bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The relationship between vestibular aqueduct diameter and sensorineural hearing loss is linear: a review and meta-analysis of large case series
Authors: Spencer C R 
Published: September 2012

AbstractIntroduction:Inner ear homeostasis is dependent on the vestibular aqueduct and its content, the endolymphatic duct. Narrow and enlarged vestibular aqueducts have both been associated with hearing loss in Ménière's and large vestibular aqueduct syndromes. This review investigated the correlation between vestibular aqueduct diameter and pure tone average, and the effect of measurement site (i.e. the midpoint or the external aperture).Materials and methods:A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis of large case series published on the Allied and Complementary Medicine, British Nursing Index, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, Embase, Health Business Elite, Health Management Information Consortium, Medline, PsycInfo and PubMed databases. References and personal books were also scrutinised.Results:A linear relationship between vestibular aqueduct diameter and hearing loss was observed, with a projected increase of 6 dBHL per unit of vestibular aqueduct diameter (95 per cent confidence interval, 2–10;p = 0.003). This relationship was independent of measurement site.Discussion:This dose-dependent or linear relationship supports the role of flow and/or pressure change as aetiological factors in the pathogenesis of hearing loss, as per Poiseuille's law. This aetiological association is strengthened by the fact that the observed relationship is independent of measurement site.
Limitless Land and the Redefinition of Rights: Popular Mobilisation and the Limits of Neoliberalism in Chile, 1973–1985
Authors: BRUEY ALISON J. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractIn 1985, the Pinochet dictatorship reversed radical neoliberal urban development policy in response to economic crisis and political pressure mounted by the urban poor in alliance with the Catholic Church and the Left. The regime's free-market policies conflicted with a popular sector political culture that considered housing a right which the state must uphold. To implement its radical policies, the regime sought to change the understanding that housing was a right and the state a legitimate target of demand. However, it was unsuccessful. In the early 1980s, organisedpobladoressuccessfully brought the affordable-housing crisis to the forefront of public attention via the resurrection of pre-coup forms of direct action and pressured the dictatorship to back down from neoliberal dogmatism.
Linkages in the New ICT Clusters of Latin America: Evidence from Costa Rica
Authors: CIRAVEGNA LUCIANO 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThis paper studies the obstacles that hinder the formation of linkages among local firms, multinational corporations and universities in the Costa Rican information and communication technologies cluster. It examines both the social and the economic reasons for forming or participating in linkages, ranging from the capabilities of potential partners to compliance with customs. The research is based on qualitative information collected over four years through more than 150 direct and detailed interviews with different stakeholders in the cluster. Costa Rica is often used as a positive benchmark of cluster policy in Latin America, but it is argued here that linkages among firms in the sector have developed much more slowly than anticipated.
‘It Does Not Even Seem Like We Are in Brazil’: Country Clubs and Gated Communities in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 1951–1964
Authors: DUARTE REGINA HORTA 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThis study focuses on the first gated communities in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, which were developed between 1951 and 1964. In an era of democracy and economic growth, the Brazilian government promoted infrastructural improvements and attracted foreign capital. However, there was a concomitant increase in inequality and poverty, and deep-rooted political conflicts. Notwithstanding the varying motivations of those who chose to live in gated communities, this article argues that the attempt by elites to establish a lifestyle of leisure and European-style sophistication in these enclaves had political, ethnic, class and gender implications. Their self-segregation strengthened the patrimonialism and authoritarianism in politics that would prevail during the ensuing military dictatorship.
‘Beheading’, Rule Manipulation and Fraud: The Approval of Election Results in Brazil, 1894–1930
Authors: RICCI PAOLO , PORTO ZULINI JAQUELINE 
Published: September 2012

AbstractStudies of electoral fraud tend to focus their analyses only on the pre-electoral or electoral phases. By examining the Brazilian First Republic (1889–1930), this article shifts the focus to a later phase, discussing a particular type of electoral fraud that has been little explored by the literature, namely, that perpetrated by the legislatures themselves during the process of giving final approval to election results. The Brazilian case is interesting because of a practice known asdegola(‘beheading’) whereby electoral results were altered when Congress decided on which deputies to certify as duly elected. This has come to be seen as a widespread and standard practice in this period. However, this article shows that this final phase of rubber-stamping or overturning election results was important not because of the number of degolas, which was actually much lower than the literature would have us believe, but chiefly because of their strategic use during moments of political uncertainty. It argues that the congressional certification of electoral results was deployed as a key tool in ensuring the political stability of the Republican regime in the absence of an electoral court.
Spatial distribution and cognitive correlates of gamma noise power in schizophrenia
Authors: Díez Á. , Suazo V. , Casado P. , Martín-Loeches M. , Molina V. 
Published: September 2012

BackgroundBrain activity is less organized in patients with schizophrenia than in healthy controls (HC). Noise power (scalp-recorded electroencephalographic activity unlocked to stimuli) may be of use for studying this disorganization.MethodFifty-four patients with schizophrenia (29 minimally treated and 25 stable treated), 23 first-degree relatives and 27 HC underwent clinical and cognitive assessments and an electroencephalographic recording during an oddball P300 paradigm to calculate noise power magnitude in the gamma band. We used a principal component analysis (PCA) to determine the factor structure of gamma noise power values across electrodes and the clinical and cognitive correlates of the resulting factors.ResultsThe PCA revealed three noise power factors, roughly corresponding to the default mode network (DMN), frontal and occipital regions respectively. Patients showed higher gamma noise power loadings in the first factor when compared to HC and first-degree relatives. In the patients, frontal gamma noise factor scores related significantly and inversely to working memory and problem-solving performance. There were no associations with symptoms.ConclusionsThere is an elevated gamma activity unrelated to task processing over regions coherent with the DMN topography in patients with schizophrenia. The same type of gamma activity over frontal regions is inversely related to performance in tasks with high involvement in these frontal areas. The idea of gamma noise as a possible biological marker for schizophrenia seems promising. Gamma noise might be of use in the study of underlying neurophysiological mechanisms involved in this disease.
Non-family experience and receipt of personal care in Nepal
Authors: YARGER JENNIFER , BRAUNER-OTTO SARAH R. 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTScholars and policy makers have expressed concern that social and economic changes occurring throughout Asia are threatening the wellbeing of older adults by undercutting their systems of family support. Using a sample of 1,654 men and women aged 45 and above from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal, we evaluated the relationship between individuals' non-family experiences, such as education, travel and non-family living, and their likelihood of receiving personal care in older adulthood. Overall, we found that among individuals in poor health, those who had received more education, travelled to the capital city, or lived away from their families were less likely to have received personal care in the previous two weeks than adults who had not had these experiences. Our findings provide evidence that although familial connections remain strong in Nepal, experiences in new non-family social contexts are tied to lower levels of care receipt.
Speed of response in ultrabrief and brief pulse width right unilateral ECT
Authors: Loo Colleen K. , Garfield Joshua B. B. , Katalinic Natalie , Schweitzer Isaac , Hadzi-Pavlovic Dusan 
Published: September 2012

Abstract
Ultrabrief pulse width stimulation electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) results in less cognitive side-effects than brief pulse ECT, but recent work suggests that more treatment sessions may be required to achieve similar efficacy. In this retrospective analysis of subjects pooled from three research studies, time to improvement was analysed in 150 depressed subjects who received right unilateral ECT with a brief pulse width (at five times seizure threshold) or ultrabrief pulse width (at six times seizure threshold). Multivariate Cox regression analyses compared the number of treatments required for 50% reduction in depression scores (i.e. speed of response) in these two samples. The analyses controlled for clinical, demographic and treatment variables that differed between the samples or that were found to be significant predictors of speed of response in univariate analyses. In the multivariate analysis, older age predicted faster speed of response. There was a non-significant trend for faster time to 50% improvement with brief pulse ECT (p = 0.067). Remission rates were higher after brief pulse ECT than ultrabrief pulse ECT (p = 0.007) but response rates were similar. This study, the largest of its kind reported to date, suggests that fewer treatments may be needed to attain response with brief than ultrabrief pulse ECT and that remission rates are higher with brief pulse ECT. Further research with a larger randomized and blinded study is recommended.
D1-like receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell regulate the expression of contextual fear conditioning and activity of the anterior cingulate cortex in rats
Authors: Albrechet-Souza Lucas , Carvalho Milene Cristina , Brandão Marcus Lira 
Published: September 2012

AbstractAlthough dopamine-related circuits are best known for their roles in appetitive motivation, consistent data have implicated this catecholamine in some forms of response to stressful situations. In fact, projection areas of the ventral tegmental area, such as the amygdala and hippocampus, are well established to be involved in the acquisition and expression of fear conditioning, while less is known about the role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) in these processes. In the present study, we initially investigated the involvement of the mPFC and NAc in the expression of conditioned fear, assessing freezing behaviour and Fos protein expression in the brains of rats exposed to a context, light or tone previously paired with footshocks. Contextual and cued stimuli were able to increase the time of the freezing response while only the contextual fear promoted a significant increase in Fos protein expression in the mPFC and caudal NAc. We then examined the effects of specific dopaminergic agonists and antagonists injected bilaterally into the posterior medioventral shell subregion of the NAc (NAcSh) on the expression of contextual fear. SKF38393, quinpirole and sulpiride induced no behavioural changes, but the D1-like receptor antagonist SCH23390 increased the freezing response of the rats and selectively reduced Fos protein expression in the anterior cingulate cortex and rostral NAcSh. These findings confirm the involvement of the NAcSh in the expression of contextual fear memories and indicate the selective role of NAcSh D1-like receptors and anterior cingulate cortex in this process.
Dike‐fault interaction during the 2004 Dallol intrusion at the northern edge of the Erta Ale Ridge (Afar, Ethiopia)
Authors: Nobile Adriano , Pagli Carolina , Keir Derek , Wright Tim J. , Ayele Atalay , Ruch Joel , Acocella Valerio 
Published: September 2012

During continental rifting the interaction between faulting and magmatic intrusions is not well understood. Using InSAR and seismicity, we show that a ∼0.06 km3 dike was intruded along the Dallol segment, Ethiopia and was accompanied by a Mw 5.5 earthquake and associated fault slip along the western flank of the rift. The intrusion was fed by a previously unidentified magma chamber under Dallol. The total seismic moment release was ∼2.3 × 1017Nm, ∼10% of the geodetic moment. This is a higher proportion than during the 2005–2009 Dabbahu rifting episode, which ranged between 1–4% of the geodetic moment. A larger component of faulting occurs at Dallol than at Dabbahu segment, a feature we interpret to be related to the proximity (10 km) of the Dallol segment to the rift margin, where well‐developed faults facilitate slip.
Saturation wind power potential and its implications for wind energy
Authors: Jacobson Mark Z. , Archer Cristina L. 
Published: September 2012

Wind turbines convert kinetic to electrical energy, which returns to the atmosphere as heat to regenerate some potential and kinetic energy. As the number of wind turbines increases over large geographic regions, power extraction first increases linearly, but then converges to a saturation potential not identified previously from physical principles or turbine properties. These saturation potentials are >250 terawatts (TW) at 100 m globally, approximately 80 TW at 100 m over land plus coastal ocean outside Antarctica, and approximately 380 TW at 10 km in the jet streams. Thus, there is no fundamental barrier to obtaining half (approximately 5.75 TW) or several times the world’s all-purpose power from wind in a 2030 clean-energy economy.
Enhancement of plasma burn-through simulation and validation in JET
Authors: Kim Hyun-Tae , Fundamenski W. , Sips A.C.C. 
Published: September 2012

Abstract
In this paper, new models for a plasma burn-through simulation using the DYON code are introduced in detail, and the quantitative validation of the simulation results against JET data is presented for the first time. In order to calculate the particle confinement time, a dynamic effective connection length model including an eddy current effect is used assuming ambipolar transonic transport and the Bohm diffusion model for parallel and perpendicular particle losses, respectively. Plasma–surface interaction effects are treated with an impurity sputtering yield and an exponential saturation model of the deuterium recycling coefficient. The rate and power coefficients in the Atomic Data and Analysis Structure (ADAS) package are adopted to solve energy and particle balance. The neutral screening effects are taken into account according to particle species, and the sophisticated energy and particle balances are presented. The new burn-through simulation shows good agreement against carbon-wall JET data. This indicates that the burn-through simulation can be applied to investigate the key aspect of physics in plasma burn-through and to perform a predictive simulation for ITER start-up.
Lactate dehydrogenase as an indicator of severe illness in neonatal intensive care patients: a longitudinal cohort study
Authors: Karlsson Mathias , Dung Khu T K , Thi Truong L , Borgström Erik , Jonstam Karin , Kasström Lovisa , Winbladh Birger 
Published: September 2012

AbstractAim:  Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) increases in several critical conditions that cause cell damage and could potentially be used for early detection of serious illness in the newborn. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between the early clinical course of NICU infants and LDH in plasma at admission.Methods:  LDH was measured in a cohort of patients consecutively admitted to a major NICU in Hanoi. The infants were classified as ‘obviously needing intensive care during the first week’ (n = 83) or ‘not receiving intensive care measures during the first week’ (n = 260) by a senior neonatologist blinded to the LDH and lactate activity.Results:  LDH differed significantly between the groups in infants born after 32 gestational weeks. LDH differed with the vitality of the patient (F = 26.25, p < 0.0001) at admittance and correlated with lactate (R = 0.496, p < 0.0001). Also, the predictive value for obvious need of intensive care was higher for LDH than for lactate assessed by area under the curve calculated with ROC‐curves [0.82 (0.77–0.88) vs. 0.67 (0.60–0.75)].Conclusion:  There is a strong relationship between bad clinical condition of infants during first week of life and elevated plasma LDH. The results suggest that LDH might be a valuable support in decision making in the neonatal period.
Relationship between serum adiponectin levels and age in healthy subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Obata Yoshinari , Yamada Yuya , Takahi Yasumitsu , Baden Megu Y. , Saisho Kenji , Tamba Sachiko , Yamamoto Koji , Umeda Miyuki , Furubayashi Aiko , Matsuzawa Yuji 
Published: September 2012

SummaryObjectiveSerum adiponectin levels are affected by gender, body fat mass, several pathological factors or therapeutic interventions and it might be also affected by age. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum adiponectin levels and age in several physiological states.Design, Patients and MeasurementsThe study was carried out in 21 100 healthy subjects (12 363 men and 8737 women) and 1833 patients with type 2 diabetes (1233 men and 600 women). Physical and demographic characteristics were recorded, and blood samples were collected to measure serum adiponectin levels. Using these data, we determined the relationships between serum adiponectin levels and various parameters, including age.ResultsSerum adiponectin levels increased with increasing age of healthy subjects and in patients with diabetes, in both men and women. Serum adiponectin levels were positively correlated with age in healthy subjects and patients with diabetes, in both men and women. In stepwise multiple regression analysis with serum adiponectin levels as the dependent variable and physiological characteristics as explanatory variables, age was significantly and independently associated with serum adiponectin levels in each of these groups of subjects.ConclusionsSerum adiponectin levels are significantly and positively associated with age in healthy subjects and in patients with diabetes. This association is independent of renal function, body fat status, glucose metabolism and lipid profiles.
Relatively high frequency of non‐synonymous GLI2 variants in patients with congenital hypopituitarism without holoprosencephaly
Authors: França Marcela M. , Jorge Alexander A. L. , Carvalho Luciani R. S. , Costalonga Everlayny F. , Otto Aline P. , Correa Fernanda A. , Mendonca Berenice B. , Arnhold Ivo J. P. 
Published: September 2012

SummaryObjectiveGLI2 is a downstream transcription factor in Sonic Hedgehog signalling, acting early in ventral forebrain and pituitary development. Heterozygous nonsense GLI2 mutations have been reported in patients with isolated or combined pituitary hormone deficiency (CPHD), with or without holoprosencephaly. The aim of this study was to screen for GLI2 mutations in a large cohort of patients with congenital GH deficiency.Design and PatientsThe GLI2 coding region of 41 patients with severe isolated GH deficiency (IGHD) and 136 patients with CPHD was amplified by PCR using intronic primers and sequenced. The frequency of GLI2 variants was verified in up to 155 Brazilian controls and in the 1000 Genomes database. The consequences of allelic variants were analysed by the Polyphen, SIFT, Mutationtaster and SNAP prediction sites.ResultsEighteen different heterozygous non‐synonymous GLI2 variants were identified in 24 patients. Twenty‐three patients had CPHD and one had IGHD. Two patients had additional diabetes insipidus, indicating deficiencies of anterior and posterior pituitary lobes. The posterior pituitary lobe on MRI was ectopic in 16, not visible in 4, normally placed in 2 and imaging was not available in two patients, but there were no signs of holoprosencephaly. Sixteen GLI2 variants were considered deleterious in at least one of the prediction sites.ConclusionsA relatively high frequency of non‐synonymous GLI2 variants was identified in patients with congenital GH deficiency without other brain defects, and most of these patients presented with CPHD and an ectopic posterior pituitary lobe. In vitro functional assays may contribute to ascertain the deleterious consequences of these variants.
Long‐term impacts of invasive species on a native top predator in a large lake system
Authors: RUSH SCOTT A. , PATERSON GORDON , JOHNSON TIM B. , DROUILLARD KEN G. , HAFFNER GORDON D. , HEBERT CRAIG E. , ARTS MICHAEL T. , McGOLDRICK DARYL J. , BACKUS SEAN M. , LANTRY BRIAN F. , LANTRY JANA R. , SCHANER TED , FISK AARON T. 
Published: September 2012

Summary1. Declining abundances of forage fish and the introduction and establishment of non‐indigenous species have the potential to substantially alter resource and habitat exploitation by top predators in large lakes.2. We measured stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) in field‐collected and archived samples of Lake Ontario lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and five species of prey fish and compared current trophic relationships of this top predator with historical samples.3. Relationships between δ15N and lake trout age were temporally consistent throughout Lake Ontario and confirmed the role of lake trout as a top predator in this food web. However, δ13C values for age classes of lake trout collected in 2008 ranged from 1.0 to 3.9‰ higher than those reported for the population sampled in 1992.4. Isotope mixing models predicted that these changes in resource assimilation were owing to the replacement of rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) by round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) in lake trout diet and increased reliance on carbon resources derived from nearshore production. This contrasts with the historical situation in Lake Ontario where δ13C values of the lake trout population were dominated by a reliance on offshore carbon production.5. These results indicate a reduced capacity of the Lake Ontario offshore food web to support the energetic requirements of lake trout and that this top predator has become increasingly reliant on prey resources that are derived from nearshore carbon pathways.
Evaluation of photoacoustic infrared spectroscopy for simultaneous measurement of N2O and CO2 gas concentrations and fluxes at the soil surface
Authors: Iqbal Javed , Castellano Michael J. , Parkin Timothy B. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractSimultaneous measurement of N2O and CO2 flux at the soil surface with photoacoustic infrared spectroscopy (PAS) is gaining popularity due to portability, low maintenance, and ease‐of‐operation. However, the ability of PAS to measure N2O with accuracy and precision similar to gas chromatography (GC) is uncertain due to overlap in N2O, CO2, and H2O absorbance spectra combined with the large range in analyte concentrations. We tested the ability of six PAS units to simultaneously measure N2O and CO2 gas concentrations and fluxes with accuracy and precision similar to two GC units. We also evaluated H2O vapor and CO2 interferences with N2O measurement. The accuracy and precision of standard gas concentration measurements with PAS and GC were similar. High water vapor (~26 600 ppm) and CO2 concentrations (~4500 ppm) did not interfere with N2O measurement across the concentration range typically observed in static flux chambers at the soil surface (~0.5–3.0 ppm N2O). On average, N2O fluxes measured with the six PAS were 4.7% higher than one GC and 9.9% lower than the second GC.