bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of Acupuncture on the Urinary Metabolome of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Wang Ying , Li Yang , Zhou Liang , Guo Lin 
Published: August 2017

Background The mechanism of action underlying the putative effects of acupuncture in essential hypertension remains unknown but neuronal mechanisms have been explored most extensively to date. We aimed to explore the effects of manual acupuncture (MA) with manual stimulation on blood pressure (BP) and urine metabolites in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) model of hypertension. Methods After adaptive feeding (with a standard laboratory diet and distilled water) for 1 week, five normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats with normal BP formed the control group. Ten SHRs were randomised into two groups (n=5 each), one of which received MA at ST9 for a total of 14 days (SHR+MA group). The other (SHR group) and the WKY control group underwent needle insertion without manual stimulation. BP was measured pre- and post-acupuncture in all groups and urinary metabolic profiles were investigated using metabonomics methods based on 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy coupled with principal component analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis, and orthogonal to partial least squares discriminant analysis. Results A total of 46 metabolites were clearly separated in the urine by 1H NMR. Loading plots showed significant changes in urinary metabolite contents after acupuncture treatment as well as significant differences between SHR and WKY rats. Acupuncture at ST9 in SHRs increased urine metabolites including α-ketoglutaric acid, N-acetyl glutamic acid, and betaine. Furthermore, systolic and diastolic BP, mean arterial pressure and heart rate were significantly reduced after acupuncture. Conclusions Acupuncture may decrease BP in SHRs by improving the metabolic disorder associated with hypertension.
The majority of irregular menstrual cycles in adolescence are ovulatory: results of a prospective study
Authors: Peña Alexia S , Doherty Dorota A , Atkinson Helen C , Hickey Martha , Norman Robert J , Hart Roger 
Published: August 2017

PurposeWhile ovulation is most likely to occur in adolescent girls with regular menstrual cycles, there are limited data on the incidence of ovulation in girls with irregular menstrual cycles in early postmenarcheal years. The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of ovulation in healthy postmenarcheal girls with irregular menstrual cycles.Methods, design and subjectsProspective cohort study over 12 weeks including 40 healthy postmenarcheal girls recruited from the population-based cohort of adolescents from Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study with irregular menstrual cycles defined by either menstrual cycles <21 days or >35 days in duration or cycle length that varied from month to month by >4 days according to menstrual diaries.Main outcome measureOvulation defined by urinary pregnanediol-3α–glucuronide/creatinine measurements higher than three times above minimum value obtained from 12 samples (1 per week).ResultsForty girls (37 Caucasians) with irregular menstrual cycles aged 15.1 (median (IQR) 14.9–15.4) years who were 2.3 (1.9–3.3) years postmenarche were assessed. Urinary pregnanediol-3α–glucuronide/creatinine values identified that 33 girls (82.5%) ovulated during the 3 months of observation and 7 girls had anovulatory cycles. Menstrual diaries collected for a median (IQR) of 159 (137.5–188.2) days showed median minimal and maximum menstrual cycle duration of 24 (11.5–29) and 38.5 (35–48) days, respectively.ConclusionsA large proportion of healthy adolescent girls with irregular menstrual cycles are still ovulating despite irregular and infrequent menses.
Diagnostic delay in Canadian children with inflammatory bowel disease is more common in Crohn’s disease and associated with decreased height
Authors: Ricciuto Amanda , Fish Jennifer R , Tomalty Diane E , Carman Nicholas , Crowley Eileen , Popalis Cynthia , Muise Aleixo , Walters Thomas D , Griffiths Anne M , Church Peter C 
Published: August 2017

ObjectivesTo determine time to diagnosis in a paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) cohort and the relative contribution of the component intervals, and to identify factors associated with diagnostic delay.DesignProspective cohort studySettingSingle-centre study including children with incident IBD at the Hospital for Sick Children diagnosed between December 2013 and December 2015.InterventionsTime to diagnosis and its subintervals were determined and patient, disease and institutional factors were tested for associations.ResultsAmong 111 children, the median overall time to diagnosis was 4.5 (IQR 2.1–8.8) months. Time to diagnosis was longer in Crohn’s disease (CD) than ulcerative colitis (UC) (median 6.8 (IQR 2.9–12.5) vs 2.4 (IQR 1.3–5.3) months) and patients with isolated small bowel disease. Twenty per cent of patients were diagnosed≥1 year after symptom onset (86% CD, 14% UC, p=0.003). Time from symptom onset to gastroenterology referral was the greatest contributor to overall time to diagnosis (median 2.9 (IQR 1.6–8.2) months). Height impairment was independently associated with diagnostic delay (OR 0.59, p=0.02, for height-for-age z-score (HAZ), signifying almost 70% increased odds of delay for every 1 SD decrease in HAZ). This height discrepancy persisted 1 year after diagnosis. Bloody diarrhoea was protective against delay (OR 0.28, p=0.02). The subinterval from referral to diagnosis was shorter in patients with laboratory abnormalities, particularly hypoalbuminaemia.ConclusionsDiagnostic delay was more common in CD and associated with height impairment that persisted 1 year after presentation. The greatest contributor to time to diagnosis was time from symptom onset to referral.
Swept-source OCT angiography imaging of the macular capillary network in glaucoma
Authors: Akil Handan , Chopra Vikas , Al-Sheikh Mayss , Ghasemi Falavarjani Khalil , Huang Alex S , Sadda SriniVas R , Francis Brian A 
Published: August 2017

PurposeTo evaluate the macular capillary network density of superficial and deep retinal layers (SRL/DRL) by swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and to compare the results with those of normal subjects.MethodIn this prospective study, 24 eyes of 24 normal individuals and 24 eyes of 24 patients with mild to moderate POAG underwent fovea centred 6×6 mm cube macular OCTA imaging by a swept-source OCTA device (Triton, Topcon, Tokyo, Japan). Quantitative analysis of the retinal vasculature was performed by assessing vessel density (VD) as the ratio of the retinal area occupied by vessels at the SRL and DRL.ResultsThe mean VD (ratio) at the SRL and DRL was statistically significantly lower in patients with POAG (SRL, p<0.001; DRL, p<0.001). In the SRL, the mean±SD VD ratio was 0.34±0.05 in patients with POAG and 0.40±0.02 in normal individuals (p<0.001). In the DRL, the mean (SD) ratio was 0.37±0.05 in patients with POAG and 0.43±0.02 in normal individuals (p<0.001). The mean VD at the SRL was significantly correlated with ganglion cell inner plexiform layer thickness (r=0.42, p=0.04) but not with visual field mean deviation (r=0.4, p=0.06) and retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (r=0.5, p=0.06). The mean VD at the DRL did not show significant correlation with any other glaucoma parameter (p>0.05).ConclusionThe assessment of macular VD by swept-source OCTA may offer additional information for detection of glaucoma.
Note on constants of motion in conformal mechanics associated with near horizon extremal Myers–Perry black holes
Authors: Demirchian Hovhannes 
Published: August 2017

We investigate dynamics of probe particles moving in the near-horizon limit of (2N + 1)-dimensional extremal Myers–Perry black hole (in the cases of N = 3, 4, 5) with arbitrary rotation parameters. Very recently it has been shown in [T. Hakobyan, A. Nersessian and M. M. Sheikh-Jabbari, Phys. Lett. B 772, 586 (2017)] that in the most general cases with non-equal nonvanishing rotational parameters the system admits separation of variables in N-dimensional ellipsoidal coordinates. We wrote down the explicit expressions of Liouville integrals of motion, given in the above-mentioned reference in ellipsoidal coordinates, in initial “Cartesian” coordinates in seven, nine and eleven dimensions, and found that these expressions hold in any dimension. Then, taking the limit where all of the rotational parameters are equal, we reveal that each of these N − 1 integrals of motion results in the Hamiltonian of the spherical mechanics of a (2N + 1)-dimensional MP black hole with equal nonvanishing rotational parameters.
Effect of separated layer thickness on magnetoresistance and magnetic properties of Co/Dy/Co and Ni/Dy/Ni film systems
Authors: Shabelnyk T. M. , Shutylieva O. V. , Vorobiov S. I. , Pazukha I. M. , Chornous A. M. 
Published: August 2017

Co(5 nm)/Dy(t[Formula: see text])/Co(20 nm)/S and Ni(5 nm)/Dy(t[Formula: see text])/Ni(20 nm)/S trilayer films are prepared by electron-beam sputtering to investigate the influence of dysprosium layer thickness (t[Formula: see text]) and thermal annealing on the crystal structure, magnetoresistance (MR) and magnetic properties of thin films. The thickness of Dy layer changed in the range from 1 nm to 20 nm. The samples annealed for 20 min at 700 K. Electron diffraction patterns reveal that the as-deposited and annealed systems Co/Dy/Co and Ni/Dy/Ni had fcc-Co + hcp-Dy and fcc-Ni + hcp-Dy phase state, respectively. It is also shown that at the t[Formula: see text] = 15 nm the transition from amorphous to crystalline structures of Dy layer is observed. An increase in the Dy layer thickness results in changes in the MR and magnetic properties of the trilayer systems. It is shown that MR is most thermally stable against annealing to 700 K at t[Formula: see text] = 15 nm for Co/Dy/Co as well as for Ni/Dy/Ni. For t[Formula: see text] = 15 nm the, value of MR for both system increases by two times compared to those of pure ferromagnetic (FM) samples. The coercivity (B[Formula: see text]), remanent (M[Formula: see text]) and saturation (M[Formula: see text]) magnetization of the in-plain magnetization hysteresis loops are related to the Dy layer thickness too. The coercivity depends on the FM materials type and diffusion processes at the layer boundary. Accordingly, M[Formula: see text] and M[Formula: see text] are reduced with t[Formula: see text] increasing before and after annealing for both trilayer systems.
Hamp1 mRNA and plasma hepcidin levels are influenced by sex and strain but do not predict tissue iron levels in inbred mice
Authors: McLachlan Stela , Page Kathryn E. , Lee Seung-Min , Loguinov Alex , Valore Erika , Hui Simon T. , Jung Grace , Zhou Jie , Lusis Aldons J. , Fuqua Brie , Ganz Tomas , Nemeth Elizabeta , Vulpe Chris D. 
Published: August 2017

Iron homeostasis is tightly regulated, and the peptide hormone hepcidin is considered to be a principal regulator of iron metabolism. Previous studies in a limited number of mouse strains found equivocal sex- and strain-dependent differences in mRNA and serum levels of hepcidin and reported conflicting data on the relationship between hepcidin ( Hamp1) mRNA levels and iron status. Our aim was to clarify the relationships between strain, sex, and hepcidin expression by examining multiple tissues and the effects of different dietary conditions in multiple inbred strains. Two studies were done: first, Hamp1 mRNA, liver iron, and plasma diferric transferrin levels were measured in 14 inbred strains on a control diet; and second, Hamp1 mRNA and plasma hepcidin levels in both sexes and iron levels in the heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and spleen in males were measured in nine inbred/recombinant inbred strains raised on an iron-sufficient or high-iron diet. Both sex and strain have a significant effect on both hepcidin mRNA (primarily a sex effect) and plasma hepcidin levels (primarily a strain effect). However, liver iron and diferric transferrin levels are not predictors of Hamp1 mRNA levels in mice fed iron-sufficient or high-iron diets, nor are the Hamp1 mRNA and plasma hepcidin levels good predictors of tissue iron levels, at least in males. We also measured plasma erythroferrone, performed RNA-sequencing analysis of liver samples from six inbred strains fed the iron-sufficient, low-iron, or high-iron diets, and explored differences in gene expression between the strains with the highest and lowest hepcidin levels. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Both sex and strain have a significant effect on both hepcidin mRNA (primarily a sex effect) and plasma hepcidin levels (primarily a strain effect). Liver iron and diferric transferrin levels are not predictors of Hamp1 mRNA levels in mice, nor are the Hamp1 mRNA and plasma hepcidin levels good predictors of tissue iron levels, at least in males.
Time-of-day influences on respiratory sequelae following maximal electroshock-induced seizures in mice
Authors: Purnell Benton S. , Hajek Michael A. , Buchanan Gordon F. 
Published: August 2017

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the leading cause of death in refractory epilepsy patients. Although specific mechanisms underlying SUDEP are not well understood, evidence suggests most SUDEP occurs due to seizure-induced respiratory arrest. SUDEP also tends to happen at night. Although this may be due to circumstances in which humans find themselves at night, such as being alone without supervision or sleeping prone, or to independent influences of sleep state, there are a number of reasons why the night (i.e., circadian influences) could be an independent risk factor for SUDEP. We explored this possibility. Adult male WT mice were instrumented for EEG, EMG, and EKG recording and subjected to maximal electroshock (MES) seizures during wakefulness, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep during the nighttime/dark phase. These data were compared with data collected following seizures induced during the daytime/light phase. Seizures induced during the nighttime were similar in severity and duration to those induced during the daytime; however, seizures induced during the nighttime were associated with a lesser degree of respiratory dysregulation and postictal EEG suppression. Seizures induced during REM sleep during the nighttime were universally fatal, as is seen when seizures are induced during REM during the daytime. Taken together, these data implicate a role for time of day in influencing the physiological consequences of seizures that may contribute to seizure-induced death.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the leading cause of death in patients with refractory epilepsy. SUDEP frequently occurs during the night, which has been attributed to an effect of sleep. We have shown that sleep state does indeed influence survival following a seizure. That SUDEP occurs during the night could also implicate a circadian influence. In this study we found that time of day independently affects the physiological consequences of seizures.
Neural correlates for task switching in the macaque superior colliculus
Authors: Chan Jason L. , Koval Michael J. , Johnston Kevin , Everling Stefan 
Published: August 2017

Successful task switching requires a network of brain areas to select, maintain, implement, and execute the appropriate task. Although frontoparietal brain areas are thought to play a critical role in task switching by selecting and encoding task rules and exerting top-down control, how brain areas closer to the execution of tasks participate in task switching is unclear. The superior colliculus (SC) integrates information from various brain areas to generate saccades and is likely influenced by task switching. Here, we investigated switch costs in nonhuman primates and their neural correlates in the activity of SC saccade-related neurons in monkeys performing cued, randomly interleaved pro- and anti-saccade trials. We predicted that behavioral switch costs would be associated with differential modulations of SC activity in trials on which the task was switched vs. repeated, with activity on the current trial resembling that associated with the task set of the previous trial when a switch occurred. We observed both error rate and reaction time switch costs and changes in the discharge rate and timing of activity in SC neurons between switch and repeat trials. These changes were present later in the task only after fixation on the cue stimuli but before saccade onset. These results further establish switch costs in macaque monkeys and suggest that SC activity is modulated by task-switching processes in a manner inconsistent with the concept of task set inertia.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Task-switching behavior and superior colliculus (SC) activity were investigated in nonhuman primates performing randomly interleaved pro- and anti-saccade tasks. Here, we report error rate and reaction time switch costs in macaque monkeys and associated differences in stimulus-related activity of saccade-related neurons in the SC. These results provide a neural correlate for task switching and suggest that the SC is modulated by task-switching processes and may reflect the completion of task set reconfiguration.
The absence or temporal offset of visual feedback does not influence adaptation to novel movement dynamics
Authors: McKenna Erin , Bray Laurence C. Jayet , Zhou Weiwei , Joiner Wilsaan M. 
Published: August 2017

Delays in transmitting and processing sensory information require correctly associating delayed feedback to issued motor commands for accurate error compensation. The flexibility of this alignment between motor signals and feedback has been demonstrated for movement recalibration to visual manipulations, but the alignment dependence for adapting movement dynamics is largely unknown. Here we examined the effect of visual feedback manipulations on force-field adaptation. Three subject groups used a manipulandum while experiencing a lag in the corresponding cursor motion (0, 75, or 150 ms). When the offset was applied at the start of the session (continuous condition), adaptation was not significantly different between groups. However, these similarities may be due to acclimation to the offset before motor adaptation. We tested additional subjects who experienced the same delays concurrent with the introduction of the perturbation (abrupt condition). In this case adaptation was statistically indistinguishable from the continuous condition, indicating that acclimation to feedback delay was not a factor. In addition, end-point errors were not significantly different across the delay or onset conditions, but end-point correction (e.g., deceleration duration) was influenced by the temporal offset. As an additional control, we tested a group of subjects who performed without visual feedback and found comparable movement adaptation results. These results suggest that visual feedback manipulation (absence or temporal misalignment) does not affect adaptation to novel dynamics, independent of both acclimation and perceptual awareness. These findings could have implications for modeling how the motor system adjusts to errors despite concurrent delays in sensory feedback information.NEW & NOTEWORTHY A temporal offset between movement and distorted visual feedback (e.g., visuomotor rotation) influences the subsequent motor recalibration, but the effects of this offset for altered movement dynamics are largely unknown. Here we examined the influence of 1) delayed and 2) removed visual feedback on the adaptation to novel movement dynamics. These results contribute to understanding of the control strategies that compensate for movement errors when there is a temporal separation between motion state and sensory information.
Utilization, Characteristics, and In-Hospital Outcomes of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Patients With ST-Segment–Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Pi Yi , Roe Matthew T. , Holmes DaJuanicia N. , Chiswell Karen , Garvey J. Lee , Fonarow Gregg C. , de Lemos James A. , Garratt Kirk N. , Xian Ying 
Published: August 2017

Background—
There are limited data on the utilization and outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) among ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients in contemporary practice.

Methods and Results—

Using data from National Cardiovascular Data Registry Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network Registry–Get With The Guidelines between 2007 and 2014, we analyzed trends in CABG utilization and hospital-level variation in CABG rates. Patients undergoing CABG during the index admission were categorized by the most common scenarios: (1) CABG only as the primary reperfusion strategy; (2) CABG after primary percutaneous coronary intervention; and (3) CABG after fibrinolytic therapy. A total of 15 145 patients (6.3% of the STEMI population) underwent CABG during the index hospitalization, with a decrease in utilization from 8.3% in 2007 to 5.4% in 2014 (trend
P
value <0.001). The hospital-level use of CABG in STEMI varied widely from 0.5% to 36.2% (median, 5.3%; interquartile range [IQR], 3.5%–7.8%;
P
value <0.001). Of all patients undergoing CABG, 45.8% underwent CABG only, 38.7% had CABG after percutaneous coronary intervention, and 8.2% CABG after fibrinolytic therapy. The median time intervals from cardiac catheterization/percutaneous coronary intervention to CABG were 23.3 hours (IQR, 3.0–70.3 hours) in CABG only, 49.7 hours (IQR, 3.2–70.3 hours) in CABG after percutaneous coronary intervention, and 56.6 hours (IQR, 22.7–96.0 hours) in CABG after fibrinolytic therapy. The Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network mortality risk scores differed modestly (median, 33; IQR, 28–40 versus median, 32; IQR, 27–38) between CABG and non-CABG patients. Patients undergoing CABG had similar in-hospital mortality rate (5.4% versus 5.1%) as those not treated with CABG.

Conclusions—
CABG is performed infrequently in STEMI patients during the index hospitalization, with rates declining in contemporary US practice over time. There was marked hospital-level variation in the use of CABG, and CABG was typically performed within 1 to 3 days after angiography. Observed mortality rates appear low, suggesting that CABG might be safely performed in select STEMI patients in a timely fashion.