bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Synchronization of PER1 protein in parabrachial nucleus in a natural model of food anticipatory activity
Authors: Juárez Claudia , Morgado Elvira , Waliszewski Stefan M. , Martínez Armando J. , Meza Enrique , Caba Mario 
Published: April 2012

AbstractRabbit pups represent a natural model of food anticipatory activity (FAA). FAA is the behavioral output of a putative food entrainable oscillator (FEO). It had been suggested that the FEO is comprised of a distributed system of clocks that work in concert in response to gastrointestinal input by food. Scheduled food intake synchronizes several nuclei in the brain, and the hypothalamus has received particular attention. On the contrary, brainstem nuclei, despite being among the brain structures to first receive food cues, have been scarcely studied. Here we analysed by immunohistochemistry possible oscillation of FOS and PER1 proteins through a complete 24‐h cycle in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC) and parabrachial nucleus (PBN) of 7–8‐day‐old rabbit pups scheduled to nurse during the night (02:00 h) or day (10:00 h), and also in fasted subjects to explore the possible persistence of oscillations. We found a clear induction of FOS that peaks 1.5 h after nursing in all nuclei studied. PER1 was only synchronized in the PBN, reaching highest values 12 h after nursing. Only PER1 oscillations persisted, with a shift, in fasted subjects. We conclude that the DVC nuclei are probably more related to the transmission of food cues to other brain regions, but that the PBN participates in the integration of information essential for FAA. Our results support previous findings suggesting that the DVC nuclei, but not PBN, are not essential for FAA. We suggest that PBN is a key component of the proposed distributed system of clocks involved in FAA.
Subtype‐dependent postnatal development of taste receptor cells in mouse fungiform taste buds
Authors: Ohtubo Yoshitaka , Iwamoto Masafumi , Yoshii Kiyonori 
Published: April 2012

AbstractTaste buds contain two types of taste receptor cells, inositol 1,4,5‐triphosphate receptor type 3‐immunoreactive cells (type II cells) and synaptosomal‐associating protein‐25‐immunoreactive cells (type III cells). We investigated their postnatal development in mouse fungiform taste buds immunohistochemically and electrophysiologically. The cell density, i.e. the number of cells per taste bud divided by the maximal area of the horizontal cross‐section of the taste bud, of type II cells increased by postnatal day (PD)49, where as that of type III cells was unchanged throughout the postnatal observation period and was equal to that of the adult cells at PD1. The immunoreactivity of taste bud cell subtypes was the same as that of their respective subtypes in adult mice throughout the postnatal observation period. Almost all type II cells were immunoreactive to gustducin at PD1, and then the ratio of gustducin‐immunoreactive type II cells to all type II cells decreased to a saturation level, ∼60% of all type II cells, by PD15. Type II and III cells generated voltage‐gated currents similar to their respective adult cells even at PD3. These results show that infant taste receptor cells are as excitable as those of adults and propagate in a subtype‐dependent manner. The relationship between the ratio of each taste receptor cell subtype to all cells and taste nerve responses are discussed.
α‐blockers, antibiotics and anti‐inflammatories have a role in the management of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome
Authors: Thakkinstian Ammarin , Attia John , Anothaisintawee Thunyarat , Nickel J. Curtis 
Published: April 2012

Study Type – Therapy (systematic review)Level of Evidence 1aWhat's known on the subject? and What does the study add?Individual clinical trials evaluating antibiotics, anti‐inflammatories and α‐blockers for the treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome have shown only modest or even no benefits for patients compared with placebo, yet we continue to use these agents in selected patients with some success in clinical practice.This network meta‐analysis of current evidence from all available randomized placebo‐controlled trials with similar inclusion criteria and outcome measures shows that these ‘3‐As’ of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome treatment (antibiotics, anti‐inflammatories and α‐blockers) do offer benefits to some patients, particularly if we use them strategically in selected individuals.OBJECTIVES
To provide an updated network meta‐analysis mapping α‐blockers, antibiotics and anti‐inflammatories (the 3‐As) in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS).
To use the results of this meta‐analysis to comment on the role of the 3‐As in clinical practice.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
We updated a previous review including only randomized controlled studies employing the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH‐CPSI) as one of the outcomes to compare treatment effects in CP/CPPS patients.
A longitudinal mixed regression model (network meta‐analysis) was applied to indirectly assess multiple treatment comparisons (i.e. α‐blockers, antibiotics, anti‐inflammatory/immune modulation therapies, α‐blockers plus antibiotics, and placebo).
RESULTS
Nineteen studies (1669 subjects) were eligible for analysis.
α‐blockers, antibiotics and anti‐inflammatory/immune modulation therapies were associated with significant improvement in symptoms when compared with placebo, with mean differences of total CPSI of −10.8 (95% CI −13.2 to −8.3; P < 0.001), −9.7 (95% CI −14.2 to −5.3; P < 0.001) and −1.7 (95% CI −3.2 to −0.2; P= 0.032) respectively, while α‐blockers plus antibiotics resulted in the greatest CPSI difference (−13.6, 95% CI −16.7 to −10.6; P < 0.001).
With respect to responder analysis compared with placebo, anti‐inflammatories showed the greatest response rates (risk ratio 1.7, 95% CI 1.4–2.1; P < 0.001) followed by α‐blockers (risk ratio 1.4, 95% CI 1.1–1.8; P= 0.013) and antibiotics (risk ratio 1.2, 95% CI 0.7–1.9; P= 0.527).
CONCLUSIONS
α‐blockers, antibiotics and/or anti‐inflammatory/immune modulation therapy appear to be beneficial for some patients with CP/CPPS.
The magnitude of effect and the disconnect between mean CPSI decrease and response rates compared with placebo suggest that directed multimodal therapy, rather than mono‐therapy, with these agents should be considered for optimal management of CP/CPPS.
Diagnostic accuracy of transrectal elastosonography (TRES) imaging for the diagnosis of prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Aboumarzouk Omar M. , Ogston Simon , Huang Zhihong , Evans Andrew , Melzer Andreas , Stolzenberg Jen‐Uwe , Nabi Ghulam 
Published: April 2012

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?Cancer tissue is stiffer than normal tissue, a fact known for many years. This has been measured using ultrasound (US) technology and is termed as elastosonography (ES). There have been reports of this technique being used in the detection of prostate cancer; however, no definite guidelines for its clinical application exist.The present review, for the first time synthesises published data of transrectal ES (TRES) using diagnostic review methodology. TRES increases prostate cancer detection as compared with grey‐scale US. Also, the study highlights limitations and strengths of data in this area and includes recommendations for future research.To assess the diagnostic performance of transrectal elastosonography (TRES) for the detection of prostate cancer. Two reviewers independently extracted the data from each study. Quality was assessed with a validated quality assessment tool for diagnostic accuracy studies. Diagnostic accuracy of TRES in relation to current standard references (transrectal ultrasonography [TRUS] biopsies and histopathology of radical prostatectomy [RP] specimens) was estimated. A bivariate random effects model was used to obtain sensitivity and specificity values. Hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) were calculated. In all, 16 studies (2278 patients) were included in the review. Using histopathology of the RP specimen as reference standard, the pooled data of four studies showed that the sensitivity of TRES ranged between 0.71 to 0.82 and the specificity ranged between 0.60 to 0.95 (pooled diagnostic odds ratio [DOR] 19.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] 7.7–50.03). The sensitivity varied from 0.26 to 0.87 and specificity varied from 0.17 to 0.76 (pooled DOR 2.141; 95% CI 0.525 to –8.737) using TRUS biopsies (minimum of 10) as a reference standard. The quality of most studies was modest. SROC estimated 0.8653 area under the curve predicting high chances of detecting prostate cancer. There were no health economics or health‐related quality of life of the participants reported in the studies and all the studies used compressional technique with no reported standardisation. The TRES technique appears to improve the detection of prostate cancer compared with systematic biopsy and shows a good accuracy in comparison with histopathology of the RP specimen. However, studies lacked standardisation of the technique, had poor quality of reporting and a large variation in the outcomes based on the reference standards and techniques used.
The ice age ecologist: testing methods for reserve prioritization during the last global warming
Authors: Williams John W. , Kharouba Heather M. , Veloz Sam , Vellend Mark , McLachlan Jason , Liu Zhengyu , Otto‐Bliesner Bette , He Feng 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTAim  We play the role of an ice age ecologist (IAE) charged with conserving biodiversity during the climate changes accompanying the last deglaciation. We develop reserve‐selection strategies for the IAE and check them against rankings based on modern data.Location  Northern and eastern North America.Methods  Three reserve‐selection strategies are developed. (1) Abiotic: the IAE uses no information about species–climate relationships, instead maximizing the climatic and geographic dispersion of reserves. (2) Species distribution models (SDMs): the IAE uses boosted‐regression trees calibrated against pollen data and CCSM3 palaeoclimatic simulations from 21 to 15 ka bp to predict modern taxon distributions, then uses these as input to the Zonation reserve‐ranking program. (3) Rank‐and‐regress: regression models are used to identify climatic predictors of zonation rankings. All strategies are assessed against a Zonation ranking based on modern pollen distributions. Analysis units are ecoregions and grid cells.Results  The abiotic strategy has a negative or no correlation between predicted and actual rankings. The SDM‐based strategy fares better, with a significantly positive area‐corrected correlation (r= 0.474, P < 0.001) between predicted and actual rankings. Predictive ability drops when grid cells are the analysis unit (r= 0.217, P = 0.058). Predictive ability for the rank‐and‐regress strategy is similar to the SDM results.Main conclusions  For the IAE, SDMs improve the predictive ability of reserve‐selection strategies. However, predictive ability is limited overall, probably due to shifted realized niches during past no‐analogue climates, new species interactions as species responded individually to climate change, and other environmental changes not included in the model. Twenty‐first‐century conservation planning also faces these challenges, and is further complicated by other anthropogenic impacts. The IAE's limited success does not preclude the use of climate scenarios and niche‐based SDMs when developing adaptation strategies, but suggests that such tools offer at best only a rough guide to identifying possible areas of future conservation value.
Rule‐of‐Thumb Consumers, Productivity, and Hours*
Authors: Furlanetto Francesco , Seneca Martin 
Published: April 2012

AbstractIn this paper, we study the transmission mechanism of productivity shocks in a model with rule‐of‐thumb consumers. In the literature, this financial friction has been studied only with reference to fiscal shocks. We show that the presence of rule‐of‐thumb consumers is also very helpful when accounting for recent empirical evidence on productivity shocks. Rule‐of‐thumb agents, together with nominal and real rigidities, play an important role in reproducing the negative response of hours and the delayed response of output after a productivity shock.
Habitat fragmentation effects on annual survival of the federally protected eastern indigo snake
Authors: Breininger D. R. , Mazerolle M. J. , Bolt M. R. , Legare M. L. , Drese J. H. , Hines J. E. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThe eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) is a federally listed species, most recently threatened by habitat loss and habitat degradation. In an effort to estimate snake survival, a total of 103 individuals (59 males, 44 females) were followed using radio‐tracking fromJanuary 1998 toMarch 2004 in three landscape types that had increasing levels of habitat fragmentation: (1) conservation cores; (2) conservation areas along highways; (3) suburbs. Because of a large number of radio‐tracking locations underground for which the state of snakes (i.e. alive or dead) could not be assessed, we employed a multistate approach to model snake apparent survival and encounter probability of live and dead snakes. We predicted that male snakes in suburbs would have the lowest annual survival. We found a transmitter implantation effect on snake encounter probability, as snakes implanted on a given occasion had a lower encounter probability on the next visit compared with snakes not implanted on the previous occasion. Our results indicated that adult eastern indigo snakes have relatively high survival in conservation core areas, but greatly reduced survival in conservation areas along highways and in suburbs. These findings indicate that habitat fragmentation is likely to be the critical factor for species’ persistence.
Convenience and choice for consumers: the domestic acceptability of canned food between the 1870s and 1930s
Authors: Lyon Phil , Kinney Dave 
Published: April 2012

AbstractCanned food once represented an astonishingly innovative technology although it is now largely ignored in food discourse. As with so much in our lives, familiarity renders an object invisible. To explore the changing social significance of canned food, as the format developed from scientific curiosity to domestic ubiquity, this paper examines reports in The Scotsman newspaper from the late 1870s to the 1930s. Although canned foods were slow to break into the mass market they were little short of revolutionary in the way they brought new tastes from across the world to ordinary British households. A few cans in the larder provided simple storage and reassurance that the unexpected visitor could be fed – perhaps with something a little out of the ordinary. Against this background of quiet assimilation into our food culture, canned food has been controversial and provided an unwitting rehearsal for contemporary food narratives. In these old newspapers, it was somewhat surprising to find reports of disquiet that are recognizable in our own times – the convenience of canned food posed a threat to culinary skills; questions were raised about the nutritional value and safety of processed food; we had become excessively reliant on imported food and disregarded our own produce.
Maternal and pathological pregnancy characteristics in customised birthweight centiles and identification of at‐risk small‐for‐gestational‐age infants: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Anderson NH , Sadler LC , Stewart AW , McCowan LME 
Published: April 2012

Please cite this paper as: Anderson N, Sadler L, Stewart A, McCowan LE. Maternal and pathological pregnancy characteristics in customised birthweight centiles and identification of at‐risk small‐for‐gestational‐age infants: a retrospective cohort study. BJOG 2012;119:848–856.Objective  To regenerate coefficients for the New Zealand customised birthweight centile calculator using an updated birth cohort, and compare the identification of at‐risk small‐for‐gestational‐age (SGA) infants between full customisation (including maternal characteristics) and an ultrasound‐based fetal weight and infant gender partial customisation.Design  Retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected maternity data.Setting  National Women’s Health Auckland, New Zealand.Population  Singleton pregnancies in the period 2006–2009; n = 24 176.Methods  Multiple linear regression analysis was performed for full customisation (adjusted for gestation, infant gender, maternal characteristics and pathological variables) and ultrasound‐and‐gender customisation (adjusted for gestation and infant gender).Main outcome measures  Risks of SGA‐related perinatal death were compared between models.Results  Changes occurred in some ethnicity coefficients, including Chinese (−135 g), Tongan (−101 g) and Samoan (−89 g), and ten ethnicities were added. Overall, full customisation identified SGA infants with higher odds of perinatal death (OR 5.6, 95% CI 3.6–8.7) than infants classed as SGA by ultrasound‐and‐gender customisation (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.4–3.3) (P = 0.02). In subgroup analyses, infants classed as SGA by full but not ultrasound‐and‐gender customisation (n = 888, 3.4%) had an increased risk of perinatal death (RR 4.7, 95% CI 2.7–7.9); however, those identified as SGA by ultrasound‐and‐gender customisation alone were not at an increased risk (n = 676, 2.6%, RR 1.1, 95% CI 0.4–3.6). The population attributable risk (PAR) of SGA‐related perinatal death was higher for full (49.8%) than for ultrasound‐and‐gender (43.0%) customisation.Conclusions  Updating the New Zealand customised birthweight centile calculator resulted in revised coefficients that better reflect a contemporary birth cohort. Inclusion of maternal characteristics in a birthweight customisation model increases the detection of SGA infants at risk of perinatal death.
The Impact of Insurance Coverage in Diminishing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Behavioral Health Services
Authors: Alegria Margarita , Lin Julia , Chen Chih‐Nan , Duan Naihua , Cook Benjamin , Meng Xiao‐Li 
Published: April 2012

ObjectiveTo estimate whether racial/ethnic behavioral health service disparities are likely to be reduced through insurance expansion coverage expected through the Affordable Health Care Act.Data SourcesPooled data from the nationally representative NIMH Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiological Studies (2001–2003).Study DesignWe employ a novel reweighting method to estimate service disparities in the presence and absence of insurance coverage.Data CollectionAccess to care was assessed by whether any behavioral health treatment was received in the past year. Need was determined by presence of prior year psychiatric disorder, psychiatric diagnoses, physical comorbidities, gender, and age.Principal FindingsImproving patient education and availability of community clinics, combined with insurance coverage reduces service disparities across racial/ethnic groups.However, even with expanded insurance coverage, approximately 10 percent fewer African Americans with need for behavioral health services are likely to receive services compared to non‐Latino whites while Latinos show no measurable disparity.ConclusionsExpansion of insurance coverage might have different effects for racial/ethnic groups, requiring additional interventions to reduce disparities for all groups.
Care Coordination for the Chronically Ill: Understanding the Patient's Perspective
Authors: Maeng Daniel D. , Martsolf Grant R. , Scanlon Dennis P. , Christianson Jon B. 
Published: April 2012

ObjectiveTo identify factors associated with perception of care coordination problems among chronically ill patients.MethodsPatient‐level data were obtained from a random‐digit dial telephone survey of adults with chronic conditions. The survey measured respondents' self‐report of care coordination problems and level of patient activation, using the Patient Activation Measure (PAM‐13). Logistic regression was used to assess association between respondents' self‐report of care coordination problems and a set of patient characteristics.ResultsRespondents in the highest activation stage had roughly 30–40 percent lower odds of reporting care coordination problems compared to those in the lowest stage (p < .01). Respondents with multiple chronic conditions were significantly more likely to report coordination problems than those with hypertension only. Respondents' race/ethnicity, employment, insurance status, income, and length of illness were not significantly associated with self‐reported care coordination problems.ConclusionWe conclude that patient activation and complexity of chronic illness are strongly associated with patients' self‐report of care coordination problems. Developing targeted strategies to improve care coordination around these patient characteristics may be an effective way to address the issue.
Composite Measures for Rating Hospital Quality with Major Surgery
Authors: Dimick Justin B. , Staiger Douglas O. , Osborne Nicholas H. , Nicholas Lauren H. , Birkmeyer John D. 
Published: April 2012

ObjectiveTo assess the value of a novel composite measure for identifying the best hospitals for major procedures.Data SourceWe used national Medicare data for patients undergoing five high‐risk surgical procedures between 2005 and 2008.Study DesignFor each procedure, we used empirical Bayes techniques to create a composite measure combining hospital volume, risk‐adjusted mortality with the procedure of interest, risk‐adjusted mortality with other related procedures, and other variables. Hospitals were ranked based on 2005–2006 data and placed in one of three groups: 1‐star (bottom 20 percent), 2‐star (middle 60 percent), and 3‐star (top 20 percent). We assessed how well these ratings forecasted risk‐adjusted mortality rates in the next 2 years (2007–2008), compared to other measures.Principal FindingsFor all five procedures, the composite measures based on 2005–2006 data performed well in predicting future hospital performance. Compared to 1‐star hospitals, risk‐adjusted mortality was much lower at 3‐star hospitals for esophagectomy (6.7 versus 14.4 percent), pancreatectomy (4.7 versus 9.2 percent), coronary artery bypass surgery (2.6 versus 5.0 percent), aortic valve replacement (4.5 versus 8.5 percent), and percutaneous coronary interventions (2.4 versus 4.1 percent). Compared to individual surgical quality measures, the composite measures were better at forecasting future risk‐adjusted mortality. These measures also outperformed the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare ratings.ConclusionComposite measures of surgical quality are very effective at predicting hospital mortality rates with major procedures. Such measures would be more informative than existing quality indicators in helping patients and payers identify high‐quality hospitals with specific procedures.
Can Wages Buy Honesty? The Relationship Between Relative Wages and Employee Theft
Authors: CHEN CLARA XIAOLING , SANDINO TATIANA 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTIn this study, we examine whether, for a sample of retail chains, high levels of employee compensation can deter employee theft, an increasingly common type of fraudulent behavior. Specifically, we examine the extent to which relative wages (i.e., employee wages relative to the wages paid to comparable employees in competing stores) affect employee theft as measured by inventory shrinkage and cash shortage. Using two store‐level data sets from the convenience store industry, we find that relative wages are negatively associated with employee theft after we control for each store's employee characteristics, monitoring environment, and socio‐economic environment. Moreover, we find that relatively higher wages also promote social norms such that coworkers are less (more) likely to collude to steal inventory from their company when relative wages are higher (lower). Our research contributes to an emerging literature in management control that explores the effect of efficiency wages on employee behavior and social norms.