bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Age and Refractive Error on the Melanopsin Mediated Post-Illumination Pupil Response (PIPR)
Authors: Adhikari Prakash , Pearson Candice A. , Anderson Alexandra M. , Zele Andrew J. , Feigl Beatrix 
Published: December 2015

AbstractMelanopsin containing intrinsically photosensitive Retinal Ganglion cells (ipRGCs) mediate the pupil light reflex (PLR) during light onset and at light offset (the post-illumination pupil response, PIPR). Recent evidence shows that the PLR and PIPR can provide non-invasive, objective markers of age-related retinal and optic nerve disease; however there is no consensus on the effects of healthy ageing or refractive error on the ipRGC mediated pupil function. Here we isolated melanopsin contributions to the pupil control pathway in 59 human participants with no ocular pathology across a range of ages and refractive errors. We show that there is no effect of age or refractive error on ipRGC inputs to the human pupil control pathway. The stability of the ipRGC mediated pupil response across the human lifespan provides a functional correlate of their robustness observed during ageing in rodent models.
Three-dimensional collimated self-accelerating beam through acoustic metascreen
Authors: Li Yong , Assouar M. Badreddine 
Published: December 2015

AbstractWe report the generation of three-dimensional acoustic collimated self-accelerating beam in non-paraxial region with sourceless metascreen. Acoustic metascreen with deep subwavelength spatial resolution, composed of hybrid structures combining four Helmholtz resonators and a straight pipe, transmitting sound efficiently and shifting fully the local phase is evidenced. With an extra phase profile provided by the metascreen, the transmitted sound can be tuned to propagate along arbitrary caustic curvatures to form a focused spot. Due to the caustic nature, the formed beam possesses the capacities of bypassing obstacles and holding the self-healing feature, paving then a new way for wave manipulations and indicating various potential applications, especially in the fields of ultrasonic imaging, diagnosis and treatment.
Tetranectin as a Potential Biomarker for Stable Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Chen Yanjia , Han Hui , Yan Xiaoxiang , Ding Fenghua , Su Xiuxiu , Wang Haibo , Chen Qiujing , Lu Lin , Zhang Ruiyan , Jin Wei 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThis cross-sectional study tested the hypothesis that decreased serum levels of tetranectin (TN), a regulator of the fibrinolysis and proteolytic system, is associated with the presence and severity of CAD. We conducted a systematic serological and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis to respectively compare the TN levels in serum and artery samples in CAD patients and healthy controls. Our results showed that serum levels of TN were significantly lower in patients with CAD than in healthy controls. Further analysis via trend tests revealed that serum TN levels correlated with the number of diseased arteries. Besides, the multivariate logistic regression model revealed TN as an independent factor associated with the presence of CAD. Additionally, IHC analysis showed that TN expression was significantly higher in atherosclerotic arteries as compared to healthy control tissues. In conclusion, our study suggests that increased serum TN level is associated with the presence and severity of diseased coronary arteries in patients with stable CAD.
Conductive Graphitic Carbon Nitride as an Ideal Material for Electrocatalytically Switchable CO2 Capture
Authors: Tan Xin , Kou Liangzhi , Tahini Hassan A. , Smith Sean C. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractGood electrical conductivity and high electron mobility of the sorbent materials are prerequisite for electrocatalytically switchable CO2 capture. However, no conductive and easily synthetic sorbent materials are available until now. Here, we examined the possibility of conductive graphitic carbon nitride (g-C4N3) nanosheets as sorbent materials for electrocatalytically switchable CO2 capture. Using first-principle calculations, we found that the adsorption energy of CO2 molecules on g-C4N3 nanosheets can be dramatically enhanced by injecting extra electrons into the adsorbent. At saturation CO2 capture coverage, the negatively charged g-C4N3 nanosheets achieve CO2 capture capacities up to 73.9 × 1013 cm−2 or 42.3 wt%. In contrast to other CO2 capture approaches, the process of CO2 capture/release occurs spontaneously without any energy barriers once extra electrons are introduced or removed and these processes can be simply controlled and reversed by switching on/off the charging voltage. In addition, these negatively charged g-C4N3 nanosheets are highly selective for separating CO2 from mixtures with CH4, H2 and/or N2. These predictions may prove to be instrumental in searching for a new class of experimentally feasible high-capacity CO2 capture materials with ideal thermodynamics and reversibility.
Proteasome system dysregulation and treatment resistance mechanisms in major depressive disorder
Authors: Minelli A , Magri C , Barbon A , Bonvicini C , Segala M , Congiu C , Bignotti S , Milanesi E , Trabucchi L , Cattane N , Bortolomasi M , Gennarelli M 
Published: December 2015

AbstractSeveral studies have demonstrated that allelic variants related to inflammation and the immune system may increase the risk for major depressive disorder (MDD) and reduce patient responsiveness to antidepressant treatment. Proteasomes are fundamental complexes that contribute to the regulation of T-cell function. Only one study has shown a putative role of proteasomal PSMA7, PSMD9 and PSMD13 genes in the susceptibility to an antidepressant response, and sparse data are available regarding the potential alterations in proteasome expression in psychiatric disorders such as MDD. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of these genes in the mechanisms underlying the response/resistance to MDD treatment. We performed a case-control association study on 621 MDD patients, of whom 390 were classified as treatment-resistant depression (TRD), and we collected peripheral blood cells and fibroblasts for mRNA expression analyses. The analyses showed that subjects carrying the homozygous GG genotype of PSMD13 rs3817629 had a twofold greater risk of developing TRD and exhibited a lower PSMD13 mRNA level in fibroblasts than subjects carrying the A allele. In addition, we found a positive association between PSMD9 rs1043307 and the presence of anxiety disorders in comorbidity with MDD, although this result was not significant following correction for multiple comparisons. In conclusion, by confirming the involvement of PSMD13 in the MDD treatment response, our data corroborate the hypothesis that the dysregulation of the complex responsible for the degradation of intracellular proteins and potentially controlling autoimmunity- and immune tolerance–related processes may be involved in several phenotypes, including the TRD.
Nrf2 in ischemic neurons promotes retinal vascular regeneration through regulation of semaphorin 6A
Authors: Wei Yanhong , Gong Junsong , Xu Zhenhua , Thimmulappa Rajesh K. , Mitchell Katherine L. , Welsbie Derek S. , Biswal Shyam , Duh Elia J. 
Published: December 2015

Significance
Delayed revascularization of ischemic neural tissue is a major impediment to preservation of function in central nervous system (CNS) diseases including stroke and ischemic retinopathies. The key mechanisms governing vascular recovery in ischemic CNS, including regulatory molecules governing transition from tissue injury to repair, are largely unknown. We report here on NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a major stress-response transcription factor known for its cell-intrinsic cytoprotective function, in a novel capacity coordinating tissue repair and remodeling, including regulation of cell–cell crosstalk. Nrf2 activity in ischemic neurons reduces their resistance to reparative angiogenesis by suppressing expression of neuronal semaphorin 6A (Sema6A) and its antiangiogenic effects. Pharmacologic activation of Nrf2 or inhibition of Sema6A promote reparative angiogenesis in this ischemic setting, suggesting therapeutic avenues for ischemic retinopathies and other ischemic diseases.
Opportunities and challenges ofIntegralProjectionModels for modelling host–parasite dynamics
Authors: Metcalf C. Jessica E. , Graham Andrea L. , Martinez‐Bakker Micaela , Childs Dylan Z. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryEpidemiological dynamics are shaped by and may in turn shape host demography. These feedbacks can result in hard to predict patterns of disease incidence. Mathematical models that integrate infection and demography are consequently a key tool for informing expectations for disease burden and identifying effective measures for control.A major challenge is capturing the details of infection within individuals and quantifying their downstream impacts to understand population‐scale outcomes. For example, parasite loads and antibody titres may vary over the course of an infection and contribute to differences in transmission at the scale of the population. To date, to capture these subtleties, models have mostly relied on complex mechanistic frameworks, discrete categorization and/or agent‐based approaches.Integral Projection Models (IPMs) allow variance in individual trajectories of quantitative traits and their population‐level outcomes to be captured in ways that directly reflect statistical models of trait–fate relationships. Given increasing data availability, and advances in modelling, there is considerable potential for extending this framework to traits of relevance for infectious disease dynamics.Here, we provide an overview of host and parasite natural history contexts whereIPMs could strengthen inference of population dynamics, with examples of host species ranging from mice to sheep to humans, and parasites ranging from viruses to worms. We discuss models of both parasite and host traits, provide two case studies and conclude by reviewing potential for both ecological and evolutionary research.
How well can body size represent effects of the environment on demographic rates? Disentangling correlated explanatory variables
Authors: Brooks Mollie E. , Mugabo Marianne , Rodgers Gwendolen M. , Benton Timothy G. , Ozgul Arpat 
Published: December 2015

Summary

Demographic rates are shaped by the interaction of past and current environments that individuals in a population experience. Past environments shape individual states via selection and plasticity, and fitness‐related traits (e.g. individual size) are commonly used in demographic analyses to represent the effect of past environments on demographic rates.

We quantified how well the size of individuals captures the effects of a population's past and current environments on demographic rates in a well‐studied experimental system of soil mites. We decomposed these interrelated sources of variation with a novel method of multiple regression that is useful for understanding nonlinear relationships between responses and multicollinear explanatory variables. We graphically present the results using area‐proportional Venn diagrams. Our novel method was developed by combining existing methods and expanding upon them.

We showed that the strength of size as a proxy for the past environment varied widely among vital rates. For instance, in this organism with an income breeding life history, the environment had more effect on reproduction than individual size, but with substantial overlap indicating that size encompassed some of the effects of the past environment on fecundity.

This demonstrates that the strength of size as a proxy for the past environment can vary widely among life‐history processes within a species, and this variation should be taken into consideration in trait‐based demographic or individual‐based approaches that focus on phenotypic traits as state variables. Furthermore, the strength of a proxy will depend on what state variable(s) and what demographic rate is being examined; that is, different measures of body size (e.g. length, volume, mass, fat stores) will be better or worse proxies for various life‐history processes.
Chains of (dis)trust: exploring the underpinnings of knowledge‐sharing and quality care across mental health services
Authors: Brown Patrick R. , Calnan Michael W. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractQuality and safety in healthcare settings are underpinned by organisational cultures, which facilitate or impede the refinement, sharing and application of knowledge. Avoiding the use of the term culture as a residual category, we focus specifically on describing chains of (dis)trust, analysing their development across relatively low‐trust service contexts and their impact upon knowledge‐sharing and caregiving. Drawing upon data from in‐depth interviews with service users, healthcare professionals, service managers and other stakeholders across three mental healthcare (psychosis) teams in southern England, we identify micro‐mechanisms that explain how (dis)trust within one intra‐organisational relationship impacts upon other relationships. Experiences and inferences of vulnerability, knowledge, uncertainty, interests and time, among actors who are both trustees and trusters across different relationships, are pertinent to such analyses. This more micro‐level understanding facilitates detailed conceptualisations of trust chains as meso‐level tendencies that contribute to wider vicious or virtuous cycles of organisational (dis)trust. We explore how knowledge‐sharing and caregiving are vitally interwoven within these chains of trust or distrust, enhancing and/or inhibiting the instrumental and communicative aspects of quality healthcare as a result.
Medical Complexity among Children with Special Health Care Needs: A Two‐Dimensional View
Authors: Coller Ryan J. , Lerner Carlos F. , Eickhoff Jens C. , Klitzner Thomas S. , Sklansky Daniel J. , Ehlenbach Mary , Chung Paul J. 
Published: December 2015

ObjectiveTo identify subgroups of U.S. children with special health care needs (CSHCN) and characterize key outcomes.Data SourceSecondary analysis of 2009–2010 National Survey of CSHCN.Study DesignLatent class analysis grouped individuals into substantively meaningful classes empirically derived from measures of pediatric medical complexity. Outcomes were compared among latent classes with weighted logistic or negative binomial regression.Principal FindingsLCA identified four unique CSHCN subgroups: broad functional impairment (physical, cognitive, and mental health) with extensive health care (Class 1), broad functional impairment alone (Class 2), predominant physical impairment requiring family‐delivered care (Class 3), and physical impairment alone (Class 4). CSHCN from Class 1 had the highest ED visit rates (IRR 3.3, p < .001) and hospitalization odds (AOR: 12.0, p < .001) and lowest odds of a medical home (AOR: 0.17, p < .001). CSHCN in Class 3, despite experiencing more shared decision making and medical home attributes, had more ED visits and missed school than CSHCN in Class 2 (p < .001); the latter, however, experienced more cost‐related difficulties, care delays, and parents having to stop work (p < .001).ConclusionsRecognizing distinct impacts of cognitive and mental health impairments and health care delivery needs on CSHCN outcomes may better direct future intervention efforts.
A Concept Analysis of Self‐Care Based on Islamic Sources
Authors: Marzband Rahmatollah , Zakavi Ali Asghar 
Published: December 2015

PurposeThis article describes the concept of self‐care from Islamic texts.MethodRodgers' evolutionary model of concept analysis was used in this study.FindingsSelf‐care is a series of responsible activities to God for health promotion, preventive disease and remedy. It encompasses physical, mental, spiritual, and social dimensions.ConclusionA comprehensive definition of the concept of self‐care ensued from a review of Islamic literature.Implications for Nursing PracticeSince the nurses instruct and assist individuals as they engage in self‐care, using a comprehensive definition of self‐care based on Islamic sources would provide an anchor linking for them as they interact with Muslim patients.
Preventing chronic postoperative pain
Authors: Reddi D. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryChronic postoperative pain is common. Nerve injury and inflammation promote chronic pain, the risk of which is influenced by patient factors, including psychological characteristics. Interventional trials to prevent chronic postoperative pain have been underpowered with inadequate patient follow‐up. Ketamine may reduce chronic postoperative pain, although the optimum treatment duration and dose for different operations have yet to be identified. The evidence for gabapentin and pregabalin is encouraging but weak; further work is needed before these drugs can be recommended for the prevention of chronic pain. Regional techniques reduce the rates of chronic pain after thoracotomy and breast cancer surgery. Nerve‐sparing surgical techniques may be of benefit, although nerve injury is not necessary or sufficient for chronic pain to develop.
Specialist pre‐operative assessment clinics
Authors: Dhesi J. K. , Swart M. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryWhile specialist pre‐operative assessment is not new, its focus has evolved in response to more operations and changes in the surgical population. Patients are older and have more long‐term medical comorbidities. At the same time, there has been a move from paternalistic medical decision‐making to shared decision‐making, based on an individual patient's choice or preference. Specialist pre‐operative consultations have had to adapt to these changes by broadening their scope. Pre‐operative clinics have a central role in shared decision‐making, coordinating and planning care before, during and after surgery, including rehabilitation and discharge planning. Multiple specialties need to work together to deliver quality patient‐centred care.
Peri‐operative nutrition
Authors: Ali Abdelhamid Y. , Chapman M. J. , Deane A. M. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryPatients are frequently malnourished or are at risk of malnutrition before surgery. Peri‐operative nutritional support can improve their outcomes. This review focuses on new developments in peri‐operative nutrition, including: patient preparation and pre‐operative fasting; the role of nutritional supplementation; the optimal route and timing of nutrient delivery; and the nutritional management of specific groups including critically ill, obese and elderly patients.
Predictors of long‐term work disability among patients with type I and II bipolar disorder: a prospective 18‐month follow‐up study
Authors: Arvilommi Petri , Suominen Kirsi , Mantere Outi , Valtonen Hanna , Leppämäki Sami , Isometsä Erkki 
Published: December 2015

ObjectivesBipolar disorder (BD) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. However, vocational ability and predictors of long‐term work disability have rarely been studied among patients with BD. We investigated clinical predictors of work disability among patients with BD in psychiatric care.MethodsThe Jorvi Bipolar Study (JoBS) is a naturalistic prospective cohort study (N = 191) representing adult (18–59 years) psychiatric inpatients and outpatients with DSM‐IV bipolar I disorder (BD‐I) and bipolar II disorder (BD‐II) in three Finnish cities. Within the JoBS, we investigated the prevalence of disability pensions at baseline, and predictors for being granted a disability pension during an 18‐month follow‐up of the 151 patients in the labor force at baseline. Cox models were used to determine predictors for onset of disability pension.ResultsAt baseline, 21% (40/191) of the patients already had a disability pension. During the follow‐up, a further 38 patients (25% of the 151 followed) were granted a new disability pension. The predictors included older age, male gender, depressive index episode, higher number of psychiatric hospitalizations, generalized anxiety disorder, avoidant personality disorder, and depressive burden during follow‐up. However, the predictors differed depending on bipolar subtype, age, and gender.ConclusionsBD‐I and BD‐II are associated with a major risk of long‐term work disability, the proportion of patients with a disability pension rising to 41% in the medium‐term follow‐up of the Finnish cohort investigated in the present study. Severe clinical course, depression, comorbidities, age, and gender are likely to be the main predictors but predictors may vary depending on the subgroup.
Epstein‐Barr virus and autoimmune diseases
Authors: Fujiwara Shigeyoshi , Takei Masami 
Published: December 2015

AbstractEpstein‐Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus infecting more than 90% of adult population in the world. EBV is involved in the pathogenesis of a wide variety of malignancies, including Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and lymphoproliferative disease of immunocompromised hosts. In addition, abundant evidence has been obtained implicating the virus in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis. In particular, seroepidemiological data strongly suggest that EBV is a prerequisite factor for the development of multiple sclerosis. Although no decisive theory has explained the mechanism of EBV's involvements in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, a number of hypotheses have been presented, including molecular mimicry, bystander damage, mistaken self, and EBV infection of autoreactive B cells. In this review, evidence so far obtained to suggest a crucial role for EBV in triggering autoimmune diseases is summarized and hypothetical mechanisms of EBV's involvement in these diseases are discussed. In addition, results obtained from a recent humanized mouse model of EBV infection that reproduced rheumatoid arthritis‐like erosive arthritis are described.
Balancing Income, Food Security, and Sustainability in Shangri‐La: The Dilemma of Monocropping Wine Grapes in Rural China
Authors: Galipeau Brendan A. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractUsing a political ecology framework that explores livelihood vulnerability, this paper analyzes commodification of grapes as an economic development strategy in Southwest China. Ethnographic research found that during the past decade, a majority of households within a village have converted fields to a monocrop of grapes, introduced by the government as part of a program to promote red wine from the region for tourism purposes. Villagers have been motivated to take part due to high economic returns but have found themselves living with less diversified sources of income and increasing use of agricultural chemicals. Villagers display concern for food security as they have moved away from growing subsistence crops and rely heavily on funds produced by grapes for subsistence. Questions are raised regarding long‐term sustainability and the outlook of development programs targeting rural farmers as producers of high‐value commodities being consumed by China's growing middle and upper classes.
The End: Thoughts on Humanism and Death
Authors: Pinn Anthony B. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractExtending earlier work on a nontheistic theology, in this article I explore a humanist framing of death. I begin with a critique of theistic framings of death as a matter of isolation and transition to a greater situation. In place of theistic understandings of death, here I argue that humanist theology, drawing insights from literature and Albert Camus' moralism, provides a way to “naturalize” death, to understand death as already and always a dimension of life.