bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The ‘Sharpen’ filter improves the radiographic detection of vertical root fractures
Authors: Nascimento H. A. R. , Ramos A. C. A. , Neves F. S. , de‐Azevedo‐Vaz S. L. , Freitas D. Q. 
Published: June 2014

AbstractAimTo compare the diagnostic accuracy of digital enhancement filters in the diagnosis of vertical root fractures.MethodologyThe sample consisted of 40 single‐rooted teeth randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control. Vertical root fractures were induced in the experimental group using a universal testing machine. All teeth were individually radiographed with three different horizontal angles using the Digora Optime® digital system. Three observers separately examined the original and filtered images (3D Emboss, Negative, Sharpen and Shadow). The area under Receiver Operating Characteristic curve values (Az) for each protocol were compared by one‐way anova with post hoc Bonferroni test. The significance level was set at 5%.ResultsThe highest Az value was obtained using the Sharpen filter, with significant differences from the original and other filtered images (P < 0.05). The 3D Emboss filter had the lowest Az value, which was significantly different from the other filtered images (P < 0.05).ConclusionWhen using the Digora Optime® system, the ‘Sharpen’ filter is recommended to improve the radiographic detection of vertical root fractures.
Acute Imaging Does Not Improve ASTRAL Score's Accuracy despite Having a Prognostic Value
Authors: Ntaios George , Papavasileiou Vasileios , Faouzi Mohamed , Vanacker Peter , Wintermark Max , Michel Patrik 
Published: June 2014

Background The ASTRAL score was recently shown to reliably predict three-month functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Aim The study aims to investigate whether information from multimodal imaging increases ASTRAL score's accuracy. Methods All patients registered in the ASTRAL registry until March 2011 were included. In multivariate logistic-regression analyses, we added covariates derived from parenchymal, vascular, and perfusion imaging to the 6-parameter model of the ASTRAL score. If a specific imaging covariate remained an independent predictor of three-month modified Rankin score > 2, the area-under-the-curve (AUC) of this new model was calculated and compared with ASTRAL score's AUC. We also performed similar logistic regression analyses in arbitrarily chosen patient subgroups. Results When added to the ASTRAL score, the following covariates on admission computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging-based multimodal imaging were not significant predictors of outcome: any stroke-related acute lesion, any nonstroke-related lesions, chronic/subacute stroke, leukoaraiosis, significant arterial pathology in ischemic territory on computed tomography angiography/magnetic resonance angiography/Doppler, significant intracranial arterial pathology in ischemic territory, and focal hypoperfusion on perfusion-computed tomography. The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT score on plain imaging and any significant extracranial arterial pathology on computed tomography angiography/magnetic resonance angiography/Doppler were independent predictors of outcome (odds ratio: 0·93, 95% CI: 0·87–0·99 and odds ratio: 1·49, 95% CI: 1·08–2·05, respectively) but did not increase ASTRAL score's AUC (0·849 vs. 0·850, and 0·8563 vs. 0·8564, respectively). In exploratory analyses in subgroups of different prognosis, age or stroke severity, no covariate was found to increase ASTRAL score's AUC, either. Conclusions The addition of information derived from multimodal imaging does not increase ASTRAL score's accuracy to predict functional outcome despite having an independent prognostic value. More selected radiological parameters applied in specific subgroups of stroke patients may add prognostic value of multimodal imaging.
Differences in job stress experienced by female and male Japanese psychiatric nurses
Authors: Yada Hironori , Abe Hiroshi , Omori Hisamitsu , Matsuo Hisae , Masaki Otsubo , Ishida Yasushi , Katoh Takahiko 
Published: June 2014

AbstractIn psychiatric nursing, female nurses tend to spend more time building rapport with patients and developing cooperative working relationships with colleagues; they encounter more sexual harassment by patients. In contrast, male nurses respond to aggressive patients and tend to resist physically caring for female patients; they encounter more physical and verbal assault from patients. These gender differences might result in differences in job‐related stress. We quantitatively examined gender differences in psychiatric nurses' job stress. The Psychiatric Nurse Job Stressor Scale and the Stress Reaction Scale of the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire were administered to 159 female and 85 male Japanese psychiatric nurses. The results indicated that female nurses had significantly higher stress levels than males related to psychiatric nursing ability, attitude towards nursing, and stress reactions of fatigue and anxiety. Moreover, the factors affecting stress reactions differed somewhat between sexes. In particular, male nurses reported that greater irritability was affected by patients' attitudes. Their anxiety and somatic symptoms were affected by their attitude towards nursing, and depressed mood was affected by psychiatric nursing ability. Knowledge of these differences can lead to better mental health‐care interventions for psychiatric nurses.
A non‐randomised, controlled clinical trial of an innovative device for negative pressure wound therapy of pressure ulcers in traumatic paraplegia patients
Authors: Srivastava Rajeshwar N , Dwivedi Mukesh K , Bhagat Amit K , Raj Saloni , Agarwal Rajiv , Chandra Abhijit 
Published: June 2014

AbstractThe conventional methods of treatment of pressure ulcers (PUs) by serial debridement and daily dressings require prolonged hospitalisation, associated with considerable morbidity. There is, however, recent evidence to suggest that negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) accelerates healing. The commercial devices for NPWT are costly, cumbersome, and electricity dependent. We compared PU wound healing in traumatic paraplegia patients by conventional dressing and by an innovative negative pressure device (NPD). In this prospective, non‐randomised trial, 48 traumatic paraplegia patients with PUs of stages 3 and 4 were recruited. Patients were divided into two groups: group A (n = 24) received NPWT with our NPD, and group B (n = 24) received conventional methods of dressing. All patients were followed up for 9 weeks. At week 9, all patients on NPD showed a statistically significant improvement in PU healing in terms of slough clearance, granulation tissue formation, wound discharge and culture. A significant reduction in wound size and ulcer depth was observed in NPD as compared with conventional methods at all follow‐up time points (P = 0·0001). NPWT by the innovative device heals PUs at a significantly higher rate than conventional treatment. The device is safe, easy to apply and cost‐effective.
Role of duodenal iron transporters and hepcidin in patients with alcoholic liver disease
Authors: Dostalikova‐Cimburova Marketa , Balusikova Kamila , Kratka Karolina , Chmelikova Jitka , Hejda Vaclav , Hnanicek Jan , Neubauerova Jitka , Vranova Jana , Kovar Jan , Horak Jiri 
Published: June 2014

AbstractPatients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) often display disturbed iron indices. Hepcidin, a key regulator of iron metabolism, has been shown to be down‐regulated by alcohol in cell lines and animal models. This down‐regulation led to increased duodenal iron transport and absorption in animals. In this study, we investigated gene expression of duodenal iron transport molecules and hepcidin in three groups of patients with ALD (with anaemia, with iron overload and without iron overload) and controls. Expression of DMT1, FPN1, DCYTB, HEPH, HFE and TFR1 was measured in duodenal biopsies by using real‐time PCR and Western blot. Serum hepcidin levels were measured by using ELISA. Serum hepcidin was decreased in patients with ALD. At the mRNA level, expressions of DMT1, FPN1 and TFR1 genes were significantly increased in ALD. This pattern was even more pronounced in the subgroups of patients without iron overload and with anaemia. Protein expression of FPN1 paralleled the increase at the mRNA level in the group of patients with ALD. Serum ferritin was negatively correlated with DMT1 mRNA. The down‐regulation of hepcidin expression leading to up‐regulation of iron transporters expression in the duodenum seems to explain iron metabolism disturbances in ALD. Alcohol consumption very probably causes suppression of hepcidin expression in patients with ALD.
HBP1 promoter methylation augments the oncogenic β‐catenin to correlate with prognosis in NSCLC
Authors: Tseng Ruo‐Chia , Huang Way‐Ren , Lin Su‐Feng , Wu Pei‐Chen , Hsu Han‐Shui , Wang Yi‐Ching 
Published: June 2014

Abstractβ‐catenin nuclear accumulation is frequently identified in human non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The HMG‐box transcription factor 1 (HBP1) is a known repressor of β‐catenin transactivation. However, the role of HBP1 in relation to β‐catenin nuclear accumulation has not been addressed in human cancer patients. In addition, the mechanism of HBP1 gene alteration in NSCLC remains unclear, although HBP1 mutation and gene deletion of HBP1 are reported in breast and colon cancers. Here, we demonstrate that HBP1 acts as a tumour suppressor and serves as a prognostic biomarker in NSCLC clinical and cell models. The immunohistochemistry data indicated that 30.5% (25/82) of tumours from NSCLC patients showed absence or low expression of HBP1 protein. A significant inverse correlation between mRNA/protein expression and promoter hypermethylation suggested that promoter hypermethylation is responsible for low expression of HBP1 in NSCLC patients. Reactivation of HBP1 expression by demethylation reagent or ectopic expression of HBP1 suppressed β‐catenin transactivation. Conversely, HBP1 knockdown increased β‐catenin transactivation. Importantly, preserved expression of HBP1 had a significantly protective effect on prognosis in patients with β‐catenin nuclear accumulation, suggesting that low expression of HBP1 in NSCLC patients with β‐catenin nuclear accumulation was one of the major determinants of prognosis. Our data from cellular and clinical models suggest that HBP1 is a suppressor of cancer progression, making it a potential prognostic predictor and therapeutic target to attenuate lung cancer progression.
Misregulation of spermatogenesis genes in Drosophila hybrids is lineage‐specific and driven by the combined effects of sterility and fast male regulatory divergence
Authors: Gomes S. , Civetta A. 
Published: June 2014

AbstractHybrid male sterility is a common outcome of crosses between different species. Gene expression studies have found that a number of spermatogenesis genes are differentially expressed in sterile hybrid males, compared with parental species. Late‐stage sperm development genes are particularly likely to be misexpressed, with fewer early‐stage genes affected. Thus, a link has been posited between misexpression and sterility. A more recent alternative explanation for hybrid gene misexpression has been that it is independent of sterility and driven by divergent evolution of male‐specific regulatory elements between species (faster male hypothesis). The faster male hypothesis predicts that misregulation of spermatogenesis genes should be independent of sterility and approximately the same in both hybrids, whereas sterility should only affect gene expression in sterile hybrids. To test the faster male hypothesis vs. the effect of sterility on gene misexpression, we analyse spermatogenesis gene expression in different species pairs of the Drosophila phylogeny, where hybrid male sterility occurs in only one direction of the interspecies cross (i.e. unidirectional sterility). We find significant differences among genes in misexpression with effects that are lineage‐specific and caused by sterility or fast male regulatory divergence.
Asynchronous hatching in the burying beetle,Nicrophorus quadripunctatus, maxmizes parental fitness
Authors: Takata M. , Hayashi S. , Thomas C. E. , Koyama S. , Satoh T. , Fugo H. 
Published: June 2014

AbstractLife history theory predicts that natural selection favours parents who balance investment across offspring to maximize fitness. Theoretical studies have shown that the optimal level of parental investment from the offspring's perspective exceeds that of its parents, and the disparity between the two generates evolutionary conflict for the allocation of parental investment. In various species, the offspring hatch asynchronously. The age hierarchy of the offspring usually establishes competitive asymmetries within the brood and determines the allocation of parental investment among offspring. However, it is not clear whether the allocation of parental investment determined by hatching pattern is optimal for parent or offspring. Here, we manipulated the hatching pattern of the burying beetleNicrophorus quadripunctatusto demonstrate the influence of hatching pattern on the allocation of parental investment. We found that the total weight of a brood was largest in the group that mimicked the natural hatching pattern, with the offspring skewed towards early hatchers. This increases parental fitness. However, hatching patterns with more later hatchers had heavier individual offspring weights, which increases offspring fitness, but this hatching pattern is not observed in the wild. Thus, our study suggests that the natural hatching pattern optimizes parental fitness, rather than offspring fitness.
Induction of serpinb1a by PACAP or NGF is required for PC12 cells survival after serum withdrawal
Authors: Seaborn Tommy , Ravni Aurélia , Au Ruby , Chow Bill K. C. , Fournier Alain , Wurtz Olivier , Vaudry Hubert , Eiden Lee E. , Vaudry David 
Published: June 2014

AbstractPC12 cells are used to study the signaling mechanisms underlying the neurotrophic and neuroprotective activities of pituitary adenylate cyclase‐activating polypeptide (PACAP) and nerve growth factor (NGF). Previous microarray experiments indicated that serpinb1a was the most induced gene after 6 h of treatment with PACAP or NGF. This study confirmed that serpinb1a is strongly activated by PACAP and NGF in a time‐dependent manner with a maximum induction (~ 50‐fold over control) observed after 6 h of treatment. Co‐incubation with PACAP and NGF resulted in a synergistic up‐regulation of serpinb1a expression (200‐fold over control), suggesting that PACAP and NGF act through complementary mechanisms. Consistently, PACAP‐induced serpinb1a expression was not blocked by TrkA receptor inhibition. Nevertheless, the stimulation of serpinb1a expression by PACAP and NGF was significantly reduced in the presence of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase, calcineurin, protein kinase A, p38, and PI3K inhibitors, indicating that the two trophic factors share some common pathways in the regulation of serpinb1a. Finally, functional investigations conducted with siRNA revealed that serpinb1a is not involved in the effects of PACAP and NGF on PC12 cell neuritogenesis, proliferation or body cell volume but mediates their ability to block caspases 3/7 activity and to promote PC12 cell survival.
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Pituitary adenylate cyclase‐activating polypeptide (PACAP) and nerve growth factor (NGF) induce a strong increase in serpinb1 a expression in PC12 cells. Functional investigations revealed that this increase in serpinb1a does not affect cell proliferation or differentiation but inhibits caspase 3 activity and promotes cell survival.
Environmental determinants of type 1 diabetes: A role for overweight and insulin resistance
Authors: Islam Sadia T , Srinivasan Shubha , Craig Maria E 
Published: June 2014

AbstractRates of type 1 diabetes are rising globally, with a decreasing proportion of high‐risk genotypes and twin concordance rates below 50%. Therefore, environmental factors such as viruses, nutrition and overweight have been examined as putative aetiological agents. The accelerator hypothesis proposes that overweight and insulin resistance are central to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and may explain, in part, the rise in type 1 diabetes incidence. The temporal rise in body mass index at type 1 diabetes onset and the observation that pre‐diabetic children are heavier and more insulin resistant than their peers suggests convergence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes phenotypes. The influence of insulin resistance may begin in utero, although the aetiological role of birthweight in type 1 diabetes remains unclear. Further research to elucidate the role of these modifiable risk factors in today's obesogenic environment may provide future potential for diabetes prevention.
Exploratory study of sleeping patterns in children admitted to hospital
Authors: Herbert Anthony R , de Lima Jonathan , Fitzgerald Dominic A , Seton Chris , Waters Karen A , Collins John J 
Published: June 2014

AimsSleep is considered an important time of healing and restoration during illness. The primary aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of self‐reported sleep disturbance in children admitted to a tertiary children's hospital with a variety of medical diagnoses.MethodsParents of children admitted to the hospital, aged between 1 and 18 years, were asked to complete a sleep diary during one night of their child's hospital stay. Children older than 12 years were asked to complete a diary independently. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data.ResultsOverall, 107 children were surveyed for one hospital inpatient night. The overall prevalence of poor sleep was 52.3%. The wide age range and variety of diagnosis limited further detailed analysis of specific causes of this problem. Poor sleep prior to admission was the strongest predictor of poor sleep in hospital suggesting that these children already had an underlying sleep problem. Unprompted awakenings were predominantly due to toileting (17.8%) or were spontaneous (17.8%). Factors specific to the hospital environment that woke children were nursing cares (25.2%), alarms (12.1%) and pain (12.1%).ConclusionsChildren admitted to hospital have a higher prevalence of poor sleep compared with healthy children in the community. Children were woken frequently by both external noise and attention provided by hospital staff. Education of hospital staff about the importance of sleep for children and factors that affect children's sleep may reduce the negative impact of hospitalisation on children's sleep.
Comparative Economics of US Catfish Production Strategies: Evidence from a Cross‐sectional Survey
Authors: Johnson Kamina , Engle Carole , Wagner Bruce 
Published: June 2014

AbstractUnderstanding the effects of specific management strategies on yields and economic outcomes on commercial catfish farms could provide useful guidance to catfish farmers on the most profitable sets of production practices. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture–National Animal Health Monitoring System (USDA–NAHMS) 2009 survey of production practices on catfish farms in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi were used to identify five clusters of catfish farms that use various stocking densities, channel versus hybrid catfish, different aeration levels, and utilize automated oxygen sensors. The lowest production costs ($1.96/kg) were found in cluster 1 and were followed in order of increasing costs per kilogram of clusters 2 and 4 ($2.16/kg) and cluster 5 ($2.73/kg); the highest cost corresponded to cluster 3 ($2.84/kg). The lowest risk levels corresponded to the clusters with the lowest production costs per kilogram of fish and the highest risk levels to the highest production costs. This analysis demonstrated that different types of management models can achieve similar levels of production costs ($/kg), and it appears that there is not one single economically optimum way to raise catfish. The key to least‐cost production is to balance the use of inputs, their associated costs, and the yield produced to achieve economic efficiency within the farm's overall business and management model.
Potassium Permanganate is Not an Effective Pond Disinfectant to Control Dero digitata
Authors: Mischke Charles C. , Griffin Matt J. , Wise David J. , Greenway Terrence E. 
Published: June 2014

AbstractProliferative gill disease (PGD) is a major problem in cultured channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. This parasite requires Dero digitata to complete its life cycle. It is believed potassium permanganate disinfects ponds and reduces D. digitata populations, but this practice has not been verified experimentally. We evaluated potassium permanganate as a pond disinfectant to reduce D. digitata populations before stocking fish. In the first study, 2 L catfish pond mud and 18 L pond water were placed in each of 16 20‐L microcosms. Four microcosms were dosed at each of four potassium permanganate treatment levels (0, 10, 20, and 30 mg/L). After treatment, D. digitata present in the sample were counted. In a second study, benthic populations were compared in 10 0.04 ha ponds before and after treatment with 20 mg/L potassium permanganate. In the microcosm study, all treatment levels significantly (P < 0.05) reduced D. digitata populations relative to controls. However, in the field trial, there were no significant (P < 0.05) differences pre‐ and post‐treatment with potassium permanganate at 20 mg/L in Dero populations or total benthic organism populations. Although we believed such high levels of potassium permanganate would sterilize the pond, the results of the pond treatments in this study indicate otherwise.
Dietary Niacin Requirement of GIFT Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, Reared in Freshwater
Authors: Jiang Ming , Huang Feng , Wen Hua , Yang Changgeng , Wu Fan , Liu Wei , Tian Juan 
Published: June 2014

AbstractThe aim of our experiment was to determine the dietary niacin requirement of genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, reared in freshwater. Six semi‐purified diets were formulated to contain graded levels of niacin (6.4 [basal diet], 16.8, 36.8, 68.5, 143.8, and 297.8 mg/kg). Each diet was fed to triplicate groups of 30 fish (initial average weight 87.2 ± 3.3 g) for 12 wk in 5.6‐m3 aquaria (r = 1.5 m, h = 0.8 m). Results showed that the weight gain rate (WGR) of the fish increased linearly with dietary niacin levels increasing, but there were no further benefits above 36.8 mg/kg. The niacin concentrations in fish livers were positively correlated with dietary levels of niacin and plateaued when niacin in diet exceeded 84.6 mg/kg. With increasing dietary niacin level, serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) content significantly increased, while serum triacylglycerol (TG) content significantly decreased (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in serum glucose (GLU) and total cholesterol (T‐CHO) contents in the separate fish groups (P > 0.05). Broken‐line regression analysis showed that GIFT tilapia (87–376 g) require a minimum of 20.4 mg/kg niacin in the diet for maximal growth, and 84.6 mg/kg for the highest liver niacin accumulation.