bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prey size and scramble vs. contest competition in a social spider: implications for population dynamics
Authors: Sharpe Ruth V. , Avilés Leticia 
Published: June 2016

Summary

There are many benefits of group living, but also substantial costs, one of which is competition for resources. How scarce food resources are distributed among different members of a population or social group – whether via scramble or contest competition – can influence not only the variance in individual fitness, but also the stability and therefore survival of the group or population.

Attributes of the food resources themselves, such as their size, may influence the type of intraspecific competition that occurs and therefore the intrinsic stability of a group or population.

By experimentally manipulating the size of prey fed to artificial colonies of the social spider Anelosimus eximius, we investigated whether prey size could alter the degree of scramble vs. contest competition that takes place and, thus, potentially influence colony population dynamics.

We found that large prey were shared more evenly than small prey and that individuals in poor condition were more likely to feed when prey were large than when prey were small. Additionally, we show that individuals participating in prey capture are also more likely to feed on the captured prey.

We developed a simple mathematical model to explore the prey sizes that would be energetically worth defending, i.e. prey that are ‘economically defendable’. The model shows that neither very small prey, nor prey above a certain size is worth monopolizing, with only intermediate size prey being ‘economically defendable’. We therefore suggest the small and large prey in our experiment corresponds to our model's intermediate and large prey categories, respectively.

As the size of prey captured by social spider colonies increases with colony size, our findings suggest that scramble competition may predominate in large colonies. Scramble competition, combined with the fact that prey biomass per capita declines as colonies grow beyond a certain size, would then explain why extremely large colonies of this social spider may suddenly go extinct. Our project thus illustrates the potential triple link between characteristics of the resources, individual behaviour and population dynamics, a link rarely considered in an empirical setting.
Overexpression of copper/zinc superoxide dismutase in the median preoptic nucleus improves cardiac function after myocardial infarction in the rat
Authors: Collister John P , Hartnett Cristina , Mayerhofer Tim , Nahey David , Stauthammer Christopher , Krüger Maxie , Tobias Anthony , O'Sullivan M. Gerard , Parker Josh , Tian Jun , Case Adam J , Zimmerman Matthew C 
Published: June 2016

SummaryPrevious reports indicate that overexpression of copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), an intracellular superoxide (O2•−) scavenging enzyme, in the brain subfornical organ improves cardiac function in a mouse model of heart failure (HF). A downstream hypothalamic site, the MnPO, may act as a relay centre for O2•− to serve as a mediator in the pathophysiology of HF. To test the hypothesis that elevated O2•− in the MnPO contributes to the pathophysiology of HF and decreased cardiac function, we injected adenovirus encoding CuZnSOD (AdCuZnSOD, n=7) or control empty adenovirus vector (AdEmpty, n=7) into the MnPO of normal rats. Subsequently, rats were subjected to coronary artery ligation to create a myocardial infarct (MI) of the left ventricle. Cardiac function was monitored via echocardiography. Upon completion, rat brains were examined for CuZnSOD expression in MnPO via immunofluorescence and histopathological analyses of cardiac infarct size were conducted. Baseline (EF) ejection fractions (%) of AdCuZnSOD and AdEmpty rats were 73 ± 1 and 71 ± 1, respectively. Two weeks after MI, EF was significantly decreased in both groups of rats (AdCuZnSOD: 51 ± 3, AdEmpty: 46 ± 1). In contrast, by 4 weeks post MI, EF had improved to 64 ± 2 in AdCuZnSOD rats, yet was only 52 ± 1 in AdEmpty rats, and this was accompanied by lower plasma noradrenaline levels in AdCuZnSOD rats (0.49 ± 0.19 ng/mL) compared to AdEmpty rats (1.20 ± 0.32 ng/mL). In conclusion, despite decreases in EF early after MI, overexpression of CuZnSOD in the MnPO was related to an improvement in left ventricular function and concomitant decreased plasma noradrenaline levels 4 weeks post MI.
Comparing linguistic complexity and efficiency in conversations from stimulation and conversation therapy in aphasia
Authors: Savage Meghan C. , Donovan Neila J. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractBackgroundEfficacy studies have demonstrated the benefit of group conversation therapy for a person with aphasia (PWA). However, a PWA typically participates in individual therapy prior to group therapy. Stimulation therapy (ST) is the most common type of individual aphasia therapy. Ultimately, the outcome of therapy is to enable the PWA to communicate effectively with others, which suggests the need for conversation therapy (CT). Little efficacy data exist to demonstrate the benefit of CT between a PWA and a clinician, in part because no clear treatment outcome measures have been established. More information is needed to identify optimal ways to measure CT outcomes.AimTo identify ways to measure CT outcomes and to determine if there is a change in linguistic complexity and total talk time during conversation, samples were taken during CT and ST in two PWAs.Methods & ProceduresSeventeen 6‐min conversational samples per PWA were analyzed from a prior single‐subject AB1AB2A alternating treatment study with randomized ordering of interventions across participants. Data were analyzed for seven measures of linguistic complexity using Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT). Efficiency was measured using correct information units (CIUs) per minute and total talk time.Outcomes & ResultsPer cent of complex utterances and propositional density were higher following CT. Four out of seven linguistic measures increased following ST. Total talk time was significantly greater for one PWA during CT compared with ST. No differences were found in CIUs/min across treatment types.Conclusion & ImplicationsLinguistic complexity and efficiency appear to be conversational treatment outcome measures that are sensitive to change, which researchers might consider using.
Promoting linguistic complexity, greater message length and ease of engagement in email writing in people with aphasia: initial evidence from a study utilizing assistive writing software
Authors: Thiel Lindsey , Sage Karen , Conroy Paul 
Published: June 2016

AbstractBackgroundImproving email writing in people with aphasia could enhance their ability to communicate, promote interaction and reduce isolation. Spelling therapies have been effective in improving single‐word writing. However, there has been limited evidence on how to achieve changes to everyday writing tasks such as email writing in people with aphasia. One potential area that has been largely unexplored in the literature is the potential use of assistive writing technologies, despite some initial evidence that assistive writing software use can lead to qualitative and quantitative improvements to spontaneous writing.AimsThis within‐participants case series design study aimed to investigate the effects of using assistive writing software to improve email writing in participants with dysgraphia related to aphasia.Methods & ProceduresEight participants worked through a hierarchy of writing tasks of increasing complexity within broad topic areas that incorporate the spheres of writing need of the participants: writing for domestic needs, writing for social needs and writing for business/administrative needs. Through completing these tasks, participants had the opportunity to use the various functions of the software, such as predictive writing, word banks and text to speech. Therapy also included training and practice in basic computer and email skills to encourage increased independence. Outcome measures included email skills, keyboard skills, email writing and written picture description tasks, and a perception of disability assessment.Outcomes & ResultsFour of the eight participants showed statistically significant improvements to spelling accuracy within emails when using the software. At a group level there was a significant increase in word length with the software; while four participants showed noteworthy changes to the range of word classes used. Enhanced independence in email use and improvements in participants’ perceptions of their writing skills were also noted.Conclusions & ImplicationsThis study provided some initial evidence that assistive writing technologies can support people with aphasia in email writing across a range of important performance parameters. However, more research is needed to measure the effects of these technologies on the writing of people with aphasia, and to determine the optimal compensatory mechanisms for specific people given the linguistic–strategic resources they bring to the task of email writing.
Capital Flight and Trade Misinvoicing in Zimbabwe
Authors: Kwaramba Marko , Mahonye Nyasha , Mandishara Leonard 
Published: June 2016

AbstractThis paper estimates trade misinvoicing in Zimbabwe from major trading partners using the Morgenstern () methodology. It uses trade data from 1980 to 2014 from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database. The results show that unrecorded capital outflows occur through trade with different countries including Italy, United States, Germany, and China, while unrecorded capital inflows into Zimbabwe are mainly from South Africa, Belgium, and Australia. Trade misinvoicing occurs mostly in exports of diamonds, gold, and nickel. Misinvoicing through imports is not rampant and occurs mostly through Germany, South Africa, and Zambia. The results show that capital flight increased during the period of macroeconomic and political instability. This indicates the need to ensure political and macroeconomic stability to reduce capital flight.
The Institutional Environment and the Link between Capital Flows and Capital Flight in Cameroon
Authors: Gankou Jean‐Marie , Bendoma Marius , Sow Moussé Ndoye 
Published: June 2016

AbstractThis paper explores the ‘financial revolving door’ hypothesis in Cameroon over the 1970–2010 period by extending the analysis to other types of capital flows such as Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The paper shows that a one‐dollar increase in external debt leads to an increase in capital flight of 47–62 cents. This increase in capital flight mainly stems from changes in the private component of external debt. Capital flight is twice more sensitive to an increase in oil revenues than external debt. The paper further underscores the importance of the political and institutional environment. Even though corruption exacerbates the relationship, political and institutional stability helps to mitigate illicit capital outflows arising from an increase in external debt. With regard to the effect on ODA and FDI, the paper found it to be of little significance.
Natural Resources and Capital Flight in Cameroon
Authors: Ayamena Mpenya Hans Tino , Metseyem Clarisse , Epo Boniface Ngah 
Published: June 2016

AbstractThis paper analyses the amount of capital flight associated with the natural resources sector (oil and timber) in Cameroon. The paper adjusted the methodology proposed by Boyce and Ndikumana () to take into account the practice of misinvoicing in the oil and timber industries using data from World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) and COMTRADE. The results confirm that the natural resources sector, and in particular the oil and timber industry, is an important conduit of capital flight through trade misinvoicing. This finding underscores the need to improve governance in the extractive industries, as well as the quality of institutions, especially those that are in charge of trade transactions.
Capital Flight from Burkina Faso: Drivers and Impact on Tax Revenue
Authors: Ndiaye Ameth Saloum , Siri Alain 
Published: June 2016

AbstractThe drivers of capital flight and its effect on tax revenue have not been investigated in the literature for the case of Burkina Faso. We undertake a qualitative analysis, which concludes that capital flight is the result of ineffective regulation of foreign exchange operations, a permissive tax system, and collusion between a politico‐administrative elite and the business sector. We also conduct an econometric analysis, which reveals that a decline in tax revenue and in the GDP growth rate, changes in economic policy regimes, and an increase in natural resource rents, external debt, and political violence induce substantial capital flight. The results show a negative impact of capital flight on tax revenue. The econometric results are consistent with the qualitative analysis with regard to mechanisms of capital flight in both the public and private sectors.
The pregnant women as a drug orphan: a global survey of registered clinical trials of pharmacological interventions in pregnancy
Authors: Scaffidi J , Mol BW , Keelan JA 
Published: June 2016

ObjectiveTo undertake a survey of the world's clinical trial registries to provide current data on the number, nature, funding source and geographical distribution of pregnancy drug trials (PDT).Design and settingComprehensive analysis of WHO‐certified clinical trial registries.MethodsSixteen registries containing 301 538 trials (168 826 active in 2013–2014) were analysed to identify the numbers, location, funding sources, and areas of interest/development of PDTs.ResultsThe percentage of PDTs varied from 0 to 7.4% across registries. Overall, just 0.32% (534) of all active registered studies were PDTs. The US registry (Clinicaltrials.gov) was the largest database, but contributed just 14% of all active PDTs. The majority of PDTs focused on anaesthesia/analgesia, preterm birth/tocolysis, labour induction, endocrine and hypertensive disorders. Less than 6% of active PDTs focused on maternal or fetal health as a specific primary outcome, and only 4.4% included a preplanned pharmacokinetic analysis of the trial medications. A third of all active PDTs involved repurposing of existing medicines for applications in pregnancy, whereas only three new investigational drugs had been developed for a pregnancy indication. Seven percent of all active PDTs identified were pharmaceutical industry‐funded. Inter‐disease comparisons identified a ~50‐fold disparity in trial activity between pregnancy and other comparable areas.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates unequivocally the marked under‐representation of medication development, evaluation and safety trials in pregnancy. The likelihood that the current pharmaceutical landscape in pregnancy will improve in the foreseeable future is slim. Advocacy and increased awareness of the issue is necessary to achieve positive change.Tweetable abstractPregnant women are significantly under‐represented in global clinical drug trials.
The Comparison of the Contents of Sugar, Amadori, and Heyns Compounds in Fresh and Black Garlic
Authors: Yuan Heng , Sun Linjuan , Chen Min , Wang Jun 
Published: June 2016

AbstractBlack garlic is produced through thermal processing and is used as a healthy food throughout the world. Compared with fresh garlic, there are obvious changes in the color, taste, and biological functions of black garlic. To analyze and explain these changes, the contents of water‐soluble sugars, fructan, and the key intermediate compounds (Heyns and Amadori) of the Maillard reaction in fresh raw garlic and black garlic were investigated, which were important to control and to evaluate the quality of black garlic. The results showed that the fructan contents in the black garlics were decreased by more than 84.6% compared with the fresh raw garlics, which translated into changes in the fructose and glucose contents. The water‐soluble sugar content was drastically increased by values ranging from 187.79% to 790.96%. Therefore, the taste of the black garlic became very sweet. The sucrose content in black garlic was almost equivalent to fresh garlic. The Amadori and Heyns compounds were analyzed by HPLC‐MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring mode using the different characteristic fragment ions of Heyns and Amadori compounds. The total content of the 3 main Amadori and 3 Heyns compounds in black garlic ranged from 762.53 to 280.56 μg/g, which was 40 to 100‐fold higher than the values in fresh raw garlic. This result was significant proof that the Maillard reaction in black garlic mainly utilized fructose and glucose, with some amino acids.
Esterification of Quercetin Increases Its Transport Across Human Caco‐2 Cells
Authors: Hu Jiang‐ning , Zou Xian‐guo , He Yi , Chen Fang , Deng Ze‐yuan 
Published: June 2016

AbstractPlant polyphenols showed useful biochemical characteristics in vitro; however, the assessments of their clinical applications in vivo are restricted by their limited bioavailability due to their strong resistance to 1st‐pass effects during absorption. In order to improve the bioavailability of quercetin (QU), the ester derivative of QU (3,3′,4′,5,7‐pentahydroxy flavones, TAQU) was synthesized, followed by examining the oil–water partition coefficient as well as the transport mechanisms of QU and its ester derivative (TAQU) using human Caco‐2 cells. The transport characteristics of QU and TAQU transport under different conditions (different concentrations, time, pH, temperature, tight junctions, and potential transporters) were systematically investigated. Results showed that QU had a lower permeability coefficient (2.82 × 10−6 cm/s) for apical‐to‐basolateral (AP‐BL) transport over 5 to 50 μM, whereas the transport rate for AP to BL flux of TAQU (5.23 × 10−6 cm/s) was significantly greater than that of QU. Paracellular pathways were not involved during the transport of both QU and TAQU. QU was poorly absorbed by active transport, whereas TAQU was mostly absorbed by passive diffusion. Efflux transporters, P‐glycoproteins, multidrug resistance proteins were proven to participate in the transport process of QU, but not in that of TAQU. These results suggested that improving the lipophicity of QU by esterification could increase the transport of QU across Caco‐2 cells.
No clinically relevant differences between positron emission tomography (PET) reconstructions based on low‐dose or contrast‐enhanced CT in combined integrated multiphase 18F‐Fluorethylcholine PET/CT for prostate cancer
Authors: Behrendt Florian F , Lensing Carina , Keil Sebastian , Mottaghy Felix M , Verburg Frederik A 
Published: June 2016

AbstractObjectivesTo qualitatively and quantitatively compare the reconstructions of 18F‐Fluorethylcholine (FCH) positron emission tomography (PET) based on the non‐enhanced X‐ray computed tomography (neCT) and contrast‐enhanced CT (ceCT) acquired in integrated PET/CT in prostate cancer (PCA) patients.MethodsWe retrospectively analysed FCH‐PET/CTs of 63 PCA patients. PET images were reconstructed using either neCT or ceCT for attenuation correction. Contrast‐enhancement (HU) and mean and maximum standardised FDG uptake (SUVmean and SUVmax) were measured at eight anatomical sites, and PET images were evaluated for image quality and patient staging by two independent observers.ResultsAt all anatomical sites the HU values were significantly higher in the ceCT than in the neCT. This in turn led to increases in SUVmean and SUVmax that, although small in both absolute and relative terms, were highly consistent and thus statistically highly significant. However, assessment of the FCH‐PET images reconstructed using either neCT or ceCT revealed no differences between observers or reconstructions with regard to patient staging (all κ = 1.0: excellent agreement; P = 1.0). Minor visual differences without clinical relevance were seen in 21 scans by observer 1 and in 22 scans by observer 2 (κ = 0.68, P < 0.001).ConclusionsThere is no clinically relevant difference between reconstruction of PET images based on ceCT or neCT in FCH‐PET/CT in patients with prostate cancer. Small quantitative differences exist, but do not lead to clinically relevant differences in visual quality or clinical assessment of patients. Therefore, CT scan may be used for attenuation correction.
Genome‐wide association study for the level of serum electrolytes in Italian Large White pigs
Authors: Bovo S. , Schiavo G. , Mazzoni G. , Dall'Olio S. , Galimberti G. , Calò D. G. , Scotti E. , Bertolini F. , Buttazzoni L. , Samorè A. B. , Fontanesi L. 
Published: June 2016

SummaryCalcium, magnesium and phosphorus are essential electrolytes involved in a large number of biological processes. Imbalance of these minerals in blood may indicate clinically relevant conditions and are important in inferring acute or chronic pathologies in humans and animals. In this work, we carried out a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) for the level of these three electrolytes in the serum of 843 performance‐tested Italian Large White pigs. All pigs were genotyped with the Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip, and GWAS was carried out using genome‐wide efficient mixed‐model association. For the level of Ca2+, eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were significant, considering a false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05, and another eight were above the moderate association threshold (Pnominal value < 5.00E‐05). These SNPs are distributed in four porcine chromosomes (SSC): SSC8, SSC11, SSC12 and SSC13. In particular, a few putative different signals of association detected on SSC13 and one on SSC12 were in genes or close to genes involved in calcium metabolism (P2RY1, RAP2B, SLC9A9, C3orf58, TSC22D2, PLCH1 and CACNB1). Only one SNP (on SSC7) and six SNPs (on SSC2 and SSC7) showed moderate association with the level of magnesium and phosphorus respectively. The association signals for these two latter minerals might identify genes not known thus far for playing a role in their biological functions and regulations. In conclusion, our GWAS contributed to increased knowledge on the role that calcium, magnesium and phosphorus may play in the genetically determined physiological mechanisms affecting the natural variability of mineral levels in mammalian blood.
Behcet's disease and pregnancy—a case report and literature review
Authors: Xu Chuanlu , Bao Shihua 
Published: June 2016

This case study reports on a rare case of a woman with Behcet's disease (BD), uterine malformation and antiphospholipid syndrome, who successfully delivered a baby without any complications during the perinatal period. The woman, who was diagnosed with BD with relapsing oral, ocular, and genital involvement 8 years ago, registered in our clinic with a history of two inevitable miscarriages. Laboratory findings were positive for anti‐β2‐glycoprotein I antibodies (anti‐β2‐GP‐I). Three‐dimensional ultrasound showed that her uterus was unicornuate, with only a normal left side. After treatment, the woman had a cesarean section for breech presentation of a healthy male infant weighing 2700 g. The postpartum period was uneventful. The possible effects of BD on pregnancy outcomes and how to manage BD patients are discussed with a review of the literature.