bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Standardizing Second-Trimester Medical Termination: Effects on Clinical Outcomes
Authors: Wyatt Michelle , Tolcher Mary 
Published: January 2018

Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate length of induction and postdelivery complications before and after implementation of a standardized approach to second-trimester medical termination of pregnancy.
Study Design This was a retrospective cohort study of all women undergoing medical termination of pregnancy between 130/7 and 266/7 weeks of gestation at a single, academic institution from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2015. The primary outcome was the time from the start of induction of labor to delivery of the fetus. Postdelivery complications including the need for dilation and curettage (D&C), blood transfusion, and readmission to the hospital were secondary outcomes of interest.
Results A total of 62 women met inclusion criteria; 38 before and 24 after the intervention. There were no differences in measured baseline characteristics (p > 0.05). There was a significant decrease in induction time after the intervention (12.3 compared with 8.6 hours, p = 0.031). There was no significant difference in rates of D&C or other measured complications (p > 0.05).
Conclusion Implementation of a standardized clinical guideline for second-trimester medical termination was associated with a decrease in length of induction. There was no significant difference in need for D&C or postdelivery complications; however, we were underpowered for these secondary outcomes.
Tatort Klinik
Authors: Beine Karl H. 
Published: January 2018

Zusammenfassung
Tötungsserien in deutschen Krankenhäusern Hinter vorgehaltener Hand heißen sie Vollstrecker oder Todesengel, dennoch hat sie lange
Zeit niemand aufgehalten, und so gibt es in Deutschland bisher sieben Täter, die nachgewiesen insgesamt 56 Patienten umgebracht haben,
wahrscheinlich sind es mehr. Wie wird ein Mensch, dessen Aufgabe es eigentlich ist, Leben zu retten, zum Täter, der Leben nimmt? Unser Autor
Karl H. Beine hat die überführten Täter unter die Lupe genommen: ihre Profile, ihre Motive, ihre Täterwerdung. Und er beschreibt, wie es
geschehen konnte, dass sie nicht früher entdeckt und aufgehalten wurden.
Bogengangsdehiszenz: Verschlussoperationen mit niedriger Komplikationsrate
Authors: Volkenstein Stefan 
Published: January 2018

Xie Y et al. Surgical Complications from Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome Repair: Two Decades of Experience. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg
2017; 157: 273–280
Die Bogengangsdehiszenz ist eine seltene Erkrankung des Gleichgewichtsorgans und kann chirurgisch durch eine Verschlussoperation behandelt
werden. Wie oft es dabei zu allgemeinen Komplikationen kommt, und welche Risikofaktoren diese beeinflussen, haben Xie und
Kolleginnen/Kollegen auf Basis von 242 Fallberichten aus zwei Jahrzehnten ausgewertet.
Familiäre Herkunftsbedingungen und die sexuelle Entwicklung von Kindern und Jugendlichen – ein empirischer
Überblick
Authors: Weller Konrad , Bathke Gustav-Wilhelm 
Published: January 2018

ZusammenfassungSexuelle Bildung findet im Spannungsfeld zwischen Familie und außerfamiliären Sozialisationsinstanzen statt. Professionelle
Sexualpädagog*innen benötigen deshalb Kenntnisse auch zu familiärer Sexualerziehung und über den Zusammenhang familiärer
Herkunftsbedingungen und sexueller Entwicklung. Angesichts der in der Bundesrepublik seit 2014 geführten Debatte zum Verhältnis von
familiärer und außerfamiliärer sexueller Bildung werden in folgendem Beitrag empirische Befunde ausgewählter Studien zu familiären
Herkunftsbedingungen in ihrer Bedeutung für die Sexualentwicklung von Kindern und Jugendlichen dargestellt. Dafür werden neben
soziokulturellen Bedingungen wie Bildung der Eltern, Religiosität und nationale Herkunft auch Aspekte des Erziehungsstils, die verbale
Kommunikation in der Familie, der Umgang mit Nacktheit sowie die liebevolle Beziehungsgestaltung analysiert. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf einen
qualitativen Wandel der „Familiarisierung“ sexueller Entwicklung hin: Verbale Kommunikation im Sinne aufklärender Wissensvermittlung durch
Eltern hat aufgrund der angewachsenen Informationsmöglichkeiten in den modernen Medien an Bedeutung verloren. Der Einfluss auf die sexuelle
Entwicklung generell hat sich hingegen verstärkt. Eltern agieren zurückhaltender und grenzachtender – kommunikativ wie körperlich. Trotz
eines historischen Angleichs der Erziehungsmodi gegenüber Töchtern und Söhnen ist die sexuelle Entwicklung von Mädchen nach wie vor stärker
familiär beeinflusst als die von Jungen.
Engineering posttranslational proofreading to discriminate nonstandard amino acids
Authors: Kunjapur Aditya M. , Stork Devon A. , Kuru Erkin , Vargas-Rodriguez Oscar , Landon Matthieu , Söll Dieter , Church George M. 
Published: January 2018

Significance
Accurate incorporation of nonstandard amino acids (nsAAs) is central for genetic code expansion to increase the chemical diversity of proteins. However, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are polyspecific and facilitate incorporation of multiple nsAAs. We investigated and repurposed a natural protein degradation pathway, the N-end rule pathway, to devise an innovative system for rapid assessment of the accuracy of nsAA incorporation. Using this tool to monitor incorporation of the nsAA biphenylalanine allowed the identification of tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS) variants with improved amino acid specificity. The evolved TyrRS variants enhanced our ability to contain unwanted proliferation of genetically modified organisms. This posttranslational proofreading system will aid the evolution of orthogonal translation systems for specific incorporation of diverse nsAAs.
Climatic requirements.
Authors: Takeda F. 
Published: January 2018

Abstract

This chapter discusses the climatic requirements of blackberries (Rubus sp.). A number of new cultural techniques are available to mitigate low winter temperature, spring frost, and high light intensity in the summer that can cause high cane and flower mortality and loss of fruit quality. These new production techniques have enabled blackberry production to expand into areas with more severe winter conditions than those that occurred in warmer production areas, and allow blackberries to be grown in areas with high solar radiation, especially during the time the fruit is reaching maturity (e.g. turning black). New production technology has fostered niche market blackberry production and has helped create opportunities for growers to produce blackberries in areas where fruit do not ripen until late summer. The blackberry plant has a dynamic structure. Research has shown that trellis and cane training systems can be used to change the vigour and viability of canes to survive harsh winter conditions and minimize the exposure of fruit to direct sunlight in the summer. The interaction of the plant and its environment determines the economic success or failure of a planting. Selecting cultivars, growing method, and canopy manipulation will help avoid plant failure and insure maximum yield under prevailing environmental conditions.
Animal welfare reports in cases of suspicion of animal cruelty.
Authors: Molento C. F. M. , Hammerschmidt J. 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The objective of this review is to describe how animal welfare assessment may be useful in defining a more objective threshold to decide on the existence of crimes against animals in scenarios where animals are alive. The Protocol for Expert Report on Animal Welfare in case of animal cruelty suspicion (PERAW) was developed to identify animal maltreatment and allows for adaptations to vertebrate species, provided care is taken to incorporate and adapt species-specific indicators. The Protocol is divided into four groups of indicators: (1) nutritional, (2) comfort, (3) health and (4) behavioural indicators, and proposes a simple integration method of the four groups, based on objective thresholds for the conclusion regarding the five proposed welfare degrees: very high, high, regular, low and very low degree of welfare. Very low and low welfare situations are reported as animal maltreatment, subject to criminal penalties. Regular welfare situations are monitored for corrective measures. Cases where high or very high welfare is characterized are dismissed. During the period from 2014 and 2016 the protocol was used in different conditions to identify animal maltreatment in various animal species. The general impression given by the results obtained along 3 years of PERAW use is that the tool has been useful in organizing the reports, facilitating coherence across different scenarios and species, and providing good discriminating power.
Investigation of different enzyme markers in some pathological disorders of the dromedary camels in comparison with other species.
Authors: Abu Damir H. , Ali M. A. , Khalafalla A. E. 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Camel adaptation to its arid and semi-arid environment and its genetic make-up created some differences in its enzyme systems compared with other domestic animals. The camel is similar to ruminants in most of the diagnostic enzymes used to evaluate liver functions. However, some differences from other domestic species were noticed in muscular, neuromuscular, pancreatic, bone, drug metabolizing, metalo and antioxidant enzymes in serum and/or tissue. The drug-metabolizing enzymes are low in camel liver and it looks that it has not developed a potent drug metabolizing enzyme system as xenobiotic are low in its natural habitat although its liver was found to be potent in the detoxification of some carcinogens. The low plasma pseudcholinesterase in camel compared with ruminants may explain why it is more vulnerable and less adapted to the toxicity of the organophosphorus compound in agricultural pesticides and herbicides; not previously found in its arid and semiarid habitat. The antioxidant system in the camel looks to be very potent to prevent or reduce oxidative stress which may be another adaptation mechanism to its natural environment. More research is required in serum and tissue enzymes in the camel. There is a great variation in a reference range of diagnostic enzymes in camels. This is due to differences in pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical procedures and the number of specimens used to define the reference range. Indeed, different laboratories may have the different analytical equipment, different reagents and sources, different specimen's collection and handling procedures, different analytical methods and validation, different storage facilities, different staff qualifications, experience and quality background and the presence or not of a proficiency testing program. Moreover, the physiological, pathological, nutritional, genetical, environmental and geographical factors are of paramount importance in camel enzyme activity. Specifically, the effects of season, sex, age, breed and stage of lactation were emphasized in comparison with other species. Therefore, laboratories should establish their own reference values.
Reverse zoonosis: is swine influenza to blame?
Authors: Arunorat J. , Thanawongnuwech R. 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Animal influenza viruses, particularly of both avian and swine origin, are important zoonotic respiratory pathogens, potentially raising public health concerns over its pandemic threat. After the emergence of the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus (H1N1pdm09) in the human population in 2009, this virus has spread to other mammalian species (a reverse zoonosis), particularly in the pig population. Although cases of human influenza virus reverse zoonosis have occurred many decades ago, the imbalance of human and swine influenza surveillance might give a misleading perspective of reverse zoonosis, focusing only on its zoonotic potential. It should be noted that after the introduction of H1N1pdm09 into the pig population, swine influenza surveillance has been dramatically increased, demonstrating large-scale transmission and reassortment between H1N1pdm09 and the endemic viruses in both swine and human populations. This indicated that zoonosis and reverse zoonosis of influenza viruses have been found, raising the possibility of increased transmissibility among humans and underscoring the potential for influenza pandemics of novel swine-origin viruses. Recently, the One Health concept has been established, which connects human, animal and environmental health. As a result, influenza surveillance programmes for various host species are import in order to understand, find the hidden elements or complete the gaps in influenza epidemiology in multi-host species. Multidisciplinary approaches will be needed to mitigate these problems and would fulfil the One Health concept.
‘Counselling and amplification with and without fractal music (Zen tones) for management of patients suffering from hearing loss and tinnitus’
Authors: Shabana Mohamed Ibrahim , Dabbous Abeir Osman , Abdelmajeed Mohamed Ahmed , Abdelkarim Ayman Mohamed Mohamed 
Published: January 2018

Background:
Counselling, stress reduction and sound stimulation have been effective in the management of tinnitus.

Aim of the work:
It was to investigate the effectiveness of counselling and amplification and sound stimulation (Zen tones of fractal music) technology for hearing impaired patients suffering from tinnitus.

Methods:
This study included 40 hearing impaired subjects with tinnitus, divided into two groups: Both received counselling for 2 months then amplification for 4 months. The study group had their hearing aids with Zen program activated.

Results:
Post-counselling, none of the cases or controls showed improvement >20 points in the total tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) score. Only 20% of the study group and 15% of the controls showed improved tinnitus severity. Only one of the study group showed improvement in the tinnitus functional index (TFI) > 13 points. After hearing aids, 80% of the study group showed improvement in the tinnitus severity degree compared to 60% of the controls. And 20% improved ≥20 points in the total THI score, compared to none of the controls. Half of the study group improved in the TFI >13 points, compared to only 10% of the controls, and this was statistically significant. After 6 months, both groups showed comparable improvement in THI tinnitus severity degree: But 60% of the study group and only 15% of the controls improved ≥20 points in total THI score and this difference was statistically significant. And (85%) of the study group improved >13 points in total TFI score following both counselling and hearing aid fitting, compared to 50% of the controls, and this was statistically significant.

Conclusion:
Counselling alone had no significant effect on tinnitus improvement in the hearing-impaired patients. The combined approach of counselling and amplification resulted in remarkable improvement. And added music resulted in greater improvements, but was more effective when the loudness of the perceived tinnitus was weaker.
Optimization of spatiotemporally fractionated radiotherapy treatments with bounds on the achievable benefit
Authors: Gaddy Melissa R , Yıldız Sercan , Unkelbach Jan , Papp Dávid 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Spatiotemporal fractionation schemes, that is, treatments delivering different dose distributions in different fractions, can potentially lower treatment side effects without compromising tumor control. This can be achieved by hypofractionating parts of the tumor while delivering approximately uniformly fractionated doses to the surrounding tissue. Plan optimization for such treatments is based on biologically effective dose (BED); however, this leads to computationally challenging nonconvex optimization problems. Optimization methods that are in current use yield only locally optimal solutions, and it has hitherto been unclear whether these plans are close to the global optimum. We present an optimization framework to compute rigorous bounds on the maximum achievable normal tissue BED reduction for spatiotemporal plans.
The approach is demonstrated on liver tumors, where the primary goal is to reduce mean liver BED without compromising any other treatment objective. The BED-based treatment plan optimization problems are formulated as quadratically constrained quadratic programming (QCQP) problems. First, a conventional, uniformly fractionated reference plan is computed using convex optimization. Then, a second, nonconvex, QCQP model is solved to local optimality to compute a spatiotemporally fractionated plan that minimizes mean liver BED, subject to the constraints that the plan is no worse than the reference plan with respect to all other planning goals. Finally, we derive a convex relaxation of the second model in the form of a semidefinite programming problem, which provides a rigorous lower bound on the lowest achievable mean liver BED.
The method is presented on five cases with distinct geometries. The computed spatiotemporal plans achieve 12–35% mean liver BED reduction over the optimal uniformly fractionated plans. This reduction corresponds to 79–97% of the gap between the mean liver BED of the uniform reference plans and our lower bounds on the lowest achievable mean liver BED. The results indicate that spatiotemporal treatments can achieve substantial reductions in normal tissue dose and BED, and that local optimization techniques provide high-quality plans that are close to realizing the maximum potential normal tissue dose reduction.
Decrease in Histidine-Rich Glycoprotein as a Novel Biomarker to Predict Sepsis Among Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome
Authors: Kuroda Kosuke , Wake Hidenori , Mori Shuji , Hinotsu Shiro , Nishibori Masahiro , Morimatsu Hiroshi 
Published: January 2018

Objectives:
Many biomarkers for sepsis are used in clinical practice; however, few have become the standard. We measured plasma histidine-rich glycoprotein levels in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome. We compared histidine-rich glycoprotein, procalcitonin, and presepsin levels to assess their significance as biomarkers.

Design:
Single-center, prospective, observational cohort study.

Setting:
ICU at an university-affiliated hospital.

Patients:
Seventy-nine ICU patients (70 with systemic inflammatory response syndrome and 9 without systemic inflammatory response syndrome) and 16 healthy volunteers.

Interventions:
None.

Measurements and Main Results:
We collected blood samples from patients within 24 hours of ICU admission. Histidine-rich glycoprotein levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The median histidine-rich glycoprotein level in healthy volunteers (n = 16) was 63.00 µg/mL (interquartile range, 51.53–66.21 µg/mL). Histidine-rich glycoprotein levels in systemic inflammatory response syndrome patients (n = 70; 28.72 µg/mL [15.74–41.46 µg/mL]) were lower than those in nonsystemic inflammatory response syndrome patients (n = 9; 38.64 µg/mL [30.26–51.81 µg/mL]; p = 0.049). Of 70 patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome, 20 had sepsis. Histidine-rich glycoprotein levels were lower in septic patients than in noninfective systemic inflammatory response syndrome patients (8.71 µg/mL [6.72–15.74 µg/mL] vs 33.27 µg/mL [26.57–44.99 µg/mL]; p < 0.001) and were lower in nonsurvivors (n = 8) than in survivors (n = 62) of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (9.06 µg/mL [4.49–15.70 µg/mL] vs 31.78 µg/mL [18.57–42.11 µg/mL]; p < 0.001). Histidine-rich glycoprotein showed a high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing sepsis. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for detecting sepsis within systemic inflammatory response syndrome patients showed that the area under the curve for histidine-rich glycoprotein, procalcitonin, and presepsin was 0.97, 0.82, and 0.77, respectively. In addition, survival analysis in systemic inflammatory response syndrome patients revealed that the Harrell C-index for histidine-rich glycoprotein, procalcitonin, and presepsin was 0.85, 0.65, and 0.87, respectively.

Conclusions:
Histidine-rich glycoprotein levels were low in patients with sepsis and were significantly related to mortality in systemic inflammatory response syndrome population. Furthermore, as a biomarker, histidine-rich glycoprotein may be superior to procalcitonin and presepsin.
Supportive care in the era of immunotherapies for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer
Authors: Awada Gil , Klastersky Jean 
Published: January 2018

Purpose of review
The therapeutic armamentarium for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer has evolved considerably over the past years. Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting programmed cell death-1 such as pembrolizumab and nivolumab or programmed cell death ligand 1 such as atezolizumab, durvalumab and avelumab have shown favorable efficacy results in this patient population in the first-line and second-line setting. These immunotherapies are associated with a distinct toxicity profile based on autoimmune organ toxicity which is a new challenge for supportive care during treatment with these drugs.

Recent findings
The differential diagnosis of events occurring during immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment is broad: they can be due to immune-related or nonimmune-related adverse events, atypical tumor responses (pseudoprogression or hyperprogression) or events related to comorbidities or other treatments.

Summary
The management of these patients includes a thorough baseline clinical, biological and radiologic evaluation, patient education, correct follow-up and management by a multidisciplinary team with a central role for the medical oncologist. Immune-related toxicities should be managed according to available guidelines.
The Effect of a Nonpeptide Angiotensin II Type 2 Receptor Agonist, Compound 21, on Aortic Aneurysm Growth in a Mouse Model of Marfan Syndrome
Authors: Verbrugghe Peter , Verhoeven Jelle , Clijsters Marnick , Vervoort Dominique , Schepens Jarne , Meuris Bart , Herijgers Paul 
Published: January 2018

Introduction:
Available evidence suggests that the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone (RAA) system is a good target for medical intervention on aortic root dilatation in Marfan syndrome (MFS). The effect of Compound 21 (C21), a nonpeptide angiotensin II type 2 receptor agonist, on aneurysm progression was tested.

Methods:
Mice with a mutation in fibrillin-1 (Fbn1C1039G/+) and wild-type mice were treated with vehicle, losartan, C21, enalapril, or a combination. Blood pressure, aortic root diameter, and histological slides were evaluated.

Results:
All groups had a comparable blood pressure. Echographic evaluation of the aortic root diameter revealed a protective effect of angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist (losartan) and no effect of C21 treatment. None of the treatments had a beneficial effect on the histological changes in MFS.

Discussion:
This study confirms that angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonism (losartan) decreases aortic aneurysm growth in a mouse model of MFS. A nonpeptide angiotensin II type 2 receptor agonist (C21), at the doses studied, was ineffective. Future studies are warranted to further elucidate the exact role of the RAA system in aneurysm formation in MFS and identify alternative targets for intervention.