bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of ketorolac 0.45% versus diclofenac 0.1% for macular thickness and volume after uncomplicated cataract surgery
Authors: Lee Tae Hee , Choi Won , Ji Yong Sok , Yoon Kyung Chul
Published: June 2015

Purpose

To compare the effects of ketorolac 0.45% and diclofenac 0.1% on macular thickness and volume after uncomplicated cataract surgery.

Methods

A total of 76 eyes of 76 patients who underwent uncomplicated cataract surgery were included. Patients were treated with either diclofenac 0.1% (38 eyes) or ketorolac 0.45% (38 eyes) after surgery. The macular thickness and volume were obtained with optical coherence tomography (OCT). Central subfield thickness (CST, OCT 1 mm zone), total foveal thickness (TFT, OCT 3 mm zone), total macular thickness (TMT, OCT 6 mm zone), average macular thickness (AMT) and total macular volume (TMV) were compared between the two study groups.

Results

No significant differences between groups were found in macular thickness or volume 1 month after cataract surgery. Two months after surgery, the ketorolac group had significantly lower CST, TFT, TMT and AMT than the diclofenac group (p < 0.05 for all). Additionally, 1 and 2 months after surgery, changes from preoperative values in CST (both p = 0.04), AMT (p = 0.02 and p < 0.01, respectively) and TMV (both p = 0.04) were significantly less in the ketorolac group than in the diclofenac group.

Conclusions

Following uncomplicated cataract surgery, topical ketorolac 0.45% was more effective than diclofenac 0.1% in preventing increases in macular thickness and volume.
Visual outcomes in relation to time to treatment in neovascular age‐related macular degeneration
Authors: Rasmussen Annette , Brandi Sara , Fuchs Josefine , Hansen Louise H , Lund‐Andersen Henrik , Sander Birgit , Larsen Michael
Published: June 2015

Purpose

To study the relation between the interval from diagnosis to initiation of intravitreal injection therapy and visual outcome in neovascular age‐related macular degeneration (nAMD) and to report changes over time in fellow‐eye status.

Methods

Retrospective chart review. The study included 1185 eyes in 1099 patients who began vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor treatment for nAMD during four separate periods in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012 using a fixed loading‐dose regimen of three ranibizumab injections.

Results

Mean best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at presentation remained within the range 0.23–0.24 Snellen and the median patient age within 79–80 years, whereas BCVA at first visit after the third injection increased from 0.24 to 0.31 (p < 0.0001) in concert with a shift in preferred practice from separate‐day injection to same‐day injection. This led to a reduction in the median time to treatment from 16 days to 1 day. The proportion of patients with fellow‐eye BCVA 0.05 or worse at presentation with newly diagnosed wet AMD in the incident eye decreased from 38% to 22% (p < 0.0018). The proportion of bilaterally treated patients increased during the study period.

Conclusion

In this study, 2‐week‐earlier injection was associated with the equivalent of a 5‐Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letter‐gain in mean visual acuity at 3 months after presentation. The difference is larger than expected from the 2‐week‐longer duration of disease at the study end‐point. The study supports that early diagnosis and treatment of nAMD is of value for functional outcomes.
Systematic review with meta‐analysis: the accuracy of diagnosing irritable bowel syndrome with symptoms, biomarkers and/or psychological markers
Authors: Sood R. , Gracie D. J. , Law G. R. , Ford A. C.
Published: June 2015

Background

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a complex, heterogeneous disease which can be challenging to diagnose. No study has identified and assessed the accuracy of all available methods of diagnosing IBS.

Aim

To conduct a systematic review of the literature to identify and assess accuracy of symptom‐based diagnostic criteria, biomarkers, psychological markers or combinations thereof.

Methods

MEDLINE, EMBASE and EMBASE Classic were searched (until April 2015) to identify studies reporting accuracy of available methods to diagnose IBS in adult populations. Eligible studies assessed accuracy of these diagnostic tests against an accepted reference standard. Data were extracted to calculate positive and negative likelihood ratios, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), of the diagnostic test utilised. Where more than one study used the same test, data were pooled in a meta‐analysis.

Results

Twenty‐two studies (7106 patients) were eligible. Positive and negative likelihood ratios of the current gold standard, the Rome III criteria, were 3.35 (95% CI: 2.97–3.79) and 0.39 (95% CI: 0.34–0.46), similar to other symptom‐based criteria. Eleven biomarkers performed no better than symptom‐based criteria. Psychological markers performed well in one study. Five different combinations were assessed. The best in terms of positive likelihood ratio was faecal calprotectin, intestinal permeability and Rome I criteria (26.4; 95% CI: 11.4–61.9), and in terms of negative likelihood ratio serum‐based biomarkers and psychological markers (0.18; 95% CI: 0.12–0.25).

Conclusions

Symptom‐based diagnostic criteria, biomarkers and psychological markers performed modestly in predicting IBS. Combining symptoms with markers appears more effective, and may represent the way forward in the diagnosis of IBS.
JAK inhibition induces silencing of T Helper cytokine secretion and a profound reduction in T regulatory cells
Authors: Keohane Clodagh , Kordasti Shahram , Seidl Thomas , Perez Abellan Pilar , Thomas Nicholas S. B. , Harrison Claire N. , McLornan Donal P. , Mufti Ghulam J.
Published: June 2015

CD4+ T cells maintain cancer surveillance and immune tolerance. Chronic inflammation has been proposed as a driver of clonal evolution in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), suggesting that T cells play an important role in their pathogenesis. Treatment with JAK inhibitors (JAKi) results in improvements in MPN‐associated constitutional symptoms as well as reductions in splenomegaly. However, effects of JAKi on T cells in MPN are not well established and the baseline immune signature remains unclear. We investigated the frequency and function of CD4+ T cell subsets in 50 MPN patients at baseline as well as during treatment with either ruxolitinib or fedratinib in a subset. We show that CD4+ CD127low CD25high FOXP3+ T regulatory cells are reduced in MPN patients compared to healthy controls and that this decrease is even more pronounced following JAKi therapy. Moreover, we show that after 6 months of treatment the number of T helper (Th)‐17 cells increased. We also describe a functional ‘silencing’ of T helper cells both in vivo and in vitro and a blockade of pro‐inflammatory cytokines from these cells. This profound effect of JAKi on T cell function may underlay augmented rates of atypical infections that have been reported with use of these drugs.
Genetic predisposition to albuminuria is associated with increased arterial stiffness: role of elastin
Authors: Gil‐Ortega M , García‐Prieto C F , Ruiz‐Hurtado G , Steireif C , González M C , Schulz A , Kreutz R , Fernández‐Alfonso M S , Arribas S , Somoza B
Published: June 2015

Background and Purpose

The Munich Wistar Frömter (MWF) rat strain represents an experimental model to study cardiovascular alterations under conditions of progressive albuminuria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between genetic predisposition to albuminuria and the development of arterial stiffness and/or vascular remodelling.

Experimental Approach

Experiments were performed in mesenteric arteries from 12‐week‐old MWF, Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and consomic MWF‐6SHR and MWF‐8SHR rats in which chromosomes 6 or 8 associated with albuminuria from MWF were replaced by the respective chromosome from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

Key Results

Incremental distensibility, wall stress and strain were reduced, and arterial stiffness was significantly increased in albuminuric MWF compared with WKY. Albuminuria suppression in both consomic strains was associated with lower β‐values in MWF‐8SHR and MWF‐6SHR compared with MWF. Moreover, elastin content was significantly lower in MWF external elastic lamina compared with WKY and both consomic strains. In addition, a reduction in arterial external and internal diameter and cross‐sectional area was detected in MWF compared with WKY, thus exhibiting an inward hypotrophic remodelling. However, these alterations remained unchanged in both consomic strains.

Conclusion and Implications

These data demonstrate that albuminuria in MWF is associated with increased arterial stiffness due to a reduction of elastin content in the external elastic lamina. Moreover, inward hypotrophic remodelling in MWF is not directly associated with albuminuria. In contrast, we demonstrated that two major genetic loci affect both the development of albuminuria and arterial stiffness, thus linking albuminuria and impairment of mechanical properties of resistance arteries.
Monoglyceride lipase deficiency causes desensitization of intestinal cannabinoid receptor type 1 and increased colonic μ‐opioid receptor sensitivity
Authors: Taschler U , Eichmann T O , Radner F P W , Grabner G F , Wolinski H , Storr M , Lass A , Schicho R , Zimmermann R
Published: June 2015

Background and Purpose

Monoglyceride lipase (MGL) degrades 2‐arachidonoyl glycerol (2‐AG), an endogenous agonist of cannabinoid receptors (CB1/2). Because the CB1 receptor is involved in the control of gut function, we investigated the effects of pharmacological inhibition and genetic deletion of MGL on intestinal motility. Furthermore, we determined whether defective 2‐AG degradation affects μ‐opioid receptor (μ receptor) signalling, a parallel pathway regulating gut motility.

Experimental Approach

Gut motility was investigated by monitoring Evans Blue transit and colonic bead propulsion in response to MGL inhibition and CB1 receptor or μ receptor stimulation. Ileal contractility was investigated by electrical field stimulation. CB1 receptor expression in ileum and colon was assessed by immunohistochemical analyses.

Key Results

Pharmacological inhibition of MGL slowed down whole gut transit in a CB1 receptor‐dependent manner. Conversely, genetic deletion of MGL did not affect gut transit despite increased 2‐AG levels. Notably, MGL deficiency caused complete insensitivity to CB1 receptor agonist‐mediated inhibition of whole gut transit and ileal contractility suggesting local desensitization of CB1 receptors. Accordingly, immunohistochemical analyses of myenteric ganglia of MGL‐deficient mice revealed that CB1 receptors were trapped in endocytic vesicles. Finally, MGL‐deficient mice displayed accelerated colonic propulsion and were hypersensitive to μ receptor agonist‐mediated inhibition of colonic motility. This phenotype was reproduced by chronic pharmacological inhibition of MGL.

Conclusion and Implications

Constantly elevated 2‐AG levels induce severe desensitization of intestinal CB1 receptors and increased sensitivity to μ receptor‐mediated inhibition of colonic motility. These changes should be considered when cannabinoid‐based drugs are used in the therapy of gastrointestinal diseases.
Minister's Caucus Advisory Committees under the Harper government
Authors: Wilson R. Paul
Published: June 2015

In 2010 Prime Minister Stephen Harper quietly created a system of Minister's Caucus Advisory Committees (MCACs), requiring ministers to consult with their backbench colleagues before taking policy proposals to cabinet. Based on interviews with Conservative MPs, ministers, political staffers and public servants, the paper argues that MCACs increase MPs' influence over government policy and enhance cohesion within the government's parliamentary caucus. By constraining ministers' policy freedom and providing the prime minister with regular political intelligence concerning policy proposals, MCACs reinforce his pre‐eminence within cabinet and represent a significant innovation in the relationship between the executive and government caucus.
Integrating Pharmacophore into Membrane Molecular Dynamics Simulations to Improve Homology Modeling of G Protein‐coupled Receptors with Ligand Selectivity: A2A Adenosine Receptor as an Example
Authors: Zeng Lingxiao , Guan Mengxin , Jin Hongwei , Liu Zhenming , Zhang Liangren
Published: June 2015

Homology modeling has been applied to fill in the gap in experimental G protein‐coupled receptors structure determination. However, achievement of G protein‐coupled receptors homology models with ligand selectivity remains challenging due to structural diversity of G protein‐coupled receptors. In this work, we propose a novel strategy by integrating pharmacophore and membrane molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to improve homology modeling of G protein‐coupled receptors with ligand selectivity. To validate this integrated strategy, the A2A adenosine receptor (A2AAR), whose structures in both active and inactive states have been established, has been chosen as an example. We performed blind predictions of the active‐state A2AAR structure based on the inactive‐state structure and compared the performance of different refinement strategies. The blind prediction model combined with the integrated strategy identified ligand–receptor interactions and conformational changes of key structural elements related to the activation of A2AAR, including (i) the movements of intracellular ends of TM3 and TM5/TM6; (ii) the opening of ionic lock; (iii) the movements of binding site residues. The integrated strategy of pharmacophore with molecular dynamics simulations can aid in the optimization in the identification of side chain conformations in receptor models. This strategy can be further investigated in homology modeling and expand its applicability to other G protein‐coupled receptor modeling, which should aid in the discovery of more effective and selective G protein‐coupled receptor ligands.
Outdoor physical activity and its relation with self‐reported health in Japanese children: results from the Toyama birth cohort study
Authors: Liu J. , Sekine M. , Tatsuse T. , Fujimura Y. , Hamanishi S. , Lu F. , Zheng X.
Published: June 2015

Background

Few studies have examined trends in engagement in outdoor physical activity as children grow and whether changes in physical activity at different ages affect children's health. This study determined the preference for and frequency of physical activity among Japanese children from ages 6 to 12 years and investigated the effect of physical activity and of change in physical activity on children's self‐reported health.

Methods

Data were from the prospective, longitudinal Toyama Birth Cohort Study, a total of 5238 children were followed at their age of 12 years. Preference for and frequency of outdoor physical activity were from the self‐administered questionnaire. Self‐reported health was from the Japanese version of Dartmouth Primary Care Co‐operative project charts.

Results

Reporting liking and participating in outdoor physical activity at both ages 6 and 12 years were associated with higher likelihood of good self‐reported health (Odds ratio 1.24 [95% CI: 1.03–1.50] for liking activity and OR = 1.27[1.08, 1.50] for participating in activity) compared with those who did not like or participate in this at only one or at neither age, after adjustment for lifestyle factors and body pain. The adjusted OR was 1.23 (95% CI: 0.97–1.56) for girls whose preference for liking outdoor physical activity was not changed at both ages compared with those whose preference changed. The OR was 1.47 (95% CI: 1.14–1.89) for boys who persisted in participating in the outdoor physical activity than those who did not persist.

Conclusions

There is an association between a persistent expression of liking outdoor physical activity and self‐ reported health.
IL-1R1 is expressed on both Helios+ and Helios−FoxP3+CD4+ T cells in the rheumatic joint
Authors: Müller M , Herrath J , Malmström V
Published: June 2015

Synovial fluid from rheumatic joints displays a well-documented enrichment of forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3)+ regulatory T cells (tissue Tregs). However, we have previously demonstrated that the mere frequency of FoxP3 expressing cells cannot predict suppressive function. Instead, extrinsic factors and the functional heterogeneity of FoxP3+ Tregs complicate the picture. Here, we investigated FoxP3+ Tregs from blood and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatic disease in relation to Helios expression by assessing phenotypes, proliferative potential and cytokine production by flow cytometry. Our aim was to investigate the discriminatory potential of Helios when studying FoxP3+ Tregs in an inflammatory setting. We demonstrate that the majority of the synovial FoxP3+CD4+ T cells in patients with inflammatory arthritis expressed Helios. Helios+FoxP3+ Tregs displayed a classical Treg phenotype with regard to CD25 and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen (CTLA)-4 expression and a demethylated Treg-specific demethylated region (TSDR). Furthermore, Helios+FoxP3+ T cells were poor producers of the effector cytokines interferon (IFN)-γ and tumour necrosis factor (TNF), as well as of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10. The less abundant Helios–FoxP3+ T cell subset was also enriched significantly in the joint, displayed a overlapping phenotype to the double-positive Treg cells with regard to CTLA-4 expression, but differed by their ability to secrete IL-10, IFN-γ and TNF upon T cell receptor (TCR) cross-linking. We also demonstrate a striking enrichment of IL-1R1 expression in synovial CD4+ T cells that was restricted to the CD25-expressing FoxP3 population, but independent of Helios. IL-1R1 expression appears to define a tissue Treg cell phenotype together with the expression of CD25, glucocorticoid-induced TNF receptor family-related gene (GITR) and CTLA-4.
Oscillatory mTOR inhibition and Treg increase in kidney transplantation
Authors: Sabbatini M , Ruggiero G , Palatucci A T , Rubino V , Federico S , Giovazzino A , Apicella L , Santopaolo M , Matarese G , Galgani M , Terrazzano G
Published: June 2015

Intracellular metabolic pathways dependent upon the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) play a key role in immune-tolerance control. In this study, we focused on long-term mTOR-dependent immune-modulating effects in kidney transplant recipients undergoing conversion from calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) to mTOR inhibitors (everolimus) in a 1-year follow-up. The conversion to everolimus is associated with a decrease of neutrophils and of CD8+ T cells. In addition, we observed a reduced production of interferon (IFN)-γ by CD8+ T cells and of interleukin (IL)-17 by CD4+ T lymphocytes. An increase in CD4+CD25+ forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3)+ [regulatory T cell [(Treg)] numbers was also seen. Treg increase correlated with a higher proliferation rate of this regulatory subpopulation when compared with the CD4+FoxP3− effector counterpart. Basal phosphorylation level of S6 kinase, a major mTOR-dependent molecular target, was substantially maintained in patients treated with everolimus. Moreover, oscillations in serum concentration of everolimus were associated with changes in basal and activation-dependent S6 kinase phosphorylation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Indeed, T cell receptor (TCR) triggering was observed to induce significantly higher S6 kinase phosphorylation in the presence of lower everolimus serum concentrations. These results unveil the complex mTOR-dependent immune-metabolic network leading to long-term immune-modulation and might have relevance for novel therapeutic settings in kidney transplants.
Enhanced bone regeneration by silicon‐substituted hydroxyapatite derived from cuttlefish bone
Authors: Kim Beom‐Su , Yang Sun‐Sik , Yoon Jung‐Hoon , Lee Jun
Published: June 2015

Objective

There is growing interest in the use of cuttlefish bone (CB) as a bone graft material. Silicon (Si) plays an important role in bone formation and calcification. This study aimed to prepare Si‐substituted CB‐derived hydroxyapatite (Si‐CB‐HAp) using a natural CB to improve the bioactivity for bone formation.

Materials and methods

We prepared Si‐HAp from CB (Si‐CB‐HAp) using a hydrothermal and solvothermal method. The microstructure and chemical composition were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometer (EDS). The bioactivity of the Si‐CB‐HAp was evaluated using human mesenchymal stem cells. Furthermore, the in vivo bone regeneration efficiency was evaluated using a rabbit calvarial defect model.

Results

Our results show that the Si content was 0.77 wt% in Si‐CB‐HAp, and its original microstructure was conserved. The presence of Si was shown to enhance cell proliferation and early cellular attachment of human mesenchymal stem cells. Additionally, results of alkaline phosphatase activity and real‐time PCR for osteoblast marker genes show that Si substitution into CB‐HAp enhanced osteoblast differentiation. In addition, in vivo bone defect healing experiments show that the formation of bone with Si‐CB‐HAp is higher than that with CB‐HAp.

Conclusion

These results indicate that Si‐CB‐HAp may potentially be used as a bone graft material to enhance bone healing.
Multiple endobronchial hamartoma
Authors: Mertoğlu Aydan , Tellioğlu Emel , Yücel Nur
Published: June 2015

Background and Aims: Pulmonary hamartomas appear as parenchymal or endobronchial lesions, the latter representing ‘1.4 to 11%’ of the total number of pulmonary hamartomas. Endobronchial hamartomas usually emerge as a single mass. As they are accepted as benign tumors, endobronchial treatments are recommended today. 45 year‐old male patient admitted with cough, phlegm and fever. A lesion totally obstructing the right main bronchus was found in CT. Methods: In his brochoscopy, a mobile, smooth‐surfaced lesion obstructing right main bronchus was seen. Its histopathology was reported as ‘hamartoma.’ Results: The lesion was removed by using argon plasma coagulation and electrocotery. After the removal of the lesion in right main bronchus, another lesion with similar characteristics was seen in the intermedius bronchus and this lesion which histopathology was reported as ‘hamartoma’ was excised by using electrocauter snare. There was no recurrence in the 24 month follow‐up. Conclusion: Reports of multiple endobronchial hamartomas are rare in the literature, and the awareness of this form of benign disease is important in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary diseases.
Right ventricular failure after implantation of continuous flow left ventricular assist device: analysis of predictors and outcomes
Authors: Lo Casey , Murphy Deirdre , Summerhayes Robyn , Quayle Margaret , Burrell Aiden , Bailey Michael , Marasco Silvana F.
Published: June 2015

Postoperative right ventricular failure is a serious complication for up to 50% of patients following LVAD insertion. Predicting RV failure is an important factor for patients as planned BiVAD support has been shown to correlate with better outcomes compared to delayed BiVAD to LVAD conversion. This retrospective study examined prospectively collected data for 101 patients implanted with an LVAD between 2003 and 2013, aiming to establish preoperative predictive factors for RVF post‐LVAD insertion, analyze outcomes, and validate existing RVF scoring systems. In our cohort, 63 patients (62.4%) developed RV failure and consequently demonstrated consistently poorer survival throughout the follow‐up period (log‐rank p = 0.01). Multivariable logistic regression identified two significant variables: cardiac index <2.2 preoperatively despite inotropic support (OR 4.6 [95%CI 1.8–11.8]; p = 0.001) and preoperative tricuspid regurgitation (OR 8.1 [95%CI 1.9–34]; p = 0.004). Patients who developed RV failure had more complicated postoperative courses including longer ICU stay (p < 0.001), higher incidence of transfusions (p = 0.03) and re‐intubation (p = 0.001), longer ventilation duration (p < 0.001), and higher incidence of returning to theater (p = 0.0008). This study found that previous validation models had only moderate correlation with our population emphasizing the need for prospective validation of these scores in the current era of continuous flow devices.
The Community Research Scholars Initiative: A Mid‐Project Assessment
Authors: Theurer Jacqueline , Pike Earl , Sehgal Ashwini R. , Fischer Robert L. , Collins Cyleste
Published: June 2015

Community organizations addressing health and human service needs generally have minimal capacity for research and evaluation. As a result, they are often inadequately equipped to independently carry out activities that can be critical for their own success, such as conducting needs assessments, identifying best practices, and evaluating outcomes. Moreover, they are unable to develop equitable partnerships with academic researchers to conduct community‐based research. This paper reports on the progress of the Community Research Scholar Initiative (CRSI), a program that aims to enhance community research and evaluation capacity through training of selected employees from Greater Cleveland community organizations. The intensive 2‐year CRSI program includes didactic instruction, fieldwork, multiple levels of community and academic engagement, leadership training, and a mentored research project. The first cohort of CRSI Scholars, their community organizations, and other community stakeholders have incorporated program lessons into their practices and operations. The CRSI program evaluation indicates: the importance of careful Scholar selection; the need to engage executive leadership from Scholar organizations; the value of a curriculum integrating classwork, fieldwork, and community engagement; and the need for continual scholar skill and knowledge assessment. These findings and lessons learned guide other efforts to enhance community organization research and evaluation capacity.
Early detection of comorbidity in psoriasis: recommendations of the National Conference on Healthcare in Psoriasis
Authors: Radtke Marc Alexander , Mrowietz Ulrich , Feuerhahn Julia , Härter Martin , von Kiedrowski Ralph , Nast Alexander , Reich Kristian , Strömer Klaus , Wohlrab Johannes , Augustin Matthias
Published: June 2015

Background

Psoriasis is associated with an increased rate of comorbidities, whose early detection has been adopted into the national healthcare goals. To date, agreed recommendations on early detection in the context of routine dermatological care are missing. The objective of this study was the interdisciplinary development of screening algorithms.

Methods

The development of the consensus paper was based on a three‐step process. First, the National Conference on Healthcare in Psoriasis, convening on behalf of the German Society of Dermatology (DDG) and the Professional Association of German Dermatologists (BVDD), developed a definition of the requirements, areas of application, conception, and methodology of a screening tool. Secondly, based on a literature search, individual working groups compiled evidence for the use of screening parameters. In a third step, an interdisciplinary working group adopted the algorithms in a Delphi consensus process.

Results

The associated working groups evaluated more than 2,000 publications on 15 different comorbidities. A screening algorithm was agreed on for the following twelve indications: arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, depression, nicotine abuse, alcohol abuse, chronic inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis arthritis, and malignant lymphoma. In this context, the requirements of everyday dermatological care were addressed in particular.

Conclusions

With respect to screening for comorbidities in psoriasis, standardized and consented algorithms are available, which – on national level – may be implemented as a screening tool within the framework of PsoNet – German Psoriasis Networks.
Sources of Public Revenue that Make Nations Richer
Authors: Nicolaus Tideman T. , Plassmann Florenz
Published: June 2015

Among sources of public revenue that make nations richer, the most beneficial are charges for harms, such as pollution and congestion, and charges for the private benefits from public services. Increases in the money supply sufficient to keep price changes in line with expectations are also beneficial. Taxes on concentrations of wealth are beneficial if wealth inequality is considered harmful. Properly administered taxes on land do no harm and are beneficial when markets are imperfect. Among taxes that cause harm, the combination of a tax on labour income and a tax on inheritances is probably the least damaging.
THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION, TAX EVASION, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Authors: Ivanyna Maksym , Moumouras Alexandros , Rangazas Peter
Published: June 2015

This study uses a dynamic general equilibrium model to quantify the effects of corruption and tax evasion on fiscal policy and economic growth. The model is calibrated to match estimates of tax evasion in developing countries. The calibrated model is able to generate reasonable predictions for net tax rates, the corruption associated with public investment projects, and the negative correlation between corruption and tax revenue. The presence of corruption and evasion is shown to have significant, but not large, negative effects on economic growth. The relatively moderate effects help explain the absence of a robust negative correlation between growth and corruption in cross‐country data. The model also implies that cracking down on tax evasion before addressing corruption can be a bad idea and that higher wages for public officials can improve welfare. (JELH3, O4)
CANDY ELASTICITY: HALLOWEEN EXPERIMENTS ON PUBLIC POLITICAL STATEMENTS
Authors: Jamison Julian , Karlan Dean
Published: June 2015

We conducted experiments during trick‐or‐treating on Halloween in a predominantly liberal neighborhood in the weeks preceding the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. We decorated one side of a house porch with McCain material in 2008 (Romney material in 2012) and the other side with Obama material. Children were asked to choose a side, with half receiving the same candy on either side and half receiving more candy to go to the McCain/Romney side. This yields a “candy elasticity” of children's political support. Results vary by age: children ages nine and older were two to three times more likely to choose the Republican candidate when offered double candy for voting Republican compared to when offered equal candy, whereas children ages eight and under were particularly sticky and did not waver in their choice of candidate despite the offer of double candy. (JEL C93, D72, D12)
Market forces shaping human capital in eighteenth‐century London
Authors: Justman Moshe , van der Beek Karine
Published: June 2015

This article draws on quantitative and descriptive data from Robert Campbell's manual for prospective apprentices, The London tradesman (1747), to demonstrate the responsiveness of apprenticeship premiums in mid‐eighteenth‐century London to market forces of supply and demand. It first shows that Campbell's data on mid‐eighteenth‐century journeymen wages, apprenticeship premiums, and masters’ set‐up costs in London are consistent with other sources. It then applies instrumental variable regressions to estimate the elasticity of apprenticeship premiums with respect to journeymen wages and set‐up costs, using Campbell's education and ability requirements by trade to instrument for wages. We find an elasticity of one with respect to wages, and of 0.25 with respect to set‐up costs, both statistically significant at a p‐value less than 0.1%. We interpret these findings as supporting the thesis that apprenticeship played an important role in adapting the English workforce to the skill requirements of the industrial revolution in its early stages, insofar as the institution of apprenticeship in London was representative of other parts of England. Furthermore, by demonstrating the internal and external consistency of Campbell's observations, our findings should encourage their use as an unparalleled source of detailed, trade‐specific wage data from the early years of the industrial revolution.
Urban inoculation and the decline of smallpox mortality in eighteenth‐century cities—a reply toRazzell
Authors: Davenport Romola J. , Boulton Jeremy , Schwarz Leonard
Published: June 2015

Smallpox was probably the single most lethal disease in eighteenth‐centuryBritain but was reduced to a minor cause of death by the mid‐nineteenth century due to vaccination programmes post‐1798. While the success of vaccination is unquestionable, it remains disputed to what extent the prophylactic precursor of vaccination, inoculation, reduced smallpox mortality in the eighteenth century. Smallpox was most lethal in urban populations, but most researchers have judged inoculation to have been unpopular in large towns. Recently, however,Razzell argued that inoculation significantly reduced smallpox mortality of adults and older children inLondon in the last third of the eighteenth century. This article uses demographic evidence fromLondon andManchester to confirm previous findings of a sudden fall in adult smallpox mortality and a rise in the importance of smallpox in early childhoodc. 1770. The nature of these changes is consistent with an increase in smallpox transmission in London andManchester after 1770 and indicates that smallpox inoculation was insufficient to reduce smallpox mortality in large towns. It remains unclear whether inoculation could have operated to enhance smallpox transmission or whether changes in the properties of the smallpox virus drove the intensification of smallpox mortality among young children post‐1770.
International competition in the first wave of globalization: new evidence on the margins of trade
Authors: Betrán Concepción , Huberman Michael
Published: June 2015

We pose a seemingly ageless question in economic history. To what extent did new entrants in the late nineteenth‐century cotton‐textile industry threaten the customary markets of the European core? Exploiting a newly constructed dataset on textile imports to Spain, we find that as trade costs fell, new rivals began to sell a greater variety of products. Along this dimension, competition can be said to have increased. In response, producers in Europe adjusted the type and number of goods exported. By 1914, specialization mapped onto endowments of skilled labour, capital, and access to raw materials. While firms in new industrializing countries exported low‐end varieties, incumbents in the core shipped high‐end goods, unit values increasing with levels of development.
Student performance and appreciation using 3D vs. 2D vision in a virtual learning environment
Authors: de Boer I. R. , Wesselink P. R. , Vervoorn J. M.
Published: June 2015

Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the performance and appreciation of students working in a virtual learning environment with two (2D)‐ or three (3D)‐dimensional vision.

Material and methods

One hundred and twenty‐four randomly divided first‐year dental students performed a manual dexterity exercise on the Simodont dental trainer with an automatic assessment. Group 1 practised in 2D vision and Group 2 in 3D. All of the students practised five times for 45 min and then took a test using the vision they had practised in. After test 1, all of the students switched the type of vision to control for the learning curve: Group 1 practised in 3D and took a test in 3D, whilst Group 2 practised in 2D and took the test in 2D. To pass, three of five exercises had to be successfully completed within a time limit. The students filled out a questionnaire after completing test 2.

Results

The results show that students working with 3D vision achieved significantly better results than students who worked in 2D. Ninety‐five per cent of the students filled out the questionnaire, and over 90 per cent preferred 3D vision.

Conclusion

The use of 3D vision in a virtual learning environment has a significant positive effect on the performance of the students as well as on their appreciation of the environment.
Neuropsychological profiles of patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and their siblings: An extended study
Authors: Iqbal Nasur , Caswell Helen , Muir Robin , Cadden Amy , Ferguson Stuart , Mackenzie Holly , Watson Philip , Duncan Susan
Published: June 2015

Objective

To examine executive function, intelligence, visuospatial skills, language, memory, attention, reaction time, anxiety, depression, and emotional and behavioral traits most frequently associated with executive dysfunction in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) compared with a sibling and a normal control group under video–electroencephalography (video‐EEG) conditions.

Methods

Twenty‐two sibling pairs, one with JME, were compared with 44 controls matched for age, gender, and educational level. All participants were administered a comprehensive set of neuropsychological and questionnaire measures during and without video‐EEG recording.

Results

The JME group differed significantly from controls in measures of phonemic and semantic verbal fluency. They scored significantly higher on the dysexecutive self‐rating questionnaire, being more likely to report traits associated with executive dysfunction than both siblings and controls. Patients with JME reported significantly low mood than both controls and their siblings. Unaffected siblings differed significantly from controls on psychomotor speed, phonemic verbal fluency and were considered to exhibit traits associated with executive dysfunction by others. Qualitative inspection of data suggested a convincing trend for patients with JME and their siblings to perform worse than controls on most measures.

Significance

This study supports the existence of a distinct neuropsychological profile among patients with JME and their siblings, which is likely to be genetically determined. The similarity of neuropsychological profiles between JME patients and their siblings is independent of antiepileptic drug effects or subclinical EEG activity. The significant differences between the sibling and controls suggests that there is a neurocognitive endophenotype for JME.
Population ecology of the endangered aquatic carnivorous macrophyte Aldrovanda vesiculosa at a naturalised site in North America
Authors: Cross Adam T. , Skates Laura M. , Adamec Lubomίr , Hammond C. Michael , Sheridan Philip M. , Dixon Kingsley W.
Published: June 2015

Aldrovanda vesiculosa is an aquatic carnivorous plant native to nutrient impoverished wetland systems in Australia, Africa, Asia, and continental Europe that has declined dramatically throughout its native range in the last century. A strong reliance upon carnivory generally limits its occurrence to specific, nutrient‐poor, island‐like microhabitats. Remaining native populations are generally small and fragmented, and empirical population ecology data for the species arelacking. Developing an understanding of the constraints to growth, establishment and reproduction in A. vesiculosa is crucial to conservation of the species.

In contrast with the decline of the species throughout its native range, a number of large A. vesiculosa populations have become naturalised in North America. This study examines the population ecology of A. vesiculosa at one of these naturalised sites and assesses the species' potential invasiveness in terms of its ecological characteristics. Transect and quadrat surveys were used to determine the response of morphology, fecundity and spatial distribution to putative biotic and environmental variables, with glasshouse trials and a bird feeding experiment employed to test the persistence of seeds in the seed bank and after transport in bird guts.

Although A. vesiculosa is capable of becoming locally abundant (up to 1260 individuals m−2) in wetland areas where biotic and abiotic conditions are optimal, it appears to compete poorly with floating and emergent macrophytes and is limited predominantly to specific microhabitats. The ecological characteristics of A. vesiculosa suggest that it poses a low invasion risk. The species' growth and reproductive potential are highest in shallow areas harbouring loose vegetation assemblages, with over two thirds of all individuals recorded from water 10–50 cm in depth and in areas with <50% native macrophyte cover. Seeds are unlikely to play a significant role in seasonal persistence or dispersal, with poor floral success (c. 10%), few seeds produced, low seed viability (<50%) throughout the study area and no seeds recovered from the sediment seed bank or recovered from bird faeces following gut transport.

The stenotopic ecology of A. vesiculosa, and the continuing decline of dystrophic freshwater wetlands globally, indicate that remaining natural populations are highly sensitive and are likely to decline rapidly without adequate management. In addition to wetland management at the catchment scale to mitigate processes such as eutrophication, future conservation and reintroduction initiatives for A. vesiculosa must focus particularly on the identification, maintenance and restoration of optimal shallow humic microsites harbouring loose, open assemblages of emergent and floating macrophytes.
TEXT AND SUBTEXT: JOHANNES GARCAEUS'S STERBBÜCHLEIN AND MELCHIOR SPECKER'S VOM LEIBLICHEN TODT – A STUDY IN EARLY MODERN LITERARY BORROWING1
Authors: Ittzés Gábor
Published: June 2015

In this paper I focus on two later sixteenth‐century texts on the soul's post mortem state by German Lutheran professors of theology. The author of the earlier work (Vom Leiblichen Todt, 1560) is a little‐known Strasbourg divine, Melchior Specker (fl. 1554–69), while the later piece (Sterbbüchlein, 1573) was written by a student of Melanchthon, Johannes Garcaeus, Jr. (1530–74), primarily noted for his astronomical and astrological work. I argue for the existence of a no longer extant 1568 editio princeps of the Sterbbüchlein. The central claim of my paper is that Garcaeus was familiar with Specker's book and drew extensively on the Strasbourger's work, although he never even hinted at his indebtedness. The analysis proceeds through a careful examination of thematic, structural and textual parallels. A close reading of selected passages is augmented with statistical evaluation of semantic and grammatical correspondences. Once the texts’ interrelatedness is established, several observations can be drawn in conclusion from this case study about the practice of early modern literary borrowing.

In dieser Studie werden zwei Texte aus dem späten sechzehnten Jahrhundert über den post mortem Zustand der Seele bei zwei deutschen evangelischen Theologieprofessoren untersucht. Der Autor des früheren Werkes (Vom Leiblichen Todt, 1560) ist ein wenig bekannter Straßburger Theologe, Melchior Specker (tätig 1554–1569), während das spätere Werk (Sterbbüchlein, 1573) von einem Studenten von Melanchton, Johannes Garcaeus geschrieben wurde, der eher durch sein astronomisches und astrologisches Werk bekannt ist. Ich argumentiere dafür, dass das Sterbbüchlein eine nicht mehr vorhandene Erstausgabe im Jahre 1568 hatte. Meine Hauptthese ist, dass Garcaeus das Buch von Specker kannte, und sich stark auf die Arbeit des Straßburgers stützte, obwohl er niemals auf seine Entlehnungen hinweist. Die Analyse erfolgt durch die ausführliche Untersuchung der thematischen, strukturellen und textuellen Parallelen. Das close reading von ausgewählten Passagen wird mit statistischen Evaluationen von semantischen und grammatischen Übereinstimmungen ergänzt. Nachdem die Zusammenhänge der Texte aufgezeigt worden sind, können aus dieser Fallstudie mehrere Schlussfolgerungen über die Praxis der Entlehnungen in der frühneuzeitlichen Literatur gezogen werden.
HOLOCAUST TRANSLATION, COMMUNICATION AND WITNESS IN THE WORK OF H. G. ADLER
Authors: Finch Helen
Published: June 2015

This article demonstrates the unique contribution that the works of the Holocaust survivor and writer H. G. Adler (1910–88) make to the questions surrounding the relation of translation, broadly understood, to the experience of suffering in the Holocaust. Although a new challenge to the power of language to communicate experience was posed by the events of the Holocaust, in Adler's literary and philosophical work the challenge is rather to ensure that all language remains rooted in an ethical framework. Adler resists the distortion of language into an instrumental tool for genocide. This article argues that Adler's survivor‐protagonists do not struggle to translate the ineffable experience of suffering into literary German, but rather, to find a community of listeners for their literary language. It further describes Adler's humanist theory of translation, showing how this sheds light on the relationship between communication and translation in Adler's novels, and demonstrates the extent to which the reciprocal act of bearing witness in Eine Reise (1962) fails. The article both analyses the interlingual act of translating between languages in the novel, and tests the more metaphorical sense of translation frequently used in discussing the literature of the Holocaust.

Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit dem einzigartigen Beitrag des Holocaust‐Überlebenden und Dichters H. G. Adler (1910–88) zu den Debatten um das Verhältnis zwischen Übersetzung (breit angelegt) und erfahrenem Leiden im Holocaust. Obwohl die Fähigkeit von Sprache, Erfahrung überhaupt ‘übersetzen’ zu können, durch die Ereignisse des Holocausts in Frage gestellt wurde, stellt sich Adlers literarische und philosophische Arbeit eher der Herausforderung, Sprache in einem ethischen Zusammenhang zu verankern, und dem ‘Verfall’ (so Adler) der Sprache in ein Werkzeug des Genozids zu widerstehen. Adlers Protagonisten, so die Argumentation, ringen nicht damit, ihre Erfahrung des Grauens überhaupt in eine literarische Sprache zu übersetzen, sondern eher damit, eine Gemeinschaft von Zuhörern zu finden, die auf ihre literarische Sprache achten. Der Artikel skizziert Adlers humanistische Philosophie der Übersetzung und zeigt, wie diese die Beziehung zwischen Kommunikation und Übersetzung in Adlers Romanen erläutert. Des weiteren wird gezeigt, inwiefern die reziproke Handlung der Zeugenschaft in Eine Reise (1962) scheitert. Hier wird sowohl das Übersetzen zwischen den Sprachen im Roman analysiert als auch die eher metaphorische Bedeutung des Übersetzens selbst in Frage gestellt, die öfters in Diskussionen über die Literatur des Holocausts verwendet wird.