bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Erythropoietin prevents LPS‐induced preterm birth and increases offspring survival
Authors: Zhang Jie , Luo Xianqiong , Huang Caicai , Pei Zheng , Xiao Huimei , Luo Xingang , Huang Shuangmiao , Chang Yanqun 
Published: June 2020

AbstractProblemPreterm delivery is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and contributes to delayed physical and cognitive development in children. At present, there is no efficient therapy to prevent preterm labor. A large body of evidence suggests that infections might play a significant and potentially preventable cause of premature birth. This work assessed the effects of erythropoietin (EPO) in a murine model of inflammation‐associated preterm delivery, which mimics central features of preterm infections in humans.Method of studyBALB/c mice were injected i.p. with 20 000 IU/kg EPO or normal saline twice on gestational day (GD) 15, with a 3 hours time interval between injections. An hour after the first EPO or normal saline injection, all mice received two injections of 50 μg/kg LPS, also given 3 hours apart.ResultsEPO significantly prevented preterm labor and increased offspring survival in an LPS induced preterm delivery model. EPO prevented LPS‐induced leukocyte infiltration into the placenta. Moreover, EPO inhibited the expression of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), and tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) in maternal serum and amniotic fluid. EPO also prevented LPS‐induced increase in placental prostaglandin (PG)E2 and uterine inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) production, while decreasing nuclear factor kappa‐B (NF‐κβ) activity in the myometrium. EPO also increased the gene expression of placental programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD‐L1) in LPS‐treated mice.ConclusionsOur results suggest that EPO could be a potential novel therapeutic strategy to tackle infection‐related preterm labor.
Fault Lines: The Effects of Bureaucratic Power on Electoral Accountability
Authors: Martin Lucy , Raffler Pia J. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThis article introduces a new explanation for why citizens may fail to vote based on government performance. We argue that when politicians have limited capacity to control bureaucrats, citizens will not know whether government performance is a good signal of the incumbent's quality. We develop a selection model of elections in which policy is jointly determined by a politician and a bureaucrat. When politicians have incomplete power over policy, elections perform worse at separating good and bad types of incumbents. We test the theory's predictions using survey experiments conducted with nearly 9,000 citizens and local officials in Uganda. We find that citizens and officials allocate more responsibility to politicians when they are perceived as having more power relative to bureaucrats. The allocation of responsibility has electoral consequences: When respondents believe that bureaucrats are responsible for performance, they are less likely to expect that government performance will affect incumbent vote share.
Code Work: Thinking with the System in México
Authors: Beltrán Héctor 
Published: June 2020

ABSTRACTThis article explores how young people position themselves in relation to promises of technology and progress during a time of political transition in Mexico. My fieldwork took place between 2013 and 2017, just before a newly formed leftist political party gained power after a century of rule by Mexico's “revolutionary” party. For self‐identified “disenchanted” youth in Mexico, skeptical of the promises of social mobility by means of formal education, “hacking” emerged as a way to make sense of their futures in a precarious state and economy and as a way to let their “code work” intervene in narratives that had only delivered false hopes. Coworking spaces, hackathons, entrepreneurial initiatives, and neoliberal “reforms” were seldom differentiated by politicians. By immersing themselves in the code that underlies the technologies that promise developmentalist change, I show how fundamental coding principles become good to think with, alongside the institutions and systems responsible for reinstating unequal opportunities, iteration after iteration. Hacker‐entrepreneurs used their code work to develop heuristics for analyzing the organization of entities and relationship between them, whether they were elements in a coding environment or actors in a political‐economic environment. [technology, knowledge economy, youth, computing, precarity]
The epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in Israeli children: Community‐ vs hospital‐acquired or healthcare related infections
Authors: Dabaja‐Younis Halima , Garra Wakar , Shachor‐Meyouhas Yael , Mashiach Tanya , Geffen Yuval , Kassis Imad 
Published: June 2020

AbstractAimIncidences of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) in Israeli children are unknown. The characteristics of SAB in children have not been evaluated.MethodsSAB from children aged ≤18 years old, admitted to a tertiary hospital in Israel during 2002‐2015, were included. The proportional rate of SAB was calculated per 1000 admissions. SAB were classified as community acquired (CA), hospital acquired (HA) and healthcare related (HCR). Patients' characteristics, antibiotic susceptibility and outcomes were assessed in each group.ResultsThe rate of SAB was stable, 1.48 per 1000 admissions. HA, CA and HCR‐SAB comprised 53%, 25% and 22%, respectively. Only 27/185 (14.6%) were caused by methicillin‐resistant S aureus (MRSA): 22%, 6% and 5% of HA, CA and HCR‐SAB, respectively. Central venous catheter, recent surgery, immunodeficiency and age <6 years were the main risk factors for HA and HCR‐SAB (adjusted OR: 68.9, 7.5, 5.8 and 5.5, respectively). Treatment duration for CA was >21 days: and for HA and HCR, 14‐20 days. All‐cause in‐hospital mortality and 30‐day mortality were documented in 10 (5%) and 3 (2%) episodes, respectively.ConclusionThe rate of SAB; the proportions of CA, HA and HCR‐SAB; and the proportion of MRSA was stable over the years. MRSA was mainly in HA‐SAB. Thirty‐day mortality was rare.
Neurodevelopmental outcomes of a randomised trial of intact cord resuscitation
Authors: Isacson Manuela , Gurung Rejina , Basnet Omkar , Andersson Ola , KC Ashish 
Published: June 2020

AbstractAimIt has been suggested that intact cord resuscitation can reduce the risk of brain damage. We investigated the effects on neurodevelopment at two years of age.MethodsThis study was performed in Kathmandu, Nepal. In 2016, 231 late preterm and term infants born vaginally and not breathing were randomised to resuscitation with an intact cord or the standard practice of early cord clamping (CC). At two years of age, the World Health Organization's Infant and Young Child Development tool was used to assess the child's neurodevelopment, during telephone interviews with caregivers.ResultsWe followed up 138 infants (59.7%) at a mean age of 24.8 ± 0.8 months. A significant difference was seen in the development for age Z‐score, between the group resuscitated with an intact umbilical cord and the group resuscitated with early CC. The median (range) scores were 1.0 (0.1‐2.1) vs 0.9 (−2.0 to 1.8), respectively (P = .04). There was no difference in the motor, language‐cognitive and socio‐emotional domains.ConclusionNeurodevelopment improvements were observed at two years of age in infants resuscitated with an intact rather than early clamped umbilical cord. No definitive conclusions could be drawn due to protocol violations and a low follow‐up rate. More research is needed.
Paediatric hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infections: An observational study of a Danish cohort
Authors: Norden Christoph , Malham Mikkel , Nordly Sannie , Grosen Dorthe , Kvistgaard Helene , Kjær Mette S. , Brix Christensen Vibeke 
Published: June 2020

AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics in children with either chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Denmark.MethodsIn this observational study, children and adolescents with either chronic HBV or HCV infection followed at the largest paediatric departments in Denmark between 2001 and 2013 were included. Data collection included as well epidemiological data as clinical data like virus genotype, viral load, serological markers, liver biochemistry, liver elastography and histology if available.ResultsThe study included 131 children. None of the patients had decreased liver function or end‐stage liver disease during follow‐up. Ten of the 18 children who underwent liver biopsy had signs of fibrosis. Thirteen (11%) children with HBV and one (7%) child with HCV received treatment. Different indications and different treatment regimens were used.ConclusionThis study confirms that chronic HBV and HCV infections are often mild diseases during childhood. Nevertheless, children are at higher risk of serious liver disease early in life because of the early time of infection and probably also because of the high viral loads.
Therapeutic thresholds for golimumab serum concentrations during induction and maintenance therapy in ulcerative colitis: results from the GO‐LEVEL study
Authors: Samaan Mark A. , Cunningham Georgina , Tamilarasan Aravind Gokul , Beltran Luisa , Pavlidis Polychronis , Ray Shuvra , Mawdsley Joel , Anderson Simon H. , Sanderson Jeremy D. , Arkir Zehra , Irving Peter M. 
Published: June 2020

SummaryBackgroundSignificant associations between serum golimumab concentrations and favourable outcomes have been observed during both induction and maintenance therapy in ulcerative colitis (UC). However, data regarding optimal therapeutic serum golimumab concentration thresholds are limited.AimsTo identify optimal serum golimumab concentration thresholds during induction and maintenance treatment with golimumab.MethodsGO‐LEVEL was an open label, phase IV study that included a prospective cohort of UC patients commencing golimumab, as well as a cross‐sectional cohort receiving maintenance treatment. Patients commencing induction for active UC (defined as a simple clinical colitis activity index [SCCAI] >5 in addition to a raised faecal calprotectin [FC] >59μg/g or, raised C‐reactive protein [CRP] [>5mg/L] or, Mayo endoscopic disease activity 2 or 3) were evaluated at weeks 6, 10 and 14. Patients receiving maintenance therapy were recruited either at the point of flare or during remission. Combined clinical‐biochemical remission was defined as SCCAI ≤2 and FC <250μg/g. Serum golimumab concentrations were measured using a commercially available ELISA (LISATRACKER, Theradiag).ResultsThirty‐nine patients were included in the induction cohort, of whom 15 (38%) achieved combined clinical‐biochemical remission at week 6. The median serum golimumab concentration of those in combined clinical‐biochemical remission was significantly higher than those who were not (5.0 vs 3.1 μg/mL, respectively, P = 0.03). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated 3.8 μg/mL as the optimal threshold (sensitivity 0.71, specificity 0.65, area under curve [AUC] 0.72, positive predictive value [PPV] 0.59 and negative predictive value [NPV] 0.79). Sixty‐three patients were included in the maintenance cohort; 31 (49%) were in combined remission, 32 (51%) were not. The median serum golimumab concentration of those in combined remission was significantly higher (2.9 vs 2.1 μg/mL, respectively, P = 0.01). ROC curve analysis demonstrated 2.4 μg/mL as the optimal threshold (sensitivity 0.68, specificity 0.66, AUC 0.68, PPV 0.65 and NPV 0.66).ConclusionsGO‐LEVEL (NCT03124121) offers further evidence regarding golimumab's exposure‐response relationship. Clinicians may consider using therapeutic drug monitoring to optimise golimumab dosing aiming to achieve our suggested therapeutic thresholds of 3.8 μg/mL at week 6 and 2.4 μg/mL during maintenance.
Serum oncostatin M at baseline predicts mucosal healing in Crohn's disease patients treated with infliximab
Authors: Bertani Lorenzo , Fornai Matteo , Fornili Marco , Antonioli Luca , Benvenuti Laura , Tapete Gherardo , Baiano Svizzero Giovanni , Ceccarelli Linda , Mumolo Maria Gloria , Baglietto Laura , de Bortoli Nicola , Bellini Massimo , Marchi Santino , Costa Francesco , Blandizzi Corrado 
Published: June 2020

SummaryBackgroundOncostatin M is upregulated in Crohn's disease inflamed intestinal mucosa, and has been suggested as a promising biomarker to predict responsiveness to anti‐TNF therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.AimTo evaluate the suitability of serum oncostatin M as a predictive marker of response to infliximab in Crohn's disease.MethodsWe included patients treated with infliximab monotherapy. All patients underwent colonoscopy at week 54 to evaluate mucosal healing. Serum oncostatin M and faecal calprotectin were measured at baseline and after 14 weeks of treatment. Mann‐Whitney test was used to evaluate correlation of oncostatin M and faecal calprotectin at baseline and week 14 with mucosal healing at week 54. Their accuracy in predicting mucosal healing was assessed by area under the curve (AUC).ResultsIn a cohort of 45 included patients, 27 displayed mucosal healing. At both baseline and week 14, oncostatin M levels were significantly lower in patients with mucosal healing than in patients not achieving this endpoint (P < 0.001). Faecal calprotectin levels at week 14 were lower also in responders than nonresponders (P < 0.001). Oncostatin M values at baseline and week 14 were significantly associated (Spearman correlation = 0.92, P < 0.001). The diagnostic accuracy of oncostatin M at baseline in predicting mucosal healing (AUC = 0.91) was greater than faecal calprotectin (AUC = 0.51, P < 0.001).ConclusionThese results suggest that oncostatin M can predict the outcome of infliximab treatment. Compared with faecal calprotectin, the predictive capability of oncostatin M was appreciable at baseline, thus indicating oncostatin M as a promising biomarker for driving therapeutic choices in Crohn's disease.
Evaluation of longitudinal surrogate markers
Authors: Agniel Denis , Parast Layla 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe use of surrogate markers to examine the effectiveness of a treatment has the potential to decrease study length and identify effective treatments more quickly. Most available methods to investigate the usefulness of a surrogate marker involve restrictive parametric assumptions and tend to focus on settings where the surrogate is measured at a single point in time. However, in many clinical settings, the potential surrogate marker is often measured repeatedly over time, and thus, the surrogate marker information is a trajectory of measurements. In addition, it is often difficult in practice to correctly specify the relationship between a treatment, primary outcome, and surrogate marker trajectory. In this paper, we propose a model‐free definition for the proportion of the treatment effect on the primary outcome that is explained by the treatment effect on the longitudinal surrogate markers. We propose three novel flexible methods to estimate this proportion, develop the asymptotic properties of our estimators, and investigate the robustness of the estimators under multiple settings via a simulation study. We apply our proposed procedures to an AIDS clinical trial dataset to examine a trajectory of CD4 counts as a potential surrogate.
Estimating the optimal timing of surgery from observational data
Authors: Chen Xiaofei , Heitjan Daniel F. , Greil Gerald , Jeon‐Slaughter Haekyung 
Published: June 2020

AbstractInfants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome require an initial Norwood operation, followed some months later by a stage 2 palliation (S2P). The timing of S2P is critical for the operation's success and the infant's survival, but the optimal timing, if one exists, is unknown. We attempt to identify the optimal timing of S2P by analyzing data from the Single Ventricle Reconstruction Trial (SVRT), which randomized patients between two different types of Norwood procedure. In the SVRT, the timing of the S2P was chosen by the medical team; thus with respect to this exposure, the trial constitutes an observational study, and the analysis must adjust for potential confounding. To accomplish this, we propose an extended propensity score analysis that describes the time to surgery as a function of confounders in a discrete competing‐risk model. We then apply inverse probability weighting to estimate a spline hazard model for predicting survival from the time of S2P. Our analysis suggests that S2P conducted at 6 months after the Norwood gives the patient the best post‐S2P survival. Thus, we place the optimal time slightly later than a previous analysis in the medical literature that did not account for competing risks of death and heart transplantation.
‘This country is OURS’: The exclusionary potential of collective psychological ownership
Authors: Nijs Tom , Martinovic Borja , Verkuyten Maykel , Sedikides Constantine 
Published: June 2020

Political campaign slogans, such as ‘Take back control of our country’ (United Kingdom Independence Party) and ‘The Netherlands ours again’ (Dutch Party for Freedom), indicate that right‐wing populism appeals to the belief that the country is ‘ours’, and therefore, ‘we’ have the exclusive right to determine what happens. We examined this sense of ownership of the country (i.e. collective psychological ownership [CPO]) with the related determination right in relation to exclusionary attitudes and voting behaviour. Among Dutch (Study 1, N = 572) and British (Study 2, N = 495) participants, we found that CPO explained anti‐immigrant and anti‐EU attitudes, and these attitudes in turn accounted for voting ‘leave’ in the 2016 Brexit referendum in the British sample (Study 2). Additionally, CPO was more strongly related to negative immigrant attitudes among right‐wing Dutch participants, whereas it was more strongly related to negative EU attitudes and voting ‘leave’ among left‐wing British participants. CPO contributes to the understanding of critical contemporary social attitudes and political behaviour.
10 Myr evolution of sedimentation rates in a deep marine to non‐marine foreland basin system: Tectonic and sedimentary controls (Eocene, Tremp–Jaca Basin, Southern Pyrenees, NE Spain)
Authors: Vinyoles Andreu , López‐Blanco Miguel , Garcés Miguel , Arbués Pau , Valero Luis , Beamud Elisabet , Oliva‐Urcia Belén , Cabello Patricia 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe propagation of the deformation front in foreland systems is typically accompanied by the incorporation of parts of the basin into wedge‐top piggy‐back basins, this process is likely producing considerable changes to sedimentation rates (SR). Here we investigate the spatial‐temporal evolution of SR for the Tremp–Jaca Basin in the Southern Pyrenees during its evolution from a wedge‐top, foreredeep, forebulge configuration to a wedge‐top stage. SR were controlled by a series of tectonic structures that influenced subsidence distribution and modified the sediment dispersal patterns. We compare the decompacted SR calculated from 12 magnetostratigraphic sections located throughout the Tremp–Jaca Basin represent the full range of depositional environment and times. While the derived long‐term SR range between 9.0 and 84.5 cm/kyr, compiled data at the scale of magnetozones (0.1–2.5 Myr) yield SR that range from 3.0 to 170 cm/kyr. From this analysis, three main types of depocenter are recognized: a regional depocenter in the foredeep depozone; depocenters related to both regional subsidence and salt tectonics in the wedge‐top depozone; and a depocenter related to clastic shelf building showing transgressive and regressive trends with graded and non‐graded episodes. From the evolution of SR we distinguish two stages. The Lutetian Stage (from 49.1–41.2 Ma) portrays a compartmentalized basin characterized by variable SR in dominantly underfilled accommodation areas. The markedly different advance of the deformation front between the Central and Western Pyrenees resulted in a complex distribution of the foreland depozones during this stage. The Bartonian–Priabonian Stage (41.2–36.9 Ma) represents the integration of the whole basin into the wedge‐top, showing a generalized reduction of SR in a mostly overfilled relatively uniform basin. The stacking of basement units in the hinterland during the whole period produced unusually high SR in the wedge‐top depozone.
Genotype‐phenotype correlations on epidermolysis bullosa with congenital absence of skin: A comprehensive review
Authors: Mariath Luiza Monteavaro , Santin Juliana Tosetto , Frantz Jeanine Aparecida , Doriqui Maria Juliana Rodovalho , Schuler‐Faccini Lavínia , Kiszewski Ana Elisa 
Published: June 2020

AbstractCongenital absence of skin (CAS) is a clinical sign associated with the main types of epidermolysis bullosa (EB). Very few studies have investigated the genetic background that may influence the occurrence of this condition. Our objective was to investigate genotype‐phenotype correlations on EB with CAS through a literature revision on the pathogenic variants previously reported. A total of 171 cases (49 EB simplex, EBS; 23 junctional EB, JEB; and 99 dystrophic EB, DEB), associated with 132 pathogenic variants in eight genes, were included in the genotype‐phenotype analysis. In EBS, CAS showed to be a recurrent clinical sign in EBS with pyloric atresia (PA) and EBS associated with kelch‐like protein 24; CAS was also described in patients with keratins 5/14 alterations, particularly involving severe phenotypes. In JEB, this is a common clinical sign in JEB with PA associated with premature termination codon variants and/or amino acid substitutions located in the extracellular domain of integrin α6β4 genes. In DEB with CAS, missense variants occurring close to non‐collagenous interruptions of the triple‐helix domain of collagen VII appear to influence this condition. This study is the largest review of patients with EB and CAS and expands the spectrum of known variants on this phenomenon.
Diagnostic yield of targeted sequential and massive panel approaches for inherited neuropathies
Authors: Padilha Janice Pacheco Dias , Brasil Carolina Serpa , Hoefel Alice Maria Luderitz , Winckler Pablo Brea , Donis Karina Carvalho , Brusius‐Facchin Ana Carolina , Saute Jonas Alex Morales 
Published: June 2020

AbstractDiagnostic yield of genetic studies for Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth disease (CMT) is little known, with a lack of epidemiological data to build better diagnostic strategies outside the United States and Europe. We aimed to evaluate the performance of two molecular diagnostic strategies for patients with CMT, and to characterize epidemiological findings of these conditions in southern Brazil. We performed a single‐center cross‐sectional study, in which 94 patients (55 families) with CMT suspicion were evaluated. Overall, the diagnostic yield of the combined strategy of Multiplex‐ligation‐dependent‐probe‐amplification (MLPA) of PMP22/GJB1/MPZ and GJB1/MPZ/PMP22 Sanger sequencing was 63.6% (28/44) for index cases with demyelinating/intermediate CMT suspicion (21 CMT1A‐PMP22, 5 CMTX1‐GJB1 and 2 with probably CMT1B‐MPZ diagnosis). Five of the 11 index cases (45.4%) with axonal CMT had at least a possible diagnosis with next generation sequencing (NGS) panel of 104 inherited neuropathies‐related genes (one each with CMT1A‐PMP22, CMT2A‐MFN2, CMT2K‐GDAP1, CMT2U‐MARS, CMT2W‐HARS1). Detailed clinical, neurophysiological and molecular data of families are provided. Sequential molecular diagnosis strategies with MLPA plus target Sanger sequencing for demyelinating/intermediate CMT had high diagnostic yield, and almost half of axonal CMT families had at least a possible diagnosis with the comprehensive NGS panel. Most frequent subtypes of CMT in our region are CMT1A‐PMP22 and CMTX1‐GJB1.