bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clothing Protection from Ultraviolet Radiation: A New Method for Assessment
Authors: Gage Ryan , Leung William , Stanley James , Reeder Anthony , Barr Michelle , Chambers Tim , Smith Moira , Signal Louise 
Published: June 2017

AbstractClothing modifies ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure from the sun and has an impact on skin cancer risk and the endogenous synthesis of vitamin D. There is no standardized method available for assessing body surface area (BSA) covered by clothing, which limits generalizability between study findings. We calculated the body cover provided by 38 clothing items using diagrams of BSA, adjusting the values to account for differences in BSA by age. Diagrams displaying each clothing item were developed and incorporated into a coverage assessment procedure (CAP). Five assessors used the CAP and Lund & Browder chart, an existing method for estimating BSA, to calculate the clothing coverage of an image sample of 100 schoolchildren. Values of clothing coverage, inter‐rater reliability and assessment time were compared between CAP and Lund & Browder methods. Both methods had excellent inter‐rater reliability (>0.90) and returned comparable results, although the CAP method was significantly faster in determining a person's clothing coverage. On balance, the CAP method appears to be a feasible method for calculating clothing coverage. Its use could improve comparability between sun‐safety studies and aid in quantifying the health effects of UVR exposure.
Natural history and clinical characteristics of multiple pulmonary nodules with ground glass opacity
Authors: Sato Yuki , Fujimoto Daichi , Morimoto Takeshi , Uehara Keiichiro , Nagata Kazuma , Sakanoue Ichiro , Hamakawa Hiroshi , Takahashi Yutaka , Imai Yukihiro , Tomii Keisuke 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACT
Background and objectiveGround glass nodules (GGNs) are frequently encountered in the lungs. We report the natural history and characteristics of multiple GGNs, and propose a management plan for patients with multiple GGNs.MethodsWe retrospectively analysed patients with GGNs that met the following criteria: (i) GGN diameter of 3 cm or less, (ii) ground glass opacity proportion of 50% or more and (iii) observation without treatment for ≥6 months. We evaluated size changes in computed tomography images. Two end points, ‘incidence of growth at 36 months’ and ‘time to growth’ were analysed using logistic regression models and Cox proportional hazards model.ResultsBetween April 2008 and December 2014, 187 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria (78 (42%) had multiple lesions). Among the multiple‐GGN patients, the median observation period was 45.5 months, 25 patients (32%) experienced GGN progression at 36 months and 4 patients (5.1%) after 36 months. Between the multiple and single GGNs, there were no significant differences in growth incidence at 36 months (P = 0.1), after 36 months (P = 0.6) or in time to growth (P = 0.3). Among patients with multiple GGNs who experienced one GGN growth, 41% of patients experienced residual GGN growth afterwards.ConclusionPatients with multiple GGNs showed a tendency to growth within the first 36 months, and a significant proportion of patients experienced multiple GGN progression. We suggest that the optimal observation period for patients with multiple GGNs is 36 months, but careful observation is needed after a lesion begins to grow.
Data Integration Model for Air Quality: A Hierarchical Approach to the Global Estimation of Exposures to Ambient Air Pollution
Authors: Shaddick Gavin , Thomas Matthew L. , Green Amelia , Brauer Michael , Donkelaar Aaron , Burnett Rick , Chang Howard H. , Cohen Aaron , Dingenen Rita Van , Dora Carlos , Gumy Sophie , Liu Yang , Martin Randall , Waller Lance A. , West Jason , Zidek James V. , Prüss-Ustün Annette 
Published: June 2017

SummaryAir pollution is a major risk factor for global health, with 3 million deaths annually being attributed to fine particulate matter ambient pollution (PM2.5). The primary source of information for estimating population exposures to air pollution has been measurements from ground monitoring networks but, although coverage is increasing, regions remain in which monitoring is limited. The data integration model for air quality supplements ground monitoring data with information from other sources, such as satellite retrievals of aerosol optical depth and chemical transport models. Set within a Bayesian hierarchical modelling framework, the model allows spatially varying relationships between ground measurements and other factors that estimate air quality. The model is used to estimate exposures, together with associated measures of uncertainty, on a high resolution grid covering the entire world from which it is estimated that 92% of the world's population reside in areas exceeding the World Health Organization's air quality guidelines.
Sleep disturbance and sleep‐disordered breathing in hemodialysis patients
Authors: Chu Ginger , Choi Peter , McDonald Vanessa M. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractSleep disturbance is one of the most common dialysis‐related symptoms reported by hemodialysis patients. Poor sleep confers significant physical and psychological burden on patients with kidney disease and is associated with reduced quality of life and survival. More recent evidence also indicates that sleep‐disordered breathing may be a risk factor for kidney injury.
Health‐related quality of life of patients on chronic dialysis: The need for a focused effort
Authors: Bossola Maurizio , Pepe Gilda , Marzetti Emanuele 
Published: June 2017

AbstractHealth‐related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients on chronic hemodialysis has not improved significantly in the last 20 years. This is largely due to their substantial symptom burden which is rarely assessed and treated in routine clinical practice. It also is a consequence of the lack of an appropriate armamentarium for the treatments of such symptoms. Adequate studies on the causes and pathogenesis of the symptoms of hemodialysis patients are needed followed by high quality studies on possible therapeutic pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions.
Dialysis in the undocumented: The past, the present, and what lies ahead
Authors: Gupta Shruti , Fenves Andrew Z. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractIn many states undocumented immigrants with end stage renal disease (ESRD) do not have access to regular, thrice weekly dialysis. The term “compassionate dialysis” is used to describe dialysis that is provided on an emergent basis, when patients are in extremis from symptoms of volume overload or suffer from life‐threatening electrolyte abnormalities. In this editorial, one particularly poignant anecdote is presented from the experience of one of the authors (AZF) as a nephrologist in Texas, a state where undocumented immigrants have faced difficulties in accessing regular dialysis. We then describe the legislation that allows the right to regular dialysis to be determined on a state by state basis. We offer some potential solutions to this challenging issue, and we describe the difficulties that lay ahead given the uncertain future of the Affordable Care Act.
The Case of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora and Homeland: A Shared Ethnic Identity?
Authors: Thurairajah Kalyani 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe conceptualization of an ethnic identity is complicated when one considers how this identity is understood by the diasporic community and by the homeland community. This article argues that the second‐generation Sri Lankan Tamil diasporic community in Toronto conceptualize their Tamil ethnic identity in a manner that supports their right to engage in homeland politics. However, not all Tamils in Sri Lanka share this understanding. Drawing on over one hundred interviews conducted among second‐generation Tamils in Toronto and their age‐cohort in Sri Lanka, this article argues that the very premise upon which the diasporic population base their right to engage in homeland politics and their right to claim membership of a shared ethnic identity may not be justified by those in the homeland. These diverging perspectives of ethnic identity challenge the role of the diasporic community in homeland affairs.
The Importance of Sexuality for Research on Ethnicity and Nationalism
Authors: Stambolis‐Ruhstorfer Michael 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThis article argues for a more systematic inclusion of human sexuality in studies of ethnicity and nationalism. Reviewing key extant social science research on sexuality, it highlights how scholars can leverage its theories, methods, and findings to enhance our understanding of the ways people build imagined ethnic and national communities and draw symbolic boundaries around them. This research reveals that sexuality is not tangential to those activities. Rather, policymakers, religious institutions, local communities, families, and other organizations all participate in more or less obvious ways to define what kinds of sexual desires, behaviours, and identities are acceptable for legitimate citizenship and group belonging. Those decisions have ramifications on both the global scale of international relations and the local scale of personal self‐understanding. For these reasons, this article argues that scholarship that elides sexuality may run the risk of painting an incomplete picture of social processes related to ethnicity and nationalism.
Towards Better Economic Models of Social Behaviour? Identity Economics
Authors: Ille Sebastian 
Published: June 2017

AbstractIn recent years, a growing literature emerged studying the role of identity in economics. Yet, mainstream economists and other social scientists still eye identity economics with suspicion. This article illustrates the underlying assumptions of identity economics, gaps in the literature, as well as existing tools and research in other domains of economic theory that help to close these gaps, while demonstrating that identity economics is able to provide sophisticated approaches and additional findings that support transdisciplinary research on the topic. In order to demonstrate how these tools can be used to study the complex social systems in which identity, preferences, and institutions co‐evolve, I develop a number of simple analytical models and elaborate on their implications, while keeping technicalities to a minimum. In addition, I show how findings in behavioural economics apply to identity economics and prove insightful for our understanding of the complex interdependencies between identity and group formation.
Risk factors for Pneumocystis pneumonia after the first 6 months following renal transplantation
Authors: Faure Emmanuel , Lionet Arnaud , Kipnis Eric , Noël Christian , Hazzan Marc 
Published: June 2017

AbstractPneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) incidence was decreased in renal transplant thanks to prophylaxis, recommended during the first months after transplantation. However, many late PCP cases are observed after the first 6 months and recommendations to maintain or reintroduce prophylaxis are lacking. The objective of the study was to identify risk factors to guide the individual prescription of prophylaxis, 6 months after transplantation. Thirty‐three late PCP cases were identified between 1995 and 2012 in Lille Hospital, France, and were compared to 72 randomized controls transplant recipients. In univariate analysis, age of donor (>48 years), retransplantation, a decrease glomerular filtration rate (≤45 mL/min), induction therapy mediated by anti‐thymocyte globulin (ATG), steroid maintenance, high calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) doses (tacrolimus ≥0.5 mg/kg/day and cyclosporine ≥2.1 mg/kg/day), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection were significantly associated with PCP. In multivariate analysis, ATG (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.4 [1.1‐5.4]), steroid therapy (HR: 3.1 [1.20‐7.84], CNI (HR: 2.9 [1.28‐6.38], and CMV (HR: 6.1 [2.74‐16.33] remained associated with late PCP. In conclusion, we confirm that intensive immunosuppressive regimen and CMV infection are critical risk factors for late PCP and should be taken into account to decide on maintenance or reintroduction of a prophylactic treatment.
The indirect effects of foreign direct investment on trade: A network perspective
Authors: Metulini Rodolfo , Riccaboni Massimo , Sgrignoli Paolo , Zhu Zhen 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe relationship between international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) is one of the main features of globalisation. In this paper, we investigate the effects of FDI on trade from a network perspective, since FDI takes not only direct but also indirect channels from origin to destination countries because of firms’ incentive to reduce tax burden, to minimise coordination costs and to break barriers to market entry. We use a unique data set of international corporate control as a measure of stock FDI to construct a corporate control network (CCN), where the nodes are the countries and the edges are the corporate control relationships. Network measures, as the shortest path length and the communicability, are then computed on the CCN to capture the indirect channel of FDI. Empirically, we find that corporate control has a positive effect on trade both directly and indirectly. The result is robust with different specifications and estimation strategies. Hence, our paper provides strong empirical evidence of the indirect effects of FDI on trade. Moreover, we identify a number of interplaying factors such as regional trade agreements and the region of Asia. We also find that the indirect effects are more pronounced for the manufacturing sector than for primary sectors such as oil extraction and agriculture.
Islamic economics and Islamic finance in the world economy
Authors: Ibrahim Mansor H. , Alam Nafis 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThis paper places the articles in this special issue in the contexts of Islamic economics and finance research. It highlights the foundations of Islamic economics, which are in practice manifested in Islamic finance. Then, the paper brings up three key issues in Islamic finance today – the Islamicity of Islamic banking, real contributions of Islamic finance, and Islamic finance in the present monetary framework. While there are some promising theoretical and empirical findings pointing to positive contributions of Islamic finance, there is still a need for Islamic finance to distinguish itself from the conventional finance and to further demonstrate its real effect.
Ultrasonography of a ureteral and bladder fungal granuloma caused byScedosporium apiospermumin a basset hound
Authors: Kochenburger Jaya , Eriksson Christian , Greenberg Marc , Hoyt Laura 
Published: June 2017

AbstractA 5‐year‐old, spayed female, Basset Hound was referred for evaluation of a urinary bladder mass. Ultrasonographic images revealed a large, inhomogeneous, hypoechoic mass associated with the dorsal wall of the neck of the urinary bladder and left ureter. Partial cystectomy and left ureteral reimplantation were performed. Histopathology showed a severe inflammatory mass lesion forming multiple granulomas. A DNA sequencing test revealedScedosporium apiospermumas the causative agent. Susceptibility tests on the isolated strain indicated susceptibility to voriconazole. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report describingS. apiospermumas a cause of granulomas involving the canine ureterovesicular junction.
Signal Biosynthesis Inhibition with Ambuic Acid as a Strategy To Target Antibiotic-Resistant Infections
Authors: Todd Daniel A. , Parlet Corey P. , Crosby Heidi A. , Malone Cheryl L. , Heilmann Kristopher P. , Horswill Alexander R. , Cech Nadja B. 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACT

There has been major interest by the scientific community in antivirulence approaches against bacterial infections. However, partly due to a lack of viable lead compounds, antivirulence therapeutics have yet to reach the clinic. Here we investigate the development of an antivirulence lead targeting quorum sensing signal biosynthesis, a process that is conserved in Gram-positive bacterial pathogens. Some preliminary studies suggest that the small molecule ambuic acid is a signal biosynthesis inhibitor. To confirm this, we constructed a methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) strain that decouples autoinducing peptide (AIP) production from regulation and demonstrate that AIP production is inhibited in this mutant. Quantitative mass spectrometric measurements show that ambuic acid inhibits signal biosynthesis (50% inhibitory concentration [IC
50
] of 2.5 ± 0.1 μM) against a clinically relevant USA300 MRSA strain. Quantitative real-time PCR confirms that this compound selectively targets the quorum sensing regulon. We show that a 5-μg dose of ambuic acid reduces MRSA-induced abscess formation in a mouse model and verify its quorum sensing inhibitory activity
in vivo
. Finally, we employed mass spectrometry to identify or confirm the structure of quorum sensing signaling peptides in three strains each of
S. aureus
and
Staphylococcus epidermidis
and single strains of
Enterococcus faecalis
,
Listeria monocytogenes
,
Staphylococcus saprophyticus
, and
Staphylococcus lugdunensis
. By measuring AIP production by these strains, we show that ambuic acid possesses broad-spectrum efficacy against multiple Gram-positive bacterial pathogens but does not inhibit quorum sensing in some commensal bacteria. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the promise of ambuic acid as a lead for the development of antivirulence therapeutics.
Pharmacokinetic Assessment of Vancomycin Loading Dose in Critically Ill Patients
Authors: Álvarez Osvaldo , Plaza-Plaza Jose Cristian , Ramirez Manuel , Peralta Alexis , Amador Cristián A. , Amador Roberto 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACT

The vancomycin loading dose (LD) of 25 to 30 mg/kg is a frequently practiced strategy to achieve effective concentrations from the first-treatment dose. However, considering only the body weight for dosing might be inadequate in critically ill patients due to pharmacokinetics changes. We sought to assess achieving optimal trough serum levels of vancomycin and AUC
0–24
/MIC in the first 24 h of treatment by using an LD based on population pharmacokinetic parameters of critically ill patients. We performed a concurrent cohort study over 22 months of patients with severe sepsis who received intravenous vancomycin. The patients were treated with three different strategies to initiate vancomycin: without an LD (group A), with an LD of 25 to 30 mg/kg (group B), and with an LD based on population pharmacokinetic parameters of the critically ill patient (group C). An optimal trough serum concentration was achieved in 5, 9, and 83% of patients in groups A, B, and C, respectively. The number of patients that reached optimal AUC
0–24
was 2 of 18 (11%), 5 of 11 (46%), and 11 of 12 (92%) in groups A, B, and C, respectively. The statistical analysis for both parameters revealed significant differences in group C with respect to other groups. The administration of the LD calculated from population pharmacokinetic parameters from the beginning of therapy is a more efficient strategy to obtain adequate trough serum concentrations and AUC
0–24
/MIC in critical patients.
High Accumulation and
In Vivo
Recycling of the New Antimalarial Albitiazolium Lead to Rapid Parasite Death
Authors: Wein Sharon , Taudon Nicolas , Maynadier Marjorie , Tran Van Ba Christophe , Margout Delphine , Bordat Yann , Fraisse Laurent , Wengelnik Kai , Cerdan Rachel , Bressolle-Gomeni Françoise , Vial Henri J. 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACT

Albitiazolium is the lead compound of bisthiazolium choline analogues and exerts powerful
in vitro
and
in vivo
antimalarial activities. Here we provide new insight into the fate of albitiazolium
in vivo
in mice and how it exerts its pharmacological activity. We show that the drug exhibits rapid and potent activity and has very favorable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Pharmacokinetic studies in
Plasmodium vinckei
-infected mice indicated that albitiazolium rapidly and specifically accumulates to a great extent (cellular accumulation ratio, >150) in infected erythrocytes. Unexpectedly, plasma concentrations and the area under concentration-time curves increased by 15% and 69% when mice were infected at 0.9% and 8.9% parasitemia, respectively. Albitiazolium that had accumulated in infected erythrocytes and in the spleen was released into the plasma, where it was then available for another round of pharmacological activity. This recycling of the accumulated drug, after the rupture of the infected erythrocytes, likely extends its pharmacological effect. We also established a new viability assay in the
P. vinckei
-infected mouse model to discriminate between fast- and slow-acting antimalarials. We found that albitiazolium impaired parasite viability in less than 6 and 3 h at the ring and late stages, respectively, while parasite morphology was affected more belatedly. This highlights that viability and morphology are two parameters that can be differentially affected by a drug treatment, an element that should be taken into account when screening new antimalarial drugs.
NP108, an Antimicrobial Polymer with Activity against Methicillin- and Mupirocin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Mercer Derry K. , Katvars Laura K. , Hewitt Fiona , Smith Daniel W. , Robertson Jennifer , O'Neil Deborah A. 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACT

Staphylococcus aureus
is a clinically significant human pathogen that causes infectious diseases ranging from skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) and health care-associated infections (HAI) to potentially fatal bacteremia and endocarditis. Nasal carriage of
S. aureus
, especially for persistent carriage, is associated with an increased risk of subsequent infection, particularly nosocomial and surgical site infections (SSI), usually via autoinfection. NP108 is a cationic antimicrobial polymer composed of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) amino acid building blocks. NP108 is broad spectrum and rapidly bactericidal (3-log kill in ≤3 h), killing bacteria by membrane disruption and cell lysis. NP108, contrary to many antibiotics, shows equally effective antimicrobial activity against a variety of
S. aureus
(MIC
100
= 8 to 500 mg/liter) and
S. epidermidis
(MIC
100
= 4 to 8 mg/liter) isolates, whether exponentially growing or in stationary phase. NP108 is antimicrobially active under nutrient-limiting conditions similar to those found in the anterior nares (MIC
100
= 8 mg/liter) and kills antibiotic-resilient small colony variants (MIC
100
= 32 mg/liter) and
S. aureus
biofilms (prevention, MIC
100
= 1 to 4 mg/liter; eradication, MIC
100
≥ 31.25 mg/liter). NP108 is active against isolates of
S. aureus
resistant to the current standard-of-care decolonization agent, mupirocin, with no significant increase in the MIC
100
. NP108 is water soluble and has been formulated into compatible aqueous gel vehicles for human use in which antimicrobial efficacy is retained (2.0% [wt/vol]). NP108 is a potential nonantibiotic antimicrobial alternative to antibiotics for the nasal decolonization of
S. aureus
, with clear advantages in its mechanism of action over the existing gold standard, mupirocin.