bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cross‐linking of porcine acellular dermal matrices negatively affects induced neovessel formation using platelet‐rich plasma in a rat model of hernia repair
Authors: Fernandez‐Moure Joseph S. , Van Eps Jeffrey L. , Peterson Leif E. , Shirkey Beverly A. , Menn Zachary K. , Cabrera Fernando J. , Karim Azim , Tasciotti Ennio , Weiner Bradley K. , Ellsworth Warren A. 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThe degree of cross‐linking within acellular dermal matrices (ADM) seems to correlate to neovascularization when used in ventral hernia repair (VHR). Platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) enhances wound healing through several mechanisms including neovascularization, but research regarding its effect on soft tissue healing in VHR is lacking. We sought to study the effect of cross‐linking on PRP‐induced neovascularization in a rodent model of bridging VHR. We hypothesized that ADM cross‐linking would negatively affect PRP‐induced neovessel formation. PRP was extracted and characterized from pooled whole blood. Porcine cross‐linked (cADM) and non–cross‐linked ADMs (ncADM) were implanted in a rat model of chronic VHR after treatment with saline (control) or PRP. Neovascularization of samples at 2, 4, and 6 weeks was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemical staining of CD 31. Adhesion severity at necropsy was compared using a previously validated scale. Addition of PRP increased neovascularization in both cADM and ncADM at 2‐ and 4‐week time points but appeared to do so in a dependent fashion, with significantly greater neovascularization in the PRP‐treated ncADMs compared to cADMs. Omental adhesions were increased in all PRP‐treated groups. Results indicate that, for 2‐week measurements when compared with the cADM group without PRP therapy, the mean change in neovascularization due to ncADM was 3.27 (Z = 2.75, p = 0.006), PRP was 17.56 (Z = 14.77, p < 0.001), and the combined effect of ncADM and PRP was 9.41 (Z = 5.6, p < 0.001). The 4‐week data indicate that the average neovascularization change due to ncADM was 0.676 (Z = 0.7, p = 0.484), PRP was 7.69 (Z = 7.95, p < 0.001), and combined effect of ncADM and PRP was 5.28 (Z = 3.86, p < 0.001). These findings validate PRP as a clinical adjunct to enhance the native tissue response to implantable biomaterials and suggest that ncADM is more amenable than cADM to induced neovascularization. PRP use could be advantageous in patients undergoing VHR where poor incorporation is anticipated and early‐enhanced neovascularization is desired.
Implementation of Similarity Flooding Algorithm to Solve Engineering Problems Using Diagnostic Skills Training Technique
Authors: Shahhosseini A. Mehran , Ye Haisong , Maughan George , Foster Tad 
Published: January 2017

This article focuses on the development and field testing of instructional design concepts and educational software to teach diagnostic skills necessary to identify and solve problems in complex technical systems. Using concept mapping software along with expert-system programs, the overall software package enables technical workers and students in technology and engineering fields to benefit from personalized, iterative interactions that permit them to design visual maps of a diagnostic strategy and to allow direct and automatic comparison of their visual map to an expert’s map.
The computer-based modules are developed in the Lectora authoring system and incorporate the VUE concept mapping software. The self-paced, interactive modules include an introduction stage, a visual mapping tutorial stage and a technical system and problem stage. Two technical systems will provide the context for a technical problem, the systems are: 1.) electrical power grid, and 2.) heat exchanger used in a waste plastic pelletizer machine. The educational software can be tailored to include other technical systems and technical problems.
This article demonstrates implementation of Similarity Flooding Algorithm (SFA) to solve engineering problems. SFA is used to match nodes and links between learner’s and expert’s concept maps. To compare two process maps, SFA needs to consider both the relations (links) between nodes and the content of the nodes.
In this article, we describe four improvements to the original SFA code to improve the comparison between two different concept (or process) maps: 1) Similarity of two strings is calculated by comparing the two strings character by character, which means that two strings get lower similarity if they are not the same exactly. During the comparison, WordNet® thesaurus is used to accurately evaluate the content of nodes; 2) Base similarity includes absolute similarity for each paired nodes, according to their links and content, but the overall similarity of the maps is calculated based on the relative similarity of each pair; 3) In a process map, the importance of each node could be different and important nodes have more weighting in overall similarity; 4) We consider two threshold values in the comparison algorithm. One is similarity threshold for the similarity based on the connections (links) of the nodes; the other is synonym threshold for the semantic similarity of content. If the similarity is lower than the thresholds, it could be considered as discarded. At the end, we analyze the collected data and show the effectiveness of the proposed technique to solve educational and training problems.
A Conserved Glycine Residue Is Required for Proper Functioning of a Baculovirus VP39 Protein
Authors: Katsuma Susumu , Kokusho Ryuhei 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACT

The baculovirus VP39 protein is a major nucleocapsid protein essential for viral propagation. However, the critical domains or residues of the VP39 protein have not yet been identified. Here, we performed mutagenesis experiments with Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) using 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine and isolated a BmNPV mutant that produced fewer occlusion bodies than the wild-type virus. This mutant also produced fewer infectious budded viruses (BVs) than the wild-type virus in both cultured cells and
B. mori
larvae. Marker rescue experiments using genomic libraries identified a single nucleotide mutation in the
vp39
gene. This mutation resulted in an amino acid substitution at glycine 276 (Gly-276) to serine, which was required for all the defective phenotypes observed in the mutant. Sequence comparison revealed that this residue is completely conserved among the VP39 proteins of the sequenced alphabaculoviruses, betabaculoviruses, and gammabaculoviruses. Although early viral gene expression was not significantly affected, the level of expression of a late gene,
vcath
, was reduced. In addition, two of the very late genes were markedly downregulated in cells infected with this mutant. Western blot and quantitative PCR analyses revealed that the BVs produced from cells infected with this mutant contained smaller amounts of the VP39 protein and viral genomic DNA than those produced from wild-type virus-infected cells. Combined with the results of transmission electron microscopy, VP39 Gly-276 can be concluded to be essential for correct nucleocapsid assembly, viral DNA packaging, and viral gene expression, especially of very late genes.

IMPORTANCE
The major nucleocapsid protein gene
vp39
is one of the most well-known baculovirus genes. Although several viral and host proteins that interact with the VP39 protein have been identified, the functionally important domains or residues of this protein remain unknown. The present study revealed that the glycine residue at residue 276, which is completely conserved among sequenced alphabaculoviruses, betabaculoviruses, and gammabaculoviruses, is important for the VP39 function, i.e., structural assembly of nucleocapsids and viral DNA packaging. Moreover, our results provide evidence for the link between nucleocapsid formation and the transcription of viral very late genes.
The Mutualistic Interaction between Plants and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi
Authors: Lanfranco Luisa , Bonfante Paola , Genre Andrea 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACT
Mycorrhizal fungi belong to several taxa and develop mutualistic symbiotic associations with over 90% of all plant species, from liverworts to angiosperms. While descriptive approaches have dominated the initial studies of these fascinating symbioses, the advent of molecular biology, live cell imaging, and “omics” techniques have provided new and powerful tools to decipher the cellular and molecular mechanisms that rule mutualistic plant-fungus interactions. In this article we focus on the most common mycorrhizal association, arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), which is formed by a group of soil fungi belonging to Glomeromycota. AM fungi are believed to have assisted the conquest of dry lands by early plants around 450 million years ago and are found today in most land ecosystems. AM fungi have several peculiar biological traits, including obligate biotrophy, intracellular development inside the plant tissues, coenocytic multinucleate hyphae, and spores, as well as unique genetics, such as the putative absence of a sexual cycle, and multiple ecological functions. All of these features make the study of AM fungi as intriguing as it is challenging, and their symbiotic association with most crop plants is currently raising a broad interest in agronomic contexts for the potential use of AM fungi in sustainable production under conditions of low chemical input.
Ecology of Fungal Plant Pathogens
Authors: Termorshuizen Aad J. 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACT
Fungal plant pathogens are ubiquitous and highly diverse. Key to their success is high host density, which notably is the case in agroecosystems. Several hypotheses related to the effects of plant pathogens on plant diversity (the Janzen-Connell hypothesis, the dilution effect hypothesis) and the phenomenon of higher biomass in plant mixtures (i.e., overyielding) can all be explained by the quantitative interplay between host and pathogen density. In many agroecosystems, fungal plant pathogens cause great losses, since in monocultures diseased plants cannot be replaced by healthy plants. On the other hand, in natural ecosystems fungal plant pathogens shape the succession of vegetation and enhance the biodiversity of forests and grasslands. When pathogens are introduced into areas outside their natural range, they may behave differently, causing severe damage. Once introduced, changes may occur such as hybridization with other closely related pathogens or host shifts, host jumps, or horizontal gene transfer. Such changes can be hazardous for both agricultural and natural ecosystems.
Interplay between Myeloid Cells and Humoral Innate Immunity
Authors: Jaillon Sébastien , Bonavita* Eduardo , Garlanda Cecilia , Mantovani Alberto 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACTThe innate immune system represents the first line of defense against pathogens and comprises both a cellular and a humoral arm. Fluid-phase pattern recognition molecules (PRMs), which include collectins, ficolins, and pentraxins, are key components of the humoral arm of innate immunity and are expressed by a variety of cells, including myeloid, epithelial, and endothelial cells, mainly in response to infectious and inflammatory conditions. Soluble PRMs share basic multifunctional properties including activation and regulation of the complement cascade, opsonization of pathogens and apoptotic cells, regulation of leukocyte extravasation, and fine-tuning of inflammation. Therefore, soluble PRMs are part of the immune response and retain antibody-like effector functions. Here, we will review the expression and general function of soluble PRMs, focusing our attention on the long pentraxin PTX3.
Tuberculous Lymphadenitis and Parotitis
Authors: Cataño Juan Carlos , Robledo Jaime 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACT
Tuberculous lymphadenitis is the most common extrapulmonary manifestation of disseminated tuberculosis (TB). It is considered to be the local manifestation of the systemic disease that has disseminated to local lymph nodes, but a high index of suspicion is needed for the diagnosis, because there are several infectious and noninfectious diseases that can mimic the same clinical picture. In recent years, different diagnostic methods have been introduced, including fine-needle aspiration cytology, which has emerged as a simple outpatient diagnostic procedure that replaced the complete excisional node biopsy, and a number of molecular methods which have greatly improved diagnostic accuracy. This chapter covers the most actual knowledge in terms of epidemiology, clinical manifestations, pathogenesis, and treatment and emphasizes current trends in diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis. TB parotid gland involvement is extremely rare, even in countries in which TB is endemic. Because of the clinical similarity, parotid malignancy and other forms of parotid inflammatory disease always take priority over the rarely encountered TB parotitis when it comes to differential diagnosis. As a result, clinicians often fail to make a timely diagnosis of TB parotitis when facing a patient with a slowly growing parotid lump. This chapter highlights the most important features of this uncommon disease.
Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Undergoing in Vitro Fertilisation Or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Jo Junyoung , Lee Yoon Jae 
Published: January 2017

Objectives The aim of this systematic review was to assess the evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on the efficacy, effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods We searched a total of 15 databases through October 2015. The participants were women with PCOS (diagnosed using the Rotterdam criteria) undergoing IVF or ICSI. Eligible trials were those with intervention groups receiving manual acupuncture (MA) or electroacupuncture (EA), and control groups receiving sham acupuncture, no treatment or other treatments. Outcomes included the clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), live birth rate (LBR), ongoing pregnancy rate (OPR) and incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and adverse events (AEs). For statistical pooling, the risk ratio (RR) and its 95% (confidence interval) CI was calculated using a random effects model. Results Four RCTs including 430 participants were selected. All trials compared acupuncture (MA/EA) against no treatment. Acupuncture significantly increased the CPR (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.71) and OPR (RR 2.03, 95% CI 1.08 to 3.81) and decreased the risk of OHSS (RR 0.63, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.94); however, there was no significant difference in the LBR (RR 1.61, 95% CI 0.73 to 3.58). None of the RCTs reported on AEs. Conclusions Acupuncture may increase the CPR and OPR and decrease the risk of OHSS in women with PCOS undergoing IVF or ICSI. Further studies are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of acupuncture as an adjunct to assisted reproductive technology in this particular population.
Predicting patient ‘cost blooms’ in Denmark: a longitudinal population-based study
Authors: Tamang Suzanne , Milstein Arnold , Sørensen Henrik Toft , Pedersen Lars , Mackey Lester , Betterton Jean-Raymond , Janson Lucas , Shah Nigam 
Published: January 2017

ObjectivesTo compare the ability of standard versus enhanced models to predict future high-cost patients, especially those who move from a lower to the upper decile of per capita healthcare expenditures within 1 year—that is, ‘cost bloomers’.DesignWe developed alternative models to predict being in the upper decile of healthcare expenditures in year 2 of a sample, based on data from year 1. Our 6 alternative models ranged from a standard cost-prediction model with 4 variables (ie, traditional model features), to our largest enhanced model with 1053 non-traditional model features. To quantify any increases in predictive power that enhanced models achieved over standard tools, we compared the prospective predictive performance of each model.Participants and SettingWe used the population of Western Denmark between 2004 and 2011 (2 146 801 individuals) to predict future high-cost patients and characterise high-cost patient subgroups. Using the most recent 2-year period (2010–2011) for model evaluation, our whole-population model used a cohort of 1 557 950 individuals with a full year of active residency in year 1 (2010). Our cost-bloom model excluded the 155 795 individuals who were already high cost at the population level in year 1, resulting in 1 402 155 individuals for prediction of cost bloomers in year 2 (2011).Primary outcome measuresUsing unseen data from a future year, we evaluated each model's prospective predictive performance by calculating the ratio of predicted high-cost patient expenditures to the actual high-cost patient expenditures in Year 2—that is, cost capture.ResultsOur best enhanced model achieved a 21% and 30% improvement in cost capture over a standard diagnosis-based model for predicting population-level high-cost patients and cost bloomers, respectively.ConclusionsIn combination with modern statistical learning methods for analysing large data sets, models enhanced with a large and diverse set of features led to better performance—especially for predicting future cost bloomers.
Fibroblast drug scavenging increases intratumoural gemcitabine accumulation in murine pancreas cancer
Authors: Hessmann E , Patzak M S , Klein L , Chen N , Kari V , Ramu I , Bapiro T E , Frese K K , Gopinathan A , Richards F M , Jodrell D I , Verbeke C , Li X , Heuchel R , Löhr J M , Johnsen S A , Gress T M , Ellenrieder V , Neesse A 
Published: January 2017

ObjectiveDesmoplasia and hypovascularity are thought to impede drug delivery in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, stromal depletion approaches have failed to show clinical responses in patients. Here, we aimed to revisit the role of the tumour microenvironment as a physical barrier for gemcitabine delivery.DesignGemcitabine metabolites were analysed in LSL-KrasG12D/+; LSL-Trp53R172H/+; Pdx-1-Cre (KPC) murine tumours and matched liver metastases, primary tumour cell lines, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry. Functional and preclinical experiments, as well as expression analysis of stromal markers and gemcitabine metabolism pathways were performed in murine and human specimen to investigate the preclinical implications and the mechanism of gemcitabine accumulation.ResultsGemcitabine accumulation was significantly enhanced in fibroblast-rich tumours compared with liver metastases and normal liver. In vitro, significantly increased concentrations of activated 2′,2′-difluorodeoxycytidine-5′-triphosphate (dFdCTP) and greatly reduced amounts of the inactive gemcitabine metabolite 2′,2′-difluorodeoxyuridine were detected in PSCs and CAFs. Mechanistically, key metabolic enzymes involved in gemcitabine inactivation such as hydrolytic cytosolic 5′-nucleotidases (Nt5c1A, Nt5c3) were expressed at low levels in CAFs in vitro and in vivo, and recombinant expression of Nt5c1A resulted in decreased intracellular dFdCTP concentrations in vitro. Moreover, gemcitabine treatment in KPC mice reduced the number of liver metastases by >50%.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that fibroblast drug scavenging may contribute to the clinical failure of gemcitabine in desmoplastic PDAC. Metabolic targeting of CAFs may thus be a promising strategy to enhance the antiproliferative effects of gemcitabine.
On a barrier anti-Zeno effect in a special model allowing for an analytical solution
Authors: Namiot V. A. , Shchurova L. Yu. 
Published: January 2017

We consider a situation when observations can increase particle flow across a barrier by many orders of magnitude compared with the tunneling probability (a barrier anti-Zeno effect). It may be of interest for explaining the paradoxical results of experiments on “cold fusion” that has earlier been observed by other authors for various systems. We examine the anti-Zeno effect in a model of a barrier of a special shape, which has similarities with the form of barriers to nuclear fusion in a solid, and moreover has an analytic solution. We have deducted formulas that demonstrate the conditions of increasing the barrier permeability.
Impact of Sex and Contact‐to‐Device Time on Clinical Outcomes in Acute ST‐Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction—Findings From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry
Authors: Roswell Robert O. , Kunkes Jordan , Chen Anita Y. , Chiswell Karen , Iqbal Sohah , Roe Matthew T. , Bangalore Sripal 
Published: January 2017

Background

Emergent myocardial reperfusion via primary percutaneous coronary intervention is optimal care for patients presenting with
ST
‐segment elevation myocardial infarction (
STEMI
). Delays in such interventions are associated with increases in mortality. With the shift in focus to contact‐to‐device (C2D) time as a new perfusion metric, this study was designed to examine how sex affects C2D time and mortality in
STEMI
patients.

Methods and Results

Clinical data on male and female
STEMI
patients were extracted and analyzed from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry from July 1, 2008 to December 31, 2014. A total of 102 515 patients were included in the final analytic cohort. The median C2D time in female patients with
STEMI
was delayed when compared to male patients (80 [65–97] versus 75 [61–90] minutes;
P
<0.001). The unadjusted mortality was higher in female patients when compared to male patients with
STEMI
(4.1% versus 2.0%;
P
<0.001). For every 5‐minute increase in C2D time, the adjusted odds ratio for mortality was 1.04 (95%
CI,
1.03–1.06) for female patients with
STEMI
and 1.07 (95% CI, 1.06–1.09) for male patients (
P
for sex by C2D interaction=0.003).

Conclusions

To date, this is the largest analysis of
STEMI
patients that measures the impact of the new recommended C2D reperfusion metric on in‐hospital mortality. Female
STEMI
patients have longer C2D times and increased mortality. The disparity can be improved and survival can increase in this high‐risk patient cohort by decreasing systems issues that cause increased reperfusion times in female
STEMI
patients.