bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of a High-Fidelity Simulation-Based Training Program in Managing Cardiac Arrhythmias in Children
Authors: Bragard Isabelle , Farhat Nesrine , Seghaye Marie-Christine , Karam Oliver , Neuschwander Arthur , Shayan Yasaman , Schumacher Katharina 
Published: October 2016

Objectives
Pediatric cardiac arrest is a rare event. Its management requires technical (TSs) and nontechnical skills (NTSs). We assessed the effectiveness of a simulation-based training to improve these skills in managing life-threatening pediatric cardiac arrhythmias.

Methods
Four teams, each composed of 1 pediatric resident, 1 emergency medicine resident, and 2 pediatric nurses, were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG) participating in 5 video-recorded simulation sessions with debriefing or to the control group (CG) assessed 2 times with video-recorded simulation sessions without debriefing at a 2-week interval. Questionnaires assessed self-reported changes in self-efficacy, stress, and satisfaction about skills. Blinded evaluators assessed changes in leaders' TSs and NTSs during the simulations and the time to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Results
After training, stress decreased and satisfaction about skills increased in the EG, whereas it remained the same in the CG (P = 0.014 and P < 0.001, respectively). There was no significant change in self-efficacy. Analyses of video-recorded skills showed significant improvements in TSs and NTSs of the EG leaders after training, but not of the CG leaders (P = 0.026, P = 0.038, respectively). The comparison of the evolution of the 2 groups concerning time to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation was not significantly different between the first and last simulation sessions.

Conclusions
A simulation-based training with debriefing had positive effects on stress and satisfaction about skills of pediatric residents and nurses and on observed TSs and NTSs of the leaders during simulation sessions. A future study should assess the effectiveness of this training in a larger sample and its impact on skills during actual emergencies.
Scout-Based Automated Tube Potential Selection Technique (kV Assist) in Enhanced Chest Computed Tomography: Effects on Radiation Exposure and Image Quality
Authors: Li Meng , Feng Shichao , Wu Ning , Zhang Li 
Published: October 2016

Objective
The aim of our study was to assess radiation dose reduction and image quality for enhanced chest CT examinations with a scout-based automated tube potential selection technique (kV Assist) compared with a standard 120-kV protocol.

Methods
Prospective study of enhanced chest CT examinations was performed in 100 consecutive patients with kV Assist and in 100 consecutive patients with conventional 120-kV protocol on a multislice CT (Discovery CT750 HD). The body mass index, CT dose index volume, and dose length product were recorded from the examination protocol. Image noise and CT value was measured on region of interest, signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio was calculated. The subjective image quality was assessed by two radiologists blinded to the respective protocol with the use of a 3-grade scale (3, superior quality; 2, moderate quality; 1, inferior quality).

Results
With kV Assist, the percentages of patients being scanned using 80, 100, and 120 kV were 12.0%, 80.0%, and 8.0%, respectively. The kilovolt setting was related with body mass index (r = 0.565, P = 0.000). Compared with the conventional 120 kV protocol, kV Assist allowed for an overall average decrease of 30.6% in CT dose index volume (kV Assist, 11.05 ± 4.78 mGy; 120 kV, 15.92 ± 6.89 mGy) (P < 0.001) and 32.3% in dose length product (kV Assist, 386.41 ± 184.02 mGy cm−1; 120 kV, 571.14 ± 286.68 mGy cm−1) (P < 0.001). In the kV Assist, mean attenuation of regions of interest inside the aorta was significantly higher than that in 120-kV protocols (kV Assist, 310.27 ± 73.70 HU; 120 kV, 239.44 ± 47.65 HU) (P < 0.001), resulting in increased contrast-to-noise ratio (kV Assist, 26.69 ± 7.78; 120 kV, 21.38 ± 6.05) (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in subjective image quality scores between the 2 groups.

Conclusions
The use of attenuation-based kV Assist technique enables significant dose reduction in enhanced chest CT scan while improving arterial enhancement and preserving image quality at adequate levels.
Abdominal Multidetector Computed Tomography for Suspected Small-Bowel Obstruction: Multireader Study Comparing Radiologist Performance for Predicting Surgical Outcomes
Authors: Scrima Andrew , Lubner Meghan G. , King Scott , Kennedy Gregory , Pickhardt Perry J. 
Published: October 2016

Objective
To compare performance of junior (JR)/senior (SR) abdominal radiologists using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) to predict surgical intervention, bowel resection, and presence of bowel ischemia in patients with suspected small-bowel obstruction (SBO).

Methods
Retrospective, institutional review board-approved, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant, blinded, independent review of MDCT studies for suspected SBO in 179 adults (mean age, 55.8 years; 86 men/93 women) was performed by 12 board-certified radiologists (6 JR, 6 SR). Readers rated likelihood of need for surgery, bowel ischemia, and resection. Correlation with clinical outcomes/pathology was performed.

Results
Pooled receiver operating characteristic area under the curve for surgery, ischemia, and resection were 0.802, 0.736, and 0.824 and 0.773, 0.851, and 0.751 JR/SR, respectively. Sensitivity/specificity for predicting surgery was 86.7%/65.4% and 79.6%/64.4%. No differences existed between JR/SR performance overall (P = 0.451); highest/lowest performing readers between groups (P < 0.001) and within groups (P = 0.008) varied.

Conclusions
Junior radiologists performed as well as SR in predicting surgical outcomes on MDCT in patients with suspected SBO.
Escitalopram-Associated Acute Urinary Retention in Elderly Men With Known or Latent Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Case Series
Authors: Ferentinos Panagiotis , Margaritis Dimitrios , Douzenis Athanasios 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
Lower urinary tract outflow dysfunction is frequent in older men and a potential cause of serious complications such as acute urinary retention (AUR). Drug-induced AUR has only rarely been reported with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors including escitalopram; reported cases had no history of urinary outflow dysfunction. We herein report the development of AUR after the introduction of escitalopram at a standard dose in 3 male patients with previously diagnosed or unknown/latent and nonsymptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. Urinary retention receded after escitalopram discontinuation in 2 cases but led to emergent prostatectomy in the third. This case series highlights escitalopram's potential association with AUR in elderly men with known or latent benign prostatic hyperplasia. Further studies are warranted to investigate whether compromised or marginal urinary outflow should be considered a contraindication for treatment with escitalopram.
Evaluation of Cognitive Function When Hearing One's Own Name in Patients With Brain Injuries in Early Developmental Stages
Authors: Tamura Kaori , Mizuba Takaaki , Okamoto Tsuyoshi , Matsufuji Mayumi , Takashima Sachio , Iramina Keiji 
Published: October 2016

Purpose:
The level of residual cognitive function in patients with early brain injury is a key factor limiting rehabilitation and the quality of life. Although understanding residual function is necessary for appropriate rehabilitation, the extent of its effects on cognitive improvement remains unknown. This study evaluated cognitive function in patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities after early brain injuries due to cerebral hemorrhage or periventricular leukomalacia. We focused on neural responses to hearing the subject's own name (SON). According to previous studies, differences in response to SON are associated with several types of cognitive dysfunction.

Methods:
We examined healthy subjects (aged 21.4 ± 1.10 years; control) and patients with a previous brain injury (aged 13–27 years at the time of our analysis) resulting in periventricular leukomalacia or a cerebral hemorrhage during the perinatal period or childhood. We recorded EEG responses to the SON and to other Japanese words, obtaining EEG-evoked potentials with wavelet transformations.

Results:
Compared with healthy controls, beta power (not alpha power) revealed differences in response to SON by patients with brain injury, especially those with cerebral hemorrhage.

Conclusions:
We suggest that alpha and beta power differences reflect different cognitive functions and that the SON response reveals more than one process. Beta powers may reflect the intellectual disability of cognitive function in response to self-relevant stimuli, especially in patients with cerebral hemorrhage. Meanwhile, alpha powers did not differ from those of the healthy controls, suggesting that the patients perhaps paid attention to their own names.
Brief Potentially Ictal Rhythmic Discharges [B(I)RDs] in Noncritically Ill Adults
Authors: Yoo Ji Yeoun , Marcuse Lara V. , Fields Madeline C. , Rosengard Jillian L. , Traversa Maria Vittoria , Gaspard Nicolas , Hirsch Lawrence J. 
Published: October 2016

Introduction:
Brief potentially ictal rhythmic discharges (B(I)RDs) have been described in neonates and critically ill adults, and their association with seizures has been demonstrated. Their significance in noncritically ill adults remains unclear. We aimed to investigate their prevalence, electrographic characteristics, and clinical significance.

Methods:
We identified adult patients with B(I)RDs who received long-term EEG recordings either in the epilepsy monitoring unit or in the ambulatory setting. Patients with acute findings on imaging or status epilepticus were excluded. B(I)RDs were defined as very brief (<10 seconds) runs of focal or generalized sharply contoured rhythmic activity greater than 4 Hz, with or without evolution, that were not consistent with any known normal or benign pattern. The clinical history, EEG, and imaging results were retrieved. Each patient with B(I)RDs was matched by age and etiology to a control group with epileptiform discharges but without B(I)RDs in a 1:2 ratio.

Results:
We identified B(I)RDs in 15 patients of 1,230 EEGs (1.2%). The pattern typically consisted of 0.5 to 4 second runs of sharply contoured alpha activity without evolution. All patients with B(I)RDs had epilepsy, and, when compared with controls with epilepsy but without BIRDs, were more likely to be medically refractory (10 of 15 [67%] vs. 5 of 30 [17%]; P < 0.01). All seizure onsets colocalized to the B(I)RDs, and most were morphologically similar.

Conclusions:
In noncritically ill patients, B(I)RDs are associated with refractory epilepsy and their location is correlated with the seizure onset area.
Computational models for the determination of depth-dependent mechanical properties of skin with a soft, flexible measurement device
Authors: Yuan Jianghong , Dagdeviren Canan , Shi Yan , Ma Yinji , Feng Xue , Rogers John A. , Huang Yonggang 
Published: October 2016

Conformal modulus sensors (CMS) incorporate PZT nanoribbons as mechanical actuators and sensors to achieve reversible conformal contact with the human skin for non-invasive,
in vivo
measurements of skin modulus. An analytic model presented in this paper yields expressions that connect the sensor output voltage to the Young moduli of the epidermis and dermis, the thickness of the epidermis, as well as the material and geometrical parameters of the CMS device itself and its encapsulation layer. Results from the model agree well with
in vitro
experiments on bilayer structures of poly(dimethylsiloxane). These results provide a means to determine the skin moduli (epidermis and dermis) and the thickness of the epidermis from
in vivo
measurements of human skin.
Collapse Precedes Folding in Denaturant-Dependent Assembly of Ubiquitin
Authors: Reddy Govardhan , Thirumalai D. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractDespite the small size the folding of Ubiquitin (Ub), which plays an indispensable role in targeting proteins for degradation and DNA damage response, is complex. A number of experiments on Ub folding have reached differing conclusions regarding the relation between collapse and folding, and whether intermediates are populated. In order to resolve these vexing issues, we elucidate the denaturant-dependent thermodynamics and kinetics of Ub folding in low and neutral pH as a function of Guanidinium chloride and Urea using coarse-grained molecular simulations. The changes in the fraction of the folded Ub, and the radius of gyration (Rg) as a function of the denaturant concentration, [C], are in quantitative agreement with experiments. Under conditions used in experiments,Rgof the unfolded state at neutral pH changes only by ≈ 17% as the [GdmCl] decreases from 6 M to 0 M. We predict that the extent of compaction of the unfolded state increases as temperature decreases. A two-dimensional folding landscape as a function ofRgand a measure of similarity to the folded state reveals unambiguously that the native state assembly is preceded by collapse, as discovered in fast mixing experiments on several proteins. Analyses of the folding trajectories, under mildly denaturing conditions ([GdmCl]=1.0M or [Urea]=1.0M), shows that Ub folds by collision between preformed secondary structural elements involving kinetic intermediates that are primarily stabilized by long-range contacts. Our work explains the results of Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) experiments on Ub quantitatively, and establishes that evolved globular proteins are poised to collapse. In the process, we explain the discrepancy between SAXS and single molecule fluorescent resonant energy transfer (smFRET) experiments, which have arrived at a contradicting conclusion concerning the collapse of polypeptide chains.
Automatic time-series phenotyping using massive feature extraction
Authors: Fulcher B. D. , Jones N. S. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractPhenotype measurements frequently take the form of time series, but we currently lack a systematic method for relating these complex data streams to scientifically meaningful outcomes, such as relating the movement dynamics of a model organism to their genotype, or measurements of brain dynamics of a patient to their disease diagnosis. Here we report a new tool,hctsa, that automatically selects interpretable and useful properties of time series by comparing over 7 700 time-series features drawn from diverse scientific literatures. Using exemplar applications to high throughput phenotyping experiments, we show howhctsaallows researchers to leverage decades of time-series research to understand and quantify informative structure in time-series data.
Extinction rate has a complex and non-linear relationship with area
Authors: Keil Petr , Cabral Juliano S. , Chase Jonathan , Martins Ines S. , May Felix , Pereira Henrique M. , Winter Marten 
Published: October 2016

ABSTRACTAim.Biodiversity loss, measured as count of extinction events, is a key component of biodiversity change, and can significantly impact ecosystem services. However, estimation of the loss has focused mostly on per-species extinction rates measured over limited numbers of spatial scales, with no theory linking small-scale extirpations with global extinctions. Here we provide such link by introducing the relationship between area and per-species probability of extinction (PxAR) and between area and count of realized extinction events in that area (NxAR). We show theoretical and empirical forms of these relationships, and we discuss their role in perception and estimation of the current extinction crisis.LocationUSA, Europe, Czech Republic, Barro Colorado IslandMethodsWe derived the expected forms of PxAR and NxAR from a range of theoretical frameworks based on theory of island biogeography, neutral models, and species-area relationships. We constructed PxAR and NxAR in five empirical datasets on butterflies, plants, trees and birds, collected over range of spatial scales.ResultsBoth the theoretical arguments and empirical data support monotonically decreasing PxAR, i.e. per-species extinction probability decreasing with increasing area; however, we also report a rare theoretical possibility of locally increasing PxAR. In contrast, both theory and data revealed complex NxAR, i.e. counts of extinction events follow variety of relationships with area, including nonlinear unimodal, multimodal and U-shaped relationships, depending on region and taxon.Main conclusionsThe uncovered wealth of forms of NxAR can explain why biodiversity change (the net outcome of losses and gains) also appears scale-dependent. Furthermore, the complex scale dependence of PxAR and NxAR means that global extinctions indicate little about local extirpations, and vice versa. Hence, effort should be made to understand and report extinction crisis as a scale-dependent problem. In this effort, estimation of scaling relationships such as PxAR and NxAR should be central.
Whole genome resequencing of a laboratory-adaptedDrosophila melanogasterpopulation sample
Authors: Gilks William P. , Pennell Tanya M. , Flis Ilona , Webster Matthew T. , Morrow Edward H. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractAs part of a study into the molecular genetics of sexually dimorphic complex traits, we used next-generation sequencing to obtain data on genomic variation in an outbred laboratory-adapted fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) population. We successfully resequenced the whole genome of 2 females from the Berkeley reference line (BDGP6/dm6), and 220 hemiclonal females that were heterozygous for the same reference line genome, and a unique haplotype from the outbred base population (LHM). The use of a static and known genetic background enabled us to obtain sequences from whole-genome phased haplotypes. We used a BWA-Picard-GATK pipeline for mapping sequence reads to the dm6 reference genome assembly, at a median depth-of coverage of 31X, and have made the resulting data publicly-available in the NCBI Short Read Archive (BioProject PRJNA282591). Haplotype Caller discovered and genotyped 1,726,931 genetic variants (SNPs and indels, <200bp). Additionally, we used GenomeStrip/2.0 to discover and genotype 167 large structural variants (1-100Kb in size). Sequence data and quality-filtered genotype data are publicly-available at NCBI (Short Read Archive, dbSNP and dbVar). We have also released the unfiltered genotype data, and the code and logs for data processing, summary statistics, and graphs, via the research data repository, Zenodo, (https://zenodo.org/, ’Sussex Drosophila Sequencing’ community).
Hierarchical Evolutionary Preferences Explain Discrepancies in Expected Utility Theory
Authors: Price Michael Holton , Jones James Holland 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe standard axiomatic theory of rationality posits that agents order preferences according to the average utilities associated with different choices. Expected Utility Theory has repeatedly failed as a predictive theory of choice behavior, as reflected in a growing literature in behavioral economics. Evolutionary theorists have suggested that seemingly irrational behaviors in contemporary contexts may have once served important functions, but there has been little attempt to formalize the relationship between evolutionary fitness and choice behavior. Biological agents should optimize fitness, but fitness itself is not a reasonable value function for decision-making since its time-scale exceeds the lifespan of the decision-maker. Consequently, organisms use proximate motivational systems that work on appropriate time-scales and are amenable to feedback and learning. We develop an evolutionary principal-agent model in which individuals maximize a set of proximal choice variables (age-specific demographic rates), the interests of which are aligned with fitness. The solution to our model yields pessimistic probability weightings compatible with the Rank-Dependent Expected Utility family of choice models. The pessimistic probability weighting characteristic of these models emerges naturally in an evolutionary framework because of extreme intolerance to zeros in multiplicative growth processes.
The effects of increasing the number of taxa on inferences of molecular convergence
Authors: Thomas Gregg W.C. , Hahn Matthew W. , Hahn Yoonsoo 
Published: October 2016

AbstractConvergent evolution provides insight into the link between phenotype and genotype. Recently, large-scale comparative studies of convergent evolution have become possible, but researchers are still trying to determine the best way to design these types of analyses. One aspect of molecular convergence studies that has not yet been investigated is how taxonomic sample size affects inferences of molecular convergence. Here we show that increased sample size decreases the amount of inferred molecular convergence associated with the three convergent transitions to a marine environment in mammals. The sampling of more taxa—both with and without the convergent phenotype—reveals that alleles associated only with marine mammals in small datasets are actually more widespread, or are not shared by all marine species. The sampling of more taxa also allows finer resolution of ancestral substitutions, revealing that they are not in fact on lineages leading to solely marine species. We revisit a previous study on marine mammals and find that only 7 of the reported 43 genes with convergent substitutions still show signs of convergence with a larger number of background species. However, 4 of those 7 genes also showed signs of positive selection in the original analysis and may still be good candidates for adaptive convergence. Though our study is framed around the convergence of marine mammals, we expect our conclusions on taxonomic sampling are generalizable to any study of molecular convergence.
Design Specifications for Cellular Regulation
Authors: Krakauer David C. , Müller Lydia , Prohaska Sonja J. , Stadler Peter F. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractA critical feature of all cellular processes is the ability to control the rate of gene or protein expression and metabolic flux in changing environments through regulatory feedback. We review the many ways that regulation is represented through causal, logical and dynamical components. Formalizing the nature of these components promotes effective comparison among distinct regulatory networks and provides a common framework for the potential design and control of regulatory systems in synthetic biology.