bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fatigue in Patients With Advanced Terminal Cancer Correlates With Inflammation, Poor Quality of Life and Sleep, and Anxiety/Depression
Authors: Rodrigues Alex Rua , Trufelli Damila Cristina , Fonseca Fernando , de Paula Larissa Carvalho , Giglio Auro del 
Published: August 2015

Purpose: To assess which laboratory and clinical factors are associated with fatigue in patients with terminal cancer. Methods: We evaluated 51 patients with advanced incurable solid tumors using the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ) and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) scale for fatigue; the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-BR) for sleep quality; the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for anxiety and depression; the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Core Quality of Life Questionnaire, Version 3.0 (QLQ C-30); and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) for quality of life. We also analyzed several inflammatory markers and the modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS). Results: We observed severe fatigue in 19 (38%) patients (FACIT-F score >36). There was a significant correlation between fatigue as evaluated by the CFQ and quality of sleep and between the CFQ mental fatigue subscale scores and TNF-α level. When fatigue was evaluated using the FACIT-F scale, we observed a significant association between fatigue and anxiety/depression, quality of sleep, mGPS, and hemoglobin levels. Fatigue measured both with the CFQ and FACIT-F scale correlated with poor quality of life according to the EORTC QLQ C-30. Conclusion: In patients with advanced cancer, fatigue is a common symptom associated with the presence of inflammation, poor quality of sleep, depression/anxiety, and poor quality of life.
Long-term contraception in a small implant
Authors: Fontaine Christelle 
Published: August 2015

Rationale: Deslorelin (Suprelorin®; Virbac) is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist licensed in select countries for the long-term suppression of fertility in adult male dogs and male ferrets. This article summarizes studies investigating the use of deslorelin implants for the long-term suppression of fertility in male and female domestic cats. Evidence base: Slow-release deslorelin implants have been shown to generate effective, safe and reversible long-term contraception in male and female cats. In pubertal cats, a 4.7 mg deslorelin implant suppressed steroid sex hormones for an average of approximately 20 months (range 15–25 months) in males and an average of approximately 24 months (range 16–37 months) in females. Reversibility has been demonstrated by fertile matings approximately 2 years post-treatment in both male and female adult cats. In prepubertal female cats of approximately 4 months of age, puberty was postponed to an average of approximately 10 months of age (range 6–15 months) by a 4.7 mg deslorelin implant. Challenges: The large variability in the duration of suppression of gonadal activity makes the definition of the optimal time for reimplantation quite challenging. In addition, the temporary stimulation phase occurring in the weeks following deslorelin implantation can induce in adult female cats a fertile estrus that needs to be managed to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Longer duration and larger scale controlled field studies implementing blinding, a negative control group and a carefully controlled randomization to each group are needed. Furthermore, the effects of repeated treatment need to be investigated. Finally, the effect of treatment on growth and bone quality of prepubertal cats needs to be assessed. However, the ease of use, long-lasting effects and reversibility of deslorelin implants are strong positive points supporting their use for controlling feline reproduction.
Intratesticular and intraepididymal injections to sterilize male cats
Authors: Kutzler Michelle A 
Published: August 2015

Aim and rationale: The aim of intratesticular and intraepididymal injections is to provide an inexpensive non-surgical method for sterilizing tom cats. Intratesticular and intraepididymal injections have been studied for decades and warrant continued investigation. While both methods result in azoospermia, intratesticular injection of sclerosing agents induces orchitis, resulting in decreased spermatogenesis, whereas intraepididymal injection blocks sperm transport but does not alter spermatogenesis. Evidence base: Sclerosing agents that have been used effectively for intratesticular injections in cats include calcium chloride dihydrate and zinc gluconate. For sclerosis by intraepididymal injections, chlorhexidine digluconate has been used successfully in cats. The volume, formulation and concentration of sclerosing agents for intratesticular and intraepididymal injections in cats have not been standardized. Challenges: Neither intratesticular nor intraepididymal injections entirely eliminate gonadal testosterone production, which may be undesirable for pet cats and therefore may restrict the application of this method of sterilization to feral cats with limited human contact. In addition, both methods may require sedation or general anesthesia, leading some to support routine castration over these non-surgical methods. Lastly, even if the technique is successful in inducing permanent sterility, normal fertility may persist in treated males for 1–2 months after treatment because of sperm present within the epididymis and vas deferens.
Put a label (claim) on it
Authors: Rhodes Linda 
Published: August 2015

Relevance: Non-surgical contraceptives or sterilants need regulatory approval to be sold for that use. This approval process gives veterinarians the information required to assess the benefits and risks of each product, and to provide comprehensive information on the required dose, method and duration of use, safety and effectiveness. Aim: This article reviews the information that must be developed and provided to regulatory agencies worldwide, with a focus on the European Union and the United States, in order to achieve regulatory approval. Processes: The main components of developing a drug include developing extensive information on the safety and effectiveness of the product, and also the safety to the environment and to humans handling and administering the drug. Most importantly, a robust method of manufacturing both the drug itself and the formulated drug product (pill, liquid implant or injection) must be developed to assure quality and consistency in each batch. This information is then compiled and submitted to regulatory agencies; in the United States, this includes the Food and Drug Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, and, in Europe, the European Medicines Agency. Challenges: Because of the unique nature of non-surgical contraceptives for use in cats and dogs, particularly the desire to have these products last over multiple years, there are special challenges to their regulatory approval that are discussed in this review.
Ear tips to ear tags
Authors: Benka Valerie A W 
Published: August 2015

Current approaches: Trap–neuter– return (TNR) introduced a humane means of managing free-roaming and feral (‘community’) cats; it also necessitated a method of marking and identifying these cats as sterilized. Although multiple identification methods have been studied or attempted in the field, ear tipping (or, less commonly, ear notching) has proven to be the best option and is used internationally. However, ear tipping must be performed under general anesthesia, and it conveys only binary information: yes, a cat has gone through a TNR program (and is sterilized); or, no, a cat has not gone through a TNR program (and may or may not be sterilized). Future requirements: Future non-surgical feline fertility control options will require an alternative to ear tipping for identifying community cats, one that does not require anesthesia in order to mark the animal as treated. Long-term contraceptives (vs permanent sterilants) will also require a marker that can denote the time when a cat was last treated. Objectives and progress: To address this need, the Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs is working with an interdisciplinary team from Cornell University, USA, to develop an effective, humane marking method. Their focus is a new generation of ear tag. The prototype design uses different shapes and materials, and a different application process, than tags used to date. The objective is to minimize tag weight, application discomfort, and likelihood of blood loss and infection, while simultaneously allowing for coding of information, including treatment time period.
Antibiotic Prophylaxis With Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole Instead of Cloxacillin Fails to Improve Inguinal Surgical Site Infection Rate After Vascular Surgery
Authors: Hasselmann Julien , Kühme Tobias , Acosta Stefan 
Published: August 2015

Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) and their prevention continue to be a major point of focus in all surgical specialties today. Antibiotic prophylaxis is one of the mainstays in their prevention. Due to the consistently high proportion of infections caused by intestinal flora from the start of our wound surveillance registry in 2005, we conducted a change in prophylactic antibiotic therapy from cloxacillin in 2012 to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) in 2013. Methods: The study included all patients undergoing vascular surgery with groin incisions between March 1 and June 30 in 2012 and 2013, respectively, whereby the antibiotic regime was changed in between the 2 sampling periods. The diagnosis of SSI was based on clinical examination and microbiological results. Results: Two hundred nineteen patients with inguinal incisions were included in the analysis: 105 in the cloxacillin group of which 19% had SSI and 114 in the TMP-SMX group with an SSI rate of 18% ( P = .77), without differences between the 2 groups regarding age, gender, proportion of emergency surgery, type of surgery, or frequency of concomitant foot ulcers. The high proportion of infections caused by intestinal flora between time periods was unchanged (67% vs 81%, P = .34). Conclusion: There was no difference between the 2 groups, suggesting that the choice of antibiotic prophylaxis had a limited role in preventing SSI at our center. Despite this, the lower cost and ease of the administration of TMP-SMX can be seen as convincing advantages.
NBS1 is required for macrophage homeostasis and functional activity in mice
Authors: Pereira-Lopes Selma , Tur Juan , Calatayud-Subias Juan A. , Lloberas Jorge , Stracker Travis H. , Celada Antonio 
Published: August 2015

Key Points
Nbs1 is a component of the MRE11 complex, which is a sensor of DNA double-strand breaks and plays a crucial role in the DNA damage response. In mice with a hypomorphic allele of Nbs1, macrophages exhibit increased senescence and abnormal proliferation and inflammatory responses.
Lipoprotein Metabolism in APOB L343V Familial Hypobetalipoproteinemia
Authors: Hooper Amanda J. , Heeks Liesl , Robertson Ken , Champain Danie , Hua Jianmin , Song Swithin , Parhofer Klaus G. , Barrett P. Hugh R. , van Bockxmeer Frank M. , Burnett John R. 
Published: August 2015

Context:Familial hypobetalipoproteinemia (FHBL) is a codominant disorder of lipoprotein metabolism characterized by decreased plasma concentrations of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and apolipoprotein B (apoB).Objective:The objective was to examine the effect of heterozygous APOB L343V FHBL on postprandial triglyceride-rich lipoprotein (TRL) and fasting lipoprotein metabolism.Methods:Plasma incremental area under the curve apoB-48 and apoB-48 kinetics were determined after ingestion of a standardized oral fat load using compartmental modeling. Very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)-, intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL)-, and LDL-apoB kinetics were determined in the fasting state using stable isotope methods and compartmental modeling.Results:The postprandial incremental area under the curve (0–10 h) in FHBL subjects (n = 3) was lower for large TRL-triglyceride (−77%; P &lt; .0001), small TRL-cholesterol (−83%; P &lt; .001), small TRL-triglyceride (−88%; P &lt; .001), and for plasma triglyceride (−70%; P &lt; .01) and apoB (−63%; P &lt; .0001) compared with controls. Compartmental analysis showed that apoB-48 production was lower (−91%; P &lt; .05) compared with controls. VLDL-apoB concentrations in FHBL subjects (n = 2) were lower by more than 75% compared with healthy, normolipidemic control subjects (P &lt; .01). The VLDL-apoB fractional catabolic rate (FCR) was more than 5-fold higher in the FHBL subjects (P = .07). ApoB production rates and IDL- and LDL-apoB FCRs were not different between FHBL subjects and controls.Conclusions:We conclude that when compared to controls, APOB L343V FHBL heterozygotes show lower TRL production with normal postprandial TRL particle clearance. In contrast, VLDL-apoB production was normal, whereas the FCR was higher in heterozygotes compared with lean control subjects. These mechanisms account for the marked hypolipidemic state observed in these FHBL subjects.
Modeling Value Cocreation Processes and Outcomes in Knowledge-Intensive Business Services Engagements
Authors: Lessard Lysanne 
Published: August 2015

Knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) are a distinct category of business-to-business services, with unique implications for current understandings of value within the field of service science. KIBS engagements often involve multiple stakeholders with sometimes differing assessments of value. Moreover, stakeholders’ assessment of value is not based solely on an engagement’s deliverables; it also takes into account the collaborative process of producing these deliverables and the indirect outcomes resulting from the integration of deliverables and process results as new resources in line with each stakeholder’s interests. Supporting the design of KIBS engagements thus needs to enable a multistakeholder and multilevel measurement of value. This article identifies requirements for modeling KIBS engagements in a manner that addresses their specific characteristics and can support their design; requirements were derived from a multiple-case study of value cocreation in this domain. The article also presents value cocreation modeling (VCM), a technique developed to fulfill these requirements. In VCM, indicators help measure and evaluate elements that support each stakeholder’s value assessment at the process, deliverable, and outcome levels. VCM can be used as a conceptual tool by KIBS professionals to establish and monitor KIBS engagements and take corrective actions as needed for successful outcomes.
Infection prevention and control in home nursing: case study of four organisations in Australia
Authors: Felemban Ohood , John Winsome St , Shaban Ramon Zenel 
Published: August 2015

Aim: The aim of this case study was to explore the environmental challenges nurses experience with infection control practice, and the strategies they use to overcome those challenges. Method: An exploratory case study was conducted in four home visiting nursing organisations in southeast Queensland, Australia, using data triangulation (document review, individual interviews, and focus groups). Data were analysed using a framework approach to identify themes. Results: Three major infection prevention and control challenges were experienced in the community context. The first challenge is the nature of the work environment, including: poor cleanliness in clients' home environments, pets or vermin, inadequate hand-washing facilities, and a lack of appropriate storage space for clinical materials. The second challenge occurs when nurses lack access to appropriate infection control equipment, including wound-management materials and sharps containers. The third challenge is dealing with clients' poor personal hygiene and health status. Participants addressed these issues by offering assistance, using clean surfaces at clients' homes, applying an alcohol-based hand rub, providing client education, and reducing the cost of purchasing equipment for clients. Conclusion: It is imperative that policy is developed to support nurses' decision making and practices as they address infection control challenges in the community environment. Ensuring staff are well-supported with resources, education, policy, and guidelines to address these challenges is important for the delivery of safe and high-quality care in community settings.
Pregnancy Outcomes Among U.S. Women With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Authors: Parish Susan L. , Mitra Monika , Son Esther , Bonardi Alexandra , Swoboda Paul T. , Igdalsky Leah 
Published: August 2015

Abstract
The existing research on pregnancy outcomes for women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is sparse. This study analyzed the 2010 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample and compared deliveries among women with IDD (n = 340) to the general obstetric population. Women with IDD had longer hospital stays and were more likely to have Caesarean deliveries in contrast to other women. Rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes were elevated for women with IDD across a range of measures, including early labor, preterm birth, and preeclampsia, and their infants were more likely to have low birth weight, even after adjusting for age, race, ethnicity, and insurance type. Targeted interventions are needed to address these deleterious outcomes.
Patient and Caregiver Burden Associated With Fragile X Syndrome in the United States
Authors: Vekeman Francis , Gauthier-Loiselle Marjolaine , Faust Elizabeth , Lefebvre Patrick , Lahoz Raquel , Duh Mei Sheng , Sacco Patricia 
Published: August 2015

Abstract
This study evaluated the incremental healthcare costs associated with Fragile X syndrome (FXS) for patients and their caregivers. Using administrative healthcare claims data (1999-2012), subjects with ≥ 1 FXS diagnosis (ICD-9-CM: 759.83) were matched 1:5 with non-FXS controls using high-dimensional propensity scores. Costs and resource utilization were examined. Among employees, payment for disability leave and absenteeism were also examined. We identified 590 FXS and 2,950 non-FXS individuals along with 647 and 2,611 caregivers, respectively. FXS patients and their caregivers experienced higher all-cause direct costs compared to control cohorts (total[SD]: $14,677[46,752] vs. $6,103[26,081]; $5,259[19,360] vs. $2,120[6,425], respectively, p &lt; 0.05). Employed FXS patients and caregivers had higher indirect costs compared to their controls (total[SD]: $4,477[5,161] vs. $1,751[2,556]; $2,641[4,238] vs. $1,211[1,936], respectively, p &lt; 0.05).
Making sense of flying: Designers give sense to the aviation manufacturing industry
Authors: Debacker Julia , Lille Christinede , Tanghe Jürgen 
Published: August 2015

Abstract
This article aims to extend the body of knowledge on Sensemaking as a capability for organizational and strategic change by investigating how design methods could support Sensemaking activities. In order to investigate how design methods can consciously influence Sensemaking activities and how this supports an organization, the case of a large aviation industry manufacturer is taken into consideration. The company under investigation is dealing with implementing their newly established strategy to its everyday work and product innovation practices moving towards service enabling systems. This strategy has been chosen as industry is forced to find new drivers such as passenger experience to gain competitive advantage. As a consequence, manufacturers must also change strategy to support airlines in achieving their goals. Sensemaking is an essential mechanism that manufacturers use to understand the service goals of airlines.
Sensemaking is defined as the process of cognitively organizing the unknown in order to give it meaning and to be able to act on it. In three separate moments of the innovation process, each taking place in a different project, design methods were used to explore their ability to support the manufacturer in Sensemaking activities.
The second eigenvalue of the fractional p-Laplacian
Authors: Brasco Lorenzo , Parini Enea 
Published: August 2015

AbstractWe consider the eigenvalue problem for the fractional p-Laplacian
in an open bounded, possibly disconnected set ${\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^{n}}$, under homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions. After discussing some regularity issues for eigenfunctions, we show that the second eigenvalue ${\lambda_{2}(\Omega)}$ is well-defined, and we characterize it by means of several equivalent variational formulations. In particular, we extend the mountain pass characterization of Cuesta, De Figueiredo and Gossez to the nonlocal and nonlinear setting. Finally, we consider the minimization problem$\inf\{\lambda_{2}(\Omega):|\Omega|=c\}.$We prove that, differently from the local case, an optimal shape does not exist, even among disconnected sets. A minimizing sequence is given by the union of two disjoint balls of volume ${c/2}$ whose mutual distance tends to infinity.
Buddhist Scriptures in 17th Century Mongolia: Eight Translations of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā
Authors: Yampolskaya Natalia 
Published: August 2015

Abstract
The article suggests an approach to studying Mongolian translations of Buddhist texts in the seventeenth century based on a hypothesis that emerged as a result of a comparative study of eight different Mongolian translations of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā sūtra. The comparative analysis was carried out in the light of canon studies, with a special regard to the way Buddhist sacred scriptures (in particular, texts from the bKa’ ‘gyur) were handled in seventeenth century Mongolia. The evolution of the manifestations of canonicity in Mongolian Buddhist text culture is described as a shift in attitude towards Tibetan source texts.
Socialist Promises, Ethnography and the Building of a Kyrgyz Soviet Nation
Authors: Chokobaeva Aminat 
Published: August 2015

Abstract
This article attempts to answer the question of how an ethnographic survey transformed into a political question at the heart of the young Soviet Kirghizia. The debate centered on whether a class could be made out of the manaps, the tribal chieftains, utterly suspect in Soviet eyes. The article argues that by clothing the Soviet assault on the Central Asian traditional nomadic societies in the developmentalist Marxist rhetoric, the authorities justified the elimination of a social group – manaps – that they held accountable for the backwardness and unproductiveness of the nomadic economy. Thus, the “proper” categorization of manaps had deep consequences for the theoretical and ideological legitimacy of the Soviet project of socialist construction in the national periphery.
Reconciling Ethnic Nationalism and Imperial Cosmopolitanism: The Lifeworlds of Tsyben Zhamtsarano (1880–1942)
Authors: Tolz Vera 
Published: August 2015

Abstract
This article intends to make a contribution to our understanding of how the Russian empire was shaped by its colonies by shifting the focus away from the circulation of knowledge between the European empires and onto crosscultural transfers between the imperial center and one part of Central Asia – the Buryat lands in southern Siberia and Outer Mongolia, during the first three decades of the twentieth century. The article looks at these transfers through the life of one remarkable individual, Tsyben Zhamtsarano, a Buryat from the Aga region on the eastern shores of the Siberian Lake Baikal. It argues that Zhamtsarano’s case strikingly exemplifies a situation concerning the production of knowledge about the colonial periphery in which the colonized could have an upper hand, and their pre-eminence could be, at least partially, acknowledged in the imperial center. It is also demonstrated in the article how and why such an empowerment could only be temporary in Russia’s ever changing imperial context.