bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of 4 Weeks of β-Alanine Supplementation on Swim-Performance Parameters in Water Polo Players
Authors: Brisola Gabriel Motta Pinheiro , Milioni Fabio , Papoti Marcelo , Zagatto Alessandro Moura 
Published: December 2016

In water polo, several high-intensity efforts are performed, leading to the fatigue process due to accumulation of hydrogen ions, and thus β-alanine supplementation could be an efficient strategy to increase the intramuscular acid buffer.PurposeTo investigate whether 4 wk of β-alanine supplementation enhances parameters related to water polo performance.MethodsTwenty-two highly trained male water polo players of national level were randomly assigned to receive 28 d of either β-alanine or a placebo (4.8 g/d of the supplement in the first 10 d and 6.4 g/d in the final 18 d). The participants performed 30-s maximal tethered swimming (30TS), 200-m swimming (P200m), and 30-s crossbar jumps (30CJ) before and after the supplementation period.ResultsThe β-alanine group presented significant increases in 30TS for mean force (P = .04; Δ = 30.5% ± 40.4%) and integral of force (P = .05; Δ = 28.0% ± 38.0%), as well as P200m (P = .05; Δ = –2.2% ± 2.6%), while the placebo group did not significantly differ for mean force (P = .13; Δ = 24.1% ± 33.7%), integral of force (P = .12; Δ = 24.3% ± 35.1%), or P200m (P = .10; Δ = –1.6% ± 3.8%). However, there was no significant group effect for any variable, and the magnitude-based-inference analysis showed unclear outcomes between groups (Cohen d ± 95%CL mean force = 0.16 ± 0.83, integral of force = 0.12 ± 0.84, and P200m = 0.05 ± 0.30). For 30CJ the results were similar, with improvements in both groups (placebo, Δ = 14.9% ± 14.1%; β-alanine, Δ = 16.9% ± 18.5%) but with no significant interaction effect between groups and an unclear effect (0.14 ± 0.75).ConclusionFour weeks of β-alanine supplementation does not substantially improve performance of 30TS, P200m, or 30CJ in highly trained water polo athletes compared with a control group.
Starvation Resulting From Inadequate Dietary Planning for a 50-Day Rowing Expedition
Authors: Reid Hamish A.B. , Dennison Nicholas C. , Quayle Jonathan , Preston Tom 
Published: December 2016

Meeting the energy demands of prolonged arduous expeditions and endurance sport may be a significant barrier to success. Expedition rowing is associated with high levels of body-mass loss, reflecting the challenge of meeting energy expenditure in this exacting environment.Purpose:To use the doubly labeled water (DLW) technique to calculate the total energy expenditure (TEE) and body-composition changes of two 28-y-old healthy male athletes during a 50-d continuous and unsupported row around Great Britain.Methods:A measured dose of DLW was taken at the start of 2 separate study periods (days 5–19 and 34–48) followed by sequential urine collection, which was analyzed on return to land.Results:Mean TEE was 15.3 MJ/d: athlete 1, 16.4 MJ/d; athlete 2, 14.9 MJ/d. Athlete 1 lost 11.2 kg and athlete 2 lost 14.9 kg of body mass during the row. Average energy provision was 19.1 MJ per 24-h ration pack.Conclusions:These results highlight the difficulty of maintaining energy balance during expedition rowing. A starvation state was observed despite dietary provision in excess of estimated energy expenditure, indicating that nutritional strategy rather than caloric availability was at fault. The authors recommend that future expeditions prioritize thorough testing and the individualization of rations to ensure that they are both palatable and practical during the weeks to months at sea.
Sled Towing: The Optimal Overload for Peak Power Production
Authors: Monte Andrea , Nardello Francesca , Zamparo Paola 
Published: December 2016

Purpose:The effects of different loads on kinematic and kinetic variables during sled towing were investigated with the aim to identify the optimal overload for this specific sprint training.Methods:Thirteen male sprinters (100-m personal best: 10.91 ± 0.14 s) performed 5 maximal trials over a 20-m distance in the following conditions: unloaded and with loads from 15% to 40% of the athlete’s body mass (BM). In these calculations the sled mass and friction were taken into account. Contact and flight times, stride length, horizontal hip velocity (vh), and relative angles of hip, knee, and ankle (at touchdown and takeoff) were measured step by step. In addition, the horizontal force (Fh) and power (Ph) and maximal force (Fh0) and power (Ph0) were calculated.Results:vh, flight time, and step length decreased while contact time increased with increasing load (P < .001). These variables changed significantly also as a function of the step number (P < .01), except between the 2 last steps. No differences were observed in Fh among loads, but Fh was larger in sled towing than in unloaded. Ph was unaffected by load up to +20%BM but decreased with larger loads. Fh0 and Ph0 were achieved at 20%BM. Up to 20%BM, no significant effects on joint angles were observed at touchdown and takeoff, while at loads >30%BM joint angles tended to decrease.Conclusion:The 20%BM condition represents the optimal overload for peak power production—at this load sprinters reach their highest power without significant changes in their running technique (eg, joint angles).
In Vitro
Antifungal Susceptibility Profiles of 12 Antifungal Drugs against 55 Trichophyton schoenleinii Isolates from Tinea Capitis Favosa Patients in Iran, Turkey, and China
Authors: Deng Shuwen , Ansari Saham , Ilkit Macit , Rafati Haleh , Hedayati Mohammad T. , Taghizadeh-Armaki Mojtaba , Nasrollahi-Omran Ayatollah , Tolooe Ali , Zhan Ping , Liao Wanqing , van der Lee Henrich A. , Verweij Paul E. , Seyedmousavi Seyedmojtaba 
Published: December 2016

ABSTRACT

Trichophyton schoenleinii
is an anthropophilic dermatophyte mainly causing tinea favosa of the scalp in certain regions of the world, especially Africa and Asia. We investigated the
in vitro
susceptibilities of 55
T. schoenleinii
isolates collected over the last 30 years from Iran, Turkey, and China to 12 antifungals using the CLSI broth microdilution method. Our results revealed that terbinafine and ketoconazole were the most potent antifungal agents among those tested, independently of the geographic regions where strains were isolated.
Effects of Oritavancin on Coagulation Tests in the Clinical Laboratory
Authors: Belley Adam , Robson Richard , Francis John L. , Adcock Dorothy M. , Tiefenbacher Stefan , Rubino Christopher M. , Moeck Greg , Sylvester David , Dudley Michael N. , Loutit Jeffery 
Published: December 2016

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have shown that some lipoglycopeptide and lipopeptide antimicrobial agents may cause falsely elevated values for some phospholipid-dependent coagulation tests. The effect of oritavancin, a lipoglycopeptide antibiotic, on coagulation test results was explored using pooled human plasma samples spiked with drug and in a clinical study after an infusion of a single 1,200-mg intravenous dose of oritavancin in normal healthy volunteers. Pooled plasma with oritavancin added
ex vivo
showed concentration-dependent prolongation of prothrombin time/international normalized ratio (PT/INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), and dilute Russell viper venom time (DRVVT) test results. In contrast, oritavancin had no effect on the activated protein C resistance assay, chromogenic anti-factor Xa assay (anti-FXa), thrombin time, and an immunoassay for the laboratory diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. In participants that received a single dose of oritavancin, elevations in PT/INR result, aPTT, DRVVT, activated clotting time, and silica clotting time occurred, with the maximum times to resolution of test interference determined to be 12, 120, 72, 24, and 18 h, respectively. The anti-FXa assay was unaffected, whereas transient elevations in D dimer levels were observed in 30% of participants, with a maximum time to resolution of 72 h. Although oritavancin has no impact on the coagulation system
in vivo
, a single dose of oritavancin can produce falsely elevated values of some coagulation tests used to monitor hemostasis. The interference of oritavancin on affected tests is transient, and the test results revert to normal ranges within specified times after dosing.
The Lyme Disease Pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi Infects Murine Bone and Induces Trabecular Bone Loss
Authors: Tang Tian Tian , Zhang Lucia , Bansal Anil , Grynpas Marc , Moriarty Tara J. 
Published: December 2016

ABSTRACT

Lyme disease is caused by members of the
Borrelia burgdorferi
sensu lato
species complex. Arthritis is a well-known late-stage pathology of Lyme disease, but the effects of
B. burgdorferi
infection on bone at sites other than articular surfaces are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated whether
B. burgdorferi
infection affects bone health in mice. In mice inoculated with
B. burgdorferi
or vehicle (mock infection), we measured the presence of
B. burgdorferi
DNA in bones, bone mineral density (BMD), bone formation rates, biomechanical properties, cellular composition, and two- and three-dimensional features of bone microarchitecture.
B. burgdorferi
DNA was detected in bone. In the long bones, increasing
B. burgdorferi
DNA copy number correlated with reductions in areal and trabecular volumetric BMDs. Trabecular regions of femora exhibited significant, copy number-correlated microarchitectural disruption, but BMD, microarchitectural, and biomechanical properties of cortical bone were not affected. Bone loss in tibiae was not due to increased osteoclast numbers or bone-resorbing surface area, but it was associated with reduced osteoblast numbers, implying that bone loss in long bones was due to impaired bone building. Osteoid-producing and mineralization activities of existing osteoblasts were unaffected by infection. Therefore, deterioration of trabecular bone was not dependent on inhibition of osteoblast function but was more likely caused by blockade of osteoblastogenesis, reduced osteoblast survival, and/or induction of osteoblast death. Together, these data represent the first evidence that
B. burgdorferi
infection induces bone loss in mice and suggest that this phenotype results from inhibition of bone building rather than increased bone resorption.
The Conserved Coronavirus Macrodomain Promotes Virulence and Suppresses the Innate Immune Response during Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection
Authors: Fehr Anthony R. , Channappanavar Rudragouda , Jankevicius Gytis , Fett Craig , Zhao Jincun , Athmer Jeremiah , Meyerholz David K. , Ahel Ivan , Perlman Stanley 
Published: December 2016

ABSTRACT

ADP-ribosylation is a common posttranslational modification that may have antiviral properties and impact innate immunity. To regulate this activity, macrodomain proteins enzymatically remove covalently attached ADP-ribose from protein targets. All members of the
Coronavirinae
, a subfamily of positive-sense RNA viruses, contain a highly conserved macrodomain within nonstructural protein 3 (nsp3). However, its function or targets during infection remain unknown. We identified several macrodomain mutations that greatly reduced nsp3’s de-ADP-ribosylation activity
in vitro
. Next, we created recombinant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) strains with these mutations. These mutations led to virus attenuation and a modest reduction of viral loads in infected mice, despite normal replication in cell culture. Further, macrodomain mutant virus elicited an early, enhanced interferon (IFN), interferon-stimulated gene (ISG), and proinflammatory cytokine response in mice and in a human bronchial epithelial cell line. Using a coinfection assay, we found that inclusion of mutant virus in the inoculum protected mice from an otherwise lethal SARS-CoV infection without reducing virus loads, indicating that the changes in innate immune response were physiologically significant. In conclusion, we have established a novel function for the SARS-CoV macrodomain that implicates ADP-ribose in the regulation of the innate immune response and helps to demonstrate why this domain is conserved in CoVs.

IMPORTANCE
The macrodomain is a ubiquitous structural domain that removes ADP-ribose from proteins, reversing the activity of ADP-ribosyltransferases. All coronaviruses contain a macrodomain, suggesting that ADP-ribosylation impacts coronavirus infection. However, its function during infection remains unknown. Here, we found that the macrodomain is an important virulence factor for a highly pathogenic human CoV, SARS-CoV. Viruses with macrodomain mutations that abrogate its ability to remove ADP-ribose from protein were unable to cause lethal disease in mice. Importantly, the SARS-CoV macrodomain suppressed the innate immune response during infection. Our data suggest that an early innate immune response can protect mice from lethal disease. Understanding the mechanism used by this enzyme to promote disease will open up novel avenues for coronavirus therapies and give further insight into the role of macrodomains in viral pathogenesis.
Probiotic Diversity Enhances Rhizosphere Microbiome Function and Plant Disease Suppression
Authors: Hu Jie , Wei Zhong , Friman Ville-Petri , Gu Shao-hua , Wang Xiao-fang , Eisenhauer Nico , Yang Tian-jie , Ma Jing , Shen Qi-rong , Xu Yang-chun , Jousset Alexandre 
Published: December 2016

ABSTRACT

Bacterial communities associated with plant roots play an important role in the suppression of soil-borne pathogens, and multispecies probiotic consortia may enhance disease suppression efficacy. Here we introduced defined
Pseudomonas
species consortia into naturally complex microbial communities and measured the importance of
Pseudomonas
community diversity for their survival and the suppression of the bacterial plant pathogen
Ralstonia solanacearum
in the tomato rhizosphere microbiome. The survival of introduced
Pseudomonas
consortia increased with increasing diversity. Further, high
Pseudomonas
diversity reduced pathogen density in the rhizosphere and decreased the disease incidence due to both intensified resource competition and interference with the pathogen. These results provide novel mechanistic insights into elevated pathogen suppression by diverse probiotic consortia in naturally diverse plant rhizospheres. Ecologically based community assembly rules could thus play a key role in engineering functionally reliable microbiome applications.

IMPORTANCE
The increasing demand for food supply requires more-efficient control of plant diseases. The use of probiotics, i.e., naturally occurring bacterial antagonists and competitors that suppress pathogens, has recently reemerged as a promising alternative to agrochemical use. It is, however, still unclear how many and which strains we should choose for constructing effective probiotic consortia. Here we present a general ecological framework for assembling effective probiotic communities based on
in vitro
characterization of community functioning. Specifically, we show that increasing the diversity of probiotic consortia enhances community survival in the naturally diverse rhizosphere microbiome, leading to increased pathogen suppression via intensified resource competition and interference with the pathogen. We propose that these ecological guidelines can be put to the test in microbiome engineering more widely in the future.
Association of sleep duration with rheumatoid arthritis in Korean adults: analysis of seven years of aggregated data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES)
Authors: Kim Jae-Hyun , Park Eun-Cheol , Lee Kwang Soo , Lee Yunhwan , Shim Sungkeun , Kim Jinhee , Chon Doukyoung , Lee Sang-Gue 
Published: December 2016

ObjectivesTo investigate the association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and self-reported sleep duration.SettingThe present study analysed 7 years of aggregated cross-sectional data (2007–2013) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES).ParticipantsA total of 37 979 individuals were selected for the analyses.InterventionsRA.Primary and secondary outcome measuresSleep duration.ResultsAfter adjusting for confounding factors, the odds of short-duration sleepers (≤6 hours/day) and long-duration sleepers (≥9 hours/day) for RA were 1.23-fold (95% CI 1.101 to 1.51) and 1.27-fold (95% CI 0.85 to 1.88) higher, respectively, than those for persons with sleep duration of 7–8 hours/day. A subgroup analysis according to the extent of pain in RA revealed that the strong relationship between RA and sleep disturbances was observed in those with high pain from RA (OR: 1.28 CI 1.04 to 1.58).ConclusionsIndividuals with RA may be at a higher risk for sleep disturbances compared with individuals without RA. Therefore, the provision of comprehensive care for patients with RA by healthcare professionals should include assessments of sleep duration and patients with RA should be encouraged to report sleep problems.
Association of perceived ethnic discrimination with general and abdominal obesity in ethnic minority groups: the HELIUS study
Authors: Schmengler Heiko , Ikram Umar Z , Snijder Marieke B , Kunst Anton E , Agyemang Charles 
Published: December 2016

BackgroundDiscrimination is associated with obesity, but this may differ according to the type of obesity and ethnic group. This study examines the association of perceived ethnic discrimination (PED) with general and abdominal obesity in 5 ethnic minority groups.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from the HELIUS study, collected from 2011 to 2015. The study sample included 2297 Ghanaians, 4110 African Surinamese, 3021 South-Asian Surinamese, 3562 Turks and 3868 Moroccans aged 18–70 years residing in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Body mass index (BMI) was used as a measure for general obesity, and waist circumference (WC) for abdominal obesity. PED was measured using the Everyday Discrimination Scale. We used linear regression models adjusted for sociodemographics, psychosocial stressors and health behaviours. In additional analysis, we used standardised variables to compare the strength of the associations.ResultsIn adjusted models, PED was significantly, positively associated with BMI in the South-Asian Surinamese (β coefficient 0.338; 95% CI 0.106 to 0.570), African Surinamese (0.394; 0.171 to 0.618) and Turks (0.269; 0.027 to 0.510). For WC, a similar pattern was seen: positive associations in the South-Asian Surinamese (0.759; 0.166 to 1.353), African Surinamese (0.833; 0.278 to 1.388) and Turks (0.870; 0.299 to 1.440). When stratified by sex, we found positive associations in Surinamese women, Turkish men and Moroccan men. The strength of the associations with BMI and WC was comparable in the groups. Among the Ghanaians, no significant associations were observed.ConclusionsEthnic and sex variations are observed in the association of PED with both general and abdominal obesity. Further research on psychosocial buffers and underlying biological mechanisms might help in understanding these variations.
Causes of progressive cerebellar ataxia: prospective evaluation of 1500 patients
Authors: Hadjivassiliou M , Martindale J , Shanmugarajah P , Grünewald R A , Sarrigiannis P G , Beauchamp N , Garrard K , Warburton R , Sanders D S , Friend D , Duty S , Taylor J , Hoggard N 
Published: December 2016

BackgroundCerebellar ataxias are the result of diverse disease processes that can be genetic or acquired. Establishing a diagnosis requires a methodical approach with expert clinical evaluation and investigations. We describe the causes of ataxia in 1500 patients with cerebellar ataxia.MethodsAll patients were referred to the Sheffield Ataxia Centre, UK, and underwent extensive investigations, including, where appropriate genetic testing using next-generation sequencing (NGS). Patients were followed up on a 6-monthly basis for reassessment and further investigations if indicated.ResultsA total of 1500 patients were assessed over 20 years. Twenty per cent had a family history, the remaining having sporadic ataxia. The commonest cause of sporadic ataxia was gluten ataxia (25%). A genetic cause was identified in 156 (13%) of sporadic cases with other causes being alcohol excess (12%) and cerebellar variant of multiple system atrophy (11%). Using NGS, positive results were obtained in 32% of 146 patients tested. The commonest ataxia identified was EA2. A genetic diagnosis was achieved in 57% of all familial ataxias. The commonest genetic ataxias were Friedreich's ataxia (22%), SCA6 (14%), EA2 (13%), SPG7 (10%) and mitochondrial disease (10%). The diagnostic yield following attendance at the Sheffield Ataxia Centre was 63%.ConclusionsImmune-mediated ataxias are common. Advances in genetic testing have significantly improved the diagnostic yield of patients suspected of having a genetic ataxia. Making a diagnosis of the cause of ataxia is essential due to potential therapeutic interventions for immune and some genetic ataxias.
An Adaptive Demand-Based Caching Mechanism for NAND Flash Memory Storage Systems
Authors: Wang Yi , Qin Zhiwei , Chen Renhai , Shao Zili , Yang Laurence T. 
Published: December 2016

During past decades, the capacity of NAND flash memory has been increasing dramatically, leading to the use of nonvolatile flash in the system’s memory hierarchy. The increasing capacity of NAND flash memory introduces a large RAM footprint to store the logical to physical address mapping. The demand-based approach can effectively reduce and well control the RAM footprint. However, extra address translation overhead is also introduced which may degrade the system performance.
In this article, we present CDFTL, an adaptive Caching mechanism for Demand-based Flash Translation Layer, for NAND flash memory storage systems. CDFTL adopts both the fine-grained entry-based caching mechanism to exploit temporal locality and the coarse-grained translation-page-based caching mechanism to exploit spatial locality of workloads. By selectively caching the on-demand address mappings and adaptively changing the space configurations of two granularities, CDFTL can effectively utilize the RAM space and improve the cache hit ratio. We evaluate CDFTL under a real hardware embedded platform using a variety of I/O traces. Experimental results show that our technique can achieve an 11.13% reduction in average system response time and a 35.21% reduction in translation block erase counts compared with the previous work.