278 research outputs found
Author Correction: The uncertainty of crop yield projections is reduced by improved temperature response functions
No full textIn the original version of this Article, the name of one co-author was omitted. This has now been corrected by the addition of Benjamin Dumont to the author list
Episodic encoding is more than the sum of its parts: An fMRI investigation of multifeatural contextual encoding
No full textEpisodic memories are characterized by their contextual richness, yet little is known about how the various features comprising an episode are brought together in memory. Here we employed fMRI and a multidimensional source memory procedure to investigate processes supporting the mnemonic binding of item and contextual information. Volunteers were scanned while encoding items for which the contextual features (color and location) varied independently, allowing activity elicited at the time of study to be segregated according to whether both, one, or neither feature was successfully retrieved on a later memory test. Activity uniquely associated with successful encoding of both features was identified in the intra-parietal sulcus, a region strongly implicated in the support of attentionally mediated perceptual binding. The findings suggest that the encoding of disparate features of an episode into a common memory representation requires that the features be conjoined in a common perceptual representation when the episode is initially experienced
Coronary computed tomography angiography predicts subsequent cardiac outcome events
No full textObjectivesTo evaluate the diagnostic performance and predictive value of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) on subsequent cardiac outcomes.BackgroundCCTA has been suggested as an alternative method to invasive coronary angiography for detection of and ruling out coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the usefulness of CCTA findings in predicting patient outcome in routine clinical practice is still uncertain.Materials and methodsA prospective, multicenter registry study of CCTA with a Visipaque injection 320 mg I/ml was carried out in symptomatic patients suspected of having CAD as part of their medical care. CCTA findings were used to guide patient management decisions. Patient cardiac outcomes were followed at 1, 6, and 12 months after the CCTA procedure for the occurrence of major adverse cardiac event (MACE) (cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or unstable angina requiring hospitalization). All cardiac outcome events or deaths were adjudicated independently.ResultsOf 874 patients (mean age=59 years; 51% men) who received Visipaque, 857 were included in the efficacy analysis. Using cardiac outcomes as the endpoint, the sensitivity of CCTA was 96.1, 95.8, and 94.7%, specificity was 84.5, 86.6, and 87.0%, and negative predictive value more than 99.0% at 1, 6, and 12 months, respectively. At 12 months, the rate of MACE was 5.7% (10/174) in patients with a positive CCTA (one or more ≥50% stenosis) and 0.1% (1/683) in patients with a negative CCTA (99.9% MACE-free survival rate). The Cox proportional hazards analysis with CCTA outcome, age, sex, reasons for CCTA, and cardiac risk factors as covariates showed a hazard ratio of 87.6 for positive versus negative CCTA (P=0.0001).ConclusionCCTA is a highly accurate, noninvasive tool to detect or rule out subsequent cardiovascular events in patients with intermediate pretest probability of CAD or an uninterpretable/equivocal stress test. A positive CCTA finding contributed significantly toward the prediction of subsequent MACE whereas a negative CCTA carried excellent prognostic outcomes at 12 months
The trade-off between accuracy and accessibility of syphilis screening assays.
No full textThe availability of rapid and sensitive methods to diagnose syphilis facilitates screening of pregnant women, which is one of the most cost-effective health interventions available. We have evaluated two screening methods in Tanzania: an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and a point-of-care test (POCT). We evaluated the performance of each test against the Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (TPPA) as the reference method, and the accessibility of testing in a rural district of Tanzania. The POCT was performed in the clinic on whole blood, while the other assays were performed on plasma in the laboratory. Samples were also tested by the rapid plasma Reagin (RPR) test. With TPPA as reference assay, the sensitivity and specificity of EIA were 95.3% and 97.8%, and of the POCT were 59.6% and 99.4% respectively. The sensitivity of the POCT and EIA for active syphilis cases (TPPA positive and RPR titer ≥ 1/8) were 82% and 100% respectively. Only 15% of antenatal clinic attenders in this district visited a health facility with a laboratory capable of performing the EIA. Although it is less sensitive than EIA, its greater accessibility, and the fact that treatment can be given on the same day, means that the use of POCT would result in a higher proportion of women with syphilis receiving treatment than with the EIA in this district of Tanzania
Table_2_A global bibliometric analysis on Kawasaki disease research over the last 5 years (2017–2021).DOCX
No full textBackgroundKawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology that mainly affects children. We aim to conduct a bibliometric analysis to explore the latest research hotspots and trends of KD.MethodBy using the keywords “Kawasaki disease,” “Kawasaki syndrome”, and “Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome,” the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases were searched for publications related to KD from 2017 to 2021. Author, country and journal submissions were classified and evaluated using Biblioshiny software (using R language). VOSviewer (version 1.6.18) was used to visualize the relevant network relationships.ResultAccording to the search strategy, 5,848 and 6,804 KD studies were published in WOS and Scopus, respectively. The results showed an overall increasing trend in the number of publications and citations during the study period. The three most influential institutions in the WOS were St. Marianna University, Kawasaki Medical School and The University of Tokyo in Japan, while in Scopus, Harvard Medical School, University of California and Tehran University of Medical Sciences were the most influential institutions. The most influential authors of the two databases are Goodman SG, Kazunori Kataoka, and Takeshi Kimura of the WOS and Marx Nikolau and Wang Y, Burns JC, and Newburger JW of the Scopus, respectively. And Scientific Reports and Frontiers in Pediatrics were the most critical journals. The most cited documents were the WOS document by McCrindle et al. and the Scopus document by Benjamin et al. published in 2017, while the keywords in the last few years were focused on “COVID-19,” “multisystem inflammatory syndrome,” and “pandemic.”ConclusionThis bibliometric analysis summarizes for the first time the research progress in KD (2017–2021), providing a qualitative and quantitative assessment of KD research bibliometric information. In the field, researchers mainly from Japan and USA are dominant, followed by China. It is recommended to pay close attention to the latest hot spots, such as “COVID-19” and “multisystem inflammatory syndrome.” These results provide a more intuitive and convenient way for researchers to obtain the latest information on KD.</p
Table_1_A global bibliometric analysis on Kawasaki disease research over the last 5 years (2017–2021).DOCX
No full textBackgroundKawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology that mainly affects children. We aim to conduct a bibliometric analysis to explore the latest research hotspots and trends of KD.MethodBy using the keywords “Kawasaki disease,” “Kawasaki syndrome”, and “Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome,” the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases were searched for publications related to KD from 2017 to 2021. Author, country and journal submissions were classified and evaluated using Biblioshiny software (using R language). VOSviewer (version 1.6.18) was used to visualize the relevant network relationships.ResultAccording to the search strategy, 5,848 and 6,804 KD studies were published in WOS and Scopus, respectively. The results showed an overall increasing trend in the number of publications and citations during the study period. The three most influential institutions in the WOS were St. Marianna University, Kawasaki Medical School and The University of Tokyo in Japan, while in Scopus, Harvard Medical School, University of California and Tehran University of Medical Sciences were the most influential institutions. The most influential authors of the two databases are Goodman SG, Kazunori Kataoka, and Takeshi Kimura of the WOS and Marx Nikolau and Wang Y, Burns JC, and Newburger JW of the Scopus, respectively. And Scientific Reports and Frontiers in Pediatrics were the most critical journals. The most cited documents were the WOS document by McCrindle et al. and the Scopus document by Benjamin et al. published in 2017, while the keywords in the last few years were focused on “COVID-19,” “multisystem inflammatory syndrome,” and “pandemic.”ConclusionThis bibliometric analysis summarizes for the first time the research progress in KD (2017–2021), providing a qualitative and quantitative assessment of KD research bibliometric information. In the field, researchers mainly from Japan and USA are dominant, followed by China. It is recommended to pay close attention to the latest hot spots, such as “COVID-19” and “multisystem inflammatory syndrome.” These results provide a more intuitive and convenient way for researchers to obtain the latest information on KD.</p
Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height
No full textMost common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits(1), but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait(2,3). The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P<0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways
- …
