bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Low endogenous neural noise in autism
Authors: Davis Greg , Plaisted-Grant Kate
Published: September 2014

‘Heuristic’ theories of autism postulate that a single mechanism or process underpins the diverse psychological features of autism spectrum disorder. Although no such theory can offer a comprehensive account, the parsimonious descriptions they provide are powerful catalysts to autism research. One recent proposal holds that ‘noisy’ neuronal signalling explains not only some deficits in autism spectrum disorder, but also some superior abilities, due to ‘stochastic resonance’. Here, we discuss three distinct actions of noise in neural networks, arguing in each case that autism spectrum disorder symptoms reflect too little, rather than too much, neural noise. Such reduced noise, perhaps a function of atypical brainstem activation, would enhance detection and discrimination in autism spectrum disorder but at significant cost, foregoing the widespread benefits of noise in neural networks.
Neighborhood conditions and celiac disease risk among children in Sweden
Authors: Namatovu Fredinah , Strömgren Magnus , Ivarsson Anneli , Lindgren Urban , Olsson Cecilia , Lindkvist Marie , Sandström Olof
Published: September 2014

Aim: To investigate celiac disease (CD) clustering at different geographical levels and to examine the association between neighborhood demographic and socioeconomic conditions and the risk of neighborhood CD. Methods: We included 2080 children diagnosed with CD between 1998 and 2003, identified from 43 of the 47 reporting hospitals in Sweden. A total of 8036 small area market statistics (SAMS) areas were included; these were nested in 253 municipalities that were further nested into eight ‘nomenclature of territorial units for statistics’ (NUTS) 2 regions. We performed multilevel logistic regression analyses. Results: We found the highest geographical variation in CD incidence at the municipality level, compared to the region level. The probability of having CD increased in the statistical areas of (SAMS) areas with higher average annual work income, with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.24 and 95% CI of 1.76–2.85. Reduced CD risk in neighborhoods was associated with higher average age (OR 0.96; 95% CI 0.95–0.97), higher proportion of residents with a university education (OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.97–0.99), and higher level of industrial and commercial activity (OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.44–0.82). We found no significant association between CD risk and population density, proportion of Nordic to non-Nordic inhabitants, nor share of the population with only a compulsory education. Conclusions: Neighborhood composition influences CD risk. This is one of the first attempts to identify factors explaining geographical variation in CD.
Experimental and numerical survey on tensile fracture of polycrystalline graphite using design of experiments
Authors: Shakouri Meisam , Khodadad Amir , Rezaeibana R
Published: September 2014

A new test specimen for a tensile test of industrial graphite is introduced using experiment and finite element results. The most influencing factors on the tensile strength of the test specimens are considered and the number of tests, which are necessary to optimize the tensile strengths are reduced based on the design of experiment using the Taguchi method and the effects of all factors on strength of test samples are studied. Comparison of the predicted strengths based on the Taguchi approach with the measured experimental results and finite element analysis shows a good correlation between them. In addition, results show that the new introduced specimen makes a 33% increase in the probability of fracture of the test specimens in gage length and the measured tensile strengths are 20% higher than those measured using the standard of the American Society for Testing and Materials.
Little Association Between Wellness Policies and School-Reported Nutrition Practices
Authors: Lucarelli Jennifer F. , Alaimo Katherine , Belansky Elaine S. , Mang Ellen , Miles Richard , Kelleher Deanne K. , Bailey Deborah , Drzal Nicholas B. , Liu Hui
Published: September 2014

Background. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 mandated written school wellness policies. Little evidence exists to evaluate the impact of such policies. This study assessed the quality (comprehensiveness of topics addressed and strength of wording) of wellness policies and the agreement between written district-level policies and school-reported nutrition policies and practices in 48 low-income Michigan school districts participating in the School Nutrition Advances Kids study. Method. Written wellness policy quality was assessed using the School Wellness Policy Evaluation Tool. School nutrition policies and practices were assessed using the School Environment and Policy Survey. Analysis of variance determined differences in policy quality, and Fisher’s exact test examined agreement between written policies and school-reported practices. Results. Written wellness policies contained ambiguous language and addressed few practices, indicating low comprehensiveness and strength. Most districts adopted model wellness policy templates without modification, and the template used was the primary determinant of policy quality. Written wellness policies often did not reflect school-reported nutrition policies and practices. Conclusions. School health advocates should avoid assumptions that written wellness policies accurately reflect school practices. Encouraging policy template customization and stronger, more specific language may enhance wellness policy quality, ensure consistency between policy and practice, and enhance implementation of school nutrition initiatives.
Subsidies and Stadia’ Opulence
Authors: Propheter Geoffrey
Published: September 2014

Quirk and Fort’s gold plating hypothesis stipulates that subsidies are partly capitalized into stadia’ opulence. If the gold plating hypothesis is true, it would indicate that subsidies contribute to their own existence, as owners and major league executives argue subsidies are necessary to meet leagues’ increasing facility design standards. This study tests the gold plating hypothesis using a pooled cross section of stadia from the five major leagues. The findings confirm that subsidies increase stadia’ opulence. As evaluated at leagues’ mean stadia acreage, the marginal opulence of an additional US$1 million construction subsidy ranges from US$188,490 to US$501,420 depending on the league.
Explaining Racial Disparities in Obesity Among Men
Authors: Thorpe Roland J. , Kelley Elizabeth , Bowie Janice V. , Griffith Derek M. , Bruce Marino , LaVeist Thomas
Published: September 2014

National data indicate that Black men have higher rates of obesity than White men. Black men also experience earlier onset of many chronic conditions and premature mortality linked to obesity. Explanations for these disparities have been underexplored, and existing national-level studies may be limited in their ability to explicate these long-standing patterns. National data generally do not account for race differences in risk exposures resulting from racial segregation or the confounding between race and socioeconomic status. Therefore, these differences in obesity may be a function of social environment rather than race. This study examined disparities in obesity among Black and White men living in the same social and environmental conditions, who have similar education levels and incomes using data from the Exploring Health Disparities in Integrated Communities-SWB (EHDIC-SWB) study. The findings were compared with the 2003 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Logistic regression was used to examine the association between race and obesity adjusting for demographics, socioeconomic status, and health conditions. In the NHIS, Black men had a higher odds of obesity (odds ratio = 1.29, 95% confidence interval = 1.12-1.49) than White men. However in the EHDIC-SWB, which accounts for social and environmental conditions of where these men live, Black men had similar odds of obesity (odds ratio = 1.06, 95% confidence interval = 0.70-1.62) compared with White men. These data highlight the importance of the role that setting plays in understanding race disparities in obesity among men. Social environment may be a key determinant of health when seeking to understand race disparities in obesity among Black and White men.
Transradial approach for challenging vascular access interventions
Authors: Rahmatzadeh Mitra , Vijayan Vikram , Ritter Carsten J , Hockley Joseph , Leong Benjamin DK , Sandford Monique , Mwipatayi Bibombe P
Published: September 2014

Background

Percutaneous interventional procedures for vascular access are usually performed using the draining cephalic or basilic vein. The transradial approach, which has been extensively investigated for coronary angiography and intervention, could be an attractive new technique for peri-anastomotic arteriovenous fistula stenosis.

Method

From June 2012 to February 2013, 30 patients with end-stage renal failure were evaluated for transradial vascular access intervention. A 4-French (Fr) micropuncture kit was used to access the radial artery and then subsequently upgraded to a 5-Fr sheath. Fourteen patients required an upgrade to a 6-Fr sheath for the final intervention.

Results

Primary technical success (residual stenosis <30%) was achieved in all cases where angioplasty was performed. Technical success regarding access was achieved in all patients. There were no peri-procedural complications. The post-interventional primary patency was calculated as 100%, 100%, 88.4% and 32.8% at 1, 6, 9 and 12 months, respectively. The post-interventional primary assisted patency was calculated as 100%, 100%, 100% and 63.3% at 1, 6, 9 and 12 months, respectively. Based on colour-coded Duplex scan and/or photoelectric plethysmography, all access-site arteries showed normal perfusion; however, the freedom from significant radial artery restenosis was 92.4% at 12-month follow-up.

Conclusion

The transradial approach for vascular access endovascular interventions is technically feasible and safe. It allows simultaneous treatment of peri-anastomotic lesions in fistulas with complex venous anatomy as well as lesions in the arterial inflow and central outflow.
Anonymous sources hurt credibility of news stories across cultures: A comparative experiment in America and China
Authors: Pjesivac Ivanka , Rui Rachel
Published: September 2014

This cross-cultural experiment ( N = 620) tested the impact of the use of anonymous sources on perceived news story credibility in America and China, two countries with assumed different journalistic standards. Both Americans and Chinese rated news stories with only anonymous sources as less credible than stories with identified sources. The attitude of Americans towards news stories was found to be more positive. The study represents the first comparative research on the topic with rigorously established cross-cultural equivalences.
Risk of healthcare associated infections in HIV positive patients
Authors: Mitha Mohammed , Furuya E.Yoko , Larson Elaine
Published: September 2014

HIV positive patients are a high risk population due to the alteration in their immune status. Healthcare associated infections (HAI) have not been well described in this population, with some risk factors reported inconsistently in the literature. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology as well as the underlying risk factors for HAI, specifically urinary tract infection (UTI), bloodstream infection (BSI) and respiratory tract infection (RTI). This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in three hospitals at an academic health system in New York City, over a two year period from 2006 to 2008. There were 3,877 HIV positive patient discharges in 1,911 patients. There were a total of 142 UTI, 106 BSI, and 100 RTI. The incidence rates were 4.35 for UTI, 3.16 for BSI and 2.98 for RTI. CD4 count and antiretroviral therapy were not associated with HAI. Significant predictors of UTI included urinary catheter, length of stay, female gender, steroids and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole (TMP-SMX); of BSI were steroids and TMP-SMX; and RTI were mechanical ventilation, steroids and TMP-SMX. Multivariable analysis indicated that TMP-SMX was significantly associated with an increased risk of infection for all three types of HAI [BSI odds ratio 2.55, 95% confidence interval (1.22–5.34); UTI odds ratio 3.1, 95% confidence interval (1.41–7.22); RTI odds ratio 5.15, 95% confidence interval (1.70–15.62)]. HIV positive patients are at significant risk for developing HAI, but the risk factors differ depending on the specific type of infection. The fact that TMP-SMX is a risk factor in these patients warrants further research as this may have significant health policy implications.
Associations Between Attention to Warning Signs, Marital Confidence, and Interactional Problem Solving Among Emerging Adult Couples in Mainland China
Authors: Hardy Nathan R. , Vennum Amber , Johnson Matthew D. , Anderson Jared R. , Luu Sharon , Liu Wenli
Published: September 2014

Inertia theory has been exclusively applied to couples in Western cultures. The current study examined the applicability of inertia theory to emerging adult couples in urban China ( n = 200 couples) using the transition and risk model which proposes that partners can reduce their risk of future distress by evaluating information relevant to the quality and stability of the relationship prior to making decisions about the relationship’s future. This evaluation of the relationship may increase the likelihood that individuals will act in ways to support their choice (e.g., relationship maintenance behaviors). Results indicated that men’s and women’s attention to the warning signs of a dangerous relationship (a type of relationship information) was related to their constructive problem solving (a relationship maintenance behavior) directly and indirectly through marital confidence. Theoretical implications and suggestions for cross-cultural intervention and research are provided.
Knee Function Assessment in Patients With Meniscus Injury
Authors: Naimark Micah B. , Kegel Gary , O’Donnell Thomas , Lavigne Stephanie , Heveran Chelsea , Crawford Dennis C.
Published: September 2014

Background:

Outcomes of meniscus surgery are typically assessed with patient questionnaires that help capture symptoms and functional limitations but may not provide an accurate representation of underlying joint health. There are currently no performance-based measures of knee function in patients with symptomatic meniscus injury.

Purpose:

To assess the reproducibility, response to partial meniscectomy, and correlation with patient-reported questionnaire outcomes of novel performance-based knee function tests.

Study Design:

Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

A battery of 9 tests for activities that require knee movements essential for everyday living was developed. Intra- and interrater reproducibility was assessed in 50 meniscus tear patients completing the battery at 2 preoperative assessments with either the same or different examiners. Response to arthroscopic partial meniscectomy was evaluated in 35 of these patients 6 weeks after surgery. Subjects also completed the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) questionnaires pre- and postoperatively.

Results:

The intrarater intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were excellent for all tests (ICC > 0.8). Interrater ICC > 0.8 was observed for step-down, stair descent, star lunges, and timed treadmill travel. Performance on all tests improved significantly with surgery ( P < .05), with the greatest improvement in sit-to-stand and stair ascent and descent. A greater percentage response to surgery was seen on questionnaire outcomes (20%-65%) than on performance-based tests (3%-15%). Moderate to poor correlations existed between the KOOS activities of daily living subscale and the performance-based tests (all ICCs ≤ 0.4).

Conclusion:

Performance-based knee function tests demonstrated good reproducibility and responsiveness in patients undergoing partial meniscectomy.

Clinical Relevance:

As both patient perception and functional performance are determinants of patient outcomes, questionnaires and performance-based tests could be used simultaneously to provide complementary data to monitor short- and long-term outcomes after meniscus surgery.
Implementation of an Automated Dispensing Cabinet Stewardship Program at a Tertiary Academic Medical Center
Authors: Hussey Aaron P. , Cook Bryan M. , Quane Adam D. , Sweet Stephen R. , Szumita Paul M.
Published: September 2014

Automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) use within hospitals is designed to replace or partially replace medication cabinets or carts to allow for a more decentralized model of medication distribution. This project was designed to improve medication delivery by decreasing the burden of dispensing patient-specific medications from a centralized inpatient pharmacy while decreasing overall inventory cost. This single-center pilot analysis evaluated ADC inventory optimization in a mixed medical population. Data collected included inventory cost on ADC, medications removed from or added to ADC, patient-specific medications sent from central pharmacy, and the rate of medication stock outs on ADC.
AHAPS-functionalized silica nanoparticles do not modulate allergic contact dermatitis in mice
Authors: Ostrowski Anja , Nordmeyer Daniel , Mundhenk Lars , Fluhr Joachim W , Lademann Jürgen , Graf Christina , Rühl Eckart , Gruber Achim D
Published: September 2014

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a common skin disease in people and may become a potential site of exposure to nanoparticles (NP). Silica nanoparticles (SiO2-NP) possess a promising potential for various medical and non-medical applications, including normal and diseased skin as target organs. However, it has been shown that negatively charged SiO2-NP may act as proinflammatory adjuvant in allergic diseases. The effect of topical SiO2-NP exposure on preexisting ACD has not been studied to date although this reflects a common in vivo situation. Of particular interest are the potential effects of positively charged N-(6-aminohexyl)-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (AHAPS)-functionalized SiO2-NP which are promising candidates for delivery systems, including gene delivery into the skin. Here, the effects of such AHAPS-functionalized SiO2-NP (55 ± 6 nm in diameter) were studied in an oxazolone-induced ACD model in SKH1 mice and compared to ACD mice treated with vehicle only. The clinical course of the disease was assessed by monitoring of the transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and the erythema. In histologic and morphometric analyses, the distribution of particles, the degree of inflammation, epidermal thickness, and the inflammatory infiltrate were characterized and quantified by standard and special histological stains as well as immunohistochemistry for CD3+ lymphocytes. To assess possible systemic effects, serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Following administration of AHAPS-SiO2-NP for five consecutive days, no effects were observed in all clinical, histologic, morphometric, and molecular parameters investigated. In conclusion, positively charged AHAPS-SiO2-NP seem not to affect the course of ACD during exposure for 5 days.
Common fixed point of the generalized Mizoguchi-Takahashi’s type contractions
Authors: Javahernia Mojgan , Razani Abdolrahman , Khojasteh Farshid
Published: September 2014

In this work, we introduce a new class of contractive multi-valued mappings, called generalized Mizoguchi-Takahashi’s contractions, which is an extension of many known results in the literature. Finally, a partial answer to the conjecture which was introduced by Rouhani and Moradi is given.

MSC:47H10, 54C60.
On a nonlocal problem for fractional differential equations via resolvent operators
Authors: Chen Lizhen , Fan Zhenbin , Li Gang
Published: September 2014

Using the techniques of approximate solutions, the analytic resolvent method, and the uniform continuity of the resolvent, we discuss the existence of mild solutions for nonlocal fractional differential equations governed by a linear closed operator which generates a resolvent. An example is also given to illustrate the application of our theory.

MSC:34K37, 47A10.
Biocompatibility and resorption pattern of newly developed hyaluronic acid hydrogel reinforced three-layer poly (lactide-co-glycolide) membrane: histologic observation in rabbit calvarial defect model
Authors: You Hoon , Lee Eun-Ung , Kim You-Kyoung , Kim Bum-Chul , Park Jin-Young , Lim Hyun-Chang , Lee Jung-Seok , Noh InSup , Jung Ui-Won , Choi Seong-Ho
Published: September 2014

Background

The aim of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility and resorption pattern in three-layer poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) membrane according to the concentrations of hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel in rabbit calvarial defect model. Four standardized circular defects with 8 mm diameter were created on the four rabbit calvarium. Three-layer PLGA membranes (5% and 10% HA gel) were used as the test groups, both collagen membrane and monolayer PLGA membrane as the control groups.

Results

After sacrificing the animals after 4 and 8 weeks, block sections were harvested and histological observation was performed. Pus formation was observed in a site on the three-layer PLGA membranes (with 10% HA gel) of 4 weeks group and initial inflammatory responses were observed on the three-layer PLGA membrane group. However, when compared to both the monolayer PLGA membrane group and collagen membrane group, the HA gel-reinforced three-layer PLGA membrane showed improved cell occlusion and retention period, showing the formation of the capsule-like structure. There was no definite difference between the results of the membranes fabricated with either 5% or 10% HA hydrogel.

Conclusion

The HA reinforced three-layer PGLA membrane was retained longer than control group and showed good property in cell occlusion. Future study is under process to improve the inflammatory response of the three layer PLGA membranes, which were observed in this study.
Patients with hematologic malignancies have many reasons to die during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Authors: Schmidt Matthieu , Brodie Daniel , Combes Alain
Published: September 2014

No abstract.
The genome sequence of the Antarctic bullhead notothen reveals evolutionary adaptations to a cold environment
Authors: Shin Seung Chul , Ahn Do Hwan , Kim Su Jin , Pyo Chul Woo , Lee Hyoungseok , Kim Mi-Kyeong , Lee Jungeun , Lee Jong Eun , Detrich H William , Postlethwait John H , Edwards David , Lee Sung Gu , Lee Jun Hyuck , Park Hyun
Published: September 2014

Background

Antarctic fish have adapted to the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean. Representative adaptations to this harsh environment include a constitutive heat shock response and the evolution of an antifreeze protein in the blood. Despite their adaptations to the cold, genome-wide studies have not yet been performed on these fish due to the lack of a sequenced genome. Notothenia coriiceps, the Antarctic bullhead notothen, is an endemic teleost fish with a circumpolar distribution and makes a good model to understand the genomic adaptations to constant sub-zero temperatures.

Results

We provide the draft genome sequence and annotation for N. coriiceps. Comparative genome-wide analysis with other fish genomes shows that mitochondrial proteins and hemoglobin evolved rapidly. Transcriptome analysis of thermal stress responses find alternative response mechanisms for evolution strategies in a cold environment. Loss of the phosphorylation-dependent sumoylation motif in heat shock factor 1 suggests that the heat shock response evolved into a simple and rapid phosphorylation-independent regulatory mechanism. Rapidly evolved hemoglobin and the induction of a heat shock response in the blood may support the efficient supply of oxygen to cold-adapted mitochondria.

Conclusions

Our data and analysis suggest that evolutionary strategies in efficient aerobic cellular respiration are controlled by hemoglobin and mitochondrial proteins, which may be important for the adaptation of Antarctic fish to their environment. The use of genome data from the Antarctic endemic fish provides an invaluable resource providing evidence of evolutionary adaptation and can be applied to other studies of Antarctic fish.
Discovery of β-lactam-resistant variants in diverse pneumococcal populations
Authors: Hakenbeck Regine
Published: September 2014

Understanding of antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae has been hindered by the low frequency of recombination events in bacteria and thus the presence of large linked haplotype blocks, which preclude identification of causative variants. A recent study combining a large number of genomes of resistant phenotypes has given an insight into the evolving resistance to β-lactams, providing the first large-scale identification of candidate variants underlying resistance.
A meta-analysis of the risk of venous thromboembolism in inflammatory rheumatic diseases
Authors: Lee Jason J , Pope Janet E
Published: September 2014

Introduction

We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolisms (PEs) in patients with inflammatory arthritis, vasculitis and connective tissue diseases (CTDs) (systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren's syndrome, inflammatory myositis and systemic sclerosis (SSc)).

Methods

PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane databases and MEDLINE were searched to identify full-text English-language publications about adult patients with rheumatologic inflammatory diseases and venous thromboembolisms (VTEs). Data regarding rates of DVTs and PEs were extracted. Using random-effects models, pooled estimates for VTEs in individual and pooled diseases were compared with matched populations where possible. Studies were excluded if VTEs were described in the setting of pregnancy, postoperative outcomes or solely antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.

Results

Most of the 5,206 studies were excluded because they did not state the rate or incidence of VTEs. In total, 25 studies remained for analysis. Ten studies that included rheumatoid arthritis comprised an aggregate of 5,273,942 patients and 891,530,181 controls with a cumulative VTE incidence of 2.18% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.82% to 2.54%) and an odds ratio of 2.23 (95% CI: 2.02 to 2.47) compared to age- and sex-matched populations. Ten studies comprised an aggregate of 54,697 SLE patients with a cumulative VTE incidence of 7.29% (95% CI: 5.82% to 8.75%). Four Sjögren's syndrome studies comprising an aggregate of 25,100 patients demonstrated a cumulative VTE incidence of 2.18% (95% CI: 0.79% to 3.57%). Four studies of inflammatory myositis comprising an aggregate of 8,245 patients yielded a cumulative VTE incidence of 4.03% (95% CI: 2.38% to 5.67%). The SSc- and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody vasculitis–related cumulative VTE rates (four studies each) were 3.13% and 7.97%, respectively.

Conclusions

The inflammatory rheumatologic diseases studied were all associated with high rates of VTEs—more than three times higher than in the general population.
Quality-of-service in cloud computing: modeling techniques and their applications
Authors: Ardagna Danilo , Casale Giuliano , Ciavotta Michele , Pérez Juan F , Wang Weikun
Published: September 2014

Recent years have seen the massive migration of enterprise applications to the cloud. One of the challenges posed by cloud applications is Quality-of-Service (QoS) management, which is the problem of allocating resources to the application to guarantee a service level along dimensions such as performance, availability and reliability. This paper aims at supporting research in this area by providing a survey of the state of the art of QoS modeling approaches suitable for cloud systems. We also review and classify their early application to some decision-making problems arising in cloud QoS management.
Comorbidity profile in dementia with Lewy bodies versus Alzheimer’s disease: a linkage study between the Swedish Dementia Registry and the Swedish National Patient Registry
Authors: Fereshtehnejad Seyed-Mohammad , Damangir Soheil , Cermakova Pavla , Aarsland Dag , Eriksdotter Maria , Religa Dorota
Published: September 2014

Introduction

Compared to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is usually associated with a more complex clinical picture and higher burden of care. Yet, few investigations have been performed on comorbidities and risk factors of DLB. Therefore, we aimed to compare clinical risk factors and comorbidity profile in DLB and AD patients using two nationwide registries.

Methods

This is a linkage study between the Swedish dementia registry (SveDem) and the Swedish National Patient Registry conducted on 634 subjects with DLB and 9161 individuals with AD registered during the years 2007–2012. Comorbidity profile has been coded according to the International Classification of Diseases version 10 (ICD 10) in addition to the date of each event. The main chapters of the ICD-10, the Charlson score of comorbidities and a selected number of neuropsychiatric diseases were compared between the DLB and AD groups. Comorbidity was registered before and after the dementia diagnosis.

Results

“Mental and behavioral disorders”, “diseases of the nervous system”, “diseases of the eye and adnexa”, diseases of the “circulatory”, “respiratory”, and “genitourinary” systems, “diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue” and “diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue” occurred more frequently in the DLB group after multivariate adjustment. Depression [adjusted OR = 2.12 (95%CI 1.49 to 3.03)] and migraine [adjusted OR = 3.65 (95%CI 1.48 to 9.0)] were more commonly recorded before the diagnosis of dementia in the DLB group. Following dementia diagnosis, ischemic stroke [adjusted OR = 1.89 (95%CI 1.21 to 2.96)] was more likely to happen among the DLB patients compared to the AD population.

Conclusions

Our study indicated a worse comorbidity profile in DLB patients with higher occurrence of depression, stroke and migraine compared with the AD group. Deeper knowledge about the underlying mechanisms of these associations is needed to explore possible reasons for the different pattern of comorbidity profile in DLB compared to AD and their prognostic significance.
Inference of dynamic biological networks based on responses to drug perturbations
Authors: Berlow Noah , Davis Lara , Keller Charles , Pal Ranadip
Published: September 2014

Drugs that target specific proteins are a major paradigm in cancer research. In this article, we extend a modeling framework for drug sensitivity prediction and combination therapy design based on drug perturbation experiments. The recently proposed target inhibition map approach can infer stationary pathway models from drug perturbation experiments, but the method is limited to a steady-state snapshot of the underlying dynamical model. We consider the inverse problem of possible dynamic models that can generate the static target inhibition map model. From a deterministic viewpoint, we analyze the inference of Boolean networks that can generate the observed binarized sensitivities under different target inhibition scenarios. From a stochastic perspective, we investigate the generation of Markov chain models that satisfy the observed target inhibition sensitivities.
Positive solutions for a class of superlinear semipositone systems on exterior domains
Authors: Abebe Abraham , Chhetri Maya , Sankar Lakshmi , Shivaji R
Published: September 2014

We study the existence of a positive radial solution to the nonlinear eigenvalue problem

−
Δ
u
=
λ

K
1

(
|
x
|
)
f
(
v
)

in

Ω
e

,

−
Δ
v
=
λ

K
2

(
|
x
|
)
g
(
u
)

in

Ω
e

,

u
(
x
)
=
v
(
x
)
=
0

if

|
x
|
=

r
0

(>0),

u
(
x
)
→
0

,

v
(
x
)
→
0

as

|
x
|
→
∞

, where

λ
>
0

is a parameter,

Δ
u
=
div
(
∇
u
)

is the Laplace operator,

Ω
e

=
{
x
∈

R
n

∣
|
x
|
>

r
0

,
n
>
2
}

, and

K
i

∈

C
1

(
[

r
0

,
∞
)
,
(
0
,
∞
)
)

;

i
=
1
,
2

are such that

K
i

(
|
x
|
)
→
0

as

|
x
|
→
∞

. Here

f
,
g
:
[
0
,
∞
)
→
R

are

C
1

functions such that they are negative at the origin (semipositone) and superlinear at infinity. We establish the existence of a positive solution for λ small via degree theory and rescaling arguments. We also discuss a non-existence result for

λ
≫
1

for the single equations case.

MSC: 34B16, 34B18.
Semi-classical solutions of perturbed elliptic system with general superlinear nonlinearity
Authors: Liao Fangfang , Tang Xianhua , Zhang Jian , Qin Dongdong
Published: September 2014

This paper is concerned with the following perturbed elliptic system:

−

ε
2

△
u
+
V
(
x
)
u
=

W
v

(
x
,
u
,
v
)

,

x
∈

R
N

,

−

ε
2

△
v
+
V
(
x
)
v
=

W
u

(
x
,
u
,
v
)

,

x
∈

R
N

,

u
,
v
∈

H
1

(

R
N

)

, where

V
∈
C
(

R
N

,
R
)

and

W
∈

C
1

(

R
N

×

R
2

,
R
)

. Under some mild conditions on the potential V and nonlinearity W, we establish the existence of nontrivial semi-classical solutions via variational methods, provided that

0
<
ε
≤

ε
0

, where the bound

ε
0

is formulated in terms of N, V, and W.

MSC: 35J10, 35J20.
Migration, risk attitudes, and entrepreneurship: evidence from a representative immigrant survey
Authors: Batista Catia , Umblijs Janis
Published: September 2014

Do more risk loving migrants opt for self-employment? We use a novel vignette-adjusted measure of risk preferences to investigate the link between risk aversion and entrepreneurship in migrant communities. Using an original representative household survey of the migrant population in the Greater Dublin Area, we find a significant negative relationship between risk aversion and entrepreneurship. Our results show that the use of vignettes improves the significance of the results, as they simultaneously correct for differential item functioning (where respondents interpret the self-evaluation scale in different ways) between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs, and correct for variation in the use of self-evaluation scales between migrants from different countries of origin. This finding may help explaining the variability in results on the correlation between risk preferences and entrepreneurship reported in previous studies.

JEL: F22; J01; J15; J61; L26
The multifaceted nature of NLRP12
Authors: Tuncer Sinem , Fiorillo Maria Teresa , Sorrentino Rosa
Published: September 2014

NLRs are a class of cytoplasmic PRRs with various functions, ranging from pathogen/damage sensing to the modulation of inflammatory signaling and transcriptional control of MHC and related genes. In addition, some NLRs have been implicated in preimplantation and prenatal development. NLRP12 (also known as RNO, PYPAF7, and Monarch-1), a member of the family containing an N-terminal PYD, a NBD, and a C-terminal LRR region, is one of the first described NLR proteins whose role remains controversial. The interest toward NLRP12 has been boosted by its recent involvement in colon cancer, as well as in the protection against some severe infections, such as that induced by Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. As NLRP12 is mainly expressed by the immune cells, and its expression is down-regulated in response to pathogen products and inflammatory cytokines, it has been predicted to play a role as a negative regulator of the inflammatory response. Herein, we present an overview of the NLR family and summarize recent insights on NLRP12 addressing its contribution to inflammatory signaling, host defense, and carcinogenesis.
Seismic modeling of low-frequency “shadows” beneath gas reservoirs
Authors: Chabyshova Elmira , Goloshubin Gennady
Published: September 2014

P-wave amplitude anomalies below reservoir zones can be used as hydrocarbon markers. Some of those anomalies are considerably delayed relatively to the reflections from the reservoir zone. High P-wave attenuation and velocity dispersion of the observed P-waves cannot justify such delays. The hypothesis that these amplitude anomalies are caused by wave propagation through a layered permeable gaseous reservoir is evaluated. The wave propagation through highly interbedded reservoirs suggest an anomalous amount of mode conversions between fast and slow P-waves. The converted P-waves, which propagated even a short distance as slow P-waves, should be significantly delayed and attenuated comparatively, with the fast P-wave reflections. The amplitudes and arrival time variations of conventional and converted P-wave reflections at low seismic frequencies were evaluated by means of an asymptotic analysis. The calculations confirmed that the amplitude anomalies due to converted P-waves are noticeably delayed in time relatively to fast P-wave reflections. However, the amplitudes of the modeled converted P-waves were much lower than the amplitude anomalies observed from exploration cases.
Connecting onshore-offshore Campos Basin structures: Interpretation of high-resolution airborne magnetic data
Authors: Lourenço Juarez , Menezes Paulo T. L. , Barbosa Valeria C. F.
Published: September 2014

We interpreted northwest-trending transfer faults whose extensions are not entirely mapped in the Precambrian basement of the onshore and offshore Campos Basin. To enhance the subtle northwest–southeast lineaments not clearly seen in the total-field data, we reprocessed and merged two airborne magnetic data sets aiming at producing a single merged magnetic data set. Next, we applied a directional filter to these integrated magnetic data. Finally, we applied a multiscale edge detection method to these filtered data. This combination allowed the detection of edges and ridges that are used to produce several northwest–southeast lineations. We interpreted these northwest-trending lineations as magnetic expressions of transfer faults that cut across the onshore adjacent basement of the Campos Basin to the shallow and deep Campos Basin waters. These interpreted northwest-trending faults suggested the continuity of the known northwest-striking transfer faults in the deep Campos Basin waters toward the shallow Campos Basin waters and the adjacent continent. Moreover, our interpreted northwest-trending faults revealed the control of several known oilfields in the Campos Basin. This result supported the hypothesis of the influence of the northwest–southeast-trending transfer faults on the petroleum system of Campos Basin, which were reactivated in the Tertiary providing a pathway for the turbidite sedimentation, reworking, and redistribution of several deepwater reservoirs. In addition, it was hypothesized that this faulting system controlled the hydrocarbon migration paths from the presalt source rocks through salt windows into basal suprasalt layers.
Maintenance of Pdx1 mRNA Translation in Islet β-Cells During the Unfolded Protein Response
Authors: Templin Andrew T. , Maier Bernhard , Tersey Sarah A. , Hatanaka Masayuki , Mirmira Raghavendra G.
Published: September 2014

In type 1 diabetes, proinflammatory cytokines secreted by infiltrating immune cells activate the unfolded protein response (UPR) in islet β-cells, which leads to attenuation of global mRNA translation. Under such conditions, privileged mRNAs required for adaptation to the prevailing stress are maintained in an actively translated state. Pdx1 is a β-cell transcription factor that is required for the adaptive UPR, but it is not known how translation of its mRNA is maintained under these conditions. To study translation, we established conditions in vitro with MIN6 cells and mouse islets and a mixture of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) that mimicked the UPR conditions seen in type 1 diabetes. Cell extracts were then subjected to polyribosome profiling to monitor changes to mRNA occupancy by ribosomes. Similar to other privileged mRNAs (Atf4 and Chop), Pdx1 mRNA remained partitioned in actively translating polyribosomes under the UPR, whereas the mRNA encoding a proinsulin-processing enzyme (Cpe) and others partitioned into inactively translating monoribosomes. Bicistronic luciferase reporter analyses revealed that the distal portion of the 5′-untranslated region of mouse Pdx1 (between bp −105 to −280) contained elements that promoted translation under both normal and UPR conditions, and this region exhibited conserved sequences and secondary structure similar to those of other known internal ribosome entry sites. Our findings suggest that Pdx1 protein levels are maintained in the setting of the UPR, in part, through elements in the 5′-untranslated region that confer privileged mRNA translation in a 5′-7-methylguanylate cap–independent manner.
Transcending Boundaries: The Network Concept in Nineteenth-Century American Philosophy and Literature
Authors: Schober Regina
Published: September 2014

The network is a figure of thought that began to emerge as a concrete physical formation and as a conceptual model long before the digital revolution. Following recent scholarship on historical network epistemology, this essay traces such network thinking in nineteenth-century US philosophical and literary discourses with an emphasis on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s transcendentalist philosophy and Walt Whitman’s poetry. Features associated with networks, such as relationality, reciprocal interaction, decentralized self-organization, and emergent properties significantly shaped US thought and played a crucial part in national, cultural, and political processes of self-reflection and -identification in the early days of the American Republic. Demonstrating how network epistemology has informed and in turn been generated by US literature and philosophy of the nineteenth century, Schober examines the network not only as a universal model, but also as a historically contingent conceptual model. The specifically Romantic concept of the network that comes to the fore in the texts under scrutiny responds to an increased impact of concrete technological network structures, while reflecting and affecting particular notions of (spiritual) interconnectivity, community, and national unity. In Emerson’s and Whitman’s writing in particular, conceptions of the network serve to integrate the Romantic quest for unity within an optimistic vision of an original US identity, establishing the network as a key figure for future self-reflection and -definition at a time particularly shaped by cultural renewal and social reform. The network, as combining both concrete, material reality and epistemological, theoretical discourses, thus represents a central image in the project of (re)defining personal and national identity in the early Republic.
Strange Beauty: The Politics of Ungenre in Rebecca Harding Davis’sLife in the Iron Mills
Authors: Seitler Dana
Published: September 2014

When the question of aesthetics and politics is addressed, it is usually in the context of the Marxist and Frankfurt school debates. Nonetheless, what we think of as the well-rehearsed, and to some thinkers, transhistorical, polarity between art and activism is actually a fairly recent and exceptional account. At least since the eighteenth century rise in aesthetic philosophy (and arguments could be made farther back than this), the relationship between the aesthetic and the political sphere, however each of these was defined, was a fairly conventional and even assumed one. Rebecca Harding Davis’s 1861 novella Life in the Iron Mills presents an apposite case study for the constitutive relation of art and politics in the nineteenth-century American context. The text’s efforts culminate in its central figure: the korl woman statue carved by Hugh Wolf out of the waste material of the manufacturing process. The sculpture represents Wolf’s thirst “to know beauty,” a knowledge that would allow him to become “something other than he is.” The explicitly feminized art object is what seems to quench this thirst insofar as it transforms his experience of deprivation into form, turning hope into “a real thing.” But the sculpture—described as “rough” and “ungainly”—in its atypical expression of the feminine simultaneously disables any easy aesthetic distance that would result in the attribution of beauty normatively defined. Instead, its particular non-normative form of femininity formalizes an aesthetic of refusal that brings into view an alternative literary historical trajectory of the politics of ungenre.
The Painting of Modern Light: Local Color Before Regionalism
Authors: Schroeder Jonathan David Shelly
Published: September 2014

Schroeder’s essay works to draw critical attention to the aesthetic history of local color, and, more broadly, to the underrecognized relation between local color and realism. In returning local color to its long aesthetic history within painting, Schroeder argues that its primary purpose within realism was not the delineation of regions, but rather the production of an affective and aesthetic engagement with the cosmopolitan project of self-cultivation. The local-color detail was generally not used as a representative detail of a place, but rather, by the late-nineteenth century, as an indexical trace of the invisible truths of an object, and particularly the invisible processes that made human populations distinctive. By bringing this attention to local color’s color, Schroeder aims to move critical debates away from considerations of place-based content of local-color stories and toward a recognition of how local color constituted an aesthetic that could be configured in radically antithetical ways by an archrealist like Mary Murfree and an impressionist like Hamlin Garland. Ultimately, local color helps us see realism not as an indiscriminate, antiliterary, transparent representation of the world, but rather as a highly discriminating, distinctive style that was consistently engaged with the twin principles of human self-cultivation and the neoclassical economy of representation. The example of Garland’s Crumbling Idols has proven so illuminating for this essay precisely because of how it reacts against this formation, as well as how it suggests an alternative, unconscious receptivity to the detail that foreshadows American modernism and regionalism.
The New Jersey Medicaid ACO Demonstration Project: Seeking Opportunities for Better Care and Lower Costs among Complex Low-Income Patients
Authors: Cantor Joel C. , Chakravarty Sujoy , Tong Jian , Yedidia Michael J. , Lontok Oliver , DeLia Derek
Published: September 2014

A small but growing number of states are turning to accountable care concepts to improve their Medicaid programs. In 2011 New Jersey enacted the Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Demonstration Project to offer local provider coalitions the opportunity to share any savings they generate. Impetus came from initiatives in Camden that aim to reduce costs through improved care coordination among hospital high users and that have received considerable media attention and substantial federal and private grant support. Though broadly similar to Medicare and commercial ACOs, the New Jersey demonstration addresses the unique concerns faced by Medicaid populations. Using hospital all-payer billing data, we estimate savings from care improvement efforts among inpatient and emergency department high users in thirteen communities that are candidates for participation in the New Jersey demonstration. We also examine their characteristics to inform Medicaid accountable care strategies. We find substantial variation in the share of high-user hospital patients across the study communities and high rates of avoidable use and costs among these patients. The potential savings among Medicaid enrollees are considerable, particularly if Medicaid ACOs can develop ways to successfully address the high burden of chronic illness and behavioral health conditions prevalent in the prospective demonstration communities.