bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Study of living kidney donor–recipient relationships: variation with socioeconomic deprivation in the white population of England
Authors: Bailey Phillippa K , Tomson Charles RV , Ben‐Shlomo Yoav 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBackgroundSocioeconomic deprivation is associated with higher renal replacement therapy acceptance rates in the UK but lower rates of living kidney transplantation. This study examines donor–recipient relationship patterns with socioeconomic deprivation in the white population of England.MethodsDemographic characteristics of all white live renal transplant donors and recipients between 2001 and 2010 in England were analyzed. Patterns of donor–recipient relationship were analyzed to see whether they differed according to an ecological measure of socioeconomic status (Index of Multiple Deprivation). Group comparisons were performed using chi‐square tests and multivariable logistic regression.ResultsSources of living kidney transplants differed with deprivation (p < 0.001). Recipients living in poorer areas were more likely to receive a kidney from a sibling, child, and “other relative” donor and less likely from spouses/partners. Logistic regression suggested differences seen with spouse/partner donations with deprivation were explained by differences in the age and gender of the recipients.ConclusionsThe source of living kidneys differs by level of area deprivation. Given the disparity in rates of living kidney transplants between the most and least socioeconomically deprived, there is a need to understand the reasons behind these observed relationship differences, with the aim of increasing transplantation rates in the most deprived.
Fine needle aspiration cytology of nodular thyroid lesions: a 2‐year experience of the Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology in a large regional and a university hospital, with histological correlation
Authors: Mastorakis E. , Meristoudis C. , Margari N. , Pouliakis A. , Leventakos K. , Chroniaris N. , Panayiotides I. , Karakitsos P. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractObjectiveThyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA) contributes to the appropriate management of nodular thyroid lesions. The introduced categories in the Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology (TBSRTC) are associated with an implied cancer risk, providing a clinical management guideline. This study aims to evaluate the reproducibility of this implied risk and to compare the results from two different cytopathology departments.MethodsFive hundred histologically confirmed FNAs, studied since the introduction of TBSRTC, were obtained from 4208 and 3587 FNAs performed in a large regional hospital in Herakleion, Crete (group A) and a university hospital in Athens (group B), respectively. Reports were issued according to TBSRTC. Aspirates were prepared with ThinPrep® and evaluated by two experienced cytopathologists. The reproducibility and accuracy were evaluated.ResultsThe proportion test for suspicious for malignancy (SFM) and malignant (M) cytology reports (P < 0.0001), and the number of malignancies on histology (P < 0.0001), were significantly higher in group A than in group B, consistent with a higher incidence of thyroid carcinomas in southern Greece. Although the malignancy rates were higher in group A than in group B for all categories, except M (A, 99.3%; B, 100%), the difference was only significant for benign aspirates (P = 0.0303). Malignancy rates for all categories in group A were above the TBSRTC recommended range, but were consistent with an increased prevalence of malignancy in that centre, differences in reporting practice and the variable ranges reported in the literature. There was lower sensitivity (P = 0.019) and overall accuracy (P = 0.003) in group A relative to group B, but no difference in specificity.ConclusionsTBSRTC provides valuable information for the appropriate management of nodular thyroid lesions, both in a university and a large regional hospital.
Assessing treatment response after induction Bacillus Calmette–Guerin for carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder: can post‐induction random bladder biopsies be avoided?
Authors: Smith P. J. , Lotan Y. , Raj G. V. , Sagalowsky A. I. , Margulis V. 
Published: April 2013

ObjectivesPatients diagnosed with bladder carcinoma in situ (CIS) and treated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) often undergo post‐induction random bladder biopsies to assess treatment response. We sought to determine the correlation between post‐induction urinary cytology/cystoscopy and histopathological findings obtained by random bladder biopsies.MethodsPatients who were treated with BCG between 2006 and 2010 for CIS, had surveillance cystoscopy and cytology, and subsequently underwent random bladder biopsies were selected for analysis. Patients with a history of or concomitant urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) stage T1 or higher were excluded. Cystoscopic finings were characterized as follows: negative – no mucosal erythema, raised lesions or papillary tumours; suspicious – mucosal erythema, but no raised lesions or papillary tumours; and positive – sessile or papillary tumours. The accuracy of cytology in predicting the results of subsequent random bladder biopsies was analysed.ResultsOf 21 patients included, surveillance cystoscopy findings were characterized as negative in nine, suspicious in seven and positive in five. Of 16 patients with negative/suspicious cystoscopy, 13 had agreement between cytology and biopsy, nine of whom were negative and four positive. Three of 16 patients had positive cytology, but negative biopsies; on further investigation of these three, one had CIS and two subsequent UCC. In the positive cystoscopy group, four of five patients had agreement between cytology and biopsy, two of whom were negative and two positive. One of the five patients had negative cytology, but a positive biopsy.ConclusionOur data suggest foregoing random bladder biopsies in patients with negative urine cytology and no evidence of intravesical recurrence on cystoscopy following an induction course of BCG for CIS of the urinary bladder.
Comparison of effects of tacrolimus ointment and mometasone furoate cream on the epidermal barrier of patients with atopic dermatitis
Authors: Dähnhardt‐Pfeiffer Stephan , Dähnhardt Dorothee , Buchner Matthias , Walter Kersten , Proksch Ehrhardt , Fölster‐Holst Regina 
Published: April 2013

SummaryBackgroundThe skin barrier plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis. The quality of the skin barrier can be assessed using a new semi‐quantitative method to measure intercellular lipid lamellae. This procedure was used to evaluate the influence of the topical application of the calcineurin inhibitor tacrolimus 0.1% ointment (Protopic®) versus mometasone furoate cream (Ecural®) on the quality of the skin barrier.Patients and Methods20 adult patients with active atopic dermatitis (SCORAD 10–63) were included in an open, non‐interventional study. Lesions on their forearms were treated twice daily over 10 days with either tacrolimus 0.1% ointment or mometasone furoate cream. At the beginning and the end of the treatment period, SCORAD, TEWL and skin hydration were determined and the intercellular lipids were measured using transmission electron microscopy.ResultsThe SCORAD improved in both groups nearly to the same extent, whereas TEWL and skin hydration improved significantly only in the tacrolimus group. Using the semi‐quantitative analysis of intercellular lipid length per 1,000 nm2 intercellular space, a twofold increase for mometasone furoate cream and a fourfold increase for tacrolimus 0.1% ointment were determined.ConclusionsIn addition to its known antiinflammatory effect, tacrolimus 0.1% ointment leads also to a measurable increase of the lipids of the skin barrier in patients with atopic dermatitis, exceeding the effect of mometasone furoate cream.
Education as the Cultivation of Second Nature: Two Senses of the Given
Authors: Misawa Koichiro 
Published: April 2013

AbstractIn philosophy, it is almost a platitude to argue that fact and value intertwine. However, in empirically oriented educational research, it is not. Hence, there is some affinity between logical positivism, which is no longer tenable in philosophy, and empirically based contemporary educational research in terms of assumptions each makes about “the given.” In this essay, Koichiro Misawa casts light on how fact and value intertwine by invoking the notion of “second nature” that John McDowell has reanimated. This will in turn prompt us to see the relation between nature and nurture, as well as between mind and world, quite differently and to discern two senses of “the given”: one is illusory; the other educational. Misawa concludes that the philosophy of education should and can take the lead in forming rigorous interdisciplinary studies of the human future with a certain sensitivity to the tight and complex interweaving between the empirical and the conceptual, or between the factual and the normative.
Asymmetric dimethylarginine levels in children with sickle cell disease and its correlation to tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity
Authors: El‐Shanshory Mohamed , Badraia Ibrahim , Donia Amr , Abd El‐hameed Faten , Mabrouk Mokhtar 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBackgroundPulmonary hypertension (PH) is an increasingly recognized life‐threatening complication in sickle cell disease (SCD), with associated high mortality in adults. The prevalence of PH in children with SCD is still unknown. The etiology and pathophysiologic mechanisms are still not well understood.Aim of the studyTo assess the plasma levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in children with SCD and its correlation with elevated tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity and other hemolytic markers.Subjects & MethodsThis study was carried out on a cohort of patients (30) with SCD and 30 healthy children as a control group. Certain investigations were carried out for all subjects: CBC, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), ferritin, reticulocytic count, bilirubin, AST, ALT, and plasma levels of ADMA. Doppler echocardiography was carried out for all subjects.ResultsThe prevalence of high tricuspid regurgitant velocity (TRV) was 30% in SCD patients. ADMA mean plasma level was significantly higher in patients than in controls (0.79 ± 0.15 μmol/L and 0.46 ± 0.11 μmol/L, respectively, P < 0.001). ADMA was significantly higher in patients with high TRV than those with normal TRV (1.10 ± 0.11 μmol/L, 0.80 ± 0.06 μmol/L, respectively, P < 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between ADMA plasma levels and TRV ≥2.5 m/s (r = 0.475).ConclusionHigh plasma ADMA levels may be implicated in the pathogenesis of increased tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity in children with SCD.
Small effective size limits performance in a novel environment
Authors: Oakley Christopher G. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractUnderstanding what limits or facilitates species' responses to human‐induced habitat change can provide insight for the control of invasive species and the conservation of small populations, as well as an arena for studying adaptation to realistic novel environments. Small effective size of ancestral populations could limit the establishment in, or response to, a novel or altered habitat because of low genetic variation for ecologically important traits, and/or because small populations harbor fixed deleterious mutations. I estimated the fitness of individuals from populations of the endangered plant Hypericum cumulicola, of known census and effective size, transplanted into native scrub habitat and unpaved roadsides, which are a novel habitat for this species. I found a significant positive relationship between estimates of population size and mean fitness, but only in the novel roadside habitat. Fitness was more than 200% greater in the roadside habitat than the scrub, mostly due to increased fecundity. These results combined with previous estimates of heterosis in this species suggest that fixed deleterious mutations could contribute to lower fitness of field transplants from small populations in the novel environment.
Consultant‐Researchers in Public Sector Transformation: An Evolving Role
Authors: Arnaboldi Michela 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThis paper analyses the changing role of consultant‐researchers in the public sector, drawing empirically on a 12‐year interventionist project. The investigation focuses on the heterogeneity of participants’ contributions, and shows the researchers’ actions to be closely entangled with participants’ attitudes. Furthermore, the longitudinal study highlights the relevance of the changing reform and organisational setting in shaping these roles, such that the actors’ actions can be regarded as institutionally embedded. From this perspective, the roles are analysed across three dimensions – purposes, participation and learning – representing polar types on a broad spectrum.
Structure–function relationship and biogenesis regulation of the human telomerase holoenzyme
Authors: Hukezalie Kyle R. , Wong Judy M. Y. 
Published: April 2013

Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures found at the ends of linear chromosomes. Telomeric DNA shortens with each cell division, effectively restricting the proliferative capacity of human cells. Telomerase, a specialized reverse transcriptase, is responsible for de novo synthesis of telomeric DNA, and is the major physiological means by which mammalian cells extend telomere length. Telomerase activity in human soma is developmentally regulated according to cell type. Failure to tightly regulate telomerase has dire consequences: dysregulated telomerase activity is observed in more than 90% of human cancers, while haplo‐insufficient expression of telomerase components underlies several inherited premature aging syndromes. Over the past decade, we have significantly improved our understanding of the structure–activity relationships between the two core telomerase components: telomerase reverse transcriptase and telomerase RNA. Genetic screening for telomerase deficiency syndromes has identified new partners in the biogenesis of telomerase and its catalytic functions. These data revealed a level of regulation complexity that is unexpected when compared with the other cellular polymerases. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on the structure–activity relationships of telomerase reverse transcriptase and telomerase RNA, and discuss how the biogenesis of telomerase provides additional regulation of its actions.
Damaged forests provide an opportunity to mitigate climate change
Authors: Lamers Patrick , Junginger Martin , Dymond Caren C. , Faaij André 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBritish Columbia (BC) forests are estimated to have become a net carbon source in recent years due to tree death and decay caused primarily by mountain pine beetle (MPB) and related post‐harvest slash burning practices. BC forest biomass has also become a major source of wood pellets, exported primarily for bioenergy to Europe, although the sustainability and net carbon emissions of forest bioenergy in general are the subject of current debate. We simulated the temporal carbon balance of BC wood pellets against different reference scenarios for forests affected by MPB in the interior BC timber harvesting area using the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM‐CFS3). We evaluated the carbon dynamics for different insect‐mortality levels, at the stand‐ and landscape level, taking into account carbon storage in the ecosystem, wood products and fossil fuel displacement. Our results indicate that current harvesting practices, in which slash is burnt and only sawdust used for pellet production, require between 20–25 years for beetle‐impacted pine and 37–39 years for spruce‐dominated systems to reach pre‐harvest carbon levels (i.e. break‐even) at the stand‐level. Using pellets made from logging slash to replace coal creates immediate net carbon benefits to the atmosphere of 17–21 tonnes C ha−1, shortening these break‐even times by 9–20 years and resulting in an instant carbon break‐even level on stands most severely impacted by the beetle. Harvesting pine dominated sites for timber while using slash for bioenergy was also found to be more carbon beneficial than a protection reference scenario on both stand‐ and landscape level. However, harvesting stands exclusively for bioenergy resulted in a net carbon source unless the system contained a high proportion of dead trees (>85%). Systems with higher proportions of living trees provide a greater climate change mitigation if used for long lived wood products.
Evaluation of association between atherogenic index of plasma and intima‐media thickness of the carotid artery for subclinic atherosclerosis in patients on maintenance hemodialysis
Authors: Yildiz Gürsel , Duman Alptekin , Aydin Hüseyin , Yilmaz Abdulkerim , Hür Ender , Mağden Kemal , Çetin Gülay , Candan Ferhan 
Published: April 2013

AbstractIncidence of cardiovascular diseases in the patients having chronic kidney disease (CKD) is between 25% and 60%. This increased rate is proposed to be associated with “accelerated atherosclerosis.” Increased carotid intima‐media thickness (CIMT) is a subclinical atherosclerosis marker. Small‐dense low‐density lipoprotein particles are a strong risk factor for atherosclerosis. It was shown that atherogenic index of plasma (AIP = log(TG/HDL‐c)) is correlated with size of the lipoprotein particles. We investigated the correlation between AIP and CIMT which is a subclinical atherosclerosis marker, in hemodialysis (HD) patients. A total of 62 persons with 31 patients under HD therapy and 31 volunteers were included in the study. In all the participants, CIMT was measured and AIP were calculated. AIP and CIMT values of the participants were compared with blood pressures, lipid profiles and the other risk factors. AIP (0.39 ± 0.32) and CIMT (0.57 ± 0.13) were found significantly higher in the patient group than in the controls (0.04 ± 0.36 and 0.45 ± 0.119, respectively); (P = 0.0001 and 0.0001, respectively). There was a significant correlation between AIP and increased CIMT in the patient group (P = 0.0001, r = 0.430). Among the lipid parameters, the strongest correlation was found between CIMT and AIP. We demonstrated the significant increase of AIP and CIMT in HD patients. A correlation was found between AIP and CIMT. AIP was found to show a correlation with a greater number of risk factors, both classical and CKD specific, than CIMT. These data suggest that AIP might be a method which can be used both in diagnosis of subclinical atherosclerosis and in deceleration processes of its progression.
Validation of a new panel of automated chemiluminescence assays for von Willebrand factor antigen and activity in the screening for von Willebrand disease
Authors: Verfaillie C. J. , De Witte E. , Devreese K. M. J. 
Published: April 2013

SummaryIntroductionThe diagnosis of von Willebrand disease (VWD) largely depends on the results of von Willebrand factor (VWF) antigen and activity. Recently, a new automated VWF:RCo assay on Acustar was developed. This assay panel for VWD also contains a new antigen (VWF:Ag) test. In this study, both chemiluminescence tests (HemosIL VWF:Ag and VWF:RCo) were evaluated.Materials and MethodsImprecision, limit of detection (LOD), and linearity were evaluated. Method comparison (with VWF:Ag latex assay and VWF:RCo by aggregometry) was performed and diagnostic performance of the new test panel was examined.ResultsThe imprecision was 7%, and the LOD was 0.2 IU/dL for both assays. Dilution series showed a large linearity for both HemosIL VWF:Ag (0–300 IU/dL) and VWF:RCo (0–200 IU/dL) and method comparison studies revealed good agreement with the currently used VWD panel. The new panel showed adequate diagnostic performance: diagnostic sensitivity was 100% and diagnostic specificity 82% compared with the VWF:Ag latex assay and VWF:RCo by aggregometry. In addition, the new HemosIL Acustar VWF:Ag and HemosIL Acustar VWF:RCo are more sensitive for VWD than the currently used assays.ConclusionsThis new VWD test panel has adequate laboratory characteristics and allows fully automated and simultaneous analysis of the VWF:Ag and VWF:RCo.
Live or let die: posttranscriptional gene regulation in cell stress and cell death
Authors: Thomas Marshall P. , Lieberman Judy 
Published: April 2013

SummaryStudies of the regulation of gene expression historically focused on transcription. However, during stress and apoptosis, profound gene expression changes occur more rapidly and globally than is possible by regulating transcription. Posttranscriptional changes in mRNA processing and translation in response to diverse stresses shut down most protein translation to conserve energy and lead to rapid remodeling of the proteome to promote repair. Pre‐mRNA splicing and mRNA stability are fundamentally altered under some stress conditions. Stress pathways coordinate a cytoprotective repair response, while simultaneously initiating signaling that can ultimately trigger cell death. How the cell mediates the decision between repair and apoptosis is largely not understood. In some stresses, microRNAs may tip the balance. Here, we review what is known about posttranscriptional gene regulation during stress, focusing on what is still unknown and how new technologies might be used to understand what changes are most physiologically important in different forms of stress and death.
The emerging role of microRNAs in regulating immune and inflammatory responses in the lung
Authors: Foster Paul S. , Plank Maximilian , Collison Adam , Tay Hock L. , Kaiko Gerard E. , Li JingJing , Johnston Sebastian L. , Hansbro Philip M. , Kumar Rakesh K. , Yang Ming , Mattes Joerg 
Published: April 2013

SummaryChronic inflammatory diseases of the lung are leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Many of these disorders can be attributed to abnormal immune responses to environmental stimuli and infections. As such, understanding the innate host defense pathways and their regulatory systems will be critical to developing new approaches to treatment. In this regard, there is increasing interest in the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the regulation of pulmonary innate host defense responses and the inflammatory sequelae in respiratory disease. In this review, we discuss recent findings that indicate an important role for miRNAs in the regulation in mouse models of various respiratory diseases and in host defense against bacterial and viral infection. We also discuss the potential utility and limitations of targeting these molecules as anti‐inflammatory strategies and also as a means to improve pathogen clearance from the lung.
Graphene‐Supported Ce–SnS2 Nanocomposite as Anode Material for Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Wang Qiufen , Huang Ying , Miao Juan , Zhao Yang , Zhang Wei , Wang Yan 
Published: April 2013

A graphene‐supported Ce–SnS2 (Ce–SnS2/graphene) nanocomposite has been synthesized via a hydrothermal route. Structure, morphology, and electrochemical properties of the composites were studied by means of XRD, SEM, TEM, Raman, XPS, TGA, and electrochemical measurements. The Ce–SnS2 crystal particles with a flower‐like structure were distributed on the graphene sheets (GNS). The particle sizes of each petal are in the range 50–100 nm with clear lattice fringes. The atomic ratio of Sn, S, Ce, C, and O is estimated to be 1:2:0.05:3.11:0.64 and the content of Ce–SnS2 composite is 80 wt.% in the as‐synthesized sample. The Ce–SnS2/graphene composite exhibits high initial discharge capacity (1638.3 mAh/g at 0.5 C), high capacity retention (707 mAh/g at 0.5 C after 50 cycles), and good rate capability due to the synergy effect between Ce–SnS2 nanoparticles and graphene nanosheets. The superior performance is ascribed to the presence of graphene keeping the structure stable.