bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Oleoyl‐l‐carnitine inhibits glycine transport by GlyT2
Authors: Carland JE , Mansfield RE , Ryan RM , Vandenberg RJ 
Published: September 2012

Background and PurposeConcentrations of extracellular glycine in the CNS are regulated by two Na+/Cl–‐dependent glycine transporters, GlyT1 and GlyT2. Selective inhibitors of GlyT1 have been developed for the treatment of schizophrenia, whilst selective inhibitors of GlyT2 are analgesic in animal models of pain. We have assessed a series of endogenous lipids as inhibitors of GlyT1 and GlyT2.Experimental ApproachHuman GlyT1 and GlyT2 were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and the inhibitory actions of a series of acylcarnitines on glycine transport were measured using electrophysiological techniques.Key ResultsOleoyl‐l‐carnitine inhibited glycine transport by GlyT2, with an IC50 of 340 nM, which is 15‐fold more potent than the previously identified lipid inhibitor N‐arachidonyl‐glycine. Oleoyl‐l‐carnitine had a slow onset of inhibition and a slow washout. Using a series of chimeric GlyT1/2 transporters and point mutant transporters, we have identified an isoleucine residue in extracellular loop 4 of GlyT2 that conferred differences in sensitivity to oleoyl‐l‐carnitine between GlyT2 and GlyT1.Conclusions and ImplicationsOleoyl‐l‐carnitine is a potent non‐competitive inhibitor of GlyT2. Previously identified GlyT2 inhibitors show potential as analgesics and the identification of oleoyl‐l‐carnitine as a novel GlyT2 inhibitor may lead to new ways of treating pain.
Sources of Firm Performance Differences in the US Food Economy
Authors: Chaddad Fabio R. , Mondelli Mario P. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractResearchers in economics and strategy have long been interested in understanding the determinants of firm performance. We apply the relatively novel approach of hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) to a large panel of food economy firms to shed new light on the long‐standing debate about the relative importance of industry, corporate parent and business unit effects on firm profits. Our results suggest that business unit and corporate effects are more relevant than industry effects in explaining firm performance differences in the food economy. In addition, we also explore the effect of specific strategic factors on performance within each level of analysis. In particular, we find that business‐segment size, industry barriers to entry, corporate diversification, R&D intensity, capital intensity and resource availability are significant predictor variables that explain firm performance differences. Given the relatively important role of corporate effects and the positive influence of corporate strategic variables on business unit performance, our findings suggest that the environment provided by corporate parents significantly affects business unit profitability. In other words, corporate strategy does matter and thus should continue to draw attention from scholars interested in explaining profitability in the food economy.
One‐Piece Implants: Placement Timing, Surgical Technique, Loading Protocol, and Marginal Bone Loss
Authors: Prithviraj D.R , Gupta Vikas , Muley Ninad , Sandhu Pushpinder 
Published: September 2012

AbstractPurpose: Osseointegration being an accepted and well‐documented concept, attention is now directed towards simplification of the mechanical design of implants and towards achieving biomechanical success. The aim of this literature review is to provide an overview of the one‐piece implant, with its advantages and disadvantages over a conventional two‐piece implant.Methods: The PubMed database was searched in the English language using the keywords one‐piece implant, single‐piece implant, single‐stage implant surgery, and two‐piece implant. Articles were selected on the basis of whether they had sufficient information related to placement timing, surgical procedure used, loading protocol, follow‐up periods, marginal bone loss, and implant success rates of one‐piece implants. For inclusion, a study group must have had a minimum of 30 one‐piece implants followed for at least 1 year.Discussion: Nineteen articles were subjected to the selection criteria. Out of 19 clinical trials only 11 met the selection criteria. Five parameters were taken into consideration for studying one‐piece implants: placement timing, surgical technique, loading protocol, marginal bone loss, and implant survival rate. The data from the identified studies were tabulated according to these parameters and discussed.Conclusion: Delayed placement of one‐piece implants is more commonly practiced than extraction and immediate placement. Most surgeons prefer surgeries using flaps as compared to flapless surgeries, and in most cases, one‐piece implants were loaded immediately. Limited literature reveals both positive and negative results regarding the effect of a one‐piece implant system on surrounding hard and soft tissues.
Prevalence of Chronic Pain Among Libyan Adults in Derna City: A Pilot Study to Assess the Reliability, Linguistic Validity, and Feasibility of Using an Arabic Version of the Structured Telephone Interviews Questionnaire on Chronic Pain
Authors: Elzahaf Raga A. , Tashani Osama A. , Johnson Mark I. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThere are few studies estimating the prevalence of chronic pain in countries from the Middle East. We translated the Structured Telephone Interviews Questionnaire on Chronic Pain from English into Arabic and assessed its reliability and linguistic validity before using it in a telephone survey in Libya to gather preliminary prevalence data for chronic pain. Intraclass correlations for scaled items were high, and there were no differences in answers to nominal items between the first and second completions of the questionnaire. One hundred and 4 individuals participated in a telephone survey. The prevalence of chronic pain was 25.0% (95% CI, 16.7% to 33.3%) and 50.0% (95% CI: 30.8% to 69.2) of the participants with chronic pain scored ≥ 12 on the Arabic S‐LANSS. Mean ± SD duration of pain was 2.8 ± 1.2 years, and pain was more frequent in women (P = 0.02). 53.8% of participants had taken prescription medication for their pain, and 76.9% had used nondrug methods of treatment including traditional Libyan methods such as Kamara, a local herbal concoction. Eighty percent believed that their doctor would rather treat their illness than their pain, and 35% reported that their doctor did not think that their pain was a problem. Some participants complained that the questionnaire was too long with a mean ± SD call duration of 20 ± 5.4 minutes. We conclude that the Arabic Structured Telephone Interviews Questionnaire on Chronic Pain was reliable and linguistically valid and could be used in a large‐scale telephone survey on the Libyan population. Our preliminary estimate of prevalence should be considered with caution because of the small sample size.
Cooperation, Conflict, or Disengagement? Coparenting Styles and Father Involvement in Fragile Families
Authors: Waller Maureen R. 
Published: September 2012

This paper draws on information from the Fragile Families Study (N = 2,695) to examine how different coparenting styles emerge and are related to fathers' involvement with young children in a representative sample of unmarried parents. The results show that the quantity and quality of paternal involvement is significantly higher when unmarried parents establish a cooperative as opposed to a disengaged or conflicted coparenting style. Cooperative coparenting is less likely, however, when unmarried parents have separated after the birth or were never together as a couple, when fathers are unemployed or have other risk factors, when the child has a more difficult temperament, and when parents have fewer children together. This analysis also helps clarify previously equivocal findings concerning the relationship between coparenting conflict and paternal involvement. Regression results show that paternal involvement is not significantly different among parents with cooperative and mixed coparenting styles, indicating that when unmarried parents can work together and support each other's parenting efforts, even if they argue frequently while doing so, fathers remain more involved. At the same time, conflicted coparenting leads to a larger decrease in father involvement than disengaged coparenting. In the context of poorer‐quality coparenting relationships, it was conflict that mattered for fathering, not just parents' inability to cooperate. Implications of these findings for parenting education programs are discussed.
Evolution of CT Imaging Features of Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaques in a 1‐Year Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Adraktas Dionesia D. , Tong Elizabeth , Furtado Andre D. , Cheng Su‐Chun , Wintermark Max 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTPURPOSEThe purpose of this study was to identify imaging markers and clinical risk factors that significantly predict the evolution of computed tomography (CT) imaging features of carotid artery atherosclerotic disease over a 1‐year period.METHODSOur prospective study involved 120 consecutive patients undergoing emergent CT evaluation for symptoms of acute stroke. These patients were asked to consent to a follow‐up CT exam in 1 year. To evaluate for atherosclerotic plaque, both at baseline and on follow‐up, we employed a comprehensive computed tomography angiography (CTA) protocol that captured the carotid, vertebral, aortic, and coronary arteries. To further evaluate carotid artery plaque components, we used an automated classifier computer algorithm that distinguishes among the histological components of the carotid artery wall (lipids, calcium, fibrous tissue) based on appropriate thresholds of CT density. Baseline values of carotid imaging features and clinical variables were assessed for their ability to significantly predict changes in these imaging features over 1 year.RESULTSOf these 120 consecutive patients, 17 received both a baseline and a follow‐up CTA exam. Wall volume increased more when the largest lipid cluster was located close to the lumen (coefficient −7.61, −13.83 to −1.40, P = .016). The volume of lipid increased with age (coefficient .36, .21 to .50, P = .000), in smokers (coefficient 8.89, 6.82 to 10.95, P = .000) and when fewer lipid clusters were present at baseline (coefficient −0.11, −0.17 to −.04, P = .001). The volume of calcium increased with greater volume of lipid at baseline (coefficient .35, .02 to .68, P = .035) and in patients on statins (coefficient 4.79, 1.73 to 7.86, P = .002).CONCLUSIONSThere are a number of imaging markers and risk factors that significantly predict the evolution of CT imaging features of carotid artery atherosclerotic disease over a 1‐year period.
A Pictorial Essay of Brain Perfusion‐CT: Not Every Abnormality Is a Stroke!
Authors: Keedy Alexander , Soares Bruno , Wintermark Max 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTPerfusion‐CT (PCT) of the brain is a rapidly evolving imaging technique used to assess blood supply to the brain parenchyma. PCT is readily available at most imaging centers, resulting in steadily increasing use of this imaging technique. Though PCT was initially introduced and still most widely used to evaluate patients with acute ischemic stroke, a wide variety of other pathologic processes demonstrate abnormal perfusion maps. Therefore, it is important for the radiologist to recognize altered perfusion patterns observed in diseases other than typical ischemic stroke. The goal of this article is to show the perfusion maps and review the perfusion patterns observed in some subtypes of atypical stroke and in neurological entities other than stroke, so that they are recognized and not confused with the PCT patterns observed in patients with typical ischemic stroke.
Low‐paid workers in urban China
Authors: DENG Quheng , LI Shi 
Published: September 2012

Abstract:Using CHIP and RUMCI data for 1995, 2002, 2007 and 2008, this article estimates the extent of low pay among local and rural‐migrant workers in urban China. Based on a threshold of two‐thirds of median hourly wages, it finds that a high overall proportion of urban employees are low‐paid. While incidence remained relatively stable among locals between 1995 and 2008, it declined for migrants from 2002 to 2007, though the latter were still much more likely to be in low‐paid jobs. After investigating the determinants and welfare implications of low pay, the authors conclude with an argument for subsidized training, stricter minimum wage enforcement and firm‐level wage bargaining.
Minimum wage violation in South Africa
Authors: BHORAT Haroon , KANBUR Ravi , MAYET Natasha 
Published: September 2012

Abstract:This article aims to provide a more solid, quantified basis for policy debate over minimum wage levels and their enforcement in South Africa – and in other developing countries. Matching data from the 2007 Labour Force Survey to the occupational and locational specifications of gazetted minimum wages, the authors present estimates of minimum wage violation in South Africa. They find that 44 per cent of covered workers get paid wages below the statutory minimum, with an average shortfall of 35 per cent of the minimum wage. Around these averages, violation is most prevalent in the security, forestry and farming sectors.
Indicadores clasificatorios de normativas laborales: el caso del salario mínimo demuestra su ineficacia
Authors: LEE Sangheon 
Published: September 2012

Resumen.El interés creciente por los efectos de la reglamentación laboral en el rendimiento del mercado de trabajo ha suscitado intentos de análisis cuantitativos para comparaciones entre países. Sin negar la contribución de este enfoque a la investigación empírica, el autor analiza críticamente los indicadores clasificatorios de los regímenes normativos, en concreto el componente relativo al salario mínimo del influyente indicador de normas del trabajo del Banco Mundial, y descubre problemas importantes: sesgo teórico y errores de medición, ignorancia de las características institucionales y negación de los aspectos no determinables en la reglamentación, tras lo cual advierte del peligro de utilizar estos indicadores para fundamentar decisiones políticas.
Harmonisation of micronutrient‐based dietary standards globally: Challenges and future developments
Authors: GIBSON Rosalind S. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractAim:  The terminology and frame work for setting nutrient‐based dietary standards (NBDS) varies across countries leading to discrepancies in health, food policies and trade. Hence, harmonising approaches for NBDS warrants investigation.Methods:  A working group reviewed the terminology used to define NBDS and upper levels, statistical approaches for their use for individuals and populations, criteria to establish requirements, extrapolate and interpolate missing data, bioavailability issues and the potential impact of inter‐individual variations other than life‐stage and gender on nutrient requirements.Results:  The group proposed the term—nutrient intake values (NIVs)—that include the average nutrient requirement (ANR) and upper nutrient level. An individual nutrient level (INLx) based on the ANR was also proposed, the x representing the percentile for an acceptable risk for inadequacy for an individual. To assess nutrient adequacy and plan diets for groups, use of the ANR cut‐point or probability approach was recommended. In the future, NIVs may be set that take into account inter‐individual differences in lifestyle, environment, health, genotype and epigenetics.Conclusions:  Use of the proposed terminology and framework for NIVs has global potential for evaluating nutrient intakes and diets for individuals and populations and for use in several aspects of food and nutrition policy.
‘The eyes see what the mind knows.’ Adult‐onset Still's disease, a case series and review in a south Asian population
Authors: Ishaq Muhammad , Nazir Lubna , Riaz Amir , Alam Syed M. , Shaikh Muhammad I. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractAimAdult‐onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a rare disease. Very few cases have been reported from the South‐Asian region so the aim of this study is to assess the clinical and laboratory aspects of 15 patients with AOSD in a tertiary referral hospital in Karachi.MethodsRetrospective data was collected from all patients diagnosed using Yamaguchi criteria for AOSD between January 2004 and December 2010 at Jinnah Medical College Hospital, Karachi.ResultsData of 15 patients with AOSD were analyzed. Their ages ranged from 17 to 55 years, the male‐to‐female ratio being 6 : 1. The most common clinical features were fever and articular symptoms (100%), sore throat (60%), rash (53.3%), weight loss (93.3%), lymphadenopathy (40%) and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (86.7%). All patients had leukocytosis with counts > 20 000/mm 3 were seen in 40%. Elevated liver enzymes were present in 80% of the case series and hyperferritinemia in 100% with a mean of 3962 ng/mL (range 555–13 865). Ambiguity in presentation and lack of serologic markers make diagnosis of AOSD difficult as 40% of patients were receiving empirical anti‐tuberculous therapy prior to final diagnosis.ConclusionIt is necessary for physicians to have a high index of suspicion for AOSD in patients with high‐grade fever, arthralgia and leukocytosis.
Perioperative iron administration as an alternative to blood transfusion in major surgery
Authors: GARCÍA‐ERCE JOSÉ ANTONIO , CANTANHEDE GABRIEL , CUENCA JORGE , HERRERA ANTONIO 
Published: September 2012

SUMMARYIn the surgical setting, anemia is a common feature and an independent risk factor for blood transfusion, inpatient complications, delayed hospital discharge and poorer functional recovery. Despite adverse side effects and the increasing costs to health systems, allogeneic blood transfusion is the standard of care for anemia. Within this context, NATA (Network for the Advancement of Transfusion Alternatives) guidelines advocate steps towards prevention, diagnosis of anemia and stimulation of erythropoiesis in surgical patients. These include iron – p.o. and i.v. formulations – and recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) as viable alternatives pre‐, peri‐ and/or postoperatively. The combination of these methods with restrictive transfusion triggers, tranexamic acid and blood salvage techniques may reduce perioperative transfusion rates. The main objective of this article is to briefly review the use of iron in surgical patients, with special focus on orthopedic surgery. From the analyzed information, it can be concluded that, despite the lack of large randomized controlled trials, results indicate that because of the low incidence of serious side effects and the rapid increase of hemoglobin levels, i.v. iron emerges as a safe and effective drug for treating and preventing perioperative anemia. In addition, i.v. iron administration reduces rHuEPO dose requirements. The use of new i.v. iron formulations will allow the administration of large doses in a single session, thus facilitating a more widespread use of this therapeutic option.
A simple method for dealing with large state spaces
Authors: Schapaugh Adam W. , Tyre Andrew J. 
Published: September 2012

SummaryMost sequential decision‐making problems in conservation can be viewed conceptually and modelled as a Markov decision process. The goal in this context is to construct apolicythat associates each state of the system with a particular action. This policy should offer optimal performance in the sense of maximizing or minimizing a specified conservation objectiveDynamic programming algorithms rely on explicit enumeration to derive the optimal policy. This is problematic from a computational perspective as the size of the state space grows exponentially with the number of state variables.We present a state aggregation method where the idea is to capture the most important aspects of the original Markov decision process, find an optimal policy over this reduced space and use this as an approximate solution to the original problem.Applying the aggregation method to a species reintroduction problem, we demonstrate how we were able to reduce the number of states by 75% and reduce the size of the transition matrices by almost 94% (324 vs. 5184), and the abstract action matched the optimal action more than 86% of the time.We conclude that the aggregation method is not a panacea for the curse of dimensionality, but it does advance our ability to construct approximately optimal policies in systems with large state spaces.
Conduction Slowing Contributes to Spontaneous Ventricular Arrhythmias in Intrinsically Active Murine RyR2‐P2328S Hearts
Authors: ZHANG YANMIN , WU JINGJING , JEEVARATNAM KAMALAN , KING JAMES H. , GUZADHUR LAILA , REN XIAOLEI , GRACE ANDREW A. , LEI MING , HUANG CHRISTOPHER L.‐H. , FRASER JAMES A. 
Published: September 2012

Conduction Changes in RyR2‐P2328S Hearts. Introduction: The familial condition catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is characterized by episodic bidirectional ventricular tachycardia (BVT), polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PVT), and ventricular fibrillation following adrenergic challenge. It is associated with mutations involving the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2).
Methods and Results:
We explored for a slowing of myocardial conduction that could potentially result in a substrate for the spontaneous arrhythmogenesis that was observed following introduction of isoproterenol and caffeine in intrinsically beating murine RyR2‐P2328S hearts. Such pharmacological challenge increased the number of arrhythmic episodes in electrocardiographic recordings from intact anesthetized mice, with the greatest effects in the homozygote RyR2S/S. Arrhythmias took the form of bigeminy, BVT, monomorphic ventricular tachycardia, and PVT, as found in human CPVT. Ventricular epicardial conduction velocities (CVs) measured using multielectrode array recordings and maximum action potential upstroke rates, (dV/dt)max, measured using intracellular microelectrodes were indistinguishable in untreated wild‐type (WT) and RyR2S/S. Pharmacological challenge of RyR2S/S, but not WT hearts, then reduced CV and (dV/dt)max and also revealed a strongly arrhythmic phenotype. There was no evidence of gross structural or fibrotic changes in either RyR2+/S or RyR2S/S hearts on light microscopy.
Conclusions:
We associate altered ventricular myocardial CV potentially resulting in arrhythmogenic substrate with arrhythmic properties associated with genetic RyR2 alterations for the first time. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 24, pp. 210‐218, February 2013)
Identification and Analysis of the First 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Virus from U.S. Feral Swine
Authors: Clavijo A. , Nikooienejad A. , Esfahani M. S. , Metz R. P. , Schwartz S. , Atashpaz‐Gargari E. , Deliberto T. J. , Lutman M. W. , Pedersen K. , Bazan L. R. , Koster L. G. , Jenkins‐Moore M. , Swenson S. L. , Zhang M. , Beckham T. , Johnson C. D. , Bounpheng M. 
Published: September 2012

SummaryThe first case of pandemic H1N1 influenza (pH1N1) virus in feral swine in the United States was identified in Texas through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services’ surveillance program. Two samples were identified as pandemic influenza by reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT‐qPCR). Full‐genome Sanger sequencing of all eight influenza segments was performed. In addition, Illumina deep sequencing of the original diagnostic samples and their respective virus isolation cultures were performed to assess the feasibility of using an unbiased whole‐genome linear target amplification method and multiple sample sequencing in a single Illumina GAIIx lane. Identical sequences were obtained using both techniques. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that all gene segments belonged to the pH1N1 (2009) lineage. In conclusion, we have identified the first pH1N1 isolate in feral swine in the United States and have demonstrated the use of an easy unbiased linear amplification method for deep sequencing of multiple samples.