bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparison of fasciocutaneous V‐Y and rotational flaps for defect coverage of sacral pressure sores: a critical single‐centre appraisal
Authors: Djedovic Gabriel , Metzler Julia , Morandi Evi M , Wachter Tanja , Kühn Shafreena , Pierer Gerhard , Rieger Ulrich M 
Published: March 2017

ABSTRACTPressure sore rates remain high in both nursing homes as well as in hospitals. Numerous surgical options are available for defect coverage in the sacral region. However, objective data is scarce as to whether a specific flap design is superior to another. Here, we aim to compare two fasciocutaneous flap designs for sacral defect coverage: the gluteal rotation flap and the gluteal V‐Y flap. All primary sacral pressure sores of grades III–IV that were being covered with gluteal fasciocutaneous rotational or V‐Y flaps between January 2008 and December 2014 at our institution were analysed. A total of 41 patients received a total of 52 flaps. Of these, 18 patients received 20 gluteal rotational flaps, and 23 patients received 32 V‐Y flaps. Both groups were comparable with regards to demographics, comorbidities and complications. Significantly more V‐Y flaps were needed to cover smaller defects. Mean length of hospital stay was significantly prolonged when surgical revision had to be carried out. Both flap designs have proven safe and reliable for defect coverage after sacral pressure sores. Gluteal rotational flaps appear to be more useful for larger defects. Both flap designs facilitate their reuse in case of pressure sore recurrence. Complication rates appear to be comparable in both designs and to the current literature.
From actinic keratosis to squamous cell carcinoma: pathophysiology revisited
Authors: Fernandez Figueras M.T. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe precursor of most cutaneous invasive squamous cell carcinomas (iSCCs) is intraepithelial UV‐induced damage, known as field cancerization, which can eventually transform into actinic keratosis (AK). Although AK is the most common precursor of iSCC, many AKs will either persist in the same stage or regress, while only a few will progress into iSCC. Nevertheless, because the progression of individual AKs cannot be predicted, it has been proposed that all AKs, regardless of the grade, should be carefully monitored and appropriately treated in clinical practice. Modern imaging techniques such as dermatoscopy, reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) and high‐definition optical coherence tomography (HD‐OCT) may have potential to monitor the evolution of actinic field damage. Dermatoscopy can be used to differentiate between AK, intraepidermal carcinoma (IEC) and SCC which may help clinicians to diagnose in situ or invasive lesions at an earlier stage. HD‐OCT and RCM can be used to detect cellular and histological changes characteristic of subclinical lesions, allowing visualization of previously invisible lesions. As development of invasive AK directly from the cancer field cannot be ruled out, the ideal treatment should be able to eradicate AK lesions and reverse the underlying field cancerization.
Acute caloric restriction counteracts hepatic bile acid and cholesterol deficiency in morbid obesity
Authors: Straniero S. , Rosqvist F. , Edholm D. , Ahlström H. , Kullberg J. , Sundbom M. , Risérus U. , Rudling M. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractBackgroundBile acid (BA) synthesis is regulated by BA signalling in the liver and by fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19), synthesized and released from the intestine. In morbid obesity, faecal excretion and hepatic synthesis of BAs and cholesterol are strongly induced and caloric restriction reduces their faecal excretion considerably. We hypothesized that the high intestinal food mass in morbidly obese subjects promotes faecal excretion of BAs and cholesterol, thereby creating a shortage of both BAs and cholesterol in the liver.MethodsTen morbidly obese women (BMI 42 ± 2.6 kg m−2) were monitored on days 0, 3, 7, 14 and 28 after beginning a low‐calorie diet (800–1100 kcal day−1). Serum was collected and liver size and fat content determined. Synthesis of BAs and cholesterol was evaluated from serum markers, and the serum levels of lipoproteins, BAs, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), insulin, glucose and FGF19 were monitored. Fifty‐four nonobese women (BMI <25 kg m−2) served as controls.ResultsAt baseline, synthesis of both BAs and cholesterol and serum levels of BAs and PCSK9 were elevated in the obese group compared to controls. Already after 3 days on a low‐calorie diet, BA and cholesterol synthesis and serum BA and PCSK9 levels normalized, whereas LDL cholesterol increased. FGF19 and triglyceride levels were unchanged, and liver volume was reduced by 10%.ConclusionsThe results suggest that hepatic BAs and cholesterol are deficient in morbid obesity. Caloric restriction rapidly counteracts these deficiencies, normalizing BA and cholesterol synthesis and circulating PCSK9 levels, indicating that overproduction of cholesterol in enlarged peripheral tissues cannot explain this phenotype. We propose that excessive food intake promotes faecal loss of BAs and cholesterol contributing to their hepatic deficiencies.
Lessons Learned From the Implementation of Brighter Bites: A Food Co‐op to Increase Access to Fruits and Vegetables and Nutrition Education Among Low‐Income Children and Their Families
Authors: Sharma Shreela V. , Chow Joanne , Pomeroy Michael , Raber Margaret , Salako David , Markham Christine 
Published: March 2017

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDFood co‐op models have gained popularity as a mechanism for offering affordable, quality produce. We describe the challenges, successes, and lessons learned from implementation of a school‐based program using a food co‐op model combined with nutrition education to improve access to and intake of fresh fruits and vegetables among low‐income children and their families.METHODSBrighter Bites is a 16‐week intervention comprising of fresh produce deliveries, recipe demonstrations, and nutrition education. A mixed‐methods approach was used comprising survey and focus group data collected from Brighter Bites staff, parents, and teachers. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were computed for the survey data collected.RESULTSBrighter Bites was implemented across 9 schools, serving a total of 1530 predominantly low‐income families in the 2013‐2014 school year. Brighter Bites distributed an average 60.2 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per family per week. Lessons learned included the importance of leveraging existing infrastructure of food banks and schools to implement the program, early school and parent engagement, and incorporating strategies to track and optimize engagement.CONCLUSIONSClear expectations and reliable partnerships are keys to the delivery of the Brighter Bites program.
“You Can Learn Merely by Listening to the Way a Patient Walks through the Door”: The Transmission of Sensory Medical Knowledge
Authors: Hammer Gili 
Published: March 2017

AbstractExamining the mechanisms of medical knowledge transfer, this article addresses the ways nonvisual senses are employed within medical training, asking about the role of sound, touch, and movement in transmitting knowledge of the body. Based on a 10‐month ethnography in a medical massage training course for blind students, the article examines the ways sensory medical knowledge is transferred in this setting. I discuss the multisensory characteristics of medical knowledge transfer, and the dual process inherent in this sensory pedagogy, in which senses such as touch and hearing undergo medicalization and scientification, while medicine enters the realm of the sensorial. Contributing to emerging research of nonvisual senses in medical training, this case study allows rethinking larger processes of medical knowing, challenging the dominancy of vision as the means of scientific knowledge transmission, and exposing the multisensorial elements of medical perception, and learning in general.
Divergence of annual and perennial species in the Brassicaceae and the contribution of cis‐acting variation at FLC orthologues
Authors: Kiefer C. , Severing E. , Karl R. , Bergonzi S. , Koch M. , Tresch A. , Coupland G. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractVariation in life history contributes to reproductive success in different environments. Divergence of annual and perennial angiosperm species is an extreme example that has occurred frequently. Perennials survive for several years and restrict the duration of reproduction by cycling between vegetative growth and flowering, whereas annuals live for 1 year and flower once. We used the tribe Arabideae (Brassicaceae) to study the divergence of seasonal flowering behaviour among annual and perennial species. In perennial Brassicaceae, orthologues of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), a floral inhibitor in Arabidopsis thaliana, are repressed by winter cold and reactivated in spring conferring seasonal flowering patterns, whereas in annuals, they are stably repressed by cold. We isolated FLC orthologues from three annual and two perennial Arabis species and found that the duplicated structure of the A. alpina locus is not required for perenniality. The expression patterns of the genes differed between annuals and perennials, as observed among Arabidopsis species, suggesting a broad relevance of these patterns within the Brassicaceae. Also analysis of plants derived from an interspecies cross of A. alpina and annual A. montbretiana demonstrated that cis‐regulatory changes in FLC orthologues contribute to their different transcriptional patterns. Sequence comparisons of FLC orthologues from annuals and perennials in the tribes Arabideae and Camelineae identified two regulatory regions in the first intron whose sequence variation correlates with divergence of the annual and perennial expression patterns. Thus, we propose that related cis‐acting changes in FLC orthologues occur independently in different tribes of the Brassicaceae during life history evolution.
Alterations in the small intestinal wall and motor function after repeated cisplatin in rat
Authors: Uranga J. A. , García‐Martínez J. M. , García‐Jiménez C. , Vera G. , Martín‐Fontelles M. I. , Abalo R. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractBackgroundGastrointestinal adverse effects occurring during cancer chemotherapy are well known and feared; those persisting once treatment has finished are relatively unknown. We characterized the alterations occurring in the rat small intestine, after repeated treatment with cisplatin.MethodsMale Wistar rats received saline or cisplatin (2 mg kg−1 week−1, for 5 weeks, ip). Gastric motor function was studied non‐invasively throughout treatment (W1‐W5) and 1 week after treatment finalization (W6). During W6, upper gastrointestinal motility was also invasively studied and small intestinal samples were collected for histopathological and molecular studies. Structural alterations in the small intestinal wall, mucosa, submucosa, muscle layers, and lymphocytic nodules were histologically studied. Periodic acid‐Schiff staining and immunohistochemistry for Ki‐67, chromogranin A, and neuronal‐specific enolase were used to detect secretory, proliferating, endocrine and neural cells, respectively. The expression of different markers in the tunica muscularis was analyzed by RT/qPCR.Key ResultsRepeated cisplatin induced motility alterations during and after treatment. After treatment (W6), the small intestinal wall showed histopathological alterations in most parameters measured, including a reduction in the thickness of circular and longitudinal muscle layers. Expression of c‐KIT (for interstitial cells of Cajal), nNOS (for inhibitory motor neurons), pChAT, and cChAT (for excitatory motor neurons) increased significantly (although both ChATs to a lesser extent).Conclusions & InferencesRepeated cisplatin induces relatively long‐lasting gut dysmotility in rat associated with important histopathological and molecular alterations in the small intestinal wall. In cancer survivors, the possible chemotherapy‐induced histopathological, molecular, and functional intestinal sequelae should be evaluated.
Nutrient acquisition, soil phosphorus partitioning and competition among trees in a lowland tropical rain forest
Authors: Nasto Megan K. , Osborne Brooke B. , Lekberg Ylva , Asner Gregory P. , Balzotti Christopher S. , Porder Stephen , Taylor Philip G. , Townsend Alan R. , Cleveland Cory C. 
Published: March 2017

Summary

We hypothesized that dinitrogen (N2)‐ and non‐N2‐fixing tropical trees would have distinct phosphorus (P) acquisition strategies allowing them to exploit different P sources, reducing competition.

We measured root phosphatase activity and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) colonization among two N2‐ and two non‐N2‐fixing seedlings, and grew them alone and in competition with different inorganic and organic P forms to assess potential P partitioning.

We found an inverse relationship between root phosphatase activity and AM colonization in field‐collected seedlings, indicative of a trade‐off in P acquisition strategies. This correlated with the predominantly exploited P sources in the seedling experiment: the N2 fixer with high N2 fixation and root phosphatase activity grew best on organic P, whereas the poor N2 fixer and the two non‐N2 fixers with high AM colonization grew best on inorganic P. When grown in competition, however, AM colonization, root phosphatase activity and N2 fixation increased in the N2 fixers, allowing them to outcompete the non‐N2 fixers regardless of P source.

Our results indicate that some tropical trees have the capacity to partition soil P, but this does not eliminate interspecific competition. Rather, enhanced P and N acquisition strategies may increase the competitive ability of N2 fixers relative to non‐N2 fixers.
Strigolactone biosynthesis is evolutionarily conserved, regulated by phosphate starvation and contributes to resistance against phytopathogenic fungi in a moss, Physcomitrella patens
Authors: Decker Eva L. , Alder Adrian , Hunn Stefan , Ferguson Jenny , Lehtonen Mikko T. , Scheler Bjoern , Kerres Klaus L. , Wiedemann Gertrud , Safavi‐Rizi Vajiheh , Nordzieke Steffen , Balakrishna Aparna , Baz Lina , Avalos Javier , Valkonen Jari P. T. , Reski Ralf , Al‐Babili Salim 
Published: March 2017

Summary

In seed plants, strigolactones (SLs) regulate architecture and induce mycorrhizal symbiosis in response to environmental cues. SLs are formed by combined activity of the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) 7 and 8 from 9‐cis‐β‐carotene, leading to carlactone that is converted by cytochromes P450 (clade 711; MAX1 in Arabidopsis) into various SLs. As Physcomitrella patens possesses CCD7 and CCD8 homologs but lacks MAX1, we investigated if PpCCD7 together with PpCCD8 form carlactone and how deletion of these enzymes influences growth and interactions with the environment.

We investigated the enzymatic activity of PpCCD7 and PpCCD8 in vitro, identified the formed products by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and LC‐MS, and generated and analysed ΔCCD7 and ΔCCD8 mutants.

We defined enzymatic activity of PpCCD7 as a stereospecific 9‐cis‐CCD and PpCCD8 as a carlactone synthase. ΔCCD7 and ΔCCD8 lines showed enhanced caulonema growth, which was revertible by adding the SL analogue GR24 or carlactone. Wild‐type (WT) exudates induced seed germination in Orobanche ramosa. This activity was increased upon phosphate starvation and abolished in exudates of both mutants. Furthermore, both mutants showed increased susceptibility to phytopathogenic fungi.

Our study reveals the deep evolutionary conservation of SL biosynthesis, SL function, and its regulation by biotic and abiotic cues.
The effect of length, duration, and intensity of psychological therapy on CORE global distress scores
Authors: Evans Lauren Jayne , Beck Alison , Burdett Mark 
Published: March 2017

ObjectivesThis study explores whether improvements, as measured by the CORE‐OM/10, as a result of psychological therapy were related to length of treatment in weeks, number of treatment sessions, or treatment intensity, as well as any effect of diagnostic group.Methods and DesignPre‐ and post‐therapy CORE‐OM/10 scores were extracted from the clinical records of all secondary care adult psychological therapy team patients who undertook psychological therapy between 2010 and 2013 in one mental health trust. Of the 4,877 patients identified, 925 had complete records. Length of therapy was divided by the number of sessions to create ‘treatment intensity’ (sessions per week). Nonparametric analyses were used, initial score was controlled for, and diagnostic group was explored.ResultsNo relationship was found between change in score and the number of sessions, therapy length, or treatment intensity; however, change in score was positively correlated with first‐session score. Patients with higher initial scores had longer therapies; however, treatment intensity was similar for patients with lower pre‐therapy distress. There were differences in treatment length (weeks) between diagnostic groups. Demographic differences were found between patients with and without complete records, prompting caution in terms of generalizability.ConclusionsThese findings are consistent with the responsive regulation model (Barkham et al., 1996) which proposes that patients vary in their response to treatment, resulting in no associations between session numbers or treatment intensity and therapeutic gain with aggregated scores. Patients with higher CORE scores at the outset of psychological therapy had longer not more intensive therapy. There was variation in treatment intensity between diagnostic clusters.Practitioner points

Number of sessions, length of therapy (in weeks), and treatment intensity (the number of sessions per week between the first and last therapy sessions) were not related to therapeutic gains.

These results fit with a responsive regulation model of therapy duration, suggesting an individualized approach to therapy cessation as opposed to therapy session limits as the number of sessions a patient experienced was not generally associated with outcome.

We found that clients with a diagnosis of a behavioural syndrome (F50‐59) had less ‘intensive’ therapy; they experienced the same number of sessions over a longer time frame. Despite this, there were no associations between diagnosis category and change in score.
Early complications after liver transplantation in children and adults: Are split grafts equal to each other and equal to whole livers?
Authors: Moussaoui Dehlia , Toso Christian , Nowacka Anna , McLin Valérie A. , Bednarkiewicz Marek , Andres Axel , Berney Thierry , Majno Pietro , Wildhaber Barbara E. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractSplit‐liver transplantation (LT) allows transplantation of two recipients from one deceased donor, thereby increasing pool of grafts. However, split LT may be hampered by technical problems, and split grafts are still considered suboptimal organs in some centres. We analysed the outcomes in split‐ and whole‐liver recipients in a combined adult‐to‐paediatric transplantation programme. Records of paediatric and adult patients having undergone LT from 1999 to 2013 were analysed retrospectively. All splits were performed in situ. Adult split‐graft recipients were matched 1:2 with whole‐graft recipients (matching criteria: BMI, MELD, year of transplantation, age), and matched to the paediatric recipient transplanted from the same donor. Post‐LT complications were classified according to the Clavien scale. Among children, 32 split‐ and 31 whole‐graft recipients were analysed. Among adults, 20 split‐ and 40 matched whole‐graft recipients were analysed. In both populations, the post‐operative complications did not differ between split‐ and whole‐graft recipients. There was no difference in 1‐year graft and patient survival between split‐ and whole‐graft recipients in paediatric (90% vs. 97%, 94% vs. 97%, respectively) and in adult recipients (89% in both, 89% vs. 92%, respectively). In the analysis of both recipients issued from the same donor, there was no association in the prevalence and severity of complications. A case‐by‐case analysis showed that split mortality was unrelated to LT in all but one patient (small‐for‐size left split graft). In the setting of careful donor selection, recipient matching and surgical skill, in situ split LT is an effective and safe technique to increase the number of available organs, and split livers should no longer considered marginal grafts.
“What is it like to be a bat?”—a pathway to the answer from the integrated information theory
Authors: Tsuchiya Naotsugu 
Published: March 2017

AbstractWhat does it feel like to be a bat? Is conscious experience of echolocation closer to that of vision or audition? Or do bats process echolocation nonconsciously, such that they do not feel anything about echolocation? This famous question of bats' experience, posed by a philosopher Thomas Nagel in 1974, clarifies the difficult nature of the mind–body problem. Why a particular sense, such as vision, has to feel like vision, but not like audition, is totally puzzling. This is especially so given that any conscious experience is supported by neuronal activity. Activity of a single neuron appears fairly uniform across modalities and even similar to those for non‐conscious processing. Without any explanation on why a particular sense has to feel the way it does, researchers cannot approach the question of the bats' experience. Is there any theory that gives us a hope for such explanation? Currently, probably none, except for one. Integrated information theory (IIT) has potential to offer a plausible explanation. IIT essentially claims that any system that is composed of causally interacting mechanisms can have conscious experience. And precisely how the system feels is determined by the way the mechanisms influence each other in a holistic way. In this article, I will give a brief explanation of the essence of IIT. Further, I will briefly provide a potential scientific pathway to approach bats' conscious experience and its philosophical implications. If IIT, or its improved or related versions, is validated enough, the theory will gain credibility. When it matures enough, predictions from the theory, including nature of bats' experience, will have to be accepted. I argue that a seemingly impossible question about bats' consciousness will drive empirical and theoretical consciousness research to make big breakthroughs, in a similar way as an impossible question about the age of the universe has driven modern cosmology.