bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Calcium–Alginate–Inulin Microbeads as Carriers for Aqueous Carqueja Extract
Authors: Balanč Bojana , Kalušević Ana , Drvenica Ivana , Coelho Maria Teresa , Djordjević Verica , Alves Vitor D , Sousa Isabel , Moldão‐Martins Margarida , Rakić Vesna , Nedović Viktor , Bugarski Branko 
Published: November 2015

AbstractCarqueja (Pterospartum tridentatum) is an endemic species and various bioactive compounds have been identified in its aqueous extract. The aim of this study was to protect the natural antioxidants from the aqueous extract of carqueja by encapsulation in Ca–alginate microbeads and Ca–alginate microbeads containing 10% and 20% (w/v) of inulin. The microbeads produced by electrostatic extrusion technique had an average diameter from 625 μm to 830 μm depending on the portion of inulin. The sphericity factor of the hydrogel microbeads had values between 0.014 and 0.026, while freeze dried microbeads had irregular shape, especially those with no excipient. The reduction in microbeads size after freeze drying process (expressed as shrinkage factor) ranged from 0.338 (alginate microbeads with 20% (w/v) of inulin) to 0.523 (plain alginate microbeads). The expressed radical scavenging activity against ABTS and DPPH radicals was found to be between 30% and 40% for encapsulated extract, while the fresh extract showed around 47% and 57% of radical scavenging activity for ABTS and DPPH radicals, respectively. The correlation between antioxidant activity and the total phenolic content were found to be positive (in both assay methods, DPPH and ABTS), which indicate that the addition of inulin didn't have influence on antioxidant activity. The presence of inulin reduced stiffness of the hydrogel, and protected bead structure from collapse upon freeze‐drying. Alginate–inulin beads are envisaged to be used for delivery of aqueous P. tridentatum extract in functional food products.
Extending RAD tag analysis to microbial ecology: a comparison between MultiLocus Sequence Typing and 2b‐RAD to investigate Listeria monocytogenes genetic structure
Authors: Pauletto Marianna , Carraro Lisa , Babbucci Massimiliano , Lucchini Rosaria , Bargelloni Luca , Cardazzo Barbara 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe advent of next‐generation sequencing (NGS) has dramatically changed bacterial typing technologies, increasing our ability to differentiate bacterial isolates. Despite it is now possible to sequence a bacterial genome in a few days and at reasonable costs, most genetic analyses do not require whole‐genome sequencing, which also remains impractical for large population samples due to the cost of individual library preparation and bioinformatics. More traditional sequencing approaches, however, such as MultiLocus Sequence Typing (mlst) are quite laborious and time‐consuming, especially for large‐scale analyses. In this study, a genotyping approach based on restriction site‐associated (RAD) tag sequencing, 2b‐RAD, was applied to characterize Listeria monocytogenes strains. To verify the feasibility of the method, an in silico analysis was performed on 30 available complete genomes. For the same set of strains, in silico mlst analysis was conducted as well. Subsequently, 2b‐RAD and mlst analyses were experimentally carried out on 58 isolates collected from food samples or food‐processing sites. The obtained results demonstrate that 2b‐RAD predicts mlst types and often provides more detailed information on population structure than mlst. Moreover, the majority of variants differentiating identical sequence type isolates mapped against accessory fragments, thus providing additional information to characterize strains. Although mlst still represents a reliable typing method, large‐scale studies on molecular epidemiology and public health, as well as bacterial phylogenetics, population genetics and biosafety could benefit of a low cost and fast turnaround time approach such as the 2b‐RAD analysis proposed here.
Efficacy and safety of intravenous fentanyl administered by ambulance personnel
Authors: Friesgaard K. D. , Nikolajsen L. , Giebner M. , Rasmussen C.‐H. , Riddervold I. S. , Kirkegaard H. , Christensen E. F. 
Published: November 2015

BackgroundManagement of pain in the pre‐hospital setting is often inadequate. In 2011, ambulance personnel were authorized to administer intravenous fentanyl in the Central Denmark Region. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravenous fentanyl administered by ambulance personnel.MethodsPre‐hospital medical charts from 2348 adults treated with intravenous fentanyl by ambulance personnel during a 6‐month period were reviewed. The primary outcome was the change in pain intensity on a numeric rating scale (NRS) from before fentanyl treatment to hospital arrival. Secondary outcomes included the number of patients with reduction in pain intensity during transport (NRS ≥ 2), the number of patients with NRS > 3 at hospital arrival, and potential fentanyl‐related side effects.ResultsFentanyl reduced pain from before treatment (8, IQR 7–9) to hospital arrival (4, IQR 3–6) (NRS reduction: 3, IQR 2–5; P = 0.001), 79.3% of all patients had a reduction in > 2 on the NRS during transport, and 58.4% of patients experienced pain at hospital arrival (NRS > 3). Twenty‐one patients (0.9%) had oxygen saturation < 90%. A decrease in Glasgow Coma Scale was seen in 31 patients (1.3%) and hypotension observed in 71 patients (3.0%).ConclusionIntravenous fentanyl caused clinically meaningful pain reduction in most patients and was safe in the hands of ambulance personnel. Many patients had moderate to severe pain at hospital arrival. As the protocol allowed higher doses of fentanyl, feedback on effect and safety should be part of continuous education of ambulance personnel.
Reduced activity in functional networks during reward processing is modulated by abstinence in cocaine addicts
Authors: Costumero Víctor , Bustamante Juan Carlos , Rosell‐Negre Patricia , Fuentes Paola , Llopis Juan José , Ávila César , Barrós‐Loscertales Alfonso 
Published: November 2015

AbstractCocaine addiction is characterized by alterations in motivational and cognitive processes. Recent studies have shown that some alterations present in cocaine users may be related to the activity of large functional networks. The aim of this study was to investigate how these functional networks are modulated by non‐drug rewarding stimuli in cocaine‐dependent individuals. Twenty abstinent cocaine‐dependent and 21 healthy matched male controls viewed erotic and neutral pictures while undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Group independent component analysis was then performed in order to investigate how functional networks were modulated by reward in cocaine addicts. The results showed that cocaine addicts, compared with healthy controls, displayed diminished modulation of the left frontoparietal network in response to erotic pictures, specifically when they were unpredicted. Additionally, a positive correlation between the length of cocaine abstinence and the modulation of the left frontoparietal network by unpredicted erotic images was found. In agreement with current addiction models, our results suggest that cocaine addiction contributes to reduce sensitivity to rewarding stimuli and that abstinence may mitigate this effect.
Conspiracy Endorsement as Motivated Reasoning: The Moderating Roles of Political Knowledge and Trust
Authors: Miller Joanne M. , Saunders Kyle L. , Farhart Christina E. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractGiven the potential political and social significance of conspiracy beliefs, a substantial and growing body of work examines the individual‐level correlates of belief in conspiracy theories and general conspiratorial predispositions. However, although we know much about the psychological antecedents of conspiracy endorsement, we know less about the individual‐level political causes of these prevalent and consequential beliefs. Our work draws from the extant literature to posit that endorsement of conspiracy theories is a motivated process that serves both ideological and psychological needs. In doing so, we develop a theory that identifies a particular type of person—one who is both highly knowledgeable about politics and lacking in trust—who is most susceptible to ideologically motivated conspiracy endorsement. Further, we demonstrate that the moderators of belief in conspiracy theories are strikingly different for conservatives and liberals.
Outcomes of ventricular assist device implantation in children and young adults: the Melbourne experience
Authors: Shi William Y. , Marasco Silvana F. , Saxena Pankaj , d'Udekem Yves , Yong Matthew S. , Mitnovetski Sergei , Brizard Christian P. , McGiffin David C. , Weintraub Robert G. , Konstantinov Igor E. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractBackgroundWe evaluated our experience with ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation in children and young adults.MethodsA total of 64 patients underwent VAD implantation in two centres. The mean age was 15 ± 7.2 years. Thirty‐five (55%) patients were under 18 years of age. Devices implanted included the Thoratec Paracorporeal in 30 (47%) patients, Berlin Heart EXCOR in 11 (17%) and VentrAssist in 14 (22%). The diagnosis was cardiomyopathy in 53, congenital heart disease in 11, and graft failure in four patients.ResultsThere were 10 (16%) in‐hospital deaths. Mortality was higher in patients <18 years of age (26% compared with 3.4% for those ≥18 years, P = 0.02). The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation prior to VAD implantation was associated with higher mortality (P = 0.006). Seventeen (27%) patients experienced stroke. Nine patients (14%) required change of VAD because of thrombosis. Transplantation was performed in 44 patients after a mean of 131 ± 141 days on VAD, 11 patients died without transplantation and three patients currently await transplantation. The VAD was explanted in six patients because of recovery. Overall survival from VAD implantation was 69% and 61% at 5 and 10 years, respectively. The 5‐year post‐transplant survival for those bridged with VAD support was 91% and was comparable with a cohort of patients who did not receive a pre‐transplant VAD.ConclusionsChildren requiring pre‐transplant VAD support have a higher mortality and morbidity compared with young adults. Survival after heart transplantation those supported with VADs was similar to patients of similar age who did not require pre‐transplant support.
Seeing Green in San Francisco: City as Resource Frontier
Authors: Knuth Sarah 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe early 21st century witnessed a boom in green building in San Francisco and similar cities. Major downtown property owners and investors retrofitted office towers, commissioned green certification, and critically, explored how greening might pay. Greening initiatives transcend corporate social responsibility: they represent a new attempt to enclose and speculate upon “green” value within the second nature of cities. However, this unconventional resource discovery requires a highly partial view of buildings’ socio‐natural entanglements in and beyond the city. I illuminate these efforts and their obscurities by exploring the experience of an exemplary green building in San Francisco, an office tower that has successively served as a headquarters organizing a vast resource periphery in the American West, a symbol and driver in the transformation of the city's own second nature, a financial “resource” in its own right, and most recently, an asset in an emerging global market for green property.
Arcangelo Ghisleri and the “Right to Barbarity”: Geography and Anti‐colonialism in Italy in the Age of Empire (1875–1914)
Authors: Ferretti Federico 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThis paper addresses the work of early critics of colonialism and Eurocentrism within Italian geography in the Age of Empire. At that time, a minority but rather influential group of Italian scholars, influenced by the international debates promoted by the anarchist geographers Reclus, Kropotkin and Mečnikov, fumed publicly at Italy's colonial ambitions in Africa. Their positions assumed, at least in the case of Arcangelo Ghisleri, the character of a radical critique of both political and cultural European hegemony. These approaches were linked to a similar critique of “internal colonialism”, both Austrian in the Italian‐speaking regions of Trento and Trieste, and Piedmontese in southern Italy. Based on primary sources, and drawing on the international literature on imperial geography and colonial and postcolonial sciences, this paper conjures up the Italian example to discuss how some European geographers of the Age of Empire were also early critics of racism, colonialism and chauvinism, and how these historical experiences can serve current debates on critical, radical and anarchist geographies.
Investigation of the Characteristics of HeartWare HVAD and Thoratec HeartMate II Under Steady and Pulsatile Flow Conditions
Authors: Noor Mumin R. , Ho Chong H. , Parker Kim H. , Simon Andre R. , Banner Nicholas R. , Bowles Christopher T. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe aim of this study was to elucidate the dynamic characteristics of the Thoratec HeartMate II (HMII) and the HeartWare HVAD (HVAD) left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) under clinically representative in vitro operating conditions. The performance of the two LVADs were compared in a normothermic, human blood‐filled mock circulation model under conditions of steady (nonpulsatile) flow and under simulated physiologic conditions. These experiments were repeated using 5% dextrose in order to determine its suitability as a blood analog. Under steady flow conditions, for the HMII, approximately linear inverse LVAD differential pressure (H) versus flow (Q) relationships were observed with good correspondence between the results of blood and 5% dextrose under all conditions except at a pump speed of 9000 rpm. For the HVAD, the corresponding relationships were inverse curvilinear and with good correspondence between the blood‐derived and 5% dextrose‐derived relationships in the flow rate range of 2–6 L/min and at pump speeds up to 3000 rpm. Under pulsatile operating conditions, for each LVAD operating at a particular pump speed, an counterclockwise loop was inscribed in the HQ domain during a simulated cardiac cycle (HQ loop); this showed that there was a variable phase relationship between LVAD differential pressure and LVAD flow. For both the HMII and HVAD, increasing pump speed was associated with a right‐hand and upward shift of the HQ loop and simulation of impairment of left ventricular function was associated with a decrease in loop area. During clinical use, not only does the pressure differential across the LVAD and its flow rate vary continuously, but their phase relationship is variable. This behavior is inadequately described by the widely accepted representation of a plot of pressure differential versus flow derived under steady conditions. We conclude that the dynamic HQ loop is a more meaningful representation of clinical operating conditions than the widely accepted steady flow HQ curve.
Proton pump inhibitor associated hypomagnasaemia ‐ a cause for concern?
Authors: Begley Joe , Smith Trevor , Barnett Kirsty , Strike Paul , Azim Adnan , Spake Claire , Richardson Tristan 
Published: November 2015

AimsIn recent years, there have been a number of case reports of severe hypomagnesaemia associated with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use, such that both the FDA and MHRA have issued drug safety warnings. They have recommended periodic serum magnesium testing in patients prescribed PPIs but provide no guidance on timing of these measurements.MethodsTo our knowledge, we are the first to perform a prospective study to explore specifically proton pump inhibitor associated hypomagnesaemia (PPIAH). We followed 56 patients new to PPIs prospectively as well as a further 100 patients on long term PPIs cross‐sectionally to identify what factors may be influencing the development of significant hypomagnesaemia.ResultsFor the prospective arm of the study, we measured serum magnesium levels prior to starting a PPI and again at regular intervals for the next 8 months. For the cross‐sectional arm of the study we measured serum magnesium levels on patients on PPI therapy ranging from less than 1 year to over 5 years.ConclusionWe found that, although there was a significant downward trend in serum magnesium levels in patients new to PPI therapy with time, clinically relevant hypomagnesaemia was not readily identifiable on regular blood testing. We did however identify patients on concurrent diuretic therapy as being at higher risk and so would recommend regular serum magnesium testing alongside their regular renal function monitoring on a more frequent basis such as annually.
Effects of a geriatric intervention aiming to improve quality care in nursing homes on benzodiazepine use and discontinuation
Authors: de Souto Barreto Philipe , Lapeyre‐Mestre Maryse , Cestac Philippe , Vellas Bruno , Rolland Yves 
Published: November 2015

BackgroundBenzodiazepines and “Z drugs” are often prescribed in residents of nursing homes (NH) despite their well‐known deleterious effects. We aimed to investigate if a general intervention on quality of care led to discontinuation of benzodiazepine, and to examine which NH‐related factors were associated in change of benzodiazepines use.MethodsIQUARE is a quasi‐experimental study, investigating the impact of an intervention based on a geriatric education with NH staff on several quality indicators of care (including appropriate prescriptions). All participating NH received an initial and 18‐month audit regarding drug prescriptions and other quality of care variables. The analysis included 3973 residents, 2151 subjects (mean age: 84.6 ± 8.5 years; 74.3% women) in the control group and 1822 (mean age: 85.5 ± 8.1 years; 77.4% women) in the intervention group. Outcomes at 18 months were benzodiazepines use, long‐acting benzodiazepines use, new‐use of benzodiazepines, and discontinuation. The effect of the intervention was investigated using mixed‐effect logistic regression models, including NH variables and residents' health status as confounders.ResultsHigher reductions in benzodiazepine use (−2.8% vs. −1.5%) and long‐acting benzodiazepine (−3.7% vs. −3.5%) were observed in intervention group, but not statistically significant. None of the structural and organisational NH‐related variables predicted either discontinuation or new‐use of benzodiazepines; hospitalisations and initial use of meprobamate increased the likelihood of becoming a new‐user of benzodiazepines. Multivariate analysis suggested that living in a particular NH could affect benzodiazepines discontinuation.ConclusionsA general intervention designed to improve overall NH quality indicators did not succeed in reducing benzodiazepines use. External factors interfered with the intervention. Further studies are needed to examine which NH‐related aspects could impact benzodiazepines discontinuation.
Middle Pleistocene large‐mammal faunas from North Iberia: palaeobiogeographical and palaeoecological implications
Authors: Álvarez‐Lao Diego J. 
Published: November 2015

The rich Quaternary fossil record from the Cantabrian region (NW Iberia) is virtually restricted to the Late Pleistocene, with Middle Pleistocene findings very rare. This work presents the study of two Middle Pleistocene palaeontological sites in the Cantabrian region: Llantrales quarry and Mestas de Con mine, both discovered and first described in the 1950s but never studied in detail thereafter. The material was here re‐analysed and re‐evaluated. Taxonomic attributions have been changed in most cases and, consequently, chronological assignments of the fossils have also been changed. This first detailed study of the assemblage from Llantrales quarry revealed the occurrence of the large‐sized deer Praemegaceros solilhacus, which has never been reported previously in North Iberia. Cervus cf. elaphus and Stephanorhinus cf. hundsheimensis were also identified. The age of these fossils was originally regarded as Pontian (late Miocene), but new palaeontological results indicate a much younger age, most likely from around 0.8 to 0.5 Ma. A taxonomic re‐evaluation of the fossils from Mestas de Con provided different results with respect to the 1950s works. The faunal association is composed of a large‐sized deer (probably corresponding to Praemegaceros), Cervus elaphus, Capreolus cf. capreolus, Bison sp. (small sized), Equus sp. (large sized), Stephanorhinus hemitoechus, Ursus sp. and Homotherim latidens. This faunal association was evaluated within a western European context and proves to be highly analogous to other contemporary assemblages there. The chronology was initially regarded as late Villafranchian (in a broader sense). New results, documenting the co‐occurrence of Stephanorhinus hemitoechus and Homotherium latidens, indicate a more precise and younger age, most likely between 0.6 and 0.4 Ma. These two fossil assemblages provide new and relevant information on the Middle Pleistocene faunas from a geographical region where this information, compared with other western European areas, is rare and poorly known.
Diagnostic relevance of direct immunofluorescence in ocular mucous membrane pemphigoid
Authors: Mehra Tarun , Guenova Emmanuella , Dechent Frieder , Würth Florian , Zierhut Manfred , Röcken Martin , Schaller Martin , Deuter Christoph 
Published: November 2015

SummaryBackground and objectivesThe objective was to determine the diagnostic value of direct immunofluorescence (DIF) in ocular mucous membrane pemphigoid (ocular MMP), taking into account immunofluorescence patterns and biopsy sites.Patients and methodsDIF results and medical records of 54 patients with a suspected diagnosis of ocular MMP were reviewed.ResultsThere was an overall prevalence of ocular MMP in 70.4 % of cases. Linear deposition of IgA, IgG, or C3 showed a high positive predictive value (84–100 %). Sensitivity and negative predictive value of IgG, IgM, IgG, and C3 in DIF were higher in cutaneous samples than in conjunctival biopsies, thus yielding a higher diagnostic accuracy. The sensitivity of DIF in ocular MMP seems to be lower than in bullous pemphigoid.ConclusionsThe diagnostic value of DIF in the workup of ocular MMP was confirmed. However, biopsies taken from non‐conjunctival, cutaneous tissue appear to yield more accurate results.