bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prognostic Factors Associated With Surviving Less Than 3 Months vs Greater Than 3 Years Specific to Spine Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy and Late Adverse Events
Authors: Zeng K Liang , Sahgal Arjun , Tseng Chia-Lin , Myrehaug Sten , Soliman Hany , Detsky Jay , Atenafu Eshetu G , Lee Young , Campbell Mikki , Maralani Pejman , Husain Zain A 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Patient selection is critical for spine stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) given potential for serious adverse effects and the associated costs.

OBJECTIVE
To identify prognostic factors associated with dying within 3 mo, or living greater than 3 yr, following spine SBRT, to better inform patient selection.

METHODS
Patients living ≤3 mo after spine SBRT and >3 yr after spine SBRT were identified, and multivariable regression analyses were performed. We report serious late toxicities observed, including vertebral compression fractures (VCF) and plexopathy.

RESULTS
A total of 605 patients (1406 spine segments) were treated from 2009 to 2018. A total of 51 patients (8.4%) lived ≤3 mo, and 79 patients (13%) survived >3 yr. Significant differences in baseline features were observed. On multivariable analysis, nonbreast/prostate primaries (odds ratio [ORs]: 28.8-104.2, P = .0004), eastern cooperative oncology group (ECOG) ≥2 (OR: 23.7, 95% CI: 3.2-177, P = .0020), polymetastatic disease (OR: 6.715, 95% CI: 1.89-23.85, P = .0032), painful lesions (OR: 3.833-8.898, P = .0118), and paraspinal disease (OR: 2.874, 95% CI: 1.118-7.393, P = .0288) were prognostic for ≤3 mo survival. The 3- and 5-yr rates of VCF were 10.4% and 14.4%, respectively, and 3- and 5-yr rates of plexopathy were 2.2% and 5.1%, respectively. A single duodenal perforation was observed, and there was no radiation myelopathy events.

CONCLUSION
Shorter survival after spine SBRT was seen in patients with less radiosensitive histologies (ie, not breast or prostate), ECOG ≥2, and polymetastatic disease. Pain and paraspinal disease were also associated with poor survival. Fractionated spine SBRT confers a low risk of late serious adverse events.
Longitudinal Dose Trajectory Among Patients Tapering Long-Term Opioids
Authors: Fenton Joshua J , Magnan Elizabeth M , Agnoli Alicia L , Henry Stephen G , Xing Guibo , Tancredi Daniel J 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Objective
To evaluate the dose trajectory of new opioid tapers and estimate the percentage of patients with sustained tapers at long-term follow-up.

Design
Retrospective cohort study.

Setting
Data from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse® which includes de-identified medical and pharmacy claims and enrollment records for commercial and Medicare Advantage enrollees, representing a diverse mixture of ages, ethnicities, and geographical regions across the United States.

Subjects
Patients prescribed stable, higher-dose opioids for ≥12 months from 2008 to 2018.

Methods
Tapering was defined as ≥15% relative reduction in average MME/day during any of six overlapping 60-day periods in the initial 7 months of follow-up after the period of stable baseline dosing. Average monthly dose was ascertained during consecutive 60-day periods up to 16 months of follow-up. Linear regression estimated the geometric mean relative dose by tapering status and follow-up duration. Poisson regression estimated the percentage of tapered patients with sustained dose reductions at follow-up and patient-level predictors of failing to sustain tapers.

Results
The sample included 113,618 patients with 203,920 periods of stable baseline dosing (mean follow-up = 13.7 months). Tapering was initiated during 37,170 follow-up periods (18.2%). After taper initiation, patients had a substantial initial mean dose reduction (geometric mean relative dose .73 [95% CI: .72–.74]) that was sustained through 16 months of follow-up; at which point, 69.8% (95% CI: 69.1%–70.4%) of patients who initiated tapers had a relative dose reduction ≥15%, and 14.2% (95% CI: 13.7%–14.7%) had discontinued opioids. Failure to sustain tapers was significantly less likely among patients with overdose events during follow-up (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR]: .56 [95% CI: .48–.67]) and during more recent years (aIRR: .93 per year after 2008 [95% CI: .92–.94]).

Conclusions
In an insured and Medicare Advantage population, over two-thirds of patients who initiated opioid dose tapering sustained long-term dose reductions, and the likelihood of sustaining tapers increased substantially from 2008 to 2018.
Bigger juveniles and smaller adults: Changes in fish size correlate with warming seas
Authors: Ikpewe Idongesit E. , Baudron Alan R. , Ponchon Aurore , Fernandes Paul G. 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Increasing sea temperatures are predicted to decrease body size of marine ectotherms based on the temperature size rule. This will impact fisheries yields, but empirical evidence of the process is still limited.

We used fishery‐independent bottom trawl survey data from 1970 to 2017 to examine the trends of length‐at‐age of four commercially important demersal fish species (cod, haddock, whiting and saithe) in two study areas facing increasing sea temperatures: the West of Scotland and the North Sea. We then compared the trends of length‐at‐age with annual bottom sea temperatures.

The mean length‐at‐age of adults declined over the study period, in all species and in both areas, except for cod in the West of Scotland. A common trend of decline in adult length was inversely correlated with bottom sea temperatures. Correlations with temperature at seven yearly time‐lags were significant and negative in the North Sea. Correlations were only significant at lags of 1 and 2 years in the west of Scotland, where sea temperature warming was twice as slow.

The mean length‐at‐age of juveniles concurrently increased, which has not hitherto been reported. This trend, shared by all species and both regions, correlated positively with rising temperature, suggesting that our study species have a faster growth rate due to increased temperatures.

Synthesis and applications. We examined the body size of a range of commercially exploited fish species, at different age groups, from two management regions. We found that juvenile fish have been getting bigger and adults smaller in both regions. These changes were correlated with rising sea temperatures, providing empirical evidence that global warming is affecting the size of commercial fish species. The effects of these changes on productivity of fish populations and fisheries yield now require investigation. Temperature changes should, therefore, be included into forecasts used in fisheries science in order to mitigate the impact of global warming and maximise sustainable yields.
Student and supervisor experiences of the Systemic Practice Scale (SPS): a discourse analysis
Authors: Parker Claire , Smithson Janet , Limond Jennifer , Sherbersky Hannah , Butler Catherine 
Published: December 2020

There has been recent emphasis on the assessment of competence in psychotherapy training courses to improve evidence‐based practice and outcomes for clients. The Systemic Practice Scale (SPS) was developed as a structured way of evaluating systemic practice. There is, however, little research on the impact and experience of competence measures, particularly in the context of systemic practice. Five focus groups conducted with sixteen students and seven supervisors from systemic family practice (SFP) programmes explored their views of the SPS as an appropriate measure of systemic competence. Data was analysed using a discourse analysis with three dominant discourses identified:feedback as valuable but uncomfortable;measuring competence; andbeing systemic. The SPS was viewed as a valuable and useful measure of systemic competence when reflexivity and collaboration is maintained between the student and supervisor.Practitioner pointsThere is limited research exploring the use of competence measures in systemic practiceThe SPS was perceived as broadening perspectives of students’ practice and competence, reiterating the importance of feedback in a collaborative supervisory relationshipIncreasingly the SPS is being used across clinical psychotherapy training courses (including systemic IAPT course and Doctorate of Clinical Psychology)It has the potential to be used more widely with wider implications for the development of systemic training standards in systemic practice
Suspicion and expertise: following the money in an offshore investigation
Authors: Fedirko Taras 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThis article explores the relation between suspicion and expertise in the context of activist investigations of offshore corruption. I reconstruct one investigation of alleged corruption in the Azerbaijani oil sector, conducted by a British organization called Global Witness, to explore how suspicion is learned and practised in the face of impenetrable offshore secrecy. For these detectives of global capital, suspicion is both a tool for arriving at an understanding of offshore corporate networks and an orientation that helps them overcome the limits of this understanding, allowing them to make political claims that go beyond what is strictly afforded by evidence and libel law. Extending recent anthropological scholarship that revises the disciplinary emphasis on truth and certainty as the mainstays of expert knowledge, I argue that investigative expertise provides imprecise and suspicious understandings of its objects that are useful despite, or even because of, the ambivalence and suspicion it entails.
Population Health Science: Fulfilling the Mission of Public Health
Authors: ZIMMERMAN FREDERICK J. 
Published: December 2020

Policy Points
The historical mission of public health is to ensure the conditions in which people can be healthy, and yet the field of public health has been distracted from this mission by an excessive reliance on randomized‐control trials, a lack of formal theoretical models, and a fear of politics.
The field of population health science has emerged to rigorously address all of these constraints. It deserves ongoing and formal institutional support.
Pregnancy and phaeochromocytoma/paraganglioma: clinical clues affecting diagnosis and outcome – a systematic review
Authors: Langton K , Tufton N , Akker S , Deinum J , Eisenhofer G , Timmers HJLM , Spaanderman MEA , Lenders JWM 
Published: December 2020

BackgroundPhaeochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) in pregnancy, if not diagnosed antepartum, pose a high risk for mother and child.ObjectiveTo examine the clinical clues of antepartum and postpartum/postmortem diagnosis of PPGL.Search strategyCase reports on PPGL in pregnancy published between 1 January 1988 and 30 June 2019 in English, German, Dutch or French.Selection criteriaCase reports containing a predefined minimum of clinical data on PPGL and pregnancy.Data collection and analysisTwo authors independently performed data extraction and assessed data quality. We calculated odds ratios (OR) (with 95% confidence intervals) and used uni‐ and multivariable logistic regression analysis.Main resultsMaternal and fetal/neonatal mortalities were 9.0% (18/200) and 14.2% (29/204), respectively. Maternal mortality was 42‐fold higher with PPGL diagnosed postpartum/postmortem (17/58; 29.3%) than antepartum (1/142; 0.7%) (adjusted OR 45.9, 95% CI 5.67–370, P = 0.0003). Offspring mortality was 2.6‐fold higher with PPGL diagnosed postpartum/postmortem than antepartum (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.38–6.91, P = 0.0044). Hypertension at admission (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.12–4.68, P = 0.022), sweating (OR 3.14, 95% CI 1.29–7.63, P = 0.014) and a history of PPGL, a known PPGL‐associated gene mutation or adrenal mass (OR 8.87, 95% CI 1.89–41.64, P = 0.0056) were independent factors of antepartum diagnosis. Acute onset of symptoms (OR 8.49, 95% CI 3.52–20.5, P < 0.0001), initial diagnosis of pre‐eclampsia (OR 6.34, 95% CI 2.60–15.5, P < 0.0001), admission for obstetric care (OR 10.71, 95% CI 2.70–42.45, P = 0.0007) and maternal tachycardia (OR 2.72, 95% CI 1.26–5.85, P = 0.011) were independent factors of postpartum diagnosis.ConclusionSeveral clinical clues can assist clinicians in considering an antenatal diagnosis of PPGL in pregnancy, thus potentially improving outcome.Tweetable abstractSystematic review of 204 pregnant patients with phaeochromocytoma identified clinical clues for a timely antepartum diagnosis.
We and herbivores eat endophytes
Authors: Martínez‐Romero Esperanza , Aguirre‐Noyola José Luis , Bustamante‐Brito Rafael , González‐Román Pilar , Hernández‐Oaxaca Diana , Higareda‐Alvear Víctor , Montes‐Carreto Leslie M. , Martínez‐Romero Julio César , Rosenblueth Mónica , Servín‐Garcidueñas Luis Eduardo 
Published: December 2020

SummaryHealth depends on the diet and a vegetal diet promotes health by providing fibres, vitamins and diverse metabolites. Remarkably, plants may also provide microbes. Fungi and bacteria that reside inside plant tissues (endophytes) seem better protected to survive digestion; thus, we investigated the reported evidence on the endophytic origin of some members of the gut microbiota in animals such as panda, koala, rabbits and tortoises and several herbivore insects. Data examined here showed that some members of the herbivore gut microbiota are common plant microbes, which derived to become stable microbiota in some cases. Endophytes may contribute to plant fibre or antimetabolite degradation and synthesis of metabolites with the plethora of enzymatic activities that they display; some may have practical applications, for example, Lactobacillus plantarum found in the intestinal tract, plants and in fermented food is used as a probiotic that may defend animals against bacterial and viral infections as other endophytic‐enteric bacteria do. Clostridium that is an endophyte and a gut bacterium has remarkable capabilities to degrade cellulose by having cellulosomes that may be considered the most efficient nanomachines. Cellulose degradation is a challenge in animal digestion and for biofuel production. Other endophytic‐enteric bacteria may have cellulases, pectinases, xylanases, tannases, proteases, nitrogenases and other enzymatic capabilities that may be attractive for biotechnological developments, indeed many endophytes are used to promote plant growth. Here, a cycle of endophytic‐enteric‐soil‐endophytic microbes is proposed which has relevance for health and comprises the fate of animal faeces as natural microbial inoculants for plants that constitute bacterial sources for animal guts.
Biocorrosion caused by microbial biofilms is ubiquitous around us
Authors: Dou Wenwen , Xu Dake , Gu Tingyue 
Published: December 2020

SummaryBiocorrosion first surfaced in the scientific literature when Richard H. Gaines associated corrosion with bacterial activities in 1910. It is also known as microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). In general, it covers two scenarios. One is that microbes cause corrosion directly, which usually means microbes secrete corrosive metabolites or microbes harvest electrons from a metal for respiration to produce energy. In the second scenario, microbes are behind the initiation or acceleration of corrosion caused by a pre‐existing corrosive agent such as water and CO2, by compromising the passive film (often a metal oxide film on a metal). MIC is caused by microbial biofilms. It is everywhere around us. This work dissects some notable examples with perspectives.
The sulfur formation system mediating extracellular cysteine‐cystine recycling in Fervidobacterium islandicum AW‐1 is associated with keratin degradation
Authors: Jin Hyeon‐Su , Dhanasingh Immanuel , Sung Jae‐Yoon , La Jae Won , Lee Yena , Lee Eun Mi , Kang Yujin , Lee Do Yup , Lee Sung Haeng , Lee Dong‐Woo 
Published: December 2020

SummaryMost extremophilic anaerobes possess a sulfur formation (Suf) system for Fe–S cluster biogenesis. In addition to its essential role in redox chemistry and stress responses of Fe–S cluster proteins, the Suf system may play an important role in keratin degradation by Fervidobacterium islandicum AW‐1. Comparative genomics of the order Thermotogales revealed that the feather‐degrading F. islandicum AW‐1 has a complete Suf‐like machinery (SufCBDSU) that is highly expressed in cells grown on native feathers in the absence of elemental sulfur (S0). On the other hand, F. islandicum AW‐1 exhibited a significant retardation in the Suf system‐mediated keratin degradation in the presence of S0. Detailed differential expression analysis of sulfur assimilation machineries unveiled the mechanism by which an efficient sulfur delivery from persulfurated SufS to SufU is achieved during keratinolysis under sulfur starvation. Indeed, addition of SufS–SufU to cell extracts containing keratinolytic proteases accelerated keratin decomposition in vitro under reducing conditions. Remarkably, mass spectrometric analysis of extracellular and intracellular levels of amino acids suggested that redox homeostasis within cells coupled to extracellular cysteine and cystine recycling might be a prerequisite for keratinolysis. Taken together, these results suggest that the Suf‐like machinery including the SufS–SufU complex may contribute to sulfur availability for an extracellular reducing environment as well as intracellular redox homeostasis through cysteine released from keratin hydrolysate under starvation conditions.
Using Boosted Regression Tree Models to Predict Salinity in Mississippi Embayment Aquifers, Central United States
Authors: Knierim Katherine J. , Kingsbury James A. , Haugh Connor J. , Ransom Katherine M. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractHigh salinity limits groundwater use in parts of the Mississippi embayment. Machine learning was used to create spatially continuous and three‐dimensional predictions of salinity across drinking‐water aquifers in the embayment. Boosted regression tree (BRT) models, a type of machine learning, were used to predict specific conductance (SC) and chloride (Cl), and total dissolved solids (TDS) was calculated from a correlation with SC. Explanatory variables for BRT models included well location and construction, surficial variables (e.g., soils and land use), and variables extracted from a groundwater‐flow model, including simulated groundwater ages. BRT model fits (r2) were 0.74 (SC and Cl) and 0.62 (TDS). BRT models provided spatially continuous salinity predictions across surficial and deeper aquifers where discrete water‐quality samples were missing. Uncertainty was smaller where salinity was lower, and models tended to underpredict in areas of highest salinity. Despite this, BRT models were able to capture areas of documented high salinity that exceed the TDS secondary maximum contaminant level for drinking water of 500 mg/L. Variables that served as surrogates for position along groundwater flowpaths were the most important predictors, indicating that much of the control on dissolved solids is related to rock‐water interaction as residence time increases. BRT models additionally support hypotheses of both surficial and deep sources of salinity.
Evolution of the Physical Phenotype of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders from Childhood through Adolescence
Authors: Jacobson Sandra W. , Hoyme H. Eugene , Carter R. Colin , Dodge Neil C. , Molteno Christopher D. , Meintjes Ernesta M. , Jacobson Joseph L. 
Published: December 2020

BackgroundThis paper reports findings from the first longitudinal study on the evolution of the physical phenotypes of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and partial FAS (PFAS) from early childhood through adolescence.MethodsThe sample consisted of 155 children (78 males and 77 females) born to women recruited at an antenatal clinic serving a Cape Coloured (mixed ancestry) population in Cape Town, South Africa. Two expert FASD dysmorphologists, blind regarding prenatal alcohol exposure, independently evaluated each child’s growth and dysmorphology at 4 clinics conducted over an 11‐year period. Case conferences were held to reach consensus regarding which children had FAS or PFAS growth and physical features using the Revised Institute of Medicine (2005) guidelines.ResultsThe prevalence of the physical phenotype was stable across the 4 ages for about half of the children with FAS and about one‐third of those with PFAS but more variable for the others. Test–retest reliability was substantial for the FAS phenotype, but poorer for PFAS. Two distinct patterns were seen: a “strong phenotype” that was consistently identified and a less consistent one in which dysmorphic features and/or anthropometric deficits fluctuated or diminished with age. The physical phenotype was most apparent during early childhood and least apparent during puberty, due to differences in timing of the growth spurt and the evolving adult face. Short palpebral features and small head circumference diminished with age, flat philtrum fluctuated, while thin vermilion and weight and height restriction were stable.ConclusionsKey facial features that characterize FASD in early childhood diminish or evolve in some individuals, making diagnostic examinations that rely on these characteristics most sensitive during early childhood and school age. Moreover, puberty poses classification problems due to variability in timing of the growth spurt. Given that several features and small head circumference diminished with age, many individuals would be misdiagnosed if only examined at a later age.
Testing management alternatives for controlling nest parasites in an endangered bird
Authors: Mather E. , Fogell D. J. , McCready M. , McInnes K. , Ewen J. G. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractHaematophagous parasites can negatively impact breeding success and their control is often the target of management for threatened bird species. Mitigating parasitism can be difficult and certainly should only be done if parasite control is possible and if successful control improves host species fitness. Here, we use an experiment to test the effect of two alternative chemical methods ofOrnithonyssus bursamanagement in nests of a threatened host species, the New Zealand hihiNotiomystis cincta. We compared a reactive management alternative using Frontline®(active ingredient fipronil) to controlO. bursainfestations after detection to a preventative management alternative using Avian Insect Liquidator (AIL) spray (active ingredients piperonyl butoxide (PBO), permethrin and methoprene) before egg laying. We found that AIL‐treated nests were less likely to be parasitized and parasitism occurred later in nestling development if nests did become parasitized. We also found no difference in egg hatchability nor nestling condition between alternative management approaches but did find nest success was higher in preventative AIL‐treated nests. Our approach highlights the value of an experimental approach in assessing management alternatives in threatened species conservation and the host fitness benefits that can be achieved from control of costly parasitism.