bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Neurodegeneration beyond the primary visual pathways in a population with a high incidence of normal‐pressure glaucoma
Authors: Boucard Christine C. , Hanekamp Sandra , Ćurčić‐Blake Branislava , Ida Masahiro , Yoshida Masaki , Cornelissen Frans W. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractPurposeGlaucoma is the most common age‐related neurodegenerative eye disease in western society. It is an insidious disease that, when untreated or detected too late, leads inevitably to blindness. An outstanding issue is whether glaucoma should be considered exclusively an eye disease or also a brain disease. To further examine it, we used Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) to study white matter integrity in a Japanese glaucoma population. This population has a very high incidence of normal‐pressure glaucoma, in which optic nerve damage occurs in the absence of the elevated eye pressure that characterises the more common form of glaucoma.MethodsWe performed DTI in 30 participants with normal‐pressure glaucoma and 21 age‐matched healthy controls. We used voxel‐wise tract‐based spatial statistics to compare fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity of the white matter of the brain between patients and control group. Whole‐brain and region of interest‐based analyses served to find associations between diffusion indices and clinical measures of glaucomatous damage.ResultsFractional Anisotropy was significantly lower in glaucoma patients in a cluster in the right occipital lobe (p < 0.05; family‐wise error‐corrected) comprising fibres of both the optic radiation and the forceps major. Additional analysis confirmed bilateral involvement of the optic radiations and forceps major and additionally revealed damage to the corpus callosum and parietal lobe (p < 0.09; family‐wise error‐corrected). The region of interest‐based analysis revealed a positive association between Fractional Anisotropy of the optic radiation and optic nerve damage.ConclusionsIn this specific population, glaucoma is associated with lower Fractional Anisotropy in the optic radiations, forceps major and corpus callosum. We interpret these reductions as evidence for white matter degeneration in these loci. In particular, the degeneration of the corpus callosum suggests the presence of neurodegeneration of the brain beyond what can be explained on the basis of propagated retinal and pre‐geniculate damage. We discuss how this finding links to the emerging view that a brain component that is independent from the eye damage plays a role in the aetiology of glaucoma.
The
In Vitro
Redundant Enzymes PurN and PurT Are Both Essential for Systemic Infection of Mice in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium
Authors: Jelsbak Lotte , Mortensen Mie I. B. , Kilstrup Mogens , Olsen John E. 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Metabolic enzymes show a high degree of redundancy, and for that reason they are generally ignored in searches for novel targets for anti-infective substances. The enzymes PurN and PurT are redundant
in vitro
in
Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhimurium, in which they perform the third step of purine synthesis. Surprisingly, the results of the current study demonstrated that single-gene deletions of each of the genes encoding these enzymes caused attenuation (competitive infection indexes [CI] of <0.03) in mouse infections. While the Δ
purT
mutant multiplied as fast as the wild-type strain in cultured J774A.1 macrophages, net multiplication of the Δ
purN
mutant was reduced approximately 50% in 20 h. The attenuation of the Δ
purT
mutant was abolished by simultaneous removal of the enzyme PurU, responsible for the formation of formate, indicating that the attenuation was related to formate accumulation or wasteful consumption of formyl tetrahydrofolate by PurU. In the process of further characterization, we disclosed that the glycine cleavage system (GCV) was the most important for formation of C
1
units
in vivo
(CI = 0.03 ± 0.03). In contrast, GlyA was the only important enzyme for the formation of C
1
units
in vitro
. The results with the Δ
gcvT
mutant further revealed that formation of serine by SerA and further conversion of serine into C
1
units and glycine by GlyA were not sufficient to ensure C
1
formation in
S
. Typhimurium
in vivo
. The results of the present study call for reinvestigations of the concept of metabolic redundancy in
S
. Typhimurium
in vivo
.
Smaltini v. Italy: A Missed Opportunity to Sanction Ilva’s Polluting Activity Within the echr System
Authors: Ferraris Luchino 
Published: April 2016

In the case of Smaltini v. Italy (application no. 43961/09, [2015]) – which originated from the alleged dramatic environmental impact of the Ilva steel factory in Taranto – the Court declared the application inadmissible due to the lack of an established causal link between the resultant pollution and damage effected. This decision – representing the most recent contribution from the ecthr to the development of an environmental dimension within the echr system – leaves, however, an open door for future applications against Ilva, in the event of more persuasive evidence and/or new scientific developments being able to prove the link between pollution and damage.
This paper will therefore firstly evaluate the decision of Smaltini v. Italy, assessing to what extent this judgment constitutes the predictable outcome of an established jurisprudence. Secondly, it will speculate on the alternative, promising outcomes that the case could have had if the proof of a causal link had been fulfilled, in the light of existing ecthr case-law on environmental matters – especially as regards the application of the principle jura novit curia.
Quality of Life in Children with Hearing Impairment
Authors: Roland Lauren , Fischer Caroline , Tran Kayla , Rachakonda Tara , Kallogjeri Dorina , Lieu Judith E. C. 
Published: April 2016

ObjectiveTo determine the impact of pediatric hearing loss (HL) on quality of life (QOL).Data SourcesA qualified medical librarian conducted a literature search for relevant publications that evaluate QOL in school‐aged children with HL.Review MethodsStudies were assessed independently by 2 reviewers for inclusion in the systematic review and meta‐analysis.ResultsFrom 979 abstracts, 69 were identified as relevant; ultimately, 40 articles were included in the systematic review. This review revealed that children with HL generally report a lower QOL than their normal‐hearing peers and that QOL improves after interventions. The extent of these differences is variable among studies and depends on the QOL measure. Four studies using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) had sufficient data for inclusion in a meta‐analysis. After studies were pooled, statistically and clinically significant differences in PedsQL scores were found between children with normal hearing and those with HL, specifically in the social and school domains. Statistically significant differences were also noted in total scores for children with unilateral HL and in the physical domain for children with bilateral HL as compared with those having normal hearing; however, these differences were not clinically meaningful.ConclusionsOur analysis reveals that decreased QOL in children with HL is detected in distinct domains of the PedsQL. These domains—school activities and social interactions—are especially important for development and learning. Future work should focus on these aspects of QOL when assessing HL in the pediatric population.
Optimization of alginate purification using polyvinylidene difluoride membrane filtration: Effects on immunogenicity and biocompatibility of three-dimensional alginate scaffolds
Authors: Sondermeijer Hugo P , Witkowski Piotr , Woodland David , Seki Tetsunori , Aangenendt Frank J , van der Laarse Arnoud , Itescu Silviu , Hardy Mark A 
Published: April 2016

Sodium alginate is an effective biomaterial for tissue engineering applications. Non-purified alginate is contaminated with protein, lipopolysaccharide, DNA, and RNA, which could elicit adverse immunological reactions. We developed a purification protocol to generate biocompatible alginate based on (a) activated charcoal treatment, (b) use of hydrophobic membrane filtration (we used hydrophobic polyvinylidene difluoride membranes to remove organic contaminants), (c) dialysis, and finally (d) ethanol precipitation. Using this approach, we could omit pre-treatment with chloroform and significantly reduce the quantities of reagents used. Purification resulted in reduction of residual protein by 70% down to 0.315 mg/g, DNA by 62% down to 1.28 µg/g, and RNA by 61% down to less than 10 µg/g, respectively. Lipopolysaccharide levels were reduced by >90% to less than 125 EU/g. Purified alginate did not induce splenocyte proliferation in vitro. Three-dimensional scaffolds generated from purified alginate did not elicit a significant foreign body reaction, fibrotic overgrowth, or macrophage infiltration 4 weeks after implantation. This study describes a simplified and economical alginate purification method that results in alginate purity, which meets clinically useful criteria.
Novel Risk Score Model for Prediction of Survival Following Elective Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
Authors: Mousa Albeir Y. , Bozzay Joseph , Broce Mike , Yacoub Michael , Stone Patrick A. , Najundappa Aravinda , Bates Mark C. , AbuRahma Ali F. 
Published: April 2016

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify significant predictors of long-term mortality after elective endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). Methods: We included all cases with elective EVAR based on a national data set from the Society for Vascular Surgery Patient Safety Organization. Clinical and anatomic variables were analyzed with a Kaplan-Meier and Cox-regression model to determine predictors of mortality and develop a score equation to categorize patients into low, medium, and high long-term mortality risk. Results: A total of 5678 patients with EVAR were included with an average age of 73.6 ± 8.2 years. The majority were male (81.6%) with a history of smoking (86.1%). There were 3 deaths within 30 days (0.1%). Several factors were associated with poor survival: unstable angina (hazard ratio [HR], 2.8; P = .008), dialysis (HR, 3.7; P < .001), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <30 (HR, 1.7; P = .044), eGFR 30 to 59 (HR, 1.4; P = .002), age >80 (HR, 3.2; P < .001), age 75 to 79 (HR, 2.2; P < .001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on oxygen (HR, 3.3; P < .001), aortic diameter >5.8 cm (HR, 1.2; P = .043), and high risk for surgery (HR, 1.4; P = .043). Preoperative aspirin use and body mass index 25 to 35 were both found to be protective (HR, 0.78; P = .017 and HR, 0.8; P = .024, respectively). With our scoring model, 5- and 10-year survival rates for patients with low, medium, and high risk were 89.2%, 80.7%, and 64.1% and 77.2%, 60.1%, and 40.1%, respectively ( P < .001). Conclusion: Ten-year survival following EVAR in patients with a high-risk score utilizing the model provided was 40.1%. Patients with multiple comorbidities at risk for decreased long-term survival can be identified with our model, which is more applicable for high-volume contemporary institutions.
Long-Term Performance of Point-of-Care Hemoglobin A1c Assays
Authors: Paknikar Sujaytha , Sarmah Rohan , Sivaganeshan Losika , Welke Adam , Rizzo Al , Larson Kirk , Rendell Marc 
Published: April 2016

Background: Point-of-care (POC) testing of HbA1c is used as a time-efficient tool to improve treatment and management planning for diabetes in the clinic setting. HbA1c values are the basis for monitoring ongoing response to treatment and to make adjustments to diabetes therapy. Yet, there is ongoing controversy as to the accuracy of POC assays. Diabetes is a lifelong disease, so comparability of results over a long period of time is needed to follow the response to treatment. Methods: We compared the Afinion™ automated boronate affinity assay and the DCA Vantage immunoassay-based POC techniques to the Tosoh G8 and Bio-Rad Variant II ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) central laboratory methods in a study lasting 3 years. College of American Pathology Survey results and American Proficiency testing were utilized to assess the external validity of the POC techniques. Results: Despite high correlations among the 4 techniques, there were significant and variable differences obtained over time. The Biorad values varied from 0.1 to 0.4% higher than the Afinion values. The DCA results were usually higher than the Afinion values, but fell below the Afinion results in the last 6 months of our study. Both POC techniques gave systematically lower values than the Tosoh measurements, and both the POC and the central laboratory measurements showed variable differences from the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program values over the duration of this study. Conclusions: All who rely on POC methods as well as on central laboratory measurement of HbA1c must understand the potential limitations of these assays. The assessment of diabetes blood sugar control should proceed from the evaluation of HbA1c combined with review of plasma glucose and of self-monitored blood glucose values.
Common fixed point theorems under $(R,\mathcal {S})$-contractivity conditions
Authors: Roldán-López-de-Hierro Antonio-Francisco , Shahzad Naseer 
Published: April 2016

AbstractVery recently, Roldán-López-de-Hierro and Shahzad introduced the notion of R-contractions as an extension of several notions given by different researchers (for instance, R-contractions generalize Meir-Keeler contractions, $\mathcal{Z}$
Z
-contractions - involving simulation functions - by Khojasteh et al., manageable contractions by Du and Khojasteh, Geraghty’s contractions, Banach contractions, etc.). In this manuscript, we use R-functions to present existence and uniqueness coincidence (and common fixed) point results under a contractivity condition that extend some celebrated contractive mappings. In our main theorems, we employ a binary relation on the metric space, which does not have to be a partial order. Finally, we illustrate our technique with an example in which other previous statements cannot be applied: in fact, we show how to apply our main results to a new kind of contractivity conditions which cannot be expressed in separate variables.
Vitamin D-Fortified Bread Is as Effective as Supplement in Improving Vitamin D Status: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Nikooyeh Bahareh , Neyestani Tirang R. , Zahedirad Maliheh , Mohammadi Mehrdad , Hosseini S. Hedayat , Abdollahi Zahra , Salehi Foroozan , Mirzay Razaz Jalaledin , Shariatzadeh Nastaran , Kalayi Ali , Lotfollahi Neda , Maleki Mohammad-Reza 
Published: April 2016

Abstract

Context:
Bread can potentially be a suitable vehicle for fortification with vitamin D.

Objective:
This study was undertaken to evaluate the following: 1) the bioavailability of vitamin D from the fortified Iranian bread and 2) the possible effects of daily consumption of the fortified bread on certain health aspects.

Design, Setting, and Participants:
This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted over 8 weeks in 90 healthy subjects aged 20–60 years.

Intervention:
Subjects were randomly allocated to one of three groups: 1) fortified bread (FP; 50 g bread fortified with 25 μg vitamin D3 plus placebo daily; n = 30); 2) supplement (SP; 50 g plain bread plus 25 μg vitamin D supplement daily; n = 30); and 3) control (CP; 50 g plain bread plus placebo daily; n = 30).

Outcome Measures:
Initial and final anthropometric and biochemical assessments were performed.

Results:
The within-group changes of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were 39.0 ± 22.6 (P &lt; .001), 28.9 ± 31.2 (P &lt; .001), and −9.2 ± 12.3 nmol/L in the FP, SP, and CP groups, respectively. Only in FP and SP groups, serum intact PTH concentrations decreased approximately 13.5% and 14.5%, respectively. Visceral fat also showed a significant decrement in FP (−1.05% ± 1.4%; P ≤ .001) and SP (−0.96% ± 1.7%; P = .006). Serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration showed a within-group reduction in FP (−10.4 ± 11.2 mg/dL; P &lt; .001) and an insignificant decrement in SP (−6.6 ± 20.2 mg/dL; P = .083). Serum high-density lipoprotein increased in both vitamin D-supplemented groups (FP: 9.7 ± 7.6 vs SP: 5.7 ± 6.7 mg/dL; P &lt; .001).

Conclusion:
Vitamin D-fortified bread could be potentially effective in raising circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of the population to nearly adequate levels.
Insecure Labor, Insecure Debt: Building a Workforce for Coffee in the Soconusco, Chiapas
Authors: Lurtz Casey Marina 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
Between 1870 and 1920, the department of the Soconusco in Chiapas, Mexico, became the country's largest exporter of coffee to global markets. The expansion of this economy required the mobilization of an ever larger workforce in the service of international commerce. Yet, as this article argues, global demand could only remake social and economic relations within the parameters of entrenched local structures. In the Soconusco, the development and endurance of incentivized contracts as opposed to coercive debt peonage were the result of tapping into a dispersed and diversified labor pool. By looking at the history of finca San Juan las Chicharras, this article explores both the day-to-day functioning of coffee plantations and the ways in which workers, planters, and politicians alike grappled with the redirection of their output toward ever more lucrative export production.
“From Sparrow to Phoenix”: Imagining Gender Transformation through Taiwanese Women's Variety TV
Authors: Martin Fran 
Published: April 2016

Through analysis of the fashion-and-beauty variety program 《女人我最大》 (English title Queen), launched in 2003 by Taiwan cable channel TVBS-G and now spreading in syndicated adaptations in China, this paper examines the pop-cultural consolidation of a new category of feminine identity: the 輕熟女 (qingshounü, lit. “young-mature woman”). Drawing on interviews with viewers conducted in Taipei in 2011, the article analyzes audience responses to the program to argue that Queen both reflects and (re)constructs a popular understanding of qingshounü as a new, transitional stage in the life cycle of femininity in urban, late-modern commodity culture. Positioned between “girl (student)” (女生) and “respectable (married) woman” (婦女) or “mama” (媽媽), the qingshounü is defined by her spending power, her relative independence from the burdens of reproductive and domestic labor, and her focus on personal pleasure and individual satisfaction.
I propose that by demarcating a woman's freedom to “live for herself” and (re)make herself within a temporary life phase, the qingshounü concept is fundamentally structured by a central ambivalence: it at once imagines postfamilial feminine identity and underscores the utopian character of such imagining in light of the still-dominant social expectation that after her youth, a woman will dedicate her energies to her family as much as or more than to herself. The uneasy coexistence of these competing frameworks marks a point of tension and negotiation between historically distinct technologies of feminine selfhood in Taiwan today.
Clay Bodies, Moon Jars, and Materiality: Reconciling Dualisms in the Paintings of Kim Whanki
Authors: Hahn Christine Y. 
Published: April 2016

This article examines through case study the dilemma faced by modern Korean painters who came of age during the turbulent years of approximately 1930–75, when the question of artistic style and representation became inextricably linked to issues of identity at the level of both the individual and the nation. Many South Korean painters from this period turned to the idea of materiality, the amplification or replication of soil, rice, and earthenware on painted surfaces, as a means to create a visual culture that was bound to a unique Koreanness while simultaneously emerging as universal and timeless.
The article focuses on the work of one artist in particular, arguably South Korea's best known from this period, the painter Kim Whanki. Through an examination of Kim's oeuvre, I argue that he sought to develop a method of painting that allowed him to fuse the painterly practice of Western modernism with the process and surface of Korean earthenware to create a new visual language that disengaged from simple dualisms between East and West. Instead, Kim sought to envision a mode of painting that allowed both artwork and artist to embody the ambiguity of somewhere in between.
Mesolysis Processes with Benzylic Carbon–Oxygen Bond Cleavage in Radical Anions of Aryl Benzyl Ethers Studied by Electron Pulse Radiolysis in DMF
Authors: Yamaji Minoru , Tojo Sachiko , Fujitsuka Mamoru , Sugimoto Akira , Majima Tetsuro 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
Based on transient absorption measurements obtained upon electron-pulse radiolysis of aromatic ethers in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), mesolysis processes of the radical anions were investigated. We observed transient absorption spectral change due to the formation of the radical anions in the temperature range (220–295 K). The transient absorption of the radical anions decreased with first-order kinetics along with the growth of the absorption spectrum of the corresponding benzylic radical. Arrhenius analysis of the decay rates of the radical anions provided the activation energies and the frequency factors for the mesolysis. These observations indicated that the mesolysis of the radical anions occurs via a stepwise mechanism, resulting in the formation of benzylic radical and phenolate anion due to the C–O bond cleavage.
Are scientific abstracts written in poetic verse an effective representation of the underlying research?
Authors: Illingworth Sam 
Published: April 2016

The central purpose of science is to explain. However, who is that explanation for, and how is this explanation communicated once it has been deduced?Scientific research is typically communicated via papers in journals, with an abstract presented as a summary of that explanation. However, in many instances they may be written in a manner which is non-communicatory to a lay reader. This study begins to investigate if poetry could be used as an alternative form of communication, by first assessing if poetic verse is an effective form of communication to other scientists. In order to assess this suitability, a survey was conducted in which two different groups of participants were asked questions based on a scientific abstract. One group of participants was given the original scientific abstract, whilst the second group was instead given a poem written about the scientific study. Quantitative analysis found that whilst a scientific audience found a poetic interpretation of a scientific abstract to be no less interesting or inspiring than the original prose, they did find it to be less accessible. However, further qualitative analysis suggested that the poem did a good job in conveying a similar meaning to that presented in the original abstract. The results of this study indicate that whilst for a scientific audience poetry should not replace the prose abstract, it could be used alongside the original format to inspire the reader to find out more about the topic. Further research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of this approach for a general audience.