bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Environmental heat and airborne pollen concentration are associated with increased asthma severity in horses
Authors: Bullone M. , Murcia R. Y. , Lavoie J‐P. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryReason for performing studyClinical exacerbations of severe equine asthma (formerly recurrent airway obstruction [RAO]) are more frequently reported during winter when horses are exposed to airborne dusts during stabling. However, we have also observed a worsening of clinical signs on days during a heatwave.ObjectivesTo investigate the association between environmental temperature and humidity and clinical signs of asthma in horses during clinical exacerbation of the disease.Study designRetrospective longitudinal study.MethodsHistorical data on 14 severe asthmatic horses exposed to a dusty environment and evaluated using a previously validated clinical scoring system were analysed. Barn temperature and relative humidity values were obtained and air enthalpy (h) calculated. Correlation tests were used to study the relationship between mean daily clinical scores of horses and environmental variables. Lung function parameters recorded at 4 day intervals during hot (25°C) and warm (18°C) barn conditions were compared using a paired t test.ResultsSignificant positive correlations were observed between the mean daily clinical score and temperature (r = 0.58, P = 0.01) and air enthalpy (r = 0.55, P = 0.02). Maximal daily temperature correlated with airborne pollen concentrations (r = 0.51, P = 0.0002). In the absence of changes in the management of horses, higher barn temperature and enthalpy were associated with increased transpulmonary pressure (P = 0.005), pulmonary resistance (P = 0.008) and elastance values (P = 0.005).ConclusionsProviding a cold environment may help attenuate the severity of airway obstruction in uncontrolled exacerbations of severe equine asthma. Furthermore, variations in environmental heat and associated pollen concentrations should also be taken into account when evaluating the response to therapy in clinical or research settings.
Transoesophageal ultrasound and computer tomographic assessment of the equinecricoarytenoid dorsalismuscle: Relationship between muscle geometry and exercising laryngeal function
Authors: Kenny M. , Cercone M. , Rawlinson J. J. , Ducharme N. G. , Bookbinder L. , Thompson M. , Cheetham J. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryReasons for performing studyEarly detection of recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) is of considerable interest to the equine industry.ObjectivesTo describe two imaging modalities, transoesophageal ultrasound (TEU) and computed tomography (CT) with multiplanar reconstruction to assess laryngeal muscle geometry, and determine the relationship betweencricoarytenoid dorsalis(CAD) geometry and function.Study designTwo‐phase study evaluatingCADgeometry in experimental horses and horses with naturally occurringRLN.MethodsEquineCADmuscle volume was determined fromCTscan sets using volumetric reconstruction with LiveWire. The midbody and caudal dorsal‐ventral thickness of theCADmuscle was determined using aTEUin the same horses; and in horses with a range of severity ofRLN(n = 112).ResultsTransoesophageal ultrasound was able to readily image theCADmuscles and lower left:rightCADthickness ratios were observed with increasing disease severity. Computed tomography based muscle volume correlated very closely withex vivomuscle volume (R2= 0.77).ConclusionsComputed tomography reconstruction can accurately determine intrinsic laryngeal muscle geometry. A relationship betweenTEUmeasurements ofCADgeometry and laryngeal function was established. These imaging techniques could be used to track the response of theCADmuscle to restorative surgical treatments such as nerve muscle pedicle graft, nerve anastomosis and functional electrical stimulation.
Consumer identity and marketing implications: Indian urban youth
Authors: Kartik Deval , Willis Rob , Jones Cassie 
Published: December 2015

AbstractYouth consumption has been an area of research interest as well as societal concern. Globalization and proliferation of media have been cited as the main reasons for rise in consumption, especially among youth. This paper has examined how the Indian Urban youth represent their Consumer Identities through their narratives. In 1991, India opened up to Globalization and its effect on the youth consumption is now wide spread. Studies in other parts of the world have shown youth to be ‘Raving Hedonists’ and ‘Squanderer’ as well as Rational and Economical Consumers. An empirical approach was taken to establish the typology of Indian Youth Consumers. Empirical data for this research was collected by conducting in‐depth interviews in 2013, covering various states of India, with students in the age group of eighteen to twenty three years, who are financially dependent on their parents. Forty in‐depth interviews, representing thirteen distinct linguistic identities were conducted and analysed. Studies done in other parts of the world such as UK, Finland, Norway and Belgium have established typologies of youth consumers such as Hedonist, Squanderer, Rational and Economical Consumer Identities. While these Consumer Identities exist among Indian Urban Youth, the researchers have identified additional Consumer Identity Typologies of Reluctant, Dependent and Aspirant Consumers. The youth in India is somewhat similar to youth elsewhere and yet has its own distinction as consumers. The fact that India has a very high youth population makes this study significant.
Convenience food consumption in the Nordic countries and St. Petersburg area
Authors: Kahma Nina , Mäkelä Johanna , Niva Mari , Ganskau Elena , Minina Vera 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBuilding on the theoretical framework provided by sociological research on eating practices, family meals, self‐cooked meals and time use, this study examines national differences and similarities in the use of convenience food in Northern Europe. The study draws on two quantitative sets of data, the primary data set (N = 8248) collected in 2012 in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and the complementary data set (N = 800) collected in St. Petersburg area in 2013. In general, consumers’ attitudes towards convenience food were negative. Time saving was an important motivator for convenience consumption in all countries. The effects of other attitudes were diffuse and factors such as low cost, health effects, and taste of convenience food, affected convenience consumption differently in different countries. In the four Nordic countries women used less convenience food than men. In Finland and in Norway older respondents used convenience food less often than the young. Generally, the use of convenience food was most frequent among those living alone. The effects of education and occupation were small, implying that the phase of life is more important than social stratification in explaining convenience food consumption. In the St. Petersburg data, there were no differences related to social background.
Interviewing with or without the partner present? – an underexposed dilemma between ethics and methodology in nursing research
Authors: Norlyk Annelise , Haahr Anita , Hall Elisabeth 
Published: December 2015

AbstractAimTo discuss ethical and methodological challenges related to in‐depth interviews with patients and partners when interviewed together or separately.BackgroundIncreased interest in exploring illness phenomena from both patients' and partners' perspectives has emerged. The decision about how to collect data is challenging. Patients and partners can be interviewed separately or together; in both scenarios researchers face complex questions of methodology and ethics. This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on individual or joint interviewing and the effect of absence/presence of the partner on data collection.DesignDiscussion paper that draws on data from three phenomenological studies.Data sourcesReferring to three cases from our phenomenological studies, we discuss the different types of ethical and methodological dilemmas faced when undertaking joint and separate interviews with couples. Furthermore, we discuss how the unexpected presence of the partner potentially influences the data gathered from the patient.Implication for nursingThe cases demonstrate the interrelatedness of ethics and methodology in studies based on in‐depth interviews with couples. Nurse researchers may be caught up in a dilemma between ethical concerns and methodological considerations. We argue that the presence of the partner during an interview session might influence the data and favour expressions of shared rather than individual experiences of the phenomenon studied. Furthermore, we argue that ethical concerns must be given higher priority than methodology when interviewing couples.ConclusionAn increased awareness of the tension between ethical and methodological challenges in joint or individual interviewing with patients and partners is necessary, as this issue is underexposed.
Assessment of the Bioactive Capacity of Mixed Juice Scum Extracts from Sugarcane Mills
Authors: Lu Angen , Pu Yuanyuan , Zou Qingsong , Yao Xiaomai , Wang Dunqiu , Chen Shan 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThe scum is a semisolid by‐product in canesugar mills where flotation technology is used for mixed juice clarification. To evaluate its potential bioactive properties, an aqueous extract, a 70% ethanol extract and a 100% ethanol extract from the scum were obtained and used for antioxidant activity assessment. Chemical assays of 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzthiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) were used to determine the total antioxidant activity, and a chemiluminescence assay was conducted to assess the hydroxyl (•OH) and superoxide anion (
) radicals’ scavenging activity. Results showed that all extracts had high antioxidant activity, of which the 100% ethanol extract was more powerful in DPPH, ABTS and •OH assays. Potential antioxidants in ethanol extracts could be associated with sugarcane wax, polyphenols and flavonoids, while in the aqueous extract, it could be water‐soluble vitamins and proteins which resulted in the highest (
) scavenging activity. This study suggested that the scum has potential bioactive application.Practical ApplicationsComprehensive utilization of sugarcane mixed juice scum plays an important role in extending the application of flotation clarification technology in canesugar industry. General composition analysis of the scum in the study suggested the possibility of using scum as a raw resource of animal feeds, as it contains a high percentage of protein, cellulose and sucrose. High antioxidant activity of scum extracts implicated its potential utilizations in producing antioxidant related products in food industry.
Hollow Fibers Filtration and Cleaning Processes Under Ultrasound and Gas Bubbling Combination
Authors: Hashemi Shahraki Masoud , Maskooki Abdolmajid , Faezian Ali 
Published: December 2015

AbstractFouling is one of the main obstacles to filtration process. In this study, the effects of gas bubbling by carbonated feed, gas bubbling by direct injection of CO2 (GB‐DI‐CO2) and N2 (GB‐DI‐N2) and ultrasound (US) were evaluated on flux enhancement during milk solution ultrafiltration and flux recovery during cleaning process of fouled hollow fibers membrane module. Results showed that the US and gas bubbling (GB) treatments significantly enhanced the performance of both ultrafiltration and cleaning processes, however, the effect of GB‐DI‐CO2 was not considerable. The best results were achieved when the GB‐DI‐N2 treatment was applied with US treatment in filtration and cleaning process, under this treatment, the permeation flux was remarkably enhanced up to 288.57% during ultrafiltration as well as the fouling percentage was reduced to 15.55% after cleaning the fouled membrane. Furthermore, the US was more effective than the GB during cleaning process.Practical ApplicationsFiltration process is faced to flux decline as a result of fouling. The ultrasound at low frequency and liquid–gas two phase flow can affect the concentration polarization and cake layer significantly. The combination of these techniques can be used as an effective methods to handle the fouling and flux decline. Also artificial neural networks model is able to predict the flux permeation of hollow‐fibers filtration under ultrasound and gas bubbling combination as a complex condition practically.
Influence of Water Sorption Phenomena on the Shelf Life of Third Generation Snacks
Authors: Flores Jesús Guadalupe Pérez , Ordaz Judith Jaimez , Morga Javier Añorve , Olivares Luis Guillermo González , Ovando Araceli Castañeda , Contreras López Elizabeth 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThe shelf life of third generation snacks (pellets) was estimated through the measurement of physicochemical parameters. Samples were provided by a snack manufacturing industry and were placed in three different types of packaging: high density polyethylene (HDPE); polypropylene/kraft paper; and polypropylene/HDPE. The samples were tested under different conditions of temperature and relative humidity. Water activity (aw) at 25 and 40°C and moisture gain (89% relative humidity, 25°C) were analyzed for 60 days. The polypropylene + HDPE packaging showed the best properties for sample preservation, allowing for a shelf life of 1 month under extreme conditions of humidity. Therefore, it is possible to extend the shelf life of the pellets studied by using proper packaging materials to limit phenomena of water sorption.Practical ApplicationsFor most food companies, to know the shelf life of their products is fundamental to avoid economic losses due to undesirable changes on them. However, shelf life determination of food products is a complex process that involves a series of microbiological, physicochemical and sensory parameters. Although the kinetic studies of the behavior of those parameters contribute to preserve the quality of the product during long periods of time, they are usually expensive and time consuming. The practical application of the method used in this research is that it represents an alternative to shelf life prediction of snack products without using expensive or complicated equipment or chemical reactants.
Osmotic Dehydration of Banana Slices Using Direct and Indirect Sonication: Optimization and Microstructure Analysis
Authors: Farhaninejad Zeynab , Fathi Milad , Shahedi Mohammad , Sadeghi Morteza 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThe objective of this work was to study osmotic dehydration of banana slices using direct and indirect sonication. The optimum process was determined by response surface methodology and the effect of treatments, including mechanical agitation, indirect sonication and direct sonication, on banana microstructure was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Optimization of process in terms of maximum water loss and minimum solid gain, color and surface area changes was performed, and the direct sonication in sucrose concentration of 53.95% (w/v) had the best performance. Microstructure studies proved that ultrasound was responsible for creation of microchannels through the cell distortion and disconnection between cavities. Moreover, effective diffusivity for solid and water diffusion increased by 1,342.1% and 1,184.5% for direct sonication and 229.0% and 294.7% for indirect sonication for sucrose concentration 60% (w/v), respectively. Ultrasound led to increase of porosity by about 21.38% and 36.47% for indirect and direct sonication, respectively, in comparison with untreated sample.Practical ApplicationsDrying is an expensive and energy intensive process needing long‐time operation. Indirect ultrasound‐assisted osmotic dehydration was previously used to enhance drying efficiency. In this article, direct ultrasound was applied to dehydrate banana slices. The results indicated that this method is very powerful, which could increase effective diffusion up to 1,342.1%. Response surface methodology was applied to maximize water loss and minimize solid gain, color and surface area changes. Direct sonication could be recommended for dehydration of fruits and vegetables.
Risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with celiac disease: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Ungprasert Patompong , Wijarnpreecha Karn , Tanratana Pansakorn 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBackground and Aim:Patients with celiac disease (CD) might be at an increased risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) due to chronic inflammation and vitamin deficiency. However, epidemiologic studies attempting to investigate this risk have yielded inconsistent results. We conducted this meta‐analysis with the aims to better characterize this possible association.Methods:We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of observational studies that reported odds ratio, relative risk, hazard ratio, or standardized incidence ratio comparing the risk of VTE in patients with CD versus participants without CD. Generic inverse variance method of DerSimonian and Laird was used to calculate the pooled risk ratio.Results:Out of 279 potentially relevant articles, four studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta‐analysis. We found a statistically significant increased risk of VTE among patients with CD with the pooled risk ratio of 1.25 (95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.53). The statistical heterogeneity was moderate with an I2 of 69%.Conclusions:A significantly increased risk of VTE among patients with CD was demonstrated in this meta‐analysis. Further studies are required to clarify how this risk should be addressed in clinical practice.
Worldwide Greenhouse Gas Reduction Potentials in Transportation by 2050
Authors: Taptich Michael N. , Horvath Arpad , Chester Mikhail V. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryReductions in the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of passenger and freight transportation are possible through adoption of fuel‐saving technologies, demand switching between modes, and large‐scale electrification of fleets, in addition to other actions. In this study, future scenarios to 2030 and 2050 are the basis for assessment of GHG reduction potentials for major passenger and freight modes (automobiles, buses, trains, aircraft, and oceangoing vessels) across eight regions of the world. New fuel‐saving technologies can significantly reduce the life‐cycle GHG footprint of both passenger and freight vehicles, but not uniformly worldwide. Countries outside of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) lag behind OECD countries in GHG reduction potentials for all modes but oceangoing vessels owing to a combination of slower adoption of fuel‐saving technologies and a slower decarbonization of electricity generation and other processes. The reduction of GHG intensity will occur more slowly for freight modes than for passenger modes. However, improved fuel efficiency has negative feedbacks to the effectiveness of mode‐switching and alternative fuel adoption policies through 2050 because improvements in the fuel efficiency of vehicles alone may cause the marginal benefits of GHG abatement policies to diminish over time. This trend may be reversed if alternative fuel pathways decarbonize at faster rates than conventional transportation fuels. The largest opportunities for GHG reductions occur in non‐OECD countries. Given the many factors that distinguish transportation systems between developed and developing nations (e.g., availability of new technologies, the financial ability to acquire them, and policies to incentivize their adoption), many benefits could be gained through interregional cooperation.
Fathers of children with or without ID: understanding long‐term psychological symptoms
Authors: Cohen S. R. , Zeedyk S. M. , Tipton L. A. , Rodas N. V. , Blacher J. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBackgroundResearchers have primarily relied on mother report to understand the parenting contexts of rearing children with intellectual disabilities. Fathers are increasingly being considered as equally important reporters of their child's behaviours, as they have unique and independent relationships with their children. The purpose of this study was to understand how one source of stress – reports of child behaviour problems – along with spousal support related to parenting tasks, associated with fathers' reports of psychological symptoms over time.MethodOne hundred eighty‐two father participants completed measures of child behaviour problems, spousal support and psychological symptoms. Growth curve modelling was employed to examine paternal psychological symptoms over the child's developmental trajectory.ResultsFathers' reports of child behaviour problems predicted initial levels of paternal psychological symptoms but did not predict change in paternal psychological symptoms over time. Spousal support further reduced initial levels of paternal psychological symptoms.ConclusionsChild behaviour problems are more important than disability status in predicting father's psychological symptoms. Spousal support predicts paternal psychological symptoms and can be viewed as an additional resource for fathers. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Breast histopathology image segmentation using spatio‐colour‐texture based graph partition method
Authors: BELSARE A.D. , MUSHRIF M.M. , PANGARKAR M.A. , MESHRAM N. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryThis paper proposes a novel integrated spatio‐colour‐texture based graph partitioning method for segmentation of nuclear arrangement in tubules with a lumen or in solid islands without a lumen from digitized Hematoxylin–Eosin stained breast histology images, in order to automate the process of histology breast image analysis to assist the pathologists. We propose a new similarity based super pixel generation method and integrate it with texton representation to form spatio‐colour‐texture map of Breast Histology Image. Then a new weighted distance based similarity measure is used for generation of graph and final segmentation using normalized cuts method is obtained. The extensive experiments carried shows that the proposed algorithm can segment nuclear arrangement in normal as well as malignant duct in breast histology tissue image. For evaluation of the proposed method the ground‐truth image database of 100 malignant and nonmalignant breast histology images is created with the help of two expert pathologists and the quantitative evaluation of proposed breast histology image segmentation has been performed. It shows that the proposed method outperforms over other methods.