bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prognostic Value of Circulating KRAS2 Gene Mutations in Colorectal Cancer with Distant Metastases
Authors: Trevisiol C. , Di Fabio F. , Nascimbeni R. , Peloso L. , Salbe C. , Ferruzzi E. , Salerni B. , Gion M. 
Published: January 2018

While tissue KRAS2 mutations have been extensively investigated, the role of circulating mutant KRAS2 gene in patients with colorectal carcinoma remains obscure. The aim of the present study was to explore the prognostic significance of circulating KRAS2 gene mutational status in subjects undergoing primary treatment for colorectal cancer. Codon 12 KRAS2 mutations were examined in DNA samples extracted from the serum of 86 patients with colorectal cancer and were compared with the KRAS2 status of their primary tumors. Tissue and serum KRAS2 status was compared with other clinicopathological variables (including CEA and CA 19-9 levels) and with cancer-related survival. KRAS2 mutations were found in tissue samples of 28 patients (33%); serum KRAS2 mutations were detected in 10 of them (36%). Serum KRAS2 status was significantly associated with Dukes' stage D (p=0.001) and with preoperative CA 19-9 levels (p=0.01). At multivariate analysis, cancer-related survival was associated with Dukes' stage (p<0.0001), CEA level (p=0.02), and mutant circulating KRAS2 (p=0.01). All 7 stage D patients with serum KRAS2 mutations died of the disease within 24 months of primary treatment; cancer-related survival was significantly better in 9 stage D patients without serum KRAS2 mutations, with 5 patients (56%) alive after 24 months and 1 patient (13%) alive after 44 months. Residual disease after surgery was evident in all 7 stage D patients with mutant circulating KRAS2, and in 5 out of 9 stage D patients without serum mutations. Serum KRAS2 status may impact substantially on the management of stage D colorectal carcinoma, since it appears to correlate with prognosis in this patient subgroup.
The Possible Role of Chromogranin A as a Prognostic Factor in Organ-Confined Prostate Cancer
Authors: Grimaldi F. , Valotto C. , Barbina G. , Visentini D. , Trianni A. , Cerruto M.A. , Zattoni F. 
Published: January 2018

The clinical significance of neuroendocrine differentiation in patients who have undergone surgery for localized prostate cancer is still unclear. The aims of this study were to assess the relationship between serum neuroendocrine markers and well-known prognostic factors in prostate cancer (pathological staging, definitive Gleason score and serum PSA) and to search for correlations between serum chromogranin A (CgA) levels and pathological findings. Forty-one consecutive patients who had undergone radical retropubic prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer were evaluated. Serum PSA, CgA and neuron-specific enolase were measured immediately before surgery. Twenty-six surgical specimens were phenotypically and immunohistochemically evaluated using an antibody against CgA. Significant correlations were found between serum CgA, pathological staging and Gleason score (p=0.049 and p=0.038, respectively). Serum CgA did not correlate with PSA, patient age, or immunohistochemical findings. There was a significant correlation between positive immunohistochemical CgA staining and Gleason score (p=0.014). An increase in serum CgA levels, independent of PSA values, might be the expression of pathologically more advanced tumor stage and higher Gleason score; this could help to identify a high-risk patient group eligible for adjuvant therapy.
Successful treatment of Providencia rettgeri cholecystitis and neutrophilic cholangitis in a cat
Authors: Newton Patricia L , Fry Darren R 
Published: January 2018

Case summary A 15-year-old male neutered domestic shorthair cat was presented with a recent history of seizures, diarrhoea, lethargy, fever and jaundice. Marked elevation of liver enzyme activity was present and ultrasound examination was suggestive of cholecystitis and hepatitis. Neutrophilic cholangitis was confirmed on histopathology of liver biopsies. Bile culture identified a monomicrobial infection with Providencia rettgeri, which was resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents. The cat was treated with oral pradofloxacin for 4 weeks and remained well 4 months later. Relevance and novel information Providencia species are rarely reported in the veterinary literature and are an uncommon cause of disease in humans. The significance of this species in humans relates to the high prevalence of antimicrobial resistance. This is the first report of P rettgeri causing clinical illness in a cat and highlights the importance of bile cultures in hepatic disease.
Remodeling of the malaria parasite and host human red cell by vesicle amplification that induces artemisinin resistance
Authors: Bhattacharjee Souvik , Coppens Isabelle , Mbengue Alassane , Suresh Niraja , Ghorbal Mehdi , Slouka Zdenek , Safeukui Innocent , Tang Hsin-Yao , Speicher David W. , Stahelin Robert V. , Mohandas Narla , Haldar Kasturi 
Published: January 2018

Key Points
Vesicular system causing artemisinin resistance modifies malaria parasites and host red cells.
Age Does Not Affect Metoprolol’s Effect on Perioperative Outcomes (From the POISE Database)
Authors: Jacka Michael J. , Guyatt Gordon , Mizera Richard , Van Vlymen Janet , Ponce de Leon Dario , Schricker Thomas , Bahari Mohd Yani , Lv Bonan , Afzal Lalitha , Plou García Maria Pilar , Wu Xinmin , Nigro Maia Lília , Arrieta Maribel , Rao-Melacini Purnima , Devereaux Philip J. 
Published: January 2018

BACKGROUND:
Perioperative β-blockade reduces the incidence of myocardial infarction but increases that of death, stroke, and hypotension. The elderly may experience few benefits but more harms associated with β-blockade due to a normal effect of aging, that of a reduced resting heart rate. The tested hypothesis was that the effect of perioperative β-blockade is more significant with increasing age.

METHODS:
To determine whether the effect of perioperative β-blockade on the primary composite event, clinically significant hypotension, myocardial infarction, stroke, and death varies with age, we interrogated data from the perioperative ischemia evaluation (POISE) study. The POISE study randomly assigned 8351 patients, aged ≥45 years, in 23 countries, undergoing major noncardiac surgery to either 200 mg metoprolol CR daily or placebo for 30 days. Odds ratios or hazard ratios for time to events, when available, for each of the adverse effects were measured according to decile of age, and interaction term between age and treatment was calculated. No adjustment was made for multiple outcomes.

RESULTS:
Age was associated with higher incidences of the major outcomes of clinically significant hypotension, myocardial infarction, and death. Age was associated with a minimal reduction in resting heart rate from 84.2 (standard error, 0.63; ages 45–54 years) to 80.9 (standard error, 0.70; ages >85 years; P < .0001). We found no evidence of any interaction between age and study group regarding any of the major outcomes, although the limited sample size does not exclude any but large interactions.

CONCLUSIONS:
The effect of perioperative β-blockade on the major outcomes studied did not vary with age. Resting heart rate decreases slightly with age. Our data do not support a recommendation for the use of perioperative β-blockade in any age subgroup to achieve benefits but avoid harms. Therefore, current recommendations against the use of β-blockers in high-risk patients undergoing noncardiac surgery apply across all age groups.
Electroencephalography and Brain Oxygenation Monitoring in the Perioperative Period
Authors: Scheeren Thomas W. L. , Kuizenga Merel H. , Maurer Holger , Struys Michel M. R. F. , Heringlake Matthias 
Published: January 2018

Maintaining brain function and integrity is a pivotal part of anesthesiological practice. The present overview aims to describe the current role of the 2 most frequently used monitoring methods for evaluation brain function in the perioperative period, ie, electroencephalography (EEG) and brain oxygenation monitoring. Available evidence suggests that EEG-derived parameters give additional information about depth of anesthesia for optimizing anesthetic titration. The effects on reduction of drug consumption or recovery time are heterogeneous, but most studies show a reduction of recovery times if anesthesia is titrated along processed EEG. It has been hypothesized that future EEG-derived indices will allow a better understanding of the neurophysiological principles of anesthetic-induced alteration of consciousness instead of the probabilistic approach most often used nowadays.
Brain oxygenation can be either measured directly in brain parenchyma via a surgical burr hole, estimated from the venous outflow of the brain via a catheter in the jugular bulb, or assessed noninvasively by near-infrared spectroscopy. The latter method has increasingly been accepted clinically due to its ease of use and increasing evidence that near-infrared spectroscopy–derived cerebral oxygen saturation levels are associated with neurological and/or general perioperative complications and increased mortality. Furthermore, a goal-directed strategy aiming to avoid cerebral desaturations might help to reduce these complications. Recent evidence points out that this technology may additionally be used to assess autoregulation of cerebral blood flow and thereby help to titrate arterial blood pressure to the individual needs and for bedside diagnosis of disturbed autoregulation.
BRCA1 novel variation V1736D and in silico analysis of SNP Q356R in Sudanese patients with breast cancer
Authors: Aabdein Mohamed Elmogtba Mouaweia Mohamed , Elimam Alsmawal Awad Mohammed , Altayb Hisham N. , Eldeen Mohamed El-Fatih Mohy , Gasemelseed Mosab Mohamed , FadlAlla Afra AbdElhamid , Osman Marwa Mohamed , Osman Soada Ahmed , Saeed Hajir Ali , Ali Mona ShamsAldeen , Siddig Tomador , Osman Reem Abdelrahman , Elhadi Rehab Ahmed , Hamid Muzamil Mahdi Abdel , Salih Mohamed Ahmed 
Published: January 2018

Background: Breast cancer (BC) remains one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. The BRCA1 deleterious mutation has a significant role in developing BC, and the risk has been estimated to be 46–87%. Many studies emphasize the need for mining BRCA1 gene mutations that might have a role in BC pathogenesis and could affect early disease onset. This study was conducted to screen for possible pathogenic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in BRCA1, targeting three regions: two in exon 11 and the third in exon 20. Methods: 45 blood samples were collected from patients diagnosed with BC. DNA was extracted and selected regions were amplified by PCR using three sets of primers - two within exon 11 and one within exon 20 of BRCA1. Subsets of 10 samples were selected for each primer set (30 PCR products) and sequenced. Sequences were analyzed using various bioinformatics tools. Results: Two missense variations were found, Q356R (rs1799950) in one patient (27 years old) and a novel SNP, V1736D, in three premenopausal patients (≤45 years), which were located within exons 11 and 20, respectively. Both detected variants were heterozygous, a status found in all patients detected with such monoallelic variation. Both missense variants underwent in silico analysis. The well-known variation, rs1799950, was predicted to alter the protein activity, conferred by a mutant residue (R-Arg), owing to the position with a bigger size and positive charge. The novel SNP, V1736D, was predicted to play a role in the pathogenesis of BC. Conclusion: Both variants require further investigation, firstly to assess their contribution to BC and secondly to determine their potential diagnostic value when assessed in a larger population.
Biomass and density estimation of mangrove vegetation using Landsat ETM+: A case study on Muara Gembong protection forest, Bekasi, West Java
Authors: FORESTIAN OKTAMA , PRASETYO LILIK BUDI , KUSMANA CECEP 
Published: January 2018

Abstract. Forestian O, Prasetyo LB, Kusmana C. 2011. Biomass and density estimation of mangrove vegetation using Landsat ETM+: A case study on Muara Gembong protection forest, Bekasi, West Java. Bonorowo Wetlands 1: 80-95. The study focused on Muara Gembong Mangrove Forest, Bekasi District of West Java Province. The purposes of this study were to determine the extent, potential biomass, and density of mangrove vegetation using Landsat ETM+ data in 2001 and 2010. The data is processed by several stages include: strip-filling, importing, stacking layer, subsetting, geographic correction, radiometric correction, image classification, estimation of mangrove biosystem character, and accuracy assessment. Land cover types found in the Landsat scene of the region consist of nine class image classification categories, i.e. sea 1, sea 2, mangroves, open/built area, rice field 1, mixed farms, rice field 2, ponds, and rivers. Landsat images were classified by supervised classification techniques with the maximum likelihood method. Each class of land cover types created 10 training areas. Value of the inter-class separability (transformed divergence separability) image 2001 and 2010 more than 1,900 while the overall accuracy and Kappa accuracy respectively of 99.8% and 99.63% for an image in 2001; 99.61 % and 99.39% for the image in 2010. Based on the accuracy assessment, which is a classified image of 2010 has the highest overall classification accuracy of 83.33%, while the kappa statistic overalls worth 77.29 wide were in Karang Gading (78.99%), Tanjung Rejo (63.76%), while the lowest one was in Paluh Sibaji (20.58%) and Rugemuk (26.43%). The highest salinity was found at sub-districts of Labuhan Deli and Hamparan Perak, while middle salinity at sub-district of Percut Sei Tuan, while of sub-district of Pantai Labu the salinity was from low level to middle. Based on the analysis of the vegetation closeness and canopy width, the condition of the coastal region of Deli Serdang regency mangroves was destroyed.
The design of mangrove conservation area to increase the resilience of Cimanuk Delta, Indramayu, West Java to climate change
Authors: HADIANA HADIANA , SAMOSIR AGUSTINUS M. 
Published: January 2018

Abstract. Hadiana, Samosir AM. 2015. The design of mangrove conservation area to increase the resilience of Cimanuk Delta, Indramayu, West Java to climate change. Bonorowo Wetlands 5: 63-76. Indramayu is one of the coastal areas in North Java that encountered many impacts by climate changes, such as storm intensity, abrasion, and flood that happened more frequently. One of the management mangroves’ efforts to reduce these impacts is conservation. Conservation planning is integrated into one form of designation of conservation areas. The aim of this research was to determine the variable of coastal resources related to protection. It gave the alternative plan of the conservation area as an effort to bring back Cimanuk Delta’s condition toward climate change. The planning in scenario one generated a core zone of about 97,27 km2, limited utilization zone 75,35 km², sustainable fisheries zone 149,30 km², and others 116,07 km² of total aquatic study in Coastal Indramayu (Delta Cimanuk) that have a total area of about 437,9890 km². The plan in scenario two generated a core zone of about 102,07 km², and the plan in scenario three generated a core zone of about 120,45 km. Overall, the location selected for the conservation area is always the same, i.e., located around Cemara, Pabean Ilir, Cantigi, and Pagirikan Coastal area.
NICE guidance on sepsis is of limited value in postoperative colorectal patients: the scores that cry ‘wolf!’
Authors: Herrod PJJ , Cox M , Keevil H , Smith KJE , Lund JN 
Published: January 2018

Background and aims Late recognition of sepsis and consequent death remains a problem. To address this, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published updated guidance recommending the use of the Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (Q-SOFA) score when assessing patients at risk of sepsis following the publication of the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock. The trauma from major surgery produces a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) postoperatively as part of its natural history, which may falsely trigger scoring systems. We aimed to assess the accuracy of Q-SOFA and SIRS criteria as recommended scores for early detection of sepsis and septic complications in the first 48hrs after colorectal cancer surgery. Methods We reviewed all elective major colorectal operations in a single centre during a 12-month period from prospectively maintained electronic records. Results One hundred and thirty nine patients were included in this study. In all, 29 patients developed postoperative infective complications in hospital. Nineteen patients triggered on SIRS without developing infective complications, while 42 patients triggered on Q-SOFA with no infective complications. The area under the ROC curve was 0.52 for Q-SOFA and 0.67 for SIRS. Discussion Q-SOFA appears to perform little better than a coin toss at identifying postoperative sepsis after colorectal cancer resection and is inferior to the SIRS criteria. More work is required to assess whether a combination of scoring criteria, biochemical markers and automated tools could increase accurate detection of postoperative infection and trigger early intervention.
Impact of laparoscopic approach in emergency major abdominal surgery: single-centre analysis of 748 consecutive cases
Authors: Pucher PH , Carter NC , Knight BC , Toh SKC , Tucker V , Mercer SJ 
Published: January 2018

Background Acute abdominal pathology requiring emergency laparotomy is a common surgical presentation. Despite its widespread implementation in other surgical procedures, laparoscopy, rather than laparotomy, is sparingly used in major emergency surgery. This study reports outcomes and impact of rising use of laparoscopy for a single high-volume district general hospital. Methods Data were retrieved from the prospective National Emergency Laparotomy Audit database for a 30-month period. Patient, procedural, and in-hospital outcome data were collated. Temporal trends were assessed and regression analysis conducted for clinical outcomes. Results A total of 748 consecutive cases were recorded. There was an increasing use of laparoscopy over the study period, with 49% of cases attempted laparoscopically in the final six-month interval. Patients treated laparoscopically were at reduced risk of mortality (odds ratio 0.114, 95% confidence interval 0.024 to 0.550) and experienced reduced length of intensive care stay (regression coefficient –1.571, 95% confidence interval –2.625 to –0.517) in multivariate adjusted analysis. Conclusions Laparoscopy is safe and feasible in a large proportion of cases. It is associated with improved outcomes versus laparotomy.
Kurdish women and war-related violence in Iraqi Kurdistan
Authors: Alhamid Lolav M. Hassan 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
This article explores the experiences of various female characters in the period immediately before and during the Persian Gulf War (1990–91), the Kurdish popular Uprising in Iraq, their subsequent mass-exodus to the Turkish and Iranian borders, and the creation of a quasi-independent Kurdish state in the north of Iraq. Studying Qasham Balata’s Runaway to Nowhere in 2010 and Sindis Niheli’s Hizar d Werçerxana da, Bergé Éké (Hizar and the Vicissitudes of Life, Part One) in 2013, the article deals with the lives and experiences of two female characters, focusing on their transformation from voiceless victims to well-informed social and political activists. By incorporating feminist themes of social inequality, domestic abuse, violence against women and women’s social and political activism into broader questions of nationalism and national struggle for liberation, the novels selected here affirm the significant and problematic interplay between feminism and nationalism in the Kurdish context.
Revolutionary critique from exile: Revitalizing the Iraqi communist movement
Authors: Ismael Tareq Y. 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The dramatic period of change surrounding the late 1960s saw the emergence and development of Marxist-informed revolutionary challenges to Arab political thought as well as the region’s relationship with the global Cold War. Into such debates stepped a renewed Iraqi exile community then living in Western Europe. Initially identifying themselves as the Iraqi Revolutionary Grouping (IRG) they would challenge past Iraqi Marxist and Communist commitments, the emerging authoritarian state and global imperialism through a renewed commitment to Marxist-informed social action, support for the Palestinian cause and direct opposition to increasing U.S. intervention into Iraq and the wider Arab world. Their position shifted the Iraq communist movement discourse from its long-standing subservience to Soviet designs, broadened connections and solidarity with progressive regional actors in an effort to reach beyond the state system and privileged the Palestinian cause.
The consequence of an economic boom on the perception of democracy, government performance and public service: Iraqi Kurdistan as a case study
Authors: Bali Ahmed Omar , Abdullah Kanaan Hamagharib 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The economy of Kurdistan has been semi-independent for years, while the Baghdad government had decided to devote 17 per cent of the Iraqi budget towards it. Due to this oil revenue, the budget of Iraq as a whole increased rapidly, and this was reflected in the Iraqi Kurdistan budget. However, in April 2015, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) started to make its economy independent from Baghdad through exporting their oil directly. This study examines the implications of an economic boom on the perceptions of government performance in relation to the provision of public services, the development of democracy and government performance in general. The research adopts a survey method (n=224) with responses from adults aged 18 and over. The research findings suggest that the economic boom reflected negatively on the perceptions of the majority of citizens regarding the government’s performance. The responses indicate that this was because of the lack of public services rather than the development of democracy by the government. The small number of respondents who held a positive perception regarding the government was due to the belief that the government provided sound security rather than sound economic policy and public services with the development of democracy. The research examined the role of demographic and political background as a control variable, and the results showing that, in particular, age, gender, educational background and political affiliation were significant.
Uncanny symmetries
Authors: Ayiter Elif 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
This article is a result of an interest in the uncanny aspects of symmetry that manifest in artworks that have attained such a state of eeriness through electronic means. This stems from a personal image-processing experiment during which the duplicated and reversed pixels were manipulated into a mirror state that, due to its digital perfection, attained uncanniness. This visual experiment will be discussed against a framework of the connectivity of the symbols principle as it relates to visual art; Wolfgang Pauli’s interest in symmetry as a binder of quantum theory and the collective unconscious; the interplay and dependence between symmetry and asymmetry; and especially Sigmund Freud’s 1919 discourse of ‘The Uncanny’ as an answer for the eeriness of the perfect digital mirror.