bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Risk of Cross Infection in the Emergency Department: A Simulation Study
Authors: Hertzberg Vicki Stover , Wang Yuke A. , Elon Lisa K. , Lowery-North Douglas W. 
Published: April 2018

OBJECTIVESThe risk of cross infection in a busy emergency department (ED) is a serious public health concern, especially in times of pandemic threats. We simulated cross infections due to respiratory diseases spread by large droplets using empirical data on contacts (ie, close-proximity interactions of ≤1m) in an ED to quantify risks due to contact and to examine factors with differential risks associated with them.DESIGNProspective study.PARTICIPANTSHealth workers (HCWs) and patients.SETTINGA busy ED.METHODSData on contacts between participants were collected over 6 months by observing two 12-hour shifts per week using a radiofrequency identification proximity detection system. We simulated cross infection due to a novel agent across these contacts to determine risks associated with HCW role, chief complaint category, arrival mode, and ED disposition status.RESULTSCross-infection risk between HCWs was substantially greater than between patients or between patients and HCWs. Providers had the least risk, followed by nurses, and nonpatient care staff had the most risk. There were no differences by patient chief complaint category. We detected differential risk patterns by arrival mode and by HCW role. Although no differential risk was associated with ED disposition status, 0.1 infections were expected per shift among patients admitted to hospital.CONCLUSIONThese simulations demonstrate that, on average, 11 patients who were infected in the ED will be admitted to the hospital over the course of an 8-week local influenza outbreak. These patients are a source of further cross-infection risk once in the hospital.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:688–693
The kink-turn in the structural biology of RNA
Authors: Huang Lin , Lilley David M. J. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe kink-turn (k-turn) is a widespread structural motif found in functional RNA species. It typically comprises a three-nucleotide bulge followed by tandem trans sugar edge-Hoogsteen G:A base pairs. It introduces a sharp kink into the axis of duplex RNA, juxtaposing the minor grooves. Cross-strand H-bonds form at the interface, accepted by the conserved adenine nucleobases of the G:A basepairs. Alternative acceptors for one of these divides the k-turns into two conformational classes N3 and N1. The base pair that follows the G:A pairs (3b:3n) determines which conformation is adopted by a given k-turn. k-turns often mediate tertiary contacts in folded RNA species and frequently bind proteins. Common k-turn binding proteins include members of the L7Ae family, such as the human 15·5k protein. A recognition helix within these proteins binds in the widened major groove on the outside of the k-turn, that makes specific H-bonds with the conserved guanine nucleobases of the G:A pairs. L7Ae binds with extremely high affinity, and single-molecule data are consistent with folding by conformational selection. The standard, simple k-turn can be elaborated in a variety of ways, that include the complex k-turns and the k-junctions. In free solution in the absence of added metal ions or protein k-turns do not adopt the tightly-kinked conformation. They undergo folding by the binding of proteins, by the formation of tertiary contacts, and some (but not all) will fold on the addition of metal ions. Whether or not folding occurs in the presence of metal ions depends on local sequence, including the 3b:3n position, and the −1b:−1n position (5′ to the bulge). In most cases −1b:−1n = C:G, so that the 3b:3n position is critical since it determines both folding properties and conformation. In general, the selection of these sequence matches a given k-turn to its biological requirements. The k-turn structure is now very well understood, to the point at which they can be used as a building block for the formation of RNA nano-objects, including triangles and squares.
A Composite Coastal Cordon on Exmoor? Exploring Local Influence on First-Centurya.d.Fortlet Use
Authors: Symonds Matthew 
Published: April 2018

AbstractExceptional aspects of the design and location of a pair of first-century fortlets on the Exmoor coast are explicable as a product of local influence. Previous explanations for the remote setting of these small posts and the distinctive defences securing them have focused on a signalling role, with the fortlets serving as a means to transmit messages to naval vessels patrolling the Bristol Channel. Instead, both the landscape setting and articulation with local settlement patterns imply that these installations strengthened pre-existing measures to counter coastal raiding. Parallels between this variant fortlet design and settlement morphology in the South-West peninsula suggest that the army co-opted an indigenous architectural style. The two fortlets could act as components of what was effectively a composite coastal cordon, built on collaboration between the Roman military and the local population.
Classification and diversity of amblyopia
Authors: MAURER DAPHNE , McKEE SUZANNE P. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractAmblyopia is a developmental disorder that affects the spatial vision of one or both eyes in the absence of an obvious organic cause; it is associated with a history of abnormal visual experience during childhood. Subtypes have been defined based on the purported etiology, namely, strabismus (misaligned eyes) and/or anisometropia (unequal refractive error). Here we consider the usefulness of these subclassifications.
Early diagnosis of amblyopia
Authors: HUNTER DAVID , COTTER SUSAN 
Published: April 2018

AbstractAmblyopia can be improved or eliminated more easily when treated early in life. Because amblyopia in older children is generally less responsive to treatment (Holmes et al., 2011), there is a premium on the early identification of amblyopia and its risk factors and the subsequent treatment thereof. Clinical preference is to institute treatment in children before 7 years of age when an optimal visual outcome is typically easier to obtain.
Treatment of amblyopia as a function of age
Authors: HOLMES JONATHAN M. , LEVI DENNIS M. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractAlthough historically, treatment of amblyopia has been recommended prior to closure of a critical window in visual development, the existence and duration of that critical window is currently unclear. Moreover, there is clear evidence, both from animal and human studies of deprivation amblyopia, that there are different critical windows for different visual functions and that monocular and binocular deprivation have different neural and behavioral consequences. In view of the spectrum of critical windows for different visual functions and for different types of amblyopia, combined with individual variability in these windows, treatment of amblyopia has been increasingly offered to older children and adults. Nevertheless, treatment beyond the age of 7 years tends to be, on average, less effective than in younger children, and the high degree of variability in treatment response suggests that age is only one of many factors determining treatment response. Newly emerging treatment modalities may hold promise for more effective treatment of amblyopia at older ages. Additional studies are needed to characterize amblyopia by using new and existing clinical tests, leading to improved clinical classification and better prediction of treatment response. Attention also needs to be directed toward characterizing and measuring the impact of amblyopia on the patients’ functional vision and health-related quality of life.
Animal models of amblyopia
Authors: MITCHELL DONALD , SENGPIEL FRANK 
Published: April 2018

AbstractUnquestionably, the last six decades of research on various animal models have advanced our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the many complex characteristics of amblyopia as well as provided promising new avenues for treatment. While animal models in general have served an important purpose, there nonetheless remain questions regarding the efficacy of particular models considering the differences across animal species, especially when the goal is to provide the foundations for human interventions. Our discussion of these issues culminated in three recommendations for future research to provide cohesion across animals models as well as a fourth recommendation for acceptance of a protocol for the minimum number of steps necessary for the translation of results obtained on particular animal models to human clinical trials. The three recommendations for future research arose from discussions of various issues including the specific results obtained from the use of different animal models, the degree of similarity to the human visual system, the ability to generate animal models of the different types of human amblyopia as well as the difficulty of scaling developmental timelines between different species.
Amblyopia: New molecular/pharmacological and environmental approaches
Authors: STRYKER MICHAEL P. , LÖWEL SIEGRID 
Published: April 2018

AbstractEmerging technologies are now giving us unprecedented access to manipulate brain circuits, shedding new light on treatments for amblyopia. This research is identifying key circuit elements that control brain plasticity and highlight potential therapeutic targets to promote rewiring in the visual system during and beyond early life. Here, we explore how such recent advancements may guide future pharmacological, genetic, and behavioral approaches to treat amblyopia. We will discuss how animal research, which allows us to probe and tap into the underlying circuit and synaptic mechanisms, should best be used to guide therapeutic strategies. Uncovering cellular and molecular pathways that can be safely targeted to promote recovery may pave the way for effective new amblyopia treatments across the lifespan.
Relationship between mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio and coronary artery abnormalities in Kawasaki disease
Authors: Bozlu Gulcin , Karpuz Derya , Hallioglu Olgu , Unal Selma , Kuyucu Necdet 
Published: April 2018

AbstractObjectivesRecently, mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio has emerged as a novel parameter of inflammation. No study has investigated the role of mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio in children with Kawasaki disease. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio and coronary artery abnormalities in Kawasaki disease.MethodsBetween January 2008 and January 2017, a total of 58 children with Kawasaki disease and 42 healthy subjects matched for sex and age were enrolled. Before the treatment, transthoracic echocardiography for all children was performed. Clinical and laboratory results including mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, red blood cell distribution width, and counts of platelets, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and white blood cells, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein levels were measured. Mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio was calculated as mean platelet volume divided by lymphocyte count.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio was significantly lower in the children with Kawasaki disease (p<0.01). A total of 14 patients (24.1%) had incomplete Kawasaki disease and 15 (25.8%) children with Kawasaki disease had coronary involvement. Mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio was significantly lower in patients with coronary artery abnormalities (p<0.01). According to receiver operating characteristic curve analysis performed for the prediction of coronary artery abnormalities, the best cut-off point for mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio was 2.5 (area under curve=0.593, sensitivity 53.3%, specificity 51.1%).ConclusionIt was first shown that the children with Kawasaki disease have lower mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio compared with control subjects. Mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio may be helpful in predicting coronary artery lesions in patients with Kawasaki disease.
Radiofrequency catheter ablation for ventricular tachycardia in ischaemic cardiomyopathy due to Kawasaki disease
Authors: Komaki Hisaaki , Nakashima Takashi , Minatoguchi Shinya 
Published: April 2018

AbstractIn some patients with Kawasaki disease, a prior myocardial infarction causes ventricular tachycardia in the chronic post-myocardial infarction phase. We report the case of a 41-year-old man with symptomatic and haemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia in whom substrate ablation was performed for the ventricular tachycardia before insertion of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.
Validity of an FFQ to measure nutrient and food intakes in Tanzania
Authors: Zack Rachel M , Irema Kahema , Kazonda Patrick , Leyna Germana H , Liu Enju , Gilbert Susan , Lukmanji Zohra , Spiegelman Donna , Fawzi Wafaie , Njelekela Marina , Killewo Japhet , Danaei Goodarz 
Published: April 2018

AbstractObjectiveFFQ are often used to estimate food and nutrient intakes to rank individuals by their level of intake. We evaluated the relative validity of a semi-quantitative FFQ created for use in Tanzania by comparing it with two 24 h diet recalls.DesignWe measured relative validity of the FFQ with deattenuated energy-adjusted rank correlations for nutrients, deattenuated rank correlations for food groups, and performed a cross-classification analysis of energy-adjusted nutrient quartiles using percentage of agreement and Bland–Altman analysis.SettingInterviews were conducted in 2014 in participants’ homes in Ukonga, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.SubjectsWe surveyed 317 adults aged 40 years or older from the general public.ResultsDeattenuated energy-adjusted rank correlation coefficients of nutrients ranged from −0·03 for riboflavin to 0·41 for percentage of energy from carbohydrates, with a median correlation of 0·21. Coefficients for food groups ranged from 0·00 for root vegetables to 0·51 for alcohol, with a median of 0·35. Relative to the average of the two 24 h diet recalls, the FFQ overestimated energy intake and intakes of all nutrients and food groups, other than tea, with ratios among nutrients ranging from 1·34 for SFA to 7·08 for vitamin A; and among food groups from 0·92 for tea to 9·00 for fruit. The percentage of participants classified into the same nutrient intake quartile ranged from 23 % for SFA to 32 % for both niacin and pantothenic acid, with a median of 28 %.ConclusionsThe FFQ performed moderately well in urban Tanzanian adults.
Improving wood properties for wood utilization through multi-omics integration in lignin biosynthesis
Authors: Wang Jack P. , Matthews Megan L. , Williams Cranos M. , Shi Rui , Yang Chenmin , Tunlaya-Anukit Sermsawat , Chen Hsi-Chuan , Li Quanzi , Liu Jie , Lin Chien-Yuan , Naik Punith , Sun Ying-Hsuan , Loziuk Philip L. , Yeh Ting-Feng , Kim Hoon , Gjersing Erica , Shollenberger Todd , Shuford Christopher M. , Song Jina , Miller Zachary , Huang Yung-Yun , Edmunds Charles W. , Liu Baoguang , Sun Yi , Lin Ying-Chung Jimmy , Li Wei , Chen Hao , Peszlen Ilona , Ducoste Joel J. , Ralph John , Chang Hou-Min , Muddiman David C. , Davis Mark F. , Smith Chris , Isik Fikret , Sederoff Ronald , Chiang Vincent L. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractA multi-omics quantitative integrative analysis of lignin biosynthesis can advance the strategic engineering of wood for timber, pulp, and biofuels. Lignin is polymerized from three monomers (monolignols) produced by a grid-like pathway. The pathway in wood formation of Populus trichocarpa has at least 21 genes, encoding enzymes that mediate 37 reactions on 24 metabolites, leading to lignin and affecting wood properties. We perturb these 21 pathway genes and integrate transcriptomic, proteomic, fluxomic and phenomic data from 221 lines selected from ~2000 transgenics (6-month-old). The integrative analysis estimates how changing expression of pathway gene or gene combination affects protein abundance, metabolic-flux, metabolite concentrations, and 25 wood traits, including lignin, tree-growth, density, strength, and saccharification. The analysis then predicts improvements in any of these 25 traits individually or in combinations, through engineering expression of specific monolignol genes. The analysis may lead to greater understanding of other pathways for improved growth and adaptation.
Nucleus accumbens controls wakefulness by a subpopulation of neurons expressing dopamine D1 receptors
Authors: Luo Yan-Jia , Li Ya-Dong , Wang Lu , Yang Su-Rong , Yuan Xiang-Shan , Wang Juan , Cherasse Yoan , Lazarus Michael , Chen Jiang-Fan , Qu Wei-Min , Huang Zhi-Li 
Published: April 2018

AbstractNucleus accumbens (NAc) is involved in behaviors that depend on heightened wakefulness, but its impact on arousal remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that NAc dopamine D1 receptor (D1R)-expressing neurons are essential for behavioral arousal. Using in vivo fiber photometry in mice, we find arousal-dependent increases in population activity of NAc D1R neurons. Optogenetic activation of NAc D1R neurons induces immediate transitions from non-rapid eye movement sleep to wakefulness, and chemogenetic stimulation prolongs arousal, with decreased food intake. Patch-clamp, tracing, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy reveal that NAc D1R neurons project to the midbrain and lateral hypothalamus, and might disinhibit midbrain dopamine neurons and lateral hypothalamus orexin neurons. Photoactivation of terminals in the midbrain and lateral hypothalamus is sufficient to induce wakefulness. Silencing of NAc D1R neurons suppresses arousal, with increased nest-building behaviors. Collectively, our data indicate that NAc D1R neuron circuits are essential for the induction and maintenance of wakefulness.
Self-replication of DNA by its encoded proteins in liposome-based synthetic cells
Authors: van Nies Pauline , Westerlaken Ilja , Blanken Duco , Salas Margarita , Mencía Mario , Danelon Christophe 
Published: April 2018

AbstractReplication of DNA-encoded information and its conversion into functional proteins are universal properties of life. In an effort toward the construction of a synthetic minimal cell, we implement here the DNA replication machinery of the Φ29 virus in a cell-free gene expression system. Amplification of a linear DNA template by self-encoded, de novo synthesized Φ29 proteins is demonstrated. Complete information transfer is confirmed as the copied DNA can serve as a functional template for gene expression, which can be seen as an autocatalytic DNA replication cycle. These results show how the central dogma of molecular biology can be reconstituted and form a cycle in vitro. Finally, coupled DNA replication and gene expression is compartmentalized inside phospholipid vesicles providing the chassis for evolving functions in a prospective synthetic cell relying on the extant biology.
Quantum spin liquid in the semiclassical regime
Authors: Rousochatzakis Ioannis , Sizyuk Yuriy , Perkins Natalia B. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractQuantum spin liquids (QSLs) have been at the forefront of correlated electron research ever since their proposal in 1973, and the realization that they belong to the broader class of intrinsic topological orders. According to received wisdom, QSLs can arise in frustrated magnets with low spin S, where strong quantum fluctuations act to destabilize conventional, magnetically ordered states. Here, we present a Z2 QSL ground state that appears already in the semiclassical, large-S limit. This state has both topological and symmetry-related ground-state degeneracy, and two types of gaps, a “magnetic flux” gap that scales linearly with S and an “electric charge” gap that drops exponentially in S. The magnet is the spin-S version of the spin-1/2 Kitaev honeycomb model, which has been the subject of intense studies in correlated electron systems with strong spin–orbit coupling, and in optical lattice realizations with ultracold atoms.
Late Miocene climate cooling and intensification of southeast Asian winter monsoon
Authors: Holbourn Ann E. , Kuhnt Wolfgang , Clemens Steven C. , Kochhann Karlos G. D. , Jöhnck Janika , Lübbers Julia , Andersen Nils 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe late Miocene offers the opportunity to assess the sensitivity of the Earth’s climate to orbital forcing and to changing boundary conditions, such as ice volume and greenhouse gas concentrations, on a warmer-than-modern Earth. Here we investigate the relationships between low- and high-latitude climate variability in an extended succession from the subtropical northwestern Pacific Ocean. Our high-resolution benthic isotope record in combination with paired mixed layer isotope and Mg/Ca-derived temperature data reveal that a long-term cooling trend was synchronous with intensification of the Asian winter monsoon and strengthening of the biological pump from ~7 Ma until ~5.5 Ma. The climate shift occurred at the end of a global δ13C decrease, suggesting that changes in the carbon cycle involving the terrestrial and deep ocean carbon reservoirs were instrumental in driving late Miocene climate cooling. The inception of cooler climate conditions culminated with ephemeral Northern Hemisphere glaciations between 6.0 and 5.5 Ma.
The effect of crystallite size on pressure amplification in switchable porous solids
Authors: Krause Simon , Bon Volodymyr , Senkovska Irena , Többens Daniel M. , Wallacher Dirk , Pillai Renjith S. , Maurin Guillaume , Kaskel Stefan 
Published: April 2018

AbstractNegative gas adsorption (NGA) in ordered mesoporous solids is associated with giant contractive structural transitions traversing through metastable states. Here, by systematically downsizing the crystal dimensions of a mesoporous MOF (DUT-49) from several micrometers to less than 200 nm, counterintuitive NGA phenomena are demonstrated to critically depend on the primary crystallite size. Adsorbing probe molecules, such as n-butane or nitrogen, gives insights into size-dependent activation barriers and thermodynamics associated with guest-induced network contraction. Below a critical crystal size, the nitrogen adsorption-induced breathing is completely suppressed as detected using parallelized synchrotron X-ray diffraction–adsorption instrumentation. In contrast, even the smallest particles show NGA in the presence of n-butane, however, associated with a significantly reduced pressure amplification. Consequently, the magnitude of NGA in terms of amount of gas expulsed and pressure amplification can be tuned, potentially paving the way towards innovative concepts for pressure amplification in micro- and macro-system engineering.
Biological recognition of graphene nanoflakes
Authors: Castagnola V. , Zhao W. , Boselli L. , Lo Giudice M. C. , Meder F. , Polo E. , Paton K. R. , Backes C. , Coleman J. N. , Dawson K. A. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe systematic study of nanoparticle–biological interactions requires particles to be reproducibly dispersed in relevant fluids along with further development in the identification of biologically relevant structural details at the materials–biology interface. Here, we develop a biocompatible long-term colloidally stable water dispersion of few-layered graphene nanoflakes in the biological exposure medium in which it will be studied. We also report the study of the orientation and functionality of key proteins of interest in the biolayer (corona) that are believed to mediate most of the early biological interactions. The evidence accumulated shows that graphene nanoflakes are rich in effective apolipoprotein A-I presentation, and we are able to map specific functional epitopes located in the C-terminal portion that are known to mediate the binding of high-density lipoprotein to binding sites in receptors that are abundant in the liver. This could suggest a way of connecting the materials' properties to the biological outcomes.