bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Stroke recurrence in patients with atrial fibrillation: concomitant carotid artery stenosis doubles the risk
Authors: Lehtola H. , Airaksinen K. E. J. , Hartikainen P. , Hartikainen J. E. K. , Palomäki A. , Nuotio I. , Ylitalo A. , Kiviniemi T. , Mustonen P. 
Published: March 2017

Background and purposeAtrial fibrillation (AF) and significant carotid artery stenosis (CAS) often coexist in patients with acute stroke but whether CAS affects the stroke recurrence rate in anticoagulated AF patients is largely unknown. The effect of concomitant CAS on both short‐ and long‐term prognosis after stroke in patients with AF was evaluated.MethodsThe multicentre, retrospective FibStroke registry included AF patients with an ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) during 2003–2012. In this sub‐study, 165 AF patients with ischaemic stroke or TIA with significant (>50%) CAS (CAS group) and 734 AF patients without CAS (non‐CAS group) were identified. The median follow‐up time after an index event was 3.5 (interquartile range 3.9) years. Long‐term stroke recurrence rate, 30‐day mortality, CHA2DS2‐VASc score, other risk factors and the use and intensity of anticoagulation were assessed.ResultsThe recurrence rate of ischaemic stroke (21.2% vs. 12.7%, P = 0.005, 8.1 vs. 3.6 events per100 follow‐up years) was significantly higher in CAS patients compared to the non‐CAS group despite similar anticoagulation/antithrombotic therapy. CAS patients had higher mean CHA2DS2‐VASc scores than non‐CAS patients (4.3 vs. 3.3, P < 0.001). However, in a multivariate analysis CAS was shown to be an independent risk factor for stroke recurrence (hazard ratio 2.02, 95% confidence interval 1.37–3.01, P = 0.001). The 30‐day all‐cause mortality was significantly higher in CAS patients (7.9% vs. 1.9%, P < 0.001) and CAS was an independent risk factor also for 30‐day mortality (odds ratio 3.34, 95% confidence interval 1.51–7.38, P = 0.003).ConclusionsIn patients with AF, concomitant CAS was an independent risk factor for both long‐term stroke recurrence and 30‐day mortality.
Immunotherapy of a squamous cell carcinoma in the perianal region using autologous dendritic cells in a horse
Authors: Arnold C. , Dreher I. , Grammel T. , Schusser G. F. 
Published: March 2017

SummaryA 23‐year‐old Trakehner mare was referred to the Department of Large Animal Medicine with an ulcerative cleft tumour dorsal of the anus and in poor body condition. An infiltrative growing squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was diagnosed. Surgical treatment was not an option because of the tumour localisation and topical chemotherapy caused severe side effects (coprostasis), therefore an immunological therapeutic approach involving autologous monocyte‐derived dendritic cells (DC) presenting tumour antigen on their surface was chosen. Dendritic cells were administered to the patient three times at intervals of four weeks to induce an immune response against theSCC. The tumour regressed in size, the ulcerated surface healed, body condition improved and coprostasis subsided. Six and a half months later small papillomatous neoplasms at the tumour scar led to a fourth treatment. During follow‐up, those recurrences remained indifferent; the mare showed physiological behaviour and returned to leisure riding. This case report describes the effectiveness of so far infrequently described immunotherapy withDCin horses.
Exploiting organizer influence and geographical preference for new event recommendation
Authors: Li Shuchen , Cheng Xiang , Su Sen , Sun Haonan 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe rapid growth of event‐based social networks (EBSNs) has generated great demand for personalized event recommendation. Indeed, new events are published every day in EBSNs. In this paper, we focus on the problem of recommending new events (i.e., the newly published events that have not yet received any user response) to registered users in EBSNs. Notice that collaborative filtering is ineffective for recommending new events due to the short lifetime of events and the lack of historical information, that is, the cold‐start problem. A straightforward approach to address this problem is to adopt content‐based recommendation techniques, for example, deriving user interests through the content information of the events they attended. Nevertheless, we observe that organizer influence and geographical preference also play important roles in a user's decision to participate in an event. Motivated by this observation, we combine user interest, organizer influence, and geographical preference to present a unified model for new event recommendation. In particular, we utilize a topic model to derive user interests while adopting matrix factorization to infer organizer influences on users from the interactions between users and organizers. Moreover, we model users' geographical preferences via their location histories of attended events. We conduct a performance evaluation using real‐world data collected from DoubanEvent. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed recommendation model.
Sacred Practices and Family Processes in a Jewish Context: Shabbat as the Weekly Family Ritual Par Excellence
Authors: Marks Loren D. , Hatch Trevan G. , Dollahite David C. 
Published: March 2017

The present article provides a deep and more focused look at the utility, meaning, processes, and power involved in a specific, family‐level, sacred practice or ritual from Judaism: Shabbat (Sabbath). Content analysis of in‐depth interviews with 30 diverse, marriage‐based Jewish families living in the United States (N = 77 individuals) yielded three emergent themes: (a) “Shabbat brings us closer together”; (b) How Shabbat brings the family together; and (c) The Power of Blessing the Children. These themes will be discussed respectively, along with related verbatim data from participants’ in‐depth qualitative interviews.
Assessing a social norms approach for improving recreational fisheries compliance
Authors: Bova C. S. , Halse S. J. , Aswani S. , Potts W. M. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThis study aimed to assess the suitability of the Berkowitz' () social norms approach (SNA) for improving compliance behaviour amongst recreational fishers. A total of 138 recreational shore anglers were interviewed in Eastern Cape, South Africa and asked about their compliance, attitudes towards compliance, perceptions of compliance and the attitudes of other anglers. Results indicate that angler compliance for individual regulations was relatively high (75%–90%). Attitudes of anglers towards compliance was positive, with >80% feeling that “breaking any regulation is wrong.” Yet, as predicted by the SNA, interviewees often overestimated the non‐compliance and negative attitudes of other anglers, particularly as their social proximity decreased. Interviewees with the greatest misperceptions were also less compliant. The social norms present in the Eastern Cape rock and surf fishery fulfil the criteria required for the application of the SNA, suggesting that this approach may provide a suitable normative intervention for improving compliance to be used in conjunction with instrumental approaches in recreational fisheries.
Hydrologic refugia, plants, and climate change
Authors: McLaughlin Blair C. , Ackerly David D. , Klos P. Zion , Natali Jennifer , Dawson Todd E. , Thompson Sally E. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractClimate, physical landscapes, and biota interact to generate heterogeneous hydrologic conditions in space and over time, which are reflected in spatial patterns of species distributions. As these species distributions respond to rapid climate change, microrefugia may support local species persistence in the face of deteriorating climatic suitability. Recent focus on temperature as a determinant of microrefugia insufficiently accounts for the importance of hydrologic processes and changing water availability with changing climate. Where water scarcity is a major limitation now or under future climates, hydrologic microrefugia are likely to prove essential for species persistence, particularly for sessile species and plants. Zones of high relative water availability – mesic microenvironments – are generated by a wide array of hydrologic processes, and may be loosely coupled to climatic processes and therefore buffered from climate change. Here, we review the mechanisms that generate mesic microenvironments and their likely robustness in the face of climate change. We argue that mesic microenvironments will act as species‐specific refugia only if the nature and space/time variability in water availability are compatible with the ecological requirements of a target species. We illustrate this argument with case studies drawn from California oak woodland ecosystems. We posit that identification of hydrologic refugia could form a cornerstone of climate‐cognizant conservation strategies, but that this would require improved understanding of climate change effects on key hydrologic processes, including frequently cryptic processes such as groundwater flow.
Decreased losses of woody plant foliage to insects in large urban areas are explained by bird predation
Authors: Kozlov Mikhail V. , Lanta Vojtěch , Zverev Vitali , Rainio Kalle , Kunavin Mikhail A. , Zvereva Elena L. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractDespite the increasing rate of urbanization, the consequences of this process on biotic interactions remain insufficiently studied. Our aims were to identify the general pattern of urbanization impact on background insect herbivory, to explore variations in this impact related to characteristics of both urban areas and insect–plant systems, and to uncover the factors governing urbanization impacts on insect herbivory. We compared the foliar damage inflicted on the most common trees by defoliating, leafmining and gall‐forming insects in rural and urban habitats associated with 16 European cities. In two of these cities, we explored quality of birch foliage for herbivorous insects, mortality of leafmining insects due to predators and parasitoids and bird predation on artificial plasticine larvae. On average, the foliage losses to insects were 16.5% lower in urban than in rural habitats. The magnitude of the overall adverse effect of urbanization on herbivory was independent of the latitude of the locality and was similar in all 11 studied tree species, but increased with an increase in the size of the urban area: it was significant in large cities (city population 1–5 million) but not significant in medium‐sized and small towns. Quality of birch foliage for herbivorous insects was slightly higher in urban habitats than in rural habitats. At the same time, leafminer mortality due to ants and birds and the bird attack intensity on dummy larvae were higher in large cities than in rural habitats, which at least partially explained the decline in insect herbivory observed in response to urbanization. Our findings underscore the importance of top‐down forces in mediating impacts of urbanization on plant‐feeding insects: factors favouring predators may override the positive effects of temperature elevation on insects and thus reduce plant damage.
Thymine DNA glycosylase modulates DNA damage response and gene expression by base excision repair‐dependent and independent mechanisms
Authors: Nakamura Tomohumi , Murakami Kouichi , Tada Haruto , Uehara Yoshihiko , Nogami Jumpei , Maehara Kazumitsu , Ohkawa Yasuyuki , Saitoh Hisato , Nishitani Hideo , Ono Tetsuya , Nishi Ryotaro , Yokoi Masayuki , Sakai Wataru , Sugasawa Kaoru 
Published: March 2017

Thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) is a base excision repair (BER) enzyme, which is implicated in correction of deamination‐induced DNA mismatches, the DNA demethylation process and regulation of gene expression. Because of these pivotal roles associated, it is crucial to elucidate how the TDG functions are appropriately regulated in vivo. Here, we present evidence that the TDG protein undergoes degradation upon various types of DNA damage, including ultraviolet light (UV). The UV‐induced degradation of TDG was dependent on proficiency in nucleotide excision repair and on CRL4CDT2‐mediated ubiquitination that requires a physical interaction between TDG and DNA polymerase clamp PCNA. Using the Tdg‐deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts, we found that ectopic expression of TDG compromised cellular survival after UV irradiation and repair of UV‐induced DNA lesions. These negative effects on cellular UV responses were alleviated by introducing mutations in TDG that impaired its BER function. The expression of TDG induced a large‐scale alteration in the gene expression profile independently of its DNA glycosylase activity, whereas a subset of genes was affected by the catalytic activity of TDG. Our results indicate the presence of BER‐dependent and BER‐independent functions of TDG, which are involved in regulation of cellular DNA damage responses and gene expression patterns.
The amplitude of coagulation curves from thrombin time tests allows dysfibrinogenemia caused by the common mutation FGG‐Arg301 to be distinguished from hypofibrinogenemia
Authors: Jacquemin M. , Vanlinthout I. , Van Horenbeeck I. , Debasse M. , Toelen J. , Schoeters J. , Lavend'homme R. , Freson K. , Peerlinck K. 
Published: March 2017

SummaryIntroductionThrombin time (TT) tests are useful for diagnosing coagulation disorders involving abnormal fibrinogen but do not allow us to distinguish between qualitative and quantitative defects. However, with the widening availability of optical coagulation automates, more information about the coagulation process is becoming increasingly accessible.MethodsIn this study, we compared the coagulation curves of TT tests carried out with plasma from healthy donors with those from patients with acquired low Clauss fibrinogen levels or with dysfibrinogenemia caused by a heterozygous point mutation in the fibrinogen γ‐chain that results in a p.Arg301(275)Cys substitution. The functional fibrinogen levels of these three groups of samples were also measured with the Clauss method, and their fibrinogen protein levels were determined by ELISA.ResultsOur data indicate that the amplitude and maximal velocity of coagulation curves from plasma samples from FGG p.Arg301(275)Cys dysfibrinogenemic patients were comparable to those from plasma samples with fibrinogen in the normal range, whereas the amplitude of coagulation curves from patients with acquired low fibrinogen levels was lower.ConclusionsExamination of the amplitude of coagulation curves generated during TT tests may provide additional information to enable the differential diagnoses of diseases following a low fibrinogen measurement by the Clauss method.
Predicting psychological distress of informal carers of individuals with major depression or bipolar disorder
Authors: Wasley David , Eden Samantha 
Published: March 2017

AbstractCaring for someone with a mental illness is associated with high levels of burden and psychological distress. Understanding these factors could be important to prevent the development of physical and mental health problems in carers. The purpose of the present study was to determine the contribution of coping styles and social support in predicting the psychological distress reported by informal carers (IC) of individuals with major depression or bipolar disorder. IC (n = 72) of adults with a diagnosed depressive illness were recruited from mental health organizations within the community setting. Carers completed the General Health Questionnaire, Brief COPE, and Social Support Questionnaire. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that 63% of the variance in psychological distress could be accounted for by adaptive and maladaptive coping styles and perceived quantity and satisfaction with social support. Satisfaction with social support (β = −0.508, P < 0.001) and maladaptive coping (β = 0.369; P < 0.001) were significant predictors of psychological distress. These findings suggest that interventions should consider coping styles, specifically the interaction between maladaptive behaviours and enhancement of quality of support, to assist carers to manage psychological distress, especially earlier in the caring role.
SrLa(R0.5Ti0.5)O4 (R=Mg, Zn) microwave dielectric ceramics with complex K2NiF4‐type layered perovskite structure
Authors: Ren Guang Rong , Zhu Jun Yao , Li Lei , Liu Bing , Chen Xiang Ming 
Published: March 2017

AbstractDense SrLa(R0.5Ti0.5)O4 (R=Mg, Zn) ceramics were prepared by a standard solid‐state reaction method. The single phase with complex K2NiF4‐type layered perovskite structure and I4/mmm space group was revealed by XRD, and the refined structure was analyzed by Rietveld analysis. Significantly improved dielectric constant was obtained in SrLa(R0.5Ti0.5)O4 ceramics compared to the analogues SrLaAlO4 and SrLaGaO4, which is attributed to the increasing normalized bond lengths of Sr/La‐O(1) and Sr/La‐O(2a) bonds and the higher polarizability of (R0.5Ti0.5)3+ than Al3+ and Ga3+. In addition, τf converts to a positive value with the increase in dielectric constant. The following microwave dielectric properties were obtained in the dense ceramics: εr=25.5, Qf=72 000 GHz, τf=29 ppm/°C for SrLa(Mg0.5Ti0.5)O4, and εr=29.4, Qf=34 000 GHz, τf=38 ppm/°C for SrLa(Zn0.5Ti0.5)O4. Furthermore, the stability of K2NiF4‐type structure in MLnBO4 [M=Ca, Sr, Ba; Ln=Y, Sm, Nd, La; B=Al, Ga, (Mg0.5Ti0.5), (Zn0.5Ti0.5)] compounds was discussed in relation to the tolerance factor of perovskite layer and the radius ratio of M2+ and Ln3+, based on which near‐zero τf values are expected to be obtained in SrLa(R0.5Ti0.5)O4‐SrLaAlO4 and SrLa(R0.5Ti0.5)O4–SrLaGaO4 unlimited solid solutions.
Surface structures of sodium borosilicate glasses from molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Ren Mengguo , Deng Lu , Du Jincheng 
Published: March 2017

AbstractSurface plays an important role in the physical and chemical properties of oxide glasses and controls the interactions of these glasses with the environment, thus dominating properties such as the chemical durability and bioactivity. The surface atomic structures of a series of sodium borosilicate glasses were studied using classical molecular dynamics simulations with recently developed compositional dependent partial charge potentials. The surface structural features and defect speciation were characterized and compared with the bulk glasses with the same composition. Our simulation results show that the borosilicate glass surfaces have significantly different chemical compositions and structures as compared to the bulk. The glass surfaces are found to be sodium enriched and behave like borosilicate glasses with higher R (Na2O/B2O3) values. As a result of this composition and associated structure changes, the amount of fourfold boron decreases at the surface and the network connectivity on the surface decreases. In addition to composition variation and local structure environment change, defects such as two‐membered rings and three‐coordinated silicon were also observed on the surface. These unusual surface composition and structure features are expected to significantly impact the chemical and physical properties and the interactions with the environments of sodium borosilicate glasses.
Ultra‐low temperature sintering microwave dielectric ceramics based on Ag2O–MoO3 binary system
Authors: Zhang Gao‐qun , Guo Jing , Wang Hong 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe Ag2Mo2O7 and Ag6Mo10O33 ceramics for ultra‐low temperature co‐fired ceramic application were prepared by the solid‐state reaction route. The optimized densification temperatures of Ag2Mo2O7 and Ag6Mo10O33 are 460°C and 500°C, respectively. The phase structures and microstructures of these ceramics were systematically studied. The Ag2Mo2O7 ceramic sintered at 460°C/4 h exhibits excellent microwave dielectric properties with εr=13.3, Q×f=25 300 GHz and τf=−142 ppm/°C at 9.25 GHz. The Ag6Mo10O33 ceramic sintered at 500°C/4 h shows the microwave dielectric properties with εr=14.0, Q×f=8500 GHz and τf=−50 ppm/°C at 9.00 GHz. Moreover, when Ag2Mo2O7 samples are sintered at ultra‐low sintering temperatures of 420°C‐490°C, the Q×f values of them are all above 20 000 GHz. Besides, the Ag2Mo2O7 ceramic does not react with silver powder or aluminum powder. The variation of relative permittivity, resonant frequency, and Q×f values as a function of operating temperature has been also studied. All the results indicate that the Ag2Mo2O7 ceramic is a good candidate for ultra‐low temperature co‐fired microwave devices.
A roadmap for island biology: 50 fundamental questions after 50 years of The Theory of Island Biogeography
Authors: Patiño Jairo , Whittaker Robert J. , Borges Paulo A.V. , Fernández‐Palacios José María , Ah‐Peng Claudine , Araújo Miguel B. , Ávila Sergio P. , Cardoso Pedro , Cornuault Josselin , de Boer Erik J. , de Nascimento Lea , Gil Artur , González‐Castro Aarón , Gruner Daniel S. , Heleno Ruben , Hortal Joaquín , Illera Juan Carlos , Kaiser‐Bunbury Christopher N. , Matthews Thomas J. , Papadopoulou Anna , Pettorelli Nathalie , Price Jonathan P. , Santos Ana M. C. , Steinbauer Manuel J. , Triantis Kostas A. , Valente Luis , Vargas Pablo , Weigelt Patrick , Emerson Brent C. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractAimsThe 50th anniversary of the publication of the seminal book, The Theory of Island Biogeography, by Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson, is a timely moment to review and identify key research foci that could advance island biology. Here, we take a collaborative horizon‐scanning approach to identify 50 fundamental questions for the continued development of the field.LocationWorldwide.MethodsWe adapted a well‐established methodology of horizon scanning to identify priority research questions in island biology, and initiated it during the Island Biology 2016 conference held in the Azores. A multidisciplinary working group prepared an initial pool of 187 questions. A series of online surveys was then used to refine a list of the 50 top priority questions. The final shortlist was restricted to questions with a broad conceptual scope, and which should be answerable through achievable research approaches.ResultsQuestions were structured around four broad and partially overlapping island topics, including: (Macro)Ecology and Biogeography, (Macro)Evolution, Community Ecology, and Conservation and Management. These topics were then subdivided according to the following subject areas: global diversity patterns (five questions in total); island ontogeny and past climate change (4); island rules and syndromes (3); island biogeography theory (4); immigration–speciation–extinction dynamics (5); speciation and diversification (4); dispersal and colonization (3); community assembly (6); biotic interactions (2); global change (5); conservation and management policies (5); and invasive alien species (4).Main conclusionsCollectively, this cross‐disciplinary set of topics covering the 50 fundamental questions has the potential to stimulate and guide future research in island biology. By covering fields ranging from biogeography, community ecology and evolution to global change, this horizon scan may help to foster the formation of interdisciplinary research networks, enhancing joint efforts to better understand the past, present and future of island biotas.