bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of World Health Organization guideline in facility‐based reduction of mortality in severely malnourished children from low and middle income countries: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Hossain Muttaquina , Chisti Mohammod J , Hossain Mohammod Iqbal , Mahfuz Mustafa , Islam Mohammad Munirul , Ahmed Tahmeed 
Published: January 2017

AimGlobally more than 19 million under‐five children suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Data on efficacy of World Health Organization's (WHO’s) guideline in reducing SAM mortality are limited. We aimed to assess the efficacy of WHO’s facility‐based guideline for the reduction of under‐five SAM children mortality from low and middle income countries (LMICs).MethodsA systematic search of literature published in 1980–2015 was conducted using electronic databases. Additional articles were identified from the reference lists and grey literature. Studies from LMICs where SAM children (0–59 months) were managed in facilities according to WHO’s guideline were included. Outcome was reduction in SAM mortality measured by case fatality rate (CFR). The review was reported following the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses guideline and meta‐analyses done using RevMan 5.3®.ResultsThis review identified nine studies, which demonstrated reductions in SAM mortality. CFR ranged from 8 to 16% where WHO guideline applied. High rates of poverty, malnutrition, severe co‐morbid condition, lack of resources and differences in treatment practices played a key role in large CFR variation. Most death occurred within 48 h of admission in Asia, between 4 days and 4 weeks in Africa and in Latin America. CFR was reduced by 41% (odds ratio: 0.59; 95% confidence interval: 0.46–0.76) when WHO guideline were applied. A 45% reduction in CFR was achieved after excluding human immunodeficiency virus positive cases. Dietary management also differed among WHO and conventional management.ConclusionChildren receiving SAM inpatient care as per WHO guideline have reduced CFR compared to conventional treatment.
Joint hypermobility and oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis: What relationship?
Authors: Cecchin Vanessa , Sperotto Francesca , Balzarin Marta , Vittadello Fabio , Martini Giorgia , Zulian Francesco 
Published: January 2017

AimOligoarticular onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (oJIA) is characterised by a prevalent lower limb involvement, antinuclear antibodies (ANA) positivity and high risk of anterior uveitis. As we observed that oJIA patients frequently present with joint hypermobility (JH), we investigated whether there was a relationship between oJIA and JH.MethodsOur series consisted of children with oJIA, as defined by the International League of Associations for Rheumatology criteria, for whom complete clinical data of at least 2 years’ duration were available. Clinical and laboratory data, collected at disease onset and at the last follow‐up, included: sex, age, presence of JH according to the Beighton score, disease activity, presence of uveitis, ANA, treatment and outcome.ResultsA total of 274 oligoarticular JIA patients (224 female, 50 male; mean age: 11.5) followed on average for 6.6 years, entered the study. The mean age at disease onset was 4.9 years, ANA were positive in 83.9% and uveitis occurred in 20.8%. JH was present in 70.8% of cases at onset, in 44.5% at the last evaluation. JH was more frequent in females (73.7%) than in males (58.0%) (P = 0.028). Uveitis was less frequent in hypermobile children both at diagnosis (17.5 vs. 28.7%, P = 0.037) and during overall disease course (23.7 vs. 36.3%, P = 0.034). Of 163 subjects with at least 5‐year follow‐up, the full clinical remission rate was significantly higher in JH patients (50.5%) than in those without JH (42.3%; P = 0.042).ConclusionIn patients with oligoarticular JIA, JH is more frequent than in healthy subjects, uveitis less frequent and the long‐term outcome better.
Effects of dietary inclusion of silymarin on performance, intestinal morphology and ileal bacterial count in aflatoxin‐challenged broiler chicks
Authors: Jahanian E. , Mahdavi A. H. , Asgary S. , Jahanian R. 
Published: January 2017

SummaryThis study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of silymarin on performance, jejunal morphology and ileal bacterial population in broiler chicks intoxicated with a mix of aflatoxins. A total of three hundred thirty six 7‐day‐old Ross broiler chicks were randomly distributed between seven experimental groups with four replicates of 12 birds each. Experimental treatments consisted of a control group (unchallenged), and a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement, including two aflatoxin levels (0.5 and 2 ppm) and three levels of silymarin (0, 500 and 1000 ppm). Birds were challenged with a mix of aflatoxins from 7 to 28 days of age. Results showed that increasing aflatoxin level resulted in decreased average daily feed intake (ADFI) and weight gain (ADWG), consequently impaired feed conversion ratio (FCR) throughout the trial period. Dietary supplementation of silymarin resulted in the marked increases in ADFI and ADWG, and improved FCR values in aflatoxin‐challenged chicks. Ileal bacterial populations at days 28 and 42 of age were increased by incremental levels of aflatoxins. On the other hand, dietary silymarin supplementation suppressed ileal populations of Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Klebsiella and total negative bacteria in aflatoxicated birds. Increase in dietary aflatoxin level resulted in the decreased villi height, villi height‐to‐crypt depth ratio (VH:CD), villi surface area and apparent villi absorptive area, while it increased crypt depth, goblet cell count and lymphoid follicular diameter. Feeding silymarin at the level of 1000 ppm increased villi height and VH:CD in aflatoxicated birds. Present results indicate that dietary inclusion of silymarin could improve performance by suppressing ileal bacteria and enhancing absorptive surface area in aflatoxin‐challenged broiler chicks.
Assessment of tissue development in fattening quails using the stable isotope technique
Authors: Rezende J. C. R. , Sartori M. M. P. , Sartori J. R. , Ducatti C. , Denadai J. C. , Pezzato A. C. 
Published: January 2017

SummaryWe aimed to study the behaviour of tissue renewal in blood, pectoral muscle and keel of fattening quails during their growth and adulthood through carbon‐13 turnover using the stable isotope technique. Three hundred male European quails were randomly subjected to six treatments. Diets fed to animals were initially based on corn and soybean meal and were replaced at 0, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days of age with diets of rice grits and soybean meal. These diets have distinct isotopic signals and over time it changes; the tissue will incorporate dietary signal, and then, we can measure the return time for each tissue in each age. Treatments were T1 (0 to 21 days), T2 (7 to 35 days), T3 (14 to 42 days), T4 (21 to 56 days), T5 (28 to 63 days) and T6 (35 to 70 days). Carbon‐13 turnover in tissues of the birds at the above‐mentioned time periods was calculated using the first‐order exponential function. The values of half‐lives were 2.6, 3.6, 5.4, 6.3, 9.0 and 9.8 days for blood and 2.0, 1.7, 4.8, 6.7, 6.9 and 6.6 days for pectoral muscle in treatments T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 respectively. The half‐lives for the keel in treatments T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 were 2.0, 5.4, 7.7, 8.9 and 15 days respectively. Thus, half‐life in sampled tissues generally increased with age of birds. Initially, the tissue half‐lives are influenced by growth, and at the end of the growth cycle, the breast muscle tissue was the most metabolically active in either periods, followed by blood and the keel. All tissues showed a sigmoidal growth curve, which can be confirmed by half‐life as a function of age.
Impact of acute‐on‐chronic liver failure on 90‐day mortality following a first liver transplantation
Authors: Levesque Eric , Winter Audrey , Noorah Zaid , Daurès Jean‐Pierre , Landais Paul , Feray Cyrille , Azoulay Daniel 
Published: January 2017

AbstractBackgroundAcute‐on‐chronic liver failure (ACLF) is associated with a significant short‐term mortality rate (23%‐74%), depending on the number of organ failures. Some patients present with ACLF at the time of liver transplantation (LT). The aim of this study was to assess whether ACLF was also a prognostic factor after LT and, if applicable, to construct a score that could predict 90‐day mortality.MethodsThree hundred and fifty cirrhotic patients, who underwent LT between January 2008 and December 2013, were enrolled. We used ACLF grades according to EASL‐CLIF consortium criteria to categorize the cirrhotic patients. A propensity score was applied with an Inverse Probability Treatment Weighting in a Cox model. A predictive score of early mortality after LT was generated.ResultsOne hundred and forty patients (40%) met the criteria for ACLF. The overall mortality rate at 90 days post‐transplant was 10.6% (37/350 patients). ACLF at the time of LT (HR: 5.78 [3.42‐9.77], P<.001) was an independent predictor of 90‐day mortality. Infection occurring during the month before LT, high recipient age and male recipient, the reason for LT and a female donor were also independent risk factors for early mortality. Using these factors, we have proposed a model to predict 90‐day mortality after LT.ConclusionsLT is feasible in cirrhotic patients with ACLF. However, we have shown that ACLF is a significant and independent predictor of 90‐day mortality. We propose a score that can identify candidate cirrhotic patients in whom LT might be associated with futile LT.
Deciphering the genomic architecture of the stickleback brain with a novel multilocus gene‐mapping approach
Authors: Li Zitong , Guo Baocheng , Yang Jing , Herczeg Gábor , Gonda Abigél , Balázs Gergely , Shikano Takahito , Calboli Federico C. F. , Merilä Juha 
Published: January 2017

AbstractQuantitative traits important to organismal function and fitness, such as brain size, are presumably controlled by many small‐effect loci. Deciphering the genetic architecture of such traits with traditional quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping methods is challenging. Here, we investigated the genetic architecture of brain size (and the size of five different brain parts) in nine‐spined sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius) with the aid of novel multilocus QTL‐mapping approaches based on a de‐biased LASSO method. Apart from having more statistical power to detect QTL and reduced rate of false positives than conventional QTL‐mapping approaches, the developed methods can handle large marker panels and provide estimates of genomic heritability. Single‐locus analyses of an F2interpopulation cross with 239 individuals and 15 198, fully informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) uncovered 79 QTL associated with variation in stickleback brain size traits. Many of these loci were in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) with each other, and consequently, a multilocus mapping of individual SNPs, accounting for LD structure in the data, recovered only four significant QTL. However, a multilocus mapping of SNPs grouped by linkage group (LG) identified 14 LGs (1–6 depending on the trait) that influence variation in brain traits. For instance, 17.6% of the variation in relative brain size was explainable by cumulative effects of SNPs distributed over six LGs, whereas 42% of the variation was accounted for by all 21 LGs. Hence, the results suggest that variation in stickleback brain traits is influenced by many small‐effect loci. Apart from suggesting moderately heritable (h2 ≈ 0.15–0.42) multifactorial genetic architecture of brain traits, the results highlight the challenges in identifying the loci contributing to variation in quantitative traits. Nevertheless, the results demonstrate that the novel QTL‐mapping approach developed here has distinctive advantages over the traditional QTL‐mapping methods in analyses of dense marker panels.
A thioredoxin NbTRXh2 from Nicotiana benthamiana negatively regulates the movement of Bamboo mosaic virus
Authors: Chen I‐Hsuan , Chen Hui‐Ting , Huang Ying‐Ping , Huang Hui‐Chen , Shenkwen Lin‐Ling , Hsu Yau‐Heiu , Tsai Ching‐Hsiu 
Published: January 2017

SummaryAn up‐regulated gene derived from Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV)‐infected Nicotiana benthamiana plants was cloned and characterized in this study. BaMV is a single‐stranded, positive‐sense RNA virus. This gene product, designated as NbTRXh2, was matched with sequences of thioredoxin h proteins, a group of small proteins with a conserved active‐site motif WCXPC conferring disulfide reductase activity. To examine how NbTRXh2 is involved in the infection cycle of BaMV, we used the virus‐induced gene silencing technique to knock down NbTRXh2 expression in N. benthamiana and inoculated the plants with BaMV. We observed that, compared with control plants, BaMV coat protein accumulation increased in knockdown plants at 5 days post‐inoculation (dpi). Furthermore, BaMV coat protein accumulation did not differ significantly between NbTRXh2‐knockdown and control protoplasts at 24 hpi. The BaMV infection foci in NbTRXh2‐knockdown plants were larger than those in control plants. In addition, BaMV coat protein accumulation decreased when NbTRXh2 was transiently expressed in plants. These results suggest that NbTRXh2 plays a role in restricting BaMV accumulation. Moreover, confocal microscopy results showed that NbTRXh2‐OFP (NbTRXh2 fused with orange fluorescent protein) localized at the plasma membrane, similar to AtTRXh9, a homologue in Arabidopsis. The expression of the mutant that did not target the substrates failed to reduce BaMV accumulation. Co‐immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that the viral movement protein TGBp2 could be the target of NbTRXh2. Overall, the functional role of NbTRXh2 in reducing the disulfide bonds of targeting factors, encoded either by the host or virus (TGBp2), is crucial in restricting BaMV movement.
Clinical study on low‐molecular weight heparin infusion as anticoagulation for nocturnal home haemodialysis
Authors: Wong Steve Siu‐Man , Lau Wai‐Yan , Ng Man‐Luen , Chan Shuk‐Yin , Chan So‐Fan , Chan Ping‐Kwan , Wan Ching‐Kit , Cheng Yuk‐Lun 
Published: January 2017

AbstractAimThis study was conducted to evaluate low‐molecular weight heparin (LMWH) as anticoagulation for nocturnal home haemodialysis (NHHD). While its longer half‐life may cause drug accumulation in frequent dialysis, the essential need of a supplementary intra‐dialytic bolus for the sleeping patients also renders LMWH's use impractical.MethodsThe recruited patients, who were on alternate‐day 8 h haemodialysis, were randomized to receive either nadroparin or unfractionated heparin (UFH) for a week. They underwent crossover to receive the alternate anticoagulant in the next week. A nadroparin infusion regimen was adopted to enhance its practicability, which consisted of a loading dose of 35 IU/kg and a continuous infusion of 10 IU/kg per hour for 6 h.ResultsA total of 12 NHHD patients were recruited. With nadroparin infusion, the mean anti‐Xa levels at the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th hours of dialysis were 0.46 ± 0.11, 0.55 ± 0.14, 0.61 ± 0.15 and 0.45 ± 0.15 IU/mL respectively. Comparing to UFH, which offered satisfactory anticoagulation according to the activated partial thromboplastin time, nadroparin‐treated dialysis achieved similar thrombus scores and dialyser urea/creatinine clearances at the end of haemodialysis. During the post‐dialysis period, one patient demonstrated residual LMWH effect (anti‐Xa level 0.09 IU/mL) on the next day, whereas none had detectable anti‐Xa activities 2 days afterwards upon next dialysis.ConclusionsLow‐molecular weight heparin infusion is practical and effective as anticoagulation for NHHD. It can be safely used in an alternate‐day haemodialysis schedule. A close monitoring for LMWH accumulation is recommended if long dialysis is performed daily.
Dancing in the dark: darkness as a signal in plants
Authors: Seluzicki Adam , Burko Yogev , Chory Joanne 
Published: January 2017

AbstractDaily cycles of light and dark provide an organizing principle and temporal constraints under which life on Earth evolved. While light is often the focus of plant studies, it is only half the story. Plants continuously adjust to their surroundings, taking both dawn and dusk as cues to organize their growth, development and metabolism to appropriate times of day. In this review, we examine the effects of darkness on plant physiology and growth. We describe the similarities and differences between seedlings grown in the dark versus those grown in light–dark cycles, and the evolution of etiolated growth. We discuss the integration of the circadian clock into other processes, looking carefully at the points of contact between clock genes and growth‐promoting gene‐regulatory networks in temporal gating of growth. We also examine daily starch accumulation and degradation, and the possible contribution of dark‐specific metabolic controls in regulating energy and growth. Examining these studies together reveals a complex and continuous balancing act, with many signals, dark included, contributing information and guiding the plant through its life cycle. The extraordinary interconnection between light and dark is manifest during cycles of day and night and during seedling emergence above versus below the soil surface.
Diverse functions of multidrug and toxin extrusion (MATE) transporters in citric acid efflux and metal homeostasis in Medicago truncatula
Authors: Wang Junjie , Hou Qiuqiang , Li Penghui , Yang Lina , Sun Xuecheng , Benedito Vagner A. , Wen Jiangqi , Chen Beibei , Mysore Kirankumar S. , Zhao Jian 
Published: January 2017

SummaryThe multidrug and toxin extrusion (MATE) transporter family comprises 70 members in the Medicago truncatula genome, and they play seemingly important, yet mostly uncharacterized, physiological functions. Here, we employed bioinformatics and molecular genetics to identify and characterize MATE transporters involved in citric acid export, Al3+ tolerance and Fe translocation. MtMATE69 is a citric acid transporter induced by Fe‐deficiency. Overexpression of MtMATE69 in hairy roots altered Fe homeostasis and hormone levels under Fe‐deficient or Fe‐oversupplied conditions. MtMATE66 is a plasma membrane citric acid transporter primarily expressed in root epidermal cells. The mtmate66 mutant had less root growth than the wild type under Al3+ stress, and seedlings were chlorotic under Fe‐deficient conditions. Overexpression of MtMATE66 rendered hairy roots more tolerant to Al3+ toxicity. MtMATE55 is involved in seedling development and iron homeostasis, as well as hormone signaling. The mtmate55 mutant had delayed development and chlorotic leaves in mature plants. Both knock‐out and overexpression mutants of MtMATE55 showed altered Fe accumulation and abnormal hormone levels compared with the wild type. We demonstrate that the zinc‐finger transcription factor MtSTOP is essentially required for MtMATE66 expression and plant resistance to H+ and Al3+ toxicity. The proper expression of two previously characterized MATE flavonoid transporters MtMATE1 and MtMATE2 also depends on several transcription factors. This study reveals not only functional diversity of MATE transporters and regulatory mechanisms in legumes against H+ and Al3+ stresses, but also casts light on their role in metal nutrition and hormone signaling under various stresses.
Skin disease in captive bats: results of an online survey of zoos and rehabilitators in Europe, North America and Australasia
Authors: Fountain Kay I. , Stevens Kim B. , Lloyd David H. , Loeffler Anette 
Published: January 2017

BackgroundBats may be held captive in zoos and breeding programmes, and for rehabilitation due to illness, abandonment or injury.ObjectivesTo describe the frequency and characteristics of skin disease in captive bats.MethodsZoos (n = 164) in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, Wildlife Disease Association members and rehabilitators were invited to complete online questionnaires on skin lesions and housing. Associations between lesion type and site, frequency, species, age, suspected cause and season, and their association with housing in zoos were tested using chi‐squared and two‐sample z‐tests.ResultsSkin lesions were seen by 38.5% (15 of 39) of responding zoos and more frequently by rehabilitators (66.7%, 18 of 27; P = 0.024). Of the total of 153 lesions of any type reported by zoos and rehabilitators, almost two thirds occurred on the pinnae (49 of 153, 32%) or wing membranes (45 of 153, 29%). Amongst pinnal lesions, crusting (27%), swelling and redness (25%) and necrosis (20%) were most frequent. In zoos, pinnal (P = 0.001) and wing lesions (P = 0.045) were associated with “season”, being more common in winter. Pruritus was rare but more often reported from rehabilitation centres (12 of 77 observed lesions) than from zoos (1 of 76) (P = 0.0015). Lesions most often affected adult and geriatric bats in zoos, and juveniles and adults in rehabilitation. Eight respondents reported that skin disease necessitated euthanasia in individual bats. There was no significant association between type of housing and lesions.ConclusionPinnal and wing lesions were common in captive bats, often with necrosis. Further research into the causes is needed to improve health and welfare of captive bats.
Type I Protein Secretion—Deceptively Simple yet with a Wide Range of Mechanistic Variability across the Family
Authors: Holland I. Barry , Peherstorfer Sandra , Kanonenberg Kerstin , Lenders Michael , Reimann Sven , Schmitt Lutz 
Published: January 2017

A very large type I polypeptide begins to reel out from a ribosome; minutes later, the still unidentifiable polypeptide, largely lacking secondary structure, is now in some cases a thousand or more residues longer. Synthesis of the final hundred C-terminal residues commences. This includes the identity code, the secretion signal within the last 50 amino acids, designed to dock with a waiting ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter. What happens next is the subject of this review, with the main, but not the only focus on hemolysin HlyA, an RTX protein toxin secreted by the type I system. Transport substrates range from small peptides to giant proteins produced by many pathogens. These molecules, without detectable cellular chaperones, overcome enormous barriers, crossing two membranes before final folding on the cell surface, involving a unique autocatalytic process.
Unfolded HlyA is extruded posttranslationally, C-terminal first. The transenvelope “tunnel” is formed by HlyB (ABC transporter), HlyD (membrane fusion protein) straddling the inner membrane and periplasm and TolC (outer membrane). We present a new evaluation of the C-terminal secretion code, and the structure function of HlyD and HlyB at the heart of this nanomachine. Surprisingly, key details of the secretion mechanism are remarkably variable in the many type I secretion system subtypes. These include alternative folding processes, an apparently distinctive secretion code for each type I subfamily, and alternative forms of the ABC transporter; most remarkably, the ABC protein probably transports peptides or polypeptides by quite different mechanisms. Finally, we suggest a putative structure for the Hly-translocon, HlyB, the multijointed HlyD, and the TolC exit.
Draft Genome Sequence of the Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum subsp.
longum
Strain MC-42
Authors: Tupikin Alexey E. , Kalmykova Anna I. , Kabilov Marsel R. 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACT

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of
Bifidobacterium longum
subsp.
longum
strain MC-42 isolated from the feces of a healthy infant, and which was used in the commercially available probiotic product Biovestin.