bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Becoming Good Citizens of Aging Societies
Authors: Berlinger Nancy , Solomon Mildred Z.
Published: October 2018

The ethical dimensions of an aging society are larger than the experience of chronic illness, the moral concerns of health care professionals, or the allocation of health care resources. What, then, is the role of bioethics in an aging society, beyond calling attention to these problems? Once we’ve agreed that aging is morally important and that population‐level aging across wealthy nations raises ethical concerns that cannot be fixed through transhumanism or other appeals to transcend aging and mortality through technology, what is our field’s contribution? We argue that it is time for bioethics to turn toward social justice and problems of injustice and that part of doing so is articulating a concept of good citizenship in an aging society that goes beyond health care relationships.
What Can Thinking Like a Gerontologist Bring to Bioethics?
Authors: de Medeiros Kate
Published: October 2018

I am a social gerontologist, broadly defined as a social scientist who studies how later life is experienced, structured, and controlled in a society and in social settings. Although gerontology is often confused with geriatrics (a medical specialty), gerontologists are typically not clinicians but may study issues related to old age and health care such as the societal conditions that shape how medical care is provided and financed and how early exposure to education relates to later life health.

In this essay, I argue that thinking like a gerontologist is important when considering what makes a good life in late life. To think like a gerontologist is to consider the cultural and societal values—past and present—that shape the experience of aging, to recognize people as complex beings whose individual lives do not follow predictable patterns or easily identified trajectories, and to recognize our own habits of regarding older persons as “other” and the consequences of “othering” for older persons and social systems. After a brief history of gerontology, highlighting a few core concepts that gerontologists share, I propose three important questions to consider regarding a good life in late life.
Solidarity and Care Coming of Age: New Reasons in the Politics of Social Welfare Policy
Authors: Jennings Bruce
Published: October 2018

Aging brings about the ordeal of coping. Younger people also cope, but for those in old age, the ordeal is so often elegiac, forced upon the self by changing functions within the body and by the outside social world, with its many impediments to the continuity of former roles, pursuits, and self‐identities. Coping with change can be affirming, but when what is being forgone seems more valuable than what lies ahead, it is travail. For most, the coping is managed more moderately by a sense of resignation. This is especially true for those who survive into profound old age, when one is viewed as if being old is one’s essential identity and nature. We must recognize and affirm difference and change without stigmatizing or losing sight of the specific capabilities and circumstances of the individual. This is what I think the often‐used, but less often clearly defined, notion of a “person‐centered” orientation should signify.

Individuals age, but so do societies, not simply because they have a large population over age sixty‐five, but in the sense that societies as a whole are also buffeted by significant disruption in orders of meaning. Aging has a public as well as a private manifestation, a social as well as a personal embodiment, and how it is paid attention to in culture, politics, and policy makes a great difference to how aging is concretely experienced in human lives. In this essay, I explore how the moral imagination nurtured by the practices of solidarity and care—and nurturing them in turn—can come of age—and how these practices can take their rightful place in an ethically mature political culture.
Realizing and Maintaining Capabilities: Late Life as a Social Project
Authors: Dunn Michael
Published: October 2018

One central and unfortunately unavoidable characteristic of the aging process is its association with chronic physiological deterioration. Frailty, cognitive impairment, and physical conditions such as cardiovascular disease and vision and hearing loss are more frequent in this phase of life, and these conditions translate into an increasing need for care and support of multiple kinds. In traditional bioethical scholarship, these distinctive features of aging have been examined predominantly through a health‐focused lens. My main contention in this essay, however, is that viewing aging within bioethics as primarily a health problem, to be addressed through frameworks for decision‐making or for resource allocation, is inadequate. My aim is to consider how the health conditions associated with aging affect older people’s lives in a much more expansive way than has typically been acknowledged. Just as importantly, I intend to show how shifting our bioethical imagination in this way raises different and challenging questions about what a good life in late life consists in and about what is owed to older people, in their personal and social lives, as a matter of justice.
Housing, the Built Environment, and the Good Life
Authors: Molinsky Jennifer , Forsyth Ann
Published: October 2018

At any age, the pursuit of a good life is easier in a physical environment that promotes health, supports activities important to self‐fulfillment, and facilitates connections to the larger community. In old age, the home and neighborhood environments are particularly important: they are the locations where older people spend most their time, and they can have a great impact on independence, social connection, feelings of self‐worth, and physical and emotional well‐being.

Within the urban planning field, home and neighborhood characteristics are important dimensions of debates about the measurement of human progress and quality of life, particularly as an alternative to purely economic measures. They are also key issues in public health, particularly as they relate to physical, social, and mental well‐being. Here, we focus on how to improve the fit of environments for people as they age.
Advance Directives for Refusing Life‐Sustaining Treatment in Dementia
Authors: Steinbock Bonnie , Menzel Paul T.
Published: October 2018

Aid‐in‐dying laws in the United States have two important restrictions. First, only patients who are terminally ill, defined as having a prognosis of six months or less to live, qualify. Second, at the time the patients take the lethal medication, they must be competent to make medical decisions. This means that an advance directive requesting aid in dying for a later time when the patient lacks decision‐making capacity would be invalid. However, many people are more concerned about avoiding living into severe dementia for years—a time when they will lack decision‐making capacity—than they are about preventing suffering or the loss of dignity or autonomy for a few months at the end of life.

Gillian Bennett is an example of someone determined not to live into severe dementia. She opted for preemptive suicide in 2014, explaining why in a letter she posted online: “Every day I lose bits of myself, and it’s obvious that I am heading toward the state that all dementia patients eventually get to: not knowing who I am and requiring full‐time care.”

A major problem with Bennett’s solution, however, is that the individual is likely thereby to be giving up some “good time.” A legal alternative to preemptive suicide is to create an advance directive stating the circumstances under which one wants not to receive any lifesaving or life‐sustaining treatment, even the most basic and noninvasive. This option is our focus in this paper: how to create effective advance directives to avoid living into severe dementia. To be relevant to progressive dementia, the directive would need to state what kinds of care should be withheld and when. At the same time, advance directives for severe dementia face serious challenges. Before addressing these, we review the normative force of directives themselves.
Aging: Drawing a Map for the Future
Authors: Callahan Daniel
Published: October 2018

I live on a short street in a small town, Hastings‐on‐Hudson, some fifteen miles up the Hudson River from New York City. Over the past decade a number of families have moved in, with about sixteen children among them. More than a bit housebound now because of old age and watching them romping about, I try to imagine what their world will be like when they have reached my present age, some eighty years from now. But I have a problem. I just can’t imagine it. The demographic changes now appearing on the horizon will force unforeseeable changes. What would it have been like in 1930, when I was born, if someone then had to project the future of aging? They could not have guessed.

Some momentous changes are now emerging, and they are bound to change the aging picture. What’s being done to respond to those growing pressures?
Evidence and Human Genome Editing
Authors: Maschke Karen J.
Published: October 2018

In July, the United Kingdom's Nuffield Council on Bioethics issued a report on human genome editing in which it said that editing a human embryo's genome to reduce the possibility that the future child will inherit a genetic disorder could be ethically acceptable when certain conditions are met: the intended use of genome‐editing interventions secures and is consistent with the “welfare of the future person” and does not “increase disadvantage, discrimination or division in society.” Yet the Council noted that if current legal restrictions on the use of heritable genome‐editing interventions were lifted, the interventions should be used only in the context of “well‐designed and supervised studies” to ensure that they are safe and effective. Some people might contend that it is premature to talk about what kind of evidence—and how much—will be needed to gauge the safety and effectiveness of genome‐editing interventions since the United Kingdom, the United States, and several other countries currently prohibit clinical trials that involve transferring into a woman an embryo whose genome was edited. Yet based on an analysis of evidentiary disputes involving several medical technologies (an analysis that I conducted with my Hastings colleague Michael Gusmano for a forthcoming book, Debating Modern Medical Technologies: The Politics of Safety, Effectiveness, and Patient Access), I suggest that now is the time to start the conversation about evidentiary standards for the use of genome editing in reproductive medicine.
Inhibition of kynurenine aminotransferase II attenuates hippocampus‐dependent memory deficit in adult rats treated prenatally with kynurenine
Authors: Pocivavsek Ana , Elmer Greg I. , Schwarcz Robert
Published: October 2018

A combination of genetic and environmental factors contributes to schizophrenia (SZ), a catastrophic psychiatric disorder with a hypothesized neurodevelopmental origin. Increases in the brain levels of the tryptophan metabolite kynurenic acid (KYNA), an endogenous antagonist of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine and NMDA receptors, have been implicated specifically in the cognitive deficits seen in persons with SZ. Here we evaluated this role of KYNA by adding the KYNA precursor kynurenine (100 mg/day) to chow fed to pregnant rat dams from embryonic day (ED) 15 to ED 22 (control: ECon; kynurenine treated: EKyn). Upon termination of the treatment, all rats received normal rodent chow until the animals were evaluated in adulthood (postnatal days 56–85). EKyn treatment resulted in increased extracellular KYNA and reduced extracellular glutamate in the hippocampus, measured by in vivo microdialysis, and caused impairments in hippocampus‐dependent learning in adult rats. Acute administration of BFF816, a systemically active inhibitor of kynurenine aminotransferase II (KAT II), the major KYNA‐synthesizing enzyme in the brain, normalized neurochemistry and prevented contextual memory deficits in adult EKyn animals. Collectively, these results demonstrate that acute inhibition of KYNA neosynthesis can overcome cognitive impairments that arise as a consequence of elevated brain KYNA in early brain development.
Equal or equitable pay? Individual differences in pay fairness perceptions
Authors: Kim Tae‐Yeol , Wang Jie , Chen Tingting , Zhu Yue , Sun Rui
Published: October 2018

This study examined how social comparison (i.e., comparing one's pay to similar others' pay) and deserved comparison (i.e., comparing one's pay to one's deserved pay) affect pay fairness perceptions, and the individual differences in the comparison processes. Results based on a field study with a sample of 167 employees showed pay fairness was low when employees received lower pay than a similar other (or what they deserved), increased as their pay exceeded that of a similar other (or deserved pay) to some extent, and then decreased when overpayment was considerable. Second, pay fairness increased as one's actual and similar others' pay levels both increased while pay fairness remained the same as one's actual and the deserved pay levels both increased. In addition, the “threshold” that people start to perceive overpayment as less fair occurred more quickly for those with higher preference for consistency in social comparison and for those with higher preference for the merit principle in deserved comparison. We also conducted experiments, and the results generally replicated the findings in the field study. These findings offer theoretical implications regarding organizational justice, as well as practical implications for designing and executing a compensation system.
Lithium, valproate, and carbamazepine prescribing patterns for long‐term treatment of bipolar I and II disorders: A prospective study
Authors: Musetti Laura , Tundo Antonio , Benedetti Alessandra , Massimetti Gabriele , Cambiali Erika , Pergentini Irene , Del Grande Claudia , Dell'Osso Liliana
Published: October 2018

Objective

This study aims to describe the prescription patterns of the mood stabilizers most commonly used for the treatment of bipolar I and II disorders (lithium, valproate, and carbamazepine) and to analyze the treatment outcomes.

Methods

Two hundred and thirty‐four outpatients with bipolar disorders receiving prophylactic treatment with lithium, valproate, carbamazepine, or their combination were followed up for at least 18 months in two Italian psychiatric centers specialized in mood disorders.

Results

The combination of lithium and valproate or carbamazepine was the most common prophylactic treatment (54.3%), followed by valproate or carbamazepine (24%) and lithium monotherapy (22%). Polytherapy was prescribed mainly to patients with bipolar I disorder, a high number of previous episodes and lifetime psychotic symptoms, whereas valproate or carbamazepine monotherapy was prescribed to patients with anxiety comorbidity. The annual frequency of recurrences decreased significantly after entering the study in the overall sample, and the reduction was significantly higher in patients on lithium plus valproate or carbamazepine compared with the valproate or carbamazepine group, but not with the lithium monotherapy group. The number of mixed recurrences during the follow‐up was significantly higher in patients on lithium plus valproate or carbamazepine.

Conclusions

Our findings may help clinicians to personalize long‐term treatment to prevent relapses of bipolar disorder according to clinical presentation.
Multiperiod stochastic programming portfolio optimization for diversified funds
Authors: Fulton Lawrence V. , Bastian Nathaniel D.
Published: October 2018

We investigate a multiperiod, stochastic portfolio optimization model for diversified funds choices associated with traditional 401K or 403B plans. This optimization model minimizes the L1‐norm for negative return rate risk (the downside mean absolute deviation) while examining parameters that maintain model feasibility. Important components of the model are the incorporation of appropriate time‐series components and evaluation of scenarios based on investor outlook. A case study experimentation of the model on five potential investment funds using historical data from 2003 to 2013 was conducted, and parameter constraints for diversification and minimum acceptable return rates were manipulated to produce contour plots. The maximum geometric rate of return investment strategy provided by the optimization would have resulted in a 9.7% geometric return rate in 2014 as compared with a 5.0% for a uniform distribution of investment funds across choices.
Crude oil price shocks, monetary policy, and China's economy
Authors: Wen Fenghua , Min Feng , Zhang Yue‐Jun , Yang Can
Published: October 2018

This paper develops a time‐varying parameter vector autoregressive model to examine the dynamic effects of crude oil prices and monetary policy on China's economy during January 1996 to June 2017. The empirical results indicate that (a) in general, international crude oil price shocks have positive effect on China's economic growth and inflation in the short run, but the long‐run effect appears diverse; (b) China's monetary policy shocks have positive effect on the economic growth and inflation overall; specifically, an increase in monetary supply can partly offset crude oil prices' negative effect on China's economic growth; (c) China's monetary policy has positive effect on crude oil prices and plays an important role in the relationship between crude oil price shocks and economy; and (d) during the recent global financial crisis, crude oil price shocks produce greater negative effect on China's economic growth, whereas the long‐run effect of monetary policy on China's economic growth proves weaker, compared with other periods.
Investigating the relationship between high‐yield bonds and equities and its implications for strategic asset allocation during the Great Recession
Authors: Menounos Georgios , Alexiou Constantinos , Vogiazas Sofoklis
Published: October 2018

In this paper, we focus on investing in U.S. high‐yield bonds during the period 2007–2013, a period that covers the Great Recession in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. First, we use the Fama and French three‐factor model to delve into the relationship between the risk‐adjusted returns of high‐yield bonds and equity market risk factors. Second, we gauge the extent to which the risk‐adjusted returns of high‐yield bonds are significantly higher than equity and investment‐grade bonds' risk‐adjusted returns. Third, by using a modified version of the Black–Litterman model, we explore the asset allocation to high‐yield bonds, accounting for investors' risk tolerance. Our findings suggest that equity market risk factors have significant explanatory power for high‐yield bonds' risk‐adjusted returns, whereas the hypothesis of superior returns on high‐yield bonds over investment‐grade corporate bonds and equities cannot be supported. Our key contribution relates to the strategic asset allocation to high‐yield bonds. Our results suggest that the share of high‐yield bonds does not exceed 4.1% of total assets in a global market portfolio over the period 2007–2013. Notably, the share of high‐yield bonds in a simulated portfolio remains relatively small and stable on a risk‐adjusted basis, irrespective of an investor's risk profile or the phase of the business cycle.
Impact of multimodal methods to teach advanced cardiovascular life support principles in the core doctor of pharmacy curriculum
Authors: Newsome Andrea S. , Smith Susan E. , Hawkins William A. , Fulford Michael , Phillips Beth B.
Published: October 2018

Introduction

The 2016 Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Accreditation Standards place clear expectations on the production of “practice ready” graduates. Advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) is an integrated, team‐based approach to optimizing patient outcomes in acute cardiovascular events. Foundational knowledge and skill with ACLS principles will support graduate pharmacists as essential members of the health care team.

Objectives

To assess the impact of didactic and simulation based advanced cardiovascular life support training on student perception, knowledge, and skills.

Methods

ACLS training was incorporated into the third year pharmacy curriculum through the addition of a 2‐hour pharmacy‐oriented didactic lecture on ACLS fundamentals and reinforced with a 2‐hour simulation experience of various cardiovascular events. Perception and knowledge were evaluated in a pre‐ and post‐assessment format with 10 questions evaluating knowledge and 19 questions evaluating perceptions.

Results

All students (n = 133) completed the pre‐ and post‐assessments. Knowledge of ACLS fundamentals improved by 35% from baseline (43.4% ± 16.7% to 79.2% ± 14.9%, P < 0.001). Perceptions also improved with self‐reported novice ranking decreasing from 46.4% ± 21.5% overall to 4.3% ± 2.1% (P < 0.001), and perceptions of proficient ranking increasing from 6.9% ± 5.5% to 32.5% ± 6.7% (P < 0.001). Skill‐based assessment demonstrated positive review of peers' simulation performance.

Conclusions

ACLS instruction using both didactic lecture and simulation experience enhanced student knowledge and confidence of ACLS fundamentals. Future implementation may include offering formal ACLS certification through an elective course.
Optical excitation and detection of neuronal activity
Authors: Hu Chenfei , Sam Richard , Shan Mingguang , Nastasa Viorel , Wang Minqi , Kim Taewoo , Gillette Martha , Sengupta Parijat , Popescu Gabriel
Published: October 2018

Optogenetics has emerged as an exciting tool for manipulating neural activity, which in turn, can modulate behavior in live organisms. However, detecting the response to the optical stimulation requires electrophysiology with physical contact or fluorescent imaging at target locations, which is often limited by photobleaching and phototoxicity. In this paper, we show that phase imaging can report the intracellular transport induced by optogenetic stimulation. We developed a multimodal instrument that can both stimulate cells with subcellular spatial resolution and detect optical pathlength (OPL) changes with nanometer scale sensitivity. We found that OPL fluctuations following stimulation are consistent with active organelle transport. Furthermore, the results indicate a broadening in the transport velocity distribution, which is significantly higher in stimulated cells compared to optogenetically inactive cells. It is likely that this label‐free, contactless measurement of optogenetic response will provide an enabling approach to neuroscience.
Antibiotics release from cement spacers used for two‐stage treatment of implant‐associated infections after total joint arthroplasty
Authors: Klinder Annett , Zaatreh Sarah , Ellenrieder Martin , Redanz Sylvio , Podbielski Andreas , Reichel Tobias , Bösebeck Hans , Mittelmeier Wolfram , Bader Rainer
Published: October 2018

Two‐stage revision arthroplasty is the treatment of choice for periprosthetic infection, a serious complication after knee or hip arthroplasty. Our prospective clinical trial aimed to investigate the concentrations of gentamicin and vancomycin in wound exudate and tissue in two‐stage revision arthroplasty. Wound exudate and periprosthetic membrane samples were collected from 18 patients (10 hip and eight knee patients), who were due for two‐stage treatment after a periprosthetic joint infection. Samples were taken during insertion of antibiotic‐impregnated spacers and after their removal. The concentrations of gentamicin and vancomycin in wound exudates and adjacent tissue were analyzed using high‐performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Average time period of spacer implantation was 13.6 weeks (9.3–22.6 weeks). The concentration of vancomycin in wound exudate decreased from a median of 43.28 μg/mL (0.28–261.22) after implantation to 0.46 μg/mL (0.13–37.47) after the removal of the spacer. In the adjacent tissue, vancomycin concentration was mainly undetectable prior to spacer implantation (0.003 μg/g [0.003–0.261]) and increased to 0.318 μg/g [0.024–484.16] at the time of spacer removal. This was also observed for gentamicin in the tissue of patients who previously had cement‐free implants (0.008 μg/g [0.008–0.087] vs. 0.164 μg/g [0.048–71.75]) while in the tissue of patients with previously cemented prosthesis, baseline concentration was already high (8.451 μg/g [0.152–42.926]). Despite the rapid decrease in antibiotics release from spacer cement observed in vitro, in vivo antibiotics are much longer detectable, especially in the adjacent soft tissue. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials Published By Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res B Part B, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 1587–1597, 2019.
Outcomes of 1,639 hepatectomies for non‐colorectal non‐neuroendocrine liver metastases: a multicenter analysis
Authors: Sano Keiji , Yamamoto Masakazu , Mimura Tetsushige , Endo Itaru , Nakamori Shoji , Konishi Masaru , Miyazaki Masaru , Wakai Toshifumi , Nagino Masato , Kubota Keiichi , Unno Michiaki , Sata Naohiro , Yamamoto Junji , Yamaue Hiroki , Takada Tadahiro ,   on behalf of the Japanese Society of Hepato‐Biliary‐Pancreatic Surgery
Published: October 2018

Background

Whether non‐colorectal non‐neuroendocrine liver metastasis (NCNNLM) should be treated surgically remains unclear.

Methods

Data regarding 1,639 hepatectomies performed between 2001 and 2010 for 1,539 patients with NCNNLM were collected from 124 institutions. Patient characteristics, types of primary tumor, characteristics of liver metastases, and post‐hepatectomy outcomes were analyzed.

Results

The five most frequent primary tumors were gastric carcinoma (540 patients [35%]), gastrointestinal stromal tumor (204 patients [13%]), biliary carcinoma (150 patients [10%]), ovarian cancer (107 patients [7%]), and pancreatic carcinoma (77 patients [5%]). R0/1 hepatectomy was achieved in 90% of patients, with 1.5% in‐hospital mortality rate. Overall and disease‐free survival rates of 1,465 patients included in survival analysis were 41% and 21%, respectively, at 5 years, and 28% and 15%, respectively, at 10 years. Five‐year survival associated with the five frequent primary tumors were 32%, 72%, 17%, 52%, and 31%, respectively, and factors predictive of a poor outcome differed by the primary tumor type.

Conclusions

Our data indicated that hepatectomy is safe for NCNNLM and that patient prognoses vary depending on the type of primary tumors. Indications for hepatectomy should be determined with reference to survival rates and risk factors specific to each of the various types of primary tumor.
A Simple One‐pot Three‐component Synthesis of Dihydrobenzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1‐b]thiazol‐3‐ols by Reaction of Acyl Chlorides, Isocyanides, and 2‐Mercaptobenzimidazoles
Authors: Talebizadeh Mahdiyeh , Anary‐Abbasinejad Mohammad , Darehkordi Ali
Published: October 2018

The reactive imidoyl chloride adducts generated in situ from the reaction of isocyanide and acyl chlorides were trapped by 2‐mercaptobenzimidazole to yield highly functionalized dihydrobenzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1‐b]thiazoles in excellent yields.
Design, Synthesis, and In Vitro Anti‐Tumor Activities of 1,2,3‐triazole‐tetraethylene Glycol Tethered Heteronuclear Bis‐Schiff Base Derivatives of Isatin
Authors: Wang Ruo , Yin Xueyang , Zhang Yaohuan , Zhang Tesen , Shi Weixiong
Published: October 2018

We report herein the design, synthesis, and in vitro anti‐tumor activities of a series of 1,2,3‐triazole‐tetraethylene glycol tethered heteronuclear bis‐Schiff base derivatives of isatin. Our results indicated that all the synthesized bis‐Schiff bases except 9e showed considerable in vitro anticancer activities against HepG2, Hela, HCT‐116, A549, and MCF‐7 human cancer cell lines with IC50 in a range of 9.79–48.75 μM and were more potent than etoposide against Hela, HCT‐116, and A549 cell lines. In particular, the most potent bis‐Schiff base 9g (IC50: 9.79–29.64 μg/mL) was highly active against the five cancer cell lines tested, could act as a lead for further optimization.
Synthesis and Chemical Reactivity of the Novel 4‐Hydroxy‐6‐methyl‐2,5‐dioxo‐5,6‐dihydro‐2H‐pyrano[3,2‐c]quinoline‐3‐carboxaldehyde
Authors: Ibrahim Magdy A. , Hassanin Hany M. , Gabr Yassin , Alnamer Youssef A.
Published: October 2018

Vilsmeier–Haack formylation of 3‐(4‐hydroxy‐1‐methy1‐2‐oxo‐(1H)‐quinolin‐3‐yl)‐3‐oxopropanoic acid (2) produced the novel 4‐hydroxy‐6‐methyl‐2,5‐dioxo‐5,6‐dihydro‐2H‐pyrano[3,2‐c]quinoline‐3‐carboxaldehyde (4). The chemical reactivity of carboxaldehyde 4 with a diversity of nitrogen nucleophilic reagents was studied, and a variety of products were obtained. Some 1,3,4‐oxadiazolyl/1,3,4‐thiadiazolyl/benzothiazolyl linked pyrano[3,2‐c]quinoline‐2,5(6H)‐dione were efficiently synthesized. Structures of the new synthesized products were deduced on the basis of their analytical and spectral data.
Fractional order FIR differentiator design using particle swarm optimization algorithm
Authors: Kumar Manjeet
Published: October 2018

In this paper, a population‐based evolutionary optimization technique called particle swarm optimization (PSO) is applied for the optimization of system coefficients of the finite impulse response‐fractional order differentiator (FIR‐FOD) design problem. The conventional FIR‐FOD design methods are not efficient for nonlinear, nonuniform, and multimodal design problem due to getting trapped in local optimal solution. To overcome this problem, global optimization techniques are required. The superior FIR‐FOD design capability of the proposed method is evident from the results obtained through an exhaustive simulation study. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed FOD design technique using PSO outperforms the genetic algorithm in terms of design accuracy (magnitude error and phase error), speed of convergence, and optimal solution. The simulation results have also been compared with those obtained by the conventional FOD design methods such as DFT interpolation, radial basis function (RBF) interpolation, DCT interpolation, and DST interpolation methods.
Sex, ADHD symptoms, and CHRNA5 genotype influence reaction time but not response inhibition
Authors: Schote Andrea B. , A. L. Sayk Clara , Pabst Kathrin , Meier Jacqueline K. , Frings Christian , Meyer Jobst
Published: October 2018

People showing symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often present an impairment of reaction time and response inhibition. These executive functions are influenced by nicotinergic acetylcholine receptors (nAchr) as mediators of cholinergic signaling, and show differences between both sexes. We examined the effects of two functional polymorphisms rs3841324 (S/L) and rs16969968 (G/A) of the cholinergic gene CHRNA5, ADHD symptoms and sex on response inhibition/reaction time in the Stop Signal Task. In the analyses, 183 participants (52.4% females) were included. In participants carrying the diplotype (SS_GG), men with ADHD symptoms responded faster, while men without ADHD symptoms were slower than women (F = 5.313; p = 0.023; ηp² = 0.034). Although explorative, this threefold interaction on reaction time but not response inhibition extend previous findings, suggesting a moderating effect of ADHD symptoms in men carrying the CHRNA5 diplotype SS_GG and might inspire research on genotype‐ and gender‐specific ADHD medication.
Overtime work as the antecedent of employee satisfaction, firm productivity, and innovation
Authors: Ko Young Jin , Choi Jin Nam
Published: October 2018

Overtime work has been blamed for the deterioration of employee satisfaction and productivity. However, the organization‐level implications of overtime work as a normative expectation remain unclear. In this study, such effects were analyzed through human capital theory and a causal attribution approach. Various organizational outcomes and boundary conditions were explored in explaining these implications. The analysis of time lagged data from 273 firms affirmed that a firm's overtime level was related negatively to employee satisfaction. However, it was positively related to the firm's productivity and curvilinearly (inverted U‐shaped) related to innovation. The effects of the firm's overtime level on firm productivity and innovation were also moderated by organizational trust. This study highlights the costs and benefits of overtime work as tools for utilizing human capital and reveals the critical contingency of organizational trust that enables firms to attenuate the costs of the overtime level and accentuate its potential benefits.
The role of other orientation in reactions to social and economic leader–member exchange relationships
Authors: Buch Robert , Kuvaas Bård , Dysvik Anders
Published: October 2018

In this study, we investigate, through two study samples, whether relationships between social leader–member exchange (SLMX) and economic leader–member exchange (ELMX) relationships and outcomes differ depending on the followers' level of other orientation or the extent to which they are concerned for the welfare of others. We propose that followers with higher other orientation would respond less negatively to higher levels of ELMX and more positively to higher levels of SLMX because they are less likely to engage in behaviors based on rational and self‐interested calculations. In Study 1 (N = 200), we found that higher other orientation mitigated ELMX's negative relations with affective commitment and turnover intention. In Study 2 (N = 4,518), we both replicated the findings from Study 1 and also found that higher other orientation mitigated ELMX's negative relations with work effort. We also uncovered a weaker positive relationship between SLMX and organizational citizenship behavior for followers with higher other orientation.
On bias correction of summer monsoon precipitation over India from CORDEX‐SA simulations
Authors: Choudhary A. , Dimri A. P.
Published: October 2018

In the present study, four different bias correction methods are assessed in improving the precipitation output from a set of two regional climate simulations for 1971–2005 period. The simulations come from Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment over South Asia (CORDEX‐SA). The bias correction methods applied here are linear scaling (Scaling), empirical quantile mapping (EQM), power transformation (PTR) and local intensity scaling (LOCI). All the bias correction techniques show skill in improving the model results, but there are clear differences in the degrees of success depending upon the characteristic of precipitation studies—like seasonal mean, seasonal extremes or inter‐annual variability. Most of the methods show equivalently high ability in correcting the seasonal mean precipitation values; however, there also exist residual biases which vary spatially over India. The largest reduction in bias was observed for the frequency of dry days and precipitation on very wet days, which are significantly altered after adjustment by EQM and PTR. It is found that distribution‐based EQM method is more skilful followed by PTR and LOCI in most of the cases including correction of frequency‐based indices (e.g., dry days number and inter‐annual variability).
Effects of Sodium Benzoate and Sodium Chloride on the Aggregation Behaviors of PEO‐PPO‐ph‐PPO‐PEO and PPO‐PEO‐ph‐PEO‐PPO at the Air/Water Interface
Authors: Gong Houjian , Xu Long , Xu Guiying , Zhu Teng , Dong Mingzhe
Published: October 2018

The effect of sodium benzoate and sodium chloride on the aggregation behavior of PEO‐PPO‐ph‐PPO‐PEO (BPE) and PPO‐PEO‐ph‐PEO‐PPO (BEP) polyethers at the air/water interface was investigated by measuring the equilibrium surface tension, surface dilational viscoelasticity, and surface tension relaxation. The measurements of surface tension showed that sodium benzoate has a better effect on decreasing the surface tension of BPE and BEP solutions than NaCl, especially when the polyether concentrations are low. According to dilational viscoelasticity measurements, the concentration of BPE required for the maximum dilational modulus is lower than that of BEP, indicating that BPE more easily forms a compact adsorbed layer. The dilational modulus values of BPE solutions in the presence of sodium benzoate and NaCl first increase and then decrease after passing through a maximum, and then they increase again with increasing electrolyte concentration. On the other hand, the dilational modulus values of BEP solutions in the presence of sodium benzoate and NaCl first increase to a maximum and then decrease with increasing electrolyte concentration. The surface tension relaxation results are consistent with those of dilational viscoelasticity. The different effects of sodium benzoate and NaCl on the polyether aggregation behaviors are caused by the strong hydrophobic and π‐π interactions between polyethers and sodium benzoate. This work has a great importance for the application and development of polyethers.
The competitiveness of solvent adsorption on polar‐embedded stationary phases
Authors: Krzemińska Katarzyna , Dembek Mikołaj , Bocian Szymon
Published: October 2018

Solvation processes on polar embedded stationary phases were investigated by determination of excess isotherms in binary acetonitrile/water mobile phase. The obtained results indicate the competitiveness of acetonitrile and water adsorption on heterogeneous surfaces of chemically bonded stationary phases. The calculation of excess isotherm as a volume of excessively accumulated solvent confirms the competitiveness of solvents' adsorption in qualitative and quantitative meaning. Corresponding excess isotherms of water and acetonitrile are symmetrical with respect to the x‐axis. It confirms that the displaced volume of acetonitrile is replaced by an equal volume of water and vice versa. Additionally, fitting the two‐site adsorption model to experimental data provides quantitative values with low experimental errors. The obtained results confirm the advantage of volumetric assumption of excess adsorption over direct adsorption layers of solvents, which is commonly postulated.
The toxic edge—A novel treatment for refractory erythema and flushing of rosacea
Authors: Friedman Or , Koren Amir , Niv Roni , Mehrabi Joseph N. , Artzi Ofir
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Rosacea is a common, chronic facial skin disease that affects the quality of life. Treatment of facial erythema with intradermal botulinum toxin injection has previously been reported. The primary objective of the study was the safety and efficacy of thermal decomposition of the stratum corneum using a novel non‐laser thermomechanical system (Tixel, Novoxel, Israel) to increase skin permeability for Botulinum toxin in the treatment of facial flushing of rosacea.

Methods

A retrospective review of16 patients aged 23–45 years with Fitzpatrick Skin Types II to IV and facial erythematotelangiectatic rosacea treated by Tixel followed by topical application of 100 U of abobotulinumtoxin. A standardized high‐definition digital camera photographed the patients at baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months after the last treatment. Objective and subjective assessments of the patients were done via Mexameter, the Clinicians Erythema Assessment (CEA), and Patients self‐assessment (PSA) scores and the dermatology life quality index (DLQI) validated instrument.

Results

The average Maxameter, CEA, and PSA scores at 1, 3, and 6 months were significantly improved compared with baseline (all had a P‐value <0.001). DLQI scores significantly improved with an average score of 18.6 at baseline at 6 months after treatment (P < 0.001). Self‐rated patient satisfaction was high. There were no motor function side‐effects or drooping.

Conclusion

Thermal breakage of the stratum corneum using the device to increase skin permeability for botulinum toxin type A in the treatment of facial flushing of rosacea seems both effective and safe. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Change in the intestinal bacterial community structure associated with environmental microorganisms during the growth of Eriocheir sinensis
Authors: Wang Chenhe , Zhou Yanfeng , Lv Dawei , Ge You , Li Huan , You Yang
Published: October 2018

As an important organ to maintain the host's homeostasis, intestinal microbes play an important role in development of the organism. In contrast to those of terrestrial animals, the intestinal microbes of aquatic organisms are affected by environmental microorganisms (including water microorganisms and sediment microorganisms). In the present study, the compositional differences of intestinal microbes in three representative developmental stages of the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) were studied. Meanwhile, network association analysis, and visualization of the water microorganisms of the crabs’ habitat, the environment microorganisms in the pond, and the intestinal microbes, was carried out. The results showed that the gut microbiota diversity index decreased continuously with age, and the four bacteria of Aeromonas (Proteobacteria), Defluviitaleaceae (Firmicutes), Candidatus Bacilloplasma (Tenericutes), and Dysgonomonas (Bacteroidetes) were the “indigenous” flora of the crab. In the network‐related analysis with the environment, we found that as the culture time increased, the effect of environmental microorganisms on the intestinal microbes of crabs gradually decreased, and the four “indigenous” bacteria were always unaffected by the environmental microorganisms. The results of this study identified the core bacteria of the crab and, for the first time, studied the relationship between intestinal environmental microorganisms, which will aid the practical production of crabs and will promote research into the relationship between specific bacteria and the physiological metabolism of crabs.
A change in the bacterial community of spider mites decreases fecundity on multiple host plants
Authors: Zhu Yu‐Xi , Song Yue‐Ling , Hoffmann Ary A. , Jin Peng‐Yu , Huo Shi‐Mei , Hong Xiao‐Yue
Published: October 2018

Bacterial symbionts may influence the fitness of their herbivore hosts, but such effects have been poorly studied across most invertebrate groups. The spider mite,Tetranychus truncatus,is a polyphagous agricultural pest harboring various bacterial symbionts whose function is largely unknown. Here, by using a high‐throughput 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing approach, we characterized the bacterial diversity and community composition of spider mites fed on five host plants after communities were modified following tetracycline exposure. We demonstrated that spider mite bacterial diversity and community composition were significantly affected by host plants and antibiotics. In particular, the abundance of the maternally inherited endosymbiontsWolbachiaandSpiroplasmasignificantly differed among spider mites that were reared on different plant species and were completely removed by antibiotics. There was an overall tendency for daily fecundity to be lower in the mites with reduced bacterial diversity following the antibiotic treatment. Our data suggest that host plants and antibiotics can shape spider mite bacterial communities and that bacterial symbionts improve mite performance.
Association of mitochondrial iron deficiency and dysfunction with idiopathic restless legs syndrome
Authors: Haschka David , Volani Chiara , Stefani Ambra , Tymoszuk Piotr , Mitterling Thomas , Holzknecht Evi , Heidbreder Anna , Coassin Stefan , Sumbalova Zuzana , Seifert Markus , Dichtl Stefanie , Theurl Igor , Gnaiger Erich , Kronenberg Florian , Frauscher Birgit , Högl Birgit , Weiss Guenter
Published: October 2018

Background

Restless legs syndrome is a sensorimotor neurological disorder of the limbs that impairs quality of life and disturbs sleep. However, there has been progress in understanding the disease involving the dopaminergic system as well as iron metabolism. The exact pathophysiological mechanisms of restless legs syndrome remain elusive. We tried to elucidate the underlying mechanisms in iron metabolism in restless legs syndrome subjects on a systemic, cellular, and mitochondrial level.

Methods

We conducted a study prospectively recruiting 168 restless legs syndrome patients and 119 age‐matched healthy controls focusing on iron metabolism using human monocytes as surrogates.

Results

Evaluation of systemic iron metabolism parameters in the circulation showed no significant difference between patients and controls. We observed a significant reduction in mRNA levels of heme oxygenase 1 and mitochondrial iron genes like mitoferrin 1 and 2 in monocytes isolated from restless legs syndrome patients, indicating mitochondrial iron deficiency. Interestingly, we also observed reduced expression of iron regulatory protein 2 along with impaired activity of mitochondrial aconitase and reduced mitochondrial superoxide formation in restless legs syndrome subjects. Along this line, patients had reduced mitochondrial respiratory capacity that improved in restless legs syndrome subjects under treatment with dopaminergic drugs compared with untreated patients.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that restless legs syndrome is linked to mitochondrial iron deficiency and associated impairment of mitochondrial function. This is partly corrected by treatment with dopaminergic drugs compared with untreated patients, which may be linked to an effect of dopamine on cellular iron homeostasis. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Unidirectional H‐shaped slot antenna backed by a shallow cylindrical cavity for the 5.8 GHz ISM band
Authors: Pazin Lev , Leviatan Yehuda
Published: October 2018

A compact slot antenna backed by a shallow cylindrical cavity for high‐gain unidirectional radiation in the 5.8 GHz ISM is presented. The antenna has a 96% efficiency, 8 dBi gain, 12 dB front‐to‐back ratio, and a −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 7.5%. A prototype of the antenna was fabricated and measured and the measurement results were verified against the simulated ones.
Ultrafast 3D Bloch–Siegert B‐mapping using variational modeling
Authors: Lesch Andreas , Schlöegl Matthias , Holler Martin , Bredies Kristian , Stollberger Rudolf
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Highly accelerated B‐mapping based on the Bloch–Siegert shift to allow 3D acquisitions even within a brief period of a single breath‐hold.

Theory and Methods

The B dependent Bloch–Siegert phase shift is measured within a highly subsampled 3D‐volume and reconstructed using a two‐step variational approach, exploiting the different spatial distribution of morphology and B‐field. By appropriate variable substitution the basic non‐convex optimization problem is transformed in a sequential solution of two convex optimization problems with a total generalized variation (TGV) regularization for the morphology part and a smoothness constraint for the B‐field. The method is evaluated on 3D in vivo data with retro‐ and prospective subsampling. The reconstructed B‐maps are compared to a zero‐padded low resolution reconstruction and a fully sampled reference.

Results

The reconstructed B‐field maps are in high accordance to the reference for all measurements with a mean error below 1% and a maximum of about 4% for acceleration factors up to 100. The minimal error for different sampling patterns was achieved by sampling a dense region in k‐space center with acquisition times of around 10–12 s for 3D‐acquistions.

Conclusions

The proposed variational approach enables highly accelerated 3D acquisitions of Bloch–Siegert data and thus full liver coverage in a single breath hold.