bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Severe community‐acquired pneumonia treated with β‐lactam–respiratory quinolone vs. β‐lactam–macrolide combination
Authors: KARHU J. , ALA‐ KOKKO T. I. , OHTONEN P. , SYRJÄLÄ H.
Published: February 2013

Background

This study aimed to compare the outcome of patients with severe community‐acquired pneumonia (SCAP) treated with the combination of either β‐lactam–quinolone (βQ) or β‐lactam–macrolide (βM) antibiotics.

Methods

We retrospectively studied a cohort of patients with SCAP treated from January 2000 to December 2010 at a mixed university‐level intensive care unit (ICU). APACHE II score, SCAP severity assessed by IDSA/ATS score, first antibiotic treatment initiated during the initial 24 h of admission, ICU and hospital length of stay (LOS), and ICU, hospital, 30 and 60‐day mortalities were assessed.

Results

Altogether, 210 patients with SCAP were analyzed, 104 in the βQ arm and 106 in the βM arm. Median APACHE II scores on admission were higher in the βM group (22 vs. 18, P = 0.003). More patients in the βQ group required mechanical ventilation (63.1% vs. 42.5%, P = 0.004) and fulfilled IDSA/ATS SCAP criteria (n = 87; 83.7%) than those in the βM group (n = 73; 68.9%; P = 0.015). Thirty‐day mortality was 16.3% in the βQ group and 24.5% in the βM group (P = 0.17), and with septic shock mortality was 19.6% and 32.6%, respectively (P = 0.16). On APACHE II and IDSA/ATS SCAP score adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis, the βM group had a slightly higher but not significant odds ratio (OR) for a 30‐day mortality compared to the βQ group (OR 1.4; 95% CI, 0.62–3.0; P = 0.44).

Conclusion

Thirty‐day mortality rate of SCAP patients did not differ whether they were treated with either βQ or βM combination.
Discordant and Concordant Alcohol Use in Spouses as Predictors of Marital Dissolution in the General Population: Results from the Hunt Study
Authors: Torvik Fartein A. , Røysamb Espen , Gustavson Kristin , Idstad Mariann , Tambs Kristian
Published: February 2013

Background

Previous studies have demonstrated that high alcohol consumption is a predictor of divorce. However, there is a lack of studies with prospective data from both spouses. The effects of drinking among husbands versus wives and of concordant versus discordant drinking in couples are therefore unknown. Concordant drinking may lead to increased divorce rates because the malignant effects of heavy drinking are experienced in double doses; alternatively it may lead to marital stability due to partner compatibility.

Methods

All inhabitants in a Norwegian county were invited to participate in a health study. We identified 19,977 married couples where both spouses participated. Respondents provided information on alcohol use and mental distress. Survival analysis was applied to study the risk of divorce over the next 15 years. Demographics and mental distress were used as covariates.

Results

Heavy drinking among men (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.39) and women (HR = 1.41) increased the risk of future marital dissolution, even after adjusting for demography (reference group “light drinkers”). The HR for divorce was 1.51 when only the husband was a heavy drinker, while it was 3.07 when only the wife was a heavy drinker. Moreover, there were strong interaction effects: concordant abstainers (HR = 0.40) and concordant heavy drinkers (HR = 0.35) had lower risks of divorce compared to the risk expected from combining the main effects. Nevertheless, couples with 2 heavy drinkers (HR = 1.63) had higher risk of divorce than couples with 2 light drinkers.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that both the level of alcohol use and compatibility in alcohol use are important predictors of marital dissolution.
Acute Alcohol Intoxication and Suicide Among United States Ethnic/Racial Groups: Findings from the National Violent Death Reporting System
Authors: Caetano Raul , Kaplan Mark S. , Huguet Nathalie , McFarland Bentson H. , Conner Kenneth , Giesbrecht Norman , Nolte Kurt B.
Published: February 2013

Background

To assess the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of suicide involving acute alcohol intoxication among U.S. ethnic minorities.

Methods

Data were derived from the restricted 2003 to 2009 National Violent Death Reporting System. The study focused on the sociodemographic and toxicological information of 59,384 male and female suicide decedents for 16 states of the United States. Acute alcohol intoxication was defined as having a blood alcohol content (BAC) ≥0.08 g/dl. Overall, 76% of decedents were tested for the presence of alcohol.

Results

The proportion of suicide decedents with a positive BAC ranged from 47% among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AIs/ANs) to 23% among Asians/Pacific Islanders (PIs). Average BAC was highest among AIs/ANs. Among those who were tested for BAC, the proportion of decedents legally intoxicated prior to suicide was as follows: Blacks, 15%; AIs/ANs, 36%; Asians/PIs, 13%; and Hispanics, 28%. Bivariate associations showed that most suicide decedents who were legally intoxicated were male, younger than 30 years of age, with a high school education, not married, nonveterans, lived in metropolitan areas, and used a firearm to complete suicide. However, with the exception of Whites, most of these associations became not statistically significant in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

Alcohol use and legal intoxication prior to completing suicide are common among U.S. ethnic groups, especially among men and those who are younger than 30 years of age. The AI/AN group had the highest mean BAC, the highest rate of legal intoxication and decedents who were particularly young. Suicide prevention strategies should address alcohol use as a risk factor. Alcohol problems prevention strategies should focus on suicide as a consequence of alcohol use, especially among AI/AN youth and young adults.
Refining Lewin's formula: A general model for explaining situational influence on individual social behavior
Authors: Bond Michael Harris
Published: February 2013

The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for individual social behavior, B, that incorporates the contributions of both the personality of the actor, P, and the relevant features of the situation, S, in which he or she is performing. In analyzing the original formula by Lewin, viz., B = f(P.S), the paper first considers the importance accorded the situation in previous theorizing about ‘Asianness’. It then analyzes the contributions of the actor's personality, noting in particular that actors come to develop broad expectancies for situational outcomes, P(S), associated with situations they encounter. Those situations are glossed for social psychological purposes in terms of their affordances for potential yields relative to the actor's motivations for sociality and status. These situational affordances are defined by the normative prescriptions believed to be operative in that situation for acceptable enactments of behaviors aimed at attaining the actor's goals for sociality and status. That normative pressure is objective, though it may be judged by the actor, and is termed the O(S) component of the situation. It is held with some degree of consensus, CO(S), by others in, or observers of, the situation. These two components specify the ‘strength’ of the situation for social psychological purposes, yielding an elaborated Lewinian formula B = f(P.P[S].O[S].CO[S]). The culture of the participants, national, organizational, familial or dyadic, will determine the beta weights linking the components of the formula.
Coupling lead isotope analysis and petrography to characterize fabrics of storage and trade containers from Hala Sultan Tekke (Cyprus)*
Authors: Renson V. , Ben‐Shlomo D. , Coenaerts J. , Charbit‐Nataf K. , Samaes M. , Mattielli N. , Nys K. , Claeys Ph.
Published: February 2013

Lead isotopes, thin‐ and sherd‐section analyses are coupled on pottery‐vessel fragments excavated from the Late Bronze Age site of Hala Sultan Tekke (south‐east Cyprus) and representing fabrics used for the production of storage and trade containers. The fabrics of the sherds are first described according to general macroscopic observations. Based on the different fabrics identified, a petrographic analysis is carried out on thin sections and compared to lead isotope results on the same samples. This study shows that a specific fabric corresponds to a specific lead isotopic composition and proposes different sources for the various groups of associated sherds/fabrics. It also demonstrates the compatibility and complementarity of petrography and lead isotopes within pottery provenance study.
Childcare Expansion in East Asia: Changing Shape of the Institutional Configurations in Japan and South Korea
Authors: An Mi‐Young
Published: February 2013

The provision of childcare in Korea and Japan has traditionally been intensively conducted within the family. Recent social and demographic transformations have been profound and these have resulted in significant policy changes in both countries. This study examines the institutional configurations of the provisions of childcare among the state, market, and family and how they have changed in Korea and Japan over time. The institutional configurations were quantitatively evaluated based on an estimation of care time. Our findings suggest that care time provided in market and state facilities has become much larger in Japan than in Korea. In both countries, the care time provided by market facilities is much larger than in state facilities. Over the years, both market and state provisions of care have increased in Korea whereas state care provisions have decreased and market provisions have increased in Japan. However, this does not mean that the centralization of the family in the provision of childcare has shifted. In fact, the care time within the family has increased in both countries, suggesting that Korea and Japan have become more caring welfare states.
Influence of Acculturative Stress of Married Migrant Women on Marriage Satisfaction: The Mediating Effect of Problem‐Solving Ability and Information Support
Authors: Park Mijin , Park Byung‐Hyun
Published: February 2013

This paper aims to examine the mediating effect of problem‐solving ability and information support on the relationship between acculturative stress and marriage satisfaction of married migrant women. To this end, the research model was established on the basis of the stress‐coping theories and resource model, and existing relevant research, and the mediating effect was verified through a structural equation. The subjects were married migrant women living in Busan and Gyeongsangnam‐do. The data from 307 respondents to questionnaires was used for analysis. In accordance with the analysis, the goodness‐of‐fit of the measurement model and structure model was significant. Moreover, problem‐solving ability had a mediating effect on the relationship between acculturative stress and marriage satisfaction. However, information support had no mediated effect on the relationship between acculturative stress and marriage satisfaction. This paper suggests practical implications of improving marriage satisfaction of migrant women on the basis of the analysis results.
Elevated nitrogen effects on Bromus tectorum dominance and native plant diversity in an arid montane ecosystem
Authors: Concilio Amy L. , Loik Michael E.
Published: February 2013

Questions

Dominance of the widespread fire‐altering invasive grass, Bromus tectorum, is markedly reduced at upper elevations in the Great Basin Desert. Here, we evaluated whether increased anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition would have an effect on species composition and ecosystem invasibility by B. tectorum at high elevations, and whether B. tectorum cover was associated with decreased native plant diversity.

Location

Sagebrush steppe of the eastern Sierra Nevada, CA, US, at the western edge of the Great Basin Desert.

Methods

We set up 54 paired plots, half of which were exposed to elevated N deposition (50 kg·ha−1·yr−1 at the time of snowmelt for 4 yr) and half acted as controls, in areas differing in disturbance history (grazed, burned and grazed–burned). We monitored species composition each summer from 2008 to 2011 and then compared species richness, Shannon's diversity (H'), Simpson's dominance (D'), Simpson's evenness (E1/D), B. tectorum dominance and community similarity (with ANOSIM and SIMPER analyses) by N treatment and disturbance history.

Results

Species composition differed by disturbance history in all years (ANOSIM, P < 0.05), and the grazed–burned plots consistently had the highest levels of B. tectorum dominance (P ≤ 0.0003) and cover (P ≤ 0.0001). Bromus tectorum cover was inversely related to native forb species richness (r = −0.44, P < 0.0001), H'(rs = −0.73, P < 0.0001), ‐ln(D') (rs = −0.75, P < 0.0001) and E1/D'(rs = −0.49, P < 0.0001). We found no evidence that increased N deposition would affect native plant diversity after 4 yr in this arid montane ecosystem, but the possibility of longer‐term effects cannot be eliminated.

Conclusions

Results suggest that high‐elevation plant communities are already experiencing invasion impacts even though changes to the fire cycle have not yet occurred. In the most disturbed areas, B. tectorum cover is approaching the threshold for increased fire risk, which could result in more severe impacts at high elevations.
KPT‐330 inhibitor of CRM1 (XPO1)‐mediated nuclear export has selective anti‐leukaemic activity in preclinical models of T‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and acute myeloid leukaemia
Authors: Etchin Julia , Sanda Takaomi , Mansour Marc R. , Kentsis Alex , Montero Joan , Le Bonnie T. , Christie Amanda L. , McCauley Dilara , Rodig Scott J. , Kauffman Michael , Shacham Sharon , Stone Richard , Letai Anthony , Kung Andrew L. , Thomas Look A.
Published: February 2013

This study explored the anti‐leukaemic efficacy of novel irreversible inhibitors of the major nuclear export receptor, chromosome region maintenance 1 (CRM1, also termed XPO1). We found that these novel CRM1 antagonists, termed SINE (Selective Inhibitors of Nuclear Export), induced rapid apoptosis at low nanomolar concentrations in a panel of 14 human T‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T‐ALL) cell lines representing different molecular subtypes of the disease. To assess in vivo anti‐leukaemia cell activity, we engrafted immunodeficient mice intravenously with the human T‐ALL MOLT‐4 cells, which harbour activating mutations of NOTCH1 and NRAS as well as loss of function of the CDKN2A, PTEN and TP53 tumour suppressors and express a high level of oncogenic transcription factor TAL1. Importantly, we examined the in vivo anti‐leukaemic efficacy of the clinical SINE compound KPT‐330 against T‐ALL and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) cells. These studies demonstrated striking in vivo activity of KPT‐330 against T‐ALL and AML cells, with little toxicity to normal murine haematopoietic cells. Taken together, our results show that SINE CRM1 antagonists represent promising ‘first‐in‐class’ drugs with a novel mechanism of action and wide therapeutic index, and imply that drugs of this class show promise for the targeted therapy of T‐ALL and AML.
Nationalism and the Rise of Peru's General Velasco
Authors: PHILIP GEORGE
Published: February 2013

Velasco's brand of military nationalism marked a real break from the orientation of the majority of Peruvian military regimes, which were pro‐United States and espoused limited government. Many attempts have been made to explain this outcome, but the release of documents from British and United States archives clarify certain issues. Above all, Velasco's use of the nationalist card enabled him to win over decisive support from both the military and political society. This support gave him sufficient leverage to consolidate his personal position, which he did before launching a major programme of domestic property expropriation.
Visual Attention to Global and Local Stimulus Properties in 6‐Month‐Old Infants: Individual Differences and Event‐Related Potentials
Authors: Guy Maggie W. , Reynolds Greg D. , Zhang Dantong
Published: February 2013

Event‐related potentials (ERPs) were utilized in an investigation of 21 six‐month‐olds’ attention to and processing of global and local properties of hierarchical patterns. Overall, infants demonstrated an advantage for processing the overall configuration (i.e., global properties) of local features of hierarchical patterns; however, processing advantages were found to vary based on individual differences in look duration. Short‐looking infants showed differences in the negative central ERP component and the late slow wave (LSW) indicating greater attention to and discrimination of changes in global properties. Analysis of the LSW revealed that long‐looking infants discriminated changes in local features, but did not discriminate changes in global properties of visual stimuli. These findings indicate that short‐ and long‐looking infants utilize different approaches when processing hierarchical patterns.
Longitudinal Relations of Intrusive Parenting and Effortful Control to Ego‐Resiliency During Early Childhood
Authors: Taylor Zoe E. , Eisenberg Nancy , Spinrad Tracy L. , Widaman Keith F.
Published: February 2013

Longitudinal relations among ego‐resiliency (ER), effortful control (EC), and observed intrusive parenting were examined at 18, 30, and 42 months of age (Ns = 256, 230, and 210) using structural equation modeling. Intrusive parenting at 18 and 30 months negatively predicted EC a year later, over and above earlier levels. EC at 30 months mediated the negative relation between 18‐month intrusive parenting and ER at 42 months when controlling for stability of the variables. ER did not predict EC. The findings suggest that intrusive parenting may have a negative effect on children's ego‐resiliency through its effects on children's abilities to regulate attention and behavior.
How to deal with complications after laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy: lessons learnt from a tertiary referral centre
Authors: Badrek‐Al Amoudi A. H. , Greenslade G. L. , Dixon A. R.
Published: February 2013

Aim

Laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (LVMR) is increasingly recognized as having utility in rectal prolapse, obstructive defaecation syndrome (ODS), faecal incontinence (FI) and multicompartment pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). This study aimed to highlight gaps in service provision and areas for improvement by examining a cohort of patients with complications referred to a tertiary centre.

Method

Examination was carried out of a password‐protected electronic database of all LVMRs operated on in one institution.

Results

Fifty patients (45 women), median age 54 (range, 24–71) years, were referred with early symptomatic failure (n = 27) following an inadequate LVMR or major mesh complications (erosion into another organ, fistulation or stricturing) (n = 23). All were amenable to remedial laparoscopic surgery. Functional improvements were found in pre‐ and postoperative ODS, Wexner (FI) scores (two‐tailed t‐test; P < 0.0001) and quality of life (Birmingham Bowel and Urinary Symptoms Questionnaire‐22) scores at 3 months (two‐tailed t‐test; P < 0.001) and normalization at 1 year (P < 0.015). This was mirrored by improved linear bowel symptom severity visual analogue scale scores (two‐tailed t‐test; P < 0.0001 at 3 months and P = 0.015 at 1 year) .

Conclusion

LVMR can be associated with technical complications arising from inadequate technique or from operation‐specific complications that are amenable to complex revisional laparoscopic surgery with significant improvement in quality of life and function.
Attitudes towards the use of mouth and face guards in Swedish ice hockey: part I. Materials and method
Authors: Glendor Ulf , Göransson Anne
Published: February 2013

Background/aim

The most common method to study the use and attitudes of mouth and face guards is a limited number of preprepared questions. This approach, however, risks information restriction and lowers the general value of the study. The aim of this study was therefore to present a phenomenographic approach to capture the use and attitudes towards mouth and face guards in two Swedish ice hockey clubs.

Materials and method

The phenomenographic study was set up as 12 focus group interviews: six interviews with one elite and six interviews with one division 3 ice hockey club in Sweden. A number of categories were identified, which became the basis for how the results are presented.

Results

The participants inspired each other to speak freely, which allowed for much wider and deeper discussions than was expected. In comparison with the use of a preprepared questionnaire with a limited number of questions sent home by post, this method included comments from the participants and revealed new angles of approach in 12 identified categories.

Conclusions

Using a phenomenographic research method, more variations and different apprehensions could be revealed than what would be possible with a set of preprepared questions sent by post or used in individual interviews.
The effect of mating frequency and mating pattern on female reproductive fitness in cabbage beetle, Colaphellus bowringi
Authors: Liu Xing Ping , He Hai Ming , Xue Fang Sen
Published: February 2013

It is generally thought that females can receive more of the material benefits from males by increasing mating frequency and polyandry can lead to greater reproductive success. The cabbage beetle, Colaphellus bowringi Baly (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is a highly promiscuous species, in which females or males can readily mate repeatedly with a given partner or multiple partners at a very high frequency. In the present study, the effect of mating frequency (number of matings) and mating pattern (polyandry vs. monogamy) on female reproductive fitness was investigated by measuring fecundity, fertility, and female longevity. The results indicated that increased female mating frequency with the same male did not result in variation in lifetime fecundity, but significantly increased fertility and decreased female longevity. Moreover, five copulations were sufficient to acquire maximal reproductive potential. Female lifetime fecundity also did not differ between polyandrous and monogamous treatments. However, monogamous females exhibited a significant increase in fertility and significant prolongation of longevity compared with polyandrous females, further demonstrating that monogamy is superior to polyandry in this beetle.
Variability of methane emissions from an old landfill over different time‐scales
Authors: Rachor I. M. , Gebert J. , Gröngröft A. , Pfeiffer E.‐M.
Published: February 2013

Methane (CH4) emission patterns were investigated at an old landfill in northern Germany during a 2‐year campaign over three different time‐scales (seasonal, daily and diurnal) using modified static chambers. Emissions were not uniformly distributed over the cover soil, but occurred through localized preferential pathways (hotspots). The range of emissions from the 14 investigated hotspots at any one measurement event was large, reflecting large spatial variability of emissions from the landfill. In addition, the individual hotspots showed a large temporal variability of emissions (0–9.7 mol CH4 day−1 over a range of 20 months). Environmental variables effectively modified either the biological process of methane oxidation in the soil (temperature) or the physical gas transport process (moisture and atmospheric pressure). During the seasonal campaign, emissions generally were greater in winter (moister and cooler) and smaller during the summer period (dryer and warmer). Under dry conditions, emissions were independent of soil moisture but correlated negatively with soil temperature. A positive correlation of emissions with moisture was found for moisture levels relating to a matric potential of −30 to −6 kPa, reflecting impeded diffusive oxygen ingress and hence reduced methanotrophic activity. Under very moist conditions, more than −6 kPa, emissions were negatively correlated with moisture content because of decreased gas permeability in the soil. In addition, a pressure decrease preceding the measurement was at all time‐scales often related to large emissions, whereas constant or rising pressure prior to measurement resulted in small emissions. The particular importance of the different effects depends on the type of gas transport at the specific emission location and whether it is advective or diffusive gas transport or a mixture of both, and varies at the temporal scale both between and within locations.
The importance of episodic ebullition methane losses from three peatland microhabitats: a controlled‐environment study
Authors: Green S. M. , Baird A. J.
Published: February 2013

Ebullition and episodic ebullition in particular, may be an important pathway for methane (CH4) losses from northern peatlands. We quantified the importance of episodic ebullition using controlled environment laboratory incubations of samples of near‐surface bog peat, focusing on how ebullition can be measured effectively and assessing the variation in CH4 losses between microhabitats and seasons. The peat samples were collected from hollow and lawn microhabitats at two raised bogs: Longbridgemuir, southwest Scotland, and Cors Fochno, west Wales. We found that CH4 fluxes excluding episodic ebullition differed between peatland microhabitats but not between summer and early autumn conditions. Conversely, episodic ebullition did not differ between microhabitat types but virtually stopped after the onset of early autumn conditions. Most strikingly, episodic ebullition was less than 3.3% of total CH4 fluxes, and was therefore an insignificant mechanism of CH4 loss from our peat samples.
“Grass auseinandergeschrieben:” Günter Grass's Hundejahre and Mimesis
Authors: Minden Michael
Published: February 2013

The aim of this article is to contribute to an assessment of Grass's achievement as an artist in the condition of post‐war German democratic capitalism. Using the concept of Mimesis as it is developed by Adorno and Horkheimer in the Dialektik der Aufklärung, the article offers an analysis of Grass's neglected masterpiece Hundejahre, and attempts particularly to explain the peculiar and perplexing motif of scarecrows at its center. The results of this reading suggest how Grass found an aesthetically adequate response to the Holocaust for one shamed by it. At the same time, he fought on a second front, in defense of the literary imagination against the effects of celebrity in the media. In finding means to set free the energies of Mimesis, Grass of necessity engaged with those of Ratio too, and produced a text which taps the wellsprings of creativity without falling victim to either irrationalism or complacency.
Home, city and diaspora: Anglo–Indian and Chinese attachments to Calcutta
Authors: BLUNT ALISON , BONNERJEE JAYANI
Published: February 2013

This article is about the city as home for people living in diaspora. We develop two key areas of debate. First, in contrast to research that explores diasporic homes in relation to domestic homemaking and/or the nation as home or ‘homeland’, we consider the city as home in diaspora. Second, building on research on transnational urbanism, translocality and the importance of the ‘city scale’ in migration studies, we argue that the city is a distinctive location of diasporic dwelling, belonging and attachment. Drawing on interviews with Anglo–Indian and Chinese Calcuttans who live in London and Toronto, we develop the idea of ‘diaspora cities’ to explore the importance of the city as home rather than the nation as ‘homeland’ for many people living in diaspora. This leads to an understanding of the importance of migration and diaspora within cities of departure as well as resettlement, and contributes a distinctively diasporic focus to broader work on comparative urbanism.
A stranger at ‘home’: interactions between transnational return visits and integration for Afghan‐American professionals
Authors: OEPPEN CERI
Published: February 2013

In this article, I explore the interactions between transnational activities (in the form of return visits) and integration, for Afghan refugees living in the USA. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in California and Kabul, I look at why return visits take place and the difficult experiences Afghan‐Americans had of being a stranger in what might they might otherwise consider their ‘home’. I argue that return visits can serve as a transnational strategy to help integration in California through, for example, the investment of ‘reverse’ remittances. In doing so, I highlight the importance of multi‐directional transnational flows, particularly those from Afghanistan to the USA.
Case studies in the management of refractory bleeding in patients with haemophilia A and inhibitors
Authors: Valentino L. A. , Allen G. , Gill J. C. , Hurlet A. , Konkle B. A. , Leissinger C. A. , Luchtman‐Jones L. , Powell J. , Reding M. , Stine K.
Published: February 2013

In haemophilia patients with well‐established high‐titer inhibitors, even seemingly minor acute bleeding episodes or surgical procedures may become refractory to treatment and transform into limb‐ or life‐threatening situations. In the absence of evidence‐based treatment guidelines, this article presents 10 cases of difficult to control acute and surgical bleeding and offers consensus opinions regarding their management from a panel of experienced haemophilia treaters.
Challenges of providing maintenance hemodialysis in a resource poor country: Experience from a single teaching hospital in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria
Authors: Bello Babawale T. , Raji Yemi R. , Sanusi Ibilola , Braimoh Rotimi W. , Amira Oluwatoyin C. , Mabayoje Omolara M.
Published: February 2013

Providing maintenance hemodialysis is associated with high costs and poor outcomes. In Nigeria, more than 90% of the population lives below the poverty line, and patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) pay out‐of‐pocket for maintenance hemodialysis. To highlight the challenges of providing maintenance hemodialysis for patients with ESRD in Nigeria, we reviewed records of all patients who joined the maintenance hemodialysis program of our dialysis unit over a 21‐month period. Information regarding frequency of hemodialysis, types of vascular access for dialysis, mode of anemia treatment and frequency of blood transfusion received were retrieved. One hundred and twenty patients joined the maintenance hemodialysis program of our unit during the period under review. Seventy‐two (60%) were males and the mean age of the study population was 47 + 14 years. The mean hemoglobin concentration at commencement of dialysis was 7.3 g/dL + 1.6 g/dL. The initial vascular access was femoral vein cannulation in all the patients. A total of 73.5% of the patients required blood transfusion at some point with 33% receiving five or more pints of blood. Only 3.3% of the patients had thrice weekly dialysis, 21.7% dialyzed twice weekly, 23.3% once weekly, 16.7% once in two weeks, 2.5% once in three weeks and 11.7% once monthly. At the time of review, 8.3% of the patients had died while 38.3% were lost to follow‐up. Majority of patients with ESRD on maintenance hemodialysis in our unit were poorly prepared for dialysis, were under‐dialyzed, and were frequently transfused with blood with resultant poor outcomes.
Physical inactivity and insufficient dietary intake are associated with the frequency of sarcopenia in patients with compensated viral liver cirrhosis
Authors: Hayashi Fumikazu , Matsumoto Yoshinari , Momoki Chika , Yuikawa Miho , Okada Genya , Hamakawa Erika , Kawamura Etsushi , Hagihara Atsushi , Toyama Madoka , Fujii Hideki , Kobayashi Sawako , Iwai Shuji , Morikawa Hiroyasu , Enomoto Masaru , Tamori Akihiro , Kawada Norifumi , Habu Daiki
Published: February 2013

Aim

The association between sarcopenia and nutritional status is thought to be an important problem in patients with cirrhosis. In this study, we investigated whether nutritional factors were related to sarcopenia in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Methods

The subjects were 50 patients with cirrhosis aged 41 years or older. In this study, the subjects were interviewed about their dietary habits, and their daily physical activity was surveyed using a pedometer. The skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) was calculated using the appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) measured by bioelectric impedance analysis. The handgrip strength was measured using a hand dynamometer. Sarcopenia was defined by SMI and handgrip strength. The patients with cirrhosis were categorized as normal group or sarcopenia group, and the two groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression modeling were used to identify the relevance for sarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis.

Results

Height (odds ratio (OR), 5.336; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.063–26.784; P = 0.042), energy intake per ideal bodyweight (IBW) (OR, 5.882; 95% CI, 1.063–32.554; P = 0.042) and number of steps (OR, 4.767; 95% CI, 1.066–21.321; P = 0.041) were independent relevant factors for sarcopenia. Moreover, a significantly greater number of the patients in the sarcopenia group had low values for both parameters' energy intake per IBW and number of steps.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that walking 5000 or more steps per day and maintaining a total energy intake of 30 kcal/IBW may serve as a reference for lifestyle guidelines for compensated cirrhotic patients.
The dilemma of conserving parasites: the case of Felicola (Lorisicola) isidoroi (Phthiraptera: Trichodectidae) and its host, the endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)
Authors: Pérez Jesús M. , Sánchez Iñigo , Palma Ricardo L.
Published: February 2013

Parasites are essential elements in healthy natural ecosystems. Also, they constitute most of the world's biodiversity. Therefore, they deserve to be conserved together with their hosts.

The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is the most endangered felid in the world because it only survives in two isolated populations in the Iberian Peninsula, with no more than 300 free‐ranging individuals.

Felicola (Lorisicola) isodoroi is a louse exclusively parasitic on the Iberian lynx, and it appears to be scarcer and therefore more endangered than its host.

Current management activities devoted to the conservation of the Iberian lynx, such as reproduction in captivity for restocking, could compromise the survival of its louse species.

In this article we revise the ectoparasites of the Iberian lynx and discuss their potential role for transmission of pathogens.

Also, we propose measures which could enhance the survival of F. (L.) isidoroi.
Conserving the freshwater fishes of South America
Authors: Reis R. E.
Published: February 2013

South America harbours the most diverse freshwater fish fauna in the world, and recent estimates point to between 6000 and 8000 species in the Neotropical region. Such fauna has diverse historical origins, either having invaded and diversified in fresh water from marine ancestors during the Palaeogene or being isolated on the continent since the end of the break‐up of Gondwana in the Cretaceous. Taxonomic, morphological and ecological diversity of South American freshwater fishes is dramatic, as are the myriad freshwater habitats they inhabit. Unfortunately, many of these habitats are severely threatened by deforestation, water divergence for irrigation, industry and other uses by humans, hydroelectric damming, mining, pollution and invasive species. Despite these multiple threats, there are very few on‐the‐ground conservation initiatives in South America, although assessments of species‐extinction risks have been produced at regional and subregional levels in different countries.
Measuring the risk attitude of decision‐makers: are there differences between groups of methods and persons?
Authors: Maart‐Noelck Syster C. , Musshoff Oliver
Published: February 2013

Many studies quantifying individual risk preferences of test persons show that results of different measuring methods may vary. Additional reservations about the reliability of the results regarding the risk attitude measurement arise from the fact that most studies are based on convenience groups, such as students or businessmen in developing countries. With this in mind, we systematically compare different measuring methods to answer the question how the choice of method affects the results. Moreover, we compare the risk preferences of German farmers with those of students and Kazakhstani farmers to investigate whether farmers’ risk preferences can be approximated through those of convenience groups. The methods applied comprise an incentive‐compatible Holt‐and‐Laury‐lottery as well as two psychometric methods. Results show that students respond consistently across all three elicitation methods whereas German and Kazakhstani farmers are more inconsistent. Significant differences exist in the responses of German students and German farmers. The comparison of risk preferences between German and Kazakhstani farmers, however, reveals significant similarities with respect to the psychometric methods.
Rationale and Design of the On‐Treatment PLAtelet Reactivity‐Guided Therapy Modification FOR ST‐Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (PLATFORM) Randomized Trial
Authors: MRDOVIC IGOR , SAVIC LIDIJA , KRLJANAC GORDANA , ASANIN MILIKA , CVETINOVIC NATASA , BRDAR NATASA , STOJANOVIC MILENA , DJURICIC NEMANJA , STANKOVIC SANJA , MARINKOVIC JELENA , PERUNICIC JOVAN
Published: February 2013

Objectives

The present trial aims at examining whether antiplatelet regimen modification, guided by assessment of the on‐treatment platelet reactivity, might result with clinical benefit in moderate to high‐risk patients with ST‐elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI).

Background

High platelet reactivity has been associated with an increased rate of ischemic events after PCI. Recent large trials did not show a clinical benefit of platelet reactivity‐guided therapy modification in acute coronary syndrome patients treated by PCI.

Methods

PLATFORM is an investigator‐initiated, prospective, randomized, parallel‐group, controlled clinical trial. Approximately 632 STEMI patients with intermediate to high‐risk (RISK‐PCI score >3) clinical features undergoing PPCI will be randomly allocated to treatment modification or standard therapy. Low responders to aspirin will receive 200 mg aspirin for 30 days. Low responders to clopidogrel will receive 180 mg ticagrelor for 1 year. The primary end‐point is the time to the first composite major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) including death, nonfatal infarction, stroke, or immediate target vessel revascularization. Key safety end‐point is the rate of TIMI major bleeding unrelated to coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Our secondary end‐points are individual components of MACE, definite stent thrombosis, total bleeding, and the need for blood transfusions. Patients will be followed‐up at 30 days and at 1 year after PPCI.

Conclusion

PLATFORM will determine whether the platelet reactivity‐guided use of ticagrelor in combination with 200 mg aspirin, compared with standard antiplatelet regimen, improves clinical outcome in moderate to high‐risk STEMI patients undergoing PPCI.

Clinical Trial Registration

U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) at www.clinicaltrials.gov. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01739556, and Current Controlled Trials at www.controlledtrials.com. International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number ISRCTN83081599. (J Interven Cardiol 2013;26:221–227)
Latent Subgroup Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial through a Semiparametric Accelerated Failure Time Mixture Model
Authors: Altstein L. , Li G.
Published: February 2013

This article studies a semiparametric accelerated failure time mixture model for estimation of a biological treatment effect on a latent subgroup of interest with a time‐to‐event outcome in randomized clinical trials. Latency is induced because membership is observable in one arm of the trial and unidentified in the other. This method is useful in randomized clinical trials with all‐or‐none noncompliance when patients in the control arm have no access to active treatment and in, for example, oncology trials when a biopsy used to identify the latent subgroup is performed only on subjects randomized to active treatment. We derive a computational method to estimate model parameters by iterating between an expectation step and a weighted Buckley–James optimization step. The bootstrap method is used for variance estimation, and the performance of our method is corroborated in simulation. We illustrate our method through an analysis of a multicenter selective lymphadenectomy trial for melanoma.
Academic attitudes and their antecedents
Authors: Steele‐Johnson Debra , Narayan Anupama , Steinke Julie
Published: February 2013

In today's competitive workplace, individuals who are best prepared will have the greatest chance of obtaining and retaining jobs. Students can better prepare by developing the maximum possible knowledge and skills during their college educations. Research has shown that attitudes and perceptual variables have significant effects on development activity in organizations. We extend that research by using structural equations modeling to examine influences on attitudes toward one's college education. We posited that Big Five personality factors influence personal growth, readiness to change, and the perceived instrumentality of a university education and that these factors influence attitudes toward education. Results supported the posited model. A better understanding of antecedents of attitudes can enhance educational intervention effectiveness.
Costs, benefits, and loss of vertically transmitted symbionts affect host population dynamics
Authors: Yule Kelsey M. , Miller Tom E. X. , Rudgers Jennifer A.
Published: February 2013

The costs and benefits of symbiotic interactions may vary with host and symbiont ontogeny. Effects of symbionts at different stages of host development or on different host demographic rates do not contribute equally to fitness. Although rarely applied, a population dynamics approach that integrates over the host life cycle is therefore necessary for capturing the net costs or benefits and, thus, the mutualistic or parasitic nature of symbioses. Using the native, disturbance‐specialist grassAgrostis hyemalis, we asked how a symbiotic endophyte affected the population dynamics of its host and how imperfect vertical transmission influenced symbiont frequency in a late successional environment. A size‐structured integral projection model (IPM) parameterized with experimental field data showed that greater rates of individual growth and reproduction for endophyte‐symbiotic (E+) hosts outweighed their lower rates of survival, leading to a net positive effect of symbiosis on equilibrium plant population growth (slower rate of extinction). Given that populations under going successional transitions are unlikely to be at an equilibrium size structure, we also conducted transient analysis that showed an initial short‐term cost to endophyte symbiosis. We used a megamatrix approach to link E− and E+ IPMs via imperfect vertical transmission and found that this parameter strongly influenced the frequency of symbiosis via complex interactions with host demographic rates. Overall, our population dynamics approach improves the ability to characterize the outcome of symbiotic interactions, and results suggest that particular attention should be paid to interactions between the rate of vertical transmission and host demography.
Advance Selling in the Presence of Speculators and Forward‐Looking Consumers
Authors: Lim Wei Shi , Tang Christoper S.
Published: February 2013

This article examines the pricing policy of a monopolist seller who may sell in advance of consumption in a market that comprises of myopic consumers, forward‐looking consumers, and speculators. The latter group has no consumption value for the goods and is in the market with the sole objective of making a profit by reselling the purchased goods shortly after. Consumers, although homogeneous in terms of their valuations, are different with respect to their perspectives. We show that in an “upward” market where the expected valuation increases over time, the optimal pricing policy is an ex ante “static” one where the seller “prices into the future” and prices the myopic consumers out of the advance market. However, in a “downward” market where the expected valuation decreases over time, the seller adopts a dynamic pricing strategy except for the case when higher initial sales can trigger more demand subsequently and when the downward trend is not too high. In this case, the seller prefers an ex ante “static” pricing strategy and deliberately prices lower initially to sell to speculators. We identify the conditions under which the seller benefits from the existence of speculators in the market. Moreover, although the presence of entry costs is ineffective as an entry deterrence, we determine the conditions under which exit costs can rein in speculative purchase.
Molecular Characterization of Parabasalian Symbionts Coronympha clevelandii and Trichonympha subquasilla from the Hawaiian Lowland Tree Termite Incisitermes immigrans
Authors: James Erick R. , Burki Fabien , Todd Harper J. , Scheffrahn Rudolf H. , Keeling Patrick J.
Published: February 2013

An important and undervalued challenge in characterizing symbiotic protists is the accurate identification of their host species. Here, we use DNA barcoding to resolve one confusing case involving parabasalian symbionts in the hindgut of the Hawaiian lowland tree termite, Incisitermes immigrans, which is host to several parabasalians, including the type species for the genus Coronympha, C. clevelandii. We collected I. immigrans from its type locality (Hawaii), confirmed its identity by DNA barcoding, and characterized the phylogenetic position of two symbionts, C. clevelandii and Trichonympha subquasilla. These data show that previous molecular surveys of “I. immigrans” are, in fact, mainly derived from the Caribbean termite I. schwarzi, and perhaps also another related species. These results emphasize the need for host barcoding, clarify the relationship between morphologically distinct Coronympha species, and also suggest some interesting distribution patterns of nonendemic termite species and their symbionts.
The use of stress‐70 proteins in physiology: a re‐appraisal
Authors: Morris J. P. , Thatje S. , Hauton C.
Published: February 2013

There are few factors more important to the mechanisms of evolution than stress. The stress response has formed as a result of natural selection, improving the capacity of organisms to withstand situations that require action. The ubiquity of the cellular stress response suggests that effective mechanisms to counteract stress emerged early in the history of life, and their commonality proves how vital such mechanisms are to operative evolution. The cellular stress response (CSR) has been identified as a characteristic of cells in all three domains of life and consists of a core 44 proteins that are structurally highly conserved and that have been termed the ‘minimal stress proteome’ (MSP). Within the MSP, the most intensely researched proteins are a family of heat‐shock proteins known as HSP70. Superficially, correlations between the induction of stress and HSP70 differential expression support the use of HSP70 expression as a nonspecific biomarker of stress. However, we argue that too often authors have failed to question exactly what HSP70 differential expression signifies. Herein, we argue that HSP70 up‐regulation in response to stressors has been shown to be far more complex than the commonly accepted quasi‐linear relationship. In addition, in many instances, the uncertain identity and function of heat‐shock proteins and heat‐shock cognates has led to difficulties in interpretation of reports of inducible heat‐shock proteins and constitutive heat‐shock cognates. We caution against the broad application of HSP70 as a biomarker of stress in isolation and conclude that the application of HSP70 as a meaningful index of stress requires a higher degree of validation than the majority of research currently undertakes.