bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The making of public health emergencies: West Nile virus in New York City
Authors: McCormick Sabrina , Whitney Kristoffer 
Published: December 2012

AbstractIn this article we use the case of the West Nile virus (WNV) to investigate the social construction of public health emergencies (PHEs) and the subsequent changes in public health governance that they instigate. Informed by medical sociological literature on the social construction of illness, science and technology studies, and risk and disaster literature, we create a conceptual framework for connecting health and crisis. Our investigation of the WNV analyses PHEs as brief, but vitally important, moments in which a ‘crisis’ is co‐constructed between states, affected populations and disease vectors. In these moments of crisis new interventions are enacted, which have long‐term effects for institutional structures and disease management. Using extensive qualitative data collection, we conceptualise two mechanisms that underlie the declaration of PHEs and the expansion of related ‘emergencies’ across space and time: (i) crisis interventions that have the potential to marginalise the interaction of citizens with state institutions and (ii) institutional rearrangement of state agencies stemming from the original crisis issue, resulting in altered networks and institutional practices and drawing heavily upon the crisis as a symbol of similar, future public health threats.
The importance of father’s and own education for self‐assessed health across Europe: an East–West divide?
Authors: Monden Christiaan W.S. , de Graaf Nan Dirk 
Published: December 2012

AbstractHow are one’s own education, father’s education, and especially the combination of the two, related to self‐assessed health across European societies? In this study, we test hypotheses about differences in self‐assessed health between 16 post‐socialist countries in Central and Eastern Europe and 17 Western European countries. We find substantial cross‐national variation in the (relative) importance of own and father’s education for self‐assessed health. Over 65 per cent of this cross‐national variation is accounted for by the East–West divide. This simple dichotomy explains cross‐national differences better than gross domestic product or income inequality. An individual’s father’s education is more important, both in absolute and relative terms, for self‐assessed heath in Eastern Europe than in Western Europe. Intergenerational mobility moderates the relative effects of one’s own and one’s father’s education. In Eastern Europe the relative importance of one’s father’s education is greater than it is in Western Europe – particularly for those who are downwardly mobile and have a father with tertiary education. The results are sometimes contradictory to initial expectations; the theoretical implications are discussed.
Introduction: why a Sociology of Pandemics?
Authors: Dingwall Robert , Hoffman Lily M. , Staniland Karen 
Published: December 2012

AbstractInfectious disease has re‐emerged as a public health threat in an increasingly globalised era, adding trans‐national actors to traditional national and local government actors. This special issue showcases new sociological work in response to this challenge. The contributors have investigated the social construction of new and re‐emerging diseases; the development of surveillance systems, public health governance; the impact of scientific/technical modalities on uncertainty and risk, the interplay of infectious disease, public health and national security concerns, and public and media responses. The case studies range broadly across North America, Europe and Asia and define new agendas for medical sociologists and public health policymakers.
The ‘window of opportunity’ for death after severe brain injury: family experiences
Authors: Kitzinger Jenny , Kitzinger Celia 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThis article builds on and develops the emerging bioethics literature on the ‘window of opportunity’ for allowing death by withholding or withdrawing treatment. Our findings are drawn from in‐depth interviews with 26 people (from 14 different families) with severely brain injured relatives. These interviews were specifically selected from a larger study on the basis of interviewees’ reports that their relatives would not have wanted to be kept alive in their current condition (e.g. in vegetative or minimally conscious states). Our analysis tracks the decision‐making processes that have led to the situation in which life‐sustaining treatments continue to be delivered to these patients – maintaining them in a state that some families describe as a ‘fate worse than death’. We show how the medico‐legal ‘window of opportunity’ for allowing the patient to die structures family experience and fails to deliver optimal outcomes for patients. We end with some suggestions for change.
Charismatic authority in modern healthcare: the case of the ‘diabetes specialist podiatrist’
Authors: Bacon Dawn , Borthwick Alan M. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractProfessional specialisation is broadly considered to result from increased complexity in professional knowledge and to be linked to specialist education, formalised credentials and registration. However, the degree of formal organisation may vary across professions. In healthcare, although medical specialisation is linked to rigorous selection criteria, formal training programmes and specialist registration, some forms of specialisation in the allied health professions are much less formal. Drawing on Weber’s concept of charismatic authority, the establishment of a specialist role in podiatry, the ‘diabetes specialist podiatrist’, in the absence of codified or credentialed authority, is explored. ‘Charismatic’ leaders in podiatry, having attracted a following of practitioners, were able to constitute a speciality area of practice in the absence of established career pathways and acquire a degree of legitimacy in the medical field of diabetology.
Antibacterial activity of zinc oxide nanoparticle suspensions on food‐borne pathogens
Authors: Mirhosseini Mahboubeh , Firouzabadi Fatemeh B 
Published: December 2012

Nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly recognised for their utility in biological applications including nanomedicine and food safety. The present study investigated the antibacterial activity of zinc oxide (ZnO) when tested against the Gram‐negative bacteria Escherichia coli as well as the Gram‐positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, and the effect was more pronounced with the Gram‐positive than with the Gram‐negative bacteria. ZnO NPs also exhibited a preferential ability to suppress growth of E. coli and S. aureus in milk. This study suggested that the application of ZnO NPs as antibacterial agents in food systems and medicine may be effective at inhibiting certain pathogens.
Protective Effects of Merlot Red Wine Extract and its Major Polyphenols in Pc12 Cells under Oxidative Stress Conditions
Authors: Martín Sara , González‐Burgos Elena , Carretero M. Emilia , Gómez‐Serranillos M. Pilar 
Published: December 2012

Abstract:  The potential effect of the extracts from free‐run and pressed Merlot red wine has been evaluated in PC12 cells under oxidative stress situation. Comparing both vinification process, pressed Merlot red wine extract possessed higher neuroprotective activity than the free run wine, possibly attributed to the major content in all global polyphenolic families. High performance liquid chromatography determination of individual polyphenols showed that the major compounds found in Merlot red wine extract were quercetin, catechin, epicatechin, tyrosol, gallic acid, and procyanidins. Pretreatments with these polyphenolic compounds (0.25 mM and 0.1 mM, 24 h) significantly increased cell viability of H2O2 and Fenton reaction treated cells. Moreover, these polyphenols attenuated ROS production and decreased the Redox Index of glutathione (RI = GSSG/GSH + GSSG) in cells treated only with Fenton reaction. Furthermore, some polyphenols induced antioxidant enzymes activity and protein expression. Quercetin was the most active. These results support the beneficial effects of red wine extracts and some of its polyphenols under oxidative stress conditions.Practical Application:  This research provides evidences of the preventive properties of wine extracts and its major polyphenols under oxidative stress conditions.
Proanthocyanidin Oligomers Isolated from Salacia reticulata leaves potently Inhibit Pancreatic Lipase Activity
Authors: Koga K. , Hisamura M. , Kanetaka T. , Yoshino K. , Matsuo Y. , Tanaka T. 
Published: December 2012

Abstract:  The pancreatic lipase inhibitory (PLI) activity of leaf extracts (aqueous, 60 and 99.8 (v/v)% EtOH) of Salacia reticulata Wight, referred to “Kothala himbutu” (KT) in Singhalese, was compared with that of KT stem extracts. Evaporated residue contents and PLI activity of each leaf extract were higher than those of each stem extract, respectively. Among the extracts, the 60% EtOH leaf extract showed the most potent PLI activity. The 60% EtOH leaf extract was separated by a Diaion HP20/water‐acetone system and furthermore the most potent fraction by a Sephadex LH20/water‐ethanol‐acetone system. The 60% acetone fraction from the LH20/water‐ethanol‐acetone system had the most potent PLI activity (IC50 value; 15 ppm).The active compounds in the active fraction of KT leaves were most likely a polyphenol, as assessed by the Folin–Ciocalteu method. Based on these spectroscopic and chemical examinations, the active fraction was shown to be proanthocyanidin oligomers composed of epigallocatechin, epicathechin, and epiafzelechin as main constituents. The degree of polymerization was estimated to be about 5 from the ratio of the peak area of the thio ethers/flavan‐3‐ols at 230 nm. This was consistent with the results of matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time‐of‐flight (MALDI‐TOF) MS, which showed the [M+Na]+ peaks corresponding to trimers—octamers. From the average molecular weight and IC50 value of the active compounds estimated on these results, the active compounds from the KT leaf extract were one of the stronger effective lipid‐lowering therapeutic agent, of which PLI activity (μM/L) was almost the same as epigallocatechin gallate.Practical Application:  Proanthocyanidin oligomers isolated from Salacia reticulata, referred to “Kothala himbutu” (KT) in Singhalese, leaves was proved to potently inhibit pancreatic lipase activity. After confirming in vivo examination, healthy foods, teas, and liquors containing the extracts of KT leaves are expected to be on market.
Comparative randomized study on efficacy of losartan versus propranolol in lowering portal pressure in decompensated chronic liver disease
Authors: Agasti Ananta Kumar , Mahajan Ajay U. , Phadke Aniruddha Y. , Nathani Pratap J. , Sawant Prabha 
Published: December 2012

ObjectiveThis study aimed to compare the efficacy of losartan, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist, with propranolol on portal hypertension in patients with decompensated chronic liver disease.MethodsIn all, 30 patients with Child–Pugh B cirrhosis and large varices without any prior therapy for portal hypertension were randomized to either losartan (n = 15) or propranolol (n = 15). Clinical, biochemical and hemodynamic parameters including hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), wedged hepatic venous pressure (WHVP), mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) and free hepatic venous pressure (FHVP) were measured at baseline and after 4‐week therapy. Patients with HVPG < 12 mmHg were regarded as responders.ResultsAn equal number of responders were seen in both groups (6/15, 40.0%). The reduction of WHVP and HVPG was greater in the losartan group than in the propranolol group, although no significant differences between them were found. Heart rate decreased more in the propranolol arm than in the losartan arm (P < 0.01); however, no correlation between the decrease of heart rate and the reduction of HVPG was observed. One patient in the losartan group, although a responder, had gastrointestinal bleeding 2 months after the drug administration, but the varices were small under endoscopy and did not require definitive therapy. The fall of MABP was greater with losartan, with no statistical difference between the two groups.ConclusionThe effect of losartan was comparable to propranolol in reducing portal pressure in decompensated Child–Pugh B chronic liver disease.
LbNrt RNA silencing in the mycorrhizal symbiont Laccaria bicolor reveals a nitrate‐independent regulatory role for a eukaryotic NRT2‐type nitrate transporter
Authors: Kemppainen Minna J. , Pardo Alejandro G. 
Published: December 2012

SummaryFungal nitrogen metabolism plays a fundamental role in function of mycorrhizal symbiosis and consequently in nutrient cycling of terrestrial ecosystems. Despite its global ecological relevance the information on control and molecular regulation of nitrogen utilization in mycorrhizal fungi is very limited. We have extended the nitrate utilization RNA silencing studies of the model mycorrhizal basidiomycete, Laccaria bicolor, by altering the expression of LbNrt, the sole nitrate transporter‐encoding gene of the fungus. Here we report the first nutrient transporter mutants for mycorrhizal fungi. Silencing of LbNrt results in fungal strains with minimal detectable LbNrt transcript levels, significantly reduced growth capacity on nitrate and altered symbiotic interaction with poplar. Transporter silencing also creates marked co‐downregulation of whole Laccaria fHANT‐AC (fungal high‐affinity nitrate assimilation cluster). Most importantly, this effect on the nitrate utilization pathway appears independent of extracellular nitrate or nitrogen status of the fungus. Our results indicate a novel and central nitrate uptake‐independent regulatory role for a eukaryotic nitrate transporter. The possible cellular mechanisms behind this regulation mode are discussed in the light of current knowledge on NRT2‐type nitrate transporters in different eukaryotes.
Harmonizing, annotating and sharing data in biodiversity–ecosystem functioning research
Authors: Nadrowski Karin , Ratcliffe Sophia , Bönisch Gerhard , Bruelheide Helge , Kattge Jens , Liu Xiaojuan , Maicher Lutz , Mi Xiangcheng , Prilop Michael , Seifarth Daniel , Welter Karl , Windisch Sven , Wirth Christian 
Published: December 2012

Summary

The integrative research field of biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) requires close collaboration between researchers from different disciplines working on different scales in time, space as well as taxon resolution. Data can describe anything from abiotic ecosystem components, to organisms, parts of organisms, genetic information or element stocks and flows. Researchers prefer the convenience of spreadsheets for data preparation, which can lead to isolated data sets that are diverse in structure and follow diverging naming conventions.

BEFdata (https://github.com/befdata/befdata) is a new, open source web platform for the upload, validation and storage of data from a formatted Excel workbook. Metadata can be downloaded in Ecological Metadata Language (EML). BEFdata allows the harmonization of naming conventions by generating category lists from the primary data, which can be reviewed and managed via the Excel workbook or directly on the platform. BEFdata provides a secure environment during ongoing analysis; project members can only access primary data from other researchers after the acceptance of a data request.

Due to its generic database schema, BEFdata platforms can be used for any research domain working with tabular data. It supports the compilation of coherent data sets at the level of the primary data, allowing researchers to explicitly model correlation structures across data sets for synthesis. The EML export enables efficient publishing of data in global repositories.
Comparing parent–offspring regression with frequentist and Bayesian animal models to estimate heritability in wild populations: a simulation study for Gaussian and binary traits
Authors: de Villemereuil Pierre , Gimenez Olivier , Doligez Blandine 
Published: December 2012

Summary

Estimating heritability of traits in wild populations is a major prerequisite to understand their evolution. Until recently, most heritability estimates had been obtained using parent‐offspring regressions. However, the popularity of animal models, that is, (generalized) linear mixed models assessing the genetic variance component based on population pedigree information, has markedly increased in the past few years. Animal models are claimed to perform better than parent–offspring regressions mainly because they use full between‐individual relatedness information and they allow explicit modelling of the environmental effects shared by individuals. However, the differences between heritability estimates obtained using both approaches are not straight forward, and the factors influencing these differences remain unclear.

We performed a simulation study to evaluate and compare the accuracy and precision of estimates obtained from parent–offspring regressions and animal models using both Frequentist (REML, PQL) and Bayesian (MCMC) estimation methods. We explored the influence of (i) the presence and type of shared environmental effects (non‐transgenerational or transgenerational), (ii) the distribution of the phenotypic trait considered (Gaussian or binary trait) and (iii) data quantity and quality (sample size, pedigree connectivity) on heritability estimates obtained from the two approaches for different levels of true heritability.

In the absence of shared environmental effects, the animal model using the REML method performed best for a Gaussian trait, while the animal model using MCMC was more appropriate for a binary trait. For low quantity and quality data, and a binary trait, the parent–offspring regression yielded very imprecise estimates.

Estimates from the parent–offspring regression were not influenced by a non‐transgenerational shared environmental effect, whereas estimates from animal models in which environmental effects are ignored were affected by both non‐transgenerational and transgenerational effects.

We discuss the relevance of each approach and estimation method for estimating heritability in wild populations. Importantly, because most effects fitted in animal models are, in fact, non‐transgenerational (including environmental maternal effects), we advocate a systematic comparison between parent–offspring regression and animal model estimates to detect potentially missing non‐transgenerational environmental effects.
Population dynamics of species‐rich ecosystems: the mixture of matrix population models approach
Authors: Mortier Frédéric , Rossi Vivien , Guillot Gilles , Gourlet‐Fleury Sylvie , Picard Nicolas 
Published: December 2012

SummaryMatrix population models are widely used to predict population dynamics, but when applied to species‐rich ecosystems with many rare species, the small population sample sizes hinder a good fit of species‐specific models. This issue can be overcome by assigning species to groups to increase the size of the calibration data sets. However, the species classification is often disconnected from the matrix modelling and from the estimation of matrix parameters, thus bringing species groups that may not be optimal with respect to the predicted community dynamics.We proposed here a method that jointly classified species into groups and fit the matrix models in an integrated way. The model was a special case of mixture with unknown number of components and was cast in a Bayesian framework. An MCMC algorithm was developed to infer the unknown parameters: the number of groups, the group of each species and the dynamics parameters.We applied the method to simulated data and showed that the algorithm efficiently recovered the model parameters.We applied the method to a data set from a tropical rain forest in French Guiana. The mixture matrix model classified tree species into well‐differentiated groups with clear ecological interpretations. It also accurately predicted the forest dynamics over the 16‐year observation period.Our model and algorithm can straightforwardly be adapted to any type of matrix model, using the life cycle diagram. It can be used as an unsupervised classification technique to group species with similar population dynamics.
Role of gibberellic acid in tomato defence against potato purple top phytoplasma infection
Authors: Ding Y. , Wei W. , Wu W. , Davis R.E. , Jiang Y. , Lee I.‐M. , Hammond R.W. , Shen L. , Sheng J.‐P. , Zhao Y. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractInfection of tomato by potato purple top (PPT) phytoplasma causes disruption of gibberellin (GA) homeostasis in the plant host. Such pathologically‐induced GA deficiency can be partially reversed by exogenous application of GA. This study was designed to explore the role of GA in tomato defence response against phytoplasmal disease, and to determine whether pretreatment with GA would protect healthy tomato seedlings from subsequent phytoplasmal infection and disease development. Our results revealed that, following exogenous GA application and subsequent PPT phytoplasma graft inoculation, there was an apparently coordinated down‐regulation of the gene encoding a key GA signalling component and growth repressor known as DELLA protein (GAI) and up‐regulation of genes involved in salicylic acid (SA) synthesis (ICS1), signalling (NIM1) and downstream defence responses (PRP‐1). Our results also indicated that differential regulation of the above genes was correlated with an increase in activities of defence‐related enzymes β‐1,3‐glucanase and chitinase. The data presented in this communication provide evidence to suggest that GA may act via DELLA and SA signalling pathways to modulate host defence in response to PPT phytoplasma infection. Although the GA pretreatment‐induced defence was not sufficient to prevent a systemic infection, it reduced phytoplasma titre and significantly attenuated disease symptoms. While the actual molecular mechanism underlying the GA‐induced plant defence remains elusive, findings from the current study open new opportunities for in‐depth studies of the functional role of the GA signalling network during defence response against phytoplasmal infection.
A Novel Scoring System to Guide Risk Assessment of Wernicke's Encephalopathy
Authors: Green Amy , Parker Richard , Williams Tim M. 
Published: December 2012

BackgroundThiamine deficiency in patients who abuse alcohol can cause Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE). Thiamine supplements are given to prevent this complication. Guidelines exist for giving thiamine supplementation in the inpatient population. However, similar guidelines are not available for clinicians detoxifying patients in the community, and consequently, assessment of risk of WE and prophylaxis can be inconsistent.MethodsA scoring system to assess risk of WE was developed and evaluated by comparing practice before and after introduction of the system. One hundred and twenty‐six cases requiring alcohol detoxification were examined: 94 before introduction of the scoring system and 32 afterward.ResultsBefore introduction of the scoring system, a risk assessment for developing WE was performed in 30% of patients and parenteral thiamine prescribed in 32%. After introduction of the scoring system, risk assessment and administration of parenteral thiamine increased to 100 and 75%, respectively. There was 1 probable case of WE before introduction of the scoring system and none afterward.ConclusionsWe conclude that assessment of WE is often inadequate, leading to inadequate thiamine administration. The new scoring system allows simple, structured risk assessment for WE and thus guides appropriate thiamine administration. This is of most value to clinicians treating the consequences of alcohol dependence in the community.