bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
White Matter Injury After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Authors: Egashira Yusuke , Zhao Hao , Hua Ya , Keep Richard F. , Xi Guohua 
Published: September 2015

Background and Purpose—
We recently observed early white matter injury after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), but the underlying mechanisms are uncertain. This study investigated the potential role of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption and consequent white matter injury.

Methods—

SAH was induced by endovascular perforation in adult male mice. The following 3 experiments were devised: (1) mice underwent magnetic resonance imaging at 24 h after SAH and were euthanized to determine BBB disruption and MMP-9 activation in white matter; (2) to investigate the role of MMP-9 in BBB disruption, lesion volumes on magnetic resonance imaging were compared between wild-type (WT) and MMP-9 knockout (MMP-9
−/−
) mice at 24 h after SAH; (3) WT and MMP-9
−/−
mice underwent magnetic resonance imaging at 1 and 8 days after SAH to detect time-dependent changes in brain injury. Brains were used to investigate myelin integrity in white matter.

Results—

In WT mice with SAH, white matter showed BBB disruption (albumin leakage) and T2 hyperintensity on magnetic resonance imaging. MMP-9 activity was elevated at 24 h after SAH. MMP-9
−/−
mice had less white matter T2 hyperintensity after SAH than WT mice. At 8 days after SAH, WT mice had decreased myelin integrity and MMP-9
−/−
mice developed less white matter injury.

Conclusions—
SAH causes BBB disruption and consequent injury in white matter. MMP-9 plays an important role in those pathologies and could be a therapeutic target for SAH-induced white matter injury.
A Multicomponent Behavioral Intervention to Reduce Stroke Risk Factor Behaviors
Authors: Brown Devin L. , Conley Kathleen M. , Sánchez Brisa N. , Resnicow Kenneth , Cowdery Joan E. , Sais Emma , Murphy Jillian , Skolarus Lesli E. , Lisabeth Lynda D. , Morgenstern Lewis B. 
Published: September 2015

Background and Purpose—
The Stroke Health and Risk Education Project was a cluster-randomized, faith-based, culturally sensitive, theory-based multicomponent behavioral intervention trial to reduce key stroke risk factor behaviors in Hispanics/Latinos and European Americans.

Methods—
Ten Catholic churches were randomized to intervention or control group. The intervention group received a 1-year multicomponent intervention (with poor adherence) that included self-help materials, tailored newsletters, and motivational interviewing counseling calls. Multilevel modeling, accounting for clustering within subject pairs and parishes, was used to test treatment differences in the average change since baseline (ascertained at 6 and 12 months) in dietary sodium, fruit and vegetable intake, and physical activity, measured using standardized questionnaires. A priori, the trial was considered successful if any one of the 3 outcomes was significant at the 0.05/3 level.

Results—

Of 801 subjects who consented, 760 completed baseline data assessments, and of these, 86% completed at least one outcome assessment. The median age was 53 years; 84% subjects were Hispanic/Latino; and 64% subjects were women. The intervention group had a greater increase in fruit and vegetable intake than the control group (0.25 cups per day [95% confidence interval: 0.08, 0.42],
P
=0.002), a greater decrease in sodium intake (−123.17 mg/d [−194.76, −51.59],
P
=0.04), but no difference in change in moderate- or greater-intensity physical activity (−27 metabolic equivalent–minutes per week [−526, 471],
P
=0.56).

Conclusions—
This multicomponent behavioral intervention targeting stroke risk factors in predominantly Hispanics/Latinos was effective in increasing fruit and vegetable intake, reaching its primary end point. The intervention also seemed to lower sodium intake. Church-based health promotions can be successful in primary stroke prevention efforts.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT01378780.
A new species of Bupleurum (Umbelliferae) from Badakhshan, with notes on and a key to the alpine species of High Asia
Authors: Pimenov Michael G , Kljuykov Eugene V 
Published: September 2015

A new species of Bupleurum, B. pamiricum Pimenov & Kljuykov, distributed in the Pamirs alpine plateau in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, is here described. Previously collections of this taxon have been attributed to either B. aitchisonii or B. gracillimum, but it differs from the first in the rootstocks not branching, thin roots, narrower stem leaves 3-6 (not 1-2) and from the second in the brown stylopods, thin stems, in the leaves almost not broadened at the base, and bracteole number. A taxonomic key to the five alpine species of Bupleurum, growing in High Asia, is also provided.
ENSO-Like Variability: 1900–2013*
Authors: Chen Xianyao , Wallace John M. 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
ENSO-like variability is examined using a set of univariate indices based on unfiltered monthly global sea surface temperature (SST), sea level pressure (SLP), outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), sea level, and the three-dimensional ocean temperature (OT) fields. These indices, many of which correspond to the leading principal components (PCs) of the respective global fields, are highly correlated with each other. In combination with their spatial regression patterns, they provide a comprehensive description of ENSO-like variability in the atmosphere and ocean across time scales ranging from months to decades, from 1950 onward. The SLP and SST indices are highly correlated with one another back to the late nineteenth century. The interdecadal-scale shifts in the prevailing polarity of ENSO that occurred in the 1940s, the 1970s, and around the year 2000 are clearly evident in low-pass-filtered time series of these indices.
On the basis of empirical mode decomposition, ENSO-like variability is partitioned into an interannual “ENSO cycle,” to which equatorial ocean wave dynamics imparts a distinctive equatorial signature, and a red noise background continuum, most prominent on the interdecadal time scale, which resembles the ENSO-like variability in some models in which the atmosphere is coupled to a slab ocean. The background continuum bears the imprint of the Pacific–North American (PNA) pattern, the leading mode of the Northern Hemisphere wintertime variability of the atmospheric circulation over the Pacific sector. The superposition of the ENSO cycle and the background continuum imparts a distinctive frequency dependence to the patterns of ENSO-like climate variability.
The Nutritional Contribution of Foods and Beverages Provided by Government-Sponsored Day Care Centers in Guatemala
Authors: Vossenaar Marieke , Hernández Liza , Montenegro-Bethancourt Gabriela , Soto-Méndez María José , Bermudez Odilia I. , Solomons Noel W. 
Published: September 2015

Background: Meals served at government-run day care centers must be nutritionally adequate to ensure good health and proper development of preschool-aged children. They can provide a controlled opportunity to complement the daily diet of children in vulnerable populations. Objective: To determine the nutrient adequacy and leading food sources of nutrients provided by the diet served in government-sponsored day care centers. Methods: Estimated daily energy and nutrient intakes of a theoretical 40-day day care center menu were calculated, and the nutrient adequacy was assessed. Nutrient densities and critical nutrient densities of the menu were computed to identify nutrient inadequacies. Furthermore, main sources of nutrients were identified, and energy and nutrient distributions were examined by meal time. Results: The menu provides approximately 90% of daily energy requirement and more than 100% of Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNIs), with the exception of vitamin D and calcium. Sugar was the first leading source of energy, whereas milk was the first leading contributor of vitamin D. Conclusion: Within an environment of budgetary constraints, the Guatemalan government developed and advocated an exemplary menu offering for children in the vulnerable preschool period. We have demonstrated that, if prepared and served as planned, the items from the official, standard menu would supply most of the nutrients needed. High vitamin A intake related to the mandated national fortification program is a potential problem. From the analysis, it was found that vitamin D emerges as the most prominent candidate for a problem nutrient of deficient intake.
Activated protein C inhibits neutrophil migration in allergic asthma: a randomised trial
Authors: de Boer J. Daan , Berger Marieke , Majoor Christof J. , Kager Liesbeth M. , Meijers Joost C.M. , Terpstra Sanne , Nieuwland Rienk , Boing Anita N. , Lutter René , Wouters Diana , Mierlo Gerard J. van , Zeerleder Sacha S. , Bel Elisabeth H. , Veer Cornelis van't , Vos Alex F. de , Zee Jaring S. van der , Poll Tom van der 
Published: September 2015

Asthma patients show evidence of a procoagulant state in their airways, accompanied by an impaired function of the anticoagulant protein C system. We aimed to study the effect of recombinant human activated protein C (rhAPC) in allergic asthma patients.We conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept study in house dust mite (HDM) allergic asthma patients. Patients were randomised to receive intravenous rhAPC (24 µg·kg−1·h−1; n=12) or placebo (n=12) for 11 h. 4 h after the start of infusion, a first bronchoscopy was performed to challenge one lung segment with saline (control) and a contralateral segment with a combination of HDM extract and lipopolysaccharide (HDM+LPS), thereby mimicking environmental house dust exposure. A second bronchoscopy was conducted 8 h after intrabronchial challenge to obtain bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF).rhAPC did not influence HDM+LPS induced procoagulant changes in the lung. In contrast, rhAPC reduced BALF leukocyte counts by 43% relative to placebo, caused by an inhibitory effect on neutrophil influx (64% reduction), while leaving eosinophil influx unaltered. rhAPC also reduced neutrophil degranulation products in the airways.Intravenous rhAPC attenuates HDM+LPS-induced neutrophil migration and protein release in allergic asthma patients by an effect that does not rely on coagulation inhibition.
Erlotinibversuscarboplatin and paclitaxel in advanced lepidic adenocarcinoma: IFCT-0504
Authors: Cadranel Jacques , Gervais Radj , Merle Patrick , Moro-Sibilot Denis , Westeel Virginie , Bigay-Game Laurence , Quoix Elisabeth , Friard Sylvie , Barlesi Fabrice , Lethrosne Claire , Moreau Lionel , Monnet Isabelle , Salaun Mathieu , Oliviero Gérard , Souquet Pierre-Jean , Antoine Martine , Langlais Alexandra , Morin Franck , Wislez Marie , Zalcman Gérard 
Published: September 2015

The IFCT-0504 phase II trial evaluated the efficacy of erlotinibversuscarboplatin–paclitaxel (CP) as first-line treatment in 130 cases of advanced lepidic-predominant adenocarcinoma (ADC).The primary objective of the study was treatment efficacy, evaluated based on an end-point of disease control at 16 weeks.The primary objective was met, with a disease control in 35 (53%) out of 66 patients treated with CP and in 25 (39.1%) out of 64 patients treated with erlotinib. Median progression-free survival (PFS) for the total population was 3.6 months. The disease control rate did not differ between either the therapeutic arms or pathological subtypes, whereas there was a strong interaction between treatment arms and tumour pathological subtypes for PFS (p=0.009). Mucinous tumour patients treated with erlotinib exhibited an increased progression risk (hazard ratio 3.4, 95% CI 1.7–6.5; p≤0.001). The PFS for nonmucinous tumour patients was similar in both arms. Median overall survival was 20.1 months and did not differ between therapeutic arms. These findings were not further elucidated by molecular analyses and the toxicity profiles were as expected.Our study demonstrated the dominant role of CP alongside erlotinib in the management of advanced lepidic ADC. Based on these findings, erlotinib should not be administered in first-line therapy to patients with lepidic ADC in the absence of an epidermal growth factor receptor mutation.
The relationship of recombination rate, genome structure, and patterns of molecular evolution across angiosperms
Authors: Tiley George P. , Burleigh J. Gordon 
Published: September 2015

AbstractBackgroundAlthough homologous recombination affects the efficacy of selection in populations, the pattern of recombination rate evolution and its effects on genome evolution across plants are largely unknown. Recombination can reduce genome size by enabling the removal of LTR retrotransposons, alter codon usage by GC biased gene conversion, contribute to complex histories of gene duplication and loss through tandem duplication, and enhance purifying selection on genes. Therefore, variation in recombination rate across species may explain some of the variation in genomic architecture as well as rates of molecular evolution. We used phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate the evolution of global meiotic recombination rate in angiosperms and its effects on genome architecture and selection at the molecular level using genetic maps and genome sequences from thirty angiosperm species.ResultsRecombination rate is negatively correlated with genome size, which is likely caused by the removal of LTR retrotransposons. After correcting recombination rates for euchromatin content, we also found an association between global recombination rate and average gene family size. This suggests a role for recombination in the preservation of duplicate genes or expansion of gene families. An analysis of the correlation between the ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitution rates (dN/dS) and recombination rate in 3748 genes indicates that higher recombination rates are associated with an increased efficacy of purifying selection, suggesting that global recombination rates affect variation in rates of molecular evolution across distantly related angiosperm species, not just between populations. We also identified shifts indN/dSfor recombination proteins that are associated with shifts in global recombination rate across our sample of angiosperms.ConclusionsAlthough our analyses only reveal correlations, not mechanisms, and do not include potential covariates of recombination rate, like effective population size, they suggest that global recombination rates may play an important role in shaping the macroevolutionary patterns of gene and genome evolution in plants. Interspecific recombination rate variation is tightly correlated with genome size as well as variation in overall LTR retrotransposon abundances. Recombination may shape gene-to-gene variation indN/dSbetween species, which might impact the overall gene duplication and loss rates.
Single origin of the Mascarene stick insects: ancient radiation on sunken islands?
Authors: Bradler Sven , Cliquennois Nicolas , Buckley Thomas R. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractBackgroundThe study of islands as model systems plays a key role in understanding many evolutionary processes. Knowledge of the historical events leading to present-day island communities is pivotal for exploring fundamental mechanisms of speciation and adaptation. The remote Mascarene archipelago (Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues), considered to be the product of an age-progressive trend of north-to-south volcanic activity in the Indian Ocean, hosts a remarkably diverse, endemic and threatened concentration of flora and fauna that has traditionally been considered to be biogeographically related to Madagascar and Africa. To explore the evolutionary diversity of the Mascarene stick insects (Phasmatodea), we constructed a global phylogeny from approximately 2.4 kb of mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data of more than 120 species representing all major phasmatodean lineages.ResultsBased on the obtained time-calibrated molecular tree we demonstrate that the current phasmid community of the Mascarene archipelago, which consists of members of four presumably unrelated traditional subfamilies, is the result of a single ancient dispersal event from Australasia and started radiating between 16–29 million years ago, significantly predating the age of Mauritius (8–10 million years).ConclusionsWe propose that the Mascarene stick insects diversified on landmasses now eroded away, presumably to the north of Mauritius. In consequence, ancient islands have probably persisted in the Indian Ocean until the emergence of Mauritius and not only served as stepping stones for colonisation events during sea-level lowstands, but as long-lasting cradles of evolution. These ancient landmasses most likely allowed for adaptive speciation and served as significant sources of diversity that contributed to the biomes of the Mascarene archipelago and the megadiverse Madagascar.
Females sample more males at high nesting densities, but ultimately obtain less attractive mates
Authors: Tinghitella Robin M. , Stehle Chelsea , Boughman Janette W. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractBackgroundSexual selection is largely driven by the availability of mates. Theory predicts that male competition and female choice should be density-dependent, with males competing more intensely at relatively high density, and females becoming increasingly discriminating when there are more males from whom to choose. Evidence for flexible mating decisions is growing, but we do not understandhowenvironmental variation is incorporated into mate sampling strategies. We mimicked threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) breeding conditions in pools with high and low densities of nesting males and allowed females to search for mates to determine whether 1) mate search strategies change with the density of breeding males and 2) pre-copulatory components of mate choice (signalling, competition, search patterns, and mating decisions) are modified in parallel.ResultsWhile females sampled more males at high male density, suggesting greater opportunity for sexual selection, the expanded search did not result in females choosing males with more attractive sexual signals. This is likely because red throat colouration was twice as great when half as many males competed. Instead, females chose similarly at high and low male density, using a relative strategy to compare male traits amongst potential suitors. Reduced throat colour could reflect a trade-off with costly male competition. However, we did not observe more intense competition at higher relative density. Density-dependent signalling appears largely responsible for females associating with males who have more attractive signals at low density. If we lacked knowledge of plasticity in signalling, we might have concluded that females are more discriminating at low male density.ConclusionsTo understand interactions between mate choice and population dynamics, we should consider how components of mate choice that precede the mating decision interact.
Hospital Planning in France and the Federal Republic of Germany
Authors: Altenstetter Christa 
Published: September 2015

This article on hospital planning programs in France and North-Rhine Westfalia (a state in the Federal Republic of Germany), assembles information on the formal building blocks of inter-organizational relations in the formulation and implementation process. Because these planning programs are embedded in past social policy developments and institution-building, it is necessary to first compare the two countries' compulsory health insurance schemes. This is followed by a general profile of each health care system. A third section examines the formulation and implementation of the countries' hospital planning programs and participation patterns. Based on this comparison, inferences are drawn that are relevant to policy and research.
The analysis yields three major conclusions. First, despite abundant legal and administrative controls at the disposal of central health bureaucracies, the capability of the national leadership to influence the hospital system through innovative planning is limited by jurisdictional, institutional, functional and territorial fragmentation, and differentiation of control and public responsibility in health. However, the diverse goal orientations of participants may provide the necessary tension to allow for some change in otherwise highly structured political and administrative systems. Second, despite differences in historical, political and administrative developments, the decision making systems for health care policies in France and the Federal Republic, with the exception of health insurance, are strikingly similar to the fragmented decision making system in the United States. Third, the effect of government-mandated participation is empirically uncertain. Opening up the circle of participants seems to have reinforced alliances between public bureaucracies and corporate vested interests. Hospital planning continues to be carried out for rather than with the consumer and citizen. Hospital planning which is a mixture of goal and process-oriented planning does not change the basic orientation of health care systems, which are disease-oriented, and hospital- centered.
Regional Variations in the Determinants of Professional Liability Claims
Authors: Langwell Kathryn M. , Werner Jack L. 
Published: September 2015

The problem of professional liability claims and impact on the medical care market has become increasingly important in recent years. Professional liability insurance premiums, and the practice of defensive medicine by physicians in response to potential professional liability claims, have been cited as partly responsible for the increasing costs of medical care. This study is an analysis of factors which influence the probability of a professional liability claim occurring for physicians in each of the four Census Regions.
The data analyzed are from the Eleventh Periodic Survey of Physicians conducted by the American Medical Association in 1977, in which respondents indicated whether they had a professional liability claim filed against them. A logit analysis suggests that variations across Census Regions in population characteristics, availability of medical resources and supply of legal services are determinants of the occurrence of claims.
New Ionic Plastic Crystals Formed from Spherical-Type Cations Consisting of 1-Alkyl-4-aza-1-azoniabicyclo[2,2,2]octane with BEt3Me, BEt4, and BBu4 Anions
Authors: Hirakawa Satoru , Kotani Yuka , Hayasaki Tomoyuki , Honda Hisashi 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
Spherical-type cations of 1-alkyl-4-aza-1-azoniabicyclo[2,2,2]octane (N-R DABCO, R = Me, Et) form ionic plastic crystals with BEt3Me− and BEt4−. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis of [N-R DABCO][BEt3Me] and [N-R DABCO][BEt4] shows entropy changes of 49–73 J K−1 mol−1 at transition temperatures for the highest-temperature solid phase. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra show these salts form CsCl-type cubic structures. 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) shows that the cation and anion undergo isotropic reorientation in the highest-temperature solid phase. NMR spin-lattice relaxation times (T1) reveal that activation energies for this motion are smaller than reported for [NEtxMe(4−x)][BEt3Me] (x = 0–4), in contrast, electrical conductivity measurements show activation energies of ion transfer for these salts are similar to those of [NEtxMe(4−x)][BEt3Me]. In contrast to [N-R DABCO][BEt3Me−, BEt4−] salts, [N-R DABCO][BBu4] (R = Me, Et, Pr, Bu) show large entropy changes at their melting points. Complex XRD powder patterns and broad NMR spectra were also obtained. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the [N-R DABCO][BBu4] compounds show no plasticity under ambient conditions.