bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetic diversity metrics for ecological communities: integrating species richness, abundance and evolutionary history
Authors: Cadotte Marc W. , Jonathan Davies T. , Regetz James , Kembel Steven W. , Cleland Elsa , Oakley Todd H. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractPhylogenetic information is increasingly being used to understand the assembly of biological communities and ecological processes. However, commonly used metrics of phylogenetic diversity (PD) do not incorporate information on the relative abundances of individuals within a community. In this study, we develop three indices of PD that explicitly consider species abundances. First, we present a metric of phylogenetic‐abundance evenness that evaluates the relationship between the abundance and the distribution of terminal branch lengths. Second, we calculate an index of hierarchical imbalance of abundances at the clade level encapsulating the distribution of individuals across the nodes in the phylogeny. Third, we develop an index of abundance‐weighted evolutionary distinctiveness and generate an entropic index of phylogenetic diversity that captures both information on evolutionary distances and phylogenetic tree topology, and also serves as a basis to evaluate species conservation value. These metrics offer measures of phylogenetic diversity incorporating different community attributes. We compare these new metrics to existing ones, and use them to explore diversity patterns in a typical California annual grassland plant community at the Jasper Ridge biological preserve.Ecology Letters(2010) 13: 96–105
Logistics and outcome in urgent and emergency colorectal surgery
Authors: Elshove‐Bolk J. , Ellensen V. S. , Baatrup G. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractAim  Infrastructure‐related factors are seldom described in detail in studies on outcome after surgical procedures. We studied patient, procedure, physician and infrastructure characteristics and their effect on outcome at a Norwegian University hospital.Method  All patients admitted between 1st January 2002 and 30th June 2003 who underwent urgent or emergency colorectal surgery were extracted from the hospital databases and retrospectively analysed.Results  There were 196 patients. The overall complication rate was 39%. Forty‐six (24%) patients died during admission after surgery. Those who died were less likely to be operated by a subspecialized colorectal surgeon (17%vs 30%, P = 0.001). The anaesthesiologist was a resident in most of the cases (> 75%) for both those who survived and those who died. Surgery performed out‐of‐office hours was common in both groups, although the patients who died were more likely to be operated upon at night (28%vs 18%, P = 0.001). The time interval standard from admission to surgery was met in only 84 (43%) patients. Forty‐nine (49/196, 25%) procedures were delayed beyond the time requested by the surgeon by more than 120 min (mean 363 min).Conclusion  The outcome after emergency colorectal surgery was consistent with the literature but the infrastructure was not optimal. Improvements may be achieved by a focus on decreasing waiting times, abandoning of out‐of‐office emergency surgery and increasing the involvement of senior staff.
Robot‐assisted radical cystectomy: intermediate survival results at a mean follow‐up of 25 months
Authors: Martin Aaron D. , Nunez Rafael N. , Pacelli Anna , Woods Michael E. , Davis Rodney , Thomas Raju , Andrews Paul E. , Castle Erik P. 
Published: November 2009

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4OBJECTIVETo assess the overall and disease‐specific survival rates of patients undergoing robot‐assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) compared with historical open cystectomy.PATIENTS AND METHODSSurvival, pathological and demographic data were collected on all patients undergoing RARC for bladder cancer from both Tulane University Medical Center and Mayo Clinic Arizona. Of a total of 80 RARCs we only included those with a follow‐up of ≥6 months from surgery. Survival curves were compared with those from historical series of open cystectomy.RESULTSOf the 80 patients 59 were identified as having a follow‐up of ≥6 months from the date of surgery. The mean (range) follow‐up was 25 (6–49) months. Overall survival rates at 12 and 36 months were 82% and 69%, respectively, and disease‐specific survival rates were 82% and 72% at 12 and 36 months, respectively. These results are comparable to survival rates from open cystectomy. As expected, patients with lymph node‐positive disease fared worse than those with lymph node‐negative disease. Patients with extravesical lymph node‐negative disease (pT3, pT4) fared worse than patients with organ‐confined lymph node‐negative disease. Also, patients with lymph node‐positive disease fared worse than those with extravesical lymph node‐negative disease, which is consistent with historical results of open cystectomy.CONCLUSIONSRARC has a comparable survival rate to open cystectomy in the intermediate follow‐up. Further study with a longer follow‐up and more patients is necessary to determine any long‐term survival benefits.
The Ecuador Project: the five ‘R's’ of an education collaboration
Authors: Palmer S.P. , Bracken Deborah R. 
Published: November 2009

Background:  The Ecuador Project is an ongoing venture with hospitals in Guayaquil, Ecuador owned by the Junta de Beneficencia working with the College of Nursing at Brigham Young University, Utah, USA.Aims:  In efforts to positively change patient outcomes in these large charity hospitals, a cultural exchange of staff and student experiences have taken place for the past 6 years.Materials and methods:  Over 900 hospital personnel in Ecuador have participated in classes including neonatal resuscitation, paediatric and adult advanced life support, and basic life support. The courses were organized and implemented through combined efforts from both groups and have been well received by all participants.Results:  Positive changes have been observed and are improving health care in Ecuador.Discussion:  This paper reviews our experiences through the ‘Ecuador Project’ which have shown there are five ‘R's’ that guide an international educational exchange: realistic goals, repetition, reinforcement, reassessment and remaining open to change (Table 1). First, realistic expectations must be set. Are the intended outcomes desired by all individuals involved, and are they attainable? Repetition and reinforcement of new concepts are important in all types of education, especially where there are cultural and language differences. Reassessment of the outcome is essential in determining the effectiveness and alignment of teaching strategies. Lastly, remaining open to change is vital to maintaining open and lasting relationships in an international setting.

Five ‘R's’ of an International Educational Collaboration (Sheri P. Palmer and Deborah R. Bracken)

Five ‘R's’ of an International Educational Collaboration:

Realistic goals

Repetition

Reinforcement

Reassessment

Remain open to change

Conclusion:  Using these five ‘R's’ can guide the success of any international venture.
Displaced persons' perceptions of human rights in Southern Sudan
Authors: Pavlish C. , Ho A. 
Published: November 2009

Background: A human rights framework has become more important in advancing equitable health and development opportunities. However, in post‐conflict settings, human rights violations persist. Women and girls are especially vulnerable to discrimination and violence.Aim: To deepen understanding about the social context that influences human rights experiences and gender relationships in a post conflict setting.Methods: Focus groups and key informant interviews were conducted in an ethnographic study among displaced persons, government officials and community‐based organizations in Southern Sudan.Findings: Participants defined human rights as the right to good governance, self‐determination and participation in society's development, security and equality. Human rights violations included discrimination, insecurity and inadequate health and development opportunities. Education, language and geographic location influenced human rights perspectives. Some social groups were at higher risk for human rights violations.Conclusions: Community perspectives on human rights indicated complex connections between obligations, claims, conditions and social relationships. Nurses can create conditions that advance people's human rights and improve their health.
Membership Matters: On the Value of Being Embedded in Customer Networks
Authors: Fjeldstad Øystein D. , Sasson Amir 
Published: November 2009

abstractLearning about customers and their contexts is vital to firm strategy. We examine how firms can learn by participating in their customers' networks. Specifically, we explain how a bank can increase the value that it creates for customers by being embedded in the networks in which the customers are embedded. We argue that knowledge pertinent to a particular customer is available in the network of affiliated, inter‐related customers, and that being structurally embedded in this network can help banks overcome information asymmetries. We use hierarchical linear modelling to test the argument that a bank's structural embeddedness in its customers' network positively affects the bank's ability to offer favourable credit terms. We find that not only does such structural embeddedness affect credit terms, but it also moderates the effects of previously examined relational embeddedness on credit terms.
Middle Manager Leadership and Frontline Employee Performance: Bypass, Cascading, and Moderating Effects
Authors: Yang Jixia , Zhang Zhi‐Xue , Tsui Anne S. 
Published: November 2009

abstractWe investigated the relationship between middle managers' transformational leadership and the performance of frontline employees who are two levels below the middle managers. We identified two pathways through which this cross‐level influence occurs and tested two moderators operating on these two pathways. The first pathway is a direct effect from middle managers to employees, bypassing the influence of employees' immediate supervisor (the bypass effect). We further hypothesized that the bypass effect is moderated by the employees' collectivistic value. The second pathway is a cascading of leadership behaviours from middle managers to first‐line supervisors, whose transformational leadership then enhances employees' performance (the cascading effect). We further hypothesized that this cascading effect is moderated by the supervisors' power distance value. These hypotheses were tested with a sample of 491 frontline employees, 98 frontline supervisors, and 30 middle managers in three organizations in China. The three‐level hierarchical linear modelling results supported the four hypotheses.
The Efficient and Fair Approval of “Multiple‐Cost‐Single‐Benefit” Projects under Unilateral Information
Authors: KAHANA NAVA , MEALEM YOSEF , NITZAN SHMUEL 
Published: November 2009

AbstractThis paper focuses on indivisible “multiple‐cost‐single‐benefit” projects that must be approved by the government. A simple mechanism is proposed that ensures an efficient and fair implementation of such projects. The proposed mechanism is appropriate for a unilateral information structure: the single beneficiary has complete information on the cost and benefit of the project while the government official has no such information and the cost bearers have information only on each other's costs.
Multiple primary malignancies in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma1
Authors: Gass JK , Chan SK , Rytina E , Greenberg DC , Burrows NP 
Published: November 2009

AbstractBackground  Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare malignant cutaneous tumour, the incidence of which is increasing. Second malignancies have been reported to occur with high incidence in these patients.Objectives  We report the rate and nature of multiple malignancies in patients with MCC treated over a 10 year period in Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, United Kingdom, as well as the temporal relationship of these additional malignancies to the diagnosis of MCC.Results  The 27 patients had an approximately equal sex incidence with a median age at diagnosis of 79 years. Seventy percent (n=19) of patients had a second primary malignant tumour; and 7 of these patients had two or more tumours in addition to the MCC. Eighteen patients had additional cutaneous malignancies: melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, and 8 patients presented non‐cutaneous malignancy including colorectal, haematological and breast tumours.Of the 28 additional tumours in our patients, half were diagnosed prior to presentation of MCC, 32% within 6 months of diagnosis, and 18% between 6 months and 3 years after diagnosis. Possible reasons for the high rate of additional tumours in this population are discussed.Conclusions  Our figures reflect a higher incidence of multiple malignancies in those with Merkel cell tumour than has previously been reported. This has important implications for the care and surveillance of these patients.
Basement membrane antibodies in sera of haematopoietic cell recipients are associated with graft‐versus‐host disease
Authors: Hofmann SC , Kopp G , Gall C , Bruckner‐Tuderman L , Bertz H 
Published: November 2009

AbstractBackground  Graft‐versus‐host disease (GvHD) occurs frequently after haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Mucocutaneous lesions of GvHD may mimic bullous autoimmune dermatoses, and 10 cases of concurrent GvHD and a bullous autoimmune disease have been reported in the literature.Objective  To determine the frequency of circulating antibodies to the cutaneous basement membrane zone (BMZ) in HCT patients with GvHD in comparison with HCT patients without GvHD, psoriasis patients and healthy controls.Subjects and methods  We examined 42 patients with chronic GvHD, 18 HCT patients without GvHD, 11 psoriasis patients and 40 healthy controls, prospectively. Sera were tested by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on salt‐split skin, NC16a‐ELISA and immunoblot using keratinocyte extracts. Univariate statistical analyses and logistic regression were performed to assess possible correlations of graft and patient characteristics with the presence of BMZ antibodies.Results  Circulating basement membrane zone (BMZ) antibodies were detected in 10/42 (24%) GvHD sera by immunoblot, but not in any of the HCT sera from patients without GvHD (0/18; 0%). The antibodies targeted collagen VII, BP230, collagen XVII/BP180 or p200/laminin γ1. Clinically manifest bullous autoimmune dermatoses (bullous pemphigoid or epidermolysis bullosa acquisita) were found in two GvHD patients. 1/11 (9%) psoriasis sera and 1/40 (2.4%) healthy control sera reacted with collagen XVII or BP230, respectively.Conclusions  Circulating BMZ antibodies are significantly associated with chronic GvHD in contrast to uncomplicated HCT. Recurrent mucocutaneous lesions in chronic inflammatory skin disorders may liberate antigens, which may lead to production of BMZ antibodies, particularly in the context of GvHD‐mediated reduced self‐tolerance.
Functional morphology of the sound‐generating labia in the syrinx of two songbird species
Authors: Riede Tobias , Goller Franz 
Published: November 2009

AbstractIn songbirds, two sound sources inside the syrinx are used to produce the primary sound. Laterally positioned labia are passively set into vibration, thus interrupting a passing air stream. Together with subsyringeal pressure, the size and tension of the labia determine the spectral characteristics of the primary sound. Very little is known about how the histological composition and morphology of the labia affect their function as sound generators. Here we related the size and microstructure of the labia to their acoustic function in two songbird species with different acoustic characteristics, the white‐crowned sparrow and zebra finch. Histological serial sections of the syrinx and different staining techniques were used to identify collagen, elastin and hyaluronan as extracellular matrix components. The distribution and orientation of elastic fibers indicated that the labia in white‐crowned sparrows are multi‐layered structures, whereas they are more uniformly structured in the zebra finch. Collagen and hyaluronan were evenly distributed in both species. A multi‐layered composition could give rise to complex viscoelastic properties of each sound source. We also measured labia size. Variability was found along the dorso‐ventral axis in both species. Lateral asymmetry was identified in some individuals but not consistently at the species level. Different size between the left and right sound sources could provide a morphological basis for the acoustic specialization of each sound generator, but only in some individuals. The inconsistency of its presence requires the investigation of alternative explanations, e.g. differences in viscoelastic properties of the labia of the left and right syrinx. Furthermore, we identified attachments of syringeal muscles to the labia as well as to bronchial half rings and suggest a mechanism for their biomechanical function.
Micro‐magnetic resonance imaging and embryological analysis of wild‐type and pma mutant mice with clubfoot
Authors: Duce Suzanne , Madrigal Londale , Schmidt Katy , Cunningham Craig , Liu Guoqing , Barker Simon , Tennant Gordon , Tickle Cheryll , Chudek Sandy , Miedzybrodzka Zosia 
Published: November 2009

AbstractGross similarities between the external appearance of the hind limbs of the peroneal muscle atrophy (pma) mouse mutant and congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV), a human disorder historically referred to as ‘clubfoot’, suggested that this mutant could be a useful model. We used micro‐magnetic resonance imaging to visualize the detailed anatomy of the hind limb defect in mutant pma mice and performed 3D comparisons between mutant and wild‐type hind limbs. We found that the pma foot demonstrates supination (i.e. adduction and inversion of the mid foot and fore foot together with plantar flexion of the ankle and toes) and that the tibiale and distal tarsals display 3D abnormalities in positioning. The size and shape of the tibia, fibula, tarsal and metatarsal bones are similar to the wild‐type. Hypoplasia of the muscles in the antero‐lateral (peroneal) compartment was also demonstrated. The resemblance of these features to those seen in CTEV suggests that the pma mouse is a possibly useful model for the human condition. To understand how the observed deformities in the pma mouse hind foot arise during embryonic development, we followed the process of foot rotation in both wild‐type and pma mutant mice. Rotation of the hind foot in mouse embryos of wild‐type strains (CD‐1 and C57/Black) occurs from embryonic day 14.5 onwards with rotation in C57/Black taking longer. In embryos from both strains, rotation of the right hind foot more commonly precedes rotation of the left. In pma mutants, the initiation of rotation is often delayed and rotation is slower and does not reach completion. If the usefulness of the pma mutant as a model is confirmed, then these findings on pma mouse embryos, when extrapolated to humans, would support a long‐standing hypothesis that CTEV is due to the failure of completion of the normal process of rotation and angulation, historically known as the ‘arrested development hypothesis’.
Tissue distribution of cells derived from the area opaca in heterospecific quail‐chick blastodermal chimeras
Authors: Karagenç Levent , Sandikci Mustafa 
Published: November 2009

AbstractThe objective of the current study was to determine the tissue distribution of cells derived from the area opaca in heterospecific quail‐chick blastodermal chimeras. Quail‐chick chimeras were constructed by transferring dissociated cells from the area opaca of the stage X–XII (EG&K) quail embryo into the subgerminal cavity of the unincubated chick blastoderm. The distribution of quail cells in embryonic as well as extra‐embryonic tissues of the recipient embryo were examined using the QCPN monoclonal antibody after 6 days of incubation in serial sections taken at 100‐μm intervals. Data gathered in the present study demonstrated that, when introduced into the subgerminal cavity of a recipient embryo, cells of the area opaca are able to populate not only extra‐embryonic structures such as the amnion and the yolk sac, but also various embryonic tissues derived from the ectoderm and less frequently the mesoderm. Ectodermal chimerism was confined mainly to the head region and was observed in tissues derived from the neural ectoderm and the surface ectoderm, including the optic cup, diencephalon and lens. Although the possibility of random incorporation of transplanted cells into these embryonic structures cannot be excluded, these results would suggest that area opaca, a peripheral ring of cells in the avian embryo destined to form the extra‐embryonic ectoderm and endoderm of the yolk sac, might harbor cells that have the potential to give rise to various cell types in the recipient chick embryo, including those derived from the surface ectoderm and neural ectoderm.
Serum brain‐derived neurotrophic factor and platelet activation evaluated by soluble P‐selectin and soluble CD‐40‐ligand in patients with acute myocardial infarction
Authors: Lorgis Luc , Amoureux Sebastien , De Maistre Emmanuel , Sicard Pierre , Bejot Yannick , Zeller Marianne , Vergely Catherine , Sequeira‐Le Grand Annabelle , Lagrost Anne‐Cécile , Berchoud Juliane , Cottin Yves , Rochette Luc 
Published: November 2009

AbstractLittle is known about the role of neurotrophins (NT) under adult vascular homeostasis in normal and pathological conditions. The NT family, including nerve growth factor and brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are expressed in atherosclerotic vessels. Previous studies demonstrated that plasma BDNF levels were increased in the coronary circulation in patients with unstable angina. However, the role of BDNF during the onset and evolution of unstable angina remains to be elucidated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between BDNF, functional parameters and biological markers associated with inflammatory processes and platelet activation. BDNF serum levels were assessed in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) (n = 20) or stable angina pectoris (SAP) (n = 20) who underwent coronary angiography. Serum levels of IL‐6, MCP1, sVCAM, soluble CD‐40‐ligand (sCD40L) and soluble P‐selectin (sP‐selectin) were measured simultaneously by flux cytometry. Median BDNF levels were higher in the MI than in the SAP group (1730 vs. 877 pg/mL, respectively; P = 0.025). In MI patients, we observed a significant correlation between BDNF and sP‐selectin (r = 0.58, P = 0.023), although we found a non‐significant trend between BDNF and sCD40L (r = +0.35, P = 0.144). By contrast, no such correlation was observed in SAP patients (r = −0.22, P = 0.425). No difference was observed between the two groups regarding baseline demographics, risk factors, biological data and angiographic findings. The study suggests that BDNF serum levels in MI patients could be related to platelet activation and the inflammatory response. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of NT in the setting of acute MI.