bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
In‐situation safety behaviors among patients with panic disorder: Descriptive and correlational study
Authors: Funayama Tadashi , Furukawa Toshi A. , Nakano Yumi , Noda Yumiko , Ogawa Sei , Watanabe Norio , Chen Junwen , Noguchi Yuka 
Published: June 2013

AimIn‐situation safety behaviors play an important role in the maintenance of anxiety because they prevent patients from experiencing unambiguous disconfirmation of their unrealistic beliefs about feared catastrophes. Strategies for identifying particular safety behaviors, however, have not been sufficiently investigated. The aims of the present study were to (i) develop a comprehensive list of safety behaviors seen in panic disorder and to examine their frequency; and (ii) correlate the safety behaviors with panic attack symptoms, agoraphobic situations and treatment response.MethodsThe subjects consisted of 46 consecutive patients who participated in group cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) for panic disorder. All the patients completed a Safety Behavior List that was developed based on experiences with panic disorder patients.ResultsCarrying medications, distracting attention, carrying a plastic bottle, and drinking water were reported by more than half of the patients. The strongest correlations between panic symptoms and safety behaviors were found between symptoms of derealization and listening to music with headphones, paresthesia and pushing a cart while shopping, and nausea and squatting down. The strongest association between agoraphobic situations and safety behaviors was found between the fear of taking a bus or a train alone and moving around. Staying still predicted response to the CBT program, while concentrating on something predicted lack of response.ConclusionAn approximate guideline has been developed for identifying safety behaviors among patients with panic disorder and should help clinicians use CBT more effectively for these patients.
Seeing the Expected, the Desired, and the Feared: Influences on Perceptual Interpretation and Directed Attention
Authors: Riccio Matthew , Cole Shana , Balcetis Emily 
Published: June 2013

AbstractThough people often believe their visual experiences reflect the objective state of the surrounding world, a wealth of recent evidence suggests that perceptions are systematically biased. We draw from contemporary research and supplement with real world anecdotes to suggest that two aspects of perception are subject to influence by states internal to perceivers themselves. We focus on the biases that arise from two difficult tasks faced by the visual system. First, visual information is often unclear and ambiguous; yet visual input must be categorized quickly and efficiently. Second, people can focus on only a subset of perceptual information at once, and as a result visual attention is necessarily directed at a subset of the surrounding world. We document ways in which expectations, desires, and fears help to resolve perceptual ambiguity and direct attention. Finally, we discuss the functional nature of visual biases and note potential consequences in important domains.
Reducing the Tendency to Aggress: Insights from Social and Personality Psychology
Authors: Meier Brian P. , Wilkowski Benjamin M. 
Published: June 2013

AbstractThe social and personality psychology literature on aggression has largely focused on the factors that are associated with an increase in aggression such as provocation, violent media exposure, and trait anger. This work has been quite important in developing models of aggression. Less emphasis, however, has been placed on examining the factors that reduce this harmful behavior. We use a widely researched model of aggression to examine some factors that are associated with aggression reduction including self‐control, pro‐social experiences, and appraisal processes. These variables reduce the tendency to aggress, and our review addresses some potential processes involved. We suggest that a stronger research focus on the factors that reduce aggression can aid our understanding of not only why aggression occurs but also how to control it.
Reappraising the Moral Nature of Emotions in Decision Making: The Case of Shame and Guilt
Authors: Nelissen Rob M. A. , Breugelmans Seger M. , Zeelenberg Marcel 
Published: June 2013

AbstractEmotions play a crucial role in moral behavior. The present paper does not contest this point but argues that qualifications of certain feelings such as shame and guilt as moral emotions should not exclusively be based on a proximal analysis of their function. A proximal analysis details how moral emotions produce moral behavior. Emotions are qualified as moral when they are elicited by concerns for others rather than the self and produce prosocial action tendencies. Although researchers have acknowledged that moral emotions may also have an ultimate function that details why it is in the individual interest that these moral effects occur, they have neglected to translate such ideas into testable hypotheses. Using guilt and shame as an example, we show how an analysis of ultimate functions accommodates recent findings, which contest the view that guilt is more moral than shame and provides new insights as to when and why moral emotions will produce moral effects.
Female Fertility and Male Mating: Women's Ovulatory Cues Influence Men's Physiology, Cognition, and Behavior
Authors: Makhanova Anastasia , Miller Saul L. 
Published: June 2013

AbstractEvolutionary theories of mating suggest that shifting fertility levels during a woman's menstrual cycle play an important role in the formation and maintenance of romantic relationships. In this article, we review a burgeoning literature that has applied this framework to the investigation of male adaptations to female fertility. The studies reviewed here illuminate the ways in which men evolved to overcome the challenge of finding and attracting mates with peak levels of fertility. In particular, we review research that highlights the types of cues men may use to detect heightened fertility as well as the types of mating processes men display when encountering those cues. We discuss important avenues for future research on this topic as well as implications for psychological theories of romantic attraction.
In Godlessness We Distrust: Using Social Psychology to Solve the Puzzle of Anti‐atheist Prejudice
Authors: Gervais Will M. 
Published: June 2013

AbstractMost people believe in a god of some sort. Nonetheless, there are hundreds of millions of atheists in the world, and they face considerable discrimination and prejudice. This is a puzzling form of prejudice: Atheists do not form a coherent group, they are individually inconspicuous, and they are not, in general, oppositional or threatening. Recent research in social, evolutionary, and cultural psychology, however, offers suggestions for solving the puzzle of anti‐atheist prejudice, in terms of both uncovering its psychological causes and also suggesting interventions for reducing it. Antipathy towards atheists derives specifically from moral distrust – to many people, belief in a watchful, moralizing god is seen as a uniquely powerful and perhaps necessary component of morality. Without religious belief, atheists are viewed as moral wildcards who cannot be trusted. This unique basis in turn implies specific ways in which distrust of atheists might be ameliorated.
Culture, Closeness, or Commerce? Policy Diffusion and Social Spending Dynamics
Authors: Schmitt Carina 
Published: June 2013

AbstractIn a globalized world where trans‐ and supranational networks, communication and the exchange of information gain in importance, national political decision making processes do not occur independently from each other. Policy diffusion is assumed to become more and more relevant also for welfare state development. This paper explicitly focuses on the policy diffusion among 21 OECD countries in the period between 1980 and 2007 looking at social spending dynamics. The empirical findings of the spatial regressions clearly indicate that spatial patterns in social spending dynamics are driven by policy diffusion processes. In fact, economic interdependencies define the pathways of diffusion. Trading partners move in the same direction regarding social policy behavior. Surprisingly, cultural and geographical proximity are less relevant for the diffusion processes, at least in terms of social spending dynamics.
Transparency and Political Budget Cycles at municipal level
Authors: Vicente Cristina , Benito Bernardino , Bastida Francisco 
Published: June 2013

AbstractWe analyze the effect of municipal financial transparency on the magnitude of political budget cycles. Our sample covers the Spanish largest municipalities in the period 1999‐2009. While the impact of transparency on the electoral cycle has been studied at the international and regional level, there is no empirical evidence of its effect at the local level. Using the financial transparency index made by Transparency International Spain, we show that municipalities with lower levels of financial transparency present an electoral cycle in total spending, whereas such an electoral impact on total spending does not appear in high transparent municipalities. Furthermore, the magnitude of cycles in capital spending and taxes does not vary among low‐transparency municipalities and high‐transparency municipalities.
Quality control of leucocyte‐depleted platelet concentrates obtained by buffy‐coat method
Authors: Vuk T. , Strauss Patko M. , Gulan‐Harcet J. , Očić T. , Šarlija D. , Jukić I. 
Published: June 2013

SUMMARYObjectivesQuality control results on leukoreduced buffy‐coat platelet pools during the 7‐year period (2005–2011) are presented with the aim to assess their overall quality and trends recorded during the study period.MethodsData of the Quality Assurance Department, Croatian Institute of Transfusion Medicine were used in the study. Measurement results of all study parameters are presented for the entire study period, while the rate of controlled platelet pools consistent with the specified quality requirements is additionally presented for each study year.ResultsThe mean component volume was 50 ± 9 mL per 6 × 1010 platelets (91·5% of conformable results), mean platelet count 7·81 ± 1·26 × 1010 per single unit equivalent (97·5% of conformable results), mean leucocyte count 0·01 ± 0·08 × 106 per single unit equivalent (99·6% of conformable results), and mean pH 7·45 ± 0·16 (99·4% of conformable results). Bacteriologic testing showed negative result in 99·8% of tested components.ConclusionStudy results indicated the results of platelet pool quality control to be highly conformable with the specified quality requirements. It is illustrated how simple interventions in the preparation process can have significant impact on product quality improvement and thus on redefining quality requirements.
RHCE*ceMO is frequently in cis to RHD*DAU0 and encodes a hrS–, hrB–, RH:–61 phenotype in black persons: clinical significance
Authors: Westhoff Connie M. , Vege Sunitha , Horn Trina , Hue‐Roye Kim , Halter Hipsky Christine , Lomas‐Francis Christine , Reid Marion E. 
Published: June 2013

BackgroundRHCE*ceMO has nucleotide changes 48G>C and 667G>T, which encode, respectively, 16Cys and 223Phe associated with altered expression of e antigen. RHD*DAU0 has Nucleotide 1136C>T, which encodes 379Met associated with normal levels of D. We compiled serologic and DNA testing data on samples with RHCE*ceMO to determine the red blood cell (RBC) antigen expression, antibody specificity, RHD association, and the prevalence in African‐American persons.Study Design and MethodsSerologic testing was performed by standard methods. Genomic DNA was used for polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism and RH–exon sequencing, and for some, Rh‐cDNA was sequenced. Seventy‐seven (50 donor and 27 patient) samples with RHCE*ceMO were studied, and 350 African‐American persons were screened for allele prevalence.ResultsRBCs from RHCE*ceMO homozygotes (or heterozygotes with RHCE*cE in trans) were weak or nonreactive with some anti‐e and were nonreactive with polyclonal anti‐hrS and anti‐hrB. Twenty‐three transfused patients homozygous for RHCE*ceMO/ceMO or with RHCE*ceMO in trans to RHCE*cE or *ce had alloanti‐e, anti‐f, anti‐hrS/hrB, or an antibody to a high‐prevalence Rh antigen. Three patients with alloanti‐c had RHCE*ceMO in trans to RHCE*Ce. RHD*DAU0 was present in 30% of African‐American persons tested and in 69 of 77 (90%) of samples with RHCE*ceMO.ConclusionsRHCE*ceMO encodes partial e, as previously reported, and also encodes partial c, a hrS– and hrB– phenotype, and the absence of a high‐prevalence antigen (RH61). The antibody in transfused patients depended on the RHCE allele in trans. RHCE*ceMO was present in one in 50 African‐American persons with an allele frequency of 0.01, is often linked to RHD*DAU0, and is potentially of clinical significance for transfusion.
Clostridium perfringens in apheresis platelets: an unusual contaminant underscores the importance of clinical vigilance for septic transfusion reactions (CME)
Authors: Eder Anne F. , Meena‐Leist Claire E. , Hapip Cheryl A. , Dy Beth A. , Benjamin Richard J. , Wagner Stephen J. 
Published: June 2013

BackgroundPosttransfusion sepsis is typically caused by aerobic bacteria in apheresis platelets (PLTs) that escape detection by routine quality control cultures performed on every donation before components are distributed. We report the first case to implicate an anaerobic isolate, Clostridium perfringens, in apheresis PLTs and investigate its detection in vitro by approved tests.Study Design and MethodsThe C. perfringens strain was inoculated at high (10‐100 colony‐forming units [CFUs]/mL) or low (1‐10 CFUs/mL) concentrations into apheresis PLTs and evaluated for growth over 5 to 7 days by qualitative plate cultures, culture‐based assays (BacT/ALERT 3D), and rapid (PLT PGD) tests.ResultsC. perfringens grew in only 3 of 8 apheresis PLT units after inoculation at either high (2 units) or low (1 unit) concentrations. The PGD test detected the isolate after 5 days in 1 unit with 4.7 × 105 CFUs/mL but failed at five other time points in units with greater than 105 CFUs/mL.ConclusionC. perfringens demonstrated variable growth in spiked PLTs and was not consistently detected by a rapid test even when high levels of contamination were present. The case underscores the importance of direct observation during transfusion, appropriate clinical management, and immediate reporting of suspected septic reactions to the blood center.
Subcortical effects of transcranial direct current stimulation in the rat
Authors: Bolzoni F. , Bączyk M. , Jankowska E. 
Published: June 2013

Key points
Previously demonstrated facilitation of activation of subcortical neurons by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in acute experiments on deeply anaesthetized animals was fairly weak. It resulted in only small increases in the amplitude and in a slight shortening of latencies of subcortically initiated descending volleys.
Here we show that despite weak effects on descending volleys, EMG responses evoked in neck muscles by reticulospinal and rubrospinal neurons in deeply anaesthetized non‐paralysed rats are potently facilitated by tDCS and that the facilitation outlasts tDCS.
We further show that the facilitatory subcortical effects of tDCS in the rat are evoked by cathodal rather than anodal polarization, i.e. by a polarity that is the reverse of that most often found to be effective in humans and in the cat. Anodal polarization depressed activation of the same rat subcortical neurons.
These findings should assist further studies of mechanisms of tDCS in vivo in rodents.
Abstract  Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) affects neurons at both cortical and subcortical levels. The subcortical effects involve several descending motor systems but appeared to be relatively weak, as only small increases in the amplitude of subcortically initiated descending volleys and a minute shortening of latencies of these volleys were found. The aim of the present study was therefore to evaluate the consequences of facilitation of these volleys on the ensuing muscle activation. The experiments were carried out on deeply anaesthetized rats without neuromuscular blockade. Effects of tDCS were tested on EMG potentials recorded from neck muscles evoked by weak (20–60 μA) single, double or triple stimuli applied in the medial longitudinal fascicle (MLF) or in the red nucleus (RN). Short latencies of these potentials were compatible with monosynaptic or disynaptic actions of reticulospinal and disynaptic or trisynaptic actions of rubrospinal neurons on neck motoneurons. Despite only weak effects on indirect descending volleys, the EMG responses from both the MLF and the RN were potently facilitated by cathodal tDCS and depressed by anodal tDCS. Both the facilitation and the depression developed relatively rapidly (within the first minute) but both outlasted tDCS and were present for up to 1 h after tDCS. The study thus demonstrates long‐lasting effects of tDCS on subcortical neurons in the rat, albeit evoked by an opposite polarity of tDCS to that found to be effective on subcortical neurons in the cat investigated in the preceding study, or for cortical neurons in the humans.
Influence of blood vessel on the thermal lesion formation during radiofrequency ablation for liver tumors
Authors: Huang Huang‐Wen 
Published: June 2013

Purpose:The major obstacles of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) heat treatments are nonuniform heating in the thermal lesion and heat sinks caused by large blood vessels during treatments which could lead to high tumor recurrence in patients. The objective of this study is to help comprehend RFA heat treatment through thermal lesion formation using computer simulation, and thus to provide helpful assistance in planning RFA.Methods:RFA heat treatment is a popular “minimally invasive” treatment method for both primary and metastatic liver tumors, and the heat treatment is studied by numerical calculation. A finite difference model is used to solve all partial differential equations for a simple three‐dimensional cubic geometry model. Maximum tissue temperature is used as a critical index for reaching thermal lesion during RFA. Cylindrical RF cool‐tip electrode is internally cooled at constant water temperature. RFA thermal lesion is studied at various impacts by single and countercurrent blood vessel(s) traversing the thermal lesion. Several factors are considered, such as location, diameter, and orientation of the blood vessel(s) to the electrode.Results:Results show the thermal lesion size decreases as the lesion blood perfusion rate increases. And, single large blood vessel which is orthogonal to RF electrode will cause less undercooled volume in the thermal lesion than one which is parallel to RF electrode. Furthermore, convective energy may easily damage parallel vessel and its surrounding normal tissues during RFA. Small blood vessels (or larger vessels with slow blood flow rate) during RFA could form “tail‐like” thermal lesion formation, which could damage vessel downstream spots.Conclusions:Studies suggested that incomplete RF tumor ablation still exists within 1 cm distance between large blood vessel and RF electrode in a liver. This could have significant impact on local tumor recurrence rates. Second, if thermally significant vessel existed inevitably within the lesion, avoiding the RF cool‐tip electrode placement next to the parallel large blood vessel would have a better heat treatment during RF heating. Additionally, reduced blood flow rate could help reduce significant cooling by large blood vessel.
In Vitro
and
In Vivo
Studies of the Antiparasitic Activity of Sterol 14α-Demethylase (CYP51) Inhibitor VNI against Drug-Resistant Strains of Trypanosoma cruzi
Authors: Soeiro Maria de Nazaré Correia , de Souza Elen Mello , da Silva Cristiane França , Batista Denise da Gama Jaen , Batista Marcos Meuser , Pavão Beatriz Philot , Araújo Julianna Siciliano , Aiub Claudia Alessandra Fortes , da Silva Patrícia Bernardino , Lionel Jessica , Britto Constança , Kim Kwangho , Sulikowski Gary , Hargrove Tatiana Y. , Waterman Michael R. , Lepesheva Galina I. 
Published: June 2013

ABSTRACT

Chagas disease affects more than 10 million people worldwide, and yet, as it has historically been known as a disease of the poor, it remains highly neglected. Two currently available drugs exhibit severe toxicity and low effectiveness, especially in the chronic phase, while new drug discovery has been halted for years as a result of a lack of interest from pharmaceutical companies. Although attempts to repurpose the antifungal drugs posaconazole and ravuconazole (inhibitors of fungal sterol 14α-demethylase [CYP51]) are finally in progress, development of cheaper and more efficient, preferably
Trypanosoma cruzi
-specific, chemotherapies would be highly advantageous. We have recently reported that the experimental
T. cruzi
CYP51 inhibitor VNI cures with 100% survival and 100% parasitological clearance both acute and chronic murine infections with the Tulahuen strain of
T. cruzi
. In this work, we further explored the potential of VNI by assaying nitro-derivative-resistant
T. cruzi
strains, Y and Colombiana, in highly stringent protocols of acute infection. The data show high antiparasitic efficacy of VNI and its derivative (VNI/VNF) against both forms of
T. cruzi
that are relevant for mammalian host infection (bloodstream and amastigotes), with the
in vivo
potency, at 25 mg/kg twice a day (b.i.d.), similar to that of benznidazole (100 mg/kg/day). Transmission electron microscopy and reverse mutation tests were performed to explore cellular ultrastructural and mutagenic aspects of VNI, respectively. No mutagenic potential could be seen by the Ames test at up to 3.5 μM, and the main ultrastructural damage induced by VNI in
T. cruzi
was related to Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum organization, with membrane blebs presenting an autophagic phenotype. Thus, these preliminary studies confirm VNI as a very promising trypanocidal drug candidate for Chagas disease therapy.