bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impact of repeat FNA in non‐diagnostic and indeterminate thyroid nodules: A 5‐year single‐centre experience
Authors: Saieg M. A. , Barbosa B. , Nishi J. , Ferrari A. , Costa F. 
Published: December 2017

IntroductionFNA is a well‐established method for the preoperative diagnosis of thyroid nodules, but limitations still reside among non‐diagnostic and indeterminate samples. The objective of the present study was to assess the impact of repeat FNA in thyroid nodules primarily classified as non‐diagnostic and indeterminate, with the evaluation of the diagnostic resolution rate after the reassessment of the nodule.MethodsWe retrospectively collected all cases of thyroid FNA at our institution in the last 5 years that had one or more repeat aspirations of the same nodule, calculating the percentage of samples with change in the diagnostic category. Additional collected data included sex, age and interval between the repeat aspirations.ResultsOne hundred and seventy‐eight specimens from 167 patients (140 female, 27 male) with a median age of 56 years (range 11‐90) were included in the study. Among the 86 cases primarily classified as non‐diagnostic, 25 (29.1%) remained in the same category after the first reassessment and only 18 (20.9%) after the second repeat aspiration. Among the 40 indeterminate cases, only 10 (25%) retained their status after the second aspiration, with no change after the third assessment.ConclusionRepeat aspiration of non‐diagnostic and indeterminate thyroid nodules had a positive impact in both groups, with diagnostic resolution rates of 80% and 75%, respectively. The present study therefore endorses the use of such strategy for the initial follow‐up of nodules with no definite diagnosis, especially in low‐resource centres with limited access to modern molecular technologies.
Comparison of glucose‐lowering agents after dual therapy failure in type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and network meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Zaccardi Francesco , Dhalwani Nafeesa N. , Dales Jolyon , Mani Hamid , Khunti Kamlesh , Davies Melanie J. , Webb David R. 
Published: December 2017

AimsTo assess the evidence supporting the choice of third‐line agents in adults with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes.Materials and methodsWe searched randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between January 2000 and July 2017 that reported data on cardiometabolic outcomes and hypoglycaemia for glucose‐lowering agents added to metformin‐based dual treatments. Data were stratified by background therapy and RCT duration, and synthesized, when possible, with network meta‐analyses.ResultsA total of 43 RCTs (16 590 participants) were included, with metformin combined with: sulphonylureas (SUs) in 20 RCTs; thiazolidinediones (TZDs) in 10; basal or rapid‐acting insulin in 6; dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 (DPP‐4) inhibitors in 3; glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1RAs) in 2; and sodium‐glucose co‐transporter‐2 (SGLT‐2) inhibitors in 2. When added to metformin and SUs, after 24 to 36 weeks, rapid‐acting insulin resulted in the largest reduction in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c; 1.6% vs placebo), followed by GLP‐1RAs (1.0%), basal insulin (0.8%) and SGLT‐2 inhibitors (0.7%), with no difference between GLP‐1RAs and SGLT‐2 inhibitors; body weight increased with insulin treatment (~3 kg vs placebo), while the greatest reduction was observed for SGLT‐2 inhibitors compared with all other therapies. Limited data for hypoglycaemia indicated a similar risk for SGLT‐2 inhibitors and GLP‐1RAs. Results for third‐line agents added to metformin and TZDs were comparable, showing similar HbA1c reduction and risk of hypoglycaemia between SGLT‐2 inhibitors and GLP‐1RAs, and a slightly greater reduction in body weight with SGLT‐2 inhibitors vs GLP‐1RAs. Data for 52 to 54 weeks were more limited: added to metformin and a SU, TZDs, GLP‐1RAs or SGLT‐2 inhibitors reduced HbA1c to a similar extent but had different effects on body weight (7 kg and 5 kg more with TZDs vs SGLT‐2 inhibitors and GLP‐1RAs, respectively; 2 kg less when comparing SGLT‐2 inhibitors with GLP‐1RAs). Formal analyses could not be performed for any other dual therapy failure combinations because of the small number of available RCTs.ConclusionsModerate‐quality evidence supports the choice of a third‐line agent only in patients on metformin combined with a SU or a TZD, with SGLT‐2 inhibitors performing generally better than other drugs. In suggesting third‐line agents, future guidelines should recognize the widely differing evidence on the various dual therapy failures.
Pharmacokinetics and tolerability of semaglutide in people with hepatic impairment
Authors: Jensen Lene , Kupcova Viera , Arold Gerhard , Pettersson Jonas , Hjerpsted Julie B. 
Published: December 2017

AimsTo investigate whether the pharmacokinetic characteristics of semaglutide were altered in people with hepatic impairment, assessed using Child–Pugh criteria, vs those with normal hepatic function.MethodsIn this multicentre, open‐label, parallel‐group trial (sponsor Novo Nordisk, ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT02210871), four groups of participants with normal hepatic function (n = 19) or mild (n = 8), moderate (n = 10) or severe (n = 7) hepatic impairment received a single, subcutaneous dose of 0.5 mg semaglutide. Semaglutide plasma concentrations were assessed frequently for 35 days after dosing. The primary endpoint was area under the semaglutide plasma concentration–time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC0‐∞). No effect of hepatic impairment was declared if the 90% confidence interval (CI) for the between‐group ratio (hepatic impairment/normal function) was within the interval 0.70 to 1.43.ResultsSemaglutide exposure was similar across all groups, with AUC0‐∞ treatment ratios for mild impairment/normal function of 0.95 (90% CI 0.77, 1.16), moderate impairment/normal function 1.02 (90% CI 0.93, 1.12), and severe impairment/normal function 0.97 (90% CI 0.84, 1.12). The maximum plasma semaglutide concentration (Cmax) did not appear to be influenced by hepatic function, with mild impairment/normal function treatment ratios of 0.99 (90% CI 0.80, 1.23), moderate impairment/normal function 1.02 (90% CI 0.88, 1.18) and severe impairment/normal function 1.15 (90% CI 0.89, 1.48; sensitivity analysis excluding one extreme semaglutide concentration: 1.05 [90% CI 0.88, 1.25]). In all, 10 participants reported 12 mild or moderate non‐serious adverse events. No unexpected safety or tolerability issues were observed.ConclusionsSemaglutide exposure did not appear to be affected by hepatic impairment, suggesting that dose adjustment may not be necessary in patients with hepatic impairment. Semaglutide was well tolerated and there were no unexpected safety issues.
Biotic filtering and mass effects in small shrub patches: is arthropod community structure predictable based on the quality of the vegetation?
Authors: LANTA VOJTĚCH , NORRDAHL KAI , GILBERT SONJA , SÖDERMAN GUY , RINNE VEIKKO 
Published: December 2017

1. Community assembly is affected by four processes: dispersal, filtering effects (selection), ecological drift and evolution. The role of filtering relative to dispersal and drift should decline with patch size, hampering possibilities to predict which organisms will be observed within small‐sized patches. However, vegetation structure is known to have a marked impact on species assemblages, and plant quality may act as a biotic filter. This challenges the assumption of unpredictable species assemblages in small‐sized vegetation patches.2. Using 32 stands of five shrub species in south‐west Finland, this study investigated whether biotic filtering effects caused by patch‐forming plants are strong enough to overcome the mixing of mobile arthropod assemblages across small patches.3. Stochastic variation did not hide the signals of biotic filtering and dispersal in the small shrub patches. Habitat richness around the patches explained a three times larger share of variation in the species composition than did the identity of the patch‐forming plant, but it had less effect on the abundance of arthropods. A radius of 50–100 m around a patch explained the species composition best.4. Abundance patterns varied between the feeding guilds; the patch‐forming shrub influenced the abundances of detritivores and leaf‐feeding herbivores, whereas the abundances of flower‐visiting herbivores appeared to track the flowering phenology of the plants. Shrub identity had little effect on omnivores or predators. Predator abundances were correlated with the abundance of potential prey.5. The results of this study suggest that community composition within a vegetation patch may be predictable even if dispersal overrides local filtering effects, as suggested by the mass‐effects paradigm.
Refinement of detecting atrial fibrillation in stroke patients: results from the TRACK‐AF Study
Authors: Reinke F. , Bettin M. , Ross L. S. , Kochhäuser S. , Kleffner I. , Ritter M. , Minnerup J. , Dechering D. , Eckardt L. , Dittrich R. 
Published: December 2017

Background and purposeDetection of occult atrial fibrillation (AF) is crucial for optimal secondary prevention in stroke patients. The AF detection rate was determined by implantable cardiac monitor (ICM) and compared to the prediction rate of the probability of incident AF by software based analysis of a continuously monitored electrocardiogram at follow‐up (stroke risk analysis, SRA); an optimized AF detection algorithm is proposed by combining both tools.MethodsIn a monocentric prospective study 105 out of 389 patients with cryptogenic stroke despite extensive diagnostic workup were investigated with two additional cardiac monitoring tools: (a) 20 months’ monitoring by ICM and (b) SRA during hospitalization at the stroke unit.ResultsThe detection rate of occult AF was 18% by ICM (n = 19) (range 6–575 days) and 62% (n = 65) had an increased risk for AF predicted by SRA. When comparing the predictive accuracy of SRA to ICM, the sensitivity was 95%, specificity 35%, positive predictive value 27% and negative predictive value 96%. In 18 patients with AF detected by ICM, SRA also showed a medium risk for AF. Only one patient with a very low risk predicted by SRA developed AF revealed by ICM after 417 days.ConclusionsA combination of SRA and ICM is a promising strategy to detect occult AF. SRA is reliable in predicting incident AF with a high negative predictive value. Thus, SRA may serve as a cost‐effective pre‐selection tool identifying patients at risk for AF who may benefit from further cardiac monitoring by ICM.
Collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) behavioral reactions toward a dead member of the herd
Authors: de Kort Dante , Altrichter Mariana , Cortez Sara , Camino Micaela 
Published: December 2017

AbstractHumans, elephants, chimpanzees, and cetaceans show concern with the death of other members of their species and respond to death in particular ways. Science considers that these species are exceptions and that other mammal species show little or no reaction to the dead bodies of individuals of their species. Collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu; Tayassuidae) are social animals that live in groups of 5–50 individuals maintaining close and complex social relationships. The collared peccary occupies many different environments and it is widely distributed from the south of North America to the north of Argentina. Their behavior is well studied, but we know little about their behavior toward the dead. We directly observed and filmed with a camera trap the reactions of a five‐member herd of collared peccaries to the death of a herd member. We worked on a suburban forested area in the mountains of central Arizona. We found that the herd visited and spent time with the dead body for 10 days after the peccary died. The frequency of the visits declined until the cadaver was consumed by coyotes. Most of the videos showed two individuals visited the dead animal (44%), solitary records were also frequent (39%) and only 4% of the videos recorded three peccaries. Visits were more frequent during the night (64%). Peccaries do react to the death of a herd member by behaving in particular ways. Reactions include pushing at the dead individual, staring at it, biting it, and trying to pick it up by putting their snout under the corpse and pushing it up, and defending it from coyotes, among others. These levels of behavioral complexity for peccaries are beyond those known so far. The behaviors of this herd of peccaries resemble those of humans, cetaceans, chimpanzees, and elephants and show that these groups are not the only ones that react to death.
Experimental manipulation of female tail length did not cause differential allocation by males in the barn swallow
Authors: Hasegawa Masaru , Arai Emi , Nakamura Masahiko 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe evolution and maintenance of female ornamentation has attracted increasing attention, because the previous explanation, that is a non‐functional copy of functional male ornamentation, seems insufficient to explain female ornamentation. A post‐mating sexual selection, differential allocation, may be more common than pre‐mating sexual selection, but few studies have investigated differential allocation by males. Here, we studied differential allocation of incubation investment by male barn swallowsHirundo rustica, a model species for the study of sexual selection, because our previous correlative study demonstrated a positive relationship between female tail length and male incubation investment. We manipulated the length of the outermost tail feathers in females after clutch completion and examined whether males adjust incubation investment according to female ornamentation. Because extra‐pair paternity is virtually absent in the study population, we were able to study differential allocation based on the tradeoff between current and future reproductive investments, rather than the tradeoff between current paternal investment and additional mating effort. The experimental treatment had no significant effect on male nest attentiveness, whereas female tail length before manipulation predicted male nest attentiveness. The observed pattern is consistent with differential access; that is, well‐ornamented individuals have greater access to mates with high reproductive (parental) ability, rather than differential allocation during incubation. Alternatively, males can directly assess eggs in their nests, and thus, as seen in other species, males might adjust their incubation investment based on the egg characteristics of long‐tailed females.
Disentangling the effects of genetic and environmental factors on movement behaviour
Authors: Bombieri Giulia , Fasciolo Antonio , Penteriani Vincenzo , Illera Juan Carlos , Chamberlain Dan , Delgado María del Mar 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIndividual variability in animal movement behaviour is well documented for many species. However, it remains unclear whether this variability reflects genetic variation, environmental variation or a combination of the two. Here, we conduct a cross‐fostering experiment with the aim of investigating the role of these two components in movement patterns during the post‐fledging dependence period and early natal dispersal of 21 eagle owls Bubo bubo. Our experiment showed that cross‐fostering did not influence any of the movement parameters considered. Movement parameters were, however, affected by the age and sex of the owlets. We therefore suggest that individual variability and family resemblance in movement behaviour during the post‐fledging dependence period and early natal dispersal might not be due to the common genetic origin of siblings, but rather that it originates from factors related to the rearing environment.
Floodplain ecosystem dynamics under extreme dry and wet phases in semi‐arid Australia
Authors: Bino Gilad , Wassens Skye , Kingsford Richard T. , Thomas Rachael F. , Spencer Jennifer 
Published: December 2017

Abstract

Ecological networks are a cornerstone of ecological theory, offering an integrated approach to understanding food webs and ecosystem dynamics required for restoration and conservation ecology.

We investigated ecological network dynamics in a large floodplain undergoing extreme variation in water availability, with drought and subsequent flooding representing a resource pulse. We used structural equation models to quantify ecological network dynamics for the Lowbidgee floodplain (Australia), based on surveys over 5 years while the floodplain transitioned from extremely dry (2009, 2010) to wet (2011) and post‐wet (2013, 2014) conditions.

We identified significant associations of species and trophic guilds with inundation at the site and floodplain scale, which allowed us to quantify the strength of biotic interactions within the network and the stability of interactions under differing patterns of resource availability. At the floodplain scale, most taxa responded strongly in distribution and abundance to the 2011 resource pulse, a widespread flood, but this response did not persist during subsequent years of moderate floods. In contrast, fish species, both native and exotic, responded strongly only in the post‐wet period. At the fine spatial scale (i.e., sites), complex responses were observed, with only waterbirds, frogs and tadpoles positively associated with inundation, while fish species showed a range of associations with fine‐scale inundation. Biotic interactions within sites, across all trophic guilds, were predominately overridden by inundation and water temperature, mediated by strong associations with aquatic vegetation.

Stratifying the ecological network to dry, wet and post‐wet periods highlighted varying associations of taxa with fine‐scale inundation, generally responding synchronously to resource pulses, with relatively weak biotic interactions. Associations with site‐scale inundation were strongest during the post‐wet period for fishes and frogs. Only Litoria spp. (Hylidae) tadpoles, waterbirds and aquatic vegetation had positive associations with site‐scale inundation during the dry period.

We conclude that responses of trophic guilds are largely dependent on the way they interact with their environment at particular spatial and temporal scales. Our investigation of this ecological network reinforced the importance of hydrological drivers over biotic interactions, with clear implications for the management of environmental flows, particularly in systems recovering from long‐term flow alteration. Management efforts should focus environmental flows to promote specialist species (e.g., southern bell frog, Litoria raniformis) and Murray hardyhead (Craterocephalus fluviatilis: Atherinidae), waterbirds and aquatic vegetation over the more generalist fish species that have established because of the loss of the natural flow regime.
The promise and perils of using big data in the study of corporate networks: problems, diagnostics and fixes
Authors: HEEMSKERK EELKE , YOUNG KEVIN , TAKES FRANK W. , CRONIN BRUCE , GARCIA‐BERNARDO JAVIER , HENRIKSEN LASSE F. , WINECOFF WILLIAM KINDRED , POPOV VLADIMIR , LAURIN‐LAMOTHE AUDREY 
Published: December 2017

AbstractNetwork data on connections between corporate actors and entities – for instance through co‐ownership ties or elite social networks – are increasingly available to researchers interested in probing the many important questions related to the study of modern capitalism. Given the analytical challenges associated with the nature of the subject matter, variable data quality and other problems associated with currently available data on this scale, we discuss the promise and perils of using big corporate network data (BCND). We propose a standard procedure for helping researchers deal with BCND problems. While acknowledging that different research questions require different approaches to data quality, we offer a schematic platform that researchers can follow to make informed and intelligent decisions about BCND issues and address these through a specific work‐flow procedure. For each step in this procedure, we provide a set of best practices for how to identify, resolve and minimize the BCND problems that arise.
National conceptions, transnational solidarities: Turkey, Islam and Europe
Authors: ÇITAK ZANA 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIn this article, I examine the interplay between the institutionalization of Islam in Europe and the transnationalism of Turkey's Directorate for Religious Affairs (Diyanet). Based on extensive fieldwork in Turkey, Austria, Belgium, France and Germany, I demonstrate not only the salience of the nation‐state prerogative on the part of both European states and the Turkish state but also the tension between national conceptions of Muslim identity on both sides amid transnational solidarities. I also argue that, to a certain extent, European policies of detransnationalizing the Muslim field in Europe also intersect with theDiyanet's transnational politics vis‐à‐vis Turkish/Muslim immigrants in their common resistance to the deculturalization of Muslims in Europe. While European countries try to nationalize their respective Muslim communities into their cultural and juridical framework through reterritorialization, theDiyanethas increasingly deterritorialized its activities to preserve a Muslim identity engrained in Turkishness – hence, the coexistence of both a tension and mutual accommodation between Europe and Turkey.
Effect of precoated carbon layer on microstructure and anti‐erosion properties of SiC coating for 2D‐C/C composites
Authors: Shi Wei , Tan Yi , Hao Jianjie , Li Jiayan 
Published: December 2017

AbstractTo improve the erosion resistant of carbon‐carbon composites, an SiC coating was synthesized on carbon‐carbon composites by the in situ reaction method. They are firstly coated with carbon layer by slurry, and then SiC coatings are obtained by chemical vapor reaction. The effects of precoated carbon layer on the microstructure and anti‐erosion properties of SiC‐coated C‐C composites were studied and characterized. The thickness of the SiC coating increased with the increase in the precoated carbon layer thickness. The different thickness of carbon layer affects hardness of the SiC coatings, resulting in diverse erosion resistance of the coatings. The SiC coating prepared with moderate thickness of precoated carbon layer exhibits the best erosion resistance, and show better resistance at an impact angle of 30° than 90°. The eroded surface revealed that coating cracking and brittle fracture, fiber‐matrix debonding, fiber breakage, and material removal, and the additional microcutting and microploughing at oblique impact angle are the major erosion mechanism of SiC coating for C/C composites.