bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Voice in female‐to‐male transsexual persons after long‐term androgen therapy
Authors: Cosyns Marjan , Van Borsel John , Wierckx Katrien , Dedecker David , Van de Peer Fleur , Daelman Tine , Laenen Sofie , T'Sjoen Guy 
Published: October 2013

Objectives/HypothesisThe aim of the present study was to 1) document voice in a large sample of female‐to‐male transsexual persons (FMT), 2) compare their vocal characteristics with those of heterosexual biological males, and 3) determine hormonal factors with impact on their fundamental frequency.Study DesignThis was a controlled cross‐sectional study. It is the largest study to date on voice and voice change in FMT, and the first to include a control group and FMT who were under long‐term androgen administration.MethodsThirty‐eight FMT, ranging in age between 22 and 54 years, and 38 controls, frequency matched by age and smoking behavior, underwent a voice assessment that comprised the determination of pitch, intonation, and perturbation parameters measured during sustained vowel production, counting, and reading. Hormonal factors explored were hematocrit, total testosterone level, luteinizing hormone level, and biallelic mean length of the cytosine‐adenine‐guanine (CAG) trinucleotide repeat sequence in the androgen receptor gene.ResultsIt was found that the FMT as a group did not differ significantly from controls for any of the acoustic voice variables studied. However, in about 10% pitch lowering was not totally unproblematic. The lowest‐pitched (i.e., more male) voices were observed in FMT with higher hematocrit and longer CAG repeats.ConclusionAfter long‐term androgen therapy, FMT generally demonstrate an acceptable male voice. Pitch‐lowering difficulties can be expected in about 10% of cases and appear, at least in part, to be associated with diminished androgen sensitivity.Level of Evidence3b. Laryngoscope, 124:1409–1414, 2014
Small RNA regulation of reproductive function
Authors: Hale Benjamin J. , Yang Cai‐Xia , Ross Jason W. 
Published: October 2013

SUMMARYPost‐transcriptional gene regulation is one mechanism that occurs “above the genome,” allowing the cells of an organism to have dramatically different phenotypes and functions. Non‐coding ribonucleic acid (ncRNA) molecules regulate transcript and protein abundance above the level of transcription, and appear to play substantial roles in regulation of reproductive tissues. Three primary classes of small ncRNA are microRNA (miRNA), endogenous small interfering RNA (endo‐siRNA), and PIWI‐interacting RNA (piRNA). These RNA classes have similarities and clear distinctions between their biogenesis and in the interacting protein machinery that facilitate their effects on cellular phenotype. Characterization of the expression and importance of the critical components for the biogenesis of each class in different tissues is continuously contributing a better understanding of each of these RNA classes in different reproductive cell types. Here, we discuss the expression and potential roles of miRNA, endo‐siRNA, and piRNA in reproduction from germ‐cell development to pregnancy establishment and placental function. Additionally, the potential contribution of RNA binding proteins, long ncRNAs, and the more recently discovered circular RNAs (circRNAs) in relation to small RNA function is discussed. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 81: 148–159, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Muscle shear modulus measured with ultrasound shear‐wave elastography across a wide range of contraction intensity
Authors: Yoshitake Yasuhide , Takai Yohei , Kanehisa Hiroaki , Shinohara Minoru 
Published: October 2013

AbstractIntroduction: In this study we examine the repeatability of measuring muscle shear modulus using ultrasound shear‐wave elastography between trials and between days, and the association between shear modulus and contraction intensity over a wide range of intensities. Methods: Shear modulus of the biceps brachii was determined using ultrasound shear‐wave elastography during static elbow flexion (up to 60% of maximal contraction) in healthy young adults. Results: The correspondence of shear modulus was confirmed in phantoms between the manufacturer‐calibrated values and the shear‐wave elastography values. The intraclass correlation coefficient of muscle shear modulus was high: 0.978 between trials and 0.948 between days. Shear modulus increased linearly with elbow flexion torque across contraction intensity, and its slope was associated negatively with muscle strength. Conclusions: Muscle shear modulus measured with ultrasound shear‐wave elastography may be useful for inferring muscle stiffness across a wide range of contraction intensity. In addition, it has high repeatability between trials and between days. Muscle Nerve 50: 103–113, 2014
Recurrent central nervous system white matter changes in charcot–Marie–Tooth type X disease
Authors: Mckinney Jennifer L. , De Los Reyes Emily C. , Lo Warren D. , Flanigan Kevin M. 
Published: October 2013

ABSTRACTIntroduction: X‐linked Charcot–Marie–Tooth (CMT1X) disease is caused by mutations in the GJB1 gene. We describe a young man who presented with recurrent central nervous symptoms and transient white matter changes in the setting of a novel mutation in the GJB1 gene. Methods: Evaluation included clinical examination, neuroimaging, electrophysiological, and molecular genetic studies. Results: Clinical examination on 2 admissions 5 years apart demonstrated hemiparesis with findings of underlying peripheral neuropathy. Electrophysiologic studies revealed a sensorimotor polyneuropathy. MRI studies from both admissions revealed white matter changes, with improvement on an intervening study. Mutation analysis showed a novel mutation (c.98T>A; p.Ile33Asn) in the GJB1 gene. Conclusions: Mutations in GJB1 can result in recurrent central nervous system symptoms with transient white matter signal changes on MRI. In patients presenting with hemiparesis, the presence of signs of a peripheral neuropathy may facilitate identification of CMT1X, and is likely to affect clinical management. Muscle Nerve 49:451–454, 2014
Memory chromic polyurethane with tetraphenylethylene
Authors: Wu You , Hu Jinlian , Huang Huahua , Li Jie , Zhu Yong , Tang Benzhong , Han Jianping , Li Liangbin 
Published: October 2013

ABSTRACTThis article reports a chromic polymer, which is responsive to its shape memory properties and has both the behavior of shape memory polymers and chromic materials. We employed a strategy to fabricate such a smart material, which represents a new principle for making chromic materials. This material is made of shape memory polyurethane with tetraphenylethylene units (0.1 wt %) covalently connected to the soft‐segments (PCL, Mw = 4000). The material displays biocompatibility, shape fixity of 88–93%, and almost 100% shape recovery and has reversible mechanochromic, solvatochromic, and thermochromic shape memory effect. The memory chromism represented by the reversible change of emission intensity shows negative correlation with shape fixity, temperature, and existence of solvent. It may be explained that when the soft segments are molten or dissolved in solvent, the shape recovery switch is open, the AIE units are free from crystal binding and can migrate easily to larger areas, thus the AIE units/particles are far apart from each other and the barrier for rotation of phenyl groups is reduced, which lead to the reduction of emission intensity, appeared by no colors or pale colors, and vice versa. Since the switch is a fundamental structural character of SMPs, the shape memory properties have led to the chromism and we call this memory chromic. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014, 52, 104–110
Relaxation of backbone bond geometry improves protein energy landscape modeling
Authors: Conway Patrick , Tyka Michael D. , DiMaio Frank , Konerding David E. , Baker David 
Published: October 2013

AbstractA key issue in macromolecular structure modeling is the granularity of the molecular representation. A fine‐grained representation can approximate the actual structure more accurately, but may require many more degrees of freedom than a coarse‐grained representation and hence make conformational search more challenging. We investigate this tradeoff between the accuracy and the size of protein conformational search space for two frequently used representations: one with fixed bond angles and lengths and one that has full flexibility. We performed large‐scale explorations of the energy landscapes of 82 protein domains under each model, and find that the introduction of bond angle flexibility significantly increases the average energy gap between native and non‐native structures. We also find that incorporating bonded geometry flexibility improves low resolution X‐ray crystallographic refinement. These results suggest that backbone bond angle relaxation makes an important contribution to native structure energetics, that current energy functions are sufficiently accurate to capture the energetic gain associated with subtle deformations from chain ideality, and more speculatively, that backbone geometry distortions occur late in protein folding to optimize packing in the native state.
Critical assessment of methods of protein structure prediction (CASP) — round x
Authors: Moult John , Fidelis Krzysztof , Kryshtafovych Andriy , Schwede Torsten , Tramontano Anna 
Published: October 2013

ABSTRACTThis article is an introduction to the special issue of the journal PROTEINS, dedicated to the tenth Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP) experiment to assess the state of the art in protein structure modeling. The article describes the conduct of the experiment, the categories of prediction included, and outlines the evaluation and assessment procedures. The 10 CASP experiments span almost 20 years of progress in the field of protein structure modeling, and there have been enormous advances in methods and model accuracy in that period. Notable in this round is the first sustained improvement of models with refinement methods, using molecular dynamics. For the first time, we tested the ability of modeling methods to make use of sparse experimental three‐dimensional contact information, such as may be obtained from new experimental techniques, with encouraging results. On the other hand, new contact prediction methods, though holding considerable promise, have yet to make an impact in CASP testing. The nature of CASP targets has been changing in recent CASPs, reflecting shifts in experimental structural biology, with more irregular structures, more multi‐domain and multi‐subunit structures, and less standard versions of known folds. When allowance is made for these factors, we continue to see steady progress in the overall accuracy of models, particularly resulting from improvement of non‐template regions. Proteins 2014; 82(Suppl 2):1–6. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Comparative study of optical properties of ZnO films and nanorods grown by atmospheric‐pressure CVD and chemical bath deposition
Authors: Terasako Tomoaki , Ogura Yoshinori , Fujimoto Shohei , Murakami Toshihiro , Yagi Masakazu , Shirakata Sho 
Published: October 2013

AbstractOptical properties of ZnO films and nanorods (NRs) grown by atmospheric‐pressure CVD (AP‐CVD) and chemical bath deposition (CBD) were studied by photoluminescence (PL), photoluminescence excitation (PLE) and photoacoustic (PA) measurements. Visible emissions from the samples were classified into three groups; a green band (GB) at ∼2.34 eV, an orange band (OB) at ∼1.97 eV and a red band (RB) at ∼1.77 eV. Regardless of precursor, PL spectra of the CBD NRs were dominated by the OB. However, PLE measurements revealed that the difference in precursor resulted in the difference of the excitation process for the OB. The PLE spectrum for the RB exhibited the excitation bands at 2.75‐3.18 eV and 1.91‐2.48 eV. The former was also observed on the PLE spectrum for the GB, suggesting that the same defect or impurity states contribute to both the GB and RB. The PA spectra of the NRs synthesized by CBD from the mixed aqueous solution of Zn(CH3COO)22H2O and C6H12N4 exhibited the decrease in intra‐band‐gap‐absorption with increasing solution concentration. For the AP‐CVD Ga‐doped ZnO films, when the carrier concentration (n) increased from 5.2×1017 to 7.2×1019 cm‐3, the difference between PLE and PL peak energies (EPLE‐EPL) decreased slightly. This is probably due to the broadening of the Ga‐related impurity level, followed by merging with the edge of the conduction band. Above n =9.5×1019 cm‐3, the EPLE‐EPL increased rapidly with increasing n, resulting from the filling of the tail states and lower parts of the conduction band. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Concise Review: Spinal Cord Injuries: How Could Adult Mesenchymal and Neural Crest Stem Cells Take Up the Challenge?
Authors: Neirinckx Virginie , Cantinieaux Dorothée , Coste Cécile , Rogister Bernard , Franzen Rachelle , Wislet-Gendebien Sabine 
Published: October 2013

AbstractSince several years, adult/perinatal mesenchymal and neural crest stem cells have been widely used to help experimental animal to recover from spinal cord injury. More interestingly, recent clinical trials confirmed the beneficial effect of those stem cells, which improve functional score of patients suffering from such lesions. However, a complete understanding of the mechanisms of stem cell-induced recovery is seriously lacking. Indeed, spinal cord injuries gathered a wide range of biochemical and physiopathological events (such as inflammation, oxidative stress, axonal damage, demyelination, etc.) and the genuine healing process after cell transplantation is not sufficiently defined. This review aims to sum up recent data about cell therapy in spinal cord lesions using mesenchymal or recently identified neural crest stem cells, by describing precisely which physiopathological parameter is affected and the exact processes underlying the observed changes. Overall, although significant advances are acknowledged, it seems that further deep mechanistic investigation is needed for the development of optimized and efficient cell-based therapy protocols. Stem Cells 2014;32:829–843
Perceived efficacy of livestock‐guarding dogs in South Africa: Implications for cheetah conservation
Authors: Rust Nicola A. , Whitehouse‐Tedd Katherine M. , MacMillan Douglas C. 
Published: October 2013

ABSTRACTLarge wild carnivore predation on domestic livestock and the associated financial losses may increase efforts toward lethal control of carnivore populations. Livestock‐guarding dogs could provide an effective alternative to such lethal control by mitigating depredation losses. Although this information is available in North America, the cost‐effectiveness of guarding dogs has not been studied in other areas experiencing large carnivore depredation such as South Africa, where the socio‐economic context is very different from that of North America. We assessed the costs and benefits of 97 livestock‐guarding dogs working on 94 farms in South Africa between 2005 and 2011 by reviewing data collected from questionnaires on perceived depredation losses prior to and during guarding dog placement, rates of guarding dog behavioral problems, removals, and pre‐senile mortality. Perceived livestock depredation ceased in 91% of guarding dog placements, with gross mean annual financial savings US$ 3,189/farm. Estimated annual program costs per year of the livestock‐guarding dog program were US$ 2,780. However, 16% of guarding dogs had reported behavioral problems, with inattentiveness cited as the most common problem. Twelve percent of guarding dogs were removed from the program because of behavioral problems. Premature death was observed in 22% of guarding dogs, most often due to snake bites. Participating farmer tolerance toward cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), as well as cheetah‐sighting frequency, appeared to increase during participation in the livestock‐guarding dog program. If further corrective behavioral and snake‐aversion training were implemented, guarding dogs may offer a cost‐effective method of non‐lethal predator control and could potentially contribute to the long‐term mitigation of human–carnivore conflict in South Africa. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.
A Prospective Randomized Single‐Blind Control Study of Volume Threshold for Chest Tube Removal Following Lobectomy
Authors: Zhang Ye , Li Hui , Hu Bin , Li Tong , Miao Jin‐bai , You Bin , Fu Yi‐li , Zhang Wen‐qian 
Published: October 2013

AbstractBackground
The aim of the current study was to assess the feasibility and safety of a new volume threshold for chest tube removal following lobectomy.MethodsThe prospective randomized single‐blind control study included 90 consecutive patients who underwent lobectomy or bilobectomy for pathological conditions between March 2012 and September 2012. Eligible patients were randomized into two groups: early removal group (chest tube removal at the drainage volume of 300 ml/24 h or less) and traditional management group (chest tube removal when the drainage volume is less than 100 ml/24 h). Criteria for the early removal group were established and met prior to chest tube removal. The volume and characteristics of drainage, time of drainage tube extraction, and postoperative hospital stay were recorded. All patients received standard care while in the hospital and a follow‐up visit was performed 7 days after discharge from hospital.ResultsIn accordance with the exit criteria, 20 patients were excluded from the study. The remaining 70 patients included in the final analysis were divided into two groups: early removal group (n = 41) and traditional management group (n = 29). There was no difference between the two groups in terms of age, sex, comorbidities, and pathological evaluation of resection specimens. In eligible patients (n = 70), the mean volume of drainage 24 h after surgery was 300 ml, while the mean volume of drainage 48 h after surgery was 250 ml. The average daily drainage 48 h after surgery was significantly different than the average daily drainage 24 h after surgery (Z = −2.059, P = 0.039). The mean duration of chest tube placement was 44 h in the early removal group and 67 h in the traditional management group (P = 0.004). Patients who underwent early removal management had a shorter postoperative hospital stay compared to the traditional management group (5 vs. 6 days, P < 0.01). No statistically significant differences were observed between the rates of pleural effusion development, thoracentesis, and postoperative complications 1 week after hospital discharge.ConclusionEarly removal of the chest tube after lobectomy is feasible and safe and may shorten patient hospital stay and reduce morbidity without the added risk of postoperative complications.
Structural and floristic behaviors in East Timor forest vegetation
Authors: Crespí António L. , Ferreira Marco , Fonseca Teresa F. , Marques Carlos Pacheco 
Published: October 2013

AbstractOwing to the growing demand for the products supplied and to the slowness of their renewal, forests, the most important renewable resource of the East Timor lands, will lose the goods and services they provide unless this situation is overcome. The communities that live in these forests or in their vicinity will be the most affected by this problem. Understanding the structural organization of the East Timor forest flora is, therefore, critical for sustainable management of this natural resource. Thus, the main purpose of this preliminary study was to identify the differences in the floristic–structural behaviors of the woody vegetation. The study is based on data collected by the first National Forest Inventory (2008–2010), carried out in two environmentally different districts of East Timor: one drier region located to the north (Bobonaro district) and the other more humid, located in the south (Covalima district). A two‐stage sampling method was employed to account for species in 923 sample stations: 480 in the Bobonaro district and 443 in the Covalima district. These data were correlated with environmental variables (altitude, distance to sea, distance to the north coast, distance to roads, and distance to urban areas) and discussed based on the floristic–structural randomness of the species frequencies. Randomness was adopted here as a parameter to quantify the distributional relationship among species with spatial heterogeneity. Results show a higher percentage of species with low frequencies and abundances for the south (lower human pressure), in contrast with the north (higher human pressure). Altitude also emerges as an environmental parameter, since this randomness floristic–structural combination decreases from lower to higher altitudes. This research provides an innovative approach to describing the structural–floristic organization of vegetation, and its correlation with environmental variables.
Free-stream turbulence and the development of cross-flow disturbances
Authors: Downs Robert S. , White Edward B. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractThe cross-flow instability that arises in swept-wing boundary layers has resisted attempts to describe the path from disturbance initiation to transition. Following concerted research efforts, surface roughness and free-stream turbulence have been identified as the leading providers of initial disturbances for cross-flow instability growth. Although a significant body of work examines the role of free-stream turbulence in the cross-flow problem, the data more relevant to the flight environment (turbulence intensities less than 0.07 %) are sparse. A series of recent experiments indicates that variations within this range may affect the initiation or growth of cross-flow instability amplitudes, hindering comparison among results obtained in different disturbance environments. To address this problem, a series of wind tunnel experiments is performed in which the free-stream turbulence intensity is varied between 0.02 % and 0.2 % of free-stream velocity,${U}_{\infty } $. Measurements of the stationary and travelling mode amplitudes are made in the boundary layer of a 1.83 m chord,$45{{}^\circ} $swept-wing model. These results are compared to those of similar experiments at higher turbulence levels to broaden the current knowledge of this portion of the cross-flow problem. It is observed that both free-stream turbulence and surface roughness contribute to the initiation of unsteady disturbances, and that free-stream turbulence affects the development of both stationary and unsteady cross-flow disturbances. For the range tested, enhanced free-stream turbulence advances the transition location except when a subcritically spaced roughness array is employed.