bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Computer-Assisted Educational Auction Simulation
Authors: Noy Avraham
Published: October 2014

Background

Internet auctions are popular mechanisms to conduct electronic-business transactions. Because they have received a significant attention, auction simulations have spread to a variety of domains.

Aim

The aim of this article is to examine participation in an educational Internet auction simulation and analyze participants’ behavior and attitude.

Method

Forty-eight students participated in two auction simulation sessions. Data were collected during the exercise, and questionnaire results were analyzed.

Results

Findings reveal a long-tail distribution of participation among users. Participants use the simulation mostly in latter phases. Participants’ performance was affected by the intensiveness of participation.

Conclusion

Long-duration simulations with voluntary participation provide benefits to enthusiastic participants and may suffer from procrastination tendency.
How Fatigue Influences Exercise Participation in Men With Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Smith Catherine M. , M. Fitzgerald H. Jane , Whitehead Lisa
Published: October 2014

Researchers have suggested that men with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience lower self-efficacy than women with MS and have linked women’s self-efficacy with a sense of perceived control over symptoms and activities. Self-efficacy—the belief in one’s own ability to achieve an outcome—has also been linked to engagement in healthy behaviors such as exercise. We sampled men with MS to better understand how MS-related fatigue influences exercise participation. Guided by the interpretive description method, we interviewed 18 men about their fatigue and exercise experiences. One overarching theme and three subthemes were developed through multiple readings, author comparisons, and participant reflections. The men described a process of goal readjustment with regard to exercise that helped them stay engaged in meaningful physical activity despite fatigue. Health care professionals might consider introducing goal readjustment strategies to help men with MS-related fatigue retain perceived control over exercise engagement and achieve greater self-efficacy.
Multiple Meanings of “Gift” and its Value for Organ Donation
Authors: Shaw Rhonda M. , Webb Robert
Published: October 2014

The “gift of life” metaphor is used to promote organ donation where commercialization is prohibited. In this article, we explore how multiple parties involved in organ transfer procedures think of gift terminology by drawing on interview data with transplantation specialists, organ transplant recipients, living directed donors and living nondirected donors. The interviews took place across New Zealand between October 2008 and May 2012, in participants’ homes and hospital workplaces. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded manually, and thematically analyzed. Although gift language is often viewed as clear-cut, the gift trope has multiple meanings for different constituent and cultural groups, ranging from positive descriptors to obscuring and romanticizing the complexities of transplantation processes. To account for these multiple perspectives, we suggest new ethical models to capture the nuanced phenomenon of organ transfer in ways that recognize the full range of donation and reception experiences.
Challenges for Qualitative Inquiry as a Global Endeavor
Authors: Flick Uwe
Published: October 2014

Understanding qualitative inquiry as a global endeavor leads to several challenges. First, we still live in different worlds of qualitative research—There are local traditions with limited exchanges. This has to do not only with language barriers but also with political and scientific contexts, in which research is embedded. These differences complicate the globalization of qualitative inquiry. Second, research issues become increasingly globalized: People are migrating into other cultures and bring along their cultural backgrounds and understandings—of social services, for example. If we want to study encounters of migrating people with the local social systems, we face a diversity of experiences and values. Third, for understanding such an encounter from both sides, we may need to adapt our methods or even need a triangulation of methods (e.g., biographic interviews, expert interviews, and ethnographies). In this special issue, challenges like these three will be discussed from different angles.
Qualitative Research and Our Digital Futures
Authors: Fielding Nigel G.
Published: October 2014

Those who lived through the 1960s recall a time of rapid social change and political turmoil. Commentators discern parallels with present times, citing the Arab Spring, the West’s fiscal crisis, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Social science saw its own upheavals in the 1960s—the emergence of Grounded Theory, postmodernism, and perspectives based on the counter-culture, feminism, and minorities. This article sees contemporary equivalents in the growth of “citizen research” and indigenous methods, and consequent struggles over what research is for. We should not see these developments as a crisis in the hegemony of social science but as its coming of age, and qualitative research as its principal arena.
Intervention for young children displaying coordination disorders
Authors: Chambers Mary E , Sugden David A
Published: October 2014

The years from 3 to 6 are a time when children develop fundamental movement skills that are the building blocks for the functional movements they use throughout their lives. By 6 years of age, a typically developing child will have in place a full range of movement skills, including, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, climbing, throwing, catching, kicking, striking, writing and drawing. These will not necessarily be performed in a competent manner, but the rudiments are there to be developed through later refinement, combination, adaptation and exploration. However, some children on entry into school do not have a full range of these fundamental skills, and this lack of competence in motor skills often affects their academic work and activities of daily living.

This study concentrates on the years 3–6 and aims to examine the efficacy of graded intervention programmes for children identified with coordination difficulties and involved working with nurseries, schools and parents. A total of 35 children with coordination difficulties were identified and individual profiles mapped out. The study lasted for 2 years, including assessment and periods of intervention and no intervention. The children were assessed regularly throughout the project using the Early Years Movement Skills Checklist together with diaries and comments from teachers and parents.

The children as a group made significant improvement in their motor skills giving cautious optimism to a graded intervention approach. At the end of the study, 32 children had improved their motor skills, and although the remaining three children improved their coordination skills, their test scores remained below the 5th percentile of the Early Years Movement Skills Checklist. Profiles of individual children illustrate the different progression children made.

This study has shown that graded intervention programmes for children identified with coordination difficulties have been found to be effective.
Taking care: Understanding the roles of caregiver and being cared for in a kindergarten classroom
Authors: Quigley Cassie F. , Hall Anna H.
Published: October 2014

Despite concerns about the importance of teachers learning to care for their students, most teacher education programs do not utilize relational pedagogy and place little emphasis on caring. In the current study, the authors used conversational interviews with one kindergarten teacher and photo-elicitation interviews with her 22 kindergarten students to explore ways in which this teacher in a public, all-girls’ school employed caring and how her students viewed being cared for. The authors utilized Noddings’ work on the ethic of care to guide our project and the methodological approach is feministic. In this study, we discovered the ways this teacher cared and how that was translated for the students. Ultimately, we feel these ways of caring have implications for early childhood teacher preparation programs.
Machine-Based, Self-guided Home Therapy for Individuals With Severe Arm Impairment After Stroke
Authors: Zondervan Daniel K. , Augsburger Renee , Bodenhoefer Barbara , Friedman Nizan , Reinkensmeyer David J. , Cramer Steven C.
Published: October 2014

Background. Few therapeutic options exist for the millions of persons living with severe arm impairment after stroke to increase their dose of arm rehabilitation. This study compared self-guided, high-repetition home therapy with a mechanical device (the resonating arm exerciser [RAE]) to conventional therapy in patients with chronic stroke and explored RAE use for patients with subacute stroke. Methods. A total of 16 participants with severe upper-extremity impairment (mean Fugl-Meyer [FM] score = 21.4 ± 8.8 out of 66) >6 months poststroke were randomized to 3 weeks of exercise with the RAE or conventional exercises. The primary outcome measure was FM score 1 month posttherapy. Secondary outcome measures included Motor Activity Log, Visual Analog Pain Scale, and Ashworth Spasticity Scale. After a 1-month break, individuals in the conventional group also received a 3-week course of RAE therapy. Results. The change in FM score was significant in both the RAE and conventional groups after training (2.6 ± 1.4 and 3.4 ± 2.4, P = .008 and .016, respectively). These improvements were not significant at 1 month. Exercise with the RAE led to significantly greater improvements in distal FM score than conventional therapy at the 1-month follow-up ( P = .02). In a separate cohort of patients with subacute stroke, the RAE was found feasible for exercise. Discussion. In those with severe arm impairment after chronic stroke, home-based training with the RAE was feasible and significantly reduced impairment without increasing pain or spasticity. Gains with the RAE were comparable to those found with conventional training and also included distal arm improvement.
Evaluation of Time in Therapeutic Range on Warfarin Therapy Between Face-to-Face and Telephone Follow-Up in a VA Medical Center
Authors: Blissit Katie T. , Mullenix Mackenzie L. , Brittain Kevin G.
Published: October 2014

Background: Few studies have evaluated percent time in therapeutic range (TTR) for warfarin managed via face-to-face (FF) to telephone (TELE) visits—all finding no difference between groups. Objective: Compare and evaluate TTR for warfarin in patients who received pharmacist-managed care via FF or TELE. Methods: Single-center, retrospective study. Eligible participants were ≥18 years old, on indefinite warfarin therapy, followed by clinical pharmacists via FF or TELE from 2010 to 2012. Primary outcome (TTR) calculated via Rosendaal method. Event data included rates of any bleeding, significant bleeding, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, cerebrovascular accident, hospitalizations, and death. Clinics were also compared by location. Results: Two hundred subjects (90 FF and 110 TELE) were included. Mean TTR was 68.17% and 69.57% in FF and TELE groups, respectively. The FF group had statistically significant higher rates of any bleeding (48.9% vs 30.9%). Rates of significant bleeding in FF versus TELE were not significantly different (6.67% vs 2.73%). The majority followed FF with significant bleeding were at a higher bleeding risk than those followed via TELE. There were low rates of venous thromboembolism (1.1% and 1.8%). Conclusions: TTR was ≥65% for most subjects with minimal variability in TTR between clinics. Mean TTR results for each group were greater and above the threshold that has been commonly described in the literature as quality control, suggesting a progression in implementation of telephone-based anticoagulation management.
Anti-factor IXa/X bispecific antibody ACE910 prevents joint bleeds in a long-term primate model of acquired hemophilia A
Authors: Muto Atsushi , Yoshihashi Kazutaka , Takeda Minako , Kitazawa Takehisa , Soeda Tetsuhiro , Igawa Tomoyuki , Sampei Zenjiro , Kuramochi Taichi , Sakamoto Akihisa , Haraya Kenta , Adachi Kenji , Kawabe Yoshiki , Nogami Keiji , Shima Midori , Hattori Kunihiro
Published: October 2014

Key Points

A long-term acquired hemophilia A model expressing spontaneous joint bleeds and other bleeds was newly established in nonhuman primates. Weekly SC dose of the anti-FIXa/X bispecific antibody ACE910 prevented joint bleeds and other bleeds in the primate hemophilia A model.
Enhanced electrochemical performance of Lithium-ion batteries by conformal coating of polymer electrolyte
Authors: Plylahan Nareerat , Maria Sébastien , Phan Trang NT , Letiche Manon , Martinez Hervé , Courrèges Cécile , Knauth Philippe , Djenizian Thierry
Published: October 2014

This work reports the conformal coating of poly(poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (P(MePEGMA)) polymer electrolyte on highly organized titania nanotubes (TiO2nts) fabricated by electrochemical anodization of Ti foil. The conformal coating was achieved by electropolymerization using cyclic voltammetry technique. The characterization of the polymer electrolyte by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) shows the formation of short polymer chains, mainly trimers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results confirm the presence of the polymer and LiTFSI salt. The galvanostatic tests at 1C show that the performance of the half cell against metallic Li foil is improved by 33% when TiO2nts are conformally coated with the polymer electrolyte.
Physical and electrical properties of graphene grown under different hydrogen flow in low pressure chemical vapor deposition
Authors: Hussain Sajjad , Iqbal Muhmmad Waqas , Park Jaehyun , Ahmad Muneer , Singh Jai , Eom Jonghwa , Jung Jongwan
Published: October 2014

Hydrogen flow during low pressure chemical vapor deposition had significant effect not only on the physical properties but also on the electrical properties of graphene. Nucleation and grain growth of graphene increased at higher hydrogen flows. And, more oxygen-related functional groups like amorphous and oxidized carbon that probably contributed to defects or contamination of graphene remained on the graphene surface at low H2 flow conditions. It is believed that at low hydrogen flow, those remained oxygen or other oxidizing impurities make the graphene films p-doped and result in decreasing the carrier mobility.
Tunable surface plasmon resonance frequencies of monodisperse indium tin oxide nanoparticles by controlling composition, size, and morphology
Authors: Ma Keke , Zhou Ning , Yuan Meng , Li Dongsheng , Yang Deren
Published: October 2014

Monodisperse indium tin oxide nanoparticles (ITO NPs) with high crystallinity have been synthesized by the rapid thermal injection method and the seed-mediated growth method. We demonstrate that the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) frequencies of ITO NPs can be manipulated from 1,600 to 1,993 nm in near-infrared band by controlling the composition, size, and morphology. The doping Sn concentration in ITO NPs could be controlled via changing the %Sn in the initial feed from 0% to 30%. The shortest SPR wavelength at 1,600 nm with 10% Sn doping concentration indicates highest free electron carrier concentration in ITO NPs, which has direct relationship with doping Sn4+ions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the SPR peaks can also be tuned by the size of ITO NPs in the case of uniform doping. Besides, compared with the ITO NPs, single crystalline ITO with nanoflower morphology synthesized through the one-pot method exhibit SPR absorption peak features of red-shifting and broadening.
Inter-hospital transfers and outcomes of critically ill patients with severe acute kidney injury: a multicenter cohort study
Authors: Kudlow Paul , Burns Karen EA , Adhikari Neill KJ , Bell Benjamin , Klein David J , Xie Bin , Friedrich Jan O , Wald Ron
Published: October 2014

Introduction

Patients with severe acute kidney injury (AKI) who are hospitalized at centers that do not provide renal replacement therapy (RRT) are frequently subjected to inter-hospital transfer for the provision of RRT. It is unclear whether such transfers are associated with worse patient outcomes as compared with the receipt of initial care in a center that provides RRT. This study examined the relationship between inter-hospital transfer and 30-day mortality among critically ill patients with AKI who received RRT.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all critically ill patients who commenced RRT for AKI at two academic hospitals in Toronto, Canada. The exposure of interest was inter-hospital transfer for the administration of RRT. We evaluated the relationship between transfer status and 30-day mortality (primary outcome) and RRT dependence at 30 days following RRT initiation (secondary outcome), by using multivariate logistic regression with adjustment for patient demographics, clinical factors, biochemical indices, and severity of illness.

Results

Of 370 patients who underwent RRT for AKI, 82 (22.2%) were transferred for this purpose from another hospital. Compared with non-transferred patients who started RRT, transferred patients were younger (61 ± 15 versus 65 ± 15 years, P = 0.03) and had a higher serum creatinine concentration at RRT initiation (474 ± 295 versus 365 ± 169 μmol/L, P = 0.002). Inter-hospital transfer was not associated with mortality (adjusted odds ratio 0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.33 to 1.12) or RRT-dependence (adjusted odds ratio 1.64, 95% confidence interval 0.70 to 3.81) at 30 days.

Conclusions

Within the limitations of this observational study and the potential for residual confounding, inter-hospital transfer of critically ill patients with AKI was not associated with a higher risk of death or dialysis dependence 30 days after the initiation of acute RRT.
Hypervolemia increases release of atrial natriuretic peptide and shedding of the endothelial glycocalyx
Authors: Chappell Daniel , Bruegger Dirk , Potzel Julia , Jacob Matthias , Brettner Florian , Vogeser Michael , Conzen Peter , Becker Bernhard F , Rehm Markus
Published: October 2014

Introduction

Acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) and volume loading (VL) are standard blood-sparing procedures. However, VL is associated with hypervolemia, which may cause tissue edema, cardiopulmonary complications and a prolonged hospital stay. The body reacts to hypervolemia with release of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) from the heart. ANP has been shown to deteriorate the endothelial glycocalyx, a vital part of the vascular permeability barrier. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare ANP release and damage to the glycocalyx during ANH and VL.

Methods

ANH or VL with 6% hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.4 was administered prior to elective surgery in patients of good cardiopulmonary health (n =9 in each group). We measured concentrations of ANP in plasma and of three main constituent parts of the glycocalyx (hyaluronan, heparan sulfate and syndecan 1) in serum before and after ANH or VL. Heparan sulfate and syndecan 1 levels in urine were also determined.

Results

In contrast to ANH, VL (20 ml/kg) induced a significant release of ANP (approximately +100%, P <0.05) and increased the serum concentration of two glycocalyx constituents, hyaluronan and syndecan 1 (both by about 80%, P <0.05). Elevation of syndecan 1 was also detected in the urine of patients undergoing VL, but no increase was found in patients undergoing ANH. Heparan sulfate levels were not influenced by either procedure.

Conclusion

These data suggest that hypervolemia increases the release of ANP and causes enhanced shedding of the endothelial glycocalyx. This perturbation must be expected to impair the vascular barrier, implying that VL may not be as safe as generally assumed and that it should be critically evaluated.
Postoperative intubation time is associated with acute kidney injury in cardiac surgical patients
Authors: Heringlake Matthias , Nowak Yvonne , Schön Julika , Trautmann Jens , Berggreen Astrid Ellen , Charitos Efstratios I , Paarmann Hauke
Published: October 2014

Introduction

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication after cardiac surgery and is associated with a poor prognosis. Mechanical ventilation is an important risk factor for developing AKI in critically ill patients. Ventilation with high tidal volumes has been associated with postoperative organ dysfunction in cardiac surgical patients. No data are available about the effects of the duration of postoperative respiratory support in the immediate postoperative period on the incidence of AKI in patients after cardiac surgery.

Method

We performed a secondary analysis of 584 elective cardiac surgical patients enrolled in an observational trial on the association between preoperative cerebral oxygen saturation and postoperative organ dysfunction and analyzed the incidence of AKI in patients with different times to extubation. The latter variable was graded in 4 h intervals (if below 16 h) or equal to or greater than 16 h. AKI was staged according to the AKI Network criteria.

Results

Overall, 165 (28.3%) patients developed AKI (any stage), 43 (7.4%) patients needed renal replacement therapy. Patients developing AKI had a significantly (P <0.001) lower renal perfusion pressure (RPP) in the first 8 hours after surgery (57.4 mmHg (95% CI: 56.0 to 59.0 mmHg)) than patients with a postoperatively preserved renal function (60.5 mmHg ((95% CI: 59.9 to 61.4 mmHg). The rate of AKI increased from 17.0% in patients extubated within 4 h postoperatively to 62.3% in patients ventilated for more than 16 h (P <0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis of variables significantly associated with AKI in the univariate analysis revealed that the time to the first extubation (OR: 1.024/hour, 95% CI: 1.011 to 1.044/hour; P <0.001) and RPP (OR: 0.963/mmHg; 95% CI: 0.934 to 0.992; P <0.001) were independently associated with AKI.

Conclusion

Without taking into account potentially unmeasured confounders, these findings are suggestive that the duration of postoperative positive pressure ventilation is an important and previously unrecognized risk factor for AKI in cardiac surgical patients, independent from low RPP as an established AKI trigger, and that even a moderate delay of extubation increases AKI risk. If replicated independently, these findings may have relevant implications for clinical care and for further studies aiming at the prevention of cardiac surgery associated AKI.
Rotational thromboelastometry predicts thromboembolic complications after major non-cardiac surgery
Authors: Hincker Alexander , Feit Justin , Sladen Robert N , Wagener Gebhard
Published: October 2014

Introduction

Thromboembolic complications contribute substantially to perioperative morbidity and mortality. Routine laboratory tests do not detect patients with acquired or congenital hypercoagulability who may be at increased risk of perioperative thromboembolism. Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) is a digitized modification of conventional thromboelastography that is stable and technically easy to use. We designed a prospective observational study to evaluate whether preoperative ROTEM can identify patients at increased risk for postoperative thromboembolic complications after major non-cardiac surgery.

Methods

Preoperative ROTEM analysis using extrinsic rotational thromboelastometry (EXTEM), intrinsic rotational thromboelastometry (INTEM), and fibrinogen rotational thromboelastometry (FIBTEM) activators was performed on 313 patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. Patients’ medical records were reviewed after discharge for results of standard coagulation studies - partial thromboplastin time (PTT), international normalized ratio (INR), platelet count - and evidence of thromboembolic complications during their hospital stay. A thromboembolic complication was defined as a new arterial or deep venous thrombosis, catheter thrombosis, or pulmonary embolism diagnosed by ultrasound or spiral chest computed tomography.

Results

Ten patients developed postoperative thromboembolic complications, of whom 9 had received standard prophylaxis with subcutaneous enoxaparin or heparin. There was no indication of by PTT, INR, or platelet count. Preoperative EXTEM and INTEM activators that assess fibrin clot formation and platelet interaction indicated that these patients had significantly lower clot formation time (CFT) and significantly higher alpha angle (α) and maximum clot firmness (MCF), compared to patients without thromboembolic complications. There was no significant difference for any parameter using FIBTEM activator, which excludes platelet interaction. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed for these variables. INTEM clot firmness at 10 min (A10) was the best predictor of thromboembolic complications, with an ROC area under the curve of 0.751.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that preoperative ROTEM assays that include fibrin clot and platelet interaction may detect patients at increased risk for postoperative thromboembolic complications after major non-cardiac surgery. Future studies need to evaluate the clinical utility and cost effectiveness of preoperative ROTEM and better define the association between ROTEM values and specific hypercoagulable conditions.
Paclitaxel improved anti-L1CAM lutetium-177 radioimmunotherapy in an ovarian cancer xenograft model
Authors: Lindenblatt Dennis , Fischer Eliane , Cohrs Susan , Schibli Roger , Grünberg Jürgen
Published: October 2014

Background

Today's standard treatment of advanced-stage ovarian cancer, including surgery followed by a paclitaxel-platinum-based chemotherapy, is limited in efficacy. Recently, we could show that radioimmunotherapy (RIT) with 177Lu-labelled anti-L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) monoclonal antibody chCE7 is effective in ovarian cancer therapy. We investigated if the efficacy of anti-L1CAM RIT can be further improved by its combination with paclitaxel (PTX).

Methods

In vitro cell viability and cell cycle arrest of human ovarian cancer cells were assessed upon different treatment conditions. For therapy studies, nude mice (n = 8) were injected subcutaneously with IGROV1 human ovarian carcinoma cells and received a single dose of 6 MBq 177Lu-DOTA-chCE7 alone or in combination with 600 μg PTX (31.6 mg/kg). Tumour growth delay and survival were determined. To investigate whether PTX can influence the tumour uptake of the radioimmunoconjugates (RICs), a biodistribution study (n = 4) and SPECT/CT images were acquired 120 h post injections of 2 MBq 177Lu-DOTA-chCE7 alone or in combination with 600 μg PTX.

Results

Lu-DOTA-chCE7 in combination with PTX revealed a significantly decreased cell viability of ovarian carcinoma cells in vitro and was effective in a synergistic manner (combination index < 1). PTX increased the RIT efficacy by arresting cells in the radiosensitive G2/M phase of the cell cycle 24 h post treatment start. In vivo combination therapy including 177Lu-DOTA-chCE7 and PTX resulted in a significantly prolonged overall survival (55 days vs. 18 days/PTX and 29 days/RIT), without weight loss and/or signs of toxicity. Biodistribution studies revealed no significant difference in tumour uptakes of 177Lu-DOTA-chCE7 72 h post injection regardless of an additional PTX administration.

Conclusions

Combination of anti-L1CAM 177Lu-RIT with PTX is a more effective therapy resulting in a prolonged overall survival of human ovarian carcinoma-bearing nude mice compared with either monotherapy. The combination is promising for future clinical applications.
mTOR regulates brain morphogenesis by mediating GSK3 signaling
Authors: Ka Minhan , Condorelli Gianluigi , Woodgett James R. , Kim Woo-Yang
Published: October 2014

Balanced control of neural progenitor maintenance and neuron production is crucial in establishing functional neural circuits during brain development, and abnormalities in this process are implicated in many neurological diseases. However, the regulatory mechanisms of neural progenitor homeostasis remain poorly understood. Here, we show that mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is required for maintaining neural progenitor pools and plays a key role in mediating glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) signaling during brain development. First, we generated and characterized conditional mutant mice exhibiting deletion of mTOR in neural progenitors and neurons in the developing brain using Nestin-cre and Nex-cre lines, respectively. The elimination of mTOR resulted in abnormal cell cycle progression of neural progenitors in the developing brain and thereby disruption of progenitor self-renewal. Accordingly, production of intermediate progenitors and postmitotic neurons were markedly suppressed. Next, we discovered that GSK3, a master regulator of neural progenitors, interacts with mTOR and controls its activity in cortical progenitors. Finally, we found that inactivation of mTOR activity suppresses the abnormal proliferation of neural progenitors induced by GSK3 deletion. Our findings reveal that the interaction between mTOR and GSK3 signaling plays an essential role in dynamic homeostasis of neural progenitors during brain development.
Syntheses and Structures of Molybdenum-Oxo Complexes Prepared by the Reactions of [MoII2(OAc)4] with tert-Butyl- or Bromo-Substituted Catechols
Authors: Matsumoto Takeshi , Yano Hirokazu , Wakizaka Masanori , Kobayashi Atsushi , Kato Masako , Chang Ho-Chol
Published: October 2014

The reactions of [MoII2(OAc)4] (OAc−: acetato) with catecholato derivatives (R-Cat2−), possessing electron-donating t-Bu groups (3,6-DTBCat2−) or electron-withdrawing Br groups (Br4Cat2−), results in the formation of a mononuclear complex [Na(THF)6][MoV(3,6-DTBCat)3] (1) and a dinuclear complex either [Na6(Br4SQ)2][MoIV2(µ-O)2(Br4Cat)4] or [Na6(Br4Cat)2][MoV2(µ-O)2(Br4Cat)4] (3). Complex 3 has a [Mo(µ-O)2Mo] core as part of a dimer of [O=Mom(Br4Cat)2]n− (m = IV or V, n = 2 or 1) moieties assembled in a head-to-tail arrangement, which has been structurally characterized as the a bis-µ-oxo molybdenum dinuclear complex containing catecholato ligands. The bond distance between the Mo atoms (2.4286(17) Å) strongly suggests that a MoIV=MoIV or MoV–MoV bonding character exists in 3. Differences in the substituent groups on the catecholato ligand affect not only the product formed but also the reactivity of both complexes. Complex 3 shows O-atom abstraction reactivity with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and forms dimethyl sulfide (DMS). These results support a high oxophilicity of the Mo center in 3.
Concise Synthesis of 6-Formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole (FICZ)
Authors: Sekine Daisuke , Okeda Shota , Hosokawa Seijiro
Published: October 2014

A concise synthesis of 6-formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole (FICZ), a potent ligand of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), has been established. The conjugate addition of the enolate derived from indolylacetate 2 to 2-chloro-3-formylindole 3 was accomplished. The following cyclization reaction under the acidic conditions gave the indolo[3,2-b]carbazole skeleton.
Temporal and Environmental Sensitivity of a Photodiode Array Spectrophometric System
Authors: Hayes Clinton John , Greensill Colin Victor , Walsh Kerry Brian
Published: October 2014

The effect of the spectral variation in quartz tungsten lamp output with respect to elapsed time from power-up and variation in environmental temperature, and the variation in readout in the front-end electronics (FEE) and spectrometer with temperature, on predictive model performance of total soluble solids (TSS) in intact fruit was assessed for a silicon photodiode spectrometer-based system. Lamp (10 each of OSRAM HLX64623 and Sylvania 521995 12 V 100 W GY6.35 quartz tungsten halogen) output was assessed at 10 s intervals over a 4 h period, and 10 min intervals over approximately 3000 h. The environmental temperature of each component in a near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy system (lamp, FEE, spectrometer) was incrementally adjusted in 10°C intervals between 10°C and 60°C. The lamp output was spectrally stable within the time of the first measurement (10 s), although total illumination was not stable until approximately 40 min from start-up. Thus, the performance of the predictive models based on second derivative of absorbance data was not significantly impacted by lamp warm-up time. Noise on measurement associated with the use of a single white reference resulted in a mean increase in root mean square error of prediction ( RMSEP) as high as 0.22% TSS and individual increases as high as 0.82%. Averages of white reference measurements significantly improved performance. When predictive models were developed using second derivative absorbance data and averaged (10) white references, there was no statistically significant impact in RMSEPs on time of lamp warm-up (after 10 s), even during the last hours of lamp life. Spectral variation resulting from changes of NIR system components (lamp and FEE) also affected lamp output quantity rather than quality and thus did not affect the predictive performance owing to the second derivative absorbance pretreatment. Some lamps displayed start-up output characteristics on their first use that were not repeated in subsequent trials. This result indicates the need for a short lamp “burn-in” period.
Robustness of Partial Least-Squares Models to Change in Sample Temperature: II. Application to Fruit Attributes
Authors: Acharya Umesh K. , Walsh Kerry B , Subedi Phul P.
Published: October 2014

Partial least-squares regression models were developed using spectra of tomato fruit collected at 15°C and tested on spectra of an independent set of fruit at higher sample temperatures. The influence of sample temperature on the model used to predict fruit dry matter(DM) was manifested primarily in terms of bias, not standard error of prediction. For example, a model for DM created with samples at 15°C had a bias of −0.9% DM and −1.9% DM when used to predict DM in fruit at 25°C and 35°C, respectively. The addition of spectra of a relatively small number of samples collected at different temperatures to the calibration set can create a model that is robust to temperature; however, continued addition of samples at a uniform temperature overwhelms this compensation effect, resulting in a model that is not robust to temperature. For a model that included spectra of fruit at a range of temperatures, the prediction bias increased as the ratio of samples at 15°C to samples at other temperatures increased beyond 200:1. The use of orthogonal scatter correction, external parameter orthogonalisation, generalised least-square weighting, global model development and repeatability file were compared for the development of a temperature-robust DM model. The use of a repeatability file is recommended on the basis of the lowest root mean square error of prediction and bias. Selection of wavelength regions to avoid water absorption features is recommended for an attribute not associated with an OH feature (such as skin-colour prediction).
The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Behavioral Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Energy Conservation
Authors: Allcott Hunt , Rogers Todd
Published: October 2014

We document three remarkable features of the Opower program, in which social comparison-based home energy reports are repeatedly mailed to more than six million households nationwide. First, initial reports cause high-frequency “action and backsliding,” but these cycles attenuate over time. Second, if reports are discontinued after two years, effects are relatively persistent, decaying at 10–20 percent per year. Third, consumers are slow to habituate: they continue to respond to repeated treatment even after two years. We show that the previous conservative assumptions about post-intervention persistence had dramatically understated cost effectiveness and illustrate how empirical estimates can optimize program design.(JEL D12, D83, L94, Q41)
Environmental Regulations, Air and Water Pollution, and Infant Mortality in India
Authors: Greenstone Michael , Hanna Rema
Published: October 2014

Using the most comprehensive developing country dataset ever compiled on air and water pollution and environmental regulations, the paper assesses India's environmental regulations with a difference-in-differences design. The air pollution regulations are associated with substantial improvements in air quality. The most successful air regulation resulted in a modest but statistically insignificant decline in infant mortality. In contrast, the water regulations had no measurable benefits. The available evidence leads us to cautiously conclude that higher demand for air quality prompted the effective enforcement of air pollution regulations, indicating that strong public support allows environmental regulations to succeed in weak institutional settings. (JEL I12, J13, O13, Q53, Q58)
Measuring the Effect of the Zero Lower Bound on Medium- and Longer-Term Interest Rates
Authors: Swanson Eric T. , Williams John C.
Published: October 2014

According to standard macroeconomic models, the zero lower bound greatly reduces the effectiveness of monetary policy and increases the efficacy of fiscal policy. However, private-sector decisions depend on the entire path of expected future short-term interest rates, not just the current short-term rate. Put differently, longer-term yields matter. We show how to measure the zero bound's effects on yields of any maturity. Indeed, 1- and 2-year Treasury yields were surprisingly unconstrained throughout 2008 to 2010, suggesting that monetary and fiscal policy were about as effective as usual during this period. Only beginning in late 2011 did these yields become more constrained. (JEL E43, E52, E62)
Productivity Losses from Financial Frictions: Can Self-Financing Undo Capital Misallocation?
Authors: Moll Benjamin
Published: October 2014

I develop a highly tractable general equilibrium model in which heterogeneous producers face collateral constraints, and study the effect of financial frictions on capital misallocation and aggregate productivity. My economy is isomorphic to a Solow model but with time-varying TFP. I argue that the persistence of idiosyncratic productivity shocks determines both the size of steady-state productivity losses and the speed of transitions: if shocks are persistent, steady-state losses are small but transitions are slow. Even if financial frictions are unimportant in the long run, they tend to matter in the short run and analyzing steady states only can be misleading. (JEL E21, E22, E23, G32, L26, O16)
German Jewish Émigrés and US Invention
Authors: Moser Petra , Voena Alessandra , Waldinger Fabian
Published: October 2014

Historical accounts suggest that Jewish émigrés from Nazi Germany revolutionized US science. To analyze the émigrés' effects on chemical innovation in the United States, we compare changes in patenting by US inventors in research fields of émigrés with fields of other German chemists. Patenting by US inventors increased by 31 percent in émigré fields. Regressions which instrument for émigré fields with pre-1933 fields of dismissed German chemists confirm a substantial increase in US invention. Inventor-level data indicate that émigrés encouraged innovation by attracting new researchers to their fields, rather than by increasing the productivity of incumbent inventors. (JEL J15, L65, N62, O31, O34)
How Does Risk Selection Respond to Risk Adjustment? New Evidence from the Medicare Advantage Program
Authors: Brown Jason , Duggan Mark , Kuziemko Ilyana , Woolston William
Published: October 2014

To combat adverse selection, governments increasingly base payments to health plans and providers on enrollees' scores from risk-adjustment formulae. In 2004, Medicare began to risk-adjust capitation payments to private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to reduce selection-driven overpayments. But because the variance of medical costs increases with the predicted mean, incentivizing enrollment of individuals with higher scores can increase the scope for enrolling “overpriced” individuals with costs significantly below the formula's prediction. Indeed, after risk adjustment, MA plans enrolled individuals with higher scores but lower costs conditional on their score. We find no evidence that overpayments were on net reduced. (JEL G22, H51, I13, I18)
Characterization of population-based variation and putative functional elements for the multiple-cancer susceptibility loci at 5p15.33
Authors: Mirabello Lisa , Chung Charles C. , Yeager Meredith , Savage Sharon A
Published: October 2014

Background:

TERTencodes the telomerase reverse transcriptase, which is responsible for maintaining telomere ends by addition of (TTAGGG)nnucleotide repeats at the telomere.  Recent genome-wide association studies have found common genetic variants at theTERT-CLPTM1Llocus (5p15.33) associated with an increased risk of several cancers. 

Results:

Data were acquired for 1627 variants in 1092 unrelated individuals from 14 populations within the 1000 Genomes Project.  We assessed the population genetics of the 5p15.33 region, including recombination hotspots, diversity, heterozygosity, differentiation among populations, and potential functional impacts. There were significantly lower polymorphism rates, divergence, and heterozygosity for the coding variants, particularly for non-synonymous sites, compared with non-coding and silent changes. Many of the cancer-associated SNPs had differing genotype frequencies among ancestral groups and were associated with potential regulatory changes. 

Conclusions:

Surrogate SNPs in linkage disequilibrium with the majority of cancer-associated SNPs were functional variants with a likely role in regulation ofTERTand/orCLPTM1L. Our findings highlight several SNPs that future studies should prioritize for evaluation of functional consequences.
Psychophysiological Mechanisms of Behavioural Reaction in the Children and Teenagers of 7-18 Years in Various Conditions of the Environment
Authors: Зотова  , Zotova A. , Волокитина  , Volokitina T. , Попова  , Popova E.
Published: October 2014

Features of structure of intelligence and interrelation with decision-making strategy in the children and teenagers allow to judge formation of cogitative activity and to carry out the directed influence of the educational environment on formation of intellectual functions of school students. Results of research of psycho-physiological mechanisms of behavioral reaction are presented in article in the free, probabilistic and determined environments on the basis of the analysis of interrelations of verbal and nonverbal intelligence with features of decision-making by children and teenagers. The conducted research revealed in the school students of 7-18 years bigger quantity of interrelations of parameters of decision-making from a verbal component of intelligence. At each age stage features of structural interrelations of intelligence with decision-making parameters are revealed. Research showed that success of performance of arithmetic tasks hasn’t practically the interrelations with decision-making strategy, and, since 11-12 years, is deficiental function in studied correlation galaxies. At graduates of school of interrelation of high-speed opportunities of rechemyslitelny activity with mechanisms of decision-making are noted only in free and probabilistic environments. Throughout all studied age period the smallest quantity of interrelations of components of structure of intelligence with parameters of decision-making is revealed in the conditions of the stochastic environment.
Efficiency Control Cellulite Treatment Using High-Frequency Ultrasound Visualization of High Resolution
Authors: Белков  , Belkov P. , Безуглый  , Bezuglyy A. , Круглова  , Kruglova L. , Портнов  , Portnov V.
Published: October 2014

To describe ultrasonographic image of human skin with cellulite, the authors used high-frequency ultrasound visualization of the skin with a frequency of 22 MHz using a system DUB (tpm GmbH Germany). The skin on the thigh in 15 patients with cellulite and in 10 patients in the control group was examined. The differences in thickness and acoustic density of dermis and subcutaneous tissue between the group of patients with cellulite and in control were described. Objective data of high frequency ultrasound allow to quantify morphological and functional parameters of the skin in the dynamics and results of cellulite correction.
Puva Therapy and Isotretinoin in the Treatment of Patients with Follicular Dyskeratosis Darier
Authors: Стрелкович  , Strelkovich T. , Портнов  , Portnov V. , Круглова  , Kruglova L. , Жукова  , Zhukova O. , Корчажкина  , Korchazhkina N.
Published: October 2014

The paper presents data on the use of retinoid isotretinoin in the dose of 10mg in combination with PUVA therapy in treatment of patients with Darier´s diseas. This combined method has a high therapeutic efficacy and this confirms the dynamics of the index of dermatological status and quality of life. This method has a preventive value and is accompanied by an increase of the remission. High safety of combined pharmacological and physiotherapeutic method is demonstrated.
Ultra-Violet Therapy and System Retinoid in the Treatment of Patients with Disease of Devergie
Authors: Портнов  , Portnov V. , Круглова  , Kruglova L. , Жукова  , Zhukova O. , Котенко  , Kotenko K.
Published: October 2014

The authors present the results on application retinoid in the dose of 10-20 mg in a combination with ultra-violet therapy for treatment of patients with a widespread form of Devergie’s disease. High efficiency and safety of the combined pharmacological and physiotherapeutic method is shown.
Increased Rheumatoid Factor and Deep Venous Thrombosis: 2 Cohort Studies of 54628 Individuals from the General Population
Authors: Meyer-Olesen Christine L , Nielsen Sune F , Nordestgaard Børge G
Published: October 2014

BACKGROUND

The risk of deep venous thrombosis is increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. We tested the hypothesis that increased concentrations of rheumatoid factor are associated with increased risk of deep venous thrombosis in individuals without autoimmune rheumatic disease in the general population.

METHODS

We included 54628 participants from the Copenhagen City Heart Study (1981–83) and the Copenhagen General Population Study (2004–12), all with a measured concentration of IgM rheumatoid factor and without autoimmune rheumatic disease or venous thromboembolism. The main outcome was incident deep venous thrombosis. There were no losses to follow-up.

RESULTS

During 368381 person-years, 670 individuals developed deep venous thrombosis. A rheumatoid factor concentration ≥ vs <110 IU/mL showed the strongest association with deep venous thrombosis, with multivariable adjusted hazard ratios of 9.0 (95% CI 3.1–26) for 1-year follow-up, 4.3 (2.2–8.5) for 5-year follow-up, and 3.1 (1.7–5.6) for up to 32 years of follow-up. Compared with rheumatoid factor concentrations <15 IU/mL, the multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for deep venous thrombosis during maximum follow-up were 1.3 (1.0–1.5) for 15–29 IU/mL, 1.7 (1.0–2.8) for 30–59 IU/mL, 2.4 (1.3–4.3) for 60–119 IU/mL, and 3.0 (1.6–5.6) for ≥120 IU/mL (trend P = 6 × 10−7). Results were similar in the 2 studies separately. Obese men and women age >60 years with rheumatoid factor concentrations ≥120 IU/mL had 10% and 8% 5-year risk of deep venous thrombosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased rheumatoid factor in the general population was associated with up to 3-fold increased long-term risk and up to 9-fold increased 1-year risk of deep venous thrombosis.