bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Omega-3 fatty acids and blood pressure
Authors: Cabo Jorge , Alonso Rodrigo , Mata Pedro 
Published: May 2012

Epidemiological and clinical studies suggest that consumption of omega (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) contributes to the reduction of cardiovascular mortality through different mechanisms including modulation of cellular metabolic functions, gene expression and beneficial effects on lipid profile or blood pressure. The aim of the study is to review the effects of ω-3 PUFA supplemented as fish oil or blue fish in blood pressure. The analysis of different studies suggests that high doses ω-3 PUFA ( ≥ 3 g/day) produces a small but significant decrease in blood pressure, especially systolic blood pressure, in older and hypertensive subjects; however, the evidence is not consistent among different studies. ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids consumption might have a place in the control of patients with mild hypertension before starting drug treatment and of those who prefer changes of lifestyles like diet.
Cylindrical and spherical solitary waves in a dusty non-thermal plasma
Authors: ISLAM S. , MAMUN A.A. , MANNAN A. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractA theoretical investigation of the basic characteristics of cylindrical and spherical dust-ion-acoustic (DIA) solitary waves (SWs) is made in a dusty non-thermal plasma, whose constituents are non-thermal electrons, inertial ions, and arbitrarily charged stationary dust. The reductive perturbation method is used to derive the modified Gardner equation. The latter is numerically analyzed for both positively and negatively charged dust. The basic features of cylindrical and spherical DIA SWs, which are found to exist in such a dusty non-thermal plasma, are identified. The implications of our results to both space and laboratory plasma situations are also discussed briefly.
Bruised Witness: Bernard Spilsbury and the Performance of Early Twentieth-Century English Forensic Pathology
Authors: Burney Ian , Pemberton Neil 
Published: May 2012

This article explores the status, apparatus and character of forensic pathology in the inter-war period, with a special emphasis on the ‘people’s pathologist’, Bernard Spilsbury. The broad expert and public profile of forensic pathology, of which Spilsbury was the most prominent contemporary representative, will be outlined and discussed. In so doing, close attention will be paid to the courtroom strategies by which he and other experts translated their isolated post-mortem encounters with the dead body into effective testimony.Pathologists built a high-profile practice that transfixed the popular, legal and scientific imagination, and this article also explores, through the celebrated 1925 murder trial of Norman Thorne, how Spilsbury’s courtroom performance focused critical attention on the practices of pathology itself, which threatened to destabilise the status of forensic pathology. In particular, the Thorne case raised questions about the interrelation between bruising and putrefaction as sources of interpretative anxiety. Here, the question of practice is vital, especially in understanding how Spilsbury’s findings clashed with those of rival pathologists whose autopsies centred on a corpse that had undergone further putrefactive changes and that had thereby mutated as an evidentiary object. Examining how pathologists dealt with interpretative problems raised by the instability of their core investigative object enables an analysis of the ways in which pathological investigation of homicide was inflected with a series of conceptual, professional and cultural difficulties stemming in significant ways from the materiality of the corpse itself.This article presents early findings of a larger study of twentieth-century English homicide investigation which focuses on the interaction between two dominant forensic regimes: the first, outlined in part here, is a body-centred forensics, associated with the lone, ‘celebrity’ pathologist, his scalpel and the mortuary slab; the second is a ‘forensics of things’ centred on the laboratory and its associated technologies of trace analysis (hair, blood, fibres), deployed in closed technician-dominated spaces and in the regimentally managed crime scene. Future work will seek to illuminate the shifting landscape of English forensics by following the historical interplay between these two powerful investigative models.
Kinematics/statics and workspace analysis of a 3-leg 5-DoF parallel manipulator with a UPU-type composite active constrained leg
Authors: Lu Yi , Zhang Xuili , Sui Chunping , Han Jianda , Hu Bo 
Published: May 2012

SUMMARYA novel 3-leg 5-DoF parallel manipulator (PM) with a UPU-type composite active constrained leg is proposed and its kinematics and statics are analyzed systematically. First, the formulae are derived for solving the inverse/forward displacements, inverse/forward velocities, and active/constraint forces. Second, the formulae are derived for solving inverse/forward accelerations. Third, a simulation mechanism of this PM is created and its workspace is constructed and analyzed. Finally, the analytic results are verified by its simulation mechanism.
Beyond and behind the tables – a reply to Michael Bulley: Why no mips?
Authors: Huber Daniel 
Published: May 2012

In a recent article in ET 109 Michael Bulley (2012: 35) presents ‘the permutations for monosyllables in common use in standard British English having the phonetic pattern: single consonant + short vowel + single consonant’, using the OED as his source for data. While acknowledging the usefulness of Bulley's tables for pedagogical purposes, I wish to offer a very distinct answer to the question why certain words are missing from the contemporary English lexicon although they could have occurred as possible words.
Direct evidence of aeolian deposition of marine diatoms to an ice sheet
Authors: Budgeon A.L. , Roberts D. , Gasparon M. , Adams N. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractAntarctic snow samples collected from the Wilkins Runway, c. 50 km inland from the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica, contain aeolian-derived diatoms. The diatom assemblage preserved is exclusively of marine origin. As diatoms are excellent indicators of source conditions, we are able to confirm that an unusual weather event, with anomalous north-westerly winds blowing at around 10 m s-1, resulted in the deposition of coastal marine species at the Wilkins Runway. The composition of the floral assemblage collected indicate that the parent water mass was from a coastal marine region undergoing typical Antarctic summer conditions with periods of both consolidated sea ice and open water. On inspection of available satellite imagery, these conditions were found upwind of the deposition site. This study provides a methodology for diatoms found within ice cores to be identified and the source region to be determined. It also provides evidence for a large-scale aeolian deposition of marine diatoms to an ice sheet, which may have implications for the interpretation of controversial marine diatoms found in sediments that have been used as evidence for the retreat of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Nitrate removal in deep sediments of a nitrogen‐rich river network: A test of a conceptual model
Authors: Stelzer Robert S. , Bartsch Lynn A. 
Published: May 2012

Many estimates of nitrogen removal in streams and watersheds do not include or account for nitrate removal in deep sediments, particularly in gaining streams. We developed and tested a conceptual model for nitrate removal in deep sediments in a nitrogen‐rich river network. The model predicts that oxic, nitrate‐rich groundwater will become depleted in nitrate as groundwater upwelling through sediments encounters a zone that contains buried particulate organic carbon, which promotes redox conditions favorable for nitrate removal. We tested the model at eight sites in upwelling reaches of lotic ecosystems in the Waupaca River Watershed that varied by three orders of magnitude in groundwater nitrate concentration. We measured denitrification potential in sediment core sections to 30 cm and developed vertical nitrate profiles to a depth of about 1 m with peepers and piezometer nests. Denitrification potential was higher on average in shallower core sections. However, core sections deeper than 5 cm accounted for 70% on average of the depth‐integrated denitrification potential. Denitrification potential increased linearly with groundwater nitrate concentration up to 2 mg NO3‐N/L, but the relationship broke down at higher concentrations (>5 mg NO3‐N/L), a pattern that suggests nitrate saturation. At most sites groundwater nitrate declined from high concentrations at depth to much lower concentrations prior to discharge into the surface water. The profiles suggested that nitrate removal occurred at sediment depths between 20 and 40 cm. Dissolved oxygen concentrations were much higher in deep sediments than in pore water at 5 cm sediment depth at most locations. The substantial denitrification potential in deep sediments coupled with the declines in nitrate and dissolved oxygen concentrations in upwelling groundwater suggest that our conceptual model for nitrate removal in deep sediments is applicable to this river network. Our results suggest that nitrate removal rates can be high in deep sediments of upwelling stream reaches, which may have implications for efforts to understand and quantify nitrogen transport and removal at larger scales.
Recording supervision: Educational, therapeutic, and enhances the supervisory working alliance?
Authors: North Graham Joseph 
Published: May 2012

AbstractAims: To explore the impact of listening to an audio‐recording of their latest supervision session on supervisees. Method: Participants recorded a supervision session, listened to it and were interviewed about this experience of listening to it within seven days of listening to the recording. The phenomenological interviews informed by the researcher's knowledge were analysed using grounded theory. Participants: Fifteen participants with 0–20 years’ experience, representing person‐centred, CBT, psychodynamic and integrative approaches, and qualifications ranging from student to doctorate formed the theoretical sample. Findings: Listening to the audio‐recording allowed participants to re‐experience their thoughts and emotions. Participants recalled and re‐experienced events which had been forgotten, unnoticed or (arguably) repressed. This re‐experiencing was usually less emotive than in real‐time; but suppressed emotions could be more intense. As participants integrated both these noticed and unnoticed events, they were able to accept what had been unacceptable, gaining self‐awareness, which was potentially therapeutic. Noticing what had been unnoticed permitted insights into many aspects of therapy and supervision, which was more than just ‘reflection‐on‐action’. Conclusion: Listening to an audio‐recording of the latest supervision may be educational for any supervisee; it may be therapeutic by facilitating challenge of maladaptive beliefs and behaviours; and it also seems to strengthen the supervisory working alliance.
IRView: a database and viewer for protein interacting regions
Authors: Fujimori Shigeo , Hirai Naoya , Masuoka Kazuyo , Oshikubo Tomohiro , Yamashita Tatsuhiro , Washio Takanori , Saito Ayumu , Nagasaki Masao , Miyano Satoru , Miyamoto-Sato Etsuko 
Published: May 2012

Abstract
Summary: Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) are mediated through specific regions on proteins. Some proteins have two or more protein interacting regions (IRs) and some IRs are competitively used for interactions with different proteins. IRView currently contains data for 3417 IRs in human and mouse proteins. The data were obtained from different sources and combined with annotated region data from InterPro. Information on non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism sites and variable regions owing to alternative mRNA splicing is also included. The IRView web interface displays all IR data, including user-uploaded data, on reference sequences so that the positional relationship between IRs can be easily understood. IRView should be useful for analyzing underlying relationships between the proteins behind the PPI networks.
Availability: IRView is publicly available on the web at http://ir.hgc.jp/.
Contact: nekoneko@ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Irrigation but not N fertilization enhances seedhead density in plains rough fescue (Festuca hallii)
Authors: Palit R. , Cahill J. F. , Lamb E. G. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractPlains rough fescue (
F

estuca hallii) is an important forage grass species in western Canada. Seed for use in pastures and ecological restoration is in high demand but supply is limited because F. hallii is an erratic seed producer. Seed producers require an understanding of the factors that influence flowering and seed set in this species. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of irrigation and nitrogen fertilization on the flowering and growth of F. hallii in a native rough fescue prairie in Alberta, Canada. Irrigation had a strong positive effect on seedhead density, whereas fertilization had limited effects on growth and reproduction of F. hallii. These results demonstrate that under field conditions, available moisture is likely to be a key factor driving flowering and seed production in F. hallii.
Treatment and ergonomics training of work‐related lower back pain and body posture problems for nurses
Authors: Jaromi Melinda , Nemeth Andrea , Kranicz Janos , Laczko Tamas , Betlehem Jozsef 
Published: May 2012

Aims. The purpose of the study was to measure the effectiveness of a spine training programme (Back School) in nurses who have been living with chronic low back pain. It was hypothesised that active therapy, ergonomics and education called Back School will significantly decrease the pain intensity levels and improve the body posture of the study participants.Background. A chronic low back pain is a significant work‐related health problem among healthcare workers around the world. Proper body posture is essential for decreasing pain in healthcare workers who have history of chronic low back pain. By teaching proper body posture and with the creation of occupational settings that are ‘spine‐friendly’ hospitals and other healthcare settings can significantly lower the suffering of their nursing staff.Design. Single‐blinded randomised controlled trial was utilised with six‐ and 12‐months follow‐up.Methods. The study was carried out at the University of Pecs, Faculty of Health Sciences from 2007 to 2008 involving 124 nurses with low back pain. Participants were randomly assigned to the study group (who have received ergonomics training and education called Back School) with an intervention conducted once a week for a six‐week period. The control group received passive physiotherapy once a week for a six‐week period. Further follow‐up measurements were conducted at six and 12 months, respectively. The study variables and outcome measures were pain intensity and body posture (angle of thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis). The pain intensity was investigated with the Visual Analogue Scale. Body posture was recorded and analysed with the Zebris biomechanical motion analysis system.Results. The statistical analysis of repeated measures indicated a significant decrease in back pain intensity after the therapy in both groups, compared with measurements before the therapy; however, the BS group showed significantly better results during the six‐month and one‐year follow‐up period. The biomechanical analysis of postures after the therapy in the BS group showed significant improvements over the control group; during the follow‐up, the difference was still significant, yet slightly reduced.Conclusions. This study has shown that a significant reduction in the pain intensity and improvement in body posture can be achieved by the usage of the active physical therapy methods (Back School) in nurses who are experiencing chronic lower back pain.Relevance to clinical practice. The Back School programme when compared with the passive physical therapies (such as massage, ultrasound treatment, etc.) shows significant improvement in reduction in pain and greatly improves the posture of healthcare workers. The adoption of the Back School programme for the treatment of the healthcare workers with chronic low back problems should be a treatment of choice and standard that should be adopted when designing occupational healthcare policies and procedures.
NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale Profiles Predict Developmental Outcomes in a Low‐Risk Sample
Authors: Sucharew Heidi , Khoury Jane C. , Xu Yingying , Succop Paul , Yolton Kimberly 
Published: May 2012

AbstractSucharew H, Khoury JC, Xu Y, Succop P, Yolton K. NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale profiles predict developmental outcomes in a low‐risk sample. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2012; ••: ••–••.Background:  Latent profile analysis (LPA) has been used previously to classify neurobehavioral responses of infants prenatally exposed to cocaine and other drugs of abuse. The objective of this study was to define NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) profile response patterns in a cohort of infants with no known cocaine exposure or other risks for neurobehavior deficits, and determine whether these profiles predict neurobehavioral outcomes in these low‐risk infants.Methods:  NNNS exams were performed on 355 low‐risk infants at approximately 5 weeks after birth. LPA was used to define discrete profiles based on the standard NNNS summary scales. Associations between the infant profiles and neurobehavioral outcomes at one to three years of age were examined.Results:  Twelve of the 13 summary scales were used and three discrete NNNS profiles identified: social/easy going infants (44%), hypotonic infants (24%), and high arousal/difficult infants (32%). Statistically significant associations between NNNS profiles and later neurobehavioral outcomes were found for psychomotor development and externalizing behaviors. Hypotonic infants had both lower psychomotor development and lower externalizing scores compared to the other two profiles.Conclusions:  Three distinct profiles of the NNNS summary scores were identifiable using LPA among infants with no known cocaine exposure. These profile patterns were associated with early childhood neurobehavioral outcome, similar to findings reported in a study of infants with substantial cocaine exposure, demonstrating the utility of this profiling technique in both exposed and unexposed populations.
The Relationship Between Maximal Exercise‐Induced Increases in Serum IL‐6, MPO and MMP‐9 Concentrations
Authors: Reihmane D. , Jurka A. , Tretjakovs P. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractThe aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that exercise would induce inflammatory response characterized by increased pro‐inflammatory cytokines – interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), adhesion molecule, matrix metalloprotease‐9 (MMP‐9) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels. Additional aim was to elucidate the possible source of maximal exercise‐induced increase in MMP‐9 concentration. To examine our hypothesis, 26 professional male ice hockey players [age 25 ± 1 (mean ± SEM) years; BMI 25.8 ± 0.4 kg/m2] performed an incremental bicycle test until exhaustion, when maximal oxygen consumption was recorded. Venous blood samples were collected 30 min before and 2 min after exercise. There was an increase in the count of leucocytes (8.7 ± 1.8 versus 5.7 ± 1.3 × 109 cells per l) and IL‐6 (1.24 ± 0.17 versus 0.69 ± 0.13 pg/ml), MPO (72 ± 7 versus 50 ± 4 ng/ml) and MPP‐9 (139 ± 9 versus 110 ± 6 ng/ml) concentrations (P < 0.05) comparing post‐ and pre‐exercise levels. Maximal exercise‐induced increase in MPO correlated with the increases in IL‐6 (P < 0.05, R = 0.54) and MMP‐9 (P < 0.01, R = 0.62) concentrations. Furthermore, increase in IL‐6 correlated with the increase in MMP‐9 concentrations (P < 0.05, R = 0.60). Maximal exercise induces an inflammatory response characterized by leucocytosis and increased IL‐6, MPO and MMP‐9 concentrations. Correlations between increased MPO (marker of neutrophils degranulation) and both increased IL‐6 and MMP‐9 concentrations may suggest that neutrophils could be the main source of these inflammatory biomarkers during maximal exercise. Furthermore, correlation between increases in serum IL‐6 and MMP‐9 concentrations may suggest that IL‐6 could exert modulatory effects on MMP‐9 release during maximal exercise.
Rainfall Harvesting and Mulches Combination for Corn Production in the Subhumid Areas Prone to Drought of China
Authors: Xiaoli C. , Pute W. , Xining Z. , Xiaolong R. , Zhikuan J. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractA field study was conducted to determine the effect of a combination of the plastic‐covered ridge and furrow rainwater harvesting (PRFRH) with different mulching materials, namely, 0.08‐mm‐thick plastic film (T1), 10‐cm‐thick corn straw (T2), 8 % biodegradable film (T3), liquid film (T4), bare furrow (T5) and conventional flat (CF), on corn production, soil water storage and water use efficiency (WUE) in the subhumid areas prone to drought of China (SAPDC). The T1–T5plots at 0–100 cm depth had higher (P < 0.05) soil water storage than CF, while at 100–200 cm soil layer there was no difference (P > 0.05) among treatments. The T1–T4plots produced 209–1 107 kg ha−1more grain yields than the T5plots. Meanwhile, almost all treatments had WUE over 2 kg m−3. The order of WUE increase among different mulch treatments was as follows: T3 > T1 > T2 > T4. In the case of environmental and economic feasibility, a combination of the PRFRH system with biodegradable film and straw mulches would be an option with high potential to increase crop sustainability in dry land farming systems and can be adopted in many areas without irrigation capability.
Expression and activity of epithelial sodium channel in hyperoxia‐induced bronchopulmonary dysplasia in neonatal rats
Authors: Ji Weihua , Fu Jianhua , Nie Hongguang , Xue Xindong 
Published: May 2012

AbstractBackground:  The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and activity of epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) in hyperoxia‐induced bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in neonatal rats.Methods:  Neonatal rats were exposed to hyperoxia to establish BPD models (control group was exposed to air), lung water was measured and Western blot was applied to detect the expression of three homologous subunits: α‐, β‐ and γ‐ENaC in the lung tissues. Furthermore, ATII cells were isolated from neonatal rats, and primarily cultured under normoxic or hyperoxic conditions. The ENaC expression was also examined in these cells. In addition, the amiloride‐sensitive Na+ currents induced by hyperoxia were recorded using the whole‐cell patch clamp technique.Results:  The α‐ENaC expression was increased after 5 days of hyperoxia in rat lung tissues, whereas not after 1, 3 and 7 days. ATII cells showed α‐ENaC expression was reduced after 1 and 2 days' hyperoxia, but no change after 3 days. In contrast, β‐ and γ‐ENaC expression was increased after hyperoxia in both in vivo and in vitro experiments. The amiloride‐sensitive Na+ currents in hyperoxia‐exposed ATII cells were also increased, which was consistent with the upregulated expression of β‐ and γ‐ENaC.Conclusion:  Hyperoxia upregulates the expression of ENaC, especially β‐ and γ‐ENaC subunits, in both neonatal rat lung tissues and ATII cells. Hyperoxia also enhanced the activity of ENaC in neonatal rat ATII cells. Dysfunctional transport of Na+ may not be a key factor involving pulmonary edema at the early stage of BPD.