bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Quality and Utility of Surgical and Anesthetic Data at a Ugandan Regional Referral Hospital
Authors: Tumusiime G. , Was A. , Preston M. A. , Riesel J. N. , Ttendo S. S. , Firth P. G. 
Published: September 2016

AbstractBackgroundThere are little primary data available on the delivery or quality of surgical treatment in rural sub‐Saharan African hospitals. To initiate a quality improvement system, we characterized the existing data capture at a Ugandan Regional Referral Hospital.MethodsWe examined the surgical ward admission (January 2008–December/2011) and operating theater logbooks (January 2010–July 2011) at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital.ResultsThere were 6346 admissions recorded over three years. The mean patient age was 31.4 ± 22.3 years; 29.8 % (n = 1888) of admissions were children. Leading causes of admission were general surgical problems (n = 3050, 48.1 %), trauma (n = 2041, 32.2 %), oncology (n = 718, 11.3 %) and congenital condition (n = 193, 3.0 %). Laparotomy (n = 468, 35.3 %), incision and drainage (n = 188, 14.2 %) and hernia repair (n = 90, 6.8 %) were the most common surgical procedures. Of 1325 operative patients, 994 (75 %) had an ASA I–II score. Of patients undergoing 810 procedures booked as non‐elective, 583 (72 %) had an ASA “E” rating. Records of 41.3 % (n‐403/975) of patients age 5 years or older undergoing non‐obstetric operations were missing from the ward logbook. Missing patients were younger (25 [13,40] versus 30 [18,46] years, p = 0.002) and had higher ASA scores (ASA III‐V 29.0 % versus 18.9 %, p < 0.001) than patients recorded in the logbbook; there was no diffence in gender (male 62.8 % versus 67.0 %, p = 0.20).ConclusionsThe hospital records system measures surgical care, but improved data capture is needed to determine outcomes with sufficient accuracy to guide and record expansion of surgical capacity.
A numerical study of turbulence under temporally evolving axisymmetric contraction and subsequent relaxation
Authors: Clay M. P. , Yeung P. K. 
Published: September 2016

Direct numerical simulations using up to $4096^{3}$ grid points on a deforming domain have been used to study the response of initially isotropic turbulence to a period of spatially uniform axisymmetric contraction (with one extensional and two equally compressive directions) and subsequent relaxation. A time-dependent strain rate is formulated to closely correspond to the downstream evolution in the wind tunnel experiments of Ayyalasomayajula & Warhaft (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 566, 2006, pp. 273–307), with a smoothly varying 4 : 1 contraction ratio. The application of strain leads to anisotropy in both the large scales and the small scales, in a manner where nonlinear effects not considered in rapid-distortion theory play an important role. Upon termination of strain, the small scales quickly return to isotropy while a residual level of anisotropy appears to persist at the large scales. The simulations are shown to reproduce many key findings from experiments, including distinctive changes in the form of the one-dimensional spectra in the extensional direction that arise at sufficiently high Reynolds number, during both the straining and relaxation periods. Scale-dependent measures of anisotropy are presented in terms of one-dimensional spectra and axisymmetric versions of the energy spectrum. To explain the observed changes in spectral shapes, various terms in the spectral evolution equation representing rapid pressure strain, slow pressure strain, production, nonlinear transfer and viscous dissipation are computed, showing that nonlinear effects take a dominant role when a wide range of scales exists. In particular, the ‘double-peak’ spectral form observed in experiments at high Reynolds number is found to be a consequence of the small scales relaxing towards isotropy much faster than the large scales. A comparison of results obtained from computational domains of varying sizes and grid resolutions show that the numerical findings are robust.
Compressive Mechanical Property Analysis of Eva Foam: Its Buffering Effects at Different Impact Velocities
Authors: Liu D.-S. , Chen Z.-H. , Tsai C.-Y. , Ye R.-J. , Yu K.-T. 
Published: September 2016

AbstractEVA foams, like all other polymers, also exhibit strain-rate effects and hysteresis. However, currently available approaches for predicting the mechanical response of polymeric foam subjected to an arbitrarily imposed loading history and strain-rate effect are highly limited. Especially, the strain rates in the intermediate rate domain (between 100and 102s–1) are extremely difficult to study. The use of data generated through the drop tower technique for implementation in constitutive equations or numerical models has not been considered in past studies. In this study, an experiment including a quasi-static compression test and drop impact tests with a high speed camera was conducted. An inverse analysis technique combined with a finite element model for material parameter identification was developed to determine the stress–strain behavior of foam at different specific strain rates. It was used in this study to simulate multiple loading and unloading cycles on foam specimens, and the results were compared with experimental measurements.
Effects of anthelmintic treatment on ewe feed intake, digestion, milk production and lamb growth
Authors: ZHONG R. Z. , CHENG L. , WANG Y. Q. , SUN X. Z. , LUO D. W. , FANG Y. , BUSH R. D. , ZHOU D. W. 
Published: September 2016

SUMMARYTwenty Small Tailed Han (STH) and 20 Ujumqin (UJU) ewes naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes were randomly assigned to one of four treatments arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design, receiving anthelmintic treatment (AT) or non-anthelmintic treatment (NonAT) prior to lambing. After lambing, the effects of AT on feed intake, digestion and milk yield in ewes, and the growth rates of lambs fed their mother's milk were assessed for 28 days. Faecal samples were collected to determine faecal egg counts (FECs), milk was collected to measure milk yield and ewes and lambs were weighed to quantify daily body weight change. The results showed that AT significantly increased ewe dry matter intake (2411 g/d for AT and 2209 g/d for NonAT) and decreased FECs (50 eggs/g for AT and 2655 eggs/g for NonAT). All ewes lost weight after lambing, but body weight loss in the AT (43 g/d) was significantly less than in NonAT (84 g/d), and STH ewes (70 g/d) lost more weight than UJU ewes (58 g/d). Anthelmintic-treated ewes produced more milk for their lambs to consume. However, the extent of these positive effects of AT differed between STH and UJU ewes. The average daily body weight gain of lambs in AT was higher than those in NonAT. In conclusion, effective AT in ewes before lambing benefits subsequent lactation in ewes and growth rate in lambs.
The effect of sodium nitroprusside on psychotic symptoms and spatial working memory in patients with schizophrenia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Stone J. M. , Morrison P. D. , Koychev I. , Gao F. , Reilly T. J. , Kolanko M. , Mohammadinasab A. , Kapur S. , McGuire P. K. 
Published: September 2016

BackgroundSodium nitroprusside (SNP) has been reported to rapidly reduce psychotic symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. This has the potential to revolutionize treatment for schizophrenia. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that SNP leads to a reduction in psychotic symptoms and an improvement in spatial working memory (SWM) performance in patients with schizophrenia.MethodThis was a single-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial performed from 27 August 2014 to 10 February 2016 (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02176044). Twenty patients with schizophrenia aged 18–60 years with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were recruited from psychiatric outpatient clinics in the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, London, UK. Baseline symptoms were measured using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the 18-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS-18), and SWM was assessed using the CANTAB computerized test. Participants received either an infusion of SNP (0.5 μg/kg per min for 4 h) or placebo and were re-assessed for symptoms and SWM performance immediately after the infusion, and 4 weeks later.ResultsSNP did not lead to any reduction in psychotic symptoms or improvement in SWM performance compared to placebo.ConclusionsAlthough this study was negative, it is possible that the beneficial effects of SNP may occur in patients with a shorter history of illness, or with more acute exacerbation of symptoms.
Gradual type-and-effect systems
Authors: BAÑADOS SCHWERTER FELIPE , GARCIA RONALD , TANTER ÉRIC 
Published: September 2016

AbstractEffect systems have the potential to help software developers, but their practical adoption has been very limited. We conjecture that this limited adoption is due in part to the difficulty of transitioning from a system where effects are implicit and unrestricted to a system with a static effect discipline, which must settle for conservative checking in order to be decidable. To address this hindrance, we develop a theory of gradual effect checking, which makes it possible to incrementally annotate and statically check effects, while still rejecting statically inconsistent programs. We extend the generic type-and-effect framework of Marino and Millstein with a notion of unknown effects, which turns out to be significantly more subtle than unknown types in traditional gradual typing. We appeal to abstract interpretation to develop and validate the concepts of gradual effect checking. We also demonstrate how an effect system formulated in the framework of Marino and Millstein can be automatically extended to support gradual checking. We use gradual effect checking to develop a fully gradual type-and-effect framework, which permits interaction between static and dynamic checking for both effects and types.
Rwanda’s Model Prehospital Emergency Care Service: A Two-year Review of Patient Demographics and Injury Patterns in Kigali
Authors: Enumah Samuel , Scott John W. , Maine Rebecca , Uwitonze Eric , D’Arc Nyinawankusi Jeanne , Riviello Robert , Byiringiro Jean Claude , Kabagema Ignace , Jayaraman Sudha 
Published: September 2016

AbstractIntroductionInjury is responsible for nearly five million annual deaths worldwide, and nearly 90% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Reliable clinical data detailing the epidemiology of injury are necessary for improved care delivery, but they are lacking in these regions.MethodsA retrospective review of the Service d’Aide Medicale Urgente (SAMU; Kigali, Rwanda) prehospital database for patients with traumatic injury-related conditions from December 2012 through November 2014 was conducted. Chi-squared analysis, binomial probability test, and student’s t-test were used, where appropriate, to describe patient demographics, injury patterns, and temporal and geographic trends of injuries.ResultsIn the two-year period, 3,357 patients were managed by SAMU for traumatic injuries. Males were 76.5% of the study population, and the median age of all injured patients was 29 years (IQR=23-35). The most common causes of injury were road traffic crashes (RTCs; 73.4%), stabbings/cuts (11.1%), and falls (9.4%), and the most common anatomic regions injured were the head (55.7%), lower (45.0%) extremities, and upper (27.0%) extremities. Almost one-fourth of injured patients suffered a fracture (24.9%). The most common mechanism of injury for adults was motorcycle-related RTCs (61.4%), whereas children were more commonly injured as pedestrians (59.8%). Centrally located sectors within Kigali represented common areas for RTCs.ConclusionsThese data support the call for focused injury prevention strategies, some of which already are underway in Rwanda. Further research on care processes and clinical outcomes for injured patients may help identify avenues for improved care delivery.EnumahS,ScottJW,MaineR,UwitonzeE,NyinawankusiJD,RivielloR,ByiringiroJC,KabagemaI,JayaramanS.Rwanda’s model prehospital emergency care service: a two-year review of patient demographics and injury patterns in Kigali.Prehosp Disaster Med.2016;31(6):614–620.
Development and Implementation of a Novel Prehospital Care System in the State of Kerala, India
Authors: Brown Heather A. , Douglass Katherine A. , Ejas Shafi , Poovathumparambil Venugopalan 
Published: September 2016

AbstractMost low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have struggled to find a system for prehospital care that can provide adequate patient care and geographical coverage while maintaining a feasible price tag. The emergency medical systems of the Western world are not necessarily relevant in developing economic systems, given the lack of strict legislation, the scarcity of resources, and the limited number of trained personnel. Meanwhile, most efforts to provide prehospital care in India have taken the form of adapting Western models to the Indian context with limited success. Described here is a novel approach to prehospital care designed for and implemented in the State of Kerala, India. The Active Network Group of Emergency Life Savers (ANGELS) was launched in 2011 in Calicut City, the third largest city in the Indian State of Kerala. The ANGELS integrated an existing fleet of private and state-owned ambulances into a single network utilizing Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and a single statewide call number. A total of 85 volunteer emergency medical certified technicians (EMCTs) were trained in basic first aid and trauma care principles. Public awareness campaigns accompanied all activities to raise awareness amongst community members. Funding was provided via public-private partnership, aimed to minimize costs to patients for service utilization. Over a two-year period from March 2011 to April 2013, 8,336 calls were recorded, of which 54.8% (4,569) were converted into actual ambulance run sheets. The majority of calls were for medical emergencies and most patients were transported to Medical College Hospital in Calicut. This unique public-private partnership has been responsive to the needs of the population while sustaining low operational costs. This system may provide a relevant template for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) development in other resource-limited settings.BrownHA, DouglassKA, EjasS, PoovathumparambilV. Development and implementation of a novel prehospital care system in the State of Kerala, India. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(6):663–666.
Activation of TNFR2 sensitizes macrophages for TNFR1-mediated necroptosis
Authors: Siegmund Daniela , Kums Juliane , Ehrenschwender Martin , Wajant Harald 
Published: September 2016

AbstractMacrophages express TNFR1 as well as TNFR2 and are also major producers of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), especially upon contact with pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Consequently, TNF not only acts as a macrophage-derived effector molecule but also regulates the activity and viability of macrophages. Here, we investigated the individual contribution of TNFR1 and TNFR2 to TNF-induced cell death in macrophages. Exclusive stimulation of TNFR1 showed no cytotoxic effect whereas selective stimulation of TNFR2 displayed mild cytotoxicity. Intriguingly, the latter was strongly enhanced by the caspase inhibitor zVAD-fmk. The strong cytotoxic activity of TNFR2 in the presence of zVAD-fmk was reversed by necrostatin-1, indicating necroptotic cell death. TNFR1- and TNF-deficient macrophages turned out to be resistant against TNFR2-induced cell death. In addition, the cIAP-depleting SMAC mimetic BV6 also enforced TNF/TNFR1-mediated necroptotic cell death in the presence of zVAD-fmk. In sum, our data suggest a model in which TNFR2 sensitizes macrophages for endogenous TNF-induced TNFR1-mediated necroptosis by the known ability of TNFR2 to interfere with the survival activity of TRAF2-cIAP1/2 complexes.
Comparative genomics reveals adaptive evolution of Asian tapeworm in switching to a new intermediate host
Authors: Wang Shuai , Wang Sen , Luo Yingfeng , Xiao Lihua , Luo Xuenong , Gao Shenghan , Dou Yongxi , Zhang Huangkai , Guo Aijiang , Meng Qingshu , Hou Junling , Zhang Bing , Zhang Shaohua , Yang Meng , Meng Xuelian , Mei Hailiang , Li Hui , He Zilong , Zhu Xueliang , Tan Xinyu , Zhu Xing-quan , Yu Jun , Cai Jianping , Zhu Guan , Hu Songnian , Cai Xuepeng 
Published: September 2016

AbstractTaenia saginata, Taenia solium and Taenia asiatica (beef, pork and Asian tapeworms, respectively) are parasitic flatworms of major public health and food safety importance. Among them, T. asiatica is a newly recognized species that split from T. saginata via an intermediate host switch ∼1.14 Myr ago. Here we report the 169- and 168-Mb draft genomes of T. saginata and T. asiatica. Comparative analysis reveals that high rates of gene duplications and functional diversifications might have partially driven the divergence between T. asiatica and T. saginata. We observe accelerated evolutionary rates, adaptive evolutions in homeostasis regulation, tegument maintenance and lipid uptakes, and differential/specialized gene family expansions in T. asiatica that may favour its hepatotropism in the new intermediate host. We also identify potential targets for developing diagnostic or intervention tools against human tapeworms. These data provide new insights into the evolution of Taenia parasites, particularly the recent speciation of T. asiatica.
Extracellular vesicle-associated Aβ mediates trans-neuronal bioenergetic and Ca2+-handling deficits in Alzheimer’s disease models
Authors: Eitan Erez , Hutchison Emmette R , Marosi Krisztina , Comotto James , Mustapic Maja , Nigam Saket M , Suire Caitlin , Maharana Chinmoyee , Jicha Gregory A , Liu Dong , Machairaki Vasiliki , Witwer Kenneth W , Kapogiannis Dimitrios , Mattson Mark P 
Published: September 2016

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder in which aggregation-prone neurotoxic amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) accumulates in the brain. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, are small 50–150 nm membrane vesicles that have recently been implicated in the prion-like spread of self-aggregating proteins. Here we report that EVs isolated from AD patient cerebrospinal fluid and plasma, from the plasma of two AD mouse models, and from the medium of neural cells expressing familial AD presenilin 1 mutations, destabilize neuronal Ca2+homeostasis, impair mitochondrial function, and sensitize neurons to excitotoxicity. EVs contain a relatively low amount of Aβ but have an increased Aβ42/ Aβ40 ratio; the majority of Aβ is located on the surface of the EVs. Impairment of lysosome function results in increased generation of EVs with elevated Aβ42 levels. EVs may mediate transcellular spread of pathogenic Aβ species that impair neuronal Ca2+handling and mitochondrial function, and may thereby render neurons vulnerable to excitotoxicity.
Genome-wide analysis of Dof transcription factors reveals functional characteristics during development and response to biotic stresses in pepper
Authors: Kang Won-Hee , Kim Seungill , Lee Hyun-Ah , Choi Doil , Yeom Seon-In 
Published: September 2016

AbstractThe DNA-binding with one zinc finger proteins (Dofs) are a plant-specific family of transcription factors. The Dofs are involved in a variety of biological processes such as phytohormone production, seed development, and environmental adaptation. Dofs have been previously identified in several plants, but not in pepper. We identified 33 putative Dof genes in pepper (CaDofs). To gain an overview of the CaDofs, we analyzed phylogenetic relationships, protein motifs, and evolutionary history. We divided the 33 CaDofs, containing 25 motifs, into four major groups distributed on eight chromosomes. We discovered an expansion of the CaDofs dated to a recent duplication event. Segmental duplication that occurred before the speciation of the Solanaceae lineages was predominant among the CaDofs. The global gene-expression profiling of the CaDofs by RNA-seq analysis showed distinct temporal and pathogen-specific variation during development and response to biotic stresses (two TMV strains, PepMoV, and Phytophthora capsici), suggesting functional diversity among the CaDofs. These results will provide the useful clues into the responses of Dofs in biotic stresses and promote a better understanding of their multiple function in pepper and other species.
Removal of proprioception by BCI raises a stronger body ownership illusion in control of a humanlike robot
Authors: Alimardani Maryam , Nishio Shuichi , Ishiguro Hiroshi 
Published: September 2016

AbstractBody ownership illusions provide evidence that our sense of self is not coherent and can be extended to non-body objects. Studying about these illusions gives us practical tools to understand the brain mechanisms that underlie body recognition and the experience of self. We previously introduced an illusion of body ownership transfer (BOT) for operators of a very humanlike robot. This sensation of owning the robot’s body was confirmed when operators controlled the robot either by performing the desired motion with their body (motion-control) or by employing a brain-computer interface (BCI) that translated motor imagery commands to robot movement (BCI-control). The interesting observation during BCI-control was that the illusion could be induced even with a noticeable delay in the BCI system. Temporal discrepancy has always shown critical weakening effects on body ownership illusions. However the delay-robustness of BOT during BCI-control raised a question about the interaction between the proprioceptive inputs and delayed visual feedback in agency-driven illusions. In this work, we compared the intensity of BOT illusion for operators in two conditions; motion-control and BCI-control. Our results revealed a significantly stronger BOT illusion for the case of BCI-control. This finding highlights BCI’s potential in inducing stronger agency-driven illusions by building a direct communication between the brain and controlled body, and therefore removing awareness from the subject’s own body.
One material, multiple functions: graphene/Ni(OH)2 thin films applied in batteries, electrochromism and sensors
Authors: Neiva Eduardo G. C. , Oliveira Marcela M. , Bergamini Márcio F. , Marcolino Luiz H. , Zarbin Aldo J. G. 
Published: September 2016

AbstractDifferent nanocomposites between reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles were synthesized through modifications in the polyol method (starting from graphene oxide (GO) dispersion in ethylene glycol and nickel acetate), processed as thin films through the liquid-liquid interfacial route, homogeneously deposited over transparent electrodes and spectroscopically, microscopically and electrochemically characterized. The thin and transparent nanocomposite films (112 to 513 nm thickness, 62.6 to 19.9% transmittance at 550 nm) consist of α-Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles (mean diameter of 4.9 nm) homogeneously decorating the rGO sheets. As a control sample, neat Ni(OH)2 was prepared in the same way, consisting of porous nanoparticles with diameter ranging from 30 to 80 nm. The nanocomposite thin films present multifunctionality and they were applied as electrodes to alkaline batteries, as electrochromic material and as active component to electrochemical sensor to glycerol. In all the cases the nanocomposite films presented better performances when compared to the neat Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles, showing energy and power of 43.7 W h kg−1 and 4.8 kW kg−1 (8.24 A g−1) respectively, electrochromic efficiency reaching 70 cm2 C−1 and limit of detection as low as 15.4 ± 1.2 μmol L−1.