bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Kidney transplantation for end‐stage renal disease secondary to familial Mediterranean fever
Authors: Altindal Mahmut , Turkmen Ercan , Yildirim Tolga , Yilmaz Rahmi , Aki Fazil Tuncay , Arici Mustafa , Altun Bulent , Erdem Yunus 
Published: April 2016

AbstractAlthough kidney transplantation (KT) is widely used for treating renal amyloidosis secondary to familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), data concerning transplant outcome are limited and inconsistent. The aim of this study was to determine the long‐term outcome of KT in patients with amyloidosis secondary to FMF. Kidney transplantation outcome in 24 patients with FMF was compared to that in 72 controls matched for age, gender of recipient, and type of the donor that underwent KT due to end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) not caused by FMF. Mean follow‐up time was 80.3 ± 55.1 months in the FMF group, vs. 86.5 ± 47.6 months in the control group. Death‐censored graft survival at five and 10 yr in the FMF group was 95.8% and 78.4%, respectively, and was comparable to that in the control group. In the FMF group, five‐ and 10‐yr patient survival (87.5 and 65.6%) was shorter than in the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant. The findings show that long‐term outcome of KT in the patients with amyloidosis secondary to FMF was comparable to that in patients with ESRD not caused by FMF. Recurrence of amyloidosis in the allograft, gastrointestinal intolerance, and fatal infections remain as major complications during the post‐transplant period.
Gut microbiota of Type 1 diabetes patients with good glycaemic control and high physical fitness is similar to people without diabetes: an observational study
Authors: Stewart C. J. , Nelson A. , Campbell M. D. , Walker M. , Stevenson E. J. , Shaw J. A. , Cummings S. P. , West D. J. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractAimType 1 diabetes is the product of a complex interplay between genetic susceptibility and exposure to environmental factors. Existing bacterial profiling studies focus on people who are most at risk at the time of diagnosis; there are limited data on the gut microbiota of people with long‐standing Type 1 diabetes. This study compared the gut microbiota of patients with Type 1 diabetes and good glycaemic control and high levels of physical‐fitness with that of matched controls without diabetes.MethodsTen males with Type 1 diabetes and ten matched controls without diabetes were recruited; groups were matched for gender, age, BMI, peak oxygen uptake (VO2max), and exercise habits. Stool samples were analysed using next‐generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to obtain bacterial profiles from each individual. Phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) was implemented to predict the functional content of the bacterial operational taxonomic units.ResultsFaecalibacterium sp., Roseburia sp. and Bacteroides sp. were typically the most abundant members of the community in both patients with Type 1 diabetes and controls, and were present in every sample in the cohort. Each bacterial profile was relatively individual and no significant difference was reported between the bacterial profiles or the Shannon diversity indices of Type 1 diabetes compared with controls. The functional profiles were more conserved and the Type 1 diabetes group were comparable with the control group.ConclusionsWe show that both gut microbiota and resulting functional bacterial profiles from patients with long‐standing Type 1 diabetes in good glycaemic control and high physical fitness levels are comparable with those of matched people without diabetes.
Antiresorptive therapy and newly diagnosed diabetes in women: a historical cohort study
Authors: Yang S. , Leslie W. D. , Morin S. N. , Majumdar S. R. , Lix L. M. 
Published: April 2016

AimsUndercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) promotes increased insulin sensitivity and increased secretion. Since antiresorptive therapy (AT) decreases ucOC levels, AT could increase the risk of diabetes and this would have serious clinical ramifications. We sought to test this hypothesis by examining the association between new use of AT and newly‐diagnosed diabetes.MethodsUsing a bone mineral density (BMD) registry for Manitoba, Canada, we identified 33 640 women aged ≥50 years without diabetes at their first BMD test for 1998–2013. We linked these women to a province‐wide retail pharmacy database to identify new AT exposure each year for up to 5 years after a BMD test. Time‐dependent analysis was used to test the independent association between new use of AT and newly diagnosed diabetes.ResultsThis cohort had a mean age of 65 years, a mean body mass index of 26.8 kg/m2, and 12% were receiving glucocorticoid and 13% hormone replacement therapy at BMD test. In the first year after BMD test, 29% of women started AT (bisphosphonates, 92%). Over a mean 4.2 years of follow‐up, 3.7% new AT users and 4.2% non‐users had diabetes (adjusted hazard ratio 1.01, 95% confidence interval 0.87–1.16). Sensitivity analyses using AT dose–response gradients also found no significant associations with diabetes.ConclusionsDespite the plausible biological mechanisms related to ucOC, new use of AT was not a risk factor for diabetes in this cohort. The clinical implications of these findings are reassuring, as AT is widely prescribed for treating osteoporosis in older women who are also at high risk of developing diabetes.
Multiyear greenhouse gas balances at a rewetted temperate peatland
Authors: Wilson David , Farrell Catherine A. , Fallon David , Moser Gerald , Müller Christoph , Renou‐Wilson Florence 
Published: April 2016

AbstractDrained peat soils are a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere. Rewetting these soils is considered an important climate change mitigation tool to reduce emissions and create suitable conditions for carbon sequestration. Long‐term monitoring is essential to capture interannual variations in GHG emissions and associated environmental variables and to reduce the uncertainty linked with GHG emission factor calculations. In this study, we present GHG balances: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) calculated for a 5‐year period at a rewetted industrial cutaway peatland in Ireland (rewetted 7 years prior to the start of the study); and compare the results with an adjacent drained area (2‐year data set), and with ten long‐term data sets from intact (i.e. undrained) peatlands in temperate and boreal regions. In the rewetted site, CO2 exchange (or net ecosystem exchange (NEE)) was strongly influenced by ecosystem respiration (Reco) rather than gross primary production (GPP). CH4 emissions were related to soil temperature and either water table level or plant biomass. N2O emissions were not detected in either drained or rewetted sites. Rewetting reduced CO2 emissions in unvegetated areas by approximately 50%. When upscaled to the ecosystem level, the emission factors (calculated as 5‐year mean of annual balances) for the rewetted site were (±SD) −104 ± 80 g CO2‐C m−2 yr−1 (i.e. CO2 sink) and 9 ± 2 g CH4‐C m−2 yr−1 (i.e. CH4 source). Nearly a decade after rewetting, the GHG balance (100‐year global warming potential) had reduced noticeably (i.e. less warming) in comparison with the drained site but was still higher than comparative intact sites. Our results indicate that rewetted sites may be more sensitive to interannual changes in weather conditions than their more resilient intact counterparts and may switch from an annual CO2 sink to a source if triggered by slightly drier conditions.
A new seasonal‐deciduous spring phenology submodel in the Community Land Model 4.5: impacts on carbon and water cycling under future climate scenarios
Authors: Chen Min , Melaas Eli K. , Gray Josh M. , Friedl Mark A. , Richardson Andrew D. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractA spring phenology model that combines photoperiod with accumulated heating and chilling to predict spring leaf‐out dates is optimized using PhenoCam observations and coupled into the Community Land Model (CLM) 4.5. In head‐to‐head comparison (using satellite data from 2003 to 2013 for validation) for model grid cells over the Northern Hemisphere deciduous broadleaf forests (5.5 million km2), we found that the revised model substantially outperformed the standard CLM seasonal‐deciduous spring phenology submodel at both coarse (0.9 × 1.25°) and fine (1 km) scales. The revised model also does a better job of representing recent (decadal) phenological trends observed globally by MODIS, as well as long‐term trends (1950–2014) in the PEP725 European phenology dataset. Moreover, forward model runs suggested a stronger advancement (up to 11 days) of spring leaf‐out by the end of the 21st century for the revised model. Trends toward earlier advancement are predicted for deciduous forests across the whole Northern Hemisphere boreal and temperate deciduous forest region for the revised model, whereas the standard model predicts earlier leaf‐out in colder regions, but later leaf‐out in warmer regions, and no trend globally. The earlier spring leaf‐out predicted by the revised model resulted in enhanced gross primary production (up to 0.6 Pg C yr−1) and evapotranspiration (up to 24 mm yr−1) when results were integrated across the study region. These results suggest that the standard seasonal‐deciduous submodel in CLM should be reconsidered, otherwise substantial errors in predictions of key land–atmosphere interactions and feedbacks may result.
Risk factors for disability progression among Japanese long‐term care service users: A 3‐year prospective cohort study
Authors: Kamiya Kuniyasu , Adachi Takuji , Sasou Kenji , Suzuki Tadashi , Yamada Sumio 
Published: April 2016

AimTo examine the predictive ability of memory deterioration and grip strength for disability progression among those who utilized the home‐help service.MethodsWe prospectively followed a cohort of community‐dwelling older people who were aged 65 years or older, certified support level 1–2 or care level 1–2 and home‐help service users provided by Consumers' Cooperatives in Aichi and Kanagawa prefecture. Memory capability, grip strength, chronic conditions and other indices were surveyed at baseline. Disability progression was defined as being certified care level 3 or higher, or institutionalization during 3‐year follow up.ResultsWe assessed 417 older adults, of which 386 were included (7.4% excluded). In multivariate Cox regression analyses, a higher eligibility level and memory deterioration were independently associated with a higher hazard ratio. When chronic conditions were entered in the model, cancer and low grip strength were additionally associated.ConclusionsThe findings of the present study show that memory deterioration is a risk factor for disability progression. Also, grip strength might be a risk factor with consideration of chronic conditions. The cause–effect relationship of those factors and disability progression would be a future challenging issue. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 568–574.
Blood, Money and Endless Paper: Slavery and Capital in British Imperial History
Authors: Scanlan Padraic Xavier 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThe history of slavery in Britain and the British Empire has placed the legislative milestones of anti‐slavery – the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and the abolition of slavery in 1833 – at the centre of historical inquiry. This essay considers why the passing of anti‐slavery laws, rather than the implementation of anti‐slavery reforms, has been so pivotal in the historiography. It asks what the history of slavery in Britain and the British Empire would look like if turned away from the bright line of emancipation, and toward the continuities between slavery and freedom. It places British approaches to the history of slavery into a wider historiographical context and considers how renewed emphasis on the physical experience and everyday routines of slavery and anti‐slavery, in tandem with a rigorous rethinking of the archives, might shape the future of the field.
The diving behaviour of the Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus
Authors: Shoji Akiko , Dean Ben , Kirk Holly , Freeman Robin , Perrins Christopher M. , Guilford Tim 
Published: April 2016

The diving capabilities of the Procellariformes remain the least understood component of avian diving physiology. Due to their relatively small size, shearwaters may have high oxygen consumption rates during diving relative to their available oxygen stores. Dive performance in this group should be strongly limited by the trade‐off between oxygen consumption and oxygen stores, and shearwaters could be a good model group for testing predictions of dive theory. Many earlier measurements of shearwater dive behaviour relied on observations from the surface or potentially biased technology, and it is only recently that diving behaviour has been observed using electronic recorders for many of the clades within the family. The diving behaviour of Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus breeding in Wales, UK, was studied on a large sample of birds using time–depth–temperature recorders deployed on chick‐rearing shearwaters in July and August over 3 years (2009–2011). Light availability apparently limited diving as dives only occurred between 04:00 and 19:00 h GMT. All individuals routinely dived deeper than traditionally assumed, to a mean maximum depth of 31 m and occasionally down to nearly 55 m. We compiled all available data for a comparison of the dive depth across shearwater species. There was a positive allometric relationship between maximum dive depth and body mass across Puffinus and Ardenna shearwater species, as expected, but only if samples of fewer than two individuals were excluded. The large intra‐specific range in maximum dive depth in our study illustrates that apparent diversity in diving performance across species must be interpreted cautiously.
Application of a dense genetic map for assessment of genomic responses to selection and inbreeding in Heliothis virescens
Authors: Fritz M. L. , Paa S. , Baltzegar J. , Gould F. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractAdaptation of pest species to laboratory conditions and selection for resistance to toxins in the laboratory are expected to cause inbreeding and genetic bottlenecks that reduce genetic variation. Heliothis virescens, a major cotton pest, has been colonized in the laboratory many times, and a few laboratory colonies have been selected for Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) resistance. We developed 350‐bp double‐digest restriction‐site associated DNA‐sequencing (ddRAD‐seq) molecular markers to examine and compare changes in genetic variation associated with laboratory adaptation, artificial selection and inbreeding in this nonmodel insect species. We found that allelic and nucleotide diversity declined dramatically in laboratory‐reared H. virescens as compared with field‐collected populations. The declines were primarily a result of the loss of low frequency alleles present in field‐collected H. virescens. A further, albeit modest decline in genetic diversity was observed in a Bt‐selected population. The greatest decline was seen in H. virescens that were sib‐mated for 10 generations, in which more than 80% of loci were fixed for a single allele. To determine which regions of the genome were resistant to fixation in our sib‐mated line, we generated a dense intraspecific linkage map containing three PCR‐based and 659 ddRAD‐seq markers. Markers that retained polymorphism were observed in small clusters spread over multiple linkage groups, but this clustering was not statistically significant. Overall, we have confirmed and extended the general expectations for reduced genetic diversity in laboratory colonies, provided tools for further genomic analyses and produced highly homozygous genomic DNA for future whole genome sequencing of H. virescens.
On the complexity of the labeled domination problem in graphs
Authors: Argiroffo Gabriela , Leoni Valeria , Torres Pablo 
Published: April 2016

AbstractIn 2008, a unified approach (labeled domination) to several domination problems (k‐tuple domination, ‐domination, and M‐domination, among others) was introduced. The labeled domination problem is to find an L‐dominating function of minimum weight in a graph. It is an NP‐complete problem even when restricted to split graphs and bipartite graphs. On the other hand, it is known to be polynomial‐time solvable for the class of strongly chordal graphs. In this paper, we state explicit formulas that relate the domination numbers considered. These relationships allow us to enlarge the family of graphs where the labeled domination problem is polynomial‐time solvable to the class of graphs having cliquewidth bounded by a constant.
Surrogate‐based methods for black‐box optimization
Authors: Vu Ky Khac , D'Ambrosio Claudia , Hamadi Youssef , Liberti Leo 
Published: April 2016

AbstractIn this paper, we survey methods that are currently used in black‐box optimization, that is, the kind of problems whose objective functions are very expensive to evaluate and no analytical or derivative information is available. We concentrate on a particular family of methods, in which surrogate (or meta) models are iteratively constructed and used to search for global solutions.
Mast Cells Play an Important Role in the Pathogenesis of Hyperglycemia‐Induced Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: UEMURA KENSHI , KONDO HIDEKAZU , ISHII YUMI , KOBUKATA MAMI , HARAGUCHI MIHO , IMAMURA TAKAAKI , OTSUBO TOYOKAZU , IKEBE‐EBATA YUKI , ABE ICHITARO , AYABE REIKA , SAITO SHOTARO , AOKI KOHEI , NAGANO‐TORIGOE YASUKO , AKIOKA HIDEFUMI , SHINOHARA TETSUJI , TESHIMA YASUSHI , MASAKI TAKAYUKI , YUFU KUNIO , NAKAGAWA MIKIKO , TAKAHASHI NAOHIKO 
Published: April 2016

Roles of Mast Cells in Hyperglycemia‐Induced Atrial RemodelingBackground and ObjectivesRecently, it was reported that mast cells (MCs) could underlie the mechanisms of several cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of MCs in diabetes‐induced atrial fibrillation (AF) has not been notably investigated. We tested the hypothesis that MC deficiency attenuates hyperglycemia‐induced AF in mice.Methods and ResultsMast cell‐deficient W/Wv mice, and congenic +/+ littermates (WT) were divided into either the vehicle (VEH)‐injection group or the streptozotocin (STZ)‐injection group (MCKO‐VEH, MCKO‐STZ, WT‐VEH, and WT‐STZ groups). On day 28 of our studies, we observed that (1) STZ‐induced hyperglycemia increased MC infiltration in the left atrium (LA) in WT mice (P < 0.01), (2) atrium isolated from the WT‐STZ group showed inhomogeneous interstitial fibrosis, abundant infiltration of macrophages, and enhanced apoptosis compared to the WT‐VEH group (P < 0.01, P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively). However, the changes observed in the WT‐STZ group were significantly attenuated in the MCKO‐STZ mice. In addition, we observed that (3) messenger RNA levels of tumor necrosis factor‐α, monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1, interleukin‐1β, transforming growth factor‐β, and collagen‐1 in the LA were increased in the WT‐STZ group, but not in the MCKO‐STZ group, (4) STZ‐induced hyperglycemia increased AF induction and prolonged interatrial conduction time in the WT mice, which were not observed in the MCKO mice, and that (5) hyperglycemia‐enhanced atrial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was equally observed in the WT and MCKO mice.ConclusionsOur results suggest that MCs contribute to the pathogenesis of hyperglycemia‐induced AF via enhancement of inflammation and fibrosis.
Clinical Presentation and Outcome of Brugada Syndrome Diagnosed With the New 2013 Criteria
Authors: CURCIO ANTONIO , MAZZANTI ANDREA , BLOISE RAFFAELLA , MONTEFORTE NICOLA , INDOLFI CIRO , PRIORI SILVIA G. , NAPOLITANO CARLO 
Published: April 2016

Brugada Syndrome in Modified Precordial LeadsIntroductionThe 2013 HRS/EHRA/APHRS consensus statement recommends the use of V1 and V2 leads recorded in the second and third intercostal spaces (High‐ICS) for diagnosis of Brugada syndrome (BrS) creating a new category of patients discovered only with modified leads. The clinical presentation and the arrhythmic risk in these patients are ill defined. This study was aimed at assessing the role of High‐ICS in the analysis of BrS and the clinical profile of the patients diagnosed only when ECG leads are moved to upper intercostal spaces.Methods and ResultsWe searched our Brugada syndrome registry and identified 300 subjects (age 36 ± 13 years), without a diagnostic coved ST‐segment elevation in conventional V1–V3 leads, both at baseline and after provocative drug challenge. Sixty‐four subjects (21.3%, mean age at last follow‐up 42 ± 11 years) were diagnosed with High‐ICS. Diagnosis was possible at baseline only in 4 subjects while in 60 it was made after drug challenge with sodium channel blockers. Three subjects (4.7%) with spontaneous abnormal ECG experienced cardiac events with an annual event rate (0.11%) superimposable to that of the low risk category of BrS diagnosed in standard leads.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that the use of new diagnostic criteria for BrS allows increasing the diagnostic yield by 20% and that the arrhythmic risk is low when BrS can be established only in High‐ICS. We also show that the prognostic value of spontaneous ECG pattern is confirmed in this subgroup.
Renoprotective effect of berberine via regulating the PGE2‐EP1‐Gαq‐Ca2+ signalling pathway in glomerular mesangial cells of diabetic rats
Authors: Ni Wei‐Jian , Tang Li‐Qin , Zhou Hong , Ding Hai‐Hua , Qiu Yuan‐Ye 
Published: April 2016

AbstractG‐protein coupled receptor‐mediated pathogenesis is of great importance in the development of diabetic complications, but the detailed mechanisms have not yet been clarified. Therefore, we aimed to explore the roles of the prostaglandin E2 receptor 1 (EP1)‐mediated signalling pathway and develop a corresponding treatment for diabetic nephropathy (DN). To create the DN model, rats fed a high‐fat and high‐glucose diet were injected with a single dose of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg, i.p.). Then, rats were either treated or not with berberine (100 mg/kg per day, i.g., 8 weeks). Cells were isolated from the renal cortex and cultured in high‐sugar medium with 20% foetal bovine serum. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels were determined by ELISA, and cells were identified by fluorescence immunoassay. We measured the biochemical characteristics and observed morphological changes by periodic‐acid‐Schiff staining. The expression of the EP1 receptor and the roles of GRK2 and β‐arrestin2 were identified using western blotting and flow cytometry. Downstream proteins were detected by western blot, while molecular changes were assessed by ELISA and laser confocal scanning microscopy. Berberine not only improved the majority of biochemical and renal functional parameters but also improved the histopathological alterations. A significant increase in PGE2 level, EP1 membrane expression and Gαq expression, and concentration of Ca2+ were observed, accompanied by increased GRK2 and β‐arrestin2 levels soon afterwards. Berberine decreased the abnormal concentration of Ca2+, the increased levels of PGE2, the high expression of EP1 and Gαq and suppressed the proliferation of mesangial cells. The EP1 receptor, a critical therapeutic target of the signalling pathway, contributed to mesangial cell abnormalities, which are linked to renal injury in DN. The observed renoprotective effects of berberine via regulating the PGE2‐EP1‐Gαq‐Ca2+ signalling pathway indicating that berberine could be a promising anti‐DN medicine in the future.