bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clinical efficacy of dissolvable microneedles armed with anti‐melanogenic compounds to counter hyperpigmentation
Authors: Avcil Muhammet , Akman Gokhan , Klokkers Jens , Jeong Dohyeon , Çelik Ayhan 
Published: July 2020

AbstractBackgroundHyperpigmentation is a complex physiological process associated with alterations of skin color due to melanin overproduction and distribution. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence discoloration with the involvement of multiple pathways in cooperative manners. Restoring natural skin color requires a multi‐targeted approach. Latest advances in anti‐melanogenic compounds and microneedle delivery system have presented opportunities for tackling hyperpigmentationsuccessfully.AimsThis work was aimed at assessing the dermal tolerability and efficacy of hyaluronic acid‐based microneedle patches loaded with anti‐melanogenic actives for improvements of skin discoloration.Patients/MethodsThe test products consist of hyaluronic acid with niacinamide, ascorbic acid 2‐glucoside, tranexamic acid, resveratrol, 4‐n‐butyl‐resorcinol, and Halidrys siliquosa extract. In a monocentric 12 weeks clinical trial, the HA‐MNs patches were applied to the affected areas of the faces on subjects with hyperpigmented skin. The color properties of the skin were analyzed spectrophotometrically.ResultsThe products were tolerated remarkably; none of the subjects informed any primary or cumulative skin responses. Evaluation of color related measurable skin properties provided insight into the general effectiveness: The individual topology measurements showed 51.4% noticeable improvements in hyperpigmented zones, which were also in good agreement with the personal impressions of the subjects determined by questionnaires before and after the treatments.ConclusionsThe concentrated blends of actives in microneedle patches act in a multi‐targeted manner, and they could be worked in a complementary fashion for the improvement of skin color and appearance. The study has established the overall convenience of the HA‐MNs with the formulation of anti‐melogenic compounds against skin discoloration.
A demand‐induced overtreatment model with heterogeneous experts
Authors: Crettez Bertrand , Deloche Régis , Jeanneret‐Crettez Marie‐Hélène 
Published: July 2020

AbstractWe propose an original game‐theoretic demand‐induced supply model of overtreatment with heterogeneous experts. We show that experts, whatever their abilities, must give the treatment if customers expect them to do so. We show how launching awareness campaigns (on the prudent use of treatment) disseminating information to both the general public and prescribers may, by undermining customers' expectations, reduce overtreatment. Introducing a diagnostic test may have the same effect, but not if its use is costly, especially for good experts. We rely on our model to account for antibiotics overprescription.
Effects of predation risk on the body mass regulation of growing wood mice
Authors: Monarca R. I. , Speakman J. R. , Mathias M. L. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractBody mass in wild animals has been suggested to be regulated by the opposing fitness consequences of variation in body size (and fat storage) for starvation and predation risk. Many studies of adult mammals and birds have broadly confirmed the predictions of this model. However, relatively few studies have addressed the potential role of such trade‐offs during early phases of development when animals are growing. Similarly, studies of the impact of high‐fat diets on wild small mammals generally show a resistance to weight gain. But whether growing animals are similarly resistant is unclear. In this study, weaned wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) were exposed to a high risk of predation, simulated by the broadcasting of owl calls, for 66 days during which body mass and energy intake were monitored. We hypothesized that if the risk of predation plays a role in regulating body mass during this phase then animals growing under predation risk would grow less. We found female (but not male) mice exposed to the predation risk treatment had lower growth rates and ended the experiment lighter; however, variations in energy intake and resting metabolic rate did not explain the observed differences. Feeding on high‐fat diet resulted in individuals with higher body mass. Females reached their adult size earlier than males and were more responsive to the predation risk treatment when feeding on high‐fat diet. Our data suggest males body mass to have fitness consequences on social dominance and reproductive success not accounted for in the simple starvation‐predation trade‐off model.
Historical poetics and the definition of epic in the eighteenth century
Authors: Foy Anna M. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractWhat was the epic for eighteenth‐century Anglophone readers and writers? And how did those expectations differ from later definitions of the genre? This paper advocates an approach to historical poetics centered on these questions. Older approaches to historical poetics, including Mikhail Bakhtin's influential theory of the novel, impose modern ideas of post‐Miltonic decline and modern expectations of epic as a rigid, “half‐moribund,” “classic” genre, representative of an inaccessible, “absolute past.” Yet eighteenth‐century writers approached the epic as a living genre defined by its capacity to “form the manners,” even in the present moment. Resurrecting this lost understanding could provide a large‐scale analytical framework supportive of various kinds of historicist research now prevalent in eighteenth‐century studies—book history, intellectual history, theory, criticism, and the digital humanities—to accommodate new models for thinking about the rise and fall of genres. The most obvious payoffs are local. Reviving old definitions of epic accommodates an earlier hierarchy of poetic making in which translation was not deemed inferior to original composition, and in which epic canons were not yet dominated by Homer and Dante. Alternative contemporary approaches to historical poetics and genre assert the primacy of philosophically‐logical definitions of genre, or of generic rules derived from hyper‐canonical examples; the present approach seeks newfound coherence in the previously marginalized or misunderstood. Historical poetics can unearth forgotten connections, reveal the eighteenth century as something other than an epic wasteland, and—by recovering lost abstractions—facilitate more global, cross‐linguistic comparisons than familiar, racialized, Western‐centered ideas of epic encourage. Recovering lost generic definitions also demands meta‐critical reflection on the descriptive limitations of modern(ist) conceptions, including confidence in “genre memory.” The case of the epic demonstrates that genres do not always remember their pasts. Even classic genres suffer desuetude and deprecation that modern interpreters must work imaginatively to overcome.
Making the health system work for the delivery of nutrition interventions
Authors: King Shannon E. , Sawadogo‐Lewis Talata , Black Robert E. , Roberton Timothy 
Published: July 2020

AbstractAddressing malnutrition requires strategies that are comprehensive and multi‐sectoral. Within a multi‐sectoral approach, the health system is essential to deliver 10 nutrition‐specific interventions, which, if scaled up, could substantially reduce under‐5 deaths in high‐burden countries through improving maternal and child undernutrition. This study identifies the health system components required for the effective delivery of these interventions, highlighting opportunities and challenges for nutrition programmes and policies. We reviewed implementation guidance for each nutrition‐specific intervention, mapping the delivery process for each intervention and determining the health system components required for their delivery. We integrated the components into a single health systems framework for nutrition, illustrating the pathways by which health system components influence household‐level determinants of nutrition and individual‐level health outcomes. Nutrition‐specific interventions are typically delivered in one of four ways: (i) when nutrition interventions are intentionally sought out, (ii) when care is sought for other, unrelated interventions, (iii) at a health facility after active community case finding and referral, and (iv) in the community after active community case finding. A health system enables these processes by providing health services and facilitating care seeking for services, which together require a skilled and motivated health workforce, an effective supply chain, demand for services and access to services. The nutrition community should consider the processes by which nutrition‐specific interventions are delivered and the health system components required for their success. Programmes should encourage the delivery of nutrition interventions at every client–provider interaction and should actively generate demand for services—in general, and for nutrition services specifically.
Abductive reasoning in nursing: Challenges and possibilities
Authors: Karlsen Bjørg , Hillestad Torgeir Martin , Dysvik Elin 
Published: July 2020

AbstractAbduction, deduction and induction are different forms of inference in science. However, only a few attempts have been made to introduce the idea of abductive reasoning as an extended way of thinking about clinical practice in nursing research. The aim of this paper was to encourage critical reflections about abductive reasoning based on three empirical examples from nursing research and includes three research questions on what abductive reasoning is, how the process has taken place, and how knowledge about abductive reasoning based on the examples can inform nursing research and clinical practice. The study has a descriptive and explorative approach using a convenience sample of three empirical studies from nursing research. The three studies illustrate different ways to enter the abductive reasoning process in steps. They represent new caring models, which offer visual and cognitive maps for expanding nursing research, education and thus informing care. Therefore, we suggest that abductive reasoning may be beneficial for different ways of knowing and demonstrates scientific innovation to shed new light on health phenomena, which can help researchers and practitioners to gain a broader and deeper understanding of nursing care inquiry. However, more studies are needed to broaden this scope.
Diet‐induced rodent models of obesity‐related metabolic disorders—A guide to a translational perspective
Authors: Preguiça Inês , Alves André , Nunes Sara , Fernandes Rosa , Gomes Pedro , Viana Sofia D. , Reis Flávio 
Published: July 2020

SummaryDiet is a critical element determining human health and diseases, and unbalanced food habits are major risk factors for the development of obesity and related metabolic disorders. Despite technological and pharmacological advances, as well as intensification of awareness campaigns, the prevalence of metabolic disorders worldwide is still increasing. Thus, novel therapeutic approaches with increased efficacy are urgently required, which often depends on cellular and molecular investigations using robust animal models. In the absence of perfect rodent models, those induced by excessive consumption of fat and sugars better replicate the key aspects that are the root causes of human metabolic diseases. However, the results obtained using these models cannot be directly compared, particularly because of the use of different dietary protocols, and animal species and strains, among other confounding factors. This review article revisits diet‐induced models of obesity and related metabolic disorders, namely, metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A critical analysis focused on the main pathophysiological features of rodent models, as opposed to the criteria defined for humans, is provided as a practical guide with a translational perspective for the establishment of animal models of obesity‐related metabolic diseases.
A transcriptomic, metabolomic and cellular approach to the physiological adaptation of tomato fruit to high temperature
Authors: Almeida Juliana , Perez‐Fons Laura , Fraser Paul D. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractHigh temperatures can negatively influence plant growth and development. Besides yield, the effects of heat stress on fruit quality traits remain poorly characterised. In tomato, insights into how fruits regulate cellular metabolism in response to heat stress could contribute to the development of heat‐tolerant varieties, without detrimental effects on quality. In the present study, the changes occurring in wild type tomato fruits after exposure to transient heat stress have been elucidated at the transcriptome, cellular and metabolite level. An impact on fruit quality was evident as nutritional attributes changed in response to heat stress. Fruit carotenogenesis was affected, predominantly at the stage of phytoene formation, although altered desaturation/isomerisation arose during the transient exposure to high temperatures. Plastidial isoprenoid compounds showed subtle alterations in their distribution within chromoplast sub‐compartments. Metabolite profiling suggests limited effects on primary/intermediary metabolism but lipid remodelling was evident. The heat‐induced molecular signatures included the accumulation of sucrose and triacylglycerols, and a decrease in the degree of membrane lipid unsaturation, which influenced the volatile profile. Collectively, these data provide valuable insights into the underlying biochemical and molecular adaptation of fruit to heat stress and will impact on our ability to develop future climate resilient tomato varieties.
Regulating human control over autonomous systems
Authors: Firlej Mikolaj , Taeihagh Araz 
Published: July 2020

AbstractIn recent years, many sectors have experienced significant progress in automation, associated with the growing advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning. There are already automated robotic weapons, which are able to evaluate and engage with targets on their own, and there are already autonomous vehicles that do not need a human driver. It is argued that the use of increasingly autonomous systems (AS) should be guided by the policy of human control, according to which humans should execute a certain significant level of judgment over AS. While in the military sector there is a fear that AS could mean that humans lose control over life and death decisions, in the transportation domain, on the contrary, there is a strongly held view that autonomy could bring significant operational benefits by removing the need for a human driver. This article explores the notion of human control in the United States in the two domains of defense and transportation. The operationalization of emerging policies of human control results in the typology of direct and indirect human controls exercised over the use of AS. The typology helps to steer the debate away from the linguistic complexities of the term “autonomy.” It identifies instead where human factors are undergoing important changes and ultimately informs about more detailed rules and standards formulation, which differ across domains, applications, and sectors.
Existential Risks to Humanity Should Concern International Policymakers and More Could Be Done in Considering Them at the International Governance Level
Authors: Boyd Matt , Wilson Nick 
Published: July 2020

AbstractIn this perspective, we consider the possible role of the United Nations (UN) with respect to existential risks to human civilization and the survival of humanity. We illustrate how existential risks have been discussed at an international governance level, specifically in documents in the UN Digital Library. In this large corpus, discussions of nuclear war account for over two‐thirds (69%, 67/97) of mentions of existential risks, while mention of other existential risks, or such risks as a category, appears scant. We take these observations to imply inadequate attention to these significant threats. These deficits, combined with the need for a global response to many risks, suggest that UN member nations should urgently advocate for appropriate action at the UN to address threats, such as artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, geoengineering, and supervolcanic eruption, in analogous fashion to existing attempts to mitigate the threats from nuclear war or near‐Earth objects.
High‐frequency ultrasonography of the scalp ‐ Comparison of ultrasound and trichoscopic images in healthy individuals
Authors: Mikiel Dominik , Polańska Adriana , Żaba Ryszard , Adamski Zygmunt , Dańczak‐Pazdrowska Aleksandra 
Published: July 2020

AbstractBackgroundHair loss is a common problem in dermatological patients. Its diagnosis is based on selected non‐invasive and invasive tests. Searching for new diagnostic methods, especially non‐invasive ones, aims to accelerate the correct diagnosis in the least invasive way possible. The aim of our study was to establish the characteristics of ultrasound images in healthy individuals and to compare them to selected trichoscopic parameters.Materials and methodsEighteen healthy adults (10 women and 8 men) underwent trichoscopy and high‐frequency ultrasound (HF‐USG) with 20 MHz DermaScan transducer on the parietal region of the scalp. Selected parameters were compared in relation to sex and the research method used.ResultsHF‐USG of the parietal area in all examined patients revealed hyperechogenic entrance echo and less echogenic layer corresponding to the dermis with well‐defined hypoechoic follicular structures (FS). The number of hair units in trichoscopy and the number of FS in HF‐USG did not differ significantly, while the differences in the studied distances between structures were statistically significant. The width of FS in HF‐USG was significantly higher than hair shafts thickness in trichoscopy.ConclusionsHF‐USG (20MHz) due to the possibility of visualization of FS can be a valuable complement to the range of non‐invasive diagnostic procedures used in evaluation of the scalp.
Prevalence of natural and acquired antibodies to amustaline/glutathione pathogen reduced red blood cells
Authors: Geisen Christof , North Anne , Becker Lisa , Brixner Veronika , von Goetz Melissa , Corash Laurence , Benjamin Richard J. , Mufti Nina , Seifried Erhard 
Published: July 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe INTERCEPT™ Blood System for Red Blood Cells (RBCs) utilizes amustaline (S‐303) and glutathione (GSH) to inactivate pathogens and leukocytes in transfused RBCs. Treatment‐emergent low titer non‐hemolytic antibodies to amustaline/GSH RBC were detected in clinical trials using a prior version of the process. The amustaline/GSH process was re‐formulated to decrease S‐303 RBC adduct formation.Study Design and MethodsA standard three‐cell antibody screening panel was modified to include reagent red cells (RRC) with high (S‐303H) or low (S‐303L) S‐303 adduct density as assessed by flow cytometry, representative of the original and current amustaline/GSH treatment processes, respectively. General hospital and RBC transfusion‐dependent patients never exposed, and clinical trial subjects exposed to amustaline/GSH RBC were screened for antibodies to amustaline/GSH RBC using a standardized agglutination assay.ResultsTwelve (0.1%) of 10,721 general hospital and 5 (0.5%) of 998 repeatedly‐transfused patients not previously exposed to amustaline/GSH RBCs expressed natural, low titer (2‐32) IgM and/or IgG (non‐IgG1 or IgG3 isotype) antibodies with acridine (a structural element of amustaline) (n = 14) or non‐acridine (n = 3) specificity. 11 of 17 sera reacted with S‐303L panel RRCs. In clinical studies 81 thalassemia and 25 cardiac surgery patients were transfused with a total of 1085 amustaline/GSH RBCs and no natural or treatment‐emergent S‐303 antibodies were detected.ConclusionStandardized RRC screening panels are sensitive for the detection of natural and acquired S‐303‐specific antibodies. Natural low titer antibodies to amustaline/GSH RBC are present in 0.15% of naïve patients. The clinical relevance of these antibodies appears minimal but is under further investigation.
Incidence and risk factors for neurological signs after attenuation of a single congenital portosystemic shunt in 50 cats
Authors: Strickland Rhiannon , Tivers Michael S. , Fowkes Robert C. , Lipscomb Victoria J. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the incidence, outcome, and risk factors for postattenuation neurological signs (PANS) in cats treated for single congenital portosystemic shunts (CPSS).Study designRetrospective cohort study.AnimalsCats (n = 50) with a single CPSS.MethodsMedical records of cats treated by surgical attenuation of a single CPSS between 2003 and 2017 were reviewed for signalment, surgical technique, preoperative management and postoperative clinical outcomes. Binary logistic regression was performed to investigate risk factors for occurrence of PANS and seizures.ResultsCongenital portosystemic shunts in 50 cats included 40 extrahepatic and 10 intrahepatic shunts. Postattenuation neurological signs were recorded in 31 (62%) cats and graded as 1 in 10 cats, 2 in nine cats, and 3 in 12 cats. Postattenuation neurological signs included seizures in 11 cats. Five of 31 cats with PANS did not survive to discharge. No association was detected between PANS or seizures and the type of CPSS (intrahepatic or extrahepatic), degree of attenuation, age, or the use of perioperative levetiracetam or hepatic encephalopathy immediately preoperatively. Osmolality at a median 24 hours postoperatively was lower in cats with PANS (P < .049, Wald 3.867, odds ratio [Exp(B)] 0.855, CI 0.732‐0.999).ConclusionPostattenuation neurological signs are common complications in cats treated for CPSS. Preoperative levetiracetam did not prevent the occurrence of PANS or seizures. The only risk factor for PANS detected was lower postoperative Osmolality in cats with PANS at 24 hours.Clinical significancePostattenuation neurological signs including seizures occur frequently in cats undergoing surgical attenuation of a CPSS. Preoperative levetiracetam did not protect against the development of PANS.