bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Working for the public health: politics, localism and epistemologies of practice
Authors: Phillips Gemma , Green Judith 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThe recent move of public health back to English local government has reignited debates about the role of a medicalised public health profession. The explicit policy rationale for the move was that local government is the arena in which the social determinants of health can be addressed, and that public health specialists could provide neutral evidence to support action on these. However, if a discourse of ‘evidence‐based’ policy is in principle (if not practice) relatively unproblematic within the health arena, within the more overtly politicised local government space, rather different policy imperatives come to the fore. Responding to calls for research on evidence in practice, this article draws on ethnographic data of local authorities in the first year of the reorganised public health function. Focusing on alcohol policy, we explore how decisions that affect public health are rationalised and enacted through discourses of localism, empiricism and holism. These frame policy outcomes as inevitably plural and contingent: a framing which sits uneasily with normative discourses of evidence‐based policy. We argue that locating public health in local government necessitates a refocusing of how evidence for public health is conceptualised, to incorporate multiple, and political, understandings of health and wellbeing.
Food, risk and place: agency and negotiations of young people with food allergy
Authors: Stjerna Marie‐Louise 
Published: February 2015

AbstractPotentially life‐threatening food allergies are increasing among children in the Western world. Informed by childhood studies, this article explores young people's management of food allergy risk and highlights their agency in relation to food, eating and place. Drawing on individual interviews with 10 young people who took part in a larger multi‐method study of young people's experiences of food allergies, the findings demonstrate that the management of health risks means, to some extent, trying to control the uncontrollable. A reaction can occur at any time and to experience a severe reaction entails a temporarily loss of control. The strategies the young people develop to avoid allergic reactions can be understood both as responses to this uncertainty and as manifestations of their agency. Their risk experiences vary with place; at school and in other public places they face social as well as health risks. What we see is not agency as a voluntary choice but that young people with food allergies experience tensions between their own competence to manage different types of risks and their dependence on others to adjust to their needs. Thus, the relational aspects of young people's agency come to the fore.
Biologising parenting: neuroscience discourse, English social and public health policy and understandings of the child
Authors: Lowe Pam , Lee Ellie , Macvarish Jan 
Published: February 2015

AbstractIn recent years, claims about children's developing brains have become central to the formation of child health and welfare policies in England. While these policies assert that they are based on neuro‐scientific discoveries, their relationship to neuroscience itself has been debated. However, what is clear is that they portray a particular understanding of children and childhood, one that is marked by a lack of acknowledgment of child personhood. Using an analysis of key government‐commissioned reports and additional advocacy documents, this article illustrates the ways that the mind of the child is reduced to the brain, and this brain comes to represent the child. It is argued that a highly reductionist and limiting construction of the child is produced, alongside the idea that parenting is the main factor in child development. It is concluded that this focus on children's brains, with its accompanying deterministic perspective on parenting, overlooks children's embodied lives and this has implications for the design of children's health and welfare services.
Corporal diagnostic work and diagnostic spaces: clinicians’ use of space and bodies during diagnosis
Authors: Gardner John , Williams Clare 
Published: February 2015

AbstractAn emerging body of literature in sociology has demonstrated that diagnosis is a useful focal point for understanding the social dimensions of health and illness. This article contributes to this work by drawing attention to the relationship between diagnostic spaces and the way in which clinicians use their own bodies during the diagnostic process. As a case study, we draw upon fieldwork conducted with a multidisciplinary clinical team providing deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat children with a movement disorder called dystonia. Interviews were conducted with team members and diagnostic examinations were observed. We illustrate that clinicians use communicative body work and verbal communication to transform a material terrain into diagnostic space, and we illustrate how this diagnostic space configures forms of embodied ‘sensing‐and‐acting’ within. We argue that a ‘diagnosis’ can be conceptualised as emerging from an interaction in which space, the clinician‐body, and the patient‐body (or body‐part) mutually configure one another. By conceptualising diagnosis in this way, this article draws attention to the corporal bases of diagnostic power and counters Cartesian‐like accounts of clinical work in which the patient‐body is objectified by a disembodied medical discourse.
Regional Growth in Medicare Spending, 1992–2010
Authors: Chicklis Camille , MaCurdy Thomas , Bhattacharya Jay , Shafrin Jason , Zaidi Sajid , Rogers Daniel 
Published: February 2015

ObjectiveTo determine if regions with high Medicare expenditures in a given setting remain high cost over time.Data Sources/Study SettingOne hundred percent of national Medicare Parts A and B fee‐for‐service beneficiary claims data and enrollment for 1992–2010.Study DesignPatients are classified into regions. Claims are price‐standardized. Risk adjustment is performed at the beneficiary level using the CMS Hierarchical Condition Categories model. Correlation analyses are conducted.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsThe data were obtained through a contract with CMS for a study performed for the Institute of Medicine.Principal FindingsHigh‐cost regions in 1992 are likely to remain high cost in 2010. Stability in regional spending is highest in the home health, inpatient hospital, and outpatient hospital settings over this time period. Despite the persistence of a region's relative spending over time, a region's spending levels in all settings except home health tend to regress toward the mean.ConclusionsRelatively high‐cost regions tend to remain so over long periods of time, even after controlling for patient health status and geographic price variation, suggesting that the observed effect reflects real differences in practice patterns.
Acceptance of New Medicaid Patients by Primary Care Physicians and Experiences with Physician Availability among Children on Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program
Authors: Decker Sandra L. 
Published: February 2015

ObjectiveTo estimate the relationship between physicians' acceptance of new Medicaid patients and access to health care.Data SourcesThe National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) Electronic Health Records Survey and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2011/2012.Study DesignLinear probability models estimated the relationship between measures of experiences with physician availability among children on Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from the NHIS and state‐level estimates of the percent of primary care physicians accepting new Medicaid patients from the NAMCS, controlling for other factors.Principal FindingsNearly 16 percent of children with a significant health condition or development delay had a doctor's office or clinic indicate that the child's health insurance was not accepted in states with less than 60 percent of physicians accepting new Medicaid patients, compared to less than 4 percent in states with at least 75 percent of physicians accepting new Medicaid patients. Adjusted estimates and estimates for other measures of access to care were similar.ConclusionsMeasures of experiences with physician availability for children on Medicaid/CHIP were generally good, though better in states where more primary care physicians accepted new Medicaid patients.
Analyzing the Psychological and Social Contents of Evidence—Experimental Comparison between Guessing, Naturalistic Observation, and Systematic Analysis
Authors: Haas Henriette S. , Pisarzewska Fuerst Maja , Tönz Patrick , Gubser‐Ernst Jutta 
Published: February 2015

AbstractTo improve inferences about psychological and social evidence contained in pictures and texts, a five‐step algorithm—Systematic Analysis (SA)—was devised. It combines basic principles of interpretation in forensic science, providing a comprehensive record of signs of evidence. Criminal justice professionals evaluated the usefulness of SA. Effects of applying SA were tested experimentally with 41 subjects, compared to 39 subjects observing naturally (naturalistic observation) and 47 subjects guessing intuitively intuitive guessing group. After being trained in SA, prosecutors and police detectives (N = 217) attributed it a good usefulness for criminal investigation. Subjects (graduate students) using SA found significantly more details about four test cases than those observing naturally (Cohen's d = 0.58). Subjects who learned SA well abducted significantly better hypotheses than those who observed naturally or who guessed intuitively. Internal validity of SA was α = 0.74. Applying SA improved observation significantly and reduced confirmation bias.
Renal Tubular Epithelial Vacuoles—A Marker for Both Hyperlipidemia and Ketoacidosis at Autopsy
Authors: Zhou Chong , Moore Lynette , Yool Andrea , Jaunzems Alvis , Byard Roger W. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractReview of 15 cases of nephrotic syndrome found that eight had significant hyperlipidemia with serum cholesterol levels ranging between 10.59 and 18.60 mmol/L (mean 12.88) and serum triglyceride levels between 2.30 and 9.92 mmol/L (mean 4.58); all of these cases displayed basal lipid vacuolization. Seven of the 15 study cases had normal–mild hyperlipidemia with serum cholesterol levels ranging between 4.71 and 7.54 mmol/L (mean 6.02) and serum triglyceride levels between 0.65 and 4.1 mmol/L (mean 1.57). Six of the seven cases had basal lipid vacuoles (86%). Of these, five cases were hyperlipidemic and one case had borderline hyperlipidemia with a serum cholesterol level of 4.71 mmol/L. Although hyperlipidemia was associated with renal tubular epithelial vacuolization, the vacuoles appeared morphologically different to those found in ketoacidosis. This study has shown that while hyperlipidemia in isolation may result in basal lipid vacuolization within renal tubular epithelial cells, the phenotype differs from that observed in ketoacidosis.
An Empirical Study on the Relation Between the Critical Angle for Bullet Ricochet and the Properties of Wood
Authors: Kerkhoff Wim , Alberink Ivo , Mattijssen Erwin J.A.T. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThe properties of a bullet, an object, and the incidence angle determine whether the bullet will penetrate, perforate, or ricochet. In this study, the critical angle for ricochet was established for .32 Auto and 9 mm Luger bullets on Abachi, Southern Yellow Pine, Beech, and Ipe wooden boards. Results show that the critical angle differs depending on caliber and wood type. The critical angle is higher for .32 Auto bullets than for 9 mm Luger bullets and increases with increasing wood density and Janka hardness. The established critical angles for ricochet on the lightest and softest wood (Abachi) are 10.4° and 10.3° for .32 Auto and 9 mm Luger, respectively. For the heaviest and hardest wood (Ipe), the angles were 45.0° and 33.4°, respectively. The combined results on the four tested woods show a strong linear relationship between both the density and the hardness and the critical angle for both calibers.
The dynamics of ant mosaics in tropical rainforests characterized using the Self‐Organizing Map algorithm
Authors: Dejean Alain , Azémar Frédéric , Céréghino Régis , Leponce Maurice , Corbara Bruno , Orivel Jérôme , Compin Arthur 
Published: February 2015

AbstractAnts, the most abundant taxa among canopy‐dwelling animals in tropical rainforests, are mostly represented by territorially dominant arboreal ants (TDAs) whose territories are distributed in a mosaic pattern (arboreal ant mosaics). Large TDA colonies regulate insect herbivores, with implications for forestry and agronomy. What generates these mosaics in vegetal formations, which are dynamic, still needs to be better understood. So, from empirical research based on 3 Cameroonian tree species (Lophira alata, Ochnaceae; Anthocleista vogelii, Gentianaceae; and Barteria fistulosa, Passifloraceae), we used the Self‐Organizing Map (SOM, neural network) to illustrate the succession of TDAs as their host trees grow and age. The SOM separated the trees by species and by size for L. alata, which can reach 60 m in height and live several centuries. An ontogenic succession of TDAs from sapling to mature trees is shown, and some ecological traits are highlighted for certain TDAs. Also, because the SOM permits the analysis of data with many zeroes with no effect of outliers on the overall scatterplot distributions, we obtained ecological information on rare species. Finally, the SOM permitted us to show that functional groups cannot be selected at the genus level as congeneric species can have very different ecological niches, something particularly true for Crematogaster spp., which include a species specifically associated with B. fistulosa, nondominant species and TDAs. Therefore, the SOM permitted the complex relationships between TDAs and their growing host trees to be analyzed, while also providing new information on the ecological traits of the ant species involved.
High Concentration of Epigallocatechin‐3‐Gallate Increased the Incidences of Arrhythmia and Diastolic Dysfunction Via β2‐adrenoceptor
Authors: Bao Lei , Lu Fu , Chen Hui , Min Qi , Chen Xin , Song Yuanyuan , Zhao Ben , Bu Huimin , Sun Hong 
Published: February 2015

AbstractEpigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG) is the major and most potent representative in green tea, which has been proved to modulate myocardial contractility. Whether EGCG has some negative effects on cardiac function is not known. In the present study, we investigated the effects of EGCG at different doses on cardiac contraction and explored whether β2‐adrenoceptor (β2AR) was involved in EGCG‐induced cardiac effects. Isolated rat hearts were mounted on the Langendorff system and perfused with different concentrations of EGCG in low or normal calcium Krebs–Henseleit (KH) buffer. The contraction of hearts was measured. Ventricular myocytes were cultured with EGCG and isoprenaline (ISO, 10−7 M) for 12 h. ICI118,551 (55 nM) was used to inhibit β2AR. Cardiomyocyte shortening, viability, and responsiveness to ISO (10−9 M) were measured. EGCG dose dependently enhanced contractility of perfused heart in low calcium KH buffer. In the normal calcium KH buffer, EGCG at low dose (20 μM) increased heart contraction, while at high dose (50 μM), it increased the incidences of arrhythmia and diastolic dysfunction. In isolated ventricular myocytes, EGCG at the concentration of 0.001 to 1.0 μΜ did not affect their contraction. However, the responsiveness to ISO and the survival of myocytes were increased by EGCG (0.01 μM). The increased responsiveness was partially abolished by ICI118,551. The data obtained in this study demonstrated that EGCG at low dose conferred cardioprotection, yet at high dose increased the incidences of arrhythmia and diastolic dysfunction. β2AR was involved in EGCG‐induced cardiac effects.
Absence of lysogeny in wild populations of Erwinia amylovora and Pantoea agglomerans
Authors: Roach Dwayne R. , Sjaarda David R. , Sjaarda Calvin P. , Ayala Carlos Juarez , Howcroft Brittany , Castle Alan J. , Svircev Antonet M. 
Published: February 2015

SummaryLytic bacteriophages are in development as biological control agents for the prevention of fire blight disease caused by Erwinia amylovora. Temperate phages should be excluded as biologicals since lysogeny produces the dual risks of host resistance to phage attack and the transduction of virulence determinants between bacteria. The extent of lysogeny was estimated in wild populations of E. amylovora and Pantoea agglomerans with real–time polymerase chain reaction primers developed to detect E. amylovora phages belonging to the Myoviridae and Podoviridae families. Pantoea agglomerans, an orchard epiphyte, is easily infected by Erwinia spp. phages, and it serves as a carrier in the development of the phage‐mediated biological control agent. Screening of 161 E. amylovora isolates from 16 distinct geographical areas in North America, Europe, North Africa and New Zealand and 82 P. agglomerans isolates from southern Ontario, Canada showed that none possessed prophage. Unstable phage resistant clones or lysogens were produced under laboratory conditions. Additionally, a stable lysogen was recovered from infection of bacterial isolate Ea110R with Podoviridae phage ΦEa35‐20. These laboratory observations suggested that while lysogeny is possible in E. amylovora, it is rare or absent in natural populations, and there is a minimal risk associated with lysogenic conversion and transduction by Erwinia spp. phages.
Culture‐dependent and culture‐independent characterization of potentially functional biphenyl‐degrading bacterial community in response to extracellular organic matter from Micrococcus luteus
Authors: Su Xiao‐Mei , Liu Yin‐Dong , Hashmi Muhammad Zaffar , Ding Lin‐Xian , Shen Chao‐Feng 
Published: February 2015

SummaryBiphenyl (BP)‐degrading bacteria were identified to degrade various polychlorinated BP (PCB) congers in long‐term PCB‐contaminated sites. Exploring BP‐degrading capability of potentially useful bacteria was performed for enhancing PCB bioremediation. In the present study, the bacterial composition of the PCB‐contaminated sediment sample was first investigated. Then extracellular organic matter (EOM) from Micrococcus luteus was used to enhance BP biodegradation. The effect of the EOM on the composition of bacterial community was investigated by combining with culture‐dependent and culture‐independent methods. The obtained results indicate that Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were predominant community in the PCB‐contaminated sediment. EOM from M. luteus could stimulate the activity of some potentially difficult‐to‐culture BP degraders, which contribute to significant enhancement of BP biodegradation. The potentially difficult‐to‐culture bacteria in response to EOM addition were mainly Rhodococcus and Pseudomonas belonging to Gammaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria respectively. This study provides new insights into exploration of functional difficult‐to‐culture bacteria with EOM addition and points out broader BP/PCB degrading, which could be employed for enhancing PCB‐bioremediation processes.
Impact of glucose load in an oral glucose tolerance test on urinary albumin excretion varies with 2‐h glucose levels
Authors: Chen Sisi , Hong Kui , Zou Fang , Peng Qiang , Hu Weitong , Li Juxiang , Lai Xiaoyang , Cheng Xiaoshu , Su Hai 
Published: February 2015

AbstractBackgroundThe aim of the present study was to investigate whether an oral glucose load can induce an increase in urinary albumin excretion (UAE).MethodsOne hundred and thirty subjects without macroalbuminuria or increased fasting serum glucose (≥7.0 mmol/L) were included in the study. At 0600 hours, subjects were asked to empty their bladder and drink 300 mL water. At 0800 hours, venous blood and 2‐h urine were collected for fasting examination. Subjects were then asked to drink 300 mL solution containing 75 g glucose and, at 1000 hours, samples were collected again for post‐challenge examination. Concentrations of serum glucose, urinary glucose, albumin, N‐acetyl‐β‐D‐glucosaminidase and retinol‐binding protein were measured.ResultsBased on the results of the oral glucose tolerance test, subjects were divided into three groups: (i) normal glucose tolerance (NGT; n = 55); (ii) impaired glucose tolerance (IGT; n = 39); and (iii) newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus (NDM; n = 36). In the NDM group, post‐challenge urinary excretion of glucose and albumin was 14‐ and 1.6‐fold greater than fasting values, respectively. In the IGT and NGT groups, although post‐challenge urinary glucose excretion was 2.6‐ and 1.6‐fold greater than fasting values, UAE did not increase. There was a positive correlation between post‐challenge serum glucose and the UAE rate (UAER; r = 0.24, P < 0.01) and the UAER increment (ΔUAER; r = 0.19, P < 0.05), as well as between the serum glucose increment and post‐challenge UAER (r = 0.23, P < 0.01) and ΔUAER (r = 0.18, P < 0.05). Post‐challenge serum glucose levels were independently correlated with logarithmically converted post‐challenge UAER (β = 0.322, P = 0.008).ConclusionsOral glucose load can induce a significant increase in UAE in NDM subjects. The main mechanism may be glomerular hyperfiltration.
Empagliflozin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: An overview of safety and efficacy based on Phase 3 trials 艾格列净治疗2型糖尿病：基于3期试验的安全性与有效性概述
Authors: Dailey George 
Published: February 2015

AbstractIn the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a relatively new class of oral agents inhibits sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), reducing reabsorption of filtered glucose and increasing urinary glucose excretion. Numerous SGLT2 inhibitors have been approved for the treatment of T2DM in adults, most recently empagliflozin, which was approved in Europe and the US in 2014. The Phase 3 program has enrolled >14 000 patients and has assessed the efficacy and safety of empagliflozin as monotherapy and in combination. These studies have demonstrated improvements in glycemic control, and modest reductions in body weight and blood pressure. Empagliflozin was generally well tolerated, with no increased risk of hypoglycemia versus placebo as monotherapy or as add‐on therapy, except when given with sulfonylurea. The studies showed an increased risk of urinary tract and genital infections with empagliflozin, although most infections were mild to moderate in intensity. Furthermore, small (but clinically insignificant) increases in hematocrit and lipid levels have been observed for empagliflozin. Due to the mode of action of empagliflozin, care should be exercised when treating patients at risk of volume depletion. The risks and benefits must be weighed for each patient, but the data reviewed herein show promise for empagliflozin as a treatment for patients with T2DM.
Ultrasound‐guided percutaneous tenotomy for the treatment of iliopsoas impingement: A description of technique and case study
Authors: Sampson Matthew J , Rezaian Nimah , Hopkins James MK 
Published: February 2015

SummaryIliopsoas impingement is a commonly recognised source of groin pain following total hip replacement. When conservative measures fail, open or arthroscopic iliopsoas tendon release can reliably alleviate pain and improve function. This article describes an alternative ultrasound‐guided percutaneous technique, achieving iliopsoas tenotomy utilising a modified 18G coaxial needle and thus minimising the morbidity and cost associated with an open or arthroscopic procedure. This method proved successful with resultant complete resolution of patient symptoms. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first case of ultrasound‐guided percutaneous iliopsoas tenotomy for iliopsoas impingement post total hip replacement.