bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein and aquaporin‐4 antibodies are highly specific in children with acquired demyelinating syndromes
Authors: Duignan Sophie , Wright Sukhvir , Rossor Tom , Cazabon John , Gilmour Kimberly , Ciccarelli Olga , Wassmer Evangeline , Lim Ming , Hemingway Cheryl , Hacohen Yael 
Published: February 2018

AimOur objectives were to evaluate the utility of measuring myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) and aquaporin‐4 (AQP4) antibodies (Ab) in clinical practice and describe their associated neurological phenotypes in children.MethodBetween 2012 and 2017, 371 children with suspected acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) seen in three tertiary centres were tested for MOG‐Ab and AQP4‐Ab. Medical notes were retrospectively reviewed, and clinical and demographic data compiled. Clinical phenotyping was performed blinded to the antibody results.ResultsAfter review, 237 of the 371 were diagnosed with ADS. Of these, 76 out of 237 (32.1%) were MOG‐Ab positive and 14 out of 237 (5.9%) were AQP4‐Ab positive. None were positive for both autoantibodies. All 134 patients with non‐ADS were negative for MOG‐Ab. MOG‐Ab were identified in 45 out of 70 (64.3%) patients presenting with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and in 24 out of 25 patients with relapsing ADEM. Thirty‐six out of 75 (48%) MOG‐Ab positive patients relapsed. Of the 33 children with neuromyelitis optic spectrum disorder, 14 were AQP4‐Ab positive, 13 were MOG‐Ab positive, and 6 were seronegative. Of the children with longitudinal samples, 8 out of 13 AQP4‐Ab remained positive during the disease course compared to 35 out of 43 MOG‐Ab (13/16 monophasic and 22/27 relapsing).InterpretationMyelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies were identified in a third of children with ADS. Almost half of the MOG‐Ab positive children relapsed and the majority of them remained antibody positive over 4‐years follow‐up.What this paper adds

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies (MOG‐Ab) are highly specific for acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS).

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies are not identified in children with peripheral demyelination or genetic leukodystrophies/hypomyelination.

Up to 48% of MOG‐Ab ADS paediatric patients relapse, higher than previously thought.

Seroconversion to MOG‐Ab negative status is infrequent; patients may test MOG‐Ab positive at follow‐up sampling even when asymptomatic.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies status should only be used in conjunction with the clinical information to guide maintenance therapy.
Prognostic significance of platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio in patients with ovarian cancer: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Tian Chuan , Song Wei , Tian Xia , Sun Yong 
Published: February 2018

AbstractBackgroundThe platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR) has been found to predict clinical outcomes in borderline ovarian tumours and the other genital neoplasms. However, its prognostic value in patients with ovarian cancer remains controversial. The aim of this study was to assess its prognostic value in ovarian cancer.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane databases to identify studies evaluating the prognostic significance of pretreatment PLR in ovarian cancer. The end points were overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS). Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using fixed‐effects/random‐effects models.ResultsA total of 11 studies comprising 3574 patients with ovarian cancer were included. The random‐effects meta‐analysis demonstrated that patients with elevated PLR had shorter OS (HR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.24‐1.76, P < .001) and PFS (HR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.17‐1.63, P < .001). The negative prognostic impact of high PLR on OS and PFS remained substantial in Asian populations, patients with PLR ≥ 200 and studies with NOS score ≥ 7.ConclusionsElevated pretreatment PLR could be an unfavourable prognostic factor for clinical outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer.
Beneficial effects of working later in life on the health of community‐dwelling older adults
Authors: Tomioka Kimiko , Kurumatani Norio , Hosoi Hiroshi 
Published: February 2018

AimEvidence regarding the health effects of working lack coherence. This study seeks to determine if continuing to work into older age benefits or damages one's health.MethodsBaseline questionnaires were mailed to 15 058 individuals aged ≥65 years living in two municipalities in Nara Prefecture, Japan. Of these, 11 183 were returned. Analyses were limited to those who maintained each health index at baseline. We followed the participants for 3 years, and examined three health outcomes: long‐term care need, cognitive decline and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) decline. Participants were divided into four groups according to their baseline working status and follow‐up status: non‐working, retired, initiating work and continuing to work.ResultsAfter covariate adjustments, older men who initiated work had a decreased likelihood for long‐term care (odds ratio [OR] 0.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.17–0.98) and IADL decline (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.23–0.84), older men who continued working prevented the onset of long‐term care (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.09–0.54) and cognitive decline (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.50–0.96), older women who initiated working were less likely to require long‐term care (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.09–0.66) and IADL decline (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.16–0.88), and older women who continued working had a significantly lower risk of IADL decline (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.16–0.99), compared with the non‐working group. Retirees did not differ from the non‐working group in any of the health outcomes.ConclusionsAlthough beneficial effects vary by sex and type of health outcomes, the present findings suggest that policies encouraging older people to participate in the workforce contribute to extending healthy life expectancy. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 308–314.
Immunohistochemical expression of CD44 in oral squamous cell carcinoma in relation to histomorphological parameters and clinicopathological factors
Authors: Boxberg Melanie , Götz Carolin , Haidari Selgai , Dorfner Christiane , Jesinghaus Moritz , Drecoll Enken , Boskov Marko , Wolff Klaus D , Weichert Wilko , Haller Bernhard , Kolk Andreas 
Published: February 2018

AimsOral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is characterised by its variable clinical course. In addition to the routinely used TNM and Union for International Cancer Control systems, patient‐specific prognostic/predictive biomarkers are needed. Promising biomarkers include the determination of the cancer stem cell compartment, which can be identified by CD44 expression (among other things). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of CD44 in OSCC in terms of correlation with histomorphology, especially targeting features of EMT, and its influence on patient prognosis.Methods and resultsA well‐characterised cohort of 108 therapy‐naive OSCCs with complete long‐term follow‐up and matched lymph node metastases were evaluated for CD44 expression by immunohistochemistry. CD44 expression was correlated with histomorphological characteristics (including tumour differentiation and tumour budding), clinicopathological parameters, and follow‐up data. Overexpression of CD44 was detected in 37% of OSCCs within the tumour centre, in 39% of OSCCs at the invasive margin, and in 16% of lymph node metastases. CD44 overexpression at the invasive margin was significantly correlated with poor histopathological differentiation, and specifically with high tumour budding activity and single‐cell invasion as signs of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). CD44 overexpression within the tumour core region and in lymph node metastases was identified as an independent prognostic factor for poor overall, disease‐specific and disease‐free survival in subsets of patients with advanced OSCC.ConclusionOur study demonstrates the association of CD44 with tumour aggressiveness and EMT, as well as the independent prognostic impact of CD44 in a subset of OSCCs, which underlines the role of tumour cell stemness as a key factor in malignant behaviour in this disease.
Sex identification in King Penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus through morphological and acoustic cues
Authors: Kriesell Hannah J. , Aubin Thierry , Planas‐Bielsa Víctor , Benoiste Marine , Bonadonna Francesco , Gachot‐Neveu Hélène , Le Maho Yvon , Schull Quentin , Vallas Benoit , Zahn Sandrine , Le Bohec Céline 
Published: February 2018

In the context of sexual selection, animals have developed a variety of cues conveying information about the sex of an individual to conspecifics. In many colonial seabird species, where females and males are monomorphic and do not show obvious differences in external morphology, acoustic cues are an important signal for individual and sex recognition. Here, we study the vocal and morphological sex dimorphism in the King Penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus, a colonial, monomorphic seabird for which our knowledge about the role of vocalizations and morphology in mate choice is very limited. Data were collected at Possession Island, Crozet Archipelago, in a breeding colony consisting of about 16 000 breeding pairs. Using measurements of six morphological features and analysing acoustic parameters of call recordings of adult individuals, we show that King Penguins can be sexed based on a single morphological measurement of the beak with an accuracy of 79%. We found a sex‐specific syntax in adult King Penguin calls that provided a 100% accurate method to distinguish between the sexes in our study population. To confirm the method at the species level, we analysed calls recorded from King Penguin adults in Kerguelen Island, 1300 km away from our study population and found the same accuracy of the sex‐specific syntax. This sex‐specific syllable arrangement is rare in non‐passerines and is a first step in understanding the mate choice process in this species. Furthermore, it offers a cost‐effective, non‐invasive technique for researchers to sex King Penguins in the field.
Suboptimal use of pharmacological venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in cirrhotic patients
Authors: Yang Linda S. , Alukaidey Sumaya , Croucher Katherine , Dowling Damian 
Published: February 2018

AbstractBackgroundCirrhosis was previously perceived as a haemorrhagic disease state due to frequent associations with coagulopathy and bleeding. However, the coagulopathy of cirrhosis is complex with defects in both procoagulant and anticoagulant factors. Derangements in common laboratory indices of coagulation do not accurately reflect bleeding risk or protection from thrombotic events.AimsTo assess the rate of pharmacological prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism (VTE) among hospital inpatients with cirrhosis and analyse factors associated with prophylaxis being inappropriately withheld.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was performed in a tertiary teaching hospital. Patients included were admitted for greater than 48 h with discharge diagnosis codes corresponding to chronic liver disease and/or cirrhosis. The use of VTE chemoprophylaxis with enoxaparin was assessed in cirrhotic patients and non‐cirrhotic controls. Patient data collected included contraindications to prophylaxis, known high‐risk varices, international normalised ratio (INR), creatinine, bilirubin, haemoglobin and platelet count.ResultsOf 108 patients with cirrhosis eligible for VTE prophylaxis, 61 (56.5%) received prophylaxis compared to 104 (96.3%) non‐cirrhotic patients. Platelets and INR were significantly different between those who did and did not receive VTE prophylaxis. On multivariate analysis, platelet count and INR were independent predictors for VTE not being administered.ConclusionThe administration of chemoprophylaxis in accordance with the hospital guidelines was suboptimal in patients with cirrhosis. Platelet count and INR were independent predictors of prophylaxis use. Our results suggest persistent misperceptions that prolonged INR and thrombocytopenia predict bleeding risk in cirrhosis.
Not only for males: the pleon‐holding mechanism in female calappids (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura)
Authors: Köhnk Stephanie , Gorb Stanislav N. , Boretius Susann , Brandis Dirk 
Published: February 2018

AbstractAdult female Calappidae were examined with light microscopy and microcomputed tomography for the presence of a pleon‐holding mechanism. A typical press‐button consisting of a protrusion on the fifth thoracic sternite and a socket on the sixth pleon segment was found in species of the genera Calappa, Calappula, Cycloes, Mursia, and Paracyclois. Within the genus Calappa, 15 of 17 species showed a complete press‐button mechanism, whereas in two species only a sternal button or none of the holding structures could be observed. The functionality of the mechanism was assessed by manually flexing and opening the pleon. This revealed a lack of function in species with fully developed holding structures, while others exhibited full function. Additionally, signs of abrasive wear could be identified with scanning electron microscopy on the surface of the holding structures of Calappa hepatica. The documentation of pleon‐holding structures of varying degrees of functionality in adult female eubrachyurans provides new insight into a morphological characteristic known exclusively from Brachyura.
Has Financial Regulation Been a Flop? (or How to Reform Dodd‐Frank)
Authors: Calomiris Charles W. 
Published: February 2018

Recent bank regulations have imposed large compliance costs on banks of all sizes, and have increased the costs of borrowing to both consumers and companies. But in this summary of his recent book, the author argues that the problems with banking system regulation go well beyond the excessive costs. Indeed, Dodd‐Frank and other post‐crisis regulatory reforms have failed to address the major shortcomings that produced the crisis of 2007–2009. Most importantly, excessive housing finance risk was not dealt with adequately, and is already on the rise again. And prudential standards for banks, while much stricter, remain unreliable in a severe economic downturn.After providing evidence of the shortcomings of major parts of the regulatory structure created after 2008, the author points to fundamental problems in the thinking underlying the post‐crisis regulatory changes that made those reforms unlikely to succeed. Moreover, he argues that the new processes of financial regulation have fostered many abuses of the rule of law, which have politicized regulation, adding to its cost and discrediting important supervisory and regulatory agencies. The author suggests that simpler, more effective, less costly, and more respectable approaches to regulation are possible. He offers a set of principles to guide reform and proposes over 20 specific actions that would enhance the effectiveness, reduce the costs, and improve the processes of bank regulation.
Statement of the Financial Economists Roundtable: Bank Capital as a Substitute for Prudential Regulation
Authors: Calomiris Charles W. , Harris Larry , Schrand Catherine , Weil Roman L. 
Published: February 2018

The Financial CHOICE Act recently passed by the House proposes to create an “off‐ramp” that would allow banks to escape burdensome prudential regulation if the ratio of their equity capital to their total assets is 10% or more.The Financial Economists Roundtable supports this idea as a means of reducing regulatory costs, but believes some additional safeguards are needed. A capital ratio of 10% may not be high enough to discourage banks from excessive risk taking. A solution is to have two capital requirements for banks choosing the off‐ramp: one absolute (as proposed in the act) and one risk‐based. The FER believes that many banks will prefer this regime to the current burdensome prudential regulation, especially if regulators simplify the setting of risk weights and make them more rule‐based.Regulators setting minimum capital requirements should consider not only a bank’s stand‐alone risk, but also the systemic risk posed by banks, as well as the tendency of accounting measures of income and assets to overstate the economic value of banks’ equity capital.The Financial Choice Act would also eliminate useful elements of ongoing supervision and regulation, not all of which can be addressed by higher capital alone. Furthermore, to facilitate regulatory learning about risks, off‐ramped banks should continue to report the data that regulators use for stress tests, even if they are no longer subjected to the discipline of stress tests.Finally, the act is viewed as too permissive in its treatment of off‐ramped banks that get into trouble. To prevent gaming of regulation, FERC recommends that off‐ramped banks that subsequently fall below the minimum requirements should be required to raise new capital immediately.
Leverage and Taxes: Evidence from the Real Estate Industry
Authors: Barclay Michael J. , Heitzman Shane M. , Smith Clifford W. 
Published: February 2018

Finance theory has long viewed corporate income taxes as a potentially important determinant of corporate financing decisions and capital structures. But finance academics have been unable to provide convincing empirical evidence of a material effect of taxes on corporate leverage, in part because of difficulties in constructing an effective proxy for marginal corporate tax rates, and hence for the tax benefits of debt, for large samples of individual companies.The authors address this by analyzing leverage decisions in an industry whose publicly traded entities are organized either as taxable corporations, or as real estate investment trusts (REITs) that effectively avoid entity level taxation. This enables them to measure the relative tax benefits of debt with greater precision while controlling for important nontax characteristics that affect debt usage. The tax hypothesis predicts that for real estate firms with similar asset portfolios, taxable firms should have more debt than their nontaxable counterparts. Both the nontaxable and the taxable real estate firms in our sample routinely have more than twice the leverage of industrial firms, which suggests that factors other than taxes are contributing to their use of debt. But among real estate firms, tax status appears to play a much weaker role. Taxable firms have significantly more leverage only after 2000, when restrictions on REITs were removed through new regulations that made their operations much more like those of taxable real estate firms. Our findings also depend on real estate characteristics—most notably, only residential real estate firms demonstrated differences that are consistent with the tax hypothesis.Taken together, the authors’ findings suggest that although taxes do seem to matter, their role is clearly secondary relative to factors such as the nature of the firm’s assets. A generous interpretation of our evidence puts the effect of taxes between one‐third and one‐half of that implied by prior research.
Nurses' turnover intention: The impact of leader‐member exchange, organizational identification and job embeddedness
Authors: Dechawatanapaisal Decha 
Published: February 2018

AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to examine the influence of three factors on turnover intention: leader‐member exchange quality, organizational identification and job embeddedness. This area of inquiry has not been fully investigated in the literature.BackgroundEmployee turnover, particularly of professionals, becomes a very challenging issue. It continually affects organizations in terms of resourcing and developmental costs, manpower instability, day‐to‐day operations, perception of quality care and efficiency. Therefore, employees' working attitude and behaviour have drawn increasing attention for further research to determine which factors keep them with their employer.DesignA cross‐sectional survey was conducted with self‐report questionnaires.MethodsData were collected from 1,966 nurses from sixteen private general hospitals in Thailand during February–June 2016. Hypotheses were tested and analysed by means of a confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling and a bootstrapping procedure.ResultsThe results revealed the direct relationship between leader‐member exchange quality and job embeddedness. Organizational identification played an intermediary role that partially mediated the relationship between leader‐member exchange quality on job embeddedness. Analysis also provided support for the mediating effect of organizational identification and turnover intention through job embeddedness.ConclusionThis study extends the job embeddedness theory and gains understanding of the antecedent factors that directly and indirectly cause employees to become embedded and lead to predict turnover intention. The findings are pertinent, as few studies have investigated such relationships. The implications provide insights into how organizations can better retain their workforce.
Living on the edge: Ecological and genetic connectivity of the spiny‐footed lizard, Acanthodactylus aureus, confirms the Atlantic Sahara desert as a biogeographic corridor and centre of lineage diversification
Authors: Velo‐Antón Guillermo , Martínez‐Freiría Fernando , Pereira Paulo , Crochet Pierre‐André , Brito José Carlos 
Published: February 2018

AbstractAimClimatic fluctuations in northern Africa substantially changed the extent of the Sahara desert and Saharan species’ ranges. Yet, the region contained areas of climatic stability. We test the hypothesis that the Atlantic Sahara was a stable corridor, connecting ecoregions, for the spiny‐footed lizard Acanthodactylus aureus.LocationAfrica, Saharan Atlantic coastal desert.MethodsWe combined ecological modelling and phylogeographic and population genetic analyses. Ecological models for past and current conditions were used to predict climatically stable areas for the species over time. Genetic analysis, including for three mitochondrial fragments (12S, Cytb and COI), one nuclear gene (C‐mos) and 18 microsatellite markers, were used to unveil patterns of genetic structure and diversity, and gene flow dynamics within A. aureus.ResultsThree mtDNA allopatric lineages diversified during the Pliocene‐Pleistocene along the Atlantic Sahara. Two main areas of high climatic stability largely fit the regions with highest mtDNA diversity. Mito‐nuclear discordances along some coastal regions indicate evidence of gene flow between lineages, which are likely mediated by population expansions and male‐biased dispersal. Several geographical barriers to gene flow were also identified.Main conclusionThis study highlights the role of the Atlantic Sahara ecoregion both as a centre of lineage diversification and as a occasional suitable corridor within the Sahara desert. Population retractions and expansions resulting from climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene, facilitated allopatric diversification and genetic introgression processes along this region, whereas stable geographical barriers limited gene flow dynamics.