bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hypoalbuminaemia and Postoperative Outcomes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: the NSQIP Surgical Cohort
Authors: Nguyen Geoffrey C , Du Lillian , Chong Rachel Y , Jackson Timothy D 
Published: April 2019

AbstractBackgroundThe inflammatory bowel diseases [IBD], including Crohn’s disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC], frequently lead to bowel surgery. Hypoalbuminaemia has been shown to be a prognostic factor for outcomes following surgery for other indications, and we sought to determine its role in predicting IBD-related postoperative outcomes.MethodsWe included patients who underwent IBD-related major abdominal surgery in the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program [ACS-NSQIP] between 2005 and 2012. We assessed the impact of indicators of protein-energy malnutrition [PEM] including hypoalbuminaemia, weight loss, and body mass index on postoperative outcomes.ResultsWe identified 10 913 IBD patients [6082 Crohn’s disease and 4831 ulcerative colitis] who underwent bowel surgery. The prevalence of modest and severe hypoalbuminaemia was 17% and 24%, respectively; 30-day mortality was higher in Crohn’s patients with modest and severe hypoalbuminaemia compared with those with normal albumin levels preoperatively [0.7% vs 0.2%, p <0.05; 2.4% vs 0.2%, p <0.01]. The same was true for patients with UC with modest and severe hypoalbuminaemia [0.9% vs 0.1%, p <0.01; 5.6% vs 0.1%, p <0.01]. Overall infectious complications were more common in the presence of severe hypoalbuminaemia for CD [20% vs 13%, p <0.01]. and UC [28% vs 15%, p <0.01] patients. Last, there were higher rates of extra-intestinal, non-septic complications in both CD and UC patients with hypoalbuminaemia compared with those with normal albumin levels.ConclusionsThis study suggests that moderate-severe hypoalbuminaemia is associated with worse IBD-related postoperative outcomes and may have a role in preoperative risk stratification.
Limitations of transcriptome-based prediction of pathogenicity genes in the plant pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans
Authors: Urquhart Andrew S , Idnurm Alexander 
Published: April 2019

ABSTRACT
Identification of pathogenicity determinants in Leptosphaeria maculans, a major cause of disease of oilseed crops, has been a focus of research for many years. A wealth of gene expression information from RNA sequencing promises to illuminate the mechanisms by which the fungus is able to cause blackleg disease. However, to date, no studies have tested the hypothesis that high gene transcript levels during infection correlate with importance to disease progression. In this study, we use CRISPR-Cas9 to disrupt 11 genes that are highly expressed during the early stages of disease and show that none of these genes are crucial for fungal pathogenicity on Brassica napus. This finding suggests that in order to understand the pathogenicity of this fungus more sophisticated techniques than simple expression analysis will need to be employed.
Racial Segregation Across U.S. Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review of Measurement and Outcomes
Authors: Mack Deborah S , Jesdale Bill M , Ulbricht Christine M , Forrester Sarah N , Michener Pryce S , Lapane Kate L 
Published: April 2019

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesNursing homes remain subjected to institutional racial segregation in the United States. However, a standardized approach to measure segregation in nursing homes does not appear to be established. A systematic review was conducted to identify all formal measurement approaches to evaluate racial segregation among nursing home facilities, and to then identify the association between segregation and quality of care in this context.Research Design and MethodsPubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched (January 2018) for publications relating to nursing home segregation. Following the PRISMA guidelines, studies were included that formally measured racial segregation of nursing homes residents across facilities with regional-level data.ResultsEight studies met the inclusion criteria. Formal segregation measures included the Dissimilarity Index, Disparities Quality Index, Modified Thiel’s Entropy Index, Gini coefficient, and adapted models. The most common data sources were the Minimum Data Set (MDS; resident-level), the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reporting data (CASPER; facility-level), and the Area Resource File/ U.S. Census Data (regional-level). Most studies showed evidence of racial segregation among U.S. nursing home facilities and documented a negative impact of segregation on racial minorities and facility-level quality outcomes.Discussion and ImplicationsThe measurement of racial segregation among nursing homes is heterogeneous. While there are limitations to each methodology, this review can be used as a reference when trying to determine the best approach to measure racial segregation in future studies. Moreover, racial segregation among nursing homes remains a problem and should be further evaluated.
Pathogenic effects of agrin V1727F mutation are isoform specific and decrease its expression and affinity for HSPGs and LRP4
Authors: Rudell John B , Maselli Ricardo A , Yarov-Yarovoy Vladimir , Ferns Michael J 
Published: April 2019

AbstractAgrin is a large extracellular matrix protein whose isoforms differ in their tissue distribution and function. Motoneuron-derived y+z+ agrin regulates the formation of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), while y−z− agrin is widely expressed and has diverse functions. Previously we identified a missense mutation (V1727F) in the second laminin globular (LG2) domain of agrin that causes severe congenital myasthenic syndrome. Here, we define pathogenic effects of the agrin V1727F mutation that account for the profound dysfunction of the NMJ. First, by expressing agrin variants in heterologous cells, we show that the V1727F mutation reduces the secretion of y+z+ agrin compared to wild type, whereas it has no effect on the secretion of y−z− agrin. Second, we find that the V1727F mutation significantly impairs binding of y+z+ agrin to both heparin and the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) coreceptor. Third, molecular modeling of the LG2 domain suggests that the V1727F mutation primarily disrupts the y splice insert, and consistent with this we find that it partially occludes the contribution of the y splice insert to agrin binding to heparin and LRP4. Together, these findings identify several pathogenic effects of the V1727F mutation that reduce its expression and ability to bind heparan sulfate proteoglycan and LRP4 coreceptors involved in the muscle-specific kinase signaling pathway. These defects primarily impair the function of neural y+z+ agrin and combine to cause a severe CMS phenotype, whereas y−z− agrin function in other tissues appears preserved.
Postnatal development of mice with combined genetic depletions of lamin A/C, emerin and lamina-associated polypeptide 1
Authors: Wang Yuexia , Shin Ji-Yeon , Nakanishi Koki , Homma Shunichi , Kim Grace J , Tanji Kurenai , Joseph Leroy C , Morrow John P , Stewart Colin L , Dauer Willian T , Worman Howard J 
Published: April 2019

AbstractMutations in LMNA encoding lamin A/C and EMD encoding emerin cause cardiomyopathy and muscular dystrophy. Lmna null mice develop these disorders and have a lifespan of 7–8 weeks. Emd null mice show no overt pathology and have normal skeletal muscle but with regeneration defects. We generated mice with germline deletions of both Lmna and Emd to determine the effects of combined loss of the encoded proteins. Mice without lamin A/C and emerin are born at the expected Mendelian ratio, are grossly normal at birth but have shorter lifespans than those lacking only lamin A/C. However, there are no major differences between these mice with regards to left ventricular function, heart ultrastructure or electrocardiographic parameters except for slower heart rates in the mice lacking both lamin A/C and emerin. Skeletal muscle is similarly affected in both of these mice. Lmna+/− mice also lacking emerin live to at least 1 year and have no significant differences in growth, heart or skeletal muscle compared to Lmna+/− mice. Deletion of the mouse gene encoding lamina-associated protein 1 leads to prenatal death; however, mice with heterozygous deletion of this gene lacking both lamin A/C and emerin are born at the expected Mendelian ratio but had a shorter lifespan than those only lacking lamin A/C and emerin. These results show that mice with combined deficiencies of three interacting nuclear envelope proteins have normal embryonic development and that early postnatal defects are primarily driven by loss of lamin A/C or lamina-associated polypeptide 1 rather than emerin.
Bivalent Vaccine Effectiveness Against Anal Human Papillomavirus Positivity Among Female Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinic Visitors in the Netherlands
Authors: Woestenberg Petra J , King Audrey J , Van Benthem Birgit H B , Leussink Suzan , Van der Sande Marianne A B , Hoebe Christian J P A , Bogaards Johannes A ,   Medical Microbiological Laboratories and the Public Health Services
Published: April 2019

Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are indicated for anal cancer prevention, but evidence for vaccine effectiveness (VE) against anal HPV infections among women is limited. We estimated the VE (≥1 dose) against anal HPV positivity of the bivalent vaccine, whose target types HPV-16/18 are associated with approximately 90% of HPV-related anal cancers. Among 548 female STI clinic visitors 16–24 years old who provided an anal swab sample as part of a repeated cross-sectional survey, VE against HPV-16/18 was 89.9% (95% confidence interval, 63.0%–97.2%). Type-specific VE correlated well with VE against cervicovaginal HPV (Spearman ρ = 0.76), suggesting comparable effectiveness of HPV-16/18 vaccination against genital and anal infections.
Access and Adoption of Hybrid Seeds: Evidence from Uganda
Authors: Axmann Nikolaus , Fischer Torben , Keller Kevin , Leiby Kevin , Stein Daniel , Wang Paul 
Published: April 2019

Abstract
Adoption of hybrid seeds remains low in many low-income countries. We conduct a field-experiment designed to measure the effect of offering hybrid maize seeds for purchase during a time when potential customers have high liquidity. Working with a large buyer of agricultural commodities in Northern Uganda, we randomly offer smallholder farmers the opportunity to purchase certified hybrid maize seeds at the same time as they visit the buyers’ stores to sell crops from a previous harvest. 16% of those offered purchase hybrid seeds, and average adoption of hybrid maize among those offered increases by 8 percentage points compared to a control group who does not receive the offer. Among those who accept the offer, we see an increase in the propensity to plant hybrid maize of 50 percentage points. This effect is more pronounced for female farmers than for their male counterparts. Our findings suggest that providing access to certified agricultural inputs at the place and time of post-harvest sales is a promising strategy to increase input usage.
Understanding the Current Procedural Terminology Process
Authors: Smetherman Dana H 
Published: April 2019

Abstract
This article describes the method by which U.S. health care services are valued and reimbursed, and the essential role practicing physicians, including breast imaging radiologists, and medical specialty societies play in this process. The American Medical Association has described the method for developing new and revised Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes as a 3-legged stool, with patient care as the seat supported by its legs: the CPT process (where the work is described), the Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) process (where the work is valued), and coverage by Medicare (where the work is paid). Although the future direction of health care payment policy in the USA is uncertain and difficult to predict, CPT codes remain the foundation for the reimbursement of physician services. A working knowledge of the CPT process can be valuable to breast imaging radiologists, both for managing their practices at the current time and preparing them for future changes in payment policy.
Characterizing wing tears in common pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus): investigating tear distribution, wing strength, and possible causes
Authors: Khayat Rana Osama S , Shaw Kirsty J , Dougill Gary , Melling Louise M , Ferris Glenn R , Cooper Glen , Grant Robyn A 
Published: April 2019

AbstractBats have large, thin wings that are particularly susceptible to tearing. Anatomical specializations, such as fiber reinforcement, strengthen the wing and increase its resistance to puncture, and an extensive vasculature system across the wing also promotes healing. We investigated whether tear positioning is associated with anatomy in common pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus). Wing anatomy was described using histological techniques, imaging, and material testing. Tear information, including type, position, time in rehabilitation, and possible causes, was collected from rehabilitators of injured bats across the United Kingdom. Results suggest that the position of the plagiopatagium (the most proximal wing section to the body), rather than its anatomy, influenced the number, location, and orientation of wing tears. While material testing did not identify the plagiopatagium as being significantly weaker than the chiropatagium (the more distal sections of the wing), the plagiopatagium tended to have the most tears. The position of the tears, close to the body and toward the trailing edge, suggests that they are caused by predator attacks, such as from a cat (Felis catus), rather than collisions. Consistent with this, 38% of P. pipistrellus individuals had confirmed wing tears caused by cats, with an additional 38% identified by rehabilitators as due to suspected cat attacks. The plagiopatagium had the lowest number of blood vessels and highest amounts of elastin fibers, suggesting that healing may take longer in this section. Further investigations into the causes of tears, and their effect on flight capabilities, will help to improve bat rehabilitation.
Association between air travel and importation of chikungunya into the USA
Authors: Nasserie Tahmina , Brent Shannon E , Tuite Ashleigh R , Moineddin Rahim , Yong Jean H E , Miniota Jennifer , Bogoch Isaac I , Watts Alexander G , Khan Kamran 
Published: April 2019

Abstract

Background: During infectious disease outbreaks with pandemic potential, the number of air passengers travelling from the outbreak source to international destinations has been used as a proxy for disease importation risk to new locations. However, evaluations of the validity of this approach are limited. We sought to quantify the association between international air travel and disease importation using the 2014–2016 chikungunya outbreak in the Americas as a case study.

Methods: We used country-level chikungunya case data to define a time period of epidemic activity for each of the 45 countries and territories in the Americas reporting outbreaks between 2014 and 2016. For each country, we identified airports within or proximate to areas considered suitable for chikungunya transmission and summed the number of commercial air passengers departing from these airports during the epidemic period to each US state. We used negative binomial models to quantify the association between the number of incoming air passengers from countries experiencing chikungunya epidemics and the annual rate of chikungunya importation into the USA at the state level.

Results: We found a statistically significant positive association between passenger flows via airline travel from countries experiencing chikungunya epidemics and the number of imported cases in the USA at the state level (P < 0.0001). Additionally, we found that as the number of arriving airline passengers increased by 10%, the estimated number of imported cases increased by 5.2% (95% CI: 3.0–7.6).

Conclusion: This validation study demonstrated that air travel was strongly associated with observed importation of chikungunya cases in the USA and can be a useful proxy for identifying areas at increased risk for disease importation. This approach may be useful for understanding exportation risk of other arboviruses.
The impact of photometric redshift errors on lensing statistics in ray-tracing simulations
Authors: Abruzzo Matthew W , Haiman Zoltán 
Published: April 2019

Abstract
Weak lensing surveys are reaching sensitivities at which uncertainties in the galaxy redshift distributions n(z) from photo-z errors degrade cosmological constraints. We use ray-tracing simulations and a simple treatment of photo-z errors to assess cosmological parameter biases from uncertainties in n(z) in an LSST-like survey. We use lensing peak counts and the power spectrum to infer cosmological parameters, and find that the latter is somewhat more resilient to photo-z errors. We place conservative lower limits on the survey size at which different types of photo-z errors significantly degrade (${\sim }50{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) ΛCDM (cold dark matter, wCDM) parameter constraints. A residual constant photo-z bias of |δz| &lt; 0.003(1 + z), the current LSST requirement, does not significantly degrade surveys smaller than ≈1300 (≈490) deg2 using peaks and ≈6500 (≈4900) deg2 using the power spectrum. Surveys smaller than ≈920 (≈450) deg2 and ≈4600 (≈4000) deg2 avoid 25 per cent degradation. Adopting a recent prediction for LSST’s full photo-z probability distribution function (PDF), we find that simply approximating n(z) with the photo-z galaxy distribution computed from this PDF significantly degrades surveys as small as ≈60 (≈65) deg2 using peaks or the power spectrum. If the centroid bias in each tomographic bin is removed from the photo-z galaxy distribution, using peaks or the power spectrum still significantly degrades surveys larger than ≈200 (≈255) or ≈248 (≈315) deg2; 25 per cent degradations occur at survey sizes of ≈140 (≈180) deg2 or ≈165 (≈210) deg2. These results imply that the expected broad photo-z PDF significantly biases parameters, which must be further mitigated using more sophisticated photo-z treatments.
AT 2017fvz: a nova in the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822
Authors: Healy M W , Darnley M J , Copperwheat C M , Filippenko A V , Henze M , Hestenes J C , James P A , Page K L , Williams S C , Zheng W 
Published: April 2019

ABSTRACT
A transient in the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822 (Barnard’s Galaxy) was discovered on 2017 August 2 and is only the second classical nova discovered in that galaxy. We conducted optical, near-ultraviolet, and X-ray follow-up observations of the eruption, the results of which we present here. This ‘very fast’ nova had a peak V-band magnitude in the range −7.41 &gt; MV &gt; −8.33 mag, with decline times of t2,V = 8.1 ± 0.2 d and t3,V = 15.2 ± 0.3 d. The early- and late-time spectra are consistent with an Fe ii spectral class. The H α emission line initially has a full width at half-maximum intensity of ∼2400 km s−1 – a moderately fast ejecta velocity for the class. The H α line then narrows monotonically to ∼1800 km s−1 by 70 d post-eruption. The lack of a pre-eruption coincident source in archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging implies that the donor is a main-sequence, or possibly subgiant, star. The relatively low-peak luminosity and rapid decline hint that AT 2017fvz may be a ‘faint and fast’ nova.
Return to the Sea, Get Huge, Beat Cancer: An Analysis of Cetacean Genomes Including an Assembly for the Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Authors: Tollis Marc , Robbins Jooke , Webb Andrew E , Kuderna Lukas F K , Caulin Aleah F , Garcia Jacinda D , Bèrubè Martine , Pourmand Nader , Marques-Bonet Tomas , O’Connell Mary J , Palsbøll Per J , Maley Carlo C 
Published: April 2019

AbstractCetaceans are a clade of highly specialized aquatic mammals that include the largest animals that have ever lived. The largest whales can have ∼1,000× more cells than a human, with long lifespans, leaving them theoretically susceptible to cancer. However, large-bodied and long-lived animals do not suffer higher risks of cancer mortality than humans—an observation known as Peto’s Paradox. To investigate the genomic bases of gigantism and other cetacean adaptations, we generated a de novo genome assembly for the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and incorporated the genomes of ten cetacean species in a comparative analysis. We found further evidence that rorquals (family Balaenopteridae) radiated during the Miocene or earlier, and inferred that perturbations in abundance and/or the interocean connectivity of North Atlantic humpback whale populations likely occurred throughout the Pleistocene. Our comparative genomic results suggest that the evolution of cetacean gigantism was accompanied by strong selection on pathways that are directly linked to cancer. Large segmental duplications in whale genomes contained genes controlling the apoptotic pathway, and genes inferred to be under accelerated evolution and positive selection in cetaceans were enriched for biological processes such as cell cycle checkpoint, cell signaling, and proliferation. We also inferred positive selection on genes controlling the mammalian appendicular and cranial skeletal elements in the cetacean lineage, which are relevant to extensive anatomical changes during cetacean evolution. Genomic analyses shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying cetacean traits, including gigantism, and will contribute to the development of future targets for human cancer therapies.
Social Parasitism in the Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Is Not Controlled by a Single SNP
Authors: Christmas Matthew J , Smith Nicholas M A , Oldroyd Benjamin P , Webster Matthew T 
Published: April 2019

Abstract
The Cape bee (Apis mellifera capensis) is a subspecies of the honeybee, in which workers commonly lay diploid unfertilized eggs via a process known as thelytoky. A recent study aimed to map the genetic basis of this trait in the progeny of a single capensis queen where workers laid either diploid (thelytokous) or haploid (arrhenotokous) eggs. A nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in a gene of unknown function was reported to be strongly associated with thelytoky in this colony. Here, we analyze genome sequences from a global sample of A. mellifera and identify populations where the proposed thelytoky allele at this SNP is common but thelytoky is absent. We also analyze genome sequences of three capensis queens produced by thelytoky and find that, contrary to predictions, they do not carry the proposed thelytoky allele. The proposed SNP is therefore neither sufficient nor required to produce thelytoky in A. mellifera.