bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
LINC00673 rs11655237 C>T confers neuroblastoma susceptibility in Chinese population
Authors: Zhang Zhuorong , Chang Yitian , Jia Wei , Zhang Jiao , Zhang Ruizhong , Zhu Jinhong , Yang Tianyou , Xia Huimin , Zou Yan , He Jing
Published: January 2018

Neuroblastoma, which accounts for approximately 10% of all pediatric cancer-related deaths, has become a therapeutic challenge and global burden attributed to poor outcomes and mortality rates of its high-risk form. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) identified the LINC00673 rs11655237 C>T polymorphism to be associated with the susceptibility of several malignant tumors. However, the association between this polymorphism and neuroblastoma susceptibility is not clear. We genotyped LINC00673 rs11655237 C>T in 393 neuroblastoma patients in comparison with 812 age-, gender-, and ethnicity-matched healthy controls. We found a significant association between the LINC00673 rs11655237 C>T polymorphism and neuroblastoma risk (TT compared with CC: adjusted odds ratio (OR) =1.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) =1.06–3.06, P=0.029; TT/CT compared with CC: adjusted OR =1.31, 95% CI =1.02–1.67, P=0.033; and T compared with C: adjusted OR =1.29, 95% CI =1.06–1.58, P=0.013). Furthermore, stratified analysis indicated that the rs11655237 T allele carriers were associated with increased neuroblastoma risk for patients with tumor originating from the adrenal gland (adjusted OR =1.51, 95% CI =1.06–2.14, P=0.021) and International Neuroblastoma Staging System (INSS) stage IV disease (adjusted OR =1.60, 95% CI =1.12–2.30, P=0.011). In conclusion, we verified that the LINC00673 rs11655237 C>T polymorphism might be associated with neuroblastoma susceptibility. Prospective studies with a large sample size and different ethnicities are needed to validate our findings.
Perception of Cantonese Lexical Tones by Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users
Authors: Holt Colleen M. , Lee Kathy Y. S. , Dowell Richard C. , Vogel Adam P.
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess Cantonese word recognition and the discrimination of Cantonese tones with manipulated contours by child and adolescent cochlear implant (CI) users and a group of peers with normal hearing (NH). It was hypothesized that the CI users would perform more poorly than their counterparts with NH in both tasks and that CI users implanted before 2 years of age would perform better than those implanted after 2 years.

Method

Forty-one participants were recruited from hospitals, schools, and kindergartens in Hong Kong: Ten CI users implanted at or before 2 years of age (“early” CI group), 13 CI users implanted after 2 years of age (“late” CI group), and 18 individuals with NH. The mean age at implantation of the early CI group was 1.5 years (
SD
= 0.3), and for the late CI group, it was 4.3 years (
SD
= 2.1). Participants were a mean of 13.3 years of age (
SD
= 3.7) at time of testing. Participants completed a Cantonese word recognition test and a discrimination task using Cantonese tones with modified fundamental frequency trajectories.

Results

Both CI user groups obtained significantly lower scores than the group with NH on the word recognition test. Mean percent correct scores for the word recognition test were 79% for the early CI group, 69% for the late CI group, and 97% for the group with NH. The group with NH consistently achieved higher scores than the CI user groups when discriminating manipulated Cantonese tones. Increasing the acoustic difference between tones improved discrimination performance for CI users for level tone contrasts only. CI users implanted at or before 2 years of age obtained higher scores than those implanted later.

Conclusions

The results of this study add further evidence that children using CIs do not perform as well as peers in perceiving Cantonese tones. Modification of tones to increase pitch range did not consistently improve the ability of children with implants to perceive the difference between tones. Further research is required to fully assess potential benefits of early implantation for speakers of tonal languages.

Supplemental Materials

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5782209
Linearly frequency‐tunable and low‐phase noise ring VCO using varactors with optimally‐spaced bias voltages
Authors: Lee J. , Choi S. , Cho Y. , Choi J.
Published: January 2018

A linearly frequency‐tunable and low‐phase noise ring voltage‐controlled oscillator (VCO) is presented. Using multiple varactors, of which the bias voltages can be optimally controlled, the voltage‐to‐frequency gain, KVCO, can be kept constant over control voltages in all frequency bands. Since the noise contribution and the power consumption of the proposed frequency‐tuning method are minimal, the ring VCO also can achieve low phase noise and an excellent figure‐of‐merit (FOM). The prototype ring VCO was fabricated in a 180‐nm CMOS technology. In measurements, the variation of KVCO over the full range of control voltages was restricted to less than ±12%, even in the worst case. The 1‐MHz phase noise and the FOM of a 1.22‐GHz signal were –108.7 dBc/Hz and 161.3 dB, respectively, when the power consumption was 8.5 mW.
Thermal desorption of formamide and methylamine from graphite and amorphous water ice surfaces
Authors: Chaabouni H. , Diana S. , Nguyen T. , Dulieu F.
Published: January 2018

Context.Formamide (NH2CHO) and methylamine (CH3NH2) are known to be the most abundant amine-containing molecules in many astrophysical environments. The presence of these molecules in the gas phase may result from thermal desorption of interstellar ices.

Aims.The aim of this work is to determine the values of the desorption energies of formamide and methylamine from analogues of interstellar dust grain surfaces and to understand their interaction with water ice.

Methods.Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) experiments of formamide and methylamine ices were performed in the sub-monolayer and monolayer regimes on graphite (HOPG) and non-porous amorphous solid water (np-ASW) ice surfaces at temperatures 40–240 K. The desorption energy distributions of these two molecules were calculated from TPD measurements using a set of independent Polanyi–Wigner equations.

Results.The maximum of the desorption of formamide from both graphite and ASW ice surfaces occurs at 176 K after the desorption of H2O molecules, whereas the desorption profile of methylamine depends strongly on the substrate. Solid methylamine starts to desorb below 100 K from the graphite surface. Its desorption from the water ice surface occurs after 120 K and stops during the water ice sublimation around 150 K. It continues to desorb from the graphite surface at temperatures higher than160 K.

Conclusions.More than 95% of solid NH2CHO diffuses through the np-ASW ice surface towards the graphitic substrate and is released into the gas phase with a desorption energy distributionEdes= 7460–9380 K, which is measured with the best-fit pre-exponential factorA= 1018s−1. However, the desorption energy distribution of methylamine from the np-ASW ice surface (Edes= 3850–8420 K) is measured with the best-fit pre-exponential factorA= 1012s−1. A fraction of solid methylamine monolayer of roughly 0.15 diffuses through the water ice surface towards the HOPG substrate. This small amount of methylamine desorbs later with higher binding energies (5050–8420 K) that exceed that of the crystalline water ice (Edes= 4930 K), which is calculated with the same pre-exponential factorA= 1012s−1. The best wetting ability of methylamine compared to H2O molecules makes CH3NH2molecules a refractory species for low coverage. Other binding energies of astrophysical relevant molecules are gathered and compared, but we could not link the chemical functional groups (amino, methyl, hydroxyl, and carbonyl) with the binding energy properties. Implications of these high binding energies are discussed.
The rapid soybean growth in Brazil
Authors: Cattelan Alexandre José , Dall’Agnol Amélio
Published: January 2018

Soybean is the main crop in Brazil, both in scale and in value. Nonetheless, the beginning was very humble. Soybean was a minor crop until the 1960s, when it was restricted to the South Region (subtropical), from where it expanded to the Midwest Region (tropical) in the 1980s. That was possible thanks to the development of cultivars well adapted to low latitude conditions of the Region. In the Midwest Region, home of the Cerrado Biome, the land was plentiful and affordable with flat topography, deep soils, well drained and easy to handle. The challenge was related to soil fertility, originally acidic and poor in nutrients. The role of research was of fundamental importance in overcoming that challenge. In the 1990s, soybean advanced towards the north center and in the 2000s, it expanded farther to the north (latitudes near 0°). Soybean has been the driving force behind Brazil’s recent agricultural development, with significant economic and social impact. Municipalities that grow soybean have achieved Human Development Indexes higher than the ones that do not grow soybean. Second place among the world’s largest producers, Brazil is expected to take the lead in the coming decade. To move forward, Brazil needs to use the assets it already has: technological efficiency for production in tropical lands, availability of arable lands and entrepreneurial farmers. The global demand for soybean and the associated market prices will determine how much Brazilian soybean production will grow in the coming years.
A multi-dimensional central limit bound and its application to the euler approximation for Lévy-SDEs
Authors: Zhāng Xīlíng
Published: January 2018

In the one-dimensional case Rio (Ann. Inst. Henri Poincaré Probab. Stat. 45 (2009) 802–817) gave a concise bound for the central limit theorem in the Vaserstein distances, which is a ratio between some higher moments and some powers of the variance. As a corollary, it gives an estimate for the normal approximation of the small jumps of Lévy processes, and Fournier (ESAIM: PS 15 (2011) 233–248) applied that to the Euler approximation of stochastic differential equations driven by the Lévy noise. It will be shown in this article that following Davie’s idea in (Polynomial Perturbations of Normal Distributions. Available at: www.maths.ed.ac.uk/~sandy/polg.pdf (2016)), one can generalise Rio’s result to the multidimensional case, and have higher-order approximation via the perturbed normal distributions, if Cramér’s condition and a slightly stronger moment condition are assumed. Fournier’s result can then be partially recovered.
Der schwerstverletzte geriatrische Patient
Authors: Aigner Rene , Ruchholtz Steffen , Bücking Benjamin
Published: January 2018

Die Inzidenz geriatrischer polytraumatisierter Patienten nimmt bedingt durch den demografischen Wandel und die zunehmende Mobilität älterer Menschen weiter zu. Häufigste Ursache im geriatrischen Kollektiv sind einfache Stürze aus zumeist niedriger bzw. Standhöhe. Hinsichtlich des Verletzungsmusters zeigen sich bei geriatrischen Schwerverletzten im Vergleich zu jüngeren Patienten vermehrt Schädel-Hirn-Traumata. Weiterhin von größter Relevanz ist das Thoraxtrauma, welches die Prognose des älteren Schwerverletzten entscheidend beeinflusst. Verletzungen der Extremitäten werden durch eine verminderte Knochenqualität und Muskelmasse begünstigt und sollten zur Prophylaxe von Sekundärkomplikationen frühzeitig belastungsstabil versorgt werden. Von großer Bedeutung ist bei geriatrischen Traumapatienten zudem eine adäquate Anamneseerhebung. Hierdurch können Informationen über wichtige Begleiterkrankungen und Medikamente erlangt werden. Gerade Kenntnis über eventuelle gerinnungshemmende Medikamente ist zur optimalen Versorgung älterer Schwerverletzter von größter Bedeutung. Bei ungünstigen Verläufen – gerade bei schweren SHT – müssen nicht selten End-of-Life Decisions getroffen werden, für die die Kenntnis des Patientenwillens essenziell ist. Insgesamt ist die Prognose verglichen mit jüngeren Schwerverletzten deutlich schlechter. Dies bezieht sich sowohl auf die kurzfristige Mortalität als auch auf das langfristige Outcome.
Schulung und Simulation von Operationen für Ärzte und OP-Teams an vorfrakturierten Humanpräparaten bei intakten Weichteilen
Authors: Höntzsch Dankward , Ebinger Marc
Published: January 2018

Realistisch frakturierte Humanpräparate ermöglichen einen völlig neuartigen und innovativen Ansatz für die chirurgische Fort- und Weiterbildung. Zukünftigen Herausforderungen kann damit entgegengewirkt werden, gleichzeitig können Personalentwicklung und Versorgungsqualität verbessert werden. Dabei sind die frakturierten Präparate als konsekutive Ergänzung zu anderen Methodiken anzusehen: Zunächst können Diagnose, Strategiefindung und Ablauf an digitalen Simulationen erlernt werden. Dann erfolgt das haptische Kennenlernen der Instrumente und Osteosynthesematerialien am Kunstknochen. Weichteilmanagement kann weiterhin in Zugangskursen am unverletzten Humanpräparat erfolgen. Als letzter und neuartiger Schritt erfolgt die Zusammenführung aller Fähigkeiten am frakturierten Humanpräparat, ergänzt um Entscheidungsfindung und Reposition als Teil des End-to-End-Traumamanagements. Die frakturierten Präparate werden bereits erfolgreich in nationalen und internationalen Kursen großer Implantathersteller eingesetzt; auch mit Kliniken und den Gesellschaften werden individuelle Lernkonzepte entwickelt. Diese Technologie hat das Potenzial, einen neuen Standard im chirurgischen Kurswesen zu setzen.
Einflussfaktoren auf die distanzbezogene Arztwahl am Beispiel von Patienten mit Psoriasis und chronischen Wunden
Authors: Zander Nicole , van den Berg Neeltje , Augustin Jobst
Published: January 2018

Ziel der Studie Bislang gibt es nur wenige Erkenntnisse darüber, welchen Einfluss individuelle soziodemografische Merkmale des Patienten auf die Arztwahl haben und welche Rolle die patientenseitige Mobilität dabei einnimmt. Ziel der Studie war primär die Analyse patientenseitiger Entscheidungsmuster zur Arztwahl unter Berücksichtigung soziodemografischer Merkmale sowie Aspekte der Patientenmobilität.

Methodik Es wurde eine multizentrische Querschnittsstudie bei niedergelassenen bzw. am Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf ambulant tätigen Dermatologen durchgeführt. Psoriasis- und Wundpatienten wurden zu ihrem Arztwahlverhalten befragt. Die Datenauswertung erfolgte anhand deskriptiver und multivariater Verfahren.

Ergebnisse Daten von 309 Patienten (50,5% männlich, mittleres Alter 58,3 Jahre) wurden analysiert. 211 wurden in der Ambulanz des Universitätsklinikums rekrutiert, 98 bei niedergelassenen Dermatologen. Die Entscheidung, welcher Arzt aufgesucht wird, wird von der Einschätzung der Kompetenz des Arztes, seinem Leistungsangebot sowie dem Arzt-Patienten-Verhältnis beeinflusst. Die Aussicht auf eine bessere Therapie sowie eine Verschlechterung der Lebensqualität erhöhen die Bereitschaft, einen längeren Weg zum Arzt in Kauf zu nehmen.

Schlussfolgerung Die Ergebnisse haben ein komplexes Arztwahlverhalten der Patienten gezeigt. Die Kompetenz des Arztes sowie sein Leistungsangebot haben dabei besonders Einfluss auf die Entscheidung des Patienten. Oftmals zeigte sich, dass Patienten dann auch dazu bereit wären, längere Wege zum Arzt zurückzulegen, als eigentlich notwendig wären.
Emotion management, institutional change, and the spatial arrangement of care at a psychiatric residential treatment facility
Authors: Plummer Samantha
Published: January 2018

At Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF), the neoliberal reorganization of health and social care provision has come with increasing demands for financial efficiency, cost-containment, and evidence-based practices that affect workers’ performance of emotion management and their spatial relationship to the PRTF as a place of identity and connection. In this article, data collected via semi-structured interviews and autoethnographic methods are used to examine how long-term workers at a PRTF were affected by and responded to a merger that generated conflicts between the workers’ and new management’s values, norms of emotional conduct, and spatial understandings of the institution. The standard theories and analyses of emotional burnout in the human services argue that value conflicts between workers and organizations cause the former to withdraw from their clients. In contrast, drawing on Bolton's multidimensional theory of emotion management in the workplace, this paper finds that in the face of value conflicts and increased coerciveness in the workplace, certain dimensions of emotion management—namely workers’ engagement with one another and with the children and adolescents in their care—can become more apparently pleasurable and serve as sites of resistance and compensatory solace. Building on work on the geographies of care that troubles the boundaries between public and private space, this paper finds that long-term workers constructed the pre-merger institution as an “anthropological place” and coped with the new regime’s efforts to commodify it by reaffirming their relationships and memories.
Hydrodynamic relaxations in dissipative particle dynamics
Authors: Hansen J. S. , Greenfield Michael L. , Dyre Jeppe C.
Published: January 2018

This paper studies the dynamics of relaxation phenomena in the standard dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) model [R. D. Groot and P. B. Warren, J. Chem. Phys. 107, 4423 (1997)]. Using fluctuating hydrodynamics as the framework of the investigation, we focus on the collective transverse and longitudinal dynamics. It is shown that classical hydrodynamic theory predicts the transverse dynamics at relatively low temperatures very well when compared to simulation data; however, the theory predictions are, on the same length scale, less accurate for higher temperatures. The agreement with hydrodynamics depends on the definition of the viscosity, and here we find that the transverse dynamics are independent of the dissipative and random shear force contributions to the stress. For high temperatures, the spectrum for the longitudinal dynamics is dominated by the Brillouin peak for large length scales and the relaxation is therefore governed by sound wave propagation and is athermal. This contrasts the results at lower temperatures and small length scale, where the thermal process is clearly present in the spectra. The DPD model, at least qualitatively, re-captures the underlying hydrodynamical mechanisms, and quantitative agreement is excellent at intermediate temperatures for the transverse dynamics.
In situ ptychographic measurements of high-order harmonic sources from plasma mirrors: A theoretical and numerical study
Authors: Leblanc A. , Quéré F.
Published: January 2018

Measuring the spatial properties of high-order harmonic beams produced by high-intensity laser-matter interactions directly in the target plane is very challenging due to the extreme physical conditions at stake in the interaction area. A measurement scheme has been recently developed to obtain this information experimentally, which consists in adapting a lensless imaging method known as ptychography. In this paper, we present a theoretical validation of this method in the case of harmonic generation from plasma mirrors, using a combination of simple modeling and 2D Particle-In-Cell simulations. This study investigates the concept of in situ ptychography and supports the analysis of experimental measurements presented in previous publications.
A novel L-shaped linear ultrasonic motor operating in a single resonance mode
Authors: Zhang Bailiang , Yao Zhiyuan , Liu Zhen , Li Xiaoniu
Published: January 2018

In this study, a large thrust linear ultrasonic motor using an L-shaped stator is described. The stator is constructed by two mutually perpendicular rectangular plate vibrators, one of which is mounted in parallel with the slider to make the motor structure to be more compact. The symmetric and antisymmetric modes of the stator based on the first order bending vibration of two vibrators are adopted, in which each resonance mode is assigned to drive the slider in one direction. The placement of piezoelectric ceramics in a stator could be determined by finite element analysis, and the influence of slots in the head block on the vibration amplitudes of driving foot was studied as well. Three types of prototypes (non-slotted, dual-slot, and single-slot) were fabricated and experimentally investigated. Experimental results demonstrated that the prototype with one slot exhibited the best mechanical output performance. The maximum loads under the excitation of symmetric mode and antisymmetric mode were 65 and 90 N, respectively.
Red shift of the SF6 vibration spectrum induced by the electron absorption: An ab initio study
Authors: Tang Bin , Zhang Long-Fei , Han Fang-Yuan , Luo Zong-Chang , Liang Qin-Qin , Liu Chen-Yao , Zhu Li-Ping , Zhang Jie-Ming
Published: January 2018

As a widely used gas insulator, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) has a large cross section for electron absorption, which may make the molecule ionized to the -1 charge state in the high-voltage environment. Using ab initio calculations, we show that the absorbed electron is located averagely on the six F atoms, occupying the antibonding level of the s-p σ bonds and increasing the S-F bond length. The ionized SF6- molecule decreases its decomposition energy to only 1.5 eV, much lower than that of the neutral molecule (4.8 eV), which can be understood according to the occupying of the antibonding orbital and thus weakening of the s-p σ bonds. The weakening of the bonds results in an obvious red shift in the vibrational modes of the ionized SF6- molecule by 120-270 cm-1, compared to those of the neutral molecule. The detailed origin of these vibrational modes is analyzed. Since the appearance of the ionized SF6- molecules is before the decomposition reaction of the SF6- molecule into low-fluoride sulfides, this method may improve the sensitivity of the defection of the partial discharge and save more time for the prevention of the insulation failure in advance.
The interplay between excitons and trions in a monolayer of MoSe2
Authors: Lundt N. , Cherotchenko E. , Iff O. , Fan X. , Shen Y. , Bigenwald P. , Kavokin A. V. , Höfling S. , Schneider C.
Published: January 2018

The luminescence and absorption properties of transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers are widely determined by neutral and charged excitonic complexes. Here, we focus on the impact of a free carrier reservoir on the optical properties of excitonic and trionic complexes in a MoSe2 monolayer at cryogenic temperatures. By applying photodoping via a non-resonant pump laser, the electron density can be controlled in our sample, which is directly reflected in the contribution of excitons and trions to the luminescence signal. We find significant shifts of both the exciton and trion energies in the presence of an induced electron gas both in power- and in time evolution (on the second to minute scale) in our photoluminescence spectra. In particular, in the presence of the photo-doped carrier reservoir, we observe that the splitting between excitons and trions can be enhanced by up to 4 meV. This behaviour is phenomenologically explained by an interplay between an increased screening of excitons via electrons in our system and a modification of the Fermi level. We introduce a simple but still quantitative treatment of these effects within a variational approach that takes into account both screening and phase space filling effects.
Pyridoxal-5′-phosphate as an oxygenase cofactor: Discovery of a carboxamide-forming, α-amino acid monooxygenase-decarboxylase
Authors: Huang Ying , Liu Xiaodong , Cui Zheng , Wiegmann Daniel , Niro Giuliana , Ducho Christian , Song Yuan , Yang Zhaoyong , Van Lanen Steven G.
Published: January 2018

Significance

Enzymes that activate dioxygen typically rely on flavins or transition metals as redox cofactors. We describe the discovery of the enzyme catalyst Cap15 that converts 5′-C-glycyluridine (GlyU), an unusual β–hydroxy-α-amino acid, to the modified nucleoside uridine-5′-carboxamide. In contrast to expectations, pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) is the sole cofactor that serves as the initiating reducing agent to activate dioxygen for incorporation into GlyU prior to decarboxylation. Thus, Cap15 is now classified as an O
2
- and PLP-dependent monooxygenase-decarboxylase. Also in contrast to expectations, phosphate and the (5′
S
,6′
R
) isomer of GlyU—and not (5′
S
,6′
S
)-GlyU, the established pathway intermediate—are essential for Cap15 activity. In total, Cap15 utilizes an enzymatic strategy for oxygen incorporation during conversion of an α-amino acid to a carboxamide.
Crystal structure of the mammalian lipopolysaccharide detoxifier
Authors: Gorelik Alexei , Illes Katalin , Nagar Bhushan
Published: January 2018

LPS is a potent bacterial endotoxin that triggers the innate immune system. Proper recognition of LPS by pattern-recognition receptors requires a full complement of typically six acyl chains in the lipid portion. Acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH) is a host enzyme that removes secondary (acyloxyacyl-linked) fatty acids from LPS, rendering it immunologically inert. This activity is critical for recovery from immune tolerance that follows Gram-negative infection. To understand the molecular mechanism of AOAH function, we determined its crystal structure and its complex with LPS. The substrate’s lipid moiety is accommodated in a large hydrophobic pocket formed by the saposin and catalytic domains with a secondary acyl chain inserted into a narrow lateral hydrophobic tunnel at the active site. The enzyme establishes dispensable contacts with the phosphate groups of LPS but does not interact with its oligosaccharide portion. Proteolytic processing allows movement of an amphipathic helix possibly involved in substrate access at membranes.
Effect of acute ingestion of β‐hydroxybutyrate salts on the response to graded exercise in trained cyclists
Authors: Evans Mark , Patchett Ella , Nally Rickard , Kearns Rachel , Larney Matthew , Egan Brendan
Published: January 2018

Acute ingestion of ketone salts induces nutritional ketosis by elevating β‐hydroxybutyrate (βHB), but few studies have examined the metabolic effects of ingestion prior to exercise. Nineteen trained cyclists (12 male, 7 female) undertook graded exercise (8 min each at ∼30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, and 80% VO2peak) on a cycle ergometer on two occasions separated by either 7 or 14 days. Trials included ingestion of boluses of either (i) plain water (3.8 mL kg body mass−1) (CON) or (ii) βHB salts (0.38 g kg body mass−1) in plain water (3.8 mL kg body mass−1) (KET), at both 60 min and 15 min prior to exercise. During KET, plasma [βHB] increased to 0.33 ± 0.16 mM prior to exercise and 0.44 ± 0.15 mM at the end of exercise (both p < .05). Plasma glucose was 0.44 ± 0.27 mM lower (p < .01) 30 min after ingestion of KET and remained ∼0.2 mM lower throughout exercise compared to CON (p < .001). Respiratory exchange ratio (RER) was higher during KET compared to CON (p < .001) and 0.03–0.04 higher from 30%VO2peak to 60%VO2peak (all p < .05). No differences in plasma lactate, rate of perceived exertion, or gross or delta efficiency were observed between trials. Gastrointestinal symptoms were reported in 13 out of 19 participants during KET. Acute ingestion of βHB salts induces nutritional ketosis and alters the metabolic response to exercise in trained cyclists. Elevated RER during KET may be indicative of increased ketone body oxidation during exercise, but at the plasma βHB concentrations achieved, ingestion of βHB salts does not affect lactate appearance, perceived exertion, or muscular efficiency.
Taking deterministic control of membrane protein monomer–dimer measurements
Authors: Fleming Karen G.
Published: January 2018

Fleming examines a new methodology for measuring the free energy of dimerization in lipid bilayers.
Uniform symbolic topologies via multinomial expansions
Authors: Walker Robert
Published: January 2018

When does a Noetherian commutative ring

R
R

have uniform symbolic topologies on primes–read, when does there exist an integer

D
>
0

D>0

such that the symbolic power

P

(
D
r
)

⊆

P
r

P^{(Dr)} \subseteq P^r

for all prime ideals

P
⊆
R

P \subseteq R

and all

r
>
0

r >0

? Groundbreaking work of Ein-Lazarsfeld-Smith, as extended by Hochster and Huneke, and by Ma and Schwede in turn, provides a beautiful answer in the setting of finite-dimensional excellent regular rings. It is natural to then search for analogues where the ring

R
R

is non-regular, or where the above ideal containments can be improved using a linear function whose growth rate is slower. This manuscript falls under the overlap of these research directions. Working with a prescribed type of prime ideal

Q
Q

inside of tensor products of domains of finite type over an algebraically closed field

F

\mathbb {F}

, we present binomial and multinomial expansion criteria for containments of type

Q

(
E
r
)

⊆

Q
r

Q^{(E r)} \subseteq Q^r

, or even better, of type

Q

(
E
(
r
−
1
)
+
1
)

⊆

Q
r

Q^{(E (r-1)+1)} \subseteq Q^r

for all

r
>
0

r>0

. The final section consolidates remarks on how often we can utilize these criteria, presenting an example.
Hyperbolicity cones and imaginary projections
Authors: Jörgens Thorsten , Theobald Thorsten
Published: January 2018

Recently, the authors and de Wolff introduced the imaginary projection of a polynomial

f
∈

C

[

z

]

f\in \mathbb {C}[\mathbf {z}]

as the projection of the variety of

f
f

onto its imaginary part,

I

(
f
)
 
=
 
{
I
m
(

z

)

:

z

∈

V

(
f
)
}

\mathcal {I}(f) \ = \ \{Im(\mathbf {z}) \, : \, \mathbf {z} \in \mathcal {V}(f) \}

. Since a polynomial

f
f

is stable if and only if

I

(
f
)
∩

R

>
0

n

 
=
 
∅

\mathcal {I}(f) \cap \mathbb {R}_{>0}^n \ = \ \emptyset

, the notion offers a novel geometric view underlying stability questions of polynomials. In this article, we study the relation between the imaginary projections and hyperbolicity cones, where the latter ones are only defined for homogeneous polynomials. Building upon this, for homogeneous polynomials we provide a tight upper bound for the number of components in the complement

I

(
f

)

c

\mathcal {I}(f)^{\mathsf {c}}

and thus for the number of hyperbolicity cones of 

f
f

. And we show that for

n
≥
2

n \ge 2

, a polynomial

f
f

in

n
n

variables can have an arbitrarily high number of strictly convex and bounded components in

I

(
f

)

c

\mathcal {I}(f)^{\mathsf {c}}

.
Finite numbers of initial ideals in non-Noetherian polynomial rings
Authors: Lindner Felicitas
Published: January 2018

In this article, we generalize the well-known result that ideals of Noetherian polynomial rings have only finitely many initial ideals to the situation of ideals in the polynomial ring

R
=

K

[

x

i
,
j

|

1
≤
i
≤
c
,
j
∈

N

]

R=\mathbb {K}[x_{i,j}\,|\,1\leq i\leq c,j\in \mathbb {N}]

that are invariant under the action of the monoid

I
n
c

(

N

)

\mathrm {Inc}(\mathbb {N})

of strictly increasing functions on

N

\mathbb {N}

. This monoid acts on

R
R

by shifting the second variable index. We show that for every

I
n
c

(

N

)

\mathrm {Inc}(\mathbb {N})

-invariant ideal, the number of initial ideals with respect to term orders that are compatible with this

I
n
c

(

N

)

\mathrm {Inc}(\mathbb {N})

-action is finite. The article also addresses the question of how many such term orders exist. We give a complete list of the

I
n
c

(

N

)

\mathrm {Inc}(\mathbb {N})

-compatible term orders for the case

c
=
1

c=1

and show that there are infinitely many for

c
>
1

c >1

.
A slice theorem for singular Riemannian foliations, with applications
Authors: Mendes Ricardo , Radeschi Marco
Published: January 2018

We prove a slice theorem around closed leaves in a singular Riemannian foliation, and we use it to study the

C
∞

C^\infty

-algebra of smooth basic functions, generalizing to the inhomogeneous setting a number of results by G. Schwarz. In particular, in the infinitesimal case we show that this algebra is generated by a finite number of polynomials.
False Bean Smut Caused by Slime Mold
Authors: Agra Leandro A. N. N. , Seixas Claudine D. S. , Dianese José C.
Published: January 2018

Identification of the “bean smut” reported in 1998 in abstracts from two conferences was later disseminated by a Plant Disease Note; citations in books, papers, and blogs; and in several official sites, including databases curated by the United States Department of Agriculture and Embrapa-Brazil. After seeing the illustration of the syndrome in 2002, the need became clear for a review of the so-called bean smut. Field collections indicated that it is common in no-till bean and soybean farming in Brazil. Our studies revealed that the “bean smut” attributed to Ustilago sp. or “Ustilago phaseoli” and, later, to “Microbotryum phaseoli” is not a real smut but is Physarum cinereum (Physaraceae, Physarales, Myxomycetes), sporulating superficially on leaves, stems, and pods of dry bean and soybean. To unravel this imbroglio, we produced detailed morphological documentation supported by molecular treatment. This will correct the spread and further incorporation of an error in the literature based upon mistaken taxonomical work related to a plant-associated nonpathogenic organism.
Examining changes to statewide NP practice in Connecticut
Authors: Kazer Meredith Wallace , O'Sullivan Cynthia K. , Leonard Michelle
Published: January 2018

In 2014, Connecticut legislators eliminated the need for advanced practice registered nurses with 2,000 practice hours to obtain collaborative practice agreements with physicians. This study examined resulting practice changes, barriers, and suggestions for improved implementation of independent practice. Thirteen NPs participated in focus groups to share their experiences and recommendations.
RESPONSE OF INFLAMMATORY CYSTOID MACULAR EDEMA TO TREATMENT USING ORAL ACETAZOLAMIDE
Authors: Pepple Kathryn L. , Nguyen Macklin H. , Pakzad-Vaezi Kaivon , Williamson Kathleen , Odell Naomi , Lee Cecilia , Leveque Thellea K. , Van Gelder Russell N.
Published: January 2018

Purpose:

To determine the treatment effect of oral acetazolamide on refractory inflammatory macular edema.

Methods:

A retrospective review of identified patients with uveitic or pseudophakic macular edema treated using acetazolamide between 2007 and 2014. Visual acuity and central macular subfield thickness was determined at baseline and at first follow-up. Baseline optical coherence tomography features were analyzed as predictors of acetazolamide response.

Results:

Sixteen patients (19 eyes) of 61 screened met all criteria. Mean age was 57.9 years (19.7–81.1). The most common diagnosis was idiopathic uveitis (n = 6, 31.6%). Mean uveitis duration was 4.4 years (0.2–27.5). Average central macular subfield thickness decreased significantly (from 471.8 ± 110.6 μm to 358.3 ± 50.4 μm) (P < 0.0001). Average visual acuity (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) improved significantly from 20/54 (0.43 ± 0.25) to 20/37 (0.27 ± 0.16) (P = 0.003). Pretreatment optical coherence tomographies demonstrated intraretinal fluid (n = 19, 100%), subretinal fluid (n = 8, 42.1%), epiretinal membrane (n = 13, 68.3%), and vitreomacular traction (n = 1, 5.2%). No optical coherence tomography characteristic was predictive of a response to therapy.

Conclusion:

There is a significant benefit to vision and central macular subfield thickness after acetazolamide treatment in patients with inflammatory macular edema. In patients with refractory inflammatory macular edema, treatment using acetazolamide can provide anatomical and visual benefit without corticosteroid-related adverse effects.
Combined Endosonography Reduces Time to Diagnose Pulmonary Coccidioidomycosis
Authors: Shah Raj A. , Vempilly Jose J. , Noor ul Husnain Shaikh M. , Hegde Pravachan
Published: January 2018

Coccidioidomycosis causes significant morbidity in endemic areas. In the absence of sensitive diagnostic serologic testing, clinicians have increasingly relied on lung and lymph node biopsies for diagnosis. Recently, endobronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has been shown to be an excellent sampling method for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancers, especially when combined with endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). We present 13 consecutive cases where EBUS-TBNA and/or EUS-FNA of pulmonary lymph nodes were performed as part of the workup for pulmonary coccidioidomycosis. EBUS-TBNA+EUS-FNA led to diagnosis in all nine cases in which they were performed concurrently, and in the remaining 4 in which either was performed individually. BAL was performed in all cases with positive results in 5 (38%). The mean time to diagnose by EBUS/EUS (1.6 d) was significantly shorter than by bronchoalveolar lavage (6.3 d) (P=0.003). The findings indicate that combined EBUS-TBNA+EUS-FNA for lymph node biopsy facilitates early and accurate diagnosis of pulmonary coccidioidomycosis.
Systematic Review of Hearing Preservation After Radiotherapy for Vestibular Schwannoma
Authors: Coughlin Adam R. , Willman Tyler J. , Gubbels Samuel P.
Published: January 2018

Objective:

To determine the long-term hearing preservation rate for spontaneous vestibular schwannoma treated by primary radiotherapy.

Data Sources:

The MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Reviews, and EMBASE databases were searched using a comprehensive Boolean keyword search developed in conjunction with a scientific librarian. English language papers published from 2000 to 2016 were evaluated.

Study Selection:

Inclusion criteria: full articles, pretreatment and posttreatment audiograms or audiogram based scoring system, vestibular schwannoma only tumor type, reported time to follow-up, published after 1999, use of either Gamma Knife or linear accelerator radiotherapy. Exclusion criteria: case report or series with fewer than five cases, inadequate audiometric data, inadequate time to follow-up, neurofibromatosis type 2 exceeding 10% of study population, previous treatment exceeding 10% of study population, repeat datasets, use of proton beam therapy, and non-English language.

Data Extraction:

Two reviewers independently analyzed papers for inclusion. Class A/B, 1/2 hearing was defined as either pure tone average less than or equal to 50 db with speech discrimination score more than or equal to 50%, American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Hearing Class A or B, or Gardner–Robertson Grade I or II. Aggregate data were used when individual data were not specified.

Data Synthesis:

Means were compared with student t test.

Conclusions:

Forty seven articles containing a total of 2,195 patients with preserved Class A/B, 1/2 hearing were identified for analysis. The aggregate crude hearing preservation rate was 58% at an average reporting time of 46.6 months after radiotherapy treatment. Analysis of time-based reporting shows a clear trend of decreased hearing preservation extending to 10-year follow-up. This data encourages a future long-term controlled trial.
Does Hospital Volume Affect Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Vestibular Schwannoma Surgery?
Authors: Hatch Jonathan L. , Bauschard Michael J. , Nguyen Shaun A. , Lambert Paul R. , Meyer Ted A. , McRackan Theodore R.
Published: January 2018

Objective:

To determine the effect of hospital surgical case volume on the outcomes of vestibular schwannoma surgery.

Study Design:

Retrospective case review.

Setting:

University HealthSystem Consortium member hospitals (includes nearly every US academic medical center).

Patients:

Three thousand six hundred ninety-seven patients who underwent vestibular schwannoma resection over a 3-year timespan (2012–2015) grouped by race, age, comorbidities, payer, and sex.

Intervention:

Surgical resection of vestibular schwannoma.

Main Outcome Measures:

Morbidity and mortality following vestibular schwannoma excision are compared by hospital volume (low, medium, and high) including deciles.

Results:

There was significantly longer length of stay (p≤ 0.005) among groups with low-volume hospitals followed by medium-volume hospitals and high-volume hospitals. Low-volume hospitals had a significantly higher rate of complications including stroke, aspiration, and respiratory failure (p≤ 0.0175). Patient characteristics of age, sex, sex, and baseline comorbidities were similar between hospital groups. However, patients at high-volume hospitals were more likely to be Caucasian (83.1%,p = 0.0001) and have private insurance (76.7%,p < 0.0001). There was a strong negative correlation between complication rates and hospital volume (r = −0.8164,p = 0.0040).

Conclusion:

The volume of vestibular schwannoma surgeries performed at a hospital impacts length of stay and rates of postoperative complications. Demographics among hospital groups were similar though high-volume hospitals had significantly more patients who were privately insured and Caucasian.
Preauricular Approach for Cholesteatoma Resection After Surgical Overclosure of the External Auditory Canal and Cochlear Implantation
Authors: Telian Steven A.
Published: January 2018

Chronic suppurative otitis media can have long-term effects on hearing if not managed effectively. When combined with cholesteatoma the condition may require creation of an open mastoid cavity. Recurrence of cholesteatoma is a concern when cochlear implantation is performed with overclosure of the external auditory meatus. A 61-year-old female with recurrent cholesteatoma in this setting was treated using a preauricular approach to provide adequate visualization while preventing the need to remove the implant or risking injury to the internal components. This technique would be useful in similar patients to prevent morbidity from removal and reinsertion of a cochlear implant.
Dexmedetomidine as Single Continuous Sedative During Noninvasive Ventilation: Typical Usage, Hemodynamic Effects, and Withdrawal*
Authors: Shutes Brittany L. , Gee Samantha W. , Sargel Cheryl L. , Fink Kelsey A. , Tobias Joseph D.
Published: January 2018

Objectives:

Dexmedetomidine use in pediatric critical care is increasing. Its prolonged effects as a single continuous agent for sedation are not well described. The aim of the current study was to describe prolonged dexmedetomidine therapy without other continuous sedation, specifically the hemodynamic effects, discontinuation strategies, and risk factors for withdrawal.

Design:

Retrospective chart review.

Setting:

Large, single-center, quaternary care pediatric academic institution.

Patients:

Data from 382 children, less than 18 years old admitted to the PICU who received dexmedetomidine for more than 24 hours without other infusions for sedation during noninvasive positive pressure ventilation.

Interventions:

Usual care practices for dexmedetomidine use were described. Discontinuation strategies were categorized as abrupt discontinuation, wean from dexmedetomidine infusion, and transition to enteral clonidine.

Measurements and Main Results:

Median peak and cumulative doses with interquartile range were 1 µg/kg/hr (0.6–1.2 µg/kg/hr) and 30 µg/kg (20–50 µg/kg), respectively, and median duration was 45 hours (34–66 hr). Four hours after reaching peak dose, we observed a decrease in heart rate (p < 0.01) with 28% prevalence of bradycardia and an increase in systolic blood pressure (p < 0.01) with 33% prevalence of hypertension and 2% hypotension. During the escalation phase, the prevalence of bradycardia and hypotension were 75% and a 30%, respectively. Three-hundred thirty-six patients (88%) had abrupt discontinuation, 37 (10%) were weaned, and nine (2%) were transitioned to clonidine. Nineteen patients (5%) experienced withdrawal. Univariate risk of withdrawal was most associated with duration: odds ratio equal to 1.5 (1.3–1.7) for each 12-hour period (p < 0.01). By multivariate analysis including age, discontinuation group, dexmedetomidine cumulative dose, and peak dose, only cumulative dose remained significant with an odds ratio equal to 1.3 (1.1–1.5) for each 10 μg/kg (p < 0.01).

Conclusions:

Dexmedetomidine use for noninvasive positive pressure ventilation sedation in pediatric critical care has predictable hemodynamic effects including bradycardia and hypertension. Although withdrawal was associated with higher cumulative dose, these symptoms were effectively managed with short-term enteral clonidine.
Postcranial diversity and recent ecomorphic impoverishment of North American gray wolves
Authors: Tomiya Susumu , Meachen Julie A.
Published: January 2018

Recent advances in genomics and palaeontology have begun to unravel the complex evolutionary history of the gray wolf,
Canis lupus
. Still, much of their phenotypic variation across time and space remains to be documented. We examined the limb morphology of the fossil and modern North American gray wolves from the late Quaternary (<
ca
70 ka) to better understand their postcranial diversity through time. We found that the late-Pleistocene gray wolves were characterized by short-leggedness on both sides of the Cordilleran–Laurentide ice sheets, and that this trait survived well into the Holocene despite the collapse of Pleistocene megafauna and disappearance of the ‘Beringian wolf' from Alaska. By contrast, extant populations in the Midwestern USA and northwestern North America are distinguished by their elongate limbs with long distal segments, which appear to have evolved during the Holocene possibly in response to a new level or type of prey depletion. One of the consequences of recent extirpation of the Plains (
Canis lupus nubilus
) and Mexican wolves (
C. l. baileyi
) from much of the USA is an unprecedented loss of postcranial diversity through removal of short-legged forms. Conservation of these wolves is thus critical to restoration of the ecophenotypic diversity and evolutionary potential of gray wolves in North America.
Environmental and social factors impacting on epidemic and endemic tuberculosis: a modelling analysis
Authors: Issarow Chacha M. , Mulder Nicola , Wood Robin
Published: January 2018

Tuberculosis (TB) transmission results from the interaction between infective sources and susceptible individuals within enabling socio-environmental conditions. As TB is an airborne pathogen, the transmission probability is determined by the volume of air inhaled from an infected source and the concentration of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
containing respirable particles (doses) per volume of air. In this study, we model the contributions of infectious dose production, prevalence of infectious cases and daily rebreathed air volume (RAV) for defining the boundary conditions necessary to sustain endemic TB transmission at the population level. Results suggest that in areas with high RAV (range 300–1000 l d
−1
), such as prisons, TB transmission is contributed by both super-spreaders (exhaling ≥10 infectious doses hr
−1
) and lower infectivity individuals (exhaling less than 10 infectious doses hr
−1
). In settings with a low quantity of RAV (less than 100 l d
−1
), TB transmission occurs only from super-spreaders. Point-source epidemics occur in low rebreathed environments when super-spreaders infect a number of susceptibles but subsequent transmission is limited by the mean infectivity of secondary cases. By contrast, endemic TB occurs in poor socio-environmental conditions where mean infectivity cases are able to maintain a sufficiently high effective contact number.