bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Increased prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with alopecia areata: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Lee S. , Kim B.J. , Lee C.H. , Lee W.S. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBackgroundAlopecia areata (AA) is a hair follicle‐specific autoimmune disorder. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with various autoimmune disorders for its immunomodulatory effects. However, in previous studies, there had been inconsistent association found between AA and vitamin D deficiency.ObjectiveTo demonstrate the differences of the mean serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D level and prevalence of vitamin D deficiency between AA patients and non‐AA population.MethodsA systematic review and meta‐analysis of observational studies on AA and serum vitamin D levels and/or prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was performed searching MEDLINE, Cochrane, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases.ResultsIn all, 14 studies including a total of 1255 AA subjects and 784 non‐AA control were analysed. The mean serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D level was significantly lower in AA subjects (−8.52 ng/dL; 95% confidential interval; −5.50 to −11.53). The AA subjects had higher odds of vitamin D deficiency (odds ratio of 3.89; 2.02 to 7.49, mean prevalence of 73.8%; 59.1 to 84.6%). However, it was difficult to find clear correlation between serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D level and extent of hair loss in AA subjects.ConclusionThe AA subjects had lower serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D level, and vitamin D deficiency was highly prevalent compared to non‐AA controls. Hence, vitamin D deficiency should be assessed in AA patients. Furthermore, nutritional supplementation of vitamin D or topical vitamin D analogues can be considered for AA patients with vitamin D deficiency. The limitation of this study is the highly heterogeneity of the included studies.
Dermoscopic features of melanocytic skin lesions in Greek children and adolescents and their association with environmental factors and skin types
Authors: Papakonstantinou A. , Ioannides D. , Vakirlis E. , Savvoulidis C. , Lallas A. , Apalla Z. , Sotiriou E. , Lazaridou E. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBackgroundAcquired naevi often present in childhood and increase in number and size during early and middle life. As naevi represent potential mimickers of melanoma, the knowledge of their epidemiologic and morphologic characteristics is essential.ObjectiveIn this study, we intend to determine the prevalence of dermoscopic patterns of naevi, as well their association with environmental and constitutional factors.MethodsCross‐sectional data derived from a population‐based cohort of children and adolescents aged 6–18 years, from 12 different schools in Thessaloniki, Greece. For each participant, a consent form and a questionnaire were completed, which included data on age, sex, phototype, sun sensitivity, sun exposure, sunscreen use and previous sunburn history. All naevi, their body distribution, and their dermoscopic patterns were recorded.ResultsTwo thousand and five hundred and five (2505) subjects were enrolled into the study (47.8% males and 52.2% females). The mean number of MN counted in a single person was 29.11 (SD = ±23.863). TNC increased continuously with higher age. Males were found to have a significantly increased number on the trunk (11.7 ± 11.2 and 10.0 ± 8.7, respectively, P < 0.001) and face and neck (6.2 ± 5.3 and 5.1 ± 4.3, respectively, P < 0.001) while females on the upper (10.3 ± 10.1 and 9.3 ± 9.4, respectively, P = 0.008) and lower extremities (2.8 ± 3.4 and 2.5 ± 3.2, respectively, P = 0.008). Globular pattern was the most frequent dominant pattern in lower age groups, and its percentage fell as age increased. On the contrary, the reticular pattern was more often documented in individuals in adolescence.ConclusionThis first study of MN in our young population aims to be the basis of further investigation for the MM preventive policy of our state.
Use of Intensive Glycemic Management in Older Adults with Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Arnold Suzanne V. , Lipska Kasia J. , Wang Jingyan , Seman Leo , Mehta Sanjeev N. , Kosiborod Mikhail 
Published: April 2018

ObjectivesTo examine the proportion of older adults with diabetes mellitus treated with tight glucose control and the factors associated with this practice.DesignCross‐sectional analysis.SettingOutpatient sites in the Diabetes Collaborative Registry (N=151).ParticipantsAdults aged 75 and older with type 2 diabetes mellitus (N=42,669).MeasurementsParticipants were categorized based on glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and glucose‐lowering medications: poor control (HbA1c >9%), moderate control (HbA1c 8–9%), conservative control (HbA1c 7–8%), tight control (HbA1c <7%) with low‐risk agents (low risk for hypoglycemia), tight control with high‐risk agents, and diet control (HbA1c <7% taking no glucose‐lowering medications). We used hierarchical logistic regression to examine participant and site factors associated with tight control and high‐risk agents versus conservative or tight control and low‐risk agents.ResultsOf 30,696 participants without diet‐controlled diabetes, 5,596 (18%) had moderate or poor control, 9,227 (30%) had conservative control, 7,893 (26%) had tight control taking low‐risk agents, and 7,980 (26%) had tight control taking high‐risk agents. Older age, male sex, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and coronary artery disease were each independently associated with greater odds of tight control with high‐risk agents. There were no differences according to practice specialty (endocrinology, primary care, cardiology) in how aggressively participants were managed.ConclusionOne‐quarter of U.S. older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus are tightly controlled with glucose‐lowering medications that have a high risk of hypoglycemia. These results suggest potential overtreatment of a substantial proportion of people and should encourage further efforts to translate guidelines to daily practice.
Lineages of the Islamic State: An International Historical Sociology of State (De‐)Formation in Iraq
Authors: Matin Kamran 
Published: April 2018

AbstractExisting accounts of the Islamic State (IS) tend to rely on orientalist and technicist assumptions and hence insufficiently sensitive to the historical, sociological, and international conditions of the possibility of IS. The present article provides an alternative account through a conjunctural analysis that is anchored in an international historical sociology of modern Iraq informed by Leon Trotsky's idea of ‘uneven and combined development’. It foregrounds the concatenation of Iraq's contradictory (post‐)colonial nation‐state formation with the neoliberal conjuncture of 1990‐2014. It shows that the former process involved the tension‐prone fusion of governing institutions of the modern state and the intermittent but steady reproduction, valorization, and politicization of supra‐national (religious‐sectarian) and sub‐national (ethno‐tribal) collective identities, which subverted the emergence of an Iraqi nation. The international sanctions regime of the 1990s transformed sectarian and tribaldifferenceinto communitariantensionby fatally undermining the integrative efficacy of the Ba’ath party's authoritarian welfare‐state. Concurrently, the neo‐liberal demolition of the post‐colonial authoritarian welfare states in the region gave rise to the Arab Spring revolutions. The Arab Spring however elicited a successful authoritarian counter‐revolution that eliminated secular‐nationalist forms of oppositional politics. This illiberal neoliberalisation of the region's political economy valorised the religionisation of the domestic effects of the 2003 US‐led destruction of the Iraqi state and its reconstruction on a majoritarian basis favouring the Shi’as and hence transforming sectarian tension into sectarianconflictculminating in IS. Thus, IS is, the paper demonstrates, the result of neither an internal cultural pathology nor sheerly external forces. Rather, it is the novel product of an utterly historical congealment of the intrinsically interactive and multilinear dynamics of socio‐political change.
‘Bourdieu goes to Baghdad’: Explaining hybrid political identities in Iraq
Authors: Dodge Toby 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThis paper critiques the primordial and ethnosymbolic theories of identity that have come to dominate explanations of Iraq's descent into violent instability after the 2003 invasion. It argues that Iraq's contemporary politics can only be understood by examining its history over the longue durée not the past fifteen years. The paper critically interacts with modernist theories of nationalism and their relevance to explaining identities in the Middle East. It then deploys the work of Pierre Bourdieu, specifically his notion of field and capital, to explain the relationship between four ‘principles of visions' that have competed to dominate Iraq's political field.
Environmental determinism as Orientalism: The geo‐political ecology of crisis in the Middle East
Authors: Hoffmann Clemens 
Published: April 2018

AbstractFrom ‘Resource Curse’ to ‘Climate Conflict’, more and more analyses of the current crisis in the Middle East start their reasoning from geo‐physical or natural conditions as determinants of social life. Paradoxically, despite its resource riches giving rise to conflict, the region's ecology is portrayed as fragile, alien and hostile. This imperial oriental imagination, assumes that a scarce nature is mismanaged by societies and states overall incapable of negotiating modernity. This precarious, crisis driven environment is now pushed to the edge by the effects of climate change with looming desertification and weather extremes and a scramble for shrinking oil reserves threatening to make the region all but inhabitable. This article suggests that this environmental oriental determinism in Middle East can be overcome by entering political ecology into the register of historical sociological analysis. Re‐socialising and historicising nature‐society relations avoids reifying the Cartesian nature/society divide, offering historical sociology a better toolkit to navigate the current crisis. Vice‐versa, it argues that political ecology can benefit from recognising the role of geopolitical relations in the social reproduction nature.
Crafting a job in ‘tough times’: When being proactive is positively related to work attachment
Authors: Wang Hai‐Jiang , Demerouti Evangelia , Blanc Pascale Le , Lu Chang‐Qin 
Published: April 2018

Employee work attachment has been found to predict many important work attitudes and behaviours. In this article, we hypothesize that job crafting will be positively associated with work attachment as indicated by psychological ownership of the job and affective organizational commitment. Moreover, drawing on theories and research on work meaning and work identity, we propose that the positive association between job crafting and work attachment will be stronger when employees experience tough times at work (i.e., low‐quality leader‐member dynamics that result from being rated as a poor performer, or experiencing job insecurity). We test our hypotheses in two studies: the first using cross‐sectional survey data from a sample of 295 employees matched with archival performance evaluation data and the second using data collected from two, time‐lagged surveys from a sample of 194 employees and their supervisors. Results from these two studies supported the main effect of job crafting on work attachment. Moreover, the analyses of moderators showed that job crafting was strongly related to work attachment for low performers or insecure job‐holders (i.e., those who experience tough times). The present research provides insights into how to build work attachment by highlighting the proactive role of employees and advances job crafting theory by identifying moderators of job crafting effects.Practitioner points

Employee job crafting is positively related to work attachment (e.g., feelings of job ownership and organizational commitment).

Organizations should provide employees with more opportunities to job craft so that employees would get more attached to their work and may thus achieve more positive work outcomes.

Low performers and insecure job‐holders develop greater work attachment through job crafting (e.g., seeking more job resources and challenges) than high performers and secure job‐holders.
The pig as a preclinical model for predicting oral bioavailability and in vivo performance of pharmaceutical oral dosage forms: a PEARRL review
Authors: Henze Laura J , Koehl Niklas J , O'Shea Joseph P , Kostewicz Edmund S , Holm René , Griffin Brendan T 
Published: April 2018

Abstract

Objectives
In pharmaceutical drug development, preclinical tests in animal models are essential to demonstrate whether the new drug is orally bioavailable and to gain a first insight into in vivo pharmacokinetic parameters that can subsequently be used to predict human values. Despite significant advances in the development of bio-predictive in vitro models and increasing ethical expectations for reducing the number of animals used for research purposes, there is still a need for appropriately selected pre-clinical in vivo testing to provide guidance on the decision to progress to testing in humans. The selection of the appropriate animal models is essential both to maximise the learning that can be obtained from such experiments and to avoid unnecessary testing in a range of species.

Key findings
The present review, provides an insight into the suitability of the pig model for predicting oral bioavailability in humans, by comparing the conditions in the GIT. It also contains a comparison between the bioavailability of compounds dosed to both humans and pigs, to provide an insight into the relative correlation and examples on why a lack of correlation may be observed.

Summary
While there is a general trend towards predicting human bioavailability from pig data, there is considerable variability in the data set, most likely reflecting species specific differences in individual drug metabolism. Nonetheless, the correlation between pigs vs. humans was comparable to that reported for dogs vs. humans. The presented data demonstrate the suitability of the pig as a preclinical model to predict bioavailability in human.
Culture‐expanded mesenchymal stem cell sheets enhance extraction‐site alveolar bone growth: An animal study
Authors: Mu S. , Tee B. C. , Emam H. , Zhou Y. , Sun Z. 
Published: April 2018

Background and ObjectivesImpaired bone formation of the buccal alveolar plate after tooth extraction during adolescence increases the difficulty of future implant restoration. This study was undertaken to assess the feasibility and efficacy of transplanting autogenous scaffold‐free culture‐expanded mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) sheets to the buccal alveolar bone surface to stimulate local bone growth.Material and MethodsMandibular bone marrow was aspirated from 3‐month‐old pigs (n = 5), from which MSCs were isolated and culture expanded. Triple‐layer MSC sheets were then fabricated using temperature‐responsive tissue culture plates. One month after bone marrow aspirations, the same pigs underwent bilateral extraction of mandibular primary molars, immediately followed by transplantation of 3 autogenous triple‐layer MSC sheets on to the subperiosteal buccal alveolar surface of 1 randomly chosen side. The contralateral side (control) underwent the same periosteal reflection surgery without receiving MSC sheet transplantation. Six weeks later, the animals were killed and specimens from both sides were immediately harvested for radiographic and histological analysis. Buccal alveolar bone thickness, tissue mineral density (TMD), mineral apposition and bone volume fraction (BV/TV) were quantified and compared between the MSC sheet and control sides using paired t‐tests.ResultsTriple‐layer MSC sheets were reliably fabricated and the majority of cells remained vital before transplantation. The thickness of buccal bone tended to increase with MSC sheet transplantation (P = .18), with 4 of 5 animals showing an average of 1.82 ± 0.73 mm thicker bone on the MSC sheet side than the control side. After being normalized by the TMD of intracortical bone, the TMD of surface cortical bone was 0.5‐fold higher on the MSC sheet side than the control side (P < .05). Likewise, the BV/TV measurements of the buccal surface region were also 0.4‐fold higher on the MSC sheet side than the control side (P < .05) after being normalized by measurements from the intracortical region. Mineral apposition measurements were not different between the 2 sides.ConclusionMandibular marrow‐derived MSCs can be fabricated into cell sheets and autogenous transplantation of MSC sheets onto the subperiosteal buccal alveolar bone surface at the tooth‐extraction site may increase local bone density.
FoxP3+ regulatory T cells, interleukin 17 and mast cells in chronic inflammatory periodontal disease
Authors: Parachuru V. P. B. , Coates D. E. , Milne T. J. , Rich A. M. , Seymour G. J. 
Published: April 2018

Background and ObjectiveT cells are known to play a pivotal role in periodontal disease; however, less is known about the T‐helper subsets of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and Th17 cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the cell types expressing FoxP3 and interleukin (IL)‐17A within periodontal disease tissues and to determine gene and protein expression profiles associated with periodontitis.Material and MethodsA total of 10 healthy/gingivitis and 10 chronic periodontitis tissues were investigated. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence techniques were used to identify the FoxP3 and IL17‐positive cells and to determine the cell types respectively. Gene expression was determined using semi‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction array technology that allowed the analysis of 84 pathway‐focused genes known to be associated with Tregs and Th17 cells. Transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1, IL10 and IL17A protein levels were determined using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.ResultsDouble immunofluorescence labeling revealed that all FoxP3+ cells were CD4+, while IL17+ cells were neither CD4+ nor CD8+ but were tryptase+, suggestive of mast cells. More FoxP3+ cells than IL17+ cells were found in all the tissues examined and overall there were few IL17+ cells. Statistically significant increases in gene expression were found for STAT5A, STAT3, SOCS1, TGFβ1 and IL10 in the chronic periodontitis specimens predominantly infiltrated with B cells and plasma cells when compared with healthy/gingivitis specimens predominantly infiltrated with T cells. Protein analysis demonstrated higher levels of the TGFβ1 and IL10 cytokines in periodontitis tissues and in B‐cell and plasma cell predominant gingival tissues than in healthy/gingivitis tissues and T‐cell predominant gingival tissues. IL17A gene and protein expression was not detected in any of the tissues.ConclusionBased on the findings of this study, we suggest that the source of low levels of IL17A in periodontal tissues is mast cells not Th17 cells and that Tregs may have a more prominent role in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease than Th17 cells.
Clinical findings and survival time in dogs with advanced heart failure
Authors: Beaumier Amelie , Rush John E. , Yang Vicky K. , Freeman Lisa M. 
Published: April 2018

BackgroundDogs with advanced heart failure are a clinical challenge for veterinarians but there are no studies reporting clinical features and outcome of this population.Hypothesis/ObjectivesTo describe clinical findings and outcome of dogs with advanced heart failure caused by degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD).AnimalsFifty‐four dogs with advanced heart failure because of DMVD.MethodsFor study purposes, advanced heart failure was defined as recurrence of congestive heart failure signs despite receiving the initially prescribed dose of pimobendan, angiotensin‐converting‐enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), and furosemide >4 mg/kg/day. Data were collected for the time of diagnosis of Stage C heart failure and time of diagnosis of advanced heart failure. Date of death was recorded.ResultsAt the diagnosis of advanced heart failure, doses of pimobendan (n = 30), furosemide (n = 28), ACEI (n = 13), and spironolactone (n = 4) were increased, with ≥1 new medications added in most dogs. After initial diagnosis of advanced heart failure, 38 (70%) dogs had additional medications adjustments (median = 2 [range, 0‐27]), with the final total medication number ranging from 2‐10 (median = 5). Median survival time after diagnosis of advanced heart failure was 281 days (range, 3‐885 days). Dogs receiving a furosemide dose >6.70 mg/kg/day had significantly longer median survival times (402 days [range, 3‐885 days] versus 129 days [range 9‐853 days];P = .017).Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceDogs with advanced heart failure can have relatively long survival times. Higher furosemide dose and non‐hospitalization were associated with longer survival.
Protozoal coinfection in horses with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis in the eastern United States
Authors: Schale Sarah , Howe Daniel , Yeargan Michelle , Morrow Jennifer K. , Graves Amy , Johnson Amy L. 
Published: April 2018

BackgroundInfection by 2 or more protozoa is linked with increased severity of disease in marine mammals with protozoan encephalitis.Hypothesis/ObjectivesTo assess whether horses with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) caused by Sarcocystis neurona also have evidence of infection with Neospora hughesi or Toxoplasma gondii. We hypothesized that horses with EPM would be more likely than horses with cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM) to be positive for antibodies to multiple protozoan parasites.AnimalsOne hundred one horses with neurologic disease: 49 with EPM and 52 with CVSM.MethodsCase review. Archived serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 101 horses were examined. Inclusion criteria included neurologic disease, antemortem or postmortem diagnosis of EPM or CVSM, and availability of serological results or archived samples for testing. Additional testing for antibodies was performed on serum for T. gondii, as well as serum and CSF for N. hughesi.ResultsHorses with EPM were more likely than horses with CVSM to have positive immunologic results for S. neurona on serum (95.9% versus 76.9%, P = .0058), CSF (98.0% versus 44.2%, P < .00001), and serum : CSF titer ratio (91.8% versus 0%, P < .00001). Positive results for Neospora and Toxoplasma were uncommon, with total seroprevalence rates of 12.9% and 14.9%, respectively. The proportions of EPM cases testing positive for Neospora and Toxoplasma (16% and 12%) were not different from the proportions of CVSM cases testing positive (10% and 17%, P = .31 and .47, respectively).ConclusionResults do not indicate an important role for protozoal coinfection in EPM in the eastern United States.
The Romanthropocene
Authors: Ford Thomas H. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe Romanthropoceneis a neologism that names the transits of meaning which shuttle between the terms it joins together. I explore this complex of meaning by retracing the histories of its component lexical, semantic, and conceptual elements. The wordAnthropoceneis constructed from two etyma,anthroposandcene, which first acquired their current sense in the Romantic period. The Anthropocene then brings together a Romantic conception of geological time with a Romantic conception of human cultures as empirical objects of naturalist study. While the history of the wordRomanticis better known, it too merits retelling in the Anthropocene epoch. Its reflexive naming of the textualisation and historicisation of nature reads differently now that the human spirit has impressed its law on all earthly things. I would call the approach taken in this paperecophilology, but one polysyllabic neologism per paper is probably more than enough already.