bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Glutathione and Glutathione Transferase Omega 1 as Key Posttranslational Regulators in Macrophages
Authors: Hughes Mark M. , McGettrick Anne F. , O’Neill Luke A. J. 
Published: January 2017

ABSTRACT

Macrophage activation during phagocytosis or by pattern recognition receptors, such as Toll-like receptor 4, leads to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS act as a microbicidal defense mechanism, promoting clearance of infection, allowing for resolution of inflammation. Overproduction of ROS, however, overwhelms our cellular antioxidant defense system, promoting oxidation of protein machinery, leading to macrophage dysregulation and pathophysiology of chronic inflammatory conditions, such as atherosclerosis. Here we will describe the role of the antioxidant tripeptide glutathione (GSH). Until recently, the binding of GSH, termed glutathionylation, was only considered to maintain the integrity of cellular components, limiting the damaging effects of an aberrant oxidative environment. GSH can, however, have positive and negative regulatory effects on protein function in macrophages. GSH regulates protein secretion, driving tumor necrosis factor α release, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α stability, STAT3 phosphorylation, and caspase-1 activation in macrophages. GSH also plays a role in host defense against
Listeria monocytogenes
, modifying the key virulence protein PrfA in infected macrophages. We will also discuss glutathione transferase omega 1, a deglutathionylating enzyme recently shown to play a role in many aspects of macrophage activity, including metabolism, NF-κB activation, and cell survival pathways. Glutathionylation is emerging as a key regulatory event in macrophage biology that might be susceptible to therapeutic targeting.
Investigation of the degree of organisational influence on patient experience scores in acute medical admission units in all acute hospitals in England using multilevel hierarchical regression modelling
Authors: Sullivan Paul , Bell Derek 
Published: January 2017

ObjectivesPrevious studies found that hospital and specialty have limited influence on patient experience scores, and patient level factors are more important. This could be due to heterogeneity of experience delivery across subunits within organisations. We aimed to determine whether organisation level factors have greater impact if scores for the same subspecialty microsystem are analysed in each hospital.SettingAcute medical admission units in all NHS Acute Trusts in England.ParticipantsWe analysed patient experience data from the English Adult Inpatient Survey which is administered to 850 patients annually in each acute NHS Trusts in England. We selected all 8753 patients who returned the survey and who were emergency medical admissions and stayed in their admission unit for 1–2 nights, so as to isolate the experience delivered during the acute admission process.Primary and secondary outcome measuresWe used multilevel logistic regression to determine the apportioned influence of host organisation and of organisation level factors (size and teaching status), and patient level factors (demographics, presence of long-term conditions and disabilities). We selected ‘being treated with respect and dignity’ and ‘pain control’ as primary outcome parameters. Other Picker Domain question scores were analysed as secondary parameters.ResultsThe proportion of overall variance attributable at organisational level was small; 0.5% (NS) for respect and dignity, 0.4% (NS) for pain control. Long-standing conditions and consequent disabilities were associated with low scores. Other item scores also showed that most influence was from patient level factors.ConclusionsWhen a single microsystem, the acute medical admission process, is isolated, variance in experience scores is mainly explainable by patient level factors with limited organisational level influence. This has implications for the use of generic patient experience surveys for comparison between Trusts and should prompt further research to explore if more discriminant surveys can be developed.
Healthcare organisation and delivery for people with dementia and comorbidity: a qualitative study exploring the views of patients, carers and professionals
Authors: Bunn Frances , Burn Anne-Marie , Robinson Louise , Poole Marie , Rait Greta , Brayne Carol , Schoeman Johan , Norton Sam , Goodman Claire 
Published: January 2017

ObjectivesPeople living with dementia (PLWD) have a high prevalence of comorbidty. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of dementia on access to non-dementia services and identify ways of improving service delivery for this population.DesignQualitative study involving interviews and focus groups. Thematic content analysis was informed by theories of continuity of care and access to care.SettingPrimary and secondary care in the South and North East of England.ParticipantsPLWD who had 1 of the following comorbidities—diabetes, stroke, vision impairment, their family carers and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in the 3 conditions.ResultsWe recruited 28 community-dwelling PLWD, 33 family carers and 56 HCPs. Analysis resulted in 3 overarching themes: (1) family carers facilitate access to care and continuity of care, (2) the impact of the severity and presentation of dementia on management of comorbid conditions, (3) communication and collaboration across specialities and services is not dementia aware. We found examples of good practice, but these tended to be about the behaviour of individual practitioners rather than system-based approaches; current systems may unintentionally block access to care for PLWD.ConclusionsThis study suggests that, in order to improve access and continuity for PLWD and comorbidity, a significant change in the organisation of care is required which involves: coproduction of care where professionals, PLWD and family carers work in partnership; recognition of the way a patient's diagnosis of dementia affects the management of other long-term conditions; flexibility in services to ensure they are sensitive to the changing needs of PLWD and their family carers over time; and improved collaboration across specialities and organisations. Research is needed to develop interventions that support partnership working and tailoring of care for PLWD and comorbidity.
Ageing and mental health: changes in self-reported health due to physical illness and mental health status with consecutive cross-sectional analyses
Authors: Lorem Geir Fagerjord , Schirmer Henrik , Wang Catharina E A , Emaus Nina 
Published: January 2017

ObjectivesIt is known that self-reported health (SRH) declines with increasing age and that comorbidity increases with age. We wished to examine how age transfers its effect to SRH through comorbid disease and mental illness and whether these processes remained stable from 1994 until 2008. The hypothesis is that ageing and/or the increased age-related burden of pathology explains the declining SRH.SettingThe Tromsø Study (TS) is a cohort study using a survey approach with repeated physical examinations. It was conducted in the municipality of Tromsø, Norway, from 1974 to 2008.ParticipantsA total of 21 199 women and 19 229 men participated.Primary and secondary outcome measuresSRH is the outcome of interest. We calculated and compared the effect sizes of age, comorbidity and mental health symptoms using multimediator analysis based on OLS regression.ResultsAgeing had a negative impact on SRH, but the total effect of age decreased from 1994 to 2007. We assessed the direct effect of age and then the proportion of indirect age-related effects through physical illness and mental health symptoms on the total effect. The direct effect of age represented 79.3% of the total effect in 1994 and decreased to 58.8% in 2007. Physical illness emerged as an increasingly important factor and increased its influence from 15.7% to 41.2% of the total effect. Age alone had a protective effect on mental health symptoms and this increased (2.5% to 17.3%), but we found a stronger association between mental health symptoms and physical disease in the later waves of the study (increasing from 3.7% to 14.8%).ConclusionsThe results suggest that the effect on SRH of mental health symptoms caused by physical illness is an increasing public health problem. Treatment and care for specific medical conditions must therefore focus more strongly on how these conditions affect the patient's mental health and address these concerns accordingly.
Vacuum aspiration for induced abortion could be safely and legally performed by nurses and midwives
Authors: Sheldon Sally , Fletcher Joanne 
Published: January 2017

BackgroundSome 40% of abortions carried out in England and Wales are done by vacuum aspiration. It is widely assumed that, in order to be lawful, these procedures must be performed by doctors.Aim and designThis study aimed to provide a detailed reassessment of the relevant law and the clinical evidence that supports this assumption.ConclusionsA close reading of relevant law reveals that this assumption is unfounded. On the contrary, it would be lawful for appropriately trained nurses or midwives, acting as part of a multidisciplinary team, to carry out vacuum aspiration procedures. This interpretation of the law offers the potential for developing more streamlined, cost-effective abortion services, which would be both safe and highly acceptable to patients.
Dissociation between sustained single-neuron spiking and transient β-LFP oscillations in primate motor cortex
Authors: Rule Michael E. , Vargas-Irwin Carlos E. , Donoghue John P. , Truccolo Wilson 
Published: January 2017

Determining the relationship between single-neuron spiking and transient (20 Hz) β-local field potential (β-LFP) oscillations is an important step for understanding the role of these oscillations in motor cortex. We show that whereas motor cortex firing rates and beta spiking rhythmicity remain sustained during steady-state movement preparation periods, β-LFP oscillations emerge, in contrast, as short transient events. Single-neuron mean firing rates within and outside transient β-LFP events showed no differences, and no consistent correlation was found between the beta oscillation amplitude and firing rates, as was the case for movement- and visual cue-related β-LFP suppression. Importantly, well-isolated single units featuring beta-rhythmic spiking (43%, 125/292) showed no apparent or only weak phase coupling with the transient β-LFP oscillations. Similar results were obtained for the population spiking. These findings were common in triple microelectrode array recordings from primary motor (M1), ventral (PMv), and dorsal premotor (PMd) cortices in nonhuman primates during movement preparation. Although beta spiking rhythmicity indicates strong membrane potential fluctuations in the beta band, it does not imply strong phase coupling with β-LFP oscillations. The observed dissociation points to two different sources of variation in motor cortex β-LFPs: one that impacts single-neuron spiking dynamics and another related to the generation of mesoscopic β-LFP signals. Furthermore, our findings indicate that rhythmic spiking and diverse neuronal firing rates, which encode planned actions during movement preparation, may naturally limit the ability of different neuronal populations to strongly phase-couple to a single dominant oscillation frequency, leading to the observed spiking and β-LFP dissociation.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We show that whereas motor cortex spiking rates and beta (~20 Hz) spiking rhythmicity remain sustained during steady-state movement preparation periods, β-local field potential (β-LFP) oscillations emerge, in contrast, as transient events. Furthermore, the β-LFP phase at which neurons spike drifts: phase coupling is typically weak or absent. This dissociation points to two sources of variation in the level of motor cortex beta: one that impacts single-neuron spiking and another related to the generation of measured mesoscopic β-LFPs.
On the Formation of Coherent Vortices beneath Nonbreaking Free-Propagating Surface Waves
Authors: Tsai Wu-ting , Lu Guan-hung , Chen Jheng-rong , Dai Albert , Phillips William R. C. 
Published: January 2017

AbstractNumerical simulations of monochromatic surface waves freely propagating over an initially quiescent flow field are conducted and found to reveal an array of quasi-streamwise vortices of alternating orientation in a manner akin to that of Langmuir circulation beneath wind-driven surface waves. A linear instability analysis of the wave-averaged Craik–Leibovich (CL) equation is then conducted to determine whether the structures in the simulations can be explained by the Craik–Leibovich type 2 (CL2) instability, which requires the presence of spanwise-independent drift and mean shear of the same sign. There is no imposed shear in the simulations, but they confirm the theoretical analysis of Longuet-Higgins that an Eulerian-mean shear with a magnitude comparable to that of Lagrangian Stokes drift occurs at the edge of the surface boundary layer in the otherwise irrotational oscillatory flow. The spanwise wavelength of the least stable disturbance is found to be close to the spacing between predominant vortex pairs, which likely are excited by the CL2 instability.
Trauma characteristics, post-traumatic symptoms, psychiatric disorders and suicidal behaviours: Results from the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing
Authors: Afzali Mohammad H , Sunderland Matthew , Batterham Philip J , Carragher Natacha , Slade Tim 
Published: January 2017

Objective: The current study examined whether trauma characteristics such as the type and number of traumatic events were associated with three suicidal behaviours (i.e. ideation, plan and attempt) after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, post-traumatic symptoms and history of psychiatric disorders. Method: Data came from the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing ( N = 8841). Respondents were asked about exposure to 28 traumatic events that occurred during their lifetime. Suicidal behaviours were measured using three statements about whether the person ever seriously thought about or planned or attempted suicide. Results: Sexual violence and exposure to multiple traumatic events were particularly associated with suicidal behaviours. The presence of the emotional numbing symptom cluster and co-occurrence of three psychiatric disorders (major depressive disorder, alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder) also increased the odds of suicidal behaviours. Analysis of age of onset revealed that the mean age of traumatic exposure was earlier than the age at which suicidal behaviours emerged. Conclusions: The current study is the first to demonstrate that sexual violence and exposure to multiple traumatic events are associated with suicidal behaviours in a representative sample of Australian adults. The results underline the potential benefits of thorough assessment of trauma history, post-traumatic symptoms and history of psychiatric disorders and their additive contribution in suicide risk among trauma victims. These findings can be used by clinicians and researchers for early intervention programmes.
The Relative Cost Effectiveness of In-Service Approaches in Remote, Sparsely Populated Schools
Authors: Kelly Edward J. , Vanvactor John C. 
Published: January 2017

This article provides an analysis of data obtained from the first 2 years of Project SPECTRE, a federally funded in-service training program for regular classroom teachers drawn from southern Nevada's remote, sparsely populated schools. Project SPECTRE was designed to assess the relative cost effectiveness of four types of in-service approaches, including instruction through independent study, by master teachers employed by the school district and by university instructors either on the university campus or on site. The 2-year results indicate that direct instruction of any sort produces gains in knowledge acquisition significantly superior to those obtained through independent study. In spite of its relatively lower initial costs, independent study was also found to be less cost effective than the direct-instructional approaches. Finally, of the three direct-instructional approaches, using university personnel in remote sites was found to be the most cost effective, followed, respectively, by the master-teacher and university-campus approaches.
A Logical and Empirical Analysis of Current Practice in Classifying Students as Handicapped
Authors: Ysseldyke James , Algozzine Bob , Epps Susan 
Published: January 2017

The major criterion for classification systems is that students said to evidence any specific handicapping condition must demonstrate at least one universal and one specific characteristic. We conducted two investigations, using the category “learning disabilities” as an example, to examine the extent to which this criterion is met. In the first study, we demonstrated that 85% of 248 3rd-, 5th-, and 12th- grade students identified as normal could be classified as learning disabled. In a second investigation, we contrasted low-achieving students enrolled in regular fourth-grade classes with students labeled as learning disabled (LD). Analysis of these data indicated that 88% of the low-achieving sample could be identified as LD and that 4% of the LD sample did not meet any of the criteria for classification as LD. We found no specific characteristics that differentiated the groups. Implications for classification practices in general and for serving students who are failing in school are discussed.
An Econometric Analysis of Export-led Growth in A Multivariate Var Framework
Authors: K. Kaushik Krishan , K. Klein Kurt , Arbenser Lawrence 
Published: January 2017

Empirical evidence on export-led growth hypothesis is inconclusive and mixed. This paper uses time series econometric techniques to re-investigate the relationship between exports and economic growth in India during the period 1971-2005. The insertion of three additional relevant variables omitted in previous studies help to clarify the conflicting results from earlier studies on the Indian economy. The empirical results suggest that there exists a unique long-run relationship between exports, export instability, imports, investment, terms of trade and gross domestic product. For example, ceteris paribus a 10 per cent increase in the exports raises GDP by an estimated 2.76 per cent in the long run. The short-term dynamic behaviour of income growth function has been investigated by estimating an error correction model in which the error correction term has been found to be correctly signed and statistically significant. However, there is no strong evidence for short-run causality flowing from export growth to economic growth. JEL classification: C32, F10, O11
Estimation of Import and Export Demand Functions Using Bilateral Trade Data
Authors: Afzal Muhammad , Haider Jahanzaib 
Published: January 2017

We estimated the import and export elasticities of Pakistan trade with traditional trade partners and some Asian countries to see the dynamics of Pakistan's trade from 1973 to 2008. OLS results suggest that income is the principal determinant of exports and imports. Its exports are cointegrated with Japan and the US while the imports are cointegrated with UAE and the US. Pakistan imports and exports are cointegrated with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka but not with India and China. Income and exchange rate are both important determinants of foreign trade. Continuing its trade with traditional partners and making efforts for greater market access to the US and EU, it should make efforts to increase its trade with Asian countries notably China and India because both are fast growing economies and have huge market. JEL Classification: F01, C51.
Spatio-temporal Analysis of Indian Basmati Rice Trade and its Comparison with Pakistan
Authors: Bhattacharya Mondira 
Published: January 2017

Basmati rice is a unique and high value grain crop. It is a traditional export crop of India holding an important position in India's agricultural export basket. Due to the Himalayan agro-climate its cultivation is limited only to India and Pakistan. This study attempts to analyze the spatio-temporal features of India's Basmati rice trade and its global competitiveness. Further, it also undertakes a comparative analysis of Basmati rice trade of India vis-a-vis its sole competitor, Pakistan. The main findings of the study are that as Basmati is a premium product its existing markets would continue to hold. Secondly, despite some inherent problems, Basmati exports from India are increasing temporally and spatially. Thirdly, the quantum of Basmati exports has not only been determined by competition between India and Pakistan, but also influenced by issues such as hoarding, adulteration and change in tastes for other aromatic rice varieties. Fourthly, it is a highly competitive rice variety compared to non-Basmati, but over the last few years its competitiveness has been declining. Lastly, Pakistan with its several supply constraints has been giving a stiff competition to India's Basmati.
The Dutch Clothing Industry
Authors: Schuurs Frans 
Published: January 2017

The Dutch clothing industry is an interesting case of an industrial sector on the decline, beil}-g seriously affected by growing international competition, whereby the emphasis is put on "unfair competition" by the so-called low-cost suppliers. Since "orderly restructuring" as a policy-instrument has not been much in operation, this article on the clothing industry in Holland might serve to illustrate, why, in the present situation, many developed countries a.re inclined to prefer protectionism. The combirved opposition by employers and employees in the affected industries being so vocal and vociferous, the author doubts if "restructuring" could be a politically viable policy-instrument in the context of the present world-wide recession.
The Effects of Simulated Buffeting on the Internal Pressure of Man
Authors: White George H. , Lange Karl O. , Coermann Rolf R. 
Published: January 2017

The effects of mechanically induced vibration upon the human abdomen were determined by measuring the pressure in the rectal end of the colon sigmoideum. A technique was developed for transmitting the internal pressure to external recorders, and the amplitudes of the colon pressure fluctuations were determined, when eight human subjects and one Rhesus monkey were subjected to vertical sinusoidal vibration, at vector accelerations of less than one g, in the frequency range of one through twenty c/s. The pressure fluctuations were found to vary with frequency, showing maximum mean “peak to peak” pressure, per one g acceleration, of 57 mm Hg at 4.5 c/s and 4 c/s, sitting erect and sitting relaxed; and 30 mm Hg at 7 c/s in the semi-supine posture of human subjects. These resonances confirm the results of related prior studies of the human body as a mechanical system.
Variables Influencing Operator Information Processing
Authors: Olson Paul L. 
Published: January 2017

Using two criteria, time required to react to the stimulus and performance on a simple tracking task, subjects were exposed to various levels of rate of information presentation, the number of channels through which it was presented, and the physical location and arrangement of the information media. Performance as measured by both criteria dropped as the rate and number of channels increased. Performance was generally better on more compact media arrangements and those channels more centrally located. There were some differences between criteria in these areas, however.