bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Caries experience in schoolchildren in Bucharest, Romania: The PAROGIM study
Authors: Funieru Cristian , Twetman Svante , Funieru Elena , Dumitrache Adina Mihaela , Sfeatcu Ruxandra Ionela , Baicus Cristian 
Published: October 2013

AbstractObjectiveThis cross‐sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence and experience of dental caries among children from public middle schools in Bucharest in relation to socioeconomic status and access to school‐based dental care.MethodsClinical data were collected from 1,595 schoolchildren aged 10‐17 years, randomly allocated by clusters into a stratified sample population. The dental caries were scored according to the World Health Organization (WHO) clinical criteria and expressed based on tooth and surface levels [Decayed–Missing–Filled Teeth/Surfaces indices (DMFT/DMFS)]. A questionnaire was administered to the children to determine the education level of their parents and their living standard.ResultsThe caries prevalence was 75 percent, and 64 percent had untreated caries. The mean DMFT value for the entire sample was 2.8, and its highest component was decayed teeth (mean DT 2). Parental education level had the strongest influence on the caries scores; 70 percent of children whose parents had not completed a university degree had untreated caries (%DT) compared to only 49 percent of children whose parents had a higher level of education (P < 0.05). Children with access to school‐based dental care had significantly better dental health (P < 0.05).ConclusionCompared to previous national surveys, the caries rates among schoolchildren in Bucharest are slowly declining. However, there was still a high proportion of untreated caries with a clear socioeconomic gradient, and a change in the school‐based oral preventive strategy is needed to meet the needs of the children.
Access to endodontic care in North Carolina public health and Medicaid settings
Authors: Richardson Steven L. , Khan Asma A. , Rivera Eric M. , Phillips Ceib 
Published: October 2013

AbstractObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to investigate issues related to access to endodontic care in North Carolina for individuals who used dental public health resources such as public health clinics (PHCs) or private practices that accept Medicaid or other government‐sponsored reimbursement programs private practices that accept Medicaid (PPM).MethodsSurveys were sent to 1,195 dentists regarding frequency and type of endodontic conditions encountered, treatments provided, and perceived barriers to care. Results were analyzed using logistic regression with the level of significance set at 0.05.ResultsFive hundred forty‐six surveys were returned for a 45.7% response rate. Of the respondents, 79% reported frequently encountering an endodontic condition, but only 34% reported performing any type of definitive endodontic procedure. Graduates after the year 2000 were significantly more likely to perform definitive endodontic procedures (P < 0.05). Lack of insurance was the greatest barrier to care with 89% considering it a moderate to major barrier, followed by cost of the endodontic treatment (87%) and cost of the restoration following treatment (86%). PPMs were more likely to consider cost and insurance a major barrier (P < 0.05).ConclusionsIn North Carolina public health and Medicaid settings, the frequency of endodontic treatments provided was much lower than the frequency of endodontic conditions encountered that might have benefited from treatment. Graduation year was the best indicator for the provision of root canal therapy. Additionally, treatment patterns and perceptions of barriers to care are different for PHCs and PPMs.
Variations of the chemical composition and bioactivity of essential oils from leaves and stems of Liquidambar styraciflua (Altingiaceae)
Authors: El-Readi Mahmoud Z , Eid Hanaa H , Ashour Mohamed L , Eid Safaa Y , Labib Rola M , Sporer Frank , Wink Michael 
Published: October 2013

Abstract

Objectives
This study aimed to evaluate the variations of the chemical composition and bioactivity of essential oils of Liquidambar styraciflua L. (Altingiaceae) collected in different seasons.

Methods
The oils were analysed by GLC/FID and GLC/MS. The antioxidant activity was investigated by diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide anion radical scavenging assays and the deoxyribose degradation assay. Inhibition of both 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production in hepatic cancer (HepG-2) cells were used to assess the anti-inflammatory activity. The cytotoxic activity was investigated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay.

Key findings
Altogether, 64 volatile secondary metabolites were identified. The major components of the leaf oil were d-limonene, α-pinene and β-pinene, and of the stem oil were germacrine D, α-cadinol, d-limonene, α-pinene, and β-pinene. Leaf and stem oils collected in spring could reduce DPPH● (IC50 = 3.17 and 2.19 mg/ml) and prevent the degradation of the deoxyribose sugar (IC50 = 17.55 and 14.29 μg/ml). The stem oil exhibited a higher inhibition of both 5-LOX and PGE2 than the leaf oil. The cytotoxic activity of leaf and stem oils was low in cancer cell lines (IC50 = 136.27 and 119.78 μg/ml in cervical cancer (HeLa) cells).

Conclusions
Essential oils of L. styraciflua exhibited an interesting anti-inflammatory activity with low cytotoxicity, supporting its traditional use to treat inflammation.
The beneficial effects of melatonin against heart mitochondrial impairment during sepsis: inhibition of iNOS and preservation of nNOS
Authors: Ortiz Francisco , García José A. , Acuña‐Castroviejo Darío , Doerrier Carolina , López Ana , Venegas Carmen , Volt Huayqui , Luna‐Sánchez Marta , López Luis C. , Escames Germaine 
Published: October 2013

AbstractWhile it is accepted that the high production of nitric oxide (NO˙) by the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) impairs cardiac mitochondrial function during sepsis, the role of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) may be protective. During sepsis, there is a significantly increase in the expression and activity of mitochondrial iNOS (i‐mtNOS), which parallels the changes in cytosolic iNOS. The existence of a constitutive NOS form (c‐mtNOS) in heart mitochondria has been also described, but its role in the heart failure during sepsis remains unclear. Herein, we analyzed the changes in mitochondrial oxidative stress and bioenergetics in wild‐type and nNOS‐deficient mice during sepsis, and the role of melatonin, a known antioxidant, in these changes. Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture, and heart mitochondria were analyzed for NOS expression and activity, nitrites, lipid peroxidation, glutathione and glutathione redox enzymes, oxidized proteins, and respiratory chain activity in vehicle‐ and melatonin‐treated mice. Our data show that sepsis produced a similar induction of iNOS/i‐mtNOS and comparable inhibition of the respiratory chain activity in wild‐type and in nNOS‐deficient mice. Sepsis also increased mitochondrial oxidative/nitrosative stress to a similar extent in both mice strains. Melatonin administration inhibited iNOS/i‐mtNOS induction, restored mitochondrial homeostasis in septic mice, and preserved the activity of nNOS/c‐mtNOS. The effects of melatonin were unrelated to the presence or the absence of nNOS. Our observations show a lack of effect of nNOS on heart bioenergetic impairment during sepsis and further support the beneficial actions of melatonin in sepsis.
Influence of melatonin receptor signalling on parameters involved in blood glucose regulation
Authors: Bazwinsky‐Wutschke Ivonne , Bieseke Lars , Mühlbauer Eckhard , Peschke Elmar 
Published: October 2013

AbstractThe pineal hormone melatonin is known to influence insulin secretion via the G‐protein‐coupled receptor isoforms MT1 and MT2. The present study was aimed to further elucide the impact of melatonin on blood glucose regulation. To this end, mouse lines were used, in which one of the two or both melatonin receptors were deleted. In comparison with wild‐type mice of the same age (8–12 months old), increased plasma insulin and melatonin levels and decreased blood glucose levels and body weights were detected in the MT1‐ and double‐knockout lines. The elimination of melatonin receptor signalling also altered blood glucose concentrations, body weight and melatonin and insulin levels when comparing wild‐type and receptor knockout mice of different ages (6 wk and 8–12 months old); such changes, however, were dependent on the type of receptor deleted. Furthermore, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction results provided evidence that melatonin receptor deficiency has an impact on transcript levels of pancreatic islet hormones as well as on pancreatic and hepatic glucose transporters (Glut1 and 2). Under stimulated insulin secretion in the presence of melatonin in the rat insulinoma β‐cells INS‐1, the Glut1 transcript level was decreased. In conclusion, the present findings demonstrate that melatonin receptor knockout types affect blood glucose levels, body weight, plasma levels of melatonin and insulin, as well as pancreatic hormone and Glut1 expression in significantly different manners.
Transcriptional and post‐translational regulation of Bim controls apoptosis in melatonin‐treated human renal cancer Caki cells
Authors: Park Eun Jung , Woo Seon Min , Min Kyoung‐jin , Kwon Taeg Kyu 
Published: October 2013

AbstractMelatonin (N‐acetyl‐5‐methoxytryptamine) has recently gained attention as an anticancer agent and for combined cancer therapy. In this study, we investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms of the effects of melatonin on cancer cell death. Treatment with melatonin induced apoptosis and upregulated the expression of the pro‐apoptotic protein Bcl‐2‐interacting mediator of cell death (Bim) in renal cancer Caki cells. Furthermore, downregulation of Bim expression by siRNA markedly reduced melatonin‐mediated apoptosis. Melatonin increased Bim mRNA expression through the induction of Sp1 and E2F1 expression and transcriptional activity. We found that melatonin also modulated Bim protein stability through the inhibition of proteasome activity. However, melatonin‐induced Bim upregulation was independent of melatonin's antioxidant properties and the melatonin receptor. Taken together, our results suggest that melatonin induces apoptosis through the upregulation of Bim expression at the transcriptional level and at the post‐translational level.
Coevolutionary Dynamics of Automotive Competition: Product Innovation, Change, and Marketplace Survival
Authors: Talay M. Berk , Calantone Roger J. , Voorhees Clay M. 
Published: October 2013

Innovation and new model development have been paramount in the U.S. automotive industry. The industry has invested around $16–18 billion annually to launch new models and improve existing ones in response to incessant evolution of consumer preferences, competitive pressures, and changes in safety and emission regulations. Although these investments have significantly reduced cycle time and increased efficiency (e.g., through platform communization), it still costs around $1 billion to develop and launch a new model from scratch.Therefore, the strategic focus in the U.S. automotive industry is rapidly shifting away from manufacturing efficiency to product development and innovation as firms engage in an “arms race” to develop innovative new products ahead of the competition. The outcome of this new focus manifests itself in the total development time for a new platform vehicle, which is expected to drop from roughly four years in 1998 to two years in 2014. As development cycles continue to shorten, competition in the industry intensifies, and a new insight is needed to better understand how increased competition can affect the gains from innovations. The need for research to fill this gap is especially critical as executives continue to grow more cynical about returns offered by increases in research and development (R&D) expenditures and see no statistically significant relationship between R&D expenditures and firm performance.This study attempts to address this gap by adopting a coevolutionary perspective that analyzes the relationship between innovations and firm performance by accounting for the impact of competitive forces in the industry. First, this study explicitly models competitive interactions between firms, known in the ecology literature as the Red Queen competition, in which gains from innovations are relative and impermanent. Second, hypotheses are tested using a comprehensive data set comprising all automobile manufacturers ever known to compete in the U.S. automobile market at any time between 1891 and 2000. Complete coverage of 110 years enables precise analysis of the link between innovations and firm performance as well as the coevolution in the U.S. automobile industry.The results suggest that although extensiveness of an innovation is relevant, a firm's ability to keep up with the competition in the innovation arms race is a more significant driver of survival in the market. Thus, firms cannot simply evaluate their innovation efforts in a silo but must constantly assess their efforts versus the innovation launches of their key competitors. Based on the findings, automotive manufacturers must develop a structured product development program that allows for continual and steady new product introductions; otherwise, even momentary setbacks can have a damaging impact on a firm's ability to survive in the automotive marketplace.
Decomposing Pioneer Survival: Implications for the Order‐of‐Entry Effect
Authors: Wang Qi , Xie Jinhong 
Published: October 2013

In contrast to previous studies of pioneer survival that directly compare the survival of market pioneers with later entrants, this paper proposes that a market pioneer, as the first entrant, operates under two distinctly different survival processes, one during the initial monopoly period and another during the later competition period. The two processes of market pioneers need to be separately estimated and compared with the survival process of later entrants.This paper demonstrates a method for decomposing the pioneer's survival and empirically shows how researchers can compare the pioneer survival in two periods with that of later entrants and identify period‐specific advantages of pioneering. Our empirical analysis using data collected from two different types of industries—a low‐tech (i.e., newspaper) industry and several high‐tech industries—reveals several interesting new findings that illustrate the advantages of decomposing pioneer survival. For example, this paper shows that when treating first‐mover survival as a single process, one can only find an oversimplified pattern showing that first movers have a survival chance equal to that of second movers in the newspaper industry, but a lower one than the second movers in high‐tech industries. However, when analyzing the first‐mover's survival as a sequence of monopoly and competition processes, new insights emerge. In the newspaper industry, the pioneers can have survival advantages in both the monopoly and the competition periods relative to the second movers, and there is a significant survival advantage for those second entrants who delay market entry until the first entrant exits. In contrast, the overall pioneer survival disadvantage identified in the high‐tech industries when treating the survival as a single process comes from the survival disadvantage in the competition period but not in the monopoly period. Furthermore, our empirical analyses using data from two types of industries reveal completely different patterns with regard to the pioneer survival advantage, which suggests that being first can benefit pioneers in both two‐market periods in low‐tech industries but can be extremely risky for pioneers to gain any survival advantages in both two‐market periods in high‐tech industries because the former markets have relatively low market and technology uncertainties, and organizational change is less important; whereas the latter industries have significantly high market and technology uncertainties, technological advances emerge frequently, and firms are required to adapt themselves quickly to a fast‐changing environment.
Ecosystem functioning impacts of the invasive seaweed Sargassum muticum (Fucales, Phaeophyceae)
Authors: Vaz‐Pinto Fátima , Olabarria Celia , Arenas Francisco 
Published: October 2013

Ongoing changes in natural diversity due to anthropogenic activities can alter ecosystem functioning. Particular attention has been given to research on biodiversity loss and how those changes can affect the functioning of ecosystems, and, by extension, human welfare. Few studies, however, have addressed how increased diversity due to establishment of nonindigenous species (NIS) may affect ecosystem function in the recipient communities. Marine algae have a highly important role in sustaining nearshore marine ecosystems and are considered a significant component of marine bioinvasions. Here, we examined the patterns of respiration and light‐use efficiency across macroalgal assemblages with different levels of species richness and evenness. Additionally, we compared our results between native and invaded macroalgal assemblages, using the invasive brown macroalga Sargassum muticum (Yendo) Fensholt as a model species. Results showed that the presence of the invader increased the rates of respiration and production, most likely as a result of the high biomass of the invader. This effect disappeared when S. muticum lost most of its biomass after senescence. Moreover, predictability–diversity relationships of macroalgal assemblages varied between native and invaded assemblages. Hence, the introduction of high‐impact invasive species may trigger major changes in ecosystem functioning. The impact of S. muticum may be related to its greater biomass in the invaded assemblages, although species interactions and seasonality influenced the magnitude of the impact.
Rural Primary Care Practices and Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records: The Role of Regional Extension Centers
Authors: Casey Michelle M. , Moscovice Ira , McCullough Jeffrey 
Published: October 2013

AbstractPurposeTo examine the role of Regional Extension Centers (RECs) in helping rural physician practices adopt electronic health records (EHRs) and achieve meaningful use.MethodsUsing data from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, we conducted a county‐level regression analysis using ordinary least squares to better understand rural‐urban differences in REC participation, EHR implementation, and meaningful use, controlling for counties’ economic conditions. We prepared case studies of 2 RECs that are serving a large number of rural practices, based on interviews with key individuals at the RECs, their partner organizations, and rural primary care practices that received assistance from the RECs.FindingsRECs are largely achieving their objective of targeting providers in communities that face barriers to EHRs. REC participants are disproportionately rural and more likely to come from high poverty and low employment communities. The case study RECs had long‐standing relationships with rural providers, as well as extensive staff expertise in quality improvement and EHR implementation, and employed a variety of strategies to successfully assist rural providers. Rural providers report that REC assistance was invaluable in helping them implement EHRs and achieve meaningful use status.ConclusionModifying the criteria for Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentives could help additional rural providers pay for EHRs. REC federal funding is scheduled to end in 2014, but practices that have not yet adopted EHRs may need significant, ongoing assistance to receive meaningful use.
Associations between obesity and physical activity in dogs: a preliminary investigation
Authors: Morrison R. , Penpraze V. , Beber A. , Reilly J. J. , Yam P. S. 
Published: October 2013

ObjectivesTo assess whether obesity has any association with objectively measured physical activity levels in dogs.MethodsThirty‐nine dogs wore ActigraphGT3Xaccelerometers (Actigraph) for 7 consecutive days. Each dog was classified as ideal weight, overweight or obese using the 5‐point body condition scoring system. Total volume of physical activity and time spent in sedentary behaviour, light‐moderate intensity physical activity and vigorous intensity physical activity were compared between body condition categories.ResultsValid accelerometry data were returned for 35 of 39 dogs recruited. Eighteen dogs were classed as ideal weight, 9 as overweight and the remaining 8 as obese. All dogs spent a significant proportion of the day sedentary and obese dogs spent significantly less time in vigorous intensity physical activity than ideal weight dogs (7 ±3 minute/day versus 21 ±15 minute/day, P=0·01).Clinical SignificanceObesity is associated with lower vigorous intensity physical activity in dogs, as is also thought to occur in humans. These preliminary findings will help inform a future, larger study and may also improve our understanding of the associations between obesity and physical activity in dogs.
RAPD derived markers for separating Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica) and Japanese walnut (J. ailantifolia) from close congeners
Authors: ZHAO Peng , ZHAO Gui‐Fang , ZHANG Shuo‐Xin , ZHOU Hui‐Juan , HU Yi‐Heng , WOESTE Keith E. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractRandom amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used as a molecular tool to evaluate genomes of butternut (Juglans cinerea), Japanese walnut (Juglans ailantifolia), black walnut (Juglans nigra), Persian walnut (Juglans regia), Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica), and an interspecific hybrid (J. ailantifolia × J. cinerea) for species‐specific markers. Forty decamer RAPD primers generated 668 RAPD amplicons that were used to characterize bulked DNA pools of butternut, Japanese walnut Persian walnut, Manchurian walnut, and buartnut hybrids and to identify genomic regions found only in Japanese walnut or Manchurian walnut. The amplicons ranged in size from 150 to 2068 bp; sixty‐five were polymorphic (9.7%) among the six taxa evaluated. Thirty‐eight amplicons were unique to Japanese walnut and buartnut hybrids but absent in butternut. The RAPD markers we used were not sufficiently polymorphic to characterize intraspecific variability within Japanese walnut, butternut, or their hybrids. However, they can be used to identify hybrids based on the presence of introgressed genomic fragments inherited from Japanese walnut. They may also be useful for distinguishing whether Japanese walnut or Manchurian walnut was the parent of a hybrid lineage. The results confirmed that some hybrids can be distinguished by their morphology, and genetic similarity based on RAPDs appears to reflect known pedigree information. These RAPD markers may prove useful for conservation of butternut, an endangered North American species. These results also may prove useful for the molecular identification of species and species hybrids within Juglans.