bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Functional Equivalence of OspA and OspB, but Not OspC, in Tick Colonization by Borrelia burgdorferi
Authors: Tilly Kit , Bestor Aaron , Rosa Patricia A. 
Published: March 2016

ABSTRACT

Borrelia burgdorferi
, a Lyme disease agent, makes different major outer surface lipoproteins at different stages of its mouse–tick infectious cycle. Outer surface protein A (OspA) coats the spirochetes from the time they enter ticks until they are transmitted to a mammal. OspA is required for normal tick colonization and has been shown to bind a tick midgut protein, indicating that OspA may serve as a tick midgut adhesin. Tick colonization by spirochetes lacking OspA is increased when the infecting blood meal is derived from mice that do not produce antibody, indicating that OspA may protect the spirochetes from host antibody, which will not recognize tick-specific proteins such as OspA. To further study the importance of OspA during tick colonization, we constructed a form of
B. burgdorferi
in which the
ospA
open reading frame, on lp54, was replaced with the
ospC
gene or the
ospB
gene, encoding a mammal-specific or tick-specific lipoprotein, respectively. These fusions yielded a strain that produces OspC within a tick (from the fusion gene) and during early mammalian infection (from the normal
ospC
locus) and a strain that produces OspB in place of OspA within ticks. Here we show that the related, tick-specific protein OspB can fully substitute for OspA, whereas the unrelated, mammal-specific protein OspC cannot. These data were derived from three different methods of infecting ticks, and they confirm and extend previous studies indicating that OspA both protects spirochetes within ticks from mammalian antibody and serves an additional role during tick colonization.
Serial Dissection of Parasite Gene Families
Authors: Bzik David J. 
Published: March 2016

ABSTRACT

Calcium ion signaling regulates central aspects of the biology controlling stage and life cycle transitions of apicomplexan parasites. In the current issue of
Infection and Immunity
, Long and coworkers (S. Long, Q. Wang, and L. D. Sibley, Infect Immun 84:1262–1273, 2016,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/IAI.01173-15
) describe a powerful genetic system enabling reliable serial genetic dissection of a large gene family encoding novel calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) that provides new insights into the roles of CDPKs during
Toxoplasma gondii
infection.
Cohort profile: the Spanish WORKing life Social Security (WORKss) cohort study
Authors: López Gómez María Andrée , Durán Xavier , Zaballa Elena , Sanchez-Niubo Albert , Delclos George L , Benavides Fernando G 
Published: March 2016

PurposeThe global economy is changing the labour market and social protection systems in Europe. The effect of both changes on health needs to be monitored in view of an ageing population and the resulting increase in prevalence of chronic health conditions. The Spanish WORKing life Social Security (WORKss) cohort study provides unique longitudinal data to study the impact of labour trajectories and employment conditions on health, in terms of sickness absence, permanent disability and death.ParticipantsThe WORKss cohort originated from the Continuous Working Life Sample (CWLS) generated by the General Directorate for the Organization of the Social Security in Spain. The CWLS contains a 4% representative sample of all individuals in contact with the Social Security system. The WORKss cohort exclusively includes individuals with a labour trajectory from 1981 or later. In 2004, the cohort was initiated with 1 022 779 Social Security members: 840 770 (82.2%) contributors and 182 009 (17.8%) beneficiaries aged 16 and older.Findings to dateThe WORKss cohort includes demographic characteristics, chronological data about employment history, retirement, permanent disability and death. These data make possible the measurement of incidence of permanent disability, the number of potential years of working life lost, and the number of contracts and inactive periods with the Social Security system. The WORKss cohort was linked to temporary sickness absence registries to study medical diagnoses that lead to permanent disability and consequently to an earlier exit from the labour market in unhealthy conditions.Future plansThanks to its administrative source, the WORKss cohort study will continue follow-up in the coming years, keeping the representativeness of the Spanish population affiliated to the Social Security system. The linkage between the WORKss cohort and temporary sickness absence registries is envisioned to continue. Future plans include the linkage of the cohort with mortality registries.
Cross-sectional study examining whether the extent of first-contact access to primary care differentially benefits those with certain personalities to receive preventive services
Authors: Pandhi Nancy , Schumacher Jessica R , Thorpe Carolyn T , Smith Maureen A 
Published: March 2016

ObjectiveThe extent of first-contact access to primary care (ie, easy availability when needed) is associated with receiving recommended preventive services. Whether this access benefits patients at risk of preventive services underutilisation, such as those with certain personality characteristics, is unclear.SettingSecondary analysis of the 2003–2006 round of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.Participants6975 respondents who reported a usual provider whose specialty was internal medicine or family medicine. Those reporting not visiting a medical provider in the past 12 months, and those who were uninsured were excluded.Primary outcome measuresReceiving mammography, cholesterol testing and influenza vaccination. Adjusted predicted probabilities (aPP) of receiving these services were analysed stratified by personality characteristics overall, and if significant, then interacted with first-contact access.ResultsLower conscientiousness as compared with higher conscientiousness predicted less of all 3 preventive services; mammography (aPP 80%; 95% CI (77% to 83%) vs aPP 85%; (95% CI 82% to 87%)), cholesterol testing (88%; (85% to 90%) vs 93% (91% to 94%), and influenza vaccination (62%; (59% to 64%) vs 66%; (63% to 68%)). Lower agreeableness as compared with higher agreeableness predicted less mammography (77%; (73% to 81%) vs 84%; (82% to 87%)) and less influenza vaccination (59%; (56% to 62%) vs 65%; (63% to 68%)). Lower extraversion predicted less cholesterol testing (88%; (86% to 91%) vs (92%; (90% to 94%)). Lower openness to experience predicted less influenza vaccination (59%; (56% to 63%) vs (68%; (65% to 70%)). For agreeableness, these differences in receiving preventive services did not persist when first-contact access to primary care was present.ConclusionsCertain personality characteristics predicted receiving less preventive care services. For those with less agreeableness, improved first-contact access to primary care mitigated this effect. If these results are replicated in other studies, primary care offices seeking to improve population health through receiving preventive services should prioritise increasing their first-contact accessibility.
Normal platelet function in platelet concentrates requires non-platelet cells: a comparative in vitro evaluation of leucocyte-rich (type 1a) and leucocyte-poor (type 3b) platelet concentrates
Authors: Parrish William R , Roides Breana , Hwang Julia , Mafilios Michael , Story Brooks , Bhattacharyya Samir 
Published: March 2016

BackgroundTherapeutic success of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) may vary based on the composition and preparation method. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cellular components of platelet concentrates produced by a leucocyte-rich (LR-PRP) and a leucocyte-poor PRP systems (LP-PRP).MethodsParameters evaluated included platelet recovery, platelet concentration, red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) composition, platelet growth factor release and stimulation of human tendon cell proliferation in vitro.ResultsPlatelet recoveries were 52% for LP-PRP and 89% for LR-PRP. LR-PRP demonstrated greater reproducibility with a 4.2% coefficient of variation (CV) compared with 19.4% for LP-PRP (p<0.001). LR-PRP demonstrated a greater increase in platelet concentration (7.9-fold) than LP-PRP (2.2-fold; p<0.001). LP-PRP showed 5.0-fold reductions in WBCs, while LR-PRP showed a 4.0-fold increase (p<0.001). LP-PRP reduced RBCs to a haematocrit of 0.25, while LR-PRP reduced haematocrit to 11.8. LP-PRP did not coagulate robustly on reactivation with CaCl2, and released significantly lower levels of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) than whole blood (p<0.03). LP-PRP also did not stimulate tendon cell proliferation greater than whole blood. In contrast, LR-PRP showed increases in each growth factor on activation with CaCl2(p<0.01) and stimulated greater proliferation (p<0.05) compared with whole blood. Forced activation of LP-PRP with exogenous thrombin rescued the coagulation deficiency and induced greater growth factor release than comparable whole blood (p<0.03).ConclusionsThese data suggest that non-platelet cellular components in platelet concentrates are important for proper platelet function, including thrombin generation, growth factor release and clot retraction.
Upconversion luminescence properties and color tunability of 12CaO⋅7Al2O3:Ho3+/Yb3+ single crystal
Authors: Qu Yunfei , Qiu Zhaozhong , Wang Rui , Liu Liang , Tao Ye , Zhou Jianjun 
Published: March 2016

Rear earth (RE) ions-doped 12CaO[Formula: see text]7Al2O3 single crystal has been successfully prepared by Czochralski method. Under 980 nm excitation, a strong green upconversion emission at 548 nm and a weaker red upconversion emission at 662 nm were observed. The green upconversion emission is corresponding to the transition of 5F 4/5S[Formula: see text]I8 of Ho[Formula: see text], and the red one is corresponding to the transition of 5F[Formula: see text]I8 of Ho[Formula: see text]. A much weaker NIR band at 762 nm is also observed, which corresponds to the 5F 4/5S[Formula: see text]I7 transition of Ho[Formula: see text]. The pump dependence and luminescence decay dynamics spectra show the green and red upconversion are populated by two-photon process, and the upconversion mechanisms are analyzed in detail. The color of the upconversion luminescence can be changed by simply adjusting the excitation power. RE ions-doped 12CaO[Formula: see text]7Al2O3 single crystal with these properties is expected to have broad application prospects in solid-state multicolor display and instrument integration. RE ions-doped 12CaO[Formula: see text]7Al2O3 single crystal has the ability to replace some traditional single crystals such as LiNbO3 in many applications.
Implementing and Evaluating Variable Soil Thickness in the Community Land Model, Version 4.5 (CLM4.5)
Authors: Brunke Michael A. , Broxton Patrick , Pelletier Jon , Gochis David , Hazenberg Pieter , Lawrence David M. , Leung L. Ruby , Niu Guo-Yue , Troch Peter A. , Zeng Xubin 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
One of the recognized weaknesses of land surface models as used in weather and climate models is the assumption of constant soil thickness because of the lack of global estimates of bedrock depth. Using a 30-arc-s global dataset for the thickness of relatively porous, unconsolidated sediments over bedrock, spatial variation in soil thickness is included here in version 4.5 of the Community Land Model (CLM4.5). The number of soil layers for each grid cell is determined from the average soil depth for each 0.9° latitude × 1.25° longitude grid cell. The greatest changes in the simulation with variable soil thickness are to baseflow, with the annual minimum generally occurring earlier. Smaller changes are seen in latent heat flux and surface runoff primarily as a result of an increase in the annual cycle amplitude. These changes are related to soil moisture changes that are most substantial in locations with shallow bedrock. Total water storage (TWS) anomalies are not strongly affected over most river basins since most basins contain mostly deep soils, but TWS anomalies are substantially different for a river basin with more mountainous terrain. Additionally, the annual cycle in soil temperature is partially affected by including realistic soil thicknesses resulting from changes in the vertical profile of heat capacity and thermal conductivity. However, the largest changes to soil temperature are introduced by the soil moisture changes in the variable soil thickness simulation. This implementation of variable soil thickness represents a step forward in land surface model development.
The Roles of Radiative Forcing, Sea Surface Temperatures, and Atmospheric and Land Initial Conditions in U.S. Summer Warming Episodes
Authors: Jia Liwei , Vecchi Gabriel A. , Yang Xiaosong , Gudgel Richard G. , Delworth Thomas L. , Stern William F. , Paffendorf Karen , Underwood Seth D. , Zeng Fanrong 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThis study investigates the roles of radiative forcing, sea surface temperatures (SSTs), and atmospheric and land initial conditions in the summer warming episodes of the United States. The summer warming episodes are defined as the significantly above-normal (1983–2012) June–August 2-m temperature anomalies and are referred to as heat waves in this study. Two contrasting cases, the summers of 2006 and 2012, are explored in detail to illustrate the distinct roles of SSTs, direct radiative forcing, and atmospheric and land initial conditions in driving U.S. summer heat waves. For 2012, simulations with the GFDL atmospheric general circulation model reveal that SSTs play a critical role. Further sensitivity experiments reveal the contributions of uniform global SST warming, SSTs in individual ocean basins, and direct radiative forcing to the geographic distribution and magnitudes of warm temperature anomalies. In contrast, for 2006, the atmospheric and land initial conditions are the key drivers. The atmospheric (land) initial conditions play a major (minor) role in the central and northwestern (eastern) United States. Because of changes in radiative forcing, the probability of areal-averaged summer temperature anomalies over the United States exceeding the observed 2012 anomaly increases with time over the early twenty-first century. La Niña (El Niño) events tend to increase (reduce) the occurrence rate of heat waves. The temperatures over the central United States are mostly influenced by El Niño/La Niña, with the central tropical Pacific playing a more important role than the eastern tropical Pacific. Thus, atmospheric and land initial conditions, SSTs, and radiative forcing are all important drivers of and sources of predictability for U.S. summer heat waves.
Decadal Climate Predictions Using Sequential Learning Algorithms
Authors: Strobach Ehud , Bel Golan 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Ensembles of climate models are commonly used to improve decadal climate predictions and assess the uncertainties associated with them. Weighting the models according to their performances holds the promise of further improving their predictions. Here, an ensemble of decadal climate predictions is used to demonstrate the ability of sequential learning algorithms (SLAs) to reduce the forecast errors and reduce the uncertainties. Three different SLAs are considered, and their performances are compared with those of an equally weighted ensemble, a linear regression, and the climatology. Predictions of four different variables—the surface temperature, the zonal and meridional wind, and pressure—are considered. The spatial distributions of the performances are presented, and the statistical significance of the improvements achieved by the SLAs is tested. The reliability of the SLAs is also tested, and the advantages and limitations of the different measures of the performance are discussed. It was found that the best performances of the SLAs are achieved when the learning period is comparable to the prediction period. The spatial distribution of the SLAs performance showed that they are skillful and better than the other forecasting methods over large continuous regions. This finding suggests that, despite the fact that each of the ensemble models is not skillful, they were able to capture some physical processes that resulted in deviations from the climatology and that the SLAs enabled the extraction of this additional information.
Stormwater Management in a Time of Climate Change: Insights from a Series of Scenario-Building Dialogues
Authors: Tuler Seth P. , Webler Thomas , Rhoades Jason L. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Numerous decision support tools have been developed to assist stormwater managers to understand future scenarios and devise management strategies. This paper presents one such tool, the Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios (VCAPS) process, and reports on experiences from its deployment in 10 coastal communities on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. VCAPS helps to elucidate local complexities, couplings, and contextual nuance through dialogue among technical experts and those with detailed contextual knowledge of a community. Participants in the process develop qualitative scenarios of climate change impacts and how different management strategies may prevent or mitigate undesirable consequences. The scenarios help stormwater managers diagnose potential problems that may emerge from climate change and variability, which can then be subject to further detailed analysis. The authors describe five challenges faced by stormwater managers and how insights that emerge from scenario-based processes like VCAPS can help address them: characterizing the implications of interacting climate stressors that originate stormwater, bringing all available expertise and local knowledge to bear on the problem of stormwater management, integrating local and scientific information about coupled human–environment systems, identifying management actions and their trade-offs, and facilitating planning for sustained coordination among multiple public and private entities.
Evidence still insufficient that advance care documentation leads to engagement of healthcare professionals in end-of-life discussions: A systematic review
Authors: Lewis Ebony , Cardona-Morrell Magnolia , Ong Kok Y , Trankle Steven A , Hillman Ken 
Published: March 2016

Background: Administration of non-beneficial life-sustaining treatments in terminal elderly patients still occurs due to lack of knowledge of patient’s wishes or delayed physician–family communications on preference. Aim: To determine whether advance care documentation encourages healthcare professional’s timely engagement in end-of-life discussions. Design: Systematic review of the English language articles published from January 2000 to April 2015. Data sources: EMBASE, MEDLINE, EBM REVIEWS, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Cochrane Library and manual searches of reference lists. Results: A total of 24 eligible articles from 10 countries including 23,914 subjects met the inclusion criteria, mostly using qualitative or mixed methods, with the exception of two cohort studies. The influence of advance care documentation on initiation of end-of-life discussions was predominantly based on perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and personal experience rather than on standard replicable measures of effectiveness in triggering the discussion. While health professionals reported positive perceptions of the use of advance care documentations (18/24 studies), actual evidence of their engagement in end-of-life discussions or confidence gained from accessing previously formulated wishes in advance care documentations was not generally available. Conclusion: Perceived effectiveness of advance care documentation in encouraging end-of-life discussions appears to be high but is mostly derived from low-level evidence studies. This may indicate a willingness and openness of patients, surrogates and staff to perceive advance directives as an instrument to improve communication, rather than actual evidence of timeliness or effectiveness from suitably designed studies. The assumption that advance care documentations will lead to higher physicians’ confidence or engagement in communicating with patients/families could not be objectively demonstrated in this review.
Mechanical thrombectomy with Solitaire AB stents for the treatment of intracranial venous sinus thrombosis
Authors: Ma Ji , Shui Shaofeng , Han XinWei , Guo Dong , Li Teng-Fei , Yan Lei 
Published: March 2016

Background Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a rare clinicopathological entity with substantial diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas. The appropriate management of CVST remains to be defined. Purpose To evaluate the efficiency and safety of mechanical thrombectomy with Solitaire AB stents for the treatment of intracranial venous sinus thrombosis. Material and Methods Twenty-three consecutive patients with CVST who were treated with mechanical thrombectomy using Solitaire AB stents between January 2013 and October 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. The headache intensity was evaluated according to the visual analogue scale (VAS), and neurological function was assessed using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Follow-up data were available for all patients for 6–14 months. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance venography (MRV) were performed at 3 and 6 months after neurointervention, and telephone interviews were performed monthly thereafter. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the evaluation data (VAS and NIHSS) at admission and discharge. Results Twenty-six Solitaire AB stents were used. No neurointervention-related complications were noted. The symptoms were significantly improved after neurointervention in all patients. The comparisons between the VAS and NIHSS evaluations at admission and discharge were significantly different ( P < 0.05). No recurrence was observed during the follow-up period. Conclusion Mechanical thrombectomy with Solitaire AB stents is safe and effective for the treatment of CVST and can significantly improve clinical symptoms. The occurrence of complications is low, and the prognosis is favorable.
Coexisting vascular lesions in reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome
Authors: Topcuoglu M Akif , Kursun Oguzhan , Singhal Aneesh B 
Published: March 2016

Background The pathophysiology of reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is not known. Published cases have documented coexisting cervical artery dissection and unruptured aneurysms, raising the possibility that ultrastructural vessel wall abnormalities underlie the development of vascular lesions as well as RCVS. Methods In this retrospective study we compared the frequency of neurovascular abnormalities in 158 consecutive RCVS patients, 44 patients with primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS, positive controls), and 177 non-stroke patients with acute neurological symptoms (non-arteriopathy controls). Results Coexisting neurovascular abnormalities were significantly higher ( p < 0.001) in RCVS (23%) as compared to the PACNS (5%) or non-arteriopathy groups (8%). Cervical artery dissections were noted only in the RCVS group (8%, p < 0.001). The RCVS group had more unruptured aneurysms than PACNS (13% vs. 5%, p = 0.099) or non-arteriopathy controls (13% vs. 7%, p = 0.05). Seven RCVS patients also had other vascular malformations (venous anomaly, cavernous malformations, fibromuscular dysplasia). There was no significant association between coexisting vascular abnormalities and brain lesions or discharge clinical outcome in the RCVS group. Conclusion The high prevalence and heterogeneous anatomy of coexisting vascular lesions suggest that subtle ultrastructural arterial wall abnormalities may contribute to their development and also predispose to RCVS.