bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association of preoperative sarcopenia with postoperative dysphagia in patients with thoracic esophageal cancer
Authors: Mayanagi Shuhei , Ishikawa Aiko , Matsui Kazuaki , Matsuda Satoru , Irino Tomoyuki , Nakamura Rieko , Fukuda Kazumasa , Wada Norihito , Kawakubo Hirofumi , Hijikata Nanako , Ando Makiko , Tsuji Tetsuya , Kitagawa Yuko 
Published: December 2020

SummaryBackgroundThe purpose of the current study was to clarify the relationship between clinical features of dysphagia after esophagectomy and preoperative sarcopenia.MethodsA total of 187 cases were included in the current study. The psoas cross-sectional area on pre-treatment computed tomography was measured in thoracic esophageal cancer patients who underwent curative resection. The psoas muscle index (PMI) cut-off levels for sarcopenia were 6.36 cm2/m2 for men and 3.92 cm2/m2 for women. Swallowing function was evaluated using videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) and fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) at postoperative days 7–15, and classified according to the food intake level scale (FILS). Perioperative swallowing rehabilitation was performed in all cases.ResultsIn the 187 included patients, the median PMI was 5.42 cm2/m2 for men and 3.43 cm2/m2 for women, and 133 cases (71%) met the sarcopenia criteria. The FILS &lt;4 (no oral intake) was 15% in the non-sarcopenia group, and 38% in the sarcopenia group (P = 0.003). There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications, including pneumonia and re-admission due to pneumonia, between the two groups. Preoperative sarcopenia and recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy were be independent risk factors for postoperative dysphagia.ConclusionsSarcopenic patients with esophageal cancer develop postoperative dysphagia more often than non-sarcopenic patients. Prehabilitation and nutritional support for patients with preoperative sarcopenia could play an important role to mitigate postoperative dysphagia.
The ‘English’ cadence: reading an early modern musical trope
Authors: Chan Eleanor 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Twisting through a dissonant flattened 7th now more commonly recognized as the Jazz ‘blue’ 7th, the ‘English’ cadence is a distinctive feature of early modern English music. Typically embedded within the texture of a piece in an inner part, this distinctive voice-leading pattern works by pulling against its own regularity: it highlights its predictability, the regularity of the cadence, by spiralling, just briefly, into the unpredictable. Nevertheless, ever since Thomas Morley dubbed it a thing ‘naught and stale’ the ‘English’ cadence has had a dubious reception, both in terms of its Englishness and its role within early modern musical textures. Much of this doubt derives from the status of the cadence as ‘ornament’ or ‘decoration’. As such the ‘English’ cadence is often viewed as superfluous to the tonality of the music as a whole. However, these interpretations do not take into account contemporary thinking about ornament and decoration in early modern England. This article seeks to demonstrate that by looking beyond the scant contemporary accounts of the ‘English’ cadence in musical theoretical treatises towards the visual culture of the period, it is possible to move towards a more nuanced understanding of the way the cadence communicates.
Too much of a good thing
Authors: Thomas Misty D , Ewunkem Akamu J , Boyd Sada , Williams Danielle K , Moore Adiya , Rhinehardt Kristen L , Van Beveren Emma , Yang Bobi , Tapia Anna , Han Jian , Harrison Scott H , Graves Joseph L 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBackgroundThere has been an increased usage of metallic antimicrobial materials to control pathogenic and multi-drug resistant bacteria. Yet, there is a corresponding need to know if this usage leads to genetic adaptations that could produce more harmful strains.MethodologyExperimental evolution was used to adapt Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655 to excess iron (II) with subsequent genomic analysis. Phenotypic assays and gene expression studies were conducted to demonstrate pleiotropic effects associated with this adaptation and to elucidate potential cellular responses.ResultsAfter 200 days of adaptation, populations cultured in excess iron (II), showed a significant increase in 24-h optical densities compared to controls. Furthermore, these populations showed increased resistance toward other metals [iron (III) and gallium (III)] and to traditional antibiotics (bacitracin, rifampin, chloramphenicol and sulfanilamide). Genomic analysis identified selective sweeps in three genes; fecA, ptsP and ilvG unique to the iron (II) resistant populations, and gene expression studies demonstrated that their cellular response may be to downregulate genes involved in iron transport (cirA and fecA) while increasing the oxidative stress response (oxyR, soxS and soxR) prior to FeSO4 exposure.Conclusions and implicationsTogether, this indicates that the selected populations can quickly adapt to stressful levels of iron (II). This study is unique in that it demonstrates that E. coli can adapt to environments that contain excess levels of an essential micronutrient while also demonstrating the genomic foundations of the response and the pleiotropic consequences. The fact that adaptation to excess iron also causes increases in general antibiotic resistance is a serious concern.Lay summary: The evolution of iron resistance in E. coli leads to multi-drug and general metal resistance through the acquisition of mutations in three genes (fecA, ptsP and ilvG) while also initiating cellular defenses as part of their normal growth process.
The View from here – The Challenges of Teaching Gender Issues in Drama at An-Najah National University
Authors: Hamamra Bilal Tawfiq 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Drawing on the challenges I have faced in my feminist analysis of Renaissance drama, this article sheds light on traditional approaches to teaching Othello in Palestine and the responses generated by my counter discussions of this domestic tragedy. My approach aims to reveal the destructive discourse of gossip, the objectification of women, and male refusal to listen to the female voice. While education is a means of emancipation and liberation within the Israeli-Palestinian context, I explore how the traditional way of teaching the play can advertently and inadvertently align with colonial strategies that stifle students’ critical thinking and their potential to emancipate themselves from the network of oppressive traditions and in extension perpetuate the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Predicted benefit of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator: the MADIT-ICD benefit score
Authors: Younis Arwa , Goldberger Jeffrey J , Kutyifa Valentina , Zareba Wojciech , Polonsky Bronislava , Klein Helmut , Aktas Mehmet K , Huang David , Daubert James , Estes Mark , Cannom David , McNitt Scott , Stein Kenneth , Goldenberg Ilan 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Aims
The benefit of prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is not uniform due to differences in the risk of life-threatening ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF) and non-arrhythmic mortality. We aimed to develop an ICD benefit prediction score that integrates the competing risks.

Methods and results
The study population comprised all 4531 patients enrolled in the MADIT trials. Best-subsets Fine and Gray regression analysis was used to develop prognostic models for VT (≥200 b.p.m.)/VF vs. non-arrhythmic mortality (defined as death without prior sustained VT/VF). Eight predictors of VT/VF (male, age &lt; 75 years, prior non-sustained VT, heart rate &gt; 75 b.p.m., systolic blood pressure &lt; 140 mmHg, ejection fraction ≤ 25%, myocardial infarction, and atrialarrhythmia) and 7 predictors of non-arrhythmic mortality (age ≥ 75 years, diabetes mellitus, body mass index &lt; 23 kg/m2, ejection fraction ≤ 25%, New York Heart Association ≥II, ICD vs. cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator, and atrial arrhythmia) were identified. The two scores were combined to create three MADIT-ICD benefit groups. In the highest benefit group, the 3-year predicted risk of VT/VF was three-fold higher than the risk of non-arrhythmic mortality (20% vs. 7%, P &lt; 0.001). In the intermediate benefit group, the difference in the corresponding predicted risks was attenuated (15% vs. 9%, P &lt; 0.01). In the lowest benefit group, the 3-year predicted risk of VT/VF was similar to the risk of non-arrhythmic mortality (11% vs. 12%, P = 0.41). A personalized ICD benefit score was developed based on the distribution of the two competing risks scores in the study population (https://is.gd/madit). Internal and external validation confirmed model stability.

Conclusions
We propose the novel MADIT-ICD benefit score that predicts the likelihood of prophylactic ICD benefit through personalized assessment of the risk of VT/VF weighed against the risk of non-arrhythmic mortality.
Sleep-Disordered Breathing Is Associated With Impaired Odor Identification in Older U.S. Adults
Authors: Siegel Jesse K , Yuan Xiandao , Wroblewski Kristen E , McClintock Martha K , Pinto Jayant M 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Background
Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a common, underdiagnosed condition in older adults with major health consequences, including disrupted central nervous system functioning. Whether SDB may affect sensory function is unclear. We sought to address this question by comparing 2 forms of olfactory testing which measure peripheral and central olfactory processing.

Methods
We assessed SDB (survey-reported snoring frequency, nighttime apneic events, or diagnosis of sleep apnea) in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a nationally representative sample of older U.S. adults. Odor sensitivity (peripheral) and odor identification (central) were assessed with validated instruments. Logistic regression was used to test the relationship between SDB and olfaction, accounting for relevant covariates, including demographics, cognition, and comorbidity.

Results
Twenty-nine percent of older U.S. adults reported symptoms of SDB (apneic events or nightly snoring). Of these, only 32% had been diagnosed with sleep apnea. Older adults with SDB (those who reported symptoms or have been diagnosed with sleep apnea) were significantly more likely to have impaired odor identification (odds ratio 2.13, 95% confidence interval 1.19–3.83, p = .012) in analyses that accounted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, cognition, comorbidities (including depression), and body mass index. Presence of SDB was not associated with impaired odor sensitivity (odds ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 0.75–1.43, p = .84).

Conclusion
SDB is highly prevalent but underdiagnosed in older U.S. adults and is associated with impaired odor identification but not odor sensitivity. These data support the concept that SDB affects pathways in the central nervous system which involve chemosensory processing.
Not Just How Many but Who Is on Shift: The Impact of Workplace Incivility and Bullying on Care Delivery in Nursing Homes
Authors: Cooke Heather A , Baumbusch Jennifer 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Background and Objectives
Much of the literature examining the staffing–care quality link in long-term care (LTC) homes focuses on staffing ratios; that is, how many staff are on shift. Far less attention is devoted to exploring the impact of staff members’ workplace relationships, or who is on shift. As part of our work exploring workplace incivility and bullying among residential care aides (RCAs), we examined how RCAs’ workplace relationships are shaped by peer incivility and bullying and the impact on care delivery.

Research Design and Methods
Using critical ethnography, we conducted 100 hr of participant observation and 33 semistructured interviews with RCAs, licensed practical nurses, support staff, and management in 2 nonprofit LTC homes in British Columbia, Canada.

Results
Three key themes illustrate the power relations underpinning RCAs’ encounters with incivility and bullying that, in turn, shaped care delivery. Requesting Help highlights how exposure to incivility and bullying made RCAs reluctant to seek help from their coworkers. Receiving Help focuses on how power relations and notions of worthiness and reciprocity impacted RCAs’ receipt of help from coworkers. Resisting Help/ing outlines how workplace relationships imbued with power relations led some RCAs to refuse assistance from their coworkers, led longer-tenured RCAs to resist helping newer RCAs, and dictated the extent to which RCAs provided care to residents for whom another RCA was responsible.

Discussion and Implications
Findings highlight “who” is on shift warrants as much attention as “how many” are on shift, offering additional insight into the staffing-care quality link.
Constitutional touchstones: Peace processes, federalism, and constitution-making in Myanmar
Authors: Crouch Melissa 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
A constitutional touchstone is a document that articulates alternative constitutional proposals and is a symbolic resource in discussions of constitutional reform. Such documents keep alive opposition constitutional aspirations. Constitutional touchstones enhance understanding of the influence of constitutional history on contemporary efforts at peace and constitutional reform. Through successive constitutional reform processes, constitutional touchstones articulate future visions for reform and emerge as a reference point for political dialogue on peace and constitutional change. Through the case of Myanmar, I consider the influence of constitutional touchstones on contemporary constitution-making and trace demands for federalism through four stages of peace processes in Myanmar. Constitutional touchstones are important considerations that shape the terms of a peace process and condition, though do not determine the limits of constitutional reform. Presenting an alternative view to the idea that constitution-makers and peace negotiators in a globalized age are primarily focused on best practice or the most suitable comparative models, I draw attention to the ongoing salience and social life of past constitutional debates in contemporary peace processes.
Pharmacological activation of soluble guanylate cyclase improves vascular graft function
Authors: Veres Gábor , Bai Yang , Stark Klára Aliz , Schmidt Harald , Radovits Tamás , Loganathan Sivakkanan , Korkmaz-Icöz Sevil , Szabó Gábor 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Ischaemia–reperfusion injury impairs the nitric oxide/soluble guanylate cyclase/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signalling pathway and leads to vascular dysfunction. We assessed the hypothesis that the soluble guanylate cyclase activator cinaciguat would protect the vascular graft against ischaemia–reperfusion injury.

METHODS
In the treatment groups, rats (n = 8/group) were pretreated with either intravenous saline or intravenous cinaciguat (10 mg/kg) 2 h before an aortic transplant. Aortic grafts were stored for 2 h in saline and transplanted into the abdominal aorta of the recipients. Two hours after the transplant, the grafts were harvested and mounted in an organ bath. Vascular function of the grafts was investigated in the organ bath. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labelling, cluster of differentiation 31, caspase-3, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, cGMP, nitrotyrosine and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 immunochemical reactions were also investigated.

RESULTS
Pretreatment with cinaciguat significantly improved endothelium-dependent maximal relaxation 2 h after reperfusion compared with the saline group (maximal relaxation control: 96.5 ± 1%, saline: 40.4 ± 3% vs cinaciguat: 54.7 ± 2%; P &lt; 0.05). Pretreatment with cinaciguat significantly reduced DNA fragmentation and nitro-oxidative stress; decreased the caspase-3 and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 scores; and increased endothelial nitric oxide synthase, cGMP and cluster of differentiation 31 scores.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrated that enhancement of cGMP signalling by pharmacological activation of the soluble guanylate cyclase activator cinaciguat might represent a beneficial therapy for treating endothelial dysfunction of arterial bypass graft during cardiac surgery.
Recovery of conduction disorders after sutureless aortic valve replacement
Authors: Lam Ka Yan , Timmermans Naomi , Akca Ferdi , Tan Erwin , Verberkmoes Niels J , de Kort Kim , Soliman-Hamad Mohamed , van Straten Albert H M 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Conduction disorders and the need for permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation after surgical aortic valve replacement are well-recognized complications. However, in the case of sutureless valve prostheses, it remains unknown whether pacemaker (PM) dependency and conduction disturbances resolve over time. Our aim was to evaluate whether conduction disorders after Perceval sutureless valve implantation recover during follow-up.

METHODS
Patients undergoing isolated surgical aortic valve replacement or concomitant aortic valve replacement with coronary artery bypass surgery using the Perceval sutureless valve, between January 2010 and July 2018, were included. Postoperative electrocardiogram findings were analysed to determine the incidence of new-onset left bundle branch blocks (LBBBs) and the requirement for PPM implantation. During a postoperative period of 6–18 months, electrocardiogram findings during PM checks were analysed to determine PM dependency and LBBB persistence.

RESULTS
Out of 184 patients who received a Perceval prosthesis during the study period, 39 (21.2%) patients developed new-onset LBBB and 10 patients (5.4%) received a PPM postoperatively. The occurrence of conduction disorders was not associated with valve size. Follow-up was completed in 176 (95.7%) patients. In patients with a new-onset LBBB, 35.9% recovered during follow-up (P = 0.001). Seven out of 10 (70%) patients remained PM dependent.

CONCLUSIONS
After Perceval aortic valve implantation, new-onset LBBB recovers in more than one-third of patients during follow-up. In patients who needed a postoperative PPM, the majority remained PM dependent.
A bottom-up approach to creating an ontology for medication indications
Authors: Nelson Stuart J , Flynn Allen , Tuttle Mark S 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Objectives
The study sought to learn if it were possible to develop an ontology that would allow the Food and Drug Administration approved indications to be expressed in a manner computable and comparable to what is expressed in an electronic health record.

Materials and Methods
A random sample of 1177 of the 3000+ extant, distinct medical products (identified by unique new drug application numbers) was selected for investigation. Close manual examination of the indication portion of the labels for these drugs led to the development of a formal model of indications.

Results
The model represents each narrative indication as a disjunct of conjuncts of assertions about an individual. A desirable attribute is that each assertion about an individual should be testable without reference to other contextual information about the situation. The logical primitives are chosen from 2 categories (context and conditions) and are linked to an enumeration of uses, such as prevention. We found that more than 99% of approved label indications for treatment or prevention could be so represented.

Discussion
While some indications are straightforward to represent, difficulties stem from the need to represent temporal or sequential references. In addition, there is a mismatch of terminologies between what is present in an electronic health record and in the label narrative.

Conclusions
A workable model for formalizing drug indications is possible. Remaining challenges include designing workflow to model narrative label indications for all approved drug products and incorporation of standard vocabularies.
Effect of storage of wet brewer’s grains with incremental levels of salt on apparent total tract nutrient digestibility and purine derivative excretion in dairy heifers
Authors: Hatungimana Eric , Stahl Tess C , Erickson Peter S 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Objectives of this study were to evaluate apparent total tract nutrient digestibility and purine derivative (PD) excretion in dairy heifers limit-fed diets containing wet brewer’s grains (WBG) treated with salt. A 12-wk replicated 4 × 4 Latin square was conducted using 8 Holstein heifers of 224.5 ± 19.4 d of age, and body weight (BW) of 219.2 ± 28.1 kg (mean ± SD). Fresh WBG were treated with 0%, 0.8%, 1.6%, and 2.4% salt and stored for 4 d before being fed. Salt was added either to the WBG or separately to equalize the amount of salt in the diet. The diet contained 9% grass silage, 47% corn silage, 19% corn meal, 17.6% WBG and salt, 2% soybean meal, and 3% mineral mix. Diets were formulated to be limit-fed at 2.15% of BW, provide 14% crude protein (CP) and 2.27 Mcal metabolizable energy (ME)/kg of dry matter (DM). Heifers were adapted to diets for 14 d followed by a 7-d collection period. Dry matter intake (DMI) was recorded daily during the collection week while BW was recorded once a week. Urine and fecal samples were collected during the last 4 d of the collection period. Acid insoluble ash was used as an internal marker to determine apparent nutrient digestibility. Weight loss of WBG during storage was determined from days 1 to 11 and initial and final yeast and mold counts were determined. Final yeast counts were similar among treatments while final mold counts tended to be lesser (P = 0.07) for the 0.8% and 1.6% salt treatments. Urinary volume was similar among treatments while allantoin (P = 0.14), and uric acid (P &lt; 0.01) and total PD excretion tended to increase (P = 0.13) quadratically. DMI was varied by treatment (linear, quadratic, and cubic effects P &lt; 0.01). Heifers fed the 0.8% treatment had the least DMI. Nonfiber carbohydrate (NFC) digestibility linearly decreased (P &lt; 0.04) as salt increased. Digestibilities of DM, and organic matter (OM), tended to decrease (P &lt; 0.10) with increasing levels of salt added to WBG. Fat digestibility was quadratic with the greatest value for the 1.6% treatment. Treating WBG with salt reduced its deterioration based on lesser mold counts for the 0.8% and 1.6% treatments. These treatments had resulted in greater fat digestibility and tended to have increased PD excretion suggesting improved microbial protein synthesis.