bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Flaxseed oil reduces oxidative stress and enhances brain monoamines release in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
Authors: Badawy EA , Rasheed WI , Elias TR , Hussein J , Harvi M , Morsy S , Mahmoud YA El-Latif
Published: February 2015

This study was performed to investigate the biochemical effect of flaxseed oil on oxidative stress and brain monoamines release in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Sixty male albino rats were divided into following four groups (15 for each group): control group, flaxseed oil group, diabetic group, and flaxseed oil-treated diabetic group. Serum glucose, insulin, pentosidine, plasma advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs), and plasma total antioxidant capacity were estimated. Brain neurotransmitters, malondialdehyde (MDA), and nitric oxide (NO) were also determined. The mean values of serum pentosidine and plasma AOPP showed a significant decrease in treated diabetic group as compared to their values in the diabetic group. Also, brain neurotransmitters levels were improved after treatment with flaxseed. Brain MDA and NO were increased significantly in the diabetic group, while they were significantly decreased after treatment. Brain NO and brain MDA had a significant positive correlation with pentosidine, AOPP, and neurotransmitters. We concluded that flaxseed oil supplementation may be useful in the treatment of brain dysfunction in diabetes.
Bayesian inference on mixed-effects varying-coefficient joint models with skew-t distribution for longitudinal data with multiple features
Authors: Lu Tao , Huang Yangxin
Published: February 2015

In AIDS clinical study, two biomarkers, HIV viral load and CD4 cell counts, play important roles. It is well known that there is inverse relationship between the two. Nevertheless, the relationship is not constant but time varying. The mixed-effects varying-coefficient model is capable of capturing the time varying nature of such relationship from both population and individual perspective. In practice, the nucleic acid sequence-based amplification assay is used to measure plasma HIV-1 RNA with a limit of detection (LOD) and the CD4 cell counts are usually measured with much noise and missing data often occur during the treatment. Furthermore, most of the statistical models assume symmetric distribution, such as normal, for the response variables. Often time, normality assumption does not hold in practice. Therefore, it is important to explore all these factors when modeling the real data. In this article, we establish a joint model that accounts for asymmetric and LOD data for the response variable, and covariate measurement error and missingness simultaneously in the mixed-effects varying-coefficient modeling framework. A Bayesian inference procedure is developed to estimate the parameters in the joint model. The proposed model and method are applied to a real AIDS clinical study and various comparisons of a few models are performed.
Testing equality and interval estimation of the generalized odds ratio in ordinal data under a three-period crossover design
Authors: Lui Kung-Jong , Chang Kuang-Chao , Lin Chii-Dean
Published: February 2015

The crossover design can be of use to save the number of patients or improve power of a parallel groups design in studying treatments to noncurable chronic diseases. We propose using the generalized odds ratio for paired sample data to measure the relative effects in ordinal data between treatments and between periods. We show that one can apply the commonly used asymptotic and exact test procedures for stratified analysis in epidemiology to test non-equality of treatments in ordinal data, as well as obtain asymptotic and exact interval estimators for the generalized odds ratio under a three-period crossover design. We further show that one can apply procedures for testing the homogeneity of the odds ratio under stratified sampling to examine whether there are treatment-by-period interactions. We use the data taken from a three-period crossover trial studying the effects of low and high doses of an analgesic versus a placebo for the relief of pain in primary dysmenorrhea to illustrate the use of these test procedures and estimators proposed here.
Exploring nurses' personal dignity, global self-esteem and work satisfaction
Authors: Sturm Bonnie A , Dellert Jane C
Published: February 2015

Background:

This study examines nurses’ perceptions of dignity in themselves and their work. Nurses commonly assert concern for human dignity as a component of the patients’ experience rather than as necessary in the nurses’ own lives or in the lives of others in the workplace. This study is exploratory and generates potential relationships for further study and theory generation in nursing.

Research questions:

What is the relationship between the construct nurses’ sense of dignity and global self-esteem, work satisfaction, and identified personal traits?

Participants and research context:

This cross-sectional correlation study used a stratified random sample of nurses which was obtained from a US University alumni list from 1965 to 2009 ( N = 133).

Ethical considerations:

University Institutional Review Board approval was achieved prior to mailing research questionnaire packets to participants. Participation was optional and numerical codes preserved confidentiality.

Findings:

Statistical results indicated a moderately strong association between the nurse’s sense of personal dignity and self-esteem ( rx = .62, p = .000) with areas of difference clarified and discussed. A positive but moderate association between nurses’ personal dignity and nurses’ work satisfaction ( rx = .37, p = .000) and a similar association between self-esteem and nurses’ work satisfaction ( rs = .29, p = .001) were found. A statistically significant difference was found ( F = 3.49 ( df = 4), p = .01) for dignity and categories of spiritual commitment and for nurses’ personal dignity when ratings of health status were compared ( F = 21.24 ( df = 4), p = .000).

Discussion:

Personal sense of dignity is discussed in relation to conceptual understandings of dignity (such as professional dignity) and suggests continued research in multiple cultural contexts.

Conclusion:

The relationships measured show that nurses’ sense of dignity has commonalities with self-esteem, workplace satisfaction, spiritual commitment, and health status; the meaning of the findings has ramifications for the welfare of nurses internationally.
Health Care User Perspectives on Constructing, Contextualizing, and Co-Producing “Quality of Care”
Authors: Baim-Lance Abigail , Tietz Daniel , Schlefer Madeleine , Agins Bruce
Published: February 2015

Most of the research on health care user “quality of care” perspectives seeks discrete and measurable indicators to advance quality improvement (QI) goals. This lacks sufficiently grounded query about the meaning of “quality of care” for health users, and how context influences their ideas and experiences. We studied this between 2010 and 2011, repeatedly interviewing and shadowing 45 individuals in three of New York’s hospital-based outpatient HIV care settings during routine visits. We found participants using common terminology, but across the cohort meaning varied and employed personal narratives. Participants conveyed the impact of historic and current experiences of stigma and discrimination on limiting access to care, and showed its destabilizing effects on quality constructs. Participants also felt they contributed to their health care settings’ delivery of quality care. From our findings, we discuss the applicability and implications of “co-production” to conceptualize health care as jointly delivered by typical “givers” and “receivers” of care.
Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers
Authors: Claxton-Oldfield Stephen
Published: February 2015

Hospice palliative care volunteer work—being with dying persons and their often distraught family members—has the potential to take an emotional toll on volunteers. The aim of this review article is to examine the types of stressors hospice palliative care volunteers typically experience in their work and how they cope with them. The results of this literature review suggest that hospice palliative care volunteers do not generally perceive their volunteer work as highly stressful. Nonetheless, a number of potential stressors and challenges were identified in the literature, along with some strategies that volunteers commonly employ to cope with them. The implications for volunteers and volunteer training/management are discussed.
Can We Apply an Emotional Competence Measure to an Eastern Population? Psychometric Properties of the Profile of Emotional Competence in a Japanese Population
Authors: Nozaki Yuki , Koyasu Masuo
Published: February 2015

Researchers have repeatedly argued that it is important to determine whether the psychometric properties of an emotional competence measure hold in Eastern populations because there may be cultural variability in abilities linked with emotional competence. However, few studies have examined potential differences in an emotional competence measure in Eastern cultures. To fill this gap, we investigated the applicability of the Profile of Emotional Competence to a Japanese population. Results demonstrated measurement and structural invariance across our Japanese and the original Belgian data sets. As was found in the Belgian sample, this measure showed adequate convergent and criterion validity in the Japanese sample. Furthermore, the scores on this measure were stronger predictors of subjective health and happiness in the Japanese than Belgian population. This measure also showed incremental validity. Our results suggest that the Profile of Emotional Competence is applicable to the Japanese population, an Eastern society.
Factoring in Factor VIII With Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Siegler James E. , Samai Alyana , Albright Karen C. , Boehme Amelia K. , Martin-Schild Sheryl
Published: February 2015

There is growing research interest into the etiologies of cryptogenic stroke, in particular as it relates to hypercoagulable states. An elevation in serum levels of the procoagulant factor VIII is recognized as one such culprit of occult cerebral infarctions. It is the objective of the present review to summarize the molecular role of factor VIII in thrombogenesis and its clinical use in the diagnosis and prognosis of acute ischemic stroke. We also discuss the utility of screening for serum factor VIII levels among patients at risk for, or those who have experienced, ischemic stroke.
The Moderating Effect of Social Support From a Dating Partner on the Association Between Dating Violence Victimization and Adjustment
Authors: Shorey Ryan C. , Seavey Amanda E. , Brasfield Hope , Febres Jeniimarie , Fite Paula J. , Stuart Gregory L.
Published: February 2015

Dating violence victimization is associated with decreased relationship satisfaction and increased mental health symptomatology. Yet, violent dating relationships often remain intact across time, even when the aggression fails to cease. Thus, research is needed to determine the factors that reduce the negative impact of victimization. One factor may be that abusive dating partners are perceived as supportive by their partners, serving to reduce the negative impact of victimization. The current study sought to examine whether perceived support (i.e., perceptions of support) and capitalization support (i.e., perceptions of support for positive events) moderated and reduced the impact of dating violence victimization on decreased relationship satisfaction and increased depressive symptoms. Using a sample of females in dating relationships ( N = 253), results provided partial support for our hypotheses. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.
Solid Waste Management in Asia Pacific
Authors: Sridhar Kala Seetharam
Published: February 2015

Solid waste, being a basic urban service, is invariably related to urbanization and economic development. In this article, we make an attempt to understand what explains solid waste management (SWM) coverage, a local public service problem, using cross-national data. Using regressions, we find that higher levels of income bring along with them the public awareness, institutional structure, and fiscal capacity to deliver better levels of public services not only in the city but also in the informal settlements. Hence, the objective should be to build awareness of the environmental and health consequences of poor SWM. Furthermore, we find that large cities and decentralized countries are in a better position to deliver SWM in the informal settlements because of the local nature of the service. We find that a major challenge foreseen in meeting the public service demands over the next decade, as it relates to SWM, is financing.
Leading by Example
Authors: Johnson Richard R.
Published: February 2015

The present study examined the effect of field supervisor behavior modeling on patrol officer use of unassigned patrol time. Specifically, the study explored whether field supervisor engagement in proactive stops and checks resulted in an increased frequency of proactive stops and checks among patrol officers. Hierarchical analyses of computer-aided dispatch data from two municipal police departments were conducted with 320 shifts and 1,385 individual patrol officer tours of duty. After controlling for call for service workload, shift, agency, and officer demographic characteristics, the findings suggested that when field supervisors engage in proactive investigative activities, the volume of proactive activity by patrol officers approximately doubles. The policy implications and limitations of this study are then discussed.
Risk Factors and Coping Style Affect Health Outcomes in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Huang Chiung-Yu , Lai Hui-Ling , Lu Yung-Chuan , Chen Wen-Kuei , Chi Shu-Ching , Lu Chu-Yun , Chen Chun-I
Published: February 2015

Objective:

Most psychosocial interventions among individuals with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) target depressive symptoms (DSs) rather than causal antecedents that lead to DSs or affect health-related quality of life (HrQoL). This research investigated a conceptual model of the effects of risk factors and coping styles on HrQoL and DSs in patients with T2DM.

Method:

A descriptive, correlational design was used with a convenience sample of 241 adults with T2DM aged ≥ 20 years recruited from a hospital metabolic outpatient department. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the modified Ways of Coping Checklist, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Short Form 36 Health Survey, and physiological examination. HbA1C was collected from participants’ medical records. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to analyze relationships among risk factors, mediators, and HrQoL.

Results:

Younger age, more education, and longer duration of diabetes predicted better physical quality of life. Duration of diabetes and three coping styles predicted DSs. Longer duration of diabetes and lower fasting glucose predicted better mental quality of life. Three coping styles acted as mediators between risk factors and health, that is, active and minimizing styles promoted positive outcomes, while avoidance promoted negative outcomes.

Conclusions:

This integrated model provides a holistic picture of how risk factors and coping style influence HrQoL and DSs in individuals with T2DM. Nurses could use active coping strategies in cognitive behavioral therapy to enhance glycemic control in patients with T2DM.
Effect of tooth profile modification on lubrication performance of a cycloid drive
Authors: Zhu Caichao , Sun Zhangdong , Liu Huaiju , Song Chaosheng , Gu Zonglin
Published: February 2015

A numerical study on contact performance of a cycloid drive lubricated with the grease is conducted. The effect of the tooth profile modification on lubrication performance is emphasized. Four profile modification methods are proposed and their influences on the length of the line of action, the pressure and the film thickness are compared. Results show that at a certain manufacturing accuracy, the lubrication performance of the one with a combined modification is better than the performance of the ones with single modification. The combined negative equidistant and negative radial-moving scheme has the best lubrication performance while the single negative radial-moving modification scheme has the worst lubrication performance among the selected schemes. Effect of the amount of the radial-moving modification and the amount of the combined negative equidistant with negative radial-moving modification are studied and results show that as the modification value increases, the length of LOA, the load-carrying capacity, and the film thickness decrease, which represents a worse lubrication performance. After modification, the lubrication performance of the engaging tooth pair would deteriorate. The higher the manufacturing precision, the smaller the amount of the modification, the better the lubrication performance.
The economics of free
Authors: Evans Elizabeth
Published: February 2015

The gaming industry has seen dramatic change and expansion with the emergence of ‘casual’ games that promote shorter periods of gameplay. Free to download, but structured around micropayments, these games raise the complex relationship between game design and commercial strategies. Although offering a free gameplay experience in line with open access philosophies, these games also create systems that offer control over the temporal dynamics of that experience to monetize player attention and inattention. This article will examine three ‘freemium’ games, Snoopy Street Fair, The Simpsons’ Tapped Out and Dragonvale, to explore how they combine established branding strategies with gameplay methods that monetize player impatience. In examining these games, this article will ultimately indicate the need for game studies to interrogate the intersection between commercial motivations and game design and a broader need for media and cultural studies to consider the social, cultural, economic and political implications of impatience.
Thermo-mechanical cyclic loading analysis of pipes with different type of defects: Temperature dependent properties
Authors: Nayebi A , Hamidpour M
Published: February 2015

Shakedown and ratcheting behaviors of pipes under thermo-mechanical loading have an important role in their design. In this study, Plastic, Elastic shakedown and ratcheting limit of the pipelines with different types of defects were analyzed. The pipelines were subjected to the constant internal pressure and the cyclic thermal gradient. Different dimensions of these defects were also studied. Nonlinear kinematic hardening model of Armstrong–Frederick coupled with continuum damage mechanics was used and material properties were considered temperature-dependent. The unified Lemaitre’s model was used in continuum damage mechanics. Interaction diagrams (Bree's diagram) of the defective pipelines were obtained and parametric studies involving different types and dimensions of part-through slot in the defective pipeline were investigated. Continuum Damage Mechanics was used to predict life time of some defected pipelines.
Primary students’ understanding and appreciation of the artwork in picturebooks
Authors: Pantaleo Sylvia
Published: February 2015

One of the purposes of the classroom-based research featured in this article was to explore how the ongoing development of young children’s understanding of elements of visual art and design would affect their comprehension, interpretation and analysis of the artwork in a selection of picturebooks. Social semiotics, multimodality, sociocultural theory and transactional theory framed the study, as well as the analysis and discussion of the data featured in this article. Further, the reading of and writing about the picturebooks were situated in the four roles/practices required for reading multimodal and visual texts. During a nine-week period, 22 seven- and eight-year-old students participated in several activities that focused on learning about specific elements of visual art and design. The students read, talked about and responded in writing to a selection of picturebooks. This article features an analysis of the students’ responses to two picturebooks and discusses what the students’ text-based writing reveals about their understanding and appreciation of the artwork in these multimodal texts. The article concludes with a discussion of the importance of teaching elements of visual art and design in order to develop students’ visual literacy skills and repertoires of capability with respect to reading multimodal texts.
Playing the Panopticon
Authors: van Nuenen Tom
Published: February 2015

This article investigates discursive procedures in From Software’s 2011 videogame Dark Souls. By combining procedural rhetorics, discourse analysis, and autoethnographical research play, it is argued that Dark Souls features post-Panoptical gameplay mechanics of both continuous surveillance and playful exhibitionism and a hybrid gameplay experience of both subjectivation and empowerment. Players randomly confront one another in a notoriously difficult and unforgiving game space that requires commitment and perseverance. The game, it is shown, provides a metaphor for online surveillance mechanics in which players/netizens are not just democratically gazing at each other but subjected to a procedural system determining who can see whom. Simultaneously, players are offered a number of procedural methods and moral archetypes to normalize and empower them.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Current Episodes, and Prevention of Relapse
Authors: White Nicole D.
Published: February 2015

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) teaches the patient to recognize a deteriorating mood with the goal of avoiding self-perpetuating patterns of ruminative, negative thoughts and thus depressive disorders. MBCT was initially conceived as an intervention to prevent relapse of major depression, but it has since been studied in patients with current episodes of depression. MBCT has been shown to nearly halve the risk of relapse in persons currently well with a history of at least 3 prior episodes of depression and is comparable to the use of an antidepressant in preventing recurrence. Although theoretical drawbacks exist to using MBCT in a currently depressed patient, randomized controlled data suggest it may be as effective in currently depressed patients as those in remission and similar in efficacy to cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Leading changes: Why transformation explanations fail
Authors: Hughes Mark
Published: February 2015

Professor John Kotter (1995) claimed in Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail to have identified eight leadership errors which resulted in transformation failures. He followed this up in 1996 with his best-selling book Leading Change, prescribing an eight-step model for leading transformations encouraging change leaders to create a sense of urgency, build powerful guiding coalitions and develop visions. Kotter openly acknowledged that he neither drew examples nor major ideas from any published source, except his own writing. In the 2012 edition of his book, which included a new preface, Kotter claimed that his book was now more relevant than when it was first published. As leaders knowingly or unknowingly still use Kotter's steps and academics still cite this book, this paper critically assesses Kotter's claim about the relevance of Leading Change. Three conclusions are drawn; Leading Change remains an enduring landmark leadership study, but Leading Change is stuck in the past and paradoxically today discourages change.
Diagnosis and clinical assessment of a stiff shoulder
Authors: Armstrong Alison
Published: February 2015

The assessment of a stiff shoulder is explored, the necessary investigations to reach a diagnosis are discussed, and the likely causes that can contribute to a frozen shoulder are described. Two flow diagrams are included to help in reaching a conclusion when seeing a patient with a stiff shoulder. The key elements to reaching that conclusion are: carefully listening to the patients story, noting whether there has been a history of trauma, as well as a careful and thorough examination and a plain X-ray with two views.
Balance Error Scoring System Performance in Children and Adolescents With No History of Concussion
Authors: Khanna Neil K. , Baumgartner Katherine , LaBella Cynthia R.
Published: February 2015

Background:

The Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) is a useful means of measuring postural stability, which frequently exhibits deficits after a concussion. However, it has limited applicability for children since there is insufficient normative data available for the BESS in the pediatric population. The purposes of this study were to report scores for the BESS in children 10 to 17 years old with no history of concussion and to identify whether BESS score is correlated with age, sex, sports participation, height, weight, or body mass index.

Hypothesis:

Baseline BESS scores will be related to age and sports participation.

Study Design:

Descriptive laboratory study.

Level of Evidence:

Level 3.

Methods:

One examiner recruited 100 participants 10 to 17 years old over a period of 4 months; performed all of the BESS tests; surveyed participants regarding age, sex, and sports participation; recorded participants’ heights and weights; and calculated body mass indices. Intrarater reliability was measured. The main outcome measures were total, firm, and foam surface BESS scores. We assessed data for normality using the Shapiro-Wilk test and used the Spearman rank test to determine whether BESS scores correlated with sex, age, sports participation, height, weight, or body mass index.

Results:

There was no correlation between the BESS firm surface (5.37 ± 4.4), BESS foam surface (12.28 ± 4.43), or total surface scores (17.64 ± 7.52) and age, anthropometrics, or sports participation. Male and female subjects had similar scores except in the 10- to 13-year-old age group on the foam surface, where girls performed better than boys (10.42 ± 4.53 vs 13.07 ± 4.23; P = 0.02).

Conclusion:

Baseline BESS scores in children aged 10 to 17 years were normally distributed and were not related to age, sex, height, weight, body mass index, or sports participation.

Clinical Relevance:

These results provide a reference for clinicians using BESS to evaluate and manage children and teens with concussions.
Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori by carbon-13 urea breath test using a portable mass spectrometer
Authors: Sreekumar J , France N , Taylor S , Matthews T , Turner P , Bliss P , Brook Alan H , Watson AJM
Published: February 2015

Context:

In the non-invasive detection of markers of disease, mass spectrometry is able to detect small quantities of volatile markers in exhaled air. However, the problem of size, expense and immobility of conventional mass spectrometry equipment has restricted its use. Now, a smaller, less expensive, portable quadrupole mass spectrometer system has been developed. Helicobacter pylori has been implicated in the development of chronic gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers and gastric cancer.

Objectives:

To compare the results obtained from the presence of H. pylori by a carbon-13 urea test using a portable quadrupole mass spectrometer system with those from a fixed mass spectrometer in a hospital-based clinical trial.

Methods:

Following ethical approval, 45 patients attending a gastroenterology clinic at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital exhaled a breath sample into a Tedlar gas sampling bag. They then drank an orange juice containing urea radiolabelled with carbon and 30 min later gave a second breath sample. The carbon-13 content of both samples was measured using both quadrupole mass spectrometer systems. If the post-drink level exceeded the pre-drink level by 3% or more, a positive diagnosis for the presence of H. pylori was made.

Results:

The findings were compared to the results using conventional isotope ratio mass spectrometry using a laboratory-based magnetic sector instrument off-site. The results showed agreement in 39 of the 45 patients.

Conclusions:

This study suggests that a portable quadrupole mass spectrometer is a potential alternative to the conventional centralised testing equipment. Future development of the portable quadrupole mass spectrometer to reduce further its size and cost is indicated, together with further work to validate this new equipment and to enhance its use in mass spectrometry diagnosis of other medical conditions.
FOXG1 Mutation is a Low-Incidence Genetic Cause in Atypical Rett Syndrome
Authors: Byun Christine K. , Lee Jin Sook , Lim Byung Chan , Kim Ki Joong , Hwang Yong Seung , Chae Jong-Hee
Published: February 2015

Due to the genetic and clinical heterogeneity of Rett syndrome, patients with nonclassic phenotypes are classified as an atypical Rett syndrome, that is, preserved speech variant, early seizure variant, and congenital variant. Respectively, MECP2, CDKL5, and FOXG1 have been found to be the causative genes, but FOXG1 variants are the rarest and least studied. We performed mutational analyses for FOXG1 on 11 unrelated patients without MECP2 and CDKL5 mutations, who were diagnosed with atypical Rett syndrome. One patient, who suffered from severe early-onset mental retardation and multiple-type intractable seizures, carried a novel, de novo FOXG1 mutation (p.Gln70Pro). This case concurs with previous studies that have reported yields of ∼10%. FOXG1-related atypical Rett syndrome is rare in Korean population, but screening of this gene in patients with severe mental retardation, microcephaly, and early-onset multiple seizure types without specific genetic causes can help broaden the phenotypic spectrum of the distinct FOXG1-related syndrome.
Chronoamperometric study of elemental sulphur (S) nanoparticles (NPs) in NaCl water solution: new methodology for S NPs sizing and detection
Authors: Bura-Nakić Elvira , Marguš Marija , Jurašin Darija , Milanović Ivana , Ciglenečki-Jušić Irena
Published: February 2015

Background

Elemental sulfur (S) persists in natural aquatic environment in a variety of forms with different size distributions from dissolved to particulate. Determination of S speciation mainly consists of the application of chromatographic and electrochemical techniques while its size determination is limited only to the application of microscopic and light scattering techniques. S biological and geochemical importance together with recent increases of S industrial applications requires the development of different analytical tools for S sizing and quantification. In recent years the use of electrochemical measurements as a direct, fast, and inexpensive technique for the different nanoparticles (NPs) characterization (Ag, Au, Pt) is increasing. In this work, electrochemical i.e. chronoamperometric measurements at the Hg electrode are performed for determination of the size distribution of the S NPs.

Results

S NPs were synthesized in aqueous medium by sodium polysulphide acidic hydrolysis. Chronoamperometric measurements reveal the polydisperse nature of the formed suspension of S NPs. The electrochemical results were compared with dynamic light scattering measurements parallel run in the same S NPs suspensions. The two methods show fairly good agreement, both suggesting a log-normal size distribution of the S NPs sizes characterized by similar parameters.

Conclusions

The preliminary results highlight the amperometric measurements as a promising tool for the size determination of the S NPs in the water environment.
Analgesia for Neuropathic Pain by Dorsal Root Ganglion Transplantation of Genetically Engineered Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Initial Results
Authors: Yu Hongwei , Fischer Gregory , Ebert Allison D , Wu Hsiang-En , Bai Xiaowen , Hogan Quinn H
Published: February 2015

Background

Cell-based therapy may hold promise for treatment of chronic pain. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are readily available and robust, and their secretion of therapeutic peptides can be enhanced by genetically engineering. We explored the analgesic potential of transplanting bone marrow-derived MSCs that have been transduced with lentivectors. To optimize efficacy and safety, primary sensory neurons were targeted by MSC injection into the dorsal root ganglia (DRGs).

Results

MSCs were transduced using lentivectors to express enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) or to co-express the analgesic peptide glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and EGFP by a viral 2A bicistronic transgene cassette. Engineered MSCs were injected into the 4th lumbar (L4) and L5 DRGs of adult allogeneic rats to evaluate survival in the DRGs. MSCs were detected by immunofluorescence staining up to 2–3 weeks after injection, distributed in the extracellular matrix space without disrupting satellite glial cell apposition to sensory neurons, suggesting well-tolerated integration of engrafted MSCs into DRG tissue. To examine their potential for inhibiting development of neuropathic pain, MSCs were injected into the L4 and L5 DRGs ipsilateral to a spinal nerve ligation injury. Animals injected with GDNF-engineered MSCs showed moderate but significant reduction in mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia compared to controls implanted with MSCs expressing EGFP alone. We also observed diminished long-term survival of allografted MSCs at 3 weeks, and the development of a highly-proliferating population of MSCs in 12% of DRGs after transplantation.

Conclusions

These data indicate that genetically modified MSCs secreting analgesic peptides could potentially be developed as a novel DRG-targeted cell therapy for treating neuropathic pain. However, further work is needed to address the challenges of MSC survival and excess proliferation, possibly with trials of autologous MSCs, evaluation of clonally selected populations of MSCs, and investigation of regulation of MSC proliferation.
Attenuation of Inflammatory and Neuropathic Pain Behaviors in Mice through Activation of Free Fatty Acid Receptor GPR40
Authors: Karki Prasanna , Kurihara Takashi , Nakamachi Tomoya , Watanabe Jun , Asada Toshihide , Oyoshi Tatsuki , Shioda Seiji , Yoshimura Megumu , Arita Kazunori , Miyata Atsuro
Published: February 2015

Background

The G-protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) is suggested to function as a transmembrane receptor for medium- to long-chain free fatty acids and is implicated to play a role in free fatty acids-mediated enhancement of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreas. However, the functional role of GPR40 in nervous system including somatosensory pain signaling has not been fully examined yet.

Results

Intrathecal injection of GPR40 agonist (MEDICA16 or GW9508) dose-dependently reduced ipsilateral mechanical allodynia in CFA and SNL models and thermal hyperalgesia in carrageenan model. These anti-allodynic and anti-hyperalgesic effects were almost completely reversed by a GPR40 antagonist, GW1100. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that GPR40 is expressed in spinal dorsal horn and dorsal root ganglion neurons, and immunoblot analysis showed that carrageenan or CFA inflammation or spinal nerve injury resulted in increased expression of GPR40 in these areas. Patch-clamp recordings from spinal cord slices exhibited that bath-application of either MEDICA16 or GW9508 significantly decreased the frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents in the substantia gelatinosa neurons of the three pain models.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that GPR40 signaling pathway plays an important suppressive role in spinal nociceptive processing after inflammation or nerve injury, and that GPR40 agonists might serve as a new class of analgesics for treating inflammatory and neuropathic pain.
Spectacle: fast chromatin state annotation using spectral learning
Authors: Song Jimin , Chen Kevin C
Published: February 2015

Epigenomic data from ENCODE can be used to associate specific combinations of chromatin marks with regulatory elements in the human genome. Hidden Markov models and the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm are often used to analyze epigenomic data. However, the EM algorithm can have overfitting problems in data sets where the chromatin states show high class-imbalance and it is often slow to converge. Here we use spectral learning instead of EM and find that our software Spectacle overcame these problems. Furthermore, Spectacle is able to find enhancer subtypes not found by ChromHMM but strongly enriched in GWAS SNPs. Spectacle is available at https://github.com/jiminsong/Spectacle.
Phylogenomic analyses data of the avian phylogenomics project
Authors: Jarvis Erich D , Mirarab Siavash , Aberer Andre J , Li Bo , Houde Peter , Li Cai , Ho Simon Y W , Faircloth Brant C , Nabholz Benoit , Howard Jason T , Suh Alexander , Weber Claudia C , da Fonseca Rute R , Alfaro-Núñez Alonzo , Narula Nitish , Liu Liang , Burt Dave , Ellegren Hans , Edwards Scott V , Stamatakis Alexandros , Mindell David P , Cracraft Joel , Braun Edward L , Warnow Tandy , Jun Wang , Gilbert M Thomas Pius , Zhang Guojie ,   The Avian Phylogenomics Consortium
Published: February 2015

Background

Determining the evolutionary relationships among the major lineages of extant birds has been one of the biggest challenges in systematic biology. To address this challenge, we assembled or collected the genomes of 48 avian species spanning most orders of birds, including all Neognathae and two of the five Palaeognathae orders. We used these genomes to construct a genome-scale avian phylogenetic tree and perform comparative genomic analyses.

Findings

Here we present the datasets associated with the phylogenomic analyses, which include sequence alignment files consisting of nucleotides, amino acids, indels, and transposable elements, as well as tree files containing gene trees and species trees. Inferring an accurate phylogeny required generating: 1) A well annotated data set across species based on genome synteny; 2) Alignments with unaligned or incorrectly overaligned sequences filtered out; and 3) Diverse data sets, including genes and their inferred trees, indels, and transposable elements. Our total evidence nucleotide tree (TENT) data set (consisting of exons, introns, and UCEs) gave what we consider our most reliable species tree when using the concatenation-based ExaML algorithm or when using statistical binning with the coalescence-based MP-EST algorithm (which we refer to as MP-EST*). Other data sets, such as the coding sequence of some exons, revealed other properties of genome evolution, namely convergence.

Conclusions

The Avian Phylogenomics Project is the largest vertebrate phylogenomics project to date that we are aware of. The sequence, alignment, and tree data are expected to accelerate analyses in phylogenomics and other related areas.
Development of a Hemodialysis Safety Checklist Using a Structured Panel Process
Authors: Silver Samuel A , Thomas Alison , Rathe Andrea , Robinson Pamela , Wald Ron , Harel Ziv , Bell Chaim M
Published: February 2015

Background:

The World Health Organization created a Surgical Safety Checklist with a pause or “time out” to help reduce preventable adverse events and improve communication. A similar tool might improve patient safety and reduce treatment-associated morbidity in the hemodialysis unit.

Objective:

To develop a Hemodialysis Safety Checklist (Hemo Pause) for daily use by nurses and patients.

Design:

A modified Delphi consensus technique based on the RAND method was used to evaluate and revise the checklist.

Setting:

University-affiliated in-center hemodialysis unit.

Participants:

A multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, and administrators developed the initial version of the Hemo Pause Checklist. The evaluation team consisted of 20 registered hemodialysis nurses.

Measurements:

The top 5 hemodialysis safety measures according to hemodialysis nurses. A 75% agreement threshold was required for consensus.

Methods:

The structured panel process was iterative, consisting of a literature review to identify safety parameters, individual rating of each parameter by the panel of hemodialysis nurses, an in-person consensus meeting wherein the panel refined the parameters, and a final anonymous survey that assessed panel consensus.

Results:

The literature review produced 31 patient safety parameters. Individual review by panelists reduced the list to 25 parameters, followed by further reduction to 19 at the in-person consensus meeting. The final round of scoring yielded the following top 5 safety measures: 1) confirmation of patient identity, 2) measurement of pre-dialysis weight, 3) recognition and transcription of new medical orders, 4) confirmation of dialysate composition based on prescription, and 5) measurement of pre-dialysis blood pressure. Revision using human factors principles incorporated the 19 patient safety parameters with greater than or equal to 75% consensus into a final checklist of 17-items.

Limitations:

The literature review was not systematic. This was a single-center study, and the panel lacked patient and family representation.

Conclusions:

A novel 17-item Hemodialysis Safety Checklist (Hemo Pause) for use by nurses and patients has been developed to standardize the hemodialysis procedure. Further quality improvement efforts are underway to explore the feasibility of using this checklist to reduce adverse events and strengthen the safety culture in the hemodialysis unit.
Near Infrared Spectroscopy as a Biomarker for Necrotising Enterocolitis following Red Blood Cell Transfusion
Authors: Sood Beena G. , Cortez Josef , McLaughlin Kathleen , Gupta Meenakshi , Amaram Arun , Kolli Madhuri , Zajac Maryellen , Pizzino Janet , Schoettle Bonnie , Chen Xinguang
Published: February 2015

Red blood cell transfusions (RBCTs) have been associated with necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm infants (PTIs). The objective of this report is to evaluate the use of regional cerebral (cRSO2) and splanchnic (sRSO2) tissue oximetry measured using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as biomarkers to evaluate the association between RBCT and NEC in a secondary analysis of a hypothesis-generating Phase I exploratory study of biomarker development. cRSO2 and sRSO2 were monitored in PTIs receiving RBCTs. Three time periods were defined: pre-RBCT (12 h prior to RBCT), during RBCT and post-RBCT (24 h after RBCT). Three groups were defined: absence of NEC within ±7 days of index RBCT (Group 1); NEC within 7 days prior (Group 2) and within 7 days after RBCT (Group 3). Mean hourly sRSO2 and cRSO2 were compared between groups across RBCT periods using the mixed effect method. Neonatal postnatal morbidities and treatments were included as covariates. Fifty-seven infants (median gestational age 27 weeks) received 147 RBCTs (Group 1 = 120, Group 2 = 19, and Group 3 = 8) during NIR spectroscopy monitoring. In the adjusted analysis, there was a significant change in sRSO2 during the course of RBCT ( p = 0.0405) with significant interaction with group ( p < 0.0001) such that in Groups 1 and 2, sRSO2 increased over RBCT periods, whereas in Group 3, sRSO2 declined over RBCT periods. cRSO2 increased during the course of the RBCT ( p < 0.0001) with significant interaction with group ( p = 0.0258). cRSO2 and sRSO2 increased significantly following RBCT in infants without NEC or NEC diagnosed prior to RBCT. Post-RBCT sRSO2 decreased in infants who were subsequently diagnosed with NEC in this exploratory secondary analysis of a Phase I Biomarker study. sRSO2 response may potentially be a biomarker to identify infants who are likely to develop NEC post-RBCT that needs to be validated in larger prospective “hypothesis-testing” randomised controlled trials.
Systematics and biogeography of Berberis s.l. inferred from nuclear ITS and chloroplast ndhF gene sequences
Authors: Adhikari Bhaskar , Milne Richard , Pennington R. Toby , Särkinen Tiina , Pendry Colin Alistair
Published: February 2015

Berberis is the largest genus in the Berberidaceae, comprising more than 500 species. It is now recognised to include all of the compound‐leaved species formally ascribed to Mahonia, as well as simple‐leaved species comprising Berberis s.str. Berberis s.l. has a mainly Northern Hemisphere distribution, with a centre of diversity in the Sino‐Himalaya region, while Berberis s.str. extends into South America where it has a secondary centre of diversity. We analyzed nuclear ITS and chloroplast ndhF sequence data from 68 accessions of Berberis s.l. The results support the monophyly of Berberis s.l., but compound‐leaved Berberis are shown to be paraphyletic. The analysis supports Berberis higginsae, a member of North American B. sect. Horridae, as sister to all other Berberis species. Our results, interpreted in the light of fossil evidence, suggest a North American origin of Berberis s.l., but the area of origin of the simple‐leaved group remains uncertain.
Simulating Risk Contributions of Credit Portfolios
Authors: Liu Guangwu
Published: February 2015

The 2007–2009 financial turmoil highlighted the need for more active management of credit portfolios. After measuring portfolio credit risk, an important step toward active risk management is to measure risk contributions of individual obligors to the overall risk of the portfolio. In practice, value-at-risk is often used as a risk measure for credit portfolios, and it can be decomposed into a sum of the risk contributions of individual obligors. Estimation of these risk contributions is computationally challenging, mainly because they are expectations conditioned on a rare event. In this paper, we tackle this computational problem by developing a restricted importance sampling (RIS) method for a class of conditional-independence credit risk models, where defaults of obligors are conditionally independent given an appropriately chosen random vector. We propose fast estimators for risk contributions and their confidence intervals. Furthermore, we study the incorporation of traditional importance sampling methods into the RIS method to further improve its efficiency for the widely used Gaussian copula model. Numerical examples show that the proposed method works well.
In situ measurements of thermal diffusivity in sediments of the methane-rich zone of Cascadia Margin, NE Pacific Ocean
Authors: Homola Kira , Paul Johnson H. , Hearn Casey
Published: February 2015

Thermal diffusivity (TD) is a measure of the temperature response of a material to external thermal forcing. In this study, TD values for marine sediments were determined in situ at two locations on the Cascadia Margin using an instrumented sediment probe deployed by a remotely operated vehicle. TD measurements in this area of the NE Pacific Ocean are important for characterizing the upslope edge of the methane hydrate stability zone, which is the climate-sensitive boundary of a global-scale carbon reservoir. The probe was deployed on the Cascadia Margin at water depths of 552 and 1049 m for a total of 6 days at each site. The instrumented probe consisted of four thermistors aligned vertically, one sensor exposed to the bottom water and one each at 5, 10, and 15 cm within the sediment. Results from each deployment were analyzed using a thermal conduction model applying a range of TD values to obtain the best fit with the experimental data. TD values corresponding to the lowest standard deviations from the numerical model runs were selected as the best approximations. Overall TDs of Cascadia Margin sediments of 4.33 and 1.15 × 10–7 m2 s–1 were calculated for the two deployments. These values, the first of their kind to be determined from in situ measurements on a methane hydrate-rich continental margin, are expected to be useful in the development of models of bottom-water temperature increases and their implications on a global scale.
Pharmacokinetic considerations for drugs administered in the critically ill
Authors: Tansley Gavin , Hall Richard
Published: February 2015

Significant physiological changes are common among critically ill patients. This case-based review describes the consequences of these changes on the selection and dosing of medications.