bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Conversion from sirolimus to everolimus in kidney transplant recipients receiving a calcineurin‐free regimen
Authors: Carvalho Catarina , Coentrão Luis , Bustorff Manuela , Patrício Emilia , Sampaio Susana , Santos Joana , Oliveira Gerardo , Pestana Manuel 
Published: April 2011

Carvalho C, Coentrão L, Bustorff M, Patrício E, Sampaio S, Santos J, Oliveira G, Pestana M. Conversion from sirolimus to everolimus in kidney transplant recipients receiving a calcineurin‐free regimen. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: E401–E405. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Abstract:  Background:  Everolimus (EVL) and sirolimus (SRL) were introduced into immunosuppressive regimens, in an attempt to replace or reduce the dose of the nephrotoxic calcineurin inhibitors (CNI). In our institution, due to an administrative decision, conversion from SRL to EVL, was carried out, providing us the opportunity to investigate the effectiveness and safety profile of both drugs and to review the practical conversion dose between them.Methods:  We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 51 maintenance kidney transplant recipients receiving an SRL‐based CNI‐free regimen, who were switched to EVL. SRL dose was concentration controlled to a through level of 4–8 ng/mL. Patients were converted to a variable dose of EVL that was adjusted to achieve a trough concentration of 3–8 ng/mL.Results:  SRL mean dose at time of conversion was 2.0 ± 0.9 mg/d. Initial EVL mean dose was 1.3 ± 0.5 mg/d. Six months after conversion, mean EVL trough level was 6.2 ± 2.8 ng/mL. EVL dose at this point was 2.0 ± 0.9 mg/d, which was not statistically different from SRL dose at the time of conversion (p = 0.575), suggesting a conversion factor of 1:1. During this six month period post conversion, no significant changes were observed in serum creatinine, hematocrit level, platelet count, proteinuria or lipid levels. No patient experienced an acute rejection episode.Conclusions:  Conversion from SRL to EVL in renal transplant recipients receiving a CNI‐free immunosuppressive regimen can be performed safely with a low trough level range of EVL. We report for the first time a conversion factor between SRL and EVL.
Comprehensive environmental management of asthma and pediatric preventive care
Authors: Roy Angkana , Downes Martin J. , Wisnivesky Juan P. 
Published: April 2011

To cite this article: Roy A, Downes MJ, Wisnivesky JP. Comprehensive environmental management of asthma and pediatric preventive care. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2011; 22: 277–282.Indoor environmental triggers can increase asthma morbidity. National guidelines recommend comprehensive use of environmental control practices (ECPs) as a component of asthma management. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between preventive asthma care and comprehensive ECP use among children with asthma. We used data from the National Asthma Survey, including 1,921 children with asthma. Comprehensive use was defined as using at least five of eight ECPs: (i) air filter, (ii) dehumidifier, (iii) mattress cover, (iv) pillow cover, (v) pet avoidance, (vi) smoke avoidance, (vii) removing carpets, and (viii) washing sheets in hot water. Univariate and multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between comprehensive use of ECPs and receipt of preventive asthma care, as measured by number of routine asthma visits in the prior year and physician advice to modify the environment. Overall, 17% (95% CI: 14–19%) of participants had comprehensive ECP use. The most commonly used practices were ‘smoke avoidance’ (85%), ‘pet avoidance’ (59%), and ‘washing sheets in hot water’ (46%). Comprehensive use of ECPs was associated with having received physician advice [odds ratio (OR) 3.1, 95% CI: 2.2–4.4] and increased asthma visits (1–2 visits: OR 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0–2.4; 3–4 visits: OR 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3–3.8; ≥5 visits: OR 2.7, 95% CI: 1.5–4.8). Only a minority of parents implement comprehensive ECPs, and receipt of preventive asthma care is associated with comprehensive use. Further research is needed to determine the factors mediating these associations in order to inform more effective asthma counseling.
Adherence to the Mediterranean type of diet is associated with lower prevalence of asthma symptoms, among 10–12 years old children: the PANACEA study
Authors: Arvaniti Fotini , Priftis Kostas N. , Papadimitriou Anastasios , Papadopoulos Marios , Roma Eleftheria , Kapsokefalou Maria , Anthracopoulos Michael B. , Panagiotakos Demosthenes B. 
Published: April 2011

To cite this article: Arvaniti F, Priftis KN, Papadimitriou A, Papadopoulos M, Roma E, Kapsokefalou M, Antracopoulos MB, Panagiotakos DB. Adherence to the Mediterranean type of diet is associated with lower prevalence of asthma symptoms, among 10–12 years old children: the PANACEA study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2011; 22: 283–289.Epidemiological studies have shown several associations between asthma symptoms and dietary factors. The aim of this work was to evaluate the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and childhood asthma. A cross‐sectional analysis was performed on 700 children (323 boys), 10–12 yr old, selected from 18 schools located in Athens greater area. Children and their parents completed questionnaires, which evaluated, among others, dietary habits. Asthma was defined according to ISAAC II criteria. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated using the KIDMED score (theoretical range 0–12). Higher KIDMED score corresponds to greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was inversely associated with ever had wheeze (p = 0.001), exercise wheeze (p = 0.004), ever had diagnosed asthma (p = 0.002) and with any asthma symptoms (p < 0.001). One‐unit increase in the KIDMED score was associated with 14% lower likelihood of having asthma symptoms (odds ratio = 0.86, 95% confidence interval 0.75–0.98), after adjusting for various confounders. No significant associations were found between asthma symptoms and consumption of fruits (p = 0.25), vegetables (p = 0.97), legumes (p = 0.76), cereals (p = 0.71), dairy (p = 0.61), salty snacks (p = 0.53), or margarine/butter (p = 0.42) consumption, while increased fish and meat intake was associated with less asthma symptoms (p = 0.04 and p = 0.01, respectively). Our findings suggest an inverse relationship between level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and prevalence of asthma in school‐aged children.
The link between otitis media with effusion and allergy: A potential role for intranasal corticosteroids
Authors: Lack Gideon , Caulfield Helen , Penagos Martin 
Published: April 2011

To cite this article: Lack G, Caulfield H, Penagos M. The link between otitis media with effusion and allergy: a potential role for intranasal corticosteroids. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2011; 22: 258–266.AbstractWe reviewed the evidence linking otitis media with effusion (OME) and atopy, with the goal of clarifying the possible role of intranasal corticosteroids (INSs) in OME treatment. In August 2009, the MEDLINE database was searched for primary studies on OME epidemiology, pathophysiology, and treatment. Relevant clinical guidelines were obtained. Interpreting OME research is complicated by variable disease definitions, patient populations, methodologies, and outcomes assessments, along with the possibility of spontaneous resolution. However, evidence links OME with atopic conditions including allergic rhinitis; observed prevalence of allergic rhinitis in patients with chronic or recurrent OME ranges from 24% to 89%. Such findings have prompted evaluations of common allergy medications for OME treatment. While short‐term use of INSs alone or combined with antibiotics has shown benefit in some studies, more prolonged treatment protocols and long‐term clinical outcomes will require critical assessment. Evidence suggesting epidemiologic and pathophysiologic links between allergy and OME has prompted investigation into a potential role for INSs in OME management, with promising initial results. Benefits of considering medical treatment in patients with OME prior to surgery include both the potential reductions in allergic inflammation and the naturally occurring spontaneous resolution of OME in these patients.
Aspergillus vertebral osteomyelitis and ureteral obstruction after liver transplantation
Authors: Zhu L.‐P. , Chen X.‐S. , Wu J.‐Q. , Yang F.‐F. , Weng X.‐H. 
Published: April 2011

L.‐P. Zhu, X.‐S. Chen, J.‐Q. Wu, F.‐F. Yang, X.‐H. Weng. Aspergillus vertebral osteomyelitis and ureteral obstruction after liver transplantation. Transpl Infect Dis 2011: 13: 192–199. All rights reservedAbstract: Aspergillus osteomyelitis has been reported as a result of dissemination in solid organ transplant recipients. Vertebral osteomyelitis is one of the most common forms of Aspergillus osteomyelitis. An Aspergillus fungal ball is a rare cause of ureteral obstruction. We describe an unusual case of simultaneous vertebral osteomyelitis and ureteral obstruction caused by A. flavus in a hepatic transplant recipient, who was successfully treated with sequential intravenous and oral itraconazole solution.
Assessment of benthic ecosystem functioning through trophic web modelling: the example of the eastern basin of the English Channel and the Southern Bight of the North Sea
Authors: Garcia Clément , Chardy Pierre , Dewarumez Jean‐Marie , Dauvin Jean‐Claude 
Published: April 2011

AbstractBenthic organisms appear to be accurate proxies for assessing coastal ecosystem structures and changes due to climatic and anthropogenic stresses. Functional studies of benthic systems are relatively recent, mainly because of the difficulties in obtaining the basic parameters for each benthic compartment (i.e. detritus, bacteria, meiofauna and macrofauna). Our study focuses on the eastern basin of the English Channel and the Southern Bight of the North Sea. Trophic web modelling was used to assess the functioning of the three main benthic community assemblages. To test and assess the relative importance of factors assumed to influence trophic structure (geographical environment and sedimentary particle size distribution), the study area was subdivided into divisions defined a priori according to the two main structural factors of community distribution; geographic distribution and sedimentary patterns. Then, a steady state trophic model utilising the inverse method was applied to a diagram composed of eight compartments, including detritus, bacteria, meiofauna, macrobenthos and fish. For each compartment, six physiological parameters were assessed, based on our own data, empirical relationships and literature data. This method allowed estimation of the flux of matter and energy within and between the units of the benthic system and assessment of the amount of trophic energy stored in these units (available mostly to fish). Our results showed that suspension‐feeders control most of the matter transfer through the macrobenthic food‐web, except in the fine sand community, where deposit‐feeders play a dominant role. The results also showed that, whatever the geographic area, trophic structure is strongly linked to the sedimentary conditions. As benthic communities are connected through hydrodynamics, a model of the entire eastern basin of the English Channel would appear to be acceptable. However, the main sediment types must be taken into account when establishing relationships between the functional units.
mtDNA differentiation in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk. on the Iberian Peninsula coast: first results
Authors: Luis Javier R. , Comesaña Angel S. , Sanjuan Andrés 
Published: April 2011

AbstractThe nucleotide sequence of the VD1 domain of the Long Unassigned Region in the F mitochondrial DNA genome was studied for 135 Iberian mussels, 78 from the Atlantic and 57 from the Mediterranean. Significant genetic differentiation between Atlantic and Mediterranean Mytilus galloprovincialis samples was found (FST = 0.262, P < 0.00001). The four main clusters observed in the neighbor‐joining tree of haplotypes were not exclusive for a specific region, but a clear geographic pattern could be observed. One of the clusters contained 86% of the Atlantic individuals and the remaining three clusters were predominantly Mediterranean. The Atlantic–Mediterranean differentiation of the mitochondrial DNA haplotypes was in agreement with previous data describing the same partitioning in M. galloprovincialis and in many other marine organisms, using different kinds of genetic markers. In all cases the Almeria Oran Oceanographic front has been associated to this genetic discontinuity.
Life‐history tables of the Mediterranean fin whale from stranding data
Authors: Arrigoni Massimo , Manfredi Piero , Panigada Simone , Bramanti Lorenzo , Santangelo Giovanni 
Published: April 2011

AbstractThe conservation of long‐lived species requires extensive, in‐depth knowledge of their population structure and vital rates. In this paper we examine the structure of the Mediterranean fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) population based on the available mortality figures from European stranding network databases compiled over the past 22 years. Such data has enabled us to lay out a first life‐history (mortality) table of the population using a simple age‐structured demographic model with three life‐tables: calf, immature and mature. Our results reveal a high mortality rate in the first stage of life (77% per year), which decreases during the immature stage and falls further during the mature adult stage. In addition, we have calculated the corresponding life expectancies at birth (e0), at entry in the immature stage (e1) and at maturity (e2) under different hypotheses on survival at the maximum age of 90 years (s90) ranging between 0.1 and 3% of newborns still alive. The life expectancy at birth (e0) at the lower bound of the chosen range (s90 = 0.001) is about 6 years, entry in the immature stage (e1) is 8.2 years, and entry in the mature stage (e2) is about 15.6 years. This large increase is the consequence of the higher mortality in the first two stages compared with the mature one. The life expectancies are 10.1, 14.3, and 37.8 years for s90 at the upper bound of the chosen range (s90 = 0.03). The resulting population intrinsic growth rates (r) ranged between −1.3. and +1.7 per year. High juvenile mortality patterns imply that the stationary reproductive value (the number of female offspring produced by each female after a given age x) at the start of maturity reaches a value about seven times higher than at birth. Only optimistically high survival patterns of older individuals would allow positive intrinsic growth rates, thereby enhancing the chances of the population survival.
Biomass, commonly occurring and dominant species of macrobenthos in Onega Bay (White Sea, Russia): data from three different decades
Authors: Solyanko Katya , Spiridonov Vassily , Naumov Andrew 
Published: April 2011

AbstractOnega Bay is the largest bay in the White Sea, characterised by shallow depth, a range of sediment types and strong tidal currents. All these factors provide conditions for high species richness and biomass. This study reviews data from three surveys of sublittoral macrobenthos undertaken by Russian institutes: the benthic survey covering the entire Onega Bay in 1952; the survey performed in the northern part of the area in 1981/90, and a study carried out in 2006 in the eastern part of the bay. In total, data from 107 stations were analysed. The data in different surveys were collected by different grab types. The datasets of both 1981/90 and 2006 overlap the 1952 survey area. The pattern of biomass distribution was consistent between the years of survey and was characterised by the low biomass at the northern periphery of the bay and the highest biomass observed in the coastal waters of the Solovetsky Islands. Bivalves and cirripeds (mostly Modiolus modiolus, Arctica islandica, Balanus balanus and Verucca stroemia) dominated in biomass. Neither the biomass share of dominant species nor the frequency of occurrence of several common species in these groups changed markedly between 1952 and 1981/90. Although the results of the 2006 survey appear somewhat different from the patterns of previous years, this does not indicate major changes in the benthic communities, because the survey in 2006 was designed in a different way and its overlap with the 1952 survey was minimal. However, the dominant species (by biomass) –A. islandica, M. modiolus and V. stroemia– held their leading positions. Results of the multidimensional scaling analysis based on the biomass data for all taxa encountered in the 1952 survey indicate considerable mixing of the samples from all surveys. This may be interpreted as the absence of major shifts in the sublittoral communities of the macrobenthos of Onega Bay at decadal scale. This kind of stability may be explained by an oceanographical regime resilient to climate variation and a relatively low anthropogenic environmental impact when compared to other shallow European seas.
Trends in population dynamics and fishery of Parapenaeus longirostris and Nephrops norvegicus in the Tyrrhenian Sea (NW Mediterranean): the relative importance of fishery and environmental variables
Authors: Ligas Alessandro , Sartor Paolo , Colloca Francesco 
Published: April 2011

AbstractTemporal variation in the population abundance of the deep‐water rose shrimp, Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) (Decapoda, Penaeidae), and the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda, Nephropidae), in the Tyrrhenian Sea (NW Mediterranean), were evaluated using time‐series data (1994–2008) from experimental trawl surveys and commercial landings. The influence of several environmental variables (sea surface temperature, wind‐mixing index and NAO index) and fishing effort indices (number of days at sea per month and mean engine power of the trawl fleet) were investigated. The time series were analysed by means of min/max auto‐correlation factor analysis (MAFA) and dynamic factor analysis (DFA). The abundance of P. longirostris showed a clear increasing trend, significantly correlated with the fishing effort index (number of days at sea per month), the sea surface temperature and the wind‐mixing index. The temporal variations in the stock of P. longirostris, which has a preference for warm waters, were positively correlated with the rise of the sea surface temperature and the decrease of wind circulation. For N. norvegicus, an increasing trend of landings per unit of effort and recruitment index contrasted with a decreasing trend of relative population abundance (biomass and density indices).
Costs versus risks: Architectural changes with changing light quantity and quality in saplings of temperate rainforest trees of different shade tolerance
Authors: VALLADARES FERNANDO , SALDAÑA ALFREDO , GIANOLI ERNESTO 
Published: April 2011

AbstractLight requirements and functional strategies of plants to cope with light heterogeneity in the field have a strong influence on community structure and dynamics. Shade intolerant plants often show a shade avoidance strategy involving a phytochrome‐mediated stem elongation in response to changes in red : far red ratio, while shade‐tolerant plants typically harvest light very efficiently. We measured plant size, stem diameter, internode and leaf lengths in randomly chosen saplings of 11 woody species differing in their shade tolerance in both a secondary forest and an old‐growth temperate evergreen rainforest in southern Chile. We also recorded the irradiance spectrum and the diffuse and direct light availabilities at each sampling point. Significant differences were found for the mean light environment of the saplings of each species, which also differed in basal stem diameter, internode length and leaf length, but not in plant height. Both plant slenderness (plant height/stem diameter) and mean internode length increased with increasing light availability, but no relationship was found between any of these two traits and red : far red ratio. The change in plant slenderness with light availability was of lesser magnitude with increasing shade tolerance of the species, while internode change with light availability increased with increasing shade tolerance of the species. Shade tolerators afford higher costs (thicker stems and plants), which render more biomechanically robust plants, and respond more to the light environment in a trait strongly influencing light interception (internode length) than shade intolerant species. By contrast, less shade‐tolerant plants afforded higher risks with a plastic response to escape from the understorey by making thinner plants that were biomechanically weaker and poorer light interceptors. Thus, species differing in their shade tolerances do differ in their plastic responses to light. Our results contribute to explain plant coexistence in heterogeneous light environments by improving our mechanistic understanding of species responses to light.
Responses of woody vegetation to exclusion of large herbivores in semi‐arid savannas
Authors: SCOGINGS PETER F. , JOHANSSON THERESE , HJÄLTÉN JOAKIM , KRUGER JUDITH 
Published: April 2011

AbstractThe Nkuhlu large‐scale long‐term exclusion experiment in Kruger National Park was designed to study the long‐term effects of large herbivores on vegetation. One treatment excludes elephants, another excludes all herbivores larger than hares and another one comprises an open, control area. Vegetation monitoring was implemented in 2002 when a baseline survey was conducted prior to exclusion. Monitoring was repeated 5 years after exclusion. Data from the surveys were analysed to establish how structure and composition of woody vegetation had changed 5 years after herbivore exclusion. The analysis showed that neither plant assemblage nor mean vegetation height had changed significantly since exclusion. However, both species richness and density of woody plants increased 5 years after exclusion of all large herbivores, but not after the exclusion of elephants alone. One already common species, Dichrostachys cinerea, became more common after excluding all large herbivores compared with either no exclusion or elephant exclusion, possibly leading to competitive suppression of other species. Species other than D. cinerea tended to either increase or decrease in density, but the changes were insufficient to induce significant shifts in the overall assemblage of woody plants. The results indicate that after 5 years of exclusion, the combined assemblage of large herbivores, and not elephants alone, could induce changes in species richness and abundances of woody plants, but the effect was so far insufficient to induce measureable shifts in the assemblages of woody plants. It is possible that assemblages will change with time and increasing elephant numbers may amplify future changes.