bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Altered Regional Cerebral Glucose Metabolism in Internet Game Overusers: A 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography Study
Authors: Park Hyun Soo , Kim Sang Hee , Bang Seong Ae , Yoon Eun Jin , Cho Sang Soo , Kim Sang Eun 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Internet game overuse is an emerging disorder and features diminished impulse control and poor reward-processing. In an attempt to understand the neurobiological bases of Internet game overuse, we investigated the differences in regional cerebral glucose metabolism at resting state between young individuals with Internet game overuse and those with normal use using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography study.Methods: Twenty right-handed male participants (9 normal users: 24.7±2.4 years of age, 11 overusers: 23.5±2.9 years of age) participated. A trait measure of impulsivity was also completed after scanning.Results: Internet game overusers showed greater impulsiveness than the normal users and there was a positive correlation between the severity of Internet game overuse and impulsiveness. Imaging data showed that the overusers had increased glucose metabolism in the right middle orbitofrontal gyrus, left caudate nucleus, and right insula, and decreased metabolism in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, left precentrai gyrus, and bilateral occipital regions compared to normal users.Conclusion: Internet game overuse may be associated with abnormal neurobiological mechanisms in the orbitofrontal cortex, striatum, and sensory regions, which are implicated in impulse control, reward processing, and somatic representation of previous experiences. Our results support the idea that Internet game overuse shares psychological and neural mechanisms with other types of impulse control disorders and substance/non-substance-related addiction.
L-Methylfolate, Methylcobalamin, andN-Acetylcysteine in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease-Related Cognitive Decline
Authors: McCaddon Andrew , Hudson Peter R. 
Published: February 2017

Almost 36 million people will have dementia in 2010—an alarming figure set to double every 20 years with the “greying” of the world population. Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia have enormous financial and social impacts on society. Prevention or illness delay of even a small percentage of cases would provide significant cost benefits for health-care systems. This review considers the rationale for a combined B-vitamin and antioxidant supplement (Cerefolin NAC) in treating and slowing AD-related cognitive decline.Vitamin B12and folate deficiencies are associated with various cognitive disorders, including dementia. In the 1980s, plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) assays were introduced to assist in diagnosing these deficiencies. Hey is derived from dietary methionine. Cells re-methylate Hey to methionine using B12-dependent methionine synthase; 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) acts as a methyl donor (Figure 1A). Alternatively, Hey is converted to cystathionine, and ultimately cysteine, by B6-dependent cystathionine β-synthase. Blood Hey levels rise in B6, B6, and folate deficiencies.Higher levels are also associated with aging, smoking, male gender, renal impairment, and drugs including methotrexate, metformin, and levodopa.Using tHcy as a marker, B vitamin deficiencies were found to be highly prevalent in the elderly. This led to speculation that elevated blood Hey, hyperhomocysteinemia, might occur commonly in dementias, including AD. Hyperhomocysteinemia implies impaired meth-ylation reactions (hypomethylation), with predictable adverse effects for neurotransmitter synthesis and AD neuropathology. Hey is also associated with vascular disease, itself a risk factor for dementia.Evidence for the “homocysteine hypothesis of dementia” came with reports of hyperhomocysteinemia in patients with clinically and pathologically confirmed AD. Raised blood levels were also observed in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and vascular dementia. Although elevated Hey could be a consequence of, or coincidental with, dementia hyperhomocysteinemia, it is now recognised to be associated with an increased risk for both cognitive decline and incident dementia.
First-Episode Schizophrenia
Authors: Robinson Delbert 
Published: February 2017

Clinicians treating patients with first-episode (FE) schizophrenia can draw upon the vast literature on the treatment of patients with multiple-episode schizophrenia. Studies with multi-episode patients, however, may not fully generalize to the treatment of FE patients. Studies with multi-episode patients typically recruit from hospitals or other acute care units, settings where patients usually have been either non-responsive or non-adherent to previous treatment, or mixtures of both. Studies of multi-episode patients therefore tend to include patients who are not fully responsive
to treatment. Without the filter of prior treatment history, FE compared with multi-episode patients may show a broader range of treatment patterns, ranging from extremely good to very poor. Further, studies of FE patients may be very instructive about side effects, as the confounding effect of prior medication use is particularly important with side effects. Finally, data suggest that much of the deterioration (eg, more severe negative symptoms) associated with schizophrenia may occur during the 5 years following illness onset. Providing patients with better treatment at illness onset offers the hope of improving their long-term outcome.FE studies do have limitations. Relatively few new cases of schizophrenia occur each year. The typically chronic course of schizophrenia results in a large number of patients with multi-episode schizophrenia for every FE patient at any one time. Recruitment for studies of FE schizophrenia compared with those of multi-episode schizophrenia is often more difficult given the smaller number of available patients. We systematically know less about the treatment of FE patients than we do about the treatment of multi-episode patients.
Differential Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Goldberg Joseph F. 
Published: February 2017

Before reviewing the differential diagnosis of bipolar disorder, it is important to understand the epidemiology, incident, and prevalence of the disorder as well as to divide it by type: type I, type II, or the phenomenon of not otherwise specified, which is defined as subthreshold mania or hypomania. Subthreshold mania or hypomania entails fewer than the requisite number of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition symptoms of mania or hypomania, or an insufficient duration of time with which to make a diagnosis of a syndrome of mania or hypomania. Currently, the most reliable epidemiology of prevalence rates were reported in a replication study of 9,282 respondents to the National Comorbidity Survey conducted by Merikangas and colleagues.Those data show there is a lifetime prevalence rate of bipolar I disorder of 1 % and bipolar II disorder of 1.1%. In this study, not otherwise specified was labeled subthreshold bipolar disorder as the illness duration was not long enough or the number of symptoms was not extensive enough to constitute syndromal mania or hypomania. This type had a prevalence rate of 2.4%, for a total lifetime prevalence of ~4.4%. This rate is somewhat higher than has been described in the past, but included the subdivision that researchers believe comprises the bipolar spectrum.There has been much underdiagnosis or lack of diagnostic accuracy of bipolar disorder, with relative overdiagnosis of major depressive disorder, which historically has been well documented. However, in the last 10 years, there has been a substantial increase in the making of diagnoses of bipolar disorder in various clinical settings. One dataset examined ambulatory medical care survey data and found that among adults over an ~10-year period, there was approximately a doubling in the incidence of diagnosing bipolar disorder of any type (Slide 1).
The Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (Clinician and
Self-Report Versions) in Patients With Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Bernstein Ira H. , Rush A. John , Suppes Trisha , Kyotoku Yakasushi , Warden Diane 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACT
Introduction: The clinical and self-report
versions of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology
(QIDS-C16 and QIDS-SR16) have
been well studied in patients with major depressive disorder and in one
recent study using patients with bipolar disorder. This article examines
these measures in a second sample of 141 outpatients with bipolar disorder
in different phases of the illness.
Methods: At baseline, 61 patients were depressed
and 30 were euthymic; at exit, 50 were depressed and 52 were euthymic. The
remaining patients (at baseline or exit) were in either a manic or mixed
phase and were pooled for statistical reasons.
Results: Similar results were found for the
QIDS-C16 and QIDS-SR16. Scores
were reasonably reliable to the extent that variability within groups
permitted. As expected, euthymic patients showed less depressive
symptomatology than depressed patients. Sad mood and general interest were
tne most discriminating symptoms between depressed and euthymic phases.
Changes in illness phase (baseline to exit) were associated with substantial
changes in scores. The relation of individual depressive symptoms to the
overall level of depression was consistent across phases.
Conclusion: Both the
QIDS-SR16 and QIDS-C16 are
suitable measures of depressive symptoms in patients with bipolar
disorder.
The Spectrum of Adjustment Disorders: Too Broad to be Clinically
Helpful
Authors: Semprini Federica , Fava Giovanni Andrea , Sonino Nicoletta 
Published: February 2017

ABSTRACT
The clinical value of the current Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnosis of
adjustment disorder is controversial. The aim of this article is to review
the literature on adjustment disorder and to present suggestions for the
improvement of this diagnostic category in future classification systems.
The literature utilized for this review was retrieved by MEDLINE (1967 until
May 2009) and was supplemented by a manual search of the literature. The
analysis of the literature indicates that the diagnosis of adjustment
disorder is not characterized by consistent clinical description and
prognosis, adequate differentiation from other disorders, or specific
psychometric and neurobiologic features. The spectrum of affective
disturbances entailed by the diagnosis of adjustment disorder appears to be
too broad. A major problem seems to lie in the fact that it is an exclusion
diagnosis that overlaps with subthreshold manifestations of mood and anxiety
disorders. More precise characterizations of stress-related disturbances are
available.
Rooted in Poverty?: The Political Economy of Terrorism in Xinjiang
Authors: YIN WEIWEN 
Published: February 2017

AbstractIt has been one of the most debated puzzles in the study of political economy of terrorism whether economic development can curb terrorism. In Xinjiang, a multi-ethnic region in West China, it is widely believed that higher income levels can decrease the likelihood of terrorism conducted by Uyghur separatists or Islamic extremists. However, the county-level data for the year of 2013 show that better economic performance may not work as is expected. Instead, empirical evidence indicates that income is positively associated with the probability of terrorist attacks, and the effect is statistically significant. Projects that are aimed at boosting local economic growth result in a flood of migrants, and the local Uyghurs are disadvantaged in the employment market. Consequently, economic grievances will be generated. Some, but not all, Uyghurs have a shared motivation to resist, but tight social control in the region constrains the form of resistance, in the sense that neither mass protests nor armed rebellion are feasible. Terrorist attacks that come at a lower cost become a preferable choice. In addition to economic grievances and tight control, external factors also help to boost terrorist activities in Xinjiang, but more empirical and field research is needed before we could clarify how external factors, such as the international jihadist movement, interact with local conditions and result in terrorism in the region.
Partisan Divergence and Public Support for the Courts of Taiwan
Authors: WU CHUNG-LI 
Published: February 2017

AbstractThe role of the court system in national policymaking has long been a central issue in democratic theory. Two contending theories, the traditional view and the realist one, have been offered to explain the influence of the judiciary compared to other political institutions. Looking at the subject from Dahl's realist perspective, it is hypothesized that supporters of the ruling majority generally have a favorable attitude toward the courts,ceteris paribus. This study sheds some light on the issue of public support by examining the public's evaluation of the judicial system in Taiwan. It evaluates the impact of political factors (especially party identification) on public support for the judiciary, based on the results of a national survey carried out in 2014 to assess public attitudes toward the courts and other political institutions. The findings reveal that, compared with other institutions, the courts enjoy a relatively high degree of popular confidence. The results also confirm the realist view that supporters of the policymaking majority generally hold favorable attitudes toward the judiciary, whereas opponents of the ruling coalition tend to express lower levels of diffuse support for the courts.
Interseeding berseem clover in winter wheat
Authors: Anderson Randy L. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractInterseeding annual clovers in cereal grains may help organic producers reduce use of tillage following cereal harvest. Using clovers that winterkill would minimize need for tillage in the spring also. The objective of this study was to evaluate seedling emergence and survival of berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Berseem clover (hereafter, referred to as berseem) was planted 0, 2 and 4 weeks after initiation of winter wheat growth in the spring. Berseem density was highest when planted on April 12, 2 weeks after winter wheat broke dormancy. Establishment density was 40–80% less with the other planting dates. A dry interval during the 5 weeks preceding winter wheat harvest reduced seedling survival of berseem, killing more than 80% of seedlings. Winter wheat yield was reduced at the last planting date of berseem, which was attributed to mechanical injury to winter wheat by the drill when planting berseem. Berseem may not be viable for interseeding at this location or in drier regions. Clover species that are more drought tolerant will be needed.
Cultivation and characterization of Candidatus Nitrosocosmicus exaquare, an ammonia-oxidizing archaeon from a municipal wastewater treatment system
Authors: Sauder Laura A , Albertsen Mads , Engel Katja , Schwarz Jasmin , Nielsen Per H , Wagner Michael , Neufeld Josh D 
Published: February 2017

Abstract
Thaumarchaeota have been detected in several industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), despite the fact that ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are thought to be adapted to low ammonia environments. However, the activity, physiology and metabolism of WWTP-associated AOA remain poorly understood. We report the cultivation and complete genome sequence of Candidatus Nitrosocosmicus exaquare, a novel AOA representative from a municipal WWTP in Guelph, Ontario (Canada). In enrichment culture, Ca. N. exaquare oxidizes ammonia to nitrite stoichiometrically, is mesophilic, and tolerates at least 15 mm of ammonium chloride or sodium nitrite. Microautoradiography (MAR) for enrichment cultures demonstrates that Ca. N. exaquare assimilates bicarbonate in association with ammonia oxidation. However, despite using inorganic carbon, the ammonia-oxidizing activity of Ca. N. exaquare is greatly stimulated in enrichment culture by the addition of organic compounds, especially malate and succinate. Ca. N. exaquare cells are coccoid with a diameter of ~1–2 μm. Phylogenetically, Ca. N. exaquare belongs to the Nitrososphaera sister cluster within the Group I.1b Thaumarchaeota, a lineage which includes most other reported AOA sequences from municipal and industrial WWTPs. The 2.99 Mbp genome of Ca. N. exaquare encodes pathways for ammonia oxidation, bicarbonate fixation, and urea transport and breakdown. In addition, this genome encodes several key genes for dealing with oxidative stress, including peroxidase and catalase. Incubations of WWTP biofilm demonstrate partial inhibition of ammonia-oxidizing activity by 2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl 3-oxide (PTIO), suggesting that Ca. N. exaquare-like AOA may contribute to nitrification in situ. However, CARD-FISH-MAR showed no incorporation of bicarbonate by detected Thaumarchaeaota, suggesting that detected AOA may incorporate non-bicarbonate carbon sources or rely on an alternative and yet unknown metabolism.
Towards human exploration of space: the THESEUS review series on muscle and bone research priorities
Authors: Lang Thomas , Van Loon Jack J.W.A. , Bloomfield Susan , Vico Laurence , Chopard Angele , Rittweger Joern , Kyparos Antonios , Blottner Dieter , Vuori Ilkka , Gerzer Rupert , Cavanagh Peter R. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractWithout effective countermeasures, the musculoskeletal system is altered by the microgravity environment of long-duration spaceflight, resulting in atrophy of bone and muscle tissue, as well as in deficits in the function of cartilage, tendons, and vertebral disks. While inflight countermeasures implemented on the International Space Station have evidenced reduction of bone and muscle loss on low-Earth orbit missions of several months in length, important knowledge gaps must be addressed in order to develop effective strategies for managing human musculoskeletal health on exploration class missions well beyond Earth orbit. Analog environments, such as bed rest and/or isolation environments, may be employed in conjunction with large sample sizes to understand sex differences in countermeasure effectiveness, as well as interaction of exercise with pharmacologic, nutritional, immune system, sleep and psychological countermeasures. Studies of musculoskeletal biomechanics, involving both human subject and computer simulation studies, are essential to developing strategies to avoid bone fractures or other injuries to connective tissue during exercise and extravehicular activities. Animal models may be employed to understand effects of the space environment that cannot be modeled using human analog studies. These include studies of radiation effects on bone and muscle, unraveling the effects of genetics on bone and muscle loss, and characterizing the process of fracture healing in the mechanically unloaded and immuno-compromised spaceflight environment. In addition to setting the stage for evidence-based management of musculoskeletal health in long-duration space missions, the body of knowledge acquired in the process of addressing this array of scientific problems will lend insight into the understanding of terrestrial health conditions such as age-related osteoporosis and sarcopenia.
In situ study of nucleation and aggregation phases for nanoparticles grown by laser-driven methods
Authors: Barberio M. , Antici P. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractIn the last decades, nanomaterials and nanotechnologies have become fundamental and irreplaceable in many fields of science and technology. When used in applications, their properties depend on many factors such as size, shape, internal structure and composition. For this, exact knowledge of their structural features is essential when developing fabrication technologies and searching for new types of nanostructures or nanoparticles with specific properties. For the latter, the knowledge of the precise temporal evolution of the growth processes is fundamental when it comes to industrial production and applications. Here we present a method to control, with very high precision, the starting of the aggregation phase during the Laser Ablation in solution growth process. This is obtained by monitoring the optical absorption of the colloidal solution. We apply this control method on the most popular metallic nanoparticle materials (Ag, Al, Co, and Ti) and verify the technique using morphological analysis conducted by AFM and SEM microscopy. The experimental results are explained in terms of Mie extinction theory and Thermal Model for Laser Ablation.
Concomitant underexpression of TGFBR2 and overexpression of hTERT are associated with poor prognosis in cervical cancer
Authors: Yang Hui , Zhang Hongyan , Zhong Yahua , Wang Qiaoli , Yang Lei , Kang Hong , Gao Xiaojia , Yu Haijun , Xie Conghua , Zhou Fuxiang , Zhou Yunfeng 
Published: February 2017

AbstractThe human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is highly expressed in a variety of tumors. The transforming growth factor beta receptor type II (TGFBR2) is a downstream protein of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) which suppresses telomerase activity. However, the relevance of survival to the expression of TGFBR2, hTERT or TGFBR2/hTERT has not been previously investigated in cervical cancer tissues. Our study showed that patients with low level of TGFBR2 were associated with poor prognosis (HR = 1.704, P = 0.021), but no significant relevance between hTERT expression and survival (HR = 1.390, P = 0.181). However, a combination of low level of TGFBR2 and high level of hTERT was associated with a worse survival (HR = 1.892, P = 0.020), which had higher impact of hazard ratio (HR) on the overall survival (OS) than the low TGFBR2 expression alone. Knockdown of TGFBR2 expression by shRNA in Hela cells increased cell proliferation, cell invasion, G1/S transition and telomere homeostasis but decreased cell apoptosis. Overexpressing TGFBR2 and inhibiting hTERT suppressed Hela cell growth. These results would lead us to further explore whether a phenotype of TGFBR2low/hTERThigh could be considered as a predictor of poor prognosis, and whether simultaneous use of TGFBR2 agonist and hTERT inhibitor could be developed as a therapeutic strategy.
Molecular dietary analysis of two sympatric felids in the Mountains of Southwest China biodiversity hotspot and conservation implications
Authors: Xiong Mengyin , Wang Dajun , Bu Hongliang , Shao Xinning , Zhang Dan , Li Sheng , Wang Rongjiang , Yao Meng 
Published: February 2017

AbstractDietary information is lacking in most of small to mid-sized carnivores due to their elusive predatory behaviour and versatile feeding habits. The leopard cat (LPC;Prionailurus bengalensis) and the Asiatic golden cat (AGC;Catopuma temminckii) are two important yet increasingly endangered carnivore species in the temperate mountain forest ecosystem in Southwest China, a global biodiversity hotspot and a significant reservoir of China’s endemic species. We investigated the vertebrate prey of the two sympatric felids using faecal DNA and a next-generation sequencing (NGS)/metabarcoding approach. Forty vertebrate prey taxa were identified from 93 LPC and 10 AGC faecal samples; 37 taxa were found in the LPC diet, and 20 were detected in the AGC diet. Prey included 27 mammalian taxa, 11 birds, one lizard and one fish, with 73% (29/40) of the taxa assigned to the species level. Rodents and pikas were the most dominant LPC prey categories, whereas rodents, pheasant, fowl and ungulates were the main AGC prey. We also analysed the seasonal and altitudinal variations in the LPC diet. Our results provide the most comprehensive dietary data for these felids and valuable information for their conservation planning.