bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Durable remission of C3 glomerulonephritis with mycophenolate mofetil
Authors: Lioufas Nicole , Finlay Moira , Barbour Thomas 
Published: February 2017

AbstractIn C3 glomerulopathy, uncontrolled complement C3 activation via the alternative pathway results in glomerular C3 deposition and, in many cases, progressive renal failure. Despite advances in understanding of C3G pathogenesis over the last few years, there are no proven treatments. We describe a patient in whom C3 glomerulopathy was associated with renal impairment and elevated serum free kappa light chains. An initial response to corticosteroids was followed by relapse once steroids were weaned, prompting use of mycophenolate mofetil to maintain remission. We discuss some of the diagnostic and therapeutic issues surrounding C3G, including in the setting of monoclonal gammopathy.
A small secreted protein in Zymoseptoria tritici is responsible for avirulence on wheat cultivars carrying the Stb6 resistance gene
Authors: Zhong Ziming , Marcel Thierry C. , Hartmann Fanny E. , Ma Xin , Plissonneau Clémence , Zala Marcello , Ducasse Aurélie , Confais Johann , Compain Jérôme , Lapalu Nicolas , Amselem Joëlle , McDonald Bruce A. , Croll Daniel , Palma‐Guerrero Javier 
Published: February 2017

Summary

Zymoseptoria tritici is the causal agent of Septoria tritici blotch, a major pathogen of wheat globally and the most damaging pathogen of wheat in Europe. A gene‐for‐gene (GFG) interaction between Z. tritici and wheat cultivars carrying the Stb6 resistance gene has been postulated for many years, but the genes have not been identified.

We identified AvrStb6 by combining quantitative trait locus mapping in a cross between two Swiss strains with a genome‐wide association study using a natural population of c. 100 strains from France. We functionally validated AvrStb6 using ectopic transformations.

AvrStb6 encodes a small, cysteine‐rich, secreted protein that produces an avirulence phenotype on wheat cultivars carrying the Stb6 resistance gene. We found 16 nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms among the tested strains, indicating that AvrStb6 is evolving very rapidly. AvrStb6 is located in a highly polymorphic subtelomeric region and is surrounded by transposable elements, which may facilitate its rapid evolution to overcome Stb6 resistance.

AvrStb6 is the first avirulence gene to be functionally validated in Z. tritici, contributing to our understanding of avirulence in apoplastic pathogens and the mechanisms underlying GFG interactions between Z. tritici and wheat.
A Note on US Worker Turnover
Authors: Choi Sekyu , Fernández‐Blanco Javier 
Published: February 2017

AbstractThe length of new employment relationships is of first‐order importance for a number of questions in recent macro‐labour research. We investigate it using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation for the US from 1996 onwards, and document that above two‐fifths of newly employed workers fall into non‐employment within a year. We also find that the transition rate from employment to non‐employment within the first year varies significantly for different groups of the population, increases with the duration of the previous non‐employment spell, exhibits an acyclical or weakly procyclical pattern and a much higher volatility than the unemployment rate.
Are loss of control while eating and overeating valid constructs? A critical review of the literature
Authors: Goldschmidt Andrea B. 
Published: February 2017

SummaryBackgroundBinge eating is a marker of weight gain and obesity, and a hallmark feature of eating disorders. Yet its component constructs – overeating and loss of control (LOC) while eating – are poorly understood and difficult to measure.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to critically review the human literature concerning the validity of LOC and overeating across the age and weight spectrum.Data sourcesEnglish‐language articles addressing the face, convergent, discriminant and predictive validity of LOC and overeating were included.ResultsLoss of control and overeating appear to have adequate face validity. Emerging evidence supports the convergent and predictive validity of the LOC construct, given its unique cross‐sectional and prospective associations with numerous anthropometric, psychosocial and eating behaviour‐related factors. Overeating may be best conceptualized as a marker of excess weight status.LimitationsBinge eating constructs, particularly in the context of subjectively large episodes, are challenging to measure reliably. Few studies addressed overeating in the absence of LOC, thereby limiting conclusions about the validity of the overeating construct independent of LOC. Additional studies addressing the discriminant validity of both constructs are warranted.DiscussionSuggestions for future weight‐related research and for appropriately defining binge eating in the eating disorders diagnostic scheme are presented.
The circadian clock, metabolism and obesity
Authors: Albrecht U. 
Published: February 2017

SummaryIn the last decades, obesity has been on the rise becoming a burden for health care systems. The reasons behind this rise are most likely caused by lifestyle rather than by an increase in gene mutations, because manifestations of genetic alterations would take longer than just a few decades. Lifestyle has a great impact on the circadian system and therefore on the body internal organization of physiological and biochemical processes, regulating various aspects of behavior and metabolism. In the following, I will discuss recent studies delineating relationships between metabolic processes and the circadian system, how metabolites and nutrients regulate the circadian clock and how nuclear receptors can act as metabolic sensors and clock regulators. Finally, I will discuss how clock modulation and feeding patterns influence the development of obesity.
The influence of parents’ voice on the consumption of propofol for pediatric procedural sedation—a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Tschiedel Eva , Heck Victoria , Felderhoff‐Mueser Ursula , Dohna‐Schwake Christian 
Published: February 2017

SummaryBackgroundIn pediatric patients, invasive procedures such as the insertion of a central venous catheter or gastroscopy require deep sedation. It is unknown whether listening to parental voice during deep sedation in children can reduce sedative doses.AimThe aim of this prospective study was to determine the effect of listening to a parent's voice during deep sedation on consumption of sedatives in children.MethodsFifty children aged 2–14 years undergoing central line placement or gastroscopy under deep sedation with propofol were randomly assigned to two groups: (A) listening or (B) not listening their parents’ recorded voice reading a standardized text by the use of earphones. Depth of sedation was monitored by Comfort Score and by Bispectral Index.ResultsMean sedative dose of propofol in both groups was equal (A 0.25 mg·kg−1·min−1; B 0.28 mg·kg−1·min−1; Δ −0.03 mg·kg−1·min−1 (CI 95% −0.08 to 0.01); P = 0.089). Furthermore, complication rate (P = 1.0) and recovery time (A 14.5 min; B 16.1 min; Δ = −1.6 min (CI 95% −6.98 to 3.81); P = 0.60) did not differ between the intervention and the control group.ConclusionListening to parental voice during deep sedation does not result in a reduction of sedative dose in children undergoing short medical procedures.
Medically dependent severe motor and intellectual disabilities: Time study of medical care
Authors: Matsubasa Tadashi , Mitsubuchi Hiroshi , Kimura Akihiko , Shinohara Makoto , Endo Fumio 
Published: February 2017

AbstractBackgroundImprovements in neonatal medicine and pediatric emergency medicine have led to an increasing number of children with severe disabilities requiring medical care, such as tracheal suction, on a daily basis. Most of these children, discharged directly from hospitals to their parents' homes, need home medical support. To provide data for the establishment of appropriate support systems, we analyzed the care for such children in a time study conducted at an institution.MethodsA minute‐by‐minute time study of the work of 33 staff members in a ward for patients (medically dependent severe motor and intellectual disabilities [SMID]) requiring frequent medical care was carried out over 48 h. Data were compared with those from a ward for ordinary non‐medically dependent SMID patients.ResultsTime of life care for medically dependent SMID and ordinary SMID was almost identical, but the time for medical care for the former was 10‐fold longer than that of the latter. Also, tasks involving information exchange and recording of the time of care were performed fourfold more frequently in the medically dependent SMID than in the ordinary SMID ward.ConclusionsMedically dependent SMID children and adults, predominantly with tracheostomies, needed much more medical care and more concentrated involvement of the staff compared with ordinary SMID. This study provides valuable data for the development of support systems for medically dependent SMID children being cared for at home. In addition, it sheds light on the situation faced by non‐SMID children requiring frequent medical care.
Explanation beyond causation? New directions in the philosophy of scientific explanation
Authors: Reutlinger Alexander 
Published: February 2017

AbstractIn this paper, I aim to provide access to the current debate on non‐causal explanations in philosophy of science. I will first present examples of non‐causal explanations in the sciences. Then, I will outline three alternative approaches to non‐causal explanations – that is, causal reductionism, pluralism, and monism – and, corresponding to these three approaches, different strategies for distinguishing between causal and non‐causal explanation. Finally, I will raise questions for future research on non‐causal explanations.
The relative importance of conidia and ascospores as primary inoculum of Venturia inaequalis in a southeast England orchard
Authors: Passey T. A. J. , Robinson J. D. , Shaw M. W. , Xu X.‐M. 
Published: February 2017

Apple scab, caused by Venturia inaequalis, can lead to large losses of marketable fruit if left uncontrolled. The disease appears in orchards during spring as lesions on leaves. These primary lesions are caused by spores released at bud burst from overwintering sources; these spores can be sexually produced ascospores from the leaf litter or asexual conidia from mycelium in wood scab or within buds. The relative importance of conidia and ascospores as primary inoculum were investigated in an orchard in southeast England, UK. Potted trees not previously exposed to apple scab were placed next to (c. 1 m) orchard trees to trap air‐dispersed ascospores. Number and position of scab lesions were assessed on the leaves of shoots from both the potted trees (infection by airborne ascospores) and neighbouring orchard trees (infection by both ascospores and splash‐dispersed, overwintered conidia). The distribution and population similarity of scab lesions were compared in the two tree types by molecular analysis and through modelling of scab incidence and count data. Molecular analysis was inconclusive. Statistical modelling of results suggested that conidia may have contributed approximately 20–50% of the primary inoculum in early spring within this orchard: incidence was estimated to be reduced by 20% on potted trees, and lesion number by 50%. These results indicate that, although conidia are still a minority contributor to primary inoculum, their contribution in this orchard is sufficient to require current management to be reviewed. This might also be true of other orchards with a similar climate.
The welfare effect of a free trade agreement in the presence of foreign direct investment and rules of origin
Authors: Mukunoki Hiroshi 
Published: February 2017

AbstractThis paper investigates the welfare effect of forming a free trade agreement (FTA). To receive tariff‐free treatment, firms must comply with the rules of origin (ROO). Outside firms could undertake either market‐oriented or export‐platform foreign direct investments (FDIs). ROO have the following effects: (i) An infeasible FTA may become feasible by deterring outside firms' FDIs, (ii) an FDI of a less efficient firm could replace that of an efficient firm, or (iii) FDIs made before the FTA is concluded might be eliminated. These potential effects complicate the welfare effect of the FTA and could decrease the consumer surplus.
Gender Relations, Livelihood Strategies, Water Policies and Structural Adjustment in the Australian Dairy Industry
Authors: Alston Margaret , Clarke Josephine , Whittenbury Kerri 
Published: February 2017

AbstractConcerns about water scarcity and consequent environmental impacts are driving major structural adjustment in the Australian irrigated dairy industry. This has resulted in government policy initiatives including water licence buybacks and grant schemes to improve water use efficiency. One consequence is the loss of many small farms and the development of larger technologically efficient farms with altered access to irrigation water. In farm families, who dominate the dairy industry, livelihood strategies, labour demands and the boundaries between traditional female and male spheres of labour are changing. We present findings from an Australian Research Council funded project examining the impacts of these changes on dairy families in the Murray Dairy region. We note that reshaped livelihood strategies and increased labour demands are further entrenching traditional gender relations and that labour is being re‐allocated in highly gendered ways. We note a ‘farmer‐manager’ role is evolving amongst male dairy farmers and a critical but less public role comprising significant input to labour tasks is evident amongst women on larger farms. Drawing on interviews with couples, most of whom were interviewed separately, we examine how gendered livelihood strategies are being reshaped at the same time as the significant contributions of women are being obscured.
Seasonal changes of lower respiratory tract infections in lung transplant recipients during the first post‐transplant year: The Hungarian experience
Authors: Kovats Zsuzsanna , Bohacs Aniko , Sutto Zoltan , Vincze Krisztina , Lukacsovits Jozsef , Losonczy Gyorgy , Müller Veronika 
Published: February 2017

AbstractBackgroundAfter lung transplantation (LuTX) a high level of immunosuppression is needed to prevent rejection of the graft. Together with earlier colonization by pathogens, immunosuppression makes recipients more susceptible to infections, especially during the first postoperative year. As seasonality of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) is well‐known in chronic lung diseases, we assessed seasonal changes of pathogen spectrum and number of infections in the first postoperative year in LuTX recipients.MethodsLRTI were analyzed in 28 Hungarian adult LuTX patients. Incidence and spectrum of microorganism causing LRTI were evaluated according to post‐transplant time and seasonal temperature and humidity changes.ResultsA total of 69 cases of LRTI were registered (average: 1.9 cases/patient; range: 0‐14). Gram‐negative=59, gram‐positive=26, and fungal=31 pathogens were detected, with polymicrobial samples in 46% of all cases. Increased number of LRTI was observed in the cold season (1.68±1.54 vs 0.79±0.92 case/month/patient, P<.01) and significant negative correlations were identified between the incidence of polymicrobial and bacterial infections and temperature (r2=0.1535, P<.05, r2=0.3144, P<.01, respectively). In addition, positive correlation was observed between polymicrobial infections and humidity (r2=0.1403, P<.05). Higher incidence of LRTI was also noted in the cold season, when accounting for the differences in immunosuppression.ConclusionSeasons influenced the incidence of LRTI in the first postoperative year in LuTX recipients. More intensive vigilance for possible gram‐negative and polymicrobial infections is needed in these patients in cold and wet seasons in the continental climate zone, regardless of underlying disease.
How to quantify microparticles in RBCs? A validated flow cytometry method allows the detection of an increase in microparticles during storage
Authors: Gamonet Clémentine , Mourey Guillaume , Aupet Sophie , Biichle Sabéha , Petitjean Régis , Vidal Chrystelle , Pugin Aurore , Naegelen Christian , Tiberghien Pierre , Morel Pascal , Angelot‐Delettre Fanny , Seilles Estelle , Saas Philippe , Bardiaux Laurent , Garnache‐Ottou Francine 
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUNDThe procoagulant and proinflammatory microparticles (MPs) released during storage of packed red blood cells (pRBCs) can potentially modify transfusion benefits. A robust method to quantify MPs in pRBCs is needed to evaluate their impact in clinical trials.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSThe objective was to validate the preanalytic conditions required to prepare pRBC supernatant as well as a method to quantify and evaluate MP variations over 42 days of pRBC storage.A flow cytometry method with size‐calibrated beads was developed and fully validated. Quantification of MPs in pRBCs (n = 109) was assessed during short‐term (7 days) and long‐term (42 days) storage at 4°C, during short‐term storage (8 hours) at room temperature, and after 2 years frozen.RESULTSRepeatability, reproducibility, and linearity of the quantification method were validated, and variations during conservation are presented. There was high variability in RBC (erythrocyte) MP (ERMP) and platelet MP (PMP) levels between RBC units, depending on the filter used for leukocyte reduction. During the 42 days of storage at 4°C, significant increases in ERMPs and PMPs occurred (from 58 to 138 ERMPs/µL from Day 2 to Day 42; p = 0.0002; and from 326 to 771 PMPs/µL from Day 2 to Day 42; p = 0.00026).CONCLUSIONWe use a robust method to confirm that ERMPs and PMPs are present to various degrees in pRBCs and that storage for 42 days significantly increases their generation. This method is robust enough to allow MP quantification in pRBCs and is adapted to evaluate the clinical impact of transfused MPs in prospective clinical trials.
Process mining is an underutilized clinical research tool in transfusion medicine
Authors: Quinn Jason G. , Conrad David M. , Cheng Calvino K. 
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUNDTo understand inventory performance, transfusion services commonly use key performance indicators (KPIs) as summary descriptors of inventory efficiency that are graphed, trended, and used to benchmark institutions.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSHere, we summarize current limitations in KPI‐based evaluation of blood bank inventory efficiency and propose process mining as an ideal methodology for application to inventory management research to improve inventory flows and performance.RESULTSThe transit of a blood product from inventory receipt to final disposition is complex and relates to many internal and external influences, and KPIs may be inadequate to fully understand the complexity of the blood supply chain and how units interact with its processes. Process mining lends itself well to analysis of blood bank inventories, and modern laboratory information systems can track nearly all of the complex processes that occur in the blood bank.CONCLUSIONProcess mining is an analytical tool already used in other industries and can be applied to blood bank inventory management and research through laboratory information systems data using commercial applications. Although the current understanding of real blood bank inventories is value‐centric through KPIs, it potentially can be understood from a process‐centric lens using process mining.
The characteristics of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)‐negative hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Chinese blood donors: a follow‐up study of donors tested negative for HBsAg and reactive for simultaneous nucleic acid testing of HBV, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus
Authors: Guo Zhaofu , Fu Ping , Yin Yijin , Wang Funeng , Yin Yiqing , Wang Jingxing , Liu Yu 
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUNDThe real infection status of hepatitis B virus (HBV) of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)‐negative yet nucleic acid test (NAT)‐positive blood donors is difficult to clarify. Detailed follow‐up study is needed for analyzing the infectivity of these blood donors.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSBlood donors who screened negative for HBsAg and reactive for simultaneous NAT of HBV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were included in a follow‐up epidemiologic questionnaire survey and contributed follow‐up samples for further testing. The follow‐up samples were tested repeatedly for the serologic markers and HBV DNA. The genotypes and sequence mutations of HBV infected by 11 HBV DNA–positive donors were analyzed through the amplification and sequencing of HBV S region.RESULTSOf the 46 donors included in this study, 89.1% were infected with HBV (41/46), including one (2.2%) window period infection, three (6.5%) recovered infections, and 37 (80.4%) occult HBV infections (OBIs). The S region of HBV was successfully amplified and sequenced for seven donors, five infected with Genotype B (71.4%), one with Genotype C (14.3%), and one with Genotype D (14.3%). Mutations in the S region were detected in four donors (57.1%)CONCLUSIONSThis is the first detailed study with multiple follow‐up testing of the HBV infection status among blood donors who were tested negative for HBsAg and reactive for simultaneous NAT of HBV, HCV, and HIV. Most of these donors were infected with HBV with very low viral load. Our findings indicate that it is important to improve the sensitivity of NAT so as to decrease the residual risk of transfusion‐transmitted HBV infection.
A probable case of West Nile virus transfusion transmission
Authors: Groves Jamel A. , Shafi Hedyeh , Nomura Jim H. , Herron Ross M. , Baez Devin , Dodd Roger Y. , Stramer Susan L. 
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUNDTransfusion‐transmitted West Nile virus (WNV) infection is infrequent as a result of minipool (MP) and individual‐donation (ID) nucleic acid testing (NAT) of blood donations. ID‐NAT is triggered on the basis of local WNV activity identified by MP‐NAT.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSA 78‐year‐old male patient who was treated for cardiac disease received 14 blood components from 30 donors in August 2016. He was discharged 7 days after aortic valve replacement and coronary bypass surgery, but was re‐admitted on Day 12 with symptoms of viral infection, and eventually was diagnosed with aseptic meningitis. The patent died on Day 51.RESULTSThe patient was positive for WNV‐immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies in his cerebrospinal fluid on Day 14 and was positive for WNV‐IgM (on Days 14 and 16) and WNV‐IgG antibodies (on Day 16) in his serum. All associated donations were nonreactive by MP‐NAT or ID‐NAT. However, one MP‐NAT was noted to have an elevated (but negative) signal‐to‐cutoff ratio, and one donor from that MP was subsequently found positive for WNV‐IgM and IgG antibodies; the donor was diagnosed with a WNV‐like viral syndrome that had an onset 3 to 5 days postdonation. The donor's plasma was transfused 12 days before the patient's onset of WNV‐meningoencephalitis. Conversion to ID‐NAT was triggered for the region 7 days after the implicated donation, which was associated with the region's first human WNV case.CONCLUSIONDespite the possibility of mosquito‐borne transmission, this was considered to be a case of transfusion‐transmitted WNV infection from an MP‐NAT–nonreactive donation collected just before triggering conversion to ID‐NAT; a rare event recognized once in 84 million donations.