Publications

operational issues and trends associated with the pilot introduction of zinc for childhood diarrhoea in bougouni district, mali.	zinc for the treatment of childhood diarrhoea was introduced in a pilot area in southern mali to prepare for a cluster-randomized effectiveness study and to inform policies on how to best introduce and promote zinc at the community level. dispersible zinc tablets in 14-tablet blister packs were provided through community health centres and drug kits managed by community health workers (chws) in two health zones in bougouni district, mali. village meetings and individual counselling provided by c ...	18686549
iliocrural long bypass using the deep femoral artery as a midway outflow for limb salvage: report of a case.	a patient who presented with total occlusion of the right common femoral artery, superficial femoral artery and popliteal artery is reported. ilio-deep femoral and deep femoroposterior tibial bypass with an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene graft and an in situ saphenous vein graft, respectively, was successfully performed. a simple and reproducible technique for crural bypass in patients whose common and superficial femoral arteries are unavailable as inflow and outflow sites is presented.	22477397
thermotrp channels in nociceptors: taking a lead from capsaicin receptor trpv1.	nociceptors with peripheral and central projections express temperature sensitive transient receptor potential (trp) ion channels, also called thermotrp's. chemosensitivity of thermotrp's to certain natural compounds eliciting pain or exhibiting thermal properties has proven to be a good tool in characterizing these receptors. capsaicin, a pungent chemical in hot peppers, has assisted in the cloning of the first thermotrp, trpv1. this discovery initiated the search for other receptors encoding t ...	19305786
ab-qtl analysis in winter wheat: ii. genetic analysis of seedling and field resistance against leaf rust in a wheat advanced backcross population.	the present study aimed to localize exotic quantitative trait locus (qtl) alleles for the improvement of leaf rust (p. triticina) resistance in an advanced backcross (ab) population, b22, which is derived from a cross between the winter wheat cultivar batis (triticum aestivum) and the synthetic wheat accession syn022l. the latter was developed from hybridization of t. turgidum ssp. dicoccoides and t. tauschii. altogether, 250 bc2f3 lines of b22 were assessed for seedling resistance against the l ...	18338154
an evaluation of the psychometric properties and criterion validity of the religious social support scale.	this study evaluates the psychometric properties and criterion validity of the religious social support (rss) scale in a diverse, representative community sample of new mothers (n = 1,156). results indicated that two factors best represented the rss. criterion validity was established by demonstrating that the rss was associated with relational and health outcomes. however, these associations were reduced to statistical insignificance once a general measure of social support was included as a co ...	19924270
the factor structure of the revised cheek and buss shyness scale in an undergraduate university sample.	the present study examined the psychometric properties of the persian version of the revised cheek and buss shyness scale (rcbs) using confirmatory factor analysis among (n = 300) college students.	22952516
the qol-dass model to estimate overall quality of life and general subjective health.	in order to find how rating the whoqol-bref and dass scales are combined to produce an overall measure of quality of life and satisfaction with health rating, a qol-dass model was designed; and the strength of this hypothesized model was examined using the structural equation modeling.	22952520
the central role of glia in pathological pain and the potential of targeting the cannabinoid 2 receptor for pain relief.	under normal conditions, acute pain processing consists of well-characterized neuronal signaling events. when dysfunctional pain signaling occurs, pathological pain ensues. glial activation and their released factors participate in the mediation of pathological pain. the use of cannabinoid compounds for pain relief is currently an area of great interest for both basic scientists and physicians. these compounds, bind mainly either the cannabinoid receptor subtype 1 (cb(1)r) or cannabinoid recepto ...	22442754
methods and models for monitoring upr-associated macrophage death during advanced atherosclerosis.	during advanced atherosclerosis, chronic activation of the endoplasmic reticulum (er) stress pathway, otherwise known as the unfolded protein response (upr), is strongly associated with atherosclerotic plaque destabilization, the precursor to acute myocardial infarction and sudden death. destabilized or vulnerable plaques are characterized by features that include thinning of a protective collagenous cap at the interface between the plaque and the vascular lumen and expansion of the necrotic cor ...	21266236
executive control and dimensions of problem behaviors in preschool children.	despite the widespread recognition of the importance of executive control (ec) in externalizing psychopathology, the relation between ec and problem behavior has not been well characterized, particularly in typically developing preschoolers.	20500238
clinical epidemiology of lymphatic filariasis and community practices and perceptions amongst the ado people of benue state, nigeria.	as part of efforts to initiate lymphatic filariasis elimination activities in benue state, this study employed the use of lymphatic filariasis-related clinical signs as rapid diagnostic features, immunochromatographic card test (ict) to detect circulating filarial antigen (cfa) and questionnaire to investigate community perceptions and beliefs. 81 (32.6%) out of the 248 persons were positive for circulating filarial antigen (cfa). infection rates denoted by cfa ranged from 41 (46.1%) in uffia to ...	23878707
health literacy assessment using talking touchscreen technology (health litt): a new item response theory-based measure of health literacy.	the importance of health literacy has grown considerably among researchers, clinicians, patients, and policymakers. better instruments and measurement strategies are needed. our objective was to develop a new health literacy instrument using novel health information technology and modern psychometrics. we designed health litt as a self-administered multimedia touchscreen test based on item response theory (irt) principles. we enrolled a diverse group of 619 english-speaking, primary care patient ...	21951249
the role of trigeminal interpolaris-caudalis transition zone in persistent orofacial pain.	previous studies have established the role of the medullary dorsal horn or the subnucleus caudalis of the spinal trigeminal complex, a homolog of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, in trigeminal pain processing. in addition to the medullary dorsal horn, recent studies have pointed out increased excitability and sensitization of trigeminal interpolaris and caudalis transition zone (vi/vc) following deep orofacial injury, involving neuron-glia-cytokine interactions. the vi/vc transition zone acce ...	21708312
the role of attitudes, family, peer and school on alcohol use, rule breaking and aggressive behavior in hispanic delinquent adolescents.	objective: the purpose of this study was to examine ecodevelopmental risk factors associated with alcohol uses, rule breaking and aggressive behaviors among hispanic delinquent adolescents. specifically, this study tests the effect of attitudes, family, peer, and school bonding on alcohol use, rule breaking and aggressive behaviors in hispanic delinquent youth. methods: a sample of 235 heterogeneous hispanic delinquent adolescents was recruited through referrals from the miami-dade county's depa ...	22473467
shaping plasticity to enhance recovery after injury.	the past decade of neuroscience research has provided considerable evidence that the adult brain can undergo substantial reorganization following injury. for example, following an ischemic lesion, such as occurs following a stroke, there is a cascade of molecular, genetic, physiological and anatomical events that allows the remaining structures in the brain to reorganize. often, these events are associated with recovery, suggesting that they contribute to it. indeed, the term plasticity in strok ...	21763529
the vanilloid agonist resiniferatoxin for interventional-based pain control.	the idea of selectively targeting nociceptive transmission at the level of the peripheral nervous system is attractive from multiple perspectives, particularly the potential lack of non-specific (non-targeted) cns side effects. out of the multiple trp channels involved in nociception, trpv1 is a strong candidate based on its biophysical conductance properties and its expression in inflammation-sensitive dorsal root ganglion neurons and their axons and central and peripheral nerve terminals. whil ...	21671877
international comparisons of behavioral and emotional problems in preschool children: parents' reports from 24 societies.	international comparisons were conducted of preschool children's behavioral and emotional problems as reported on the child behavior checklist for ages 1½-5 by parents in 24 societies (n = 19,850). item ratings were aggregated into scores on syndromes; diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-oriented scales; a stress problems scale; and internalizing, externalizing, and total problems scales. effect sizes for scale score differences among the 24 societies ranged from small to mediu ...	21534056
stereotype threat and college academic performance: a latent variables approach.	stereotype threat theory has gained experimental and survey-based support in helping explain the academic underperformance of minority students at selective colleges and universities. stereotype threat theory states that minority students underperform because of pressures created by negative stereotypes about their racial group. past survey-based studies, however, are characterized by methodological inefficiencies and potential biases: key theoretical constructs have only been measured using sum ...	23950616
generation of regulatory t cells to antigen expressed in the retina.	regulatory t cells (tregs) are generated to antigens (ag) found in the retina. some tregs are the result of ectopic expression of the retinal ags in the thymus, where developing t cells are committed to enter the regulatory lineage. however, the generation of retinal ag-specific tregs independent of the thymus was uncertain. our studies show that tregs can be generated from mature, peripheral t cells based on exposure to retinal ags. these peripherally induced tregs limited immune responses and ...	25620898
enhancing antigen cross-presentation and t-cell priming by complexing protein antigen to recombinant large heat-shock protein.	large heat-shock proteins (hsps), including hsp110 and grp170, are unique immunochaperones capable of carrying and introducing antigens into professional antigen-presenting cells for efficient cross-presentation. therefore, reconstituted chaperone complexes of large hsps and protein antigen may be exploited for augmentation of an antigen-specific immune response. the methods for the preparation of the recombinant protein antigen chaperone complex and characterization of its t-cell priming capabi ...	21898243
t cells in multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.	multiple sclerosis (ms) is a demyelinating inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system (cns), which involves autoimmune responses to myelin antigens. studies in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (eae), an animal model for ms, have provided convincing evidence that t cells specific for self-antigens mediate pathology in these diseases. until recently, t helper type 1 (th1) cells were thought to be the main effector t cells responsible for the autoimmune inflammation. however more ...	20682002
a novel approach to the development of anticarcinogenic vaccines.	human exposure to chemical carcinogens is an important etiological factor in cancer diseases. in this article, we will discuss a new approach to the development of anticarcinogenic vaccines. the main task in our research was to select a benzo[a]pyrene immunomimetic peptide considered as a hapten-specific component. for this purpose, we synthesized carcinogen-protein conjugates and prepared mono- and polyclonal antibodies to benzo[a]pyrene. phage display technology was used to select the benzo[a] ...	22649670
validity of processes of change in physical activity among college students in the tiger study.	to test the factorial validity and measurement equivalence/invariance of scales used to measure processes of change derived from the transtheoretical model (ttm) applied to physical activity.	20734174
anger suppression, interdependent self-construal, and depression among asian american and european american college students.	the present study tested a theoretical model of emotion regulation (yap, sheeber, & allen, 2007) in a sample of asian american and european american college students (n = 365). specifically, the mediating role of anger suppression in the effect of temperament and family processes on depressive symptoms was tested across race and levels of interdependent self-construal (a culturally based self orientation emphasizing connectedness with others). next, the moderation of the suppression-depression r ...	21058815
quantity, not quality: the relationship between fluid intelligence and working memory capacity.	a key motivation for understanding capacity in working memory (wm) is its relationship with fluid intelligence. recent evidence has suggested a two-factor model that distinguishes between the number of representations that can be maintained in wm and the resolution of those representations. to determine how these factors relate to fluid intelligence, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis on multiple number-limited and resolution-limited measures of wm ability. the results strongly supporte ...	21037165
variation in emergency medical services workplace safety culture.	workplace attitude, beliefs, and culture may impact the safety of patient care. this study characterized perceptions of safety culture in a nationwide sample of emergency medical services (ems) agencies.	20809688
evaluating mediated perception of narrative health messages: the perception of narrative performance scale.	narrative media health messages have proven effective in preventing adolescents' substance use but as yet few measures exist to assess perceptions of them. without such a measure it is difficult to evaluate the role these messages play in health promotion or to differentiate them from other message forms. in response to this need, a study was conducted to evaluate the perception of narrative performance scale that assesses perceptions of narrative health messages. a sample of 1185 fifth graders ...	21822459
examining the factor structure of anxiety and depression symptom items among adolescents in santiago, chile.	the co-occurrence of emotional disorders among adolescents has received considerable empirical attention. this study aims to contribute to the understanding of co-occurring anxiety and depression by examining the factor structure of the youth self-report used with a sample of low-income adolescents from santiago, chile. data from two independent, randomly selected subsamples were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. results indicate the best fit for the data is a two-fact ...	21785669
targeting astrocyte signaling for chronic pain.	clinical management of chronic pain after nerve injury (neuropathic pain) and tumor invasion (cancer pain) is a real challenge due to our limited understanding of the cellular mechanisms that initiate and maintain chronic pain. it has been increasingly recognized that glial cells, such as microglia and astrocytes in the cns play an important role in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. notably, astrocytes make very close contacts with synapses and astrocyte reaction after nerve injur ...	20880510
immunohistochemical and stereologic analysis of nf-κb activation in chronic periodontitis.	nuclear factor kappa b (nf-κb) is a member of the transcription factor family, and it plays a key role in coordinating the expression of genes in many chronic inflammatory diseases. this study investigated the cytoplasmic and nuclear activation of (nf-κb) and the cytoplasmic expression of inhibitor kappa b (iκb) in gingival tissues of subjects who had chronic periodontitis.	20922166
individual and instructional determinants of student engagement in physical education.	this study was conducted to identify student characteristics and instructional factors that impact student engagement in physical education (pe). data were derived from the systematic observation of 124 sessions taught by 31 physical educators and the administration of health and pe engagement questionnaires to 2,018 students in grades 5-8. physical activity was directly affected by student engagement and perceived competence in pe and indirectly affected by students' body image through its asso ...	22844176
a psychometric analysis of the revised child anxiety and depression scales--parent version in a school sample.	the revised child anxiety and depression scale-parent version (rcads-p) is a parent-report questionnaire of youth anxiety and depression with scales corresponding to the dsm diagnoses of separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and major depressive disorder. the rcads-p was recently developed and has previously demonstrated strong psychometric properties in a clinic-referred sample (ebesutani et al., journal of abnor ...	20878460
return-to-work self-efficacy: development and validation of a scale in claimants with musculoskeletal disorders.	introduction we report on the development and validation of a 10-item scale assessing self-efficacy within the return-to-work context, the return-to-work self-efficacy (rtwse) scale. methods lost-time claimants completed a telephone survey 1 month (n = 632) and 6 months (n = 446) after a work-related musculoskeletal injury. exploratory (varimax and promax rotation) and confirmatory factor analyses of self-efficacy items were conducted with two separate subsamples at both time points. construct v ...	20865445
latent class detection and class assignment: a comparison of the maxeig taxometric procedure and factor mixture modeling approaches.	taxometric procedures such as maxeig and factor mixture modeling (fmm) are used in latent class clustering, but they have very different sets of strengths and weaknesses. taxometric procedures, popular in psychiatric and psychopathology applications, do not rely on distributional assumptions. their sole purpose is to detect the presence of latent classes. the procedures capitalize on the assumption that, due to mean differences between two classes, item covariances within class are smaller than ...	24648712
psychopathic traits of dutch adolescents in residential care: identifying subgroups.	the present study examined whether a sample of 214 (52.8% male, m age = 15.76, sd = 1.29) institutionalized adolescents could be classified into subgroups based on psychopathic traits. confirmatory factor analyses revealed a relationship between the subscales of the youth psychopathic traits inventory (ypi) and the three latent constructs of the original model on which it is based. latent class analyses showed that adolescents showing psychopathic traits could be classified into three subgroups. ...	20814737
understanding psychopathy through an evaluation of interpersonal behavior: testing the factor structure of the interpersonal measure of psychopathy in a large sample of jail detainees.	interpersonal characteristics are core features of the psychopathy construct which have a unique pattern of correlations with a variety of external correlates. to improve the assessment of interpersonal traits, the current study evaluated the internal structure of the interpersonal measure of psychopathy (im-p) through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (cfa) in a large sample of jail inmates. a 17-item, 3-factor (dominance, grandiosity, and boundary violations) structure evidenced goo ...	20822276
parental work schedules and adolescent risky behaviors.	using a large contemporary data set (the national longitudinal survey of youth-child supplement), the authors examined the effects of parental work schedules on adolescent risky behaviors at age 13 or 14 and the mechanisms that might explain them. structural equation modeling suggests mothers who worked more often at night spent significantly less time with children and had lower quality home environments, and these mediators were significantly linked to adolescent risky behaviors. similar effec ...	20822236
measuring participation: the patient-reported outcomes measurement information system experience.	to describe the lessons learned in the initial development of patient-reported outcomes measurement information system social function item banks.	20801282
a reexamination of the factor structure of the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale: is a one-factor model plausible?	the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (ces-d) is one of the most widely used measures of depressive symptoms in research today. the original psychometric work in support of the ces-d (radloff, 1977) described a 4-factor model underlying the 20 items on the scale. despite a long history of evidence supporting this structure, researchers routinely report single-number summaries from the ces-d. the research described in this article examines the plausibility of 1-factor model using ...	20822284
structural equation model to predict subjective quality of life: a comparison of scales with different numerical anchoring.	the main aim of the current survey was to evaluate a hypothesized model on subjective quality of life (sqol), and to survey the role of scale anchoring on satisfaction and dissatisfaction ratings.	22952507
world health organization quality-of-life scale (whoqol-bref): analyses of their item response theory properties based on the graded responses model.	this study has used item response theory (irt) to examine the psychometric properties of health-related quality-of-life.	22952508
inhibition of follicular t-helper cells by cd8(+) regulatory t cells is essential for self tolerance.	the ability to produce vigorous immune responses that spare self tissues and organs depends on the elimination of autoreactive t and b cells. however, purging of immature and mature self-reactive t and b cells is incomplete and may also require the involvement of cells programmed to suppress immune responses. regulatory t cells (t(reg)) belonging to the cd4(+) t-cell subset may have a role in preventing untoward inflammatory responses, but t-cell subsets programmed to inhibit the development of ...	20844537
assessing suicide risk among callers to crisis hotlines: a confirmatory factor analysis.	our goal was to investigate the factor structure of a risk assessment tool utilized by suicide hotlines and to determine the predictive validity of the obtained factors in predicting subsequent suicidal behavior. we conducted an exploratory factor analysis (efa), an efa in a confirmatory factor analysis (efa/cfa) framework, and a cfa on independent subsamples derived from a total sample of 1,085. similar to previous studies, we found consistent evidence for a two-factor solution, with one factor ...	20578186
mothers' teaching strategies and children's effortful control: a longitudinal study.	findings on the relation of maternal verbal teaching strategies to children's effortful control (ec; i.e., self-regulation) are limited in quantity and somewhat inconsistent. in this study, children's ec was assessed at 18, 30, and 42 months (ns = 255, 229, and 209, respectively) with adults' reports and a behavioral measure. mothers' verbal teaching strategies were assessed while the mother and child worked on a task together. children's general vocabulary also was measured. in a structural pan ...	20822239
the role of socialization, effortful control, and ego resiliency in french adolescents' social functioning.	the relations among effortful control, ego resiliency, socialization, and social functioning were examined with a sample of 182 french adolescents (14-20 years old). adolescents, their parents, and/or teachers completed questionnaires on these constructs. effortful control and ego resiliency were correlated with adolescents' social functioning, especially with low externalizing and internalizing behaviors and sometimes with high peer competence. furthermore, aspects of socialization (parenting p ...	21228912
developmental patterns of social trust between early and late adolescence: age and school climate effects.	social trust (i.e., beliefs that people are generally fair and trustworthy) is important to the functioning of democracies and trend studies show it has declined. we test hypotheses concerning the development of these beliefs in adolescence. based on surveys of 1535 adolescents collected over two years, we find that middle and late adolescents had significantly lower levels of trust than early adolescents and that these beliefs became more stable and less related to interpersonal trust between e ...	20936077
insomnia symptoms and daytime function in stable heart failure.	to evaluate insomnia symptoms and the extent to which they are associated with clinical and demographic patient characteristics, daytime symptoms, and functional performance in patients with stable heart failure (hf).	20857868
listening comprehension, oral expression, reading comprehension, and written expression: related yet unique language systems in grades 1, 3, 5, and 7.	age-normed tests of listening comprehension, oral expression, reading comprehension, and written expression were administered in grades 1 (n=128), 3, and 5 or 3 (n=113), 5, and 7. confirmatory factor analyses compared one- and four- factor models at each grade level and supported a four- factor model of language by ear, mouth, eye, and hand. multiple regressions identified which of the three other language skills explained unique variance in each of the four language skill outcomes and provided ...	21461140
the construction and validation of an abridged version of the autism-spectrum quotient (aq-short).	this study reports on the development and validation of an abridged version of the 50-item autism-spectrum quotient (aq), a self-report measure of autistic traits. we aimed to reduce the number of items whilst retaining high validity and a meaningful factor structure. the item reduction procedure was performed on data from 1,263 dutch students and general population adults. the resulting 28-item aq-short was subsequently validated in 3 independent samples, both clinical and controls, from the ne ...	20697795
instrument to measure psychological contract violation in pharmacy students.	to adapt and evaluate an instrument that measures perceived psychological contract violations in pharmacy students by schools and colleges of pharmacy.	21045949
differential subcellular recruitment of monoacylglycerol lipase generates spatial specificity of 2-arachidonoyl glycerol signaling during axonal pathfinding.	endocannabinoids, particularly 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-ag), impact the directional turning and motility of a developing axon by activating cb(1) cannabinoid receptors (cb(1)rs) in its growth cone. recent findings posit that sn-1-diacylglycerol lipases (daglα/β) synthesize 2-ag in the motile axon segment of developing pyramidal cells. coincident axonal targeting of cb(1)rs and dagls prompts the hypothesis that autocrine 2-ag signaling facilitates axonal outgrowth. however, dagls alone are insu ...	20962221
it takes two to fight in school too: a social relations model of the psychometric properties and relative variance of dyadic aggression and victimization in middle school.	aggressive behavior has been well-studied in terms of interindividual differences among aggressors and victims, but has been understudied, especially within naturalistic contexts, in terms of aggressor-victim relationships. the social relations model (srm) is a powerful conceptual and analytic tool for studying dyadic phenomena, and we describe the use of multivariate srm to study aggression. boys and girls (n = 210) in middle schools (sixth and seventh grades) completed a newly created dyadic a ...	26985138
exploring the latent structures of psychological constructs in social development using the dimensional-categorical spectrum.	this paper provides an introduction to a recently developed conceptual framework-the dimensional-categorical spectrum-for utilizing general factor mixture models to explore the latent structures of psychological constructs. this framework offers advantages over traditional latent variable models that usually employ either continuous latent factors or categorical latent class variables to characterize the latent structure and require an a priori assumption about the underlying nature of the const ...	24489441
obesity and depression symptoms in the beaver dam offspring study population.	depression and obesity are both important public health problems. however, it is not clear whether obesity contributes to depression. our study aims to evaluate the association between obesity and possible depression.	20112247
underlying dimensions of the five health-related quality-of-life measures used in utility assessment: evidence from the national health measurement study.	preference-weighted health-related quality-of-life (hrqol) indexes produce a summary score from discrete health states determined by questions falling into several attributes, such as pain and mobility. values of hrqol are used alongside other health outcomes to monitor the health of populations.	20613664
developing brief fatigue short forms calibrated to a common mathematical metric: is content-balancing important?	there are clinical and research settings in which concerns about respondent burden make the use of longer self-report measures impractical. though computer adaptive testing provides an efficient strategy for measuring patient reported outcomes, the requirement of a computer interface makes it impractical for some settings. this study evaluated how well brief short forms, constructed from a longer measure of patient reported fatigue, reproduced scores on the full measure. when the items of an ite ...	21776192
relations among maternal socialization, effortful control, and maladjustment in early childhood.	in a sample of 18-, 30-, and 42-month-olds, the relations among parenting, effortful control (ec), and maladjustment were examined. parenting was assessed with mothers' reports and observations; ec was measured with mothers' and caregivers' reports, as well as a behavioral task; and externalizing and internalizing symptoms were assessed with parents' and caregivers' reports. although 18-month unsupportive (vs. supportive) parenting negatively predicted ec at 30 months, when the stability of thes ...	20576175
the self-concept and conjugal loss: evidence for structural change.	the self-concept is often considered to be a personal resource that individuals may use to cope with life stressors, but little is known about how this entity might itself change in response to profound stress. the present study examines structural change in self-concept following conjugal loss in later life. analyses were conducted on data collected from 57 widows every 4 months over the first 2 years post-loss. the first objective was to explore the adequacy of an operational definition of the ...	21197123
prevention is better than cure: the case for clinical trials of therapeutic cancer vaccines in the prophylactic setting.		20729485
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: the current status of its epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment in china.	idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (ipf) is a type of intractable and rare disease, and its epidemiology in china is still unclear. the diagnosis and treatment of ipf has received considerable attention and two editions of guidelines on ipf diagnosis and treatment have been published by the chinese society of respiratory diseases. treatment of ipf with traditional chinese medicine (tcm) has been widely investigated in china and several types of tcm extracts are reported to be effective in animal mode ...	25343109
efficacy and safety of a unique enteric-coated bicarbonate-buffered pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy in children and adults with cystic fibrosis.	pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (pert) is used to treat exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in cystic fibrosis.	25210613
the c-type natriuretic peptide induces thermal hyperalgesia through a noncanonical gβγ-dependent modulation of trpv1 channel.	natriuretic peptides (nps) control natriuresis and normalize changes in blood pressure. recent studies suggest that nps are also involved in the regulation of pain sensitivity, although the underlying mechanisms remain essentially unknown. many biological effects of nps are mediated by guanylate cyclase (gc)-coupled np receptors, npr-a and npr-b, whereas the third np receptor, npr-c, lacks the gc kinase domain and acts as the np clearance receptor. in addition, npr-c can couple to specific gα(i) ...	22933780
measuring self-efficacy to use vaginal microbicides: the microbicide use self-efficacy instrument.	objectives to evaluate the psychometric properties of the microbicide use self-efficacy (muse) instrument and to examine correlates of self-efficacy to use vaginal microbicides among a sample of racially and ethnically diverse women living in the north-eastern united states.	23806676
medical tourism in malaysia: prospect and challenges.	tourism, combined with the phrase medical, seems to be a new form of tourism which has gained huge popularity in recent decades. though, a number of literatures available with regard to the tourism industry and the competitiveness of the destination, however, the major aspects which determine the satisfaction of medical tourists are hardly focused specifically on malaysia. there is a lack of empirical evidence in this area of study which needs to be bridged. hence, this study aimed at investigat ...	26056632
a latent class approach to examining forms of peer victimization.	there is growing interest in gender differences in the experience of various forms of peer victimization; however, much of the work to date has used traditional variable-centered approaches by focusing on scales or individual forms of victimization in isolation. the current study explored whether there were discrete groups of adolescents who experience distinct forms of peer victimization by bullying (e.g., physical, verbal, relational) among middle and high school-age youth, and whether members ...	25414522
harassment, discrimination, violence, and illicit drug use among young men who have sex with men.	we examined the relationship among social discrimination, violence, and illicit drug use among an ethnically diverse cohort of young men who have sex with men (ymsm) residing in los angeles. five hundred twenty-six ymsm (aged 18-24 years) were recruited using a venue-based, stratified probability sampling design. surveys assessed childhood financial hardship, violence (physical assault, sexual assault, intimate partner violence), social discrimination (homophobia and racism), and illicit drug us ...	20707690
stability of borderline personality disorder features in girls.	little empirical evidence exists regarding developmental antecedents of borderline personality disorder (bpd) features in children and adolescents. as a first step in addressing this gap in our knowledge, this study examined the factor structure and stability of putative underlying bpd features, specifically impulsivity, negative affectivity, and interpersonal aggression, in 6-12-year-old girls. we report on results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of underlying bpd dimensions a ...	20695806
psychometric properties of a short form of the affective lability scale (als-18).	psychometric properties of a short form of the affective lability scale (als) that was developed in a nonclinical sample (i.e., undergraduate students) were examined in a sample of people diagnosed with cluster b dsm-iv axis ii personality disorders (n=236), other personality disorders (n=180), and healthy comparison participants (n=164). the total score of the als-18 score correlated strongly with the original 54-item scale (r = .97) and aspects of convergent and discriminant validity of the al ...	20606710
study design considerations for evaluating the efficacy and safety of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy in patients with cystic fibrosis.	in 2006, the us fda issued a 'guidance for industry' regarding submission of new drug applications for pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (pert) products. five oral delayed-release pert products have been approved by the fda, and several others are under development and/ or evaluation for new drug application submission. we present in this paper recommendations of the cystic fibrosis foundation's cystic fibrosis (cf) therapeutics development network and data safety monitoring board regarding ...	25132954
psychological health of military children: longitudinal evaluation of a family-centered prevention program to enhance family resilience.	family-centered preventive interventions have been proposed as relevant to mitigating psychological health risk and promoting resilience in military families facing wartime deployment and reintegration. this study evaluates the impact of a family-centered prevention program, families overcoming under stress family resilience training (focus), on the psychological adjustment of military children. two primary goals include (1) understanding the relationships of distress among family members using ...	23929043
vii. nih toolbox cognition battery (cb): factor structure for 3 to 15 year olds.	confirmatory factor analysis was used the evaluate the dimensional structure underlying the nih toolbox cognition battery (cb) and the measures chosen to serve as concurrent validity criteria for the nih toolbox cb. these results were used to evaluate the convergent and discriminant validity of the cb in children ranging from 3 to 15 years of age. results were evaluated separately for a 3- to 6-year-old group and a 8- to 15-year-old group because different validation measures were used in these ...	23952205
deconstructing the externalizing spectrum: growth patterns of overt aggression, covert aggression, oppositional behavior, impulsivity/inattention, and emotion dysregulation between school entry and early adolescence.	the purpose of this study was to determine whether five subcomponents of children's externalizing behavior showed distinctive patterns of long-term growth and predictive correlates. we examined growth in teachers' ratings of overt aggression, covert aggression, oppositional defiance, impulsivity/inattention, and emotion dysregulation across three developmental periods spanning kindergarten through grade 8 (ages 5-13 years). we also determined whether three salient background characteristics, fam ...	23880394
rapid ultrasonic stimulation of inflamed tissue with diagnostic intent.	previous studies have observed that individual pulses of intense focused ultrasound (ifu) applied to inflamed and normal tissue can generate sensations, where inflamed tissue responds at a lower intensity than normal tissue. it was hypothesized that successively applied ifu pulses will generate sensation in inflamed tissue at a lower intensity and dose than application of a single ifu pulse. this hypothesis was tested using an animal model of chronic inflammatory pain, created by injecting an ir ...	23927192
factor structure of measures of anxiety and depression symptoms in african american youth.	previous research has suggested that the factor structure of anxiety measures is different in african american samples compared to majority population samples. however, these findings may be due to misuse of analytic methods rather than meaningful differences in the underlying presentation of anxiety. to address this, we examined the factor structure of two measures of child anxiety: the revised children's anxiety and depression scale and the multidimensional anxiety scale for children in a samp ...	23224837
single and multiple ability estimation in the sem framework: a non-informative bayesian estimation approach.	latent variable models with many categorical items and multiple latent constructs result in many dimensions of numerical integration, and the traditional frequentist estimation approach, such as maximum likelihood (ml), tends to fail due to model complexity. in such cases, bayesian estimation with diffuse priors can be used as a viable alternative to ml estimation. the present study compares the performance of bayesian estimation to ml estimation in estimating single or multiple ability factors ...	24659828
trkb.t1 contributes to neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury through regulation of cell cycle pathways.	spinal cord injury (sci) frequently causes severe, persistent central neuropathic pain that responds poorly to conventional pain treatments. brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf) signaling appears to contribute to central sensitization and nocifensive behaviors in certain animal models of chronic pain through effects mediated in part by the alternatively spliced truncated isoform of the bdnf receptor tropomyosin-related kinase b.t1 (trkb.t1). mechanisms linking trkb.t1 to sci-induced chronic ...	23884949
reliability, validity, and associations with sexual behavior among ghanaian teenagers of scales measuring four dimensions relationships with parents and other adults.	little research has been done on the social contexts of adolescent sexual behaviors in sub-saharan africa. as part of a longitudinal cohort study (n=1275) of teenage girls and boys in two ghanaian towns, interviewers administered a 26 item questionnaire module intended to assess four dimensions of youth-adult relationships: monitoring conflict, emotional support, and financial support. confirmatory factor and traditional psychometric analyses showed the four scales to be reliable. known-groups c ...	25821286
a novel mcl1 variant inhibits apoptosis via increased bim sequestration.	members of the bcl-2 protein family are frequently deregulated in tumors as they critically control cell death induction in mammalian cells. alterations of these proteins may cause resistance to chemotherapy-induced cell death and immune responses. by serendipity we cloned a variant of the anti-apoptotic bcl2-family member myeloid cell leukemia-1 (mcl1) from human neuroblastoma and leukemia cells. this mcl1l variant lacks a 45 bp sequence that codes for 15 highly conserved amino acids ranging fr ...	23872733
reading skill components and impairments in middle school struggling readers.	this study investigated how measures of decoding, fluency, and comprehension in middle school students overlap with one another, whether the pattern of overlap differs between struggling and typical readers, and the relative frequency of different types of reading difficulties. the 1,748 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students were oversampled for struggling readers (n = 1,025) on the basis of the state reading comprehension proficiency measure. multigroup confirmatory factor analyses showed p ...	24000271
angiogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis is fostered directly by toll-like receptor 5 ligation and indirectly through interleukin-17 induction.	to examine the impact of toll-like receptor 5 (tlr-5) on endothelial cell function in rheumatoid arthritis (ra) and vascularization in collagen-induced arthritis (cia).	23666857
investigating factorial invariance of latent variables across populations when manifest variables are missing completely.	difficulties arise in multiple-group evaluations of factorial invariance if particular manifest variables are missing completely in certain groups. ad hoc analytic alternatives can be used in such situations (e.g., deleting manifest variables), but some common approaches, such as multiple imputation, are not viable. at least 3 solutions to this problem are viable: analyzing differing sets of variables across groups, using pattern mixture approaches, and a new method using random number generatio ...	24019738
artemin, a glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor family member, induces trpm8-dependent cold pain.	chronic pain associated with injury or disease can result from dysfunction of sensory afferents whereby the threshold for activation of pain-sensing neurons (nociceptors) is lowered. neurotrophic factors control nociceptor development and survival, but also induce sensitization through activation of their cognate receptors, attributable, in part, to the modulation of ion channel function. thermal pain is mediated by channels of the transient receptor potential (trp) family, including the cold an ...	23884957
measurement properties of the motivation for youth treatment scale with a residential group home population.		24288450
coronary computed tomography angiography with 320-row detector and using the aidr-3d: initial experience.	coronary computed tomography angiography (coronary cta) is a powerful non-invasive imaging method to evaluate coronary artery disease. nowadays, coronary cta estimated effective radiation dose can be dramatically reduced using state-of-the-art scanners, such as 320-row detector ct (320-ct), without changing coronary cta diagnostic accuracy. to optimize and further reduce the radiation dose, new iterative reconstruction algorithms were released recently by several ct manufacturers, and now they a ...	24136773
injection drug users' involvement in drug economy: dynamics of sociometric and egocentric social networks.	the purpose of this analysis was to examine the effect of social network cohesiveness on drug economy involvement, and to test whether this relationship is mediated by drug support network size in a sample of active injection drug users. involvement in the drug economy was defined by self-report of participation in at least one of the following activities: selling drugs, holding drugs or money for drugs, providing street security for drug sellers, cutting/packaging/cooking drugs, selling or rent ...	25309015
rotated superficial femoral artery patch after common femoral artery endarterectomy.		23838514
evaluation of the effects of caffeic acid phenethyl ester on prostaglandin e2 and two key cytokines involved in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.	pulmonary fibrosis (pf) is the most common outcome of a collection of diverse lung disorders known as interstitial lung diseases. it is proposed that alterations in the levels of fibrogenic mediators and the profibrotic/antifibrotic imbalance play a substantial role in the progression of pf in animal models and possibly in humans. caffeic acid phenethyl ester (cape), an active component of propolis, has numerous biological effects. in the present study, the main objective was to investigate the ...	23997916
pannexin 1 involvement in bladder dysfunction in a multiple sclerosis model.	bladder dysfunction is common in multiple sclerosis (ms) but little is known of its pathophysiology. we show that mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (eae), a ms model, have micturition dysfunction and altered expression of genes associated with bladder mechanosensory, transduction and signaling systems including pannexin 1 (panx1) and gja1 (encoding connexin43, referred to here as cx43). eae mice with panx1 depletion (panx1(-/-)) displayed similar neurological deficits but lesse ...	23827947
alcohol use disorders among substance dependent women on temporary assistance with needy families: more information for diagnostic modifications for dsm-5.	while modifications to alcohol use disorder (aud) criteria are proposed for dsm-5, examination of the criteria's performance among highly vulnerable populations is lacking. this study determined the dimensionality and rank order severity of the dsm-iv aud criteria among temporary assistance for needy families (tanf) recipients with high rates of chemical dependency and co-morbid mental health disorders.	23795881
multisite study of new autism diagnostic interview-revised (adi-r) algorithms for toddlers and young preschoolers.	using two independent datasets provided by national institute of health funded consortia, the collaborative programs for excellence in autism and studies to advance autism research and treatment (n = 641) and the national institute of mental health (n = 167), diagnostic validity and factor structure of the new autism diagnostic interview (adi-r) algorithms for toddlers and young preschoolers were examined as a replication of results with the 2011 michigan sample (kim and lord in j autism dev dis ...	23114567
combinatorial effect of metformin and lovastatin impedes t-cell autoimmunity and neurodegeneration in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.	multiple sclerosis (ms) is an incurable central nervous system (cns) demyelinating disease affecting several million people worldwide. due to the multifactorial and complex pathology of ms, fda approved drugs often show limited efficacy inpatients. we earlier documented that both lovastatin (cholesterol lowering drug) and metformin (anti-diabetic drug) attenuate experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (eae), a widely used model of ms via different mechanisms of action. since combination therap ...	24324917
profile of circulatory metabolites in a relapsing-remitting animal model of multiple sclerosis using global metabolomics.	multiple sclerosis (ms) is a chronic inflammatory and demyelinating disease of the cns. although, ms is well characterized in terms of the role played by immune cells, cytokines and cns pathology, nothing is known about the metabolic alterations that occur during the disease process in circulation. recently, metabolic aberrations have been defined in various disease processes either as contributing to the disease, as potential biomarkers, or as therapeutic targets. thus in an attempt to define t ...	24273690
immunosuppression by co-stimulatory molecules: inhibition of cd2-cd48/cd58 interaction by peptides from cd2 to suppress progression of collagen-induced arthritis in mice.	targeting co-stimulatory molecules to modulate the immune response has been shown to have useful therapeutic effects for autoimmune diseases. among the co-stimulatory molecules, cd2 and cd58 are very important in the early stages of generation of an immune response. our goal was to utilize cd2-derived peptides to modulate protein-protein interactions between cd2 and cd58, thereby modulating the immune response. several peptides were designed based on the structure of the cd58-binding domain of c ...	23530775
mutual amide prodrug of etodolac-glucosamine: synthesis, characterization and pharmacological screening.	etodolac, a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, widely used in arthritis is associated with gastric ulceration and irritation due to presence of free carboxylic group. the current investigation reports synthesis of mutual amide prodrug of etodolac by masking free carboxylic group with glucosamine, a nutritional supplement for treatment of arthritis. confirmation and characterization of the structure of the synthesized prodrug done by elemental and spectroscopy analysis, melting point, determinat ...	24302794
histological assessment of intra-articular versus intra-peritoneal betamethasone l.a on tempromandibular joint arthritis in rat.	pain and dysfunction of the tempromandibular joint (tmj) are major clinical problems, especially, in arthritis. the aim of this study was to compare the effect of intra-articular (ia) versus intra-peritoneal (ip) injection of betamethasone long acting on tmj arthritis in rat.	24130589
research methods in child disaster studies: a review of studies generated by the september 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; the 2004 indian ocean tsunami; and hurricane katrina.	a comprehensive review of the design principles and methodological approaches that have been used to make inferences from the research on disasters in children is needed.	24443635
the 8th korea-japan joint meeting for vascular surgery.		23825512
a splice variant in krt71 is associated with curly coat phenotype of selkirk rex cats.	one of the salient features of the domestic cat is the aesthetics of its fur. the selkirk rex breed is defined by an autosomal dominant woolly rexoid hair (adwh) abnormality that is characterized by tightly curled hair shafts. a genome-wide case - control association study was conducted using 9 curly coated selkirk rex and 29 controls, including straight-coated selkirk rex, british shorthair and persian, to localize the selkirk autosomal dominant rexoid locus (sadre). although the control cats w ...	23770706
the prescribed opioids difficulties scale: a patient-centered assessment of problems and concerns.	chronic opioid therapy for chronic noncancer pain has increased dramatically in recent years. research on associated risks has typically focused on opioid abuse and dependence, and opioid misuse or aberrant drug use behaviors, but these risks have been defined from the providers' perspective. the aim of this article was to develop a psychometrically sound method for assessing difficulties patients attribute to chronic opioid therapy.	20551723
developmental and individual differences in chinese writing.	the goal of the present study was to examine the generalizability of a model of the underlying dimensions of written composition across writing systems (chinese mandarin vs. english) and level of writing skill. a five-factor model of writing originally developed from analyses of 1st and 4th grade english writing samples was applied to chinese writing samples obtained from 4th and 7th grade students. confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare the fits of alternative models of written compos ...	26038631