bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The cardiovascular risk marker asymmetric dimethylarginine is elevated in asymptomatic, untreated HIV-1 infection and correlates with markers of immune activation and disease progression
Authors: Hudson Careen L , Zemlin Annalise E , Ipp Hayley 
Published: October 2013

Background As lifespan in HIV infection increases, cardiovascular disease has emerged as a cause of morbidity and mortality. Asymmetric dimethylarginine is an established marker of endothelial dysfunction and predicts cardiovascular events. The role of asymmetric dimethylarginine in HIV-related cardiovascular disease has not been established. Our aim was to determine whether asymmetric dimethylarginine concentrations were elevated in treatment naïve, HIV-infected subjects and to correlate these with markers of immune activation and disease progression. Methods Serum samples were collected from HIV-positive and -negative subjects attending a primary health care clinic over a 12-month period. Asymmetric dimethylarginine concentrations were measured and correlated with CD4 count, viral load, hsCRP, IL-6, IgG, adenosine deaminase and CD8/38 T lymphocytes. Results Sixty HIV-positive participants (mean age 32.0 years) and 20 HIV-negative controls (mean age 32.4 years) were studied. All were of black ethnicity. The mean asymmetric dimethylarginine concentration in the infected group measured 0.67  µmol/L (95% CI 0.62–0.72  µmol/L) which was significantly higher than in the control group of 0.48  µmol/L (95% CI 0.40–0.56  µmol/L). Asymmetric dimethylarginine correlated inversely with CD4 counts and positively with IgG, adenosine deaminase and CD8/38 T lymphocytes. No significant correlation was found with hsCRP, IL-6, or viral load. Conclusion We demonstrated that asymmetric dimethylarginine is elevated in HIV infection, in patients with relatively well-preserved CD4 counts not yet on anti-retroviral treatment. We showed significant correlations of asymmetric dimethylarginine with CD8/38 T lymphocytes, IgG and adenosine deaminase, suggesting that T-cell activation and the adaptive immune response underlie asymmetric dimethylarginine elevation in this population.
A 21-year retrospective outcome study of New South Wales forensic patients granted conditional and unconditional release
Authors: Hayes Heather , Kemp Richard I , Large Matthew M , Nielssen Olav B 
Published: October 2013

Aim: To retrospectively examine the outcomes of forensic patients found not guilty by reason of mental illness (NGMI) in New South Wales (NSW) and subsequently released into the community, as measured by reoffending, conditional release revocation and psychiatric hospital readmission. Method: Data were collected from the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT) files for all patients who received an NGMI verdict between January 1990 and December 2010, and who were released into the community during this period. The outcome measures of conditional release revocation and psychiatric hospital readmission were extracted from these files. Information about subsequent criminal charges, convictions and penalties were obtained from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research’s reoffending database. Results: During the 21-year period studied, 364 offenders received an NGMI verdict and were placed under the supervision of the MHRT. Of these, 197 were released into the community, including 85 who were granted unconditional release. Over a follow-up period averaging 8.4 years, 18% of conditionally released patients reoffended, 11.8% were convicted of a further offence, 8.7% were charged with a violent offence, 3.1% were convicted of a violent offence and 3.7% were sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Five (3.1%) conditionally released forensic patients received a further NGMI verdict. One-quarter of the conditionally released patients had their conditional release revoked and half were readmitted to hospital. Of the forensic patients granted unconditional release, 12.5% were charged with an offence, 9.4% received convictions for an offence, 6.3% were charged with a violent offence and 4.7% were convicted of a violent offence, in a mean follow-up period of 7.6 years. None committed a further serious offence resulting in a term of imprisonment, nor a second NGMI verdict. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the treatment and rehabilitation of forensic patients in NSW, together with the decision-making procedures of the MHRT, is effective in protecting the community from further offending by forensic patients.
Social contacts and depression in middle and advanced adulthood: Findings from a US national survey, 2005–2008
Authors: McKenzie Lindsey E , Polur Ram N , Wesley Cholrelia , Allen Jessica D , McKeown Robert E , Zhang Jian 
Published: October 2013

Aim: Empirical evidence has linked social contacts with mental stability. The aim is to assess how social contacts are associated with depression among the general population. Methods: We analysed the data of 5,681 adults aged 40 or older, who completed a depression screening as a part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005–2008. Depression was ascertained using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), a nine-item screening instrument asking about the frequency of depression symptoms over the past two weeks. A PHQ score of 10 or higher was defined as depression. Results: The prevalence of depression was 5.54% (SE = 0.64) and 8.49% (SE = 0.71), respectively, among men and women. The association between social contacts and depression were more salient among men than women. The odds ratios (ORs) of depression were 2.43 (95% CI = 1.44−4.10), 2.42 (95% CI = 1.37−4.28), 1.00 (reference) and 1.94 (95% CI = 0.80−4.71), respectively, among men who never attended church, attended occasionally, weekly and more than weekly. The corresponding ORs were 1.79 (95% CI = 1.10−2.91), 1.72 (95% CI = 1.06−2.80), 1.00(reference) and 0.98 (95% CI = 0.52−1.84) for women. Compared with the respondents who had 10 or more friends, the ORs of depression were 4.01 (95% CI = 1.89−8.50) and 1.86 (95% CI = 0.92−3.79), respectively, for men and women who had no close friends. Conclusions: The current study concluded that traditional social contacts remain strongly associated with depression in the digital era. Digital social networking is one of the biggest growing industries, creating a new platform to make social contacts. There is an urgent need to explore how to maximize the potential of digital social networking to strengthen social bonds while minimizing its negative effects.
Hospice support and the transition to adult services and adulthood for young people with life-limiting conditions and their families: A qualitative study
Authors: Kirk Susan , Fraser Claire 
Published: October 2013

Background: Transition to adult services and adulthood is now a prospect for young people with life-limiting conditions requiring palliative care. Little is known about their transition experiences or how children’s hospices can support a young adult population during/following transition. Aims: (1) To examine how young people with life-limiting conditions and their parents experience transition. (2) To identify families’ and hospice staff’s perceptions of family support needs during transition. (3) To identify the implications for children’s hospices. Design: Qualitative study using in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Analysis used a grounded theory approach. Setting/participants: A total of 39 participants recruited from one children’s hospice in the United Kingdom. Results: Transition planning was absent or poorly coordinated; for most families, there were no equivalent adult health/social services. Consequently, it was a time of uncertainty and anxiety for families. Moving to a young adult unit was a positive experience for young people as the building/support model recognised their adult status. However, they had unmet needs for emotional support and accessing information/services to realise their aspirations. Parents had unmet emotional needs and were unclear of support available once their children reached adulthood. Staff identified training needs in relation to working with adults, providing emotional support and acting as an advocate/key worker. Conclusions: Providing an appropriate building is only one aspect of developing support for young adults. A different model of support is needed, one which promotes young people’s independence and provides emotional support while continuing to support parents and siblings. Hospices could play a role in transition support and coordination.
Pediatric hemiplegic migraine: Role of multiple MRI techniques in evaluation of reversible hypoperfusion
Authors: Bosemani Thangamadhan , Burton Vera J , Felling Ryan J , Leigh Richard , Oakley Christopher , Poretti Andrea , Huisman Thierry AGM 
Published: October 2013

Background Hemiplegic migraine (HM) is a rare type of migraine with aura that involves motor weakness. Data on conventional and advanced neuroimaging findings during prolonged attacks of HM are limited, particularly in children. Case A 13-year-old-female with a history of migraine had a typical attack of HM characterized by right-sided hemiplegia, deterioration of vigilance and paraphasia. MRI performed 3 hours after hemiplegia onset revealed normal diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) sequences, but perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) showed a large area of hypoperfusion within the left cerebral hemisphere and susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) demonstrated a matching area with prominent, hypointense draining sulcal veins. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) revealed subtle narrowing of the left middle cerebral artery. The neuroimaging abnormalities completely resolved 24 hours after the attack onset. Conclusion Multiple conventional and advanced MRI techniques including SWI play a key role in an HM attack to (1) exclude acute arterial ischemic stroke and (2) further understand the pathophysiology of HM.
Multidisciplinary design optimization to reduce erosion of blades in a mixed flow fan
Authors: Wang Jian , Wen Suping , Li Ting , Xi Guang 
Published: October 2013

This paper presents an anti-erosion design approach of multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) for turbomachinery to improve the erosion resistance of the blades, and its application to the design of an industrial mixed flow fan is given. The method is based on a concept for turbomachinery anti-erosion design in the aerodynamic design stage by modifying the geometry of the turbomachinery. The MDO approach replaces the traditional time consuming design method through automatic analyses of the aerodynamic performance, stress distribution and erosion characteristics, controlled by the optimization strategy. In the MDO approach, a multi-objective optimization algorithm non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II combined with radial basis function meta-model is used to find the compromise between the conflicting demands of high-efficiency and low average erosion rate with constraints on the pressure ratio and the safety factor for the blade; finite element method is used to analyze the static mechanical responses of the blade; a Navier-Stokes solver is used to predict the aerodynamic performance; solid particle paths in a viscous flow are calculated by Lagrangian method, and then the prediction of erosion is performed based on Tabakoff erosion model. Both the aerodynamic and anti-erosion performances of three selected robust optimal solutions on the Pareto front are compared to those of the baseline. The results show that the main reason for the efficiency improvement of the optimized blades is probably the smaller flow separation region and weaker secondary flows. Further comparative analysis between the baseline blade and the compromise blade for the impinging parameters is presented, and the erosion rate of compromise blade can be considerably decreased due to the lower impact velocity, suitable impact angle and fewer impact times in comparison with that of the baseline blade. As a conclusion, it can be drawn that the proposed approach gives a further opportunity for turbomachinery anti-erosion design in consideration of other disciplines, and the methodology presented can be also applied to other turbomachinery and anti-erosion problem by a minor modification.
Validation of the Revised BSI-18 With Latino Migrant Day Laborers
Authors: Negi Nalini Junko , Iwamoto Derek Kenji 
Published: October 2013

Objective: This study examines the factor structure of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18; Derogatis, 2001) in a hard-to-reach population of mainly undocumented migrant Latino day laborers. While, the BSI-18 has been found to be a valid and reliable measure of psychological distress, cross-cultural assessments in sub-groups of Latinos are scarce withthis being the first study to examine the factor structure of the Spanish version of the BSI-18 with this population. Methods: A series of principal axis exploratory factor analytic procedures examining one to three-factor models were performed with a street recruited sample of 150 Latino migrant day laborers. Results: A one-factor model emerged and four items were dropped due to low factor loadings. The internal consistency coefficients for the 14-item BSI was α = .87. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the revised BSI-18 appears to measure a single dimension of general somatic-psychological distress in this sample of Latinos.
The Care of the Actively Dying in an Academic Medical Center
Authors: Powazki Ruth , Walsh Declan , Cothren Brenda , Rybicki Lisa , Thomas Shirley , Morgan Gloria , Karius Diana , Davis Mellar P. , Shrotriya Shiva 
Published: October 2013

Background: Care of the dying is a significant component of nursing practice particularly in hospitals. Nurses who work in certain areas like oncology, intensive care unit (ICU) face the care of the dying, more so than other units. Objectives: The survey was conducted to assess nurses' self-perception of their professional capability and comfort in the care of the actively dying. Determine if professional capability and comfort was associated with any of the six demographics characteristics (age, gender, clinical experience, education level, nursing unit, continuing education). Identify areas of clinical challenge to promote educational initiatives to stimulate best nursing practice in the actively dying. Design: The survey comprised of two parts: Part I with demographic characteristics and a single open-ended question, Part II with twenty questions on the domains recommended by the NCP. Results: Older age and greater clinical experience were associated with greater levels of capability/comfort. Most nurses felt professionally capable and comfortable in domains such as knowledge, physical and psychosocial care but bioethics, communication, cultural, spiritual and bereavement issues challenged ≥ 40%. Conclusions: Nurses self-perceived professional capability and comfort levels in caring for the dying were positively influenced by older age, greater clinical experience and extensive continuing education. Bioethics, communication and grief impacted nurses personally and emotionally. Continuing education, organized debriefing, grief-counseling, and preceptors support should be routine for nurses who work in units with predictable high mortality.
Mindfulness-Based Supportive Therapy (MBST)
Authors: Beng Tan Seng , Chin Loh Ee , Guan Ng Chong , Yee Anne , Wu Cathie , Jane Lim Ee , Meng Christopher Boey Chiong 
Published: October 2013

Objective: To develop a mindfulness-based palliative psychotherapy to address psychoexistential suffering in palliative care. Conceptualization: First, a theory of suffering was formulated by merging 2 models of suffering from 2 thematic analyses of 20 palliative care patients and 15 informal caregivers. Second, the results from a secondary thematic analysis of suffering caused by health care interactions were conceptualized into a psychotherapy framework. Third, principles of mindfulness were incorporated into the framework to form a mindfulness-based psychotherapy. Results: Mindfulness-based supportive therapy (MBST) was developed with the following 5 components of presence, listening, empathy, compassion, and boundary awareness. Conclusion: We believe that MBST is a potentially useful psychological intervention in palliative care, specifically designed to address psychoexistential suffering of terminally ill patients.
Older adults’ views and experiences of doll therapy in residential care homes
Authors: Alander Heidi , Prescott Tim , James Ian A 
Published: October 2013

Background and purpose The mechanisms underlying the success of doll therapy are poorly understood. The aims of this study were to explore how people in care, doll users and non-users, make sense of doll use in their settings. Methodology A grounded theory approach was used, recruiting participants from three residential care homes involving four male and 12 female residents. Data collection occurred in two phases; five participants took part in a focus group and later 11 participants were interviewed individually. Eight of the 11 participants had dementia, and four participants were actively using dolls. Results and conclusion The results are presented as themes, and sub-themes, consisting of four main categories (intrapersonal features, interpersonal features, behavioural benefits, ethical and moderating factors). This thematic analysis shows that residents generally support the use of dolls, believing that dolls can have a positive impact on some users. The mechanisms by which this impact is achieved are discussed together with the ethical concerns.
Assessing the Perioperative Safety of Common Femoral Endarterectomy in the Endovascular Era
Authors: Siracuse Jeffrey J. , Gill Heather L. , Schneider Darren B. , Graham Ashley R. , Connolly Peter H. , Jones Douglas W. , Meltzer Andrew J. 
Published: October 2013

Introduction: Common femoral endarterectomy (CFE) has historically been the preferred treatment for atherosclerotic lesions involving the common femoral artery. The objectives of this study are to delineate the safety of this open procedure in the endovascular era, establish contemporary benchmarks for morbidity and mortality after CFE, and identify the subgroup of patients at increased risk of postoperative adverse events. Methods: Patients undergoing elective CFE in the 2007 to 2010 National Surgical Quality Improvement Project database were examined. Univariate analyses were used to identify the factors associated with major morbidity and mortality. Significant variables by univariate analysis were used to create multivariate logistic regression models for morbidity and mortality. Results: A total of 1513 patients underwent elective CFE. The 30-day mortality rate was 1.5%. Postoperative morbidities included cardiac (1.0%), pulmonary (1.9%), renal (0.4%), urinary tract infection (1.7%), thromboembolic (0.5%), neurologic (0.4%), sepsis (2.7%), superficial (6.3%), and deep surgical site complications (2.0%). At least 1 complication, including major and minor, was seen in 7.9% of the patients. By multivariate analysis, partial- and total-dependent functional status (odds ratio [OR] 9.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.8-28.4 and OR 21.3, 95% CI 3.3-139.4) and dyspnea at rest (OR 8.2, 95% 1.2-58.8) predicted mortality. Independent predictors of morbidity include steroid use (OR 2.4, 95% 1.4-4.1), diabetes (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.4), and obesity (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.4). Discussion: Overall, CFE is tolerated well by the majority of patients with peripheral arterial disease. These results affirm the safety of CFE and can still be used as standard first-line therapy in most patients. Long-term results for endovascular interventions need to be studied to see whether high-risk patients that we identified for CFE would benefit more from an endovascular approach.
Open Repair of Inflammatory Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Aortocaval Fistula Using Retrograde Balloon Occlusion
Authors: Madani Amin , Leung Stephane , Obrand Daniel 
Published: October 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to describe a novel endovascular technique used to minimize blood loss during the open repair of an aortocaval fistula (ACF) in the context of an inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Case Report: We describe a patient who presented to our hospital with a symptomatic infrarenal AAA which was discovered intraoperatively to contain a large ACF. The patient underwent successful transperitoneal open repair of the AAA with balloon occlusion of the inferior vena cava to obtain distal control of the vessel. Conclusions: Retrograde balloon occlusion of the inferior vena cava can be used to control hemorrhage during the open repair of an ACF, especially in the challenging setting of an inflammatory AAA.
The histone methyltransferase Ezh2 is a crucial epigenetic regulator of allogeneic T-cell responses mediating graft-versus-host disease
Authors: He Shan , Xie Fang , Liu Yongnian , Tong Qing , Mochizuki Kazuhiro , Lapinski Philip E. , Mani Ram-Shankar , Reddy Pavan , Mochizuki Izumi , Chinnaiyan Arul M. , Mineishi Shin , King Philip D. , Zhang Yi 
Published: October 2013

Key Points
Ezh2 is specifically required to induce effector cells producing IFN-γ and expansion of T cells late upon alloantigen activation. Genetic inactivation of Ezh2 function reduces GVHD but preserves antitumor effects in mice after allogeneic BMT.
De novo transcriptome profiling uncovers a drastic downregulation of photosynthesis upon nitrogen deprivation in the nonmodel green alga Botryosphaerella sudeticus
Authors: Sun Deying , Zhu Jiaqi , Fang Lei , Zhang Xin , Chow Yvonne , Liu Jianhua 
Published: October 2013

Abstract

Background
Neutral lipid storage is enhanced by nitrogen deprivation (ND) in numbers of green microalgal species. However, little is known about the metabolic pathways whose transcription levels are most significantly altered following ND in green microalgae, especially the nonmodel species.

Results
To start gaining knowledge on this, we performed transcriptome profiling of the nonmodel green microalga Botryosphaerella sudeticus cells in response to ND. Transcriptome of B. sudeticus is de novo assembled based on millions of HiSEQ short sequence reads using CLC Genomics Workbench software. The resulting non-redundant ESTs are annotated based on the best hits generated from the BLASTX homology comparison against the “best” proteins in the model microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella variabilis. By using a pathway-based approach according to KEGG databases, we show that ESTs encoding ribosomal proteins and photosynthetic functions are the most abundantly expressed ESTs in the rapidly growing B. sudeticus cells. We find that ESTs encoding photosynthetic function but not the ribosomal proteins are most drastically downregulated upon ND. Notably, ESTs encoding lipid metabolic pathways are not significantly upregulated. Further analyses indicate that chlorophyll content is markedly decreased by 3-fold and total lipid content is only slightly increased by 50%, consistent with the transcriptional profiling. On the other hand, carbon content and photosynthesis efficiency are only marginally decreased by 7% and 20%, respectively, indicating that photosynthesis is only slightly reduced upon drastic downregulation of photosynthetic ESTs and chlorophyll content upon ND. In addition, TAG content is found to be greatly increased by 50-fold, though total lipid content is only slightly increased by 1.5-fold.

Conclusions
Taken together, our results suggest that light-harvesting proteins and chlorophylls are in excess in B. sudeticus. Degradation of excess photosynthesis proteins is most likely a mechanism for recycling of nitrogen-rich molecules to synthesize new proteins for preparation of gametogenesis and zygospore formation in adaptation and survival upon ND. Furthermore, our analyses indicate that TAG accumulation is largely attributed to the modification of other pre-existing lipid molecules, rather than de novo synthesis. We propose that this is likely an evolutionarily conserved mechanism in many green microalgae species.