bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Expanded Endonasal Endoscopic Surgery in Suprasellar Craniopharyngiomas: A Retrospective Analysis of 43 Surgeries Including Recurrent Cases
Authors: Radovanovic Ivan , Dehdashti Amir R , Turel Mazda K , Almeida Joao Paulo , Godoy Bruno L , Doglietto Francesco , Vescan Allan D , Zadeh Gelareh , Gentili Fred 
Published: February 2019

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The role of expanded endonasal endoscopic surgery for primary and recurrent craniopharyngioma is not yet fully established.

OBJECTIVE
To report and evaluate our experience with the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) for the resection of primary and recurrent craniopharyngiomas.

METHODS
This is a retrospective cohort analysis of 43 consecutive EEA procedures in 40 patients operated from September 2006 to February 2012 for suprasellar craniopharyngiomas. In 21 patients (48.8%) the disease was recurrent. We have assessed the surgical results, visual, endocrinological, and functional outcomes and resection rates in this patient cohort.

RESULTS
At presentation, 31 (72.1%) patients had visual deficits, 15 patients (34.9%) complained of headaches, 25 patients (58.1%) had anterior pituitary insufficiency, and 14 (32.5%) had diabetes insipidus. Total resection was achieved in 44.2% surgeries, of which 77.3% were in primary lesions and 9.5% in recurrent lesions (P < .001). Vision improved in 92.6% patients and worsened in 2.3%. Complications other than vision were encountered in 25.6% including 9/43 cerebrospinal fluid leak, 2/43 meningitis. A total of 51.9% of patients with preoperative residual anterior pituitary function had new anterior pituitary deficiencies and 42.8% had new diabetes insipidus. There was no mortality. Six patients (14%) had recurrence of disease during the follow-up period (mean 56.8 mo), 5 of which required repeat surgery.

CONCLUSION
The EEA can be integrated in the overall management of both primary and recurrent craniopharyngiomas with good results; however, in our series recurrent surgery was associated with significantly lower rates of gross total resection.
Small RNAs in Rat Sperm Are a Predictive and Sensitive Biomarker of Exposure to the Testicular Toxicant Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether
Authors: Stermer Angela R , Reyes Gerardo , Hall Susan J , Boekelheide Kim 
Published: February 2019

AbstractTesticular histology and semen parameters are considered the gold standards when determining male reproductive toxicity. Ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME) is a testicular toxicant with well-described effects on histopathology and sperm parameters. To compare the predictivity and sensitivity of molecular biomarkers of testicular toxicity to the traditional endpoints, small RNAs in the sperm were analyzed by next generation RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). Adult rats were exposed to 0, 50, 60, or 75 mg/kg EGME by oral gavage for 5 consecutive days. Testis histology, epididymal sperm motility, and sperm small RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), mRNA fragments, piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), and tRNA fragments (tRFs), were analyzed 5 weeks after cessation of exposure. Testicular histology showed a significant dose-dependent increase in retained spermatid heads (RSH), while sperm motility declined with increasing dose. RNA-sequencing of sperm small RNAs was used to identify significant dose-dependent changes in percent mRNA fragments (of total reads), percent miRNAs (of total reads), average tRF length, average piRNA length, and piRNA and tRF length-distributions. Discriminant analysis showed relatively low predictivity of exposure based on RSH or motility compared to the average read length of all assigned RNAs. Benchmark dose (BMD) modeling resulted in a BMD of 62 mg/kg using RSH, whereas average read length of all assigned RNAs resulted in a BMD of 47 mg/kg. These results showed that sperm small RNAs are sensitive and predictive biomarkers of EGME-induced male reproductive toxicity.
Information, Support, and Follow-up Offered to Women Who Experienced Severe Maternal Morbidity
Authors: Furniss M. , Conroy M. , Filoche S. , MacDonald E.J. , Geller S.E. , Lawton B. 
Published: February 2019

(Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2018;141:384–388)
Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) refers to a woman who nearly died but survived a complication that occurred during pregnancy, childbirth, or the postpartum period. It has been shown that women who experience an SMM event are at increased risk of postpartum morbidities, such as depression, and often need additional support on hospital discharge. In New Zealand, a recent review identified potential substandard care regarding certain components of care for women who experienced an SMM event. Therefore, the authors of the present study thus examined whether or not women who have experienced an SMM event were offered debriefing and a detailed discharge letter, a psychosocial report, and a follow-up opportunity with a clinical care specialist before discharge from hospitals in New Zealand.
What We Can Do about Maternal Mortality: And How to Do It Quickly
Authors: Mann S. , Hollier L.M. , McKay K. , Brown H. 
Published: February 2019

(N Engl J Med. 2018;379:1689–1691)
Recent reports in the lay media have discussed increasing maternal mortality in the United States. In fact, women in the United States are more likely to die from childbirth-related or pregnancy-related causes than women in other high-income countries, with black women dying at a rate 3 to 4 times that of white women. Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified 3 types of preventable complications: postpartum hemorrhage, severe hypertension, and venous thromboembolism. In this perspective article, the authors discussed 4 actions by which the health care community can reverse this trend of increasing pregnancy-related deaths.
Effect of Maternal Body Mass Index on Postpartum Hemorrhage
Authors: Butwick A.J. , Abreo A. , Bateman B.T. , Lee H.C. , El-Sayed Y.Y. , Stephansson O. , Flood P. 
Published: February 2019

(Anesthesiology. 2018;128:774–783)
While postpartum hemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and has been on the rise, only a small portion of its incidence can be explained by well-known risk factors including placenta previa, multiple gestation, and polyhydramnios. To improve risk assessment, other risk factors should be identified. Maternal obesity has also become more prevalent, and some data suggest obese women may have an increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage. This study aimed to investigate the possible link between maternal obesity and postpartum hemorrhage. In addition, the effect of maternal body mass index (BMI) and delivery mode on risk of hemorrhage was examined.
Coverage and Capacity: Addressing the “Night & Weekend Effect” in Obstetrics
Authors: Einerson B.D. 
Published: February 2019

(BJOG. 2018;125(7):892)
Recently, there has been increased focus on the possible existence of the “night and weekend effect” in obstetrics, as it has been demonstrated in other medical specialties. A study from Reif and colleagues found that nighttime delivery was associated with increased risk (odds ratio: 1.35) of severe adverse neonatal events compared with daytime delivery in 10 centers in Austria. There was no significant difference in risk of adverse events between the weekday and weekends.
Prophylactic Norepinephrine Infusion for Preventing Hypotension During Spinal Anesthesia for Cesarean Delivery
Authors: Ngan Kee W.D. , Lee S.W.Y. , Ng F.F. , Khaw K.S. 
Published: February 2019

(Anesth Analg. 2018;126:1989–1994)
Norepinephrine has been recently described as a possible alternative to phenylephrine for maintaining blood pressure during spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery. However, its administration via manually titrated infusions in obstetric patients has not been previously described. The authors of the present study evaluate the efficacy of a titrated, manually controlled variable-rate infusion of norepinephrine for maintaining blood pressure and preventing hypotension in patients having spinal anesthesia for elective cesarean delivery.
Postpartum Obstetric Red Cell Transfusion Practice: A Retrospective Study in a Tertiary Obstetric Center
Authors: Stephens B. , Sethna F. , Crispin P. 
Published: February 2019

(Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2018;58:170–177)
Traditional management of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) relies heavily upon packed red blood cell (prbc) transfusions. However, based on medical practitioners’ differing beliefs on the need for transfusion, variations have been noted among obstetric centers in the rates of transfusion in the peripartum setting. Although blood transfusions can be life-saving, they have also been associated with increased risks of red cell alloimmunization and infection as well as longer lengths of stay and increased costs of care in surgical patients. Hence there has been a change in the approach to transfusion from being a stand-alone treatment to being just one component of an overall holistic patient blood management approach. In Australia, where this study was performed, this holistic approach has been summarized in the National Blood Authority Module 5 Obstetrics and Maternity Patient Blood Management Guideline. This retrospective study aimed to compare the investigators’ local practice regarding transfusion of prbcs for PPH against the recommendations in the new national guidelines, and to identify potential areas for improvement by better understanding the factors leading to transfusion.
Antenatal Corticosteroids: A Retrospective Cohort Study on Timing, Indications, and Neonatal Outcome
Authors: Frändberg J. , Sandblom J. , Bruschettini M. , Maršál K. , Kristensen K. 
Published: February 2019

(Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2018;97:591–597)
One of the most effective treatments for reducing neonatal morbidity and mortality among women at risk for preterm delivery is the administration of antenatal corticosteroids (ACS). As treatment with ACS reduces the risk of respiratory distress syndrome, intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, and neonatal death in preterm infants, it is recommended for all women at risk for preterm birth before 34 weeks gestation. In order to achieve optimal benefit from ACS therapy, the interval between drug administration and delivery has been considered to be of utmost importance. In the present study, an ACS administration to delivery interval of >24 hours and ≤7 days was defined as optimal timing. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate whether there were associations between the timing of ACS therapy and the obstetric indication for treatment as well as neonatal complications. The secondary objective was to determine whether neonates born at an optimal interval between ACS administration and delivery were at decreased risk for neonatal complications compared with neonates whose ACS treatment was suboptimally timed.
The Effect of Adding Subarachnoid Epinephrine to Hyperbaric Bupivacaine and Morphine for Repeat Cesarean Delivery: A Double-blind Prospective Randomized Control Trial
Authors: Katz D. , Hamburger J. , Gutman D. , Wang R. , Lin H.M. , Marotta M. , Zahn J. , Beilin Y. 
Published: February 2019

(Anesth Analg. 2018;127:171–178)
A major limitation of spinal anesthesia is that the duration of the anesthetic may not be adequate in the event of a prolonged surgery. Bupivacaine without an adjuvant provides ∼120 minutes of surgical anesthesia. Epinephrine added to lidocaine or tetracaine can increase the block’s duration as much as 2-fold. However, less is known about the prolongation of spinal block when epinephrine is added to bupivacaine. In the present study, the authors evaluated whether the addition of subarachnoid epinephrine to bupivacaine and morphine would prolong the duration of surgical anesthesia for repeat cesarean delivery as measured by the time to T-10 regression or activation of the epidural for patient comfort.
Changes in the Organization of the Secondary Somatosensory Cortex While Processing Lumbar Proprioception and the Relationship With Sensorimotor Control in Low Back Pain
Authors: Goossens Nina , Janssens Lotte , Brumagne Simon 
Published: February 2019

Objectives:
Patients with nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) rely more on the ankle compared with the lower back proprioception while standing, perform sit-to-stand-to-sit (STSTS) movements slower, and exhibit perceptual impairments at the lower back. However, no studies investigated whether these sensorimotor impairments relate to a reorganization of the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices (S1 and S2) and primary motor cortex (M1) during proprioceptive processing.

Materials and Methods:
Proprioceptive stimuli were applied at the lower back and ankle muscles during functional magnetic resonance imaging in 15 patients with NSLBP and 13 controls. The location of the activation peaks during the processing of proprioception within S1, S2, and M1 were determined and compared between groups. Proprioceptive use during postural control was evaluated, the duration to perform 5 STSTS movements was recorded, and participants completed the Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire (FreBAQ) to assess back-specific body perception.

Results:
The activation peak during the processing of lower back proprioception in the right S2 was shifted laterally in the NSLBP group compared with the healthy group (P=0.007). Moreover, patients with NSLSP performed STSTS movements slower (P=0.018), and reported more perceptual impairments at the lower back (P<0.001). Finally, a significant correlation between a more lateral location of the activation peak during back proprioceptive processing and a more disturbed body perception was found across the total group (ρ=0.42, P=0.025).

Conclusions:
The results suggest that patients with NSLBP show a reorganization of the higher-order processing of lower back proprioception, which could negatively affect spinal control and body perception.
Helicopter medical evacuation in the Korean War: Did it matter?
Authors: Barr Justin , Montgomery Sean 
Published: February 2019

BACKGROUND
Because of M*A*S*H and other popular portrayals, helicopter evacuation of casualties has been closely linked to the Korean War. We sought to investigate their role in military medicine during this conflict.

METHODS
This study incorporated a thorough review of the original source documents dating to the Korean War that are housed in the National Archives, the Military History Institute, and other repositories.

RESULTS
Medical evacuation helicopters entered the war late, after the United Nations forces had suffered the majority of their casualties. There were relatively few helicopters in the country, and a combination of mechanical and personnel issues kept many grounded. Technological constraints limited their efficacy. Military policy forbade rescues from the front lines, and interhospital transfers comprised a significant percentage of their missions.

CONCLUSION
Helicopters did not appreciably decrease the average time from wounding to surgical care, nor did they evacuate a statistically significant number of casualties, and ultimately, they had minimal effect on military medicine. However, the war did provide helicopters the opportunity to prove themselves conceptually, leading to their widespread usage in Vietnam, in later conflicts, and ultimately in civilian health care systems.
Thromboelastography on-the-go: Evaluation of the TEG 6s device during ground and high-altitude Aeromedical Evacuation with extracorporeal life support
Authors: Roberts Teryn R. , Jones John A. , Choi Jae-Hyek , Sieck Kyle N. , Harea George T. , Wendorff Daniel S. , Beely Brendan M. , Karaliou Vitali , Cap Andrew P. , Davis Michael R. , Cancio Leopoldo C. , Sams Valerie G. , Batchinsky Andriy I. 
Published: February 2019

BACKGROUNDCoagulation monitoring capabilities during transport are limited. Thromboelastography (TEG) is a whole-blood clotting test measuring clot formation, stabilization, and fibrinolysis and is traditionally performed in a laboratory. We evaluated a new point-of-care TEG analyzer, TEG 6s (Haemonetics, Braintree, MA), in a large animal model of combat-relevant trauma managed with extracorporeal life support during ground and high-altitude aeromedical evacuation. The objective was to compare TEG 6s used during transport versus the predicate device, TEG 5000, used in the laboratory. We hypothesized that TEG 6s would be comparable with TEG 5000 during dynamically changing transport conditions.METHODSThromboelastography parameters (R,K, angle, MA, LY30) derived by TEG 6s and TEG 5000 were compared during transport of 8 swine. TEG 6s was transported with animals during ground transport and flight. TEG 5000 was stationary in an adjacent building. TEG 6s activated clotting time (ACT) was compared with a Hemochron Junior ACT analyzer (Accriva Diagnostics, San Diego, CA). Statistics were performed using SAS 9.4 with Deming regressions, Spearman correlations, and average differences compared.RESULTSCorrelation between devices was stronger at sea-level (R,r= 0.7413;K,r= 0.7115; angle,r= 0.7192; MA,r= 0.8386; LY30,r= 0.9099) than during high-altitude transport (R,r= 0.4787;K,r= 0.4007; angle,r= 0.3706; MA,r= 0.6573; LY30,r= 0.8481). Method agreement was comparable during stationary operation (R,r= 0.7978;K,r= 0.7974; angle,r= 0.7574; MA,r= 0.7841; LY30,r= 0.9140) versus ground transport (R,r= 0.7927;K,r= 0.6246; angle,r= 0.6967; MA,r= 0.9163; LY30,r= 0.8603). TEG 6s ACT trended higher than Hemochron ACT when subjects were heparinized (average difference, 1,442 ± 1,703 seconds) without a methodological difference by Deming regression.CONCLUSIONMobile TEG 6s during ground and altitude transport is feasible and provides unprecedented information to guide coagulation management. Future studies should assess the precision and accuracy of TEG 6s during transport of critically ill.
Assessing different components of biodiversity across a river network using eDNA
Authors: Mächler Elvira , Little Chelsea J. , Wüthrich Remo , Alther Roman , Fronhofer Emanuel A. , Gounand Isabelle , Harvey Eric , Hürlemann Samuel , Walser Jean-Claude , Altermatt Florian 
Published: February 2019

AbstractAssessing individual components of biodiversity, such as local or regional taxon richness, and differences in community composition is a long-standing challenge in ecology. It is especially relevant in spatially structured and diverse ecosystems. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has been suggested as a novel technique to accurately measure biodiversity. However, we do not yet fully understand the comparability of eDNA-based assessments to previously used approaches.We sampled may-, stone-, and caddisfly genera with contemporary eDNA and kicknet methods at 61 sites distributed over a large river network, allowing a comparison of various diversity measures from the catchment to site levels and providing insights into how these measures relate to network properties. We extended our survey data with historical records of total diversity at the catchment level.At the catchment scale, eDNA and kicknet detected similar proportions of the overall and cumulative historically documented species richness (gamma diversity), namely 42% and 46%, respectively. We further found a good overlap (62%) between the two contemporary methods at the regional scale.At the local scale, we found highly congruent values of local taxon richness (alpha diversity) between eDNA and kicknet. Richness of eDNA was positively related with discharge, a descriptor of network position, while kicknet was not.Beta diversity between sites was similar for the two contemporary methods. Contrary to our expectation, however, beta diversity was driven by species replacement and not by nestedness.Although optimization of eDNA approaches is still needed, our results indicate that this novel technique can capture extensive aspects of gamma diversity, proving its potential utility as a new tool for large sampling campaigns across hitherto understudied complete river catchments, requiring less time and becoming more cost-efficient than classical approaches. Overall, the richness estimated with the two contemporary methods is similar at both local and regional scale but community composition is differently assessed with the two methods at individual sites and becomes more similar with higher discharge.
SCANVIS – a tool for SCoring, ANnotating and VISualizing splice junctions
Authors: Agius Phaedra , Geiger Heather , Robine Nicolas 
Published: February 2019

AbstractMotivationThe association of splicing signatures with disease is a leading area of study for prognosis, diagnosis and therapy, frequently requiring detailed analysis of splicing events across multiple samples. We present a novel fast-performing annotation-dependent tool called SCANVIS for scoring and annotating splice junctions by gene name, junction type and any frame shifts incurred. SCANVIS has a novel and fast visualization technique that distinguishes annotated splice junctions from unannotated ones in the context of nearby variants and read coverage. It also allows users to merge samples across cohorts, thereby allowing for quick comparisons of splice junctions across diseases and tissue types.ResultsWe show that SCANVIS generates reasonable PSI scores by demonstrating that tissue/cancer types in GTEX and TCGA are well separated and easily predicted from a few thousand SJs. We also show how SCANVIS can be used to map out junctions overlaid with variants and read coverage for one or more samples, with line types and colors delineating frame shifts and junction types.AvailabilitySCANVIS is available for download at https://github.com/nygenome/SCANVISContactpagius@nygenome.org
Odour conditioning of positive affective states: Rats can learn to associate an odour with being tickled
Authors: Bombail Vincent , Jerôme Nathalie , Lam Ho , Muszlak Sacha , Meddle Simone L , Lawrence Alistair B , Nielsen Birte L 
Published: February 2019

AbstractMost associative learning tests in rodents use negative stimuli, such as an electric shock. We investigated if young rats can learn to associate the presence of an odour with the experience of being tickled (i.e. using an experimenter’s hand to mimic rough-and-tumble play), shown to elicit 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs), which are indicative of positive affect. Male, pair-housed Wistar rats (N=24) were all exposed to two neutral odours (A and B) presented in a perforated container on alternate days in a test arena. Following 60s of exposure, the rats were either tickled on days when odour A (n=8) or odour B (n=8) was present, or never tickled (n=8). When tickled, rats produced significantly more 50 kHz USVs compared to the days when not being tickled, and compared to control rats. The level of anticipatory 50 kHz USVs in the 60s prior to tickling did not differ significantly between the tickled and control rats. Following the odour conditioning, rats were exposed successively in the same arena to three odours: an unknown neutral odour, extract of fox faeces, and either odours A or B. Compared to controls, 50 kHz USVs of tickled rats increased when exposed to the odour they had previously experienced when tickled, indicating that these rats had learned to associate the odour with the positive experience of being tickled. In a test with free access for 5 min to both arms of a T-maze, each containing one of the odours, rats tickled with odour A spent more time in the arm with this odour. This work is the first to test in a fully balanced design whether odours can be conditioned to tickling, and indicates that positive odour conditioning has potential to be used as an alternative to negative conditioning tests.