bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cost‐effectiveness of early detection of atrial fibrillation via remote control of implanted devices
Authors: Lorenzoni Giulia , Folino Franco , Soriani Nicola , Iliceto Sabino , Gregori Dario 
Published: April 2014

AbstractRationale, aims and objectivesAtrial fibrillation (AF) is an independent risk factor for stroke, and its incidence is high in patients implanted with pacemakers (PMs) and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). The aim of our study is to evaluate the potential benefit of remote control (RC) on the incidence of stroke related to AF in patients with new‐onset AF implanted with PMs and ICDs and to evaluate the impact of RC on the consumption of medical resources.MethodThe study consisted of two cohorts of patients: group AMB (patients attending ambulatory care clinics from August to October 2013) and group RC (patients followed remotely). All detected cases of new‐onset AF were confirmed by the electrogram stored in the device's memory or by standard electrocardiogram recording. Monte Carlo simulations were performed in order to evaluate the potential risk reduction of stroke related to AF. The costs were estimated from the perspectives of the hospital, the patients and the National Health Service.ResultWe enrolled 223 patients in group RC and 359 in group AMB. We detected 20 new‐onset cases of AF, and the median time to AF detection was 2 days in the RC and 78 days in the ambulatory care clinic control. Management of patients was more efficient with RC, with an average savings in direct costs of €40.88 per year per patient. Through the use of Monte Carlo simulations, we showed that the early detection of new‐onset AF may provide a relative risk reduction of 94.3% for stroke in PM‐implanted patients older than 55 years.ConclusionRC potentially provides a risk reduction for stroke because it allows an early detection of new‐onset AF. Moreover, it is also a cost‐saving means of follow‐up.
Using LCA‐based Decomposition Analysis to Study the Multidimensional Contribution of Technological Innovation to Environmental Pressures
Authors: Font Vivanco David , Kemp René , van der Voet Ester , Heijungs Reinout 
Published: April 2014

SummaryThis article presents a general framework for macroenvironmental assessment, combining life cycle assessment (LCA) with the IPAT equation, and explores its combination with decomposition analysis to assess the multidimensional contribution of technological innovation to environmental pressures. This approach is illustrated with a case study in which carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) air emissions from diesel passenger cars in Europe during the period 1990–2005 are first decomposed using index decomposition analysis into technology, consumption activity, and population growth effects. By a second decomposition, the contribution of a specific innovation (diesel engine) is calculated on the basis of the technology and consumption activity effects, through a technological comparison with a relevant alternative and the calculation of the rebound effect, respectively. The empirical analysis for diesel passenger cars highlights the discrepancies between the micro (LCA) and macro (IPAT‐LCA) analytical approaches. Thus, whereas diesel engines present a relatively less‐pollutant environmental product profile than their gasoline counterparts, total CO2and NOxemissions would have increased partly as a consequence of their introduction, mainly driven by the increase in travel demand caused by the induced direct price rebound effect from fuel savings and fuel price differences. The counterintuitive result shows the need for such an analysis.
Community Ecology Perspectives on the Structural and Functional Evolution of Consumer Electronics
Authors: Ryen Erinn G. , Babbitt Callie W. , Tyler Anna Christina , Babbitt Gregory A. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryThis article describes how biological ecology models are adapted to analyze the dynamic structure and function of a consumer electronic product “community.” Treating an entire group of interdependent and continually evolving electronic devices as an ecological community provides a basis for more comprehensive analyses of the energy, material, and waste flows associated with household consumption than would be possible using conventional per product approaches. Results show that, similar to a maturing natural community, the average U.S. household electronic product community evolved from a low‐diversity structure dominated by a few products to a highly diverse, evenly distributed community of products between 1990 and 2010. The maturing community of household electronics experienced increased functionality at a community and product level resulting, in part, from introduction of new products, but primarily as a result of increasing ownership of multifunctional products. Multifunctional mobile products are driving increased functionality in a manner similar to a broadly adaptive invasive species, but the community's high functional redundancy, as the result of device convergence, resembles a stable natural community. These results suggest that future strategies to encourage green design, production, and consumption of consumer electronics should focus on minimizing the total number of products owned by maximizing multifunctionality with convergent device design.
Knowledge exchange and integrated services: experiences from an integrated community intellectual (learning) disability service for adults
Authors: Farrington C. , Clare I. C. H. , Holland A. J. , Barrett M. , Oborn E. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractBackgroundThis paper examines knowledge exchange dynamics in a specialist integrated intellectual (learning) disability service, comprising specialist healthcare provision with social care commissioning and management, and considers their significance in terms of integrated service delivery.MethodsA qualitative study focusing on knowledge exchange and integrated services. Semi‐structured interviews (n = 25) were conducted with members of an integrated intellectual disability service in England regarding their perceptions of knowledge exchange within the service and the way in which knowledge exchange impinges on the operation of the integrated service.ResultsExchange of ‘explicit’ (codifiable) knowledge between health and care management components of the service is problematic because of a lack of integrated clinical governance and related factors such as IT and care record systems and office arrangements. Team meetings and workplace interactions allowed for informal exchange of explicit and ‘tacit’ (non‐codifiable) knowledge, but presented challenges in terms of knowledge exchange completeness and sustainability.ConclusionsKnowledge exchange processes play an important role in the functioning of integrated services incorporating health and care management components. Managers need to ensure that knowledge exchange processes facilitate both explicit and tacit knowledge exchange and do not rely excessively on informal, ‘ad hoc’ interactions. Research on integrated services should take account of micro‐scale knowledge exchange dynamics and relationships between social dynamics and physical factors.
Men with intellectual disabilities with a history of sexual offending: empathy for victims of sexual and non‐sexual crimes
Authors: Hockley O. J. , Langdon P. E. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractBackgroundThe objectives were (a) to compare the general empathy abilities of men with intellectual disabilities (IDs) who had a history of sexual offending to men withIDswho had no known history of illegal behaviour; and (b) to determine whether men withIDswho had a history of sexual offending had different levels of specific victim empathy towards their own victim, in comparison with an unknown victim of sexual crime, and a victim of non‐sexual crime, and make comparisons with non‐offenders.MethodsMen with mildIDs(n = 35) were asked to complete a measure of general empathy and a measure of specific victim empathy. All participants completed the victim empathy measure in relation to a hypothetical victim of a sexual offence, and a non‐sexual crime, while additionally, men with a history of sexual offending were asked to complete this measure in relation to their own most recent victim.ResultsMen with a history of sexual offending had significantly lower general empathy, and specific victim empathy towards an unknown sexual offence victim, than men with no known history of illegal behaviour. Men with a history of sexual offending had significantly lower victim empathy for their own victim than for an unknown sexual offence victim. Victim empathy towards an unknown victim of a non‐sexual crime did not differ significantly between the two groups.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that it is important include interventions within treatment programmes that attempt to improve empathy and perspective‐taking.
Peptidylarginine deiminases: novel drug targets for prevention of neuronal damage following hypoxic ischemic insult (HI) in neonates
Authors: Lange Sigrun , Rocha‐Ferreira Eridan , Thei Laura , Mawjee Priyanka , Bennett Kate , Thompson Paul R. , Subramanian Venkataraman , Nicholas Anthony P. , Peebles Donald , Hristova Mariya , Raivich Gennadij 
Published: April 2014

AbstractNeonatal hypoxic ischaemic (HI) injury frequently causes neural impairment in surviving infants. Our knowledge of the underlying molecular mechanisms is still limited. Protein deimination is a post‐translational modification caused by Ca+2‐regulated peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs), a group of five isozymes that display tissue‐specific expression and different preference for target proteins. Protein deimination results in altered protein conformation and function of target proteins, and is associated with neurodegenerative diseases, gene regulation and autoimmunity. In this study, we used the neonatal HI and HI/infection [lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation] murine models to investigate changes in protein deimination. Brains showed increases in deiminated proteins, cell death, activated microglia and neuronal loss in affected brain areas at 48 h after hypoxic ischaemic insult. Upon treatment with the pan‐PAD inhibitor Cl‐amidine, a significant reduction was seen in microglial activation, cell death and infarct size compared with control saline or LPS‐treated animals. Deimination of histone 3, a target protein of the PAD4 isozyme, was increased in hippocampus and cortex specifically upon LPS stimulation and markedly reduced following Cl‐amidine treatment. Here, we demonstrate a novel role for PAD enzymes in neural impairment in neonatal HI Encephalopathy, highlighting their role as promising new candidates for drug‐directed intervention in neurotrauma.
imageHypoxic Ischaemic Insult (HI) results in activation of peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs) because of calcium dysregulation. Target proteins undergo irreversible changes of protein bound arginine to citrulline, resulting in protein misfolding. Infection in synergy with HI causes up‐regulation of TNFα, nuclear translocation of PAD4 and change in gene regulation as a result of histone deimination. Pharmacological PAD inhibition significantly reduced HI brain damage.
The effect of Cyclin‐dependent kinase 5 on voltage‐dependent calcium channels in PC12 cells varies according to channel type and cell differentiation state
Authors: Furusawa Kotaro , Asada Akiko , Saito Taro , Hisanaga Shin‐ichi 
Published: April 2014

AbstractCyclin‐dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a Ser/Thr kinase that plays an important role in the release of neurotransmitter from pre‐synaptic terminals triggered by Ca2+ influx into the pre‐synaptic cytoplasm through voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channels (VDCCs). It is reported that Cdk5 regulates L‐, P/Q‐, or N‐type VDCC, but there is conflicting data as to the effect of Cdk5 on VDCC activity. To clarify the mechanisms involved, we examined the role of Cdk5 in regulating the Ca2+‐channel property of VDCCs, using PC12 cells expressing endogenous, functional L‐, P/Q‐, and N‐type VDCCs. The Ca2+ influx, induced by membrane depolarization with high K+, was monitored with a fluorescent Ca2+ indicator protein in both undifferentiated and nerve growth factor (NGF)‐differentiated PC12 cells. Overall, Ca2+ influx was increased by expression of Cdk5‐p35 in undifferentiated PC12 cells but suppressed in differentiated PC12 cells. Moreover, we found that different VDCCs are distinctly regulated by Cdk5‐p35 depending on the differentiation states of PC12 cells. These results indicate that Cdk5‐p35 regulates L‐, P/Q‐, or N‐type VDCCs in a cellular context‐dependent manner.
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Calcium (Ca2+) influx through voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channels (VDCCs) triggers neurotransmitter release from pre‐synaptic terminal of neurons. The channel activity of VDCCs is regulated by Cdk5‐p35, a neuronal Ser/Thr kinase. However, there have been debates about the regulation of VDCCs by Cdk5. Using PC12 cells, we show that Cdk5‐p35 regulates VDCCs in a type (L, P/Q, and N) and differentiation‐dependent manner. NGF = nerve growth factor.
Pre‐treatment with the synthetic antioxidant T‐butyl bisphenol protects cerebral tissues from experimental ischemia reperfusion injury
Authors: Duong Thi Thuy Hong , Chami Belal , McMahon Aisling C. , Fong Genevieve M. , Dennis Joanne M. , Freedman Saul B. , Witting Paul K. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractTreatments to inhibit or repair neuronal cell damage sustained during focal ischemia/reperfusion injury in stroke are largely unavailable. We demonstrate that dietary supplementation with the antioxidant di‐tert‐butyl‐bisphenol (BP) before injury decreases infarction and vascular complications in experimental stroke in an animal model. We confirm that BP, a synthetic polyphenol with superior radical‐scavenging activity than vitamin E, crosses the blood–brain barrier and accumulates in rat brain. Supplementation with BP did not affect blood pressure or endogenous vitamin E levels in plasma or cerebral tissue. Pre‐treatment with BP significantly lowered lipid, protein and thiol oxidation and decreased infarct size in animals subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (2 h) and reperfusion (24 h) injury. This neuroprotective action was accompanied by down‐regulation of hypoxia inducible factor‐1α and glucose transporter‐1 mRNA levels, maintenance of neuronal tissue ATP concentration and inhibition of pro‐apoptotic factors that together enhanced cerebral tissue viability after injury. That pre‐treatment with BP ameliorates oxidative damage and preserves cerebral tissue during focal ischemic insult indicates that oxidative stress plays at least some causal role in promoting tissue damage in experimental stroke. The data strongly suggest that inhibition of oxidative stress through BP scavenging free radicals in vivo contributes significantly to neuroprotection.
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We demonstrate that pre‐treatment with ditert‐butyl bisphenol(Di‐t‐Bu‐BP) inhibits lipid, protein, and total thiol oxidation and decreases caspase activation and infarct size in rats subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (2 h) and reperfusion (24 h) injury. These data suggest that inhibition of oxidative stress contributes significantly to neuroprotection.
Microglia are Selectively Activated in Endocrine and Cardiovascular Control Centres in Streptozotocin‐Induced Diabetic Rats
Authors: Rana I. , Badoer E. , Alahmadi E. , Leo C. H. , Woodman O. L. , Stebbing M. J. 
Published: April 2014

Type 1 and 2 diabetes are associated with dysfunction in multiple hormone systems, as well as increased sympathetic nerve activity, which may contribute to the development of diabetic complications. In other pathologies, such as myocardial infarction, increased sympathetic drive is associated with neuroinflammation and microglial activation in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), a brain region that regulates sympathetic drive and multiple endocrine responses. In the present study, we used immunohistochemistry to study microglial and neuronal activation in the PVN and related brain regions in streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetic rats. As expected, STZ treatment was associated with elevated blood glucose within 1 week. STZ injections also caused neuronal activation in the PVN and superoptic nucleus (SON) but not in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), which was evident by 6 weeks. STZ‐treated rats showed increased plasma osmolarity, which would be expected to activate PVN and SON neurones. There was no apparent increase in histochemical markers of microglial activation, including phospho‐p38, phospho‐extracellular signal regulated kinase, P2X4 receptor or interleukin 1‐β even at 10 weeks after STZ‐treatment. However, we did see a significant increase in the percentage of microglia with an activated morphology in the PVN, SON and NTS, although not in surrounding hypothalamic, brainstem or cortical regions. These morphological changes included a significant reduction in microglial process length and were evident by 8 weeks but not 6 weeks. The delayed onset of microglial changes compared to neuronal activation in the PVN and SON suggests the over‐excitation of neurones as a mechanism of microglial activation. This delayed microglial activation may, in turn, contribute to the endocrine dysregulation and the elevated sympathetic nerve activity reported in STZ‐treated rats.
Periosteal PTHrP regulates cortical bone modeling during linear growth in mice
Authors: Wang Meina , VanHouten Joshua N. , Nasiri Ali R. , Tommasini Steven M. , Broadus Arthur E. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractThe modeling of long bone surfaces during linear growth is a key developmental process, but its regulation is poorly understood. We report here that parathyroid hormone‐related peptide (PTHrP) expressed in the fibrous layer of the periosteum (PO) drives the osteoclastic (OC) resorption that models the metaphyseal–diaphyseal junction (MDJ) in the proximal tibia and fibula during linear growth. PTHrP was conditionally deleted (cKO) in the PO via Scleraxis gene targeting (Scx‐Cre). In the lateral tibia, cKO of PTHrP led to a failure of modeling, such that the normal concave MDJ was replaced by a mound‐like deformity. This was accompanied by a failure to induce receptor activator of NF‐kB ligand (RANKL) and a 75% reduction in OC number (P ≤ 0.001) on the cortical surface. The MDJ also displayed a curious threefold increase in endocortical osteoblast mineral apposition rate (P ≤ 0.001) and a thickened cortex, suggesting some form of coupling of endocortical bone formation to events on the PO surface. Because it fuses distally, the fibula is modeled only proximally and does so at an extraordinary rate, with an anteromedial cortex in CD‐1 mice that was so moth‐eaten that a clear PO surface could not be identified. The cKO fibula displayed a remarkable phenotype, with a misshapen club‐like metaphysis and an enlargement in the 3D size of the entire bone, manifest as a 40–45% increase in the PO circumference at the MDJ (P ≤ 0.001) as well as the mid‐diaphysis (P ≤ 0.001). These tibial and fibular phenotypes were reproduced in a Scx‐Cre‐driven RANKL cKO mouse. We conclude that PTHrP in the fibrous PO mediates the modeling of the MDJ of long bones during linear growth, and that in a highly susceptible system such as the fibula this surface modeling defines the size and shape of the entire bone.
Soft tissue influence onex vivomobility in the hip ofIguana: comparison within vivomovement and its bearing on joint motion of fossil sprawling tetrapods
Authors: Arnold Patrick , Fischer Martin S. , Nyakatura John A. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractThe reconstruction of a joint's maximum range of mobility (ROM) often is a first step when trying to understand the locomotion of fossil tetrapods. But previous studies suggest that theROMof a joint is restricted by soft tissues surrounding the joint. To expand the limited informative value ofROMstudies for the reconstruction of a fossil species’ locomotor characteristics, it is moreover necessary to better understand the relationship ofex vivoROMwith the actualin vivojoint movement. To gain insight into the relationship betweenex vivomobility andin vivomovement, we systematically tested for the influence of soft tissues on jointROMin the hip of the modern lizardIguana iguana. Then, we compared theex vivomobility toin vivokinematics of the hip joint in the same specimens using X‐ray sequences of steady‐state treadmill locomotion previously recorded. With stepwise removal of soft tissues and a repeated‐measurement protocol, we show that soft tissues surrounding the hip joint considerably limitROM, highlighting the problems when jointROMis deduced from bare bones only. We found the integument to have the largest effect on the range of long‐axis rotation, pro‐ and retraction. Importantly, during locomotion the iguana used only a fragment of theROMthat was measured in our least restrictive dissection situation (i.e. pelvis and femur only conjoined by ligaments), demonstrating the discrepancy between hip jointROMand actualin vivomovement. Our study emphasizes the necessity for caution when attempting to reconstruct jointROMor even locomotor kinematics from fossil bones only, as actualin vivomovement cannot be deduced directly from any condition of cadaver mobility inIguanaand likely in other tetrapods.
Influence of fossoriality on inner ear morphology: insights from caecilian amphibians
Authors: Maddin Hillary C. , Sherratt Emma 
Published: April 2014

AbstractIt is widely accepted that a relationship exists between inner ear morphology and functional aspects of an animal's biology, such as locomotor behaviour. Animals that engage in agile and spatially complex behaviours possess semicircular canals that morphologically maximise sensitivity to correspondingly complex physical stimuli. Stemming from the prediction that fossorial tetrapods require a well‐developed sense of spatial awareness, we investigate the hypothesis that fossoriality leads to inner ear morphology that is convergent with other spatially adept tetrapods. We apply morphometrics to otic capsule endocasts of 26 caecilian species to quantify aspects of inner ear shape, and compare these with a sample of frog and salamander species. Our results reveal caecilians (and also frogs) possess strongly curved canals, a feature in common with spatially adept species. However, significantly shorter canals in caecilians suggest reduced sensitivity, possibly associated with reduced reliance on vestibulo‐ocular reflexes in this group of visually degenerate tetrapods. An elaboration of the sacculus of caecilians is interpreted as a unique adaptation among amphibians to increase sensitivity to substrate‐borne vibrations transmitted through the head. This study represents the first quantitative analyses of inner ear morphology of limbless fossorial tetrapods, and identifies features within a new behavioural context that will contribute to our understanding of the biological consequences of physical stimuli on sensory function and associated morphological evolution.
Bruxism and genetics: a review of the literature
Authors: Lobbezoo F. , Visscher C. M. , Ahlberg J. , Manfredini D. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryPeople who suffer from bruxism (teeth‐grinding) often ask their dentists whether their condition is hereditary. The purpose of this study is to enable dentists to provide an ‘evidence‐based’ answer to this question. The biomedical literature was searched using PubMed, and 32 publications were identified, of which nine proved relevant to the research question. The references cited by the publications identified yielded one further publication, bringing the total number of publications included in the analysis to 10. Four publications related to family studies, five related to twin studies and one related to a DNA analysis. With the exception of one of the twin studies, all the included studies concluded that bruxism appears to be (in part) genetically determined. Dentists whose patients ask them about bruxism can therefore tell them that teeth‐grinding does indeed ‘run in families’.