bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Radial and Longitudinal Strain and Strain Rate Assessed by Speckle‐Tracking Echocardiography in Dogs with Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease
Authors: Zois N.E. , Tidholm A. , Nägga K.M. , Moesgaard S.G. , Rasmussen C.E. , Falk T. , Häggström J. , Pedersen H.D. , Åblad B. , Nilsen H.Y. , Olsen L.H. 
Published: November 2012

BackgroundAssessment of left ventricular (LV) function using conventional echocardiographic methods is difficult in mitral regurgitation (MR) owing to altered hemodynamic loading conditions. Newer methods such as speckle‐tracking echocardiography (STE) provide assessment ofLVstrain (St) and strain rates (SR).HypothesesGlobalSt andSRare 1) decreased in dogs with clinical signs of congestive heart failure (CHF) due to myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) compared with clinically healthy dogs, and are 2) associated with conventional echocardiographic indices ofMMVDseverity.AnimalsThe study subjects were 93 privately owned dogs with differentMMVDseverities.MethodsProspectively recruited dogs were grouped according toMMVDseverity based on echocardiographic evaluation ofMRand presence of clinical signs. Global radial and longitudinalSt,SR, and indices ofLVdyssynchrony were assessed.ResultsOn group‐wise comparisons, dogs withCHFhad increased global longitudinal St, global longitudinal and radial SR in systole (SRs), and early diastole (SRe) compared with dogs with no or minimalMR(allP < .04). On multiple regression analyses, these globalSTEvariables increased with degree ofMR, but associations with left atrial‐to‐aortic root ratio (LA/Ao) were best described by second‐order polynomial equations. Thus, curvilinear relationships were found forLA/Ao and longitudinalSt,SRs, andSRe (allP < .002) and radialSt andSRe (allP < .001).Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceAssessed bySTE,LVfunction appeared to be augmented in moderate‐to‐severe disease. However, atCHFstages with greatly enlarged atria, a decrease to levels comparable to dogs with no or minimalMRwas observed.
Relationship of Mixed Bacterial Infection to Prognosis in Foals with Pneumonia Caused byRhodococcus equi
Authors: Giguère S. , Jordan L.M.I. , Glass K. , Cohen N.D. 
Published: November 2012

BackgroundIsolation of multiple bacterial species is common in foals withRhodococcus equipneumonia.HypothesisThere is no association between isolation of other microorganisms and outcome.Animals155 foals with pneumonia caused byR. equi.MethodsCase records of foals diagnosed withR. equipneumonia based on culture of the respiratory tract were reviewed at 2 referral hospitals (University of Florida [UF] and Texas A&M University [TAMU]).ResultsR. equiwas cultured from a tracheobronchial aspirate (TBA) in 115 foals and from lung tissue in 38 foals. Survival was significantly higher atUF(71%; 70/99) than atTAMU(50%; 28/56).R. equiwas significantly more likely to grow in pure cultures from samples obtained from foals atUF(55%; 54/99) than from foals atTAMU(23%; 13/56). Microorganisms cultured withR. equiincluded Gram‐positive bacteria in 40, Gram‐negative bacteria in 41, and fungi in 23 foals. The most common bacteria isolated were beta‐hemolytic streptococci (n = 26) andEscherichia coli(n = 18). Mixed infections were significantly more likely to be encountered inTBAthan in lung tissue. Only foals from whichR. equiwas cultured from aTBAwere included in the analysis for association between mixed infection and outcome. After adjusting for the effect of hospital using multivariate logistic regression, mixed culture, mixed bacterial culture, Gram‐positive bacteria, beta‐hemolytic streptococci, Gram‐negative bacteria, enteric Gram‐negative bacteria, nonenteric Gram‐negative bacteria, and fungi were not significantly associated with outcome.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceIsolation of multiple bacteria or fungi from aTBAalong withR. equidoes not negatively impact prognosis.
The Formative Years of Anglo‐Iranian Relations (1907–1953): Colonial Scramble for Iran and Its Political Legacy
Authors: Behravesh Maysam 
Published: November 2012

AbstractAs the title largely illustrates, this study seeks to investigate, from a diplomatic‐history and geostrategic perspective, the key developments in Anglo‐Iranian relations during what may best be dubbed their “formative years,” ranging from 1907 to 1953. Having thus provided a glimpse into pre‐twentieth‐century Persian–British relations, it moves to analyze the division of Persia into two spheres of influence between Great Britain and Tsarist Russia in 1907, the Anglo‐Iranian agreement of 1919, the English control of Iranian oil during the first half of the twentieth century and the nationalist struggle against it, and finally the 1953 coup d'état orchestrated by the United Kingdom and the United States against the democratic government of Mohammad Mosaddeq, which managed to topple him and bring Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi to power. While the article focuses mainly on the complex history of Anglo‐Iranian relationship, it strives to shed light on the implications of such a history for future bilateral relations, its impact on the contemporary Iranian perception of the British, and finally the cultural‐political legacy it has left behind in Iran. The study follows a chronological order and draws on a range of English and Persian sources in trying to fulfill its task.
U.S. Foreign Policy and the Arab Spring: Balancing Values and Interests
Authors: Atlas Pierre M. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe rapid and unpredictable changes in the Middle East collectively known as the “Arab Spring” are posing tremendous challenges to U.S. policy formation and action. This article will explore and evaluate evolving U.S. policy in the Middle East and its potential implications. There has always been a tension in American foreign policy between pursuing American “values” (foreign policy idealism) and protecting American “interests” (foreign policy realism). For decades, the United States has sought to “make the world safe for democracy,” while at the same time often supporting repressive, nondemocratic regimes because of national security or economic self‐interest. The tension between these two fundamentally distinct policy orientations has become even more pronounced as the United States tries to respond to the Arab Spring uprisings. Why did the United States actively support the rebels in Libya but not the protestors in Syria or Bahrain? Is there an emerging, coherent “Obama Doctrine” on intervention in Arab countries, or was Libya just a “one‐off” event? These are some of the questions that this article will attempt to answer.
Palestinian Water: Resources, Use, Conservation, Climate Change, and Land Use
Authors: Hassan Marwan A. , McIntyre Graham 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThis article addresses the future of freshwater resources in the Palestinian West Bank through a discussion of contemporary issues that each plays a vital role in determining the long‐term sustainability of freshwater reserves, such as water resource availability, trans‐boundary water issues, water reuse and conservation, changes in land use, and the potential impact of climate change on long‐term water management. Climate change and changing land use patterns are already altering this region's water resources. Future predictions regarding the long‐term effects of these changes are complex and therefore inherently uncertain. However, the consensus among most studies on this subject indicates that currently water‐poor regions such as the Middle East will experience even greater water stress in the future. Nearly all of the freshwater consumed in the West Bank is obtained from local groundwater supplies that are suffering overdraft as well as decreasing water quality. Climate change will exacerbate water stress by increasing overall temperatures, decreasing and fluctuating precipitation, and reducing overall aquifer replenishment. Expanding urbanization will continue to strain freshwater supplies by negatively impacting the quality and quantity of available freshwater. Water management in the West Bank is further complicated by total Israeli control over water resources, which often causes water delivery to Palestinians in this region to be marginalized. This article finds that Palestinian and Israeli water managers must plan for future water crises, which will likely be a result of the combined effects of increasing urbanization and climate change coupled with exponential population growth.
Characterization of monocarboxylate uptake and immunohistochemical demonstration of monocarboxylate transporters in cultured rabbit corneal epithelial cells
Authors: Kawazu Kouichi , Fujii Shinobu , Yamada Kazuhito , Shinomiya Katsuhiko , Katsuta Osamu , Horibe Yoshihide 
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Objectives
This study aimed to characterize the mechanisms of monocarboxylate uptake by cultured rabbit corneal epithelial cells (RCECs) using l- and d-lactic acids as model substrates.

Methods
l-/d-Lactic acid uptake was evaluated by measuring the accumulation in confluent RCECs. Also, we demonstrated the distribution of monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) in RCECs by immunohistochemistry.

Key findings
The accumulation of 14C-labelled l- and d-lactic acids was dependent on time, pH and temperature. The Arrhenius plots of the uptake were biphasic. The initial uptake of 14C-labelled l-lactic acid exhibited concentration dependence and was greater than that of the d-isomer. The initial uptake of 14C-labelled l- and d-lactic acids involved saturable and nonsaturable processes; the saturable process exhibited higher affinity for l-lactic acid than for the d-isomer. l-/d-lactic acid uptake was inhibited by chiral monocarboxylate in a stereoselective manner. The uptake of 14C-labelled l- and d-lactic acids was sensitive to metabolic inhibitors and other monocarboxylates. MCT expression in RCECs was confirmed immunohistochemically. In particular, MCT2 expression was detected in RCECs, whereas MCT1, MCT4 and MCT5 expression was detected in the surface layer.

Conclusion
These results indicate that the carrier-mediated transport system specific for monocarboxylates elicits lactic acid uptake in RCECs. Therefore, the transcorneal permeation of drugs with a monocarboxylic moiety may be dependent on the activity of a specific pH-dependent transporter as well as passive diffusion according to the pH-partition theory.
The role of genetic structure in the adaptive divergence of populations experiencing saltwater intrusion due to relative sea‐level rise
Authors: Purcell K. M. , Hitch A. , Martin S. , Klerks P. L. , Leberg P. L. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractSaltwater intrusion into estuaries creates stressful conditions for nektonic species. Previous studies have shown that Gambusia affinis populations with exposure to saline environments develop genetic adaptations for increased survival during salinity stress. Here, we evaluate the genetic structure of G. affinis populations, previously shown to have adaptations for increased salinity tolerance, and determine the impact of selection and gene flow on structure of these populations. We found that gene flow was higher between populations experiencing different salinity regimes within an estuary than between similar marsh types in different estuaries, suggesting the development of saline‐tolerant phenotypes due to local adaptation. There was limited evidence of genetic structure along a salinity gradient, and only some of the genetic variation among sites was correlated with salinity. Our results suggest limited structure, combined with selection to saltwater intrusion, results in phenotypic divergence in spite of a lack of physical barriers to gene flow.
By‐product information can stabilize the reliability of communication
Authors: Martin Schaefer H. , Ruxton G. D. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractAlthough communication underpins many biological processes, its function and basic definition remain contentious. In particular, researchers have debated whether information should be an integral part of a definition of communication and how it remains reliable. So far the handicap principle, assuming signal costs to stabilize reliable communication, has been the predominant paradigm in the study of animal communication. The role of by‐product information produced by mechanisms other than the communicative interaction has been neglected in the debate on signal reliability. We argue that by‐product information is common and that it provides the starting point for ritualization as the process of the evolution of communication. Second, by‐product information remains unchanged during ritualization and enforces reliable communication by restricting the options for manipulation and cheating. Third, this perspective changes the focus of research on communication from studying signal costs to studying the costs of cheating. It can thus explain the reliability of signalling in many communication systems that do not rely on handicaps. We emphasize that communication can often be informative but that the evolution of communication does not cause the evolution of information because by‐product information often predates and stimulates the evolution of communication. Communication is thus a consequence but not a cause of reliability. Communication is the interplay of inadvertent, informative traits and evolved traits that increase the stimulation and perception of perceivers. Viewing communication as a complex of inadvertent and derived traits facilitates understanding of the selective pressures shaping communication and those shaping information and its reliability. This viewpoint further contributes to resolving the current controversy on the role of information in communication.
Attractiveness of synthetic volatile blends of flowering rice panicles to Trigonotylus caelestialium (Kirkaldy) (Heteroptera: Miridae)
Authors: Hori M. , Enya S. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe attractiveness of 22 synthetic volatile blends or seven individual chemicals emitted from flowering rice panicles to a rice leaf bug, Trigonotylus caelestialium (Kirkaldy), were investigated with an olfactometer to identify the active compounds responsible for the invasion of the bugs into paddy fields. n‐Decanal attracted only male bugs, whereas β‐caryophyllene attracted only females. β‐Elemene repelled males and methyl benzoate marginally repelled females. The other chemicals did not attract or repel male and female bugs at all. Two‐, 3‐, 4‐ and 5‐component blends of β‐caryophyllene, n‐decanal, n‐tridecene, methyl salicylate and geranyl acetone were attractive to neither females nor males. Two‐component blends comprised of β‐caryophyllene and methyl salicylate, or n‐decanal and methyl salicylate, marginally repelled females. The three‐component blend comprised of β‐caryophyllene, n‐decanal and geranyl acetone marginally repelled females. The five‐component blend comprised of β‐caryophyllene, n‐decanal, n‐tridecene, methyl salicylate and geranyl acetone repelled males. The seven‐component blend comprised of β‐caryophyllene, n‐decanal, n‐tridecene, methyl salicylate, geranyl acetone, methyl benzoate and β‐elemene attracted female bugs and marginally attracted male bugs. Six‐component blends without any one of these seven components were not attractive to the bugs although the six‐component blend without n‐decanal was marginally attractive to females. The six‐component blend without n‐tridecene repelled males. These findings suggest that mixtures of these seven compounds play an important role in the attractiveness of flowering rice panicles to both sexes of the bugs, although the attractiveness of individual compounds differs between sexes.
The impacts of storm Xynthia February 27–28, 2010 in France: lessons for flood risk management
Authors: Kolen B. , Slomp R. , Jonkman S.N. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThis paper documents and discuss the facts, findings and lessons after the storm (in French Tempête) Xynthia, February 27–28, 2010. A storm surge combined with the high tide and waves caused failure and damages to flood defences along a coastline of 200 km. More then 50 000 ha of land was consequently flooded, and 47 people died as a result of the flood and storm. Findings and lessons are defined along the principals of a flood risk management strategy of three layers (multilayer safety approach): prevention, land use planning and emergency management. The findings can be used to improve flood prevention, land use planning and preparedness. These findings can also be used for further development of the relation between the authorities and citizens for low frequent, and not preventable, coastal flood events.
The Combined Effect of UV Irradiation and Ethanol Extract from Torilis japonica Fruit on Inactivation of Bacillus subtilis Spores
Authors: Cho Won‐Il , Cheigh Chan‐Ick , Chung Myung‐Sub , Park Ki‐Hwan , Chang Pahn‐Shick , Chung Myong‐Soo 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the synergistic sporicidal effects of the ethanol extract from Torilis japonica fruit on inactivation of Bacillus subtilis spores induced by UV irradiation at a wavelength of 254 nm. UV254 exhibited the strongest inactivation effect, with the level of spores being reduced by approximately 3.6‐ and 4.7‐log cycles, respectively, after 3 and 10 min of exposure at an irradiation distance of 15 cm. And an ethanol extract of T. japonica fruit at concentration of 1.0% reduced the spore counts by about 3.0‐log cycles for 1 h of treatment. Furthermore, a combined treatment with UV254 irradiation and 1.0% ethanol extract of the fruit produced 4.2–5.0‐log reductions of Bacillus spores at different growth stages for an exposure time of 3 min. The energy required from UV irradiation to inactivate the spores was 50% lower in the presence of 1% ethanol extract of the fruit than with UV irradiation alone.Practical ApplicationBacterial endospores, especially those of Bacillus and Clostridium genera, are the target of sterilization in various foods. The present study suggests that a combined treatment of UV irradiation and natural antimicrobial component, Torilis japonica fruit extract, can act synergistically and effectively to kill Bacillus spores and can be a potential nonthermal sterilization method for the decontamination of Bacillus spores in the food industry.
Using administrative health data to identify individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: a comparison of algorithms
Authors: Lin E. , Balogh R. , Cobigo V. , Ouellette‐Kuntz H. , Wilton A. S. , Lunsky Y. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractBackgroundIndividuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience high rates of physical and mental health problems; yet their health care is often inadequate. Information about their characteristics and health services needs is critical for planning efficient and equitable services. A logical source of such information is administrative health data; however, it can be difficult to identify cases with IDD in these data. The purpose of this study is to evaluate three algorithms for case finding of IDD in health administrative data.MethodsThe three algorithms were created following existing approaches in the literature which ranged between maximising sensitivity versus balancing sensitivity and specificity. The broad algorithm required only one IDD service contact across all available data and time periods, the intermediate algorithm added the restriction of a minimum of two physician visits while the narrow algorithm added a further restriction that the time period be limited to 2006 onward. The resulting three cohorts were compared according to socio‐demographic and clinical characteristics. Comparisons on different subgroups for a hypothetical population of 50 000 individuals with IDD were also carried out: this information may be relevant for planning specialised treatment or support programmes.ResultsThe prevalence rates of IDD per 100 were 0.80, 0.52 and 0.18 for the broad, intermediate and narrow algorithms, respectively. Except for ‘percentage with psychiatric co‐morbidity’, the three cohorts had similar characteristics (standardised differences < 0.1). More stringent thresholds increased the percentage of psychiatric co‐morbidity and decreased the percentages of women and urban residents in the identified cohorts (standardised differences = 0.12 to 0.46). More concretely, using the narrow algorithm to indirectly estimate the number of individuals with IDD, a practice not uncommon in planning and policy development, classified nearly 7000 more individuals with psychiatric co‐morbidities than using the intermediate algorithm.ConclusionsThe prevalence rate produced by the intermediate algorithm most closely approximated the reported literature rate suggesting the value of imposing a two‐physician visit minimum but not restricting the time period covered. While the statistical differences among the algorithms were generally minor, differences in the numbers of individuals in specific population subgroups may be important particularly if they have specific service needs. Health administrative data can be useful for broad‐based service planning for individuals with IDD and for population level comparisons around their access and quality of care.
TheRNA‐binding proteinMARTA2 regulates dendritic targeting ofMAP2mRNAs in rat neurons
Authors: Zivraj Krishna H. , Rehbein Monika , Ölschläger‐Schütt Janin , Schob Claudia , Falley Katrin , Buck Friedrich , Schweizer Michaela , Schepis Antonino , Kremmer Elisabeth , Richter Dietmar , Kreienkamp Hans‐Jürgen , Kindler Stefan 
Published: November 2012

AbstractDendritic targeting ofmRNAs encoding the microtubule‐associated protein 2 (MAP2) in neurons involves acis‐acting dendritic targeting element. Two rat brain proteins, MAP2‐RNAtrans‐acting protein (MARTA)1 andMARTA2, bind to thecis‐element with both high affinity and specificity. In this study, affinity‐purifiedMARTA2 was identified as orthologue of human far‐upstream element binding protein 3. In neurons, it resides in somatodendritic granules and dendritic spines and associates withMAP2mRNAs. Expression of a dominant‐negative variant ofMARTA2 disrupts dendritic targeting of endogenousMAP2mRNAs, while not noticeably altering the level and subcellular distribution of polyadenylatedmRNAs as a whole. Finally,MAP2 transcripts associate with the microtubule‐based motorKIF5 and inhibition ofKIF5, but not cytoplasmic dynein function disrupts extrasomatic trafficking ofMAP2mRNAgranules. Thus, in neuronsMARTA2 appears to represent a keytrans‐acting factor involved inKIF5‐mediated dendritic targeting ofMAP2mRNAs.