bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of PCMH Model Adoption on Teamwork and Impact on Patient Access and Safety
Authors: Khanna Niharika , Shaya Fadia T. , Gaitonde Priyanka , Abiamiri Andrea , Steffen Ben , Sharp David
Published: November 2016

Purpose: Each of the participating patient-centered medical home (PCMH) received coaching and participated in learning collaborative for improving teamwork. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of trainings on patient-centered teamwork. Methods: The Teamwork Perception Questionnaire (TPQ) was administered once in spring 2014 and then in fall 2015. The TPQ consists of 35 questions across 5 domains: mutual support, situation monitoring, communication, team structure, and leadership. Based on our objective we compared the frequencies of strongly agree/agree by domain. The difference was tested using chi-square test. We compared the scores on each domain (strongly agree/agree = 1; maximum score = 7) via Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results: The response rate for this survey was n = 29 (80.6%) in spring 2014, and n = 31 (86.1%) in fall 2015. We found that the practice members significantly ( P < .05) strongly agreed/agreed more in fall 2015 than spring 2014 for characteristics—“staff relay relevant information in a timely manner” (64.5% vs 83.9%) and “staff follow a standardized method of sharing information when handing off patients” (67.7% vs 90.3%) under communication domain and for characteristic—“staff within my practice share information that enables timely decision making” (74.2% vs 90.3%). However, there was no statistical significant difference observed in the scores for the overall TPQ at the 2 time points. Conclusion: Despite the statistical insignificance, the observations in PCMHs across the spectrum of practices participating in the Maryland Multi-Payer Program demonstrated enhanced teamwork specifically in communication and in leadership. This we believe will continue to result in enhanced patient access to care and safety.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is reduced in Alzheimer’s disease in association with increasing amyloid-β and tau pathology
Authors: Kehoe Patrick Gavin , Wong Steffenny , AL Mulhim Noura , Palmer Laura Elyse , Miners J. Scott
Published: November 2016

Background

Hyperactivity of the classical axis of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), mediated by angiotensin II (Ang II) activation of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R), is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) degrades Ang II to angiotensin 1–7 (Ang ﻿﻿(1-7)) and counter-regulates the classical axis of RAS. We have investigated the expression and distribution of ACE-2 in post-mortem human brain tissue in relation to AD pathology and classical RAS axis activity.

Methods

We measured ACE-2 activity by fluorogenic peptide substrate assay in mid-frontal cortex (Brodmann area 9) in a cohort of AD (n = 90) and age-matched non-demented controls (n = 59) for which we have previous data on ACE-1 activity, amyloid β (Aβ) level and tau pathology, as well as known ACE1 (rs1799752) indel polymorphism, apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy severity scores.

Results

ACE-2 activity was significantly reduced in AD compared with age-matched controls (P < 0.0001) and correlated inversely with levels of Aβ (r = −0.267, P < 0.001) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) pathology (r = −0.327, P < 0.01). ACE-2 was reduced in individuals possessing an APOE ε4 allele (P < 0.05) and was associated with ACE1 indel polymorphism (P < 0.05), with lower ACE-2 activity in individuals homozygous for the ACE1 insertion AD risk allele. ACE-2 activity correlated inversely with ACE-1 activity (r = −0.453, P < 0.0001), and the ratio of ACE-1 to ACE-2 was significantly elevated in AD (P < 0.0001). Finally, we show that the ratio of Ang II to Ang (1–7) (a proxy measure of ACE-2 activity indicating  conversion of Ang II to Ang (1–7)) is reduced in AD.

Conclusions

Together, our findings indicate that ACE-2 activity is reduced in AD and is an important regulator of the central classical ACE-1/Ang II/AT1R axis of RAS, and also that dysregulation of this pathway likely plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of AD.
Colloidal Dispersion of Gold Nanorods and Gold-Silver Core-Shell Nanorods in Polar Organic Solvents
Authors: Kitamura Takeharu , Niidome Yasuro
Published: November 2016

Gold nanorods and gold-silver core-shell nanorods were colloidally dispersed in polar organic solvents, acetonitrile, dimethylsulfoxide, and dimethylformamide, and their water mixtures. The gold nanorods showed narrow longitudinal surface plasmon bands in 100% dimethylformamide, 25% dimethylsulfoxide, and 25% acetonitrile solutions, indicating that the gold nanorods were well dispersed in these solutions. For the core-shell nanorods, acetonitrile and its water mixtures gave well-dispersed colloidal solutions. Amphiphilic molecules in the dispersions did not influence the systems; however, thiol-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-SH) strongly stabilized the colloidal dispersions. The nanorods in the organic dispersions with the addition of PEG-SH could be redispersed in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solutions. The zeta potentials of the gold nanorods in 1/10 PBS solutions ranged from −7.5 to +3.3 mV. Steric effects of the bulky PEG chains attached to the nanorod surfaces stabilized their colloidal dispersions in PBS.
Mixed-Valence States of Orthorhombic [Fe3O(C6F5COO)6(C5H5N)3]·CH2Cl2 Characterized by X-ray Crystallography and 57Fe Mössbauer Spectroscopy: Comparison with a Hexagonal Polymorph
Authors: Sakai Yoichi , Ogiso Ryo , Kawasaki Takeshi , Kitazawa Takafumi , Nakamoto Tadahiro , Takayama Tsutomu , Takahashi Masashi
Published: November 2016

An orthorhombic form of polymorphs of mixed-valence trinuclear iron pentafluorobenzoate containing dichloromethane as a crystal solvent molecule, [Fe3O(C6F5COO)6(C5H5N)3]·CH2Cl2 (o-1), was newly prepared and confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis at 123 and 300 K. Three bond lengths of Fe–O in the central Fe3O moiety are not identical, which is in contrast to our previously reported hexagonal form (h-1) having D3h local symmetry.157Fe Mössbauer spectra of o-1 showed a valence-trapped state consisting of high-spin Fe(III) and high-spin Fe(II) atoms with an area ratio of 2/1 to 3/1 between 78 and 300 K, being in complete contrast to those of h-1 with the valence-detrapped (averaged) state above ∼90 K. The present findings are consistently explained from the viewpoints of the crystal and molecular structures.
YeATSAM analysis of the walnut and chickpea transcriptome reveals key genes undetected by current annotation tools
Authors: Chakraborty Sandeep , Martínez-García Pedro J. , Dandekar Abhaya M.
Published: November 2016

Background: The transcriptome, a treasure trove of gene space information, remains severely under-used by current genome annotation methods. Methods: Here, we present an annotation method in the YeATS suite (YeATSAM), based on information encoded by the transcriptome, that demonstrates artifacts of the assembler, which must be addressed to achieve proper annotation. Results and Discussion: YeATSAM was applied to the transcriptome obtained from twenty walnut tissues and compared to MAKER-P annotation of the recently published walnut genome sequence (WGS). MAKER-P and YeATSAM both failed to annotate several hundred proteins found by the other. Although many of these unannotated proteins have repetitive sequences (possibly transposable elements), other crucial proteins were excluded by each method. An egg cell-secreted protein and a homer protein were undetected by YeATSAM, although these did not produce any transcripts. Importantly, MAKER-P failed to classify key photosynthesis-related proteins, which we show emanated from Trinity assembly artifacts potentially not handled by MAKER-P. Also, no proteins from the large berberine bridge enzyme (BBE) family were annotated by MAKER-P. BBE is implicated in biosynthesis of several alkaloids metabolites, like anti-microbial berberine. As further validation, YeATSAM identified ~1000 genes that are not annotated in the NCBI database by Gnomon. YeATSAM used a RNA-seq derived chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) transcriptome assembled using Newbler v2.3. Conclusions: Since the current version of YeATSAM does not have an ab initio module, we suggest a combined annotation scheme using both MAKER-P and YeATSAM to comprehensively and accurately annotate the WGS.
Monitoring the compliance of the academic enterprise with the Fair Labor Standards Act
Authors: Bankston Adriana , McDowell Gary S.
Published: November 2016

Background: On December 1 2016, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will be updated by the U.S. Department of Labor. The key changes are an increase in the salary threshold for exemption from overtime for working more than 40 hours per week, and indexing the salary level so that it is updated automatically every 3 years. This update is predicted to have a profound effect on the academic enterprise as a large proportion of the postdoctoral researcher population is currently paid at a salary below the new threshold for exemption. Here we review the key changes to the FLSA, how they came about, and how the postdoctoral population is affected by the ruling.

Methods: We describe recent data collection efforts (checking university websites and contacting HR departments) to uncover what institutions in the 2014 NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering are doing to comply with the FLSA ruling for postdocs.

Results: Our data show that 41% of the estimated postdoctoral workforce in STEM and 57% of institutions checked have not decided or have no public decision yet available one month prior to implementation, and only 35.5% of institutions are planning to raise salaries to the new minimum.

Conclusions: Our data show the uncertainty of postdoc salaries in the U.S. one month prior to implementation of the FLSA ruling. This implementation also gives rise to various issues that have arisen in an already strained research enterprise, including short-, medium- and long-term effects on academe.
RNA-Seq workflow: gene-level exploratory analysis and differential expression
Authors: Love Michael I. , Anders Simon , Kim Vladislav , Huber Wolfgang
Published: November 2016

Here we walk through an end-to-end gene-level RNA-Seq differential expression workflow using Bioconductor packages. We will start from the FASTQ files, show how these were aligned to the reference genome, and prepare a count matrix which tallies the number of RNA-seq reads/fragments within each gene for each sample.We will perform exploratory data analysis (EDA) for quality assessment and to explore the relationship between samples, perform differential gene expression analysis, and visually explore the results.
Impact of IL-27 on hepatocyte antiviral gene expression and function
Authors: Ramamurthy Narayan , Boninsegna Sara , Adams Rebecca , Sahgal Natasha , Lockstone Helen , Baban Dilair , Marchi Emanuele , Klenerman Paul
Published: November 2016

Background:Interleukin (IL)-27 is a member of the IL-6/IL-12 family of cytokines. It is a potent cytokine, with potential antiviral impact, and has been shown to play a role in modulating functions of diverse cell types, including Th1, Th2, and NK and B cells, demonstrating both pro- and anti-inflammatory roles.  In hepatocytes, it is capable of inducing signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)1, STAT3 and interferon-stimulated genes.

Methods:To address its role in viral hepatitis, the antiviral activity of IL-27 against hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) was testedin vitrousing cell-culture-derived infectious HCV (HCVcc) cell culture system and the HepaRG HBV cell culture model. To further investigate the impact of IL-27 on hepatocytes, Huh7.5 cells were treated with IL-27 to analyse the differentially expressed genes by microarray analysis. Furthermore, by quantitative PCR, we analyzed the up-regulation of chemokine(CXCL)-10in response to IL-27.

Results:In both HCV and HBV infection models, we observed only a modest direct antiviral effect. Microarray analysis showed that the up-regulated genes mostly belonged to antigen presentation and DNA replication pathways, and involved strong up-regulation ofCXCL-10, a gene associated with liver inflammation. Overall, gene set enrichment analysis showed a striking correlation of these genes with those up-regulated in response to related cytokines in diverse cell populations.

Conclusion:Our data indicate that IL-27 can have a significant pro-inflammatory impactin vitro, although the direct antiviral effect is modest. It may have a potential impact on hepatocyte function, especially chemokine expression and antigen presentation.
Autobiographical memory and its meaning in selected mental disorders
Authors: Rybak-Korneluk Anna , Wichowicz Hubert , Żuk Krzysztof , Dziurkowski Maciej
Published: November 2016

Artykuł przedstawia ogólną charakterystykę zjawiska pamięci autobiograficznej (PA), aktualną wiedzę na jej temat i opisuje dotychczas stwierdzone zniekształcenia PA w zaburzeniach psychicznych.
PA stanowi część pamięci dotyczącą osobistej przeszłości jednostki. Zawiera wspomnienia o charakterze epizodycznym i semantycznym związane z tożsamością. Wpływa na aktywność oraz konstruowanie celów, jest osadzona w doświadczeniu i emocjach człowieka, pomaga w tworzeniu planów. Prawdopodobnie ewolucyjnym znaczeniem PA jest ułatwienie zachowań ukierunkowanych na krótkoterminowy cel poprzez porównanie z poprzednimi. Ludzie z zaburzeniami PA mają niejednokrotnie trudności w funkcjonowaniu społecznym.
Zaburzenia życia uczuciowego i afektu, obecne w większości zaburzeń psychicznych będą deformowały PA. Potwierdzono to m. in. w zaburzeniach stresowych pourazowych, zaburzeniach depresyjnych, autyzmie, schizofrenii czy zespole zależności alkoholowej. Za jedno z najlepiej przebadanych nieprawidłowości PA należy uznać: nadmiernie generalne wspomnienia (niemożność przywoływania wspomnień w pełni wysyconych szczegółami), typowe dla depresji i przebłyski (mimowolne przywoływanie wspomnień silnie wysyconych treściami wzrokowo-sensorycznymi) charakterystyczne dla zaburzeń stresowych pourazowych.
Badanie zjawiska PA potencjalnie niesie wiele implikacji poznawczych jak i klinicznych. Może ułatwić przewidywanie wystąpienia epizodu depresji u osób nim zagrożonych, może pomóc w wykształceniu technik psychoterapeutycznych, co częściowo ma już miejsce, co częściowo ma już miejsce. Nieliczne badania dotyczą zmian neuroobrazowych w PA, wymagają one kontynuacji.
Is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test better suited than the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) detection among people aged over 60? Meta-analysis
Authors: Ciesielska Natalia , Sokołowski Remigiusz , Mazur Ewelina , Podhorecka Marta , Polak-Szabela Anna , Kędziora-Kornatowska Kornelia
Published: November 2016

Cel

Analiza wiarygodności MoCA vs. MMSE w wykrywaniu łagodnych zaburzeń poznawczych z uwzględnieniem czułości i swoistości wg. punktów odcięcia.

Metoda

Posługując się słowami kluczami: łagodne zaburzenia funkcji poznwczych (mild cognitive impairment), krótka skala oceny stanu umysłu (mini mental state examination), montrealska skala oceny funkcji poznawczych (montreal cognitive assessment), wartość diagnostyczna (diagnostics value) przeszukano EBSCO host Web, Wiley Online Library, Springer Link, Science Direct oraz Medline. Uwzględniono artykuły spełniające kryteria włączenia i wyłączenia. Do oceny MoCA zakwalifikowano 20 badań, natomiast do MMSE 13 badań. Siłę badań oceniono przy zastosowaniu średniej ważonej, gdzie wagą była liczebność populacji w każdym badaniu, dla której uzyskano wynik czułości i swoistości dla danego punktu odcięcia. Punkty odcięcia zostały przedstawione jako krzywa ROC, a dokładność diagnozy dla MoCA i MMSE została obliczona jako powierzchnia pod krzywą AUC.

Wyniki

Analiza krzywej ROC dla MoCA ukazała, że najlepszą wykrywalność MCI można uzyskać przy punkcie odcięcia 24/25 (n= 9350, czułość 80,48% i swoistość 81.19%). AUC wyniosło 0,846 (95% CI 0,823-0,868). Natomiast dla MMSE bardziej istotnym punktem odcięcia okazało się 27/28 (n=882, czułość 66,34% i swoistość 72,94%). AUC wyniosło 0,736 (95% CI 0,718-0,767).

Wnioski

Test MoCA lepiej spełnia kryteria testu przesiewowego w kierunku wykrywania MCI u osób po 60 roku życia niż MMSE.
The efficacy and safety of ECT in population before and after 60 years of age
Authors: Antosik-Wójcińska Anna , Święcicki Łukasz
Published: November 2016

Cel

Celem badania była ocena skuteczności i bezpieczeństwa leczenia elektrowstrząsowego w dwóch grupach wiekowych-przed i po 60 r.ż.

Metoda

Do badania włączono 107 pacjentów, 62 kobiety i 45 mężczyzn hospitalizowanych w IPIN i leczonych EW w latach 2013 i 2014.W grupie poniżej 60 r. ż znalazło się 76 osób, po 60- 32 osoby. Analizowano przebieg 1086 EW,747 zabiegów u pacjentów przed 60 r. ż i 339 zabiegów u chorych po 60 r.ż. Skuteczność EW oceniano z wykorzystaniem skali CGI.

Wyniki

Nie odnotowano poważnych powikłań takich jak zgon, stan zagrożenia życia, konieczność hospitalizacji na innym oddziale czy trwały uszczerbek na zdrowiu.
U 67,11% chorych przed 60 r.ż.nie wystąpiły w trakcie EW żadne działania niepożądane, najczęściej zgłaszanym działaniem niepożądanym były bóle głowy (13,16% pacjentów). U 42% pacjentów po 60 r.ż nie wystąpiły działania niepożądane, najczęściej stwierdzanym działaniem niepożądanym były zaburzenia pamięci (22,58% badanych). Zaburzenia rytmu serca wystąpiły u 5 pacjentów po 60 r.ż . Zaburzenia świadomości zdarzały się po 60 nieco rzadziej niż u pacjentów młodszych (3,25%vs 3,95%).
W starszym wieku odsetek remisji był podobny jak w młodszym(32,89% vs 32,26%)a odsetek znaczącej poprawy nawet wyższy (61,29% po 60 r.ż. vs 48,68 przed 60 r.ż). Brak poprawy zaobserwowano u 7,89% zaś pogorszenie u 2,63% chorych przed 60. W populacji, która przekroczyła 60r.ż. wszyscy pacjenci odnieśli korzyści z leczenia.

Wnioski

Skuteczność leczenia EW w starszym wieku jest podobna jak w młodszych grupach wiekowych. Tolerancja zabiegów jest po 60 r.ż gorsza niż u młodszych pacjentów. Największy problem stanowiły po 60 r.ż. nie zaburzenia funkcji poznawczych, ale powikłania sercowo-naczyniowe.
Personality traits in alcohol-dependent individuals in the context of childhood abuse
Authors: Gerhant Aneta , Olajossy Marcin
Published: November 2016

Cel pracy

Celem naukowym badania było poszukiwanie grup osób uzależnionych od alkoholu różniących się nasileniem przemocy fizycznej, emocjonalnej i seksualnej w dzieciństwie a następnie poszukiwanie zmiennych osobowościowych różnicujących te grupy

Metoda

Badaniem objęto 90 osób uzależnionych od alkoholu. Zastosowano następujące metody kwestionariuszowe: Kwestionariusz Temperamentu i Charakteru (TCI), Inwentarz do Pomiaru Radzenia Sobie ze Stresem (COPE), Kwestionariusz Agresji Buss i Perry (BPAQ), Arkusz Samopoznania Cattella oraz Inwentarz Wczesnej Traumy (ETI).

Wyniki

Wyodrębniono dwie grupy osób uzależnionych od alkoholu: grupę 1 z wysokimi indeksami nadużyć fizycznych, emocjonalnych i seksualnych w dzieciństwie oraz grupę 2 z niskimi. Badani z grupy 1 osiągali istotnie statystycznie wyższe wyniki niż badani z grupy 2 w zakresie następujących skal temperamentu kwestionariusza TCI: NS, HA oraz niższe w skalach charakteru: SD, C2, C4. Badani z grupy 1 istotnie częściej niż badani z grupy 2 posługiwali się unikowym stylem radzenia sobie ze stresem, rzadziej wykorzystywali styl zadaniowy, oraz osiągali istotnie statystycznie wyższe wyniki w zakresie niepokoju ogólnego, jawnego, ukrytego, poziomu agresji, agresji fizycznej, wrogości i gniewu.

Wnioski

Większe nasilenie przemocy fizycznej, emocjonalnej i seksualnej w dzieciństwie u osób uzależnionych od alkoholu wiąże się tymi cechy osobowości, które wydają się być kluczowe dla podtrzymania abstynencji oraz jakości współpracy w terapii.
Psychooncology in Poland
Authors: Zielazny Paweł , Zielińska Paulina , de Walden - Gałuszko Krystyna , Kuziemski Krzysztof , Bętkowska - Korpała Barbara
Published: November 2016

Psychoonkologia to interdyscyplinarna dziedzina medycyny, która zajmuje się psychologicznymi aspektami choroby nowotworowej. Psychoonkologia jest zarówno subdyscypliną onkologii klinicznej, psychiatrii, psychologii klinicznej jak i psychologii zdrowia. Psychoonkologia pojawiła się na świecie w latach 70tych. Za twórcę tej dziedziny uważa się Jimmie Holland, szefową Katedry Psychiatrii i Nauk Behawioralnych Centrum Onkologicznego im. Sloan – Kettering w Nowym Jorku. W Polsce zagadnieniami psychoonkologicznymi od roku 1992 zajmuje się Polskie Towarzystwo Psychologiczne. Mimo dynamicznego rozwoju psychoonkologii oferowana w Polsce pomoc psychologiczna dla osób chorych na nowotwory w ramach ubezpieczenia zdrowotnego jest niewystarczająca. Podstawowymi zadaniami przed jakimi stoi polska psychoonkologia to: zdefiniowanie zawodu psychoonkologa, usamodzielnienie administracyjne zawodu, wyodrębnienie świadczeń psychoonkologicznych w ramach ubezpieczenia zdrowotnego a także określenie standardów opieki psychoonkologicznej w Narodowym Programie Zwalczania Chorób Nowotworowych. W wielu krajach na świecie coraz większą rolę odgrywa telemedycyna w psychiatrii oraz telepsychologia, w tym telepsychonkologia. Również w Polsce podejmowane są działania w tym zakresie. Zapotrzebowanie na specjalistów psychoonkologii w Polsce ciągle wzrasta.
Mental states in early and late old age patients and their expectations of their physicians
Authors: Andruszkiewicz Anna , Basińska Małgorzata
Published: November 2016

Cel pracy

Zrozumienie i spełnienie oczekiwań jest nieodłącznym zadaniem praktyki medycznej, aby ocenić oczekiwania pacjentów zgłaszających się do lekarza , ważny wydaje się być kontekst kliniczny, w którym one powstają. Celem badania była ocena oczekiwań pacjentów wobec lekarza w zależności od ich stanu psychicznego.

Metoda

Badani to pacjenci zgłaszający się do lekarza rodzinnego. Razem przebadano 219 osób, 129 (59%) kobiet i 90 (41%) mężczyzn, w średnim wieku 61 lat (SD=9,80). W badaniu zastosowano do oceny: stanu psychicznego Kwestionariusz GHQ-28 oraz Kwestionariusz 4DSQ (The Four Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire), oczekiwań od lekarza Listę Oczekiwań Pacjenta – PRF (Patient Request Form) Salmona i Quinn w adaptacji polskiej Juczyńskiego.

Wyniki

Najwyższy poziom lęku i bezsenności deklarowały osoby najmłodsze i one istotnie różniły się od osób najstarszych. W pozostałych wymiarach stanu psychicznego badane osoby nie różniły się między sobą. Im badani byli młodsi tym mieli większe oczekiwania wobec lekarza, potrzebowali więcej wyjaśnienia problemów związanych z chorobą oraz oczekiwali więcej wsparcia emocjonalnego. Szczególna rolę w kształtowaniu oczekiwań wobec lekarza pełni nasilenie objawów somatycznych odczuwanych przez pacjenta i czas trwania choroby.

Wnioski

Uzyskane wyniki wskazują na potrzebę systematycznej oceny stanu psychicznego osób zgłaszających się do lekarza. Stan psychiczny i nasilenie objawów somatycznych jest istotnym wyznacznikiem oczekiwań wobec lekarza.
Cross-Selling Investment Products with a Win-Win Perspective in Portfolio Optimization
Authors: Ali Özden Gür , Akçay Yalçın , Sayman Serdar , Yılmaz Emrah , Özçelik M. Hamdi
Published: November 2016

We propose a novel approach to cross-selling investment products that considers both the customers’ and the bank’s interests. Our goal is to improve the risk–return profile of the customer’s portfolio and the bank’s profitability concurrently, essentially creating a win-win situation, while deepening the relationship with an acceptable product. Our cross-selling approach takes the customer’s status quo bias into account by starting from the existing customer portfolio, rather than forming an efficient portfolio from scratch. We estimate a customer’s probability of accepting a product offer with a predictive model using readily available data. Then, we model the investment product cross-selling problem as a nonlinear mixed-integer program that maximizes a customer’s expected return from the proposed portfolio, while ensuring that the bank’s profitability improves by a certain factor. We implemented our methodology at the private banking division of Yapı Kredi, the fourth-largest private bank in Turkey. Empirical results from this application illustrate that (1) a traditional mean-variance portfolio optimization approach does not increase portfolio returns and reduces overall bank profits, (2) a standard cross-selling approach increases bank profits at the expense of the customers’ portfolio returns, and (3) our win-win approach increases the expected portfolio returns of customers without increasing their variances, while simultaneously improving bank profits substantially.
Reducing the psychological impact of postoperative pain
Authors: Caunt Helen
Published: November 2016

This article addresses the nurse's role in reducing the psychological impact of postoperative pain. It deals first with the definition and assessment of pain, the effects of pain and the factors that affect it, and then examines the different measures that may be employed to alleviate it and how effectively these are utilized.
Profile: a passport to practice?
Authors: Castledine George
Published: November 2016

Florence Nightingale once said: ‘Let us never consider ourselves as finished nurses’. What she meant by this, of course, was that all of us need to keep up to date
Role of the nurse advocate
Authors: Ellis Peter
Published: November 2016

When deciding whether to act as patient advocate, the nurse is faced with a dilemma. If she advocates for the patient she may be in conflict with other healthcare professionals; however, if she does not she may conflict with herself, her code of conduct, and the patient.
Therapeutic use of play in hospital
Authors: Doverty Neil
Published: November 2016

Children can suffer much anxiety and stress on entering the hospital environment. Play therapy, in all its forms, can help to alleviate such stress, and facilitate a smoother adjustment to the new and potentially frightening surroundings.
Not for resuscitative treatment
Authors: Dimond Bridgit
Published: November 2016

In the case of resuscitative treatment, nurses are deemed professionally and personally accountable for their actions, but what if the nurse's conscience opposes the doctor's instruction?
How to apply for a job
Authors: Fish Jane
Published: November 2016

In the previous article of this series we considered the need for career planning when making a job change in order to be successful in the current competitive climate. This article aims to assist you with the next stage and will examine job selection, the informal visit and the application form.
Assessment of staff appraisal systems
Authors: de la Cour Jane
Published: November 2016

Staff need regular assessments so that job satisfaction, training and good quality services can be ensured. The health service is currently implementing various types of staff appraisal systems which must be carefully tailored to different settings and needs.
Breast reconstruction following mastectomy
Authors: Priestley Margot
Published: November 2016

Plastic surgery techniques remain a mystery to general nurses. The aim of this article is to give insight into the varying methods of breast reconstruction following mastectomy and the associated nursing management and psychological support.
Respite care: challenging tradition
Authors: Nolan Mike , Grant Gordon
Published: November 2016

Respite care is frequently provided within a hospital setting and such a service is likely to increase due to community care policies. Nurses need to challenge traditional assumptions on which respite care is based in order to provide a more flexible service.
Punishing AIDS with specialization
Authors: Castledine George
Published: November 2016

The need for continuing AIDS education of nurses and all other members of the healthcare team remains paramount. Justus Akinsanya claimed in the last issue of British Journal of Nursing (Vol 1, No 2, p 63) that many nurses are ignorant and prejudiced about AIDS. This prompted me to examine my feelings towards such patients.
Preparing for an interview
Authors: Fish Jane
Published: November 2016

Selection interviews provoke fear in many confident nurses and are among the most stressful situations nurses experience. Thorough preparation can assist you in achieving a positive outcome. This article considers the preparatory stages and recommends how you should conduct yourself to achieve success.
Healthcare in Finland
Authors: Castledine George
Published: November 2016

Finland has nearly the highest suicide rate and mortality from cardiovascular disease in the world. Healthcare needs are varied and create challenges for nursing practice.
Why nurses do not write
Authors: Burnard Philip
Published: November 2016

Why is it that the majority of nurses choose not to write? The reasons given include:

I can't write. This is the most common one. However, almost all nurses have written essays and exam papers.
Promoting continence following head injury
Authors: Williams Rachel
Published: November 2016

Care study

Jim, a 61-year-old sea captain, was knocked down by a car while away from home. He sustained a severe head injury and a skull fracture, extending from the temporal region down to the base. He also suffered multiple injuries: a fractured jaw bone, fractured ribs, bilateral fractures of tibia and fibula and collapsed lungs. He was critically ill for a few months, after which he made a satisfactory recovery and was transferred to a hospital nearer his home under the care of the orthopaedic team. Jim has a supportive partner who was at his bedside the whole time. She is extremely dedicated to him. This care study will cover the 3-week period during which Jim was on my ward following the hospital transfer.
Caring for people with learning difficulties in Czechoslovakia
Authors: Telford Anni , Farrington Andy
Published: November 2016

In June 1992 a massive step forward was made in Czechoslovakia when the first school for people with learning difficulties was opened. This article examines the problems facing this school and the background to its creation.
Journal Scan
Authors: Welyczko Nikki
Published: November 2016

Nikki Welyczko, Teacher Fellow and Principal Lecturer for Adult Nursing at the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University, provides a brief overview of recently published nursing and health articles
Taking consent
Authors: Chapman Warren
Published: November 2016

Warren Chapman, Lead Nurse Endoscopist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, discusses best practice regarding nurse-led consent for endoscopic procedures
Population structure of palms in rainforests frequently impacted by cyclones
Authors: LATIFAH DIAN , CONGDON ROBERT A. , HOLTUM JOSEPH A.
Published: November 2016

Abstract. Latifah D, Congdon RA, Holtum JA. 2017. Population structure of palms in cyclone-dependent rainforests. Biodiversitas 18: 41-50.Tropical cyclones may act as important ecological drivers in northern Australia including north Queensland, as several cyclones impact this region each year between November and May. Extensive research has been conducted to investigate how the population structure of rainforest species respond to cyclonic disturbances. However, there have been few such studies on palms although they are important components of rainforests. Therefore, these study aimed to investigate how the population structure of Arenga australasica (H. Wendl. & Drude) S. T. Blake ex H. E. Moore, Calamus australis Mart., C. moti F. M. Bailey, Hydriastele wendlandiana (F. Muell.) H. Wendl. & Drude and Licuala ramsayi var. ramsayi (F. Muell.) H. Wendl. & Drude responded to a cyclone, as shown by size class reflecting mass recruitment after a periodic major disturbance (case study: Cyclone Larry). The field research was carried out in three study sites: Tam OShanter/Djiru National Park, Clump Mountain National Park and Kurrimine Beach Conservation Park located near Mission Beach and Kurrimine Beach, in north Queensland. Observations were made of life stage distribution, height and dbh distribution and wind resistance. We found that responses of the population structures of these rainforest palms varied following cyclonic disturbance by demonstrating higher densities of seedlings and juveniles, suggesting populations would be retained. More seedlings of C. australis and C. moti were found in gaps with higher canopy openness; oppositely, less seedlings of L. ramsayi were encountered under sites with lower sunlight.

Keywords: disturbance, palms, population structure, northern Australia
Border praxis: Negotiating and performing ‘Hong Kongeseness’ and ‘Taiwaneseness’ in contemporary, political ‘Chinese’ art practices
Authors: Kennedy Beccy
Published: November 2016

This article draws from an AHRC-funded research project on the topic of Chinese borders in contemporary art practices, entitled Culture, Capital and Communication: Visualizing Borders in the 21st Century (CCC:VCB). The research is contextualized in the article in relation to the concept of ‘Chinese-ness’ in Contemporary Art Discourse and Practice, as addressed in the corresponding conference at the University of Lisbon – http://chineseness.fba.ul.pt. The physical and political borders that demarcate the straits of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are signifiers of the identity struggles that they contain. Art practices that address issues of Hong Kong-ese-ness and Taiwanese-ness in relation to the limitations of Chinese borders for defining their sovereign political and socio-historical identities, can, therefore, be considered as border art. Often, such explorations of identity are counter-posed with the presence of China and Chinese-ness as a cultural, economic and political hegemonic force, and ideological barrier. Artists who examine Chinese borders within their work tend to interrogate, represent and, often, contest or counter, the perceived political and cultural restrictions imposed by the Mainland. This article considers socially engaged artistic practices – including art spaces and events – encountered during the research laboratories, summative conference and site visits, which work on micro levels to both interrogate and counter the influence of Mainland China through instigating social undercurrents. I suggest that the combination of politicized theorizing and physically demonstrative or precarious art activities create a form of artistic praxis that works to expose and, in turn, traverse the limitations of border presence or absence across the Chinese straits.
‘Chineseness’: The work of Lo Yuen-yi in memory of the women of nüshu
Authors: Foster Nicola
Published: November 2016

One of the difficulties facing art historians and curators when approaching recently produced artworks is how to interpret such works within the dominant narrative of art history and its traditional axis of historical time and geographical place. Often such works are interpreted as ‘global’ and effectively reduced to a western interpretation of the artworks. While this is a helpful approach for many artists and artworks, it can be less helpful to the interpretation of works that seek to address local issues that the ‘global’ approach might miss. Moreover, the criteria of the ‘global’ might exclude such works from being perceived as ‘contemporary art’. The problem today is acute when dealing with artworks in East Asia, especially China, because so many works have been accepted as ‘global’ only occasionally mentioning that they are ‘Chinese’. Hence the uneasy term ‘Contemporary Chinese art’ and the debate between its interpretation as ‘global’ and/or ‘Chinese’. If the latter perspective is applied, some form of ‘Chineseness’ will explicitly or implicitly be applied. This article takes the ‘local’ perspective in order to interpret a group of works by the Hong Kong/Macau artist Lo Yuen-yi in memory of the rural women who practised nüshu (women’s writing) through chants, embroidery and writing in Hunan province, China. In so doing, Lo can position herself within an alternative narrative of female literate and artistic ancestral narrative from which she is not excluded as a Chinese female artist. The article argues that the work cannot be fully understood from the ‘global’ perspective and thus requires a perspective that would necessarily adopt a strategic concept of ‘Chineseness’.
SPSL/A–Y (revised)
Authors: Lok Susan Pui San
Published: November 2016

97 Proofs – After Words – Altar Notes – Art Vapours – Awards – Chorus / Mobile Chorus – Citius, Altius – DIY Biennale/Ballroom/Live – Faster, Higher – FCHKUK – Five/Six Women – Golden (Ballroom/Hour/Lessons/Notes/Songs/Vistas/Years) – Lean To – Lightness – Making Ways – Mobile Ballroom – Mobile Chorus – Monumental Bargain – NEWS/REEL – RoCH Fan / RoCH Fans & Legends / Trailers / Trilogies – Witness

SPSL / A to Y (revised) offers a partial and a-chronological index of my practice across moving image, installation, performance and text over some twenty years – less a narrative of progression or arrival, than one of sometimes awkward returns. In relation to the notion of (In)Direct Speech, A – Y might also be seen as a series of momentary tactics that speak directly and indirectly to ideas and contradictions of ‘Chineseness’.
Exhibition Reviews
Authors: Kayser Christine Vial , Carrier David
Published: November 2016

THE ARTIST AS ACTIVIST AS ARTIST: AI WEIWEI AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY, LONDON, 19 SEPTEMBER–13 DECEMBER 2015

WANG DONGLING: NEW WORKS, CHAMBERS FINE ART, NEW YORK, 12 SEPTEMBER–24 OCTOBER 2015
The body of the archive: Chineseness at the Venice Biennale (1993–2005)
Authors: Davidson Jane Chin
Published: November 2016

This article examines the function of the Venice Biennale as an ‘archive’ for documenting diasporic Chineseness: establishing a body of work by the Zhongguo ren gongtong ti ‘community of Chinese’ during the period of the 1990s to the mid-2000s when Chinese states were first included in the Biennale roster. The difference between cultural and national identity can be explored through the statist distinctions of the island-nation of Taiwan, the special administrative region of Hong Kong, and the People’s Republic of China represented at the exposition. The artists selected for the case studies of this article, Lee Ming-sheng, Lin Shu-min, Wu Mali, Stanley Wong, Ho Siu Kee, Zhang Huan and Cai Guo-qiang, have adopted the conceptual medium that showcases the body as the subject and/or object of the work of art – the medium contributes to the understanding of the human subject that Chineseness ultimately represents. The Biennale becomes a theoretical frame for contextualizing these representative works, contributing to a historiographic perspective for examining their inaugural moment. Ultimately, the exposition functions as an empirical stage for the analysis of the emergence of Chineseness in the global context for contemporary art.
Analysing works of Cai Guo-Qiang in relation to ancient Chinese concepts
Authors: Li Shiyan
Published: November 2016

In the 1990s, Cai Guo-Qiang uses one of the most famous Chinese inventions, gunpowder, to realize his Projects for Extraterrestrials, which claim to establish a dialogue with extraterrestrials. Behind his projects that seem to question the infinity of the sky lurks a scarred feeling that results from a historical wound that afflicted the Chinese people for two centuries. For Cai Guo-Qiang, a dialogue with the West is impossible because the two worlds are not on an equal level. In his work using gunpowder, we can notice a change from form to no-form. The moment of the explosion not only reminds us about a simple breath – the primordial breath Qi (元氣 yuanqi) – but also evokes Laozi’s famous thought: The Great Image Has No Form (大象無形 daxiang wuxing). It is through this emptiness, this simple Qi, that Cai Guo-Qiang brushes aside the asymmetric relationship between the West and the Far East. He succeeds in directing the impossible dialogue to a cosmic dimension that assures an equality in the emptiness (空 kong, 玄 xuan) of Dao. Since living and working in the United States, Cai Guo-Qiang has continued exploring this approach. Discovering the shape of the mushroom cloud allowed him to sketch the small clouds working in the register of flatness (淡 dan) that binds the polluted Qi (邪氣 xieqi) – mushroom cloud and the upright Qi (正氣 zhengqi) – the Basidiomycota mushroom. Since these disjunctions are at the same time conceived as being opposed and complementary, they become exchangeable. In the works that followed, the artist has similarly engaged with a set of reversals inspired by history, geography and world economy. By consequence, he manages to overcome the impossible dialogue with the West, when implying the use of flexibility and the resting on the strength of opposite to explore its dynamics (以柔克剛 yirou kegang). Thus, Cai Guo-Qiang’s artistic approach that fits into the international contemporary art scene indeed also follows an old trail of ancient Chinese concepts.
Between a rock and a tall pine: The ‘grotesque’ as an expression of irony and identity crisis in Chinese art
Authors: Bartlett Voon Pow
Published: November 2016

I would like to suggest that the genre of the ‘grotesque’ represents a recurrent strategy in the way Chinese artists deal with major changes in the political, social and economic arenas. This article will discuss resonances between the contemporary and the historic, as corresponding epochals of turbulent times, as social commentary, and as a critique of art. The use of the term ‘grotesque’ refers to such strategies employed by artists that have stepped out of the zone of established conventions and acceptability, through exaggeration, distortion and sometimes visceral shock, with irony as a salient quality, by challenging convention and the framework of the time. We will draw on the ‘Eccentrics’ of the Ming dynasty, who dealt with disillusionment using grotesque caricatures of traditionally idealized subjects. The main example is Chen Hongshou (1598–1652), and discussion will be supported by art criticisms of distinguished Chinese art historians James Cahill and Andrew Plak. For the contemporary period, we will discuss grotesque strategies based on modernist tactics by way of creative destruction, to circumvent, ameliorate and negotiate between the past and the present. The grotesque is once again predicated upon exaggerated and expressionistic styles as well as graphic and gratuitous depictions of violence. I will be discussing Qiu Zhijie’s Copying the Orchid Pavilion Preface a Thousand Times (1986–1997) and Cao Fei’s Haze and Fog (2013).
Stout’s doubt
Authors: Green Alison
Published: November 2016

This article looks at the American painter Myron Stout (1908–1987) in relation to arguments made in the early to mid-1960s around abstract art, as well as later historical re-evaluations of Minimalism. Using ‘doubt’ as explored by both Richard Shiff and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, I propose a re-reading of an artist who has been historically and aesthetically displaced. In the end I argue for a productive understanding of temporal resistances.
Intoxicating painting
Authors: Harris Mark
Published: November 2016

This article discusses a selection of abstract paintings in relation to their representation or inducement of states of intoxication. It questions the high esteem conferred on works created by intoxicated artists in comparison with the low regard in which works of Op and Psychedelic Art are held, a result it seems of the latter’s commitment to visual disorientation. Evaluation of the respective intellectual environments of New York and Paris in the 1960s reveals the ideological conditions underlying the dismissal of the paintings of European artists such as Victor Vasarely and Francois Morellet by their New York counterparts, despite the close similarities of some of their work. The judgements made by the New York milieu reveal a disinvestment in the utopian ideals and politicized avant-garde that European artists felt were sustained by the optical geometries of their paintings. It is argued that in North America similar visual vocabularies were commonly indexed to cycles of fashion in an economy driven by accelerated consumption. Evidence of new forms of intoxication in the visual languages of contemporary practices reveals the continuation of political initiatives such as Thomas Hirschhorn’s engagement of working-class communities in the liberatory theory of Georges Bataille or Donald Moffett’s representation of autonomous sites of gay ecstatic experiences. Throughout the article links are made between the imagery of painting and the intensely visual evidence of first-hand accounts of LSD experiences.
David Diao’s postcards from the edge of late modernism
Authors: Corris Michael
Published: November 2016

Since the 1980s, the painter David Diao has sought to occupy the position of a critical insider with respect to some of the modernist painting of the last century. Through the exploitation of strategies ordinarily associated with postmodernism – appropriation, pastiche and blank irony – Diao has managed successfully to develop a body of work whose aesthetic and narrative content differs markedly from that of his peers. Disavowing pronouncements on the irrevocable failure of modernism, Diao opts to place the resources of expression found in works by Kazimir Malevich to Barnett Newman at the disposal of a uniquely autobiographical project of cultural memory and retrieval.
Michel Parmentier: Painting for nothing
Authors: Warnock Molly
Published: November 2016

This article addresses the work and thought of the French painter Michel Parmentier, a figure whose attacks on painterly subjectivity and traditional modes of authorship are seen as among the most radical in post-war art. It draws upon recently discovered letters from Parmentier to his friend and fellow painter Simon Hantaï, whose signature method of pliage, or ‘folding’, Parmentier adapted to his own ends. Special attention is paid to the idea of painting ‘for nothing’, a notion that underpins Parmentier’s practice from his celebrated collaborations with Daniel Buren, Olivier Mosset and Niele Toroni in the crucial year 1967 through his works on paper of the later 1980s and 1990s.
Reviews
Authors: Ferguson Catherine , Creamer Anne-Marie , Feinson Nadine , Chilver John , Levy Matthew L. , Chorpening Kelly , Heywood Ian
Published: November 2016

‘Bernice Donszelmann: Descriptor’, Five Years Gallery, London, 6–14 June 2015

‘Emma Talbot: Step Inside Love’, Domo Baal Gallery, London, 24 April–6 June 2015

‘Painting in Time’, The Tetley, Leeds, 3 April–5 July 2015

‘Bridget Riley: The curve paintings 1961–2014’, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, 13 June–6 September 2015

‘Jacqueline Humphries’, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, 11 June–5 October 2015

‘Yves Berger: For Other Eyes’, Art Space Gallery, London, 8 September–16 October 2015

‘Velázquez’, Grand Palais, Paris, 25 March–13 July 2015