bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An evaluation of the IDEEA™ activity monitor for estimating energy expenditure
Authors: Whybrow Stephen , Ritz Patrick , Horgan Graham W. , Stubbs R. James 
Published: April 2012

Objective estimates of activity patterns and energy expenditure (EE) are important for the measurement of energy balance. The Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity (IDEEA) can estimate EE from the thirty-five postures and activities it can identify and record. The present study evaluated the IDEEA system's estimation of EE using whole-body indirect calorimetry over 24 h, and in free-living subjects using doubly-labelled water (DLW) over 14 d. EE was calculated from the IDEEA data using calibration values for RMR and EE while sitting and standing, both as estimated by the IDEEA system (IDEEAest) and measured by indirect calorimetry (IDEEAmeas). Subjects were seven females and seven males, mean age 38·1 and 39·7 years, mean BMI 25·2 and 26·2 kg/m2, respectively. The IDEEAest method produced a similar estimate of EE to the calorimeter (10·8 and 10·8 MJ, NS), while the IDEEAmeas method underestimated EE (9·9 MJ, P < 0·001). After removing data from static cycling, which the IDEEA was unable to identify as an activity, both the IDEEAest and IDEEAmeas methods overestimated EE compared to the calorimeter (9·9 MJ, P < 0·001; 9·1 MJ, P < 0·05 and 8·6 MJ, respectively). Similarly, the IDEEA system overestimated EE compared to DLW over 14 d; 12·7 MJ/d (P < 0·01), 11·5 MJ/d (P < 0·01) and 9·5 MJ/d for the IDEEAest, IDEEAmeas and DLW, respectively. The IDEEA system overestimated EE both in the controlled laboratory and free-living environments. Using measured EE values for RMR, sitting and standing reduced, but did not eliminate, the error in estimated EE.
Preliminary assessment of distribution and population size of wintering Little Bustards Tetrax tetrax in Iran
Authors: SEHHATISABET MOHAMMAD E. , ABDI FAZEL , ASHOORI ABBAS , KHALEGHIZADEH ABOLGHASEM , KHANI ALI , RABIEI KOROS , SHAKIBA MAHMOOD 
Published: April 2012

SummaryLittle Bustard Tetrax tetrax surveys were conducted in Iran in autumn and winter from 2005/2006 to 2008/2009. Across northern Iran, Little Bustard presence was confirmed at 15 of the 84 sites visited during the surveys. Three main wintering regions were identified: the Moghan Plain in the north-west of the country, the Turkmen Sahra Plain at the south-east corner of the Caspian Sea and the Sarakhs Plain in the north-east, close to the Afghan border. Up to 10,050 individuals were counted in winter 2009 in the Moghan Plain, which was recognised as the most important area for wintering Little Bustards in Iran. The species was also found in good numbers in Miankaleh, Gomishan, Soufikam, Shour Lake and Sarakhs. Flocks comprising 51 to 500 individuals were the most commonly observed and represented 32% of occurrences. A marked increase in wintering population size was noted in recent years. The main wintering period in Iran extends from November to February. At a national scale, we estimated the Iranian wintering population of Little Bustards at 5,000–10,000 individuals. This preliminary assessment suggests the need for a nationwide survey, emphasising in particular the western, south-western and central parts of the country that were overlooked in our study. It suggests further that Little Bustards in Iran would greatly benefit from national and regional conservation programmes.
Velocity contrast across the 1944 rupture zone of the North Anatolian fault east of Ismetpasa from analysis of teleseismic arrivals
Authors: Ozakin Yaman , Ben‐Zion Yehuda , Aktar Mustafa , Karabulut Hayrullah , Peng Zhigang 
Published: April 2012

We use differences between arrival times of teleseismic events at sets of stations crossing the North Anatolian fault east of Ismetpasa, where shallow creep has been observed, to detect and quantify a contrast of seismic velocities across the fault. Waveform cross correlations are utilized to calculate phase delays of P waves with respect to expected teleseismic arrivals with incident angles corresponding to the generating events. Compiled delay times associated with 121 teleseismic events indicate about 4.3% average P wave velocity contrast across the fault over the top 36 km, with faster velocity on the north side. The estimated contrast is about 8.3% if the velocity contrast is limited to the top 18 km. The sense of velocity contrast is consistent with the overall tectonic setting and inference made for the examined fault section based on theoretical expectations for bimaterial ruptures and observed asymmetry of rock damage across the fault. Our data indicate lack of significant microseismicity near the fault, suggesting that creep in the area is limited to the depth section above the seismogenic zone.
Microparticles specific for lung delivery: in-vivo drug distribution in monkeys
Authors: Verma Rahul , Misra Amit 
Published: April 2012

AbstractIn spite of extensive research in tuberculosis (TB), it is still one of the major infectious diseases and cause of high mortality worldwide. To enhance efficacy with lower dosing, newer drug delivery systems has been developed which provide targeted drug delivery and controlled release at the primary site of infection, i.e., the lung macrophage. Our lab has previously reported poly(D, L-lactic acid) (PLA) microparticles containing rifabutin (RFB) and isoniazid (INH) for pulmonary delivery and explored various facets of treatment with microparticle DPI. We have utilized this dry powder aerosol drug delivery system to deposit drugs directly at the site of infection in lungs and have been investigating such DPI as a novel approach to increase therapeutic efficacy, patient compliance and lower toxicity. Data from murine models of DPI delivery suggests that aerosolized delivery of anti-TB drugs is more effective than conventional drug therapies in maintaining therapeutic concentration at the site of infection. Most of the previous studies were primarily concerned with acute administration of drug-containing delivery systems and evaluation of their pharmacokinetic profile in rodents. The aim of present study was to evaluate pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and toxicity parameters of RFB and INH incorporated in DPI microparticles after ninety days of repeated dosing in rhesus macaques in order to establish steady-stae pharmacokinetics and preclinical safety of the formulation prior to humans clinical trials.
Extreme energy lability in human children: An overlooked and central aspect of human biology
Authors: Skoyles John 
Published: April 2012

AbstractA four year old child devotes half their total energy expenditure (TEE) to their brains. Even by 10 years-of-age it is still 30% (compared to an adult’s ≈12%). This extreme energy use results from a high brain/body size ratio – combined with a doubling of cerebral gray matter energy utilization (due to synaptic exuberance during cognitive neuromaturation).With extreme energy expenditure goes extreme vulnerability to hypoglycemia: (1) children become hypoglycemic after 24-36 hours of fast (compared to 60-72 hours in adults), and (2) their brains suffer neurological impairment (shown in disrupted P300 potentials) at a lower decrease in plasma glucose: 3.6 - 4.2 mmol L-1 in children rather than < 3.0 mmol L-1 in adults (against a normal level in both of 4.6-4.8 mmol L-1). Human biology has selected adaptations that buffer and protect children from this energy lability. A physiological one is that energy metabolism in skeletal muscles is biased towards using fatty acids, and this minimizes uptake competition of plasma glucose between muscles and the brain. Behavioral adaptations (in human hunter-gatherers) include adults cooperatively pooling high energy foods with juveniles for ≈15 years, this provides juveniles with a reliable ≈3.5-7 MJ per day.Hunter-gatherers share food with juveniles due to gossip enforced indirect reciprocity. This reciprocity depends for its existence upon adult cognitions that require prolonged energy- expensive neuromaturation. This raises the possibility that human adult cognitions are both a cause of children having extreme energy lability (by requiring prolonged energy expensive neuromaturation), and a means (by enabling indirect reciprocity) by which the risks of such lability are mitigated.
P300- like event related potential amplitude in rats is a correlate of conditioned reinforcement
Authors: Klipec William , Faux Steven 
Published: April 2012

AbstractWe have developed a methodology for recording a robust P300 event related potential (ERP) in rats. In these experiments a contingency shaped model of the human “oddball’ paradigm was employed in which rats were shaped to press a lever for food reinforcement signaled by the click of the pellet dispenser. A target tone cued the insertion of the lever that retracted after 1-sec or immediately following a single reinforced response, while a non-target tone was randomly presented. Brain activity was recorded through stainless steel electrodes implanted 1mm below the skull. Here, we compared the amplitude of the P300 response to the click of the pellet dispenser to the amplitude of the P300 response to the target and non-target tones. We found that the amplitude to food click was significantly greater that the amplitude to the target tone that cued lever insertion. Since the food click is more proximal to the primary reinforcer than the lever tone, it is a stronger conditioned reinforcer than the lever tone that sets the occasion for the food click. Accordingly we suggest that the P300 in rats is a correlate of conditioned reinforcement.
Metal-diffusion-induced ITO nanoparticles at the organic/ITO interface
Authors: Li Yun , Liu Chuan , Tong Shengfu , Pan Lijia , Pu Lin , Minari Takeo , Tsukagoshi Kazuhito , Shi Yi 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Metal-diffusion-induced indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles have been observed at the 2-amino-4,5-dicyanoimidazole (AIDCN)/ITO interface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiles reveal that the indium (In) and tin (Sn) elements of the nanoparticles are diffused from the ITO film into the organic layer. And the bonding states of In and Sn in the nanoparticles are identified to be In2O3 and SnO2, respectively. Furthermore, it is found that the ITO nanoparticles have an influence on the electrical property, causing electrical switching behaviour in the Al/AIDCN/ITO sandwich structure.
Statistical approaches to assess intraspecific variations of morphological continuous characters: the case study of the family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata)
Authors: Tixier Marie‐Stephane 
Published: April 2012

AbstractStatistical methods for delimiting species with morphological data remain woefully understudied. The present study presents statistical approaches to study the intraspecific variations of continuous characters used in species diagnosis. For this, the data set comprised 14 species of the mite family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) and 23 continuous characters (seta lengths). The statistical approaches aim to determine (i) how intraspecific variations differ depending on the characters and species considered, and (ii) how to choose the number of specimens to be considered for characterizing intraspecific boundaries. The means of the related confident limits at 95% (rCL95) of the 14 species and the 23 setae are around 20%, suggesting that 95% of the specimens of a same species are included in the interval μ ± 0.2μ. No relationship was found between seta variations and the number of specimens considered for each species, nor for seta variations and their position on the mite body. However, a correlation between seta lengths and rCL95 means was observed. An abacus was proposed to determine the coefficient that must be applied to mean seta length to calculate the lower and upper limits of the interval that will include 95% of the specimens of a same species. The higher the precision around the mean, the higher the number of specimens considered. Furthermore, this number varies considerably depending on the characters and species considered for high precisions. However, for a priori error around the mean of 15%, the number of specimens needed to characterize the intraspecific variation is quite homogeneous and ten specimens would be required. I discuss the utility of such results to resolve some persistent problems in the alpha‐taxonomy of the family Phytoseiidae but also of other taxa.© The Willi Hennig Society 2012.
Job discrimination against childhood cancer survivors in Japan: A cross‐sectional survey
Authors: Asami Keiko , Ishida Yasushi , Sakamoto Naoko 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackground:  The aim of this study was to investigate the policies to identify job discrimination by company recruiters against childhood cancer survivors in Japan.Methods:  We conducted a cross‐sectional study using a mailed questionnaire for the Japanese companies that were divided into three groups: companies listed on the stock market, companies not listed on the stock market, and public offices. We randomly selected 2000 of the 4000 listed companies and 2500 of the 4300 unlisted companies. We selected 47 public offices from prefectures and 17 from government ordinance‐designated cities. Outcomes were health certificate requirements, how to treat past medical history and present illness, childhood cancer survivors' employment experience, and company's policy for evaluating applicants based on past medical history and present illness.Results:  Response rates were 17.7% for listed companies, 28.9% for unlisted companies, and 56.3% for public offices. A health certificate was required by 86% of listed companies, 77% of unlisted companies, and 75% of public offices. However, 33% of listed companies and 36% of unlisted companies, and none of the public offices demanded it at the time of application. Small numbers of private companies (0.7% of listed companies and 1.0% of unlisted companies) and public offices (4%) reject applicants outright if they have a disease in their past medical history. Using multivariate analysis, we found that large companies and company policies were significantly associated with the demand for a health certificate at the time of job applications.Conclusions:  In Japan, employment‐related discrimination still occurs in a small number of companies and public offices.
Home mechanical ventilation in children is feasible in developing countries
Authors: Sovtic Aleksandar , Minic Predrag , Vukcevic Miodrag , Markovic‐Sovtic Gordana , Rodic Milan , Gajic Milan 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackground:  The results of many national surveys on pediatric home mechanical ventilation (HMV) in developed countries have been presented elsewhere, but data from developing countries with low national incomes are scarce.Methods:  Twenty‐nine pediatric patients, treated in the Mother and Child Institute of Serbia, who had been receiving long‐term ventilatory support at home, were surveyed. The major criterion for initiating HMV was hypercapnia, diagnosed by blood gas analysis, performed in the morning, after awakening. Other criteria were either symptoms of hypoventilation during the night associated with an apnea index of >5, or apnoea–hypopnoea index of >15, or nocturnal hypoxemia, defined as an oxygen saturation rate of <90% for >5% of total sleep time.Results:  The mean age at initiation of HMV was 9.3 years (range 0.5–17.8 years). Patients waited for HMV initiation either in hospital or at home; the mean period was 6.3 months (range 1–18 months). The subjects received HMV for a mean of 25.06 months (range 3–119 months). There was a significant difference in the duration of HMV for different underlying diseases (P= 0.046), and mechanical malfunction was strongly dependent on the duration of HMV (P= 0.011). Eleven patients underwent invasive HMV via a tracheostomy, and 18 others received non‐invasive ventilation, via nasal and full‐face masks.Conclusion:  HMV is feasible in developing countries. Valuable reimbursement policies as well as an organized and functional network are essential for its implementation, as a standard of care in leading national pediatric hospitals.
Effect of hydrocortisone therapy on severe leaky lung syndrome in ventilated preterm infants
Authors: Mizobuchi Masami , Iwatani Sota , Sakai Hitomi , Yoshimoto Seiji , Nakao Hideto 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackground:  The aim of this study was (i) to determine the incidence and risk factors of severe leaky lung syndrome (sLLS), persistent pulmonary edema characterized by massive tracheal secretions and resistance to surfactant therapy, in extremely low gestational age newborns requiring ventilatory support; and (ii) to evaluate the effects of hydrocortisone (HC) therapy for sLLS on tracheal aspirate fluid (TAF) volume and β2‐microglobulin levels in TAF.Methods:  Infants born at <28 weeks gestation requiring ventilation beyond day of life (DOL) 7 were included. Daily TAF volume changes were assessed using a TAF scoring system. Levels of TAF β2‐microglobulin, an indicator of capillary leakage, were measured at DOL0, 7, before, and 4 days after starting HC therapy (started at 4 mg/kg/day; tapered for 1–3 weeks).Results:  Of the 54 infants enrolled, 24 (44%) were diagnosed with sLLS. Lower gestational age, lower birthweight, and higher TAF β2‐microglobulin levels at DOL7 were independent risk factors for sLLS. Seventeen infants with sLLS received HC therapy starting at DOL17 (median), with subsequent decreases in TAF volume and β2‐microglobulin levels.Conclusions:  The incidence of sLLS, as defined in this study, was 44% in extremely low gestational age newborns requiring ventilator support beyond a week. HC therapy effectively reduced TAF volume and β2‐microglobulin levels, suggesting suppression of increased permeability of pulmonary capillaries in infants with sLLS.
Integrative Study of Brazilian Anurans: Geographic Distribution, Size, Environment, Taxonomy, and Conservation
Authors: Toledo Luís Felipe , Batista Rômulo Fernandes 
Published: April 2012

AbstractMost megadiversity regions lack basic wild animal diversity information such as species lists. This absence of basic knowledge restricts the development and effectiveness of conservation action plans, which are urgently needed for animal groups such as amphibians, the most threatened vertebrate group in the world. In this study, we estimated Brazilian anuran diversity based on species range distribution shapes and evaluated factors that likely affect species lists, such as current taxonomy knowledge, current number of specimens collected in each region, biome characteristics, and anuran size (snout–vent length). We were able to demonstrate differences among the distributional patterns of species within each biome and each Brazilian federative state and among certain factors that influence their diversity, such as latitudinal variation. In this integrative study, we provide zoogeographic information about the richest (in terms of anuran biodiversity) country in the world (at least 849 described species, about 60% of which are endemic), which may be fundamental to future conservation actions in Brazil.
Casting a net: fibres produced by Microcystis sp. in field and laboratory populations
Authors: Harel Moshe , Weiss Gad , Daniel Einat , Wilenz Avraham , Hadas Ora , Sukenik Assaf , Sedmak Bojan , Dittmann Elke , Braun Sergei , Kaplan Aaron 
Published: April 2012

SummaryThe reasons for the apparent dominance of the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis sp., reflected by its massive blooms in many fresh water bodies, are poorly understood. We show that in addition to a large array of secondary metabolites, some of which are toxic to eukaryotes, Microcystis sp. secretes large amounts of fibrous exopolysaccharides that form extremely long fibres several millimetres in length. This phenomenon was detected in field and laboratory cultures of various Microcystis strains. In addition, we have identified and characterized three of the proteins associated with the fibres and the genes encoding them in Microcystis sp. PCC 7806 but were unable to completely delete them from its genome. Phylogenetic analysis of the most abundant one, designated IPF‐469, showed its presence only in cyanobacteria. Its closest relatives were detected in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and in Cyanothece sp. strains; in the latter the genomic organization of the IPF‐469 was highly conserved. IPF‐469 and the other two proteins identified here, a haloperoxidase and a haemolysin‐type calcium‐binding protein, may be part of the fibres secretion pathway. The biological role of the fibres in Microcystis sp. is discussed.
Fighting for the Nusayrī Soul: State, Protestant Missionaries and the 'Alawīs in the Late Ottoman Empire
Authors: Alkan Necati 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBased on their writings, the religious beliefs of the Nusayrīs have been studied since the 19th century. But historical knowledge and information about them in the 19th century, based on Ottoman sources has been rather meager. Only in recent years this kind of research intensified. In the Ottoman Empire real interest in the Nusayrīs started during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II (1876-1909). Due to fear of infiltration of heterodox Muslims by foreigners, especially by American and English Protestant missionaries, the Sultan was pressed to attract them to the Hanafī-Sunnī school. In this process, the status of the Nusayrīs underwent changes. After summarizing the attitude of the provincial Syrian administration and of Istanbul toward the Nusayrīs in the first decades of the 19th century, the article will give an overview of the developments regarding the Nusayrīs during the Tanzimat and the Hamidian era until roughly the Young Turk revolution. The following questions will be asked: How did Protestant missionaries integrate the Nusayrīs into their millenarian belief in a new social order? By what means did the Ottoman pacifying or "civilizing" mission attempt to integrate the Nusayrīs? And how did the Nusayrīs respond to the efforts of the Christian missionaries and the Ottoman state? The article will also challenge the view that the name "'Alawī" was only used after 1920.
Natural Knowledge as a Propaedeutic to Self-Betterment Francis Bacon and the Transformation of Natural History
Authors: Lancaster James A.T. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis paper establishes the 'emblematic' use of natural history as a propaedeutic to self-betterment in the Renaissance; in particular, in the natural histories of Gessner and Topsell, but also in the works of Erasmus and Rabelais. Subsequently, it investigates how Francis Bacon's conception of natural history is envisaged in relation to them. The paper contends that, where humanist natural historians understood the use of natural knowledge as a preliminary to individual improvement, Bacon conceived self-betterment foremost as a means to Christian charity, or social-betterment. It thus examines the transformation of the moralizing aspect of Renaissance natural history in Bacon's conception of his Great Instauration.
Legende oder Sage? Der Fall Mäander
Authors: Bläsing Uwe , Atakan Asiye 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis paper focuses on two modern Turkish folktales being recounted in Afyonkarahisar (Western Anatolia). Both tales appear to have their roots in ancient Greek mythology, in which Meander is the main character. The story line is that Meander vows to the mother Goddess Cybele to sacrifice the first person coming to greet him, if she would grant him the victory in a decisive battle. The first person coming up to him after the battle turns out to be a close family member. He becomes mad with grief and kills himself by drowning in a nearby river, which is subsequently renamed in his honour. The tales bear a striking similarity to the biblical story of Jephthah (Book of Judges), which will be discussed in detail here together with other pecularities. Finally, this paper will also touch on the matter of classifying folktales: how should such stories be considered according to the definitions set by modern narratological theories, mere 'legends' (as implied by the Turkish term efsane) or rather 'myths'?