bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Controlling Abandoned Oil Installations: Ruination and Ownership in Northern Peruvian Amazonia
Authors: Guzmán-Gallegos María A. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThe chapter by Guzmán-Gallegos’ examines the diverse and changing ways in which the Kichwa people relate to the leftovers of oil extraction in their everyday lives in the borderlands of Ecuador and Peru. She investigates these remains as part of a landscape of rubble saturated by ruination processes. The chapter shows how ruination embodies capitalist expansion through its persistent disdain of Kichwa as disposable and of their lands as a sacrifice zone. It considers ongoing attempts to take control over the toxic leakages and abandoned installations as acts of contestation that actualise singular notions and enactments of ownership. In turn, through their relational co-constitution of persons and objects, these Kichwa conceptions and practices challenge hegemonic divides concerned not only with ownership but also with the constitution of the political realm itself. Finally, the author proposes that the articulation of distinct indigenous enactments and understandings of ownership redefine the asymmetries that characterise their relations with non-indigenous actors.
Translating Wealth in a Globalised Extractivist Economy: Contrabandistas and Accumulation by Diversion
Authors: Vindal Ødegaard Cecilie 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThe chapter by Ødegaard leaves the rural scenarios of this book for an urban one, focusing on smugglers of fuel operating in the frontier between Peru and Bolivia. She considers the labour of contrabandistas as a redirection of commodity flows from the official fuel distribution and as contributing to subsume wealth to particular modes of sociality, including contrabandistas’ relations with market colleagues, kin, and earth-beings. This redistribution entails a semiotic multiplication involving systems of meaning that exceed the capitalist system of commensuration: a hegemonic vision accompanying narratives of progress and extractivism in South America. When exploring contrabandistas’ relations to the powerful earth-beings, Ødegaard finds a particular relational understanding of wealth which reveals entanglements of locally embedded worldings and dominant extractive practices. Without dismissing the consequences of accumulation and inequality, she describes a set of strategies to mediate extractivism’s forces and wealth while paying attention to the relational and cosmological aspects of mediation; here termed accumulation by diversion.
Carbon and Biodiversity Conservation as Resource Extraction: Enacting REDD+ Across Cultures of Ownership in Amazonia
Authors: Brightman Marc 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThe chapter by Brightman discusses the works of international environmental NGOs that seek to conserve biodiversity among native Amazonian people in Suriname as a nonconventional form of extractivism. Based on his fieldwork in Suriname, he investigates the Carib-speaking Trio people’s understanding of this relatively new economic, political, and ideological scheme promoted through the marketisation of conservation. What emerges is an account of how Trio conceptualisations (in particular, those regarding land ownership) contrast and entangle with the perspectives of technical and governmental agents intervening in their territory. Thanks to this comparative approach, Brightman is able to contribute an ethnographically informed insight into the different sets of distinctions and continuities between carbon and biodiversity accounting and other more conventional forms of extractivism.
NAFLD and cardiovascular disease
Authors: Martins Elisabete , Oliveira Ana 
Published: October 2018

Abstract
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an important cause of chronic hepatic disease and liver transplant in Western societies. The increasing prevalence is related to dietary changes and sedentarism and follows the increasing frequency of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Growing evidence of association of NAFLD with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), independent of cardiovascular risk factors, has prompted the clarification of whether the liver is mainly a key-effector or a target-organ of the metabolic disarrangements in the metabolic syndrome. The therapeutic strategies able to alter liver disease progression and, through this, reduce the cardiovascular risk have also been tested in the last 2 decades.
This review focus on the possible interactions between hepatic disease, metabolic syndrome, and CVD, and on their implications for clinical practice.
Heart sound classification using Gaussian mixture model
Authors: Shervegar Madhava Vishwanath , Bhat Ganesh V. 
Published: October 2018

Abstract

Background:
This article represents a new method of classifying the heart sound status using the loudness features from the heart sound.

Materials and methods:
The method includes the following 3 main steps. First, the heart sound, which is usually found noisy, is heavily filtered by a 6th-order Chebyshev-I filter. The heart sound is then segmented using the event synchronous method to separate the sounds into the first heart sound, the systole and the second heart sound, the diastole. In the second step, the heart sound features namely maximum loudness index and minimum loudness index are obtained from the spectrogram of the sound by taking the row means. As a third step, the heart sound is classified using the Gaussian mixture model approach to categorize the sounds.

Results:
This method has been tested on a very large database of heart sounds consisting of over 3000 heart sounds recordings with a success rate of 97.77%.

Conclusion:
Only 2 features are used in this method namely, minimum loudness index and maximum loudness index. Classification of sounds using these 2 features yields high accuracy even under noisy conditions and is comparable to any state-of-the-art technique.
Prediction of MMP-9 inhibitory activity of N-hydroxy-α-phenylsulfonylacetamide derivatives by pharmacophore based modeling and 3-D QSAR studies
Authors: Rathee Dharmender , Lather Viney , Dureja Harish 
Published: October 2018

Abstract
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), also known as gelatinase B, is a MMP that is strongly associated with multiple cellular processes including proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Various studies have shown that N-hydroxy-α-phenylsulfonylacetamide (HPSAs) derivatives are promising and selective for the MMP-9 inhibition. In the present study, we have selected and reported 80 HPSAs derivatives as inhibitors of MMP-9 and performed structure-based 3-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationship (3D-QSAR) studies to elucidate the important structural elements responsible for binding affinity. Developed pharmacophore models; QSAR model I contains 2 hydrogen-bond acceptors (A), 2 hydrogen-bond donors (D), and 1 aromatic ring (R) and QSAR model II contains 3 hydrogen-bond acceptors (A), 1 positive ionic (P), and 1 aromatic ring (R). The statistical results of QSAR models (I and II) such as good correlation coefficient (0.61 for I and 0.63 for II), good predictive power (0.84 and 0.77 for I and II, respectively) with low standard deviation (SD\0.3 for both) strongly suggest that the developed models are virtuous for the future prediction of MMP-9 inhibitory activity of HPSAs derivatives. The geometry and features of pharmacophore were expected to be useful for further design and development of selective MMP-9 inhibitors.
Evaluation of skills acquisition using a new low-cost tool for CPR self-training
Authors: Sá-Couto Carla , Ferreira Ana Margarida , Almeida Diana , Nicolau Abel , Vieira-Marques Pedro 
Published: October 2018

Abstract

Background:
High-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) remains essential to improve the outcome of patients in sudden cardiorespiratory arrest. Feedback on performance is a crucial component of the learning processes associated with simulation and has been shown to improve CPR quality during simulated cardiac arrest on mannequins. This study aims to evaluate skills acquisition using a new low-cost feedback device for CPR self-training when compared to standard training methods.

Methods:
Thirty-nine pregraduated medical and biomedical engineering students were recruited for a longitudinal double-blinded randomized control study. For training Basic Life Support skills, the control group used a standard task-trainer and received feedback from an instructor. The intervention group used the same standard task-trainer, instrumented with the CPR Personal Trainer that provided automated performance feedback (with no instructor) on compression-related parameters. Students’ knowledge and skills were assessed before and after training, through a theoretical knowledge test and 2 minutes of CPR practical performance.

Results:
The theoretical tests showed an improvement both in the intervention and in the control group. For each compression-related parameters (hands position, recoil, rate, and depth), significant increase in scores is observed, between the pre- and the post-test, in both groups. The intervention and control groups presented identical mean differences for the total score (0.72 vs 0.72), with no statistical difference (P = 0.754).

Conclusions:
The proposed tool proved to be effective in the acquisition of compression-related skills, with similar outcomes as the traditional instructor-based method, corroborating the hypothesis that a low-cost tool with feedback for CPR self-training can provide an alternative or a complementary extension to traditional training methods. The system can also be considered cost-efficient as it reduces the permanent presence of an instructor for the chest compressions training, promoting regular training outside formal training courses.
Prenatal diagnosis: the clinical usefulness of array comparative genomic hybridization
Authors: Freitas Marta , Pinto Joel , Ramalho Carla , Dória Sofia 
Published: October 2018

Abstract

Background:
Array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) has been replacing karyotype in neurodevelopment diseases or intellectual disability cases. Regarding prenatal diagnosis (PND) karyotyping is still the criterion standard technique; nevertheless, the application of aCGH in this field has been increasing dramatically and some groups recommended it as the first-tier prenatal genetic test in cases of fetal ultrasound abnormalities. Despite aCGH greater resolution, the detection of variants of unknown significance (VOUS) is not desirable, so it's need some reflexion before generalized application on PND.

Objective:
The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and type of copy number variants (CNVs) detected in the 55 PND samples collected from pregnancies with indication to perform aCGH.

Methods:
aCGH was performed using Agilent 4 × 180K microarrays and results were analyzed using CytoGenomics software.

Results and conclusion:
Eight (14.5%) cases had pathogenic or likely pathogenic CNVs. VOUS were found in 21.8% of the cases, but this frequency could be minimized if only large CNVs above 1 million base pairs that are outside the clinically curated targeted regions were considered.
The open abdomen: analysis of risk factors for mortality and delayed fascial closure in 101 patients
Authors: Morais Marina , Gonçalves Diana , Bessa-Melo Renato , Devesa Vítor , Costa-Maia José 
Published: October 2018

Abstract

Introduction:
The core concepts of damage control and open abdomen in trauma surgery have been expanding for emergent general surgery. Temporary closures allow ease of access to the abdominal cavity for source control.
The aim of the current study was to assess the outcomes of patients who underwent open abdomen management for acute abdominal conditions and evaluate risk factors for worse outcomes and inability of fascial closure during the initial hospitalization.

Methods:
We conducted a retrospective analysis of 101 patients submitted to laparostomy in a single institution from January 2009 to March 2017. The evaluated outcomes were mortality, local morbidity, and rate of primary fascial closure.

Results:
The most common indications for open abdomen were bowel perforation, bowel ischemia, and necrotizing pancreatitis. Global in-hospital mortality rate was 62.4%. For the 37 patients discharged from the hospital, a definitive abdominal closure was attained in 28.
Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that people older than 60 years of age and with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) scores over 18.5 had higher in-hospital mortality rates. Definitive fascial closure was statistically associated with a lower number of re-interventions and ICU stay.

Conclusions:
Open abdomen management may be appropriate in these critically ill patients; however, it continues to be associated with significantly high mortality, especially in elder patients and with higher APACHE II scores. Recognition of risk factors for fascia closure failure should promote the investigation for a tailored surgical approach in these patients.
Intractable hiccups as the presenting symptom of toxic nodular goiter
Authors: Teles Luís Miguel Fernandes , Neto Inês Domingues , Macedo Bernardo Luís Fernandes , Moreira Fernando 
Published: October 2018

Abstract
Hiccups differential diagnosis is a challenging one often being inconclusive and sometimes attributed to malignancies, and so of extreme importance to an internist. Seventy-five-year-old man with history of alcohol abuse, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia presented to the emergency department after having initiated diarrhea, hiccups, and vomiting for 4 days. Physical examination revealed signs of dehydration and persistent hiccups at rest. Laboratory investigations revealed acute renal failure (creatinine 3.7 mg/dl, reference value: 0.7–1.3 mg/dl; urea 195 mg/dl, reference value: 18–55 mg/dl) and no elevation of inflammatory parameters. Findings were consistent with a gastroenteritis, it was started fluids and the patient was admitted in the internal medicine ward. As the gastroenteritis symptoms ceased and the acute renal failure was resolved, the hiccups continued and physical examination revealed 2 palpable thyroid nodules. Laboratory findings shew subclinical hyperthyroidism (serum TSH 0.02 uUI/ml, reference value: 0.35 –4.94 uUI/ml; free T4 levels 18.5 pmol/L, reference value: 9.0–19 pmol/L). It was conducted an ultrasonography that revealed an increase of thyroid dimensions and 2 nodules. One nodule in the right lobe with 32 mm of dimension and one nodule in the left lobe with 58 mm of dimension. Both nodules were hypoechoic. Patient started antithyroid medication with propylthiouracil (PTU), 200 mg every 12 hours, and a cervical CT scan was conducted. CT scan revealed images compatible with diving goiter (Fig. 1) and tracheal deviation, for the right side (Fig. 2), inducted by the thyroid left nodule. Patient was discharged with antithyroid medication and hiccups were meliorated with chlorpromazine although persisting. After thyroid function normalization thyroidectomy was conducted, a few months later, and hiccups ceased.
Xanthohumol and 8-prenylnaringenin reduce type 2 diabetes–associated oxidative stress by downregulating galectin-3
Authors: Luís Carla , Costa Raquel , Rodrigues Ilda , Castela Ângela , Coelho Pedro , Guerreiro Susana , Gomes Joana , Reis Celso , Soares Raquel 
Published: October 2018

AbstractBackground:Galectin-3 (Gal3) expression is associated with accumulation of Advanced Glycation End products (AGE), a common feature in diabetes mellitus (DM). The role of Gal3 in oxidative stress is, however, controversial, being considered in the literature to play either a protective role or exacerbating disease.Methods:Herein, we examined the interplay between Gal3 and oxidative stress in a high-fat diet -induced type 2 DMC57Bl/6 mice model. Because natural polyphenols are known to play antioxidant and anti-inflammatory roles and to modulate metabolic activity, we further evaluated the effect of xanthohumol and 8-prenylnaringenin polyphenols in this crosstalk.Results:Gal3 expression was accompanied by 3-nitrotyrosine and AGE production in liver and kidney of diabetic mice compared to healthy animals (fed with standard diet). Oral supplementation with polyphenols decreased the levels of these oxidative biomarkers as evaluated by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Interestingly, blocking Gal3 by incubating human microvascular endothelial cells with modified citrus pectin increased 3-nitrotyrosine protein expression.Conclusions:These findings imply that Gal3 overexpression is probably controlling oxidative stress in endothelial cells. In conclusion, our results indicate that supplementation with 8-prenylnaringenin or xanthohumol reverses diabetes-associated oxidation in liver and kidney, and consequently decreases this diabetic biomarker that predispose to cardiovascular complications.
The role of flavonoid antioxidant, morin in improving procarbazine-induced oxidative stress on testicular function in rat
Authors: Olayinka Ebenezer Tunde , Ore Ayokanmi , Adeyemo Oluwatobi Adewumi , Ola Olaniyi Solomon 
Published: October 2018

Abstract

Background:
Procarbazine (PCZ) is an effective chemotherapeutic drug used in the treatment of lymphoma; however, oxidative stress–mediated testicular toxicity is a major side effect. Recently, therapeutic intervention using flavonoids against oxidative stress–related pathologies is gaining more attention. Morin (MOR) is a natural flavonoid with proven antioxidant activity. This study was designed therefore to evaluate the potential role of MOR in ameliorating PCZ-induced testicular oxidative stress and altered sperm quality in rat model.

Methods:
A total of 24 male Wistar rats (170–180 g) were randomly assigned into 4 treatment groups: I, control; II, PCZ (2 mg/kg b.w.); III, PCZ (2 mg/kg b.w.) + MOR (100 mg/kg b.w.) simultaneously administered and IV, MOR (100 mg/kg b.w.), and all treatments lasted 14 days.

Results:
PCZ treatment displayed significant reduction in sperm number, sperm motility, percentage normal sperm cells, and daily sperm production rate. Meanwhile the activities of testicular enzymes: gamma-glutamyl transferase, acid phosphatase, and lactate dehydrogenase were significantly altered in the PCZ group compared to control. Furthermore, PCZ caused a significant reduction in levels of glutathione and ascorbic acid as well as activities superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione S-transferase in the testes of PCZ-treated rats. A significant increase in testicular malondialdehyde level was also observed in the PCZ group. MOR treatment, however, significantly restored the altered sperm parameters and biochemical markers in the testis.

Conclusions:
Our data suggest that MOR administration protected against PCZ-induced testicular and spermatotoxicity in rat, by improving testicular antioxidant system.
Prevalence and risk factors of sonographically detected non alcoholic fatty liver disease in a screening centre in Klang Valley, Malaysia: an observational cross-sectional study
Authors: Khammas Abdul Sattar Arif , Hassan Hasyma Abu , Salih Sarah Qahtan M. , Kadir Hayati , Ibrahim Ramlah Mohamad , Nasir Nurul Nadiah Mohamad , Mahmud Rozi 
Published: October 2018

Abstract

Objectives:
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a very common liver disorder in Western countries. As of late, it has been found to be prevalent in Asia as well. It is a benign disease unless it develops into necroinflammation and fibrosis. This study was proposed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of sonography-detected NAFLD among Malaysian adults in Klang Valley, West Malaysia.

Study design:
An observational cross-sectional study.

Methods:
The participants were aged between 45 and 75 years who participated in a screening program at the Golden Horses Health Sanctuary in Klang Valley. Lipid profile and anthropometric measurements were collected from the subjects’ medical records. Ultrasound machine and a structured self-administered questionnaire were used as instruments for recruiting data from the subjects. The subjects who consumed alcohol (>140 g/wk for men and >70 g/wk for females), had hepatitis B or C viruses, liver insults, and surgery, and taken lipid-lowering medications were excluded from the study.

Results:
A total of 628 subjects were analyzed, and 235 (37.4%) subjects were diagnosed with definite NAFLD. They comprised 518 (82.5%) Chinese, 92 (14.6%) Malays, and 18 (2.9%) Indians. Peak prevalence of NAFLD was found in 53 to 60 years age group. The higher prevalence of NAFLD was among men (48.3%) than women (27.3%) and among Indians (61.1%) and Malays (51.1%) than among Chinese (34.2%). NAFLD has been found to be strongly correlated with male sex, high body mass index (≥23.0 kg/m2), hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension.

Conclusion:
NAFLD is quite common among adults in Malaysian urban population. The prevalence of NAFLD was inordinately high among the 53 to 60 years age group, male sex, Indians, and Malays (as compared with Chinese). Age >60 years, male sex, high body mass index (≥23.0 kg/m2), hypertriglyceridemia, and diabetes mellitus were proven to be risk predictors for NAFLD.
Evaluation of Glucomannan Powder as an Ultrasound Transmission Gel Alternative for Resource-Constrained Environments: A Prospective, Comparative Study
Authors: Milton Sandra C. , Cronin Aaron J. , Monti Jonathan D. 
Published: October 2018

Introduction Resource and logistical constraints may limit the availability of commercial ultrasound (US) transmission gel (USTG) in austere environments. Glucomannan powder, a dietary fiber supplement, can be mixed with tap water to form a gel that may be a field-expedient substitute for USTG. We compared glucomannan gel with a commercial USTG for US image adequacy and quality. Methods A single clinician obtained 193 US video clips from 14 different examinations on live-tissue and simulation training models using both commercial and glucomannan USTGs. Four US fellowship–trained providers, blinded to type of gel used, independently reviewed the randomized US video clips. The primary outcome of US image adequacy was scored as “yes” or “no” and analyzed using Pearson χ2 analysis. The secondary outcome of image quality was rated on a 0 to 5 Likert scale and analyzed with the independent t test. Results For US image adequacy, commercial USTG was superior to glucomannan gel ( P=0.042, 95% CI: 96.5–96.6%), with commercial USTG adequate in 96.6% of images (375 of 388 “yes”), whereas glucomannan USTG was adequate in 93.5% (359 of 384 “yes”) of images. For US image quality there was no statistically significant difference between the 2 USTGs ( P=0.176, 95% CI: 93.4–93.5%), with commercial USTG rated at 3.4±1.0 and glucomannan gel at 3.3±1.1. Conclusion Despite a high image adequacy rate, glucomannan gel proved inferior to commercial USTG for US image adequacy but produced equivalent image quality. Glucomannan USTG may be a reasonable substitute when commercial USTG is unavailable.