bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Retrolabyrinthine Meatotomy as Part of Retrosigmoid Approach to Expose the Whole Internal Auditory Canal: Rationale, Technique, and Outcome in Hearing Preservation Surgery for Vestibular Schwannoma
Authors: Mazzoni Antonio , Zanoletti Elisabetta , Denaro Luca , Martini Alessandro , Avella Domenico d’ 
Published: May 2017

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Vestibular schwannoma extending to the fundus of the internal auditory canal is currently considered an unfavorable condition for hearing preservation surgery via a retrosigmoid approach because the lateral end of the canal is hard to view directly during microsurgery.

OBJECTIVE
To present an improved retrolabyrinthine meatotomy (RLM) technique that enables the full length of the cochlear and facial nerves to be inspected up to their orifices on the fundus. Long-term results are briefly reported.

METHODS
A consecutive series of 100 cases with various degrees of fundus involvement underwent surgery via a retrosigmoid approach and RLM. The follow-up ranged from 4 to 14 yr. Outcomes on hearing and facial nerve function were recorded, and preoperative MRI findings of the tumor on the fundus were correlated with the surgical findings and the long-term radicality of the tumor resection.

RESULTS
Residual tumor on the fundus was identified in 3 cases, all belonging to the group with tumors adhering to the fundus. The functional results were in line with the best reported outcomes of this surgery.

CONCLUSION
RLM via a retrosigmoid approach seemed adequate for the purposes of hearing preservation surgery and enabled the full course of the facial and cochlear nerves through the internal auditory canal to be exposed to direct view. Tumors adhering to the vestibular quadrant of the fundus were more difficult to remove, and there were a few cases of local residual tumor.
The Efficacy of Pressure Ulcer Treatment With Cathodal and Cathodal-Anodal High-Voltage Monophasic Pulsed Current: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial
Authors: Polak Anna , Kloth Luther C. , Blaszczak Edward , Taradaj Jakub , Nawrat-Szoltysik Agnieszka , Ickowicz Tomasz , Hordynska Ewa , Franek Andrzej , Kucio Cezary 
Published: May 2017

Abstract
Background. Studies show that anode and cathode electrical stimulation (ES) promotes the healing of wounds, but specific protocols for both electrodes are not available.
Objective. To compare the effectiveness of cathodal versus cathodal+anodal ES in the treatment of Category II-IV pressure ulcers (PrUs).
Design. Prospective, randomized, controlled, clinical study.
Setting. Three nursing and care centers.
Patients. Sixty-three participants with PrUs were randomly formed into a cathodal ES group (CG: N = 23; mean age of 79.35; SD 8.48), a cathodal+anodal ES group (CAG: N = 20; mean age of 79.65; SD 11.44) and a placebo ES group (PG: N = 20; mean age of 76.75; SD 12.24).
Intervention. All patients were treated with standard wound care and high-voltage monophasic pulsed current (HVMPC; twin-peak impulses; 154 μs; 100 pps; 0.25 A; 250 μC/s) for 50 minutes per day, 5 times a week, for 6 weeks. The CG, CAG, and PG received, respectively, cathodal, cathodal+anodal, and sham ES through electrodes placed on a moist gauze pad. The treatment electrode was placed on the wound, and the return electrode was positioned on healthy skin at least 20 cm from the PrU.
Measurements. Measurements were made at baseline, and after each of the 6 weeks of treatment. Primary outcome was percentage wound surface area reduction at week 6.
Results. Wound surface area decreased in the CG by 82.34% (95% confidence interval [CI] 70.06-94.63) and in the CAG by 70.77% (95% CI 53.51-88.04). These reductions were significantly greater than in the PG (40.53%; 95% CI 23.60-57.46). The CG and CAG were not statistically significantly different regarding treatment results.
Limitations. The time of treatment proved insufficient for PrUs to close.
Conclusions. Cathodal and cathodal+anodal HVMPC similarly reduced the area of Category II-IV PrUs.
Torque, Current, and Discomfort During 3 Types of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation of Tibialis Anterior
Authors: Wiest Matheus J. , Bergquist Austin J. , Collins David F. 
Published: May 2017

Abstract
Background. The benefits of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for rehabilitation depend on the capacity to generate functionally relevant torque with minimal fatigability and discomfort. Traditionally, NMES is delivered either over a muscle belly (mNMES) or a nerve trunk (nNMES). Recently, a technique that minimizes contraction fatigability by alternating pulses between the mNMES and nNMES sites, termed “interleaved” NMES (iNMES), was developed. However, discomfort and the ability to generate large torque during iNMES have not been explored adequately.
Objective. The study objective was to compare discomfort and maximal torque between mNMES, nNMES, and iNMES.
Methods. Stimulation trains (12 pulses at 40 Hz) were delivered to produce dorsiflexion torque using mNMES, nNMES, and iNMES. Discomfort was assessed using a visual analogue scale for contractions that generated 5–30% of a maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), and for the maximal tolerable torque.
Results. Discomfort scores were not different between NMES types when torque was ≤20% MVIC. At 30% MVIC, mNMES produced more discomfort than nNMES and iNMES. nNMES produced the most torque (65% MVIC), followed by iNMES (49% MVIC) and mNMES (33% MVIC); in these trials, mNMES produced more discomfort than nNMES, but not iNMES.
Limitations. The present results may be limited to individuals with no history of neuromusculoskeletal impairment.
Conclusions. In terms of discomfort, there were no differences between mNMES, nNMES, or iNMES for contractions between 5–20% MVIC. However, mNMES produced more discomfort than nNMES and iNMES for contractions of 30% MVIC, while for larger contractions, mNMES only produced more discomfort than nNMES. The advantages and disadvantages of each NMES type should be considered prior to implementation in rehabilitation programs.
Organ Support After Death by Neurologic Criteria in Pediatric Patients
Authors: Lewis Ariane , Adams Nellie , Chopra Arun , Kirschen Matthew P. 
Published: May 2017

Objectives:
We sought to 1) evaluate how pediatricians approach situations in which families request continuation of organ support after declaration of death by neurologic criteria and 2) explore potential interventions to make these situations less challenging.

Design:
A survey on management and personal experience with death by neurologic criteria was distributed electronically to pediatric intensivists and neurologists. We compared responses from individuals who practice in states with accommodation exceptions (accommodation states where religious or moral beliefs must be taken into consideration when declaring death: California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York) to those from non-accommodation states.

Setting:
United States.

Subjects:
The survey was opened by 254 recipients, with 186 meeting inclusion criteria and providing data about the region in which they practice; of these, 26% were from accommodation states.

Interventions:
None.

Measurements and Main Results:
More than half of physicians (61% from both accommodation states and non-accommodation states) reported they cared for a pediatric patient whose family requested continuation of organ support after declaration of death by neurologic criteria (outside of organ donation; range, 1–17 times). Over half of physicians (53%) reported they would not feel comfortable handling a situation in which a pediatric patient’s family requested care be continued after declaration of death by neurologic criteria. Nearly every physician (98%) endorsed that something needs to be done to make situations involving families who object to discontinuation of organ support after declaration of death by neurologic criteria easier to handle. Respondents felt that public education, physician education, and uniform state laws about these situations are warranted.

Conclusions:
It is relatively common for pediatricians who care for critically ill patients to encounter families who object to discontinuation of organ support after death by neurologic criteria. Management of these situations is challenging, and guidance for medical professionals and the public is needed.
Epidemiology of Nasopharyngeal Carriage by Haemophilus influenzae in Healthy Children
Authors: Ortiz-Romero María del Mar , Espejo-García María Pilar , Alfayate-Miguelez Santiago , Ruiz-López Francisco José , Zapata-Hernandez David , Gonzalez-Pacanowska Ana Josefa 
Published: May 2017

Background:

Haemophilus influenzae, a colonizer of the nasopharynx, in children causes mainly otitis and sinusitis. The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of pharyngeal colonization by H. influenzae, and the secondary objectives were to identify risk factors associated with H. influenzae colonization and its antibiotic susceptibility.

Methods:
A prospective, multicenter study of nasopharyngeal carriers of H. influenzae was conducted in the pediatric consulting rooms of 10 primary healthcare centers in Murcia (Spain). The study consisted of 404 healthy children less than 5 years of age and was carried out during winter (January–March) and summer (July–September) of 2015. A nasopharyngeal sample was collected from each child, and an epidemiologic survey was completed by a pediatrician.

Results:
In total, 112 (27.7%) children had colonization by H. influenzae, with 73.2% of cases in winter and 26.8% of cases in summer (P < 0.001). The median (interquartile range) age in months of the colonized children (13 months, 12–47.5) was lower than that of the noncolonized children (46 months, 12–49) (P < 0.001). All H. influenzae found were nontypeable H. influenzae (NTHi). Among 112 isolates, 20% were ampicillin resistant, of which 10% produced β-lactamase, and 9% were ampicillin resistant and did not produce β-lactamase. A logistic regression analysis showed that young age (odds ratio: 0.98) and the winter period (odds ratio: 3.41; P < 0.001) were risk factors for colonization by NTHi.

Conclusions:
Colonization by NTHi is high in this Mediterranean coast region with remarkable ampicillin resistant. Younger age and the winter period were facilitating factors.
Paclitaxel-induced painful neuropathy is associated with changes in mitochondrial bioenergetics, glycolysis, and an energy deficit in dorsal root ganglia neurons
Authors: Duggett Natalie A. , Griffiths Lisa A. , Flatters Sarah J.L. 
Published: May 2017

Abstract
Painful neuropathy is the major dose-limiting side effect of paclitaxel chemotherapy. Mitochondrial dysfunction and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) deficit have previously been shown in peripheral nerves of paclitaxel-treated rats, but the effects of paclitaxel in the dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) have not been explored. The aim of this study was to determine the bioenergetic status of DRG neurons following paclitaxel exposure in vitro and in vivo. Utilising isolated DRG neurons, we measured respiratory function under basal conditions and at maximal capacity, glycolytic function, and Adenosine diphosphate (ADP)/ATP levels at 3 key behavioural timepoints; prior to pain onset (day 7), peak pain severity and pain resolution. At day 7, maximal respiration and spare reserve capacity were significantly decreased in DRG neurons from paclitaxel-treated rats. This was accompanied by decreased basal ATP levels and unaltered ADP levels. At peak pain severity, respiratory function was unaltered, yet glycolytic function was significantly increased. Reduced ATP and unaltered ADP levels were also observed at the peak pain timepoint. All these effects in DRG neurons had dissipated by the pain resolution timepoint. None of these paclitaxel-evoked changes could be replicated from in vitro paclitaxel exposure to naive DRG neurons, demonstrating the impact of in vivo exposure and the importance of in vivo models. These data demonstrate the nature of mitochondrial dysfunction evoked by in vivo paclitaxel in the DRG for the first time. Furthermore, we have identified paclitaxel-evoked changes in the bioenergetics of DRG neurons, which result in a persistent energy deficit that is causal to the development and maintenance of paclitaxel-induced pain.
Chronic comorbidities associated with inflammatory bowel disease: prevalence and impact on healthcare costs in Switzerland
Authors: Bähler Caroline , Schoepfer Alain M. , Vavricka Stephan R. , Brüngger Beat , Reich Oliver 
Published: May 2017

Objective
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was shown to be associated with a variety of chronic comorbidities. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of 21 chronic conditions and compared frequencies in IBD and non-IBD populations. Further, healthcare costs of those (additional) chronic conditions were calculated.

Patients and methods
A total of 4791 IBD patients, who were insured at Helsana Insurance Group in 2014, were compared with 1 114 638 individuals without IBD. Entropy balancing was performed to create balanced samples. Chronic conditions were identified by means of the updated Pharmacy-based Cost Group model. Multivariate log-transformed linear regression modeling was performed to estimate the effect of the morbidity status (non-IBD +none, +1, +2, and +3 or more chronic conditions) on the healthcare costs.

Results
Overall, 78% of IBD patients had at least one comorbidity, with a median of three comorbidities. Largest differences between individuals with and without IBD were found for rheumatologic conditions, acid-related disorders, pain, bone diseases, migraines, cancer, and iron-deficiency anemia, whereas no significant differences between the two groups were found for diabetes, dementia, hyperlipidemia, glaucoma, gout, HIV, psychoses, and Parkinson’s disease after adjustments for a variety of covariates. Each increase in the morbidity status led to increased healthcare costs; rheumatologic conditions, acid-related disorders, and pain as the most frequent comorbidities more than doubled total costs in IBD patients.

Conclusion
We found a considerably high prevalence of concomitant chronic diseases in IBD patients. This was associated with considerably higher healthcare costs, especially in the outpatient setting.
Adapting Cognitive Task Analysis to Investigate Clinical Decision Making and Medication Safety Incidents
Authors: Russ Alissa L. , Militello Laura G. , Glassman Peter A. , Arthur Karen J. , Zillich Alan J. , Weiner Michael 
Published: May 2017

Objectives
Cognitive task analysis (CTA) can yield valuable insights into healthcare professionals’ cognition and inform system design to promote safe, quality care. Our objective was to adapt CTA—the critical decision method, specifically—to investigate patient safety incidents, overcome barriers to implementing this method, and facilitate more widespread use of cognitive task analysis in healthcare.

Methods
We adapted CTA to facilitate recruitment of healthcare professionals and developed a data collection tool to capture incidents as they occurred. We also leveraged the electronic health record (EHR) to expand data capture and used EHR-stimulated recall to aid reconstruction of safety incidents. We investigated 3 categories of medication-related incidents: adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions, and drug-disease interactions. Healthcare professionals submitted incidents, and a subset of incidents was selected for CTA. We analyzed several outcomes to characterize incident capture and completed CTA interviews.

Results
We captured 101 incidents. Eighty incidents (79%) met eligibility criteria. We completed 60 CTA interviews, 20 for each incident category. Capturing incidents before interviews allowed us to shorten the interview duration and reduced reliance on healthcare professionals’ recall. Incorporating the EHR into CTA enriched data collection.

Conclusions
The adapted CTA technique was successful in capturing specific categories of safety incidents. Our approach may be especially useful for investigating safety incidents that healthcare professionals “fix and forget.” Our innovations to CTA are expected to expand the application of this method in healthcare and inform a wide range of studies on clinical decision making and patient safety.
Extraction of saccades from eye movements triggered by reflex blinks
Authors: Jagadisan Uday K. , Gandhi Neeraj J. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThe trigeminal blink reflex can be evoked by delivering an air puff to the eye. If timed appropriately, e.g., during motor preparation, the small, loopy blink-related eye movement (BREM) associated with eyelid closure disinhibits the saccadic system and reduces the reaction time of planned eye movements. The BREM and intended eye movement overlap temporally, thus a mathematical formulation is required to objectively extract saccade features – onset time and velocity profile – from the combined movement. While it has been assumed that the interactions are nonlinear, we show that blink-triggered movements can be modeled as a linear combination of a typical BREM and a normal saccade, crucially, with an imposed delay between the two components. Saccades reconstructed with this approach are largely similar to control movements in their temporal and spatial profiles. Furthermore, activity profiles of saccade-related bursts in superior colliculus neurons for the recovered saccades closely match those for normal saccades. Thus, blink perturbations, if properly accounted for, offer a non-invasive tool to probe the behavioral and neural signatures of sensory-to-motor transformations.New and noteworthyThe trigeminal blink reflex is a brief noninvasive perturbation that disinhibits the saccadic system and provides a behavioral readout of the latent motor preparation process. The saccade, however, is combined with a loopy blink related eye movement. Here, we provide a mathematical formulation to extract the saccade from the combined movement. Thus, blink perturbations, when properly accounted for, offer a non-invasive tool to probe the behavioral and neural signatures of sensory-to-motor transformations.
PaperBLAST: Text-mining papers for information about homologs
Authors: Price Morgan N. , Arkin Adam P. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractLarge-scale genome sequencing has identified millions of protein-coding genes whose function is unknown. Many of these proteins are similar to characterized proteins from other organisms, but much of this information is missing from annotation databases and is hidden in the scientific literature. To make this information accessible, PaperBLAST uses EuropePMC to search the full text of scientific articles for references to genes. PaperBLAST also takes advantage of curated resources that link protein sequences to scientific articles (Swiss-Prot, GeneRIF, and EcoCyc). PaperBLAST’s database includes over 700,000 scientific articles that mention over 400,000 different proteins. Given a protein of interest, PaperBLAST quickly finds similar proteins that are discussed in the literature and presents snippets of text from relevant articles or from the curators. PaperBLAST is available athttp://papers.genomics.lbl.gov/.
LEAP: A Generalization of the Landau-Vishkin Algorithm with Custom Gap Penalties
Authors: Xin Hongyi , Kim Jeremie , Nahar Sunny , Alkan Can , Mutlu Onur 
Published: May 2017

AbstractMotivationApproximate String Matching is a pivotal problem in the field of computer science. It serves as an integral component for many string algorithms, most notably, DNA read mapping and alignment. The improved LV algorithm proposes an improved dynamic programming strategy over the banded Smith-Waterman algorithm but suffers from support of a limited selection of scoring schemes. In this paper, we propose the Leaping Toad problem, a generalization of the approximate string matching problem, as well as LEAP, a generalization of the Landau-Vishkin’s algorithm that solves the Leaping Toad problem under a broader selection of scoring schemes.ResultsWe benchmarked LEAP against 3 state-of-the-art approximate string matching implementations. We show that when using a bit-vectorized de Bruijn sequence based optimization, LEAP is up to 7.4x faster than the state-of-the-art bit-vector Levenshtein distance implementation and up to 32x faster than the state-of-the-art affine-gap-penalty parallel Needleman Wunsch Implementation.AvailabilityWe provide an implementation of LEAP in C++ at github.com/CMU-SAFARI/LEAP.Contacthxin@cmu.edu,calkan@cs.bilkent.edu.troronur.mutlu@inf.ethz.ch
Higher levels ofgrp78and lower levels oftlr4anticipate a positive evolution of sepsis and patient survival
Authors: Stan Razvan C. , Bonin Camila P. , Porto Rose , Soriano Francisco G. , de Camargo Maristela M. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractIn sepsis caused by Gram-negative bacteria, modulation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activity by modulators such as glucose-regulated protein 78 kDa (GRP78), is believed to shift the equilibrium between pro- and anti-inflammatory downstream signaling cascade. We measured daily mRNAtlr4andgrp78expression levels in peripheral blood of a cohort of septic patients, upon intensive care admission, and modeled these mRNA values based on a sine damping function. We obtained negative correlations betweentlr4andgrp78mRNA in the survivor group. In contrast, such relation is lost in the deceased patients. Loss of homeostasis predicted by our model within the initial 5 days of hospitalization was confirmed by death of those patients up to 28 days later. Measuring the correlation patterns of the expression of these two genes serves as a robust means to gauge sepsis progression, requiring only three points of measurement on the first day of hospitalization.
Advanced lesion symptom mapping analyses and implementation asBCBtoolkit
Authors: Foulon C , Cerliani L , Kinkingnéhun S , Levy R , Rosso C , Urbanski M , Volle E , Thiebaut de Schotten M 
Published: May 2017

AbstractBackgroundPatients with brain lesions provide a unique opportunity to understand the functioning of the human mind. However, even when focal, brain lesions have local and remote effects that impact functionally and structurally connected circuits. Similarly, function emerges from the interaction between brain areas rather than their sole activity. For instance, category fluency requires the association between executive, semantic and language production functions.FindingsHere we provide, for the first time, a set of complementary solutions to measure the impact of a given lesion upon the neuronal circuits. Our methods, which were applied to 37 patients with a focal frontal brain lesion, revealed a large set of directly and indirectly disconnected brain regions that had significantly impacted category fluency performance. The directly disconnected regions corresponded to areas that are classically considered as functionally engaged in verbal fluency and categorization tasks. These regions were also organized into larger directly and indirectly disconnected functional networks, including the left ventral fronto-parietal network, whose cortical thickness correlated with performance on category fluency.ConclusionsThe combination of structural and functional connectivity together with cortical thickness estimates reveals the remote effects of brain lesions, provide for the identification of the affected networks and strengthen our understanding of their relationship with cognitive and behavioural measures. The methods presented are available and freely accessible in theBCBtoolkitas supplementary software [1].