bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Exploring the mobility preferences and perceived difficulties in using transport and driving with a sample of healthy and outpatient older adults in Singapore
Authors: Krishnasamy Charmaine , Unsworth Carolyn A. , Howie Linsey 
Published: December 2012

Background/aimWhile activity engagement is important to older adults, limitations in ability can affect transport mode choice and subsequent activity participation. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the mobility preferences and difficulties in using public transport and driving with a sample of older adults in Singapore, with specific reference to accessing everyday activities.MethodsOne hundred and sixty‐two persons aged 50 years and over were recruited through a community event, and an outpatient occupational therapy department. They self‐completed structured questionnaire forms which were analysed using parametric and non‐parametric statistics, including t‐tests and ANOVAs.ResultsThe majority of the participants were in the paid workforce and no significant differences were found between gender and the importance of transport for access to various activities, but a significant association was found for age and use of transport for going to work, F(5,101) = 3.07, P = 0.01. The majority of the drivers drove at least once a day, and 19% of them reported having noticed declines in their driving capabilities in the past four years, and indicated driving less often because of these concerns.ConclusionsThis study explored public transport and car use among a sample of older adults in Singapore to access desired activities. It identified difficulties with both public and private transportation use, such as difficulty maintaining balance/obtaining a seat, and concerns with decreased ability to respond quickly to traffic situations. This study has highlighted that transportation methods should be considered in occupational therapy practice with older adults.
Long‐ and short‐term effects of androgens in human umbilical artery smooth muscle
Authors: Saldanha Paulo A , Cairrão Elisa , Maia Cláudio J , Verde Ignacio 
Published: December 2012

Summary

The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of androgens in the regulation of human umbilical artery (HUA) contractility. The short‐term effects of testosterone on the tone of the HUA were investigated, as were the long‐term effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on the expression of some proteins involved in the contractile process.

Endothelium‐denuded HUA were treated for 24 h with DHT (2 μmol/L) or the vehicle control (ethanol) to analyse the genomic effects of androgens.

Twenty‐four hour treatment of HUA with DHT increased the mRNA expression of the β1‐subunit of the large‐conductance Ca2+‐activated (BKCa) channel and decreased expression of the α‐subunit of L‐type calcium channels.

In organ bath studies, testosterone (1–100 μmol/L) produced similar relaxant responses in DHT‐ and vehicle‐treated HUA rings precontracted with 5‐HT, histamine and KCl. However, the relaxation response obtained by the combined application of testosterone (100 μmol/L) and nifedipine (10 μmol/L) was significantly greater in DHT‐ compared with vehicle‐treated HUA.

The results indicate that the rapid vasorelaxant effects of testosterone that are dependent on both BKCa and voltage‐sensitive potassium (KV) channel activity in control arteries become dependent solely on KV channel activity in DHT‐treated HUA. Thus, the present study reveals the importance of the investigation of both the short‐ and long‐term effects of androgens in human arteries.
Non/infectious corporealities: tensions in the biomedical era of ‘HIV normalisation’
Authors: Persson Asha 
Published: December 2012

AbstractIn the contemporary HIV epidemic, antiretroviral treatments are increasingly considered so effective at viral suppression that they render people with HIV sexually non‐infectious. With its radical implications for global HIV prevention, this emerging paradigm is invested with the potential to turn the epidemic around and to ‘normalise’ one of the most feared infectious diseases in history, thus echoing wider trends of ‘biomedicalisation’. What remains unexamined is whether this paradigm shift will bring about a parallel shift in the embodied experiences of being HIV‐positive. This article explores the nascent trajectory from infectious to non‐infectious corporeality against the backdrop of the discursive history of HIV, with particular focus on the landmark Swiss Consensus Statement, and in the context of research with heterosexuals with HIV in Australia. In‐depth interviews revealed that HIV corporeality was not a stable, homogenised experience across participants and time, nor did it simply follow medical discourses. Instead, HIV corporeality emerged as a contingent set of tensions between conflicting discourses of infectiousness that were negotiated and made sense of within situated and embodied life histories. These findings pose challenges to the imperative of HIV normalisation and the related tendency in HIV prevention to universalise the notion of ‘infectiousness’.
Consumer Valuation of Alternative Meat Origin Labels
Authors: Tonsor Glynn T. , Schroeder Ted C. , Lusk Jayson L. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractResults from a split‐sample survey of the US population reveal consumers prefer meat products carrying origin information to unlabelled alternatives. Consumers are largely unaware of origin labelling laws and are indifferent to an important aspect of the implementation of current mandatory country of origin information rules in the US. In particular, consumers value meat products labelled ‘Product of North America’ approximately the same as ‘Product of United States’. Despite the similarity of these two labels, they have vastly different implications in terms of trade and segregation costs. Our results suggest that a transition from one label to the other is equally satisfying for the consumer while being less costly for processors and more acceptable to trade partners.
Identification of biomass utilizing bacteria in a carbon‐depleted glacier forefield soil by the use of 13C DNA stable isotope probing
Authors: Zumsteg Anita , Schmutz Stefan , Frey Beat 
Published: December 2012

SummaryAs Alpine glaciers are retreating rapidly, bare soils with low organic C and N contents are becoming exposed. Carbon availability is a key factor regulating microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning in these soils. The aim of this study was to investigate how bacterial activity, community structure and composition are influenced by organic carbon availability. Bare soils were supplied with 13C‐labelled fungal (Penicillium sp.) and green algal (Chlorella sp.) biomass and the CO2 evolution and its δ13C signature were monitored up to 60 days. These organisms have previously been isolated near the glacier terminus. DNA stable isotope probing followed by T‐RFLP profiling and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes was employed to identify consumers able to assimilate carbon from these biomass amendments. Higher respiration and higher bacterial activity indicated a more efficient utilization of algal cells than fungal cells. Flavobacterium sp. predominantly incorporated fungal‐derived C, whereas the algal‐derived C was mainly incorporated by Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria. This study emphasizes the important role of both fungal and algal biomass in increasing the carbon pool in recently deglaciated bare soils, as only 20% of the added C was respired as CO2, and the rest, we presume, remained in the soil.
Genome and proteome analysis of phage E3 infecting the soil‐borne actinomycete Rhodococcus equi
Authors: Salifu Samson P. , Valero‐Rello Ana , Campbell Samantha A. , Inglis Neil F. , Scortti Mariela , Foley Sophie , Vázquez‐Boland José A. 
Published: December 2012

SummaryWe report on the characterization and genomic analysis of bacteriophage E3 isolated from soil and propagating in Rhodococcus equi strains. Phage E3 has a circular genome of 142 563 bp and is the first Myoviridae reported for the genus Rhodococcus and for a non‐mycobacterial actinomycete. Phylogenetic analyses placed E3 in a distinct Myoviridae clade together with Mycobacterium phages Bxz1 and Myrna. The highly syntenic genomes of this myoviridal group comprise vertically evolving core phage modules flanked by hyperplastic regions specific to each phage and rich in horizontally acquired DNA. The hyperplastic regions contain numerous tRNA genes in the mycobacteriophages which are absent in E3, possibly reflecting bacterial host‐specific translation‐related phage fitness constraints associated with rate‐limiting tRNAs. A structural proteome analysis identified 28 E3 polypeptides, including 15 not previously known to be virion‐associated proteins. The E3 genome and comparative analysis provide insight into short‐term genome evolution and adaptive plasticity in tailed phages from the environmental microbiome.
Emotion‐Word Processing Difficulties in Abstinent Alcoholics With and Without Lifetime Externalizing Disorders
Authors: Endres Michael J. , Fein George 
Published: December 2012

BackgroundEvidence suggests that abstinent alcoholics have difficulties processing a variety of emotion‐laden stimuli, and some of these difficulties may not fully resolve with long‐term abstinence. The current study examined whether emotion‐word processing difficulties were present in long‐term abstinent alcoholics (LTAA; 18+ months of sobriety) with and without a previously diagnosed externalizing (EXT; antisocial personality disorder and/or attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnosis) disorder.MethodsSubjects (N = 121) completed an affective go/no‐go (AGNG) task with positive, negative, and neutral emotion‐word stimuli, and a lexical decision‐making (LDM) task with nonemotion word and nonword stimuli. Nonsubstance abusing controls (NSAC;n = 38, 50.0% women, mean age = 48 ± 7.8),LTAAwithEXT(n = 32, 41% women, mean age = 47.1 ± 6.6), andLTAAwithoutEXT(n = 51, 47% women, mean age = 49.7 ± 6.5) were compared between signal discriminability (d′) and mean response times (RT) for correct responses (mcRT).ResultsIn theLDMtask,LTAAhad lower (d′) values and slower mcRTthanNSAC. In theAGNGtask,LTAAandNSACdid not differ inAGNGtask mcRT.LTAAhad lower (d′) values thanNSAC, and this effect was partially associated with group differences inLDMtask (d′) values. InLTAA, lowerAGNG(d′) values also were associated with an earlier age of first drink, greater lifetime alcohol use, and a history ofEXTdisorder.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that detecting the emotional content of words is impaired inLTAA, and this impairment is over and aboveLTAA's more general lexical processing difficulties. Results also suggest that specific emotion processing impairments inLTAAmay be exacerbated by greater lifetime alcohol use burden and other comorbidEXTdiagnoses.
Are Multiple Directorships Beneficial in East Asia?
Authors: Lee Kin‐Wai , Lee Cheng‐Few 
Published: December 2012

AbstractWe posit that the benefits and costs of multiple directorships are conditional on firm characteristics. We find firm valuation is positively associated with multiple directorships in (i) firms with high advising needs and (ii) firms with high external financing needs. These beneficial effects of multiple directorships are generally stronger in countries with weak shareholder rights and in firms that are widely held. However, when controlling shareholder hold high voting‐rights to cash‐flow rights, multiple directorships reduce firm valuation, especially in countries with weak shareholder rights and in closely held firms. As multiple directorships increases, cash holdings (capital expenditures) contribute less to shareholder value. The negative association between value of cash (capital expenditure) and busy boards is mitigated in firms with (i) high advising needs, (ii) high external financing needs and (iii) less entrenched ownership structures.
Think abstractly, smoke less: a brief construal‐level intervention can promote self‐control, leading to reduced cigarette consumption among current smokers
Authors: Chiou Wen‐Bin , Wu Wen‐Hsiung , Chang Ming‐Hsu 
Published: December 2012

AbstractAimsInadequate self‐control has been linked to behavioural and impulse‐control problems such as overeating, alcohol and drug abuse and smoking. Construal‐level theory (CLT) suggests that a high‐level construal (highlighting central goals associated with an event), relative to a low‐level construal (highlighting means and resources), promotes self‐control. Inspired by CLT, we examined whether smokers primed with a high‐level (versus low‐level) construal mind‐set would show reductions in smoking that might be mediated by improved self‐control.DesignA single‐factor (construal level: high, low, control) between‐subjects design was employed. We used a widely employed why/how paradigm to induce high/low construal levels, whereby participants were asked to respond to questions about ‘why’ or ‘how’ they would maintain good physical health.SettingLaboratory at Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan.ParticipantsA community sample consisting of 102 daily smokers participated in this experiment.MeasurementsThe Stroop task measuring self‐control was implemented after the construal‐level manipulation. The dependent measure was actual cigarette consumption during an ostensible survey.FindingsParticipants in a high‐level construal mind‐set smoked fewer cigarettes [mean = 1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.9, 1.7] than those in a low‐level construal mind‐set (mean = 2.6, 95% CI: 2.2, 3.0; P < 0.01). A bootstrapping analysis supported for the role of self‐control (B = −1.14, 95% CI: −1.65, −0.74, P < 0.01) as a mechanism underlying this effect.ConclusionsSmokers primed with a high‐level construal mind‐set (i.e. cognitive abstraction) may induce greater self‐control that leads to reduced cigarette consumption. Thus, reminding smokers to think abstractly about health may be an effective strategy that could help them to smoke fewer cigarettes.
Endoscopic ultrasound in restaging and predicting pathological response for advanced gastric cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Authors: Guo Tao , Yao Fang , Yang Ai‐ming , Li Xiao‐yi , Zhong Ding‐rong , Wu Dong‐sheng , WU Xi , LU Xing‐hua 
Published: December 2012

AbstractAimTo evaluate the role of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in restaging and predicting response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer.MethodsIn all, 48 advanced gastric cancer patients were recruited from June 2007 to December 2010 after providing their written, informed consent. All patients underwent an EUS before and after three cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (FOLFOX 6), and then a radical resection was performed 3–4 weeks after chemotherapy. The results of EUS were compared to the pathological results of the resected specimens.ResultsAfter chemotherapy, the overall sensitivity of EUS for T classification was 63 percent (T2: 44%, T3: 68%, T4: 90%), and overstaging (31%) was more frequent than understaging (6%). The sensitivity and specificity of EUS for N classification were 56 and 50 percent, respectively (N0: without lymph node metastasis, N1: with lymph node metastasis), with 15 percent overstaged and 32% understaged. EUS revealed that T and/or N downstaging occurred in 46 percent (22/48) of patients after chemotherapy, most of whom had a favorable pathological response to the chemotherapy compared with other patients without T and/or N downstaging. No T or N upstaging was observed after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.ConclusionsThe accuracy of restaging by EUS for T and N classification was not as good as pathological data for locally advanced gastric cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. However, T and/or N downstaging confirmed by EUS correlated well with the degree of pathological response to chemotherapy.
Investigation of phthalate release from tracheal tubes
Authors: Morton W. J. , Muller C. T. , Goodwin N. , Wilkes A. R. , Hall J. E. 
Published: December 2012

SummaryPhthalates are chemicals used extensively in the manufacture of plastics for their desirable physical characteristics. In addition to enhancing the performance of plastics, phthalates have a number of undesirable effects, principally endocrine disruptor effects, that may have adverse effects on reproductive development and functioning. As a result, they have been banned from the manufacture of children's toys. Despite this, they continue to be used in the manufacture of medical devices, including anaesthetic equipment. This study aimed to assess phthalate release from five brands of tracheal tube. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, we analysed phthalate concentrations from samples of ultra pure water in which tracheal tubes had been submerged. Phthalate concentration increased from 6.7 to 149 μg.l−1 over a period of 4.8 days. Phthalate release from anaesthetic equipment has not previously been documented over short time periods and raises the possibility of iatrogenic endocrine disruption with routine anaesthesia.
Review article: the diagnosis of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease – availability and accuracy of non‐invasive methods
Authors: Festi D. , Schiumerini R. , Marzi L. , Di Biase A. R. , Mandolesi D. , Montrone L. , Scaioli E. , Bonato G. , Marchesini‐Reggiani G. , Colecchia A. 
Published: December 2012

SummaryBackgroundNon‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) encompasses a wide spectrum of clinical conditions, actually representing an emerging disease of great clinical interest. Currently, its diagnosis requires liver biopsy, an invasive procedure not free from potential complications. However, several non‐invasive diagnostic strategies have been proposed as potential diagnostic alternatives, each with different sensitivities and accuracies.AimTo review non‐invasive diagnostic parameters and tools for NAFLD diagnosis and to formulate a diagnostic and prognostic algorithm for a better classification of patients.MethodsA literature search was carried out on MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and Scopus for articles and abstracts in English. The search terms used included ‘NAFLD’, ‘non invasive method and NAFLD’, ‘transient elastography’ and ‘liver fibrosis’. The articles cited were selected based on their relevancy to the objective of the review.ResultsUltrasonography still represents the first‐line diagnostic tool for simple liver steatosis; its sensitivity could be enhanced by the complex biochemical score SteatoTest. Serum cytokeratin‐18 is a promising and accurate non‐invasive parameter (AUROCs: 0.83; 0.91) for the diagnosis of non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The staging of liver fibrosis still represents the most important prognostic problem: the most accurate estimating methods are FibroMeter, FIB‐4, NAFLD fibrosis score (AUROCs: 0.94; 0.86; 0.82) and transient elastography (AUROC: 0.84–1.00).ConclusionsDifferent non‐invasive parameters are available for the accurate diagnosis and prognostic stratification of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease which, if employed in a sequential algorithm, may lead to a reduced use of invasive methods, i.e. liver biopsy.
Development and validation of a patient‐reported disability measurement tool for patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Allen P. B. , Kamm M. A. , Peyrin‐Biroulet L. , Studd C. , Mc Dowell C. , Allen B. C. M. , Connell W. R. , De Cruz P. P. , Bell S. J. , Elliot R. P. , Brown S. , Desmond P. V. , Lemann M. , Colombel J.‐F. 
Published: December 2012

SummaryBackgroundInflammatory bowel disease can impact on a patient's ability to maintain normal physical and mental function, and fulfil their social, family and work roles. Aspects of disability in IBD have received little attention.AimTo develop, validate and apply a questionnaire directed towards evaluating these disease aspects.MethodsA literature review on disability in IBD was undertaken, and opinion about aspects of disability to measure was sought from six IBD‐specialised gastroenterologists. A questionnaire was developed, and IBD patients completed the new disability questionnaire, the SF‐36 and the short‐IBD (SIBDQ ‐ 10 point). A subgroup of patients completed the questionnaire again 4 weeks later. Healthy volunteers were studied as a control group.ResultsA total of 116 IBD out‐patients were approached, of whom 81 (52 Crohn's disease and 28 ulcerative colitis) participated. Nineteen patients were re‐evaluated at 4 weeks. Twenty‐five controls were studied. All subscales demonstrated good Cronbach's alpha reliability and reproducibility. There was a significant inverse correlation between the disability score and the SIBDQ and between the disability score and the SF36 and a positive correlation with the Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) (all P < 0.001). Disability differed between ulcerative colitis and controls, but not between active and inactive disease.ConclusionsThe new disability questionnaire is sensitive for detecting disability, is reliable and reproducible, and correlates with disease activity in Crohn's disease, but not ulcerative colitis. Further prospective testing is now needed in the longer term, larger patient populations and in different countries and ethnicities.
Malita, Laura & Egetenmeyer, Regina ed (2011) Students’ ePortfolio for entering into the labour marketPeter Lang (New York & Bern) isbn 978‐3‐631‐61490‐7 152 pp £23.40 http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk=59484&concordeid=261490
Authors: Smyth Robyn 
Published: December 2012

SummaryMalita and Egetenmeyer's practical and useful edited volume is for advocates of e‐portfolios for use in the labour market. It is well structured and comprehensive and begins with a short history and essential definitional work. The articles are written in an easy conversational tone that will suit students and many readers from all parts of the education sector. If this book could be relevant to you, I recommend that you borrow a copy for a while.Robyn Smyth