bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of naloxegol on whole gut transit in opioid‐naïve healthy subjects receiving codeine: A randomized, controlled trial
Authors: Halawi H. , Vijayvargiya P. , Busciglio I. , Oduyebo I. , Khemani D. , Ryks M. , Rhoten D. , Burton D. , Szarka L. A. , Acosta A. , Camilleri M. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractBackgroundNausea, vomiting, and constipation (OIC) are common adverse effects of acute or chronic opioid use. Naloxegol (25 mg) is an approved peripherally active mu‐opiate opioid receptor antagonist.AimTo compare the effects on pan‐gut transit of treatment with codeine, naloxegol, or combination in healthy volunteers.MethodsWe conducted a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, single‐center, parallel‐group study in 72 healthy opioid‐naïve adults, randomized to: codeine (30 mg q.i.d.), naloxegol (25 mg daily), codeine and naloxegol, or matching placebo. During 3 days of treatment, we measured gastric emptying (GE) T1/2, colonic filling at 6 hours (CF6), colonic geometric center at 24 and 48 hours, and ascending colon emptying (ACE) T1/2.Key ResultsParticipants were 59.7% women, median BMI 25.0 kg/m2, and median age 33.8 years. Codeine significantly retarded GE T1/2, CF6, overall colonic transit, and ACE T1/2. There was significant difference (P = .026) in GE T1/2 between codeine (144.0 min [IQR 110.5‐238.6]) and naloxegol (95.5 min [89.1‐135.4]). There was a significant overall group difference in CF6 (P = .023), with significant difference (P = .019) between codeine (11.0% [0.0‐45.0]) and naloxegol (51% [18.8‐76.2]). However, no significant differences were found between codeine‐treated participants concomitantly receiving placebo or naloxegol.Conclusions and InferencesShort‐term administration of naloxegol (25 mg) in healthy, opioid‐naïve volunteers does not reverse the retardation of gastric, small bowel, or colonic transit induced by acute administration of codeine. Further studies with naloxegol at higher dose are warranted to assess the ability to reverse the retardation of transit caused by acute administration of codeine in opioid‐naïve subjects.
Simulation of growth and yield of various irrigated rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes by AquaCrop under different seedling ages
Authors: Seyed Raoufi Roxana , Soufizadeh Saeid , Amiri Larijani Bahman , AghaAlikhani Majid , Kambouzia Jafar 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe ability of AquaCrop was explored in simulating growth and development of irrigated rice genotypes under various seedling ages. Experiments were conducted in 2008 and 2009 in Amol, Iran. Local and improved cultivars were chosen (Tarom, Ghaem, and Fajr) and planted under various seedling ages. Results showed that AquaCrop simulated the rice growth and yield with reasonable accuracy. The model could follow the same order in simulated grain yield. However, the model had tendency toward slight overestimation of dry matter early in the season. AquaCrop could not capture the senescence of rice genotypes of the oldest seedling age very well and tended to keep leaves green for a longer period. The canopy cover (CC) of improved cutivars was simulated satisfactorily. Overall, it was concluded that AquaCrop is a good tool to simulate the behavior of various rice genotypes, especially improved ones, for management practices established upon seedling age variability.Recommendations for Resource Managers
AquaCrop‐Rice is a practical and strong while easy‐to‐run crop simulation model that could be used successfully by extension services and farmers for decision making on their best‐management practices.
AquaCrop is able to simulate successfully the effect of variability in seedling age on rice, an important management option by farmers, especially under variable starting window of the growing season in coastal regions with higher climate variability.
AquaCrop can successfully capture genotypic variability in rice, which points to its capability to be used for deciding on best rice genotype in a region yielding in higher resource use efficiency.
Combination of the best pacing configuration and atrioventricular and interventricular delays optimization in cardiac resynchronization therapy
Authors: Socie Pierre , Squara Fabien , Semichon Marc , Thomas Olivier , Khemache Alain , Riccini Philippe , Squara Pierre , Algalarrondo Vincent , Moubarak Ghassan 
Published: February 2018

AbstractBackgroundCardiac resynchronization therapy optimization can be pursued by left ventricular pacing vector selection and atrioventricular (AV) and interventricular (VV) delays optimization. The combination of these methods and its comparison with multipoint pacing (MPP) is scarcely studied.MethodsUsing noninvasive cardiac output (CO) measurement, the best of five left ventricular pacing vectors was determined, then AV and VV delays optimization was applied on top of the best vector. Response to the optimization protocol was defined as a >5% CO increase compared to the standard biventricular configuration.ResultsTwenty‐two patients (18 men, age 71 ± 9 years) were included. Standard biventricular configuration increased CO compared to baseline (4.65 ± 1.55 L/min vs 4.27 ± 1.53 L/min, respectively, P = 0.02). The best quadripolar configuration increased CO to 4.85 ± 1.67 L/min (P = 0.03 compared to the standard biventricular configuration). AV then VV delay optimization both provided additional benefit (final CO 5.56 ± 2.03 L/min, P = 0.001 compared to the best quadripolar configuration). Fifteen (68%) patients responded to the optimization protocol. Anatomical MPP (based on maximal anatomical separation between electrodes) and electrical MPP (based on maximal electrical activation difference between electrodes) were evaluated in 16 patients and yielded a CO similar to that of the optimization procedure.ConclusionsThe combination of choosing the best quadripolar pacing configuration and optimizing atrioventricular and interventricular delays resulted in an improvement of cardiac output compared to standard biventricular stimulation in 68% of patients. The final cardiac output was comparable to multipoint pacing.
Acquired long QT syndrome and torsade de pointes
Authors: El‐Sherif Nabil , Turitto Gioia , Boutjdir Mohamed 
Published: February 2018

AbstractSince its initial description by Jervell and Lange‐Nielsen in 1957, the congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) has been the most investigated cardiac ion channelopathy. Although congenital LQTS continues to remain the domain of cardiologists, cardiac electrophysiologists, and specialized centers, the by far more frequent acquired drug‐induced LQTS is the domain of all physicians and other members of the health care team who are required to make therapeutic decisions. This report will review the electrophysiological mechanisms of LQTS and torsade de pointes, electrocardiographic characteristics of acquired LQTS, its clinical presentation, management, and future directions in the field.
Repeated mating with the same male increases female longevity and fecundity in a polyandrous leaf beetle Galerucella birmanica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
Authors: Wang Luyao , Meng Min , Wang Yongmo 
Published: February 2018

AbstractFemale multiple mating (polyandry) is widespread across Insecta, even if mating can be costly to females. To explain the evolution and maintenance of polyandry, several hypotheses, mainly focusing on the material (direct) and/or the genetic (indirect) benefits, have been proposed and empirically tested in many species. Considering only the direct benefits, repeatedly‐mated females are expected to exhibit the same fitness as multiply‐mated females under the same mating frequency. In the present study, we compare the fitness of females received monandrous repeated mating (MM) and polyandrous multiple mating (PM) in a polyandrous leaf beetle Galerucella birmanica and assess female mate preference with regard to polyandry or monandry. Our data indicate that the longevity and the egg‐laying duration of MM females are significantly longer than that of PM females. MM females produce significantly more hatched eggs than PM females over their lifetime under the same mating frequency, which results from the high hatching rate of eggs produced by MM females. PM females mated with novel virgin males in the second mating suffer decreased longevity and lifetime fecundity compared with PM females mated with novel mated males in the second mating. Once‐mated females are more likely to re‐mate with familiar males than novel males. By contrast to expectations, the results of the present study suggest that repeated mating provides females with more direct benefits than multiple mating in G. birmanica, and females prefer to re‐mate with familiar males. The possible causes of this finding are discussed.
Porphyry Copper Potential in Japan Based on Magmatic Oxidation State
Authors: Hattori Keiko 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe formation of large porphyry Cu deposits requires shallow intrusion of felsic stocks that are injected into the focused sites of the mineralization. The parental magmas for these igneous rocks are oxidized, with a fO2 above FMQ + 2 (2 logarithmic units above fO2 of fayalite‐magnetite‐quartz buffer), which enables the magmas to transport large amounts of S and metals. The Japanese islands contain continental and island‐arc magmatic belts of various ages, from Mesozoic to recent, that were formed in response to westward subduction of oceanic plates. Mesozoic–Paleocene magmatism formed arcs on the eastern margin of Eurasia before the opening of the Sea of Japan. The back‐arc rifting that formed the Sea of Japan separated these igneous rocks from Eurasia, with their relics exposed as volcano–plutonic belts in Japan. Among these, the San‐in belt is the only representative of an upper crustal section that includes magnetite‐bearing granitic rocks. The opening of the Sea of Japan was accompanied by the asthenospheric mantle upwelling and eruption of oceanic magma. This was followed by extensive Miocene submarine volcanic activity that formed the Green Tuff belt. The current configuration of the Japanese islands was established in Pliocene. Young arcs, such as the Kuril, Izu‐Bonin, and Ryukyu arcs, are largely composed of mafic magmas, with accompanying asthenospheric upwelling in back‐arc extension. As the asthenospheric mantle and associated magmas have a reduced fO2, below FMQ (fayalite‐magnetite‐quartz buffer), continual upwelling of asthenospheric mantle creates limited areas of potential porphyry Cu mineralization in Japanese islands. Possible prospective areas include young stratovolcanoes in Honshu and Kyushu islands. Fertile rocks that may be associated with porphyry Cu mineralization can be identified by evaluating their magmatic oxidation conditions through mineralogical and mineral chemistry studies.
Prevention of hypophosphatemia during continuous renal replacement therapy—An overlooked problem
Authors: Heung Michael , Mueller Bruce A. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractHypophosphatemia is a common and potentially serious complication occurring during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). Phosphate supplementation is required in the vast majority of patients undergoing CRRT, particularly beyond the first 48 hours. Supplementation can be provided either as a standalone oral or parenteral treatment or as an additive to CRRT solutions. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, and clinicians must weigh the individual factors most relevant in their practice setting. Currently there are no consensus protocols for phosphate replacement in CRRT, and many centers replete phosphate in response to hypophosphatemia as opposed to pre‐emptively. Repletion protocols have also been challenged in recent years by shortages in injectable phosphate solutions. More recently a commercially available phosphate‐containing CRRT solution was approved in the United States, but there has been limited clinical experience with this product. In this review, we present recommendations for phosphate repletion in CRRT to prevent hypophosphatemia, and describe our experience using phosphate‐containing CRRT solutions.
Sixty years after Titmuss: New findings on occupational welfare in Europe
Authors: Natali David , Keune Maarten , Pavolini Emmanuele , Seeleib‐Kaiser Martin 
Published: February 2018

AbstractFollowing the seminal work of Richard Titmuss, who coined the term occupational welfare (OW) 60 years ago, the article approaches OW provision in Europe today. We first define OW as the sum of extra‐statutory social benefits and services provided by employers and/or trade unions as a result of employment. We then look at its recent evolution: OW expenditure and coverage have been increasing significantly in Europe since the 1990s. While pensions are still the main policy area of OW, the latter has also advanced in other social protection areas (e.g., health insurance, reconciliation). This has led to four different ideal types of OW—defined on the base of their organizing principle (voluntarism vs. collectivism) and the level of OW scheme coverage and expenditure. By looking at the main drivers of OW, the analysis has found no evidence of a “crowding out” effect between public welfare and OW. Collective bargaining, national political economy, and the timing of reforms prove to be important factors explaining the OW development. As for the present and future of OW, dualization is a major risk. At present, the main fault lines created by OW follow sectoral, industry, company size, and occupational group lines. To avoid the worsening of inequalities originated by OW, even in those countries which were able in the past to avoid dualization, strong industrial relations may play a key role. The article concludes with some suggestions on the agenda of future OW research.
Dualization and the access to occupational family‐friendly working‐time arrangements across Europe
Authors: Chung Heejung 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThis article examines outsiders' relative access to occupational level family‐friendly policies. I use data from the European Working Conditions Survey of 2015 across 30 European countries examining workers' access to two types of family‐friendly working‐time arrangements (WTAs): flexitime, and time off work for personal reasons. The article focuses on women with care responsibilities given that their demands for family‐friendly policies, as well as their outcomes, have been shown to be distinct from the rest of the working population. In addition to the outsider definition used in the labor market dualization and occupational segmentation literature, i.e., low‐skilled workers and those without a permanent contract, this article also defines outsiders as those perceiving their job as insecure. The results of the analysis show a segmentation between workers in their access to family‐friendly policies. Unlike statutory policies, occupational policies seem to be selectively provided mostly to workers where employers have a vested interest, i.e., insiders, resulting in a dualized system for most countries. However, rather than their contract status, the skill‐level of the job/workers, and their perceived insecurity were found to be important. The results further show that although Northern European and some continental European countries are those where family‐friendly WTAs are more readily available, it is in these countries where the division between insiders and outsiders is the greatest. The results of the article contribute to the literature by showing a need to move beyond the national level when examining family‐friendly policies, and to examine a more diverse definition of outsiders when examining dualization of working conditions.
At the heart of the Nordic occupational welfare model: Occupational welfare trajectories in Sweden and Denmark
Authors: Greve Bent 
Published: February 2018

AbstractSweden and Denmark are countries with a strong tradition of the involvement of labor market partners in welfare policies, and this begs the question whether this influences the development of occupational welfare. This article depicts the reasons for, and the development of, occupational welfare, especially in relation to pensions, sickness benefit, and parental leave. The interaction between an in principle universal tax‐financed welfare state and the use of occupational welfare, often supported using fiscal welfare, implies a deviation from the Nordic model, as universality is no longer guaranteed. The article further raises the issue of whether this will increase inequality because of the dualization on the labor market, and whether Sweden and Denmark are similar or dissimilar in relation to the development in the use of, and the impact of, occupational welfare. Lastly, the article discusses the fact that occupational welfare might mitigate the consequence of retrenchment by passing on expenditures to employers. Thus, arguing that an increase in occupational welfare is due to the gradual reduction in welfare state benefits, and that trade unions' strength has influenced the level. The conclusion of the article is that what social partners thought of as a supplement has now moved the Nordic welfare states away from their universal approach.
Arabidopsis replication factor C4 is critical for DNA replication during the mitotic cell cycle
Authors: Qian Jie , Chen Yueyue , Hu Ying , Deng Yingtian , Liu Yang , Li Gang , Zou Wenxuan , Zhao Jie 
Published: February 2018

SummaryReplication factor C (RFC) is a conserved eukaryotic complex consisting of RFC1/2/3/4/5. It plays important roles in DNA replication and the cell cycle in yeast and fruit fly. However, it is not very clear how RFC subunits function in higher plants, except for the Arabidopsis (At) subunits AtRFC1 and AtRFC3. In this study, we investigated the functions of AtRFC4 and found that loss of function of AtRFC4 led to an early sporophyte lethality that initiated as early as the elongated zygote stage, all defective embryos arrested at the two‐ to four‐cell embryo proper stage, and the endosperm possessed six to eight free nuclei. Complementation of rfc4‐1/+ with AtRFC4 expression driven through the embryo‐specific DD45pro and ABI3pro or the endosperm‐specific FIS2pro could not completely restore the defective embryo or endosperm, whereas a combination of these three promoters in rfc4‐1/+ enabled the aborted ovules to develop into viable seeds. This suggests that AtRFC4 functions simultaneously in endosperm and embryo and that the proliferation of endosperm is critical for embryo maturation. Assays of DNA content in rfc4‐1/+ verified that DNA replication was disrupted in endosperm and embryo, resulting in blocked mitosis. Moreover, we observed a decreased proportion of late S‐phase and M‐phase cells in the rfc4‐1/–FIS2;DD45;ABI3pro::AtRFC4 seedlings, suggesting that incomplete DNA replication triggered cell cycle arrest in cells of the root apical meristem. Therefore, we conclude that AtRFC4 is a crucial gene for DNA replication.
Mechanistic Features of the Enterococcal pCF10 Sex Pheromone Response and the Biology of Enterococcus faecalis in Its Natural Habitat
Authors: Breuer Rebecca J. , Hirt Helmut , Dunny Gary M. 
Published: February 2018

ABSTRACT

Conjugative transfer of plasmids in enterococci is promoted by intercellular communication using peptide pheromones. The regulatory mechanisms that control transfer have been extensively studied
in vitro
. However, the complicated systems that regulate the spread of these plasmids did not evolve in the laboratory test tube, and remarkably little is known about this form of signaling in the intestinal tract, the primary niche of these organisms. Because the evolution of
Enterococcus faecalis
strains and their coresident pheromone-inducible plasmids, such as pCF10, have occurred in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, it is important to consider the functions controlled by pheromones in light of this ecology. This review summarizes our current understanding of the pCF10-encoded pheromone response. We consider how selective pressures in the natural environment may have selected for the complex and very tightly regulated systems controlling conjugation, and we pay special attention to the ecology of enterococci and the pCF10 plasmid as a gut commensal. We summarize the results of recent studies of the pheromone response at the single-cell level, as well as those of the first experiments demonstrating a role for pheromone signaling in plasmid transfer and in GI tract competitive fitness. These results will serve as a foundation for further
in vivo
studies that could lead to novel interventions to reduce opportunistic infections and the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Induction of Interferon Kappa in Human Papillomavirus 16 Infection by Transforming Growth Factor Beta-Induced Promoter Demethylation
Authors: Woodby Brittany L. , Songock William K. , Scott Matthew L. , Raikhy Gaurav , Bodily Jason M. 
Published: February 2018

ABSTRACT
Persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the major causal factor in cervical and other anogenital cancers. Because there are currently no therapeutics capable of preventing neoplastic progression of HPV infections, understanding the mechanisms of HPV-mediated persistence, including immune evasion, is a major research priority. The multifunctional growth factor transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) has been shown to inhibit expression of early viral transcripts from cells harboring integrated HPV genomes or cells infected with retroviruses expressing HPV oncoproteins. However, the mechanism of TGFβ-induced inhibition has not been fully defined. In this study, we have observed a previously uncharacterized ability of TGFβ to repress the differentiation-induced upregulation of late HPV16 gene expression. In addition, interferon kappa (IFN-κ), a keratinocyte-specific, constitutively expressed cytokine suppressed by differentiation, can be transcriptionally induced by TGFβ1. TGFβ-mediated IFN-κ transcription only occurs in cells containing HPV16, and this is due to TGFβ1-mediated reversal of HPV-induced methylation of the IFN-κ promoter through active DNA demethylation mediated by thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG). This novel interaction between growth factor and innate immune signaling may shed light on the mechanisms of HPV persistence and how the virus manipulates both immune and growth factor signaling to promote its life cycle.

IMPORTANCE
Persistent infection by high-risk HPVs is the primary risk factor for development of HPV-induced cancers. Persistence involves viral evasion of the immune response, including the IFN response. HPV is also known to suppress TGFβ signaling, which inhibits viral gene expression. Here, we show that the TGFβ and IFN pathways are interrelated in the context of HPV16 infection through the upregulation of IFN-κ by TGFβ. The ability of TGFβ to induce IFN-κ promoter demethylation and transcriptional activation provides a new explanation for why HPV has evolved mechanisms to inhibit TGFβ in infected cells.