bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Diet of harbor porpoises along the Dutch coast: A combined stable isotope and stomach contents approach
Authors: Jansen Okka E. , Michel Loïc , Lepoint Gilles , Das Krishna , Couperus Abraham S. , Reijnders Peter J. H. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractHigh stranding frequency of porpoises, Phocoena phocoena, along the Dutch coast since 2006 has led to increased interest in the ecology of porpoises in the North Sea. Stranded porpoises were collected along the Dutch coast (2006–2008) and their diet was assessed through stomach content and stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of porpoise muscle and prey. Stable isotope analysis (SIAR) was used to estimate the contribution of prey species to the porpoises' diet. This was compared to prey composition from stomach contents, to analyze differences between long‐ and short‐term diet. According to stomach contents, 90.5% of the diet consisted of gobies, whiting, lesser sandeel, herring, cod, and sprat. Stable isotope analysis revealed that 70‐83% of the diet consisted of poor cod, mackerel, greater sandeel, lesser sandeel, sprat, and gobies, highlighting a higher importance of pelagic, schooling species in the porpoises' diet compared to stomach contents. This could be due to prey distribution as well as differences in behavior of porpoises and prey between the coastal zone and offshore waters. This study supports the need for multi‐method approaches. Future ecological and fishery impact assessment studies and management decisions for porpoise conservation should acknowledge this difference between the long‐ and short‐term diet.
Acute‐Phase Proteins, Oxidative Stress and Enzyme Activities of Blood Serum and Peritoneal Fluid in Cattle with Abomasal Displacement
Authors: Maden M. , Ozturk A.S. , Bulbul A. , Avci G.E. , Yazar E. 
Published: November 2012

BackgroundBlood serum and peritoneal fluid acute‐phase proteins, oxidative stress indicators, and some enzymes could be used for evaluation of abomasal tissue damage because of displacement in displaced abomasum (DA) cases.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the concentrations of acute‐phase proteins, oxidative stress indicators, and activities of enzymes in blood serum and peritoneal fluid in cattle with right displaced abomasum (RDA) and left displaced abomasum (LDA) and in healthy cows.AnimalsA total of 60 Holstein Friesian cows in early lactation were used, 31 with left and 9 with right displaced abomasum without volvulus diagnosis and no other postpartum disease, and 20 healthy cows as a control.Materials and MethodsDAdiagnosis in dairy cows consisted of physical examination, laboratory, and specificDAtests. Acute‐phase proteins, oxidative stress indicators, and enzyme activities were measured in blood serum and peritoneal fluid.ResultsIn theRDAgroup, serum haptoglobin (HPG), serum amyloid A (SAA), malondialdehyde (MDA), adenosine deaminase (ADA), myeleperoxidase (MPO), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatine kinase (CK, creatine kinase–MB (CK‐MB), and gamma‐glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity increased significantly, and serumHPG,MDA,ADA, andASTconcentrations increased significantly in theLDAgroup (P < .05). Peritoneal fluidHPG,MDA,ADA,MPO,ALP,GGT, andLDHconcentrations increased significantly, whereasNOconcentrations reduced significantly in theRDAgroup, andHPG,MDA,ADA, andTPconcentrations increased significantly, whereas concentrations ofNOreduced significantly in theLDAgroup (P < .05).Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceThere are acute‐phase responses, oxidative stress, and abomasal tissue damage because of displacement inDAcases. Especially,HPG,MDA,ADA, andMPOconcentrations can provide specific information to help in understanding these changes.
U.S. Civil Society Assistance to Egypt: Thinking Long Term
Authors: Newby Anna 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe interim Egyptian government's excoriation of U.S. support for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country has sparked a crisis that some analysts have called the worst deterioration of United States–Egypt relations in history. As Cairo's smear campaigns against the civil society community foment public mistrust among many Egyptians of NGO activity and foreign funding, U.S. policymakers and practitioners face new challenges in supporting civil society work in Egypt. For a number of reasons, however, Washington's assistance to Egypt should and almost certainly will continue, even if the environment for civil society activity in the country does not improve. Grantors and implementers must think seriously, therefore, about long‐term strategies for assisting civil society development in Egypt, which will require at least some coordination with a government that may be suspicious of U.S. efforts. By standing firm on red lines, improving public messaging in Egypt, carefully fostering local ownership of projects, remaining strictly neutral in identifying grantees and diversifying partnerships, distinguishing between short‐term foreign policy objectives and long‐term efforts to assist civil society development, and using varied democracy assistance tools appropriately, the United States can assist NGOs in Egypt in a way that gives them—and democracy—the best chance for success.
Learning through Upheaval: Strategies for Analyzing and Construing Emerging Sociopolitical Transformations in the Middle East
Authors: Wender Andrew M. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe irreducible complexity and singular unpredictability of the upheavals that have roiled the Middle East since December 2010 challenge analysts—from university students to policymakers—to grapple with irresolvable questions; this, rather than analysts' superimposing their own visions of what might constitute the upheavals' driving forces, and what will, or should be the outcomes of the regional turmoil. Drawing on strategies gleaned from teaching about the Arab uprisings, this article asserts that the uprisings may be collectively read as comprising a text that contains signs of indeterminacy pointing to many possible meanings and sources of meanings. Focus is placed on those signs that embody the differing discourses through which the Middle East upheavals are, have been, or can be represented and assessed; and the fluid, multidimensional forms of political identity that have contributed to the upheavals, and are being further reshaped, in their wake. By reading these signs with intellectual openness and humility, interpreters can achieve greater insight into the profoundly contingent and unforeseeable dynamics at work across the region.
Microwave-generated bionanocomposites for solubility and dissolution enhancement of poorly water-soluble drug glipizide: in-vitro and in-vivo studies
Authors: Kushare Sachin Shivaji , Gattani Surendra G 
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Objectives
In oral absorption of a drug, the drug first dissolves and then is absorbed by diffusion through gastrointestinal membranes. The gastrointestinal environment is aqueous in nature and it is well-known that one-third of the drug population is water insoluble. Hence, there is a need for enhancement of the solubility and dissolution of such drugs. In this work, enhancement of the solubility and dissolution of the practically insoluble drug glipizide was achieved by formation of bionanocomposites (BNCs) using microwave-induced diffusion (MIND), which ultimately leads to bioavailability enhancement.

Methods
BNCs were formed by using natural carriers such as gelatin, acacia, cassia and ghatti gum, with the help of microwaves. Selection of carriers was based on their surfactant and wetting properties. Solubility studies were carried out to establish the solubility-enhancing property of the BNCs. To support solubility analysis results, dissolution studies (i.e. powder dissolution and in-vitro dissolution) were carried out. The BNCs were characterized by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction studies, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In-vivo performance of the optimised formulation was assessed by glucose-induced hyperglycaemia test in male albino Wistar rats.

Key findings
It was found that as the concentration of polymer in the composite increased the solubility and dissolution of glipizide were enhanced. The optimised ratio (drug : polymer) for all the composites was found to be 1:9. In the glucose-induced hyperglycemia test in rats, the optimized formulation demonstrated a significant reduction in hyperglycemia compared with a marketed formulation, Glynase.

Conclusions
The novelty of this work is the green and cost-effective way of forming drug nanocomposites with the help of microwave, which can be scaled up to an industrial level. The method gives an immaculate means of solubilisation by generating drug dispersion at the micro and nanoscale level in natural biodegradable stabilising media. Hence, this study demonstrates the use of BNCs in solubility and dissolution enhancement.
Experimental Phase Diagram Determination and Thermodynamic Assessment of the CeO2‐Gd2O3‐CoO System
Authors: Ivas Toni , Povoden‐Karadeniz Erwin , Grundy Nicholas , Jud‐Sierra Eva , Grässlin Jurgen , Gauckler Ludwig J. 
Published: November 2012

New phase diagram data and a thermodynamic assessment of the CeO‐Gd2O3‐CoO system using the CALPHAD approach are presented. This information is needed to understand the surprisingly low sintering temperature (950°C–1050°C) of CeO2‐based materials doped with small amounts of transition metal oxide (e.g., CoO). Experimental phase equilibria between 1100°C and 1300°C are reported based on the analysis of annealed and molten samples. No isolated compound exists in the ternary. At 1300°C the Co solubility in the ternary compounds Ce1−x−yGdxCoyO2−x/2−y (fluorite) is 2.7 mol% and is less than 1 mol% in the Gd2−xCexO3+x/2 (bixbyite). The Ce solubility in the perovskite GdCoO3−δ was found to be 1 mol%. The lowest temperature eutectic melt in the ternary has a composition of 57.2 mol% Co and 41.1 mol% Gd melting at an onset temperature of 1303 ± 5°C, which is close to the binary eutectic in the Gd2O3‐CoO system at 60 ± 2 mol% Co and 1348 ± 1°C.
Temperature dependence of evolutionary diversification: differences between two contrasting model taxa support the metabolic theory of ecology
Authors: Machac A. , Zrzavý J. , Smrckova J. , Storch D. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractBiodiversity patterns are largely determined by variation of diversification rates across clades and geographic regions. Although there are multiple reasons for this variation, it has been hypothesized that metabolic rate is the crucial driver of diversification of evolutionary lineages. According to the metabolic theory of ecology (MTE), metabolic rate – and consequently speciation – is driven mainly by body size and environmental temperature. As environmental temperature affects metabolic rate in ecto‐ and endotherms differently, its impact on diversification rate should also differ between the two types of organisms. Employing two independent approaches, we analysed correlates of speciation rates and, ultimately, net diversification rates for two contrasting taxa: plethodontid salamanders and carnivoran mammals. Whereas in the ectothermic plethodontids speciation rates positively correlated with environmental temperature, in the endothermic carnivorans a reverse, negative correlation was detected. These findings comply with predictions of the MTE and suggest that similar geographic patterns of biodiversity across taxa (e.g. ecto‐ and endotherms) might have been generated by different ecological and evolutionary processes.
Should measuring haemoglobin among chronic kidney disease patients be a performance measure?
Authors: Thorp Micah L. , Smith David H. , Johnson Eric S. , Weiss Jessica W. , Vupputuri Suma , Petrik Amanda F. , Yang Xiu Hai 
Published: November 2012

AbstractObjective: We attempted to: (1) to assess whether or not adequate evidence exists to advocate the measurement of anaemia in chronic kidney disease as a performance measure; and (2) to determine what the appropriate benchmarks might be for health systems seeking to implement this performance measure.Design: Our study was conducted in two phases: (1) we used the United States Preventive Service Task Force chain of evidence methodology to determine six key questions that were subsequently reviewed to determine if adequate evidence existed to recommend haemoglobin testing among patients with chronic kidney disease; and (2) in order to establish a benchmark for a potential performance measure we measured the number of patients who had a test for anaemia during the preceding year and during the preceding three years. We established these benchmarks using chronic kidney disease defined both by estimated glomerular filtration rate and ICD‐9 codes.Setting: Benchmarking was undertaken at Kaiser Permanente Northwest, which serves the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington metropolitan area, and Kaiser Permanente Georgia, which serves the Atlanta metropolitan area.Participants: Patients with chronic kidney disease identified by either estimated glomerular filtration rate or ICD‐9 code.Main Outcomes Measurement: Serum haemoglobinIntervention: This was an observational study.Results: Our review of the evidence found no direct evidence that testing for anaemia among patients with chronic kidney disease improved patient morbidity or mortality. The ideal test for anaemia was serum haemoglobin. We found that available treatments of anaemia improve fatigue, but may increase mortality and stoke. We also found that an overwhelming majority of patients with chronic kidney disease defined by either estimated glomerular filtration rate or ICD‐9 codes, over one or three years had had a haemoglobin measurement.Conclusion: There is currently inadequate evidence to recommend haemoglobin measurement among patients with chronic kidney disease as a performance measure. In addition, most patients with chronic kidney disease have already had haemoglobin measurement, minimizing the potential benefit of a performance measure.
Over‐expression of heat shock factor 1 phenocopies the effect of chronic inhibition of TOR by rapamycin and is sufficient to ameliorate Alzheimer's‐like deficits in mice modeling the disease
Authors: Pierce Anson , Podlutskaya Natalia , Halloran Jonathan J. , Hussong Stacy A. , Lin Pei‐Yi , Burbank Raquel , Hart Matthew J. , Galvan Veronica 
Published: November 2012

AbstractRapamycin, an inhibitor of target‐of‐rapamycin, extends lifespan in mice, possibly by delaying aging. We recently showed that rapamycin halts the progression of Alzheimer's (AD)‐like deficits, reduces amyloid‐beta (Aβ) and induces autophagy in the human amyloid precursor protein (PDAPP) mouse model. To delineate the mechanisms by which chronic rapamycin delays AD we determined proteomic signatures in brains of control‐ and rapamycin‐treated PDAPP mice. Proteins with reported chaperone‐like activity were overrepresented among proteins up‐regulated in rapamycin‐fed PDAPP mice and the master regulator of the heat‐shock response, heat‐shock factor 1, was activated. This was accompanied by the up‐regulation of classical chaperones/heat shock proteins (HSPs) in brains of rapamycin‐fed PDAPP mice. The abundance of most HSP mRNAs except for alpha B‐crystallin, however, was unchanged, and the cap‐dependent translation inhibitor 4E‐BP was active, suggesting that increased expression of HSPs and proteins with chaperone activity may result from preferential translation of pre‐existing mRNAs as a consequence of inhibition of cap‐dependent translation. The effects of rapamycin on the reduction of Aβ, up‐regulation of chaperones, and amelioration of AD‐like cognitive deficits were recapitulated by transgenic over‐expression of heat‐shock factor 1 in PDAPP mice. These results suggest that, in addition to inducing autophagy, rapamycin preserves proteostasis by increasing chaperones. We propose that the failure of proteostasis associated with aging may be a key event enabling AD, and that chronic inhibition of target‐of‐rapamycin may delay AD by maintaining proteostasis in brain.Read the Editorial Highlight for this article on doi: 10.1111/jnc.12098.
Functional GPR37 trafficking protects against toxicity induced by 6‐OHDA, MPP+ or rotenone in a catecholaminergic cell line
Authors: Lundius Ebba Gregorsson , Stroth Nikolas , Vukojević Vladana , Terenius Lars , Svenningsson Per 
Published: November 2012

AbstractG protein‐coupled receptor 37 (GPR37) is suggested to be implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease and is accumulating in Lewy bodies within afflicted brain regions. Over‐expressed GPR37 is prone to misfolding and aggregation, causing cell death via endoplasmic reticulum stress. Although the cytotoxicity of misfolded GPR37 is well established, effects of the functional receptor on cell viability are still unknown. An N2a cell line stably expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)‐tagged human GPR37 was created to study its trafficking and effects on cell viability upon challenge with the toxins 1‐methyl‐4‐phenylpyridinium (MPP+), rotenone and 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA). Neuronal‐like differentiation into a tyrosine hydroxylase expressing phenotype, using dibutyryl‐cAMP, induced trafficking of GPR37 to the plasma membrane. 3‐(4,5‐Dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) cell death assays revealed that GPR37 was protective against all three toxins in differentiated cells. In undifferentiated cells, the majority of GPR37 was cytoplasmic and the protective effects were more variable: GPR37 expression protected against rotenone and MPP+ but not against 6‐OHDA in MTT assays, while it protected against 6‐OHDA but not against MPP+ or rotenone in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. These results suggest that GPR37 functionally trafficked to the plasma membrane protects against toxicity.
River islands, refugia and genetic structuring in the endemic brown frog Rana kukunoris (Anura, Ranidae) of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Zhou Weiwei , Yan Fang , Fu Jinzhong , Wu Shifang , Murphy Robert W. , Che Jing , Zhang Yaping 
Published: November 2012

AbstractFrequently, Pleistocene climatic cycling has been found to be the diver of genetic structuring in populations, even in areas that did not have continental ice sheets, such as on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Typically, species distributed on the plateau have been hypothesized to re‐treat to south‐eastern refugia, especially during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We evaluated sequence variation in the mitochondrial DNA gene Cytb and the nuclear DNA gene RAG‐1 in Rana kukunoris, a species endemic to the QTP. Two major lineages, N and S, were identified, and lineage N was further subdivided into N1 and N2. The geographical distribution and genealogical divergences supported the hypothesis of multiple refugia. However, major lineages and sublineages diverged prior to the LGM. Demographical expansion was detected only in lineage S and sublineage N2. Sublineage N1 might have survived several glacial cycles in situ and did not expand after the LGM because of the absence of suitable habitat; it survived in river islands. Genetic analysis and environment modelling suggested that the north‐eastern edge of QTP contained a major refugium for R. kukunoris. From here, lineage S dispersed southwards after the LGM. Two microrefugia in northern Qilian Mountains greatly contributed to current level of intraspecific genetic diversity. These results were found to have important implications for the habitat conservation in Northwest China.
The effect of osmolarity and caloric load on small bowel motility
Authors: Seidl H. , Schmidt T. , Gundling F. , Pfeiffer A. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractBackground  Although there is profound knowledge about cyclic fasting motility, the postprandial intestinal motor response is not well investigated. It is intriguing to speculate that nutrient composition alters small bowel motility significantly and, in a clinical setting, may account for adverse gastrointestinal symptoms in enteral nutrition (EN). We aimed to assess the impact of different caloric loads and osmolarities of EN on human jejunal motility.Methods  Sixteen healthy subjects underwent a series of duodenal infusions of EN solutions, either with iso‐osmolar solution with different caloric loads (1.32, 2.64, or 3.96 kcal min−1), or with solutions of different osmolarities with constant caloric loads (300, 600, or 1200 mosmol). Jejunal solid‐state manometry was analyzed over 90 min both visually and using dedicated computer software.Key Results  All tested nutrient solutions were able to trigger conversion to a postprandial jejunal motility pattern after a mean lag phase of 9.4 + 2.3 min (P = NS between different nutrient solutions). Different caloric loads did not result in significant differences in small bowel motility. However, increasing osmolarities caused a significant inhibition of contractile and propagative activity.Conclusions & Inferences  Small bowel motility under duodenal infusion of nutrient solutions is not influenced by caloric load in a physiological range, whereas high osmolarities inhibit small bowel motility.
Epigenetic variation creates potential for evolution of plant phenotypic plasticity
Authors: Zhang Yuan‐Ye , Fischer Markus , Colot Vincent , Bossdorf Oliver 
Published: November 2012

Summary

Heritable variation in plant phenotypes, and thus potential for evolutionary change, can in principle not only be caused by variation in DNA sequence, but also by underlying epigenetic variation. However, the potential scope of such phenotypic effects and their evolutionary significance are largely unexplored.

Here, we conducted a glasshouse experiment in which we tested the response of a large number of epigenetic recombinant inbred lines (epiRILs) of Arabidopsis thaliana – lines that are nearly isogenic but highly variable at the level of DNA methylation – to drought and increased nutrient conditions.

We found significant heritable variation among epiRILs both in the means of several ecologically important plant traits and in their plasticities to drought and nutrients. Significant selection gradients, that is, fitness correlations, of several mean traits and plasticities suggest that selection could act on this epigenetically based phenotypic variation.

Our study provides evidence that variation in DNA methylation can cause substantial heritable variation of ecologically important plant traits, including root allocation, drought tolerance and nutrient plasticity, and that rapid evolution based on epigenetic variation alone should thus be possible.
Institutions and Bank Performance: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis*
Authors: Lensink Robert , Meesters Aljar 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThis article investigates the impact of institutions on bank efficiency and technology, using a stochastic frontier analysis of a data set of 7,959 banks across 136 countries over 10 years. The results confirm the importance of well‐developed institutions for the efficient operation of commercial banks. Furthermore, the insights reveal the impact of institutional reforms in improving bank efficiency. The results are robust to adjustments in country‐specific effects, achieved by including country dummies, as well as across different risk profiles. Moreover, they provide empirical evidence in support of the public view of the banking sector.