bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reduction of Donor Cornea Exposure to Repeat Warming Cycles and Evaluation Times After Implementation of a Rapid Warming Protocol
Authors: Clover Jameson , Ansin Amy , Stoeger Christopher G. , Terry Mark A. , Tran Khoa D. 
Published: April 2018

Purpose:
To compare tissue evaluation times and specular image quality before and after the implementation of rapid tissue warming at a single eye bank.

Methods:
This retrospective study compares the evaluation of 494 donor corneas. All corneas were stored in Optisol-GS. Group 1 contained 247 corneas evaluated immediately before implementation of a tissue incubator and tissue warming protocol. Group 2 contained 247 corneas evaluated immediately after implementation. Total evaluation times (including specular microscopy, optical coherence tomography for corneal thickness measurements, and 2 slit-lamp examinations) were calculated and compared. Representative specular images of donor corneas were rated and compared using a previously described scale by 2 masked readers.

Results:
Donor tissue characteristics were not significantly different between both groups (age, P = 0.87; sex, P = 0.93; endothelial cell densities, P = 0.47; and death-to-preservation times, P = 0.18). The mean total evaluation time for group 2 corneas was ∼3 hours, with 97% (201/208) of evaluations completed on the same day. In contrast, only 73% (164/225) of corneas from group 1 were completely evaluated in 1 day, and the mean evaluation time for those corneas was ∼4.25 hours (P < 0.01). Specular images of corneas from group 2 were rated 1 grade higher, on average, than those from group 1 (n = 247 in each group, P < 0.01). Furthermore, 71% of specular images from group 2 were categorized as “good” or “excellent” quality, whereas only 30% of corneas from group 1 received those ratings.

Conclusions:
Rapid tissue warming cuts down on tissue evaluation time and reduces the time donor corneas are out of cold storage. Better specular images were obtained after implementation of the rapid warming protocol.
Preoperative Illnesses in Children Do Not Increase the Risk of Complications After Hypospadias Repair
Authors: Dokter Elisabeth M.J. , Slikboer Karen M.A. , van der Zanden Loes F.M. , Rahamat-Langendoen Janette C. , Henriet Stefanie S.V. , Feitz Wout F.J. , Kortmann Barbara B.M. , Roeleveld Nel , van Rooij Iris A.L.M. 
Published: April 2018

Background:
Preoperative illnesses might induce immunosuppression and subsequently increase morbidity after surgery. Several studies have tried to identify risk factors for complications after hypospadias correction, but effects of illnesses in the weeks just before surgery are unknown. We aimed to determine the associations between preoperative illnesses not severe enough to postpone surgery and short-term complications after hypospadias repair in children.

Methods:
In this retrospective cohort study, data were collected from 681 children with anterior or middle type hypospadias that had initial 1-stage repair in the period 1983–2012 in the Radboudumc, The Netherlands. The associations between common illnesses, such as common cold, fever and ear infection, within 2 weeks before repair, and postoperative complications, such as urethrocutaneous fistula, wound dehiscence and stenosis, within 2 months and 1 year after surgery, were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analyses.

Results:
Of the 681 boys, 22% had preoperative illnesses, most often common cold, and 14% had postoperative complications. Children with preoperative illnesses had fewer postoperative complications within 2 months (n = 13, 9%) than children without preoperative illnesses (n = 79, 16%), resulting in a 50% risk reduction (odds ratio: 0.49; 95% confidence interval: 0.26–0.93). Preoperative infections (common cold, fever and ear infection), in particular, reduced the risk of postoperative infections (wound and urinary tract infections; odds ratio: 0.37; 95% confidence interval: 0.14–0.98). Results were similar for complications within 1 year.

Conclusions:
Common preoperative illnesses not severe enough to postpone surgery did not increase the postoperative complication risk and even seemed to have a protective effect, especially for postoperative infections. Consequently, there is no reason to alter preoperative screening.
Complex Polypharmacy in Patients With Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorders Before a Psychiatric Hospitalization
Authors: Gaudiano Brandon A. , Guzman Holst Carolina , Morena Alexandra , Reeves Lauren E. , Sydnor Valerie J. , Epstein-Lubow Gary , Weinstock Lauren M. 
Published: April 2018

Abstract

Background
Current evidence-based guidelines provide unclear support for many common polypharmacy practices in schizophrenia. Excessive or complex polypharmacy (≥4 psychotropics) has been studied in patients with bipolar disorder, but not in schizophrenia to date.

Methods
We conducted a digital medical record data extraction of 829 patients consecutively admitted to a psychiatric hospital and diagnosed as having schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

Results
In those prescribed psychiatric medication preadmission, 28.1% (n = 169) met the criteria for complex polypharmacy. Complex polypharmacy patients were older, female, white, and disabled, and had more comorbidities compared with those without complex polypharmacy. In multivariable analysis, complex polypharmacy was specifically associated with being white and disabled, and having a comorbid anxiety disorder, tobacco use disorder, metabolic condition, and neurological condition compared with noncomplex polypharmacy patients.

Conclusions
Although there is little evidence to support complex polypharmacy in schizophrenia, rates were relatively high in patients requiring hospitalization, especially when they are also diagnosed as having comorbid psychiatric and medical conditions. Future research is needed to study the risk-benefit profile for these patients, especially considering their higher medical burden and related health risks.
Efficacy and Safety of Agomelatine vs Paroxetine Hydrochloride in Chinese Han Patients with Major Depressive Disorder
Authors: Yu Yi-Min , Gao Ke-Run , Yu Hao , Shen Yi-Feng , Li Hua-Fang 
Published: April 2018

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of agomelatine and paroxetine in Chinese Han patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods
A 8-week, double-blind, randomized, parallel study was conducted in 14 medical centers in mainland China from December 2011 to September 2012. A total of 264 subjects with a primary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition diagnosis of MDD were randomly assigned to receive agomelatine 25–50 mg/d (n = 132) or paroxetine 20–40 mg/d (n = 132). The primary efficacy was evaluated by the decrease of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D17) scores. The secondary measurements of efficacy included Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, Sheehan Disability Scale, Clinical Global Impressions—Severity, and Clinical Global Impressions—Improvement. The laboratory test abnormity, and observed and self-reported adverse events were all assessed as the measurements of safety and tolerability.

Results
Both the agomelatine and paroxetine groups showed significant improvement from baseline to the end point (P < 0.05) without between-group differences (P > 0.05). The mean decrease of HAM-D17 of agomelatine group was not inferior to the paroxetine group over the 8-week treatment (agomelatine 15.26 ± 6.44 vs paroxetine 14.87 ± 5.89, δ = 2.0; μA–μB 95% confidence interval, −1.13 to 1.91). The percentage of responders at the last postbaseline assessment was similar in the 2 groups on both HAM-D17 (agomelatine 66.15% vs paroxetine 63.49%) and Clinical Global Impressions—Improvement (agomelatine 79.09% vs paroxetine 80.36%). The anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale) and sleep symptoms (sleep items of HAM-D17) of the patients were improved significantly in the 2 groups at week 8 without between-group differences (P > 0.05). The incidence of overall adverse events was similar in the 2 groups (agomelatine 49.62% vs paroxetine 56.15%, P > 0.05). The incidence of adverse events in skin and subcutaneous tissue was higher in the paroxetine group than in the agomelatine group (none in agomelatine and 4.62% in paroxetine, P = 0.0144).

Conclusions
Agomelatine showed equivalent antidepressant efficacy to paroxetine in treating MDD patients after 8 weeks of treatment with an acceptable safety.
Do Initial Symptom Factor Scores Predict Subsequent Impairment Following Concussion?
Authors: Cohen Paul E. , Sufrinko Alicia , Elbin Robert J. , Collins Michael W. , Sinnott Aaron M. , Kontos Anthony P. 
Published: April 2018

Objective:Symptom factors present during the first week following concussion may predict subsequent concussion outcomes and recovery duration. We hypothesized that a high loading on cognitive-fatigue-migraine and somatic factors would be predictive of neurocognitive impairment following concussion. We also hypothesized that the affective factor would be related to vestibular symptoms and impairment.Design:Prospective repeated measures.Setting:Concussion specialty clinic.Participants:Athletes aged 13 to 20 years diagnosed with a concussion within the past 7 days.Independent Variable:Symptom factors at the initial visit 1 to 7 days after injury.Main Outcome Measure:Symptom factor score, neurocognitive testing, and vestibular/ocular motor assessment at the second visit (2-4 weeks after injury).Results:The somatic symptom factor from the initial visit was significant (P< 0.05) in all vestibular/ocular screening components (P< 0.05) but not neurocognitive test performance (P> 0.05) at the second visit. The cognitive-migraine-fatigue and affective symptom factors predicted symptom burden at the second visit (P< 0.001) but did not predict recovery time (P= 0.200).Conclusions:The somatic symptom factor during the first week after injury predicted symptom provocation during vestibular/ocular screening at 2 to 4 weeks after injury. Specifically, higher scores on somatic symptom factor at the initial visit predicted worse symptom reporting for all vestibular/ocular screening components at the second visit. Patients with higher scores on the cognitive-migraine-fatigue and affective symptom factors at the initial visit predicted total symptom burden at the second visit.
Neutropenia and Increased Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) With Abnormal Neurologic Findings: A Case of Cobalamin D Deficiency
Authors: Soylu Ustkoyuncu Pembe , Kendirci Mustafa , Kardas Fatih , Gokay Songul , Per Huseyin , Kacar Bayram Ayse 
Published: April 2018

Background:
Disorders of intracellular cobalamin (Cbl) metabolism are classified from A to J according to biochemical phenotype, and genetic and complementation analyses. CblD-deficient patients present with developmental, hematologic, neurologic, and metabolic findings.

Clinical Observation:
An 11-year-old boy presented with neutropenia, increased mean corpuscular volume, psychomotor retardation, and seizures. His plasma total homocysteine and urinary methylmalonic acid levels were elevated, and a homozygous nonsense mutation [p. R250X (c.748C>T] leading to premature termination of translation was identified in the MMADHC gene, which was compatible with CblD defect.

Conclusion:
In the presence of increased mean corpuscular volume and other hematologic manifestations, such as leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and megaloblastic anemia, with severe nonspecific or mild neurologic symptoms, Cbl synthesis defects should be considered.
Diagnostic Accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the Staging and Assessment of Response to Chemotherapy in Children With Ewing Sarcoma
Authors: Ruggiero Antonio , Lanni Valerio , Librizzi Alberto , Maurizi Palma , Attinà Giorgio , Mastrangelo Stefano , Giordano Alessandro , Riccardi Riccardo 
Published: April 2018

Introduction:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential role of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT) in the staging and assessment of chemotherapy response in Ewing sarcoma.

Materials and Methods:
For 13 patients with Ewing sarcoma, whole-body FDG PET-CT was assessed for site of primary disease, disease extent, and response to therapy. Chest CT, localized magnetic resonance imaging or CT of primary site, and bone scintigrams were evaluated for imaging features of the primary lesion and presence or absence of metastatic disease. Response to therapy was also assessed. Descriptive statistics are reported.

Results:
Nine patients (69%) presented metastatic disease. All metastatic lung lesions were detected by spiral CT, but some failed to be detected using FDG PET-CT. As regards bone lesions, both FDG PET-CT and bone scans were able to identify bone metastasis, but FDG PET-CT identified more lesions than bone scans. All PET-CT scans at the end of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy showed a decreased FDG uptake.

Conclusions:
FDG PET-CT seems to be superior to bone scan in the detection of bone metastasis in all districts except skull bones. For pulmonary metastasis smaller than 7 mm, FDG PET-CT is less sensitive than CT. FDG PET-CT may have an important role in initial staging of Ewing sarcoma and subsequent evaluation of response to therapy.
Sexual Problems of Patients With Breast Cancer After Treatment
Authors: Chang Yun-Chen , Chang Shiow-Ru , Chiu Shih-Che 
Published: April 2018

Background
Sexual health is a crucial part of quality of life in breast cancer survivors, regardless of their relationship status. However, previous studies have rarely used qualitative methods to explore the postoperative experiences and feelings of patients with breast cancer.

Objective
The aim of this study was to examine the causes of changes in sexual relationships of breast cancer survivors, methods for adaptation to these changes, and healthcare interventions to facilitate the patients’ return to a normal life.

Interventions/Study Methods
A survey was performed by using five electronic databases and electronic journals accessed through the Internet. The following keywords were used: “breast cancer,” “sexual problem,” “sexual dysfunction,” and “qualitative.”

Results
Seven articles were included in the literature review. Three main domains were explored, namely, reasons for sexual relationship changes; the way patients used to adapt to sexual life after the diagnosis of breast cancer; and intervention by healthcare workers.

Conclusions
The results of this study can facilitate and encourage health professionals to identify, examine, and solve most of the patient’s sexual problems by using the functional and medical framework of the healthcare system.

Implications for Practice
One practical recommendation of this study is the incorporation of sexual counseling units into the national healthcare system. Counselors in these units can help breast cancer survivors solve problems and improve sexual satisfaction between couples.
Fusarium graminearum-induced shoot elongation and root reduction in maize seedlings correlate with later seedling blight severity
Authors: Zhou Shaoqun , Bae Justin S. , Bergstrom Gary C. , Jander Georg 
Published: April 2018

ABSTRACTFusarium graminearum seedling blight is a common disease of maize (Zea mays). Development of genetic resistance to seedling blight in maize germplasm requires efficient and accurate quantitative assessment of disease severity. Through artificial inoculation experiments under controlled growth conditions, we determined that host genotype, pathogen genotype, and infection dose influence the extent to which F. graminearum induces shoot elongation and inhibits root growth in maize seedlings. A comparison of fifteen maize inbred lines showed independent variation of these two fungus-induced effects on seedling growth. In a broader survey with nine commercial maize hybrids and three field-collected fungal isolates, there was significant correlation between these seedling growth responses, as well as with later seedling blight severity. Analysis of variance suggested that this variation and the observed correlative relationships were primarily driven by differing pathogenicity of the three fungal isolates. Together, our results indicate that F. graminearum-induced shoot elongation and root reduction in maize seedlings have distinct underlying physiological mechanisms, and that early observations of seedling growth responses can serve as a proxy for investigating natural variation in host resistance and pathogen aggressiveness at later growth stages.
A unifying framework for joint trait analysis under a non-infinitesimal model
Authors: Johnson Ruth , Shi Huwenbo , Pasaniuc Bogdan , Sankararaman Sriram 
Published: April 2018

AbstractMotivationA large proportion of risk regions identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are shared across multiple diseases and traits. Understanding whether this clustering is due to sharing of causal variants or chance colocalization can provide insights into shared etiology of complex traits and diseases.ResultsIn this work, we propose a flexible, unifying framework to quantify the overlap between a pair of traits called UNITY (Unifying Non-Infinitesimal Trait analYsis). We formulate a Bayesian generative model that relates the overlap between pairs of traits to GWAS summary statistic data under a non-infinitesimal genetic architecture underlying each trait. We propose a Metropolis-Hastings sampler to compute the posterior density of the genetic overlap parameters in this model. We validate our method through comprehensive simulations and analyze summary statistics from height and BMI GWAS to show that it produces estimates consistent with the known genetic makeup of both traits.AvailabilityThe UNITY software is made freely available to the research community at: https://github.com/bogdanlab/UNITYContactruthjohnson@ucla.eduSupplementary informationSupplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A common genomic code for chromatin architecture and recombination landscape
Authors: Jabbari Kamel , Wirtz Johannes , Rauscher Martina , Wiehe Thomas 
Published: April 2018

ABSTRACTRecent investigation established a link between DNA sequences and chromatin architecture and explained the evolutionary conservation of TADs (Topologically Associated Domains) and LADs (Lamina Associated Domains) in mammals. This prompted us to analyse the relationship between chromatin architecture and recombination landscapes of human and mouse. The results revealed that: (1) Blocks of elevated linkage disequilibrium tend to coincide with TADs and isochores, indicating co-evolving regulatory elements and genes in insulated neighbourhood; (2) double strand break (DSB) and recombination frequencies increase in GC-rich TADs, whereas recombination cold spots are typical of LADs; (3) binding and loading of proteins which are critical for DSB and meiotic recombination (Spo11, DMC1, H3K4me3 and PRMD9) are higher in GC-rich TADs. One explanation for these observations is that the occurrence of DSB and recombination in meiotic cells are associated to compositional and epigenetic features (genomic code) that are similar to those guiding the architecture of chromosomes in the interphase nucleus of pre-leptotene spermatocytes.
Dynamics of Plasma Lipidome in Progression to Islet Autoimmunity and Type 1 Diabetes – Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study (DIPP)
Authors: Lamichhane Santosh , Ahonen Linda , Dyrlund Thomas Sparholt , Kemppainen Esko , Siljander Heli , Hyöty Heikki , Ilonen Jorma , Toppari Jorma , Veijola Riitta , Hyötyläinen Tuulia , Knip Mikael , Oresic Matej 
Published: April 2018

AbstractType 1 diabetes (T1D) is one of the most prevalent autoimmune diseases among children in Western countries. Earlier metabolomics studies suggest that T1D is preceded by dysregulation of lipid metabolism. Here we used a lipidomics approach to analyze molecular lipids in a prospective series of 428 plasma samples from 40 children who progressed to T1D (PT1D), 40 children who developed at least a single islet autoantibody but did not progress to T1D during the follow-up (P1Ab) and 40 matched controls (CTR). Sphingomyelins were found to be persistently downregulated in PT1D when compared to the P1Ab and CTR groups. Triacylglycerols and phosphatidylcholines were mainly downregulated in PT1D as compared to P1Ab at the age of 3 months. Our study suggests that children who progressed to islet autoimmunity or overt T1D are characterized by distinct lipidomic signatures, which may be helpful in the identification of at-risk children before the initiation of autoimmunity.
Single-cell analysis identifies EpCAM+/CDH6+/TROP-2−cells as human liver progenitors
Authors: Segal Joe M , Wesche Daniel J , Serra Maria Paola , Oulès Bénédicte , Kent Deniz , Ng Soon Seng , Kar Gozde , Emerton Guy , Blackford Samuel J I , Darmanis Spyros , Miquel Rosa , Vinh Tu , Yamamoto Ryo , Bonham Andrew , Vigilante Alessandra , Teichmann Sarah , Quake Stephen R. , Nakauchi Hiromitsu , Rashid S Tamir 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe liver is largely composed of hepatocytes and bile duct epithelial cells (BECs). Controversy exists as to whether a liver stem/progenitor cell capable of renewing both hepatocytes and BECs exists. Single cell RNA sequencing of freshly isolated human foetal and healthy adult liver identified hepatocyte, hepatoblast and liver progenitor cell (hLPC) populations. hLPCs, found at the interface between hepatocytes and bile ducts in both foetal and adult tissue, were distinguishable from BECs by their negative expression of TROP-2. Prospective isolation followed by in vitro culture demonstrated their potential for expansion and bi-lineage differentiation. The hLPC expression signature was also conserved within expanded cell populations specific to certain cases of liver injury and cancer. These data support the idea of a true progenitor existing within healthy adult liver that can be activated upon injury. Further work to define the mechanisms regulating hLPC behaviour could advance understanding of human development and disease.
An ultralight head-mounted camera system integrates detailed behavioral monitoring with multichannel electrophysiology in freely moving mice
Authors: Meyer Arne F. , Poort Jasper , O’Keefe John , Sahani Maneesh , Linden Jennifer F. 
Published: April 2018

SummaryBreakthroughs in understanding the neural basis of natural behavior require neural recording and intervention to be paired with high-fidelity multimodal behavioral monitoring. An extensive genetic toolkit for neural circuit dissection, and well-developed neural recording technology, make the mouse a powerful model organism for systems neuroscience. However, methods for high-bandwidth acquisition of behavioral signals in mice remain limited to fixed-position cameras and other off-animal devices, complicating the monitoring of animals freely engaged in natural behaviors. Here, we report the development of an ultralight head-mounted camera system combined with head-movement sensors to simultaneously monitor eye position, pupil dilation, whisking, and pinna movements along with head motion in unrestrained, freely behaving mice. The power of the combined technology is demonstrated by observations linking eye position to head orientation; whisking to non-tactile stimulation; and, in electrophysiological experiments, visual cortical activity to volitional head movements.