bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nomogram Integrating Genomics with Clinicopathologic Features Improves Prognosis Prediction for Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Xiong Yongfu , You Wenxian , Hou Min , Peng Linglong , Zhou He , Fu Zhongxue 
Published: May 2018

Abstract
The current tumor staging system is insufficient for predicting the outcomes for patients with colorectal cancer because of its phenotypic and genomic heterogeneity. Integrating gene expression signatures with clinicopathologic factors may yield a predictive accuracy exceeding that of the currently available system. Twenty-seven signatures that used gene expression data to predict colorectal cancer prognosis were identified and re-analyzed using bioinformatic methods. Next, clinically annotated colorectal cancer samples (n = 1710) with the corresponding expression profiles, that predicted a patient's probability of cancer recurrence, were pooled to evaluate their prognostic values and establish a clinicopathologic–genomic nomogram. Only 2 of the 27 signatures evaluated showed a significant association with prognosis and provided a reasonable prediction accuracy in the pooled cohort (HR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.183–5.132, P &lt; 0.001; AUC, 60.83; HR, 2.33; 95% CI, 1.218–4.453, P &lt; 0.001; AUC, 71.34). By integrating the above signatures with prognostic clinicopathologic features, a clinicopathologic–genomic nomogram was cautiously constructed. The nomogram successfully stratified colorectal cancer patients into three risk groups with remarkably different DFS rates and further stratified stage II and III patients into distinct risk subgroups. Importantly, among patients receiving chemotherapy, the nomogram determined that those in the intermediate- (HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.255–0.679, P &lt; 0.001) and high-risk (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.469–0.957, P = 0.028) groups had favorable responses.
Implications: These findings offer evidence that genomic data provide independent and complementary prognostic information, and incorporation of this information refines the prognosis of colorectal cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 16(9); 1373–84. ©2018 AACR.
Adaptive NK Cells Resist Regulatory T-cell Suppression Driven by IL37
Authors: Sarhan Dhifaf , Hippen Keli L. , Lemire Amanda , Hying Skyler , Luo Xianghua , Lenvik Todd , Curtsinger Julie , Davis Zachary , Zhang Bin , Cooley Sarah , Cichocki Frank , Blazar Bruce R. , Miller Jeffrey S. 
Published: May 2018

Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells are capable of fighting viral infections and cancer. However, these responses are inhibited by immune suppressor cells in the tumor microenvironment. Tumor progression promotes the recruitment and generation of intratumoral regulatory T cells (Treg), associated with a poor prognosis in cancer patients. Here, we show that canonical NK cells are highly susceptible to Treg-mediated suppression, in contrast to highly resistant CD57+ FcϵRγ−NKG2C+ adaptive (CD56+CD3−) NK cells that expand in cytomegalovirus exposed individuals. Specifically, Tregs suppressed canonical but not adaptive NK-cell proliferation, IFNγ production, degranulation, and cytotoxicity. Treg-mediated suppression was associated with canonical NK-cell downregulation of TIM3, a receptor that activates NK-cell IFNγ production upon ligand engagement, and upregulation of the NK-cell inhibitory receptors PD-1 and the IL1 receptor family member, IL1R8 (SIGIRR or TIR8). Treg production of the IL1R8 ligand, IL37, contributed to the phenotypic changes and diminished function in Treg-suppressed canonical NK cells. Blocking PD-1, IL1R8, or IL37 abrogated Treg suppression of canonical NK cells while maintaining NK-cell TIM3 expression. Our data uncover new mechanisms of Treg-mediated suppression of canonical NK cells and identify that adaptive NK cells are inherently resistant to Treg suppression. Strategies to enhance the frequency of adaptive NK cells in the tumor microenvironment or to blunt Treg suppression of canonical NK cells will enhance the efficacy of NK-cell cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(7); 766–75. ©2018 AACR.
Teleconnection between Summer NAO and East China Rainfall Variations: A Bridge Effect of the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Wang Ziqian , Yang Song , Lau Ngar-Cheung , Duan Anmin 
Published: May 2018

AbstractAlthough the impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), especially the antecedent NAO in winter and spring, on East Asian summer climate has been studied extensively, the possible connection from the summer NAO (SNAO) and then the Tibetan Plateau (TP) to East China summer rainfall remains unclear. This study reveals that on interannual time scales the SNAO is significantly correlated with the variations of East China summer rainfall and the thermal forcing of the TP provides an intermediate bridge effect in this Eurasian teleconnection. The SNAO primarily regulates the rainfall variability over the TP through large-scale wave trains and the TP rainfall anomalies in turn lead to a change in local diabatic heating, which excites Rossby waves to the downstream regions. To the northeast of the TP, an anomalous barotropic cyclone is formed in the nearly entire troposphere, generating low-level northerly flow anomalies over northern China. Meanwhile, the TP heating also induces low-level southerly flow anomalies over southern China. The anomalous northerly and southerly winds converge in the lower troposphere, enhancing the summer rainfall over central East China. Compared to the SNAO, the TP thermal forcing exerts a more direct impact on the variations of East China summer rainfall in the Eurasian teleconnection discussed.
Assessing the Relationship between MJO and Equatorial Pacific WWBs in Observations and CMIP5 Models
Authors: Feng Jie , Lian Tao 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThis study evaluates the relationship between the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) and the occurrence of equatorial Pacific westerly wind bursts (WWBs). During the convective MJO phase, anomalous surface westerlies prevail in and west of the convective MJO center, providing favorable conditions for WWBs. Compared with the probability of WWBs expected under a null hypothesis that WWBs occur randomly, the convective MJO phase almost doubles the probability of a WWB occurring. Nevertheless, only 34.46% of WWBs co-occur with the convective MJO, which is much less than that reported in previous studies. We show that when the MJO and WWBs are defined using the same field with overlapping frequencies, the percentage of WWBs co-occurring with the convective MJO shows a significant increase. However, the higher percentage is simply caused by the fact that the strong WWBs during a convective MJO are more likely to be identified than those during the suppressed and neutral MJO phases. A total of 45.80% of WWBs are found to occur in the full MJO phase (both the convective and suppressed MJO phases), which is slightly higher than that expected based on randomness. Although the full MJO has statistically significant impact on the likelihood of WWBs, the influence from the full MJO on the tropical Pacific sea surface temperature anomaly is much weaker as compared to that from the WWBs. The relationships between the MJO and WWBs simulated in CMIP5 models are also assessed, and the percentage of WWBs that co-occur with the MJO simulated in models is in general less than that in observations.
Contrasting the Antarctic and Arctic Atmospheric Responses to Projected Sea Ice Loss in the Late Twenty-First Century
Authors: England Mark , Polvani Lorenzo , Sun Lantao 
Published: May 2018

AbstractModels project that Antarctic sea ice area will decline considerably by the end of this century, but the consequences remain largely unexplored. Here, the atmospheric response to future sea ice loss in the Antarctic is investigated, and contrasted to the Arctic case, using the Community Earth Systems Model (CESM) Whole Atmosphere Coupled Climate Model (WACCM). Time-slice model runs with historic sea ice concentrations are compared to runs with future concentrations, from the late twenty-first century, in each hemisphere separately. As for the Arctic, results indicate that Antarctic sea ice loss will act to shift the tropospheric jet equatorward, an internal negative feedback to the poleward shift associated with increased greenhouse gases. Also, the tropospheric response to Antarctic sea ice loss is found to be somewhat weaker, more vertically confined, and less seasonally varying than in the case of Arctic sea ice loss. The stratospheric response to Antarctic sea ice loss is relatively weak compared to the Arctic case, although it is here demonstrated that the latter is still small relative to internal variability. In contrast to the Arctic case, the response of the ozone layer is found to be positive (up to 5 Dobson units): interestingly, it is present in all seasons except austral spring. Finally, while the response of surface temperature and precipitation is limited to the southern high latitudes, it is nonetheless unable to impact the interior of the Antarctic continent, suggesting a minor role of sea ice loss on recent Antarctic temperature trends.
Can the Salt-Advection Feedback Be Detected in Internal Variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation?
Authors: Cheng Wei , Weijer Wilbert , Kim Who M. , Danabasoglu Gokhan , Yeager Steve G. , Gent Peter R. , Zhang Dongxiao , Chiang John C. H. , Zhang Jiaxu 
Published: May 2018

AbstractEvidence for the assumptions of the salt-advection feedback in box models is sought by studying the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) internal variability in the long preindustrial control runs of two Earth system models. The first assumption is that AMOC strength is proportional to the meridional density difference between the North Atlantic and the Southern Oceans. The model simulations support this assumption, with the caveat that nearly all the long time-scale variability occurs in the North Atlantic density. The second assumption is that the freshwater transport variability by the overturning at the Atlantic southern boundary is controlled by the strength of AMOC. Only one of the models shows some evidence that AMOC variability at 45°N leads variability in the overturning freshwater transport at the southern boundary by about 30 years, but the other model shows no such coherence. In contrast, in both models this freshwater transport variability is dominated by local salinity variations. The third assumption is that changes in the overturning freshwater transport at the Atlantic southern boundary perturb the north–south density difference, and thus feed back on AMOC strength in the north. No evidence for this assumption is found in either model at any time scale, although this does not rule out that the salt-advection feedback may be excited by a strong enough freshwater perturbation.
How Wet and Dry Spells Evolve across the Conterminous United States Based on 555 Years of Paleoclimate Data
Authors: Ho Michelle , Lall Upmanu , Cook Edward R. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractEvolving patterns of droughts and wet spells in the conterminous United States (CONUS) are examined over 555 years using a tree-ring-based paleoclimate reconstruction of the modified Palmer drought severity index (PDSI). A hidden Markov model is used as an unsupervised method of classifying climate states and quantifying the temporal evolution from one state to another. Modeling temporal variability in spatial patterns of drought and wet spells provides the ability to objectively assess and simulate historical persistence and recurrence of similar patterns. The Viterbi algorithm reveals the probable sequence of states through time, enabling an examination of temporal and spatial features and associated large-scale climate forcing. Distinct patterns of sea surface temperature that are known to enhance or inhibit rainfall are associated with some states. Using the current CONUS PDSI field the model can be used to simulate the space–time PDSI pattern over the next few years, or unconditional simulations can be used to derive estimates of spatially concurrent PDSI patterns and their persistence and intensity across the CONUS.
Size-Resolved Evaluation of Simulated Deep Tropical Convection
Authors: Senf Fabian , Klocke Daniel , Brueck Matthias 
Published: May 2018

AbstractDeep moist convection is an inherently multiscale phenomenon with organization processes coupling convective elements to larger-scale structures. A realistic representation of the tropical dynamics demands a simulation framework that is capable of representing physical processes across a wide range of scales. Therefore, storm-resolving numerical simulations at 2.4 km have been performed covering the tropical Atlantic and neighboring parts for 2 months. The simulated cloud fields are combined with infrared geostationary satellite observations, and their realism is assessed with the help of object-based evaluation methods. It is shown that the simulations are able to develop a well-defined intertropical convergence zone. However, marine convective activity measured by the cold cloud coverage is considerably underestimated, especially for the winter season and the western Atlantic. The spatial coupling across the resolved scales leads to simulated cloud number size distributions that follow power laws similar to the observations, with slopes steeper in winter than summer and slopes steeper over ocean than over land. The simulated slopes are, however, too steep, indicating too many small and too few large tropical cloud cells. It is also discussed that the number of larger cells is less influenced by multiday variability of environmental conditions. Despite the identified deficits, the analyzed simulations highlight the great potential of this modeling framework for process-based studies of tropical deep convection.
India–Japan CEPA
Authors: Gaurav Kumar , Bharti Nalin 
Published: May 2018

Most of the studies on free trade agreements (FTAs) concentrate on merchandise trade, either in the North-North or South-South framework. This study is different because it evaluates services trade under the FTA in North–South structure between India and Japan. Research methodology for this work includes both qualitative as well as quantitative approach. Qualitative analysis of the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the India–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has been undertaken to evaluate the commitments and obligations at the policy level. Quantitative analysis explores key areas of potential in services trade between India and Japan, applying Revealed Comparative Advantage index. The study observes huge untapped potentials and strong trade complementarities between India and Japan, which offers lessons to the other economies of the world. JEL: F10, F13, F15
Chinese perspectives on primary care for common mental disorders: Barriers and policy implications
Authors: Sun Kai Sing , Lam Tai Pong , Wu Dan 
Published: May 2018

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for integration of mental health into primary care for a decade. In Western countries, around 15% to 25% of patients with common mental disorders including mood and anxiety disorders seek help from primary care physicians (PCPs). The rate is only about 5% in China. Aims: This article reviews the Chinese findings on the barriers to primary care for common mental disorders and how they compared with Western findings. Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted, focusing on literature published from mid-1990s in English or Chinese. Patient, PCP and health system factors were reviewed. Results: Although Chinese and Western findings show similar themes of barriers, the Chinese have stronger barriers in most aspects, including under-recognition of the need for treatment, stigma on mental illness, somatization, worries about taking psychiatric drugs, uncertainties in the role, competency and legitimacy of PCPs in mental health care and short consultation time. Conclusion: Current policies in China emphasize enhancement of mental health facilities and workforce in the community. Our review suggests that patients’ intention to seek help and PCPs’ competency in mental health care are other fundamental factors to be addressed.
The manifold meanings of ‘post-New Public Management’ – a systematic literature review
Authors: Reiter Renate , Klenk Tanja 
Published: May 2018

For more than 30 years, New Public Management has been the most popular label for public sector reform. For more than 15 years, however, New Public Management has also been heavily criticized. There is a growing trend to consider New Public Management as ‘dead’ and claim the evolution of a new reform trend, called post-New Public Management. Like New Public Management, post-New Public Management is an umbrella term that is used to prescribe and/or describe different reform trends. The aim of this article is to give a state of the art of recent post-New Public Management literature by discerning the manifold meanings of this label. For this purpose, a systematic review of 84 articles published in peer-reviewed high-quality journals has been conducted. The article shows that, so far, the post-New Public Management idea has been very influential as an ‘ideational weapon’ to indicate a crisis of the New Public Management model. The use of the post-New Public Management idea as a blueprint for future reform, however, still needs further treatment. Points for practitioners Since the 1980s, New Public Management has served as a toolbox for the reform of public administrations all over the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and beyond. In the course of its ‘pick and choose’ application, New Public Management has become an object of manifold criticism. In order to overcome the New Public Management ‘leftovers’, reformers of public management have reintroduced old concepts or invented new reform tools since the late 1990s. Systematically reviewing both theoretical and empirical academic works on this ‘post-New Public Management’ movement, we – inter alia – shed light on the question of whether ‘post-New Public Management’ can be considered a (new) model for practitioners of public management reform.
Early or late cranioplasty following decompressive craniotomy for traumatic brain injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Zheng Feng , Xu Hao , von Spreckelsen Niklas , Stavrinou Pantelis , Timmer Marco , Goldbrunner Roland , Cao Fang , Ran Qishan , Li Gang , Fan Ruiming , Zhang Qiang , Chen Wei , Yao Shengtao , Krischek Boris 
Published: May 2018

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of early (<3 months) cranioplasty (CP) and late CP (>3 months) on post-operative complications in patients receiving decompressive craniotomy (DC) for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods The Cochrane Library, PubMed and EMBASE databases were systematically searched for studies published prior to May 21, 2017. A meta-analysis examined post-operative overall complication rates, infection rates, subdural fluid collection and operating times according to early and late CP. Results Of the initial 1675 references, five studies, all cohort, involving a total of 413 patients, were selected for the review. There was no difference between early and late CP in post-operative overall complication rate (RR=0.68, 95%CI [0.36, 1.29]) and the post-operative infection rate (RR=0.50, 95%CI [0.20, 1.24]) in patients receiving DC for TBI. However, there was a significant difference in post-operative subdural effusion (RR=0.24, 95%CI [0.07, 0.78]) and mean operative time (mean difference = −33.02 min, 95%CI [−48.19, −17.84]) both in favour of early CP. Conclusions No differences were found between early and late CP in post-operative overall complications and procedural related infections in patients receiving DC for TBI, but early CP reduced the complication of subdural effusion and the mean operating time. These findings need to be confirmed by large, randomised controlled trials.
Development and biological validation of a cyclic stretch culture system for the ex vivo engineering of tendons
Authors: Raimondi Manuela Teresa , Laganà Matteo , Conci Claudio , Crestani Michele , Di Giancamillo Alessia , Gervaso Francesca , Deponti Daniela , Boschetti Federica , Nava Michele M , Scandone Chiara , Domeneghini Cinzia , Sannino Alessandro , Peretti Giuseppe M 
Published: May 2018

Introduction: An innovative approach to the treatment of tendon injury or degeneration is given by engineered grafts, made available through the development of bioreactors that generate tendon tissue in vitro, by replicating in vivo conditions. This work aims at the design of a bioreactor capable of applying a stimulation of cyclic strain on cell constructs to promote the production of bioartificial tissue with mechanical and biochemical properties resembling those of the native tissue. Methods: The system was actuated by an electromagnet and design specifications were imposed as follows. The stimulation protocol provides to scaffolds a 3% preload, a 10% deformation, and a stimulation frequency rate set at 0.5, 1, and 2 Hz, which alternates stimulation/resting phases. Porcine tenocytes were seeded on collagen scaffolds and cultured in static or dynamic conditions for 7 and 14 days. Results: The culture medium temperature did not exceed 37°C during prolonged culture experiments. The applied force oscillates between 1.5 and 4.5 N. The cyclic stimulation of the engineered constructs let both the cells and the scaffold fibers align along the strain direction in response to the mechanical stimulus. Conclusion: We designed a pulsatile strain bioreactor for tendon tissue engineering. The in vitro characterization shows a preferential cell alignment at short time points. Prolonged culture time, however, seems to influence negatively on the survival of the cells indicating the need of further optimization concerning the culture conditions and the mechanical stimulation.
An Exploratory Study on the Köhler Effect and Flow in Long-term Exergaming
Authors: Lee Seungmin , Myers Nicholas D. , Park Taiwoo , Hill Christopher R. , Feltz Deborah L. 
Published: May 2018

Background. One way to motivate people to exercise is to create a motivating social context, such as group exercise, due to social comparison opportunities. However, typical group exercise is not always easy for those who have problems in scheduling or social physique anxiety. Software-generated partners (SGPs) could offer a solution because they have advantages over human partners. Aim. This exploratory study examined the psychological state of flow under Köhler paradigm over a 24-week exergame with different types of SGPs: Individual Control (IC), Always Superior Partner (AWS), and Not Always Superior Partner (NAS). Method. The experiment was a 3 (Type of the partner) × 3 (Time blocks) factorial design. Fifteen participants engaged in the experiment. A multivariate multiple regression with type of SGPs predicting flow state at the second and third block was conducted. Results. Participants with an NAS partner had significantly higher flow state, as compared to participants under IC, at both blocks. Participants with an AWS partner had approximately equal flow state, as compared to participants under IC, at both blocks. Conclusions. Possible reasons for flow perceptions with different types of SGPs over time were discussed in terms of programming SGPs and flow theory.