bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phytoplankton: Diatoms
Authors: Kraberg Alexandra , Stern Rowena
Published: October 2017

This chapter describes the taxonomy of diatoms, one of the most abundant and diverse (morphologically and genetically) phytoplankton groups. They are responsible for at least 25% of global carbon dioxide fixation and 20% of net primary production. It covers their life cycle, general morphology, and ecology and distribution. It includes a section that indicates the systematic placement of the taxon described within the tree of life, and lists the key marine representative illustrated in the chapter (usually to genus or family level). This section also provides information on the taxonomic authorities responsible for the classification adopted, and recent changes which might have occurred, and it lists relevant taxonomic sources. The final section describes and illustrates the genera or families in more detail by highlighting specific representatives on identification cards.
Phytoplankton: Flagellates
Authors: Stern Rowena , Esson Heather , Balestreri Cecilia
Published: October 2017

This chapter describes the taxonomy of flagellates. Marine flagellates is an all-inclusive term which describes a plethora of different protist species scattered throughout different eukaryotic lineages that move using their flagella. Many flagellates also have other morphological life stages, but the chapter focuses on those taxa for which the flagellated form is predominant. It covers their life cycle, ecology and distribution, and toxic species. It includes a section that indicates the systematic placement of the taxon described within the tree of life, and lists the key marine representative illustrated in the chapter (usually to genus or family level). This section also provides information on the taxonomic authorities responsible for the classification adopted, recent changes which might have occurred, and lists relevant taxonomic sources.
Crustacea: Introduction
Authors: Castellani Claudia , Wootton Marianne
Published: October 2017

This chapter provides an introduction to the Crustacea, one of the most abundant and diverse components of the plankton. Within a single net-haul, the vast diversity within this group, coupled with the large number of species and the morphological similarity both between species and between developmental stages, can often pose a significant identification challenge even to experienced taxonomists. Although all Crustacea originally share a common body plan, their morphology can differ quite markedly due to different degrees of expression of body segmentation patterns and as a result of the loss or morphological modifications of paired appendages. There is also considerable variation between groups in the structure and function of the appendages on different body regions.
Crustacea: Amphipoda
Authors: Jonas Tanya
Published: October 2017

This chapter describes the taxonomy of Amphipoda, which contains over 9500 species worldwide. Most marine amphipods are benthic, but a few have lost their ancestral links with the seabed and are planktonic. The chapter covers their life cycle, ecology, general morphology, and identification. It includes a section that indicates the systematic placement of the taxon described within the tree of life, and lists the key marine representative illustrated in the chapter (usually to genus or family level). This section also provides information on the taxonomic authorities responsible for the classification adopted, recent changes which might have occurred, and lists relevant taxonomic sources.
12,000–11,700 cal BP
Authors: Bar-Yosef Ofer , Bar-Matthews Miryam , Ayalon Avner
Published: October 2017

We take up the question of “why” cultivation was adopted by the end of the Younger Dryas by reviewing evidence in the Levant, a sub-region of southwestern Asia, from the Late Glacial Maximum through the first millennium of the Holocene. Based on the evidence, we argue that the demographic increase of foraging societies in the Levant at the Terminal Pleistocene formed the backdrop for the collapse of foraging adaptations, compelling several groups within a particular “core area” of the Fertile Crescent to become fully sedentary and introduce cultivation alongside intensified gathering in the Late Glacial Maximum, ca. 12,000–11,700 cal BP. In addition to traditional hunting and gathering, the adoption of stable food sources became the norm. The systematic cultivation of wild cereals begun in the northern Levant resulted in the emergence of complex societies across the entire Fertile Crescent within several millennia. Results of archaeobotanical and archaeozoological investigations provide a basis for reconstructing economic strategies, spatial organization of sites, labor division, and demographic shifts over the first millennium of the Holocene. We draw our conclusion from two kinds of data from the Levant, a sub-region of southwestern Asia, during the Terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene: climatic fluctuations and the variable human reactions to natural and social calamities. The evidence in the Levant for the Younger Dryas, a widely recognized cold period across the northern hemisphere, is recorded in speleothems and other climatic proxies, such as Dead Sea levels and marine pollen records.
6600–6000 cal BC Abrupt Climate Change and Neolithic Dispersal from West Asia
Authors: Weninger Bernhard , Clare Lee
Published: October 2017

Recent advances in palaeoclimatological and meteorological research, combined with new radiocarbon data from western Anatolia and southeast Europe, lead us to formulate a new hypothesis for the temporal and spatial dispersal of Neolithic lifeways from their core areas of genesis. The new hypothesis, which we term the Abrupt Climate Change (ACC) Neolithization Model, incorporates a number of insights from modern vulnerability theory. We focus here on the Late Neolithic (Anatolian terminology), which is followed in the Balkans by the Early Neolithic (European terminology). From high-resolution 14C-case studies, we infer an initial (very rapid) west-directed movement of early farming communities out of the Central Anatolian Plateau towards the Turkish Aegean littoral. This move is exactly in phase (decadal scale) with the onset of ACC conditions (~6600 cal BC). Upon reaching the Aegean coastline, Neolithic dispersal comes to a halt. It is not until some 500 years later—that is, at the close of cumulative ACC and 8.2 ka cal BP Hudson Bay cold conditions—that there occurs a second abrupt movement of farming communities into Southeast Europe, as far as the Pannonian Basin. The spread of early farming from Anatolia into eastern Central Europe is best explained as Neolithic communities’ mitigation of biophysical and social vulnerability to natural (climate-induced) hazards.
Making Ballet American
Authors: Harris Andrea
Published: October 2017

George Balanchine’s arrival in the United States in 1933, it is widely thought, changed the course of ballet history by creating a bold and original neoclassical style that is celebrated as the first successful “American” manifestation of the art form. Making Ballet American: Modernism Before and Beyond Balanchine intervenes in the prevailing historical narrative and rebalances Balanchine’s role in dance history by revealing the social, cultural, and political forces that actually shaped the Americanization of neoclassical ballet. Situating American ballet within a larger context of literary, musical, art, and dance modernism, Harris examines a series of critical efforts, most prominently by Lincoln Kirstein and Edwin Denby, to craft new, modernist ideas about the relevance of classical dancing for American society. The book’s unique structure interweaves chapters focused on cultural and intellectual histories of ballet criticism and production with close examinations of three American ballets in the Depression, World War II, and Cold War eras: Eugene Loring’s Billy the Kid (1938), Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo (1942), and Balanchine’s Western Symphony (1954). Through this blend of cultural and choreographic analysis, Making Ballet American illustrates the evolution of modernist ballet theory and practice during a turbulent historical period. Ultimately, Making Ballet American argues that the Americanization of Balanchine’s neoclassicism was not the inevitable outcome of his immigration or his creative genius, but rather a far more complicated process that spanned several authors and continents, always pivoting on the question of modern ballet’s relationship to America and the larger world.
Dance in Chains
Authors: Kenney Padraic
Published: October 2017

The political prisoner is a creation of the modern era, in which states deploy police, courts, and prisons against organized opposition movements. Dance in Chains traces the history of political imprisonment from the 1860s through the present day, using the struggles of opponents from a wide variety of regimes. They range from colonial South Africa through the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and from the right-wing dictatorship in 1930s Poland through the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The book asks why regimes incarcerate opponents, and why political prisoners are important to opposition movements. It examines the contest in the cells themselves, as political prisoners organize themselves and engage in acts of protest and resistance, and how prisoner assistance movements like Amnesty International help to make the political prisoner a recognizable figure in global history.
“Everyone Learned Prison”
Authors: Kenney Padraic
Published: October 2017

Incarcerated for their politics, prisoners must still figure out what a political prisoner is and does. They do so through interactions with more experienced prisoners or by reading instructions prepared by their movement. They also follow models available to them in literature or in popular legend; Nelson Mandela is one such model as are the IRA men in Long Kesh. Prisoners developed a political group identity by defining themselves against the criminals with whom they often shared cells and prisons, and against the guards. Key examples include interactions on Robben Island and in the camps of the Irish Civil War.
“How to Free Your Prisoner”
Authors: Kenney Padraic
Published: October 2017

Though political prisoners are almost always incarcerated for national causes, they became the focus of international support in the twentieth century. The earliest attention was from diaspora communities of supporters, for example, among the Irish or among socialists. The International Committee of the Red Cross began with a focus on prisoners of war, expanding to political prisoners after World War I. The New York–based International Committee for Political Prisoners pioneered a nonpartisan approach to political prisoners. Like Amnesty International forty years later, it was an advocate for those who did not engage in violence. New kinds of prisoner assistance in the late twentieth century proved to be building blocks of post-transition civil society.
Epilogue
Authors: Kenney Padraic
Published: October 2017

The detention of about 800 men by the United States at Guantanamo Bay in 2002 fits the description of a political prison. The authorities used torture and disorientation to make inmates uncertain of their place and to bring an end to terrorism by neutralizing these men. Prisoners, however, engaged in self-organization and collective action, and made themselves into a political community. Although the United States, like all the regimes before it, could impose its will, it could not impose a narrative upon its prisoners. Instead, the prisoners themselves have created narratives of control and of illegibility. Those stories, still very much in development, will in the end be more powerful and enduring than the story the regime tried to write.
Synthesis of Technique (1962–67)
Authors: Levy Benjamin R.
Published: October 2017

Ligeti’s first major commissio brought him some security, and with it the chance to focus on codifying the compositional techniques he had developed during the previous years. The sketches for the Requiem—especially the Kyrie and Dies irae movements—show explicit forms of rulemaking that differ from those associated with Boulez, Stockhausen, and others using the integral serial approach. Ligeti’s approach to rhythm is further refined in Lux aeterna and Lontano, and the Cello Concerto represents the synthesis of the static and wild textures developed so meticulously in the previous works. The Cello Concerto also reuses types of musical material created in Aventures, referencing specific episodes from the earlier work in an instrumental setting.
Conclusion
Authors: Levy Benjamin R.
Published: October 2017

In lectures and essays, Ligeti stressed the role of memory and historical conditioning in the conception of form and meaning in music. His sketches frequently mention music from Couperin to Mahler as a model for different features of his own. These, in turn, become the basis for expressive gestures, referencing elements of traditional music as well as familiar types from Ligeti’s own oeuvre. While it is tempting to look at the titles of works like Clocks and Clouds (after Karl Popper), San Francisco Polyphony, and Three Pieces for Two Pianos (Monument, Selbstportrait, Bewegung) as starting to build toward the expressive ends of the opera, Le Grand Macabre, this trend can actually be found in works with more abstract titles, including his String Quartet no. 2 and Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet. This historical awareness, essential to Ligeti’s music, positions him on a fine line between the modernist and postmodernist eras.
Principles of Thermal Ecology: Temperature, Energy, and Life
Authors: Clarke Andrew
Published: October 2017

Temperature affects everything. It influences all aspects of the physical environment and governs any process that involves a flow of energy, setting boundaries on what an organism can or cannot do. This novel textbook explores the key principles behind the complex relationship between organisms and temperature, namely the science of thermal ecology. It starts providing a rigorous framework for understanding the nature of temperature and the flow of energy in and out of the organism, before describing the influence of temperature on what organisms can do, and how fast they can do it. Central to this is the relationship between temperature and metabolism, which then forms the basis for an exploration of the effects of temperature on growth and size. Two chapters cover first endothermy (including how this expensive lifestyle might have evolved), and then when and how this is suspended in torpor and hibernation. With these fundamental principles covered, the book’s final section explores thermal ecology itself, incorporating the important extra dimension of interactions with other organisms. After an examination of the relationship between temperature, energy and diversity, an entire chapter is devoted to the crucially important subject of the nature of climate change and how organisms are responding to this. Throughout the book, emphasis is placed on the need for an understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms, and the important insights that can be gained from the historical and fossil record.
Energy and heat
Authors: Clarke Andrew
Published: October 2017

Energy is the capacity to do work and heat is the spontaneous flow of energy from one body or system to another through the random movement of atoms or molecules. The entropy of a system determines how much of its internal energy is unavailable for work under isothermal conditions, and the Gibbs energy is the energy available for work under isothermal conditions and constant pressure. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that for any reaction to proceed spontaneously the total entropy (system plus surroundings) must increase, which is why metabolic processes release heat. All organisms are thermodynamically open systems, exchanging both energy and matter with their surroundings. They can decrease their entropy in growth and development by ensuring a greater increase in the entropy of the environment. For an ideal gas in thermal equilibrium the distribution of energy across the component atoms or molecules is described by the Maxwell-Boltzmann equation. This distribution is fixed by the temperature of the system.
Introduction
Authors: Oberdiek John
Published: October 2017

The Introduction situates the book’s aims among the aims of contemporary moral and legal philosophy, and traces the underappreciation of what might be called the morality of risking to features of moral and legal philosophy as traditionally practiced. Moral theory has traditionally been concerned with ideal theory, prescinding from the epistemic limitations that give rise to questions of risk. Legal theory, though more sensitive to our epistemic limitations, has nevertheless focused on the most practical issues that revolve around risk, paying little attention to those not already attended to by positive law. The Introduction previews the various issues that a normative framework of imposing risk must address and provides a chapter-by-chapter overview of the volume as a whole.
Moralizing Risk
Authors: Oberdiek John
Published: October 2017

Chapter 2 takes up the complex task of formulating a conception of risk that can meet the twin desiderata of practicality and normativity. Though neither an unreconstructed subjective nor objective account of risk can, on its own, play the role we need it to play in a moral context, the accounts can be combined to take advantage of their respective strengths. Much of the chapter is therefore devoted to explaining how to overcome this recalibrated perspective-indifference. The chapter defends the perspective of a particular interpretation of the reasonable person, well-known from tort law, as a way of bringing determinacy to the characterization of risk. Defending this evidence-relative perspective while criticizing competing belief- and fact-relative perspectives, the chapter argues that it has the resources to meet the twin desiderata of practicality and normativity.
Relative Contribution of Seed Tuber- and Soilborne Inoculum to Potato Disease Development and Changes in the Population Genetic Structure of Rhizoctonia solani AG 3-PT under Field Conditions in South Africa
Authors: Muzhinji Norman , Woodhall James W. , Truter Mariette , van der Waals Jacquie E.
Published: October 2017

Understanding the contribution of seed tuber- and soilborne inocula of Rhizoctonia solani AG 3-PT in causing potato disease epidemics is an important step in implementing effective management strategies for the pathogen. A 2-year study was conducted to evaluate the contribution of each source of inoculum using an integrative experimental approach combining field trials and molecular techniques. Two distinct sets of genetically marked isolates were used as seed tuberborne and soilborne inocula in a mark-release-recapture experiment. Disease assessments were done during tuber initiation and at tuber harvest. Both inoculum sources were found to be equally important in causing black scurf disease, whereas soilborne inocula appeared to be more important for root and stolon infection, and seedborne inocula contributed more to stem canker. However, seed tuber-transmitted genotypes accounted for 60% of the total recovered isolates when genotyped using three polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism markers. The changes in population structure of the experimental R. solani population over the course of the growing season and across two growing seasons were investigated using eight microsatellite markers. The populations at different sampling times were somewhat genetically differentiated, as indicated by Nei’s gene diversity (0.24 to 0.27) and the fixation index (FST). The proportion of isolates with genotypes that differed from the inoculants ranged from 13 to 16% in 2013 and 2014, respectively, suggesting the possibility of emergence of new genotypes in the field. Because both soilborne and tuberborne inocula are critical, it is important to ensure the use of pathogen-free seed tubers to eliminate seed tuberborne inoculum and the introduction of new genotypes of R. solani for sustainable potato production in South Africa.
Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma/Thrombin Gel Combined with Split-Thickness Skin Graft to Manage Postinfectious Skin Defects: A Randomized Controlled Study
Authors: Hersant Barbara , SidAhmed-Mezi Mounia , Bosc Romain , Meningaud Jean-Paul
Published: October 2017

BACKGROUND:

Managing cutaneous substance loss after debridement is challenging, especially if it is secondary to necrotizing soft tissue infection, such as necrotizing fasciitis and Fournier gangrene. After skin graft reconstruction, the healing process is longer and may be difficult, depending on the wound site, skin defect size, and patient comorbidities.

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this study was to investigate whether autologous platelet-rich plasma (A-PRP) could accelerate and improve wound healing after cutaneous reconstruction for tissue loss secondary to soft tissue infection.

METHODS AND MATERIALS:

A prospective, controlled, randomized, open-label study was conducted. Patients (N = 27) were randomized into 2 groups by drawing lots using sealed envelopes: an experimental (n = 14) and a control group (n = 13). Initially, all the necrotic tissue was extensively debrided and excised. In the experimental group, patients underwent a split-thickness skin graft (STSG) combined with A-PRP/thrombin gel sprayed on the wound bed and on the STSG after staple fixation. In the control group, patients underwent an STSG alone.

RESULTS:

Results showed that the mean complete healing time was significantly reduced (by almost 50%) when A-PRP/thrombin gel was combined with an STSG compared with STSG alone (37.9 [SD, 14.3] days in the experimental group vs 73.7 [SD, 50.84] days in the control group, P = .01). No patient experienced complications during the follow-up period.

CONCLUSION:

The combination of A-PRP/thrombin gel and an STSG significantly improved clinical outcomes and shortened the wound healing time. Therefore, this treatment combination could provide a way to heal skin after a necrotizing soft tissue infection with minimal recovery time.
Management of Moisture-Associated Skin Damage: A Scoping Review
Authors: Woo Kevin Y. , Beeckman Dimitri , Chakravarthy Debashish
Published: October 2017

BACKGROUND:

Protecting the skin against moisture-associated damage is an important component of comprehensive skin and wound care. Based on a review of literature, the authors propose key interventions to protect and prevent damage in the skin folds, perineum, and areas surrounding a wound or stoma.

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this scoping review is to identify and provide a narrative integration of the existing evidence related to the management and prevention of moisture-associated skin damage (MASD).

METHODS:

Study authors searched several databases for a broad spectrum of published and unpublished studies in English, published between 2000 and July 2015. Selected study information was collated in several different formats; ultimately, key findings were aggregated into a thematic description of the evidence to help generate a set of summative statements or recommendations.

RESULTS:

Based on inclusion criteria, 37 articles were considered appropriate for this review. Findings included functional definitions and prevalence rates of the 4 types of MASD, assessment scales for each, and 7 evidence-based strategies for the management of MASD.

CONCLUSIONS:

Based on this scoping review of literature, the authors propose key interventions to protect and prevent MASD including the use of barrier ointments, liquid polymers, and cyanoacrylates to create a protective layer that simultaneously maintains hydration levels while blocking external moisture and irritants.
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: A Study to Evaluate Compliance With Inclusion and Assessment of Women and Minorities in Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Geller Stacie E. , Koch Abigail R. , Roesch Pamela , Filut Amarette , Hallgren Emily , Carnes Molly
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Revitalization Act of 1993 requires NIH-funded clinical trials to include women and minorities as participants and assess outcomes by sex and race or ethnicity. The objective of this study was to investigate current levels of compliance with these guidelines for inclusion, analysis, and reporting in NIH-funded randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and compare the results with those from 2009 and 2004, which the authors reported previously.

Method

The authors identified 782 RCTs published in 14 leading U.S. medical journals in 2015 with a PubMed search. Of those, 142 were the primary report of an NIH-funded RCT, conducted in the United States, and eligible for analysis. The authors reviewed abstract, text, and tables of each eligible study as well as any follow-up published commentary to determine compliance with NIH guidelines.

Results

Thirty-five studies limited enrollment to one sex. The median enrollment of women in the remaining 107 studies was 46%, but 16 (15.0%) enrolled less than 30% women. Twenty-eight of the 107 (26%) reported at least one outcome by sex or explicitly included sex as a covariate in statistical analysis. Of the 142 studies, 19 (13.4%) analyzed or reported outcomes by race or ethnicity. There were no statistically significant changes in inclusion, analysis, or reporting by sex, race, or ethnicity compared with the previous studies.

Conclusions

NIH policies have not resulted in significant increases in reporting results by sex, race, or ethnicity. The authors recommend strong journal policies to increase compliance with NIH policies.
Significance of Mini Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Amylase Level in Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Prospective Observational Study*
Authors: Samanta Sukhen , Poddar Banani , Azim Afzal , Singh Ratender K. , Gurjar Mohan , Baronia Arvind K.
Published: October 2017

Objectives:

Aspiration of oropharyngeal or gastric contents in intubated patients can lead to ventilator-associated pneumonia. Amylase in respiratory secretion has been reported as a possible marker of aspiration. We studied whether elevated α-amylase in mini bronchoalveolar lavage specimens can be suggestive of ventilator-associated pneumonia in intubated patients with high clinical suspicion.

Design:

Prospective single-center observational study.

Setting:

Department of Critical Care Medicine, tertiary care academic institute.

Patients:

Adult patients on mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours with with clinically suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia as per defined criteria, admitted between December 2014 and May 2016.

Methods:

Mini bronchoalveolar lavage samples were collected within 72 hours of endotracheal intubation. Samples were sent for α-amylase level assay and quantitative culture. Ventilator-associated pneumonia was confirmed from mini bronchoalveolar lavage microbial culture of greater than or equal to 104 cfu/mL, and patients were divided into ventilator-associated pneumonia and no ventilator-associated pneumonia groups. Pre- and postintubation risk factors for aspiration were also noted.

Results:

The prevalence of ventilator-associated pneumonia was 64.9% among 151 patients in whom it was clinically suspected. Median (interquartile range) mini bronchoalveolar lavage α-amylase levels in ventilator-associated pneumonia and no ventilator-associated pneumonia groups on the day of study inclusion were 287 U/L (164–860 U/L) and 94 U/L (59–236 U/L), respectively (p < 0.001). Median (interquartile range) α-amylase levels in patients with 0, 1, 2, and 3 preintubation risk factors were 65 U/L (35–106 U/L), 200 U/L (113–349 U/L), 867 U/L (353–1,425 U/L), and 3,453 U/L (1,865–4,304 U/L), respectively (p < 0.001) and 472 U/L (164–1,452 U/L) and 731 U/L (203–1,403 U/L) in patients with 1 and 2 postintubation risk factors, respectively (p < 0.001). A mini bronchoalveolar lavage α-amylase of 163 U/L or more yielded sensitivity and specificity of 73% and 68.6%, respectively, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.746 (95% CI, 0.66–0.83).

Conclusions:

Patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia within 72 hours from intubation have significantly elevated α-amylase concentrations in mini bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Mini bronchoalveolar lavage α-amylase concentrations increase with increasing number of aspiration risk factors.
Exploration of Portal Activation by Patients in a Healthcare System
Authors: Mook Patricia J. , Trickey Amber W. , Krakowski Kimberly Ellis , Majors Season , Theiss Mary Anne , Fant Catherine , Friesen Mary Ann
Published: October 2017

A study of patient portal utilization was conducted at a not-for-profit healthcare system in Northern Virginia. The healthcare system serves more than 2 million people each year. The encounters with the portal included 461 700 different patients occurring between July 2014 and June 2015. Univariate analysis and multivariable logistic regression indicated associations between patient portal activation and predictive factors. Multiple findings emerged: patient portal activation was greater for English-speaking patients; differences in portal activation were observed by patient age; and patients who had an identified primary care provider were more likely to use the portal. The implications were that patients who have limited English skills and have economic challenges may be less engaged. This review demonstrates the importance of understanding the population using a patient portal and provides insight for future development on how to engage patients to interact with their providers through the portals.
Sex-Specific Outcomes After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Azarbaijani Yasameen , O’Callaghan Kathryn , Sanders William E. , Wu Changfu , Laschinger John , Marinac-Dabic Danica , Strauss David G. , Canos Daniel A. , Zusterzeel Robbert
Published: October 2017

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a safe and effective therapy for aortic valve replacement in patients ineligible for or at high risk for surgery. However, outcomes after TAVR based on an individual’s sex remain to be fully elucidated. We searched PUBMED and EMBASE using the keywords: “transcatheter aortic valve replacement,” “transcatheter aortic valve implantation,” “sex differences,” “gender,” “sex characteristics” and collected information on baseline features, procedural characteristics, and postprocedural outcomes in women. Inclusion/exclusion resulted in 23 publications. Women had less preexisting comorbidities than men. Most studies reported better survival in women (range of hazard ratio [95% CI] = 0.27 [0.09–0.84] to 0.91 [0.75–1.10]). At 30 days, women also had more vascular complications (6–20% vs 2–14%) and higher bleeding rates (10–44% vs 8–25%). Stroke rates were similar at 30 days (women, 1–7%; men, 1–5%). This literature review showed better survival in women than men after TAVR. However, women had more vascular complications and bleeding; stroke rates were similar. These findings may partly be explained by fewer baseline comorbidities in women. These results should be interpreted with caution as most measures only include unadjusted percentages.
The Relationship Between Nutritional Risks and Cancer-Related Fatigue in Patients With Colorectal Cancer Fast-Track Surgery
Authors: Wei Jian-Ning , Li Shu-Xia
Published: October 2017

Background

Measurement of cancer-related fatigue and nutrition in the same colorectal cancer patient group using fast-track surgery has never been examined previously. The association between fatigue and nutritional status in the same patient group is thus worthwhile to be investigated.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between fatigue and nutrition risk factors in colorectal cancer patients with fast-track surgery.

Methods

This is a single-arm, observational study. Seventy eligible postoperative patients with colorectal cancer fast-track surgery were enrolled in this study. Patients completed the Cancer Fatigue Scale and the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) besides routine perioperative laboratory examination.

Results

In this study, all patients were found to have cancer-related fatigue; 20% of the patients had severe fatigue. Furthermore, 94.29% of the patients were malnourished according to the PG-SGA score; the average was 15.585.18. Fatigue severity was significantly, positively correlated with nutrition status. White blood cells and serum calcium were significantly, positively related to both Cancer Fatigue Scale and PG-SGA scores.

Conclusion

Fatigue and malnutrition commonly exist in patients with colorectal cancer experiencing fast-track surgery. Fatigue may reflect the nutritional status in this group of patients.

Implications for Practice

Clinical nursing staff need to evaluate patients' fatigue status and nutritional status to provide the suitable clinical intervention when needed.
Hepatitis B Vaccination and Infection Prevalence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Who Travel Internationally
Authors: Truong Hong-Ha M. , Fatch Robin , Do Tri D. , McFarland Willi
Published: October 2017

Among men who have sex with men traveling internationally, self-reported hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination prevalence was 77% and less prevalent among older men and those with HBV infection. The HBV infection prevalence was 25% and was associated with older age and HIV infection. Testing for chronic infection, universal vaccination, and treatment for populations with multiple risks is needed.
mcSCRB-seq: sensitive and powerful single-cell RNA sequencing
Authors: Bagnoli Johannes W. , Ziegenhain Christoph , Janjic Aleksandar , Wange Lucas E. , Vieth Beate , Parekh Swati , Geuder Johanna , Hellmann Ines , Enard Wolfgang
Published: October 2017

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has emerged as the central genome-wide method to characterize cellular identities and processes. While performance of scRNA-seq methods is improving, an optimum in terms of sensitivity, cost-efficiency and flexibility has not yet been reached. Among the flexible plate-based methods “Single-Cell RNA-Barcoding and Sequencing” (SCRB-seq) is one of the most sensitive and efficient ones. Based on this protocol, we systematically evaluated experimental conditions such as reverse transcriptases, reaction enhancers and PCR polymerases. We find that adding polyethylene glycol considerably increases sensitivity by enhancing cDNA synthesis. Furthermore, using Terra polymerase increases efficiency due to a more even cDNA amplification that requires less sequencing of libraries. We combined these and other improvements to a new scRNA-seq library protocol we call “molecular crowding SCRB-seq” (mcSCRB-seq), which we show to be the most sensitive and one of the most efficient and flexible scRNA-seq methods to date.
Patterns and Predictors of Tic Suppressibility in Youth with Tic Disorders
Authors: Conelea Christine A. , Wellen BA Brianna , Woods Douglas W. , Greene Deanna J. , Black Kevin J. , Specht Matthew , Himle Michael B. , Lee Hanjoo , Capriotti Matthew
Published: October 2017

Background: Tic suppression is the primary target of tic disorder treatment, but factors that influence voluntary tic inhibition are not well understood. Several studies using the Tic Suppression Task have demonstrated significant inter-individual variability in tic suppressibility but have individually been underpowered to address correlates of tic suppression. The present study explored patterns and clinical correlates of tic suppression in youth with tic disorders using a large, pooled dataset.

Methods: Individual-level data from 9 studies using the Tic Suppression Task were pooled, yielding a sample of 99 youth with tic disorders. Analyses examined patterns of tic suppressibility and the relationship between tic suppressibility and demographic and clinical characteristics.

Results: A large majority of youth demonstrated a high degree of tic suppression, but heterogeneous patterns of tic suppressibility were also observed. Better tic suppressibility was related to older age and more frequent tics but unrelated to other clinical variables, including presence of psychiatric comorbidity, psychotropic medication status, and tic and premonitory urge severity.

Conclusions: The mechanisms underlying the observed heterogeneity in tic suppressibility warrant further investigation. The Tic Suppression Task is a promising method for testing mechanistic hypotheses related to tic suppression.
Resting heart rate and psychopathy: Findings from the Add Health Survey
Authors: Kavish Nicholas , Fu Q. John , Vaughn Michael G. , Qian Zhengmin , Boutwell Brian B.
Published: October 2017

Despite the prior linkages of low resting heart rate to antisocial behavior broadly defined, less work has been done examining possible associations between heart rate to psychopathic traits. The small body of research on the topic that has been conducted so far seems to suggest an inverse relationship between the two constructs. A smaller number of studies have found the opposite result, however, and some of the previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes and unrepresentative samples. The current study attempts to help clarify the relationship between resting heart rate and psychopathic traits in a large, nationally representative sample (analyticalNranged from 14,173-14,220) using an alternative measure of psychopathic traits that is less focused on antisocial processes, and rooted in personality traits. No significant relationship between heart rate and psychopathic traits, or heart rate and a measure of cold heartedness, was found after controlling for age, sex, and race. Implications of the findings, study limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.
Organizing principles of pulvino-cortical connectivity in humans
Authors: Arcaro Michael J. , Pinsk Mark A. , Chen Janice , Kastner Sabine
Published: October 2017

The pulvinar regulates information transmission to cortex and communication between cortical areas. The way the pulvinar interacts with cortex is governed by its intrinsic organization. Here, we show using fMRI that the human pulvinar is functionally heterogeneous, broadly separated into dorsal and ventral subdivisions based on characterization of response properties and functional connectivity with cortex. These differences mirrored the organization of the dorsal and ventral streams of visual cortex. The ventral subdivision of the pulvinar was functionally coupled with occipital and temporal cortex. The dorsal subdivision of the pulvinar was functionally coupled with frontal and parietal cortex. The dorsal subdivision was also coupled with the human-specific tool network and to the default mode network. The spatial organization of pulvino-cortical coupling reflected both the functional similarities and anatomical distances between cortical areas. Together, the human pulvinar appears to represent the entire visual system and the principles that govern its organization, though in a spatially compressed form.

Author Contributions

MA, MP, and JC collected data; MA and JC analyzed the data; MA, MP, JC, and SK wrote the paper.
A max-margin training of RNA secondary structure prediction integrated with the thermodynamic model
Authors: Akiyama Manato , Sato Kengo , Sakakibara Yasubumi
Published: October 2017

Motivation: A popular approach for predicting RNA secondary structure is the thermodynamic nearest neighbor model that finds a thermodynamically most stable secondary structure with the minimum free energy (MFE). For further improvement, an alternative approach that is based on machine learning techniques has been developed. The machine learning based approach can employ a fine-grained model that includes much richer feature representations with the ability to fit the training data. Although a machine learning based fine-grained model achieved extremely high performance in prediction accuracy, a possibility of the risk of overfitting for such model has been reported.

Results: In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for RNA secondary structure prediction that integrates the thermodynamic approach and the machine learning based weighted approach. Ourfine-grained model combines the experimentally determined thermodynamic parameters with a large number of scoring parameters for detailed contexts of features that are trained by the structured support vector machine (SSVM) with the ℓ1 regularization to avoid overfitting. Our benchmark shows that our algorithm achieves the best prediction accuracy compared with existing methods, and heavy overfitting cannot be observed.

Availability: The implementation of our algorithm is available at https://github.com/keio-bioinformatics/mxfold.

Contact:satoken@bio.keio.ac.jp
Regulation of thickness of actomyosin cortex in well-spread cells by contractility and spread area
Authors: Kumar Rinku , Sinha Bidisha
Published: October 2017

The contractile cortical actomyosin cytoskeleton (or cortex) in interphase cells confers rigidity to cells, but also lead to shape dynamics. Regulation of its thickness, although well studied in rounded cells, is less explored in well-spread cells. In this paper, we quantify the variations in thickness and study the contribution of actin polymerization, myosin II activity and spread area of cells. We report an increase in cortex thickness and its variations on disrupting actin network by actin depolymerizing agents or reducing contractility by inhibiting motor activity of myosin II. On spread area reduction by substrate micropatterning, we find reduced cell volume and increased mean & variability of thickness. To validate, we follow cells through de-adhesion with EDTA. The thickness of cortex increases (and oscillates) while the volume of cells reduces with 5-15 mins timescales. Moreover, total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) imaging reveals stress fibre dissolution and events of their buckling along with a growing population of micron-sized mobile filaments. We believe that the cytoskeleton responds to the loss of adhesion by contracting and fragmenting, hence leading to cortex thickening. Limiting volume reduction does not suppress cortex thickening on de-adhesion, suggesting that decreased traction stress may be primarily responsible for the cortex thickening.
Rapid adaptation to high temperatures inChironomus riparius
Authors: Foucault Quentin , Wieser Andreas , Waldvogel Ann-Marie , Feldmeyer Barbara , Pfenninger Markus
Published: October 2017

Effects of seasonal or daily temperature variation on fitness and physiology of ectothermic organisms and their ways to cope with such variations have been widely studied. However, the way multivoltines organisms cope with temperature variations from a generation to another is still not well understood and complex to identify. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the multivoltine midgeChironomus ripariusMeigen (1803) responds mainly via acclimation as predicted by current theories, or if rapid genetic adaptation is involved. To investigate this issue, a common garden approach has been applied. A mix of larvae from five European populations was raised in the laboratory at three different pre-exposure temperatures (PET): 14, 20, 26°C. After three and five generations respectively, larvae were exposed to three treatment temperatures (TT) 14, 20, 26°C, mortality was monitored for the first 48h and after emergence. After three generations significant mortality rate differences depended on an interaction of PET and TT. This finding supports the hypothesis that chironomids respond rapidly to climatic variation via adaptive mechanisms, and to a lesser extent via phenotypic plasticity. The result of the experiment indicates that three generations were sufficient to adapt to warm temperature, decreasing the mortality rate, highlighting the potential for chironomids to rapidly respond to seasonally changing conditions.
Inferring adaptive gene-flow in recent African history
Authors: Busby George , Christ Ryan , Band Gavin , Leffler Ellen , Le Quang Si , Rockett Kirk , Kwiatkowski Dominic , Spencer Chris
Published: October 2017

Gene-flow from an ancestrally differentiated group has been shown to be a powerful source of selectively advantageous variants. To understand whether recent gene-flow may have contributed to adaptation among humans in sub-Saharan Africa, we applied a novel method to identify deviations in ancestry inferred from genome-wide data in 48 populations. Among the signals of ancestry deviation that we find in the Fula, an historically pastoralist ethnic group from the Gambia, are the region that encodes the lactose persistence phenotype, LCT/MCM6, which has the highest proportion of Eurasian ancestry in the genome. The region with the lowest proportion of non-African ancestry is across DARC, which encodes the Duffy null phenotype and is protective for Plasmodium vivax malaria. In the Jola from the Gambia and a Khoesan speaking group from Namibia we find multiple regions with inferred ancestry deviation including the Major Histocompatibility Complex. Our analysis shows the potential for adaptive gene-flow in recent human history.
Early urinary candidate biomarkers and clinical outcomes of intervention in a rat model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
Authors: Zhao Mindi , Zhang Yameng , Wu Jiangqiang , Li Xundou , Gao Youhe
Published: October 2017

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system and is difficult to diagnose in early stages. Without homeostatic control, urine was reported to have the ability to accumulate early changes in the body. We expect that urinary proteome can reflect early changes in the nervous system. In this study, the early urinary proteome changes in a most employed multiple sclerosis rat model (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)) were analyzed to explore early urinary candidate biomarkers, and early treatment of methylprednisolone were used to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Compare with controls, twenty-five urinary proteins were altered at day 7 when there were no clinical symptoms and no obvious histological changes. Among them, twenty-three have human homologs and fourteen were reported to be differently expressed in the serum/cerebrospinal fluid/brain tissues of multiple sclerosis patients or animal models. Functional analysis showed that the dysregulated proteins were associated with asparagine degradation, neuroinflammation and lipid metabolism. After the early treatment of methylprednisolone, the incidence of encephalomyelitis in the intervention group was only 1/13. This study demonstrates that urine may be a good source of biomarkers for the early detection of multiple sclerosis and early treatment can significantly delay disease progression. These findings may provide important information for early diagnosis and intervention of multiple sclerosis in the future.