bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Abnormal neuronal response to rectal and anal stimuli in patients with idiopathic fecal incontinence
Authors: Haas S. , Brock C. , Krogh K. , Gram M. , Lundby L. , Drewes A. M. , Laurberg S. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractBackgroundThe pathophysiology behind idiopathic fecal incontinence (IFI) is poorly understood. We hypothesized abnormal sensory pathways along the brain‐gut axis as a key player in this disease, reflected in cortical evoked potentials (CEP) from mechanical stimuli of the rectum and the anal canal.MethodsCEPs were recorded during repeated rapid balloon distensions of the rectum and anal canal in 19 women with IFI (mean age: 60 ± 14, mean Wexner score: 14.7 ± 2.9) and in 19 healthy women (mean age: 56 ± 11, mean Wexner score: 1.1 ± 1.3). Latencies, amplitudes and topography of CEPs elicited by rectal distension were compared between the groups. CEPs from both rectal and anal distensions were examined using spectral band analysis of single sweeps determining the relative amplitude of five spectral bands as a proxy of neuronal processing.Key ResultsCompared to controls IFI patients had prolonged latency of CEPs from rectal distension by up to 27% (p < 0.001) while amplitudes and topography were similar (all p > 0.7 and all p > 0.23). Spectral analysis of CEPs from rectal distensions showed no difference (all p > 0.1) between groups. However, analysis of CEPs following distension of the anal canal resulted in abnormally low activity in beta (8–12 Hz; p < 0.001) band and high activity in the gamma (32–70 Hz; p = 0.04) band in patients.Conclusions & InferencesIFI seems to be associated with impaired ano‐rectal sensory functions in both the afferent fibers to the brain and the cortical processing of anal sensory pathways. This may play a central role for the pathogenesis of IFI.
MODELING AND FORECASTING MONTHLY AVERAGE WATER LEVELS BASED ON THE ELLIPTIC ORBIT MODEL
Authors: YANG ZONG‐CHANG 
Published: April 2015

AbstractEvaluation and forecasting of water‐level fluctuation for one river is of increasing importance since it is intimately associated with human welfare and socioeconomic sustainability development. In this study, it is found that time series of monthly water‐level fluctuation exhibits annual cyclical variation. Then with annual periodic extension for monthly water‐level fluctuation, the so‐called “elliptic orbit model” is proposed for describing monthly water‐level fluctuation by mapping its time series into the polar coordinates. Experiments and result analysis indicate potentiality of the proposed method that it yields satisfying results in evaluating and forecasting monthly water‐level fluctuation at the monitoring stations in the Yangtze River of China. It is shown that the monthly water‐level fluctuation is well described by the proposed elliptic orbit model, which offers a vivid approach for modeling and forecasting monthly water‐level fluctuation in a concise and intuitive way.
The Maze and the Mirror: Voting Correctly in Direct Democracy
Authors: Nai Alessandro 
Published: April 2015

ObjectivesThis article assesses the conditions under which voters are more likely to vote “correctly” in direct democratic ballots. We look for determinants of correct voting simultaneously at the individual and contextual levels through a multilevel approach. At the individual level we provide special attention to the level of sophistication and the use of cognitive heuristics. At the contextual level we will investigate how the nature and content of political campaigns—more specifically, their intensity and negativity—enhance correct voting. We test our empirical models in the “hard‐case” scenario of Swiss direct democracy. We propose an alternative approach for the measure of correct voting, one that makes a full use of survey data but that tries to replicate the original idea of comparison between uninformed and informed voters to establish the “correctness” of a decision.MethodsWe use two different data sets that cover all direct democratic votes held in Switzerland, at the federal level, between 1999 and 2005; this period covers 23 ballots, during which 75 different projects were voted. To measure correct voting and all individual variables we rely on the VOX survey data, collected on a representative sample of about 1,000 individuals after each direct democratic vote in Switzerland. To measure campaign intensity and negativity we rely on an original data set that codes the content of every campaign ad published in the six major Swiss newspapers during the month prior to each ballot.ResultsWe show that political sophistication and the use of referential heuristics strongly enhance correct voting. Furthermore, at the contextual level, we show that campaigns with high intensity decrease correct voting, especially when combined with high negativity, even though the direct effect of negativity on correct voting is positive.ConclusionWe contribute to the existing literature in a threefold way. First, our results provide an additional confirmation that correct voting exists under both individual and contextual influences. Second, we assess the presence and determinants of correct voting in direct democracy, a “hard‐case” scenario, and find that the share of citizens who vote correctly is in line with the levels found for American citizens during elections, and that the main determinants seem to hold for both elections and direct democracy. Third, our alternative approach to measure correct voting highlights that the original idea of comparison between uninformed and informed voters, usually dealt with through experimental protocols, can be replicated with survey data.
A multi‐system geochronology in the Ad‐3 borehole, Pannonian Basin (Hungary) with implications for dating volcanic rocks by low‐temperature thermochronology and for interpretation of (U–Th)/He data
Authors: Danišík Martin , Fodor László , Dunkl István , Gerdes Axel , Csizmeg János , Hámor‐Vidó Mária , Evans Noreen J. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractIndependent geochronological and thermal modelling approaches are applied to a biostratigraphically exceptionally well‐controlled borehole, Alcsútdoboz‐3 (Ad‐3), in order to constrain the age of Cenozoic geodynamic events in the western Pannonian Basin and to test the efficacy of the methods for dating volcanic rocks. Apatite fission track and zircon U–Pb data show two volcanic phases of Middle Eocene (43.4–39.0 Ma) and Early Oligocene (32.72 ± 0.15 Ma) age respectively. Apatite (U–Th)/He ages (23.8–14.8 Ma) and independent thermal and subsidence history models reveal a brief period of heating to 55–70 °C at ~17 Ma caused by an increased heat‐flow related to crustal thinning and mantle upwelling. Our results demonstrate that, contrary to common perception, the apatite (U–Th)/He method is likely to record ‘apparent’ or ‘mixed’ ages resulting from subsequent thermal events rather than ‘cooling’ or ‘eruption’ ages directly related to distinct geological events. It follows that a direct conversion of ‘apparent’ or ‘mixed’ (U‐Th)/He ages into cooling, exhumation or erosion rates is incorrect.
Implementation of a clinical decision support system improves compliance with restrictive transfusion policies in hematology patients
Authors: Butler Caroline E. , Noel Simon , Hibbs Stephen P. , Miles David , Staves Julie , Mohaghegh Payam , Altmann Paul , Curnow Elinor , Murphy Michael F. 
Published: April 2015

BACKGROUNDThere is increasing evidence for restrictive red blood cell (RBC) transfusion but compliance with recommended transfusion triggers is variable. A clinical decision support system (CDSS) has been found to reduce unnecessary transfusion in some clinical settings when physicians are advised they are noncompliant with the current guidelines. The objective was to assess the impact of a CDSS for blood product ordering in patients with hematologic disease.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSAll platelet (PLT) and RBC transfusions were identified in hematology patients in three periods: before (baseline), immediately after (CDSS1), and 7 months after implementation of CDSS for blood ordering (CDSS2). Compliance with the recommended transfusion triggers was monitored for all orders made by CDSS or non‐CDSS methods during each period.RESULTSNinety‐seven patients with a variety of hematologic diagnoses received 502 RBC and 572 PLT transfusions during the three periods with no significant difference in 1) the mean number of transfusions per patient, 2) the proportion of patients transfused, 3) posttransfusion hemoglobin (Hb), and 4) pre‐ and posttransfusion PLT count, although mean pretransfusion Hb decreased. The proportion of noncompliant RBC and PLT transfusion requests improved from baseline to CDSS2 (69.0% to 43.4% p ≤ 0.005 for RBCs; and 41.9% to 31.2%, p = 0.16 for PLT) when all orders were compared, although this improvement was not significant at the 5% level for PLTs.CONCLUSIONSThe introduction of CDSS for blood product ordering supported by education and physician feedback in the hematology setting had an immediate impact on improving compliance with guidelines for restrictive transfusion practice.
Complete Genome Sequence of Kluyveromyces marxianus NBRC1777, a Nonconventional Thermotolerant Yeast
Authors: Inokuma Kentaro , Ishii Jun , Hara Kiyotaka Y. , Mochizuki Masao , Hasunuma Tomohisa , Kondo Akihiko 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACT

We determined the genome sequence of the thermotolerant yeast
Kluyveromyces marxianus
strain NBRC1777. The genome of strain NBRC1777 is composed of 4,912 open reading frames (ORFs) on 8 chromosomes, with a total size of 10,895,581 bp, including mitochondrial DNA.
Development of Conventional and Real-Time Quantitative PCR Assays for Diagnosis and Monitoring of Scabies
Authors: Wong Samson S. Y. , Poon Rosana W. S. , Chau Sandy , Wong Sally C. Y. , To Kelvin K. W. , Cheng Vincent C. C. , Fung Kitty S. C. , Yuen K. Y. 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACT

Scabies remains the most prevalent, endemic, and neglected ectoparasitic infestation globally and can cause institutional outbreaks. The sensitivity of routine microscopy for demonstration of
Sarcoptes scabiei
mites or eggs in skin scrapings is only about 50%. Except for three studies using conventional or two-tube nested PCR on a small number of cases, no systematic study has been performed to improve the laboratory diagnosis of this important infection. We developed a conventional and a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay based on the mitochondrial cytochrome
c
oxidase subunit 1 (
cox1
) gene of
S. scabiei
. The
cox1
gene is relatively well conserved, with its sequence having no high levels of similarity to the sequences of other human skin mites, pathogenic zoonotic mites, or common house dust mite species. This mitochondrial gene is also present in large quantities in arthropod cells, potentially improving the sensitivity of a PCR-based assay. In our study, both assays were specific and were more sensitive than microscopy in diagnosing scabies, with positive and negative predictive values of 100%. The
S. scabiei
DNA copy number in the microscopy-positive specimens was significantly higher than that in the microscopy-negative specimens (median
S. scabiei
DNA copy number, 3.604 versus 2.457 log
10
copies per reaction;
P
= 0.0213). In the patient with crusted scabies, the qPCR assay performed on lesional skin swabs instead of scrapings revealed that the parasite DNA load took about 2 weeks to become negative after treatment. The utility of using lesional skin swabs as an alternative sample for diagnosis of scabies by PCR should be further evaluated.
Extensive Within-Host Diversity in Fecally Carried Extended-Spectrum-Beta-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates: Implications for Transmission Analyses
Authors: Stoesser N. , Sheppard A. E. , Moore C. E. , Golubchik T. , Parry C. M. , Nget P. , Saroeun M. , Day N. P. J. , Giess A. , Johnson J. R. , Peto T. E. A. , Crook D. W. , Walker A. S. 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACT

Studies of the transmission epidemiology of antimicrobial-resistant
Escherichia coli
, such as strains harboring extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) genes, frequently use selective culture of rectal surveillance swabs to identify isolates for molecular epidemiological investigation. Typically, only single colonies are evaluated, which risks underestimating species diversity and transmission events. We sequenced the genomes of 16
E. coli
colonies from each of eight fecal samples (
n =
127 genomes; one failure), taken from different individuals in Cambodia, a region of high ESBL-producing
E. coli
prevalence. Sequence data were used to characterize both the core chromosomal diversity of
E. coli
isolates and their resistance/virulence gene content as a proxy measure of accessory genome diversity. The 127
E. coli
genomes represented 31 distinct sequence types (STs). Seven (88%) of eight subjects carried ESBL-positive isolates, all containing
bla
CTX-M
variants. Diversity was substantial, with a median of four STs/individual (range, 1 to 10) and wide genetic divergence at the nucleotide level within some STs. In 2/8 (25%) individuals, the same
bla
CTX-M
variant occurred in different clones, and/or different
bla
CTX-M
variants occurred in the same clone. Patterns of other resistance genes and common virulence factors, representing differences in the accessory genome, were also diverse within and between clones. The substantial diversity among intestinally carried ESBL-positive
E. coli
bacteria suggests that fecal surveillance, particularly if based on single-colony subcultures, will likely underestimate transmission events, especially in high-prevalence settings.
Analytical and Clinical Evaluation of the PathoNostics AsperGenius Assay for Detection of Invasive Aspergillosis and Resistance to Azole Antifungal Drugs during Testing of Serum Samples
Authors: White P. Lewis , Posso Raquel B. , Barnes Rosemary A. 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACT

The commercially developed PathoNostics AsperGenius species assay is a multiplex real-time PCR capable of detecting aspergillosis and genetic markers associated with azole resistance. The assay is validated for testing bronchoalveolar lavage fluids, replacing the requirement for culture and benefiting patient management. Application of this assay to less invasive, easily obtainable samples (e.g., serum) might be advantageous. The aim of this study was to determine the analytical and clinical performance of the AsperGenius species and resistance assays for testing serum samples. For the analytical evaluations, serum samples were spiked with various concentrations of
Aspergillus
genomic DNA for extraction, following international recommendations. For the clinical study, 124 DNA extracts from 14 proven/probable invasive aspergillosis (IA) cases, 2 possible IA cases, and 33 controls were tested. The resistance assay was performed on
Aspergillus fumigatus
PCR-positive samples when a sufficient fungal burden was evident. The limits of detection of the species and resistance assays for
A. fumigatus
DNA were 10 and ≥75 genomes/sample, respectively. Nonreproducible detection at lower burdens was achievable for all markers. With a positivity threshold of 39 cycles, the sensitivity and specificity of the species assay were 78.6% and 100%, respectively. For 7 IA cases, at least one genetic region potentially associated with azole resistance was successfully amplified, although no resistance markers were detected in this small cohort. The AsperGenius assay provides good clinical performance with the added ability to detect azole resistance directly from noninvasive samples. While the available burden will limit application, it remains a significant advancement in the diagnosis and management of aspergillosis.
Mixed Infections and Rifampin Heteroresistance among Mycobacterium tuberculosis Clinical Isolates
Authors: Zheng Chao , Li Song , Luo Zhongyue , Pi Rui , Sun Honghu , He Qingxia , Tang Ke , Luo Mei , Li Yuqing , Couvin David , Rastogi Nalin , Sun Qun 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACT

Mixed infections and heteroresistance of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
contribute to the difficulty of diagnosis, treatment, and control of tuberculosis. However, there is still no proper solution for these issues. This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between mixed infections and heteroresistance and to determine the high-risk groups related to these factors. A total of 499 resistant and susceptible isolates were subjected to spoligotyping and 24-locus variable-number tandem repeat methods to analyze their genotypic lineages and the occurrence of mixed infections. Two hundred ninety-two randomly selected isolates were sequenced on their
rpoB
gene to examine mutations and heteroresistance. The results showed that 12 patients had mixed infections, and the corresponding isolates belonged to Manu2 (
n
= 8), Beijing (
n
= 2), T (
n
= 1), and unknown (
n
= 1) lineages. Manu2 was found to be significantly associated with mixed infections (odds ratio, 47.72; confidence interval, 9.68 to 235.23;
P
< 0.01). Four isolates (1.37%) were confirmed to be heteroresistant, which was caused by mixed infections in three (75%) isolates; these belonged to Manu2. Additionally, 3.8% of the rifampin-resistant isolates showing no mutation in the
rpoB
gene were significantly associated with mixed infections (χ
2
, 56.78;
P
< 0.01). This study revealed for the first time that Manu2 was the predominant group in the cases of mixed infections, and this might be the main reason for heteroresistance and a possible mechanism for isolates without any mutation in the
rpoB
gene to become rifampin resistant. Further studies should focus on this lineage to clarify its relevance to mixed infections.
Mutation and Recombination Frequencies Reveal a Biological Contrast within Strains of Cucumber Mosaic Virus
Authors: Pita Justin S. , Morris Viktoriya , Roossinck Marilyn J. 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACT

Recent
in planta
studies have shown that strains Fny and LS of
Cucumber mosaic virus
(CMV) display differential genetic diversities, Fny and LS having higher and lower mutation frequencies, respectively (J. S. Pita and M. J. Roossinck, J Virol 87:790–797, 2012
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01891-12
). In this article, we show that these virus strains have differential recombination frequencies as well. However, the high-diversity Fny strain is a low-recombination virus, whereas the very-low-diversity LS strain is instead a high-recombination virus. Unlike the mutation frequency that was determined by both RNAs 1 and 2, the control elements of recombination frequency reside predominantly within RNA 2, specifically within the 2a gene.

IMPORTANCE
Recombination is an important mechanism in virus evolution that can lead to increased or decreased variation and is a major player in virus speciation events that can lead to emerging viruses. Although viral genomes show very frequent evidence of recombination, details of the mechanism involved in these events are still poorly understood. We show here that the reciprocal effects of high mutation frequency and low recombination frequency (and
vice versa
) involve the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of the virus, and we speculate that these evolutionary events are related to differences in processivity for two strains of the same virus.
ORF45-Mediated Prolonged c-Fos Accumulation Accelerates Viral Transcription during the Late Stage of Lytic Replication of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus
Authors: Li Xiaojuan , Du Shumin , Avey Denis , Li Yuqing , Zhu Fanxiu , Kuang Ersheng 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACT
Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) encodes multiple viral proteins that activate extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)–mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades. One of these viral proteins, ORF45, mediates sustained ERK-p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) activation during KSHV lytic replication and facilitates viral translation through the phosphorylation of a eukaryotic translation initiation factor, eIF4B. The importance of ERK-RSK activation for KSHV viral transcription has been shown; however, which transcription factor senses the sustained MAPK signaling and leads to viral transcription remains poorly understood. Here we show that the presence of ORF45 leads to the prolonged accumulation of c-Fos during the late stage of KSHV lytic replication through ERK-RSK-dependent phosphorylation and stabilization and that the depletion of c-Fos disrupts viral lytic transcription. Genome-wide screening revealed that c-Fos directly binds to multiple viral gene promoters and enhances viral transcription. Mutation of the ERK-RSK phosphorylation sites of c-Fos restrains KSHV lytic gene expression and virion production. These results indicate that the prolonged accumulation of c-Fos promotes the progression of viral transcription from early to late stages and accelerates viral lytic replication upon sustained ORF45-ERK-RSK activation during the KSHV lytic life cycle.

IMPORTANCE
During KSHV lytic replication, transient activation and sustained activation of ERK-RSK induce viral immediate early (IE) transcription and late transcription, respectively. Studies have revealed that ERK-RSK activates several transcription factors involved in IE gene expression, including Ets, AP-1, CREB, and C/EBP, which lead to the transient ERK-RSK activation-dependent IE transcription. Whereas c-Fos acts as a sensor of sustained ERK-RSK activation, ORF45-ERK-RSK signaling mediates c-Fos phosphorylation and accumulation during late KSHV lytic replication, consequently promoting viral transcription through the direct binding of c-Fos to multiple KSHV promoters. This finding indicates that c-Fos mediates distinct viral transcriptional progression following sustained ERK-RSK signaling during the KSHV lytic life cycle.