bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Current Practice for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Biopharmaceuticals in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Medina Frédéric , Plasencia Chamaida , Goupille Philippe , Ternant David , Balsa Alejandro , Mulleman Denis 
Published: July 2017

Abstract:
The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has largely improved in the biopharmaceutical era. These compounds, primarily tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, are effective, but some patients may show poor response, sometimes because of the presence of antidrug antibodies (ADAs). In some instances, clinicians may increase or taper the dose depending on the clinical response. Besides the current clinical-based practice, a tailored strategy based on drug monitoring has emerged as a way to improve the use of these drugs. However, the relevance of this therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of biopharmaceuticals in RA is still unknown. In this literature review, we examine the most relevant articles dealing with the concentration–response relationship, ADA detection and pharmacokinetics in RA patients receiving biopharmaceuticals. A concentration–response relationship was clearly established for TNF inhibitors. Moreover, ADA positivity was associated with low drug concentrations, poor clinical outcome, and reduced drug survival for TNF-inhibitor monoclonal antibodies. Concomitant use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, especially methotrexate, is associated with good clinical outcome, increased drug concentrations, and reduced immunogenicity. Strategies based on TDM of TNF inhibitors seem promising for RA, but randomized controlled trials are required to support this. A concentration–response relationship may exist with tocilizumab, and immunogenicity seems rare. Finally, the relevance of TDM for RA patients receiving rituximab and abatacept remains unclear.
Interrelationships Between 3 Keratoconic Cone Parameters
Authors: Tu Kyaw L. , Tourkmani Abdo K. , Srinivas Singaram 
Published: July 2017

Purpose:
To find out the interrelationships between 3 parameters of the keratoconic cone.

Methods:
A total of 101 keratoconic eyes of 58 patients were included in this retrospective case series study. A complete eye examination was performed. Kmax (K) and pachymetry at the thinnest point (T) were obtained from the Pentacam tomographer. The vertex to thinnest pachymetry distance (D for decentration) was calculated using trigonometry. Pearson correlation coefficients between T and D, between T and K, and between D and K were calculated.

Results:
There is a statistically significant positive correlation between thinnest point pachymetry and decentration (R = 0.366, P = 0.0002) and also statistically significant negative correlation between thinnest point pachymetry and Kmax (R = −0.719, P < 0.00001) and decentration and Kmax (R = −0.281, P = 0.0044).

Conclusions:
The interrelationships between the 3 keratoconic cone parameters suggest that the thinner cones are largely central, that is, decenter less, but show greater steepening.
Observation of Retrocorneal Plaques in Patients With Infectious Keratitis Using Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography
Authors: Takezawa Yuki , Suzuki Takashi , Shiraishi Atsushi 
Published: July 2017

Purpose:
Endothelial plaques are a typical characteristic in patients with fungal keratitis. However, bacterial keratitis and herpetic keratouveitis are rarely associated with fibrin formation on the retrocorneal surface. This study was conducted to examine plaques attached to the endothelium in patients with infectious keratitis using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT).

Methods:
Seventeen patients (10 women and 7 men; mean age, 75 ± 15.5 years) suspected to have infectious keratitis with retrocorneal plaques were included. AS-OCT was used to acquire a scan of the retrocorneal plaque at the patient's first visit.

Results:
Based on the culture results and detection of viral DNA, the patients were diagnosed with fungal keratitis (6 patients), bacterial keratitis (8 patients), and herpetic keratouveitis (3 patients). Examination of the cornea using AS-OCT showed a clear boundary between the corneal endothelial surface and plaque in 8 patients with bacterial keratitis and in all patients with herpetic keratitis. Moreover, a space between the corneal endothelial surface and plaque was found in 3 patients with bacterial keratitis. In 5 patients with fungal keratitis, the AS-OCT images showed an unclear boundary between the corneal endothelial surface and plaque, and high reflection of the plaque was extended from the corneal lesion.

Conclusions:
Endothelial plaques in patients with fungal keratitis could continue from the corneal lesion. Observation of retrocorneal plaques using AS-OCT could be used in the diagnosis of infectious keratitis.
Psychosocial factors and their influence on the experience of pain
Authors: Tracy Lincoln M. 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
Over the past 20 years, our understanding of social factors on pain experience has increased. Edwards et al observed that the presence of a friend resulted in an increased pain threshold and tolerance to experimentally induced pain (cold pressor test and pressure algometry). Having a male friend present had the most prominent effect on male participants' reporting of pain. However, the effects of psychosocial traits known to effect pain experience (eg, catastrophising) were not considered.
Refining the Policy for Timing of Kidney Transplant Waitlist Qualification
Authors: Lee Benjamin J. , McCulloch Charles E. , Grimes Barbara A. , Chandran Sindhu , Allen Isabel Elaine , Delgado Cynthia , Hsu Chi-yuan 
Published: July 2017

Background
Earlier qualification for the kidney transplant waitlist expedites transplant and is therefore associated with improved outcomes. U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network policies state that “measured or calculated creatinine clearance or glomerular filtration rate less than or equal to 20 mL/min” triggers waitlist time accrual. The choice of qualification method is somewhat arbitrary, and the policy implies that decline in renal function is monotonic.

Methods
(1) We used survival analysis to quantify temporal differences in waitlist qualification by applying 3 kidney-function-estimating equations (Cockcroft-Gault, Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study, Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration) to serial creatinine measurements from 3 patient cohorts: 1 of waitlisted patients at a major U.S. academic center and 2 national, multicenter cohorts of chronic kidney disease patients (African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension, Modification of Diet in Renal Disease). (2) Survival analysis assessed whether requiring patients to demonstrate persistently reduced renal function on 2 occasions at least 90 days apart would meaningfully change qualification order.

Results
On average, time to waitlist qualification would be delayed on the order of 1 to 2 years by using calculated creatinine clearance (per the Cockcroft-Gault equation). Compared with current policy, requiring demonstration of persistently reduced renal function delayed qualification by 0.6 to 2.1 years and caused 40% to 50% of patients to switch the order in which they qualify by 6 months or more.

Conclusions
The kidney transplantation policies should be revised, such that timing of waitlist qualification is more standardized. We suggest that mention of using calculated creatinine clearance be dropped from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network policy wording and the units to quantify kidney function be changed to mL/min per 1.73 m2. Some consideration should be given to whether requiring persistently reduced renal function would better identify patients most likely to benefit from earlier waitlist qualification.
Renal Outcomes in Patients With IgA Nephropathy Undergoing Liver Transplant: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Hommos Musab S. , El-Zoghby Ziad M. 
Published: July 2017

Background
End-stage liver disease (ESLD) is the most common cause of secondary immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). Multiple mechanisms have been proposed to explain the association between liver disease and IgAN. Although some mechanisms are expected to reverse in patients after liver transplant, the long-term renal prognosis is unclear for these patients.

Methods
This observational retrospective cohort study examined the renal outcomes of 14 patients who had IgAN with end-stage liver disease and subsequently underwent either liver transplant alone or combined liver and kidney transplant at a single tertiary care center.

Results
Of the 7 patients who underwent liver transplant alone, hematuria persisted in 2, 4 had progressive loss of kidney function with worsening proteinuria in 3 but only 1 reached end-stage renal disease 5 years posttransplant. Among 7 combined liver and kidney transplant recipients, 1 had histologic and 1 had histologic and clinical recurrence of IgAN without kidney allograft loss.

Conclusions
IgAN in patients with advanced liver disease does not necessarily resolve after liver transplant but has overall favorable renal outcomes.
Bending of the BST-2 coiled-coil during viral budding
Authors: Ozcan Kadir A. , Berndsen Christopher E. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractBST-2/tetherin is a human extracellular transmembrane protein that serves as a host defense factor against HIV-1 and other viruses by inhibiting viral spreading. Structurally, BST-2 is a homodimeric coiled-coil that is connected to the host cell membrane by N and C terminal transmembrane anchors. The C-terminal membrane anchor of BST-2 is inserted into the budding virus while the N-terminal membrane anchor remains in the host cell membrane creating a viral tether. The structural mechanism of viral budding and tethering as mediated by BST-2 is not clear. To more fully describe the mechanism of viral tethering, we created a model of BST-2 embedded in a membrane and used steered molecular dynamics to simulate the transition from the host cell membrane associated BST-2 and the cell-virus membrane bridging form. We observed that BST-2 did not transition as a rigid structure, but instead bent at sites with a reduced interface between the helices of the coiled-coil. The simulations for the human BST-2 were then compared with simulations on the mouse homolog, which has a more stable coiled-coil. We observed that the mouse homolog spread the bending across the ectodomain, rather than breaking at discrete points as observed with the human homolog. These simulations support previous biochemical and cellular work suggesting some flexibility in the coiled-coil is necessary for viral tethering, while also highlighting how subtle changes in protein sequence can influence the dynamics and stability of proteins with overall similar structure.
Agrochemical pollution increases risk of human exposure to schistosome parasites
Authors: Halstead Neal T. , Hoover Christopher M. , Arakala Arathi , Civitello David J. , De Leo Giulio A. , Gambhir Manoj , Johnson Steve A. , Loerns Kristin A. , McMahon Taegan A. , Nguyen Karena , Raffel Thomas R. , Remais Justin V. , Sokolow Susanne H. , Rohr Jason R. 
Published: July 2017

SummaryRoughly 10% of the global population is at risk of schistosomiasis, a snail-borne parasitic disease that ranks among the most important water-based diseases of humans in developing countries1–3. Increased prevalence, infection intensity, and spread of human schistosomiasis to non-endemic areas has been consistently linked with water resource management related to agricultural expansion, such as dam construction, which has resulted in increased snail habitat1,4–6. However, the role of agrochemical pollution in human schistosome transmission remains unexplored, despite strong evidence of agrochemicals increasing snail-borne diseases of wildlife7–9and a projected 2- to 5-fold increase in global agrochemical use by 205010that will disproportionately occur in schistosome-endemic regions. Using a field mesocosm experiment, we show that environmentally relevant concentrations of fertilizer, the common herbicide atrazine, and the common insecticide chlorpyrifos, individually and as mixtures, increase densities of schistosome-infected snails by increasing the algae snails eat (fertilizer and atrazine) and decreasing densities of snail predators (chlorpyrifos). Epidemiological models indicate that these agrochemical effects can increase transmission of schistosomiasis. Hence, the rapid agricultural changes occurring in schistosome-endemic regions11,12that are driving increased agrochemical use and pollution could potentially increase the burden of schistosomiasis in these areas. Identifying agricultural practices or agrochemicals that minimize disease risk will be critical to meeting growing food demands while improving human wellbeing13,14.
When rarity has costs: coexistence under positive frequency-dependence and environmental stochasticity
Authors: Schreiber Sebastian J. , Yamamichi Masato , Strauss Sharon Y. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractStable coexistence relies on negative frequency-dependence, in which rarer species invading a patch benefit from a lack of conspecific competition experienced by residents. In nature, however, rarity can have costs, resulting in positive frequency-dependence (PFD) particularly when species are rare. Many processes can cause positive frequency-dependence, including a lack of mates, mutualist interactions, and reproductive interference from heterospecifics. When species become rare in the community, positive frequency-dependence creates vulnerability to extinction, if frequencies drop below certain thresholds. For example, environmental fluctuations can drive species to low frequencies where they are then vulnerable to PFD. Here, we analyze deterministic and stochastic mathematical models of two species interacting through both PFD and resource competition in a Chessonian framework. Reproductive success of individuals in these models is reduced by a product of two terms: the reduction in fecundity due to PFD, and the reduction in fecundity due to competition. Consistent with classical coexistence theory, the effect of competition on individual reproductive success exhibits negative frequency-dependence when individuals experience greater intraspecific competition than interspecific competition i.e., niche overlap is less than one. In the absence of environmental fluctuations, our analysis reveals that (1) a synergistic effect of PFD and niche overlap that hastens exclusion, (2) trade-offs between susceptibility to PFD and maximal fecundity can mediate coexistence, and (3) coexistence, when it occurs, requires that neither species is initially rare. Analysis of the stochastic model highlights that environmental fluctuations, unless perfectly correlated, coupled with PFD ultimately drive one species extinct. Over any given time frame, this extinction risk decreases with the correlation of the demographic responses of the two species to the environmental fluctuations, and increases with the temporal autocorrelation of these fluctuations. For species with overlapping generations, these trends in extinction risk persist despite the strength of the storage effect decreasing with correlated demographic responses and increasing with temporal autocorrelations. These results highlight how the presence of PFD may alter the outcomes predicted by modern coexistence mechanisms.
Sympathetic Transmitters Controlling Thermogenic Efficacy of Brown Adipocytes by Modulating Mitochondrial Complex V
Authors: Xie Tao-Rong , Liu Chun-Feng , Kang Jian-Sheng 
Published: July 2017

ABSTRACTObesity is epidemic worldwide as the results of excessive energy intake or inefficient energy expenditure. It is promising to utilize the thermogenic function of brown adipose tissue for obesity intervention. However, the mechanisms controlling the efficacy of norepinephrine-induced thermogenesis in brown adipocytes remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the proton ATPase activity of mitochondrial complex V is a key factor, which antagonizes proton leak by UCP1 and determines the efficacy of norepinephrine-induced thermogenesis in brown adipocytes. Furthermore, to avoid unnecessary and undesired heat production, we reveal that ATP as a sympathetic cotransmitter is necessary for the high efficacy and specificity of norepinephrine-induced thermogenesis in brown adipocytes by upregulating the ATP synthase activity of complex V. Thus, we demonstrate the modulation mechanism of thermogenic efficacy in brown adipocytes. These findings imply new strategies for efficiently utilizing brown adipocytes thermogenic capacity, and therapeutic targets for the treatments of obesity and diabetes.Highlights1. Norepinephrine (NE) induces heterogeneous responses in brown adipocytes2. NE activates the H+-ATPase activity of mitochondrial complex V3. Mitochondrial complex V is a key factor in NE-induced thermogenic efficacy4. ATP as a sympathetic cotransmitter enhances the NE-induced thermogenic efficacy
Do anticipated emotions influence behavioural intention and behaviour to consume filled chocolates?
Authors: De Pelsmaeker Sara , Schouteten Joachim J. , Gellynck Xavier , Delbaere Claudia , De Clercq Nathalie , Hegyi Adrienn , Kuti Tünde , Depypere Frédéric , Dewettinck Koen 
Published: July 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of anticipated emotions (AE) on behavioural intention and behaviour to consume filled chocolates and to give an indication on the possible differences in consumer behaviour between two countries.

Design/methodology/approach
The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was used to explain the consumption of chocolate. In this study, TPB is extended with a construct for AE.

Findings
A total of 859 consumers in Belgium and Hungary participated in the study and results showed that including AE increases the predicted variance of the TPB. Moreover, AE have a positive effect on the intention and the actual behaviour of consumers. Next, the study suggests that Belgian consumers are more influenced by their emotional and control beliefs and that Hungarian consumers are also driven by opinion of family and friends and some behavioural beliefs.

Practical implications
Overall, TPB can contribute to the understanding of behavioural intention and behaviour towards eating filled chocolate. Moreover, it can help to develop a marketing plan for specific consumer segments as it can identify influencing factors and consumer beliefs towards a product.

Originality/value
This is the first study that compares the fit of the TPB model with and without the construct of AE. The work contributes to the growing literature on emotions as it does not focus on emotions elicited during or after consumption, but explores if the AE also play a significant role in behaviour.
Personal values and pro-social behaviour
Authors: Coppola Adele , Verneau Fabio , Caracciolo Francesco , Panico Teresa 
Published: July 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of socio-economic context in affecting the relationship between personal values and the purchase of fair trade (FT) products.Design/methodology/approachThe study was based on data and information collected by means of a web-administered survey and was performed in two steps. First, an explanatory factor analysis on the Schwartz value system and a confirmatory factor analysis on socio-economic context variables were carried out. Second, the per capita GDP at provincial level and the predicted factor scores were used in an ordered probit model to explain the expenditure level of FT products.FindingsThe results provide evidence that the value system has an effect on the consumption of FT products, but the economic context, in particular the average wealth at province level, is also relevant and plays a role by either affecting FT product purchasing levels directly or interacting with personal values.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the electronic submission and the specific channel used in the survey, the sample cannot be considered as representative of Italian consumers, and thus the analysis has a merely descriptive (non-inferential) function.Originality/valueWhile several studies investigated how personal values affect consumers’ behaviour directly or indirectly, very few studies analysed the way socio-economic context interacts with the value structure and the way both aspects influence ethical consumption. The present study analyses this last aspect and provides evidence of the role economic context plays in affecting the relationship between personal values and FT products consumption.
Impact of human resource management practices on employee turnover intentions
Authors: Santhanam Nivethitha , T.J. Kamalanabhan , Dyaram Lata , Ziegler Hans 
Published: July 2017

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the relationship between human resource management practices, breach of psychological contract and employee turnover intentions among hotel frontline employees, considering the scant research attention to frontline employee’s perspectives in Indian hospitality industry.Design/methodology/approachA survey design was used to collect responses from 294 frontline employees (front-office and food and beverage services). Multiple regression analyses have been used to test the hypothesized relationships.FindingsSelection, training and compensation practices were found to influence employee’s turnover intentions. In addition, psychological contract breach was found to enhance employee’s turnover intentions, despite the implementation of effective human resource management practices.Originality/valueThis study examines the role of psychological contract breach as a moderator in the relationship between human resource management practices and turnover intentions in a highly labour-intensive context, the hospitality industry.
Using UTAUT 2 model to predict mobile app based shopping: evidences from India
Authors: Tak Preeti , Panwar Savita 
Published: July 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand antecedents of app-based shopping in an Indian context. The paper has used unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) 2 model for examining the impact of various constructs on behavioral intention and usage behavior of smart phone users toward the mobile shopping apps.

Design/methodology/approach
The constructs were tested and validated by means of a structured questionnaire which was administered on a sample of 350 mobile app shoppers in Delhi. AMOS 20 was used to analyze the collected data.

Findings
The study revealed that hedonic and habit are the strongest predictors of users’ behavioral intention to use mobile apps for shopping. Respondents are also influenced by the deals that are being offered by the marketers. The research also suggests that facilitating conditions help in usage of mobile apps for shopping.

Research limitations/implications
Managerial implications simplifying the interface which would encourage the less technologically advanced individuals to use mobile apps. Hedonic element of shopping through mobile apps should also be enhanced.

Originality/value
This study contributes to the research on intentions and usage behavior of consumer technologies by adopting UTAUT 2 model to explain the intentions and usage behavior toward mobile apps for shopping. The paper also measured the role of deals in influencing the consumers.