bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multilevel regulation of steroid synthesis and metabolism in the bovine placenta
Authors: Nguyen Phuong T.T. , Conley Alan J. , Soboleva Tanya K. , Lee Rita S.F. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractSteroid hormones play critical roles in almost all physiological processes in male and female reproduction. In a normal pregnancy, the concentrations of steroid hormones in maternal and foetal blood vary with gestation in response to changing needs. The placenta plays a central role in producing the appropriate steroids to support the pregnancy by coordinating its own steroidogenic activity with that of the corpus luteum and responding to foetal signals. Although much is known about the steroidogenic potential of the bovine placenta, far less is known about how the placenta integrates the synthesis of steroids with their subsequent metabolism and clearance to achieve appropriate local and peripheral concentrations of steroids in maternal and foetal blood at each stage of gestation. This review focuses on the current knowledge of the temporal and spatial regulation and compartmentalization of the biochemical pathways by which potent steroid hormones are synthesized and metabolized in the bovine placenta. The aim is to increase our understanding of how the balance of synthesis and metabolism determines placental steroid output as it changes with development and differentiation, and how this is regulated in response to the variations in the foetal signals and luteal secretory activity. The review highlights knowledge gaps and suggests that mathematical modelling can help understand the effect of different levels of regulation on the steroidogenic output of an organ, such as the bovine placenta. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 79: 239–254, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Everyday Life with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Implications for Patient Education and Clinical Practice: A Focus Group Study
Authors: Kristiansen Tine Mechlenborg , Primdahl Jette , Antoft Rasmus , Hørslev‐Petersen Kim 
Published: December 2011

AbstractObjectivesThis study aimed to explore how everyday life is affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in order to inform patient education and clinical practice and generate further research.MethodsSix focus group interviews were conducted with, in total, 32 participants. Interview data were analysed using content analysis methods.ResultsThe study showed that RA affected almost every aspect of participants’ everyday lives, particularly self‐identity, social relationships, work and relationships with health and social care professionals. A small number of the participants did not have these experiences, due to receiving fast diagnosis and effective medical treatment.ConclusionThe findings point to a need to increase knowledge about RA, support symptom management and reduce the physical, social and psychological challenges posed by RA in everyday life. An individualized and engaged approach to patient education, taking the individual experiences as the point of departure, is suggested. The results indicate directions for further research. The general implications for patient education that emerge from this study might not address the support needs of those who did not experience significant changes in everyday life. A more detailed and in‐depth understanding about living with RA in the first years after diagnosis would provide a valuable supplement to the many retrospective studies, and useful knowledge in the design of patient education tailored to those who are newly diagnosed with RA. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Are survivors of childhood cancer with an unfavourable psychosocial developmental trajectory more likely to apply for disability benefits?
Authors: Maurice‐Stam H. , Verhoof E.J. , Caron H.N. , Grootenhuis M.A. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractBackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate whether an unfavourable psychosocial developmental trajectory while growing up with childhood cancer is related to a smaller likelihood of labour participation in adult life.MethodsA total of 53 childhood cancer survivors (CCS) with and 313 CCS without disability benefits, and 508 peers from the general Dutch population (reference group) completed the Course of Life Questionnaire (CoLQ) about the achievement of psychosocial developmental milestones. Differences between the three groups were tested by conducting analysis of variance with contrasts (scale scores CoLQ) and logistic regression analysis (individual milestones). Effect sizes and odds ratios were calculated.ResultsCompared with the reference group, both CCS with and CCS without benefits reported lower scale scores with respect to social and psychosexual development. CCS with disability benefits had lower social (d = − 0.6; p < 0.001) and psychosexual (d = −0.4; p < 0.01) scale scores than the CCS without disability benefits.CCS with disability benefits scored less favourably (p < 0.01) than peers from the general population on 14 out of 22 psychosocial milestones whereas the number was only six for those without disability benefits.ConclusionsCCS with an unfavourable developmental trajectory while growing up were more likely to apply for disability benefits in adulthood than CCS with a more favourable development. Early recognition and support are warranted. Further research is needed on risk factors of application for disability benefits. In addition, research should show whether stimulating the achievement of developmental milestones while growing up will create conditions for a better labour market position. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Psychometric analysis of the Chinese version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory with cancer patients in Hong Kong and Taiwan
Authors: Ho Samuel M. Y. , Law Lawrence S. C. , Wang Ging‐Long , Shih Shih‐Ming , Hsu Sheng‐Hui , Hou Yi‐Chen 
Published: December 2011

AbstractObjectiveCancer patients in Hong Kong and Taiwan share traditional Chinese as a written form of language, but each region has its own sociocultural background. This study examined if the four‐factor model (self, spiritual, life orientation, and interpersonal) of the Chinese version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI‐C), developed for Hong Kong cancer survivors, could be applied to cancer survivors in Taiwan.MethodsMultisample confirmatory factor analyses (MS‐CFA) were used to examine the factorial invariance of the PTGI‐C among cancer survivors in Taiwan (n = 217) and Hong Kong (n = 223).ResultsThe goodness‐of‐fit of the four‐factor model was satisfactory, χ²(180) = 372.36 (χ²/df = 2.07), goodness‐of‐fit index (GFI) = 0.90, adjusted GFI (AGFI) = 0.87, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.92, Tucker‐Lewis index (TLI) = 0.91, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.05, Akaike information criterion (AIC) = 492.36. This result suggests that the factor structure of the PTGI‐C developed in Hong Kong could be applied to cancer survivors in Taiwan. The internal reliabilities of the 15‐item whole scale, as well as all the subscales, were good and similar to those reported previously. Interregion comparison revealed that the Taiwan sample had higher mean ‘spiritual’ and ‘interpersonal’ posttraumatic growth subscale scores than the Hong Kong sample.ConclusionsThe four‐factor model of the PTGI‐C is invariant among cancer survivors using traditional Chinese as a written form of the language. The differences in the degree of some posttraumatic growth dimensions may be because of differences in cultural factors and in psychosocial support for cancer patients between the two regions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bas-bleus
,
filles publiques
, and the Literary Marketplace in the Work of Barbey d'Aurevilly
Authors: Humphreys Karen L. 
Published: December 2011

Abstract

Barbey d'Aurevilly is renowned for his representation of women in
Les Diaboliques
and for his hostile criticism of women writers, particularly in
Les Bas-bleus
. This essay offers a reconsideration of this notoriety by investigating earlier portrayals of
bas-bleus
(in the work of Daumier and Nadar) in the context of the print industry and literary culture in nineteenth-century France. Barbey's fiction and criticism contrast the figures of the
bas-bleu
and the sexually promiscuous woman and illustrate a pervasive resistance to changing gender and class roles in early bourgeois industrial culture. The idea that women who did not conform to traditional gender paradigms were either monstrous, criminal, or licentious is reflected in Barbey's work in the juxtaposition of the woman writer with the promiscuous woman — from adulteress to prostitute. Similar representations are regularly featured in the literary, critical, and journalistic production in the decades that preceded Barbey's publications.
Les Diaboliques
in dialogue with Barbey's critical commentary of
bas-bleus
and the press exposes deep-rooted apprehensions towards a changing social climate and a scepticism of power relationships amid political instability and popular affinities for democratic ideals. Although Barbey is frequently singled out as a fierce misogynist, numerous textual and visual images of women resisting convention present a perversion of the newly accorded freedoms of a young consumer society and reinforce the suspicions and cultural reactions towards women and the expression of desire in public life.
The Child as Artist in Amélie Nothomb's
Robert des noms propres
Authors: Kemp Anna 
Published: December 2011

Abstract

This article will argue that, unlike many female-authored narratives, Amélie Nothomb's
Robert des noms propres
does not figure childhood as a time of freedom arising from a blissful unawareness of the body, but instead constructs childhood as an aesthetic ideal that transcends the body altogether. Far from being a space of natural liberty before the onslaught of culture, the Nothombian childhood is a disembodied space entirely colonized by the artifical and aesthetic. Indeed, the freedom of the Nothombian child is first and foremost the freedom of the artist; an artist, moreover, who produces herself as her own master-work. As such, the transition from childhood to adulthood does not so much bring an embodied self into conflict with society, as bring art into conflict with life. This article will argue that Nothomb's staging of a clash between art and life raises questions both for critical approaches that look to women's writing for the expression of a female self, and postmodern feminist approaches that celebrate a ‘textualization’ of this self.
La Place, Monbron, and the Origins of
Candide
Authors: Langille E. M. 
Published: December 2011

Abstract

It has recently been argued that
Candide
was significantly influenced by Henry Fielding's novel
Tom Jones
, through the French adaptation of that work published by Pierre-Antoine de La Place in 1750 under the title
L
'
Enfant trouvé
. Candide, Cunégonde, and Pangloss can plausibly be seen to have evolved, respectively, from Tom Jones, Sophia Western, and the philosopher Square, as depicted by La Place. Voltaire was also inspired by the general structure of
L'Enfant trouvé
and took up and adapted parts of that novel's plot, starting with Tom's childhood paradise in Somerset and ending with the masked ball in London where he desperately searches for his beloved Sophia. It seems reasonable to assume that in writing
Candide
Voltaire consciously challenges Fielding's faith in ‘the controlling hand of Providence’, illustrated by
Tom Jones
's astonishing deus ex machina happy ending. In his 1913 edition of the tale André Morize opined that
Candide
may have been partly inspired by the cynical memoirs of Fougeret de Monbron (1706–1760). The present essay argues that these two narratives cross-fertilized in Voltaire's mind, contributing in important ways to the characters that
Candide
portrays, to the narrative that binds those characters together, and to the language in which the whole is expressed.
Representation and Illusion in the
Elegies
of Théodore de Béze
Authors: White Paul 
Published: December 2011

Abstract

In 1548, before his conversion to Protestantism, Théodore de Bèze published a collection of Latin poetry containing a book of twelve elegies written in imitation of Ovid. He would later disown his youthful love poems as frivolous, and his Catholic and Lutheran opponents would gleefully cite them as evidence of his moral and theological bankruptcy. This article proposes first to read the poems on their own terms, as a thoroughly Ovidian collection. Bèze's elegiac persona, like that of his model Ovid, is fascinated by the reflective and distorting properties of words, and his manipulations and evasions constantly tease the reader with glimpses of an elusive self. The article also sets the
Elegies
in the context of the theological polemic that arose around them, and poses the question of whether these poems, highly literary contrivances that they are, ought to be taken as seriously as Bèze's religious opponents wanted them to be. It argues that Bèze's elaborations of the characteristically Ovidian elegiac themes of the duplicity of language, the unreliability of perceptions, and the play of absence and presence do indeed seem to anticipate anxieties about representation of the self that would become a feature of later Protestant writing.
The impact of participatory forest management (PFM) on forest integrity and biodiversity in Arabuko‐Sokoke forest, Kenya
Authors: Matiku Paul , Ogol Callistus , Mireri Caleb 
Published: December 2011

AbstractBird communities composed of habitat specialists suffer considerable loss of species following disturbance (Ecol. Monogr. 41, 1971, 207–233). Participatory forest management (PFM) aims to ensure local ownership and support for forest conservation. This study determined if forest birds and forest quality in places under PFM is significantly higher than areas without PFM in Arabuko‐Sokoke forest. Forest quality data were collected in the PFM and no PFM zones in the Mixed forest (MF) and Cynometra Woodland (CW). Plot‐based approach was used to collect vegetation data along 1 km transects at intervals of 1 km sampling twenty transects and 200 plots in each of the study zones. Birds’ data were collected using 10‐min point‐counts along 88, 1 km long transects placed 1‐km apart sampling in 30 m radius‐plots at intervals of 100 m. Data were collected in 2008 and 2009. The results showed higher measures of forest quality in PFM zones than no PFM zones which showed higher measures of forest disturbance. The results did not show statistical differences in birds’ diversity indexes between PFM and no PFM zones indicating that the human‐induced disturbance has not reached critical ecological thresholds to affect birds’ species diversity. It can be deduced that PFM investment is leading to improved forest management.
Soil respiration is stimulated by elevated CO2 and reduced by summer drought: three years of measurements in a multifactor ecosystem manipulation experiment in a temperate heathland (CLIMAITE)
Authors: Selsted Merete B. , van der Linden Leon , Ibrom Andreas , Michelsen Anders , Larsen Klaus S. , Pedersen Jane K. , Mikkelsen Teis N. , Pilegaard Kim , Beier Claus , Ambus Per 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThis study investigated the impact of predicted future climatic and atmospheric conditions on soil respiration (RS) in a Danish Calluna‐Deschampsia‐heathland. A fully factorial in situ experiment with treatments of elevated atmospheric CO2 (+130 ppm), raised soil temperature (+0.4 °C) and extended summer drought (5–8% precipitation exclusion) was established in 2005. The average RS, observed in the control over 3 years of measurements (1.7 μmol CO2 m−2 sec−1), increased 38% under elevated CO2, irrespective of combination with the drought or temperature treatments. In contrast, extended summer drought decreased RS by 14%, while elevated soil temperature did not affect RS overall. A significant interaction between elevated temperature and drought resulted in further reduction of RS when these treatments were combined. A detailed analysis of short‐term RS dynamics associated with drought periods showed that RS was reduced by ~50% and was strongly correlated with soil moisture during these events. Recovery of RS to pre‐drought levels occurred within 2 weeks of rewetting; however, unexpected drought effects were observed several months after summer drought treatment in 2 of the 3 years, possibly due to reduced plant growth or changes in soil water holding capacity. An empirical model that predicts RS from soil temperature, soil moisture and plant biomass was developed and accounted for 55% of the observed variability in RS. The model predicted annual sums of RS in 2006 and 2007, in the control, were 672 and 719 g C m−2 y−1, respectively. For the full treatment combination, i.e. the future climate scenario, the model predicted that soil respiratory C losses would increase by ~21% (140–150 g C m−2 y−1). Therefore, in the future climate, stimulation of C storage in plant biomass and litter must be in excess of 21% for this ecosystem to not suffer a reduction in net ecosystem exchange.
Migrating thoracic epidural catheter in an infant
Authors: Thompson Mark E. , Aasheim Heidi 
Published: December 2011

SummaryInfants have a shorter neuraxial length and shorter skin to epidural space than adults. Even small amounts of migration may produce significant and unintended effects. Optimal fixation to prevent migration, bacterial colonization, and leakage is not clear from the literature. We report the case of a thoracic epidural that migrated inward for six centimeters, associated with loss of analgesic effect.
Clinical significance of serum retinol binding protein‐4 levels in patients with systemic sclerosis
Authors: Toyama T. , Asano Y. , Takahashi T. , Aozasa N. , Akamata K. , Noda S. , Taniguchi T. , Ichimura Y. , Sumida H. , Tamaki Z. , Masui Y. , Tada Y. , Sugaya M. , Sato S. , Kadono T. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractBackground  Retinol binding protein‐4 (RBP‐4) is a member of adipocytokines, which is potentially associated with fibrosis, vasodilation, and angiogenesis in addition to insulin resistance.Objective  To investigate the clinical significance of serum RBP4 levels in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), which is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis and vasculopathy.Methods  Serum RBP4 levels were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay in 62 SSc patients and 19 healthy controls.Results  Similar to patients with chronic kidney disease, serum RBP4 levels inversely correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate in SSc patients with renal dysfunction. Therefore, analyses were carried out by excluding SSc patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Serum RBP4 levels were significantly lower in diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) than in control subjects [median (25–75 percentile); 25.8 μg/mL (19.6–47.0) vs. 43.1 μg/mL (31.7–53.4), P < 0.05], while there was no significant difference between limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc) [28.0 μg/mL (25.4–43.3)] and control subjects. In both of dcSSc and lcSSc, patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon had RBP4 levels significantly lower than those without. Furthermore, serum RBP4 levels inversely correlated with pulmonary function test results in dcSSc and with right ventricular systolic pressure in lcSSc.Conclusion  Decreased RBP4 levels are associated with the prevalence of Raynaud’s phenomenon in dcSSc and lcSSc, with the severity of interstitial lung disease in dcSSc, and with the degree of pulmonary vascular involvement in lcSSc, suggesting the possible contribution of RBP4 to the pathological events in this disorder.
Cytokines, chemokines and growth factors in wound healing
Authors: Behm B. , Babilas P. , Landthaler M. , Schreml S. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractIn wound healing, a variety of mediators have been identified throughout the years. The mediators discussed here comprise growth factors, cytokines and chemokines. These mediators act via multiple (specific) receptors to facilitate wound closure. As research in the last years has led to many new findings, there is a need to give an overview on what is known, and on what might possibly play a role as a molecular target for future wound therapy. This review aims to keep the reader up to date with selected important and novel findings regarding growth factors, cytokines and chemokines in wound healing.
No recent adaptive selection on the apyrase of Mediterranean Phlebotomus: implications for using salivary peptides to vaccinate against canine leishmaniasis
Authors: Mahamdallie Shazia S. , Ready Paul D. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractVaccine development is informed by a knowledge of genetic variation among antigen alleles, especially the distribution of positive and balancing selection in populations and species. A combined approach using population genetic and phylogenetic methods to detect selective signatures can therefore be informative for identifying vaccine candidates. Parasitic Leishmania species cause the disease leishmaniasis in humans and mammalian reservoir hosts after inoculation by female phlebotomine sandflies. Like other arthropod vectors of disease agents, sandflies use salivary peptides to counteract host haemostatic and immunomodulatory responses during bloodfeeding, and these peptides are vaccine candidates because they can protect against Leishmania infection. We detected no contemporary adaptive selection on one salivary peptide, apyrase, in 20 populations of Phlebotomus ariasi, a European vector of Leishmania infantum. Maximum likelihood branch models on a gene phylogeny showed apyrase to be a single copy in P. ariasi but an ancient duplication event associated with temporary positive selection was observed in its sister group, which contains most Mediterranean vectors of L. infantum. The absence of contemporary adaptive selection on the apyrase of P. ariasi may result from this sandfly’s opportunistic feeding behaviour. Our study illustrates how the molecular population genetics of arthropods can help investigate the potential of salivary peptides for disease control and for understanding geographical variation in vector competence.
The Hadamard‐Schwarz inequality
Authors: Iwaniec Tadeusz , Kauhanen Janne , Kravetz Aleda , Scott Chad 
Published: December 2011

Given α1, …, αk arbitrary exterior forms in of degree l1, …, lk, does it follow that
|α1∧⋯∧αk| ≤ |α1| ⋯ |αk|
The answer is no in general. However, it is a persistent, popular and even published misconception that the answer is yes. Of course, a routine calculation reveals that there exists at least a constant Cn independent of the forms satisfying |α1∧⋯∧αk| ≤ Cn|α1| ⋯ |αk|
For reasons mentioned in the introduction, we refer to this as the Hadamard‐Schwarz inequality. However, what the best constant is, either overall or for the particular numbers l1, …, lk remains well short of clear.It is the objective of this paper to explicitly describe the smallest constant for the Hadamard‐¬Schwarz inequality as well as to identify the associated forms for which equality occurs. We have answered these questions for a wide class of integers 0 ≤ l1, …, lk ≤ n.
Weighted holomorphic Besov spaces on the polydisk
Authors: Harutyunyan Anahit V. , Lusky Wolfgang 
Published: December 2011

This work is an introduction of weighted Besov spaces of holomorphic functions on the polydisk. Let Un be the unit polydisk in Cn and S be the space of functions of regular variation. Let 1 ≤ p < ∞, ω = (ω1, …, ωn), ωj ∈ S(1 ≤ j ≤ n) and f ∈ H(Un). The function f is said to be an element of the holomorphic Besov space Bp(ω) if , where dm2n(z) is the 2n‐dimensional Lebesgue measure on Un and D stands for a special fractional derivative of f defined in the paper. For example, if n = 1 then Df is the derivative of the function zf(z).We describe the holomorphic Besov space in terms of Lp(ω) space. Moreover projection theorems and theorems of the existence of a right inverse are proved.