bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association between pain, disability, widespread pressure pain hypersensitivity and trigger points in subjects with neck pain
Authors: Castaldo Matteo , Catena Antonella , Chiarotto Alessandro , Villafañe Jorge Hugo , Fernández-de-las-Peñas César , Arendt-Nielsen Lars 
Published: August 2017

Abstract

Aims
Mechanical neck pain (MNP) and whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) represents two groups of subjects with a different pathogenesis, since current evidence supports that WAD subjects presents greater sensitization than MNP. Nevertheless, it is still unclear the relationship between neck pain, neck disability, widespread pressure pain hypersensitivity (sign of sensitization) and trigger points (TrPs) in these two groups of neck pain subjects. The aim of the current study was to investigate these associations in MNP and WAD subjects.

Methods
Forty-six MNP and fifty-one WAD subjects underwent the following examination: pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) in the upper trapezius and tibialis anterior muscles, TrP examination in the upper trapezius, and collection of neck disability and neck pain intensity. The examination was performed by an assessor blinded to subjects’ condition.

Results
A significant positive association between pain and disability (P < 0.003), pain and PPT in the upper trapezius (P < 0.041), pain and PPT in tibialis anterior (P < 0.038), disability and PPT in upper trapezius (P = 0.006) was found in both groups. Subjects with MNP showed significantly negative association between disability and PPT in the tibialis anterior (P = 0.003). Subjects with active TrPs in the upper trapezius exhibited significantly higher neck pain intensity and neck disability and lower PPTs (all, P < 0.015), than those with latent TrPs in both groups.

Conclusions
Our results suggest that the association between pain, disability, and PPTs is similar in subjects with neck pain and not influenced by the origin of neck pain. The presence of active TrPs in upper trapezius in neck pain patients was related to higher pain intensity, related-disability and lower PPTs, compared to neck pain patients with latent TrPs in upper trapezius. Future studies are needed to determine the clinical role of these associations.
Preoperative downregulation of long-noncoding RNA Meg3 in serum of patients with chronic postoperative pain after total knee replacement
Authors: Giordano R. , Petersen K.K. , Santoro M. , Pazzaglia C. , Valeriani M. , Arendt-Nielsen L. 
Published: August 2017

Abstract

Aims
The incidence of chronic pain after total knee replacement (TKR) is approx. 20%, why preoperative risk factors for the development of chronic postoperative pain are highly warranted. Studies have indicated that preoperative inflammatory markers hold prognostic information for the development of chronic postoperative pain. Long-non-coding-RNA (lncRNA) regulates the expression of genes related with e.g. inflammation. The current study aimed to investigate the preoperative influence of lncRNA on the development of chronic postoperative pain following TKR.

Methods
24 patients, who developed chronic postoperative pain and 12 patients with painfree recovery, were sampled from a larger clinical study. Preoperative serum samples were obtained from all patients and analyzed for potential lncRNA candidates. Briefly, total RNA was extracted from serum using miRNeasy Mini kit.cDNA samples were pre-amplified with RT2lncRNAPreAMP Primer Mix that contained specific set of primers to target genes of Human RT2lncRNA Inflammatory Response & Autoimmunity PCR Array. Further, the reaction (25μl) will be aliquoted into the wells of RT2lncRNA PCR Array Human Inflammatory Response & Autoimmunity. LncRNA-expressions were compared between the two groups using student’s t-test.

Results
19 patients were excluded due to the “cut-off” of the statistical analysis’s software that not included the samples because of genomic contamination, retro transcription and amplification’s low efficiency. A total of 13 patients were included (7 with pain, 6 without pain). The preliminary analysis found that the MEG3-lncRNA (implicated in tumor vascularization suppressing) were downregulated in patients who developed chronic postoperative pain compared to patients with a normal recovery (fold change: − 9.56, P < 0.05).

Conclusions
Preoperative MEG-3 is downregulated in patients in risk of developing chronic postoperative pain following TKR. Future research, in larger cohorts should further investigate the role of MEG3 and hence the improvement of the cartilage vascularization and other lncRNAs as predictive indicators for the development of chronic postoperative pain.
Detection of systemic inflammation in severely impaired chronic pain patients, and effects of a CBT-ACT-based multi-modal pain rehabilitation program
Authors: Hysing E.-B. , Smith L. , Thulin M. , Karlsten R. , Gordh T. 
Published: August 2017

Abstract

Aims
A few previous studies indicate an ongoing of low-grade systemic inflammation in chronic pain patients (CPP) [1, 2]. In the present study we investigated the plasma inflammatory profile in severely impaired chronic pain patients. In addition we studied if there were any alterations in inflammation patterns at one-year follow up, after the patients had taken part in a CBT-ACT based 4 weeks in-hospital pain rehabilitation program (PRP).

Methods
Blood samples were collected from 52 well characterized chronic pain patients. Plasma from matched healthy blood donors were used as controls. At one year after the treatment program, 28 of the patients were available for follow up. Instead of only analyzing single inflammation-related substances, we used a new multiplex panel enabling the simultaneous analysis of 92 inflammation-related proteins, mainly cytokines and chemokines (Proseek Inflammation, Olink, Uppsala, Sweden). Multivariate statistics were used for analysis.

Results
Clear signs of increased inflammatory activity were detected in the pain patients. Accepting a false discovery rate (FDR) of 5%, there were significant differences in 43 of the 92 inflammatory biomarkers. The expression of 8 biomarkers were 4 times higher in patients compared to controls. Three biomarkers, CXCL5, SIRT2, AXIN1 were more than 8 times higher. The conventional marker for inflammation, CRP, did not differ. Of the 28 patients available for follow up one year after the intervention, all showed lower levels of the inflammatory biomarker initially raised.

Conclusions
The results indicate that CPP suffer from a low grade of chronic systemic inflammation, not detectable by CRP analysis. This may have implications for the general pain hypersensitivity, and other symptoms, often described in this group of patients. We conclude that inflammatory plasma proteins may be measureable molecular markers to distinguishes CPP from pain free controls, and that a CBT-ACT pain rehab program seem to decrease this inflammatory activity.
A novel method for investigating the importance of visual feedback on somatosensation and bodily-self perception
Authors: Thøgersen Mikkel , Hansen John , Flor Herta , Arendt-Nielsen Lars , Petrini Laura 
Published: August 2017

Abstract

Aims
Visual feedback is hypothesized to play an important role in the phantom limb condition. In this study we attempt to create an illusory experimental model of phantom limb wherein this condition is simulated by removing the visual input from the upper limb in a group of intact participants. The aim of the study is to investigate the role of visual feedback on somatosensation, nociception and bodily-self perception.

Methods
Using a novel mixed reality (MR) system, the visual feedback of the left hand is removed in order to visually simulate a left hand amputation on 30 healthy participants (15 females). Using a within-subject design, three conditions are created: visual amputation condition (MR with no visual input); visual condition (MR with normal vision); and a baseline condition (no MR). Thermal detection and nociceptive thresholds using method of limits are measured. Proprioception of the visually amputated hand is investigated by probing the felt hand position on a proximal-distal axis from the body. Using a questionnaire the effects of the missing visual feedback on bodily self is assessed.

Results
There was a clear drift in proprioception of the left hand in the proximal direction between the control and visual amputation condition (p <0.001). A decrease in cold detection was also significant between the control and visual amputation condition (p < 0.001). Finally, questions on perceptual experiences indicated that the observed proprioceptive retraction of the visually amputated hand was also felt by the participants.

Conclusions
Missing visual feedback greatly influences the perception of the visually amputated arm underlining the importance of visual feedback. The observed proprioceptive retraction of the hand resembles the telescoping perceptions often reported by phantom limb patients. The novel method developed for this study, is a new tool to investigate the influence of visual feedback on the relationship of bodily-self and chronic pain.
Stability of plane Poiseuille–Couette flow in a fluid layer overlying a porous layer
Authors: Chang Ting-Yueh , Chen Falin , Chang Min-Hsing 
Published: August 2017

This paper performs a linear stability analysis to investigate the stability of plane Poiseuille–Couette flow in a fluid layer overlying a porous medium saturated with the same fluid. The effect of superimposed Couette flow on the associated Poiseuille flow in such a two-layer system is explored carefully. The result shows that the presence of Couette flow may destabilize the Poiseuille flow at small depth ratio $\hat{d}$, defined by the ratio of the depth of the fluid layer to the depth of the porous layer, and induce a tri-modal structure to the neutral curves. At moderate $\hat{d}$, the Couette component generally produces a stabilization effect on the flow. When the velocity of the upper moving wall is large enough, a bi-modal behaviour of the neutral curves appears and a shift of instability mode occurs from the long-wave fluid-layer mode to the porous-layer mode with higher wavenumber. These stability characteristics are remarkably different from those of the plane Poiseuille–Couette flow in a single fluid layer in that the flow becomes absolutely stable when the wall velocity is over 70 % of the maximum velocity of the Poiseuille component of flow. The stability of pure Couette flow in such a two-layer system is also studied. It is found that the flow is still absolutely stable with respect to infinitesimal disturbances, which is the same as the stability characteristic of a single-layer plane Couette flow.
Ecological specialization in Diaeretiella rapae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) on aphid species from wild and cultivated plants
Authors: Navasse Y. , Derocles S.A.P. , Plantegenest M. , Le Ralec A. 
Published: August 2017

AbstractDiaeretiella rapae is an aphid parasitoid with potential for use in biological control strategies. However, several recent genetic studies have challenged the long held view that it is a generalist parasitoid. We investigated its ecological specialization and ability to use resources in cultivated and uncultivated areas. Ecological specialization would reduce its ability to exploit the diversity of aphid species, particularly in uncultivated areas, and to control pest aphids. Four D. rapae strains were studied, three reared on pest aphids on Brassicaceae and one strain on a non-pest aphid on Chenopodiaceae. For each strain, we performed host-switching experiments, with a total of six aphid species, five of which D. rapae parasitizes in France. We tested cross-breeding ability between strains to detect potential reproductive isolation linked to aphid host species in D. rapae. The strain reared on non-pest aphids was able to develop on aphid species from both cultivated and uncultivated plants. The strains reared on pest aphids, however, exclusively parasitized aphid species on cultivated Brassicaceae. In addition, reproductive isolation was detected between strains from uncultivated and cultivated plants. Thus, the D. rapae populations examined here appear to be showing ecological specialization or they may even be composed of a complex of cryptic species related to the aphid hosts. The role of Chenopodium album as a reservoir for D. rapae, by providing a habitat for non-pest aphids on which it can feed, appears to be severely limited, and thus its efficiency to maintain local populations of D. rapae in the vicinity of crops is questionable.
MALDI-TOF MS protein profiling for the rapid identification of Chagas disease triatomine vectors and application to the triatomine fauna of French Guiana
Authors: LAROCHE MAUREEN , BÉRENGER JEAN-MICHEL , GAZELLE GLADYS , BLANCHET DENIS , RAOULT DIDIER , PAROLA PHILIPPE 
Published: August 2017

SUMMARYTriatomines are haematophagous insects involved in the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, the aetiological agent of Chagas disease. The vector competence of these arthropods can be highly variable, depending on the species. A precise identification is therefore crucial for the epidemiological surveillance of T. cruzi and the determination of at-risk human populations. To circumvent the difficulties of morphological identification and the lack of comprehensiveness of the GenBank database, we hereby propose an alternative method for triatomine identification. The femurs of the median legs of triatomines from eight different species from French Guiana were subjected to matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis. Method evaluation was performed on fresh specimens and was applied to dry specimens collected between 1991 and 2003. Femur-derived protein extracts provided reproducible spectra within the same species along with significant interspecies heterogeneity. Validation of the study by blind test analysis provided 100% correct identification of the specimens in terms of the species, sex and developmental stage. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry appears to be a powerful tool for triatomine identification, which is a major step forward in the fight against Chagas disease.
Field application of MALDI-TOF MS on mosquito larvae identification
Authors: NEBBAK AMIRA , KOUMARE SEKOU , WILLCOX ALEXANDRA C. , BERENGER JEAN-MICHEL , RAOULT DIDIER , ALMERAS LIONEL , PAROLA PHILIPPE 
Published: August 2017

SUMMARYIn recent years, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has emerged as an efficient tool for arthropod identification. Its application for field monitoring of adult mosquitoes was demonstrated, but identification of larvae has been limited to laboratory-reared specimens. Study aim was to test the success of MALDI-TOF MS in correctly identifying mosquito larvae collected in the field. Collections were performed at 13 breeding sites in urban areas of Marseille, a city in the South of France. A total of 559 larvae were collected. Of these, 73 were accurately morphologically identified, with confirmation either by molecular identification (n = 31) or analysis with MALDI-TOF MS (n = 31) and 11 were tested using both methods. The larvae identified belonged to six species including Culiseta longiareolata, Culex pipiens pipiens, Culex hortensis, Aedes albopictus, Ochlerotatus caspius and Anopheles maculipennis. A high intra-species reproducibility and inter-species specificity of whole larva MS spectra was obtained and was independent of breeding site. More than 92% of the remaining 486 larvae were identified in blind tests against the MS spectra database. Identification rates were lower for early and pupal stages, which is attributed to lower protein abundance and metamorphosis, respectively. The suitability of MALDI-TOF MS for mosquito larvae identification from the field has been confirmed.
A semi-intrusive stochastic perturbation method for lift prediction and global sensitivity analysis
Authors: Suryawanshi Anup , Ghosh Debraj 
Published: August 2017

AbstractSensitivity analysis plays an important role in finding an optimal design of a structure under uncertainty. Quantifying relative importance of random parameters, which leads to a rank ordering, helps in developing a systematic and efficient way to reach the optimal design. In this work, lift prediction and sensitivity analysis of a potential flow around a submerged body is considered. Such flow is often used in the initial design stage of structures. The flow computation is carried out using a vortex-panel method. A few parameters of the submerged body and flow are considered as random variables. To improve the accuracy in lift prediction in a computationally efficient way, a new semi-intrusive stochastic perturbation method is proposed. Accordingly, a perturbation is applied at the linear system solving level involving the inuence coefficient matrix, as opposed to using perturbation in the lift quantity itself. This proposed method, which is partially analogous to the intrusive or Galerkin projection methods in spectral stochastic finite element methods, is found to be more accurate than using perturbation directly on the lift and faster than a direct simulation. The proposed semi-intrusive stochastic perturbation method is found to yield faster estimates of the Sobol’ indices, which are used for global sensitivity analysis. From global sensitivity analysis, the flow parameters are found to be more important than the parameters of the submerged body.
A decision model for making decisions under epistemic uncertainty and its application to select materials
Authors: Shahinur Sweety , Ullah A.M.M. Sharif , Noor-E-Alam Muhammad , Haniu Hiroyuki , Kubo Akihiko 
Published: August 2017

AbstractThis study deals with both a decision model for making decisions under epistemic uncertainty and how to use it for selecting optimal materials under the same uncertainty. In particular, the proposed decision model employs a set of possibilistic objective functions defined by fuzzy numbers to handle a set of conflicting criteria. In addition, the model can calculate the compliance of a piece of decision-relevant (imprecise) information with a given objective function. Moreover, the model is capable to aggregate the calculated compliances for the sake of ranking a given set of alternatives against the set of conflicting criteria. The problem of selecting materials for making the body of a vehicle is considered as an example. In this problem, the indices for selecting the materials are unknown because the specifications regarding the vehicle body are not given. In addition, the data relevant to material properties entails a great deal of imprecision. The presented decision model can quantify the above-mentioned epistemic uncertainty in a lucid manner and generate a list of optimal materials.
Chlamydia gallinacea: a widespread emerging Chlamydia agent with zoonotic potential in backyard poultry
Authors: LI L. , LUTHER M. , MACKLIN K. , PUGH D. , LI J. , ZHANG J. , ROBERTS J. , KALTENBOECK B. , WANG C. 
Published: August 2017

SUMMARYChlamydia gallinacea, a new chlamydial agent, has been reported in four European countries as well as Argentina and China. Experimentally infected chickens with C. gallinacea in previous study showed no clinical signs but had significantly reduced gains in body weight (6·5–11·4%). Slaughterhouse workers exposed to infected chickens have developed atypical pneumonia, indicating C. gallinacea is likely a zoonotic agent. In this study, FRET-PCR confirmed that C. gallinacea was present in 12·4% (66/531) of oral–pharyngeal samples from Alabama backyard poultry. Phylogenetic comparisons based on ompA variable domain showed that 16 sequenced samples represented 14 biotypes. We report for the first time the presence of C. gallinacea in North America, and this warrants further research on the organism's pathogenicity, hosts, transmission, and zoonotic potential.
Information for actuaries valuing Periodical Payment Orders
Authors:   The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Periodical Payment Orders Working Party
Published: August 2017

AbstractPeriodical Payment Orders (PPOs) have challenged actuarial professionals as they rose to prominence as a new means of settling third-party liability claims, consisting of regular payments in the future, usually for a claimant’s lifetime. This paper explores how this new settlement method has brought about new risks to consider for actuarial professionals working in Motor and Casualty insurance, or any other line where a claim for future periodical payments may arise. Life contingencies have entered the space of general insurance in a new way. In addition, actuarial professionals have investment risk to consider, and for PPOs the inflation risk is unusual, significant and not currently fully hedgeable. The paper highlights methods that could be considered for setting important assumptions, including mortality, indexation, investment return and PPO settlement propensity. For reserving actuaries, the paper explains that the nature of the liabilities does not lend itself to triangulation. Cash flow techniques are needed and actual-versus-expected results can be analysed for discount rate unwinding and mortality profit, for example. Scenario testing will be important to understand the sensitivity of the results and to explain them to senior management. Stochastic modelling is considered in the Capital Modelling section, amongst other significant considerations for actuarial practitioners working with PPOs in this field. Pricing is also affected, as PPOs are a proportion of large loss loadings. The paper also touches briefly on reporting requirements. This is to help provide some basic background for actuaries interacting with those undertaking financial reporting.
Purification procedure sensitizesBacillusendospores to free radicals from UVA radiation and photocatalysis
Authors: Krishna Vijay , Zhao Jue , Koopman Ben , Moudgil Brij 
Published: August 2017

AbstractMany researchers are investigating the extreme resilience of bacterial endospores against chemical and physical inactivating agents. The presence of vegetative cells in spore suspensions can result in overly optimistic assessment of inactivating agents; therefore, various spore purification methods have been applied to separate spores from vegetative cells prior to testing. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of two widely used spore purification methodologies on spore integrity and susceptibility to ultraviolet-A (UVA) radiation and free radicals generated from photocatalysts.Bacillus subtilisandBacillus cereusspores were purified by procedures that involved heat shock alone or chemical washes, lysozyme treatment and heat shock (CLH). The purified spores were exposed to UVA radiation or free radicals generated by photocatalyst and susceptibility were evaluated in terms of survival ratio. The effect of purification procedure on the spore morphology was investigated with electron microscopy. The CLH purification process significantly damages spore coats and increases the susceptibility ofBacillusspores to UVA radiation and photocatalytic inactivation. It is therefore likely that the survival of CLH treated spores in extra-terrestrial environments would be less than that of the same spores purified by a less aggressive procedure.