bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT in Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas Allows for Precision Surgery
Authors: Nockel Pavel , El Lakis Mustapha , Gaitanidis Apostolos , Merkel Roxanne , Patel Dhaval , Nilubol Naris , Prodanov Tamara , Pacak Karel , Kebebew Electron 
Published: January 2018

Background:
Fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging is recommended in patients with metastatic pheochromocytoma (PC) and paraganglioma (PGL). There are no data on whether routine preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT in all patients with PC/PGL impacts surgical management.

Objective:
The aim of this study was to determine whether routine preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging affects the surgical management of patients with PC/PGLs.

Methods:
We analyzed clinical, biochemical, genetic, and anatomic imaging data in 93 consecutive patients with PC/PGL who collectively underwent a total of 100 operations and who had preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging.

Results:
Of 100 operations, preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT showed additional lesions compared to anatomic imaging in 15 cases. These patients were more likely to undergo an open surgical approach (P < 0.05). Presence of genetic mutation, redo operations, sex, age, or tumor size had no significant association with finding additional lesions on 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Conclusions:
Additional lesions detected on preoperative 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging have an impact on the surgical approach in patients with PC/PGLs. Therefore, surgeons should routinely obtain 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging in patients with PC/PGL to allow for a more precise surgical intervention.
Use of French lyophilized plasma transfusion in severe trauma patients is associated with an early plasma transfusion and early transfusion ratio improvement
Authors: Nguyen Cédric , Bordes Julien , Cungi Pierre-Julien , Esnault Pierre , Cardinale Michael , Mathais Quentin , Cotte Jean , Beaume Sébastien , Sailliol Anne , Prunet Bertrand , Meaudre Eric 
Published: January 2018

BACKGROUND
Early transfusion of high ratio of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and red blood cells (RBC) is associated with mortality reduction. However, time to reach high ratio is limited by the need to thaw the FFP. French lyophilized plasma (FLYP) used by French army and available in military teaching hospital does not need to be thawed and is immediately available. We hypothesize that the use of FLYP may reduce time to reach a plasma/RBC ratio of 1:1.

METHODS
A retrospective study performed in a Level 1 trauma center between January 2012 and December 2015. Severe trauma patients who received 2 U of RBC in the emergency room were included and assigned to two groups according to first plasma transfused: FLYP group and FFP group.

RESULTS
Forty-three severe trauma patients in the FLYP group and 29 in the FFP group were included. The time until first plasma transfusion was shorter in the FLYP group than in the FFP group, respectively 15 min (10–25) versus 95 min (70–145) (p < 0.0001). Time until a 1:1 ratio was shorter in the FLYP group than in the FFP group. There were significantly fewer cases of massive transfusion in the FLYP group than in the FFP group with respectively 7% vs. 45% (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION
The use of FLYP provided significantly faster plasma transfusions than the use of FFP as well as a plasma and RBC ratio superior to 1:2 that was reached more rapidly in severe trauma patients. These results may explain the less frequent need for massive transfusion in the patients who received FLYP. These positive results should be confirmed by a prospective and randomized evaluation.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Therapeutic, level IV.
Single Cell Observations Show Persister Cells Wake Based on Ribosome Content
Authors: Kim Jun-Seob , Wood Thomas K. 
Published: January 2018

ABSTRACTSince persister cells survive antibiotic treatments through dormancy and resuscitate to reconstitute infections, it is imperative to determine the rate at which these cells revive. Using two sets ofEscherichia colipersister cells, those arising naturally at low levels and those generated at high levels by ceasing transcription via rifampicin pretreatment (shown to be bona fide persisters through seven sets of experiments), we used microscopy of single cells to determine that persisters have low levels of antibiotic-corrupting proteins and that their resuscitation is heterogeneous and includes cells that grow immediately. In all, five phenotypes were found for persister cell resuscitation: (i) immediate division, (ii) immediate elongation followed by division, (iii) immediate elongation but no division, (iv) delayed elongation/division, and (v) no growth. In addition, once cell division begins, the growth rate is that of exponential cells. Critically, the greater the ribosome content, the faster the persister cells resuscitate.
Cancer exosomes induce tumor neo-neurogenesis potentiating tumor growth
Authors: Madeo Marianna , Colbert Paul L. , Vermeer Daniel W. , Lucido Christopher T. , Vichaya Elisabeth G. , Grossberg Aaron J. , Cain Jacob T. , Muirhead DesiRae , Rickel Alex P. , Hong Zhongkui , Spanos William C. , Lee John H. , Dantzer Robert , Vermeer Paola D. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractPatients with densely innervated tumors do worse than those with less innervated cancers. We hypothesize that neural elements are acquired by a tumor-induced process, called neo-neurogenesis. Here, we use PC12 cells in a simple system to test this hypothesis. PC12 cells extend processes, called neurites, only when appropriately stimulated. Using this system, we show that patient tumors release vesicles (exosomes) which induce PC12 neurite outgrowth. Using a cancer mouse model, we show that tumor cells compromised in exosome release grow slower and are less innervated than controls indicating a contribution of innervation to disease progression. We find that neo-neurogenesis is mediated in part by the axonal guidance molecule, EphrinB1, contained in exosomes. These findings support testing EphrinB1 blockers to inhibit tumor innervation and improve survival.One Sentence SummaryTumors release exosomes which not only promote their own innervation but also potentiate their growth.
Aberrant calcium signaling in astrocytes inhibits neuronal excitability in a human Down syndrome stem cell model
Authors: Mizuno Grace O. , Wang Yinxue , Shi Guilai , Wang Yizhi , Sun Junqing , Papadopoulos Stelios , Broussard Gerard J. , Unger Elizabeth K. , Deng Wenbin , Weick Jason , Bhattacharyya Anita , Chen Chao-Yin , Yu Guoqiang , Looger Loren L. , Tian Lin 
Published: January 2018

AbstractDown syndrome (DS) is a devastating genetic disorder causing severe cognitive impairment. The staggering array of effects associated with an extra copy of human chromosome 21 (HSA21) complicates mechanistic understanding of DS pathophysiology. We developed an in vitro system to examine the interplay of neurons and astrocytes in a fully recapitulated HSA21 trisomy model differentiated from DS patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). By combining calcium imaging with genetic approaches, we utilized this system to investigate the functional defects of DS astroglia and their effects on neuronal excitability. We found that, compared with control isogenic astroglia, DS astroglia exhibited more-frequent spontaneous calcium fluctuations, which reduced the excitability of co-cultured neurons. DS astrocytes exerted this effect on both DS and healthy neurons. Neuronal activity could be rescued by abolishing astrocytic spontaneous calcium activity either chemically by blocking adenosine-mediated astrocyte–neuron signaling or genetically by knockdown of inositol triphosphate (IP3) receptors or S100β, a calcium binding protein coded on HSA21. Our results suggest a novel mechanism by which DS alters the function of astrocytes, which subsequently disturbs neuronal excitability. Furthermore, our study establishes an all-optical neurophysiological platform for studying human neuron-astrocyte interactions associated with neurological disorders.Significant statementDown syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic disorder caused by trisomy of chromosome 21 (HSA21). Problems with cognitive impairment, have not been properly addressed due to the inability to fully recapitulate HSA21, which is further confounded by the snapshot views of morphological changes of brain cells in isolation obtained from current studies. The brain develops neural networks consisting of neurons and glial cells that work together. To understand how DS affects the neural networks, we used DS patient-derived stem cells and calcium imaging to investigate functional defects of DS astrocytes and their effects on neuronal excitability. Our study has significant implication in understanding functional defects during brain development underlying DS.
Microfluidic device for on-chip mixing and encapsulation of lysates
Authors: Jui-Chia Chang , Zoe Swank , Oliver Keiser , Sebastian Maerkl , Esther Amstad 
Published: January 2018

AbstractEmulsion drops are often employed as picoliter-sized containers to perform screening assays. These assays usually entail the formation of drops encompassing discrete objects such as cells or microparticles and reagents to study interactions between the different encapsulants. Drops are also used to screen influences of reagent concentrations on the final product. However, these latter assays are less frequently performed because it is difficult to change the reagent concentration over a wide range with high precision within a single experiment. In this paper, we present a microfluidic double emulsion drop maker containing pneumatic valves that enable injection of different reagents using pulsed width modulation and subsequent mixing. This device can produce drops from reagent volumes as low as 10 μl with minimal sample loss, thereby enabling experiments that would be prohibitively expensive using droplet generators that do not contain valves. We employ this device to monitor the kinetics of cell free synthesis of green fluorescent proteins inside double emulsions. To demonstrate the potential of this device, we perform DNA titration experiments in double emulsion drops to test the influence of the DNA concentration on the amount of green fluorescence proteins produced.
Corporate events’ performance and corporate governance: the Brazilian evidence
Authors: Funchal Bruno , Pinto Jedson Pereira 
Published: January 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between corporate governance and corporate events’ performance. Firms that engage in corporate events seem to perform at least as bad as similar firms that did not. Based on agency theory, the authors hypothesize that lower corporate performance is associated to differences in governance levels.

Design/methodology/approach
Bessembinder and Zhang’s (2013) approach to evaluate the performance of corporate events has been expanded by considering unique corporate governance features from Brazilian stock market.

Findings
The results suggest that after controlling for governance levels, event rms and control rms have similar performance. A number of analyses were performed to rule out alternative explanations.

Originality/value
The results call attention for the role of agency costs in evaluating corporate events’ performance.
Female expatriates’ motivations and challenges: the case of oil and gas
Authors: Shortland Susan 
Published: January 2018

PurposeThis case study is designed as a teaching exercise and this paper aims to highlight the key issues for organisations’ expatriating women within masculine industry sectors and/or into challenging international environments.Design/methodology/approachThis case study draws together key published findings relating to women’s expatriation in the oil and gas exploration and production sector. It demonstrates a triangulated research design, drawing upon organisational policy from two oil and gas firms, semi-structured interviews with 14 human resource professionals and 26 female expatriates, as well as from 71 female assignees’ questionnaire responses.FindingsCareer and financial drivers underpin women’s motivations for accepting organisationally assigned expatriation. Women expatriates engage in satisficing and career compromise. The main challenges women face in masculine industries include access to expatriate roles because of limited female networks, family concerns, managing working time and work-life balance and coping with loneliness.Research limitations/implicationsThe oil and gas case findings are based on a cross-sectional research design. The majority of female expatriates undertook long-term assignments; limited numbers engaged in flexpatriation.Practical implicationsWhile organisational policy supporting expatriation does not usually address gendered expatriate concerns specifically, inclusion of interventions that are identified by women as helpful to their expatriate participation can assist in increasing expatriate gender diversity.Originality/valueThis oil and gas research case brings together and presents a summary of the motivations, problems and challenges faced by women in male-dominated expatriate environments, together with relevant theoretical approaches and organisational interventions to help us understand and increase expatriate gender diversity.
Modeling perceived quality of haptic impressions based on various sensor data sources
Authors: Schlegel Peter , Gussen Lars C. , Frank Daniel , Schmitt Robert H. 
Published: January 2018

PurposeThis paper aims to provide an approach of modeling haptic impressions of surfaces over a wide range of applications by using multiple sensor sources.Design/methodology/approachA multisensory measurement experiment was conducted using various leather and artificial leather surfaces. After processing of measurement data and feature extraction, different learning algorithms were applied to the measurement data and a corresponding set of data from a sensory study. The study contained evaluations of the same surfaces regarding descriptors of haptic quality (e.g. roughness) by human subjects and was conducted in a former research project.FindingsThe research revealed that it is possible to model and project haptic impressions by using multiple sensor sources in combination with data fusion. The presented method possesses the potential for an industrial application.Originality/valueThis paper provides a new approach to predict haptic impressions of surfaces by using multiple sensor sources.
Plant functional groups regulate soil respiration responses to nitrogen addition and mowing over a decade
Authors: Du Yue , Han Hongyan , Wang Yanfen , Zhong Mingxing , Hui Dafeng , Niu Shuli , Wan Shiqiang 
Published: January 2018

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) deposition and land‐use practice (e.g. mowing) could have profound effects on soil respiration. However, the changes in other ecosystem components, such as plant functional groups (PFGs), may control soil carbon (C) efflux response to long term global change.

A 10‐year (2005–2014) field experiment was conducted with both N addition (10 g N m−2 year−1) and mowing (once a year) in a northern Chinese temperate grassland. We collected continuous data on soil respiration over 10 years accompanied with data on abiotic and biotic factors, and attempted to determine (i) the temporal variation in soil respiration and its responses to N addition and mowing, (ii) the regulation of soil respiration by PFGs and the underlying long‐term mechanisms of control.

Soil respiration varied significantly among years. This was mainly caused by changes in precipitation pattern (e.g. frequency and distribution) during the growing‐season rather than total rainfall. N addition significantly suppressed soil respiration by 10.4% whereas mowing stimulated it by 8.4% over the 10 years. The interaction of N addition with mowing had little effect on soil respiration. However, the significant effects of both N addition and mowing appeared only in the third year and thereafter, indicating the differences between long‐ and short‐term responses. These long‐term effects of N addition and mowing were mainly caused by changes in the PFGs of covers (e.g. grasses and forbs) and in soil pH rather than in soil microclimate. Forb‐dominant patches had greater soil respiration than grass patches owing to their higher litter quality and photosynthetic capacity.

Our results highlight that shifts in above‐ground plant community could play an important role in regulating soil respiration responses to N addition and mowing in the long‐term. This is potentially important for improving our understanding of the link between above‐ and below‐ground ecological processes.

A plain language summary is available for this article.
Active farmsteads are year‐round strongholds for farmland birds
Authors: Šálek Martin , Bažant Miroslav , Żmihorski Michał 
Published: January 2018

Abstract

Farmland birds have experienced substantial declines over recent decades and various conservation measures have been designed to halt their massive decrease. The effectiveness of these measures is however limited, due to inappropriate identification of crucial breeding and wintering habitats. Identification of appropriate habitats, like farmsteads, and understanding seasonal changes in species richness and abundance of farmland birds within these habitats may therefore be key for farmland bird conservation.

We investigated the effect of variation in farmstead management on alpha and gamma diversity of all farmland birds and red‐listed farmland birds in the Czech Republic. In particular, we evaluated the diversity of wintering and breeding birds at over 200 sites to explore: (1) differences in bird communities in three types of farmsteads and open farmland; (2) changes in species‐specific habitat preferences between winter and spring; and (3) effect of landscape composition, ruderal vegetation and altitude on bird assemblages.

Farmsteads with animal production harboured the highest, whereas open farmland areas had the lowest, species richness and abundance of all farmland birds and red‐listed farmland birds. The decline of species richness in winter was more pronounced in farmland and abandoned farmsteads compared to farmsteads with plant and animal production.

Single bird species showed different habitat preferences but the majority of species including red‐listed farmland birds changed preferences towards animal farmsteads during winter. Bird species richness was negatively correlated with altitude and positively with representation of ruderal vegetation. Rarefied gamma diversity confirmed local patterns for both all species and red‐listed species: the highest total species richness was observed in active animal farmsteads but differences among types were significant only during winter.

Synthesis and applications. Active farmsteads are local bird diversity hotspots in agricultural landscapes, and host species of conservation concern. Our results highlight the importance of farmsteads during winter, which is a critical period for several wintering farmland species. Our research thus indicates that recent conservation measures for farmland birds should also focus on conservation within non‐farmed habitats, such as actively used farmsteads.
Effects of reciprocal teaching on reading comprehension of low‐achieving adolescents. The importance of specific teacher skills
Authors: Okkinga Mariska , van Steensel Roel , van Gelderen Amos J. S. , Sleegers Peter J. C. 
Published: January 2018

Low‐achieving adolescents are known to have difficulties with reading comprehension. This article discusses how reciprocal teaching can improve low‐achieving adolescents' reading comprehension in whole‐classroom settings (as opposed to small‐group settings) and to what extent intervention effects are dependent on teacher behaviour. Over the course of 1 year, experimental teachers (n = 10) were given extensive training and coaching aimed at using principles of reciprocal teaching, while control teachers (n = 10) used their regular teaching method. Observations of teacher behaviour were focused on instruction of reading strategies, modelling and support of group work and were performed in both experimental and control classes, comprising a total of 369 students (mean age = 13.01). Our study shows that reciprocal teaching contributed to adolescent low achievers' reading comprehension only when experimental teachers provided high‐quality strategy instruction. In addition, results suggest that the quality of implementation of reciprocal teaching in whole‐classroom settings should receive more research attention.HighlightsWhat is already known about this topic

Reciprocal teaching is a method of instructing and guiding learners in reading comprehension.
It consists of a set of three related instructional principles: (a) teaching comprehension‐fostering reading strategies; (b) expert modelling, scaffolding and fading; and (c) students practising and discussing reading strategies with other students, guided and coached by the teacher.
High quality of implementation of reciprocal teaching by teachers in classrooms is difficult.
What this paper adds

After 1 year of implementing reciprocal teaching, no main effects of the treatment were established.
Intervention effects were moderated by quality of instruction: strategy instruction led to higher scores on reading comprehension in the treatment condition but not in the control condition.
Implementation of the instructional principles was by no means optimal: teachers were unable to provide detailed guidance to students working in small groups and modelling of strategies requires more experience and theoretical insight in the use and nature of reading strategies.
Implications for practice and/or policy

Extensive training and coaching are needed for teachers to become experts in reciprocal teaching.
Teachers need hands‐on tools to be able to guide students in their collaborative group work and to fade the teachers' role in order to allow more individual self‐regulation by students in their use of strategies.
Implementation quality has to be taken into account when doing effectiveness research and when adopting new, theory‐based didactic approaches.