bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mixed method systematic review: the relationship between breast cancer risk perception and health‐protective behaviour in women with family history of breast cancer
Authors: Paalosalo‐Harris Kati , Skirton Heather 
Published: September 2016

AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to determine and explore the relationship between risk perception and health‐protective behaviour in individuals with family history of breast cancer.BackgroundWomen with increased risk of breast cancer due to inherited predisposition can use health‐protective behaviours to facilitate prevention or early detection of cancer.Data sourcesFour scientific literature databases (CINAHL, Medline, AMED, PsychInfo) and three systematic review databases were searched.DesignMixed method systematic review.Review methodsThe systematic review of peer‐reviewed literature was conducted following the method described by the Centre of Reviews and Dissemination. Research studies published in English between January 2004–December 2014 focussing on individuals with family history of breast cancer were included. Of 210 papers identified, 10 studies were eligible for inclusion. Studies were assessed for their quality. Due to the diversity of the studies, a three‐step analysis was undertaken involving narrative summary of the quantitative data, thematic analysis and presentation of integrated results in narrative form.ResultsA clear link between breast cancer risk perception and some health‐protective behaviour was identified. Screening administered by health professionals (mammogram screening, chemoprevention) were appropriately adopted. However, behaviours requiring high individual input (breast self‐examination, lifestyle changes) were not as appropriately adopted and the decision process was not as clearly linked to risk perception.ConclusionsThere is limited understanding about the complex relationship between risk perception and health‐protective behaviour. Risk communication and health promotion need to be further developed to assist individuals to better engage with their actual risk and risk‐appropriate behaviours, particularly those that require regular personal effort.
Evolution of dark colour in toucans (Ramphastidae): a case of molecular adaptation?
Authors: Corso J. , Mundy N. I. , Fagundes N. J. R. , de Freitas T. R. O. 
Published: September 2016

AbstractIn the last decades, researchers have been able to determine the molecular basis of some phenotypes, to test for evidence of natural selection upon them, and to demonstrate that the same genes or genetic pathways can be associated with convergent traits. Colour traits are often subject to natural selection because even small changes in these traits can have a large effect on fitness via camouflage, sexual selection or other mechanisms. The melanocortin‐1 receptor locus (MC1R) is frequently associated with intraspecific coat colour variation in vertebrates, but it has been far harder to demonstrate that this locus is involved in adaptive interspecific colour differences. Here, we investigate the contribution of the MC1R gene to the colour diversity found in toucans (Ramphastidae). We found divergent selection on MC1R in the clade represented by the genus Ramphastos and that this coincided with the evolution of darker plumage in members of this genus. Using phylogenetically corrected correlations, we show significant and specific relationships between the rate of nonsynonymous change in MC1R (dN) and plumage darkness across Ramphastidae, and also between the rate of functionally significant amino acid changes in MC1R and plumage darkness. Furthermore, three of the seven amino acid changes in MC1R that occurred in the ancestral Ramphastos branch are associated with melanism in other birds. Taken together, our results suggest that the dark colour of Ramphastos toucans was related to nonsynonymous substitutions in MC1R that may have been subject to positive selection or to a relaxation of selective pressure. These results also demonstrate a quantitative relationship between gene and phenotype evolution, representing an example of how MC1R molecular evolution may affect macroevolution of plumage phenotypes.
Impact of changing positively worded items to negatively worded items in the Swedish web‐version of the Quality of Recovery (SwQoR) questionnaire
Authors: Jaensson Maria , Nilsson Ulrica 
Published: September 2016

AbstractRationale, aims, and objectivesThe Swedish web‐version of the Quality of Recovery questionnaire is used to evaluate a person's postoperative recovery after anesthesia and surgery. An earlier study found an increased risk of answering incorrectly when the questionnaire included both positive and negative items. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of changing positively worded items to negatively worded items.MethodsThis was a cross‐sectional study including 90 second‐year nursing students. Seven pairs of positively and negatively worded items were evaluated for differences in response as well as agreement between the items.ResultsTwo pairs of items showed higher mean values if the item was negatively worded. Between‐item agreement for positively worded item scores and their corresponding reverse‐coded negatively worded item scores was poor‐to‐moderate (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.35‐0.76). A moderate agreement was found when testing all positively worded items against the recoded negatively worded items (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.65). Internal consistency was 0.86 for the positively worded items and 0.76 for the negatively worded items.ConclusionsChanging from positive to negative wording produced some differences in Swedish web‐version of the Quality of Recovery item scores. Internal consistency was acceptable, but 2 items (not having a general feeling of well‐being and not speaking normally) need further refinement.
Is there a role of Tau in Huntington′s disease?
Authors: Zerr Inga , Bähr Mathias 
Published: September 2016

AbstractAlterations of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) composition are useful clinical diagnostic tools as well as a source of candidates for new biomarkers of neurodegenerative disorders. This Editorial highlights a study by Rodrigues and colleagues in which the authors try to establish Tau as a new biomarker for Huntington´s disease (HD). The study confirmed in two independent, age‐controlled patient populations at various disease stages, asymptomatic mutation carriers and healthy controls, that CSF total Tau concentrations in HD gene mutation carriers are increased compared with healthy controls. This is a strong evidence that CSF total Tau concentration is associated with phenotypic variability in HD.Read the highlighted article ‘Cerebrospinal fluid total tau concentration predicts clinical phenotype in Huntington's disease’ on page 22.
Faster kinetics of quantal catecholamine release in mouse chromaffin cells stimulated with acetylcholine, compared with other secretagogues
Authors: Calvo‐Gallardo Enrique , López‐Gil Ángela , Méndez‐López Iago , Martínez‐Ramírez Carmen , Padín Juan Fernando , García Antonio G. 
Published: September 2016

AbstractAdrenal chromaffin cells (CCs) have been used extensively in studies aimed at revealing the intricacies of the Ca2+‐dependent early and late steps of regulated exocytosis. They have also served as invaluable models to study the kinetics of single‐vesicle exocytotic events to infer the characteristics of opening and closing of the exocytotic fusion pore. We have here tested the hypothesis that stimulation at room temperature of CCs from mice C57BL/6 with physiological acetylcholine (ACh) and with other secretagogues (dimethylphenylpiperazinium, high K+, muscarine, histamine, caffeine), alone or in combination, could trigger amperometric spike events with different kinetics. We found that mean secretory spike events in CCs stimulated with ACh had a fast rise rate of 25 pA/ms and a rapid decay time of 6.2 ms, with a small quantal size (0.31 pC). Surprisingly, these parameters considerably differed from those found in CCs stimulated with all other secretagogues that triggered secretory responses with spike events having smaller rise rates, longer decay times and higher quantal sizes. ACh spikes were unaltered by atropine but mitochondrial protonophore carbonyl cyanide‐4‐(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone markedly slowed down the rate rise and decay time, and augmented the quantal size of mean secretory events. We conclude that the physiological neurotransmitter ACh triggers a fast and efficient exocytotic response that cannot be mimicked by other secretagogues; such response is regulated by the mitochondrial circulation of calcium ions.
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Attracting Early‐Stage Investors: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment
Authors: BERNSTEIN SHAI , KORTEWEG ARTHUR , LAWS KEVIN 
Published: September 2016

ABSTRACTThis paper uses a randomized field experiment to identify which start‐up characteristics are most important to investors in early‐stage firms. The experiment randomizes investors’ information sets of fund‐raising start‐ups. The average investor responds strongly to information about the founding team, but not to firm traction or existing lead investors. We provide evidence that the team is not merely a signal of quality, and that investing based on team information is a rational strategy. Together, our results indicate that information about human assets is causally important for the funding of early‐stage firms and hence for entrepreneurial success.
“Generally the young mom suffers much:” Socio‐cultural influences of maternal capabilities and nutrition care in Uganda
Authors: Ickes Scott B. , Heymsfield Grace A. , Wright Timothy W. , Baguma Charles 
Published: September 2016

AbstractWe conducted 40 in‐depth interviews and eight focus groups among mothers and fathers (n = 91) of diverse ages in western Uganda to define the relevant domains of maternal capabilities and their relationship to infant and young child feeding practices. This study was directed by a developing theory of maternal capabilities that posits that the impact of health‐directed interventions may be limited by unmeasured and poorly understood maternal characteristics. Ugandan caregivers defined three major life events that constrain women's capabilities for childcare: early pregnancy, close child spacing, and polygamous marriage. Women describe major constraints in their decision‐making capabilities generally and specifically to procuring food for young children. Future nutrition programs may improve their impact through activities that model household decision‐making scenarios, and that strengthen women's social support networks. Findings suggest that efforts to transform gender norms may be one additional way to improve nutrition outcomes in communities with a generally low status of women relative to men. The willingness of younger fathers to challenge traditional gender norms suggests an opportunity in this context for continued work to strengthen resources for children's nutritional care.SignificanceMaternal factors such as autonomy are associated with child feeding practices and nutritional status, with varying degrees depending on the definition of maternal‐level constructs and context. This study describes the events and processes that constrain maternal capabilities—intrapersonal factors that shape mother's abilities to leverage resources to provide care to children—as they relate to nutrition and hygiene practices. We report community beliefs and understandings about which capabilities have meaning for child nutrition and hygiene, and develop a conceptual framework to describe how these capabilities are formed and describe implications for future nutrition programs in East Africa and similar settings.
Determinants of perceived insufficient milk among new mothers in León, Nicaragua
Authors: Safon Cara , Keene Danya , Guevara William J. Ugarte , Kiani Sara , Herkert Darby , Muñoz Erick Esquivel , Pérez‐Escamilla Rafael 
Published: September 2016

AbstractBreastfeeding has been shown to improve maternal and child health. In Nicaragua, the primary risk of death and disability‐adjusted life years among children under 5 years of age is suboptimal breastfeeding. Although the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health promotes exclusive breastfeeding from within the first half hour through the first 6 months of life, less than a third of children in the country under 6 months of age are exclusively breastfed. As part of a larger, mixed‐methods study, 21 semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews were conducted with new mothers recruited from three primary health centers between June and August 2015 in order to identify the social, cultural, and structural factors that contribute to infant feeding practices and the discrepancy between recommendations and practices among mothers who delivered at an urban public hospital in León, Nicaragua. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, and interview transcripts were coded and analyzed by a three‐member team using a grounded theory approach. Findings highlight a widespread perception of insufficient milk among mothers that influenced early cessation of exclusive breastfeeding and other infant feeding practices. This perception stemmed from anxiety about meeting infant nutritional needs and infant satiety, anxiety about maternal nutrition, advice from and role modeling of family members about mixed feeding, and perceived infant feeding norms. Results suggest that support modeled after the 10 steps of the Baby‐friendly Hospital Initiative as well as strengthened policy‐level support are needed. Community interventions that address cultural and structural barriers to improve breastfeeding practices may also help to increase breastfeeding rates.
Quantitative gene–gene and gene–environment mapping for leaf shape variation using tree‐based models
Authors: Fu Guifang , Dai Xiaotian , Symanzik Jürgen , Bushman Shaun 
Published: September 2016

Summary

Leaf shape traits have long been a focus of many disciplines, but the complex genetic and environmental interactive mechanisms regulating leaf shape variation have not yet been investigated in detail. The question of the respective roles of genes and environment and how they interact to modulate leaf shape is a thorny evolutionary problem, and sophisticated methodology is needed to address it.

In this study, we investigated a framework‐level approach that inputs shape image photographs and genetic and environmental data, and then outputs the relative importance ranks of all variables after integrating shape feature extraction, dimension reduction, and tree‐based statistical models.

The power of the proposed framework was confirmed by simulation and a Populus szechuanica var. tibetica data set. This new methodology resulted in the detection of novel shape characteristics, and also confirmed some previous findings.

The quantitative modeling of a combination of polygenetic, plastic, epistatic, and gene–environment interactive effects, as investigated in this study, will improve the discernment of quantitative leaf shape characteristics, and the methods are ready to be applied to other leaf morphology data sets. Unlike the majority of approaches in the quantitative leaf shape literature, this framework‐level approach is data‐driven, without assuming any pre‐known shape attributes, landmarks, or model structures.
Prevalence of personal weight control attempts in adults: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Santos I. , Sniehotta F. F. , Marques M. M. , Carraça E. V. , Teixeira P. J. 
Published: September 2016

SummaryThe purpose of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to estimate the prevalence of personal weight control attempts (weight loss and/or maintenance) worldwide and to identify correlates, personal strategies used and the underlying motives. We included epidemiological/observational studies of adults (≥18 years) reporting prevalence of weight control attempts in the past‐year. Seventy‐two studies (n = 1,184,942) met eligibility criteria. Results from high quality studies showed that 42% of adults from general populations and 44% of adults from ethnic‐minority populations reported trying to lose weight, and 23% of adults from general populations reported trying to maintain weight annually. In general population studies, higher prevalence of weight loss attempts was observed in the decade of 2000–2009 (48.2%), in Europe/Central Asia (61.3%) and in overweight/obese individuals and in women (p < 0.01). Of the 37 strategies (grouped in 10 domains of the Oxford Food and Activity Behaviours Taxonomy) and 12 motives reported for trying to control weight, exercising and dieting (within the energy compensation and restraint domains, respectively) and wellbeing and long‐term health were the most prevalent. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to investigate weight control attempts worldwide. Key strategies and motives were identified which have implications for future public health initiatives on weight control.
Perception of facial profiles: influence of female sex hormones and personality traits
Authors: Jovic T. , Pavlic A. , Varga S. , Kovacevic Pavicic D. , Slaj M. , Spalj S. 
Published: September 2016

Structured AbstractObjectivesThe observational study investigated whether women's perception of the facial profile is related to changes in sex hormones during the menstrual cycle and under the influence of personality traits.Setting and sample populationParticipants were heterosexual Caucasian normally menstruating women not using oral contraceptives (N = 30, aged 20–44 years).Material and methodsThe profile attractiveness was assessed by grading of thirteen men's and women's Caucasian profile distortions by a visual analogue scale (0 = least to 100 = most attractive) in the non‐ovulating phase and ovulating phase of the menstrual cycle. Male profiles were graded twice—in social and emotional contexts. Personality traits were assessed by Big Five Inventory.ResultsThe most attractive male profiles in both phases and contexts were a straight profile or mild lip retrusion. According to cluster analysis, non‐ovulating females distinguish skeletal from dentoalveolar alterations; however, maxillary retrognathism was considered to be closer to an attractive profile, which were resulting from dentoalveolar manipulations only. Ovulating females, when considering emotional relationship, exhibit lowest preference for males with convex profiles and extreme concave profile, while they consider males with slightly prominent chins due to maxillary retrognathism, mandibular prognathism or pronounced lip retrusion closer to the most attractive males. No clear patterns of influence of personality traits were detected. Moderate lip protrusion was the most attractive female profile in ovulating and straight profile in non‐ovulating phase.ConclusionThe favorable profiles, on average, are the same regardless of the female hormonal status and personality traits.
Simple and robust methods for remote sensing of canopy chlorophyll content: a comparative analysis of hyperspectral data for different types of vegetation
Authors: Inoue Yoshio , Guérif Martine , Baret Frédéric , Skidmore Andrew , Gitelson Anatoly , Schlerf Martin , Darvishzadeh Roshanak , Olioso Albert 
Published: September 2016

AbstractCanopy chlorophyll content (CCC) is an essential ecophysiological variable for photosynthetic functioning. Remote sensing of CCC is vital for a wide range of ecological and agricultural applications. The objectives of this study were to explore simple and robust algorithms for spectral assessment of CCC. Hyperspectral datasets for six vegetation types (rice, wheat, corn, soybean, sugar beet and natural grass) acquired in four locations (Japan, France, Italy and USA) were analysed. To explore the best predictive model, spectral index approaches using the entire wavebands and multivariable regression approaches were employed. The comprehensive analysis elucidated the accuracy, linearity, sensitivity and applicability of various spectral models. Multivariable regression models using many wavebands proved inferior in applicability to different datasets. A simple model using the ratio spectral index (RSI; R815, R704) with the reflectance at 815 and 704 nm showed the highest accuracy and applicability. Simulation analysis using a physically based reflectance model suggested the biophysical soundness of the results. The model would work as a robust algorithm for canopy‐chlorophyll‐metre and/or remote sensing of CCC in ecosystem and regional scales. The predictive‐ability maps using hyperspectral data allow not only evaluation of the relative significance of wavebands in various sensors but also selection of the optimal wavelengths and effective bandwidths.
Composition of seminal plasma and ovarian fluid in Ide Leuciscus idus and Northern pike Esox lucius
Authors: Siddique MAM , Linhart O , Kujawa R , Krejszeff S , Butts IAE 
Published: September 2016

ContentsSeminal plasma (SP) and ovarian fluid (OF) plays an important role as storage media to prevent the activation of gametes both in vivo and under artificial conditions. The objectives of this study were to quantify gamete biochemistry and explore correlations among quantitative characteristics of SP, OF and sperm performance traits of Ide Leuciscus idus and Northern pike Esox lucius. Generally, Na+, K+ and Cl− were found to be the most dominating ions, although concentrations of K+ were higher in SP, while Na+ and Cl− concentrations were higher in OF for both species. Several significant correlations among the biochemical properties such as total protein, glucose, osmolality, cholesterol, K+, Ca2+, Cl− and Mg2+ were observed for SP and OF. Total protein content of Ide SP was positively correlated with sperm activity traits (r ≥ .89, p ≤ .05), while K+ concentration was negatively correlated with sperm traits (r ≥ −.89, p ≤ .05). Moreover, Ca2+ concentration in Northern pike SP was positively correlated with the percentage of sperm motility (r = . 98, p < .01). In conclusion, these results can be used to better understand the biochemistry of SP and OF, improve methods for short‐ and long‐term storage of gametes and standardize fertilization protocols.
Molecular expression of caprine estrogen receptor gene 1 in reproductive and non‐reproductive tissues
Authors: Saraswat S , Rout PK , Kharche SD , Jindal SK , Goel AK 
Published: September 2016

ContentsDuring the last decades, physiological effects of oestrogens have been increasingly explored by scientists and biotechnologists. Estrogens exert a wide range of effects on a large variety of cell types. Oestrogen and its receptors are essential for sexual development and reproduction. Estrogen receptor alpha is a nuclear receptor activated by the hormone oestrogen. In male,ERα is encoded by the gene estrogen receptor gene 1 (ESR1), responsible for better fertility. TheESR1 is involved in the reabsorption of luminal fluid during the transit of spermatozoa from the testis to the head of the epididymis which is important for their survival and maturation during epididymal storage. The absence ofESR1 leads to reduced epididymal sperm content, reduced sperm motility and fertilizing ability. Therefore, this is a good startby to study the expression pattern of estrogen receptor 1 gene in high‐fertile (G1) and low‐fertile (G2) bucks of Jamunapari and Barbari breeds identified on the basis of seminal quality traits and fertility trials.RNAwas extracted from the tissues byTRIzol method. The identification and expression pattern of caprineESR1 gene was analysed by real‐timePCR(RocheLC‐480). Our work shows that the relative quantification byRT‐PCRindicates more fold in head of epididymis as compared to spleen of caprineESR1 gene. Furthermore, theRT‐PCRindicated that fertile bucks of Jamunapari breed have more fold value as compared to Barbari breed in respect of reproductive organ.