bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vitamin A maintains the airway epithelium in a murine model of asthma by suppressing glucocorticoid‐induced leucine zipper
Authors: Niu C. , Liu N. , Liu J. , Zhang M. , Ying L. , Wang L. , Tian D. , Dai J. , Luo Z. , Liu E. , Zou L. , Fu Z. 
Published: September 2015

SummaryBackgroundThe effects of glucocorticoids (GCs) on the repair of the airway epithelium in asthma are controversial, and we previously reported that the GC dexamethasone (Dex) inhibits the repair of human airway epithelial cells and that this process is mediated by glucocorticoid‐induced leucine zipper (GILZ) through MAPK‐ERK signaling in vitro. Vitamin A (VA) is involved in the regulation of the MAPK‐ERK pathway but has not been widely supplied during asthma treatment. It is unclear whether VA attenuates the negative regulation of GILZ on the MAPK‐ERK pathway and maintains airway epithelium integrity during asthma treatment.MethodsFemale BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) and subsequently treated with Dex, VA or intranasal inhalation of adenovirus sh‐GILZ vectors. Indexes of airway epithelium integrity, including pathological alterations, pulmonary EGFR expression and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), were then measured. The expression of GILZ and key components of activated MAPK‐ERK signals (p‐Raf‐1, p‐MEK, and p‐Erk1/2) were also detected.ResultsDex failed to relieve OVA‐induced asthma airway epithelium injury, as assessed through H&E staining, EGFR expression and AHR. Moreover, in the OVA‐challenged mice treated with Dex, GLIZ expression was increased, whereas the ratios of p‐Raf‐1/Raf‐1, p‐MEK/MEK and p‐Erk1/2/Erk1/2 were significantly decreased. Further study indicated that GILZ expression was decreased and that the ratios of p‐Raf‐1/Raf‐1, p‐MEK/MEK and p‐Erk1/2/Erk1/2 were up‐regulated in the GILZ‐silenced OVA‐challenged mice and VA‐fed OVA‐challenged mice, independent of Dex treatment. The airway epithelium integrity of the OVA‐challenged mice was maintained by treatment with both VA and Dex.ConclusionsVitamin A maintained the Dex‐treated asthma airway epithelium via the down‐regulation of GILZ expression and the activation MAPK‐ERK signaling, and these effects might contribute to improving the effects of GC therapeutics on asthma.
Parathyroidectomy in asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism reduces carotid intima‐media thickness and arterial stiffness
Authors: Cansu Güven Barış , Yılmaz Nusret , Özdem Sebahat , Balcı Mustafa Kemal , Süleymanlar Gültekin , Arıcı Cumhur , Boz Adil , Sarı Ramazan , Altunbaş Hasan Ali 
Published: September 2015

SummaryObjectiveAlthough an International Workshop has suggested that cardiovascular assessment in asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) patients is not necessary, improvements in risk factors of subclinical atherosclerosis have been shown following parathyroidectomy. The objectives of this study were to determine whether parathyroidectomy in asymptomatic PHPT patients causes any change in carotid intima‐media thickness (CIMT), arterial stiffness [pulse wave velocity (PWV)] and soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) levels.DesignProspective study evaluating female patients diagnosed with asymptomatic PHPT in a single centre over a 6‐month period.PatientsA total of 48 subjects were included: 17 hypercalcaemic (HC, mean age: 51 ± 8 years, Ca: 2·73 ± 0·17 mmol/l) and 16 normocalcaemic (NC, mean age: 58 ± 7 years, Ca: 2·30 ± 0·10 mmol/l) PHPT patients, and 15 healthy controls (mean age: 52 ± 4 years, Ca: 2·27 ± 0·07 mmol/l).MeasurementsBiochemical tests, CIMT, PWV and sCD40L levels were compared at baseline and 6 months after parathyroidectomy (PTx).ResultsAt baseline, CIMT and PWV values in the HC and NC patients were higher than in the control group. While there was a significant reduction in CIMT (601 ± 91 μm vs 541 ± 65 μm, P = 0·006) and PWV (9·6 ± 1·8 vs 8·4 ± 1·5 m/s, P = 0·000) in the hypercalcaemic group at the end of the 6th month after PTx, no change was observed in normocalcaemic group (P = 0·686 and P = 0·196 respectively). No differences were observed in sCD40L levels between patient and control groups or between baseline and 6 months in patients undergoing parathyroidectomy.ConclusionParathyroidectomy leads to an improvement in the structural and functional impairment associated with atherosclerosis in the vascular wall in asymptomatic hypercalcaemic PHPT patients.
Dental Implants in Patients with Sjögren's Syndrome
Authors: Korfage Anke , Raghoebar Gerry M , Arends Suzanne , Meiners Petra M , Visser Anita , Kroese Frans GM , Bootsma Hendrika , Vissink Arjan 
Published: September 2015

AbstractBackgroundLimited evidence is available for applying dental implants in Sjögren's syndrome (SS) patients.PurposeThis study aims to retrospectively assess clinical outcome of implant therapy in a cohort of well‐classified patients with SS.Materials and MethodsAll SS patients attending the University Medical Center Groningen for follow‐up (n = 406) were asked whether they had implants. In SS patients with implants peri‐implant health and implant survival was recorded and compared with data from matched healthy controls. Patients' symptoms, health‐related quality of life, oral functioning, and satisfaction were assessed using validated questionnaires.ResultsOf the responding SS patients (n = 335), 21% was provided with implants. Of these 69 SS patients, 50 SS patients were willing to join our study. In SS patients, peri‐implant health was reasonably good with minor marginal bone loss and a peri‐implantitis prevalence of 14%, comparable with healthy controls. Implant survival was 97% (median follow‐up 46 months) [IQR 26;73], and overall patients' satisfaction was high. Oral functioning correlated negatively with dryness, patients' satisfaction, and chewing ability in SS patients.ConclusionsImplant therapy is common in our cohort of SS patients. In spite of shortcomings of our retrospective analysis, implants in SS patients seem to perform comparable with implants in healthy patients.
Assessing strategies to reconcile agriculture and bird conservation in the temperate grasslands of South America
Authors: Dotta G. , Phalan B. , Silva T. W. , Green R. , Balmford A. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractGlobally, agriculture is the greatest source of threat to biodiversity, through both ongoing conversion of natural habitat and intensification of existing farmland. Land sparing and land sharing have been suggested as alternative approaches to reconcile this threat with the need for land to produce food. To examine which approach holds most promise for grassland species, we examined how bird population densities changed with farm yield (production per unit area) in the Campos of Brazil and Uruguay. We obtained information on biodiversity and crop yields from 24 sites that differed in agricultural yield. Density–yield functions were fitted for 121 bird species to describe the response of population densities to increasing farm yield, measured in terms of both food energy and profit. We categorized individual species according to how their population changed across the yield gradient as being positively or negatively affected by farming and according to whether the species’ total population size was greater under land‐sparing, land‐sharing, or an intermediate strategy. Irrespective of the yield, most species were negatively affected by farming. Increasing yields reduced densities of approximately 80% of bird species. We estimated land sparing would result in larger populations than other sorts of strategies for 67% to 70% of negatively affected species, given current production levels, including three threatened species. This suggests that increasing yields in some areas while reducing grazing to low levels elsewhere may be the best option for bird conservation in these grasslands. Implementing such an approach would require conservation and production policies to be explicitly linked to support yield increases in farmed areas and concurrently guarantee that larger areas of lightly grazed natural grasslands are set aside for conservation.
Current status of trans‐anal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) following the Second International Consensus Conference
Authors: Motson R. W. , Whiteford M. H. , Hompes R. , Albert M. , Miles W. F. A. ,   the Expert Group
Published: September 2015

AbstractThis article documents the consensus of an expert group of surgeons from the Second International Trans‐anal Total Mesorectal Excision (TaTME) Conference held in Paris in July 2014. It outlines three facets of the TaTME procedure: (i) the technique and its indications, (ii) training and adoption, and (iii) data collection and the TaTME registry.
Ecological Effects in Cross‐Cultural Differences Between U.S. and Japanese Color Preferences
Authors: Yokosawa Kazuhiko , Schloss Karen B. , Asano Michiko , Palmer Stephen E. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractWe investigated cultural differences between U.S. and Japanese color preferences and the ecological factors that might influence them. Japanese and U.S. color preferences have both similarities (e.g., peaks around blue, troughs around dark‐yellow, and preferences for saturated colors) and differences (Japanese participants like darker colors less than U.S. participants do). Complex gender differences were also evident that did not conform to previously reported effects. Palmer and Schloss's (2010) weighted affective valence estimate (WAVE) procedure was used to test the Ecological Valence Theory's (EVT's) prediction that within‐culture WAVE‐preference correlations should be higher than between‐culture WAVE‐preference correlations. The results supported several, but not all, predictions. In the second experiment, we tested color preferences of Japanese–U.S. multicultural participants who could read and speak both Japanese and English. Multicultural color preferences were intermediate between U.S. and Japanese preferences, consistent with the hypothesis that culturally specific personal experiences during one's lifetime influence color preferences.
Contamination Appraisals, Pollution Beliefs, and the Role of Cultural Inheritance in Shaping Disease Avoidance Behavior
Authors: Feder Yitzhaq 
Published: September 2015

AbstractDespite the upsurge of research on disgust, the implications of this research for the investigation of cultural pollution beliefs has yet to be adequately explored. In particular, the sensitivity of both disgust and pollution to a common set of elicitors (e.g., bodily emissions, disease, and death) suggests a common psychological basis, though several obstacles have prevented an integrative account, including methodological differences between the relevant disciplines. Employing a conciliatory framework that embraces both naturalistic (evolutionary) and humanistic levels of explanation, this article examines the dynamic reciprocal process by which contamination/contagion appraisals in individuals serve to shape—and are in turn shaped by—culture‐specific pollution beliefs. This complex interrelationship is illustrated by examining ancient Near Eastern and modern ethnographic documentation of pollution beliefs, highlighting the underappreciated function of these pollution beliefs as folk theories for the spread of infectious disease. By evaluating how pollution beliefs (as also modern germ theory) shape contamination appraisals in individuals, it will be argued that cultural inheritance has played a much larger role in guiding disease avoidance behavior than has been previously recognized.
The Benefits and Costs of Using Metadata to Improve Enterprise Document Search
Authors: Schymik Gregory , Corral Karen , Schuff David , St. Louis Robert 
Published: September 2015

ABSTRACTThe literature shows that there are many problems with enterprise document search. Studies reveal that typical knowledge workers spend between 10% and 20% of their time searching for documents they never find. While many argue that metadata can improve enterprise document search, in reality few organizations use metadata. This represents a missed opportunity. This article describes the results of two experiments that use simulation to evaluate the actual impact of metadata on the costs and benefits of enterprise search. The first study provides quantitative evidence of the increase in recall and precision that stems from the use of metadata‐enhanced document searches. The second study demonstrates that simple metadata structures can be nearly as effective as complex ones, implying that the cost of creating and maintaining metadata is likely to be lower than generally thought. This is the first study to provide explicit quantitative evidence of the gains that can be achieved from the use of metadata, and one of only a handful of studies that examines the cost of creating and maintaining metadata.
Enamel fracture in the primary dentition has no impact on children's quality of life: implications for clinicians and researchers
Authors: Feldens Carlos Alberto , Day Peter , Borges Tássia Silvana , Feldens Eliane Gerson , Kramer Paulo Floriani 
Published: September 2015

AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to quantify the impact of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) on oral‐health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) of preschool children, when enamel fractures were either included or excluded within the category of TDI.Material and methodsAn oral health survey was undertaken of preschool children, age 1–5 years attending public nurseries in Canoas, Brazil. Children were examined for TDI, dental caries, and malocclusion. Parents were interviewed on their perception of their child's OHRQoL (Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale—ECOHIS) and their sociodemographic background. Multivariable Poisson regression models with robust variance were fitted to assess the impacts of TDI (including and excluding enamel fractures) on OHRQoL.ResultsA full dataset was collected from 76% of the eligible population. The prevalence of TDI was 13.4% (171/1275). The prevalence of any impact (ECOHIS ≥ 1) was significantly higher in children with crown discoloration (29.7%), enamel/dentin fracture (29.2%), and avulsion (73.3%), compared to children with enamel fracture (16.2%) or without a TDI (15.8%) (P < 0.001). Enamel fractures were the most prevalent TDI (40%) but halved the proportion of children with a reported impact from their TDI. The mean increase in OHRQoL impact for those children with a TDI was 1.59 (95%CI 1.20–2.10) when enamel fracture was included, and 1.86 (95%CI 1.39–2.50) when it was excluded.ConclusionEnamel fractures have no significant impact on young children's quality of life. Including enamel fractures within the diagnosis of TDI increases the prevalence of TDI while reducing the OHRQoL impact of TDI for the primary dentition.
The ketogenic diet compensates forAGC1 deficiency and improves myelination
Authors: Dahlin Maria , Martin Daniel A. , Hedlund Zandra , Jonsson Monica , von Döbeln Ulrika , Wedell Anna 
Published: September 2015

SummaryThe brain aspartate‐glutamate carrier (AGC1) is specifically expressed in neurons, where it transports aspartate from the mitochondria to the cytosol, and plays a role in transfer of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)‐reducing equivalents into the mitochondria as a part of the malate‐aspartate shuttle. Deficient function ofAGC1 underlies an inborn error of metabolism that presents with severe hypotonia, arrested psychomotor development, and seizures from a few months of age. InAGC1 deficiency, there is secondary hypomyelination due to lack of N‐acetylaspartate (NAA), which is normally generated by acetylation of aspartate in the neuron and required for fatty acid synthesis by the adjacent oligodendrocyte. Based on experiences fromAGC2 deficiency, we predicted that reduced glycolysis should compensate for the metabolic defect and allow resumed myelination inAGC1 deficiency. Carbohydrate restriction was therefore initiated in a patient withAGC1 deficiency at 6 years of age by introducing a ketogenic diet. The response was dramatic, clinically as well as radiologically. Psychomotor development showed clear improvement, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicated resumed myelination. This is the first successful treatment of secondary hypomyelination reported. BecauseAGC1 is driven by the proton gradient generated by the neuronal mitochondrial respiratory chain, the results have potential relevance for secondary hypomyelination in general.
Land use change affects macroinvertebrate community size spectrum in streams: the case of Pinus radiata plantations
Authors: Martínez Aingeru , Larrañaga Aitor , Miguélez Andrea , Yvon‐Durocher Gabriel , Pozo Jesús 
Published: September 2015

Summary

In low‐order forested streams, catchment‐scale land‐use modifications to vegetation can affect energy inputs into streams and trophic interactions within these donor‐controlled food webs.

We examined the effects of Pinus radiata plantations on the intercept and slope of the size spectrum (the relationship between log‐mass and log‐density) of macroinvertebrate communities in low‐order forested streams. We compared three streams draining pine plantations with three draining native deciduous forests, all without significant differences in water physicochemical characteristics.

While size spectrum intercept was similar between the two stream types, the slope of the size spectrum was shallower in pine than in deciduous streams based on a decline in the density of the smaller individuals.

The shredder feeding guild showed the largest changes, with a significant reduction in their total density and, specifically, in the density of the smaller individuals from the deciduous to the pine streams. This alteration is explained by the change in very specialist shredders, such as plecopterans and trichopterans, but not in those with highly mobile crustaceans or more generalist dipterans.

The effect detected for shredders might have scaled up to higher trophic levels as the density of invertebrate predators (small and big) was lower in streams under pine, suggesting a response to prey limitation.

These results indicate that the change of in‐stream resource quality arising from the replacement of deciduous vegetation by pine plantations can trigger size‐specific responses of macroinvertebrates and target specialised feeding guilds such as shedders, and can elicit a bottom‐up reaction in the organisation of food webs.
Toward an integrated monitoring framework to assess the effects of tropical forest degradation and recovery on carbon stocks and biodiversity
Authors: Bustamante Mercedes M. C. , Roitman Iris , Aide T. Mitchell , Alencar Ane , Anderson Liana O. , Aragão Luiz , Asner Gregory P. , Barlow Jos , Berenguer Erika , Chambers Jeffrey , Costa Marcos H. , Fanin Thierry , Ferreira Laerte G. , Ferreira Joice , Keller Michael , Magnusson William E. , Morales‐Barquero Lucia , Morton Douglas , Ometto Jean P. H. B. , Palace Michael , Peres Carlos A. , Silvério Divino , Trumbore Susan , Vieira Ima C. G. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractTropical forests harbor a significant portion of global biodiversity and are a critical component of the climate system. Reducing deforestation and forest degradation contributes to global climate‐change mitigation efforts, yet emissions and removals from forest dynamics are still poorly quantified. We reviewed the main challenges to estimate changes in carbon stocks and biodiversity due to degradation and recovery of tropical forests, focusing on three main areas: (1) the combination of field surveys and remote sensing; (2) evaluation of biodiversity and carbon values under a unified strategy; and (3) research efforts needed to understand and quantify forest degradation and recovery. The improvement of models and estimates of changes of forest carbon can foster process‐oriented monitoring of forest dynamics, including different variables and using spatially explicit algorithms that account for regional and local differences, such as variation in climate, soil, nutrient content, topography, biodiversity, disturbance history, recovery pathways, and socioeconomic factors. Generating the data for these models requires affordable large‐scale remote‐sensing tools associated with a robust network of field plots that can generate spatially explicit information on a range of variables through time. By combining ecosystem models, multiscale remote sensing, and networks of field plots, we will be able to evaluate forest degradation and recovery and their interactions with biodiversity and carbon cycling. Improving monitoring strategies will allow a better understanding of the role of forest dynamics in climate‐change mitigation, adaptation, and carbon cycle feedbacks, thereby reducing uncertainties in models of the key processes in the carbon cycle, including their impacts on biodiversity, which are fundamental to support forest governance policies, such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
The influence of historical climate changes on Southern Ocean marine predator populations: a comparative analysis
Authors: Younger Jane L. , Emmerson Louise M. , Miller Karen J. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe Southern Ocean ecosystem is undergoing rapid physical and biological changes that are likely to have profound implications for higher‐order predators. Here, we compare the long‐term, historical responses of Southern Ocean predators to climate change. We examine palaeoecological evidence for changes in the abundance and distribution of seabirds and marine mammals, and place these into context with palaeoclimate records in order to identify key environmental drivers associated with population changes. Our synthesis revealed two key factors underlying Southern Ocean predator population changes; (i) the availability of ice‐free ground for breeding and (ii) access to productive foraging grounds. The processes of glaciation and sea ice fluctuation were key; the distributions and abundances of elephant seals, snow petrels, gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie penguins all responded strongly to the emergence of new breeding habitat coincident with deglaciation and reductions in sea ice. Access to productive foraging grounds was another limiting factor, with snow petrels, king and emperor penguins all affected by reduced prey availability in the past. Several species were isolated in glacial refugia and there is evidence that refuge populations were supported by polynyas. While the underlying drivers of population change were similar across most Southern Ocean predators, the individual responses of species to environmental change varied because of species specific factors such as dispersal ability and environmental sensitivity. Such interspecific differences are likely to affect the future climate change responses of Southern Ocean marine predators and should be considered in conservation plans. Comparative palaeoecological studies are a valuable source of long‐term data on species’ responses to environmental change that can provide important insights into future climate change responses. This synthesis highlights the importance of protecting productive foraging grounds proximate to breeding locations, as well as the potential role of polynyas as future Southern Ocean refugia.