bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effects of care management on depression treatment in a psychiatric clinic: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Jeong Hyunsuk , Yim Hyeon Woo , Jo Sun‐jin , Nam Beomwoo , Kwon Soon‐Mo , Choi Jin‐Yong , Yang Sang‐Kuk 
Published: December 2012

ObjectiveThis study aims to examine whether care management has an effect on adherence to depression treatment in a psychiatric clinic in Korea.MethodsFifty‐seven patients with depression aged 60 years or over participated in the study. They were all low‐income patients screened in the community and treated in a psychiatric clinic. The study design was a double‐blind randomized controlled trial. The patients were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 29) or usual care (n = 28) groups. Intervention patients received depression care management for 6 months. Primary endpoint was an increase in remission rate as assessed using the 17‐item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score at 6 months. Secondary endpoints included improvement in treatment adherence, improvement in health‐related quality of life, and a reduction in feelings of hopelessness.ResultsPatients in the care management intervention group showed a higher remission rate than those in the usual care group (55% vs. 29%, p = 0.0421). Intervention patients were significantly more likely to adhere to the treatment (59% vs. 18%, p = 0.0016). The hopelessness score at the 6‐month assessment was significantly lower in the intervention group than the usual care group (23.5 vs. 25.7, p = 0.0443). However, there was not a significant group difference in the quality of life.ConclusionsWe found that care management not only contributed to reducing depressive symptoms in geriatric patients suffering from depression but also increased the treatment adherence rate, which in turn increased the remission rate. Care management intervention is both feasible and effective in psychiatric clinics in Korea. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Change in winter climate will affect dissolved organic carbon and water fluxes in mid‐to‐high latitude catchments
Authors: Laudon Hjalmar , Tetzlaff Doerthe , Soulsby Chris , Carey Sean , Seibert Jan , Buttle Jim , Shanley Jamie , McDonnell Jeffrey J. , McGuire Kevin 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThere is a growing awareness that mid‐to‐high latitude regions will be strongly affected by climate change. These changes are predicted to be especially pronounced during winter, particularly at higher latitudes. To test how water quality in northern catchments could be affected by warmer winter climates, we assembled long‐term data from eight well‐studied catchments in Sweden, Scotland, Canada and the USA across a climatic gradient spanning from −2 to +9 °C in mean annual temperature and between −11.6 and + 6.1 °C in average winter temperature. We used the climatic gradient combined with inter‐annual variability among catchments to examine how warmer winters could affect the seasonality (seasonal timing) and synchroneity (coupling) of water and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fluxes. In general, sites with colder winters (less than −5 °C) experienced an export concentrated in spring, whereas sites with warmer winters (>0 °C) displayed a more evenly distributed export across all seasons. Catchments with warmer winters also displayed less synchroneity between water and DOC flux during winter compared with colder sites, whereas the opposite was found for the spring. Patterns from the climatic gradient were supported by inter‐annual variability at individual sites where both seasonality and synchroneity in the spring were related to the temperature during the preceding winter. Our findings suggest that one likely consequence of warmer winters in northern regions is that the proportion of the annual DOC and water export will increase during winter and decrease during spring and summer. This is of importance as it is the latter seasons during which downstream utilization of both water and DOC often is largest. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Ras‐binding domain region of RGS14 regulates its functional interactions with heterotrimeric G proteins
Authors: Zhao Peishen , Nunn Caroline , Ramineni Suneela , Hepler John R. , Chidiac Peter 
Published: December 2012

AbstractRGS14 is a 60 kDa protein that contains a regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) domain near its N‐terminus, a central region containing a pair of tandem Ras‐binding domains (RBD), and a GPSM (G protein signaling modulator) domain (a.k.a. Gi/o‐Loco binding [GoLoco] motif) near its C‐terminus. The RGS domain of RGS14 exhibits GTPase accelerating protein (GAP) activity toward Gαi/o proteins, while its GPSM domain acts as a guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor (GDI) on Gαi1 and Gαi3. In the current study, we investigate the contribution of different domains of RGS14 to its biochemical functions. Here we show that the full‐length protein has a greater GTPase activating activity but a weaker inhibition of nucleotide dissociation relative to its isolated RGS and GPSM regions, respectively. Our data suggest that these differences may be attributable to an inter‐domain interaction within RGS14 that promotes the activity of the RGS domain, but simultaneously inhibits the activity of the GPSM domain. The RBD region seems to play an essential role in this regulatory activity. Moreover, this region of RGS14 is also able to bind to members of the B/R4 subfamily of RGS proteins and enhance their effects on GPCR‐activated Gi/o proteins. Overall, our results suggest a mechanism wherein the RBD region associates with the RGS domain region, producing an intramolecular interaction within RGS14 that enhances the GTPase activating function of its RGS domain while disfavoring the negative effect of its GPSM domain on nucleotide dissociation. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 1414–1423, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Sensitive Determination of 2‐Methoxyestradiol in Pharmaceutical Preparations and Biological Fluids by KMnO4‐Na2SO3 Chemiluminescence System
Authors: Yao Hanchun , Zhou Jie , Zhang Min , Xu Erjun , Chen Juan , Zhang Zhenzhong 
Published: December 2012

AbstractA simple and novel flow‐injection chemiluminescence (FI‐CL) method was established for the determination of 2‐Methoxyestradiol (2‐ME) in pharmaceutical preparations and biological fluids. The method was based on the significant enhancement of the CL from the KMnO4‐Na2SO3 reaction by 2‐ME in acidic medium. Under optimized conditions, the CL intensity was correlated linearly with concentration of 2‐ME in the range of 5.0 × 10−8‐5.0 × 10−6 M (r = 0.9995). The detection limit (3σ) of 2‐ME was 7.5 × 10−9 M and the relative standard deviation was 0.8% at 5.0 × 10−7 M 2‐ME (n = 8). The proposed method was successfully applied for the flow‐injection CL determination of 2‐ME in pharmaceutical preparations and biological fluids with the recoveries from 92.4 to 106.8%. The possible CL reaction mechanism was also discussed briefly.
Effects of PPARγ agonists on the expression of leptin and vascular endothelial growth factor in breast cancer cells
Authors: Terrasi Marianna , Bazan Viviana , Caruso Stefano , Insalaco Lavinia , Amodeo Valeria , Fanale Daniele , Corsini Lidia Rita , Contaldo Clara , Mercanti Anna , Fiorio Elena , Lo Re Giuseppe , Cicero Giuseppe , Surmacz Eva , Russo Antonio 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThe obesity hormone leptin has been implicated in breast cancer development. Breast cancer cells express the leptin receptor and are able to synthesize leptin in response to obesity‐related stimuli. Furthermore, leptin is a positive regulator of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and high levels of both proteins are associated with worse prognosis in breast cancer patients. Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ) ligands are therapeutic agents used in patient with Type 2 diabetes and obesity which have recently been studied for their potential anti‐tumor effect. Here, we studied if these compounds, ciglitazone and GW1929, can affect the expression of leptin and VEGF in breast cancer cells. In MDA‐MB‐231 and MCF‐7 breast cancer cells, treatment with submolar concentrations of ciglitazone and GW1929 elevated the expression of leptin and VEGF mRNA and protein, and increased cell viability and migration. These effects coincided with increased recruitment of PPARγ to the proximal leptin promoter and decreased association of a transcriptional factor Sp1 with this DNA region. J. Cell. Physiol. 228: 1368–1374, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Human monocyte‐derived macrophages spontaneously differentiated in vitro show distinct phenotypes
Authors: Eligini Sonia , Crisci Mauro , Bono Elisa , Songia Paola , Tremoli Elena , Colombo Gualtiero I. , Colli Susanna 
Published: December 2012

AbstractTissue macrophages are resident phagocytes that acquire specific phenotypes according to the microenvironment. Morphological and functional heterogeneity has been evidenced in different homeostatic and pathological conditions. Indeed, the nature of macrophage subsets may have either harmful or beneficial functions in disease progression/resolution. Therefore the possibility to pharmacologically manipulate heterogeneity represents a relevant challenge. Since human tissue macrophages are not easily obtained, various in vitro models are currently used that do not adequately reflect the heterogeneity and plasticity of tissue macrophages. We had previously reported that two dominant and distinct macrophage morphotypes co‐exist in the same culture of human monocytes spontaneously differentiated for 7 days in autologous serum. The present study was aimed to the phenotypic characterization of these morphotypes, that is, round‐ and spindle‐shaped. We observed that, besides substantial differences in cytoskeleton architecture, round monocyte‐derived macrophages (MDMs) showed higher lipid content, increased macropinocytosis/efferocytosis capacity, and overexpression of CD163, interleukin (IL)‐10, and transforming growth factor (TGF) β2. Conversely, spindle MDMs exhibited enhanced respiratory burst and higher expression of the chemokine (C‐C motif) ligands 18 and 24 (CCL18 and CCL24). Overall, round MDMs show functional traits reminiscent of the non‐inflammatory and reparative M2 phenotype, whereas spindle MDMs exhibit a pro‐inflammatory profile and express genes driving lymphocyte activation and eosinophil recruitment. MDMs obtained in the culture condition herein described represent a valuable model to disentangle and manipulate the functional heterogeneity of tissue macrophages that has been disclosed in scenarios spanning from inflammatory and wounding responses to atherosclerotic lesions. J. Cell. Physiol. 228: 1464–1472, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Growth of v‐src‐transformed cells in serum‐free medium through the induction of growth factors
Authors: DeAngelis Tiziana , Quong Andrew , Morrione Andrea , Baserga Renato 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThe v‐src oncogene is one of only two oncogenes capable of transforming mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) lacking the IGF‐IR gene (R‐cells). R‐/v‐src cells grow robustly in the absence of serum, suggesting the hypothesis that they may produce one or more growth factors that would sustain their ability to proliferate in serum‐free condition. Using proteomic approaches on serum‐free conditioned media derived from v‐src‐transformed cells, we have identified two growth promoting factors: ostepontin and proliferin. Subsequent experiments have indicated that osteopontin plays a prevalent role in promoting growth of v‐src‐transformed cells in serum‐deprived condition. J. Cell. Physiol. 228: 1482–1486, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Preliminary studies on the electrochemical recovery of Zn and Cd from effluent produced by a zinc refinery plant using a filterpress reactor
Authors: González Pérez Omar , Castro Larragoitia Sergio , Rodríguez‐Torres Israel 
Published: December 2012

AbstractBACKGROUNDFundamental studies are reported investigating the electrochemical deposition of cadmium and zinc contained in solutions from a zinc electro‐refining plant. This work also analyzes the performance of a filterpress electrochemical reactor used in the recovery of zinc and cadmium from this effluent.RESULTSThe cathodic polarization curves showed electrochemical processes with mixed control for 304 SS and Al. The cyclic voltammetry studies on stainless steel revealed the presence of metal deposits at low current densities, whereas Zn and Cd were preferentially deposited at high overpotentials. The greatest recovery of cadmium (19%) and zinc (24%) at jap = 4 mA cm‐2 was obtained with a 304 SS cathode and t = 180 min. The SEM micrographs of cathode plates confirmed the presence of cadmium and zinc deposits. In addition, EDS analyses revealed that the composition of such deposits depends on the deposition time and the cathode material.CONCLUSIONA continuous filterpress electrochemical reactor with 304 SS and Al cathodes exhibited a promising performance level for cadmium and zinc recovery from industrial solutions.
Diffusion‐weighted MRI of the abdomen: Current value in clinical routine
Authors: Schmid‐Tannwald Christine , Oto Aytekin , Reiser Maximilian F. , Zech Christoph J. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides high tissue contrast without ionizing radiation exposure and unenhanced images are often diagnostic. Therefore, MRI is especially an attractive tool for patients with allergies for gadolinium‐based contrast agents or renal failure. Technical advantages have led to the increasing use of diffusion‐weighted (DW) MRI in abdominal imaging, which provides qualitative and quantitative information of tissue cellularity and the integrity of cellular membranes. This review article presents the current status of noncontrast MRI with the focus of DW‐MRI. Technical background and clinical applications are explained and discussed. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2013;37:35–47. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Contribution of small‐scale wind generation to primary frequency control
Authors: Nafeh Abdelnasser A. , Rafa Adel H. 
Published: December 2012

SUMMARYThe connection of small‐scale embedded generation to the grid may influence the frequency and voltage stability of the power system. A load‐frequency control technique for systems with high penetration of small‐scale wind generation is proposed. The proposed controller has been successfully implemented and tested using PSCAD/EMTDC (PSCAD Power System Simulation, HVDC Research Centre, Manitoba, Canada). In this study, the impact of small‐scale wind turbines on frequency stability of the system is studied in detail. This study shows that large penetration of small‐scale wind turbines with load and frequency has a significant impact on the stability and security level of electrical network. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Understanding the Benefit Sought by Rural Tourists and Accommodation Preferences: A South Korea Case
Authors: Park Duk‐Byeong , Lee Hee‐Jung , Yoon Yoo‐Shik 
Published: December 2012

ABSTRACTRural tourism has been widely acknowledged for its effectiveness in contributing to rural areas’ development. With strong government support, rural tourism has developed in many countries during the last several decades. This study aims to improve the understanding regarding tourism in Korean rural areas using a segmentation approach. The responses of 442 tourists in 23 rural villages were analyzed. Four segments of tourists were identified based on the different benefits they sought for their vacation in rural establishments. The estimation of a multinomial logit model determined the socio‐demographic characteristics and the preferred accommodations of a rural tourist. Discussions and implications of the detailed findings are provided in the last section. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Heat‐Induced Dry Tailoring of Porosity in Polymer Scaffolds
Authors: Hild Nora , Abaecherli Matteo L. , Mohn Dirk , Stark Wendelin J. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThe present study evaluates the effect of heat treatment on electrospun poly(lactide‐co‐glycolide) fibrous membranes. Both a temperature (75–150 °C) and a treatment time range (5–40 min) are tested. The effect on the fibrous structure is investigated in terms of morphology, showing that with increasing temperature or longer treatment time the fusion of fibres progresses continuously. Additionally, the tensile properties of the various scaffolds deliver results on the effect of increasing fibre‐to‐fibre linkages. Both modulus and yield increase within the heat treatment procedures. The elevated stiffness of the membranes accompanies a loss in porosity. These findings deliver insights into the tailoring of membranes that might be used in the fabrication of customised scaffolds intended for cell culture in tissue engineering. magnified image
Chemistry of Crosslinking Processes for Self‐Healing Polymers
Authors: Billiet Stijn , Hillewaere Xander K. D. , Teixeira Roberto F. A. , Du Prez Filip E. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractRecent developments in material design have seen an exponential increase of polymers and polymer composites that can repair themselves in response to damage. In this review, a distinction is made between extrinsic materials, where the self‐healing property is obtained by adding healing agents to the material to be repaired, and intrinsic materials, where self‐healing is achieved by the material itself through its chemical nature. An overview of the crosslinking chemistries used in self‐healing materials will be given, discussing the advantages and drawbacks of each system. The review is not only aiming to enable researchers to compare their ongoing research with the state‐of‐the‐art but also to serve as a guide for the newcomers, which allows for a selection of the most promising self‐healing chemistries.
Miscibility and Transport Properties of Poly(lactide)/Phenoxy System
Authors: Chaos A. , García J. M. , Iriarte M. , Fernández J. , Sarasua J. R. , Etxeberria A. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractSummary: The addition of Phenoxy to Polylactide causes a decrease of the permeability coefficients proportional to the amount of Phenoxy, even in spite of the lack of miscibility between both polymers. The effect of a Poly(caprolactone‐b‐lactide) multiblock copolymer as a compatibilizer of a Poly(lactide)/Phenoxy blend was analyzed,1 achieving miscibility and providing an improvement in the barrier properties of the blend.
Preparation and Characterization of Polyampholytic Poly(acrylic acid acrylamide) Hydrogels and Investigation of Swelling Behavior in Different Media
Authors: Sepehrianazar A. , Mohtasham M. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractSummary: Stimuli‐responsive polyampholyte hydrogels were synthesized by the copolymerization of acrylic acid (AAc) and acrylamide (AAm) by thermal methods. Polyampholytic hydrogels are crosslinked networks composed of positively and negatively charged repeating units that show entirely different properties from their origins. In this work, polyampholytic poly (acrylic acid acrylamide) hydrogels prepared in different molar ratio in feed composition by thermal methods. The structures of hydrogels were characterized by FTIR analysis. Thermal stabilities of the hydrogels were investigated using TGA analysis. The swelling behavior of hydrogels investigated by some parameters such as pH, salt concentration and temperature. We determined this swelling capacity in different temperatures (25, 50 and 70 °C) and different pH (2, 7 and 12). In addition, we investigated the effects of different salts such as LiCl, CaCl2, Na2SO4 and NaCl with concentration of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 M on swelling properties.
An Alternative Solvent System for Blend Electrospinning of Polycaprolactone/Chitosan Nanofibres
Authors: Steyaert I. , Van der Schueren L. , Rahier H. , de Clerck K. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractSummary: PCL/chitosan blend nanofibres could provide an excellent nanostructured material for biomedical use since their beneficial properties are combined into one material. This paper focuses on the solvent use in the production of PCL/chitosan nanofibres by solution electrospinning, since this is a crucial parameter in the electrospinning process. It was established that an acetic acid/formic acid shows great potential for the stable electrospinning of the blend. Additionally, the fibre morphology using this solvent system was analysed.
Morphology and Properties of Polyamide 6/Poly(propylene) Blends Fine‐Tuned with Nanosilica
Authors: Laoutid F. , François D. , Paint Y. , Bonnaud L. , Dubois P. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractSummary: The influence of the incorporation of hydrophobic nanosilica on morphological and mechanical properties of polyamide 6 (PA) and poly(propylene) (PP) blends has been investigated. Depending on the amount of silica nanoparticles in the blend and the melt mixing procedure, a strong refinement of PP (as minor dispersed phase) droplet size can be achieved thanks to the interfacial confinement of nanoparticles. The accumulation of nanoparticles at the interface allows the formation of an anti‐coalescence rigid barrier around PP domains that prevents/refrains dispersed phase domains from coalescence as highlighted by transmission and scanning electron microscopies. The mechanical properties of the hybrid blends were also discussed and interpreted in relation with the blend morphology.
Urethane/Siloxane Copolymers with Hydrophobic Properties
Authors: Santiago A. , González A. , Iruin J. J. , Fernández‐Berridi M. J. , Muñoz M. E. , Irusta L. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractSummary: Different composition polyurethane‐siloxane thermoset copolymers obtained from isophorone diisocyanate trimer, poly (caprolactone) triol and hydroxy terminated poly(dimethyl siloxane) were casted over aluminium surfaces. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) measurements showed that the copolymers presented a phase separated morphology. The water contact angle increased with the siloxane percentage. In addition, for a fixed siloxane percentage, the water contact angle obtained in the air contact generated surface was higher than the one registered in the aluminium contact generated surface, suggesting that the low surface energy siloxane component migrated to the air contact generated surface.
Structure and Thermomechanical Evaluation of Melt Processed Organoclay/ABS/PC Nanocomposites
Authors: Triantou M. I. , Tarantili P. A. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractSummary: In this work, blends of ABS and PC with various compositions were processed by melt compounding in a twin screw extruder and the obtained samples were studied in terms of structure and thermomechanical properties. The effect of incorporation of organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanoparticles on the above properties was also investigated. The addition of PC improves the thermal degradation resistance and tensile properties of ABS. The incorporation of OMMT into ABS/PC mixtures alters the thermal degradation mechanism for blends containing more than 50% PC and further improves the tensile properties and especially the modulus of elasticity.
Recycled Polycarbonate Blend as Matrix for Development of Polymer Nanocomposite
Authors: Zicans J. , MerijsMeri R. , Ivanova T. , Berzina R. , Kalkis V. , Maksimov R. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractSummary: Secondary polycarbonate (SPC) is modified with various amounts (5, 10, 30 wt%) of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVAc) in order to reduce its brittleness. It is observed that at optimal EVAc weight content maximum tensile strength σM and impact strength AI increse by 14% (ωEVAc = 5 wt%) and 450% (ωEVAc = 10 wt%) in comparison to neat SPC, respectively. Addition of montmorillonite nanoclay (MMT) allowed further increase of elastic modulus E, strength and creep resistance of the investigated SPC blend with 10 wt% of EVAc.