bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Predictive accuracy of three clinical risk assessment systems for cardiac complications among Chinese pregnant women with congenital heart disease
Authors: Fu Qin , Lin Jianhua 
Published: April 2016

AbstractObjectiveTo compare the predictive accuracy of three risk assessment systems for cardiac complications among pregnant women with congenital heart disease (CHD).MethodsIn a retrospective study, data were assessed from women with CHD at more than 20 weeks of pregnancy who attended Shanghai Obstetrical Cardiology Intensive Care Center, China, between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 2014. CARPREG and ZAHARA risk scores, and modified WHO (mWHO) risk classification were applied retrospectively. Predictive accuracy was compared by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.ResultsA total of 730 women were included. The frequency of expected versus observed cardiac events was, respectively, 5.0% versus 7.8%, 27.0% versus 47.1%, and 75.0% versus 75.0% among patients with CARPREG scores of 0, 1, and > 1; and 2.9% versus 5.8%, 7.5% versus 36.5%, 17.5% versus 30.8%, 43.1% versus 50.0%, and 70.0% versus 17.6% among those with ZAHARA scores of 0–0.50, 0.51–1.50, 1.51–2.50, 2.51–3.50, and 3.51 or more. For mWHO risk classifications I–IV, the cardiac event rate was 0%, 8.2%, 26.7%, 18.4%, and 15.4%, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67–0.76; P < 0.001) for mWHO, 0.68 (95% CI 0.60–0.75; P < 0.001) for ZAHARA, and 0.63 (95% CI 0.57–0.71; P = 0.001) for CARPREG.ConclusionThe mWHO risk classification was the best system for predicting cardiac complications among Chinese pregnant women with CHD.
Hyperphosphorylation determines both the spread and the morphology of tau pathology
Authors: Hu Wen , Zhang Xinhua , Tung Yunn Chyn , Xie Shutao , Liu Fei , Iqbal Khalid 
Published: April 2016

AbstractIntroductionNeurofibrillary pathology of abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau (P‐tau) is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. Tau pathology can be experimentally induced and propagated. However, what induces the prion‐like transmission character to tau and produces morphologically distinct tau lesions remains elusive.MethodsWe investigated the role of hyperphosphorylation in the spread of tau pathology in hTau transgenic mice.ResultsWe found that intrahippocampal injection with AD P‐tau, but not nonphosphorylated tau, produced numerous P‐tau tangles and neuropil threads locally and in neocortex lateral to injection and upstream to the hippocampus. Dephosphorylation of AD P‐tau with protein phosphatase‐2A dramatically reduced and switched tau pathology from neurofibrillary tangles to argyrophilic grain‐like morphology.ConclusionsOur findings show that abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau determines the spread and morphology of tau lesions and that the propagation of tau pathology takes place both locally and in axonally connected areas and highlight tau hyperphosphorylation as a potential drug target.
Mortality risk in current and new antipsychotic Alzheimer's disease users: Large scale Japanese study
Authors: Arai Heii , Nakamura Yu , Taguchi Masamoto , Kobayashi Hiroyuki , Yamauchi Keita , Schneider Lon S. ,   J‐CATIA Study Group
Published: April 2016

AbstractIntroductionWe studied the mortality risk of long term and new antipsychotic drug use in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients in Japan to determine improved treatment protocols.MethodsThis 24‐week prospective cohort study included 10,079 Japanese AD patients (female, 69%; average age, 81 years) under routine clinical care in 357 medical sites. The antipsychotic medication history was varied (63.7% were long‐term users). Mortality rates and odds ratio were analyzed (initial 10 weeks and from 11–24 weeks).ResultsThe antipsychotic exposed group with shorter treatment periods had a higher mortality risk compared to controls. The newly prescribed users (antipsychotic treatment started during the follow‐up) showed increased mortality (9.4% during the 11–24 week period).ConclusionsNew use of antipsychotic drugs represents a distinct risk for mortality; those on long‐term antipsychotic therapy seem to be at less risk. The warning issued 10 years earlier on antipsychotics use for AD patients should be reviewed.
Amyloid status imputed from a multimodal classifier including structural MRI distinguishes progressors from nonprogressors in a mild Alzheimer's disease clinical trial cohort
Authors: Tosun Duygu , Chen Yun-Fei , Yu Peng , Sundell Karen L. , Suhy Joyce , Siemers Eric , Schwarz Adam J. , Weiner Michael W. ,   Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: April 2016

AbstractIntroductionMild‐Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects without significant Aβ pathology represent a confounding finding for clinical trials because they may not progress clinically on the expected trajectory, adding variance into analyses where slowing of progression is being measured.MethodsA prediction model based on structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in combination with baseline demographics and clinical measurements was used to impute Aβ status of a placebo‐treated mild‐AD sub‐cohort (N = 385) of patients participating in global phase 3 trials. The clinical trajectories of this cohort were evaluated over 18 months duration of the trial, stratified by imputed Aβ status within a mixed‐model repeated measures statistical framework.ResultsIn the imputed Aβ‐positive cohort, both cognitive (ADAS‐Cog14 and MMSE) and functional (ADCS‐iADL) measures declined more rapidly than in the undifferentiated population.DiscussionOur results demonstrate imputing Aβ status from MRI scans in mild‐AD subjects may be a useful screening tool in global clinical trials if amyloid measurement is not available.
Changes in the proportions of types I and III collagen in hemorrhoids: the sliding anal lining theory
Authors: Sardiñas Carlos , Arreaza Dilia Diaz , Osorio Héctor 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
Objective This study aims to determine changes in the proportions of types I and III collagen in hemorrhoids and to verify the sliding anal canal lining theory.
Patients and method The study is focused on a sample of 17 patients, 9 females and 8 males (age range: 30–70 years), with grade III and grade IV hemorrhoids. Tissue from 4 fetuses (age: 16 weeks of gestation) was used as control sample. All the participants gave their informed consent. Samples were gathered in 2014. All patients underwent open hemorrhoidectomy by using the technique described by Milligan and Morgan, published in Lancet journal in 1937. The hemorrhoid samples were stained with hematoxylin–eosin for the histologic study to confirm the hemorrhoidal tissue diagnosis. The picrosirius red staining protocol was used after the histologic analysis. The method used for image processing is described in the text. Images were imported to the Image Tool for Windows software. The same process was used on the embryonic tissue. Data resulting from the analysis of images were processed using STATISTICA, a software for statistical analysis.
Results When compared, it was found that the two tissues presented very different values, with hemorrhoids containing the highest type III collagen values.
Conclusion Our results seem to imply that hemorrhoids have a larger proportion of type III collagen than fetal tissue. They also suggest a possible age-related deterioration of the tissue.
Conditional interest rate risk and the cross‐section of excess stock returns
Authors: Atanasov Victoria 
Published: April 2016

AbstractDifferences in excess stock returns can be rationalized by their sensitivities to conditional interest rate risk. Value stocks are particularly sensitive to upside movements in interest rate growth, while growth stocks react strongly to downside movements in interest rate growth. Consistent with the basic asset pricing theory, the upside interest rate risk commands a negative premium which is higher than the premium associated with the downside interest rate risk. Upside beta pertains its explanatory power after controlling for exposure to regular unconditional interest rate and various sources of financial and conditional macroeconomic risk.
Coalescence of late Wisconsinan Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets east of the Rocky Mountain Foothills in the Dawson Creek region, northeast British Columbia, Canada
Authors: Hickin Adrian Scott , Lian Olav B. , Levson Victor M. 
Published: April 2016

Geomorphic, stratigraphic and geochronological evidence from northeast British Columbia (Canada) indicates that, during the late Wisconsinan (approximately equivalent to marine oxygen isotope stage [MIS] 2), a major lobe of western-sourced ice coalesced with the northeastern-sourced Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). High-resolution digital elevation models reveal a continuous 75 km-long field of streamlined landforms that indicate the ice flow direction of a major northeast-flowing lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS) or a montane glacier (>200 km wide) was deflected to a north-northwest trajectory as it coalesced with the retreating LIS. The streamlined landforms are composed of till containing clasts of eastern provenance that imply that the LIS reached its maximum extent before the western-sourced ice flow crossed the area. Since the LIS only reached this region in the late Wisconsinan, the CIS/montane ice responsible for the streamlined landforms must have occupied the area after the LIS withdrew. Stratigraphy from the Murray and Pine river valleys supports a late Wisconsinan age for the surface landforms and records two glacial events separated by a non-glacial interval that was dated to be of middle Wisconsinan (MIS 3) age.
The extent of middle Pleistocene ice cap in the coastal Dinaric Mountains of Croatia
Authors: Marjanac Tihomir , Marjanac Ljerka 
Published: April 2016

Solitary limestone blocks and groups of blocks occur on Risnjak and Velebit Mountains and on the northern Adriatic islands of Krk and Rab. Previous researchers have interpreted some of these as a) erratic blocks, b) corrosional remnants, or c) rockfalls. We have studied their mode of occurrence and composition, and revised previous interpretations of their origin in the light of transport mechanism and depositional processes. After analyzing the context of the block positions and the physical processes responsible for their emplacement, and taking into account their sedimentological context (their association with glaciogenic sediments), we herein propose a glacial origin for most of these blocks. However, some blocks are indeed shaped by sub-soil corrosion, as evidenced by their structure. The interpreted erratic blocks on the inner northern Adriatic Sea islands document the presence of middle Pleistocene glaciation of Dinaric Mountains though not its maximal extent, which is still unclear as the ice terminus was in the area that is inundated by postglacial rise of Adriatic Sea. The reconstructed ice cap area, which extended along the coastal mountains from Risnjak Mt. to south Velebit Mt. and across the range from Lika Polje to Rab Island, is conservatively estimated to be 5400 km2.
Increased Intraocular Pressure in a Patient With Septooptic Dysplasia: A Case Report
Authors: Ulloa-Padilla Jan P. , Izquierdo Natalio J. , Oliver Armando 
Published: April 2016

Introduction:
Previous studies have described septooptic dysplasia (SOD) to describe patients who have optic nerve hypoplasia, the absence of septum pellucidum, and pituitary hypoplasia. Other rare ophthalmic associations have been described, such as low-tension glaucoma. We report the ocular findings of a patient with SOD who had high intraocular pressure (IOP) and glaucoma as a part of the syndrome.

Objectives:
To report the ocular findings in a Puerto Rican patient with SOD and increased IOP.

Patients and Methods:
A patient with De Morsier syndrome underwent a comprehensive eye examination, Humphrey visual fields, and Stratus optical coherence tomography, and was referred for neuroradiologic examination. The patient had increased IOP, visual field loss, and asymmetric optic nerve hypoplasia. The IOP was lowered with topical hypotensive medications.

Conclusions:
The patient with the De Morsier syndrome had poor visual acuity, high IOP, visual field, and optical coherence tomography results that were all compatible with glaucoma. Further studies comparing ocular findings in patients with several mutations leading to De Morsier syndrome are warranted. To our knowledge, this is the first report on a patient with glaucoma as a part of the syndrome.
Rifabutin Triple Therapy is Effective in Patients With Multidrug-resistant Strains of Helicobacter pylori
Authors: Fiorini Giulia , Zullo Angelo , Vakil Nimish , Saracino Ilaria M. , Ricci Chiara , Castelli Valentina , Gatta Luigi , Vaira Dino 
Published: April 2016

Introduction:
Eradicating Helicobacter pylori continues to be a challenge, and no treatment regimen is uniformly successful in all treated patients. Triple therapy with rifabutin and amoxicillin is a successful rescue therapy after consecutive treatment failures. We designed this study to test the efficacy of 12-day rifabutin-based triple therapy in patients infected with multidrug-resistant strains.

Methods:
Consecutive patients with dyspeptic symptoms after at least 1 antibiotic therapy course for H. pylori infection harboring triple-resistant (clarithromycin, metronidazole, levofloxacin) strains were enrolled. They received triple therapy with esomeprazole 40 mg bid, amoxicillin 1 g bid, and rifabutin 150 mg od for 12 days. Patients who failed rifabutin therapy were treated empirically on the basis of the judgment of the treating physician.

Results:
A total of 254 out of 756 tested patients were found to be infected with a triple-resistant H. pylori strains after at least 1 antibiotic therapy course. Overall, the infection was eradicated in 213 patients, corresponding to a cure rate of 82.9% (95% CI, 78.3-87.5) by intention-to-treat analysis and 88.7% (95% CI, 84.7-92.7) at per-protocol analysis. In multivariate analysis, no factor was identified as an independent predictor of bacterial eradication.

Conclusions:
There is no current standard for the growing population of patients with multidrug-resistant strains of H. pylori. The 12-day low-dose rifabutin/high-dose proton pump inhibitor regimen is a safe and reliable option for patients infected with triple-resistant strains.
Investigating the Aftermath of Terror: Fundamental Outcomes, Methodological Choices, and Future Directions
Authors: Gradus Jaimie L. , Marx Brian P. , Sloan Denise M. 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT
Acts of terrorism are becoming increasingly common throughout the world. These events represent a significant public health concern given the associated health consequences. Although it is clear that terrorist attacks have mental and physical health sequelae, the exact nature and prevalence of these consequences are unclear. Epidemiological research can play an important role in better understanding the mental and physical impact of terrorist attacks. In this editorial, we highlight recent epidemiological research on these terrorism-related health outcomes. We also provide suggestions for how future studies can build on the existing literature and describe ways in which epidemiological methods can be harnessed to extend the current literature. Lastly, we offer recommendations on how to best prepare communities for the aftermath of terrorist attacks, highlighting secondary intervention and prevention strategies. Overall, multilevel strategies are needed to adequately cope with the growing rise of terrorist acts, and these strategies will have to be reassessed as the nature of terrorist attacks changes.
Linguistic Agency and Life-Span Longevity
Authors: Robinson Michael D. , Bair Jessica L. , Persich Michelle R. , Moen Nicholas R. 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Objectives
Agency has been conceptualized as a drive toward mastery, control, and effective self-management. Such an agentic approach to life and its challenges may be life-prolonging, a hypothesis not previously investigated.

Method
In four studies, individual differences in agency were assessed in terms of the frequency with which agency-related words (e.g., “achieve,” “fix,” and “control”) were mentioned in archived interviews or speeches (N = 210).

Results
Higher levels of linguistic agency predicted longer life-spans among prominent physicists (study 1: n = 60, β = .30, t = 2.30, p = .025), historians (study 2: n = 69, β = .29, t = 2.47, p = .016), psychologists (study 3: n = 45, β = .32, t = 2.35, p = .024), and American presidents (study 4: n = 36, β = .75, t = 2.74, p = .010) when adjusting for birth year. Considered from another angle, life-span longevity averaged 8 years longer at a high (+1 standard deviation) relative to low (−1 standard deviation) level of the linguistic agency continuum, a marked difference. Follow-up analyses indicated that these results could not be attributed to covarying levels of positive emotion, negative emotion, or social connection, as quantified in terms of other linguistic categories.

Conclusions
The investigation provides unique support for agentic perspectives on health, and several potential mechanisms are discussed.
Utility of a Virtual Trier Social Stress Test: Initial Findings and Benchmarking Comparisons
Authors: Fallon Monica A. , Careaga Jesus Serrano , Sbarra David A. , O'Connor Mary-Frances 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Objective
The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is one of the most widely used laboratory-based acute psychosocial stressors. However, there may be advantages to conducting the TSST through the virtual world, including reducing the cost and burden (i.e., no need for colocation between the evaluators and participants). The virtual TSST might also increase the standardization between studies and provide the capacity to bring psychology experiments to more settings (e.g., the home, the magnetic resonance imaging scanner).

Methods
Fifty undergraduate students participated in the TSST conducted through an online virtual reality program, using a computer screen and microphone/earphone headset.

Results
The present study found that the virtual TSST produced a significant acute stress response, measured both through cortisol (F(1,128) = 31.91, p < .001) and subjective report (F(1,148) = 72.86, p < .001). In addition, this method differentially produced a dampened cortisol response (F(1,126) = 4.41, p < .04) in those who had experienced recent loss (e.g., bereavement, romantic breakup, homesickness), similar to prior research.

Conclusions
Virtual reality–based administration of the TSST and other mental challenge protocols increases the possibilities of many standard psychological experiments relevant to biobehavioral research.
Sleep and Inflammation During Adolescence
Authors: Park Heejung , Tsai Kim M. , Dahl Ronald E. , Irwin Michael R. , McCreath Heather , Seeman Teresa E. , Fuligni Andrew J. 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Objective
To investigate the associations between objective and subjective dimensions of adolescent sleep and C-reactive protein (CRP), a key biomarker of inflammation that predicts chronic health problems in adulthood, and whether the associations vary as a function of adolescents' age.

Methods
A total of 315 adolescents (14.5–18.4 years) wore wrist actigraphs at night to objectively estimate their sleep duration and variability across nights, and completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to assess their subjective sleep quality. CRP levels were assayed from dried blood spots obtained from finger pricks. To control for adiposity, age- and sex-specific body mass index percentiles were obtained from height and weight measurements.

Results
Nightly variability in sleep duration was associated with higher levels of CRP (b = 0.13, p = .045). Shorter average sleep duration was associated with higher CRP, but only among younger adolescents (b = −0.11, p = .041). Subjective sleep quality was not associated with CRP.

Conclusions
The association of sleep with inflammation during adolescence seems more evident in objective dimensions of sleep duration and variability than in the subjective dimensions of sleep quality. Insufficient sleep may be particularly consequential for younger adolescents.
Perceived Discrimination and Nocturnal Blood Pressure Dipping Among Hispanics: The Influence of Social Support and Race
Authors: Rodriguez Carlos Jose , Gwathmey TanYa M. , Jin Zhezhen , Schwartz Joseph , Beech Bettina M. , Sacco Ralph L. , Di Tullio Marco R. , Homma Shunichi 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Objective
Little is known about the relationship of perceived racism to ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in Hispanics. We explored possible associations between ABP nocturnal dipping and perceived racism in a Hispanic cohort.

Methods
Participants included 180 community-dwelling Hispanics from the Northern Manhattan Study. Measures included perceived racism, socioeconomic status, social support, and ABP monitoring. Nocturnal ABP nondipping was defined as a less than 10% decline in the average asleep systolic blood pressure relative to the awake systolic blood pressure.

Results
Overall, 77.8% of participants reported some form of perceived racism (Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire scores >1.0). Greater social support was associated with less perceived discrimination (Spearman r = −0.54, p < .001). Those with higher perceived discrimination scores reported more depressive symptoms (r = 0.25, p < .001). Those with higher Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire scores were less likely to show nocturnal ABP nondipping in multivariate models (odds ratio = 0.40, confidence interval = 0.17–0.98, p = .045). Among those with low perceived racism, black Hispanic participants were more likely to have nocturnal ABP nondipping (82.6%) compared with white Hispanics (53.9%; p = .02). Among those with high perceived racism, no associations between race and the prevalence of ABP nondipping was found (black Hispanic = 61.5% versus white Hispanic = 51.4%, p = .39; p interaction = .89).

Conclusions
Perceived racism is relatively common among US Hispanics and is associated with ABP. Nondipping of ABP, a potential cardiovascular risk factor, was more common in black Hispanic participants with low perceived racism. This finding may reflect different coping mechanisms between black versus white Hispanics and related blood pressure levels during daytime exposures to discrimination.