bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impacts of human disturbance in tropical dry forests increase with soil moisture stress
Authors: Chaturvedi R. K. , Raghubanshi A. S. , Tomlinson K.W. , Singh J. S. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractQuestions(1) Which disturbances (harvesting, browsing, drought and fire) are important for tree mortality in a tropical dry forest (TDF), and do these change with size class (juvenile, sapling, adult)? (2) How is mortality and recruitment in a TDF related to soil moisture content (SMC) and does the relationship change for different size classes? (3) Is disturbance‐related mortality selectively removing particular species from the TDF?LocationSonebhadra and Mirzapur districts, Uttar Pradesh, India.MethodsWe analysed the structure of a TDF in central India in terms of the tree composition of juveniles, saplings and adults at five distinct sites located along a gradient of SMC, and recorded the numbers of individuals in each size class killed by the four disturbance types over 2 yr. We also recorded total stem density and recruitment at each site. We compared annual mortality index (AMI) and its four disturbance components (harvesting, browsing, drought and fire) and annual recruitment index (ARI) against the mean SMC of each site using GLMM.ResultsThe impact of all disturbances on total AMI decreased as SMC increased whereas ARI increased as SMC increased. Mortality due to harvesting was substantially higher than other disturbances for adult and sapling trees, whereas both harvesting and browsing were important drivers of mortality for juveniles. There was little evidence that particular species were being deliberately selected for harvesting across sites.ConclusionsTree saplings and adults in this TDF were mainly killed by harvesting, indicating that anthropogenic impacts on tree mortality are more important than non‐anthropogenic impacts in the TDF, and impacts of all disturbances become more severe with increasing water stress. Thus changes in TDF structure due to harvesting are likely to be more rapid in more arid environments.
Spontaneous Regression of a Plaque‐Type Striated Muscle Hamartoma
Authors: Calderón‐Castrat Ximena , Román‐Curto Concepción , Santos‐Briz Angel , Fernández‐López Emilia , Fraile Alonso María del Carmen 
Published: May 2017

AbstractStriated muscle hamartoma (SMH) is a rare, congenital or acquired, benign tumor that predominantly affects children. Therapeutic management has classically been surgical intervention. We present a pediatric case of a facial plaque‐type SMH with spontaneous regression that highlights the importance of clinical observation for a conservative approach.
Enhancing undergraduate nursing students’ global health competencies in South Korea
Authors: Kim Yoonseo , Han Kihye , Yoo Hae Young 
Published: May 2017

AbstractObjectivesAs the need for greater global health competency increases for health care professionals in South Korea, educational efforts for nursing students have begun. This study examined the effectiveness of two educational courses for freshmen and sophomores that were designed to improve students’ global health competencies.Design and SampleA trend study was conducted for all undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a 4‐year undergraduate nursing program in 2013 and 2014.MeasuresWe assessed students’ global health competencies (1‐knowledge and interests in global health and health equity, 2‐global health skills, and 3‐learning needs) in 2013 and 2014 and analyzed variance between mean scores by year and by course exposure, using 95% confidence intervals.ResultsStudents who took both global health courses (sophomores in both years) reported higher global health‐related knowledge and interests than did freshmen (p < .01); these scores were not sustained a year later.ConclusionsThe two courses may have improved students’ global health competencies. Reinforcement of knowledge in later courses may be needed to build on the global competencies.
Attributing emotions to false beliefs: Development across discrete emotions
Authors: Seidenfeld Adina M. , Ackerman Brian P. , Izard Carroll E. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractEmotion false belief (EFB) is the ability to correctly predict people's emotions given that they hold a false belief (FB). Accumulating evidence suggests that EFB understanding develops after FB understanding; however, the literature presents inconsistencies in this lag. The present study investigated the development of EFB in 85 four‐ and six‐year‐olds, and systematically compared this development to FB understanding across different emotions. Controlling for verbal ability and task demands, 6‐year‐olds scored significantly better on EFB tasks than 4‐year‐olds, and 6‐year‐olds' performance was better than chance. Performance did not vary by emotion. The data supported a developmental precedence of FB to EFB. Results suggest that children's acquisition of EFB is not due solely to verbal ability, FB understanding, or discrete emotion understanding; attributing emotions to beliefs represents a conceptual change in emotion understanding that occurs holistically. These conclusions are discussed in terms of socioemotional development.
Impact of foreign direct investment volatility on economic development in the Indian subcontinent
Authors: Bairagi Ranajit 
Published: May 2017

AbstractUsing annual data over forty years from 1975 to 2014, this study investigates the gross domestic product (GDP) growth and the conditional volatility of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indian subcontinent. The study reports the rising trends of both FDI and GDP and documents that the greater‐than‐expected FDI due to innovative shocks or policy innovations positively influences conditional volatility of FDI which, in turn, positively contributes to the economic growth/development. The conditional volatility used in the study is the variance derived from the diagnostically selected exponential GARCH (EGARCH) model. The study also reports the causality of both the FDI and its volatility across borders. More specifically, it reports bidirectional causality of FDI between India and Pakistan but unidirectional causality from Bangladesh to both India and Pakistan. It further documents that this volatility is persistent in all the economies and that it spillovers from both India and Pakistan to Bangladesh. The evidence attributes the economic development in the Indian subcontinent to the economic or policy innovations in attracting FDI. The findings of this study thus contribute to the literature by documenting the contrasting evidence that the volatility along with the trend of FDI contributes to the economic development and by reconciling the contrasting evidence.
Role of cyclooxygenase in the vascular responses to extremity cooling in Caucasian and African males
Authors: Maley Matthew J. , House James R. , Tipton Michael J. , Eglin Clare M. 
Published: May 2017

New Findings
What is the central question of this study?
Compared with Caucasians, African individuals are more susceptible to non‐freezing cold injury and experience greater cutaneous vasoconstriction and cooler finger skin temperatures upon hand cooling. We investigated whether the enzyme cyclooxygenase is, in part, responsible for the exaggerated response to local cooling.

What is the main finding and its importance?
During local hand cooling, individuals of African descent experienced significantly lower finger skin blood flow and skin temperature compared with Caucasians irrespective of cyclooxygenase inhibition. These data suggest that in young African males the cyclooxygenase pathway appears not to be the primary reason for the increased susceptibility to non‐freezing cold injury.

Individuals of African descent (AFD) are more susceptible to non‐freezing cold injury (NFCI) and experience an exaggerated cutaneous vasoconstrictor response to hand cooling compared with Caucasians (CAU). Using a placebo‐controlled, cross‐over design, this study tested the hypothesis that cyclooxygenase (COX) may, in part, be responsible for the exaggerated vasoconstrictor response to local cooling in AFD. Twelve AFD and 12 CAU young healthy men completed foot cooling and hand cooling (separately, in 8°C water for 30 min) with spontaneous rewarming in 30°C air after placebo or aspirin (COX inhibition) treatment. Skin blood flow, expressed as cutaneous vascular conductance (as flux per millimetre of mercury), and skin temperature were measured throughout. Irrespective of COX inhibition, the responses to foot cooling, but not hand cooling, were similar between ethnicities. Specifically, during hand cooling after placebo, AFD experienced a lower minimal skin blood flow [mean (SD): 0.5 (0.1) versus 0.8 (0.2) flux mmHg−1, P < 0.001] and a lower minimal finger skin temperature [9.5 (1.4) versus 10.7 (1.3)°C, P = 0.039] compared with CAU. During spontaneous rewarming, average skin blood flow was also lower in AFD than in CAU [2.8 (1.6) versus 4.3 (1.0) flux mmHg−1, P < 0.001]. These data provide further support that AFD experience an exaggerated response to hand cooling on reflection this appears to overstate findings; however, the results demonstrate that the COX pathway is not the primary reason for the exaggerated responses in AFD and increased susceptibility to NFCI.
Relationship Between Pretraining Subjective Wellness Measures, Player Load, and Rating-of-Perceived-Exertion Training Load in American College Football
Authors: Govus Andrew D. , Coutts Aaron , Duffield Rob , Murray Andrew , Fullagar Hugh 
Published: May 2017

Context: The relationship between pretraining subjective wellness and external and internal training load in American college football is unclear. Purpose: To examine the relationship of pretraining subjective wellness (sleep quality, muscle soreness, energy, wellness Z score) with player load and session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE-TL) in American college football players. Methods: Subjective wellness (measured using 5-point, Likert-scale questionnaires), external load (derived from GPS and accelerometry), and s-RPE-TL were collected during 3 typical training sessions per week for the second half of an American college football season (8 wk). The relationship of pretraining subjective wellness with player load and s-RPE training load was analyzed using linear mixed models with a random intercept for athlete and a random slope for training session. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) denote the effect magnitude. Results: A 1-unit increase in wellness Z score and energy was associated with trivial 2.3% (90% confidence interval [CI] 0.5, 4.2; SMD 0.12) and 2.6% (90% CI 0.1, 5.2; SMD 0.13) increases in player load, respectively. A 1-unit increase in muscle soreness (players felt less sore) corresponded to a trivial 4.4% (90% CI −8.4, −0.3; SMD −0.05) decrease in s-RPE training load. Conclusion: Measuring pretraining subjective wellness may provide information about players’ capacity to perform in a training session and could be a key determinant of their response to the imposed training demands American college football. Hence, monitoring subjective wellness may aid in the individualization of training prescription in American college football players.
Structural Basis for Linezolid Binding Site Rearrangement in the
Staphylococcus aureus
Ribosome
Authors: Belousoff Matthew J. , Eyal Zohar , Radjainia Mazdak , Ahmed Tofayel , Bamert Rebecca S. , Matzov Donna , Bashan Anat , Zimmerman Ella , Mishra Satabdi , Cameron David , Elmlund Hans , Peleg Anton Y. , Bhushan Shashi , Lithgow Trevor , Yonath Ada 
Published: May 2017

ABSTRACT

An unorthodox, surprising mechanism of resistance to the antibiotic linezolid was revealed by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) in the 70S ribosomes from a clinical isolate of
Staphylococcus aureus
. This high-resolution structural information demonstrated that a single amino acid deletion in ribosomal protein uL3 confers linezolid resistance despite being located 24 Å away from the linezolid binding pocket in the peptidyl-transferase center. The mutation induces a cascade of allosteric structural rearrangements of the rRNA that ultimately results in the alteration of the antibiotic binding site.

IMPORTANCE
The growing burden on human health caused by various antibiotic resistance mutations now includes prevalent
Staphylococcus aureus
resistance to last-line antimicrobial drugs such as linezolid and daptomycin. Structure-informed drug modification represents a frontier with respect to designing advanced clinical therapies, but success in this strategy requires rapid, facile means to shed light on the structural basis for drug resistance (D. Brown, Nat Rev Drug Discov 14:821–832, 2015,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd4675
). Here, detailed structural information demonstrates that a common mechanism is at play in linezolid resistance and provides a step toward the redesign of oxazolidinone antibiotics, a strategy that could thwart known mechanisms of linezolid resistance.
Visual and ocular motor function in the atypical form of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation type I
Authors: Jesus-Ribeiro Joana , Farinha Cláudia , Amorim Margarida , Matos Anabela , Reis Aldina , Lemos João , Castelo-Branco Miguel , Januário Cristina 
Published: May 2017

Background/aimsNeurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) type I is a rare disease that can be divided into a classical or atypical variant, according to age of onset and clinical pattern. Neuro-ophthalmological involvement has been documented in the classical variant but only anecdotically in the atypical variant. We sought to describe the visual and ocular motor function in patients with atypical form of NBIA type I.MethodsCross-sectional study, including patients with genetically confirmed NBIA type I and classified as atypical variant, who underwent ophthalmological examination with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), optical coherence tomography (OCT), fundus autofluorescence (FAF), electroretinography (ERG), visual evoked potentials (VEP) and video-oculography.ResultsSeven patients with a mean BCVA of 0.12±0.14 logMAR were included. Only two patients showed structural evidence of advanced retinopathy in OCT and FAF, and there were no cases of optic atrophy. ERG data, however, showed abnormal scotopic and/or photopic responses in all patients. VEP were normal in all three patients. Ocular fixation was markedly unstable (eg, increased rate of saccadic pulses) in the majority of patients (5). Additional mild ocular motor disturbances included low gain pursuit (2), hypermetric saccades (1), low gain optokinetic (2) and caloric and rotatory responses (3).ConclusionFunctional retinal changes associated with marked instability of ocular fixation should be included in the clinical spectrum of NBIA, particularly in the atypical form.
Objectivity in subjectivity: do students’ self and peer assessments correlate with examiners’ subjective and objective assessment in clinical skills? A prospective study
Authors: Inayah A'man Talal , Anwer Lucman A , Shareef Mohammad Abrar , Nurhussen Akram , Alkabbani Haifa Mazen , Alzahrani Alhanouf A , Obad Adam Subait , Zafar Muhammad , Afsar Nasir Ali 
Published: May 2017

ObjectivesThe qualitative subjective assessment has been exercised either by self-reflection (self-assessment (SA)) or by an observer (peer assessment (PA)) and is considered to play an important role in students’ development. The objectivity of PA and SA by students as well as those by faculty examiners has remained debated. This matters most when it comes to a high-stakes examination. We explored the degree of objectivity in PA, SA, as well as the global rating by examiners being Examiners’ Subjective Assessment (ESA) compared with Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE).DesignProspective cohort study.SettingUndergraduate medical students at Alfaisal University, Riyadh.ParticipantsAll second-year medical students (n=164) of genders, taking a course to learn clinical history taking and general physical examination.Main outcome measuresA Likert scale questionnaire was distributed among the participants during selected clinical skills sessions. Each student was evaluated randomly by peers (PA) as well as by himself/herself (SA). Two OSCEs were conducted where students were assessed by an examiner objectively as well as subjectively (ESA) for a global rating of confidence and well-preparedness. OSCE-1 had fewer topics and stations, whereas OSCE-2 was terminal and full scale.ResultsOSCE-1 (B=0.10) and ESA (B=8.16) predicted OSCE-2 scores. ‘No nervousness’ in PA (r=0.185, p=0.018) and ‘confidence’ in SA (r=0.207, p=0.008) correlated with ‘confidence’ in ESA. In ‘well-preparedness’, SA correlated with ESA (r=0.234, p=0.003).ConclusionsOSCE-1 and ESA predicted students’ performance in the OSCE-2, a high-stakes evaluation, indicating practical ‘objectivity’ in ESA, whereas SA and PA had minimal predictive role. Certain components of SA and PA correlated with ESA, suggesting partial objectivity given the limited objectiveness of ESA. Such difference in ‘qualitative’ objectivity probably reflects experience. Thus, subjective assessment can be used with some degree of objectivity for continuous assessment.
Venous sinus stenting shortens the duration of medical therapy for increased intracranial pressure secondary to venous sinus stenosis
Authors: Shazly Tarek A , Jadhav Ashutosh P , Aghaebrahim Amin , Ducruet Andrew F , Jankowitz Brian T , Jovin Tudor G , Bonhomme Gabrielle R 
Published: May 2017

IntroductionMedical treatment, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunting, and optic nerve sheath fenestration are standard treatments for increased intracranial pressure (ICP) in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). Venous sinus stenting provides a novel alternative surgical treatment in cases of venous sinus stenosis with elevated ICP.Methods12 consecutive subjects with papilledema, increased ICP, and radiological signs of dural sinus stenosis underwent cerebral venography and manometry. All subjects had papilledema and demonstrated radiological evidence of dural venous sinus stenosis.ResultsSix subjects chose venous stenting (Group A) and six declined and were managed conservatively with oral acetazolamide (Group B). The relative pressure gradient across the venous narrowing was 29±16.3 mm Hg in Group A and 17.6±9.3 mm Hg in Group B (p=0.09). The mean lumbar puncture opening pressure was 40.4±7.6 cm H2O in Group A and 35.6±10.6 cm H2O in Group B (p=0.4). Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) showed mean average retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness of 210±44.8 µm in Group A and 235±124.7 µm in Group B. However, the mean average RNFL thickness at 6 months was 85±9 µm in Group A and 95±24 µm in Group B (p=0.6). The total duration of acetazolamide treatment was 188±209 days in Group A compared with 571±544 days in Group B (p=0.07).ConclusionsIn subjects with venous sinuses stenosis, endovascular stenting offers an effective treatment option for intracranial hypertension which may shorten the duration of medical therapy.
Optimal Operator Replication and Placement for Distributed Stream Processing Systems
Authors: Cardellini Valeria , Grassi Vincenzo , Lo Presti Francesco , Nardelli Matteo 
Published: May 2017

Exploiting on-the-fly computation, Data Stream Processing (DSP) applications are widely used to process unbounded streams of data and extract valuable information in a near real-time fashion. As such, they enable the development of new intelligent and pervasive services that can improve our everyday life. To keep up with the high volume of daily produced data, the operators that compose a DSP application can be replicated and placed on multiple, possibly distributed, computing nodes, so to process the incoming data flow in parallel. Moreover, to better exploit the abundance of diffused computational resources (e.g., Fog computing), recent trends investigate the possibility of decentralizing the DSP application placement.
In this paper, we present and evaluate a general formulation of the optimal DSP replication and placement (ODRP) as an integer linear programming problem, which takes into account the heterogeneity of application requirements and infrastructural resources. We integrate ODRP as prototype scheduler in the Apache Storm DSP framework. By leveraging on the DEBS 2015 Grand Challenge as benchmark application, we show the benefits of a joint optimization of operator replication and placement and how ODRP can optimize different QoS metrics, namely response time, internode traffic, cost, availability, and a combination thereof.
Preventive Strategies for Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Procedures
Authors: Giacoppo Daniele , Gargiulo Giuseppe , Buccheri Sergio , Aruta Patrizia , Byrne Robert A. , Cassese Salvatore , Dangas George , Kastrati Adnan , Mehran Roxana , Tamburino Corrado , Capodanno Davide 
Published: May 2017

Background—
The effectiveness of currently available effective preventive strategies for contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI) is a matter of debate.

Methods and Results—

We performed a Bayesian random-effects network meta-analysis of 124 trials (28 240 patients) comparing a total of 10 strategies: saline, statin, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO
3
), NAC+NaHCO
3
, ascorbic acid, xanthine, dopaminergic agent, peripheral ischemic preconditioning, and natriuretic peptide. Compared with saline, the risk of CIAKI was reduced by using statin (odds ratio [OR], 0.42; 95% credible interval [CrI], 0.26–0.67), xanthine (OR, 0.32; 95% CrI, 0.17–0.57), ischemic preconditioning (OR, 0.48; 95% CrI, 0.26–0.87), NAC+NaHCO
3
(OR, 0.50; 95% CrI, 0.33–0.76), NAC (OR, 0.68; 95% CrI, 0.55–0.84), and NaHCO
3
(OR, 0.66; 95% CrI, 0.47–0.90). The benefit of statin therapy was consistent across multiple sensitivity analyses, whereas the efficacy of all the other strategies was questioned by restricting the analysis to high-quality trials. Overall, high heterogeneity was observed for comparisons involving xanthine and ischemic preconditioning, although the impact of NAC and xanthine was probably influenced by publication bias/small-study effect. Hydration alone was the least effective preventive strategy for CIAKI. Meta-regressions did not reveal significant associations with baseline creatinine and contrast volume. In patients with diabetes mellitus, no strategy was found to reduce the incidence of CIAKI.

Conclusions—

In patients undergoing percutaneous coronary procedures, statin administration is associated with a marked and consistent reduction in the risk of CIAKI compared with saline. Although xanthine, NAC, NaHCO
3
, NAC+NaHCO
3
, ischemic preconditioning, and natriuretic peptide may have nephroprotective effects, these results were not consistent across multiple sensitivity analyses.