bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of exposure to combat during deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on mental health by gender
Authors: Woodhead C. , Wessely S. , Jones N. , Fear N. T. , Hatch S. L. 
Published: January 2012

BackgroundInterest in the mental health of women deployed to modern military campaigns is increasing, although research examining gender differences is limited. Little is known about experiences women have had on these deployments, or whether men and women respond differently to combat exposure.MethodThe current study used data from a representative sample of UK Armed Forces personnel to examine gender differences among those deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan (n=432 women,n=4554 men) in three measures of experience: ‘risk to self’, ‘trauma to others’ and ‘appraisal of deployment’. We examined the impact of such experiences on post-deployment symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), symptoms of common mental disorder (CMD) and hazardous alcohol use.ResultsAfter adjustment, men reported more exposure to ‘risk to self’ and ‘trauma to others’ events and more negative appraisals of their deployment. Among both genders, all measures of combat experience were associated with symptoms of PTSD and CMD (except ‘risk to self’ events on symptoms of CMD among women) but not with alcohol misuse. Women reported higher scores on the PTSD Checklist – Civilian Version (PCL-C) among those exposed to lower levels of each experience type but this did not hold in the higher levels. Women reported greater symptoms of CMD and men reported greater hazardous alcohol use across both levels of each experience type. Examining men and women separately suggested similar responses to exposure to adverse combat experiences.ConclusionsThe current findings suggest that, although gender differences in mental health exist, the impact of deployment on mental health is similar among men and women.
THE IMPACT OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT REPORTS ON DECISION MAKING IN AUSTRIA
Authors: Zechmeister Ingrid , Schumacher Ines 
Published: January 2012

Objectives: Health technology assessment (HTA) was established in Austria in the 1990s and, since then, it has gained considerable importance. In this study, we aim to analyze whether the HTA reports that have been produced at the Institute for Technology Assessment (ITA) and at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for HTA (LBI-HTA) have had an impact on decision making within the Austrian health care system.Methods: We selected all reports that were intended for supporting (i) reimbursement/investment or (ii) disinvestment decisions. Eleven full HTA reports and fifty-eight rapid assessments fulfilled the inclusion criteria. We used interview data and administrative data on volumes, tariffs and expenditure of products/services to analyze whether and how reports were in reality used in decision making and what the consequences for health care expenditure and resource distribution have been.Results: Five full HTA reports and fifty-six rapid technology assessments were used for reimbursement decisions. Four full HTA reports and two rapid assessments were used for disinvestment decisions and resulted in reduced volumes and expenditure. Two full HTA reports showed no impact on decision making. Impact was most evident for hospital technologies.Conclusions: HTA has played some role in reducing volumes of over-supplied hospital technologies, resulting in reduced expenditure for several hospital providers. Additionally, it has been increasingly included in prospective planning and reimbursement decisions of late, indicating re-distribution of resources toward evidence-based technologies. However, further factors may have influenced the decisions, and the impact could be considerably increased by systematically incorporating HTA into the decision-making process in Austria.
Modelling tuberculosis trends in the USA
Authors: HILL A. N. , BECERRA J. E. , CASTRO K. G. 
Published: January 2012

SUMMARYWe present a mathematical transmission model of tuberculosis in the USA. The model is calibrated to recent trends of declining incidence in the US-born and foreign-born populations and is used in assessing relative impacts of treatment of latently infected individuals on elimination time, where elimination is defined as annual incidence <1 case/million. Provided current control efforts are maintained, elimination in the US-born population can be achieved before the end of this century. However, elimination in the foreign-born population is unlikely in this timeframe even with higher rates of targeted testing and treatment of residents of and immigrants to the USA with latent tuberculosis infection. Cutting transmission of disease as an interim step would shorten the time to elimination in the US-born population but foreign-born rates would remain above the elimination target.
THECAPITÃES MORESOF THE JAPAN VOYAGE: A GROUP PORTRAIT
Authors: Hesselink Reinier H. 
Published: January 2012

Starting from the premise that all empire building involves ideological constructs justifying the violence that accompanies such efforts, this article concentrates on elucidating the case of the Portuguese in Asia, specifically in Japan. Although well beyond the formal Portuguese thalassocracy in Asia, the Japanese islands were exposed for about a century, between 1543 and 1640, to the informal presence of Portuguese traders and missionaries. The symbiotic relationship between these two groups was based on the experience that, in Japan, the trade was difficult to conduct, for violence was always lurking beneath the surface of the trading relationship. We know of several instances when such violence actually exploded into major armed clashes, and many other times violence was narrowly averted through the mediation of the missionaries.Based on original research in the archives of Portugal and Spain, this article analyzes the records that the leaders of the Portuguese who came to Japan in the sixteenth century, the so-called capitães mores,have left behind. Finding that a significant number of these men were or later became members of the Order of Christ or were closely related to such members, it then explores their mindset through a survey of the function of this military order in Portuguese society of the late Middle Ages. The result is a group portrait of thirty-seven men who may be considered a representative sample of the Portuguese leading both the formal and informal empires in Asia. This portrait will clarify why both Japanese and Portuguese authorities agreed, at least during the second half of the sixteenth century, that the Jesuit missionaries were an indispensable presence in Japan.
Improving historical precipitation estimates over the Lake Superior basin
Authors: Holman K. D. , Gronewold A. , Notaro M. , Zarrin A. 
Published: January 2012

Lake Superior, the northern‐most of the Laurentian Great Lakes, is the largest (by surface area) freshwater lake on the planet. Due in part to its high water surface to land area ratio, over one‐third of the Lake Superior basin water budget is derived from precipitation falling directly on the lake surface. For most of the Great Lakes (including Lake Superior), historical precipitation estimates extend back to the early 1880s, and are based primarily on land‐based gauge measurements. While alternatives to gauge‐based estimates have been explored, there is no clear history of applying regional climate models (RCMs) to improve historical over‐lake precipitation estimates. To address this gap in regional research, and to advance the state‐of‐the‐art in Great Lakes regional hydrological modeling, we compare 21 years of output (1980–2000) from an RCM to conventional gauge‐based precipitation estimates for the same time period over the Lake Superior basin. We find that the RCM, unlike the gauge‐based method, simulates realistic variations in over‐lake atmospheric stability, which propagate into basin‐wide precipitation estimates with a relatively low over‐lake to over‐land precipitation ratio in warm months (roughly 0.7 to 0.8 in June, July, and August) and a relatively high over‐lake to over‐land precipitation ratio in cold months (roughly 1.3 to 1.4 in December and January), compared to gauge‐based estimates. Our findings underscore a need to potentially update historical gauge‐based precipitation estimates for large lake systems, including Lake Superior, and that RCMs appear to provide a robust and defensible basis for making those updates.
Multiple ion species fluid modeling of sprite halos and the role of electron detachment of O− in their dynamics
Authors: Liu Ningyu 
Published: January 2012

A two‐dimensional fluid model with multiple charged species is developed for simulating the ionospheric responses to the lightning quasi‐static electric (QE) field. In addition to electrons, the model takes into account four symbolic ion species and O− ions that are considered separately to investigate the role of the fast electron detachment process from O− in the ionospheric response. The modeling results of a sprite halo driven by positive cloud‐to‐ground lightning indicate that the halo can descend to lower altitude with much higher electron density behind its front when the O− detachment process is included. Electron density ahead of the halo front is not significantly reduced from the ambient value, so there is no attachment “hole” forming in that region that is commonly observed in previous modeling studies. The fast O− detachment process affects the dynamics of the halo by allowing the growth of electron density in the upper atmosphere under sub‐breakdown condition, i.e., the electric field is smaller than the conventional breakdown threshold field. The implications of the results reported here to sprite streamer initiation include (1) low ambient electron density at sprite initiation altitude may be the only means to avoid avalanche overlapping before the avalanche‐to‐streamer transition; and (2) the large downward extent of the halo may offer an explanation for the initiation of sprites at the altitude as low as 65–70 km, which was observed in previous studies.
Toll-like receptor 4 contributes to blood pressure regulation and vascular contraction in spontaneously hypertensive rats
Authors: Bomfim Gisele F. , Santos Rosangela A. Dos , Oliveira Maria Aparecida , Giachini Fernanda R. , Akamine Eliana H. , Tostes Rita C. , Fortes Zuleica B. , Webb R. Clinton , Carvalho Maria Helena C. 
Published: January 2012

Activation of TLRs (Toll-like receptors) induces gene expression of proteins involved in the immune system response. TLR4 has been implicated in the development and progression of CVDs (cardio-vascular diseases). Innate and adaptive immunity contribute to hypertension-associated end-organ damage, although the mechanism by which this occurs remains unclear. In the present study, we hypothesize that inhibition of TLR4 decreases BP (blood pressure) and improves vascular contractility in resistance arteries from SHR (spontaneously hypertensive rats). TLR4 protein expression in mesenteric resistance arteries was higher in 15-week-old SHR than in age-matched Wistar controls or in 5-week-old SHR. To decrease the activation of TLR4, 15-week-old SHR and Wistar rats were treated with anti-TLR4 (anti-TLR4 antibody) or non-specific IgG control antibody for 15 days (1 μg per day, intraperitoneal). Treatment with anti-TLR4 decreased MAP (mean arterial pressure) as well as TLR4 protein expression in mesenteric resistance arteries and IL-6 (interleukin 6) serum levels from SHR when compared with SHR treated with IgG. No changes in these parameters were found in treated Wistar control rats. Mesenteric resistance arteries from anti-TLR4-treated SHR exhibited decreased maximal contractile response to NA (noradrenaline) compared with IgG-treated SHR. Inhibition of COX (cyclo-oxygenase)-1 and COX-2, enzymes related to inflammatory pathways, decreased NA responses only in mesenteric resistance arteries of SHR treated with IgG. COX-2 expression and TXA2 (thromboxane A2) release were decreased in SHR treated with anti-TLR4 compared with IgG-treated SHR. Our results suggest that TLR4 activation contributes to increased BP, low-grade inflammation and plays a role in the augmented vascular contractility displayed by SHR.
Testing the Utility of an Adaptive Cluster Sampling Method for Monitoring a Rare and Imperiled Darter
Authors: Davis Johnathan G. , Cook S. Bradford , Smith David D. 
Published: January 2012

Abstract
Adaptive cluster sampling (ACS) designs were tested against simple random sampling (SRS) designs to determine whether ACS designs were more suitable sampling protocols for monitoring rare fish species. To test the utility of these designs, baseline data on the tuxedo darter Etheostoma lemniscatum (a rare, federally endangered fish) were collected at three sites on the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and used in computer simulation of ACS designs. Based on the simulation models, five ACS designs were chosen and tested at 13 potential monitoring sites. In terms of efficiency, ACS designs performed better than SRS designs, providing estimates with smaller standard errors. Adaptive cluster sampling design efficiency increased with effort; therefore, the two goals—minimizing effort and maximizing accuracy—are incompatible. Because it had less error, an inverse ACS design was recommended, although it required more sampling effort than other designs. Factors possibly affecting overall design performance include the sample size, neighborhood configuration, and habitat complexity of sampling sites. This study was the first to implement ACS for rare and endangered stream-dwelling fishes and provided methodologies for pilot testing and selecting appropriate ACS designs for an imperiled fish species. Adaptive cluster sampling designs are best suited for monitoring imperiled fishes that exhibit a more-clustered spatial distribution. Population estimates from ACS designs using underwater observation provide quantitative data from standardized protocols that are applicable to long-term monitoring of imperiled fishes.
Received May 21, 2010; accepted June 21, 2011
Refining and Applying a Maximum-Count Aerial-Access Survey Design to Estimate the Harvest Taken from New Zealand's Largest Recreational Fishery
Authors: Hartill Bruce W. , Watson Tim G. , Bian Richard 
Published: January 2012

Abstract
We used a maximum-count aerial-access survey design to estimate the 12-month recreational harvest of snapper Chrysophrys (Pagrus) auratus (also known as squirefish) taken by New Zealand's largest recreational fishery. To provide a count of all boats fishing on a given day, the spatial extent of the 3,800-km2 Hauraki Gulf embayment was surveyed from the air on a random stratified selection of survey days at the approximate time of maximum effort. Anglers were also censused at a subset of the available access points on the same day. The ratio of the aerial count to the number of interviewed parties who claimed to have fished at the time of the overflight was used to expand the observations of landed catch and to estimate the total catch taken by all fishers returning to all access points. Pairing an aerial count with a creel-survey-derived profile of effort on each survey day provides two advantages. First, only one flight is required to estimate the overall level of effort on each day, which is beneficial given the costs of operating aircraft. Second, the relationship between these two data sources can be used to estimate the level of effort and harvest on all survey days, including those days when flights are cancelled due to low clouds or other nonrandom events. This approach is currently the preferred harvest estimation approach in New Zealand, and it has since been used to assess the snapper harvest from management areas with coastlines in excess of 2,000 km long.
Received February 7, 2011; accepted July 28, 2011
Effect of Rainbow Trout Size on Response to Rotenone and Antimycin
Authors: Brown Peter J. , Johnson Heather , Zale Alexander V. 
Published: January 2012

Abstract
The piscicides rotenone and antimycin are commonly used to eradicate unwanted fish populations. However, the relationships (if present) between their toxicities and fish sizes are unknown and could be especially important when bioassay fish are used to detect piscicide presence and effectiveness. Size-mediated toxicity could lead to either excessive or inadequate piscicide applications if bioassay fish are larger or smaller than the fish being eradicated. The relationships between time to death and weight of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (0.7–574.0 g) at an antimycin concentration of 7.5 μg/L and a rotenone concentration of 12.5 μg/L were determined. Antimycin took significantly longer than rotenone to kill rainbow trout at concentrations typically used in eradication projects. Significant positive relationships existed between fish size and time to death for rotenone and antimycin exposures and were probably caused by size-mediated differences in metabolic rate; however, these relationships accounted for less than 21% of the variation in time to death. Smaller fish appeared to be affected by the chemicals more quickly, but their deaths did not consistently occur before the deaths of larger fish.
Received March 12, 2011; accepted August 4, 2011
First Report of Natural Infection of Pea (Pisum sativum) by Tomato spotted wilt virus in Hungary
Authors: Salamon P. , Nemes K. , Salánki K. , Palkovics L. 
Published: January 2012

In June of 2009, stem vascular necrosis, interveinal necrosis of upper leaves, wilting of flowers, and necrotic spots on the pods were observed on garden pea (Pisum sativum L. ‘Rajnai törpe’) in northeast Hungary. A mechanical transmissible plant virus designated Ps091 was isolated from leaves of severely affected plants. Pathological investigations demonstrated that Ps091 had a host range very similar to that of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV). It caused necrotic local lesions on Chenopodium spp. and induced systemic yellowing and necrosis on the upper leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana, N. clevelandii, and N. glutinosa by mechanical inoculation. Typical symptoms of TSWV infection appeared on the top leaves of pepper (Capsicum annuum L. ‘Albaregia’) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum ‘Kecskeméti 3’) inoculated with Ps091. For molecular identification, total nucleic acids were extracted from Ps091-infected tobacco with a standard phenol-chloroform extraction method (2), and reverse transcription-PCR was conducted with TSWV N-gene specific, own designed primers (TSWV-S for: 5′-CCCAGCATTATGGCAAGCC-3′, TSWV-S rev: 5′-TGATCTGGTCGAGGTTTTCCGCTAGCCC-3′). A tobacco plant infected with a reference pepper isolate, TSWV-Ca1 (1), and a healthy tobacco plant served as positive and negative controls, respectively. An approximately 300-bp DNA fragment was amplified from tobacco infected with Ps091 and TSWV-Ca1. The Ps091 amplicon was cloned, sequenced in both directions, and the sequence was deposited in GenBank (Accession No. HQ615692). Blast search analysis showed that TSWV-Ps091 had the highest identity (99%) with TSWV-P170RB strain (GenBank Accession No. DQ431238) in the cognate region. Since the latter isolate is a resistance breaking (RB) strain on pepper, pathogenicity of Ps091 on TSWV resistant pepper and tomato lines was studied. Mechanically inoculated pepper (C. annuum × C. chinense TSR F4 line) and tomato (S. lycopersicum ‘Stevens’) genotypes carrying the Tsw and Sw5 resistance genes, respectively, reacted with necrotic local lesions, but no systemic infections were detected by applying bioassays to N. clevelandii. These results demonstrate that Ps091 does not belong to the RB strains of TSWV. Back inoculations to pea (‘Rajnai törpe’) resulted in necrotic local spots as well as systemic stem and top necrosis, proving the causal relationship between TSWV-Ps091 and the pea disease observed in the field. Although TSWV has been known to cause epidemy in solanaceous crops and tobacco, to our knowledge, this is the first report of its natural occurrence on a legume plant, particularly on pea in Hungary. Because of the extreme severity of the disease caused on pea and high infection pressure, TSWV is a new threat to pea production in this country, where pea is a very important crop. References: (1) P. Salamon et al. Page 23 in: Plant Protection Days. Budapest, February, 2010. (2) J. L. White and J. M. Kaper. J. Virol. Methods 23:83, 1989.
Long‐chain PUFA in Granulocytes, Mononuclear Cells, and RBC in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis
Authors: Jørgensen Marianne H. , Ott Peter , Michaelsen Kim F. , Porsgaard Trine , Jensen Fleming , Lanng Susanne 
Published: January 2012

ABSTRACTBackground and Aim:Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have low levels of n‐3 long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n‐3 LCPUFA) in plasma or red blood cells (RBC), as also seen in other chronic and acute liver diseases. The differences may be more pronounced in CF transmembrane conductance regulator protein (CFTR)‐regulated tissues such as granulocytes, monocytes, and lymphocytes. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether patients with CF‐related liver disease have lower n‐3 LCPUFA level than patients with CF without liver disease.Methods:Twenty patients with known CF‐related liver disease were matched with 20 CF patients without. Blood samples were analysed for liver biochemistry and haematology. Granulocytes, mononuclear cells, and RBC were separated by density gradient centrifugation, and fatty acid composition was measured by gas chromatography. Hepatic ultrasound was scored according to Williams et al. Hepatic transit time (HTT) was measured with the ultrasound contrast agent SonoVue.Results:No significant differences were seen in either n‐6 or n‐3 LCPUFAs in any cell line when the 2 groups were compared. In a multiple regression analysis including HTT, age, Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, diabetes mellitus, treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (% of predicted value), and Williams' ultrasound scoring scale, only n‐3 LCPUFA docosahexaenoic acid in mononuclear cell membranes was positively associated with HTT (P = 0.02). The arachidonic acid/docosahexaenoic acid ratio within the mononuclear cells was negatively associated with both HTT (P = 0.003) and Williams' ultrasound scoring scale (P = 0.03). For RBC‐LCPUFAs, no significant associations were seen.Conclusions:These findings indicate that in patients with CF, the degree of liver disease was negatively associated with LCPUFA n‐3 levels in CFTR‐expressing white blood cells but unrelated to those levels in CFTR‐negative RBC.