bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Measuring ecological niche overlap from occurrence and spatial environmental data
Authors: Broennimann Olivier , Fitzpatrick Matthew C. , Pearman Peter B. , Petitpierre Blaise , Pellissier Loïc , Yoccoz Nigel G. , Thuiller Wilfried , Fortin Marie‐Josée , Randin Christophe , Zimmermann Niklaus E. , Graham Catherine H. , Guisan Antoine 
Published: July 2011

ABSTRACTAim Concerns over how global change will influence species distributions, in conjunction with increased emphasis on understanding niche dynamics in evolutionary and community contexts, highlight the growing need for robust methods to quantify niche differences between or within taxa. We propose a statistical framework to describe and compare environmental niches from occurrence and spatial environmental data.Location Europe, North America and South America.Methods The framework applies kernel smoothers to densities of species occurrence in gridded environmental space to calculate metrics of niche overlap and test hypotheses regarding niche conservatism. We use this framework and simulated species with pre‐defined distributions and amounts of niche overlap to evaluate several ordination and species distribution modelling techniques for quantifying niche overlap. We illustrate the approach with data on two well‐studied invasive species.Results We show that niche overlap can be accurately detected with the framework when variables driving the distributions are known. The method is robust to known and previously undocumented biases related to the dependence of species occurrences on the frequency of environmental conditions that occur across geographical space. The use of a kernel smoother makes the process of moving from geographical space to multivariate environmental space independent of both sampling effort and arbitrary choice of resolution in environmental space. However, the use of ordination and species distribution model techniques for selecting, combining and weighting variables on which niche overlap is calculated provide contrasting results.Main conclusions The framework meets the increasing need for robust methods to quantify niche differences. It is appropriate for studying niche differences between species, subspecies or intra‐specific lineages that differ in their geographical distributions. Alternatively, it can be used to measure the degree to which the environmental niche of a species or intra‐specific lineage has changed over time.
The Big Chill: Interpersonal Coldness and Emotion‐Labeling Skills
Authors: Moeller Sara K. , Robinson Michael D. , Wilkowski Benjamin M. , Hanson Devin M. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractInterpersonally cold (relative to warm) individuals may be less skilled in inferring the emotional states of others, a factor that should contribute to their poorer social relationships. Systematic support for this hypothesis was obtained in 4 studies (total N = 434 undergraduates) involving diverse emotion‐ and affect‐decoding tasks. Specifically, relatively cold individuals exhibited lower accuracy in decoding emotional facial expressions (Study 1), in labeling the emotions of others from audio and video clips (Study 2), in predicting the emotions of others from social scenario descriptions (Study 3), and in the normative accuracy of their word evaluations (Study 4). Altogether, the results demonstrate that cold individuals appear broadly deficient in linking emotion and affect to relevant environmental stimuli. Implications of the findings for understanding the nature and correlates of interpersonal coldness are discussed.
Trait Means and Desirabilities as Artifactual and Real Sources of Differential Stability of Personality Traits
Authors: Wood Dustin , Wortman Jessica 
Published: July 2011

AbstractUsing data from 3 personality trait inventories and 7 samples, we show that trait items that have means near the scale midpoint and that vary more in their perceived desirability (e.g., items related to dominance, creativity, traditionalism, and organization) tend to be more stable over time, whereas items with means near the scale maximum or minimum and that vary less in their perceived desirability (e.g., items related to agreeableness, intellect, and reliability) tend to be less stable. Our findings indicate that items with means near the scale maximum or minimum have lower stabilities primarily due to having lower measurement dependability (i.e., short‐term stabilities unlikely to reflect true change). However, items varying more in their desirability are more stable even after accounting for measurement dependability, consistent with the view that trait stability is facilitated in part by individuals actively working to develop in the direction they find desirable.
The Role of Perfectionism in Daily Self‐Esteem, Attachment, and Negative Affect
Authors: Dunkley David M. , Berg Jody‐Lynn , Zuroff David C. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThis study of university students (64 men, 99 women) examined the role of self‐critical (SC) and personal standards (PS) higher order dimensions of perfectionism in daily self‐esteem, attachment, and negative affect. Participants completed questionnaires at the end of the day for 7 consecutive days. Trait and situational influences were found in the daily reports of self‐esteem, attachment, and affect. In contrast to PS perfectionism, SC perfectionism was strongly related to aggregated daily reports of low self‐esteem, attachment fears (fear of closeness, fear of dependency, fear of loss), and negative affect as well as instability indexes of daily self‐esteem, attachment, and negative affect. Multilevel modeling indicated that both SC and PS perfectionists were emotionally reactive to decreases in self‐esteem, whereas only SC perfectionists were emotionally reactive to increases in fear of closeness with others. These results demonstrate the dispositional and moderating influences of perfectionism dimensions on daily self‐esteem, attachment, and negative affect.
OVERSTATING VALUES: MEDICAL FACTS, DIVERSE VALUES, BIOETHICS AND VALUES‐BASED MEDICINE
Authors: PARKER MALCOLM 
Published: July 2011

ABSTRACTFulford has argued that (1) the medical concepts illness, disease and dysfunction are inescapably evaluative terms, (2) illness is conceptually prior to disease, and (3) a model conforming to (2) has greater explanatory power and practical utility than the conventional value‐free medical model. This ‘reverse’ model employs Hare's distinction between description and evaluation, and the sliding relationship between descriptive and evaluative meaning. Fulford's derivative ‘Values Based Medicine’ (VBM) readjusts the imbalance between the predominance of facts over values in medicine. VBM allegedly responds to the increased choices made available by, inter alia, the progress of medical science itself. VBM attributes appropriate status to evaluative meaning, where strong consensus about descriptive meaning is lacking. According to Fulford, quasi‐legal bioethics, while it can be retained as a kind of deliberative framework, is outcome‐based and pursues ‘the right answer’, while VBM approximates a democratic, process‐oriented method for dealing with diverse values, in partnership with necessary contributions from evidence‐based medicine (EBM). I support the non‐cognitivist underpinnings of VBM, and its emphasis on the importance of values in medicine. But VBM overstates the complexity and diversity of values, misrepresents EBM and VBM as responses to scientific and evaluative complexity, and mistakenly depicts ‘quasi‐legal bioethics’ as a space of settled descriptive meaning. Bioethical reasoning can expose strategies that attempt to reduce authentic values to scientific facts, illustrating that VBM provides no advantage over bioethics in delineating the connections between facts and values in medicine.
STIGMATIZATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH ETHICS
Authors: COURTWRIGHT ANDREW 
Published: July 2011

ABSTRACTEncouraged by the success of smoking denormalization strategies as a tobacco‐control measure, public health institutions are adopting a similar approach to other health behaviors. For example, a recent controversial ad campaign in New York explicitly aimed to denormalize HIV/AIDS amongst gay men. Authors such as Scott Burris have argued that efforts like this are tantamount to stigmatization and that such stigmatization is unethical because it is dehumanizing. Others have offered a limited endorsement of denormalization/stigmatization campaigns as being justified on consequentialist grounds; namely, that the potential public health benefits outweigh any stigmatizing side effects. In this paper, I examine and reject the blanket condemnation of stigmatization efforts in public health. I argue that the moral status of such efforts are best evaluated within a contractualist, as opposed to a consequentialist, framework. Contractualism in public health ethics asks whether a particular stigmatizing policy could be justified to reasonable individuals who do not know whether they will be affected by that policy. Using this approach, I argue that it is sometimes permissible for public health institutions to engage in health‐related stigmatization.
GETTING MORAL ENHANCEMENT RIGHT: THE DESIRABILITY OF MORAL BIOENHANCEMENT
Authors: PERSSON INGMAR , SAVULESCU JULIAN 
Published: July 2011

ABSTRACTWe respond to a number of objections raised by John Harris in this journal to our argument that we should pursue genetic and other biological means of morally enhancing human beings (moral bioenhancement). We claim that human beings now have at their disposal means of wiping out life on Earth and that traditional methods of moral education are probably insufficient to achieve the moral enhancement required to ensure that this will not happen. Hence, we argue, moral bioenhancement should be sought and applied. We argue that cognitive enhancement and technological progress raise acute problems because it is easier to harm than to benefit. We address objections to this argument. We also respond to objections that moral bioenhancement: (1) interferes with freedom; (2) cannot be made to target immoral dispositions precisely; (3) is redundant, since cognitive enhancement by itself suffices.
Cultural and linguistic validation of acne‐QoL in French
Authors: Tan J. , O’Toole A. , Zhang X. , Dreno B. , Poulin Y. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractBackground  Acne‐Quality of Life (acne‐QoL) is a facial acne‐specific quality‐of‐life instrument developed in English.Objective  Our objective was to translate and validate acne‐QoL in French and to establish the reliability and responsivity of this measure.Methods  Acne‐QoL was translated into French (acne‐QoLfr) in accordance with international methodological recommendations. The validated French version of the Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADIfr) was used as a comparator. Acne patients in Quebec (n = 20) and France (n = 14) completed the acne‐QoLfr and CADIfr on three occasions over 3 months (day 0, day 2–3, day 60–90).Results  A total of 34 patients were recruited. Pearson’s correlation for total acne‐QoLfr scores at day 0 and day 2–3 was 0.77. Of the four domains comprising the acne‐QoLfr, correlations were highest for symptoms (0.85) and lowest for the role‐emotional domain (0.66). At day 60–90, total acne‐QoLfr scores increased by a mean of 19.7 points, reflecting improved quality‐of‐life with acne therapy and demonstrating responsivity of the instrument.Conclusion  Acne‐QoLfr is a linguistically and culturally validated tool for facial acne that is both reliable and responsive.
Sexually transmitted infections in pregnant adolescents: prevalence and association with maternal and foetal morbidity
Authors: Borges‐Costa J. , Matos C. , Pereira F. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractBackground  Pregnant adolescents have a high incidence of sexually transmitted infections and higher risk of adverse birth outcome.Objectives  To assess the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in pregnant adolescents and the associations between these infections and adverse birth outcome.Methods A prospective study with a face‐to‐face interview to pregnant adolescents was followed by first‐void urine and cervical swabs collection for polymerase chain reaction testing for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. After child delivery, clinical files were also reviewed for serological and microbiological results for other infections and data concerning maternal–foetal morbidity. A 5% level of significance was used.Results  The inclusion criteria were fulfilled by 204 pregnant adolescents, and the prevalence of C. trachomatis was 11.8% and of N. gonorrhoeae was 4.9%, with the majority being asymptomatic. No antibodies for syphilis or human immunodeficiency virus were found. Maternal morbidity occurred in 3.4%, prematurity was observed in 11.8% of the newborns and low birth weight in 9.8%. Statistically significant associations were observed between maternal morbidity and the presence of gonorrhoea, younger adolescents and severe prematurity and between infection with C. trachomatis and/or N. gonorrhoea and low birth weight.Conclusions  Sexually transmitted infections are frequently asymptomatic and cause maternal–foetal morbidity. The opportunity that pregnancy offers for screening and counselling should not therefore be missed, especially in adolescents.
Fertility and prenatal attitudes towards pregnancy in women with eating disorders: results from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
Authors: Easter A , Treasure J , Micali N 
Published: July 2011

Please cite this paper as: Easter A, Treasure J, Micali N. Fertility and prenatal attitudes towards pregnancy in women with eating disorders: results from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. BJOG 2011;118:1491–1498.Objective  To study the effects of eating disorders (EDs) on fertility and attitudes to pregnancy.Design  A longitudinal prospective birth cohort.Setting  Avon area, UK.Sample  A cohort of 14 663 women who enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Singleton and live births were included across four groups of women: lifetime anorexia nervosa (AN; n = 171); lifetime bulimia nervosa (BN; n = 199), lifetime anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (AN + BN; n = 82); and the general population (n = 10 636).Methods  Fertility problems, conception time and attitudes to pregnancy were investigated in women with AN, BN and AN + BN, compared with the remaining sample (general population).Main outcome measures  Having seen a doctor for fertility problems, time taken to conceive (>12 months, and >6 months), unplanned pregnancies, and attitudes to pregnancy at 12 and 18 weeks of gestation.Results  Women with AN (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.5; P < 0.021) and women with AN + BN (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1–3.4; P < 0.020) were more likely to have seen a doctor for lifetime fertility problems, and women with AN + BN were also more likely to take longer than 6 months to conceive (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.0–3.5; P < 0.04), and to have conceived the current pregnancy with fertility treatment. Unplanned pregnancies were more common in the AN group compared with the general population. All ED groups more frequently experienced negative feelings upon discovering their pregnancy, which remained higher in the AN + BN group at 18 weeks of gestation.Conclusions  Lifetime EDs are associated with fertility problems, unplanned pregnancies and negative attitudes to pregnancy. Health professionals should be aware of EDs when assessing fertility and providing treatment for this.
The Alzheimer’s therapeutic PBT2 promotes amyloid‐β degradation and GSK3 phosphorylation via a metal chaperone activity
Authors: Crouch Peter J. , Savva Maria S. , Hung Lin W. , Donnelly Paul S. , Mot Alexandra I. , Parker Sarah J. , Greenough Mark A. , Volitakis Irene , Adlard Paul A. , Cherny Robert A. , Masters Colin L. , Bush Ashley I. , Barnham Kevin J. , White Anthony R. 
Published: July 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 119, 220–230.AbstractImpaired metal ion homeostasis causes synaptic dysfunction and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that target metal ions have therefore been developed. The leading compound in this class of therapeutic, PBT2, improved cognition in a clinical trial with AD patients. The aim of the present study was to examine the cellular mechanism of action for PBT2. We show PBT2 induces inhibitory phosphorylation of the α‐ and β‐isoforms of glycogen synthase kinase 3 and that this activity is dependent on PBT2 translocating extracellular Zn and Cu into cells. This activity is supported when Aβ:Zn aggregates are the source of extracellular Zn and adding PBT2 to Aβ:Zn preparations promotes Aβ degradation by matrix metalloprotease 2. PBT2‐induced glycogen synthase kinase 3 phosphorylation appears to involve inhibition of the phosphatase calcineurin. Consistent with this, PBT2 increased phosphorylation of other calcineurin substrates, including cAMP response element binding protein and Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase. These data demonstrate PBT2 can decrease Aβ levels by sequestering the Zn that promotes extracellular formation of protease resistant Aβ:Zn aggregates, and that subsequent intracellular translocation of the Zn by PBT2 induces cellular responses with synapto‐trophic potential. Intracellular translocation of Zn and Cu via the metal chaperone activity of PBT2 may be an important mechanism by which PBT2 improves cognitive function in people with AD.
Crx broadly modulates the pineal transcriptome
Authors: Rovsing Louise , Clokie Samuel , Bustos Diego M. , Rohde Kristian , Coon Steven L. , Litman Thomas , Rath Martin F. , Møller Morten , Klein David C. 
Published: July 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 119, 262–274.AbstractCone‐rod homeobox (Crx) encodes Crx, a transcription factor expressed selectively in retinal photoreceptors and pinealocytes, the major cell type of the pineal gland. In this study, the influence of Crx on the mammalian pineal gland was studied by light and electron microscopy and by use of microarray and qRTPCR technology, thereby extending previous studies on selected genes (Furukawa et al. 1999). Deletion of Crx was not found to alter pineal morphology, but was found to broadly modulate the mouse pineal transcriptome, characterized by a > 2‐fold down‐regulation of 543 genes and a > 2‐fold up‐regulation of 745 genes (p < 0.05). Of these, one of the most highly up‐regulated (18‐fold) was Hoxc4, a member of the Hox gene family, members of which are known to control gene expression cascades. During a 24‐h period, a set of 51 genes exhibited differential day/night expression in pineal glands of wild‐type animals; only eight of these were also day/night expressed in the Crx−/− pineal gland. However, in the Crx−/− pineal gland 41 genes exhibited differential night/day expression that was not seen in wild‐type animals. These findings indicate that Crx broadly modulates the pineal transcriptome and also influences differential night/day gene expression in this tissue. Some effects of Crx deletion on the pineal transcriptome might be mediated by Hoxc4 up‐regulation.
Regulation of angiotensinogen by angiotensin II in mouse primary astrocyte cultures
Authors: O’Callaghan E. L. , Bassi J. K. , Porrello E. R. , Delbridge L. M. D. , Thomas W. G. , Allen A. M. 
Published: July 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 119, 18–26.AbstractAstrocytes are the major source of angiotensinogen in the brain and play an important role in the brain renin‐angiotensin system. Regulating brain angiotensinogen production alters blood pressure and fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. In turn, several physiological and pathological manipulations alter expression of angiotensinogen in brain. Surprisingly, little is known about the factors that regulate astrocytic expression of angiotensinogen. There is evidence that angiotensinogen production in both hepatocytes and cardiac myocytes can be positively regulated via the angiotensin type 1 receptor, but this effect has not yet been studied in astrocytes. Therefore, the aim of this project was to establish whether angiotensin II modulates angiotensinogen production in brain astrocytes. Primary astrocyte cultures, prepared from neonatal C57Bl6 mice, expressed angiotensinogen measured by immunocytochemistry and real‐time PCR. Using a variety of approaches we were unable to identify angiotensin receptors on cultured astrocytes. Exposure of cultured astrocytes to angiotensin II also did not affect angiotensinogen expression. When astrocyte cultures were transduced with the angiotensin type 1A receptor, using adenoviral vectors, angiotensin II induced a robust down‐regulation (91.4% ± 1.8%, p < 0.01, n = 4) of angiotensinogen gene expression. We conclude that receptors for angiotensin II are present in extremely low levels in astrocytes, and that this concurs with available data in vivo. The signaling pathways activated by the angiotensin type 1A receptor are negatively coupled to angiotensinogen expression and represent a powerful pathway for decreasing expression of this protein, potentially via signaling pathways coupled to Gαq/11.
Optical and biometric characteristics of anisomyopia in human adults
Authors: Tian Yibin , Tarrant Janice , Wildsoet Christine F 
Published: July 2011

Citation information: Tian Y, Tarrant J & Wildsoet CF. Optical and biometric characteristics of anisomyopia in human adults. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2011, 31, 540–549. doi: 10.1111/j.1475‐1313.2011.00858.xAbstractPurpose:  To investigate the role of higher order optical aberrations and thus retinal image degradation in the development of myopia, through the characterization of anisomyopia in human adults in terms of their optical and biometric characteristics.Methods:  The following data were collected from both eyes of 15 young adult anisometropic myopes and 16 isometropic myopes: subjective and objective refractive errors, corneal power and shape, monochromatic optical aberrations, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, vitreous chamber depth, and best corrected visual acuity. Monochromatic aberrations were analyzed in terms of their higher order components, and further analyzed in terms of 31 optical quality metrics. Interocular differences for the two groups (anisomyopes vs isomyopes) were compared and the relationship between measured ocular parameters and refractive errors also analyzed across all eyes.Results:  As expected, anisomyopes and isomyopes differed significantly in terms of interocular differences in vitreous chamber depth, axial length and refractive error. However, interocular differences in other optical properties showed no significant intergroup differences. Overall, higher myopia was associated with deeper anterior and vitreous chambers, higher astigmatism, more prolate corneas, and more positive spherical aberration. Other measured optical and biometric parameters were not significantly correlated with spherical refractive error, although some optical quality metrics and corneal astigmatism were significantly correlated with refractive astigmatism.Conclusions:  An optical cause for anisomyopia related to increased higher order aberrations is not supported by our data. Corneal shape changes and increased astigmatism in more myopic eyes may be a by‐product of the increased anterior chamber growth in these eyes; likewise, the increased positive spherical aberration in more myopic eyes may be a product of myopic eye growth.
Hepatic iron overload following liver transplantation of a C282y homozygous allograft: a case report and literature review
Authors: Dwyer Jeremy P. , Sarwar Shahzad , Egan Brian , Nolan Niamh , Hegarty John 
Published: July 2011

AbstractHereditary haemochromatosis is a common genetic disease associated with progressive iron overload and parenchymal organ damage including liver, pancreas and heart. We report a case of inadvertent transplantation of a liver from a haemochromatosis donor to a 56‐year‐old Asian female. Progressive iron overload occurred over a 2 year follow up as assessed by liver biopsy and iron studies in the absence of a secondary cause of iron overload, supporting a primary role of liver rather than small intestine in the regulation of iron homeostasis in hereditary haemochromatosis.