bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The rationale for early intervention in schizophrenia and related disorders
Authors: Nordentoft Merete , Jeppesen Pia , Petersen Lone , Bertelsen Mette , Thorup Anne 
Published: August 2009

AbstractAim: To examine the rationale and evidence supporting an early intervention approach in schizophrenia.Methods: A selective literature review was conducted.Results: During the onset of schizophrenia, there is often a significant delay between the emergence of psychotic symptoms and the initiation of treatment. The average duration of untreated psychosis is around 1–2 years. During this period, brain function may continue to deteriorate and social networks can be irreversibly damaged. Studies have consistently linked longer duration of untreated psychosis with poorer outcomes and this relationship holds even after controlling for the potential confounding variable of premorbid functioning. In Norway, the early Treatment and Intervention in PSychosis study demonstrated that duration of untreated psychosis is amenable to intervention with the combination of educational campaigns and specialized early detection units substantially decreasing the period from onset of symptoms to treatment initiation. Furthermore, recent evidence from the randomized controlled OPUS and the Lambeth Early Onset trial studies have linked phase‐specific early interventions to improved outcomes spanning symptoms, adherence to treatment, comorbid drug abuse, relapse and readmission. Some benefits persist after cessation of the intervention.Conclusions: Early intervention in schizophrenia is justified to reduce the negative personal and social impact of prolonged periods of untreated symptoms. Furthermore, phase‐specific interventions are associated with improved outcomes, at least in the short term. Further research is needed to establish the optimum duration of such programmes.
Optimizing health‐care systems to promote early detection of psychosis
Authors: Larsen Tor K. , Joa Inge , Langeveld Johannes , Johannessen Jan O. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractAim: To discuss how health‐care systems can achieve early detection of patients with first‐episode psychosis.Methods: A selective literature review was conducted.Results: The optimal design of health‐care systems to promote early detection of psychosis had received considerable attention. Primary and specialist care both had important roles to play. Referral from primary care was a key pathway for patient identification. However, the recognition of emerging psychosis in the primary care setting can be challenging, and there was a need for educational initiatives to support primary care in performing this essential function. Rapid access to specialist care should be available when required. However, patients with early psychosis may not seek help from primary care for a variety of reasons, such as social withdrawal, lack of insight or fear of stigmatization. With this in mind, a number of assertive outreach programmes had been established that permit self‐referral, rapid assessment and fast access to treatment. There was some evidence that these rapid detection units were successful in identifying ‘harder‐to‐reach’ patients. Finally, information campaigns aimed at the general public can raise awareness and promote help‐seeking behaviours, and this appeared to be an important factor in reducing the duration of untreated psychosis.Conclusions: To promote the rapid identification of patients with psychosis, health‐care systems require a range of measures that recognize the different ways in which psychosis can be presented to the medical services. Education of general practitioners, assertive outreach, low‐threshold detection teams and general information campaigns are all important elements of early detection.
Psychosocial and psychological interventions in early psychosis: essential elements for recovery
Authors: Killackey Eóin 
Published: August 2009

AbstractAim: To briefly review evidence for some of the psychological and psychosocial interventions in early psychosis that are commonly recommended in treatment guidelines.Method: Four psychological interventions (cognitive behavioural therapy, cognitive remediation, family interventions and compliance therapy) and two psychosocial interventions (vocational interventions and behavioural weight management) were chosen. The evidence for the use of each intervention in the first‐episode population was briefly considered.Results: There was considerable evidence for some of these interventions (particularly cognitive behavioural therapy, behavioural weight management, vocational intervention and family interventions). However, most of this evidence has been gathered in populations of people with established schizophrenia and results have been extrapolated to first‐episode populations.Conclusion: Although early evidence indicated that psychological and psychosocial interventions in early psychosis may be more effective than in populations with more established illness (thus, warranting their inclusion in treatment packages), more research is needed. In addition to gathering data on symptom and functional outcomes, this research should provide a base for further arguments for reform of treatment approaches to routinely include psychological and psychosocial interventions.
Addressing the needs of carers during early psychosis
Authors: Jones Kevin 
Published: August 2009

AbstractAim: To review the role and needs of family members and carers during early psychosis.Methods: A selective literature review was conducted.Results: Carers of persons with schizophrenia are undeniably a highly valuable source of practical and emotional support for the person affected by the illness. The role of the carer can begin even before diagnosis, with family members helping bring the patient to the attention of medical services. The diagnosis itself can be a very difficult time for carers, with family members frequently experiencing stress, anxiety, guilt, depression and feelings of loss. Furthermore, family members themselves can feel the effects of stigmatization of mental illness. The aims of family interventions during early psychosis were therefore twofold: to reduce the level of distress experienced by carers and to assist them in their role in supporting patients towards remission and recovery. A number of recent studies support a role for family interventions in early psychosis. Despite their important role, carers frequently feel undervalued and unengaged by the health‐care system. Carers value good communication, and the provision of adequate information about the illness, its treatment and accessing health‐care services are key priorities.Conclusions: Carers for people affected by schizophrenia often feel undervalued. During early psychosis, interventions aimed at the family can facilitate patient identification, improve the emotional well‐being of family members and support carers in their unquestionably important role in promoting remission and recovery.
Hydrologic simulation‐aided regional flood frequency analysis of Nepalese river basins
Authors: Mishra B.K. , Takara K. , Yamashiki Y. , Tachikawa Y. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractIn Nepal, there are only two hydrometric stations in two of the five recognized hydrologic regions. Thus, data are available at fewer hydrometric stations than usually accepted as adequate for reliable estimation of regional frequency distributions and index flood relationships, which are two major elements of index flood‐based regional flood frequency analysis. This study deals with estimation of regional frequency distributions and index flood relationships in the five hydrologic regions of Nepal, with emphasis on the regions that have inadequate hydrometric stations. Synthetic flood data have been used for supplementing the hydrometric data in the two hydrologic regions. A rainfall‐runoff model SimHyd was used for synthetic flood data generation. Return period flood estimates of the derived regional flood–frequency relationships were compared with that of at‐site and Water and Energy Commission Secretariat of Nepal (WECS) (a frequently used method in Nepal) methods. The regional relationships were found to have far better estimation capabilities than the WECS method.
Ideal location for flood shelter: a geographic information system approach
Authors: Sanyal J. , Lu X.X. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractSpatial information for efficient flood emergency management is very limited in developing countries. This paper combines cartographic and remotely sensed data to identify the rural settlements that are vulnerable to flood in the Ajay River Basin of West Bengal, India. A European Remote Sensing Satellite‐1 synthetic aperture radar flood scene has been acquired over the Ajay River Basin. Several digital image processing techniques including thresholding have been applied to identify the flood‐affected settlements in the area. The principles of optimum location have been extensively applied through a geographic information system to come up with a map showing the ideal location for elevated concrete structures that can serve as flood shelter for vulnerable communities.
Role of rural land use management in flood and coastal risk management
Authors: Parrott A. , Brooks W. , Harmar O. , Pygott K. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractFlood risk is influenced by the rate and speed of rural land runoff within the catchment and by flow attenuation in the floodplain. Most research to date has demonstrated that the overall flood risk benefits of multiple small scale land management changes at a large catchment scale are difficult to determine and, in some situations, may not provide significant benefits in flood events. Measures may, however, offer potential for attenuation, improving flood warning times and therefore reducing flood damages. Climate change and major legislative drivers such as the Water Framework Directive will also further drive the need to consider different approaches to how land is managed and the impact that this may have on flood and coastal risk management.
Flood risk mapping in Europe, experiences and best practices
Authors: Van Alphen J. , Martini F. , Loat R. , Slomp R. , Passchier R. 
Published: August 2009

AbstractWithin the context of the European Flood Risk Management Directive, adopted in 2007, the European countries are required to prepare flood hazard and flood risk maps before 2014. The Exchange Circle on Flood Mapping (EXCIMAP) has made an inventory of flood mapping practices in Europe. This inventory has resulted in a ‘Handbook on Good Practices for flood mapping in Europe’ and an ‘Atlas of Flood maps containing examples from 19 European countries, Japan and USA’. This paper highlights the main conclusions of the EXCIMAP Handbook and Atlas, regarding the most appropriate ways to present flood‐related information. Distinction is made between different types of use and users, such as land‐use planning, emergency planning, flood risk management, reinsurance and the general public. Many countries disseminate flood maps (mainly flood extent maps) and flood hazard maps (depth or depth–velocity combinations) already via Internet. Many European rivers are part of transboundary water systems. Therefore, uniform approaches in flood (risk) assessments, map legend and presentation are urgently needed.
Printed Assemblies of Inorganic Light-Emitting Diodes for Deformable and Semitransparent Displays
Authors: Park Sang-Il , Xiong Yujie , Kim Rak-Hwan , Elvikis Paulius , Meitl Matthew , Kim Dae-Hyeong , Wu Jian , Yoon Jongseung , Yu Chang-Jae , Liu Zhuangjian , Huang Yonggang , Hwang Keh-chih , Ferreira Placid , Li Xiuling , Choquette Kent , Rogers John A. 
Published: August 2009

Bend Me, Stretch MeIn the push toward flexible electronics, much research has focused on using organic conducting materials, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), because they are more readily processed using scalable techniques.Parket al.(p.977) have developed a series of techniques for depositing and assembling inorganic LEDs onto glass, plastic, or rubber. Conventional processing techniques are used to connect the LEDs in order to create flexible, stretchable displays, which, because the active diode material only covers a small part of the substrate, are mostly transparent.
Multiple T-Cell Responses to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Are Enhanced by Dendritic Cells
Authors: Huang Xiao-Li , Fan Zheng , Borowski LuAnn , Rinaldo Charles R. 
Published: August 2009

ABSTRACTHuman immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-specific T-cell reactivity has been related to protection from disease progression. Optimal T-cell reactivity to HIV-1 presumably requires antigen processing and presentation by professional antigen-presenting cells, particularly dendritic cells (DC). Here we examined whether multiple HIV-1-specific T-cell functions are enhanced by stimulation with HIV-1 peptide-loaded DC derived from HIV-1-infected subjects on antiretroviral therapy. We first found that mature DC increased the number of gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing T cells detected by enzyme-linked immunospot assay to overlapping 15-mer peptides of HIV-1 Gag and Nef, compared to stimulation with peptide-loaded, immature DC or to peptides without DC. IFN-γ production was lower in response to large pools of the Gag and Nef peptides, regardless of presentation by DC. We further observed that HIV-1 peptide-loaded, mature DC stimulated greater CD8+and CD4+T-cell proliferation than did the peptides without DC and that T-cell proliferation was lower in response to larger pools of the peptides. The lower T-cell IFN-γ and proliferation responses to the larger peptide pools were related to lower T-cell viability. Finally, the number of polyfunctional CD8+and CD4+T cells stimulated by HIV-1 peptide-loaded, mature DC, defined as positive by intracellular staining for more than one immune mediator (IFN-γ, interleukin 2, tumor necrosis factor alpha, macrophage inhibitory protein 1β, or CD107a), was greater than that stimulated by the peptides alone. These results indicate that DC can enhance multiple types of HIV-1-specific T-cell functions.
Role of Activins and Inducible Nitric Oxide in the Pathogenesis of Ectopic Pregnancy in Patients with or withoutChlamydia trachomatisInfection
Authors: Refaat Bassem , Al-Azemi Majedah , Geary Ian , Eley Adrian , Ledger William 
Published: August 2009

ABSTRACTChlamydia trachomatisinfection can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy (EP), infertility, and chronic pelvic pain in women. Activins and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) are produced by the human fallopian tube, and we speculate that tubal activins and iNOS may be involved in the immune response toC. trachomatisin humans and their pathological alteration may result in tubal pathology and the development of EP. Blood and fallopian tubes were collected from 14 women with EP. Sera were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect antibodies against chlamydial heat shock protein 60 (chsp60) and the major outer membrane protein ofC. trachomatis.Confirmation ofC. trachomatisserology was made using the microimmunofluorescence test. The patients were classified into three groups according to their serological results, and immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR were performed to investigate the expression of candidate molecules by tubal epithelial cells among the three groups. This is the first study to show an increase in the expression of activin βA subunit, type II receptors, follistatin, and iNOS within the human fallopian tube of EP patients who were serologically positive forC. trachomatis. A similar expression profile was observed in the fallopian tubes with detectable antibodies only against chsp60. These results were shown at the mRNA and protein levels. We suggest that tubal activin A, its type II receptors, follistatin, and NO could be involved in the microbial-mediated immune response within the fallopian tube, and their pathological expression may lead to tubal damage and the development of EP.
Toll-Like Receptor 3 Ligand and Retinoic Acid Enhance Germinal Center Formation and Increase the Tetanus Toxoid Vaccine Response
Authors: Ma Yifan , Ross A. Catharine 
Published: August 2009

ABSTRACTImmunizations with T-cell-dependent antigens induce the formation of germinal centers (GC), unique lymphoid microenvironments in which antigen-activated B cells undergo class switching, affinity maturation, and differentiation into memory B cells. Poly(I:C) (PIC), a double-stranded RNA, and retinoic acid (RA), a metabolite of vitamin A which induces cell differentiation, have been shown to augment both primary and memory anti-tetanus toxoid (anti-TT) IgG responses. However, their influence on the GC reaction is unknown. In the present study, 6-week-old C57BL/6 mice were immunized with TT and cotreated with PIC, RA, or both. The splenic GC reaction was evaluated using immunofluorescence staining 10 days after TT priming. Each treatment enhanced the TT-induced GC formation (number of GC/follicle and GC area) about two- to threefold, which correlated with the titers of plasma anti-TT immunoglobulin G (IgG). Isotype switching to IgG1 was dramatically stimulated, with the greatest increase in IgG1-positive GC B cells induced by RA-PIC (P< 0.001). Moreover, PIC alone and RA-PIC robustly promoted the formation of the follicular dendritic cell (FDC) network in the GC light zone. PIC and RA-PIC also increased IgG1-positive B cells in the periarterial lymphatic sheath regions, where most IgG1-positive cells were plasma cells (CD138/syndecan-1 positive), suggesting that plasma cell generation was also enhanced in non-GC regions. The stimulation of several processes, including antigen-induced GC formation, isotype switching, FDC network formation within GC, and plasma cell differentiation by RA and/or PIC, suggests that this nutritional-immunological combination could be an effective means of promoting a robust vaccine response.
Structural and Biological Diversity of Lipopolysaccharides from
Burkholderia pseudomallei
and
Burkholderia thailandensis
Authors: Novem Vidhya , Shui Guanghou , Wang Dongling , Bendt Anne K. , Sim Siew Hoon , Liu Yichun , Thong Tuck Weng , Sivalingam Suppiah Paramalingam , Ooi Eng Eong , Wenk Markus R. , Tan Gladys 
Published: August 2009

ABSTRACT

Burkholderia pseudomallei
, the etiological agent of melioidosis, is a facultative intracellular pathogen. As
B. pseudomallei
is a gram-negative bacterium, its outer membrane contains lipopolysaccharide (LPS) molecules, which have been shown to have low-level immunological activities in vitro. In this study, the biological activities of
B. pseudomallei
LPS were compared to those of
Burkholderia thailandensis
LPS, and it was found that both murine and human macrophages produced levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-10 in response to
B. pseudomallei
LPS that were lower than those in response to
B. thailandensis
LPS in vitro. In order to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the low-level immunological activities of
B. pseudomallei
LPS, its lipid A moiety was characterized using mass spectrometry. The major lipid A species identified in
B. pseudomallei
consists of a biphosphorylated disaccharide backbone, which is modified with 4-amino-4-deoxy-arabinose (Ara4N) at both phosphates and penta-acylated with fatty acids (FA) C
14:0
(3-OH), C
16:0
(3-OH), and either C
14:0
or C
14:0
(2-OH). In contrast, the major lipid A species identified in
B. thailandensis
was a mixture of tetra- and penta-acylated structures with differing amounts of Ara4N and FA C
14:0
(3-OH). Lipid A species acylated with FA C
14:0
(2-OH) were unique to
B. pseudomallei
and not found in
B. thailandensis
. Our data thus indicate that
B. pseudomallei
synthesizes lipid A species with long-chain FA C
14:0
(2-OH) and Ara4N-modified phosphate groups, allowing it to evade innate immune recognition.
Proficiency Program for Real-Time PCR Diagnosis of
Bordetella pertussis
Infections in French Hospital Laboratories and at the French National Reference Center for Whooping Cough and other Bordetelloses
Authors: Caro Valérie , Guiso Nicole , Alberti Corinne , Liguori Sandrine , Burucoa Christophe , Couetdic Gérard , Doucet-Populaire Florence , Ferroni Agnès , Papin-Gibaud Sophie , Grattard Florence , Réglier-Poupet Hélène , Raymond Josette , Soler Catherine , Bouchet Sylvie , Charreau Sandrine , Couzon Brigitte , Leymarie Isabelle , Tavares Nicole , Choux Mathilde , Bingen Edouard , Bonacorsi Stéphane 
Published: August 2009

ABSTRACT

With the support of a ministerial program for innovative and expensive technologies, dedicated to the economic evaluation of laboratory diagnosis of pertussis by real-time PCR, external quality assessment for real-time IS
481
PCR was carried out. Coordinated by the National Centre of Reference of Pertussis and other Bordetelloses (NCR), this study aimed to harmonize and to assess the performances of eight participating microbiology hospital laboratories throughout the French territory. Between January 2006 and February 2007, 10 proficiency panels were sent by the NCR (ascending proficiency program), representing a total of 49 samples and including eight panels to analyze and evaluate the global sensitivity and specificity of real-time PCR, one to assess the limit of detection, and one to evaluate nucleic acid extraction methods. As part of the descending proficiency program, extracted DNA from clinical samples was sent by the eight participating laboratories in different panels and analyzed by the NCR. In the ascending proficiency analysis, the sensitivity and specificity of the real-time PCR methods were 92.2% and 94.3%, respectively. The limit of detection of the different methods ranged between 0.1 and 1 fg/μl (0.2 to 2 CFU/μl). The nucleic acid extraction methods showed similar performances. During the descending proficiency analysis, performed with 126 samples, the result of the NCR for 15 samples (11.9%) was discordant with the result obtained by the source laboratory. Despite several initial differences, harmonization was easy and performances were homogeneous. However, the risk of false-positive results remains quite high, and we strongly recommend establishment of uniform quality control procedures performed regularly.