bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Contingent rerouting for enhancing supply chain resilience from supplier behavior perspective
Authors: Wang Xinping , Herty Michael , Zhao Lindu 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThis paper examines contingent rerouting strategy for enhancing supply chain resilience taking a supplier's point of view. We consider a supply chain with multiple suppliers at each stage and establish a mathematical model for product allocation behavior among different suppliers. The allocation model is based on each supplier's production capacity, product quality, production cost, as well as possible decision maker's preferences. As a performance measure for rerouting strategy, we use the total outflow of the supply chain. We propose an optimization model and its solution determines the rerouting strategy for product flow through the supply chain under disruptions. Numerical examples demonstrate the effect of the rerouting strategy and show the resilience of the supply chain.
Efficacy of ablative fractional laser‐assisted photodynamic therapy with short‐incubation time for the treatment of facial and scalp actinic keratosis: 12‐month follow‐up results of a randomized, prospective, comparative trial
Authors: Choi S.H. , Kim K.H. , Song K.H. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractBackgroundPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) using methyl aminolevulinate (MAL) is an effective first‐line treatment for actinic keratosis (AK). Erbium:yttrium‐aluminium‐garnet (Er:YAG) ablative fractional laser‐assisted MAL‐PDT (AFL‐PDT) has shown significant benefit for the treatment of AK.ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to compare the efficacy, recurrence rate, cosmetic outcome and safety between AFL‐PDT with 2 and 3 h of incubation vs. Conventional MAL‐PDT in patients with facial and scalp AK.MethodsThis prospective randomized trial initially enrolled 440 facial and scalp AK lesions in 93 patients. Patients were randomly assigned to AFL‐PDT with a 2‐h incubation time (2h‐AFL‐PDT), 3h‐AFL‐PDT and 3h‐MAL‐PDT. All patients underwent one session of MAL‐PDT using a red light‐emitting diode lamp at 37 J/cm2, and AFL‐PDT groups were assigned to pretreatment with Er:YAG AFL. Patients were followed up at 1 week, 3 months and 12 months post treatment. Efficacy, cosmetic outcomes and adverse events were assessed. Finally, 427 facial AK lesions in 88 patients were analysed in this study.ResultsThree months after the last treatment session, 3h‐AFL‐PDT (91.7%) was significantly more effective than 2h‐AFL‐PDT (76.8%) and 3h‐MAL‐PDT (65.6%, P < 0.001), and differences in efficacy remained significant at the 12‐month follow‐up. The recurrence rate was significantly lower for 3h‐AFL‐PDT (7.5%) than for 3h‐MAL‐PDT (22.1%) at 12 months (P = 0.002);however, no significant difference was found between 2h‐AFL‐PDT and 3h‐MAL‐PDT. No significant difference was found in cosmetic outcomes or safety between the three groups.ConclusionsWe recommend 3h‐AFL‐PDT rather than classic MAL‐PDT or short‐incubation AFL‐PDT for treating AK.
Caring for patients during challenging clinical encounters
Authors: Marcum James A. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractRationale, aims and objectivesChallenging clinical encounters can often be frustrating and demoralizing not only for clinicians but also for patients. The paper's aims are twofold. The first is to analyse the nature and origins of such encounters. The second is to appraise the CALMER and REBELS models for managing them.MethodsAfter reviewing the medical literature on challenging clinical encounters, a clinical case is briefly reconstructed from it. The reconstructed case is then used to analyse the nature and origins of challenging encounters and to evaluate the two models for handling them.ResultsThe reconstructed clinical case is an apt example for examining and evaluating the medical literature on challenging clinical encounters. In terms of what challenging encounters are and what elicits them, the literature captures their frustrating, demoralizing, demanding and, at times, insufferable dimensions – as well as the role of patients in their origins – as the clinical case also illustrates. With respect to managing them, the CALMER and REBELS models are effective strategies for handling challenging encounters – again, as the clinical case exemplifies.ConclusionsAlthough the clinical case supports the medical literature on challenging clinical encounters, the literature fails to provide an adequate account of their nature and origins. Specifically, challenging encounters are a type of dysfunction – not pathophysiological but existential – in a clinical setting, with their origins not only in patients but also in clinicians and health care systems. Finally, based upon the dysfunctional nature of such encounters, revisions of the CALMER and REBELS models are proposed for better managing these encounters.
Feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of teledermatology in Swiss primary care: process analysis of a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Tandjung Ryan , Badertscher Nina , Kleiner Nadine , Wensing Michel , Rosemann Thomas , Braun Ralph P. , Senn Oliver 
Published: February 2015

AbstractRationale, aim and objectiveTo test feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of dermatologist's feedback based on digital images of skin lesions collected in Swiss primary care.MethodsThis was a process analysis of a randomized controlled trial, conducted in 2011/2012. 30 of 78 general practitioners (GPs) were randomized to an intervention, which included dermatologist's feedback on digital images of skin lesions. Feedback was categorized into four categories: (1) no further investigation; (2) clinical observation; (3) biopsy; and (4) other. Histologic findings were allocated to the same categories. Feasibility was measured in the perspective of GPs concerning technical handling and of dermatologists as proportion of images usable for feedback. Diagnostic accuracy was measured as proportion of malignant histology of the first three feedback groups. No long‐term data was collected.Results981 images of skin lesions were collected, two were not eligible due to low quality of images. The majority of GPs (77.8%) reported no problem with the procedure. 207 images were in feedback category 1, 353 in 2, 360 in 3 and 59 in 4. A total of 236 histologic tests were collected. Three cases in category 1 indicated malignancy (1 melanoma). 201 of category 3 received a biopsy, where in 91 (45.3%) malignancy was confirmed.ConclusionTeledermatology with digital images taken in primary care was feasible from a GP and from a specialist perspective. However, diagnostic appropriateness regarding avoidance of specialist care and possible missed skin cancer raises concerns. These results therefore question a promotion of teledermatology in clinical routine.
Reducing Cancer Screening Disparities in Medicare Beneficiaries Through Cancer Patient Navigation
Authors: Braun Kathryn L. , Thomas William L. , Domingo Jermy‐Leigh B. , Allison Amanda L. , Ponce Avette , Haunani Kamakana P. , Brazzel Sandra S. , Emmett Aluli N. , Tsark JoAnn U. 
Published: February 2015

Significant racial disparities in cancer mortality are seen between Medicare beneficiaries. A randomized controlled trial tested the use of lay navigators (care managers) to increase cancer screening of Asian and Pacific Islander Medicare beneficiaries. The study setting was Moloka‘i General Hospital on the island of Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i, which was one of six sites participating in the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Demonstration sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Between 2006 and 2009, 488 Medicare beneficiaries (45% Hawaiian, 35% Filipino, 11% Japanese, 8% other) were randomized to have a navigator help them access cancer screening services (experimental condition, n = 242) or cancer education (control condition, n = 246). Self‐reported data on screening participation were collected at baseline and exit from the study, and differences were tested using chi‐square. Groups were similar in demographic characteristics and baseline screening prevalence of breast, cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancers. At study exit, 57.0% of women in the experimental arm and 36.4% of controls had had a Papanicolaou test in the past 24 months (P = .001), 61.7% of women in the experimental arm and 42.4% of controls had had a mammogram in the past 12 months (P = .003), 54.4% of men in the experimental arm and 36.0% of controls had had a prostate‐specific antigen test in the past 12 months (P = .008), and 43.0% of both sexes in the experimental arm and 27.2% of controls had had a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy in the past 5 years (P < .001). Findings suggest that navigation services can increase cancer screening in Medicare beneficiaries in groups with significant disparities.
Contact X‐ray microscopy of living cells by using LiF crystal as imaging detector
Authors: REALE L. , BONFIGLI F. , LAI A. , FLORA F. , ALBERTANO P. , DI GIORGIO M. L. , MEZI L. , MONTEREALI R.M. , FAENOV A. , PIKUZ T. , ALMAVIVA S. , FRANCUCCI M. , GAUDIO P. , MARTELLUCCI S. , RICHETTA M. , POMA A. 
Published: February 2015

SummaryIn this paper, the use of lithium fluoride (LiF) as imaging radiation detector to analyse living cells by single‐shot soft X‐ray contact microscopy is presented. High resolved X‐ray images on LiF of cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya VRUC135, two unicellular microalgae of the genus Chlamydomonas and mouse macrophage cells (line RAW 264.7) have been obtained utilizing X‐ray radiation in the water window energy range from a laser plasma source. The used method is based on loading of the samples, the cell suspension, in a special holder where they are in close contact with a LiF crystal solid‐state X‐ray imaging detector. After exposure and sample removal, the images stored in LiF by the soft X‐ray contact microscopy technique are read by an optical microscope in fluorescence mode. The clear image of the mucilaginous sheath the structure of the filamentous Leptolyngbya and the visible nucleolus in the macrophage cells image, are noteworthiness results. The peculiarities of the used X‐ray radiation and of the LiF imaging detector allow obtaining images in absorption contrast revealing the internal structures of the investigated samples at high spatial resolution. Moreover, the wide dynamic range of the LiF imaging detector contributes to obtain high‐quality images. In particular, we demonstrate that this peculiar characteristic of LiF detector allows enhancing the contrast and reveal details even when they were obscured by a nonuniform stray light.
Marital Conflict and Emotional Insecurity Among Chinese Adolescents: Cultural Value Moderation
Authors: Li Yan , Cheung Rebecca Y. M. , Cummings E. Mark 
Published: February 2015

Emotional security theory has received substantial empirical support in the literature. However, the applicability of this theory in diverse cultures is still unclear. This study examined emotional insecurity among Chinese adolescents (N = 315) and how social harmony values moderated the association between parental conflict tactics (233 mothers; 224 fathers) and adolescents' emotional insecurity. Results showed that emotional insecurity could be reliably measured among Chinese adolescents. Furthermore, a significant moderation showed that paternal conflict tactics were associated with adolescents' emotional insecurity only when they endorsed higher social harmony. In the maternal model, an overall association between maternal conflict tactics and adolescents' emotional insecurity was observed. The current findings enrich the literature on emotional security in diverse ecological contexts.
Genetic association studies of obesity in Africa: a systematic review
Authors: Yako Y. Y. , Echouffo‐Tcheugui J. B. , Balti E. V. , Matsha T. E. , Sobngwi E. , Erasmus R. T. , Kengne A. P. 
Published: February 2015

SummaryObesity is increasing in Africa, but the underlying genetic background largely remains unknown. We assessed existing evidence on genetic determinants of obesity among populations within Africa. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched and the bibliographies of retrieved articles were examined. Included studies had to report on the association of a genetic marker with obesity indices and the presence/occurrence of obesity/obesity trait. Data were extracted on study design and characteristics, genetic determinants and effect estimates of associations with obesity indices. According to this data, over 300 polymorphisms in 42 genes have been studied in various population groups within Africa mostly through the candidate gene approach. Polymorphisms in genes such as ACE, ADIPOQ, ADRB2, AGRP, AR, CAPN10, CD36, C7orf31, DRD4, FTO, MC3R, MC4R, SGIP1 and LEP were found to be associated with various measures of obesity. Of the 36 polymorphisms previously validated by genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) elsewhere, only FTO and MC4R polymorphisms showed significant associations with obesity in black South Africans, Nigerians and Ghanaians. However, these data are insufficient to establish the true nature of genetic susceptibility to obesity in populations within Africa. There has been recent progress in describing the genetic architecture of obesity among populations within Africa. This effort needs to be sustained via GWAS studies.
Total Pragmatic Encroachment and Epistemic Permissiveness
Authors: Rubin Katherine 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThis article explores the relationship between pragmatic encroachment and epistemic permissiveness. If the suggestion that all epistemic notions are interest‐relative is viable (as Jason Stanley has recently claimed), then it seems that a certain species of epistemic permissivism must be viable as well. For, if all epistemic notions are interest relative then, sometimes, parties in paradigmatic cases of shared evidence can be maximally rational in forming competing basic doxastic attitudes towards the same proposition. However, I argue that this total pragmatic encroachment is not tenable, and, thus, epistemic permissivism cannot be vindicated in this way.
Genetic Determinants of Leucocyte Telomere Length in Children: a Neglected and Challenging Field
Authors: Stathopoulou Maria G. , Petrelis Alexandros M. , Buxton Jessica L. , Froguel Philippe , Blakemore Alexandra I. F. , Visvikis‐Siest Sophie 
Published: February 2015

AbstractBackgroundTelomere length is associated with a large range of human diseases. Genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variants that are associated with leucocyte telomere length (LTL). However, these studies are limited to adult populations. Nevertheless, childhood is a crucial period for the determination of LTL, and the assessment of age‐specific genetic determinants, although neglected, could be of great importance. Our aim was to provide insights and preliminary results on genetic determinants of LTL in children.MethodsHealthy children (n = 322, age range = 6.75–17 years) with available GWAS data (Illumina Human CNV370‐Duo array) were included. The LTL was measured using multiplex quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Linear regression models adjusted for age, gender, parental age at child's birth, and body mass index were used to test the associations of LTL with polymorphisms identified in adult GWAS and to perform a discovery‐only GWAS.ResultsThe previously GWAS‐identified variants in adults were not associated with LTL in our paediatric sample. This lack of association was not due to possible interactions with age or gene × gene interactions. Furthermore, a discovery‐only GWAS approach demonstrated six novel variants that reached the level of suggestive association (P ≤ 5 × 10−5) and explain a high percentage of children's LTL.ConclusionsThe study of genetic determinants of LTL in children may identify novel variants not previously identified in adults. Studies in large‐scale children populations are needed for the confirmation of these results, possibly through a childhood consortium that could better handle the methodological challenges of LTL genetic epidemiology field.
Increased Antifungal Antibodies in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid and Serum in Pulmonary Sarcoidosis
Authors: Suchankova M. , Paulovicova E. , Paulovicova L. , Majer I. , Tedlova E. , Novosadova H. , Tibenska E. , Tedla M. , Bucova M. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThe recent studies suggest a role of fungi in development of sarcoidosis. Moreover, the immune response in sarcoidosis and fungal infection shows a striking similarity. We formulated a hypothesis of the possible increase in antifungal antibodies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum in pulmonary sarcoidosis. BALF and serum levels of IgG‐, IgM‐ and IgA‐specific antibodies against the cell wall β‐D‐glucan and mannan of Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were tested in 47 patients (29 pulmonary sarcoidosis patients and 18 patients with other interstitial lung diseases (ILD – control group)) and 170 healthy controls. Our results proved: (1) an increase in IgG‐, IgM‐ and IgA‐specific antifungal antibodies in BALF in pulmonary sarcoidosis compared with the control group (C. albicans: IgG: P = 0.0329, IgM: P = 0.0076, IgA: P = 0.0156; S. cerevisiae: IgG: P = 0.0062, IgM: P = 0.0367, IgA: P = 0.0095) and (2) elevated levels of serum antifungal antibodies in pulmonary sarcoidosis compared with healthy controls (C. albicans: IgG: P = 0.0329, IgM: P = 0.0076, IgA: P = 0.0156; S. cerevisiae: IgG: P > 0.05, IgM: P < 0.05, IgA: P < 0.001). The study showed increased serum and BALF levels of antifungal antibodies in pulmonary sarcoidosis. The hypothesis that fungal infection is one of the possible aetiologic agents of sarcoidosis is interesting and deserves further attention.
New analysis methods for skin fine‐structure via optical image and development of 3D skin Cycloscan™
Authors: Han J. Y. , Nam G. W. , Lee H. K. , Kim M. J. , Kim E. J. 
Published: February 2015

Background/PurposeThis study was conducted to develop methods for measuring skin fine‐structure via optical image and apparatus for photographing to analyze efficacy of anti‐aging.MethodsWe developed an apparatus named 3D Skin CycloScan™ to evaluate the efficacy of cosmetics by imagification of skin fine‐structure such as wrinkles, pores, and skin texture. The semi‐sphere shaped device has 12 different sequential flashing light sources captures optical image simultaneously in one second to exclude the influence of the subject's movement. The normal map that is extracted through shape from shading method is composed of face contour and skin fine‐structure parts. When the low‐frequency component which is the result of the Gaussian Filter application is eliminated, we can get only skin fine‐structure. In this normal map, it is possible to extract two‐dimensional vector map called direction map and we can regulate the intensity of the image of wrinkles, pores, and skin texture after filtering the direction map. We performed a clinical study to apply this new apparatus and methods to evaluate an anti‐aging efficacy of cosmetics visually and validate with other conventional methods.ResultsAfter using anti‐aging cream including 2% adenosine for 8 weeks, the total amount of fine wrinkle around eye area detected via 3D Skin CycloScan™ was reduced by 12.1%. Also, wrinkles on crow's feet measured by PRIMOS COMPACT® (GFMesstechnik GmbH, Germany) reduced 11.7%.ConclusionAccording to an aspect of the present study, by changing the direction of the lights toward to subject's skin, we can obtain the information about the fine structures present on the skin such as wrinkles, pores, or skin texture and represent it as an image.
Absence of giant blood Marseille‐like virus DNA detection by polymerase chain reaction in plasma from healthy US blood donors and serum from multiply transfused patients from Cameroon
Authors: Phan Tung Gia , Desnues Christelle , Switzer William M. , Djoko Cyrille F. , Schneider Bradley S. , Deng Xutao , Delwart Eric 
Published: February 2015

BACKGROUNDA new Marseilleviridae virus family member, giant blood Marseille‐like (GBM) virus, was recently reported in persons from France in the serum of an infant with adenitis, in the blood of 4% of healthy blood donors, and in 9% of multiply transfused thalassemia patients. These results suggested the presence of a nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus potentially transmissible by blood product transfusion.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSTo investigate this possibility we tested the plasma from 113 US blood donors and 74 multiply transfused Cameroon patients for GBM viral DNA using highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays.RESULTSGBM DNA was not detected by nested PCR in any of these 187 human specimens.CONCLUSIONSFurther testing is required to confirm the occurrence of human GBM virus infections.
Targeting mitochondria in cancer cells using gold nanoparticle‐enhanced radiotherapy: A Monte Carlo study
Authors: Kirkby Charles , Ghasroddashti Esmaeel 
Published: February 2015

Purpose:Radiation damage to mitochondria has been shown to alter cellular processes and even lead to apoptosis. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) may be used to enhance these effects in scenarios where they collect on the outer membranes of mitochondria. A Monte Carlo (MC) approach is used to estimate mitochondrial dose enhancement under a variety of conditions.Methods:The penelope MC code was used to generate dose distributions resulting from photons striking a 13 nm diameter AuNP with various thicknesses of water‐equivalent coatings. Similar dose distributions were generated with the AuNP replaced by water so as to estimate the gain in dose on a microscopic scale due to the presence of AuNPs within an irradiated volume. Models of mitochondria with AuNPs affixed to their outer membrane were then generated—considering variation in mitochondrial size and shape, number of affixed AuNPs, and AuNP coating thickness—and exposed (in a dose calculation sense) to source spectra ranging from 6 MV to 90 kVp. Subsequently dose enhancement ratios (DERs), or the dose with the AuNPs present to that for no AuNPs, for the entire mitochondrion and its components were tallied under these scenarios.Results:For a representative case of a 1000 nm diameter mitochondrion affixed with 565 AuNPs, each with a 13 nm thick coating, the mean DER over the whole organelle ranged from roughly 1.1 to 1.6 for the kilovoltage sources, but was generally less than 1.01 for the megavoltage sources. The outer membrane DERs remained less than 1.01 for the megavoltage sources, but rose to 2.3 for 90 kVp. The voxel maximum DER values were as high as 8.2 for the 90 kVp source and increased further when the particles clustered together. The DER exhibited dependence on the mitochondrion dimensions, number of AuNPs, and the AuNP coating thickness.Conclusions:Substantial dose enhancement directly to the mitochondria can be achieved under the conditions modeled. If the mitochondrion dose can be directly enhanced, as these simulations show, this work suggests the potential for both a tool to study the role of mitochondria in cellular response to radiation and a novel avenue for radiation therapy in that the mitochondria may be targeted, rather than the nuclear DNA.