bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
B‐Flow and B‐Mode Ultrasound Imaging in Carotid Fibromuscular Dysplasia
Authors: Cutler Joshua J. , Campo Nelly , Koch Sebastian 
Published: January 2018

ABSTRACTBACKGROUND AND PURPOSEPrevious ultrasound studies in fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) have largely reported on color flow imaging, power Doppler, and Doppler flow augmentation. We here report on arterial wall imaging findings by B‐flow and B‐mode in patients with carotid FMD.METHODSWe retrospectively reviewed ultrasonographic findings in subjects with known or suspected FMD. All patients were evaluated with a standardized imaging protocol including Doppler, B‐mode, and B‐flow. Vessel wall abnormalities were classified as normal, luminal irregularities, or classical beading (fusiform dilatations).RESULTSWe identified 23 patients and 33 carotid arteries were found to be abnormal, of which 10 had classical beading and 23 showed endoluminal irregularities. Bilateral disease was present in 10/23 patients. In the classical beading cases, B‐mode revealed isoechoic ridges, which protruded into the lumen, alternating with dilated arterial segments, which were also clearly demonstrated by B‐flow imaging. In cases with endoluminal irregularities, B‐mode and B‐flow showed isoechoic subendothelial irregular thickening, which did not lead to a fusiform dilatory appearance of the artery. The average distal internal carotid artery peak systolic velocity of arteries with classical beading (123 ± 29 cm/second) was significantly greater than that of arteries with mild irregularities (94 ± 34 cm/second) (P = .024).CONCLUSIONMorphological arterial wall changes of FMD were well depicted by careful B‐flow and B‐mode imaging of the distal internal carotid artery. We would like to emphasize the utility of B‐flow and B‐mode in the noninvasive evaluation of FMD.
Gender roles, family relationships, and household food and nutrition security in Ohafia matrilineal society in Nigeria
Authors: Ene‐Obong Henrietta Nkechi , Onuoha Nne Ola , Eme Paul Eze 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThis study examined gender roles, family relationships, food security, and nutritional status of households in Ohafia: a matrilineal society in Nigeria. A cross‐sectional descriptive study was conducted. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 287 households from three villages: Akanu, Amangwu, and Elu. Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were adopted, namely, focus group discussions and questionnaires. Anthropometric measurements (height and weight for mothers and children and Mid‐Upper Arm Circumference for young children) were taken using standard techniques. The body mass index of women was calculated. All nutritional indices were compared with reference standards. Food insecurity was assessed using the Household Hunger Scale and Dietary Diversity Score, then analysed using the Statistical Product for Service Solution version 21. Data analysis used descriptive statistics. Most (91.2%) of the respondents were female. The matrilineal system known as ikwu nne or iri ala a nne (inheritance through mothers' lineage) is still in place but is changing. One important benefit of the system is the access to land by women. Whereas women participated actively in agriculture, food preparation, and care of family, the men were moving to off‐farm activities. High prevalence of household food insecurity (66%) and signs of malnutrition including moderate to severe stunting (48.4%) and wasting (31.7%) in children, household hunger (34.5%), and overweight (27.5%) and obesity (19.2%) among mothers were observed. These communities urgently need gender sensitive food and nutrition interventions.
Matriarchy, Buddhism, and food security in Sanephong, Thailand
Authors: Sirisai Solot , Chotiboriboon Sinee , Sapsuwan Charana , Tantivatanasathien Praiwan , Setapun Nuchjaree , Duangnosan Prangtong , Thongkam Nattapach , Chuangyanyong Sasiwimon 
Published: January 2018

AbstractSanephong is a matriarchal Karen community located in western Thailand. The community benefits greatly from the availability of local foods, such as cereals, tubers, wild vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, and animals. In the first phase of this project, 387 distinct local foods were identified, which were shown to be good sources of energy, protein, and vitamins. Despite the availability of a variety of nutritious local foods, the majority of households surveyed expressed concern over a decline in local foods due to changing socio‐economic and environmental conditions. This study used a qualitative research approach to look at the dual influences of matriarchy and Buddhism on food security in the community. Through this approach, matriarchal values central to the community were adopted as a framework; these included care, consensus, collaboration, and cosmological respect. In Sanephong, women are central to life in the community, and matriarchal cultural practices reflect a nurturing spirit—for both the earth and family. The community practices Buddhism, which is very complementary to the matriarchal system. A type of gift economy within the Buddhist context, known as dhana, transfers food from the wealthy to the poor with no expectation of reciprocity. Consequently, matriarchy and Buddhism jointly promote food security in the community. Studies of matriarchal societies help society‐at‐large to understand the potential benefits of systems that contrast the current patriarchal paradigm.
Understanding the determinants of hemoglobin and iron status: adolescent–adult women comparisons in SANHANES‐1
Authors: Mchiza Zandile J. , Parker Whadi‐ah , Sewpaul Ronel , Job Nophiwe , Chola Lumbwe , Mutyambizi Chipo , Sithole Moses , Stokes Andrew , Labadarios Demetre 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe study compared hemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin levels between adolescent and adult women with different body mass indices, dietary intake, and sociodemography. A secondary analysis of data for 3177 South African women ⩾15 years of age who participated in the SANHANES‐1 study was undertaken. Abnormal Hb (≤12 g/dL) and serum ferritin (<15 μg/mL) were based on the World Health Organization's criteria for nonpregnant women aged ⩾15 years. Data were analyzed using STATA version 11. Overall, anemia was detected in 740 (23.3%) participants. Of the individuals in the subsample (n = 1123, 15–35 years) who had serum ferritin measured, 6.0% presented with iron depletion (ID) and 10.8% presented with iron‐deficiency anemia (IDA). The highest prevalences of anemia, ID, and IDA were in 15‐ to 18‐year‐olds (11.2%, 8.8%, and 20.2%, respectively). Black young adults (19–24 years) were up to 40 times more likely to present with ID compared with their non‐black counterparts. While overweight adolescents were three times more likely to be anemic, overweight and obese young adults, as well as obese older adults (25–35 years), were less likely to be anemic compared with normal‐weight women of all age groups. Overconsumption of dietary fat increased ID by up to 54‐ and 11‐fold (adolescents and 25‐ to 35‐year‐olds, respectively). In South Africa, anemia is most prevalent in adolescents and black women. Anemia is also an indicator of overconsumption of dietary fat and a marker of socioeconomic disadvantage.
‘He is ruler over all’ – Man and ‘his’ universe at the 1539 Ghent refreynen contest
Authors: Buys Ruben 
Published: January 2018

AbstractIn 1539, nineteen chambers of rhetoric presented their refereynen int vroede at the famous rhetorician's contest of Ghent. Taken together, these poems, printed that same year, provide a series of closely related perspectives on humankind, human nature, and the world and its wonders. In general they consider man to be the most powerful of all creatures, as only he (interestingly, in some cases more specifically she) is able to overcome any worldly danger, temptation, or challenge. However, true dominance over the world is only possible if man meets specific conditions, set by God and nature – above all: rationality, piety, and a readiness to subdue one's inner world of desires and self‐conceit. Thus, the poems present various ideal types of the human self. This contribution analyzes those perspectives on humankind and the way in which the basic theme of human mastery of the world is integrated into the content as well as the structure of the refreynen. The essay also situates these refreynen in the broader context of vernacular philosophy and vernacular learning in the late medieval and early modern Low Countries.
Urban space and the literary exploration of self – A rhetorician makes a mental tour through his city
Authors: Mareel Samuel 
Published: January 2018

AbstractA remarkable characteristic of the Testament Rhetoricael (Rhetorical Testament) (1562) by the Bruges rhetorician Eduard de Dene, one of the most important collections of lyrical texts to have come down to us from the sixteenth‐century Low Countries, is its combination of autobiography, and chorography. The author's persona provides the reader of that time with an unusual amount of information about his occupations, character, social world, and opinions. Most of it is given in the context of an evocation of specific places and spaces in the author's hometown. This essay analyses why, for a mid‐sixteenth century Netherlandish author such as Eduard De Dene, personal recollections seem to have been triggered in particular by specific urban places and spaces.
Cosmological talk – Three dialogues on the heavens in early seventeenth‐century Amsterdam
Authors: van Trijp Didi 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThis essay investigates the extent to which natural philosophical and literary discourses converged in the chambers of rhetoric of early seventeenth‐century Amsterdam. The inquiry is based on a set of three dialogues written by the merchant, diplomat, and rhetorician Theodoor Rodenburgh. Rodenburgh was clearly invested in expanding both his own and his audiences’ knowledge of the stars, as is witnessed by his various writings that incorporate celestial teachings. The dialogues feature experts on the stars that instruct diplomats, servants, noble ladies, and other inquisitive individuals in the workings of the heavens. These passages can be traced to texts published by specialists in spherical cosmology and astrology. The inclusion of cosmological themes was meant to stimulate reflection not only on the constitution of the heavens, but also on the place of the human in Creation. In tracing Rodenburgh's teachings on the heavens, this essay shows that rhetoricians, in addition to their already significant repertoire of philosophical resources, worked unencumbered on and with cosmological knowledge.
Sources of efficiency, productivity and output growth in Botswana agriculture
Authors: Temoso Omphile , Hadley David , Villano Renato 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to explore reasons for the decline in agricultural performance in Botswana that has occurred during the implementation of a variety of policy measures, as well as the introduction of new technologies, and to identify ways in which it might be reversed. Panel data from six regions in Botswana (period 1979–2012) is analyzed with a stochastic output distance function and inefficiency effects model. We decompose agricultural output growth into; total factor productivity (TFP) and changes in input use (factors of production). TFP is further decomposed into scale effects, technical efficiency and technological change. The results show that over the study period agricultural output grew at a very low rate of 0.072 percent per year, which is largely due to a growth in factors of production at 0.071 percent per year rather than TFP growth (which declined at 0.003 percent per year). We found that the decline in productivity has been due to technological regress and low growth in technical efficiency and scale efficiency. Policy options aimed at improving agricultural productivity and output growth will require the strengthening of extension services; improving the agronomic and husbandry management skills of farmers through training; and by encouraging farmers to adopt and utilize technologies that have been provided under existing policy programs.
Black Agrarianism: The Significance of African American Landownership in the Rural South
Authors: Quisumbing King Katrina , Wood Spencer D. , Gilbert Jess , Sinkewicz Marilyn 
Published: January 2018

AbstractAgrarianism is important in the American mythos. Land represents both a set of values and a store of wealth. In this article, we ask how land matters in the lives of rural, southern, Black farmland owners. Drawing on 34 interviews, we argue that, since the end of slavery, land has continued to operate as a site of racialized exclusion. Local white elites limit Black farmers’ access to landownership through discriminatory lending practices. At the same time, Black farmland owners articulate an ethos in which land is a source of freedom, pride, and belonging. This we term “Black agrarianism.” They cultivate resistance to the legacies of slavery and sharecropping and contemporary practices of social closure. These Black farmland owners, then, view land as protection from white domination. Thus, we demonstrate how landownership is a site for the re‐creation of racial hierarchy in the contemporary period while also offering the potential for resistance and emancipation.
A clinical trial of frozen platelets: rationale, protocol and pilot analysis plan
Authors: Marks D. C. , Johnson L. , Reade M. C. 
Published: January 2018

IntroductionPlatelets have a short shelf life and may be discarded due to expiry. Smaller Australian hospitals often cannot justify keeping platelet units on‐site. Cryopreserved platelets may alleviate this problem. To date, a single controlled clinical trial has been conducted, demonstrating that transfusion of cryopreserved platelets was associated with less bleeding and fewer transfusions compared to liquid‐stored platelets. Despite these encouraging results, there is insufficient clinical data to support regulatory approval. A pilot clinical trial of cryopreserved platelets is being conducted to demonstrate effectiveness and feasibility and to inform a future definitive trial.MethodsCryopreserved versus liquid platelets for surgical bleeding (CLIP) is a multisite, blinded randomized controlled pilot effectiveness trial comparing cryopreserved platelets to liquid‐stored platelets. Cardiac surgery patients at high risk of perioperative bleeding are identified, consented and randomized to receive either cryopreserved or liquid‐stored platelets. Outcomes include acceptability to clinicians, efficacy in reducing blood loss and transfusion requirements and the adverse event rate.ResultsTo date, 118 patients in four metropolitan tertiary hospitals have been randomized, and 42 patients have been transfused. No significant adverse events have been reported. Challenges have included the low conversion rate from randomization to transfusion (37%), access to monitored −80°C freezers and training large numbers of hospital blood bank staff to thaw platelets.ConclusionsIntroduction of a novel blood component for a clinical trial has posed many challenges, which have been overcome. Upon completion, data will be used to inform the design and sample size calculations for a larger definitive trial.
Microbiome Structure Influences Infection by the Parasite Crithidia bombi in Bumble Bees
Authors: Mockler Blair K. , Kwong Waldan K. , Moran Nancy A. , Koch Hauke 
Published: January 2018

ABSTRACT

Recent declines in bumble bee populations are of great concern and have prompted critical evaluations of the role of pathogen introductions and host resistance in bee health. One factor that may influence host resilience when facing infection is the gut microbiota. Previous experiments with
Bombus terrestris
, a European bumble bee, showed that the gut microbiota can protect against
Crithidia bombi
, a widespread trypanosomatid parasite of bumble bees. However, the particular characteristics of the microbiome responsible for this protective effect have thus far eluded identification. Using wild and commercially sourced
Bombus impatiens
, an important North American pollinator, we conducted cross-wise microbiota transplants to naive hosts of both backgrounds and challenged them with a
Crithidia
parasite. As with
B. terrestris
, we find that microbiota-dependent protection against
Crithidia
operates in
B. impatiens
. Lower
Crithidia
infection loads were experimentally associated with high microbiome diversity, large gut bacterial populations, and the presence of
Apibacter
,
Lactobacillus
Firm-5, and
Gilliamella
spp. in the gut community. These results indicate that even subtle differences between gut community structures can have a significant impact on a microbiome's ability to defend against parasite infections.

IMPORTANCE
Many wild bumble bee populations are under threat due to human activity, including through the introduction of pathogens via commercially raised bees. Recently, it was found that the bumble bee gut microbiota can help defend against a common parasite,
Crithidia bombi
, but the particular factors contributing to this protection are unknown. Using both wild and commercially raised bees, we conducted microbiota transplants to show that microbiome diversity, total gut bacterial load, and the presence of certain core members of the microbiota may all impact bee susceptibility to
Crithidia
infection. Bee origin (genetic background) was also a factor. Finally, by examining this phenomenon in a previously uninvestigated bee species, our study demonstrates that microbiome-mediated resistance to
Crithidia
is conserved across multiple bumble bee species. These findings highlight how intricate interactions between hosts, microbiomes, and parasites can have wide-ranging consequences for the health of ecologically important species.
Peptide Transporter CstA Imports Pyruvate in Escherichia coli K-12
Authors: Hwang Soonkyu , Choe Donghui , Yoo Minseob , Cho Sanghyuk , Kim Sun Chang , Cho Suhyung , Cho Byung-Kwan 
Published: January 2018

ABSTRACT

Pyruvate is an important intermediate of central carbon metabolism and connects a variety of metabolic pathways in
Escherichia coli
. Although the intracellular pyruvate concentration is dynamically altered and tightly balanced during cell growth, the pyruvate transport system remains unclear. Here, we identified a pyruvate transporter in
E. coli
using high-throughput transposon sequencing. The transposon mutant library (a total of 5 × 10
5
mutants) was serially grown with a toxic pyruvate analog (3-fluoropyruvate [3FP]) to enrich for transposon mutants lacking pyruvate transport function. A total of 52 candidates were selected on the basis of a stringent enrichment level of transposon insertion frequency in response to 3FP treatment. Subsequently, their pyruvate transporter function was examined by conventional functional assays, such as those measuring growth inhibition by the toxic pyruvate analog and pyruvate uptake activity. The pyruvate transporter system comprises CstA and YbdD, which are known as a peptide transporter and a conserved protein, respectively, whose functions are associated with carbon starvation conditions. In addition to the presence of more than one endogenous pyruvate importer, it has been suggested that the
E. coli
genome encodes constitutive and inducible pyruvate transporters. Our results demonstrated that CstA and YbdD comprise the constitutive pyruvate transporter system in
E. coli
, which is consistent with the tentative genomic locus previously suggested and the functional relationship with the extracellular pyruvate sensing system. The identification of this pyruvate transporter system provides valuable genetic information for understanding the complex process of pyruvate metabolism in
E. coli
.

IMPORTANCE
Pyruvate is an important metabolite as a central node in bacterial metabolism, and its intracellular levels are tightly regulated to maintain its functional roles in highly interconnected metabolic pathways. However, an understanding of the mechanism of how bacterial cells excrete and transport pyruvate remains elusive. Using high-throughput transposon sequencing followed by pyruvate uptake activity testing of the selected candidate genes, we found that a pyruvate transporter system comprising CstA and YbdD, currently annotated as a peptide transporter and a conserved protein, respectively, constitutively transports pyruvate. The identification of the physiological role of the pyruvate transporter system provides valuable genetic information for understanding the complex pyruvate metabolism in
Escherichia coli
.
Barriers and facilitators to medication adherence: a qualitative study with general practitioners
Authors: Kvarnström Kirsi , Airaksinen Marja , Liira Helena 
Published: January 2018

BackgroundGeneral practitioners (GPs) manage the drug therapies of people with chronic diseases, and poor adherence to medication remains a major challenge.ObjectiveThis qualitative study examined GPs’ insights into non-adherence and ways of overcoming this problem.MethodsWe ran four focus groups comprising 16 GPs at the Kirkkonummi Health Centre (Southern Finland). Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and analysed by inductive content analysis.Main resultsThe two main themes in the discussions with the GPs were non-adherence in the care of chronic disease and increased need for medicine information. The medication management challenges identified were related to: patient-specific factors, the healthcare system, characteristics of drug therapies and the function and role of healthcare professionals as a team. To improve the situation, the GPs offered a number of solutions: improved coordination of care, better patient education and IT systems as well as enhanced interprofessional involvement in the follow-up of patients.Discussion and conclusionsWith an ageing population, the GPs were increasingly confronted with non-adherence in the care of chronic diseases. They had mostly a positive attitude towards organising care in a more interprofessional manner. To support medication adherence and self-management, the GPs appreciated pharmacists’ assistance especially with patients with polypharmacy and chronic diseases.