bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multilayer Cucurbit[6]uril‐Based Magnetic Nanoparticles Prepared by Host–Guest Interaction: Remarkable Adsorbent for Low Density Lipoprotein Removal from Plasma
Authors: Jiang Dandan , Li Xiqian , Jia Qiong 
Published: December 2017

AbstractEfficient removal of low density lipoprotein (LDL) is a key challenge due to its high level in plasma as a primary risk factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. In this work, a facile synthesis strategy based on host–guest interactions was developed to prepare multilayer cucurbit[6]uril‐based magnetic nanoparticles, MNPs‐(HA‐DAH5/HA‐CB[6]5). The compound was employed as a blood purification material for the removal of LDL from plasma because it had good blood compatibility and could be easily separated with an external magnet. The efficient removal of LDL was attributed to the electrostatic interactions between the positive charged apoB‐100 domain of LDL and the negative charged adsorbent. Moreover, the prepared material exhibited high recyclability and could release LDL in physiological saline for recyclable use. MNPs‐(HA‐DAH5/HA‐CB[6]5) offered promising perspectives and broad applications in extracorporeal treatment for the removal of LDL.
GC‐MS/MS detects potential pregabalin abuse in susceptible subjects’ hair
Authors: Ianni Federica , Aroni Kyriaki , Gili Alessio , Sardella Roccaldo , Bacci Mauro , Lancia Massimo , Natalini Benedetto , Gambelunghe Cristiana 
Published: December 2017

AbstractPregabalin, a GABA analogue, binds to the alpha 2 delta subunit of voltage‐dependent calcium channels. It is recognised as efficacious in pathologies such as epilepsy, neuropathic pain, and anxiety disorders. Since pregabalin prescriptions have increased worldwide, reports of its abuse have been accumulating, mainly in patients with opioid abuse disorders. The present study investigated potential pregabalin abuse by means of hair analysis, a matrix that provides valuable retrospective information. Half of the pool of 280 susceptible patients had been occasional drug users and were being monitored for driving licence renewals. The other 140 patients had a history of opiate dependency and were monitored to assess compliance with methadone therapy. In view of determining pregabalin in hair samples, it was extracted in methanol, successfully derivatised to give the ethyl chloroformate derivative, and finally pregabalin was analysed by gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Selectivity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, recovery, intra‐ and inter‐day precision, and accuracy of the quantification procedure were appraised. Pregabalin limits of detection and quantification were 30 pg/mg and 50 pg/mg, respectively. We found 10.7% of hair samples from methadone patients and 4.29% from occasional drug users were positive to pregabalin without medical prescription. The mean pregabalin concentration in hair was higher than in consumers with medical indications (1.45 ng/mg vs 0.74 ng/mg).These results suggest that pregabalin possesses a significant abuse potential particularly among individuals attending opiate dependence services and that pregabalin abuse is a serious emerging issue, which should be carefully monitored.
Reliability and validity of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale‐12: Attachment dimensions in a clinical sample with eating disorders
Authors: Tasca Giorgio A. , Brugnera Agostino , Baldwin Danielle , Carlucci Samantha , Compare Angelo , Balfour Louise , Proulx Genevieve , Gick Mary , Lafontaine Marie‐France 
Published: December 2017

AbstractObjectiveAttachment insecurity is a potential risk factor for the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). To date, there are multiple psychometrically sound questionnaires for the evaluation of attachment in both clinical and healthy populations, such as the Experience in Close Relationships (ECR) scale. Composed by two subscales (i.e., attachment anxiety and avoidance), the ECR scale was recently adapted to a shorter, 12‐item version (ECR‐12). However, a validation of the ECR‐12 among patients with EDs is still lacking. The present study sought to investigate the psychometric properties of the ECR‐12, when used in a treatment‐seeking sample with EDs.MethodA total of 1,262 treatment‐seeking patients with various ED diagnoses completed the ECR‐12, together with a commonly used measure of ED psychopathology (Eating Disorder Inventory‐2). Subsamples also completed the Attachment Style Questionnaire (n = 66) or underwent a Day Hospital Program (n = 128).ResultsA multigroup confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the ECR‐12 maintained its two‐factor structure across the ED diagnostic groups. In addition, the scale demonstrated good convergent validity, internal consistency, concurrent, and incremental validity. Finally, both ECR‐12 subscales demonstrated adequate test–retest reliability.DiscussionOur results provide preliminary evidence of the psychometric properties of ECR‐12 in assessing attachment anxiety and avoidance among patients with EDs. This short scale could help clinicians tailor interventions for EDs that take into account attachment dimensions.
Driven exercise in the absence of binge eating: Implications for purging disorder
Authors: Lydecker Janet A. , Shea Megan , Grilo Carlos M. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractObjectivePurging disorder (PD) is characterized by recurrent purging without objectively large binge‐eating episodes. PD has received relatively little attention, and questions remain about the clinical significance of “purging” by exercise that is driven or compulsive (i.e., as extreme compensatory or weight‐control behavior). The little available research suggests that individuals who use exercise as a compensatory behavior might have less eating‐disorder psychopathology than those who purge by vomiting or laxatives, but those studies have had smaller sample sizes, defined PD using low‐frequency thresholds, and defined exercise without weight‐compensatory or driven elements.MethodParticipants (N = 2,017) completed a web‐based survey with established measures of eating‐disorder psychopathology, depression, and physical activity. Participants were categorized (regular compensatory driven exercise, PD‐E, n = 297; regular compensatory vomiting/laxatives, PD‐VL, n = 59; broadly defined anorexia nervosa, AN, n = 20; and no eating‐disordered behaviors, NED, n = 1,658) and compared.ResultsPD‐E, PD‐VL, and AN had higher eating‐disorder psychopathology and physical activity than NED but did not significantly differ from each other on most domains. PD‐VL and AN had higher depression than PD‐E, which was higher than NED.DiscussionFindings suggest that among participants with regularly compensatory behaviors without binge eating, those who use exercise alone have similar levels of associated eating‐disorder psychopathology as those who use vomiting/laxatives, although they have lower depression levels and overall frequency of purging. Findings provide further support for the clinical significance of PD. Clinicians and researchers should recognize the severity of driven exercise as a compensatory behavior, and the need for further epidemiological and treatment research.
Questionnaire‐based problematic relationship to eating and food is associated with 25 year body mass index trajectories during midlife: The Coronary Artery Risk Development In Young Adults (CARDIA) Study
Authors: Yoon Cynthia , Jacobs David R. , Duprez Daniel A. , Dutton Gareth , Lewis Cora E. , Neumark‐Sztainer Dianne , Steffen Lyn M. , West Delia S. , Mason Susan M. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractObjectiveProblematic eating behaviors and attitudes are of public health concern. Questionnaire‐based assessment of these behaviors is important for large‐scale research on eating behaviors. The questionnaire on eating and weight patterns‐revised (QEWP‐R) measures potential problematic behaviors and attitudes toward food (including anxieties, compensatory actions, overeating and loss of control, dieting, and shape concerns) that in aggregate may indicate diagnosable eating disorders. An important question regards the prevalence of these issues and their longitudinal associations with body mass index (BMI) in generally healthy middle aged adults.MethodBased on eight constructs measured on QEWP‐R, we created a new problematic relationship to eating and food (PREF) scale by assigning a point for each construct endorsed. Analyses were conducted in 3,892 black and white men and women participating in the community‐based Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. The QEWP‐R was administered in CARDIA year 10, when participants were aged 27–41 years. We used linear regression to model the relationship of individual constructs and the PREF scale to BMI over CARDIA follow‐up.ResultsFifty‐five percent of participants had 1–5 points and 4% had 6–8 points on the PREF scale. Each separate construct was positively associated with BMI, except concern about weight and shape. Adjusting for age, race, sex, education, and study center, mean BMI at CARDIA year 10, the time of PREF assessment, was approximately 1.0–2.5 kg/m2 higher per PREF category.ConclusionIn middle age, problematic behaviors and attitudes toward food were common and associated with higher BMI.
Bronze Age settlement mounds on the Colchian plain at the Black Sea coast of Georgia: A geoarchaeological perspective
Authors: Laermanns Hannes , Kirkitadze Giorgi , May Simon Matthias , Kelterbaum Daniel , Opitz Stephan , Heisterkamp Arne , Basilaia Giorgi , Elashvili Mikheil , Brückner Helmut 
Published: December 2017

AbstractSituated between the Enguri and Khobistskali rivers, more than 30 settlement mounds (locally named Dikhagudzuba) provide evidence for a relatively densely populated landscape in the coastal lowlands of western Georgia during the Bronze Age. Compared to older mounds in eastern Georgia and other regions, these mounds differ not only in age but also in their average size and spatial distribution. Based on the interpretation of nine sediment cores, drone survey and structure‐from‐motion photogrammetry techniques, our study aims at (i) establishing a chronostratigraphic framework for the mounds based on 14C dating; (ii) reconstructing possible phases and gaps in human occupation; (iii) determining potential source areas of the mounds’ construction material; and (iv) identifying the environmental conditions at the time of their use. The three investigated mounds are similar in dimension and stratigraphy. Anthropogenic layers could clearly be identified and separated from the natural alluvial deposits below. According to the 14C age estimates, the mounds date to the first half of the 2nd millennium B.C.; this confirms the archaeological interpretation of their Bronze Age origin. While only one construction phase is assumed for two of the mounds, stratigraphic analysis suggests a successive enlargement of a third mound over at least 470 years. Paleoenvironmental conditions in the vicinity of the mounds were dominated by swampy, fluvial (channel) to alluvial (overbank) processes, as attested by river‐bank deposits and floodplain alluvium.
Region‐specific deletions of the glutamate transporter GLT1 differentially affect seizure activity and neurodegeneration in mice
Authors: Sugimoto Junya , Tanaka Moeko , Sugiyama Kaori , Ito Yukiko , Aizawa Hidenori , Soma Miho , Shimizu Tomoko , Mitani Akira , Tanaka Kohichi 
Published: December 2017

AbstractGlial glutamate transporter GLT1 plays a key role in the maintenance of extracellular glutamate homeostasis. Recent human genetic studies have suggested that de novo mutations in GLT1 (EAAT2) cause early‐onset epilepsy with multiple seizure types. Consistent with these findings, global GLT1 null mice show lethal spontaneous seizures. The consequences of GLT1 dysfunction vary between different brain regions, suggesting that the role of GLT1 dysfunction in epilepsy may also vary with brain regions. In this study, we generated region‐specific GLT1 knockout mice by crossing floxed‐GLT1 mice with mice that express the Cre recombinase in a particular domain of the ventricular zone. Selective deletion of GLT1 in the diencephalon, brainstem and spinal cord is sufficient to reproduce the phenotypes (excess mortality, decreased body weight, and lethal spontaneous seizure) of the global GLT1 null mice. By contrast, dorsal forebrain‐specific GLT1 knockout mice showed nonlethal complex seizures including myoclonic jerks, hyperkinetic running, spasm and clonic convulsion via the activation of NMDA receptors during a limited period from P12 to P14 and selective neuronal death in cortical layer II/III and the hippocampus. Thus, GLT1 dysfunction in the dorsal forebrain is involved in the pathogenesis of infantile epilepsy and GLT1 in the diencephalon, brainstem and spinal cord may play a critical role in preventing seizure‐induced sudden death.
Risk factors for nuchal cord entanglement at delivery
Authors: Nkwabong Elie , Ndoumbe Mballo Jacky , Dohbit Julius Sama 
Published: December 2017

AbstractObjectiveTo identify nuchal cord risk factors.MethodsThe present case–control study was carried out between December 2016 and April 2017 at two hospitals in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Singletons with a nuchal cord at delivery (case group) as well as the two neonates without a nuchal cord delivered immediately after each case (control group), all in cephalic presentation, were included. Undated pregnancies were excluded. The main variables studied were maternal age, parity, pregnancy duration at delivery, cord insertion site, cord length, delivery weight, and fetal sex.ResultsA nuchal cord was present in 121 (6.0%) of 2015 singletons. The final analysis included 114 and 228 neonates in the case and control groups, respectively, with similar maternal age, parity, pregnancy duration, and delivery weight. Significant independent risk factors for nuchal cord formation were a cord length of 70 cm or more (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 19.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 8.63–42.04), a pregnancy duration of more than 42 weeks (aOR 7.43, 95% CI 1.46–37.21), marginal cord insertion (aOR 2.90, 95% CI 1.11–9.35), and a male fetus (aOR 2.14, 95% CI 1.16–7.74).ConclusionMarginal cord insertion and post‐term pregnancy should be added to the list of known nuchal cord risk factors.
Cardiovascular biochemical risk factors among women with spontaneous preterm delivery
Authors: Heida Karst Y. , Kampman Marlies A. , Franx Arie , De Laat Monique W. , Mulder Barbara J. , Van der Post Joris A. , Bilardo Catia M. , Pieper Petronella G. , Sollie Krystyna M. , Sieswerda Gertjan T. , Ris‐Stalpers Carrie , Oudijk Martijn A. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractObjectiveTo determine whether women delivering preterm have unfavorable cardiovascular profiles as compared with women who deliver at term.MethodsA prospective observational cohort study enrolled 165 women with spontaneous preterm delivery (sPTD) at 24+0 and 36+6 gestational weeks in three perinatal care centers in The Netherlands between August 2012 and August 2014. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, high‐density lipoprotein (HDL)‐cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein (LDL)‐cholesterol, apolipoprotein, glucose, and homocysteine were measured within 24 hours after delivery. Lipids and cardiovascular biochemical risk factors were compared between women with sPTD and an external comparison group of 30 women with term delivery via analysis of covariance.ResultsMean gestational age at delivery was 30.7 ± 3.6 weeks in the sPTD group and 40.3 ± 1.3 weeks in the reference group. Data were adjusted for body mass index, age, and center. As compared with the reference group, total cholesterol and LDL‐cholesterol levels were lower and glucose levels were higher among women with sPTD.ConclusionAn association between sPTD and unfavorable lipids and cardiovascular biochemical risk factors was not established. The higher levels of glucose in the sPTD group might be due to increased insulin resistance, which is associated with a higher risk of sPTD.
α‐Lipoic acid inhibits testicular and epididymal oxidative damage and improves fertility efficacy in arsenic‐intoxicated rats
Authors: Prathima Papisetty , Pavani Ramanadhapuram , Sukeerthi Sadepalli , Sainath Sri Bhashyam 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe present study evaluates the protective effect of α‐lipoic acid (LA) against arsenic‐induced testicular and epididymal oxidative damage in rats. Arsenic caused significant reduction in the reproductive organ weights, serum testosterone levels, testicular daily sperm count, epididymal sperm count, sperm motility, sperm viability, and sperm membrane integrity. Significant reduction in the activity levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione levels with a concomitant increase in the lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl content in the testis and the cauda epididymis of arsenic‐exposed rats. Arsenic intoxication also enhanced the testicular caspase‐3 mRNA levels, disorganization of testicular and cauda epididymal architecture as well as increased arsenic content in the testis and the cauda epididymis of rats. Arsenic exposure also deteriorated fertility ability in male rats over controls. Conversely, α‐LA negated the testicular and cauda epididymal oxidative stress and restored the male reproductive health in arsenic‐exposed rats.
Inflammatory signalling regulates eccentric contraction‐induced protein synthesis in cachectic skeletal muscle
Authors: Hardee Justin P. , Counts Brittany R. , Gao Song , VanderVeen Brandon N. , Fix Dennis K. , Koh Ho‐Jin , Carson James A. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractBackgroundSkeletal muscle responds to eccentric contractions (ECC) with an anabolic response that involves the induction of protein synthesis through the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1. While we have reported that repeated ECC bouts after cachexia initiation attenuated muscle mass loss and inflammatory signalling, cachectic muscle's capacity to induce protein synthesis in response to ECC has not been determined. Therefore, we examined cachectic muscle's ability to induce mechano‐sensitive pathways and protein synthesis in response to an anabolic stimulus involving ECC and determined the role of muscle signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)/nuclear factor kappa‐light‐chain‐enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB) signalling on ECC‐induced anabolic signalling.MethodsMechano‐sensitive pathways and anabolic signalling were examined immediately post or 3 h after a single ECC bout in cachectic male ApcMin/+ mice (n = 17; 16 ± 1% body weight loss). Muscle STAT3/NFκB regulation of basal and ECC‐induced anabolic signalling was also examined in an additional cohort of ApcMin/+ mice (n = 10; 16 ± 1% body weight loss) that received pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate 24 h prior to a single ECC bout. In all experiments, the left tibialis anterior performed ECC while the right tibialis anterior served as intra‐animal control. Data were analysed by Student's t‐test or two‐way repeated measures analysis of variance with Student‐Newman‐Keuls post‐hoc when appropriate. The accepted level of significance was set at P < 0.05 for all analysis.ResultsApcMin/+ mice exhibited a cachectic muscle signature demonstrated by perturbed proteostasis (Ribosomal Protein S6 (RPS6), P70S6K, Atrogin‐1, and Muscle RING‐finger protein‐1 (MuRF1)), metabolic (adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase, Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma coactivator 1‐alpha (PGC‐1α), and Cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV (COXIV)), and inflammatory (STAT3, NFκB, extracellular signal‐regulated kinases 1 and 2, and P38) signalling pathway regulation. Nonetheless, mechano‐sensitive signalling pathways (P38, extracellular signal‐regulated kinases 1 and 2, and Protein kinase B (AKT)) were activated immediately post‐ECC irrespective of cachexia. While cachexia did not attenuate ECC‐induced P70S6K activation, the protein synthesis induction remained suppressed compared with healthy controls. However, muscle STAT3/NFκB inhibition increased basal and ECC‐induced protein synthesis in cachectic ApcMin/+ mice.ConclusionsThese studies demonstrate that mechano‐sensitive signalling is maintained in cachectic skeletal muscle, but chronic STAT3/NFκB signalling serves to attenuate basal and ECC‐induced protein synthesis.
A meshless local discrete collocation (MLDC) scheme for solving 2‐dimensional singular integral equations with logarithmic kernels
Authors: Assari Pouria , Dehghan Mehdi 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIn the current investigation, we study a numerical technique to solve 2‐dimensional singular integral equations of the second kind with logarithmic kernels. These integral equations are a general form of the problem of obtaining the cross‐sectional separation of current in an infinitely long thin filament of conduct bar which arises in electrical engineering. The moving least squares scheme estimates a function without mesh generation on the domain that includes a locally weighted least squares polynomial fitting. The discrete collocation method in addition to the shape functions of moving least squares established on scattered points is used to approximate the solution of integral equations. To compute logarithm‐like singular integrals appeared in the process of the scheme, we use a particular dual nonuniform composite Gauss‐Legendre integration rule on normal domains. The proposed scheme does not require any meshes, so it is meshless and does not depend to the domain form. Error analysis is also given for the method. Illustrative examples are shown clearly the reliability and efficiency of the new scheme and confirm the theoretical error estimates.
A “drop‐wipe‐test” SERS method for rapid detection of pesticide residues in fruits
Authors: Wang Kehui , Huang Meizhen , Chen Jie , Lin Lulu , Kong Lili , Liu Xi , Wang Hui , Lin Mengshi 
Published: December 2017

AbstractA simple “drop‐wipe‐test” approach for rapid detection of pesticide residues in fruits was developed based on surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with wiper‐type filter paper substrate. The filter paper was coated with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and used as a flexible and absorbent wiper‐type SERS substrate. The first two steps “drop” and “wipe” were combined to simplify the procedures of extraction and sampling of the analyte molecules. “Test” was the last step to obtain the spectral data using a portable Raman spectrometer (Hx‐Spec) developed by our laboratory. The entire detection process was completed just in a few minutes. The optimal wipe time of ~15 s was confirmed used to ensure a thorough extraction of analyte molecules. The as‐prepared SERS substrate was used for rapid detection of pesticide residue (i.e., thiram) in apple, pear, and grape by “drop‐wipe‐test” method. Results demonstrate that the concentrations of thiram spiked on the three fruits skin show a linearly relationship with the average intensity (n = 7) of SERS spectra with R‐square values of 0.9991, 0.9872, and 0.9841, respectively. The limit of detection of thiram in apple, pear, and grape peel was 4.6261, 5.1799, and 5.7061 ng/cm2, respectively. The detection limits are all below the maximum residue limits for pesticide in food that were set by the National Food Safety Standard of China (GB). The results demonstrate that SERS method coupled with a flexible and absorbent SERS substrate can be used as a practical application for a reliable, rapid, and sensitive detection of pesticide residues.