, lixisenatide, liraglutide, semaglutide, and exenatide, have been conducted. They showed different results among the agents, but the reason has not been explained. Objective: To evaluate the cardiovascular risks associated with GLP-1 receptor agonists by using an alternative measure to the hazard ratio. Methods: We used the difference in restricted mean survival time (RMST) as a measure of cardiovascular risks. Four randomized clinical trials with cardiovascular events as a primary endpoint, ELIXA (lixisenatide), LEADER (liraglutide), SUSTAIN-6 (semaglutide), and EXSCEL (exenatide), were reevaluated by estimating the RMSTs for each of the agents and placebo based on the reconstructed individual patient data for each time-to-event outcome from publicly available information. Results: The differences of RMSTs (GLP-1 receptor agonist minus placebo: point estimate and 95% CI) for primary composite endpoint of cardiovascular events were 0 days [−14, 14] in ELIXA (1080 days follow-up), 20 days [6, 34] in LEADER (1620 days follow-up), 8 days [1, 15] in SUSTAIN-6 (672 days follow-up), and 11 days [−3, 26] in EXSCEL (1825 days follow-up). As for the risk of other cardiovascular outcomes, there were no substantial differences between GLP-1 receptor agonists and placebo. Conclusions: Liraglutide and semaglutide decrease the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events compared with placebo when using the difference in RMST. The previously reported result that GLP-1 receptor agonists do not increase the risk of cardiovascular outcomes compared with placebo is also confirmed.
The Rise and Fall of Metronidazole for Clostridium difficile Infection
Authors: Chahine Elias B.
Published: February 2018

Clostridium difficile is posing urgent health threats. Older studies have shown that metronidazole and vancomycin are equally effective in the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Given its inexpensive cost and low propensity to select antimicrobial resistant organisms, metronidazole became rapidly the drug of choice despite its pharmacokinetic limitations in the treatment of CDI. However, newer studies demonstrated that metronidazole is inferior to vancomycin, prompting clinicians to change their long-standing position on using metronidazole for mild to moderate infections and on reserving vancomycin for severe infections. Moving forward, metronidazole will fall out of favor in the treatment of CDI.
Cardiorenal Safety of OTC Analgesics
Authors: White William B. , Kloner Robert A. , Angiolillo Dominick J. , Davidson Michael H.
Published: February 2018

Over-the-counter analgesics are used globally for the relief of acute pain. Although effective, these agents can be associated with adverse effects that may limit their use in some people. In the early 2000s, observations from clinical trials of prescription-strength and supratherapeutic doses of nonselective and cyclooxygenase-2-selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) raised safety concerns regarding the risk of cardiovascular adverse effects with the use of these medications. Subsequently, the US Food and Drug Administration mandated additional study of the cardiovascular safety of NSAIDs for a more comprehensive understanding of their risk. As these data were being collected, and based on a comprehensive review of prescription data and the recommendations of the US Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee, the warning labels of over-the-counter NSAIDs were updated to emphasize the potential cardiovascular risks of these agents. The recently reported “Prospective Randomized Evaluation of Celecoxib Integrated Safety versus Ibuprofen or Naproxen” (PRECISION) trial, in which participants with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis and underlying cardiovascular risk factors were treated with prescription-strength celecoxib, ibuprofen, or naproxen, revealed similar rates of cardiovascular events (death from cardiovascular causes including hemorrhagic death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke) among the 3 treatment groups. Although informative, the cardiovascular safety findings derived from PRECISION cannot be extrapolated to the safety of the over-the-counter pain relievers ibuprofen and naproxen, given that the doses used were higher (mean [standard deviation]: ibuprofen, 2045 [246] mg; naproxen, 852 [103] mg) and the durations of use longer (∼20 months) than recommended with over-the-counter use of NSAIDs, which for ibuprofen is up to 10 days. This review discusses the cardiorenal safety of the most commonly used over-the-counter analgesics, ibuprofen, naproxen, and acetaminophen. Available data suggest that there is little cardiovascular risk when over-the-counter formulations of these agents are used as directed in their labels.
A 13-Year-Old Presenting With Recurrent Angioma Serpiginosum
Authors: Bishara Michael , Jiaravuthisan Michael , Weinstein Miriam
Published: February 2018

Background:

Angioma serpiginosum (AS) is a rare vascular abnormality consisting of proliferation and dilation of superficial blood vessels in the skin. AS typically presents in the first 2 decades of life and remains stable with time.

Case Summary:

We report the case of a 13-year-old female with an acquired, recurrent erythematous lesion with serpiginous borders on her left upper arm. Over several years, the lesion reappeared then disappeared 12 to 15 times. At one point, she developed a tender red nodule within the lesion; consequently, a biopsy was taken, revealing dilated telangiectatic vessels in the dermal papillae with mild, focal extravasation of erythrocytes.

Conclusion:

This case demonstrates a lesion with suggestive clinical and histological features of AS. However, this may be the first case of recurrent AS with a symptomatic episode. This case may contribute to the expanding clinical spectrum of this interesting disease entity.
Experimental investigation of dynamic behavior of rotor-bearing system with nitrile rubber support
Authors: Dong Jian , Wang Xiaojing , Zhang Jin , Gu Jingjun
Published: February 2018

Nitrile rubber (NBR) as a vibration absorber of lower elasticity modulus has a considerable contribution in the effective damping. Three kinds of journal bearings (general journal bearings, journal bearings supported on circular nitrile rubber, journal bearings supported on radial nitrile rubber) were designed and manufactured. Experiments were carried out to investigate vibration and stability of the rotor-bearing system with the above bearings. Oil whirl and the onset of instability of the system was analyzed and compared. The experimental results show that there is a significant decrease in the acceleration amplitude of the bearings embedded with nitrile rubber compared to general journal bearings. In addition, the journal bearings supported on radial nitrile rubber have better vibration damping effect than journal bearings supported on circular nitrile rubber, for there is no obvious oil whirl and asynchronous vibration, which can be verified by waterfall plots and continuous wavelet transform spectrograms. Results demonstrated that vibration energy dissipated by viscous absorbers indeed contributes to improving dynamics stability of the rotor-bearing system.
Analysis and comparison of steady-state performance characteristics of two-axial groove and multilobe hydrodynamic bearings lubricated with non-Newtonian fluids
Authors: Das Bhrigu Jyoti , Roy Lintu
Published: February 2018

Rotating machines are one of the most important and widely used machineries in the modern engineering world. They are also the required to run at high rotating speed. The plain journal bearing is mostly replaced by some other bearing, as it does not suit the stability requirement of high-speed machines and precision machine tools. In order to improve the stability of a circular bearing, many researchers tried to change its geometrical configuration. In view of this, an attempt has been made in the present work to study the performance characteristics of four different bearing configurations using non-Newtonian lubricant and comparison of the results has been made with plain journal bearing. To calculate the steady-state performance characteristics, nondimensional form of the Reynolds equation using non-Newtonian lubricant has been written and solved for the steady-state nondimensional pressure distribution in a finite grid using finite difference method with successive over-relaxation technique satisfying appropriate boundary condition. From the study, it can be concluded that three-lobe bearing have maximum load-carrying capacity and minimum friction variable, whereas two-lobe bearing have maximum flow coefficient.
A general GEE framework for the analysis of longitudinal ordinal missing data and related issues
Authors: da Silva José LP , Colosimo Enrico A , Demarqui Fábio N
Published: February 2018

Generalized estimating equations (GEEs) are a well-known method for the analysis of categorical longitudinal data. This method presents computational simplicity and provides consistent parameter estimates that have a population-averaged interpretation. However, with missing data, the resulting parameter estimates are consistent only under the strong assumption of missing completely at random (MCAR). Some corrections can be done when the missing data mechanism is missing at random (MAR): inverse probability weighting GEE (WGEE) and multiple imputation GEE (MIGEE). A recent method combining ideas of these two approaches has a doubly robust property in the sense that one only needs to correctly specify the weight or the imputation model in order to obtain consistent estimates for the parameters. In this work, a proportional odds model is assumed and a doubly robust estimator is proposed for the analysis of ordinal longitudinal data with intermittently missing responses and covariates under the MAR mechanism. In addition, the association structure is modelled by means of either the correlation coefficient or local odds ratio. The performance of the proposed method is compared to both WGEE and MIGEE through a simulation study. The method is applied to a dataset related to rheumatic mitral stenosis.
Using Community Engagement and Navigators to Increase Colon Cancer Screening and Patient Outcomes
Authors: Devereux Paul G. , Gray John , Robinson Susan , Galvin Janie , Gutierrez Jesse
Published: February 2018

A theory-driven tailored intervention developed in partnership with the community used evidence-based practices to (a) increase knowledge about colon cancer and screening and (b) assist patients in completing screenings. During the 16 months of delivery screening, patient navigators integrated into gastroenterology clinics met all goals, which included (a) enrolling an ethnically diverse group of participants ( N = 415) through inreach (clinic-referred patients who did not schedule appointments) and community outreach, (b) facilitating screening completions for 217 of the 358 (61%) patients identified as needing screening, and (c) obtaining satisfaction ratings from 89% of participants. A random sample ( N = 214) of nonnavigated patients matched on gender and age revealed no differences between navigated and nonnavigated patients on polyps detected. Navigated males (but not females) were significantly less likely than nonnavigated males to have either poor or only fair bowel preparation quality (odds ratio = .418, p = .020, 95% confidence interval [.197, .885]). Low-quality bowel preparation can lead to incomplete readings of the colon or cancelling a colonoscopy. This intervention demonstrates that evidence-based patient navigator programs are effective in increasing screening among a hard-to-reach population and improving bowel preparation quality for males.
Management and Outcome of Prosthetic Vascular Graft Infections: A Single Center Experience
Authors: Elens Maxime , Dusoruth Muzhakkir , Astarci Parla , Mastrobuoni Stefano , Bosiers Michel J. , Nardella Jane , Lacroix Valérie , Possoz Julien , Verhelst Robert
Published: February 2018

Background:

Prosthetic vascular graft infection (PVGI) remains a severe and challenging complication in vascular surgery with high morbidity and mortality rates. Incidence has been reported between 1% and 6%. The aim of this study was to report our experience in terms of general and surgical management as well as outcome, over 15 years.

Methods:

A retrospective consecutive study was conducted of all patients treated in our department for PVGI between January 2000 and December 2015. We analyzed all data relative to primary operation, duration interval between initial surgery and infections signs, infection site, type of microorganism involved, and surgical treatment modality, as well as evaluation of short- and long-term results.

Results:

Sixty-two patients were admitted for PVGI. Primary revascularization procedures consisted of a peripheral bypass in 42 (68%) patients and an aortic bypass in the remaining 20 (32%) patients. Median interval between primary procedure and reintervention was 3 months (interquartile range 17 [IQR 17]) in the peripheral group and 48 months (IQR 70.5) in the aortic group. Complete excision of the prosthetic graft was carried out in 85% of the cases. Thirty-day mortality was 0% and 9.5% in the aortic and peripheral group, respectively. The overall survival rate was 62.3% at 2-years, 46.4% in the aortic group, and 69.7% in the peripheral group.

Conclusions:

Prosthetic vascular graft infection needs a multidisciplinary management with appropriate antibiotherapy, radical removal of the infected graft, and in situ reconstruction. This strategy gives satisfactory results in terms of mortality, morbidity, patency rates, and infection control.
Threshold selection for extreme value estimation of vehicle load effect on bridges
Authors: Yang Xia , Zhang Jing , Ren Wei-Xin
Published: February 2018

In the design and condition assessment of bridges, the extreme vehicle load effects are necessary to be taken into consideration, which may occur during the service period of bridges. In order to obtain an accurate extrapolation of the extreme value based on limited duration, threshold selection is a critical step in the peak-over-threshold method. Overly high threshold results in little information to be used and excessively low threshold leads to large bias in parameters estimation of generalized Pareto distribution. To investigate this issue, 417 days of strain data acquired from the long-term structural health monitoring system of Taiping Lake Bridge in China are employed in this article. According to the tail distribution of the strain data induced by vehicle loads, four homothetic distributions are chosen as its parent distribution, from which lots of random samples are generated by the Monte Carlo method. For each parent distribution, the 100-yearly extreme values at different thresholds are estimated and compared with the theoretical value based on those samples. Then a simple and empirical threshold selection method is proposed and applied to estimate the weekly extreme strain due to vehicle loads on the Taiping Lake Bridge. Results show that the estimate on the basis of the threshold obtained by the proposed method is closer to the measured result than the commonly used methods. The proposed method can be an effective threshold selection tool for the extreme value estimation of vehicle load effect in future engineering practice.
Using improved simulated anneal arithmetic to improve semiconductor packaging ball placement process capability
Authors: Wang Shen-Tsu , Li Meng-Hua
Published: February 2018

This study used improved simulated annealing arithmetic to improve the semiconductor packaging ball placement process capability. The simulated annealing computing process was combined with an artificial neural network, Metropolis algorithm, and sequential Gaussian simulation. Grey relation analysis was used as the target value, which is intended to obtain the optimum parameter design of process capability. The results showed that the substrate design-Pad Open is 0.30 mm ball size, 0.275 mm Pad open, Profile type B, maximum temperature 236 (°C), solder melting time 53 (s), preheating temperature 176 (°C), and a solder ball component, as SAC405 can result in a parameter design for optimal solder ball shear strength of Cpk = 2.38 and [Formula: see text]. This optimum parameter design process is better than other methods, and it reduces the cost waste of extra defectives.
An improved multi-objective particle swarm optimization and its application in raw ore dispatching
Authors: Zhang Chao , Li Qing , Chen Peng , Feng Qian , Cui Jiarui
Published: February 2018

An improved multi-objective particle swarm optimization with time-varying parameter and follower bee search is proposed in this article. In this algorithm, the weight of personal best solution decreases gradually as the iteration continues. This approach eliminates the effect caused by its poorer quality compared to global best solution so that the convergence ability of the algorithm is improved. Furthermore, the follower bee search in artificial bee colony algorithm is introduced to strengthen the randomness of the algorithm and discover more non-dominated solutions. A comparative simulation study is carried out using internal raw ore dispatching in an iron mining group that contains multiple stopes and concentrating mills. The results show that the proposed algorithm can significantly improve convergence and diversity.
Development of continuously variable transmission and multi-speed dual-clutch transmission for pure electric vehicle
Authors: Ruan Jiageng , Walker Paul D , Wu Jinglai , Zhang Nong , Zhang Bangji
Published: February 2018

Pure electric vehicles, as a promising alternative to conventional fossil fuel–powered passenger vehicles, provide outstanding overall energy-utilizing efficiency by omitting the internal combustion engine. However, because of lower energy density in battery energy storage, the driving range per charge is limited by this electrochemical power source, leading to a so-called range phobia and presenting a major barrier for large-scale commercialization. The widely adopted single-reduction gear in pure electric vehicles typically do not achieve the diverse range of functional needs that are present in multi-speed conventional vehicles, most notably acceleration performance and top speed requirements. Consequently, special-designed multi-speed pure electric vehicle–powertrains have been compared and investigated for these applications in this article. Through the optimizing of multiple gear ratios and creating special shifting strategies, a more diverse range of functional needs is realized without increasing the practical size of the electric motor and battery. This article investigates the performance improvements of pure electric vehicle realized through utilization of multi-speed dual-clutch transmissions and continuously variable transmissions. Results reveal that there can be significant benefits attained for pure electric vehicles through multi-speed transmissions. Simulation results shows that continuously variable transmission and two-speed transmission are the two most promising transmissions for pure electric vehicle in different classes, respectively.
Simultaneous convergence of position and orientation of wheeled mobile robots using trajectory planning and robust controllers
Authors: Becerra Héctor M , Colunga J Armando , Romero Jose Guadalupe
Published: February 2018

This article is devoted to the design of robust position-tracking controllers for a perturbed wheeled mobile robot. We address the final objective of pose-regulation in a predefined time, which means that the robot position and orientation must reach desired final values simultaneously in a user-defined time. To do so, we propose the robust tracking of adequate trajectories for position coordinates, enforcing that the robot’s heading evolves tangent to the position trajectory and consequently the robot reaches a desired orientation. The robust tracking is achieved by a proportional–integral action or by a super-twisting sliding mode control. The main contribution of this article is a kinematic control approach for pose-regulation of wheeled mobile robots in which the orientation angle is not directly controlled in the closed-loop, which simplifies the structure of the control system with respect to existing approaches. An offline trajectory planning method based on parabolic and cubic curves is proposed and integrated with robust controllers to achieve good accuracy in the final values of position and orientation. The novelty in the trajectory planning is the generation of a set of candidate trajectories and the selection of one of them that favors the correction of the robot’s final orientation. Realistic simulations and experiments using a real robot show the good performance of the proposed scheme even in the presence of strong disturbances.
Lower hippocampal subfields volume in relation to anxiety in medication-overuse headache
Authors: Chen Zhiye , Chen Xiaoyan , Liu Mengqi , Ma Lin , Yu Shengyuan
Published: February 2018

Background

Hippocampus (HIP) was an important limbic structure, and concurrent emotion disorders may occur in medication-overuse headache patients. The aim of this study is to investigate altered HIP and HIP subfields volume in relation with the anxiety in medication-overuse headache patients using a state-of-the-art hippocampal segment method.

Results

The current study presented that a significant lower HIP and HIP subfields volume were identified in medication-overuse headache compared with that in normal controls except right HIP tail, bilateral parasubiculums, and HIP fissure. The left HIP and right subiculum presented negative correlation with headache variables, and the right subiculum, Cornu Ammonis 4, granule cell layer of dentate gyrus, bilateral Cornu Ammonis 1, molecular layer, and whole HIP presented negative correlation with Hamilton Anxiety Scale score, which were further confirmed by the linear regression analysis with the exclusion of psychological variables and headache variables, respectively.

Conclusions

The lower HIP and HIP subfields volume were identified in medication-overuse headache patients, and negatively related with anxiety condition. The potential mechanism for the comorbidity medication-overuse headache and anxiety might be interpreted as the reciprocal causation relationship and co-occurrence relationship.
Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation of the Knee in Patients with an Elevated Body Mass Index
Authors: Wang Dean , Rebolledo Brian J. , Dare David M. , Pais Mollyann D. , Cohn Matthew R. , Jones Kristofer J. , Williams Riley J.
Published: February 2018

Objective

To characterize the graft survivorship and clinical outcomes of osteochondral allograft transplantation (OCA) of the knee in patients with an elevated body mass index (BMI).

Design

Prospective data on 38 consecutive patients with a BMI ≥30 kg/m2 treated with OCA from 2000 to 2015 were reviewed. Complications, reoperations, and patient responses to validated outcome measures were examined. Failures were defined by any removal/revision of the allograft or conversion to arthroplasty.

Results

Thirty-one knees in 31 patients (mean age, 35.4 years [range, 17-61 years]; 87% male) met the inclusion criteria. Mean BMI was 32.9 kg/m2 (range, 30-39 kg/m2). Mean chondral defect size was 6.4 cm2 (range, 1.0-15.3 cm2). Prior to OCA, 23 patients (74%) had undergone previous surgery to the ipsilateral knee. Mean duration of follow-up was 4.1 years (range, 2-11 years). After OCA, 5 knees (13%) underwent conversion to unicompartmental (1) or total (4) knee arthroplasty. Two- and 5-year graft survivorship were 87% and 83%, respectively. At final follow-up, clinically significant improvements were noted in the pain (49.3-72.6) and physical functioning (52.9-81.3) subscales of the Short Form–36 ( P ≤ 0.001), International Knee Documentation Committee subjective form (43.5-67.0; P = 0.002), Knee Outcome Survey–Activities of Daily Living (58.2-80.4; P = 0.002), and overall condition subscale of the Cincinnati Knee Rating System (4.7-6.9; P = 0.046).

Conclusions

OCA can be a successful midterm treatment option for focal cartilage defects of the knee in select patients with a BMI ≥30 kg/m2.
Dexmedetomidine use during epiduroscopy reduces fentanyl use and postoperative nausea and vomiting: A single-center retrospective study
Authors: Suzuki Takashi , Inokuchi Ryota , Hanaoka Kazuo , Suka Machi , Yanagisawa Hiroyuki
Published: February 2018

Objectives:

Minimally invasive epiduroscopy has recently been reported as an effective treatment procedure for chronic and intractable low back pain. However, no study has determined safe anesthetics for monitored anesthesia care during epiduroscopy. We aimed to compare and evaluate conventional monitored anesthesia care drugs with dexmedetomidine.

Methods:

A retrospective study including all patients who underwent epiduroscopy at the JR Tokyo General Hospital from April 2011 to March 2016 was designed. The epiduroscopy procedures were performed under anesthesia with dexmedetomidine plus fentanyl (dexmedetomidine group) or droperidol plus fentanyl (neuroleptanalgesia group). Patients who received analgesics other than fentanyl, another analgesic combined with fentanyl, any sedative other than dexmedetomidine or droperidol, or who had incomplete data were excluded. We compared (1) the type and dose of medication during the epiduroscopy and (2) the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Results:

We identified 45 patients (31 and 14 in the dexmedetomidine and neuroleptanalgesia groups, respectively) with a mean age of 69.0 years. The two groups had comparable characteristics, such as age, sex, body mass index, the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status, analgesics used in the clinic, comorbidities, history of smoking, and the duration of anesthesia. The dexmedetomidine group received a significantly lower fentanyl dose during surgery (126 ± 14 vs 193 ± 21 µg, mean ± standard deviation, p = 0.014) and exhibited a significantly lower incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (1 vs 3, p = 0.047) than the neuroleptanalgesia group.

Conclusion:

This study involved elderly patients, and the use of dexmedetomidine in monitored anesthesia care during epiduroscopy procedures in these patients may reduce the required fentanyl dose during surgery and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting. This strategy may help prevent respiratory depression and aspiration.
Virtual stone clinic – the future of stone management?
Authors: Smith Thomas , Blach Ola , Baker Stephanie , Newman Leanne , Guest Katherine , Symes Andrew
Published: February 2018

Objectives:

Increasing demands on the urology outpatient department at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH) have posed a significant challenge on the provision of a timely service for patients with stone disease. This study aimed to evaluate the patient outcomes and waiting times achieved with a newly implemented virtual stone clinic (VSC).

Materials and methods:

All new stone referrals received between August 2016 to January 2017 at BSUH were discussed in the VSC. Patients were reviewed within seven days of referral by a multidisciplinary team led by a consultant stone surgeon. A prospectively collected database was generated with primary outcomes including discharge to primary care, need for further diagnostics, re-review at VSC, direct booking for treatment and referral to a traditional outpatient stone clinic. Waiting times between the VSC and previously used outpatient stone clinic were also compared.

Results:

A total of 526 cases were reviewed in the VSC. One-quarter of patients were discharged following initial VSC review with a further two-thirds discharged after re-review. Treatment was offered to 101 patients, primarily in the form of lithotripsy (65%). Eighty-six patients required formal outpatient clinic appointments. Waiting lists for stone appointments were cleared within two months of implementation of the VSC. Outcomes were very favourable, with only three patients requiring emergency admission for management of their stone disease.

Conclusion:

The VSC model provides a clinically and cost-effective method of managing patients with urinary tract stones with significantly reduced waiting times and overall improved patient satisfaction. Level of evidence: Not applicable for this multicentre audit.
Re-integrating scholarly infrastructure: The ambiguous role of data sharing platforms
Authors: Plantin Jean-Christophe , Lagoze Carl , Edwards Paul N
Published: February 2018

Web-based platforms play an increasingly important role in managing and sharing research data of all types and sizes. This article presents a case study of the data storage, sharing, and management platform Figshare. We argue that such platforms are displacing and reconfiguring the infrastructure of norms, technologies, and institutions that underlies traditional scholarly communication. Using a theoretical framework that combines infrastructure studies with platform studies, we show that Figshare leverages the platform logic of core and complementary components to re-integrate a presently splintered scholarly infrastructure. By means of this logic, platforms may provide the path to bring data inside a scholarly communication system still optimized mainly for text publications. Yet the platform strategy also risks turning over critical scientific functions to private firms whose longevity, openness, and corporate goals remain uncertain. It may amplify the existing trend of splintering infrastructures, with attendant effects on equity of service.
Prospects for Precision Medicine in Glomerulonephritis Treatment
Authors: Liu Yulu Cherry , Chun Justin
Published: February 2018

Background:

Glomerulonephritis (GN) consists of a group of kidney diseases that are categorized based on shared histopathological features. The current classifications for GN make it difficult to distinguish the individual variability in presentation, disease progression, and response to treatment. GN is a significant cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and improved therapies are desperately needed because current immunosuppressive therapies sometimes lack efficacy and can lead to significant toxicities. In recent years, the combination of high-throughput genetic approaches and technological advances has identified important regulators contributing to GN.

Objectives:

In this review, we summarize recent findings in podocyte biology and advances in experimental approaches that have opened the possibility of precision medicine in GN treatment. We provide an integrative basic science and clinical overview of new developments in GN research and the discovery of potential candidates for targeted therapies in GN.

Findings:

Advances in podocyte biology have identified many candidates for therapeutic targets and potential biomarkers of glomerular disease. The goal of precision medicine in GN is now being pursued with recent technological improvements in genetics, accessibility of biologic and clinical information with tissue biobanks, high-throughput analysis of large-scale data sets, and new human model systems such as kidney organoids.

Conclusion:

With advances in data collection, technologies, and experimental model systems, we now have vast tools available to pursue precision medicine in GN. We anticipate a growing number of studies integrating data from high-throughput analysis with the development of diagnostic tools and targeted therapies for GN in the near future.
Blood Transfusion and Postoperative Infection in Spine Surgery: A Systematic Review
Authors: Fisahn Christian , Schmidt Cameron , Schroeder Josh E. , Vialle Emiliano , Lieberman Isador H. , Dettori Joseph R. , Schildhauer Thomas A.
Published: February 2018

Study Design:

Systematic review.

Objectives:

Allogeneic blood transfusion-related immunomodulation may relatively suppress the immune system, heightening the risk of infection following spine surgery. This systematic review seeks to determine whether allogeneic blood transfusion increases the risk of postoperative infection and whether there are any factors that modify this association.

Methods:

PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and reference lists from included studies were searched from inception to April 20, 2017 to identify studies examining the risk of infection following allogeneic blood transfusion in adult patients receiving surgery for degenerative spine disease.

Results:

Eleven retrospective cohort or case-control studies, involving 8428 transfusion patients and 43 242 nontransfusion patients, were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. Regarding surgical site infection (SSI), the results were mixed with roughly half reporting a significant association. There was an association between allogeneic transfusion and urinary tract infection (UTI) and any infection, but not respiratory tract infection. There was no statistical modifying effect of lumbar versus thoracic surgery on the association of allogeneic transfusion and SSI, though subgroup analyses in 3 of 4 studies reported a statistical association between transfusion and postoperative infections, including SSI, UTI, and any infection within the lumbar spine.

Conclusions:

This systematic review failed to find a consistent association between allogeneic transfusion and postoperative infection in spine surgery patients. However, these studies were all retrospective with a high or moderately high risk of bias. To properly examine this association an observational prospective study of sufficient power, estimated as 2400 patients, is required.
Treating Maternal Depression: Considerations for the Well-Being of the Mother and Child
Authors: Brummelte Susanne
Published: February 2018

Maternal depression is a serious mental illness that not only affects the health of the mother but also affects the fetus and child. Treatment with antidepressants (especially serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SRIs]) is common in depressed pregnant women and mothers but bears its own risk for the progeny. Due to a lack of research on the long-term consequences of each condition (i.e., untreated vs. treated depression), the question remains: whether a depressed women should take antidepressant medication during pregnancy and the postpartum. This article reviews the current state of SRI use during the perinatal period and the associated developmental effects of antidepressant medication. Furthermore, it discusses directions for improvement of future research as well as policy implications in regard to human and animal research. Without a better comprehension of the underlying mechanism that induces developmental effects, advising pregnant women and mothers will be difficult.
The impact of immunotoxicity in evaluation of the nanomaterials safety
Authors: Engin Ayse Basak , Hayes A Wallace
Published: February 2018

Nanomedicinal products (NMPs), due to their unique properties, are extensively investigated for their biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Apart from being carriers of certain drugs, nanoparticles can also interact with both the innate and adaptive immune systems, thus eliciting immune responses. Following administration, their discrete physicochemical properties make each NMP act differently in the organism. Actually, the toxic effects of NMPs, in terms of specific end points, do not necessarily depend on the specific group or structural type of the particle. Furthermore, the nanoformulation may change the pharmacokinetic/toxicokinetic profile of the drug. Unveiling the structure–activity relationship of NMPs would help to clarify their immunomodulatory effects. Therefore, in addition to the current regulatory immunotoxicity testing strategies, development and regulatory approval of nano-sized pharmaceuticals still need to be discussed in order to identify potential gaps in the safety assessment.
Enhancer dysfunction in leukemia
Authors: Bhagwat Anand S. , Lu Bin , Vakoc Christopher R.
Published: February 2018

Hematopoietic cancers are often initiated by deregulation of the transcriptional machinery. Prominent among such regulators are the sequence-specific DNA-binding transcription factors (TFs), which bind to enhancer and promoter elements in the genome to control gene expression through the recruitment of cofactors. Remarkably, perturbing the function of even a single TF or cofactor can modulate the active enhancer landscape of a cell; conversely, knowledge of the enhancer configuration can be used to discover functionally important TFs in a given cellular process. Our expanding insight into enhancer function can be attributed to the emergence of genome-scale measurements of enhancer activity, which can be applied to virtually any cell type to expose regulatory mechanisms. Such approaches are beginning to reveal the abnormal enhancer configurations present in cancer cells, thereby providing a framework for understanding how transcriptional dysregulation can lead to malignancy. Here, we review the evidence for alterations in enhancer landscapes contributing to the pathogenesis of leukemia, a malignancy in which enhancer-binding proteins and enhancer DNA itself are altered via genetic mutation. We will also highlight examples of small molecules that reprogram the enhancer landscape of leukemia cells in association with therapeutic benefit.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Preoperative versus postoperative ultrasound-guided rectus sheath block for improving pain, sleep quality and cytokine levels in patients with open midline incisions undergoing transabdominal gynecological surgery: a randomized-controlled trial
Authors: Jin Feng , Li Zhe , Tan Wen-fei , Ma Hong , Li Xiao-qian , Lu Huang-wei
Published: February 2018

Background

Nerve block is usually performed before surgery because it inhibits reflection of the skin incision and reduces the amount of intraoperative anesthetic used. We hypothesized that performing rectus sheath block (RSB) after surgery would result in a longer duration of the analgesic effects and have a subtle influence on sleep time after surgery but that it would not decrease the perioperative cytokine levels of patients undergoing gynecological surgery.

Methods

A randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial was conducted from October 2015 to June 2016. Seventy-seven patients undergoing elective transabdominal gynecological surgery were randomly assigned to the following two groups: a general anesthesia group who received 0.5% ropivacaine hydrochloride RSB preoperatively and saline RSB postoperatively, and another group who received the opposite sequence. The objective of the trial was to evaluate the postoperative pain, sleep and changes in cytokine levels of patients during the postoperative 48 h.

Results

A total of 61 female patients (mean age: 50 years; range: 24–65 years) were included in the final study sample. There was no significant difference in the pain, consumption of oxycodone, or time to first administration of patient-controlled intravenous analgesia between the two groups. The postoperative sleep stages N2 and N3 were increased by 52.9 and 29.1 min per patient, respectively, in the preoperative RSB group compared with those in the postoperative group. The preoperative IL-6 concentration in the preoperative RSB group was lower than that in the same group at the end of surgery and 24 h postoperatively.

Conclusions

We concluded that preoperative RSB might preserve postoperative sleep by inhibiting the increase of IL-6 without shortening the analgesia time compared with postoperative RSB in female patients undergoing elective midline incision transabdominal gynecological surgery.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02477098, registered on 15 June 2015.
A wavefield-separation-based elastic least-squares reverse time migration
Authors: Gu Bingluo , Li Zhenchun , Han Jianguang
Published: February 2018

Elastic least-squares reverse time migration (ELSRTM) has the potential to provide improved subsurface reflectivity estimation. Compared with elastic RTM (ERTM), ELSRTM can produce images with higher spatial resolution, more balanced amplitudes, and fewer artifacts. However, the crosstalk between P- and S-waves can significantly degrade the imaging quality of ELSRTM. We have developed an ELSRTM method to suppress the crosstalk artifacts. This method includes three crucial points. The first is that the forward and backward wavefields are extrapolated based on the separated elastic velocity-stress equation of P- and S-waves. The second is that the separated vector P- and S-wave residuals are migrated to form reflectivity images of Lamé constants [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] independently. The third is that the reflectivity images of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are obtained by the vector P-wave wavefields achieved in the backward extrapolation of the separated vector P-wave residuals and the vector S-wave wavefields achieved in the backward extrapolation of the separated vector S-wave residuals, respectively. Numerical tests with synthetic data demonstrate that our ELSRTM method can produce images free of crosstalk artifacts. Compared with ELSRTM based on the coupled wavefields, our ELSRTM method has better convergence and higher accuracy.
Block Copolymers of Aliphatic Polycarbonates: Combination of Immortal Epoxide/Carbon-dioxide Copolymerization and Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Vinyl Monomers
Authors: Mizuno Yuri , Nakano Koji
Published: February 2018

Aliphatic polycarbonate (APC) macroinitiators bearing an α-haloester terminal group were successfully prepared by cobalt-catalyzed epoxide/carbon-dioxide copolymerization in the presence of α-halocarboxylic acids as chain transfer agents. The atom transfer radical polymerization of vinyl monomers, such as methyl methacrylate and styrene, from the obtained APC macroinitiators gave the corresponding APC-block-polyalkylene copolymers.
Identification of diverse defense mechanisms in rainbow trout red blood cells in response to halted replication of VHS virus
Authors: Nombela Ivan , Puente-Marin Sara , Chico Veronica , Villena Alberto J. , Carracedo Begoña , Ciordia Sergio , Mena Maria Carmen , Mercado Luis , Perez Luis , Coll Julio , Estepa Amparo , Ortega-Villaizan Maria del Mar
Published: February 2018

Background:It has been described that fish nucleated red blood cells (RBCs) generate a wide variety of immune-related gene transcripts when viruses highly replicate inside them and are their main target cell. The immune response and mechanisms of fish RBCs against viruses targeting other cells or tissues has not yet been explored and is the objective of our study.

Methods:Rainbow trout RBCs were obtained from peripheral blood, ficoll purified and exposed toViral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia virus(VHSV). Immune response was evaluated by means of RT-qPCR, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence and isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) protein profiling.

Results:VHSV N gene transcripts incremented early postexposure and were drastically decreased after 6 hours postexposure (hpe). The expression of type I interferon (ifn1) gene was significantly downregulated at early postexposure (3 hpe), together with a gradual downregulation of interferon-induciblemxandpkrgenes until 72 hpe. Type I IFN protein was downregulated and interferon-inducible Mx protein was maintained at basal levels. Co-culture assays of RBCs, previously exposed to UV-inactivated VHSV, and TSS (stromal cell line from spleen) revealed IFN crosstalk between both cell types. On the other hand, anti-microbial peptide β-defensin 1 and neutrophil chemotactic factor interleukin 8 were slightly upregulated in VHSV-exposed RBCs. iTRAQ profiling revealed that VHSV exposure can induce a global protein downregulation in rainbow trout RBCs, mainly related to RNA stability and proteasome pathways. Antioxidant/antiviral response is also suggested to be involved in the response of rainbow trout RBCs to VHSV.

Conclusions:A variety of mechanisms are proposed to be implicated in the antiviral response of rainbow trout RBCs against VHSV halted infection. Ongoing research is focused on understanding the mechanisms in detail.
Defining Success in Open Science
Authors: Ali-Khan Sarah E. , Jean Antoine , MacDonald Emily , Gold E. Richard
Published: February 2018

Mounting evidence indicates that worldwide, innovation systems are increasing unsustainable. Equally, concerns about inequities in the science and innovation process, and in access to its benefits, continue. Against a backdrop of growing health, economic and scientific challenges global stakeholders are urgently seeking to spur innovation and maximize the just distribution of benefits for all. Open Science collaboration (OS) – comprising a variety of approaches to increase open, public, and rapid mobilization of scientific knowledge – is seen to be one of the most promising ways forward. Yet, many decision-makers hesitate to construct policy to support the adoption and implementation of OS without access to substantive, clear and reliable evidence. In October 2017, international thought-leaders gathered at an Open Science Leadership Forum in the Washington DC offices of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to share their views on what successful Open Science looks like. Delegates from developed and developing nations, national governments, science agencies and funding bodies, philanthropy, researchers, patient organizations and the biotechnology, pharma and artificial intelligence (AI) industries discussed the outcomes that would rally them to invest in OS, as well as wider issues of policy and implementation. This first of two reports, summarizes delegates' views on what they believe OS will deliver in terms of research, innovation and social impact in the life sciences. Through open and collaborative process over the next months, we will translate these success outcomes into a toolkit of quantitative and qualitative indicators to assess when, where and how open science collaborations best advance research, innovation and social benefit. Ultimately, this work aims to develop and openly share tools to allow stakeholders to evaluate and re-invent their innovation ecosystems, to maximize value for the global public and patients, and address long-standing questions about the mechanics of innovation.