bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Health‐Related Quality of Life in Children With Autoimmune Liver Disease
Authors: Gulati Reema , Radhakrishnan Kadakkal R. , Hupertz Vera , Wyllie Robert , Alkhouri Naim , Worley Sarah , Feldstein Ariel E.
Published: June 2013

Background and Aim:

Health‐related quality of life (HRQOL), a pivotal outcome indicator of health care interventions, has not been evaluated in children with autoimmune liver disease (AILD). The aim of this study was to determine HRQOL in children with AILD and the factors affecting it.

Methods:

The Pediatric Quality Of Life Inventory, generic core scale, was used to collect HRQOL data on children with AILD. Specific liver disease–related questions were added.

Results:

Survey responses were received from 30 of 40 patients. Patients' mean age at diagnosis was 11.6 ± 4.5 years, with M:F ratio of 1:1.3, and AILD for average of 4.6 ± 4.3 years. Seventy‐three percent of patients had advanced liver disease. Mean overall health summary scores for the group per child and parent reports were 71.6 ± 19.0 and 71.3 ± 17.1, respectively, which were lower than healthy controls: 83.9 ± 12.5 and 82.3 ± 15.6 (P = 0.002). Frequent liver‐related symptoms were associated with impaired physical and school functioning by child (P = 0.034 and 0.047) and parent reports (P = 0.051 and P = 0.018). Abdominal pain, fatigue, and psychological symptoms were found to adversely affect the HRQOL. Although it was difficult to estimate the effect of individual features of advanced liver disease such as cirrhosis, history of upper gastrointestinal bleed, and portal hypertension on the HRQOL, because of a relatively small sample size, the presence of ascites revealed lower social functioning score per parent report (P = 0.036). In an analysis of patients with any of the above complications versus those without, however, children reported lower social functioning scores (P = 0.018). There were no differences in HRQOL scores in children with autoimmune hepatitis versus primary sclerosing cholangitis versus autoimmune hepatitis/primary sclerosing cholangitis overlap syndrome.

Conclusions:

First study to date shows that AILD in children significantly affects HRQOL, especially with frequent liver disease–related symptoms, even in early stages of disease. Findings need to be validated in larger, multicenter studies and will help practitioners understand their patients better and optimize care.
Results of a Stepwise Approach to Extrahepatic Portal Vein Obstruction in Children
Authors: Alberti Daniele , Colusso Mara , Cheli Maurizio , Ravelli Paolo , Indriolo Amedeo , Signorelli Sergio , Fagiuoli Stefano , D'Antiga Lorenzo
Published: June 2013

Background:

The management of extrahepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO) in children is controversial. We report our experience with a prospective evaluation of a stepwise protocol based on severity of portal hypertension and feasibility of mesoportal bypass (MPB).

Methods:

After diagnosis, children with EHPVO underwent surveillance endoscopies and received nonselective β‐blockers (NSBBs) or endoscopic variceal obliteration (EVO) when large varices were detected. In patients who failed NSBBs and EVO, we considered MPB as first‐line and shunts or transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) as second‐line options.

Results:

Sixty‐five children, median age 12.5 (range 1.6–25.8), whose age at diagnosis was 3.5 (0.2–17.5) years, were referred to our unit. Forty‐three (66%) had a neonatal illness, 36 (55%) an umbilical vein catheterisation. Thirty‐two (49%) presented with bleeding at a median age of 3.8 years (0.5–15.5); during an 8.4‐year follow‐up period (1–16), 43 (66%) had a bleeding episode, 52 (80%) were started on NSBBs, 55 (85%) required EVO, and 33 (51%) required surgery or TIPS. The Rex recessus was patent in 24 of 54 (44%), negatively affected by a history of umbilical catheterisation (P = 0.01). Thirty‐four (53%) patients underwent a major procedure: MPB (13), proximal splenorenal (13), distal splenorenal (2), mesocaval shunt (3), TIPS (2), and OLT (1). At the last follow‐up, 2 patients died, 53 of 57 (93%) are alive with bleeding control, 27 of 33 (82%) have a patent conduit.

Conclusions:

Children with EHPVO have a high rate of bleeding episodes early in life. A stepwise approach comprising of medical, endoscopic, and surgical options provided excellent survival and bleeding control in this population.
Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori Infection by Means of Reduced‐Dose 13C‐Urea Breath Test and Early Sampling of Exhaled Breath
Authors: Pacheco Sylmara L.M. , Ogata Silvio K. , Machado Rodrigo S. , Patrício Francy Reis da Silva , Pardo Mario L.E. , Kawakami Elisabete
Published: June 2013

Objective:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of reduced‐dose 13C‐urea breath test (13C‐UBT) and early sampling of exhaled breath for the detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in children and adolescents.

Methods:

Patients up to 20 years old that underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with gastric biopsies were included. The 13C‐UBT was performed after a 4‐hour fasting period with 4 points of collection: baseline (T0), and at 10, 20, and 30 minutes (T10, T20, and T30) after ingestion of 25 mg 13C‐urea diluted in 100 mL of apple juice. The infection status was defined through 3 invasive methods, and a patient was considered infected with a positive culture or concomitant positive histology and rapid urease test. The absence of infection was defined by all negative histology, rapid urease test, and culture. Analysis of exhaled breath samples was performed with an isotope‐selective infrared spectrometer. A receiver‐operating characteristic curve analysis was done to define cutoff delta over baseline (DOB) values.

Results:

A total of 129 patients between the ages of 2.1 and 19 years (median 11.6 years; mean age ± standard deviation 11.5 ± 3.8 years; F:M 85:44) were included. The prevalence of infection was 41.1%. The sensitivity (S) and specificity (Sp) were at T10 (cutoff DOB 2.55‰), S 94.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 90.9–98.5) and Sp 96.8% (95% CI 93.4–100); at T20 (DOB 2.5‰), S 96.2% (95% CI 92.9–99.5) and Sp 96.1% (95% CI 93.7–99.8); and at T30 (DOB 1.6‰), S 96.2% (95% CI 92.9–99.5) and Sp 94.7% (95% CI 90.8–98.6).

Conclusions:

Low‐dose 13C‐UBT with early sampling is accurate for diagnosing H pylori infection in children and adolescents.
Clostridium difficile Infection in Newly Diagnosed Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the Mid‐Southern United States
Authors: Mir Sabina A.V. , Kellermayer Richard
Published: June 2013

Clostridium difficile is an emerging opportunistic pathogen that infects patients with underlying chronic disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) at high rates. An extremely high prevalence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) was noted recently in new‐onset pediatric IBD from eastern Europe (Poland). We examined the rate of CDI in our new pediatric IBD patients (123 tested) from 2010 to 2012. The overall prevalence of CDI at disease onset was 8.1%, significantly (P < 0.0001) lower than in Poland, but much higher than in the general population. This work supports the testing for Clostridium difficile in suspected cases of new‐onset pediatric IBD.
Dietary GD3 Ganglioside Reduces the Incidence and Severity of Necrotizing Enterocolitis by Sustaining Regulatory Immune Responses
Authors: Xu Jiliu , Anderson Virginia , Schwarz Steven M.
Published: June 2013

Objectives:

Gangliosides are glycosphingolipids, rich in colostrum and in membrane microdomains, which promote enterocyte growth and differentiation, and modulate TH1/TH2 responses. In an in vitro intestinal explant model of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), gangliosides have been shown to ameliorate intestinal injury; however, possible immunomodulatory mechanisms associated with this observation, as well as potential in vivo protective effects of gangliosides, remain unknown. The present study evaluates the effects of dietary GD3, the predominant ganglioside in neonatal rat intestine, both on the clinicopathologic expression of disease and on ileal Foxp3+ T regulatory cell immune responses in an experimental NEC model.

Methods:

Newborn rat pups were fed gavage formula (NEC) or formula supplemented with 15 μg/mL GD3 (GD3‐NEC). Dam‐fed (DF) littermates served as controls. NEC was induced by asphyxia and cold stress. At 96 hours, ileal gross and histologic changes were evaluated, and ileal cytokine profiles, Foxp3 expression, and Foxp3+ cell numbers were determined.

Results:

GD3 decreased the incidence and gross and histopathologic severity of NEC. Ileal Foxp3 expression and Foxp3+ cell numbers were significantly decreased in the NEC group compared with DF. GD3 increased ileal Foxp3 expression and Foxp3+ cell numbers, in association with upregulation of anti‐inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)‐10 and chemokines, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1, IL‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1ra), and suppressed proinflammatory mediators.

Conclusions:

These data suggest that dietary GD3 protects newborn rats from NEC, in part, by augmenting mucosal Foxp3+ T regulatory immune responses.
Energetic cost of learning and memory can cause cognitive impairment in honeybees
Authors: Jaumann Sarah , Scudelari Robin , Naug Dhruba
Published: June 2013

The energetic cost of cognitive functions can lead to either impairments in learning and memory, or to trade-offs with other functions, when the amount of available energy is limited. However, it has been suggested that, under such conditions, social groups such as honeybees might be able to ward off cognitive impairments in individual bees by adjusting resource allocation at the colony level. Using two complementary experiments, one that tests the effect of learning on subsequent energetic state and survival, and another that tests the effect of energetic state on learning and retention, we show that individual bees pay a significant energetic cost for learning and therefore suffer from significant cognitive deficits under energetic stress. We discuss the implications of such cognitive impairments for the recent observations of bees disappearing from their colonies as well as for social life in general.
The biogeography of the yeti crabs (Kiwaidae) with notes on the phylogeny of the Chirostyloidea (Decapoda: Anomura)
Authors: Roterman C. N. , Copley J. T. , Linse K. T. , Tyler P. A. , Rogers A. D.
Published: June 2013

The phylogeny of the superfamily Chirostyloidea (Decapoda: Anomura) has been poorly understood owing to limited taxon sampling and discordance between different genes. We present a nine-gene dataset across 15 chirostyloids, including all known yeti crabs (Kiwaidae), to improve the resolution of phylogenetic affinities within and between the different families, and to date key divergences using fossil calibrations. This study supports the monophyly of Chirostyloidea and, within this, a basal split between Eumunididae and a Kiwaidae–Chirostylidae clade. All three families originated in the Mid-Cretaceous, but extant kiwaids and most chirostylids radiated from the Eocene onwards. Within Kiwaidae, the basal split between the seep-endemic
Kiwa puravida
and a vent clade comprising
Kiwa hirsuta
and
Kiwa
spp. found on the East Scotia and Southwest Indian ridges is compatible with a hypothesized seep-to-vent evolutionary trajectory. A divergence date estimate of 13.4–25.9 Ma between the Pacific and non-Pacific lineages is consistent with Kiwaidae spreading into the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean via the newly opened Drake Passage. The recent radiation of Kiwaidae adds to the list of chemosynthetic fauna that appear to have diversified after the Palaeocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum, a period of possibly widespread anoxia/dysoxia in deep-sea basins.
Analysis of phenotypic evolution in Dictyostelia highlights developmental plasticity as a likely consequence of colonial multicellularity
Authors: Romeralo Maria , Skiba Anna , Gonzalez-Voyer Alejandro , Schilde Christina , Lawal Hajara , Kedziora Sylwia , Cavender Jim C. , Glöckner Gernot , Urushihara Hideko , Schaap Pauline
Published: June 2013

Colony formation was the first step towards evolution of multicellularity in many macroscopic organisms. Dictyostelid social amoebas have used this strategy for over 600 Myr to form fruiting structures of increasing complexity. To understand in which order multicellular complexity evolved, we measured 24 phenotypic characters over 99 dictyostelid species. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we show that the last common ancestor (LCA) of Dictyostelia probably erected small fruiting structures directly from aggregates. It secreted cAMP to coordinate fruiting body morphogenesis, and another compound to mediate aggregation. This phenotype persisted up to the LCAs of three of the four major groups of Dictyostelia. The group 4 LCA co-opted cAMP for aggregation and evolved much larger fruiting structures. However, it lost encystation, the survival strategy of solitary amoebas that is retained by many species in groups 1–3. Large structures, phototropism and a migrating intermediate ‘slug’ stage coevolved as evolutionary novelties within most groups. Overall, dictyostelids show considerable plasticity in the size and shape of multicellular structures, both within and between species. This probably reflects constraints placed by colonial life on developmental control mechanisms, which, depending on local cell density, need to direct from 10 to a million cells into forming a functional fructification.
A new compound in kidney stones? Powder X-ray diffraction study of calcium glycinate trihydrate
Authors: Le Bail Armel , Daudon Michel , Bazin Dominique
Published: June 2013

The present identification of a new compound in kidney stones is relevant in clinical practice. Here, poly[[di-μ-aqua-bis(glycinato-κ2N,O)calcium(II)] monohydrate], {[Ca(C2H4NO2)2(H2O)2]·H2O}n, has been identified in a possible kidney concretion, although it could be a `false calculus' associated with Munchausen syndrome. The crystal packing is characterized by an infinite zigzag chain of Ca atoms in [Ca(OW)4O2N2] (OWis a water O atom) square antiprisms, sharing edges formed by water molecules. An uncoordinated water molecule interconnects the parallel chains in a three-dimensional hydrogen-bonding scheme. Similarities between the trihydrate and the monohydrate are described.
Baker's law and the island syndromes in bryophytes
Authors: Patiño Jairo , Bisang Irene , Hedenäs Lars , Dirkse Gerard , Bjarnason Ágúst H. , Ah‐Peng Claudine , Vanderpoorten Alain
Published: June 2013

The evolution of island syndromes has long served as a model to understand the mechanisms accounting for phenotypic differentiation. Combining literature data with actual observations, we determine whether typical syndromes such as the loss of dispersal power and the bias towards self‐compatibility (Baker's law) apply to vagile organisms, using bryophytes as a model.

The life‐history traits (LHTs) observed in oceanic island floras were statistically different from those observed on continents, evidencing the evolution of island syndromes. In contrast,LHTs of continental and continental island floras were similar, pointing to differences in migration intensity between continents, continental islands and oceanic islands.

The proportion of bisexual species was significantly higher on oceanic islands than on continents. A significant proportion of species that are unisexual or bisexual on continents shifted towards exclusive bisexuality on oceanic islands, suggesting thatBaker's law applies to bryophytes. The underlying mechanisms, however, probably differ fromin situselection for selfing.

The proportion of species producing specialized asexual diaspores, which are assumed to play a role in short‐distance dispersal (SDD), was higher on oceanic islands than on continents. The proportion of species producing spores, which are involved in long‐distance dispersal (LDD), exhibited the reverse trend, suggesting a shift in the prevalent reproductive strategy to favourSDDon oceanic islands. Approximately 50% of the species, however, maintained the ability to produce sporophytes on oceanic islands, and the relative frequency of fertile shoots within collections of four model species was even higher on islands than on continents.

Synthesis. Bryophytes exhibit typical island syndromes, indicating that migration rates between oceanic islands and continents are not sufficient to prevent the effects of genetic drift and contradicting the view that the sea does not impede migration in the group. Significant shifts in life‐history traits (LHTs) towards increased production of specialized asexual diaspores and decreased sporophyte production on oceanic islands indeed point to a global loss of long‐distance dispersal (LDD) ability. The maintenance of traits characteristic forLDDin a large number of species has, however, substantial consequences for our understanding of island plant evolution, and in particular, for our vision of islands as evolutionary dead ends.
Nitrogen and phosphorus interact to control tropical symbioticN2fixation: a test inInga punctata
Authors: Batterman Sarah A. , Wurzburger Nina , Hedin Lars O.
Published: June 2013

Symbiotic di‐nitrogen (N2) fixation is a critical biogeochemical process in tropical forests, yet it remains unresolved how fixation is controlled by the availability of soil nitrogen and phosphorus, two nutrients often considered limiting in terrestrial ecosystems.

 We examine whether individualN2‐fixing trees can overcome nitrogen and phosphorus constraints by employing different strategies of nutrient acquisition and use:N2fixation, phosphatase exudation, mycorrhizal symbiosis and changes in root–shoot ratio or tissue stoichiometry.

 We grew a common and widespreadN2fixer,Inga punctata, in a full factorial nitrogen and phosphorus addition experiment (each nutrient at three levels) and evaluated whether trees adjusted their strategies of nutrient acquisition to overcome limitation.

 N2fixation was controlled by nitrogen availability in phosphorus‐sufficient soils, but both fixation and plant growth were constrained by phosphorus in the unamended native phosphorus‐poor soils. Despite the investment in both extracellular phosphatases and mycorrhizal symbionts, plants were unable to overcome phosphorus limitation.

 Our findings support the hypotheses that: (i)N2fixation is proximately controlled by nitrogen availability, consistent with a facultative fixation strategy, and (ii)N2fixation andN2fixer biomass growth are ultimately constrained by soil phosphorus. We found no support for the hypothesis that fixers can overcome phosphorus limitation by trading fixedN2for soil phosphorus.

 Synthesis. This study provides new knowledge about how nitrogen and phosphorus interact to regulate tropicalN2fixation by examining a suite of strategies that plants may employ to overcome nutrient limitation. These findings, focused at the organismal level, have broader implications for biogeochemical controls at the ecosystem level in tropical forests.
Impact of warming on phyto‐bacterioplankton coupling and bacterial community composition in experimental mesocosms
Authors: von Scheibner Markus , Dörge Petra , Biermann Antje , Sommer Ulrich , Hoppe Hans‐Georg , Jürgens Klaus
Published: June 2013

Global warming is assumed to alter the trophic interactions and carbon flow patterns of aquatic food webs. The impact of temperature on phyto‐bacterioplankton coupling and bacterial community composition (BCC) was the focus of the present study, in which an indoor mesocosm experiment with natural plankton communities from the western Baltic Sea was conducted. A 6°C increase in water temperature resulted, as predicted, in tighter coupling between the diatom‐dominated phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria, accompanied by a strong increase in carbon flow into bacterioplankton during the phytoplankton bloom phase. Suppressed bacterial development at cold in situ temperatures probably reflected lowered bacterial production and grazing by protists, as the latter were less affected by low temperatures. BCC was strongly influenced by the phytoplankton bloom stage and to a lesser extent by temperature. Under both temperature regimes, Gammaproteobacteria clearly dominated during the phytoplankton peak, with Glaciecola sp. as the single most abundant taxon. However, warming induced the appearance of additional bacterial taxa belonging to Betaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Our results show that warming during an early phytoplankton bloom causes a shift towards a more heterotrophic system, with the appearance of new bacterial taxa suggesting a potential for utilization of a broader substrate spectrum.
‘Undaunted all he views’: The Gibraltar Charger, Astley's Amphitheatre and Masculine Performance
Authors: MATTFELD MONICA
Published: June 2013

Eighteenth‐century managers built their illegitimate theatres around the presence of performing animals, but the animals have rarely been a part of theatre histories. This article places horses, the headlining acts and primary draw for London audiences, back into the ring of Astley's Amphitheatre. It examines how the presence of horses such as the Gibraltar Charger, along with the relationships between non‐humans and human actors, influenced constructions of political masculinity there. For Philip and John Astley, performances with the Charger in 1788 and 1789 were central to their patriotic constructions and displays of chivalrous, honourable, refined and polite masculinity.
The effect of polyphosphate kinase gene deletion on polyhydroxyalkanoate accumulation and carbon metabolism in Pseudomonas putida KT2440
Authors: Casey William T. , Nikodinovic‐Runic Jasmina , Fonseca Garcia Pilar , Guzik Maciej W. , McGrath John W. , Quinn John P. , Cagney Gerard , Prieto Maria Auxiliadora , O'Connor Kevin E.
Published: June 2013

The primary enzyme involved in polyphosphate (polyP) synthesis, polyP kinase (ppk), has been deleted in Pseudomonas putida KT2440. This has resulted in a threefold to sixfold reduction in polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulation compared with the wild type under conditions of nitrogen limitation, with either temperature or oxidative (H2O2) stress, when grown on glucose. The accumulation of PHA by Δppk mutant was the same as the wild type under nitrogen‐limiting growth conditions. There was no difference in polyP levels between wild‐type and Δppk strains under all growth conditions tested. In the Δppk mutant proteome, polyP kinase (PPK) was undetectable, but up‐regulation of the polyp‐associated proteins polyP adenosine triphosphate (ATP)/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) kinase (PpnK), a putative polyP adenosine monophosphate (AMP) phosphotransferase (PP_1752), and exopolyphosphatase was observed. Δppk strain exhibited significantly retarded growth with glycerol as carbon and energy source (42 h of lag period compared with 24 h in wild‐type strain) but similar growth to the wild‐type strain with glucose. Analysis of gene transcription revealed downregulation of glycerol kinase and the glycerol facilitator respectively. Glycerol kinase protein expression was also downregulated in the Δppk mutant. The deletion of ppk did not affect motility but reduced biofilm formation. Thus, the knockout of the ppk gene has resulted in a number of phenotypic changes to the mutant without affecting polyP accumulation.
Simple cost analysis of a rural dental training facility in Australia
Authors: Lalloo Ratilal , Massey Ward
Published: June 2013

Introduction

Student clinical placements away from the university dental school clinics are an integral component of dental training programs. In 2009, the School of Dentistry and Oral Health, Griffith University, commenced a clinical placement in a remote rural community in Australia. This paper presents a simple cost analysis of the project from mid‐2008 to mid‐2011.

Methods

All expenditures of the project are audited by the Financial and Planning Services unit of the university. The budget was divided into capital and operational costs, and the latter were further subdivided into salary and non‐salary costs, and these were further analysed for the various types of expenditures incurred. The value of the treatments provided and income generated is also presented.

Results

Remote rural placements have additional (to the usual university dental clinic) costs in terms of salary incentives, travel, accommodation and subsistence support. However, the benefits of the placement to both the students and the local community might outweigh the additional costs of the placement.

Conclusions and implications

Because of high costs of rural student clinical placements, the financial support of partners, including the local Shire Council, state/territory and Commonwealth governments, is crucial in the establishment and ongoing sustainability of rural dental student clinical placements.
Where you live matters: Challenges and opportunities to address the urban–rural divide through innovative secondary cardiac rehabilitation programs
Authors: Sangster Janice , Furber Susan , Phongsavan Philayrath , Allman‐Farinelli Margaret , Redfern Julie , Bauman Adrian
Published: June 2013

Objective

Only one third of clinically eligible patients attend a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program. Few studies have looked at participation in rural cardiac patients. This paper examines the risk profile and participation in CR of rural and urban residents with cardiac disease who enrolled in a telephone coaching program.

Design, setting and participants

Comparison of baseline characteristics of 173 urban and 140 rural Australians referred to CR, and who enrolled in a telephone‐based coaching program.

Main outcome measures

Sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviours and participation in CR programs.

Results

Rural residents were more likely to enrol in a telephone coaching secondary prevention program (44.7% versus 25.5%, P < 0.001) than urban residents. For those enrolling in the telephone‐based program, rural participants were more likely to be obese (42.0% rural versus 28.8% urban, P = 0.02), to rate their health as fair or poor (45% versus 24.3%, P < 0.001) and less likely to be sufficiently physically active (35.3% versus 53.2%, P = 0.002), or follow a special diet for their heart (40.0% versus 56.6%, P = 0.003) compared with urban participants. Those who attended a CR program were more likely to be from an urban location and live closer to a CR program.

Conclusions

Rural participants in this study had poorer health profiles and attendance at outpatient CR compared with urban participants. This poses challenges for the provision of secondary prevention programs for rural cardiac patients and highlights opportunities to trial innovative delivery models, such as telephone‐based programs, to reach people that would otherwise not have access.
Is clinical oral health poorer in regional areas compared with major city areas?
Authors: Crocombe Leonard A. , Stewart Judith F. , Brennan David S. , Slade Gary D. , Spencer Andrew J.
Published: June 2013

Objective

To determine if clinical oral health outcomes differ between people who reside in major city, inner regional and outer regional areas of Australia.

Design

Data from the National Survey of Adult Oral Health 2004–06 that used a clustered stratified random sampling design with telephone interviews, standardised oral epidemiological examinations and self‐complete questionnaires were used to compare the clinical oral health.

Main outcome measures

Decayed, missing and filled permanent teeth.

Participants

Australians aged 15 years or more. Data were weighted by age, sex and regional location to the Estimated Resident Population, bivariate analysis undertaken to determine confounders and multivariate analysis completed with dental caries clinical measures as dependent variables.

Results

Inner regional people had a significantly higher decayed, missing and filled teeth than people from major cities (Estimate = 1.15, P < 0.01), but there was no difference between inner and regional areas. Older people had higher outcomes for decayed, missing and filled teeth (15.42, P < 0.01) and missing teeth (9.66, P < 0.01), but less decayed teeth (−0.37, P < 0.01), and people with the highest incomes had lower dental caries experience (−1.34, P < 0.01) and missing teeth (−1.42, P < 0.01).

Conclusion

Dental caries experience was greater in inner regional areas than in major city areas, but not outer regional areas. Dental caries experience was similar in outer regional and major city areas.
Neonatal outcome after trial of labor or elective cesarean section in relation to the indication for the previous cesarean delivery
Authors: Fagerberg Marie C. , Marsal Karel , Källen Karin
Published: June 2013

Objective

To compare the neonatal outcome after a trial of labor (TOL) with that after an elective cesarean section (CS) following one previous cesarean delivery, considering the indication for the first CS.

Design

Population‐based cohort study.

Setting

Sweden.

Population

Women with their first two deliveries between 1992 and 2007 registered in the Swedish Medical Birth Registry.

Methods

The risk of low Apgar score (<7 at 5 min) after a TOL was compared with that after an elective CS among 407 159 singletons of women with one previous vaginal delivery and 59 643 singletons of women with one previous CS. The indication for the first‐delivery CS was estimated using a hierarchical system. For each indication group, the odds ratio and 95% CI for low Apgar score, TOL vs. elective CS, was computed.

Main outcome measure

Low Apgar score.

Results

The overall risk of low Apgar score was increased in the TOL group (adjusted odds ratio 1.8, 95% CI 1.5–2.1), but the estimate differed substantially by the indication for the first CS (p‐value for homogeneity = 0.0001). There was a high risk for low Apgar score after TOL and first CS indication “complications during labor/delivery” (adjusted odds ratio 2.4, 95% CI 1.7–3.4), but low risk with TOL and first CS “without medical indication” (adjusted odds ratio 0.7, 95% CI 0.2–2.1).

Conclusion

Neonatal outcome might be improved by considering the indication for the first CS when choosing between an elective CS or a TOL for the second delivery.
COMFORT behaviour scale and skin conductance activity: what are they really measuring?
Authors: Tristão Rosana Maria , Garcia Naiara Viudes Martins , de Jesus José Alfredo Lacerda , Tomaz Carlos
Published: June 2013

Aim

To assess how efficiently the COMFORT behaviour scale measures acute pain in neonates, in comparison with skin conductance activity, a validated measure of pain and stress.

Methods

Images of 36 newborns were analysed before, during and after painful heel pricks to measure glucose levels and compared with skin conductance activity variables.

Results

Scale indicators and skin conductance variables were sensitive to changes in the periods ‘during‐before’ and ‘during‐after’ (Wilcoxon's test, p < 0.01). Significant values were found between all scale indicators and number of waves for Kendall's coefficient (p < 0.05), although responses differed when it came to how long they took to increase and correlations varied from fair to moderate (r < 0.6). Facial tension was more closely related to 15 sec after the painful event, while crying and calmness were more closely related to the later intervals (30 and 180 sec).

Conclusion

All scale indicators were related to skin conductance activity in all periods, indicating pain perception. Facial tension was the most efficient indicator, while others varied in performance after painful events and possibly indicated stress after trauma. These results are discussed from a phenomenological approach and in an anxiety paradigm.
White line fever: a sociotechnical perspective on the contested implementation of an urban bike lane network
Authors: Vreugdenhil Roger , Williams Stewart
Published: June 2013

In this paper we discuss the introduction of theLauncestonBikeNetwork, a local government project progressed inTasmania,Australia. The project's implementation became subject to intense community conflict, or what we refer to here as white line fever because it arose in relation to the white traffic lines used to mark the on‐road bike lanes. Our analysis of textual data gathered from relevant documents and interviews with key stakeholders relies on the development of a sociotechnical perspective. Adopting this perspective allows us to recognise the various agencies emerging collectively from the technical and social aspects and interactions analysed. The findings add to how cycling and infrastructure might be reconceptualised as an urban sociotechnical system, and assist in its transition towards the transport mainstream through policy and planning.
Relationship between stress levels of the antepartum cow and her newborn calf
Authors: Uetake Katsuji , Akiyama Kiyoshi , Tanaka Toshio
Published: June 2013

We investigated the relationship of the stress levels of the dam before and after delivery to that of her offspring soon after birth. Eight pregnant cows were penned 7 days before calving. Blood was taken from the jugular vein of cows at −7, 1, 2 and 3 days from calving. Blood was also taken from newborn calves at 6 h and 1 and 2 days after birth. Concentrations of cortisol and immunoglobulin G in blood and colostrum were examined. Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that the higher the plasma cortisol concentration of a cow before calving, the higher that of its calf after birth (all P < 0.01). In addition, path analysis demonstrated that the direct effect of the plasma cortisol concentration of the dam before calving on the plasma cortisol concentration of her calf after birth was 0.971 (P < 0.01). However, the colostrum cortisol concentration correlated with neither plasma cortisol concentrations of cows before calving nor that of calves after birth. Unlike cortisol, a clear correlation of immunoglobulin G concentrations in plasma and colostrum was not observed between cows and calves. The results indicate stress is transferred from a cow to her newborn calf not by way of the colostrum but through the placenta.
Californian Strawberries: Mexican Immigrant Women Sharecroppers, Labor, and Discipline
Authors: Sanchez Teresa Figueroa
Published: June 2013

Mexican immigrant women, children and teenagers, and transnational female workers in the strawberry sharecropping industry in California present a problem in social sciences. Although sharecropping studies examine the family within the political economy of agrarian commercial production, the bulk of the research avoids the question of gender and intrafamilial relations inside the family. Based on long‐term ethnographic research, this paper examines the Mexican immigrant strawberry sharecropping household in Santa Maria, California. It finds that sharecropping families do not only organize female workers to supply the needed labor in the strawberry farm, but that they also engender a female labor force by teaching discipline, fostering a work ethic, and producing a docile body to meet the stoop labor needs of strawberry markets. Through a gender focus, this paper adds to our understanding of Mexican female and children workers in rural labor regimes.
Optical developments for optogenetics
Authors: Papagiakoumou Eirini
Published: June 2013

Brain intricacies and the difficulty that scientists encounter in revealing its function with standard approaches such as electrical stimulation of neurons have led to the exploration of new tools that enable the study of neural circuits in a remote and non‐invasive way. To this end, optogenetics has initialised a revolution for neuroscience in the last decade by enabling simultaneous monitoring and stimulation of specific neuronal populations in intact brain preparations through genetically targeted expression of light sensitive proteins and molecular photoswitches. In addition to ongoing molecular probe development and optimisation, novel optical techniques hold immense potential to amplify and diversify the utility of optogenetic methods. Importantly, by improving the spatio‐temporal resolution of light stimulation, neural circuits can be photoactivated in patterns mimicking endogenous physiological processes. The following synopsis addresses the possibilities and limitations of optical stimulation methods applied to and developed for activation of neuronal optogenetic tools.
The importance of identity and empowerment to teenagers with developmental co‐ordination disorder
Authors: Lingam R. P. , Novak C. , Emond A. , Coad J. E.
Published: June 2013

Aims

The aim of the current study was to gain an understanding of the experiences and aspirations of young people living with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in their own words.

Methods

Eleven young people aged 11–16 years with a prior diagnosis of DCD were identified from child health records of two participating NHS trusts. The sample included seven boys and four girls, from different socio‐economic backgrounds living in different parts of one large urban area in England. In depth one‐to‐one semi‐structured interviews and subsequent follow‐up small group interviews were carried out with the young people. Interviews were enhanced using participatory arts‐based techniques. All interviews were recorded verbatim and transcribed. Narrative data were analysed using Lindseth's interpretive phenomenology.

Results

The central theme of ‘We're all different’ described how the young person saw themselves and encompassed the formation of identity. Subthemes illustrated the attitude of the young people to their day to day lives, their difficulties and strategies used by the young people to overcome these difficulties in school and at home. The attitude of the school to difference, the presence of bullying, the accepting nature of the class, teachers and peers were vitally important. Areas of life that encouraged a positive sense of identity and worth included being part of a social network that gave the young people a sense of belonging, potentially one that valued differences as well as similarities.

Conclusion

The current work highlights the need for services to adopt a model of DCD where the young person talks about what they can do and considers strategies of overcoming their difficulties. This has implications for education and future intervention strategies that focus on fostering psychological resilience and educational coping strategies rather than simply attempting to improve motor skills.
Contact allergy to common ingredients in hair dyes
Authors: Søsted Heidi , Rustemeyer Thomas , Gonçalo Margarida , Bruze Magnus , Goossens An , Giménez‐Arnau Ana M. , Le Coz Christophe J. , White Ian R. , Diepgen Thomas L. , Andersen Klaus E. , Agner Tove , Maibach Howard , Menné Torkil , Johansen Jeanne D.
Published: June 2013

Background

p‐Phenylenediamine (PPD) is the primary patch test screening agent for hair dye contact allergy, and approximately 100 different hair dye chemicals are allowed.

Objectives

To examine whether PPD is an optimal screening agent for diagnosing hair dye allergy or whether other clinically important sensitizers exist.

Methods

Two thousand nine hundred and thirty‐nine consecutive patients in 12 dermatology clinics were patch tested with five hair dyes available from patch test suppliers. Furthermore, 22 frequently used hair dye ingredients not available from patch test suppliers were tested in subgroups of ∼ 500 patients each.

Results

A positive reaction to PPD was found in 4.5% of patients, and 2.8% reacted to toluene‐2,5‐diamine (PTD), 1.8% to p‐aminophenol, 1% to m‐aminophenol, and 0.1% to resorcinol; all together, 5.3% (n = 156). Dying hair was the most frequently reported cause of the allergy (55.4%); so‐called ‘temporary henna’ tattoos were the cause in 8.5% of the cases. p‐Methylaminophenol gave a reaction in 20 patients (2.2%), 3 of them with clinical relevance, and no co‐reaction with the above five well‐known hair dyes.

Conclusions

Hair dyes are the prime cause of PPD allergy. PPD identifies the majority of positive reactions to PTD, p‐aminophenol and m‐aminophenol, but not all, which justifies additional testing with hair dye ingredients from the used product.
Ambulatory arterial stiffness index and nocturnal blood pressure dipping in pregnancies complicated by hypertension
Authors: Kärkkäinen Henna , Saarelainen Heli , Laitinen Tomi , Heiskanen Nonna , Valtonen Pirjo , Laitinen Tiina , Vanninen Esko , Heinonen Seppo
Published: June 2013

Background

The study sets out to examine differences in arterial stiffness and nocturnal blood pressure dipping as outcomes in women with gestational hypertension compared with healthy pregnant women during pregnancy and 3 months after delivery.

Methods and results

We prospectively studied a cohort of 60 women during the third trimester of pregnancy; of them, 28 suffered pregnancy‐induced hypertension or pre‐eclampsia and 32 had uncomplicated singleton pregnancies. Subsequently, 42 of these were re‐examined 3 months after delivery. In women with a hypertensive disorder, the nocturnal fall in blood pressure (dipping) was significantly smaller than in the normotensive group (systolic, P = 0·031; diastolic, P<0·001), but after pregnancy, this difference disappeared (systolic, P = 0·941; diastolic, P = 0·907).

Ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) assessed after pregnancy correlated inversely with fasting glucose level during pregnancy (r = −0·580, P = 0·018), both systolic (r = −0·651, P = 0·012) and diastolic (r = −0·687, P = 0·007) nocturnal dipping and total cholesterol concentration after pregnancy (r = −0·526, P = 0·036).

Conclusions

A hypertensive disorder during pregnancy was associated with a flattened circadian blood pressure response, which was restored after delivery. Higher arterial stiffness predicted the signs of postpartum metabolic syndrome and correlated also with non‐dipping, especially postpartum.
Epstein–Barr virus reactivation in allogeneic stem cell transplantation is highly related to cytomegalovirus reactivation
Authors: Zallio Francesco , Primon Valeria , Tamiazzo Stefania , Pini Massimo , Baraldi Anna , Corsetti Maria T. , Gotta Franca , Bertassello Claudia , Salvi Flavia , Rocchetti Andrea , Levis Alessandro
Published: June 2013

Monitoring of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) load and pre‐emptive rituximab is an appropriate approach to prevent post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) occurring after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). This pre‐emptive approach, based on EBV‐DNA monitoring through a quantitative polymerase chain reaction, was applied to 101 consecutive patients who underwent allo HSCT at our Institute (median age 50). A single infusion of rituximab was administered to 11 of 16 patients who were at high risk for progression to PTLD, defined as a DNA value >10 000 copies/mL. All patients cleared EBV DNAemia, without any recurrences. Main factors significantly associated with high risk for PTLD were as follows: (i) unrelated vs. sibling (26% vs. 7%; p = 0.011); (ii) T‐cell depletion (29% vs. 6%; p = 0.001); (iii) graft versus host disease (GVHD; 30% vs. 7%; p = 0.002); and (iv) cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation (29% vs. 4%; p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that CMV reactivation was the only independent variable associated with EBV reactivation. We conclude that: (i) a single infusion of rituximab is able to prevent the risk of progression into EBV‐related PTLD; and (ii) CMV reactivation is strongly associated with EBV reactivation; therefore, an intensive EBV monitoring strategy could be advisable only in case of CMV reactivation.
Integrating ensemble species distribution modelling and statistical phylogeography to inform projections of climate change impacts on species distributions
Authors: Forester Brenna R. , DeChaine Eric G. , Bunn Andrew G.
Published: June 2013

Aim

Species distribution models (SDMs) are commonly used to forecast climate change impacts. These models, however, are subject to important assumptions and limitations. By integrating two independent but complementary methods, ensemble SDMs and statistical phylogeography, we addressed key assumptions and created robust assessments of climate change impacts on species distributions while improving the conservation value of these projections.

Location

North American cordillera.

Methods

This approach was demonstrated using the arctic‐alpine plant Rhodiola integrifolia (Crassulaceae). SDMs were fitted to current and past climates using eight models, two thresholds and one to three climate data sets. These projections were combined to create a map of stable climate (refugia) since the Last Interglacial (124,000 kya). Five biogeographic hypotheses were developed based on the configuration of refugia and tested using statistical phylogeography. Projection of SDMs into the future was contingent on agreement across approaches; future projections (to 2085) used five climate data sets and two greenhouse gas scenarios.

Results

A multiple‐refugia hypothesis was supported by both methods, confirming the assumption of niche conservatism in R. integrifolia and justifying the projection of SDMs onto future climates. Future projections showed substantial loss of climatically suitable habitat. Southern populations had the greatest losses, although the biogeographic scale of modelling may overpredict extinction risks in areas of topographic complexity. Past and future SDMs were assessed for novel values of climate variables; areas of novel climate were flagged as having higher uncertainty.

Main conclusions

Integrating molecular approaches with spatial analyses of species distributions under global change has great potential to improve conservation decision‐making. Molecular tools can support and improve current methods for understanding the vulnerability of species to climate change and provide additional data upon which to base conservation decisions, such as prioritizing the conservation of areas of high genetic diversity to build evolutionary resiliency within populations.
Informing conservation units: barriers to dispersal for the yellow anaconda
Authors: Kershaw Francine , Waller Tomás , Micucci Patricio , Draque Juan , Barros Mariano , Buongermini Emilio , Pearson Richard G. , Mendez Martín
Published: June 2013

Aim

Fine‐scale population structure is often unaccounted for in the delineation of conservation units, potentially compromising long‐term species persistence. Identifying biogeographic and environmental drivers of population boundaries is therefore of key conservation concern. We aimed to explore barriers to dispersal for the harvested yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus) using an ecological niche model. Our secondary aim was to test the relative geographic and environmental contributions of a multisource occurrence data set in species range predictions.

Location

Paraguay River drainage, central South America.

Methods

We developed an ecological niche model for the yellow anaconda using Maxent and a multisource species occurrence data set. Following nine iterations of model development, nine environmental variables were selected for model inclusion. We used the models to identify potential barriers to dispersal and employed jackknifing to identify the primary environmental variables that best explain barrier presence. We assessed the geographic and environmental overlap of models built with each data subset.

Results

Characterization of suitable habitat was found to be most powerful in northern Argentina and southern Paraguay. A persistent barrier to dispersal was identified in northern Argentina and corresponded to the presence of dry Cambisol soils. Data subsets were found to contribute different information to the final model in terms of geographic and environmental space.

Main Conclusions

Ecologically meaningful barriers to dispersal support recent genetic hypotheses of population subdivision. These barriers should be considered when delineating species management units to ensure sustainable harvest levels. Multisource data sets may produce more powerful niche predictions and represent a useful resource for data‐poor species. Further, model results should be interpreted alongside complementary analyses for more effective conservation strategies.