bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of carbon dioxide‐insufflating colonoscopy in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: A randomized double‐blind study
Authors: Imai Aki , Kato Mototsugu , Ono Shouko , Shimizu Yuichi , Takeda Hiroshi , Asaka Masahiro 
Published: June 2012

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Colonoscopy has the disadvantage of pain and discomfort for patients. It has been shown in randomized controlled trials that carbon dioxide (CO2) insufflations significantly reduce pain and discomfort in patients undergoing colonoscopy. However, there have been no studies in which CO2 insufflation in colonoscopy of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) was investigated.Methods:  Randomized double‐blind controlled study was conducted to assess the suffering from colonoscopy in patients with IBS and the efficacy of CO2 insufflation in colonoscopy for patients with IBS. Patients with IBS and controls who received colonoscopy were randomized into an air or CO2 insufflation group. Patients' symptoms such as distension and pain were compared using a 10‐cm visual analog scale (VAS).Results:  There were 18 patients in the IBS/air group, 19 patients in the IBS/CO2 group, 25 patients in the control/air group and 26 patients in the control/CO2 group. The mean value of severity of distension after colonoscopy and the mean value of severity of pain from during examination to one hour after the examination were higher in the IBS group than in the control group. The severity of these symptoms was reduced earlier in the CO2 group. CO2 insufflation in colonoscopy was more effective in the IBS group than in the control group from 15 min to one hour after the examination.Conclusion:  Regarding colonoscopy‐related suffering, IBS patients showed significant differences from non‐IBS patients. CO2 insufflation in colonoscopy is effective for IBS patients, particularly for patients who commence activities after colonscopy.
Variations in zooplankton community structure and water quality conditions in three habitat types in northern Lake Victoria
Authors: Vincent Kiggundu , Mwebaza‐Ndawula L. , Makanga B. , Nachuha Sarah 
Published: June 2012

AbstractLake Victoria is vulnerable to increasing eutrophication, which has become manifested in ecological changes not yet fully understood. From October 2009 to January 2010, the influence of water quality on zooplankton community structure in three habitats in northern Lake Victoria, including sewage lagoons at the lake shores, Napoleon Gulf (NG) and the interface between the lake and the Nile River (also known as Source of the Nile River), was examined. Selected physico‐chemical parameters (dissolved oxygen concentration; water temperature; electrical conductivity; water depth) were measured in‐situ, while water samples were collected for chlorophyll‐a determinations. Zooplankton was sampled with conical plankton net (mesh size 60 μm; 0.25‐m mouth diameter). The NG and Source of the River Nile (SN) sampling sites exhibited significantly higher species richness, relative to the Sewage Lagoons (SL) site (F2,69 = 68.533; P < 0.05). Higher mean densities and dry biomass of zooplankton was generally a characteristic of the SL site (8715 ± 3241 ind L−1; 1862 ± 451 μg L−1), compared to the NG (119 ± 24 ind L−1; 53 ± 8 μg L−1) and SN sites (151 ± 26 ind L−1; 58 ± 9 μg L−1). Copepoda constituted a high numerical composition of the zooplankton at the NG and SN sites (>90% for both sites), while Rotifera dominated the zooplankton community at the SL site (97%). The mean values (±SE) of soluble reactive phosphorus (4060.7 ± 776.6 μg L−1) and nitrate–nitrogen (2121.7 ± 355.5 μg L−1) were much higher for the SL site, compared with the SN (8.2 ± 1.1 μg L−1; 28.6 ± 5.3 μg L−1, respectively), and NG site (7.8 ± 0.8 μg L−1; 32.7 ± 5.4 μg L−1, respectively). This study indicated the nutrient‐rich conditions observed at the SL site suppress the zooplankton species diversity, but favour species‐specific abundance and biomass. These study results indicate the zooplankton community structure can be used as a biological indicator of water quality in the Lake Victoria region.
Water quality assessment of a tropical coastal lake system using multivariate cluster, principal component and factor analysis
Authors: Sheela A. M. , Letha J. , Joseph S. , Chacko M. , Sanal kumar S. P. , Thomas J. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractStatistical techniques represent a reliable tool for classifying, modelling and interpreting surface water quality monitoring data, particularly for lakes. The complexity associated with the analysis of a large number of measured variables, however, is a major problem in water quality assessments. Multivariate analysis, such as cluster analysis and factor analysis (FA), was utilized in this study for the analysis of water quality data (including water discharges and 28 water quality parameters) for Akkulam–Veli Lake, a tropical coastal lake system in Kerala, India. This lake is partially divided into two sub‐systems, namely Veli Lake and Akkulam Lake. Akkulam Lake exhibits freshwater characteristics, in contrast to Veli Lake, which exhibits saline water characteristics because of its close proximity to the sea. Thus, studying this lake provides insights into water quality variations in both a freshwater and saline water lake in a tropical region. Water quality patterns and variations in Akkulam–Vela Lake over three seasons, including pre‐monsoon (PRM), monsoon (MON) and post‐monsoon (POM), also were studied, utilizing multivariate techniques. The organic pollution factor played a significant role on lake water quality during PRM. The influence of organic pollution tends to decrease during MON and POM, a particular situation faced by urban lakes in tropical regions. Polluted stretches in a lake system during different seasons can easily be ascertained by hierarchical cluster analysis. Further, the factors affecting a lake system as a whole, as well as for a particular sampling site, can easily be identified by FA. Improved water quality can be observed during POM. Akkulam and Vela lakes exhibit a wide variation in water quality during all seasons, a finding that corroborates a water flow obstruction from Akkulam Lake to Veli Lake because of the bund existing between the two lakes. The location of the bund is identified as the major reason for different hydrochemical processes in A–V Lake.
Leydig cell tumor of the spermatic cord in an adolescent affected by congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Authors: Ferrari Matteo , Raber Marco , Capitanio Umberto , Russo Gianni , Ferrario Matilde , Rizzo Nathalie , Freschi Massimo , Rigatti Patrizio , Montorsi Francesco 
Published: June 2012

AbstractWe report the first case of a patient with extratesticular Leydig cell tumor associated with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. An 18‐year‐old congenital adrenal hyperplasia patient presented with a palpable and asymptomatic right extratesticular mass. Color Doppler sonography confirmed the presence of a capsulated and vascularised lesion. Sieric tumor markers were negative. The patient underwent surgical scrotal exploration through an inguinal right incision. The mass, 18 mm in size and located within the spermatic cord, was removed and final pathology diagnosed a benign Leydig cell tumor.
Low‐grade endometrial stromal sarcoma developing in a postmenopausal woman under toremifene treatment for breast cancer
Authors: Kashiyama Tomoko , Oda Katsutoshi , Kawana Kei , Arimoto Takahide , Kanetaka Yukiko , Takazawa Yutaka , Maeda Daichi , Nakagawa Shunsuke , Yano Tetsu , Kozuma Shiro 
Published: June 2012

AbstractLow‐grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) is a rare neoplasm that is generally estrogen‐receptor‐ and progesterone‐receptor‐positive and develops in premenopausal women. Although tamoxifen treatment is associated with an increased risk of ESS, the effect of other selective estrogen receptor modulators, including toremifene, on the risk of ESS is not clear. A 61‐year‐old postmenopausal woman was treated with toremifene as an adjuvant therapy for breast cancer. A cystic mass developed during the treatment, with gradual growth in the uterine myometrium. The patient was treated with hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy, and the tumor was diagnosed as low‐grade ESS (stage IA) with estrogen‐receptor and progesterone‐receptor. The patient discontinued toremifene and has been progression‐free for 21 months. Our data suggest that toremifene might be associated with the development of ESS in certain patients through its estrogen‐like effects in the uterus.
Gene‐flow between niches facilitates local adaptation in sexual populations
Authors: Gray Jeremy C. , Goddard Matthew R. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractIn sexual populations, gene‐flow between niches is predicted to have differential consequences on local adaptation contingent upon the nature of trade‐offs underlying local adaptation. Sex retards local adaptation if antagonistic pleiotropy underlies trade‐offs, but facilitates adaptation if mutation accumulation underlies trade‐offs. We evaluate the effect of sex in heterogeneous environments by manipulating gene‐flow between two niches in sexual and asexual populations using steady‐state microcosm experiments with yeast. We find that only sex in the presence of gene‐flow promotes simultaneous local adaptation to different niches, presumably as this exposes mutations neutrally accrued in alternate niches to selection. This finding aligns with work showing mutation accumulation underlies trade‐offs to local adaptation in asexual microbes, and with inferences of divergence in the presence of gene‐flow in natural sexual populations. This experiment shows that sex may be of benefit in heterogeneous environments, and thus helps explain why sex has been maintained more generally.
A Case‐Based Reasoning system for complex medical diagnosis
Authors: Chattopadhyay Subhagata , Banerjee Suvendu , Rabhi Fethi A. , Acharya U. Rajendra 
Published: June 2012

AbstractA Case‐Based Reasoning (CBR) system for medical diagnosis mimics the way doctors make a diagnosis. Given a new case, its accuracy in practice depends on successful retrieval of similar cases. CBR systems have had some success in dealing with simple diseases because of the robustness of their case base. However, their diagnostic accuracy suffers when dealing with complex diseases particularly those that involve multiple domains in medicine. An example of such a condition is Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) as it falls under both gynaecology and psychiatry. To address this issue, the paper proposes a CBR‐based expert system that uses the K‐nearest neighbour (KNN) algorithm to search k similar cases based on the Euclidean distance measure. The novelty of the system is in the design of a flexible auto‐set tolerance (T), which serves as a threshold to extract cases for which similarities are greater than the assigned value of T. A prototype software tool with a menu‐driven Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been developed for case input, analysis of results, and case adaptation within the system. Finally, the performance of the tool has been checked on a set of real‐world PMS cases.
A Piece of Coastal Crust: The Origins of a Second World War Defence Landscape at Walberswick, Suffolk
Authors: LIDDIARD ROBERT , SIMS DAVID 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe fortification of the British coastline under threat of German invasion is a neglected dimension of the Second World War. While the various national defence programmes enacted during the conflict are well known, the mechanisms by which these schemes were actually established are poorly understood. This article sheds new light on the origins of Britain's coastal ‘crust’ via a case study of Walberswick in Suffolk. It demonstrates that the defences erected during the invasion crisis of 1940 were as much a product of local decisions made on the ground as they were of top‐down planning.
The Hidden History of Graham Greene's Vietnam War: Fact, Fiction and The Quiet American
Authors: RUANE KEVIN 
Published: June 2012

AbstractIn the frontispiece of his Vietnam‐set novel, The Quiet American, published in 1955, Graham Greene insisted that he had written ‘a story and not a piece of history’, yet countless readers in the decades that followed ignored these cautionary words and invested the work with historical authenticity. By writing in the first person, and by including more direct reportage (drawn from his several visits to Indo‐China in the 1950s) than can be found in any of his other novels, Greene underestimated the extent to which his readership would confuse fact and fiction. Greene did not intend his novel to function as history, but this is what happened. How, then, does it measure up as history? In addressing this question, most commentators have been concerned to establish the real‐life inspiration for Alden Pyle, the quiet American of the book's title who is secretly (and disastrously) promoting a Third Force in Vietnam equidistant between the French colonialists and the communist‐led Viet‐Minh. In this article the focus is less on personalities than on whether the Americans were indeed covertly funding and arming a Third Force. In addition, using Greene's unpublished letters and diaries as well as Foreign Office documents recently released under the UK Freedom of Information Act, it will be seen that the British, too, were involved in Third Force plotting behind French backs and that Greene himself was a party to the kind of convoluted intrigue so often to be found in the plots of his novels.
Submission and Homage: Feudo‐Vassalic Bonds and the Settlement of Disputes in Ottonian Germany
Authors: ROACH LEVI 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThis article seeks to shed light on the role of feudo‐vassalic relations in Ottonian Germany, approaching the subject from the angle of the role that homage played in dispute settlement. Taking as its starting point two descriptions of acts of submission which involved the ritual of homage, it argues that neither can sustain a traditional feudo‐vassalic interpretation; it would seem that homage was used in such contexts not because the parties involved were bound by a putative ‘feudal contract’, but rather because it was a flexible rite, which was by no means limited to relations between feudal lords and their enfeoffed vassals. This leads on to a broader reconsideration of feudo‐vassalic bonds in the tenth‐ and early eleventh‐century Reich, which argues that though the evidence to hand does not conform well to classic teaching regarding the ‘feudal system’, it nevertheless shows important developments towards something approximating this, which by the second half of the twelfth century comes more fully into view.
Two Sides of a Coin: Endogenous and Exogenous Effects of Corporate Diversification on Firm Value
Authors: He Xi 
Published: June 2012

AbstractWe investigate the value effects of two types of corporate diversification – unexpected exogenous diversification and endogenous diversification. Combining Heckman's sample‐selection estimator with a two‐stage least squares estimator and a generalized method of moments instrumental variables estimator to control for both endogeneity and sample‐selection bias, we find that while an unexpected increase in diversification caused by exogenous shocks destroys firm value, an endogenous increase in diversification due to managerial decisions will enhance firm value, indicating a diversification premium from altering organizational structures.
Agreement between histological subtype on punch biopsy and surgical excision in primary basal cell carcinoma
Authors: Roozeboom M.H. , Mosterd K. , Winnepenninckx V.J.L. , Nelemans P.J. , Kelleners‐Smeets N.W.J. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractBackground  Diagnosis of clinically suspected basal cell carcinoma (BCC) by histological confirmation with punch biopsy has been recommended before treatment. Even shave biopsy has been proposed as useful to predict the correct subtype in primary BCC in 76–81%, whereas the agreement between histological BCC subtype on punch biopsy and subsequent excision specimens in recurrent BCC is 67.1%. However, no large studies on the agreement between histological BCC subtype seen on punch biopsy and the following surgical excision are performed in primary BCC.Objective  The aims of this study were (i) to establish the agreement between histological BCC subtype on punch biopsy and the subsequent surgical excision of primary BCC and; (ii) to investigate the proportion of primary BCCs in which punch biopsy enables identification of the most aggressive growth pattern.Methods  Retrospective analyses of 243 primary BCCs with both punch biopsy and subsequent surgical excision. Analyses were based on the most aggressive histological subtype of the tumour.Results  The agreement between BCC subtype on punch biopsy and the subsequent surgical excision of primary BCCs was 60.9%. A punch biopsy can predict the most aggressive growth pattern of primary BCCs in 84.4%. Seventy‐four percentage of all primary BCCs consisted of more than one histological subtype.Conclusion  Dermatologists and other physicians have to be aware of the limited diagnostic value of a punch biopsy to determine the histological BCC subtype of the whole lesion. Misdiagnosis of the subtype will lead to undertreatment in one of six primary BCCs.
A novel bioflocculant produced byKlebsiella sp. and its application to sludge dewatering
Authors: Yang Qi , Luo Kun , Liao De‐xiang , Li Xiao‐ming , Wang Dong‐bo , Liu Xian , Zeng Guang‐ming , Li Xu 
Published: June 2012

AbstractA bioflocculant‐producing bacterium, namedN‐10, was isolated from activated sludge and was identified asKlebsiella sp.The bioflocculant (named MBF10) produced byKlebsiella sp. had a good flocculating capability and could achieve a flocculating rate of 86.5% to kaolin suspension at the dosage of 0.034 g/L. Compared with chemical flocculants, such as Al2(SO4)3, polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and cationic polyacrylamide (PAM) at their optimal dosages, MBF10 showed a similar performance for sludge dewatering. After preconditioning, dry solids (DS) and specific resistance to filtration (SRF) of the sludge were 17.5% and 3.36 × 1012m/kg, respectively. The combined use of MBF10 and Al2(SO4)3resulted in optimum sludge dewatering properties,SRFreduced from 10.87 × 1012m/kg to 1.72 × 1012m/kg, andDSincreased from 13.1% to 21.3%. Charge neutralisation and interparticle bridging were proposed as the reasons for the enhanced performance based upon the experimental observations.
Dietary variation within and between populations of northeast Atlantic killer whales, Orcinus orca, inferred from δ13C and δ15N analyses
Authors: Foote Andrew D. , Vester Heike , Víkingsson Gísli A. , Newton Jason 
Published: June 2012

AbstractEpidermal skin samples from eastern North Atlantic killer whales, Orcinus orca, were analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. From those, comparisons within a data set of 17 samples collected from Tysfjord, Norway, in November suggested that diet is relatively specialized during this time period at this location. There were significant differences between a small set of samples from Iceland and those collected from Norway, which had all been assigned to the same population by a previous population genetics study. The results would be consistent with matrilines feeding on either the Norwegian or Icelandic stocks of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). There was no significant difference within Icelandic samples between those assigned to the population known to feed upon herring and those assigned to a population hypothesized to follow Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). The greatest differences were between the epidermal samples analyzed in this study and tooth and bone collagen samples from the North Sea that were analyzed previously, which also showed significantly more variation in isotopic ratios than found for skin samples. These differences could reflect differences in turnover rate, differences in diet‐tissue fractionation and discrimination due to the amino acid composition of the different tissues, and/or greater competition promoting dietary variation between groups in the North Sea.
Tactile discrimination of textures by Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
Authors: Bauer Gordon B. , Gaspard III Joseph C. , Colbert Debborah E. , Leach Jennifer B. , Stamper Sarah A. , Mann David , Reep Roger 
Published: June 2012

AbstractTwo male Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) demonstrated sensitive tactile discrimination in a two‐alternative forced choice task, using a modified staircase method. Stimuli were acrylic plates with vertical gratings of ridges and grooves. The standard stimulus, present on every trial, had 2 mm gratings and the comparison stimuli had wider gratings. The blindfolded subjects were trained to demonstrate discrimination by pressing the target with wider gratings. Discrimination thresholds (75% correct) for the subjects were 2.05 mm and 2.15 mm, corresponding to Weber fractions of 0.025 and 0.075, respectively. These results indicate thresholds on similar stimuli comparable to humans (index finger tasks) and better than harbor seals, Phoca vitulina, and the closely related Antillean manatee, Trichechus manatus manatus. Memory for the tactile task was quite stable for both subjects, over 2 yr in the case of one of the subjects. Video analysis of responses indicated that bristle‐like hairs, perioral bristles, and skin on the oral disk were involved in the discrimination response.
Digestive retention times for Allen's swamp monkey and L'Hoest's monkey: data with implications for the evolution of cercopithecine digestive strategy
Authors: BLAINE Kevin P. , LAMBERT Joanna E. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractPrimates access energy from plant fiber via bacterial fermentation in either a modified forestomach (‘foregut’), a caecocolic (‘hindgut’) chamber of the large intestine, or both. Longer digestive retention times allow for more complete fermentation; as such, primates that consume an herbivorous diet high in fiber are expected to have both relatively and absolutely longer retention times than those mammals that rely on more readily digestible plant foods, such as fruit. We used particulate markers to measure the digestive retention times of captive Allen's swamp monkeys [Allenopithecus nigroviridis (Pocock, 1907)] (n= 3) and L'Hoest's monkey (Cercopithecus lhoesti P. Sclater, 1899) (n= 2). Results indicate mean retention times of 23.2–29.4 h and 23.2–24.0 h for C. lhoesti and A. nigroviridus, respectively. Results from this study, in combination with previously published data on digestive retention times in other primate species, indicate that cercopithecines differ from other primate taxa by having lengthier retention times that can be predicted by body mass alone. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that relatively lengthy retention times are a primitive trait for Cercopithecinae.
Supplemental iodine as a key to reproduction in pandas?
Authors: MILEWSKI Antoni V. , DIERENFELD Ellen S. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractPandas are endemic to iodine‐poor environments and appear to be specialized for a goitrogenic staple diet. In particular, the importance of thiocyanate in bamboos might possibly have been overlooked in captive breeding programs. Although excreted in urine, thiocyanate first antagonizes absorption of iodine by the thyroid (of parent, fetus and suckling juveniles) and the mammary glands. In livestock and humans, subclinical deficiency of iodine is known to result in reproductive problems (including retardation of the fetus and suckling infant) even where the mother appears to be unaffected beyond slight hyperplasia of the thyroid and subtle hypothyroidism as reflected by levels of thyroid hormones. We suggest that the possibilities of iodine deficiency or excess should be carefully considered wherever the reproductive rates of pandas are unsatisfactory.