bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Temporal changes in the structure of the crustacean decapod assemblages associated with Cymodocea nodosa meadows from the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean Sea)
Authors: Mateo Ramírez Ángel , García Raso José E. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThe decapod assemblages associated with two shallow meadows of Cymodocea nodosa, located in the same geographical area (Southern Spain) but on different substrates and with different patch size, have been analyzed. They display similar structure (diversity indices not significantly different), without a clear relation of richness and abundances to patch size, and with the same dominant species (the family Hippolytidae and, in particular, Hippolyte leptocerus are characteristic of this habitat). The composition of both crustacean assemblages is influenced by species that are common in neighbouring habitats. Therefore the connectivity among them is an important factor in the qualitative and quantitative structure of these decapod communities. Species richness appears to be higher than in Cymodocea meadows elsewhere in the Mediterranean and Atlantic at a similar depth, perhaps as a consequence of the biogeographical location and the high diversity and connectivity with surrounding biotopes. High evenness values are the result of the structure and location of these meadows, which are fragmented and interspersed with other biotopes (sandy and rocky bottoms), resulting in an ‘ecotone effect’. On the other hand, the structures of the decapod assemblages differ significantly according to sampling period. The abundance and species richness are both related to plant phenology and the dominant species present a positive correlation with the number of leaves per shoot. The maximum abundance of many species is coincident with the greatest seagrass development (spring – summer), which provides more resources (surface, biomass, protection, food). Therefore, seasonality is linked to plant life cycle, but also to the interrelationships and biology of the species, which are adapted and specialized to the environmental features of these shallow habitats.
Systematic review and meta‐analysis of the value of clinical features to exclude radiographic pneumonia in febrile neutropenic episodes in children and young people
Authors: Phillips Bob , Wade Ros , Westwood Marie , Riley Richard , Sutton Alex J 
Published: November 2011

Introduction:  Children and young people who present with febrile neutropenia (FNP) secondary to malignancies or their treatment frequently do not undergo routine chest radiography. With shorter courses of antibiotic therapy, failure to recognise pneumonia and consequent under‐treatment could produce significant problems.Methods:  The review was conducted determine the value of the absence of clinical features of lower respiratory tract infection in excluding radiographic pneumonia at presentation of FNP using Centre for Reviews and Dissemination methods. It was registered with the HTA Registry of systematic reviews, CRD32009100453. Ten bibliographic databases, conference proceedings, reference lists and citations were searched. Cohort studies which compared clinical examination to radiographic findings were included. Results were summarised by random‐effects meta‐analysis.Results:  Four studies were included. Synthesis of the three higher‐quality studies gave imprecise estimates of the average sensitivity (75%; 95% CI 52% to 89%) and average specificity (69%; 95% CI 57% to 78%) for clinical examination in the detection of radiographic pneumonia. If the prevalence of pneumonia is 5%, these estimates produce a negative predictive value of 98% (95% CI 96% to 99%). Alternatively, there remains a 1.9% probability of pneumonia (95% CI 0.7% to 4.2%).Conclusion:  Signs and symptoms of lower respiratory infection have only moderate sensitivity and specificity for pneumonia; the low prevalence of the condition justifies the routine withholding of chest radiographs. However, for those with a predisposition to pneumonia, or re‐presenting after a short course of antibiotic therapy, a chest X‐ray should be performed despite an absence of signs.
World Health Organization growth charts for monitoring the growth of Australian children: Time to begin the debate
Authors: Rao Shripada , Simmer Karen 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThe recently released World Health Organization growth charts are methodologically robust, as well as clinically useful tools for monitoring the growth of children. They have been endorsed by premier organisations such as the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (UK), Canadian Pediatric Society, Australian Breastfeeding Association, United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition, International Union of Nutrition Sciences, International Pediatric Association and the European Childhood Obesity Group. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics have also recently endorsed these charts for the 0‐ to 24‐month age group in USA. These growth charts have been adopted by many countries including Canada, UK and New Zealand. Nearly 140 countries are at various stages of implementing them. They offer significant advantages over the currently used CDC 2000 growth charts. They have the potential to contribute in reducing the worldwide incidence of obesity as well as under nutrition in children. Except Northern Territory, Australia continues to use the CDC 2000 growth charts. Paediatricians need to initiate and lead robust debate involving key stakeholders about the implementation of World Health Organization growth charts for monitoring the growth of Australian infants and children.
Quantifying the relationships of blood pressure with weight, height and body mass index in Chinese children and adolescents
Authors: Ma Jun , Wang Zhiqiang , Dong Bin , Song Yi , Hu Peijin , Zhang Bing 
Published: November 2011

Aim:  The aim of this study was to quantify the relationships of height, weight and body mass index (BMI) with blood pressure (BP) levels in Chinese children and adolescents.Methods:  Height, weight, BMI and BP measurements were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 231 227 children aged 7–18 years. Body size measurements were converted to age‐ and sex‐specific standard deviation (SD) scores. The relationships between body size and BP measurements were assessed using linear regression analysis.Results:  All body size measurements were significantly associated with BP levels. Systolic BP increased 4.14, 3.70 and 2.88 mmHg in boys and 2.98, 2.63 and 1.87 mmHg in girls, corresponding to 1 SD increase in weight, BMI and height, respectively. A similar pattern was also observed for diastolic BP. After adjustment for height, systolic BP increased substantially with increasing weight (3.96 mmHg/SD increase for boys and 2.92 mmHg for girls). With adjustment for weight, systolic BP increased slightly with 1 SD increase in height (0.27 mmHg for boys and 0.10 mmHg for girls). The strength of the association between a body size measurement and BP varied among different ages, peaked at 10–11 years in girls and around 12–14 years in boys.Conclusions:  Weight is the most powerful driving force of BP in children and adolescents, followed by BMI and height. Height has little impact on BP in children with a given weight, while weight has considerable impact on BP in children with a given height.
Infant gender, shared sleeping and sudden death
Authors: Byard Roger W , Elliott Jane , Vink Robert 
Published: November 2011

Aim:  To determine whether there is a gender imbalance in infant deaths in shared sleeping compared to solitary sleeping situations.Methods:  Examination of autopsy reports of 133 infants aged between 7 and 364 days autopsied over a 19‐year period from January 1991 to December 2009 was undertaken where death had either been attributed to SIDS, or had been classified as undetermined or unascertained. Cases were divided into two groups of solitary sleepers and shared sleepers, and the ratio of male to female cases was compared.Results:  Ninety‐five solitary sleepers were aged from 1 to 11 months (average 4.1 months) and consisted of 63 males (age range 1 to 11 months) and 32 females (age range 1 to 10 months). The 38 shared sleepers were aged from 1 week to 12 months (average 2.6 months) and consisted of 17 males (age range 2 weeks to 5 months) and 21 females (age range 1 week to 10 months). The male to female ratio in the solitary sleepers was approximately 2:1 and in the shared sleepers was 0.8:1, a statistically significant difference (p = 0.02).Conclusion:  The lack of a male predominance typical of SIDS cases in infants who were sleeping with others, compared to those who were sleeping alone, suggests that these situations may be different. It is possible, therefore, that different lethal mechanisms may be involved in some shared sleeping situations.
Managing acute respiratory decompensation in the morbidly obese
Authors: BAHAMMAM AHMED S. , AL‐JAWDER SUHAILA E. 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACTMorbid obesity adversely affects respiratory physiology, leading to reduced lung volumes, decreased lung compliance, ventilation perfusion mismatch, sleep‐disordered breathing and the impairment of ventilatory control, and neurohormonal and neuromodulators of breathing. Therefore, morbidly obese subjects are at increased risk of various pulmonary complications that can present either acutely or chronically. Respiratory failure is one of the most common pulmonary complications related to morbid obesity. Both acute hypoxaemic and hypercapnic respiratory failure are more common among obese patients. The management pathway of respiratory failure depends, to a large extent, on the underlying cause, primarily due to the diversity of the underlying triggering diseases, the pathophysiology and the prognosis associated with each disease. Morbidly obese patients with hypoventilation have an increased risk of acute hypercapnic respiratory failure. Early diagnosis of this disorder and the application of non‐invasive ventilation in this group of patients have been shown to improve respiratory parameters, decrease the need for invasive mechanical ventilation and improve survival. Invasive ventilation remains the last life‐saving procedure in patients with respiratory failure who do not respond to non‐invasive measures. However, due to the abnormal respiratory physiology in obese patients, special precautions are required during intubation, mechanical ventilation and weaning.
The role of cortical and hypothalamic histamine‐3 receptors in the modulation of central histamine neurotransmission: an in vivo electrophysiology and microdialysis study
Authors: Flik Gunnar , Dremencov Eliyahu , Cremers Thomas I. H. F. , Folgering Joost H. A. , Westerink Ben H. C. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThe current study aimed to investigate the effect of histamine‐3 (H3) receptors, expressed in the tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) of the hypothalamus and in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), on histamine neurotransmission in the rat brain. The firing activity of histamine neurons in the TMN was measured using in vivo extracellular single‐unit electrophysiology, under propofol anesthesia. Extracellular histamine levels were determined using the dual (PFC and TMN) probe microdialysis, in freely‐moving animals. Histamine levels in dialysates were determined using high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and fluorescence detection. It was found that systemic administration of the selective H3‐agonist, immepip, decreases, and the reverse H3/H4‐agonist, thioperamide, increases the firing activity of histamine neurons in the TMN and the release of histamine in TMN and PFC. Local perfusion of immepip into the TMN increased, and thioperamide decreased, histamine levels in the TMN but not in the PFC. Local perfusion of immepip into the PFC, however, decreased extracellular histamine levels in both TMN and PFC. It can be concluded that brain H3 receptors, and especially those expressed in the PFC, play an important role in the autoregulation of histamine neurotransmission. It is possible that H3 receptors in the PFC are expressed on pyramidal neurons projecting to the TMN, and activation of these receptors diminishes glutamate excitatory input from PFC to the TMN. As the brain histamine system has a role in pathophysiology of psychotic, affective, cognitive, sleep and eating disorders, H3 receptors are potential targets for future CNS medications.
Genomic insights into microbial iron oxidation and iron uptake strategies in extremely acidic environments
Authors: Bonnefoy Violaine , Holmes David S. 
Published: November 2011

SummaryThis minireview presents recent advances in our understanding of iron oxidation and homeostasis in acidophilic Bacteria and Archaea. These processes influence the flux of metals and nutrients in pristine and man‐made acidic environments such as acid mine drainage and industrial bioleaching operations. Acidophiles are also being studied to understand life in extreme conditions and their role in the generation of biomarkers used in the search for evidence of existing or past extra‐terrestrial life. Iron oxidation in acidophiles is best understood in the model organism Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. However, recent functional genomic analysis of acidophiles is leading to a deeper appreciation of the diversity of acidophilic iron‐oxidizing pathways. Although it is too early to paint a detailed picture of the role played by lateral gene transfer in the evolution of iron oxidation, emerging evidence tends to support the view that iron oxidation arose independently more than once in evolution. Acidic environments are generally rich in soluble iron and extreme acidophiles (e.g. the Leptospirillum genus) have considerably fewer iron uptake systems compared with neutrophiles. However, some acidophiles have been shown to grow as high as pH 6 and, in the case of the Acidithiobacillus genus, to have multiple iron uptake systems. This could be an adaption allowing them to respond to different iron concentrations via the use of a multiplicity of different siderophores. Both Leptospirillum spp. and Acidithiobacillus spp. are predicted to synthesize the acid stable citrate siderophore for Fe(III) uptake. In addition, both groups have predicted receptors for siderophores produced by other microorganisms, suggesting that competition for iron occurs influencing the ecophysiology of acidic environments. Little is known about the genetic regulation of iron oxidation and iron uptake in acidophiles, especially how the use of iron as an energy source is balanced with its need to take up iron for metabolism. It is anticipated that integrated and complex regulatory networks sensing different environmental signals, such as the energy source and/or the redox state of the cell as well as the oxygen availability, are involved.
Effects of losartan on whole body, skeletal muscle and vascular insulin responses in obesity/insulin resistance without hypertension
Authors: Lteif A. A. , Chisholm R. L. , Gilbert K. , Considine R. V. , Mather K. J. 
Published: November 2011

Aims: Renin‐angiotensin system antagonists have been found to improve glucose metabolism in obese hypertensive and type 2 diabetic subjects. The mechanism of these effects is not well understood. We hypothesized that the angiotensin receptor antagonist losartan would improve insulin‐mediated vasodilation, and thereby improve insulin‐stimulated glucose uptake in skeletal muscle of insulin‐resistant subjects.Methods: We studied subjects with obesity and insulin resistance but without hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia or dysglycaemia [age 39.0 ± 9.6 yr (mean ± SD), body mass index (BMI) 33.2 ± 5.9 kg/m2, BP 115.8 ± 12.2/70.9 ± 7.2 mmHg, LDL 2.1 ± 0.5 mmol/l]. Subjects were randomized to 12 weeks' double‐blind treatment with losartan 100 mg once daily (n = 9) or matching placebo (n = 8). Before and after treatment, under hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp conditions we measured whole‐body insulin‐stimulated glucose disposal, insulin‐mediated vasodilation, and insulin‐stimulated leg glucose uptake by the limb balance technique.Results: Whole‐body insulin‐stimulated glucose disposal was not significantly increased by losartan. Insulin‐mediated vasodilation was augmented following both treatments [increase in leg vascular conductance: pretreatment 0.7 ± 0.3 l/min/mmHg (losartan, mean ± SEM) and 0.9 ± 0.3 (placebo), posttreatment 1.0 ± 0.4 (losartan) and 1.3 ± 0.6 (placebo)] but not different between treatment groups (p = 0.53). Insulin's action to augment nitric oxide (NO) production and to augment endothelium‐dependent vasodilation was also not improved. Leg glucose uptake was not significantly changed by treatments, and not different between groups (p = 0.11).Conclusions: These findings argue against the hypothesis that losartan might improve skeletal muscle glucose metabolism by improving insulin‐mediated vasodilation in normotensive insulin‐resistant obese subjects. The metabolic benefits of angiotensin receptor blockers may require the presence of hypertension in addition to obesity‐associated insulin resistance.
Availability of insulin pump therapy in clinical practice
Authors: Carlsson B.‐M. , Andersson P. Nord , Alnervik J. , Carstensen J. , Lind M. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractDiabet. Med. 29, 1055–1059 (2012)Aim  To examine the availability of insulin pump therapy in patients with Type 1 diabetes.Methods  Patients using insulin pumps among a cohort of 7224 patients with Type 1 diabetes were studied.Results  In logistic regression, used to evaluate variables not changing over time among the total cohort, use of insulin pumps varied by outpatient clinic (P < 0.001) and sex (P < 0.001). Cox regression analysis in 5854 patients with detailed patient data prior to use of an insulin pump showed higher HbA1c (P < 0.0001), lower creatinine (P = 0.002), high and low insulin doses (P < 0.0001), younger age (P < 0.0001) and female sex (P < 0.0001) to be associated with use of an insulin pump. Women were 1.5‐fold more likely to start using an insulin pump (hazard ratio 1.52, 95% confidence interval 1.29–1.79) and patients in the 20‐ to 30‐years age range were more than twice as likely to begin use of an insulin pump than patients aged 40–50 years (hazard ratio 8.63, 95% confidence interval 5.91–12.59 and hazard ratio 3.98, 95% confidence interval 2.80–5.64, respectively). A 10‐μmol/l higher level of creatinine was associated with a hazard ratio of 0.56 (95% confidence interval 0.39–0.81) of starting use of an insulin pump.Conclusions  At 10 hospital outpatient clinics in Sweden, use of insulin pumps therapy varied by clinic. A higher proportion of women began using insulin pumps. Younger patients and patients with fewer complications were also more likely to start using an insulin pump. Further research is needed to confirm these findings in other geographical regions and to understand whether the availability of insulin pumps today is optimized.
Understanding standard drinks and drinking guidelines
Authors: KERR WILLIAM C. , STOCKWELL TIM 
Published: November 2011

AbstractIntroduction and Aims. For consumers to follow drinking guidelines and limit their risk of negative consequences they need to track their ethanol consumption. This paper reviews published research on the ability of consumers to utilise information about the alcohol content of beverages when expressed in different forms, for example in standard drinks or units versus percentage alcohol content.Design and Methods. A review of the literature on standard drink definitions and consumer understanding of these, actual drink pouring, use of standard drinks in guidelines and consumer understanding and use of these.Results. Standard drink definitions vary across countries and typically contain less alcohol than actual drinks. Drinkers have difficulty defining and pouring standard drinks with over‐pouring being the norm such that intake volume is typically underestimated. Drinkers have difficulty using percentage alcohol by volume and pour size information in calculating intake but can effectively utilise standard drink labelling to track intake.Discussion and Conclusions. Standard drink labelling is an effective but little used strategy for enabling drinkers to track their alcohol intake and potentially conform to safe or low‐risk drinking guidelines.[Kerr WC, Stockwell T. Understanding standard drinks and drinking guidelines. Drug Alcohol Rev 2012;31:200–205]
The long‐term effect of lockouts on alcohol‐related emergency department attendances within Ballarat, Australia
Authors: MILLER PETER , COOMBER KERRI , SØNDERLUND ANDERS , MCKENZIE STEPHEN 
Published: November 2011

AbstractIntroduction and Aims. Alcohol has consistently been demonstrated to increase levels of aggression and violence, particularly in late night licensed venues. Since August 2003, Ballarat (a regional city of approximately 95 000 inhabitants, in Victoria, Australia) has implemented a 3:00 am‘lockout’ with the goal of reducing alcohol‐related harms. This paper is the first long‐term analysis of the effect of this type of intervention on emergency department (ED) attendances. The aim of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of a lockout intervention within the city of Ballarat, Victoria on alcohol‐related ED presentations.Design and Methods. This paper examines alcohol‐related injury frequencies pre‐ to post‐lockout intervention in Ballarat, Victoria, from 1999 to 2009, as indicated by ED International Classification of Diseases codes for acute alcohol intoxication and assault. These data are further compared with similar data from Geelong, Victoria, as a control.Results. A small reduction in alcohol‐related assaults and intoxication rates within Ballarat occurred before and after the introduction of the lockout. However, after this decline these rates steadily increased, surpassing Geelong by 2005.Discussion and Conclusions. There is no discernible long‐term impact on alcohol‐related ED attendances of the lockout intervention in Ballarat. As such, other interventions may be more appropriate to reduce alcohol‐related ED attendances.[Miller P, Coomber K, Sønderlund A, McKenzie S. The long‐term effect of lockouts on alcohol‐related emergency department attendances within Ballarat, Australia. Drug Alcohol Rev 2012;31:370–376]