bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Citizenship development of adolescents during the lower grades of secondary education
Authors: Geboers Ellen , Geijsel Femke , Admiraal Wilfried , Jorgensen Terrence , ten Dam Geert 
Published: September 2015

ABSTRACTThe present study focuses on the development of citizenship competences of Dutch adolescents, including the political and social aspects as part of adolescents' daily lives. We followed 5070 adolescents aged 12–16 years across a three‐year period in lower secondary education. The variance on school and student level was estimated and a three‐level mixed‐effects regression model was fit to analyze differences in citizenship development. The results indeed show development of citizenship competences during secondary school, but the observed patterns were not always positive. Students generally showed an increase in their citizenship knowledge, but a decline in their societal interest, prosocial ability and reflective thinking. Differences between groups of students could be explained by both schools and student characteristics. Especially girls and minority students developed the most citizenship competences. Understanding these differences is important for schools to improve their practices in ways that support the development of citizenship competences of various groups of students.
The consequences of prenatal and/or postnatal methamphetamine exposure on neonatal development and behaviour in rat offspring
Authors: McDonnell‐Dowling Kate , Kelly John P. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractMethamphetamine (MA) has become a popular drug of abuse in recent years not only in the general population but also amongst pregnant women. Although there is a growing body of preclinical investigations of MA exposure during pregnancy, there has been little investigation of the consequences of such exposure via the breast milk during the neonatal period. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the consequences of MA exposure during pregnancy and lactation on neurodevelopment and behaviour in the rat offspring. Pregnant Sprague–Dawley dams received MA (3.75 mg/kg) or control (distilled water) once daily via oral gavage from gestation day 7–21, postnatal day 1–21 or gestation day 7‐ postnatal day 21. A range of well‐recognised neurodevelopmental parameters were examined in the offspring. Prenatal MA significantly reduced maternal weight gain, with a concomitant reduction in food intake. A significant increase in neonatal pup mortality was observed, being most marked in the prenatal/postnatal MA group. Significant impairments in neurodevelopmental parameters were also evident in all MA treatment groups including somatic development (e.g. pinna unfolding, fur appearance, eye opening) and behavioural development (e.g. surface righting, inclined plane test, forelimb grip). In conclusion, this study demonstrates that exposure to MA during any of these exposure periods (prenatal and/or postnatal) can have a profound effect on neonatal outcome, suggesting that regardless of the exposure period MA is associated with detrimental consequences in the offspring. These results indicate that in the clinical scenario, exposure during lactation needs to be considered when assessing the potential harmful effects of MA on offspring development.
Vitamin A deficiency: An oxidative stress marker in sodium fluoride (NaF) induced oxidative damage in developing rat brain
Authors: Banala Rajkiran Reddy , Karnati Pratap Reddy 
Published: September 2015

AbstractFluoride induced oxidative stress through depletion in levels of various anti‐oxidants such as glutathione, superoxide dismutase (SOD), fat soluble vitamins (D and E) with increased levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and fluoride aggravate the damage in rodents as well as in humans. Vitamins A, a fat soluble vitamin possess antioxidant property which plays a significant role in scavenging the free radicals species similar to vitamin D and E. Vitamin A is involved in neural tissue development and plasticity. The growing evidence about vitamin A being antioxidant in different biological reactions formed the basis to determine the effect of fluoride on its levels. The present study was conducted in Wistar rat pups. The pregnant wistar rats were dosed with 20 ppm sodium fluoride (NaF) from day one of pregnancy till the pups were aged day30. The serum was collected from developing rat pups on regular intervals (14th, 21st, 30th day) and vitamin A levels were analyzed by High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Body weights, Behavioural studies and spectrophotometric estimation of SOD, LPO in brain lysates were also performed. The results showed significant decrease (p < 0.001) in vitamin A in fluoride induced samples in comparison to the control samples suggesting that decreased levels of vitamin A can be used as another marker in fluoride induced toxicity studies.
Effect of prenatal and early life paracetamol exposure on the level of neurotransmitters in rats—Focus on the spinal cord
Authors: Blecharz‐Klin Kamilla , Joniec‐Maciejak Ilona , Jawna Katarzyna , Pyrzanowska Justyna , Piechal Agnieszka , Wawer Adriana , Widy‐Tyszkiewicz Ewa 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe present study has examined the influence of the prenatal and early life administration of paracetamol on the level of neurotransmitters in the spinal cord of rat pups. The effect of the drug was evaluated in 2‐month old Wistar male rats exposed to paracetamol in doses of 5 (P5, n = 9) or 15 mg/kg (P15, n = 9) p.o. during the prenatal period and after birth until the completion of the second month of life. A parallel control group received tap water (Con, n = 9). In this study we have determined the level of monoamines, their metabolites and amino acids in the spinal cord of rats using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the second month of life.The present experiment demonstrates the action of paracetamol at the molecular level associated with significant modulation of neurotransmission in the spinal cord related to dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems. Simultaneously, paracetamol administration increases the content of an aspartic and glutamic acids in the spinal cord at a critical time during development.
Association between sonographic measurement of fetal head circumference and labor outcome
Authors: Aviram Amir , Yogev Yariv , Bardin Ron , Hiersch Liran , Wiznitzer Arnon , Hadar Eran 
Published: September 2015

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate the association between sonographically measured head circumference (HC) and labor outcome.MethodsIn a retrospective study at a tertiary medical center in Israel, data were reviewed for all term singleton deliveries between July 2007 and December 2012 with HC measurements up to 7 days before delivery. HC was compared between women with operative vaginal delivery (OVD) or cesarean delivery for prolonged second stage and those with normal vaginal delivery. The impact of HC above the 75th percentile on pregnancy outcome was analyzed.ResultsThe study included 2351 women, of whom 2045 (87.0%) had a normal vaginal delivery, 259 (11.0%) underwent OVD, and 47 (2.0%) cesarean. Each 10 mm increase in HC was associated with increased risk for obstetric intervention because of a prolonged second stage (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08–1.46). HC above the 75th percentile was independently associated with increased odds of OVD (aOR 1.77; 95% CI 1.30–2.41), 1‐minute Apgar score less than 7 (aOR 2.91; 95% CI 1.50–5.66), and neonatal asphyxia (aOR 2.19; 95% CI 1.02–4.71).ConclusionTerm HC above the 75th percentile was associated with increased rates of obstetric interventions because of a prolonged second stage and might be associated with neonatal asphyxia.
Vermiform appendix: positions and length – a study of 377 cases and literature review
Authors: de Souza Sandro Cilindro , da Costa Sérgio Ricardo Matos Rodrigues , de Souza Iana Gonçalves Silva 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
Objective Evaluation of the frequency of the relative positions and length of vermiform appendix in a group of corpses examined by the authors.
Method Dissection of 377 adult cadavers autopsied.
Results and conclusions Retrocecal: 43.5%; subcecal: 24.4% post-ileal: 14.3%, pelvic: 9.3%; paracecal: 5.8%; and pre-ileal appendices: 2.4%, other positions: 0.27%, mean length: 11.4 cm.
Assessment of prognosis in patients with stage II colon cancer
Authors: Martins Patrícia , Martins Sandra 
Published: September 2015

AbstractPathologic staging is currently the most important prognostic factor in colon cancer, although individually this procedure does not provide a complete clinical outcome.This study aimed to determine the disease-specific survival of patients with colon cancer treated in the Braga Hospital from January 2005 to December 2013, according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer, 6th edition, and the disease-free survival and disease-specific survival of high- and low-risk stage II patients, whether in use, or not, of adjuvant chemotherapy.We obtained a total sample of 578 patients, with 145 and 65 high- and low-risk stage II patients, respectively. We observed a 5-year disease-specific survival rate of 93%, 27.4% and 75% for stage IIA, IIB and IIIA patients, respectively, where IIIA and IIB present statistically significant differences (p = 0.001). In high-risk stage II patients, disease-free survival (p = 0.107) and disease-specific survival (p = 0.037) were higher in the group submitted to chemotherapy. In low- risk patients, disease-free survival was higher in the group submitted to chemotherapy (p = 0.494), while disease-specific survival was lower (p = 0.426).The differences observed between stage IIB and IIIA survival can be explained by the consensual use of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage IIIA, and by its controversial use in stage IIB. Adjuvant chemotherapy showed to be effective only in high-risk stage II patients in terms of disease-specific survival.In the future, other markers, namely molecular ones, may be used to stratify the risk of stage II patients and determine who will benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.
Management of ulcerative colitis: a clinical update
Authors: Teixeira Fabio Vieira , Hosne Rogerio Saad , Sobrado Carlos Walter 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe objective of this study was to evaluate the consensus of expert societies and published guidelines on the management of ulcerative colitis, and to compare with the experience of the authors, in order to standardize procedures that would help the reasoning and decision-making process of the physician. A search was performed in scientific literature, specifically in electronic databases: Medline/Pubmed, SciELO, EMBASE and Cochrane, and the following descriptors were used: ulcerative colitis, acute colitis, clinical treatment, surgery and randomized trial. It can be concluded that the goals of therapy in ulcerative colitis are clinical and endoscopic remission, deep, sustained remission without corticosteroids, prevention of hospitalizations and surgeries, and improved quality of life. The surgical indications are reserved for selected cases, ranging from medical intractability, complications (severe refractory acute colitis, toxic megacolon, perforation and hemorrhage) and malignancy. Information in this review article must be submitted to evaluation and criticism of the specialist responsible for the conduct to be followed, in the face of his/her reality and the clinical status of each patient.The degree of recommendation and strength of evidence were based using the GRADE system (The Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) described below:1. A: Experimental or observational studies of higher consistency.2. B: Experimental or observational studies of lower consistency.3. C: Case reports (non-controlled studies).4. D: Opinion without critical evaluation, based on consensus, physiological studies or animal models.
Sensitivity of plasma BRAFmutant and NRASmutant cell‐free DNA assays to detect metastatic melanoma in patients with low RECIST scores and non‐RECIST disease progression
Authors: Chang Gregory A. , Tadepalli Jyothirmayee S. , Shao Yongzhao , Zhang Yilong , Weiss Sarah , Robinson Eric , Spittle Cindy , Furtado Manohar , Shelton Dawne N. , Karlin-Neumann George , Pavlick Anna , Osman Iman , Polsky David 
Published: September 2015

Melanoma lacks a clinically useful blood‐based biomarker of disease activity to help guide patient management. To determine whether measurements of circulating, cell‐free, tumor‐associated BRAFmutant and NRASmutant DNA (ctDNA) have a higher sensitivity than LDH to detect metastatic disease prior to treatment initiation and upon disease progression we studied patients with unresectable stage IIIC/IV metastatic melanoma receiving treatment with BRAF inhibitor therapy or immune checkpoint blockade and at least 3 plasma samples obtained during their treatment course. Levels of BRAFmutant and NRASmutant ctDNA were determined using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assays. Among patients with samples available prior to treatment initiation ctDNA and LDH levels were elevated in 12/15 (80%) and 6/20 (30%) (p = 0.006) patients respectively. In patients with RECIST scores <5 cm prior to treatment initiation, ctDNA levels were elevated in 5/7 (71%) patients compared to LDH which was elevated in 1/13 (8%) patients (p = 0.007). Among all disease progression events the modified bootstrapped sensitivities for ctDNA and LDH were 82% and 40% respectively, with a median difference in sensitivity of 42% (95% confidence interval, 27%–58%; P < 0.001). In addition, ctDNA levels were elevated in 13/16 (81%) instances of non‐RECIST disease progression, including 10/12 (83%) instances of new brain metastases. In comparison LDH was elevated 8/16 (50%) instances of non‐RECIST disease progression, including 6/12 (50%) instances of new brain metastases. Overall, ctDNA had a higher sensitivity than LDH to detect disease progression, including non‐RECIST progression events. ctDNA has the potential to be a useful biomarker for monitoring melanoma disease activity.
Accuracy of Clinical Techniques for Evaluating Lower Limb Sensorimotor Functions Associated With Increased Fall Risk
Authors: Donaghy Alex , DeMott Trina , Allet Lara , Kim Hogene , Ashton‐Miller James , Richardson James K. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractBackgroundIn prior work, laboratory‐based measures of hip motor function and ankle proprioceptive precision were critical to maintaining unipedal stance and fall/fall‐related injury risk. However, the optimal clinical evaluation techniques for predicting these measures are unknown.ObjectiveTo evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of common clinical maneuvers in predicting laboratory‐based measures of frontal plane hip rate of torque development (HipRTD) and ankle proprioceptive thresholds (AnkPRO) associated with increased fall risk.DesignProspective, observational study.SettingBiomechanical research laboratory.ParticipantsA total of 41 older subjects (aged 69.1 ± 8.3 years), 25 with varying degrees of diabetic distal symmetric polyneuropathy and 16 without.AssessmentsClinical hip strength was evaluated by manual muscle testing (MMT) and lateral plank time, defined as the number of seconds that the laterally lying subject could lift the hips from the support surface. Foot/ankle evaluation included Achilles reflex and vibratory, proprioceptive, monofilament, and pinprick sensations at the great toe.Main Outcome MeasuresHipRTD, abduction and adduction, using a custom whole‐body dynamometer. AnkPRO determined with subjects standing using a foot cradle system and a staircase series of 100 frontal plane rotational stimuli.ResultsPearson correlation coefficients (r) and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves revealed that LPT correlated more strongly with HipRTD (r/P = 0.61/<.001 and 0.67/<.001, for abductor/adductor, respectively) than did hip abductor MMT (r/P = 0.31/.044). Subjects with greater vibratory and proprioceptive sensation, and intact Achilles reflexes, monofilament, and pin sensation had more precise AnkPRO. LPT of <12 seconds yielded a sensitivity/specificity of 91%/80% for identifying HipRTD < 0.25 (body size in Newton‐meters), and vibratory perception of <8 seconds yielded a sensitivity/specificity of 94%/80% for the identification of AnkPRO >1.0°.ConclusionsLPT is a more effective measure of HipRTD than MMT. Similarly, clinical vibratory sense and monofilament testing are effective measures of AnkPRO, whereas clinical proprioceptive sense is not.
Left Hip Pain Caused by Right Hip Osteoarthritis in a Patient With an Incomplete Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: A Case Report
Authors: Flis Alexandra , Duncan Christopher , Pelt Christopher , Rosenbluth Jeffrey , Willick Stuart 
Published: September 2015

AbstractA 70‐year‐old woman with a right hemisensory deficit caused by an incomplete cervical spinal cord injury presented with left hip pain. The clinical assessment suggested that her left‐sided hip pain was attributable to severe right hip osteoarthritis. Her left hip pain resolved completely after she underwent a right total hip arthroplasty. This case is presented, along with a review of the literature on spinal and supraspinal neuronal reorganization after spinal cord injury. This case report suggests the occurrence of central sensory reorganization after an incomplete cervical spinal cord injury, which resulted in a patient perceiving right hip pathology in her left hip.
Feasibility of an Exoskeleton‐Based Interactive Video Game System for Upper Extremity Burn Contractures
Authors: Schneider Jeffrey C. , Ozsecen Muzaffer Y. , Muraoka Nicholas K. , Mancinelli Chiara , Della Croce Ugo , Ryan Colleen M. , Bonato Paolo 
Published: September 2015

AbstractBackgroundBurn contractures are common and difficult to treat. Measuring continuous joint motion would inform the assessment of contracture interventions; however, it is not standard clinical practice. This study examines use of an interactive gaming system to measure continuous joint motion data.ObjectiveTo assess the usability of an exoskeleton‐based interactive gaming system in the rehabilitation of upper extremity burn contractures.DesignFeasibility study.SettingEight subjects with a history of burn injury and upper extremity contractures were recruited from the outpatient clinic of a regional inpatient rehabilitation facility.MethodsSubjects used an exoskeleton‐based interactive gaming system to play 4 different video games. Continuous joint motion data were collected at the shoulder and elbow during game play.Main Outcome MeasuresVisual analog scale for engagement, difficulty and comfort. Angular range of motion by subject, joint, and game.ResultsThe study population had an age of 43 ± 16 (mean ± standard deviation) years and total body surface area burned range of 10%‐90%. Subjects reported satisfactory levels of enjoyment, comfort, and difficulty. Continuous joint motion data demonstrated variable characteristics by subject, plane of motion, and game.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the feasibility of use of an exoskeleton‐based interactive gaming system in the burn population. Future studies are needed that examine the efficacy of tailoring interactive video games to the specific joint impairments of burn survivors.
Design of the TRONCO BioConductor Package for TRanslational ONCOlogy
Authors: Antoniotti Marco , Caravagna Giulio , De Sano Luca , Graudenzi Alex , Mauri Giancarlo , Mishra Bud , Ramazzotti Daniele 
Published: September 2015

AbstractModels ofcancer progressionprovide insights on the order of accumulation of genetic alterations during cancer development. Algorithms to infer such models from the currently available mutational profiles collected from different cancer patiens (cross-sectional data) have been defined in the literature since late 90s. These algorithms differ in the way they extract agraphical modelof the events modelling the progression, e.g., somatic mutations or copy-number alterations.TRONCO is an R package for TRanslational ONcology which provides a serie of functions to assist the user in the analysis of cross-sectional genomic data and, in particular, it implements algorithms that aim to model cancer progression by means of the notion of selective advantage. These algorithms are proved to outperform the current state-of-the-art in the inference of cancer progression models. TRONCO also provides functionalities to load input cross-sectional data, set up the execution of the algorithms, assess the statistical confidence in the results and visualize the models.Availability. Freely available athttp://www.bioconductor.org/under GPL license; project hosted athttp://bimib.disco.unimib.it/andhttps://github.com/BIMIB-DISCo/TRONCO.Contact.tronco@disco.unimib.it
The impact of host metapopulation structure on the population genetics of colonizing bacteria
Authors: Numminen Elina , Gutmann Michael , Shubin Mikhail , Marttinen Pekka , Méric Guillaume , van Schaik Willem , Coque Teresa M. , Baquero Fernando , Willems Rob J.L. , Sheppard Samuel K. , Feil Edward J. , Hanage William P. , Corander Jukka 
Published: September 2015

AbstractMany key bacterial pathogens are frequently carried asymptomatically, and the emergence and spread of these opportunistic pathogens can be driven, or mitigated, via demographic changes within the host population. These inter-host transmission dynamics combine with basic evolutionary parameters such as rates of mutation and recombination, population size and selection, to shape the genetic diversity within bacterial populations. Whilst many studies have focused on how molecular processes underpin bacterial population structure, the impact of host migration and the connectivity of the local populations has received far less attention. A stochastic neutral model incorporating heightened local transmission has been previously shown to fit closely with genetic data for several bacterial species. However, this model did not incorporate transmission limiting population stratification, nor the possibility of migration of strains between subpopulations, which we address here by presenting an extended model. The model captures the observed population patterns for the common nosocomial pathogensStaphylococcus epidermidisandEnterococcus faecalis,whileStaphylococcus aureusandEnterococcus faeciumdisplay deviations attributable to adaptation. It is demonstrated analytically and numerically that expected strain relatedness may either increase or decrease as a function of increasing migration rate between subpopulations, being a complex function of the rate at which microepidemics occur in the metapopulation. Moreover, it is shown that in a structured population markedly different rates of evolution may lead to indistinguishable patterns of relatedness among bacterial strains; caution is thus required when drawing evolution inference in these cases.
Estimating diversification rates from the fossil record
Authors: Didier Gilles , Fau Marine , Laurin Michel 
Published: September 2015

AbstractDiversification rates are estimated from phylogenies, typically without fossils, except in paleontological studies. By nature, rate estimations depend heavily on the time data provided in phylogenies, which are divergence times and (when used) fossil ages. Among these temporal data, fossil ages are by far the most precisely known (divergence times are inferences calibrated with fossils). We propose a method to compute the likelihood of a phylogenetic tree with fossils in which the only known time information is the fossil ages.Testing our approach on simulated data shows that the maximum likelihood rate estimates from the phylogenetic tree shape and the fossil dates are almost as accurate as the ones obtained by taking into account all the data, including the divergence times. Moreover they are substantially more accurate than the estimates obtained only from the exact divergence times (without taking into account the fossil record).