bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Daily Energy Expenditure of Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus) Feeding Nestlings
Authors: Vander Haegen W. Matthew , DeGraaf Richard M.
Published: September 2019

The doubly labeled water method was used to measure daily energy expenditure of adult Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus) feeding nestlings in large and small forests in northern New England. Carbon dioxide production for all birds averaged 7.67 ± 1.29 mL g−1 hr−1 (n = 27), equivalent to 90.1 ± 15.0 kJ day−1. Carbon dioxide production did not differ between males and females within the same pair measured over the same period. Ratio of daily energy expenditure to basal metabolic rate (BMR) for Ovenbirds (3.4) was closer to the mean value derived for aerial foragers (3.8) than that for ground foragers (2.3) in a sample of passerines feeding nestlings. High daily energy expenditure for Ovenbirds may be related to their relatively brief breeding season in northern climates and their use of cool, closed-canopy forests. Although daily energy expenditure for Ovenbirds was high when compared to other ground-foraging passerines, most individuals were not working near the hypothetical maximum of 4× BMR (Drent and Daan 1980). Daily energy expenditure for Ovenbirds feeding young was greater in large forests than small forests, although the difference was not statistically significant. We speculate that time used for foraging (and hence energy expenditure) may be lower in small forests as a result of increased prey density, or alternatively, greater risk of nest predation in forest fragments leads to greater vigilance at the nest site and less time available for foraging. Further studies of avian energetics in large and small forests, including detailed time–activity budgets, may reveal hidden costs of forest fragmentation.
A Geometric Method for Determining Shape of Bird Eggs
Authors: Baker Douglas E.
Published: September 2019

Precise quantification of the oval of a bird egg can provide a powerful tool for the analysis of egg shape for various biological problems. A new approach to the geometry of a bird egg oval is presented here using a simple algebraic equation to fit all normal bird egg shapes. Only two parameters are needed in the equation for complete shape description of an egg oval to quantify the equation's capacity for curve fitting all species and shapes of bird egg ovals. The equation was fitted to egg silhouettes from a sample of 250 different bird egg species containing one egg per species. Standard regression analysis was used to fit the equation to each egg profile. The 99% CI for the curve fit acceptance rate was calculated to determine the equation's statistical significance for all species of bird eggs. Compared to the power series multiequation models (Preston 1968, Todd and Smart 1984), the equation used here is the simplest analytic description of a bird egg oval.
BioBERT: a pre-trained biomedical language representation model for biomedical text mining
Authors: Lee Jinhyuk , Yoon Wonjin , Kim Sungdong , Kim Donghyeon , Kim Sunkyu , So Chan Ho , Kang Jaewoo
Published: September 2019

Motivation

Biomedical text mining is becoming increasingly important as the number of biomedical documents rapidly grows. With the progress in natural language processing (NLP), extracting valuable information from biomedical literature has gained popularity among researchers, and deep learning has boosted the development of effective biomedical text mining models. However, directly applying the advancements in NLP to biomedical text mining often yields unsatisfactory results due to a word distribution shift from general domain corpora to biomedical corpora. In this article, we investigate how the recently introduced pre-trained language model BERT can be adapted for biomedical corpora.

Results

We introduce BioBERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers for Biomedical Text Mining), which is a domain-specific language representation model pre-trained on large-scale biomedical corpora. With almost the same architecture across tasks, BioBERT largely outperforms BERT and previous state-of-the-art models in a variety of biomedical text mining tasks when pre-trained on biomedical corpora. While BERT obtains performance comparable to that of previous state-of-the-art models, BioBERT significantly outperforms them on the following three representative biomedical text mining tasks: biomedical named entity recognition (0.62% F1 score improvement), biomedical relation extraction (2.80% F1 score improvement) and biomedical question answering (12.24% MRR improvement). Our analysis results show that pre-training BERT on biomedical corpora helps it to understand complex biomedical texts.

Availability and implementation

We make the pre-trained weights of BioBERT freely available at https://github.com/naver/biobert-pretrained, and the source code for fine-tuning BioBERT available at https://github.com/dmis-lab/biobert.
Sex and Age Determination of Short- Eared Owl Nestlings
Authors: Arroyo Beatriz E. , DeCornulier Thomas , Bretagnolle Vincent
Published: September 2019

We studied plumage patterns of known-sex nestling and juvenile Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus) to develop a sexing technique for nestlings in the field. Markings on the secondaries varied according to sex, and differences were apparent from about 10–15 days of age. We also provide aging formulas based on mass for nestlings up to 15 days of age and on wing length for nestlings older than that age. Finally, we evaluate growth parameters according to sex. The asymptotes of body mass, wing length, and tarsus length growth curves were higher in females than males. The inflexion point was attained earlier by males than by females.
First-in-man explantation of a HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device via customized plug
Authors: Hanke Jasmin S , Dogan Günes , Haverich Axel , Schmitto Jan D
Published: September 2019

Myocardial recovery in left ventricular assist device patients is a rare opportunity to explant the assist device. Despite myocardial recovery, these patients remain high-risk candidates. Short, effective procedures are the key to successful left ventricular assist device explantation. Conventional methods such as ventriculoplasty are extensive and challenging procedures. Thus, an explantation tool was developed in order to simplify HeartMate 3 (Abbott Cooperation, Abbott Park, Ill, USA) explantation. A customized metal plug was designed to fit into the HeartMate 3-sewing ring. We now report the successful first-in-man use of this novel plug for HeartMate 3 explantation.
Corytophanids Replaced the Pleurodont XY System with a New Pair of XY Chromosomes
Authors: Acosta Armando , Suárez-Varón Gabriel , Rodríguez-Miranda Luis A , Lira-Noriega Andrés , Aguilar-Gómez Diana , Gutiérrez-Mariscal Mariana , Hernández-Gallegos Oswaldo , Méndez-de-la-Cruz Fausto , Cortez Diego
Published: September 2019

Almost all lizard families in the pleurodont clade share the same XY system. This system was meticulously studied in Anolis carolinensis, where it shows a highly degenerated Y chromosome and a male-specific X chromosome dosage compensation mechanism. Corytophanids (casque-headed lizards) have been proposed as the only family in the pleurodont clade to lack the XY system. In this study, we worked with extensive genomic and transcriptomic data from Basiliscus vittatus, a member of the Corytophanidae family that inhabits the tropical rainforests of Mexico. We confirmed that B. vittatus underwent a sex chromosome system turnover, which consisted in the loss of the pleurodont XY system and the gain of a new pair of XY chromosomes that are orthologous to chicken chromosome 17. We estimated the origin of the sex chromosome system to have occurred ∼63 Ma in the ancestor of corytophanids. Moreover, we identified 12 XY gametologues with particular attributes, such as functions related to the membrane and intracellular trafficking, very low expression levels, blood specificity, and incomplete dosage compensation in males.
The molecular chaperone Hsp90 maintains Golgi organization and vesicular trafficking by regulating microtubule stability
Authors: Wu Yuan , Ding Yubo , Zheng Xiudan , Liao Kan
Published: September 2019

Hsp90 is an abundant and special molecular chaperone considered to be the regulator of many transcription factors and signaling kinases. Its high abundance is indicative of its involvement in some more fundamental processes. In this study, we provide evidence that Hsp90 is required for microtubule stabilization, Golgi organization, and vesicular trafficking. We showed that Hsp90 is bound to microtubule-associated protein 4 (MAP4), which is essential for maintaining microtubule acetylation and stabilization. Hsp90 depletion led to the decrease in MAP4, causing microtubule deacetylation and destabilization. Furthermore, in Hsp90-depleted cells, the Golgi apparatus was fragmented and anterograde vesicle trafficking was impaired, with phenotypes similar to those induced by silencing MAP4. These disruptive effects of Hsp90 depletion could be rescued by the expression of exogenous MAP4 or the treatment of trichostatin A that increases microtubule acetylation as well as stability. Thus, microtubule stability is an essential cellular event regulated by Hsp90.
The Association Between Medicare Low-Income Subsidy and Anticancer Treatment Uptake in Advanced Lung Cancer
Authors: Chou Yi-Ting , Farley Joel F , Stinchcombe Thomas E , Proctor Amber E , Lafata Jennifer Elston , Dusetzina Stacie B
Published: September 2019

Background

High out-of-pocket costs may impact anticancer treatment uptake. The Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program can reduce patient out-of-pocket cost for Medicare Part D–covered treatments. We examined whether the LIS increased uptake and reduced time to initiate orally administered anticancer drugs in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Using Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare data, we identified older adults (aged 65 years and older) diagnosed with advanced NSCLC from 2007 through 2013 and categorized them as full LIS, partial LIS, or non-LIS. We used propensity-score weighted (IPTW) Cox proportional hazards regression to assess the likelihood of and time to initiate Part D treatments. Part B medication uptake was our negative control because supplemental insurance reduces out-of-pocket costs for those drugs. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results

Among 19 746 advanced NSCLC patients, approximately 10% initiated Part D treatments. Patients with partial or no LIS were less likely to initiate Part D treatments than were those with full subsidies (partial LIS vs full LIS HRIPTW = 0.77, 95% confidence interval = 0.62 to 0.97; non-LIS vs full LIS HRIPTW = 0.87, 95% confidence interval  = 0.79 to 0.95). Time to initiate Part D treatments was also slightly shorter among full-LIS patients (full LIS mean [SD] = 10.8 [0.04] months; partial LIS mean [SD] = 11.3 [0.08] months; and non-LIS mean [SD] = 11.1 [0.03] months, P < .001). Conversely, patients with partial or no LIS had shorter time to initiation of Part B drugs.

Conclusions

Patients receiving the full LIS had higher orally administered anticancer treatment uptake than patients without LIS. Notably, patients with partial LIS had the lowest treatment uptake, likely because of their low incomes combined with high expected out-of-pocket spending. High out-of-pocket costs for Part D medications may be a barrier to treatment use for patients without full LIS.
A substructural epistemic resource logic: theory and modelling applications
Authors: Galmiche Didier , Kimmel Pierre , Pym David
Published: September 2019

We present a substructural epistemic logic, based on Boolean BI, in which the epistemic modalities are parametrized on agents’ local resources. The new modalities can be seen as generalizations of the usual epistemic modalities. The logic combines Boolean BI’s resource semantics—we introduce BI and its resource semantics at some length—with epistemic agency. We illustrate the use of the logic in systems modelling by discussing some examples about access control, including semaphores, using resource tokens. We also give a labelled tableaux calculus and establish soundness and completeness with respect to the resource semantics.
The Mayflower and the Slave Ship: Pilgrim-Puritan Origins in the Antebellum Black Imagination
Authors: Gradert Kenyon
Published: September 2019

This essay argues that antebellum black writers claimed America in part by reimagining a national rhetoric of Pilgrim-Puritan origins. Various connections have been drawn between the Puritans and early black writers, including a revised tradition of typological identification with Israel, captivity narratives, and, most frequently, the “black jeremiad.” In addition to these scholarly genealogies, black writers struggled more directly with their spiritual genealogies in an effort to reconcile a growing investment in American and Protestant identity with an emergent sense of black roots. Since Paul Gilroy, a growing number of scholars have examined the importance of origins for antebellum black writers in conversation with dominant Euro-American traditions, yet American Protestantism remains a minor presence in these studies. If early black studies of antiquity, biblical history, and European historiography, for example, were crucial to an emergent sense of black roots, they intertwined in complex ways with black writers’ investment in American Protestantism and its vision of history. Ultimately, black writers further radicalized abolitionists’ revolutionary Puritan genealogy as they made it their own, expanding this spiritual lineage to sanction fugitive slaves, black revolutionaries, and eventually the black troops of the American Civil War, imagined as the culmination of a sacred destiny that was both black and American, traceable to the Mayflower and the slave ship alike.
Developing a unified pipeline for large-scale structure data analysis with angular power spectra – I. The importance of redshift-space distortions for galaxy number counts
Authors: Tanidis Konstantinos , Camera Stefano
Published: September 2019

We develop a cosmological parameter estimation code for (tomographic) angular power spectra analyses of galaxy number counts, for which we include, for the first time, redshift-space distortions (RSDs) in the Limber approximation. This allows for a speed-up in computation time, and we emphasize that only angular scales where the Limber approximation is valid are included in our analysis. Our main result shows that a correct modelling of RSD is crucial not to bias cosmological parameter estimation. This happens not only for spectroscopy-detected galaxies, but even in the case of galaxy surveys with photometric redshift estimates. Moreover, a correct implementation of RSD is especially valuable in alleviating the degeneracy between the amplitude of the underlying matter power spectrum and the galaxy bias. We argue that our findings are particularly relevant for present and planned observational campaigns, such as the Euclid satellite or the Square Kilometre Array, which aim at studying the cosmic large-scale structure and trace its growth over a wide range of redshifts and scales.
Redistribution of stars and gas in the star formation deserts of barred galaxies
Authors: Donohoe-Keyes C E , Martig M , James P A , Kraljic K
Published: September 2019

Bars strongly influence the distribution of gas and stars within the central regions of their host galaxies. This is particularly pronounced in the star formation desert (SFD) which is defined as two symmetrical regions either side of the bar that show a deficit in young stars. Previous studies proposed that, if star formation is truncated because of the influence of the bar, then the age distribution of stars within the SFD could be used to determine the epoch of bar formation. To test this, we study the properties of SFDs in six galaxies from zoom-in cosmological re-simulations. Age maps reveal old regions on both sides of the bars, with a lack of stars younger than 10 Myr, confirming the SFD phenomenon. Local star formation is truncated in the SFDs because after the bar forms, gas in these regions is removed on 1 Gyr time-scales. However, the overall age distribution of stars in the SFD does not show a sharp truncation after bar formation but rather a gradual downturn in comparison to that of the bar. This more subtle signature may still give information on bar formation epochs in observed galaxies, but the interpretation will be more difficult than originally hoped. The gradual drop in the SFD age distribution, instead of a truncation, is due to radial migration of stars born in the disc. The SFD is thus one of the only regions where an uncontaminated sample of stars only affected by radial migration can be studied.
Post-starburst galaxies in SDSS-IV MaNGA
Authors: Chen Yan-Mei , Shi Yong , Wild Vivienne , Tremonti Christy , Rowlands Kate , Bizyaev Dmitry , Yan Renbin , Lin Lihwai , Riffel Rogério
Published: September 2019

Post-starburst galaxies, identified by their unusually strong Balmer absorption lines and weaker than average emission lines, have traditionally been selected based on their central stellar populations. Here we identify 360 galaxies with post-starburst regions from the MaNGA integral field survey and classify these galaxies into three types: 31 galaxies with central post-starburst regions (CPSB), 37 galaxies with off-centre ring-like post-starburst regions (RPSB), and 292 galaxies with irregular post-starburst regions (IPSB). Focusing on the CPSB and RPSB samples, and comparing their radial gradients in Dn4000, HδA, and W(H α) to control samples, we find that while the CPSBs have suppressed star formation throughout their bulge and disc, and there is clear evidence of rapid decline of star formation in the central regions, the RPSBs only show clear evidence of recently rapidly suppressed star formation in their outer regions and an ongoing central starburst. The radial profiles in mass-weighted age and stellar v/σ indicate that CPSBs and RPSBs are not simply different evolutionary stages of the same event, rather the CPSB galaxies are caused by a significant disruptive event, while the RPSB galaxies are caused by disruption of gas fuelling to the outer regions. Compared to the control samples, both CPSB and RPSB galaxies show a higher fraction of interactions/mergers, misaligned gas, or bars that might be the cause of the gas inflows and subsequent quenching.
possis: predicting spectra, light curves, and polarization for multidimensional models of supernovae and kilonovae
Authors: Bulla M
Published: September 2019

We present possis, a time-dependent three-dimensional Monte Carlo code for modelling radiation transport in supernovae and kilonovae. The code incorporates wavelength- and time-dependent opacities, and predicts viewing-angle dependent spectra, light curves, and polarization for both idealized and hydrodynamical explosion models. We apply the code to a kilonova model with two distinct ejecta components, one including lanthanide elements with relatively high opacities and the other devoid of lanthanides and characterized by lower opacities. We find that a model with total ejecta mass $M_\mathrm{ej}=0.04\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ and half-opening angle of the lanthanide-rich component Φ = 30° provides a good match to GW 170817/AT 2017gfo for orientations near the polar axis (i.e. for a system viewed close to face-on). We then show how crucial is the use of self-consistent multidimensional models in place of combining one-dimensional models to infer important parameters, such as the ejecta masses. We finally explore the impact of Mej and Φ on the synthetic observables and highlight how the relatively fast computation times of possis make it well-suited to perform parameter-space studies and extract key properties of supernovae and kilonovae. Spectra calculated with possis in this and future studies will be made publicly available.
“Lost and Found”: snoRNA Annotation in the Xenopus Genome and Implications for Evolutionary Studies
Authors: Deryusheva Svetlana , Talhouarne Gaëlle J S , Gall Joseph G
Published: September 2019

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) function primarily as guide RNAs for posttranscriptional modification of rRNAs and spliceosomal snRNAs, both of which are functionally important and evolutionarily conserved molecules. It is commonly believed that snoRNAs and the modifications they mediate are highly conserved across species. However, most relevant data on snoRNA annotation and RNA modification are limited to studies on human and yeast. Here, we used RNA-sequencing data from the giant oocyte nucleus of the frog Xenopus tropicalis to annotate a nearly complete set of snoRNAs. We compared the frog data with snoRNA sets from human and other vertebrate genomes, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish. We identified many Xenopus-specific (or nonhuman) snoRNAs and Xenopus-specific domains in snoRNAs from conserved RNA families. We predicted that some of these nonhuman snoRNAs and domains mediate modifications at unexpected positions in rRNAs and snRNAs. These modifications were mapped as predicted when RNA modification assays were applied to RNA from nine vertebrate species: frogs X. tropicalis and X. laevis, newt Notophthalmus viridescens, axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum, whiptail lizard Aspidoscelis neomexicana, zebrafish Danio rerio, chicken, mouse, and human. This analysis revealed that only a subset of RNA modifications is evolutionarily conserved and that modification patterns may vary even between closely related species. We speculate that each functional domain in snoRNAs (half of an snoRNA) may evolve independently and shuffle between different snoRNAs.
SLX4IP acts with SLX4 and XPF–ERCC1 to promote interstrand crosslink repair
Authors: Zhang Huimin , Chen Zhen , Ye Yin , Ye Zu , Cao Dan , Xiong Yun , Srivastava Mrinal , Feng Xu , Tang Mengfan , Wang Chao , Tainer John A , Chen Junjie
Published: September 2019

Interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) are highly toxic DNA lesions that are repaired via a complex process requiring the coordination of several DNA repair pathways. Defects in ICL repair result in Fanconi anemia, which is characterized by bone marrow failure, developmental abnormalities, and a high incidence of malignancies. SLX4, also known as FANCP, acts as a scaffold protein and coordinates multiple endonucleases that unhook ICLs, resolve homologous recombination intermediates, and perhaps remove unhooked ICLs. In this study, we explored the role of SLX4IP, a constitutive factor in the SLX4 complex, in ICL repair. We found that SLX4IP is a novel regulatory factor; its depletion sensitized cells to treatment with ICL-inducing agents and led to accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase. We further discovered that SLX4IP binds to SLX4 and XPF–ERCC1 simultaneously and that disruption of one interaction also disrupts the other. The binding of SLX4IP to both SLX4 and XPF–ERCC1 not only is vital for maintaining the stability of SLX4IP protein, but also promotes the interaction between SLX4 and XPF–ERCC1, especially after DNA damage. Collectively, these results demonstrate a new regulatory role for SLX4IP in maintaining an efficient SLX4–XPF–ERCC1 complex in ICL repair.
cellHarmony: cell-level matching and holistic comparison of single-cell transcriptomes
Authors: DePasquale Erica A K , Schnell Daniel , Dexheimer Phillip , Ferchen Kyle , Hay Stuart , Chetal Kashish , Valiente-Alandí Íñigo , Blaxall Burns C , Grimes H Leighton , Salomonis Nathan
Published: September 2019

To understand the molecular pathogenesis of human disease, precision analyses to define alterations within and between disease-associated cell populations are desperately needed. Single-cell genomics represents an ideal platform to enable the identification and comparison of normal and diseased transcriptional cell populations. We created cellHarmony, an integrated solution for the unsupervised analysis, classification, and comparison of cell types from diverse single-cell RNA-Seq datasets. cellHarmony efficiently and accurately matches single-cell transcriptomes using a community-clustering and alignment strategy to compute differences in cell-type specific gene expression over potentially dozens of cell populations. Such transcriptional differences are used to automatically identify distinct and shared gene programs among cell-types and identify impacted pathways and transcriptional regulatory networks to understand the impact of perturbations at a systems level. cellHarmony is implemented as a python package and as an integrated workflow within the software AltAnalyze. We demonstrate that cellHarmony has improved or equivalent performance to alternative label projection methods, is able to identify the likely cellular origins of malignant states, stratify patients into clinical disease subtypes from identified gene programs, resolve discrete disease networks impacting specific cell-types, and illuminate therapeutic mechanisms. Thus, this approach holds tremendous promise in revealing the molecular and cellular origins of complex disease.
Eight-Year Experience of Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and the Trend of Carbapenem Use at a Tertiary Acute-Care Hospital in Japan—The Impact of Postprescription Review and Feedback
Authors: Akazawa Tsubasa , Kusama Yoshiki , Fukuda Haruhisa , Hayakawa Kayoko , Kutsuna Satoshi , Moriyama Yuki , Ohashi Hirotake , Tamura Saeko , Yamamoto Kei , Hara Ryohei , Shigeno Ayako , Ota Masayuki , Ishikane Masahiro , Tokita Shunichiro , Terakado Hiroyuki , Ohmagari Norio
Published: September 2019

Objective

We implemented a stepwise antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP). This study evaluated the effect of each intervention and the overall economic impact on carbapenem (CAR) use.

Method

Carbapenem days of therapy (CAR-DOT) were calculated to assess the effect of each intervention, and antipseudomonal DOT were calculated to assess changes in use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. We carried out segmented regression analysis of studies with interrupted time series for 3 periods: Phase 1 (infectious disease [ID] consultation service only), Phase 2 (adding monitoring and e-mail feedback), and Phase 3 (adding postprescription review and feedback [PPRF] led by ID specialist doctors and pharmacists). We also estimated cost savings over the study period due to decreased CAR use.

Results

The median monthly CAR-DOT, per month per 100 patient-days, during Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 was 5.46, 3.69, and 2.78, respectively. The CAR-DOT decreased significantly immediately after the start of Phase 2, but a major decrease was not observed during this period. Although the immediate change was not apparent after Phase 3 started, CAR-DOT decreased significantly over this period. Furthermore, the monthly DOT of 3 alternative antipseudomonal agents also decreased significantly over the study period, but the incidence of antimicrobial resistance did not decrease. Cost savings over the study period, due to decreased CAR use, was estimated to be US $150 000.

Conclusions

Adding PPRF on the conventional ASP may accelerate antimicrobial stewardship. Our CAR stewardship program has had positive results, and implementation is ongoing.
Invasive Fungal Carotiditis: A Rare Manifestation of Cranial Invasive Fungal Disease: Case Series and Systematic Review of the Literature
Authors: Little Jessica S , Cheng Matthew P , Hsu Liangge , Corrales C Eduardo , Marty Francisco M
Published: September 2019

Background

Rhinosinusitis, malignant otitis externa, and skull base osteomyelitis represent a spectrum of cranial invasive fungal disease (IFD). These syndromes have distinct characteristics, yet they may progress to involve similar structures, resulting in inflammation and invasion of the adjacent internal carotid artery (ICA). Invasive fungal carotiditis can have devastating consequences, including cerebral infarction, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and death.

Methods

We retrospectively studied all patients diagnosed with cranial IFD and carotid involvement at our institution from 2003 to 2018. We also searched Medline/PubMed for reports of Aspergillus or Mucorales cranial infections with ICA involvement. All cases with mycologic evidence of cranial IFD and radiographic or pathologic evidence of ICA involvement were included.

Results

We identified 78 cases of invasive fungal carotiditis between 1958 and 2018, including 4 cases at our own institution. Forty-one were caused by Aspergillus and 37 by Mucorales species. Presenting symptoms included vision changes (73%), cranial nerve palsy (69%), and headache (42%). Carotid events included occlusion, aneurysm formation, and vessel rupture. Cerebral infarcts occurred in 50% of cases. Mortality at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 2 years was 27%, 41%, and 71% respectively. The median time from symptom onset to death was 150 days for cases due to Aspergillus and 51 days for cases due to Mucorales species.

Conclusions

Invasive fungal carotiditis is a rare but morbid manifestation of cranial IFD. Early suspicion of IFD and administration of antifungal treatment, vascular imaging, and endovascular interventions should be considered to reduce the high mortality of this disease.
Overall variation of the H2O masers around W Hydrae in 28 years
Authors: Imai Hiroshi , Nakagawa Akiharu , Takaba Hiroshi
Published: September 2019

In this paper, we present the distribution of H$_2$O masers associated with the semi-regular variable star W Hydrae (W Hya). We have collected the radio interferometric data of the maser distribution taken with the Very Large Array (VLA), the Kashima–Nobeyama InterFErometer (KNIFE), the Multi-Element Radio Link Network (MERLIN), the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA), and the combined array of the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) and VERA (KaVA) in order to trace the maser distribution variation in two decades. Even though differences in the sensitivities and angular resolutions of the interferometric observations should be taken into account, we attempt to find possible correlation of the maser distribution with the stellar light curve. Our failure in the measurement of the annual parallax of the masers with VERA is likely caused by the properties of the maser features, which have been spatially resolved by the synthesized beam and survived for only half a year or less. No dependence of the maser spot flux density on its size is found in the KNIFE data, suggesting that maser spot size is determined by the physical boundary, as is expected for a clump affected by outward propagation of a stellar pulsation shock wave, rather than the (spherical) geometry of maser beaming in the maser gas clump.
L’échange d’arguments autour de l’élaboration du droit économique à partir du Traité mettant en commun les listes des matières d’affaires*
Authors: Womdjou Francis
Published: September 2019

The cooperation between universities inside or outside the Francophonie network is the main methodological approach proposes in this article. This cooperation is effective between Canada, Belgium and France and some OHADA member States; the plan is to extend this cooperation to European Union where researchers are working to write European Business Law. In Africa as in Europa, this cooperation can enable the exchange of arguments on how to write Business Law accepted by all the parties.
Factors Associated With Long-term Risk of Recurrence After Percutaneous Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation of the Gasserian Ganglion for Patients With Trigeminal Neuralgia
Authors: Zheng Shuyue , Li Xiuhua , Li Ran , Yang Liqiang , He Liangliang , Cao Guoqing , Yang Zhanmin , Ni Jiaxiang
Published: September 2019

Objective:

This study aimed to estimate risk factors associated with recurrence after radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFT) of the Gasserian ganglion among a large sample of patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) during a long-term follow-up.

Materials and Methods:

We performed a multicenter retrospective analysis of data from 1481 patients with TN who underwent RFT from 2005 through 2017. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Risk factors of all patient characteristics were determined by using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Prognostic value was determined by prognostic index (PI) with regression coefficients and receiver-operating characteristic curve model.

Results:

The median of RFS was 136 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 123.5-148.5). The rate of RFS was 85.3% (95% CI: 83.5%-87.1%) at 1 year, 74.6% (95% CI: 72.2%-77.0%) at 3 years, 68.0% (95% CI: 65.5%-70.5%) at 5 years, and 54.9% (95% CI: 51.6%-58.2%) at 10 years. Multivariate analysis showed that atypical facial pain (hazard ratio [HR]=16.914, 95% CI: 13.117-21.808, P<0.001), Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) Class II/III facial hypesthesia before undergoing RFT (HR=2.47, 95% CI: 1.52-4.016, P<0.001)/(HR=3.288, 95% CI: 1.035-10.433, P=0.044), and history of previous microvascular decompression/RFT/neurosurgeries≥2 (HR=1.642, 95% CI: 0.941-2.863, P=0.041)/(HR=2.808, 95% CI: 1.819-4.334, P<0.001)/(HR=3.83, 95% CI: 1.802-8.146, P<0.001) were independently associated with RFS. Patients with PI>0.764 were identified as high-risk patients for TN recurrence with a median RFS of 36 months (95% CI: 23.9-48.1) compared with those with PI<0.764 (HR=6.785, 95% CI: 5.371-8.573, P<0.001).

Discussion:

Our results indicated the patients with a higher risk for recurrence after RFT for the treatment of TN. In addition, our findings might provide support for clinical decision-making before the RFT procedure.
Accuracy of Physical Function Questions to Predict Moderate-Vigorous Physical Activity as Measured by Hip Accelerometry
Authors: Rubin Daniel S. , Huisingh-Scheetz Megan , Hung Anthony , Ward R. Parker , Nagele Peter , Arena Ross , Hedeker Donald
Published: September 2019

Editor’s Perspective

What We Already Know about This Topic

What This Article Tells Us That Is New

Background

Functional capacity assessment is a core component of current perioperative cardiovascular evaluation and management guidelines for noncardiac surgery. The authors investigated the ability of standardized physical function questions to predict whether participants engaged in moderate physical activity as measured by hip accelerometers.

Methods

Participant responses to physical functioning questions and whether they engaged in moderate physical activity were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003 to 2004 and 2005 to 2006). Physical activity intensity was measured using hip accelerometers. Adult participants with at least one Revised Cardiac Risk Index condition were included in the analysis. Standardized physical function questions were evaluated using a classification and regression tree analysis. Training and test datasets were randomly generated to create and test the analysis.

Results

Five hundred and twenty-two participants were asked the physical functioning questions and 378 of 522 (72.4%) had a bout of moderate-vigorous activity. Classification and regression tree analysis identified a “no difficulty” response to walking up 10 stairs and the ability to walk two to three blocks as the most sensitive questions to predict the presence of a 2-min bout of moderate activity. Participants with positive responses to both questions had a positive likelihood ratio of 3.7 and a posttest probability greater than 90% of a 2-min bout of moderate-vigorous activity. The sensitivity and specificity of positive responses to physical functioning questions in the pruned tree were 0.97 (95% CI, 0.94 to 0.98) and 0.16 (95% CI, 0.10 to 0.23) for training data, and 0.88 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.96) and 0.10 (95% CI, 0.00 to 0.45) for the test data. Participants with at least one 2-min bout of moderate activity had a greater percentage of overall daily active time (35.4 ± 0.5 vs. 26.7 ± 1.2; P = 0.001) than those without.

Conclusions

Standardized physical function questions are highly sensitive but poorly specific to identify patients who achieve moderate physical activity. Additional strategies to evaluate functional capacity should be considered.
EX527, a Sirt-1 inhibitor, induces apoptosis in glioma via activating the p53 signaling pathway
Authors: Wang Tianpeng , Li Xiaoxi , Sun Shu-lan
Published: September 2019

Sirtuin-1 (Sirt-1), an NAD-dependent deacetylase, promotes tumorigenesis in glioma; however, whether the Sirt-1 specific inhibitor, EX527 exerts antitumor effects and the underlying mechanism in glioma requires further investigation. In the present study, the proliferative and colony formation abilities of two glioma cell lines (U87MG and LN-299) were inhibited by EX527. Treatment with EX527 increased the number of apoptotic cells (Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate+/propidium iodide+/−); pretreatment with the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK suppressed EX527-induced apoptosis, suggesting that EX527 induced caspase-dependent apoptosis. In addition, western blotting revealed that EX527 treatment increased the expression of cleaved-caspase-3, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)-associated-X-protein and Bcl-2-like 11 but decreased that of Bcl-2. p53 is deacetylated by Sirt-1, attenuating its function. Furthermore, EX527 upregulated the expression of p53, acetylated p53 and the p53 target gene p21. This result suggests that EX527 induced cell apoptosis by activating p53 in glioma. Of note, EX527 exhibited antitumor effects on patient-derived glioma cells under three-dimensional culture conditions. Collectively, the results of the present study indicated that EX527 may be used as an effective compound in the treatment of glioma.
Ibuprofen induces ferroptosis of glioblastoma cells via downregulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling pathway
Authors: Gao Xingchun , Guo Na , Xu Hao , Pan Tao , lei Hong , Yan Aili , Mi Yajing , Xu Lixian
Published: September 2019

Ferroptosis is a newly discovered type of cell death decided by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, but its role in glioblastoma cell death remains unclear. Ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), has been associated with antitumorigenic effects in many cancers. In this study, we first found that ibuprofen inhibited the viabilities of glioblastoma cells in vitro and in vivo, accompanied by abnormal increase in intracellular lipid peroxidation. Further study showed that the cell growth inhibition caused by ibuprofen could be rescued by the ferroptosis inhibitors deferoxamine (DFO), ferrostatin-1 and Liproxstatin-1. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) are key regulators of ferroptosis. Our data showed that Nrf2, GPX4 and SLC7A11 were downregulated in glioblastoma cells under ibuprofen treatment. Interestingly, we found that decreased mRNA expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11 was accompanied with reduced Nrf2, which is a redox sensitive transcription factor that controls the expression of intracellular redox-balancing proteins such as GPX4 and SLC7A11. All the data suggested that Nrf2 could regulate the expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11 in glioma cells. Taken together, our findings reveal that ibuprofen could induce ferroptosis of glioblastoma cells via downregulation of Nrf2 signaling pathway and is a potential drug for glioma treatment.
Overcoming the resistance to BRAF inhibitor by the double BRAF and MEK inhibitions in advanced melanoma: a case report
Authors: Kattan Joseph , Kattan Clarisse , Farhat Fadi , Assi Tarek
Published: September 2019

The advent of BRAF and MEK inhibitors changed the landscape of the management of BRAF mutated melanoma patients. In this article, we report the case of a 51-year-old man with BRAF mutated locally advanced cutaneous melanoma of the head who demonstrated a limited response to initial anti-BRAF monotherapy followed by extensive surgery. Anti-PD1 therapy failed to reverse the disease progression. However, subsequent double inhibition of the BRAF and MEK pathways induced a fast and remarkable tumour response.
Does Screw Location Affect the Risk of Subtrochanteric Femur Fracture After Femoral Neck Fixation? A Biomechanical Study
Authors: Crump Erica K. , Quacinella Michael , Deafenbaugh Bradley K.
Published: September 2019

Background

Case reports suggest that there is an increased risk of subtrochanteric femur fracture after femoral neck fixation with cannulated screws when the distal-most screw is placed distal to the lesser trochanter. However, to our knowledge, there are no biomechanical data supporting this observation.

Questions/purposes

(1) Is there an increased risk of subtrochanteric femur fracture after femoral neck fixation with cannulated screws in normal density and osteoporotic Sawbones when the distal-most screw is started distal to the lesser trochanter? (2) Does the screw starting point position after femoral neck fixation with cannulated screws affect load to failure when normal density and osteoporotic Sawbones are loaded through their mechanical axis?

Methods

Normal density and osteoporotic Sawbones femora were instrumented with three cannulated screws in a triangular apex distal configuration with the distal-most screw starting either proximal to, at, or distal to the level of the lesser trochanter. Specimens were loaded along the mechanical axis to failure. The fracture location and ultimate load to failure were compared between groups.

Results

The screw start point distal to the lesser trochanter resulted in a greater proportion of subtrochanteric femur fractures compared with screw start points at or proximal to the lesser trochanter in the subset of osteoporotic specimens (three of 10 specimens versus 0 of 20 specimens; p = 0.030). No subtrochanteric femur fractures were observed in the normal density specimens. Load to failure was lower when the distal-most screw was started distal to the lesser trochanter than when it was started at or proximal to the lesser trochanter (normal density subset 13,502 ± 1980 N versus 14,675 ±1528 N; osteoporotic subset 8946 ± 1509 N versus 10,026 ± 1256 N; linear regression coefficient 1127 N [95% CI 298 to 1956 N]; adjusted r2 = 0.71; p = 0.009).

Conclusions

A screw start point distal to the lesser trochanter was associated with subtrochanteric femur fractures in the osteoporotic subset. Additionally, there was decreased load to failure when the distal-most screw was started distal to the lesser trochanter.

Clinical Relevance

These data suggest that avoiding a screw start point distal to the level of the lesser trochanter in femoral neck fracture fixation may decrease the risk of catastrophic subtrochanteric femur fractures, especially in patients with osteoporosis. However, it should be noted that a more overall varus screw alignment could theoretically compromise the ability to achieve compression across the fracture, with attendant implications with regard to fracture union in the acute setting.
Variations in the Vascular Anatomy of the Right Colon and Implications for Right-Sided Colon Surgery
Authors: Kuzu Mehmet Ayhan , İsmail Erkin , Çelik Safa , Şahin Muhammed Feyzi , Güner Mehmet Ali , Hohenberger Werner , Açar Halil İbrahim
Published: September 2019

BACKGROUND:

Knowledge of the normal pattern and variations of the blood supply of the right colon is crucial for better outcomes after colon surgery.

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this study was to describe the precise vascular anatomy of the right colon according to surgical perspective.

DESIGN:

Adult fresh cadavers were dissected between January 2013 and October 2015, focusing on the venous and arterial anatomy of the right side of the colon.

SETTINGS:

Macroscopic anatomical dissections were performed on 111 adult fresh cadavers with emphasis on the vascular anatomy of the right colon. The colic tributaries of the superior mesenteric artery and vein were documented in writing. Furthermore, the dissections were recorded with a video camera.

RESULTS:

The incidence of colic arteries arising from the superior mesenteric artery included ileocolic artery, 100%; right colic artery, 33.3%; middle colic artery, 100%; and accessory middle colic artery, 11,7%. All 111 cadavers had a single ileocolic vein, which drained into the superior mesenteric vein in 103 cases (92.8%), into the gastro-pancreatico-colic trunk in 7 cases (6.3%), and into the jejunal trunk in 1 case (0.9%). The drainage site of the ileocolic vein to the superior mesenteric vein varied, and in 9% of cases the ileocolic vein did not accompany the ileocolic artery. The gastro-pancreatico-colic trunk was detected in 87 cases (78.4%); with several forms of the origin of the respective branches, the gastropancreatic trunk was detected in 24 cases (21.6), and the classic gastrocolic trunk of Henle was not detected. Variations were found in the formation and drainage routes of other venous colic tributaries of the superior mesenteric vein.

LIMITATIONS:

This study is limited by its use of cadavers in that it is impossible to trace each vessel to its origin in live surgery.

CONCLUSIONS:

Surgeons must watch, observe, and bear in mind that vascular variations can occur. Awareness of these complex variations may improve the quality of surgery and may prevent devastating complications during right-sided colon resections.
Bilateral Posterior Tibial Nerve Stimulation in the Treatment of Rectal Evacuation Disorder: A Preliminary Report
Authors: Madbouly Khaled M. , Abbas Khaled S. , Emanuel Emad
Published: September 2019

BACKGROUND:

Posterior tibial nerve stimulation influences both motor and sensory pathways, as well as the central nervous system. Stimulation of posterior tibial nerve roots (L4 to S3) could improve stool evacuation through S3 and/or S2 stimulation.

OBJECTIVE:

This study aimed to assess the efficiency of bilateral posterior tibial nerve stimulation in the treatment of rectal evacuation disorder without anatomic obstruction.

DESIGN:

This was a prospective case series studying the treatment of patients with obstructed defecation by posterior tibial nerve stimulation.

SETTING:

The study was conducted at a tertiary referral academic medical center.

PATIENTS:

Patients with rectal evacuation disorder without anatomic obstruction who were failing maximal conservative treatments were included.

INTERVENTION:

Thirty minutes of bilateral transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation was applied 3 times weekly for each patient for 6 consecutive weeks.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

The primary end point was the change in the modified obstructed defecation score. Secondary end points were changes in rectal sensitivity volumes (urge to defecate volume and maximal tolerable volume) and quality of life using the Patient Assessment of Constipation–Quality of Life questionnaire.

RESULTS:

Thirty-six patients (25 women) completed the trial. The mean age of patients was 57.2 years (SD = 14.4 y). No adverse events were reported. Symptomatic successful outcome was reported in 17 patients (47%) and modified obstructed defecation score decreased over 6 weeks (mean decrease = 10 points (95% CI, 8.7–11.3 points); p < 0.0001). Patients with successful outcome (responders) had relatively lower preoperative modified obstructed defecation score compared with patients with unsuccessful outcome (nonresponders). In the successful group, there were significant improvement after 6 weeks in both Patient Assessment of Constipation–Quality of Life score (mean improvement = 43.0 points (95% CI, 35.2–50.7 points); p < 0.0001) and rectal sensitivity (significant reductions in urge to defecate volume (from 258.1 ± 21.2 to 239.6 ± 15.3; p < 0.0001) and maximal tolerable volume (from 304.5 ± 24.8 to 286.8 ± 19.7; p < 0.0001)). No significant change in Patient Assessment of Constipation–Quality of Life or rectal sensitivity was observed in the nonresponders.

LIMITATIONS:

The study was designed just to proof the concept, but small sample size is a limitation. Another limitation is the short duration of study of only 6 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS:

Current data showed that bilateral transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation can improve symptoms in a considerable percentage of patients with obstructed defecation without anatomic obstruction. The procedure is more effective in patients with a less-modified obstructed defecation score. Additional studies are needed to discover the predictive factors for success.