bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Liver transplantation for severe alcoholic hepatitis–The CON view
Authors: Fung James Y. Y. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractIn patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) who have failed medical therapy, liver transplantation (LT) remains a controversial therapeutic option. This is exemplified by the fact that most of these patients will not have had a period of abstinence prior to consideration for transplantation. Both abstinence before transplantation and the duration of abstinence are important predictors of post‐transplant relapse. Furthermore, relapse after transplantation has been associated with accelerated graft injury and increase mortality. Recent pilot studies have demonstrated a benefit in short‐term survival with early transplantation in highly selected small number of patients compared to matched controls. The results of these studies raises the possibility of extending graft allocation to these subjects. Despite stringent assessment and a multi‐tiered approach to selecting out patients for transplantation, the relapse rate was not insignificant at 12%. As the long‐term outcome remains unclear, further relapses with time can still occur. These studies also highlight the fact that the overwhelming majority of subjects with severe AH who are non‐responsive to medical therapy are not suitable for LT. Indeed, further large‐scale multicentre prospective studies with long‐term follow‐up are required to confirm the preliminary findings.
Recently differentiated epimastigotes from Trypanosoma cruzi are infective to the mammalian host
Authors: Kessler Rafael Luis , Contreras Víctor Tulio , Marliére Newmar Pinto , Aparecida Guarneri Alessandra , Villamizar Silva Luz Helena , Mazzarotto Giovanny Augusto Camacho Antevere , Batista Michel , Soccol Vanete Thomaz , Krieger Marco Aurelio , Probst Christian Macagnan 
Published: February 2017

SummaryTrypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, has a complex life cycle in which four distinct developmental forms alternate between the insect vector and the mammalian host. It is assumed that replicating epimastigotes present in the insect gut are not infective to mammalian host, a paradigm corroborated by the widely acknowledged fact that only this stage is susceptible to the complement system. In the present work, we establish a T. cruzi in vitro and in vivo epimastigogenesis model to analyze the biological aspects of recently differentiated epimastigotes (rdEpi). We show that both trypomastigote stages of T. cruzi (cell‐derived and metacyclic) are able to transform into epimastigotes (processes termed primary and secondary epimastigogenesis, respectively) and that rdEpi have striking properties in comparison to long‐term cultured epimastigotes: resistance to complement‐mediated lysis and both in vitro (cell culture) and in vivo (mouse) infectivity. Proteomics analysis of all T. cruzi stages reveled a cluster of proteins that were up‐regulated only in rdEpi (including ABC transporters and ERO1), suggesting a role for them in rdEpi virulence. The present work introduces a new experimental model for the study of host‐parasite interactions, showing that rdEpi can be infective to the mammalian host.
Pathogenicity of Conidiobolus coronatus and Fusarium solani in mouse models
Authors: Li Yadi , Fang Xiangang , Zhou Xiaoqian , Geng Suying , Wang Yuxin , Yang Xiumin 
Published: February 2017

SummaryTo study the pathogenicity of Conidiobolus coronatus (C. coronatus) and Fusarium solani (F. solani) in animal models. Immunocompromised mice were treated with cyclophosphamide and prednisolone via intraperitoneal injection before and after inoculation. According to pathogenic characteristics of different fungi, C. coronatus was used to infect mice via intravenous inoculation, intraperitoneal inoculation, gastrointestinal infusion and intradermal inoculation methods. And F. solani was used to infect mice by inoculation via the abraded or normal skin. In the group of immunocompromised mice, C. coronatus was isolated from the lung tissues of one mouse on day 7 and another on day 10 respectively. The corresponding histopathology revealed infiltration of local inflammatory cells in the lung tissue. Pathogenic lesions were observed in all normal and immunocompromised mice infected with F. solani via abraded skin. The lesions in the immunocompromised mice were more severe and persisted longer than those in the normal mice. Moreover, hyphae were mostly observed in the histopathological examination and fungal culture from the immunocompromised mouse. The pathogenicity of C. coronatus was relatively weak as it did not induce local infections and did not disseminate the disease in immunocompetent and immunocompromised mice. Therefore, F. solani is a type of opportunistic pathogenic fungus, and abraded skin is one of the causative routes of infection.
Post‐fire environments are favourable for plant functioning of seeder and resprouter Mediterranean shrubs, even under drought
Authors: Parra Antonio , Moreno José M. 
Published: February 2017

Summary

Understanding how drought affects seeder and resprouter plants during post‐fire regeneration is important for the anticipation of Mediterranean vegetation vulnerability in a context of increasing drought and fire caused by climate change.

A Mediterranean shrubland was subjected to various drought treatments (including 45% rainfall reduction, 7 months drought yr−1), before and after experimental burning, by means of a rainout–shelter system with an irrigation facility. Predawn shoot water potential (Ψpd), relative growth rate (RGR), specific leaf area (SLA) and bulk leaf carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) were monitored in the main woody species during the first 3 yr after fire.

Cistus ladanifer seedlings showed higher Ψpd, RGR and SLA, and lower δ13C, than unburned plants during the first two post‐fire years. Seedlings under drought maintained relatively high Ψpd, but suffered a decrease in Ψpd and RGR, and an increase in δ13C, relative to control treatments. Erica arborea, E. scoparia and Phillyrea angustifolia resprouts had higher Ψpd and RGR than unburned plants during the first post‐fire year. Resprouters were largely unaffected by drought.

Overall, despite marked differences between the two functional groups, post‐fire environments were favourable for plant functioning of both seeder and resprouter shrubs, even under the most severe drought conditions implemented.
WHEN BUREAUCRACY MATTERS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE: EXPLORING THE BENEFITS OF ADMINISTRATIVE INTENSITY IN BIG AND COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONS
Authors: ANDREWS RHYS , BOYNE GEORGE , MOSTAFA AHMED MOHAMMED SAYED 
Published: February 2017

AbstractAdministrative intensity is arguably a major determinant of public service performance. Although a large administrative function might constitute a bureaucratic burden, it could also enable organizations to better coordinate key activities. In particular, administrative intensity may strengthen or weaken the performance effects of other key organizational characteristics, such as size and task complexity. To explore these ideas, we analyse the separate and combined effects of administrative intensity, organization size and task complexity on the research and educational performance of UK universities between 2005 and 2011. The statistical results suggest that administrative intensity has a performance pay‐off for big and complex organizations.
Genomic prediction for yields, processing and nutritional quality traits in cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosumL.)
Authors: Habyarimana Ephrem , Parisi Bruno , Mandolino Giuseppe 
Published: February 2017

AbstractCurrent potato breeding approaches are hampered by several factors including costly seed tubers, tetrasomic inheritance and inbreeding depression. Genomic selection (GS) demonstrated interesting results regardless of the ploidy level, and can be harnessed to circumvent these problems. In this work, three GS models were evaluated using 50,107 informative SilicoDArT markers and 11 traits in two values for cultivation and use (VCU) potato trials. Two key breeding problems modelled included predicting the performance of (i) new and unphenotyped clones (cross‐validation) and (ii) a VCU using another as training set (TS). GS models performed comparably. Cross‐validation accuracy was high for D35, D45, DMW and BVAL, in ascending order. Prediction accuracies of the VCUs were highly correlated, but the best prediction was obtained for the smaller VCU using the bigger as TS. Cross‐validation and VCU prediction accuracies were higher when bigger TSs were used. The findings herein indicate that GS can be attractively integrated in potato breeding, particularly in early clonal generations to predict and select for traits with low heritability which would otherwise require more testing years, environments and resources.
Molecular genetic characterization and association mapping in spelt wheat
Authors: Würschum Tobias , Leiser Willmar L. , Longin C. Friedrich H. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractSpelt wheat is an old crop that has recently been re‐established, accompanied by a continuing increase in acreage to satisfy current consumer trends for novel and interesting products. Here, we employed a diversity panel of 123 old and new spelt accessions to molecularly characterize them and to investigate the genetic architecture underlying eight agronomic, morphological and disease resistance traits. We show that there is no major population structure and no grouping according to the age of the accessions, in line with the short breeding history and the intensive use of old cultivars in the re‐establishment of spelt. Nevertheless, allele frequency differences between old and new accessions indicate a potential effect of breeding and selection on some genomic regions. Linkage disequilibrium was found to stretch approximately 5–10 cM. Genomewide association mapping identified putativeQTLfor all eight traits, but indicates different genetic architectures. Taken together, our results may assist future breeding of this ancient crop, towards sustainable product chains and a further diversification of our food basket.
Verrucae Planae Within Previous Xenograft Sites of Burn Wounds
Authors: Chen Olivia , Pearlstein Michelle Vernali , Morrell Dean S. , Corley Sarah B. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractBurn injuries are known to compromise host immune defenses through disruption of mucocutaneous barriers and suppression of cell‐mediated immune responses, which may render patients with burn injuries susceptible to viral infections in the days to years after an initial insult. We report a case of verrucae planae developing as a secondary condition confined to former xenograft sites in a child, appearing more than 3.5 years after initial second‐degree burn injuries. Only a few reports have previously described the development of verrucae in former burn sites, with most reporting latency to onset of verrucae appearance of months rather than years. Current hypotheses suggest that the postburn immune response shifts from an early proinflammatory to a late antiinflammatory response characterized by altered cytokine profiles and diminished cellular cytotoxicity mediated by cytotoxic T‐lymphocytes, natural killer cells, and epidermal antigen‐presenting cells, which together likely contribute to an enduring postburn regional immunosuppression that allows for the seeding and proliferation of viral agents.
American cutaneous leishmaniasis: In situ immune response of patients with recent and late lesions
Authors: Gomes A. H. S. , Martines R. B. , Kanamura C. T. , Barbo M. L. P. , Iglezias S. D. , Lauletta Lindoso J. A. , Pereira‐Chioccola V. L. 
Published: February 2017

SummaryTNF‐α, IFN‐γ, IL‐10, IL‐17, CD68 and CD57 were evaluated in biopsies of patients with American cutaneous leishmaniasis living in Sorocaba, Brazil. The analyses were performed considering the time of lesions from 23 patients with recent lesions (Group I) and 19 patients with late lesions (Group II). All patients were infected with Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. Immunostaining cells for CD68, CD57, TNF‐ α, IFN‐γ, IL‐10 and IL‐17 were performed by immunohistochemistry. Except for CD68 and IL‐17, the distribution of in situ for CD57, IL‐10, TNF‐α and IFN‐γ showed that patients with recent lesions expressed higher levels than those with late lesions. The comparison of cytokine expression/group showed that IL‐10 was significantly higher than IL‐17 and IFN‐γ (similar data were shown in IL‐17 compared with TNF‐α), suggesting an immunological balance between inflammatory‐anti‐inflammatory agents. This balance was similar for two groups of patients. In conclusion, these data suggested that (i) patients from Group I had recent lesions (in the beginning of chronic phase) compared to those from Group II and (ii) the modulation of inflammatory response in patients with recent American cutaneous leishmaniasis was correlated with IL‐10 expression in skin lesions preventing the development of mucosal forms. The parasite treatment also prevented the evolution of severe forms.
The effect of ovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells on Haemonchus contortus larval morbidity in vitro
Authors: Shepherd E. A. , Garza J. J. , Greiner S. P. , Bowdridge S. A. 
Published: February 2017

SummaryThe objective of this study was to determine the effects of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), derived from parasite‐resistant St. Croix (STC) hair sheep and parasite‐susceptible Suffolk (SUF) sheep, on Haemonchus contortus L3 stage larval death in vitro, with or without autologous serum. Larval morbidity was quantified by measuring larval ATP concentration following incubation with PBMC. Larvae exposed to either STC‐ or SUF‐derived PBMC had lower ATP than live larvae (0.12 μmol/L ATP and 0.16 μmol/L ATP vs 0.27 μmol/L ATP, respectively) (P<.001) and greater ATP of dead larvae (0.03 μmol/L ATP) (P<.001). Breed differences were observed with addition of autologous serum. Larvae exposed to SUF‐derived PBMC with autologous serum were not significantly different from live larval ATP. STC‐derived serum did not significantly reduce larval ATP compared to PBMC alone (0.11 μmol/L ATP), but was significantly reduced compared to live larvae (0.22 μmol/L ATP) and SUF‐derived PBMC with autologous serum (0.23 μmol/L ATP) (P<.001). These data indicate that a cellular response alone is capable of significantly reducing larval ATP in a breed‐independent manner. However, addition of serum to SUF‐PBMC failed to reduce larval ATP, indicating breed‐dependent humoral response to H. contortus.
Consequences matter: Self‐induced tones are used as feedback to optimize tone‐eliciting actions
Authors: Neszmélyi Bence , Horváth János 
Published: February 2017

AbstractExperimental paradigms investigating the processing of self‐induced stimuli are often based on the implicit assumption that motor processes are invariable regardless of their consequences: It is presumed that actions with different sets of predictable sensory consequences do not differ in their physical characteristics or in their brain signal reflections. The present experiment explored this assumption in the context of action‐related auditory attenuation by comparing actions (pinches) with and without auditory consequences. The results show that motor processes are not invariable: Pinches eliciting a tone were softer than pinches without auditory effects. This indicates that self‐induced auditory stimuli are not perceived as irrelevant side effects: The tones are used as feedback to optimize the tone‐eliciting actions. The comparison of ERPs related to actions with different physical parameters (strong and soft pinches) revealed a significant ERP difference in the time range of the action‐related N1 attenuation (strong pinches resulted in more negative amplitudes), suggesting that a motor correction bias may contribute to this auditory ERP attenuation effect, which is usually attributed to action‐related predictive processes.
Toward an Analytical Framework for the Study of Race and Police Violence
Authors: Rivera Mario A. , Ward James D. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractTreatments of race and police violence in the fields of public administration and policy have drawn eclectically from many disciplinary sources in historical, political, and managerial analysis. From an institutional perspective, emphasis has been on how organizational practices, rules, norms, and values, along with role socialization, shape germane behavior. Of particular interest to the authors is the phenomenon of race‐related police violence in its systemic but also attitudinal and behavioral manifestations in the policing role. How does an academic or practitioner researcher specify evaluative perspectives applicable to this policy and administrative challenge? There is a prior need for defined analytical and ethical positions drawing closely from public administration and policy sources. This article suggests ways to develop such grounded frameworks, built on these distinctive traditions but also going beyond them, so as to allow for an integrative approach to evaluative analysis and action on this grave and contentious issue.
Transnational delegation in global environmental governance: When do non‐state actors govern?
Authors: Green Jessica F. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractNon‐state actors – including firms, non‐governmental organizations, and networks – are now a permanent fixture in environmental politics. However, we know surprisingly little about when states choose to delegate to non‐state actors through multilateral treaties. This paper provides an historical picture, tracing patterns of delegation to non‐state agents in a random sample of multilateral environmental agreements from 1902 to 2002. I introduce a new unit of analysis – the policy function – to understand what non‐state actors actually do as agents. I find that analyses of delegation are sensitive to the unit of analysis; patterns of delegation at the treaty level are very different from those at the level of individual policy functions. While overall the decision to delegate to non‐state actors – what I term transnational delegation – is rare, it has grown over time. Complex treaties, those with secretariats, and those focused on the management of nature are more apt to delegate to non‐state actors. Non‐state agents fill a small, but growing role in multilateral environmental treaties.
Growth and convergence in South–South integration areas: An empirical analysis
Authors: Sperlich Stefan , Sperlich Yvonne 
Published: February 2017

AbstractUntil recently, it has been argued in economic theory that regional integration and trade agreements among developing countries may achieve negative growth effects. This study tests empirically the effects of such South–South agreements on growth and convergence. All three world regions in question are considered: South America, Southeast Asia, and Sub‐Saharan Africa. A comprehensive panel data analysis is conducted that distinguishes between the problems of testing for stronger growth and accelerated convergence, respectively. The data indicate that the considered South–South agreements promote both.
The dark corner of the heart – understanding and embracing suffering as portrayed by adults
Authors: Hemberg Jessica 
Published: February 2017

BackgroundSuffering profoundly touches the human being's inner existence. The different faces of suffering may yet be unknown, and therefore, it is important to further explore suffering in order to reach a new and deeper understanding of it and its alleviation.The aim and research questionsThe aim of this study was to expand the understanding of suffering. The research questions are what is suffering as described by the human beings themselves and what initiates a movement in suffering towards its alleviation?Research design, participants and research contextThe study uses a hermeneutical approach and hermeneutical reading. The material consists of interviews with adults who had lived through suffering and regained health.Ethical considerationsThe data storage, study participation and handling of data for research purposes were approved by the participants when they provided their informed consent.FindingsSuffering is portrayed as a deep darkness. The suffering human being is filled with hopelessness and meaninglessness and feels homeless in life. There is often a hidden inner longing in the midst of suffering that may be uncovered.ConclusionEmbracing the dark corner of the heart, the suffering, provides the keys for initiating a movement towards its alleviation and implications for how to encounter a suffering human being, for example within different caring contexts.
Nutritional Issues with Incremental Dialysis: The Role of Low‐Protein Diets
Authors: Locatelli Francesco , Del Vecchio Lucia , Aicardi Valeria 
Published: February 2017

AbstractA gentle start of dialysis is a welcome possibility for both patients and physicians. Incident dialysis patients often maintain residual kidney function (RKF) for a considerable period of time; the start of dialysis is often driven mainly by uremic symptoms. Recently, the combination of a low‐protein diet, along with a less‐frequent dialysis schedule, has regained interest as an alternative option in selected and motivated patients. In addition, there is renewed interest in a low‐protein diet in patients with moderate to advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dietary regimens have additional objectives now: obtaining better control of phosphate and potassium levels; preventing or reducing metabolic acidosis, protein catabolism, and malnutrition; and reducing uremic symptoms. In the eighties and early nineties, data from uncontrolled studies showed that combining a very low‐protein diet with once weekly hemodialysis was a feasible approach. However, these diets were very demanding with poor patient compliance and had a high risk of smoldering malnutrition. However, recent experience has shown that the new protein‐free foods have better palatability and nutritional properties; this has increased adherence to dietary prescriptions. Dietary regimens are now tailored to the patient's needs and habits. A multidisciplinary approach is considered crucial for updating medical needs and dietary prescriptions, ensuring adherence to the combined program, and avoiding the development of malnutrition and inadequate dialysis. Monitoring RKF is another key factor for the success of the program due to the importance of optimal timing of the transition to twice‐weekly regimens and, eventually, thrice‐weekly hemodialysis.
Immigration, Ethnic Diversity, and Political Outcomes: Evidence from Denmark
Authors: Harmon Nikolaj A. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractI study the impact of immigration and increasing ethnic diversity on political outcomes in immigrant‐receiving countries, focusing on immigration and election outcomes in Danish municipalities between 1981 and 2001. A novel instrumental variable strategy based on historical housing stock data addresses issues of endogenous location choices of immigrants and a rich set of control variables is employed to isolate ethnic diversity effects from those of other immigrant characteristics. Increases in local ethnic diversity lead to rightward shifts in election outcomes by shifting electoral support away from traditional “big government” left‐wing parties and towards anti‐immigrant nationalist parties. This holds for both local and national elections.