bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Renal scarring and chronic kidney disease in children with spina bifida in a multidisciplinary Malaysian centre
Authors: Kanaheswari Yoganathan , Mohd Rizal Abdul Manaf 
Published: June 2015

AimsThe aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of renal cortical scarring and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children with neurogenic bladder secondary to spina bifida (SB) managed at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre. The secondary objective was to identify the clinical factors associated with these adverse outcomes.MethodsThe medical records of 56 children managed from 1997 were available. Socio‐demographic and clinical data for SB children managed for a minimum of 2 years (n = 45) were reviewed. This included age at referral, gender, ethnicity, duration of care, type of SB lesion, presence of vesico‐ureteric reflux (VUR), symptomatic urinary tract infections, bladder trabeculation, catheterisations and renal function.ResultsForty‐nine per cent of SB lesions were open myelomeningocoele, 40% were closed lesions and 11% were occult. Majority (96%) were at lumbar L3 or below. Twenty‐nine children (64.5%) were referred before 6 months of age (mean15.8 months; range newborn to 125 months). Thirty‐five (77.8%) had neurogenic bladder and 31(69%) had neurogenic bowel. Sixteen developed renal scarring and six, CKD. Late referral (≥6 months of age), small kidneys at referral, dilating VUR and bladder trabeculation were significant independent factors associated with scarring. On multivariate analysis, late referral (odds ratio (OR) 17.4; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.26–238.7) and dilating VUR (OR 137.0; CI 6.4–2921.1) remained significant.ConclusionPrevention of renal scarring and CKD remains a challenge in Malaysia even with multidisciplinary proactive care of SB children. Early referrals and more stringent management strategies for dilating VUR are still required.
Gender‐specific factors associated with shorter sleep duration at age 3 years
Authors: Plancoulaine Sabine , Lioret Sandrine , Regnault Nolwenn , Heude Barbara , Charles Marie‐Aline ,   the Eden Mother–Child Cohort Study Group
Published: June 2015

SummaryTotal sleep duration has been decreasing among children in the last decades. Short sleep duration (SSD) has been associated with deleterious health consequences, such as excess weight/obesity. Risk factors for SSD have already been studied among school‐aged children and adolescents, but inconsistent results have been reported regarding possible gender differences. Studies reporting such relationships are scarce in preschoolers, despite the importance of this period for adopting healthy behaviour. We aimed to investigate factors associated with SSD in 3‐year‐old boys (n = 546) and girls (n = 482) in a French Mother–Child Cohort (EDEN Study). Children were born between 2003 and 2006 in two French university hospitals. Clinical examinations and parent self‐reported questionnaires allowed us to collect sociodemographic (e.g. income, education, family situation, child‐minding system), maternal [e.g. body mass index (BMI), parity, depression, breastfeeding duration] and child's characteristics (e.g. gender, birth weight, term, physical activity and TV viewing duration, food consumption, usual sleep time). Sleep duration/24‐h period was calculated and SSD was defined as <12 h. Analyses were performed using logistic regression. The mean sleep duration was 12 h 35 ± 56 min, with 91% of the children napping. Patterns of risk factors associated with SSD differed according to gender. In addition to parental presence when falling asleep, short sleep duration was associated strongly positively with high BMI Z‐score and TV viewing duration among boys and with familial home child‐minding and lower scores on the ‘fruits and vegetables’ dietary pattern among girls. These results suggest either a patterning of parental behaviours that differs according to gender, or a gender‐specific sleep physiology, or both.
REM sleep behaviour disorder is associated with lower fast and higher slow sleep spindle densities
Authors: O'Reilly Christian , Godin Isabelle , Montplaisir Jacques , Nielsen Tore 
Published: June 2015

SummaryTo investigate differences in sleep spindle properties and scalp topography between patients with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) and healthy controls, whole‐night polysomnograms of 35 patients diagnosed with RBD and 35 healthy control subjects matched for age and sex were compared. Recordings included a 19‐lead 10–20 electroencephalogram montage and standard electromyogram, electrooculogram, electrocardiogram and respiratory leads. Sleep spindles were automatically detected using a standard algorithm, and their characteristics (amplitude, duration, density, frequency and frequency slope) compared between groups. Topological analyses of group‐discriminative features were conducted. Sleep spindles occurred at a significantly (e.g. t34 = −4.49; P = 0.00008 for C3) lower density (spindles∙min−1) for RBD (mean ± SD: 1.61 ± 0.56 for C3) than for control (2.19 ± 0.61 for C3) participants. However, when distinguishing slow and fast spindles using thresholds individually adapted to the electroencephalogram spectrum of each participant, densities smaller (31–96%) for fast but larger (20–120%) for slow spindles were observed in RBD in all derivations. Maximal differences were in more posterior regions for slow spindles, but over the entire scalp for fast spindles. Results suggest that the density of sleep spindles is altered in patients with RBD and should therefore be investigated as a potential marker of future neurodegeneration in these patients.
Various Ways to Understand Other Minds: Towards a Pluralistic Approach to the Explanation of Social Understanding
Authors: Fiebich Anika , Coltheart Max 
Published: June 2015

AbstractIn this article, we propose a pluralistic approach to the explanation of social understanding that integrates literature from social psychology with the theory of mind debate. Social understanding in everyday life is achieved in various ways. As a rule of thumb we propose that individuals make use of whatever procedure is cognitively least demanding to them in a given context. Aside from theory and simulation, associations of behaviors with familiar agents play a crucial role in social understanding. This role has been neglected so far. We illustrate the roles of fluency and associations in social understanding in false belief tasks.
Descriptions Which Have Grown Capital Letters
Authors: Rabern Brian 
Published: June 2015

AbstractAlmost entirely ignored in the linguistic theorising on names and descriptions is a hybrid form of expression which, like definite descriptions, begin with ‘the’ but which, like proper names, are capitalised and seem to lack descriptive content. These are expressions such as the following, ‘the Holy Roman Empire’, ‘the Mississippi River’, or ‘the Space Needle’. Such capitalised descriptions are ubiquitous in natural language, but to which linguistic categories do they belong? Are they simply proper names? Or are they definite descriptions with unique orthography? Or are they something else entirely? This article assesses two obvious assimilation strategies: (i) assimilation to proper names and (ii) assimilation to definite descriptions. It is argued that both of these strategies face major difficulties. The primary goal is to lay the groundwork for a linguistic analysis of capitalised descriptions. Yet, the hope is that clearing the ground on capitalised descriptions may reveal useful insights for the on‐going research into the semantics and syntax of their lower‐case or ‘the’‐less relatives.
Conscious Control over Action
Authors: Shepherd Joshua 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThe extensive involvement of nonconscious processes in human behaviour has led some to suggest that consciousness is much less important for the control of action than we might think. In this article I push against this trend, developing an understanding of conscious control that is sensitive to our best models of overt (that is, bodily) action control. Further, I assess the cogency of various zombie challenges—challenges that seek to demote the importance of conscious control for human agency. I argue that though nonconscious contributions to action control are evidently robust, these challenges are overblown.
Biologic agents in the treatment of glomerulonephritides
Authors: Yeo See Cheng , Liew Adrian 
Published: June 2015

AbstractCurrent immunosuppression strategies in the treatment of glomerulonephritides remain unsatisfactory, especially in glomerular diseases that are frequently relapsing or are resistant to treatment. Toxicities associated with the use of drugs with non‐specific targets for the immune response result in treatment non‐compliance, and increase morbidity and mortality in these patients. Advances in our understanding of the immunopathogenesis of glomerulonephritis and the availability of biologics have led to their successful use in the treatment of immune‐mediated glomerular diseases. Biologics are usually very large complex molecules, often produced using recombinantDNAtechnology and manufactured in a living system such as a microorganism, or plant or animal cells. They are novel agents that can target specific immune cell types, cytokines or immune pathways involved in the pathogenesis of these disorders. It is attractive to consider that, given their specific mode of action, these agents can potentially offer a more directed and effective immunosuppression, with side‐effect profiles that are much more desirable. However, there have been few randomized controlled trials comparing biologic agents to conventional immunosuppression, and in many of these studies the side‐effect profiles have been disappointingly similar. In this review, we will examine the rationale, efficacy and safety of some commonly used biologics in the treatment of primary and secondary glomerulonephritides. We will also discuss some of the key challenges that may be encountered with the use of biologics in treating glomerulonephritis in the future.
Association of herbal and dietary supplements with progression and complications of chronic kidney disease: A prospective cohort study
Authors: Tangkiatkumjai Mayuree , Boardman Helen , Praditpornsilpa Kearkiat , Walker Dawn‐Marie 
Published: June 2015

AbstractAimTo determine associations between herbal and dietary supplement (HDS) use and the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and associations of HDS with uncontrolled hyperphosphataemia in patients with CKD.MethodThe cohort study recruited 406 Thai outpatients with stage 3–5 CKD from two kidney clinics of which 357 were followed up over 12 months. Patients receiving renal replacement therapy prior to recruitment were excluded. Participants were interviewed regarding their HDS use, dietary intake and conventional medication adherence using a questionnaire. The primary outcome was a composite of a decline of at least 5 mL/min per 1.73 m2 per year of estimated glomerular filtration rate and end stage renal disease. Serum creatinine, serum levels of potassium and phosphate were extracted from their medical notes over the 12 months. χ2 tests and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to ascertain any associations.ResultsDespite no association between HDS and the progression of CKD over a one‐year period (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66–2.03), two patients had acute kidney injury, which may be related to an unknown Chinese herbal medicine, or river spiderwort combined with diclofenac reported in the medical notes. The use of HDS was associated with uncontrolled hyperphosphataemia (adjusted OR 3.53, 95%CI 1.20–10.43).ConclusionsThe findings suggest that HDS are likely to be related to acute kidney injury rather than the progression of CKD in Thai patients with CKD. The products were associated with uncontrolled hyperphosphataemia. Patients who have CKD and use HDS should be closely monitored regarding their kidney function and electrolytes.
Nested radiations and the pulse of angiosperm diversification: increased diversification rates often follow whole genome duplications
Authors: Tank David C. , Eastman Jonathan M. , Pennell Matthew W. , Soltis Pamela S. , Soltis Douglas E. , Hinchliff Cody E. , Brown Joseph W. , Sessa Emily B. , Harmon Luke J. 
Published: June 2015

Summary

Our growing understanding of the plant tree of life provides a novel opportunity to uncover the major drivers of angiosperm diversity.

Using a time‐calibrated phylogeny, we characterized hot and cold spots of lineage diversification across the angiosperm tree of life by modeling evolutionary diversification using stepwise AIC (MEDUSA). We also tested the whole‐genome duplication (WGD) radiation lag‐time model, which postulates that increases in diversification tend to lag behind established WGD events.

Diversification rates have been incredibly heterogeneous throughout the evolutionary history of angiosperms and reveal a pattern of ‘nested radiations’ – increases in net diversification nested within other radiations. This pattern in turn generates a negative relationship between clade age and diversity across both families and orders. We suggest that stochastically changing diversification rates across the phylogeny explain these patterns. Finally, we demonstrate significant statistical support for the WGD radiation lag‐time model.

Across angiosperms, nested shifts in diversification led to an overall increasing rate of net diversification and declining relative extinction rates through time. These diversification shifts are only rarely perfectly associated with WGD events, but commonly follow them after a lag period.
Leibniz on Causation – Part 1
Authors: Jorati Julia 
Published: June 2015

AbstractLeibniz holds that created substances do not causally interact with each other but that there is causal activity within each such creature. Every created substance constantly changes internally, and each of these changes is caused by the substance itself or by its prior states. Leibniz describes this kind of intra‐substance causation both in terms of final causation and in terms of efficient causation. How exactly this works, however, is highly controversial. I will identify what I take to be the major interpretive issues surrounding Leibniz's views on causation and examine several influential interpretations of these views. In ‘Leibniz on Causation – Part 2’ I will then take a closer look at final causation.
The Hard Problem & Its Explanatory Targets
Authors: Majeed Raamy 
Published: June 2015

AbstractTwo decades in, whether we are making any progress towards solving, or even explaining away, what David Chalmers calls (1995) the ‘hard’ problem of consciousness is as controversial as ever. This paper aims to argue that there are, in actual fact, two explanatory targets associated with the hard problem. Moreover, this in turn has repercussions for how we assess the explanatory merits of any proposed solution to the problem. The paper ends with a brief exposition of how the present distinction goes beyond similar ones already made by respondents toJosephLevine's (1983) explanatory gap.
Divining the Buddha's Arrival
Authors: Sasson Vanessa 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThe Buddha's hagiography is replete with references to divination. This is particularly the case in the earlier part of his hagiography, before he achieves awakening. This paper will consider some of the episodes in his story that assume divination practices and will argue that his hagiography cannot be fully appreciated without them. Moreover, this paper will argue that divination, in his hagiography, was fully expected to work.
Patient reported outcomes of the ­clinical use of a proprietary topical dry mouth product
Authors: Epstein Joel B. , Villines Dana C. , Sroussi Herve Y. 
Published: June 2015

ABSTRACTPurposeTo present patient reported changes in oral symptoms in response to an open‐label product trial conducted in patients self‐identifying as having Sjögren's syndrome.MethodsA survey was conducted in conjunction with the Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation and 151 foundation members completed a survey rating their common oral symptoms, based upon the Vanderbilt Head and Neck Symptom Survey before and after use of the trial products, including rinse, ­lozenges, gel, and spray.ResultsSubjects reported multiple oral symptoms with the highest rated symptoms involving dry mouth with 80% of symptoms showing statistically significant reduction from pre‐ to posttest. The largest symptom reductions were in dry mouth symptoms and dietary problems.ConclusionsSymptoms of dry mouth were improved with use of MedActive® products. Increased ease of taking oral medications also was reported. Improvement in mouth/throat pain was noted. Subjects reported considerable effect of the test product upon dry mouth and oral symptoms.
CARMO: a comprehensive annotation platform for functional exploration of rice multi‐omics data
Authors: Wang Jiawei , Qi Meifang , Liu Jian , Zhang Yijing 
Published: June 2015

SummaryHigh‐throughput technology is gradually becoming a powerful tool for routine research in rice. Interpretation of biological significance from the huge amount of data is a critical but non‐trivial task, especially for rice, for which gene annotations rely heavily on sequence similarity rather than direct experimental evidence. Here we describe the annotation platform for comprehensive annotation of rice multi‐omics data (CARMO), which provides multiple web‐based analysis tools for in‐depth data mining and visualization. The central idea involves systematic integration of 1819 samples from omics studies and diverse sources of functional evidence (15 401 terms), which are further organized into gene sets and higher‐level gene modules. In this way, the high‐throughput data may easily be compared across studies and platforms, and integration of multiple types of evidence allows biological interpretation from the level of gene functional modules with high confidence. In addition, the functions and pathways for thousands of genes lacking description or validation may be deduced based on concerted expression of genes within the constructed co‐expression networks or gene modules. Overall, CARMO provides comprehensive annotations for transcriptomic datasets, epi‐genomic modification sites, single nucleotide polymorphisms identified from genome re‐sequencing, and the large gene lists derived from these omics studies. Well‐organized results, as well as multiple tools for interactive visualization, are available through a user‐friendly web interface. Finally, we illustrate how CARMO enables biological insights using four examples, demonstrating that CARMO is a highly useful resource for intensive data mining and hypothesis generation based on rice multi‐omics data. CARMO is freely available online (http://bioinfo.sibs.ac.cn/carmo).
An evolutionarily conserved gene, FUWA, plays a role in determining panicle architecture, grain shape and grain weight in rice
Authors: Chen Jun , Gao He , Zheng Xiao‐Ming , Jin Mingna , Weng Jian‐Feng , Ma Jin , Ren Yulong , Zhou Kunneng , Wang Qi , Wang Jie , Wang Jiu‐Lin , Zhang Xin , Cheng Zhijun , Wu Chuanyin , Wang Haiyang , Wan Jian‐Min 
Published: June 2015

SummaryPlant breeding relies on creation of novel allelic combinations for desired traits. Identification and utilization of beneficial alleles, rare alleles and evolutionarily conserved genes in the germplasm (referred to as ‘hidden’ genes) provide an effective approach to achieve this goal. Here we show that a chemically induced null mutation in an evolutionarily conserved gene, FUWA, alters multiple important agronomic traits in rice, including panicle architecture, grain shape and grain weight. FUWA encodes an NHL domain‐containing protein, with preferential expression in the root meristem, shoot apical meristem and inflorescences, where it restricts excessive cell division. Sequence analysis revealed that FUWA has undergone a bottleneck effect, and become fixed in landraces and modern cultivars during domestication and breeding. We further confirm a highly conserved role of FUWA homologs in determining panicle architecture and grain development in rice, maize and sorghum through genetic transformation. Strikingly, knockdown of the FUWA transcription level by RNA interference results in an erect panicle and increased grain size in both indica and japonica genetic backgrounds. This study illustrates an approach to create new germplasm with improved agronomic traits for crop breeding by tapping into evolutionary conserved genes.
Biomarkers for differentiation of causes of respiratory distress in dogs and cats: Part 2 – Lower airway, thromboembolic, and inflammatory diseases
Authors: Smith Katherine F. , Quinn Rebecca L. , Rahilly Louisa J. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractObjectivesTo review the current veterinary and relevant human literature regarding biomarkers of respiratory diseases leading to dyspnea and to summarize the availability, feasibility, and practicality of using respiratory biomarkers in the veterinary setting.Data SourcesVeterinary and human medical literature: original research articles, scientific reviews, consensus statements, and recent textbooks.Human Data SynthesisNumerous biomarkers have been evaluated in people for discriminating respiratory disease processes with varying degrees of success.Veterinary Data SynthesisAlthough biomarkers should not dictate clinical decisions in lieu of gold standard diagnostics, their use may be useful in directing care in the stabilization process. Serum immunoglobulins have shown promise as an indicator of asthma in cats. A group of biomarkers has also been evaluated in exhaled breath. Of these, hydrogen peroxide has shown the most potential as a marker of inflammation in asthma and potentially aspiration pneumonia, but methods for measurement are not standardized. D‐dimers may be useful in screening for thromboembolic disease in dogs. There are a variety of markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, which are being evaluated for their ability to assess the severity and type of underlying disease process. Of these, amino terminal pro‐C‐type natriuretic peptide may be the most useful in determining if antibiotic therapy is warranted. Although critically evaluated for their use in respiratory disorders, many of the biomarkers which have been evaluated have been found to be affected by more than one type of respiratory or systemic disease.ConclusionAt this time, there are point‐of‐care biomarkers that have been shown to reliably differentiate between causes of dyspnea in dogs and cats. Future clinical research is warranted to understand of how various diseases affect the biomarkers and more bedside tests for their utilization.