bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dietary nicotinic acid supplementation improves hepatic zinc uptake and offers hepatoprotection against oxidative damage
Authors: Tupe Rashmi S. , Tupe Santosh G. , Agte Vaishali V. 
Published: January 2011

We examined the effect of dietary nicotinic acid (NA) variations before and after oxidative stress (OS) treatment on the antioxidant defence system, function and morphology of the liver along with Zn status in rats. OS was generated by three intraperitoneal injections oftert-butyl hydroperoxide in the first week for the pre-exposure group and in the third week for the post-exposure group, respectively. These groups were further divided into subgroups and fed on a diet with marginally deficient Zn (10 mg Zn/kg diet) and NA variations as NA deficient, normal and excess with 10, 30 and 1000 mg NA/kg diet, respectively. Aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels were elevated in rats with OS coupled with the Zn- and NA-deficient diet, which decreased towards normal with excess dietary NA. Excess NA supplementation in the OS pre-exposure group resulted in nearly preserved hepatic architecture with normal hepatocytes, whereas maximum tissue destruction was evident in the post-exposure group with NA deficiency. Dose-dependent improvement in the antioxidant defence system, enhanced reduced glutathione levels, lowered lipid peroxidation and higher hepatic Zn levels were observed with NA supplementation. The effect was more prominent in the pre-exposure group. In conclusion, dietary NA supplementation improves hepatic Zn uptake and results in hepatoprotection against OS-induced damage in rats.
I. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW REGARDING NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Authors: Joyner Daniel H 
Published: January 2011

This article examines a number of major developments in international law and State policy regarding nuclear weapons which have occurred over the past two years.However, in order to understand the context and significance of these developments, I must first very briefly address what has gone on previously in this area of international relations.I have argued elsewhere that over the course of the decade ending in 2008 the original balance of principles underlying the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which comprises the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation legal regime, has been distorted, particularly by nuclear-weapon-possessing governments, led by the United States, in favor of a disproportionate prioritization of non-proliferation principles, and an unwarranted under-prioritization of peaceful use and disarmament principles.1 I also argue that this distortion of principled balance by nuclear weapon states has resulted in a number of erroneous legal interpretations of the NPT's provisions.
SEX DIFFERENCES IN LIFE EXPECTANCY IN CANADA: IMMIGRANT AND NATIVE-BORN POPULATIONS
Authors: TROVATO FRANK , ODYNAK DAVID 
Published: January 2011

SummaryA growing body of research often indicates that immigrant populations in Western countries enjoy a lower level of mortality in relation to their native-born host populations. In this literature, sex differences in mortality are often reported but substantive analyses of the differences are generally lacking. The present investigation looks at sex differences in life expectancy with specific reference to immigrant and Canadian-born populations in Canada during 1971 and 2001. For these two populations, sex differences in expectation of life at birth are decomposed into cause-of-death components. Immigrants in Canada have a higher life expectancy than their Canadian-born counterparts. In absolute terms, immigrant females enjoy the highest life expectancy. Inrelativeterms, however, immigrant men show a larger longevity advantage, as their expectation of life at birth exceeds that of Canadian-born men by a wider margin than do foreign-born females in relation to Canadian-born females. It is also found that immigrants have a smaller sex differential in life expectancy as compared with the Canadian born. Decomposition analysis shows this is a function of immigrants having smaller sex differences in death rates from heart disease and cancer. Factors thought to underlie these differentials between immigrants and the Canadian born are discussed and suggestions for further research are given.
Endoscopic resection of intracranial dermoid cysts
Authors: Schuster D , Riley K O , Cure J K , Woodworth B A 
Published: January 2011

AbstractIntroduction:Nasal dermoid cysts are congenital lesions which are often diagnosed in infancy or childhood. However, a small number present in adulthood, and some extend intracranially. Traditional treatment for the intracranial portion of these cysts includes frontal craniotomy.Case reports:Two intracranial dermoid cysts were resected via a transnasal endoscopic approach, using 70° nasal endoscopy for complete visualisation and intracranial tumour removal. We describe our technique for the procedure itself and for reconstruction of the skull base defect.Discussion and conclusion:The endoscopic transnasal skull base approach is an excellent alternative to a traditional frontal craniotomy, to achieve complete resection of intracranial dermoid cysts.
To be Waterproof or to be soaked: importance of packing in British textile exports to distant markets: The cases of Chile and the River Plate,c.1810-1859
Authors: Llorca-Jaña Manuel 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThe literature on Anglo-South American trade during the first half of the 19thcentury has taken British exports for granted. There are no specific considerations of textile exports, which were the backbone of British trade to the continent. Accordingly, when explaining the growth of British exports, historians have paid tribute solely to economic developments in South America. Important developments taking place in Britain have long been neglected. This paper provides the first account of the impact that improvements in the packing of textiles to protect against seawater damages had on British exports to distant markets, focusing on the particular markets of Chile and the River Platec.1810-1859.
The ‘world’ before globalisation: Moroccan elements in The Incredible String Band's music
Authors: Lovesey Oliver 
Published: January 2011

AbstractBefore the advent of ‘world’ music in the culture of globalisation, The Incredible String Band in the 1960s added elements of Moroccan and other international music into their work. In the context of an exploration of the band's journey to the east, this article argues that the ISB's ‘exotic’ sounds became the aural signifier of the psychedelic, and that the ISB's aesthetic of appropriation veered from fetishisation, and also homage and parody, to ritualised adaptation. The ISB's pre-‘world’ use of international music was self-consciously naive, but it may have enabled later modes of cultural appropriation.
A corpus analysis of rock harmony
Authors: de Clercq Trevor , Temperley David 
Published: January 2011

AbstractIn this study, we report a corpus analysis of rock harmony. As a corpus, we usedRolling Stonemagazine's list of the ‘500 Greatest Songs of All Time’; we took the 20 top-ranked songs from each decade (the 1950s through the 1990s), creating a set of 100 songs. Both authors analysed all 100 songs by hand, using conventional Roman numeral symbols. Agreement between the two sets of analyses was over 90 per cent. The analyses were encoded using a recursive notation, similar to a context-free grammar, allowing repeating sections to be encoded succinctly. The aggregate data was then subjected to a variety of statistical analyses. We examined the frequency of different chords and chord transitions. The results showed that IV is the most common chord after I and is especially common preceding the tonic. Other results concern the frequency of different root motions, patterns of co-occurrence between chords, and changes in harmonic practice across time.
(Un)originality, hypertextuality and identity in Tiga's ‘Sunglasses at Night’
Authors: Girard Stéphane 
Published: January 2011

AbstractIn 2001, Montreal disc jockey Tiga, with the help of Finnish producer Jori ‘Zyntherius’ Hulkkonen, recorded and released a techno cover version of ‘Sunglasses at Night’, a song popularised in 1983 by fellow Canadian Corey Hart. This paper examines how a so-called ‘unoriginal’ musical practice such as the cover version, when re-contextualised into a brand new musical genre (a process called ‘trans-stylisation’), can engender new meaning, especially when it comes to the generic identity purveyed by the song's enunciator. The analysis of this new ‘original’ utterance relies on the theory of hypertextuality and describes, on the musical, lyrical and visual levels, the transformative processes from the hypotext (Hart's version) to the hypertext (Tiga's), thereby shedding new light on the poetics of the cover version and on the representational modalities of the postmodern subject.
International survey on attitudes toward ethics in health technology assessment: An exploratory study
Authors: Arellano Luis E. , Willett Jeffrey M. , Borry Pascal 
Published: January 2011

Objectives: The objective of this exploratory study was to survey international health technology assessment (HTA) professionals to determine attitudes toward ethics in HTA.Methods: An exploratory, quantitative, cross-sectional study design was developed. The sample population (n = 636) was selected from authors of the 206 articles published in the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care between 2005 and 2007. A survey instrument was piloted and e-mailed.Results: The response rate was low (n = 104; 16.4 percent). Respondents were primarily middle-aged (46 ± 11 years) male (62 percent) health professionals from Western countries (n = 92; 88.5 percent), with a mean of 10 (± 6 years) years of HTA experience. Although at least 90 percent of respondents agreed that healthcare decisions involved value judgments and that ethical analysis was important to HTA, respondents were divided as to whether normative (n = 45; 44.6 percent) or descriptive (n = 38; 37.6 percent) ethical recommendations were necessary. Most respondents (n = 83; 81.4 percent) believed that HTA should include citizen participation, but two thirds (n = 67; 67.0 percent) agreed that the final decision should be restricted to decision makers. A majority of respondents thought that ethical analysis could be discussed anywhere within the HTA process, either by an expert trained in ethics (n = 62; 60.8 percent) or by an external consultant (n = 80; 78.4 percent).Conclusions: This study showed that ethical discourse in HTA is constrained by practical considerations, which serves to limit moral inquiry. To increase ethical analysis, a positive attitude toward ethics needs to be fostered within the HTA community.
Moving cautiously: Public involvement and the health technology assessment community
Authors: Gauvin François-Pierre , Abelson Julia , Giacomini Mita , Eyles John , Lavis John N. 
Published: January 2011

Objectives: This study explores the factors that enhance or reduce the prospects for public involvement in the activities of health technology assessment (HTA) agencies.Methods: The analytical framework for this study is based on the work of John W. Kingdon, which provides a comprehensive synthesis of the factors influencing governments and public organizations' agenda. The study draws insights from forty-two semistructured telephone interviews with informants involved in international HTA networks and/or in HTA agencies in Canada, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.Results: This exploratory study suggests that the HTA community is moving toward greater public involvement. However, the HTA community remains cautious and ambivalent about the technical feasibility of public involvement, its acceptability to policy makers and practitioners, and its impacts on HTA agencies' resources and procedures.Conclusions: The study stresses the importance of conducting rigorous and compelling evaluations to inform HTA agencies' decision to adopt, or reject, public involvement practices.
Introducing patients' and the public's perspectives to health technology assessment: A systematic review of international experiences
Authors: Gagnon Marie-Pierre , Desmartis Marie , Lepage-Savary Dolorès , Gagnon Johanne , St-Pierre Michèle , Rhainds Marc , Lemieux Renald , Gauvin Francois-Pierre , Pollender Hugo , Légaré France 
Published: January 2011

Objectives:The aim of this study was to review international experiences of patient or public involvement in the field of health technology assessment (HTA).Methods:A systematic review of the scientific literature was conducted. A literature search was performed across nine databases. Other literature was identified through citation tracking, government websites (HTA agencies), and Internet search engines. Characteristics of the studies, description of the activities related to patient or public involvement, impact of these activities on the HTA process, and factors facilitating or limiting involvement were abstracted independently by two reviewers.Results:A total of 1,441 potentially relevant papers were identified by the main search strategy. Among these, seventeen papers met the inclusion criteria; other search strategies identified seven additional documents. The findings reveal that patient or public involvement in HTA activities was reported in two domains, research and HTA process. In the research domain, patients are consulted to gather evidence about their perspectives, experiences, or preferences about a health technology. These perspectives could add key dimensions to the evaluation of health technologies that might otherwise be overlooked. In the domain of the HTA process, patients or public representatives participate in different stages of this process: prioritization, evidence assessment, or dissemination of findings.Conclusions:There are few published examples of experiences involving patients and the public in HTA. These examples show that patients' or the public's perspectives could add important dimensions to the evaluation of health technologies. However, there is a need to develop more systematic approaches to considering patients' and the public's perspectives in HTA.
Catalytic properties of the retinal rod outer segment disk ADP-ribosyl cyclase
Authors: FABIANO ANDREA , PANFOLI ISABELLA , CALZIA DANIELA , BRUSCHI MAURIZIO , RAVERA SILVIA , BACHI ANGELA , CATTANEO ANGELA , MORELLI ALESSANDRO , CANDIANO GIOVANNI 
Published: January 2011

AbstractCyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) is a second messenger modulating intracellular calcium levels. We have previously described a cADPR-dependent calcium signaling pathway in bovine rod outer segments (ROS), where calcium ions play a pivotal role. ROS ADP-ribosyl cyclase (ADPR-cyclase) was localized in the membrane fraction. In the present work, we examined the properties of the disk ADPR-cyclase through the production of cyclic GDP-ribose from the NAD+analogue NGD+. The enzyme displayed an estimatedKmfor NGD+of 12.5 ± 0.3μM, aVmaxof 26.50 ± 0.70 pmol cyclic GDP-ribose synthesized/min/mg, and optimal pH of 6.5. The effect of divalent cations (Zn2+, Cu2+, and Ca2+) was also tested. Micromolar Zn2+and Cu2+inhibited the disk ADPR-cyclase activity (half maximal inhibitory concentration, IC50= 1.1 and 3.6μM, respectively). By contrast, Ca2+ions had no effect. Interestingly, the properties of the intracellular membrane–associated ROS disk ADPR-cyclase are more similar to those of the ADPR-cyclase found in CD38-deficient mouse brain, than to those of CD38 or CD157. The novel intracellular mammalian ADPR-cyclase would elicit Ca2+release from the disks at various rates in response to change in free Ca2+concentrations, caused by lightversusdark adaptation, in fact there was no difference in disk ADPR-cyclase activity in light or dark conditions. Data suggest that disk ADPR-cyclase may be a potential target of retinal toxicity of Zn2+and may shed light to the role of Cu2+and Zn2+deficiency in retina.
Subgraphs of Dense Random Graphs with Specified Degrees
Authors: McKAY BRENDAN D. 
Published: January 2011

Let d = (d1, d2, . . ., dn) be a vector of non-negative integers with even sum. We prove some basic facts about the structure of a random graph with degree sequence d, including the probability of a given subgraph or induced subgraph.Although there are many results of this kind, they are restricted to the sparse case with only a few exceptions. Our focus is instead on the case where the average degree is approximately a constant fraction of n.Our approach is the multidimensional saddle-point method. This extends the enumerative work of McKay and Wormald (1990) and is analogous to the theory developed for bipartite graphs by Greenhill and McKay (2009).
Factors affecting success of blood pressure measurements during ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in children with renal disease
Authors: Sinha Manish D. , Booth Caroline J. , Reid Christopher J.D. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractAimTo analyse blood pressure characteristics during 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in children and to assess factors that influence its success over 24 hours and during patient-recorded awake (DAY) and sleep (NIGHT) periods.MethodsA total of 169 consecutive ambulatory blood pressure monitoring studies were conducted in 154 patients over 30 months. For each ambulatory study, we measured the percentage of successful measurements both at the first attempt (S-initial%) and following any automated repeat attempt if initial attempts had failed (S-final%). These were measured over 24-hour, DAY, and NIGHT periods.ResultsWe found that blood pressure measurements at NIGHT were more successful than measurements attempted during the DAY (p<0.05). There was no influence of age, gender, height, weight, body mass index and estimated glomerular filtration rate with the proportion of successful measurements during the 24-hour, DAY, and NIGHT periods. On stepwise multiple regression analysis, the indexed mean systolic blood pressure over 24 hours was the only factor having a significant influence on the proportion of successful measurements over the 24-hour and DAY periods, although it only accounted for three-tenths of the variance; it had no influence on the overall success of measurements at NIGHT.ConclusionAmbulatory blood pressure monitoring in children provides reliable data both during the patient's awake and sleep periods with higher success of measurements at NIGHT as opposed to DAY periods.
A general framework for equivalences in Answer-Set Programming by countermodels in the logic of Here-and-There
Authors: FINK MICHAEL 
Published: January 2011

AbstractDifferent notions of equivalence, such as the prominent notions of strong and uniform equivalence, have been studied in Answer-Set Programming, mainly for the purpose of identifying programs that can serve as substitutes without altering the semantics, for instance in program optimization. Such semantic comparisons are usually characterized by various selections of models in the logic of Here-and-There (HT). For uniform equivalence however, correct characterizations in terms of HT-models can only be obtained for finite theories, respectively programs. In this paper, we show that a selection of countermodels in HT captures uniform equivalence also for infinite theories. This result is turned into coherent characterizations of the different notions of equivalence by countermodels, as well as by a mixture of HT-models and countermodels (so-called equivalence interpretations). Moreover, we generalize the so-called notion of relativized hyperequivalence for programs to propositional theories, and apply the same methodology in order to obtain a semantic characterization which is amenable to infinite settings. This allows for a lifting of the results to first-order theories under a very general semantics given in terms of a quantified version of HT. We thus obtain a general framework for the study of various notions of equivalence for theories under answer-set semantics. Moreover, we prove an expedient property that allows for a simplified treatment of extended signatures, and provide further results for non-ground logic programs. In particular, uniform equivalence coincides under open and ordinary answer-set semantics, and for finite non-ground programs under these semantics, also the usual characterization of uniform equivalence in terms of maximal and total HT-models of the grounding is correct, even for infinite domains, when corresponding ground programs are infinite.
Detecting inconsistencies in large biological networks with answer set programming
Authors: GEBSER MARTIN , SCHAUB TORSTEN , THIELE SVEN , VEBER PHILIPPE 
Published: January 2011

AbstractWe introduce an approach to detecting inconsistencies in large biological networks by using answer set programming. To this end, we build upon a recently proposed notion of consistency between biochemical/genetic reactions and high-throughput profiles of cell activity. We then present an approach based on answer set programming to check the consistency of large-scale data sets. Moreover, we extend this methodology to provide explanations for inconsistencies by determining minimal representations of conflicts. In practice, this can be used to identify unreliable data or to indicate missing reactions.
A heuristic model of damped quantum rotation effects in nuclear magnetic resonance spectra
Authors: Szymański S. 
Published: January 2011

The damped quantum rotation (DQR) theory describes temperature effects in NMR spectra of hindered molecular rotators composed of identical atoms arranged in regular N-gons. In the standard approach, the relevant coherent dynamics are described quantum mechanically and the stochastic, thermally activated motions classically. The DQR theory is consistent. In place of random jumps over one, two, etc., maxima of the hindering potential, here one has damping processes of certain long-lived coherences between spin-space correlated eigenstates of the rotator. The damping-rate constants outnumber the classical jump-rate constants. The jump picture is recovered when the former cluster appropriately around only as many values as the number of the latter. The DQR theory was confirmed experimentally for hindered methyl groups in solids and even in liquids above 170 K. In this paper it is shown that for three-, four-, and sixfold rotators, the Liouville space equations of NMR line shapes, derived previously with the use of the quantum mechanical reduced density matrix approach, can be be given a heuristic justification. It is based on an equation of motion for the effective spin density matrix, where the relevant spin Hamiltonian contains randomly fluctuating terms. The occurrence of the latter can be rationalized in terms of fluctuations of the tunneling splittings between the torsional sublevels of the rotator, including momentary liftings of the Kramers degeneracies. The question whether such degeneracy liftings are physical or virtual is discussed. The random terms in the effective Hamiltonian can be Monte Carlo modeled as piecewise constant in time, which affords the stochastic equation of motion to be solved numerically in the Hilbert spin space. For sixfold rotators, this way of calculating the spectra can be useful in the instances where the Liouville space formalism of the original DQR theory is numerically unstable.