bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cranial Dermal Sinus: Presentation, Complications and Management
Authors: Naderi Soheil , Nejat Farideh , Shahjouei Shima , El Khashab Mostafa
Published: October 2012

Objective: Cranial dermal sinus is a very rare anomaly mostly found in the midline occipital area, presenting with diverse clinical features from asymptomatic dermal sinus to symptomatic situations including meningitis, dermoid tumor or abscess. Methods: Medical records of 18 patients with 19 cranial dermal sinuses operated at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Tehran from 1999 to 2011 were retrospectively studied. Their presentations, accompanying anomalies, radiological and surgical findings were evaluated. Results: Patients were aged 1 month to 6 years and were followed for 2–12 years. Most sinuses were located in the midline occipital region. Infection was the most common reason for referral (50%) followed by skin dimple (33.3%). Creamy white discharge was found in 50% of patients. Posterior fossa abscess, hydrocephalus and meningitis were observed in 38.9, 38.9 and 22.2% of children, respectively. All sinus tracts with associated dermoid tumors or abscesses were removed en bloc to decrease the risk of recurrence. Conclusion: The sinus tracts are a portal of entry for pathogens which result in serious complications of meningitis or abscess. In this series, 67% of children presented with serious symptoms; therefore, we recommend prophylactic surgery in all cranial dermal sinuses. The exact time of surgery is not obvious as the natural course of the disease is unknown. If any symptom is observed surgery should be done as soon as possible. For asymptomatic sinuses identified by the pediatrician during a regular visit prophylactic surgery is recommended as soon as the child can tolerate operation.
Science Fact versus SENS Foreseeable
Authors: Olshansky S. Jay , Carnes Bruce A.
Published: October 2012

Scientists in the various fields of aging share a common goal - the extension of healthy life. However, claiming that the only way to accomplish this is to treat the complications of aging rather than its causes requires more than declarations made by proponents of SENS - it requires empirical research based on the scientific method. As this paper illustrates, it will be difficult to prove that SENS interventions work because the primary result of interest, negligible senescence, is not an outcome variable in empirical tests of SENS.
Opportunity Structures in Established Firms
Authors: Kacperczyk Aleksandra J.
Published: October 2012

This study revisits the well-established notion that large and mature organizations stifle an employee’s ability and motivation to become an entrepreneur. Using unique data on U.S. mutual funds founded between 1979 and 2005, I examine whether large and mature firms, which are typically associated with lower individual rates of entrepreneurship, are also associated with lower individual rates of intrapreneurship. The findings show that, though employees in large and mature organizations are less likely to transition to entrepreneurship, they nonetheless exhibit a higher propensity to pursue venturing opportunities inside the established firm than employees in smaller and younger firms. The results suggest that the observed negative effect of large, mature organizations on entrepreneurship arises partly due to high rates of intrapreneurship and that the stultification processes in such organizations are far less important than has been generally assumed.
Disease Politics and Medical Research Funding
Authors: Best Rachel Kahn
Published: October 2012

In the 1980s and 1990s, single-disease interest groups emerged as an influential force in U.S. politics. This article explores their effects on federal medical research priority-setting. Previous studies of advocacy organizations’ political effects focused narrowly on direct benefits for constituents. Using data on 53 diseases over 19 years, I find that in addition to securing direct benefits, advocacy organizations have aggregate effects and can systemically change the culture of policy arenas. Disease advocacy reshaped funding distributions, changed the perceived beneficiaries of policies, promoted metrics for commensuration, and made cultural categories of worth increasingly relevant to policymaking.
Triaxial test results for fibre-reinforced composites: The Second World-Wide Failure Exercise benchmark data
Authors: Hinton MJ , Kaddour AS
Published: October 2012

This article describes a unique set of experimental results employed in benchmarking leading three-dimensional failure criteria, as a part of the Second World Wide Failure Exercise (WWFE-II). In Part A of WWFE-II, the originators of those criteria (or their representative) made blind theoretical predictions of the triaxial strength, stress–strain curves and deformation of 12 Test Cases, selected by the organisers to challenge the contributors’ models. The cases covered various materials and laminates subjected to a wide range of triaxial and through-thickness loading conditions. The Test Cases were for (a) an isotropic material made of an epoxy polymer, (b) various 0° unidirectional laminae and (c) (0°/90°)s, (0°/±45°/90°)s and (±35°)s multi-directional laminates. In Part B of WWFE-II, a comparison is made by the contributors between available experimental results, described here, and their theoretical predictions, made in Part A. Discussion is also made on the accuracy of these results.
When attention drives attention: Issue dynamics in environmental news reporting over five decades
Authors: Djerf-Pierre Monika
Published: October 2012

This article examines the dynamic relationship between issues in environmental news reporting. The focus of the study is on issue interactions within a single news programme over a 50-year period, covering all news stories on environmental issues in the main public service news programme on Swedish television between 1961 and 2010. The analysis shows a positive correlation between levels of attention to different environmental issues; intense focus on one category of environmental issues does not crowd out other environmental concerns in the news. On the contrary, a surge in interest to one category of environmental problems generates attention to other environmental issues as well.
State of the Studio
Authors: Long Judith Grant
Published: October 2012

This critical analysis of studio courses in contemporary U.S.-based planning programs seeks to reinvigorate discussions about the potential of studio pedagogy in educating planners. I begin by reviewing the definitions, histories, and theories that inform our understanding of planning studios, mapping their evolution starting in 1909 and presenting a set of bookend data for 2009-2011. I then situate this analysis in contemporary education theory to argue that the boundaries of studio pedagogy can be expanded beyond teaching practice, and positioned as a space for new kinds of learning, new models of knowledge production, and new modes of practice.
Look, blackness in Brazil!: Disrupting the grotesquerie of racial representation in Brazilian visual culture
Authors: Soares Maria Andrea Dos Santos
Published: October 2012

This article experiments with collage to explore the visual representation of black people in Brazilian media, popular culture and politics, examining how these representations constitute statements regarding dynamics of racial domination. The work proposes that the introduction of disruptive elements into the very images that objectify the black body could create the necessary conditions for a valuable criticism of how blackness is disposed within the nation’s formation. The articulation with black studies in visual culture and performance, black feminism, African diaspora and post-colonial theories intends to develop analytical frames to examine the interconnection between the representational process of ‘stereotyping’, symbolic violence and anti-black ideologies in the context of the national formation narratives. Methodologically, the articulation of these fields of inquiry intends to provide tools able to highlight and disrupt the regimes of racial representation circulating in Brazilian popular culture.
Automated detection of optic disk in retinal fundus images using intuitionistic fuzzy histon segmentation
Authors: Mookiah Muthu Rama Krishnan , Acharya U Rajendra , Chua Chua Kuang , Min Lim Choo , Ng EYK , Mushrif Milind M , Laude Augustinus
Published: October 2012

The human eye is one of the most sophisticated organs, with perfectly interrelated retina, pupil, iris cornea, lens, and optic nerve. Automatic retinal image analysis is emerging as an important screening tool for early detection of eye diseases. Uncontrolled diabetic retinopathy (DR) and glaucoma may lead to blindness. The identification of retinal anatomical regions is a prerequisite for the computer-aided diagnosis of several retinal diseases. The manual examination of optic disk (OD) is a standard procedure used for detecting different stages of DR and glaucoma. In this article, a novel automated, reliable, and efficient OD localization and segmentation method using digital fundus images is proposed. General-purpose edge detection algorithms often fail to segment the OD due to fuzzy boundaries, inconsistent image contrast, or missing edge features. This article proposes a novel and probably the first method using the Attanassov intuitionistic fuzzy histon (A-IFSH)–based segmentation to detect OD in retinal fundus images. OD pixel intensity and column-wise neighborhood operation are employed to locate and isolate the OD. The method has been evaluated on 100 images comprising 30 normal, 39 glaucomatous, and 31 DR images. Our proposed method has yielded precision of 0.93, recall of 0.91, F-score of 0.92, and mean segmentation accuracy of 93.4%. We have also compared the performance of our proposed method with the Otsu and gradient vector flow (GVF) snake methods. Overall, our result shows the superiority of proposed fuzzy segmentation technique over other two segmentation methods.
Dissociating Levels of Cognitive Control
Authors: Bugg Julie M.
Published: October 2012

Attention is often imperfect; cognitive control is needed to counteract the tendency to attend to distractors that are incompatible with current goals. Cognitive psychologists have long explored cognitive control by examining Stroop interference—the slowed naming of colors on incongruent trials (e.g., “RED” displayed in blue ink), as compared to congruent trials (e.g., “RED” displayed in red ink), in the color-word Stroop task. The magnitude of interference reflects the effectiveness of cognitive control, but it does not reveal the precise processes used to minimize attention to the distracting word. The need for experimental approaches that accomplish this objective is underscored by the existence of qualitatively different cognitive control processes. Prior accounts stressed the use of top-down filtering processes at a task- or list-wide level to avoid word reading, but recent findings have shown that control of word reading is sometimes stimulus-driven—that is, triggered by the processing of stimuli or stimulus features. In this article, I highlight the critical findings that dissociate top-down and stimulus-driven control in the Stroop task, dissociations that are central to the view that cognitive control operates at multiple levels.
What Mind Wandering Reveals About Executive-Control Abilities and Failures
Authors: Kane Michael J. , McVay Jennifer C.
Published: October 2012

People’s minds sometimes wander from ongoing activities. Although these experiences can be pleasant and useful, they are often unintentional and precipitate mistakes. In this article, we adopt an individual-differences perspective in considering unwanted mind wandering as an indicator of both momentary failures of and enduring deficiencies in executive-control functions. We describe research that associates normal variation in working memory capacity (WMC)—a cognitive ability that broadly predicts intellectual capabilities and accomplishments—with off-task thinking. In laboratory and daily-life assessments, people with lower WMC mind wander more frequently than do those with higher WMC, at least during demanding tasks. Moreover, the error-proneness of lower-WMC subjects seems to arise partly from their vulnerability to mind wandering. Executive control over one’s thoughts therefore seems to contribute to the effective regulation of behavior.
Analysis of bimorph piezoelectric beam energy harvesters using Timoshenko and Euler–Bernoulli beam theory
Authors: Wang Gang
Published: October 2012

Single-degree-of-freedom lumped parameter model, conventional finite element method, and distributed parameter model have been developed to design, analyze, and predict the performance of piezoelectric energy harvesters with reasonable accuracy. In this article, a spectral finite element method for bimorph piezoelectric beam energy harvesters is developed based on the Timoshenko beam theory and the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. Linear piezoelectric constitutive and linear elastic stress/strain models are assumed. Both beam theories are considered in order to examine the validation and applicability of each beam theory for a range of harvester sizes. Using spectral finite element method, a minimum number of elements is required because accurate shape functions are derived using the coupled electromechanical governing equations. Numerical simulations are conducted and validated using existing experimental data from the literature. In addition, parametric studies are carried out to predict the performance of a range of harvester sizes using each beam theory. It is concluded that the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory is sufficient enough to predict the performance of slender piezoelectric beams (slenderness ratio > 20, that is, length over thickness ratio > 20). In contrast, the Timoshenko beam theory, including the effects of shear deformation and rotary inertia, must be used for short piezoelectric beams (slenderness ratio < 5).
Steps for Strengthening the Health Education Profession
Authors: Perales Daniel
Published: October 2012

Since its founding in 1950, the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) has evolved in response to the changing needs of both the public and the profession. This SOPHE Presidential Address provides a brief review of SOPHE’s history and the legacy of its achievements over some 60 years. It also describes how new challenges being created by the pending organizational realignment between SOPHE and the American Association for Health Education, which promises to further unify the profession, along with changing American community demographics, can provide an opportunity for SOPHE to strengthen the health education profession by becoming more inclusive and further redefining Dorothy Nyswander’s concept of the “Open Society” and the role health educators play as agents of change.
‘Am I rambling?’ on the advantages of interviewing couples together
Authors: Bjørnholt Margunn , Farstad Gunhild R
Published: October 2012

This article addresses a methodological controversy regarding the question of whether couples should ideally be interviewed together or apart. It draws on three different studies in which joint couple interviews were used either as the sole source of data or in combination with individual interviews. The authors focus on the specifics and strengths of joint couple interviews, and they argue that interviewing couples together has several advantages, such as solving the ethical problems of anonymity and consent among interviewees, and results in the production of rich data, including observational data. Furthermore, the authors point to the practical advantages of conducting joint interviews with couples. In taking a relational view of the self and of what is produced in research interviews, the authors propose to apply the concept of family display, originally proposed by Janet Finch. It is argued that the researcher may be seen as one of many possible audiences for this type of family practice.
Kid Categories
Authors: Williams Rihana S. , Terry Nicole Patton , Metzger Isha
Published: October 2012

The current study compares the productivity (number of responses) and the typical responses to taxonomic and slot-filler prompts in 39 African American children from low-income backgrounds and a diverse group of 21 children from middle-income backgrounds. The authors tested the hypothesis that socioeconomic status would exert a global influence on productivity and typicality responses such that children from middle-income environments would generate higher productivity rates and more sophisticated typical responses. They found support for this hypothesis only in categories that appear to be related to exposure to formal contexts. Several categories that reflect basic life experiences displayed similar rates of productivity and typical responses across socioeconomic groups. Findings from this study have implications for the assessment of semantic knowledge in elementary-school-age children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Correction of Wassel type IV thumb duplication with zigzag deformity: results of a new method of flexor pollicis longus tendon relocation
Authors: Lee C. H. , Park H. Y. , Yoon J. O. , Lee K. W.
Published: October 2012

The purpose of this study is to present a treatment algorithm and a method of flexor pollicis longus tendon relocation for Wassel type IV thumb duplication with zigzag deformity. Forty-two thumbs in 42 patients were included in this study and the mean follow-up was 4 years. In addition to excision of the extra digit, tendon relocation and metacarpal and/or proximal phalangeal osteotomy were carried out, based on the degree of angulation at the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints. Tendon relocation was achieved using our pull-out suture technique. The results were assessed using an evaluation form for thumb polydactyly provided by the Japanese Society for Surgery of the Hand. At the time of latest clinical contact, eight cases were rated good, 31 cases fair, and three cases poor. It is useful to decide surgical procedures according to the degree of angulation of the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints and flexor pollicis longus tendon relocation is important to prevent malalignment at the interphalangeal joint.
Contrasted patterns of selective pressure in three recent paralogous gene pairs in the Medicagogenus (L.)
Authors: Ho-Huu Joan , Ronfort Joëlle , De Mita Stéphane , Bataillon Thomas , Hochu Isabelle , Weber Audrey , Chantret Nathalie
Published: October 2012

Background

Gene duplications are a molecular mechanism potentially mediating generation of functional novelty. However, the probabilities of maintenance and functional divergence of duplicated genes are shaped by selective pressures acting on gene copies immediately after the duplication event. The ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous substitution rates in protein-coding sequences provides a means to investigate selective pressures based on genic sequences. Three molecular signatures can reveal early stages of functional divergence between gene copies: change in the level of purifying selection between paralogous genes, occurrence of positive selection, and transient relaxed purifying selection following gene duplication. We studied three pairs of genes that are known to be involved in an interaction with symbiotic bacteria and were recently duplicated in the history of the Medicago genus (Fabaceae). We sequenced two pairs of polygalacturonase genes (Pg11-Pg3 and Pg11a-Pg11c) and one pair of auxine transporter-like genes (Lax2-Lax4) in 17 species belonging to the Medicago genus, and sought for molecular signatures of differentiation between copies.

Results

Selective histories revealed by these three signatures of molecular differentiation were found to be markedly different between each pair of paralogs. We found sites under positive selection in the Pg11 paralogs while Pg3 has mainly evolved under purifying selection. The most recent paralogs examined Pg11a and Pg11c, are both undergoing positive selection and might be acquiring new functions. Lax2 and Lax4 paralogs are both under strong purifying selection, but still underwent a temporary relaxation of purifying selection immediately after duplication.

Conclusions

This study illustrates the variety of selective pressures undergone by duplicated genes and the effect of age of the duplication. We found that relaxation of selective constraints immediately after duplication might promote adaptive divergence.
Genome-wide metabolic (re-) annotation of Kluyveromyces lactis
Authors: Dias Oscar , Gombert Andreas K , Ferreira Eugénio C , Rocha Isabel
Published: October 2012

Background

Even before having its genome sequence published in 2004, Kluyveromyces lactis had long been considered a model organism for studies in genetics and physiology. Research on Kluyveromyces lactis is quite advanced and this yeast species is one of the few with which it is possible to perform formal genetic analysis. Nevertheless, until now, no complete metabolic functional annotation has been performed to the proteins encoded in the Kluyveromyces lactis genome.

Results

In this work, a new metabolic genome-wide functional re-annotation of the proteins encoded in the Kluyveromyces lactis genome was performed, resulting in the annotation of 1759 genes with metabolic functions, and the development of a methodology supported by merlin (software developed in-house). The new annotation includes novelties, such as the assignment of transporter superfamily numbers to genes identified as transporter proteins. Thus, the genes annotated with metabolic functions could be exclusively enzymatic (1410 genes), transporter proteins encoding genes (301 genes) or have both metabolic activities (48 genes). The new annotation produced by this work largely surpassed the Kluyveromyces lactis currently available annotations. A comparison with KEGG’s annotation revealed a match with 844 (~90%) of the genes annotated by KEGG, while adding 850 new gene annotations. Moreover, there are 32 genes with annotations different from KEGG.

Conclusions

The methodology developed throughout this work can be used to re-annotate any yeast or, with a little tweak of the reference organism, the proteins encoded in any sequenced genome. The new annotation provided by this study offers basic knowledge which might be useful for the scientific community working on this model yeast, because new functions have been identified for the so-called metabolic genes. Furthermore, it served as the basis for the reconstruction of a compartmentalized, genome-scale metabolic model of Kluyveromyces lactis, which is currently being finished.
Virulence of the Pseudomonas fluorescens clinical strain MFN1032 towards Dictyostelium discoideumand macrophages in relation with type III secretion system
Authors: Sperandio Daniel , Decoin Victorien , Latour Xavier , Mijouin Lily , Hillion Mélanie , Feuilloley Marc G J , Orange Nicole , Merieau Annabelle
Published: October 2012

Background

Pseudomonas fluorescens biovar I MFN1032 is a clinical isolate able to grow at 37°C. This strain displays secretion-mediated hemolytic activity involving phospholipase C and cyclolipopeptides, and a cell-associated hemolytic activity distinct from the secreted hemolytic activity. Cell-associated hemolysis is independent of biosurfactant production and remains in a gacA mutant. Disruption of the hrpU-like operon (the basal part of type III secretion system from rhizospheric strains) suppresses this activity. We hypothesized that this phenotype could reflect evolution of an ancestral mechanism involved in the survival of this species in its natural niche. In this study, we evaluated the hrpU-like operon’s contribution to other virulence mechanisms using a panel of Pseudomonas strains from various sources.

Results

We found that MFN1032 inhibited the growth of the amoebae Dictyostelium discoideum and that this inhibition involved the hrpU-like operon and was absent in a gacA mutant. MFN1032 was capable of causing macrophage lysis, if the hrpU-like operon was intact, and this cytotoxicity remained in a gacA mutant. Cell-associated hemolytic activity and macrophage necrosis were found in other P. fluorescens clinical isolates, but not in biocontrol P. fluorescens strains harbouring hrpU-like operon. The growth of Dictyostelium discoideum was inhibited to a different extent by P. fluorescens strains without correlation between this inhibition and hrpU-like operon sequences.

Conclusions

In P. fluorescens MFN1032, the basal part of type III secretion system plays a role in D. discoideum growth inhibition and macrophage necrosis. The inhibition of D. discoideum growth is dependent on the GacS/GacA system, while cell-associated hemolytic activity and macrophage lysis are not. Virulence against eukaryotic cells based on the hrpU-like operon may be more than just a stochastic evolution of a conserved system dedicated to survival in competition with natural predators such as amoebae. It may also mean that there are some important modifications of other type III secretion system components, which remain unknown. Cell-associated hemolysis might be a good indicator of the virulence of Pseudomonas fluorescens strain.
Transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of Yukon Thellungiella plants grown in cabinets and their natural habitat show phenotypic plasticity
Authors: Guevara David R , Champigny Marc J , Tattersall Ashley , Dedrick Jeff , Wong Chui E , Li Yong , Labbe Aurelie , Ping Chien-Lu , Wang Yanxiang , Nuin Paulo , Golding G Brian , McCarry Brian E , Summers Peter S , Moffatt Barbara A , Weretilnyk Elizabeth A
Published: October 2012

Background

Thellungiella salsuginea is an important model plant due to its natural tolerance to abiotic stresses including salt, cold, and water deficits. Microarray and metabolite profiling have shown that Thellungiella undergoes stress-responsive changes in transcript and organic solute abundance when grown under controlled environmental conditions. However, few reports assess the capacity of plants to display stress-responsive traits in natural habitats where concurrent stresses are the norm.

Results

To determine whether stress-responsive changes observed in cabinet-grown plants are recapitulated in the field, we analyzed leaf transcript and metabolic profiles of Thellungiella growing in its native Yukon habitat during two years of contrasting meteorological conditions. We found 673 genes showing differential expression between field and unstressed, chamber-grown plants. There were comparatively few overlaps between genes expressed under field and cabinet treatment-specific conditions. Only 20 of 99 drought-responsive genes were expressed both in the field during a year of low precipitation and in plants subjected to drought treatments in cabinets. There was also a general pattern of lower abundance among metabolites found in field plants relative to control or stress-treated plants in growth cabinets. Nutrient availability may explain some of the observed differences. For example, proline accumulated to high levels in cold and salt-stressed cabinet-grown plants but proline content was, by comparison, negligible in plants at a saline Yukon field site. We show that proline accumulated in a stress-responsive manner in Thellungiella plants salinized in growth cabinets and in salt-stressed seedlings when nitrogen was provided at 1.0 mM. In seedlings grown on 0.1 mM nitrogen medium, the proline content was low while carbohydrates increased. The relatively higher content of sugar-like compounds in field plants and seedlings on low nitrogen media suggests that Thellungiella shows metabolic plasticity in response to environmental stress and that resource availability can influence the expression of stress tolerance traits under field conditions.

Conclusion

Comparisons between Thellungiella plants responding to stress in cabinets and in their natural habitats showed differences but also overlap between transcript and metabolite profiles. The traits in common offer potential targets for improving crops that must respond appropriately to multiple, concurrent stresses.
FILAMENTOUS FLOWER controls lateral organ development by acting as both an activator and a repressor
Authors: Bonaccorso Oliver , Lee Joanne E , Puah Libby , Scutt Charles P , Golz John F
Published: October 2012

Background

The YABBY (YAB) family of transcription factors participate in a diverse range of processes that include leaf and floral patterning, organ growth, and the control of shoot apical meristem organisation and activity. How these disparate functions are regulated is not clear, but based on interactions with the LEUNIG-class of co-repressors, it has been proposed that YABs act as transcriptional repressors. In the light of recent work showing that DNA-binding proteins associated with the yeast co-repressor TUP1 can also function as activators, we have examined the transcriptional activity of the YABs.

Results

Of the four Arabidopsis YABs tested in yeast, only FILAMENTOUS FLOWER (FIL) activated reporter gene expression. Similar analysis with Antirrhinum YABs identified the FIL ortholog GRAMINIFOLIA as an activator. Plant-based transactivation assays not only confirmed the potential of FIL to activate transcription, but also extended this property to the FIL paralog YABBY3 (YAB3). Subsequent transcriptomic analysis of lines expressing a steroid-inducible FIL protein revealed groups of genes that responded either positively or negatively to YAB induction. Included in the positively regulated group of genes were the polarity regulators KANADI1 (KAN1), AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 4 (ARF4) and ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1 (AS1). We also show that modifying FIL to function as an obligate repressor causes strong yab loss-of-function phenotypes.

Conclusions

Collectively these data show that FIL functions as a transcriptional activator in plants and that this activity is involved in leaf patterning. Interestingly, our study also supports the idea that FIL can act as a repressor, as transcriptomic analysis identified negatively regulated FIL-response genes. To reconcile these observations, we propose that YABs are bifunctional transcription factors that participate in both positive and negative regulation. These findings fit a model of leaf development in which adaxial/abaxial patterning is maintained by a regulatory network consisting of positive feedback loops.
Patients with chronic kidney disease are at an elevated risk of dementia: A population-based cohort study in Taiwan
Authors: Cheng Kao-Chi , Chen Yu-Lung , Lai Shih-Wei , Mou Chih-Hsin , Tsai Pang-Yao , Sung Fung-Chang
Published: October 2012

Background

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is more prevalent in Taiwan than in most countries. This population-based cohort study evaluated the dementia risk associated with CKD.

Methods

Using claims data of 1,000,000 insured residents covered in the universal health insurance of Taiwan, we selected 37049 adults with CKD newly diagnosed from 2000–2006 as the CKD cohort. We also randomly selected 74098 persons free from CKD and other kidney diseases, frequency matched with age, sex and the date of CKD diagnosed. Incidence and hazard ratios (HRs) of dementia were evaluated by the end of 2009.

Results

Subjects in the CKD cohort were more prevalent with comorbidities than those in the non-CKD cohort (p <0.0001). The dementia incidence was higher in the CKD cohort than in the non-CKD cohort (9.30 vs. 5.55 per 1,000 person-years), with an overall HR of 1.41 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.32-1.50), controlling for sex, age, comorbidities and medicaitions. The risk was similar in men and women but increased sharply with age to an HR of 133 (95% CI, 68.9-256) for the elderly. However, the age-specific CKD cohort to non-CKD cohort incidence rate ratio decreased with age, with the highest ratio of 16.0 (95% CI, 2.00-128) in the youngest group. Among comorbidities and medications, alcoholism and taking benzodiazepines were also associated with dementia with elevated adjusted HRs of 3.05 (95% CI 2.17-4.28) and 1.23 (95% CI 1.14-1.32), respectively.

Conclusions

Patients with CKD could have an elevated dementia risk. CKD patients with comorbidity deserve attention to prevent dementia.
Effect of a family focused active play intervention on sedentary time and physical activity in preschool children
Authors: O’Dwyer Mareesa V , Fairclough Stuart J , Knowles Zoe , Stratton Gareth
Published: October 2012

Background

Early childhood provides a window of opportunity for the promotion of physical activity. Given the limited effectiveness of interventions to date, new approaches are needed. Socio-ecological models suggest that involving parents as intervention targets may be effective in fostering healthier lifestyles in children. This study describes the effectiveness of a family-focused ‘Active Play’ intervention in decreasing sedentary time and increasing total physical activity in preschool children.

Method

Seventy-seven families were recruited from 8 randomly selected SureStart children’s centres in the North West of England. Centres were randomly assigned to either an intervention (n = 4) or a comparison group (n = 4). Parents and children in the intervention group received a 10-week active play programme delivered by trained active play professionals; this included an activity and educational component. Families in the comparison group were asked to maintain their usual routine. Each participating parent and child wore a uni-axial accelerometer for 7 days at baseline and post-test. Week and weekend day sedentary time and total physical activity adjusted for child- and home- level covariates were analysed using multilevel analyses.

Results

Significant intervention effects were observed for sedentary time and physical activity for both week and weekend days. Children in the intervention group engaged in 1.5% and 4.3% less sedentary time during week and weekend days, respectively and 4.5% and 13.1% more physical activity during week and weekend days, respectively than children in the comparison group. Parent’s participation in sport and their physical activity levels, child’s sex, availability of media in the home and attendance at organised activities were significant predictors of sedentary time and physical activity in this age group.

Conclusion

A 10-week family focused active play intervention produced positive changes in sedentary time and total physical activity levels in preschool children. Specific covariates were identified as having a significant effect on the outcome measures. Moreover, children whose parents were active engaged in less sedentary time and more physical activity suggesting that parent’s activity habits are mediators of physical activity engagement in this age group.
Improvement of Catalytic Efficiency, Thermo-stability and Dye Decolorization Capability of Pleurotus ostreatusIBL-02 laccase by Hydrophobic Sol Gel Entrapment
Authors: Asgher Muhammad , Kamal Shagufta , Iqbal Hafiz Muhammad Nasir
Published: October 2012

Background

In serious consideration of the worldwide environmental issues associated with the extensive use of the textile dyes and effluents generated thereof, the scientists across the world are in search for potential treatment technologies for their treatment. In such scenario the ligninolytic enzymes provide a potential alternative because they are cost effective, eco-friendly and can be applied to wide range of dye containing industrial effluents.

Results

Laccase produced fromPleurotus ostreatusIBL-02 during decolorization of the reactive textile dye Drimarene brilliant red K-4BL (DBR K-4BL) was purified and immobilized by hydrophobic gel entrapment. The crude laccase was 4.2-fold purified with specific activity of 573.52 U/mg after passing through the DEAE-Sepharose ion exchange and Sephadex-G-100 chromatography columns.P. ostreatusIBL-02 laccase was found to be a homogenous monomeric protein as evident by single band corresponding to 67 kDa on native and sodium dodesylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). The laccase was immobilized by entrapment in Sol–gel matrix of trimethoxysilane (T) and proplytetramethoxysilane (P) prepared using different T:P molar ratios. The free and immobilized laccases were compared to investigate the effect of immobilization on catalytic efficiency and thermo-stability features. Laccase immobilized in the Sol–gel of 1:5 T:P ratio was optimally active and thermo-stable fraction at pH 5, 60°C with half-life of 3 h and 50 min. Laccases immobilized in 1:2 and 1:5 T:P ratio gels had significantly higherKm(83 and100mM) andVmax(1000 and 1111 mM/mg) values as compared to free laccase. After 5 h reaction time varying decolorization percentages with a maximum of 100% were achieved for different dyes and effluents.

Conclusions

In summary,P. ostreatusIBL-02 laccase was immobilized by entrapping in a Sol–gel matrix with an objective to enhance its catalytic and stability properties. Sol–gel entrapped laccase presented potential efficiency as a biocatalyst when applied for decolorization of different dyes and effluents. The main benefits of the Sol–gel matrix immobilization processes are the eco-friendly approach, chemical free and energy saving reaction conditions.
Biocidal polymers: synthesis and antimicrobial properties of benzaldehyde derivatives immobilized onto amine-terminated polyacrylonitrile
Authors: Alamri Abdullah , El-Newehy Mohamed H , Al-Deyab Salem S
Published: October 2012

Background

The design and applications of antimicrobial polymers is a growing field. Antimicrobial polymers can help to solve the problems associated with the use of conventional antimicrobial agents. Polymers with active functional groups can act as a carrier system for antimicrobial agents. In our study, we aim to prepare and develop some antimicrobial polymers for biomedical applications and water treatment.

Results

The antimicrobial polymers based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were prepared. Functional groups were created onto polyacrylonitrile via amination using different types of diamines such as ethylenediamine (EDA) and hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) to yield amine-terminated polymers. Antimicrobial polymers were obtained by immobilization of benzaldehyde and its derivatives which include, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 2,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde onto amine-terminated polymers. The antimicrobial activity of the prepared polymers against different types of microorganisms including Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus), Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Escherichia coli; and Salmonella typhi) as well as fungi (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, Cryptpcoccus neoformans) were explored by the cut plug method and viable cell counting methods.

Conclusions

Amine-terminated polyacrylonitrile were used as a novel polymeric carrier for benzaldehyde derivatives as antimicrobial agents. The prepared polymers can inhibit the growth of the microorganisms. The activity was varied according to the tested microorganism as well as the polymer microstructure. It was found that the activity increased with increasing the number phenolic hydroxyl group of the bioactive group. Finally, it is anticipated that the prepared antimicrobial polymers would be of great help in the field of biomedical applications and biological water treatment.
GAMETES: a fast, direct algorithm for generating pure, strict, epistatic models with random architectures
Authors: Urbanowicz Ryan J , Kiralis Jeff , Sinnott-Armstrong Nicholas A , Heberling Tamra , Fisher Jonathan M , Moore Jason H
Published: October 2012

Background

Geneticists who look beyond single locus disease associations require additional strategies for the detection of complex multi-locus effects. Epistasis, a multi-locus masking effect, presents a particular challenge, and has been the target of bioinformatic development. Thorough evaluation of new algorithms calls for simulation studies in which known disease models are sought. To date, the best methods for generating simulated multi-locus epistatic models rely on genetic algorithms. However, such methods are computationally expensive, difficult to adapt to multiple objectives, and unlikely to yield models with a precise form of epistasis which we refer to as pure and strict. Purely and strictly epistatic models constitute the worst-case in terms of detecting disease associations, since such associations may only be observed if all n-loci are included in the disease model. This makes them an attractive gold standard for simulation studies considering complex multi-locus effects.

Results

We introduce GAMETES, a user-friendly software package and algorithm which generates complex biallelic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) disease models for simulation studies. GAMETES rapidly and precisely generates random, pure, strict n-locus models with specified genetic constraints. These constraints include heritability, minor allele frequencies of the SNPs, and population prevalence. GAMETES also includes a simple dataset simulation strategy which may be utilized to rapidly generate an archive of simulated datasets for given genetic models. We highlight the utility and limitations of GAMETES with an example simulation study using MDR, an algorithm designed to detect epistasis.

Conclusions

GAMETES is a fast, flexible, and precise tool for generating complex n-locus models with random architectures. While GAMETES has a limited ability to generate models with higher heritabilities, it is proficient at generating the lower heritability models typically used in simulation studies evaluating new algorithms. In addition, the GAMETES modeling strategy may be flexibly combined with any dataset simulation strategy. Beyond dataset simulation, GAMETES could be employed to pursue theoretical characterization of genetic models and epistasis.
Diabetes foot disease: the Cinderella of Australian diabetes management?
Authors: Lazzarini Peter A , Gurr Joel M , Rogers Joseph R , Schox Andrew , Bergin Shan M
Published: October 2012

Diabetes is one of the greatest public health challenges to face Australia. It is already Australia's leading cause of kidney failure, blindness (in those under 60 years) and lower limb amputation, and causes significant cardiovascular disease. Australia's diabetes amputation rate is one of the worst in the developed world, and appears to have significantly increased in the last decade, whereas some other diabetes complication rates appear to have decreased. This paper aims to compare the national burden of disease for the four major diabetes‐related complications and the availability of government funding to combat these complications, in order to determine where diabetes foot disease ranks in Australia. Our review of relevant national literature indicates foot disease ranks second overall in burden of disease and last in evidenced‐based government funding to combat these diabetes complications. This suggests public funding to address foot disease in Australia is disproportionately low when compared to funding dedicated to other diabetes complications. There is ample evidence that appropriate government funding of evidence‐based care improves all diabetes complication outcomes and reduces overall costs. Numerous diverse Australian peak bodies have now recommended similar diabetes foot evidence‐based strategies that have reduced diabetes amputation rates and associated costs in other developed nations. It would seem intuitive that “it's time” to fund these evidence‐based strategies for diabetes foot disease in Australia as well.
Ankyrin 3: genetic association with bipolar disorder and relevance to disease pathophysiology
Authors: Leussis Melanie P , Madison Jon M , Petryshen Tracey L
Published: October 2012

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a multi-factorial disorder caused by genetic and environmental influences. It has a large genetic component, with heritability estimated between 59-93%. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using large BD patient populations have identified a number of genes with strong statistical evidence for association with susceptibility for BD. Among the most significant and replicated genes is ankyrin 3 (ANK3), a large gene that encodes multiple isoforms of the ankyrin G protein. This article reviews the current evidence for genetic association of ANK3 with BD, followed by a comprehensive overview of the known biology of the ankyrin G protein, focusing on its neural functions and their potential relevance to BD. Ankyrin G is a scaffold protein that is known to have many essential functions in the brain, although the mechanism by which it contributes to BD is unknown. These functions include organizational roles for subcellular domains in neurons including the axon initial segment and nodes of Ranvier, through which ankyrin G orchestrates the localization of key ion channels and GABAergic presynaptic terminals, as well as creating a diffusion barrier that limits transport into the axon and helps define axo-dendritic polarity. Ankyrin G is postulated to have similar structural and organizational roles at synaptic terminals. Finally, ankyrin G is implicated in both neurogenesis and neuroprotection. ANK3 and other BD risk genes participate in some of the same biological pathways and neural processes that highlight several mechanisms by which they may contribute to BD pathophysiology. Biological investigation in cellular and animal model systems will be critical for elucidating the mechanism through which ANK3 confers risk of BD. This knowledge is expected to lead to a better understanding of the brain abnormalities contributing to BD symptoms, and to potentially identify new targets for treatment and intervention approaches.
Drugs commonly associated with weight change: umbrella systematic review and meta-analysis (Protocol)
Authors: Domecq Juan Pablo , Prutsky Gabriela , Wang Zhen , Elraiyah Tarig , Brito Juan Pablo , Mauck Karen , Lababidi Mohammed H , Leppin Aaron , Fidahussein Salman , Prokop Larry J , Montori Victor M , Murad Mohammad H
Published: October 2012

Background

Many drugs and treatments given to patients for various reasons affect their weight. This side effect is of great importance to patients and is also a concern for the treating physician because weight change may lead to the emergence or worsening of other health conditions.

Objective

The aim of this study is to summarize the evidence about commonly prescribed drugs and their association with weight change.

Methods/Design

Umbrella systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

We will use an umbrella approach to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We will search for systematic reviews of RCTs that compare any of the drugs that have been associated with weight gain (obesogenic) or weight loss (leptogenic); these have been summarized by our experts’ panel in a predefined list. Two reviewers will independently determine RCT eligibility. Disagreement will be solved by consensus and arbitrated by a third reviewer. We will extract descriptive, methodological, and efficacy data in duplicate. Our primary continuous outcomes will be weight loss or gain expressed as a mean difference (MD) for weight (kg) or BMI (kg/m2). We will calculate the MD considering the mean difference in weight or BMI between baseline and the last available follow-up in both study arms (drugs and placebo). Our primary dichotomous outcome, presented as a relative risk, will compare the ratio of the incidence of weight change in each trial arm. When possible, results will be pooled using classic random-effects meta-analyses and a summary estimate with 95% confidence interval will provided. We will use the I2 statistic and Cochran’s Q test to assess heterogeneity. The risk of bias will be assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Publication bias, if appropriate, will be evaluated, as well as overall strength of the evidence.

Discussion

This systematic review will offer the opportunity to generate a ranking of commonly prescribed drugs in terms of their effect on weight, allowing guideline developers and patient-physician dyad to choose between available therapies.