bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long-term cardiovascular changes following creation of arteriovenous fistula in patients with end stage renal disease
Authors: Reddy Yogesh N. V. , Obokata Masaru , Dean Patrick G. , Melenovsky Vojtech , Nath Karl A. , Borlaug Barry A. 
Published: January 2017

Abstract

Aims
Short-term studies have reported left ventricular (LV) dilatation following surgical creation of arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) or arteriovenous grafts (AVGs), but chronic cardiac structural and functional changes have not been examined or related to clinical outcomes following AVF/AVG. We sought to characterize the long-term changes in cardiac structure and function in patients undergoing shunt creation for haemodialysis.

Methods and results
A retrospective analysis was performed of patients undergoing echocardiography before and after surgical AVF/AVG creation for the initiation of haemodialysis. 137 patients underwent echocardiographic examinations prior to AVF and 2.6 years (median) after AVF creation. Following AVF and dialysis initiation, there were reductions in blood pressure, body weight and estimated plasma volume coupled with modest reverse LV remodelling. In contrast, AVF/AVG creation was associated with significant right ventricular (RV) dilatation and deterioration in RV function. Incident heart failure (HF) developed in 43% of patients in tandem with greater RV remodeling. The development of RV dilation following surgical AVF/AVG was independently associated with increased risk of death [HR 3.9, 95% CI (1.7–9.2), P = 0.001].

Conclusion
In long-term follow-up, RV remodelling and dysfunction develop following AVF/AVG creation and dialysis initiation, despite improved control of LV pressure load through dialysis. Deleterious effects on right heart structure and function are coupled with development of incident HF and increased risk of death. Further study is required to identify patients at greatest risk for detrimental AVF/AVG changes who may benefit from alternate forms of dialysis or potentially ligation of existing AVF.
Outcome in middle-aged individuals with anomalous origin of the coronary artery from the opposite sinus: a matched cohort study
Authors: Gräni Christoph , Benz Dominik C. , Steffen Dominik A. , Clerc Olivier F. , Schmied Christian , Possner Mathias , Vontobel Jan , Mikulicic Fran , Gebhard Cathérine , Pazhenkottil Aju P. , Gaemperli Oliver , Hurwitz Shelley , Kaufmann Philipp A. , Buechel Ronny R. 
Published: January 2017

Abstract

Aims
Anomalous origin of a coronary artery from the opposite sinus (ACAOS) has been associated with adverse cardiac events in the young. It remains unknown whether this holds true for middle-aged patients with uncorrected ACAOS as well. We assessed the outcome in middle-aged patients with newly diagnosed ACAOS by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) compared with a matched cohort.

Methods and results
We retrospectively identified 68 consecutive patients with ACAOS documented by CCTA. ACAOS with a course of the anomalous vessel between the aorta and pulmonary artery were classified as interarterial course (IAC). Each patient with ACAOS was matched to two controls without ACAOS. Major adverse cardiac events (i.e. myocardial infarction, revascularization and cardiac death) were recorded for all patients and controls. Two (3%) patients were lost to follow-up. Thus, 66 patients with ACAOS were included in the final analysis and matched with 132 controls. Mean age of patients was 56 ± 11 years, 73% were male and the mean follow-up was 49 months. Forty (65%) patients were classified as having ACAOS with IAC. The annual event rate of ACAOS vs. controls was 4.9 and 4.8%, the hazard ratio (HR) 0.94 (0.39–2.28, P = 0.89). The annual event rate of ACAOS with IAC compared with their matched controls was 5.2 and 4.3%, and the HR 1.01 (95% CI 0.39–2.58, P = 0.99).

Conclusions
In middle-aged individuals with newly diagnosed ACAOS mid-term outcome is not statistically different to a matched control cohort without coronary artery anomalies, regardless of whether ACAOS with or without IAC variants are present.
Diagnostic sensitivity of abdominal fat aspiration in cardiac amyloidosis
Authors: Quarta Candida Cristina , Gonzalez-Lopez Esther , Gilbertson Janet A. , Botcher Nichola , Rowczenio Dorota , Petrie Aviva , Rezk Tamer , Youngstein Taryn , Mahmood Shameem , Sachchithanantham Sajitha , Lachmann Helen J. , Fontana Marianna , Whelan Carol J. , Wechalekar Ashutosh D. , Hawkins Philip N. , Gillmore Julian D. 
Published: January 2017

Abstract

Aims
Congo red staining of an endomyocardial biopsy is the diagnostic gold-standard in suspected cardiac amyloidosis (CA), but the procedure is associated with the risk, albeit small, of serious complications, and delay in diagnosis due to the requirement for technical expertise. In contrast, abdominal fat pad fine needle aspiration (FPFNA) is a simple, safe and well-established procedure in systemic amyloidosis, but its diagnostic sensitivity in patients with suspected CA remains unclear.

Methods and results
We assessed the diagnostic sensitivity of FPFNA in 600 consecutive patients diagnosed with CA [216 AL amyloidosis, 113 hereditary transthyretin (ATTRm), and 271 wild-type transthyretin (ATTRwt) amyloidosis] at our Centre. Amyloid was detected on Congo red staining of FPFNAs in 181/216 (84%) patients with cardiac AL amyloidosis, including 100, 97, and 78% of those with a large, moderate, and small whole-body amyloid burden, respectively, as assessed by serum amyloid P (SAP) component scintigraphy (P &lt; 0.001); the deposits were successfully typed as AL by immunohistochemistry in 102/216 (47%) cases. Amyloid was detected in FPFNAs of 51/113 (45%) patients with ATTRm CA, and only 42/271 (15%) cases with ATTRwt CA.

Conclusions
FPFNA has reasonable diagnostic sensitivity in cardiac AL amyloidosis, particularly in patients with a large whole-body amyloid burden. Although the diagnostic sensitivity of FPFNA is substantially lower in transthyretin CA, particularly ATTRwt, it may nevertheless sometimes obviate the need for endomyocardial biopsy.
Intensive forestry filters understory plant traits over time and space in boreal forests
Authors: Patry Cynthia , Kneeshaw Daniel , Aubin Isabelle , Messier Christian 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
Because of their scarcity, protected areas alone cannot maintain biodiversity. Therefore, it is necessary to create conditions appropriate for plants and wildlife in managed landscapes. We compared the effects of different intensities of forest management on functional responses of vascular understory plants using the fourth-corner method. We analysed functional community composition along a management gradient that spanned semi-natural forests to extensively managed forests (naturally regenerated cuts) to intensively managed forests (planted forests) in Canada. Results showed trait filtering along the gradient of forest management intensity. In natural and extensively managed forests, where forest retention was high in time and space, persistence traits (e.g. perennial geophytes or chamaephytes, non-leafy stem foliage structure) were maintained. At the opposite end of the gradient, in intensively managed plantations where forest retention elements (e.g. amount of dead wood) were reduced, trait filtering led to species associated with colonization, such as tall species with limited lateral extension. These results suggest that intensive forestry conducted over a large extent may change the functional composition of understory plants.
Turning Train Travel to Account: Locomotion, Femininity, and Diary-Writing in the
Journal
of Marie Bashkirtseff
Authors: Wilson Sonia 
Published: January 2017

Résumé

This essay draws on the enduring nature of Maurice Barrès’s canonization of Marie Bashkirtseff as ‘Notre-Dame du sleeping-car’ in 1890 as the basis for an investigation into the configuration of genre, gender, and train travel in Marie Bashkirtseff’s
Journal
. It argues that by following through the allusions to scandal that were deleted from the 1887 edition of the
Journal
, a link emerges between Bashkirtseff’s precarious social status and her constant geographical mobility. Bashkirtseff’s exclusion from those social sites that were constitutive of feminine gentility resulted in a pattern of train travel and diary-writing that unravelled both the logic of return underpinning the
journal de voyage
, and the protocols of femininity that propelled Bashkirtseff into diary-writing in the first place. It is argued that Bashkirtseff’s simultaneous locomotive travel and assiduous diarizing makes her diary not just a source of data on train travel, but rather the point of intersection of two nineteenth-century technologies: the
journal de jeune fille
as the means by which young girls in the late nineteenth century whiled away the long years before marriage, and locomotion, as a means of shifting the subject through the landscape, more directly and far faster than before. Bashkirtseff draws on each in order to ‘fill in’ the other — diarizing as a means of whiling away the time she spends in the train, and train travel as the stuff of her diary entries.
Presque un livre: l’édition photolithographiée des
Poésies
de Mallarmé
Authors: Valazza Nicolas 
Published: January 2017

Résumé

Parue en 1887, la première édition des
Poésies
date de l’époque où Mallarmé méditait une nouvelle conception du ‘Livre’ rompant avec les conventions du volume imprimé. Si l’aspect fragmentaire et inabouti de cet ouvrage le prive de sa qualité de livre, la rareté de l’édition, son grand format in-quarto et ses attributs plastiques (le frontispice de Félicien Rops et les autographes photolithographiés du poète) le désignent pourtant comme œuvre. En examinant cette édition à la lumière des écrits de Mallarmé sur ‘le Livre’ (correspondance, notes, ‘divagations’), cet article envisage les
Poésies
de 1887 comme une forme de médiation entre les contraintes de l’imprimé et certains principes théoriques que Mallarmé associe au projet du ‘Livre’: la mise en scène de l’écriture, l’exclusivité du lecteur, assimilé à un spectateur, la transformation de l’auteur en ‘opérateur’, etc. Aussi cette édition s’apparente-t-elle à un compromis entre l’idéal mallarméen du ‘Livre’, dont la réalisation se révèle de plus en plus impossible, et l’exigence de recueillir l’œuvre accomplie. En endossant le rôle d’artisan de son œuvre jusque dans la matérialité du volume, le poète en vient dès lors à redéfinir le livre de poésie ainsi que la poétique du livre à la fin du dix-neuvième siècle, tout en contribuant à la genèse du livre d’artiste.
Neighborhood Disadvantage and Biological Aging: Using Marginal Structural Models to Assess the Link Between Neighborhood Census Variables and Epigenetic Aging
Authors: Lei Man-Kit , Simons Ronald L , Beach Steven R H , Philibert Robert A 
Published: January 2017

Abstract

Objectives
Past research has reported an association between neighborhood disadvantage and healthy aging, but most of these studies utilize self-report measures of health or physical functioning and do not properly account for neighborhood selection effects, creating concerns regarding inflated associations. To overcome these limitations and provide a more stringent estimate of effects, the current study investigated the effect of neighborhood disadvantage on aging using newly developed epigenetic methods to assess rate of biological aging and marginal structural modeling (MSM) to account for potential confounds due to neighborhood selection.

Methods
We tested the hypothesis that neighborhood disadvantage accelerates aging using U.S. census data and five waves of interview data from a sample of 100 middle-aged African American women. Using a recently developed epigenetic index of aging, biological age was measured using weighted methylation values at 71 CpG sites. We calculated a measure of accelerated methylomic aging (in years) based upon the residual scores resulting from a regression of methylomic age on chronological age.

Results
Controlling for a variety of individual difference factors that could be confounded with neighborhood effects, including various health behaviors, neighborhood disadvantage was associated with accelerated biological aging. Using MSM to account for selection effects, a standard deviation increase in neighborhood disadvantage accelerated aging an average of 9 months.

Conclusions
Our findings converge with prior work to provide strong evidence that neighborhood context is a significant determinant of healthy aging.
Experimental potting impacts on common UK reef habitats in areas of high and low fishing pressure
Authors: Stephenson Fabrice , Mill Aileen C. , Scott Catherine L. , Polunin Nicholas V. C. , Fitzsimmons Clare 
Published: January 2017

AbstractImpacts of mobile fishing gears on habitat and benthos have been well-documented; in contrast, less studied physical impacts of static fishing gear on benthic habitats are still debated. Pot fishing, is a growing sector in the UK and evidence of any impacts is needed to inform management. This study simulated high intensity experimental pot fishing on the epibenthos of two common UK reef habitats in Northumberland, UK. Single tethered pots were fished in intensively and lightly fished areas over the course of 2 months. Within each area, three experimental sites and control sites were surveyed before and after fishing using photoquadrats (n =  240 per 290 m2 site) collected by scuba divers. PERMANOVA analysis indicated no evidence of epibenthic species abundances decreasing due to physical crushing or abrasion from potting on either intensively or lightly fished reefs. A shift in community composition over time was detected but was attributed to natural change as epibenthos in control sites shifted similarly. Experimental pot impacts far exceeded those of the local commercial pot fishery, providing relevant evidence for statutory governing bodies revisiting current fisheries management. Results are applicable across Western Europe due to the selection of habitats with abundant and commonly distributed benthic species.
Spatial growth variability in marine fish: example from Northeast Pacific groundfish
Authors: Gertseva Vladlena , Matson Sean E. , Cope Jason 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
Marine fish populations exist in a complex environment, with oceanographic and fisheries factors affecting their dynamics. It has been shown that life history characteristics of marine fish vary in space and time. We examined spatial variability in growth of eight groundfish species in the Northeast Pacific Ocean to identify shared spatial patterns and hypothesize about common mechanisms behind them. Growth parameters were estimated in different areas over the latitudinal range of the species, and several hypotheses were tested as to how these parameters vary along the US west coast. Clear differences in spatial growth variability emerged among the species examined. Shelf species exhibit the highest growth rate between Cape Blanco and Cape Mendocino, which may, in part, be attributed to area-specific upwelling patterns in the California Current ecosystem, when nutrient-rich deep water is brought to the surface south of Cape Blanco and is uniquely distributed throughout this area, providing favourable conditions for primary productivity. Slope species showed a cline in asymptotic size (L∞), with L∞ increasing from south to north. This cline, previously attributed to fishery removals, also fits a specific case of the widely described Bergmann’s rule, and we explore specific potential ecological mechanisms behind this relationship.
Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles: a glimmer of hope in treating Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Liew Lee Chuen , Katsuda Takeshi , Gailhouste Luc , Nakagama Hitoshi , Ochiya Takahiro 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
One of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the presence of extracellular plaques resulting from the accumulation of beta-amyloid peptide (Aβ). To date, a definitive cure for this disease is still lacking as the currently approved drugs used are mainly symptomatic treatments. The revolutionary discovery of extracellular vesicles (EVs) has shed new light on the development of disease-modifying treatments for AD, owing to their potential in delivering the therapeutic agents to the brain. The feasibility of harnessing EVs for clinical applications is highly dependent on the donor cell, which determines the intrinsic properties of EVs. The merit of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as therapeutic delivery vehicles, and the proven therapeutic effects of the EVs derived from these cells, make researchers esteem MSCs as ideal producers of EVs. Therefore, MSC-derived EVs (MSC-EVs) emerge to be an appealing therapeutic delivery approach for the treatment of AD. Here, we discuss perspectives on the therapeutic strategies using MSC-EVs to treat AD and the associated challenges in clinical application.
Systematic review of the effectiveness of health-related behavioral interventions using portable activity sensing devices (PASDs)
Authors: Abedtash Hamed , Holden Richard J 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
Background: Portable activity sensing devices (PASDs) have received significant interest as tools for objectively measuring activity-related parameters and promoting health-related outcomes. Studies of PASDs suggest the potential value of integrating them with behavioral interventions to improve intermediate and downstream clinical outcomes.
Objectives: This systematic review describes and evaluates evidence from controlled studies of interventions using PASDs on their effectiveness in health-related outcomes. Study quality was also assessed.
Methods: A systematic literature search was performed of MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases. We included English-language papers of controlled trials through 2015 reporting the effectiveness of PASDs in improving health-related outcomes in any population. We extracted and analyzed data on study characteristics including design, target population, interventions, and findings.
Results: Seventeen trials met the inclusion criteria from a total of 9553 unique records. Study objectives varied greatly, but most sought to increase physical activity. Studies with a “passive” intervention arm using a PASD with minimal behavioral support generally did not demonstrate effectiveness in improving health-related outcomes. Interventions integrating PASDs with multiple behavioral change techniques were more likely to be effective, particularly for intermediate outcomes such as physical activity and weight loss. Trials had small sample sizes but were generally free of bias, except for blinding and selection bias.
Conclusion: There is insufficient evidence to draw a conclusion about the general health-related benefits of PASD interventions. PASD interventions may improve intermediate outcomes when coupled with multiple behavioral change techniques. Devices alone or with minimal behavioral change support are insufficient to change health-related outcomes.
Implementing patient-reported outcome surveys as part of routine care: lessons from an academic radiation oncology department
Authors: Rotenstein Lisa S , Agarwal Ankit , O’Neil Kelly , Kelly Andrea , Keaty Maureen , Whitehouse Colleen , Kalinowski Barbara , Orio Peter F , Wagle Neil , Martin Neil E 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
Patient reported outcomes (PROs) are reports of health conditions that come directly from patients. Use of PROs has been associated with improved patient outcomes, enhanced quality of life, and reduced end-of-life spending. Yet there are still outstanding questions regarding the process of implementing PRO collection in routine practice. In this article, we describe the experience of selecting and implementing PROs in a multisite, multidisease academic medical center–based radiation oncology practice and demonstrate that such large-scale rollout is feasible. We establish that PROs can be implemented with minimal to no workflow delays, are generally seen as valuable by clinicians, and can enhance patient-doctor communication. We additionally detail the challenges involved in selecting clinically relevant PRO questionnaires and the centrality of physician buy-in, easy data access, and clear workflows to successful implementation.
Being a Refugee University Student: A Collaborative Auto-ethnography
Authors: Student R , Kendall Kathleen , Day Lawrence 
Published: January 2017

AbstractIn this article, we adopt a collaborative auto-ethnographic approach to explore the experiences of one refugee university student. Our method involved all three authors systematically analysing narratives written by one of us: R Student. These accounts provide deep descriptions of his life while studying at three different United Kingdom universities and our analysis of them demonstrates that higher education was a double-edged sword for R Student. Our research illuminates how R Student’s past as a survivor of genocide and forced migration, his corrosive and supportive relationships, and neo-liberal policies and practices all intersected in complex ways to circumscribe his agency and inform his experience as a refugee student. This understanding runs counter to neo-liberal policies and practices within higher education which often blame individuals for the problems they encounter and obscure social and relational forces. In describing the operable effects of abstract policies and concepts upon R Student, our study provides a counter-narrative to neo-liberal discourse and identifies systemic issues that may affect other students, too.
Evidence for photoionization-driven variability in narrow absorption lines
Authors: Lu Wei-Jian , Lin Ying-Ru , Qin Yi-Ping , Huang Wei-Rong , Pan Cai-Juan , Huang Hong-Yan , Yao Min , Nong Wei-Jing , Yao Zhi-Kao , Lu Mei-Mei , Pan Da-Sheng , Huang Hong-Qiang , Han Qing-Lin 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
In this Letter, we report the discovery of a strong correlation between the variability of narrow absorption lines (NALs) and the ionizing continuum from a two-epoch spectral sample of 40 quasars containing 52 variable C iv λλ1548, 1551 absorption doublets. According to the concordance index, this sample is classified into two subsamples. Subsample I shows an anti-correlation between the variations of absorption lines and the continuum, while Subsample II exhibits a positive correlation. These results imply that these variable C iv λλ1548, 1551 absorption doublets are intrinsic to the corresponding quasars and that their variations are caused primarily by the fluctuations of the ionizing continuum. Based on our analysis, we propose that there might be two kinds of absorption gas: one that is very sensitive to the continuum variations, and another that is not. In addition, we suggest that in many cases the emergence or disappearance of NALs is caused by fluctuations of the ionizing continuum.
SIRT7-dependent deacetylation of CDK9 activates RNA polymerase II transcription
Authors: Blank Maximilian F. , Chen Sifan , Poetz Fabian , Schnölzer Martina , Voit Renate , Grummt Ingrid 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
SIRT7 is an NAD+-dependent protein deacetylase that regulates cell growth and proliferation. Previous studies have shown that SIRT7 is required for RNA polymerase I (Pol I) transcription and pre-rRNA processing. Here, we took a proteomic approach to identify novel molecular targets and characterize the role of SIRT7 in non-nucleolar processes. We show that SIRT7 interacts with numerous proteins involved in transcriptional regulation and RNA metabolism, the majority of interactions requiring ongoing transcription. In addition to its role in Pol I transcription, we found that SIRT7 also regulates transcription of snoRNAs and mRNAs. Mechanistically, SIRT7 promotes the release of P-TEFb from the inactive 7SK snRNP complex and deacetylates CDK9, a subunit of the elongation factor P-TEFb, which activates transcription by phosphorylating serine 2 within the C-terminal domain (CTD) of Pol II. SIRT7 counteracts GCN5-directed acetylation of lysine 48 within the catalytic domain of CDK9, deacetylation promoting CTD phosphorylation and transcription elongation.