bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tubular epithelial C1orf54 mediates protection and recovery from acute kidney injury
Authors: Xie Hongyang , Wang Yaqiong , Zhang Hang , Fan Qin , Dai Daopeng , Zhuang Lingfang , Tao Rong , Chen Qiujing , Shen Weifeng , Lu Lin , Ding Xiaoqiang , Zhang Ruiyan , Yan Xiaoxiang
Published: July 2018

Acute kidney injury (AKI) incidence among hospitalized patients is increasing steadily. Despite progress in prevention strategies and support measures, AKI remains correlated with high mortality, particularly among ICU patients, and no effective AKI therapy exists. Here, we investigated the function in kidney ischaemia‐reperfusion injury (IRI) of C1orf54, a newly identified protein encoded by an open reading frame on chromosome 1. C1orf54 expression was high in kidney and low in heart, liver, spleen, lung and skeletal muscle in healthy mice, and in the kidney, C1orf54 was expressed in tubular epithelial cells (TECs), but not in glomeruli. C1orf54 expression was markedly decreased on Day 1 after kidney IRI and then gradually recovered to baseline levels by Day 7. Notably, relative to wild‐type mice, C1orf54‐knockout mice exhibited impaired TEC proliferation and delayed recovery after kidney IRI, which led to deteriorated renal function and increased mortality. Conversely, adenovirus‐mediated C1orf54 overexpression promoted TEC proliferation and ameliorated kidney pathology, which resulted in accelerated renal repair and improved renal function. Mechanistically, C1orf54 was found to promote TEC proliferation through PI3K/AKT signalling. Thus, C1orf54 holds considerable potential as a therapeutic target in kidney IRI.
Heterogeneity of lipidomic profiles among lung cancer subtypes of patients
Authors: Lv Jiapei , Gao Danyan , Zhang Yong , Wu Duojiao , Shen Lihua , Wang Xiangdong
Published: July 2018

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer‐related deaths with an increasing incidence and poor prognoses. To further understand the regulatory mechanisms of lipidomic profiles in lung cancer subtypes, we measure the profiles of plasma lipidome between health and patients with lung cancer or among patients with squamous cell carcinomas, adenocarcinoma or small cell lung cancer and to correct lipidomic and genomic profiles of lipid‐associated enzymes and proteins by integrating the data of large‐scale genome screening. Our studies demonstrated that circulating levels of PS and lysoPS significantly increased, while lysoPE and PE decreased in patients with lung cancer. Our data indicate that lung cancer‐specific and subtype‐specific lipidomics in the circulation are important to understand mechanisms of systemic metabolisms and identify diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The carbon atoms, dual bonds or isomerism in the lipid molecule may play important roles in lung cancer cell differentiations and development. This is the first try to integrate lipidomic data with lipid protein‐associated genomic expression among lung cancer subtypes as the part of clinical trans‐omics. We found that a large number of lipid protein‐associated genes significantly change among cancer subtypes, with correlations with altered species and spatial structures of lipid metabolites.
A practical application of onychomycosis cure – combining patient, physician and regulatory body perspectives
Authors: Gupta A.K. , Versteeg S.G. , Shear N.H.
Published: July 2018

Due to the high relapse rates and the rise of predisposing factors, the need for curing onychomycosis is paramount. To effectively address onychomycosis, the definition of cure used in a clinical setting should be agreed upon and applied homogeneously across therapies (e.g. oral, topical and laser treatments). In order to determine what is or what should be used to define cure in a clinical setting, a literature search was conducted to identify methods used to evaluate treatment success. The limitations, strengths, prevalence and utility of each outcome measure were investigated. Seven ways to measure treatment success were identified; mycological cure, patient/investigator assessments, complete cure, quality of life instruments, severity indexes, clinical cure and temporary clearance. Despite its shortcomings, mycological cure is the most objective and consistent outcome measure used across onychomycosis studies. It is suggested that diagnostic goals of onychomycosis should be used to define cure in a clinical setting. Modifications to outcome measures such as incorporating molecular‐based techniques could be a future avenue to explore.
Effect of sustained release of basic fibroblast growth factor using biodegradable gelatin hydrogels on frozen‐thawed human ovarian tissue in a xenograft model
Authors: Tanaka Ayaka , Nakamura Hitomi , Tabata Yasuhiko , Fujimori Yuka , Kumasawa Keiichi , Kimura Tadashi
Published: July 2018

Aim

Ovarian tissue cryopreservation before cancer treatment is the only option to preserve fertility under some circumstances. However, tissue ischemia after transplantation while awaiting angiogenesis induces dysfunctional folliculogenesis and reduces ovarian reserve and is one of the disadvantages of frozen‐thawed ovarian tissue transplantation. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a major regulator of angiogenesis. However, bFGF rapidly loses biological activity when its free form is injected in vivo. This study investigated whether administration of active bFGF helps establish a nurturing environment for follicular survival.

Methods

A sheet form of a sustained release drug delivery system for bFGF was developed using biodegradable acidic gelatin hydrogel (bFGF sheet). The bFGF sheets or phosphate‐buffered saline sheets, as a negative control, were transplanted with frozen‐thawed human ovarian tissues subcutaneously into the backs of severe combined immunodeficient mice. Neovascularization, cell proliferation, fibrosis and follicular survival of ovarian grafts were analyzed at 6 weeks after xenografting.

Results

The bFGF sheets were optimized to release bFGF for at least 10 days. The transplantation of bFGF sheets with frozen‐thawed ovarian tissues significantly increased human and mouse CD31‐positive areas and stromal and endothelial cell proliferations. The administration of bFGF also significantly decreased the percentage of the fibrotic area in the graft, resulting in a significant increase in primordial and primary follicular density.

Conclusion

Local administration of a sustained release of biologically active bFGF induced neovascularization in frozen‐thawed ovarian tissue grafts, which could establish the nurturing environment required for follicular survival in heterotopic xenografts.
SUMO enters the ring: the emerging role of SUMOylation in Magnaporthe oryzae pathogenicity
Authors: Littlejohn George R.
Published: July 2018

This article is a Commentary on Liu et al., 219: 1031–1047.
Fifteen years’ experience of implantable cardioverter defibrillator in children and young adults: Mortality and complications study
Authors: Lewandowski Michał , Syska Paweł , Kowalik Ilona , Maciąg Aleksander , Sterliński Maciej , Ateńska‐Pawłowska Joanna , Szwed Hanna
Published: July 2018

Background

Young implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) recipients have a high rate of complications, some of which seem to be underestimated. We report our clinical experience with ICD therapy in children and young adults during a 15 year follow up.

Methods

We reviewed the database of ICD recipients at the present institution and chose 73 consecutive patients who underwent implantation at age 6–21 years. We analyzed intervention rate, mortality, rate and characteristics of complications and treatment options.

Results

A total of 20/73 patients (27.4%) received ≥1 episode of appropriate therapy (AT) for ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (anti‐tachycardia pacing or shock) and 24/73 patients (32.8%) had one or multiple episodes of inappropriate therapy (IT). Eight patients (11%) had both interventions: AT + IT. A total of 15/73 patients (20.5%) had ventricular lead dysfunction, with 13 re‐implantations (17.8%) of a new system. Four of 73 patients (5.5%) had infection: endocarditis or device pocket infection. A total of 2/73 patients (2.7%) died due to ventricular lead dysfunction, while 22/73 patients (30.1%) needed elective device replacement, five of them twice (6.8%).

Conclusion

Endocardial ICD implantation in children and young adults is a feasible and life‐saving procedure, according to the present 15 year follow up. The rate of complications including IT was high: 72.8% in the young ICD recipients. Re‐implantation of a new system was often required due to ventricular lead dysfunction or infection in 25% of the patients.
Power and Recognition: How (Super)Powers Decide the International Recognition Process
Authors: RIEGL MARTIN , DOBOŠ BOHUMIL
Published: July 2018

The article offers a modified theoretical approach toward the issue of secession and international recognition. Based on the novel political theory of secession as presented by Milena Sterio and the measurement of external involvement in secessionist attempts as researched by Alexis Heraclides, the article provides a theoretical model of modified (super)power rule. The article, based on preliminary conclusions from an internal dataset of secessionist attempts between 1946 and 2016 containing 63 items, argues that effective (super)power support is a sufficient condition for thede factoindependence of any secessionist entity. The model is tested on cases of Somaliland, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Kosovo, and Transnistria.

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Openness to Social Science Knowledges? The Politics of Disciplinary Collaboration within the Field of UK Food Security Research
Authors: Morris Carol , Raman Sujatha , Seymour Susanne
Published: July 2018

This article explores a form of knowledge politics played out within and between universities and research institutes as sites of certified disciplinary expertise in the agro‐food domain. It investigates the openness of this domain to the expertise of the agro‐food social sciences particularly when challenge‐led research programmes require collaboration across disciplines. A case study is provided by the multi‐discipline field of food security research in the UK involving interviews with key stakeholders. The article examines how this research field’s disciplinary diversity is understood by key stakeholders. Interview data are analysed thematically in terms of the current and potential contribution of social science disciplines, the different ways in which stakeholders imagine social science research, and whether social scientists themselves recognise and align with these different imaginaries. The article concludes by arguing that the field of food security research in the UK is open only selectively to agro‐food social science knowledges and that this is likely to have negative implications for addressing the challenges of food security. Further, if the promise of collaborative working between disciplines in agro‐food research fields is to be made good then the emphasis of agro‐food knowledge politics scholarship and the governance of knowledge‐making needs to change.
Current dorsal myelographic column and dural diameter reduction rules do not apply at the cervicothoracic junction in horses
Authors: Estell Krista , Spriet Mathieu , Phillips Kathryn L. , Aleman Monica , Finno Carrie J.
Published: July 2018

Previously published myelographic studies do not report findings at the junction between the seventh cervical (C7) and first thoracic vertebrae (T1). Modern digital radiographic equipment allows improved visualization of C7‐T1. Based on clinical experience, we hypothesized that 50% reduction of the dorsal myelographic column or 20% reduction of the dural diameter, criteria commonly used as a supportive finding for spinal cord compression in the cervical vertebral column, do not apply at C7‐T1. A myelographic study was performed on 12 healthy, neurologically normal horses. Our hypothesis was confirmed; using established criteria eight of 12 horses would have been classified as having evidence of spinal cord compression at C7‐T1. The dorsal myelographic column reduction at C7‐T1 was 48 ± 12%, while the C6‐C7 dorsal myelographic column reduction was 33 ± 17% (mean ± standard deviation) (P = 0.010). The dural diameter reduction at C7‐T1 (22.0 ± 6.7%) was significantly greater than the dural diameter reduction at C6‐C7 (13.2 ± 9.5%) (P = 0.0007). Further measurements and comparisons suggested that the apparent greater reduction of dorsal myelographic column and dural diameter at C7‐T1 was due to larger intravertebral measurements at C7 rather than smaller intervertebral values at C7‐T1. Based on these findings, alternative criteria should be used at C7‐T1 when assessing clinical cases for cervical stenotic myelopathy. Reduction of the dorsal myelographic column by 60% or of the dural diameter by 30% would avoid high numbers of false positive myelographic cases at C7‐T1.
Computed tomographic features of destructive granulomatous rhinitis with intracranial extension secondary to leishmaniasis in a cat
Authors: Altuzarra Raul , Movilla Rebeca , Roura Xavier , Espada Yvonne , Majo Natalia , Novellas Rosa
Published: July 2018

A 5‐year‐old castrated male Domestic Shorthair cat presented for evaluation of chronic history of nasal discharge and nasal stridor. On computed tomography (CT), a destructive ill‐defined mass of soft tissue attenuation was occupying the right nasal cavity and extending into the left nasal cavity, nasopharynx, and rostral cranial cavity. Histopathology of the rhinoscopically excised samples consisted with destructive granulomatous rhinitis secondary to Leishmania spp. Chronic granulomatous rhinitis with intracranial and nasopharyneal extension secondary to Leishmania spp. infection should be included as a differential diagnosis for a destructive nasal mass of soft tissue attenuation, especially in endemic regions for leishmaniasis.
Exposure to whole chicken carcasses may present a greater risk of campylobacteriosis compared to exposure to chicken drumsticks
Authors: Nohra Antoine , Grinberg Alex , Midwinter Anne C. , Marshall Jonathan C. , Collins‐Emerson Julie M. , French Nigel P.
Published: July 2018

In New Zealand, the major risk factor for campylobacteriosis has been identified as poultry consumption. New Zealanders consume different types of chicken meat which undergo different processing before entering the retail chain. The manipulations and jointing of chicken carcasses into pieces and the subsequent processing and packaging have the potential to cross‐contaminate and reshuffle bacterial pathogens among the different products sold. The aim of this study was to analyse: (a) the differences in the viable count and population genetic structure between Campylobacter isolated from chicken drumsticks and whole carcass meat for retail sale over a 1‐year period; and (b) the genetic relatedness of human and chicken isolates collected concurrently. Enumeration of Campylobacter was performed using a spiral plater combined with manual spread plating. Campylobacter isolates were identified by polymerase chain reaction and typed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). C. jejuni was the dominant species among both whole carcasses (63.5%) and drumsticks samples (73.8%), followed by C. coli (27% and 23.1%, respectively). After sample weight adjustment, whole carcasses showed significantly higher Campylobacter counts than drumsticks, with a significant difference in the counts between the commercial suppliers in both types of retail meat. MLST revealed 28 different sequence types among the two types of meat. Using permutational multivariate analysis of variance, statistically significant differences in the population genetic structures were observed between different suppliers but were not observed between the two types of chicken retail meat. In conclusion, we found differences in Campylobacter viable counts, suggesting consumption of whole carcasses may determine an exposure to a higher number of Campylobacter bacteria than consumption of chicken drumsticks. The Campylobacter population genetic structure did not differ between the two types of chicken retail meat. Therefore, source attribution studies based on MLST are unlikely to be biased by the selection of these types of retail meat during sampling.
Effect of temperature and diet on the morphology of Euseius concordis (Acari: Phytoseiidae)
Authors: Lopes Paula Caroline , Kanno Rubens Hideo , Sourassou Nazer Famah , Moraes Gilberto Jose
Published: July 2018

Mite identification is usually done by the examination of morphological characteristics, the variation of which is not always sufficiently known to allow reliable distinction between closely related species. Morphological variations can be associated with geographical distribution and/ or with host ranges. The objective of this study is to evaluate the morphological variations of a population of a predatory mite identified as Euseius concordis (Chant) (Phytoseiidae) collected in Piracicaba, southeastern Brazil, when reared at different combinations of temperatures (20°C or 28°C) and diets (pollen of Typha domingensis Pers or the eriophyid mite Aceria litchii (Keifer)). High variations were observed even among mites of each treatment. Temperature (especially) and diet caused significant changes in the dimensions of some structures. Extreme cases corresponded to the maximal lengths of the dorsal idiosomal setae z2 and z4, which were about twice their minimal lengths. It is argued that for practical taxonomic purposes, it is more relevant to determine the range of the variation of each structure than its mean or other statistical parameters describing populational variations.
Domain Meissner state and spontaneous vortex-antivortex generation in the ferromagnetic superconductor EuFe
2
(As
0.79
P
0.21
)
2
Authors: Stolyarov Vasily S. , Veshchunov Ivan S. , Grebenchuk Sergey Yu. , Baranov Denis S. , Golovchanskiy Igor A. , Shishkin Andrey G. , Zhou Nan , Shi Zhixiang , Xu Xiaofeng , Pyon Sunseng , Sun Yue , Jiao Wenhe , Cao Guang-Han , Vinnikov Lev Ya. , Golubov Alexander A. , Tamegai Tsuyoshi , Buzdin Alexander I. , Roditchev Dimitri
Published: July 2018

Adding ferromagnetism to superconductor leads to spatially patterned phases of spontaneously generated vortex-antivortex pairs.
Expression of the Vaccinia Virus Antiapoptotic F1 Protein Is Blocked by Protein Kinase R in the Absence of the Viral E3 Protein
Authors: Mehta Ninad , Enwere Emeka K. , Santos Theodore Dos , Saffran Holly A. , Hazes Bart , Evans David , Barry Michele , Smiley James R.
Published: July 2018

Previous studies have shown that E3-deficient vaccinia virus triggers apoptosis of infected cells. Our study demonstrates that this proapoptotic phenotype stems, at least in part, from the failure of the mutant virus to produce adequate quantities of the viral F1 protein, which acts at the mitochondria to directly block apoptosis. Our data establish a regulatory link between the vaccinia virus proteins that suppress the innate response to double-stranded RNA and those that block the intrinsic apoptotic pathway.
Analysis of multiple genetic loci reveals MPDZ-NF1B rs1324183 as a putative genetic marker for keratoconus
Authors: Wang Yu Meng , Ma Li , Lu Shi Yao , Chan Tommy Chung Yan , Yam Jason C S , Tang Shu Min , Kam Ka Wai , Tam Pancy O S , Tham Clement C , Young Alvin L , Jhanji Vishal , Pang Chi Pui , Chen Li Jia
Published: July 2018

Objective

To investigate the associations between 16 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 14 genetic loci and keratoconus in an independent Chinese cohort.

Methods

This cross-sectional, case-control association study included a Chinese cohort of 133 patients with keratoconus and 371 control subjects. In a recent meta-analysis study, we identified association of 16 SNPs in 14 gene loci with keratoconus. In this study, we genotyped these 16 SNPs in all the patients and controls and analysed their association with keratoconus, its clinical severities and progression profiles. We also analysed the genotype-phenotype correlation between individual SNPs and steep keratometry, flat keratometry (Kf), average keratometry (Avg K) and best-fit sphere diameter (BFS) of the anterior and posterior corneal surface.

Results

Among the 16 selected SNPs, rs1324183 in the MPDZ-NF1B locus showed a significant association with keratoconus (OR=2.22; 95% CI 1.42 to 3.45, p=4.30×10–4), especially severe keratoconus (OR=5.10, 95% CI 1.63 to 15.93, p=0.005). The rs1324183 A allele was positively associated with anterior Kf (p=0.008), anterior Avg K (p=0.017), posterior Kf (p=0.01) and negatively associated with apex pachymetry (p=0.007) and anterior BFS (p=0.023) in keratoconus. The other 15 SNPs had no significant association with keratoconus or genotype-phenotype correlations.

Conclusions

This study confirmed the association of SNP rs1324183 in MPDZ-NF1B with keratoconus and revealed the association of this SNP with keratoconus severity and corneal parameters. It is thus a putative genetic marker for monitoring the progression of keratoconus to a severe form and facilitating early intervention.
Antivirals for influenza-Like Illness? A randomised Controlled trial of Clinical and Cost effectiveness in primary CarE (ALIC4E): the ALIC4E protocol
Authors: Bongard Emily , van der Velden Alike W , Cook Johanna , Saville Ben , Beutels Philippe , Munck Aabenhus Rune , Brugman Curt , Chlabicz Slawomir , Coenen Samuel , Colliers Annelies , Davies Melanie , De Paor Muireann , De Sutter An , Francis Nick A , Glinz Dominik , Godycki-ćwirko Maciek , Goossens Herman , Holmes Jane , Ieven Margareta , de Jong Menno , Lindbaek Morten , Little Paul , Martinón-Torres Frederico , Moragas Ana , Pauer József , Pfeiferová Markéta , Radzeviciene-Jurgute Ruta , Sundvall Pär-Daniel , Torres Antoni , Touboul Pia , Varthalis Dionyssios , Verheij Theo , Butler Christopher C
Published: July 2018

Introduction

Effective management of seasonal and pandemic influenza is a high priority internationally. Guidelines in many countries recommend antiviral treatment for older people and individuals with comorbidity at increased risk of complications. However, antivirals are not often prescribed in primary care in Europe, partly because its clinical and cost effectiveness has been insufficiently demonstrated by non-industry funded and pragmatic studies.

Methods and analysis

Antivirals for influenza-Like Illness? An rCt of Clinical and Cost effectiveness in primary CarE is a European multinational, multicentre, open-labelled, non-industry funded, pragmatic, adaptive-platform, randomised controlled trial. Initial trial arms will be best usual primary care and best usual primary care plus treatment with oseltamivir for 5 days. We aim to recruit at least 2500 participants ≥1 year presenting with influenza-like illness (ILI), with symptom duration ≤72 hours in primary care over three consecutive periods of confirmed high influenza incidence. Participant outcomes will be followed up to 28 days by diary and telephone. The primary objective is to determine whether adding antiviral treatment to best usual primary care is effective in reducing time to return to usual daily activity with fever, headache and muscle ache reduced to minor severity or less. Secondary objectives include estimating cost-effectiveness, benefits in subgroups according to age (<12, 12–64 and >64 years), severity of symptoms at presentation (low, medium and high), comorbidity (yes/no), duration of symptoms (≤48 hours/>48–72 hours), complications (hospital admission and pneumonia), use of additional prescribed medication including antibiotics, use of over-the-counter medicines and self-management of ILI symptoms.

Ethics and dissemination

Research ethics committee (REC) approval was granted by the NRES Committee South Central (Oxford B) and Clinical Trial Authority (CTA) approval by The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. All participating countries gained national REC and CTA approval as required. Dissemination of results will be through peer-reviewed scientific journals and conference presentations.

Trial registration number

ISRCTN27908921; Pre-results.
An adapted instrument to assess informed consent comprehension among youth and parents in rural western Kenya: a validation study
Authors: Afolabi Muhammed Olanrewaju , Rennie Stuart , Hallfors Denise Dion , Kline Tracy , Zeitz Susannah , Odongo Frederick S , Amek Nyaguara O , Luseno Winnie K
Published: July 2018

Objective

To adapt and validate a questionnaire originally developed in a research setting for assessment of comprehension of consent information in a different cultural and linguistic research setting.

Design

The adaptation process involved development and customisation of a questionnaire for each of the three study groups, modelled closely on the previously validated questionnaire. The three adapted draft questionnaires were further reviewed by two bioethicists and the developer of the original questionnaire for face and content validity. The revised questionnaire was subsequently programmed into an audio computerised format, with translations and back translations in three widely spoken languages by the study participants: Luo, Swahili and English.

Setting

The questionnaire was validated among adolescents, their parents and young adults living in Siaya County, a rural region of western Kenya.

Participants

Twenty-five-item adapted questionnaires consisting of close-ended, multiple-choice and open-ended questions were administered to 235 participants consisting of 107 adolescents, 92 parents and 36 young adults. Test-retest was conducted 2–4 weeks after first questionnaire administration among 74 adolescents, young adults and parents.

Outcome measure

Primary outcome measures included ceiling/floor analysis to identify questions with extremes in responses and item-level correlation to determine the test-retest relationships. Given the data format, tetrachoric correlations were conducted for dichotomous items and polychoric correlations for ordinal items. The qualitative validation assessment included face and content validity evaluation of the adapted instrument by technical experts.

Results

Ceiling/floor analysis showed eight question items for which >80% of one or more groups responded correctly, while for nine questions, including all seven open-ended questions,<20% responded correctly. Majority of the question items had moderate to strong test-retest correlation estimates indicating temporal stability.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates that cross-cultural adaptation and validation of an informed consent comprehension questionnaire is feasible. However, further research is needed to develop a tool which can estimate a quantifiable threshold of comprehension thereby serving as an objective indicator of the need for interventions to improve comprehension.
Evaluation of a patient safety programme on Surgical Safety Checklist Compliance: a prospective longitudinal study
Authors: Gillespie Brigid M , Harbeck Emma L , Lavin Joanne , Hamilton Kyra , Gardiner Therese , Withers Teresa K , Marshall Andrea P
Published: July 2018

Background

Surgical Safety Checklists (SSC) have been implemented widely across 132 countries since 2008. Yet, despite associated reductions in postoperative complications and death rates, implementation of checklists in surgery remains a challenge. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a patient safety programme over time on SSC use and incidence of clinical errors.

Design

A prospective longitudinal design over three time points and a retrospective secondary analysis of clinical incident data was undertaken.

Methods

We implemented a patient safety programme over 4 weeks to improve surgical teams’ use of the SSC. We undertook structured observations to assess surgical teams’ checklist use before and after programme implementation and conducted a retrospective audit of clinical incident data 12 months before and 12 months following implementation of the programme.

Results

There were significant improvements in the observed use of the SSC across all phases, particularly in sign-out where completion rates ranged from 79.3% to 94.5% (p<0.0001) following programme implementation. Across clinical incident audit periods, 33 019 surgical procedures were performed. Based on a subsample of 64 cases, clinical incidents occurred in 22/16 264 (0.13%) before implementation and 42/16 755 (0.25%) cases after implementation. The most predominant incident after programme implementation was inadequate tissue specimen labelling (23/42, 54.8%). Clinical incidents resulted in minimal or no harm to the patient.

Conclusions

The benefit in using a surgical checklist lies in the potential to enhance team communications and the promotion of a team culture in which safety is the priority.
Gout and the risk of incident atrial fibrillation in older adults: a study of US Medicare data
Authors: Singh Jasvinder A , Cleveland John D
Published: July 2018

Objective

To assess the association of gout with new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) in the elderly.

Methods

We used the 5% Medicare data from 2005 to 2012 to assess whether a diagnosis of gout was associated with incident AF. We used multivariable Cox regression adjusted for demographics, Charlson-Romano comorbidity index, common cardiovascular medications, allopurinol and febuxostat use, to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

Among 1 647 812 eligible people, 9.8% had incident AF. The mean age was 75 years, 42% were male, 86% were white and the mean Charlson-Romano index score was 1.52. We noted 10 604 incident AF cases in people with gout and 150 486 incident AF cases in people without gout. The crude incidence rates of AF in people with and without gout were 43.4 vs 16.3 per 1000 patient-years, respectively. After multivariable-adjustment, gout was associated with a higher HR of incident AF, 1.92 (95% CI 1.88 to 1.96), with minimal attenuation of HR in sensitivity models that replaced the Charlson-Romano index score with a categorical variable, HR was 1.91 (95% CI 1.87 to 1.95). In another model that adjusted for AF-specific risk factors including hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and coronary artery disease and individual Charlson-Romano index comorbidities, the HR was slightly attenuated at 1.71 (95% CI 1.67 to 1.75). Older age, male sex, white race and higher Charlson-Romano index score were each associated with higher hazard of incident AF.

Conclusion

A diagnosis of gout almost doubled the risk of incident AF in the elderly. Future studies should explore the pathogenesis of this association.
Whole-genome resequencing of Ujumqin sheep to investigate the determinants of the multi-vertebral trait
Authors: Li Shuo , Luo Rongsong , Lai Defang , Ma Min , Hao Fei , Qi Xuan , Liu Xu , Liu Dongjun
Published: July 2018

The Ujumqin sheep is one of the most profitable breeds in China, with unique multi-vertebral characteristics. We performed high-throughput genome resequencing of five multi-vertebral and three non-multi-vertebral sheep in an Ujumqin population. We identified the genomic regions that correlated with the germplasm characteristics to establish the cause of the “multi-vertebral” phenotype in this breed. Sequencing generated a total of 314 952 000 000 bp of raw data. The alignment rate of all the samples was between 98.53% and 99.11%, and the mean depth of coverage relative to the reference genome was between 11.58× and 14.92×. After comparing the differences between the two groups, we identified 21 homozygous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the mutant exons of 14 genes. Nineteen loci of 10 genes contained nonsynonymous mutations, while two loci contained synonymous mutations. Resequencing revealed homozygous mutations comprised of 44 indels located within exons of 19 genes. These indels included 37 frameshift mutations, 6 non-frameshift mutations, and 1 stopgain single nucleotide variation (SNV). Finally, comparisons of genotypic variations revealed 17 genes with homozygous mutations in their coding regions, 5 of which have previously been associated with vertebral development and the remaining 12 genes were newly identified in this study.
A Review of Cost and Makespan-Aware Workflow Scheduling in Clouds
Authors: Lu Pingping , Zhang Gongxuan , Zhu Zhaomeng , Zhou Xiumin , Sun Jin , Zhou Junlong
Published: July 2018

Scientific workflow is a common model to organize large scientific computations. It borrows the concept of workflow in business activities to manage the complicated processes in scientific computing automatically or semi-automatically. The workflow scheduling, which maps tasks in workflows to parallel computing resources, has been extensively studied over years. In recent years, with the rise of cloud computing as a new large-scale distributed computing model, it is of great significance to study workflow scheduling problem in the cloud. Compared with traditional distributed computing platforms, cloud platforms have unique characteristics such as the self-service resource management model and the pay-as-you-go billing model. Therefore, the workflow scheduling in cloud needs to be reconsidered. When scheduling workflows in clouds, the monetary cost and the makespan of the workflow executions are concerned with both the cloud service providers (CSPs) and the customers. In this paper, we study a series of cost-and-time-aware workflow scheduling algorithms in cloud environments, which aims to provide researchers with a choice of appropriate cloud workflow scheduling approaches in various scenarios. We conducted a broad review of different cloud workflow scheduling algorithms and categorized them based on their optimization objectives and constraints. Also, we discuss the possible future research direction of the clouds workflow scheduling.
Cohomology, derivations and abelian extensions of 3-Lie algebras
Authors: Xu Senrong
Published: July 2018

Given a representation [Formula: see text] of a 3-Lie algebra [Formula: see text], we construct first-order cohomology classes by using derivations of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and obtain a Lie algebra [Formula: see text] with a representation [Formula: see text] on [Formula: see text]. In the case that [Formula: see text] is given by an abelian extension [Formula: see text] of 3-Lie algebras with [Formula: see text], we obtain obstruction classes for extensibility of derivations of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] to those of [Formula: see text]. An application of the representation [Formula: see text] to derivations is also discussed.
Wavelet-based phase average on the multi-scale wake structures of square cylinder
Authors: Zheng Yan , Rinoshika Akira , Suo Jianqin
Published: July 2018

Phase-average technique based on wavelet multi-resolution analysis and continuous wavelet transform are used to reveal the phase-averaged features of square cylinder wake measured by high-speed PIV. The one-dimensional orthogonal wavelet analysis is first applied to decompose the measured velocity fields into large-, intermediate- and small-scale structures. Then the phase information referenced with large- and intermediate-scale flow structures are clearly identified based on Morlet wavelet transform. Finally, the data ensembles are phase-sorted to give phase-averaged representations of measured flow field. The instantaneous multi-scale structures suggest that large-scale vortices are weakened and begin to transfer into intermediate-vortices at the downstream of separation region. The intermediate-scale vortex observed at the upper boundary of shear layer is considered to be associated with the secondary vortex movement. The phase-averaged intermediate-scale structures tend to convey downstream along streamwise direction, with the rotation sense varying from the first half period to the last half period. The peaks of phase-averaged large-scale Reynolds stress tend to move back and forth in the near-wake region. These findings suggest that the proposed phase-average technique is effective in revealing multi-scale fluid dynamics of wake flow structures.
Selective conversion of aldehydes to carboxylic acids by hemoglobin and air
Authors: Hajimohammadi Mahdi , Verjani Maryam Khalaji , Ghasemi Hoda , Safari Nasser , Knör Günther
Published: July 2018

A new green, environmentally friendly and economically feasible method for the oxygenation of benzaldehyde, cinnamaldehyde, 4-chlorobenzaldehyde and 4-bromobenzaldehyde to the corresponding carboxylic acids using air in the presence of hemoglobin as a water-soluble catalyst in aqueous media at room temperature is illustrated. The resulting products were obtained with (77–100%) conversion and 100% selectivity within a reasonable amount of time. In addition, the first direct characterization of a high-valent iron intermediate (HbFe[Formula: see text]O) measured using Mass Spectroscopy (MS) and UV-vis spectroscopy proved that the major route for oxidation of aldehydes is (HbFe[Formula: see text]O) production.
Flexible porphyrin cages and nanorings
Authors: Cen Tian-Yong , Wang Shu-Ping , Zhang Zibin , Wu Jing , Li Shijun
Published: July 2018

We have reviewed recent advances in the synthesis of porphyrin cages and nanorings with flexible links, as well as their applications in host–guest chemistry and catalysis. Template-directed strategies have greatly facilitated the synthesis of porphyrin cages and nanorings with high complexities. Meanwhile, the unique features of flexible porphyrin cages and nanorings having a good balance between rigidity and flexibility make them especially suitable to encapsulate fullerenes, multipyridyl compounds and other guests.
The U.S. Withdrawal From the Paris Agreement: Challenges and Opportunities for China
Authors: Yu Hongyuan
Published: July 2018

President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is both a major reversal of the Obama administration’s climate policy and a huge blow to global climate governance. The comprehensive regression of President Trump’s climate policy manifests mainly in three aspects: abolition of the clean energy plan, exit from the Paris Agreement, and a return to traditional energy policies, which reflect the cyclical and volatile nature of the U.S. climate policy. With its lasting negative impact, the China-U.S. cooperative leadership in global climate governance is stranded. In this light, China should strive for a bigger role in leading global efforts to address climate change and enhance cooperation through various mechanisms. Under the current U.S. policy environment, China can still strengthen cooperation with the United States in such fields as traditional energy, infrastructure investment, global energy market, and green finance.
Palaeoseismology from microfabric and geochemical analysis of lacustrine sediments, Windermere, UK
Authors: James Fielding J. , Kemp Alan E.S. , Bull Jonathan M. , Cotterill Carol J. , Pearce Richard B. , Avery Rachael S. , Langdon Peter G. , Croudace Ian W.
Published: July 2018

Lake sediments commonly contain detrital layers that record events such as floods or earthquakes, but these may be disturbed or partially destroyed by bioturbation. Here we use a novel combination of techniques to relate microscopic sediment fabric features to processes at the lake basin scale. X-radiography and micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis of cores are complemented by back-scattered electron imagery and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis of resin-embedded sediment. Together, the microfabric and geochemical methods enable the identification of clay layer mass transport deposits despite bioturbational mixing of the original end-members. Two cores with robust radionuclide chronologies contain correlative clay layers dated to 1979 (1974–1982) and 1979–1980 (1973–1986), respectively. These clay layers probably represent the distal turbidite generated by a major mass flow deposit identified from multi-beam swath bathymetry and sediment grab sampling. A probable trigger for the mass flow and associated turbidity current is the 4.7 M
L
1979 Carlisle earthquake. The lake basin slope was probably preconditioned for failure by increased sedimentary biogenic gas production and sediment in-wash as a result of anthropogenic activities, coupled with sediment disruption and dredging. This study highlights the effectiveness of microstratigraphic techniques in the recognition and characterization of event layers in sediments where bioturbative disruption has occurred.
Factors Influencing Users’ Information Requests
Authors: Arguello Jaime , Choi Bogeum , Capra Robert
Published: July 2018

We report on a crowdsourced study that investigated how two factors influence the way people formulate information requests. Our first factor,
medium
, considers whether the request is produced using text or voice. Our second factor,
target
, considers whether the request is intended for a search engine or a human intermediary (i.e., someone who will search on the user’s behalf). In particular, we study how these two factors influence the way people formulate requests in situations where the information need has a specific type of
extra-topical
dimension (i.e., a type of constraint that is independent from the information need’s topic). We focus on six extra-topical dimensions: (1) domain knowledge, (2) viewpoint, (3) experiential, (4) venue location, (5) source location, and (6) temporal. The extra-topical dimension was manipulated by giving participants carefully constructed search tasks. We analyzed a large number of information requests produced by study participants, and address three research questions. We study the effects of our two factors (medium and target) on (RQ1) participants’ perceptions about their own information requests, (RQ2) the different characteristics of their information requests (e.g., natural language structure, retrieval performance), and (RQ3) participants’ strategies for requesting information when the search task has a specific type of extra-topical dimension. Our results found that both factors influenced participants’ perceptions about their own information requests, the characteristics of participants’ requests, and the strategies adopted by participants to request information matching the extra-topical dimension. Our results have implications for future research on methods that can harness (rather than ignore) extra-topical query terms to retrieve relevant information.
How to fix email: making communication encrypted and decentralized with autocrypt
Authors: Krekel Holger , McKelvey Karissa , Lefherz Emil
Published: July 2018

Email has been declared dead many times but refuses to die. There is a new effort underway to make encrypted end-to-end email communication as automatic as possible. It is part of a diverse set of efforts to reinvigorate the email ecosystem, which remains a crucial cornerstone of a functioning, open internet.
Protecting Download Traffic from Upload Traffic over Asymmetric Wireless Links
Authors: Kim Hwangnam , Lee Woonghee , Kim Hyunsoon , Kim Hwantae , Yang Jaehyeuk Michael
Published: July 2018

Many varied mobile device networks have been developed with the advancement of communication and network technologies. Cellular data networks are currently the most widely used, and the number of cellular network subscriptions has increased steadily. Most recent wireless access technologies employ asymmetric uplinks and downlinks because mobile subscribers usually download contents from the Internet. Therefore, most cellular network service providers allocate more bandwidth to downlinks than uplinks for mobile subscribers. However, this asymmetry can have unexpected influence on network performance, particularly TCP performance. When the uplink interface is congested, TCP ACK packets are delayed by TCP data packets on the uplink, causing considerable TCP retransmissions on the downlink channel. Thus, downlink bandwidth cannot be fully utilized, which results in significantly degraded downlink throughput. To resolve this problem, this paper proposes a feedback scheme, network traffic chunk regulator (NCR). We analyzed the aforementioned problem through the empirical study, and we designed and implemented NCR based on the analysis. NCR adaptively controls TCP according to the degree of link usage asymmetry. We evaluate NCR performance through simulations and experiments with real devices. We verify that the proposed scheme allows the downlink traffic to not interfere with the aggressive uplink traffic. Thus, NCR increases total link utilization and aggregated throughput significantly, without imposing additional overhead on base or mobile stations.
OCT4 Potentiates Radio-Resistance and Migration Activity of Rectal Cancer Cells by Improving Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in a ZEB1 Dependent Manner
Authors: Shao Minghai , Bi Tienan , Ding Wenxiu , Yu Changhui , Jiang Caiping , Yang Haihua , Sun Xinchen , Yang Min
Published: July 2018

Radiotherapy is an important strategy for rectal cancer patient treatment. However, the efficiency of radiation is usually poor, especially in patients with advanced stage rectal cancer due to the radio-resistance developed. At the present study, OCT4 was found to play a critical role in radio-resistance development in human rectal cancer cells by improving the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process (EMT). Endogenous OCT4 expression could confer resistant phonotype on human rectal cancer cells, which was supported by the data from clonogenic forming assay and cell cycle arrest recovering experiment. EMT related transcription factor ZEB1 might take part in the radio-resistance induced by OCT4, as its expression could be upregulated by OCT4 and its silence could reverse the OCT4 induced resistance to radiation in SW480 cells. More interestingly, CHK1 was also upregulated in OCT4/ZEB1 dependent manner conferring stronger DNA damage repair activity on cancer cells, which might explain the underlying mechanisms why OCT4/ZEB1 axis could promote the resistance of human rectal cancer cell to radiation. Taken together, our results provided a novel mechanism for radio-resistance development in human rectal cancer cells and a new target to overcome this resistance.
Hemobilia: Perspective and Role of the Advanced Endoscopist
Authors: Berry Rani , Han James , Girotra Mohit , Tabibian James H.
Published: July 2018

Hemobilia refers to bleeding from and/or into the biliary tract and is an uncommon cause of gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Hemobilia has been documented since the 1600s, but due to its relative rarity, it has only been more critically examined in recent decades. Most cases of hemobilia are iatrogenic and caused by procedures involving the liver, pancreas, bile ducts, and/or the hepatopancreatobiliary vasculature, with trauma and malignancy representing the two other major causes. A classic triad of right upper quadrant pain, jaundice, and overt upper gastrointestinal bleeding has been described, but this is present in only 25–30% of patients with hemobilia. Historically, the gold standard for diagnosis and treatment has been angiography and interventional radiologic intervention, respectively. However, the paradigm is shifting, at least in select cases, towards first-line reliance on noninvasive imaging (e.g., computed tomography) and therapeutic endoscopy, owing to advances in and the less invasive nature of both, while saving interventional radiological and/or surgical intervention for refractory or imminently life-threatening cases.