bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Blood Flow Suppresses Vascular Anomalies in a Zebrafish Model of Cerebral Cavernous Malformations
Authors: Rödel Claudia Jasmin , Otten Cécile , Donat Stefan , Lourenço Marta , Fischer Dorothea , Kuropka Benno , Paolini Alessio , Freund Christian , Abdelilah-Seyfried Salim 
Published: September 2019

Rationale:
Pathological biomechanical signaling induces vascular anomalies including cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM), which are caused by a clonal loss of CCM1/KRIT1 (Krev interaction trapped protein 1), CCM2/MGC4607, or CCM3/PDCD10. Why patients typically experience lesions only in lowly perfused venous capillaries of the cerebrovasculature is completely unknown.

Objective:
In contrast, animal models with a complete loss of CCM proteins lack a functional heart and blood flow and exhibit vascular anomalies within major blood vessels as well. This finding raises the possibility that hemodynamics may play a role in the context of this vascular pathology.

Methods and Results:
Here, we used a genetic approach to restore cardiac function and blood flow in a zebrafish model of CCM1. We find that blood flow prevents cardiovascular anomalies including a hyperplastic expansion within a large Ccm1-deficient vascular bed, the lateral dorsal aorta.

Conclusions:
This study identifies blood flow as an important physiological factor that is protective in the cause of this devastating vascular pathology.
Phase I/II Study of Safety and Preliminary Efficacy of Intravenous Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Chronic Stroke
Authors: Levy Michael L. , Crawford John R. , Dib Nabil , Verkh Lev , Tankovich Nikolai , Cramer Steven C. 
Published: September 2019

Background and Purpose—
Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability. Limited treatment options exist for patients with chronic stroke and substantial functional deficits. The current study examined safety and preliminary efficacy estimates of intravenous allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells in this population.

Methods—
Entry criteria included ischemic stroke >6 months prior and substantial impairment (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≥6) and disability. Enrollees received a single intravenous dose of allogeneic ischemia-tolerant mesenchymal stem cells. Phase 1 used a dose-escalation design (3 tiers, n=5 each). Phase 2 was an expanded safety cohort. The primary end point was safety over 1-year. Secondary end points examined behavioral change.

Results—

In phase 1 (n=15), each dose (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 million cells/kg body weight) was found safe, so phase 2 subjects (n=21) received 1.5 million cells/kg. At baseline, subjects (n=36) averaged 4.2±4.6 years poststroke, age 61.1±10.8 years, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score 8 (6.5–10), and Barthel Index 65±29. Two were lost to follow-up, one was withdrawn and 2 died (unrelated to study treatment). Of 15 serious adverse events, none was possibly or probably related to study treatment. Two mild adverse events were possibly related to study treatment, a urinary tract infection and intravenous site irritation. Treatment was safe based on serial exams, electrocardiograms, laboratory tests, and computed tomography scans of chest/abdomen/pelvis. All behavioral end points showed significant gains over the 12-months of follow-up. For example, Barthel Index scores increased by 6.8±11.4 points (mean±SD) at 6-months (
P
=0.002) and by 10.8±15.5 points at 12-months (
P
<0.001) post-infusion; the proportion of patients achieving excellent functional outcome (Barthel score ≥95) increased from 11.4% at baseline to 27.3% at 6-months and to 35.5% at 12-months.

Conclusions—
Intravenous transfusion of allogeneic ischemia-tolerant mesenchymal stem cell in patients with chronic stroke and substantial functional deficits was safe and suggested behavioral gains. These data support proceeding to a randomized, placebo-controlled study of this therapy in this population.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT01297413.
Deanophlebia: A new genus of south-eastern Australian mayflies and subsequent redefinition of the subgenus Nousia (Australonousia) (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae)
Authors: FINLAY K. J. 
Published: September 2019

A new genus of Leptophlebiidae has been established to accommodate two morphospecies, previously known only from nymphs and assigned to the Australian genus Nousia (subgenus Australonousia). The genus Deanophlebia is established for the species: Deanophlebia kala (Harker) (comb nov.) and Deanophlebia radsjoshi (sp. nov.), both of which were first found in the alpine regions of New South Wales but with a range which extends into East Gippsland in Victoria. The genus can be distinguished from Nousia by the consistently larger size of both the imagos and nymphs. Furthermore, fore and hind wing venation and genitalia morphology are characteristic in the imago as is mouthpart morphology in the nymph. Differences between Deanophlebia and Nousia are defined and discussed and differences between the subgenera of Nousia are re-defined.
First catalogue of the Asopinae (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) from French Guiana
Authors: LUPOLI ROLAND 
Published: September 2019

Nine identified species of Asopinae belonging to seven genera were previously reported from French Guiana. Twelve more species are reported here for the first time. Thus, a total of 21 species in nine genera of Asopinae are now known and reported from French Guiana, which represents about 20 % of all the Asopinae species recorded in South America, and though French Guiana only accounting for half a percent of its surface area. Examined species are photographed; localities, some new hosts and ecological aspects are mentioned. The genera Tylospilus and Tyrannocoris are recorded here for the first time in French Guiana and Tyrannocoris jole for the first time in South America.
Observing Possible Thermodynamic Controls on Tropical Marine Rainfall in Moist Environments
Authors: Powell Scott W. 
Published: September 2019

Abstract
Radar and rawinsonde data from four ground-based observing stations in the tropical Indo-Pacific warm pool were used to identify possible associations of environmental state variables and their vertical profiles with radar-derived rain rate inside a mesoscale radar domain when the column-integrated relative humidity (CRH) exceeds 80%. At CRH exceeding 80%, a wide range—from near 0 to ~50 mm day−1—in rain rate is observed; therefore, tropospheric moisture was a necessary but insufficient condition for deep convection. This study seeks to identify possible factors that inhibit rainfall when the atmosphere is sufficiently moist to support large precipitation rates. The domain-mean rain rate was highly sensitive to the areal coverage of intense, convective rainfall that occurs. There were two fundamentally different instances in which convective area was low. One was when the radar domain is primarily occupied by weakly precipitating, stratiform echoes. The other was when the radar domain contained almost no precipitating echoes of any type. While the former was dependent upon the stage of the convective life cycle seen by radar, the latter was probably dependent upon the convective environment. Areal coverage of convective echoes was largely determined by the number of individual convective echoes rather than their sizes, so changes in the clear-air environment of updrafts might have governed how many updrafts grew into deep cumulonimbi. The most likely environmental influence on convective rainfall identified using rawinsonde data was 900–700-hPa lapse rate; however, processes occurring on spatial scales smaller than a radar domain were probably also important but not investigated.
Drylines in Southern Africa: Rediscovering the Congo Air Boundary
Authors: Howard Emma , Washington Richard 
Published: September 2019

AbstractProjected rainfall decline in southern Africa is likely to be highly sensitive to subtleties in the local atmospheric circulation. In an effort to understand the regional circulation complexities, a novel algorithm is developed to identify the Congo air boundary (CAB) in ERA-5, a high-resolution reanalysis dataset. The CAB, a forgotten feature of the circulation, is defined in the austral spring and early summer, using surface humidity gradients and near-surface wind convergence lines, and it is found to be an indicator of the location of the southern edge of the African rain belt. A related convergence-line and dryline feature, described in this paper as the Kalahari discontinuity (KD), is also identified. It is established that either a dryline CAB or KD is present in southern Africa for over 95% of days between August and December, with arc lengths typically exceeding 10°. The seasonal and diurnal cycles of the CAB and the KD are presented, and their prevalence in station observational data is confirmed. The interannual variability of the CAB latitude and detection frequency is found to explain at least 55% of interannual spring rainfall variability in southern Africa between 15° to 25°S. Links are established with the Angola and Kalahari heat lows and tropical temperate trough events.
Progress toward Characterization of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer over Northern Alabama Using Observations by a Vertically Pointing, S-Band Profiling Radar during VORTEX-Southeast
Authors: Tanamachi Robin L. , Frasier Stephen J. , Waldinger Joseph , LaFleur Allison , Turner David D. , Rocadenbosch Francesc 
Published: September 2019

AbstractDuring spring 2016 and spring 2017, a vertically pointing, S-band Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave radar (UMass FMCW) was deployed in northern Alabama under the auspices of the Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (VORTEX)-Southeast. In total, ~14 weeks of data were collected, in conditions ranging from quiescent clear skies to severe thunderstorms. The principal objective of these deployments was to characterize the boundary layer evolution near the VORTEX-Southeast domain. In this paper, we describe intermediate results in service of this objective. Specifically, we describe updates to the UMass FMCW system, document its deployments for VORTEX-Southeast, and apply four automated algorithms: 1) a dealiasing algorithm to the Doppler velocities, 2) a fuzzy logic scatterer classification scheme to separate precipitation from nonprecipitation observations, 3) a brightband/melting-layer identification algorithm for stratiform precipitation, and 4) an extended Kalman filter–based convective boundary layer depth (mixing height) measurement algorithm for nonprecipitation observations. Results from the latter two applications are qualitatively verified against retrieved soundings from a collocated thermodynamic profiling system.
Assimilation of All-Sky SEVIRI Infrared Brightness Temperatures in a Regional-Scale Ensemble Data Assimilation System
Authors: Otkin Jason A. , Potthast Roland 
Published: September 2019

AbstractEnsemble data assimilation experiments were performed to assess the ability of satellite all-sky infrared brightness temperatures and different bias correction (BC) predictors to improve the accuracy of short-range forecasts used as the model background during each assimilation cycle. Satellite observations sensitive to clouds and water vapor in the upper troposphere were assimilated at hourly intervals during a 3-day period. Linear and nonlinear conditional biases were removed from the infrared observations using a Taylor series polynomial expansion of the observation-minus-background departures and BC predictors sensitive to clouds and water vapor or to variations in the satellite zenith angle. Assimilating the all-sky infrared brightness temperatures without BC degraded the forecast accuracy based on comparisons to radiosonde observations. Removal of the linear and nonlinear conditional biases from the satellite observations substantially improved the results, with predictors sensitive to the location of the cloud top having the largest impact, especially when higher-order nonlinear BC terms were used. Overall, experiments employing the observed cloud-top height or observed brightness temperature as the bias predictor had the smallest water vapor, cloud, and wind speed errors, while also having less degradation to temperatures than occurred when using other predictors. The forecast errors were smaller during these experiments because the cloud-height-sensitive BC predictors were able to more effectively remove the large conditional biases for lower brightness temperatures associated with a deficiency in upper-level clouds in the model background.
Object-Based Verification of Short-Term, Storm-Scale Probabilistic Mesocyclone Guidance from an Experimental Warn-on-Forecast System
Authors: Flora Montgomery L. , Skinner Patrick S. , Potvin Corey K. , Reinhart Anthony E. , Jones Thomas A. , Yussouf Nusrat , Knopfmeier Kent H. 
Published: September 2019

Abstract
An object-based verification method for short-term, storm-scale probabilistic forecasts was developed and applied to mesocyclone guidance produced by the experimental Warn-on-Forecast System (WoFS) in 63 cases from 2017 to 2018. The probabilistic mesocyclone guidance was generated by calculating gridscale ensemble probabilities from WoFS forecasts of updraft helicity (UH) in layers 2–5 km (midlevel) and 0–2 km (low-level) above ground level (AGL) aggregated over 60-min periods. The resulting ensemble probability swaths are associated with individual thunderstorms and treated as objects with a single, representative probability value prescribed. A mesocyclone probability object, conceptually, is a region bounded by the ensemble forecast envelope of a mesocyclone track for a given thunderstorm over 1 h. The mesocyclone probability objects were matched against rotation track objects in Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor data using the total interest score, but with the maximum displacement varied between 0, 9, 15, and 30 km. Forecast accuracy and reliability were assessed at four different forecast lead time periods: 0–60, 30–90, 60–120, and 90–150 min. In the 0–60-min forecast period, the low-level UH probabilistic forecasts had a POD, FAR, and CSI of 0.46, 0.45, and 0.31, respectively, with a probability threshold of 22.2% (the threshold of maximum CSI). In the 90–150-min forecast period, the POD and CSI dropped to 0.39 and 0.27 while FAR remained relatively unchanged. Forecast probabilities &gt; 60% overpredicted the likelihood of observed mesocyclones in the 0–60-min period; however, reliability improved when allowing larger maximum displacements for object matching and at longer lead times.
Evolution of the Criteria of “Brain Death”: A Critical Analysis Based on Scientific Realism and Christian Anthropology
Authors: Nguyen Doyen 
Published: September 2019

“Brain death” (understood in the sense of “whole brain death” and not in the sense of “brainstem death”) was introduced into clinical practice in 1968 when the Harvard Ad Hoc Committee defined irreversible coma as a new criterion for death (understood in the full sense of the word). According to the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA), promulgated in 1981 by the President’s Commission (which also formally advanced the first conceptual rationale for brain death), the legal declaration of death using the brain death standard requires the irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem. The brain death standard has since evolved, however, to include significant modifications even though, on a literal reading, its clinical test criteria have remained unchanged. This article gives an account of why and how the brain death standard has been updated, leading to the currently practiced guidelines for the determination of brain death put forth by the American Academy of Neurology. According to the updated standard, the presence of certain brain or spinal cord functions does not invalidate the diagnosis of brain death. By analyzing these guidelines critically on the basis of scientific realism and Thomistic hylomorphism, this article demonstrates that the updated brain death standard contradicts both the UDDA and the tenets of sound anthropology held by the Catholic Church. Summary: This article examines the evolution of the “brain death” standard from the time of its introduction by the Harvard Committee until the current guidelines established by the American Academy of Neurology. This evolution consists mainly of a selective discarding of certain brain and spinal cord functions that are deemed insignificant. Based on the principles of scientific realism and a Thomistic substance view of human nature, this article shows that the evolved standard contradicts both the Uniform Determination of Death Act definition of brain death and the fundamental tenets of Christian anthropology as taught by the Catholic Church.
Brain Death and the Formation of Moral Conscience
Authors: Ostertag Christopher , Karches Kyle 
Published: September 2019

In this article, we provide an update to Catholic ethicists and clinicians about the current status of Catholic teaching and practice regarding brain death. We aim to challenge the notion that the question has been definitively settled, despite the widespread application of this concept in medical practice including at Catholic facilities. We first summarize some of the notable arguments for and against brain death in Catholic thought as well as the available magisterial teachings on this topic. Although Catholic bishops, theologians, and ethicists have generally signaled at least tentative approval of the neurological criteria for the determination of death, we contend that no definitive magisterial teaching on brain death currently exists; therefore, Catholics are not currently bound to uphold any position on these criteria. In the second part of the article, we describe how Catholics, particularly Catholic medical practitioners, must presently inform their consciences on this issue while awaiting a more definitive magisterial resolution. Summary: Some prominent Catholic theologians and physicians have argued against the validity of brain death; however, most Catholic ethicists and physicians accept the validity of brain death as true human death. In this paper, we argue that there is no definitive magisterial teaching on brain death, meaning that Catholics are not bound to uphold any position on brain death. Catholics in general, but especially Catholic medical practitioners, should inform their consciences on this intra-Catholic debate on brain death while awaiting more definitive magisterial teaching.
Kinesio taping versus compression garments for treating breast cancer–related lymphedema: a randomized, cross-over, controlled trial
Authors: Pajero Otero Violeta , García Delgado Esther , Martín Cortijo Concepción , Romay Barrero Helena María , de Carlos Iriarte Esperanza , Avendaño-Coy Juan 
Published: September 2019

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of Kinesio taping compared to compression garments during maintenance phase of complex decongestive therapy for breast cancer–related lymphedema. Design: Randomized, cross-over, controlled trial. Setting: Outpatient tertiary-level hospital rehabilitation setting. Subjects: Randomized sample of 30 women with breast cancer–related lymphedema. Interventions: Participants received two interventions, Kinesio taping and compression garment, both lasting four weeks, whose order was randomized by blocks. A four-week washout period was established prior to the interventions and between them. Measurements: The main outcome was the lymphedema Relative Volume Change. Secondary outcomes were range of motion of arm joints, self-perception of comfort, and lymphedema-related symptoms (pain, tightness, heaviness, and hardness). Results: The decrease in the Relative Volume Change was greater in the Kinesio taping intervention (–5.7%, SD = 2.0) compared to that observed using compression garments (–3.4%, SD = 2.9) ( P < 0.001). The range of motion of five upper-limb movements increased after applying taping (between 5.8° and 16.7°) ( P < 0.05), but not after compression ( P > 0.05). In addition, taping was perceived as more comfortable by patients (between 2.4 and 3 points better than compression in four questions with a 5-point scale ( P < 0.001)) and further reduced lymphedema-related symptoms compared to compression (between 0.96 and 1.40 points better in four questions with a 6-point scale ( P < 0.05)). Conclusion: Kinesio taping was more effective than compression garments for reducing the lymphedema volume, with less severe lymphedema-related symptoms, better improvement of upper-limb mobility, and more comfort.
Supporting Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Factory Workers and Their Unemployed Neighbors: Peer Counseling in Bangladesh
Authors: Haider Rukhsana , Thorley Virginia 
Published: September 2019

Background Thirty-six percent of females are employed in Bangladesh, many in the readymade garments manufacturing industry. Inadequate access to health information, care, and long working hours makes exclusive breastfeeding particularly challenging for these employed mothers. Research aim To describe the influence of a breastfeeding education and support program on breastfeeding patterns of mothers working in garment and other factories in Bangladesh. Methods A descriptive two-group prospective, mixed methods, longitudinal prospective study was conducted from May 2015 to March 2017. Peer counselors were trained to provide home-based counseling from 6 months of pregnancy until infants completed 6 months for pregnant and lactating factory workers and neighboring unemployed women. The total evaluation sample ( N = 304) consisted of participants still employed ( n = 190) and unemployed ( n = 144). Peer counselors recorded socioeconomic information, weights, and infant feeding patterns. Descriptive statistical analyses examined the peer counselors’ influence on breastfeeding practices. Results Initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hr was high in both groups, 173 (91%) among the employed, and 101 (89%) among the unemployed participants. Exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months was reported by 107 out of 125 (86%) of the employed participants versus 72 out of 76 (95%) of those unemployed. Conclusions Community-based peer counselors can help to inform, encourage, and support both factory workers and unemployed women with optimal breastfeeding patterns. Factories who have female workers should consider employing outreach peer counselors as part of their community social responsibility, and as a way to contribute to the sustainability of these programs.