bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Microwave endometrial ablation at a frequency of 2.45 GHz for menorrhagia: Analysis of treatment results at a single facility
Authors: Nakayama Kentaro , Ishibashi Tomoka , Ishikawa Masako , Katagiri Atsuko , Katagiri Hiroshi , Iida Kouji , Nakayama Naomi , Miyazaki Kohji 
Published: October 2013

AbstractAimWe aimed to evaluate the efficacy of microwave endometrial ablation at a frequency of 2.45 GHz in women with menorrhagia. This method has been attracting attention as an alternative to hysterectomy in the treatment of functional and organic menorrhagia.Material and MethodsWe performed microwave endometrial ablation in 103 women with menorrhagia between August 2007 and October 2012. All patients had completed child bearing. We evaluated the efficacy of microwave endometrial ablation using a visual analog scale for menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, and patient satisfaction. We also evaluated the incidence of hypermenorrhea recurrence, amenorrhea, and procedure complications in relation to patients' clinical factors, such as the presence of myoma, adenomyosis, uterine size, and type of bleeding.ResultsA total of 76 patients completed the evaluation period. Excessive menstruation improved from a preoperative mean visual analog score of 10, to 1.9 after treatment. Dysmenorrhea improved from a mean score of 4.2, to 1.3, and patient satisfaction had a mean score of 9.0. Hemoglobin levels improved from 10.1 g/dL preoperatively to 12.5 g/dL postoperatively. Four patients experienced recurrence of excessive menstruation. No related clinical factors could be identified for recurrence risk or the occurrence of postoperative infection. A total of 26 patients (34.2%) became amenorrheic; these patients were less likely to have myomata, intramural myomata, and myomata larger than 5 cm.ConclusionsMicrowave endometrial ablation at a frequency of 2.45 GHz is an effective and safe treatment. It should be considered as a standard treatment for conservative therapy‐resistant menorrhagia.
Formulation and evaluation of metoclopramide solid lipid nanoparticles for rectal suppository
Authors: Mohamed Radwa A , Abass Haidy A , Attia Mohamed A , Heikal Ola A 
Published: October 2013

Abstract

Objectives
The purpose of this study was to formulate and characterize metoclopramide solid lipid nanoparticles (MCP-SLNs) and incorporating it into suppository bases for treatment of nausea and vomiting, produced with chemotherapeutic agents, using one dose per day.

Methods
MCP-SLNs was prepared using high shear homogenization (hot homogenization) technique using different surfactants (tween 80, poloxamer 407, poloxamer 188 and cremophore) in two different concentrations (2.5% and 5%) then solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN), whose release percentage above 50%, was incorporated into suppository for treatment of nausea and vomiting. The prepared SLN and suppositories were then evaluated and characterized.

Key findings
Formulation of poloxamer 407 with compritol and drug (F9) produced highest in-vitro % release (80%). Transmission electron microscopy showed that SLN had round and spherical shape in form of solid dispersion or drug-enriched core. Particle size analysis of SLN showed a size range of 24.99–396.8 nm. Negative zeta potential proves complete drug entrapment. In-vivo study of MCP-SLN suppositories produced the same %GE as the market metoclopramide (MCP) suppository (Primperan) with sustained release effect.

Conclusion
MCP-SLN suppositories (formula F) can reverse decrease in %GE because of emesis with sustained release effect. So it succeeded to be an alternative to MCP suppositories with no multiple dosing.
Doxorubicin-induced death in tumour cells and cardiomyocytes: is autophagy the key to improving future clinical outcomes?
Authors: Tacar Oktay , Dass Crispin R 
Published: October 2013

Abstract

Objectives
Doxorubicin, a commonly used frontline chemotherapeutic agent for cancer, is not without side-effects. The original thinking that the drug causes necrosis in tumours has largely given way to its link with apoptosis over the past two decades.

Key findings
More recently, major biomarkers such as AMPK, p53 and Bcl-2 have been identified as important to apoptosis induction by doxorubicin. It is Bcl-2 and its interaction with Beclin-1 that has refocussed research attention on doxorubicin, albeit this time for its ability to induce autophagy. Autophagy can be either anticancerous or procancerous however, so it is critical that the reasons for which cancer cells undergo this type of cell biological event be clearly identified for future exploitation.

Summary
Taking a step back from treating patients with large doses of doxorubicin, which causes toxicity to the heart amongst other organs, and further research with this drug's molecular signalling in not only neoplastic but normal cells, may indeed redefine the way doxorubicin is used clinically and potentially lead to better neoplastic disease management.
‘Sexual Transgression on the American Stage: Clyde Fitch, Sapho and the “American Girl” ’
Authors: Saxon Theresa 
Published: October 2013

AbstractClyde Fitch's play, Sapho (1900), is significant in the history of theatre censorship in America as a result of the arrests of the leading actress, Olga Nethersole, and several of her entourage. Critical analyses have focussed explicitly on the role of Nethersole in the censorship of the production. But the play as a dramatic production and the role of the playwright have been obscured by the media frenzy that led to the arrests and the subsequent furore. This article looks to expand the critical landscape of the censorship of Sapho, exploring the critical reputation of the writer, the public reception and the media reaction that led to its closure and the arrests, in the wider context of the show′s performance. This article argues that Sapho became a moral crusade because Fitch′s drama staged the critical intersection between the erotics of sexual transgression and the cult of the ‘American girl’. Further, Clyde Fitch's version of Sapho recognised the critical link between discourses of sexuality/purity and discourses of ‘nervousness’ that pervaded America at the turn of the century. To survive as the epitome of ‘civilisation’, America required the repeated and continuous modelling of the asexual body of the pure ‘American girl’; Sapho exposed the model and the structuring impulses that participated in its formation.
Medical Ethics in Victorian Fiction
Authors: Huelman Lisieux M. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractStudies on 19th‐century British literature have, in the last decade, become increasingly aware of the literary representations of medicine in general and medical ethics in particular. The Romantic and Victorian periods are the beginning of the professionalization of both science and medicine; it is important, therefore, to study the ways in which the literature of those periods both reflected and informed emerging public debates on medical ethics. Medicine, during Victoria's reign, became standardized, professionalized, and, eventually, specialized. Medical research and the medical technology made tremendous advancements including germ theory and the stethoscope. Given the amount of progress made during the period, Victorian studies contributing to medical humanities can and should further research how Victorian literature shaped contemporary conceptions of medical ethics. Issues of patient privacy that we recognize today did not exist for Victorian medical professionals, and, therefore, the study of ethical implementation of medical research is a more productive line of inquiry for Victorian studies. While Gothic fiction like Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau and Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) are fruitful starting points for this continuance, it is also crucial to consider issues of medical ethics as they appear in other novel genres of the same period. Lesser‐studied works – including Eliot's The Lifted Veil (1859), Charles Dicken's “A Curious Dance Round a Curious Tree” (1852), Charles Reade's Hard Cash (1870), Anthony Trollope's The Fixed Period (1882), and Mary Augusta Ward's Marcella (1894) – warrant further scholarly consideration of their engagement with medical ethics.
Romantic Vision and Gothic Balladry: Anne Bannerman's Tales of Superstition and Chivalry
Authors: Ruppert Timothy 
Published: October 2013

AbstractLike her women Romantic contemporaries Joanna Baillie and Anna Barbauld, the Scottish poet Anne Bannerman (1765–1829) took an interest in the imaginative possibilities conferred by the tradition of British visionary poetics, a longstanding mode of imaginative production engaged by authors such as Chaucer, Sidney, Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton and many of the canonical Romantics, including William Blake, William Wordsworth and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Evoking the style, conventions and disruptive objectives of Judeo‐Christian scriptural prophecy, visionary poetics created an opportunity for authors to express unpopular and even radical ideas within culturally sanctioned literary frameworks such as dream narratives, portrayals of seers and imaginative accounts of mystical or otherworldly experiences. In her second published volume of poetry, 1802'sTales of Superstition and Chivalry, Bannerman makes use of several themes, images and tropes associated with visionary poetry in what appears at first glance to be a volume of Gothic ballads. That pieces such as ‘The Prophetess of the Oracle of Seäm’ and ‘The Prophecy of Merlin’ place her Tales within the context of vatic literature becomes more compelling when we consider how Bannerman redraws certain conventions of the visionary subgenre and so transforms the Gothic idiom.
Unearthing carrion beetles' microbiome: characterization of bacterial and fungal hindgut communities across the Silphidae
Authors: Kaltenpoth Martin , Steiger Sandra 
Published: October 2013

AbstractCarrion beetles (Coleoptera, Silphidae) are well known for their behaviour of exploiting vertebrate carcasses for nutrition. While species in the subfamily Silphinae feed on large carcasses and on larvae of competing scavengers, the Nicrophorinae are unique in monopolizing, burying and defending small carrion, and providing extensive biparental care. As a first step towards investigating whether microbial symbionts may aid in carcass utilization or defence, we characterized the microbial hindgut communities of six Nicrophorinae (Nicrophorus spp.) and two Silphinae species (Oiceoptoma noveboracense and Necrophila americana) by deep ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing. Across all species, bacteria in the family Xanthomonadaceae, related to Ignatzschineriao larvae, were consistently common, and several other taxa were present in lower abundance (Enterobacteriales, Burkholderiales, Bacilli, Clostridiales and Bacteroidales). Additionally, the Nicrophorinae showed high numbers of unusual Clostridiales, while the Silphinae were characterized by Flavobacteriales and Rhizobiales (Bartonella sp.). In addition to the complex community of bacterial symbionts, each species of carrion beetle harboured a diversity of ascomycetous yeasts closely related to Yarrowia lipolytica. Despite the high degree of consistency in microbial communities across the Silphidae—specifically within the Nicrophorinae—both the fungal symbiont phylogeny and distance‐based bacterial community clustering showed higher congruence with sampling locality than host phylogeny. Thus, despite the possibility for vertical transmission via anal secretions, the distinct hindgut microbiota of the Silphidae appears to be shaped by frequent horizontal exchange or environmental uptake of symbionts. The microbial community profiles, together with information on host ecology and the metabolic potential of related microorganisms, allow us to propose hypotheses on putative roles of the symbionts in carcass degradation, detoxification and defence.
Massive invasion of exoticBarbus barbusand introgressive hybridization with endemicBarbus plebejusinNorthernItaly: where, how and why?
Authors: Meraner A. , Venturi A. , Ficetola G. F. , Rossi S. , Candiotto A. , Gandolfi A. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractBiological invasions and introgressive hybridization are major drivers for the decline of native freshwater fish. However, the magnitude of the problem across a native species range, the mechanisms shaping introgression as well as invader's dispersal and the relative role of biological invasions in the light of multiple environmental stressors are rarely described. Here, we report extensive (N = 665) mtDNAsequence and (N = 692) microsatellite genotypic data of 32 Northern Adriatic sites aimed to unravel the invasion of theEuropeanBarbus barbusin Italy and the hybridization and decline of the endemicB. plebejus. We highlight an exceptionally fast breakthrough ofB. barbuswithin thePoRiver basin, leading to widespread introgressive hybridization with the endemicB. plebejuswithin few generations. In contrast, adjacent drainage systems are still unaffected fromB. barbusinvasion. We show that barriers to migration are inefficient to halt the invasion process and that propagule pressure, and not environmental quality, is the major driver responsible forB. barbussuccess. Both introgressive hybridization and invader's dispersal are facilitated by ongoing fisheries management practices. Therefore, immediate changes in fisheries management (i.e. stocking and translocation measures) and a detailed conservation plan, focussed on remnant purebredB. plebejuspopulations, are urgently needed.
Role of capsular polysaccharide (CPS) in biofilm formation and regulation of CPS production by quorum‐sensing in Vibrio vulnificus
Authors: Lee Kyung‐Jo , Kim Jeong‐A , Hwang Won , Park Soon‐Jung , Lee Kyu‐Ho 
Published: October 2013

SummaryExtracellular polysaccharides, such as lipopolysaccharide and loosely associated exopolysaccharides, are essential for Vibrio vulnificus to form biofilms. The role of another major component of the V. vulnificus extracellular matrix, capsular polysaccharide (CPS), which contributes to colony opacity, has been characterized in biofilm formation. A CPS‐deficient mutant, whose wbpP gene encoding UDP‐GlcNAc C4‐epimerase was knocked out, formed significantly more biofilm than wild type, due to increased hydrophobicity of the cell surface, adherence to abiotic surfaces and cell aggregation. To elucidate the direct effect of CPS on biofilm structure, extracted CPS and a CPS‐degrading enzyme, α‐N‐acetylgalactosaminidase, were added in biofilm assays, resulting in reduction and increment of biofilm sizes respectively. Therefore, it is suggested that CPS play a critical role in determining biofilm size by restricting continual growth of mature biofilms. Since CPS is required after maturation, CPS biosynthesis should be controlled in a cell density‐dependent manner, e.g. by quorum‐sensing (QS) regulation. Analysing transcription of the CPS gene cluster revealed that it was activated by SmcR, a QS master regulator, via binding to the upstream region of the cluster. Therefore, CPS was produced when biofilm cell density reached high enough to turn on QS regulation and limited biofilms to appropriate sizes.
Effects of natural hybrid and non‐hybridEpichloëendophytes on the response ofHordelymus europaeusto drought stress
Authors: Oberhofer Martina , Güsewell Sabine , Leuchtmann Adrian 
Published: October 2013

SummaryInterspecific hybrid endophytes of the genusEpichloë(Ascomycota, Clavicipitaceae) are prevalent in wild grass populations, possibly because of their larger gene variation, resulting in increased fitness benefits for host plants; however, the reasons are not yet known. We tested hypotheses regarding niche expansion mediated by hybrid endophytes, population‐dependent interactions and local co‐adaptation in the woodland grassHordelymus europaeus, which naturally hosts both hybrid and non‐hybrid endophyte taxa.Seedlings derived from seeds of four grass populations made endophyte free were re‐inoculated with hybrid or non‐hybrid endophyte strains, or left endophyte free. Plants were grown in the glasshouse with or without drought treatment.Endophyte infection increased plant biomass and tiller production by 10–15% in both treatments. Endophyte types had similar effects on growth, but opposite effects on reproduction: non‐hybrid endophytes increased seed production, whereas hybrid endophytes reduced or prevented it completely.The results are consistent with the observation that non‐hybrid endophytes inH. europaeusprevail at dry sites,but cannot explain the prevalence of hybrid endophytes. Thus, our results do not support the hypothesis of niche expansion of hybrid‐infected plants. Moreover, plants inoculated with native relative to foreign endophytes yielded higher infections, but both showed similar growth and survival, suggesting weak co‐adaptation.
Charity Art Auctions
Authors: Canals‐Cerda Jose J. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractUsing a unique panel data set of art auctions on eBay, we conduct an empirical analysis of the impact of charity status on the outcome of an auction and find it to be substantial. Charity status increases the probability of sale by 46%, the observed number of bidders by 111% and the sale price by 45%. In addition, charity status substantially lowers the auction's opening price. Interestingly, the effect of charity status declines over time indicating that charity auctions may be susceptible to donor fatigue.
Low‐Tilt Monophasic and Biphasic Waveforms Compared with Standard Biphasic Waveforms in the Transvenous Defibrillation of Ventricular Fibrillation
Authors: BENNETT JOHAN R. , DARRAGH KAREN M. , WALSH SIMON J. , ALLEN DESMOND J. , SCOTT MICHAEL , STEVENSON MICHAEL , ADGEY JENNIFER A.A. , ANDERSON JOHN M.C.J. , MANOHARAN GANESH 
Published: October 2013

BackgroundCommercially available implantable defibrillators utilize a high‐tilt waveform. Studies in atrial fibrillation and transthoracic defibrillation of ventricular fibrillation (VF) have shown improved defibrillation efficacy using low‐tilt (LT) waveforms. We investigated the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of a LT waveform in the transvenous defibrillation of VF and hypothesized that it would be more efficacious than standard tilted biphasic (STB) waveforms.Methods and ResultsThe investigation was performed in four phases in a porcine model: an efficacy study of LT monophasic waveforms (n = 9), an efficacy study of LT biphasic waveforms (n = 9), a comparison study between the most successful LT waveforms and clinically available STB waveforms (n = 15), and a safety study (n = 9). A total of 1,056 shocks were delivered (phase 1: 288, phase 2: 288, phase 3: 480). The LT biphasic 8/4‐ms waveform was significantly more likely to successfully defibrillate than the LT monophasic and STB waveforms with an odds ratio of 122.3 (95% confidence interval: 32.5, 460.2, P < 0.001). The calculated defibrillation threshold (E50) for the LT 8/4‐ms waveform was 12.7 J compared to 43.5 J and 45.5 J for STB waveforms 6/6 ms and 8/4 ms, respectively, and 47.7 J for LT 12‐ms waveform. The LT 8/4‐ms waveform had no lasting detrimental effect on cardiac function, and any transient hemodynamical or biochemical changes observed were comparable to those observed with STB waveforms.ConclusionLT waveforms are effective and appear safe in transvenous defibrillation in a porcine model of VF. The LT biphasic 8/4‐ms waveform is more efficacious than conventional waveforms.
A novel membrane‐bound E3 ubiquitin ligase enhances the thermal resistance in plants
Authors: Liu Zhi‐Bin , Wang Jian‐Mei , Yang Feng‐Xi , Yang Liang , Yue Yu‐Fei , Xiang Jun‐Bei , Gao Mei , Xiong Fang‐Jian , Lv Dong , Wu Xian‐Jun , Liu Ning , Zhang Xun , Li Xu‐Feng , Yang Yi 
Published: October 2013

SummaryHigh temperature stress disturbs cellular homoeostasis and results in a severe retardation in crop growth and development. Thus, it is important to reveal the mechanism of plants coping with heat stress. In this study, a novel gene that we identified from Brassica napus, referred to as BnTR1, was found to play a key role in heat stress response in planta. BnTR1 is a membrane‐bound RINGv (C4HC3) protein that displays E3 ligase activity in vitro. We demonstrated that modest expression of BnTR1 is sufficient to minimize adverse environmental influence and confers thermal resistance on development without any detrimental effects in B. napus and Oryza sativa. Our investigation into the action mechanism indicates that BnTR1 is likely to be involved in mediating Ca2+ dynamics by regulating the activity of calcium channels, which further alters the transcripts of heat shock factors and heat shock proteins contributing to plant thermotolerance. Hence, our study identified BnTR1 as a novel key factor underlying a conserved mechanism conferring thermal resistance in plants.
Evaluation of a relapse‐prevention program for methamphetamine‐dependent inmates using a self‐teaching workbook and group therapy
Authors: Matsumoto Toshihiko , Imamura Fumi , Kobayashi Ohji , Wada Kiyoshi , Ozaki Shiro , Takeuchi Yoshio , Hasegawa Masahiko , Imamura Yoko , Taniya Yuko , Adachi Yasumori 
Published: October 2013

AimThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a relapse‐prevention program for methamphetamine (MAP)‐dependent inmates in a prison.MethodsParticipants were 251 male inmates with MAP‐abuse problems. We compared scores on the Self‐efficacy Scale for Drug Dependence (SSDD) and the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES) before and after intervention with a self‐teaching workbook and group therapy.ResultsFor all participants, only SSDD scores increased during the pre‐intervention period. SOCRATES‐8D scores increased after the start of the intervention using the self‐teaching workbook, and both SSDD and SOCRATES‐8D scores increased when group therapy was implemented. Changes in scores in participants with moderate and high MAP dependence were considerably different from the scores of those with low dependence during the pre‐intervention and the self‐teaching workbook periods.ConclusionIntervention using a self‐teaching workbook and group therapy in prisons might be effective for inmates with more than moderate severity of MAP abuse.
Targeted photochemotherapy in alopecia areata
Authors: Açıkgöz Gürol , Yeşil Hakan , Çalışkan Ercan , Tunca Mustafa , Akar Ahmet 
Published: October 2013

SummaryBackground/PurposeAlopecia areata (AA) is a common cause of localized non‐scarring alopecia. Usage of targeted UVA after the topical application of 8‐methoxypsoralen (8‐MOP) is one of the rising treatment modalities for AA. Our aim was to assess the efficacy and safety of topical 8‐MOP plus targeted UVA phototherapy in the treatment of patchy AA.MethodsSeven patchy AA patients were treated by topical 8‐MOP application to the lesions followed by UVA irradiation 3 times a week, with 15 to 24 sessions in total. At the end of the treatment all patients were evaluated for response on a four‐point scale (0 = no hair, 1 = white vellus hair, 2 = regrowth cosmetically acceptable for the patient, 3 = complete hair growth).ResultsThe mean cumulative UVA dose was from 7.5 to 39.6 J/cm2. For all 7 patients, average response score was calculated as 2, which means cosmetically acceptable regrowth.ConclusionTargeted UVA phototherapy combined with topical 8‐MOP may be an effective and safe alternative treatment protocol for patchy AA, which should be kept in mind in order to choose the best for the patient, especially for patients incompatible with other treatments that are systemic and invasive.