bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Minding the Gaps in Cancer Pain Management Education: A Multicenter Study of Clinical Residents and Fellows in a Low- Versus High-Resource Setting
Authors: Odonkor Charles Amoatey , Osei-Bonsu Ernest , Tetteh Oswald , Haig Andy , Mayer Robert Samuel , Smith Thomas J. 
Published: March 2016

Purpose Inadequate pain management training has been reported as a major cause of undertreatment of cancer pain. Yet, past research has not comprehensively compared the quality of cancer pain management education among physicians in training in high-resource countries (HRCs) with those in low-resource countries (LRCs). The purpose of this study was to examine and compare gaps in cancer pain management education among physician trainees in an HRC (United States) versus an LRC (Ghana). Methods A cross section of physicians at four major academic medical centers completed surveys about the adequacy of cancer pain training. Participation in the study was completely voluntary, and paper or online surveys were completed anonymously. Results The response rate was 60% (N = 120). Major gaps were identified in cancer pain management education across the spectrum of medical school training. Training was rated as inadequate (by approximately 80% of trainees), although approximately 10% more trainees in HRCs versus LRCs felt this way; 35% said residency training was inadequate in both settings; and 50% in LRCs versus 44% in HRCs said fellowship training was less than good. On the basis of the lowest group means, the three key areas of perceived deficits included interventional pain procedures (2.34 ± 1.12), palliative care interventions (2.39 ± 1.12), and managing procedural and postoperative pain (2.94 ± 0.97), with significant differences in the distribution of deficits in 15 cancer-pain competencies between LRCs and HRCs ( P < .05). Conclusion This study identifies priority areas that could be targeted synergistically by LRCs and HRCs to advance cancer care globally. The findings underscore differential opportunities to broaden and improve competencies in cancer pain management via exchange training, in which physicians from HRCs spend time in LRCs and vice versa.
Calbindin Knockout Alters Sex-Specific Regulation of Behavior and Gene Expression in Amygdala and Prefrontal Cortex
Authors: Harris Erin P. , Abel Jean M. , Tejada Lucia D. , Rissman Emilie F. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Calbindin-D(28K) (Calb1), a high-affinity calcium buffer/sensor, shows abundant expression in neurons and has been associated with a number of neurobehavioral diseases, many of which are sexually dimorphic in incidence. Behavioral and physiological end points are affected by experimental manipulations of calbindin levels, including disruption of spatial learning, hippocampal long-term potentiation, and circadian rhythms. In this study, we investigated novel aspects of calbindin function on social behavior, anxiety-like behavior, and fear conditioning in adult mice of both sexes by comparing wild-type to littermate Calb1 KO mice. Because Calb1 mRNA and protein are sexually dimorphic in some areas of the brain, we hypothesized that sex differences in behavioral responses of these behaviors would be eliminated or revealed in Calb1 KO mice. We also examined gene expression in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, two areas of the brain intimately connected with limbic system control of the behaviors tested, in response to sex and genotype. Our results demonstrate that fear memory and social behavior are altered in male knockout mice, and Calb1 KO mice of both sexes show less anxiety. Moreover, gene expression studies of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex revealed several significant genotype and sex effects in genes related to brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling, hormone receptors, histone deacetylases, and γ-aminobutyric acid signaling. Our findings are the first to directly link calbindin with affective and social behaviors in rodents; moreover, the results suggest that sex differences in calbindin protein influence behavior.
Exosomes from high glucose-treated glomerular endothelial cells activate mesangial cells to promote renal fibrosis
Authors: Wu Xiao-ming , Gao Yan-bin , Cui Fang-qiang , Zhang Na 
Published: March 2016

ABSTRACTThe interaction between glomerular endothelial cells (GECs) and glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs) is an essential aspect of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Therefore, understanding how GECs communicate with GMCs in the diabetic environment is crucial for the development of new targets for the prevention and treatment of DN. Exosomes, nanometer-sized extracellular membrane vesicles secreted by various cell types, play important roles in cell-to-cell communication via the transfer of mRNA, microRNA and protein. In this study, we demonstrate that high glucose (HG)-treated GECs secrete a higher number of exosomes highly enriched in TGF-β1 mRNA compared with normal glucose (NG)-treated GECs. Exosomes released by HG-treated GECs can promote α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression, proliferation and extracellular matrix protein overproduction in GMCs through the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway. Thus, we provide new insights into the pathogenesis of DN that involves intercellular transfer of TGF-β1 mRNA in the GEC-to-GMC direction via exosomes.
Dynamic Pricing in the Presence of Social Learning and Strategic Consumers
Authors: Papanastasiou Yiangos , Savva Nicos 
Published: March 2016

When a product of uncertain quality is first introduced, consumers may choose to strategically delay their purchasing decisions in anticipation of the product reviews of their peers. This paper investigates how the presence of social learning affects the strategic interaction between a dynamic-pricing monopolist and a forward-looking consumer population, within a simple two-period model. Our analysis yields three main insights. First, we find that the presence of social learning has significant structural implications for optimal pricing policies: In the absence of social learning, decreasing price plans are always preferred by the firm; by contrast, in the presence of social learning we find that (i) if the firm commits to a price path ex ante (preannounced pricing), an increasing price plan is typically announced, whereas (ii) if the firm adjusts price dynamically (responsive pricing), prices are initially low and may either rise or decline over time. Second, we establish that under both preannounced and responsive pricing, even though the social learning process exacerbates strategic consumer behavior (i.e., increases strategic purchasing delays), its presence results in an increase in expected firm profit. Third, we illustrate that, contrary to results reported in existing literature on strategic consumer behavior, in settings where social learning is significantly influential, preannounced pricing policies are generally not beneficial for the firm. This paper was accepted by Yossi Aviv, operations management.
The Design Thinking Mindset: An Assessment of What We Know and What We See in Practice
Authors: Schweitzer Jochen , Groeger Lars , Sobel Leanne 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
We review the design and management literature to identify and define key components of a design thinking mindset and report initial findings from fifteen in-depth interviews with innovation managers, who reflect on their practices while implementing design thinking in their organizations. Our study confirms a set of commonly understood and applied mindsets, but also reveals organizational constraints on translating cognition into behaviour. We argue that further mapping of design thinking mindsets and linking them to leadership theory provides a suitable point of departure for the study of design thinking and its role for innovation.
Mini Nutritional Assessment Short‐Form (MNA‐SF) Predicts Clinical Outcomes: Cohort Study of Small‐Sized Hospital in Japan
Authors: Sato Kenta 
Published: March 2016

Background: Among the elderly, the rate of complications resulting from malnutrition is high. A mini nutritional assessment short‐form (MNA‐SF) was confirmed overseas to identify malnutrition and predict clinical outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the MNA‐SF usefulness in Japanese small‐sized hospital.Methods: This was a prospective cohort study conducted on hospitalized patients at small‐sized hospital, Department of General Internal Medicine which has 30 beds. All consecutive hospitalized patients for 4 months were included. A MNA‐SF assessment on admission was implemented as exposure factor. Primary outcomes included death and complications such as infectious disease, organ failure, delirium, falls, diagnosis of malignancy and poor oral intake. Secondary outcomes including days of hospitalization and discharge rate back to home were also measured.Results: 177 patients were analyzed with the MNA‐SF assessment. Twenty‐three (13%) patients were “normal nutritional status”, 64 (36%) were “at risk” and 90 (51%) were “malnourished”. The mortality rate was 0, 1.4 and 6.9 cases/1000 person‐day (incidence ratio 4.9 times), respectively. The complications incidence rate was 0, 18 and 30.1 cases/1000 person‐day (incidence ratio 1.7 times), respectively. The number of days in hospital were 11.1, 14.0 and 21.6 days (p < 0.01), respectively. The discharge to home rate was 90.4, 84.4 and 53.3% (p < 0.01), respectively.Conclusions: Among all patients on a Japanese general medicine ward, those with poor nourishment assessed by the MNA‐SF showed a high death rate and complication incidence rate. And they are also proved to be difficult to early discharge from the hospital back to the patient's homes.
The analysis of the relationship between personality traits of extreme athletes and sports consumption motives
Authors: Ceylan Merve , Altıparmak Ersin , Akçakoyun Fahri 
Published: March 2016

This research was conducted in order to analyse the relationship between personality traits and sports consumption motives. In line with this purpose, 227 extreme athletes (86 were sportsmen and 141 were sportswomen), which were competitors in sports branches of snowboarding, snow kiting, kitesurfing, windsurfing, kayak, mountain biking, Free-diving, paragliding, rock climbing and rafting, were selected through the method of judgement sampling. Questionnaires were conducted between 1 February- 31 December 2013 at extreme sports facilities in the provinces and districts of Muğla/Marmaris-Fethiye-Bodrum-Gökova, Antalya/Alanya-Kemer, İzmir/Alaçatı-Çeşme, Bursa/ Uludağ, Bolu/ Kartalkaya. In this study, “Extreme Sport Consumption Scale” (ESCS) that was developed by Şimşek (2010) and short version (with 85 articles) of “Five Factor Personality Inventory” (FFPI), which was developed by Somer, Korkmaz and Tatar (2004) were employed in order to collect data.The results of the study produced significant findings concerning the relationship between personality traits and their sports consumption motives. The most significant of them all showed that sports consumption motives to a certain extent coincide with personality traits. The assessment of the relationship between ESCS and FFPI according to the gender factor revealed that for female participants, there were negative correlations between physical fitness and extraversion; values, socialisation, seeking for excitement-adventure and docility and letting off stress and self-control (p<.05). For male participants, positive correlations were observed between letting off stress, behavioural intentions and extraversion (p<.05).
A comparative study of the PIFA and printed monopole antenna EM absorption
Authors: Hossain Md Ikbal , Iqbal Faruque Mohammad Rashed , Islam Mohammad Tariqul 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThis paper represents a comparative study on electromagnetic (EM) absorption in the human head between a printed monopole antenna and a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA). The specific absorption rate (SAR) values and total absorbed power in the human head phantom are used to evaluate EM absorption for both antennae. Moreover, antenna performances in terms of return loss, radiation efficiency, and gain are also investigated in this study. The finite integration technique (FIT) based on CST Microwave studio and SAM head phantom are used in this study. The antenna performances are measured in an anechoic chamber and the SAR is tested using COMOSAR measurement system. The obtained results indicate that the printed monopole antenna lead to higher EM absorption in the human head as compared to PIFA for both GSM frequencies.
Trapezoid type inequalities for complex functions defined on the unit circle with applications for unitary operators in Hilbert spaces
Authors: Dragomir Sever S. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Some trapezoid type inequalities for the Riemann–Stieltjes integral of continuous complex-valued integrands defined on the complex unit circle

𝒞
(
0
,
1
)

${\mathcal {C}(0,1)}$

and various subclasses of integrators of bounded variation are given. Natural applications for functions of unitary operators in Hilbert spaces are provided.
A Refutation of the Lewis-Stalnaker Analysis of Counterfactuals
Authors: Arvan Marcus 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
The standard philosophical analysis of counterfactual conditionals – the Lewis-Stalnaker analysis – analyzes the truth-conditions of counterfactuals in terms of nearby possible worlds. This paper demonstrates that this analysis is false. Section 1 shows that it is a serious epistemic and metaphysical possibility that our “world” is a massive computer simulation, and that if the Lewis-Stalnaker analysis of counterfactuals is correct, then it should extend seamlessly to the case that our world is a computer simulation, in the form of a possible-simulation semantics. Section 2 then shows that a Lewis-Stalnaker-style possible-simulation semantics clearly fails as an analysis of the truth-conditions of counterfactuals in two types of simulated worlds: Humean Simulations and Necessitarian simulations. Section 3 then considers and answers several objections. Finally, Section 4 draws several skeptical lessons about counterfactuals.
New Hippocampal Neurons Mature Rapidly in Response to Ketamine But Are Not Required for Its Acute Antidepressant Effects on Neophagia in Rats
Authors: Soumier Amelie , Carter Rayna M. , Schoenfeld Timothy J. , Cameron Heather A. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractVirtually all antidepressant agents increase the birth of granule neurons in the adult dentate gyrus in rodents, providing a key basis for the neurogenesis hypothesis of antidepressant action. The novel antidepressant ketamine, however, shows antidepressant activity in humans within hours, far too rapid for a mechanism involving neuronal birth. Ketamine could potentially act more rapidly by enhancing maturation of new neurons born weeks earlier. To test this possibility, we assessed the effects of S-ketamine (S-(+)-ketamine hydrochloride) injection on maturation, as well as birth and survival, of new dentate gyrus granule neurons in rats, using the immediate-early gene zif268, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and BrdU, respectively. We show that S-ketamine has rapid effects on new neurons, increasing the proportion of functionally mature young granule neurons within 2 h. A single injection of S-ketamine also increased cell proliferation and functional maturation, and decreased depressive-like behavior, for at least 4 weeks in rats treated with long-term corticosterone administration (a depression model) and controls. However, the behavioral effects of S-ketamine on neophagia were unaffected by elimination of adult neurogenesis. Together, these results indicate that ketamine has surprisingly rapid and long-lasting effects on the recruitment of young neurons into hippocampal networks, but that ketamine has antidepressant-like effects that are independent of adult neurogenesis.
Longitudinal Effects of Ketamine on Dendritic ArchitectureIn Vivoin the Mouse Medial Frontal Cortex
Authors: Phoumthipphavong Victoria , Barthas Florent , Hassett Samantha , Kwan Alex C. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractA single subanesthetic dose of ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, leads to fast-acting antidepressant effects. In rodent models, systemic ketamine is associated with higher dendritic spine density in the prefrontal cortex, reflecting structural remodeling that may underlie the behavioral changes. However, turnover of dendritic spines is a dynamic processin vivo, and the longitudinal effects of ketamine on structural plasticity remain unclear. The purpose of the current study is to use subcellular resolution optical imaging to determine the time course of dendritic alterationsin vivofollowing systemic ketamine administration in mice. We used two-photon microscopy to visualize repeatedly the same set of dendritic branches in the mouse medial frontal cortex (MFC) before and after a single injection of ketamine or saline. Compared to controls, ketamine-injected mice had higher dendritic spine density in MFC for up to 2 weeks. This prolonged increase in spine density was driven by an elevated spine formation rate, and not by changes in the spine elimination rate. A fraction of the new spines following ketamine injection was persistent, which is indicative of functional synapses. In a few cases, we also observed retraction of distal apical tuft branches on the day immediately after ketamine administration. These results indicate that following systemic ketamine administration, certain dendritic inputs in MFC are removed immediately, while others are added gradually. These dynamic structural modifications are consistent with a model of ketamine action in which the net effect is a rebalancing of synaptic inputs received by frontal cortical neurons.
Effects of Prepubertal or Adult Site-Specific Knockdown of Estrogen Receptor β in the Medial Preoptic Area and Medial Amygdala on Social Behaviors in Male Mice
Authors: Nakata Mariko , Sano Kazuhiro , Musatov Sergei , Yamaguchi Naoko , Sakamoto Toshiro , Ogawa Sonoko 
Published: March 2016

AbstractTestosterone, after being converted to estradiol in the brain, acts on estrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ) and controls the expression of male-type social behavior. Previous studies in male mice have revealed that ERα expressed in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and medial amygdala (MeA) are differently involved in the regulation of sexual and aggressive behaviors by testosterone action at the time of testing in adult and/or on brain masculinization process during pubertal period. However, a role played by ERβ in these brain regions still remains unclear. Here we examined the effects of site-specific knockdown of ERβ (βERKD) in the MPOA and MeA on male social behaviors with the use of adeno-associated viral mediated RNA interference methods in ICR/Jcl mice. Prepubertal βERKD in the MPOA revealed that continuous suppression of ERβ gene expression throughout the pubertal period and adulthood decreased aggressive but not sexual behavior tested as adults. Because βERKD in the MPOA only in adulthood did not affect either sexual or aggressive behaviors, it was concluded that pubertal ERβ in the MPOA might have an essential role for the full expression of aggressive behavior in adulthood. On the other hand, although neither prepubertal nor adult βERKD in the MeA had any effects on sexual and aggressive behavior, βERKD in adulthood disrupted sexual preference of receptive females over nonreceptive females. Collectively, these results suggest that ERβ in the MPOA and MeA are involved in the regulation of male sexual and aggressive behavior in a manner substantially different from that of ERα.
Long-Term Stability of Motor Cortical Activity: Implications for Brain Machine Interfaces and Optimal Feedback Control
Authors: Flint Robert D. , Scheid Michael R. , Wright Zachary A. , Solla Sara A. , Slutzky Marc W. 
Published: March 2016

The human motor system is capable of remarkably precise control of movements—consider the skill of professional baseball pitchers or surgeons. This precise control relies upon stable representations of movements in the brain. Here, we investigated the stability of cortical activity at multiple spatial and temporal scales by recording local field potentials (LFPs) and action potentials (multiunit spikes, MSPs) while two monkeys controlled a cursor either with their hand or directly from the brain using a brain–machine interface. LFPs and some MSPs were remarkably stable over time periods ranging from 3 d to over 3 years; overall, LFPs were significantly more stable than spikes. We then assessed whether the stability of all neural activity, or just a subset of activity, was necessary to achieve stable behavior. We showed that projections of neural activity into the subspace relevant to the task (the “task-relevant space”) were significantly more stable than were projections into the task-irrelevant (or “task-null”) space. This provides cortical evidence in support of the minimum intervention principle, which proposes that optimal feedback control (OFC) allows the brain to tightly control only activity in the task-relevant space while allowing activity in the task-irrelevant space to vary substantially from trial to trial. We found that the brain appears capable of maintaining stable movement representations for extremely long periods of time, particularly so for neural activity in the task-relevant space, which agrees with OFC predictions.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTIt is unknown whether cortical signals are stable for more than a few weeks. Here, we demonstrate that motor cortical signals can exhibit high stability over several years. This result is particularly important to brain–machine interfaces because it could enable stable performance with infrequent recalibration. Although we can maintain movement accuracy over time, movement components that are unrelated to the goals of a task (such as elbow position during reaching) often vary from trial to trial. This is consistent with the minimum intervention principle of optimal feedback control. We provide evidence that the motor cortex acts according to this principle: cortical activity is more stable in the task-relevant space and more variable in the task-irrelevant space.