bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Alterations of c‐di‐GMP turnover proteins modulate semi‐constitutive rdar biofilm formation in commensal and uropathogenic Escherichia coli
Authors: Cimdins Annika , Simm Roger , Li Fengyang , Lüthje Petra , Thorell Kaisa , Sjöling Åsa , Brauner Annelie , Römling Ute 
Published: September 2017

AbstractAgar plate‐based biofilm of enterobacteria like Escherichia coli is characterized by expression of the extracellular matrix components amyloid curli and cellulose exopolysaccharide, which can be visually enhanced upon addition of the dye Congo Red, resulting in a red, dry, and rough (rdar) colony morphology. Expression of the rdar morphotype depends on the transcriptional regulator CsgD and occurs predominantly at ambient temperature in model strains. In contrast, commensal and pathogenic isolates frequently express the csgD‐dependent rdar morphotype semi‐constitutively, also at human host body temperature. To unravel the molecular basis of temperature‐independent rdar morphotype expression, biofilm components and c‐di‐GMP turnover proteins of seven commensal and uropathogenic E. coli isolates were analyzed. A diversity within the c‐di‐GMP signaling network was uncovered which suggests alteration of activity of the trigger phosphodiesterase YciR to contribute to (up)regulation of csgD expression and consequently semi‐constitutive rdar morphotype development.
Onset and Remission of Psychosis in Parkinson's Disease: Pharmacologic and Motoric Markers
Authors: Hinkle Jared T. , Perepezko Kate , Bakker Catherine C. , Broen Martijn P. G. , Chin Kathleen , Dawson Ted M. , Johnson Vanessa , Mari Zoltan , Marvel Cherie L. , Mills Kelly A. , Pantelyat Alexander , Pletnikova Olga , Rosenthal Liana S. , Shepard Melissa D. , Stevens Daniel A. , Troncoso Juan C. , Wang Jiangxia , Pontone Gregory M. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractBackgroundPsychosis is among the most disabling complications of Parkinson's disease (PD). The chronicity of PD psychosis remains understudied, and the relative importance of dopaminergic therapy versus the disease process itself in engendering psychosis remains unclear. The objective of this study was to examine pharmacologic and motoric correlates of PD psychosis onset and remission in a longitudinally monitored PD cohort.MethodsWe analyzed data from 165 participants enrolled in a longitudinal PD study through the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Center of Excellence at Johns Hopkins University. Evaluations included formal psychiatric assessment and were conducted at 2‐year intervals. Regression with generalized estimated equations was used to produce unadjusted and adjusted estimates for time‐varying longitudinal associations between psychosis and putative risk factors.ResultsSixty‐two participants (37.6%) were diagnosed with psychosis during at least 1 evaluation. Of 49 participants with psychosis who were followed over multiple evaluations, 13 (26.5%) demonstrated remission despite a significant increase in Hoehn & Yahr stage (P = 0.009); 2 of these individuals later relapsed. Multivariable regression with generalized estimated equations identified dementia diagnosis, akinesia‐rigidity, anticholinergic usage, and levodopa‐carbidopa dose as significantly associated with psychosis, whereas disease duration was not. A subanalysis of 30 incident psychosis cases suggested that the dopamine agonist dose was lowered after psychosis onset with a compensatory increase in the levodopa‐carbidopa dosage.ConclusionThe current findings suggest that, in the context of standard therapy, PD‐related psychotic disorder can remit at a frequency of approximately 27%. In addition, akinetic‐rigid motor impairment was more strongly associated with psychosis than disease duration, independent of cognitive impairment and medications.
Good practices for real‐world data studies of treatment and/or comparative effectiveness: Recommendations from the joint ISPOR‐ISPE Special Task Force on real‐world evidence in health care decision making
Authors: Berger Marc L. , Sox Harold , Willke Richard J. , Brixner Diana L. , Eichler Hans‐Georg , Goettsch Wim , Madigan David , Makady Amr , Schneeweiss Sebastian , Tarricone Rosanna , Wang Shirley V. , Watkins John , Daniel Mullins C. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractPurposeReal‐world evidence (RWE) includes data from retrospective or prospective observational studies and observational registries and provides insights beyond those addressed by randomized controlled trials. RWE studies aim to improve health care decision making.MethodsThe International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) and the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) created a task force to make recommendations regarding good procedural practices that would enhance decision makers' confidence in evidence derived from RWD studies. Peer review by ISPOR/ISPE members and task force participants provided a consensus‐building iterative process for the topics and framing of recommendations.ResultsThe ISPOR/ISPE Task Force recommendations cover seven topics such as study registration, replicability, and stakeholder involvement in RWE studies. These recommendations, in concert with earlier recommendations about study methodology, provide a trustworthy foundation for the expanded use of RWE in health care decision making.ConclusionThe focus of these recommendations is good procedural practices for studies that test a specific hypothesis in a specific population. We recognize that some of the recommendations in this report may not be widely adopted without appropriate incentives from decision makers, journal editors, and other key stakeholders.
Who does (not) benefit from entrepreneurship programs?
Authors: Lyons Elizabeth , Zhang Laurina 
Published: September 2017

Research SummaryWe evaluate a technology entrepreneurship training program by comparing career decisions among applicants accepted into the program with unaccepted applicants who are program finalists. We find that program participation is associated with an increased likelihood of subsequent entrepreneurship but that this is not uniform across participants; the estimated relationship between program participation and subsequent entrepreneurial activity is disproportionately lower for applicants with ex‐ante resources and capabilities in entrepreneurship, measured by prior entrepreneurship experience. Moreover, we only observe this reduced impact of the program on subsequent entrepreneurial activity for participants that have prior experience in founding a technology company as opposed to other forms of entrepreneurial activity. This suggests the program is more effective for individuals that have otherwise limited access to technology entrepreneurship opportunities.Managerial SummaryGiven the increasingly competitive landscape for entrepreneurship education programs, it is important to understand when and for whom they have the greatest impact. Using 5 years of data from a technology entrepreneurship training program, we show that individuals with a higher predisposition toward the type of entrepreneurship being taught by the program, measured by prior technology entrepreneurship experience, are less likely to benefit from training. Our findings imply that individuals who enter programs with the skill set being taught benefit less from the program at the margin, and that individuals without prior experience can be trained in entrepreneurship. These patterns have implications for entrepreneurial program strategy, individuals considering entry into entrepreneurial careers, and firms deciding whether to develop entrepreneurial capabilities in‐house or acquiring them externally.
An Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Patient Specific Model of Complement Factor H (Y402H) Polymorphism Displays Characteristic Features of Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Indicates a Beneficial Role for UV Light Exposure
Authors: Hallam Dean , Collin Joseph , Bojic Sanja , Chichagova Valeria , Buskin Adriana , Xu Yaobo , Lafage Lucia , Otten Elsje. G. , Anyfantis George , Mellough Carla , Przyborski Stefan , Alharthi Sameer , Korolchuk Viktor , Lotery Andrew , Saretzki Gabriele , McKibbin Martin , Armstrong Lyle , Steel David , Kavanagh David , Lako Majlinda 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness, accounting for 8.7% of all blindness globally. Vision loss is caused ultimately by apoptosis of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and overlying photoreceptors. Treatments are evolving for the wet form of the disease; however, these do not exist for the dry form. Complement factor H polymorphism in exon 9 (Y402H) has shown a strong association with susceptibility to AMD resulting in complement activation, recruitment of phagocytes, RPE damage, and visual decline. We have derived and characterized induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from two subjects without AMD and low-risk genotype and two patients with advanced AMD and high-risk genotype and generated RPE cells that show local secretion of several proteins involved in the complement pathway including factor H, factor I, and factor H-like protein 1. The iPSC RPE cells derived from high-risk patients mimic several key features of AMD including increased inflammation and cellular stress, accumulation of lipid droplets, impaired autophagy, and deposition of “drüsen”-like deposits. The low- and high-risk RPE cells respond differently to intermittent exposure to UV light, which leads to an improvement in cellular and functional phenotype only in the high-risk AMD-RPE cells. Taken together, our data indicate that the patient specific iPSC model provides a robust platform for understanding the role of complement activation in AMD, evaluating new therapies based on complement modulation and drug testing.
Seismic retrofitting of old‐type RC columns with different lap splices by NSM GFRP and steel bars
Authors: Seifi Ali , Hosseini Abdollah , Marefat Mohammad Sadegh , Khanmohammadi Mohammad 
Published: September 2017

SummaryThis paper describes the experimental results from flexural strengthening of old‐type concrete columns reinforced with plain bars and different lap splices constructed before the 1970s. Nine half‐scale column specimens were tested under combined constant axial and quasi‐static cyclic lateral loads. The specimens included 3 control specimens and 6 other specimens strengthened via near surface mounted technique with glass‐fiber reinforced plastic and steel bars. The effect of different longitudinal bar lap splices of columns and the type of strengthening materials were also investigated. The results indicated that the proposed strengthening method significantly increases the flexural strength and improves the seismic parameters, for example, energy dissipation and hysteresis damping. The specimens strengthened with steel bars presented higher strength, ductility, and hysteresis damping compared to those strengthened with glass‐fiber reinforced plastic bars. The formation of struts at the control specimen with hooked lap splices caused severe damages at the spliced region; if appropriate wrapping is done at the column end, these damages will be constrained. Using steel bars as near surface mounted reinforcement, utilizing epoxy resins as bonding agent, and installing fiber‐reinforced polymer wrapping at the end of column will all make a more effective strengthening method. Finally, an analytical work was presented for predicting the capacity of test specimens, and the comparison between experimental results and theoretical predictions showed a good agreement.
Retracted: Enhanced protective properties and UV stability of poly(lactic acid)/poly(vinyl acetate)/ZnO microcapsule nanocomposite
Authors: Zhang Bin , Han Jian 
Published: September 2017

Zhang, B. and Han, J. (2019), Enhanced protective properties and UV stability of poly(lactic acid)/poly(vinyl acetate)/ZnO microcapsule nanocomposite. J Vinyl Addit Technol, 25: 68‐75. doi:10.1002/vnl.21604.The above article from the Journal of Vinyl & Additive Technology, published online on 15 September 2017 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement by the authors, the Journal Editor‐in‐Chief Alan Lesser, and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The retraction has been agreed upon following the explanation by corresponding author Bin Zhang that this article contained irreproducible results. After efforts to replicate and adjust the enlarge test, the authors found misleading scientific content in Figures 2b, 4, 6, 8, 9b, and 11c‐d based on incorrect comparisons to prior work in the journal Fibers & Polymers as follows: Zhang B, Han J. Preparation and UV‐protective property of PVAc/ZnO and PVAc/TiO2microcapsules/poly(lactic acid) nanocomposites. Fibers and Polymers, 2016, 17(11):1849‐1857. DOI 10.1007/s12221‐016‐6,679‐1.
Perspectives of Women Considering Bilateral Prophylactic Mastectomy and their Peers towards a Telephone‐Based Peer Support Intervention
Authors: St‐Pierre D. , Bouchard K. , Gauthier L. , Chiquette J. , Dorval Michel ,   on behalf of Centre ROSE
Published: September 2017

AbstractProphylactic mastectomy is an effective strategy to reduce the risk of breast cancer for women carrying aBRCA1/2germline mutation. This decision is complex and may raise various concerns. Women considering this surgery have reported their desire to discuss the implications of this procedure with women who have undergone prophylactic mastectomy. We conducted a qualitative study to describe the topics covered during a telephone‐based peer support intervention between women considering prophylactic mastectomy (recipients) and women who had undergone this surgery (peers), and to explore their perspectives regarding the intervention. Thirteen dyads were formed and data from participant logbooks and evaluation questionnaires were analyzed using a thematic content analysis. Three main dimensions emerged: physical, psychological, and social. The most frequent topics discussed were: surgery (92%), recovery (77%), pain and physical comfort (69%), impacts on intimacy and sexuality (54%), cancer‐related anxiety (54%), experience related to loss of breasts (46%). Peers and recipients report that sharing experiences and thoughts about prophylactic mastectomy and the sense of mutual support within the dyad contributed significantly to their satisfaction. Special attention should be paid to the similarities between personal and medical profiles in order to create harmonious matches.
Flaxseed Oil Supplementation Improve Gene Expression Levels of PPAR‐γ, LP(a), IL‐1 and TNF‐α in Type 2 Diabetic Patients with Coronary Heart Disease
Authors: Hashemzadeh Ali Akbar , Nasoohi Nikoo , Raygan Fariba , Aghadavod Esmat , Akbari Elmira , Taghizadeh Mohsen , Memarzadeh Mohammad Reza , Asemi Zatollah 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThis study was carried out to determine the effects of flaxseed oil administration on gene expression levels related to insulin, lipid and inflammation in overweight diabetic patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). This randomized double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial was conducted among 60 diabetic patients with CHD. Subjects were randomly allocated into two groups to intake either 1000 mg n‐3 fatty acid from flaxseed oil containing 400 mg α‐Linolenic acid [ALA (18:3n‐3)] (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) twice a day for 12 weeks. Gene expression related to insulin, lipid and inflammation were quantified in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of diabetic patients with CHD with RT‐PCR method. Results of RT‐PCR demonstrated that after the 12‐week intervention, compared with the placebo, flaxseed oil supplementation could up‐regulate gene expression of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma (PPAR‐γ) (P = 0.02) in PBMC of diabetic patients with CHD. In addition, compared with the placebo, taking flaxseed oil supplements down‐regulated gene expression levels of lipoprotein(a) [LP(a)] (P = 0.001), interleukin‐1 (IL‐1) (P = 0.001) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) (P = 0.02) in PBMC of diabetic patients with CHD. We did not observe any significant effect of flaxseed oil supplementation on gene expression levels of low‐density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), IL‐8 and transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β) in PBMC of diabetic patients with CHD. Overall, flaxseed oil supplementation for 12 weeks in diabetic patients with CHD significantly improved gene expression levels of PPAR‐γ, LP(a), IL‐1 and TNF‐α, but did not influence LDLR, IL‐8 and TGF‐β.
Who drives whom ‐ sukuk or bond? A new evidence from granger causality and wavelet approach
Authors: Haque Md. Mahmudul , Chowdhury Mohammad Ashraful Ferdous , Buriev Abdul Aziz , Bacha Obiyathulla Ismath , Masih Mansur 
Published: September 2017

AbstractSukuk is a highly appealing alternative instrument of conventional bond in the financial market over the last two decades. To a certain extent, the market players assume sukuk as the same as bond. However, sukuk has its own fundamental asset backed principles, whereas bond is backed by debt. The objective of the study is to examine the Granger‐causality and lead–lag relationship between sukuk and bond by using the data of the Malaysian Government securities return for both conventional and Islamic instruments. The data for every working day of 7 years covering the period from January 31, 2007 to December 31, 2013 were collected from Bloomberg database. The yield returns of both securities have been plotted for each six months of a year. This study applied both Granger‐causality and dynamic co‐movement techniques such as, continuous wavelet transforms (CWT) coherence for analyzing the temporal evolution of the frequency content of both securities by decomposing each period into different time scales. The empirical findings of the paper reveal that with a bit of exception, there is a causal relationship between sukuk securities and conventional bonds for a given period of time. For robustness, this study applied the wavelet coherence approach and found that bond is led by sukuk in the long term investment horizon rather than in the short term. Our findings relating to the lead‐lag relationship between sukuk and bonds have important implications in terms of policy regulations and investment management. Future research and market practices could reinvestigate the differences between these two securities across different markets and types.
Revised Wuchiapingian conodont taxonomy and succession of South China
Authors: Yuan Dong-xun , Shen Shu-zhong , Henderson Charles M. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractSouth China has become the most important area to establish a global stratigraphic framework of the Wuchiapingian Stage because complete Wuchiapingian sequences include the GSSPs for the base and top of the stage. As the markers of the Wuchiapingian GSSP, conodonts are the most important fossil group to establish the Wuchiapingian biostratigraphic framework. However, few documents have investigated in detail the conodont biostratigraphic succession through the entire Wuchiapingian Stage. Furthermore, the conodont taxonomy of several WuchiapingianClarkinaspecies is still debated. Therefore, we here review all WuchiapingianClarkinaspecies from South China and figure ontogenetic growth series from juvenile to adult individuals for each valid and important species in order to revise both Wuchiapingian conodont taxonomy and the biostratigraphic succession. Based on the Penglaitan, Dukou, and Nanjiang sections, seven conodont zones (Clarkina postbitteri postbitteri,C.dukouensis,C.asymmetrica,C.leveni,C.guangyuanensis,C.transcaucasica, andC.orientalis) are recognized. The WuchiapingianClarkinaspecies lineage is also reviewed to confirm the conodont biostratigraphic framework. The Guadalupian-Lopingian boundary (GLB) interval represents a sequence boundary. The time framework of the pre-Lopingian extinction interval indicates that the beginning of the end-Guadalupian regression is in the upper part of theJinogondolella postserrataZone, and the beginning of the early Lopingian transgression is in the lower part of theClarkina dukouensisZone in South China.
Taylor's law, via ratios, for some distributions with infinite mean
Authors: Brown Mark , Cohen Joel E. , de la Peña Victor H. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractTaylor's law (TL) originated as an empirical pattern in ecology. In many sets of samples of population density, the variance of each sample was approximately proportional to a power of the mean of that sample. In a family of nonnegative random variables, TL asserts that the population variance is proportional to a power of the population mean. TL, sometimes called fluctuation scaling, holds widely in physics, ecology, finance, demography, epidemiology, and other sciences, and characterizes many classical probability distributions and stochastic processes such as branching processes and birth-and-death processes. We demonstrate analytically for the first time that a version of TL holds for a class of distributions with infinite mean. These distributions, a subset of stable laws, and the associated TL differ qualitatively from those of light-tailed distributions. Our results employ and contribute to the methodology of Albrecher and Teugels (2006) and Albrecheret al.(2010). This work opens a new domain of investigation for generalizations of TL.
Optimal investment with intermediate consumption under no unbounded profit with bounded risk
Authors: Chau Huy N. , Cosso Andrea , Fontana Claudio , Mostovyi Oleksii 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
We consider the problem of optimal investment with intermediate consumption in a general semimartingale model of an incomplete market, with preferences being represented by a utility stochastic field. We show that the key conclusions of the utility maximization theory hold under the assumptions of no unbounded profit with bounded risk and of the finiteness of both primal and dual value functions.
Notes from Libya
Authors: Bennett Paul 
Published: September 2017

Abstract‘Notes from Libya’ is a new regular feature of Libyan Studies following the reports of the Society's Head of Mission. These reports were previously concerned with the organisation of fieldwork and administrative matters connected to obtaining permissions, visas and so on, and were recorded in the minutes of the Council meetings. However, they have recently taken on a new form, outlining the alarming developments in Libya, largely focusing on its heritage but also on the political and economic situation, which impacts on the management of Libya's ancient monuments and artefacts. The importance and historical interest of these reports now, however, merits a wider audience and a more formal record, so these accounts are now published in Libyan Studies.