bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rural-Urban Differences in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing Among US Adults: Findings From the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Authors: Henderson Emmett R. , Subramaniam Divya S. , Chen Jiajing 
Published: June 2018

Background
Individuals in rural areas of the United States face barriers to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related health care. We aim to assess differences in frequency of lifetime and past-year HIV testing, and differences in testing site location between rural and urban residents of the United States.

Methods
Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2015 were analyzed on 250,579 respondents 18 years or older. Weighted multinomial logistic regression analyses compared urban/rural differences in lifetime and past-year HIV testing. Weighted multinomial logistic regression compared urban/rural differences in HIV testing site.

Results
Overall, 26.9% of urban residents and 21.5% of rural residents reported testing for HIV in their lifetime. Of urban residents, 24.5% reported receiving an HIV test in the past year compared with 20.2% of rural residents. Living in a rural area was associated with lower odds of lifetime (odds ratio [OR], 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81–0.90) and past-year HIV testing (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.74–0.95) compared with not testing. Rural residents had higher odds of receiving an HIV test at the hospital or emergency room (adjusted OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.23–1.62) or clinic (adjusted OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.02–1.24) than a doctor's office.

Conclusions
This study highlights significant rural health disparities in rates of lifetime and past-year HIV testing. Targeted interventions are needed to remove structural barriers in rural communities, such as long distances to clinics and low availability of free HIV testing at clinics serving the uninsured or underinsured. Furthermore, rural providers should be encouraged to routinely offer HIV screening to their patients.
Heterosexual Anal and Oral Sex in Adolescents and Adults in the United States, 2011–2015
Authors: Habel Melissa A. , Leichliter Jami S. , Dittus Patricia J. , Spicknall Ian H. , Aral Sevgi O. 
Published: June 2018

Background
Heterosexual anal and oral sex are related to the acquisition and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). As common reportable STDs (chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis) in the United States are increasing, it is important to understand recent oral and anal sexual behaviors.

Methods
We examined the prevalence and correlates of heterosexual anal and oral sex, associated condom use, and having multiple partners among men and women aged 15 to 44 years.

Results
Approximately one third of women and men had ever engaged in anal sex, including 11% of adolescents (15–19 years). Most women and men had ever received or given oral sex (at >75%). Six percent and 7% of women and men, respectively, used a condom at last oral sex compared with 20% and 30% who used a condom at last anal sex. Having multiple sex partners in the past year was most common among adolescents, never or formerly married persons, and those who had a nonmonogamous partner. Less than 10% reported multiple anal sex partners in the past year. A substantial minority had multiple oral or anal sex partners; black women and men had the highest reports of oral sex partners by race/ethnicity.

Conclusions
Anal and oral sex are common sexual practices. Given the low rates of condom use during these behaviors, it is important that recommendations for sexual risk assessments are followed. Tailored messaging regarding risk for STD and human immunodeficiency virus acquisition during oral and anal sex may benefit adolescents, singles, and divorced individuals. Future discussions regarding the benefits of extragenital STD testing for heterosexuals may be useful.
Interventions to Increase Point-of-Care Ultrasound Use in a Pediatric Emergency Department
Authors: Musisca Megan A. , Neuman Mark I. , Gravel Cynthia A. , Monuteaux Michael C. , Rempell Rachel G. 
Published: June 2018

Objective
We sought to determine which interventions have effectively increased point-of-care ultrasound (US) use in a pediatric emergency department (ED).

Design/Methods
We evaluated the impact of specific interventions conducted over a 5-year period (2010–2015) on point-of-care US performance in a tertiary care pediatric ED. Ultrasound use by attending physicians and fellows was ascertained from a departmental database. Interventions assessed included the following: (1) initiation of an US fellowship, (2) acquisition of a second US machine, (3) performance of an US-related research project in the department, (4) initiation of faculty US curriculum, (5) earlier introduction of US education for pediatric emergency medicine fellows, and (6) administrative mandate dictating faculty requirements for credentialing. Mean monthly US use was trended over time using statistical process control methodology, and the impact of major interventions was analyzed using interrupted time-series analyses.

Results
The mean number of US scans increased from 2.0 to 5.9 per attending per month and from 4.3 to 7.1 per fellow per month over the study period. Using interrupted time-series analyses, we observed the only intervention to significantly increase attending US utilization was an administrative credentialing mandate, with an associated increase of 6% per month (incidence rate ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.11).

Conclusions
Point-of-care US use has increased over time for both fellows and attending physicians. We observed that an administrative mandate led to a significant increase in US use among attending physicians.
A Novel Innovation for Surgical Flap Markings Using Projected Stencils
Authors: Sayadi Lohrasb R. , Chopan Mustafa , Maguire Kevin , Banyard Derek A. , Ehret Zachary , Evans Gregory R. D. , Widgerow Alan D. 
Published: June 2018

Summary:
Despite the vast amount of technological advancement seen in the operating room, surgical markings are still drawn as “best estimates” the same way Susruta drew them in the sixth century bc. Many of the flaps used in plastic surgery have precise geometries that are hard to replicate by hand. In this article, the authors describe a novel approach in making surgical markings more accurate by using a pico-projector to project a prefabricated flap, designed on Google Sketchup, as a stencil. Projected and hand-drawn rhomboid and bilobed flaps were tested on cadavers, with both quantitative and qualitative outcomes favoring the projected flaps. This unique concept can not only be used in the operating room but also serve as an educational tool for training plastic and reconstructive surgeons.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:
Therapeutic, V.
The Role of Norepinephrine and α-Adrenergic Receptors in Acute Stress-Induced Changes in Granulocytes and Monocytes
Authors: Beis Daniel , von Känel Roland , Heimgartner Nadja , Zuccarella-Hackl Claudia , Bürkle Alexander , Ehlert Ulrike , Wirtz Petra H. 
Published: June 2018

ABSTRACTObjectiveAcute stress induces redistribution of circulating leucocytes in humans. Although effects on lymphocytes as adaptive immune cells are well understood, the mechanisms underlying stress effects on granulocytes and monocytes as innate immune blood cells are still elusive. We investigated whether the stress hormone norepinephrine (NE) and α-adrenergic receptors (α-ADRs) may play a mediating role.MethodsIn a stress study, we cross-sectionally tested 44 healthy men for associations between stress-induced NE increases and simultaneous granulocyte and monocyte cell count increases, as measured immediately before and several times after the Trier Social Stress Test. In a subsequent infusion study, 21 healthy men participated in three different experimental trials with sequential infusions of 1- and 15-minute duration with varying substances (saline as placebo, the nonspecific α-ADR blocker phentolamine [2.5 mg/min], and NE [5 μg/min]): trial 1 = saline+saline, trial 2 = saline+NE, trial 3 = phentolamine+NE. Granulocyte and monocyte cell numbers were assessed before, immediately after, 10 minutes, and 30 minutes after infusion procedures.ResultsIn the stress study, higher NE related to higher neutrophil stress changes (β = .31,p =.045,R2change = .09), but not epinephrine stress changes. In the infusion study, saline+NE induced significant increases in neutrophil (F(3/60) = 43.50,p< .001, η2= .69) and monocyte (F(3/60) = 18.56,p< .001, η2= .48) numbers compared with saline+saline. With phentolamine+NE, neutrophil (F(3/60) = 14.41,p< .001, η2= .42) and monocyte counts (F(2.23/44.6) = 4.32,p =.016, η2= .18) remained increased compared with saline+saline but were lower compared with saline+NE (neutrophils:F(3/60) = 19.55,p< .001, η2= .494, monocytes:F(3/60) = 2.54,p= .065, η2= .11) indicating partial mediation by α-ADRs. Trials did not differ in eosinophil and basophil count reactivity.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that NE-induced immediate increases in neutrophil and monocyte numbers resemble psychosocial stress effects and can be reduced by blockade of α-ADRs.
Psychosocial Stress Over the Lifespan, Psychological Factors, and Cardiometabolic Risk in the Community
Authors: Gebreab Sirak Zenebe , Vandeleur Caroline L. , Rudaz Dominique , Strippoli Marie-Pierre F. , Gholam-Rezaee Mehdi , Castelao Enrique , Lasserre Aurélie M. , Glaus Jennifer , Pistis Giorgio , Kuehner Christine , von Känel Roland , Marques-Vidal Pedro , Vollenweider Peter , Preisig Martin 
Published: June 2018

ABSTRACT

Objective
The complex relationship between psychosocial stress over the lifetime, psychological factors, and cardiometabolic risk is still poorly understood. Accordingly, our aims were (1) to independently assess the associations between childhood adversity, life-event stress in remote (earlier than the last 5 years), and recent adulthood and cardiometabolic risk, and (2) to determine the role of psychological factors including personality, coping, and depression in these associations.

Methods
The sample included 2674 adults, aged 35 to 66 years, randomly selected from urban area. Participants underwent a physical examination including the assessment of obesity markers, blood pressure, and blood lipid and glucose levels. Stress during adulthood was determined using the severity scores of 52 stressful life events. Information on adverse childhood experiences and major depressive disorders was collected using semistructured interviews, whereas personality traits and coping mechanisms were evaluated through questionnaires.

Results
Both childhood adversity and stress in remote adulthood were associated with elevated body mass index (β [95% confidence interval {CI}] = 0.249 [0.029 to 0.468]; 0.020 [0.006 to 0.034]), waist circumference (β [95% CI] = 0.061 [0.024 to 0.099]; 0.08 [0.04 to 0.11]), and the global cardiometabolic risk score (β [95% CI] = 0.278 [0.017 to 0.540]; 0.017 [0.001 to 0.033]) after adjustment for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and psychological factors. In addition, childhood adversity was associated with low high density lipoprotein levels (β [95% CI] = −0.021 [−0.042 to 0.000]), as well as increased fat mass and systolic blood pressure levels (β [95% CI] = 0.506 [0.165 to 0.846]; 0.952 [0.165 to 1.740]) and stress in remote adulthood with apolipoprotein B levels (β [95% CI] = 0.607 [0.312 to 0.901]). Psychological factors did not account for these associations and were not effect modifiers.

Conclusions
Our data demonstrate that psychosocial stress during childhood and remote adulthood favor adiposity and abnormal lipid metabolism.
Pharmacokinetic Study of Conversion Between 2 Formulations of Once-daily Extended-release Tacrolimus in Stable Lung Transplant Patients
Authors: Sintes Helena , Sáez-Giménez Berta , Berastegui Cristina , López-Meseguer Manuel , Monforte Víctor , Bravo Carlos , Vima Jaume , Gómez-Ollés Susana , Roman Antonio 
Published: June 2018

Background
The aim of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetic profile, tolerability, and safety of a novel once-daily extended-release formulation of tacrolimus (LCPT) with that of once-daily prolonged-release tacrolimus (ODT) in stable adult lung transplant (LT) recipients.

Methods
Phase II, open-label, single-arm, single-center, prospective pilot pharmacokinetic study. Study population comprised 20 stable LT recipients receiving ODT, mean age 55.9 years (range, 38-67 years), 13 (65%) men. Patients were switched to LCPT in a 1:0.7 (mg/mg) conversion dose. Follow-up was 6 months, and cystic fibrosis patients were excluded. Two 24-hour pharmacokinetic profiles were obtained for each patient, the first on day −14 and the second on day +14 after switching to LCPT. Pharmacokinetic parameters and safety were compared.

Results
Mean (SD) area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 hours was 253.97 (61.90) ng/mL per hour for ODT and 282.44 (68.2) ng/mL per hour for LCPT. Systemic exposure was similar in both (Schuirmann two 1-sided test). Mean (SD) dose was 5.05 (1.67) mg in ODT and 3.36 (1.03) mg in LCPT (P = 0.0002). Time to maximum concentration was 125 minutes for ODT and 325 minutes for LCPT (P < 0.001). Correlation between area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 hours and C24 was 0.896 (r
2) for ODT and 0.893 (r
2) for LCPT. There were no differences in adverse effects. At 6 months, conversion dose was 1:0.59 (mg/mg) in patients with unchanged minimum plasma concentration target levels.

Conclusions
Switching from ODT to LCPT was safe and well tolerated in stable LT recipients without cystic fibrosis. A significantly lower dose of LCPT allows similar bioavailability. A conversion ratio 1:0.6 could be enough to maintain similar target levels.
Free-running enzymatic oligonucleotide synthesis for data storage applications
Authors: Jensen M.A. , Griffin P.B. , Davis R. W. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractHere we present preliminary results for a method of oligodeoxynucleotide synthesis using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) to generate mixed base homopolymer runs of defined sequence. In a process we have termed Free-Running Synthesis (FRS), we allow TdT to freely add multiple bases of a given monomer. With this method, homopolymeric runs can be used for writing DNA in a data storage capacity, where a stretch of A’s, for example, will be read as a single base, and the transitions between successive homopolymer runs encodes information. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate homopolymer additions of A, C and T onto the 3’ end of a 22 base initiator strand.
Hydrodynamic trapping measures the interaction between membrane-associated molecules
Authors: Junghans Victoria , Hladilkova Jana , Santos Ana Mafalda , Lund Mikael , Davis Simon J. , Jönsson Peter 
Published: June 2018

AbstractHow membrane proteins distribute and behave on the surface of cells is determined by the molecules’ interaction potential. However, measuring this potential, and how it varies with protein-to-protein distance, has been challenging. We here present how a method we call hydrodynamic trapping can achieve this. Our method uses the focused liquid flow from a micropipette to locally accumulate molecules protruding from a lipid membrane. The interaction potential, as well as information about the dimensions of the studied molecule, are obtained by relating the degree of accumulation to the strength of the trap. We have used this to study four representative proteins, with different height-to-width ratios and protein properties; from the globular streptavidin, to the rod-like immune cell proteins CD2, CD4 and CD45. The obtained data illustrates how protein shape, glycosylation and flexibility influence the behaviour of membrane proteins as well as underline the general applicability of the method.
The impact of behavioral interventions on co-infection dynamics: an exploration of the effects of home isolation
Authors: Hendrickx Diana M , Abrams Steven , Hens Niel 
Published: June 2018

AbstractBehavioral changes due to the development of symptoms have been studied in mono-infections. However, in reality, multiple infections are circulating within the same time period and behavioral changes resulting from contraction of one of the diseases affect the dynamics of the other.The present study aims at assessing the effect of home isolation on the joint dynamics of two infectious diseases, including co-infection, assuming that the two diseases do not confer cross-immunity. We use an age- and time- structured co-infection model based on partial differential equations. Social contact matrices, describing different mixing patterns of symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals are incorporated into the calculation of the age- and time-specific marginal forces of infection.Two scenarios are simulated, assuming that one of the diseases has more severe symptoms than the other. In the first scenario, people stay only at home when having symptoms of the most severe disease. In the second scenario, twice as many people stay at home when having symptoms of the most severe disease than when having symptoms of the other disease.The results show that the impact of home isolation on the joint dynamics of two infectious diseases depends on the epidemiological parameters and properties of the diseases (e.g., basic reproduction number, symptom severity). In case both diseases have a low to moderate basic reproduction number, and there is no home isolation for the less severe disease, the final size of the less severe disease increases with the proportion of symptomatic cases of the most severe disease staying at home, after an initial decrease. When twice as many people stay at home when having symptoms of the most severe disease than when having symptoms of the other disease, increasing the proportion staying at home always reduces the final size of both diseases, and the number of co-infections.In conclusion, when providing advise if people should stay at home in the context of two or more co-circulating diseases, one has to take into account epidemiological parameters and symptom severity.
Nucleic acid extraction and sequencing from low-biomass synthetic Mars analog soils for in situ life detection
Authors: Mojarro Angel , Hachey Julie , Bailey Ryan , Brown Mark , Doebler Robert , Ruvkun Gary , Zuber Maria T. , Carr Christopher E. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractRecent studies regarding the origin of life and Mars-Earth meteorite transfer simulations suggest that biological informational polymers, such as nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), have the potential to provide unambiguous evidence of life on Mars. To this end, we are developing a metagenomics-based life-detection instrument which integrates nucleic acid extraction and nanopore sequencing: The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes (SETG). Our goal is to isolate and sequence nucleic acids from extant or preserved life on Mars in order to determine if a particular genetic sequence (1) is distantly-related to life on Earth indicating a shared-ancestry due to lithological exchange, or (2) is unrelated to life on Earth suggesting a convergent origin of life on Mars. In this study, we validate prior work on nucleic acid extraction from cells deposited in Mars analog soils down to microbial concentrations observed in the driest and coldest regions on Earth. In addition, we report low-input nanopore sequencing results equivalent to 1 ppb life-detection sensitivity achieved by employing carrier sequencing, a method of sequencing sub-nanogram DNA in the background of a genomic carrier.
Impact of Premorbid Infection on Onset and Disease Activity of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Zhang Ruijun , Li Jing , Chen Jiali , Chen Xiaomei , Li Xue , Li Chun , Jia Yuan , Zhou Yunshan , Ren Limin , Wu Lijun , He Jing , Li Zhanguo 
Published: June 2018

AbstractObjectiveInfections have been implicated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) development. However, the impact of premorbid infection on initiation and perpetuation of RA has not been well elucidated. Thus, we sought to conduct a large scale on-site survey to study whether premorbid infection may trigger RA and influence status of the disease.MethodsPremorbid infectious events were collected in cohort of 902 RA patients from December 2015 to June 2016. Type of infections prior to RA onset and its possible effects on disease status were analyzed.ResultThree hundred and thirty-four out of 902 patients (37.03%) experienced infections within one month preceding RA onset. The most frequent infections were respiratory (16.08%), intestinal (11.09%) and urinary tract (9.87%) infection, respectively. The infection was associated with increased disease activity. Early onset was found in patients with urinary infection. High disease activity risk was increased in patients who pre-exposure to urinary infection (OR=3.813, 95%CI=1.717-12.418) and upper respiratory infection (OR=2.475, 95%CI= 0.971-6.312).ConclusionPre-exposure infections are associated with development of RA. Severe disease status of RA and persistent of active disease status are related to preceding infections.
Statistical Inference Relief (STIR) feature selection
Authors: Le Trang T. , Urbanowicz Ryan J. , Moore Jason H. , McKinney Brett A. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractMotivationRelief is a family of machine learning algorithms that uses nearest-neighbors to select features whose association with an outcome may be due to epistasis or statistical interactions with other features in high-dimensional data. Relief-based estimators are non-parametric in the statistical sense that they do not have a parameterized model with an underlying probability distribution for the estimator, making it difficult to determine the statistical significance of Relief-based attribute estimates. Thus, a statistical inferential formalism is needed to avoid imposing arbitrary thresholds to select the most important features.MethodsWe reconceptualize the Relief-based feature selection algorithm to create a new family of STatistical Inference Relief (STIR) estimators that retains the ability to identify interactions while incorporating sample variance of the nearest neighbor distances into the attribute importance estimation. This variance permits the calculation of statistical significance of features and adjustment for multiple testing of Relief-based scores. Specifically, we develop a pseudo t-test version of Relief-based algorithms for case-control data.ResultsWe demonstrate the statistical power and control of type I error of the STIR family of feature selection methods on a panel of simulated data that exhibits properties reflected in real gene expression data, including main effects and network interaction effects. We compare the performance of STIR when the adaptive radius method is used as the nearest neighbor constructor with STIR when thefixed-k nearest neighbor constructor is used. We apply STIR to real RNA-Seq data from a study of major depressive disorder and discuss STIR’s straightforward extension to genome-wide association studies.AvailabilityCode and data available at http://insilico.utulsa.edu/software/STIR.Contactbrett.mckinney@gmail.com