bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How to study sex differences in addiction using animal models
Authors: Carroll Marilyn E. , Lynch Wendy J. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractThe importance of studying sex as a biological variable in biomedical research is becoming increasingly apparent. There is a particular need in preclinical studies of addiction to include both sexes, as female animals are often excluded from studies, leaving large gaps in our knowledge of not only sex differences and potential prevention and treatment strategies but also with regard to the basic neurobiology of addiction. This review focuses on methodology that has been developed in preclinical studies to examine sex differences in the behavioral aspects and neurobiological mechanisms related to addiction across the full range of the addiction process, including initiation (acquisition), maintenance, escalation, withdrawal, relapse to drug seeking and treatment. This review also discusses strategic and technical issues that need to be considered when comparing females and males, including the role of ovarian hormones and how sex differences interact with other major vulnerability factors in addiction, such as impulsivity, compulsivity and age (adolescent versus adult). Novel treatments for addiction are also discussed, such as competing non‐drug rewards, repurposed medications such as progesterone and treatment combinations. Practical aspects of conducting research comparing female and male animals are also considered. Making sex differences a point of examination requires additional effort and consideration; however, such studies are necessary given mounting evidence demonstrating that the addiction process occurs differently in males and females. These studies should lead to a better understanding of individual differences in the development of addiction and effective treatments for males and females.
Hexokinase Domain Containing 1 (HKDC1) Gene Variants and their Association with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in a South Indian Population
Authors: Kanthimathi Sekar , Liju Samuel , Laasya Dhandapani , Anjana Ranjit Mohan , Mohan Viswanathan , Radha Venkatesan 
Published: June 2016

SummaryHexokinase domain containing 1 (HKDC1), a novel human hexokinase gene, is known to affect glucose metabolism and was shown to have a strong association with 2‐h plasma glucose in pregnant women in a recent genome wide association study. This study aimed to evaluate the association of these regulatory variants of HKDC1 (rs1076224, rs4746822, rs2394529 and rs9645501) with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in a South Indian population. The regulatory variants of HKDC1 were genotyped in unrelated 500 women with GDM and 510 non‐GDM individuals by using the MassARRAY system and by direct DNA sequencing. The minor alleles of the HKDC1 gene regulatory variants, namely rs10762264 and rs4746822, showed a significant association with GDM and these alleles conferred as much as 1.24 and 1.34 times higher risk for GDM, respectively. This is the first study to demonstrate the association of HKDC1 genetic variants with susceptibility to GDM.
The influence of breed, age, gender, training level and ambient temperature on forelimb and back temperature in racehorses
Authors: Soroko Maria , Howell Kevin , Dudek Krzysztof , Henklewski Radomir , Zielińska Paulina 
Published: June 2016

AbstractA previous thermographic study of racehorses identified 13 regions of interest (ROIs) for monitoring the impact of training. However, that investigation did not consider the influence of breed, age, gender or training intensity level on the temperature of ROIs. The present study adopted a multivariate analysis approach to determine whether the aforementioned factors, along with ambient temperature, significantly influenced ROI temperature in the key body regions. Thermography measurements were obtained from 53 racehorses of three breeds. Horses were in regular training for over 10 months, having 13 thermographic examinations in each racing season. Backward stepwise multiple linear regression indicated that ambient temperature and breed contributed significantly to the model for predicting ROI temperature at all 13 ROIs. Training intensity level contributed significantly to the model only at the thoracic vertebrae, the left third metacarpal bone and left fetlock joint. Neither gender nor age contributed to the model significantly at any ROI. Our data suggest that ambient temperature, breed and training level affect racehorse body surface temperature in some areas of the distal parts of the forelimbs and the back. This contributes to a better understanding of the normal range of thermographic findings in racehorses undergoing intensive training.
Epigenetic basis of sensitization to stress, affective episodes, and stimulants: implications for illness progression and prevention
Authors: Post Robert M 
Published: June 2016

ObjectivesThe process of sensitization (increased responsivity) to the recurrence of stressors, affective episodes, and bouts of substance abuse that can drive illness progression in the recurrent affective disorders requires a memory of and increased reactivity to the prior exposures. A wealth of studies now supports the postulate that epigenetic mechanisms underlie both normal and pathological memory processes.MethodsWe selectively reviewed the literature pertinent to the role of epigenetics in behavioral sensitization phenomena and discuss its clinical implications.ResultsEpigenetics means above genetics and refers to environmental effects on the chemistry of DNA, histones (around which DNA is wound), and microRNA that change how easily genes are turned on and off. The evidence supports that sensitization to repeated stressor, affective episodes, and substance is likely based on epigenetic mechanisms and that these environmentally based processes can then become targets for prevention, early intervention, and ongoing treatment. Sensitization processes are remediable or preventable risk factors for a poor illness outcome and deserve increased clinical, public health, and research attention in the hopes of making the recurrent unipolar and bipolar affective disorders less impairing, disabling, and lethal by suicide and increased medical mortality.ConclusionsThe findings that epigenetic chemical marks, which change in the most fundamental way how genes are regulated, mediate the long‐term increased responsivity to recurrent stressors, mood episodes, and bouts of substance abuse should help change how the affective disorders are conceptualized and move treatment toward earlier, more comprehensive, and sustained pharmacoprophylaxis.
Can an objective measure of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) supplement existing TPACK measures?
Authors: Drummond Aaron , Sweeney Trudy 
Published: June 2016

AbstractIn recent years, approaches to developing teacher competency in technology integration have moved away from an over emphasis on technological knowledge, to focus on the essential connections between technology, pedagogy and content knowledge (TPACK) (Chai, Koh, & Tsai, ; Harris, Mishra, & Koehler, ; Mishra & Koehler, ). A number of extant studies have established the construct validity of the TPACK framework (Chai, Ng, Li, Hong, & Koh, ; Lin, Tsai, Chai, & Lee, ; Schmidt, Baran, Thompson, Mishra, Koehler, & Shin, ). However, it remains unclear whether the self‐reported knowledge assessed by the TPACK scales, might be supplemented by preservice teachers' objective knowledge in sub‐areas of TPACK. Here we use a well‐established measure—discriminability indices (d′) (Macmillan & Creelman, )—in a novel domain (TPACK) in an attempt to evaluate the extent to which the subjective knowledge assessed by the TPACK‐deep scale (Yurdakul et al., ) relates to preservice teachers' ability to discriminate between true and false statements about TPACK. There was only a small correlation between discriminability and TPACK‐deep scores (r = 0.25, p < 0.05). The results suggest that the subjective knowledge assessed by TPACK scales could be supplemented by the inclusion of objective indices of technological pedagogical and content knowledge to form a more complete picture of preservice teachers' TPACK.
Flow in e‐learning: What drives it and why it matters
Authors: Rodríguez‐Ardura Inma , Meseguer‐Artola Antoni 
Published: June 2016

AbstractThis paper seeks to explain why some individuals sink further into states of flow than others, and what effects flow has in the context of a virtual education environment. Our findings—gathered from both questionnaire and behavioural data—reveal that flow states are elicited by the e‐learners' senses of controlling the virtual education environment, their attention centred on the learning activity, and their feelings of physically being in such an environment. We bring evidence about three benefits from flow states: they facilitate e‐learner's positive emotions, they enhance e‐learners' academic performance, and they contribute to students' effective continuance in e‐learning.
The physiology of lipid storage and use in reptiles
Authors: Price Edwin R. 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTLipid metabolism is central to understanding whole‐animal energetics. Reptiles store most excess energy in lipid form, mobilise those lipids when needed to meet energetic demands, and invest lipids in eggs to provide the primary source of energy to developing embryos. Here, I review the mechanisms by which non‐avian reptiles store, transport, and use lipids. Many aspects of lipid absorption, transport, and storage appear to be similar to birds, including the hepatic synthesis of lipids from glucose substrates, the transport of triglycerides in lipoproteins, and the storage of lipids in adipose tissue, although adipose tissue in non‐avian reptiles is usually concentrated in abdominal fat bodies or the tail. Seasonal changes in fat stores suggest that lipid storage is primarily for reproduction in most species, rather than for maintenance during aphagic periods. The effects of fasting on plasma lipid metabolites can differ from mammals and birds due to the ability of non‐avian reptiles to reduce their metabolism drastically during extended fasts. The effect of fasting on levels of plasma ketones is species specific: β‐hydroxybutyrate concentration may rise or fall during fasting. I also describe the process by which the bulk of lipids are deposited into oocytes during vitellogenesis. Although this process is sometimes ascribed to vitellogenin‐based transport in reptiles, the majority of lipid deposition occurs via triglycerides packaged in very‐low‐density lipoproteins (VLDLs), based on physiological, histological, biochemical, comparative, and genomic evidence. I also discuss the evidence for non‐avian reptiles using ‘yolk‐targeted’ VLDLs during vitellogenesis. The major physiological states – feeding, fasting, and vitellogenesis – have different effects on plasma lipid metabolites, and I discuss the possibilities and potential problems of using plasma metabolites to diagnose feeding condition in non‐avian reptiles.
SPIB is a novel prognostic factor in diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma that mediates apoptosis via the PI3K‐AKT pathway
Authors: Takagi Yusuke , Shimada Kazuyuki , Shimada Satoko , Sakamoto Akihiko , Naoe Tomoki , Nakamura Shigeo , Hayakawa Fumihiko , Tomita Akihiro , Kiyoi Hitoshi 
Published: June 2016

Although the clinical outcomes of diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have improved in the immunochemotherapy era, approximately one‐third of patients develop intractable disease. To improve clinical outcomes for these patients, it is important to identify those with poor prognosis prior to initial treatment in order to select optimal therapies. Here, we investigated the clinical and biological significance of SPIB, an Ets family transcription factor linked to lymphomagenesis, in DLBCL. We classified 134 DLBCL patients into SPIB negative (n = 108) or SPIB positive (n = 26) groups by immunohistochemical staining. SPIB positive patients had a significantly worse treatment response and poor prognosis compared with SPIB negative patients. Multivariate analysis for patient survival indicated that SPIB expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for both progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) (PFS, hazard ratio [HR] 2.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.31–5.33, P = 0.006; OS, HR 3.56, 95% CI 1.43–8.91, P = 0.007). Subsequent analyses of the roles of SPIB expression in DLBCL pathogenesis revealed that SPIB expression in lymphoma cells resulted in resistance to the BH3‐mimetic ABT‐263 and contributed to apoptosis resistance via the PI3K‐AKT pathway. The inhibition of AKT phosphorylation re‐sensitized SPIB expressing lymphoma cells to ABT‐263‐induced cell death. Together, our data indicate that SPIB expression is a clinically novel poor prognostic factor in DLBCL that contributes to treatment resistance, at least in part, through an anti‐apoptotic mechanism.
The reliability and validity of a child and adolescent participation in decision‐making questionnaire
Authors: O'Hare L. , Santin O. , Winter K. , McGuinness C. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractBackgroundThere is a growing impetus across the research, policy and practice communities for children and young people to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Furthermore, there is a dearth of general instruments that measure children and young people's views on their participation in decision‐making. This paper presents the reliability and validity of the Child and Adolescent Participation in Decision‐Making Questionnaire (CAP‐DMQ) and specifically looks at a population of looked‐after children, where a lack of participation in decision‐making is an acute issue.MethodsThe participants were 151 looked after children and adolescents between 10–23 years of age who completed the 10 item CAP‐DMQ. Of the participants 113 were in receipt of an advocacy service that had an aim of increasing participation in decision‐making with the remaining participants not having received this service.ResultsThe results showed that the CAP‐DMQ had good reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.94) and showed promising uni‐dimensional construct validity through an exploratory factor analysis. The items in the CAP‐DMQ also demonstrated good content validity by overlapping with prominent models of child and adolescent participation (Lundy 2007) and decision‐making (Halpern 2014). A regression analysis showed that age and gender were not significant predictors of CAP‐DMQ scores but receipt of advocacy was a significant predictor of scores (effect size d = 0.88), thus showing appropriate discriminant criterion validity.ConclusionOverall, the CAP‐DMQ showed good reliability and validity. Therefore, the measure has excellent promise for theoretical investigation in the area of child and adolescent participation in decision‐making and equally shows empirical promise for use as a measure in evaluating services, which have increasing the participation of children and adolescents in decision‐making as an intended outcome.
Prevalence of clinically silent corticotroph macroadenomas
Authors: Guttenberg Katie B. , Mayson Sarah E. , Sawan Carla , Kharlip Julia , Lee John Y. , Martinez‐Lage Maria , Loevner Laurie A. , Ewanichak Jayme , Grady M. Sean , Snyder Peter J. 
Published: June 2016

SummaryObjectiveThe prevalence of clinically silent corticotroph macroadenomas is unknown. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of clinically silent corticotroph macroadenomas among all pituitary macroadenomas.DesignPatients scheduled to have transsphenoidal surgery for any sellar mass were prospectively evaluated clinically and biochemically.PatientsAdults who were scheduled for transsphenoidal surgery for a sellar mass at a single academic medical centre.MeasurementsPatients were assessed clinically prior to surgery and graded as having typical, mild or no Cushingoid features. They were assessed biochemically by plasma ACTH and 24‐h urine free cortisol (UFC). Excised tissue was examined histologically, and pituitary macroadenomas, examined by immunohistochemistry. Patients with corticotroph macroadenomas were classified as clinically silent if they exhibited no Cushingoid features but had elevated plasma ACTH and/or 24‐h UFC. They were classified as totally silent if they exhibited neither Cushingoid features nor elevated plasma ACTH or 24‐h UFC.ResultsOf 124 patients who had pathologically confirmed pituitary macroadenomas, 20 (16%) had corticotroph macroadenomas. Eight (40%) of these were clinically silent, in that they had no Cushingoid features but could be identified biochemically by elevated plasma ACTH (seven) and/or 24‐h UFC (three). Five (25%) were totally silent.ConclusionsA substantial minority (16%) of pituitary macroadenomas treated surgically are corticotroph adenomas. Of these, 40% are clinically silent but can be recognized by elevated plasma ACTH and/or 24‐h UFC. Recognizing these adenomas may influence the surgical approach and provide a marker by which to follow the response to treatment.
Expanding Kenya's protected areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity to maximize coverage of plant diversity
Authors: Scherer Laura , Curran Michael , Alvarez Miguel 
Published: June 2016

AbstractBiodiversity is highly valuable and critically threatened by anthropogenic degradation of the natural environment. In response, governments have pledged enhanced protected‐area coverage, which requires scarce biological data to identify conservation priorities. To assist this effort, we mapped conservation priorities in Kenya based on maximizing alpha (species richness) and beta diversity (species turnover) of plant communities while minimizing economic costs. We used plant‐cover percentages from vegetation surveys of over 2000 plots to build separate models for each type of diversity. Opportunity and management costs were based on literature data and interviews with conservation organizations. Species richness was predicted to be highest in a belt from Lake Turkana through Mount Kenya and in a belt parallel to the coast, and species turnover was predicted to be highest in western Kenya and along the coast. Our results suggest the expanding reserve network should focus on the coast and northeastern provinces of Kenya, where new biological surveys would also fill biological data gaps. Meeting the Convention on Biological Diversity target of 17% terrestrial coverage by 2020 would increase representation of Kenya's plant communities by 75%. However, this would require about 50 times more funds than Kenya has received thus far from the Global Environment Facility.
Fine‐resolution conservation planning with limited climate‐change information
Authors: Shah Payal , Mallory Mindy L. , Ando Amy W. , Guntenspergen Glenn R. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractClimate‐change induced uncertainties in future spatial patterns of conservation‐related outcomes make it difficult to implement standard conservation‐planning paradigms. A recent study translates Markowitz's risk‐diversification strategy from finance to conservation settings, enabling conservation agents to use this diversification strategy for allocating conservation and restoration investments across space to minimize the risk associated with such uncertainty. However, this method is information intensive and requires a large number of forecasts of ecological outcomes associated with possible climate‐change scenarios for carrying out fine‐resolution conservation planning. We developed a technique for iterative, spatial portfolio analysis that can be used to allocate scarce conservation resources across a desired level of subregions in a planning landscape in the absence of a sufficient number of ecological forecasts. We applied our technique to the Prairie Pothole Region in central North America. A lack of sufficient future climate information prevented attainment of the most efficient risk‐return conservation outcomes in the Prairie Pothole Region. The difference in expected conservation returns between conservation planning with limited climate‐change information and full climate‐change information was as large as 30% for the Prairie Pothole Region even when the most efficient iterative approach was used. However, our iterative approach allowed finer resolution portfolio allocation with limited climate‐change forecasts such that the best possible risk‐return combinations were obtained. With our most efficient iterative approach, the expected loss in conservation outcomes owing to limited climate‐change information could be reduced by 17% relative to other iterative approaches.
Catchment zoning to unlock freshwater conservation opportunities in the Iberian Peninsula
Authors: Hermoso Virgilio , Filipe Ana Filipa , Segurado Pedro , Beja Pedro 
Published: June 2016

AbstractAimConservation management in freshwater systems requires addressing some key ecological processes to warrant functional and effective protected areas. There are systematic planning methods available to address these needs, but they often result in large areas identified as priority for strict protection, which might constrain their implementation. Considering multiple zones with different management regimes might provide a more flexible and practical solution to this problem, though this approach remains poorly used in freshwater systems. We evaluate the use of a multizone approach to enhance protection of freshwater biodiversity and ecological processes in a large reserve network, Natura 2000.LocationIberian Peninsula.MethodsWe tested three scenarios of freshwater conservation planning: (1) a protection‐only approach based on areas identified using Marxan; (2) a more flexible approach where multiple management zones are considered using Marxan with Zones, both accounting for Natura 2000; and (3) a third one similar to (2) but ignoring Natura 2000. The three scenarios were compared considering their effectiveness in representing all species. We also evaluated the role of Natura 2000 within the management zones identified and the effect of these areas.ResultsWe found that although there was only an 8% reduction in total area required to complement Natura 2000 under the multizone approach compared to the protection‐only approach, the refinement of conservation recommendations under different management zones can reduce the area needed for strict protection by 62%. Considering Natura 2000 compromised the efficiency of solutions while only one‐third of its extent was selected under the strict protection zone.Main conclusionsThe refinement in management recommendations and resulting improvement in efficiency achieved by using the multizone approach could help unlock the needed expansion of Natura 2000 to adequately cover freshwater conservation needs in the Iberian Peninsula and other areas where similar issues have been highlighted.