bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of whisker geometry on contact force produced by vibrissae moving at different velocities
Authors: Carvell George E. , Simons Daniel J.
Published: June 2017

Rats and mice are able to perform a variety of subtle tactile discriminations with their mystacial vibrissae. Increasingly, the design and interpretation of neurophysiological and behavioral studies are inspired by and linked to a more precise understanding of the detailed physical properties of the whiskers and their associated hair follicles. Here we used a piezoelectric sensor (bimorph) to examine how contact forces are influenced by the geometry of individual whisker hairs. For a given point along a whisker, bimorph signals are linearly related to whisker movement velocity. The slope of this linear function, called velocity sensitivity (VS), diminishes nonlinearly as whisker diameter decreases. Whiskers differ in overall length, thickness, and proximal-distal taper. Thus VS varies along an individual whisker and among different whiskers on the mystacial pad. Thinner, shorter whiskers, such as those located rostrally in rats and those in mice, have lower overall VSs, rendering them potentially less effective for mediating discriminations that rely on subtle velocity cues. The nonlinear effect of diameter combined with the linear effect of arc length produces radial distance tuning curves wherein small differences in the proximal-distal location of impacts yields larger differences in signal magnitude. Such position-dependent cues could contribute to the localization of objects near the face. Proximal-to-distal changes in contact location during whisking sweeps could also provide signals that aid texture discrimination.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study describes the geometry of facial whiskers distributed across the mystacial pad with emphasis on velocity encoding of object strikes. Findings indicate how the shapes, lengths, and thicknesses of individual hairs can contribute to sophisticated vibrissa-based tactile discrimination.
Task-specific, dimension-based attentional shaping of motion processing in monkey area MT
Authors: Schledde Bastian , Galashan F. Orlando , Przybyla Magdalena , Kreiter Andreas K. , Wegener Detlef
Published: June 2017

Nonspatially selective attention is based on the notion that specific features or objects in the visual environment are effectively prioritized in cortical visual processing. Feature-based attention (FBA), in particular, is a well-studied process that dynamically and selectively addresses neurons preferentially processing the attended feature attribute (e.g., leftward motion). In everyday life, however, behavior may require high sensitivity for an entire feature dimension (e.g., motion), but experimental evidence for a feature dimension-specific attentional modulation on a cellular level is lacking. Therefore, we investigated neuronal activity in macaque motion-selective mediotemporal area (MT) in an experimental setting requiring the monkeys to detect either a motion change or a color change. We hypothesized that neural activity in MT is enhanced when the task requires perceptual sensitivity to motion. In line with this, we found that mean firing rates were higher in the motion task and that response variability and latency were lower compared with values in the color task, despite identical visual stimulation. This task-specific, dimension-based modulation of motion processing emerged already in the absence of visual input, was independent of the relation between the attended and stimulating motion direction, and was accompanied by a spatially global reduction of neuronal variability. The results provide single-cell support for the hypothesis of a feature dimension-specific top-down signal emphasizing the processing of an entire feature class.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Cortical processing serving visual perception prioritizes information according to current task requirements. We provide evidence in favor of a dimension-based attentional mechanism addressing all neurons that process visual information in the task-relevant feature domain. Behavioral tasks required monkeys to attend either color or motion, causing modulations of response strength, variability, latency, and baseline activity of motion-selective monkey area MT neurons irrespective of the attended motion direction but specific to the attended feature dimension.
Caffeine accelerates recovery from general anesthesia via multiple pathways
Authors: Fong Robert , Khokhar Suhail , Chowdhury Atif N. , Xie Kelvin G , Wong Josiah Hiu-Yuen , Fox Aaron P. , Xie Zheng
Published: June 2017

Various studies have explored different ways to speed emergence from anesthesia. Previously, we have shown that three drugs that elevate intracellular cAMP (forskolin, theophylline, and caffeine) accelerate emergence from anesthesia in rats. However, our earlier studies left two main questions unanswered. First, were cAMP-elevating drugs effective at all anesthetic concentrations? Second, given that caffeine was the most effective of the drugs tested, why was caffeine more effective than forskolin since both drugs elevate cAMP? In our current study, emergence time from anesthesia was measured in adult rats exposed to 3% isoflurane for 60 min. Caffeine dramatically accelerated emergence from anesthesia, even at the high level of anesthetic employed. Caffeine has multiple actions including blockade of adenosine receptors. We show that the selective A2a adenosine receptor antagonist preladenant or the intracellular cAMP ([cAMP]i)-elevating drug forskolin, accelerated recovery from anesthesia. When preladenant and forskolin were tested together, the effect on anesthesia recovery time was additive indicating that these drugs operate via different pathways. Furthermore, the combination of preladenant and forskolin was about as effective as caffeine suggesting that both A2A receptor blockade and [cAMP]i elevation play a role in caffeine’s ability to accelerate emergence from anesthesia. Because anesthesia in rodents is thought to be similar to that in humans, these results suggest that caffeine might allow for rapid and uniform emergence from general anesthesia in humans at all anesthetic concentrations and that both the elevation of [cAMP]i and adenosine receptor blockade play a role in this response.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Currently, there is no method to accelerate emergence from anesthesia. Patients “wake” when they clear the anesthetic from their systems. Previously, we have shown that caffeine can accelerate emergence from anesthesia. In this study, we show that caffeine is effective even at high levels of anesthetic. We also show that caffeine operates by both elevating intracellular cAMP levels and by blocking adenosine receptors. This complicated pharmacology makes caffeine especially effective in accelerating emergence from anesthesia.
Image Super‐Resolution Based on Sparse Representation via Direction and Edge Dictionaries
Authors: Zhu Xuan , Wang Xianxian , Wang Jun , Jin Peng , Liu Li , Mei Dongfeng
Published: June 2017

Sparse representation has recently attracted enormous interests in the field of image super‐resolution. The sparsity‐based methods usually train a pair of global dictionaries. However, only a pair of global dictionaries cannot best sparsely represent different kinds of image patches, as it neglects two most important image features: edge and direction. In this paper, we propose to train two novel pairs of Direction and Edge dictionaries for super‐resolution. For single‐image super‐resolution, the training image patches are, respectively, divided into two clusters by two new templates representing direction and edge features. For each cluster, a pair of Direction and Edge dictionaries is learned. Sparse coding is combined with the Direction and Edge dictionaries to realize super‐resolution. The above single‐image super‐resolution can restore the faithful high‐frequency details, and the POCS is convenient for incorporating any kind of constraints or priors. Therefore, we combine the two methods to realize multiframe super‐resolution. Extensive experiments on image super‐resolution are carried out to validate the generality, effectiveness, and robustness of the proposed method. Experimental results demonstrate that our method can recover better edge structure and details.
Everolimus Implicated in Case of Severe Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage
Authors: Gonzales Paul , Klusewitz Seth , Marowske Johanna , Gancayco John , Osswald Michael B. , Setlik Robert
Published: June 2017

Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer and the third leading cause of cancer related deaths among our population with an estimated number of 246,660 new cases and 40,450 deaths in 2016. With treatment advancements, including targeted agents such as Everolimus, a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, survivability and quality of life continue to improve. However, with the use of these agents come adverse effects, some of which are still being characterized. Our case demonstrates recurrent episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding in a 60-year-old woman being treated with Everolimus for progressive metastatic breast cancer. On endoscopy, bleeding was secondary to erosive gastritis. Previous case reports have described bleeding due to gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE), which was described in two prior reported cases. In our case, bleeding also occurred on a reduced dose of Everolimus compared to what is previously reported (5 mg versus 10 mg). As a result of her gastrointestinal bleeding, she required multiple endoscopic interventions including argon plasma coagulation and multipolar heater probe to achieve hemostasis. This is the first case reported of gastrointestinal bleeding not consistent with GAVE and occurring while being on a reduced dose of Everolimus. It is important to document our case so that the Gastroenterology and Hematology communities can be educated and made aware for their patient populations on Everolimus.
The Antidepressant and Cognitive Improvement Activities of the Traditional Chinese Herb Cistanche
Authors: Wang Dongfang , Wang Haizhen , Gu Li
Published: June 2017

More than ten percent of people suffer from at least one episode of depression and related mental disorders in a lifetime, and depression and related mental disorders are one of the world’s greatest public health problems. A multiple system theory holds that dysregulation of the multiple systems underlies the pathogenesis of depression and related mental disorders, and new therapies based on the multiple system dysregulation theory are urgently needed. In this study, the antidepressant effect of decoction from herb Cistanche deserticola Y.C.Ma and Cistanche tubulosa was examined. Herb Cistanche decoction reduced the immobility period significantly in the mouse tail suspension test. Mice treated with herb decoction showed an improved ability of spatial learning and memory in the Morris water maze test. Groups treated herb decoction displayed a downregulated monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity; the dopamine (DA) concentration in the brain was upregulated, indicating herb Cistanche decoction improved the nerve excitability; the serum concentration of corticosterone (CORT) was downregulated, showing that mice benefited from a reduced stress level. Hence, the antidepressant efficacy and mechanism of traditional Chinese herb Cistanche were explored in this study. Herb Cistanche showed a potential to be developed as a complementary and alternative therapy for depression.
A Practical Tessellation‐Based Approach for Optimizing Cell‐Specific Bias Values in LTE‐A Heterogeneous Cellular Networks
Authors: Park Jin-Bae , Kim Kwang Soon
Published: June 2017

In order to implement an optimized solution for cell range expansion (CRE) and enhanced intercell interference coordination (eICIC) schemes in long‐term evolution‐advanced (LTE‐A) heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs) and to realize good load‐balancing performance in existing LTE‐A systems, a practical tessellation‐based algorithm is proposed. In this algorithm, a globalized cell‐specific bias optimization and a localized almost blank subframe (ABS) ratio update are proposed. The proposed scheme does not require major changes to existing protocols. Thus, it can be implemented in existing LTE‐A systems with any legacy user equipment (UE) with only a partial update to the BSs and core networks. From simulation results, it is shown that the tessellation formed by the proposed approach is quite consistent with the optimal one for various realistic scenarios. Thus, the proposed scheme can provide a much better load‐balancing capability compared with the conventional common bias scheme. Owing to the improved load‐balancing capability, the user rate distribution of the proposed scheme is much better than that obtained from the conventional scheme and is even indistinguishable from that of the ideal joint user association scheme.
Sensor Network Disposition Facing the Task of Multisensor Cross Cueing
Authors: Pang Ce , Huang Shucai , Zhao Yan , Wei Daozhi , Liu Jinchang
Published: June 2017

In order to build the sensor network facing the task of multisensor crossing cueing, the requirements of initiating cueing and being cued are analyzed. Probability theory is used when building models, then probability of sensor cueing in the case of target moving is given, and, after that, the best distance between two sensors is calculated. The operational environment is described by normal distribution function. In the process of distributing sensor network, their elements, operational environment demand of cueing, and the probability of sensor network coverage are considered; then the optimization algorithm of sensor network based on hypothesis testing theory is made. The simulation result indicates that the algorithm can make sensor network which is required. On the basis of that, the two cases, including targets that make linear motion and orbit motion, are used to test the performance of the sensor network, which show that the sensor network can make uninterrupted detection on targets through multisensor cross cuing.
Tubercular Ulcer of Tongue in an Elderly Patient Masquerading as a Traumatic Ulcer
Authors: Parajuli Ramesh , Maharjan Sushna
Published: June 2017

Tuberculosis is still one of the most prevalent diseases in developing countries like Nepal. However, due to the effectiveness of DOTS therapy, vaccination, and education, the prevalence of tuberculosis has fallen in recent years. Although the pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis, especially the tubercular lymphadenitis, is still very common in our country, the tuberculosis of oral cavity is an uncommon condition. We present a case of an elderly male who presented with the complaint of nonhealing ulcer of lateral border of tongue for 2-month duration which was masquerading as a traumatic ulcer due to sharp teeth adjacent to the lesion. Deep biopsy was taken under local anesthesia. Histopathological examination revealed that it was tuberculosis. Antitubercular therapy was then started which cured the lesion.
Helminth Products Potently Modulate Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis by Downregulating Neuroinflammation and Promoting a Suppressive Microenvironment
Authors: Peón Alberto N. , Ledesma-Soto Yadira , Olguín Jonadab E. , Bautista-Donis Marcel , Sciutto Edda , Terrazas Luis I.
Published: June 2017

A negative correlation between the geographical distribution of autoimmune diseases and helminth infections has been largely associated in the last few years with a possible role for such type of parasites in the regulation of inflammatory diseases, suggesting new pathways for drug development. However, few helminth-derived immunomodulators have been tested in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of the human disease multiple sclerosis (MS). The immunomodulatory activities of Taenia crassiceps excreted/secreted products (TcES) that may suppress EAE development were sought for. Interestingly, it was discovered that TcES was able to suppress EAE development with more potency than dexamethasone; moreover, TcES treatment was still effective even when inoculated at later stages after the onset of EAE. Importantly, the TcES treatment was able to induce a range of Th2-type cytokines, while suppressing Th1 and Th17 responses. Both the polyclonal and the antigen-specific proliferative responses of lymphocytes were also inhibited in EAE-ill mice receiving TcES in association with a potent recruitment of suppressor cell populations. Peritoneal inoculation of TcES was able to direct the normal inflammatory cell traffic to the site of injection, thus modulating CNS infiltration, which may work along with Th2 immune polarization and lymphocyte activation impairment to downregulate EAE development.
Tail‐Cuff Technique and Its Influence on Central Blood Pressure in the Mouse
Authors: Wilde Elena , Aubdool Aisah A. , Thakore Pratish , Baldissera Lineu , Alawi Khadija M. , Keeble Julie , Nandi Manasi , Brain Susan D.
Published: June 2017

Background

Reliable measurement of blood pressure in conscious mice is essential in cardiovascular research. Telemetry, the “gold‐standard” technique, is invasive and expensive and therefore tail‐cuff, a noninvasive alternative, is widely used. However, tail‐cuff requires handling and restraint during measurement, which may cause stress affecting blood pressure and undermining reliability of the results.

Methods and Results

C57Bl/6J mice were implanted with radio‐telemetry probes to investigate the effects of the steps of the tail‐cuff technique on central blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature. This included comparison of handling techniques, operator's sex, habituation, and influence of hypertension induced by angiotensin
II
. Direct comparison of measurements obtained by telemetry and tail‐cuff were made in the same mouse. The results revealed significant increases in central blood pressure, heart rate, and core body temperature from baseline following handling interventions without significant difference among the different handling technique, habituation, or sex of the investigator. Restraint induced the largest and sustained increase in cardiovascular parameters and temperature. The tail‐cuff readings significantly underestimated those from simultaneous telemetry recordings; however, “nonsimultaneous” telemetry, obtained in undisturbed mice, were similar to tail‐cuff readings obtained in undisturbed mice on the same day.

Conclusions

This study reveals that the tail‐cuff technique underestimates the core blood pressure changes that occur simultaneously during the restraint and measurement phases. However, the measurements between the 2 techniques are similar when tail‐cuff readings are compared with telemetry readings in the nondisturbed mice. The differences between the simultaneous recordings by the 2 techniques should be recognized by researchers.
Seeing Rape and Robbery: ἁρπαγμαός and the Philippians Christ Hymn (Phil. 2:5-11)
Authors: Shaner Katherine A.
Published: June 2017

In the first century ce, images of Roman imperial figures subduing foreign, sexualized women were installed throughout the civic spaces of the Empire as a celebration of victory over other nations. The well-known reliefs on the Sebasteion in Aphrodisias are just one example. Images like these dominated the visual fields of ancient people, working to persuade viewers of certain ideals about power, beauty, and authority. This article argues that setting the Philippians Christ hymn (Phil. 2:5-11) in the context of this visual culture and rhetoric helps solve a significant lexical problem: the meaning of ἁρπαγμός in Phil. 2:6. Methodologically, I argue that reading the Christ hymn in conversation with the visual rhetoric of the Aphrodisian reliefs, and other images like them throughout imperial cities, significantly shifts the interpretative framework for the hymn. The use of sexualized women’s bodies to depict conquered peoples suggests that ἁρπαγμός means “rape and robbery” rather than “something to be exploited or grasped” as most major lexica and biblical translations suggest. Theologically, Phil. 2:6 thus fits with first-century discourses around the image and power of divine emperors rather than later inter-Christian arguments about pre-existence. The result is a hymn that simultaneously critiques Roman practices of “rape and robbery” and also draws on imperial power structures.
On the Early History of Perfective “Present” Participles in East Slavic
Authors: Darden Bill J
Published: June 2017

Birchbark letters from Novgorod from the 11th and 12th centuries show distinctions in the use of the two perfective active participles in Old Russian, a distinction thought to have been lost very early. Examination of the use of these participles in chronicles shows that the loss of this distinction began in the South in the 11th century, became more prevalent there in the 12th, but did not affect the Novgorod Chronicle until the late 12th century, so the Birchbark data are not surprising.
Interpretation as Revelation: Logos and the Authorial Word in Kirill of Turov’s Palm Sunday Sermon (“Slovo na Verbnitsu”)
Authors: Wyman Alina
Published: June 2017

This article examines the interpretive techniques of the twelfth-century homilist and theologian, Kirill of Turov, in the context of the medieval exegetic tradition. I trace the development of an important theme, the revelation and transmission of the divine Logos to humanity, largely neglected by previous scholarship, in several of Kirill’s texts and pinpoint the seminal connection between this underlying theme and the author’s peculiar “desymbolizing” style, characterized by consistent use of disclosed metaphors and motivated, I argue, by Kirill’s intention to create the mode of narration most adequate to the central theme of revelation. On the basis of close textual analysis of Kirill’s Palm Sunday Sermon (“Slovo na Verbnitsu”), I challenge the traditional assessment of the author’s work as non-exegetic in function.
On the Institutional Base for Medieval Slavic Studies in Russia
Authors: Pichugin Valentina
Published: June 2017

This is a brief and broadly sketched overview of the current institutional base for Medieval Slavic Studies as an academic field in post-Soviet Russia. It outlines the general structure of Russian research and educational institutions that produce, preserve, and disseminate knowledge about Medieval Slavic Studies; it also points to some printed and digital resources relevant to this topic.
Networking in Muscovy: Archbishop Afanasii of Kholmogory and his Capital Connections
Authors: Kleimola A.M.
Published: June 2017

Afanasii, the Siberian monk who became the first archbishop of Kholmogory and Vaga, displayed remarkable skill in developing and maintaining a network of contacts in Moscow, building upon the traditional practice of distribution of podnosy by church hierarchs. The Arkhangel’sk market gave him access to a wide variety of luxury goods which he brought to the capital as gifts not only for those at the top of the religious and secular hierarchy but for many of lesser status whose positions made them “door-keepers.” He maintained these contacts for over two decades while managing to remain on good terms with both the Miloslavskii and Naryshkin factions during Peter’s minority. Peter’s visits to the North during the 1690s intensified the working relationship between tsar and archbishop, while their shared interests drew Afanasii more deeply into royal projects. Afanasii, like his Siberian compatriot Semen Ul’ianovich Remezov, exemplified in his strengths and weaknesses the characteristics of “Peter’s people” outside of court circles and away from the center.
Phonetic and phonological properties of tones in Shanghai Chinese
Authors: GAO Jiayin , HALLÉ Pierre
Published: June 2017

This study investigates the relations between tone, voicing, and voice quality in modern Shanghai Chinese. In low tone syllables, word-initial obstruent onsets are traditionally described as voiceless and breathy, and sonorant onsets as voiced and breathy.

Our study is based on acoustic and electroglottographic (EGG) data from speakers of two age groups (20–30 vs. 60–80 years). Our results are globally in line with previous studies, but with notable differences. In low tone syllables, while word-initial stops are phonetically voiceless most of the time, fricatives are quite often phonetically voiced. While low tone obstruent onsets are followed by breathier vowels than high tone onsets, this pattern is not clear-cut for nasal onsets. Furthermore, our transversal data show that low tone breathiness is more systematically produced by elderly – especially male – speakers, rather than young speakers, suggesting an on-going change towards the loss of breathiness.
Long-Term Musical Training Alters Tactile Temporal-Order Judgment
Authors: Landry Simon P. , Champoux François
Published: June 2017

Long-term musical training is an enriched multisensory training environment that can alter uni- and multisensory substrates and abilities. Amongst these altered abilities are faster reaction times for simple and complex sensory tasks. The crossed arm temporal-order judgement (TOJ) task is a complex tactile task in which TOJ error rate increases when arms are crossed. Reaction times (RTs) for this task are typically proportionate to the difficulty of the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) and increase more when the arms are crossed than when uncrossed. The objective of this study was to study the impact of musical training on RTs and accuracy for the crossed arm TOJ task. Seventeen musicians and 20 controls were tested. Musicians had significantly faster RTs for all crossed arm conditions and half of the uncrossed conditions. However, musicians had significantly more TOJ errors for the crossed posture. We speculate that faster musician TOJ RTs leave little time to consolidate conflicting internal and external task-related information when crossing the arms, leading to increased incorrect responses. These results provide novel insights on the potential mechanisms underlying the increased TOJ error rates when arms are crossed. Moreover, they add to the growing literature of altered sensory ability in musicians and propose an unexpected consequence of faster reaction times.
Narrative as a Method for Eliciting Tacit Knowledge of Climate Variability in Bangladesh
Authors: Bremer Scott , Blanchard Anne , Mamnun Nabir , Stiller-Reeve Mathew , Haque Md. Mahfujul , Tvinnereim Endre
Published: June 2017

Climate change adaptation has increasingly come to be conceptualized as a place-based social process, in large part mediated by the local cultural context. The specificity of adaptation has called for partnerships between scientific and local communities to “co-produce” knowledge of climate variability (weather) and longer-term climate change. However, this raises numerous methodological challenges, including how to elicit the representations, knowledge, and cultural meanings of weather that are tacit to people in a community, and represent them in an explicit form that can be shared in a process of “co-production”. Such work demands careful attention to the way tightly intertwined knowledge systems continuously rebuild representations of climate in a place, and how these knowledge systems are also intertwined with values and the exercise of power. This paper takes up this challenge and explores the potential offered by theories and methods of narrative. Looking at a research project “co-producing” knowledge of weather and impacts in northeast Bangladesh, this paper describes the experience of running narrative interviews with communities there, and how these narratives were analyzed along four themes to contribute to the co-production process. These themes included 1) the weather phenomena and impacts important to local communities, 2) how weather provides meaning and identity in that place, 3) how community actors produce and share weather knowledge, and 4) the climate-related narratives pervading the community. In sharing this experience, this paper seeks to fulfil a demand for more detailed practical accounts of narrative methods in climate adaptation research, particularly for knowledge co-production.
Urinary albumin: a risk marker under-requested in primary care in Spain
Authors: Salinas Maria , López-Garrigós Maite , Flores Emilio , Leiva-Salinas Carlos ,   on behalf of the Pilot Group of the Appropriate Utilization of Laboratory Tests
Published: June 2017

Background

To study the inter-practice regional variation in the request of urinary albumin by general practitioners and compare to guideline recommendations.

Methods

A cross-sectional study enrolled laboratories from different Spanish autonomous communities. Laboratories were invited to report the number of urinary albumin requested by general practitioners during 2012 and 2014. Urinary albumin requested per 1000 inhabitants and the index of variability (90th centile/10th centile) was calculated, and compared between autonomous communities and time periods. To investigate potential inappropriate requesting in the management of diabetes and arterial hypertension, the actual number of requests was compared to the theoretical, based on prevalence and guideline recommendations.

Results

Urinary albumin requested per 1000 inhabitants was similar for years 2012 and 2014 (78.2 (60.1) to 85.4 (55.4); P = 0.235), as was the variability index (4.6 for both). There were significant differences between autonomous communities, with the indicator ranging from 46.0 (33.1) to 125.8 (64.3) ( P < 0.05). The theoretical cut-off ratios of urinary albumin per 1000 inhabitants to manage patients with diabetes and arterial hypertension were, respectively, 78 and 159; no laboratory reached both values.

Conclusions

Requesting of urinary albumin showed a significant regional variability in primary care in Spain, and was insufficient to correctly monitor patients with diabetes and arterial hypertension.
Quantitative measurement of a candidate serum biomarker peptide derived from α2-HS-glycoprotein, and a preliminary trial of multidimensional peptide analysis in females with pregnancy-induced hypertension
Authors: Hamamura Kensuke , Yanagida Mitsuaki , Ishikawa Hitoshi , Banzai Michio , Yoshitake Hiroshi , Nonaka Daisuke , Tanaka Kenji , Sakuraba Mayumi , Miyakuni Yasuka , Takamori Kenji , Nojima Michio , Yoshida Koyo , Fujiwara Hiroshi , Takeda Satoru , Araki Yoshihiko
Published: June 2017

Purpose

We previously attempted to develop quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) systems for the PDA039/044/071 peptides, potential serum disease biomarkers (DBMs) of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), primarily identified by a peptidomic approach (BLOTCHIP®-mass spectrometry (MS)). However, our methodology did not extend to PDA071 (cysteinyl α2-HS-glycoprotein341–367), due to difficulty to produce a specific antibody against the peptide. The aim of the present study was to establish an alternative PDA071 quantitation system using liquid chromatography-multiple reaction monitoring (LC-MRM)/MS, to explore the potential utility of PDA071 as a DBM for PIH.

Methods

We tested heat/acid denaturation methods in efforts to purify serum PDA071 and developed an LC-MRM/MS method allowing for specific quantitation thereof. We measured serum PDA071 concentrations, and these results were validated including by three-dimensional (3D) plotting against PDA039 (kininogen-1439–456)/044 (kininogen-1438–456) concentrations, followed by discriminant analysis.

Results

PDA071 was successfully extracted from serum using a heat denaturation method. Optimum conditions for quantitation via LC-MRM/MS were developed; the assayed serum PDA071 correlated well with the BLOTCHIP® assay values. Although the PDA071 alone did not significantly differ between patients and controls, 3D plotting of PDA039/044/071 peptide concentrations and construction of a Jackknife classification matrix were satisfactory in terms of PIH diagnostic precision.

Conclusions

Combination analysis using both PDA071 and PDA039/044 concentrations allowed PIH diagnostic accuracy to be attained, and our method will be valuable in future pathophysiological studies of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
Public managers’ networking and innovative work behavior: the importance of career incentives
Authors: Zandberg Tjeerd , Morales Fernando Nieto
Published: June 2017

From theories on middle managers’ entrepreneurship in private organizations, it is known that the structural network position of middle managers influences their innovative work behavior. Our study investigates if in a governmental setting, the intra-organizational networking behavior of public managers has a similar positive influence on innovative work behavior. As networking mechanisms may depend on the particular context and organizational norms, we also investigate the influence of networking motivations. According to social network research in private enterprises, social network links can be used to advance individual careers. According to public management and Public Service Motivation theories, public managers have a collective orientation aimed at producing public goods. Therefore, we investigate if, next to intra-organizational networking, an individual career motive or a collective motivation for networking explains innovative work behavior. In a case study on public managers of a municipality in Mexico City, we find a strong influence of networking on innovative work behavior. We also find support for additional influences of individual career motives, but no evidence for collective motivations.

Points for practitioners

Intra-organizational networking of public managers leads to increased innovative behavior in a governmental setting. In addition, when aiming at increasing innovative behavior, individual career motives seem to have stronger positive effects than collective motivations (such as teamwork-related motivations).
The likelihood of seeking help from social workers in Israel: Effect of gender, religiosity and prior experience of receiving professional help from social workers
Authors: Kagan Maya , Zychlinski Ester
Published: June 2017

This study was conducted in Israel. It shows that women, religious people and those with prior experience of receiving professional help from social workers have a higher likelihood of seeking help from social workers than men, non-religious people and those who have never received professional help from social workers (respectively). The conclusion of the research is that social workers must be aware of population groups who have a lower likelihood of seeking their help, and must act to promote education among these groups concerning the roles of social workers and the significance of seeking professional help.
Chronologic Trends in Studies on Fluoride Mechanisms of Action
Authors: Oh H.J. , Oh H.W. , Lee D.W. , Kim C.H. , Ahn J.Y. , Kim Y. , Shin H.B. , Kim C.Y. , Park S.H. , Jeon J.G.
Published: June 2017

Fluoride has been widely used for the prevention of dental caries since the mid-20th century. The aim of this study was to investigate the chronologic trends in studies on fluoride mechanisms of action against dental caries during the years 1950 to 2015. To this aim, queries such as “fluoride,” “fluoride and demineralization,” “fluoride and remineralization,” “fluoride and (plaque or biofilms),” and “fluoride and (bacteria or microbials)” were submitted to PubMed to collect research article information, including titles, abstracts, publication dates, author affiliations, and publication journals. The article information that PubMed produced was then collected by an automatic web crawler and examined through informetrics and linguistic analyses. We found that the number of articles concerned with fluoride mechanisms of action against dental caries was 6,903 and gradually increased over time during the years 1950 to 2015. They were published by 1,136 journals—most notably, Caries Research and Journal of Dental Research. Of the articles published, those related to bacteria/microbials had a higher percentage (44%) than those dealing with plaque/biofilms, demineralization, and remineralization. With regard to the geographic distribution of authors, Europe and North America accounted for 65% of the articles during the years 1987 to 2015, although the number of authors in Asia sharply increased in recent years. Among the fluoride compounds, NaF was mentioned more frequently than SnF2, Na2PO3F, amine fluoride, and acidulated phosphate fluoride during the years 1986 to 2015. Water fluoridation received the most attention among the various fluoride application methods (toothpastes, mouthwashes, fluoride varnishes, and fluoride gels) during the same period. These results, obtained from employing informetrics and linguistic analyses, suggest that in studies on fluoride mechanisms of action, 1) the unbalanced geographic distribution of articles and 2) the heavy concentration of articles on particular fluoride compounds and application methods should be overcome in future research.
Citizen sensing, air pollution and fracking: From ‘caring about your air’ to speculative practices of evidencing harm
Authors: Gabrys Jennifer
Published: June 2017

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is an emerging and growing industry that is having considerable effects on environments and health. Yet fracking often lacks environmental regulations that might be understood as governmental forms of care. In some locations in the US, citizens have taken up environmental monitoring as a way to address this perceived absence of care, and to evidence harm in order to argue for new infrastructures of care. This article documents the practices of residents engaged in monitoring air pollution near fracking sites in the US, as well as the participatory and practice-based research undertaken by the Citizen Sense research project to develop monitoring kits for residents to use and test over a period of seven months. Citizen sensing practices for monitoring air pollution can constitute ways of expressing care about environments, communities and individual and public health. Yet practices for documenting and evidencing harm through the ongoing collection of air pollution data are also speculative attempts to make relevant these unrecognised and overlooked considerations of the need for care. Working with the concept of speculation, this article advances alternative notions of evidence, care and policy that attend to citizens’ experiences of living in the gas fields. How do citizen sensing practices work towards alternative ways of evidencing harm? In what ways does monitoring with environmental sensors facilitate this process? And what new speculative practices emerge to challenge the uses of environmental sensors, as well as to expand the types of data gathered, along with their political impact?
The costs, resource use and cost-effectiveness of Clinical Nurse Specialist–led interventions for patients with palliative care needs: A systematic review of international evidence
Authors: Salamanca-Balen Natalia , Seymour Jane , Caswell Glenys , Whynes David , Tod Angela
Published: June 2017

Background:

Patients with palliative care needs do not access specialist palliative care services according to their needs. Clinical Nurse Specialists working across a variety of fields are playing an increasingly important role in the care of such patients, but there is limited knowledge of the extent to which their interventions are cost-effective.

Objectives:

To present results from a systematic review of the international evidence on the costs, resource use and cost-effectiveness of Clinical Nurse Specialist–led interventions for patients with palliative care needs, defined as seriously ill patients and those with advanced disease or frailty who are unlikely to be cured, recover or stabilize.

Design:

Systematic review following PRISMA methodology.

Data sources:

Medline, Embase, CINAHL and Cochrane Library up to 2015. Studies focusing on the outcomes of Clinical Nurse Specialist interventions for patients with palliative care needs, and including at least one economic outcome, were considered. The quality of studies was assessed using tools from the Joanna Briggs Institute.

Results:

A total of 79 papers were included: 37 randomized controlled trials, 22 quasi-experimental studies, 7 service evaluations and other studies, and 13 economic analyses. The studies included a wide variety of interventions including clinical, support and education, as well as care coordination activities. The quality of the studies varied greatly.

Conclusion:

Clinical Nurse Specialist interventions may be effective in reducing specific resource use such as hospitalizations/re-hospitalizations/admissions, length of stay and health care costs. There is mixed evidence regarding their cost-effectiveness. Future studies should ensure that Clinical Nurse Specialists’ roles and activities are clearly described and evaluated.
‘To unite as one’: resisting slum clearance in Freemans Bay, 1951–1968
Authors: Locke Cybèle
Published: June 2017

This article examines the activities of the Freemans Bay Residents Welfare Association, which formed to promote residents’ welfare and to retain the neighbourhood’s integrity in the face of slum clearance during the 1950s and 1960s in Auckland, New Zealand. The Association’s objective was: ‘To combine socially for the cultural good of all people in the area. To unite as one, regardless of race, colour or creed, for the peaceful and fruitful existence of our residents.’ John (Johnny) James Mitchell, secretary of the Association, invoked working-class solidarity – to unite as one – to bring together residents who could also be classified by race, religion, political belief, employment status, ‘respectability’ and housing occupancy. This solidarity was assisted by the Auckland City Council who zoned the Reclamation Area for clearance, affecting all residents within its bounds. However, racial discrimination practised by private landlords, local government and state departments meant that Māori were more likely to occupy condemned housing to begin with and were the last to be assisted by the state in the slum clearance process. As a result, race remained a more potent signifier for Māori residents and they organised through the Māori Women’s Welfare League and the Māori Community Centre, in alliance with the Association.
Clozapine Response Rates among People with Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: Data from a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Siskind Dan , Siskind Victor , Kisely Steve
Published: June 2017

Clozapine is the most effective antipsychotic for the 25% to 33% of people with schizophrenia who are treatment resistant, but not all people achieve response. Using data from a previously published clozapine systematic review and meta-analysis, we explored the proportion of people who achieved response and examined the absolute and percentage change in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores. Overall, 40.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 36.8%-43.4%) responded, with a mean reduction in PANSS of 22.0 points (95% CI, 20.9-23.1), a reduction of 25.8% (95% CI, 24.7%-26.9%) from baseline. These reductions are clinically meaningful. A 40% response rate to clozapine suggests that 12% to 20% of people with schizophrenia will be ultra-resistant.
Nudging Resisters Toward Change: Self-Persuasion Interventions for Reducing Attitude Certainty
Authors: Greenberg Spencer , Brand Danielle , Pluta Aislinn , Moore Douglas , DeConti Kirsten
Published: June 2017

Purpose:

To identify effective self-persuasion protocols that could easily be adapted to face-to-face clinical sessions or health-related computer applications as a first step in breaking patient resistance.

Design:

Two self-persuasion interventions were tested against 2 controls in a between-subject randomized control experiment.

Setting:

GuidedTrack—a web-based platform for social science experiments.

Participants:

Six hundred seventeen adult participants recruited via Mechanical Turk.

Intervention:

The experimental interventions prompted participants for self-referenced pro- and counterattitudinal arguments to elicit attitude-related thought (ART) and subsequent doubt about the attitude. The hypothesis was that the self-persuasion interventions would elicit larger and more frequent attitude certainty decreases than the controls. In the experimental groups, we also predicted a correlation between the amount of ART and attitude certainty decreases.

Measures:

Changes in attitude certainty were measured by participants’ pre- and post-ratio scale ratings; ART was measured by the number of words participants used to respond to the interventions.

Analysis:

Analysis of variance (ANOVA), χ2, and correlation.

Results:

A goodness-of-fit χ2 showed that the number of participants who decreased their attitude certainty was not equally distributed between the combined experimental groups (n = 104) and the combined control groups (n = 39), χ2(1, n = 143) = 28.64, P < .001. Within each intervention, goodness-of-fit χ2 with a Bonferroni correction ( P = .01 or .05/4) indicated there were significantly more “decreasers” than “increasers” in intervention 1, χ2(1, n = 86) = 6.16, P = .01, but not intervention 2, χ2(1, n = 84) = 2.02, P = .16, the nonsense control, χ2(1, n = 42) = .22, P = .64), or the distraction control, χ2(1, n = 34) = .02, P = .89. A 1-way ANOVA revealed a significant main effect for intervention on mean certainty change ( F3,613 = 4.62, P = .003). Five post hoc comparisons using Tukey’s honest significant difference (HSD) test indicated that the mean decrease in attitude certainty resulting from intervention 1 (M = −3.29) was significantly larger than the mean decrease in attitude certainty resulting from the nonsense control (M = −0.62, t = −2.72, P = .03), the distraction control (M = 0.11, t = 3.48, P = .003), but not intervention 2 (M = −0.87, t = −2.54, P = .06). Attitude-related thought was significantly correlated with attitude certainty change in intervention 1, r(158) = −.17, t = −4.28, P = .02, but not intervention 2, r(161) = −.002, t = −.03, P = .98.

Conclusion:

The implication for clinical practitioners and designers of health applications is that it may be worthwhile to let patients elaborate on their personal reasons for initially forming an unhealthy attitude to increase doubt about the strongly held attitude.
Nonparametric combination tests for comparing two survival curves with informative and non-informative censoring
Authors: Arboretti Rosa , Fontana Roberto , Pesarin Fortunato , Salmaso Luigi
Published: June 2017

This paper looks at permutation methods used to deal with hypothesis testing within the survival analysis framework. In the literature, several attempts have been made to deal with the comparison of survival curves and, depending on the survival and hazard functions of two groups, they can be more or less efficient in detecting differences. Furthermore, in some situations, censoring can be informative in that it depends on treatment effect. Our proposal is based on the nonparametric combination approach and has proven to be very effective under different configurations of survival and hazard functions. It allows the practitioner to test jointly on primary and censoring events and, by using multiple testing methods, to assess the significance of the treatment effect separately on the survival and the censoring process.