bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The challenges and conservation implications of bear bile farming in Viet Nam
Authors: Crudge Brian , Nguyen Trang , Cao Tien Trung 
Published: July 2018

AbstractLegalized trade in commercially farmed wildlife products is sometimes promoted as a conservation strategy. In theory, flooding the market with cheaper or better quality products will decrease the profitability of poaching. Bear bile is highly sought-after for use in traditional medicine and overhunting to supply the demand for bear parts has led to declining populations across South-east Asia. Bear bile farming was established to help supply the high demand for bear bile. In Viet Nam it is legal to keep registered bears, but illegal to extract or sell bear bile. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 66 bear bile farmers in Viet Nam to examine the conservation implications of bear bile farming. The results show that demand for wild bear bile was not satisfied by the widespread availability of farmed bear bile. Farmers report a strong consumer preference and willingness to pay more for wild-sourced products. The existence of bear bile farms presents considerable challenges to law enforcement. The results suggest that bear bile farming in Viet Nam relies on restocking from wild populations, and farmers openly admit to extracting and selling bear bile, in clear violation of national legislation. The case of bear bile farming in Viet Nam provides an example of wildlife farming failing to reduce pressure on a once widely distributed and relatively abundant species. Research into consumer values, attitudes and behaviours will help to improve understanding of market drivers and help inform the design of effective species conservation and management strategies.
The emergence of birdwatching in China: history, demographics, activities, motivations, and environmental concerns of Chinese birdwatchers
Authors: WALTHER BRUNO ANDREAS , WHITE ARON 
Published: July 2018

SummaryBirdwatching has become a global pastime and a driving force for conservation. Because of China’s economic and environmental importance, the emergence of birdwatching as a mass participation leisure activity in China over the past three decades is of global interest. We documented this emergence by conducting an extensive literature search and two online questionnaires which we used to describe the history, geographic distribution, demographics, activities, motivations, and environmental concerns of Chinese birdwatchers. The emergence happened because of (1) the transfer of ornithological knowledge to birdwatchers, (2) the increasing political tolerance to pursue pastimes, (3) the increasing leisure time, affordability of optical equipment, and urbanisation of China’s society, (4) increased internet use, and (5) interactions of birdwatchers with the media and foreign birdwatchers. Of the 576 respondents to our questionnaires, two-thirds were male, about half were younger than 35 years of age, approximately 90% were university-educated, and many also had an above-average income and originated mostly from the more urbanised coastal or near-coastal provinces. Our respondents were thus part of China’s economic and educational elite who largely birdwatch for enjoyment, but also because of the knowledge gained about the birds’ ecology. Many birdwatchers have become concerned about the deteriorating state of the environment and are frustrated about the lack of government action. Within the political constraints set by the government, many birdwatchers support environmental conservation through various activities, which have yielded some conservation successes. However, birdwatching societies remain constrained by the same legislative and administrative restraints which limit the actions of other environmental non-governmental organizations, thus hindering the effective discourse between China’s government and its emerging but still strictly controlled and regulated civil society.
Hypotension within 1 week of life associated with poor short- and long-term outcomes in very low birth weight infants
Authors: Kim Tae-Hoon , Moon Cheong-Jun , Sung In K. , Youn Young A. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractWe examined whether hypotension in very low birth weight infants aged⩽1 week was associated with hospital morbidities and overall mortality. Further, we studied whether hypotension was associated with poor neurodevelopmental outcomes in these patients at the corrected age of 18 months. A total of 166 very low birth weight infants were studied during this period. Hospital outcomes and neurodevelopmental outcomes at the corrected age of 18 months were evaluated. Among the 166 very low birth weight infants, 95 patients (57.2%) experienced hypotension at⩽1 week and were associated with an increased incidence of morbidities and mortality. At the corrected age of 18 months, hypotension of the⩽1 week group had significantly lower scores in all three – cognitive, language, and motor – composites of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III) screening tests. In addition, a multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that longer mechanical ventilation and periventricular leukomalacia were additionally associated with worse cognitive and language neurodevelopmental outcomes. Hypotension in very low birth weight infants within 1 week of life was associated with increased morbidities and overall mortality. It was also associated with an increased risk of cognitive and language outcomes.
Coevolution of Two Sulfonylurea-Resistant Common Chickweed (Stellaria media) Biotypes with Different Mutations in the Acetolactate Synthase Gene
Authors: Laforest Martin , Soufiane Brahim 
Published: July 2018

AbstractCommon chickweed [Stellaria media(L.) Vill.] is an annual weed found in grain fields and pastures. This creeping weed produces a mat-like canopy that competes with crop seedlings for light and nutrients. This species is almost exclusively autogamous. Acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides are frequently used to control this broadleaf weed, and two mutations in theS. media ALSgene (Pro-197-Gln and Trp-574-Leu) have been reported to confer herbicide resistance. Seeds from several plants that survived an application of thifensulfuron-methyl/tribenuron-methyl (16 g ai ha−1) were collected from the same field in Québec, Canada. Seedlings were grown, tested for the presence of mutations in theALSgene, and treated with different rates of foramsulfuron, flumetsulam, and imazethapyr, each belonging to different families of ALS inhibitors. Two herbicide resistance–conferring mutations were identified in this population. One biotype had the previously reported Pro-197-Gln, while a new mutation, Pro-197-Ser, was identified in different plants from the same population. The new mutation (Pro-197-Ser) confers a lower level of resistance to sulfonylureas than Pro-197-Gln, and both biotypes are susceptible to imizadolinone and triazolopyrimidines.
Relative Influence of Landscape Variables and Discharge on Suspended Sediment Yields in Temperate Mountain Catchments
Authors: Bywater‐Reyes Sharon , Bladon Kevin D. , Segura Catalina 
Published: July 2018

AbstractSuspended sediment is an important regulator of stream habitat quality but notoriously difficult to predict and regulate. This difficulty arises because of high natural variability in suspended sediment yield in space and time. Here we quantified associations between suspended sediment yields and discharge, watershed setting (i.e., physiography and lithology), and disturbance history for 10 temperate mountain watersheds (8.5–6,242 ha) in the U.S. Pacific Northwest (H.J. Andrews Long‐Term Ecological Research, LTER) over an ~60‐year period. Annual suspended sediment yields varied almost 4 orders of magnitude across space and time. A linear mixed effects model indicated that much of the variation in yields could be explained by the random effect of site (conditionalR2 = 0.74) with additional variation explained by the fixed effects (marginalR2 = 0.67) of cumulative annual discharge (p < 0.001) and the variability (standard deviation) of watershed slope (p < 0.001). Two annual sediment yield data points were model outliers, that each occurred within a decade after forest management activities and a large‐magnitude storm event at sites with high variability of catchment slope. Other sites had low sediment yields for a range of conditions, including management or flood disturbance. Taken together, our study shows that watersheds with high slope variability have higher suspended sediment yields and may be more vulnerable to increases in sediment yields following disturbances.
Groundwater Subsidy From Headwaters to Their Parent Water Watershed: A Combined Field‐Modeling Approach
Authors: Ameli A. A. , Gabrielli C. , Morgenstern U. , McDonnell J. J. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractHeadwater groundwater subsidy, defined here as out‐of‐catchment groundwater flow contribution from a headwater catchment to its larger parent watershed (i.e., higher‐order stream), can influence the water quality and quantity of regional water resources. But the integrated flow and transport modeling approaches currently being implemented to quantify this subsidy are limited by an absence of critical field observations, such as water table dynamics and groundwater age that are required to test such models. Here we couple tracer (and hydrometric) observations from the well‐studied 4.5‐ha M8 headwater catchment in the Maimai experimental watershed with a new semianalytical free‐surface integrated flow and transport model. Our main research goals are to quantify the magnitude, age, and flow paths of the headwaters groundwater subsidies at the Maimai experimental watershed. Additionally, we explore through virtual experiments the effects of watershed slope, watershed active thickness, and recharge rate on the age, flow path, and magnitude of out‐of‐catchment headwater groundwater subsidies versus within‐catchment (or local) groundwater flow contributions. Our results show that more than 50% of groundwater recharged in the Maimai headwaters subsidizes their parent watershed. The relative proportion of headwaters groundwater subsidies is inversely proportional to recharge rate and/or directly proportional to slope angle. Our results also show that the age of the headwater groundwater subsidies is more than 500 years, almost 9 times older than the age of within‐catchment groundwater flow contributions. These findings highlight the need to consider headwaters groundwater subsidies in groundwater management area considerations.
Fingerprint Detection and Differentiation of Gas-phase Amines Using a Fluorescent Sensor Array Assembled from Asymmetric Perylene Diimides
Authors: Hu Yanyong , Zhou Zichao , Zhao Feiping , Liu Xiaoling , Gong Yanjun , Xiong Wei , Sillanpää Mika 
Published: July 2018

AbstractA series of structurally analogous PDIs were fabricated and used as fluorescent sensor arrays. Adjustment of the molecular electron-donating ability and polarity (i.e., chemical structure) was found to greatly influence the fluorescent quenching by different types of amines. Moreover, the sensor array displayed high sensitivity to amine vapors and allowed the fingerprint differentiation of different species.
An integrative approach to develop computational pipeline for drug-target interaction network analysis
Authors: Bansal Ankush , Srivastava Pulkit Anupam , Singh Tiratha Raj 
Published: July 2018

AbstractUnderstanding the general principles governing the functioning of biological networks is a major challenge of the current era. Functionality of biological networks can be observed from drug and target interaction perspective. All possible modes of operations of biological networks are confined by the interaction analysis. Several of the existing approaches in this direction, however, are data-driven and thus lack potential to be generalized and extrapolated to different species. In this paper, we demonstrate a systems pharmacology pipeline and discuss how the network theory, along with gene ontology (GO) analysis, co-expression analysis, module re-construction, pathway mapping and structure level analysis can be used to decipher important properties of biological networks with the aim to propose lead molecule for the therapeutic interventions of various diseases.
Ozone balances in urban Saudi Arabia
Authors: Khalil M. A. K. , Butenhoff C. L. , Harrison R. M. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractNet ozone production rates averaging 130 ppb/h lasting 3–5 h are calculated for five cities of urban Saudi Arabia where hourly ozone and NO2 measurements were taken for a whole year. Concentrations of ozone in the cities are not unusually high at ~40 ppb during the peak 4 h, but are 50–60 ppb at altitude throughout the day. A mass balance of ozone reveals that the locations represented by the sites export ozone during the peak production periods before mid-day at average rates comparable to the net production, but later a substantial import of ozone is required to balance the budget. Concentrations of NO are high throughout the day (~14 ppb) and night (~11 ppb) and yet significant ozone concentrations remain during the night (~18 ppb). An explanation is that large amounts of ozone are generated in the surrounding areas and aloft by ozone precursors from the cities. It is brought back during the night by transport processes and reacts with fresh emissions of NO driven by nightlife resulting in an outflow of NO2 to create the observed balances. Over the whole day, the regions represented by the sites are net sinks of ozone. We describe and support this picture of ozone balances in urban Saudi Arabia.
Sampling rate influence in up and down mixing of QPSK and OFDM signals using an SOA‐MZI in a differential configuration
Authors: Termos H. , Rampone T. , Sharaiha A. 
Published: June 2018

Up and down frequency conversions in the range of 0.5–39.5 GHz are performed by using a Semiconductor Optical Amplifier–Mach‐Zehnder interferometer (SOA‐MZI) in a differential configuration as a sampling mixer. The authors show that increasing the sampling frequency by a ratio of 2.5 (from 7.8 to 19.5 GHz) improves the efficiency and the quality of the optical transmission of QPSK and OFDM signals due to a better signal level and a lower aliased noise power when the sampling rate is higher. At the high sampling rate, the obtained EVM is sufficiently low for allowing data bit rates higher than 1 Gbit/s and 245 Mbit/s, respectively, for QPSK and OFDM modulated data.
Periphere MR-Angiografie
Authors: Kramer Harald , Kreitner Karl-Friedrich 
Published: June 2018

ZusammenfassungIn der Diagnostik der peripheren AVK gilt die digitale Subtraktionsangiografie (DSA) immer noch als Referenzstandard. Alternativ stehen Sonografie, CTA und MRA zur Verfügung. Die im Folgenden vorgestellte MRA bietet ein breites Portfolio an verschiedenen Techniken und kommt damit für verschiedene Anwendungsmöglichkeiten infrage.
Wer profitiert von Stufenweisen Wiedereingliederungen zu Lasten der Deutschen Rentenversicherung? – Ergebnisse einer Kohortenstudie
Authors: Bürger Wolfgang , Streibelt Marco 
Published: July 2018

Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund Stufenweise Wiedereingliederungen (STW) haben für die Deutsche Rentenversicherung angesichts ihres Mengen- und Ausgabenzuwachs eine zunehmende Bedeutung im letzten Jahrzehnt. Daher stellt sich die Frage nach der Effektivität sowie geeigneten Zielgruppen bzw. Kontraindikationen für diese Leistung nach medizinischer Rehabilitation.
Methodik 40 262 Versicherte wurden vor Antritt und 15 Monate nach medizinischer Rehabilitation schriftlich befragt. Die Kontrollgruppe (KG) bildeten Versicherte ohne STW. Die Balancierung erfolgte mittels Propensity Score Matching. Die 3 primären Erfolgskriterien waren versicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung, Erwerbsminderungsrenten und Arbeitsunfähigkeitsdauer im Follow-up. Als sekundäre Outcomes wurden die körperliche und emotionale Rollenfunktion des SF-36 sowie die psychische Gesundheit mittels PHQ-4 definiert.
Ergebnisse Es konnten 1009 Paare gebildet werden. STW-Teilnehmer wiesen gegenüber der KG deutlich höhere Reintegrations- und geringere Frühberentungsquoten, günstigere Fehlzeitenverläufe sowie bessere körperliche und psychische Gesundheitsverläufe auf. Die Effekte waren in Gruppen mit hohem initialen Frühberentungsrisiko sowie langen Fehlzeiten vor der Rehabilitation besonders ausgeprägt.
Diskussion Die Ergebnisse liefern klare Hinweise für die Effektivität der STW im Anschluss an eine medizinische Rehabilitation. STW sind regelhaft indiziert bei Versicherten mit Fehlzeiten über 3 Monaten oder erhöhtem Frühberentungsrisiko (Screening-Instrument zur Messung des Bedarfs an berufsbezogenen Behandlungsangeboten in der medizinischen Rehabilitation, Werte>8). Kritisch sind STW bei Versicherten mit geringeren Fehlzeiten (12 Wochen und weniger) bzw. einem geringen Frühberentungsrisiko (SIBAR-Werte<6).
Non-Occlusive Bleeding Times May Improve the Value of Ivy Bleeding Times
Authors: Zeigler Zella R 
Published: June 2018

SummaryThe present studies measured bleeding times, without venous occlusion, in a series of patients, whose bleeding times (+ venostasis) consistently exceeded 20 min. During these tests, the amount of blood loss (expressed as mg/min) was also quantitated. To allow comparison, normal controls were studied before and following aspirin ingestion. In normal controls, the mean standard Ivy bleeding time was 5.0 with a range of 2.5 to 7.5 min. Two hours after aspirin (650 mg), this increased to 7.3 min (range 4.0−12.0). For comparison, the non-occlusive bleeding time averaged 3.8 min (1.0−6.5) and after aspirin 5.3 min (2.5−11.5). The measured amount of blood loss was 5.0 mg/min (0−10.5 mg/ min) under all of the above conditions. At the other extreme, patients with severe bone marrow failure had occluded and nonoccluded bleeding times in excess of 20 min. Moreover, these were often associated with excess blood loss. By contrast, patients with “Ivy” values >20 min in association with platelet counts >10,000/μl had unpredictable bleeding parameters. In the latter group, the non-occluded values ranged from 1 to >20 min. Of particular note, the non-occlusive times appeared to correlate with spontaneous bleeding manifestations. Only a rare patient (1/37), whose non-occluded value was <20 min, had worrisome bleeding. By contrast, serious bleeding manifestations were observed in 39% whose non-occluded value exceeded 20 min. This was even higher (64%) in those with a non-occluded value >20 min and excess blood loss. These studies provide laboratory and clinical evidence for the heterogeneous behavior of patients with venostasis bleeding times >20 min. These additional laboratory measurements may be helpful in defining risk of spontaneous bleeding and in evaluating therapeutic strategies in such patients. However, studies will need to be performed to correlate this type of information with bleeding associated with invasive diagnostic or surgical procedures.
Protein C Inhibitor and Other Components of the Protein C Pathway in Patients with Acute Deep Vein Thrombosis during Heparin Treatment
Authors: Tabernero D , España F , Vicente V , Estellés A , Gilabert J , Aznar J 
Published: June 2018

SummaryThe protein C inhibitor (PCI) concentration and other parameters of the protein C pathway were studied in 19 patients with symptomatic acute deep vein thrombosis before and during the first 5 days of heparin treatment. The mean levels of PCI antigen and activity decreased rapidly and significantly during the first day of heparin therapy from 83 and 81% to 60 and 59% of the pooled normal human plasma (p <0.01), respectively, and to 56 and 54% after 5 days of treatment (p <0.01). In contrast, antithrom-bin III decreased progressively 25% during 5 days of heparin treatment. Protein C antigen and activity and total protein S remained unchanged during heparin treatment. Free protein S was decreased before heparin treatment (83%, p <0.05) and increased to normal values after 5 days of treatment. C4b-binding protein was significantly increased before and during heparin treatment (p <0.01). Activated protein C (APC) complexed to its two major plasma inhibitors, PCI and α1-antitrypsin (α1AT) were measured by specific ELISA’s. Before treatment, 18 of the 19 patients studied had increased levels of APC: α1AT complexes with a mean value of 27 ± 22 ng/ml (range, 6−86 ng/ml) compared to normal values (8 ± 2 ng/ml) and 12 of the patients also had detectable APC:PCI complex levels with a mean value of 11 ±17 ng/ml (range, 5−68 ng/ml). Both APC:inhibitor complexes decreased significantly during heparin treatment.
A Synthetic Factor VIII Peptide of Eight Amino Acid Residues (1677-1684) Contains the Binding Region of an Anti-Factor VIII Antibody which Inhibits the Binding of Factor VIII to von Willebrand Factor
Authors: Foster Paul A , Fulcher Carol A , Houghten Richard A , Zimmerman Theodore S 
Published: June 2018

SummaryThe monoclonal anti-factor VIII (FVIII) antibody C4 has previously been reported to inhibit the binding of purified FVIII to immobilized von Willebrand factor (vWF). The binding area of C4 was identified to be within fifteen amino acid residues (1670-1684) based on the ability of a synthetic FVIII peptide consisting of amino acid residues 1670-1684 to completely inhibit the binding of C4 to FVIII. We now report the further localization of the binding region of C4 to within eight amino acid residues (1677-1684) of FVIII light chain. Nine new overlapping FVIII peptides were synthesized based on the amino acid sequence of the acidic region of FVIII light chain and tested, along with seven previously tested peptides, for the ability to inhibit C4 binding to FVIII in an ELISA assay. Three synthetic FVIII peptides 1670-1684, 1675-1690, and 1677-1684 demonstrated dose dependent inhibition of C4 binding to FVIII. The three reactive peptides contain residues 1677-1684 in common. Since C4 can completely inhibit the binding of FVIII to vWF, this report further localizes an eight amino acid residue region of FVIII which may be important in the mediation of vWF binding.
The Simultaneous Acute Release of Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator and von Willebrand Factor in the Perfused Rat Hindleg Region
Authors: Tranquille N , Emeis J J 
Published: June 2018

SummaryIn perfused rat hindlegs, platelet-activating factor and bradyki-nin induced the acute release of both tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and von Willebrand Factor (vWF). The time course of release was similar for both proteins, and the amounts of t-PA and vWF released under various conditions were closely correlated. Release of both t-PA and vWF required extracellular calcium, and could be induced by the calcium ionophore A-23187. Protein synthesis was not required for release to occur.Phorbol myristate acetate also induced release of t-PA and vWF, though with a different time course; DDAVP was inactive.The results suggest that the release of t-PA, and that of vWF, are closely linked at the cellular level.
Interaction of a Plasmin A-Chain/t-PA B-Chain Hybrid Enzyme with Plasma Inhibitors In Vivo and In Vitro
Authors: Wilson S , Chamberlain P , Dodd I , Esmail A , Robinson J H 
Published: June 2018

SummaryA hybrid plasminogen activator consisting of the “A” chain of plasmin linked to the “B” chain of rt-PA was inhibited in vitro in human and guinea pig plasmas 4 to 5-fold more rapidly than its parent activator, two-chain t-PA. Using zymographic and autoradiographic techniques together with the use of immunodepleted plasma the major inhibitor was identified as aIpha-2-antiplasmin. The pharmacokinetic profile of the hybrid in guinea pigs was determined by two different methods: disappearance of fibrinolytic activity and removal of radiolabelled hybrid from the circulation. Fibrinolytic activity was cleared rapidly via inhibitory mechanisms, whilst radiolabelled material was cleared considerably more slowly due to the formation of hybrid-inhibitor complexes. When the active site of the hybrid was reversibly acylated inhibitory mechanisms were evaded and a prolonged pharmacokinetic profile of activity was observed.