bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Involving the consultant before fetal blood sampling
Authors: Lowe Belinda , Beckmann Michael 
Published: June 2016

BackgroundFetal scalp lactate (FSL) is used when the cardiotocography (CTG) is not normal in an attempt to reduce the false‐positive rate and the likelihood of unnecessary intervention. Whilst the test has almost a 100% negative predictive value, the positive predictive value of this test is very low.AimsTo measure the effect of introducing consultant obstetrician review of every abnormal CTG prior to the decision to perform FSL.Materials and MethodsA retrospective cohort study was performed using routinely collected de‐identified data. Mode of birth outcomes for women who had a continuous CTG in labour were compared in two equal time periods, 12 months before and after a change in hospital policy. Change in hospital policy dictated that FSL was only performed on a pathological CTG after consultant obstetrician review of the CTG.ResultsConsultant obstetrician review of CTG prior to FSL was associated with fewer FSL performed (1.7% vs 3.5%; P ≤ 0.01), fewer babies acidaemic at birth pH < 7.1 (0.8% vs 2.2%; P < 0.01), fewer caesarean sections for presumed fetal distress (CS for FD) (6.6% vs 8.1%; P = 0.05) and fewer instrumental births (17.6% vs 20%; P = 0.04). When adjusted for confounders, the change in policy was independently associated with a reduced likelihood of CS for FD (adjusted odds ratios = 0.78 (0.63–0.97); P = 0.03).ConclusionsA hospital policy whereby a consultant obstetrician reviews abnormal CTGs prior to performing FSL may help to increase the pretest probability and reduce the rate of CS for FD, as well as instrumental birth and unnecessary FSL.
Constitutional Qualms or Politics as Usual? The Factors Shaping Public Support for Unilateral Action
Authors: Christenson Dino P. , Kriner Douglas L. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractThe formal institutional constraints that Congress and the courts impose on presidential unilateral action are feeble. As a result, recent scholarship suggests that public opinion may be the strongest check against executive overreach. However, little is known about how the public assesses unilateral action. Through a series of five survey experiments embedded in nationally representative surveys, we examine the extent to which Americans evaluate unilateral action based on constitutional, partisan, and policy concerns. We find that Americans do not instinctively reject unilateral action as a threat to our system of checks and balances, but instead evaluate unilateral action in terms of whether it accords or conflicts with their partisan and policy preference priors. Our results suggest that the public constraint on presidential unilateral action is far from automatic. Rather, the strength and scope of this check are variable products of political contestation in the public sphere.
Identification of CYP1B1‐specific candidate inhibitors using combination of in silico screening, integrated knowledge‐based filtering, and molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Kumar Rakesh , Gupta Dinesh 
Published: June 2016

CYP1B1 is a promising drug target for developing novel drugs against hormonal cancers and hypertension. The development of CYP1B1‐specific inhibitors is hindered mainly due to non‐specific action of known CYP inhibitors. The active site of CYP1B1 is similar to other cytochromes with different substrate preferences rendering a scope to develop specific inhibitors. We have developed a novel in silico approach for design of selective CYP1B1 inhibitors. The approach consists of deriving details of CYP1B1‐specific molecular interactions from prior studies, which is used to perform screening of CYP1B1 with NCI compounds. The conventional compound screening is also complemented with the concept of cutoff distance between heme (Fe) and compounds. The binding free energies and HB percentage occupancy calculations of 94 compounds of cluster 1 have verified the docking results using MD. The docking interactions in the active‐site cavity of 7 clusters are also taken into account for optimal binding. Hence, we used knowledgebase filtering and MD simulations to enable discovery of selective CYP1B1 inhibitors. The final filtered lead candidates consist of compounds sandwiched between phenylalanine π–π stacking and less than 6 Å from heme (Fe) for enzymatic action. The findings in the study can help development of novel CYP1B1 selective inhibitors.
The Management of LDL Cholesterol and Predictors of Goal Achievement in Stroke Patients in China: A Cross‐Sectional Study
Authors: Wang Chun‐Juan , Wang Yi‐Long , Li Zi‐Xiao , Wang Yong‐Jun 
Published: June 2016

SummaryObjectiveTo assess the management of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) in patients suffering from ischemic stroke within 6–12 months and explore the predictors of the achievement of LDL‐C target.MethodsThis study was a nation‐wide, multicenter, cross‐sectional study conducted from July 2013 to August 2013 in mainland China. Patients who had an ischemic stroke within 6–12 months and were more than 18 year old were consecutively included into this study. All data referred to personal information, medical history, medication and results from laboratory tests were collected by face‐to‐face questionnaires, physical examination and blood tests. The predictors for the achievement of LDL‐C target (<1.8 mmol/L or <70 mg/dL) were analyzed by the multivariate analysis.ResultsA total of 3956 cases from 56 centers who suffered from ischemic stroke within 6–12 months were finally included into this study. The average serum level of LDL‐C in all patients was 2.42 ± 0.91 mmol/L with a median of 2.30 mmol/L and the total LDL‐C goal achievement rate was 27.4% (95% CI: 26.0%‐28.8%). Lipid‐lowering therapy (odds ratio [OR] = 3.54, 95% CI: 2.879–4.388) was the most significant predictor for LDL‐C target achievement and female (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.526–0.777), current smoking (OR = 0.714, 95% CI: 0.571–0.892), and the history of dyslipidemia (OR = 0.577, 95% CI: 0.497–0.668) were other three important negative factors for the LDL‐C goal achievement.ConclusionAlthough lipid modulation is recommended as an important intervention for stroke patients in the international guidelines, the goal achievement of LDL‐C is still very low in this population in mainland China. The modifiable predictors including the use of lipid‐lowering medication and smoking cessation should be improved in secondary prevention of stroke.
FDG‐based quantitative comparison of glucose metabolism in vitro, exemplified by a head‐to‐head comparison between a triple‐negative breast cancer cell line and a non‐malignant foetal cell line
Authors: Munthe Else , Riss Patrick J. , Saga Thor A. , Haraldsen Ira , Grad Iwona , Bogsrud Trond V. , Bach‐Gansmo Tore 
Published: June 2016

SummaryBackgroundGlucose metabolism can be studied in vitro by a variety of means, also by fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). As an example of the potential use we have compared the high glucose consumption in cancer cells and in transformed non‐malignant foetal cells. The high glucose metabolism in cancer cells is not primarily for the production of energy, a large proportion is transformed to lactate only, producing two instead of potentially 32 ATP equivalents. The secreted lactate reduces the pH in the local microenvironment and gives malignant cells, more apt to thrive in hypoxic and acid environments, a competitive advantage.PurposeTo demonstrate the use of FDG in head‐to‐head comparison of glucose uptake and lactate production in a highly malignant and a highly proliferative non‐malignant cell line.Materials and methodsCell cultures of a foetal kidney cell line and a triple negative breast cancer cell line were incubated with FDG for one hour, washed, harvested and the radioactivity content in the cells was measured in a well counter. The lactate concentration was measured in conditioned medium.ResultsThe FDG uptake was consistently higher in the non‐malignant foetal cell line. The levels of lactate in the conditioned medium were similar.ConclusionQuantitative comparison of glucose metabolism by in vitro use of FDG is a practical, cheap and rapid method. Some foetal cells have higher glucose uptake and produce as much lactate as this highly malignant cell line. This is an argument against the high glucose consumption being related solely to malignancy.
Health, social and economic consequences of dementias: a comparative national cohort study
Authors: Frahm‐Falkenberg S. , Ibsen R. , Kjellberg J. , Jennum P. 
Published: June 2016

Background and purposeDementia causes morbidity, disability and mortality, and as the population ages the societal burden will grow. The direct health costs and indirect costs of lost productivity and social welfare of dementia were estimated compared with matched controls in a national register based cohort study.MethodsUsing records from the Danish National Patient Registry (1997–2009) all patients with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia or dementia not otherwise specified and their partners were identified and compared with randomly chosen controls matched for age, gender, geographical area and civil status. Direct health costs included primary and secondary sector contacts, medical procedures and medication. Indirect costs included the effect on labor supply. All cost data were extracted from national databases. The entire cohort was followed for the entire period – before and after diagnosis.ResultsIn all, 78 715 patients were identified and compared with 312 813 matched controls. Patients' partners were also identified and matched with a control group. Patients had lower income and higher mortality and morbidity rates and greater use of medication. Social‐ and health‐related vulnerability was identified years prior to diagnosis. The average annual additional cost of direct healthcare costs and lost productivity in the years before diagnosis was 2082 euros per patient over and above that of matched controls, and 4544 euros per patient after the time of diagnosis.ConclusionsDementias cause significant morbidity and mortality, consequently generating significant socioeconomic costs.
Is it time for individualized testing in the electroencephalogram (EEG) laboratory?
Authors: Theitler J. , Dassa D. , Gelernter I. , Gandelman‐Marton R. 
Published: June 2016

Background and purposeThe interictal electroencephalogram (EEG) has an important role in the classification and treatment of epilepsy. In busy EEG laboratories, valuable resources are used in order to comply with current recommendations regarding the length of EEG recordings. Our aim was to examine the time to first interictal epileptiform discharge (IED) in standard and sleep‐deprived EEGs.MethodsStandard and sleep‐deprived EEG recordings with IEDs were retrospectively reviewed during a 2‐year period. Bedside EEGs and long‐term video‐EEGs were excluded. IED latency according to EEG type, age group and inpatient/outpatient status was analyzed with the Kaplan−Meier estimator.ResultsThe study group included 684 patients, 372 (54%) males, aged 0.2–89 years. Standard (n = 316) and sleep‐deprived (n = 368) EEGs were performed in 245 inpatients and 439 outpatients. The EEG was requested in 96% of the inpatients following a seizure. Most IEDs were recorded whilst the patients were awake (43%) or drowsy (34%). Ninety percent of the IEDs were recorded within 18.5 min, earlier in standard (14.6 vs. 21.3 min) (P = 0.024) EEGs and in inpatients (14 vs. 21.3 min) (P = 0.002). IED latency was unaffected by age.ConclusionsElectroencephalogram type and admission status may be used for individual determination of the duration of EEG recording. Reducing the duration of standard and sleep‐deprived EEGs may be considered especially in inpatients.
Reconciling food security and bioenergy: priorities for action
Authors: Kline Keith L. , Msangi Siwa , Dale Virginia H. , Woods Jeremy , Souza Glaucia M. , Osseweijer Patricia , Clancy Joy S. , Hilbert Jorge A. , Johnson Francis X. , McDonnell Patrick C. , Mugera Harriet K. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractUnderstanding the complex interactions among food security, bioenergy sustainability, and resource management requires a focus on specific contextual problems and opportunities. The United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals place a high priority on food and energy security; bioenergy plays an important role in achieving both goals. Effective food security programs begin by clearly defining the problem and asking, ‘What can be done to assist people at high risk?’ Simplistic global analyses, headlines, and cartoons that blame biofuels for food insecurity may reflect good intentions but mislead the public and policymakers because they obscure the main drivers of local food insecurity and ignore opportunities for bioenergy to contribute to solutions. Applying sustainability guidelines to bioenergy will help achieve near‐ and long‐term goals to eradicate hunger. Priorities for achieving successful synergies between bioenergy and food security include the following: (1) clarifying communications with clear and consistent terms, (2) recognizing that food and bioenergy need not compete for land and, instead, should be integrated to improve resource management, (3) investing in technology, rural extension, and innovations to build capacity and infrastructure, (4) promoting stable prices that incentivize local production, (5) adopting flex crops that can provide food along with other products and services to society, and (6) engaging stakeholders to identify and assess specific opportunities for biofuels to improve food security. Systematic monitoring and analysis to support adaptive management and continual improvement are essential elements to build synergies and help society equitably meet growing demands for both food and energy.
Development of Two New Copper Isotope Standard Solutions and their Copper Isotopic Compositions
Authors: Yuan Honglin , Yuan Wengting , Bao Zhian , Chen Kaiyun , Huang Fang , Liu Shengao 
Published: June 2016

In this study, two new laboratory reference solutions for testing Cu isotopic composition were established and investigated. Two commercially available pure copper products, copper plate and copper wire, were dissolved in 1000‐ml Teflon® bottles, to produce 200 μg ml−1 stock solutions (hereafter referred to as NWU‐Cu‐A and NWU‐Cu‐B), and cryogenically stored. The Cu isotopic compositions of the two samples were determined in three different laboratories using multi‐collector inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry, and the Cu isotopic compositions obtained from the standard‐sample bracketing method were consistent within the two standard deviation (2s) range. The Cu isotopic compositions of the NWU‐Cu‐A and NWU‐Cu‐B standard solutions were δ65Cu = +0.91 ± 0.03‰ (2s, n = 42) and δ65Cu = −0.05 ±0.03‰ (2s, n = 49), respectively, relative to the reference material NIST SRM 976.
Inclusion and Art Education: ‘Welcome to the Big Room, Everything's Alright’
Authors: Penketh Claire 
Published: June 2016

AbstractThis article offers an exploration of the art room as part of a broader project to consider the ways in which normative practices in art and design education can include and exclude students. The art classroom is explored here as a ‘disrupted space’ and one that can promote movement between the structures and boundaries that affect our ways of being in, and experiencing, the world. The art room offers a space for colonising otherness, as well as an ‘alternative’ or risky physical space, a refuge, or one with the potential to disrupt the dominant educational landscape.
Propofol exposure during late stages of pregnancy impairs learning and memory in rat offspring via the BDNF‐TrkB signalling pathway
Authors: Zhong Liang , Luo Foquan , Zhao Weilu , Feng Yunlin , Wu Liuqin , Lin Jiamei , Liu Tianyin , Wang Shengqiang , You Xuexue , Zhang Wei 
Published: June 2016

AbstractThe brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)‐tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) (BDNF‐TrkB) signalling pathway plays a crucial role in regulating learning and memory. Synaptophysin provides the structural basis for synaptic plasticity and depends on BDNF processing and subsequent TrkB signalling. Our previous studies demonstrated that maternal exposure to propofol during late stages of pregnancy impaired learning and memory in rat offspring. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the BDNF‐TrkB signalling pathway is involved in propofol‐induced learning and memory impairments. Propofol was intravenously infused into pregnant rats for 4 hrs on gestational day 18 (E18). Thirty days after birth, learning and memory of offspring was assessed by the Morris water maze (MWM) test. After the MWM test, BDNF and TrkB transcript and protein levels were measured in rat offspring hippocampus tissues using real‐time PCR (RT‐PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively. The levels of phosphorylated‐TrkB (phospho‐TrkB) and synaptophysin were measured by western blot. It was discovered that maternal exposure to propofol on day E18 impaired spatial learning and memory of rat offspring, decreased mRNA and protein levels of BDNF and TrkB, and decreased the levels of both phospho‐TrkB and synaptophysin in the hippocampus. Furthermore, the TrkB agonist 7,8‐dihydroxyflavone (7,8‐DHF) reversed all of the observed changes. Treatment with 7,8‐DHF had no significant effects on the offspring that were not exposed to propofol. The results herein indicate that maternal exposure to propofol during the late stages of pregnancy impairs spatial learning and memory of offspring by disturbing the BDNF‐TrkB signalling pathway. The TrkB agonist 7,8‐DHF might be a potential therapy for learning and memory impairments induced by maternal propofol exposure.
High endogenous activated protein C levels attenuates bleomycin‐induced pulmonary fibrosis
Authors: Lin Cong , von der Thüsen Jan , Isermann Berend , Weiler Hartmut , van der Poll Tom , Borensztajn Keren , Spek Chris A. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractCoagulation activation accompanied by reduced anticoagulant activity is a key characteristic of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Although the importance of coagulation activation in IPF is well studied, the potential relevance of endogenous anticoagulant activity in IPF progression remains elusive. We assess the importance of the endogenous anticoagulant protein C pathway on disease progression during bleomycin‐induced pulmonary fibrosis. Wild‐type mice and mice with high endogenous activated protein C APC levels (APChigh) were subjected to bleomycin‐induced pulmonary fibrosis. Fibrosis was assesses by hydroxyproline and histochemical analysis. Macrophage recruitment was assessed immunohistochemically. In vitro, macrophage migration was analysed by transwell migration assays. Fourteen days after bleomycin instillation, APChigh mice developed pulmonary fibrosis to a similar degree as wild‐type mice. Interestingly, Aschcroft scores as well as lung hydroxyproline levels were significantly lower in APChigh mice than in wild‐type mice on day 28. The reduction in fibrosis in APChigh mice was accompanied by reduced macrophage numbers in their lungs and subsequent in vitro experiments showed that APC inhibits thrombin‐dependent macrophage migration. Our data suggest that high endogenous APC levels inhibit the progression of bleomycin‐induced pulmonary fibrosis and that APC modifies pulmonary fibrosis by limiting thrombin‐dependent macrophage recruitment.
Attention bias in the developmental unfolding of post‐traumatic stress symptoms in young children at risk
Authors: Briggs‐Gowan Margaret J. , Grasso Damion , Bar‐Haim Yair , Voss Joel , McCarthy Kimberly J. , Pine Daniel S. , Wakschlag Lauren S. 
Published: June 2016

BackgroundThreat‐related attention bias relates to anxiety and posttraumatic stress symptoms in adults and adolescents, but few longitudinal studies examine such associations in young children. This study examines prospective relations among attention bias, trauma exposure, and anxiety and trauma symptoms in a sample previously reported to manifest cross‐sectional associations between attention bias and observed anxiety at preschool age.MethodsYoung children [mean (MN) = 5.0, ±0.7 years, n = 208] from a community‐based sample completed the dot‐probe task to assess their attention biases in response to angry faces. At baseline (T1) and at follow‐up approximately 9 months later (T2), anxiety and trauma exposure (i.e. violent and noninterpersonal events) and symptoms were assessed by maternal report.ResultsNeither attention bias nor baseline or recent trauma exposure predicted later anxiety. In contrast, attention bias toward threat and recent trauma exposure significantly predicted later trauma symptoms. There was evidence of symptom specificity such that attention bias toward threat significantly predicted hyperarousal and dissociation, but not avoidance or re‐experiencing symptoms. Finally, moderation analyses indicated that the relationship between attention bias and trauma symptoms may differ according to children's experiences of probable abuse.ConclusionsAttention profiles and trauma exposure may increase the risk that young children will develop trauma symptoms. Individual differences in these attentional patterns and children's exposure history may impact outcomes among high‐risk children with potential implications for intervention.
An observational study to evaluate the long‐term outcomes of treatment with etanercept in patients with plaque‐type psoriasis
Authors: Luger T. , Schopf R.E. , Schwanke A. , Langhammer S. , Meng T. , Löschmann P.A. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractBackgroundThere is an unmet need for long‐term, real‐life data on the effect of a drug‐free interval between treatment cycles in patients with plaque psoriasis being treated with etanercept, which is licensed for intermittent and continuous treatment.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the average duration of the drug‐free interval between etanercept treatment cycles in patients with plaque psoriasis.MethodsThis was a non‐interventional, open‐label, multicentre, prospective study in patients for whom the decision had already been made to initiate treatment with etanercept during routine practice in German centres. Clinical outcomes were documented over 36 months with study visits every 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the duration of the treatment‐free interval between etanercept treatment cycles (24 weeks/cycle). Secondary endpoints assessed efficacy [Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), Body Surface Area (BSA), static Physician's Global Assessment (sPGA)], health‐related outcomes [EuroQol‐5 Dimensions (EQ‐5D), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI)] and safety.ResultsA total of 955 patients were enrolled from 224 centres; 926 of these were included in the safety analyses and 720 patients from the safety population were included in the efficacy analysis. The mean duration of drug‐free intervals was 12.9 ± 12.8 weeks. Efficacy and health‐related quality of life outcomes measures showed consistent improvement that occurred within 12 weeks of treatment with etanercept. There was a descriptive difference between the continuous and intermittent treatment subgroups, as subjects in the latter showed a deterioration at the first visit following an interval. However, retreatment with etanercept resulted in a clinical efficacy identical to the initial effect. The incidence of physician‐assessed, drug‐related adverse events and serious adverse events was 13.1% and 1.9%, respectively.ConclusionThe mean duration of drug‐free intervals was relatively short, most patients experienced improvements in disease activity and health‐related quality of life within 12 weeks of either continuous or intermittent treatment with etanercept, and there were no new safety signals. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00708708.