bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
De novo transcriptome assembly and its annotation for the black ant Formica fusca at the larval stage
Authors: Morandin Claire , Pulliainen Unni , Bos Nick , Schultner Eva 
Published: December 2018

AbstractCommunication and nutrition are major drivers of fitness in ants. While communication is paramount to colony cohesion, nutrition is decisive in regulating reproductive division of labor among colony members. However, neither of these has been studied from a molecular perspective in developing individuals. Here, we report the availability of the first transcriptome resources for larvae of the ant Formica fusca, a species with excellent discrimination abilities and thus the potential to become a model system for studying molecular mechanisms of communication. We generated a comprehensive, high-coverage RNA-seq data set using Illumina RNA-seq technology by sequencing 24 individual 1st - 2nd instar larvae collected from four experimental groups (6 samples per treatment, 49 million mean reads per sample, coverage between 194–253×). A total of 24,765 unigenes were generated using a combination of genome-guided and de novo transcriptome assembly. A comprehensive assembly pipeline and annotation lists are provided. This dataset adds valuable transcriptomic resources for further study of developmental gene expression, transcriptional regulation and functional gene activity in ant larvae.
Mechanisms of DNA-reactive and epigenetic chemical carcinogens: applications to carcinogenicity testing and risk assessment
Authors: Kobets Tetyana , Iatropoulos Michael J. , Williams Gary M. 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
Chemicals with carcinogenic activity in either animals or humans produce increases in neoplasia through diverse mechanisms. One mechanism is reaction with nuclear DNA. Other mechanisms consist of epigenetic effects involving either modifications of regulatory macromolecules or perturbation of cellular regulatory processes. The basis for distinguishing between carcinogens that have either DNA reactivity or an epigenetic activity as their primary mechanism of action is detailed in this review. In addition, important applications of information on these mechanisms of action to carcinogenicity testing and human risk assessment are discussed.
Genotoxicity and pharmacokinetic characterization of Cereus jamacaru ethanolic extract in rats
Authors: de Medeiros Iris Ucella , de Medeiros Rhoza Araújo , Bortolin Raul Henandes , de Queiroz Fernando Márlisson , Silbiger Vivian Nogueira , Pflugmacher Stephan , Schwarz Aline 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
The effect of Cereus jamacaru ethanolic extract in rats was analyzed using genotoxicity assays and liver ABCB1 and CYP2D4 gene expression. The lyophilized extract of C. jamacaru cladodes was analyzed with LC–MS/MS. Male Wistar rats (n=36) were equally distributed into six groups that did (+) or did not (−) receive cyclophosphamide treatments: Control (−); Control (+); EXP 1 (−), and EXP 1 (+), both treated with 210 mg/kg of ethanolic extract; and EXP 2 (−) and EXP 2 (+), both treated with 420 mg/kg of ethanolic extract. After 30 d of treatment, body weight and food and water intake were monitored. Right femur of the rats and spinal canal fluid were harvested and used for genotoxicity assays, and the liver samples were used for gene expression studies. The phytochemical analysis identified novel compounds. Animals treated with C. jamacaru showed lower body weight and food ingestion compared to controls (P&lt;0.05). The genotoxicity assay showed an absence of ethanolic extract cytotoxicity. CYP2D4 expression was higher in EXP 2 groups compared with EXP 1 (−) group (P&lt;0.05). ABCB1A expression was higher in negative groups compared with the positive groups. These results indicated a new phytochemical characterization of C. jamacaru and its effect on food ingestion and body weight gain. Moreover, the genotoxicity assay suggested that C. jamacaru ethanolic extract treatment presents significant intrinsic genotoxic potential and the enhanced expression of ABCB1 and CYP2D4 on C. jamacaru extract treatment suggests a role of the efflux transporter and microsomal enzyme, respectively, in C. jamacaru pharmacokinetics.
Increased freedom of movement in the nascent chain results in dynamic changes in the structure of the SecM arrest motif
Authors: Bracken Hazel A. , Woolhead Cheryl A. 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
Ribosomes are responsible for the synthesis of all cellular proteins. Due to the diversity of sequence and properties, it was initially believed that translating nascent chains would travel unhindered through the ribosome exit tunnel, however a small but increasing number of proteins have been identified that interact with the exit tunnel to induce translational arrest, Escherichia coli (E. coli) secretion monitor (SecM) is one such stalling peptide. How and why these peptides interact with the exit tunnel is not fully understood, however key features required for stalling appear to be an essential peptide arrest motif at the C-terminus and compaction of the nascent chain within the exit tunnel upon stalling. Mutagenesis of the SecM arrest sequence has identified three conservative point mutations that can retain a degree of stalling in this highly conserved sequence. This level of stalling is further increased when coupled with mutation of a non-essential arrest motif residue P153A. Further analysis of these mutants by pegylation assays indicates that this increase in stalling activity during translation is due to the ability of the P153A mutation to reintroduce compaction of the nascent chain within the exit tunnel possibly due to the improved flexibility of the nascent chain provided by the removal of a restrictive proline residue. The data presented here suggest that arrest sequences may be more prevalent and less highly conserved than previously thought, and highlight the significance of the interactions between the nascent chain and the exit tunnel to affecting translation arrest.
Research of chaotic characteristics of low‐voltage air arc
Authors: Leng Xue , Chen Hai , Li Peiyuan , Liu Xiaoming 
Published: December 2018

In order to explore the principle of low‐voltage air arc, to find out ways of arc control, and use experimental platform of 220 V air arc generator, the resistive, inductive and resistive loads are taken as the research objects. The research combined with experiments and computer simulation analysis, based on the chaotic phase space reconstruction theory, the C‐C method, the Wolf algorithms and the Cao method, the dynamic chaotic behaviour of the low‐voltage air arc current is identified quantitatively. Through the processing of the experimental and emulational data, the chaotic phase diagrams which describe chaotic attractors clearly are drawn. The LEmax of low‐voltage air arc current are obtained, and the essential characteristic that the chaotic behaviour exists in low‐voltage air arc is revealed and described.
Ernährung nach bariatrischen Operationen
Authors: Legutko Nadine 
Published: December 2018

ZusammenfassungÜbergewicht und Adipositas haben in den letzten Jahrzehnten in Deutschland
drastisch zugenommen 1, 2. Parallel dazu lässt sich eine stark
steigende Anzahl an Adipositasoperationen beobachten 3. Die umfassende Betreuung der Patienten vor und nach den
chirurgischen Eingriffen zur Gewichtsreduktion wird vor allem in der
Ernährungstherapie zu einem immer relevanter werdenden Tätigkeitsfeld.
Traditionelle Medizin in Vietnam
Authors: Kraft Karin 
Published: December 2018

SummaryDie traditionelle Medizin in Vietnam hat im Vergleich zu Deutschland eine wesentlich stärkere Position im Gesundheitswesen und wird sogar staatlich unterstützt. Vietnamesische Krankenhäuser verfügen über Abteilungen für traditionelle Heilverfahren und Phytopharmaka sind beliebte Mittel zur Selbstbehandlung. Staatlich geförderte Initiativen und Forschungsprojekte sind darauf ausgerichtet, die Gesundheitsversorgung der Bevölkerung zu verbessern und gleichzeitig traditionelle Heilmethoden zu erhalten.
Rabbit Model of Extending Knee Joint Contracture: Progression of Joint Motion Restriction and Subsequent Joint Capsule Changes after Immobilization
Authors: Zhou Yun , Zhang Quan Bing , Zhong Hua Zhang , Liu Yi , Li Jun , Lv Hao , Jing Jue Hua 
Published: December 2018

AbstractThis study aimed to develop a rabbit model of knee contracture in extension and investigate the natural history of motion loss and time-dependent changes in the joint capsule after immobilization. We immobilized the unilateral knee joints of 32 rabbits by maintaining the knee joint in a plaster cast at full extension. Eight rabbits were euthanized at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after casting, respectively, and the lower extremities were disarticulated at the hip joint. Eight control group rabbits that did not undergo immobilization were also examined. We assessed the progression of joint contracture by measuring the joint range of motion, evaluating the histologic alteration of the capsule, and assessing the mRNA levels of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) in the anterior and posterior joint capsules. After 2 weeks of joint immobilization, the knee joint range of motion was limited, the synovial membrane of the suprapatellar and posterior joint capsules was thickened, the collagen deposition was increased, and the mRNA levels of TGF-β1 were elevated in the anterior and posterior joint capsules. These changes progressed rapidly until 6 weeks of immobilization and may advance slowly after 6 weeks. Joint contracture developed at the early stage of immobilization and progressed over time. The changes in the anterior and posterior joint capsules after joint immobilization may contribute to the limitation in flexion. The elevated mRNA expression of TGF-β1 may be related to joint capsule fibrosis and may be one of the causes of joint contracture.
Surgical “Safe Zone”: Rapid Anatomical Identification of the Lesser Occipital Nerve
Authors: Khavanin Nima , Carl Hannah , Yang Robin , Dorafshar Amir 
Published: December 2018

Background Surgical intervention has established a vital role in the management of chronic headaches. The lesser occipital nerve (LON) is a common target in patients suffering from occipital neuralgia and is often resected as a first-line option. We endeavored to define the relationships of the LON in the posterolateral neck to facilitate its safe and rapid intraoperative identification.
Methods Seven fresh cadavers (14 nerves) were dissected, and their relationships to the mastoid prominence and nearby spinal accessory nerve (SAN) and greater auricular nerve were noted.
Results The distance from the mastoid to the emergence of the LON along the posterior sternocleidomastoid ranged from 36 to 51 mm (mean: 45.2 mm), with relative symmetry between the two nerves in the same cadaver. The SAN emerged an average of 54 mm from the mastoid prominence.
Conclusion Exploration for the LON should begin at a point 40 mm from the mastoid prominence along the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. If the point of exit of the LON is not identified within 10 mm of this exposure, our dissection continues cranially along the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid, anterior to the trapezius. In rare cases the nerve may pierce the fibers of the muscle and ascend directly on top of the muscle belly. By limiting the caudal extend of the dissection, we can avoid exposure of the SAN and minimize the risk of iatrogenic nerve injury.
Pathophysiologie und Therapie der Osteogenesis imperfecta
Authors: Rehberg M. , Hoyer-Kuhn H. , Semler O. 
Published: December 2018

ZusammenfassungDie Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) ist die häufigste angeborene Skeletterkrankung im Kindes- und Jugendalter. Sie beruht in den meisten Fällen auf Mutationen, die die Kollagensynthese beeinträchtigen. Bei sehr unterschiedlichen Verlaufsformen besteht keine klare Genotyp-Phänotyp-Korrelation. Führendes Symptom sind rezidivierende Frakturen bei inadäquaten Traumata, aber auch extra-skelettale Symptome wie eine Muskelhypotonie oder Schwerhörigkeit gehören dazu. Die Therapie beinhaltet orthopädisch/chirurgische Maßnahmen zur Frakturversorgung und Korrektur von Deformierungen. Die medikamentöse Behandlung beschränkt sich im Kindesalter auf antiresorptive Medikamente wie Bisphosphonate oder das in Erprobung befindliche Denosumab. Nach Ende des Wachstums werden auch osteoanabole Medikamente eingesetzt. Wichtigste Maßnahme zur Anregung des Knochenaufbaus ist die Kräftigung der Muskulatur durch Physiotherapie und Rehabilitation. Um diese Maßnahmen auf einander abzustimmen und Erfahrungen für weitere Therapieverbesserungen zu sammeln, sollte die Behandlung dieser Patienten in spezialisierten Zentren erfolgen.
Cartels as ‘fraud’? Insights from collusion in southern and East Africa in the fertiliser and cement industries
Authors: Vilakazi Thando , Roberts Simon 
Published: December 2018

ABSTRACT
Anti-competitive conduct involves firms misrepresenting their behaviour and manipulating markets. In sector case studies of cement and fertiliser, the authors find that collusion in southern and East Africa operated through industry associations exchanging information, secret agreements and lobbying government to distort notionally developmental policies for private benefit. This has occurred in the context of liberalisation and deregulation. Transnational corporations have leveraged control of infrastructure and inputs, and favourable regulations to sustain market power, while presenting themselves as ‘development partners’. Competition law is portrayed as the ‘governance fix’ for these issues but this ignores political economy issues which underpin many collusive arrangements.
Data, Economics and Computational Agricultural Science
Authors: Antle John M. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractIn this address I discuss the potential for the revolution in data infrastructure, data science and computation to support and accelerate the transformation towards a more productive, healthy and sustainable agricultural systems. A theme that emerges from both the agricultural systems science and economic‐behavioral sciences is that improved acquisition and use of data is a critical constraint on agricultural research and its successful application, both for on‐farm production system management and for technology and policy decision making. This in turn suggests potentially high returns to public investment in the data needed to enable computational agricultural science. I conclude with a prototype private‐public scheme for investment in the data needed to support advanced computational methods and models, and discuss the economic, technical, legal and institutional challenges to its implementation.
Social isolation in chronic kidney disease and the role of mobility limitation
Authors: Moorthi Ranjani N , Latham-Mintus Kenzie 
Published: December 2018

Abstract

Background
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with multiple comorbidities, hospitalizations and mortality. In older adults, social isolation and poor mobility contribute to these outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <45 mL/min/1.73 m2 (CKD Stages 3b–5) is associated with social isolation and that mobility limitation is a key driver of social isolation in patients with CKD.

Methods
Data from 9119 participants, ages 57–107 years, from the 2016 wave of the Health and Retirement Study’s Venous Blood Study were used for this cross-sectional analysis. Kidney function measured by estimated GFR (eGFR) was the predictor and patients were classified as CKD Stages 3b–5 or non-CKD Stages 3b–5 (eGFR ≤45 or >45 mL/min/1.73 m2). The outcomes tested were mobility limitation assessed by self-report and social contact and participation measures assessed by the Psychosocial Life Questionnaire. The associations among kidney function, mobility and social isolation were examined with logistic and ordinary least squares regression, adjusted for covariates and testing for interaction with gender.

Results
Participants with CKD Stages 3b–5 (N = 999) compared with non-CKD Stages 3b–5 were older (74.9 versus 68.2 years, P < 0.001) and fewer were female (15% versus 58%, P < 0.001). CKD Stages 3b–5 were associated with higher odds of difficulty walking several blocks [odds ratio 1.44 (95% confidence interval 1.16–1.78)]. Participants with CKD Stages 3b–5 had reduced social contact and social participation (B = −0.23, P < 0.05; B = −0.62, P < 0.05, respectively). Women with CKD Stages 3b–5 were 2.7 times more likely to report difficulty walking several blocks than men with CKD Stages 3b–5, but social isolation in CKD Stages 3b–5 did not vary by gender. In CKD Stages 3b–5 patients, mobility limitation was a risk factor for reduced social contact and participation but did not explain the poor social contact and participation.

Conclusion
CKD Stages 3b–5 was associated with both mobility limitation and social isolation in a population-based study of older adults. In contrast to older adults without CKD Stages 3b–5, mobility limitation did not explain the lack of social contact and poor social participation, suggesting other factors are more important.
A gender-based analysis of the obesity paradox in cardiac surgery: height for women, weight for men?
Authors: Ranucci Marco , de Vincentiis Carlo , Menicanti Lorenzo , La Rovere Maria Teresa , Pistuddi Valeria 
Published: December 2018

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
In cardiac surgery, obesity is associated with a lower mortality risk. This study aims to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and operative mortality separately in female patients and male patients undergoing cardiac surgery and to separate the effects of weight and height in each gender-based cohort of patients.

METHODS
A retrospective cohort study including 7939 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery was conducted. The outcome measure was the operative mortality.

RESULTS
In men, there was a U-shaped relationship between the BMI and the operative mortality, with the lower mortality rate at a BMI of 35 kg/m2. In women, the relationship is J-shaped, with the lower mortality at a BMI of 22 kg/m2. Female patients with obesity class II–III had a relative risk for operative mortality of 2.6 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37–4.81, P = 0.002]. The relationship between weight and mortality rate is a U-shaped bot in men and women, with the lower mortality rate at 100 kg for men and 70 kg for women. Height was linearly and inversely associated with the operative mortality in men and women. After correction for the potential confounders, height, but not weight, was independently associated with operative mortality in women (odds ratio 0.949, 95% CI 0.915–0.983; P = 0.004); conversely, in men, this association exists for weight (odds ratio 1.017, 95% CI 1.001–1.032; P = 0.034), but not height.

CONCLUSIONS
Contrary to men, in women obesity does not reduce the operative mortality in cardiac surgery, whereas the height seems to be associated with a lower mortality.
Clinical, Pathological, and Ethical Considerations for the Conduct of Clinical Trials in Dogs with Naturally Occurring Cancer: A Comparative Approach to Accelerate Translational Drug Development
Authors: Regan Daniel , Garcia Kelly , Thamm Douglas 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
The role of comparative oncology in translational research is receiving increasing attention from drug developers and the greater biomedical research community. Pet dogs with spontaneous cancer are important and underutilized translational models, owing to dogs’ large size and relative outbreeding, combined with their high incidence of certain tumor histotypes with significant biological, genetic, and histological similarities to their human tumor counterparts. Dogs with spontaneous tumors naturally develop therapy resistance and spontaneous metastasis, all in the context of an intact immune system. These fundamental features of cancer biology are often lacking in induced or genetically engineered preclinical tumor models and likely contribute to their poor predictive value and the associated overall high failure rate in oncology drug development. Thus, the conduct of clinical trials in pet dogs with naturally occurring cancer represents a viable surrogate and valuable intermediary step that should be increasingly incorporated into the cancer drug discovery and development pipeline. The development of molecular-targeted therapies has resulted in an expanded role of the pathologist in human oncology trials, and similarly the expertise of veterinary pathologists will be increasingly valuable to all phases of comparative oncology trial design and conduct. In this review, we provide a framework of clinical, ethical, and pathology-focused considerations for the increasing integration of translational research investigations in dogs with spontaneous cancer as a means to accelerate clinical cancer discovery and drug development.
Surgical Anatomy of the Subcallosal Artery: Implications for Transcranial and Endoscopic Endonasal Surgery in the Suprachiasmatic Region
Authors: Najera Edinson , Alves Belo Joao T , Truong Huy Q , Gardner Paul A , Fernandez-Miranda Juan C 
Published: December 2018

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND
Suprachiasmatic subcallosal lesions may have an intimate relationship with the anterior communicating artery (AcomA); injury to AcomA branches can result in basal forebrain infarction and cognitive dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate anatomic variations of the AcomA basal perforating branches, especially the subcallosal artery (ScA), for clinical implications when approaching the suprachiasmatic subcallosal region from endonasal and transcranial routes.

METHODS
The origin, course, diameter, and branching pattern of the AcomA’s perforating branches were studied in 33 specimens from transcranial and endonasal perspectives.

RESULTS
The ScA was present in 79% of the specimens as a single dominant artery arising from the posterior/posterosuperior surface of the AcomA, along with hypothalamic arteries (55%), or as a single artery (24%). It coursed posteriorly towards the lamina terminalis region, curving superiorly to the subcallosal area. The ScA gave off many branches to provide the main blood supply to the subcallosal region. Importantly, it supplies the septal/subcallosal region bilaterally. The ScA can be found posterior, superior, or inferior to the AcomA when using a transylvian, interhemispheric, or endonasal approach, respectively. In specimens with no ScA (21%), the median callosal artery (MdCA) was the dominant artery arising from the AcomA. It followed an identical course to the ScA, providing supply to the same structures bilaterally, but its distal extension reached the body/splenium of the corpus callosum. The MdCA is a ScA variant.

CONCLUSION
The ScA is a unique vessel because it supplies the septal/subcallosal region bilaterally; preservation of this vessel during surgery is crucial for successful outcomes.