bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is maternal education level associated with diet in 10-year-old children?
Authors: Cribb Victoria L , Jones Louise R , Rogers Imogen S , Ness Andrew R , Emmett Pauline M 
Published: March 2011

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the associations between maternal education level and diet in 10-year-old children.DesignThree-day diet diaries (child completed with parental help) were collected. Height and weight were measured in research clinics. Maternal education level was derived from a questionnaire completed during pregnancy and classified into low, medium or high. One-way ANOVA was undertaken to compare maternal education groups for nutrient intakes and the Kruskal–Wallis test used for food consumption.SettingAvon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), Bristol, UK.SubjectsChildren (n7474) who provided dietary data at age 10 years.ResultsA large proportion (60 %) of the sample was classified as plausible reporters, with under-reporting accounting for 36 %. No clear differences were found for intakes of energy or macronutrients between maternal education groups for plausible reporters. However, there were marked differences in micronutrient intakes especially for vitamin C, retinol equivalents and folate, highlighting lower diet quality with lower maternal education level. Intakes of fruit and vegetables showed a positive gradient with increasing maternal education (57 %v. 79 % consumed fresh fruit in low and high educational groups, respectively). A trend towards higher intake in the lower educated group was shown for less healthy foods (meat piesP< 0·001; sausages, burgers and kebabsP< 0·001).ConclusionsThe quality of children's diet at 10 years was related to maternal education level. Lower maternal education was associated with less healthy food choices that could be detrimental to health. Further research is needed to establish if these associations can be explained by other socio-economic factors.
Antioxidant intake from diet and supplements and elevated serum C-reactive protein and plasma homocysteine concentrations in US adults: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Floegel Anna , Chung Sang-Jin , von Ruesten Anne , Yang Meng , Chung Chin E , Song Won O , Koo Sung I , Pischon Tobias , Chun Ock K 
Published: March 2011

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate the association of antioxidant intakes from diet and supplements with elevated blood C-reactive protein (CRP) and homocysteine (Hcy) concentrations.DesignA cross-sectional study. The main exposures were vitamins C and E, carotene, flavonoid and Se intakes from diet and supplements. Elevated blood CRP and Hcy concentrations were the outcome measures.SettingThe US population and its subgroups.SubjectsWe included 8335 US adults aged ≥19 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2002.ResultsIn this US population, the mean serum CRP concentration was 4·14 (95 % CI 3·91, 4·37) mg/l. Intakes of vitamins C and E and carotene were inversely associated with the probability of having serum CRP concentrations >3 mg/l in multivariate logistic regression models. Flavonoid and Se intakes were not associated with the odds of elevated serum CRP concentrations. The mean plasma Hcy concentration was 8·61 (95 % CI 8·48, 8·74) μmol/l. Intakes of vitamins C, E, carotenes and Se were inversely associated with the odds of plasma Hcy concentrations >13 μmol/l after adjusting for covariates. Flavonoid intake was not associated with the chance of elevated plasma Hcy concentrations.ConclusionsThese results suggest that high antioxidant intake is associated with lower blood concentrations of CRP and Hcy. These inverse associations may be among the potential mechanisms for the beneficial effect of antioxidant intake on CVD risk mediators in observational studies.
COSINE: COndition-SpecIfic sub-NEtwork identification using a global optimization method
Authors: Ma Haisu , Schadt Eric E. , Kaplan Lee M. , Zhao Hongyu 
Published: March 2011

Abstract
Motivation: The identification of condition specific sub-networks from gene expression profiles has important biological applications, ranging from the selection of disease-related biomarkers to the discovery of pathway alterations across different phenotypes. Although many methods exist for extracting these sub-networks, very few existing approaches simultaneously consider both the differential expression of individual genes and the differential correlation of gene pairs, losing potentially valuable information in the data.
Results: In this article, we propose a new method, COSINE (COndition SpecIfic sub-NEtwork), which employs a scoring function that jointly measures the condition-specific changes of both ‘nodes’ (individual genes) and ‘edges’ (gene–gene co-expression). It uses the genetic algorithm to search for the single optimal sub-network which maximizes the scoring function. We applied COSINE to both simulated datasets with various differential expression patterns, and three real datasets, one prostate cancer dataset, a second one from the across-tissue comparison of morbidly obese patients and the other from the across-population comparison of the HapMap samples. Compared with previous methods, COSINE is more powerful in identifying truly significant sub-networks of appropriate size and meaningful biological relevance.
Availability: The R code is available as the COSINE package on CRAN: http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/COSINE/index.html.
Contact: hongyu.zhao@yale.edu
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
ogaraK: a population genetics simulator for malaria
Authors: Antao Tiago , Hastings Ian M. 
Published: March 2011

Abstract
Motivation: The evolution of resistance in Plasmodium falciparum malaria against most available treatments is a major global health threat. Population genetics approaches are commonly used to model the spread of drug resistance. Due to uncommon features in malaria biology, existing forward-time population genetics simulators cannot suitably model Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Results: Here we present ogaraK, a population genetics simulator for modelling the spread of drug-resistant malaria. OgaraK is designed to make malaria simulation computationally tractable as it models infections, not individual parasites. OgaraK is also able to model the life cycle of the parasite which includes both haploid and diploid phases and sexual and asexual reproduction. We also allow for the simulation of different inbreeding levels, an important difference between high and low transmission areas and a fundamental factor influencing the outcome of strategies to control or eliminate malaria.
Availability: OgaraK is available as free software (GPL) from the address http://popgen.eu/soft/ogaraK.
Contact: tra@popgen.eu
Supplementary information: Supplementary data is available at Bioinformatics online.
MrBayes on a Graphics Processing Unit
Authors: Zhou Jianfu , Liu Xiaoguang , Stones Douglas S. , Xie Qiang , Wang Gang 
Published: March 2011

Abstract
Motivation: Bayesian phylogenetic inference can be used to propose a ‘tree of life’ for a collection of species whose DNA sequences are known. While there are many packages available that implement Bayesian phylogenetic inference, such as the popular MrBayes, running these programs poses significant computational challenges. Parallelized versions of the Metropolis coupled Markov chain Monte Carlo (MC3) algorithm in MrBayes have been presented that can run on various platforms, such as a graphics processing unit (GPU). The GPU has been used as a cost-effective means for computational research in many fields. However, until now, some limitations have prevented the GPU from being used to run MrBayes MC3 effectively.
Results: We give an appraisal of the possibility of realistically implementing MrBayes MC3 in parallel on an ordinary four-core desktop computer with a GPU. An earlier proposed algorithm for running MrBayes MC3 in parallel on a GPU has some significant drawbacks (e.g. too much CPU–GPU communication) which we resolve. We implement these improvements on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 as most other GPUs are unsuitable for running MrBayes MC3 due to a range of reasons, such as having insufficient support for double precision floating-point arithmetic. Experiments indicate that run-time can be decreased by a factor of up to 5.4 by adding a single GPU (versus state-of-the-art multicore parallel algorithms). We can also achieve a speedup (versus serial MrBayes MC3) of more than 40 on a sufficiently large dataset using two GPUs.
Availability: GPU MrBayes (i.e. the proposed implementation of MrBayes MC3 for the GPU) is available from http://mrbayes-gpu.sourceforge.net/.
Contact: liuxg74@yahoo.com.cn
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are avaliable at Bioinformatics online.
The effect of lipid emulsion on depth of anaesthesia following thiopental administration to rabbits
Authors: Kazemi A. , Harvey M. , Cave G. , Lahner D. 
Published: March 2011

SummaryIntravenous lipid emulsion has proven benefit in lipophilic drug‐induced cardiotoxicity. Its effect in reversal of central nervous system depression secondary to overdose with lipophilic psychotropic agents remains uncertain. Twenty adult New Zealand White rabbits were anaesthetised with 20 mg.kg−1 thiopental and randomised to receive either 4 ml.kg−1 saline 0.9% or 4 ml.kg−1 lipid emulsion 20% immediately afterwards. Depth of anaesthesia was monitored using bispectral index (BIS) at 1‐min intervals. Duration of anaesthesia was measured as time to regain the righting reflex (ability of the animal to right spontaneously from dorsal recumbency to sternal recumbency). The BIS was greater in the control group (p = 0.011). The greatest BIS differential was observed immediately following treatment (mean (SD) BIS 75.0 (9.5) for saline vs 58.6 (10.4) for lipid, 95% CI 5.75–27.1; p < 0.001). No difference was observed in duration of anaesthesia (mean (SD) 15.5 (0.8) min for saline vs 15.6 (0.7) min for lipid, p = 0.86). Lipid emulsion administration may serve to increase central nervous system depression in the early phase of lipophilic toxin distribution.
Prognosis of ovarian carcinomas: Prediction by histoquantitative methods
Authors: Haapasalo H. , Collan Y. , Atkin N. B. , Pesonen E. , Seppä A. 
Published: March 2011

Prognosis of ovarian carcinomas: prediction by histoquantitative methodsPrediction of prognosis of ovarian carcinomas by morphometric, histopathological and clinical indices was estimated in 105 tumours. Morphometric parameters included mitotic activity index, volume‐corrected mitotic index (M/V index), volume fraction of neoplastic epithelium, nuclear area, nuclear perimeter, shortest and longest nuclear axis and form factor of nucleus. Cox's multivariate regression model showed that the clinical stage was the best predictor of prognosis followed by the M/V index, which expresses the mitotic activity as the number of mitotic figures per square millimeter of neoplastic epithelium in the microscope field. In all tumour subgroups studied the M/V index was the best prognostic factor and for stage I tumours it was the only parameter selected by the Cox's model as a significant and independent prognostic predictor. We conclude that the M/V index can be used as a significant prognostic factor in ovarian carcinomas.
Optimisation of lipase production by a mutant of Candida antarctica DSM‐3855 using response surface methodology
Authors: Liu Junhong , Zhang Yuanyuan 
Published: March 2011

SummaryResponse surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimum cultivation conditions for lipase production by a mutant strain of Candida antarctica DSM‐3855. Among four variables, initial pH, soybean meal, and temperature were identified as significant variables for lipase production by full factorial design. A mathematical model was developed to investigate the influences of three factors on lipase activity and to predict their optimum value. According to RSM, the optimum cultivation conditions for the maximum lipase production were found to be: initial pH 6.0, soybean meal 3.38% (w/v), and temperature 26 °C. Under the optimum conditions, the maximum lipase yields of 27.34 U mL−1 was obtained after 58 h of cultivation in a 15 L fermenter.
The compositional quality and volatile compounds of samples from the blend of monovarietal olive oils cultivated in Tunisia
Authors: Youssef Ouni , Guido Flamini , Mokhar Guerfel , Nabil Ben Youssef , Daoud Douja , Mokhtar Zarrouk 
Published: March 2011

SummaryChemlali olive oil has been blended with oils obtained from Oueslati and Chetoui varieties to improve the quality of the former one. Parameters such as acidity, acids compositions, phenol content, oxidative stability and volatile compounds were characterised for various blends Chemlali × Oueslati and Chemlali × Chetoui.The accumulation of volatiles originating from the lipoxygenase pathway in the monovarietal oils was different and closely dependent on the genetic store of each variety. The concentrations appeared to proportionally vary according to the relative proportion of each monovarietal oil in the mixtures. The blending process improved fatty acids by increasing the oleic acid content and decreasing the palmitic and linoleic acids levels of Chemlali oil. At 40% blending, oleic acid increased from 54% to 62%, while palmitic acid decreased from 18.59% to 16% when Oueslati and Chetoui olive oil was used.
Kinetics of colour change of bamboo shoot slices during microwave drying
Authors: Bal Lalit M. , Kar Abhijit , Satya Santosh , Naik Satya N. 
Published: March 2011

SummaryThe effect of microwave power on colour change kinetics of bamboo shoot slices was investigated during microwave drying. Colour changes were quantified by tri‐stimulus Hunter L (whiteness/darkness), a (redness/greenness), and b (yellowness/blueness) system. These values were also used for calculation of total colour change (ΔE), chroma, hue angle, and browning index (BI). Microwave drying as expected changed colour parameters because of browning. The values of L and b decreased, while values of a and ΔE increased during drying. Mathematical modelling of colour change kinetics indicated that L, b, chroma and BI could be defined using a first‐order kinetic model, while a, ΔE and hue angle could be defined using a zero‐order kinetic model. Considering together colour deterioration and quality of dried bamboo shoot slices at higher power reveals the need of process standardisation for getting good quality product.
Interpretation of viscoelastic behaviour of sweet cherries using rheological models
Authors: Moghimi Ali , Saiedirad Mohammad Hosaien , Moghadam Ebrahim Ganji 
Published: March 2011

SummaryViscoelastic behaviour of some commercial sweet cherry cultivars of Iran has been studied in current research. For this purpose, stress relaxation test was conducted on five cultivars of sweet cherry including Siah Mashhad, Abarde, Victoria, Dovom Ras and Tak Dane. Two common models (Generalised Maxwell model and Peleg model) were fitted to the experimental data. Both models could describe stress relaxation behaviour of cherries (R2 = 0.99), but Generalised Maxwell model had lower root mean square error (RMSE) than Peleg model. Based on analysis of stress relaxation data using models constants, Tak Dane exhibited more solid properties, while Victoria showed less elastic behaviour than other cultivars. The results revealed that relaxation ratio (R%) and the area under the stress relaxation curve could be effective alternative to models with easier mathematical procedure.
Sensory aspects of liquid smoking of giant river prawn: comparison with traditional smoking
Authors: Portella Carolina G. , Sant’Ana Léa S. , Valenti Wagner C. 
Published: March 2011

SummaryThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of liquid smoke on the sensory characteristics of giant river prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). The sensorial profile was plotted using quantitative descriptive analysis and assessment of the acceptability of samples of beheaded and peeled and only beheaded freshwater prawns smoked using the traditional method or liquid smoke (LS). The prawns subjected to LS were characterised by their aroma, artificial flavour and bitter flavour. The beheaded, peeled prawns were found to be more acceptable, confirming that the presence of the shell is a limiting factor in the acceptability of smoked prawns.
Microbial spoilage analysis and its effect on chemical changes and shelf‐life of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) stored in air at various temperatures
Authors: Boziaris Ioannis S. , Kordila Aikaterini , Neofitou Christos 
Published: March 2011

SummaryMicrobial activity and spoilage of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) from Greek temperate waters, stored in air at 20, 5 and 0 °C was assessed. Microbial spoilage population, Total Volatile‐Base Nitrogen (TVB‐N), Trimethylamine‐Nitrogen (TMA‐N), pH and organoleptic changes were determined. Shelf‐life of Norway lobster stored at 20, 5 and 0 °C was 24, 72 and 96 h respectively. The product was spoiled due to the development of TVB‐N and melanosis of the carapace, as TVB‐N was apparent from the early stages of storage and correlated very well with microbial growth and shelf‐life. Pseudomonas sp. was the predominant spoilage bacterium. Product rejection coincided with TVB‐N levels of 330–400 mg kg−1 and Pseudomonas sp. population level of about 5 × 105 cfu g−1. Pseudomonas sp. and TVB‐N are presumably the Specific Spoilage Organism and the Chemical Spoilage Index of the product.
Relationships between critical thinking ability and nursing competence in clinical nurses
Authors: Chang Mei Jen , Chang Ying‐Ju , Kuo Shih‐Hsien , Yang Yi‐Hsin , Chou Fan‐Hao 
Published: March 2011

Aim and objective.  To examine the relationships between critical thinking ability and nursing competence in clinical nurses.Background.  There are few evidance‐based data related to the relationship between critical thinking ability and nursing competence of clinical nurses.Design.  A cross‐sectional and correlation research design was used.Methods.  A total of 570 clinical nurses at a medical centre in southern Taiwan were recruited into this study. Two self‐report questionnaires, the Watson‐Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) and the Nursing Competence Scale (NCS), were used to collect data.Results.  The critical thinking ability of clinical nurses was at the middle level. The highest score for the subscales of the WGCTA was ‘interpretation ability’ and the lowest was ‘inference ability’. The nursing competence of clinical nurses was at the middle level and above. The highest score for the subscales was ‘caring ability’ and the lowest was ‘research ability’. Critical thinking ability had a significantly positive correlation with nursing competence. Critical thinking, working years, educational levels and position/title were the significant predictors of nursing competence, accounting for 32·9% of the variance.Conclusions.  Critical thinking ability had a significantly positive correlation with nursing competence. The critical thinking ability of clinical nurses with a master’s degree was significantly better than those with a bachelor’s degree or a diploma and nurses with over five working years was significantly better than those with under five years.Relevance to clinical practice.  The findings of this study can further serve as a reference for nursing education to improve nursing curricula and teaching strategies for nurse preparation. It could also be a guideline for nursing administration personnel in on‐the‐job training and orientation programs for nursing staff.
Is discharge knee range of motion a useful and relevant clinical indicator after total knee replacement? Part 1
Authors: Naylor Justine M. , Ko Victoria , Rougellis Steve , Green Nick , Hackett Danella , Magrath Ann , Barnett Anne , Kim Grace , White Megan , Nathan Priya , Harmer Alison , Mackey Martin , Heard Rob , Yeo Anthony E. T. , Adie Sam , Harris Ian A. , Mittal Rajat , Cho Adam 
Published: March 2011

AbstractObjectives  Knee range of motion (ROM) at the point of discharge from acute care is used as a clinical indicator to benchmark performance between hospital services after total knee replacement (TKR). The utility of the current benchmark, including whether discharge ROM varies between hospitals, is unknown. This study aimed to determine whether the benchmark [≥80 degrees flexion and ≤5 degrees fixed flexion (extension)] is realistic and whether the service provider is a predictor of knee ROM.Methods  A prospective, observational cohort study was conducted involving 176 TKR patients from four hospitals. Knee ROM was photographically assessed preoperatively and at discharge. ‘Hospital’, typical patient demographic data and preoperative ROM were identified a priori as potential predictors of knee ROM.Results  Overall, 2% [95% CI (confidence interval) 1–6] of patients attained the ROM benchmark. Individual hospital attainment of the benchmark ranged 0–7% with a significant difference (P = 0.047) evident between the best performer and the remaining hospitals. The overall rates of attainment of the individual flexion (25%, 95% CI 19–32) and extension (15%, 95% CI 10–21) components were similarly low, although the scatter between hospitals was large [flexion (2–47%); extension (8–44%)]. Preoperative flexion and hospital were significant (P = 0.002) predictors of discharge flexion, explaining 21% of the variance. Similarly, hospital and preoperative extension together with gender were significant (P < 0.001) predictors of discharge extension, explaining 26% of the variance.Conclusions  A small minority of patients attained the knee ROM benchmark, indicating the existing standard is unrealistic. Nevertheless, that ‘hospital’ is an important predictor confirms the potential of ROM for benchmarking purposes. Differences in physiotherapy practices may contribute to inter‐hospital variation in discharge knee ROM together with other undefined factors. The causal relationships explaining the variation and the relationship between discharge ROM and longer‐term outcome are avenues for future exploration which will help define the clinical relevance of the indicator.
High‐throughput, subpixel precision analysis of bacterial morphogenesis and intracellular spatio‐temporal dynamics
Authors: Sliusarenko Oleksii , Heinritz Jennifer , Emonet Thierry , Jacobs‐Wagner Christine 
Published: March 2011

SummaryBacteria display various shapes and rely on complex spatial organization of their intracellular components for many cellular processes. This organization changes in response to internal and external cues. Quantitative, unbiased study of these spatio‐temporal dynamics requires automated image analysis of large microscopy datasets. We have therefore developed MicrobeTracker, a versatile and high‐throughput image analysis program that outlines and segments cells with subpixel precision, even in crowded images and mini‐colonies, enabling cell lineage tracking. MicrobeTracker comes with an integrated accessory tool, SpotFinder, which precisely tracks foci of fluorescently labelled molecules inside cells. Using MicrobeTracker, we discover that the dynamics of the extensively studied Escherichia coli Min oscillator depends on Min protein concentration, unveiling critical limitations in robustness within the oscillator. We also find that the fraction of MinD proteins oscillating increases with cell length, indicating that the oscillator has evolved to be most effective when cells attain an appropriate length. MicrobeTracker was also used to uncover novel aspects of morphogenesis and cell cycle regulation in Caulobacter crescentus. By tracking filamentous cells, we show that the chromosomal origin at the old‐pole is responsible for most replication/separation events while the others remain largely silent despite contiguous cytoplasm. This surprising position‐dependent silencing is regulated by division.