bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Increasing escitalopram dose is associated with fewer discontinuations than switch or combination approaches in patients initially on escitalopram 10mg
Authors: Sanglier T. , Milea D. , Saragoussi D. , Toumi M. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractPurposeTo examine the relationship between different intervention approaches and subsequent real-life outcomes in patients changing treatment from escitalopram 10mg.MethodThis was a retrospective cohort study of patients starting antidepressant treatment between 2002 and 2004. Data were extracted from a US health-insurance reimbursement claims database. Eligible patients started escitalopram 10mg and changed within 3 months to: escitalopram ≥20mg; another antidepressant; or a combination of escitalopram with another antidepressant. Medication persistence and healthcare costs over 3 months were compared between the treatment groups.ResultsOverall, 37,791 patients started escitalopram 10mg. Of the 12,830 patients (34%) who changed treatment, 56% increased escitalopram dose, 26% switched antidepressant and 18% combined escitalopram with another antidepressant. Patients in the switch and combination groups had significantly higher rates of non-persistence (56% and 91%, respectively) vs the dose-increase group (39%; bothP<0.001). Combination-group patients incurred significantly greater costs vs the dose-increase group ($2805 vs $1767, respectively;P<0.001).ConclusionResults suggest that increasing escitalopram dose in patients responding inadequately to 10mg is associated with higher persistence rates vs the other treatment approaches. Receiving an increased dose of escitalopram was associated with significantly lower costs than combining escitalopram 10mg with another antidepressant.
The impact of the social network, stigma and empowerment on the quality of life in patients with schizophrenia
Authors: Sibitz I. , Amering M. , Unger A. , Seyringer M.E. , Bachmann A. , Schrank B. , Benesch T. , Schulze B. , Woppmann A. 
Published: October 2010

Abstract:Objective:The quality of life (QOL) of patients with schizophrenia has been found to be positively correlated with the social network and empowerment, and negatively correlated with stigma and depression. However, little is known about the way these variables impact on the QOL. The study aims to test the hypothesis that the social network, stigma and empowerment directly and indirectly by contributing to depression influence the QOL in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders.Method:Data were collected on demographic and clinical variables, internalized stigma, perceived devaluation and discrimination, empowerment, control convictions, depression and QOL. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to examine the impact of the above-mentioned constructs on QOL.Results:The influences of the social network, stigma, empowerment and depression on QOL were supported by the SEM. A poor social network contributed to a lack of empowerment and stigma, which resulted in depression and, in turn, in poor QOL. Interestingly, however, the social network and stigma did not show a direct effect on QOL.Conclusions:Following a recovery approach in mental health services by focusing on the improvement of the social network, stigma reduction and especially on the development of personal strength has the potential to reduce depression in patients with psychosis and improving their QOL.
A four-year naturalistic prospective study of cardiometabolic disease in antipsychotic-treated patients
Authors: Mackin P. , Waton T. , Watkinson H.M. , Gallagher P. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractThe relationship between antipsychotic use and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is controversial. There is a lack of long-term prospective studies investigating changes in cardiometabolic risk in patients treated with antipsychotic drugs. We report data from a 4-year prospective study. Patients (89) underwent detailed metabolic and cardiovascular risk assessment at 4-years which included anthropometric assessment, blood pressure, lipid profile, and an oral glucose tolerance test. We used the homeostatic model assessment to determine insulin resistance, and calculated 10-year cardiovascular risk scores. Mean age of subjects was 44.7 (±11.5) years, and 52% were male. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes was 8%, and 38.4% fulfilled diagnostic criteria for the metabolic syndrome. With the exception of increased central adiposity over the 4-year follow-up period (p< 0.001), other cardiometabolic parameters were generally unchanged. There was a high prevalence of dyslipidaemia, but only 16.9% were prescribed lipid-lowering treatment. Commencing lipid-lowering therapy was associated with a reduction in cardiovascular risk score (OR 7.9, 95% CI = 1.3 to 48.7;p= 0.02). Patients established on longer-term antipsychotic treatment show less dramatic metabolic changes than those occurring in the early stages of treatment, but have a high burden of cardiovascular risk. Lipid-lowering therapy is associated with a significant reduction in cardiovascular risk.
Assessment of Social Anxiety in First Episode Psychosis using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety scale as a Self-report Measure
Authors: Romm K.L. , Rossberg J.I. , Berg A.O. , Hansen C.F. , Andreassen O.A. , Melle I. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractObjectiveSocial anxiety is a common problem in psychotic disorders. The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Self-Rating version (LSAS-SR) is a widely used instrument to capture different aspects of social anxiety, but its psychometric properties have not been tested in this patient group. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the psychometric properties of the LSAS-SR in patients with first episode psychosis, to investigate whether it differentiated between active and passive social withdrawal and to test which clinical factors contributed to current level of social anxiety.MethodA total of 144 first episode psychosis patients from the ongoing Thematically Organized Psychosis (TOP) study were included at the time of first treatment. Diagnoses were set according to the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID-1) for DSM-IV. A factor analysis was carried out and the relationship of social anxiety to psychotic and general symptomatology measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was evaluated. Possible contributors to social anxiety were analyzed using multiple hierarchic regression analysis.ResultsThe factor analysis identified three subscales: public performance, social interaction and observation. All three subscales showed satisfactory psychometric properties, acceptable convergent and discriminate properties, and confirmed previous findings in social anxiety samples. Self-esteem explained a significant amount of the variance in social anxiety, even after adjusting for the effects of delusions, suspiciousness and depression.ConclusionThe study shows that the LSAS-SR can be used in this patient group, that social anxiety is strongly related to both behavioral social avoidance and to self-esteem. The results support the use of this measure in assessment of social anxiety in both clinical settings and in research.
Cardiovascular and metabolic risk in outpatients with schizoaffective disorder treated with antipsychotics: Results from the CLAMORS study
Authors: Bobes J. , Arango C. , Aranda P. , Carmena R. , Garcia-Garcia M. , Rejas J. ,   on behalf of the CLAMORS Study Collaborative Group
Published: October 2010

AbstractAimTo assess the coronary heart disease (CHD) risk and prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MS) in patients with schizoaffective disorder (SD) receiving antipsychotics.MethodsPatients meeting DSM-IV criteria for SD and receiving antipsychotic treatment were recruited in a retrospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study (the CLAMORS study). MS was defined as at least three of the following components: waist circumference greater than 102cm (men)/greater than 88cm (women); serum triglycerides greater or equal to 150mg/dl; HDL cholesterol less than 40mg/dl (men)/less than 50mg/dl (women); blood pressure greater or equal to 130/85mmHg; fasting blood glucose greater or equal to 110mg/dl. The 10-year CHD risk was assessed by the Systematic coronary risk evaluation (SCORE) (cardiovascular mortality) and Framingham (any cardiovascular event) functions. Clinical severity was assessed using the PANSS and CGI-S scales.ResultsA total of 268 valuable patients with SD (127 men, 48.1%), 41.9±12.3years (mean±S.D.), were analyzed. The 10-year overall cardiovascular mortality and CV-event risk were 0.8±1.6 (SCORE) and 6.5±6.8 (Framingham), respectively. A high/very high risk of any CV event (Framingham≥10%) was associated with severity [CGI-S=3–4; OR: 4.32 (1.15–16.26),P= 0.03)]. MS was present in 26.5% (95%CI: 21.2–31.8) of subjects, without gender differences, but significantly associated with patient's impression of severity: CGI=3–4; OR=1.90 (0.83–4.36), and CGI=5–7; OR=3.13 (1.06–9.24),P= 0<0.001, and age [OR=1.91 (1.09–3.34),P<0.024)].ConclusionsCHD risk and MS prevalence were high among patients with SD, being MS prevalence associated with age and severity of disease.
When are automatic social comparisons not automatic? The effect of cognitive systems on user imagery‐based self‐concept activation
Authors: Forehand Mark R. , Perkins Andrew , Reed Americus 
Published: October 2010

AbstractFollowing the tenets of the selective accessibility model of assimilation and contrast, three studies observed implicit consumer self‐concept assimilation (contrast) to age‐based imagery when the discrepancy between the self‐concept and advertisement imagery was moderate (extreme). However, these responses were not fully automatic as only consumers who processed user imagery reflectively demonstrated increased accessibility of similarity/dissimilarity information. Impulsive processing of the user imagery instead increased the accessibility of consumer's pre‐existing dominant self‐age association. A final experiment revealed that these changes in the active‐self mediated response to subsequently advertised products. Taken together, these results support a two‐systems model of cognition and suggest that assimilation/contrast responses to advertising and subsequent behavior are influenced by the consumer's processing strategy.
Regional powers and their strategies: empire, hegemony, and leadership
Authors: DESTRADI SANDRA 
Published: November 2010

AbstractRegional powers are often conceived of as ‘regional leading powers’, states which adopt a cooperative and benevolent attitude in their international relations with their neighbours. The article argues that regional powers can follow a much wider range of foreign policy strategies in their region. Three ideal-typical regional strategies are identified: empire, hegemony, and leadership. The article is devoted to a theory-led distinction and clarification of these three terms, which are often used interchangeably in the field of International Relations. According to the goals pursued, to the means employed, and to other discriminating features such as the degree of legitimation and the type of self-representation by the dominant state, the article outlines the essential traits of imperial, hegemonic, and leading strategies and identifies sub-types for better classifying hegemony and leadership.
A stochastic expectation and maximization algorithm for detecting quantitative trait-associated genes
Authors: Zhan Haimao , Chen Xin , Xu Shizhong 
Published: October 2010

AbstractMotivation: Most biological traits may be correlated with the underlying gene expression patterns that are partially determined by DNA sequence variation. The correlations between gene expressions and quantitative traits are essential for understanding the functions of genes and dissecting gene regulatory networks.Results: In the present study, we adopted a novel statistical method, called the stochastic expectation and maximization (SEM) algorithm, to analyze the associations between gene expression levels and quantitative trait values and identify genetic loci controlling the gene expression variations. In the first step, gene expression levels measured from microarray experiments were assigned to two different clusters based on the strengths of their association with the phenotypes of a quantitative trait under investigation. In the second step, genes associated with the trait were mapped to genetic loci of the genome. Because gene expressions are quantitative, the genetic loci controlling the expression traits are called expression quantitative trait loci. We applied the same SEM algorithm to a real dataset collected from a barley genetic experiment with both quantitative traits and gene expression traits. For the first time, we identified genes associated with eight agronomy traits of barley. These genes were then mapped to seven chromosomes of the barley genome. The SEM algorithm and the result of the barley data analysis are useful to scientists in the areas of bioinformatics and plant breeding.Availability and implementation: The R program for the SEM algorithm can be downloaded from our website: http://www.statgen.ucr.eduContact: shizhong.xu@ucr.eduSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Bayesian sampling of genomic rearrangement scenarios via double cut and join
Authors: Miklós István , Tannier Eric 
Published: October 2010

Abstract
Motivation: When comparing the organization of two genomes, it is important not to draw conclusions on their modes of evolution from a single most parsimonious scenario explaining their differences. Better estimations can be obtained by sampling many different genomic rearrangement scenarios. For this problem, the Double Cut and Join (DCJ) model, while less relevant, is computationally easier than the Hannenhalli–Pevzner (HP) model. Indeed, in some special cases, the total number of DCJ sorting scenarios can be analytically calculated, and uniformly distributed random DCJ scenarios can be drawn in polynomial running time, while the complexity of counting the number of HP scenarios and sampling from the uniform distribution of their space is unknown, and conjectured to be #P-complete. Statistical methods, like Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) for sampling from the uniform distribution of the most parsimonious or the Bayesian distribution of all possible HP scenarios are required.
Results: We use the computational facilities of the DCJ model to draw a sampling of HP scenarios. It is based on a parallel MCMC method that cools down DCJ scenarios to HP scenarios. We introduce two theorems underlying the theoretical mixing properties of this parallel MCMC method. The method was tested on yeast and mammalian genomic data, and allowed us to provide estimates of the different modes of evolution in diverse lineages.
Availability: The program implemented in Java 1.5 programming language is available from http://www.renyi.hu/~miklosi/DCJ2HP/.
Contact: miklosi@renyi.hu
Identification of human-specific transcript variants induced by DNA insertions in the human genome
Authors: Kim Dong Seon , Hahn Yoonsoo 
Published: October 2010

Abstract
Motivation: Many genes in the human genome produce a wide variety of transcript variants resulting from alternative exon splicing, differential promoter usage, or altered polyadenylation site utilization that may function differently in human cells. Here, we present a bioinformatics method for the systematic identification of human-specific novel transcript variants that might have arisen after the human–chimpanzee divergence.
Results: The procedure involved collecting genomic insertions that are unique to the human genome when compared with orthologous chimpanzee and rhesus macaque genomic regions, and that are expressed in the transcriptome as exons evidenced by mRNAs and/or expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Using this procedure, we identified 112 transcript variants that are specific to humans; 74 were associated with known genes and the remaining transcripts were located in unannotated genomic loci. The original source of inserts was mostly transposable elements including L1, Alu, SVA, and human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs). Interestingly, some non-repetitive genomic segments were also involved in the generation of novel transcript variants. Insert contributions to the transcripts included promoters, terminal exons and insertions in exons, splice donors and acceptors and complete exon cassettes. Comparison of personal genomes revealed that at least seven loci were polymorphic in humans. The exaptation of human-specific genomic inserts as novel transcript variants may have increased human gene versatility or affected gene regulation.
Contact: hahny@cau.ac.kr
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
The Antarctic Nematode Plectus murrayi: An Emerging Model to Study Multiple Stress Survival
Authors: Adhikari Bishwo N. , Tomasel Cecilia M. , Li Grace , Wall Diana H. , Adams Byron J. 
Published: November 2010

INTRODUCTIONThe genus Plectus is one of the most widely distributed and common nematode taxa of freshwater and terrestrial habitats in the world, and is of particular interest because of its phylogenetic position relative to the origin of the Secernentean radiation. Plectus murrayi, a bacteria-feeding nematode, inhabits both semi-aquatic and terrestrial biotopes in the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys (MCM), where its distribution is limited by organic carbon and soil moisture. Plectus nematodes from the MCM can survive extreme desiccation, freezing conditions, and other types of stress. Ongoing investigations of the physiological and molecular aspects of the stress biology of P. murrayi, along with the availability of genomic resources, will likely establish this nematode as an excellent invertebrate model system for studies of extreme environmental survival, and may provide a valuable source of genomic resources for comparative studies in other organisms. Moreover, because P. murrayi and Caenorhabditis elegans share a most recent common ancestor with the rest of the Secernentea, and given the ability of P. murrayi to be cultured at lower temperatures compared to C. elegans, P. murrayi could also be an emerging model system for the study of the evolution of environment-sensitive (stress response) alleles in nematodes.
Isolation of Plant DNA for PCR and Genotyping Using Organic Extraction and CTAB
Authors: Springer Nathan M. 
Published: November 2010

INTRODUCTIONA general difficulty in isolation of DNA from plant cells is the presence of a cell wall. It is necessary to degrade plant cell walls, either physically or enzymatically, in order to effectively isolate plant DNA. Additionally, some tissues (such as endosperm) or some species contain high levels of starches or phenolic compounds that can complicate DNA isolation. A number of plant DNA isolation protocols are designed to overcome species-specific difficulties. This is a relatively simple protocol that uses an extraction buffer containing cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB); it can be used for many plant species. It provides a substantial amount of high-quality DNA that is suitable for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedures and is stable for long periods of time. The cost per sample is very low. In addition, this protocol is relatively robust and can be performed by individuals who have had relatively little training. A typical undergraduate student can perform ~200-300 isolations in a day using this protocol. The disadvantages are that it requires a freeze-dryer and a mill or paint-shaker-like device and that it utilizes an organic extraction step, requiring the use of a fume hood.
Transcriptomic and Phenotypic Analyses Identify Coregulated, Overlapping Regulons among PrfA, CtsR, HrcA, and the Alternative Sigma Factors σ
B
, σ
C
, σ
H
, and σ
L
in
Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Chaturongakul Soraya , Raengpradub Sarita , Palmer M. Elizabeth , Bergholz Teresa M. , Orsi Renato H. , Hu Yuewei , Ollinger Juliane , Wiedmann Martin , Boor Kathryn J. 
Published: October 2010

ABSTRACT

A set of seven
Listeria monocytogenes
10403S mutant strains, each bearing an in-frame null mutation in a gene encoding a key regulatory protein, was used to characterize transcriptional networks in
L. monocytogenes
; the seven regulatory proteins addressed include all four
L. monocytogenes
alternative sigma factors (σ
B
, σ
C
, σ
H
, and σ
L
), the virulence gene regulator PrfA, and the heat shock-related negative regulators CtsR and HrcA. Whole-genome microarray analyses, used to identify regulons for each of these 7 transcriptional regulators, showed considerable overlap among regulons. Among 188 genes controlled by more than one regulator, 176 were coregulated by σ
B
, including 92 genes regulated by both σ
B
and σ
H
(with 18 of these genes coregulated by σ
B
, σ
H
, and at least one additional regulator) and 31 genes regulated by both σ
B
and σ
L
(with 10 of these genes coregulated by σ
B
, σ
L
, and at least one additional regulator). Comparative phenotypic characterization measuring acid resistance, heat resistance, intracellular growth in J774 cells, invasion into Caco-2 epithelial cells, and virulence in the guinea pig model indicated contributions of (i) σ
B
to acid resistance, (ii) CtsR to heat resistance, and (iii) PrfA, σ
B
, and CtsR to virulence-associated characteristics. Loss of the remaining transcriptional regulators (i.e.,
sigH
,
sigL
, or
sigC
) resulted in limited phenotypic consequences associated with stress survival and virulence. Identification of overlaps among the regulons provides strong evidence supporting the existence of complex regulatory networks that appear to provide the cell with regulatory redundancies, along with the ability to fine-tune gene expression in response to rapidly changing environmental conditions.
Prevalence and Genetic Diversity of
Bartonella
Species Detected in Different Tissues of Small Mammals in Nepal
Authors: Gundi Vijay A. K. B. , Kosoy Michael Y. , Myint Khin S. A. , Shrestha Sanjaya K. , Shrestha Mrigendra P. , Pavlin Julie A. , Gibbons Robert V. 
Published: October 2010

ABSTRACT

Bartonellae were detected in a total of 152 (23.7%) of 642 tissues from 108 (48.4%) of 223 small mammals trapped in several urban areas of Nepal. Based on
rpoB
and
gltA
sequence analyses, genotypes belonging to seven known
Bartonella
species and five genotypes not belonging to previously known species were identified in these animals.