bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Technical Aspects in Esophageal Lengthening: An Investigation of Traction Procedures and Suturing Techniques in Swine
Authors: Oetzmann von Sochaczewski Christina , Tagkalos Evangelos , Lindner Andreas , Lang Hauke , Heimann Axel , Muensterer Oliver J.
Published: December 2018

Introduction Traction procedures are useful to preserve the child's own esophagus in long-gap forms of esophageal atresia. To date, it remains unclear what suture size or position of the traction sutures is optimal to account for differences in anatomy and to reduce the risk of traction sutures being torn out of the esophageal tissue.

Materials and Methods Explanted porcine esophagi (from swine aged 100–120 days and weighing 100–120 kg) were divided at the carinal level. Traction sutures were either placed circumferentially or only in the dorsal wall and the breaking strength—circumferential disruption of the muscular layer—was measured. Suture size (USP 4–0 vs. 5–0) was also evaluated in a similar way.

Results Neither traction suture position did not influence breaking strengths between circumferentially placed traction sutures or those exclusively placed in the dorsal esophageal wall (Δ = 0.47 N, 95% confidence interval: −2.83 to 3.76 N, p = 0.771, n = 11 per group) nor differing suture sizes of USP 4–0 and USP 5–0 (Δ = 1.46 N, 95% confidence interval: −3.2 to 0.28 N, p = 0.0946, n = 9 per group) affected breaking strengths.

Conclusion Suture size and suture positioning do not affect mechanical stability in Foker's procedure and therefore can be adapted as needed according to patient's anatomy and size.
Fallbericht: Abdominelle und pulmonale Tuberkulose bei einem 6 Jahre alten Mädchen aus Indien
Authors: Mayer S. , Zimmermann P. , Prenzel F. , Kiess W. , Schuster V. , Wurst U.
Published: December 2018

Tuberkulose zählt weltweit zu den häufigsten Infektionskrankheiten. Wie bei Erwachsenen ist die pulmonale Form die häufigste, ein abdomineller Befall ist selten. Epidemiologische Daten für Kinder sind rar, die Erkrankungsrate gilt als gering. Bedingt durch zunehmende Migrationsbewegungen steigt die Zahl der Erkrankungen in Deutschland jedoch erstmals wieder. Aufgrund der unspezifischen Symptome und erschwerten diagnostischen Bedingungen ist die Krankheitserkennung in der Pädiatrie oft prolongiert. Die Gewinnung geeigneten Materials zur Erregerdiagnostik und der oft paucibazilläre Verlauf stellen dahingehend Herausforderungen dar. Der unverzügliche Beginn einer antituberkulostatischen Therapie ist obligat und in der Regel erfolgreich.
Electromagnetic-wave beam-scanning antenna using near-field rotatable graded-dielectric plates
Authors: Afzal Muhammad U. , Lalbakhsh Ali , Esselle Karu P.
Published: December 2018

The paper proposes an electromagnetic-wave beam-scanning antenna system using a simple rotation of a pair of near-field graded-dielectric plates (GDPs). The antenna system requires an electromagnetic (EM) illuminator, with nearly symmetric aperture field distribution, as the base antenna and two types of GDPs: one radially graded dielectric (RGD) and two linearly graded dielectric (LGD) plates. The RGD first focuses the beam of the base antenna in the broadside direction, and the LGD then tilts the focused beam at an offset angle. For some types of base antennas, having fairly uniform aperture phase distributions, an RGD may not be required and only a pair of LGDs are sufficient. Irrespective of the antenna configuration, using a simple rotation of the two LGDs, the beam can be scanned to any position within a large conical region. The antenna system presented as a proof of concept has a resonant-cavity antenna as the base antenna and three graded-dielectric plates. The aperture length of the antenna system is 6λ0 and its height is 2.2λ0. The results predicted by numerical simulations indicate that the antenna system has highest peak directivity of 21 dBi. The beam can be scanned to any direction within a cone having an apex angle of 20°.
The route to chaos for plumes from a top-open cylinder heated from underneath
Authors: Qiao Manman , Tian Zhao Feng , Nie Bingchuan , Xu Feng
Published: December 2018

Natural convection in a top-open cylindrical cavity heated from the cavity bottom was simulated and analysed for a range of Rayleigh numbers, Ra = 100–106. A succession of bifurcations from steady to chaotic plumes, with increasing Rayleigh numbers, was observed in the three-dimensional simulation results. At Ra = 3.6 × 103, a symmetrical steady plume switched to becoming an asymmetric steady plume with a pitchfork bifurcation, owing to the symmetry break. When the Rayleigh number increased to 8.6 × 104, a periodic puffing flow appeared after a Hopf bifurcation. It was found that the Hopf bifurcation was followed by a cascade of period-doubling bifurcations, then a quasi-periodicity bifurcation, and a bifurcation to chaos for plumes from an open cylinder heated from underneath. The unsteady flow was further analysed using power spectral densities, attractors, and the largest Lyapunov exponents. In addition, the different scaling relationships within different regimes were attained, based on the Rayleigh number.
Analysis of Cairns-Tsallis distribution for oblique drift solitary waves in a rotating electron-positron-ion magneto-plasma
Authors: Farooq M. , Mushtaq A. , Shamir M.
Published: December 2018

The hybrid Cairns-Tsallis distribution is applied to study the linear and nonlinear characteristics of ion coupled drift waves in electron-positron-ion plasma with the effect of slow rotation. Using the parametric range approximation, a dispersion relation for ion acoustic waves is derived in the presence of density inhomogeneity. In the spatially limited region, the Zakharov–Kuznetsov-type equation in the nonlinear regime is derived for oblique drift solitary waves, which are then numerically investigated under the influence of the hybrid-distribution. It has been observed that the amplitude and width of spatially limited solitary waves strongly depend on both nonextensive-q and nonthermal parameter α. However, there exists a restricted range in the q and α parameters, above/below which the nonthermality and nonextensivity effects are considered to be ceased. The influence of the rotational frequency on the dispersion properties of the oblique drift solitary wave is also discussed. This study may provide a deep insight into the applicability of the Cairns-Tsallis distribution in plasmas having an excess of energetic particles in the presence of density inhomogeneity greatly observed in both space and laboratory environments.
Atomistic mechanisms for chemical defects formation in polyethylene
Authors: Chen Lihua , Tran Huan Doan , Ramprasad Rampi
Published: December 2018

Chemical defects can progressively degrade the electronic structure of polymer dielectrics, ultimately leading to their failure. Because the polymer degradation and breakdown related processes are notably complicated in nature, they remain far from being understood both experimentally and computationally. Using a combination of density functional theory calculations and classical molecular dynamics simulations, we propose seven atomistic mechanisms for the formation of common chemical defects in polyethylene using which a variety of defect-related experimental observations can be explained. This work provides a comprehensive connection among the experiments related to polyethylene defects and aging, laying the groundwork for an understanding of polymer degradation and breakdown.
Ab-initio investigation of electronic structures of α-BiFeO3 with different exchange-correlation functionals
Authors: Naz Ishrat , Ahmad Fayyaz , Jang Jaekyung , Rhee Joo Yull
Published: December 2018

The electronic structures of α-BiFeO3 are calculated by using a full-potential linearized-augmented-plane-wave method. We employed the local-density approximation (LDA) with the modified Becke-Johnson (mBJ) exchange potential and the LDA + U method. The indirect (direct) bandgap of 2.24 (2.44) eV obtained by LDA + U method is in good agreement with an experiment, while the mBJ potential produces the indirect bandgap of 2.55 eV, and the direct bandgap is slightly larger than the indirect one. The discrepancy between the experimental x-ray spectra and the calculated Fe-3d and O-2p density of states were revealed to be due to the effects of the core hole. The core-hole effects are also responsible for the smaller bandgap in x-ray spectroscopy than the optical spectroscopy. The calculated valence-charge density and the bonding character obtained by LDA + U method also provides the stronger ionic character of the compound than the mBJ potential. Although the mBJ method is very efficient one, it is still very time consuming compared to the LDA + U method. The most suitable exchange-correlation potential for α-BiFeO3 is the LDA + U. Therefore, it is better to use the LDA + U method for the electronic-structure calculations of BiFeO3 compound not only for reducing the calculational time but also for better description of bandgaps and some physical properties. From the similar calculations carried out for transition-metal monoxide system it was found that the inadequacy of using the mBJ potential for the description of the localized 3d-states is rather universal.
Spherical tokamaks with a high current carrying plasma center column
Authors: Lampugnani L. G. , Garcia-Martinez P. L. , Farengo R.
Published: December 2018

Spherical tokamaks (STs) have many advantages from the perspective of a fusion reactor. A further improvement would be to replace the center post by a plasma center column (PCC). In this case, biased electrodes could be used to drive current along the PCC and produce the toroidal magnetic field. Moreover, the magnetic helicity injected (HI) by the PCC can be used to form and sustain the configuration, via magnetic relaxation. The magnetic structure and stability of these so-called ST-PCC configurations are studied in detail. In particular, it is shown that stable equilibria with tokamak-like safety factor (q) profiles can be obtained in the regime of high PCC current and moderate poloidal flux amplification. Using numerical simulations, the feasibility of forming and sustaining ST-PCC configurations via HI is demonstrated. The sustainment in this case involves a significant level of fluctuations and is shown to occur at a marginally stable configuration having a q = 1 surface in the ST. This behavior is in close analogy to that of spheromaks sustained by a coaxial plasma gun but presents two major differences. First, the current density in the open flux region (PCC) is significantly larger. Second, the mean current density gradient in the ST has the opposite sign, leading to q profiles with regular magnetic shear (i.e., q increases from the magnetic axis to the separatrix, as in tokamaks). When helicity injection is switched off, the fluctuations decay and nested, closed magnetic surfaces appear. This opens the possibility of using HI to form the ST-PCC and a combination of auxiliary current drive (neutral beams and/or RF) and high bootstrap current to sustain a fluctuation free configuration.
Improving optoelectronic materials by using virtual dislocations to visualize and understand these defects in thin films
Authors: Johnson Sally Cole
Published: December 2018

Researchers create a logical framework for visualizing dislocation topology to facilitate development of dislocation mitigation strategies for optoelectronic devices.
Role of defect states in high bandgap gallium oxide identified using two-color spectroscopy
Authors: DeJarnette Drew
Published: December 2018

A recombination center model suggests role of crystal defects for photoexcited carriers in monoclinic symmetry gallium oxide.
Thinking about health care differently: nurse practitioners in primary health care as social entrepreneurs
Authors: Kirkman Amber , Wilkinson Jill , Scahill Shane
Published: December 2018

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTIONChallenges facing the primary health-care sector mean that policymakers and clinicians need to think and act differently to move forward. The principles of social entrepreneurship have been implemented successfully for improved health outcomes in other developed nations. There is a knowledge gap around whether nurse practitioners (NPs) in New Zealand primary health care (PHC) align with these principles. AIMTo explore whether and how the innovative activities of primary care NPs can be described as socially entrepreneurial. METHODSA descriptive qualitative approach was used with data collected using semi-structured interviews with NPs working in primary care (n = 7). Data were analysed using general inductive thematic analysis techniques. RESULTSNurse practitioners interviewed worked in government-subsidised private general practice businesses. Two main themes emerged: (1) the nursing model of care aligned with social entrepreneurship; and (2) building social capital. NPs described a desire to see health care delivered differently and this aligned with acting as a social entrepreneur. Social capital emerged through the requirement to establish significant collaborative relationships. DISCUSSIONIt was found that NPs’ work can be described as socially entrepreneurial. The holistic, person and community-centred model of NP care has an ultimate mission of improved health outcomes. Social capital is built through collaborative relationships with other health-care providers, individual service users and the community. However, the juxtaposition of the business model in primary care prevents NPs from initiating and leading sustainable change.
Neutrophils facilitate ovarian cancer premetastatic niche formation in the omentum
Authors: Lee WonJae , Ko Song Yi , Mohamed Muhaned S. , Kenny Hilary A. , Lengyel Ernst , Naora Honami
Published: December 2018

Ovarian cancer preferentially metastasizes to the omentum, a fatty tissue characterized by immune structures called milky spots, but the cellular dynamics that direct this tropism are unknown. Here, we identified that neutrophil influx into the omentum is a prerequisite premetastatic step in orthotopic ovarian cancer models. Ovarian tumor–derived inflammatory factors stimulated neutrophils to mobilize and extrude chromatin webs called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). NETs were detected in the omentum of ovarian tumor–bearing mice before metastasis and of women with early-stage ovarian cancer. NETs, in turn, bound ovarian cancer cells and promoted metastasis. Omental metastasis was decreased in mice with neutrophil-specific deficiency of peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4), an enzyme that is essential for NET formation. Blockade of NET formation using a PAD4 pharmacologic inhibitor also decreased omental colonization. Our findings implicate NET formation in rendering the premetastatic omental niche conducive for implantation of ovarian cancer cells and raise the possibility that blockade of NET formation prevents omental metastasis.
On the structure of the inverse to Toeplitz-block Toeplitz matrices and of the corresponding polynomial reflection coefficients
Authors: Sakhnovich Alexander
Published: December 2018

The results on the inversion of convolution operators as well as Toeplitz (and block Toeplitz) matrices in the 1-D (one-dimensional) case are classical and have numerous applications. We consider the 2-D case of Toeplitz-block Toeplitz matrices, describe a minimal information, which is necessary to recover the inverse matrices, and give a complete characterization of the inverse matrices. A 2-D analogue of the important Ambartsumyan and Sobolev formulas for the corresponding reflection coefficients is derived as well.
Kinetic analysis of transcellular passage of the cobalamin–transcobalamin complex in Caco-2 monolayers
Authors: Juul Christian B. , Fedosov Sergey N. , Nexo Ebba , Heegaard Christian W.
Published: December 2018

We suggest a novel kinetic approach to quantifying receptor–ligand interactions via the cellular transport and/or accumulation of the ligand. The system of cobalamin (Cbl, vitamin B12) transport was used as a model, because Cbl is an obligatory cofactor, taken up by animal cells with the help of a transport protein and a membrane receptor. Bovine transcobalamin (bTC) stimulated the cellular accumulation and transcytosis of radioactive [57Co]Cbl in polarized monolayers of Caco-2 cells. The bovine protein was much more efficient than human TC. The transport was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by the unlabeled bTC-Cbl complex, the ligand-free bTC, and the receptor-associated protein (RAP). This inhibition pattern implied the presence of a megalin-like receptor. Quantitative assessment of kinetic records by the suggested method revealed the apparent concentration of receptors in vitro (≈15 nM), as well as the dissociation constants of bTC–Cbl ( Kd= 13 nM) and RAP ( Kd= 1.3 nM). The data were used to estimate the effective luminal concentrations of TC-specific receptors in kidneys (3.8 µM) and intestine (50 nM), the tissues resembling polarized Caco-2 cells.
DjA1 maintains Golgi integrity via interaction with GRASP65
Authors: Li Jie , Tang Danming , Ireland Stephen C. , Wang Yanzhuang
Published: December 2018

In mammalian cells, the Golgi reassembly stacking protein of 65 kDa (GRASP65) has been implicated in both Golgi stacking and ribbon linking by forming trans-oligomers. To better understand its function and regulation, we used biochemical methods to identify the DnaJ homolog subfamily A member 1 (DjA1) as a novel GRASP65-binding protein. In cells, depletion of DjA1 resulted in Golgi fragmentation, short and improperly aligned cisternae, and delayed Golgi reassembly after nocodazole washout. In vitro, immunodepletion of DjA1 from interphase cytosol reduced its activity to enhance GRASP65 oligomerization and Golgi membrane fusion, while adding purified DjA1 enhanced GRASP65 oligomerization. DjA1 is a cochaperone of Heat shock cognate 71-kDa protein (Hsc70), but the activity of DjA1 in Golgi structure formation is independent of its cochaperone activity or Hsc70, rather, through DjA1-GRASP65 interaction to promote GRASP65 oligomerization. Thus, DjA1 interacts with GRASP65 to enhance Golgi structure formation through the promotion of GRASP65 trans-oligomerization.
The Influence of Demographic and Child Characteristics on Referral for Neuropsychological Evaluation
Authors: Pittenger Alexis A , Erklin Shannon , Wodka Ericka L
Published: December 2018

Objective

A number of studies have documented the benefits of neuropsychological evaluation as a tool for understanding brain-behavior relationships in various childhood disorders; however, little is known about the process by which children are referred for neuropsychological evaluation. From a systems perspective, it is important to understand whether there are identifiable referral patterns, and if so, how being aware of such patterns could shape the behavior of providers making those referrals. We aim to examine child characteristics that influence referral for neuropsychological evaluation.

Methods

Retrospective chart review of 773 children who received neuropsychological evaluation and were diagnosed with autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and/or anxiety was completed. Children were divided into groups based on referral source (professional or caregiver) and compared on demographic, behavioral, and medical characteristics.

Results

Overall, professionals were more likely than caregivers to refer children for neuropsychological evaluation. Though standardized measures suggested children referred by professionals and caregivers were similar, their clinical presentation appears to be different (i.e., those referred by professionals had more comorbidities and were more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medication than those referred by caregivers). Also, children with public insurance were more likely to be referred by a professional than by their caregiver.

Conclusions

Findings highlight the important role of professionals in identifying “at-risk” children and supporting families through the process of receiving further evaluation when indicated. This information can be used to create a more efficient system for evaluating children and developing treatment plans, providing neuropsychologists with direct information to share with referral sources.
Systematic selection of chemical fingerprint features improves the Gibbs energy prediction of biochemical reactions
Authors: Alazmi Meshari , Kuwahara Hiroyuki , Soufan Othman , Ding Lizhong , Gao Xin
Published: December 2018

Motivation

Accurate and wide-ranging prediction of thermodynamic parameters for biochemical reactions can facilitate deeper insights into the workings and the design of metabolic systems.

Results

Here, we introduce a machine learning method with chemical fingerprint-based features for the prediction of the Gibbs free energy of biochemical reactions. From a large pool of 2D fingerprint-based features, this method systematically selects a small number of relevant ones and uses them to construct a regularized linear model. Since a manual selection of 2D structure-based features can be a tedious and time-consuming task, requiring expert knowledge about the structure-activity relationship of chemical compounds, the systematic feature selection step in our method offers a convenient means to identify relevant 2D fingerprint-based features. By comparing our method with state-of-the-art linear regression-based methods for the standard Gibbs free energy prediction, we demonstrated that its prediction accuracy and prediction coverage are most favorable. Our results show direct evidence that a number of 2D fingerprints collectively provide useful information about the Gibbs free energy of biochemical reactions and that our systematic feature selection procedure provides a convenient way to identify them.

Availability and implementation

Our software is freely available for download at http://sfb.kaust.edu.sa/Pages/Software.aspx.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Smooth orientation-dependent scoring function for coarse-grained protein quality assessment
Authors: Karasikov Mikhail , Pagès Guillaume , Grudinin Sergei
Published: December 2018

Motivation

Protein quality assessment (QA) is a crucial element of protein structure prediction, a fundamental and yet open problem in structural bioinformatics. QA aims at ranking predicted protein models to select the best candidates. The assessment can be performed based either on a single model or on a consensus derived from an ensemble of models. The latter strategy can yield very high performance but substantially depends on the pool of available candidate models, which limits its applicability. Hence, single-model QA methods remain an important research target, also because they can assist the sampling of candidate models.

Results

We present a novel single-model QA method called SBROD. The SBROD (Smooth Backbone-Reliant Orientation-Dependent) method uses only the backbone protein conformation, and hence it can be applied to scoring coarse-grained protein models. The proposed method deduces its scoring function from a training set of protein models. The SBROD scoring function is composed of four terms related to different structural features: residue–residue orientations, contacts between backbone atoms, hydrogen bonding and solvent–solute interactions. It is smooth with respect to atomic coordinates and thus is potentially applicable to continuous gradient-based optimization of protein conformations. Furthermore, it can also be used for coarse-grained protein modeling and computational protein design. SBROD proved to achieve similar performance to state-of-the-art single-model QA methods on diverse datasets (CASP11, CASP12 and MOULDER).

Availability and implementation

The standalone application implemented in C++ and Python is freely available at https://gitlab.inria.fr/grudinin/sbrod and supported on Linux, MacOS and Windows.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Improved mutant function prediction via PACT: Protein Analysis and Classifier Toolkit
Authors: Klesmith Justin R , Hackel Benjamin J
Published: December 2018

Motivation

Deep mutational scanning experiments have enabled the measurement of the sequence-function relationship for thousands of mutations in a single experiment. The Protein Analysis and Classifier Toolkit (PACT) is a Python software package that marries the fitness metric of a given mutation within these experiments to sequence and structural features enabling downstream analyses. PACT enables the easy development of user sharable protocols for custom deep mutational scanning experiments as all code is modular and reusable between protocols. Protocols for mutational libraries with single or multiple mutations are included. To exemplify its utility, PACT assessed two deep mutational scanning datasets that measured the tradeoff of enzyme activity and enzyme stability.

Results

PACT efficiently evaluated classifiers that predict protein mutant function tested on deep mutational scanning screens. We found that the classifiers with the lowest false positive and highest true positive rate assesses sequence homology, contact number and if mutation involves proline.

Availability and implementation

PACT and the processed datasets are distributed freely under the terms of the GPL-3 license. The source code is available at GitHub (https://github.com/JKlesmith/PACT).

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
M3Drop: dropout-based feature selection for scRNASeq
Authors: Andrews Tallulah S , Hemberg Martin
Published: December 2018

Motivation

Most genomes contain thousands of genes, but for most functional responses, only a subset of those genes are relevant. To facilitate many single-cell RNASeq (scRNASeq) analyses the set of genes is often reduced through feature selection, i.e. by removing genes only subject to technical noise.

Results

We present M3Drop, an R package that implements popular existing feature selection methods and two novel methods which take advantage of the prevalence of zeros (dropouts) in scRNASeq data to identify features. We show these new methods outperform existing methods on simulated and real datasets.

Availability and implementation

M3Drop is freely available on github as an R package and is compatible with other popular scRNASeq tools: https://github.com/tallulandrews/M3Drop.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Asylum Seekers in Israel: Challenges to Social Work
Authors: Nuttman-Shwartz Orit , Shinar Levanon Ofer
Published: December 2018

The challenges facing social workers in addressing the migration crisis are myriad and complex. Against this background, the current article presents a case study on the response of Israeli social work to the asylum seekers, which allows us to identify gaps between the social work profession’s global agenda and its implementation. The article examines how recent immigration policies have impacted Israeli social workers’ responses to these challenges. Following a brief description of Israel’s policies for controlling and limiting the entrance of asylum seekers to the country, the article offers insights into social workers’ involvement in some of the main social services that aim to assist asylum seekers in Israel. Insights are also offered into the response of Israeli social workers to the community of asylum seekers, which focuses on individual needs and on urgent needs. Several explanations for these emphases was offers, noting that they may reflect a more general gap between repeated statements about the significance of human rights for the social work profession on the one hand and the professional reality on the other. Finally, several strategies for social work in the community of asylum seekers and in society as a whole are recommended.
Monopoly capital and entrepreneurship: whither small business?
Authors: Lambert Thomas E
Published: December 2018

There has been a growing body of literature over the last several years on a possible decline in US entrepreneurship and the reasons for it. US small business formation and the jobs created by small businesses are supposed to be key elements in US economic growth. Many claim that without growth in small businesses and the jobs they provide that the US economy will either not grow at all or only very slowly. Therefore, small business is a key to understanding capitalism in the twenty-first century since under monopoly capital, there is claimed to be a tendency towards economic concentration (at the expense of small business) and towards economic stagnation. Some of the general causes mentioned for less US entrepreneurism include high levels of debt among the US populace and the increasing challenges that small businesses face against larger ones. Another concern is the amount of increasing business regulation and government presence in the US economy with which small businesses struggle more than larger ones. If entrepreneurism requires risk taking, then high levels of household debt and large, well-financed potential competitors may be hindering prospective entrepreneurs. This exploratory paper finds that these factors are highly correlated with the slowdown in the entry rates of new firms into the US economy since the late 1970s as well as with a slowdown in the job creation rate of these firms.
Role of conspecifics and personal experience on behavioral avoidance of contaminated flowers by bumblebees
Authors: Fouks Bertrand , Robb Emily G , Lattorff H Michael G
Published: December 2018

Pollinators use multiple cues whilst foraging including direct cues from flowers and indirect cues from other pollinators. The use of indirect social cues is common in social insects, such as honeybees and bumblebees, where a social environment facilitates the ability to use such cues. Bumblebees use cues to forage on flowers according to previous foraging experiences. Flowers are an essential food source for pollinators but also pose a high risk of parasite infection through the shared use of flowers leading to parasite spillover. Nevertheless, bumblebees have evolved behavioral defense mechanisms to limit parasite infection by avoiding contaminated flowers. Mechanisms underlying the avoidance of contaminated flowers by bumblebees are poorly understood. Bumblebees were recorded having the choice to forage on non-contaminated flowers and flowers contaminated by a trypan osome gut parasite, Crithidia bombi. The use of different treatments with presence or absence of conspecifics on both contaminated and non-contaminated flowers allowed to investigate the role of social visual cues on their pathogen avoidance behavior. Bumblebees are expected to use social visual cues to avoid contaminated flowers. Our study reveals that the presence of a conspecific on flowers either contaminated or not does not help bumblebee foragers avoiding contaminated flowers. Nevertheless, bumblebees whereas gaining experience tend to avoid their conspecific when placed on contaminated flower and copy it when on the non-contaminated flower. Our experiment suggests a detrimental impact of floral scent on disease avoidance behavior.
Characterization of functionally significant coronary artery disease by a coronary computed tomography angiography-based index: a comparison with positron emission tomography
Authors: Anagnostopoulos Constantinos D , Siogkas Panagiotis K , Liga Riccardo , Benetos Georgios , Maaniitty Teemu , Sakellarios Antonis I , Koutagiar Iosif , Karakitsios Ioannis , Papafaklis Michail I , Berti Valentina , Sciagrà Roberto , Scholte Arthur J H A , Michalis Lampros K , Gaemperli Oliver , Kaufmann Philipp A , Pelosi Gualtiero , Parodi Oberdan , Knuuti Juhani , Fotiadis Dimitrios I , Neglia Danilo
Published: December 2018

Aims

To test the hypothesis that virtual functional assessment index (vFAI) is related with regional flow parameters derived by quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) and can be used to assess abnormal vasodilating capability in coronary vessels with stenotic lesions at coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA).

Methods and results

vFAI, stress myocardial blood flow (MBF), and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) were assessed in 78 patients (mean age 62.2 ± 7.7 years) with intermediate pre-test likelihood of coronary artery disease (CAD). Coronary stenoses ≥50% were considered angiographically significant. PET was considered positive for significant CAD, when more than one contiguous segments showed stress MBF ≤2.3 mL/g/min for 15O-water or <1.79 mL/g/min for 13N-ammonia. MFR thresholds were ≤2.5 and ≤2.0, respectively. vFAI was lower in vessels with abnormal stress MBF (0.76 ± 0.10 vs. 0.89 ± 0.07, P < 0.001) or MFR (0.80 ± 0.10 vs. 0.89 ± 0.07, P < 0.001). vFAI had an accuracy of 78.6% and 75% in unmasking abnormal stress MBF and MFR in 15O-water and 82.7% and 71.2% in 13N-ammonia studies, respectively. Addition of vFAI to anatomical CCTA data increased the ability for predicting abnormal stress MBF and MFR in 15O-water studies [AUCccta + vfai = 0.866, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.783–0.949; P = 0.013 and AUCccta + vfai = 0.737, 95% CI 0.648–0.825; P = 0.007, respectively]. An incremental value was also demonstrated for prediction of stress MBF (AUCccta + vfai = 0.887, 95% CI 0.799–0.974; P = 0.001) in 13N-ammonia studies. A similar trend was recorded for MFR (AUCccta + vfai = 0.780, 95% CI 0.632–0.929; P = 0.13).

Conclusion

vFAI identifies accurately the presence of impaired vasodilating capability. In combination with anatomical data, vFAI enhances the diagnostic performance of CCTA.
Escaped farmed Atlantic salmon in Norwegian rivers during 1989–2013
Authors: Diserud O H , Fiske P , Sægrov H , Urdal K , Aronsen T , Lo H , Barlaup B T , Niemelä E , Orell P , Erkinaro J , Lund R A , Økland F , Østborg G M , Hansen L P , Hindar K
Published: December 2018

We report on the data from an extensive monitoring programme for the occurrence of escaped farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Norwegian rivers for 25 years. This monitoring started as a 3-year research programme in 1989 and was followed by management authorities to cover the proportional occurrence of escaped farmed Atlantic salmon in rivers during summer and autumn before spawning. Farmed salmon were distinguished from wild salmon by growth patterns in the scales. More than 362 000 salmon were registered by this programme. Here we present the historical data on escaped farmed salmon in catches 1989–2013 and a methodology for calculating averages across summer and autumn capture in rivers, across years and in regions, using weighted and unweighted observations. Catches of escaped farmed salmon show large spatial and temporal variation, with the early 1990s and early 2000s being periods of large influxes of farmed fish. Western Norway and parts of middle and northern Norway have shown particularly high incidences of escaped farmed fish. Because escaped farmed Atlantic salmon are competing and interbreeding with wild Atlantic salmon, as well as increasing the spread of disease-causing agents, they have become a major force driving the abundance and evolution of Atlantic salmon.
Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction in Animal Studies With Biohazardous Agents
Authors: Kendall Lon V , Owiny James R , Dohm Erik D , Knapek Katie J , Lee Erin S , Kopanke Jennifer H , Fink Michael , Hansen Sarah A , Ayers Jessica D
Published: December 2018

Animal models are critical to the advancement of our knowledge of infectious disease pathogenesis, diagnostics, therapeutics, and prevention strategies. The use of animal models requires thoughtful consideration for their well-being, as infections can significantly impact the general health of an animal and impair their welfare. Application of the 3Rs—replacement, refinement, and reduction—to animal models using biohazardous agents can improve the scientific merit and animal welfare. Replacement of animal models can use in vitro techniques such as cell culture systems, mathematical models, and engineered tissues or invertebrate animal hosts such as amoeba, worms, fruit flies, and cockroaches. Refinements can use a variety of techniques to more closely monitor the course of disease. These include the use of biomarkers, body temperature, behavioral observations, and clinical scoring systems. Reduction is possible using advanced technologies such as in vivo telemetry and imaging, allowing longitudinal assessment of animals during the course of disease. While there is no single method to universally replace, refine, or reduce animal models, the alternatives and techniques discussed are broadly applicable and they should be considered when infectious disease animal models are developed.
The Modular Adaptive Electrotherapy Delivery System (MAEDS): An Electroceutical Approach for Effective Treatment of Wound Infection and Promotion of Healing
Authors: Bogie Kath M
Published: December 2018

Background

Infected wounds are painful and cannot heal, with antibiotics showing reduced efficacy. Appropriate wound electrotherapy may limit incident planktonic and polymicrobial colonization, inhibit biofilm formation and accelerate healing.

Methods

The Modular Adaptive Electrotherapy Delivery System (MAEDS) is a lightweight, flexible, battery-powered disposable bandage which delivers controlled reliable electrotherapy to the wound for up to 7 days. Large full-thickness excisional wounds (6 cm diameter) were created in a porcine model and freshly cultured 0.5 McFarland green fluorescent protein-labeled Pseudomonas aeruginosa evenly applied to the wound bed. Control wounds received standard wound care, Tegaderm HP Transparent Dressing (3 M Health Care, St. Paul, MN, USA) applied in a sterile fashion. Treatment wounds received MAEDS electrotherapy for up to 28 days or until healed. Onboard Bluetooth facilitated remote real-time monitoring of MAEDS function. Dressing changes occurred on postoperative day (POD) 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28. Punch biopsies were taken at the wound margin and center. Bacterial samples were processed to determine infection status.

Results

Acute infected wounds treated with MAEDS electrotherapy were 92% smaller than baseline by POD21. Healing rate was significantly faster (p < 0.01) and infection significantly decreased (p < 0.0001) at POD10, relative to control wounds.

Conclusion

The MAEDS electrotherapy can significantly inhibit infection and enhance healing rate in acute infected wounds.
QUIJOTE scientific results – III. Microwave spectrum of intensity and polarization in the Taurus Molecular Cloud complex and L1527
Authors: Poidevin F , Rubiño-Martín J A , Dickinson C , Génova-Santos R , Harper S , Rebolo R , Casaponsa B , Peláez-Santos A , Vignaga R , Guidi F , Ruiz-Granados B , Tramonte D , Vansyngel F , Ashdown M , Herranz D , Hoyland R , Lasenby A , Martínez-González E , Piccirillo L , Watson R A
Published: December 2018

We present new intensity and polarization observations of the Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC) region in the frequency range 10–20 GHz with the multifrequency instrument (MFI) mounted on the first telescope of the Q-U-I-JOint TEnerife (QUIJOTE) experiment. From the combination of the QUIJOTE data with the WMAP 9-yr data release, the Planck second data release, the DIRBE maps, and ancillary data, we detect an anomalous microwave emission (AME) component with flux density $S_{\rm AME, peak} = 43.0 \pm 7.9\,$ Jy in the TMC and $S_{\rm AME, peak} = 10.7 \pm 2.7\,$ Jy in the dark cloud nebula L1527, which is part of the TMC. In the TMC the diffuse AME emission peaks around a frequency of 19 GHz, compared with an emission peak about a frequency of 25 GHz in L1527. In the TMC, the best constraint on the level of AME polarization is obtained at the Planck channel of 28.4 GHz, with an upper limit $\pi _{\rm AME}\lt 4.2\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ (95 $\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ C.L.), which reduces to $\pi _{\rm AME}\lt 3.8\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ (95 $\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ C.L.) if the intensity of all the free–free, synchrotron and thermal dust components are negligible at this frequency. The same analysis in L1527 leads to $\pi _{\rm AME}\lt 5.3{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ (95 $\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ C.L.) or $\pi _{\rm AME}\lt 4.5\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ (95 ${{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ C.L.) under the same assumption. We find that in the TMC and L1527 on average about $80{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the H ii gas should be mixed with thermal dust. Our analysis shows how the QUIJOTE-MFI 10–20 GHz data provide key information to properly separate the synchrotron, free–free, and AME components.
Effect of Prenatal Smoke Exposure on Birth Weight: The Moderating Role of Maternal Depressive Symptoms
Authors: Schechter Julia , Do Elizabeth K , Zhang Junfeng (Jim) , Hoyo Cathrine , Murphy Susan K , Kollins Scott H , Fuemmeler Bernard
Published: December 2018

Introduction

Both prenatal smoke exposure and depression have been linked to lower birth weight, a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Few studies have looked at the interaction between these risk factors and none have used a biomarker to objectively measure prenatal smoke exposure. The current study sought to examine independent and interactive effects of cotinine and depression on birth weight. The effect of race was also explored.

Method

Data were drawn from a prospective study of pregnant women (N = 568) in the southeastern United States. Maternal demographic, health information, depressive symptoms, and birth data were collected via self-report and medical record abstraction. Prenatal blood samples were assayed for cotinine.

Results

Controlling for covariates, multiple regression analyses indicated that both cotinine and depressive symptoms independently predicted lower birth weight and a significant interaction was also observed. Upon probing the interaction, a negative association between cotinine levels and birth weight was found in the context of higher depression but not lower depression scores. Similarly, logistic regression analyses revealed a significant interaction between cotinine and depression, such that cotinine predicted having a baby less than 2500 g among women who fell above the indicated cutoff score. African American women had the highest levels of cotinine and lowest weight babies; however, race was not a significant moderator.

Conclusions

Results suggest prenatal smoke exposure has a greater negative effect on birth weight for women endorsing co-occurring depressive symptoms. Findings can inform targeted interventions and assist medical providers with identifying women at increased risk for poor perinatal outcomes.

Implications

Despite the common occurrence of smoking during pregnancy and prenatal depression, the interaction between these risk factors on birth weight has rarely been examined. Further, the extant results have been mixed, likely due in part to difficulties in measurement. The current study was the first to use prenatal cotinine to assess bias-free, continuous levels of prenatal smoke exposure. Results indicate that prenatal cotinine was a significant predictor of birth weight only in the context of maternal depressive symptoms. These findings have important implications for mitigating negative perinatal outcomes for pregnant women and their children.
Validation of Apolipoprotein A-1 and Fibronectin Fragments as Markers of Parasitological Cure for Congenital Chagas Disease in Children Treated With Benznidazole
Authors: Ruiz-Lancheros Elizabeth , Rasoolizadeh Asieh , Chatelain Eric , Garcia-Bournissen Facundo , Moroni Samanta , Moscatelli Guillermo , Altcheh Jaime , Ndao Momar
Published: December 2018

Background

No reliable tests or validated biomarkers exist to ensure parasitological cure following treatment of Chagas disease (CD) patients chronically infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. As seroreversion, the only marker of cure, happens more quickly in children, we investigated the correlation between previously identified biomarkers and seroreversion in children.

Methods

Thirty CD children (age 1 month to 10 years) diagnosed as T. cruzi positive (time point S0) were treated with benznidazole (BZ) 5–8 mg/kg/d for 60 days. At least 2 serological tests were used to evaluate treatment efficacy from the end of treatment (S1) until seroreversion (S2). Thirty children (age 1 month to 10 years) and 15 adults were used as healthy controls (HCs). Immunoblot and a proteomic-based assay were used to validate previously identified fragments of apolipoprotein A-1 (ApoA1) and fibronectin (FBN) as CD biomarkers.

Results

Correlation between seroreversion and absence of ApoA1 and FBN fragments by immunoblot was observed in 30/30 (100%) and 29/30 (96.6%) CD children, respectively. ApoA1 and FBN fragments were absent at the end of BZ treatment in 20/30 (66.6%) and 16/30 (53.3%) children, respectively. Absence of fragments in serum profiles was confirmed by mass spectrometry. Using intact protein analysis, a 28 109-Da protein identified as full-length ApoA1 by tandem mass spectrometry was detected in HC serum samples.

Conclusions

These data confirm that ApoA1 and FBN fragments can discriminate between healthy and T. cruzi–infected samples. Correlation with seroreversion was shown for the first time; results suggest predictive capacity potentially superior to serology, making them potentially useful as surrogate biomarkers.
Benefit of Echocardiography in Patients With Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia at Low Risk of Endocarditis
Authors: Heriot George S , Tong Steven Y C , Cheng Allen C , Liew Danny
Published: December 2018

Background

The risk of endocarditis among patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia is not uniform, and a number of different scores have been developed to identify patients whose risk is less than 5%. The optimal echocardiography strategy for these patients is uncertain.

Methods

We used decision analysis and Monte Carlo simulation using input parameters taken from the existing literature. The model examined patients with S aureus bacteremia whose risk of endocarditis is less than 5%, generally those with nosocomial or healthcare-acquired bacteremia, no intracardiac prosthetic devices, and a brief duration of bacteremia. We examined 6 echocardiography strategies, including the use of transesophageal echocardiography, transthoracic echocardiography, both modalities, and neither. The outcome of the model was 90-day survival.

Results

The optimal echocardiography strategy varied with the risk of endocarditis and the procedural mortality associated with transesophageal echocardiography. No echocardiography strategy offered an absolute benefit in 90-day survival of more than 0.5% compared with the strategy of not performing echocardiography and treating with short-course therapy. Strategies using transesophageal echocardiography were never preferred if the mortality of this procedure was greater than 0.5%.

Conclusions

In patients identified to be at low risk of endocarditis, the choice of echocardiography strategy appears to exert a very small influence on 90-day survival. This finding may render test-treatment trials unfeasible and should prompt clinicians to focus on other, more important, management considerations in these patients.
Timing and mode of intervention for patients with left sided valvular heart disease: an individualized approach
Authors: McConkey Hannah , Zhao Zhengang , Redwood S , Chen M , Prendergast B D
Published: December 2018

Left sided valvular heart disease poses major impact on life and lifestyle. Medical therapy merely palliates chronic severe valve disease and once symptoms or haemodynamic sequelae appear, life expectancy is markedly truncated. In this article, we review the mechanisms of valve pathology, latest evidence in the quest for pharmacological options, means by which to predict deterioration, and standard and novel treatment options.