bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mass Screening for Chronic Kidney Disease in Rural and Remote Canadian First Nations People: Methodology and Demographic Characteristics
Authors: Lavallee Barry , Chartrand Caroline , McLeod Lorraine , Rigatto Claudio , Tangri Navdeep , Dart Allison , Gordon Audrey , Ophey Stephanee , Komenda Paul 
Published: March 2015

Background: Screening the general population for Chronic Kidney Disease is not currently recommended. Rural and remote Canadian First Nations people suffer a disproportionate burden of Kidney Failure. The First Nat ions Community Based Screening to Improve Kidney Health and Prevent Dialysis ( FINISHED) project intends to test the hypothesis that a mobile, mass screening initiative available to all First Nations people 10 years of age and older residing in rural and/or remote communities, is feasible, will improve health outcomes and is cost effective. Objectives: The objective of this manuscript is to describe the key elements required to design, implement and evaluate such a program and describe key characteristics of our screened cohort. Design: Methods and cohort description. Setting: 11 First Nations communities within 2 Tribal Councils in Manitoba, Canada. Patients: All First Nations individuals between the ages of 10–80 living in the 11communities were eligible for the screening initiative. Measurements: Screening Rates achieved within communities. Methods: An interdisciplinary team partnership was established between the Diabetes Integration Project and the Manitoba Renal Program. Stakeholder consultation was obtained and protocols developed to mass screen community members using point of care testing equipment. All people screened were risk stratified, counselled and referred to nephrologists as required in real time, based on risk. Results: As of August 31, 2014, 1480 people in 11 communities over 2 Tribal Councils have been successfully screened. A mean screening rate of 21% of all community members eligible (aged 10–80) has been achieved. All patients at intermediate or high risk of kidney failure have been seen by nephrologists within 1 month of screening. Limitations: Long term outcomes of kidney failure rates not assessed for at least 5 years. Alternative public health initiatives to reduce kidney failure not investigated. Conclusions: Point of care mass screening, real time risk prediction and counselling of First Nations people at high risk of Kidney Failure is feasible in rural and remote communities. Further analysis of this cohort will describe theepidemiology of CKD in these communities, and test the cost effectiveness of this strategy.
The coherency of ambient seismic noise recorded during land surveys and the resulting implications for the effectiveness of geophone arrays
Authors: Dean Timothy , Dupuis J. Christian , Hassan Rakib 
Published: March 2015

The use of analog sensor arrays is often assumed to provide signal-to-ambient-noise improvements proportional to the square root of the number of sensors being summed. We determined via numerical modeling and field experiments that the improvements sought were significantly hindered once the ambient noise exhibited coherence over the array being summed. As a first step, a numerical model was developed to explore the optimal sensor spacing based on the average correlation coefficient between sensors. Field experiments were then carried out to measure ambient noise using closely spaced geophones at several sites in Perth, Western Australia. We show that the measured noise at six test sites was strongly coherent over distances of up to 10 m, with the level of coherency being inversely proportional to frequency. The resulting optimum geophone spacing under our field conditions was determined to be 7.5 m. These results offered further encouragement to reassess our use of analog arrays and to consider recording the output from individual sensors. In addition to the benefits from postacquisition noise suppression, this approach will enable increased trace density without degradation of the signal caused by strong coherent noise sources over acquisition spreads.
Pregnancy limits lung function during exercise and depresses metabolic rate in the skink Tiliqua nigrolutea
Authors: Munns Suzanne L. , Edwards Ashley , Nicol Stewart , Frappell Peter B. 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACT
High gestational loads have been associated with a range of ecological costs, such as decreased locomotor ability; however, the physiological mechanisms that underpin these changes are poorly understood. In this study, breathing patterns, metabolic rates, lung volume and lung diffusing capacity were measured at rest and during exercise in the pregnant skink Tiliqua nigrolutea. Breathing patterns were largely unaffected by gestation; however, decreases in metabolic rate (rate of oxygen consumption) in the late stages of pregnancy induced a relative hyperventilation. The reductions in metabolic rate during late pregnancy prevent the calculation of the maintenance cost of pregnancy based on post-partum and neonatal metabolic rates. Despite the high relative litter mass of 38.9±5.3%, lung diffusing capacity was maintained during all stages of pregnancy, suggesting that alterations in diffusion at the alveolar capillary membrane were not responsible for the relative hyperventilation. Lung volume was increased during pregnancy compared with non-pregnant females, but lung volume was significantly lower during pregnancy compared with post-partum lung volume. Pregnant females were unable to produce the same metabolic and ventilatory changes induced by exercise in non-pregnant females. This lack of ability to respond to increased respiratory drive during exercise may underpin the locomotor impairment measured during gestation in previous studies.
Species-specific loss of sexual dimorphism in vocal effectors accompanies vocal simplification in African clawed frogs (Xenopus)
Authors: Leininger Elizabeth C. , Kitayama Ken , Kelley Darcy B. 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACT
Phylogenetic studies can reveal patterns of evolutionary change, including the gain or loss of elaborate courtship traits in males. Male African clawed frogs generally produce complex and rapid courtship vocalizations, whereas female calls are simple and slow. In a few species, however, male vocalizations are also simple and slow, suggesting loss of male-typical traits. Here, we explore features of the male vocal organ that could contribute to loss in two species with simple, slow male calls. In Xenopus boumbaensis, laryngeal morphology is more robust in males than in females. Larynges are larger, have a more complex cartilaginous morphology and contain more muscle fibers. Laryngeal muscle fibers are exclusively fast-twitch in males but are both fast- and slow-twitch in females. The laryngeal electromyogram, a measure of neuromuscular synaptic strength, shows greater potentiation in males than in females. Male-specific physiological features are shared with X. laevis, as well as with a species of the sister clade, Silurana tropicalis, and thus are likely ancestral. In X. borealis, certain aspects of laryngeal morphology and physiology are sexually monomorphic rather than dimorphic. In both sexes, laryngeal muscle fibers are of mixed-twitch type, which limits the production of muscle contractions at rapid intervals. Muscle activity potentiation and discrete tension transients resemble female rather than male X. boumbaensis. The de-masculinization of these laryngeal features suggests an alteration in sensitivity to the gonadal hormones that are known to control the sexual differentiation of the larynx in other Xenopus and Silurana species.
Learning context modulates aversive taste strength in honey bees
Authors: de Brito Sanchez Maria Gabriela , Serre Marion , Avarguès-Weber Aurore , Dyer Adrian G. , Giurfa Martin 
Published: March 2015

ABSTRACTThe capacity of honey bees (Apis mellifera) to detect bitter substances is controversial because they ingest without reluctance different kinds of bitter solutions in the laboratory, whereas free-flying bees avoid them in visual discrimination tasks. Here, we asked whether the gustatory perception of bees changes with the behavioral context so that tastes that are less effective as negative reinforcements in a given context become more effective in a different context. We trained bees to discriminate an odorant paired with 1 mol l−1 sucrose solution from another odorant paired with either distilled water, 3 mol l−1 NaCl or 60 mmol l−1 quinine. Training was either Pavlovian [olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex (PER) in harnessed bees], or mainly operant (olfactory conditioning of free-walking bees in a Y-maze). PER-trained and maze-trained bees were subsequently tested both in their original context and in the alternative context. Whereas PER-trained bees transferred their choice to the Y-maze situation, Y-maze-trained bees did not respond with a PER to odors when subsequently harnessed. In both conditioning protocols, NaCl and distilled water were the strongest and the weakest aversive reinforcement, respectively. A significant variation was found for quinine, which had an intermediate aversive effect in PER conditioning but a more powerful effect in the Y-maze, similar to that of NaCl. These results thus show that the aversive strength of quinine varies with the learning context, and reveal the plasticity of the bee's gustatory system. We discuss the experimental constraints of both learning contexts and focus on stress as a key modulator of taste in the honey bee. Further explorations of bee taste are proposed to understand the physiology of taste modulation in bees.
Book Review: A. SIMPSON, Niketas Choniates: A Historiographical Study. Oxford Studies in Byzantium
Authors: KRALLIS Dimitris 
Published: March 2015

<p>Book Review: A. SIMPSON, <em>Niketas Choniates: A Historiographical Study</em>. Oxford Studies in Byzantium</p><p>pp. 400 | 2 in-text maps | 978-0-19-967071-0 | Oxford 2013</p>
Von den Zahlen zu den Inhalten – „Bench-Learning“ als Follow-Up-Prozess der Kundenbefragung
Authors: Puchta Thomas 
Published: March 2015

Zusammenfassung:
Eine Kundenbefragung war nur dann ein Erfolg, wenn die Ergebnisse im Anschluss von den Bibliotheken tatsächlich zur Qualitätsentwicklung und Angebotssteuerung genutzt werden. Aufgezeigt wird anhand der Methode des sog. „Bench-Learnings“ wie ein geeigneter Follow-Up-Prozess gestaltet werden kann. Zunächst werden Konzept und organisationale Voraussetzungen des Bench-Learnings erläutert, um anschließend anhand der konkreten Berliner Strukturen die geplante Vorgehensweise zu erläutern. Verschiedene Arten von Auswertungsmethoden werden schematisch vorgestellt und erläutert.
A checklist for critical appraisal of studies of biological variation
Authors: Bartlett William A. , Braga Federica , Carobene Anna , Coşkun Abdurrahman , Prusa Richard , Fernandez-Calle Pilar , Røraas Thomas , Jonker Neils , Sandberg Sverre , on behalf of the Biological Variati  
Published: March 2015

AbstractData on biological variation are used for many purposes in laboratory medicine but concern exists over the validity of the data reported in some studies. A critical appraisal checklist has been produced by a working group established by the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) to enable standardised assessment of existing and future publications of biological variation data. The checklist identifies key elements to be reported in studies to enable safe accurate and effective transport of biological variation data sets across healthcare systems. The checklist is mapped to the domains of a minimum data set required to enable this process.
Whole blood thromboelastometry profiles in women with preeclampsia
Authors: Spiezia Luca , Bogana Gianna , Campello Elena , Maggiolo Sara , Pelizzaro Elena , Carbonare Cristina Dalle , Gervasi Maria Teresa , Simioni Paolo 
Published: March 2015

AbstractPreeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and significant amounts of protein in the urine. Various coagulation abnormalities have been described in pregnant women with PE. The aim of the present case-control study was to evaluate whole blood thromboelastometry profiles, performed by ROTEMStandard ROTEMPreeclamptic women showed a significantly more rapid propagation phase in EXTEM assay than controls (CFT 62±15 vs. 75±15 s and α-angle 78±4 vs. 75±4°, p<0.01 in both cases). Moreover, MCF was significantly higher and ML significantly lower in women with PE than in healthy pregnant women (p=0.001 for all comparisons).ROTEM
Culture or language: what drives effects of grammatical gender?
Authors: Beller Sieghard , Brattebø Karen Fadnes , Lavik Kristina Osland , Reigstad Rakel Drønen , Bender Andrea 
Published: March 2015

Abstract
Although investigations of linguistic relativity originated in cultural anthropology, the role of culture in the interplay of language and cognition has rarely been addressed. The debate on whether the grammatical gender of nouns affects how people represent the entity denoted by the respective noun is a typical example of this. A common research strategy has been to compare the gender associations for non-animate entities as a function of their grammatical gender between two languages spoken in different cultural groups. In the study reported here, we try to disentangle linguistic and cultural effects on such gender associations, by focusing on members of one cultural group speaking two language variants that differ in whether or not they distinguish masculine and feminine gender. Participants were asked to assign a male or female voice to nouns from a broad range of semantic categories (animates, allegories and artefacts). Our findings indicate that the gender system does indeed have an impact on voice assignment. However, this grammatical effect is small compared to the variation induced by culturally conveyed associations within and across the semantic domains. In conclusion, we discuss some implications and guidelines for future research on how to control for culture as a problematic confound in cross-linguistic studies.
How to Apply the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard Concept
Authors: Krstić Bojan , Sekulić Vesna , Ivanović Vladimir 
Published: March 2015

Abstract
Many successful enterprises have identified a large significance of non-economic determinants of business and their influence on competitive success. Social responsible behaviour becomes an imperative of modern business environment. Corporate social responsibility emphasizes more effective environmental and social performance management so that its influence on financial performance becomes more and more obvious. In that sense, the aim of this paper is to point out the theoretical foundations of the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBS) concept, and to demonstrate an example of enterprise, which will show how to develop SBS in the aim of its successful application.
The Quality of Financial Reporting in the Republic of Serbia
Authors: Đukić Tadija Đ , Pavlović Miloš 
Published: March 2015

Abstract
High quality financial statements should truly and objectively reveal the financial position, business results and changes of a business entity. Satisfied users of financial statements according to which they make decisions represent the best confirmation of high quality financial reporting. The paper deals with the conceptual framework of financial reporting and with an attempt to create unified and revised conceptual framework as a joint project by FASB and IASB. Moreover, it considers novelties that the framework brings. Also, the paper points to the current state in terms of financial reporting quality in the Republic of Serbia. Furthermore, the paper points to some shortcomings of accounting regulation at the national level as a prerequisite of high quality reporting. Finally, the authors propose certain measures and activities for enhancing financial reporting quality in the current economic and political conditions in the Republic of Serbia.
Distributed Multi-Agent-Based Protection Scheme for Transient Stability Enhancement in Power Systems
Authors: Rahman M. S. , Mahmud M. A. , Pota H. R. , Hossain M. J. , Orchi T. F. 
Published: March 2015

Abstract
This paper presents a new distributed agent-based scheme to enhance the transient stability of power systems by maintaining phase angle cohesiveness of interconnected generators through proper relay coordination with critical clearing time (CCT) information. In this distributed multi-agent infrastructure, intelligent agents represent various physical device models to provide dynamic information and energy flow among different physical processes of power systems. The agents can communicate with each other in a distributed manner with a final aim to control circuit breakers (CBs) with CCT information as this is the key issue for maintaining and enhancing the transient stability of power systems. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated on a standard IEEE 39-bus New England benchmark system under different large disturbances such as three-phase short-circuit faults and changes in loads within the systems. From the simulation results, it is found that the proposed scheme significantly enhances the transient stability of power systems as compared to a conventional scheme of static CB operation.
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As), Market Structure and Inventive Activity in the Agricultural Biotechnology Industry
Authors: Oehmke James F. , Naseem Anwar 
Published: March 2015

Abstract
This article explores the relationships among mergers and acquisitions (M&A), consolidation, concentration and inventive activity in the agricultural biotechnology industry. We adapt testable hypotheses from the conceptual literature. We empirically test each hypothesis and interpret the results in terms of existing explanations of consolidation and the level of inventive activity, and antitrust policy. We find aggregate inventive activity to be related to M&A activity, but whether the effect is positive or negative is dependent on the type of M&A. Further, greater number of public sector firms in the research market, as well as increasing industry concentration, are both found to increase overall innovation.
Channel Concentration and Retail Prices: Evidence from the Traditional Cheese Market of Cyprus
Authors: Markidou Anna , Michis Antonis 
Published: March 2015

Abstract
This study examines the impact of channel concentration on retail prices in the traditional cheese market of Cyprus. The analysis is based on a panel data model for retail prices and a non-linear simultaneous equations model for the estimation of market power. Our results suggest that retail cheese prices tend to be positively related to producer concentration and negatively related to channel concentration. We provide explanations for these results based on the structure-conduct-performance and countervailing buyer power models in published industrial organization studies.
Altered cardiovascular autonomic function in young normotensive offspring of hypertensive parents – Is obesity an additional risk factor?
Authors: Johncy Selvaraj Smilee , Karthik Challakere Subramanya , Bondade Suresh Yankanna , Jayalakshmi Malavar Kariyappa 
Published: March 2015

Abstract

Background: A study was undertaken to analyze the nature and magnitude of autonomic dysregulation that starts early in the offspring of a hypertensive parent and also whether obesity in them add an additional risk for future hypertension.

Methods: Forty normotensive subjects aged 18–25 years with at least one hypertensive parent constitute the study group. The study group was divided into obese and non-obese depending on their body mass index (non-obese with BMI 18.50–24.99 kg/m2; obese with BMI≥30 kg/m2). Twenty age-matched normotensive, without parental history subjects constitute the control group. Anthropometric parameters, heart rate, systolic and diastolic pressures were recorded. Heart rate variability indices like total power, LF, HF, LF/HF, SDNN, RMSSD, and PNN50% were studied. One-way ANOVA was used for simultaneous multiple group comparison followed by post hoc Tukey’s test for groupwise comparison. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between BMI and other variables.

Results: Subjects who were obese with parental history of hypertension showed significantly higher heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, LF, LF/HF ratio and reduced total power, HF, SDNN, RMSSD, and PNN50% compared to the other groups with normal BMI. HF and all the time domain indices showed negative correlation and LF a positive correlation with BMI.

Conclusions: In the obese offspring of hypertensive parents, HRV markers, which represent a vagal dominance were reduced substantially, and indices of sympathetic activity were increased. So obesity in a normotensive offspring of a hypertensive parent is an additional risk factor for the future development of hypertension as it further dysregulates the autonomic control of the heart.
On the length of the shortest non-trivial element in the derived and the lower central series
Authors: Elkasapy Abdelrhman , Thom Andreas 
Published: March 2015

Abstract
We provide upper and lower bounds on the length of the shortest non-trivial element in the derived series and lower central series in the free group on two generators. The techniques are used to provide new estimates on the nilpotent residual finiteness growth and on almost laws for compact groups.
A uniform model for almost convexity and rewriting systems
Authors: Brittenham Mark , Hermiller Susan 
Published: March 2015

Abstract
We introduce a topological property for
finitely generated groups,
called stackable, that
implies the existence of
an inductive procedure for constructing
van Kampen diagrams with respect to a
particular finite presentation.
We also define algorithmically stackable groups, for which
this procedure is an algorithm.
This property gives a common
model for algorithms arising from both rewriting
systems and almost convexity for groups.
The relationship between prosodic weakening and sound change: evidence from the German tense/lax vowel contrast
Authors: Harrington Jonathan , Kleber Felicitas , Reubold Ulrich , Siddins Jessica 
Published: March 2015

AbstractThe study tests a model of sound change based on how prosodic weakening affects shortening in polysyllabic words. Twenty-nine L1-German speakers produced minimal pairs differing in vowel tensity in both monosyllables /zakt, zaːkt/ and disyllables /zaktə, zaːktə/. The target words were produced in accented and deaccented contexts. The duration ratio between the vowel and the following /kt/ cluster was less for lax than tense vowels and less for disyllables than monosyllables. Under deaccentuation, there was an approximation of tense and lax vowels towards each other but no influence due to the mono- vs. disyllabic difference. On the other hand, Gaussian /a/ vs. /aː/ classifications of these data showed a lesser influence due to the syllable count in deaccented words. Compatibly, when the same speakers as listeners classified synthetic