bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Family history of prostate cancer and age‐related trend of testosterone levels among US males: NHANES 2003–2004
Authors: Zhang X. , Zhong Y. , Taylor N. , Xu X. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractBackgroundStudies have suggested that rapid age‐related declines of testosterone (T) level may play a critical role in the development of prostate cancer (PCa), and family history of PCa is another well‐established risk factor of PCa, which have been reported to be associated with androgen metabolism‐related genes. However, few studies have ever investigated whether a family history of PCa influences the risk of PCa via regulating the age‐related trend of T level among males over the life course.ObjectivesTo examine the association between family history of PCa and age‐related trend of T levels.Materials and MethodsWe used National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 2003 to 2004 (n = 322) to compare the age‐specific T levels in males with a family history of PCa and those without.ResultsWe found that between two younger age groups (ages 20–39 and 40–59), there was a more pronounced drop‐off in T levels among men with a family history of PCa compared to men without a family history.Discussion and ConclusionThis preliminary analysis suggested that men with a family history of PCa may experience a sharper decline in T level over the life course as compared to males without a family history. However, no conclusions can be made due to small sample sizes. Further longitudinal studies with large sample sizes are needed.
Testing random effects in linear mixed models: another look at the F‐test (with discussion)
Authors: Hui F. K. C. , Müller Samuel , Welsh A. H. 
Published: April 2019

SummaryThis article re‐examines the F‐test based on linear combinations of the responses, or FLC test, for testing random effects in linear mixed models. In current statistical practice, the FLC test is underused and we argue that it should be reconsidered as a valuable method for use with linear mixed models. We present a new, more general derivation of the FLC test which applies to a broad class of linear mixed models where the random effects can be correlated. We highlight three advantages of the FLC test that are often overlooked in modern applications of linear mixed models, namely its computation speed, its generality, and its exactness as a test. Empirical studies provide new insight into the finite sample performance of the FLC test, identifying cases where it is competitive or even outperforms modern methods in terms of power, as well as settings in which it performs worse than simulation‐based methods for testing random effects. In all circumstances, the FLC test is faster to compute.
A human amniotic membrane plug to repair retinal detachment associated with large macular tear
Authors: Caporossi Tomaso , Tartaro Ruggero , De Angelis Lorenzo , Pacini Bianca , Rizzo Stanislao 
Published: April 2019

AbstractPurposeTo describe a surgical technique, using a human amniotic membrane (hAM) plug, in two cases of retinal detachment with a large macular tear.MethodsSurgical technique description with surgical video. A 23‐gauge pars plana vitrectomy with peripheral retinectomy was performed. An hAM plug was implanted under the neuroretina to seal the posterior retinal break. Standard silicone oil tamponade was performed at the end of the surgery. The patients were positioned face down after the operation for the first 2 weeks. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans were performed in the follow‐ups.ResultsThe 1 week postoperative OCT showed a neuroretina ingrowth over the hAM plug. The 3‐month OCT showed a regenerated neurosensory retina entirely covering the hAM plug. Visual acuity improved from light perception to 20/400 (LogMAR 1,3) 3 months after the operation in both patients. The silicone oil was extracted 4 months after surgery, and no recurrences were observed. The patients’ visual acuity remained stable at 20/400 after the silicone oil extraction.ConclusionIn these complex cases, hAM transplantation can be a valid option not only to help the retinal reattachment but also for a partial regenerative effect which, in these cases, was accompanied by a visual acuity recovery.
What do we owe the newly dead? An ethical analysis of findings from Japan's corpse hotels workers
Authors: Jecker Nancy S. , Miwa Eriko 
Published: April 2019

AbstractWhile people are still alive, we owe them respect. Yet what, if anything, do we owe the newly dead? This question is an urgent practical concern for aged societies, because older people die at higher rates than any other age group. One novel way in which Japan, the frontrunner of aged societies, meets its need to accommodate high numbers of newly dead is itai hoteru or corpse hotels. Itai hoteru offer families a way to wait for space in over‐crowded crematoriums while affording an environment conducive to grieving. Drawing on conversations with itai hoteru employees, we delineate the values this contemporary death practice expresses and show how these values comprise part of the broader idea of a good death. A good death implies duties on both sides of death's divide: to both the dying and the newly dead.
Period‐specific mean annual hospital volume of radical cystectomy is associated with outcome and perioperative quality of care: a nationwide population‐based study
Authors: Liedberg Fredrik , Hagberg Oskar , Aljabery Firas , Gårdmark Truls , Hosseini Abolfazl , Jahnson Staffan , Jancke Georg , Jerlström Tomas , Malmström Per‐Uno , Sherif Amir , Ströck Viveka , Häggström Christel , Holmberg Lars 
Published: April 2019

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between hospital volume and overall survival (OS), cancer‐specific survival (CSS), and quality of care of patients with bladder cancer who undergo radical cystectomy (RC), defined as the use of extended lymphadenectomy (eLND), continent reconstruction, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), and treatment delay of <3 months.Patients and MethodsWe used the Bladder Cancer Data Base Sweden (BladderBaSe) to study survival and indicators of perioperative quality of care in all 3172 patients who underwent RC for primary invasive bladder cancer stage T1–T3 in Sweden between 1997 and 2014. The period‐specific mean annual hospital volume (PSMAV) during the 3 years preceding surgery was applied as an exposure and analysed using univariate and multivariate mixed models, adjusting for tumour and nodal stage, age, gender, comorbidity, educational level, and NAC. PSMAV was either categorised in tertiles, dichotomised (at ≥25 RCs annually), or used as a continuous variable for every increase of 10 RCs annually.ResultsPSMAV in the highest tertile (≥25 RCs annually) was associated with improved OS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.75–1.0), whereas the corresponding HR for CSS was 0.87 (95% CI 0.73–1.04). With PSMAV as a continuous variable, OS was improved for every increase of 10 RCs annually (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.90–0.99). Moreover, higher PSMAV was associated with increased use of eLND, continent reconstruction and NAC, but also more frequently with a treatment delay of >3 months after diagnosis.ConclusionsThe current study supports centralisation of RC for bladder cancer, but also underpins the need for monitoring treatment delays associated with referral.
Global, regional and national burden of testicular cancer, 1990–2016: results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016
Authors: Pishgar Farhad , Haj‐Mirzaian Arvin , Ebrahimi Hedyeh , Saeedi Moghaddam Sahar , Mohajer Bahram , Nowroozi Mohammad Reza , Ayati Mohsen , Farzadfar Farshad , Fitzmaurice Christina , Amini Erfan 
Published: April 2019

ObjectiveTo provide estimates of the global incidence, mortality and disability‐adjusted life‐years (DALYs) associated with testicular cancer (TCa) between 1990 and 2016, using findings from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2016 study.Materials and MethodsFor the GBD 2016 study, cancer registry data and a vital registration system were used to estimate TCa mortality. Mortality to incidence ratios were used to transform mortality estimates to incidence, and to estimate survival, which was then used to estimate 10‐year prevalence. Prevalence was weighted using disability weights to estimate years lived with disability (YLDs). Age‐specific mortality and a reference life expectancy were used to estimate years of life lost (YLLs). DALYs are the sum of YLDs and YLLs.ResultsGlobal incidence of TCa showed a 1.80‐fold increase from 37 231 (95% uncertainty interval [ UI] 36 116–38 515) in 1990 to 66 833 (95% UI 64 487–69 736) new cases in 2016. The age‐standardized incidence rate also increased from 1.5 (95% UI 1.45–1.55) to 1.75 (95% UI 1.69–1.83) cases per 100 000. Deaths from TCa remained stable between 1990 and 2016 [1990: 8394 (95% UI 7980–8904), 2016: 8651 (95% UI 8292–9027)]. The TCa age‐standardized death rate decreased between 1990 and 2016, from 0.39 (95% UI 0.37–0.41) to 0.25 (95% UI 0.24–0.26) per 100 000; however, the decreasing trend was not similar in all regions. Global TCa DALYs decreased by 2% and reached 391 816 (95% UI 372 360–412 031) DALYs in 2016. The age‐standardized DALY rate also decreased globally between 1990 and 2016 (10.31 [95% UI 9.82–10.84]) per 100 000 in 2016).ConclusionAlthough the mortality rate for TCa has decreased over recent decades, large disparities still exist in TCa mortality, probably as a result of lack of access to healthcare and oncological treatment. Timely diagnosis of this cancer, by improving general awareness, should be prioritized. In addition, improving access to effective therapies and trained healthcare workforces in developing and under‐developed areas could be the next milestones.
Oiling the wheels of discovery
Authors: Flower Roderick J. 
Published: April 2019

Linked ArticlesThis article is part of a themed section on Eicosanoids 35 years from the 1982 Nobel: where are we now? To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v176.8/issuetoc
Death among primates: a critical review of non‐human primate interactions towards their dead and dying
Authors: Gonçalves André , Carvalho Susana 
Published: April 2019

ABSTRACTFor the past two centuries, non‐human primates have been reported to inspect, protect, retrieve, carry or drag the dead bodies of their conspecifics and, for nearly the same amount of time, sparse scientific attention has been paid to such behaviours. Given that there exists a considerable gap in the fossil and archaeological record concerning how early hominins might have interacted with their dead, extant primates may provide valuable insight into how and in which contexts thanatological behaviours would have occurred. First, we outline a comprehensive history of comparative thanatology in non‐human primates, from the earliest accounts to the present, uncovering the interpretations of previous researchers and their contributions to the field of primate thanatology. Many of the typical behavioural patterns towards the dead seen in the past are consistent with those observed today. Second, we review recent evidence of thanatological responses and organise it into distinct terminologies: direct interactions (physical contact with the corpse) and secondary interactions (guarding the corpse, vigils and visitations). Third, we provide a critical evaluation regarding the form and function of the behavioural and emotional aspects of these responses towards infants and adults, also comparing them with non‐conspecifics. We suggest that thanatological interactions: promote a faster re‐categorisation from living to dead, decrease costly vigilant/caregiving behaviours, are crucial to the management of grieving responses, update position in the group's hierarchy, and accelerate the formation of new social bonds. Fourth, we propose an integrated model of Life‐Death Awareness, whereupon neural circuitry dedicated towards detecting life, i.e. the agency system (animate agency, intentional agency, mentalistic agency) works with a corresponding system that interacts with it on a decision‐making level (animate/inanimate distinction, living/dead discrimination, death awareness). Theoretically, both systems are governed by specific cognitive mechanisms (perceptual categories, associative concepts and high‐order reasoning, respectively). Fifth, we present an evolutionary timeline from rudimentary thanatological responses likely occurring in earlier non‐human primates during the Eocene to the more elaborate mortuary practices attributed to genusHomothroughout the Pleistocene. Finally, we discuss the importance of detailed reports on primate thanatology and propose several empirical avenues to shed further light on this topic. This review expands and builds upon previous attempts to evaluate the body of knowledge on this subject, providing an integrative perspective and bringing together different fields of research to detail the evolutionary, sensory/cognitive, developmental and historical/archaeological aspects of primate thanatology. Considering all these findings and given their cognitive abilities, we argue that non‐human primates are capable of an implicit awareness of death.
Blood pressure, sympathovagal tone, exercise capacity and metabolic status are linked in Turner syndrome
Authors: Brun Sara , Berglund Agnethe , Mortensen Kristian H. , Hjerrild Britta E. , Hansen Klavs W. , Andersen Niels H. , Gravholt Claus H. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractObjectivesWe studied cardiac autonomic changes in relation to metabolic factors, body composition and 24‐hour ambulatory blood pressure measurements in Turner syndrome patients without known hypertension.DesignCross sectional.PatientsParticipants were 48 TS women and 24 healthy female controls aged over 18 years.MethodsShort‐term power spectral analysis was obtained in supine‐standing‐supine position. Bedside tests included three conventional cardiovascular reflex tests of heart rate response to standing up, heart rate response to deep breathing and blood pressure response to standing up. Mean heart rate during the last 2 minutes of work was used to calculate the maximal aerobic power (VO2max).ResultsWe found a significantly higher mean reciprocal of the heart rate per second (RR) in TS. Testing for interaction between position and status (TS or control), there were highly significant differences between TS and controls in high‐frequency (HF) power, the coefficient of component variation (square root of HF power/mean RR) and low‐frequency (LF): HF ratio, with a dampened decline in vagal activity among TS during standing. Bedside test showed TS had a significantly higher diastolic BP in the supine position compared to controls, and the adaptive rise in BP, when changing to upright position was reduced. VO2max and self‐reported level of physical activity were significantly correlated to systolic ambulatory blood pressure both 24‐hour and night diastolic ambulatory blood pressure.ConclusionVagal tone and modulation of the sympathovagal balance during alteration in body position are impaired in TS. These changes can be risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
In vivo confocal microscopy of the inflamed anterior segment: A review of clinical and research applications
Authors: Patel Dipika V. , Zhang Jie , McGhee Charles NJ. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractIn vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) allows non‐invasive imaging of the living human cornea, specifically enabling the detection of immune cells in the healthy and diseased ocular anterior segment. Studies using IVCM have provided insight into the effects of contact lens wear on corneal Langerhans cell density and morphology, and the effects of eye drops on conjunctiva‐associated lymphoid tissue. IVCM has also been shown to be a useful adjunctive diagnostic tool in distinguishing infective and non‐infective uveitis and in diagnosing atypical infective keratitis. In the research setting, this technology has enhanced our understanding of the role of inflammatory cells in corneal neuropathy and angiogenesis. In vivo‐ex vivo correlation using animal models has helped overcome some of the difficulties in identifying cell type on IVCM images. As highlighted in this review, currently there are multiple established, and emerging, clinical and research applications for IVCM in the inflamed anterior segment.
Cystoid macular oedema following cataract surgery: A review
Authors: Han Jina V. , Patel Dipika V. , Squirrell David , McGhee Charles NJ. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractPseudophakic cystoid macular oedema (PCMO) remains a significant cause of compromised postoperative vision in contemporary cataract surgery. Well‐established risk factors include intraoperative complications such as posterior capsule rupture and preoperative factors including: diabetes mellitus, uveitis, retinal vein occlusion, epiretinal membrane. The role of topical glaucoma medications in PCMO continues to be debated. Current treatment strategies largely target suppression of inflammation. Topical NSAIDs remain the mainstay in prophylaxis and treatment of PCMO. Topical corticosteroids are commonly used as monotherapy or in combination with NSAIDs. Unfortunately, high‐quality trials are notably lacking for other PCMO treatment modalities such as: periocular corticosteroids, orbital floor triamcinolone, intravitreal triamcinolone, corticosteroid implants, intravitreal bevacizumab and pars‐plana vitrectomy. A lack of consistency in defining PCMO and resolution of PCMO explains why even large systematic reviews may come to contradictory conclusions. This review explores the varied contemporary evidence‐base in relation to the aetiology, diagnosis, prophylaxis and treatment of PCMO.
Poverty‐aware social work in the child protection system: A critical reflection on two single‐case studies
Authors: Saar‐Heiman Yuval 
Published: April 2019

AbstractIn recent years, scholarly writing that calls for the development of a new child protection framework that contextualizes risk and links it to poverty and social marginalization has increased. Nonetheless, there is a lack of research on the challenges of implementing such a framework in frontline practice. Based on the ongoing, rigorous documentation of the author's experience, as a social work practitioner in a community child protection centre, this article presents two single‐case studies that describe and conceptualize the potential contribution of the poverty‐aware paradigm to the creation of a social framework for child protection practice. Utilizing critical reflection as a method of analysis, the findings reveal two major tensions entwined in poverty‐aware child protection practice: the tension between focusing child protection interventions on parenting and focusing them on poverty and the tension between framing risk within a social context and framing it within the concept of the best interest of the child. Based on the case studies, seven poverty‐aware practices to cope with these tensions are identified.
Fourier Analysis of Correlated Monte Carlo Importance Sampling
Authors: Singh Gurprit , Subr Kartic , Coeurjolly David , Ostromoukhov Victor , Jarosz Wojciech 
Published: April 2019

AbstractFourier analysis is gaining popularity in image synthesis as a tool for the analysis of error in Monte Carlo (MC) integration. Still, existing tools are only able to analyse convergence under simplifying assumptions (such as randomized shifts) which are not applied in practice during rendering. We reformulate the expressions for bias and variance of sampling‐based integrators to unify non‐uniform sample distributions [importance sampling (IS)] as well as correlations between samples while respecting finite sampling domains. Our unified formulation hints at fundamental limitations of Fourier‐based tools in performing variance analysis for MC integration. At the same time, it reveals that, when combined with correlated sampling, IS can impact convergence rate by introducing or inhibiting discontinuities in the integrand. We demonstrate that the convergence of multiple importance sampling (MIS) is determined by the strategy which converges slowest and propose several simple approaches to overcome this limitation. We show that smoothing light boundaries (as commonly done in production to reduce variance) can improve (M)IS convergence (at a cost of introducing a small amount of bias) since it removesC0discontinuities within the integration domain. We also propose practical integrand‐ and sample‐mirroring approaches which cancel the impact of boundary discontinuities on the convergence rate of estimators.
The clinical and radiographic outcomes of Schneiderian membrane perforation without repair in sinus elevation surgery
Authors: Park Won‐Bae , Han Ji‐Young , Kang Philip , Momen‐Heravi Fatemeh 
Published: April 2019

AbstractBackgroundThe aim of this comparative study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of nonrepair of the perforated maxillary sinus membrane compared to the nonperforated cases.Materials and MethodsA retrospective comparative study was performed by identifying all lateral window sinus augmentation procedures, which were done during a defined period. Demographic data, systemic diseases, and smoking habits of patients were recorded. Thickness of the Schneiderian membrane and the amount of residual bone before surgery were measured by cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT). In case of perforation, no attempt was made to repair the membrane. Alloplast was used for bone augmentation. The thickness of the Schneiderian membrane and gained bone height were recorded using CBCT at the time of prosthesis delivery.ResultsSixty‐three patients with 65 sinuses were included in this retrospective study. The rate of sinus perforation was 39%. There was a significant association between the presence of sinus pathoses before surgery and the occurrence of Schneiderian membrane perforation (P = 0.03). The Schneiderian membrane was significantly thicker in patients with perforation compared to the patients without perforation (P < 0.001). There was no correlation between the size of the perforation and the thickness of the Schneiderian membrane. Most of the perforations (83%) occurred at the mesial and middle part of the lateral window. The Schneiderian membrane thickness was decreased significantly in both groups after the sinus elevation procedure (P < 0.05). The bone graft height was stable over the follow‐up period in both groups (P > 0.05). There was no implant failure in any of the groups.ConclusionsNonrepair of the Schneiderian membrane perforation did not adversely affect the clinical and radiographical outcomes. There were higher intraoperative and postoperative complications in the nonrepair group.