bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and Safety of Daptomycin in Patients with Renal Impairment: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis
Authors: Kullar Ravina , McClellan Ian , Geriak Matthew , Sakoulas George 
Published: March 2014

Study ObjectiveDaptomycin is a therapeutic option for patients with underlying renal insufficiency who are vulnerable to nephrotoxicity from vancomycin. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of daptomycin in patients with renal impairment.DesignMulticenter, retrospective, observational, case series analysis.SettingTwo academic medical centers.PatientsOne hundred and sixty adults with creatinine clearance (Clcr) of 50 ml/minute or less who received daptomycin for at least 72 hours for complicated Gram‐positive infections from 2008–2011.Measurements and Main MethodsClinical and microbiologic outcomes were assessed at the end of daptomycin therapy. Safety evaluations were documented for all patients, and when available, creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels were recorded. Thirty‐eight (23.8%) patients were on hemodialysis, and 122 (76.3%) had a decreased baseline renal clearance not requiring hemodialysis with a median interquartile range (IQR) Clcr of 32.4 ml/minute (24.2–40.4 ml/min). The median (IQR) daptomycin dose was 6.0 mg/kg (5.8–7.8 mg/kg) administered every 24 hours in 68 patients (42.5%) and every 48 hours in 92 patients (57.5%). Daptomycin success, including cure or improvement, (Cure: signs and symptoms resolved and no additional antibiotic therapy required, or infection cleared with negative cultures reported at the end of daptomycin therapy; Improvement: partial resolution of signs and symptoms and additional antibiotic therapy necessary at the end of daptomycin therapy) was achieved in 128 of 160 (80.0%) patients at the end of therapy. Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was the most common pathogen (45%) isolated. The most frequent reason for using daptomycin was due to vancomycin‐associated nephrotoxicity (20%). Daptomycin therapy was discontinued in six patients (3.8%) because of elevated CPK (median time to onset, 11.5 days). Loss of daptomycin susceptibility occurred in two patients with complex endovascular infections who were on hemodialysis.ConclusionsDaptomycin demonstrated clinical and microbiologic success rates comparable with prior studies. Discontinuation of therapy because of elevated CPK levels may have been avoided in some patients with adjustment to every 48‐hour dosing for Clcr less than 30 ml/minute. The relatively early time to onset suggests the need for CPK monitoring more frequently than once/week in renally impaired patients receiving daptomycin. The treatment of bacteremia in patients with renal insufficiency warrants further study.
Microwave‐assisted one‐pot copolymerization of cyclic monomers and ethyl diazoacetate
Authors: Xiao Longqiang , Li Yan , Jia Xiangxiang , Liao Liqiong , Liu Lijian 
Published: March 2014

AbstractThe present contribution describes an innovation in the copolymerization of cyclic monomers, ε‐caprolactam (ε‐CL) and 2,2‐dimethyltrimethylene carbonate (DTC), with ethyl diazoacetate (EDA). The characterizations of the obtained copolymers, poly(EA‐ran‐EDA‐ran‐ε‐CL) and poly(EA‐ran‐EDA‐ran‐DTC) (where EA refers to the ethyl acetate group from EDA after nitrogen release), were performed using 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopies and size exclusion chromatography. Under optimized conditions, the copolymer of ε‐CL with EDA possessing a number‐average molar mass (Mn) of 1300 g mol−1 and dispersity of 2.12 as well as that of DTC with EDA with Mn of 8000 g mol−1 and dispersity of 1.47 were obtained. The incorporation of the azo group in the obtained copolymers was determined from the results of elemental analysis (3.30–10.22% nitrogen) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, the thermal properties of the obtained copolymers were examined using differential scanning calorimetry. X‐ray diffraction results showed that the synthesized copolymers were amorphous. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry
Semiconductor nanoparticles for photoinitiation of free radical polymerization in aqueous and organic media
Authors: Dadashi‐Silab Sajjad , Asiri Abdullah Mohamed , Khan Sher Bahadar , Alamry Khalid A. , Yagci Yusuf 
Published: March 2014

ABSTRACTPhotoinduced free radical polymerization of vinyl monomers by using semiconductor inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) is investigated. Zinc oxide and iron‐doped zinc oxide were used as photosensitive compounds to initiate the polymerization of acrylamide as a water‐soluble monomer in aqueous environment and methyl methacrylate as an oil‐soluble monomer in organic media under UV‐light irradiation. The method uses photochemically generated electrons and holes from the NPs to form initiating hydroxyl radicals in aqueous media, while tertiary amines and iodonium salt served as coinitiator in organic media. The initiation mechanism in organic media involves hydrogen abstraction or reduction processes via charge carriers, respectively. The kinetic of the polymerization in both environments was studied by means of a photo‐differential scanning calorimetry. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014, 52, 1500–1507
Fair two‐party computation with rational parties holding private types
Authors: Wang Yilei , Wong Duncan S. , Zhao Chuan , Xu Qiuliang 
Published: March 2014

ABSTRACTRational secure two‐party computation (RSTPC) applies game theory to cryptographic protocols, where rational parties only care about how to maximize their utilities. Fairness can be achieved by assuming rational behavior in RSTPC. Previous RSTPC protocols achieve fairness under symmetric information, which seems quite strong and unnatural for rational parties. In this paper, we consider a general RSTPC protocol under asymmetric information where previous equilibriums are inadequate to guarantee fairness. Therefore, we propose a stronger equilibrium named computationally sequential equilibrium to guarantee fairness under asymmetric information. Furthermore, our protocol only requires small constant communication rounds. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sustainability of exploited ecologically interdependent species
Authors: Ghosh Bapan , Kar Tapan Kumar , Legović Tarzan 
Published: March 2014

AbstractThis paper examines the application of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) policy in ecosystem and indicates when the ecosystem based fisheries management approach is required for conservation purpose. To describe the possible impacts of applying global MSY policy in an ecosystem, we have considered both specialist and generalist prey–predator models with different fishing efforts. It is found that harvesting both prey and predator species in specialist prey–predator systems, to achieve global maximum sustainable total yield (MSTY) under independent efforts, will cause the extinction of the predator species. In contrast, the global MSTY may exist in a generalist prey–predator system. If global MSTY does not exist, then it is due to the extinction of predator species. Hence, the prey species never goes to extinction under independent efforts and this scenario is quite different from the one found under combined harvesting effort.
Identification and characterization of a novel alkaline α-amylase Amy703 belonging to a new clade from Bacillus pseudofirmus
Authors: Lu Zhenghui , Tian Chaoguang , Li Aiying , Zhang Guimin , Ma Yanhe 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
Alkaline α-amylases are of great interest in desizing processes and detergent industries. Here, an alkaline α-amylase gene amy703 from an alkaliphilic Bacillus pseudofirmus strain was cloned and sequenced. Its encoding product, Amy703, might represent a new clade of α-amylase family, because it shared only 35 % highest identity with all amylases characterized up to date and was not clustered into any subfamilies with amylase activity in glycoside hydrolase family 13. Heterologous expression and characterization of Amy703 showed that it is a metalloenzyme with maximal activity at 40 °C and pH 9.0. Its activity was significantly enhanced by 2- and 2.48-fold at the presence of 10 mM Ca2+ and Mg2+, respectively, while Hg2+ was a strong inhibitor of Amy703. Amy703 has a higher affinity (K m = 3.92 mg/ml) for soluble starch compared to many other alkaline amylases. The computer modeling of its structure indicated that Amy703 contains typical amylase domains and a loop region appearing to bind the substrates. Site-directed mutagenesis suggested that a conserved residue Glu550 was essential for the activity of Amy703, and proposed it working together with other two residues to constitute a catalytic triad (Asp521, Glu550, and Asp615).
High-throughput sequencing of amplicons for monitoring yeast biodiversity in must and during alcoholic fermentation
Authors: David Vanessa , Terrat Sébastien , Herzine Khaled , Claisse Olivier , Rousseaux Sandrine , Tourdot-Maréchal Raphaëlle , Masneuf-Pomarede Isabelle , Ranjard Lionel , Alexandre Hervé 
Published: March 2014

AbstractWe compared pyrosequencing technology with the PCR-ITS-RFLP analysis of yeast isolates and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). These methods gave divergent findings for the yeast population. DGGE was unsuitable for the quantification of biodiversity and its use for species detection was limited by the initial abundance of each species. The isolates identified by PCR-ITS-RFLP were not fully representative of the true population. For population dynamics, high-throughput sequencing technology yielded results differing in some respects from those obtained with other approaches. This study demonstrates that 454 pyrosequencing of amplicons is more relevant than other methods for studying the yeast community on grapes and during alcoholic fermentation. Indeed, this high-throughput sequencing method detected larger numbers of species on grapes and identified species present during alcoholic fermentation that were undetectable with the other techniques.
A novel regio-specific cyclosporin hydroxylase gene revealed through the genome mining of Pseudonocardia autotrophica
Authors: Ban Jun-Gyu , Woo Min-Woo , Lee Bo-Ram , Lee Mi-Jin , Choi Si-Sun , Kim Eung-Soo 
Published: March 2014

Abstract
The regio-specific hydroxylation at the 4th N-methyl leucine of the immunosuppressive agent cyclosporin A (CsA) was previously proposed to be mediated by a unique cytochrome P450 hydroxylase (CYP), CYP-sb21 from the rare actinomycetes Sebekia benihana. Interestingly, a different rare actinomycetes species, Pseudonocardia autotrophica, was found to possess a different regio-selectivity, the preferential hydroxylation at the 9th N-methyl leucine of CsA. Through an in silico analysis of the whole genome of P. autotrophica, we describe here the classification of 31 total CYPs in P. autotrophica. Three putative CsA CYP genes, showing the highest sequence homologies with CYP-sb21, were successfully inactivated using PCR-targeted gene disruption. Only one knock-out mutant, ΔCYP-pa1, failed to convert CsA to its hydroxylated forms. The hydroxylation activity of CsA by CYP-pa1 was confirmed by CYP-pa1 gene complementation as well as heterologous expression in the CsA non-hydroxylating Streptomyces coelicolor. Moreover, the cyclosporine regio-selectivity of CYP-pa1 expressed in the ∆CYP-sb21 S. benihana mutant strain was also confirmed unchanged through cross complementation. These results show that preferential regio-specific hydroxylation at the 9th N-methyl leucine of CsA is carried out by a specific P450 hydroxylase gene in P. autotrophica, CYP-pa1, setting the stage for the biotechnological application of CsA regio-selective hydroxylation.
Advancing Community‐Based Research with Urban American Indian Populations: Multidisciplinary Perspectives
Authors: Hartmann William E. , Wendt Dennis C. , Saftner Melissa A. , Marcus John , Momper Sandra L. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractThe US has witnessed significant growth among urban American Indian (AI) populations in recent decades, and concerns have been raised that these populations face equal or greater degrees of disadvantage than their reservation counterparts. Surprisingly little urban AI research or community work has been documented in the literature, and even less has been written about the influences of urban settings on community‐based work with these populations. Given the deep commitments of community psychology to empowering disadvantaged groups and understanding the impact of contextual factors on the lives of individuals and groups, community psychologists are well suited to fill these gaps in the literature. Toward informing such efforts, this work offers multidisciplinary insights from distinct idiographic accounts of community‐based behavioral health research with urban AI populations. Accounts are offered by three researchers and one urban AI community organization staff member, and particular attention is given to issues of community heterogeneity, geography, membership, and collaboration. Each first‐person account provides “lessons learned” from the urban context in which the research occurred. Together, these accounts suggest several important areas of consideration in research with urban AIs, some of which also seem relevant to reservation‐based work. Finally, the potential role of research as a tool of empowerment for urban AI populations is emphasized, suggesting future research attend to the intersections of identity, sense of community, and empowerment in urban AI populations.
Genetic Testing of Children for Predisposition to Mood Disorders: Anticipating the Clinical Issues
Authors: Erickson Jessica A. , Kuzmich Lili , Ormond Kelly E. , Gordon Erynn , Christman Michael F. , Cho Mildred K. , Levinson Douglas F. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractLarge‐scale sequencing information may provide a basis for genetic tests for predisposition to common disorders. In this study, participants in the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative (N = 53) with a personal and/or family history of Major Depressive Disorder or Bipolar Disorder were interviewed based on the Health Belief Model around hypothetical intention to test one's children for probability of developing a mood disorder. Most participants (87 %) were interested in a hypothetical test for children that had high (“90 %”) positive predictive value, while 51 % of participants remained interested in a modestly predictive test (“20 %”). Interest was driven by beliefs about effects of test results on parenting behaviors and on discrimination. Most participants favored testing before adolescence (64 %), and were reluctant to share results with asymptomatic children before adulthood. Participants anticipated both positive and negative effects of testing on parental treatment and on children's self‐esteem. Further investigation will determine whether these findings will generalize to other complex disorders for which early intervention is possible but not clearly demonstrated to improve outcomes. More information is also needed about the effects of childhood genetic testing and sharing of results on parent–child relationships, and about the role of the child in the decision‐making process.
Does Contraceptive Use Always Reduce Breast-feeding?
Authors: Jayachandran Seema 
Published: March 2014

AbstractPrevious studies suggest that access to modern contraceptives can reduce breast-feeding rates because women who had been using breast-feeding to avoid pregnancy substitute away from it. This article shows that contraceptive use can also have a positive effect on breast-feeding. A mother often weans a child if she becomes pregnant again, which can occur sooner than desired if she lacks access to contraceptives. Thus, by enabling longer birth spacing and preventing unwanted pregnancies, contraceptive use allows for a longer duration of breast-feeding. This positive effect should primarily affect infants who are past the first few months of life because their mothers are more fecund then, and the negative effect should affect infants who are very young because the contraceptive property of breast-feeding is strongest then. I test for these dual effects using Demographic and Health Survey data for Indonesia. I find evidence of the positive birth-spacing effect: contraceptive use increases the likelihood that children continue to be breast-fed past age 1. There is also suggestive evidence of a negative substitution effect among infants age 3 months and younger.
Social cognition in Alzheimer's disease: A separate construct contributing to dependence
Authors: Cosentino Stephanie , Zahodne Laura B. , Brandt Jason , Blacker Deborah , Albert Marilyn , Dubois Bruno , Stern Yaakov 
Published: March 2014

AbstractThe extent to which social cognitive changes reflect a discrete constellation of symptoms dissociable from general cognitive changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is unclear. Moreover, whether social cognitive symptoms contribute to disease severity and progression is unknown. The current multicenter study investigated cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations between social cognition measured with six items from the Blessed Dementia Rating Scale, general cognition, and dependence in 517 participants with probable AD. Participants were monitored every 6 months for 5.5 years. Results from multivariate latent growth curve models adjusted for sex, age, education, depression, and recruitment site revealed that social cognition and general cognition were unrelated cross‐sectionally and throughout time. However, baseline levels of each were related independently to dependence, and change values of each were related independently to change in dependence. These findings highlight the separability of social and general cognition in AD. Results underscore the relevance of considering social cognition when modeling disease and estimating clinical outcomes related to patient disability.
Interfaces in service modularity: A typology developed in modular health care provision
Authors: de Blok Carolien , Meijboom Bert , Luijkx Katrien , Schols Jos , Schroeder Roger 
Published: March 2014

AbstractWe conduct case research in a particular service context, i.e. the sector for elderly care, in order to explore characteristics of interfaces and the role they play in service customization. Even though the study of modularity in areas other than goods production is increasing, little is known about interfaces outside the context of modular goods. From our case research, it follows that interfaces can be distinguished at the component level (linkages between components’ contents) and at the service package level (linkages between service providers involved). The contribution of the paper is a first typology on interfaces in modular services. Four interface categories are distinguished, which offer a specification of the interfaces’ function in creating variety and coherence, when linking content components as well as service providers. In addition, we provide a new definition of interfaces for services that differs from the accepted manufacturing definition.
Agent‐system co‐development in supply chain research: Propositions and demonstrative findings
Authors: Tangpong Chanchai , Hung Kuo‐Ting , Li Jin 
Published: March 2014

AbstractIn this study, we develop an agent‐system co‐development (ASC) theoretical framework for behavioral research in supply chains. The ASC framework aims at explaining the dynamic agent‐system relationships in supply chains whereby both action‐influencing properties of human agents (e.g., beliefs, personalities, attitudes) and governance‐influencing properties of supply chain systems (e.g., social norms, power‐dependence, partnerial/adversarial relationship forms) mutually influence each other over time. Two empirical studies are conducted to illustrate how ASC can be a useful theoretical framework in supply chain research and to partially validate the central thesis of ASC in the contexts of partnerial/adversarial supply chain relationships and cooperative/competitive attitudes of human agents in supply chains. The results of both studies support the central thesis of ASC regarding the dynamic agent‐system relationships. From two replicated experiments in Study 1, the results suggest that agents’ cooperative and competitive attitudes in business relationships are altered as they are exposed to different supply chain conditions of partnerial and adversarial relationships. In addition, from the multi‐method research efforts in Study 2, the results from two survey studies and an experiment are largely consistent with one another, suggesting that personnel turnovers in existing supply chain systems can eventually lead to changes in supply‐chain‐system properties including the degrees of long‐term commitment, information sharing, and joint problem‐solving between supply chain partners, as well as the frequency of opportunism occurrences in the supply chains. Finally, we propound that the dynamic agent‐system relationships proposed in the ASC framework can be a useful analytical lens in viewing various supply chain issues, such as supply chain evolutions and changes, supply chain designs and personnel decisions, and self‐reinforcing feedback loops and decision tendencies in supply chains.
JOKING MARKET WOMEN: CRITIQUING AND NEGOTIATING GENDER AND SOCIAL HIERARCHY IN KANKOSSA, MAURITANIA
Authors: Wiley Katherine Ann 
Published: March 2014

ABSTRACTThe streets of Kankossa's busy daily market often ring with laughter as female vegetable vendors joke with each other and passersby. This joking comes at a time when gender roles are shifting in Mauritania since it has become challenging for many men to provide for their families, causing women to take on roles as significant income earners. Likewise, as slavery has diminished over the last century, Ḥarāṭīn, a group consisting of ex-slaves or descendants of slaves, have been negotiating their places in the polity. To gain insight into the shifting social order, this article analyses examples of joking by Ḥarāṭīn market women who in this way engage with issues of gender and the social hierarchy. The social space of the market is a critical setting for such practices since it both facilitates their occurrence and also gives women's words weight because they are spoken in the presence of an audience. While jokes are always ambiguous, women's joking in front of others in this space makes their jokes bite, thus enabling them to give voice to deeply personal anxieties and make sense of changes in the social order.
The origins of the dissolution of the monasteries
Authors: Hoyle R. W. 
Published: March 2014

ABSTRACTThe dissolution of the monasteries is one of the most familiar incidents in Tudor history. The genesis of the dissolution is however ill-documented. Here it is traced back to the suppressions of smaller houses authorized in 1528. It is shown how a partial dissolution could be construed as a desirable and necessary reform without challenging either the basis of monasticism or the doctrine of purgatory. A previously unnoticed petition is published to cast light on the anti-clerical agitation of 1529. It is suggested that there was an attempt to secure a dissolution for financial reasons in 1534 and it was the failure of this which forced the crown to adopt a new strategy to achieve a partial dissolution. This was the collection of damaging evidence of monastic corruption during the visitations of 1535. The display of this material to the Commons in 1536 persuaded them to accept a partial dissolution in the guise of a reform of monasticism. It is suggested that there was no ‘public’ demand for a dissolution in the 1530s except in the artificial circumstances of 1536, and that the shape of the dissolution was determined by the inability of government to secure the support of parliament for a dissolution justified on financial grounds.