bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cities are hotspots for threatened species
Authors: Ives Christopher D. , Lentini Pia E. , Threlfall Caragh G. , Ikin Karen , Shanahan Danielle F. , Garrard Georgia E. , Bekessy Sarah A. , Fuller Richard A. , Mumaw Laura , Rayner Laura , Rowe Ross , Valentine Leonie E. , Kendal Dave 
Published: December 2015

AbstractAimAlthough urbanization impacts many species, there is little information on the patterns of occurrences of threatened species in urban relative to non‐urban areas. By assessing the extent of the distribution of threatened species across all Australian cities, we aim to investigate the currently under‐utilized opportunity that cities present for national biodiversity conservation.LocationAustralian mainland, Tasmania and offshore islands.MethodsDistributions of Australia's 1643 legally protected terrestrial species (hereafter ‘threatened species’) were compiled. We assessed the extent to which they overlapped with 99 cities (of more than 10,000 people), with all non‐urban areas, and with simulated ‘dummy’ cities which covered the same area and bioregion as the true cities but were non‐urban. We analysed differences between animals and plants, and examined variability within these groups using species accumulation modelling. Threatened species richness of true versus dummy cities was analysed using generalized linear mixed‐effects models.ResultsAustralian cities support substantially more nationally threatened animal and plant species than all other non‐urban areas on a unit‐area basis. Thirty per cent of threatened species were found to occur in cities. Distribution patterns differed between plants and animals: individual threatened plant species were generally found in fewer cities than threatened animal species, yet plants were more likely to have a greater proportion of their distribution in urban areas than animals. Individual cities tended to contain unique suites of threatened species, especially threatened plants. The analysis of true versus dummy cities demonstrated that, even after accounting for factors such as net primary productivity and distance to the coast, cities still consistently supported a greater number of threatened species.Main conclusionsThis research highlights that Australian cities are important for the conservation of threatened species, and that the species assemblages of individual cities are relatively distinct. National conservation policy should recognize that cities play an integral role when planning for and managing threatened species.
Graphical content of medicinal package inserts: an exploratory study to evaluate potential legibility issues
Authors: Pires Carla , Vigário Marina , Cavaco Afonso 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBackgroundThe graphical content of the Medicines Package Inserts (MPIs), such as illustrations and typographic features should be legible and appropriate, as required by international pharmaceutical regulations.ObjectivesTo study: (1) the frequency and type of MPIs' key graphic elements, (2) their compliance with regulations and (3) how educated people understand them.MethodsDescriptive study: characterisation of the graphical content of 651 MPIs. Usability study: illustrations and tables (purposively selected) were evaluated with questionnaires in three groups of humanities undergraduates (illustrations only, illustrations plus text and text only).ResultsDescriptive study: illustrations and tables were respectively identified in 6.3% and 11.8% of the MPIs. The illustrations were mainly related to how to take/use the medicine. Non‐recommended graphical representations were found (e.g. italic or underline). Usability test: legibility issues were identified, especially for the group of isolated illustrations.Discussion & conclusionsThe scarce use of illustrations and tables possibly affected the legibility of the MPIs. Compulsory legibility tests are needed to guarantee the MPIs' proper use, thus contributing to a safe use of medicines. Overall, this study highlighted the need to carefully revise/assess the MPIs' design and probably increase health information experts' awareness on this issue.
Transseptal Puncture Guided by CT‐Derived 3D‐Augmented Fluoroscopy
Authors: BOURIER FELIX , REENTS TILKO , AMMAR‐BUSCH SONIA , SEMMLER VERENA , TELISHEVSKA MARTA , KOTTMAIER MARC , LENNERZ CARSTEN , GREBMER CHRISTIAN , KOLB CHRISTOF , DEISENHOFER ISABEL , HESSLING GABRIELE 
Published: December 2015

Transseptal Puncture Guided by 3D‐FluoroscopyBackgroundTransseptal puncture for left atrial (LA) access is still mainly performed using fluoroscopy and transesophageal or intracardiac echocardiography. We present an easily applicable approach for the guidance of transseptal puncture that uses the combination of a 3D‐mapping system and CT‐derived 3D‐overlayed anatomy.Methods and ResultsA computer tomographic (CT) LA‐angiography was performed in n = 65 patients prior to a scheduled atrial fibrillation ablation procedure. The CARTO3® (Biosense Webster, Diamond Bar, CA, USA) segmentation tool was used to create a 3D‐reconstruction of cardiac anatomy and the spine. The CARTO UNIVU® module was then used to overlay and register the segmented 3D‐anatomy onto fluoroscopy. The 3D‐reconstructed spine and cardiac anatomy were congruently aligned to their fluoroscopic counterparts in fluoroscopic views. The feasibility of the technique, its safety, and accuracy (assessed as contour offsets between 3D‐overlay and angiographic LA anatomy) were evaluated. Overlay registration accuracy was analyzed by CARTO3® registration matrices. Transseptal puncture was feasible without complications in all 65 patients using the new 3D‐overlay technique. Three‐dimensional‐overlay contour offsets were 1.6 ± 1.2 mm in left PV, 1.7 ± 1.2 mm in right PV, and 1.3 ± 1.0 mm in the LA roof region. Overlay registration accuracy was 4.9 ± 2.7 mm. The average time needed for anatomy segmentation was 204 ± 61 seconds, time needed for overlay registration was 18 ± 8 seconds.ConclusionsThree‐dimensional‐augmented fluoroscopy is feasible, safe, and easy to apply as guidance for transseptal puncture and demonstrates a high level of accuracy.
Prognostic Impact of QRS Axis Deviation in Patients Treated With Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
Authors: PERROTTA LAURA , KANDALA JAGDESH , DI BIASE LUIGI , VALLEGGI ALESSANDRO , MICHELOTTI FEDERICA , PIERAGNOLI PAOLO , RICCIARDI GIUSEPPE , MASCIOLI GIOSUÈ , LAKKIREDDY DHANUNJAYA , PILLARISETTI JAYASREE , EMDIN MICHELE , NATALE ANDREA , SINGH JAGMEET P. , PADELETTI LUIGI 
Published: December 2015

Prognosis of QRS Axis Deviation in CRT‐DIntroductionQRS duration and morphology are currently recognized as recommended criteria for the selection of CRT candidates. It has recently been shown that patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) derive substantial clinical benefit from CRT. The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic impact of QRS axis deviation (AD) in HF patients with LBBB undergoing CRT.Methods and ResultsWe retrospectively evaluated 707 HF patients with LBBB who underwent CRT at five centers. Baseline QRS axis was defined as normal (NA: –30° to 90°), right axis deviation (RAD: 90° to 180°) and left axis deviation (LAD: <−30°). The primary endpoint was a composite of all cause death/HF hospitalization. The risk of endpoint by AD was evaluated with both Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazard analysis.Among 707 patients (73% M, median age: 71 [62,77] years), 323 (46%) had NA, 359 (51%) LAD, and 25 (3.5%) RAD. Baseline clinical characteristics were similar between the three groups. Over a mean follow‐up of 32 ± 25 months, 141 deaths occurred (21%) and 36% (n = 255) met with the composite endpoint. A significantly higher proportion of RAD patients (52%) reached the endpoint (LAD 40%, NA 30%). KM analysis showed that RAD and LAD patients had worse event free survival and in multivariate analysis both LAD (HR: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.05–1.86; P = 0.021) and RAD (HR: 2.49; 95% CI: 1.31–4.74; P = 0.005) were independently associated with worse clinical outcome.ConclusionsRight or left axis deviation in the presence of LBBB in HF patients undergoing CRT are independent predictors of poor prognosis.
Treatment Planning Studies in Patient Data With Scanned Carbon Ion Beams for Catheter‐Free Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: CONSTANTINESCU ANNA , LEHMANN H. IMMO , PACKER DOUGLAS L. , BERT CHRISTOPH , DURANTE MARCO , GRAEFF CHRISTIAN 
Published: December 2015

Noninvasive AF Ablation With Carbon IonsIntroductionCatheter ablation with isolation of the pulmonary veins is a common treatment option for atrial fibrillation but still has insufficient success rates and carries several interventional risks. These treatment planning studies assessed if high‐dose single fraction treatment with scanned carbon ions (12C) can be reliably delivered for AF ablation, while sparing risk structures and considering respiratory and contractile target motion.Methods and ResultsTime resolved CT scans of complete respiratory and cardiac cycles of 9 and 5 patients, respectively, were obtained. Ablation lesions and organs at risk for beam delivery were contoured. Single fraction intensity‐modulated particle therapy with target doses of 25 and 40 Gy were studied and motion influences on these deliveries mitigated. Respiration had a large influence on lesion displacement (≤ 2 cm). End expiration could be exploited as a stable gating window. Smaller, but less predictable, heartbeat displacements (< 6 mm) remained to be mitigated because cardiac contraction resulted in insufficient dose coverage (V95 < 90 %) if uncompensated. Repeated irradiation (12C beam rescanning) during breath hold was used to accommodate contractile motion, resulting in good dose coverage. Dose depositions to all organs at risk were carefully examined and did not exceed values for X‐ray cancer treatment.ConclusionTreatment planning of 12C with delivery of physical ionizing radiation doses that have been described to induce complete block is feasible for AF ablation, considering human anatomy, dose constraints, and encasing underlying motion patterns from respiration and cardiac contraction at the LA–PV junction into treatment planning.
The value of 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography for prediction of treatment response in gastrointestinal stromal tumors: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Hassanzadeh‐Rad Arman , Yousefifard Mahmoud , Katal Sanaz , Asady Hadi , Fard‐Esfahani Armaghan , Moghadas Jafari Ali , Hosseini Mostafa 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBackgroundEarly detection of response to treatment is critically important in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Therefore, the present systematic review and meta‐analysis assessed the value of 18f‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18FDG–PET) on prediction of therapeutic response of GIST patients to systemic treatments.MethodsThe literature search was conducted using PubMed, SCOPUS, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases, and review article references. Eligible articles were defined as studies included confirmed GIST patients who underwent 18FDG–PET as well as assessing the screening role of it.ResultsFinally, 21 relevant articles were included. The analysis showed the pooled sensitivity and specificity of 18FDG–PET in evaluation of response to treatment of GIST patient were 0.90 (95% CI: 0.85–0.94; I2 = 52.59, P = 0.001) and 0.62 (95% CI: 0.49–0.75; I2 = 69.7, P = 0.001), respectively. In addition, the pooled prognostic odds ratio of 18FDG–PET for was 14.99 (95% CI, 6.42–34.99; I2 = 100.0, P < 0.001). The Meta regression showed that sensitivity of 18FDG‐PET was higher if the sample size of study was equal or more than 30 cases (sensitivity = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.89–0.97), when using PET/CT (sensitivity = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.89–0.97), and self‐design criteria (sensitivity = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.87–1.0).ConclusionThe present meta‐analysis showed 18FDG–PET has a significant value in predicting treatment response in GIST patients.
Pharmacokinetic investigation of sildenafil using positron emission tomography and determination of its effect on cerebrospinal fluid cGMP levels
Authors: Gómez‐Vallejo Vanessa , Ugarte Ana , García‐Barroso Carolina , Cuadrado‐Tejedor Mar , Szczupak Boguslaw , Dopeso‐Reyes Iria G. , Lanciego José L. , García‐Osta Ana , Llop Jordi , Oyarzabal Julen , Franco Rafael 
Published: December 2015

AbstractSildenafil (Viagra) is a selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5), which degrades cyclic guanosine monophosphate to the linear nucleotide. Sildenafil is acutely used in erectile dysfunction and chronically in pulmonary hypertension. Evidence in the last decade shows that sildenafil may have potential as a therapeutic option for Alzheimer's disease or other neurodegenerative disorders. The purpose of this work was to explore whether sildenafil crosses the blood–brain barrier. Pharmacokinetic properties of sildenafil in rodents were investigated using 11C‐radiolabeling followed by in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) and ex vivo tissue dissection and gamma counting. PET results in rats suggest penetration into the central nervous system. Ex vivo data in perfused animals suggest that trapping of [11C]sildenafil within the cerebral vascular endothelium limits accumulation in the central nervous system parenchyma. Peroral sildenafil administration to Macaca fascicularis and subsequent chemical analysis of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry showed that drug content in the CSF was high enough to achieve PDE5 inhibition, which was also demonstrated by the significant increases in CSF cyclic guanosine monophosphate levels. Central actions of sildenafil include both relaxation of the cerebral vasculature and inhibition of PDE5 in neurons and glia. This central action of sildenafil may underlie its efficacy in neuroprotection models, and may justify the continued search for a PDE5 ligand suitable for PET imaging.
image
Sildenafil interacts with phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) expressed in the endothelium and/or smooth muscle cells of brain vessels and also crosses the blood–brain barrier to interact with PDE5 expressed in brain cells. At therapeutic doses, the concentration of sildenafil in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is high enough to inhibit PDE5 in the neural cells (neurons and glia). In turn, the concentration of cGMP likely increases in parenchymal cells and, as shown in this report, in the CSF.Read the Editorial Highlight for this article on page 220.Cover Image for this issue: doi: 10.1111/jnc.13302.
Endemic or introduced? Phylogeography of Asparagopsis (Florideophyceae) in Australia reveals multiple introductions and a new mitochondrial lineage
Authors: Andreakis Nikos , Costello Paul , Zanolla Marianela , Saunders Gary W. , Mata Leonardo 
Published: December 2015

The red seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis embodies five cryptic mitochondrial lineages (lineage 1–5) introduced worldwide as a consequence of human mediated transport and climate change. We compared globally collected mitochondrial cox2‐3 intergenic spacer sequences with sequences produced from multiple Australian locations and South Korea to identify Asparagopsis lineages and to reveal cryptic introductions. We report A. taxiformis lineage 4 from Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia, and the highly invasive Indo‐Pacific Mediterranean lineage 2 from South Korea and Lord Howe Island, Australia. Phylogeographic analysis showed a clear haplotype and geographic separation between western Australian and Great Barrier Reef (GBR) isolates belonging to the recently described lineage 5. The same lineage, however, was characterized by a substantial genetic and geographic break between the majority of Australian specimens and Asparagopsis collections from South Solitary Island, Southern GBR, Lord Howe Island, Kermadec Islands, Norfolk Island, New Caledonia and French Polynesia. The disjunct geographic distribution and sequence divergence between these two groups supports the recognition of a sixth cryptic A. taxiformis mitochondrial lineage. As climatic changes accelerate the relocation of biota and offer novel niches for colonization, periodic surveys for early detection of cryptic invasive seaweeds will be critical in determining whether eradication or effective containment of the aliens are feasible.
Do Lower Top Marginal Tax Rates Slow the Income Growth of Workers?
Authors: Malloy Liam C. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractTop marginal tax rates are positively correlated with the pretax income growth of the bottom 90 per cent — those who are not subject to the top rates. To explain this correlation, this paper presents and tests a model in which executives can increase firm profitability by (i) increasing the firm's level of technology and (ii) decreasing labor costs. In the model, higher marginal tax rates may reduce pretax inequality by increasing the average income growth of workers. This hypothesis is tested by examining the effect of top marginal tax rates on (unobserved) relative bargaining power between labor and firms and, therefore, on the income growth of workers in theUSA. Bargaining power, in both the theoretical and the empirical models, is proxied by private‐sector unionization and use of offshore labor resulting in higher imports.
The Fictional Suicides of Mary Wollstonecraft
Authors: Faubert Michelle 
Published: December 2015

AbstractSuicide conveyed several distinct meanings in the Romantic period – unlike today, when it is most often attributed to mental illness. This meaning also existed in the long eighteenth century, but it was understood more broadly as irrationality and popularized through the emphasis on extreme passion and emotionalism as related to suicide in the literature of sentiment. William Godwin capitalized on this widely recognized and – to some extent – culturally ameliorative significance of suicide by casting his dead wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, as a character in a novel of sensibility when he reported her two suicide attempts in the Memoirs (1798). In doing so, however, Godwin fictionalizes Wollstonecraft's suicide attempts as acts of passion, whereas she explains clearly in her letters that her suicidal desires were utterly rational. Wollstonecraft further explores the concept of rational suicide by presenting it as an act of protest in her fictional works, Mary (1788) and The Wrongs of Woman (1798). In both novellas about the marital enslavement of women, Wollstonecraft draws upon the discourse surrounding slave‐suicide as a logical response to insupportable tyranny and her protagonists' death wishes as willed acts of protest.
Suicide, Romance, and Imperial Rebellion: Sati and the Lucretia Story in Sydney Owenson'sThe Missionary: An Indian Tale
Authors: Reynolds Nicole 
Published: December 2015

AbstractAs Britain expanded its global interests at the turn of the 19th century, reports of ritual suicide such as sati, the Hindu custom of widow burning, registered clashes between colonizing and indigenous value systems. In the metropole, sati scandalized both secular individualist sensibilities and religious communal values, and the British public debated the extent to which East India Company administration should extend to such matters as local religious practices. Focusing on Sydney Owenson's 1811 novel,The Missionary: An Indian Tale,this essay sets the controversy over sati within the broader context of Romantic Britain's deep preoccupation with suicide. In so doing, this essay understands sati not as an isolated phenomenon, or as one unique to the problems of imperial management. Rather, it relates sati to Romantic‐era debates over the rights (and wrongs) of British women, and also to form of political and spiritual defiance associated with the French Revolution. Specifically, by examining the attempted sati of Owenson's protagonist Luxima, a Hindu “prophetess,” as an iteration of the classical Lucretia story, this essay explores the novel's posited links between female chastity, inter‐racial romance, and political community.
A Supplementary Note on Professor Hein's (2013) Version of A Kaleckian Debt Accumulation
Authors: Franke Reiner 
Published: December 2015

AbstractWithin the framework of the Kaleckian baseline model where firms finance investment by equities and debt, this note is concerned with a recent proposal by E. Hein to replace the common concept of a given retention rate with a given dividend rate. Considering in more detail the implications of his additional assumption of constant stock prices, it is revealed that the retained earnings of the firms will then be non‐positive in a long‐run financial equilibrium. It is furthermore shown that another and empirically more plausible assumption on the firms’ equity issuance policy overcomes this deficiency and can also imply numerically acceptable retention rates.
Macrophage Recruitment and Polarization During Collateral Vessel Remodeling in Murine Adipose Tissue
Authors: Seaman Scott A. , Cao Yiqi , Campbell Chris A. , Peirce Shayn M. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractObjectiveDuring autologous flap transplantation for reconstructive surgeries, plastic surgeons use a surgical pre‐treatment strategy called “flap delay,” which entails ligating a feeding artery into an adipose tissue flap 10–14 days prior to transfer. It is believed that this blood flow alteration leads to vascular remodeling in the flap, resulting in better flap survival following transfer; however, the structural changes in the microvascular network are poorly understood. Here, we evaluate microvascular adaptations within adipose tissue in a murine model of flap delay.Methods and ResultsWe used a murine flap delay model in which we ligated an artery supplying the inguinal fat pad. Although the extent of angiogenesis appeared minimal, significant diameter expansion of pre‐existing collateral arterioles was observed. There was a 5‐fold increase in recruitment of CX3CR1+ monocytes to ligated tissue, a threefold increase in CD68+/CD206+ macrophages in ligated tissue, a 40% increase in collateral vessel diameters supplying ligated tissue, and a 6‐fold increase in the number of proliferating cells in ligated tissue.ConclusionsOur study describes microvascular adaptations in adipose in response to altered blood flow and underscores the importance of macrophages. Our data supports the development of therapies that target macrophages in order to enhance vascular remodeling in flaps.
How fresh is maple syrup? Sugar maple trees mobilize carbon stored several years previously during early springtime sap‐ascent
Authors: Muhr Jan , Messier Christian , Delagrange Sylvain , Trumbore Susan , Xu Xiaomei , Hartmann Henrik 
Published: December 2015

Summary

While trees store substantial amounts of nonstructural carbon (NSC) for later use, storage regulation and mobilization of stored NSC in long‐lived organisms like trees are still not well understood.

At two different sites with sugar maple (Acer saccharum), we investigated ascending sap (sugar concentration, δ13C, Δ14C) as the mobilized component of stored stem NSC during early springtime. Using the bomb‐spike radiocarbon approach we were able to estimate the average time elapsed since the mobilized carbon (C) was originally fixed from the atmosphere and to infer the turnover time of stem storage.

Sites differed in concentration dynamics and overall δ13C, indicating different growing conditions. The absence of temporal trends for δ13C and Δ14C indicated sugar mobilization from a well‐mixed pool with average Δ14C consistent with a mean turnover time (TT) of three to five years for this pool, with only minor differences between the sites.

Sugar maple trees hence appear well buffered against single or even several years of negative plant C balance from environmental stress such as drought or repeated defoliation by insects. Manipulative investigations (e.g. starvation via girdling) combined with Δ14C measurements of this mobilized storage pool will provide further new insights into tree storage regulation and functioning.