bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Average duration of treatment with antidepressants among concession card holders in Australia
Authors: Kjosavik Svein Reidar , Gillam Marianne Hansen , Roughead Elisabeth E 
Published: December 2015

Objective: To analyse the average treatment duration with antidepressants that are reimbursed for concession card holders under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in Australia. Method: This pharmacoepidemiological study was based on a representative 10% sample of patients receiving Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions. Antidepressants redeemed by concession card holders in the period from 2010 to 2013 were analysed. A 5-year baseline period was used to exclude prevalent users from incident users. Estimation of treatment duration was based on the epidemiological equation: prevalence/incidence = average duration. The mean value for prevalence and incidence over the studied period was used in the equation. Results: The number of prevalent and incident users increased from 90,475 to 103,305 and from 25,006 to 26,289, respectively. The epidemiological average treatment duration in the period was about 4 years. When considered by age-bands, average treatment duration was 2 years in patients under 24 years, 3 years in patients 35 to 44 years and up to 5 years in the 55 to 64 year age group. Of new users of antidepressants reimbursed under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, 86% received their first prescription from general practitioners, 4.3% from psychiatrists and 9.7% from other physicians. Conclusion: While recommendations have underlined the importance of giving antidepressants for a sufficient period of time, the results from this study show that it is as important to remind general practitioners to review patients on antidepressant treatment regularly, and try to cease drug treatment when timely.
Adaptation of the Arabic Version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory
Authors: Barake Rana , Rizk Samer Abou , Ziade Georges , Zaytoun George , Bassim Marc 
Published: December 2015

ObjectiveTo translate the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) into literary Arabic to come up with a unified Arabic version and to determine its validity and reliability in assessing the quality of life of Arabic‐speaking patients with tinnitus.Study DesignClinical measurement study.SettingTertiary care center.Subjects and methodsThe original English THI was translated into literary Arabic by a forward‐ and back‐translation process according to the published guidelines for cross‐cultural adaptation of health‐related quality‐of‐life measures and applied to 100 patients with chronic tinnitus. Internal consistency reliability was then assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Pearson correlation coefficients were also calculated for the different scales and the different baseline characteristics.ResultsResults showed high internal consistency and reliability coefficients (total THI: 0.93, functional subscale: 0.86, emotional subscale: 0.86, catastrophic subscale: 0.66) comparable to those of the original English THI.ConclusionThe Arabic version of the THI is a valid and reliable tool for the assessment of the impact of tinnitus on the quality of life of Arabic‐speaking patients with the complaint of chronic tinnitus.
Cochlear Implantation in the Setting of Perioperative Anticoagulation and Antiplatelet Therapy
Authors: Hunter Jacob B. , Carlson Matthew L. , Sweeney Alex D. , Tombers Nicole M. , Wanna George B. , Driscoll Colin L. W. , Haynes David S. 
Published: December 2015

ObjectiveTo describe surgical outcomes and perioperative complications in patients taking antiplatelet and anticoagulation medications while undergoing cochlear implantation.Study DesignCase series with chart review.SettingTwo tertiary otologic referral center.Subjects and MethodsForty‐six adult patients (2005‐2014) who underwent cochlear implantation while on perioperative antiplatelet and/or anticoagulation therapy without interruption. Outcomes included estimated intraoperative blood loss, perception of increased difficulty secondary to bleeding, and postoperative complications attributable to continuing anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy.ResultsThe cases of 46 patients (mean age, 69.5 years; 30.2% female) were analyzed. Of these, 39 patients were taking aspirin, 10 warfarin, and 7 clopidogrel. Aside from 3 (6.5%) patients with postoperative bruising without hematoma and 1 patient (2.2%) who reported self‐resolving oral cavity blood, no intraoperative or postoperative complications occurred in any patient that could be ascribed to antiplatelet or anticoagulant use.ConclusionThese data demonstrate that the risk of perioperative complications from continued antiplatelet or anticoagulation therapy is low. For subjects who are at risk of major complications (eg, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident) from temporary medication cessation, continuing antiplatelet or anticoagulation therapy through the perioperative period is an appropriate strategy.
Sex-specific consequences of an induced immune response on reproduction in a moth
Authors: Barthel Andrea , Staudacher Heike , Schmaltz Antje , Heckel David G. , Groot Astrid T. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBackgroundImmune response induction benefits insects in combatting infection by pathogens. However, organisms have a limited amount of resources available and face the dilemma of partitioning resources between immunity and other life-history traits. Since males and females differ in their life histories, sex-specific resource investment strategies to achieve an optimal immune response following an infection can be expected. We investigated immune response induction of females and males ofHeliothis virescensin response to the entomopathogenic bacteriumSerratia entomophila, and its effects on mating success and the female sexual signal.ResultsWe found that females had higher expression levels of immune-related genes after bacterial challenge than males. However, males maintained a higher baseline expression of immune-related genes than females. The increased investment in immunity of female moths was negatively correlated with mating success and the female sexual signal. Male mating success was unaffected by bacterial challenge.ConclusionsOur results show that the sexes differed in their investment strategies: females invested in immune defense after a bacterial challenge, indicating facultative immune deployment, whereas males had higher baseline immunity than females, indicating immune maintenance. Interestingly, these differences in investment were reflected in the mate choice assays. As female moths are the sexual signallers, females need to invest resources in their attractiveness. However, female moths appeared to invest in immunity at the cost of reproductive effort.
Gravity and magnetic constraints on the Jurassic opening of the oceanic Gulf of Mexico and the location and tectonic history of the Western Main transform fault along the eastern continental margin of Mexico
Authors: Nguyen Luan C. , Mann Paul 
Published: December 2015

Although the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has been the subject of geophysical and geologic studies for several decades, its crustal structures and opening kinematics remain poorly understood largely because of the difficulty in imaging the deeper basinal structure beneath its thick sedimentary and evaporitic layers. We have used gravity and magnetic data combined with seismic reflection and refraction data to better understand the crustal structure and basin opening kinematics. We have focused on the 700-km-long Jurassic continent/ocean transform fault that accommodated counterclockwise rotation of the Yucatan Block along the eastern continental margin of Mexico. We have used recent satellite-derived gravity data to reveal the pattern of spreading ridge-transform segments in the center of the basin. We then derived on a pole of rotation that revealed the kinematics of early opening of the GOM basin and the tectonic control the continent-ocean transform fault, the Western Main Transform fault (WMTF), that defined the continent-ocean boundary (COB) between continental rocks in the eastern Mexico and Jurassic oceanic crust in the western GOM. Regional magnetic anomaly data along with seismic reflection and refraction data were used to further constrain the location of the WMTF. Three 2D gravity models revealed the location of the WMTF approximately 100 km offshore eastern Mexico at its furthest point and extending onshore in southern Mexico. The gravity models found that the contact between continental and oceanic crust is marked by an abrupt increase from 6.5 to 10 km in crustal thickness. To the west of the WMTF, the eastern Mexico margin is underlain by a 60-km-wide zone of stretched continental crust. We also determined a COB for the entire GOM that was consistent with the plate reconstruction, values of crustal thickness based on seismic refraction, and fracture zone azimuths related to the Jurassic spreading system.
Ghrelin Promotes Functional Angiogenesis in a Mouse Model of Critical Limb Ischemia Through Activation of Proangiogenic MicroRNAs
Authors: Katare Rajesh , Rawal Shruti , Munasinghe Pujika Emani , Tsuchimochi Hirotsugu , Inagaki Tadakatsu , Fujii Yutaka , Dixit Parul , Umetani Keiji , Kangawa Kenji , Shirai Mikiyasu , Schwenke Daryl O. 
Published: December 2015

Abstract
Current therapeutic strategies for the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI) have only limited success. Recent in vitro evidence in the literature, using cell lines, proposes that the peptide hormone ghrelin may have angiogenic properties. In this study, we aim to investigate if ghrelin could promote postischemic angiogenesis in a mouse model of CLI and, further, identify the mechanistic pathway(s) that underpin ghrelin's proangiogenic properties. CLI was induced in male CD1 mice by femoral artery ligation. Animals were then randomized to receive either vehicle or acylated ghrelin (150 μg/kg sc) for 14 consecutive days. Subsequently, synchrotron radiation microangiography was used to assess hindlimb perfusion. Subsequent tissue samples were collected for molecular and histological analysis. Ghrelin treatment markedly improved limb perfusion by promoting the generation of new capillaries and arterioles (internal diameter less than 50 μm) within the ischemic hindlimb that were both structurally and functionally normal; evident by robust endothelium-dependent vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine. Molecular analysis revealed that ghrelin's angiogenic properties were linked to activation of prosurvival Akt/vascular endothelial growth factor/Bcl-2 signaling cascade, thus reducing the apoptotic cell death and subsequent fibrosis. Further, ghrelin treatment activated proangiogenic (miR-126 and miR-132) and antifibrotic (miR-30a) microRNAs (miRs) while inhibiting antiangiogenic (miR-92a and miR-206) miRs. Importantly, in vitro knockdown of key proangiogenic miRs (miR-126 and miR-132) inhibited the angiogenic potential of ghrelin. These results therefore suggest that clinical use of ghrelin for the early treatment of CLI may be a promising and potent inducer of reparative vascularization through modulation of key molecular factors.
Why arboreal snakes should not be cylindrical: body shape, incline and surface roughness have interactive effects on locomotion
Authors: Jayne Bruce C. , Newman Steven J. , Zentkovich Michele M. , Berns H. Matthew 
Published: December 2015

ABSTRACTDepending on animal size, shape, body plan and behaviour, variation in surface structure can affect the speed and ease of locomotion. The slope of branches and the roughness of bark both vary considerably, but their combined effects on the locomotion of arboreal animals are poorly understood. We used artificial branches with five inclines and five peg heights (≤40 mm) to test for interactive effects on the locomotion of three snake species with different body shapes. Unlike boa constrictors (Boa constrictor), corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus) and brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis) can both form ventrolateral keels, which are most pronounced in B. irregularis. Increasing peg height up to 10 mm elicited more of the lateral undulatory behaviour (sliding contact without gripping) rather than the concertina behaviour (periodic static gripping) and increased the speed of lateral undulation. Increased incline: (1) elicited more concertina locomotion, (2) decreased speed and (3) increased the threshold peg height that elicited lateral undulation. Boiga irregularis was the fastest species, and it used lateral undulation on the most surfaces, including a vertical cylinder with pegs only 1 mm high. Overall, B. constrictor was the slowest and used the most concertina locomotion, but this species climbed steep, smooth surfaces faster than P. guttatus. Our results illustrate how morphology and two different aspects of habitat structure can have interactive effects on organismal performance and behaviour. Notably, a sharper keel facilitated exploiting shorter protrusions to prevent slipping and provide propulsion, which became increasingly important as surface steepness increased.
Variable effects of nicotine, anabasine, and their interactions on parasitized bumble bees
Authors: Thorburn Lukas P. , Adler Lynn S. , Irwin Rebecca E. , Palmer-Young Evan C. 
Published: December 2015

Secondary metabolites in floral nectar have been shown to reduce parasite load in two common bumble bee species. Previous studies on the effects of nectar secondary metabolites on parasitized bees have focused on single compounds in isolation; however, in nature, bees are simultaneously exposed to multiple compounds. We tested for interactions between the effects of two alkaloids found in the nectar ofNicotianaspp. plants, nicotine and anabasine, on parasite load and mortality in bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) infected with the intestinal parasiteCrithidia bombi. Adult worker bees inoculated withC. bombiwere fed nicotine and anabasine diet treatments in a factorial design, resulting in four nectar treatment combinations: 2 ppm nicotine, 5 ppm anabasine, 2ppm nicotine and 5 ppm anabasine together, or a control alkaloid-free solution. We conducted the experiment twice: first, with bees incubated under variable environmental conditions (‘Variable’; temperatures varied from 10-35°C with ambient lighting); and second, under carefully controlled environmental conditions (‘Stable’; 27°C incubator, constant darkness). In ‘Variable’, each alkaloid alone significantly decreased parasite loads, but this effect was not realized with the alkaloids in combination, suggesting an antagonistic interaction. Nicotine but not anabasine significantly increased mortality, and the two compounds had no interactive effects on mortality. In ‘Stable’, nicotine significantly increased parasite loads, the opposite of its effect in ‘Variable’. While not significant, the relationship between anabasine and parasite loads was also positive. Interactive effects between the two alkaloids on parasite load were non-significant, but the pattern of antagonistic interaction was similar to that in the variable experiment. Neither alkaloid, nor their interaction, significantly affected mortality under controlled conditions. Our results do not indicate synergy betweenNicotiananectar alkaloids; however, they do suggest a complex interaction between secondary metabolites, parasites, and environmental variables, in which secondary metabolites can be either toxic or medicinal depending on context.
Application of Coercimeters for Equipment Diagnostics
Authors: Сивирюк  , Siviryuk Vladimir , Безруков  , Bezrukov Aleksey 
Published: December 2015

Introduction. Changes of metal structure commonly result in equipment failures; early recognition of such changes is necessary in order to prevent emergency situations. Coercimetry is a simple and informative method for metal structure estimation.
Method. The coercive force measurement method was used for estimation of the metal fatigue state.
Results. The article presents the results of coercive force measurement application for the diagnosis of blast furnace jackets, overhead cranes, load-bearing elements of buildings and structures, pressure vessels, industrial pipelines, chimney stacks, ropes of hoisting devices. Manual testing of the equipment working under metallurgical production conditions is complicated; in hard-to-reach places and gas hazardous areas the stationary testing system has been used; the system has included permanently installed sensors connected to the switchboard. The equipment residual life has been determined by the coercive force maximum values with the use of nomograms.
Conclusions. The coercive force measurement method for diagnostic survey of the equipment working under considerable thermal effect makes it possible to determine the metal stress state, predict zones of corrosion cracks formation and development, estimate the residual operation life, plan worn areas replacement/repair and as the final result – reduce unplanned and emergency shutdowns.
Technical Policy of Gazprom in the Field of Welding Production and Nondestructive Quality Testing of Welded Connections
Authors: Вышемирский  , Vyshemirskiy Evgeniy 
Published: December 2015

Introduction. The article is based on the plenary report taken place on 22–24 September, 2015 in Minsk at the “Gazprom” branch meeting “Gas Transmission Objects. Nondestructive Testing of Welded Connections. Condition and Mainstreams”. Special attention is given to regulatory documents improvement for better implementation of advanced NDT means and materials compliant with “Gazprom” technical requirements.
Method. Route and qualification tests of modern NDT systems were fulfilled. On the basis of the tests results the “Program for development of nondestructive methods for welds quality testing for the period 2015-2017” was developed.
Results. Route tests have shown that full detection of inadmissible defects is only possible when radiographic and ultrasonic methods are used together. The tests have confirmed that the volume of testing with physical methods should be increased. The results have been processed and analyzed.
Conclusions. The updated “Register of nondestructive instruments for welded connections quality testing” has been prepared and then approved. The regulatory document for NDT of welded T-joints with covers has been developed with the aim to estimate their applicability for future operations.
Speculative Investors and Transactions Tax: Evidence from the Housing Market
Authors: Fu Yuming , Qian Wenlan , Yeung Bernard 
Published: December 2015

This paper examines the impact of a policy change in transaction tax on speculators. The policy intervention took place in Singapore’s housing market; it effectively raised the transaction cost in a segment favored by short-term speculators. Relative to the unaffected control sample, we find that the rise in transaction cost, equivalent to a two- to three-percentage-point increase in transaction tax, reduced speculative trading in the treatment segment by 75% and raised its price volatility by 18%. It also significantly reduced price informativeness. We further show that the results are likely due to a relatively greater withdrawal by informed speculators than by destabilizing speculators following the transaction cost increase.This paper was accepted by Amit Seru, finance.
The use of urological hospital services by nonagenarians
Authors: Pridgeon S , Nagarajan E , Ellis G , Green JS 
Published: December 2015

Introduction The super-elderly population is a small but expanding group of patients who will pose a significant challenge to future healthcare resources. A snapshot audit was completed of all emergency and elective urological nonagenarian activity in a UK general hospital, including surgical outcomes in this group of patients. Methods Prospective and retrospective databases and clinical records were examined to identify all patients aged 90–99 years who had patient episodes between January 2006 and August 2012. Patient outcomes were compared with those for a similar cohort of 80–89-year-olds during the same time period. Results A total of 653 nonagenarian patient episodes were identified (including 138 emergency admissions, 25 emergency surgical procedures, 71 elective surgical procedures, 173 local anaesthetic procedures and 270 outpatient visits). The in-hospital mortality rate for emergency admissions was 10%. The mean length of hospital stay was significantly longer for nonagenarians than for octogenarians (14.4 vs 6.5 days, p<0.00001). The postoperative mortality rate following emergency and elective surgery was 16% and 1% for nonagenarians and octogenarians respectively. Conclusions Nonagenarian patients often have complex medical co-morbidities and challenging social circumstances that contribute to delayed recovery from acute illness and surgery as well as long periods of hospitalisation. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach with formal input from specialist geriatric surgical services may improve patient outcomes and allow patients to be discharged to their former places of residence.
Model-based Acceleration Control of Turbofan Engines with a Hammerstein-Wiener Representation
Authors: Wang Jiqiang , Ye Zhifeng , Hu Zhongzhi , Wu Xin , Dimirovsky Georgi , Yue Hong 
Published: December 2015

AbstractAcceleration control of turbofan engines is conventionally designed through either schedule-based or acceleration-based approach. With the widespread acceptance of model-based design in aviation industry, it becomes necessary to investigate the issues associated with model-based design for acceleration control. In this paper, the challenges for implementing model-based acceleration control are explained; a novel Hammerstein-Wiener representation of engine models is introduced; based on the Hammerstein-Wiener model, a nonlinear generalized minimum variance type of optimal control law is derived; the feature of the proposed approach is that it does not require the inversion operation that usually upsets those nonlinear control techniques. The effectiveness of the proposed control design method is validated through a detailed numerical study.