bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Detection of prognostic factors in children and adolescents with Burkitt and Diffuse Large B‐Cell Lymphoma treated with theAIEOP LNH‐97 protocol
Authors: Pillon Marta , Mussolin Lara , Carraro Elisa , Conter Valentino , Aricò Maurizio , Vinti Luciana , Garaventa Alberto , Piglione Matilde , Buffardi Salvatore , Sala Alessandra , Santoro Nicola , Lo Nigro Luca , Mura Rossella , Tondo Annalisa , Casale Fiorina , Farruggia Piero , Pierani Paolo , Cesaro Simone , d'Amore Emanuele S. G. , Basso Giuseppe 
Published: July 2016

SummaryBurkitt lymphoma (BL) and Diffuse Large B‐Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) account for most cases of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in childhood. We report the clinical characteristics, outcome and prognostic factors in children withBLorDLBCLtreated according to the Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP)LNH‐97 protocol. Patients aged up to 18 years that were newly diagnosed withBL/DLBCLwere included in the study. Therapy consisted of pre‐phase followed by 2–6 high‐dose chemotherapy courses tailored according to lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) value and disease stage. A total of 442 patients (379BL, 63DLBCL) were enrolled between 1997 and 2014, of whom 18 failed to achieve remission, 6 experienced treatment‐related death, 2 developed second malignancy and 20 relapsed. At a median follow‐up time of 5 years, overall survival was 93% (±1%) and event‐free survival was 90% (±1%).LDHvalue above the median value had an independently negative prognostic value (P < 0·0001). However, in the subgroup of 128 patients in which minimal disseminated disease (MDD) was analysed,MDD‐positivity became the only unfavourable prognostic factor for progression‐free survival. Tailored chemotherapy could be extremely effective with limited toxicity. Identification ofMDDas a hallmark of a higher risk of treatment failure may provide a target population for treatment intensification by anti‐CD20.
Photodynamic therapy with 5‐aminolaevulinic acid and DNA damage: unravelling roles of p53 and ABCG2
Authors: Postiglione I. , Barra F. , Aloj S. M. , Palumbo G. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractObjectivesIn spite of high sensitivity of A549 cells (p53+/+) to lethal effects of photodynamic therapy with 5‐aminolaevulinic acid (5‐ALA/PDT), DNA damage was observed only in H1299 cells (p53−/−), suggesting that p53 may exert a protective effect. Studies on human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines HCT‐116, and their cognate knockouts for p53, were not entirely consistent with the assumption above. Exploring alternative explanations for such conflicting behaviour, we observed that expression of the ATP‐binding cassette G2 (ABCG2), a regulator of cell component efflux, had important effects on PDT‐generated DNA injury in PC3 cells (prostate) which are p53−/− and positive for ABCG2. Addition of an ABCG2 inhibitor in ABCG2 positive A549 (p53+/+) and PC3 (p53−/−) cells eliminated resistance to DNA damage.Materials and methodsAll cell lines investigated were incubated with 5‐ALA and irradiated. Effects of PDT were evaluated assessing residual cell viability, cell‐cycle profiles, PpIX localization, comet assay and Western blotting. Identical measurements were made in the presence of ABCG2 inhibitor, in cells expressing the transporter.ResultsOur data show that cell aptitude to defend its DNA from PDT‐induced injury was mainly ruled by ABCG2 expression. These findings, while providing helpful information in predicting effectiveness of 5‐ALA/PDT, may indicate a way to shift PDT from a palliative to a more effective approach in anti‐cancer therapy.
Ecological and phylogenetic perspectives on wing stiffness in nine Theclini species (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)
Authors: Uchida Akihiko , Imafuku Michio 
Published: July 2016

AbstractWe studied the relationship between wing stiffness and butterfly ecology and phylogeny. Nine species belonging to the tribe Theclini of the family Lycaenidae were selected and examined for the wing stiffness of dried specimens by a three‐point bending test. It was found in Japonica lutea that the wing stiffness was not affected by the humidity to which it had been exposed, but was strongly affected by wing size and sex. Comparisons of sexual differences in four species indicated that females of patrolling species had stiffer wings than conspecific males, but that males of territorial species had stiffer wings than conspecific females. Finally, the wing stiffness was compared among males of nine species that use different mate‐locating tactics, and the results revealed a tendency that males of territorial species have stiffer wings than males of patrolling species. These results, though including a few exceptional cases, are discussed from the perspective of ecological requirements and phylogenetic constraints on the species.
Crown group Oxyphotobacteria postdate the rise of oxygen
Authors: Shih P. M. , Hemp J. , Ward L. M. , Matzke N. J. , Fischer W. W. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractThe rise of oxygen ca. 2.3 billion years ago (Ga) is the most distinct environmental transition in Earth history. This event was enabled by the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis in the ancestors of Cyanobacteria. However, long‐standing questions concern the evolutionary timing of this metabolism, with conflicting answers spanning more than one billion years. Recently, knowledge of the Cyanobacteria phylum has expanded with the discovery of non‐photosynthetic members, including a closely related sister group termed Melainabacteria, with the known oxygenic phototrophs restricted to a clade recently designated Oxyphotobacteria. By integrating genomic data from the Melainabacteria, cross‐calibrated Bayesian relaxed molecular clock analyses show that crown group Oxyphotobacteria evolved ca. 2.0 billion years ago (Ga), well after the rise of atmospheric dioxygen. We further estimate the divergence between Oxyphotobacteria and Melainabacteria ca. 2.5–2.6 Ga, which—if oxygenic photosynthesis is an evolutionary synapomorphy of the Oxyphotobacteria—marks an upper limit for the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis. Together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that oxygenic photosynthesis evolved relatively close in time to the rise of oxygen.
Tree demography dominates long‐term growth trends inferred from tree rings
Authors: Brienen Roel J. W. , Gloor Manuel , Ziv Guy 
Published: July 2016

AbstractUnderstanding responses of forests to increasing CO2 and temperature is an important challenge, but no easy task. Tree rings are increasingly used to study such responses. In a recent study, van der Sleen et al. (2014) Nature Geoscience, 8, 4 used tree rings from 12 tropical tree species and find that despite increases in intrinsic water use efficiency, no growth stimulation is observed. This challenges the idea that increasing CO2 would stimulate growth. Unfortunately, tree ring analysis can be plagued by biases, resulting in spurious growth trends. While their study evaluated several biases, it does not account for all. In particular, one bias may have seriously affected their results. Several of the species have recruitment patterns, which are not uniform, but clustered around one specific year. This results in spurious negative growth trends if growth rates are calculated in fixed size classes, as ‘fast‐growing’ trees reach the sampling diameter earlier compared to slow growers and thus fast growth rates tend to have earlier calendar dates. We assessed the effect of this ‘nonuniform age bias’ on observed growth trends and find that van der Sleen's conclusions of a lack of growth stimulation do not hold. Growth trends are – at least partially – driven by underlying recruitment or age distributions. Species with more clustered age distributions show more negative growth trends, and simulations to estimate the effect of species’ age distributions show growth trends close to those observed. Re‐evaluation of the growth data and correction for the bias result in significant positive growth trends of 1–2% per decade for the full period, and 3–7% since 1950. These observations, however, should be taken cautiously as multiple biases affect these trend estimates. In all, our results highlight that tree ring studies of long‐term growth trends can be strongly influenced by biases if demographic processes are not carefully accounted for.
Factors associated with end‐of‐life by home‐visit nursing‐care providers in Japan
Authors: Nakanishi Miharu , Niimura Junko , Nishida Atsushi 
Published: July 2016

AbstractAimHome‐visit nursing‐care services in Japan are expected to provide home hospice services for older patients with non‐cancer diseases. The aim of the present study was to examine factors that contribute to the provision of end‐of‐life care by home‐visit nursing‐care providers in Japan.MethodsThe present retrospective study was carried out using nationally representative cross‐sectional data from the 2007, 2010, and 2013 Survey of Institutions and Establishments for Long‐Term Care. A total of 138 008 randomly sampled home‐visit nursing‐care service users were included in this analysis. End‐of‐life care (study outcome) was defined as the provision of nursing‐care within the last month of life.ResultsOf the 138 008 patients at home, 2280 (1.7%) received home‐based nursing care within the last month of life, and end‐of‐life care was offered primarily to cancer patients (n = 1651; 72.4%). After accounting for patient characteristics, patients were more likely to receive end‐of‐life care when they used home‐visit nursing‐care providers that had a greater number of nursing staff or were located in a region with fewer hospital beds.ConclusionsAmong home‐visit nursing‐care providers, the nursing staff ratio and the availability of hospital beds were related to the provision of end‐of‐life care. Home‐visit nursing‐care providers should establish specialist hospice care teams with enhanced staffing ratios to allow for the adequate provision of home‐based end‐of‐life care. A community‐based network between home‐visit nursing‐care providers and hospitals should also be established to attain an integrated end‐of‐life care system for elderly populations in regions with more hospital beds. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 991–998.
Fear of falling, but not gait impairment, predicts subjective memory complaints in cognitively intact older adults
Authors: Sakurai Ryota , Suzuki Hiroyuki , Ogawa Susumu , Kawai Hisashi , Yoshida Hideyo , Hirano Hirohiko , Ihara Kazushige , Obuchi Shuichi , Fujiwara Yoshinori 
Published: July 2016

AimUnderstanding the risk factors for developing subjective memory complaints (SMC) could help with early screening and treatment for cognitive impairment. The aim of the present study was to explore the risk factors for developing SMC, by focusing on gait‐related variables.MethodsA total of 406 community‐dwelling older adults aged 65–85 years without impending cognitive impairment participated in baseline and 1‐year follow‐up evaluations. A comprehensive evaluation was carried out, and included gait speed and fear of falling (FoF) assessments, and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to independently evaluate the risk factors at baseline and follow‐up evaluations.ResultsAt baseline, 45.1% of older adults had SMC. The presence of SMC at baseline was associated with being female, subjective hearing loss and FoF. Of 223 participants who did not report SMC at baseline, 48 had newly developed SMC at follow up (21.5%). The significant predictors for developing SMC were being female and FoF, but not gait speed, and were independent of depression symptoms. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment total score at baseline was a marginally significant predictor for developing SMC at follow up (P = 0.06), but a lower score in the language domain was a significant predictor in further analysis.ConclusionsFoF was a significant risk for future development of SMC, suggesting that FoF might reflect the risk of cognitive impairment at an earlier stage, or that FoF and SMC could share the same basis of anxiety for daily activities. The mechanisms and consequence of this longitudinal relationship require further study. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1125–1131.
Automating Recession Curve Displacement Recharge Estimation
Authors: Smith Brennan , Schwartz Stuart 
Published: July 2016

AbstractRecharge estimation is an important and challenging element of groundwater management and resource sustainability. Many recharge estimation methods have been developed with varying data requirements, applicable to different spatial and temporal scales. The variability and inherent uncertainty in recharge estimation motivates the recommended use of multiple methods to estimate and bound regional recharge estimates. Despite the inherent limitations of using daily gauged streamflow, recession curve displacement methods provide a convenient first‐order estimate as part of a multimethod hierarchical approach to estimate watershed‐scale annual recharge. The implementation of recession curve displacement recharge estimation in the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) RORA program relies on the subjective, operator‐specific selection of baseflow recession events to estimate a gauge‐specific recession index. This paper presents a parametric algorithm that objectively automates this tedious, subjective process, parameterizing and automating the implementation of recession curve displacement. Results using the algorithm reproduce regional estimates of groundwater recharge from the USGS Appalachian Valley and Piedmont Regional Aquifer‐System Analysis, with an average absolute error of less than 2%. The algorithm facilitates consistent, completely automated estimation of annual recharge that complements more rigorous data‐intensive techniques for recharge estimation.
Changes in health‐related quality of life with treatment of longer‐acting clotting factors: results in the A‐LONG and B‐LONG clinical studies
Authors: Wyrwich K. W. , Krishnan S. , Auguste P. , Poon J.‐L. , von Maltzahn R. , Yu R. , Pierce G. F. , Mei B. , Mahlangu J. , von Mackensen S. 
Published: July 2016

IntroductionIn haemophilia, prophylactic infusion of replacement factor can result in improvements in health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) when compared with episodic treatment. The Haemophilia‐specific Quality of Life (Haem‐A‐QoL) questionnaire assessed HRQoL in adults with severe haemophilia A or B who received prophylactic or episodic treatment with recombinant factor VIII or IX Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc or rFIXFc) in the A‐LONG or B‐LONG clinical studies.AimsUnderstand changes in HRQoL during the A‐LONG and B‐LONG trials.MethodsGroup‐level and individual‐level changes over time for the Haem‐A‐QoL key domains of ‘Physical Health’ and ‘Sports & Leisure,’ and ‘Total Score’ were evaluated in adults through baseline and 6‐month HRQoL assessments. Previously determined responder definitions (RDs) were used for evaluating meaningful subject‐level HRQoL improvements.ResultsThe analysis included 67 A‐LONG and 51 B‐LONG subjects who completed the Haem‐A‐QoL (baseline and 6 months). While HRQoL improvements were observed among all treatment groups, greater improvements in HRQoL were observed among subjects who received episodic treatment pre‐study (and prophylaxis on‐study) compared to those who received hyphenate prophylaxis. Applying the RDs for interpreting 6‐month changes, 47.4%/33.3% (‘Physical Health’), 35.9%/50.0% (‘Sports & Leisure’) and 23.9%/33.3% (‘Total Score’) of A‐LONG subjects who received individualized or weekly prophylaxis were classified as HRQoL responders. In B‐LONG, 69.2%/57.9% (‘Physical Health’), 44.4%/56.7% (‘Sports & Leisure’) and 41.7%/44.1% (‘Total Score’) of subjects who received individualized or weekly prophylaxis were classified as HRQoL responders.ConclusionChanges in Haem‐A‐QoL key domains and ‘Total Score’ suggest that prophylaxis with long‐acting rFVIIIFc or rFIXFc resulted in meaningful HRQoL improvements.
A case of gabapentin‐induced rhabdomyolysis requiring renal replacement therapy
Authors: Choi Min Seok , Jeon Howook , Kim Hyo Suk , Jang Bo Hyun , Lee Yoon Hee , Park Hoon Suk , Kim HyungWook , Jin Dong Chan 
Published: July 2016

AbstractGabapentin is commonly used for controlling convulsions, restless pain syndrome, and pain in diabetic neuropathy. Common side effects include dizziness, somnolence, ataxia, peripheral edema, and confusion; gabapentin‐induced rhabdomyolysis is rarely reported. To date, the reported cases of gabapentin‐induced rhabdomyolysis have been associated with patients with multiple underlying diseases and assuming multiple medicines for various reasons. In this report, we describe a case of gabapentin‐induced rhabdomyolysis in a 32‐year‐old woman with no medical history. We also review related literature and discuss the possible mechanism and the association with other factors. This case shows that gabapentin can induce rhabdomyolysis in healthy patients and that clinicians must consider the possible association between gabapentin and rhabdomyolysis.
International Trends in Health Science Librarianship Part 19: The Balkan States (Bulgaria and Croatia)
Authors: Kirilova Savina , Skoric Lea 
Published: July 2016

AbstractThis is the 19th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. The focus of the present issue is the Balkan Region (Bulgaria and Croatia). The next regular feature column will investigate two other Balkan states ‐ Serbia and Slovenia.JM
The safety and efficacy of benzbromarone in gout in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Stamp L. K. , Haslett J. , Frampton C. , White D. , Gardner D. , Stebbings S. , Taylor G. , Grainger R. , Kumar R. , Kumar S. , Kain T. , Porter D. , Corkill M. , Cathro A. , Metcalfe S. , Wyeth J. , Dalbeth N. 
Published: July 2016

BackgroundBenzbromarone is a potent uricosuric but is not widely available due to concerns about hepatotoxicity. In Aotearoa New Zealand, benzbromarone has been available since April 2013, subject to funding restrictions, for patients with inadequate urate‐lowering response or intolerance to allopurinol and probenecid.AimTo assess the safety and efficacy of benzbromarone in a real‐life setting.MethodsAll patients who received funding for benzbromarone from 1 April 2013 to 30 September 2014 were identified. Prescribers were sent a questionnaire for each individual. Information on demographics, efficacy of previous urate‐lowering drugs and reasons for discontinuation were collected. Specific information about the dose, effect on serum urate, adverse effects and liver function tests after commencing benzbromarone was recorded.ResultsCompleted questionnaires were returned for 123 of 164 (75%) patients. Mean (SD) serum urate prior to benzbromarone was 0.57 (0.12) mmol/L, and estimated glomerular filtration rate was 50.3 (22.8) mL/min/1.73 m2. The median dose of benzbromarone was 100 mg/day (25–200 mg/day). Six months after commencing benzbromarone, mean (SD) serum urate was 0.35 (0.12) mmol/L. Benzbromarone‐related adverse events included rash (n = 4), diarrhoea (n = 9), nausea (n = 6) and urate stones (n = 3). Liver function test abnormalities were uncommon and tended to be mild. There were 14 patient deaths; none was considered related to benzbromarone. Allopurinol had been prescribed prior to benzbromarone in 117 of 123 patients; median maximum allopurinol dose was 200 mg/day (range 25–600 mg/day), and 19% patients received allopurinol >300 mg/day.ConclusionBenzbromarone provides useful urate‐lowering efficacy and does not appear unsafe in patients with gout. Urate‐lowering therapy prescribing requires further optimisation.
Exact formulations for the minimum interference problem in k‐connected ad hoc wireless networks
Authors: Moraes Renato E. N. , Ribeiro Celso C. , Ribeiro Glaydston M. 
Published: July 2016

AbstractEnergy consumption is one of the most critical issues in wireless ad hoc and sensor networks. A considerable amount of energy is dissipated due to radio transmission power and interference (message collisions). A typical topology control technique aims at reducing energy consumption while ensuring specific desired properties to the established wireless network (such as biconnectivity). Energy minimization can be achieved by reducing the transmission power and selecting edges that suffer or cause less interference. We propose four integer programming formulations for the k‐connected minimum wireless ad hoc interference problem, which consists in a topology control technique to find a power assignment to the nodes of an ad hoc wireless network such that the resulting network topology is k‐vertex connected and the radio interference is minimum. Interference is measured by three different models: Boolean, protocol, and physical. We report computational experiments comparing the formulations and interference models. Optimal solutions for moderately sized networks are obtained using a commercial solver.
Site visits to initiate recruitment in a clinical trial: does it matter who conducts the visit? Protocol for implementation in trials
Authors: Nollett Claire , Kelson Mark , Hood Kerenza 
Published: July 2016

AbstractThe Study Within a Trial (SWAT) program exists to ‘embed research within research, so as to resolve uncertainties about the different ways of designing, conducting, analyzing, and interpreting evaluations of health and social care’ (1). Published in this journal in 2013, a template for the first SWAT protocol outlined an investigation into the effects of site visits by the principal investigator on recruitment in multicentre randomized controlled trials (1). We have now designed a SWAT protocol to extend this question and ask ‘does it matter who conducts the site visit?’ Our aim is to provide a protocol that trials can implement to address this research question.