bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Female Physicians in Maternal–Fetal Medicine: A 32-Year Perspective
Authors: Will Vanessa , Rayburn William , Blackstone Jacquelyn 
Published: May 2018

Objective To examine trends of female physicians either pursuing fellowships or in active practice in maternal–fetal medicine (MFM).
Methods This observational study examined complete sets of MFM fellows and active members of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) between 1985 and 2016. Databases from SMFM, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education were used. Analysis of covariance testing was used to assess interactions over time between groups.
Results The proportion of female MFM fellows increased steadily from 17.1% in 1985 to 72.5% in 2016. The proportion of females grew more rapidly among the MFM fellows than obstetrics and gynecology (ob-gyn) residents (2.1 vs. 1.4% per year; p = 0.001) and among those who were active SMFM members than ACOG Fellows (1.4 vs. 1.2% per year; p = 0.013). Slightly more than half (52.4%) of all SMFM members are now female and will approach two-thirds (64.4%) by 2025 (compared with 53.4% in 2016 and 65.3% in 2025 of ACOG fellows).
Conclusion The rising proportion of female MFM fellows is directly related to the high number of female ob-gyn residents. Females comprise slightly more than half of all active SMFM members now and projected to approach two-thirds by 2025.
Is It Necessary to Measure Thyroid Hormone Levels in Children Receiving Antiepileptic Drugs?
Authors: Abdel Aziz Reem A. , Abu ELela Mostafa A. 
Published: May 2018

Purpose This article evaluates the effect of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) on thyroid function tests in children with epilepsy.
Methodology One hundred twenty children were studied, with 40 patients taking older generation AEDs Na valproate (N = 20) and carbamazepine (N = 20), 40 patients taking newer generation AEDs levetiracetam (N = 20) and oxcarbazepine (N = 20), and 40 healthy children as controls. Serum T3, T4, FT4, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were measured.
Results Patients taking Na valproate had lower T3, T4, and a higher TSH level than controls. Patients taking carbamazepine had the lowest T3, T4, and FT4 serum levels among patients receiving AEDs.
Conclusion The thyroid function tests were affected by the use of Na valproate and carbamazepine compared to both the control group and the group taking newer AEDs oxcarbazepine and levetiracetam. In addition, there was no effect of levetiracetam on thyroid function test results.
Prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in alcoholic, non-alcoholic and autoimmune pancreatitis
Authors: Hirth Michael , Weiss Christel , Weidner Philip , Antoni Christoph , Thomann Anne , Reindl Wolfgang , Ebert Matthias P. , Pfützer Roland H. , Schneider Alexander 
Published: May 2018

Abstract
Objectives Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) frequently reveal features of pancreatic inflammation. However, the prevalence of IBD in patients with alcoholic pancreatitis (AP) and nonalcoholic pancreatitis (NAP) has not yet been determined, and the prevalence of IBD in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis (AiP) from Germany is unknown.
Aims Thus, we aimed, first, to determine the prevalence of IBD in AP, NAP, and AiP from a tertiary center in Germany and, second, to characterize patients with AiP and IBD.
Methods We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of IBD in patients with different forms of pancreatitis presenting to our clinic.
Results Compared to the general population and to a control group with viral hepatitis from our clinic, we observed the most significant increase of IBD in patients with AiP (n = 3/28; p < 0.0001 vs. general population, binomial proportion test; p = 0.0112 vs. hepatitis group, Fisher’s exact test), followed by a significant increase in subjects with NAP (n = 11/278; p < 0.0001 vs. general population, binomial proportion test; p = 0.0338 vs. hepatitis group, Fisher’s exact test). A review of previous studies on the prevalence of IBD among patients with AiP revealed a combined prevalence of 12 % (n = 43/355). Type 2 AiP is significantly more often associated with IBD than type 1 AiP (n = 28/48, 58 % vs. n = 7/129, 5 %; combined patient cohort, p < 10E − 12; Fisher’s exact test).
Conclusions Immune-mediated mechanisms related to IBD may participate in the development of AiP, especially AiP type 2, and may also increase the risk for the development of other forms of pancreatic inflammation.
Cotranslocational processing of the protein substrate calmodulin by an AAA+ unfoldase occurs via unfolding and refolding intermediates
Authors: Augustyniak Rafal , Kay Lewis E. 
Published: May 2018

Significance
In the cell, proteins are continuously synthesized and degraded. Degradation as well as unraveling of aggregated proteins depends on the activity of a family of ATP-driven ring-shaped unfoldases that catalyze unfolding of protein substrates by threading them through central ring channels. Here we follow the unfolding, translocation, and refolding of a substrate as it passes through the central pore of VAT, an archetypal unfoldase, using a method based on chemical cross-linking and methyl transverse relaxation-optimized NMR spectroscopy. The approach yields insights about how molecular machines are able to unfold protein targets, showing that for multidomain proteins unfolding can proceed in a series of steps that vary depending on whether the substrate is unfolded from its N or C terminus.
Developing a molecular dynamics force field for both folded and disordered protein states
Authors: Robustelli Paul , Piana Stefano , Shaw David E. 
Published: May 2018

Significance
Many proteins that perform important biological functions are completely or partially disordered under physiological conditions. Molecular dynamics simulations could be a powerful tool for the structural characterization of such proteins, but it has been unclear whether the physical models (force fields) used in simulations are sufficiently accurate. Here, we systematically compare the accuracy of a number of different force fields in simulations of both ordered and disordered proteins, finding that each force field has strengths and limitations. We then describe a force field that substantially improves on the state-of-the-art accuracy for simulations of disordered proteins without sacrificing accuracy for folded proteins, thus broadening the range of biological systems amenable to molecular dynamics simulations.
Suppressor mutation analysis combined with 3D modeling explains cohesin’s capacity to hold and release DNA
Authors: Xu Xingya , Kanai Ryuta , Nakazawa Norihiko , Wang Li , Toyoshima Chikashi , Yanagida Mitsuhiro 
Published: May 2018

Significance
The heterodimeric cohesin SMC complex embraces duplex DNA and is associated with Rad21, which is cleaved in mitotic anaphase by a protease called separase/Cut1. Upon Rad21 cleavage, chromosomal DNAs are released from cohesin and segregated. We identified extragenic suppressors for separase and cohesin temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants using whole-genome sequencing and made the surprising discovery that cleavage of Rad21 is largely dispensable if suppressor causes physical disorders of cohesin interfaces among essential subunits. The predicted disorders provide insights into a DNA “hold-and-release” model in which hinge and head of SMC subunits are proximal to form arched coiled coils that close or open by their orientation. The model is distinct from the “ring” model and may promote further study.
Discursive strategies in corporate image building of Monsanto
Authors: Koca-Helvacı Zeynep Cihan 
Published: May 2018

AbstractSince the public’s awareness and interest in the usage of biotechnology in agriculture has increased drastically, this study seeks to discover the macro and micro discursive strategies in corporate image building by Monsanto, which is not only the leader but also happens to be the most criticized company of the agribusiness market (Mitchell, 2014). By means of triangulating the Socio-Cognitive Approach (van Dijk, 1995), Legitimation Theory (van Leeuwen, 2007) and Corpus Linguistic techniques, discourse topics, group schemata and legitimation strategies were investigated to understand how Monsanto presents its self-image through the sustainability reports of 2014 and 2015. It is seen that Monsanto’s self-presentation is heavily built upon scientific expertise, authority figures, dynamism and altruism with the claim of providing safe and affordable food for everyone. One of the most striking findings is the agribusiness giant’s frequent use of the negative mental imagery associated with climate change and population growth to justify the need for its genetically engineered products for a sustainable world.
Validating extremism
Authors: Winkler Carol , el-Damanhoury Kareem , Lemieux Anthony F. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractDaesh’s centralized media operations provide a steady stream of media products to citizens living in and around its controlled territories, with the result that several nations occupied or adjacent to the group have emerged as many of the most fruitful recruiting grounds for new members. To better understand the argumentation strategies targeting such audiences, this study examines the 119 infographics in the first 50 issues of Daesh’s official weekly Arabic newsletter,al-Naba’. The findings suggest that through a patterned application of statistical, historical, religious, and scientific arguments from authority to predictable topical areas, the infographics in al-Naba’ reinforce Daesh as a key source of information for the citizenry of the proclaimed caliphate.
An analysis of Arabic metaphorical and/or metonymical compounds
Authors: Zibin Aseel , Altakhaineh Abdel Rahman Mitib Salim 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThis study provides an analysis of Arabic metaphorical and/or metonymical compounds, extracted from a 20,000-word corpus, based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Conceptual Blending Theory. The analysis focuses on the semantic transparency of these compounds, on the one hand, and their linguistic creativity, on the other. In line with Benczes (2006,2010), we suggest that the comprehension of Arabic metaphorical and/or metonymical compounds is possibly one of degree depending on which element is affected by metaphor and metonymy. Here, it is proposed that there are compounds which are more creative than others. We argue that in addition to the degree of semantic transparency and linguistic creativity of Arabic metaphorical and/or metonymical compounds, there are other factors that can influence the comprehension of these compounds; namely, the frequency of the compound, the conventionality of the metaphors involved in the compound and whether conceptual metonymy acts on the compound. Our proposal is supported by the judgments of 12 native-speaker informants, who were asked to provide the meaning of 35 Arabic metaphorical and/or metonymical compounds. The study concludes with recommendations for further research.
Diglossia
Authors: Daniëls Helge 
Published: May 2018

AbstractDiglossia is, as far as the Arabic language is concerned, a concept that has been taken for granted, as much as it has been criticized. First, based on Ferguson’s article on diglossia and subsequent interpretations and ramifications of the concept and with a special focus on how language variability is discursively deployed and how it is perceived in the Arab speech community, I will argue that diglossia does not so much describe actual language use, but rather how language variability is ‘read’ in the Arab world. In the second part of the article, an analysis of labeling in a 19th century debate will show how the dichotomy betweenfuṣḥāand non-fuṣḥāvarieties (ʿāmmīya),1which is the basis of diglossia, was already taken for granted long before the concept and the term existed, and even beforefuṣḥāandʿāmmīyawere used as independent lexical items. The analysis in both parts of the article shows how much diglossia is taken for granted by most native speakers of Arabic, even if it defies linguistic descriptions of actual language use. It is exactly this ‘common-sense-ness’ that suggests that diglossia is a useful tool to describe language ideological attitudes.
Refusals in Early Modern English drama texts
Authors: Reichl Isabella 
Published: May 2018

Abstract
Due to their largely non-routinized forms and their not being retrievable in computerised corpus searches, refusals have hitherto not been examined from a diachronic perspective. The present paper presents an inventory of refusal strategies in Early Modern English drama texts. Five comedies from two periods (1560–1599 and 1720–1760), respectively, taken from the Corpus of English Dialogues 1560–1760 (Kytö and Culpeper 2006) were examined manually and analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The analysis lead to an alternative classification of refusals which differs considerably from the frequently used taxonomy by Beebe, Takahashi, and Uliss-Weltz (1990). The proposed classification takes into account three levels of analysis: the propositional content of the utterance, the functional super-strategy, and the speaker’s stance. The development of refusal within the period under investigation partially matches findings regarding related speech acts that show a development towards increased indirectness (Culpeper and Demmen 2011, Pakkala-Weckström 2008, Del Lungo Camiciotti 2008).
HITS-CLIP reveals sex-differential RNA binding and alterative splicing regulation of SRm160 in Drosophila
Authors: Qiu Chen , Zhang Yu , Fan Yu-Jie , Pang Ting-Lin , Su Yan , Zhan Shuai , Xu Yong-Zhen 
Published: May 2018

Abstract
Serine/arginine (SR)-rich proteins are critical for the regulation of alternative splicing (AS), which generates multiple mRNA isoforms from one gene and provides protein diversity for cell differentiation and tissue development. Genetic evidence suggests that Drosophila genital-specific overexpression of SR-related nuclear matrix protein of 160 kDa (SRm160), an SR protein with a PWI RNA-binding motif, causes defective development only in male flies and results in abnormal male genital structures and abnormal testis. However, the molecular characterization of SRm160 is limited. Using the high-throughput sequencing of RNA isolated by crosslinking immunoprecipitation (HITS-CLIP) method in two sex-specific embryonic cell lines, S2 from the male and Kc from the female, we first identified the genome-wide RNA-binding characteristics of SRm160, which preferred binding to the exonic tri-nucleotide repeats GCA and AAC. We then validated this binding through both in vitro gel-shift assay and in vivo splicing of minigenes and found that SRm160 level affects AS of many transcripts. Furthermore, we identified 492 differential binding sites (DBS) of SRm160 varying between the two sex-specific cell lines. Among these DBS-containing genes, splicing factors were highly enriched, including transformer, a key regulator in the sex determination cascade. Analyses of fly mutants demonstrated that the SRm160 level affects AS isoforms of transformer. These findings shed crucial light on SRm160’s RNA-binding specificity and regulation of AS in Drosophila sex determination and development.
PTSD Symptoms and Acute Pain in the Emergency Department
Authors: Lillis Teresa A. , Burns John , Aranda Frances , Purim-Shem-Tov Yanina A. , Bruehl Stephen , Beckham Jean C. , Hobfoll Stevan E. 
Published: May 2018

Background:Given high levels of traumatic stress for low-income, inner-city women, investigating the link between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain is especially important.Purpose:Using the conservation of resources theory, we investigated direct and indirect relationships of PTSD symptoms, vulnerability factors (ie, resource loss, depressive symptoms, and social undermining), and resilience factors (ie, optimism, engagement, and social support) to acute pain reports in a sample of low-income, inner-city women.Methods:Participants (N=341; mean age=28 y; 58.0% African American) were recruited from an inner-city Emergency Department following presentation with acute pain. Study data were gathered from psychosocial questionnaires completed at a baseline interview.Results:Structural equation modeling examined direct and indirect relationships among PTSD symptoms, vulnerability factors, and resilience factors on self-reported pain intensity and pain interference. PTSD symptoms were directly related to higher pain intensity and pain interference and indirectly related through positive associations with vulnerability factors (allPs<0.05). Pathways through resilience factors were not supported.Conclusions:Results suggest that presence of PTSD symptoms is associated with elevated acute pain responses both indirectly via psychosocial vulnerability factors and directly, independent of the psychosocial factors assessed. Resilience factors did not play a significant role in determining acute pain responses. Consistent with conservation of resources theory, the negative effects of vulnerability factors outweighed the positive effects of resilience factors.
Osteoarthritis of the knee refractory to standard care: comparison of intraarticular hylan G-F 20 with triamcinolone acetonide. A real life study in a developing country
Authors: Razzaque Md. Abdur , Islam Md. Nazrul , Devnath Nandita , Ferdous Nira , Nazrul Fahid Bin , Rasker Johannes J. 
Published: May 2018

Background:
The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of intraarticular Hylan G-F 20 and triamcinolone acetonide 80 mg (TA) in primary knee osteoarthritis (OA) refractory to standard care in a developing country.

Methods:
After injection of either Hylan or TA, patients were seen at 12 and 26 wk. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score, pain, stiffness (100 mm visual analogue score), and European Quality of Life (EQ) score were measured as well as radiographic joint space change and joint severity grade.

Results:
The 26-week study was completed by 24 patients receiving Hylan (45 knees) and 21 receiving TA (38 knees). The primary outcome (improvement ≥40% of total WOMAC scores) at 12 wk in the Hylan group was 30 (66.7%) and in the TA group 5 (13.2%) (P<0.00) and at 26 wk, 35 (77.8%) and 10 (26.3%), respectively, (P<0.001). All secondary end points (pain, stiffness quality of life) improved significantly after 12 and 26 wk in both groups) but more in the Hylan group. The Kellgren-Lawrence radiographic grade improved more in the Hylan group than the TA group. The joint space improved at 12 wk in the Hylan and TA groups (0.4±0.8 and 0.1±0.5, respectively, P=0.044), and at 26 wk (0.6±1.1 and 0.0±0.5, respectively, P=0.003). No remarkable side effects were observed.

Conclusions:
In primary knee OA refractory to standard care, pain improved significantly more with Hylan G-F 20 than with TA after 12 and 26 wk as regards function and quality of life. Further studies are needed to assess longer time effects.
Signalling networks and dynamics of allosteric transitions in bacterial chaperonin GroEL: implications for iterative annealing of misfolded proteins
Authors: Thirumalai D. , Hyeon Changbong 
Published: May 2018

Signal transmission at the molecular level in many biological complexes occurs through allosteric transitions. Allostery describes the responses of a complex to binding of ligands at sites that are spatially well separated from the binding region. We describe the structural perturbation method, based on phonon propagation in solids, which can be used to determine the signal-transmitting allostery wiring diagram (AWD) in large but finite-sized biological complexes. Application to the bacterial chaperonin GroEL–GroES complex shows that the AWD determined from structures also drives the allosteric transitions dynamically. From both a structural and dynamical perspective these transitions are largely determined by formation and rupture of salt-bridges. The molecular description of allostery in GroEL provides insights into its function, which is quantitatively described by the iterative annealing mechanism. Remarkably, in this complex molecular machine, a deep connection is established between the structures, reaction cycle during which GroEL undergoes a sequence of allosteric transitions, and function, in a self-consistent manner.
This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Allostery and molecular machines’.
MyROOT: A novel method and software for the semi-automatic measurement of plant root length
Authors: Betegón-Putze Isabel , González Alejandro , Sevillano Xavier , Blasco-Escámez David , Canño-Delgado Ana I. 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACTRoot analysis is essential for both academic and agricultural research. Despite the great advances in root phenotyping and imaging however, calculating root length is still performed manually and involves considerable amounts of labor and time. To overcome these limitations, we have developed MyROOT, a novel software for the semi-automatic quantification of root growth of seedlings growing directly in agar plates. Our method automatically determines the scale from the image of the plate, and subsequently measures the root length of the individual plants. To this aim, MyROOT combines a bottom-up root tracking approach with a hypocotyl detection algorithm. At the same time as providing accurate root measurements, MyROOT also significantly minimizes the user intervention required during the process. Using Arabidopsis, we tested MyROOT with seedlings from different growth stages. Upon comparing the data obtained using this software with that of manual root measurements, we found that there are no significant differences (t-test, p-value < 0.05). Thus, MyROOT will be of great aid to the plant science community by permitting high-throughput root length measurements while saving on both labor and time.