bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Surgical Treatment of Iatrogenic Ventral Glottic Stenosis Using a Mucosal Flap Technique
Authors: Kane‐Smyth Justine , Barnett Timothy P. , O'Leary John Mark , Dixon Padraic M. 
Published: March 2016

ObjectiveTo describe a novel surgical technique for correcting postoperative ventral glottic stenosis (cicatrix or web formation) and the outcome in 2 Thoroughbred racehorses.Study DesignRetrospective case report.AnimalsThoroughbreds diagnosed with ventral glottic stenosis (n=2).MethodsHorses presenting with iatrogenic ventral glottic stenosis and resultant exercise intolerance and abnormal exercise‐related noise were anesthetized and a midline sagittal skin incision was made over the ventral larynx and between the sternohyoideus muscles overlying the cricothyroid notch. The cricothyroid ligament, attached laryngeal cicatrix, and overlying mucosa were sagittally sectioned at the dorsal aspect of the cicatrix on the left side. The laryngeal mucosa, cicatrix, and underlying cricothyroid ligament immediately rostral and caudal to the cicatrix were sectioned in a medial (axial) direction as far as the right side of the cricothyroid notch. After resection of the majority of the attached cicatrix tissue, the residual mucosal flap (attached to the right side of the larynx) was reflected ventrally and sutured to the attachment of the cricothyroid ligament on the right side of the cricothyroid notch, creating an intact mucosal layer on the right side of the ventral larynx.ResultsBoth horses had good intralaryngeal wound healing with minimal redevelopment of ventral glottic stenosis at 5 and 9 months postoperatively and were successfully returned to racing with complete absence of abnormal respiratory noise.ConclusionThe unique laryngeal anatomy of horses, with a cartilage‐free ventral laryngeal area (cricothyroid notch), allowed the use of this novel surgical technique to successfully treat ventral glottic stenosis.
Purinergic signalling underlies transforming growth factor‐β‐mediated bladder afferent nerve hyperexcitability
Authors: Gonzalez Eric J. , Heppner Thomas J. , Nelson Mark T. , Vizzard Margaret A. 
Published: March 2016

Key points
The sensory components of the urinary bladder are responsible for the transduction of bladder filling and are often impaired with neurological injury or disease.
Elevated extracellular ATP contributes, in part, to bladder afferent nerve hyperexcitability during urinary bladder inflammation or irritation.
Transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) may stimulate ATP release from the urothelium through vesicular exocytosis mechanisms with minimal contribution from pannexin‐1 channels to increase bladder afferent nerve discharge.
Bladder afferent nerve hyperexcitability and urothelial ATP release with CYP‐induced cystitis is decreased with TGF‐β inhibition.
These results establish a causal link between an inflammatory mediator, TGF‐β, and intrinsic signalling mechanisms of the urothelium that may contribute to the altered sensory processing of bladder filling.
AbstractThe afferent limb of the micturition reflex is often compromised following bladder injury, disease and inflammatory conditions. We have previously demonstrated that transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) signalling contributes to increased voiding frequency and decreased bladder capacity with cystitis. Despite the functional presence of TGF‐β in bladder inflammation, the precise mechanisms of TGF‐β mediating bladder dysfunction are not yet known. Thus, the present studies investigated the sensory components of the urinary bladder that may underlie the pathophysiology of aberrant TGF‐β activation. We utilized bladder–pelvic nerve preparations to characterize bladder afferent nerve discharge and the mechanisms of urothelial ATP release with distention. Our findings indicate that bladder afferent nerve discharge is sensitive to elevated extracellular ATP during pathological conditions of urinary bladder inflammation or irritation. We determined that TGF‐β1 may increase bladder afferent nerve excitability by stimulating ATP release from the urothelium via vesicular exocytosis mechanisms with minimal contribution from pannexin‐1 channels. Furthermore, blocking aberrant TGF‐β signalling in cyclophosphamide‐induced cystitis with TβR‐1 inhibition decreased afferent nerve hyperexcitability with a concomitant decrease in urothelial ATP release. Taken together, these results establish a role for purinergic signalling mechanisms in TGF‐β‐mediated bladder afferent nerve activation that may ultimately facilitate increased voiding frequency. The synergy between intrinsic urinary bladder signalling mechanisms and an inflammatory mediator provides novel insight into bladder dysfunction and supports new avenues for therapeutic intervention.
Detailed evaluation of an automated approach to interactive optimization for volumetric modulated arc therapy plans
Authors: Tol Jim P. , Dahele Max , Delaney Alexander R. , Doornaert Patricia , Slotman Ben J. , Verbakel Wilko F. A. R. 
Published: March 2016

Purpose:Interactive optimization during treatment planning requires intermittent adjustment of organ‐at‐risk (OAR) objectives relative to the dose–volume histogram line. This is a labor‐intensive process and the resulting plans are prone to variations in quality. The authors’ in‐house developed approach to automated interactive optimization (AIO) automatically moves the mouse cursor to adjust the position of on‐screen optimization objectives. This allows for the use of more objectives per OAR and results in a more frequent and consistent adjustment of these objectives during optimization. The authors report a detailed evaluation of AIO performance in support of its implementation for routine head and neck cancer (HNC) planning and an evaluation for locally advanced lung cancer (LC) planning which requires a different optimization strategy.Methods:Volumetric modulated arc therapy AIO plans (APs) were created for 70 HNC patients with a simultaneously integrated boost and 20 LC patients and benchmarked against their respective manually interactively optimized plans (MPs). The same set of optimization objectives and priorities was used for all APs, although planning target volume (PTV) optimization priorities could be increased manually in a subsequent “continue previous optimization” calculation. HNC plans were benchmarked using mean dose to individual and composite OARs and elective/boost PTV (PTVE/PTVB) volumes receiving 95% and 107% of the prescription dose (V95% and V107%, respectively). A clinician performed blinded comparison of 20 APs and respective MPs. LC plans were compared using PTV V95%/V107%, contralateral lung (CL) volume receiving 5 Gy (V5Gy), total lung (TL)‐PTV V5Gy/V20Gy, and esophagus and heart V40Gy/V60Gy/mean doses.Results:For HNC, statistically significant improvements in sparing of all OARs, except for the ipsilateral submandibular gland and trachea, were obtained in the APs compared to MPs. Average mean dose to oral cavity, composite salivary, and swallowing structures were 25.4/23.8, 24.2/23.2, and 29.5/25.5 Gy, respectively, for the MPs/APs. PTV heterogeneity was similar: in the APs, PTVB V95% was 0.2% higher while PTV B/PTV E V107% was 0.4%/1.0% lower. In 19 out of 20 HNC patients, the clinician preferred the AP, mainly because of better OAR sparing and PTV dose homogeneity. For LC, APs had a significantly lower CL V5Gy (6.1%), heart mean dose/V60Gy (0.9 Gy/1.2%) and esophagus mean dose/V60Gy (0.9 Gy/2.8%), a nonsignificantly higher TL V20Gy (1.4%), and a slight, but significantly higher dose deposition to the body. PTV dose coverage and homogeneity were similar in the APs and MPs. AIO was considered sufficiently robust for clinical use in LC.Conclusions:HNC and LC APs were at least as good as, and often of improved quality over MPs. To date, AIO has been clinically implemented for HNC planning.
Multivariate analysis for the estimation of target localization errors in fiducial marker‐based radiotherapy
Authors: Takamiya Masanori , Nakamura Mitsuhiro , Akimoto Mami , Ueki Nami , Yamada Masahiro , Tanabe Hiroaki , Matsuo Yukinori , Mizowaki Takashi , Kokubo Masaki , Hiraoka Masahiro , Itoh Akio 
Published: March 2016

Purpose:To assess the target localization error (TLE) in terms of the distance between the target and the localization point estimated from the surrogates (|TMD|), the average of respiratory motion for the surrogates and the target (|aRM|), and the number of fiducial markers used for estimating the target (n).Methods:This study enrolled 17 lung cancer patients who subsequently underwent four fractions of real‐time tumor tracking irradiation. Four or five fiducial markers were implanted around the lung tumor. The three‐dimensional (3D) distance between the tumor and markers was at maximum 58.7 mm. One of the markers was used as the target (Pt), and those markers with a 3D |TMDn| ≤ 58.7 mm at end‐exhalation were then selected. The estimated target position (Pe) was calculated from a localization point consisting of one to three markers except Pt. Respiratory motion for Pt and Pe was defined as the root mean square of each displacement, and |aRM| was calculated from the mean value. TLE was defined as the root mean square of each difference between Pt and Pe during the monitoring of each fraction. These procedures were performed repeatedly using the remaining markers. To provide the best guidance on the answer with n and |TMD|, fiducial markers with a 3D |aRM ≥ 10 mm were selected. Finally, a total of 205, 282, and 76 TLEs that fulfilled the 3D |TMD| and 3D |aRM| criteria were obtained for n = 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Multiple regression analysis (MRA) was used to evaluate TLE as a function of |TMD| and |aRM| in each n.Results:|TMD| for n = 1 was larger than that for n = 3. Moreover, |aRM| was almost constant for all n, indicating a similar scale for the marker's motion near the lung tumor. MRA showed that |aRM| in the left–right direction was the major cause of TLE; however, the contribution made little difference to the 3D TLE because of the small amount of motion in the left–right direction. The TLE calculated from the MRA (MRATLE) increased as |TMD| and |aRM| increased and adversely decreased with each increment of n. The median 3D MRATLE was 2.0 mm (range, 0.6–4.3 mm) for n = 1, 1.8 mm (range, 0.4–4.0 mm) for n = 2, and 1.6 mm (range, 0.3–3.7 mm) for n = 3. Although statistical significance between n = 1 and n = 3 was observed in all directions, the absolute average difference and the standard deviation of the MRATLE between n = 1 and n = 3 were 0.5 and 0.2 mm, respectively.Conclusions:A large |TMD| and |aRM| increased the differences in TLE between each n; however, the difference in 3D MRATLEs was, at most, 0.6 mm. Thus, the authors conclude that it is acceptable to continue fiducial marker‐based radiotherapy as long as |TMD| is maintained at ≤58.7 mm for a 3D |aRM|  ≥  10 mm.
Draft Genome Sequence of the Bacteriocin-Producing Strain
Enterococcus faecium
M3K31, Isolated from Griffon Vultures (
Gyps fulvus
subsp.
fulvus
)
Authors: Arbulu Sara , Frantzen Cyril , Lohans Christopher T. , Cintas Luis M. , Herranz Carmen , Holo Helge , Diep Dzung B. , Vederas John C. , Hernández Pablo E. 
Published: March 2016

ABSTRACT

Enterococcus faecium
M3K31 is a bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacterium (LAB) isolated from griffon vulture (
Gyps fulvus
subsp.
fulvus
) feces. The draft genome sequence of this strain provides genetic data that support its biotechnological potential.
Draft Whole-Genome Sequences of
Salmonella enterica
subsp.
enterica
Serovars Enteritidis, Veneziana, and Salford, Isolated from Herbs
Authors: Frink Stephen , Morales Christina , Kiang David 
Published: March 2016

ABSTRACT

Salmonella
is a foodborne pathogen found in a wide variety of sources. Here, we report draft genome sequences of three
Salmonella enterica
subsp.
enterica
serovars found in herbs: Enteritidis, Veneziana, and Salford, with the latter two being extremely rare in California.
Complete Mitochondrial DNA Sequence of the Mucoralean Fungus
Absidia glauca
, a Model for Studying Host-Parasite Interactions
Authors: Ellenberger Sabrina , Burmester Anke , Wöstemeyer Johannes 
Published: March 2016

ABSTRACT

The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of
Absidia glauca
has been completely sequenced. It is 63,080 bp long, has a G+C content of 28%, and contains the standard fungal gene set.
A. glauca
is the recipient in a laboratory model for horizontal gene transfer with
Parasitella parasitica
as a donor of nuclei and mitochondria.
Draft Genome Sequences of Two Extensively Drug-Resistant
Acinetobacter baumannii
Strains Isolated from Pus Samples
Authors: Mahalingam Niranjana , Manivannan Bhavani , Jadhao Sudhir , Mishra Gayathri , Nilawe Pravin , Pradeep Bulagonda Eswarappa 
Published: March 2016

ABSTRACT

We report the draft genomes of two extensively drug-resistant (XDR)
Acinetobacter baumannii
strains isolated from pus samples of two patients with surgical site infections at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthigram, India. The average genomic size and G+C content are 4 Mbp and 38.96% (AB28) and 4 Mbp and 38.94% (AB30), respectively.
Cohort profile of the UK Biobank: diagnosis and characteristics of cerebrovascular disease
Authors: Hewitt J , Walters M , Padmanabhan S , Dawson J 
Published: March 2016

PurposeThe UK Biobank is a large-scale biomedical resource, containing sociodemographic and medical information, including data on a previous diagnosis of stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA). We described these participants and their medication usage.ParticipantsWe identified participants who either self-reported or were identified from a nurse-led interview, having suffered a stroke or a TIA and compared them against participants without stroke ort TIA. We assessed their risk factor burden (sex, age, deprivation, waist to hip ratio (WHR), hypertension, smoking, alcohol intake, diabetes, physical exercise and oral contraception use (oral contraceptive pill, OCP)) and medication usage.Findings to dateWe studied 502 650 people (54.41% women), 6669 (1.23%) participants self-reported a stroke. The nurse-led interview identified 7669 (1.53%) people with stroke and 1781 (0.35%) with TIA. Hypertension, smoking, higher WHR, lower alcohol consumption and diabetes were all more common in people with cerebrovascular disease (p<0.0001 for each). Women with cerebrovascular disease were less likely to have taken the OCP (p=0.0002). People with cerebrovascular disease did more exercise (p=0.03). Antithrombotic medication was taken by 81% of people with stroke (both self-report and nurse-led responders) and 89% with TIA. For self-reported stroke, 63% were taking antithrombotic and cholesterol medications, 54% taking antithrombotic and antihypertensive medications and 46% taking all 3. For the nurse-led interview and TIA, these figures were 65%, 54% and 46%, and 70%, 53% and 45%, respectively.Future plansThe UK Biobank provides a large, generalisable and contemporary data source in a young population. The characterisation of the UK Biobank cohort with cerebrovascular disease will form the basis for ongoing research using this data source.
What is important for you? A qualitative interview study of living with diabetes and experiences of diabetes care to establish a basis for a tailored Patient-Reported Outcome Measure for the Swedish National Diabetes Register
Authors: Svedbo Engström Maria , Leksell Janeth , Johansson Unn-Britt , Gudbjörnsdottir Soffia 
Published: March 2016

ObjectivesThere is a growing emphasis on the perspective of individuals living with diabetes and the need for a more person-centred diabetes care. At present, the Swedish National Diabetes Register (NDR) lacks patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) based on the perspective of the patient. As a basis for a new PROM, the aim of this study was to describe important aspects in life for adult individuals with diabetes.DesignSemistructured qualitative interviews analysed using content analysis.SettingHospital-based outpatient clinics and primary healthcare clinics in Sweden.Participants29 adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) (n=15) and type 2 DM (n=14). Inclusion criteria: Swedish adults (≥18 years) living with type 1 DM or type 2 DM (duration ≥5 years) able to describe their situation in Swedish. Purposive sampling generated heterogeneous characteristics.ResultsTo live a good life with diabetes is demanding for the individual, but experienced barriers can be eased by support from others in the personal sphere, and by professional support from diabetes care. Diabetes care was a crucial resource to nurture the individual's ability and knowledge to manage diabetes, and to facilitate life with diabetes by supplying support, guidance, medical treatment and technical devices tailored to individual needs. The analysis resulted in the overarching theme ‘To live a good life with diabetes’ constituting the two main categories ‘How I feel and how things are going with my diabetes’ and ‘Support from diabetes care in managing diabetes’ including five different categories.ConclusionsCommon aspects were identified including the experience of living with diabetes and support from diabetes care. These will be used to establish a basis for a tailored PROM for the NDR.
‘Why should I worry, since I have healthy feet?’ A qualitative study exploring barriers to use of footwear among rural community members in northern Ethiopia
Authors: Kelemework Abebe , Tora Abebayehu , Amberbir Tsigie , Agedew Getnet , Asmamaw Abiyu , Deribe Kebede , Davey Gail 
Published: March 2016

ObjectiveTo explore the influence of personal, cultural and socioeconomic factors related to footwear use and non-use in northern Ethiopia.DesignA qualitative study was conducted using focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews. Data were collected using semistructured interview guides.SettingThe study was conducted in East and West Gojjam Zones, Amhara region, northwest Ethiopia.ParticipantsA total of 91 individuals from 4 target groups participated in individual and group interviews: (1) non-affected community leaders includingIdir(a form of social insurance) leaders, school principals,kebele(the lowest administrative unit) officials, health professionals, teachers, merchants and religious leaders; (2) affected men and women; (3) non-affected men and women not in leadership positions; and (4) school children (both male and female).ResultsParticipants perceived a range of health benefits from donning footwear, including protection against injury and cold. Various types of shoes are available within the community, and their use varied depending on the nature of activities and the season. Personal and socioeconomic barriers hindered the desire to consistently use footwear. Widely established barefoot traditions and beliefs that footwear is uncomfortable, heavy and may weaken the feet have made the regular use of footwear uncommon. Economic constraints were also mentioned as hindering ownership and use of footwear. Distance from places where shoes could be bought also contributed to limited access. Cultural influences promoting gender inequality resulted in women being least able to access shoes.ConclusionsWe identified several individual, cultural and socioeconomic barriers that influence individuals’ decisions about and use of footwear in rural northern Ethiopia. Promoting education on the health benefits of footwear, curbing podoconiosis-related misconceptions and integrating these with economic empowerment programmes, may all improve the use of footwear.
EHDViz: clinical dashboard development using open-source technologies
Authors: Badgeley Marcus A , Shameer Khader , Glicksberg Benjamin S , Tomlinson Max S , Levin Matthew A , McCormick Patrick J , Kasarskis Andrew , Reich David L , Dudley Joel T 
Published: March 2016

ObjectiveTo design, develop and prototype clinical dashboards to integrate high-frequency health and wellness data streams using interactive and real-time data visualisation and analytics modalities.Materials and methodsWe developed a clinical dashboard development framework called electronic healthcare data visualization (EHDViz) toolkit for generating web-based, real-time clinical dashboards for visualising heterogeneous biomedical, healthcare and wellness data. The EHDViz is an extensible toolkit that usesRpackages for data management, normalisation and producing high-quality visualisations over the web usingR/Shinyweb server architecture. We have developed use cases to illustrate utility of EHDViz in different scenarios of clinical and wellness setting as a visualisation aid for improving healthcare delivery.ResultsUsing EHDViz, we prototyped clinical dashboards to demonstrate the contextual versatility of EHDViz toolkit. An outpatient cohort was used to visualise population health management tasks (n=14 221), and an inpatient cohort was used to visualise real-time acuity risk in a clinical unit (n=445), and a quantified-self example using wellness data from a fitness activity monitor worn by a single individual was also discussed (n-of-1). The back-end system retrieves relevant data from data source, populates the main panel of the application and integrates user-defined data features in real-time and renders output using modern web browsers. The visualisation elements can be customised using health features, disease names, procedure names or medical codes to populate the visualisations. The source code of EHDViz and various prototypes developed using EHDViz are available in the public domain athttp://ehdviz.dudleylab.org.ConclusionsCollaborative data visualisations, wellness trend predictions, risk estimation, proactive acuity status monitoring and knowledge of complex disease indicators are essential components of implementing data-driven precision medicine. As an open-source visualisation framework capable of integrating health assessment, EHDViz aims to be a valuable toolkit for rapid design, development and implementation of scalable clinical data visualisation dashboards.