bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Branching Pattern of the Brachiocephalic Trunk in the Donkey (Equus asinus)
Authors: Akbari G. , Asadiahranjani B. , Goodarzi N. , Shokrollahi S. 
Published: May 2017

SummaryDonkeys are a member of the horse family (Equidae) and share a common ancestor. However, in morphological terms, donkeys and horses are regarded as two separate subgenus. Given variations in the branching pattern of the brachiocephalic trunk (BCT) in different species of animals and the use of donkeys in anatomy courses at colleges of veterinary medicine, we conducted this study in order to investigate the branching patterns of BCT and to describe detailed morphological information regarding donkeys. Seventeen mature donkeys were examined following euthanasia by exsanguination from the common carotid artery under general anaesthesia. Thirteen donkeys were embalmed and injected with coloured latex from BCT origin for better visualization of vessels. Four other donkeys were freshly studied without the embalming procedure. In all cases, the BCT was the only branch of the aortic arch and branched into the left subclavian (LSb) artery, the right costocervical trunk, the right subclavian (RSb) artery and the bicarotid trunk. The main branching pattern of the RSb was the costocervical trunk, the vertebral artery, the internal thoracic artery and the superficial cervical artery. The deep cervical artery branched from the costocervical trunk. The major branching pattern of the LSb was the vertebral artery, the internal thoracic artery and the superficial cervical artery. In donkeys, the external thoracic artery branches from the internal thoracic artery. Results obtained from this study indicate that BCT branching in donkeys has some similarities and differences as compared to that in horses and in the Caspian miniature horse.
Hemodynamic Impact of the C‐Pulse Cardiac Support Device: A One‐Dimensional Arterial Model Study
Authors: Campos Arias Daimé , Londono Francisco , Rodríguez Moliner Tania , Georgakopoulos Dimitrios , Stergiopulos Nikos , Segers Patrick 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThe C‐Pulse is a novel extra‐aortic counter‐pulsation device to unload the heart in patients with heart failure. Its impact on overall hemodynamics, however, is not fully understood. In this study, the function of the C‐Pulse heart assist system is implemented in a one‐dimensional (1‐D) model of the arterial tree, and central and peripheral pressure and flow waveforms with the C‐Pulse turned on and off were simulated. The results were studied using wave intensity analysis and compared with in vivo data measured non‐invasively in three patients with heart failure and with invasive data measured in a large animal (pig). In all cases the activation of the C‐Pulse was discernible by the presence of a diastolic augmentation in the pressure and flow waveforms. Activation of the device initiates a forward traveling compression wave, whereas a forward traveling expansion wave is associated to the device relaxation, with waves exerting an action in the coronary and the carotid vascular beds. We also found that the stiffness of the arterial tree is an important determinant of action of the device. In settings with reduced arterial compliance, the same level of aortic compression demands higher values of external pressure, leading to stronger hemodynamic effects and enhanced perfusion. We conclude that the 1‐D model may be used as an efficient tool for predicting the hemodynamic impact of the C‐Pulse system in the entire arterial tree, complementing in vivo observations.
Significant decreases in blood propofol concentrations during adrenalectomy for phaeochromocytoma
Authors: Watanabe Tatsunori , Hiraoka Haruhiko , Araki Takuya , Nagano Daisuke , Aomori Tohru , Nakamura Tomonori , Yamamoto Koujirou , Baba Hiroshi 
Published: May 2017

AimThe kinetics of propofol are influenced by cardiac output. The aim of this study was to examine changes in blood propofol concentrations during phaeochromocytoma surgery using target‐controlled infusion (TCI) anaesthesia with propofol.MethodsThis is a prospective observational study. Ten patients with phaeochromocytoma who underwent unilateral adrenalectomy were included. Cardiac output was measured using an arterial pressure‐based cardiac output analysis method. The target blood propofol concentrations were adjusted to maintain an approximate bispectral index (BIS) value of 40 before initiating surgery. The settings remained constant during surgery. Blood samples for propofol concentrations were collected from the radial artery at seven time points: two before tumour manipulation (T1, 2), two during tumour manipulation (T3, 4), and three after tumour vein ligation (T4–7). BIS values, the arterial pressure cardiac index (APCI) and haemodynamic parameters were measured at the same time points as the blood samples. The prop‐ratio was calculated by dividing blood propofol concentrations by target concentrations of TCI.ResultsAPCI increased during tumour manipulation and after tumour vein ligation. The prop‐ratio was reduced significantly by approximately 40% and showed a significant negative correlation with APCI. BIS values increased significantly and showed a significant negative correlation with the prop‐ratio.ConclusionThe increased APCI during tumour manipulation and after tumour vein ligation was associated with markedly reduced blood propofol concentrations. These results reveal that significant decreases in the anaesthetic effect may be observed in patients undergoing phaeochromocytoma surgery even if TCI anaesthesia is used with propofol.
Estimating the effect of immortal‐time bias in urological research: a case example of testosterone‐replacement therapy
Authors: Wallis Christopher J.D. , Saskin Refik , Narod Steven A. , Law Calvin , Kulkarni Girish S. , Seth Arun , Nam Robert K. 
Published: May 2017

ObjectiveTo quantify the effect of immortal‐time bias in an observational study examining the effect of cumulative testosterone exposure on mortality.Patients and MethodsWe used a population‐based matched cohort study of men aged ≥66 years, newly treated with testosterone‐replacement therapy (TRT), and matched‐controls from 2007 to 2012 in Ontario, Canada to quantify the effects of immortal‐time bias. We used generalised estimating equations to determine the association between cumulative TRT exposure and mortality. Results produced by models using time‐fixed and time‐varying exposures were compared. Further, we undertook a systematic review of PubMed to identify studies addressing immortal‐time bias or time‐varying exposures in the urological literature and qualitatively summated these.ResultsAmong 10 311 TRT‐exposed men and 28 029 controls, the use of a time‐varying exposure resulted in the attenuation of treatment effects compared with an analysis that did not account for immortal‐time bias. While both analyses showed a decreased risk of death for patients in the highest tertile of TRT exposure, the effect was overestimated when using a time‐fixed analysis (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.52–0.61) when compared to a time‐varying analysis (aHR 0.67, 95% CI: 0.62–0.73). Of the 1 241 studies employing survival analysis identified in the literature, nine manuscripts met criteria for inclusion. Of these, five used a time‐varying analytical method. Each of these was a large, population‐based retrospective cohort study assessing potential harms of pharmacological agents.ConclusionsWhere exposures vary over time, a time‐varying exposure is necessary to draw meaningful conclusions. Failure to use a time‐varying analysis will result in overestimation of a beneficial effect. However, time‐varying exposures are uncommonly utilised among manuscripts published in prominent urological journals.
The anaesthetized rabbit with acute atrioventricular block provides a new model for detecting drug‐induced Torsade de Pointes
Authors: Hagiwara Mihoko , Shibuta Seiji , Takada Kazuhiro , Kambayashi Ryuichi , Nakajo Misako , Aimoto Megumi , Nagasawa Yoshinobu , Takahara Akira 
Published: May 2017

Background and PurposeSeveral rabbit proarrhythmia models have been developed using genetic or pharmacological methods to suppress the slow component of delayed rectifier K+ currents in the ventricle, leading to reduction of the repolarization reserve. Here we have characterized a novel rabbit in vivo proarrhythmia model with severe bradycardia caused by acute atrioventricular block (AVB).Experimental ApproachBradycardia was induced in isoflurane‐anaesthetized rabbits by inducing AVB with catheter ablation, and the ventricle was electrically driven at 60 beats min−1 throughout the experiment except when extrasystoles appeared. We assessed the effects of two antiarrhythmics, two quinolone antibiotics and one antipsychotic drug, which were chosen as positive drugs (dofetilide, sparfloxacin and haloperidol) and negative drugs (amiodarone and moxifloxacin) for induction of Torsades de Pointes (TdP).Key ResultsIn our model, TdP arrhythmias appeared with high reproducibility after i.v. dofetilide (10–100 μg·kg−1) in five out of six rabbits, sparfloxacin (30 mg·kg−1) in three out of six rabbits and haloperidol (0.3–3 mg·kg−1) in two out of six rabbits. The lethal arrhythmias repeatedly appeared and were accompanied with prolongation of the QT interval and early afterdepolarization‐like phenomena. Neither amiodarone (0.3–10 mg·kg−1, n = 6) nor moxifloxacin (3–30 mg·kg−1, n = 6) induced such arrhythmias, even when QT intervals were prolonged.Conclusions and ImplicationsThese results suggest that our model of the unremodelled and bradycardic heart of the anaesthetized rabbit is a useful test system for the detection of drug‐induced TdP arrhythmias.
Enforcement Evasion Highlights Need for Better Satellite‐Based Forest Governance
Authors: Richards Peter , Cohn Avery S. , Arima Eugenio , VanWey Leah , Bhattarai Nishan 
Published: May 2017

AbstractOur recent article, “Are Brazil's Deforesters Avoiding Detection?” demonstrated that focusing illegal deforestation enforcement on the subset of forest monitored by the flagship PRODES system has caused PRODES to capture a declining share of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Deforesters may be purposively seeking out forests not monitored for enforcement. Addressing the problem would help Brazil maintain a cutting‐edge forest governance model worthy of transfer to other nations. Two commentaries questioned our decision to investigate solely PRODES and not additional government monitoring systems. We focused on PRODES because it is the most salient deforestation monitoring system. Other key deforestation monitoring systems are all either limited to the same monitoring footprint as PRODES, not used for enforcement, or are rarely used for measuring forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon. We do agree with the commentaries that Brazil's new satellite monitoring protocol for greenhouse gas emissions estimation is critical progress of the type we were advocating in our original article.
Silver fir and Douglas fir are more tolerant to extreme droughts than Norway spruce in south‐western Germany
Authors: Vitali Valentina , Büntgen Ulf , Bauhus Jürgen 
Published: May 2017

AbstractImproving our understanding of the potential of forest adaptation is an urgent task in the light of predicted climate change. Long‐term alternatives for susceptible yet economically important tree species such as Norway spruce (Picea abies) are required, if the frequency and intensity of summer droughts will continue to increase. Although Silver fir (Abies alba) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) have both been described as drought‐tolerant species, our understanding of their growth responses to drought extremes is still limited. Here, we use a dendroecological approach to assess the resistance, resilience, and recovery of these important central Europe to conifer species the exceptional droughts in 1976 and 2003. A total of 270 trees per species were sampled in 18 managed mixed‐species stands along an altitudinal gradient (400–1200 m a.s.l.) at the western slopes of the southern and central Black Forest in southwest Germany. While radial growth in all species responded similarly to the 1976 drought, Norway spruce was least resistant and resilient to the 2003 summer drought. Silver fir showed the overall highest resistance to drought, similarly to Douglas fir, which exhibited the widest growth rings. Silver fir trees from lower elevations were more drought prone than trees at higher elevations. Douglas fir and Norway spruce, however, revealed lower drought resilience at higher altitudes. Although the 1976 and 2003 drought extremes were quite different, Douglas fir maintained consistently the highest radial growth. Although our study did not examine population‐level responses, it clearly indicates that Silver fir and Douglas fir are generally more resistant and resilient to previous drought extremes and are therefore suitable alternatives to Norway spruce; Silver fir more so at higher altitudes. Cultivating these species instead of Norway spruce will contribute to maintaining a high level of productivity across many Central European mountain forests under future climate change.
Wage Divergence, Business Cycle Co‐Movement and the Currency Union Effect
Authors: Gächter Martin , Gruber Alexander , Riedl Aleksandra 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThis paper studies the impact of wage growth divergence on business cycle co‐movement in the context of currency unions. While the theoretical literature on optimum currency areas highlights the equilibrating effect of divergent wage growth after asymmetric exogenous demand shocks via the external demand channel, recent literature on euro area imbalances emphasizes its dis‐equilibrating effect as a source of asymmetric domestic demand shocks, and therefore suggests a negative link to business cycle co‐movement. Our empirical results reveal that the latter effect has been clearly dominating in the euro area: Wage growth differentials across countries – while of minor importance for non‐euro area EU countries with sovereign currencies – significantly reduce business cycle co‐movement within the monetary union and thus increase the cost of the common monetary policy. The large magnitude of the effect calls for enhanced co‐ordination efforts of wage policies in the euro area.
Detection methods of Cyprinid herpesvirus 2 infection in silver crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) via a pORF72 monoclonal antibody
Authors: Kong S Y , Jiang Y S , Wang Q , Lu J F , Xu D , Lu L Q 
Published: May 2017

AbstractCyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV‐2) is the main pathogen responsible for causing haematopoietic necrosis disease in Carassius auratus gibelio. Although many nucleic acid‐based diagnostic methods have been applied, no stable and sensitive immunological diagnostic approaches have been reported. In this study, to detect CyHV‐2 in clinical samples using immunological methods, recombinant ORF72 protein (pORF72), encoded by the CyHV‐2 ORF72 gene, was used as a capture antigen to identify blood and tissues infected with CyHV‐2. First, ORF72 gene was amplified from the CyHV‐2 genome and cloned into a PGEX‐4t‐3 expression vector to produce pORF72 in Escherichia coli. The purified pORF72 was used as an immunogen to prepare monoclonal antibodies. The Western blotting assays revealed that the monoclonal antibody could specifically identify the pORF72. Furthermore, an immunohistochemical protocol and a blood smear method were established to detect CyHV‐2 in carps. The results indicate that the monoclonal antibody against pORF72 could be utilized as an effective detection tool for haematopoietic necrosis disease in Carassius auratus gibelio.
High C‐Reactive Protein Predicts Delirium Incidence, Duration, and Feature Severity After Major Noncardiac Surgery
Authors: Vasunilashorn Sarinnapha M. , Dillon Simon T. , Inouye Sharon K. , Ngo Long H. , Fong Tamara G. , Jones Richard N. , Travison Thomas G. , Schmitt Eva M. , Alsop David C. , Freedman Steven D. , Arnold Steven E. , Metzger Eran D. , Libermann Towia A. , Marcantonio Edward R. 
Published: May 2017

ObjectivesTo examine associations between the inflammatory marker C‐reactive protein (CRP) measured preoperatively and on postoperative day 2 (POD2) and delirium incidence, duration, and feature severity.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingTwo academic medical centers.ParticipantsAdults aged 70 and older undergoing major noncardiac surgery (N = 560).MeasurementsPlasma CRP was measured using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Delirium was assessed from Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) interviews and chart review. Delirium duration was measured according to number of hospital days with delirium. Delirium feature severity was defined as the sum of CAM‐Severity (CAM‐S) scores on all postoperative hospital days. Generalized linear models were used to examine independent associations between CRP (preoperatively and POD2 separately) and delirium incidence, duration, and feature severity; prolonged hospital length of stay (LOS, >5 days); and discharge disposition.ResultsPostoperative delirium occurred in 24% of participants, 12% had 2 or more delirium days, and the mean ± standard deviation sum CAM‐S was 9.3 ± 11.4. After adjusting for age, sex, surgery type, anesthesia route, medical comorbidities, and postoperative infectious complications, participants with preoperative CRP of 3 mg/L or greater had a risk of delirium that was 1.5 times as great (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1–2.1) as that of those with CRP less than 3 mg/L, 0.4 more delirium days (P < .001), more‐severe delirium (3.6 CAM‐S points higher, P < .001), and a risk of prolonged LOS that was 1.4 times as great (95% CI = 1.1–1.8). Using POD2 CRP, participants in the highest quartile (≥235.73 mg/L) were 1.5 times as likely to develop delirium (95% CI = 1.0–2.4) as those in the lowest quartile (≤127.53 mg/L), had 0.2 more delirium days (P < .05), and had more severe delirium (4.5 CAM‐S points higher, P < .001).ConclusionHigh preoperative and POD2 CRP were independently associated with delirium incidence, duration, and feature severity. CRP may be useful to identify individuals who are at risk of developing delirium.
Improved sampling and analysis of images in corneal confocal microscopy
Authors: SCHALDEMOSE E.L. , FONTAIN F.I. , KARLSSON P. , NYENGAARD J.R. 
Published: May 2017

SummaryIntroduction: Corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) is a noninvasive clinical method to analyse and quantify corneal nerve fibres in vivo. Although the CCM technique is in constant progress, there are methodological limitations in terms of sampling of images and objectivity of the nerve quantification. The aim of this study was to present a randomized sampling method of the CCM images and to develop an adjusted area‐dependent image analysis. Furthermore, a manual nerve fibre analysis method was compared to a fully automated method.Methods: 23 idiopathic small‐fibre neuropathy patients were investigated using CCM. Corneal nerve fibre length density (CNFL) and corneal nerve fibre branch density (CNBD) were determined in both a manual and automatic manner. Differences in CNFL and CNBD between (1) the randomized and the most common sampling method, (2) the adjusted and the unadjusted area and (3) the manual and automated quantification method were investigated.Results: The CNFL values were significantly lower when using the randomized sampling method compared to the most common method (p = 0.01). There was not a statistical significant difference in the CNBD values between the randomized and the most common sampling method (p = 0.85). CNFL and CNBD values were increased when using the adjusted area compared to the standard area. Additionally, the study found a significant increase in the CNFL and CNBD values when using the manual method compared to the automatic method (p ≤ 0.001).Conclusion: The study demonstrated a significant difference in the CNFL values between the randomized and common sampling method indicating the importance of clear guidelines for the image sampling. The increase in CNFL and CNBD values when using the adjusted cornea area is not surprising. The observed increases in both CNFL and CNBD values when using the manual method of nerve quantification compared to the automatic method are consistent with earlier findings. This study underlines the importance of improving the analysis of the CCM images in order to obtain more objective corneal nerve fibre measurements.
Balancing the autonomic nervous system to reduce inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Koopman F. A. , van Maanen M. A. , Vervoordeldonk M. J. , Tak P. P. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractImbalance in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) has been observed in many established chronic autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which is a prototypic immune‐mediated inflammatory disease (IMID). We recently discovered that autonomic dysfunction precedes and predicts arthritis development in subjects at risk of developing seropositive RA. In addition, RA patients with relatively high vagus nerve tone (higher parasympathetic parameters, measured by heart rate variability) respond better to antirheumatic therapies. Together, these data suggest that the ANS may control inflammation in humans. This notion is supported by experimental studies in animal models of RA. We have found that stimulation of the so‐called cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathway by efferent electrical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) or pharmacological activation of the alpha7 subunit of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7nAChR) improves clinical signs and symptoms of arthritis, reduces cytokine production and protects against progressive joint destruction. Conversely, increased arthritis activity was observed in alpha7nAChR knockout mice. These studies together with previous work in animal models of sepsis and other forms of inflammation provided the rationale for an experimental clinical trial in patients with RA. We could for the first time show that an implantable vagus nerve stimulator inhibits peripheral blood cytokine production in humans. VNS significantly inhibited TNF and IL‐6 production and improved RA disease severity, even in some patients with therapy‐resistant disease. This work strongly supports further studies using a bioelectronic approach to treat RA and other IMIDs.