bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Enhanced reward-facilitating effects of d-amphetamine in rats in the quinpirole model of obsessive–compulsive disorder
Authors: Schmidt Timo T. , Rea Ellis , Shababi-Klein Julia , Panagis George , Winter Christine 
Published: October 2012

Abstract
The underlying neurobiology of addictive or repetitive behaviours, such as obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), involves dopaminergic dysregulation. While addictive behaviour depends strongly on mesolimbocortical dopaminergic responses, repetitive behaviours have been associated with dopaminergic dysregulation in the basal ganglia–thalamo–cortical circuitry. The present study investigates differences in brain stimulation reward in rats with quinpirole-induced compulsive checking behaviour, in order to examine if deficits in reward processing are also relevant for OCD. Rats were tested in the intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) paradigm, which targets reward-related responses. After phenotype induction, animals were implanted with a monopolar stimulation electrode in the left medial forebrain bundle and trained to press a lever to self-administer electric stimulation of varying frequency. The curve-shift method was used to assess the reward-facilitating effects of d-amphetamine and the reward-attenuating effects of haloperidol (a D2 antagonist). Thresholds for ICSS were estimated before and after drug/saline injection. The reward-facilitating effects of d-amphetamine were enhanced in quinpirole-treated rats in comparison to controls. This finding suggests that chronic quinpirole-treatment induces changes within the reward circuitry relevant for compulsive behaviour in the rat.
Symptom clusters among multiethnic groups of cancer patients with pain
Authors: Im Eun-Ok , Ko Young , Chee Wonshik 
Published: October 2012

AbstractObjective:Considering recent inconsistent findings on ethnic differences in cancer pain experience, there is a need to clarify the association of ethnicity to cancer pain experience through diverse approaches. However, there currently exist only a small number of studies on ethnic differences in cancer pain experience in general, and few symptom cluster studies specifically related to ethnic differences in cancer pain experience. The purpose of this study was to cluster cancer patients who reported similar cancer pain experience, and to determine ethnic differences in the clusters.Method:This was a secondary analysis of the data from a larger Internet study on cancer pain experience of four major ethnic groups of cancer patients in the United States. Only 388 subjects who responded to the questions on cancer pain, cancer symptoms, and functional status were included for this secondary analysis. The data were analyzed using hierarchical cluster analysis and multinomial logistic analysis.Results:A three-cluster solution was adopted: 1) Cluster 1 with low pain, low symptoms, and high functional status, 2) Cluster 2 with moderate pain, low symptoms, and moderate functional staus, and 3) Cluster 3 with high pain, moderate symptoms, and low functional status. In Cluster 2, there were ethnic difference in the cancer pain and funtional status scores; Asian Americans reported lower pain scores than did other ethnic groups, and African Americans had higher funtional status scores than did other ethnic groups. In Cluster 3, there were ethnic difference in the symptom scores (p < 0.05); African Americans reported higher symptom scores than did whites.Significance of results:The results of this study add an important piece of information on ethnic differences in symptom clusters. This study suggests further national scope studies on clustering multiethnic groups of cancer patients by cancer pain experience.
Assessment and management of delirium: A focus on hepatic encephalopathy
Authors: Coggins Candace C. , Curtiss Carol P. 
Published: October 2012

AbstractThis purpose of this article is to promote comprehensive assessment, differential evaluation and provision of care which optimizes benefit while minimizing burden. Delirium is a debilitating neuropsychiatric complication that is highly prevalent in palliative care. It is multifactorial and may be related to infection, disease progression, metabolic state or medication toxicity. There are three proposed sub-types of delirium with the hypoactive/ hypoalert variant being most often underdiagnosed and undertreated. The inadequate management of all types of delirium is associated with increased personal and family distress, lengthier hospital stays, and escalating healthcare costs. This article reviews the assessment, diagnosis and treatment for delirium in general and hepatic encephalopathy in particular. A number of valid and reliable tools are discussed, as they assist in screening, symptom appraisal, diagnosis, and treatment planning. It is recognized that nurses are particularly well positioned to make bedside observations, to document changes over time, and to educate and support patients and their families. Searching for the etiology of delirium, developing individualized plans of care consistent with patient goals, and endorsing the benefit of consultation/referral are discussed as key roles for palliative care providers from all disciplines. New and novel therapies in the management of hepatic encephalopathy are discussed, as they expand treatment options for patients at all points along the trajectory of liver disease.
Courts and health care rationing: the case of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court
Authors: Wang Daniel W. L. 
Published: October 2012

AbstractThe recognition that access to health care is a constitutional right in Brazil has resulted in a situation in which citizens denied treatments by the public health care system have brought lawsuits against health authorities, claiming that their right to health was violated. This litigation forces the courts to decide between a patient-centred and a population-centred approach to public health – a choice that forces the courts to assess health care rationing decisions. This article analyses the judgments of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court in right to health cases, arguing that the Court's recent decisions have been contrary to their long-standing stance against rationing. In 2009, the Court organized a public hearing to discuss this topic with civil society and established criteria to determine when rationing would be legal. However, I argue that these criteria for health care rationing do not adequately address the most difficult health care distribution dilemmas. They force the health care system to keep their rationing criteria implicit and make population-centred concerns secondary to individual-centred ones.
Is patient satisfaction in primary care dependent on structural and organizational characteristics among providers? Findings based on data from the national patient survey in Sweden
Authors: Glenngård Anna H. 
Published: October 2012

AbstractIn parallel to market-like reforms in Swedish primary care, the gathering and compilation of comparative information about providers, for example through survey tools, has been improved. Such information is increasingly being used to guide individuals’ choice of provider and payers’ assessments of provider performance, often without critically reflecting about underlying factors affecting the results. The purpose of this study was to analyze variation in patient satisfaction, with respect to organizational and structural factors, including the mix of registered individuals, among primary care providers, based on information from a national patient survey in primary care and register data in three Swedish county councils. Systematic variation in patient satisfaction was found with respect to both organizational and structural factors, including characteristics of registered individuals. Smaller practices and practices where a high proportion of all visits were with a doctor were associated with higher patient satisfaction. Also practices where registered individuals had a low level of social deprivation and a high overall illness on average were associated with higher patient satisfaction. Factors that are of relevance for how well providers perform according to patient surveys are more or less possible to control for providers. This adds to the complexity for the use of such information by individuals and payers to assess provider performance.
TWINS energetic neutral atom observations of local‐time‐dependent ring current anisotropy
Authors: Goldstein J. , Valek P. , McComas D. J. , Redfern J. 
Published: October 2012

Stereo energetic neutral atom (ENA) images from Two Wide‐angle Imaging Neutral‐atom Spectrometers (TWINS) are analyzed using a simple line‐of‐sight (LOS) mapping approximation, for two case studies: 6 April 2010 and 29 May 2010. A previous study first reported a global dawn‐dusk asymmetry favoring anisotropy on the duskside, observed by TWINS on 6 April. This paper extends and refines the previous analysis, and applies it to ENA data from 29 May, to find a second event containing the dawn‐dusk anisotropy asymmetry. Ion pitch angle distributions are retrieved using analytical expressions for anisotropy indices and their associated errors. The analysis is limited to intervals for which TWINS 1 and 2 have similar viewing geometries; i.e., the two spacecraft are at similar magnetic local time (MLT) but different latitudes, to sample two different but overlapping ranges of pitch angle. Application of the method is restricted to portions of the image for which the length of intersection of the LOS with the ENA source distribution is small. For each event, deduced pitch angle anisotropy is higher on the duskside than on the dawnside, a global asymmetry that persists for the hour‐long interval of favorable viewing geometry. The anisotropy generally decreases with energy from 1–30 keV. For 6 April the duskside anisotropy spectrum has a local peak at 12 keV, but exhibits an overall decrease over the measured energy range. For 29 May the duskside anisotropy falls monotonically with energy. Finding this previously unreported system‐level ring current attribute in two different events demonstrates that the global anisotropy is not a one‐time, unique occurrence, and also raises the question of how often and why this new phenomenon occurs. Further work is needed to determine the cause of the dawn‐dusk asymmetry in ion anisotropy. It is well known that multiple mechanisms, such as self‐consistent adiabatic ion drift, Coulomb collisions and charge exchange, influence the global ion pitch angle distribution. However, the degree to which these multiple mechanisms contribute specifically to the observed dawn‐dusk asymmetry will likely require direct comparison between the TWINS observations and simulations of these two events, including self‐consistent fields and realistic densities for the plasmasphere and neutral exosphere.
Reflection height of daytime tweek atmospherics during the solar eclipse of 22 July 2009
Authors: Ohya Hiroyo , Tsuchiya Fuminori , Nakata Hiroyuki , Shiokawa Kazuo , Miyoshi Yoshizumi , Yamashita Kozo , Takahashi Yukihiro 
Published: October 2012

We report multipoint observations of daytime tweek atmospherics during the solar eclipse of 22 July 2009. Sixteen and sixty‐three tweek atmospherics were observed at Moshiri and Kagoshima, Japan, where the magnitudes of the solar eclipse were 0.458 and 0.966, respectively. This was the first observation of tweek atmospherics during a low‐magnitude eclipse (0.458). The average and standard deviation of the reflection height were 94.9 ± 13.7 km at Moshiri and 87.2 ± 12.9 km at Kagoshima. The reflection height at Moshiri was almost the same as that for normal nighttime conditions in July (96.7 ± 12.6 km) in spite of the low magnitude of the eclipse. The reflection height at Kagoshima seems be divided into two parts: propagation across the total solar eclipse path and propagation in the partial solar eclipse path. During the eclipse, we also observed the phase variation in the LF transmitter signals. The average change in the phase delay of the LF signals was 109° for the paths that crossed the eclipse path and 27° for the paths that did not cross the eclipse path. Assuming a normal daytime height for LF waves of 65 km, a ray tracing analysis indicates that the variations in phase correspond to a height increase of 5–6 km for the paths across the eclipse and 1–2 km for partial eclipse paths. The wide range of estimated tweek reflection heights at Kagoshima also suggests a difference in electron density in the lower ionosphere between total and partial solar eclipses.
Assessment of the amount of cesium‐137 released into the Pacific Ocean after the Fukushima accident and analysis of its dispersion in Japanese coastal waters
Authors: Estournel C. , Bosc E. , Bocquet M. , Ulses C. , Marsaleix P. , Winiarek V. , Osvath I. , Nguyen C. , Duhaut T. , Lyard F. , Michaud H. , Auclair F. 
Published: October 2012

Numerical modeling was used to provide a new estimate of the amount of 137Cs released directly into the ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) after the accident in March 2011 and to gain insights into the physical processes that led to its dispersion in the marine environment during the months following the accident. An inverse method was used to determine the time‐dependent137Cs input responsible for the concentrations observed at the NPP's two liquid discharge outlets. The method was then validated through comparisons of the simulated concentrations with concentrations measured in seawater at different points in the neighborhood of the plant. An underestimation was noticed for stations located 30 km offshore. The resulting bias in the release inventory was estimated. Finally, the maximum 137Cs activity released directly to the ocean was estimated to lie between 5.1 and 5.5 PBq (Peta Becquerel = 1015 Bq) but uncertainties remain on the amount of radionuclides released during the first few days after the accident. This estimate was compared to previous ones and differences were analyzed further. The temporal and spatial variations of the 137Cs concentration present in the coastal waters were shown to be strongly related to the wind intensity and direction. During the first month after the accident, winds blowing toward the south confined the radionuclides directly released into the ocean to a narrow coastal band. Afterwards, frequent northward wind events increased the dispersion over the whole continental shelf, leading to strongly reduced concentrations.
Utility of Alligator Gar Age Estimates from Otoliths, Pectoral Fin Rays, and Scales
Authors: Buckmeier David L. , Smith Nathan G. , Reeves Kerry S. 
Published: October 2012

AbstractWe evaluated annulus formation and readers’ ability to recognize known annuli from otoliths, pectoral fin rays, and scales of alligator gar Atractosteus spatula using known‐age (0 and 1 years) and chemically marked fish. Chemical marks were generally associated with annuli, and confirmed annulus formation occurred around May. In all bony structures, annuli appeared as narrow translucent lines that immediately preceded wider opaque bands; however, annuli in pectoral fin rays and scales were more variable in appearance than otoliths. In otoliths, the number of observed annuli corresponded with the number of years fish were at large for 96% of the fish. In contrast, periodicity of annuli in pectoral fin rays and scales only corresponded with the number of years fish were at large in 19% and 12% of the fish, respectively. Precision of age estimates was initially poor for all structures; percent agreement between two independent readers was only 49% for otoliths, 43% for pectoral fin rays, and 37% for scales. Agreement increased to 83% for otoliths, 65% for pectoral fin rays, and 60% for scales following a second independent age assessment. Final average coefficients of variation between readers were 2, 5, and 11% for otoliths, pectoral fin rays, and scales, respectively. Increased precision was the result of experience and an improved ability to identify annuli because of chemical reference marks. Although correct identification of annuli required substantial training, our study validates annulus formation in otoliths of alligator gar. In contrast, annulus formation was not validated for pectoral fin rays or scales from alligator gar older than age 6, but age estimates from pectoral fin rays of young alligator gar may have some utility.
Sputtering yields of magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)2] by noble-gas ion bombardment
Authors: Ikuse Kazumasa , Yoshimura Satoru , Kiuchi Masato , Terauchi Masaharu , Nishitani Mikihiko , Hamaguchi Satoshi 
Published: October 2012

Abstract
Magnesium oxide (MgO) is widely used for barrier coating of plasma display panel (PDP) cells and its resistance against ion sputtering is a critical issue for the prolongation of lifetime of PDPs. The top surface of an MgO barrier coat may be hydrated to form a thin layer of magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)2] due to moisture inadvertently contained in the gas of the PDP cell. In this study, sputtering yields of Mg(OH)2 by low-energy noble-gas ion bombardment have been evaluated experimentally with the use of a mass-selected ion beam system and compared with those of MgO. It has been found that the etched depths of Mg(OH)2 and MgO are nearly equal when they are subject to the same noble-gas ion bombardment conditions.
Al–Si alloy point contact formation and rear surface passivation for silicon solar cells using double layer porous silicon
Authors: Moumni Besma , Jaballah Abdelkader Ben , Bessais Brahim 
Published: October 2012

Abstract
Lowering the rear surface recombination velocities by a dielectric layer has fascinating advantages compared with the standard fully covered Al back-contact silicon solar cells. In this work the passivation effect by double layer porous silicon (PS) (wide band gap) and the formation of Al–Si alloy in narrow p-type Si point contact areas for rear passivated solar cells are analysed. As revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we found that a thin passivating aluminum oxide (Al2O3) layer is formed. Scanning electron microscopy analysis performed in cross sections shows that with bilayer PS, liquid Al penetrates into the openings, alloying with the Si substrate at depth and decreasing the contact resistivity. At the solar cell level, the reduction in the contact area and resistivity leads to a minimization of the fill factor losses.
Local slope evolution during thermal annealing of polycrystalline Au films
Authors: Alonzo-Medina G M , González-González A , Sacedón J L , Oliva A I , Vasco E 
Published: October 2012

Abstract
The morphological evolution of thermally annealed polycrystalline gold films was studied in terms of several statistical parameters of the growing surface, determined by x-ray diffraction and scanning probe microscopy, including roughness, in-plane and out-of-plane grain size and local slope distributions. The morphology transformations occur as a result of the balance of attractive and repulsive interactions between surface structures emerging at different length scales, which comprise a competition between stress relaxation via surface currents and strain generation. This balance is responsible for the formation of large multigrain structures via the bundling with in-plane reorientation of neighbouring grains, related to attractive interaction on the short length scale, and the generation of grooves and surface discontinuities between structures repelling each other, on longer length scales. These results shed light on the surface phenomena occurring during post-growth annealing of T-zone structured, polycrystalline gold films.
Similar changes in muscle lipid metabolism are induced by chronic high‐fructose feeding and high‐fat feeding in C57BL/J6 mice
Authors: Song Guang‐Yao , Ren Lu‐Ping , Chen Shu‐Chun , Wang Chao , Liu Na , Wei Li‐Min , Li Fan , Sun Wen , Peng Lan‐Bo , Tang Yong 
Published: October 2012

Summary

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of high fructose and high fat feeding on muscle lipid metabolism and to illustrate the mechanisms by which the two different dietary factors induce muscle lipid accumulation.
C57BL/J6 mice were fed either a standard, high‐fructose (HFru) or high‐fat diet. After 16 weeks feeding, mice were killed and plasma triglyceride (TG) and free fatty acid (FFA) levels were detected. In addition, muscle TG and long chain acyl CoA (LCACoA) content was determined, glucose tolerance was evaluated and the protein content of fatty acid translocase CD36 (FATCD36) in muscle was measured. Mitochondrial oxidative function in the muscle was evaluated by estimating the activity of oxidative enzymes, namely cytochrome oxidase (COx), citrate synthase (CS) and β‐hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase (β‐HAD), and the muscle protein content of carnitine palmitoyltransferase‐1 (CPT‐1), cyclo‐oxygenase (COX)‐1 and proliferator‐activated receptor coactivator (PGC)‐1α was determined. Finally, sterol regulatory element‐binding protein‐1c (SREBP‐1c) gene expression and fatty acid synthase (FAS) protein content were determined in muscle tissues.
After 16 weeks, plasma TG and FFA levels were significantly increased in both the HFru and HF groups. In addition, mice in both groups exhibited significant increases in muscle TG and LCACoA content. Compared with mice fed the standard diet (control group), those in the HFru and HF groups developed glucose intolerance and exhibited increased FATCD36 protein levels, enzyme activity related to fatty acid utilization in the mitochondria and protein expressions of CPT‐1, COX‐1 and PGC‐1α in muscle tissue. Finally, mice in both the HFru and HF groups exhibited increase SREBP‐1c expression and FAS protein content.
In conclusion, high fructose and high fat feeding lead to similar changes in muscle lipid metabolism in C57BL/J6 mice. Lipid accumulation in the muscle may be associated with increased expression of proteins related to lipid transportation and synthesis.
Antihypertensive action of soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibition in Ren‐2 transgenic rats is mediated by suppression of the intrarenal renin–angiotensin system
Authors: Varcabova Sarka , Huskova Zuzana , Kramer Herbert J , Hwang Sung Hee , Hammock Bruce D , Imig John D , Kitada Kento , Cervenka Ludek 
Published: October 2012

Summary
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the hypothesis that the antihypertensive effects of inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) are mediated by increased intrarenal availability of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), with consequent improvement in renal haemodynamic autoregulatory efficiency and the pressure–natriuresis relationship.
Ren‐2 transgenic rats (TGR), a model of angiotensin (Ang) II‐dependent hypertension, and normotensive transgene‐negative Hannover Sprague–Dawley (HanSD) rats were treated with the sEH inhibitor cis‐4‐(4‐(3‐adamantan‐1‐yl‐ureido)cyclohexyloxy)benzoic acid (c‐AUCB; 26 mg/L) for 48 h. Then, the effects on blood pressure (BP), autoregulation of renal blood flow (RBF) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and on the pressure–natriuresis relationship in response to stepwise reductions in renal arterial pressure (RAP) were determined.
Treatment with c‐AUCB did not significantly change BP, renal autoregulation or pressure‐natriuresis in normotensive HanSD rats. In contrast, c‐AUCB treatment significantly reduced BP, increased intrarenal bioavailability of EETs and significantly suppressed AngII levels in TGR. However, treatment with c‐AUCB did not significantly improve the autoregulatory efficiency of RBF and GFR in response to reductions of RAP and to restore the blunted pressure–natriuresis relationship in TGR.
Together, the data indicate that the antihypertensive actions of sEH inhibition in TGR are predominantly mediated via significant suppression of intrarenal renin–angiotensin system activity.