bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sympathetic responses induced by radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation
Authors: Cui Jian , Gonzalez Mario D. , Blaha Cheryl , Hill Ashley , Sinoway Lawrence I. 
Published: December 2018

Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) is a frequently performed procedure in patients with atrial fibrillation. Prior studies have shown that the RFCA may directly stimulate vagal afferents during the procedure, whereas the vagal tone assessed by heart rate variability (HRV) is lowered weeks after the RFCA procedure. The effects of RFCA performed in the left atrium on sympathetic nerve activity have not been assessed. In the present study, we hypothesized that RFCA would lower muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) during ablation and would raise MSNA 1 day postablation. A total of 18 patients were studied. In protocol 1 ( n = 10), electrocardiogram, blood pressure, and MSNA in the peroneal nerve were recorded through the RFCA procedure performed in the electrophysiology laboratory. In protocol 2, eight patients were studied before the procedure and 1 day postablation. RFCA led to a decrease in MSNA immediately after the procedure (25.4 ± 3.2 to 17.2 ± 3.8 bursts/min, P < 0.05). Cardiac parasympathetic activity was determined using indexes of HRV and increased during the procedure. One day postablation, MSNA was above baseline values (21.3 ± 3.7 to 35.7 ± 2.6 bursts/min, P < 0.05). HRV indexes of cardiac parasympathetic activity fell, and the HRV index of sympathovagal balance was not significantly altered. The results show that RFCA raised cardiac parasympathetic activity and decreased MSNA during the procedure. One day postablation, MSNA rose and cardiac parasympathetic activity fell. In addition, RFCA evokes differentiated sympathetic responses directed to the heart and skeletal muscles. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The effects of radiofrequency catheter ablation performed in the left atrium on muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) have not been assessed. The results of this study show that radiofrequency catheter ablation raised cardiac parasympathetic activity and decreased MSNA during the procedure. One day postablation, MSNA rose and cardiac parasympathetic activity fell. We speculate that the partial autonomic afferent denervation induces these effects on autonomic activity.
Ezetimibe in Combination With Simvastatin Reduces Remnant Cholesterol Without Affecting Biliary Lipid Concentrations in Gallstone Patients
Authors: Ahmed Osman , Littmann Karin , Gustafsson Ulf , Pramfalk Camilla , Öörni Katariina , Larsson Lilian , Minniti Mirko E. , Sahlin Staffan , Camejo German , Parini Paolo , Eriksson Mats 
Published: December 2018

Background

In randomized trials (SHARP [Study of Heart and Renal Protection],
IMPROVE
‐IT [Improved Reduction of Outcomes: Vytorin Efficacy International Trial]), combination of statin and ezetimibe resulted in additional reduction of cardiovascular events. The reduction was greater in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2
DM
), where elevated remnant cholesterol and high cardiovascular disease risk is characteristic. To evaluate possible causes behind these results, 40 patients eligible for cholecystectomy, randomized to simvastatin, ezetimibe, combined treatment (simvastatin+ezetimibe), or placebo treatment during 4 weeks before surgery, were studied.

Methods and Results

Fasting blood samples were taken before treatment start and at the end (just before surgery). Bile samples and liver biopsies were collected during surgery. Hepatic gene expression levels were assessed with
qPCR
. Lipoprotein, apolipoprotein levels, and content of cholesterol, cholesteryl ester, and triglycerides were measured after lipoprotein fractionation. Lipoprotein subclasses were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance. Apolipoprotein affinity for human arterial proteoglycans (
PG
) was measured. Biomarkers of cholesterol biosynthesis and intestinal absorption and bile lipid composition were analyzed using mass spectrometry. Combined treatment caused a statistically significant decrease in plasma remnant particles and apolipoprotein B (ApoB)/lipoprotein content of cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, and triglycerides. All treatments reduced ApoB‐lipoprotein
PG
binding. Simvastatin and combined treatment modified the composition of lipoproteins. Changes in biomarkers of cholesterol synthesis and absorption and bile acid synthesis were as expected. No adverse events were found.

Conclusions

Combined treatment caused atheroprotective changes on ApoB‐lipoproteins, remnant particles, bile components, and in ApoB‐lipoprotein affinity for arterial
PG
. These effects might explain the decrease of cardiovascular events seen in the
SHARP
and
IMPROVE
‐
IT
trials.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
:
www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu
. Unique identifier: 2006‐004839‐30).
Religion in a Democratic and Pluralistic Society (The Experience of Indonesia)
Authors: Sunarko Adrianus 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
In order that religions in a multicultural modern democratic society like Indonesia do not become a source of conflict, the adherents of religions must develop a certain rationality of faith. That rationality is related to the attitude towards other religions and beliefs, to the autonomy of science, and to the procedures inherent in the democratic system. Hopefully, religious communities can develop a positive attitude towards those three things, without denying their religious identity. The learning process associated with them cannot be imposed from outside, but must be born of the dynamics within the community of the faith/ religious community itself. If the learning process is successfully pursued, the adherents of the religions can give an important contribution to the development of democracy in Indonesia.
Spatial Coherence of Water Vapor and Rainfall over the Indian Subcontinent during Different Monsoon Seasons
Authors: Radhakrishna Basivi , Rao T. Narayana , Saikranthi K. 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
Spatial coherency in atmospheric water vapor and rainfall and their association have been studied over the Indian subcontinent utilizing high spatiotemporal resolution data. Total column water vapor (TCWV) values derived from the Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system series (INSAT-3D) are first evaluated against data from an International GNSS Service (IGS) GPS receiver at Bangalore and the Global Precipitation Measurement Microwave Imager (GMI). The bias, correlation coefficient, and RMSE of TCWV between INSAT-3D and GMI show that, except for the south Bay of Bengal, the datasets compare well. The seasonal mean TCWV shows large values with lower standard deviation during the southwest monsoon (SWM) than in the northeast monsoon (NEM). Different temporal scales that contribute to the TCWV variance at a given point are quantified, and the variability due to 30–60-day oscillations is found to be dominant during both the monsoon seasons. TCWV and rainfall show good correspondence over the whole Indian subcontinent during both monsoon seasons except over the Arabian Sea and southern Myanmar regions, where large TCWV values show less rainfall during the SWM. On the whole, the spatial homogeneity and intergrid correlations in TCWV and rainfall are higher in NEM than in SWM. The decorrelation distance d0 for TCWV is found to be 10 times larger than that for rainfall, indicating that the rainfall homogeneity is generally limited to smaller areas. The large d0 values of TCWV are mainly due to the occurrence of source and sink processes at large spatial scales over those regions.
Hering Hermeneutics: Supplement to Translation and Commentary of Hering (1899) by Strasburger et al.
Authors: Westheimer Gerald 
Published: December 2018

Strasburger et al.’s welcome translation of Hering’s seminal paper, and reminder of what Hering actually said about eye movements and spatial averaging in vernier acuity, is supplemented by references to further trends on how the subject has evolved to the present state of knowledge.
Aiding the diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder: pattern recognition study of brain biomarkers
Authors: Reinders Antje A. T. S. , Marquand Andre F. , Schlumpf Yolanda R. , Chalavi Sima , Vissia Eline M. , Nijenhuis Ellert R. S. , Dazzan Paola , Jäncke Lutz , Veltman Dick J. 
Published: December 2018

BackgroundA diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder (DID) is controversial and prone to under- and misdiagnosis. From the moment of seeking treatment for symptoms to the time of an accurate diagnosis of DID individuals received an average of four prior other diagnoses and spent 7 years, with reports of up to 12 years, in mental health services.AimTo investigate whether data-driven pattern recognition methodologies applied to structural brain images can provide biomarkers to aid DID diagnosis.MethodStructural brain images of 75 participants were included: 32 female individuals with DID and 43 matched healthy controls. Individuals with DID were recruited from psychiatry and psychotherapy out-patient clinics. Probabilistic pattern classifiers were trained to discriminate cohorts based on measures of brain morphology.ResultsThe pattern classifiers were able to accurately discriminate between individuals with DID and healthy controls with high sensitivity (72%) and specificity (74%) on the basis of brain structure. These findings provide evidence for a biological basis for distinguishing between DID-affected and healthy individuals.ConclusionsWe propose a pattern of neuroimaging biomarkers that could be used to inform the identification of individuals with DID from healthy controls at the individual level. This is important and clinically relevant because the DID diagnosis is controversial and individuals with DID are often misdiagnosed. Ultimately, the application of pattern recognition methodologies could prevent unnecessary suffering of individuals with DID because of an earlier accurate diagnosis, which will facilitate faster and targeted interventions.Declaration of interestThe authors declare no competing financial interests.
High field metabolic rates of wild harbour porpoises
Authors: Rojano-Doñate Laia , McDonald Birgitte I. , Wisniewska Danuta M. , Johnson Mark , Teilmann Jonas , Wahlberg Magnus , Højer-Kristensen Jakob , Madsen Peter T. 
Published: December 2018

ABSTRACTReliable estimates of field metabolic rates (FMRs) in wild animals are essential for quantifying their ecological roles, as well as for evaluating fitness consequences of anthropogenic disturbances. Yet, standard methods for measuring FMR are difficult to use on free-ranging cetaceans whose FMR may deviate substantially from scaling predictions using terrestrial mammals. Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are among the smallest marine mammals, and yet they live in cold, high-latitude waters where their high surface-to-volume ratio suggests high FMRs to stay warm. However, published FMR estimates of harbour porpoises are contradictory, with some studies claiming high FMRs and others concluding that the energetic requirements of porpoises resemble those of similar-sized terrestrial mammals. Here, we address this controversy using data from a combination of captive and wild porpoises to estimate the FMR of wild porpoises. We show that FMRs of harbour porpoises are up to two times greater than for similar-sized terrestrial mammals, supporting the hypothesis that small, carnivorous marine mammals in cold water have elevated FMRs. Despite the potential cost of thermoregulation in colder water, harbour porpoise FMRs are stable over seasonally changing water temperatures. Varying heat loss seems to be managed via cyclical fluctuations in energy intake, which serve to build up a blubber layer that largely offsets the extra costs of thermoregulation during winter. Such high FMRs are consistent with the recently reported high feeding rates of wild porpoises and highlight concerns about the potential impact of human activities on individual fitness and population dynamics.
Impact of Acute Dietary Nitrate Supplementation during Exercise in Hypertensive Women
Authors: CALDWELL JACOB T. , SUTTERFIELD SHELBI L. , POST HUNTER K. , CRAIG JESSE C. , BAUMFALK DRYDEN R. , COPP STEVEN W. , ADE CARL J. 
Published: December 2018

ABSTRACT

Introduction
the aim of the current investigation was to examine if dietary nitrate supplementation would improve vascular control in hypertensive postmenopausal women (PMW). We tested the hypotheses that acute dietary nitrate supplementation would 1) significantly decrease arterial blood pressure (BP) at rest and during exercise, 2) increase limb blood flow during steady-state (SS) exercise, and 3) improve functional sympatholysis during SS exercise.

Methods
Ten hypertensive PMW underwent a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with a nitrate-rich (NR) or nitrate-poor (NP) supplement. Beat-by-beat BP and heart rate were recorded throughout the trial on the nonexercising limb. Forearm blood flow was measured via ultrasonography on the brachial artery of the exercising limb. All patients performed a resting cold pressor test (CPT) (2 min) and then 7 min of submaximal handgrip exercise with a CPT applied during minutes 5–7.

Results
SS systolic (NR, 170 ± 7; NP, 171 ± 37 mm Hg), diastolic (NR, 89 ± 2; NP, 92 ± 2 mm Hg), and mean arterial (NR, 121 ± 4; NP, 123 ± 2 mm Hg) pressures were not different between NP and NR treatment conditions (P > 0.05). During SS exercise, forearm blood flow (NR, 189 ± 8; NP, 218 ± 8 mL·min−1; P = 0.03) in the NR treatment was significantly lower compared with NP. When the CPT was applied during minutes 6–7 of exercise, forearm vascular conductance was reduced by 15% in the NR condition, but only 7% in the NR condition.

Conclusions
In summary, an acute NR supplement improved functional sympatholysis by ~50% versus an NP placebo condition. Improvements in functional sympatholysis may have important implications regarding exercise tolerance in hypertensive PMW.
Economic evaluation plan of a randomised controlled trial of intra-nodular injection of anti-TNF and placebo among patients with early Dupuytren’s disease: Repurposing Anti-TNF for Treating Dupuytren’s Disease (RIDD)
Authors: Png May Ee , Dritsaki Melina , Gray Alastair , Pinedo-Villanueva Rafael , Rivero-Arias Oliver , Nanchahal Jagdeep 
Published: December 2018

Dupuytren’s disease (DD) is a common fibroproliferative condition of the palmar and digital fascia of the hand; however, there is currently no approved treatment for early stage DD. The objective of this paper is to describe the methods applied to assess the cost-effectiveness of adalimumab injections compared to placebo for controlling the progression of early stage DD in the Repurposing Anti-TNF for Treating Dupuytren’s Disease (RIDD) trial. Measure of effectiveness and resource use will be obtained from a randomised clinical trial, carried out in three healthcare centres, and recruiting a minimum of 138 patients aged 18 years and above with a diagnosis of early stage DD. Resource use and utility measures (quality-adjusted life years) will be collected at 3, 6, 9, 12 (primary outcome endpoint) and 18 months post-randomisation. A within-trial cost-utility analysis (CUA) will be conducted at 12 months and if the intervention is effective, a decision analytic model will be applied to estimate the lifetime effectiveness and costs. The analysis will be performed from a health system (National Health Service and personal social services) perspective. Sensitivity analysis will be conducted to assess the robustness of the results. RIDD is the first randomised controlled trial with an economic evaluation conducted among patients with early stage DD. The protocol described here records our intent to conduct both a within-trial CUA alongside the RIDD study and a lifetime CUA using decision-analytic modelling.
Architect-Designed Houses: From Traditional to Modern, a Changing Paradigm in the Islamic World
Authors: Khan Hasan-Uddin 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
Architect-designed houses for the richer segments of society in the Islamic world are often seen as indulgent excursions into personal expression, and hence are also often given short shrift in academic discourse. Although these houses are the result of individual tastes of a certain group of people – the elite – they are also indicators of collective aspirations and can be models for analysing the development of new housing typologies. By digging into the traditional memory of cities and architectural designs of single residences one can learn about the possibility for high-density living and also produce models of housing not only for the wealthy but also for the poor. The design and image of houses are discussed here through a number of built examples. Despite being located in different regions and areas of Muslim habitation, these houses indicate attempts to synthesize ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ and have produced a new typology that could serve as a paradigm for a way forward for the production of new housing.
Como percecionamos a publicidade? Antecedentes da atitude face à publicidade e implicações na intenção de compra/¿Cómo percibimos la publicidad? Antecedentes de la actitud hacia la publicidad e implicaciones en la intención de compra
Authors: Ribeiro-Cardoso Paulo-José , Vieira Luís-Henrique , Serra-da-Fonseca Manuel-José 
Published: December 2018

Este estudo faz uma análise empírica das dimensões que explicam o modo como os consumidores percecionam a publicidade e as consequências desse processo. Através da administração de um questionário foi possível inquirir 220 indivíduos portugueses sobre a publicidade da marca líder de telecomunicações em Portugal. A análise de dados permitiu identificar quatro dimensões que estão presentes na perceção da publicidade: entretenimento, relevância, empatia e repulsa. Concluiu-se que o entretenimento e a relevância (positivamente) e a repulsa (negativamente), permitem predizer a “atitude face à publicidade da marca” e que esta última explica, parcialmente, a “intenção de compra”. Con el presente trabajo pretendemos realizar un análisis empírico de las dimensiones que explican el modo en que los consumidores perciben la publicidad y las consecuencias de este proceso. Mediante la administración de un cuestionario fue posible obtener las respuestas de 220 individuos portugueses sobre la publicidad de la marca líder de telecomunicaciones en Portugal. El análisis de datos permitió identificar cuatro dimensiones que están presentes en la percepción de la publicidad: entretenimiento, relevancia, empatía y rechazo. Concluimos que el entretenimiento y la relevancia (positivamente) y el rechazo (negativamente), permiten predecir la "actitud frente a la publicidad de la marca" y que esta última explica parcialmente la "intención de compra".
Hydrolytic Enzyme Production by Thermophilic Bacteria Isolated from Saudi Hot Springs
Authors: Alrumman Sulaiman , Mostafa Yasser S. Mostafa , Al-Qahtani Shekha , Taha Tarek H. Taha 
Published: December 2018

AbstractHydrolytic enzyme production by thermophilic bacteria isolated from hot springs in the southern region of Saudi Arabia was investigated. The physical and chemical properties of the hot springs prove to be an important environment for hydrolytic-enzyme-producing thermophilic bacteria. Eighty-four bacterial isolates were obtained from three hot springs: Al-Majardah, Al-Khubah and Al-Ardah. Screening of the isolates for enzyme production indicated that 78 isolates showed activity for one or more enzymes. Molecular identification and phylogenic analysis of selected promising isolates confirmed the identity of the isolates asBacillus aerius, Bacillus licheniformisandBacillus sonorensis, which have potential to produce the target enzymes α-amylase, protease and lipase, respectively. Optimization of hydrolytic enzyme production by bacterial strains was investigated using kitchen waste as a cheap carbon energy source. Maximum enzyme production was achieved after 72 hours of incubation at the beginning of the stationary phase of growth. Enzyme production was dependent on the initial pH value in the range of pH 7.5-8.5 and an optimal incubation temperature of between 55-60°C. Enzyme production increased gradually in proportion to the kitchen waste concentration; whereas maximum lipase production was gained at 5.0% (w/v) kitchen waste, 7.0% (w/v) of waste was optimal for both α-amylase and protease productivity. The results indicated that hot springs in Saudi Arabia are a substantial source of thermophilic bacteria producing industrially important enzymes using cheap and unexploited waste.
Estimating Causal Effects from Nonparanormal Observational Data
Authors: Mahdi Mahmoudi Seyed , Wit Ernst C. 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
One of the basic aims of science is to unravel the chain of cause and effect of particular systems. Especially for large systems, this can be a daunting task. Detailed interventional and randomized data sampling approaches can be used to resolve the causality question, but for many systems, such interventions are impossible or too costly to obtain. Recently, Maathuis et al. (2010), following ideas from Spirtes et al. (2000), introduced a framework to estimate causal effects in large scale Gaussian systems. By describing the causal network as a directed acyclic graph it is a possible to estimate a class of Markov equivalent systems that describe the underlying causal interactions consistently, even for non-Gaussian systems. In these systems, causal effects stop being linear and cannot be described any more by a single coefficient. In this paper, we derive the general functional form of a causal effect in a large subclass of non-Gaussian distributions, called the non-paranormal. We also derive a convenient approximation, which can be used effectively in estimation. We show that the estimate is consistent under certain conditions and we apply the method to an observational gene expression dataset of the Arabidopsis thaliana circadian clock system.
Paul Tillichs Schrift „The Courage to Be“ – ein missverstandener Bestseller
Authors: Schüßler Werner 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
The Courage to Be is Tillich’s best-known work. That this work has retained such popularity perplexes one as a Tillich scholar since this text is anything but easy to understand. This essay offers an analysis of the concepts ‘theism,’ ‘absolute faith,’ and ‘God above God,’ and comes to the conclusion that both proponents of this work as well as its theological critics have misunderstood, and indeed that only because of these misunderstandings could the work have become a bestseller at all.
Zwischen Unausweichlichkeit und Bedeutsamkeit
Authors: Saal Christina 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
With his ontology of anxiety, as developed by Paul Tillich in his well-known work, “The Courage to Be”, he creates, by his own claim, a foundation for dealing with the phenomenon of anxiety in a variety of disciplines, which also serves as a foundation for the well-known American existential psychotherapist Rollo May. However, this does not remain a one-sided influence, but rather an interest in the works of both thinkers with reciprocal interdependencies.