bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Exposure to oral contraceptives increases the risk for development of inflammatory bowel disease: a meta-analysis of case-controlled and cohort studies
Authors: Ortizo Ronald , Lee Stephanie Y. , Nguyen Emily T. , Jamal Mohammad Mazen , Bechtold Matthew M. , Nguyen Douglas L. 
Published: May 2017

Background
The oral contraceptive pill (OCP) is a widely used method of contraception. There have been conflicting studies linking the use of OCPs to the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The intent of this meta-analysis is to better define the association between OCP exposure and the risk for development of IBD.

Methods
A thorough search of multiple databases, including Scopus, Cochrane, MEDLINE/PubMed, and CINAHL, and abstracts from major gastroenterology meetings was performed (October, 2016). Studies reporting the development of IBD in patients with or without previous exposure to OCP, compared with healthy controls, were included. A meta-analysis was completed using the Mantel–Haenszel model to evaluate the risk of developing IBD in the setting of previous OCP exposure.

Results
In a complete analysis of 20 studies, there appeared to be over a 30% increased risk for the development of IBD in patients exposed to OCP compared with patients not exposed to OCP [odds ratio (OR): 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.17–1.49, P<0.001, I
2=14%]. More specifically, there was a 24% higher risk for developing Crohn’s disease (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.09–1.40, P<0.001; I
2=38%) and a 30% higher risk for developing ulcerative colitis (OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.13–1.49, I
2=26%) in patients exposed to OCP compared with those not exposed to the medication.

Conclusion
The use of OCP is associated with an increased risk for development of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis in the genetically susceptible host. The total duration, dose of OCP exposure, and the risk for development of IBD need to be better characterized.
Central Hematocrit Levels in Fetal Malnourished Term Infants
Authors: Ertaş Kerem , Salihoğlu Özgül , Can Emrah , Hatipoğlu Sami , Hamilçikan Şahin 
Published: May 2017

Backround:
Fetal malnutrition is especially important for common chronic diseases in adult life. They could potentially be prevented by achieving optimal fetal nutrition.

Objective:
The aim of this study was to investigate hematocrit levels of malnourished, term, appropriate for gestational age (AGA) neonates.

Subjects and Methods:
A total of 80 AGA neonates (between 10% and 90% percentiles interval according to birth week), born with spontaneous vaginal delivery between 37 and 42 weeks of gestation, detected by both last menstrual period and ultrasonography measurements, were included in the study. Neonates with fetal malnutrition constituted the study group and the control group consisted of well-nourished neonates. We analyzed central venous hematocrit levels obtained 4 hours after birth and maternal risk factors for both groups.

Results:
Although there were no differences in gestational age, head circumference, maternal factors (gravidity, parity, abortions and curettage counts, maternal tobacco use, preeclampsia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes mellitus, and history of urinary tract infections), first minute APGAR scores, and sex, Clinical Assessment of Nutritional Status score was lower (29.91±2.87 vs. 21.25±1.65) and hematocrit levels were higher (51.33±2.740 vs. 59.53±5.094) in the fetal malnutrition group (P<0.0001).

Conclusions:
Central hematocrit levels in malnourished term AGA neonates were found significantly higher than well-nourished term AGA newborns.
A Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Studies Exploring Men’s Sense of Masculinity Post–Prostate Cancer Treatment
Authors: Alexis Obrey , Worsley Aaron James 
Published: May 2017

Background:
There has been little psychosocial research concerning men’s adaption to prostate cancer and treatment-related sexual dysfunction. Qualitative studies have explored men’s sense of self after treatment, but the data have yet to be synthesized.

Objective:
The aim of this study was to report a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies exploring men’s sense of masculinity after treatment of prostate cancer.

Methods:
Six databases were searched to identify relevant studies conducted and published between January 1990 and August 2016. Titles and abstracts were reviewed by 2 reviewers. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected and reviewed for quality. The extracted data were then synthesized.

Results:
A total of 14 studies met the inclusion criteria and passed the quality assessment. The meta-synthesis found that men’s sense of masculinity diminished after treatment of prostate cancer. Impotence, incontinence, and physical changes caused psychological stress. Underpinning these factors were cultural influences and dominant ideals of what it means to be a man.

Conclusions:
Men had entrenched ideas about what manhood entailed. The review found that men’s sense of masculinity was diminished posttreatment of prostate cancer. They felt that they could not exercise their manliness because of the adverse effects associated with prostate cancer treatment.

Implications for Practice:
More support and communication throughout the process are required to better inform patients of the outcomes of treatment. In addition, it would be beneficial to have open forums through which to encourage men to talk frankly about their masculine identities.
Magnetization Transfer Magnetic Resonance Imaging Noninvasively Detects Renal Fibrosis in Swine Atherosclerotic Renal Artery Stenosis at 3.0 T
Authors: Jiang Kai , Ferguson Christopher M. , Woollard John R. , Zhu Xiangyang , Lerman Lilach O. 
Published: May 2017

Objectives
Renal fibrosis is a useful biomarker for diagnosis and evaluation of therapeutic interventions of renal diseases but often requires invasive testing. Magnetization transfer magnetic resonance imaging (MT-MRI), which evaluates the presence of macromolecules, offers a noninvasive tool to probe renal fibrosis in murine renal artery stenosis (RAS) at 16.4 T. In this study, we aimed to identify appropriate imaging parameters for collagen detection at 3.0 T MRI and to test the utility of MT-MRI in measuring renal fibrosis in a swine model of atherosclerotic RAS (ARAS).

Materials and Methods
To select the appropriate offset frequency, an MT-MRI study was performed on a phantom containing 0% to 40% collagen I and III with offset frequencies from −1600 to +1600 Hz and other MT parameters empirically set as pulse width at 16 milliseconds and flip angle at 800 degrees. Then selected MT parameters were used in vivo on pigs 12 weeks after sham (n = 8) or RAS (n = 10) surgeries. The ARAS pigs were fed with high-cholesterol diet to induce atherosclerosis. The MT ratio (MTR) was compared with ex vivo renal fibrosis measured using Sirius-red staining.

Results
Offset frequencies at 600 and 1000 Hz were selected for collagen detection without direct saturation of free water signal, and subsequently applied in vivo. The ARAS kidneys showed mild cortical and medullary fibrosis by Sirius-red staining. The cortical and medullary MTRs at 600 and 1000 Hz were both increased. Renal fibrosis measured ex vivo showed good linear correlations with MTR at 600 (cortex: Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.87, P < 0.001; medulla: r = 0.70, P = 0.001) and 1000 Hz (cortex: r = 0.75, P < 0.001; medulla: r = 0.83, P < 0.001).

Conclusions
Magnetization transfer magnetic resonance imaging can noninvasively detect renal fibrosis in the stenotic swine kidney at 3.0 T. Therefore, MT-MRI may potentially be clinically applicable and useful for detection and monitoring of renal pathology in subjects with RAS.
Molecular dynamics simulations of membrane deformation induced by the amphiphilic helices of Epsin, Sar1p and Arf1
Authors: Li Zhen-lu 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThe N-terminal amphiphilic helices of proteins Epsin, Sar1p and Arf1 play a critical role in initiating membrane deformation. We present here the study of the interactions of these amphiphilic helices with the lipid membranes by combining the all-atom and coarse-grained simulations. In the all-atom simulations, we find that the amphiphilic helices of Epsin and Sar1p have a shallower insertion depth into the membrane compared to the amphiphilic helix of Arf1, but remarkably, the amphiphilic helices of Epsin and Sar1p induce higher asymmetry in the lipid packing between the two monolayers of the membrane. The insertion depth of amphiphilic helix into the membrane is determined not only by the overall hydrophobicity but also by the specific distribution of polar and non-polar residues along the helix. To directly compare their ability of deforming the membrane, we further apply coarse-grained simulations to investigate the membranes deformation under the insertion of multiple helices. Importantly, it is found that the amphiphilic helices of Epsin and Sar1p generate a larger membrane curvature than that of Arf1, in accord with the experimental results qualitatively. These findings enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanism of the protein-driven membrane remodeling.
Revealing the Distribution of Transmembrane Currents along the Dendritic Tree of a Neuron with Known Morphology from Extracellular Recordings
Authors: Cserpán Dorottya , Meszéna Domokos , Wittner Lucia , Tóth Kinga , Ulbert István , Somogyvári Zoltán , Wójcik Daniel K. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractRevealing the membrane current source distribution of neurons is a key step on the way to understanding neural computations, however, the experimental and theoretical tools to achieve sufficient spatiotemporal resolution for the estimation remain to be established. Here we address this problem using extracellularly recorded potentials with arbitrarily distributed electrodes in a neuron of known morphology. We use simulations of models with varying complexity to validate the proposed method and to give recommendations for experimental applications. The method is applied to in vitro data from rat hippocampus.
There and back again – unraveling mechanisms of bacterial biogeography in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre to and from station ALOHA
Authors: Lindh Markus V. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractBacterially-mediated fluxes of energy and matter are dynamic in time and space coupled with shifts in bacterial community structure. Yet, our understanding of mechanisms shaping bacterial biogeography remains limited. Near-surface seawater was collected during transits between Honolulu and Station ALOHA in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre to examine the shape of occupancy-frequency distributions (the different number of populations occupying different number of sites) and determine bacterial metapopulation dynamics. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicons were sequenced from whole seawater and filter-size fractionated plankton DNA samples while also separating the community into distinct taxonomic groups at phyla/class and analyzing these compartments separately. For the total seawater (i.e. the >0.2 μm size fraction) and picoplankton communities (i.e. the size fraction >0.2 μm and < 3.0 μm), but not the large size fraction community (i.e. the >3.0 μm size fraction), most individual operational taxonomic units (OTUs) occupied a single site and the number of OTUs occupying different number of sites followed a significant bimodal pattern with several core OTUs occupying all sites. Nevertheless, only Cyanobacteria (in particularProchlorococcussp.) and in a few instances also Alphaproteobacteria (in particular SAR11 clade and Aegan-169 marine group bacteria) exhibited bimodal occupancy-frequency patterns. As expected,Prochlorococcussp. had an inversed bimodal occupancy-frequency distribution with most OTUs found at all sites. Yet, there were individual satellite OTUs affiliated withProchlorococcussp. that were phylogenetically distinct from the core OTUs and only found at a single site. Collectively, these findings indicate that different compartments (size fractions and taxa) have different metapopulation dynamics. Bimodal patterns among the low diversity total and picoplankton communities but not in the high diversity large size fraction suggest that positive feedbacks between local abundance and occupancy are important when environmental conditions are homogenous and diversity is low.
Multisite generalizability of schizophrenia diagnosis classification based on functional brain connectivity
Authors: Orban Pierre , Dansereau Christian , Desbois Laurence , Mongeau-Pérusse Violaine , Giguère Charles-Édouard , Nguyen Hien , Mendrek Adrianna , Sti Emmanuel , Bellec Pierre 
Published: May 2017

AbstractOur objective was to assess the generalizability, across sites and cognitive contexts, of schizophrenia classification based on functional brain connectivity. We tested different training-test scenarios combining fMRI data from 191 schizophrenia patients and 191 matched healthy controls obtained at 6 scanning sites and under different task conditions. Diagnosis classification accuracy generalized well to a novel site and cognitive context provided data from multiple sites were used for classifier training. By contrast, lower classification accuracy was achieved when data from a single distinct site was used for training. These findings indicate that it is beneficial to use multisite data to train fMRI-based classifiers intended for large-scale use in the clinical realm.
Damaging Mutations are Associated with Diminished Motor Skills and IQ in Children on the Autism Spectrum
Authors: Buja Andreas , Volfovsky Natalia , Krieger Abba , Lord Catherine , Lash Alex E. , Wigler Michael , Iossifov Ivan 
Published: May 2017

SummaryIn individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), de novo mutations have previously been shown to be significantly correlated with lower IQ, but not with the core characteristics of ASD: deficits in social communication and interaction, and restricted interests and repetitive patterns of behavior. We extend these findings by demonstrating in the Simons Simplex Collection that damaging de novo mutations in ASD individuals are also significantly and convincingly correlated with measures of impaired motor skills. This correlation is not explained by a correlation between IQ and motor skills. We find that IQ and motor skills are distinctly associated with damaging mutations and, in particular, that motor skills are a more sensitive indicator of mutational severity, as judged by the type and its gene target. We use this finding to propose a combined classification of phenotypic severity: mild (little impairment of both), moderate (impairment mainly to motor skills) and severe (impairment of both).
Extended Synaptotagmin is a presynaptic ER Ca2+sensor that promotes neurotransmission and synaptic growth inDrosophila
Authors: Kikuma Koto , Kim Daniel , Sutter David , Li Xiling , Dickman Dion K. 
Published: May 2017

ABSTRACTThe endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an extensive presynaptic organelle, exerting important influences at synapses by responding to Ca2+and modulating transmission, growth, lipid metabolism, and membrane trafficking. Despite intriguing evidence for these crucial functions, how presynaptic ER influences synaptic physiology remains enigmatic. To gain insight into this question, we have generated and characterized mutations in the singleExtended Synaptotagmin(Esyt) ortholog inDrosophila. Esyts are evolutionarily conserved ER proteins with Ca2+sensing domains that have recently been shown to orchestrate membrane tethering and lipid exchange between the ER and plasma membrane. We first demonstrate that Esyt localizes to an extensive ER structure that invades presynaptic terminals at the neuromuscular junction. Next, we show that synaptic growth, structure, function, and plasticity are surprisingly unperturbed at synapses lackingEsytexpression. However, presynaptic overexpression ofEsytleads to enhanced synaptic growth, neurotransmission, and sustainment of the vesicle pool during intense levels of activity, suggesting that elevated Esyt at the ER promotes constitutive membrane trafficking or lipid exchange with the plasma membrane. Finally, we find thatEsytmutants fail to maintain basal neurotransmission and short term plasticity at elevated extracellular Ca2+, consistent with Esyt functioning as an ER Ca2+sensor that modulates synaptic activity. Thus, we identify Esyt as a presynaptic ER Ca2+sensor that can promote neurotransmission and synaptic growth, revealing the firstin vivoneuronal functions of this conserved gene family.
Combating corruption in Rwanda: lessons for policy makers
Authors: Oyamada Eiji 
Published: May 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the Rwandan government’s anti-corruption strategy and identify lessons for policymakers in other countries.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper relies on materials obtained from the Rwandan government, from websites, research reports, press articles and publications as well as interviews with scholars, with Rwandan government officials, and the staff of non-governmental organizations.

Findings
The Rwandan government formulates and implements its anti-corruption efforts via donors’ governance support and homegrown initiatives. Corruption has been minimized by eradicating opportunities for misconduct and by focusing on governance reforms and maintaining a zero-tolerance policy against corruption. Political will and strong leadership, the active role played by the anti-corruption agency, and effective governance reform have made Rwanda’s anti-corruption activities successful.

Originality/value
This paper is a scholarly examination of the Rwandan government’s anti-corruption strategy.
Combating corruption in Botswana: lessons for policy makers
Authors: Jones David Seth 
Published: May 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the success and challenges of the government of Botswana in combating corruption, and the lessons that policy makers may draw from this experience.

Design/methodology/approach
A range of sources are used including on-line materials from Botswana Government websites, DCEC annual reports, reports and on-line materials of international organisations, press articles, conference papers, two theses, articles in journals and chapters in edited collections.

Findings
The paper considers the factors that contribute to the success of the Botswana Government in combating corruption. It finds that the role of the anti-corruption body, the Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) has been crucial in this endeavour, including its investigative and enforcement work, and also its prevention and education programmes. The progress in combating corruption can also be attributed to procurement reform, measures to reduce red tape and bureaucratic procedures affecting businesses, competition regulation to reduce collusion and bribery, political and parliamentary accountability, and not least political will of Botswana’s leaders to stamp out corruption. In addition, challenges facing the anti-corruption programme are considered, including capacity constraints in the DCEC and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, and the failure of the courts in some cases to bring to book those in high places who have allegedly committed corruption offences. The paper identifies a number of lessons that can be drawn from Botswana’s experience. In conclusion, the paper points to the need for political will to be sustained in light of evidence that it may have recently weakened.

Practical implications
The paper provides lessons for policy makers in tackling corruption.

Originality/value
The paper is a further contribution to the existing scholarly literature on the anti-corruption programme in Botswana.
Five success stories in combating corruption: lessons for policy makers
Authors: Quah Jon S.T. 
Published: May 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain why Botswana, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, New Zealand, Rwanda and Singapore have succeeded in combating corruption and identify the lessons for policy makers in other countries.

Design/methodology/approach
The five countries are compared to identify the reasons for their success in combating corruption and the lessons that can be learnt by policy makers elsewhere.

Findings
Political will of the five governments is critical because combating corruption effectively requires them to provide the anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) with the necessary powers, budget, personnel and independence to enforce the anti-corruption laws impartially. New Zealand has succeeded in curbing corruption without an ACA because it relies on other institutions to maintain its good governance. Singapore’s rejection of the ineffective British colonial government’s method of using the police to curb corruption and its reliance on a single ACA was emulated by Hong Kong, Botswana and Rwanda. However, having a single ACA does not guarantee success unless it has the powers, budget, personnel and independence to perform its functions impartially as a watchdog instead of an attack dog against the government’s political opponents. As combating corruption remains a work in progress in the five countries, their policy makers must sustain their effective ACAs to meet the rising threat of private sector corruption.

Originality/value
The paper will be useful to scholars and policy makers concerned with improving the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures in those countries where corruption is rampant.
Forewarned is forearmed – repayment delays in microfinance relationships
Authors: Hering Imke , Musshoff Oliver 
Published: May 2017

PurposeIn order to improve the assessment of current lending policies for a microfinance institution (MFI) in Azerbaijan, the purpose of this paper is to analyse how lending conditions are adjusted based on knowledge gains during the loan relationship, with particular attention to delays in previous loans. Moreover, the paper examines what a lender can pre-determine from its own collected repayment records of clients. In addition, the repayment performances and lending policies between agricultural and non-agricultural clients are differentiated.Design/methodology/approachThe analyses are based on a rich data set of an Azerbaijani MFI. For determining the influence of previous delays on the volume rationing in the following loan, the authors apply a generalized linear model. Subsequently, the probability of recidivism is analysed by means of a logit model.FindingsThe results confirm a positive relationship between delays in previous loans and repayment problems in present loans, which is increased by the severity of the previous delay. With respect to consequences, it is shown that the borrower with previous delays faces an increase in loan volume rationing in the subsequent loan. Moreover, the authors find that the consequences of previous delays do not differ significantly between farmers and other clients.Originality/valueUntil now, the consequences of repayment delinquencies in microfinance lending relationships have hardly been investigated. This study enhances the understanding of lending policies in microfinance by focussing on relationship aspects and by simultaneously differentiating between farming and non-farming clients.