bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Confocal micro-x-ray fluorescence spectrometer for light element analysis
Authors: Smolek S. , Pemmer B. , Fölser M. , Streli C. , Wobrauschek P. 
Published: August 2012

An existing micro-x-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) spectrometer designed for light element analysis (6 ≤ Z ≤ 14) has been extended to confocal geometry: a second polycapillary x-ray optic has been introduced in front of the energy dispersive x-ray detector. New piezo positioners for optimum alignment of both optics have been installed inside the vacuum chamber. The spectrometer offers now the possibility of true 3D elemental analysis in the micrometer regime. Depth resolution varies between 100 μm at 1 keV fluorescence energy (Na-Kα) and 30 μm for 17.5 keV (Mo). To further extend analytical capabilities a second x-ray tube with a Rh anode has been acquired to supplement to existing Mo anode tube. Lower limits of detection have been determined to be in the ppm region for confocal geometry. The spectrometer has been characterized and tested using different samples. Furthermore, results have been compared with SR micro-XRF to show the capabilities and limitations of this spectrometer.
Prediction of free imatinib concentrations based on total plasma concentrations in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumours
Authors: Haouala Amina , Widmer Nicolas , Guidi Monia , Montemurro Michael , Leyvraz Serge , Buclin Thierry , Eap Chin B. , Decosterd Laurent A. , Csajka Chantal 
Published: August 2012

AimTotal imatinib concentrations are currently measured for the therapeutic drug monitoring of imatinib, whereas only free drug equilibrates with cells for pharmacological action. Due to technical and cost limitations, routine measurement of free concentrations is generally not performed. In this study, free and total imatinib concentrations were measured to establish a model allowing the confident prediction of imatinib free concentrations based on total concentrations and plasma proteins measurements.MethodsOne hundred and fifty total and free plasma concentrations of imatinib were measured in 49 patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumours. A population pharmacokinetic model was built up to characterize mean total and free concentrations with inter‐patient and intrapatient variability, while taking into account α1‐acid glycoprotein (AGP) and human serum albumin (HSA) concentrations, in addition to other demographic and environmental covariates.ResultsA one compartment model with first order absorption was used to characterize total and free imatinib concentrations. Only AGP influenced imatinib total clearance. Imatinib free concentrations were best predicted using a non‐linear binding model to AGP, with a dissociation constant Kd of 319 ng ml−1, assuming a 1:1 molar binding ratio. The addition of HSA in the equation did not improve the prediction of imatinib unbound concentrations.ConclusionAlthough free concentration monitoring is probably more appropriate than total concentrations, it requires an additional ultrafiltration step and sensitive analytical technology, not always available in clinical laboratories. The model proposed might represent a convenient approach to estimate imatinib free concentrations. However, therapeutic ranges for free imatinib concentrations remain to be established before it enters into routine practice.
Moving from a universal to targeted child health programme: which children receive enhanced care? A population‐based study using routinely available data
Authors: Wood R. , Stockton D. , Brown H. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractBackgroundThere is a current emphasis on ‘progressive universal’ delivery of the UK child health programme, with a core universal service complemented by enhanced support provided according to need. In Scotland, a three‐category indicator of need, the ‘Health Plan Indicator’ (HPI) is used to identify children requiring enhanced support from the child health programme to facilitate this.MethodsRoutine child health programme and hospital delivery records for a cohort of 36 871 Scottish children were used to explore the factors associated with being identified as requiring enhanced child health programme support using multilevel logistic regression modelling.ResultsThe following factors were all independently associated with an increased likelihood of being assessed as requiring enhanced support: (i) deprivation; (ii) young maternal age, maternal smoking and drug misuse; (iii) a previous stillbirth; (iv) prematurity; (v) being small for gestational age; (vi) no breastfeeding, admission to a special care baby unit; and (vii) medical, social or developmental concerns about the baby. There was a tendency for children living in areas with higher Health Visitor staffing levels to be more likely to be assessed as requiring enhanced support but this effect was not statistically significant. There was significant residual variation between areas in the likelihood of children being assessed as requiring enhanced support.DiscussionThis study suggests Health Visitors take a complex range of factors into account when assessing which children require enhanced support from the child health programme. Health Visitors’ workload may influence the likelihood of them identifying children as requiring enhanced support but this requires further clarification. There are clear differences between areas in allocation of the different HPI categories. Further work is required to explore the relationship between being identified as in need of enhanced support, the care actually provided to children, and their outcomes.
MCAT Verbal Reasoning score: less predictive of medical school performance for English language learners
Authors: Winegarden Babbi , Glaser Dale , Schwartz Alan , Kelly Carolyn 
Published: August 2012

Medical Education 2012: 46: 878–886Context  Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores are widely used as part of the decision‐making process for selecting candidates for admission to medical school. Applicants who learned English as a second language may be at a disadvantage when taking tests in their non‐native language. Preliminary research found significant differences between English language learners (ELLs), applicants who learned English after the age of 11 years, and non‐ELL examinees on the Verbal Reasoning (VR) sub‐test of the MCAT. The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships between VR sub‐test scores and measures of medical school performance differed between ELL and non‐ELL students.Methods  Scores on the MCAT VR sub‐test and student performance outcomes (grades, examination scores, and markers of distinction and difficulty) were extracted from University of California San Diego School of Medicine admissions files and the Association of American Medical Colleges database for 924 students who matriculated in 1998–2005 (graduation years 2002–2009). Regression models were fitted to determine whether MCAT VR sub‐test scores predicted medical school performance similarly for ELLs and non‐ELLs.Results  For several outcomes, including pre‐clerkship grades, academic distinction, US Medical Licensing Examination Step 2 Clinical Knowledge scores and two clerkship shelf examinations, ELL status significantly affects the ability of the VR score to predict performance. Higher correlations between VR score and medical school performance emerged for non‐ELL students than for ELL students for each of these outcomes.Conclusions  The MCAT VR score should be used with discretion when assessing ELL applicants for admission to medical school.
Photosynthetic responses of soybean (Glycine max L.) to heat‐induced electrical signalling are predominantly governed by modifications of mesophyll conductance for CO2
Authors: GALLÉ ALEXANDER , LAUTNER SILKE , FLEXAS JAUME , RIBAS‐CARBO MIQUEL , HANSON DAVID , ROESGEN JOHN , FROMM JÖRG 
Published: August 2012

ABSTRACTIn recent years, the effect of heat‐induced electrical signalling on plant photosynthetic activity has been demonstrated for many plant species. However, the underlying triggers of the resulting transient inhibition of photosynthesis still remain unknown. To further investigate on this phenomenon, we focused in our present study on soybean (Glycine max L.) on the direct effect of signal transmission in the leaf mesophyll on conductance for CO2 diffusion in the mesophyll (gm) and detected a drastic decline in gm following the electrical signal, whereas the photosynthetic electron transport rate (ETR) was only marginally affected. In accordance with the drop in net photosynthesis (AN), energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDXA) revealed a shift of K, Mg, O and P on leaf chloroplasts. Control experiments under elevated CO2 conditions proved the transient reduction of AN, ETR, the chloroplast CO2 concentration (Cc) and gm to be independent of the external CO2 regime, whereas the effect of the electrical signal on stomatal conductance for CO2 (gs) turned out much less distinctive. We therefore conclude that the effect of electrical signalling on photosynthesis in soybean is triggered by its immediate effects on gm.
A role for oxalic acid generation in ozone‐induced signallization in Arabidopis cells
Authors: TRAN DANIEL , KADONO TAKASHI , MOLAS MARIA LIA , ERRAKHI RAFIK , BRIAND JOËL , BILIGUI BERNADETTE , KAWANO TOMONORI , BOUTEAU FRANÇOIS 
Published: August 2012

ABSTRACTOzone (O3) is an air pollutant with an impact increasingly important in our industrialized world. It affects human health and productivity in various crops. We provide the evidences that treatment of Arabidopsis thaliana with O3 results in ascorbate‐derived oxalic acid production. Using cultured cells of A. thaliana as a model, here we further showed that oxalic acid induces activation of anion channels that trigger depolarization of the cell, increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, generation of reactive oxygen species and cell death. We confirmed that O3 reacts with ascorbate in the culture, thus resulting in production of oxalic acid and this could be part of the O3‐induced signalling pathways that trigger programmed cell death.
Are Androgens Related to Aggression in House Wrens?
Authors: Cramer Emily R. A. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractElevated circulating testosterone levels are hypothesized to allow male animals to direct resources into territorial and mating behaviors at the expense of reducing paternal care of offspring. For this hypothesis to apply, testosterone must facilitate territorial/mating behaviors and have antagonistic effects on paternal care, but this pattern has only been supported in some, not all, species. I tested whether androgens correlate with aggressive behaviors in male house wrens (
Troglodytes aedon), a double‐brooded species where paternal and aggressive behaviors overlap temporally. House wrens may therefore benefit from having a hormonal mechanism that allows males to rapidly change behavioral states. However, I found no evidence that androgens (testosterone and 5α‐dihydrotestosterone) relate to aggression in house wrens: Androgens did not increase in response to playback, and endogenous‐circulating androgens were not correlated with how aggressively males responded to those playbacks. Moreover, androgen levels were low during the pre‐breeding stage of the second brood, when many males establish new territories and attract new mates. This study adds to a growing body of the literature suggesting that the relationship between circulating androgens and aggressive behavior is more complex than originally thought.
Stochastic and deterministic drivers of spatial and temporal turnover in breeding bird communities
Authors: Stegen James C. , Freestone Amy L. , Crist Thomas O. , Anderson Marti J. , Chase Jonathan M. , Comita Liza S. , Cornell Howard V. , Davies Kendi F. , Harrison Susan P. , Hurlbert Allen H. , Inouye Brian D. , Kraft Nathan J. B. , Myers Jonathan A. , Sanders Nathan J. , Swenson Nathan G. , Vellend Mark 
Published: August 2012

AbstractAimA long‐standing challenge in ecology is to identify the suite of factors that lead to turnover in species composition in both space and time. These factors might be stochastic (e.g. sampling and priority effects) or deterministic (e.g. competition and environmental filtering). While numerous studies have examined the relationship between turnover and individual drivers of interest (e.g. primary productivity, habitat heterogeneity, or regional – ‘gamma’ – diversity), few studies have disentangled the simultaneous influences of multiple stochastic and deterministic processes on both temporal and spatial turnover. If turnover is governed primarily by stochastic sampling processes, removing the sampling effects of gamma diversity should result in non‐significant relationships between turnover and environmental variables. Conversely, if deterministic processes govern turnover patterns, removing sampling effects will have little influence on turnover gradients. Here, we test these predictions.LocationThe United States.MethodsContinental‐scale, multidecadal data were used to quantify spatial and temporal turnover in avian community composition within 295 survey routes. A series of regression and structural equation models were coupled with a null model to construct statistical models describing turnover patterns.ResultsExamining explanatory variables alone or in combination showed that spatial and temporal turnover increased together, decreased with primary productivity and increased with habitat heterogeneity. The relationships between turnover and all variables became weaker when sampling effects were removed, but relationships with primary productivity and habitat heterogeneity remained relatively strong. In addition, spatial turnover increased strongly with spatial gamma diversity after sampling effects were removed.Main conclusionsOur results show that spatial and temporal turnover are related to each other through a stochastic sampling process, but that each type of turnover is further influenced by deterministic processes. The relative influence of deterministic processes appears, however, to decrease with primary productivity and increase with habitat heterogeneity across an east–west longitudinal gradient in North America.
An overview of the role of bread in the UK diet
Authors: O'Connor A. 
Published: August 2012

SummaryDespite being a staple food in the UK for centuries, bread consumption has fallen steadily over the last few decades. Average consumption now equates to only around 2–3 slices of bread a day. As well as providing energy, mainly in the form of starch, bread contains dietary fibre and a range of vitamins and minerals. The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) of adults suggests that it still contributes more than 10% of our daily intake of protein, thiamine, niacin, folate, iron, zinc, copper and magnesium; one‐fifth of our fibre and calcium intakes; and more than one‐quarter of our manganese intake. Therefore, eating bread can help consumers to meet their daily requirements for many nutrients, including micronutrients for which there is evidence of low intake in some groups in the UK, such as zinc and calcium. This paper gives an overview of the role of bread in the UK diet, its contribution to nutrient intakes and current consumption patterns in different population groups.
Hydration, water intake and beverage consumption habits among adults
Authors: Gibson S. , Gunn P. , Maughan R. J. 
Published: August 2012

SummaryTotal water intake is seldom reported in dietary surveys and hydration status is rarely measured. Although adequate intake (AI) levels have been suggested by the European Food Safety Authority, the World Health Organization and the Institute of Medicine, uncertainties and confused messages abound regarding optimum intake. This paper reviews data on water intake internationally and examines associations with beverage consumption habits of adults in the UK, as determined from secondary analysis of individual diet records. On average, total water intake among British adults was equivalent to the European AI (2 l/day for women, 2.5 l/day for men) and 75% of this was derived from beverages. Factors that correlated with high total water intake included the consumption of a variety of beverages and drinking in the evening. Total water intake (and the contribution from soft drinks) is markedly higher in the USA than in Europe.Beverage consumption habits and trends were also reviewed. In the past 10 years, water beverages have become more popular and as such the overall energy contribution from beverages has declined slightly. Most people could be encouraged to drink a variety of beverages to maintain adequate hydration and to balance the energy content according to their needs. However, further work is needed to refine recommendations for water intake, as basing these on observational epidemiological data is essentially a circular argument. A standardized measurement tool, validated against biomarkers of hydration status, would be a step forward in assessing the adequacy of water intakes at a population level. Research may also be warranted to explore the context of drinking occasions (including time of day, weekdays weekends, lifestyle and meal patterns) as these may have an impact on water intake, hydration and also energy balance.
Associations between fat, sugar and other macronutrient intakes in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey
Authors: Horgan G. W. , Whybrow S. 
Published: August 2012

SummaryObservational studies show an inverse relationship between fat and sugar within diets, described as the ‘fat‐sugar seesaw’. It has been suggested however, that this is a consequence of expressing macronutrient intakes as percentages of energy intake rather than by the dietary choices made by individuals. To test this we examined the associations between macronutrient intakes in the diets of adults (n = 1724) participating in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) and within the same adults across different days of the week. Pearson's correlations were calculated between the macronutrient intakes from fat, total sugar, intrinsic sugars, non‐milk extrinsic sugars (NMES), non‐sugar carbohydrate, protein and alcohol. Energy intakes relative to estimated basal metabolic rate (BMR) were calculated to partially account for differences in energy requirements. Pearson's correlations also examined associations between the same macronutrients in foods from the Nutrient Databank (ND), used to analyse dietary intakes in the NDNS. Correlations between fat and sugar(s) were calculated in five ways: (i) percentage energy between individuals; (ii) amount (g) between individuals; (iii) amount (g) relative to BMR between individuals; (iv) within individuals over seven days; and (v) between food items in the ND. Negative correlations were obtained between mean daily percentage energy intakes of fat and, total sugars, NMES and intrinsic sugars (allP < 0.001). However, when mean daily macronutrient intakes were expressed in weight (g)/day, these were all positively correlated (all P < 0.001). Mean estimated correlations between macronutrient intakes (g/day) for each individual across the days of the week were also positive, indicating a lack of fat‐sugar seesaw effect. Within the ND, the correlation between fat and total sugar (g/100g of food) was weakly positive (P = 0.006). Only when examining the correlation between fat and sugar(s) between individuals in percentage terms (% energy) was the fat‐sugar seesaw evident; in all other methods the correlations between fat and sugar(s) were positive. Examination of the effects of using percentage energy values to describe the macronutrient composition demonstrated that the fat‐sugar seesaw is only an inevitable mathematical consequence, rather than the result of dietary choice. Comparing diet composition in percentage terms alone can therefore be misleading. It is only when examined as absolute values (weight), as well as percentage contributions to energy, that the interrelationships between macronutrients can be studied fully.
Attitudes towards seafood and patterns of consumption in an Australian coastal town
Authors: McManus A. , Hunt W. , Howieson J. , Cuesta‐Briand B. , McManus J. , Storey J. 
Published: August 2012

SummaryRegular seafood consumption plays a protective role against chronic conditions and obesity, which account for the majority of the burden of disease in Australia. Despite public health recommendations, Australians consume less than the recommended levels of omega‐3s (n‐3) to reduce the risk of chronic disease. The best source of long‐chain n‐3 is oil‐rich fish.This paper reports on results from a community survey on attitudes and patterns of seafood consumption conducted in a coastal town in Western Australia. Data were collected through a self‐administered questionnaire and 300 valid responses were received (60.7% aged 55 years or over; 65.7% female).Weekly patterns of seafood consumption were observed. Almost all participants (93.7%) thought seafood was an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. Overall, participants (73.3%) did not perceive seafood as inconvenient to prepare, and had a high level of confidence around cooking and serving seafood. There were no gender or age differences in confidence except for those aged under 30 years with only a third (36.4%) expressing confidence in cooking and serving. All participants, across all ages and genders (78.7–90.7%) made informed decisions when purchasing seafood and they sought more point‐of‐sale information. They identified affordability, availability, easy‐to‐understand food labels and quick‐and‐easy recipes at point of purchase as the main enablers towards increased seafood consumption.
SHOULD WE FEAR QUANTUM TORMENT?
Authors: Aranyosi István 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe prospect, in terms of subjective expectations, of immortality under the no‐collapse interpretation of quantum mechanics is certain, as pointed out by several authors, both physicists and, more recently, philosophers. The argument, known as quantum suicide, or quantum immortality, has received some critical discussion, but there hasn't been any questioning of David Lewis's point that there is a terrifying corollary to the argument, namely, that we should expect to live forever in a crippled, more and more damaged state, that barely sustains life. This is the prospect of eternal quantum torment. Based on some empirical facts, I argue for a conclusion that is much more reassuring than Lewis's terrible scenario.1
PLEASURE AS SELF‐DISCOVERY
Authors: Clark Samuel 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThis paper uses readings of two classic autobiographies, Edmund Gosse's Father & Son and John Stuart Mill's Autobiography, to develop a distinctive answer to an old and central question in value theory: What role is played by pleasure in the most successful human life? A first section defends my method. The main body of the paper then defines and rejects voluntarist, stoic, and developmental hedonist lessons to be taken from central crises in my two subjects' autobiographies, and argues for a fourth, diagnostic lesson: Gosse and Mill perceive their individual good through the medium of pleasure. Finally, I offer some speculative moral psychology of human development, as involving the waking, perception, management, and flowering of generic and individual capacities, which I suggest underlies Gosse and Mill's experiences. The acceptance of one's own unchosen nature, discovered by self‐perceptive pleasure in the operation of one's nascent capacities, is the beginning of a flourishing adulthood in which that nature is fully developed and expressed.