bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Risk of hospitalization for early onset of cardiovascular disease among infertile women: a register-based cohort study
Authors: Bungum Ane Berger , Glazer Clara Helene , Arendt Linn Håkonsen , Schmidt Lone , Pinborg Anja , Bonde Jens Peter , Tøttenborg Sandra Søgaard 
Published: July 2019

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONIs female infertility predictive of a woman’s future risk of early cardiovascular disease (CVD)?SUMMARY ANSWERFemale infertility does not seem to be predictive of early CVD during a mean follow-up of 9 years.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYAssociations between infertility and comorbidity have been found in several studies, but data on the association between female infertility and risk of CVD are scarce and inconclusive.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONIn this nationwide cohort study, we included 87 221 women registered in the Danish National IVF register, undergoing medically assisted reproduction (MAR) between 1st of January 1994 and 31st of December 2015. The cohort was followed for incident hospitalization due to CVD in the Danish National Patient Register from enrollment to 31 December 2015. Women with a history of CVD prior to enrollment were excluded. Cox proportional hazard models with age as the underlying time scale were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% CI of CVD among women with an infertility diagnosis, compared to women without an infertility diagnosis. All analyses were adjusted for educational attainment.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSFemale infertility and the reason for infertility was diagnosed and registered in the IVF register by specialists in Danish public and private fertility clinics since 1st of January 1994. In our cohort, 53 806 women (61.7%) were diagnosed with female factor infertility, while 33 415 (38.3%) did not have a female factor infertility diagnosis and made up the reference group.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEA total of 686 (1.3%) infertile women were hospitalized for CVD compared to 250 (0.7%) among women without an infertility diagnosis during a mean follow-up time of 9 years. We found no increased risk of early CVD in our analyses (adjusted HR 0.98, 95% CI: 0.85;1.14). Likewise, analyses stratified by specific infertility diagnosis, showed no risk difference.LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTIONWe were unable to adjust for confounding parameters such as body mass index, cigarette smoking or alcohol consumption. These results may not be generalizable to infertile women who do not seek out fertility treatment, or infertile women with other lifestyle characteristics than Danish women.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSDiagnosing female infertility or the time of MAR does not seem to be a window of opportunity where early screening for cardiovascular disease risk factors can have a prophylactic potential.STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)This study is part of the ReproUnion collaborative study, co-financed by the European Union, Interreg V ÖKS. None of the authors declare any conflict of interest.
Patients Perception of Risks and Benefits of Biologic Therapy
Authors: De Felice Kara Mari 
Published: July 2019

AbstractBiologic therapy continues to be underutilized despite its efficacy and overall favorable side effect profile when compared with corticosteroids. Siegel et al found in a well-done, cross-sectional study that patients perceived that corticosteroids were more beneficial, more familiar, and less dreadful than biologics despite perceiving that corticosteroids are more risky. They also found that perception of risk may be influenced by a patient’s personality trait. Patients who believe that their health is influenced by their own choices or behaviors perceived biologic therapy less scary compared with patients who believed their health is influenced by chance. Physicians and patients disagree about how much medication-related risk is tolerable for improvements on efficacy. However, they are both willing to accept risks for therapies that offer significant therapeutic benefit. Physicians are tasked to translate complex evidenced-based data accurately and should take into account a patient’s personality trait in order to provide individualized care and help guide shared decision-making. Future research should assess physician’s personality traits, treatment experiences, and perception of risks, benefits, and dread of IBD medications and how it influences shared-decision making.
Detection of regime shifts in the environment: testing “STARS” using synthetic and observed time series
Authors: Stirnimann Luca , Conversi Alessandra , Marini Simone 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
While marine populations change all the time, sometimes regime shifts involve an entire ecosystem, resulting in crucial and sometimes permanent alterations in the ecosystem trophic web and services. A commonly used method to detect shifts in marine systems is the Sequential t-test Analysis of Regime Shifts (STARS). In this work, we chose to analyse the limits and performance of STARS because of its free open-source software and wide use. For the first time, we tested the STARS algorithm using synthetic time series and autoregressive integrated moving average time series, designed to resemble natural observations. We then applied the information obtained from these tests to investigate the STARS detections on an observed time series, that of Calanus finmarchicus in the North Sea. Our tests indicated that in no experiments did STARS detect 100% of the artificial change points at the exact time of the shift. In most cases, STARS tended to anticipate the shift by a few time units. Overall, we determined STARS to be a good method to detect shifts in observed natural time series, so long as the exact time of the shift is not necessary and the possibility of false positives is taken into account.
Quality of antimalarials in Kinshasa peri-urban areas with regard to local pharmaceutical legislation and regulation
Authors: Mavungu Landu Don Jethro , Frédérich Michel , Manzambi Kuwekita Joseph , Bongo-Pasi Nswe Christian , Mbinze J K , Liégeois Sophie , Kalenda Tshilombo Nicodème , Kwete Minga Mineze , Ciza Hamuli Patient , Hubert Philippe , Marini Djang’eing’a Roland 
Published: July 2019

Abstract

Background
In the context of old pharmaceutical legislation and regulations not adapted to current realities, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the existing pharmaceutical system in peri-urban areas of Kinshasa.

Methods
A prospective study was carried out during the period 2016–2018. The most used antimalarial medicines were identified through household and pharmaceutical establishment surveys. The samples of the obtained medicines were assayed with generic separation methods using the high-performance liquid chromatography technique coupled to a diode array detector. The registration status was checked for 126 antimalarial brand names. A characterization was carried out in 196 pharmaceutical establishments on the basis of standards set out by the Ministry of Health.

Results
Of the 75 samples assayed, 19% (14/75) were non-compliant. Of the 124 brand names, 46.0% (57/124) were unlicensed and 14.5% (18/124) had an expired licence. Of the 196 pharmaceutical establishments, only 2 (1.0%) had an authorization to practice, none met all the Ministry of Health minimum standards and 24.5% (48/196) met the World Health Organization Guidelines for the Storage of Essential Medicines and Other Health Commodities.

Conclusions
More resources should be mobilized to apply regulator sanctions.
Updating the Militarized Interstate Dispute Data: A Response to Gibler, Miller, and Little
Authors: Palmer Glenn , D'Orazio Vito , Kenwick Michael R , McManus Roseanne W 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
In a recent article, Gibler, Miller, and Little (2016) (GML) conduct an extensive review of the Militarized Interstate Dispute (MID) data between the years 1816 and 2001, highlighting possible inaccuracies and recommending a substantial number of changes to the data. They contend that, in several instances, analyses with their revised data lead to substantively different inferences. Here, we review GML's MID drop and merge recommendations and reevaluate the substantive impact of their changes. We are in agreement with about 76 percent of the recommended drops and merges. However, we find that some of the purported overturned findings in GML's replications are not due to their data, but rather to the strategies they employ for replication. We reexamine these findings and conclude that the remaining differences in inference stemming from the variations in the MID data are rare and modest in scope.
User-Centered Gamification for E-Learning Systems: A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of its Application
Authors: Klock Ana Carolina Tomé , Gasparini Isabela , Pimenta Marcelo Soares 
Published: July 2019

Abstract

Gamification applies game elements in non-game contexts to improve users’ experience. One of the contexts that have mostly taken advantage of gamification is the educational one. However, the students’ experience is unique, since it varies according to their profile. Therefore, the individualities of each student must be considered to improve the students’ experience. This paper aims to explore the gamification properties and analyze the results of the user-centered application. For this, we proposed a framework focused on the user-centered gamification in the educational context, taking into account personal, functional, psychological, temporal, playful, implementable and evaluative properties. After applying the framework in the e-learning system, the controlled experiment with 139 students revealed an increase in students’ interaction, engagement and satisfaction. Thus, our main contributions are the improvement of the students’ experience with the user-centered gamification and the definition of a framework to assist in its application.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
This paper proposes a user-centered gamification framework for educational context It has been applied in an e-learning system and a controlled experiment was conducted A total of 139 students enrolled for an online course, and half of them used the gamified version Results indicate an increase in the students’ interaction, engagement and satisfaction
Effects of ORAI calcium release-activated calcium modulator 1 (ORAI1) on neutrophil activity in dairy cows with subclinical hypocalcemia1
Authors: Zhang Bingbing , Guo Han , Yang Wei , Li Ming , Zou Ying , Loor Juan J , Xia Cheng , Xu Chuang 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Hypocalcemia in dairy cows is often associated with inflammation-related disorders such as metritis and mastitis. The protein encoded by the Ca2+ release-activated calcium modulator 1 (ORAI1) gene is a membrane Ca2+ channel subunit that is activated when Ca2+ stores are depleted. Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNL) have a crucial role in the defense against infection through migration, adhesion, chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in response to pathogens. Whether hypocalcemia affects the activity of PMNL and if ORAI1 is involved remains unknown. To address this, PMNL were isolated at 3 d of calving from dairy cows diagnosed as clinically healthy (n = 20, CONTROL) or with plasma concentration of calcium < 2.0 mmol/L as a criterion for diagnosis of subclinical hypocalcemia (n = 20, HYPOCAL). PMNL isolated from both groups of cows were treated with or without the sarcoendoplasmic Ca2+ ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin, Ca2+ ionophore Ionomycin, and ORAI1 blocker 2APB. The intracellular Ca2+ concentration, ORAI1 abundance, ROS, phagocytosis rate, migration, and adhering capacity of treated PMNL were evaluated. Some of the in vitro assays also included use of small interfering ORAI1 RNA (siORAI1), 100 nM 1,25(OH)2D3, or 100 nM parathyroid hormone (PTH). Intracellular Ca2+ concentration was markedly lower in HYPOCAL. In addition, ORAI1 was detected in PMNL plasma membrane via FACS and was markedly lower in cows with HYPOCAL. Migration, adhesion capacity, and phagocytosis rate of PMNL were lower in response to HYPOCAL. Furthermore, plasma and PMNL concentration of nucleosome assembly protein (NAP2) and pro-platelet basic protein (CXCL7) was markedly lower with HYPOCAL. All these changes were associated with lower ROS production by PMNL. Thapsigargin and ionomycin treatment in vitro increased ORAI1 expression, migration of PMNL, adhering capacity, phagocytosis rate, and ROS production; conversely, those effects were abrogated by siORAI1 and ORAI1 inhibitor 2APB treatment. Also cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and ORAI1 abundance were increased by 1,25(OH)2D3 and PTH supplementation. Overall, the data indicate that failure of PMNL to uptake Ca2+ due to downregulation of ORAI1 during subclinical hypocalcemia is a factor contributing to impaired PMNL function. In addition, plasma PTH or 1,25(OH)2D3 could regulate ORAI1 and also participate in the regulation of PMNL activity.
Effect of phytase on intestinal phytate breakdown, plasma inositol concentrations, and glucose transporter type 4 abundance in muscle membranes of weanling pigs1
Authors: Lu Hang , Kühn Imke , Bedford Mike R , Whitfield Hayley , Brearley Charles , Adeola Olayiwola , Ajuwon Kolapo M 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
The objective of this present study was to determine the effects of phytase dosing on growth performance, mineral digestibility, phytate breakdown, and the level of glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4) in muscle plasma membranes of weanling pigs. A total of 160 barrows were used in a randomized completely block design and assigned to 4 treatments for a 7-wk study. Depending on the feeding phase, diets differed in dietary calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) levels (positive control [PC]: 8 to 6.8g/kg Ca; 7.3 to 6.3 g/kg P; negative control [NC]: 5.5 to 5.2 g/kg Ca; 5.4 to 4.7 g/kg P). NC diets were supplemented with phytase at 0 (NC); 500 (NC + 500 FTU); or 2,000 FTU/kg (NC + 2,000 FTU) phytase units/kg. Blood was collected after fasting (day 48) or feeding (day 49) for measurement of plasma inositol concentrations. On day 49, 2 pigs per pen were euthanized, and duodenal and ileal digesta samples were collected to determine inositol phosphates (InsP6-2) concentrations. High phytase supplementation increased BW on days 21, 35, and 49 (P < 0.05). Over the entire feeding period, ADG, ADFI, and feed efficiency were increased by NC + 2,000 FTU compared with the other treatments (P < 0.05). Postprandial plasma inositol concentration was increased in NC + 2,000 (P < 0.01), but there was only a tendency (P = 0.06) of a higher fasting plasma inositol concentration in this group. Inositol concentrations in the portal vein plasma (day 49) were not different among treatments. Duodenal digesta InsP5 and InsP6 concentrations were similar in PC and NC, but higher in these 2 treatments (P < 0.05) than those supplemented with phytase. Phytase supplementation decreased InsP6-4, resulting in increased InsP3-2 and myo-inositol concentrations. Similar effects were found in ileal contents. Compared with NC, phytase supplementation resulted in greater cumulative InsP6-2 disappearance (93.6% vs. 72.8% vs. 25.0%, for NC + 2,000 FTU, NC + 500 FTU and NC, respectively, P < 0.01) till the distal ileum. Longissimus dorsi muscle plasma membrane GLUT4 concentration was increased by NC + 2,000 FTU (P < 0.01) compared with NC. In summary, high phytase supplementation increased growth performance of nursery pigs. The higher myo-inositol release from phytate could contribute to the increased expression of GLUT4 in muscle plasma membranes. Further investigation is needed to determine whether this is associated with enhanced cellular glucose uptake and utilization.
Validation of an LC-MS/MS Method for the Quantification of 13 Designer Benzodiazepines in Blood
Authors: Mei Victoria , Concheiro Marta , Pardi Justine , Cooper Gail 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
The misuse of designer benzodiazepines, as an alternative to prescription benzodiazepines and for drug-facilitated sexual assaults, has emerged as a growing threat, due in part to the ease of purchasing these drugs on the internet at low prices. Causing concern for safety is the lack of dosage information resulting in users self-medicating, often leading to unintended overdoses, coma or death at higher doses. With limited published data regarding the quantification of designer benzodiazepines in forensic cases, a method was validated for the determination of 13 designer benzodiazepines in postmortem blood, to add to the in-house method that already included a limited number of common designer benzodiazepines. The developed method included 3-hydroxyphenazepam, clobazam, clonazolam, delorazepam, deschloroetizolam, diclazepam, flualprazolam, flubromazepam, flubromazolam, flunitrazolam, meclonazepam, nifoxipam and pyrazolam in 0.5 mL postmortem blood using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The analytes were treated with solid phase extraction before undergoing separation on a C18 column and analyzed on the mass spectrometer in electrospray positive mode using multiple reaction monitoring. The linear range of the calibration curve was 1–200 ng/mL and up to 500 ng/mL for 3-hydroxyphenazepam, clobazam, flubromazepam and pyrazolam. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.5 ng/mL (signal-to-noise ratio &gt;3) and 1 ng/mL, respectively. The calculated bias, intra-day imprecision, relative standard deviation (RSD) and inter-day imprecision RSD were ±12%, 3–20% and 4–21%. Matrix effects ranged from −52% to 33% with RSD values ranging from 3–20%, indicating consistent effects throughout multiple sources. Recovery ranged from 35 to 90%, where only two compounds were &lt;50%. Other parameters tested included carryover, stability, interference and dilution integrity, which all yielded acceptable results. With the application of this method to blood specimens from the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, this validated method proved to be simple, reproducible, sensitive and robust.
Evidence that mud seafloor serves as recruitment habitat for settling and early benthic phase of the American lobster Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837 (Decapoda: Astacidea: Nephropidae)
Authors: Dinning Kristin M , Rochette Rémy 
Published: July 2019

AbstractStructurally complex cobble seafloor protects against predators, and is generally assumed to be the only meaningful habitat for settlement and benthic recruitment of American lobsters (Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837). Accordingly, historical surveys on featureless substrates such as mud have found few and only older juveniles. Mud, however, is far more common than cobble across the lobster’s range, and may be of increasing importance in regions where the lobster population has been growing over the past few decades. As a first step to determining whether mud seafloor serves as meaningful recruitment habitat for juvenile lobsters, we deployed artificial habitats (bio-collectors) at five locations varying from 100% mud to mostly cobble, in Maces Bay, Bay of Fundy, NB, Canada, to capture young lobsters. A broad size range of lobsters, from new settlers up to adolescents, colonized bio-collectors in all locations, suggesting that lobsters settle and spend at least some of their juvenile life on mud. Differences in body condition (length-standardized mass) of lobsters sampled from the different locations suggest that some individuals must reside on mud for at least months to years, long enough to show differential growth between habitats. The greater relative abundance of adolescents in bio-collectors on mud also suggests their net movement from densely populated cobble beds into mud habitat. We propose that mud seafloor may be a more important habitat for settlement and early survival of American lobsters than is currently appreciated, especially given the current potential saturation of scarce cobble nursery habitat by growing lobster populations and, in some regions, reduced predation on mud seafloor due to overfishing of groundfish.
Development in culture of larval spotted spiny lobster Panulirus guttatus (Latreille, 1804) (Decapoda: Achelata: Palinuridae)
Authors: Goldstein Jason S , Matsuda Hirokazu , Matthews Thomas R , Abe Fumihiko , Yamakawa Takashi 
Published: July 2019

AbstractThere is little information on the early life history of the spotted spiny lobster Panulirus guttatus (Latreille, 1804), an obligate reef resident, despite its growing importance as a fishery resource in the Caribbean and as a significant predator. We cultured newly-hatched P. guttatus larvae (phyllosomata) in the laboratory for the first time, and the growth, survival, and morphological descriptions are reported through 324 days after hatch (DAH). Phyllosomata were cultured at 25 °C in a flow-through seawater system within a series of custom 80 l plankton-kreisel tanks and provided with ongrown Artemia and mussel gonad. Mean body length (BL) of phyllosomata was 1.70 mm (N = 10) at hatch and increased linearly to 22.20 mm at 226 DAH (N = 3). Morphological characters from a total of 164 sampled phyllosomata were ascribed to nine distinct developmental stages (stages I-IX), and described and illustrated. Although no final stage phyllosomata (stage X) were obtained, the BL in the final stage was extrapolated at 39.6 mm using a Gompertz function, expressing the relationship between phyllosoma stages and BL. The total duration of phyllosomata for P. guttatus was estimated at 410 d, with the 5th and 95th percentiles at 334 and 526 d, respectively. Our data suggest that P. guttatus has a larger body size in the final larval stage and a substantial pelagic larval duration compared with other related panulirid lobsters in its geographic range. The described morphological and biological attributes associated with the early-life history for this species can inform future studies, and add value to models of distribution and population connectivity.
The Influence of Product Anthropomorphism on Comparative Judgment
Authors: Huang Feifei , Wong Vincent Chi , Wan Echo Wen 
Published: July 2019

AbstractThe present research proposes a new perspective to investigate the effect of product anthropomorphism on consumers’ comparative judgment strategy in comparing two anthropomorphized (vs. two nonanthropomorphized) product options in a consideration set. Six experiments show that anthropomorphism increases consumers’ use of an absolute judgment strategy (vs. a dimension-by-dimension strategy) in comparative judgment, leading to increased preference for the option with a more favorable overall evaluation over the option with a greater number of superior dimensions. The effect is mediated by consumers’ perception of each anthropomorphized product alternative as an integrated entity rather than a bundle of separate attributes. The authors find the effect to be robust by directly tracing the process of participants’ information processing using MouseLab software and eye-tracking techniques, and by self-reported preferences and real consumption choices. Moreover, the effect is moderated by the motivation to seek maximized accuracy or ease. These studies have important implications for theories about anthropomorphism and comparative judgment as well as marketing practice.