bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Turkish patients' decision‐making process in seeking treatment for myocardial infarction
Authors: Yardimci Tuğba , Mert Hatice 
Published: March 2013

AbstractAimThe purpose of this study was to reveal how Turkish patients experiencing acute myocardial infarction (AMI) for the first time decide to seek medical treatment following the initiation of the symptoms.MethodsThis qualitative study was carried out by using the grounded theory. Data were collected in a university hospital cardiology clinic in Turkey between March 2009 and March 2010. The sample comprised 30 patients having experienced AMI for the first time. The data were collected by an in‐depth interview technique via a semistructured interview form. All of the interviews were recorded using a tape‐recorder.ResultsThe median decision‐making time was 90 min. Two main themes emerged at the end of the study: “feeling of abnormality” and “thinking the situation is critical”. Deciding to seek medical help was found to be a process which emerges with the severity of symptoms, an inability to manage symptoms, fear, and extrinsic factors.ConclusionThe results of this study show the importance of being aware of the symptoms when deciding to seek treatment. It is recommended to develop training programs about AMI symptoms and the importance of receiving early medical help by targeting society in general and the individuals with a diagnosis of coronary artery disease and their relatives in particular, and to organize awareness‐raising campaigns supported by the media.
Validation of an ELISA for urinary dopamine: applications in monitoring treatment of dopamine‐related disorders
Authors: Nichkova Mikaela , Wynveen Paul M. , Marc David T. , Huisman Han , Kellermann Gottfried H. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractDopamine is a catecholamine that serves as a neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous system. Non‐invasive, reliable, and high‐throughput techniques for its quantification are needed to assess dysfunctions of the dopaminergic system and monitor therapies. We developed and validated a competitive ELISA for direct determination of dopamine in urine samples. The method provides high specificity, good accuracy, and precision (average inter‐assay variation < 12%). The analysis is not affected by general urinary components and structurally related drugs and metabolites. The correlation between ELISA and LC‐MS/MS analyses was very good (r = 0.986, n = 28). The reference range was 64–261 μg/g Cr (n = 64). Week‐to‐week biological variations of second morning urinary dopamine under free‐living conditions were 23.9% for within‐ and 35.5% for between‐subject variation (n = 10). The assay is applied in monitoring Parkinson's disease patients under different treatments. Urinary dopamine levels significantly increase in a dose‐dependent manner for Parkinson's disease patients under l‐DOPA treatment. The present ELISA provides a cost‐effective alternative to chromatographic methods to monitor patients receiving dopamine restoring treatment to ensure appropriate dosing and clinical efficacy. The method can be used in pathological research for the assessment of possible peripheral biological markers for disorders related to the dopaminergic system.
The Meaning of Evidence‐Based Management to Brazilian Senior Nurse Leaders
Authors: Spiri Wilza Carla , MacPhee Maura 
Published: March 2013

AbstractPurposeThe study objective was to understand the meaning of evidence‐based management for senior nurse leaders in accredited, public hospitals in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil.Design and MethodA phenomenological approach was used to analyze interviews conducted with 10 senior nurse leaders between August 2011 and March 2012. The analytic method was developed by the Brazilian phenomenologist, Martins.FindingsSenior nurse leaders described how they critically appraise many sources of evidence when making managerial decisions. They emphasized the importance of working with their teams to locally adapt and evaluate best evidence associated with managerial decision making and organizational innovations. Their statements also demonstrated how they use evidence‐based management to support the adoption of evidence‐based practices. They did not, however, provide specific strategies for seeking out and obtaining evidence. Notable challenges were traditional cultures and rigid bureaucracies, while major facilitators included accreditation, teamwork, and shared decision making.ConclusionsEvidence‐based management necessitates a continuous process of locating, implementing, and evaluating evidence. In this study leaders provided multiple, concrete examples of all these processes except seeking out and locating evidence. They also gave examples of other leadership skills associated with successful adoption of evidence‐based practice and management, particularly interdisciplinary teamwork and shared decision making.Clinical RelevanceThis study demonstrates senior nurse leaders’ awareness and utilization of evidence‐based management. The study also suggests what aspects of evidence‐based management need further development, such as more active identification of potential, new organizational innovations.
Effects of herbal supplements on the bioactivation of chemotherapeutic agents
Authors: Gorman Gregory S , Coward Lori , Darby Adrienne , Rasberry Bethany 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Objectives
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of commercially available, over-the-counter herbal supplements (St John's wort, black cohosh and ginger root extract) on the metabolic activation of tamoxifen and irinotecan.

Methods
Co-incubation of each drug and supplement combination over a range of concentrations was conducted in human liver microsomes and the decrease in the rate of active metabolite formation was monitored using high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Data was analysed using non-linear regression analysis and Dixon plots to determine the dominant mechanism of inhibition and to estimate the Ki and IC50 values of the commercial supplements.

Key findings
The data suggest that black cohosh was the strongest inhibitor tested in this study for both CYP450 and carboxyesterase mediated biotransformation of tamoxifen and irinotecan, respectively, to their active metabolites. St John's wort was a stronger inhibitor compared with ginger root extract for tamoxifen (CYP mediated pathway), while ginger root extract was a stronger inhibitor compared with St John's wort for the carboxyesterase mediated pathway.

Conclusions
Commercially available supplements are widely used by patients and their potential impact on the efficacy of the chemotherapy is often unknown. The clinical significance of these results needs to be evaluated in a comprehensive clinical trial.
Coupling biorelevant dissolution methods with physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling to forecast in-vivo performance of solid oral dosage forms
Authors: Otsuka Keiichi , Shono Yasushi , Dressman Jennifer 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Objectives
To summarize the basis for and progress with the development of in-vitro–in-silico–in-vivo (IV-IS-IV) relationships for oral dosage forms using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling, with the focus on predicting the performance of solid oral dosage forms in humans.

Key findings
Various approaches to forecasting oral absorption have been reported to date. These range from simple dissolution tests, through biorelevant dissolution testing and laboratory simulations of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, to the use of PBPK modelling to predict oral drug absorption based on the physicochemical parameters of the drug substance. Although each of these approaches can be useful for qualitative predictions, forecasting oral absorption on a quantitative basis with an individual approach is only possible for selected drug/dosage form combinations. By integrating biorelevant dissolution test results with the PBPK models, it has become possible to achieve quantitatively accurate as well as qualitative predictions of plasma profiles after oral dosing for both immediate and modified release formulations.

Summary
With further refinement of both the biorelevant dissolution testing methods and the PBPK models, it should be possible to expedite the development and regulatory approval of optimized dosage forms and dosing conditions.
Polyphenol compounds in the chicken/animal diet: from the past to the future
Authors: Surai P. F. 
Published: March 2013

SummaryAnimal feed provides a range of antioxidants that help the body building an integrated antioxidant system responsible for a prevention of damaging effects of free radicals and products of their metabolism. Vitamin E is considered to be the main chain‐breaking antioxidant located in the membranes and effectively protecting them against lipid peroxidation. Recently, various polyphenol compounds, especially flavonoids, have received substantial attention because of their antioxidant activities in various in vitro systems. However, it was shown that flavonoid compounds are poorly absorbed in the gut and their concentrations in target tissues are too low to perform an effective antioxidant defences. The aim of the present paper is to review existing evidence about possible roles of various plant extracts provided with the diet in animal/poultry nutrition with a specific emphasis to their antioxidant activities.
Oral Enclomiphene Citrate Stimulates the Endogenous Production of Testosterone and Sperm Counts in Men with Low Testosterone: Comparison with Testosterone Gel
Authors: Kaminetsky Jed , Werner Michael , Fontenot Greg , Wiehle Ronald D. 
Published: March 2013

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Clomiphene citrate is employed off-label in men who have low testosterone and for the restoration of sperm counts in men who have used exogenous testosterone. Clomiphene is a mixture of two diastereoisomers: zuclomiphene and enclomiphene. We evaluated enclomiphene citrate in men with secondary hypogonadism.

Aim
Our aim was to compare oral enclomiphene citrate as an alternative to topical testosterone.

Main Outcome Measures
Blood levels of total testosterone (TT), estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), sex hormone binding globulin, thyroid stimulation hormone, prolactin, and insulin-like growth factor 1 IGF-1 were measured at certain times after treatment with each agent. Sperm parameters were determined at the same visits. Free testosterone (FT) was calculated.

Methods
This was a proof-of-principle, randomized, open-label, fixed dose, active-control, two-center phase IIB study in 12 men with secondary hypogonadism treated previously with topical testosterone.

Results
After discontinuation of topical testosterone, morning TT values averaged 165 ± 66 pg/dL. After 3 months, there was a significant rise in men receiving enclomiphene citrate and gel that was sustained for 3 months. At 6 months, TT levels were 545 ± 268 and 525 ± 256 pg/dL for groups receiving the gel and enclomiphene citrate, respectively. Only men in the enclomiphene citrate group demonstrated increased LH and FSH. TT decreased one month posttreatment to pretreatment values. Enclomiphene citrate elevated sperm counts in seven out of seven men at 3 months and six out of six men at 6 months with sperm concentrations in the 75–334 × 106/mL range. The gel was ineffective in raising sperm counts above 20 × 106/mL for all five men at 3 months and raised counts in only two or five men at 6 months. At follow-up, only enclomiphene citrate treatment was associated with elevated sperm counts.

Conclusions
Enclomiphene citrate increased testosterone and sperm counts. Concomitant changes in LH and FSH suggest normalization of endogenous testosterone production and restoration of sperm counts through the hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis.
Incidence of diabetes mellitus in a population‐based cohort of persons with chronic hepatitis B virus infection
Authors: Spradling P. R. , Simons B. , Narayanan M. , Xing J. , Homan C. , Bulkow L. , Cagle H. , Schraer C. D. , McMahon B. J. 
Published: March 2013

SummaryTo investigate the effect of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on the development of diabetes mellitus (DM), we compared DM incidence and characteristics of Alaska Native persons with and without HBV infection. From 1990 to 2010, there were 52 incident DM cases among 1309 persons with infection vs 4557 DM cases among 85 698 persons without infection (log‐rank test, P = 0.20). Compared to infected persons without DM, those with DM were significantly older (57.0 vs 47.4 years, P < 0.001) and had higher body mass index (34.5 vs 28.4 kg/m2, P < 0.001). Genotype, immune active disease and the presence of cirrhosis were not associated with DM. In this population‐based cohort with over 20 years of follow‐up, there was no effect of HBV infection on DM development.
Association of vitamin D serum levels and its common genetic determinants, with severity of liver fibrosis in genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C patients
Authors: Petta S. , Grimaudo S. , Marco V. D. , Scazzone C. , Macaluso F. S. , Cammà C. , Cabibi D. , Pipitone R. , Craxì A. 
Published: March 2013

SummaryLower 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] serum levels have been associated with the severity of liver fibrosis in genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C patients (G1CHC). In addition, a recent genome‐wide study identified genetic variants (rs12785878, near dehydrocholesterol reductase, DHCR7; rs10741657, near CYP2R1; and rs7041, near vitamin D‐binding protein, GC) affecting 25(OH)D serum levels in healthy populations. We aimed to assess the association between vitamin D serum levels and its genetic determinants, with the severity of liver fibrosis. Two hundred and sixty patients with biopsy‐proven G1CHC were consecutively evaluated. The 25(OH)D serum levels were measured by high‐pressure liquid chromatography. All patients were genotyped for DHCR7 rs12785878, CYP2R1 rs10741657 and GC rs7041 single nucleotide polymorphisms. DHCR7 GG genotype (P = 0.003) and the severity of fibrosis (P = 0.03) were independent factors associated with lower 25(OH)D serum levels in multiple linear regression analysis. Interestingly, 53.8% (7/13) of patients with DHCR7 GG genotype had severe liver fibrosis, compared to 27.1% (67/247) of those with DHCR7 TT/TG genotype (P = 0.03). By multivariate logistic regression analysis, severe fibrosis was independently associated with older age (OR, 1.056; 95% CI, 1.023–1.089, P = 0.001), low cholesterol (OR, 0.984; 95% CI, 0.974–0.994, P = 0.002), high triglycerides (OR, 1.008; 95% CI, 1.002–1.015, P = 0.01), low 25(OH)D (OR, 0.958; 95% CI, 0.919–0.999, P = 0.04), DHCR7 GG genotype (OR, 4.222; 95% CI, 1.106–16.120; P = 0.03), moderate–severe steatosis (OR, 2.588; 95% CI, 1.355–4.943; P = 0.004) and moderate–severe necroinflammatory activity (grading) (OR, 2.437; 95% CI, 1.307–4.763; P = 0.001). No associations were found between liver fibrosis and both CYP2R1 and GC genotypes. In patients with G1CHC, GG homozygosis for DHCR7 gene and lower 25(OH)D levels are independently associated with the severity of liver fibrosis.
Knowledge about infection is the only predictor of treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C
Authors: Younossi Z. M. , Stepanova M. , Afendy M. , Lam B. P. , Mishra A. 
Published: March 2013

SummaryHCV is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer in the U.S. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has recently recommended ‘Birth Cohort Screening’ of the U.S. Adult population to reduce the future burden of undiagnosed HCV infections in the U.S. Our aim was to assess independent predictors of receiving treatment in a cohort of HCV‐infected patients. The Hepatitis C follow‐up questionnaires of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) conducted from 2001 to 2010 were used. The NHANES participants who tested positive for HCV RNA were followed by CDC 6 months after initial testing with questions related to their awareness of their infection and history or intention to receive treatment. A total of 500 NHANES participants tested positive for HCV RNA and were targeted for follow‐up. Of these, only 203 had completed the follow‐up questionnaire (response rate of 40.6%). Of these, only 101 (50%) knew about their HCV positivity before NHANES, and from them, only 34 (17%) had received treatment. In multivariate analysis, prior knowledge about their HCV infection in HCV‐positive individuals was independently associated with receiving routine care from a doctor or HMO, with higher income, female gender, being in poor or fair health and not consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. On the other hand, the knowledge about HCV infection was the only independent predictor of receiving anti‐HCV treatment (odds ratio 6.14). Knowledge about having HCV infection is the only independent predictor of receiving treatment. Therefore, birth cohort screening of the U.S. General population could lead to wider identification of HCV and potentially better management of the future burden of HCV and its complications.
Participatory and evolutionary integrated lake basin management
Authors: Lin Hebin , Thornton Jeffrey A. , Slawski Thomas M. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis study discusses some fundamental institutional rationales to support the participatory approach of integrated lake basin management (ILBM). Based on five propositions for institutional change embodied within evolutionary economic thinking, an institutional change pathway (ICP) framework is constructed composed of eight institutional factors and four socioeconomic constraints. By merging the ILBM governance themes with the ICP institutional factors and socioeconomic constraints, an ILBM‐ICP matrix is developed. The ILBM‐ICP matrix indicates ILBM has focused on institutional factors of (i) opportunities, (ii) choices and (iii) incentives, with lesser emphasis on (iv) competition, (v) investment and (vi) payoff. For a more balanced institutional foundation for ILBM, incorporation of the financial mechanism of payments for improving ecosystem services at the watershed scale (PIES‐W) forms an effective complement to the ILBM concept. PIES‐W features the rationale of coordinating human stakeholders’ conservation services (CS) for improving ecosystem services with human stakeholders’ needs for ES as a basis for survival. This study calls upon the political and scientific communities to merge their visions and coordinate their actions in leading institutional improvement of ILBM so as to contribute to sustainable ecosystem governance.
Lakes, landscapes and locals: Pooling partnership resources to create sustainable lake catchments
Authors: Pinder John R. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe historical lack of classification and legislative control on lake quality has previously prevented these complex water bodies from being adequately protected until the European Water Framework Directive became operative. Their increasing importance for all their values and the sensitivity of many lakes to climate change, however, has heightened their profile. Their relative importance has recently been lifted further by the development of the ‘ecosystem services’ approach to recognize multiple values. This report discusses initiatives taken to address problems outside the legal frameworks, provides an analysis of the processes involved and outlines where improvements can be made and where the present arrangements are vulnerable. It identifies the need for all ‘players’ to have a common agenda and use a common language to aid consensus building and resource sharing. It also advocates that high‐quality communications are the key to community stewardship of lake catchments and education is the foundation for changing the initiatives driven by individual champions to a position where protection of lakes is, through a cultural shift or establishing a new paradigm of community responsibility in protecting vulnerable lakes, wetlands and their catchments.
Cryptic genetic and wing pattern diversity in a mimeticHeliconiusbutterfly
Authors: Hill R. I. , Gilbert L. E. , Kronforst M. R. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractDespite rampant colour pattern diversity in South America,Heliconius eratoexhibits a ‘postman’ wing pattern throughout most of Central America. We examined genetic variation across the range ofH. erato, including dense sampling in Central America, and discovered a deep genetic break, centred on the mountain range that runs through Costa Rica. This break is characterized by a novel mitochondrial lineage, which is nearly fixed in northern Central America, that branches basal to all previously described mitochondrial diversity in the species. Strong genetic differentiation also appears in Z‐linked and autosomal markers, and it is further associated with a distinct, but subtle, shift in wing pattern phenotype. Comparison of clines in wing phenotype, mtDNAand nuclear markers indicate they are all centred on the mountains dividing Costa Rica, but that cline width differs among data sets. Phylogeographical analyses, accounting for this new diversity, rewrite our understanding of mimicry evolution in this system. For instance, these results suggest thatH. eratooriginated west of the Andes, perhaps in Central America, and as many as 1 million years before its co‐mimic,H. melpomene. Overall our data indicate that neutral genetic markers and colour pattern loci are congruent and converge on the same hypothesis—H. eratooriginated in northwest South America or Central America with a ‘postman’ phenotype and then radiated into the wealth of colour patterns present today.
Creatio Ex Nihilo Recovered
Authors: Burrell David B. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractCreatio ex nihilo sounds like a philosophical teaching, but philosophy has been utterly unprepared to offer proper expression for an origination which presupposes nothing at all! Yet each of the Abrahamic faiths insists on such an origination, so it proved serendipitous when sufficient contact opened between these diverse religious traditions to allow thinkers to assist one another in what proved to be a shared task—and indeed gain assistance from others as well, as Sara Grant elucidates the sui generis relation between creatures and creator using Shankara's “non‐duality”. With Robert Dobie's help, we shall can find ourselves attaining mutual illumination from witnessing Meister Eckhart and Ibn ’Arabi struggle with the same conundrum, reminding us how we will invariably falsify this crucial relating if we insist on thinking of Creator and creatures as “two things”, inevitably yielding a creator who must be the “biggest of all”. Yet this witness of classical explorers from different traditions may embolden contemporary thinkers to try their hand as well.
Creation in Early Christian Polemical Literature: Irenaeus against the Gnostics and Athanasius against the Arians
Authors: Gavrilyuk Paul 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe doctrine of creation out of nothing was conceptually sharpened as the Church Fathers engaged the cosmological views of their opponents. This article discusses the emergence of this doctrine in the second century, focusing on the polemic of Irenaeus against the Gnostics. For Irenaeus, creatio ex nihilo was already a part of the “rule of truth,” which provided a hermeneutical key to the scriptures. Irenaeus also used rational arguments to show that Gnostic cosmologies obscured, rather than explained the origins of the world. A different challenge arose in the fourth century, when Arius began to teach that the Son was created out of nothing, thereby treating the divine act of the generation of the Son analogously to the creating of the world. Athanasius of Alexandria introduced an important distinction by correlating the eternal generation of the Son with the divine essence and the creation of the world with the will of the Father.