bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Characterization of
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F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake Pattern in Noninfected Prosthetic Heart Valves
Authors: Mathieu Cédric , Mikaïl Nidaa , Benali Khadija , Iung Bernard , Duval Xavier , Nataf Patrick , Jondeau Guillaume , Hyafil Fabien , Le Guludec Dominique , Rouzet François 
Published: March 2017

Background—

18
F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has been recently acknowledged as a diagnostic tool for prosthetic valve endocarditis, but its specificity is limited by uptake on noninfected valves. The objective of this study was to outline the main features of FDG uptake on PET/CT in patients with noninfected prosthetic heart valve (PHV).

Methods and Results—

Our institution’s PET/CT database was reviewed to identify patients with PHV, excluding those suspected of infection or who had received antibiotic treatment. PET indication, valve location, and type (biological/mechanical) and time from implantation were collected for each patient. Images with and without attenuation correction were considered for interpretation. The pattern of FDG uptake (absent, homogeneous, or heterogeneous) was recorded. Fifty-four PHVs (51 patients) were identified, including 32 biological valves. Indications for PET were oncology (n=26), suspicion of prosthetic valve endocarditis subsequently excluded (n=17), and history of vasculitis (n=11). A periprosthetic FDG uptake was present in 47 (87%) and 30 (56%) PHVs with and without attenuation correction, respectively, and the pattern was homogeneous in all but 4 (7%) and 3 (6%) PHVs, respectively. On quantitative analysis, maximum standardized uptake values was greater in mechanical than in biological valves (4.0 [2.4–8.0] versus 3.3 [2.1–6.1];
P
=0.01) and in patients with vasculitis than in those referred for other indications. The uptake intensity did not differ before and 3 months after valve replacement.

Conclusions—
Noninfected PHVs frequently display homogeneous FDG uptake, which remains steady over time. Caution is, therefore, needed when interpreting FDG PET/CT in suspected prosthetic valve endocarditis, with specific attention to uptake pattern.
Offline Implementation and Evaluation of the Canadian Small Lake Model with the Canadian Land Surface Scheme over Western Canada
Authors: Verseghy Diana L. , MacKay Murray D. 
Published: March 2017

Abstract
The Canadian Small Lake Model (CSLM), version 2, was run with the Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS), version 3.6.1, in an offline regional test over western Canada. Forcing data were derived from ERA-Interim and downscaled using the fifth-generation Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM5). The forcing precipitation field was adjusted using monthly data from the Canadian Gridded Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies (CANGRD) observation-based dataset. The modeled surface air temperature was evaluated against CANGRD data, the modeled albedo against MODIS data, and the modeled snow water equivalent against Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) and Global Snow Monitoring for Climate Research (GlobSnow) data. The lake simulation itself was evaluated using the Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) Reprocessing for Climate: Lake Surface Water Temperature and Ice Cover (ARC-Lake) dataset. Summer surface lake temperatures and the lake ice formation and breakup periods were well simulated, except for slight warm/cold summer/fall surface temperature biases, early ice breakup, and early ice formation, consistent with warm/cold biases in the climate simulation. Tests were carried out to investigate the sensitivity of the CSLM simulation to the default values assigned to the shortwave extinction coefficient and the average lake depth, and changing the former from 0.5 to 2.0 m−1 and the latter from 10.0 to 50.0 or 5.0 m had minimal effects on the simulation. Comparisons of the average annual variations of the simulated net shortwave radiation, turbulent fluxes, snowpack, and maximum and minimum daily surface temperatures between the land and the lake fractions for tundra, boreal, and southern regions showed patterns consistent with those expected. Finally, a test of the CSLM over the large resolved lakes in the model domain demonstrated a performance comparable to that for subgrid lakes.
An Edge-Referenced Surface Fresh Layer in the Beaufort Sea Seasonal Ice Zone
Authors: Dewey Sarah R. , Morison James H. , Zhang Jinlun 
Published: March 2017

AbstractTo understand the factors causing the interannual variations in the summer retreat of the Beaufort Sea ice edge, Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys (SIZRS) aboard U.S. Coast Guard Arctic Domain Awareness flights were made monthly from June to October in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The seasonal ice zone (SIZ) is where sea ice melts and reforms annually and encompasses the nominally narrower marginal ice zone (MIZ) where a mix of open-ocean and ice pack processes prevail. Thus, SIZRS provides a regional context for the smaller-scale MIZ processes. Observations with aircraft expendable conductivity–temperature–depth probes reveal a salinity pattern associated with large-scale gyre circulation and the seasonal formation of a shallow (~20 m) fresh layer moving with the ice edge position. Repeat occupations of the SIZRS lines from 72° to 76°N on 140° and 150°W allow a comparison of observed hydrography to atmospheric indices. Using this relationship, the basinwide salinity signals are separated from the fresh layer associated with the ice edge. While this layer extends northward under the ice edge as the melt season progresses, low salinities and warm temperatures appear south of the edge. Within this fresh layer, average salinity is correlated with distance from the ice edge. The salinity observations suggest that the upper-ocean freshening over the summer is dominated by local sea ice melt and vertical mixing. A Price–Weller–Pinkel model analysis reveals that observed changes in heat content and density structure are also consistent with a 1D mixing process.
High School Dropout, Resource Attainment, and Criminal Convictions
Authors: Bäckman Olof 
Published: March 2017

Objectives: To examine the effect of high school dropout on subsequent criminal convictions and how postdropout resource attainment in terms of education and employment may modify such an effect. Methods: Propensity score matching (PSM) using administrative register data covering two full Swedish birth cohorts is employed to assess the effect of dropout on convictions. Event history analysis is used to examine the modifying effect of subsequent resource attainment. Results: The PSM analysis reveals an effect of dropout on convictions for men, whereas no evidence of such an effect is found for women. Returning to school after dropout significantly reduces the crime-inducing effect of dropout among men. Finding occupation after dropout also reduces the risk for criminal conviction but does so independently of the effect of dropout. Conclusion: Since resource attainment after the dropout event modifies the effect on criminal convictions, it is concluded that policies such as lifelong learning strategies promoting opportunities for a “second chance” may, besides their intended consequences, also have crime preventive side effects.
Social Movements in Chile (1983–2013): Four Theoretical and Historical Moments
Authors: Vázquez Mónica Iglesias 
Published: March 2017

During the 1980s, the study of social movements became a central element of Chilean social thought. In the context of the struggle against the dictatorship, the forms of organization and protest deployed by the popular sectors attracted the attention of academics and politicians in an attempt to determine their nature and democratizing potential. Hegemonic sociology concluded that social movements did not exist in Chile and that social mobilizations had to be subordinate to the strategy of political parties, thereby bestowing a “scientific” status on the social-political divide. In the 1990s, with the end of the dictatorship, those sociologists abandoned the study of social movements. Only social history persisted in the understanding of the formation of popular subjectivities, contributing tools for characterizing the popular realm and the most recent outbreaks of protest and mobilization. El estudio de los movimientos sociales se constituyó como un eje central del pensamiento social chileno en la década de los ochenta. En el contexto de la lucha contra la dictadura, las formas de organización y de protesta desplegadas por los sectores populares concitaron la atención de académicos y políticos, en aras de establecer su carácter y potencialidad democratizadora. La sociología hegemónica concluyó que no existían movimientos sociales en Chile, y que las movilizaciones sociales debían subordinarse a la estrategia de los partidos políticos, dotando de “cientificidad” la escisión entre lo social y lo político. En los noventa, con el fin de la dictadura, aquellos sociólogos abandonaron el estudio de los movimientos sociales. Sólo la historia social perseveró en la comprensión de la constitución de las subjetividades populares, aportando herramientas para la caracterización del mundo popular y de los más recientes estallidos de protesta y movilización.
Treatment of incompetent perforators in recurrent venous insufficiency with adhesive embolization and sclerotherapy
Authors: Prasad BP Krishna , Joy Binu , Toms Ajith , Sleeba Teena 
Published: March 2017

Recurrent lower limb venous insufficiency is often a challenge in clinical practice and is most commonly due to incompetent perforators. Many of these patients do not have adequate symptom relief with compression and require some form of treatment for incompetent perforator interruption. Various treatment methods have been tried with different efficiencies. Objective To evaluate the feasibility, efficiency and safety of an outpatient combined cyanoacrylate adhesion–sodium tetradecyl sulphate sclerotherapy for treatment of patients with symptoms of persistent or recurrent lower limb venous insufficiency secondary to incompetent perforators. Methods Eighty-three limbs of 69 patients with symptoms of persistent or recurrent lower limb venous insufficiency secondary to incompetent perforators were treated with cyanoacrylate embolization of incompetent perforators and sclerotherapy of dilated collateral veins (surface branch varicose veins). Technical success, procedural pain, perforator occlusion, venous occlusion, clinical improvement and ulcer healing were assessed. Follow-up was done three- and six-month post-procedure. Results Procedure could be successfully performed in all patients. One hundred and ninety-one perforators were treated in total. Perforator and varicose veins occlusion rate was 100%. Deep venous extension of cyanoacrylate occurred in four (4.8%) patients, with no adverse clinical outcome. Venous clinical severity score improved from a baseline of 8.18 ± 3.60 to 4.30 ± 2.48 on three-month follow-up and 2.42 ± 1.52 on six-month follow-up (p < 0.0001). All ulcers showed complete healing within three months. Significant prolonged thrombophlebitis occurred in 38.5% of limbs. Conclusion Combined cyanoacrylate adhesion and setrol sclerotherapy is technically easy, has a lot of advantages including being an outpatient procedure and highly efficacious but with a guarded safety profile.
Incidence and risk factors for rectal pain after laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery
Authors: Lee Jin Young , Kim Hee Cheol , Huh Jung Wook , Sim Woo Seog , Lim Hyun Young , Lee Eun Kyung , Park Hui Gyeong , Bang Yu Jeong 
Published: March 2017

Objective This study was performed to investigate the incidence of and potential risk factors for rectal pain after laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data from 300 patients who underwent laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery. We assessed the presence of rectal pain and categorized patients into Group N (no rectal pain) or Group P (rectal pain). Results In total, 288 patients were included. Of these patients, 39 (13.5%) reported rectal pain and 14 (4.9%) had rectal pain that persisted for >3 months. Univariate analysis revealed that patients in Group P had more preoperative chemoradiotherapy, more ileostomies, longer operation times, more anastomotic margins of <2 cm from the anal verge, more anastomotic leakage, and longer hospital stays. Multivariate analysis identified an anastomotic margin of <2 cm from the anal verge and a long operation time as risk factors. The presence of diabetes mellitus was a negative predictor of rectal pain. Conclusions In this study, the incidence of rectal pain after laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery was 13.5%. An anastomotic margin of <2 cm from the anal verge and a long operation time were risk factors for rectal pain. The presence of diabetes mellitus was a negative predictor of rectal pain. Thus, the possibility of postoperative rectal pain should be discussed preoperatively with patients with these risk factors.
Evaluation of health-related quality of life in patients with tuberculosis who completed treatment in Kiribati
Authors: Li Cheng-Ting , Chu Kuei-Hui , Reiher Bereka , Kienene Takeieta , Chien Li-Yin 
Published: March 2017

Objective To examine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and related factors among patients with smear-positive and smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) within 2 years after completion of directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS), and to compare their HRQoL with a comparison group of community-dwelling individuals without TB in South Tarawa, Kiribati. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 206 pulmonary TB patients who had completed DOTS and 214 individuals without TB, from July to September 2012. HRQoL was measured using the Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36). Results The patients with TB had a statistically significantly higher physical component summary (PCS) score and mental component summary (MCS) score on the SF-36 than the comparison group after adjustment for background characteristics. However, the differences did not exceed the 3-point threshold for clinically significant differences. Multiple liner regression showed that older age and presence of persistent symptoms after completion of DOTS were related to a lower PCS score in TB patients. Patients who were smear-positive before DOTS treatment had higher MCS scores than those who were smear-negative. Conclusions Our results suggest the effectiveness of DOTS treatment. Health professionals can enhance HRQoL among posttreatment TB patients by managing their symptoms.
Ethically providing Routine HIV testing services to bereaved populations
Authors: Burmen Barbara , Mogunde Joseph O , Kwaro Daniel PO 
Published: March 2017

Background: The delivery of public health policies may be in conflict with individualism. Objectives: To propose measures to ethically provide routine HIV testing services to persons visiting a funeral home. Research design: A document analysis of study documents and presentations made to an institutional review board. Participants and research context: Institutional review board members (both lay and professionals) and Study investigators attending an `open session' where study investigators were invited to elaborate on some study procedures. Ethical considerations: Identities of all parties were anonymized. Findings: Opt-out approaches to HIV testing, grief counseling, relational ethics, and a modular consenting process were proposed to safeguard clients' autonomy. The golden-rule approach and protective empowering were suggested to protect clientele beneficence. Discussion and conclusion: It is possible to ethically provide universal HIV testing and counseling services among grieving populations in this setting; elsewhere, this should be contextualized.
Restricted feeding modulates the daily variations of liver glutamate dehydrogenase activity, expression, and histological location
Authors: Vázquez-Martínez Olivia , Méndez Isabel , Turrubiate Isaías , Valente-Godínez Héctor , Pérez-Mendoza Moisés , García-Tejada Paola , Díaz-Muñoz Mauricio 
Published: March 2017

Glutamate dehydrogenase is an important enzyme in the hepatic regulation of nitrogen and energy metabolism. It catalyzes one of the most relevant anaplerotic reactions. Although its relevance in liver homeostasis has been widely described, its daily pattern and responsiveness to restricted feeding protocols has not been studied. We explored the daily variations of liver glutamate dehydrogenase transcription, protein, activity, and histochemical and subcellular location in a protocol of daytime food synchronization in rats. Restricted feeding involved food access for 2 h each day for three weeks. Control groups included food ad libitum as well as acute fasting (21 h fasting) and refeeding (22 h fasting followed by 2 h of food access). Glutamate dehydrogenase mRNA, protein, activity, and histological location were measured every 3 h by qPCR, Western blot, spectrophotometry, and immunohistochemistry, respectively, to generate 24-h profiles. Restricted feeding promoted higher levels of mitochondrial glutamate dehydrogenase protein and activity, as well as a loss of 24-h rhythmicity, in comparison to ad libitum conditions. The rhythmicity of glutamate dehydrogenase activity detected in serum was changed. The data demonstrated that daytime restricted feeding enhanced glutamate dehydrogenase protein and activity levels in liver mitochondria, changed the rhythmicity of its mRNA and serum activity, but without effect in its expression in hepatocytes surrounding central and portal veins. These results could be related to the adaptation in nitrogen and energy metabolism that occurs in the liver during restricted feeding and the concomitant expression of the food entrainable oscillator. Impact statement For the first time, we are reporting the changes in daily rhythmicity of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) mRNA, protein and activity that occur in the liver during the expression of the food entrained oscillator (FEO). These results are part of the metabolic adaptations that modulate the hepatic timing system when the protocol of daytime restricted feeding is applied. As highlight, it was demonstrated higher GDH protein and activity in the mitochondrial fraction. These results contribute to a better understanding of the influence of the FEO in the energy and nitrogen handling in the liver. They could also be significant in the pathophysiology of hepatic diseases related with circadian abnormalities.
Predictors of obstructive sleep apnoea in patients admitted for acute coronary syndrome
Authors: de Batlle Jordi , Turino Cecilia , Sánchez-de-la-Torre Alicia , Abad Jorge , Duran-Cantolla Joaquín , McEvoy R. Douglas , Antic Nick A. , Mediano Olga , Cabriada Valentín , Masdeu Maria José , Teran Joaquín , Valls Joan , Barbé Ferran , Sánchez-de-la-Torre Manuel 
Published: March 2017

Identifying undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients in cardiovascular clinics could improve their management. Aiming to build an OSA predictive model, a broad analysis of clinical variables was performed in a cohort of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients.Sociodemographic, anthropometric, life-style and pharmacological variables were recorded. Clinical measures included blood pressure, electrocardiography, echocardiography, blood count, troponin levels and a metabolic panel. OSA was diagnosed using respiratory polygraphy. Logistic regression models and classification and regression trees were used to create predictive models.A total of 978 patients were included (298 subjects with apnoea–hypopnoea index (AHI) <15 events·h−1and 680 with AHI ≥15 events·h−1). Age, BMI, Epworth sleepiness scale, peak troponin levels and use of calcium antagonists were the main determinants of AHI ≥15 events·h−1(C statistic 0.71; sensitivity 94%; specificity 24%). Age, BMI, blood triglycerides, peak troponin levels and Killip class ≥II were determinants of AHI ≥30 events·h−1(C statistic of 0.67; sensitivity 31%; specificity 86%).Although a set of variables associated with OSA was identified, no model could successfully predict OSA in patients admitted for ACS. Given the high prevalence of OSA, the authors propose respiratory polygraphy as a to-be-explored strategy to identify OSA in ACS patients.
Early computed tomography modifications following bronchial thermoplasty in patients with severe asthma
Authors: Debray Marie-Pierre , Dombret Marie-Christine , Pretolani Marina , Thabut Gabriel , Alavoine Loubna , Brillet Pierre-Yves , Taillé Camille , Khalil Antoine , Chanez Pascal , Aubier Michel 
Published: March 2017

Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is a recent, promising and well-tolerated technique for the treatment of severe asthma. By delivering thermal energy to the airway wall, this procedure can induce early pulmonary opacities seen on computed tomography (CT). We aimed to examine early CT modifications induced by BT and to determine their association with respiratory symptoms.Unenhanced chest CT was performed the day after each BT session in 13 patients with severe asthma, leading to the examination of 38 treated lobes. A total of 15 BT-treated lobes were evaluated in 11 patients at 1 month. The first two patients also underwent CT at 1 week.No symptoms suggestive of pulmonary infection were noted following BT in any patient. Peribronchial consolidations and ground-glass opacities were observed in all treated lobes on day 1, with three lower lobes showing complete collapse. Mild involvement of an adjacent untreated lobe was observed in 12 out of 38 (32%) cases. Opacities had decreased in 5 out of 15 (33%) and disappeared in 10 out of 15 (67%) at 1 month.BT induced early pulmonary peribronchial hyperdensities in all treated lobes. These alterations were unrelated to clinical symptoms and spontaneously decreased or disappeared after 1 month.
Integrating Palliative Care Services in Ambulatory Oncology: An Application of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System
Authors: Rauenzahn Sherri L. , Schmidt Susanne , Aduba Ifeoma O. , Jones Jessica T. , Ali Nazneen , Tenner Laura L. 
Published: March 2017

Purpose: Research in palliative care demonstrates improvements in overall survival, quality of life, symptom management, and reductions in the cost of care. Despite the American Society of Clinical Oncology recommendation for early concurrent palliative care in patients with advanced cancer and high symptom burden, integrating palliative services is challenging. Our aims were to quantitatively describe the palliative referral rates and symptom burden in a South Texas cancer center and establish a palliative referral system by implementing the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS). Methods: As part of our Plan-Do-Study-Act process, all staff received an educational overview of the ESAS tool and consultation ordering process. The ESAS form was then implemented across five ambulatory oncology clinics to assess symptom burden and changes therein longitudinally. Referral rates and symptom assessment scores were tracked as metrics for quality improvement. Results: On average, one patient per month was referred before implementation of the intervention compared with 10 patients per month after implementation across all clinics. In five sample clinics, 607 patients completed the initial assessment, and 430 follow-up forms were collected over 5 months, resulting in a total of 1,037 scores collected in REDCap. The mean ESAS score for initial patient visits was 20.0 (standard deviation, 18.1), and referred patients had an initial mean score of 39.0 (standard deviation, 19.0). Conclusion: This project highlights the low palliative care consultation rate, high symptom burden of oncology patients, and underuse of services by oncologists despite improvements with the introduction of a symptom assessment form and referral system.