bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Protein restriction in early life is associated with changes in insulin sensitivity and pancreatic β-cell function during pregnancy
Authors: Ignácio-Souza Letícia Martins , Reis Sílvia Regina , Arantes Vanessa Cristina , Botosso Bárbara Laet , Veloso Roberto Vilela , Ferreira Fabiano , Boschero Antonio Carlos , Carneiro Everardo Magalhães , de Barros Reis Marise Auxiliadora , Latorraca Márcia Queiroz 
Published: April 2012

Malnutrition in early life impairs glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in adulthood. Conversely, pregnancy is associated with a significant increase in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion under conditions of normoglycaemia. A failure in β-cell adaptive changes may contribute to the onset of diabetes. Thus, glucose homeostasis and β-cell function were evaluated in control-fed pregnant (CP) and non-pregnant (CNP) or protein-restricted pregnant (LPP) and non-pregnant (LPNP) rats, from fetal to adult life, and in protein-restricted rats that were recovered after weaning (RP and RNP). The typical insulin resistance of pregnancy was not observed in the RP rats, nor did pregnancy increase the insulin content/islet in the LPP group. The glucose dose–response curves from pregnant rats were shifted to the left in relation to the non-pregnant rats, except in the recovered group. Glucose utilisation but not oxidation in islets from the RP and LPP groups was reduced at a concentration of 8·3 mm-glucose compared with islets from the CP group. Cyclic AMP content and the potentiation of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by isobutylmethylxanthine at a concentration of 2·8 mm-glucose indicated increased adenylyl cyclase 3 activity but reduced protein kinase A-α activity in islets from the RP and LPP rats. Protein kinase C (PKC)-α but not phospholipase C (PLC)-β1 expression was reduced in islets from the RP group. Phorbol-12-myristate 13-acetate produced a less potent stimulation of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in the RP group. Thus, the alterations exhibited by islets from the LPP group appeared to be due to reduced islet mass and/or insulin biosynthesis. In the RP group the loss of the adaptive capacity apparently resulted from uncoupling between glucose metabolism and the amplifying signals of the secretory process, as well as a severe attenuation of the PLC/PKC pathway.
Norms and Social Hierarchies: Understanding International Policy Diffusion “From Below”
Authors: Towns Ann E. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis article aims to rethink the operation of norms in international policy diffusion. Norms do not simply standardize state behaviors, as is conventionally argued; norms also draw on and set up hierarchical social orders among states. Through a conceptual rethinking we gain a better understanding of where—among which states—new policies may first emerge: social hierarchies create incentives for new policies to develop at the margins of international society so that policies may diffuse “from below.” We also get a better grasp of how policy advocates frame the appropriateness or benefits of a new state practice: they must frame policy demands in terms of the international standing and rank of the targeted state. This article's empirical aspiration is to use these insights to help account for the international policy diffusion of legal sex quotas, a policy to increase the level of female legislators that developed first among “developing” states rather than among the so-called core of international society. By pointing to the link between norms and social hierarchy, the article helps account for policy diffusion “from below.”
How Can Economic Interests Influence Support for Free Trade?
Authors: Fordham Benjamin O. , Kleinberg Katja B. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractRecent research on the sources of individual attitudes toward trade policy comes to very different conclusions about the role of economic self-interest. The skeptical view suggests that long-standing symbolic predispositions and sociotropic perceptions shape trade policy opinions more than one's own material well-being. We believe this conclusion is premature for two reasons. First, the practice of using one attitude to predict another raises questions about direction of causation that cannot be answered with the data at hand. This problem is most obvious when questions about the expected impact of trade are used to predict opinions about trade policy. Second, the understanding of self-interest employed in most studies of trade policy attitudes is unrealistically narrow. In reality, the close relationship between individual economic interests and the interests of the groups in which individuals are embedded creates indirect pathways through which one's position in the economy can shape individual trade policy preferences. We use the data employed by Mansfield and Mutz to support our argument that a more complete account of trade attitude formation is needed and that in such an account economic interests may yet play an important role.1
Adaptation of a trap door technique for the recovery of ovarian cortical biopsies from Cebus apella (capuchin monkey)
Authors: Santana Luana N. , Brito Adriel B. , Brito Danielle C. , Lima Julianne S. , Domingues Sheyla F.S. , Santos Regiane R. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryThere is a paucity of efficient cryopreservation protocols for primordial follicles enclosed in the ovarian tissue from non-human primates (NHP), in special New World primates. Our objective was to establish an optimal procedure for the recovery of ovarian biopsies from capuchin monkeys. To this end, we adapted a trap door biopsy method. Follicular density and quality of the biopsies were evaluated and ultrasound analysis was performed before and continuously after surgery to assess ovarian structure. Ovarian tissue biopsies recovered by the trap door technique allowed the successful harvesting of primordial follicles from capuchin monkeys, and no complication was recorded. The female cycle was not affected by surgery and no adherence was found thereafter. In conclusion, the adaptation of a trap door biopsy method is a safe procedure and allows recovery of healthy primordial follicles.
Glycerol decreases the integrity of the perinuclear theca in boar sperm
Authors: Arenas Núñez Marco Antonio , Juárez-Mosqueda María de Lourdes , Gutiérrez-Pérez Oscar , Anzaldúa Arce Santiago René , Izquierdo Alejandro Córdova , Rodríguez Roberto Martínez , Trujillo Ortega María Elena 
Published: April 2012

SummaryWe evaluated the effect of glycerol on the perinuclear theca (PT) of boar sperm. Samples from six ejaculates obtained from three different boars were incubated in the detergent Brij 36-T. Spermatozoa were treated with a glycerol concentration of either 2 or 4%, and incubated for 10 or 30 min; two other samples were treated with protease inhibitors (PI; leupeptin or an inhibitor commercial cocktail), mixed with 4% glycerol, and incubated for 30 min. A third glycerol-free group was used as the control. The samples were processed for electron microscopy evaluation. The PT remained intact in 78% of the control samples while, after addition of glycerol for 30 min, the proportion of spermatozoa with disrupted or absent PT increased (P < 0.05). PT was preserved in PI samples, but PT changes increased (P < 0.05). Differences due to treatment with glycerol (2 or 4%) at 10 or 30 min were not observed. These results show, to our knowledge for the first time, the adverse effect of glycerol on the integrity of the PT.
Foetal echocardiographic assessment of borderline small left ventricles can predict the need for postnatal intervention
Authors: Weber Roland W. , Ayala-Arnez Ricardo , Atiyah Merna , Etoom Yousef , Manlhiot Cedric , McCrindle Brian W. , Hickey Edward J. , Jaeggi Edgar T. , Nield Lynne E. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackgroundWe sought to prospectively determine foetal echocardiographic factors associated with neonatal interventions in borderline hypoplastic left ventricles.MethodsFoetuses were included who had a left ventricle that was 2–4 standard deviations below normal for length or diameter and had forward flow across the mitral and aortic valves. Factors associated with an intervention in the first month of life or no need for intervention were sought using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.ResultsFrom 2005 to 2008, 47 foetuses meeting the criteria had an additional diagnosis (+foetal coarctation/+transverse arch hypoplasia): atrioventricular septal defect 7 (+2/+0), double outlet right ventricle 2 (+0/+0), Shone's complex 19 (+9/+4), and ventricular disproportion 19 (+13/+11; 4 both). There were seven pregnancies terminated, three foetal demises, and five had compassionate care. There were 32 livebirths that either had a biventricular repair (n = 20, n = 2 dead), univentricular palliation (n = 2, both alive), or no intervention (n = 9). Overall survival of livebirths to 6 months of age was 79%. Factors associated with early intervention on first foetal echocardiogram were: obstructed or retrograde arch flow (p = 0.08, odds ratio 3.3), coarctation (p = 0.05, odds ratio 11.4), and left ventricle outflow obstruction (p = 0.05, odds ratio 12.5). Neonatal factors included: Shone's diagnosis (p = 0.02, odds ratio 4.9), bicuspid aortic valve (p = 0.005, odds ratio 11.7), and larger tricuspid valve z-score (p = 0.05, odds ratio 3.6). A neonatal factor associated with no intervention was a larger mitral valve z-score (mean −3.8 versus −4.2 intervention group, p = 0.04, odds ratio 2.8).DiscussionThe need for early intervention in foetuses with borderline hypoplastic left ventricle can be predicted by foetal echocardiography.
EFFECTS OF PREDATOR DIET BREADTH ON STABILITY OF SIZE SPECTRA
Authors: PLANK M. J. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractMany marine ecosystems have the remarkable property that the abundance of organisms of a given body size is approximately proportional to the inverse square of that size. Size-structured models have been developed for which this “invariance-of-biomass” state is an equilibrium solution. These models are built on the coupling of predator growth to prey abundance, where prey suitability is determined by a size-based function referred to as a feeding kernel. In this paper, the local stability of the equilibrium state is investigated in a limiting case where predators only consume prey of a preferred size. In this special case, it is shown analytically that the equilibrium state is always unstable. It is concluded that some degree of diet breadth, in terms of the range of prey sizes consumed by a predator, is an essential prerequisite for the invariance-of-biomass state to be stable, as widely observed in the field.
A description of the Ross Ice Shelf air stream (RAS) through the use of self‐organizing maps (SOMs)
Authors: Seefeldt Mark W. , Cassano John J. 
Published: April 2012

The low‐level wind field across the Ross Ice Shelf region, Antarctica is studied through the method of self‐organizing maps (SOMs). Emphasis is placed on identifying and characterizing the Ross Ice Shelf air stream (RAS). The RAS is a dominant northward stream of air resulting in significant transport of atmospheric mass from the interior of Antarctica. Two SOMs are created for the lowest model level (∼13 m) and the 5th lowest model level (∼150 m), from archived real‐time numerical weather prediction output of the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS). A verification of the SOM for the lowest model level is completed by comparing select nodes to automatic weather station wind rose plots. The winds depicted in the lowest model level SOM are dominated by the position of the cyclone in the Ross Sea and the changes in wind speeds on the Antarctic plateau. The 5th lowest model level provides a better depiction of the RAS. The RAS is found to be present primarily when associated with a cyclone in the Ross Sea. There is a strong seasonality to the RAS with the RAS occurring frequently during the winter months and rarely during the summer months. The structure and position of the RAS is strongly dependent on the position of the Ross Sea cyclone.
Changes in ozone over Europe: Analysis of ozone measurements from sondes, regular aircraft (MOZAIC) and alpine surface sites
Authors: Logan J. A. , Staehelin J. , Megretskaia I. A. , Cammas J.‐P. , Thouret V. , Claude H. , De Backer H. , Steinbacher M. , Scheel H.‐E. , Stübi R. , Fröhlich M. , Derwent R. 
Published: April 2012

We use ozone observations from sondes, regular aircraft, and alpine surface sites in a self‐consistent analysis to determine robust changes in the time evolution of ozone over Europe. The data are most coherent since 1998, with similar interannual variability and trends. Ozone has decreased slowly since 1998, with an annual mean trend of −0.15 ppb yr−1 at ∼3 km and the largest decrease in summer. There are some substantial differences between the sondes and other data, particularly in the early 1990s. The alpine and aircraft data show that ozone increased from late 1994 until 1998, but the sonde data do not. Time series of differences in ozone between pairs of locations reveal inconsistencies in various data sets. Differences as small as few ppb for 2–3 years lead to different trends for 1995–2008, when all data sets overlap. Sonde data from Hohenpeissenberg and in situ data from nearby Zugspitze show ozone increased by ∼1 ppb yr−1 during 1978–1989. We construct a mean alpine time series using data for Jungfraujoch, Zugspitze, and Sonnblick. Using Zugspitze data for 1978–1989, and the mean time series since 1990, we find that the ozone increased by 6.5–10 ppb in 1978–1989 and 2.5–4.5 ppb in the 1990s and decreased by 4 ppb in the 2000s in summer with no significant changes in other seasons. It is hard to reconcile all these changes with trends in emissions of ozone precursors, and in ozone in the lowermost stratosphere. We recommend data sets that are suitable for evaluation of model hindcasts.
Little Ice Age cold interval in West Antarctica: Evidence from borehole temperature at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide
Authors: Orsi Anais J. , Cornuelle Bruce D. , Severinghaus Jeffrey P. 
Published: April 2012

The largest climate anomaly of the last 1000 years in the Northern Hemisphere was the Little Ice Age (LIA) from 1400–1850 C.E., but little is known about the signature of this event in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. We present temperature data from a 300 m borehole at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide. Results show that WAIS Divide was colder than the last 1000‐year average from 1300 to 1800 C.E. The temperature in the time period 1400–1800 C.E. was on average 0.52 ± 0.28°C colder than the last 100‐year average. This amplitude is about half of that seen at Greenland Summit (GRIP). This result is consistent with the idea that the LIA was a global event, probably caused by a change in solar and volcanic forcing, and was not simply a seesaw‐type redistribution of heat between the hemispheres as would be predicted by some ocean‐circulation hypotheses. The difference in the magnitude of the LIA between Greenland and West Antarctica suggests that the feedbacks amplifying the radiative forcing may not operate in the same way in both regions.
Characterization of pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase of Mycoplasma hyorhinis: implications for the clinical efficacy of nucleoside analogues
Authors: Vande Voorde Johan , Gago Federico , Vrancken Kristof , Liekens Sandra , Balzarini Jan 
Published: April 2012

In the present paper we demonstrate that the cytostatic and antiviral activity of pyrimidine nucleoside analogues is markedly decreased by a Mycoplasma hyorhinis infection and show that the phosphorolytic activity of the mycoplasmas is responsible for this. Since mycoplasmas are (i) an important cause of secondary infections in immunocompromised (e.g. HIV infected) patients and (ii) known to preferentially colonize tumour tissue in cancer patients, catabolic mycoplasma enzymes may compromise efficient chemotherapy of virus infections and cancer. In the genome of M. hyorhinis, a TP (thymidine phosphorylase) gene has been annotated. This gene was cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and kinetically characterized. Whereas the mycoplasma TP efficiently catalyses the phosphorolysis of thymidine (Km=473 μM) and deoxyuridine (Km=578 μM), it prefers uridine (Km=92 μM) as a substrate. Our kinetic data and sequence analysis revealed that the annotated M. hyorhinis TP belongs to the NP (nucleoside phosphorylase)-II class PyNPs (pyrimidine NPs), and is distinct from the NP-II class TP and NP-I class UPs (uridine phosphorylases). M. hyorhinis PyNP also markedly differs from TP and UP in its substrate specificity towards therapeutic nucleoside analogues and susceptibility to clinically relevant drugs. Several kinetic properties of mycoplasma PyNP were explained by in silico analyses.
Generation and loss of reactive oxygen species in low-temperature atmospheric-pressure RF He + O2 + H2O plasmas
Authors: McKay K , Liu D X , Rong M Z , Iza F , Kong M G 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
This study focuses on the generation and loss of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in low-temperature atmospheric-pressure RF (13.56 MHz) He + O2 + H2O plasmas, which are of interest for many biomedical applications. These plasmas create cocktails of ROS containing ozone, singlet oxygen, atomic oxygen, hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide and hydroperoxyl radicals, i.e. ROS of great significance as recognized by the free-radical biology community. By means of one-dimensional fluid simulations (61 species, 878 reactions), the key ROS and their generation and loss mechanisms are identified as a function of the oxygen and water content in the feed gas. Identification of the main chemical pathways can guide the optimization of He + O2 + H2O plasmas for the production of particular ROS. It is found that for a given oxygen concentration, the presence of water in the feed gas decreases the net production of oxygen-derived ROS, while for a given water concentration, the presence of oxygen enhances the net production of water-derived ROS. Although most ROS can be generated in a wide range of oxygen and water admixtures, the chemical pathways leading to their generation change significantly as a function of the feed gas composition. Therefore, care must be taken when selecting reduced chemical sets to study these plasmas.
Degrees of Reality
Authors: Schebesta Karl , Hüpfl Michael , Rössler Bernhard , Ringl Helmut , Müller Michael P. , Kimberger Oliver 
Published: April 2012

Background
Human patient simulators and airway training manikins are widely used to train airway management skills to medical professionals. Furthermore, these patient simulators are employed as standardized "patients" to evaluate airway devices. However, little is known about how realistic these patient simulators and airway-training manikins really are. This trial aimed to evaluate the upper airway anatomy of four high-fidelity patient simulators and two airway trainers in comparison with actual patients by means of radiographic measurements. The volume of the pharyngeal airspace was the primary outcome parameter.

Methods
Computed tomography scans of 20 adult trauma patients without head or neck injuries were compared with computed tomography scans of four high-fidelity patient simulators and two airway trainers. By using 14 predefined distances, two cross-sectional areas and three volume parameters of the upper airway, the manikins' similarity to a human patient was assessed.

Results
The pharyngeal airspace of all manikins differed significantly from the patients' pharyngeal airspace. The HPS Human Patient Simulator (METI®, Sarasota, FL) was the most realistic high-fidelity patient simulator (6/19 [32%] of all parameters were within the 95% CI of human airway measurements).

Conclusion
The airway anatomy of four high-fidelity patient simulators and two airway trainers does not reflect the upper airway anatomy of actual patients. This finding may impact airway training and confound comparative airway device studies.
Revision of Long‐term Gastrostomy
Authors: Siddiqui Mohammad M.F. , Griffiths Mervyn D. 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTPurpose:Insertion of gastrostomy has become a popular choice for children with feeding problems. With the passage of time, gastrostomies require revision for various reasons. The aims of the present study are to report our experience of the revision of long‐term gastrostomies, to ascertain the reasons for revision, and to discuss any measures that may prevent the need for revision.Methods:We conducted a retrospective review of all of the patients requiring gastrostomy revision by the senior author between 2005 and June 2011. The patients had had their original operation in several different hospitals within the United Kingdom, between 1997 and 2008. We excluded those patients requiring the revision for an acute complication (within 1 month) or required revision for subsequent fundoplication. The patients' hospital notes were reviewed to identify the reasons for revision and a literature search was done to find ways to prevent these.Results:There were 15 patients who required revision of gastrostomy. Epithelialisation of the gastrostomy track with gastric mucosa was the most common cause (9/15). Other reasons were buried bumper syndrome (BBS) (4/15) and migration of the gastrostomy exit site toward the rib cage (2/15). The mean interval before revision due to the epithelialisation of the tract was 101 months since the insertion of the gastrostomy. The mean for other complications was 26 months for BBS and 95 months for migration of the exit site.Conclusions:We believe that the incidence of gastrostomy revision could be reduced. Preventing epithelialisation is difficult and may be minimised by aggressive and generous use of topical silver nitrate. The gastrostomy exit site needs to be as far away from the rib edge as possible. Checking the bumper regularly or use of a gastrostomy balloon button instead of a tube eliminates BBS. Parents need to be aware of the possibility that a long‐term gastrostomy may need surgical revision.
Hyperactivation of right inferior frontal cortex in young binge drinkers during response inhibition: a follow‐up study
Authors: López‐Caneda Eduardo , Cadaveira Fernando , Crego Alberto , Gómez‐Suárez Ana , Corral Montserrat , Parada María , Caamaño‐Isorna Francisco , Rodríguez Holguín Socorro 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACTAims  The objective of this study was to examine brain activity, with particular attention to prefrontal function, during response execution and inhibition in youths who have engaged in binge drinking (BD) for at least 2 years.Design  Event‐related potentials (ERPs) were recorded twice within 3 years, during performance of a Go/NoGo task.Setting  The study was part of a longitudinal study of the neurocognitive effects of BD.Participants  A total of 48 undergraduate students, 25 controls (14 females) and 23 binge drinkers (10 females), with no personal or family history of alcoholism or psychopathological disorders.Measurements  The Go‐P3 and NoGo‐P3 components of the ERPs were examined by principal component analysis and exact low‐resolution tomography analysis (eLORETA).Findings  Binge drinkers showed larger Go‐P3 amplitudes than controls in the first and second evaluations (P = 0.019). They also showed larger NoGo‐P3 amplitude in the second evaluation (P = 0.002). eLORETA analyses in the second evaluation revealed significantly greater activation of the right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) in binge drinkers than in controls during successful inhibition (P < 0.05).Conclusions  Young binge drinkers appear to show abnormal brain activity as measured by event‐related potentials during response execution and inhibition which may represent a neural antecedent of difficulties in impulse control.