bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cost-utility and budget impact analyses of the use of NEPA for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting prophylaxis in Italy
Authors: Restelli Umberto , Saibene Gabriella , Nardulli Patrizia , Di Turi Roberta , Bonizzoni Erminio , Scolari Francesca , Perrone Tania , Croce Davide , Celio Luigi 
Published: August 2017

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficiency of resources allocation and sustainability of the use of netupitant+palonosetron (NEPA) for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) prophylaxis assuming the Italian National Health Service (NHS) perspective. A published Markov model was adapted to assess the incremental cost-utility ratio of NEPA compared with aprepitant (APR) + palonosetron (PALO), fosaprepitant (fAPR) + PALO, APR + ondansetron (ONDA), fAPR + ONDA in patients receiving a highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC) and with APR + PALO and fAPR + PALO in patients receiving a moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC).SettingOncology hospital department in Italy.MethodsA Markov model was used to determine the impact of NEPA on the budget of the Italian NHS on a 5-day time horizon, corresponding to the acute and delayed CINV prophylaxis phases. Direct medical costs considered were related to antiemetic drugs, adverse events management, CINV episodes management. Clinical and quality of life data referred to previously published works. The budget impact analysis considered the aforementioned therapies plus PALO alone (for HEC and MEC) on a 5-year time horizon, comparing two scenarios: one considering the use of NEPA and one not considering its use.Primary and secondary outcome measuresIncremental cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) and differential economic impact for the Italian NHS between the two scenarios considered.ResultsNEPA is more effective and less expensive (dominant) compared with APR + PALO (for HEC and MEC), fAPR + PALO (for HEC and MEC), APR + ONDA (for HEC), fAPR + ONDA (for HEC). The use of NEPA would lead to a 5-year cost decrease of €63.7 million (€42.7 million for HEC and €20.9 million for MEC).ConclusionsNEPA allows an efficient allocation of resources for the Italian NHS and it is sustainable, leading to a cost decrease compared with a scenario which does not consider its use.
Does early return to theatre add value to rates of revision at 3 years in assessing surgeon performance for elective hip and knee arthroplasty? National observational study
Authors: Bottle Alex , Chase Helen E , Aylin Paul P , Loeffler Mark 
Published: August 2017

BackgroundJoint replacement revision is the most widely used long-term outcome measure in elective hip and knee surgery. Return to theatre (RTT) has been proposed as an additional outcome measure, but how it compares with revision in its statistical performance is unknown.MethodsNational hospital administrative data for England were used to compare RTT at 90 days (RTT90) with revision rates within 3 years by surgeon. Standard power calculations were run for different scenarios. Funnel plots were used to count the number of surgeons with unusually high or low rates.ResultsFrom 2006 to 2011, there were 297 650 hip replacements (HRs) among 2952 surgeons and 341 226 knee replacements (KRs) among 2343 surgeons. RTT90 rates were 2.1% for HR and 1.5% for KR; 3-year revision rates were 2.1% for HR and 2.2% for KR. Statistical power to detect surgeons with poor performance on either metric was particularly low for surgeons performing 50 cases per year for the 5 years. The correlation between the risk-adjusted surgeon-level rates for the two outcomes was +0.51 for HR and +0.20 for KR, both p<0.001. There was little agreement between the measures regarding which surgeons had significantly high or low rates.ConclusionRTT90 appears to provide useful and complementary information on surgeon performance and should be considered alongside revision rates, but low case loads considerably reduce the power to detect unusual performance on either metric.
The level of provision of specialist palliative care services in Scotland: an international benchmarking study
Authors: Inbadas Hamilton , Carrasco José Miguel , Gillies Michelle , Clark David 
Published: August 2017

ObjectivesComparative benchmarking of specialist palliative care (SPC) services across jurisdictions can be used to assess the adequacy of provision. Published in 2016, theScottish Atlas of Palliative Careunlocks the possibility of benchmarking Scotland’s provision against other European Union (EU) countries. Our objectives were to describe the provision of SPC services in Scotland and compare this with other EU countries, assessing coverage against European norms.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of data collected as part for theScottish Atlasby structured telephone (n=33) or online (n=3) survey with informants from 14 territorial health boards and 15 hospices who provided information about SPC services in their locality. National-level Scottish data were compared with data from other EU countries allowing ranking for each service type and service coverage as calculated against European Association for Palliative Care norms.ResultsScotland had a total of 23 SPC inpatient units containing 349 beds, 27 SPC hospital support teams and 38 SPC home care teams. Relative to other EU countries, Scotland ranked seventh for provision of SPC inpatient units and hospital support teams, and fifth for home care teams. Coverage for these services was 85%, 100% and 72%, respectively.ConclusionScotland is positioned among the top 10 EU countries for the level of provision of SPC services. National policy in Scotland has focused on the delivery of palliative care at home or in a homely setting. These data support a focus on developing services in community settings to meet Scotland’s policy ambitions.
Mucosal microbiome dysbiosis in gastric carcinogenesis
Authors: Coker Olabisi Oluwabukola , Dai Zhenwei , Nie Yongzhan , Zhao Guijun , Cao Lei , Nakatsu Geicho , Wu William KK , Wong Sunny Hei , Chen Zigui , Sung Joseph J Y , Yu Jun 
Published: August 2017

ObjectivesWe aimed to characterise the microbial changes associated with histological stages of gastric tumourigenesis.DesignWe performed 16S rRNA gene analysis of gastric mucosal samples from 81 cases including superficial gastritis (SG), atrophic gastritis (AG), intestinal metaplasia (IM) and gastric cancer (GC) from Xi’an, China, to determine mucosal microbiome dysbiosis across stages of GC. We validated the results in mucosal samples of 126 cases from Inner Mongolia, China.ResultsWe observed significant mucosa microbial dysbiosis in IM and GC subjects, with significant enrichment of 21 and depletion of 10 bacterial taxa in GC compared with SG (q<0.05). Microbial network analysis showed increasing correlation strengths among them with disease progression (p<0.001). Five GC-enriched bacterial taxa whose species identifications correspond to Peptostreptococcus stomatis, Streptococcus anginosus, Parvimonas micra, Slackia exigua and Dialister pneumosintes had significant centralities in the GC ecological network (p<0.05) and classified GC from SG with an area under the receiver-operating curve (AUC) of 0.82. Moreover, stronger interactions among gastric microbes were observed in Helicobacter pylori-negative samples compared with H. pylori-positive samples in SG and IM. The fold changes of selected bacteria, and strengths of their interactions were successfully validated in the Inner Mongolian cohort, in which the five bacterial markers distinguished GC from SG with an AUC of 0.81.ConclusionsIn addition to microbial compositional changes, we identified differences in bacterial interactions across stages of gastric carcinogenesis. The significant enrichments and network centralities suggest potentially important roles of P. stomatis, D. pneumosintes, S. exigua, P. micra and S. anginosus in GC progression.
Scalability and Performance of Random Forest based Learning-to-Rank for Information Retrieval
Authors: Ibrahim Muhammad 
Published: August 2017

For a query submitted by a user, the goal of an information retrieval system is to return a list of documents which are highly relevant with respect to that query. Traditionally different scoring methods, ranging from simple heuristic models to probabilistic models, have been used for this task. Recently researchers have started to use supervised machine learning techniques for solving this problem which is then called the learning-to-rank (LtR) problem. Many supervised learning methods have been tested so far with empirical success over conventional methods [4]
The random forest is a relatively simple but effective and efficient learning algorithm which aggregates the predictions of a large number of independent and variant base learners, namely decision trees. Its major benefits over other state-of-the-art methods include inherent parallelizability, ease of tuning and competitive performance. These benefits attract researchers across various disciplines where a random forest is a very popular choice. However, for LtR task, the random forest has not been thoroughly investigated. In this research, we investigate the random forest based LtR algorithms. We aim at improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and understanding of these algorithms. With respect to the first goal, we employ undersampling techniques and leverage the inherent structure of a random forest to achieve better scalability, especially for highly imbalanced datasets [2]. We also reduce the correlation among the trees to reduce learning time and to improve performance [3]. With respect to the second goal, we investigate various objective functions ranging from completely randomized splitting criterion to so-called listwise splitting [1]. We also conduct a thorough study on random forest based pointwise algorithms. With respect to the third goal, we develop methods for estimating the bias and variance of rank-learning algorithms, and examine their empirical behavior against parameters of the learning algorithm
Mechanisms for shaping receptive field in monkey area TE
Authors: Obara Keitaro , O’Hashi Kazunori , Tanifuji Manabu 
Published: August 2017

Visual object information is conveyed from V1 to area TE along the ventral visual pathway with increasing receptive field (RF) sizes. The RFs of TE neurons are known to be large, but it is largely unknown how large RFs are shaped along the ventral visual pathway. In this study, we addressed this question in two aspects, static and dynamic mechanisms, by recording neural responses from macaque area TE and V4 to object stimuli presented at various locations in the visual field. As a component related to static mechanisms, we found that in area TE, but not in V4, response latency to objects presented at fovea were different from objects in periphery. As a component of the dynamic mechanisms, we examined effects of spatial attention on the RFs of TE neurons. Spatial attention did not affect response latency but modulated response magnitudes depending on attended location, shifting of the longitudinal axis of RFs toward the attended locations. In standard models of large RF formation, downstream neurons pool information from nearby RFs, and this process is repeated across the visual field and at each step along the ventral visual pathway. The present study revealed that this mechanism is not that simple: 1) different circuit mechanisms for foveal and peripheral visual fields may be situated between V4 and area TE, and 2) spatial attention dynamically changes the shape of RFs. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Receptive fields (RFs) of neurons are progressively increased along the ventral visual pathway so that an RF at the final stage, area TE, covers a large area of the visual field. We explored the mechanism and suggested involvement of parallel circuit mechanisms between V4 and TE for foveal and peripheral parts of visual field. We also found a dynamic component of RF shape formation through attentional modulation of responses in a location-dependent manner.
Diverse BRCA1 and BRCA2 Reversion Mutations in Circulating Cell-Free DNA of Therapy-Resistant Breast or Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Weigelt Britta , Comino-Méndez Iñaki , de Bruijn Ino , Tian Lei , Meisel Jane L. , García-Murillas Isaac , Fribbens Charlotte , Cutts Ros , Martelotto Luciano G. , Ng Charlotte K.Y. , Lim Raymond S. , Selenica Pier , Piscuoglio Salvatore , Aghajanian Carol , Norton Larry , Murali Rajmohan , Hyman David M. , Borsu Laetitia , Arcila Maria E. , Konner Jason , Reis-Filho Jorge S. , Greenberg Roger A. , Robson Mark E. , Turner Nicholas C. 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
Purpose: Resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy or PARP inhibition in germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers may occur through somatic reversion mutations or intragenic deletions that restore BRCA1 or BRCA2 function. We assessed whether BRCA1/2 reversion mutations could be identified in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) of patients with ovarian or breast cancer previously treated with platinum and/or PARP inhibitors.
Experimental Design: cfDNA from 24 prospectively accrued patients with germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, including 19 patients with platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer and five patients with platinum and/or PARP inhibitor pretreated metastatic breast cancer, was subjected to massively parallel sequencing targeting all exons of 141 genes and all exons and introns of BRCA1 and BRCA2. Functional studies were performed to assess the impact of the putative BRCA1/2 reversion mutations on BRCA1/2 function.
Results: Diverse and often polyclonal putative BRCA1 or BRCA2 reversion mutations were identified in cfDNA from four patients with ovarian cancer (21%) and from two patients with breast cancer (40%). BRCA2 reversion mutations were detected in cfDNA prior to PARP inhibitor treatment in a patient with breast cancer who did not respond to treatment and were enriched in plasma samples after PARP inhibitor therapy. Foci formation and immunoprecipitation assays suggest that a subset of the putative reversion mutations restored BRCA1/2 function.
Conclusions: Putative BRCA1/2 reversion mutations can be detected by cfDNA sequencing analysis in patients with ovarian and breast cancer. Our findings warrant further investigation of cfDNA sequencing to identify putative BRCA1/2 reversion mutations and to aid the selection of patients for PARP inhibition therapy. Clin Cancer Res; 23(21); 6708–20. ©2017 AACR.
Tumor-Treating Fields: A Fourth Modality in Cancer Treatment
Authors: Mun Elijah J. , Babiker Hani M. , Weinberg Uri , Kirson Eilon D. , Von Hoff Daniel D. 
Published: August 2017

AbstractDespite major advances in therapy, cancer continues to be a leading cause of mortality. In addition, toxicities of traditional therapies pose a significant challenge to tolerability and adherence. TTFields, a noninvasive anticancer treatment modality, utilizes alternating electric fields at specific frequencies and intensities to selectively disrupt mitosis in cancerous cells. TTFields target proteins crucial to the cell cycle, leading to mitotic arrest and apoptosis. TTFields also facilitate an antitumor immune response. Clinical trials of TTFields have proven safe and efficacious in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), and are FDA approved for use in newly diagnosed and recurrent GBM. Trials in other localized solid tumors are ongoing. Clin Cancer Res; 24(2); 266–75. ©2017 AACR.
ADAM12 Is a Novel Regulator of Tumor Angiogenesis via STAT3 Signaling
Authors: Roy Roopali , Dagher Adelle , Butterfield Catherine , Moses Marsha A. 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
ADAM12, (A Disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 12), is upregulated in epithelial cancers and contributes to increased tumor proliferation, metastasis, and endocrine resistance. However, its role in tumor angiogenesis is unknown. Here, we report that ADAM12 is upregulated in the vessels of aggressive breast tumors and exerts key regulatory functions. ADAM12 significantly increases bFGF-mediated angiogenesis in vivo and ADAM12 levels are upregulated in tumors that have undergone a switch to the angiogenic phenotype. Importantly, ADAM12-overexpressing breast tumors display a higher microvessel density (MVD). Our goal was to identify the mechanisms by which tumor-associated ADAM12 promotes angiogenesis. ADAM12 expression in breast tumor cells correlated with a significant upregulation of proangiogenic factors such as VEGF and MMP-9 and downregulation of antiangiogenic factors such as Thrombospondin-1 (THBS1/TSP1) and Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2). Co-culture with ADAM12-expressing tumor cells promoted endothelial cell (EC) recruitment and capillary tube formation. Conversely, downregulation of endogenous ADAM12 in breast cancer cell lines resulted in reduction of pro-angiogenic factors and EC recruitment. These ADAM12-mediated effects are driven by the activation of EGFR, STAT3 and Akt signaling. Blockade of EGFR/STAT3 or silencing of ADAM12 reversed the proangiogenic tumor phenotype, significantly downregulated pro-angiogenic mitogens and reduced EC recruitment. In human breast cancer tissues, ADAM12 expression was significantly positively correlated with pro-angiogenic factors including VEGF and MMP-9 but negatively associated with TSP1.
Implications: These novel findings suggest that ADAM12 regulates EC function and facilitates a proangiogenic microenvironment in a STAT3-dependent manner. A combined approach of targeting ADAM12 and STAT3 signaling in breast cancer may represent a promising strategy to inhibit tumor neovascularization. Mol Cancer Res; 15(11); 1608–22. ©2017 AACR.
РИЗИК ІНФІКУВАННЯ ПЛОДА І НОВОНАРОДЖЕНОГО У ВАГІТНИХ ЖІНОК З HBV- І HCV-ІНФЕКЦІЄЮ
Authors: Mateyko H. B. , Matvisiv M. V. 
Published: August 2017

Мета роботи – проаналізувати фактори ризику вертикальної трансмісії (ВТ) вірусів гепатитів В (ВГВ) і С (ВГС) від матері до дитини з метою профілактики внутрішньоутробного інфікування плода і новонародженого.Результати дослідження. Реплікативні форми НВV-інфекції діагностували у 32,4 % вагітних жінок, носійство ВГВ – у 67,6 %. У інфікованих НСV переважали реплікативні форми хвороби (61,0 %), а носійство встановили у 39,0 % пацієнток.У жінок з реплікативними формами НВV- та НСV-інфекції (4,4 і 2,8 % відповідно), високим ВН і мінімальним ступенем активності гепатиту спостерігали репродуктивні втрати – ранні та пізні викидні, завмерлу вагітність. У 8,7 % вагітних з реплікативними формами HBV-інфекції, високим ВН і мінімальним ступенем цитолізу, пологорозрішення яких проведено шляхом кесарського розтину, всі діти народилися неінфіковані. Висновки. Вертикальна передача ВГВ і ВГС відбувається при високому рівні ВН в ІІІ триместрі вагітності, особливо перед пологами, а також під час природного пологорозрішення таких жінок. Ступінь активності гепатиту не впливає на ризик перинатального інфікування.У жінок з реплікативними формами HВV- та HСV-інфекції мали місце репродуктивні втрати, ймовірно, пов’язані із підвищеною проникливістю плаценти до вірусів.
СЛАВНИЙ ЮВІЛЕЙ ПРОФЕСОРА НАТАЛІ АВРУМІВНИ ВАСИЛЬЄВОЇ
Authors: Of authors Collective 
Published: August 2017

Наведено коротку біографічну інформацію про знаного українського вченого-інфекціоніста, досвідченого лікаря-клініциста, професора кафедри інфекційних хвороб з епідеміологією, шкірними і венеричними хворобами Тернопільського державного медичного університету ім. І.Я. Горбачевського, багаторічного невтомного працівника, члена редакційної колегії Всеукраїнського науково-практичного медичного журналу «Інфекційні хвороби» Наталю Аврумівну Васильєву.
Incidence of Brain Infarcts, Cognitive Change, and Risk of Dementia in the General Population
Authors: Sigurdsson Sigurdur , Aspelund Thor , Kjartansson Olafur , Gudmundsson Elias F. , Jonsdottir Maria K. , Eiriksdottir Gudny , Jonsson Palmi V. , van Buchem Mark A. , Gudnason Vilmundur , Launer Lenore J. 
Published: August 2017

Background and Purpose—
The differentiation of brain infarcts by region is important because their cause and clinical implications may differ. Information on the incidence of these lesions and association with cognition and dementia from longitudinal population studies is scarce. We investigated the incidence of infarcts in cortical, subcortical, cerebellar, and overall brain regions and how prevalent and incident infarcts associate with cognitive change and incident dementia.

Methods—
Participants (n=2612, 41% men, mean age 74.6±4.8) underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging for the assessment of infarcts and cognitive testing at baseline and on average 5.2 years later. Incident dementia was assessed according to the international guidelines.

Results—
Twenty-one percent of the study participants developed new infarcts. The risk of incident infarcts in men was higher than the risk in women (1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.5–2.3). Persons with both incident and prevalent infarcts showed steeper cognitive decline and had almost double relative risk of incident dementia (1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.3–2.2) compared with those without infarcts. Persons with new subcortical infarcts had the highest risk of incident dementia compared with those without infarcts (2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.9–3.4).

Conclusions—
Men are at greater risk of developing incident brain infarcts than women. Persons with incident brain infarcts decline faster in cognition and have an increased risk of dementia compared with those free of infarcts. Incident subcortical infarcts contribute more than cortical and cerebellar infarcts to incident dementia which may indicate that infarcts of small vessel disease origin contribute more to the development of dementia than infarcts of embolic origin in larger vessels.
Let Us Obey. The Rhetoric of Spartan Identity in Tyrtaeus 2W
Authors: Romney Jessica M. 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
This paper examines the construction of a civic we-identity in the fragments of Tyrtaeus’ Eunomia, focusing on fr. 2 and the strategies by which the poet sought to create a salient we-identity predicated on obedience to the Herakleidai/kings of Sparta and on a past history shared by speaker and audience. I end the paper with a comparison of Herakleid descent in fr. 2 with that in fr. 11 to demonstrate how the rhetorical presentation of identity shifts depending on performance context and poetic genre.
Trade in spur-thighed tortoises Testudo graeca in Morocco: volumes, value and variation between markets
Authors: Nijman Vincent , Bergin Daniel 
Published: August 2017

Until the late 1970s spur-thighed tortoisesTestudo graeca, endemic to the Mediterranean region, were exported from range countries in large volumes for the pet trade.Testudo graecawas included on CITES Appendix II in 1975, and in 1978 Morocco introduced national protection, banning domestic and international trade. However, the species is still openly traded in Moroccan markets. In 2013-2014 we conducted 48 surveys in 20 Moroccan towns and cities and single surveys in two Spanish exclaves to assess trade levels, size-composition, turnover, and variation between cities. We recorded 3267T. graecain 107 shops in 12 cities. Of 989 tortoises measured, two-thirds measured <10 cm (∼2-8 years of age) and <3% could comprise first-year individuals. There is a clear relationship between price and size, with ‘average’ tortoises costing USD 9.20. The largest volumes were observed in Tangier (869) and Rabat (752), two cities that are well-connected centres of export. The largest proportion of shops selling tortoises was in Agadir (78%) and Fez (63%), and turnover was highest in Tangier (32/week) and Casablanca (28/week). Country-wide turnover was ∼30% after two weeks and ∼80% after 10 weeks. Annual turnover was estimated at 3500-7000 tortoises, with a monetary value of USD 30 000-60 000. Predictors for volumes of trade and proportion of shops selling tortoises are: the number of wildlife shops in markets, diversity of wild vertebrate species the shops have on offer, and city population. While legal, large-scale international trade of spur-thighed tortoises from Morocco has diminished over the last decades, domestic smaller-scale trade continues to impede their conservation. Consistent punitive measures are required to enforce new laws.