bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Adverse effects of subchronic exposure to cooking oil fumes on the gonads and the GPR30-mediated signaling pathway in female rats
Authors: Zhang Xiaoyang , He Yonghua , Lin Quanhui , Huang Lili , Zhang Qunwei , Xu Youqiong 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Cooking oil fumes (COFs) are composed of particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, aldehydes, and ketones, and are currently a global health concern. Some agents in COFs are mutagenic and carcinogenic. However, only a few reports have addressed the hazardous effects of COF exposure on the female reproductive system. In this study, we explored the effects of subchronic exposure to COFs on female gonads in vivo and the possible involvement of the G-protein-coupled receptor 30 signaling pathway.

Methods
COFs were generated by heating commercially available canola oil in an iron pot. Adult female Wistar rats at 2 months of age were exposed to COFs at 32 mg/m3 for 0, 0.5, 1, 2, or 4 h/day for 56 days. The estrous cycle in rats was studied twice at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on the 43rd treatment day until the current estrous cycle was complete. The rat body weight was measured before the experiment and at day 56 post-exposure. At the end of the experiment, rat blood was collected for gonadal hormone assay, and ovaries were collected for histology and mRNA isolation. The mRNA levels of GPR30, EGFR, STAT3, and ERK were determined by quantitative RT-PCR.

Results
At a concentration of 32.21 ± 5.11 mg/m3, COF exposure extended the estrous cycle in rats, and ovary coefficient decreased. COFs showed various effects on the sex hormone levels and follicles, depending on its exposure level. Exposure to COFs led to the changes in mRNA levels of the G-protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK).

Conclusion
This study indicated that cooking oil fume exposure disrupted the estrous cycle, sex hormone patterns, and follicle development in female rats in a dose-dependent manner. These adverse effects of cooking oil fumes on female reproductive health were correlated with the G-protein-coupled receptor 30-mediated signaling pathway.

Highlights

Subchronic exposure to COFs for 56 days had gonadal toxicity in female rats, that disrupted the estrous cycle, sex hormone patterns, and follicle development in a dose-dependent manner.

Reproductive endocrine disruption might be one of the female gonadotoxicity mechanisms of COFs.

These adverse effects of COFs on female reproductive health were correlated with the GPR30-mediated signaling pathway.
Native and non-native species for dryland afforestation: bridging ecosystem integrity and livelihood support
Authors: Reisman-Berman Orna , Keasar Tamar , Tel-Zur Noemi 
Published: December 2019

AbstractKey messageWe propose a silvicultural-ecological, participatory-based, conceptual framework to optimize the socioeconomic-ecological services provided by dryland afforestation, i.e. addressing the limited resources in arid areas while minimizing the harm to the environment. The framework applies the following criteria to select multifunctional tree species: (a) drought resistance, (b) minimal disruption of ecosystem integrity, and (c) maximization of ecosystem services, including supporting community livelihoods.ContextDryland afforestation projects frequently aim to combine multiple ecological and economic benefits. Nevertheless, plant species for such projects are selected mainly to withstand aridity, while other important characteristics are neglected. This approach has resulted in planted forests that are drought-resistant, yet harm the natural ecosystem and provide inadequate ecosystem services for humans.AimsWe suggest a comprehensive framework for species selection for dryland afforestation that would increase, rather than disrupt, ecological and socio-economic services.MethodsTo formulate a synthesis, we review and analyze past and current afforestation policies and the socio-ecological crises ensuing from them.ResultsTo increase afforestation services and to support human-community needs, both native and non-native woody species should be considered. The framework suggests experimental testing of candidate species for their compliance with the suggested species selection criteria. Furthermore, regional stakeholders are involved in evaluating, ranking, and prioritizing the candidate species according to experimental results and stakeholders’ values and needs. We exemplify our approach by describing our ongoing research project, aimed to evaluate several native and exoticZiziphusspecies in the Middle East region.ConclusionThe employment of our proposed framework forms a novel community of native and non-native woody species. We discuss the ecological context of this proposal.
Machine learning models to predict onset of dementia: A label learning approach
Authors: Nori Vijay S. , Hane Christopher A. , Crown William H. , Au Rhoda , Burke William J. , Sanghavi Darshak M. , Bleicher Paul 
Published: December 2019

AbstractIntroductionThe study objective was to build a machine learning model to predict incident mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's Disease, and related dementias from structured data using administrative and electronic health record sources.MethodsA cohort of patients (n = 121,907) and controls (n = 5,307,045) was created for modeling using data within 2 years of patient's incident diagnosis date. Additional cohorts 3–8 years removed from index data are used for prediction. Training cohorts were matched on age, gender, index year, and utilization, and fit with a gradient boosting machine, lightGBM.ResultsIncident 2‐year model quality on a held‐out test set had a sensitivity of 47% and area‐under‐the‐curve of 87%. In the 3‐year model, the learned labels achieved 24% (71%), which dropped to 15% (72%) in year 8.DiscussionThe ability of the model to discriminate incident cases of dementia implies that it can be a worthwhile tool to screen patients for trial recruitment and patient management.
Screening ofClostridioides difficilecarriers in an urban academic medical center: Understanding implications of disease
Authors: Baron Sarah W. , Ostrowsky Belinda E. , Nori Priya , Drory David Y. , Levi Michael H. , Szymczak Wendy A. , Rinke Michael L. , Southern William N. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractObjective:Efforts to reduceClostridioides difficileinfection (CDI) have targeted transmission from patients with symptomaticC. difficile. However, many patients with theC. difficileorganism are carriers without symptoms who may serve as reservoirs for spread of infection and may be at risk for progression to symptomaticC. difficile. To estimate the prevalence ofC. difficilecarriage and determine the risk and speed of progression to symptomaticC. difficileamong carriers, we established a pilot screening program in a large urban hospital.Design:Prospective cohort study.Setting:An 800-bed, tertiary-care, academic medical center in the Bronx, New York.Participants:A sample of admitted adults without diarrhea, with oversampling of nursing facility patients.Methods:Perirectal swabs were tested by polymerase chain reaction forC. difficilewithin 24 hours of admission, and patients were followed for progression to symptomaticC. difficile. Development of symptomaticC. difficilewas compared amongC. difficilecarriers and noncarriers using a Cox proportional hazards model.Results:Of the 220 subjects, 21 (9.6%) wereC. difficilecarriers, including 10.2% of the nursing facility residents and 7.7% of the community residents (P= .60). Among the 21C. difficilecarriers, 8 (38.1%) progressed to symptomaticC. difficile, but only 4 (2.0%) of the 199 noncarriers progressed to symptomaticC. difficile(hazard ratio, 23.9; 95% CI, 7.2–79.6;P< .0001).Conclusions:Asymptomatic carriage ofC. difficileis prevalent among admitted patients and confers a significant risk of progression to symptomatic CDI. Screening for asymptomatic carriers may represent an opportunity to reduce CDI.
A family empowerment strategy is associated with increased healthcare worker hand hygiene in a resource-limited setting
Authors: Campbell Jeffrey I. , Pham Thanh Thuy , Le Trang , Dang Thi Thu Huong , Chandonnet Celeste J. , Truong Thi Hoa , Duong Hao , Nguyen Duc Duat , Le Thi Huyen , Tran Thi Ha , Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh , Ho Thi Minh Than , Le Kien Ngai , Pollack Todd M. , Sandora Thomas J. 
Published: December 2019

Abstract

Background:
Guidelines recommend empowering patients and families to remind healthcare workers (HCWs) to perform hand hygiene (HH). The effectiveness of empowerment tools for patients and their families in Southeast Asia is unknown.

Methods:
We performed a prospective study in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a Vietnamese pediatric referral hospital. With family and HCW input, we developed a visual tool for families to prompt HCW HH. We used direct observation to collect baseline HH data. We then enrolled families to receive the visual tool and education on its use while continuing prospective collection of HH data. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of HH in baseline and implementation periods.

Results:
In total, 2,014 baseline and 2,498 implementation-period HH opportunities were observed. During the implementation period, 73 families were enrolled. Overall, HCW HH was 46% preimplementation, which increased to 73% in the implementation period (P < .001). The lowest HH adherence in both periods occurred after HCW contact with patient surroundings: 16% at baseline increased to 24% after implementation. In multivariable analyses, the odds of HCW HH during the implementation period were significantly higher than baseline (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.54–3.41; P < .001) after adjusting for observation room, HCW type, time of observation (weekday business hours vs evening or weekend), and HH moment.

Conclusions:
The introduction of a visual empowerment tool was associated with significant improvement in HH adherence among HCWs in a Vietnamese PICU. Future research should explore acceptability and barriers to use of similar tools in low- and middle-income settings.
Imperial Maps of Xinjiang and Their Readers in Qing China, 1660–1860
Authors: Zhang Xue 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThis article explores information management in the Qing government, and the challenges confronted by the Qing authorities, through the prism of imperial maps of Xinjiang. To ensure that newly gathered geographical knowledge of Xinjiang was usable for the emperor and senior officials, technocrats and artisans in the Imperial Household Department collaborated with the Jesuits and border officials to produce maps that materialized it. Because of their utility in military campaigns and everyday governance, these maps were carefully maintained by the Imperial Household Department, which discreetly distributed them to a small coterie of Manchu and Mongol statesmen. Nevertheless, information leakage from the lower echelons of the bureaucracy challenged the department's monopoly and popularized knowledge of Xinjiang among the Han literati.
Discrete-type approximations for non-Markovian optimal stopping problems: Part I
Authors: Leão Dorival , Ohashi Alberto , Russo Francesco 
Published: December 2019

AbstractWe present a discrete-type approximation scheme to solve continuous-time optimal stopping problems based on fully non-Markovian continuous processes adapted to the Brownian motion filtration. The approximations satisfy suitable variational inequalities which allow us to construct

$\varepsilon$

-optimal stopping times and optimal values in full generality. Explicit rates of convergence are presented for optimal values based on reward functionals of path-dependent stochastic differential equations driven by fractional Brownian motion. In particular, the methodology allows us to design concrete Monte Carlo schemes for non-Markovian optimal stopping time problems as demonstrated in the companion paper by Bezerra et al.
Skeletal stochastic differential equations for continuous-state branching processes
Authors: Fekete D. , Fontbona J. , Kyprianou A. E. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractIt is well understood that a supercritical continuous-state branching process (CSBP) is equal in law to a discrete continuous-time Galton–Watson process (the skeleton of prolific individuals) whose edges are dressed in a Poissonian way with immigration which initiates subcritical CSBPs (non-prolific mass). Equally well understood in the setting of CSBPs and superprocesses is the notion of a spine or immortal particle dressed in a Poissonian way with immigration which initiates copies of the original CSBP, which emerges when conditioning the process to survive eternally. In this article we revisit these notions for CSBPs and put them in a common framework using the well-established language of (coupled) stochastic differential equations (SDEs). In this way we are able to deal simultaneously with all types of CSBPs (supercritical, critical, and subcritical) as well as understanding how the skeletal representation becomes, in the sense of weak convergence, a spinal decomposition when conditioning on survival. We have two principal motivations. The first is to prepare the way to expand the SDE approach to the spatial setting of superprocesses, where recent results have increasingly sought the use of skeletal decompositions to transfer results from the branching particle setting to the setting of measure valued processes. The second is to provide a pathwise decomposition of CSBPs in the spirit of genealogical coding of CSBPs via Lévy excursions, albeit precisely where the aforesaid coding fails to work because the underlying CSBP is supercritical.
“Have You Not Heard of Florida?” Jean Ribault, Thomas Stukeley, and the Dream of England's First Overseas Colony
Authors: DeCoster Jonathan 
Published: December 2019

AbstractEnglish overseas colonialism is generally traced to the anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish ideologies of Richard Hakluyt, Humphrey Gilbert, and other exponents in the 1570s and 1580s. This article puts Florida at the forefront of English colonialism by taking seriously Thomas Stukeley's proposed colonisation expedition in 1563. The focus on the 1560s reveals how a dynastic rivalry with France, rather than a religious rivalry with Spain, gave birth to England's first colonial impulse. Jean Ribault, well known as the founder of French Florida, serves as the connecting link between Florida and England. His previously unappreciated role in European diplomacy unwittingly turned his fledgling colony into a pawn to be traded among France, Spain, and England. Furthermore, Queen Elizabeth's interest in joining the race for colonies may have been fuelled more by her desire to regain Calais from the French than to plant settlers in America. But while her motives may well have been cynical, the English public for the first time began to see itself as a colonising people. The end result was that Florida not only emerged as part of the fountainhead of English colonialism, but also came to play an important role in European politics.
Does the Pagan King Reply? Malayalam Documents on the Portuguese Arrival in India
Authors: Kooria Mahmood 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThis article is a response to Sebastian Prange's essay in Itinerario 41, no. 1 (2017): 151–173 wherein he presented a ‘virtually unknown manuscript’ on the Portuguese arrival in India as an Indian voice, unheard in the existing historiography. Prange had consulted the English translation of a Malayalam text by John Wye, that the former had assumed to be lost. However its original palm-leaf manuscript (ōla) is kept at the British Library. This ōla, entitled Kēraḷa Varttamānam, brings to light some remarkable omissions and a few discrepancies in Wye's translation. Closely reading different manuscripts in Malayalam, Arabic, and English I argue that this ōla is in fact a translation of a sixteenth-century Arabic text, Tuḥfat al-mujāhidīn, well known among scholars of its place and period. Taking it a step ahead, I argue that the very existence of this text points towards the cross-cultural and cross-linguistic interactions between the Arabic and Malayalam spheres of premodern Malabar. The ōla demonstrates one of the first instances of Malayalam literature's engagement with a secular and historical theme as the arrival of the Portuguese. In addition, Malayalam works such as Kēraḷōlpatti and Kēraḷa-paḻama are clear voices from Malabar on the Portuguese arrival and consequent episodes.
Bodies in High Places: Exploration, Altitude Sickness, and the Problem of Bodily Comparison in the Himalaya, 1800–1850
Authors: Fleetwood Lachlan 
Published: December 2019

AbstractMotivated by both science and empire, European explorers increasingly ventured into the high Himalaya after 1800, where they encountered the insidious yet little understood effects of altitude sickness. They did not, however, do so alone. Tensions arising from the highly unpredictable distribution of symptoms were exacerbated by explorers’ dependence on pre-existing networks of labour and expertise, which forced them to measure their bodies against those of their Asian companions. This article examines altitude physiology in the early nineteenth century, largely overlooked by scholars in favour of the more systematic scientific studies of the later period. I consider engagement with indigenous explanations (resulting from poisonous miasmas from plants), the tropes travellers used in their accounts to avoid inverting hierarchies around bodily performance, and attempts to quantify symptoms and instrumentalise bodies by measuring pulses. I argue that high mountains became spaces of comparison, intensified by uncertainty over the scientific status of altitude sickness, and use this to bring into focus the practical, everyday aspects of relationships between explorers, guides, and porters. By considering comparisons at multiple scales, this article also historicises the formulation of high mountain medical topographies in the context of upland frontiers and imperial expansion.
Sex Differences in Cognitive Changes in De Novo Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Bayram Ece , Banks Sarah J. , Shan Guogen , Kaplan Nikki , Caldwell Jessica Z.K. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractObjective:To evaluate the sex differences in cognitive course over 4 years in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compared to controls.Methods:Four-year longitudinal cognitive scores of 257 cognitively intact PD, 167 PD-MCI, and 140 controls from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative were included. Longitudinal scores of men and women, and PD with and without MCI were compared.Results:Women had better verbal memory, men had better visuospatial function. There was no interaction between sex, diagnostic group, and/or time (4-year follow-up period).Conclusions:Sex differences in cognitive course in de novo PD are similar to healthy aging. Cognitive decline rates in PD with and without MCI are similar for the first 4 years of PD.
Operationalizing Impaired Performance in Neuropsychological Assessment: A Comparison of the Use of Published Versus Sample-Based Normative Data for the Prediction of Dementia
Authors: Callahan Brandy L. ,   for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: December 2019

AbstractObjectives:To compare the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of published versus sample-based norms to detect early dementia in the Uniform Data Set (UDS).Methods:The UDS was administered to 526 nondemented participants from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Baseline scores were standardized using published norms and healthy control data from ADNI corrected for age, education, and sex. Subjects obtaining two scores < −1 SD (determined separately using published and sample norms) were labeled “at risk for dementia.” Both methods were compared on sensitivity, specificity, and positive/negative predictive value (PPV/NPV) for dementia at follow-up.Results:Risk scores derived from published data had 86.1% sensitivity, 62.0% specificity, 68.6% accuracy, 46.1% PPV, and 92.2% NPV. Those from sample norms were more sensitive (91.0%), less specific (52.9%), and less accurate (63.3%), with worse PPV (42.1%) and similar NPV (94.0%). Sample norms were better at identifying incident dementia cases with relatively lower education than those with higher education. Discrepancies between both methods were more common in women.Conclusions:Sample norms are marginally more sensitive than published norms for predicting dementia, while published norms are slightly more accurate. Accuracy of risk estimates for women and those with lower education may be increased using locally generated norms.
Discrepancy-Based Evidence for Loss of Thinking Abilities (DELTA): Development and Validation of a Novel Approach to Identifying Cognitive Changes
Authors: Asken Breton M. , Thomas Kelsey R. , Lee Athene , Davis Jennifer D. , Malloy Paul F. , Salloway Stephen P. ,   for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: December 2019

AbstractObjective:To develop and validate the Discrepancy-based Evidence for Loss of Thinking Abilities (DELTA) score. The DELTA score characterizes the strength of evidence for cognitive decline on a continuous spectrum using well-established psychometric principles for improving detection of cognitive changes.Methods:DELTA score development used neuropsychological test scores from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort (two tests each from Memory, Executive Function, and Language domains). We derived regression-based normative reference scores using age, gender, years of education, and word-reading ability from robust cognitively normal ADNI participants. Discrepancies between predicted and observed scores were used for calculating the DELTA score (range 0–15). We validated DELTA scores primarily against longitudinal Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SOB) and Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) scores (baseline assessment through Year 3) using linear mixed models and secondarily against cross-sectional Alzheimer’s biomarkers.Results:There were 1359 ADNI participants with calculable baseline DELTA scores (age 73.7 ± 7.1 years, 55.4% female, 100% white/Caucasian). Higher baseline DELTA scores (stronger evidence of cognitive decline) predicted higher baseline CDR-SOB (ΔR2 = .318) and faster rates of CDR-SOB increase over time (ΔR2 = .209). Longitudinal changes in DELTA scores tracked closely and in the same direction as CDR-SOB scores (fixed and random effects of mean + mean-centered DELTA, ΔR2 > .7). Results were similar for FAQ scores. High DELTA scores predicted higher PET-Aβ SUVr (ρ = 324), higher CSF-pTau/CSF-Aβ ratio (ρ = .460), and demonstrated PPV > .9 for positive Alzheimer’s disease biomarker classification.Conclusions:Data support initial development and validation of the DELTA score through its associations with longitudinal functional changes and Alzheimer’s biomarkers. We provide several considerations for future research and include an automated scoring program for clinical use.