bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Increased risk of lung cancer in patients with eczema: a nationwide cohort study in Taiwan
Authors: Juan Chao‐Kuei , Shen Jui‐Lung , Lin Cheng‐Li , Kim Karen Wang , Chen Wen‐Chi 
Published: September 2016

SummaryBackgroundThe association between lung cancer and eczema remains controversial. Previous studies have yielded conflicting results. This retrospective population‐based cohort study is aimed at clarifying the risk of lung cancer associated with eczema.Patients and MethodsBy using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified 43,719 patients who had been newly diagnosed with eczema in the years 2000 to 2010. The comparison cohort included 87,438 randomly selected, age‐matched patients without eczema. The cases of these two cohorts were followed until 2011. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to calculate the risk of lung cancer in eczema patients. The database did not contain any information regarding smoking, alcohol consumption, socioeconomic status, or family history.ResultsAfter adjusting for age and comorbidity, the population with eczema had a 2.80‐fold greater risk of developing lung cancer compared with the population in the comparison cohort (adjusted hazard ratio 2.80, 95 % confidence interval 2.59–3.03). Eczema patients with comorbid diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive ­pulmonary disease, alcoholic liver damage, or diabetes were at a higher risk of lung cancer compared with the non‐eczema patients without comorbidity.ConclusionsEczema is associated with a greater risk for the development of lung cancer. Further studies with more comprehensive information on potential confounders are warranted.
Gerbstoffe ausPotentilla officinaliswirken entzündungshemmend im UV‐Erythem‐Test und bei Anwendung auf atopischer Haut
Authors: Hoffmann Julia , Wölfle Ute , Schempp Christoph M. , Casetti Federica 
Published: September 2016

ZusammenfassungHintergrundDas Rhizom vonPotentilla officinalis(PO) ist reich an Gerbstoffen und wird traditionell zur äußerlichen Behandlung von Entzündungen der Haut und der Schleimhäute verwendet. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war die Bestätigung der antiinflammatorischen Eigenschaften von PO mittels eines UV‐Erythem‐Tests und einer klinischen Anwendungsstudie bei atopischer Haut.Probanden und MethodikDie antiinflammatorische Wirkung eines PO‐Extrakts (standardisiert auf 2 % Trockensubstanz) wurde in einer prospektiven, randomisierten, placebokontrollierten Doppelblindstudie mit 40 gesunden Erwachsenen im UV‐Erythem‐Test im Vergleich zu 1 % Hydrocortisonacetat untersucht. Im Rahmen einer prospektiven nicht kontrollierten Studie wurde die Wirkung und Verträglichkeit der 2 % PO‐Creme an zwölf Erwachsenen und zwölf Kindern mit atopischer Haut nach Anwendung über zwei Wochen in einem definierten Testareal anhand eines Teil‐SCORAD untersucht. Zusätzlich wurde die Beeinflussung der Hautrötung im Testareal photometrisch gemessen.ErgebnisseIm UV‐Erythem‐Test zeigte die PO‐Creme eine signifikante Reduktion des Erythemindex im Vergleich zum Vehikel. Die antiinflammatorische Wirkung des Verums entsprach der der 1 % Hydrocortisonacetat‐Creme. Die klinische Studie bei Atopikern zeigte eine signifikante Abnahme des Teil‐SCORAD und des Erythems im Testareal. Es wurden keine Unverträglichkeitsreaktionen beobachtet.SchlussfolgerungenPO als 2%ige Zubereitung besitzt entzündungshemmende Eigenschaften und ist wirksam und gut verträglich auf atopischer Haut.
Mapping ‘hydroscapes’ along the iso‐ to anisohydric continuum of stomatal regulation of plant water status
Authors: Meinzer Frederick C. , Woodruff David R. , Marias Danielle E. , Smith Duncan D. , McCulloh Katherine A. , Howard Ava R. , Magedman Alicia L. 
Published: September 2016

AbstractThe concept of iso‐ vs. anisohydry has been used to describe the stringency of stomatal regulation of plant water potential (ψ). However, metrics that accurately and consistently quantify species’ operating ranges along a continuum of iso‐ to anisohydry have been elusive. Additionally, most approaches to quantifying iso/anisohydry require labour‐intensive measurements during prolonged drought. We evaluated new and previously developed metrics of stringency of stomatal regulation of ψ during soil drying in eight woody species and determined whether easily‐determined leaf pressure–volume traits could serve as proxies for their degree of iso‐ vs. anisohydry. Two metrics of stringency of stomatal control of ψ, (1) a ‘hydroscape’ incorporating the landscape of ψ over which stomata control ψ, and (2) the slope of the daily range of ψ as pre‐dawn ψ declined, were strongly correlated with each other and with the leaf osmotic potential at full and zero turgor derived from pressure–volume curves.
Prairie wetland communities recover at different rates following hydrological restoration
Authors: Bortolotti Lauren E. , Vinebrooke Rolf D. , St. Louis Vincent L. 
Published: September 2016

Summary

Prairie pothole wetlands provide many ecosystem services, including supporting biodiversity and filtering water on the landscape. However, over half of these wetlands have been drained for agriculture, thereby requiring restoration to re‐establish ecosystem services.

We assessed the recovery of hydrologically restored wetlands based on water chemistry and taxonomic shifts within and across five biological communities (phytoplankton, benthic diatoms, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, submersed aquatic vegetation [SAV]). We sampled 24 wetlands in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada, spanning three restoration states: recently restored (restored 1–3 years before the study; n = 8), older restored (restored 7–14 years before the study; n = 8) and natural (never drained; n = 8).

Within approximately a decade of the re‐establishment of these previously drained wetlands, water chemistry, macroinvertebrate and SAV communities closely resembled those in natural wetlands. Here, total phosphorus and carbon dioxide concentrations declined, while salinity and pH increased, with time since restoration. No detectable differences in diatom and zooplankton communities persisted among the restored and natural sites; however, cyanobacteria were more representative of the restored wetlands

Our findings suggest that hydrological restoration is an effective tool for re‐establishing baseline water quality and the capacity of prairie wetlands to support biodiversity across multiple trophic levels. However, given that there is a decadal lag in the re‐establishment of certain species, it is preferable to protect and retain intact wetlands on the landscape.
Control of Rate of Solute Transport in Newly Developed Portable Agar Gel Blood Purification System
Authors: Yamashita Akihiro C. , Sakiyama Ryoichi , Hamada Hiroyuki , Tojo Kakuji J. 
Published: September 2016

Ablood purification module was developed with edible agar or Gelrite, in which activated charcoal was dispersed. Tap water (or normal saline) was boiled, and agar (or Gelrite) powder was dissolved in it. The solution was hardened with no additive or activated charcoal in aplastic cylindrical hard shell with a perforated bottom plate to assemble module A (agar only), module AC (agar with various amounts of charcoal), or module GC (Gelrite with various amounts of charcoal), respectively. The hardened gel was thrust with a plastic straw 21 times in the flow direction. Aqueous test solution was prepared for device evaluation. Bromophenol blue (BPB) concentration decreased only by 10% with module A, whereas it gradually decreased according to the amount of activated charcoal dispersed in the agar with module AC; moreover, it reached its lower limit found by direct use of the same amount of intact activated charcoal. Module GC was shown to remove creatinine continuously from bovine whole blood. A portable artificial kidney system may be constructed by combining these modules with a small hemofilter for removing excess water.
Prevention of Damage to Cuffed Catheters
Authors: Agraharkar Mahendra , Siddiqui Mohammad , Ahuja Tejinder 
Published: September 2016

Cuffed catheters, although not ideal for long‐term use, are now used more frequently due to an increase in the aging population, in whom the vessels are not suitable for either arteriovenous fistulas or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts. Infections and thrombosis remain the major causes for removal or change of catheters.We recently identified eight catheter defects that required replacement of catheters. Of these, two were due to patient negligence: one catheter was accidentally severed while the patient was shaving; the other was snipped during a haircut. One was believed to have a manufacturing defect. One catheter sustained needle‐prick damage near the hub while irrigating the catheter. Two catheters were lost due to needle pricks during skin closure, and one catheter sustained similar damage while fixing the suture wing to the skin. The other two were damaged by suture material slicing through the lumen of the catheter as it expanded due to increased blood flow during repeated dialyses. Importantly, several of these injuries to the catheters were not immediately obvious and were detected only after repeated use of the catheters.Delayed bleeding of cuffed catheters necessitating change or removal has not been reported. Such bleeding may be due to manufacturing defects, patient carelessness, or iatrogenic causes. Avoiding the use of sutures can minimize the latter. Skin closure strips and a double transparent dressing may serve the same purposes, such as securing the catheter and aiding wound healing. In addition, these dressings have the added advantage of being waterproof, bacteria‐proof, and cost effective.
Effect of Valsalva Maneuver on QT Dispersion in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Akkaya Vakur , Y2ld2z Alaattin , Tükek Tufan , Aysuna Nilgun , At2lgan Dursun , Bozfak2oglu Semra , Ark Ergin 
Published: September 2016

Increased QT dispersion seems to be related to an increased risk of arrhythmia and sudden death, a common cause of mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Increase in sympathetic tone has been documented in HD patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of changes in the autonomic tone on QT dispersion (QTd) in HD patients.Twenty HD patients (M/F 13/7; age, mean ±SD, 28 ± 10 years) and 22 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls (M/F 12/10; age, 30 ± 10 years) were included. The patients were dialyzed three‐times weekly; time on dialysis was 17 ± 8 months. The QT durations were measured from 12 lead surface EKGs and were corrected for RR intervals. Corrected maximum (QTc max) and minimum (QTcmin) QT intervals and their difference (QT c d) were recorded. The effect of the Valsalva maneuver in the release phase on QT c intervals and dispersion was assessed.The HD patients had prolonged values compared to controls: QT c d, 59 ± 17 ms versus 35 ± 7 ms, p < 0.001; QT c max, 458 ± 41 ms versus 397 ± 21 ms, p < 0.001; and QT c min, 398 ± 36 ms versus 362 ± 25 ms, p < 0.001. After the Valsalva maneuver no changes were observed in controls: QT c max, 397 ± 21 ms versus 396 ± 22 ms, p = 0.9; QT c min, 362 ± 24 ms versus 358 ± 19 ms, p = 0.5; and QT c d, 35 ± 7 ms versus 38 ± 10 ms, p = 0.15. Whereas, in HD patients all values were significantly shortened: QTcmax, 458 ± 41 ms versus 427 ± 35 ms, p = 0.003; QTc min, 398 ± 36 ms versus 379 ± 34 ms, p = 0.04; and QTc d, 59 ± 17 ms versus 48 ± 15 ms, p = 0.01. The decrease in QTmax was more prominent than the decrease in QTmin, hence QT dispersion was significantly decreased after the Valsalva maneuver, but differences from controls were still significant.In conclusion, increased sympathetic activity may have a role in the prolonged QT duration and increased QT dispersion in HD patients.
Clinical Determination of Dry Body Weight
Authors: Charra Bernard , Jean Guillaume , Hurot Jean-Marc , Terrat Jean-Claude , Vanel Thierry , VoVan Cyril , Maazoun Foued , Chazot Charles 
Published: September 2016

While nephrologists wait for the ideal, non invasive, inexpensive, precise, and reproducible tool to evaluate extracellular volume (ECV), they need to exert their clinical acumen in the quest of that holy grail, dry weight (DW).Estimation of DW using a clinical approach based on blood pressure (BP) and ECV is feasible and reliable as shown by successful experiences in various dialysis modes over more than three decades. But a need still exists to resolve difficulties associated with accurate assessment of BP (methods and circumstances of measurement, and the confounding effects of antihypertensive drugs) and ECV (evaluation of weight changes unrelated to ECV, lack of specificity and sensitivity of clinical symptoms, lag time, confusion in terminology). An essential point in clinical assessment of DW is that a normal BP is at the same time the target and the crucial index of DW achievement. For this reason, a trialand‐error “probe” process has to be used at intervals to make sure that the dry weight target point is correctly estimated.The various “non clinical” methods proposed for dry weight assessment increase the complexity and the cost of hemodialysis. They are, in the present state of things, more clinical research than practice tools. They do not replace clinical judgment.
Pathophysiology and Treatment of Hyperhomocysteinemia in End‐Stage Renal Disease Patients
Authors: Sunder–Plassmann G. , Hörl Walter H. 
Published: September 2016

The pathophysiology of hyperhomocysteinemia in end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) patients includes impaired remethylation of homocysteine (Hcy) to methionine, inhibition of extrarenal Hcy metabolism by uremic solutes, a block in decarboxylation of cysteinesulfinic acid, impaired [adenosylmethionine]/[adenosylhomocysteine] ratio, and a probable impairment of renal Hcy metabolism and excretion.Treatment of hyperhomocysteinemia in ESRD patients includes administration of folic acid (1 – 15 mg per day). No additional effects have been observed with higher folic acid doses, folinic acid, or 5‐methyltetrahydrofolate. Oral supplementation with vitamin B 6 and vitamin B 12 has no effect, but some studies reported a decrease of plasma Hcy with high intravenous vitamin doses. Effective reduction of plasma total Hcy (tHcy) in patients treated with super‐flux hemodialyzers suggests the removal of uremic toxins with inhibitory activities against enzymes involved in the extrarenal Hcy metabolism.
Cell‐type‐specific modulation of innate immune signalling by vitamin D in human mononuclear phagocytes
Authors: Kundu Rhiannon , Theodoraki Aikaterini , Haas Carolin T. , Zhang Yanjing , Chain Benjamin , Kriston‐Vizi Janos , Noursadeghi Mahdad , Khoo Bernard 
Published: September 2016

SummaryVitamin D is widely reported to inhibit innate immune signalling and dendritic cell (DC) maturation as a potential immunoregulatory mechanism. It is not known whether vitamin D has global or gene‐specific effects on transcriptional responses downstream of innate immune stimulation, or whether vitamin D inhibition of innate immune signalling is common to different cells. We confirmed vitamin D inhibition of nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling in monocyte‐derived DC (MDDC) stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This was associated with global but modest attenuation of LPS‐induced transcriptional changes at genome‐wide level. Surprisingly, vitamin D did not inhibit innate immune NF‐κB activation in monocyte‐derived macrophages. Consistent with our findings in MDDC, ex vivo vitamin D treatment of primary peripheral blood myeloid DC also led to significant inhibition of LPS‐inducible NF‐κB activation. Unexpectedly, in the same samples, vitamin D enhanced activation of both NF‐κB and MAPK signalling in primary peripheral blood monocytes. In a cross‐sectional clinical cohort, we found no relationship between peripheral blood vitamin D levels and LPS‐inducible activation of NF‐κB and MAPK pathways in monocytes of myeloid DC. Remarkably, however, in vivo supplementation of people with vitamin D deficiency in this clinical cohort also enhanced LPS‐inducible MAPK signalling in peripheral blood monocytes. Therefore, we report that vitamin D differentially modulates the molecular response to innate immune stimulation in monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells. These results are of importance in the design of studies on vitamin D supplementation in infectious and immunological diseases.
Induced regulatory T cells are phenotypically unstable and do not protect mice from rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis
Authors: Ghali Joanna R. , Alikhan Maliha A. , Holdsworth Stephen R. , Kitching A. Richard 
Published: September 2016

SummaryRegulatory T (Treg) cells are a suppressive CD4+ T‐cell subset. We generated induced Treg (iTreg) cells and explored their therapeutic potential in a murine model of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. Polyclonal naive CD4+ T cells were cultured in vitro with interleukin‐2 (IL‐2), transforming growth factor‐β1, all‐trans‐retinoic acid and monoclonal antibodies against interferon‐γ and IL‐4, generating Foxp3+ iTreg cells. To enhance their suppressive phenotype, iTreg cultures were modified with the addition of a monoclonal antibody against IL‐12p40 or by using RORγt–/– CD4+ T cells. Induced Treg cells were transferred into models of delayed‐type hypersensitivity and experimental glomerulonephritis. The iTreg cells exhibited comparable surface receptor expression and in vitro suppressive ability to natural Treg cells, but did not regulate antigen‐specific delayed‐type hypersensitivity or systemic inflammatory immune responses, losing Foxp3 expression in vivo. In glomerulonephritis, transferred iTreg cells did not prevent renal injury or modulate systemic T helper type 1 immune responses. Induced Treg cells cultured with anti‐IL‐12p40 had an enhanced suppressive phenotype in vitro and regulated dermal delayed‐type hypersensitivity in vivo, but were not protective against renal injury, losing Foxp3 expression, especially in the transferred cells recruited to the kidney. Use of RORγt–/– CD4+ T cells or iTreg cells generated from sensitized CD4+ Foxp3– cells did not regulate renal or systemic inflammatory responses in vivo. In conclusion, iTreg cells suppress T‐cell proliferation in vitro, but do not regulate experimental glomerulonephritis, being unstable in this inflammatory milieu in vivo.
India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act: Assessing the quality of access and adequacy of benefits in MGNREGS public works
Authors: Ehmke Ellen 
Published: September 2016

AbstractThe extension of social protection to all has become a central policy objective, both nationally and internationally. A considerable number of middle‐ and low‐income countries have undertaken substantial efforts to extend social protection, while the international community reaffirmed its commitment to the extension of social protection through the adoption of the ILO Recommendation concerning National Floors of Social Protection, No. 202 (2012). This article reviews the legal provisions and the implementation of the Indian Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), legislated in 2005, and does so in the light of the more recent provisions of ILO Recommendation No. 202. Since its introduction ten years ago, MGNREGA has provided a source of income to rural workers, increased wage rates, achieved high female participation rates and created durable assets. India's local governance bodies, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI), have been empowered and involved in the processes of planning and monitoring. However, despite successes, there have been considerable shortcomings in implementation. This article highlights two central themes: first, the innovative policy framework of the Act, which brings together rights‐based entitlements, demand‐driven employment, and citizen‐centred monitoring. Second, it assesses the accessibility and adequacy of benefits in the implementation of MGNREGA. We conclude that MGNREGA offers potential for South‐South learning, both in terms of policy‐design and implementation.
Paid parental leave and other supports for parents with young children: The United States in international comparison
Authors: Adema Willem , Clarke Chris , Frey Valerie 
Published: September 2016

AbstractThe United States is at a crossroads in its policies for families and women. Currently, the United States provides basic support for children, fathers, and mothers in the form of unpaid parental leave, child‐related tax breaks, and limited public child care. In contrast, the other member states of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) empower families through paid parental leave and comprehensive investments in infants and children. The potential gains from strengthening these policies in the United States are enormous. Paid parental leave and subsidized child‐care help to get and keep more women in the workforce, contribute to economic growth, offer cognitive and health benefits to children, and give parents options in defining their preferred work‐life strategy. Indeed, the United States has been falling behind the rest of the OECD in many social and economic indicators by not adequately investing in children, fathers and mothers. Given the significant payoffs to these family supports, this article focuses on issues of reconciling work and care commitments for families with young children, and, in particular, on paid parental leave policies within the OECD and the United States.
Hypervigilance‐avoidance in children with anxiety disorders: magnetoencephalographic evidence
Authors: Wessing Ida , Romer Georg , Junghöfer Markus 
Published: September 2016

BackgroundAn altered pattern of threat processing is deemed critical for the development of anxiety disorders (AD). According to the hypervigilance‐avoidance hypothesis, AD patients show hypervigilance to threat cues at early stages of processing but avoid threat cues at later stages of processing. Consistently, adults with AD show enhanced neurophysiological responses to threat in early time windows and reduced responses to threat in late time windows. The presence of such a hypervigilance‐avoidance effect and its underlying neural sources remain to be determined in clinically anxious children.MethodsTwenty‐three children diagnosed with an AD and 23 healthy control children aged 8–14 years saw faces with angry and neutral expressions while whole‐head magnetoencephalography (MEG) was recorded. Neural sources were estimated based on L2‐Minimum Norm inverse source modeling and analyzed in early, midlatency, and late time windows.ResultsIn visual cortical regions, early threat processing was relatively enhanced in patients compared to controls, whereas this relation was inverted in a late interval. Consistent with the idea of affective regulation, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex revealed relatively reduced inhibition of early threat processing but revealed enhanced inhibition at a late interval in patients. Both visual‐sensory and prefrontal effects were correlated with individual trait anxiety.ConclusionsThese results support the hypothesis of early sensory hypervigilance followed by later avoidance of threat in anxiety disordered children, presumably modulated by early reduced and later enhanced prefrontal inhibition. This neuronal hypervigilance‐avoidance pattern unfolds gradually with increasing trait anxiety, reflecting a progressively biased allocation of attention to threat.