bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rural‐Urban Differences in Medicare Quality Scores Persist After Adjusting for Sociodemographic and Environmental Characteristics
Authors: Henning‐Smith Carrie , Prasad Shailendra , Casey Michelle , Kozhimannil Katy , Moscovice Ira 
Published: September 2017

AbstractPurposeQuality scores are strongly influenced by sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviors, many of which lie outside of the clinician's control. As a result, there is vigorous debate about whether, and how, to risk‐adjust quality measures. Yet, rurality has been largely missing from this debate, even though population and environmental characteristics are demonstrably different by rurality. We addressed this gap by examining the influence of county‐level population sociodemographic, environmental, and health characteristics on 3 Medicare quality measures.MethodsWe used a cross‐sectional analysis of 2016 County Health Rankings data to estimate differences in 3 Medicare quality scores (preventable hospitalizations, HbA1c monitoring, and mammography screening) by rurality. We then adjusted for county‐level sociodemographic and environmental characteristics in multivariable regression models in order to see whether the association between rurality and quality was impacted.FindingsBoth micropolitan and noncore counties exhibited lower quality scores than metropolitan counties for all 3 measures. After adjustment, noncore counties still had poorer quality on all 3 measures, while micropolitan counties improved on 2 measures. Several county‐level sociodemographic and environmental characteristics were associated with quality, although the direction of association depended on the quality measure.ConclusionsDifferences in Medicare quality scores by rurality cannot be entirely explained by differences in population or environmental characteristics. Still, to the extent that clinicians are evaluated—and paid—based on measures that are influenced by both population sociodemographic characteristics and geographic location without adequate risk adjustment, the challenges of delivering care in rural areas will only be exacerbated.
Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to Providing Methadone Maintenance Treatment Among Rural Community Pharmacists in Southwestern Ontario
Authors: Fonseca Joseph , Chang Andrew , Chang Feng 
Published: September 2017

AbstractPurposeMisuse of opioids has become a public health concern across North America. Rural patients have limited access to methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), an opioid addiction‐treatment service that could be offered by community pharmacists. The aim of this study was to identify rural community pharmacists’ perceived barriers, motivations, and solutions to offering MMT to their patients.MethodsOne‐on‐one, semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 community pharmacists who practice in rural southwestern Ontario. Interview transcripts were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis.FindingsIncreased workload, extended operating hours, and concerns about safety, theft, burglary, community resistance, and availability of methadone training courses were identified as pharmacist‐related barriers to providing MMT services. Professional satisfaction and community service were primary motivations for offering the service. Limited pharmacy staff availability exacerbated concerns about increased workload and security. Slower rural emergency‐response times were cited among safety concerns. Participating pharmacists felt that rural regions had fewer MMT prescribers and that rural community members had greater apprehension about addiction‐treatment services than those in urban communities. Pharmacists proposed that coordinating MMT service provision across multiple community pharmacies in the region could help improve access to treatment among their patients.ConclusionRural community pharmacy practice has unique barriers to implementing and providing MMT services. A coordinated, multipharmacy approach may be an option to provide and expand MMT services in rural regions.
Systemic hypertension in cats with acute kidney injury
Authors: Cole L. , Jepson R. , Humm K. 
Published: September 2017

ObjectiveTo describe the prevalence of systemic hypertension in cats with community‐acquired acute kidney injury and investigate its relationship with disease severity.Materials and MethodsRetrospective study of cats presenting to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, Royal Veterinary College with acute kidney injury between 2007 and 2015. Systolic blood pressure was measured using Doppler sphygmomanometry and systemic hypertension was defined pressures ê150 mmHg. Median systolic blood pressure measurement, grade of acute kidney injury (as defined by the International Renal Interest Society), serum creatinine on admission, anuria or oliguria, length of hospitalisation, survival to discharge and six‐month survival were all recorded.ResultsForty‐six cats were included; 21/48 (48.8%) showed systemic hypertension on admission and was severe (ê180 mmHg) in 8/43 (18.6%). During the whole hospitalisation period, systemic hypertension was detected in 27/46 (58.7%) cases and severe in 13/46 (28.2%). Systemic hypertension did not appear to be statistically associated with grade of kidney injury, serum creatinine on presentation, oliguria or anuria.Clinical SignificanceSystemic hypertension is common in cats with acute kidney injury but does not appear to be associated with its severity.
Successful treatment of bilateral endogenous Fusarium solani endophthalmitis in a patient with acute lymphocytic leukaemia
Authors: Rizzello Ilaria , Castagnetti Fausto , Toschi Pier Giorgio , Bertaccini Patrizia , Primavera Laura , Paolucci Michela , Faccioli Luca , Spinardi Luca , Lewis Russell E. , Cavo Michele , Stanzani Marta 
Published: September 2017

SummaryFusarium spp. are an uncommon cause of fungaemia in immunocompromised and neutropenic patients that may hematogenously disseminate to the eyes. Herein, we describe a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and a prior history of extensive corticosteroid exposure who developed disseminated Fusarium solani infection following chemotherapy despite posaconazole prophylaxis. She was successfully treated with combination liposomal amphotericin B and voriconazole, intraocular injections of voriconazole, topical amphotericin B and bilateral vitrectomy. We also review published literature describing the management of endogenous Fusarium endophthalmitis in immunocompromised hosts.
Outstanding contribution to pediatric anesthesiology: An interview with Dr. Robert H. Friesen
Authors: Twite Mark D. , Ing Richard J. , Nichols Christopher S. , Yaster Myron 
Published: September 2017

SummaryDr. Robert H. Friesen, (1946–) Professor of Anesthesiology, Children's Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, has played a pivotal and pioneering role in the development of pediatric and congenital cardiac anesthesiology. His transformative research included the study of the hemodynamic effects of inhalational and intravenous anesthetic agents in the newborn and the effects of anesthetic agents on pulmonary vascular resistance in patients with pulmonary hypertension. As a model clinician‐scientist, educator, and administrator, he changed the practice of pediatric anesthesia and shaped the careers of hundreds of physicians‐in‐training, imbuing them with his core values of honesty, integrity, and responsibility. Based on a series of interviews with Dr. Friesen, this article reviews a career that advanced pediatric and congenital cardiac anesthesia during the formative years of the specialties.
Xenon as an adjuvant to sevoflurane anesthesia in children younger than 4 years of age, undergoing interventional or diagnostic cardiac catheterization: A randomized controlled clinical trial
Authors: Devroe Sarah , Meeusen Roselien , Gewillig Marc , Cools Bjorn , Poesen Koen , Sanders Robert , Rex Steffen 
Published: September 2017

SummaryBackgroundXenon has repeatedly been demonstrated to have only minimal hemodynamic side effects when compared to other anesthetics. Moreover, in experimental models, xenon was found to be neuroprotective and devoid of developmental neurotoxicity. These properties could render xenon attractive for the anesthesia in neonates and infants with congenital heart disease. However, experience with xenon anesthesia in children is scarce.AimsWe hypothesized that in children undergoing cardiac catheterization, general anesthesia with a combination of sevoflurane with xenon results in superior hemodynamic stability, compared to sevoflurane alone.MethodsIn this prospective, randomized, single‐blinded, controlled clinical trial, children with a median age of 12 [IQR 3‐36] months undergoing diagnostic/interventional cardiac catheterization were randomized to either general anesthesia with 50‐65vol% xenon plus sevoflurane or sevoflurane alone. The primary outcome was the incidence of intraprocedural hemodynamic instability, defined as the occurrence of: (i) a heart rate change >20% from baseline; or (ii) a change in mean arterial blood pressure >20% from baseline; or (iii) the requirement of vasopressors, inotropes, chronotropes, or fluid boluses. Secondary endpoints included recovery characteristics, feasibility criteria, and safety (incidence of emergence agitation and postoperative vomiting.ResultsAfter inclusion of 40 children, the trial was stopped as an a priori planned blinded interim analysis revealed that the overall rate of hemodynamic instability did not differ between groups [100% in both the xenon‐sevoflurane and the sevoflurane group. However, the adjuvant administration of xenon decreased vasopressor requirements, preserved better cerebral oxygen saturation, and resulted in a faster recovery. Xenon anesthesia was feasible (with no differences in the need for rescue anesthetics in both groups).ConclusionOur observations suggest that combining xenon with sevoflurane in preschool children is safe, feasible, and facilitates hemodynamic management. Larger and adequately powered clinical trials are warranted to investigate the impact of xenon on short‐ and long‐term outcomes in pediatric anesthesia.
Screening of Ethiopian sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) landraces for their performance under Striga hermonthica ‐infested conditions
Authors: Abate Mesfin , Hussien Temam , Bayu Wondimu , Reda Fasil 
Published: September 2017

AbstractStriga hermonthica is a major constraint to sorghum production and productivity in sub‐Saharan Africa, Ethiopia, in particular. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the performance of 49 sorghum genotypes based on their reaction to S. hermonthica and investigate the relationships among yield and Striga resistance traits, including the Striga emergence count, area under Striga number progress curve, area under Striga severity progress curve, grain yield under infested, grain yield under non‐infested conditions and relative yield loss. The genotypes differed significantly in all measured parameters under Striga‐infested and non‐infested conditions. The genotypes ‘Birhan’, ‘Gubiye’, Wolegie, Zegerie, Nechmashila I, Woftel, Tetron and Eyssa were identified as promising ones based on grain yield and Striga‐related traits. On the other hand, the genotypes Jamyo, Bobie, Gedido, Mankebar and Zengada had moderate Striga numbers with low relative yield loss as compared with susceptible checks. The most promising variety, Zegerie, Mankebar and Zengada, out yielded the standard resistant checks ‘Birhan’ and ‘Gubiye’ under Striga infestation. Ward cluster analysis grouped the 49 sorghum genotypes in to four distinct clusters under Striga‐infested conditions. All members of clusters II and III showed the highest yielding group with the lowest to moderate Striga number, while cluster IV supported the lowest yield with the highest Striga number. Significant negative correlations were observed between yield‐ and Striga‐related traits. Highly significant and strong correlations were observed among Striga resistance indices, indicating that any of the Striga resistance parameters can be used as an indicator of resistance. The wide variations in grain yield among genotypes under Striga‐infested conditions would be invaluable genetic resources for production in Striga endemic areas of Ethiopia.
Photodegradation of Eumelanin and Pheomelanin and Its Pathophysiological Implications
Authors: Ito Shosuke , Wakamatsu Kazumasa , Sarna Tadeusz 
Published: September 2017

AbstractEumelanin is photoprotective for pigmented tissues while pheomelanin is phototoxic. In this review, we summarize current understanding of how eumelanin and pheomelanin structures are modified by ultraviolet A (UVA) and also by visible light and how reactive oxygen species participate in those processes. Alkaline hydrogen peroxide oxidation was employed to characterize eumelanin and benzothiazole‐type pheomelanin, giving pyrrole‐2,3,5‐tricarboxylic acid (PTCA) and thiazole‐2,4,5‐tricarboxylic acid (TTCA), respectively. Reductive hydrolysis with hydroiodic acid gives 4‐amino‐3‐hydroxyphenylalanine (4‐AHP) from the benzothiazine moiety of pheomelanin. The results show that the photoaging of eumelanin gives rise to free PTCA (produced by peroxidation in situ) and pyrrole‐2,3,4,5‐tetracarboxylic acid (PTeCA, produced by cross‐linking). The TTCA/4‐AHP ratio increases with photoaging, indicating the conversion of benzothiazine to the benzothiazole moiety. Analysis of those markers and their ratios show that both eumelanin and pheomelanin in human retinal pigment epithelium melanosomes undergo extensive structural modifications due to their lifelong exposure to blue light. Using synthetic melanins, we also found that singlet oxygen, in addition to superoxide anions, is photogenerated and quenched upon UVA irradiation. The (patho)physiological significance of those findings is discussed in relation to the tanning process, to melanomagenesis in the skin and to age‐related macular degeneration in the eyes.
The Public Service Mutual: Theories of Motivational Advantage
Authors: Le Grand Julian , Roberts Jonathan 
Published: September 2017

AbstractPublic service mutuals are a form of employee‐led organization in which service workers spin out of the public sector to form “mutuals” that contract back with government to provide a service. This article draws on economic and psychological theory to demonstrate that mutuals can align both self‐interested and altruistic or public service motivations so as to serve the social good; moreover, by offering greater autonomy to public service professionals, mutuals are predicted to encourage energetic and persistent behaviors. In both cases, there is an advantage over alternative forms of organization such as the public sector bureaucracy, the shareholder‐owned private firm, or the nonprofit organization. The employee‐led mutual form, however, may not appeal to risk‐averse workers, its collective decision‐making systems may be inefficient, and external mechanisms may be required to ensure that organizational outcomes are always directed toward the social good.
Deep Uncertainties in Sea‐Level Rise and Storm Surge Projections: Implications for Coastal Flood Risk Management
Authors: Oddo Perry C. , Lee Ben S. , Garner Gregory G. , Srikrishnan Vivek , Reed Patrick M. , Forest Chris E. , Keller Klaus 
Published: September 2017

AbstractSea levels are rising in many areas around the world, posing risks to coastal communities and infrastructures. Strategies for managing these flood risks present decision challenges that require a combination of geophysical, economic, and infrastructure models. Previous studies have broken important new ground on the considerable tensions between the costs of upgrading infrastructure and the damages that could result from extreme flood events. However, many risk‐based adaptation strategies remain silent on certain potentially important uncertainties, as well as the tradeoffs between competing objectives. Here, we implement and improve on a classic decision‐analytical model (Van Dantzig 1956) to: (i) capture tradeoffs across conflicting stakeholder objectives, (ii) demonstrate the consequences of structural uncertainties in the sea‐level rise and storm surge models, and (iii) identify the parametric uncertainties that most strongly influence each objective using global sensitivity analysis. We find that the flood adaptation model produces potentially myopic solutions when formulated using traditional mean‐centric decision theory. Moving from a single‐objective problem formulation to one with multiobjective tradeoffs dramatically expands the decision space, and highlights the need for compromise solutions to address stakeholder preferences. We find deep structural uncertainties that have large effects on the model outcome, with the storm surge parameters accounting for the greatest impacts. Global sensitivity analysis effectively identifies important parameter interactions that local methods overlook, and that could have critical implications for flood adaptation strategies.
Segmentation of Sea Current Fields by Cylindrical Hidden Markov Models: A Composite Likelihood Approach
Authors: Ranalli Monia , Lagona Francesco , Picone Marco , Zambianchi Enrico 
Published: September 2017

SummaryMotivated by segmentation issues in studies of sea current circulation, we describe a hidden Markov random field for the analysis of spatial cylindrical data, i.e. bivariate spatial series of angles and intensities. The model is based on a mixture of cylindrical densities, whose parameters vary across space according to a latent Markov field. It enables segmentation of the data within a finite number of latent classes that represent the conditional distributions of the data under specific environmental conditions, simultaneously accounting for unobserved heterogeneity and spatial auto-correlation. Further, it parsimoniously accommodates specific features of environmental cylindrical data, such as circular–linear correlation, multimodality and skewness. Because of the numerical intractability of the likelihood function, estimation of the parameters is based on composite likelihood methods and essentially reduces to a computationally efficient expectation–maximization algorithm that iteratively alternates the maximization of a weighted composite likelihood function with weights updating. These methods are tested on simulations and exploited to segment the sea surface of the Gulf of Naples by means of meaningful circulation regimes.
Power Dynamics, Supply Network Restructuring and Modernised Retailing in China: A Comparison of Two Food Staples
Authors: Wang Yue , Coe Neil M. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThis paper seeks to compare the processes of supply network transformation in China resulting from the market entry of retail transnational corporations (TNCs) across two food products, fresh milk and edible oil. The analysis demonstrates significant variations in both retailer management practices and strategic responses by suppliers between the two products. These variations, in turn, are seen to derive from the inherent nature of the commodities concerned, the relative balance of supply and demand, and the pre‐existing competitive and structural conditions in the different sectors before retail TNC entry. Overall, the paper calls for a nuanced and dynamic approach to retailer power and its impacts that recognises the complexity and unevenness of supply network restructuring in emerging markets.
A protein with an unusually short PPR domain, MEF8, affects editing at over 60 Arabidopsis mitochondrial C targets of RNA editing
Authors: Diaz Michael F. , Bentolila Stephane , Hayes Michael L. , Hanson Maureen R. , Mulligan R. Michael 
Published: September 2017

SummaryAn RNA‐seq approach was used to investigate the role of a PLS‐subfamily pentatricopeptide repeat protein, Mitochondrial Editing Factor 8 (MEF8), on editing in Arabidopsis mitochondria and plastids. MEF8 has an intact DYW domain, but possesses an unusually short PLS repeat region of only five repeats. The MEF8 T‐DNA insertion (mef8) line exhibited reduced editing at 38 mitochondrial editing sites and increased editing at 24 sites; therefore the absence of MEF8 affects 11% of the mitochondrial editome. Notably, 60% of the matR transcripts’ sites showed a decrease of editing extent in the mef8 mutant. An E549A substitution in the MEF8 protein replaced the putatively catalytic glutamate of the HXE motif in the DYW domain. Complementation with MEF8‐E549A failed to restore editing at the main target sites but was able to restore editing at the matR transcript; it also decreased the editing extent of most of the C targets exhibiting an increase of editing extent in the mef8 mutant plant. Thus, MEF8 has two antagonistic effects on mitochondrial editing: stimulatory, which requires a catalytic glutamate for most of the targets except for the matR transcript, and inhibitory, for which glutamate is dispensable.
NYEs/SGRs‐mediated chlorophyll degradation is critical for detoxification during seed maturation in Arabidopsis
Authors: Li Zhongpeng , Wu Shouxin , Chen Junyi , Wang Xiaoyan , Gao Jiong , Ren Guodong , Kuai Benke 
Published: September 2017

SummaryIn the seed industry, chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence is often used as a major non‐invasive reporter of seed maturation and quality. Breakdown of Chl is a proactive process during the late stage of seed maturation, as well as during leaf senescence and fruit ripening. However, the biological significance of this process is still unclear. NYE1 and NYE2 are Mg‐dechelatases, catalyzing the first rate‐limiting step of Chl a degradation. Loss‐of‐function of both NYE1 and NYE2 not only results in a nearly complete retention of Chl during leaf senescence, but also produces green seeds in Arabidopsis. In this study, we showed that Chl retention in the nye1 nye2 double‐mutant caused severe photo‐damage to maturing seeds. Upon prolonged light exposure, green seeds of nye1 nye2 gradually bleached out and eventually lost their germination capacity. This organ‐specific photosensitive phenotype is likely due to an over‐accumulation of free Chl, which possesses photosensitizing properties and causes a burst of reactive oxygen species upon light exposure. As expected, a similar, albeit much milder, photosensitive phenotype was observed in the seeds of d1 d2, a green‐seed mutant defective in NYE/SGR orthologous genes in soybean. Taken together, our data suggest that efficient NYEs‐mediated Chl degradation is critical for detoxification during seed maturation.