bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Carotid artery thickness is associated with chronic use of highly active antiretroviral therapy in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus: A 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging study
Authors: LaBounty TM , Hardy WD , Fan Z , Yumul R , Li D , Dharmakumar R , Conte A Hernandez 
Published: December 2015

ObjectivesWhile patients with HIV infection have an elevated stroke risk, ultrasound studies of carotid artery wall thickness have reported variable results. We hypothesized that subjects with HIV infection on chronic highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) would have increased carotid artery wall thickness by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).MethodsThis cross‐sectional study compared carotid artery wall thickness between 26 individuals infected with HIV on chronic HAART and 20 controls, without HIV infection but with similar cardiovascular risk factors, using 3.0‐T noncontrast MRI. Inclusion criteria included male gender, age 35–55 years, and chronic HAART (≥ 3 years) among HIV‐seropositive subjects; those with known cardiovascular disease or diabetes were excluded.ResultsBetween subjects with HIV infection and controls, there were no differences in mean (±SD) age (47.8 ± 5.0 vs. 47.8 ± 4.7 years, respectively; P = 0.19) or cardiovascular risk factors (P > 0.05 for each). Mean (±SD) wall thickness was increased in those with HIV infection vs. controls for the left (0.88 ± 0.08 vs. 0.83 ± 0.08 mm, respectively; P = 0.03) and right (0.90 ± 0.10 vs. 0.85 ± 0.07 mm, respectively; P = 0.046) common carotid arteries. Among individuals with HIV infection, variables associated with increased mean carotid artery wall thickness included lipoaccumulation [+0.09 mm; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03–0.14 mm; P = 0.003], Framingham risk score ≥ 5% (+0.07 mm; 95% CI 0.01–0.12; P = 0.02 mm), and increased duration of protease inhibitor therapy (+0.03 mm per 5 years; 95% CI 0.01–0.06 mm; P = 0.02).ConclusionsIndividuals with HIV infection on chronic HAART had increased carotid artery wall thickness as compared to similar controls. In subjects with HIV infection, the presence of lipoaccumulation and longer duration of protease inhibitor therapy were associated with greater wall thickness.
Why Speciesism is Wrong: A Response to Kagan
Authors: Singer Peter 
Published: December 2015

AbstractIn Animal Liberation I argued that we commonly ignore or discount the interests of sentient members of other species merely because they are not human, and that this bias in favour of members of our own species is, in important respects, parallel to the biases that lie behind racism and sexism. Shelly Kagan, in ‘What's Wrong With Speciesism’ misconstrues this argument, as well as the principle of equal consideration of interests, which I offer as an alternative to speciesism. Kagan also offers, as an alternative explanation of, and possible justification for, our discounting the interests of nonhuman animals, the suggestion that your interests count more if you are a member of a species whose typical adult members are persons. Although this view is not a form of speciesism, Kagan seems not to be aware of the fact that it is a view commonly defended by advocates of natural law ethics, on which there is already an extensive critical literature.
Psychophysical Validation of A Digital Method to Assess Ill‐Defined Visual Boundaries: An Example with Fabric Openness Factor
Authors: Tàpias Montserrat , Ralló Miquel , Escofet Jaume 
Published: December 2015

AbstractFabric openness factor (OF) is the fraction of the web area that is uncovered by yarns.OFis a critical feature regarding the end‐use performance of the fabric and should be accurately assessed. However, digitalOFestimates yielded by image binarization algorithms differ among them depending on the criteria used, mainly due to ill‐defined boundaries, thus precluding a straightforward assessment of the actual fabricOFvalue. Lacking any standard to compare actualOFvalues with measuredOFvalues, we addressed the validation procedure of the digital assessment method from visualOFestimates.OFof 81 distinct fabric samples was evaluated from digital images by a panel of 18 observers using visual binarization technique. Following the psychophysical models of Fechner and Stevens, these visual estimates were correlated with digital estimates yielded by several binarization algorithms. Stevens’ psychophysical model and an automatic binarization algorithm developed by us scored the highest correlation.Practical ApplicationsThis work addresses the problems that arise at the moment of measuring the area of a region with ill‐defined boundaries without any standard to control the process of measurement. Similar problems are also found in important fields such as medical imaging. In these cases, there are usually different digital methods that give rise to estimates of the magnitude which mismatch among them. To solve these differences, a more common approach is to use estimates provided by a panel of observers and consider them to be objective, regardless of the bias between subjective responses and actual values. However, visual estimates do not show either accuracy (because they are psychophysical measures) or precision (due to the variability among observers). To overcome these difficulties, we propose a procedure to validate a digital method through visual estimates provided by a panel of observers, taking into account the psychophysical models of Fechner and Stevens.
Prediction of Mid‐Urethral Sling Failure with Clinical Findings and Urodynamics
Authors: AYDIN Serdar , ARIOĞLU AYDIN Çağrı , ERSAN Fırat 
Published: December 2015

ObjectiveMid‐urethral slings (MUS) become a standard, minimally invasive surgery to treat urinary stress incontinence. Our aim is to investigate the contribution of preoperative urodynamics to mid‐urethral slings success and determine predictors for choosing mid‐urethral sling route.MethodsWomen with stress urinary incontinence and who desired surgical correction of their incontinence were included in the study. The selection of the procedure was according to an algorithm used in an institution. Urodynamic and baseline factors that may be associated with surgery failure were analyzed.ResultsA total of 159 patients in the tension free transvaginal tape (TVT) group and 83 patients in the transobturator tape (TOT) group were included in the present study. Urodynamic findings of subjects who were considered MUS failure were not significantly different from those women who were continent after 1 year of surgery. Detrusor overactivity was present on urodynamics in 23 of 37 women (62.2%) with MUS failure, 81 of 205 women (39.7%) with no stress test positivity with the cough stress test (P < 0.05). A vaginal hysterectomy had been performed on 13 of 37 (35.1%) subjects with MUS failure 1 year after operation, and 20 of 205 subjects (9.8%) in the stress urinary incontinence (SUI) continent group (P < 0.001).ConclusionsPreoperative detrusor overactivity (DO) was the only urodynamic finding that negatively affected the success of surgery in both TOT and TVT groups. Our study demonstrated an increased risk of surgery failure for those who underwent a concurrent hysterectomy for pelvic organ prolapse.
Diet composition of the Eurasian otter Lutra lutra in different freshwater habitats of temperate Europe: a review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Krawczyk Agata Joanna , Bogdziewicz Michał , Majkowska Katarzyna , Glazaczow Adam 
Published: December 2015

Abstract
The Eurasian otter Lutra lutra is a top predator that feeds mostly on fish. Yet, studies show the high plasticity of otter foraging behaviour and the varying importance of alternative food types in the species' diet.
The aims of this study were, firstly, to demonstrate by meta‐analysis how the diet composition of otters varies depending on the habitat occupied, in terms of the types of land use, waterbody, and bank vegetation. Secondly, we tested whether the choice of method of presenting prey percentages in the diet of otters influenced the conclusions of the meta‐analysis.
The percentage of fish in the diet was greater for otters occupying standing water than for those occupying flowing water; was higher for otters in waterbodies overgrown by reed vegetation; and varied depending on the type of surrounding land use. However, the results of the meta‐analysis varied depending on which of the two most common methods of diet analysis were used: percentage biomass or relative frequency of occurrence (RFO).
We showed that the plasticity of otter feeding behaviour might be explained by the various habitats occupied by otters. Habitat differences reflected in otters' diets might have importance for the maintenance and conservation of local populations of this species.
The high diversity of methods used by researchers to report the results of dietary studies precludes full comparisons and synthesis. This demonstrates the importance of unification of reporting. Moreover, the conclusions reached by the authors of any particular study might be highly dependent on the method they applied. Thus, care should be taken when comparing ecological studies based on different methods.
A pseudo‐outbreak of disseminated cryptococcal disease after orthotopic heart transplantation
Authors: Kennedy E. , Vanichanan J. , Rajapreyar I. , Gonzalez B. , Nathan S. , Gregoric I. , Kar B. , Loyalka P. , Weeks P. , Chavez V. , Wanger A. , Ostrosky Zeichner L. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryCryptococcal infection is the third most common invasive fungal infection (IFI) among solid‐organ transplant (SOT) recipients and is considered an important opportunistic infection due to its significant morbidity and mortality. To determine whether a cluster of cryptococcosis in heart transplant patients was of nosocomial nature, three cases of orthotopic heart transplant recipients with postoperative disseminated cryptococcal infection were investigated and paired with an environmental survey in a tertiary care hospital. The infection prevention department conducted a multidisciplinary investigation, which did not demonstrate any evidence of health care‐associated environmental exposure. Moreover, multilocus sequence typing showed that one isolate was unique and the two others, although identical, were not temporally related and belong to the most common type seen in the Southern US. Additionally, all three patients had preexisting abnormalities of the CT chest scan and various degrees of acute and chronic rejection. Reactivation was suggested in all three patients. Screening methods may be useful to identify at risk patients and trigger a prophylactic or preemptive approach. However, more data is needed.
Stable expression of silencing‐suppressor protein enhances the performance and longevity of an engineered metabolic pathway
Authors: Naim Fatima , Shrestha Pushkar , Singh Surinder P. , Waterhouse Peter M. , Wood Craig C. 
Published: December 2015

SummaryTransgenic engineering of plants is important in both basic and applied research. However, the expression of a transgene can dwindle over time as the plant's small (s)RNA‐guided silencing pathways shut it down. The silencing pathways have evolved as antiviral defence mechanisms, and viruses have co‐evolved viral silencing‐suppressor proteins (VSPs) to block them. Therefore, VSPs have been routinely used alongside desired transgene constructs to enhance their expression in transient assays. However, constitutive, stable expression of a VSP in a plant usually causes pronounced developmental abnormalities, as their actions interfere with endogenous microRNA‐regulated processes, and has largely precluded the use of VSPs as an aid to stable transgene expression. In an attempt to avoid the deleterious effects but obtain the enhancing effect, a number of different VSPs were expressed exclusively in the seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana alongside a three‐step transgenic pathway for the synthesis of arachidonic acid (AA), an ω‐6 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid. Results from independent transgenic events, maintained for four generations, showed that the VSP‐AA‐transformed plants were developmentally normal, apart from minor phenotypes at the cotyledon stage, and could produce 40% more AA than plants transformed with the AA transgene cassette alone. Intriguingly, a geminivirus VSP, V2, was constitutively expressed without causing developmental defects, as it acts on the siRNA amplification step that is not part of the miRNA pathway, and gave strong transgene enhancement. These results demonstrate that VSP expression can be used to protect and enhance stable transgene performance and has significant biotechnological application.
Effect of insulin‐like growth factor‐I during the early postnatal period in intrauterine growth‐restricted rats
Authors: Ikeda Naho , Shoji Hiromichi , Suganuma Hiroki , Ohkawa Natsuki , Kantake Masato , Murano Yayoi , Sakuraya Koji , Shimizu Toshiaki 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBackgroundInsulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) is essential for perinatal growth and development; low serum IGF‐I has been observed during intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). We investigated the effects of recombinant human (rh) IGF‐I in IUGR rats during the early postnatal period.MethodsIntrauterine growth restriction was induced by bilateral uterine artery ligation in pregnant rats. IUGR pups were divided into two groups injected daily with rhIGF‐I (2 mg/kg; IUGR/IGF‐I, n = 16) or saline (IUGR/physiologic saline solution (PSS), n = 16) from postnatal day (PND) 7 to 13. Maternal sham‐operated pups injected with saline were used as controls (control, n = 16). Serum IGF‐I and IGF binding proteins (IGFBP) 3 and 5 were measured on PND25. The expression of Igf‐i, IGF‐I receptor (Igf‐ir), Igfbp3, and 5 mRNA in the liver and brain was measured using real‐time polymerase chain reaction on PND25. Immunohistochemical staining of the liver for IGF expression was performed.ResultsMean bodyweight on PND3 and PND25 in the IUGR pups (IUGR/IGF‐I and IUGR/PSS) was significantly lower than that of the control pups. Serum IGF‐I and hepatic Igf‐ir mRNA in the IUGR pups were significantly lower than those in the control pups. In the IUGR/IGF‐I group, hepatic Igfbp3 mRNA and liver immunohistochemical staining were increased. In the IUGR/PSS and control pups, there were no significant differences between these two groups in serum IGFBP3 and IGFBP5, hepatic Igf‐i and Igfbp‐5 mRNA, or brain Igf mRNA.ConclusionsNo benefits on body and brain weight gain but an effective increase in hepatic IGFBP‐3 was observed after treatment with 2 mg/kg rhIGF‐I during the early postnatal period.
Dressing an existential wound (DEW) – a new model for long‐term care following disasters
Authors: Rehnsfeldt Arne , Arman Maria 
Published: December 2015

BackgroundPresence, concern, compassion and universal or ontological unity between human beings have emerged as crucial to the healthy development of people who have experienced disasters.Aim and objectivesThe aim of this article was to present a new model for long‐term care following disasters. The objective of the model was to contribute to the readiness for long‐term care following disasters in professionals and nonprofessionals as a result of their understanding of the model.DesignA longitudinal qualitative study of Swedish tourists affected by the South East Asian tsunami in 2004 is the empirical base for this clinical model, which was developed within the framework of caring science.MethodsA hermeneutic method was used.ResultsThe model is based on the assumption that life issues are an important aspect of long‐term follow‐up after a disaster. The term ‘life issues’ refers to the following: existential questioning of life's content, values and priorities; people's relationships with each other; and the importance of health, suffering, love and death. Life issues also refer to the way in which survivors form a new understanding of life after a disaster experience. Existential care is based on a charitable attitude of compassion and mercy towards one's fellows, be they professionals, families or wider society. By presenting eight theses, the model provides an approach based on compassion that works as an existential dressing for survivors of disaster.ConclusionsThe model gives a knowledge base and approach for the long‐term care of survivors, including practical advice.
Sociological Approaches to Self‐injury
Authors: Taylor Jim D. , Ibañez Lindsey M. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThis paper reviews the burgeoning sociological literature on non‐suicidal self‐injury, in which individuals intentionally harm themselves by cutting, burning, scratching, or smashing their body parts. We identify challenges to studying self‐injury, such as conflicting definitions and categorizations. Comparing self‐injury to other behaviors such as suicide, body modification, and self‐mutilation, we assert that non‐suicidal self‐injury deserves its own conceptual category. We explain how a critical sociological approach provides a valuable counterweight to medical and psychological studies of self‐injury. In particular, this paper advances the deviance perspective. Finally, we highlight how technology has allowed self‐injurers to build supportive communities in cyberspace, blurring the line between hidden and public acts. We conclude with suggestions for future directions in the study of self‐injury.
Rigid and remodelled: cerebrovascular structure and function after experimental high‐thoracic spinal cord transection
Authors: Phillips A. A. , Matin N. , Frias B. , Zheng M. M. Z. , Jia M. , West C. , Dorrance A. M. , Laher I. , Krassioukov A. V. 
Published: December 2015

Key Points
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with a 3–4 fold increased risk of stroke, and impaired cerebral blood flow regulation, although the effect of SCI on the structure and function of the cerebral arteries is unclear.
Using pressure myography to assess isolated vessels distended at physiological pressures, we provide novel evidence that experimental SCI leads to inward cerebrovascular remodelling, increased stiffness and impaired reactivity of the largest cerebral artery.
Histochemical analyses revealed that a profibrotic environment within the largest cerebral artery occurs after SCI, which was characterized by greater collagen and less elastin. This may be due to increased transforming growth factor β, a well‐known profibrotic signalling protein.
Further analysis revealed that profibrotic alterations were not due to disruption of descending sympathetic pathways to the cerebrovasculature.
Experimental SCI exerts a deleterious influence on the structure and function of cerebral arteries, which may underlie the increased risk of stroke and impaired cerebral blood flow regulation.
AbstractHigh‐thoracic or cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with several critical clinical conditions related to impaired cerebrovascular health, including: 300–400% increased risk of stroke, cognitive decline and diminished cerebral blood flow regulation. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of high‐thoracic (T3 spinal segment) SCI on cerebrovascular structure and function, as well as molecular markers of profibrosis. Seven weeks after complete T3 spinal cord transection (T3‐SCI, n = 15) or sham injury (Sham, n = 10), rats were sacrificed for either middle cerebral artery (MCA) structure and function assessments via ex vivo pressure myography, or immunohistochemical analyses. Myogenic tone was unchanged, but over a range of transmural pressures, inward remodelling occurred after T3‐SCI with a 40% reduction in distensibility (both P < 0.05), and a 33% reduction in vasoconstrictive reactivity to 5‐HT trending toward significance (P = 0.09). After T3‐SCI, the MCA had more collagen I (42%), collagen III (24%), transforming growth factor β (47%) and angiotensin II receptor type 2 (132%), 27% less elastin as well as concurrent increased wall thickness and reduced lumen diameter (all P < 0.05). Sympathetic innervation (tyrosine hydroxylase‐positive axon density) and endothelium‐dependent dilatation (carbachol) of the MCA were not different between groups. This study demonstrates profibrosis and hypertrophic inward remodelling within the largest cerebral artery after high‐thoracic SCI, leading to increased stiffness and possibly impaired reactivity. These deleterious adaptations would substantially undermine the capacity for regulation of cerebral blood flow and probably underlie several cerebrovascular clinical conditions in the SCI population.
Functional coupling of diverse voltage‐gated Ca2+ channels underlies high fidelity of fast dendritic Ca2+ signals during burst firing
Authors: Jaafari Nadia , Canepari Marco 
Published: December 2015

Key points
In neurons, the Ca2+ signal associated with the dendritic back‐propagating action potential codes a chemical message to the different dendritic sites, playing a crucial role in electrical signalling, synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity.
The study of the underlying Ca2+ current, mediated by different types of voltage‐gated Ca2+ channels, cannot be achieved by using the patch clamp technique.
In this article, we used a recently developed cutting‐edge optical technique to investigate the physiological behaviour of local Ca2+ currents along the apical dendrite of CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons.
We directly measure, for the first time, the synergistic activation and deactivation of the diverse dendritic voltage‐gated Ca2+ channels operating during bursts of back‐propagating action potentials to precisely control the Ca2+ signal.
We demonstrate that the Ca2+ loss via high‐voltage‐activated channels is compensated by the Ca2+ entry via the other channels translating in high fidelity of Ca2+ signalling.
AbstractIn CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons, the dendritic Ca2+ signal associated with somatic firing represents a fundamental activation code for several proteins. This signal, mediated by voltage‐gated Ca2+ channels (VGCCs), varies along the dendrites. In this study, using a recent optical technique based on the low‐affinity indicator Oregon Green 488 BAPTA‐5N, we analysed how activation and deactivation of VGCCs produced by back‐propagating action potentials (bAPs) along the apical dendrite shape the Ca2+ signal at different locations in CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons of the mouse. We measured, at multiple dendritic sites, the Ca2+ transients and the changes in membrane potential associated with bAPs at 50 μs temporal resolution and we estimated the kinetics of the Ca2+ current. We found that during somatic bursts, the bAPs decrease in amplitude along the apical dendrite but the amplitude of the associated Ca2+ signal in the initial 200 μm dendritic segment does not change. Using a detailed pharmacological analysis, we demonstrate that this effect is due to the perfect compensation of the loss of Ca2+ via high‐voltage‐activated (HVA) VGCCs by a larger Ca2+ component via low‐voltage‐activated (LVA) VGCCs, revealing a mechanism coupling the two VGCC families of K+ channels. More distally, where the bAP does not activate HVA‐VGCCs, the Ca2+ signal is variable during the burst. Thus, we demonstrate that HVA‐ and LVA‐VGCCs operate synergistically to stabilise Ca2+ signals associated with bAPs in the most proximal 200 μm dendritic segment.