bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Microvessel density in hepatocellular carcinoma: Prognostic significance and review of the previous published work
Authors: Murakami Keigo , Kasajima Atsuko , Kawagishi Naoki , Ohuchi Noriaki , Sasano Hironobu 
Published: January 2015

AimAssessment of the microvessel density (MVD) may yield important information leading to an effective antiangiogenic treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsThe intratumoral MVD of 136 HCC patients was retrospectively evaluated using CD34. The correlation between the MVD and clinicopathological findings was assessed. In addition, the prognostic factors influencing the 2‐year disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed.ResultsThe MVD of each tumor size group (<2, 2–5 and >5 cm) was 196 ± 51, 181 ± 63 and 147 ± 69. The MVD of each histological grade (well‐, moderately and poorly differentiated) was 200 ± 56, 184 ± 61 and 114 ± 55. The optimum cut‐off values of the MVD for the 2‐year DFS and OS were 118.3 and 112.7, respectively. For the 2‐year DFS, high tumor marker levels (α‐fetoprotein >100 ng/mL and protein induced by vitamin K absence/antagonist‐II >100 mAU/mL), poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a high Ki‐67 index (>20%), a large tumor size (>5 cm), vascular invasion, high tumor–node–metastasis (TNM) stage (III/IV) and a low MVD were the significant unfavorable prognostic factors. For the OS, a high Ki‐67 index, a large tumor size, vascular invasion, high TNM stage and a low MVD were the significant risk factors for death. By the multivariate analysis, a low MVD was identified as an independent predictor of the 2‐year DFS as well as the OS.ConclusionA low MVD can be used to predict an unfavorable prognosis in HCC patients.
Factors associated with the effect of interferon‐α sequential therapy in order to discontinue nucleoside/nucleotide analog treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B
Authors: Matsumoto Akihiro , Yatsuhashi Hiroshi , Nagaoka Shinya , Suzuki Yoshiyuki , Hosaka Tetsuya , Tsuge Masataka , Chayama Kazuaki , Kanda Tatsuo , Yokosuka Osamu , Nishiguchi Shuhei , Saito Masaki , Miyase Shiho , Kang Jong‐Hon , Shinkai Noboru , Tanaka Yasuhito , Umemura Takeji , Tanaka Eiji 
Published: January 2015

AimThe factors associated with the outcome of sequential therapy with interferon‐α (IFN‐α) in order to halt nucleoside/nucleotide analog (NUC) maintenance treatment for chronic hepatitis B were analyzed.MethodsA total of 50 patients with chronic hepatitis B who underwent IFN‐α sequential therapy for cessation of NUC were enrolled retrospectively. The subjects received NUC plus IFN‐α for 4 weeks followed by IFN‐α alone for 20 weeks. Natural IFN‐α of 6‐MU doses was administrated three times a week. A successful response to NUC/IFN‐α sequential therapy was defined as serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA below 4.0 log copies/mL, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) below 30 IU/L, and hepatitis B e‐antigen negativity at 24 months after completing the treatment.ResultsMultivariate analysis revealed that hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) of 3.0 log U/mL or more (P < 0.002) and hepatitis B core‐related antigen (hepatitis B core‐related antigen [HBcrAg]) of 4.5 log U/mL or more (P < 0.003) at the start of IFN‐α administration were significant factors associated with a 24‐month non‐response. Maximal levels of ALT and HBV DNA during the follow‐up period after completing IFN‐α therapy were significantly related (P < 0.001), and receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that both maximal ALT (P < 0.001) and HBV DNA (P < 0.001) were significantly related to the final 24‐month response.ConclusionThe combinational use of HBsAg and HBcrAg levels may be useful to predict the 24‐month outcome of NUC/IFN‐α sequential therapy. Maximal levels of ALT and HBV DNA during post‐treatment follow‐up may also help monitor responses to IFN‐α sequential therapy.
Risk factors for hepatitis B virus recurrence after living donor liver transplantation: A 17‐year experience at a single center
Authors: Bae Sung Kwan , Shimoda Shinji , Ikegami Toru , Yoshizumi Tomoharu , Harimoto Norifumi , Itoh Shinji , Soejima Yuji , Uchiyama Hideaki , Shirabe Ken , Maehara Yoshihiko 
Published: January 2015

AimThe incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) recurrence after liver transplantation (LT) has been reduced by prophylaxis with hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) and nucleoside analogs, but the factors associated with HBV recurrence are unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with HBV recurrence after living donor LT (LDLT).MethodsA retrospective review was performed for 45 patients (28 male and 17 female; median age, 54 years) who underwent LDLT for HBV‐related liver disease and were followed up for at least 6 months between October 1996 and June 2013. The virological data, tumor burden, antiviral therapy and immunosuppressive therapy were evaluated and compared between the HBV recurrence ad non‐recurrence groups.ResultsSeven of the 45 patients (15.6%) developed post‐LT HBV recurrence. The median interval between LDLT and HBV recurrence was 23.7 months (range, 0.8–35.9). Three of the seven patients (42.9%) developed recurrence after cessation of HBIG, and three (42.9%) were cases with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after LDLT. The remaining case underwent transplantation from a donor with positive hepatitis B surface antigen. Based on the univariate and multivariate analyses, HBIG cessation (hazard ratio [HR], 20.17; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.091–194.593; P = 0.009) and HCC recurrence (HR, 30.835; 95% CI, 3.132–303.593; P = 0.003) were independent risk factors for HBV recurrence after LDLT.ConclusionIn LDLT patients, cessation of HBIG and HCC recurrence were risk factors associated with HBV recurrence, so careful monitoring for serological HBV markers is needed in patients with these factors.
A Conditional Approach to Measure Mortality Reductions Due to Cancer Screening
Authors: Liu Zhihui (Amy) , Hanley James A. , Saarela Olli , Dendukuri Nandini 
Published: January 2015

SummaryThe prevailing lack of consensus about the comparative harms and benefits of cancer screening stems, in part, from the inappropriate calculations of the expected mortality impact of a sustained screening programme. There is an inherent, and often substantial, time lag from the time of screening until the resulting mortality reductions begin, reach their maximum and ultimately end. However, the cumulative mortality reduction reported in a randomised screening trial is typically calculated over an arbitrarily defined follow‐up period, including follow‐up time where the mortality impact is yet to realise or where it has already been exhausted. Because of this, the cumulative reduction cannot be used for projecting the mortality impact expected from a sustained screening programme. For this purpose, we propose a new measure, the time‐specific probability of being helped by screening, given that the cancer would have proven fatal otherwise. This can be decomposed into round‐specific impacts, which in turn can be parametrised and estimated from the trial data. This represents a major shift in quantifying the benefits due to a sustained screening programme, based on statistical evidence extracted from existing trial data. We illustrate our approach using data from screening trials in lung and colorectal cancers.
Evaluating Predictive Values of Various Physiological Indices for Salinity Stress Tolerance in Wheat
Authors: Zhu M. , Shabala S. , Shabala L. , Fan Y. , Zhou M. X. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractSoil salinity is a worldwide issue that affects agricultural production. The understanding of mechanisms by which plants tolerate salt stress is crucial for breeding varieties for salt tolerance. In this work, a large number of wheat (Triticum aestivum and Triticum turgidum) cultivars were screened using a broad range of physiological indices. A regression analysis was then used to evaluate the relative contribution of each of these traits towards the overall salinity tolerance. In general, most of the bread wheats showed better Na+ exclusion that was associated with higher relative yield. Leaf K+/Na+ ratio and leaf and xylem K+ contents were the major factors determining salinity stress tolerance in wheat. Other important traits included high xylem K+ content, high stomatal conductance and low osmolality. Bread wheat and durum wheat showed different tolerance mechanisms, with leaf K+/Na+ content in durum wheat making no significant contributions to salt tolerance, while the important traits were leaf and xylem K+ contents. These results indicate that Na+ sequestration ability is much stronger in durum compared with bread wheat, most likely as a compensation for its lesser efficiency to exclude Na+ from transport to the shoot. We also concluded that plant survival scores under high salt stress can be used in bread wheat as a preliminary selection for Na+ exclusion gene(s).
A novel therapeutic effect of statins on nephrogenic diabetes insipidus
Authors: Bonfrate Leonilde , Procino Giuseppe , Wang David Q.‐H. , Svelto Maria , Portincasa Piero 
Published: January 2015

AbstractStatins competitively inhibit hepatic 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl‐coenzyme A reductase, resulting in reduced plasma total and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Recently, it has been shown that statins exert additional ‘pleiotropic’ effects by increasing expression levels of the membrane water channels aquaporin 2 (AQP2). AQP2 is localized mainly in the kidney and plays a critical role in determining cellular water content. This additional effect is independent of cholesterol homoeostasis, and depends on depletion of mevalonate‐derived intermediates of sterol synthetic pathways, i.e. farnesylpyrophosphate and geranylgeranylpyrophosphate. By up‐regulating the expression levels of AQP2, statins increase water reabsorption by the kidney, thus opening up a new avenue in treating patients with nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI), a hereditary disease that yet lacks high‐powered and limited side effects therapy. Aspects related to water balance determined by AQP2 in the kidney, as well as standard and novel therapeutic strategies of NDI are discussed.
Medication supply for people evacuated during disasters
Authors: Ochi Sae , Hodgson Susan , Landeg Owen , Mayner Lidia , Murray Virginia 
Published: January 2015

AbstractMedication loss is a major problem in disaster settings, and it is crucial for patients to bring their medication and healthcare items with them when they leave their homes during an evacuation. This article is based on a systematic literature review on medication loss, the objectives of which were to identify the extent and implications of medication loss, to identify the burden of prescription refill, and to make recommendations on effective preparedness. The review revealed that medication loss, prescription loss and refills, and the loss of medical aids are a significant burden on the medical relief teams. The medical aids are not limited to drugs, but include routine medications, medical/allergy records, devices for specific care and daily life, and emergency medications. One possible solution is to make a personal emergency pack and for people to carry this with them at all times. To ensure that patients are adequately prepared, stakeholders, especially health professionals, need to be actively involved in the preparation plans. Since our findings have little impact on disaster risk reduction unless shared broadly, we are now taking actions to spread our findings, such as presenting in conferences and via posters, in order to raise awareness among patients and healthcare professionals. As part of these activities, our findings were presented at the Evidence Aid Symposium on 20 September 2014, at Hyderabad, India.
Relating shading levels and distance from natural vegetation with hemipteran pests and predators occurrence on coffee
Authors: Karungi J. , Nambi N. , Ijala A. R. , Jonsson M. , Kyamanywa S. , Ekbom B. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe study was carried out to determine the effect of shading levels and/or distance from the natural alpine vegetation (NAV) on the occurrence of two insect functional groups: hemipteran herbivores and generalist predators in farmers' coffee fields in the Mt. Elgon region of Uganda. Three distance categories from the NAV, that is (i) 0–250 m; (ii) 250–1000 m and (iii) 1000–1500 m, were used to demarcate farms in the first stage of selection, and within each distance category, three levels of shading, that is (i) no shade, (ii) moderate shade and (iii) full shade, were used for final selection of coffee farms for the study. A total of 90 individually owned coffee fields were studied; 30 for each distance category, of which 10 represented each shading level. In two separate rounds, inventories of scale insects (Coccus spp.), antestia bugs (Antestiopsis spp.), root mealybugs (Planococcus spp.) and aphids (Toxoptera aurantii) on coffee plants were made for the hemipteran herbivores, whereas ants (Formicidae) and spiders (Araneae) were recorded for the predatory taxa. The results showed that the interaction between distance from the NAV and shading level consistently influenced the occurrence of the insects in both functional groups. For scale insects, root mealybugs and ants, it was closest to the NAV that shading‐level effects were most discernible and generally limiting. To the contrary, the occurrence of aphids and spiders increased with the increase in the level of shading for plants furthest from the NAV. These results indicate that if inclusion of shade trees is to be a strategy in ecological pest management, the level of shading should be determined basing on the insect taxa as well as other pertinent factors in the landscape.
Two New Species of Zoothamnium (Ciliophora, Peritrichia) from Korea, with New Observations of Z. parahentscheli Sun et al., 2009
Authors: Ji Daode , Kim Ji Hye , Shazib Shahed Uddin Ahmed , Sun Ping , Li Liqiong , Shin Mann Kyoon 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThree peritrichous ciliates, Zoothamnium arcuatum n. sp., Z. grossi n. sp., and Z. parahentscheli Sun et al., 2009, were collected from an estuary of the Taehwagang River, Korea. All these species were investigated based on live observations and silver staining, and their small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene was also sequenced. Zoothamnium arcuatum can be identified by a goblet‐shaped colony, double‐layered peristomial lip, and abstomally shortened row 3 of infundibular polykinety 3 (P3). Zoothamnium grossi is morphologically characterized by an alternately branched stalk with the lowest secondary stalk diverging from the main part of colony, asymmetrically bell‐shaped zooids, and three short, parallel ciliary rows in P3. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the three Zoothamnium species described in this paper clustered with other members of the family Zoothamniidae, as expected.
Implications of High Molecular Divergence of Nuclear rRNA and Phylogenetic Structure for the Dinoflagellate Prorocentrum (Dinophyceae, Prorocentrales)
Authors: Boopathi Thangavelu , Faria Daphne Georgina , Cheon Ju‐Yong , Youn Seok Hyun , Ki Jang‐Seu 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe small and large nuclear subunit molecular phylogeny of the genus Prorocentrum demonstrated that the species are dichotomized into two clades. These two clades were significantly different (one‐factor ANOVA, p < 0.01) with patterns compatible for both small and large subunit Bayesian phylogenetic trees, and for a larger taxon sampled dinoflagellate phylogeny. Evaluation of the molecular divergence levels showed that intraspecies genetic variations were significantly low (t‐test, p < 0.05), than those for interspecies variations (> 2.9% and > 26.8% dissimilarity in the small and large subunit [D1/D2], respectively). Based on the calculated molecular divergence, the genus comprises two genetically distinct groups that should be considered as two separate genera, thereby setting the pace for major systematic changes for the genus Prorocentrum sensu Dodge. Moreover, the information presented in this study would be useful for improving species identification, detection of novel clades from environmental samples.
Morphological Identities of Two Different Marine Stramenopile Environmental Sequence Clades: Bicosoeca kenaiensis (Hilliard, 1971) and Cantina marsupialis (Larsen and Patterson, 1990) gen. nov., comb. nov.
Authors: Yubuki Naoji , Pánek Tomáš , Yabuki Akinori , Čepička Ivan , Takishita Kiyotaka , Inagaki Yuji , Leander Brian S. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractAlthough environmental DNA surveys improve our understanding of biodiversity, interpretation of unidentified lineages is limited by the absence of associated morphological traits and living cultures. Unidentified lineages of marine stramenopiles are called “MAST clades”. Twenty‐five MAST clades have been recognized: MAST‐1 through MAST‐25; seven of these have been subsequently discarded because the sequences representing those clades were found to either (1) be chimeric or (2) affiliate within previously described taxonomic groups. Eighteen MAST clades remain without a cellular identity. Moreover, the discarded “MAST‐13” has been used in different studies to refer to two different environmental sequence clades. After establishing four cultures representing two different species of heterotrophic stramenopiles and then characterizing their morphology and molecular phylogenetic positions, we determined that the two different species represented the two different MAST‐13 clades: (1) a lorica‐bearing Bicosoeca kenaiensis and (2) a microaerophilic flagellate previously named “Cafeteria marsupialis”. Both species were previously described with only light microscopy; no cultures, ultrastructural data or DNA sequences were available from these species prior to this study. The molecular phylogenetic position of three different “C. marsupialis” isolates was not closely related to the type species of Cafeteria; therefore, we established a new genus for these isolates, Cantina gen. nov.
The impact of income disparity on vulnerability and information collection: an analysis of the 2011 Thai Flood
Authors: Henry M. , Kawasaki A. , Takigawa I. , Meguro K. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe impact of income disparity on vulnerability and information collection during the 2011 Thai Flood was examined through a survey investigation. Lower‐income respondents were found to have been more likely to be inundated by the flood than higher‐income respondents because of the location of their residences, and lower‐income respondents whose residences flooded were also less likely to have evacuated. Television was widely used, regardless of income level, but lower‐income respondents tended to also utilise lower‐technology modes, such as radios and loudspeakers, in contrast to the Internet‐based modes used by higher‐income respondents. Lower‐income respondents also tended to be less aware of the government hotline; however, those that were aware of it were more likely to find it useful. Overall, while income was a good predictor of people's flood vulnerability, it was not the best predictor for media usage; other demographic characteristics, such as education level and age, should also be considered.
Groundwater flood risk mapping and management: examples from a lowland karst catchment in Ireland
Authors: Naughton O. , Johnston P.M. , McCormack T. , Gill L.W. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe complexity of groundwater flooding poses unique challenges to policy makers and flood risk management agencies. An understanding of the interactions among recharge, storage and transport mechanisms during flood conditions is a precursor to effective groundwater flood risk assessment, but is often absent due to a lack of adequate data. The example of the Gort Lowlands, a major lowland karst catchment in the Republic of Ireland, is used to elucidate key flood mechanisms which must be considered when characterising groundwater flood risk in a lowland karst setting. The combination of large quantities of allogenic recharge, a high‐capacity conduit system and deep surface depressions renders the catchment susceptible to groundwater flooding. Observed flood mechanisms include backwater flooding of sinks, overland flow caused by the overtopping of sink depressions, high water levels in turlough basins and surface ponding in local epikarst watersheds. Flood hazard maps are developed for the region using data collected during a major flood event in the winter of 2009, representing a significant contribution in the assessment and management of groundwater flood risk in Ireland. Major challenges to groundwater flood management and forecasting remain, however, and are discussed in the context of the prevailing hydrogeological and ecohydrological setting.
Ipilimumab‐induced toxicities and the gastroenterologist
Authors: Cheng Robert , Cooper Adam , Kench James , Watson Geoff , Bye William , McNeil Catriona , Shackel Nicholas 
Published: January 2015

AbstractIpilimumab has been shown to improve overall survival in patients with advanced melanoma. Ipilimumab acts through immune‐modulation, and is recognized to cause potentially severe immune‐related adverse events (irAEs) including dermatitis, colitis, thyroiditis, hypophysitis, and hepatitis. The acceptance of ipilimumab as a treatment for metastatic melanoma means patients will continue to be treated with this agent and gastroenterologists will be increasingly called upon to assist in managing severe autoimmune‐related hepatitis and colitis. To date, the recommendations for managing irAEs secondary to ipilimumab have been steroids at a moderate dose of prednisolone (1 mg/kg) as well as immunosuppressive agents such as mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for steroid‐refractory hepatitis and infliximab in the management of corticosteroid‐refractory colitis. However, the dosing and the duration of immunosuppressive therapy have not been systematically studied in the setting of treating ipilimumab‐induced irAEs. Therefore, additional immune‐modifying agents and/or a change in dosing may be required to manage severe irAEs unresponsive to existing treatment recommendations. We describe a treatment paradigm illustrated by a series of five patients who experienced irAEs. In three cases of metastatic melanoma, ipilimumab‐induced hepatitis was successfully treated with high‐dose parenteral pulsed methylprednisolone. In two other melanoma patients with ipilimumab‐induced colitis, one patient had satisfactory resolution of his colitis with high‐dose corticosteroid therapy alone and the other patient required infliximab infusion. We have reviewed the current literature and management algorithms for ipilimumab‐induced irAEs. Treatment options and the rationale for their use are discussed, including the use of pulsed high‐dose steroids, MMF, azathioprine and calcineurin inhibitors.