bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of vegetation on flow and sediment transport: comparative analyses and validation of predicting models
Authors: Vargas‐Luna Andrés , Crosato Alessandra , Uijttewaal Wim S.J. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThe presence of vegetation modifies flow and sediment transport in alluvial channels and hence the morphological evolution of river systems. Plants increase the local roughness, modify flow patterns and provide additional drag, decreasing the bed‐shear stress and enhancing local sediment deposition. For this, it is important to take into account the presence of vegetation in morphodynamic modelling. Models describing the effects of vegetation on water flow and sediment transport already exist, but comparative analyses and validations on extensive datasets are still lacking. In order to provide practical information for modelling purposes, we analysed the performance of a large number of models on flow resistance, vegetation drag, vertical velocity profiles and bed‐shear stresses in vegetated channels. Their assessments and applicability ranges are derived by comparing their predictions with measured values from a large dataset for different types of submerged and emergent vegetation gathered from the literature. The work includes assessing the performance of the sediment transport capacity formulae of Engelund and Hansen and van Rijn in the case of vegetated beds, as well as the value of the drag coefficient to be used for different types of vegetation and hydraulic conditions. The results provide a unique comparative overview of existing models for the assessment of the effects of vegetation on morphodynamics, highlighting their performances and applicability ranges. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
N-cadherin Restrains PTH Activation of Lrp6/β-catenin Signaling and Osteoanabolic Action
Authors: Revollo Leila , Kading Jacqueline , Jeong Sung Yeop , Li Jiemin , Salazar Valerie , Mbalaviele Gabriel , Civitelli Roberto 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT

Interaction between parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone–related peptide receptor 1 (PTHR1) and low-density lipoprotein receptor–related protein 6 (Lrp6) is important for parathyroid hormone (PTH) signaling and anabolic action. Because N-cadherin has been shown to negatively regulate canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling, we asked whether N-cadherin alters PTH signaling and stimulation of bone formation. Ablation of the N-cadherin gene (Cdh2) in primary osteogenic lineage cells resulted in increased Lrp6/PTHR1 interaction in response to PTH1-34, associated with enhanced PTH-induced PKA signaling and PKA-dependent β-catenin C-terminus phosphorylation, which promotes β-catenin transcriptional activity. β-catenin C-terminus phosphorylation was abolished by Lrp6 knockdown. Accordingly, PTH1-34 stimulation of Tcf/Lef target genes, Lef1 and Axin2, was also significantly enhanced in Cdh2-deficient cells. This enhanced responsiveness to PTH extends to the osteo-anabolic effect of PTH, as mice with a conditional Cdh2 deletion in Osx+ cells treated with intermittent doses of PTH1-34 exhibited significantly larger gains in trabecular bone mass relative to control mice, the result of accentuated osteoblast activity. Therefore, N-cadherin modulates Lrp6/PTHR1 interaction, restraining the intensity of PTH-induced β-catenin signaling, and ultimately influencing bone formation in response to intermittent PTH administration. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Denosumab Rapidly Increases Cortical Bone in Key Locations of the Femur: A 3D Bone Mapping Study in Women With Osteoporosis
Authors: Poole Kenneth ES , Treece Graham M , Gee Andrew H , Brown Jacques P , McClung Michael R , Wang Andrea , Libanati Cesar 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT

Women with osteoporosis treated for 36 months with twice-yearly injections of denosumab sustained fewer hip fractures compared with placebo. Treatment might improve femoral bone at locations where fractures typically occur. To test this hypothesis, we used 3D cortical bone mapping of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis to investigate the timing and precise location of denosumab versus placebo effects in the hips. We analyzed clinical computed tomography scans from 80 female participants in FREEDOM, a randomized trial, wherein half of the study participants received subcutaneous denosumab 60 mg twice yearly and the others received placebo. Cortical 3D bone thickness maps of both hips were created from scans at baseline, 12, 24, and 36 months. Cortical mass surface density maps were also created for each visit. After registration of each bone to an average femur shape model followed by statistical parametric mapping, we visualized and quantified statistically significant treatment effects. The technique allowed us to pinpoint systematic differences between denosumab and control and to display the results on a 3D average femur model. Denosumab treatment led to an increase in femoral cortical mass surface density and thickness, already evident by the third injection (12 months). Overall, treatment with denosumab increased femoral cortical mass surface density by 5.4% over 3 years. One-third of the increase came from increasing cortical density, and two-thirds from increasing cortical thickness, relative to placebo. After 36 months, cortical mass surface density and thickness had increased by up to 12% at key locations such as the lateral femoral trochanter versus placebo. Most of the femoral cortex displayed a statistically significant relative difference by 36 months. Osteoporotic cortical bone responds rapidly to denosumab therapy, particularly in the hip trochanteric region. This mechanism may be involved in the robust decrease in hip fractures observed in denosumab-treated women at increased risk of fracture. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
An EGFR targeting nanoparticle self assembled from a thermoresponsive polymer
Authors: Goodall Stephen , Howard Christopher B. , Jones Martina L. , Munro Trent , Jia Zhongfan , Monteiro Michael J. , Mahler Stephen 
Published: August 2014

AbstractBACKGROUNDDecorating nanoparticles with proteins, antibodies and antibody fragments allows highly specific targeting to selected cells for improved delivery of therapeutics and diagnostics. A range of particles have previously been trialled in drug delivery including liposomes, dendrimers, hydrogels and inorganic particles. Polymer nanoparticles can be rationally designed and self‐assembled with control over particle size, morphology, charge and shape, allowing for optimization of drug delivery. However, post‐functionalization of particles with antibodies or proteins can influence the self‐assembly process and creates challenges in maintaining bioactivity.RESULTSAn EGFR‐targeting scFv antibody fragment has been integrated as a hydrophilic moiety, and through self‐assembly driven by a thermoresponsive polymer, formed antibody‐targeted polymeric nanoparticles (immunoparticles) of approximately 320 nm in diameter. The binding of the scFv to native EGFR on MDA MB 468 cells and to recombinant EGFR was determined using flow cytometry and surface plasmon resonance respectively. Conjugation of the scFv to the thermoresponsive polymer did not compromise the binding to EGFR. Furthermore, cross‐linking the scFv with glutaraldehyde to stabilize the immunoparticle did not impact the binding of the particle to EGFR.CONCLUSIONThe temperature‐induced self‐assembly of immunoparticles from antibody‐conjugated polymers provides a novel method to prepare targeted nanoparticles. This methodology further provides a rapid and versatile way to build immunoparticles with multi‐targeting capability by combining different types of scFv‐PNIPAM conjugates targeting different receptors. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry
Local Analyses of Ionic Liquid/Solid Interfaces by Frequency Modulation Atomic Force Microscopy and Photoemission Spectroscopy
Authors: Fukui Ken‐ichi , Yokota Yasuyuki , Imanishi Akihito 
Published: August 2014

AbstractLocal analyses of ionic liquid/solid electrode interfaces at a controlled electrode potential are of fundamental importance to understanding the origin and properties of the electric double layer at the interfaces, which is necessary for their application to electrochemical devices. This account summarizes our recent achievements of such analyses by using the novel analytical tools of electrochemical frequency modulation AFM (EC‐FM‐AFM) and electrochemical photoemission spectroscopy (EC‐PES). Rather stable stepped structures composed of layers of ion pairs and softer solvation layers outside of the imaged layer were clearly visualized by FM‐AFM depending on the substrates. An extremely extended diffusion layer was directly observed by EC‐PES during the electrodeposition of metal ion solutes.
Human fetal growth is constrained below optimal for perinatal survival
Authors: Vasak B. , Koenen S. V. , Koster M. P. H. , Hukkelhoven C. W. P. M. , Franx A. , Hanson M. A. , Visser G. H. A. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTObjectiveThe use of fetal growth charts assumes that the optimal size at birth is at the 50thbirth‐weight centile, but interaction between maternal constraints on fetal growth and the risks associated with small and large fetal size at birth may indicate that this assumption is not valid for perinatal mortality rates. The objective of this study was to investigate the distribution and timing (antenatal, intrapartum or neonatal) of perinatal mortality and morbidity in relation to birth weight and gestational age at delivery.MethodsData from over 1 million births occurring at 28–43 weeks' gestation from singleton pregnancies without congenital abnormalities in the period from 2002 to 2008 were collected from The Netherlands Perinatal Registry. The distribution of perinatal mortality according to birth‐weight centile and gestational age at delivery was studied.ResultsIn the 1 170 534 pregnancies studied, there were 5075 (0.43%) perinatal deaths. The highest perinatal mortality occurred in those with a birth weight below the 2.3rdcentile (25.4/1000 births) and the lowest mortality was in those with birth weights between the 80thand 84thcentiles (2.4/1000 births), according to routinely used growth charts. Antepartum deaths were lowest in those with birth weight between the 90thand 95thcentiles. Data were almost identical when the analysis was restricted to infants born at ≥ 37 weeks' gestation.ConclusionFrom an immediate survival perspective, optimal fetal growth requires a birth weight between the 80thand 84thcentiles for the population. Median birth weight in the population is, by definition, substantially lower than these centiles, implying that the majority of fetuses exhibit some form of maternal constraint on growth. This finding is consistent with adaptations that have evolved in humans in conjunction with a large head and bipedalism, to reduce the risk of obstructed delivery. These data also fit remarkably well with those on long‐term adult cardiovascular and metabolic health risks, which are lowest in cases with a birth weight around the 90thcentile. Copyright © 2014 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Pain during Fallopian‐tube patency testing by hysterosalpingo‐foam sonography
Authors: Van Schoubroeck D. , Van den Bosch T. , Ameye L. , Boes A. S. , D'Hooghe T. , Timmerman D. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTObjectivesTo evaluate perception of pain during Fallopian‐tube patency testing by hysterosalpingo‐foam sonography (HyFoSy).MethodsIn this cross‐sectional study, 216 consecutive women presenting at a university fertility clinic for HyFoSy examination were included. Patients were instructed to take ibuprofen 1 hour before the procedure. Immediately after the procedure, patients filled in a questionnaire concerning discomfort or pain experienced during the process, including a visual analog scale (VAS) score for perception of pain.ResultsThe median VAS score for perception of pain during transvaginal ultrasound examination and during HyFoSy examination was 1.5 (95% CI, 1.2–1.7) and 3.6 (95% CI, 3.0–4.0), respectively. One‐third of women reported that the level of discomfort or pain during HyFoSy examination was similar to that during the preceding transvaginal ultrasound examination and 48% of women considered HyFoSy examination to be neutral/unpleasant, but not painful. There was an inverse association between both patients' age and parity and the pain experienced.ConclusionsHyFoSy examination is tolerated well and allows for reliable tubal patency testing without exposing the patient to ionizing radiation in an outpatient setting with a low technical failure rate. Copyright © 2014 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Prenatal stress increases the striatal and hippocampal expression of correlating c‐FOS and serotonin transporters in murine offspring
Authors: Bielas H. , Arck P. , Bruenahl C.A. , Walitza S. , Grünblatt E. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractPrenatal stress (PS) is a known risk factor for several psychiatric diagnoses, including schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, anxiety, and depression which have been associated with serotonin transporter (SERT) dysregulation. Moreover, long‐term effects in animal models associate with higher levels of immediate early genes, e.g. c‐FOS (up‐regulated in response to neuronal activity), in the brain of PS offspring. We therefore quantified the expression of both protein related mRNAs in adolescent BALB/c mice subjected to mild auditory stress on two separate days in mid gestation. SERT and c‐FOS consistently correlated in most brain regions of PS mice and controls. Moreover, two‐way ANOVAs revealed concomitantly increased levels of proteins, as well as of FOSL1 and FOSL2 mRNA, especially in the striatum and hippocampus of the PS offspring. Sex affected only and less consistently mRNA expression, yet interacted with PS, demonstrating that glucocorticoid receptor mRNA expression decreased in PS males but increased in PS females compared to the respective controls. This first finding of a correlation between SERT and c‐FOS protein expression affected by PS, together with related mRNAs, may be considered a new target for behavioral and treatment studies in offspring.
A family of non-sofic beta expansions
Authors: AKIYAMA SHIGEKI 
Published: August 2014

Let ${\it\beta}_{n}>1$ be a root of $x^{n}-x-1$ for $n=4,5,\ldots$ ; we will prove that ${\it\beta}_{n}$ is not a Parry number, i.e., the associated beta transformation does not correspond to a sofic symbolic system. A generalization is shown in the last section.
An Exercise Programme for Smoking Cessation: Perceptions of the Fit2quit Trial Intervention
Authors: Roberts Vaughan , Dale Leila Pfaeffli , Dorey Enid , Bullen Christopher , Maddison Ralph 
Published: August 2014

Introduction: Few trials of exercise interventions for smoking cessation have included a qualitative evaluation of the intervention from the participants' perspective.Aims: To determine the perceptions of participants who received a 6-month telephone counselling exercise intervention to aid smoking cessation.Methods: Participants in the Fit2Quit study intervention group were asked to take part in a semi-structured phone interview. All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim, and a general inductive approach to data analysis was followed.Results/Findings: Twenty participants from the intervention group completed an interview. The following themes emerged from the analyses: (1) The support people were genuinely interested in what I was achieving, (2) new awareness, new attitude, new lifestyle: I could see the benefits, (3) lack of time, willpower and money stopped me from changing and (4) I would have preferred a “more hands on” approach: Recommendations for future programmes.Conclusions: A telephone counselling intervention to enhance exercise for smoking cessation was well received. Aspects of the intervention, particularly the provision of support and encouragement from the participant support person, were beneficial. Suggested improvements were greater tailoring of the call schedule, greater face-to-face contact and provision of a buddy system or support group. Such improvements may increase adherence and, therefore, effectiveness of exercise interventions for smoking cessation.
Beneficial effects of heat-treated Enterococcus faecalis FK-23 on high-fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis in mice
Authors: Kondoh Masatoshi , Shimada Takashi , Fukada Kazutake , Morita Mayuko , Katada Kazuhiro , Higashimura Yasuki , Mizushima Katsura , Okamori Mariko , Naito Yuji , Yoshikawa Toshikazu 
Published: August 2014

A high-fat diet (HFD) is one of the causes of hepatic steatosis. We previously demonstrated that Enterococcus faecalis FK-23 (FK-23), a type of lactic acid bacteria, exhibits an anti-obesity effect in mice fed a HFD. In the present study, we examined the effects of FK-23 on HFD-induced hepatic steatosis. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups and given one of four treatments: standard diet (SD); standard diet supplemented with FK-23 (SD+FK); HFD; or HFD supplemented with FK-23 (HFD+FK). For the administration of FK-23, the drinking water was supplemented with FK-23 at a concentration of 2 % (w/w). After 11 weeks, histological findings revealed hepatic steatosis in the liver of HFD-fed mice; however, this effect was attenuated by the administration of FK-23. The expression levels of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation in the liver tissue were significantly reduced in the HFD group compared with the SD group, but FK-23 supplementation tended to up-regulate the expression levels of these genes. Our findings show that the inhibitory effect of FK-23 against hepatic steatosis in HFD-fed mice can be explained by the prevention of fat accumulation in the liver through the modulation of the activities of genes involved in hepatic fatty acid oxidation.
God and his imaginary friends: a Hassidic metaphysics
Authors: LEBENS SAMUEL 
Published: August 2014

AbstractWhat happens when you assume that the world is a dream in the mind of God, or that the world's history is a story that God is spinning? Focusing on the role that this assumption plays in the thought of Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner (1801–1854), at least as it is understood by Rabbi Herzl Hefter, I argue that this assumption generates interesting solutions to old riddles in the philosophy of religion and interesting insights into the nature of religious language.
Spatial and temporal variation in amphibian metacommunity structure in Chiapas, Mexico
Authors: Ochoa-Ochoa Leticia Margarita , Whittaker Robert James 
Published: August 2014

Abstract:Amphibians are known to be sensitive to environmental change but their responses at the level of metacommunities to short-term environmental variability are poorly understood. We used field data from two protected areas, La Pera and Nahá (Chiapas, Mexico) to test for variation in metacommunity properties for two consecutive years (2009 and 2010). Amphibians and accompanying environmental data were recorded to a standardized protocol within each landscape, in four or five transects of 50 × 2-m per patch, for 30 and 31 patches, respectively. We found 23 species in La Pera and 30 in Nahá (21 species shared). Metacommunity structure was analysed using reciprocal averaging (RA) ordination by means of metrics for coherence, turnover and boundary clumping, with Spearman rank correlation used to examine relationships with environmental variables. The metacommunity structure varied differentially among the landscapes between years, being classed as quasi-Gleasonian in La Pera in both years, but Clementsian for Nahá in 2009 and Gleasonian for Nahá in 2010. In further illustration of variation between years, in 2009 the principal community gradient (RA axis 1) for La Pera was significantly positively correlated with altitude (r = 0.36), forest disturbance status (r = 0.78), mean canopy cover (r = 0.79) and mean litter depth (r = 0.67), while in 2010 it was correlated with latitude (r = 0.38), mean grass-layer height (r = 0.38), incidence of rainfall prior to sampling (r = 0.35) and presence of temporary ponds (r = 0.45). Our findings support the notion that amphibians respond to short-term environmental changes by individualistic movement within the landscape as well as via population dynamic responses.
Real-time comprehension of gender and number in four- to seven-year-old children: a study of the relationship between Italian clitic pronouns and visual picture referents
Authors: DISPALDRO MARCO , RUGGIERO ANNA , SCALI FRANCESCA 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThe gender and number of a direct object clitic pronoun are based on the gender and number of the noun to which it refers. Grammatical gender is an intrinsic property of the lexical item that is independent from the natural sex of referents, whereas number is a non-intrinsic feature of nouns based on the conceptual level of quantity. The aim of this paper is to investigate children's ability in matching Italian direct object clitic pronouns to an inanimate visual referent on the basis of number or gender information. The dependent variables are accuracy and response time. A total of sixty-nine children aged from 4;6 to 7;5 participated. The results show that children are more accurate and faster in selecting the referent when they use number information compared to the condition in which this matching operation is led by gender.
Governing Mentalities: The Deportation of ‘Insane’ and ‘Feebleminded’ Immigrants Out of British Columbia From Confederation To World War II
Authors: Menzies Robert 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThis paper chronicles the role of British Columbian provincial authorities and medical practitioners in engineering the deportation of psychiatrically disordered and cognitively disabled immigrants out of the province between Confederation and 1939. Approximately 750 mental patients were removed from BC during the 1920s and 1930s alone, and more than 5000 had been deported from the country as a whole by the outbreak of World War II. With the use of provincial and federal government records and correspondence, institutional documents, print media clippings and patient files, I probe the professional practices and discourses that fuelled this movement to banish asylum inmates. Across these seven decades, medical authorities, in alliance with bureaucrats and various anti-immigration forces, succeeded in assembling a powerful and efficient system for screening out and expelling those new Canadians who ostensibly failed to meet the mental standards for Canadian citizenship. Bolstered by theories of eugenics and race betterment, and drawing on public fears about the unregulated influx of aliens and the associated scourge of madness, officials turned to deportation as an expedient means for ridding hospitals of their least desirable denizens. I argue more generally that the deportation of ‘insane’ and other ‘unfit’ immigrants was nourished by the flood ofnativist, rac(ial)ist, exclusionist, eugenist, and mental hygienist thinking that dominated British Columbian and Canadian political and public culture throughout this ‘golden age’ of deportation.