bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sero‐epidemiologic study of influenza A(H7N9) infection among exposed populations, China 2013‐2014
Authors: Xiang Nijuan , Bai Tian , Kang Kai , Yuan Hui , Zhou Suizan , Ren Ruiqi , Li Xiuying , Wu Jiabing , Deng Liquan , Zeng Ge , Wang Xianjun , Mao Shenghua , Shi Jian , Gao Rongbao , Chen Tao , Zou Sumei , Li Dan , Havers Fiona , Widdowson Marc‐Alain , Greene Carolyn M. , Zhang Yanping , Ni Daxin , Liu Xiaoqing , Li Qun , Shu Yuelong 
Published: October 2016

BackgroundThe first human infections of novel avian influenza A(H7N9) virus were identified in China in March 2013. Sentinel surveillance systems and contact tracing may not identify mild and asymptomatic human infections of influenza A(H7N9) virus.ObjectivesWe assessed the seroprevalence of antibodies to influenza A(H7N9) virus in three populations during the early stages of the epidemic.Patients/MethodsFrom March 2013 to May 2014, we collected sera from the general population, poultry workers, and contacts of confirmed infections in nine Chinese provinces reporting human A(H7N9) infections and, for contacts, second sera 2‐3 weeks later. We screened for A(H7N9) antibodies by advanced hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay and tested sera with HI titers ≥20 by modified microneutralization (MN) assay. MN titers ≥20 or fourfold increases in paired sera were considered seropositive.ResultsAmong general population sera (n=1480), none were seropositive. Among poultry worker sera (n=1866), 28 had HI titers ≥20; two (0.11%, 95% CI: 0.02‐0.44) were positive by MN. Among 61 healthcare and 117 non‐healthcare contacts’ sera, five had HI titers ≥20, and all were negative by MN. There was no seroconversion among 131 paired sera.ConclusionsThere was no evidence of widespread transmission of influenza A(H7N9) virus during March 2013 to May 2014, although A(H7N9) may have caused rare, previously unrecognized infections among poultry workers. Although the findings suggest that there were few undetected cases of influenza A(H7N9) early in the epidemic, it is important to continue monitoring transmission as virus and epidemic evolve.
Visual‐Spatial Art and Design Literacy as a Prelude to Aesthetic Growth
Authors: Lerner Fern 
Published: October 2016

AbstractIn bridging ideas from the forum of visual‐spatial learning with those of art and design learning, inspiration is taken from Piaget who explained that the evolution of spatial cognition occurs through perception, as well as through thought and imagination. Insights are embraced from interdisciplinary educational theorists, intertwining and dividing their contributions along Piaget's lines into three interrelated aspects: perceptual, intellectual, and imaginative. In the quest for early literacy, the perception and ordering of universals of form, the formation and wielding of internal intellectual constructs, and the construction of metaphorical and imaginative ideas and creations are all involved in aesthetic growth. With further understanding, the arena of visual‐spatial learning as enhanced by art and design learning, may find more inclusion in general education.
Preventive effect of ipragliflozin on nocturnal hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with basal‐bolus insulin therapy: An open‐label, single‐center, parallel, randomized control study
Authors: Okajima Fumitaka , Nagamine Tomoko , Nakamura Yuko , Hattori Naomi , Sugihara Hitoshi , Emoto Naoya 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe efficacy of the administration of sodium‐glucose co‐transporter 2 inhibitor or the co‐administration of sodium‐glucose co‐transporter 2 inhibitor and dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor to insulin therapy is not well known. A total of 58 patients with type 2 diabetes, admitted for glycemic control, were randomized to basal–bolus insulin therapy (BBT) alone or BBT plus 50 mg ipragliflozin and/or 20 mg teneligliptin. Insulin doses were adjusted to maintain normal blood glucose levels. Plasma glucose profiles were estimated by continuous glucose monitoring before discharge. Required insulin doses were not significantly different among the treatment groups. The frequency of nocturnal hypoglycemia was significantly lower in the groups treated with ipragliflozin (6.5 ± 10.6%) and ipragliflozin plus teneligliptin (6.9 ± 14.3%) than in the group treated with BBT alone (42 ± 43.6%). The administration of sodium‐glucose co‐transporter 2 inhibitor with or without dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor prevented nocturnal hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes patients with BBT.
A proposed approach for quantitative benefit‐risk assessment in diagnostic radiology guideline development: the American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria Example
Authors: Agapova Maria , Bresnahan Brian B. , Higashi Mitchell , Kessler Larry , Garrison Louis P. , Devine Beth 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe American College of Radiology develops evidence‐based practice guidelines to aid appropriate utilization of radiological procedures. Panel members use expert opinion to weight trade‐offs and consensus methods to rate appropriateness of imaging tests. These ratings include an equivocal range, assigned when there is disagreement about a technology's appropriateness and the evidence base is weak or for special circumstances. It is not clear how expert consensus merges with the evidence base to arrive at an equivocal rating. Quantitative benefit‐risk assessment (QBRA) methods may assist decision makers in this capacity. However, many methods exist and it is not clear which methods are best suited for this application. We perform a critical appraisal of QBRA methods and propose several steps that may aid in making transparent areas of weak evidence and barriers to consensus in guideline development. We identify QBRA methods with potential to facilitate decision making in guideline development and build a decision aid for selecting among these methods. This study identified 2 families of QBRA methods suited to guideline development when expert opinion is expected to contribute substantially to decision making. Key steps to deciding among QBRA methods involve identifying specific benefit‐risk criteria and developing a state‐of‐evidence matrix. For equivocal ratings assigned for reasons other than disagreement or weak evidence base, QBRA may not be needed. In the presence of disagreement but the absence of a weak evidence base, multicriteria decision analysis approaches are recommended; and in the presence of weak evidence base and the absence of disagreement, incremental net health benefit alone or combined with multicriteria decision analysis is recommended. Our critical appraisal further extends investigation of the strengths and limitations of select QBRA methods in facilitating diagnostic radiology clinical guideline development. The process of using the decision aid exposes and makes transparent areas of weak evidence and barriers to consensus.
Quantitative Evaluation of Data Quality in Regional Material Flow Analysis
Authors: Schwab Oliver , Laner David , Rechberger Helmut 
Published: October 2016

SummaryA method for quantitative evaluation of data quality in regional material flow analysis (MFA) is presented. The principal idea is that data quality is a multidimensional problem that cannot be judged by individual characteristics such as the data source, given that data from official statistics may not be per se of good quality and expert estimations may not be per se of bad quality, respectively. It appears that MFA data are never totally accurate and may have certain defects that impair the quality of the data in more than one dimension. The concept of MFA information defects is introduced, and these information defects are mathematically formalized as functions of data characteristics. They are quantified on a scale from 0 (no information defect) to 1 (maximum information defect). The proposed method is illustrated in a case study on palladium flows in Austria. A quantitative evaluation of data quality provides opportunities for understanding and assessing MFA results, their a priori information basis, their reliability in decision making, and data uncertainties. It is a formal step toward better reproducibility and more transparency in MFA.
Enlarged uterine corpus volume in women with endometriosis: Assessment using three‐dimensional reconstruction of pelvic magnetic resonance images
Authors: Koshiba Akemi , Mori Taisuke , Ito Fumitake , Tanaka Yukiko , Takaoka Osamu , Takahata Akiko , Kitawaki Jo 
Published: October 2016

AbstractAimTo assess and compare the uterine volume and endometrium length between women with and without endometriosis, using pelvic magnetic resonance imaging scans.MethodsIn this case–control study, a total of 75 nulligravid women (aged 20–45 years) with regular menstrual cycles whose uterus were free of any surgically confirmed lesions were enrolled. The endometriosis group underwent surgery for endometrioma (n = 39), and the control group underwent surgery for non‐endometrioma ovarian cysts (n = 36). The primary outcome was uterine corpus volume, which was assessed using three‐dimensional reconstructions of preoperative pelvic magnetic resonance imaging scans.ResultsThe mean uterine volume was significantly larger in the endometriosis group than in the control group (mean ± standard deviation, 50.9 ± 14.4 cm3 vs 41.7 ± 14.3 cm3; P < 0.01). The longitudinal length and transverse diameter of the corpus and the longitudinal length of the endometrium were also significantly greater in the endometriosis group (all, P < 0.01).ConclusionsAn increase in uterine volume and endometrium length was observed in women with endometriosis.
Mothers' Union Statuses and Their Involvement in Young Children's Schooling
Authors: Ressler Robert W. , Smith Chelsea , Cavanagh Shannon , Crosnoe Robert 
Published: October 2016

AbstractU.S. schools often expect the educational involvement of parents, which may be facilitated when parents have partners, especially a partner also invested in the child. As such, parental involvement at school and at home could be a channel of the diverging destinies of U.S. children from different families. This study applied fixed effects modeling to the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort to examine the link between mothers' union statuses and their involvement behaviors. Being partnered appeared to benefit mothers' school and home involvement when children were in the primary grades, with little evidence of an additional benefit from that partnership being marital. A biological tie between the male partner and the child only seemed to matter for mothers' school involvement. These patterns did not vary by family income, maternal depression, or maternal employment, but they were stronger when children were just beginning schooling.
Melatonin and the pathologies of weakened or dysregulated circadian oscillators
Authors: Hardeland Rüdiger 
Published: October 2016

AbstractDynamic aspects of melatonin's actions merit increasing future attention. This concerns particularly entirely different effects in senescent, weakened oscillators and in dysregulated oscillators of cancer cells that may be epigenetically blocked. This is especially obvious in the case of sirtuin 1, which is upregulated by melatonin in aged tissues, but strongly downregulated in several cancer cells. These findings are not at all controversial, but are explained on the basis of divergent changes in weakened and dysregulated oscillators. Similar findings can be expected to occur in other accessory oscillator components that are modulated by melatonin, among them several transcription factors and metabolic sensors. Another cause of opposite effects concerns differences between nocturnally active laboratory rodents and the diurnally active human. This should be more thoroughly considered in the field of metabolic syndrome and related pathologies, especially with regard to type 2 diabetes and other aspects of insulin resistance. Melatonin was reported to impair glucose tolerance in humans, especially in carriers of the risk allele of the MT2 receptor gene, MTNR1B, that contains the SNP rs10830963. These findings contrast with numerous reports on improvements of glucose tolerance in preclinical studies. However, the relationship between melatonin and insulin may be more complex, as indicated by loss‐of‐function mutants of the MT2 receptor that are also prodiabetic, by the age‐dependent time course of risk allele overexpression, by progressive reduction in circadian amplitudes and melatonin secretion, which are aggravated in diabetes. By supporting high‐amplitude rhythms, melatonin may be beneficial in preventing or delaying diabetes.
The contribution of termite mounds to landscape‐scale variation in vegetation in a West African national park
Authors: Erpenbach Arne , Bernhardt‐Römermann Markus , Wittig Rüdiger , Hahn Karen 
Published: October 2016

AbstractQuestionsTermite mounds are important sources of local‐scale soil heterogeneity and thereby affect savanna vegetation. Studies contrasting mound and savanna vegetation usually neglect variation between savanna types. We aim to answer the following questions: (1) is mound vegetation consistently different from the surrounding savanna vegetation at landscape scale; (2) is mound vegetation homogeneous across different savanna types; and (3) are differences between mound and savanna vegetation influenced more by nutrient accumulation or clay enrichment in mounds?LocationPendjari National Park, northern Benin.MethodsWe analysed the vegetation in 59 pairs of mound and savanna plots in four savanna types. We examined if mounds differed in community composition between savanna types, and from savanna plots using ordinations, and tested for correlations between community composition and soil parameters. We identified characteristic plant species for mounds in each savanna type using the IndVal method. Finally, we evaluated the relative importance of different soil parameters for differences in vegetation between mound and savanna plots using projection to latent structures regression (PLSR).ResultsThere were clear differences between savanna types for both savanna and mound plant communities, and in each savanna type, clear differences emerged between mound and savanna vegetation. Community differences correlated with differences in soil parameters in all cases. We identified ten characteristic plant species for mounds, with little overlap between characteristic species from different savanna types. Across savanna types, 63% of the variation in mound – savanna vegetation contrast was explained by variation in nine soil parameters, most importantly clay content.ConclusionEven at the landscape scale, the influence of mounds on vegetation depends on habitat context. Thus, local mound vegetation patterns can only be understood considering the influence of different soil parameters in each savanna type. However, enrichment of clay and macronutrients together explain the largest part of the differences between mound and savanna vegetation. Further variation in vegetation composition among mounds is likely driven by biotic interactions and spatial distribution of mounds.
Electrifying the fence or living with consequences? Problem animal control threatens the long‐term viability of a free‐ranging lion population
Authors: Trinkel M. , Fleischmann P. H. , Slotow R. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractA fundamental problem in conserving large carnivores is habitat destruction, which results in patchy, isolated protected areas. In addition, human–wildlife conflict along reserve borders negatively affects carnivore populations throughout protected reserves. We present pride composition of nine lion prides and lion mortalities on bordering farmland over a 17‐year study in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Although Etosha National Park is fully fenced, lions can – due to poor maintenance of the fence – move freely onto bordering farmland. Conflict with humans caused 48% of mortalities among subadult and adult lions. Most animals killed by humans consisted of subadult males and adult females: 59% of subadult males and 27% of adult females were shot or poisoned along the border of Etosha National Park. The disproportional high killing of subadult males on farmland affected the tenure periods of resident male coalitions. Probably due to a lack of competition from maturing subadult males, adult males held tenure over prides for nearly 7 years, about three times longer compared to other ecosystems, which increases the risk of inbreeding in this population. Such unregulated and unplanned selective mortality may be more widespread, and managers should monitor for negative effects, especially in socially complex species.
Peritoneal dialysis in patients with failed kidney transplant: Single centre experience
Authors: Chaudhri Saurabh , Thomas Alice A , Samad Nasreen , Fan Stanley L 
Published: October 2016

AbstractAimTo determine if patients with failing kidney transplants who opt to have peritoneal dialysis (PD) have poor short‐term PD technique survival and increased rates of peritonitis.MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis comparing 50 consecutive patients starting PD after a failed kidney transplant to 93 incident patients starting PD (matching for age, gender, diabetes causing renal failure, ethnicity and year of starting PD).ResultsThe mean follow‐up period was 26 months. PD technique survival was lower for the post‐transplant cohort. However, this did not appear to be related to PD peritonitis risk; infection rate was lower in the post‐transplant group albeit not statistically significant (1 in 23.6 patient months vs 1 in 22.5 patient months). There were no differences in the proportion of Gram positive: Gran negative: Culture Negative infections. The only fungal peritonitis occurred in a Control patient. Results of baseline Peritoneal Equilibration Tests were not different; D/Pcr was 0.69 for post‐TP versus 0.64 for Control (P = ns), and net UF was 250 mL for post‐TP versus 310 mL for Control (P = ns). PET results after 12 months were also similar.ConclusionOur study found a small but significantly higher rate of PD technique failure in the post‐transplant cohort, but this did not appear to be related to peritonitis rates or peritoneal membrane function. Further studies are required to explore reasons for PD technique failure in patients who have had kidney transplant, but our study supports the use of PD in selected patient from this cohort.
BK polyomavirus infection in pediatric heart transplant recipients: a prospective study
Authors: Ducharme‐Smith Allison , Katz Ben Z. , Bobrowski Amy E. , Backer Carl L. , Pahl Elfriede 
Published: October 2016

AbstractBKV infection and nephropathy complicate pediatric HTx, but the incidence and time course of the disease are unknown. We assessed the incidence of BKV infection and its association with kidney dysfunction in pediatric HTx recipients. A single center prospective study compared pediatric (<18 years) HTx recipients, with and without BKV infection, who received an allograft between September 2013 and December 2014. Screening of urine for BKV was performed prior to transplant, and at week 1, and at months 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months post‐transplantation. Serum for BKV DNA was assayed if BK viruria was present. Statistics included Fisher's exact test and Student's t test. Twelve patients were enrolled. Two patients were removed per parent request. Two (20%) had BK viruria and one (10%) had BK viremia. No patients developed BKVN. BK viruria was present within 2 months following transplantation. There were no identifiable risk factors for BKV infection and no statistically significant difference in renal function between the groups; however, there was a trend toward worsening renal function in those with BKV infection. BKV infection can occur early following heart transplantation. Screening for BK viruria should be considered in HTx recipients.
Generation of human organs in pigs via interspecies blastocyst complementation
Authors: Wu J , Platero Luengo A , Gil MA , Suzuki K , Cuello C , Morales Valencia M , Parrilla I , Martinez CA , Nohalez A , Roca J , Martinez EA , Izpisua Belmonte JC 
Published: October 2016

ContentsMore than eighteen years have passed since the first derivation of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs), but their clinical use is still met with several challenges, such as ethical concerns regarding the need of human embryos, tissue rejection after transplantation and tumour formation. The generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) enables the access to patient‐derived pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) and opens the door for personalized medicine as tissues/organs can potentially be generated from the same genetic background as the patient recipients, thus avoiding immune rejections or complication of immunosuppression strategies. In this regard, successful replacement, or augmentation, of the function of damaged tissue by patient‐derived differentiated stem cells provides a promising cell replacement therapy for many devastating human diseases. Although human iPSCs can proliferate unlimitedly in culture and harbour the potential to generate all cell types in the adult body, currently, the functionality of differentiated cells is limited. An alternative strategy to realize the full potential of human iPSC for regenerative medicine is the in vivo tissue generation in large animal species via interspecies blastocyst complementation. As this technology is still in its infancy and there remains more questions than answers, thus in this review, we mainly focus the discussion on the conceptual framework, the emerging technologies and recent advances involved with interspecies blastocyst complementation, and will refer the readers to other more in‐depth reviews on dynamic pluripotent stem cell states, genome editing and interspecies chimeras. Likewise, other emerging alternatives to combat the growing shortage of human organs, such as xenotransplantation or tissue engineering, topics that has been extensively reviewed, will not be covered here.