bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies: What Headache Specialists Need to Know
Authors: Silberstein Stephen , Lenz Robert , Xu Cen
Published: August 2015

Background

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are now an important part of the treatment armamentarium for a wide range of conditions including cancer, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases of the joint and bowel, transplant rejection, and multiple sclerosis. Significant progress over the last 30 years in the development of therapeutic mAbs has resulted in improved efficacy and safety. Monoclonal antibodies approved for the treatment of neurological illnesses so far are limited to use in multiple sclerosis. Several therapeutic mAbs have completed phase 2 clinical trials for migraine prevention, and there are phase 3 trials underway for migraine prophylaxis and for cluster headache at the time of this writing.

Aim

The purpose of this review is to discuss the characteristics of mAbs, including their mechanism of action and safety profile, and briefly describe the mAbs being evaluated for the prevention of migraine and cluster headaches.

Monoclonal antibodies have several features that distinguish them from small molecules, including very high selectivity, relatively long half‐life that generally allows for once or twice monthly dosing, and significantly reduced potential for drug–drug interactions or other nontarget related toxicities. The clinical development of mAbs that target calcitonin gene‐related peptide and its receptor is underway and will evaluate this promising new drug class for the prevention of migraine and cluster headache.
Survey of Opioid and Barbiturate Prescriptions in Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Headache Center
Authors: Minen Mia T. , Lindberg Kate , Wells Rebecca E. , Suzuki Joji , Grudzen Corita , Balcer Laura , Loder Elizabeth
Published: August 2015

Objective

To educate physicians about appropriate acute migraine treatment guidelines by determining (1) where headache patients were first prescribed opioids and barbiturates, and (2) the characteristics of the patient population who had been prescribed opioids and barbiturates.

Background

Several specialty societies issued recommendations that caution against the indiscriminate use of opioids or barbiturate containing medications for the treatment of migraine. These medications are still being prescribed in various medical settings and could put headache specialists in a difficult position when patients request these agents.

Methods

Patients presenting to a headache center comprised of eight physicians were asked to complete a survey that assessed headache types, comorbid conditions, and whether they had ever been prescribed opioids or barbiturates. If they responded affirmatively to the latter question, they were asked about the prescribing doctor, medication effectiveness, and whether they were currently on the medication. Data collection took place over a one month period.

Results

Two hundred forty‐four patients were given the survey and 218 of these patients completed it. The predominant diagnosis was migraine (83.9%). More than half of the patients reported having been prescribed an opioid (54.8%) or a barbiturate (56.7%). About one fifth were on opioids (19.4%) or barbiturates (20.7%) at the time of completing the survey. Most patients reported being on opioids for more than 2 years (24.6%) or less than one week (32.1%). The reasons most frequently cited for stopping opioids were that the medications did not help (30.9%) or that they saw a new doctor who would not prescribe them (29.4%). Among patients who had previously been on barbiturates, 32.2% had been on these for over 2 years. Most patients (61.8%) stopped barbiturates because they did not find the medication helpful, while 17.6% said they saw a new doctor who would not prescribe them. The physician specialty most frequently cited as being the first prescriber for opioids was emergency medicine (20.2%) with family doctors and general neurologists the next groups at 17.7% each. General neurologists were the most frequent (37.8%) first prescribers of barbiturates.

Conclusions

Approximately 20% of patients presenting to a headache center reported current use of opioids and/or barbiturates. ED physicians were reported to be the most frequent first prescribers of opioids and general neurologists were the most frequent first prescribers of barbiturates. Taken as a whole, these data provide a useful snapshot of the wide variety of physician specialties that might benefit from additional education on the appropriate use of opioids and barbiturate‐containing medications in patients with headaches.
Histories of Adolescence and Affect: Setting an Agenda
Authors: Brickell Chris
Published: August 2015

What did adolescence feel like in the past? This article explores the historical relationships between adolescence and affect – feeling, emotion and lived intensities – in order to explore this question. Drawing from a range of examples, it argues for a systematic consideration of the relationships between lived experience and broad historical shifts, in order to ascertain the ways individual affective lives have been shaped by changes in work, forms of leisure and sexual norms. It is then suggested that this systematic approach can be applied to other aspects of young people's lives as well. This is an argument to take feeling seriously and thereby take historical work on histories of adolescence in some new directions.
Over the Borderline? Rethinking Territoriality at the Margins of Empire and Nation in the Modern Middle East (Part I)
Authors: Ellis Matthew H.
Published: August 2015

This is the first of two connected articles examining the evolution of historical scholarship on borderlands within the field of Middle East studies. In both articles, I pay particular attention to how historians have addressed the relationship between borderland identities and modern territorializing empires and nation–states. I argue throughout both that analyzing what I call the “lived experience of territoriality” in borderland regions ought to take precedence over approaches that presume the ultimate imposition of fixed nation–state boundaries by the mid‐20th century. The adoption of borderlands as an analytical category along these lines presents an exciting opportunity for future research in modern Middle Eastern history precisely for its malleability. Historians who take a conceptually nuanced approach to borderlands and relate their work to new scholarship on territoriality will be able to explore a range of ways to understand local as well as state experiences and practices of power and politics, sovereignty and authority, and identity and belonging. InPart I, I begin by providing a general overview of key terminology that is prevalent across interdisciplinary scholarship on borderlands, before laying out my own framework for conceptualizing the relationship between borderland identities and modern discourses and practices of territoriality. I end this first installment by tracing the emergence of scholarship on Middle East borderlands within Ottoman historiography, focusing on one key work that pointed in important new directions for historians seeking to examine social and political life in the margins of modern Middle Eastern empires and nation–states.
Advertising and the History of South Asia, 1880–1950
Authors: Haynes Douglas E.
Published: August 2015

The subject of advertising has not been a major field of investigation among historians of South Asia, but recently, a number of scholars have begun to incorporate treatment of the topic into their discussion of a variety of subjects. This article examines the ways in which recent scholars working in a range of fields – including business history, the history of global capitalism, the history of medicine, the history of sexuality, and the history of visual culture – have begun to address advertising in their work. The article seeks to bring together some of the fragmentary strands in the existing literature, and to highlight the contributions these writings have inconspicuously been making to an understanding of South Asian economy and culture. The increased significance of advertising in very recent scholarship reflects a larger turn among historians toward appreciating the role of consumption in South Asia. The essay particularly stresses how studies of advertising have served to highlight the significance of small‐scale, vernacular forms of business enterprise on the subcontinent and to complicate any unilinear narrative about the ascendancy of corporate capitalism and mass consumption values during the 20th century.
Paleoenvironments of the evolving Pliocene to early Pleistocene foreland basin in northwestern Taiwan: An example from the Dahan River section
Authors: Pan Tsun‐You , Lin Andrew Tien‐Shun , Chi Wen‐Rong
Published: August 2015

The overriding of the Luzon volcanic arc atop the underlying Chinese rifted‐continental margin has caused the formation of the Taiwan mountain belts and a peripheral foreland basin west of the orogen since the late Miocene. In this study, lithofacies analysis and calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphic investigations of the Dahan River section in northwestern (NW) Taiwan were performed. Our results offer insights into the temporal evolution of the sedimentary environments and the competing effects of the sedimentation and basin tectonics of the NW Taiwan foreland basin from the Pliocene to early Pleistocene. Nannofossil biostratigraphic studies showed that the upper Kueichulin Formation and the overlying Chinshui Shale can be assigned to the NN15 biozone of the Pliocene age, and the Cholan Formation pertains to NN16–NN18 of the early Pleistocene. The NN15–NN16 boundary coincides roughly with the boundary of the Chinshui Shale and Cholan Formation. We recognized three major sedimentary environments in the studied foreland succession comprising the upper Kueichulin Formation, Chinshui Shale, Cholan Formation and Yangmei Formation, in ascending order. During the deposition of the upper Kueichulin Formation in the early Pliocene, the dominant environment was a wave‐ and tide‐influenced open marine setting. During the late Pliocene, the environment deepened to an outer‐offshore setting when the sediments of Chinshui Shale were accumulated. In the Pleistocene, the environment then shallowed to wave‐dominated estuaries during the deposition of the lower Cholan Formation, and the basin was rapidly filled, generating a meandering and sandy braided river environment during the deposition of the upper Cholan to the Yangmei Formation. In summary, the evolution of sedimentary environments in the studied succession shows a deepening then a shallowing and coarsening upward trend during the period from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene, spanning the age from approximately 4 to 1 Ma.
Does youth adiposity, or change in adiposity from youth to adulthood, predict metabolically healthy obesity in adulthood?
Authors: Smith K. J. , Bessell E. , Magnussen C. G. , Dwyer T. , Venn A. J.
Published: August 2015

Background

Individuals with metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) do not have the metabolic complications usually associated with obesity.

Objective

To examine whether youth adiposity, or change in adiposity from youth to adulthood, predicts MHO 20 years later.

Methods

A national sample of 2410 Australian participants had height, weight and waist circumference (WC) measured in 1985 (7–15 years old) and 2004–2006 (26–36 years old). A fasting blood sample was taken in 2004–2006. MHO was defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg m−2, normal fasting glucose (<5.6 mmol L−1), triglycerides (<1.695 mmol L−1), high‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (>1.036 mmol L−1 men, > 1.295 mmol L−1 women), blood pressure (<130/85 mmHg) and no medication for these conditions. Relative risks (RR) were calculated using log binomial regression and expressed per unit of youth BMI (or WC) z‐score or change in BMI (or WC) z‐score from youth to adulthood, adjusted for sex and youth age.

Results

In total 323 individuals were obese at follow‐up, 79 (24.5%) were MHO. Adult MHO was not associated with youth BMI (RR: 1.00, 95%CI: 0.85–1.19) or WC (RR: 0.93, 95%CI: 0.79–1.11). Individuals were less likely to be MHO if they had larger increases in BMI (BMI RR: 0.74, 95%CI: 0.57–0.97) or WC (RR: 0.70, 95%CI: 0.55–0.90) from youth to adulthood.

Conclusions

Change in adiposity from youth to adulthood predicted adult MHO better than youth adiposity alone.
Country Characteristics in Foreign Bank Investments and Risk Taking: The Role of Shared Culture, Common Institutions and Geographic Proximity
Authors: Owen Ann L. , Temesvary Judit
Published: August 2015

We examine country characteristics in foreign bilateral banking relationships and explore how shared cultural heritage, common institutions and geographic proximity are related to banks’ foreign investment choices. Using a newly compiled data set on BIS‐reporting banks’ activities, we find that proximity and common institutional arrangements are the primary correlates of bilateral bank portfolio allocations. Information flow as measured by cross‐country phone calls is also strongly correlated with foreign bank investment, though the direction of causation is unclear. Trust between individuals in the two countries matters only as a proxy for other cultural similarities that are embedded in historical colonial relationships. We also find that the relationship between cross‐country bank regulatory differences and bank investments has changed in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
Yield Curve Point Triplets in Recession Forecasting
Authors: Gogas Periklis , Papadimitriou Theophilos , Chrysanthidou Efthymia
Published: August 2015

Several studies have highlighted the yield curve's ability to forecast economic activity. These studies use the information provided by the slope of the yield curve—i.e., pairs of short‐ and long‐term interest rates. In this paper, we construct three models for forecasting the positive and negative deviations of real US GDP from its long‐run trend over the period from 1976Q3 to 2011Q4: one that uses only pairs of interest rates and two that draw on more than two points from the yield curve. We employ two alternative forecasting methodologies: the probit model, which is commonly used in this line of literature, and the support vector machines (SVM) approach from the area of machine learning. Our results show that we can achieve a 100% out‐of‐sample forecasting accuracy for negative output gaps (recessions) with both methodologies and an overall accuracy (both inflationary and unemployment gaps) of 80% in the case of the best SVM model. The forecasting performance of our model strengthens the existing evidence that the yield curve can be a useful tool for gauging future economic activity.
Reforming the International Monetary System in the 1970s and 2000s: Would a Special Drawing Right Substitution Account Have Worked?
Authors: McCauley Robert N. , Schenk Catherine R.
Published: August 2015

Advocates of a more pluralistic international monetary and financial system seek to reduce reliance on a single national currency and to bring international liquidity under collective control. One recently revived proposal would transform US dollar official reserves into claims denominated in the IMF's key currency basket, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). Drawing on new archival evidence and simulations, this article highlights issues that derailed earlier agreement on such an account and shortcomings of design and ambition revealed by subsequent developments. One design issue was account losses if US dollar yields failed to exceed SDR yields enough to offset dollar depreciation. In fact, uncovered interest parity did not hold and could well have left the account persistently insolvent. Another shortcoming was ambition: the proposed account proved simply too small to achieve the desired lowering of the dollar's share of foreign exchange reserves. Any new proposal needs to address these shortcomings.
Enhancing Properties in Microwave Ceramics Using a Designer Sintering Aid
Authors: Nicholls Simon J. , Reaney Ian M. , Leisten Oliver P.
Published: August 2015

It has recently been shown that 0.2CaTiO3–0.8(Li0.5Nd0.5)TiO3 (CTLNT) with the addition of 4 wt% Bi4B2O9 (BBO) as a liquid‐phase sintering aid gives rise to exceptional microwave (MW) dielectric properties, (relative permittivity, εr = 125, quality factor, Qf0 and temperature coefficient of the resonant frequency, τf = 4 ppm/°C) at reduced sintering temperatures (1200°C). In this study, X‐ray diffraction and scanning and transmission electron microscopy have been used to elucidate the mechanism by which MW dielectric properties are optimized. It is demonstrated that highly polarizable Bi3+ ions enter the perovskite lattice thereby increasing εr. The concomitant ex‐solution of TiO2 as BBO concentration increases implies that ionic compensation occurs through the formation of in the perovskite lattice and infers that Bi3+ substitutes on the A‐site for lower valence ionic species according to the equation: . The residual boron rich material acts as a sintering aid with strongly −ve τf that compensates for the +ve τf of the perovskite matrix. This mechanism points to a new way of utilizing designer sintering aids in the development of microwave ceramics.
Effect of Pressure on Microstructure of <111>‐Oriented β‐SiC Films: Research via Electron Backscatter Diffraction
Authors: Zhang Song , Xu Qingfang , Sun Qingyun , Zhu Peipei , Tu Rong , Hu Zhiying , Han Mingxu , Goto Takashi , Zhang Lianmeng , Yan Jiasheng , Li Shusen
Published: August 2015

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high‐resolution electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has been employed to study the microstructure development of <111 > ‐oriented β‐SiC films prepared by laser chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) with various total pressure (Ptot). The Surface morphology of films evolved from pyramids with sixfold symmetry to needlelike structure by increasing the Ptot. The EBSD results indicated that the higher Ptot (800 Pa) led to the lower neighbor‐pair misorientation and large in‐plane domains in β‐SiC films.
Historical perspectives: a snapshot of women admitted to psychiatric facilities with psychosis or mania after childbirth in the late Victorian and inter‐war periods
Authors: Jefferies Diana , Duff Margaret , Burns Elaine , Nicholls Daniel
Published: August 2015

Aim

This study analysed historical healthcare records to investigate how women diagnosed with mania or psychosis and admitted to two mental health facilities in Australia following childbirth, were described in the late Victorian (1885–1895) and inter‐war period (1925–1935).

Background

Although historians have examined the history of mental health systems in Australia, there is no published scholarship that considers the healthcare records of these women. This was a unique opportunity to explore these documents.

Design

An historical study examining healthcare records. The data collection occurred in 2012.

Methods

Women admitted to mental health facilities with a diagnosis of psychosis or mania were identified in the admission registers found in the State Record Office of New South Wales and, if available, their healthcare record was transcribed verbatim. The records were imported intoNVivo 10 for content analysis to determine the range and scope of information. A further textual analysis was conducted to see if the woman's diagnosis was congruent with the outcome of her admission.

Results/findings

155 cases were identified across the two periods. Although, demographic data and the description of the women on admission were remarkably similar, 17% of women were physically, rather than mentally, ill and died soon after admission. The findings demonstrate the importance of current practices such as taking a comprehensive healthcare assessment and the use of antibiotics and sanitary measures during labour and in the postnatal period.

Conclusion

Historical investigations of healthcare records provide legitimacy for current healthcare practices.
Developing a one‐stop tinnitus service: outcomes of a joined up management strategy: a retrospective observational cohort study
Authors: Farr Matthew R. B. , Moraleda Deleito Javier , Xu Yanmin , Ray Jaydip
Published: August 2015

Rationale, aims and objectives

The pressure to deliver quality care with finite resources means that dealing with single‐symptom conditions like tinnitus in an efficient and individualized manner has never been more important. Both primary and secondary care practitioners have an obligation to explore efficient delivery of simple management pathways. Commissioners of health care are in a unique position to affect evidence‐based strategic change in the management of uncomplicated tinnitus. This study is an attempt to explore one such option. We present the outcomes of a tinnitus patient pathway designed for one‐stop management, thereby minimizing unnecessary additional appointments.

Method

A retrospective observational cohort study of 452 patients referred to a NHS one‐stop tinnitus clinic from 2008 to 2012. Clinical care guided was through the use of a structured approach to history taking, neurotological examination and management.

Results

294 out of 452 (65%) of patients referred had unilateral tinnitus. The most common associated complaints were hearing loss (387/452, 86%) and hyperacusis (329/452, 73%). 210 (46%) of patients had their presenting complaint dealt with in a single clinic visit.

Conclusion

A structured system for referral and management of tinnitus within the health system ensures patients have timely access to evidence‐based investigation and treatment. A consistent approach to imaging aimed at identifying retrocochlear pathology can benefit patients through early diagnosis of central pathology and the reassurance provided by a negative scan.
Perspectives on clinical possibility: elements of analysis
Authors: Chiffi Daniele , Zanotti Renzo
Published: August 2015

Possibility is one of the most common modalities in reasoning and argumentation. Various kinds of modal concepts have been identified in philosophical and logical discussion of the metaphysics of modality. We focus here on the concept of clinical possibility. A critical analysis of what is intended as clinical possibility has not yet received sufficient examination, although the concept is extensively used in clinical reasoning. We present arguments to emphasize some desirable features associated with the concept of clinical possibility. We argue that almost all clinical possibilities are potentialities, that is, possibilities that may be actualized by effective, appropriate and feasible interventions. However, in some limited cases, even mere possibilities – which may or may not be actualized, since we do not have the required knowledge – may be involved in clinical reasoning, and we present some examples in this paper. We then introduce some basic views on the nature of possibility showing their validity and limitations when applied to the concept of clinical possibility. Lastly, we conjecture that clinical possibility is a normative modality that can be formalized in a multimodal system with epistemic and deontic logical operators.
Distinct binding of amyloid imaging ligands to unique amyloid‐β deposited in the presubiculum of Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Ji Bin , Chen Chun‐Jen , Bando Kazunori , Ashino Hiroki , Shiraishi Hideaki , Sano Hiroaki , Kasahara Hiroyuki , Minamizawa Takao , Yamada Kazutaka , Ono Maiko , Zhang Ming‐Rong , Seki Chie , Farde Lars , Suhara Tetsuya , Higuchi Makoto
Published: August 2015

Non‐invasive determination of amyloid‐β peptide (Aβ) deposition with radioligands serves for the early diagnosis and clarification of pathogenetic mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The polymorphic binding site on multimeric Aβ for current radioligands, however, is little understood. In this study, we investigated the binding of several radioligands including 11C‐Pittsburgh Compound B (11C‐PiB), 3H‐AZD2184, and two recently developed compounds, 125I‐DRM106 and 125I‐DRK092, with unique presubicular Aβ deposits lacking interaction with the commonly used amyloid dyes FSB. 11C‐PiB, 3H‐AZD2184, and 125I‐DRK092 showed overt binding to presubicular Aβ deposits, while 125I‐DRM106 barely bound to these aggregates despite its strong binding in the hippocampal CA1 sector. Unlike neuritic plaques in the CA1, Aβ lesions in the presubiculum were not accompanied by inflammatory gliosis enriched with 18‐kDa translocator protein (TSPO). Thus, there are at least two different components in Aβ aggregates providing distinct binding sites for the current amyloid radioligands, and one of these binding components is distinctly present in the presubicular Aβ deposits. Amyloid radioligands lacking affinity for this component, such as 125I‐DRM106, may selectively capture Aβ deposits tightly associated with TSPO neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration as exemplified by CA1 neuritic plaques. Hence, comparative autoradiographic assessments of radioligand binding in CA1 and presubiculum could serve for the development of an amyloid PET imaging agent visualizing neurotoxicity‐related Aβ pathologies.

image

Non‐invasive determination of amyloid‐β peptide (Aβ) serves for the early diagnosis and clarification of pathogenetic mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We found that there are at least two different amyloid components in hippocampal CA1 and presubiculum providing distinct binding sites for the current amyloid radioligands. Comparative analysis for radioligand binding in these two regions could serve for developing novel imaging agents selectively visualizing neurotoxicity‐related Aβ pathologies.
Writing with an Accent: Orthographic Practice, Emblems, and Traces on Facebook
Authors: Hillewaert Sarah
Published: August 2015

This article considers writing practices on Facebook and examines the use of otherwise stigmatized dialect features on social network sites. Whereas youth from Kenya's Lamu Archipelago avoid Swahili dialects in spoken interaction, they infuse digital exchanges with phonological qualities associated with these vernaculars. I propose that such acts of “writing with an accent,” and particularly orthographic signs' ambiguous status as either unintended traces of grassroots literacy or strategic emblems of identity enable a simultaneous appeal to local rootedness and a transcendence of that rootedness. Analyzing the strategic indeterminacy of such orthographic “accents” provides insight in the renegotiations of belonging that social media enable.
So ¿te fuiste a Dallas? (So you went to Dallas?/So you got screwed?): Language, Migration, and the Poetics of Transgression
Authors: Chávez Alex E.
Published: August 2015

Drawing on recent work on the linguistic production of social markedness, this article explores the cross‐border usage of what I term the “Dallas” chronotope: a form of poetics that critically frames the political‐economic logics that undergird the markedness structure central to the time–space relational construction of migrant illegality. In a community where back‐and‐forth movements between Mexico and the United States result in varying degrees of Spanish–English bilingualism, the Spanish expression “da' las” (to give ‘em)—short for “dar las nalgas” (to give your buttocks; a reference to getting screwed, comparable to the English colloquial expression “to give it up” in reference to a sexual offering)—is invoked as a phonetic equivalent of “Dallas,” the name of the city in Texas, figuratively equating the social violation of migrants with sexual violation of the body. I extend the analytical frame of markedness through an application of the notion of biopolitics to these instances of linguistically mediated spatiotemporality within a U.S.–Mexico transnational context in order to describe how embodied poetics figuratively construct a resilient sense of migrant personhood that undermines its marked status and literally performs resiliency into being.
Heterogeneous Beliefs and the Demand for D&O Insurance by Listed Companies
Authors: Egger Peter , Radulescu Doina , Rees Ray
Published: August 2015

This article introduces a new rationale for the existence of “directors’ and officers” (D&O) insurance. We use a model with volatile stock markets where shareholders design compensation schemes that incentivize managers to stimulate short‐term increases in stock prices that do not maximize long‐run stock market value. We show that D&O insurance provides a convenient instrument for the initial shareholders of a company to take advantage of differences in beliefs between insiders and outsiders in capital markets. The empirical results support the idea that both the insurance coverage and the premium are higher in the presence of new shareholders and volatile markets. The results prove robust in various empirical model specifications.
A Pilot Study on Function and Disability of Aging People with Down Syndrome in Italy
Authors: Covelli Venusia , Meucci Paolo , Raggi Alberto , Fontana Giulia , Leonardi Matilde
Published: August 2015

An increased life expectancy of people with Down syndrome (DS) and the occurrence of early aging are now recognized. However, few data exist on functioning and disability profile of early‐aging people with DS, which takes into account how health conditions interact with environmental factors. Based on the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the authors collected preliminary data describing functioning and disability about early aging from 31 adults with DS aged 45 and older residing in the greater Milan, Italy, area. ICF checklist was used to collect data. Of the 31, 18 were women (mean age = 51.1), all were unmarried, 21 lived with their family, and 23 never worked. Few problems in body functions (e.g., vision and hearing, cognitions) and body structures (e.g., ear and eye structures, cardiovascular, endocrine, and digestive systems, skin structures) were reported. ICF categories within Activity and Participation domain emphasized the facilitating effect of environmental factors on activities related to domestic life (e.g., doing housework, acquisition of goods and services, preparation of meals). Within the Environmental Factors domain there are few barriers, mainly with respect to labor services, and very strong facilitating factors, particularly related to product of technology (for personal indoor and outdoor mobility and transportation) and the support of family members. The authors note that the findings can set out premises for further study on aging people with DS and their caregivers at national and international levels.
Utility of closely related taxa for genetic studies of adaptive variation and speciation: Current state and perspectives in plants with focus on forest tree species
Authors: Żukowska Weronika B. , Wachowiak Witold
Published: August 2015

Studies of adaptation and speciation have greatly benefited from rapid progress of DNA sequencing and genotyping technologies. Comparative genomics of closely related taxa has great potential to advance evolutionary research on genetic architecture of adaptive traits and reproductive isolation. Such studies that utilized closely related plant species and ecotypes have already provided some important insights into genomic regions and/or genes that are potentially involved in local adaptation and speciation. The choice of an appropriate species model for such research is crucial. The paper discusses current approaches used to reveal the patterns of intra‐ and interspecific divergence due to natural selection. Its outcomes in herbaceous plants and forest trees are briefly summarized and compared to reveal general regularities concerning evolutionary processes. We then highlight the importance of multispecies studies and discuss the utility of several related pine taxa as fine candidates for evolutionary inferences. Genetically similar but ecologically and phenotypically diverged taxa seem a promising study system to search for genomic patterns of speciation and adaptive variation.
Role of DetR in defence is critical for virulence of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae
Authors: Nguyen Minh‐Phuong , Park Jongchan , Cho Man‐Ho , Lee Sang‐Won
Published: August 2015

Like other bacteria, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causal agent of bacterial leaf blight disease in rice, possesses intracellular signalling systems, known as two‐component regulatory systems (TCSs), which regulate pathogenesis and biological processes. Completion of the genome sequences of three Xoo strains has facilitated the functional study of genes, including those of TCSs, but the biological functions of most Xoo TCSs have not yet been uncovered. To identify TCSs involved in Xoo pathogenesis, we generated knockout strains lacking response regulators (RRs, a cytoplasmic signalling component of the TCS) and examined the virulence of the RR knockout strains. This study presents a knockout strain (detR−) lacking the PXO_04659 gene which shows dramatically reduced virulence relative to the wild‐type. Our studies to elucidate detR function in Xoo pathogenesis revealed a reduction in extracellular polysaccharide (EPS), intolerance to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and deregulation of iron homeostasis in the detR− strain. Moreover, gene expression of regulatory factors, including other RRs and transcription factors (TFs), was altered in the absence of DetR protein, as determined by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and/or real‐time quantitative RT‐PCR analyses. All evidence leads to the conclusion that DetR is essential for Xoo virulence through the regulation of the Xoo defence system including EPS synthesis, ROS detoxification and iron homeostasis, solely or cooperatively with other regulatory factors.
Rounding, work intensification and new public management
Authors: Willis Eileen , Toffoli Luisa , Henderson Julie , Couzner Leah , Hamilton Patricia , Verrall Claire , Blackman Ian
Published: August 2015

In this study, we argue that contemporary nursing care has been overtaken by new public management strategies aimed at curtailing budgets in the public hospital sector in Australia. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 15 nurses from one public acute hospital with supporting documentary evidence, we demonstrate what happens to nursing work when management imposesroundingas a risk reduction strategy. In the case study outlined rounding was introduced across all wards in response to missed care, which in turn arose as a result of work intensification produced by efficiency, productivity, effectiveness and accountability demands. Rounding is a commercially sponsored practice consistent with new public management. Our study illustrates the impact that new public management strategies such as rounding have on how nurses work, both in terms of work intensity and in who controls their labour.
The social organization of a sedentary life for residents in long‐term care
Authors: Benjamin Kathleen , Rankin Janet , Edwards Nancy , Ploeg Jenny , Legault Frances
Published: August 2015

Worldwide, the literature reports that many residents in long‐term care (LTC) homes are sedentary. In Canada, personal support workers (PSWs) provide most of the direct care in LTC homes and could play a key role in promoting activity for residents. The purpose of this institutional ethnographic study was to uncover the social organization of LTC work and to discover how this organization influenced the physical activity of residents. Data were collected in two LTC homes in Ontario, Canada through participant observations with PSWs and interviews with people within and external to the homes. Findings explicate the links between meals, lifts and transfers, and the LTC standards to reveal that physical activity is considered an add‐on program in the purview of physiotherapists. Some of the LTC standards which are intended to product good outcomes for residents actually disrupt the work of PSWs making it difficult for them to respond to the physical activity needs of residents. This descriptive ethnographic account is an important first step in trying to find a solution to optimize real activities of daily living into life in LTC.
Associations between socioeconomic position and correlates of sedentary behaviour among youth: a systematic review
Authors: Gebremariam M. K. , Altenburg T. M. , Lakerveld J. , Andersen L. F. , Stronks K. , Chinapaw M. J. , Lien N.
Published: August 2015

Existing research evidence indicates that children and adolescents of parents with a low socioeconomic position spend more time on sedentary behaviour than their counterparts. However, the mechanisms driving these differences remain poorly understood. The main aim of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence regarding the association between socioeconomic position and correlates of sedentary behaviour among youth (0–18 years) from developed countries. The literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO. A total of 37 studies were included. All but three studies examined screen‐based sedentary behaviours only. Methodological quality ranged from low to moderate. Education was the most commonly used indicator of socioeconomic position, followed by income. Socioeconomic position was inversely related to the presence of a TV in the child's bedroom, parental modelling for TV viewing, parental co‐viewing and eating meals in front of the TV. We found no/indeterminate evidence for an association between socioeconomic position and rules and regulations about screen time. The findings suggest possible factors that could be targeted in future intervention studies to decrease screen‐based sedentary behaviour in lower socioeconomic groups in particular.
Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis and pyomyositis: Rare complications of rotavirus gastroenteritis
Authors: Aldemir‐Kocabaş Bilge , Karbuz Adem , Kara Tuğçe Tural , Çiftçi Ömer , Uçar Tayfun , Fitöz Suat , Çiftçi Ergin , İnce Erdal
Published: August 2015

Rotavirus may cause life‐threatening complications in untreated patients during the course of gastroenteritis. Electrolyte imbalance, bacteremia and sepsis are the most common complications of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RG). It is believed that translocation of intestinal microorganisms as a result of intestinal epithelium dysfunction is the underlying mechanism of bacteremia in RG. Although Gram‐negative bacteremia has been noted as a complication in RG, Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and endocarditis have not been reported previously. A 22‐month‐old boy was admitted with complaints of fever, diarrhea and dehydration. He was diagnosed with RG complicated with S. aureus bacteremia, pyomyositis and endocarditis. We call attention to these complications in patients with prolonged or late‐onset fever during RG as rare complications of the disease.
Erythromelalgia with a linear pattern in a 12‐year‐old girl
Authors: Huh Seokwon , Jung Mo Kyung , Eun Lucy Youngmin , Jung Jo Won , Choi Jae Young
Published: August 2015

Erythromelalgia is a rare clinical syndrome characterized by erythema, increased temperature, and severe burning pain that can be aggravated by warmth or relieved by cold. Erythromelalgia occurs either as a primary, idiopathic form, or secondary to a number of diseases and conditions. Although fairly well studied in adults, the characteristics, pathogenesis, and natural history are poorly characterized in the pediatric age group. Different therapeutic options have been tried, but no optimal treatment has been suggested for erythromelalgia. We report a rare case of linear erythromelalgia in a 12‐year‐old girl involving her central body from the peripheral extremities, which seemed to be secondary due to vasculitis. Clinical progress waxed and waned on maintenance aspirin and propranolol.
Patriotism's Impact on Cooperation with the State: An Experimental Study on Tax Compliance
Authors: Gangl Katharina , Torgler Benno , Kirchler Erich
Published: August 2015

Although it seems reasonable to assume that activating patriotism might motivate citizens to cooperate with the state in reaching societal goals, the empirical evidence supporting this contention is based mostly on correlational rather than experimental studies. In addition, little is known on whether patriotism can be manipulated without simultaneously triggering nationalism and on the psychological processes which determine the patriotism‐cooperation relation. This current article reports results of one survey and three experiments that manipulate patriotism by displaying either a national flag or national landscapes or by priming national achievements. The outcomes indicate that reported and manipulated patriotism indirectly increase tax compliance, although the national flag also increases nationalism. National achievements, on the other hand, seemingly increases trust in national public institutions and the voluntary motivation to cooperate, whereas national landscapes only increase the voluntary motivation to cooperate. Hence, it is possible to increase social capital in the form of trust and cooperation through patriotism without fostering nationalism as well.
Physiological characteristics of elite high‐altitude climbers
Authors: Puthon L. , Bouzat P. , Rupp T. , Robach P. , Favre‐Juvin A. , Verges S.
Published: August 2015

Factors underlying the amplitude of exercise performance reduction at altitude and the development of high‐altitude illnesses are not completely understood. To better describe these mechanisms, we assessed cardiorespiratory and tissue oxygenation responses to hypoxia in elite high‐altitude climbers. Eleven high‐altitude climbers were matched with 11 non‐climber trained controls according to gender, age, and fitness level (maximal oxygen consumption, VO2max). Subjects performed two maximal incremental cycling tests, in normoxia and in hypoxia (inspiratory oxygen fraction: 0.12). Cardiorespiratory measurements and tissue (cerebral and muscle) oxygenation were assessed continuously. Hypoxic ventilatory and cardiac responses were determined at rest and during exercise; hypercapnic ventilatory response was determined at rest. In hypoxia, climbers exhibited similar reductions to controls in VO2max (climbers −39 ± 7% vs controls −39 ± 9%), maximal power output (−27 ± 5% vs −26 ± 4%), and arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2). However, climbers had lower hypoxic ventilatory response during exercise (1.7 ± 0.5 vs 2.6 ± 0.7 L/min/%; P < 0.05) and lower hypercapnic ventilatory response (1.8 ± 1.4 vs 3.8 ± 2.5 mL/min/mmHg; P < 0.05). Finally, climbers exhibited slower breathing frequency, larger tidal volume and larger muscle oxygenation index. These results suggest that elite climbers show some specific ventilatory and muscular responses to hypoxia possibly because of genetic factors or adaptation to frequent high‐altitude climbing.
Diamond burr debridement of 34 canine corneas with presumed corneal calcareous degeneration
Authors: Nevile Jessica C. , Hurn Simon D. , Turner Andrew G. , Morton John
Published: August 2015

Objectives

To describe the signalment, presence of systemic and/or ocular comorbidities, times to detected healing and probabilities of recurrence after diamond burr debridement (DBD) of eyes with presumed corneal calcareous degeneration and secondary ulceration and/or ocular pain.

Animals studied

Twenty‐six dogs with 42 eyes affected, 34 eyes treated with DBD.

Methods

A case series was conducted using medical records from a private veterinary ophthalmology referral practice. Dogs were included if they had white or gray corneal opacity consistent with corneal calcareous degeneration with either erosive or superficial ulceration and/or ocular pain in at least one eye and had at least one such eye treated with DBD. DBD was performed with a battery‐operated handheld motorized burr (The Alger Company, Inc. Lago Vista, TX, USA), and a bandage contact lens was placed in the majority of eyes (30/34). Eyes were considered healed when the cornea was fluorescein negative, and there were no signs of ocular pain. Patient data (signalment, recurrence) were extracted from medical records.

Results

Dogs were first re‐examined 7–62 days after treatment (median: 13 days). All DBD‐treated eyes healed within 62 days (% healed: 100%; one‐sided 97.5% CI: 90–100%, median: 14 days), 82% of eyes (28/34) were healed at first re‐examination (median: 13 days after treatment), and all were healed by their second examination (median: 24 days). Of the 34 treated eyes, 11 were lost to follow up; 11 of the remaining 23 eyes recurred. Estimated 1‐year recurrence probability was 58% (95% CI: 35–83%). Seven dogs had systemic disease; 7 had a history of prior ocular disease or intraocular surgery.

Conclusions

Diamond burr debridement is a safe and effective treatment for rapid resolution of superficial corneal ulceration and ocular pain secondary to presumed corneal calcareous degeneration in dogs.
Postnatal xenogeneic B‐cell tolerance in swine following in utero intraportal antigen exposure
Authors: Navarro Alvarez Nalu , Zhu Alexander , Arellano Ronald S. , Randolph Mark A. , Duggan Michael , Scott Arn John , Huang Christene A. , Sachs David H. , Vagefi Parsia A.
Published: August 2015

Background

The objective of this study was to investigate the humoral immune response to xenogeneic antigens administered during the fetal state utilizing a baboon‐to‐pig model.

Methods

Nine fetuses from an alpha‐1,3‐galactosyltransferase gene knockout (GalT‐KO) MGH‐miniature swine sow underwent transuterine ultrasound‐guided intraportal injection of T‐cell depleted baboon bone marrow (B‐BM) at mid‐gestation. Two juvenile GalT‐KO swine undergoing direct B‐BM intraportal injection were used as controls.

Results

Postnatal humoral tolerance was induced in the long‐term surviving piglets as demonstrated by the absence of any antibody response to baboon donor cells. In addition, a second intraportal B‐BM administration at 2.5 months post‐birth led to no antibody formation despite re‐exposure to xenogeneic antigens. This B‐cell unresponsiveness was abrogated only when the animal was exposed subcutaneously to third‐party xenogeneic and allogeneic antigens, suggesting that the previously achieved humoral non‐responsiveness was donor specific. In comparison, the two juvenile GalT‐KO control swine demonstrated increasing anti‐baboon IgM and IgG levels following intraportal injection.

Conclusions

In summary, xenogeneic B‐cell tolerance was induced through in utero intraportal exposure to donor cells and this tolerance persisted following postnatal rechallenge with donor B‐BM, but was lost on exposure to third‐party antigen, possibly as a result of cross‐reactive antibody formation.