bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Substantial proportion of MODY among multiplex families participating in a Type 1 diabetes prediction programme
Authors: Petruzelkova L. , Dusatkova P. , Cinek O. , Sumnik Z. , Pruhova S. , Hradsky O. , Vcelakova J. , Lebl J. , Kolouskova S. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractAimsPatients with maturity‐onset diabetes of the young (MODY) might be over‐represented in families with histories of Type 1 diabetes. Our aim was to re‐evaluate families participating in the Czech T1D Prediction Programme (PREDIA.CZ) with at least two members affected with diabetes to assess the proportion of MODY among these families and determine its most significant clinical predictors.MethodsOf the 557 families followed up by the PREDIA.CZ, 53 (9.5%) had two or more family members with diabetes. One proband with diabetes from these families was chosen for direct sequencing of the GCK, HNF1A, HNF4A and INS genes. Non‐parametric tests and a linear logistic regression model were used to evaluate differences between MODY and non‐MODY families.ResultsMODY was genetically diagnosed in 24 of the 53 families with multiple occurrences of diabetes (45%). Mutations were detected most frequently in GCK (58%), followed by HNF1A (38%) and INS (4%). MODY families were more likely to have a parent with diabetes and had a higher proportion of females with diabetes than non‐MODY families. Higher age (P < 0.001), a lower level of HbA1c (P < 0.001) at clinical onset and at least two generations affected by diabetes were the variables most predictive for probands of MODY families already presenting with diabetes.ConclusionsA prediction programme for Type 1 diabetes would provide a useful new source of patients with MODY most likely to benefit from an accurate diagnosis. This identification has implications for patient treatment and disease prognosis.
A long‐term risk‐benefit analysis of low‐dose aspirin in primary prevention
Authors: Wu I‐Chen , Hsieh Hui‐Min , Yu Fang‐Jung , Wu Meng‐Chieh , Wu Tzung‐Shiun , Wu Ming‐Tsang 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBackgroundThe long‐term risk‐benefit effect of occasional and regular use of low‐dose aspirin (≤ 100 mg per day) in primary prevention of vascular diseases and cancers was calculated.MethodsOne representative database of 1 000 000 participants from Taiwan's National Health Insurance scheme in 1997–2000 was used. The potential study subjects were those aged 30–95 years, were found not to have been prescribed aspirin before 1 January 2000, but to have first been prescribed low‐dose aspirin (≤ 100 mg per day) after that date and were followed up to 31 December 2009. Participants prescribed low‐dose aspirin < 20% during the study period were considered occasional users and those prescribed ≥ 80% regular users. After the propensity score matching, rate differences of haemorrhage, ischaemia and cancer between these users were calculated their net clinical risk.ResultsA total of 1720 pairs were analysed. During the study period, haemorrhage and ischaemia occurred in 25 (1·45%) and 67 participants (3·90%) in occasional users and 69 (4·01%) and 100 participants (5·81%) in regular users, whereas cancer occurred in 32 participants (1·86%) in occasional users and 26 participants (1·51%) in regular users. The crude and adjusted net clinical risks of low‐dose aspirin use between the two frequency of users (≥ 80% vs. < 20%) were 4·12% (95% CI = 2·19%, 6·07%; P < 0·001) and 3·93% (95% CI = 2·01%, 5·84%; P < 0·001).ConclusionsA long‐term regular use of low‐dose aspirin might not be better than occasional use in the primary prevention against major vascular diseases and cancer.
Developmental plasticity increases at the northern range margin in a warm‐dependent amphibian
Authors: Orizaola Germán , Laurila Anssi 
Published: December 2015

AbstractAccurate predictions regarding how climate change affects species and populations are crucial for the development of effective conservation measures. However, models forecasting the impact of climate change on natural environments do not often consider the geographic variation of an organism's life history. We examined variation in developmental plasticity to changing temperature in the pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae) across its distribution by studying populations from central areas (Poland), edge populations (Latvia) and northern marginal populations (Sweden). Relative to central and edge populations, northern populations experience lower and less variable temperature and fewer episodes of warm weather during larval development. Plasticity in larval life‐history traits was highest at the northern range margin: larvae from marginal populations shortened larval period and increased growth rate more than larvae from central and edge populations when reared at high temperature. Maintaining high growth and development under the scarce spells of warm weather is likely adaptive for high‐latitude populations. The detection of high levels of developmental plasticity in isolated, marginal populations suggests that they may be better able to respond to the temperature regimes expected under climate change than often predicted, reflecting the need to incorporate geographic variation in life‐history traits into models forecasting responses to environmental change.
Ex vivo comparison of the giant and transfixing knot in equine open and closed castration
Authors: Comino F. , Giusto G. , Caramello V. , Pagliara E. , Bellino C. , Gandini M. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryReasons for performing studyIn equine castration, application of a ligature on the spermatic cord to prevent complications such as haemorrhage and evisceration has been reported with controversial results. Characteristics of commonly used knots have not been studied.ObjectivesTo compare the modified transfixing and giant knots and the emasculator in open and closed equine castration techniques.Study designEx vivo experiment.MethodsA total of 144 testicles were randomly assigned to 2 groups for open or closed castration. Both groups were divided into 3 subgroups of 18 specimens each: emasculator only, emasculator plus giant knot and emasculator plus transfixing knot and the open castration group also contained 2 further subgroups of 18 testicles each: giant knot only and transfixing knot only. The length of suture material used was measured for each knot and the leaking pressure of the testicular artery measured using dye injection. In the closed castration group, parietal tunic tensile strength was measured with a tensiometer.ResultsLeaking pressure was higher in open compared with closed castration, with no significant difference among subgroups. In the closed castration group, minimum leaking pressure for the emasculator plus transfixing knot and emasculator only subgroups were close to standard physiological arterial pressures. The giant knot required less suture material than the transfixing knot. Parietal tunic tensile strength was higher when ligatures were applied.ConclusionsThe giant and transfixing knot techniques have comparable haemostatic capability and parietal tunic tensile strength, but the giant knot requires less suture material. In open castration, using the emasculator alone may produce adequate haemostasis. In closed castration, using the giant knot in combination with the emasculator increases the bursting pressure and possibly reduces the incidence of haemorrhage. In closed castration, application of a ligature may reduce the risk of evisceration.
Investigation of ductile rupture in U‐notched Al 6061‐T6 plates under mixed mode loading
Authors: Torabi A.  R. , Habibi R. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThe aim of the present research is to evaluate ductile failure of U‐notched components under mixed mode I/II loading conditions. For this purpose, first, several rectangular plates made of the aluminium alloy Al 6061‐T6 and weakened by central bean‐shaped slit with two U‐shaped ends are tested under mixed mode I/II loading conditions, and the load‐carrying capacity of the specimens are experimentally measured. Then, using the equivalent material concept, Al 6061‐T6, which is a highly ductile material, is equated with a virtual brittle material, and the load‐carrying capacity of the same U‐notched specimens virtually made of the equivalent material is theoretically predicted by using two well‐known stress‐based brittle fracture criteria. Finally, the theoretical failure loads of the virtual specimens are compared with the experimental ones of the real Al 6061‐T6 specimens. It is revealed that the experimental results could very well be predicted by means of both brittle fracture criteria without conducting time‐consuming elastic–plastic analyses.
Who will make an indulgent food choice after having fulfilled their healthy eating goal?
Authors: Chen Ming‐Yi 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThis research considers how subjective nutrition knowledge and calorie consciousness moderate the effects of eating goals on indulgent vs. healthy consumers and their on subsequent choices. A two between‐subjects design (an eating goal invoked by a main course: healthy vs. indulgent) was conducted, where the choice of salad dressing (healthy or indulgent) was a dependent variable. Two individual traits (subjective nutrition knowledge and calorie consciousness) were considered as moderators between eating goals and food choices. The results indicated that individuals with high levels of subjective knowledge about nutrition or with a high level of consciousness about calories were more likely to choose a healthy option when their indulgent goal had been invoked. However, they were more likely to make indulgent choices when their healthy goal had been fulfilled by the main course. In contrast, for those with low levels of subjective nutrition knowledge or with a low level of consciousness about calories, food choices were not influenced by the eating goal which had been invoked. The findings could help practitioners in the food industry to develop different food combinations with which to satisfy their customers through understanding personality traits.
A heuristic approach for designing cyclic group codes
Authors: Strapasson João E. , Torezzan Cristiano 
Published: December 2015

AbstractIn this paper, we propose a heuristic technique for distributing points on the surface of a unit n‐dimensional Euclidean sphere, generated as the orbit of a finite cyclic subgroup of orthogonal matrices, the so‐called cyclic group codes. Massive numerical experiments were conducted and many new cyclic group codes have been obtained in several dimensions at various rates. The results assure that the performance of the heuristic approach is comparable to a brute‐force search technique with the advantage of having low complexity, which allows designing codes with a large number of points in high dimensions.
Intervention types and outcomes of integrated care for diabetes mellitus type 2: a systematic review
Authors: Busetto Loraine , Luijkx Katrien Ger , Elissen Arianne Mathilda Josephus , Vrijhoef Hubertus Johannes Maria 
Published: December 2015

AbstractRationale, aims and objectivesThe delivery of integrated care is a priority in many countries' efforts to improve health outcomes for people at risk of or with diabetes. This study aims to provide an overview of the different types of integrated care interventions for type 2 diabetes and to report their outcomes.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted inPubMed andCochrane for the period 2003–2013. Article selection and data extraction were performed independently by three researchers and results were discussed together. The chronic care model (CCM) was used to describe intervention types.ResultsForty‐four articles met the inclusion criteria. Most interventions included allCCMcomponents and a variety of sub‐components. Most studies reported positive patient, process and health service utilization measures. The information on costs was limited and inconsistent. The low number of articles reporting comparable outcome measures made it difficult to make meaningful statements about an association between intervention type and outcomes.ConclusionsFuture research would benefit from a more uniform understanding of integrated care as well as intermediate outcome measurements that allow for the establishment of a chain of evidence from specific intervention types to specific outcomes achieved. It is expected that such a comprehensive approach will reveal important insights as to which integrated care intervention types and settings are most conducive to successful implementation and would thereby be of relevance to policy makers and practitioners involved in the financing, management and delivery of integrated care.
Evaluating impact of clinical guidelines using a realist evaluation framework
Authors: Reddy Sandeep , Wakerman John , Westhorp Gill , Herring Sally 
Published: December 2015

AbstractRationale, aims and objectivesThe Remote Primary Health Care Manuals (RPHCM) project team manages the development and publication of clinical protocols and procedures for primary care clinicians practicing in remoteAustralia. The Central Australian Rural Practitioners Association Standard Treatment Manual, the flagship manual of theRPHCMsuite, has been evaluated for accessibility and acceptability in remote clinics three times in its 20‐year history. These evaluations did not consider a theory‐based framework or a programme theory, resulting in some limitations with the evaluation findings. With theRPHCMhaving an aim of enabling evidence‐based practice in remote clinics and anecdotally reported to do so, testing this empirically for the full suite is vital for both stakeholders and future editions of theRPHCM.MethodsThe project team utilized a realist evaluation framework to assess how, why and for what theRPHCMwere being used by remote practitioners. A theory regarding the circumstances in which the manuals have and have not enabled evidence‐based practice in the remote clinical context was tested. The project assessed this theory for all the manuals in theRPHCMsuite, across government and aboriginal community‐controlled clinics, in three regions ofAustralia.ConclusionImplementing a realist evaluation framework to generate robust findings in this context has required innovation in the evaluation design and adaptation by researchers. This article captures theRPHCMteam's experience in designing this evaluation.
Rationality, practice variation and person‐centred health policy: a threshold hypothesis
Authors: Djulbegovic Benjamin , Hamm Robert M. , Mayrhofer Thomas , Hozo Iztok , Van den Ende Jef 
Published: December 2015

AbstractVariation in practice of medicine is one of the major health policy issues of today. Ultimately, it is related to physicians' decision making. Similar patients with similar likelihood of having disease are often managed by different doctors differently: some doctors may elect to observe the patient, others decide to act based on diagnostic testing and yet others may elect to treat without testing. We explain these differences in practice by differences in disease probability thresholds at which physicians decide to act: contextual social and clinical factors and emotions such as regret affect the threshold by influencing the way doctors integrate objective data related to treatment and testing. However, depending on a theoretical construct each of the physician's behaviour can be considered rational. In fact, we showed that the current regulatory policies lead to predictably low thresholds for most decisions in contemporary practice. As a result, we may expect continuing motivation for overuse of treatment and diagnostic tests. We argue that rationality should take into account both formal principles of rationality and human intuitions about good decisions along the lines of Rawls' ‘reflective equilibrium/considered judgment’. In turn, this can help define a threshold model that is empirically testable.
Management of T1 colorectal cancers after endoscopic treatment based on the risk stratification of lymph node metastasis
Authors: Miyachi Hideyuki , Kudo Shin‐ei , Ichimasa Katsuro , Hisayuki Tomokazu , Oikawa Hiromasa , Matsudaira Shingo , Kouyama Yuta , Kimura Yui Jennifer , Misawa Masashi , Mori Yuichi , Ogata Noriyuki , Kudo Toyoki , Kodama Kenta , Hayashi Takemasa , Wakamura Kunihiko , Katagiri Atsushi , Baba Toshiyuki , Hidaka Eiji , Ishida Fumio , Kohashi Kenichi , Hamatani Shigeharu 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBackground and AimRecent advances in endoscopic technology have allowed many T1 colorectal carcinomas to be resected endoscopically with negative margins. However, the criteria for curative endoscopic resection remain unclear. We aimed to identify risk factors for nodal metastasis in T1 carcinoma patients and hence establish the indication for additional surgery with lymph node dissection.MethodsInitial or additional surgery with nodal dissection was performed in 653 T1 carcinoma cases. Clinicopathological factors were retrospectively analyzed with respect to nodal metastasis. The status of the muscularis mucosae (MM grade) was defined as grade 1 (maintenance) or grade 2 (fragmentation or disappearance). The lesions were then stratified based on the risk of nodal metastasis.ResultsMuscularis mucosae grade was associated with nodal metastasis (P = 0.026), and no patients with MM grade 1 lesions had nodal metastasis. Significant risk factors for nodal metastasis in patients with MM grade 2 lesions were attribution of women (P = 0.006), lymphovascular infiltration (P < 0.001), tumor budding (P = 0.045), and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma or mucinous carcinoma (P = 0.007). Nodal metastasis occurred in 1.06% of lesions without any of these pathological factors, but in 10.3% and 20.1% of lesions with at least one factor in male and female patients, respectively. There was good inter‐observer agreement for MM grade evaluation, with a kappa value of 0.67.ConclusionsStratification using MM grade, pathological factors, and patient sex provided more appropriate indication for additional surgery with lymph node dissection after endoscopic treatment for T1 colorectal carcinomas.
Retracted: Anti‐inflammatory properties of tianeptine on lipopolysaccharide‐induced changes in microglial cells involve toll‐like receptor‐related pathways
Authors: Slusarczyk Joanna , Trojan Ewa , Glombik Katarzyna , Piotrowska Anna , Budziszewska Boguslawa , Kubera Marta , Popiolek‐Barczyk Katarzyna , Lason Wladyslaw , Mika Joanna , Basta‐Kaim Agnieszka 
Published: December 2015

AbstractAccumulating evidence suggests that activation of microglia plays a key role in the pathogenesis of depression. Activated microglia produce a wide range of factors whose prolonged or excessive release may lead to brain disorders. Thus, the inhibition of microglial cells may be beneficial in the treatment of depressive diseases. Tianeptine is an atypical antidepressant drug with proven clinical efficacy, but its mechanism of action remains still not fully understood. In the present study, using microglial cultures we investigated whether tianeptine modifies microglial activation after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation and which intracellular pathways are involved in the activity of this antidepressant. Our study shows that tianeptine attenuated the LPS‐evoked inflammatory activation of microglia by decreasing the expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL‐1β, IL‐18, IL‐6 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α), the release of nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase. Analyses of signaling pathways demonstrate that tianeptine led to the suppression of LPS‐induced TLR4 expression and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Furthermore, our study reveals the inhibitory impact of tianeptine on caspase‐3‐induced PKCδ degradation and consequently on the activation of NF‐κB factor in microglial cells. Taken together, present results show anti‐inflammatory properties of tianeptine in microglial cultures stimulated by LPS. This study provides evidence that the inhibition of microglial activation may underlie the therapeutic activity of tianeptine.
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Our findings show the anti‐inflammatory effect of tianeptine (TIA) in lipopolisaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated microglial cells. The beneficial tianeptine action is mediated through the inhibition of Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression as well as the TLR4‐related pathways: extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), caspase‐3‐dependent protein kinase δ (PKCδ) cleavage and the expression of nuclear factor kappa‐light‐chain‐enhancer of activated B cells (NF‐κB). These findings may provide a new therapeutic strategy for treatment of disorders based on neuroinflammation, including depression.
Public Understanding of the Role of Nurses During Ebola
Authors: McGillis Hall Linda , Kashin Jordana 
Published: December 2015

AbstractPurposeTo examine media portrayals of nurses and their roles during the 2014–2015 Ebola epidemic in western Africa.MethodsThe study used document analysis and in‐depth content analysis to review and assess literature on the Ebola epidemic. A total of 234 potentially relevant articles were identified; 109 were excluded and 125 were included in the analysis.FindingsThe analysis revealed a gap in system preparedness for global health events and a lack of public awareness of the critical role of nurses. Little attention was paid to nurses and their knowledge and expertise as they worked through the Ebola event. The perception of nurses evolved over the epidemic.ConclusionsPortrayals of nurses and their work during the Ebola epidemic evolved over the epidemic, from positive to negative, and health systems were shown to be unprepared for a major epidemic.Clinical RelevanceMedia coverage of major health events can demonstrate system inadequacies, but inaccurate and misleading portrayals of nurses and the nursing profession can undermine and diminish the image of the nursing profession.
“this winged nature fraught”: Suicide and Agency in Women's Poetry
Authors: Higonnet Margaret R. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThis essay focuses on representations of female suicide by Romantic poets Felicia Hemans and Mary Robinson. In short lyric narratives, the two poets exploited themes of maternal, revolutionary, and Sapphic suicide. Their literary representations of women's voluntary death can both draw from and generate narratives of political resistance: the repudiation of slavery, of empire, of tyranny. Female suicide may also invoke discourses about the nature and function of poetic voice, genre, and authorship. Selected fatal moments point toward the political and metapoetic implications of gesture and voice. In the penultimate sonnet of Robinson's Sappho and Phaon, for example, the classical poet—the tenth muse—reflects upon her impending death. Perched on the Leucadian rock, Sappho gazes up at the sky, and not down toward her watery grave;Robinson's imagery suggests soaring flight rather than precipitous fall. Sappho anticipates posthumous fame more triumphant, more transcendent, than that which she achieved in life: then shall “loftier passions prompt the loftier theme!” In this way Sappho's suicidal genius stands in for the neglected genius of Romantic women writers; it figures the self‐reflexive, paradoxical condition of the female writer at once legitimated and effaced by the authorial role. For these authors, the rhetoric and imagery of female suicide does not provide textual closure, nor does it determine, finally, a poem's meaning. Rather, suicide opens up the text.