bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Risks, dangers and competing clinical decisions on venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in hospital care
Authors: Boiko Olga , Sheaff Rod , Child Susan , Gericke Christian A. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractDrawing on wider sociologies of risk, this article examines the complexity of clinical risks and their management, focusing on risk management systems, expert decision‐making and safety standards in health care. At the time of this study preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE) among in‐patients was one of the top priorities for hospital safety in the English National Health Service (NHS). An analysis of 50 interviews examining hospital professionals' perceptions aboutVTErisks and prophylaxis illuminates how National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines influenced clinical decision‐making in four hospitals in oneNHSregion. We examine four themes: the identification of new risks, the institutionalisation and management of risk, the relationship between risk and danger and the tensions between risk management systems and expert decision‐making. The implementation ofNICEguidelines forVTEprevention extended managerial control over risk management but some irreducible clinical dangers remained that were beyond the scope of the newVTErisk management systems. Linking sociologies of risk with the realities of hospital risk management reveals the capacity of these theories to illuminate both the possibilities and the limits of managerialism in health care.
Influence of exopolysaccharide‐producing cultures on the volatile profile and sensory quality of low‐fat Tulum cheese during ripening
Authors: Oluk Aylin C , Guven Mehmet , Hayaloglu Ali Adnan 
Published: March 2014

The objective of this investigation was to compare the composition and changes in the concentration of volatiles in low‐fat and full‐fat Tulum cheeses during ripening. Tulum cheese was manufactured from low‐ or full‐fat milk using exopolysaccharide (EPS)‐producing or non‐EPS‐producing starter cultures. A total of 82 volatile compounds were identified belonging to the following chemical groups: acids (seven), esters (21), ketones (14), aldehydes (six), alcohols (14) and miscellaneous compounds (20). The relative amounts of acids, alcohols and aldehydes increased in the cheeses made with EPS‐producing cultures during 90 days of ripening. Differences were found in the volatile profile of full‐fat Tulum cheese compared with the low‐fat variant, especially after 90 days of ripening. Exopolysaccharide‐producing cultures changed the volatile profile, and the EPS‐producing cultures including Streptococcus thermophilus + Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus + Lactobacillus helveticus (LF‐EPS2) produced cheese with higher levels of methyl ketones and aldehydes than the non‐EPS cultures. In the sensory analysis, full‐fat Tulum cheeses and the cheese produced with the EPS‐producing culture containing Lb. helveticus (LF‐EPS2) were preferred by the expert panel. It was concluded that the use of EPS‐producing starter cultures in the manufacture of low‐fat Tulum cheese had the potential to improve the flavour.
Compositional, biochemical and textural changes during ripening of Tulum cheese made with different coagulants
Authors: Şengül Mustafa , Erkaya Tuba , Dervişoğlu Muhammet , Aydemir Oğuz , Gül Osman 
Published: March 2014

In the present study, biochemical, chemical and texture changes in Tulum cheeses made using calf rennet and microbial rennets (Aspergillus niger protease and Rhizomucor miehei protease) were compared during ripening for up to 90 days. A total of 15 free fatty acids (FFAs) were detected in the cheese samples. The peroxide values (PV) of the cheeses increased significantly (P < 0.05) during ripening and the cheese made with calf rennet had the highest PV. Proteolysis in the cheeses increased as the ripening time increased. αs1‐casein and β‐casein degradation was higher in cheeses manufactured with R. miehei protease. Cheeses made with calf rennet were significantly (P < 0.05) harder, more adhesive, more cohesive and more resilient than those made with microbial rennet.
How Large is Congressional Dependence in Agriculture? Bayesian Inference about ‘Scale’ and ‘Scope’ in Measuring a Spatial Externality
Authors: Holloway Garth , Lacombe Donald J. , Shaughnessy Timothy M. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractThe political economy literature on agriculture emphasises influence over political outcomes via lobbying conduits in general, political action committee contributions in particular, and the pervasive view that political preferences with respect to agricultural issues are inherently geographic. In this context, ‘interdependence’ in Congressional vote behaviour manifests itself in two dimensions. One dimension is the intensity by which neighbouring vote propensities influence one another, and the second is the geographic extent of voter influence. We estimate these facets of dependence using data on a Congressional vote on the 2001 Farm Bill using routine Markov chain Monte‐Carlo procedures and Bayesian model averaging, in particular. In so doing, we develop a novel procedure to examine both the reliability and the consequences of different model representations for measuring both the ‘scale’ and the ‘scope’ of spatial (geographic) co‐relations in voting behaviour.
Trophic overlap between sexes in the dimorphicAfrican black oystercatcher foraging on an alien mussel
Authors: Kohler Sophie A. , Connan Maëlle , Kolasinski Joanna , Cherel Yves , McQuaid Christopher D. , Jaquemet Sébastien 
Published: March 2014

AbstractSex‐specific feeding segregation related to sexual bill dimorphism has been described in several oystercatcher species, including theAfrican black oystercatcher. For the latter, studies concerned only a small number of breeding pairs and were done prior the invasion of theSouthAfrican rocky shores by theMediterranean mussel, which is believed to have benefited oystercatchers by increasing overall biomass. Here, we investigated geographic variability in the segregation of diet, biometrics and body condition between sexes in theAfrican species, in relation to changes in foraging habitats along theSouthAfrican coastline, using stable isotope analyses. Males and females and their potential prey (mussels, limpets, polychaetes and ascidians) were sampled on the southernAfrican west, south‐west and south‐east coasts for stable isotope analyses and biometrics and body conditions of birds were measured. Bill dimorphism occurred throughout the study area and south‐west males had lower body conditions than other males and females in general. Sexes displayed little differences in their δ13Cratios and in the relative consumption of the different prey throughout the study area, except on the south‐east coast where males were slightly depleted in13Crelative to females and the most abundant prey elsewhere (theMediterranean mussel) is rare. Females were slightly but significantly enriched in15Nby 0.3‰ compared to their breeding partners and this did not link clearly to differences in diet. We argue that the combined effect of biogeographic variations in rocky shores diversity and biomass, heterogeneous invasion by the Mediterranean mussel on theSouthAfrican coastline and bill dimorphism may have altered the sex‐specific feeding behaviour of oystercatchers differently between coastal regions and possibly had an additional cost for male oystercatchers faced with lower prey biomass and diversity on the south‐west coast.
Altered N, P and C dynamics with absence of fire in Eucalyptus forests affected by premature decline
Authors: Jones Alan G. , Davidson Neil J. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractAbsence of fire is increasingly recognized as an important driver of soil nutrient budgets in Eucalyptus forest, especially in forests affected by premature Eucalyptus decline, due to the effects of soil nutrient accumulation on nutrient balances and forest community dynamics. In this study, we present a dataset of soil and foliar nutrient analyses, and vegetation measurements from a fire chronosequence survey in native E. delegatensis forest. Measured indices include total soil and extractable soil nitrogen (N), or phosphorus (P), soil organic carbon (C), soil acid‐phosphatase (PME) activity, foliar N and foliar P, and understorey and overstorey vegetation canopy height. We show that in some cases indices are strongly linked to time since fire (2–46 years). Time since fire correlated positively with foliar N, total and extractable soil N, soil organic C, and also soil PME activity; the latter an indicator of biotic P demand. Differences in the strength of these relationships were apparent between two geology types, with stronger relationships on the potentially less‐fertile geology. The strong positive correlation with time since fire and understorey canopy height reflected increasing shrub biomass and thickening of the shrub layer. The strong positive correlation for soil or foliar N, but not P, with time since fire, indicates that P does not increase relative to N over time. P may, therefore, become limiting to growth in this plant community. Similarly, the significantly higher concentrations of soil N but not P, also found in both older and long‐unburnt forest stands (>100 years since management), may exacerbate a situation of soil nutrient limitation over several decades. A characteristic feature of long unmanaged stands is a developing tea tree (Leptospermum sp.) understorey, which may benefit from elevated soil N availability and increasing organic C accumulation with prolonged fire absence. This increased shrub biomass would outcompete Eucalyptus for resources, including soil nutrients and water.
The use of proton pump inhibitors and the spectrum and number of biliary pathogens in patients with acute cholangitis
Authors: Schneider J. , Weidner W. , Hapfelmeier A. , Wantia N. , Feihl S. , Schmid R. M. , Neu B. , von Delius S. , Algül H. , Huber W. , Weber A. 
Published: March 2014

SummaryBackgroundKnowledge of the bacterial spectrum for acute cholangitis is essential for adequate empiric antibiotic treatment.AimTo analyse the relation of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) with biliary pathogens in patients with acute cholangitis.MethodsThis retrospective study identified 278 patients with 318 acute cholangitis episodes using an endoscopic database. The relationship between PPI and microbiological outcomes was assessed by logistic and poisson regression analysis for binary and count data.ResultsIn total, 882 pathogens were isolated, of which, 120 cholangitis episodes occurred with PPI; 198 cholangitis episodes without PPI. Multivariate poisson regression analysis showed that PPI use resulted in a 23% increase in the number of biliary pathogens [3.14 vs. 2.55 (Δ = 0.59), P < 0.01], whereas stent therapy, previous interventional procedures (endoscopic retrograde cholangiography/percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography), genesis, age and sex showed no significant association with the number of biliary pathogens. Significantly, more cholangitis episodes with more than one pathogen isolated occurred during PPI treatment [103/120 (86%) vs. 151/198 (76%), P = 0.04]. Analysis of intrinsic anti‐microbial resistance patterns was performed: Anti‐microbial combination therapies were significantly more required to cover all isolated pathogens in cholangitis episodes with PPI than in cholangitis episodes without PPI (44/120 vs. 46/198, P = 0.01). Additionally, PPI use was associated with a significantly higher incidence of oropharyngeal flora in the biliary tract (53/120 vs. 61/198, P = 0.02).ConclusionsProton pump inhibitors seem to influence biliary pathogens by increasing the number and broadening the spectrum of biliary pathogens. However, the findings of this hypothesis‐generating study need to be tested by confirmatory studies.
Randomised clinical trial: Lactobacillus GG modulates gut microbiome, metabolome and endotoxemia in patients with cirrhosis
Authors: Bajaj J. S. , Heuman D. M. , Hylemon P. B. , Sanyal A. J. , Puri P. , Sterling R. K. , Luketic V. , Stravitz R. T. , Siddiqui M. S. , Fuchs M. , Thacker L. R. , Wade J. B. , Daita K. , Sistrun S. , White M. B. , Noble N. A. , Thorpe C. , Kakiyama G. , Pandak W. M. , Sikaroodi M. , Gillevet P. M. 
Published: March 2014

SummaryBackgroundSafety of individual probiotic strains approved under Investigational New Drug (IND) policies in cirrhosis with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is not clear.AimThe primary aim of this phase I study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability of probiotic Lactobacillus GG (LGG) compared to placebo, while secondary ones were to explore its mechanism of action using cognitive, microbiome, metabolome and endotoxin analysis in MHE patients.MethodsCirrhotic patients with MHE patients were randomised 1:1 into LGG or placebo BID after being prescribed a standard diet and multi‐vitamin regimen and were followed up for 8 weeks. Serum, urine and stool samples were collected at baseline and study end. Safety was assessed at Weeks 4 and 8. Endotoxin and systemic inflammation, microbiome using multi‐tagged pyrosequencing, serum/urine metabolome were analysed between groups using correlation networks.ResultsThirty MHE patients (14 LGG and 16 placebo) completed the study without any differences in serious adverse events. However, self‐limited diarrhoea was more frequent in LGG patients. A standard diet was maintained and LGG batches were comparable throughout. Only in the LGG‐randomised group, endotoxemia and TNF‐α decreased, microbiome changed (reduced Enterobacteriaceae and increased Clostridiales Incertae Sedis XIV and Lachnospiraceae relative abundance) with changes in metabolite/microbiome correlations pertaining to amino acid, vitamin and secondary BA metabolism. No change in cognition was found.ConclusionsIn this phase I study, Lactobacillus GG is safe and well‐tolerated in cirrhosis and is associated with a reduction in endotoxemia and dysbiosis.
Tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of TA‐8995, a selective cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor, in healthy subjects
Authors: Ford John , Lawson Matt , Fowler David , Maruyama Nobuko , Mito Seiji , Tomiyasu Koichi , Kinoshita Shuji , Suzuki Chisa , Kawaguchi Atsuhiro , Round Patrick , Boyce Malcolm , Warrington Steve , Weber Werner , van Deventer Sander , Kastelein John J. P. 
Published: March 2014

AimsTwo double‐blind, randomized studies were conducted to assess the tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of oral TA‐8995, a new cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor, in healthy subjects.MethodsStudy 1: Subjects received single doses of TA‐8995 or placebo (fasted). Doses were 5, 10, 25, 50 (fed/fasted), 100 and 150 mg (Caucasian males, 18–55 years), 25 mg (Caucasian males, > 65 years and Caucasian females, 18–55 years), 25, 50, 100 and 150 mg (Japanese males, 18–55 years). Study 2: Caucasian males (18–55 years) received 1, 2.5, 10 or 25 mg once daily TA‐8995 or placebo for 21–28 days. Blood and urine for pharmacokinetics and/or pharmacodynamics were collected. Tolerability was assessed by adverse events, vital signs, electrocardiograms and laboratory safety tests.ResultsPeak TA‐8995 concentrations occurred approximately 4 h post‐dose. Mean half‐lives ranged from 81 to 166 h, without an obvious dose relationship. Exposure increased less than proportionally to dose. TA‐8995 was not excreted in urine. Following 2.5 to 25 mg once daily dosing, TA‐8995 demonstrated nearly complete inhibition of CETP activity (92–99%), increased high density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (HDL‐C) by 96 to 140% and decreased low density liporotein‐cholesterol (LDL‐C) by 40% to 53%. There were dose‐related increases in apolipoproteins A‐1 and E, HDL2‐C and HDL3‐C, and decreases in apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein A. There was no evidence of significant effects of age, gender, ethnicity or food on pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics. All doses were well tolerated.ConclusionsTA‐8995 is a potent CETP inhibitor and warrants further investigation.
Differences in incidence of suicide attempts between bipolar I and II disorders and major depressive disorder
Authors: Holma K Mikael , Haukka Jari , Suominen Kirsi , Valtonen Hanna M , Mantere Outi , Melartin Tarja K , Sokero T Petteri , Oquendo Maria A , Isometsä Erkki T 
Published: March 2014

ObjectivesWhether risk of suicide attempts (SAs) differs between patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) is unclear. We investigated whether cumulative risk differences are due to dissimilarities in time spent in high‐risk states, incidence per unit time in high‐risk states, or both.MethodsIncidence rates for SAs during various illness phases, based on prospective life charts, were compared between patients from the Jorvi Bipolar Study (n = 176; 18 months) and the Vantaa Depression Study (n = 249; five years). Risk factors and their interactions with diagnosis were investigated with Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsBy 18 months, 19.9% of patients with BD versus 9.5% of patients with MDD had attempted suicide. However, patients with BD spent 4.6% of the time in mixed episodes, and more time in major depressive episodes (MDEs) (35% versus 21%, respectively) and in subthreshold depression (39% versus 31%, respectively) than those with MDD. Compared with full remission, the combined incidence rates of SAs were 5‐, 25‐, and 65‐fold in subthreshold depression, MDEs, and BD mixed states, respectively. Between cohorts, incidence of attempts was not different during comparable symptom states. In Cox models, hazard was elevated during MDEs and subthreshold depression, and among patients with preceding SAs, female patients, those with poor social support, and those aged < 40 years, but was unrelated to BD diagnosis.ConclusionsThe observed higher cumulative incidence of SAs among patients with BD than among those with MDD is mostly due to patients with BD spending more time in high‐risk illness phases, not to differences in incidence during these phases, or to bipolarity itself. BD mixed phases contribute to differences involving very high incidence, but short duration. Diminishing the time spent in high‐risk phases is crucial for prevention.
E‐assessment: Institutional development strategies and the assessment life cycle
Authors: Tomas Carmen , Borg Michaela , McNeil Jane 
Published: March 2014

AbstractE‐assessment is an umbrella term that comprises a complex array of tools of varying capacities. This paper focuses on the topic of e‐assessment from the perspective of its strategic institutional development in higher education. The paper argues that research on e‐assessment has been dominated by a focus on investigating benefits of use and adoption rather than building an understanding of development and implementation. The current paper proposes a qualitative assessment and process‐specific framework, both to investigate e‐assessment and chart its institutional development. This framework is an annual assessment life cycle, and one case illustrates its use to elaborate an institutional development agenda for e‐assessment.The institutional inquiry into e‐assessment consisted of interviews with 22 academic staff members using the assessment life cycle. The goal was to identify how technology played a role in assessment in general. The information gathered was used to construct an institutional overview of how electronic and paper‐based modes supported assessment.The overview, which used the life cycle framework, revealed a subtle interplay between assessment stakes, type, stages and modes. Initial stages in the assessment life cycle are substantively supported electronically. Middle stages (submission, marking, feedback return) present great complexity and different uses of paper and electronic modes depending on the assessment type. High‐stakes summative assessment shows a hybrid process, where both paper and electronic modes fulfil substantive roles in supporting the assessment stages. The later stages of the cycle are mainly paper based regardless of assessment type. Low‐stakes e‐assessment may be an all‐electronic process. This simplified institutional overview of the state of e‐assessment and the emphasis on the cyclical nature have helped to elaborate a differentiated development strategy for various e‐assessment forms, considering assessment type and particular stages as the foci of development.
Variable immune cell frequencies in peripheral blood of LEW.1AR1-iddmrats over time compared to other congenic LEW strains
Authors: Arndt T , Jörns A , Hedrich H-J , Lenzen S , Wedekind D 
Published: March 2014

SummaryThe LEW.1AR1-iddm rat is an animal model of human type 1 diabetes (T1D), which arose through a spontaneous mutation within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-congenic background strain LEW.1AR1. The LEW.1AR1-iddm rat is characterized by two phenotypes: diabetes development with a diabetes incidence of 60% and a variable T cell frequency in peripheral blood. In this study the immune cell repertoire of LEW.1AR1-iddm rats was analysed over time from days 30 to 90 of life and compared to the background strain LEW.1AR1 and the LEW rat strain as well as the LEW.1WR1 rat strain. The LEW.1AR1-iddm rats are characterized by a high variability of CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+T cell frequencies in peripheral blood over time, and the frequency is unique for each animal. The variability within the frequencies resulted in changes of the CD4+ : CD8+T cell ratio. The other three rat strains studied were characterized by a stable but nevertheless strain-specific T cell frequency resulting in a specific CD4+ : CD8+T cell ratio. The frequency of natural killer (NK) cells and B cells in LEW.1AR1-iddm rats was increased, with a higher variability compared to the other strains. Only monocytes showed no differences in frequency and variability between all strains studied. These variabilities of immune cell frequencies in the LEW.1AR1-iddm rats might lead to imbalances between autoreactive and regulatory T cells in peripheral blood as a prerequisite for diabetes development.
CD84 is markedly up-regulated in Kawasaki disease arteriopathy
Authors: Reindel R , Bischof J , Kim K-Y A , Orenstein J M , Soares M B , Baker S C , Shulman S T , Perlman E J , Lingen M W , Pink A J , Trevenen C , Rowley A H 
Published: March 2014

Summary
The major goals of Kawasaki disease (KD) therapy are to reduce inflammation and prevent thrombosis in the coronary arteries (CA), but some children do not respond to currently available non-specific therapies. New treatments have been difficult to develop because the molecular pathogenesis is unknown. In order to identify dysregulated gene expression in KD CA, we performed high-throughput RNA sequencing on KD and control CA, validated potentially dysregulated genes by real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) and localized protein expression by immunohistochemistry. Signalling lymphocyte activation molecule CD84 was up-regulated 16-fold (P &lt; 0·01) in acute KD CA (within 2 months of onset) and 32-fold (P &lt; 0·01) in chronic CA (5 months to years after onset). CD84 was localized to inflammatory cells in KD tissues. Genes associated with cellular proliferation, motility and survival were also up-regulated in KD CA, and immune activation molecules MX2 and SP140 were up-regulated in chronic KD. CD84, which facilitates immune responses and stabilizes platelet aggregates, is markedly up-regulated in KD CA in patients with acute and chronic arterial disease. We provide the first molecular evidence of dysregulated inflammatory responses persisting for months to years in CA significantly damaged by KD.