bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Treatment of glucocorticoid‐induced low bone mineral density in children: a systematic review
Authors: Jayasena Arundathi , Atapattu Navoda , Lekamwasam Sarath 
Published: April 2015

AbstractAimsThe aim of this systematic review was to evaluate, critically, the treatment options used in the management of bone loss associated with glucocorticoid (GC) use among children.MethodsWe performed a systematic search using PubMed, Cochrane clinical trial registry, Clinicaltiral.gov and Ovid databases (1 March, 2013). The search resulted in 34 eligible retrievals. Of them, seven clinical trials that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected by two authors.ResultsFour studies have compared the effectiveness of bisphosphonates in the treatment of GC‐induced low bone mineral density (BMD) in children. Remaining studies were on menatretenone + alfacacidol versus alfacalcidol alone, calcium + vitamin D versus placebo and alfacalcidol versus menatetrenone. In the four studies, bisphosphonates have shown the ability either to improve BMD or prevent bone loss associated with GC use in children. However, alendronate either in oral or intravenous routes and oral pamidronate were the only bisphosphnates that have been studied in children. Vitamin K2 (menatetrenone) combined with alfacalcidol has also preserved BMD in children on long‐term GC therapy. Calcium combined with alfacalcidol has also prevented bone loss, greater than menatetrenone. Calcitriol together with Calcium in conventional doses has retarded bone loss, although the combination could not completely prevent the process.ConclusionsVitamin D derivatives such as calcitriol or alfacalcidol together with adequate calcium can be considered suitable treatment options to be started simultaneously when long‐term GC therapy is needed in children. For children who have been on GCs or have already lost BMD, either oral pamidronate or alendronate in oral/intravenous routes can be considered based on the availability.
Wit and Greece's economic crisis: Ironic slogans, food, and antiausterity sentiments
Authors: KNIGHT DANIEL M. 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTIronic slogans voice opposition to neoliberal austerity measures as people in western Thessaly, Greece, strive to account for dramatically increasing poverty and cultivate a sense of collective suffering in an era of economic crisis. The slogans are pinned to moments of socioeconomic turmoil in recent Greek history, such as the 1941–43 famine and the 1973 polytechnic uprising against military dictatorship. Through satire, they capture local and national attitudes toward the government's current austerity policy and neoliberalism more generally. Drawing on powerful tropes of food, the slogans critique the experiences of neoliberal reform, becoming sites of resistance and solidarity that reframe relations between local people, their government, and international creditors.
Liberty and moral ambivalence: Postsocialist transitions, refugee hosting, and bodily comportment in the Republic of Guinea
Authors: MCGOVERN MIKE 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTGuinean hosts viewed Liberian refugees with the same ambivalence and fascination that many held for their own children, who were embracing the consumerist ethos of Guinea's postsocialist 1990s. Loma‐speaking farmers’ categories for evaluating historical change and refugee comportment grew out of metaphors of embodied agency and morality. These categories challenge some aspects of both Guinean elites’ and contemporary anthropologists’ understandings of the meaning of post–Cold War social change. [subaltern historiography, embodiment, Guinea, West Africa, fast capitalism, postsocialism]
Global health partnerships, governance, and sovereign responsibility in western Kenya
Authors: BROWN HANNAH 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTThe delivery of resources to citizens in the global South is increasingly managed through international partnerships. As systems of plural governance, such arrangements are characterized by alignments, accommodations, and conflicts between partners’ respective interests. This article focuses on partnerships between the Kenyan Ministries of Health and organizations funded by PEPFAR (the President's Fund for AIDS Relief), drawing on fieldwork with Kenyan government health managers. These partnerships were based on a separation between the ability to provide resources and the right to administer them. For Kenyans, partnerships animated a politics of sovereign responsibility in which they often felt a deep sense of managerial disenfranchisement. For their foreign collaborators, partnership relations legitimized the interventions they organized. This politics of sovereign responsibility reconfigured the importance of the state on the basis of its role in delivering resources within global relations of inequality. [global health, PEPFAR, HIV/AIDS, governance, partnership, sovereign responsibility, the state, Kenya]
Predictors of weight loss 2 years after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy
Authors: Martin David J , Lee Crystal MY , Rigas Georgia , Tam Charmaine S 
Published: April 2015

AbstractIntroductionDespite the rapidly increasing popularity of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), there is limited data examining weight loss more than 1 year after the procedure. There have also been few studies examining baseline predictors of weight loss after LSG. We aimed to examine the percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL) in patients 2 years after LSG and identify baseline predictors of %EWL.MethodsElectronic records from university hospitals were available for 292 patients who underwent LSG (205 women; mean age, 41.5 ± 11.1 years; mean weight, 126.5 ± 27.5 kg; mean BMI, 45.5 ± 7.5 kg/m2). Variables assessed for predictive effect were baseline age, sex, BMI, presence of comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, or obstructive sleep apnea), the amount of weight loss induced by a very low‐calorie diet before surgery, and the number of clinic appointments attended over the 2 years. We performed linear regression and mixed model analyses between predictor variables and %EWL at 2 years.ResultsAdjusted %EWL was 31% at 2 weeks, 49% at 3 months, 64% at 6 months, 70% at 9 months, 76% at 12 months, 79% at 18 months, and 79% at 2 years. Multivariate analysis showed that lower baseline BMI, absence of hypertension, and greater clinic attendance predicted better %EWL (r2 = 0.11).ConclusionLonger‐term follow‐up studies of weight loss post LSG are required to assist with patient care and management.
Male gonads morphology, spermatogenesis and sperm ultrastructure of the seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus (Syngnathidae)
Authors: Piras Francesca , Biagi Francesca , Taddei Anna Rita , Fausto Anna Maria , Farina Vittorio , Zedda Marco , Floris Antonello , Franzoi Piero , Carcupino Marcella 
Published: April 2015

AbstractTestes morphology, spermatogenetic process and mature sperm ultrastructure were analysed in Hippocampus guttulatus, using both light and transmission electron microscopy. Both testes were organized in a single large germinal compartment, with a central lumen. Spermatocysts only contained spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes. Inside the testis lumen, together with mature sperm, two types of large mono‐nucleate cells, flagellate and aflagellate, were present. Both types of cells were interpreted as developing germ cells precociously released inside the testis lumen, where their maturation was completed. According to the different morphological features of the nuclei, such as chromatin condensation degree, aspect of the nuclear fossa and others, the flagellate cells were unquestionably developing spermatids. On the contrary, the developmental stage of the aflagellate was more difficult to interpreted. They could be secondary spermatocytes or young spermatids. No dimorphic sperm were recognizable, the only sperm type observed have features typical of the intro‐sperm reports in other syngnathids species. They had a cylindrical head, a short midpiece, characterized by two mitochondrial rings housed inside a cytoplasmic collar, and a long flagellum. These and previous data about the same topic reported on other syngnathids species were compared and discussed.
Lithium modulates the production of peripheral and cerebral cytokines in an animal model of mania induced by dextroamphetamine
Authors: Valvassori Samira S , Tonin Paula T , Varela Roger B , Carvalho André F , Mariot Edemilson , Amboni Rafaela T , Bianchini Guilherme , Andersen Monica L , Quevedo João 
Published: April 2015

ObjectivesSeveral recent studies have suggested that the physiopathology of bipolar disorder (BD) is related to immune system alterations and inflammation. Lithium (Li) is a mood stabilizer that is considered the first‐line treatment for this mood disorder. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of Li administration on behavior and cytokine levels [interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐10, and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α)] in the periphery and brains of rats subjected to an animal model of mania induced by amphetamine (d‐AMPH).MethodsMale Wistar rats were treated with d‐AMPH or saline (Sal) for 14 days; on Day 8 of treatment, the rats were administered Li or Sal for the final seven days. Cytokine (IL‐1β, IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐10, and TNF‐α) levels were evaluated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), serum, frontal cortex, striatum, and hippocampus.ResultsThe present study showed that d‐AMPH induced hyperactivity in rats (p < 0.001), and Li treatment reversed this behavioral alteration (p < 0.001). In addition, d‐AMPH increased the levels of IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐10, and TNF‐α in the frontal cortex (p < 0.001), striatum (p < 0.001), and serum (p < 0.001), and treatment with Li reversed these cytokine alterations (p < 0.001).ConclusionsLi modulates peripheral and cerebral cytokine production in an animal model of mania induced by d‐AMPH, suggesting that its action on the inflammatory system may contribute to its therapeutic efficacy.
Interpreting standardized and idiographic outcome measures in CAMHS: what does change mean and how does it relate to functioning and experience?
Authors: Edbrooke‐Childs Julian , Jacob Jenna , Law Duncan , Deighton Jessica , Wolpert Miranda 
Published: April 2015

BackgroundPatient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) are increasingly being used in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). The aim of this research was to explore change in standardized and idiographic outcome measures in CAMHS using naturalistic, routinely collected data.MethodWe explored change in psychosocial difficulties and impact on daily life as evaluated by a broad standardized measure, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (Goodman, 1997, J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry, 38, 581) and progress toward goals as evaluated by a personalized idiographic measure, the Goal Based Outcomes tool (GBO) (Law, 2011, Goals and Goal Based Outcomes (GBOs): some useful information. London: CAMHS Press) in a sample of N = 137 CAMHS attenders.ResultsPsychosocial difficulties and impact on daily life showed less change over the course of treatment than progress toward goals in this study. Change in psychosocial difficulties and impact on daily life were also less strongly associated with change in clinician‐reported functioning and satisfaction with care at time two than change in progress toward goals.ConclusionsFindings of the present research may support previous studies in which service users and clinicians report that idiographic measures are more capable than standardized measures of capturing relevant change for individuals.
Efficacy of low‐dose 5‐fluorouracil/salicylic acid in actinic keratoses in relation to treatment duration
Authors: Szeimies Rolf‐Markus , Dirschka Thomas , Prechtl Andreas , Melzer Antje 
Published: April 2015

SummaryBackgroundIn Germany, the number of actinic keratoses (AKs) diagnosed and dermatologically treated has steadily risen in recent years. As AKs represent an early form of squamous cell carcinoma, prompt initiation of treatment is pivotal. The objective of this non‐interventional study (NIS) was to determine the efficacy of a low‐dose (0.5 %) fluorouracil/10 % salicylic acid (low‐dose 5‐FU/SA) solution in the treatment of AKs (clinical grade I and II according to Olsen) in relation to treatment duration.Patients and methodsThis NIS followed 1,051 AK patients from 212 centers who were treated with low‐dose 5‐FU/SA. Data were collected at the start of treatment, at an optional follow‐up appointment during the treatment period, at the end of treatment, and during the final assessment.ResultsDuring the observation period, there was a decrease in the mean number of lesions by approximately 70 % and in mean size by approximately 80 %. Roughly one‐half of the patients were treated for less than six weeks. In the final global assessment, efficacy was rated as very good or good in approximately 89 % of patients; tolerability as very good or good in 87 %.ConclusionsUnder routine clinical conditions, treatment with low‐dose 5‐FU/SA effectively reduced AK lesions even during short treatment periods, while exhibiting good tolerability. These findings are in keeping with results obtained from a clinical phase III trial.
Reverse Auctions to Innovate Procurement Processes: Effects of Bid Information Presentation Design on a Supplier's Bidding Outcome
Authors: Setia Pankaj , Speier‐Pero Cheri 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTInformation technologies (ITs) are being used to innovate various procurement processes. This research study focuses on the supplier‐side effects of IT design choices to conduct reverse auctions, which are increasingly used to procure a wide range of products and services. IT–enabled reverse auctions enhance supplier participation across geographical boundaries, leading to more efficient pricing. However, there are growing concerns about the adverse effects of IT–enabled reverse auctions on a supplier's performance. Supplier‐side issues are gaining prominence in the reverse auction literature and are critical for the long‐term success of reverse auctions. Therefore, we focus on suppliers’ bidding outcomes and assess how the design of an IT–enabled reverse auction facilitates the auction bidding outcomes of participating suppliers. Specifically, we examine the effects of two types of bid information presentation design—full price visibility and partial price visibility—on supplier's auction bidding outcomes, across auctions with different cost certainty and suppliers bargaining power vis‐à‐vis the buyer. The results of this study contribute new knowledge about the ways to use IT for creating effective auction designs and innovating procurement through auctions to enhance both the buyer's and suppliers’ performance. We present the detailed theoretical contributions of our study and discuss the managerial implications for designers of reverse auctions.
Managing Knowledge Creation in High‐Tech R&D Projects: A Multimethod Study
Authors: Chandrasekaran Aravind , Linderman Kevin 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTR&D projects in high‐tech organizations bring together diverse knowledge domains to quickly develop new products and processes. The fast‐paced context of high‐tech organizations makes it challenging to create new knowledge and solve complex problems. Managing these R&D projects requires understanding both the mechanisms and the type of knowledge created to achieve project objectives. This research conducts a two‐phased multimethod study to understand knowledge creation in high‐tech R&D projects. The first phase uses qualitative data to develop a theory on knowledge creation in R&D projects. The second phase involves a survey that collects data from R&D projects to test the theory. Results from the case study find that R&D projects benefit from two types of knowledge – objective and intuitive. The case analyses show that intuitive and objective knowledge creation in high‐tech organizations occurs by creating not only diverse but also psychological safe project teams. The large‐scale survey finds that team diversity positively influences objective knowledge creation while psychological safety affects intuitive knowledge creation. Surprisingly, the results show that team diversity negatively affects intuitive knowledge creation. A post hoc analysis takes a more granular look at diversity and shows that different kinds of diversity have different effects on knowledge creation. This helps to better explain how to manage innovation across boundaries. Finally, the analysis shows that both objective and intuitive knowledge influence R&D project performance. Taken together, these results help explain how to manage innovation across functional boundaries to create knowledge and enhance R&D project performance.
Supply Chain Disruptions and the Role of Information Asymmetry
Authors: Schmidt William 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTThis research investigates how information asymmetry between the firm and its investors can influence supply chain disruptions. In such settings, these actors may be induced to take steps which exacerbate rather than ameliorate both the likelihood and impact of disruptions. By better understanding these mechanisms, managers and investors alike are better armed to avoid the costly consequences.
Similar efficacy and safety of LY2963016 insulin glargine and insulin glargine (Lantus®) in patients with type 2 diabetes who were insulin‐naïve or previously treated with insulin glargine: a randomized, double‐blind controlled trial (the ELEMENT 2 study)
Authors: Rosenstock J. , Hollander P. , Bhargava A. , Ilag L. L. , Pollom R. K. , Zielonka J. S. , Huster W. J. , Prince M. J. 
Published: April 2015

AimsTo compare the efficacy and safety of LY2963016 insulin glargine (LY IGlar) and the reference product (Lantus®) insulin glargine (IGlar) in combination with oral antihyperglycaemic medications in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).MethodsThis phase III, randomized, double‐blind, 24‐week study enrolled patients with T2D who were insulin‐naïve [glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥7 and ≤11.0%] or previously on IGlar (HbA1c ≤11%) and treated with ≥2 oral antihyperglycaemic medications. Patients were randomized to receive once‐daily LY IGlar (n = 376) or IGlar (n = 380) for 24 weeks. The primary efficacy outcome was to test the non‐inferiority (0.4% and then 0.3% margin) of LY IGlar to IGlar, as measured by change in HbA1c from baseline to 24 weeks.ResultsBoth treatment groups had similar and significant (p < 0.001) within‐group decreases in mean HbA1c values from baseline. LY IGlar met non‐inferiority criteria compared with IGlar for change in HbA1c from baseline [−1.29 vs −1.34%; respectively, least‐squares mean difference 0.052% (95% confidence interval −0.070 to 0.175); p > 0.05]. There were no treatment differences (p > 0.05) in fasting plasma glucose, proportion of patients reaching HbA1c <7% or insulin dose at 24 weeks. Adverse events, allergic reactions, weight change, hypoglycaemia and insulin antibodies were similar between treatment groups. Similar findings were observed in patients who were insulin‐naïve or previously treated with IGlar at baseline.ConclusionsBoth LY IGlar and IGlar, when used in combination with oral antihyperglycaemic medications, provided effective and similar glucose control with similar safety profiles in patients with T2D.
Intervendor Variabilities of Left and Right Ventricular Myocardial Velocities among Three Tissue Doppler Echocardiography Systems
Authors: Abe Kiyoshi , Yuda Satoshi , Sato Yasumi , Yasui Kenji , Nishi Ryosuke , Hanada Kyosuke , Hashimoto Naoko , Kawamukai Mina , Kouzu Hidemichi , Muranaka Atsuko , Hashimoto Akiyoshi , Tsuchihashi Kazufumi , Watanabe Naoki , Miura Tetsuji 
Published: April 2015

BackgroundWhether an intervendor discordance of myocardial velocities determined by tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) can be generalized remains unclear. We compared intervendor variabilities of left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) myocardial velocities among three TDE systems.MethodsExaminations with TDE were performed in 41 healthy subjects and 11 patients with cardiovascular risk factors (CVR) using α‐7 (V1, Hitachi Aloka Medical), Artida (V2, Toshiba Medical Systems), and Vivid E9 (V3, GE Healthcare) on the same day. Peak systolic (s′), early diastolic (e′), and late diastolic (a′) myocardial velocities at medial and lateral sites of the mitral annulus and lateral site of the tricuspid annulus were measured using both pulsed‐wave TDE and color TDE. Intra‐observer and inter‐observer variabilities were determined in 10 subjects and test–retest variability in 14 subjects.ResultsAs for test–retest variability, reproducibilities of LV and RV myocardial velocities determined by pulsed‐wave TDE and color TDE were relatively low but comparable between V1, V2, and V3. Myocardial velocities in healthy subjects determined by both pulsed‐wave TDE and color TDE were significantly different among the three TDE systems. Myocardial velocities by pulsed‐wave TDE in V3 were 2–12% lower (P < 0.05) than those by V2 and 5–14% lower (P < 0.05) than those by V1. Similar differences in myocardial velocities determined by both pulsed‐wave TDE and color TDE were found in patients with CVR.ConclusionsLV and RV myocardial velocities determined by both pulsed‐wave TDE and color TDE are vendor dependent, and reproducibility of the myocardial velocities determined by both TDE systems is relatively low.
The effect of range changes on the functional turnover, structure and diversity of bird assemblages under future climate scenarios
Authors: Barbet‐Massin Morgane , Jetz Walter 
Published: April 2015

AbstractAnimal assemblages fulfill a critical set of ecological functions for ecosystems that may be altered substantially as climate change‐induced distribution changes lead to community disaggregation and reassembly. We combine species and community perspectives to assess the consequences of projected geographic range changes for the diverse functional attributes of avian assemblages worldwide. Assemblage functional structure is projected to change highly unevenly across space. These differences arise from both changes in the number of species and changes in species’ relative local functional redundancy or distinctness. They sometimes result in substantial losses of functional diversity that could have severe consequences for ecosystem health. Range expansions may counter functional losses in high‐latitude regions, but offer little compensation in many tropical and subtropical biomes. Future management of local community function and ecosystem services thus relies on understanding the global dynamics of species distributions and multiscale approaches that include the biogeographic context of species traits.