bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Depressive Symptoms Are Associated With Low Treatment Adherence in African American Individuals With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Authors: Heiman Erica , Lim S. Sam , Bao Gaobin , Drenkard Cristina 
Published: June 2018

Objective
African American (AA) people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at high morbidity and mortality risk, and they often require multiple medications. Low medication adherence is a highly prevalent, multidimensional problem associated with poor outcomes in people with SLE. Depression, a predictor of low adherence in people with chronic conditions, has been described in over 35% of AAs with SLE. We hypothesized that depressive symptoms would be increasingly associated with low adherence in this population.

Methods
Research subjects predominantly belong to the Georgians Organized Against Lupus cohort, a population-based cohort of predominantly AA individuals with SLE in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Medication adherence and severity of depressive symptoms were measured using validated self-reported tools: the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, respectively. We used univariate and multivariate logistic regression to examine the odds ratios of low medication adherence across individuals with increasing severity of depressive symptoms.

Results
Among 632 AA SLE participants, 336 (54%) reported low medication adherence and 217 (34.6%) reported “moderate” or “severe” depressive symptoms. In univariate logistic regression, significant risk factors for low adherence were depressive symptoms, low self-efficacy, poor satisfaction with care, female sex, younger age, hurried patient-physician communication, poorer shared decision-making, less compassionate physician communication style, poor/fair health, and higher disease activity score. In multivariate regression, younger age, female sex, and more severe depressive symptoms were associated with low medication adherence.

Conclusions
This is the first study to examine factors associated with low medication adherence among a population-based cohort of AA individuals with SLE. Depression was a strong correlate of low medication adherence. Mental health interventions aiming to address and treat depression may increase medication adherence.
Systemic Sclerosis at an Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Naranjo-Escobar Juan , Hormaza Andrés A. , Posso-Osorio Iván , Pino-Escobar Jessica , Betancur Juan F. , Tobón Gabriel J. 
Published: June 2018

Introduction
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystemic autoimmune disease. Few studies have focused on the outcomes of SSC patients who require intensive care unit (ICU) admission, largely due to the absence of protocols for the optimal management of this disease during an ICU stay.

Objectives
This study aimed to describe the outcomes of a series of SSc patients admitted to the ICU at a single center in Cali, Colombia.

Methods
Case series of SSc patients admitted to the ICU were reviewed. The main outcome was ICU mortality. Statistical analysis was performed with measures of central tendency and proportions.

Results
All the patients (n = 14) were female and either middle-aged or elderly; 9 (64%) were diagnosed with diffuse cutaneous sclerosis, and the remaining 5 patients with limited cutaneous sclerosis. Some were readmitted; therefore, the total number of ICU admissions was 21. The principal causes of ICU admissions were non–SSc-related causes (n = 15 [71.4%]). The respiratory system was the most involved on ICU admissions. The ICU mortality rate was 43% (n = 6).

Conclusions
The severity of the disease at ICU admission and comorbidity are independently associated with ICU-related mortality. Furthermore, the optimal management of SSc patients includes accurate detection of SSc-associated organ involvement. More studies involving this category of patients are needed to establish the best effective protocols.
Hand-assisted Laparoscopy: Expensive but Considerable Step Between Laparoscopic and Open Colectomy
Authors: Gulcu Baris , Isik Ozgen , Ozturk Ersin , Yilmazlar Tuncay 
Published: June 2018

Purpose:
Hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy (HALC) and laparoscopic-assisted colectomy (LAC) have been shown to have comparable short-term outcomes while there are limited data regarding costs. The aim of our study was to compare the short-term outcomes and costs of HALC and LAC.

Materials and Methods:
In total, 46 patients who underwent HALC or LAC for benign or malignant disease between January 2011 and December 2014 at our institution were included in the study. Patients were randomized into HALC or LAC group. Patients’ demographics and characteristics, operative details, short-term outcomes, and costs were evaluated.

Results:
There were 25 patients in LAC group and 21 patients in HALC group. Patient’s demographics and characteristics and short-term outcomes were comparable between the LAC and HALC groups. Conversion rate was significantly lower in the HALC group (4.7% vs. 28%, P=0.03) while surgical costs ($1706.83±203.70 vs. $1304.93±305.67, P=0.038) and total costs ($2427.18±254.27 vs. $2044.03±215.22, P=0.021) were significantly higher in HALC group.

Conclusions:
HALC is associated with increased surgical and total hospital costs, and decreased rate of conversion. Although it is more expensive, HALC may be helpful by providing a step between LAC and open surgery before considering conversion.
The Risk of Failure With HLA Mismatch and Recipient Age in First Pediatric (<18 years) Kidney Transplants
Authors: Williams Robert C. , West Lori J. , Opelz Gerhard 
Published: June 2018

Background
Even in the modern era of kidney transplantation with improved surgical techniques, immunosuppression, and clinical care, HLA matching has been shown to be important in allograft survival in adults who receive an organ from either a deceased or living donor. We now explore the impact of genetic matching in pediatric first-kidney transplants.

Methods
Using the United Network for Organ Sharing data, we identified 18 602 first pediatric (<18 years) kidney transplants between October 1, 1987, and December 31, 2016. Recipients were classified by number of HLA mismatches and donor origin. Cox proportional hazard analyses, adjusting for recipient and donor transplant covariates, were performed to study the impact of HLA on kidney allograft survival.

Results
For the fully adjusted Cox model there was a 30% increase in the hazard of allograft failure for 1 HLA mismatch, when compared with 0 mismatched recipients, and a 92% increase in risk for 6 mismatches. Although pediatric allografts from living donors survive as long or longer than those from deceased persons, they have a higher hazard of failure as a function of HLA mismatch. Kidney allografts from deceased donors HLA mismatched 0 to 3 were found to survive as long as organs from living donors HLA mismatched 4 to 6. In the full Cox model, there was a strong, linear effect on the hazard of allograft failure with quartile of age such that the youngest patients at age of transplant had the longest surviving grafts.

Conclusions
HLA plays an important role in the survival of first pediatric kidney transplants. The better the match, and the earlier the transplant is performed in the child’s life, the lower is the risk that the organ will fail.
Refining the Application of Microbial Lipids as Tracers of Staphylococcus aureus Growth Rates in Cystic Fibrosis Sputum
Authors: Neubauer Cajetan , Kasi Ajay S. , Grahl Nora , Sessions Alex L. , Kopf Sebastian H. , Kato Roberta , Hogan Deborah A. , Newman Dianne K. 
Published: June 2018

ABSTRACTChronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) could be treated more effectively if the effect of antimicrobials on pathogens in situ were known. Here, we compared changes in the microbial community composition and pathogen growth rates in longitudinal studies of CF patients undergoing intravenous antibiotic administration during pulmonary exacerbations. Microbial community composition was measured by NanoString DNA analysis and growth rates were obtained by incubating CF sputum with heavy water and tracing incorporation of deuterium into two different anteiso fatty acids (a-C15:0 and a-C17:0) using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Prior to this study, both lipids were thought to be specific for Staphylococcaceae and hence their isotopic enrichment was interpreted as a growth proxy for S. aureus. Our experiments revealed, however, that Prevotella is also a relevant microbial producer of a-C17:0 fatty acid in some CF patients, thus deuterium incorporation into these lipids is better interpreted as a more general pathogen growth rate proxy. Even accounting for a small non-microbial background source detected in some patient samples, a-C15:0 fatty acid still appear to be a relatively robust proxy for CF pathogens, revealing a median generation time of ~1.5 days, similar to prior observations. Contrary to our expectations, pathogen growth rates remained relatively stable throughout exacerbation treatment. We suggest two best practices for application of stable isotope probing in CF sputum: (1) parallel determination of microbial community composition in CF sputum using culture-independent tools, and (2) analysis of samples with a minimum a-C15:0 concentration of 0.1 weight percent of saturated fatty acids.IMPORTANCEIn chronic lung infections, populations of microbial pathogens change and mature in ways that are often unknown, which makes it challenging to identify appropriate treatment options. A promising tool to better understand the physiology of microorganisms in a patient is stable-isotope probing, which we previously developed to estimate the growth rates of S. aureus in cystic fibrosis (CF) sputum. Here, we tracked microbial communities in a cohort of CF patients and found that anteiso fatty acids can also originate from other sources in CF sputum. This awareness led us to develop an new workflow for the application of stable isotope probing in this context, improving our ability to estimate pathogen generation times in clinical samples.
Bleeding, cramping, and satisfaction among new copper IUD users: A prospective study
Authors: Sanders Jessica N , Adkins Daniel E , Kaur Simranvir , Storck Kathryn , Gawron Lori M , Turok David K 
Published: June 2018

AbstractObjectiveWe assess change in bleeding, cramping, and satisfaction among new copper (Cu) IUD users during the first six months of use, and evaluate the impact of bleeding and cramping on method satisfaction.MethodsWe recruited 77 women ages 18–45 for this prospective longitudinal observational cohort study. Eligible women reported regular menses, had no exposure to hormonal contraception in the last three months, and desired a Cu IUD for contraception. We collected data prospectively for 180 days following IUD insertion. Monthly, Participants reported bleeding scores using the validated pictorial blood loss assessment chart (PBAC), IUD satisfaction using a five-point Likert scale, and cramping using a seven-level ordinal scale. We used multiple imputation to address nonrandom attrition. Structural equation models for count and ordered outcomes modeled bleeding, cramping, and satisfaction growth curves over the six monthly repeated assessments.ResultsBleeding significantly decreased (approximately 25%) over the course of the study from an estimated PBAC=195 at one month post-insertion to PBAC=151 at six months (t=−2.38, p<0.05). Additionally, IUD satisfaction improved over time (t=2.65, p<0.01), increasing from between “Neutral” and “Satisfied” to “Satisfied”, over the six month study. Cramping decreased sharply over the six-month study from between biweekly and weekly, to once or twice a month (t=−4.38, p<0.001). Finally, bleeding, but not cramping, was associated with IUD satisfaction (study mean: t=−2.31, p<0.05; study end: t=−2.81, p<0.01).ConclusionsNew Cu IUD users reported decreasing bleeding and cramping, and increasing IUD satisfaction, over the first six months. Method satisfaction was negatively associated with bleeding.
Validation of an automated segmentation algorithm for lower leg MR images, applied to sodium quantification
Authors: Greer Jasmine M. , Wang Ping , Deger Serpil Muge , Alsouqi Aseel , Ikizler T. Alp , Titze Jens M. , Rogers Baxter P. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractObjectiveTo develop and validate an automated segmentation algorithm for the lower leg using a multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging protocol.MethodsAn automated algorithm combining active contour and intensity-based thresholding methods was developed to identify skin and muscle regions from proton Dixon MR images of the lower leg. Tissue sodium concentration was then computed using contemporaneously acquired sodium images with calibrated phantoms in the field of view. Resulting sodium concentration measurements were compared to a gold standard manual segmentation in 126 scans.ResultsMost cases had no observable errors in segmentation of muscle and skin. Six cases had minor errors that were not expected to affect quantification; in the worst, 126 mm2(2%) of a muscle area of 8,042 mm2was misclassified. In one case the algorithm failed to separate the tibia from the muscle compartment. Correlation between automated and manual measurements of sodium concentration was R2= 0.84 for skin, R2= 0.99 for muscle. Additionally, the RMSE was 2.4mM for skin and 0.5mM for muscle; the observed physiological range was 8.5 to 37.4mM.ConclusionFor the purpose of estimating sodium concentrations in muscle and skin compartments, the automated segmentations provided equally accurate results compared to the more time-intensive manual segmentations. Sodium quantification serves as a biomarker for disease progression, which would assist with early diagnostic treatments. The proposed algorithm will improve workflow, reproducibility, and consistency in such studies.
Metal-independent ribonucleotide reduction powered by a DOPA radical in Mycoplasma pathogens
Authors: Srinivas Vivek , Lebrette Hugo , Lundin Daniel , Kutin Yuri , Sahlin Margareta , Lerche Michael , Eirich Jürgen , Branca Rui M. M. , Cox Nicholas , Sjöberg Britt-Marie , Högbom Martin 
Published: June 2018

AbstractRibonucleotide reductase (RNR) catalyzes the only known de-novo pathway for production of all four deoxyribonucleotides required for DNA synthesis. In aerobic RNRs, a di-nuclear metal site is viewed as an absolute requirement for generating and stabilizing an essential catalytic radical. Here we describe a new group of RNRs found in Mollicutes, including Mycoplasma pathogens, that possesses a metal-independent stable radical residing on a modified tyrosyl residue. Structural, biochemical and spectroscopic characterization reveal a stable DOPA radical species that directly supports ribonucleotide reductionin vitroandin vivo.The cofactor synthesis and radical generation processes are fundamentally different from established RNRs and require the flavoprotein NrdI. Several of the pathogens encoding this RNR variant are involved in diseases of the urinary tract and genitalia. Conceivably, this remarkable RNR variant provides an advantage under metal starvation induced by the immune system. We propose that the new RNR subclass is denoted class Ie.
Time-delay model of perceptual decision making in cortical networks
Authors: Bielczyk Natalia Z. , Piskała Katarzyna , Płomecka Martyna , Radziński Piotr , Todorova Lara , Foryś Urszula 
Published: June 2018

AbstractIt is known that cortical networks operate on the edge of instability, in which oscillations can appear. However, the influence of this dynamic regime on performance in decision making, is not well understood. In this work, we propose a population model of decision making based on a winner-take-all mechanism. Using this model, we demonstrate that local slow inhibition within the competing neuronal populations can lead to Hopf bifurcation. At the edge of instability, the system exhibits ambiguity in the decision making, which can account for the perceptual switches observed in human experiments. We further validate this model with fMRI datasets from an experiment on semantic priming in perception of ambivalent (male versus female) faces. We demonstrate that the model can correctly predict the drop in the variance of the BOLD within the Superior Parietal Area and Inferior Parietal Area while watching ambiguous visual stimuli.Author summaryHuman cortex is a complex structure composed of thousands of tangled neural circuits. These circuits exhibit multiple modes of activity, depending on the local balance between excitatory and inhibitory activity. In particular, these circuits can exhibit oscillatory behavior, which is believed to be a manifestation of a so-called criticality: balancing on the edge between stable and unstable dynamics. Circuits in the cortex are responsible for higher cognitive functions such as, in example, perceptual decision making, i.e., evaluating properties of objects appearing in the visual field. However, it is not well known how aforementioned balancing on the edge of instability influences perceptual decision making.In this work, we build a model to simulate dynamics of a very simple decision-making network consisting of two subpopulations. We then demonstrate that criticality in the network can account for ambiguity in decision making, and cause perceptual switches observed in human experiments. We further validate our model with datasets coming from a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging experiment on semantic priming in perception of ambivalent (male versus female) faces. We demonstrate that the model can correctly predict the drop in the variance of the BOLD within the parietal areas of the cortex while watching ambiguous visual stimuli.
Genome-wide identification of functional tRNA-derived fragments in Senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 brain
Authors: Zhang Shuai , Li Hejian , Zheng Ling , Li Hong , Feng Chengqiang , Zhang Wensheng 
Published: June 2018

AbstracttRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) have been linked previously to the development of various diseases, such as cancer and viral infection. However, tRFs seem also related to brain aging and related diseases, especially Alzheimer and Parkinson disease. RNA sequencing, a state-of-the-art technology, has allowed for investigation of tRFs in this field. In this study, we investigated the changes of tRFs in the brains of a senescence-accelerated mouse model, senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8), that show age-dependent deficits in learning and memory; and a control model, senescence-accelerated mouse resistant 1 (SAMR1), with normal aging, both at 7 months of age. A total of 570 tRF transcripts were discovered. Among these transcripts, 8, including 3 upregulated and 5 downregulated transcripts, were differentially expressed in the SAMP8 mice. Then, we obtained 110 potential target genes in a miRNA-like pattern. GO survey implicated these target genes in the function of various aspects, e.g. postsynaptic density (GO: 0014069). Furthermore, we assessed in detail those tRFs whose miRNA-like pattern was most likely to affect the progression of either Alzheimer and Parkinson disease, such as AS-tDR-011775 acting onMobpandPark2. In fact, we found the tRFs to be involved in the regulation of gene expression by means other than the miRNA-like pattern. Therefore, these 8 dysregulated tRFs may hold consequences far into the future and can be attractive biomarkers and valid targets. In brief, our study is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis on tRFs in SAMP8 mouse brain, and this breakthrough identified promising new targets for preventing the age-related changes of brain and the therapeutic intervention of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
The country of origin effect: a hedonic price analysis of the Chinese wine market
Authors: Hu Lala , Baldin Andrea 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the country of origin (COO) effect on wine purchase in China by considering a sample from an e-commerce website. The paper contribute to the literature on hedonic pricing by applying this model to the Chinese market and including COO as product attribute.

Design/methodology/approach
A hedonic price model is adopted to measure the effect of search attributes on wine sales in China. A reduced form of the classical hedonic analysis is used as in Nerlove (1995), given the assumption that prices and attributes are taken as exogenous to consumers.

Findings
Results show that the COO represents the attribute that most influences wine sales in China. Protected indicators of origin, which denote wine with recognised certificates, are also significant, reinforcing the importance of the production area. Vintage attribute does not impact sales, suggesting a low level of consumer experience with wine.

Research limitations/implications
The study suffers from the limitations of results’ generalisability, given the size and characteristics of the sample. In the future research, the model should be tested on a larger sample. Moreover, it can be applied on other products, in which COO represents an information and quality cue.

Practical implications
Firms operating in sectors where COO implies specific characteristics of quality should enhance this attribute in their marketing strategies to increase their competitive advantage. Also policy implications with respect to the governmental actions to support wine producers are discussed.

Originality/value
Hedonic price analysis represents a well-established model; however, to the best of the authors’ knowledge it has never been used in China before. This study also highlights the primary role of COO as search attribute in wine purchase.
FEMA’s fall and redemption—applied narrative analysis
Authors: Drennan Lex 
Published: June 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to recover the narratives constructed by the disaster management policy network in Washington, DC, about the management of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Recovering and analysing these narratives provides an opportunity to understand the stories constructed about these events and consider the implications of this framing for post-event learning and adaptation of government policy.Design/methodology/approachThis research was conducted through an extended ethnographic study in Washington, DC, that incorporated field observation, qualitative interviews and desktop research.FindingsThe meta-narratives recovered through this research point to a collective tendency to fit the experiences of Hurricane Katrina and Sandy into a neatly constructed redemption arc. This narrative framing poses significant risk to policy learning and highlights the importance of exploring counter-narratives as part of the policy analysis process.Research limitations/implicationsThe narratives in this paper reflect the stories and beliefs of the participants interviewed. As such, it is inherently subjective and should not be generalised. Nonetheless, it is illustrative of how narrative framing can obscure important learnings from disasters.Originality/valueThe paper represents a valuable addition to the field of disaster management policy analysis. It extends the tools of narrative analysis and administrative ethnography into the disaster management policy domain and demonstrates how these techniques can be used to analyse complex historical events.