bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Specific serum carotenoids are inversely associated with breast cancer risk among Chinese women: a case–control study
Authors: Yan Bo , Lu Min-Shan , Wang Lian , Mo Xiong-Fei , Luo Wei-Ping , Du Yu-Feng , Zhang Cai-Xia 
Published: October 2015

AbstractPrevious epidemiological studies have revealed the anti-cancer effect of dietary circulating carotenoids. However, the protective role of specific individual circulating carotenoids has not been elucidated. The purpose of this study was to examine whether serum carotenoids, includingα-carotene,β-carotene,β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin, could lower the risk for breast cancer among Chinese women. A total of 521 women with breast cancer and age-matched controls (5-year interval) were selected from three teaching hospitals in Guangzhou, China. Concentrations ofα-carotene,β-carotene,β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin were measured using HPLC. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to calculate OR and 95 % CI using quartiles defined in the control subjects. Significant inverse associations were observed between serumα-carotene,β-carotene, lycopene, lutein/zeaxanthin and the risk for breast cancer. The multivariate OR for the highest quartile of serum concentration compared with the lowest quartile were 0·44 (95 % CI 0·30, 0·65) forα-carotene, 0·27 (95 % CI 0·18, 0·40) forβ-carotene, 0·41 (95 % CI 0·28, 0·61) for lycopene and 0·26 (95 % CI 0·17, 0·38) for lutein/zeaxanthin. However, no significant association was found between serumβ-cryptoxanthin and the risk for breast cancer. Stratified analysis by menopausal status and oestrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR) showed that serumα-carotene,β-carotene, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin were inversely associated with breast cancer risk among premenopausal women and among all subtypes of ER or PR status. The results suggest a protective role ofα-carotene,β-carotene, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin, but notβ-cryptoxanthin, in breast cancer risk.
Entomopathogenic nematodes for the control of the codling moth (Cydia pomonellaL.) in field and laboratory trials
Authors: Odendaal D. , Addison M.F. , Malan A.P. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThree commercially available entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) strains (Steinernema feltiaeandHeterorhabditis bacteriophoraHb1 and Hb2) and two local species (S.jeffreyenseandS. yirgalemense) were evaluated for the control of the codling moth (Cydia pomonella). In field spray trials, the use ofS. jeffreyenseresulted in the most effective control (67%), followed byH. bacteriophora(Hb1) (42%) andS. yirgalemense(41%). Laboratory bioassays using spray application in simulated field conditions indicateS. feltiaeto be the most virulent (67%), followed byS. yirgalemense(58%). A laboratory comparison of the infection and penetration rate of the different strains showed that, at 14°C, all EPN strains resulted in slower codling moth mortality than they did at 25°C. After 48 h, < 15% mortality was recorded for all species, whereas, at the warmer temperature, >98% mortality was recorded for all species involved. However, the washed codling moth larvae, cool-treated (at 14°C) withS. feltiaeorS. yirgalemense, resulted in 100% mortality 24 h later at room temperature, whereas codling moth larvae treated with the twoH. bacteriophorastrains resulted in 68% and 54% control, respectively. At 14°C,S. feltiaehad the highest average penetration rate of 20 IJs/larva, followed byS. yirgalemense, with 14 IJs/larva. At 25°C,S. yirgalemensehad the highest penetration rate, with 39 IJs/larva, followed byS. feltiae, with 9 IJs/larva. This study highlights the biocontrol potential ofS. jeffreyense, as well as confirming thatS. feltiaeis a cold-active nematode, whereas the other three EPN isolates tested prefer warmer temperatures.
Can community midwives prevent antenatal depression? An external pilot study to test the feasibility of a cluster randomized controlled universal prevention trial
Authors: Brugha T. S. , Smith J. , Austin J. , Bankart J. , Patterson M. , Lovett C. , Morgan Z. , Morrell C. J. , Slade P. 
Published: October 2015

BackgroundRepeated epidemiological surveys show no decline in depression although uptake of treatments has grown. Universal depression prevention interventions are effective in schools but untested rigorously in adulthood. Selective prevention programmes have poor uptake. Universal interventions may be more acceptable during routine healthcare contacts for example antenatally. One study within routine postnatal healthcare suggested risk of postnatal depression could be reduced in non-depressed women from 11% to 8% by giving health visitors psychological intervention training. Feasibility and effectiveness in other settings, most notably antenatally, is unknown.MethodWe conducted an external pilot study using a cluster trial design consisting of recruitment and enhanced psychological training of randomly selected clusters of community midwives (CMWs), recruitment of pregnant women of all levels of risk of depression, collection of baseline and outcome data prior to childbirth, allowing time for women ‘at increased risk’ to complete CMW-provided psychological support sessions.ResultsSeventy-nine percent of eligible women approached agreed to take part. Two hundred and ninety-eight women in eight clusters participated and 186 termed ‘at low risk’ for depression, based on an Edinburgh Perinatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score of <12 at 12 weeks gestation, provided baseline and outcome data at 34 weeks gestation. All trial protocol procedures were shown to be feasible. Antenatal effect sizes in women ‘at low risk’ were similar to those previously demonstrated postnatally. Qualitative work confirmed the acceptability of the approach to CMWs and intervention group women.ConclusionA fully powered trial testing universal prevention of depression in pregnancy is feasible, acceptable and worth undertaking.
By the sweat of their brow? The effects of starting work again after pension age on life satisfaction in Germany and the United Kingdom
Authors: LUX THOMAS , SCHERGER SIMONE 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACTIn recent years, the employment rates of people of pension age have increased considerably. However, longitudinal evidence on the effects of this employment on wellbeing which might contribute to an evaluation of this late-life work is scarce. Based on empirical findings so far and on theoretical approaches to wellbeing, work and retirement, both negative and positive effects of post-retirement work on life satisfaction are plausible. In this paper, we investigate the effects of taking up work again between the ages of 65 and 75 on life satisfaction in different occupational classes in Germany and the United Kingdom. We expect that not only the heterogeneous conditions and experiences of working are crucial for the consequences that post-retirement work has for life satisfaction, but also the institutional arrangements surrounding this form of work. We use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the British Household Panel Survey, covering the 1990s and 2000s. Based on fixed-effects regression modelling, we find positive effects of working in both countries, although not all effects are significant. Differentiating by the class of the job in which the older person works, we find mainly positive effects and no significant differences between those who work in a lower-class job and all others. In addition, we find that the positive effect of working on life satisfaction is partly explained by increased satisfaction with household income for those working in a lower-class job in the United Kingdom. We conclude that many of the pessimistic assumptions about people working after pension age cannot be confirmed for our time of observation. However, there are several reasons for believing that the results will be different in the future or for differently defined populations of people working past pension age.
Diabetes diagnosis and nutrition facts label use among US adults, 2005–2010
Authors: An Ruopeng 
Published: October 2015

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the role of diabetes diagnosis as a potential teachable moment in nutrition facts label use among US adults.DesignLogistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between diabetes diagnosis status (diagnosed diabetes, undiagnosed diabetes, diagnosed prediabetes, undiagnosed prediabetes, no diabetes or prediabetes) and self-reported nutrition facts label use, adjusted by individual characteristics and survey design.SettingStudy sample came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2010 waves.SubjectsA total of 5110 US adults aged 20 years and older were included in the analyses. Diabetes/prediabetes was identified by fasting plasma glucose and glycated Hb testing.ResultsPeople with diagnosed diabetes/prediabetes were substantially more likely to report nutrition facts label use when making daily food purchase decisions compared with those with undiagnosed diabetes/prediabetes, whereas the prevalence of nutrition facts label use was similar between people with undiagnosed diabetes/prediabetes and those without diabetes/prediabetes. The adjusted prevalence (95 % CI) of any and regular nutrition facts label use was 85·93 (82·91, 88·95) % and 55·60 (50·04, 61·16) % among those with diagnosed diabetes, respectively, in comparison to 71·50 (59·64, 83·37) % and 32·88 (19·11, 46·65) % among those with undiagnosed diabetes. Analogously, the adjusted prevalence (95 % CI) of any and regular nutrition facts label use was 81·16 (75·27, 87·06) % and 45·28 (37·28, 53·29) % among those with diagnosed prediabetes, respectively, in comparison to 72·83 (68·06, 77·59) % and 39·95 (34·02, 45·89) % among those with undiagnosed prediabetes.ConclusionsAs a potential teachable moment, diabetes diagnosis may positively impact nutrition facts label use and motivate diabetic patients to manage their condition through making healthier food choices.
Frequency, intensity, and correlates of spiritual pain in advanced cancer patients assessed in a supportive/palliative care clinic
Authors: Delgado-Guay Marvin Omar , Chisholm Gary , Williams Janet , Frisbee-Hume Susan , Ferguson Andrea O. , Bruera Eduardo 
Published: October 2015

AbstractObjective:Regular assessments of spiritual distress/spiritual pain among patients in a supportive/palliative care clinic (SCPC) are limited or unavailable. We modified the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) by adding spiritual pain (SP) to the scale (0 = best, 10 = worst) to determine the frequency, intensity, and correlates of self-reported SP (≥1/10) (pain deep in your soul/being that is not physical) among these advanced cancer patients.Method:We reviewed 292 consecutive consults of advanced cancer patients (ACPs) who were evaluated at our SCPC between October of 2012 and January of 2013. Symptoms were assessed using the new instrument (termed the ESAS–FS).Results:The median age of patients was 61 (range = 22–92). Some 53% were male; 189 (65%) were white, 45 (15%) African American, and 34 (12%) Hispanic. Some 123 of 282 (44%) of ACPs had SP (mean (95% CI) = 4(3.5–4.4). Advanced cancer patients with SP had worse pain [mean (95% CI) = 5.3(4.8, 5.8) vs. 4.5(4.0, 5.0)] (p = 0.02); depression [4.2(3.7, 4.7) vs. 2.1(1.7, 2.6), p < 0.0001]; anxiety [4.2(3.6, 4.7) vs. 2.5(2.0, 3.0), p < 0.0001]; drowsiness [4.2(3.7, 4.7) vs. 2.8(2.3, 3.2), p < 0.0001]; well-being [5.4(4.9, 5.8) vs. 4.5(4.1, 4.9), p = 0.0136]; and financial distress (FD) [4.4(3.9, 5.0) vs. 2.2(1.8, 2.7), p < 0.0001]. Spiritual pain correlated (Spearman) with depression (r = 0.45, p < 0.0001), anxiety (r = 0.34, p < 0.0001), drowsiness (r = 0.26, p < 0.0001), and FD (r = 0.44, p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed an association with FD [OR (95% Wald CI) = 1.204(1.104–1.313), p < 0.0001] and depression [1.218(1.110–1.336), p < 0.0001]. The odds that patients who had SP at baseline would also have SP at follow-up were 182% higher (OR = 2.82) than for patients who were SP-negative at baseline (p = 0.0029). SP at follow-up correlated with depression (r = 0.35, p < 0.0001), anxiety (r = 0.25, p = 0.001), well-being (r = 0.27, p = 0.0006), nausea (r = 0.29, p = 0.0002), and financial distress (r = 0.42, p < 0.0001).Significance of results:Spiritual pain, which is correlated with physical and psychological distress, was reported in more than 40% of ACPs. Employment of the ESAS–FS allows ACPs with SP to be identified and evaluated in an SCPC. More research is needed.
High-level construal benefits, meaning making, and posttraumatic growth in cancer patients
Authors: Wang Yu , Gan Yiqun , Miao Miao , Ke Qin , Li Wenju , Zhang Zijin , Cheng Gang 
Published: October 2015

AbstractObjective:The present study sought to explore the role of meaning making and high-level construal in the relationship between meaning discrepancy and posttraumatic growth among Chinese cancer patients.Method:The participants were 193 individuals diagnosed with cancer. Meaning discrepancy, meaning making, high-level construal in meaning making, and posttraumatic growth were measured. Bootstrapping and structural equation modeling were performed to test the mediation effects of high-level construal on the meaning-making process.Results:Mediation analysis revealed that perceived discrepancies were associated with individuals' meaning-making efforts. Meaning-making efforts prompted participants to adopt a high-level construal orientation, which in turn enhanced posttraumatic growth.Significance of results:Our study empirically tested construal level theory in a population suffering from severe chronic trauma. The results demonstrate the important role of high-level construal in the meaning-making process of cancer patients, suggesting a specific effective strategy to foster posttraumatic growth. It seems encouraging to indicate that adopting such high-level construal may be included as part of psychological interventions for cancer patients.
Optimal design of a bonus-malus system: linear relativities revisited
Authors: Tan Chong It 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIn this paper, we revisit the determination of optimal relativities under the linear form of relativities that is more viable in designing a commercial bonus-malus system. We derive the analytical formulae for the optimal linear relativities subject to a financial balanced inequality constraint. We also numerically investigate the impact of different a priori risk classification towards the effectiveness of transition rules. Our results show that the a priori risk segmentation is not a sensitive factor for the effectiveness of transition rules. Furthermore, relative to the general relativities, we find that the restriction of linear relativities only produces a small amount of deterioration towards the numerical value of the optimised objective function.
Follicular regulatory T cells impair follicular T helper cells in HIV and SIV infection
Authors: Miles Brodie , Miller Shannon M. , Folkvord Joy M. , Kimball Abigail , Chamanian Mastooreh , Meditz Amie L. , Arends Tessa , McCarter Martin D. , Levy David N. , Rakasz Eva G. , Skinner Pamela J. , Connick Elizabeth 
Published: October 2015

AbstractHuman and simian immunodeficiency viruses (HIV and SIV) exploit follicular lymphoid regions by establishing high levels of viral replication and dysregulating humoral immunity. Follicular regulatory T cells (TFR) are a recently characterized subset of lymphocytes that influence the germinal centre response through interactions with follicular helper T cells (TFH). Here, utilizing both human and rhesus macaque models, we show the impact of HIV and SIV infection on TFR number and function. We find that TFR proportionately and numerically expand during infection through mechanisms involving viral entry and replication, TGF-β signalling, low apoptosis rates and the presence of regulatory dendritic cells. Further, TFR exhibit elevated regulatory phenotypes and impair TFH functions during HIV infection. Thus, TFR contribute to inefficient germinal centre responses and inhibit HIV and SIV clearance.
Structural analysis of hierarchically organized zeolites
Authors: Mitchell Sharon , Pinar Ana B. , Kenvin Jeffrey , Crivelli Paolo , Kärger Jörg , Pérez-Ramírez Javier 
Published: October 2015

AbstractAdvances in materials synthesis bring about many opportunities for technological applications, but are often accompanied by unprecedented complexity. This is clearly illustrated by the case of hierarchically organized zeolite catalysts, a class of crystalline microporous solids that has been revolutionized by the engineering of multilevel pore architectures, which combine unique chemical functionality with efficient molecular transport. Three key attributes, the crystal, the pore and the active site structure, can be expected to dominate the design process. This review examines the adequacy of the palette of techniques applied to characterize these distinguishing features and their catalytic impact.
Unraveling Quantum Annealers using Classical Hardness
Authors: Martin-Mayor Victor , Hen Itay 
Published: October 2015

AbstractRecent advances in quantum technology have led to the development and manufacturing of experimental programmable quantum annealing optimizers that contain hundreds of quantum bits. These optimizers, commonly referred to as ‘D-Wave’ chips, promise to solve practical optimization problems potentially faster than conventional ‘classical’ computers. Attempts to quantify the quantum nature of these chips have been met with both excitement and skepticism but have also brought up numerous fundamental questions pertaining to the distinguishability of experimental quantum annealers from their classical thermal counterparts. Inspired by recent results in spin-glass theory that recognize ‘temperature chaos’ as the underlying mechanism responsible for the computational intractability of hard optimization problems, we devise a general method to quantify the performance of quantum annealers on optimization problems suffering from varying degrees of temperature chaos: A superior performance of quantum annealers over classical algorithms on these may allude to the role that quantum effects play in providing speedup. We utilize our method to experimentally study the D-Wave Two chip on different temperature-chaotic problems and find, surprisingly, that its performance scales unfavorably as compared to several analogous classical algorithms. We detect, quantify and discuss several purely classical effects that possibly mask the quantum behavior of the chip.
Membrane vesicle-mediated release of bacterial RNA
Authors: Sjöström Annika E. , Sandblad Linda , Uhlin Bernt Eric , Wai Sun Nyunt 
Published: October 2015

AbstractMany Gram-negative bacterial species release outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) that interact with the host by delivering virulence factors. Here, we report for the first time that RNA is among the wide variety of bacterial components that are associated with OMVs. To characterize the RNA profiles of bacterial OMVs, we performed RNA deep sequencing analysis using OMV samples isolated from a wild type Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor strain. The results showed that RNAs originating from intergenic regions were the most abundant. Our findings reveal a hitherto unrecognised feature of OMVs mimicking eukaryotic exosomes and highlight a need to evaluate the potential role of RNA-containing bacterial membrane vesicles in bacteria-host interactions.
Protein array identification of protein markers for serodiagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection
Authors: Zhou Fangbin , Xu Xindong , Wu Sijia , Cui Xiaobing , Fan Lin , Pan Weiqing 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe lack of effective and accurate diagnostic tools contributes to the high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. The current serodiagnostics for TB are inadequate mainly due to lack of TB-specific antigens with highly accurate diagnosis. In the current study, we aimed to identify novel diagnostic antigens using glutathione S-transferase (GST)-fusion protein technique. We determined the reactivity of these recombinant proteins arrayed in solution and on GSH-immobilized microplates with TB patient sera. Of 409 TB proteins produced, ninety-two yielded seropositive reactions, fourteen including eight novel proteins showed strong immunoreactivity. Further, six were selected and constructed as a multiple-antigen combination set through analysis of various combinations. A comparative study of the multiple-antigen combination set and a commercially available kit revealed that the combination set showed 66.3% (95% CI 60.5–71.8) sensitivity, which was significantly higher than that of the commercial kit [31.6% (95% CI 26.3–37.3)]. The specificity of both methods was similar at 89.6% (95% CI 83.3–95.4) and 90.6% (95% CI 83.0–95.6), respectively. This study provides a set of novel diagnostic protein markers with great potential for the development of novel diagnostic tools for active TB.
Transcriptome sequencing of a thalloid bryophyte; Dumortiera hirsuta (Sw) Nees: assembly, annotation and marker discovery
Authors: Singh Harpal , Rai Krishan Mohan , Upadhyay Santosh Kumar , Pant Poonam , Verma Praveen Chandra , Singh Ajit Pratap , Singh Pradhyumna Kumar 
Published: October 2015

AbstractBryophytes are the first land plants but are scarcely studied at the molecular level. Here, we report transcriptome sequencing and functional annotation of Dumortiera hirsuta, as a representative bryophyte. Approximately 0.5 million reads with ~195 Mb data were generated by sequencing of mRNA using 454 pyrosequencer. De novo assembly of reads yielded 85,240 unigenes (12,439 contigs and 72,801 singletons). BlastX search at NCBI-NR database showed similarity of 33,662 unigenes with 10-10 e-value. A total of 23,685 unigenes were annotated at TAIR10 protein database. The annotated unigenes were further classified using the Gene Ontology. Analysis at Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway database identified 95 pathways with significant scores, among which metabolic and biosynthesis of secondary metabolite were the major ones. Phenylpropanoid pathway was elucidated and selected genes were characterized by real time qPCR. We identified 447 transcription factors belonging to 41 families and 1594 eSSRs in 1479 unigenes. D. hirsuta unigenes showed homology across the taxa from algae to angiosperm indicating their role as the connecting link between aquatic and terrestrial plants. This could be a valuable genomic resource for molecular and evolutionary studies. Further, it sheds light for the isolation and characterization of new genes with unique functions.