bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Historical Roots of CIA‐Hollywood Propaganda
Authors: Redmond Pearse 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe ability to use movies that tell persuasive stories is a powerful tool, particularly if it is consciously used to legitimize war, assassination, and illegal activities and to undermine the core principles of democracy. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. military have made use of that tool for almost a century, starting with the War Department's quiet support for the movieBirth of a Nationin 1915 and continuing for a century, including such recent CIA‐supported products asHomeland, The Agency, The Recruit, and many less likely movies and television shows. During World War II, this sort of propaganda was openly distributed, since there was a widespread consensus in support of that war. However, state‐sponsored propaganda in the form of Hollywood movies continued throughout the Cold War up to the present. The production of movies that completely distorted the political meaning of George Orwell's and Graham Greene's novels were important examples of this practice. CIA involvement was covert, since the target audience was the American public and the ideological perspective being propagated often ran counter to democratic ideals. This article recounts the history of the process by which Americans came to accept the ideas continuously promoted by the government, often without knowing that their favorite movies and television shows had been vetted or even altered by agents of the CIA or the Pentagon. Since these practices violate federal laws, the public at least has a right to know that we are being subjected to this sort of propaganda and how much tax money is spent to produce entertaining forms of disinformation.
The great opportunity of the andrological patient: cardiovascular and metabolic risk assessment and prevention
Authors: Foresta C. , Ferlin A. , Lenzi A. , Montorsi P. ,   Italian Study Group on Cardiometabolic Andrology
Published: March 2017

SummaryAndrologists, cardiologists and diabetologists (and general practitioners) have the great opportunity to collaborate and find shared clinical workup for the benefit of a large number of men. Several evidence established a link between erectile dysfunction (ED), cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Not only these conditions share many risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms but also an emerging paradigm indicates that ED is, in fact, an independent marker of cardiovascular disease risk, CV events and CV mortality. However, there is no consensus on the best cardiologic investigation in men with ED with no known CVD and, on the contrary, on what is the clinical and prognostic role of detecting ED during cardiovascular investigation and CVD risk assessment. Only vasculogenic ED, which represents the most common type of organic ED, indeed represents a harbinger of CVD, especially for younger patients, and might be diagnosed by dynamic penile color doppler ultrasonography, which represents a real cardiovascular imaging technique that give evidence on the presence of systemic endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Furthermore, assessment of glucose and lipid metabolism is warranted as first step workup in all ED patients, and diabetologists should ask their patients for erectile function, address ED patients to andrologists, and consider vasculogenic ED in the context of the cardiovascular and metabolic workup and in the context of diabetic complications. Sexual symptoms (and testosterone levels) should sound as harbinger for cardiovascular and metabolic investigation and cardiologists and diabetologists have the opportunity to have a symptom (erectile dysfunction) and a vascular test (penile color doppler) that help them in better management of patients, their comorbidities and complications.
Serum from plasma rich in growth factors regenerates rabbit corneas by promoting cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, adhesion and limbal stemness
Authors: Etxebarria Jaime , Sanz‐Lázaro Sara , Hernáez‐Moya Raquel , Freire Vanesa , Durán Juan A. , Morales María–Celia , Andollo Noelia 
Published: March 2017

AbstractPurposeTo evaluate the regenerating potential and the mechanisms through which the autologous serum derived from plasma rich in growth factors (s‐PRGF) favours corneal wound healing in vitro and in vivo.MethodsWe compared the effect of various concentrations of s‐PRGF versus fetal bovine serum (FBS) and control treatment in rabbit primary corneal epithelial and stromal cells and wounded rabbit corneas. Cell proliferation was measured using an enzymatic colorimetric assay. In vitro and in vivo wound‐healing progression was assessed by image‐analysis software. Migration and invasion were evaluated using transfilter assays. Histological structure was analysed in stained sections. Protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry.Resultss‐PRGF promoted the robust proliferation of epithelial cultures at any concentration, similar to FBS. Likewise, s‐PRGF and FBS produced similar re‐epithelialization rates in in vitro wound‐healing assays. In vivo, s‐PRGF treatment accelerated corneal wound healing in comparison with control treatment. This difference was significant only for 100% s‐PRGF treatment in our healthy rabbit model. Histological analysis confirmed normal epithelialization in all cases. Immunohistochemistry showed a higher expression of cytokeratins 3/76 and 15, zonula occludens‐1 and alpha‐smooth muscle actin proteins as a function of s‐PRGF concentration. Notably, keratocyte density in the anterior third of the stroma increased with increase in s‐PRGF concentration, suggesting an in vivo chemotactic effect of s‐PRGF on keratocytes that was further confirmed in vitro.Conclusions‐PRGF promotes proliferation and migration and influences limbal stemness, adhesion and fibrosis during corneal healing.
Macular cystic changes as predictive factor for the recurrence of macular oedema in branch retinal vein occlusion
Authors: Tilgner Eric , Dalcegio Favretto Maiara , Tuisl Maria , Wiedemann Peter , Rehak Matus 
Published: March 2017

AbstractAimTo evaluate the role of small cystic macular changes as a prognostic factor for the recurrence of macular oedema (ME) in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) treated with anti‐VEGF drugs.MethodsWe performed retrospective chart analysis of 116 patients treated with intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (IVR) or bevacizumab (IVB) for ME secondary to BRVO. At the baseline and monthly follow‐up visits over a period of 12 months, a comprehensive ophthalmologic examination including best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and volume scan of macula using Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD‐OCT) were performed. Patients without ME (CRT <250 μm) were screened for the presence of intraretinal cysts. In these patients, the changes in BCVA and CRT were evaluated over a period of 12 months and compared with the baseline.ResultsIn the IVR group (41 patients), 91 events of macular cysts, without a worsening of BCVA, were detected by OCT. In 89 of 91 events (97%), BCVA and CRT deteriorated significantly (p < 0.0001) within the next 4–11 (in mean 7.1 ± 2.0) weeks. BCVA decreased from 0.38 ± 0.25 to 0.49 ± 0.27 logMAR and CRT increased significantly from 223 ± 43 to 605 ± 244 μm. In the IVB group (19 patients), 54 events of cystic changes were detected. All of these patients showed significant worsening of BCVA from 0.40 ± 0.19 to 0.57 ± 0.22 logMAR and CRT from 251 ± 17 to 490 ± 147 μm within 4–10 (in mean 7.8 ± 2.8) weeks after the first presence of small macular cysts.ConclusionIn BRVO patients treated with anti‐VEGF drugs, the macular cystic changes may be used as an early indicator for impending recurrence of ME, with the decrease in BCVA in the following weeks. These patients should be scheduled for a next visit within 6–8 weeks.
Prognostic value of programmed death‐ligand 1 expression in patients with stage III colorectal cancer
Authors: Koganemaru Shigehiro , Inoshita Naoko , Miura Yuji , Miyama Yu , Fukui Yudai , Ozaki Yukinori , Tomizawa Kenji , Hanaoka Yutaka , Toda Shigeo , Suyama Koichi , Tanabe Yuko , Moriyama Jin , Fujii Takeshi , Matoba Shuichiro , Kuroyanagi Hiroya , Takano Toshimi 
Published: March 2017

The programmed death‐1/programmed death‐ligand 1 (PD‐L1) pathway is a negative feedback pathway that suppresses the activity of T cells. Previous studies reported that high PD‐L1 expression on tumor cells (TC) was associated with poor survival in patients with colorectal cancer; however, the prognostic evaluation of these studies was limited because they included patients at various disease stages. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between PD‐L1 status in the immune microenvironment and the clinicopathological features of stage III colorectal cancer. Two hundred and thirty‐five patients were included in the analysis. PD‐L1 expression on TC and tumor‐infiltrating mononuclear cells (TIMC) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The median follow‐up of thisi study was 52.9 months. A total of 8.1% of stage III colorectal cancer showed high PD‐L1 expression on TC and 15.3% showed high PD‐L1 expression on TIMC. Patients with high PD‐L1 expression on TC had significantly shorter disease‐free survival (DFS) than patients with low expression (hazard ratio [HR] 2.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–4.62; P = 0.012). In addition, patients with high PD‐L1 expression on TIMC were associated with longer DFS than patients with low expression (HR 0.40; 95% CI, 0.16–0.98; P = 0.046). These findings suggest that PD‐L1 expression status may be a new predictor of recurrence for stage III colorectal cancer patients and highlight the necessity of evaluating PD‐L1 expression on TC and TIMC separately in the tumor microenvironment.
Design, synthesis, and in vitro antituberculosis activity of benzo[6,7]cyclohepta[1,2‐b]pyridine‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole derivatives
Authors: Sajja Yasodakrishna , Vanguru Sowmya , Vulupala Hanmanth Reddy , Nagarapu Lingaiah , Perumal Yogeswari , Sriram Dharmarajan , Nanubolu Jagadeesh Babu 
Published: March 2017

A new antitubercular agents, benzo[6,7]cyclohepta[1,2‐b]pyridine‐1,3,4‐ oxadiazole hybrids (6a–o), have been designed and synthesized involving oxidative cyclization of hydrazones by use of di(acetoxy)iodobenzene, characterized by IR,1H NMR,13C NMR, and HRMS, and further confirmed by X‐ray analysis. All the newly synthesized compounds 4a–o evaluated for their in vitro antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (ATCC27294). Among the compounds tested, the compounds 4o (MIC: 1.56 μg/ml) and 4l, 4m (MIC: 3.125 μg/ml) are promising lead analogues and have shown lower cytotoxicity.
Modified benzoxazolone derivative as 18‐kDa TSPO ligand
Authors: Kumari Neelam , Chadha Nidhi , Srivastava Pooja , Mishra Lokesh Chandra , Bhagat Sunita , Mishra Anil K. , Tiwari Anjani K. 
Published: March 2017

We have synthesized six new congeners of acetamidobenzoxazolone for Translocator Protein [18 kDa, TSPO] imaging. The best in vitro binding affinity (10.8 ± 1.2 nm) for TSPO was found for N‐methyl‐2‐(5‐(naphthalen‐1‐yl)‐2‐oxobenzo[d]oxazol‐3(2H)‐yl)‐N‐phenylacetamide, (NBMP). NBMP was synthesised by Suzuki coupling reaction between 2‐(5‐bromo‐2‐oxo‐1,3‐benzoxazol‐3(2H)‐yl)‐N‐phenylacetamide and napthalene‐1‐boronic acid. Computational docking and simulation studies showed not much impact of intersubject variability on binding which is one of the major drawbacks of several TSPO ligands. These findings suggested that NBMP may become a promising marker for visualization of neuroinflammation via TSPO targeting.
A clinical tool to calculate post‐transplant survival using pre‐transplant clinical characteristics in adults with cystic fibrosis
Authors: Stephenson Anne L. , Sykes Jenna , Berthiaume Yves , Singer Lianne G. , Chaparro Cecilia , Aaron Shawn D. , Whitmore George Alex , Stanojevic Sanja 
Published: March 2017

AbstractBackgroundWe previously identified factors associated with a greater risk of death post‐transplant. The purpose of this study was to develop a clinical tool to estimate the risk of death after transplant based on pre‐transplant variables.MethodsWe utilized the Canadian CF registry to develop a nomogram that incorporates pre‐transplant clinical measures to assess post‐lung transplant survival. The 1‐, 3‐, and 5‐year survival estimates were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsBetween 1988 and 2012, 539 adult Canadians with CF received a lung transplant with 208 deaths in the study period. Four pre‐transplant factors most predictive of poor post‐transplant survival were older age at transplantation, infection with B. cepacia complex, low FEV1 percent predicted, and pancreatic sufficiency. A nonlinear relationship was found between risk of death and FEV1 percent predicted, age at transplant, and BMI. We constructed a risk calculator based on our model to estimate the 1‐, 3‐, and 5‐year probability of survival after transplant which is available online.ConclusionsOur risk calculator quantifies the risk of death associated with lung transplant using pre‐transplant factors. This tool could aid clinicians and patients in the decision‐making process and provide information regarding the timing of lung transplantation.
Can Grassroots Mobilization of the Poorest Reduce Corruption? A Tale of Governance Reforms and Struggle against Petty Corruption in Bihar, India
Authors: Verma Rajiv , Gupta Saurabh , Birner Regina 
Published: March 2017

ABSTRACTThe rural poor in India have long experienced corruption, exclusion from welfare schemes and the denial of rights. Critical accounts of development policy and practice advocate the need for pro‐poor governance reforms as well as effective mobilization of the poor for exercising their rights and entitlements. However, there is a dearth of empirical work which examines the following questions. What are the dynamics of such mobilization strategies in the environment of pro‐poor governance reforms? How do they affect local power relations from the perspective of the poorest social groups? And what are the challenges involved in sustaining struggles led by civil society organizations on behalf of the poorest and against petty corruption? This article addresses these questions in the context of a grassroots mobilization of Musahars (a Dalit caste group) in Bihar, one of the poorest provinces in India, which has recently initiated pro‐poor governance reforms. It explains what has or hasn't worked (and why) for the Musahars, in terms of their dealings with public officials. The authors argue that pro‐poor governance reforms and welfare schemes on their own are not sufficient; both grassroots mobilization and political will of the ruling dispensation are also necessary.
Cardiac CT angiography in the emergency room: Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy presenting as acute coronary syndrome
Authors: Turner Michael C. , Kerut Edmund K. , Mckinnie James , Davis Michael , Hinton Christine 
Published: March 2017

A 59‐year‐old male presented to the emergency room with symptoms of chest tightness and palpitations. Following conversion of atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm, he had deep symmetrical T‐wave changes on his electrocardiogram. Symptoms resolved almost immediately, and his initial troponin was negative. He underwent cardiac CT angiography utilizing an emergency room triage protocol which resulted in a diagnosis of nonobstructive coronary artery disease and apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Following a hospital stay of less than 24 hours, he was discharged to outpatient follow‐up on medical management and has remained asymptomatic over 6 months. This case presentation illustrates an example of the diversity of pathology that presents in emergency rooms with symptoms consistent with acute coronary syndrome.
Accounting for failures to reform in the Arab world
Authors: Commander Simon 
Published: March 2017

AbstractArab regimes have struggled to reform effectively and, as a consequence, have continued to perform poorly in terms of output and employment growth. Some Arab autocracies have experimented with partial liberalization, yielding benefits mainly for connected parties or cronies. There has been a chronic inability to craft policies capable of commanding widespread support in the population. Instead, the main groups in the economy have coalesced around the preservation of rents at the cost of achieving wider benefits. The paper attributes this not only to a combination of lack of credibility as well as issues of time consistency, but also to the failure to develop and present a coherent case for reforms capable of conferring benefits on the wider population, rather than concentrated benefits for a few.
Investigating movement in the laboratory: dispersal apparatus designs and the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum
Authors: Arnold Pieter A. , Rafter Michelle A. , Malekpour Rokhsareh , Cassey Phillip , Walter Gimme H. , White Craig R. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe natural dispersal of Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) has been emulated in the laboratory for more than 50 years, using a simple dispersal apparatus. This has typically comprised of a starting container (initial resource or patch) connected by tubing, which contains thread for the animals to climb into a tube and hence to an end container. That is, beetles move to a new viable resource or patch from an inter‐patch zone or non‐viable habitat. We modified this basic apparatus design to test the effect of tubing length and tubing insertion angle on the dispersal rate and proportion of successful dispersers. We expected that the proportion of successful dispersers would be repeatable within each apparatus design, and that increasing tubing length and steepness of the insertion angle would reduce dispersal rate and success across apparatus designs. Dispersal increased linearly through time, similarly so for both males and females. The design with the most vertical tubing insertion angle had a lower proportion of successful dispersers. Tubing length also had a negative relationship with dispersal success (as judged by insects reaching the end container), but a significant reduction in dispersal success was only apparent between the shortest and longest tubing between containers. We suggest that locating and climbing the vertical section of string before they can enter the tubing between containers restricts dispersal and that at higher densities, insects exhibit greater inclination to climb. This type of apparatus has flexible design tolerances and further potential to study the dispersal of other small insect species that primarily use pedestrian locomotion.
Seasonality, floods and droughts structure larval fish assemblages in prairie rivers
Authors: Garcia Crystal , Schumann David A. , Howell Jessica , Graeb Brian D.S. , Bertrand Katie N. , Klumb Robert A. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractPrairie stream fish assemblages experience seasonal shifts in habitat conditions, often coupled with powerful disturbance regimes, where systems fluctuate widely between drought and deluge. These abiotic drivers, more often than biotic factors, structure fish assemblages. Scouring floods may reset stream communities to early successional seres, and droughts may progressively eliminate species from communities. Therefore, fish assemblage structure resilience depends on recolonisation and reproductive success following a disturbance. Many plains fishes have life history traits that facilitate the wide dispersal and immediate contribution of offspring following disturbance events. However, descriptions of temporal and spatial patterns in larval assemblage structure in prairie streams are scarce, and few studies evaluate the effect of disturbances on reproduction. The objectives of this research were to (i) study the timing and contribution of native prairie stream fishes to drifting larval fish assemblages in three eastern South Dakota basins (Vermillion, James and Big Sioux) and (ii) describe larval fish responses to floods in the James River. We sampled drifting larval fish diversity during the spawning season from 2010 to 2012 throughout each basin. We also examined the effect of flooding on larval fish assemblage structure using data collected near the confluence of the James and Missouri rivers during baseflow (2003, 2004 and 2012) and flood conditions (2010). Subtle variability in spawning traits of prairie fishes and an apparent seasonal progression of larval fish taxa that secondarily respond to disturbance regimes suggests reproductive efforts are adapted to maximise the potential for successful recruitment in these severe systems.
Are data collected to support farm management suitable for monitoring soil indicators at the national scale?
Authors: Rawlins B. G. , Marchant B. , Stevenson S. , Wilmer W. 
Published: March 2017

SummaryMonitoring of topsoil properties (referred to as indicators) at the national scale has been limited in general to government‐funded representative surveys. We consider a cost‐effective complementary source of soil information for monitoring agricultural soil across England and Wales (E&W): soil measurements paid for by farmers that we refer to as farmers' data (FD). A potential problem in using FD for soil monitoring is any unattributable sources of bias, such as the sample design. Farmers may choose to focus their measurements (purposively) where they perceive a particular problem. Such a source of bias is avoided in the random sampling adopted by statistically designed surveys, such as the Countryside Survey (CS2007) and LUCAS (Land Use/Cover Area frame statistical Survey). We used measurements from 143 000 FD soil samples from a single laboratory to estimate national mean values and confidence intervals of five topsoil indicators (pH, available P (Olsen), K, Mg and organic matter (OM)) across three combinations of nation (England or Wales) and land use (arable and horticulture (A&H) or improved grassland (IG)). We computed mean estimates for FD over two time periods (2004–9 and 2010–2105) and assessed the significance of any change. We compared these estimates with those from representative national surveys to establish whether there was evidence for bias and whether it could be explained. Mean estimates of topsoil pH for the FD and the LUCAS survey (same analytical method) were consistent for both A&H and IG. Although FD estimates of mean Olsen P (OP) concentrations were similar to previous surveys, we show it is likely that the larger mean OP concentrations observed in the LUCAS survey compared with FD for arable topsoil in England are partly due to an attributable source of analytical bias. For such quantifiable sources of bias, it might be possible to adjust estimated mean values from FD. However, FD might also include sources of unattributable bias, such as the effect of purposive sampling. It is important that contemporaneous data from surveys with statistically unbiased designs are available so that we can assess whether unattributable sources exert a significant effect over estimates of mean values computed from FD.Highlights

Assessment of farmers' data (FD) to provide a potentially cost‐effective way to monitor topsoil indicators.
Few studies have compared national‐scale estimates of topsoil indicators with survey data from statistically unbiased designs and FD.
Bias between mean estimates from national surveys and FD could be accounted for.
The denser sampling of FD enables mapping of national survey data with greater accuracy.