bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A pilot study of the effects of high‐frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on dysphagia in the elderly
Authors: Park Jin‐Woo , Kim Hyojun , Park Taejune , Yeo Jeong‐Seok , Hong Ho‐Jin , Oh Jin‐Young 
Published: January 2019

AbstractBackgroundSwallowing difficulty is common in the geriatric population and is associated with brain activity alteration with advancing age. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive approach to stimulate cortical neurons and can produce changes in cortical excitability. The objective of this study is to determine whether rTMS induces positive changes in the cortical areas and facilitates swallowing function in the elderly diagnosed with dysphagia.MethodsEight right‐handed elderly dysphagia patients without any neurologic deficits received 5 Hz rTMS to a pharyngeal motor hot spot in the right hemisphere for 10 minutes every weekday for 2 weeks. The intensity of the stimulation was set at 90% of the thenar motor threshold of the same hemisphere. They were all subjected to 18F‐labeled fluorodeoxyglucose‐PET scans at swallowing before and after rTMS. Differences between each patient's active image and control images on a voxel‐by‐voxel basis were examined to find significant increases in metabolism using statistical parametric mapping software. Videofluoroscopic swallowing study was also conducted before and after magnetic stimulation intervention. Penetration‐aspiration scale (PAS) and videofluoroscopic dysphagia scale (VDS) were compared to evaluate swallowing function.Key ResultsAfter 2 weeks of rTMS intervention, the VDS score was significantly reduced (from 43.6 ± 10.3 to 27.2 ± 14.5: P < 0.05), and especially pharyngeal motor function was improved. Activation was significantly increased in the bilateral primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, and right prefrontal cortex, which showed asymmetry.Conclusions and InferencesHigh‐frequency rTMS positively affected the activation in cortices and swallowing function in elderly patients with dysphagia.
SPL7 and SPL8 represent a novel flowering regulation mechanism in switchgrass
Authors: Gou Jiqing , Tang Chaorong , Chen Naichong , Wang Hui , Debnath Smriti , Sun Liang , Flanagan Amy , Tang Yuhong , Jiang Qingzhen , Allen Randy D. , Wang Zeng‐Yu 
Published: January 2019

Summary

The aging pathway in flowering regulation is controlled mainly by microRNA156 (miR156). Studies in Arabidopsis thaliana reveal that nine miR156‐targeted SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING‐LIKE (SPL) genes are involved in the control of flowering. However, the roles of SPLs in flowering remain elusive in grasses.

Inflorescence development in switchgrass was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Microarray, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR), chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)‐PCR and EMSA were used to identify regulators of phase transition and flowering. Gene function was characterized by downregulation and overexpression of the target genes.

Overexpression of SPL7 and SPL8 promotes flowering, whereas downregulation of individual genes moderately delays flowering. Simultaneous downregulation of SPL7/SPL8 results in extremely delayed or nonflowering plants. Furthermore, downregulation of both genes leads to a vegetative‐to‐reproductive reversion in the inflorescence, a phenomenon that has not been reported in any other grasses.

Detailed analyses demonstrate that SPL7 and SPL8 induce phase transition and flowering in grasses by directly upregulating SEPALLATA3 (SEP3) and MADS32. Thus, the SPL7/8 pathway represents a novel regulatory mechanism in grasses that is largely different from that in Arabidopsis. Additionally, genetic modification of SPL7 and SPL8 results in much taller plants with significantly increased biomass yield and sugar release.
Spatiotemporal sampling patterns in the 230 million year fossil record of terrestrial crocodylomorphs and their impact on diversity
Authors: Mannion Philip D. , Chiarenza Alfio Alessandro , Godoy Pedro L. , Cheah Yung Nam 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe 24 extant crocodylian species are the remnants of a once much more diverse and widespread clade. Crocodylomorpha has an approximately 230 million year evolutionary history, punctuated by a series of radiations and extinctions. However, the group's fossil record is biased. Previous studies have reconstructed temporal patterns in subsampled crocodylomorph palaeobiodiversity, but have not explicitly examined variation in spatial sampling, nor the quality of this record. We compiled a dataset of all taxonomically diagnosable non‐marine crocodylomorph species (393). Based on the number of phylogenetic characters that can be scored for all published fossils of each species, we calculated a completeness value for each taxon. Mean average species completeness (56%) is largely consistent within subgroups and for different body size classes, suggesting no significant biases across the crocodylomorph tree. In general, average completeness values are highest in the Mesozoic, with an overall trend of decreasing completeness through time. Many extant taxa are identified in the fossil record from very incomplete remains, but this might be because their provenance closely matches the species’ present‐day distribution, rather than through autapomorphies. Our understanding of nearly all crocodylomorph macroevolutionary ‘events’ is essentially driven by regional patterns, with no global sampling signal. Palaeotropical sampling is especially poor for most of the group's history. Spatiotemporal sampling bias impedes our understanding of several Mesozoic radiations, whereas molecular divergence times for Crocodylia are generally in close agreement with the fossil record. However, the latter might merely be fortuitous, i.e. divergences happened to occur during our ephemeral spatiotemporal sampling windows.
Whole‐genome re‐sequencing reveals the impact of the interaction of copy number variants of the rhg1 and Rhg4 genes on broad‐based resistance to soybean cyst nematode
Authors: Patil Gunvant B. , Lakhssassi Naoufal , Wan Jinrong , Song Li , Zhou Zhou , Klepadlo Mariola , Vuong Tri D. , Stec Adrian O. , Kahil Sondus S. , Colantonio Vincent , Valliyodan Babu , Rice J. Hollis , Piya Sarbottam , Hewezi Tarek , Stupar Robert M. , Meksem Khalid , Nguyen Henry T. 
Published: January 2019

SummarySoybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the most devastating plant‐parasitic nematode. Most commercial soybean varieties with SCN resistance are derived from PI88788. Resistance derived from PI88788 is breaking down due to narrow genetic background and SCN population shift. PI88788 requires mainly the rhg1‐b locus, while ‘Peking’ requires rhg1‐a and Rhg4 for SCN resistance. In the present study, whole genome re‐sequencing of 106 soybean lines was used to define the Rhg haplotypes and investigate their responses to the SCN HG‐Types. The analysis showed a comprehensive profile of SNPs and copy number variations (CNV) at these loci. CNV of rhg1 (GmSNAP18) only contributed towards resistance in lines derived from PI88788 and ‘Cloud’. At least 5.6 copies of the PI88788‐type rhg1 were required to confer SCN resistance, regardless of the Rhg4 (GmSHMT08) haplotype. However, when the GmSNAP18 copies dropped below 5.6, a ‘Peking’‐type GmSHMT08 haplotype was required to ensure SCN resistance. This points to a novel mechanism of epistasis between GmSNAP18 and GmSHMT08 involving minimum requirements for copy number. The presence of more Rhg4 copies confers resistance to multiple SCN races. Moreover, transcript abundance of the GmSHMT08 in root tissue correlates with more copies of the Rhg4 locus, reinforcing SCN resistance. Finally, haplotype analysis of the GmSHMT08 and GmSNAP18 promoters inferred additional levels of the resistance mechanism. This is the first report revealing the genetic basis of broad‐based resistance to SCN and providing new insight into epistasis, haplotype‐compatibility, CNV, promoter variation and its impact on broad‐based disease resistance in plants.
Why do junctures become critical? Political discourse, agency, and joint belief shifts in comparative perspective
Authors: Rinscheid Adrian , Eberlein Burkard , Emmenegger Patrick , Schneider Volker 
Published: January 2019

AbstractWhy do junctures become critical in some cases but not in others? Building on the critical juncture framework and perspectives on the formation and diffusion of beliefs, we develop a theoretically parsimonious and empirically traceable account of divergence in institutional outcomes. By illuminating the role of agency and joint belief shifts we further open the “black box” of critical junctures. In particular, we develop the argument that the role agents play is conditioned by conflict lines that structure an institutional field before a juncture sets in. Empirically, we trace political discourses around the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Canada, Germany, and Japan using discourse network analysis. Through comparative investigation, we empirically show that discursive interactions during potential critical junctures indicate institutional outcomes that are shaped by causally relevant historical legacies.
Bidirectional relations among empathy‐related traits, prosocial moral reasoning, and prosocial behaviors
Authors: Mestre Maria Vicenta , Carlo Gustavo , Samper Paula , Malonda Elizabeth , Mestre Ana Llorca 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThis study examined the longitudinal links among empathic concern, perspective taking, prosocial moral reasoning, and prosocial behaviors. Four hundred and seventeen adolescents (225 girls; Mage = 14.70 years) from public schools in Spain completed measures of those constructs in three successive years. Path analyses showed support for the notion that empathic concern and prosocial moral reasoning accounted for the relations between perspective taking in earlier adolescence and later altruistic and public forms of helping. Moreover, there was support for a reverse causal model such that empathic concern and prosocial moral reasoning mediated the relations between altruistic (but not public) helping behaviors in earlier adolescence and later perspective taking. The implications for cognitive developmental and social cognitive theories of prosocial development were discussed.
Safe supplies: few infections in UK blood and tissue donors
Authors: Reynolds C. , Davison K. L. , Brailsford S. R. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractAims/ObjectivesHere, we describe the annual review of the UK blood services' infection surveillance schemes for 2017 (www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe‐supplies‐annual‐review).BackgroundThe joint NHS Blood and Transplant/Public Health England Epidemiology Unit was set up in 1995 to ensure that blood and tissue safety is maintained, inform donor selection and testing policy and add to public health knowledge.MethodsSeveral surveillance schemes for blood, tissues and bacterial screening collect the numbers of donations tested, reactive and confirmed positive in order to monitor trends in infection rates in donors and calculate residual risk of infection. Investigations of potential transfusion transmissions in recipients are also monitored.ResultsIn the UK in 2017, the risk of testing not detecting a potentially infectious hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus or HIV donation was estimated as less than one in two million donations. One hepatitis A virus and one hepatitis E virus transmission incidents were proven to be transfusion‐transmitted by unscreened donations.ConclusionsThe Safe Supplies annual review provides a clear picture of the very low risk associated with blood and tissues in the UK nowadays. In November 2017, the blood services for England, Wales and Scotland implemented recommendations to reduce the deferrals for higher risk sexual behaviour from 12 to 3 months. The surveillance schemes are adapted to remain fit for purpose as testing and donor selection change.
Synergistic effect between ultraviolet irradiation and electrochemical oxidation for removal of humic acids and pharmaceuticals
Authors: García‐Espinoza Josué Daniel , Zolfaghari Mehdi , Mijaylova Nacheva Petia 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe fate of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment is significantly affected by the presence of humic acids (HA). In this work, the synergistic effect of electrochemical oxidation (EO) and ultraviolet irradiation (UVI) was evaluated for HA removal and for the simultaneous degradation of three pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, propranolol and sulfamethoxazole) in presence of HA. The effectiveness of EO, UVI and their combination for HA removal was assessed using different operating parameters, such as type of anode (Nb/BDD and Ti/IrO2), supporting electrolyte (NaCl, NaBr and Na2SO4), current density (8.1, 16.1, 28.2, 40.3, and 48.4 mA/cm2), pH (3, 7 and 9) and NaCl electrolyte concentration (7, 14 and 21 mM). The use of non‐active anode Nb/BDD, NaCl electrolyte and combination EO‐UVI was the most efficacious option for HA removal, due to the production of hydroxyl radicals as well as active chlorine species (HClO, Cl● and ClO−) generated by anodic oxidation and by UVI. The effectiveness of the EO process was enhanced coupling EO with UVI, however the energetic consumption increased. The composition of the electrolyte was the pivotal parameter since a complete degradation of the pharmaceuticals was achieved by both processes EO and EO‐UVI using NaCl as electrolyte; this is attributed to the indirect oxidation by electrogenerated active chlorine which dominates the pharmaceuticals degradation.
Validation of inpatient international classification of disease ninth revision codes as predictors of venous leg ulcers
Authors: Jaller J.A. , Darwin E.S. , Silverberg J.I. , Lev‐Tov H.A. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractVenous leg ulcers (VLU) comprise about 70% of lower leg wounds and cost more than 14 billion USD per year. Patients with VLU are often admitted to the hospital; however, epidemiological study of this important patient subset is challenged by lack of validated database search protocol. Five International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9 codes were identified for their relationship with VLUs (454.0, 454.2, 459.11, 707.9, and 707.10). The ICD9 code was considered to successfully predict a VLU if the wound was located in the gaiter area and had either relevant clinical findings, a positive venous study, and/or a diagnosis of VLU written in the physician note. The code 454.0, when combined with length of admission and subjects’ age, yielded high specificity (100%) and positive predictive value (100%), sacrificing sensitivity (34.4%). This formula represents a viable search criterion to identify VLU patients in large‐scale datasets to examine patients’ outcomes, costs, and comorbidities.
Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in Crassostrea spp. oysters cultured in an estuarine region in eastern Amazon
Authors: Monteiro Thamillys R. M. , Rocha Katarine S. , Silva Jacqueline , Mesquita Gleiciane S. S. , Rosário Marcely K. S. , Ferreira Maeli F. S. , Honorio Betsy E. T. , Melo Hugo F. R. , Barros Flávia N. L. , Scofield Alessandra , Abel Isis , Moraes Carla C. G. 
Published: January 2019

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to detect DNA of Toxoplasma gondii in Crassostrea spp. oysters cultured in the state of Pará, Brazil. A total of 400 oysters were directly collected from a fixed rack system. Gills, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and intervalvular liquid were separated and grouped into pool samples of 10 animals, resulting in 40 samples each of gills, GIT and intervalvular liquid. DNA extraction was performed using a commercial kit, and T. gondii DNA was detected by nested PCR using the primers Toxo3 and Toxo4, which produced an amplification product of 155 bp of the T. gondii gene B1. Nucleotide sequencing was performed for positive samples, and the obtained sequences were identified by comparison with sequences in GenBank. The DNA of T. gondii was detected in 5.8% (7/120) of the pool samples, of which 7.5% (3/40) was in the GIT, 5% (2/40) in the gills, and 5% (2/40) was in the intervalvular liquid. The obtained sequences presented 100% identity and overlap with T. gondii DNA sequences. This is the report of detection of T. gondii DNA in oysters from genus Crassostrea spp. originating from the state of Pará, eastern Amazon.
Economic crises and suicides between 1970 and 2011: time trend study in 21 developed countries
Authors: Huikari Sanna , Miettunen Jouko , Korhonen Marko 
Published: January 2019

BackgroundExisting research on the relationship between economic recessions and suicides has almost completely concentrated on the most recent global financial crisis (2008). We provide the most comprehensive explanation to date of how different types of economic/financial crises since 1970 have affected suicides in developed countries.MethodsNegative binomial regressions were used to estimate what the suicide rates would have been during and 1 year after each crisis began in 21 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries from 1970 to 2011 if the suicide rates had followed the pre-crisis trends.ResultsWe found that every economic/financial crisis since 1970, except the European Exchange Rate Mechanism crisis in 1992, led to excess suicides in developed countries. Among males, the excess suicide rate (per 100 000 persons) varied from 1.1 (95% CI 0.7 to 1.5) to 9.5 (7.6 to 11.2) and, among females, from 0 to 2.4 (1.9 to 2.9). For both sexes, suicides increased mostly due to stock market crashes and banking crises. In terms of actual numbers, the post-1969 economic/financial crises caused >60 000 excess suicides in the 21 developed countries. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 was the most damaging crisis when assessed based on excess suicides.ConclusionsEvidence indicates that, when considered in terms of effects on suicide mortality, the most recent global financial crisis is not particularly severe compared with previous global economic/financial crises. The distinct types of crises (ie, banking, currency and inflation crises, and stock market crashes) have different effects on suicide.
Effectiveness of school-based self-management interventions for asthma among children and adolescents: findings from a Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Kneale Dylan , Harris Katherine , McDonald Vanessa M , Thomas James , Grigg Jonathan 
Published: January 2019

IntroductionThe evidence that teaching self-management techniques to children and young people with asthma in schools is effective has not, to date, been the subject of systematic review.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review of intervention studies. Studies were eligible if they employed a randomised parallel-group design and were published in English from 1995 onwards. Participants included children with asthma aged 5–18 years who participated within their own school environment. Searches were conducted on the Cochrane Airways Group Specialised Register. Quantitative data were combined using random-effects meta-analyses.ResultsThirty-three outcome evaluation studies were included. School-based interventions were effective in reducing the frequency of emergency department visits (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.92; studies=13), and moderately effective in reducing levels of hospitalisations (standardised mean differences [SMD] −0.19, 95% CI −0.35 to −0.04; studies=6). A meta-analysis of three studies suggest that the intervention approach could reduce the number of days of restricted activity (SMD −0.30, 95% CI −0.41 to −0.18; studies=3). However, there was uncertainty as to whether school-based self-management interventions impacted on reducing absences from school.ConclusionsSelf-management interventions for children with asthma delivered in schools reduce the number of acute episodes of healthcare usage. We conclude that the school environment is an important space for delivering interventions to improve children’s health.
Impact of smoke-free legislation on acute myocardial infarction and stroke mortality: Tianjin, China, 2007–2015
Authors: Xiao Hong , Zhang Hui , Wang Dezheng , Shen Chengfeng , Xu Zhongliang , Zhang Ying , Jiang Guohong , Yang Gonghuan , Wan Xia , Naghavi Mohsen 
Published: January 2019

BackgroundSmoke-free legislation is an effective way to protect the population from the harms of secondhand smoke and has been implemented in many countries. On 31 May 2012, Tianjin became one of the few cities in China to implement smoke-free legislation. We investigated the impact of smoke-free legislation on mortality due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke in Tianjin.MethodsAn interrupted time series design adjusting for underlying secular trends, seasonal patterns, population size changes and meteorological factors was conducted to analyse the impact of the smoke-free law on the weekly mortality due to AMI and stroke. The study period was from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2015, with a 3.5-year postlegislation follow-up.ResultsFollowing the implementation of the smoke-free law, there was a decline in the annual trends of AMI and stroke mortality. An incremental 16% (rate ratio (RR): 0.84; 95% CI: 0.83 to 0.85) decrease per year in AMI mortality and a 2% (RR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97 to 0.99) annual decrease in stroke mortality among the population aged ≥35 years in Tianjin was observed. Immediate postlegislation reductions in mortality were not statistically significant. An estimated 10 000 (22%) AMI deaths were prevented within 3.5 years of the implementation of the law.ConclusionThe smoke-free law in Tianjin was associated with reductions in AMI mortality. This study reinforces the need for large-scale, effective and comprehensive smoke-free laws at the national level in China.
Delay Asymptotics and Bounds for Multi-Task Parallel Jobs
Authors: Wang Weina , Harchol-Balter Mor , Jiang Haotian , Scheller-Wolf Alan , Srikant R. 
Published: January 2019

We study delay of jobs that consist of multiple parallel tasks, which is a critical performance metric in a wide range of applications such as data file retrieval in coded storage systems and parallel computing. In this problem, each job is completed only when all of its tasks are completed, so the delay of a job is the maximum of the delays of its tasks. Despite the wide attention this problem has received, tight analysis is still largely unknown since analyzing job delay requires characterizing the complicated correlation among task delays, which is hard to do.
We first consider an asymptotic regime where the number of servers, n, goes to infinity, and the number of tasks in a job, k(n), is allowed to increase with n. We establish the asymptotic independence of any k(n) queues under the condition k(n) = o(n1/4). This greatly generalizes the asymptotic-independence type of results in the literature where asymptotic independence is shown only for a fixed constant number of queues. As a consequence of our independence result, the job delay converges to the maximum of independent task delays.
We next consider the non-asymptotic regime. Here we prove that independence yields a stochastic upper bound on job delay for any n and any k(n) with k(n)≤n. The key component of our proof is a new technique we develop, called "Poisson oversampling". Our approach converts the job delay problem into a corresponding balls-and-bins problem. However, in contrast with typical balls-and-bins problems where there is a negative correlation among bins, we prove that our variant exhibits positive correlation. A full version of this paper will all proofs appears in [28].