bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Exploring End‐of‐Life Care in Veterans Affairs Community Living Centers
Authors: Ersek Mary , Thorpe Joshua , Kim Hyejin , Thomasson Arwin , Smith Dawn 
Published: March 2015

ObjectivesTo compare quality of end‐of‐life (EOL) care indicators and family evaluation of care in community living centers (CLCs) with that of EOL care in acute, intensive, and hospice and palliative care units.DesignRetrospective chart review and survey with next of kin of recently deceased inpatients.SettingInpatient Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers (N = 145), including 132 CLCs, across the United States.ParticipantsThe chart review included all individuals who died in VA inpatient units (n = 57,397). Family survey results included data for 33,497 veterans.MeasurementsIndicators of optimal EOL care: palliative consultation in the last 90 days of life, contact with a chaplain, family contact with a chaplain, and emotional support given to family after death. The main outcome was a single Bereaved Family Survey item in which respondents provided a global evaluation of quality of EOL care (excellent to very good, good, fair to poor).ResultsFamily evaluations of overall EOL care and quality of EOL care indicators for veterans who died in CLCs were better than those of veterans dying in acute or intensive care units but worse than those dying in hospice or palliative care units.ConclusionCare in CLCs can be enhanced through the integration of palliative care practices. Future research should identify critical elements of enhancing EOL care in nursing homes.
Optical microscopy with flexible axial capabilities using a vari‐focus liquid lens
Authors: QU YUFU , YANG HAIJUAN 
Published: March 2015

SummaryThe axial imaging range of optical microscopy is restricted by its fixed working plane and limited depth of field. In this paper, the axial capabilities of an off‐the‐shelf microscope is improved by inserting a liquid lens, which can be controlled by a driving electrical voltage, into the optical path of the microscope. First, the numerical formulas of the working distance and the magnification with the variation of the focus of the liquid lens are inferred using a ray tracing method and conclusion is obtained that the best position for inserting a liquid lens with consistent magnification is the aperture plane and the rear focal plane of the objective lens. Second, with the liquid lens embedded in the microscope, the numerical relationship between the magnification and the working distance of the proposed flexible‐axial‐capability microscope and the liquid lens driving voltage is calibrated and fitted using the inferred numerical formulas. Third, techniques including autofocus, extending depth of field and three‐dimensional imaging are researched and applied, improving the designed microscope to not only flexibly control its working distance, but also to extend the depth of field near the variable working plane. Experiments show that the presented flexible‐axial‐capability microscope has a long working distance range of 8 mm, and by calibrating the magnification curve within the working distance range, samples can be observed and measured precisely. The depth of field can be extended to 400 μm from the variable working plane and is 20 times that of the off‐the‐shelf microscope.
Facilitating patients with disorders of consciousness to sit without trunk support: a qualitative study
Authors: Miyata Kumiko , Yoshimura Sadako , Hayashi Yuko 
Published: March 2015

Aims and objectivesThis study aimed to clarify why and how clinical nurses facilitate sitting without trunk support among patients with disorders of consciousness.BackgroundRecent attention has focused on encouraging patients with disorders of consciousness to sit without trunk support, but no reports describe this intervention among patients with poor awareness and physical disuse.DesignQualitative research design.MethodsWe enrolled five clinical nurses with interventional experience in rehabilitating patients with disorders of consciousness to sit without trunk support. Participant observation and semi‐structured interviews were used to collect data. The data were analysed by text‐mining method.ResultsThree reasons for nursing in the sitting position were identified: to raise the patient's body to assess the recovery of activities of daily living, to adjust their circadian rhythm and encourage the will to sit, and to make it easier to breathe. Five practices were identified: moving the patient to the prone position to sit in safety and comfort, developing postural stability by improving the flexibility of the lower limbs, improving the flexibility of the hip joints, developing trunk balance and encouraging hand use for stability, and ensuring safety by terminating the sitting practice when symptoms of respiratory failure, heart failure, or excessive tiredness developed.ConclusionsThe rationale for nursing patients with disorders of consciousness to sit without trunk support was to establish a foundation for independent living. This was achieved by preparing patient's disused body for activity by improving the flexibility of hip joint in the prone position. This represents a new intervention for patients with disorders of consciousness that could facilitate independent living.Relevance to clinical practiceThis study provides empirical and practical evidence from nurses who perform novel clinical interventions that specifically promote independent living. Further accumulation of quantitative clinical results and physiological verification are required.
Phorate‐induced Host Defence Responses Condition Acquired Resistance to Tomato Spotted Wilt in Cultivated Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)
Authors: Jain Mukesh , Gallo Maria , Chengalrayan Kudithipudi , Shaikh Nasir P. , MacDonald Gregory E. , Davis John M. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractPhorate is an acetylcholinesterase‐inhibiting organophosphate pesticide used for the control of insects, mites and nematodes. In cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), phorate is often used as an in‐furrow, systemic insecticide to reduce thrips populations which vector tomato spotted wilt tospovirus (TSWV). However, phorate‐induced suppression of disease incidence and severity is not solely due to thrips control because other pesticides control thrips but not TSWV. The present research was focused on understanding the biochemical and molecular components of the phorate‐induced host responses that may condition acquired resistance to TSWV in peanut. Phorate treatments adversely affected maximal quantum yield of the light reactions (Fv/Fm). A dose‐dependent increase in ascorbic acid content and in activities of the oxidative stress‐related enzymes, catalase and superoxide dismutase was evident following phorate treatment, whereas the level of glutathione reductase was not affected. An RT‐PCR differential display screen identified 35 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) responsive to phorate treatment in peanut leaves. Functional annotations revealed transcriptional regulation of ESTs implicated in primary and secondary metabolism including photosynthesis‐related genes, mitigation of oxidative stress, signalling pathways and pathogenesis‐ and defence‐related proteins. Two ESTs encoding membrane trafficking functions were downregulated, which may reflect reduced internalization and/or subsequent replication of viral particles in phorate‐treated leaves. Time‐course quantitative RT‐PCR analyses further verified fidelity and sensitivity of the mRNA differential display screen and corroborated that systemic spread of TSWV in field‐grown plants is reduced following phorate application. The mélange of differentially regulated gene functions is consistent with a model in which a phorate‐induced breach of redox control culminates in hypersensitive cell death and subsequent induction of systemic acquired resistance.
Sexual size dimorphism mediates effects of spatial resource variability onAmerican black bear space use
Authors: Hiller T. L. , Belant J. L. , Beringer J. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractThe distribution of animals is influenced by numerous factors including spatial distribution and temporal availability of resources. We tested the spatial resource variability hypothesis (increasing landscape heterogeneity results in increasing amount of space use) and the temporal resource variability hypothesis (temporal variation in resources reduces amount of space use) using location data from radiomarkedAmerican black bearsUrsus americanusinMissouri andArkansas,USA. We used 95% utilization distributions (UDs) to define individual seasonal space use and constructed 22 models using covariates that described composition, spatial arrangement and diversity of land cover types (an index of heterogeneity or patchiness); seasonal hard mast production; and seasonal use of land cover to test our hypotheses using linear modeling and small‐sample Akaike information criterion (AICc) model selection approaches. TheAICcbest performing model supported the spatial resource variability hypothesis and included Shannon diversity index [95% confidence limit (CL) of coefficient = 1.56–2.42] and sex (male; 95%CLof coefficient = 0.05–0.49) as covariates that explained variation in transformed values ofUDsize. Predicted and observed values during model evaluation were highly correlated (r = 0.90). As land cover heterogeneity increased,UDsize increased, likely a consequence of bears responding to greater patchiness to maintain sufficient resources. Further, theShannon diversity index was greater for malesthan females, suggesting larger bodied males used larger areas to meet their higher energetic costs due to landscape fragmentation. Studies of resource hypotheses in solitary species should consider intraspecific allometric relationships such as sexual size dimorphism as has been addressed using group size in social species.
Water‐related bird assemblages in an urban pond ‘archipelago’: Winter patterns of bird species occurrence, abundance and richness
Authors: Di Santo Maria Paola , Carpaneto Giuseppe M. , Battisti Corrado 
Published: March 2015

AbstractThis study reports on the patterns of species occurrence, abundance and richness of a wintering water‐related bird assemblage in an ‘archipelago’ of 70 small artificial urban ponds (AUPs) embedded in a metropolitan landscape (Rome, central Italy). A total of 20 species in 26 AUPs were sampled. Only the largest AUPs (>0.1 ha) contained all these species, except for Gallinula chloropus. The highest total mean species abundance was observed in the largest ponds, with statistically significant differences evident among size classes. Two significant spatial thresholds in species abundance and richness were observed (between 0.01 and 0.1 ha; between 0.1 and 1 ha in size). The abundance of single species was correlated with their frequency of occurrence. Ponds in urban areas must be larger than 0.1 ha to host a rich winter assemblage of birds, with a further increase in richness noted with a surface area larger than 1 ha. The highest number of species was observed in the larger ponds (>1 ha). The species richness of each AUP is directly correlated to their size (log‐transformed species–area relationship: log S = 3.515 + 0.497 log A; R2 = 0.76). Further research should be conducted to confirm these patterns and to implement information useful for planning and management of artificial ponds in urban areas for this purpose.
Host and parasite life history interplay to yield divergent population genetic structures in two ectoparasites living on the same bat species
Authors: van Schaik J. , Dekeukeleire D. , Kerth G. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractHost–parasite interactions are ubiquitous in nature. However, how parasite population genetic structure is shaped by the interaction between host and parasite life history remains understudied. Studies comparing multiple parasites infecting a single host can be used to investigate how different parasite life history traits interplay with host behaviour and life history. In this study, we used 10 newly developed microsatellite loci to investigate the genetic structure of a parasitic bat fly (Basilia nana). Its host, the Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii), has a social system and roosting behaviour that restrict opportunities for parasite transmission. We compared fly genetic structure to that of the host and another parasite, the wing‐mite, Spinturnix bechsteini. We found little spatial or temporal genetic structure in B. nana, suggesting a large, stable population with frequent genetic exchange between fly populations from different bat colonies. This contrasts sharply with the genetic structure of the wing‐mite, which is highly substructured between the same bat colonies as well as temporally unstable. Our results suggest that although host and parasite life history interact to yield similar transmission patterns in both parasite species, the level of gene flow and eventual spatiotemporal genetic stability is differentially affected. This can be explained by the differences in generation time and winter survival between the flies and wing‐mites. Our study thus exemplifies that the population genetic structure of parasites on a single host can vary strongly as a result of how their individual life history characteristics interact with host behaviour and life history traits.
Soil microbiome responses to the short‐term effects of Amazonian deforestation
Authors: Navarrete Acacio A. , Tsai Siu M. , Mendes Lucas W. , Faust Karoline , de Hollander Mattias , Cassman Noriko A. , Raes Jeroen , van Veen Johannes A. , Kuramae Eiko E. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractSlash‐and‐burn clearing of forest typically results in increase in soil nutrient availability. However, the impact of these nutrients on the soil microbiome is not known. Using next generation sequencing of 16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomic DNA, we compared the structure and the potential functions of bacterial community in forest soils to deforested soils in the Amazon region and related the differences to soil chemical factors. Deforestation decreased soil organic matter content and factors linked to soil acidity and raised soil pH, base saturation and exchangeable bases. Concomitant to expected changes in soil chemical factors, we observed an increase in the alpha diversity of the bacterial microbiota and relative abundances of putative copiotrophic bacteria such as Actinomycetales and a decrease in the relative abundances of bacterial taxa such as Chlamydiae, Planctomycetes and Verrucomicrobia in the deforested soils. We did not observe an increase in genes related to microbial nutrient metabolism in deforested soils. However, we did observe changes in community functions such as increases in DNA repair, protein processing, modification, degradation and folding functions, and these functions might reflect adaptation to changes in soil characteristics due to forest clear‐cutting and burning. In addition, there were changes in the composition of the bacterial groups associated with metabolism‐related functions. Co‐occurrence microbial network analysis identified distinct phylogenetic patterns for forest and deforested soils and suggested relationships between Planctomycetes and aluminium content, and Actinobacteria and nitrogen sources in Amazon soils. The results support taxonomic and functional adaptations in the soil bacterial community following deforestation. We hypothesize that these microbial adaptations may serve as a buffer to drastic changes in soil fertility after slash‐and‐burning deforestation in the Amazon region.
Dangers of broth after transplantation
Authors: Aggarwal Shikha , Sukkar Louisa , Wynter Lucy , Richards Kate , Cheung Jason , Chadban Steve J 
Published: March 2015

AbstractSerum creatinine is routinely used to monitor renal function in transplant recipients. External factors including diet, exercise and hydration status can also influence serum creatinine concentration on a day‐to‐day basis. We describe a case of a patient whose serum creatinine increased from 128 to 171 μmol/L after ingestion of creatinine‐rich (3098 μmol/L) soup. A renal biopsy was performed but revealed no cause for the rise in creatinine and by the next day, serum creatinine had returned to baseline. We conducted two experiments to examine the effect of soup ingestion by healthy volunteers. We measured the creatinine concentration of various store‐bought stock preparations and found creatinine concentrations less than one‐quarter of that contained in our patient's homemade soup. A creatinine‐rich soup (4334 μmol/L) was ingested by six healthy volunteers age 33 (± 6.5) years with baseline normal serum creatinine 68 (± 14) μmol/L. Mean (standard deviation) serum creatinine increased to 77 (± 11) μmol/L 4 hours after soup ingestion (P = 0.0015, paired t‐test). Mean (standard deviation) creatinine clearance, extrapolated from the 4 hour urine collection following soup ingestion, was high (267 ± 198 mL/min) exhibiting a supra‐normal creatinine clearance. The rate of serum creatinine rise was lower in volunteers compared with the transplant patient, consistent with the concept of renal functional reserve. Our case highlights the importance of taking dietary changes into account when interpreting serum creatinine as a measure of allograft function.
A Simple Improvement of the IV‐estimator for the Classical Errors‐in‐Variables Problem
Authors: Andersson Jonas , Møen Jarle 
Published: March 2015

AbstractTwo measures of an error‐ridden variable make it possible to solve the classical errors‐in‐Variable problem by using one measure as an instrument for the other. It is well known that a second IV‐estimate can be obtained by reversing the roles of the two measures. We explore the optimal linear combination of these two estimates. In a Monte Carlo study, we show that the gain in precision is significant. The proposed estimator also compares well with full information maximum likelihood under normality. We illustrate the method by estimating the capital elasticity in the Norwegian ICT‐industry.
The impact of dental appearance and anxiety on self‐esteem in adult orthodontic patients
Authors: Romero‐Maroto M. , Santos‐Puerta N. , González Olmo M. J. , Peñacoba‐Puente C. 
Published: March 2015

Structured AbstractObjectivesTo analyse the relationship between different dimensions of dental appearance impact and self‐esteem in adult patients undergoing orthodontic treatment, with special attention to the possible mediating role of anxiety.Setting and Sample PopulationA quasi‐experimental design was used with a matched control group (without orthodontic treatment). In each group (experimental and control), there were 85 patients.Material and MethodsThe impact of dental appearance was measured using the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ). State anxiety was assessed with the State Anxiety Inventory (STAI‐S) and self‐esteem with Rosenberg's self‐esteem scale.ResultsIn both groups (experimental and control), self‐esteem correlates negatively, ranging between 0.26 and 0.43, with all dimensions of dental appearance impact (except for the positive dental self‐confidence dimension, where all correlations were positive). Anxiety correlates positively, ranges between 0.35 and 0.44, with social impact, psychological impact and aesthetic concern, although it maintains no significant correlations with dental self‐confidence. Nevertheless, in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment, anxiety plays a mediating role between dental impact dimensions and self‐esteem, whilst for the control group anxiety only plays a mediator role between psychological impact and self‐esteem.ConclusionAnxiety plays a fundamental role in the effect of perceived dental impact on self‐esteem in adult patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. These results have important practical implications for the design of bio‐psycho‐social intervention programs that contemplate cognitive‐affective variables as an essential part of orthodontic treatment in adults.
The heterotrimeric G‐protein β subunit, AGB1, plays multiple roles in the Arabidopsis salinity response
Authors: Yu Yunqing , Assmann Sarah M. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractSalinity stress includes both osmotic and ionic toxicity. Sodium homeostasis is influenced by Na+ uptake and extrusion, vacuolar Na+ compartmentation and root to shoot Na+ translocation via transpiration. The knockout mutant of the Arabidopsis heterotrimeric G‐protein Gβ subunit, agb1, is hypersensitive to salt, exhibiting a leaf bleaching phenotype. We show that AGB1 is mainly involved in the ionic toxicity component of salinity stress and plays roles in multiple processes of Na+ homeostasis. agb1 mutants accumulate more Na+ and less K+ in both shoots and roots of hydroponically grown plants, as measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. agb1 plants have higher root to shoot translocation rates of radiolabelled 24Na+ under transpiring conditions, as a result of larger stomatal apertures and increased stomatal conductance. 24Na+ tracer experiments also show that 24Na+ uptake rates by excised roots of agb1 and wild type are initially equal, but that agb1 has higher net Na+ uptake at 90 min, implicating possible involvement of AGB1 in the regulation of Na+ efflux. Calcium alleviates the salt hypersensitivity of agb1 by reducing Na+ accumulation to below the toxicity threshold. Our results provide new insights into the regulatory pathways underlying plant responses to salinity stress, an important agricultural problem.
An insecure base: Attachment style and orienting response to positive stimuli
Authors: Yee Claire I. , Shiota Michelle N. 
Published: March 2015

AbstractIn adults as in infants, psychological attachment to close others provides a “secure base” for exploration and pursuit of opportunities. Insecure attachment is likely to interfere with this function. The present study examined the association of individual differences in adult attachment style with peripheral physiological measures of automatic orienting to several kinds of positive, rewarding stimuli. Attachment style was largely unrelated to extent of heart rate deceleration in response to the appearance of positive emotion‐eliciting images. However, attachment avoidance was associated with reduced skin conductance responding to the onset of several kinds of positive stimuli. These findings suggest that working models of relationships with close others have complex implications for the early stages of responding to opportunities for reward presented by the environment.
Evidence of a full West Antarctic Ice Sheet back to the early Oligocene: insight from double dating of detrital apatites in Ross Sea sediments.
Authors: Olivetti Valerio , Balestrieri Maria Laura , Rossetti Federico , Thomson Stuart N. , Talarico Franco M. , Zattin Massimiliano 
Published: March 2015

AbstractThe West Antarctic Ice Sheet is the most unstable component of the Antarctic cryosphere. Its fluctuations are well documented since the Pliocene, but its behaviour over the last 35 Ma is more controversial, particularly during periods of past high global pCO2 values similar to those predicted in future global climate scenarios. Here, we present new U–Pb dating of detrital apatite grains (previously dated by the fission‐track method) from Cape Roberts Project Oligocene to Pliocene marine sediments in the Ross Sea. Two past ice‐flow patterns were identified: one formed by outlet glaciers sourcing short‐travelled apatites and one, northerly directed, bringing far‐travelled apatite grains. The latter provides the first robust physical evidence for the presence and repeated expansion of an Oligocene West Antarctic Ice Sheet.