bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Epidemiology and outcome of idiopathic generalized epilepsy in adults
Authors: Gesche J. , Christensen J. , Hjalgrim H. , Rubboli G. , Beier C. P. 
Published: December 2019

Background and purposeDrug‐resistant idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) remains challenging despite a favourable overall prognosis of IGE, and little is known about basic epidemiology and long‐term outcome of drug‐resistant IGE. The aim of the study was to describe the incidence, prevalence and outcome of IGE in an unbiased, population‐based cohort.MethodsIn 2014–2018, all patients (≥17 years) with IGE inhabiting the island of Funen (496 000 inhabitants) were recruited. The socioeconomic and clinical information available for 406 individuals was assessed. Median follow‐up was 15 years.ResultsThe average IGE incidence (2008–2017) was 2.9/100 000 inhabitants/year. The point prevalence of identifiable IGE patients was 1.0/1000 adults (juvenile myoclonic epilepsy 0.4/1000; absence epilepsy 0.3/1000, epilepsy with generalized tonic–clonic seizures alone 0.3/1000); 92.1% of the patients were diagnosed before 25 years of age. When correcting for unequal age distribution in the cohort, 1102 people on the island of Funen fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for IGE at the age of 25 (estimated prevalence 2.7/1000 adults). In the year before data closure, 121 patients reported seizures. Fifty patients met the definition of drug‐resistant IGE (12.1% of the cohort, 4.5% of the estimated 1102 IGE patients). The average seizure burden of all patients with drug‐resistant IGE was 2.2 generalized tonic–clonic seizures per year; only 14 patients suffered more than two generalized tonic–clonic seizures per year. Drug‐resistant IGE was associated with an increased risk of requiring treatment for affective disorders and a reduced probability of working full time.ConclusionIdiopathic generalized epilepsy was associated with a low risk of persistent drug‐resistant seizures requiring specialist medical attention. Drug resistance was associated with a negative socioeconomic outcome.
Under pressure: Short‐ and long‐term response to predation varies in two populations of a live‐bearing fish
Authors: Humphrey Eve A. , Crespi Erica , Travis Joseph 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThe non‐lethal effects of predation can significantly influence animal behavior and population composition. Research has often centered around prey response to predator exposure in the short term, but fewer studies have highlighted the effects of long‐term predator exposures. In addition, studies of responses to predation risk are not always calibrated against the ecological history of predation risk in specific populations. We address these gaps by examining the effects of both long‐ and short‐term predator exposure on the behavior of individuals from populations that have different ecological histories of predation risk. We exposed individuals from high‐predation and low‐predation populations of the live‐bearing freshwater poeciliid, Heterandria formosa, to predators to assess changes in male reproductive behavior toward females. We also assessed longer‐term reproductive responses by exposing male and female H. formosa to predators at a random time of day, every day, for 30 days. In the presence of a predator, in the short term, males changed the frequency of their behaviors and females varied in their concentration of cortisol, demonstrating immediate responses to the perceived risk. The magnitude of these changes was larger in the population without a long history of predator exposure. However, we found that males and females did not change their reproductive output when exposed to predators over longer periods of time, suggesting that individuals acclimatize to the level of predation risk they experience. These results also suggest that short‐term variation in behavior or stress hormone responses should not be used as proxies for long‐term responses or fitness effects. Future work should assess both short‐term behavior and long‐term responses while simultaneously considering the ecological history of populations.
High‐throughput competitive fluorescence polarization assay reveals functional redundancy in the S100 protein family
Authors: Simon Márton A. , Ecsédi Péter , Kovács Gábor M. , Póti Ádám L. , Reményi Attila , Kardos József , Gógl Gergő , Nyitray László 
Published: December 2019

The calcium‐binding, vertebrate‐specific S100 protein family consists of 20 paralogs in humans (referred as the S100ome), with several clinically important members. To explore their protein–protein interactions (PPIs) quantitatively, we have chosen an unbiased, high‐throughput, competitive fluorescence polarization (FP) assay that revealed a partial functional redundancy when the complete S100ome (n = 20) was tested against numerous model partners (n = 13). Based on their specificity, the S100ome can be grouped into two distinct classes: promiscuous and orphan. In the first group, members bound to several ligands (> 4–5) with comparable high affinity, while in the second one, the paralogs bound only one partner weakly, or no ligand was identified. Our results demonstrate that FP assays are highly suitable for quantitative interaction profiling of selected protein families. Moreover, we provide evidence that PPI‐based phenotypic characterization can complement or even exceed the information obtained from the sequence‐based phylogenetic analysis of the S100ome, an evolutionary young protein family.
Most Bothersome Symptom in Persons With Migraine: Results From the Migraine in America Symptoms and Treatment (MAST) Study
Authors: Munjal Sagar , Singh Preeti , Reed Michael L. , Fanning Kristina , Schwedt Todd J. , Dodick David W. , Buse Dawn C. , Lipton Richard B. 
Published: December 2019

ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to determine the rates of nausea, phonophobia, and photophobia reported overall and as the most bothersome symptom (MBS) in individuals with migraine and to identify individual characteristics associated with each of the 3 candidate MBSs.BackgroundThe MBS has emerged as an important coprimary efficacy endpoint in clinical trials of acute treatments for migraine, as recommended by the Food and Drug Administration. The current understanding of how persons with migraine designate an associated symptom as the most bothersome has been assessed primarily in the context of randomized trials.MethodsRespondents (n = 95,821) in the cross‐sectional, observational Migraine in America Symptoms and Treatment (MAST) study were adults (aged ≥18 years) recruited from a US nationwide online research panel. A validated diagnostic screener identified 15,133 individuals who met modified International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD)‐3 beta criteria for migraine and reported at least 1 monthly headache day (MHD) over the previous 3 months. The survey ascertained sociodemographic variables, headache‐related disability, MHDs, cutaneous allodynia, medication overuse, a migraine symptom severity score, pain interference, noncephalic pain, anxiety and depression symptoms, visual aura over the previous year, and acute treatment optimization. The current analysis is based on respondents who also completed a 6‐month follow‐up assessment that included questions about their most bothersome headache symptom.ResultsA total of 7518 respondents completed the 6‐month follow‐up, and 6045 met inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. The mean age of respondents was 47 (SD 13.4) years, 76.0% (4596/6045) were women, and 84.8% (5103/6017) were white. Among all respondents, 64.9% reported all 3 migraine symptoms. The MBS was photophobia in 49.1% (2967/6045), nausea in 28.1% (1697/6045), and phonophobia in 22.8% (1381/6045). Respondents reporting photophobia as the MBS were more likely to be men, to be obese, and to report visual aura. Those reporting nausea as the MBS were more likely to be women, to have lower incomes, and to report lower levels of treatment optimization. Respondents reporting phonophobia as the MBS were more likely to have cutaneous allodynia and less likely to have visual aura.ConclusionMost people with migraine in the MAST observational study reported all 3 cardinal symptoms of nausea, photophobia, and phonophobia. As in clinical trials, the most common MBS was photophobia. Patient profiles differed among the groups defined by their MBS.
‘I am happy just doing the work …’ Commuter student engagement in the wider higher education experience
Authors: Thomas Liz 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThis paper reports on a large qualitative study with commuter students in England. Research on student success identifies the importance of engagement in academic and non‐academic aspects of the student experience; in this paper student engagement is segmented into academic, enhancement and social spheres. Commuter students, who often incorporate a range of equity characteristics, aim to achieve good degree and employment outcomes, and prioritise academic engagement. But commuting tempers their face‐to‐face academic engagement as they make trade‐offs between the costs of travelling and the value of the academic encounter. Engagement in enhancement and social activities is limited and is seen by many as an extraneous aspect of the higher education experience. This lack of engagement can be understood through the employment of notions of economic, cultural and social capital, and these insights inform the recommendations for higher education providers to improve the engagement and outcomes of non‐traditional students in higher education.
Current trends in African American business history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Recent historiography and applications of the field
Authors: Sharp Kelly K. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractOver the past two decades, African American business history has developed into a genre of interdisciplinary interest with historiographical value as well as contemporary implication. This essay analyzes recent historiographical advancements and trends in African American business history of the long twentieth century, specifically a dozen works published over the past ten years. Three innovative methodologies have risen to distinction in the important and expanding field of African American business history: the historical exploration of contemporary inequities, biographies of exceptional but not peerless individuals, and local histories as case studies for broader historical application. While lauding these advancements, this essay concludes by encouraging investment of these methods in expanding historical understanding of African American business history in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, particularly the economic and cultural contribution of black urbanites.
Macrophages protect mycoplasma‐infected chronic myeloid leukemia cells from natural killer cell killing
Authors: Choo Qing Wei Winnie , Koean Ricky Abdi Gunawan , Chang Shu‐Chun , Chng Wee Joo , Chan Ming Chun , Wang Wilson , Er Jun Zhi , Ding Jeak Ling 
Published: December 2019

AbstractMacrophages (Mϕ) have been reported to downmodulate the cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cell against solid tumor cells. However, the collaborative role between NK cells and Mϕ remains underappreciated, especially in hematological cancers, such as chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We observed a higher ratio of innate immune cells (Mϕ and NK) to adaptive immune cells (T and B cells) in CML bone marrow aspirates, prompting us to investigate the roles of NK and Mϕ in CML. Using coculture models simulating the tumor inflammatory environment, we observed that Mϕ protects CML from NK attack only when CML was itself mycoplasma‐infected and under chronic infection–inflammation condition. We found that the Mϕ‐protective effect on CML was associated with the maintenance of CD16 level on the NK cell membrane. Although the NK membrane CD16 (mCD16) was actively shed in Mϕ + NK + CML trioculture, the NK mCD16 level was maintained, and this was independent of the modulation of sheddase by tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 or inhibitory cytokine transforming growth factor beta. Instead, we found that this process of NK mCD16 maintenance was conferred by Mϕ in a contact‐dependent manner. We propose a new perspective on anti‐CML strategy through abrogating Mϕ‐mediated retention of NK surface CD16.
Understanding the role of ICT and study circles in enabling economic opportunities: Lessons learned from an educational project in Kenya
Authors: Hatakka Mathias , Thapa Devinder , Sæbø Øystein 
Published: December 2019

AbstractIn this paper, we explore how the combination of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and self‐organised study circles improves rural communities' ability to enhance their economic opportunities. We present the case study of an adult study‐circle project in the Kwale County of Kenya with the objective of providing rural communities with viable and sustainable livelihoods. Study circles can be seen as a democratic and emancipatory method for learning, where community groups regularly meet for participatory discussions to educate themselves on a variety of topics of their own interest. The main goal of the study‐circle members was to increase economic opportunities using ICT and, more specifically, to start micro‐businesses, improve production efficacy and methods, and obtain employment. Using the capability approach and affordances as theoretical lenses, our analysis of the explorative case study shows that the outcomes of the study circle were dependent on various conversion factors and facilitating conditions, such as resources, skills, socio‐cultural norms, and infrastructure. The main contributions from our work are represented by the five practical lessons learned from the study‐circle members' goals (starting micro‐businesses, product efficiency, and obtaining employment) from the self‐organised training approach (study circles) and from our theoretical approach (combining the capability approach and affordances).
In‐situ observation of AlN formation from Ni‐Al solution using an electromagnetic levitation technique
Authors: Adachi Masayoshi , Hamaya Sonoko , Yamagata Yuji , Loach Andrew J. , Fada Justin S. , Wilson Laura G. , French Roger H. , Carter Jennifer L. W. , Fukuyama Hiroyuki 
Published: December 2019

AbstractAluminum nitride is a promising substrate material for AlGaN‐based UV‐LED. In order to develop a robust growth processing route for AlN single crystals, fundamental studies of solution growth experiments using Ni‐Al alloy melts as a new solution system were performed. Al can be stably kept in solution the Ni‐Al liquid even at high temperature; in addition, the driving force of the AlN formation reaction from solution can be controlled by solution composition and temperature. To investigate AlN crystal growth behavior we developed an in situ observation system using an electromagnetic levitation technique. AlN formation behavior, including nucleation and growth, was quantitatively analyzed by an image processing pipeline. The nucleation rate of AlN decreased with increasing growth temperature and decreasing aluminum composition. In addition, hexagonal c‐axis oriented AlN crystal successfully grew on the levitated Ni‐40 mol%Al droplet reacted at low driving force (1960 K), on the other hand, AlN crystal with dendritic morphology appeared on the sample with higher driving force (Ni‐50 mol%Al, 1960 K). Thus, the nucleation rate and crystal morphology were dominated by the driving force of the AlN formation reaction.
Invasive lumbricid earthworms in North America—Different life histories but common dispersal?
Authors: Klein Andreas , Eisenhauer Nico , Schaefer Ina 
Published: December 2019

AbstractAimLumbricid earthworms are invasive across northern North America, causing notable changes in forest ecosystems. During their range expansion, they encountered harsher climatic conditions compared to their native ranges in short time (~400 years). This study investigated if (a) dispersal barriers, (b) climatic selection or (c) anthropogenic activities, that is fishing bait disposal, structure the dispersal of free‐living earthworm populations.LocationNorth America, forest habitats along former Wisconsinan glaciation line.TaxonLumbricus terrestris, L. rubellus.MethodsLumbricus terrestris and L. rubellus co‐occur in the same habitats but differ in ecology and use as fishing bait. Both species were sampled in five transects ranging from the east to the west coast of northern North America, including major dispersal barriers, three different climate zones, and bait shops near sampling locations. Genetic diversity and structure were compared between the two species, and the presence of free‐living bait shop genotypes was assessed using four markers (COI, 16S rDNA, 12S rDNA, and H3).ResultsPopulations of both species were genetically diverse with some geographic structure, which was more pronounced in L. terrestris than in L. rubellus. Common haplotypes were present in all regions, but locally restricted haplotypes also occurred. Furthermore, two distinct genetic clades of L. terrestris co‐occurred only in the two most distant transects (Alberta and Minnesota). Genotypes identical to bait individuals were omnipresent in field populations of L. terrestris.Main ConclusionsGenetic diversity was high in both species, and invasive populations represented a genetic subset of European earthworms. Geographic and climatic dispersal barriers affected the less mobile species, L. terrestris, resulting in differences in genetic structure between the two species. Our results indicate common long‐distance dispersal vectors and vectors affecting only L. terrestris. The roles of climate and anthropogenic activities are discussed, providing additional explanations of dispersal and new insights into establishment of invasive earthworm populations.
Diagnostic accuracy and safety of short‐term teledermoscopic monitoring of atypical melanocytic lesions
Authors: Berglund S. , Bogren L. , Paoli J. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundShort‐term dermoscopic monitoring (STDM) of atypical melanocytic lesions (AML) after 3.0–4.5 months can be used to detect featureless melanomas without performing countless unnecessary excisions of nevi. Recently, short‐term teledermoscopic monitoring (STTM) was incorporated into the STDM clinical routine at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. Follow‐up images for STTM were taken by an assistant nurse with subsequent teledermoscopic assessment by a dermatologist.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and safety of STTM.MethodsIn this retrospective observational study, data from electronic health records of patients with teledermoscopically monitored AMLs were explored. The number of changed and excised AMLs and their histopathological diagnoses were recorded. The excised AMLs were categorized into three subgroups according to when they changed and were excised: (i) following STTM, (ii) after planned long‐term follow‐up or (iii) after unplanned long‐term follow‐up.ResultsA total of 686 patients with 883 AMLs were monitored with STTM. Sixty‐two AMLs (7.0%) were excised following STTM, 14 (1.6%) after planned long‐term follow‐up and 10 (1,1%) after unplanned long‐term follow‐up. Twenty‐one melanomas were detected using STTM, three after planned long‐term follow‐up and three after unplanned long‐term follow‐up. All melanomas were in situ (n = 20) or thin and non‐ulcerated (n = 7; median Breslow thickness 0.4 mm, range 0.3–0.8 mm). The sensitivity for the diagnosis of melanoma by means of STTM with the option of additional planned follow‐up was 88.9%, and the specificity was 93.9%. The number of AMLs needed to monitor in order to detect one melanoma with the STTM routine was 32.7, and the number needed to excise was 3.2.ConclusionsSTTM of AMLs was safe and allowed for high diagnostic accuracy. All detected melanomas were in situ or thin and non‐ulcerated. Furthermore, a considerable number of unnecessary excisions were spared.
Alterations in innate immunity and epithelial cell differentiation are the molecular pillars of hidradenitis suppurativa
Authors: Zouboulis C.C. , Nogueira da Costa A. , Makrantonaki E. , Hou X.X. , Almansouri D. , Dudley J.T. , Edwards H. , Readhead B. , Balthasar O. , Jemec G.B.E. , Bonitsis N.G. , Nikolakis G. , Trebing D. , Zouboulis K.C. , Hossini A.M. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundThe large unmet need of hidradenitis suppurativa/acne inversa (HS) therapy requires the elucidation of disease‐driving mechanisms and tissue targeting.ObjectiveRobust characterization of the underlying HS mechanisms and detection of the involved skin compartments.MethodsHidradenitis suppurativa/acne inversa molecular taxonomy and key signalling pathways were studied by whole transcriptome profiling. Dysregulated genes were detected by comparing lesional and non‐lesional skin obtained from female HS patients and matched healthy controls using the Agilent array platform. The differential gene expression was confirmed by quantitative real‐time PCR and targeted protein characterization via immunohistochemistry in another set of female patients. HS‐involved skin compartments were also recognized by immunohistochemistry.ResultsAlterations to key regulatory pathways involving glucocorticoid receptor, atherosclerosis, HIF1α and IL17A signalling as well as inhibition of matrix metalloproteases were detected. From a functional standpoint, cellular assembly, maintenance and movement, haematological system development and function, immune cell trafficking and antimicrobial response were key processes probably being affected in HS. Sixteen genes were found to characterize HS from a molecular standpoint (DEFB4, MMP1, GJB2, PI3, KRT16, MMP9, SERPINB4, SERPINB3, SPRR3, S100A8, S100A9, S100A12, S100A7A (15), KRT6A, TCN1, TMPRSS11D). Among the proteins strongly expressed in HS, calgranulin‐A, calgranulin‐B and serpin‐B4 were detected in the hair root sheath, koebnerisin and connexin‐32 in stratum granulosum, transcobalamin‐1 in stratum spinosum/hair root sheath, small prolin‐rich protein‐3 in apocrine sweat gland ducts/sebaceous glands‐ducts and matrix metallopeptidase‐9 in resident monocytes.ConclusionOur findings highlight a panel of immune‐related drivers in HS, which influence innate immunity and cell differentiation in follicular and epidermal keratinocytes as well as skin glands.