bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
On the true nature of the sphenoidal “pits” in the common warthog, Phacochoerus africanus (Artiodactyla, Suidae), and a description of the cranial sinuses
Authors: Mader Bryn J , Hammer Rachel B 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe peculiar sphenoidal “pits” of the common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) long have been recognized as a feature that distinguishes that species from the closely related desert warthog (P. aethiopicus). Authors seem to regard these structures as blind pockets that do not extend beyond the basicranium. However, these structures actually are openings that lead into a complex system of sinuses (the sphenoidal sinuses) located in the sphenoid and squamosal, and occasionally extending into the occipital and parietal bones. The openings appear to serve as a drain into the nasopharynx. The sphenoidal “pits” of P. africanus as currently defined by most authors are, therefore, not homologous with the sphenoidal pits of P. aethiopicus. We suggest that the term “sphenoidal apertures” be applied to these openings. The true homologue of the sphenoidal pits of P. aethiopicus is the bone that surrounds the sphenoidal apertures in P. africanus. This would include the thin bony sheet that forms the floor of the opening and that bears a shallow fossa. We recommend the term “sphenoidal shelf” be employed to describe this part of the true sphenoidal pit of P. africanus. In addition to the sphenoidal sinuses, the maxillary and frontal sinuses of P. africanus also are described. We report the possibility of mammalian cranial sinuses arising from nasopharyngeal diverticula rather than from diverticula originating from the nasal cavity proper. Previously, such nasopharyngeal pneumatization only has been known to occur in Reptilia. Possible sinus functions are discussed including shock absorption, lightening of the skull, improvement of olfaction, and enhancement of the immune system. In addition to P. africanus, sphenoidal apertures also occur in Babyrousa, and in an extinct perissodactyl, a brontothere (= titanothere).
The role of microRNAs in the legume–Rhizobium nitrogen-fixing symbiosis
Authors: Hoang Nhung T , Tóth Katalin , Stacey Gary 
Published: March 2020

AbstractUnder nitrogen starvation, most legume plants form a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with Rhizobium bacteria. The bacteria induce the formation of a novel organ called the nodule in which rhizobia reside as intracellular symbionts and convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. During this symbiosis, miRNAs are essential for coordinating the various plant processes required for nodule formation and function. miRNAs are non-coding, endogenous RNA molecules, typically 20–24 nucleotides long, that negatively regulate the expression of their target mRNAs. Some miRNAs can move systemically within plant tissues through the vascular system, which mediates, for example, communication between the stem/leaf tissues and the roots. In this review, we summarize the growing number of miRNAs that function during legume nodulation focusing on two model legumes, Lotus japonicus and Medicago truncatula, and two important legume crops, soybean (Glycine max) and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). This regulation impacts a variety of physiological processes including hormone signaling and spatial regulation of gene expression. The role of mobile miRNAs in regulating legume nodule number is also highlighted.
Exocytosis and endocytosis: coordinating and fine-tuning the polar tip growth domain in pollen tubes
Authors: Guo Jingzhe , Yang Zhenbiao 
Published: March 2020

AbstractPollen tubes rapidly elongate, penetrate, and navigate through multiple female tissues to reach ovules for sperm delivery by utilizing a specialized form of polar growth known as tip growth. This process requires a battery of cellular activities differentially occurring at the apical growing region of the plasma membrane (PM), such as the differential cellular signaling involving calcium (Ca2+), phospholipids, and ROP-type Rho GTPases, fluctuation of ions and pH, exocytosis and endocytosis, and cell wall construction and remodeling. There is an emerging understanding of how at least some of these activities are coordinated and/or interconnected. The apical active ROP modulates exocytosis to the cell apex for PM and cell wall expansion differentially occurring at the tip. The differentiation of the cell wall involves at least the preferential distribution of deformable pectin polymers to the apex and non-deformable pectin polymers to the shank of pollen tubes, facilitating the apical cell expansion driven by high internal turgor pressure. Recent studies have generated inroads into how the ROP GTPase-based intracellular signaling is coordinated spatiotemporally with the external wall mechanics to maintain the tubular cell shape and how the apical cell wall mechanics are regulated to allow rapid tip growth while maintaining the cell wall integrity under the turgor pressure. Evidence suggests that exocytosis and endocytosis play crucial but distinct roles in this spatiotemporal coordination. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the regulation and coordination of the differential pectin distribution and the apical domain of active ROP by exocytosis and endocytosis in pollen tubes.
Change in Anthropometrics and Physical Fitness in Norwegian Cadets During 3 Years of Military Academy Education
Authors: Aandstad Anders , Sandberg Frank , Hageberg Rune , Kolle Elin 
Published: March 2020

ABSTRACTIntroductionHigh physical fitness is associated with increased occupational performance, better health, and reduced risk of injuries in military personnel. Thus, the military emphasizes physical training to maintain or develop physical fitness in their soldiers. It is important to monitor the effect of the physical training regime, but such information is lacking for Norwegian military cadets. Hence, the primary aim of this study was to investigate changes in anthropometrics and physical fitness among male and female army, navy and air force cadets during 3 years of military academy education.Materials and methods260 male and 29 female Norwegian cadets from the army, navy, and air force academies volunteered to participate. Anthropometrics, muscular power, muscular endurance, and maximal oxygen uptake were measured at entry (T0) and end of each year (T1, T2, and T3). Linear mixed models were used to examine the development in anthropometrics and physical fitness. We applied to the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics to review the study before start-up, but the study was considered exempted from notification. The study was reviewed and approved by the Norwegian Social Science Data Services.ResultsMale and female cadets significantly increased their body weight, fat-free mass, body mass index, and percent body fat by 1 to 5% from T0 to T3. Skeletal muscle mass was unchanged. Muscular power (medicine ball throw and vertical jump) and muscular endurance (pull-ups and push-ups) increased by 3 to 20% in male cadets, while female cadets only increased results significantly for the medicine ball throw (10%). Relative maximal oxygen uptake decreased by 4% in both sexes, while absolute maximal oxygen uptake only decreased significantly (by 2%) in male cadets. Most of the observed changes were classified as trivial or small, according to calculated effect sizes. The observed changes were generally of similar magnitude for male and female cadets, and similar among the three academies.ConclusionsAnthropometrics and physical fitness were relatively stable in Norwegian male and female army, navy, and air force cadets during 3 years of military academy education. Observed changes were typically classified as trivial or small. The initial gap in physical fitness between male and female cadets did not narrow during the education years. Norwegian male and female cadets displayed relatively good physical fitness profiles, compared to sex-matched cadets and soldiers from previously studied military populations.
Prednisolone in early pregnancy inhibits regulatory T cell generation and alters fetal and placental development in mice
Authors: Kieffer Tom EC , Chin Peck Y , Green Ella S , Moldenhauer Lachlan M , Prins Jelmer R , Robertson Sarah A 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Corticosteroids have been utilised in the assisted reproduction setting with the expectation of suppressing aberrant immune activation and improving fertility in women. However, the effects of corticosteroids on fertility, and on pregnancy and offspring outcomes, are unclear. In this study, mice were administered prednisolone (1 mg/kg) or PBS daily in the pre-implantation phase, and effects on the adaptive immune response, the implantation rate, fetal development and postnatal outcomes were investigated. Prednisolone disrupted the expected expansion of CD4+ T cells in early pregnancy, inhibiting generation of both regulatory T cells (Treg cells) and effector T cells and suppressing IFNG required for T cell functional competence. Prednisolone caused an 8–20% increase in the embryo implantation rate and increased the number of viable pups per litter. In late gestation, fetal and placental weights were reduced in a litter size-dependent manner, and the canonical inverse relationship between litter size and fetal weight was lost. The duration of pregnancy was extended by ~ 0.5 day and birth weight was reduced by ~ 5% after prednisolone treatment. Viability of prednisolone-exposed offspring was comparable to controls, but body weight was altered in adulthood, particularly in male offspring. Thus, while prednisolone given in the pre-implantation phase in mice increases maternal receptivity to implantation and resource investment in fetal growth, there is a trade-off in long-term consequences for fetal development, birth weight and offspring health. These effects are associated with, and likely caused by, prednisolone suppression of the adaptive immune response at the outset of pregnancy.
Spatially regulated editing of genetic information within a neuron
Authors: Vallecillo-Viejo Isabel C , Liscovitch-Brauer Noa , Diaz Quiroz Juan F , Montiel-Gonzalez Maria F , Nemes Sonya E , Rangan Kavita J , Levinson Simon R , Eisenberg Eli , Rosenthal Joshua J C 
Published: March 2020

AbstractIn eukaryotic cells, with the exception of the specialized genomes of mitochondria and plastids, all genetic information is sequestered within the nucleus. This arrangement imposes constraints on how the information can be tailored for different cellular regions, particularly in cells with complex morphologies like neurons. Although messenger RNAs (mRNAs), and the proteins that they encode, can be differentially sorted between cellular regions, the information itself does not change. RNA editing by adenosine deamination can alter the genome’s blueprint by recoding mRNAs; however, this process too is thought to be restricted to the nucleus. In this work, we show that ADAR2 (adenosine deaminase that acts on RNA), an RNA editing enzyme, is expressed outside of the nucleus in squid neurons. Furthermore, purified axoplasm exhibits adenosine-to-inosine activity and can specifically edit adenosines in a known substrate. Finally, a transcriptome-wide analysis of RNA editing reveals that tens of thousands of editing sites (&gt;70% of all sites) are edited more extensively in the squid giant axon than in its cell bodies. These results indicate that within a neuron RNA editing can recode genetic information in a region-specific manner.
STUDY OF INDOOR RADON, THORON AND THEIR PROGENY IN SOUTH WEST KHASI HILLS DISTRICT OF MEGHALAYA, INDIA
Authors: Pyngrope A , Khardewsaw A , Sharma Y , Maibam D , Saxena A , Sahoo B K 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
A survey of indoor radon/thoron and their progeny concentrations was carried out in dwellings in the South West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya, India. The survey was carried out using solid-state nuclear track detectors based on single-entry pinhole dosimeter and direct radon/thoron progeny sensors. The results are subjected to statistical analysis and discussed in the manuscript. The mean value of annual effective dose of the study region is estimated at 1.8 mSv.y −1. Seasonal variability and role of different indoor parameters are also discussed.
Overlapping Surgery for Ankle Fractures: Is It Safe?
Authors: Baessler Aaron , Mullis Brian , Loder Randall , Corn Karsen , Mavros Charles 
Published: March 2020

Objective:
To determine whether the practice of overlapping surgery influenced patient safety after open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) for ankle fractures.

Design:
Retrospective case–control.

Setting:
Level 1 Academic Midwest trauma center.

Patients:
All patients who underwent ankle fracture ORIF by a single surgeon were eligible for our study, with 478 total patients.

Intervention:
Cases that were overlapping were compared against cases that were not overlapping. Cases were defined as overlapping if there was greater than 30 minutes of overlap between procedural times. Patient complications were recorded up to a year from the index surgery.

Main Outcome Measure:
Unexpected return to surgery.

Results:
There were 478 ankle fracture ORIF patients, 238 with at least 3 months follow-up; 124 (52%) in the overlapping group and 114 (48%) in the nonoverlapping group. There was no difference in the rate of unexpected return to surgery (P = 0.76), infection (P = 0.52), readmission (P = 0.96), painful implant (P = 0.62), malunion (P = 0.27), nonunion (P = 0.52), or arthritis (P = 0.39) between the overlapping and nonoverlapping groups. There were 467 isolated ankle fractures used for time analysis. Average procedure time was 26 minutes longer for the overlapping group than the nonoverlapping group (P < 0.01).

Conclusions:
Overlapping surgery causes increased operative time for ankle ORIF, but there was no apparent increased risk to the patients for short-term complications. The need for graduated resident responsibility required by ACGME guidelines need to be weighed against the decreased efficiency of operating room time.

Level of Evidence:
Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Management of residual disease after chemotherapy in germ cell tumors
Authors: King Jennifer , Adra Nabil , Einhorn Lawrence H. 
Published: March 2020

Purpose of review
Although testicular cancer remains a highly curable malignancy, challenges and uncertainty still remain in certain aspects of management. Residual disease after chemotherapy in patients with germ cell tumors (GCT) remains one of these challenges. We aim to highlight the recent literature on the management of residual disease after chemotherapy in GCT and the emerging innovations that may provide further guidance into this area.

Recent findings
A subset of patients with GCT will have residual disease after chemotherapy, and management of these patients involves highly skilled multidisciplinary experts including medical oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, and pathologists. Management options depend on histologic subtype, either seminoma or nonseminoma, and involve size criteria, possible further imaging modalities, and tumor markers. Even with these tools at highly specialized expert centers, uncertainty in management remains, and recent literature has explored the use of newer biomarkers to aid in these cases.

Summary
Postchemotherapy residual masses in GCT can prove to be complicated cases to manage. Balancing survival with quality of life outcomes is important and requires a multidisciplinary team experienced in treating GCT.
Advancing Academic Continuing Medical Education/Continuing Professional Development: Adapting a Classical Framework to Address Contemporary Challenges
Authors: Vinas Emily K. , Schroedl Clara J. , Rayburn William F. 
Published: March 2020

Abstract:
Lifelong learning is essential for the practicing physician, yet continuing medical education (CME) and continuing professional development (CPD) units at academic medical centers (AMCs) have been historically underappreciated and under-resourced. Their integration into AMC leadership structures continues to vary widely among institutions. Without necessary resources and leadership alignment, many units are less able to focus on advancing CME/CPD to offer and study innovative educational opportunities that may enhance learner and patient outcomes. Using benchmarking data and recommendations from national leaders in the field, a CPD Hierarchy of Needs was created to frame the strategic development of CME/CPD units. This five-level hierarchy includes priorities such as (1) securing investment, (2) building infrastructure, (3) integrating into AMC leadership structures, (4) promoting data-driven interventions, and (5) advancing educational innovation. Recommendations to use the CME/CPD Hierarchy of Needs are described to convey the significance of CME/CPD units to AMCs and to the lifelong learning of practicing physicians.
Dysmenorrhea subtypes exhibit differential quantitative sensory assessment profiles
Authors: Hellman Kevin M. , Roth Genevieve E. , Dillane Katlyn E. , Garrison Ellen F. , Oladosu Folabomi A. , Clauw Daniel J. , Tu Frank F. 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Women who develop bladder pain syndrome (BPS), irritable bowel syndrome, or dyspareunia frequently have an antecedent history of dysmenorrhea. Despite the high prevalence of menstrual pain, its role in chronic pelvic pain emergence remains understudied. We systematically characterized bladder, body, and vaginal mechanical sensitivity with quantitative sensory testing in women with dysmenorrhea (DYS, n = 147), healthy controls (HCs) (n = 37), and women with BPS (n = 25). Previously, we have shown that a noninvasive, bladder-filling task identified a subset of women with both dysmenorrhea and silent bladder pain hypersensitivity, and we repeated this to subtype dysmenorrhea sufferers in this study (DYSB; n = 49). DYS, DYSB, and BPS participants had lower vaginal mechanical thresholds and reported more pain to a cold stimulus during a conditioned pain modulation task and greater pelvic examination after-pain than HCs (P's < 0.05). DYSB participants also had reduced body mechanical thresholds and less conditioned pain modulation compared to HCs and DYS participants (P's < 0.05). Comparing quantitative sensory testing results among the DYS and HC groups only, provoked bladder pain was the only significant predictor of self-reported menstrual pain (r = 0.26), bladder pain (r = 0.57), dyspareunia (r = 0.39), and bowel pain (r = 0.45). Our findings of widespread sensory sensitivity in women with dysmenorrhea and provoked bladder pain, much like that observed in chronic pain, suggest a need to study the trajectory of altered mechanisms of pain processing in preclinical silent visceral pain phenotypes to understand which features convey inexorable vs modifiable risk.
Learning Gain and Skill Retention Following Unstructured Bronchoscopy Simulation in a Low-fidelity Airway Model
Authors: Feng David B. , Yong Yi Heng , Byrnes Timothy , Gorelik Alex , Colt Henri , Irving Louis B. , Steinfort Daniel 
Published: March 2020

Background:
Simulation is invaluable for bronchoscopy training. Studies report improved procedure time, dexterity/technique, and trainee satisfaction supported by low-fidelity and high-fidelity simulators in structured-training programs. We sought to determine (1) Learning-gain in bronchoscopic dexterity after a single 45-minute unstructured exposure using a low-fidelity simulator. (2) Whether acquired skills are maintained 8 weeks later, during which trainees receive no interim exposure to simulation or clinical bronchoscopy.

Methods:
Using a low-fidelity model, medical students were assessed for bronchoscopicdexterity before and after an unstructured, self-directed 45-minute simulation. Bronchoscopic dexterity was assessed according to: (1) Ability to enter a target-bronchus within a specified time. (2) The modified Bronchoscopy Skills and Tasks Assessment Tool (mBSTAT). Scores were compared at baseline, postsimulation, and 8 weeks postsimulation. Individual domains of the mBSTAT were compared with identify specific skills demonstrating more significant deterioration.

Results:
Twenty-eight medical students completed the initial-simulation session. Fifteen returned at 8 weeks. Statistically significant improvement in bronchoscopic-skills was observed immediately following the simulation session (mBSTAT scores 3.7±1.2 pretest vs. 7.0±0.9 posttest, P<0.001). mBSTAT scores had deteriorated significantly at 8 weeks (5.7±1.8, P=0.03) but remained superior to baseline scores (P=0.002). Of the 4 domains assessed, only Precision did not demonstrate any change between post-test and review assessments (P=0.14). All other domains demonstrated trends towards significant deterioration between posttest and review.

Conclusion:
A single 45-minute unstructured bronchoscopy simulation session resulted in significant improvement in bronchoscopic dexterity. Significant decay in bronchoscopic dexterity is observed, suggesting repeat simulation may be valuable following periods without bronchoscopy exposure.
Indirect health sector actions and supportive strategies to prevent malnutrition
Authors: Keats Emily C. , Jain Reena P. , Bhutta Zulfiqar A. 
Published: March 2020

Purpose of review
Malnutrition is a pervasive problem that causes negative acute, long-term, and intergenerational consequences. As we have begun to move from efficacy to effectiveness trials of nutrition interventions, and further still to more holistic case study approaches to understanding how and why nutrition outcomes change over time, it has become clear that more emphasis on the ‘nutrition-sensitive’ interventions is required.

Recent findings
In this article, we propose recategorizing the nutrition-specific and sensitive terminology into a new framework that includes direct and indirect health sector actions and supportive strategies that exist outside the health sector; an adjustment that will improve sector-specific planning and accountability. We outline indirect health sector nutrition interventions, with a focus on family planning and the evidence to support its positive link with nutrition outcomes. In addition, we discuss supportive strategies for nutrition, with emphasis on agriculture and food security, water, sanitation, and hygiene, and poverty alleviation and highlight some of the recent evidence that has contributed to these fields.

Summary
Indirect health sector nutrition interventions and supportive strategies for nutrition will be critical, alongside direct health sector nutrition interventions, to reach global targets. Investments should be made both inside and outside the health sector.
Texture Analysis
Authors: Awe Adam M. , Rendell Victoria R. , Lubner Meghan G. , Winslow Emily R. 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Radiologic characterization of pancreatic lesions is currently limited. Computed tomography is insensitive in detecting and characterizing small pancreatic lesions. Moreover, heterogeneity of many pancreatic lesions makes determination of malignancy challenging. As a result, invasive diagnostic testing is frequently used to characterize pancreatic lesions but often yields indeterminate results. Computed tomography texture analysis (CTTA) is an emerging noninvasive computational tool that quantifies gray-scale pixels/voxels and their spatial relationships within a region of interest. In nonpancreatic lesions, CTTA has shown promise in diagnosis, lesion characterization, and risk stratification, and more recently, pancreatic applications of CTTA have been explored. This review outlines the emerging role of CTTA in identifying, characterizing, and risk stratifying pancreatic lesions. Although recent studies show the clinical potential of CTTA of the pancreas, a clear understanding of which specific texture features correlate with high-grade dysplasia and predict survival has not yet been achieved. Further multidisciplinary investigations using strong radiologic-pathologic correlation are needed to establish a role for this noninvasive diagnostic tool.