bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Neuromagnetic brain responses to other person's eye blinks seen on video
Authors: Mandel Anne , Helokunnas Siiri , Pihko Elina , Hari Riitta 
Published: May 2014

AbstractEye blinks, typically occurring 15–20 times per minute, rarely capture attention during face‐to‐face interaction. To determine the extent to which eye blinks affect the viewer's brain activity, we recorded magnetoencephalographic brain responses to natural blinks, and to the same blinks slowed down to 38% of the original speed. The stimuli were presented on video once every 2.3–6.2 s. As a control, we presented two horizontal black bars moving with the same time courses and the same extent as the eyelids in the blink video. Both types of blinks and bars elicited clear responses peaking at about 200 ms in the occipital areas, with no systematic differences between hemispheres. For the bars, these main responses were (as expected) weaker (by 24%) and later (by 33 ms) to slow‐motion than normal‐speed stimuli. For blinks, however, the responses to both normal‐speed and slow‐motion stimuli were of the same amplitude and latency. Our results demonstrate that the brain not only responds to other persons' eye blinks, but that the responses are as fast and of equal size even when the blinks are considerably slowed down. We interpret this finding to reflect the increased social salience of the slowed‐down blinks that counteracted the general tendency of the brain to react more weakly and more slowly to slowly‐ vs. quickly‐changing stimuli. This finding may relate to the social importance of facial gestures, including eye blinks.
Nicotinamide enhances repair of ultraviolet radiation‐induced DNA damage in primary melanocytes
Authors: Thompson Benjamin C. , Surjana Devita , Halliday Gary M. , Damian Diona L. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractCutaneous melanoma is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Nicotinamide is a safe, widely available vitamin that reduces the immune suppressive effects of UV, enhances DNA repair in keratinocytes and has shown promise in the chemoprevention of non‐melanoma skin cancer. Here, we report the effect of nicotinamide on DNA damage and repair in primary human melanocytes. Nicotinamide significantly enhanced the repair of oxidative DNA damage (8‐oxo‐7,8‐dihydro‐2′‐deoxyguanosine) and cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers induced by UV exposure. It also enhanced the repair of 8‐oxo‐7,8‐dihydro‐2′‐deoxyguanosine induced by the culture conditions in unirradiated melanocytes. A significant increase in the percentage of melanocytes undergoing unscheduled but not scheduled DNA synthesis was observed, confirming that nicotinamide enhances DNA repair in human melanocytes. In summary, nicotinamide, by enhancing DNA repair in melanocytes, is a potential agent for the chemoprevention of cutaneous melanoma.
Hotspots of climate change impacts in sub‐Saharan Africa and implications for adaptation and development
Authors: Müller Christoph , Waha Katharina , Bondeau Alberte , Heinke Jens 
Published: May 2014

AbstractDevelopment efforts for poverty reduction and food security in sub‐Saharan Africa will have to consider future climate change impacts. Large uncertainties in climate change impact assessments do not necessarily complicate, but can inform development strategies. The design of development strategies will need to consider the likelihood, strength, and interaction of climate change impacts across biosphere properties. We here explore the spread of climate change impact projections and develop a composite impact measure to identify hotspots of climate change impacts, addressing likelihood and strength of impacts. Overlapping impacts in different biosphere properties (e.g. flooding, yields) will not only claim additional capacity to respond, but will also narrow the options to respond and develop. Regions with severest projected climate change impacts often coincide with regions of high population density and poverty rates. Science and policy need to propose ways of preparing these areas for development under climate change impacts.
A Theoretical Walk through the Political Economy of Urban Water Resource Management
Authors: Walker Gareth 
Published: May 2014

AbstractThe political economy of urban water management demands the interrogation of a highly socialised and engineered space. Many approaches are available to the researcher, yet they are often based on their own claims concerning the nature of society and space, which are contradictory and incommensurate with the next. This makes a synthesis of theory problematic, suggesting an ‘either/or’ decision to the researcher. This paper provides a critical genealogy of theoretical approaches to the political economy of urban water management and a framework through which their synthesis may be discussed. It employs a critical realist philosophy, mapping each approach to its respective ontological and epistemic grounding. A metaphorical ‘walk’ is then taken across the resulting map in order to provide a coherent and logical survey of theory. Finally, critical realism is employed to argue that struggles to synthesise theory are rooted in their competing ontological claims. Critical realism and in particular Bob Jessop's Strategic Relational Approach are assessed as means of reconciling tensions uncovered during the walk.
The Importance of Next Generation Farmers: A Conceptual Framework to Bring the Potential Successor into Focus
Authors: Chiswell Hannah Marie 
Published: May 2014

AbstractIntergenerational succession is understood as an integral facet of the family farm. The importance of the succession process and more specifically, successor identification, are critically discussed in the context of the widely propagated projections of global population growth and associated demands on the agricultural sector. Having established the merits of successor identification, the article then highlights the absence of the ‘potential successor’ from contemporary research and continues by offering a conceptual framework, capable of bringing this important research subject into focus as an autonomous and valuable actor, which, given the anticipated renaissance in agriculture, is perhaps now, more important than ever.
Human Capital: A Comparison of Rustbelt and Sunbelt Cities
Authors: Poon Jessie , Yin Wei 
Published: May 2014

AbstractHuman capital studies in economic geography are dominated by themes associated with the following: (i) the creative class and (ii) skilled individuals' role in innovation spillovers. Both literatures highlight the efficacy of urban and regional agglomerations in creative and innovation activities through retention of the skilled and their knowledge production. They also favor large or Sunbelt cities while painting a dismal picture for smaller or uncool Rustbelt cities with significant implications for inter‐urban inequality. In this paper, we compare the human capital level of Sunbelt and Rustbelt cities. We find that Rustbelt cities are experiencing a brain gain that reflects the relocation and retention of college‐educated immigrants and natives in the region. Furthermore, skill ratios are higher in most Rustbelt than Sunbelt cities. We argue for a human capital narrative that is more spatially expansive, and that includes the effect of both skilled immigrants and natives on urban development.
Comparison of periodontal conditions among three elderly populations in Japan and Germany
Authors: Hirotomi Toshinobu , Kocher Thomas , Yoshihara Akihiro , Biffar Reiner , Micheelis Wolfgang , Hoffmann Thomas , Miyazaki Hideo , Holtfreter Birte 
Published: May 2014

AbstractAimThere is a growing interest in comparing periodontal conditions between countries. This study compared periodontal disease conditions in three elderly populations‐ one from Japan and two from Germany.Materials and MethodsWe compared periodontal data of 70‐year‐old subjects from the Niigata Study with 65–74‐year‐old subjects from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) and from West Germany (DMS III). A total of 489, 399 and 549 dentate subjects were analysed, respectively. Recording protocols were standardized. Linear or logistic models were used to compare Niigata Study with SHIP.ResultsElderly German subjects in SHIP and DMS III had significantly more severe periodontal conditions and fewer remaining teeth compared to those in Niigata Study, though differences were less pronounced for DMS III. German subjects showed a significantly different pattern of various periodontal risk factors compared to Japanese subjects. Even after adjustment for putative periodontal risk factors, SHIP subjects still presented significantly higher adjusted values for most periodontal parameters compared to Niigata Study subjects (p < 0.05).ConclusionsPeriodontitis was more prevalent in SHIP compared with Niigata Study, even after comprehensive risk factor adjustment. Only to a very small extent, differences between studies could be explained by the risk factors explored.
Validity of and interrater agreement on the LINNEAUS Euro‐PC medication safety incident classification system in primary care in Poland
Authors: Kosiek Katarzyna , Vögele Anna , Lainer Miriam , Sönnichsen Andreas , Bowie Paul , Godycki‐Cwirko Maciek 
Published: May 2014

AbstractIntroductionMedication safety incidents occur in all health care sectors and cause considerable morbidity and mortality, with 8.5% of all related incidents reported estimated to occur in primary care. A common incident classification system could facilitate collective learning from the analysis of medication‐related errors and improve patient safetyObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess the validity of a new classification system of medication safety incidents in primary care in Poland.MethodsAnalysis of data from a descriptive, cross‐sectional, self‐reported survey on the Learning from International Networks about Errors and Understanding Safety in Primary Care (LINNEAUS Euro‐PC) medication safety incident classification for primary care with assessment of 10 case‐based clinical scenarios done by doctors and pharmacists form community‐based family medicine clinics and pharmacies in Lodz.Main outcome measuresThe percentages of overall agreement on judgements and a fixed‐marginal multirater kappa (κ) coefficient as statistical measures of interrater agreement for categorical items.ResultsThe overall agreement levels were: category 1 – 86.3%; category 2 – 85.6%; category 3 – 72.1%; category 4 – 71.8%; and category 5 – 70.4%. The interrater agreement between the 15 evaluators varied as follows: category 1 fixed‐marginal κ = 0.144; category 5 fixed‐marginal κ = 0.565; category 3 fixed‐marginal κ = 0.607; category 4 fixed‐marginal κ = 0.634; and category 2 fixed‐marginal κ = 0.807.ConclusionsThis is the first known study on levels of agreement on the perception of medication safety incidents and assessment of the validity of a related classification system in primary health care in Poland. Interrater agreement in this study was surprisingly high, but still leaves room for improvement.
Implementation of a group‐based physical activity programme for ageing adults with ID: a process evaluation
Authors: van Schijndel‐Speet Marieke , Evenhuis Heleen M. , van Wijck Ruud , Echteld Michael A. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractRationale, aim and objectivesThis paper describes the results of the process evaluation of a physical activity programme for people with intellectual disabilities (ID), including information about the concepts ‘fidelity’, ‘dose delivered’, ‘satisfaction’ and ‘context’.MethodsQualitative and quantitative methods among participants and programme leaders were used.ResultsThe programme was well accepted, feasible and applicable to ageing people with ID. It was successfully implemented in terms of fidelity and dose delivered, although differences between day‐activity centres were observed.ConclusionsThe hampering factors that are revealed in this study and the facilitating activities that were part of the implementation plan may be used by care provider services for (ageing) people with ID and other groups of people with cognitive and/or physical deficits, such as frail elderly people or people with dementia when developing and or preparing implementation of health promotion programmes.
Urologists' personal feelings on PSA screening and prostate cancer treatment
Authors: Wenzler David L. , Rosenberg Bradley H. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractRationale, aims and objectiveThis study aimed to determine if urologists' feelings on prostate cancer screening with prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) and treatment on themselves are consistent with what they recommend to patients.MethodsA survey regarding prostate cancer screening and treatment was assembled using the SurveyMonkey web site. The link to the survey was then emailed to urologists. Participation was voluntary.ResultsThe survey was sent to 2672 American urologists and completed by 215 urologists; response rate was 8%. One hundred ninety‐eight (92%) were male. Most (56%) urologists recommend PSA screening beginning at age 50 for patients, and this corresponded with the age at which survey responders began their PSA screening. Two urologists did not recommend screening, and 10% were ‘not sure’ if screening saves lives. Of those that had not had their PSA checked, 34% plan to begin screening at 40–44 with 11% stating they ‘never’ plan to be screened. One hundred thirty‐eight (70%) men completing the survey had their PSA checked. The majority (86%) had it drawn for screening. Nineteen respondents had an elevated PSA with nine men diagnosed with prostate cancer. Eight of these had radical prostatectomy. When faced with the hypothetical diagnosis of an elevated PSA and low‐grade prostate cancer, respondents favoured repeat PSA (94%) and surveillance (48%), respectively, than any other option.ConclusionDespite recommendations from the American Urologic Association to screen men for prostate cancer, a significant percentage of urologists do not wish to be screened with PSA. Almost all, however, continue to recommend prostate cancer screening for their patients. Treatment recommendations also varied among the respondents.
Minimal clinically important difference for change in comfortable gait speed of adults with pathology: a systematic review
Authors: Bohannon Richard W. , Glenney Susan S. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractRationale, aims and objectivesWalking speed is an important performance variable, but information on the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the measure has not been consolidated. In this review, we aimed to summarize information on the MCID for change in comfortable gait speed measurements for patients with pathology.MethodsRelevant literature was identified by searches of four databases (PubMed, Web of Knowledge, CINAHL and Scopus), hand searches and consultation with an expert. Inclusion required that articles reported a MCID for comfortable gait speed measurements. Articles were excluded if the MCID was not determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Articles were abstracted for information on participants, interventions, gait speed documentation and the determination of MCID. Quality was assessed using a hybrid 9‐item (0–18 point) instrument.ResultsSeven articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The populations studied included stroke (n = 3), hip fracture (n = 2), multiple sclerosis (n = 1) and mixed (n = 1). Using 13 different anchors the studies reported MCIDs of 0.08–0.26 m s−1. All but three of these MCIDs were between 0.10 and 0.20 m s−1. All MCIDs for which the area under the ROC curve exceeded 0.70 were between 0.10 and 0.17 m s−1.ConclusionsChanges in gait speed of 0.10 to 0.20 m s−1 may be important across multiple patient groups.
A Comparison of Laboratory‐Based and Home‐Based Tests of Consumer Preferences Using Kid and Lamb Meat
Authors: Guerrero A. , Campo M.M. , Cilla I. , Olleta J.L. , Alcalde M.J. , Horcada A. , Sañudo C. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractThe meat from 60 commercial suckling males of five Spanish goat breeds (n = 10 each) (Moncaína [MO], Pirenaica [PI], Negra Serrana [NS], Blanca Celtibérica [BC] [all meat or double purpose] and Murciano‐Granadina [MG] [dairy purpose]) and one dairy sheep breed (Churra [CH]) was compared in laboratory‐based (n = 119) and home‐based (n = 70) consumer tests. In the laboratory, flavor (P ≤ 0.01), tenderness (P ≤ 0.001) and overall acceptability (P ≤ 0.001) differed significantly among the breeds, and MO, NS, MG and CH had the highest overall acceptability. In the home‐based test, tenderness (P ≤ 0.01) and overall acceptability (P ≤ 0.05), but not flavor, differed significantly among the breeds, and MO, BC, MG and CH had the highest overall acceptability. In conclusion, the two consumer test evaluated were adequate for evaluating meat acceptability from suckling small ruminants, having comparable results, although consumer preferences were slightly higher and signification levels slightly lower under home conditions than under laboratory conditions.Practical ApplicationsConsumer acceptance is a big aim of any food sector. Meat is a complex product to be evaluated because of its intrinsic variability and because it needs to be cooked previously to be assessed. Comparisons with the same animals, in different circumstances: cut, type of cooking and temperature, condiments, ambiance, as it occurs in home tests or laboratory tests hardly exist. In this paper, the same results have been obtained in both tests with meat from small ruminants. This will undoubtedly favor the development of meat consumer tests in the future.
Semi‐supervised classification of vegetation: preserving the good old units and searching for new ones
Authors: Tichý Lubomír , Chytrý Milan , Botta‐Dukát Zoltán 
Published: May 2014

AbstractAimThe unsupervised nature of traditional numerical methods used to classify vegetation hinders the development of comprehensive vegetation classification systems. Each new unsupervised classification yields partitions that are partly inconsistent with previous classifications and change group membership for some sites. In contrast, supervised methods account for previously established vegetation units, but cannot define new ones. Therefore, we introduce the concept of semi‐supervised classification to community ecology and vegetation science. Semi‐supervised classification formally reproduces the existing units in a supervised mode and simultaneously identifies new units among unassigned sites in an unsupervised mode. We discuss the concept of semi‐supervised clustering, introduce semi‐supervised variants of two clustering algorithms that produce groups with crisp boundaries, k‐means and partitioning around medoids (PAM), provide a free software tool to perform these classifications and demonstrate the advantages using example data sets of vegetation plots.MethodsSemi‐supervised methods use a priori information about group membership for some sites to define centroids (k‐means) or medoids (PAM) of site groups that represent previously established vegetation units. They identify these groups in a species hyperspace and assign new sites to them. At the same time, they search for a user‐defined number of new groups. We compared the unsupervised, supervised and semi‐supervised methods using an example of a forest vegetation data set that was previously classified using expert knowledge, and assessed how well these methods reproduced vegetation units defined by experts. Then we compared supervised and semi‐supervised methods in a task when a grassland vegetation classification established in one country was extended to two neighbouring countries.Results and conclusionsExample analyses of vegetation plot data sets demonstrated that semi‐supervised variants of k‐means and PAM are extremely valuable tools for extending existing vegetation classifications while preserving previously defined vegetation units. They can be used both for identifying so far unrecognized vegetation types in the regions where a vegetation classification already exists and for extending a vegetation classification from a particular region to neighbouring regions with partly identical but partly different vegetation types. Both k‐means and PAM provide site groups with crisp boundaries, which makes them a simpler alternative to fuzzy clustering methods.
Cytokine imbalance in irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Bashashati M. , Rezaei N. , Shafieyoun A. , McKernan D. P. , Chang L. , Öhman L. , Quigley E. M. , Schmulson M. , Sharkey K. A. , Simrén M. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractBackgroundIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder of unknown etiology; although infection and inflammation have recently been considered as important etiologic agents. A recent meta‐analysis showed correlations between cytokine [interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)] gene polymorphisms and IBS; however, it is still unknown whether patients with IBS have different cytokine profiles compared to healthy population.MethodsTo determine the relationships between serum/plasma levels or mucosal expression of IL‐10/TNF‐α and IBS, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis based on case–control studies retrieved from PubMed and EMBASE search through August 2013. Standardized mean difference (SMD) was generated by using the inverse variance method. Heterogeneity was assessed based on I2 values.Key ResultsSerum/plasma levels of TNF‐α tended to be higher in IBS vs controls (p = 0.09); this reached significance in IBS subtypes vs controls and in female patients with IBS. However, serum/plasma levels of IL‐10 were not significantly different in IBS patients vs controls. Further analysis of serum/plasma IL‐10 levels in IBS subtypes did not show any difference; however, analysis based on gender showed a significantly lower serum/plasma IL‐10 levels in male patients with IBS vs male controls (p = 0.02). Colonic IL‐10 mRNA had a significantly lower expression in IBS vs control (p = 0.001).Conclusions & InferencesThere is an imbalance of proinflammatory TNF‐α, and anti‐inflammatory IL‐10, cytokines in IBS. Stratifying IBS patients based on cytokine profile may represent an opportunity for personalized treatment of this condition.
Carboniferous (Tournaisian) fish assemblages from the Isle of Bute, Scotland: systematics and palaeoecology
Authors: Carpenter David K. , Falcon‐Lang Howard J. , Benton Michael J. , Henderson Elsa 
Published: May 2014

AbstractWe describe fish assemblages from the Carboniferous (mid‐ to late Tournaisian) Ballagan Formation at two localities, Hawk's Nib and Mill Hole, on the Isle of Bute, Scotland. Fossil material occurs in thin, locally reworked dolomitic limestone beds, interpreted as the deposits of very shallow lakes or lagoons, developed on, or adjacent to, a seasonally dry coastal plain. The mostly disarticulated fossils comprise isolated teeth, mandibles, scales, tesserae, dermal bones, lepidotrichia and vertebrae. The fauna includes rhizodonts (cf. Archichthys portlocki, cf. Strepsodus sauroides), lungfish (Sagenodus sp.), other sarcopterygians (Megalichthys sp.), one shark (Ageleodus pectinatus), climatiiform acanthodians and indeterminate actinopterygians. The Mill Hole assemblage is especially noteworthy because it includes some putative juvenile forms (Archichthys and Sagenodus). A critical review of the habitat preferences of the documented taxa suggests that most were either euryhaline or, in the case of Archichthys, probably endemic to brackish or freshwater settings. The Bute fish beds fall within a crucial evolutionary period during which many fish and other animal groups were infiltrating nonmarine environments, either passively or actively. It may be that lakes and lagoons may have functioned as protected nurseries for juveniles during this wave of colonization.