julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Health-related quality of life outcomes from botulinum toxin treatment in hemifacial spasm
2017-02-01

Background: Although botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injections may alleviate involuntary muscle contractions in hemifacial spasm substantially, it is less clear whether the motor effect would translate into improvements of health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). Methods: In this open-label clinical observational study, we characterized outcomes on HR-QoL in terms of the EuroQol (EQ-5D-5L) from BoNT in a prospective cohort of patients with hemifacial spasm ( n = 73). Additionally, we characterized appendicular motor and nonmotor signs on motor symptom improvement, depressive symptoms, pain and sleep quality. Patients were assessed at the end of a regular 3-month period from last injection (timepoint1) and 4 weeks after the reinjection of BoNT (timepoint2). Results: Patients showed improved HR-QoL on the EQ-VAS (visual analogue scale) at timepoint2 compared with timepoint1. Moreover, we identified, that impairments in HR-QoL at timepoint1 correlated with life satisfaction and depressive symptoms, respectively. However, these associated variables did not predict the therapeutic effect. Instead, EQ-VAS at timepoint1 accounted for 34.5% of the variance of EQ-VAS improvement expressed as the difference between timepoint2 and timepoint1. Conclusion: Our study supports HR-QoL improvements in hemifacial spasm and the value of generic HR-QoL measures to estimate therapeutic outcome. However, the findings should be considered descriptive, and future high quality trials are needed for confirmatory purposes in order to refine treatment referral in hemifacial spasm with respect to QoL.
Pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy with low-dose cisplatin and doxorubicin (PIPAC C/D) in patients with gastric cancer and peritoneal metastasis (PIPAC-GA1).
2017-02-01

99 Background: Efficacy of 2 nd and 3 rd line chemotherapy in recurrent gastric cancer with peritoneal metastasis (RGCPM) is limited. We assessed the feasibility, safety and activity of intraperitoneal chemotherapy as PIPAC C/D in RGCPM after &gt; 1 line of intravenous chemotherapy. Methods: Open-label, single-arm, Phase II ICH-GCP Clinical Trial (NCT01854255) Patients were scheduled for 3 courses q42 days of low-dose PIPAC with doxorubicin 1.5 mg/m 2 and cisplatin 7.5 mg/m 2 . Primary endpoint was objective tumor response (RECIST 1.1). Secondary endpoints were safety (CTCAE 4.0), histological tumor regression (PRGS) and overall survival. Results: 25 patients were enrolled. 10/25 (40 %, ITT) patients had an OTR. Complete or major regression on histology was observed in 9/12 (75 %) patients who underwent at least 2 PIPAC cycles. Mean overall survival was 8.4 months (13.1 months in patients with PCI &lt; 12). There were no treatment-related deaths, no grade 4 toxicity and four (16%) grade 3 toxicities. Conclusions: PIPAC C/D is well tolerated and active in patients with RGCPM. Survival is encouraging. Randomized controlled trials should now be designed. Clinical trial information: NCT01854255. [Table: see text]
Delayed Fracture Healing in Diabetics with Distal Radius Fractures
2017-02-01

To corroborate the authors hypothesis of delayed fracture healing in patients with diabetes mellitus, prospective studies incorporating influencing factors like duration of metabolic disease, quality of diabetes control, medical diabetes treatment, comorbidities and secondary diseases, like chronic nephropathy and osteoporosis, have to be carried out.
Distinguishing Magmatic and Metamorphic Processes in Peralkaline Rocks of the Norra Kärr Complex (Southern Sweden) Using Textural and Compositional Variations of Clinopyroxene and Eudialyte-group Minerals
2017-02-01

The 1·49 Ga Norra Kärr complex in Southern Sweden contains rocks characterized by a very high ratio of (Na + K)/Al ≥ 1·2 and a complex and highly unusual mineralogy, including rock-forming catapleiite and eudialyte-group minerals, as well as minor rinkite- and britholite-group minerals. In contrast to other well-studied examples of agpaitic rocks, the Norra Kärr rocks have been deformed and partially metamorphosed during the Sveconorwegian–Grenvillian orogeny, and are now preserved in a westward-dipping synform. Magmatic and metamorphic processes at the Norra Kärr complex are distinguished by combining rock fabrics of clinopyroxene and eudialyte-group minerals. Both mineral groups are stable over a large P–T range, which makes them excellent monitors of the geochemical evolution of such systems and allows the reconstruction of magmatic and subsequent metamorphic conditions. The magmatic mineral assemblage crystallized from a subsolvus syenite at continuously decreasing temperatures (700–450°C) and silica activity (0·6–0·3). Owing to initially relatively low peralkalinity and reducing conditions, Zr was first incorporated into Zr-aegirine. Subsequent destabilization of the latter indicates increasing peralkalinity, oxygen fugacity and water activity, which resulted in the crystallization of early magmatic catapleiite. Crystallization of presumably later magmatic Mn- and rare earth element (REE)-poor eudialyte-group minerals happened as soon as sufficient Cl, REE and high field strength elements were enriched in the residual melt. Metamorphic conditions during the Sveconorwegian–Grenvillian orogeny are constrained to T between 400 and 550°C and an aSiO2 range of 0·25–0·4. As a result of deformation and interaction with fluids, post-magmatic Al-rich aegirine as well as post-magmatic eudialyte-group minerals enriched in REE, Y and Mn formed. Subsequently, the eudialyte-group minerals were destabilized and decomposed to post-magmatic catapleiite and secondary REE-bearing minerals. During the whole history of the complex, aSiO2 remains very similar, indicating very little interaction with the surrounding granitic rocks. Regardless of the intense deformation owing to folding of the Norra Kärr body during the Sveconorwegian–Grenvillian orogeny, indications for primary magmatic layering of the intrusion are retained on the deposit scale. In addition, the compositional changes of magmatic eudialyte-group minerals from the outer to the inner subunit indicate a primary geochemical evolution feature owing to fractional crystallization.
Inhibition of Degranulation of RBL-2H3 Cells by Extracts and Compounds from Armillaria ostoyae
2017-02-01

Abstract Armillaria ostoyae (Romagn.) Herink is an edible honey mushroom from the family Physalacriaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota). Dichloromethane extracts of mushroom mycelium and fruiting bodies exhibited a significant degranulation inhibiting effect on RBL-2H3 cells using noncytotoxic concentrations. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the mycelial dichloromethane extract led to the isolation of sesquiterpen aryl esters. Methyl linoleate could also be isolated. These substances were obtained from A. ostoyae for the first time, with one compound representing an undescribed natural product. Purified compounds melleolide H and J inhibited degranulation significantly. A. ostoyae could be a candidate for support of allergy treatments.
Abstract 14: Effects of Lesion Laterality on Post-Stroke Motor Performance: An ENIGMA Stroke Recovery Analysis
2017-02-01

The laterality of the lesioned hemisphere is often overlooked in stroke recovery research due to small sample sizes. Here, we used a well-powered dataset from ENIGMA Stroke Recovery (a consortium that harmonizes post-stroke MRIs and behavioral data worldwide; http://enigma.usc.edu) to analyze the effects of left (LHL) versus right (RHL) hemisphere lesions on motor performance. Given the different functional roles of each hemisphere, we hypothesized that the LHL group should show better motor performance, and, consequently, different brain-behavior relationships, compared to the RHL group. Data from over 2000 stroke patients across 20 sites worldwide has been committed. To date, structural T1-weighted MRIs from n=343 (10 sites) have been analyzed (LHL n=174; RHL n=169). ENIGMA protocols extracted volumes of subcortical regions of interest and provided quality control. Regression analyses examined brain volumes as predictors of motor outcomes. Motor scores were combined across scales/sites, with each score expressed as a percentage of the maximum score. Covariates (e.g., age, sex, intracranial volume) and manually marked lesion effects were also modeled. Statistical significance was assessed nonparametrically by permutation. As anticipated, the LHL group had better motor performance compared to the RHL group (t(1,341)=3.07, p=0.0023). In addition, while the combined LHL+RHL analyses showed significant associations between motor scores and volumes of the basal ganglia/lateral ventricles, separate group analyses showed strong associations for the LHL group, but only one association for the RHL group (Table 1). This may suggest that motor recovery following RH lesions is more heterogeneous or relies more on cortical regions/networks that were not assessed here. While further research is needed, these results suggest that laterality of the lesioned hemisphere affects neural patterns related to motor recovery and should be carefully examined.
L anguage change and network games
2017-02-01

Abstract Studies of language change and variation in sociolinguistics investigate the correlations between social variables and phenomena like vernacular speech norms, code switching, and dialect continua. In multiple studies, researchers claim one variable as (a) particularly decisive and correlative for a number of phenomena and (b) almost universally applicable: the social network structure (Milroy, ). This article summarizes previous work incorporating network theory in questions of language change and discusses a practice noticeably absent from classical sociolinguistics: the simulation of language change. In simulation experiments, sociolinguistic theories of language change – especially those employing social network structure – can be tested in a virtual society free from the hindrance of data sparseness. In this context, the model of game theory can be utilized to construct individuals' interaction for more robust and feasible results.
SAFETY OF RVSV EBOLA VACCINE, AFTER 6 MONTHS FOLLOW-UP, IN ADULTS: A PHASE 1 TRIAL CONDUCTED IN LAMBARÉNÉ, GABON
2017-02-01

Introduction The Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL) in Gabon, member of the ‘VSV-EBola CONsortium’ (VEBCON), evaluated safety and immunogenicity of the rVSV∆G-ZEBOV-GP vaccine in African volunteers from an area with previous Ebola outbreaks before its use during the last outbreak in West Africa. Methods From November 2014 to April 2015 we performed an open-label, dose escalation phase 1 trial to assess safety, side-effect profile, and immunogenicity of rVSV-ZEBOV. A total of 115 healthy adults both male and non-pregnant or lactating female volunteers aged 18–50 years old living in Lambaréné (Gabon) were included. Participants were allocated to five vaccine dose groups: 3×10 3 PFU (n=20), 3×10 4 PFU (n=20), 3×10 5 PFU (n=20), 3×10 6 PFU (n=39) and 2×10 7 PFU (n=16). Here, we present data on adverse events (AE) and serious adverse events (SAE) between days 180 and 365 after vaccine injection (Day 0). Results From Month six to Month 12, the proportion of volunteers with AE as well as number and grade of AEs per volunteer were similar in the five groups. A higher total number of events occurred in the cohort 3×10 6 PFU, the largest group. Most symptoms were mild to moderate. No clinically significant laboratory changes were observed. Three events - two episodes of P. falciparum malaria and one snake bite - were graded as serious, because they required hospitalizations. Both SAE were judged as non-related to the vaccine and resolved without sequelae. None of the adverse events was related to rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine. Conclusions Our results confirmed an acceptable profile of safety and tolerability of rVSV-ZEBOV up to 12 months of follow-up. In order to investigate possible late-stage safety signals follow-up period of the study was extended to five years. Integrating data (assessment until 60 months) from all the VEBCON study sites is the next key step allowing a final conclusion about safety of rVSV-ZEBOV. The trial was registered on the Pan African Clinical Trials Network website with the number PACTR201411000919191
Oliver Kahl : The Sanskrit, Syriac and Persian Sources in the Comprehensive Book of Rhazes. (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies.) xiv, 487 pp. Leiden: Brill, 2015. €146. ISBN 978 90 04 29025 9.
2017-02-01

Oliver Kahl : The Sanskrit, Syriac and Persian Sources in the Comprehensive Book of Rhazes. (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies.) xiv, 487 pp. Leiden: Brill, 2015. €146. ISBN 978 90 04 29025 9. - Volume 80 Issue 1
Abstract 20: Specific Point-of-care Testing of Coagulation in Patients Treated with Non-vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants Part I (SPOCT-NOAC I)
2017-02-01

Introduction: Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOAC) are increasingly replacing vitamin K antagonists for prevention of thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation (AF). Despite treatment, stroke rate in NOAC-treated AF-patients remains 1-2% per year. Subsequently, stroke physicians face a growing number of NOAC-treated patients with acute stroke. Rapid assessment of coagulation in NOAC-treated patients is vital prior to thrombolysis or reversal therapy, but existing point-of-care testing (POCT) is suboptimal. For the first time we evaluate NOAC-specific POCT. Hypothesis: Ecarin clotting time (ECT)- and anti-Xa activity (ENOX)-POCT predict plasma concentrations of dabigatran and apixaban/edoxaban/rivaroxaban. Methods: 80 patients receiving first NOAC-dose and 80 already on NOAC-treatment are enrolled in the SPOCT-NOAC I trial (N=40 for each NOAC). Subjects receiving other anticoagulants are excluded. Six blood samples are collected from each patient: before drug intake, 30min, 1, 2, and 8h after intake, and before next dose. NOAC-concentrations are measured by mass spectrometry. Results: 240 blood samples of 40 dabigatran-treated patients were analyzed. Dabigatran-concentrations ranged from 0-274ng/mL. ECT-POCT ranged from 20-196s. Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed strong correlation between ECT-POCT and dabigatran-concentrations (r=0.87). Performance was improved through the use of citrated in place of non-citrated whole blood (r=0.93). Dabigatran-concentrations &gt;50ng/mL (threshold for thrombolysis according to expert recommendation) were detected by ECT-POCT &gt;50s with 98% sensitivity and 79% specificity. Baseline-samples not containing any dabigatran yielded normal ECT values. Conclusions: This is the first study evaluating NOAC-specific POCT. Final results in the dabigatran group of SPOCT-NOAC show excellent correlation between ECT-POCT and dabigatran plasma concentrations; performance of ECT-POCT is even increased through the use of citrated whole blood. Relevant dabigatran-concentrations are detected with excellent sensitivity and specificity. In addition to ECT-POCT, we will present data on ENOX-POCT from apixaban-, edoxaban- and rivaroxaban-treated patients.
Boosting olfactory cocktail-party performance by semi-supervised learning in mice
2017-02-01

Mice are excellent at detecting single odor components in complex mixtures. Yet, when they are trained on single odors alone, they fail to reliably detect target odors in mixtures of multiple odorants. This inability was predicted by a linear readout that was trained using samples from an empirically estimated, nonlinear odor encoding model at the level of receptors. These results from mouse behavior and the modeling suggested that mice learn the ‘cocktail-party task’ discriminatively (Mathis et al. 2016, Neuron). Another possibility for their inability to generalize much beyond simple mixtures, is that lab mice are not exposed to mixtures and thus, have not formed a reliable generative model’ of mixtures. To test this idea, we performed a novel variant of the previous task. As before, mice were trained on single odor-reward associations with two target odors and fourteen distractor odors until they reached performance levels above 90. They were divided in two groups. Outside of the operant-conditioning task, mice were exposed to odor stimuli in an ‘unsupervised way’. One group was presented with mixtures stimuli (UM group) and the other group with single odors (US group). Once an animal reached 90 performance, they were tested on mixture stimuli with 1, 4, 8 and 12 odorants. On the first day, the UM group significantly outperformed the US group, even for single odors, despite similar performance on the last day of training. Over multiple days, the UM group then also improved their performance faster than the US group. Thus, passive exposure to mixtures can aid the detection of single odors in mixtures. We will discuss the implications of this result for recent models of the olfactory cocktail party task.
2017-02-01

Armillaria ostoyae (Romagn.)Herink is an edible honey mushroom from the family Physalacriaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota).Dichloromethane extracts of mushroom mycelium and fruiting bodies exhibited a significant degranulation inhibiting effect on RBL-2H3 cells using noncytotoxic concentrations.Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the mycelial dichloromethane extract led to the isolation of sesquiterpen aryl esters.Methyl linoleate could also be isolated.These substances were obtained from A. ostoyae for the first time, with one compound representing an undescribed natural product.Purified compounds melleolide H and J inhibited degranulation significantly.A. ostoyae could be a candidate for support of allergy treatments.
Allograft Heart Valves: Current Aspects and Future Applications
2017-02-02

Human heart valve allografts continue to represent almost perfect substitutes for heart valves. They have optimal hemodynamic characteristics and are highly resistant to infections. The first clinical use of allograft heart valves was as homovitals being transplanted after antibiotic incubation without any preservation. Since 1968, relatively standardized frozen cryopreservation (SFC) has been employed, including storage in vapor-phase liquid nitrogen. Disadvantages, particularly in pediatric patients, are limited availability due to organ scarcity, inability to grow, degeneration, immune response, and long-term failure. However, in contrast to alternative prosthetic or bioprosthetic heart valve replacements, they represent the best pediatric and juvenile replacement options for the pulmonary valve. Application of multiphoton imaging analysis for three-dimensional visualization of elastin and collagen by induction of autofluorescence without chemical fixation, embedding, and staining has revealed partial destruction of elastic and collagenous matrix in SFC valves. As the overall amount of collagen and elastin remains unchanged, the observed destruction is attributed to freezing-induced extracellular matrix damages due to ice crystal formation during SFC. The objective of this review is an assessment of current allograft preservation methods and the potential of novel preservation techniques to avoid ice formation with accompanied better long-term function.
Clinal population divergence in an adaptive parental environmental effect that adjusts seed banking
2017-02-02

Summary Bet‐hedging via between‐year seed dormancy is a costly strategy for plants in unpredictable environments. Theoretically, fitness costs can be reduced through a parental environmental effect when the environment is partly predictable. We tested whether populations from environments that differ in predictability diverged in parental effects on seed dormancy. Common garden‐produced seeds of the two annual plant species Biscutella didyma and Bromus fasciculatus collected along an aridity gradient were grown under 12 irrigation treatments. Offspring germination was evaluated and related to environmental correlations between generations and their fitness consequences at the four study sites. One species exhibited strong seed dormancy that increased with unpredictability in seasonal precipitation. The parental effect on seed dormancy also increased proportionally with the environmental correlation between precipitation in the parental season and seedling density in the following season; this correlation increased from mesic to arid environments. Because fitness was negatively related to density, this parental effect may be adaptive. However, the lack of dormancy in the second species indicates that bet‐hedging is not the only strategy for annual plants in arid environments. Our results provide the first evidence for clinal variation in the relative strength of parental effects along environmental gradients.
Gaining economic profit or losing cultural security: Framing persuasive arguments for two types of conservatives
2017-02-02

Recent research suggests that different motivational bases underlie economic and cultural conservatism. Different political messages may address these different motivational bases. This article investigates the hypothesis that gain frames and achievement frames are more persuasive for participants high in economic conservatism and for economic conservative political issues, whereas loss and security frames are more persuasive for participants high in cultural conservatism and for cultural conservative political issues. Indeed, differential framing effects were found for economic versus cultural conservative issues across two experimental studies (N = 111 and N = 234). Study 2 could show that these effects were also significantly moderated by individual economic and cultural conservatism. Political arguments were perceived as most persuasive when argument frames matched both the issue at hand and recipient’s individual conservatism. Theoretical implications are discussed with regard to the motivational bases of two dimensions of conservatism along with practical implications for the field of political communication.
The Clinical Phenotype of CNGA3-Related Achromatopsia: Pretreatment Characterization in Preparation of a Gene Replacement Therapy Trial
2017-02-03

Our extended investigations prove that even among such a genetically homogenous group of patients, no specific correlations regarding function and morphology severity and age can be observed. Therefore, the therapeutic window seems to be wider than previously indicated.
Gamma-Secretase Inhibitor IX (GSI) Impairs Concomitant Activation of Notch and Wnt-Beta-Catenin Pathways in CD44+ Gastric Cancer Stem Cells
2017-02-03

Abstract Cancer stem cells (CSC) are associated with tumor resistance and are characterized in gastric cancer (GC). Studies have indicated that Notch and wnt-beta-catenin pathways are crucial for CSC development. Using CD44+ CSCs, we investigated the role of these pathways in GC carcinogenesis. We performed cell proliferation, wound healing, invasion, tumorsphere, and apoptosis assays. Immunoblot analysis of downstream signaling targets of Notch and wnt-beta-catenin were tested after gamma-secretase inhibitor IX (GSI) treatment. Immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) were used to determine CD44 and Hairy enhancer of split-1 (Hes1) expression in human GC tissues. CD44+ CSCs were subcutaneously injected into NMR-nu/nu mice and treated with vehicle or GSI. GC patients with expression of CD44 and Hes1 showed overall reduced survival. CD44+ CSCs showed high expression of Hes1. GSI treatment showed effective inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, invasion, tumor sphere formation of CD44+ CSCs, and induced apoptosis. Importanly, Notch1 was found to be important in mediating a crosstalk between Notch and wnt-beta-catenin in CD44+ CSCs. Our study highlights a crosstalk between Notch and wnt-beta-catenin in gastric CD44+ CSCs. Expression of CD44 and Hes1 is associated with patient overall survival. GSI could be an alternative drug to treat GC.