bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Transcystic or Transductal Stone Extraction during Single‐Stage Treatment of Choledochocystolithiasis: A Systematic Review
Authors: Reinders Jan Siert K. , Gouma Dirk J. , Ubbink Dirk T. , van Ramshorst Bert , Boerma Djamila 
Published: April 2014

AbstractBackgroundCholedochocystolithiasis can be managed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography (ERCP) or laparoscopically by transcystic (TC) or transductal (TD) stone extraction.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to systematically review safety and effectiveness of combined endoscopic/laparoscopic management versus total laparoscopic management for choledochocystolithiasis with specific emphasis on TC versus TD stone extraction.MethodsMEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov were searched systematically to identify trials on combined endoscopic/laparoscopic and total laparoscopic management for choledochocystolithiasis. Laparoscopic common bile duct (CBD) exploration was divided into TD and TC approach. Primary outcomes were successful stone clearance from CBD, postoperative/procedural morbidity, and mortality.ResultsEight randomized trials with 965 patients were included. Successful bile duct clearance varied between 52.6 and 97 % in the ERCP groups, 80.4 and 100 % in the TC groups, and 58.3 and 100 % in the TD groups. There were more bile leaks after TD stone extraction (11 %) than after ERCP (1 %) and TC stone extraction (1.7 %). Total morbidity varied between 9.1 and 38.3 % in the ERCP groups, 7 and 10.5 % in the TC groups, and 18.4 and 26.7 % in the TD groups. Methodological and statistical heterogeneity among the trials precluded a meaningful meta‐analysis.ConclusionStone clearance rates are comparable between the three modalities, but TD stone extraction is associated with a higher risk of bile leaks and should only be performed by highly experienced surgeons. TC stone extraction seems a more accessible technique with lower complication rates. If unsuccessful, per‐ or postoperative endoscopic stone extraction is a viable option.
Assessing Surgical Quality: Comparison of General and Procedure‐Specific Morbidity Estimation Models for the Risk Adjustment of Pancreaticoduodenectomy Outcomes
Authors: Ansorge C. , Lindström P. , Strömmer L. , Blomberg J. , Lundell L. , Andrén‐Sandberg Å. , Del Chiaro M. , Segersvärd R. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractIntroduction
The use of outcomes to evaluate surgical quality implies the need for detailed risk adjustment. The physiological and operative severity score for the enumeration of mortality and morbidity (POSSUM) is a generally applicable risk adjustment model suitable for pancreatic surgery. A pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD)‐specific intraoperative pancreatic risk assessment (IPRA) estimates the risk of postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) and associated morbidity based on factors that are not incorporated into POSSUM.ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to compare the risk estimations of POSSUM and IPRA in patients undergoing PD.MethodsAn observational single‐center cohort study was conducted including 195 patients undergoing PD in 2008–2010. POSSUM and IPRA data were recorded prospectively. Incidence and severity of postoperative morbidity was recorded according to established definitions. The cohort was grouped by POSSUM and IPRA risk groups. The estimated and observed outcomes and morbidity profiles of POSSUM and IPRA were scrutinized.ResultsPOSSUM‐estimated risk (62 %) corresponded with observed total morbidity (65 %). Severe morbidity was 17 % and in‐hospital‐mortality 3.1 %. Individual and grouped POSSUM risk estimates did not reveal associations with incidence (p = 0.637) or severity (p = 0.321) of total morbidity or POPF. The IPRA model identified patients with high POPF risk (p < 0.001), but was even associated with incidence (p < 0.001) and severity (p < 0.001) of total morbidity.ConclusionThe risk factors defined by a PD‐specific model were significantly stronger predictive indicators for the incidence and severity of postoperative morbidity than the factors incorporated in POSSUM. If available, reliable procedure‐specific risk factors should be utilized in the risk adjustment of surgical outcomes. For pancreatic surgery, generally applicable tools such as POSSUM still have to prove their relevance.
The Influence of Obesity on the Outcome of TKR: Can the Impact of Obesity be justified from the Viewpoint of the Overall Health Care System?
Authors: Rodriguez-Merchan E. Carlos 
Published: April 2014

Background There is controversy in the literature regarding the justification of performing total knee replacement (TKR) in obese patients in view of their increased risk of poor outcomes and how those poorer outcomes impact the health care system overall. Questions/Purposes Is TKR justifiable in the obese patient? Can the negative impact of continuing to perform TKR in the obese be quantified? Methods A Cochrane Library, PubMed (MEDLINE), and Google Scholar search related to the justification of TKR in the obese patient and its impact on the health care system was analyzed. The main criteria for selection were that the articles were focused in the aforementioned questions. Results Two thousand one hundred seventy-three articles were found, but only 50 were selected and reviewed because they were focused on the questions of this paper. Although some articles (with low grade of evidence) did not find that obesity adversely affected the outcome of TKR, most of them found that obesity adversely affected the results of TKR. Regarding complications rates and survival rates, obesity has shown to have a negative influence on outcome after TKR. The improvements in patient-reported outcome measures, however, were similar irrespective of body mass index. Regarding the impact of TKR in obese patients, an extra cost of US$3,050 has been reported per patient. Considering that 50% of the US population is obese and that 600,000 TKRs are implanted per year, the impact for the US health system could be as much as 915 million dollars (300,000 × 3,050). Conclusion TKR in obese patients may be justifiable because the functional improvements appear equivalent to those of patients with a lower BMI. However, in obese patients, the risk of complications is higher and the prosthetic survival is lower. Moreover, TKR in obese patients has a huge impact on the health system which should be considered.
Pocket creation in the prepectoral subfascial position for the implantation of a cardiac implantable electrical device
Authors: Imai Katsuhiko 
Published: April 2014

AbstractPockets created in the prepectoral subcutaneous space in electrophysiology laboratories for the implantation of a cardiac implantable electrical device (CIED) have several advantages; however, lean or small subjects are thought to cause pocket erosion. To minimize such traumatic pocket complications, prepectoral subfascial implantation has been employed since the early 1990s. In this paper, we introduce a method for prepectoral subfascial pocket creation.
The influence of non-polar lipids on tear film dynamics
Authors: Bruna M. , Breward C. J. W. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractIn this paper we examine the effect that physiological non-polar lipids, residing on the surface of an aqueous tear film, have on the film evolution. In our model we track the evolution of the thickness of the non-polar lipid layer, the thickness of the aqueous layer and the concentration of polar lipids which reside at the interface between the two. We also utilise a force balance in the non-polar lipid layer in order to determine its velocity. We show how to obtain previous models in the literature from our model by making particular choices of the parameters. We see the formation of boundary layers in some of these submodels, across which the concentration of polar lipid and the non-polar lipid velocity and film thickness vary. We solve our model numerically for physically realistic parameter values, and we find that the evolution of the aqueous layer and the polar lipid layer are similar to that described by previous authors. However, there are interesting dynamics for the non-polar lipid layer. The effects of altering the key parameters are highlighted and discussed. In particular, we see that the Marangoni number plays a key role in determining how far over the eye the non-polar lipid spreads.
Differences in sperm storage and remating propensity between adult females of two morphotypes of theAnastrepha fraterculus(Diptera: Tephritidae) cryptic species complex
Authors: Abraham S. , Rull J. , Mendoza M. , Liendo M.C. , Devescovi F. , Roriz A.K. , Kovaleski A. , Segura D.F. , Vera M.T. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractThe South American fruit fly,Anastrepha fraterculus, is a complex of cryptic species composed of at least seven morphotypes. Some of them, such as the Peruvian and Brazilian 1 morphotypes (which include Argentinean populations), exhibit strong pre-copulatory isolation, yet it is possible to obtain heterotypic crosses when forcing copulation of adults under laboratory conditions. The cross involving Peruvian males and Argentinean females produces F1 offspring with reduced viability in terms of egg hatch. This low hatchability could be caused by a reduced amount of sperm transferred to and stored by females mated with heterotypic males, which in turn could affect their post-copulatory behaviour. To test these hypotheses, we investigated sperm transfer and female mating and remating behaviour for homotypic and heterotypic crosses between adults of two morphotypes (Brazilian 1 [Argentina] and Peruvian [Peru]) of theA. fraterculuscryptic species complex. As reported before, Argentinean males and females mated earlier in the day than the other three mating combinations. Peruvian females engaged in shorter copulation times than Argentinean females. Peruvian females tended to store smaller quantities of sperm than Argentinean females, and almost a half of the crosses involving Argentinean males and Peruvian females were unsuccessful (no sperm transfer). However, there was no evidence that the cross between Peruvian males and Argentinean females resulted in storage of a critically small amount of sperm (posing risk of sperm shortage). Argentinean females were more willing to remate than Peruvian females, irrespective of male morphotype, but latency to remating was not affected by male or female morphotype. This study shows that mating behaviour differs between some of theA. fraterculuscomplex morphotypes, with female but not male morphotype determining female likelihood to remate.
Investing in the “New Economy”: Mutual Fund Performance and the Nature of the Firm
Authors: Gupta-Mukherjee Swasti 
Published: April 2014

AbstractAlthough stock returns of intangibles-intensive firms tend to exceed physical assets-intensive firms, risk-adjusted returns of actively managed mutual funds significantly decrease (increase) with their portfolios’ exposure to intangibles-intensive (physical assets-intensive) firms. Fund managers tend to exhibit skill when they focus on difficult-to-value (e.g., small) firms, except when the firms are intangibles-intensive. In sum, the worst-performing funds are in areas of the market that seem to offer ample opportunities for professional investors due to exacerbated mispricing. The negative impact of investments in intangibles-intensive firms on fund performance appears to be driven by extrapolation bias and decreases with learning from experience.
No stress – Hsp90 and signal transduction inLeishmania
Authors: HOMBACH A. , CLOS J. 
Published: April 2014

SUMMARYHsp90 (a.k.a. Hsp83) plays a significant role in the life cycle control of the protozoan parasiteLeishmania donovani. Rather than protectingLeishmaniaspp. against adverse and stressful environs, Hsp90 is required for the maintenance of the motile, highly proliferative insect stage, the promastigote. However, Hsp90 is also essential for survival and proliferation of the intracellular mammalian stage, the amastigote. Moreover, recent evidence shows Hsp90 and other components of large multi-chaperone complexes as substrates of stage-specific protein phosphorylation pathways, and thus as likely effectors of the signal transduction pathways inLeishmaniaspp. Future efforts should be directed towards the identification of the protein kinases and the critical phosphorylation sites as targets for novel therapeutic approaches.
Inter-laboratory comparison of multi-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) for verocytotoxin-producingEscherichia coliO157 to facilitate data sharing
Authors: HOLMES A. , PERRY N. , WILLSHAW G. , HANSON M. , ALLISON L. 
Published: April 2014

SUMMARYMulti-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) is used in clinical and reference laboratories for subtyping verocytotoxin-producingEscherichia coliO157 (VTEC O157). However, as yet there is no common allelic or profile nomenclature to enable laboratories to easily compare data. In this study, we carried out an inter-laboratory comparison of an eight-loci MLVA scheme using a set of 67 isolates of VTEC O157. We found all but two isolates were identical in profile in the two laboratories, and repeat units were homogeneous in size but some were incomplete. A subset of the isolates (n = 17) were sequenced to determine the actual copy number of representative alleles, thereby enabling alleles to be named according to international consensus guidelines. This work has enabled us to realize the potential of MLVA as a portable, highly discriminatory and convenient subtyping method.
Aspergillus endocarditis in a paediatric patient after a cardiac surgery, associated with septic pulmonary embolism and pulmonary hypertension
Authors: Miranda Joana O. , de Sousa António Rodrigues , Monterroso José 
Published: April 2014

AbstractWe report a rare case of pulmonary prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Aspergillus fumigatus, associated with septic pulmonary embolism and secondary pulmonary hypertension, in a 4-year-old boy with surgically corrected tetralogy of Fallot. The diagnosis and treatment of Aspergillus endocarditis remains highly challenging. The best therapeutic option for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension due to an infectious thromboembolic event is highly debatable and the results are poor.
Attitudes of the German public to restrictions on persons with mental illness in 1993 and 2011
Authors: Angermeyer M. C. , Matschinger H. , Schomerus G. 
Published: April 2014

Aims.In recent years, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Mental Health Declaration for Europe and other initiatives laid the ground for improving the rights of persons with mental illness. This study aims to explore to what extent these achievements are reflected in changes of public attitudes towards restrictions on mentally ill people.Methods.Data from two population surveys that have been conducted in the ‘new’ States of Germany in 1993 and 2011 are compared with each other.Results.The proportion of respondents accepting compulsory admission of mentally ill persons to a psychiatric hospital remained unchanged in general, but the proportion opposing compulsory admission on grounds not sanctioned by law declined. In contrast, more respondents were opposed to permanently revoking the driver's license and fewer supported abortion and (voluntary) sterilisation in 2011. Concerning the right to vote and compulsory sterilisation, the proportion of those who did not give their views increased most.Conclusions.Two divergent trends in public attitudes towards restrictions on people with mental disorders emerge: While, in general, people's views on patients' rights have become more liberal, the public is also more inclined to restricting patients’ freedom in case of deviant behaviour.
Dependency structure and scaling properties of financial time series are related
Authors: Morales Raffaello , Di Matteo T. , Aste Tomaso 
Published: April 2014

AbstractWe report evidence of a deep interplay between cross-correlations hierarchical properties and multifractality of New York Stock Exchange daily stock returns. The degree of multifractality displayed by different stocks is found to be positively correlated to their depth in the hierarchy of cross-correlations. We propose a dynamical model that reproduces this observation along with an array of other empirical properties. The structure of this model is such that the hierarchical structure of heterogeneous risks plays a crucial role in the time evolution of the correlation matrix, providing an interpretation to the mechanism behind the interplay between cross-correlation and multifractality in financial markets, where the degree of multifractality of stocks is associated to their hierarchical positioning in the cross-correlation structure. Empirical observations reported in this paper present a new perspective towards the merging of univariate multi scaling and multivariate cross-correlation properties of financial time series.
Discrete regenerative fuel cell reduces hysteresis for sustainable cycling of water
Authors: Park Kiwon , Lee Jungkoo , Kim Hyung-Man , Choi Kap-Seung , Hwang Gunyong 
Published: April 2014

AbstractThe discrete regenerative fuel cell is being developed as a residential power control that synchronizes with a renewables load which fluctuates significantly with the time and weather. The power of proton exchange membrane fuel cells can be scaled-up adjustably to meet the residential power demand. As a result, scale-ups from a basic unit cell with a 25 cm2active area create a serpentine flow-field on an active area of 100 cm2and take into account the excessive current and the remaining power obtained by stacking single cells. Operating a fuel cell utilising oxygen produced by the electrolyser instead of air improves the electrochemical reaction and the water balance. Furthermore, the performance test results with oxygen instead of air show almost no hysteresis, which results in the very stable operation of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell as well as the sustainable cycle of water by hydrogen and oxygen mediums.
Population receptive field analysis of the primary visual cortex complements perimetry in patients with homonymous visual field defects
Authors: Papanikolaou Amalia , Keliris Georgios A. , Papageorgiou T. Dorina , Shao Yibin , Krapp Elke , Papageorgiou Eleni , Stingl Katarina , Bruckmann Anna , Schiefer Ulrich , Logothetis Nikos K. , Smirnakis Stelios M. 
Published: April 2014

Significance
Partial damage of the primary visual cortex (V1), or damage to the white matter inputs to V1 (optic radiation), cause blindness in specific regions of the visual field. We use functional MRI to measure responses in individual patients with a localized, chronic V1 injury that resulted in blindness in a quarter of the visual field. The fMRI responses of patients and controls are generally similar, but in some patients differences from controls can be measured. Importantly, responses in spared early visual cortex are not always congruent with visual perception. Understanding how the properties of early visual areas respond to injury will lead to better strategies for visual rehabilitation.
SVAMP: sequence variation analysis, maps and phylogeny
Authors: Naeem Raeece , Hidayah Lailatul , Preston Mark D. , Clark Taane G. , Pain Arnab 
Published: April 2014

Abstract
Summary: SVAMP is a stand-alone desktop application to visualize genomic variants (in variant call format) in the context of geographical metadata. Users of SVAMP are able to generate phylogenetic trees and perform principal coordinate analysis in real time from variant call format (VCF) and associated metadata files. Allele frequency map, geographical map of isolates, Tajima’s D metric, single nucleotide polymorphism density, GC and variation density are also available for visualization in real time. We demonstrate the utility of SVAMP in tracking a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreak from published next-generation sequencing data across 15 countries. We also demonstrate the scalability and accuracy of our software on 245 Plasmodium falciparum malaria isolates from three continents.
Availability and implementation: The Qt/C++ software code, binaries, user manual and example datasets are available at http://cbrc.kaust.edu.sa/svamp
Contact: arnab.pain@kaust.edu.sa or arnab.pain@cantab.net
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
First Report of Tomato chlorosis virus Infecting Tomato Crops in Uruguay
Authors: Arruabarrena A. , Rubio L. , González-Arcos M. , Maeso D. , Fonseca M. E. N. , Boiteux L. S. 
Published: April 2014

A survey of viral diseases was carried out during 2012 to 2013 in two major tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) producing regions in Uruguay (Salto and Canelones). Lower leaves of fruit-bearing plants were observed displaying yellowing and interveinal chlorosis under greenhouse conditions. The symptoms were similar to those associated with magnesium deficiency. However, the chlorosis displayed a tendency to move up affecting medial and apical leaves and prevailed even after supplementary magnesium applications to the soil, indicating potential infection by either Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) or Tomato infectious chlorosis virus (TICV) (3). Four leaf samples were collected from two sites in Canelones and 28 samples were collected from distinct commercial fields in Salto. Whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci biotype Q and Trialeurodes vaporariorum) were present in all sampling sites. Total RNA was extracted from symptomatic and healthy (control) plants and used for cDNA preparation with the HS-11/HS-12 primer pair followed by PCR amplification using the same primer pair. The 587-bp amplicon, corresponding to a highly conserved region of the heat shock protein (HSP-70) homolog gene reported in both TICV and ToCV genomes, was observed only in the symptomatic samples. These PCR products were then subjected to nested PCR using the ToCV specific primer pair (ToC-5/ToC-6) and TICV specific primer pair (TIC-3/TIC-4) (1). The expected 463-bp ToCV-specific amplicon was observed in all symptomatic plants but not in the healthy controls. The 223-bp amplicon corresponding to TICV was not observed in any sample, indicating the sole presence of ToCV. The amplicon of one Uruguayan ToCV isolate from Salto (named as CRS03) was purified and directly sequenced (GenBank KC626018). BLAST analysis revealed 99% identity of CRS03 with one Spanish isolate (AF233435.1) (2). Virus-free B. tabaci biotype Q adults were exposed to symptomatic plants infected with the CRS03 isolate for a 24-h period and then cage-confined with 10 healthy tomato plants (line ‘LT17’) for a 48-h period. Symptoms were reproduced in all tested plants after a 65-day period and ToCV infection was confirmed via PCR assays and by sequence analysis of the gel-purified amplicons. This is the first formal report of ToCV infecting tomatoes in Uruguay. Incidence of symptomatic plants in tomato crops varied from 30 to 100%, even under low whitefly pressure. Epidemiological information needs to be generated in order to evaluate the impact of ToCV in the fresh-market tomato yield and quality. References: (1) C. I. Dovas et al. Plant Dis. 86:1345, 2002. (2) G. Lozano et al. Arch. Virol. 151:581, 2006. (3) G. C. Wisler et al. Arch. Virol. 151:409, 2006.