bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Differences in Lipid Profiles in Two Hispanic Ischemic Stroke Populations
Authors: Arauz A , Romano J. G. , Ruiz-Franco A , Shang T , Dong C. , Rundek T. , Koch S. , Hernández-Curiel B. , Pacheco J. , Rojas P. , Ruiz-Navarro F. , Katsnelson M. , Sacco R. L. 
Published: December 2013

Background and Purpose The study aims to compare lipid profiles among ischemic stroke patients in a predominantly Caribbean-Hispanic population in Miami and a Mestizo Hispanic population in Mexico City. Methods We analyzed ischemic stroke Hispanic patients with complete baseline fasting lipid profile enrolled contemporaneously in the prospective registries of two tertiary care teaching hospitals in Mexico City and Miami. Demographic characteristics, risk factors, medications, ischemic stroke subtype, and first fasting lipid profile were compared. Vascular risk factor definitions were standardized. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to compare lipid fractions. Results A total of 324 patients from Mexico and 236 from Miami were analyzed. Mexicans were significantly younger (58·1 vs. 67·4 years), had a lower frequency of hypertension (53·4% vs. 79·7%), and lower body mass index (27 vs. 28·5). There was a trend toward greater prevalence of diabetes in Mexicans (31·5 vs. 24·6%, P = 0·07). Statin use at the time of ischemic stroke was more common in Miami Hispanics (18·6 vs. 9·4%). Mexicans had lower total cholesterol levels (169·9 ± 46·1 vs. 179·9 ± 48·4 mg/dl), lower low-density lipoprotein (92·3 ± 37·1 vs. 108·2 ± 40·8 mg/dl), and higher triglyceride levels (166·9 ± 123·9 vs. 149·2 ± 115·2 mg/dl). These differences remained significant after adjusting for age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, body mass index, smoking, ischemic stroke subtype, and statin use. Conclusion We found significant differences in lipid fractions in Hispanic ischemic stroke patients, with lower total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, and higher triglyceride levels in Mexicans. These findings highlight the heterogeneity of dyslipidemia among the Hispanic race-ethnic group and may lead to different secondary prevention strategies.
Economic Governance on Trial: High Courts and Elected Leaders in Argentina and Brazil
Authors: Kapiszewski Diana 
Published: December 2013

AbstractBeginning in the 1980s, social and political actors across Latin America turned to courts in unprecedented numbers to contest economic policies. Very different patterns of high court–elected branch interaction over economic governance emerged across the region, with crucial implications for economic development, democratic governance, and the rule of law. Building on both institutional and strategic accounts of judicial politics, this article argues that high court “character,” a relatively stable congeries of informal institutional features, channels interbranch struggles into persistent patterns. Two case studies illustrate the argument. In Argentina, the high court's political character encouraged a pattern of court submission to elected leaders marked by periodic bouts of interbranch confrontation over economic governance. In Brazil, the high court's statesmanlike character induced interbranch accommodation. This study demonstrates that even in politically unstable settings, institutional features can shape law and politics.
Cumplimiento y cobertura del salario mínimo en países en desarrollo
Authors: RANI Uma , BELSER Patrick , OELZ Martin , RANJBAR Setareh 
Published: December 2013

ResumenA partir de datos estadísticos, los autores analizan la cobertura del salario mínimo en once países en desarrollo, su grado de incumplimiento y la brecha salarial derivada de este, tanto para trabajadores formales como informales. Observan que los países con salario mínimo nacional (aun a buen nivel en relación con la mediana salarial) obtienen mejor cumplimiento que aquellos con salarios mínimos múltiples por ocupación y sector. Abogan además por políticas amplias de sensibilización y control con participación de los interlocutores sociales a fin de afrontar la brecha superior que afecta a las mujeres, los grupos étnicos y los trabajadores no calificados e informales.
Pagos salariales no declarados en la Unión Europea
Authors: WILLIAMS Colin C. , PADMORE Jo 
Published: December 2013

ResumenEl presente artículo proporciona datos empíricos sobre la frecuencia de los pagos salariales no declarados en contextos formales. Según datos procedentes de 26.659 entrevistas personales realizadas en 2007, uno de cada dieciocho trabajadores formales recibe de su empleador formal una remuneración en mano que asciende por término medio al 25 por ciento de su salario bruto. La práctica existe en toda Europa, pero parece más o menos frecuente en función del país, el sector de actividad, la categoría profesional y el tamaño de la empresa. Los autores concluyen reflexionando sobre las implicaciones teóricas y políticas de sus hallazgos.
Elección del tipo de empleo y movilidad en mercados plurisegmentados: un modelo teórico aplicado a Ghana
Authors: TAIWO Olumide 
Published: December 2013

ResumenCon datos sobre empleo masculino procedentes de una encuesta de hogares de Ghana, el autor comprueba empíricamente un modelo teórico que contempla la segmentación del mercado en un sector asalariado (fundamentalmente formal), otro independiente y otro familiar (fundamentalmente informales), así como la dependencia del capital familiar para la actividad independiente. Los datos muestran muy poca movilidad entre los sectores (mayor entre los trabajadores familiares y menor entre los independientes). Según los resultados, el ingreso asalariado no proporciona liquidez para la actividad independiente, y a este freno a la movilidad se suman las dificultades de transferencia de competencias entre los sectores.
Economic Growth and Inflation in Europe: A Tale of Two Thresholds
Authors: Crespo Cuaresma Jesús , Silgoner Maria 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThis article reassesses the impact of inflation on long‐term growth for a panel of 14 European Union countries in the years prior to monetary unification. While previous research mostly focuses on a linear nexus or allows for a piecewise linear relationship with a single threshold, this study takes account of a more complex relationship. The empirical estimates for the full EU sample confirm the hypothesis that the relationship between inflation and growth is positive for very low inflation rates (that is, below an estimate of 1.6 per cent), insignificant thereafter and negative for high, two‐digit inflation levels. The estimate of the inflation level that divides the insignificant from the negative effect is found to be higher in the group of traditional cohesion countries than for the rest of the sample.
Sex‐specific responses of Asian citrus psyllid to volatiles of conspecific and host‐plant origin
Authors: Moghbeli Gharaei A. , Ziaaddini M. , Jalali M. A. , Michaud J. P. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractDiaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) is the primary vector of Candidatus Liberibacter spp. bacteria that cause citrus greening, a disease of worldwide importance. Olfactometry was employed to test responses of D. citri to odours from intact citrus plants (Mexican lime, Citrus aurantifolia, sour orange, Citrus aurantium, Marsh grapefruit, Citrus paradisi and Valencia orange, Citrus sinensis), citrus plants previously infested with D. citri, and odours of conspecifics including nymphs, adult insects of same and opposite sex, and their products (honeydew), both alone and in combination. In contrast to other studies, psyllids of both sexes were attracted to volatiles of undamaged Mexican lime leaves, whereas undamaged grapefruit attracted only females, and leaves of Valencia and sour orange did not attract either sex. All four plant species attracted female psyllids when previously infested, but only Mexican lime and sour orange‐attracted males. Thus, Citrus species appear to vary in the production of both constituitive and induced volatiles that attract adult psyllids. Volatiles emitted by nymphs did not attract either sex, but psyllid honeydew was attractive to males, likely due to female pheromone residues. Males oriented to the odour of females, whereas the reverse was not true, and neither males nor females oriented to same‐sex volatiles. The addition of conspecific cues (adults, nymphs or honeydew) did not increase female attraction to previously infested leaves, but male response was increased by the presence of adults and honeydew, regardless of plant species. Thus, female psyllids appear to orient more strongly to volatiles of plant origin, whereas males respond more strongly to cues emanating from females and conspecific excretions. These results suggest that female psyllids drive the initial colonization of host plants, whereas males orient to females and infested plants. Identification of the specific volatiles involved may permit their use in monitoring and management of this pest.
A Patient‐Focused Framework Integrating Self‐Management and Informatics
Authors: Knight Elizabeth P. , Shea Kimberly 
Published: December 2013

AbstractPurposeThis article introduces a framework to (a) guide chronic illness self‐management interventions through the integration of self‐management and nursing informatics, (b) focus self‐management research, and (c) promote ethical, patient‐empowering technology use by practicing nurses.MethodsExisting theory and research focusing on chronic illness, self‐management, health‐enabling technology, and nursing informatics were reviewed and examined and key concepts were identified. A care paradigm focusing on concordance, rather than compliance, served as the overall guiding principle.FindingsThis framework identifies key relationships among self‐management (patient behaviors), health force (patient characteristics), and patient‐defined goals. The role of health‐enabling technology supporting these relationships is explored in the context of nursing informatics.ConclusionsThe Empowerment Informatics framework can guide intervention design and evaluation and support practicing nurses’ ethical use of technology as part of self‐management support.Clinical RelevanceNurses worldwide provide support to patients who are living with chronic illnesses. As pressures related to cost and access to care increase, technology‐enabled self‐management interventions will become increasingly common. This patient‐focused framework can guide nursing practice using technology that prioritizes patient needs.
Directed dispersal by rotational shepherding supports landscape genetic connectivity in a calcareous grassland plant
Authors: Rico Yessica , Holderegger Rolf , Boehmer Hans Juergen , Wagner Helene H. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractDirected dispersal by animal vectors has been found to have large effects on the structure and dynamics of plant populations adapted to frugivory. Yet, empirical data are lacking on the potential of directed dispersal by rotational grazing of domestic animals to mediate gene flow across the landscape. Here, we investigated the potential effect of large‐flock shepherding on landscape‐scale genetic structure in the calcareous grassland plant Dianthus carthusianorum, whose seeds lack morphological adaptations to dispersal to animals or wind. We found a significant pattern of genetic structure differentiating population within grazed patches of three nonoverlapping shepherding systems and populations of ungrazed patches. Among ungrazed patches, we found a strong and significant effect of isolation by distance (r = 0.56). In contrast, genetic distance between grazed patches within the same herding system was unrelated to geographical distance but significantly related to distance along shepherding routes (r = 0.44). This latter effect of connectivity along shepherding routes suggests that gene flow is spatially restricted occurring mostly between adjacent populations. While this study used nuclear markers that integrate gene flow by pollen and seed, the significant difference in the genetic structure between ungrazed patches and patches connected by large‐flock shepherding indicates the potential of directed seed dispersal by sheep across the landscape.
Dysfunctional endogenous pain modulation in patients with functional dyspepsia
Authors: Wilder‐Smith C. H. , Li X. , Shen L. , Cao Y. , Ho K. Y. , Wong R. K. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractBackgroundEndogenous pain modulation (EPM) is central to the processing of sensory information. Visceral and somatic EPM are abnormal in irritable bowel syndrome, but have not been studied in functional dyspepsia (FD).MethodsVisceral EPM was assessed in 34 FD patients and 42 healthy controls. Gastric pain was induced with oral capsaicin and EPM was studied by adding heterotopic thermal foot stimulation or distraction by STROOP test. Somatic EPM was assessed using foot heat stimulation with heterotopic hand electrical stimulation.Key ResultsEndogenous pain modulation by distraction reduced mean gastric pain by 11.9 on the 0–100 visual analog scale (95% CI: 3.8–20.1) in controls (p = 0.006) and by 2.0 (−6.18 to 10.44) in FD (p = 0.6), with greater EPM in controls than in FD (difference −13.3 [−26.1 to −0.5]; p = 0.04). Endogenous pain modulation by heterotopic foot stimulation reduced gastric pain by 6.5 (−0.7 to 13.6) in controls (p = 0.07) and by 7.1 (−2.29 to 16.47) in FD (p = 0.1), with no significant difference in EPM between controls and FD (−2.0 [−14.5 to 10.5]; p = 0.75). In patients with prominent FD pain, greater pain correlated with decreased visceral EPM by distraction (r = 0.51, p = 0.04). Somatic EPM by heterotopic stimulation significantly decreased foot pain in controls (p = 0.004), but not in FD (p = 0.80).Conclusions & InferencesIn FD, visceral pain modulation by distraction was dysfunctional compared to controls. Somatic pain modulation was also decreased in FD. These data and the correlation of abnormal pain modulation by distraction with clinical pain in pain‐predominant FD suggest a potential pathophysiological significance of abnormal pain modulation in FD.
Effect of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium availability on emergence, nodulation and growth of Trifolium medium L. in alkaline soil
Authors: Chmelíková L. , Hejcman M. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractLittle is known about the effects of nutrient availability on the growth of Trifolium medium in alkaline soil. In 2010, a pot experiment (10 N, P and K fertiliser treatments) with seeding of T. medium into alkaline soil was performed and emergence of seedlings, survival, aboveground and belowground organs were studied. The positive effects of increased nutrient availability on seedling emergence ranged from 5% in the control to 17% in the high P treatment. The lowest mortality was in treatments with P and K supply and the highest in treatments with N supply, due to the sensitivity of young plants to high N availability. The highest values of most measured aboveground plant traits were recorded in treatments with simultaneous application of N, P and K. There were highly positive effects of P supply alone or in combination with N and K on the development of belowground organs. Taproot length ranged from 11.5 in high N to 40.2 cm in P treatment. There was a negative effect of N application on nodulation, especially in N treatments, where growth of T. medium was limited by insufficient P supply. The number of nodules per plant ranged from 0.8 to 4.5 in the high N and P treatments. As demonstrated in this study, T. medium is a potentially suitable legume for alkaline soils. It requires a relatively high P and K supply as well as moderate mineral N supply to achieve its maximum growth potential.
HLA phenotypes of candidates for HSCT: comparing transplanted versus non‐transplanted candidates, resulting in the predictive estimation of the probability to find a 10/10 HLA matched donor
Authors: Gourraud P. A. , Balère M. L. , Faucher C. , Loiseau P. , Dormoy A. , Marry E. , Garnier F. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractIn order to study the impact of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphism distribution in identifying a matched haematopoietic stem cells unrelated donor (UD), we performed a multi‐centric retrospective analysis with the aim of comparing the HLA‐A, HLA‐B, HLA‐C, HLA‐DRB1 and HLA‐DQB1 phenotypes of 2126 patients (772 patients for whom a donor search failed to identify a matched UD, and 1354 patients who received a 10/10 allele level matched UD). Our results showed that rare HLA‐C is often responsible for difficulty in identifying a donor. This locus may add a degree of complexity to a supposed ‘frequent’ HLA‐A HLA‐B and HLA‐DRB1 phenotype, turning this phenotype into a less frequent one. For example, 32.5% of the phenotypes in the non‐transplanted patients could not be explained by any of the pairs of known HLA‐A, HLA‐B, HLA‐C and HLA‐DRB1 haplotypes while this percentage dropped to less than 2% if combinations of only HLA‐A, HLA‐B and HLA‐DRB1 haplotypes were considered. Such situations can be anticipated by computing an index, based on HLA haplotype frequency, the average registry sample size (ARS). ARS is defined as the inverse of the phenotype frequency computed using all corresponding pairs of haplotype frequencies. ARS confirmed that the most significant difference between transplanted and non‐transplanted patients was correlated with the introduction of the locus HLA‐C in the analysis (median: 8.3e + 4 vs 3.1e + 6, P < 0.0001). The higher the ARS the lower the likelihood of finding a 10/10 match UD reflecting the rareness of the patient's HLA. The area under receiver operator characteristics (AUROC) values of the ARS computation for HLA‐A, HLA‐B and HLA‐DRB1 was 0.82 (0.80; 0.84) at a low‐resolution level (two digits). Overall, our study promotes the use of haplotype frequency‐based computations to develop computer‐assisted donor search.
Genetic polymorphism in IFNL4 and response to pegylated interferon‐α and ribavirin in Japanese chronic hepatitis C patients
Authors: Nozawa Y. , Umemura T. , Katsuyama Y. , Shibata S. , Kimura T. , Morita S. , Joshita S. , Komatsu M. , Matsumoto A. , Yoshizawa K. , Ota M. , Tanaka E. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractA genetic polymorphism of the newly discovered interferon‐λ 4 (IFNL4) gene was associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) clearance in individuals of African ancestry. To assess whether a dinucleotide variant of IFNL4 (ss469415590) also affected treatment outcome of antiviral therapy in Japan, we genotyped 213 patients with chronic genotype 1 HCV infection and 176 healthy subjects. The ΔG allele was associated with treatment failure [odds ratio (OR) 4.73, P = 0.019], as was the IFL3 rs8099917 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (OR 5.06, P = 0.068). The correlation between ss469415590 and rs8099917 was high (r2 = 0.92, D′ = 0.98). Multivariate analysis revealed that the rs8099917 SNP was independently associated with treatment failure (OR 5.28, P = 0.009). Therefore, ss469415590 may be another predictive marker of antiviral therapy outcome in the Japanese population.
Group‐specific amplification of HLA‐DQA1 revealed a number of genomic full‐length sequences including the novel HLA alleles DQA1*01:10 and DQA1*01:11
Authors: Witter K. , Halliwell J. A. , Mautner J. , Jolesch A. , von Welser G. , Rampp I. , Spannagl M. , Kauke T. , Dick A. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractIn this article, we describe a subgroup‐specific amplification assay for HLA‐DQA1 that encompasses the whole coding region and allows us to sequence full‐length HLA‐DQA1 genes. We introduce the novel alleles HLA‐DQA1*01:10 and HLA‐DQA1*01:11. Moreover, we were able to confirm the full‐length genomic sequence data of the alleles HLA‐DQA1*01:07, HLA‐DQA1*03:01:01, HLA‐DQA1*03:02, HLA‐DQA1*04:01:02, HLA‐DQA1*04:02, HLA‐DQA1*05:03, HLA‐DQA1*05:05:01:02 and HLA‐DQA1*06:01:01. A complete genomic overview of all six HLA‐DQA1 allele groups is now available from the submission of our data to the IMGT/HLA database. Because our approach facilitates the analysis of all HLA‐DQA1 allele sequences, HLA‐DQA1 may become the first HLA locus from which all subgroup members will be known in detail in the near future.
Experiments by nature: lessons on type 1 diabetes
Authors: Battaglia M. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThe etiology and pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) – one of the most frequent chronic, life‐debilitating diseases in humans – have long fascinated endocrinologists, pathologists and biologists alike. Currently conventional wisdom portrays T1D as a chronic T cell‐mediated autoimmune disease that leads to the specific destruction of pancreatic insulin‐producing β cells. The process of β cell destruction is accompanied (or preceded) by the production of autoantibodies (autoAb) to β cell antigens (i.e. insulin, GAD65, IA‐2 and ZnT8). These autoAb have proved to be instrumental in identifying subjects at risk of developing the disease prior to overt hyperglycemia, and they help to distinguish T1D from T2D patients (who have no autoAb), but are not deemed to be pathogenic. This review will examine to which extent this well‐established disease‐dogmas are sustained by experiments by nature, which should not suffer from the common biases and errors of experiments by humans.
Development of Two Antibody Detection Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays for Serodiagnosis of Human Chronic Fascioliasis
Authors: Cabán-Hernández Kimberly , Gaudier José F. , Ruiz-Jiménez Caleb , Espino Ana M. 
Published: December 2013

ABSTRACT

Coprological examination based on egg detection in stool samples is currently used as the gold standard for the diagnosis of human fascioliasis. However, this method is not effective during the acute phase of the disease and has poor sensitivity during the chronic phase. Serodiagnosis has become an excellent alternative to coprological examination in efforts to combat the effects of fascioliasis on human and animal health. Two novel recombinant
Fasciola hepatica
proteins, i.e., a ferritin (FhFtn-1) and a tegument-associated protein (FhTP16.5), were used as antigens to develop in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. The assays were optimized and validated using 152 serum samples from humans with a known infection status, including healthy subjects, patients with chronic fascioliasis, and patients with other parasitic diseases. The FhFtn-1 ELISA was shown to be 96.6% sensitive and 95.7% specific; the respective parameters for the FhTP16.5 ELISA were 91.4% and 92.4%. The performances of the FhFtn-1 and FhTP16.5 ELISAs were compared with that of an available commercial test (the DRG test) using a subset of serum samples. Our in-house tests were slightly more sensitive than the DRG test in detecting antibodies against
F. hepatica
, but the differences were not statistically significant. In conclusion, the present study provides evidence for the potential of the FhFtn-1 and FhTP16.5 ELISAs as diagnostic tools for human fascioliasis, as might be implemented in conjunction with standard assays for large-scale screenings in areas where the disease is endemic and for the detection of occasional cases in clinical laboratories.