bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A metabolic signature for long life in the Caenorhabditis elegans Mit mutants
Authors: Butler Jeffrey A. , Mishur Robert J. , Bhaskaran Shylesh , Rea Shane L. 
Published: November 2012

SummaryMit mutations that disrupt function of the mitochondrial electron transport chain can, inexplicably, prolong Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan. In this study we use a metabolomics approach to identify an ensemble of mitochondrial‐derived α‐ketoacids and α‐hydroxyacids that are produced by long‐lived Mit mutants but not by other long‐lived mutants or by short‐lived mitochondrial mutants. We show that accumulation of these compounds is dependent on concerted inhibition of three α‐ketoacid dehydrogenases that share dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLD) as a common subunit, a protein previously linked in humans with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. When the expression of DLD in wild‐type animals was reduced using RNA interference we observed an unprecedented effect on lifespan – as RNAi dosage was increased lifespan was significantly shortened, but, at higher doses, it was significantly lengthened, suggesting that DLD plays a unique role in modulating length of life. Our findings provide novel insight into the origin of the Mit phenotype.
Rotation flap approach mastectomy
Authors: Dean Nicola R. , Yip Jia Miin , Birrell Stephen 
Published: November 2012

AbstractBackgroundThe authors present a technique for mastectomy with greater versatility for reconstruction.MethodsThe areola is marked and a vertical line is dropped medial to the breast axis, down towards the inframammary fold and laterally to the anterior axillary line. In large ptotic breasts, the markings are modified to reduce the skin envelope. The rotation flap is raised over the lateral half of the breast, and the remainder of the skin envelope is then separated from the breast tissue as per any other mastectomy. Skin closure is by rotation of the flap and incremental gathering of skin. An audit of 37 cases of rotation flap approach (RoFA) mastectomy has been performed, evaluating complications and post‐reconstruction outcome using the BREAST Q.ResultsRoFA has been found to offer good access for mastectomy and lymphadenectomy. A total of 7 of 37 patients had delay in healing, and 2 patients developed haematoma. Post‐reconstruction outcome was scored as comparable with other published series.DiscussionThe RoFA mastectomy has the potential to facilitate reconstructive results equivalent to skin‐sparing mastectomy and immediate reconstruction.
Renewing Union Narrative Resources: How Union Capabilities Make a Difference
Authors: Lévesque Christian , Murray Gregor 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThis article explores the role of framing in mobilizing and transforming narrative resources. It draws on in‐depth studies of two different workplace unions within the same multinational company in Canada. We conducted interviews with managers and trade unionists at different levels over a number of years of observation. Each of these workplace unions mobilizes new repertoires of action to enhance its capacity to act. Yet they differ considerably in their capacity to renew their narrative resources. Whereas one of the workplace unions still relies on an exclusive and restrictive narrative, the other union has evolved towards a more encompassing and inclusive narrative. This article argues that strategic capabilities are a key variable in understanding the processes through which narrative resources change and are mobilized.
Do Recessions Transform Work and Employment? Evidence fromIreland
Authors: Roche William K. , Teague Paul 
Published: November 2012

AbstractTwo contrasting views tend to dominate the literature on the impact of recessions on employment. One view is that recessions amount to a ‘critical conjuncture’ for work and employment systems, a time when firms try to transform radically existing employment models. The alternative perspective is that firms, constrained mostly by the forces of path dependency, seek to adjust to the immediate or short‐term pressures of the recession but otherwise maintain the established way of organizing the employment relationship. The purpose of this article is to contribute to this literature by reporting the findings of a major study of the effects of the recession on work and employment in firms based inIreland. The main finding to emerge from the study is that firms mostly have made improvised adaptations in response to the crisis and have shied away from far‐reaching transformational strategies.
A Cross‐Sectional Study on Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarker Levels in Cognitively Normal Elderly Subjects With or Without a Family History of Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Liu Zhao , Chen Huai‐Hong , Li Tian‐Lang , Xu Lei , Du Hua‐Qing 
Published: November 2012

SummaryBackgroundCerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers reflect changes in the brain, and contribute to early screening. Maternal inheritance is putatively stronger than paternal inheritance for late‐onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD).MethodsClinical data of 162 cognitively normal subjects were reviewed. A standard questionnaire was used to identify LOAD family history. Mini‐mental state examination (MMSE) was used to evaluate cognition. CSF Aβ1‐40, Aβ1‐42, total and phosphorylated tau were measured using ELISA.AimsTo compare biomarkers in cognitively normal elderly subjects with versus without LOAD family history.ResultsAmong the 162 subjects, 38 and 60 had LOAD family history on paternal and maternal sides, respectively. The remaining 60 subjects had no family history. No difference was noted in age, gender, education level, MMSE score, and memory impairment complaint in the three groups. Aβ42 and the Aβ42/40 ratio were lower than in subjects with a maternal history than in subjects with a paternal history or without family history (P < 0.05 in both). Phosphorylated and total tau did not differ among the three groups.ConclusionOffspring with a family history of LOAD on the maternal side have lower Aβ42 and Aβ42/40 ratio in the CSF, and maybe at higher risk for developing AD.
Wingless reproductives in the slave‐making ant Polyergus samurai: specialized producers of males (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Authors: Tsuneoka Yousuke 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThree wingless reproductives of Polyergus samurai Yano were collected in the reproductive season. These wingless reproductives had developed ovaries and laid eggs immediately after collection. They lacked spermatheca and the eggs produced by wingless reproductives finally become adult males. These observations suggest that the wingless reproductives of P. samurai are potential producers of males.
Practical Reasoning, Impartiality and the European Patent Office: The Legal Regulation of Biotechnology
Authors: Sideri Katerina 
Published: November 2012

Abstract:The article argues in favour of a different conceptualisation of the role of the European Patent Office, and of the mode of reasoning that the EPO ought to deploy, so as to decide cases concerning the patentability of gene related inventions such as diagnostic tests, and questions regarding the regulation of therapeutic cloning. Richardson's model of specifying norms offers an important alternative to the models based on cost‐benefit analysis and neutral application of the appropriate norm by administrative agencies. Specificationism stresses the importance of revising the ends of policy, coming up with a new norm, the product of creative synthesis of the content of conflicting norms. The article adds to this model the idea that the revision of ends requires a strong deliberative democracy, based on the notion of the practically wise regulator, who can apply principles correctly, as these cannot be usefully applied in difficult situations by people who lack experience, insight, and character. Given the current discussion to establish a unitary EU patent, the thesis advanced here is that the patent system in Europe ought to endorse elements of deliberative democracy, enhancing the importance of civil society in the European decision making processes.
Peto's paradox revisited: theoretical evolutionary dynamics of cancer in wild populations
Authors: Roche Benjamin , Sprouffske Kathleen , Hbid Hassan , Missé Dorothée , Thomas Frédéric 
Published: November 2012

AbstractIf the occurrence of cancer is the result of a random lottery among cells, then body mass, a surrogate for cells number, should predict cancer incidence. Despite some support in humans, this assertion does not hold over the range of different natural animal species where cancer incidence is known. Explaining the so‐called ‘Peto's paradox' is likely to increase our understanding of how cancer defense mechanisms are shaped by natural selection. Here, we study how body mass may affect the evolutionary dynamics of tumor suppressor gene (TSG) inactivation and oncogene activation in natural animal species. We show that the rate of TSG inactivation should evolve to lower values along a gradient of body mass in a nonlinear manner, having a threshold beyond which benefits to adaptive traits cannot overcome their costs. We also show that oncogenes may be frequently activated within populations of large organisms. We then propose experimental settings that can be employed to identify protection mechanisms against cancer. We finally highlight fundamental species traits that natural selection should favor against carcinogenesis. We conclude on the necessity of comparing genomes between populations of a single species or genomes between species to better understand how evolution has molded protective mechanisms against cancer development and associated mortality.
Tree growth changes with climate and forest type are associated with relative allocation of nutrients, especially phosphorus, to leaves and wood
Authors: Sardans Jordi , Peñuelas Josep 
Published: November 2012

AbstractAimTo test our hypothesis that trees change the allocation and the proportion of different nutrients between leaves and wood to maximize growth along climatic gradients.LocationCatalonia, Iberian Peninsula.MethodsWe tested the relationships of total forest nutrient content, stoichiometry and allocation between leaves and wood in trees with growth along environmental gradients using data from the Catalan Forest Inventory and a suite of multivariate mixed models, ANOVAs and principal components analyses.ResultsThe aboveground growth of trees and the nutrient content of leaves and wood were positively correlated with mean annual precipitation (MAP). The changes in C:nutrient ratios were proportionally higher in leaves than in wood, mainly in deciduous forests. Higher MAP was also related to a lower N:P content ratio in leaves and wood but was not related to a greater allocation of P than N in leaves relative to wood (N:PL/W). Conifers, which presented the highest relative aboveground growth, had the lowest N:PL/W (0.99 ± 0.02), whereas the slow‐growing evergreens had the highest N:PL/W (2.26 ± 0.23).Main conclusionsIn all forest types, growth was related to a higher allocation of nutrients to leaves than to wood, especially of P, coinciding with better climatic conditions for growth (higher MAP in this Mediterranean context). The highest rates of growth were linked to the lowest N:P ratios. The allocation of P relative to N in leaves is higher in conifers than in evergreen and deciduous trees.
Out on a limb: microarthropod and microclimate variation in coastal temperate rainforest canopies
Authors: Lindo Zoë , Winchester Neville 
Published: November 2012

AbstractSpecies richness of microarthropods in coastal temperate rainforests of western North America is enhanced by the presence of heterogeneous arboreal habitats (moss mats). We studied the relationship between species traits and microclimate as a structuring mechanism for understanding this high diversity.To examine whether community composition is associated with distinct microclimate zones we used Non‐metric Multidimensional Scaling ordination of environmental and community data. To link the traits of arboreal microarthropod species with observed environmental variables we used a trait‐based approach ofRLQand fourth‐corner analysis.Distinct microclimatic zones were observed in the canopy ecosystem stemming from gradients of moisture, temperature, and climatic stability associated with height in canopy and distance from trunk. Associated with these gradients is the growth and development of epiphytic bryophytes such as moss mats and suspended soils, which in turn, influence canopy microclimates.Microarthropod fauna displayed a community‐level response to microclimate gradients which was mediated and partially explained by a trait‐based analysis. A general decline in species richness was associated with harsher microclimate conditions. While many species possessed desiccation resistance traits under low‐moisture conditions, we posit that other species were able to persist by compensatory movements at very small spatial scales.In conclusion this study highlights the importance of environmental buffering associated with greater epiphytic biomass for preserving canopy microarthropod biodiversity, but also how developing an understanding of the species trait distributional shifts can enhance our understanding of communities under different environmental conditions, and for predicting future communities under global environmental change.
Study on bending behaviour of nickel–titanium rotary endodontic instruments by analytical and numerical analyses
Authors: Tsao C. C. , Liou J. U. , Wen P. H. , Peng C. C. , Liu T. S. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractAimTo develop analytical models and analyse the stress distribution and flexibility of nickel–titanium (NiTi) instruments subject to bending forces.MethodologyThe analytical method was used to analyse the behaviours of NiTi instruments under bending forces. Two NiTi instruments (RaCe and Mani NRT) with different cross‐sections and geometries were considered. Analytical results were derived using Euler–Bernoulli nonlinear differential equations that took into account the screw pitch variation of these NiTi instruments. In addition, the nonlinear deformation analysis based on the analytical model and the finite element nonlinear analysis was carried out. Numerical results are obtained by carrying out a finite element method.ResultsAccording to analytical results, the maximum curvature of the instrument occurs near the instrument tip. Results of the finite element analysis revealed that the position of maximum von Mises stress was near the instrument tip. Therefore, the proposed analytical model can be used to predict the position of maximum curvature in the instrument where fracture may occur. Finally, results of analytical and numerical models were compatible.ConclusionThe proposed analytical model was validated by numerical results in analysing bending deformation of NiTi instruments. The analytical model is useful in the design and analysis of instruments. The proposed theoretical model is effective in studying the flexibility of NiTi instruments. Compared with the finite element method, the analytical model can deal conveniently and effectively with the subject of bending behaviour of rotary NiTi endodontic instruments.
A qualitative exploration of opinions on the community pharmacists' role amongst the general public in Scotland
Authors: Gidman Wendy , Cowley Joseph 
Published: November 2012

AbstractObjectiveTo understand members of the public's opinions and experiences of pharmacy services.MethodThis exploratory study employed qualitative methods. Five focus groups were conducted with 26 members of the public resident in Scotland in March 2010. The groups comprised those perceived to be users and non-users of community pharmacy. A topic guide was developed to prompt discussion. Each focus group was recorded, transcribed, anonymised and analysed using thematic analysis.Key findingsParticipants made positive comments about pharmacy services although many preferred to see a general practitioner (GP). Participants discussed using pharmacies for convenience, often because they were unable to access GPs. Pharmacists were perceived principally to be suppliers of medicine, although there was some recognition of roles in dealing with minor ailments and providing advice. For those with serious and long-standing health matters GPs were usually the professional of choice for most health needs. Community pharmacy was seen to offer incomplete services which did not co-ordinate well with other primary-care services. The pharmacy environment and retail setting were not considered to be ideal for private healthcare consultations.ConclusionsThis study suggests that despite recent initiatives to extend the role of community pharmacists many members of the general public continue to prefer a GP-led service. Importantly GPs inspire public confidence as well as offering comprehensive services and private consultation facilities. Improved communication and information sharing between community pharmacists and general practice could support community pharmacist-role expansion.
NO LINKAGE OR ASSOCIATION OF A VNTR MARKER IN THE JUNCTION REGION OF THE IMMUNOGLOBULIN HEAVY CHAIN GENES IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Authors: Ligers A. , He B. , Fogdell‐Hahn A. , Olerup O. , Hillert J. 
Published: November 2012

SUMMARYMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Autoantibodies are thought to participate in the pathogenesis. Previous reports on the role of immunoglobulin (Ig) variable gene segments in MS are contradictory. Here, by using a highly polymorphic variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) marker located in the centre of the IgH chain locus, we demonstrate a lack of linkage and association with MS in 34 multiplex families and 113 sporadic MS patients in Sweden. Stratification for the presence or abscence of the MS‐associated HLA‐Dw2 haplotype did not influence the negative outcome. We conclude that the IgH chain genes are unlikely to play a role in genetic susceptibility to MS in the Swedish population.
Warm‐up before laparoscopic surgery is not essential
Authors: Weston Maree K. , Stephens Jacqueline H. , Schafer Amy , Hewett Peter J. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractBackgroundSeveral recent studies have suggested that warming up prior to surgery may improve surgical performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether warming up prior to laparoscopic surgery improves surgical performance or reduces surgery duration.MethodsBetween August 2011 and January 2012, a randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare two warm‐up modalities to no warm‐up. The study was conducted at a single site, with nine surgeons performing 72 laparoscopic cholecystectomies and 37 laparoscopic appendicectomies. Prior to surgery, surgeons were randomized to either laparoscopic trainer box warm‐up, PlayStation 2 warm‐up or no warm‐up. The activity was performed within 30 min of surgery commencing. Patients provided informed consent for the surgery to be digitally recorded. Digital videodiscs (DVDs) were reviewed by an independent and blinded assessor. Data were collected on duration of surgery, level of training and perceived surgical difficulty. Surgical performance was graded using a validated scoring system.ResultsFrom the 109 operations performed, there were 75 usable DVDs. Overall, there were no statistical differences in the demographics of patients and surgeons in the three treatment groups, nor in the subset that had useable DVDs. There were no statistical differences in the duration of surgery or surgeon's perceived surgical difficulty. There was no statistical difference in surgical performance.ConclusionsThis study suggests that warm‐up prior to laparoscopic cholecystectomy or appendicectomy is not essential, acknowledging that there are several study limitations that preclude definitive conclusion.
“How was your health 3 years ago?” Predicting mortality in older adults using a retrospective change measure of self‐rated health
Authors: Galenkamp Henrike , Deeg Dorly JH , Braam Arjan W. , Huisman Martijn 
Published: November 2012

AimStudies have shown better predictive value of self‐rated health (SRH) for mortality when prospective change in SRH is considered. However, retrospective change is more feasible and might have better sensitivity to objective health changes. This study compares the predictive value for mortality of retrospectively measured change in SRH (based on a “then‐test”) with current SRH and prospectively measured change in SRH.MethodsData from two waves of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (2001–2003 and 2005–2006 [T0], n = 1894) were used. Retrospective change was defined as the difference between SRH at T0 (“current SRH”) and SRH measured with a then‐test at T0, asking for a renewed judgement of one's health at the previous wave. Prospective change was defined as change in SRH between the two waves. We applied Cox proportional hazards analysis to predict 5‐year mortality.ResultsHaving poorer current SRH significantly predicted mortality (HR poor vs very good SRH = 4.42). Declined SRH was associated with higher mortality risk, but only when measured prospectively (one point decline vs no change HR = 1.33; two points decline HR = 1.95). After adjusting for current SRH, neither change measure predicted mortality. Results were similar in subgroups that did and did not experience incident diseases or limitations between the two waves.ConclusionsNeither retrospective, nor prospective changes in SRH improved the prediction of mortality in older adults over current SRH. These results imply that using a standard single indicator for self‐rated health in research or clinical practice might suffice to identify those with a high risk of future negative health outcomes. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 13: 678–686.
Effects of physical function trajectories on later long‐term care utilization among the Taiwanese elderly
Authors: Hsu Hui‐Chuan 
Published: November 2012

AimThe aim of this study was to examine the effects of trajectories of physical function on later long‐term care utilization based on longitudinal panel data of older adults.MethodsA representative longitudinal sample of older adults during the years 1993 to 2007 was used (n = 1232). Trajectories of physical function from 1993 to 2007 were identified by group‐based trajectory analysis, and then the relationships of the past trajectories with the use of nursing homes and care assistants, and the amount of utilization used in 2007 were examined.ResultsFour groups of physical function difficulties trajectories were identified: none (38.8%), little (34.1%), late increasing (16.1%) and early increasing (11.0%). The early‐ and late‐increasing difficulty groups were more likely to use and used more nursing homes and care assistants. In particular, a long‐term disability is closely related to a larger probability of using nursing homes than using care assistants at home. The utilization of care assistants seems a priority choice at the early‐increasing stage of disability. When the disability worsens and lasts a long time, a nursing home is then the next choice.ConclusionPast physical function trajectories relate to later long‐term care utilization. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 13: 751–758.