bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sodium, blood pressure, and ethnicity: What have we learned?
Authors: Gleiberman Lillian 
Published: July 2009

AbstractAn enormous amount of research has yielded significant knowledge about ethnic differences in sodium homeostasis and blood pressure regulation. Consistent findings such as greater sodium‐sensitivity, lower potassium excretion and high higher serum sodium levels in African Americans need further exploration to define more precise physiological mechanisms. The genetic alleles associated with sodium homeostasis in relation to blood pressure have accounted for only a small proportion of the variance in blood pressure. Several allelic variants differ in frequency among ethnic groups and heat‐adapted genetic variants have a high prevalence in low latitudes and hot, wet climates which lends support to the “sodium retention” hypothesis. The blood pressure disparities between African Americans and whites may, in part, be due to different allelic frequencies of genes associated with sodium homeostasis. However, with advances in genomics, environmental factors tend to be neglected in research. Better measures of environmental stress have recently been developed by anthropologists and should be included in research designs by investigators in other disciplines. Public health efforts should encourage food producers to reduce sodium content of its products, and physicians should encourage patients to reduce consumption of high sodium packaged and fast foods. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Autosomal and X chromosome Alu insertions in Bolivian Aymaras and Quechuas: Two languages and one genetic pool
Authors: Gayà‐vidal Magdalena , Dugoujon Jean‐Michel , Esteban Esther , Athanasiadis Georgios , Rodríguez Armando , Villena Mercedes , Vasquez René , Moral Pedro 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThirty‐two polymorphic Alu insertions (18 autosomal and 14 from the X chromosome) were studied in 192 individuals from two Amerindian populations of the Bolivian Altiplano (Aymara and Quechua speakers: the two main Andean linguistic groups), to provide relevant information about their genetic relationships and demographic processes. The main objective was to determine from genetic data whether the expansion of the Quechua language into Bolivia could be associated with demographic (Inca migration of Quechua‐speakers from Peru into Bolivia) or cultural (language imposition by the Inca Empire) processes. Allele frequencies were used to assess the genetic relationships between these two linguistic groups. Our results indicated that the two Bolivian samples showed a high genetic similarity for both sets of markers and were clearly differentiated from the two Peruvian Quechua samples available in the literature. Additionally, our data were compared with the available literature to determine the genetic and linguistic structure, and East–West differentiation in South America. The close genetic relationship between the two Bolivian samples and their differentiation from the Quechua‐speakers from Peru suggests that the Quechua language expansion in Bolivia took place without any important demographic contribution. Moreover, no clear geographical or linguistic structure was found for the Alu variation among South Amerindians. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Genetic profiling of the Azores Islands (Portugal): Data from 10 X‐chromosome STRs
Authors: Silva Francisca , Pereira Rui , Gusmão Leonor , Santos Cristina , Amorim António , Prata Maria João , Bettencourt Conceição , Lourenço Paula , Lima Manuela 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe populations from the Azores islands have been the target of several genetic studies, using data derived from monoparental and recombining genetic systems. These studies have provided a complex picture of the genetic landscape of the three groups of Azorean islands, and further data are required to assess its genetic profile. We present a study of the polymorphism in 10 X‐chromosome STR loci (DSXS8378, DXS9898, DXS7133, GATA31E08, GATA172D05, DXS7423, DXS6809, DXS7132, DXS9902, DXS6789) conducted on a total of 304 chromosomes (97 females and 110 males) of unrelated individuals with Azorean ancestry. Average gene diversity was 74.47%, ranging from 66.21% (DXS7133) to 81.19% (GATA172D05). No shared haplotypes were found. Genotype frequencies among females displayed conformity with Hardy‐Weinberg expectations for all loci. Pairwise linkage disequilibrium tests did not reveal evidences of association between the studied markers. Significant differences in allelic frequencies between the Western and the Eastern group of islands are in agreement with previous results from mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome studies, providing further evidence that the Azores cannot be considered an homogeneous population. Moreover, differences between the Western group and the North of Portugal are also reported, supporting the pertinence of a specific database for the Azores populations, on what concerns the genetic markers analyzed. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Tracing the origins of Hakka and Chaoshanese by mitochondrial DNA analysis
Authors: Wang Wen‐Zhi , Wang Cheng‐Ye , Cheng Yao‐Ting , Xu An‐Long , Zhu Chun‐Ling , Wu Shi‐Fang , Kong Qing‐Peng , Zhang Ya‐Ping 
Published: July 2009

AbstractHakka and Chaoshanese are two unique Han populations residing in southern China but with northern Han (NH) cultural traditions and linguistic influences. Although most of historical records indicate that both populations migrated from northern China in the last two thousand years, no consensus on their origins has been reached so far. To shed more light on the origins of Hakka and Chaoshanese, mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) of 170 Hakka from Meizhou and 102 Chaoshanese from Chaoshan area, Guangdong Province, were analyzed. Our results show that some southern Chinese predominant haplogroups, e.g. B, F, and M7, have relatively high frequencies in both populations. Although median network analyses show that Hakka/Chaoshanese share some haplotypes with NH, interpopulation comparison reveals that both populations show closer affinity with southern Han (SH) populations than with NH. In consideration of previous results from nuclear gene (including Y chromosome) research, it is likely that matrilineal landscapes of both Hakka and Chaoshanese have largely been shaped by the local people during their migration southward and/or later colonization in southern China, and factors such as cultural assimilation, patrilocality, and even sex‐bias in the immigrants might have played important roles during the process. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Scramble or contest competition over food in solitarily foraging mouse lemurs (Microcebus spp.): New insights from stable isotopes
Authors: Dammhahn Melanie , Kappeler Peter M. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe relationships between resource distribution, type of competition, and consequences for social organization have been formalized in the socioecological model (SEM) which predicts that ecological factors are the main determinants of female distribution. We tested this basic prediction in two solitary primates (Microcebus berthae and M. murinus) which differ in female association patterns. Using stable nitrogen and carbon isotope data of hair samples and food sources we quantified inter‐specific differences in diet. δ13C in M. berthae reflected a diet composed mainly of insect secretions. Higher within‐species as well as seasonal variation in δ13C of M. murinus indicated a wider trophic niche including plant and animal source food. Constantly elevated δ15N in M. murinus most likely reflected extended torpor during the lean season. This energy‐saving strategy together with a wider, more opportunistic feeding niche might reduce female competition in this species, facilitating smaller female ranges, and a higher association potential. In contrast, δ15N fluctuated seasonally in M. berthae, most likely indicating varying amounts of arthropod food in the diet. Intense scramble competition over small and seasonally limited resources might lead to female spatial avoidance and a reduced association potential in M. berthae. Thus, differences in female association patterns between these two solitary foragers are due to different types of competition and overall intensities of intra‐specific competition. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An ADR procedure for loss allocation in a joint defense agreement
Authors: Dauer Edward A. , Nyhart J.D. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractSuccessful joint defense agreements require a procedure by which settlements or adverse judgments can be allocated among the participating defendants. Such agreements usually preclude inter‐defendant argument during the principal trial; as a result, neither a judgment nor the terms of a prudential settlement are useful as a guide to allocating the joint loss among the participants.Submitting claims (for contribution) to formal litigation after the principal trial defeats the purpose of the joint defense agreement vis‐a‐vis future plaintiffs. Hence the need for a private ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) procedure.The following pages outline an ADR procedure specially tailored to the needs of multi‐party or multi‐chemical toxic tort litigation. The components of the process are largely well known ADR techniques, supplemented by a novel science process that addresses the unique characteristics of the allocation problem in instances of scientific uncertainty or disputed scientific causality. The process is only partly binding; while it permits litigation as a last resort, it imposes sanctions on its use. The multiple‐defendant and often multiple‐chemical dimensions of the underlying litigation also call for practical groupings of interests, to keep the complexity of the process manageable. How those groups are assembled, when necessary, is a matter of negotiation in each case. Other selected features of the process are discussed in additional, although still brief, detail in these pages.
A non‐adversary solution for employee conflicts
Authors: Robbins Lee , Deane William 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe use of corporate ombuds (“a neutral member of the corporation who provides confidential and informal assistance to employees in resolving work‐related concerns and is outside the normal management control structure”) is a growing phenomenon among large U.S. corporations. In contrast to such classic approaches to dispute resolution as grievance procedures, arbitration, and lawsuits, ombuds use non‐adversary methods. The paper closes with a detailed “idealized design” for an ombuds program usable for comparison with existing systems or as a starting point for the development of new ombuds positions.
Die Suche nach infektiösen Ursachen für Krebserkrankungen beim Menschen: wo und warum (Nobel‐Vortrag)
Authors: zur Hausen Harald 
Published: July 2009

AbstractGut 20 % aller Krebserkrankungen weltweit können derzeit auf infektiöse Agentien zurückgeführt werden, darunter auch Viren, Bakterien und Parasiten. In diesem Aufsatz werden Gründe für ihre relativ späte Entdeckung analysiert und epidemiologische Beobachtungen herausgegriffen, die auf eine mögliche Beteiligung weiterer infektiöser Faktoren bei bestimmten menschlichen Krebsarten hinweisen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf malignen Tumoren des blutbildenden Systems, Brust‐ und Kolorektalkrebsen, aber auch auf Basaliomen der Haut und Lungenkrebs bei Nichtrauchern.
Integration of remote sensing, geophysical surveys and archaeological excavation for the study of a medieval mound (Tuscany, Italy)
Authors: Campana S. , Dabas M. , Marasco L. , Piro S. , Zamuner D. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe area described in this article was ‘detected’ by the Laboratory for Landscape Archeology and Remote Sensing, University of Siena research team during aerial prospection in spring 2005. Analysis of the aerial photographs allowed interpretation of the site as a triple‐ditched enclosure. During subsequent field‐walking survey a number of archaeological artefacts were collected and mapped. Differential global positioning system (DGPS) survey confirmed the morphological pattern of the site, which seems to represent a survival of the Early Medieval Age settlement pattern on the coastal plain. The field‐walking and DGPS surveys were followed by a programme of geophysical survey combining three different methods: differential magnetics (Overhauser probe), ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and Automatic Resistivity Profiler (ARP©, Geocarta). Finally, three sample areas were excavated, mainly to test the evidence collected previously. The excavation data – ditches, post‐holes, domestic pottery, animal bones, and wall remains – support the interpretation of the site as the first earth‐and‐timber castle mound, or motte, to be identified in Tuscany. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
PHA bioplastic: A value‐added coproduct for biomass biorefineries
Authors: Snell Kristi D. , Peoples Oliver P. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe petroleum industry has optimized profits by producing value‐added coproducts, such as plastics and chemicals, in addition to primary liquid fuels. A similar coproduct strategy applied to biorefineries processing cellulosic biomass to liquid fuels and/or energy would transform a technology that is marginally economic, depending on oil prices, to a sustainable business with enhanced revenue streams from multiple coproducts. The challenge is finding a biobased coproduct that is compatible with a biorefinery scenario and where markets warrant its production on a similar scale as liquid fuels and/or energy. Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics represent a coproduct that would be entirely compatible with either production of liquid fuels by hydrolyzing the residual biomass after PHA extraction or by alternative thermochemical processes. PHA bioplastics possess properties making them suitable replacements for many of the applications currently served by petroleum‐based plastics, thus providing tremendous market potential. Proof‐of‐concept technology for production of these plastics in several crops of agronomic interest has been demonstrated. In this review, we show that the potential for developing biomass‐based biorefineries producing liquid fuels and a value‐added coproduct is both real and realizable. Examples using switchgrass producing PHA bioplastics as a coproduct are described. © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy and orofacial clefts
Authors: Collier Sarah A. , Browne Marilyn L. , Rasmussen Sonja A. , Honein Margaret A. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractBACKGROUND: Moderate caffeine intake during pregnancy is common, but little is known about its potential association with birth defects. METHODS: The National Birth Defects Prevention Study is a population‐based, case‐control study of major birth defects, excluding infants with single‐gene disorders and chromosomal abnormalities. This analysis includes infants with cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) and cleft palate only (CPO), excluding infants whose cleft was secondary to holoprosencephaly or amniotic band sequence. Mothers reported dietary caffeine intake from coffee, tea, sodas, and chocolate in the year before pregnancy and reported intake of medications containing caffeine during pregnancy. We assessed the association between dietary caffeine intake, frequency of consuming each type of caffeinated beverage, medications containing caffeine, and CL/P or CPO among infants born from October 1997 through December 2004. RESULTS: This analysis included 1531 infants with CL/P, 813 infants with CPO, and 5711 infants with no major birth defects (controls). Examining dietary sources among control mothers, 11% reported consuming at least 300 mg of caffeine per day and 17% reported consuming less than 10 mg of caffeine per day; high consumption (≥3 servings per day) was reported by 8% (coffee), 4% (tea), and 15% (sodas); medications containing at least 100 mg caffeine/dose were reported by less than 1%. Although some effect estimates were elevated for moderate caffeine intake from all beverages, estimates were closer to the null for high caffeine levels. Isolated CL/P was associated with use of medications containing at least 100 mg of caffeine per dose. CONCLUSIONS: Our data do not suggest an association between maternal dietary caffeine intake and orofacial clefts, but caffeine‐containing medications merit further study. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis of Misclassified Correlated Binary Data Using a Multivariate Probit Model when Covariates are Subject to Measurement Error
Authors: Roy Surupa , Banerjee Tathagata 
Published: July 2009

AbstractA multivariate probit model for correlated binary responses given the predictors of interest has been considered. Some of the responses are subject to classification errors and hence are not directly observable. Also measurements on some of the predictors are not available; instead the measurements on its surrogate are available. However, the conditional distribution of the unobservable predictors given the surrogate is completely specified. Models are proposed taking into account either or both of these sources of errors. Likelihood‐based methodologies are proposed to fit these models. To ascertain the effect of ignoring classification errors and /or measurement error on the estimates of the regression and correlation parameters, a sensitivity study is carried out through simulation. Finally, the proposed methodology is illustrated through an example.
Estimation of the ROC Curve under Verification Bias
Authors: Fluss Ronen , Reiser Benjamin , Faraggi David , Rotnitzky Andrea 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve is the most commonly used statistical tool for describing the discriminatory accuracy of a diagnostic test. Classical estimation of the ROC curve relies on data from a simple random sample from the target population. In practice, estimation is often complicated due to not all subjects undergoing a definitive assessment of disease status (verification). Estimation of the ROC curve based on data only from subjects with verified disease status may be badly biased. In this work we investigate the properties of the doubly robust (DR) method for estimating the ROC curve under verification bias originally developed by Rotnitzky, Faraggi and Schisterman (2006) for estimating the area under the ROC curve. The DR method can be applied for continuous scaled tests and allows for a non‐ignorable process of selection to verification. We develop the estimator's asymptotic distribution and examine its finite sample properties via a simulation study. We exemplify the DR procedure for estimation of ROC curves with data collected on patients undergoing electron beam computer tomography, a diagnostic test for calcification of the arteries.
Complementary Log–Log Regression for the Estimation of Covariate‐Adjusted Prevalence Ratios in the Analysis of Data from Cross‐Sectional Studies
Authors: Penman Alan D. , Johnson William D. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractWe assessed complementary log–log (CLL) regression as an alternative statistical model for estimating multivariable‐adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) and their confidence intervals. Using the delta method, we derived an expression for approximating the variance of the PR estimated using CLL regression. Then, using simulated data, we examined the performance of CLL regression in terms of the accuracy of the PR estimates, the width of the confidence intervals, and the empirical coverage probability, and compared it with results obtained from log–binomial regression and stratified Mantel–Haenszel analysis. Within the range of values of our simulated data, CLL regression performed well, with only slight bias of point estimates of the PR and good confidence interval coverage. In addition, and importantly, the computational algorithm did not have the convergence problems occasionally exhibited by log–binomial regression. The technique is easy to implement in SAS (SAS Institute, Cary, NC), and it does not have the theoretical and practical issues associated with competing approaches. CLL regression is an alternative method of binomial regression that warrants further assessment.
N-acetylcysteine prevents neointima formation in experimental venous bypass grafts
Authors: de Graaf R , Tintu A , Stassen F , Kloppenburg G , Bruggeman C , Rouwet E 
Published: July 2009

Abstract

Background
Neointima formation, mainly characterized by smooth muscle cell proliferation, is an important cause of venous bypass graft failure. The therapeutic potential of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to attenuate smooth muscle cell proliferation and neointima formation was examined in vivo. The effects of NAC on hyperoxia-induced venous smooth muscle cell (VSMC) cytokine production and proliferation were addressed in vitro.

Methods
Rats underwent autologous epigastric vein-to-femoral artery interposition grafting. Fourteen rats received oral NAC, and a similar control group received saline. Histomorphometric analysis was performed after 7 days or 3 weeks. Cytokine analysis and cell proliferation assay were performed in cultured human VSMCs after hyperoxic or normoxic exposure and NAC administration.

Results
NAC-treated rats displayed a threefold reduction in neointimal area, a sixfold reduction in stenosis rate, and a twofold reduction in VSMC proliferation after vein graft surgery. Incubation of VSMCs in 70 per cent oxygen stimulated the release of mitogenic inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL) 6 and IL-8. Cytokine-rich medium from these VSMCs induced proliferation of normoxic VSMCs. NAC inhibited hyperoxia-induced cytokine release and VSMC proliferation.

Conclusion
NAC attenuated neointima formation and vein graft stenosis by reducing VSMC proliferation in vivo, and prevented hyperoxia-induced cytokine production and VSMC proliferation in vitro.
Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing open and laparoscopic ventral and incisional hernia repair with mesh
Authors: Forbes S S , Eskicioglu C , McLeod R S , Okrainec A 
Published: July 2009

AbstractBackgroundLaparoscopic ventral and incisional hernia repair has been reported in a number of small trials to have equivalent or superior outcomes to open repair.MethodsRandomized controlled trials comparing laparoscopic and open incisional or ventral hernia repair with mesh that included data on effectiveness and safety were included in a meta-analysis.ResultsEight studies met the inclusion criteria. There was no difference between groups in hernia recurrence rates (relative risk 1·02 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 0·41 to 2·54)). Duration of surgery varied. Mean length of hospital stay was shorter after laparoscopic repair in six of the included studies; the longest mean stay was 5·7 days for laparoscopic and 10 days for open surgery. Laparoscopic hernia repair was associated with fewer wound infections (relative risk 0·22 (95 per cent c.i. 0·09 to 0·54)), and a trend toward fewer haemorrhagic complications and infections requiring mesh removal.ConclusionLaparoscopic repair of ventral and incisional hernia is at least as effective, if not superior to, the open approach in a number of outcomes.