bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perceptions and experiences of women seeking treatment for obstetric fistula
Authors: Singh Shalini , Thakur Tushita , Chandhiok Nomita , Singh Manish Kumar , Dhillon Balwan Singh
Published: May 2017

Objective

To understand patients’ perspectives on the causative factors and preventive measures of obstetric fistula; and the effect of fistula on the victims’ psycho‐social, sexual, and economic well being.

Methods

A questionnaire‐based interview of 215 women with obstetric fistula admitted for treatment in 17 hospitals in India was carried out during 2010‐2011. Responses of participants from poor, medium, and better performing states were categorized into pre‐coded themes and compared.

Results

The majority of the women were from rural areas (75.3%), multiparous (68.8%), and with less than high school education (82.2%). The majority (70.7%) of the women reported attempt at home delivery by untrained persons. Poor awareness of where and when to seek care when faced with a difficult delivery, and poor quality of care in facilities were perceived as important causative factors. Delivery by trained providers and early referral of women with problems during labor were identified as important preventive factors. Spouses and families were supportive of treatment in spite of economic hardships, but most (79.5%) patients felt socially isolated after developing fistula.

Conclusion

Poor awareness regarding delivery care among the women indicates a need for increasing birth preparedness in the community. Patients’ perceptions of poor quality of care in facilities need to be addressed urgently. Psychological evaluation and counseling should be offered to fistula patients, to help them cope with adverse psycho‐social and economic circumstances. The results of this study may provide insights for prevention and management of fistula, and may help to improve patient care and services.
Unification of favourable intermediate‐, unfavourable intermediate‐, and very high‐risk stratification criteria for prostate cancer
Authors: Zumsteg Zachary S. , Zelefsky Michael J. , Woo Kaitlin M. , Spratt Daniel E. , Kollmeier Marisa A. , McBride Sean , Pei Xin , Sandler Howard M. , Zhang Zhigang
Published: May 2017

Objective

To improve on the existing risk‐stratification systems for prostate cancer.

Patients and Methods

This was a retrospective investigation including 2 248 patients undergoing dose‐escalated external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) at a single institution. We separated National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) intermediate‐risk prostate cancer into ‘favourable’ and ‘unfavourable’ groups based on primary Gleason pattern, percentage of positive biopsy cores (PPBC), and number of NCCN intermediate‐risk factors. Similarly, NCCN high‐risk prostate cancer was stratified into ‘standard’ and ‘very high‐risk’ groups based on primary Gleason pattern, PPBC, number of NCCN high‐risk factors, and stage T3b–T4 disease. Patients with unfavourable‐intermediate‐risk (UIR) prostate cancer had significantly inferior prostate‐specific antigen relapse‐free survival (PSA‐RFS, P < 0.001), distant metastasis‐free survival (DMFS, P < 0.001), prostate cancer‐specific mortality (PCSM, P < 0.001), and overall survival (OS, P < 0.001) compared with patients with favourable‐intermediate‐risk (FIR) prostate cancer. Similarly, patients with very high‐risk (VHR) prostate cancer had significantly worse PSA‐RFS (P < 0.001), DMFS (P < 0.001), and PCSM (P = 0.001) compared with patients with standard high‐risk (SHR) prostate cancer. Moreover, patients with FIR and low‐risk prostate cancer had similar outcomes, as did patients with UIR and SHR prostate cancer.

Results

Consequently, we propose the following risk‐stratification system: Group 1, low risk and FIR; Group 2, UIR and SHR; and Group 3, VHR. These groups have markedly different outcomes, with 8‐year distant metastasis rates of 3%, 9%, and 29% (P < 0.001) for Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and 8‐year PCSM of 1%, 4%, and 13% (P < 0.001) after EBRT. This modified stratification system was significantly more accurate than the three‐tiered NCCN system currently in clinical use for all outcomes.

Conclusion

Modifying the NCCN risk‐stratification system to group FIR with low‐risk patients and UIR with SHR patients, results in modestly improved prediction of outcomes, potentially allowing better personalisation of therapeutic recommendations.
Effects of environmental enrichment on the activity of the amygdala in micrencephalic rats exposed to a novel open field
Authors: Matsuda Wakoto , Ehara Ayuka , Nakadate Kazuhiko , Yoshimoto Kanji , Ueda Shuichi
Published: May 2017

Environmental enrichment (EE) mediates recovery from sensory, motor, and cognitive deficits and emotional abnormalities. In the present study, we examined the effects of EE on locomotor activity and neuronal activity in the amygdala in control and methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM)‐induced micrencephalic rats after challenge in a novel open field. Control rats housed in EE (CR) showed reduced locomotor activity compared to rats housed in a conventional cage (CC), whereas hyperactivity was seen in MAM rats housed in a conventional cage (MC) and in MAM rats housed in EE (MR).

Novel open field exposure in both CC and MC resulted in a marked increase in Fos expression in the anterior and posterior parts of the basolateral amygdaloid nucleus, basomedial nucleus, and medial nucleus, whereas these increases in expression were not observed in CR. The effect of EE on Fos expression in the amygdala was different in MR exposed to a novel open field compared to CR. Furthermore, we observed a quite different pattern of Fos expression in the central nucleus of the amygdala between control and MAM rats. The present results suggest that neuronal activity in the amygdala that responds to anxiety is altered in MAM rats, especially when the rats are reared in EE. These alterations may cause behavioral differences between control and MAM rats.
Resting‐state connectivity and modulated somatomotor and default‐mode networks in Huntington disease
Authors: Sánchez‐Castañeda Cristina , de Pasquale Francesco , Caravasso Chiara Falletta , Marano Massimo , Maffi Sabrina , Migliore Simone , Sabatini Umberto , Squitieri Ferdinando
Published: May 2017

Aims

To analyze brain functional connectivity in the somatomotor and default‐mode networks (DMNs) of patients with Huntington disease (HD), its relationship with gray matter (GM) volume loss, and functional changes after pridopidine treatment.

Methods

Ten patients and ten untreated controls underwent T1‐weighted imaging and resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); four patients were also assessed after 3 months of pridopidine treatment (90 mg/d). The seed‐based functional connectivity patterns from the posterior cingulate cortex and the supplementary motor area (SMA), considered cortical hubs of the DMN and somatomotor networks, respectively, were computed. FMRIB Software Library voxel‐based morphometry measured GM volume.

Results

Patients had GM volume decrease in all cortical and subcortical areas of the somatomotor network with preservation of the SMA, and increased somatomotor and DMN connectivity. In DMN structures, functional connectivity impairment preceded volume loss. Pridopidine reduced the intensity of these aberrant connections.

Conclusion

The abnormal connectivity of the somatomotor and DMN observed in HD patients may represent an early dysfunction marker, as it preceded volume loss in DMN. Pridopidine reduced connectivity of these networks in all four treated patients, suggesting that connectivity is sensitive to treatment response.
Quantifying the conservation gains from shared access to linear infrastructure
Authors: Runge Claire A. , Tulloch Ayesha I. T. , Gordon Ascelin , Rhodes Jonathan R.
Published: May 2017

The proliferation of linear infrastructure such as roads and railways is a major global driver of cumulative biodiversity loss. One strategy for reducing habitat loss associated with development is to encourage linear infrastructure providers and users to share infrastructure networks. We quantified the reductions in biodiversity impact and capital costs under linear infrastructure sharing of a range of potential mine to port transportation links for 47 mine locations operated by 28 separate companies in the Upper Spencer Gulf Region of South Australia. We mapped transport links based on least‐cost pathways for different levels of linear‐infrastructure sharing and used expert‐elicited impacts of linear infrastructure to estimate the consequences for biodiversity. Capital costs were calculated based on estimates of construction costs, compensation payments, and transaction costs. We evaluated proposed mine‐port links by comparing biodiversity impacts and capital costs across 3 scenarios: an independent scenario, where no infrastructure is shared; a restricted‐access scenario, where the largest mining companies share infrastructure but exclude smaller mining companies from sharing; and a shared scenario where all mining companies share linear infrastructure. Fully shared development of linear infrastructure reduced overall biodiversity impacts by 76% and reduced capital costs by 64% compared with the independent scenario. However, there was considerable variation among companies. Our restricted‐access scenario showed only modest biodiversity benefits relative to the independent scenario, indicating that reductions are likely to be limited if the dominant mining companies restrict access to infrastructure, which often occurs without policies that promote sharing of infrastructure. Our research helps illuminate the circumstances under which infrastructure sharing can minimize the biodiversity impacts of development.
Relationship between sports experience and executive function in 6–12‐year‐old children: independence from physical fitness and moderation by gender
Authors: Ishihara Toru , Sugasawa Shigemi , Matsuda Yusuke , Mizuno Masao
Published: May 2017

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between sports experience (i.e., tennis experience) and executive function in children while controlling for physical activity and physical fitness. Sixty‐eight participants (6–12 years old, 34 males and 34 females) were enrolled in regular tennis lessons (mean = 2.4 years, range = 0.1–7.3 years) prior to the study. Executive functions, including inhibitory control (the Stroop Color‐Word Test), working memory (the 2‐back Task), and cognitive flexibility (the Local–global Task) were evaluated. Participants’ levels of daily physical activity, ranging from moderate to vigorous, were evaluated using triaxial accelerometers. The total score for physical fitness was assessed using the Tennis Field Test. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed interaction effects between gender and tennis experience on participants’ reaction time (RT) on the switch cost of the Local–global Task after controlling for age, BMI, gender, physical activity, physical fitness, and tennis experience. Longer tennis experience was associated with shorter switch cost in males but not in females. Higher scores on physical fitness were positively associated with lower interference scores on the Stroop Color‐Word Test, RT on the 2‐back Task, and RT in the switching condition of the Local–global Task, after controlling for age, BMI, gender, and physical activity. In conclusion, all three foundational components of executive function (i.e., inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) were more strongly related to physical fitness than to physical activity in males and females, whereas greater cognitive flexibility was related to tennis experience only in the males.
Behavioural plasticity induced by intraspecific competition in host orientation in a parasitoid
Authors: MARTÍNEZ GUSTAVO A. , CASTELO MARCELA K. , CRESPO JOSÉ E.
Published: May 2017

1. Accurate measurement of external conditions is fundamental for survival. For parasitoids, in particular, sensing the environmental conditions is key because they are short‐lived animals that must acquire information shortly after emergence.

2. This study investigated whether conspecifics during larval growth can influence and modify the decision to orient to different quality hosts in a parasitoid with an active host‐seeking larva. How the density of conspecifics during growth modifies these decisions was also studied.

3. When larvae were submitted to increases in the intensity of pre‐parasitism competition and then offered different host odours, they increased the orientation to poor‐quality hosts likewise. It was also found that this behaviour is general to orientation to hosts in different physiological states.

4. These results show that pre‐parasitism competition can influence and modulate orientation to poor‐quality hosts when high‐quality hosts are not available.
Long‐term outcome in adolescent‐onset generalized genetic epilepsies
Authors: Vorderwülbecke Bernd J. , Kowski Alexander B. , Kirschbaum Andrea , Merkle Hannah , Senf Philine , Janz Dieter , Holtkamp Martin
Published: May 2017

Objective

Until now, it has been unclear if the three subsyndromes of adolescent‐onset generalized genetic epilepsy (GGE) differ in long‐term prognosis. Therefore, this study aimed to compare long‐term seizure outcome in juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE), juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), and epilepsy with generalized tonic–clonic seizures alone (EGTCS).

Methods

This retrospective study is based on the archive of an institutional tertiary care outpatient clinic for adult patients with epilepsy. Charts of 870 epilepsy outpatients were reviewed among whom 176 had adolescent‐onset GGE (53 JAE, 66 JME, 57 EGTCS). Median patient age at investigation was 60 years; median follow‐up time was 42.5 years. If possible, GGE patients were additionally interviewed on psychosocial and clinical variables.

Results

Age at first seizure was significantly higher in EGTCS patients (median 18 years) than in patients with JAE or JME (14 years each; p ≤ 0.001). Long‐term seizure outcome hardly differed between the three subsyndromes. At the end of follow‐up, 60% of all patients were in 5‐year terminal seizure remission, and in 14%, epilepsy even had resolved (>10 years without seizures, >5 years without pharmacotherapy). Twenty percent of patients had persistent seizures during the last year of follow‐up. Across all patients, 23% reported a psychiatric comorbidity, 87% had married, and 57% had achieved university entrance qualification.

Significance

Long‐term outcome was shown to be highly similar across all subsyndromes of adolescent‐onset GGE. Even in a selection of difficult‐to‐treat epilepsy patients still attending an adult epilepsy clinic, most become seizure‐free. To confirm these findings, prospective studies are needed.
Psychiatric and behavioral comorbidities in epilepsy: A critical reappraisal
Authors: Berg Anne T. , Altalib Hamada H. , Devinsky Orrin
Published: May 2017

Psychiatric and behavioral disorders are important aspects of epilepsy and have received increasing attention in the last several years. The literature upon which most of the field relies contains some biases that must be carefully examined and resolved in future studies. First, in the pediatric epilepsy literature, many reports find that children with epilepsy have high levels of behavioral and psychiatric disorders when compared to appropriate controls. Most of these studies rely on parent‐proxy completed instruments to assess these behavioral endpoints. Parents’ reports are not objective but reflect parents’ reactions and emotions. Increasing evidence suggests inherent biases in proxy reports and highlights the need to assess children directly. Second, periictal phenomena may be mischaracterized as underlying mood disorders. Third, many studies report elevated levels of psychiatric morbidity before and after the diagnosis of epilepsy, suggesting an inherent relation between the two types of disorders. Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, while widely recognized as posing a diagnostic dilemma in the clinic, may account for some of these research findings. Diagnostic errors between epilepsy and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures need careful consideration when evaluating studies demonstrating associations between psychiatric disorders and epilepsy or poorer seizure control in association with psychiatric disorders in people who have epilepsy. Mental health concerns are important for everyone. An accurate, undistorted understanding of the relation between mental health disorders and epilepsy is essential to ensure appropriate therapy and to avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful treatments and common misconceptions.
Cold Case File? Inventory Risk and Information Sharing during the pre‐1997 NASDAQ
Authors: Lescourret Laurence
Published: May 2017

This paper shows that dealers in Over‐The‐Counter (OTC) markets might choose to share information about transient price pressures. Using data from the pre‐1997 NASDAQ preopening, I find that the frequency and magnitude of non‐positive spreads (the information‐sharing vehicle) initiated by wholesalers (specialised market‐makers with a high exposure to inventory risk) are strongly related to opening price reversals and daily trading imbalances. This activity is more likely to occur on days of large liquidity shocks, and it is not observed for other dealers. Overall, the obligation to absorb price pressure at a yet unknown opening price might induce dealers to communicate the direction in which the opening price should move. The findings contain lessons for the design of today's OTC markets.
Does Ownership Structure Matter?
Authors: Titman Sheridan
Published: May 2017

Capital assets are held in a variety of ownership structures that can be characterised by how they are taxed, whether or not their equity is publicly traded, and by the relationship between the ownership of the assets and the management of the assets. When taxes and regulations change, the popularity of the different ownership structures change. These changes in ownership structure can affect how the assets are managed, which can in turn influence innovation.
Conventional tillage decreases the abundance and biomass of earthworms and alters their community structure in a global meta‐analysis
Authors: Briones María Jesús I. , Schmidt Olaf
Published: May 2017

The adoption of less intensive soil cultivation practices is expected to increase earthworm populations and their contributions to ecosystem functioning. However, conflicting results have been reported on the effects of tillage intensity on earthworm populations, attributed in narrative reviews to site‐dependent differences in soil properties, climatic conditions and agronomic operations (e.g. fertilization, residue management and chemical crop protection). We present a quantitative review based on a global meta‐analysis, using paired observations from 165 publications performed over 65 years (1950–2016) across 40 countries on five continents, to elucidate this long‐standing unresolved issue. Results showed that disturbing the soil less (e.g. no‐tillage and conservation agriculture [CA]) significantly increased earthworm abundance (mean increase of 137% and 127%, respectively) and biomass (196% and 101%, respectively) compared to when the soil is inverted by conventional ploughing. Earthworm population responses were more pronounced when the soil had been under reduced tillage (RT) for a long time (>10 years), in warm temperate zones with fine‐textured soils, and in soils with higher clay contents (>35%) and lowpH(<5.5). Furthermore, retaining organic harvest residues amplified this positive response to RT, whereas the use of the herbicide glyphosate did not significantly affect earthworm population responses to RT. Additional meta‐analyses confirmed that epigeic and, more importantly, the bigger‐sized anecic earthworms were the most sensitive ecological groups to conventional tillage. In particular, the deep burrowerLumbricus terrestrisexhibited the strongest positive response to RT, increasing in abundance by 124% more than the overall mean of all 13 species analysed individually. The restoration of these two important ecological groups of earthworms and their burrowing, feeding and casting activities under various forms of RT will ensure the provision of ecosystem functions such as soil structure maintenance and nutrient cycling by “nature's plough.”
High Arctic summer warming tracked by increased Cassiope tetragona growth in the world's northernmost polar desert
Authors: Weijers Stef , Buchwal Agata , Blok Daan , Löffler Jörg , Elberling Bo
Published: May 2017

Rapid climate warming has resulted in shrub expansion, mainly of erect deciduous shrubs in the Low Arctic, but the more extreme, sparsely vegetated, cold and dry High Arctic is generally considered to remain resistant to such shrub expansion in the next decades. Dwarf shrub dendrochronology may reveal climatological causes of past changes in growth, but is hindered at many High Arctic sites by short and fragmented instrumental climate records. Moreover, only few High Arctic shrub chronologies cover the recent decade of substantial warming. This study investigated the climatic causes of growth variability of the evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona between 1927 and 2012 in the northernmost polar desert at 83°N in North Greenland. We analysed climate–growth relationships over the period with available instrumental data (1950–2012) between a 102‐year‐long C. tetragona shoot length chronology and instrumental climate records from the three nearest meteorological stations, gridded climate data, and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) indices. July extreme maximum temperatures (JulTemx), as measured at Alert, Canada, June NAO, and previous October AO, together explained 41% of the observed variance in annual C. tetragona growth and likely represent in situ summer temperatures. JulTemx explained 27% and was reconstructed back to 1927. The reconstruction showed relatively high growing season temperatures in the early to mid‐twentieth century, as well as warming in recent decades. The rapid growth increase in C. tetragona shrubs in response to recent High Arctic summer warming shows that recent and future warming might promote an expansion of this evergreen dwarf shrub, mainly through densification of existing shrub patches, at High Arctic sites with sufficient winter snow cover and ample water supply during summer from melting snow and ice as well as thawing permafrost, contrasting earlier notions of limited shrub growth sensitivity to summer warming in the High Arctic.
Patient and physician views of shared decision making in cancer
Authors: Tamirisa Nina P. , Goodwin James S. , Kandalam Arti , Linder Suzanne K. , Weller Susan , Turrubiate Stella , Silva Colleen , Riall Taylor S.
Published: May 2017

Context

Engaging patients in shared decision making involves patient knowledge of treatment options and physician elicitation of patient preferences.

Objective

Our aim was to explore patient and physician perceptions of shared decision making in clinical encounters for cancer care.

Design

Patients and physicians were asked open‐ended questions regarding their perceptions of shared decision making throughout their cancer care. Transcripts of interviews were coded and analysed for shared decision‐making themes.

Setting and participants

At an academic medical centre, 20 cancer patients with a range of cancer diagnoses, stages of cancer and time from diagnosis, and eight physicians involved in cancer care were individually interviewed.

Discussion and conclusions

Most physicians reported providing patients with written information. However, most patients reported that written information was too detailed and felt that the physicians did not assess the level of information they wished to receive. Most patients wanted to play an active role in the treatment decision, but also wanted the physician's recommendation, such as what their physician would choose for him/herself or a family member in a similar situation. While physicians stated that they incorporated patient autonomy in decision making, most provided data without making treatment recommendations in the format preferred by most patients. We identified several communication gaps in cancer care. While patients want to be involved in the decision‐making process, they also want physicians to provide evidence‐based recommendations in the context of their individual preferences. However, physicians often are reluctant to provide a recommendation that will bias the patient.
Increased lifetime reproductive success of first‐hatched siblings in Common KestrelsFalco tinnunculus
Authors: Martínez‐Padilla Jesus , Vergara Pablo , Fargallo Juan A.
Published: May 2017

Order of birth has profound consequences on offspring across taxa during development and can have effects on individuals later in life. In birds, differential maternal allocation and investment in their progeny lead to variance in the environmental conditions that offspring experience during growth within the brood. In particular, laying and hatching order have been proposed to influence individual quality during the growing period, but little is known about the fitness consequences that these two factors have for offspring from a lifetime perspective. We explored the effect of laying and hatching order on post‐fledgling survival (measured as recruitment probability) and lifetime reproductive success (LRS) in Common KestrelsFalco tinnunculus, using a long‐term and individual‐based dataset. First‐hatched chicks showed higher survival probability andLRSthan their siblings. This effect was not due to body condition of the individuals at adulthood, the quality of their mates or the reproductive outcome compared with later‐hatched individuals. Instead, first‐hatched chicks had a higher recruitment probability. This could be explained by the higher body condition attained by first‐hatched chicks at the end of the nesting period, perhaps due to an enhanced competitive advantage for food over their siblings at the time of hatching. Laying order, in contrast to hatching order, appeared to have little or no effect onLRS. Our results suggest that hatching order within siblings predicts fitness, and that better early‐life conditions during growth experienced by first‐hatched chicks improve first survival and then recruitment, resulting in an enhancedLRS.
Granulocytic myeloid‐derived suppressor cells from human cord blood modulate T‐helper cell response towards an anti‐inflammatory phenotype
Authors: Köstlin Natascha , Vogelmann Margit , Spring Bärbel , Schwarz Julian , Feucht Judith , Härtel Christoph , Orlikowsky Thorsten W. , Poets Christian F. , Gille Christian
Published: May 2017

Infections are a leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. The outstandingly high susceptibility to infections early in life is mainly attributable to the compromised state of the neonatal immune system. One important difference to the adult immune system is a bias towards T helper type 2 (Th2) responses in newborns. However, mechanisms regulating neonatal T‐cell responses are incompletely understood. Granulocytic myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (GR‐MDSC) are myeloid cells with a granulocytic phenotype that suppress various functions of other immune cells and accumulate under physiological conditions during pregnancy in maternal and fetal blood. Although it has been hypothesized that GR‐MDSC accumulation during fetal life could be important for the maintenance of maternal–fetal tolerance, the influence of GR‐MDSC on the immunological phenotype of neonates is still unclear. Here, we investigated the impact of GR‐MDSC isolated from cord blood (CB‐MDSC) on the polarization of Th cells. We demonstrate that CB‐MDSC inhibit Th1 responses and induced Th2 responses and regulatory T (Treg) cells. Th1 inhibition was cell‐contact dependent and occurred independent of other cell types, while Th2 induction was mediated independently of cell contact through expression of ArgI and reactive oxygen species by CB‐MDSC and partially needed the presence of monocytes. Treg cell induction by CB‐MDSC also occurred cell‐contact independently but was partially mediated through inducible nitric oxide synthase. These results point towards a role of MDSC in regulating neonatal immune responses. Targeting MDSC function in neonates could be a therapeutic opportunity to improve neonatal host defence.
The interplay of IKK, NF‐κB and RIPK1 signaling in the regulation of cell death, tissue homeostasis and inflammation
Authors: Kondylis Vangelis , Kumari Snehlata , Vlantis Katerina , Pasparakis Manolis
Published: May 2017

Regulated cell death pathways have important functions in host defense and tissue homeostasis. Studies in genetic mouse models provided evidence that cell death could cause inflammation in different tissues. Inhibition of RIPK3‐MLKL‐dependent necroptosis by FADD and caspase‐8 was identified as a key mechanism preventing inflammation in epithelial barriers. Moreover, the interplay between IKK/NF‐κB and RIPK1 signaling was recognized as a critical determinant of tissue homeostasis and inflammation. NEMO was shown to regulate RIPK1 kinase activity‐mediated apoptosis by NF‐κB‐dependent and –independent functions, which are critical for averting chronic tissue injury and inflammation in the intestine and the liver. In addition, RIPK1 was shown to exhibit kinase activity‐independent functions that are essential for preventing cell death, maintaining tissue architecture and inhibiting inflammation. In the intestine, RIPK1 acts as a scaffold to prevent epithelial cell apoptosis and preserve tissue integrity. In the skin, RIPK1 functions via its RHIM to counteract ZBP1/DAI‐dependent activation of RIPK3‐MLKL‐dependent necroptosis and inflammation. Collectively, these studies provided evidence that the regulation of cell death signaling plays an important role in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis, and suggested that cell death could be causally involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases.
The in vivo evidence for regulated necrosis
Authors: Tonnus Wulf , Linkermann Andreas
Published: May 2017

Necrosis is a hallmark of several widespread diseases or their direct complications. In the past decade, we learned that necrosis can be a regulated process that is potentially druggable. RIPK3‐ and MLKL‐mediated necroptosis represents by far the best studied pathway of regulated necrosis. During necroptosis, the release of damage‐associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) drives a phenomenon referred to as necroinflammation, a common consequence of necrosis. However, most studies of regulated necrosis investigated cell lines in vitro in a cell autonomous manner, which represents a non‐physiological situation. Conclusions based on such work might not necessarily be transferrable to disease states in which synchronized, non‐cell autonomous effects occur. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of the pathophysiological relevance of necroptosis in vivo, and in light of this understanding, we reassess the morphological classification of necrosis that is generally used by pathologists. Along these lines, we discuss the paucity of data implicating necroptosis in human disease. Finally, the in vivo relevance of non‐necroptotic forms of necrosis, such as ferroptosis, is addressed.
Microwave dielectric properties of (1‐x)Ba3.75Nd9.5Cr0.25Nb0.25Ti17.5O54–xNdAlO3 ceramics
Authors: Chen Hetuo , Zhang Zhewei , Xiong Zhe , Tang Bin , Yuan Ying , Zhang Shuren
Published: May 2017

This study presents the microwave dielectric properties calculation of (1‐x)Ba3.75Nd9.5Cr0.25Nb0.25Ti17.5O54–xNdAlO3 ceramics where x denotes the volume molar fraction. From X‐ray diffraction results, the solid solution limit is calculated to be about 0.76, where it forms a single BaNd2Ti4O12 phase in Region I (0≤x<0.76), and both BaNd2Ti4O12 and NdAlO3 coexist in Region II (0.76≤x<1). The solid solution limit is confirmed by independently calculating it from the dielectric constant data. There is less than 4% deviation between the measured dielectric constant (εr) and the one calculated from the Maxwell‐Wagner formula. The total quality factor (Q) remains almost constant in Region I and increases rapidly with the volume molar fraction of NdAlO3 in Region II. The measured Q×f, where f is the resonant frequency, is also consistent with the calculated value in both regions. The temperature coefficient at the resonant frequency is −1.4 ppm/°C, which agrees well with the calculated value of 0 ppm/°C. In addition, we observed a close correlation between the bulk density and the phase evolution.
Improved dielectric properties in A′‐site nickel‐doped CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics
Authors: Wang Jing , Lu Zhenya , Deng Tengfei , Zhong Caifu , Chen Zhiwu
Published: May 2017

The improved dielectric properties and voltage‐current nonlinearity of nickel‐doped CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCNTO) ceramics prepared by solid‐state reaction were investigated. The approach of A′‐site Ni doping resulted in improved dielectric properties in the CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) system, with a dielectric constant ε′≈1.51×105 and dielectric loss tanδ≈0.051 found for the sample with a Ni doping of 20% (CCNTO20) at room temperature and 1 kHz. The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of the CCTO and the specimen with a Ni doping of 25% (CCNTO25) verified the co‐existence of Cu+/Cu2+ and Ti3+/Ti4+. A steady increase in ε′(f) and a slight increase in α observed upon initial Ni doping were ascribed to a more Cu‐rich phase in the intergranular phase caused by the Ni substitution in the grains. The low‐frequency relaxation leading to a distinct enhancement in ε′(f) beginning with CCNTO25 was confirmed to be a Maxwell‐Wagner‐type relaxation strongly affected by the Ni‐related phase with the formation of a core‐shell structure. The decrease of the dielectric loss was associated with the promoted densification of CCNTO and the increase of Cu vacancies, due to Ni doping on the Cu sites. In addition, the Ni dopant had a certain effect on tuning the current‐voltage characteristics of the CCTO ceramics. The present A′‐site Ni doping experiments demonstrate the extrinsic effect underlying the giant dielectric constant and provides a promising approach for developing practical applications.
Optimizing staffing, quality, and cost in home healthcare nursing: theory synthesis
Authors: Park Claire Su‐Yeon
Published: May 2017

Aims

To propose a new theory pinpointing the optimal nurse staffing threshold delivering the maximum quality of care relative to attendant costs in home health care.

Background

Little knowledge exists on the theoretical foundation addressing the inter‐relationship among quality of care, nurse staffing, and cost.

Design

Theory synthesis.

Data sources

Cochrane Library, PubMed, CINAHL, EBSCOhost Web and Web of Science (25 February – 26 April 2013; 20 January – 22 March 2015).

Implications for Nursing

Most of the existing theories/models lacked the detail necessary to explain the relationship among quality of care, nurse staffing and cost. Two notable exceptions are: ‘Production Function for Staffing and Quality in Nursing Homes,’ which describes an S‐shaped trajectory between quality of care and nurse staffing and ‘Thirty‐day Survival Isoquant and Estimated Costs According to the Nurse Staff Mix,’ which depicts a positive quadric relationship between nurse staffing and cost according to quality of care. A synthesis of these theories led to an innovative multi‐dimensional econometric theory helping to determine the maximum quality of care for patients while simultaneously delivering nurse staffing in the most cost‐effective way. The theory‐driven threshold, navigated by Mathematical Programming based on the Duality Theorem in Mathematical Economics, will help nurse executives defend sufficient nurse staffing with scientific justification to ensure optimal patient care; help stakeholders set an evidence‐based reasonable economical goal; and facilitate patient‐centred decision‐making in choosing the institution which delivers the best quality of care.

Conclusions

A new theory to determine the optimum nurse staffing maximizing quality of care relative to cost was proposed.
Hospital rules and regulations: The perspectives of youth receiving psychiatric care
Authors: Gros Catherine Pugnaire , Parr Ciara , Wright David K. , Montreuil Marjorie , Frechette Julie
Published: May 2017

Background

Rules and regulations represent an aspect of psychiatric hospitalization about which little is known.

Study Purpose

To explore the perceptions of rules from the perspective of youth receiving hospital‐based psychiatric services.

Design

Qualitative descriptive.

Methods

Perceptions of rules were elicited through semi‐structured interviews with a convenience sample of six youth.

Results

Rules were perceived as governing virtually all aspects of everyday living in the hospital environment. Rules were used to structure daily activities, routines, and social interactions, and were embedded within clinical protocols and treatment plans. For each participant, “making sense” or “not making sense” were central themes through which rules were interpreted as being either therapeutic or oppressive. Rules that made “no sense” negatively affected youth mood, behavior, treatment adherence, and engagement in a collaborative relationship.

Conclusion

Working in partnership with youth in psychiatric care to establish, implement, and evaluate rules that “make sense” can promote positive health outcomes and prevent negative, unintended consequences.
Constructing a Chinese Patent Database of listed firms in China: Descriptions, lessons, and insights
Authors: He Zi‐Lin , Tong Tony W. , Zhang Yuchen , He Wenlong
Published: May 2017

Although China is now the largest patent filing country in the world, there is little firm‐level research using Chinese patents due to difficulties in integrating Chinese patent data with firm data. To partially address this gap, we construct a Chinese Patent Database linking State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) patents to all listed firms and their subsidiaries in China, and we are making the database publicly available to the research community. We first develop a computer program to match the assignee names of SIPO patents to the names of listed firms and subsidiaries based on a similarity score, taking into account unique challenges associated with Chinese firm‐names and Chinese characters. High‐scoring likely matches are then checked manually to determine whether they are indeed true matches. The resulting database includes 191,325 SIPO patents matched to listed firms in China from 1990 to 2010. Using this database, we find a large amount of patenting heterogeneity across firms of different geographic locations, technological foci, and ownership types. We also leverage strengths of the data to conduct a detailed analysis of the patent examination process at the SIPO. Although there is not much difference in the examination process between listed firms and their nonlisted counterparts in China, substantial differences exist between Chinese firms and foreign firms. We find that foreign firms experience substantial delay in publishing patent applications and requesting for substantive examination compared to Chinese firms. Such delay accounts for 40–60% of the longer duration from application date to decision date for foreign firms. However, after accounting for such delay, foreign firms still face much longer pendency in reaching an examination outcome (grant, withdrawal, or refusal) than Chinese firms. We hope that the public database and such analysis will encourage new streams of research on Chinese patents to improve our knowledge of China's fast‐changing innovation landscape.
Host use of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), in South Africa
Authors: Theron C. D. , Manrakhan A. , Weldon C. W.
Published: May 2017

The highly invasive oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), has been declared present in the northern parts of South Africa since 2013. A study was thus initiated in July 2014 to determine the host range and field population of the pest species in the region. Fruit were collected from commercial fruit production, interface (smaller commercial blocks surrounded by natural savannah vegetation) and natural areas (savannah vegetation) throughout Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa. Field sites consisted of five commercial fruit production sites, two interface sites and two natural areas. Fruit samples from the tree and the ground were collected and incubated separately to determine infesting fruit fly species and the degree of infestation. Adult B. dorsalis populations were monitored at each field site using three methyl eugenol‐baited bucket traps to estimate population pressure and to determine with the use of time series analysis if monthly trap captures were correlated with fruit infestation. Bactrocera dorsalis was reared from seven plant species: two from commercial orchards (Mangifera indica cv. [Tommy Atkins, Sensation], Citrus sinensis cv. [Valencia]), and five from other plant species (Psidium guajava, Anacardium occidentale, Solanum mauritianum, Xylotheca kraussiana, Vangueria infausta). Fruit utilized by B. dorsalis was also infested or damaged by other species, which may indicate opportunism by the pest, and the potential for competitive interactions. Time series analyses show adult population increased 2 months after an increase in mean temperature in all sites, 4 months after rainfall in natural and interface sites, and 1 month and 3 months after fruit infestation in commercial and natural and interface sites, respectively. This study shows B. dorsalis utilizing a limited range of hosts in South Africa. However, the host range of B. dorsalis may expand as it may not yet have encountered all potential hosts.
Functional characterization of the neuron‐restrictive silencer element in the human tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene expression
Authors: Nawa Yukino , Kaneko Hanae , Oda Masayuki , Tsubonoya Masaaki , Hiroi Tomoko , Gentile Maria Teresa , Colucci‐D'Amato Luca , Takahashi Ryoya , Matsui Hiroaki
Published: May 2017

Tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) is the key enzyme in the synthesis of neuronal serotonin. Although previous studies suggest that TPH2 neuron‐restrictive silencer element (NRSE) functions as a negative regulator dependent on neuron‐restrictive silencer factor (NRSF) activity, the underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully elucidated. Here, we show a detailed analysis of the NRSE‐mediated repression of the human TPH2 (hTPH2) promoter activity in RN46A cells, a cell line derived from rat raphe neurons. Quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR analysis revealed the expression of serotonergic marker genes (Mash1, Nkx2.2, Gata2, Gata3, Lmx1b, Pet‐1, 5‐Htt, and Vmat2) and Nrsf gene in RN46A cells. Tph1 mRNA is the prevalent form expressed in RN46A cells; Tph2 mRNA is also expressed but at a lower level. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and reporter assays showed that hTPH2 NRSE is necessary for the efficient DNA binding of NRSF and for the NRSF‐dependent repression of the hTPH2 promoter activity. The hTPH2 promoter activity was increased by knockdown of NRSF, or over‐expression of the engineered NRSF (a dominant‐negative mutant or a DNA‐binding domain and activation domain fusion protein). MS‐275, a class I histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, was found to be more potent than MC‐1568, a class II HDAC inhibitor, in enhancing the hTPH2 promoter activity. Furthermore, treatment with the ubiquitin‐specific protease 7 deubiquitinase inhibitors, P‐22077 or HBX 41108, increased the hTPH2 promoter activity. Collectively, our data demonstrate that the hTPH2 NRSE‐mediated promoter repression via NRSF involves class I HDACs and is modulated by the ubiquitin‐specific protease 7‐mediated deubiquitination and stabilization of NRSF.

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Bent into Security: Barrister Contribution to a Skewed Order in Two Terrorism Prosecutions in Australia
Authors: de Lint Willem , Kassa Wondwossen D.
Published: May 2017

This article explores two terrorism prosecutions – R v. Benbrika and Ors and R v. Elomar and Ors – to probe how Australian lawyers approach the integration of national security interests into the heart of public law. A brief background is provided followed by an analysis of how the Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002 (Cth), as amended, and the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (Cth) deviate from the legal order to produce a ‘skewed blend’ between national security and criminal justice. We examine three ways in which barristers contribute to bending of process in counter‐terrorism trials: accommodation to the precautionary standard, the resetting of equality of arms expectations, and brokered agreements that depend on the deferential relationships within the court. Consequently, the moral asymmetry of terrorism is the backdrop for the ‘plausible legality’ of ‘just world’ derogations from liberal politics.
Legal Pluralism, Gendered Discourses, and Hybridity in Land‐titling Practices in Cambodia
Authors: Baaz Mikael , Lilja Mona , Östlund Allison
Published: May 2017

This article describes and analyses the tensions, ambivalence, and hybridity that prevail in the nexus between discourses of gender and the legal pluralism of the new, formalized, and customary ways of handling land titles. Based on empirical research in Cambodia, it reveals a number of mechanisms, challenges, and inconsistencies in the practice of land‐titling. Foremost, the practice of titling seems to be highly informed by local discourses of marriage, family, gender, and age, which all affect to whom land is assigned; this leaves a hybrid construction in the nexus between statutory law and customary practices. The article departs from this observation and adds three contributions – on a theoretical level – to existing research: by incorporating the dimensions of discourse analysis and legal hybridity, by linking the concept of legal pluralism to the process of hybridization, and by introducing the notion of hybridity of implementation as a supplement to hybridity of law.
Sacred Spaces, Sacred Words: Religion and Same‐sex Marriage in England and Wales
Authors: Johnson Paul , Vanderbeck Robert M.
Published: May 2017

This article provides an analysis of the ways in which the spatial and illocutionary requirements of English marriage law – which regulate the spaces in which marriages may be solemnized and the words the parties being married must speak – have been used to maintain distinctions between same‐sex and opposite‐sex couples. It shows how religious opponents of same‐sex partnership recognition have relied upon historically entrenched differences between the spatial and illocutionary aspects of ‘civil marriage’ and ‘religious marriage’ to argue in favour of the enactment of law that enables organized religions to exclude same‐sex couples from religious premises and ceremonies that are open to opposite‐sex couples for the purpose of solemnizing marriage. It extends recent international debates about how faith‐based discrimination against same‐sex couples is accommodated by legislators and legitimized by law, and concludes with a consideration of how English law could be amended to end discrimination based on sexual orientation.