bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Radiotherapy in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors
Authors: De Ruysscher Dirk , Reynders Kobe , Van Limbergen Evert , Lambrecht Maarten 
Published: January 2017

Purpose of review
The immunomodulatory effects of ionizing radiation have long been recognized; however, so far these have not been fully exploited in clinical practice. We review the rationale to combine radiation with immune checkpoint inhibitors, which are used in standard practice.

Recent findings
Preclinical research suggests a synergy between radiotherapy and these immune checkpoint inhibitors. Whether or not this benefit translates into a clinical benefit is currently subject of ongoing research.

Summary
It is highly rational to combine radiation with immune therapy as in preclinical models and in proof of concept trials in humans it clearly can increase the antitumor immunity when given together with other immune interventions.
Comparison of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Seventh Edition and Brigham and Women's Hospital Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Tumor Staging in Immunosuppressed Patients
Authors: Gonzalez Jessica L. , Cunningham Kiera , Silverman Rebecca , Madan Elena , Nguyen Bichchau M. 
Published: January 2017

BACKGROUND
The American Joint Committee on Cancer 7th edition (AJCC-7) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) staging criteria for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) have not been validated in immunosuppressed patients.

OBJECTIVE
To compare the AJCC-7 and BWH staging systems for cSCCs in immunosuppressed patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A single-institution retrospective cohort study of cSCCs in immunosuppressed patients. Risks of local recurrence (LR), nodal metastasis (NM), in-transit metastasis, and any poor outcome (PO) were compared among AJCC-7 and BWH tumor T stages.

RESULTS
One hundred six patients had 412 primary invasive cSCCs. Eighty-five percent were AJCC-7 T1, and 15% T2. Risks of NM and PO for AJCC-7 T1 versus T2 were 0.9% versus 5% and 12.8% versus 23.3%, respectively, p < .05. Eighty-one percent of tumors were BWH T1, 18% T2a, 1% T2b, and 0.2% T3. Risk of LR for BWH T1 versus T2a was 11.4% versus 20.3%, p < .01. Risk of NM increased from 0.3% for T1 to 4.1%, 25%, and 100% for T2a, T2b, and T3, p < .05. Ninety percent of PO occurred in low-stage BWH T1/T2a.

CONCLUSION
Low T-stage cSCCs account for most POs. Brigham and Women's Hospital staging criteria better risk stratifies cSCCs in immunosuppressed patients for risk of NM and LR.
NEOVASCULARIZATION SECONDARY TO HIGH MYOPIA IMAGED BY OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY
Authors: Bruyère Elsa , Miere Alexandra , Cohen Salomon Yves , Martiano David , Sikorav Anne , Popeanga Andrada , Semoun Oudy , Querques Giuseppe , Souied Eric H. 
Published: January 2017

Purpose:
To describe the optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) characteristics of active myopic choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and to compare its sensitivity versus fluorescein angiography and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

Methods:
Consecutive highly myopic patients complicated with active myopic CNV were prospectively included. The OCTA features were analyzed and correlated with the findings of conventional imaging (spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and fluorescein angiography).

Results:
Twenty eyes of 19 patients (mean age: 59.6 ± 12.1 years, mean spherical equivalent: −13.5 ± 3.6 diopters) presenting with both treatment-naive CNV and recurrent CNV were included in the analysis. The OCTA showed a 90% sensitivity for myopic CNV detection in 18 of 20 eyes, revealing a high-flow neovascular network accurately visible using a 30-μm manual segmentation underneath Bruch membrane. Mean selected area of myopic CNV on OCTA images was 0.34 ± 0.45 mm2, whereas the mean vessel area was 0.22 ± 0.27 mm2. Two neovascular phenotypes prevailed in our series: disorganized vascular loops and organized interlacing patterns.

Conclusion:
The OCTA seems to be a valuable tool in detecting myopic CNV with a high sensitivity. However, its specificity needs to be investigated in further studies.
PNEUMATIC DISPLACEMENT OF LIMITED TRAUMATIC SUBMACULAR HEMORRHAGE WITHOUT TISSUE PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR: A CASE SERIES
Authors: Balughatta Poornachandra , Kadri Venkatesh , Braganza Sherine , Jayadev Chaitra , Mehta Ruchir A. , Nakhate Vikram , Yadav Naresh K. , Shetty Rohit 
Published: January 2017

Purpose:
To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal gas (perfluoropropane, C3F8)–assisted displacement of submacular hemorrhage (SMH) secondary to recent or old blunt trauma.

Methods:
An interventional case series of three patients who presented with SMH after blunt trauma, ranging from 2 days to 2 weeks back. All three patients were treated with an intravitreal injection of 0.3 cc of 100% C3F8 with anterior chamber paracentesis. Strict prone position was advised for 2 weeks with a minimum of 6 to 8 hours per day. Documentation was done with serial recording of corrected distance visual acuity, fundus photographs, and spectral domain optical coherence tomography both before and after intervention.

Results:
The follow-up period ranged from 2 weeks to 3 months. All patients showed a significant displacement of SMH with recovery of the normal foveal contour; foveal thinning was noted in 2 cases. Best spectacle-corrected visual acuity improved from counting finger at 1 m to 20/30 in Case 1 and counting finger 3 m to 20/40 in Case 2. In Case 3, the visual acuity remained unchanged from the preoperative 20/60 which could be attributed to the presence of a choroidal rupture in the foveal area that became evident after the displacement of SMH.

Conclusion:
Pneumatic displacement is an effective technique in the management of SMH due to recent or old blunt trauma.
Retrospective Comparative Study of Topical Interferon a2b Versus Mitomycin C for Primary Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia
Authors: Kusumesh Rakhi , Ambastha Anita , Kumar Shishir , Sinha Bibhuti Prasan , Imam Nazia 
Published: January 2017

Purpose:
To compare the efficacy and safety of topical interferon alpha 2b (IFNα2b) and mitomycin C (MMC) for ocular surface squamous neoplasia.

Methods:
In this retrospective study, medical records of 51 eyes of 50 patients with a diagnosis of primary ocular surface squamous neoplasia were included. All cases were treated with either topical IFNα2b (1 million IU/mL) or MMC (0.4 mg/mL) 4 times a day. The primary outcome measure was frequency of clinical resolution of tumors along with failure and recurrence rates after treatment. Other outcome measures included the duration of treatment and adverse effects associated with both topical therapies.

Results:
Twenty-six eyes were treated with topical IFNα2b and 25 eyes were treated with topical MMC. A complete response was achieved in 23 (89%) and 23 (92%) eyes with topical IFNα2b and MMC, respectively (P = 0.67). The median time to lesion resolution was significantly different between the groups (median 3.5 months in the IFNα2b group and 1.5 months in the MMC group) with an average difference of 1.7 months (P < 0.005). Five (10%) of 51 patients showed no or partial response to topical therapy. Subsequently, they underwent surgical excision. Adverse effects occurred in 3 (12%) patients using IFNα2b and 22 (88%) patients using MMC (P < 0.005).

Conclusions:
Both IFNα2b and MMC seemed to be equally effective topical monotherapies. Despite a prolonged time to lesion resolution, IFNα2b-treated eyes had better safety and tolerance in comparison with MMC-treated eyes.
The cif Virulence Factor Gene Is Present in Isolates From Patients With Pseudomonas aeruginosa Keratitis
Authors: Bahl Christopher D. , St. Laurent Jessica D. , Karthikeyan R. Siva Ganesa , Priya J. Lakshmi , Prajna Lalitha , Zegans Michael E. , Madden Dean R. 
Published: January 2017

Purpose:
To determine whether the cif gene is present in pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from patients with bacterial keratitis at Aravind Eye Hospital, a referral eye care center in southern India, and from corresponding environmental isolates.

Methods:
Polymerase chain reaction amplification was performed on strains of P. aeruginosa isolated from ocular infections and environmental soil samples were collected from the area surrounding Aravind Eye Hospital. DNA sequencing of 16S ribosomal DNA amplicons was performed to verify strain identity.

Results:
We determined that 45 of 48 patient isolates carry a genomic copy of cif. Analysis of a catalog of environmental strains previously isolated from the surrounding area revealed that only 4 of 10 P. aeruginosa strains and 1 of 14 strains of related species carry the cif gene.

Conclusions:
This is the first study to show that P. aeruginosa strains with ocular pathogenicity carry the cif gene and that the presence of this gene may be enriched over its prevalence in the environment. Taken together, these results suggest a potential role for Cif in acute bacterial keratitis.
Long-Term Survival and Causes of Late Death in Children Treated With Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation*
Authors: von Bahr Viktor , Hultman Jan , Eksborg Staffan , Gerleman Roxana , Enstad Øyvind , Frenckner Björn , Kalzén Håkan 
Published: January 2017

Objective:
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has been used in patients with severe circulatory or respiratory failure since the 1970s, but the knowledge on long-term survival in this group is scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate the 10-year survival rates and causes of late death in children treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Design:
Single-center, retrospective cohort study.

Setting:
Tertiary referral center for extracorporeal life support.

Patients:
Neonatal and pediatric patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation from 1987 to December 2013.

Interventions:
None.

Measurements and Main Results:
Survival status was obtained from the national Causes of Death registry. Patient background data along with data on survival and causes of death were collected. Survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Of 400 subjects, 76% survived to discharge. The median follow-up time in survivors was 7.2 years. There was a high mortality rate within the first months after discharge. In the group of patients who survived the first 90 days after treatment, the 10-year survival rates were 93% in neonates and 89% in pediatric patients and were particularly beneficial in patients whose indication for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was meconium aspiration syndrome, trauma, or infectious diseases. Late deaths were seen in some diagnostic groups, but the Kaplan-Meier curves plateaued over time.

Conclusions:
Children who survive the first months after treatment with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation have a high long-term survival rate. The prognosis is especially favorable in patients with reversible conditions.
An Evaluation of a Competency-Based Public Health Training Program for Public Health Professionals in Kansas
Authors: Brown Kyrah K. , Maryman J'Vonnah , Collins Tracie 
Published: January 2017

Context:
Less than one-third of the US public health workforce has formal training in public health. Academic-public health agency partnerships aimed at addressing the nation's workforce challenges have shown great promise.

Objective:
To evaluate the effectiveness of a piloted competency-based public health training program formed out of an academic-public health agency partnership.

Design:
Mixed-methods design using pre- and postworkshop surveys and quizzes, open-ended questions, and document review.

Setting:
Large, urban local health department located in south central Kansas.

Main Outcome Measures:
Participant satisfaction with training, knowledge change, self-report application of new knowledge, and organizational change.

Results:
Participants reported high satisfaction with the training program and valued the hands-on, practical approach used. Participation increased knowledge and confidence in public health competency areas covered in the program. At 3-month follow-up, 90% of participants reported applying new knowledge and skills in their primary job duties. At the organizational level, 3 major policy changes aimed at sustaining the program were implemented following its launch.

Conclusion:
Incorporating tailored, theory-driven approaches to trainings and collaborating with health department leadership to identify policy opportunities that help sustain the training program within the agency is recommended. Findings from this evaluation demonstrate the success of an academic-agency partnership's effort to develop and implement at a large, urban local health department.
Citicoline Combination Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Authors: Roohi-Azizi Mahtab , Arabzadeh Somaye , Amidfar Meysam , Salimi Samrand , Zarindast Mohammad Reza , Talaei Ali , Akhondzadeh Shahin 
Published: January 2017

Objective
Residual symptoms of major depressive disorder are a source of long-term morbidity. New therapeutic strategies are required to alleviate this morbidity and enhance patient quality of life. Citicoline has been used for vascular accidents and has been effective in cognitive rehabilitation. It has been used successfully to reduce craving in patients with substance abuse disorder and for mood management of bipolar disorder. Here, we test citicoline effectiveness as an adjuvant therapy in major depression.

Method
A double-blind randomized trial was designed on 50 patients with major depressive disorder who were under treatment with citalopram. Patients were allocated to 2 groups and received citicoline (100 mg twice a day) or placebo as an adjuvant treatment for 6 weeks. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) at baseline and at weeks 2, 4, and 6.

Results
Significantly greater improvement was observed in the HDRS scores of the citicoline group compared with the placebo group from baseline to weeks 2, 4, and 6 (Ps = 0.030, 0.032, and 0.021, respectively). Repeated-measures general linear model demonstrated a significant effect for time × treatment interaction on the HDRS score (F
2.10,101.22 = 3.12, P = 0.04). Remission rate was significantly higher in the citicoline group compared with the placebo group (P = 0.045).

Conclusions
Citicoline was an effective adjuvant to citalopram in the therapy of major depressive disorder.
Mapping and explaining wolf recolonization in France using dynamic occupancy models and opportunistic data
Authors: Louvrier Julie , Duchamp Christophe , Marboutin Eric , Cubaynes Sarah , Choquet Rémi , Miquel Christian , Gimenez Olivier 
Published: January 2017

AbstractWhile large carnivores are recovering in Europe, assessing their distributions can help to predict and mitigate conflicts with human activities. Because they are highly mobile, elusive and live at very low density, modeling their distributions presents several challenges due to i) their imperfect detectability, ii) their dynamic ranges over time and iii) their monitoring at large scales consisting mainly of opportunistic data without a formal measure of the sampling effort. Not accounting for these issues can lead to flawed inference about the distribution.Here, we focused on the wolf (Canis lupus) that has been recolonizing France since the early 90’s. We evaluated the sampling efforta posteriorias the number of observers present per year in a cell based on their location and professional activities. We then assessed wolf range dynamics from 1993 to 2014, while accounting for species imperfect detection and time- and space-varying sampling effort using dynamic site-occupancy models.Ignoring the effect of sampling effort on species detectability led to underestimating the number of occupied sites by 50% on average. Colonization increased with increasing number of occupied sites at short and long-distances, as well as with increasing forest cover, farmland cover and mean altitude. Colonization decreased when high-altitude increased. The growth rate, defined as the number of sites newly occupied in a given year divided by the number of occupied sites in the previous year, decreased over time, from over 100% in 1994 to 5% in 2014. This suggests that wolves are expanding in France but at a rate that is slowing down. Our work shows that opportunistic data can be analyzed with species distribution models that control for imperfect detection, pending a quantification of sampling effort. Our approach has the potential for being used by decision-makers to target sites where large carnivores are likely to occur and mitigate conflicts.
Capturingin vivoRNA transcriptional dynamics from the malaria parasiteP. falciparum
Authors: Painter Heather J. , Carrasquilla Manuela , Llinás Manuel 
Published: January 2017

SUMMARY:To capture the transcriptional dynamics within proliferating cells, methods to differentiate nascent transcription from pre-existing mRNAs are desired. One approach is to label newly synthesized mRNA transcriptsin vivothrough the incorporation of modified pyrimidines. However, the human malaria parasite,Plasmodium falciparum, is incapable of pyrimidine salvage for mRNA biogenesis. To capture cellular mRNA dynamics duringPlasmodiumdevelopment, we have engineered parasites that can salvage pyrimidines through the expression of a single bifunctional yeast fusion gene, cytosine deaminase/uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (FCU). We show that expression of FCU allows for the direct incorporation of thiol-modified pyrimidines into nascent mRNAs. Using developmental stage-specific promoters to express FCU-GFP enables the biosynthetic capture and in-depth analysis of mRNA dynamics from subpopulations of cells undergoing differentiation. We demonstrate the utility of this method by examining the transcriptional dynamics of the sexual gametocyte stage transition, a process that is essential to malaria transmission between hosts. We find that sexual stage commitment is governed by transcriptional reprogramming and the stabilization of a subset of essential gametocyte transcripts. This new method for biosynthetic labeling ofPlasmodiummRNAs is incredibly versatile and can be used to measure transcriptional dynamics at any stage of parasite development, and thiol-modified RNAs will allow for future applications to measure RNA-protein interactions in the malaria parasite.
Association between urinary biomarkers of total sugars and sucrose intake and BMI in a cross-sectional study
Authors: Campbell Rachel , Tasevska Natasha , Jackson Kim G , Sagi-Kiss Virag , di Paolo Nick , Mindell Jennifer S , Lister Susan J. , Khaw Kay-Tee , Kuhnle Gunter G. C. 
Published: January 2017

AbstractObesity is an important modifiable risk factors for chronic diseases. While there is increasing focus on the role of dietary sugars, there remains a paucity of data establishing the association between sugar intake and obesity in the general public. The objective of this study was to investigate associations of estimated sugar intake with odds for obesity in a representative samples of English adults. We used data from 434 participants of the 2005 Health Survey of England. Biomarkers for total sugar intake were measured in 24h urine samples and used to estimate intake. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to investigate associations between estimated intake and measures of obesity (BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio) and obesity risk., respectively. Estimated sugars intake was significantly associated with BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, and these associations remained significant after adjustment for estimated protein intake. Estimated sugars intake was also associated with increased odds for obesity based on BMI (OR 1.02; 95% CI 1.00; 1.04 per 10 g), waist-circumference (OR 1.03; 95% CI 1.01; 1.05) and waist-to-hip ratio (OR 1.04; 95% CI 1.02; 1.06); all OR estimates remained significant after adjusting for estimated protein intake. Our results show a significant association between biomarker-estimated total sugars intake and both measures of obesity and obesity risk, confirming positive associations between total sugar intake, measures of obesity and obesity risk. This biomarker could be used to monitor the efficacy of public health interventions.
Group size constraints may mask underlying similarities in social structure: a comparison of female elephant societies
Authors: Shetty Nandini , Keerthipriya P. , Vidya T.N.C. 
Published: January 2017

AbstractWe report on female Asian elephant social structure in Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks (Kabini population), southern India, and examine the role of group size in affecting the outcome of social structure analysis in female elephants, which show high fission-fusion dynamics. Based on five years of data, we found the Kabini association network structured into highly modular communities that we call clans. We then modified the dataset (to obtain the Kabini 500-m dataset) to match sampling methods previously used in a study each of Asian (Uda Walawe) and African savannah (Samburu) elephants, so that network and association statistics could be compared across populations. Measures of association and network structure previously used were more similar amongst the Asian elephant populations compared to Samburu. The Samburu population formed a hierarchically-nested multilevel society whereas the Asian populations did not. However, we found hierarchical clustering levels in all three populations using Louvain community detection. Moreover, the average community sizes obtained through the Louvain method were not significantly different across populations, indicating basic similarities in social structure. Since fission-fusion dynamics allow for community members to form groups of different sizes, we examined the effect of average group size on association and network statistics. Higher average association index and degree, and lower average path length in Samburu compared to the Kabini 500-m dataset were explained by the larger average group size in Samburu. Thus, underlying similarities in the social networks of species showing fission-fusion dynamics may be obscured by differences in average group size.Significance StatementVarious measures of associations and social network analyses have been used to compare social structures of different populations. We studied the social structure of female Asian elephants in a southern Indian population and compared it with those of a Sri Lankan Asian elephant population and an African savannah elephant population. We showed that, while there were social differences between the Asian and African savannah elephant populations using previous methods, there were basic similarities across all three populations using a method of network community detection. This discrepancy across analyses partly stemmed from differences in average group size between populations. Average group size in fission-fusion societies variously affected different association and network statistics, which has implications for inferences about social structure.