bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Immune components of early breastmilk: Association with maternal factors and with reported food allergy in childhood
Authors: Berdi Mikaïl , de Lauzon‐Guillain Blandine , Forhan Anne , Castelli Florence Anne , Fenaille François , Charles Marie‐Aline , Heude Barbara , Junot Christophe , Adel‐Patient Karine ,   the EDEN Mother‐Child Cohort Study Group
Published: October 2018

Background

Breastmilk (BM) may participate in driving gut barrier function and immunity in the neonate. We analyzed immune and growth factor concentrations in early BM and their association with maternal/environmental characteristics and with food allergy (FA) in childhood.

Methods

One BM sample was collected in maternity from some mothers in the EDEN birth cohort (n = 2002 mother‐child dyads). A random selection was performed among available samples (subcohort, n = 272), for which all deliveries were full‐term, various maternal/environmental characteristics were recorded, and parents answered yearly the question “Has a medical doctor diagnosed a FA in your child?” (26 parent‐reported FA cases). Only samples collected between day 2 and day 6 post‐partum were considered for descriptive analysis (n = 263). Samples for all other FA cases available were added to the subcohort (46 additional cases; “casecohort” design). Fifty cytokines, antibodies, and growth factor concentrations were determined using multiplexed kits and analyzed using robust statistical procedures.

Results

BM components exhibited wide concentration ranges and global day‐to‐day variation. Different clusters of correlated factors appeared, with components from the main cluster related to maternal diet during pregnancy. Primiparity was positively associated with eleven other components, whereas other factors (eg, maternal atopy and smoking) were related to fewer components. Finally, the casecohort design highlighted a positive association between CXCL10, TNFβ, and IL‐2 concentrations and reported FA in childhood.

Conclusion

Beyond the unique description of early BM composition, we show that immune information transmitted to the neonate is related to various maternal factors and identified components associated with FA diagnosis in childhood.
Spinal Cord Stimulation for Acute Pain Following Surgery for Cervical Myelopathy: A Novel Treatment Strategy
Authors: Lawson McLean Aaron , Kalff Rolf , Reichart Rupert
Published: October 2018

Background

Chronic pain syndromes caused by degenerative and postinfectious changes in the cervical spine continue to pose significant management challenges to neurosurgeons and pain practitioners. The identification of an individualized treatment plan, astute surgical technique, comprehensive and multimodal analgesia, and adequate rehabilitation processes do not necessarily result in diminished pain.

Case summary

We present the case of a patient with chronic pain treated surgically for degenerative cervical myelopathy secondary to cervical spinal stenosis. Following this surgery, the patient experienced an intractable postoperative pain syndrome that had anatomical borders, and an intensity and character that were different from the background chronic pain from which he suffered. We successfully implanted a cervical spinal cord stimulation (SCS) lead in the period following his stenosis surgery, which had good therapeutic effect on the postoperative‐onset pain.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of SCS having a strong positive effect on an acute exacerbation of neuropathic pain. At follow‐up 12 months later, assessment of the patient's pain diary revealed a modal pain intensity of 3/10 on the numeric rating scale over the preceding 3 months. The Brief Pain Inventory (Short Form) scores at this time were 10/40 in the pain severity domain and 18/70 in the interference with function domain, demonstrating the long‐term effectiveness of this SCS strategy.

Conclusion

While SCS has hitherto been untested as a therapy for acute‐onset pain, this report demonstrates its utility as a salvage treatment in select cases of uncontrollable postoperative pain.
Risk for Medication Nonadherence Among Medicaid Enrollees With Fibromyalgia: Development of a Validated Risk Prediction Tool
Authors: Desai Raj , Jo Ara , Marlow Nicole M.
Published: October 2018

Objective

To develop and validate a risk assessment tool called the Prescription Medication Non‐Adherence Prediction Tool (Rx‐NAPT) to predict medication nonadherence in patients with fibromyalgia.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study using claims data from South Carolina Medicaid. Patients with fibromyalgia who were ≥18 years old and who had filled at least 1 prescription medication for pregabalin, duloxetine, or milnacipran from January 1, 2005, through June 30, 2011 were included. Medication possession ratios (MPRs) were calculated to classify patients as adherent (MPR ≥ 80%) or nonadherent (MPR < 80%). Multivariable logistic models using 100 bootstrap replications (with replacement) were used to identify factors associated with medication nonadherence, including age, gender, race, days’ supply, medication type, and fibromyalgia‐related comorbidity score. Weighted β coefficients of the predictors were used to create the Rx‐NAPT. Youden's J statistic was used to classify nonadherent patients into different levels of risk.

Results

The study sample comprised 6,626 patients with fibromyalgia, where 4,804 (72.50%) were non‐adherent and 1,822 (27.50%) were adherent to their prescribed medication(s). Logistic regression models showed that 7 predictors (gender, age, race, fibromyalgia‐related comorbidity score, medication type, health maintenance organization coverage, emergency room visit) were statistically significant in ≥50% of the bootstrapped samples. The final model demonstrated reasonable discrimination (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.6224) and calibration (Hosmer‐Lemeshow goodness‐of‐fit; P > 0.05) statistics and was validated internally (AUC = 0.6372).

Conclusion

Poor adherence with medication remains an important barrier to providing optimal care. Our risk prediction model provides an easy tool to help clinicians better identify patients with fibromyalgia who may not take their medications as prescribed.
The MIST Guidelines: The Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Consensus Group Guidelines for Minimally Invasive Spine Treatment
Authors: Deer Timothy R. , Grider Jay S. , Pope Jason E. , Falowski Steven , Lamer Tim J. , Calodney Aaron , Provenzano David A. , Sayed Dawood , Lee Eric , Wahezi Sayed E. , Kim Chong , Hunter Corey , Gupta Mayank , Benyamin Rasmin , Chopko Bohdan , Demesmin Didier , Diwan Sudhir , Gharibo Christopher , Kapural Leo , Kloth David , Klagges Brian D. , Harned Michael , Simopoulos Tom , McJunkin Tory , Carlson Jonathan D. , Rosenquist Richard W. , Lubenow Timothy R. , Mekhail Nagy
Published: October 2018

Background

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) can lead to compression of neural elements and manifest as low back and leg pain. LSS has traditionally been treated with a variety of conservative (pain medications, physical therapy, epidural spinal injections) and invasive (surgical decompression) options. Recently, several minimally invasive procedures have expanded the treatment options.

Methods

The Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Consensus Group convened to evaluate the peer‐reviewed literature as the basis for making minimally invasive spine treatment (MIST) recommendations. Eleven consensus points were clearly defined with evidence strength, recommendation grade, and consensus level using U.S. Preventive Services Task Force criteria. The Consensus Group also created a treatment algorithm. Literature searches yielded 9 studies (2 randomized controlled trials [RCTs]; 7 observational studies, 4 prospective and 3 retrospective) of minimally invasive spine treatments, and 1 RCT for spacers.

Results

The LSS treatment choice is dependent on the degree of stenosis; spinal or anatomic level; architecture of the stenosis; severity of the symptoms; failed, past, less invasive treatments; previous fusions or other open surgical approaches; and patient comorbidities. There is Level I evidence for percutaneous image‐guided lumbar decompression as superior to lumbar epidural steroid injection, and 1 RCT supported spacer use in a noninferiority study comparing 2 spacer products currently available.

Conclusions

MISTs should be used in a judicious and algorithmic fashion to treat LSS, based on the evidence of efficacy and safety in the peer‐reviewed literature. The MIST Consensus Group recommend that these procedures be used in a multimodal fashion as part of an evidence‐based decision algorithm.
Recovery of severe acute liver failure without transplantation in patients with Wilson disease
Authors: Kido Jun , Matsumoto Shirou , Sakamoto Rieko , Mitsubuchi Hiroshi , Inomata Yukihiro , Nakamura Kimitoshi
Published: October 2018

Wilson disease (WD) is a disorder of copper metabolism that leads to liver cirrhosis. WD patients with a NWIS > 11 should receive LT; however, we encountered 2 WD patients with an NWIS > 11 who recovered from ALF without LT. The present report aimed to analyze cases of WD patients with a high NWIS who recovered from severe ALF and to discuss the clinical manifestations of the patients and the effects of treatments, including zinc (Zn) therapy, chelator therapy, PE, CHDF, and LT. We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of five patients (male, 2; female, 3) diagnosed with WD along with severe ALF. In cases 1, 2, and 3, complete recovery from ALF was noted without LT. In case 4, initial recovery from ALF was noted without LT; however, ALF worsened owing to bleeding from the esophageal varix. Thus, the patient eventually needed LT. In case 5, recovery from ALF was noted with LT. All cases, except case 2, showed ALF with maximum PELD/MELD scores ≥26 and NWISs ≥ 11, and had indications for LT. In cases of severe ALF with grade I or II encephalopathy, we recommend evaluations of the effects of Zn and chelator treatments while preparing for LT, as the condition may not improve without LT, and pediatricians or physicians can ask transplant surgeons to perform LT urgently if required.
Can obligate apomixis and more stable reproductive assurance explain the distributional successes of asexual triploids in Hieracium alpinum (Asteraceae)?
Authors: Mráz P. , Zdvořák P. , Hartmann M. , Štefánek M. , Chrtek J.
Published: October 2018

Although reproductive assurance has been suggested to be one of the most important factors shaping the differential distributional patterns between sexuals and asexuals (geographic parthenogenesis), it has only rarely been studied in natural populations of vascular plants with autonomous apomixis. Moreover, there are almost no data concerning the putative relationship between the level of apomictic versus sexual plant reproduction on one hand, and reproductive assurance on the other.

We assessed the level of sexual versus apomictic reproduction in diploid and triploid plants of Hieracium alpinum across its distributional range using flow cytometric analyses of seeds, and compared the level of potential and realized seed set, i.e. reproductive assurance, between the two cytotypes under field and greenhouse conditions.

Flow cytometric screening of embryos and endosperms of more than 4,100 seeds showed that diploids produced solely diploid progeny sexually, while triploids produced triploid progeny by obligate apomixis. Potential fruit set was much the same in diploids and triploids from the field and the greenhouse experiment. While in the pollination‐limited environment in the greenhouse apomictic triploids had considerably higher realized fruit set than sexual diploids, there was no significant difference between cytotypes under natural conditions. In addition, sexuals varied to a significantly larger extent in realized fruit set than asexuals under both natural and greenhouse conditions.

Our results indicate that triploid plants reproduce by obligate apomixis, assuring more stable and predictable fruit reproduction when compared to sexual diploids. This advantage could provide apomictic triploids with a superior colonisation ability, mirrored in a strong geographic parthenogenesis pattern observed in this species.
Deep Alignment with Country Shrinks the Moral Gap Between Conservatives and Liberals
Authors: Talaifar Sanaz , Swann William B.
Published: October 2018

Moral foundations theory suggests that relative to liberals, conservatives care more about values that are believed to bind group members together: loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion, and purity/degradation. In contrast, we propose that individuals who are deeply aligned (“fused”) with their group should display elevated commitment to group‐oriented moral values, regardless of their political orientation. The results of three studies supported this hypothesis. The tendency for conservatives to endorse the binding foundations more than liberals only emerged among weakly and moderately fused Americans. In fact, liberals strongly fused with the United States endorsed “binding” foundations more than average conservatives and to the same extent as strongly fused conservatives. These results indicate that to fully understand moral prerogatives, one must consider the nature of the connections people form to the group, as well as their political orientation.
Seed degeneration of banana planting materials: strategies for improved farmer access to healthy seed
Authors: Jacobsen K. , Omondi B. A. , Almekinders C. , Alvarez E. , Blomme G. , Dita M. , Iskra‐Caruana M.‐L. , Ocimati W. , Tinzaara W. , Kumar P. L. , Staver C.
Published: October 2018

Vegetatively propagated crops suffer from yield loss and reduced stand density and longevity caused by the build‐up of certain pests and pathogens between successive plantings via infected planting material. Here, six seedborne phytosanitary problems of banana are reviewed to evaluate whether a seed degeneration framework is a useful tool to identify approaches to achieve healthier planting materials. Phytoparasitic nematodes and weevils generate gradual declines in yields and in sucker health. Fusarium wilt and banana bunchy top virus cause progressive mat collapse across the field. Symptomless suckers from any mat in infested fields represent a risk of transmitting the disease to a new field. Xanthomonas and ralstonia wilts, due to incomplete systemicity, are intermediate in their threat to yield loss and frequency of transmission in suckers. Losses to banana streak virus are triggered by abiotic stress, although sucker transmission of episomal banana streak virus also contributes. A qualitative equation described here for seed degeneration covers a cycle beginning with the quality and risk factors of the planting material used to plant a new field and ends with the quality and risk factors of the suckers extracted from the field to plant a new field. This review of five planting material multiplication methods commonly used in banana contrasts their differing usefulness to address seed degeneration in the small farm context. It is proposed that initiatives to offset banana seed degeneration should integrate the role of off‐farm actors into decentralized initiatives rather than attempt to duplicate national seed certification frameworks from other true seed or vegetatively propagated crops.
Tracking the Coverage of Public Policy in Mass Media
Authors: Soroka Stuart , Wlezien Christopher
Published: October 2018

The average citizen often does not experience government policy directly, but learns about it from the mass media. The nature of media coverage of public policy is thus of real importance, for both public opinion and policy itself. It nevertheless is the case that scholars of public policy and political communication have invested rather little time in developing methods to track public policy coverage in media content. The lack of attention is all the more striking in an era in which media coverage is readily available in digital form. This paper offers a proposal for tracking coverage of the actual direction of policy change in mass media. It begins with some methodological considerations, and then draws on an expository case—defense spending in the United States—to assess the effectiveness of our automated content‐analytic methods. Results speak to the quantity and quality in media coverage of policy issues, and the potential role of mass media—to both inform and mislead—in modern representative democracy.
Truncated Decision Making and Deliberative Implementation: A Time‐Based Policy Process Model for Transitional China
Authors: Xue Lan , Zhao Jing
Published: October 2018

The time dimension has not attracted enough attention in policy process research in China, yet speed is the most distinctive feature of China’s recent development. This article, based on observations of China’s policy practices, proposes a new research perspective for understanding how the Chinese government has been able to address policy challenges in an era of rapid transition. The approach adopted by the government allows decision makers to respond quickly to serious problems with a truncated decision‐making process, and then implement the decisions through a more gradual deliberative process. The article examines China’s coal‐mining industry reform as an empirical case to illustrate how this governance approach has been used to achieve major policy reform, namely property rights reform for coal mines, while simultaneously maintaining stability, regulating production safety, and stimulating industrial development. The article concludes with a discussion of the broad implications of this pattern for improving the effectiveness of public policy both in and outside China.
Presidents’ Vetoes and Audience Costs
Authors: Rice Laurie L. , Kernell Samuel
Published: October 2018

Veto threats may offer presidents bargaining leverage, but such leverage will be diminished if they and those with whom they transact business view a veto as hurting the president’s approval rating and his party’s prospects in the next election. How concerned must presidents be about the audience costs associated with a veto? Political science research suggests that they should be in that the public does not like vetoes and punishes presidents when they exercise this authority. In this article, we test this argument with survey responses during times after presidents have issued a veto threat but before an actual veto. While, on average, respondents register opposition to a veto, this preference varies greatly with the specific policy in question and with respondents’ party identification and presidential approval. The results suggest that opposition to a veto comes disproportionately, may be limited to politically distant respondents, and thus may not be as costly as the net negative numbers suggest.
Covert singing in anticipatory auditory imagery
Authors: Pruitt Tim A. , Halpern Andrea R. , Pfordresher Peter Q.
Published: October 2018

To date, several fMRI studies reveal activation in motor planning areas during musical auditory imagery. We addressed whether such activations may give rise to peripheral motor activity, termed subvocalization or covert singing, using surface electromyography. Sensors placed on extrinsic laryngeal muscles, facial muscles, and a control site on the bicep measured muscle activity during auditory imagery that preceded singing, as well as during the completion of a visual imagery task. Greater activation was found in laryngeal and lip muscles for auditory than for visual imagery tasks, whereas no differences across tasks were found for other sensors. Furthermore, less accurate singers exhibited greater laryngeal activity during auditory imagery than did more accurate singers. This suggests that subvocalization may be used as a strategy to facilitate auditory imagery, which appears to be degraded in inaccurate singers. Taken together, these results suggest that subvocalization may play a role in anticipatory auditory imagery, and possibly as a way of supplementing motor associations with auditory imagery.
Understanding Cumulative Risk Perception from Judgments and Choices: An Application to Flood Risks
Authors: De La Maza Cristóbal , Davis Alex , Gonzalez Cleotilde , Azevedo Inês
Published: October 2018

Catastrophic events, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis, are rare, yet the cumulative risk of each event occurring at least once over an extended time period can be substantial. In this work, we assess the perception of cumulative flood risks, how those perceptions affect the choice of insurance, and whether perceptions and choices are influenced by cumulative risk information. We find that participants' cumulative risk judgments are well represented by a bimodal distribution, with a group that severely underestimates the risk and a group that moderately overestimates it. Individuals who underestimate cumulative risks make more risk‐seeking choices compared to those who overestimate cumulative risks. Providing explicit cumulative risk information for relevant time periods, as opposed to annual probabilities, is an inexpensive and effective way to improve both the perception of cumulative risk and the choices people make to protect against that risk.
Efficacy, Action, and Support for Reducing Climate Change Risks
Authors: Bostrom Ann , Hayes Adam L. , Crosman Katherine M.
Published: October 2018

A growing body of research demonstrates that believing action to reduce the risks of climate change is both possible (self‐efficacy) and effective (response efficacy) is essential to motivate and sustain risk mitigation efforts. Despite this potentially critical role of efficacy beliefs, measures and their use vary wildly in climate change risk perception and communication research, making it hard to compare and learn from efficacy studies. To address this problem and advance our understanding of efficacy beliefs, this article makes three contributions. First, we present a theoretically motivated approach to measuring climate change mitigation efficacy, in light of diverse proposed, perceived, and previously researched strategies. Second, we test this in two national survey samples (Amazon's Mechanical Turk N = 405, GfK Knowledge Panel N = 1,820), demonstrating largely coherent beliefs by level of action and discrimination between types of efficacy. Four additive efficacy scales emerge: personal self‐efficacy, personal response efficacy, government and collective self‐efficacy, and government and collective response efficacy. Third, we employ the resulting efficacy scales in mediation models to test how well efficacy beliefs predict climate change policy support, controlling for specific knowledge, risk perceptions, and ideology, and allowing for mediation by concern. Concern fully mediates the relatively strong effects of perceived risk on policy support, but only partly mediates efficacy beliefs. Stronger government and collective response efficacy beliefs and personal self‐efficacy beliefs are both directly and indirectly associated with greater support for reducing the risks of climate change, even after controlling for ideology and causal beliefs about climate change.
A Sharing Meanings Approach for Interdisciplinary Hazards Research
Authors: Hardy R. Dean
Published: October 2018

Hazards researchers frequently examine complex socioenvironmental problems, a difficult undertaking that is further compounded by the challenge of navigating the many disciplinary approaches in the field. This article draws on key insights from studies of the interdisciplinary process and proposes the “sharing meanings approach” for improving interdisciplinary collaboration in hazards research. The sharing meanings approach addresses common challenges to interdisciplinary teamwork and organizes them into four focal areas: (1) worldviews (including ontological, epistemological, and philosophical perspectives), (2) language, (3) research design, and (4) project goals. The approach emphasizes the process of sharing rather than seeking to develop a single set of shared meanings related to the four focal areas. The article identifies common challenges and recommends strategies and actions within each focal area for guiding teams toward sharing their implicit meanings. A hypothetical example is introduced to demonstrate how the approach offers a path for revealing and overcoming the common roadblocks experienced in interdisciplinary hazards research. By making interdisciplinary hazards teams’ implicit assumptions explicit, the sharing meanings approach offers an operational process to seize on moments of difference as productive tension and to see such challenges as opportunities—rather than obstacles—for innovating toward hybrid methodological research designs in hazards research.
Quantal Risk Assessment Database: A Database for Exploring Patterns in Quantal Dose‐Response Data in Risk Assessment and its Application to Develop Priors for Bayesian Dose‐Response Analysis
Authors: Wheeler Matthew W. , Piegorsch Walter W. , Bailer Albert John
Published: October 2018

Quantitative risk assessments for physical, chemical, biological, occupational, or environmental agents rely on scientific studies to support their conclusions. These studies often include relatively few observations, and, as a result, models used to characterize the risk may include large amounts of uncertainty. The motivation, development, and assessment of new methods for risk assessment is facilitated by the availability of a set of experimental studies that span a range of dose‐response patterns that are observed in practice. We describe construction of such a historical database focusing on quantal data in chemical risk assessment, and we employ this database to develop priors in Bayesian analyses. The database is assembled from a variety of existing toxicological data sources and contains 733 separate quantal dose‐response data sets. As an illustration of the database's use, prior distributions for individual model parameters in Bayesian dose‐response analysis are constructed. Results indicate that including prior information based on curated historical data in quantitative risk assessments may help stabilize eventual point estimates, producing dose‐response functions that are more stable and precisely estimated. These in turn produce potency estimates that share the same benefit. We are confident that quantitative risk analysts will find many other applications and issues to explore using this database.
Theoretical Matters: On the Need for Hazard and Disaster Theory Developed Through Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration
Authors: Sherman‐Morris Kathleen , Houston J. Brian , Subedi Jishnu
Published: October 2018

Hazard and disaster research requires a willingness to step outside of traditional disciplinary ontological and epistemological assumptions to both accommodate and integrate different perspectives. Moreover, the complex qualities of hazards and disasters necessitate interdisciplinary approaches to inform theory development that encompasses environmental, human, and infrastructure systems at multiple scales and units of analysis. Unfortunately, truly integrative hazard and disaster theory at a scale broad enough to account for the many systems and processes involved is currently limited. In this article, we argue thatrobusthazard and disaster theory can only arise from interdisciplinary research and collaboration. We examine challenges to the development of interdisciplinary hazard and disaster theory, and discuss the characteristics of theory necessary for the goal‐oriented nature of research aimed at reducing disaster impact.
Discrete and continuous coupled nonlinear integrable systems via the dressing method
Authors: Biondini Gino , Wang Qiao
Published: October 2018

A discrete analog of the dressing method is presented and used to derive integrable nonlinear evolution equations, including two infinite families of novel continuous and discrete coupled integrable systems of equations of nonlinear Schrödinger type. First, a demonstration is given of how discrete nonlinear integrable equations can be derived starting from their linear counterparts. Then, starting from two uncoupled, discrete one‐directional linear wave equations, an appropriate matrix Riemann‐Hilbert problem is constructed, and a discrete matrix nonlinear Schrödinger system of equations is derived, together with its Lax pair. The corresponding compatible vector reductions admitted by these systems are also discussed, as well as their continuum limits. Finally, by increasing the size of the problem, three‐component discrete and continuous integrable discrete systems are derived, as well as their generalizations to systems with an arbitrary number of components.
Predictive Validity of the Columbia‐Suicide Severity Rating Scale among a Cohort of At‐risk Veterans
Authors: Matarazzo Bridget B. , Brown Gregory K. , Stanley Barbara , Forster Jeri E. , Billera Melodi , Currier Glenn W. , Ghahramanlou‐Holloway Marjan , Brenner Lisa A.
Published: October 2018

Objective

To examine the psychometric properties of the Columbia‐ Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C‐SSRS) among a cohort of veterans identified to be at risk for suicide.

Method

Convergent, divergent, and predictive validity of the C‐SSRS were examined using secondary data from a study of veterans who presented to the psychiatric emergency room (n = 237). Data were collected 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months following emergency room discharge.

Results

Results demonstrated good evidence for convergent and divergent validity. Baseline intensity subscale scores predicted actual and interrupted attempts, and any behavior for all available data and for the subsample who had 6‐month follow‐up data, and also predicted preparatory behavior in the full sample. Baseline severity subscale scores predicted preparatory behavior and any behavior for the full sample and for those with 6 months of follow‐up, and actual attempts for the full sample. Severity of ideation cutoff scores was significantly associated with actual attempts and any behavior in both samples. Adding a prior behavior criterion demonstrated similar results.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that the C‐SSRS is a psychometrically sound measure that can be used to augment suicide risk assessment with veterans who are already identified to be at risk for suicide.
Situating Emotions in Social Practices: Empirical Insights from Animal Husbandry in the Cow‐Calf Industry
Authors: Bassi Emilie M. , Parkins John R. , Caine Ken J.
Published: October 2018

Meat production and consumption is hotly debated in many parts of the world, in part because of ongoing animal welfare concerns. Drawing on several contending positions about the role of human agency in social practices, coupled with a sociology of emotion, we empirically identify a range of perspectives on the role of emotions in social practices. Drawing on a narrative inquiry method with cow‐calf producers in Alberta, Canada, we seek to clarify how emotions can play a role in the evolution of farm animal care. Results suggest a narrative of ‘emotional agency’ where primary and secondary emotions are a catalyst for challenging, re‐directing, and changing norms associated with farm animal welfare.
Comparison of ceramide retention in the stratum corneum between dry skin and normal skin using animal model with fluorescent imaging method
Authors: Aoki Miku , Ogai Kazuhiro , Kobayashi Masato , Minematsu Takeo , Nakatani Toshio , Okuwa Mayumi , Sanada Hiromi , Sugama Junko
Published: October 2018

Background/Purpose

Skin care via moisturization compensates for the lack of skin barrier function. However, moisturizer application methods are not clearly decided. Here, we focused on and examined the retention of externally applied ceramide in the stratum corneum (SC) using fluorescent imaging method. This study aimed to compare ceramide retention in the SC between normal skin and dry skin using an animal model.

Methods

Nine‐week‐old Sprague‐Dawley rats were divided into two groups: normal skin and dry skin model. The dry skin model group was treated with acetone‐diethyl ether solution. A fluorescently labeled ceramide solution was prepared and applied to rats’ back skin. Skin samples were taken at 0 minute and 12 hours after ceramide application. Fluorescently labeled ceramide was evaluated and observed under a microscope.

Results

The intensity of externally applied ceramide in the normal skin group showed no significant change from 0 minute to 12 hours after application. In contrast, in the dry skin model group, the intensity of externally applied ceramide increased significantly from 0 minute to 12 hours after application.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate that the externally applied ceramide penetrated the SC of dry skin more than that of normal skin.
Comparing mobility patterns between residents and visitors using geo‐tagged social media data
Authors: Liu Qingsong , Wang Zheye , Ye Xinyue
Published: October 2018

Understanding the behavior of residents and visitors is vital in tourism studies, urban planning, and local economic development. However, most existing studies consider visitors as one group, while overlooking the difference in mobility patterns between subgroups of visitors and residents. In this research, we analyzed the mobility pattern of local Twitter users and visitor Twitter users, from the flow network and evenness distribution of user activities. The results show that short distance movement is the dominant type of activity not only for residents, but also for visitors. Moreover, intra‐county movement accounts for the primary type of movement for all groups of Twitter users. Besides, the centrality index of Twitter users reconstructs a core–peripheral structure, and there is some relationship between the centrality index and population size. Further, the spatial distribution of evenness index at different spatial scales shows a clear “T”‐shaped core–peripheral structure. However, we need to synthesize multiple open big data to improve the study and conduct the analysis in future work at finer spatial scales, such as census tracts, census blocks, or the street level.
Antibiotic lock therapy for salvage of tunneled central venous catheters with catheter colonization and catheter‐related bloodstream infection
Authors: Zanwar Saurabh , Jain Punit , Gokarn Anant , Devadas Santhosh Kumar , Punatar Sachin , Khurana Sachin , Bonda Avinash , Pruthy Ritesh , Bhat Vivek , Qureshi Sajid , Khattry Navin
Published: October 2018

Central venous catheters (CVCs) represent a significant source of infection in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and can add to the cost of care, morbidity, and mortality. Organisms forming biofilms on the inner surface of catheters require a much higher local antibiotic concentration to clear the pathogen growth. Antibiotic lock therapy (ALT) represents one such strategy to achieve such high intraluminal concentrations of antibiotics and can facilitate catheter salvage. Patients with catheter colonization (CC) or hemodynamically stable catheter‐related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) received ALT per institutional policy. We analyzed the incidence of CC and CRBSI and salvage rate of tunneled CVCs (Hickman) with ALT in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant in this retrospective study. Catheter colonization was noted in 9.8% and CRBSI in 10.7% patients. Gram‐negative bacilli (GNB) accounted for 45% and 83% of isolates in CC and CRBSI, respectively. In patients with CRBSI, the rate of catheter salvage with the use of ALT in addition to systemic antibiotics was 86% compared to 55% in patients with systemic antibiotics use only (P = 0.06). There was no CRBSI related mortality, and no increase in resistant strains was noted at subsequent CRBSI. In conclusion, ALT represents an important strategy for catheter salvage, especially for gram‐negative infections, in a carefully selected patient population.
Treatment of chronic hepatitis C viral infection with sofosbuvir and daclatasvir in kidney transplant recipients
Authors: Huang Hongfeng , Tang Huanna , Deng Hao , Shen Jia , Zhou Qin , Xie Wenqing , Wu Jianyong , Chen Jianghua
Published: October 2018

Objectives

To assess the efficacy and the risk of sofosbuvir‐daclatasvir treatment among kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Methods

A real‐life retrospective cohort analysis was performed on KTRs treated with sofosbuvir‐daclatasvir at our center between January 2016 and March 2018. We collected data from 19 KTRs (13 males; age 48.3 ± 9.6 years; HCV genotype I, n = 16; chronic active hepatitis B coinfection, n = 8). Virological and clinical data were assessed.

Results

Overall, 100% of the patients had achieved a sustained virological response 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12). Their liver function improved notably, with a significant decline in the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels (ALT 34.8 ± 18.6 IU/L pre‐treatment and 15.0 ± 6.8 IU/L post‐treatment, P = 0.0003; AST: 35.05 ± 18.1 IU/L pre‐treatment and 19.1 ± 7.0 post‐treatment, P = 0.001). A significant amelioration was observed in patients with proteinuria (n = 12) (0.95 [0.35‐3.31] g/g at baseline to 0.39 [0.27‐1.02] g/g post‐therapy, P = 0.048). The serum creatinine, eGFR, and tacrolimus levels were stable during therapy.

Conclusion

The preliminary data demonstrated that sofosbuvir‐daclatasvir was highly effective in treating HCV infection in KTRs with acceptable tolerance.
Evolution in screening for Down syndrome
Authors: Ashoor Al Mahri Ghalia , Nicolaides KH
Published: October 2018

Key content

This article describes how screening for fetal trisomy 21 has evolved from advanced maternal age, with a detection rate of 30% at a false positive rate (FPR) of 5%, to second trimester serum biochemistry, with a detection rate of 60–75% at an FPR of 5%, and then to the first trimester combination of fetal nuchal translucency and serum biochemistry, with a detection rate of 90% at an FPR of 5%.

The introduction of cell‐free DNA analysis of maternal blood is outlined. This method has improved detection rate to 99% with a reduction in FPR to 0.1%.

As this test is currently expensive, it may be difficult to offer it to all patients as a first‐line method of screening. A feasible approach to the introduction of the cell‐free DNA test is discussed, which is to offer it contingent on the results of first‐line screening with the combined test.

Learning objectives

To understand the different methods available for screening for fetal trisomy 21.

To learn about the performance of different methods of screening.

To be able to describe the new method of screening by cell‐free DNA testing.

To understand the issues related to clinical implementation of cell‐free DNA testing.

Ethical issues

Should the cell‐free DNA test be offered solely based on health economic considerations or on individual patient interests?

Should screening be carried out for conditions other than trisomy 21?
Violations of Core Knowledge Shape Early Learning
Authors: Stahl Aimee E. , Feigenson Lisa
Published: October 2018

Research on cognitive development has revealed that even the youngest minds detect and respond to events that adults find surprising. These surprise responses suggest that infants have a basic set of “core” expectations about the world that are shared with adults and other species. However, little work has asked what purpose these surprise responses serve. Here we discuss recent evidence that violations of core knowledge offer special opportunities for learning. Infants and young children make predictions about the world on the basis of their core knowledge of objects, quantities, and social entities. We argue that when these predictions fail to match the observed data, infants and children experience an enhanced drive to seek and retain new information. This impact of surprise on learning is not equipotent. Instead, it is directed to entities that are relevant to the surprise itself; this drive propels children—even infants—to form and test new hypotheses about surprising aspects of the world. We briefly consider similarities and differences between these recent findings with infants and children, on the one hand, and findings on prediction errors in humans and non‐human animals, on the other. These comparisons raise open questions that require continued inquiry, but suggest that considering phenomena across species, ages, kinds of surprise, and types of learning will ultimately help to clarify how surprise shapes thought.
Crop genome‐wide association study: a harvest of biological relevance
Authors: Liu Hai‐Jun , Yan Jianbing
Published: October 2018

With the advent of rapid genotyping and next‐generation sequencing technologies, genome‐wide association study (GWAS) has become a routine strategy for decoding genotype–phenotype associations in many species. More than 1000 such studies over the last decade have revealed substantial genotype–phenotype associations in crops and provided unparalleled opportunities to probe functional genomics. Beyond the many ‘hits’ obtained, this review summarizes recent efforts to increase our understanding of the genetic architecture of complex traits by focusing on non‐main effects including epistasis, pleiotropy, and phenotypic plasticity. We also discuss how these achievements and the remaining gaps in our knowledge will guide future studies. Synthetic association is highlighted as leading to false causality, which is prevalent but largely underestimated. Furthermore, validation evidence is appealing for future GWAS, especially in the context of emerging genome‐editing technologies.
A touching experiment: Tissue culture, tacit knowledge, and the making of bioart
Authors: Straughan Elizabeth R.
Published: October 2018

In this paper I present an experimental project carried out at The University of Western Australia's art and science organisation, SymbioticA. The paper looks to the embodied practice of learning to make bioart through consideration of the tools and protocols required in the making process. In so doing, the paper traces through the process of “making” by attending to the sense of touch in the laboratory. As an analytical guide, I work through Polanyi's concept of tacit knowledge, which I approach through a focus on the sense of touch, to consider the ways in which proximate knowledge is generated at SymbioticA between artist, objects and subjects. This is knowledge that not only emerges to enable the experimental project, but which also re‐works it. Such an approach provides mechanisms for close consideration of the various actants with which knowledge is generated. In so doing, I offer a post‐phenomenological account of embodied practice in the space of the laboratory to think through the roles of the somatic senses and non‐human others, as well as artists themselves, in the acquisition of knowledge at SymbioticA. Deploying an experimental project as research method is, I argue, a valid methodological manoeuvre for geographic studies into experimental spaces such as the laboratory as it enables unforeseen lines of inquiry to emerge through “doing.”
Comparing the influence of two immunosuppressants (fingolimod, azathioprine) on wound healing in a rat model of primary and secondary intention wound closure
Authors: Ginestal Ricardo , Pérez‐Köhler Bárbara , Pérez‐López Paloma , Rodríguez Marta , Pascual Gemma , Cebrián David , Bellón Juan M. , García‐Moreno Francisca
Published: October 2018

In this study, rat models of wound closure by first and second intention were developed to evaluate the influence that two immunosuppressants for treating multiple sclerosis (fingolimod, azathioprine) have on wound healing. Sixty‐three Sprague‐Dawley rats were daily treated with fingolimod (0.6 mg/kg), azathioprine (2.5 mg/kg), or placebo (saline). Following 6 weeks of treatment, a linear incision (1.5 cm) or a circular excisional defect (diameter 1.5 cm) was made on the dorsal skin. The treatments were uninterrupted and after 7 days (incisional) or 21 days (incisional, excisional), animals were euthanized (n = 7 per group and time‐point). Morphometric (wound closure), histological (stainings), and immunofluorescent studies (macrophages) were performed to evaluate the healing process. For both the incisional and excisional defects, animals treated with fingolimod exhibited a healing process equivalent to that of placebo in terms of collagenization, wound closure, and macrophage response. By comparison, groups treated with azathioprine displayed a delay in healing times which was especially evident in the excisional defect, where inflammatory reaction and collagen deposition in the repair tissue remained active by day 21. These results show that immunosuppressants with a selective mechanism of action (fingolimod) can have less impact on wound healing than their classical nonselective counterparts (azathioprine).
Management of Subtrochanteric Proximal Femur Fractures: A Review of Recent Literature
Authors: Jackson Christopher , Tanios Mina , Ebraheim Nabil
Published: October 2018

Subtrochanteric femur fractures are an uncommon injury in orthopedics, but when they are encountered they may present difficulties in management. The purpose of this paper is to examine the recent literature on the epidemiology, classification, initial evaluation, and definitely treatment for these injuries. These will assist the physician to determine the optimal treatment strategy and avoid potential surgical complication.
Assessment of the State of the Natural Antioxidant Barrier of a Body in Patients Complaining about the Presence of Tinnitus
Authors: Pawlak-Osińska Katarzyna , Kaźmierczak Henryk , Marzec Maria , Kupczyk Daria , Bilski Rafał , Mikołajewska Emilia , Mikołajewski Dariusz , Augustyńska Beata
Published: October 2018

Background. Tinnitus is defined as a phantom auditory perception, i.e., sound experience despite the lack of acoustic stimuli in the environment. The aim of this study was to assess the state of the natural antioxidant barrier of a body in patients complaining about the presence of tinnitus. Material and Methods. The study included a total of 51 patients aged from 20 to 62 years with diagnosed idiopathic tinnitus and 19 healthy subjects as a control group. All patients underwent the audiometric tone test, speech audiometry, distortion otoacoustic emission product testing, study of evoked auditory potentials of short latency, and biochemical analysis of venous blood concerning values of activity or concentration of glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, S‐transferase, glutathione reductase superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde, and ceruloplasmin as the selected parameters of oxidative stress. Results. Disorders of the auditory pathway were not only limited to the cochlea but also covered its further episodes. Mean values of activity or concentration of the selected parameters of oxidative stress in the study and control groups showed reduced effectiveness of the body’s natural antioxidant barrier. Discussion. Patients complaining about the presence of tinnitus showed reduced effectiveness of the body’s natural antioxidant barrier compared to the control group. Conclusions. The main indication to undertake further research on the functioning of the antioxidant barrier in people suffering from ailments in the form of tinnitus is to determine a suitable therapy aimed at improving the quality of life of these patients, which might be the administration of antioxidant medications.