bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sequential cervical length screening in pregnancies after loop excision of the transformation zone conisation: a retrospective analysis
Authors: Pils S , Eppel W , Seemann R , Natter C , Ott J
Published: October 2013

Objective

To review our experience with a screening programme that included four sequential cervical length (CL) measurements from 16 to 22 weeks of gestation.

Design

Historical cohort study.

Setting

Tertiary‐care centre in a university hospital.

Population

There were 312 singleton pregnancies in 321 women with a previous large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ), and 62 pregnancies after a second‐trimester miscarriage in a previous pregnancy.

Methods

The CL measurements were performed by transvaginal ultrasound at 16, 18, 20, and 22 completed weeks of gestation.

Main outcome measures

Early preterm delivery before 34 completed weeks of gestation.

Results

Early preterm delivery was found in 7.4%. The CL at 16 completed weeks of gestation was smaller in the LLETZ group (36 mm, interquartile range 30–40 mm) compared with the control group (38 mm, interquartile range 32–42 mm; P = 0.040). For the analysis of risk factors for early preterm delivery after LLETZ, only cases with a complete data set were included (n = 145). In a multivariate analysis, two parameters remained significantly predictive, with CL at 16 completed weeks of gestation being the most significant measure (P < 0.001, OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.83–0.98), followed by conception using IVF treatment (P = 0.031, OR 0.64, 95% CI 1.54–34.80).

Conclusions

Even as early as 16 weeks of gestation, women with early preterm delivery reveal a significantly lower CL than those without. Dynamics in the CL do not add to this information.
Efficacy of structured education in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus receiving insulin treatment (结构化教育对接受胰岛素治疗的2型糖尿病患者的效果)
Authors: Guo Xiao Hui , Ji Li Nong , Lu Ju Ming , Liu Jie , Lou Qing Qing , Liu Jing , Shen Li , Zhang Ming Xia , Lv Xiao Feng , Gu Ming Jun
Published: October 2013

Background

The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy of structured education in insulin‐treated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

Methods

In a 16‐week open‐label randomized controlled study, 1511 T2DM patients with inadequate responses to two or more oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) for >3 months (HbA1c >7.5%) were randomized (1:1) to either an education group (structured diabetes education plus insulin therapy) or a control group (usual care plus insulin therapy). Both groups discontinued previous OADs (except biguanides and α‐glucosidase inhibitors) and started twice daily injections of 30% soluble–70% isophane recombinant insulin. The primary endpoint was the change in HbA1c from baseline. Efficacy and safety data were analyzed for within‐ and between‐group differences.

Results

Of the initial 1511 patients, 1289 completed the study (643 in the control group; 646 in the education group). At the end of the study, significant reductions in HbA1c versus baseline were evident in both groups, but the reduction was greater in the education group (2.16% vs 2.08%; P < 0.05). A higher proportion of patients in the education group achieved target HbA1c levels <7% (43.81% vs 36.86%; P < 0.05) and ≤6.5% (28.48% vs 22.71%; P < 0.05). In addition, patients in the education group showed greater increments in scores and improvement in the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (P < 0.05). The overall incidence of hypoglycemic events was similar in the two groups.

Conclusions

Structured education can promote the ability of patients to self‐manage and their compliance with medications, thereby achieving better outcomes.
Genomic Resources Notes accepted 1 August 2013–30 September 2013
Authors:   Genomic Resources Development Consortium, Coltman David W. , Davis Corey S. , Lunn Nick J. , Malenfant René M. , Richardson Evan S.
Published: October 2013

This article documents the public availability of raw transcriptome sequence data and 63,020 SNPs for the polar bear (Ursus maritimus).
Human papillomavirus promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by regulating DNA methylation and expression of HLA‐DQB1
Authors: Feng Biao , Awuti Idiris , Deng Yanchao , Li Desheng , Niyazi Maidiniyeti , Aniwar Julaiti , Sheyhidin Ilyar , Lu Guoqing , Li Gang , Zhang Liwei
Published: October 2013

Aims

Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most prevalent and deadly cancers worldwide. Along with nutrition, smoking and alcohol consumption, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is one of the major risk factors, which is modulated by host immune response. This study is aimed at elucidating how HPV modifies host immune system in the EC pathogenesis.

Methods

The HPV and HLA‐DQB1 levels in primary esophageal squamous cell (ESC) cancer cells from Han, Khazak and Uygur patients were analyzed by quantitative real‐time PCR and immunoblotting. The ability of HPV16 E6/E7 to transform normal primary ESCs was investigated by infecting ESC with pMSCVpuro‐carried E6 or E7. The shRNA against HPV16 E6 or E7 was delivered by adenovirus into esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells with high HPV content. The DNA methylation level of HLA‐DQB1 was measured by methylation‐specific PCR.

Results

The HLA‐DQB1 expression level was correlated with the levels of HPV and inversely related to DNA methylation level of HLA‐DQB1. Overexpressing HPV16 E6 or E7 alone was enough to transform normal primary ESCs. However, single knockdown of either E6 or E7 in ESC cancer cells did not reduce HLA‐DQB1 expression.

Conclusions

Oncogenic HPV E6 and E7 genes promoted ESCC pathogenesis by upregulating susceptible HLA‐DQB1 via DNA demethylation.
Reversible T‐Wave Inversions and Neurogenic Myocardial Stunning in a Patient with Recurrent Stress‐Induced Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Akutsu Yasushi , Kaneko Kyouichi , Kodama Yusuke , Li Hui‐Ling , Suyama Jumpei , Toshida Tsutomu , Kayano Hiroyuki , Shinozuka Akira , Gokan Takehiko , Kobayashi Youichi
Published: October 2013

A 72‐year‐old female was diagnosed as a stress‐induced cardiomyopathy from apical ballooning pattern of left ventricular dysfunction without coronary artery stenosis after the mental stress. ECG showed the transient T‐wave inversions after the ST‐segment elevations. By the mental stress after 1 year, she showed a transient dysfunction with similar ECG changes again. T‐wave inversions recovered earlier, and cardiac sympathetic dysfunction showed a lighter response corresponding to the less severe dysfunction than those after the first onset. Wellens’ ECG pattern was associated with the degree of neurogenic myocardial stunning with sympathetic hyperinnervation caused by mental stress.
Antileukaemic effect of PI3K‐mTOR inhibitors in acute myeloid leukaemia‐gene expression profiles reveal CDC25B expression as determinate of pharmacological effect
Authors: Reikvam Håkon , Tamburini Jerome , Skrede Silje , Holdhus Rita , Poulain Laury , Ersvær Elisabeth , Hatfield Kimberley J. , Bruserud Øystein
Published: October 2013

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a heterogeneous malignancy. Intracellular signalling through the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K)‐Akt‐mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is important for regulation of cellular growth and metabolism, and inhibitors of this pathway is considered for AML treatment. Primary human AML cells, derived from 96 consecutive adult patients, were examined. The effects of two mTOR inhibitors (rapamycin, temsirolimus) and two PI3K inhibitors (GDC‐0941, 3‐methyladenine) were studied, and we investigated cytokine‐dependent proliferation, regulation of apoptosis and global gene expression profiles. Only a subset of patients demonstrated strong antiproliferative effects of PI3K‐mTOR inhibitors. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis identified two main clusters of patients; one subset showing weak or absent antiproliferative effects (59%) and another group showing a strong growth inhibition for all drugs and concentrations examined (41%). Global gene expression analyses showed that patients with AML cell resistance against PI3K‐mTOR inhibitors showed increased mRNA expression of the CDC25B gene that encodes the cell cycle regulator Cell Division Cycle 25B. The antileukaemic effect of PI3K‐Akt‐mTOR inhibition varies between patients, and resistance to these inhibitors is associated with the expression of the cell cycle regulator CDC25B, which is known to crosstalk with the PI3K‐Akt‐mTOR pathway and mediate rapamycin resistance in experimental models.
Multiple lesions of granular cell basal cell carcinoma: a case report
Authors: Jedrych Jaroslaw , Busam Klaus J.
Published: October 2013

Granular cell change in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) occurs rarely. Only 11 such cases have been reported; all of them were solitary nodular BCC. We report herein a case of multiple granular cell BCC with infundibulocystic features. The tumors presented as papules on the anterior neck of a 44‐year‐old female with a prior history of a well‐differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue and radiation involving the area in which BCC developed. Microscopically, the tumors were circumscribed small dermal nodules composed of epithelial cords with granular eosinophilic cytoplasm and entrapped infundibular keratocysts. Given the eosinophilic appearance of the tumor, history of SCC and the lesions multiplicity, the initial biopsy was first interpreted as metastatic SCC. The correct diagnosis of granular cell BCC was established upon rereview of the slides at a cancer center. Given the diagnostic controversy, immunohistochemical stains were performed. The tumor cells expressed Ber‐EP4, CD63 (NKI/C3) and CD68. The tumors were compared to the prior SCC finding different morphologies. Extensive clinical evaluation showed no evidence of recurrent SCC. This report expands the clinicopathologic spectrum of granular cell variant of BCC and documents for the first time eruption of multiple such tumors in a localized area.
Programmed death‐1 expression in cutaneous B‐cell lymphoma
Authors: Çetinözman Fatma , Koens Lianne , Jansen Patty M. , Willemze Rein
Published: October 2013

Background

Numbers of programmed death‐1 (PD‐1) positive T cells have prognostic significance in some types of nodal B‐cell lymphomas, but data on PD‐1 expression in cutaneous B‐cell lymphoma (CBCL) are few. In this study we determined the expression and distribution of PD‐1 on neoplastic B cells and reactive T cells in skin sections from primary CBCLs.

Methods

By means of immunohistochemical staining, PD‐1 expression was investigated in skin biopsies from 10 patients with primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma (PCMZL), 18 patients with primary cutaneous follicle center lymphoma (PCFCL) and 12 patients with primary cutaneous diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma–leg type (PCDLBCL–LT).

Results

Neoplastic B cells were negative for PD‐1 in all cases, except for two cases of PCDLBCL–LT. The frequency of PD‐1+ T cells was significantly higher in PCFCL than in PCMZL and PCDLBCL–LT, accounting for 20, 10 and 3% of the total number of infiltrating cells, and 60, 20 and 15% of the total number of CD3+ T cells, respectively.

Conclusions

PD‐1 is rarely expressed by the neoplastic B cells in CBCL. High percentages of PD‐1+ T cells, particularly if found outside germinal centers, support a diagnosis of PCFCL.
Elevated liver enzymes are related to progression to impaired glucose tolerance in Japanese men
Authors: Oka R. , Aizawa T. , Yagi K. , Hayashi K. , Kawashiri M. , Yamagishi M.
Published: October 2013

Aims

To investigate whether the elevation of liver enzymes is associated with the progression from normal to impaired glucose tolerance.

Methods

A historical cohort study was conducted in 594 male workers at public schools, who had normal glucose tolerance at baseline. The progression to impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glycaemia during a mean follow‐up of 3.1 years was measured using an oral glucose tolerance test.

Results

Overall, 141 (23.7%) subjects developed impaired glucose tolerance and 68 (11.4%) subjects developed impaired fasting glycaemia, 23 of whom had combined impaired fasting glycaemia/impaired glucose tolerance. The incidence of impaired glucose tolerance increased significantly with increasing quartiles of serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and γ‐glutamyltransferase (P for trend <0.01). In Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, after adjusting for comprehensive risk factors, including plasma glucose levels, BMI and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, the risk of progression to impaired glucose tolerance was significantly higher in the highest quartile of alanine aminotransferase than in the lowest quartile (hazard ratio 2.5; 95% CI 1.1–5.7). A significant association between alanine aminotransferase and the progression to impaired glucose tolerance was found after further adjustments for other liver enzymes or after the sample was limited to those with BMI < 25.0 kg/m2 or with fasting plasma glucose < 5.5 mmol/l.

Conclusions

A higher level of alanine aminotransferase was independently associated with progression from normal to impaired glucose tolerance in Japanese men. The elevation of alanine aminotransferase may be a change that occurs early in the evolution of diabetes.
‘Cough‐triggered’ tuberculosis screening among adults with diabetes in Tanzania
Authors: Mtwangambate G. , Kalluvya S. E. , Kidenya B. R. , Kabangila R. , Downs J. A. , Smart L. R. , Fitzgerald D. W. , Peck R. N.
Published: October 2013

Aims

Diabetes increases the risk of tuberculosis and the prevalence of diabetes is rising in tuberculosis‐endemic regions such as sub‐Saharan Africa. Resource‐appropriate strategies for tuberculosis case finding among African adults with diabetes are needed. The aims of this study were to determine prevalence of tuberculosis and evaluate one screening strategy among adult Tanzanians with diabetes.

Methods

In this prospective cohort study, we evaluated a ‘cough‐triggered’ strategy for tuberculosis case finding among adults with diabetes at our zonal hospital in Tanzania. All adults with diabetes and cough underwent further tuberculosis symptom assessment, and those with productive cough had sputum collected for microscopy and Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture.

Results

Between September 2011 and March 2012, 700 adults with diabetes attended our hospital. A total of 693 were enrolled, 121/693 (17.5%) had cough and 32/693 (4.6%) had at least two of the classic symptoms of tuberculosis. Of note, 87/121 (71.9%) of patients with cough could not produce sputum spontaneously. Nine patients were diagnosed with tuberculosis for a prevalence of 1299/100 000 (1.3%), sevenfold greater than the national average.

Conclusions

Tuberculosis is common among Tanzanian adults with diabetes, but tuberculosis case finding is challenging because of the high prevalence of non‐productive cough. This low‐cost, ‘cough‐triggered’ tuberculosis case‐finding strategy may serve as a reasonable first step for improving tuberculosis screening among adults with diabetes in sub‐Saharan Africa.
Millimetre‐scale distribution of organic matter composition at intact biopore and crack surfaces
Authors: Leue M. , Gerke H. H. , Ellerbrock R. H.
Published: October 2013

Structured subsoil horizons are characterized by biopores and shrinkage cracks, which may serve as preferential flow paths. The surfaces of cracks and biopores may be coated by clay‐organic material. The spatially‐distributed organic matter (OM) composition at such structural surfaces was studied at the millimetre scale using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy in the mid‐infrared range (MIR). Intact biopores such as earthworm burrows and root channels, and crack surfaces of nine subsoil horizons were analysed. The samples were from arable and forest Luvisols, one Regosol, one Stagnosol and Cambisols developed from loess, till, mudstone and limestone. For better comparison between soils, the DRIFT signal intensities were corrected for the particle‐size effects. The OM was characterized by the ratio between alkyl‐ (C–H) and carbonyl (C=O) functional groups (C–H/C=O), which represent an index of the potential wettability (PWI) of the OM. The PWI was larger for biopores than for crack surfaces and the soil matrix, indicating a smaller potential wettability of OM at biopore surfaces. The millimetre‐scale spatial variability of OM was especially large for the surfaces of root channels. Samples from till‐derived Luvisols had smaller PWI (with greater potential wettability than surfaces from loess‐derived Luvisols) than other soil types. The mean PWI of the arable Luvisol crack surfaces was less than that of the forest Luvisol samples. The results suggest that the spatial distribution of OM properties at intact structural surfaces may be important for describing sorption and mass transfer processes during preferential flow.
Automated hippocampal segmentation in patients with epilepsy: Available free online
Authors: Winston Gavin P. , Cardoso M. Jorge , Williams Elaine J. , Burdett Jane L. , Bartlett Philippa A. , Espak Miklos , Behr Charles , Duncan John S. , Ourselin Sebastien
Published: October 2013

Purpose

Hippocampal sclerosis, a common cause of refractory focal epilepsy, requires hippocampal volumetry for accurate diagnosis and surgical planning. Manual segmentation is time‐consuming and subject to interrater/intrarater variability. Automated algorithms perform poorly in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. We validate and make freely available online a novel automated method.

Methods

Manual hippocampal segmentation was performed on 876, 3T MRI scans and 202, 1.5T scans. A template database of 400 high‐quality manual segmentations was used to perform automated segmentation of all scans with a multi‐atlas–based segmentation propagation method adapted to perform label fusion based on local similarity to ensure accurate segmentation regardless of pathology. Agreement between manual and automated segmentations was assessed by degree of overlap (Dice coefficient) and comparison of hippocampal volumes.

Key Findings

The automated segmentation algorithm provided robust delineation of the hippocampi on 3T scans with no more variability than that seen between different human raters (Dice coefficients: interrater 0.832, manual vs. automated 0.847). In addition, the algorithm provided excellent results with the 1.5T scans (Dice coefficient 0.827), and automated segmentation remained accurate even in small sclerotic hippocampi. There was a strong correlation between manual and automated hippocampal volumes (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.929 on the left and 0.941 on the right in 3T scans).

Significance

We demonstrate reliable identification of hippocampal atrophy in patients with hippocampal sclerosis, which is crucial for clinical management of epilepsy, particularly if surgical treatment is being contemplated. We provide a free online Web‐based service to enable hippocampal volumetry to be available globally, with consequent greatly improved evaluation of those with epilepsy.
Performance in working memory and attentional control is associated with the rs2180619 SNP in the CNR1 gene
Authors: Ruiz‐Contreras A. E. , Carrillo‐Sánchez K. , Ortega‐Mora I. , Barrera‐Tlapa M. A. , Román‐López T. V. , Rosas‐Escobar C. B. , Flores‐Barrera L. , Caballero‐Sánchez U. , Muñoz‐Torres Z. , Romero‐Hidalgo S. , Hernández‐Morales S. , González‐Barrios J. A. , Vadillo‐Ortega F. , Méndez‐Díaz M. , Aguilar‐Roblero R. , Prospéro‐García O.
Published: October 2013

Individual differences in cognitive performance are partly dependent, on genetic polymporhisms. One of the single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the CNR1 gene, which codes for cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R), is the rs2180619, located in a regulatory region of this gene (6q14–q15). The alleles of the rs2180619 are A > G; the G allele has been associated with addiction and high levels of anxiety (when the G allele interacts with the SS genotype of the 5‐HTTLPR gene). However, GG genotype is observed also in healthy subjects. Considering G allele as risk for ‘psychopathological conditions’, it is possible that GG healthy subjects do not be addicted or anxious, but would have reduced performance, compared to AA subjects, in attentional control and working memory processing. One hundred and sixty‐four healthy young Mexican‐Mestizo subjects (100 women and 64, men; mean age: 22.86 years, SD=2.72) participated in this study, solving a task where attentional control and working memory were required. GG subjects, compared to AA subjects showed: (1) a general lower performance in the task (P = 0.02); (2) lower performance only when a high load of information was held in working memory (P = 0.02); and (3) a higher vulnerability to distractors (P = 0.03). Our results suggest that, although the performance of GG subjects was at normal levels, a lower efficiency of the endocannabinoid system, probably due to a lowered expression of CB1R, produced a reduction in the performance of these subjects when attentional control and working memory processing is challenged.
Does prescribed burning result in biotic homogenization of coastal heathlands?
Authors: Velle Liv Guri , Nilsen Liv Sigrid , Norderhaug Ann , Vandvik Vigdis
Published: October 2013

Biotic homogenization due to replacement of native biodiversity by widespread generalist species has been demonstrated in a number of ecosystems and taxonomic groups worldwide, causing growing conservation concern. Human disturbance is a key driver of biotic homogenization, suggesting potential conservation challenges in seminatural ecosystems, where anthropogenic disturbances such as grazing and burning are necessary for maintaining ecological dynamics and functioning. We test whether prescribed burning results in biotic homogenization in the coastal heathlands of north‐western Europe, a seminatural landscape where extensive grazing and burning has constituted the traditional land‐use practice over the past 6000 years. We compare the beta‐diversity before and after fire at three ecological scales: within local vegetation patches, between wet and dry heathland patches within landscapes, and along a 470 km bioclimatic gradient. Within local patches, we found no evidence of homogenization after fire; species richness increased, and the species that entered the burnt Calluna stands were not widespread specialists but native grasses and herbs characteristic of the heathland system. At the landscapes scale, we saw a weak homogenization as wet and dry heathland patches become more compositionally similar after fire. This was because of a decrease in habitat‐specific species unique to either wet or dry habitats and postfire colonization by a set of heathland specialists that established in both habitat types. Along the bioclimatic gradient, species that increased after fire generally had more specific environmental requirements and narrower geographical distributions than the prefire flora, resulting in a biotic ‘heterogenisation’ after fire. Our study demonstrates that human disturbance does not necessarily cause biotic homogenization, but that continuation of traditional land‐use practices can instead be crucial for the maintenance of the diversity and ecological function of a seminatural ecosystem. The species that established after prescribed burning were heathland specialists with relatively narrow geographical ranges.
Divergent responses of fire to recent warming and drying across south‐eastern Australia
Authors: Bradstock Ross , Penman Trent , Boer Matthias , Price Owen , Clarke Hamish
Published: October 2013

The response of fire to climate change may vary across fuel types characteristic of differing vegetation types (i.e. litter vs. grass). Models of fire under climatic change capture these differing potential responses to varying degrees. Across south‐eastern Australia, an elevation in the severity of weather conditions conducive to fire has been measured in recent decades. We examined trends in area burned (1975–2009) to determine if a corresponding increase in fire had occurred across the diverse range of ecosystems found in this part of the continent. We predicted that an increase in fire, due to climatic warming and drying, was more likely to have occurred in moist, temperate forests near the coast than in arid and semiarid woodlands of the interior, due to inherent contrasts in the respective dominant fuel types (woody litter vs. herbaceous fuels). Significant warming (i.e. increased temperature and number of hot days) and drying (i.e. negative precipitation anomaly, number of days with low humidity) occurred across most of the 32 Bioregions examined. The results were mostly consistent with predictions, with an increase in area burned in seven of eight forest Bioregions, whereas area burned either declined (two) or did not change significantly (nine) in drier woodland Bioregions. In 12 woodland Bioregions, data were insufficient for analysis of temporal trends in fire. Increases in fire attributable mostly to warming or drying were confined to three Bioregions. In the remainder, such increases were mostly unrelated to warming or drying trends and therefore may be due to other climate effects not explored (e.g. lightning ignitions) or possible anthropogenic influences. Projections of future fire must therefore not only account for responses of different fuel systems to climatic change but also the wider range of ecological and human effects on interactions between fire and vegetation.
Change, anxiety and exclusion in the post‐colonial reconfiguration of Franco‐Mauritian elite geographies
Authors: Salverda Tijo , Hay Iain
Published: October 2013

Using the example of Mauritius, this paper seeks to enhance our understanding of how elites reorganise their environs when their position and power are threatened. In 1968 Mauritius became independent and for Franco‐Mauritians, the island's former white colonial elite, this meant that a regime favourable to their dominant position ended. This paper outlines ways in which Franco‐Mauritians have transformed their everyday geographies in the face of this change. We suggest that feelings of anxiety and the consequent desire to regain some measure of control have influenced Franco‐Mauritians' (re)shaping of exclusive cultural, educational, recreational, and residential enclaves to create new patterns of exclusion and segregation. We suggest, moreover, that such enclaves are simultaneously – and paradoxically – a root of both continuing anxiety and the foundation of continued exclusivity.
Trends of Second‐Line Eradication Therapy forHelicobacter pyloriin Japan: A Multicenter Study in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area
Authors: Asaoka Daisuke , Nagahara Akihito , Matsuhisa Takeshi , Takahashi Shin‐ichi , Tokunaga Kengo , Kawai Takashi , Kawakami Kohei , Suzuki Hidekazu , Suzuki Masayuki , Nishizawa Toshihiro , Kurihara Naoto , Ito Masayoshi , Sasaki Hitoshi , Omata Fumio , Mizuno Shigeaki , Torii Akira , Ohkusa Toshifumi , Mine Tetsuya , Sakaki Nobuhiro
Published: October 2013

Background

In Japan, the eradication rate of first‐line therapy forHelicobacter pylori(H. pylori) with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), amoxicillin (AMPC) and clarithromycin (CAM) has been decreasing because of a high prevalence ofCAMresistance. A possible decrease of the eradication rate for second‐line therapy with aPPI,AMPCand metronidazole (MNZ) is of concern. The aim of this study is to assess the trends in second‐line eradication therapy forH. pyloriin Japan.

Materials and Methods

We accumulated data retrospectively on patients administered second‐line eradication therapy forHelicobacter pyloriwith a PPI, AMPC, and MNZ for 1 week after failure of first‐line eradication therapy with a PPI, AMPC and CAM at 15 facilities in the Tokyo metropolitan area in Japan from 2007 to 2011. Trends for second‐line eradication rates in modified intention‐to‐treat (ITT) analyses were investigated. Second‐line eradication rates were categorized by threePPIs (rabeprazole (RPZ), lansoprazole (LPZ) or omeprazole (OMZ)) and evaluated.

Results

We accumulated data on 1373 patients. The overall second‐line eradication rate was 92.4%. Second‐line eradication rates in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 were 97.7, 90.6, 94.5, 91.8 and 91.8%, respectively, with no significant trends revealed. Second‐line eradication rates categorized by threePPIs for the entire 5‐year period were 91.6, 93.4 and 92.4% (RPZ,LPZandOPZ, respectively) with no significant differences among the threePPIs.

Conclusions

From 2007 to 2011, there were no significant trends in the second‐line eradication rates and the rates remained consistently high. From the viewpoint of high prevalence ofCAMresistance in Japan, triple therapy withPPI,AMPCandMNZmay be a better strategy for first‐line therapy compared to triple therapy withPPI,AMPCandCAM.
Mutuality Meets the Market: Analysing Changes in the Control of Quality Assurance in United Kingdom Higher Education 1992–2012
Authors: Brown Roger
Published: October 2013

There has been a tendency in the literature to see changes in quality assurance as part of a process of increased state control. This article suggests a more nuanced approach that also takes account of the different trajectories of the pre‐ and post‐1992 sectors. It finds that whilst there have been increases in both state oversight and market coordination since 1992, mutuality (self‐regulation) remains the dominant mode of control of quality assurance in the United Kingdom. However the present government's higher education reforms, coming on top of a series of market‐based policies for structure, funding and governance going back at least to 1980, as well as a growing emphasis on students' rights as consumers through the courts, may change the picture.
European Union Governance towards the Eastern Neigbourhood: Transcending or Redrawing Europe's East–West Divide?
Authors: Langbein Julia
Published: October 2013

How does the European Union (EU) shape the integration of non‐member states in transnational markets and why are other external actors more effective than the EU in fostering regulatory change in such a context? Examining the case of Ukraine, the article finds that international financial institutions and donors are better at eliciting reform than the EU because they empower state and non‐state domestic actors, who in turn demand and enforce new rules in their home markets. Overall, because the EU limits itself to intergovernmental co‐operation and other external actors only engage in reform of select sectors, we do not observe comprehensive regulatory change in the eastern neighbourhood. Shallow transnational market integration is the result. Eastern neighbours are therefore economically worse off than even the laggards of EU enlargement, Bulgaria and Romania. Consequently, a new developmental divide at the EU's eastern borders between countries in‐ and outside the EU is emerging.
The Receding Tide of Medical Malpractice Litigation: Part 2—Effect of Damage Caps
Authors: Paik Myungho , Black Bernard , Hyman David
Published: October 2013

We study the effect of damage caps adopted in the 1990s and 2000s on medical malpractice claim rates and payouts. Prior studies found some evidence that caps reduce payout per claim, but mixed and weak evidence on whether caps reduce paid claim rates and payout per physician. However, most prior studies do not allow for the gradual phase‐in of damage caps, which usually apply only to lawsuits filed after the reform's effective date, or only to injuries after the effective date. Once we allow for phase‐in, we find strong evidence that damage caps reduce both claim rates and payout per claim, with a large combined impact on payout per physician. The drop in claim rates is concentrated in claims with larger payouts—the ones that we expect to be most affected by a damages cap. Stricter caps have larger effects. Some prior studies also find a large impact of tort reforms other than damage caps. Once we allow for phase‐in, we find that these other reforms have no significant impact on either claim rates or payout per claim.
Choice‐Based Discrimination: Labor‐Force‐Type Discrimination Against Gay Men, the Obese, and Mothers
Authors: Kricheli‐Katz Tamar
Published: October 2013

Do perceptions of controllability and choice affect the nature and magnitude of discrimination? Many groups of people, who hold seemingly controllable devalued traits, including gay men, the obese, and mothers, are discriminated against both in the labor force and in other areas of life. In this article, I show that perceptions of choice and controllability generate discrimination against individuals with seemingly controllable stigmatized traits. I use a hiring experiment in a highly controlled setting to assess this argument. The results provide strong evidence for a causal relationship between perceptions of choice and labor‐force‐type discrimination against gay men, obese men, and mothers. When the traits were presented as voluntary, gay men, obese men, and mothers were penalized when compared to their equally qualified counterparts in terms of hiring, salary recommendations, and competence evaluations.
Judicial Ideology and the Selection of Disputes for U.S. Supreme Court Adjudication
Authors: Yates Jeff , Cann Damon M. , Boyea Brent D.
Published: October 2013

In political science, the well‐known “attitudinal model” of legal decision making dictates that judges' sincere policy preferences drive legal outcomes. In contrast, the celebrated “selection hypothesis” from the law and economics literature suggests that litigants carefully consider factors affecting potential case success (including judicial ideology) and accordingly choose, in the name of efficiency, to settle or not pursue cases in which legal outcomes can be readily predicted. Thus, judges end up adjudicating a nonrandom set of cases that, in the typical situation, should not lend themselves to ideological judicial decision making. From this perspective, the influence of Supreme Court justices' ideological preferences on outcomes could be obviated by the forward‐thinking decisions of mindful litigants. We are left with two dominant theories on jurisprudential outcomes that appear to be at odds with each other. We endeavor to address this situation by incorporating litigation case sorting considerations into a basic attitudinal account of Supreme Court justice decision making in environmental cases. Our primary thesis is that the influence of judicial ideology on legal outcomes is conditioned on case sorting decisions (by both litigants and justices) that precede the justices' voting decisions on the merits. We augment our assessment of this thesis by evaluating our basic model on a subset of cases involving the Court's most formidable litigator—the federal government. We find that in both scenarios, the influence of justices' attitudes on their merits voting is indeed conditioned on case sorting. We conclude that the effect of justices' attitudes on Supreme Court policy making likely works in both direct and indirect ways in that their known ideological proclivities may lead to the strategic sorting of cases for Supreme Court adjudication.
Co‐administration of betulinic acid and methamphetamine causes toxicity to dopaminergic and serotonergic nerve terminals in the striatum of late adolescent rats
Authors: Killinger Bryan , Shah Mrudang , Moszczynska Anna
Published: October 2013

Psychostimulant methamphetamine (METH) is toxic to striatal dopaminergic and serotonergic nerve terminals in adult, but not in the adolescent, brain. Betulinic acid (BA) and its derivatives are promising anti‐HIV agents with some toxic properties. Many METH users, particularly young men, are HIV‐positive; therefore, they might be treated with BA or its derivative for HIV infection. It is not known whether BA, or any of its derivatives, are neurotoxic in combination with METH in the adolescent brain. The present study investigated the effects of BA and binge METH in the striatum of late adolescent rats. BA or METH alone did not decrease the levels of dopaminergic or serotonergic markers in the striatum whereas BA and METH together decreased these markers in a BA dose‐dependent manner. BA+METH also caused decreases in the levels of mitochondrial complex I in the same manner; BA alone only slightly decreased the levels of this enzyme in striatal synaptosomes. BA or METH alone increased cytochrome c. METH alone decreased parkin, increased complex II and striatal BA levels. These results suggest that METH in combination with BA can be neurotoxic to striatal dopaminergic and serotonergic nerve terminals in the late adolescent brain via mitochondrial dysfunction and parkin deficit.

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We report a synergistic neurotoxicity of betulinic acid (BA) and methamphetamine (METH) to monoaminergic terminals in the striatum of male late adolescent rats. BA contribution to the neurotoxicity is decreasing mitochondrial complex I whereas METH contribution is decreasing parkin and increasing brain concentration of BA. We propose that clinical use of BA in young male METH users can be neurotoxic.
Fetuin‐A‐containing calciprotein particle levels can be reduced by dialysis, sodium thiosulphate and plasma exchange. Potential therapeutic implications for calciphylaxis?
Authors: Cai Michael MX , Smith Edward R , Brumby Catherine , McMahon Lawrence P , Holt Stephen G
Published: October 2013

Calciprotein particles (CPP) are a novel marker of mineral stress. High levels of CPP are found in patients with calciphylaxis, a condition associated with marked vascular calcification and a poor prognosis. We report substantial reductions in CPP levels in a dialysis patient having combined haemodialysis (HD) and plasma exchange (PEx) prior to an ABO‐incompatible kidney transplant. We also report the effects of the same treatments combined with sodium thiosulphate (STS) in a patient newly diagnosed with calciphylaxis. Combining HD with intra‐dialytic STS and PEx we achieved a significant reduction in CCP with the least rebound between treatment sessions. After 6 weeks of treatment, the CPP reduction was paralleled by clinical improvement. Measurement of CPP may be an attractive marker for monitoring the effectiveness of calciphylaxis therapy.
Long‐term psychosocial impact reported by childhood critical illness survivors: a systematic review
Authors: Manning Joseph C , Hemingway Pippa , Redsell Sarah A
Published: October 2013

Aim

To undertake a qualitative systematic review that explores psychological and social impact, reported directly from children and adolescents at least 6 months after their critical illness.

Background

Significant advances in critical care have reduced mortality from childhood critical illness, with the majority of patients being discharged alive. However, it is widely reported that surviving critical illness can be traumatic for both children and their family. Despite a growing body of literature in this field, the psychological and social impact of life threatening critical illness on child and adolescent survivors, more than 6 months post event, remains under‐reported.

Data sources

Searches of six online databases were conducted up to February 2012.

Review methods

Predetermined criteria were used to select studies. Methodological quality was assessed using a standardized checklist. An adapted version of the thematic synthesis approach was applied to extract, code and synthesize data.

Findings

Three studies met the inclusion criteria, which were all of moderate methodological quality. Initial coding and synthesis of data resulted in five descriptive themes: confusion and uncertainty, other people's narratives, focus on former self and normality, social isolation and loss of identity, and transition and transformation. Further synthesis culminated in three analytical themes that conceptualize the childhood survivors' psychological and social journey following critical illness.

Conclusions

Critical illness in childhood can expose survivors to a complex trajectory of recovery, with enduring psychosocial adversity manifesting in the long term. Nurses and other health professionals must be aware and support the potential multifaceted psychosocial needs that may arise. Parents and families are identified as fundamental in shaping psychological and social well‐being of survivors. Therefore intensive care nurses must take opportunities to raise parents' awareness of the journey of survival and provide appropriate support. Further empirical research is warranted to explore the deficits identified with the existing literature.
Teaching paediatric ward teams to recognise and manage the deteriorating child
Authors: Tume Lyvonne N , Sefton Gerri , Arrowsmith Pete
Published: October 2013

Background

Issues around the deterioration of hospitalised children are known: the failure to observe and monitor patients adequately, a failure to recognise the deteriorating patient, a failure to communicative effectively within the healthcare team and a failure to respond appropriately or in a timely manner (Pearson, 2008; NPSA, 2009). In response to this, a new 1‐day course called RESPOND (Recognising Signs of Paediatric hOspital iNpatients Deterioration) was developed.

Objectives

To describe the development of the RESPOND course and present a preliminary evaluation of the first four courses.

Methods

A written postcourse survey was completed by participants (junior doctors, medical students, nurses and health care assistants) immediately after the course and an electronic survey completed three months later in a large children's hospital in the North West of England. Data were analysed descriptively and by simple thematic analysis of free text responses.

Results

Sixty‐five participants undertook the RESPOND course over four separate days. Overwhelmingly participants found the course positive, with the most frequently cited benefit being improved multidisciplinary communication. Despite a poor response to the second survey, 18% (12 of 65) of respondents remained positive about the impact of the course.

Conclusions and relevance to practice

This preliminary evaluation combined with a reduction in hospital cardiac arrest rates suggest that the multiprofessional RESPOND course (in conjunction with an early warning tool and response system) is successful as part of a targeted strategy to promote patient safety within a children's hospital.
Cladal Turnover: the end‐Ordovician as a large‐scale analogue of species turnover
Authors: Congreve Curtis R.
Published: October 2013

Modern studies of individual populations have shown large cyclical shifts in phenotype/genotype that correlate with climatic variations. At the hierarchical level of the species, similar patterns can be observed in the climatically mediated turnover of species (i.e. Vrba's Relay Model). In turn, mass extinction events may have a similar analogous relationship with species turnover, while operating at the clade level. In this paper, such an analogous process is described and named ‘the Cladal Turnover Model’. The end‐Ordovician mass extinction event is used as a test case to investigate the existence of such a phenomenon, with specific focus on the origin and extinction of the Hirnantia fauna. A test is outlined that can be applied to determine whether Cladal Turnover is occurring in the end‐Ordovician. An example case study is then performed on the Hirnantia trilobite genus ‘Brongniartella’. The results of this test suggest that while the taxon ‘Brongniartella’ is derived from putatively cold‐water high‐latitude stock (consistent with the classical definition of Hirnantia taxa), the group does not go extinct at the end‐Ordovician event, but instead gives rise to warm‐water low‐latitude descendants. This result is consistent with the Cladal Turnover Model. The method proposed for testing the Cladal Turnover Model could be applied to look at other times of major evolutionary turnover preserved in the fossil record.
Emotional processing during speech communication and positive symptoms in schizophrenia
Authors: Ito Fumiaki , Matsumoto Kazunori , Miyakoshi Tetsuo , Ohmuro Noriyuki , Uchida Tomohiro , Matsuoka Hiroo
Published: October 2013

Aims

The recognition of emotion is often impaired in patients with schizophrenia. The relationship of this deficit with symptoms of psychosis remains unclear. In the current study, we investigated the relationship between emotional processing and positive psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia.

Methods

Twenty‐eight patients with schizophrenia and 37 healthy participants were included in the study. They were instructed to listen to a set of sentences and judge whether the emotional valence expressed verbally and that expressed by affective prosody were congruous or incongruous.

Results

Overall, the patients with schizophrenia had more inaccurate responses than the healthyparticipants and the poor performance was prominent when the patients processed affectively negative scenarios. The percentage of accurate responses negatively correlated with the severity of positive symptoms when the scenarios and/or the affective prosody had a negative valence.

Conclusion

Patients with schizophrenia appear to have impaired function in the processing of negative verbal information. Impaired processing of negative verbal and prosodic information seems to be associated with positive symptoms in schizophrenia.
Innovation orientations and their effects on business performance: contrasting small‐ and medium‐sized service firms
Authors: Prajogo Daniel I. , McDermott Christopher M. , McDermott Margaret A.
Published: October 2013

This study examines the relative performance of small‐ versus medium‐sized service firms with respect to innovation orientations and their effect on business performance. We examine the effect of innovation on business performance between the two groups of firms, exploring differences in innovation orientation on performance between the groups of small‐ and medium‐sized firms. We also examine differences within each group, exploring the extent to which innovation focus differs within each group. The empirical data were drawn from 180 managers in Australian service small and medium enterprises. The findings suggest that while there is no difference between small‐ and medium‐sized firms with respect to their innovation orientations, significant differences exist between the firm's size with respect to the effect of innovation orientations on business performance. Specifically, exploitation innovation has a stronger effect on business performance among small firms compared with medium‐sized firms, and exploration innovation shows a stronger effect on business performance among medium‐sized firms compared with small firms. Overall, the findings show important relative differences between innovation orientations and business performance across different sized firms.
Power Outage Estimation for Tropical Cyclones: Improved Accuracy with Simpler Models
Authors: Nateghi Roshanak , Guikema Seth , Quiring Steven M.
Published: October 2013

In this article, we discuss an outage‐forecasting model that we have developed. This model uses very few input variables to estimate hurricane‐induced outages prior to landfall with great predictive accuracy. We also show the results for a series of simpler models that use only publicly available data and can still estimate outages with reasonable accuracy. The intended users of these models are emergency response planners within power utilities and related government agencies. We developed our models based on the method of random forest, using data from a power distribution system serving two states in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. We also show that estimates of system reliability based on wind speed alone are not sufficient for adequately capturing the reliability of system components. We demonstrate that a multivariate approach can produce more accurate power outage predictions.