bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Conceptual frameworks and empirical approaches used to assess the impact of health research: an overview of reviews
Authors: Banzi Rita , Moja Lorenzo , Pistotti Vanna , Facchini Andrea , Liberati Alessandro 
Published: June 2011

Abstract

Background
How to assess the impact of research is of growing interest to funders, policy makers and researchers mainly to understand the value of investments and to increase accountability. Broadly speaking the term "research impact" refers to the contribution of research activities to achieve desired societal outcomes. The aim of this overview is to identify the most common approaches to research impact assessment, categories of impact and their respective indicators.

Methods
We systematically searched the relevant literature (PubMed, The Cochrane Library (1990-2009)) and funding agency websites. We included systematic reviews, theoretical and methodological papers, and empirical case-studies on how to evaluate research impact. We qualitatively summarised the included reports, as well the conceptual frameworks.

Results
We identified twenty-two reports belonging to four systematic reviews and 14 primary studies. These publications reported several theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches (bibliometrics, econometrics, ad hoc case studies). The "payback model" emerged as the most frequently used. Five broad categories of impact were identified: a) advancing knowledge, b) capacity building, c) informing decision-making, d) health benefits, e) broad socio-economic benefits. For each proposed category of impact we summarized a set of indicators whose pros and cons are presented and briefly discussed.

Conclusions
This overview is a comprehensive, yet descriptive, contribution to summarize the conceptual framework and taxonomy of an heterogeneous and evolving area of research. A shared and comprehensive conceptual framework does not seem to be available yet and its single components (epidemiologic, economic, and social) are often valued differently in different models.
Tocotrienol rich fraction supplementation improved lipid profile and oxidative status in healthy older adults: A randomized controlled study
Authors: Chin Siok-Fong , Ibahim Johari , Makpol Suzana , Abdul Hamid Noor Aini , Abdul Latiff Azian , Zakaria Zaiton , Mazlan Musalmah , Mohd Yusof Yasmin Anum , Abdul Karim Aminuddin , Wan Ngah Wan Zurinah 
Published: June 2011

Abstract

Background
Vitamin E supplements containing tocotrienols are now being recommended for optimum health but its effects are scarcely known. The objective was to determine the effects of Tocotrienol Rich Fraction (TRF) supplementation on lipid profile and oxidative status in healthy older individuals at a dose of 160 mg/day for 6 months.

Methods
Sixty-two subjects were recruited from two age groups: 35-49 years (n = 31) and above 50 years (n = 31), and randomly assigned to receive either TRF or placebo capsules for six months. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 3rd and 6th months.

Results
HDL-cholesterol in the TRF-supplemented group was elevated after 6 months (p < 0.01). Protein carbonyl contents were markedly decreased (p < 0.001), whereas AGE levels were lowered in the > 50 year-old group (p < 0.05). Plasma levels of total vitamin E particularly tocopherols were significantly increased in the TRF-supplemented group after 3 months (p < 0.01). Plasma total tocotrienols were only increased in the > 50 year-old group after receiving 6 months of TRF supplementation. Changes in enzyme activities were only observed in the > 50 year-old group. SOD activity was decreased after 3 (p < 0.05) and 6 (p < 0.05) months of TRF supplementation whereas CAT activity was decreased after 3 (p < 0.01) and 6 (p < 0.05) months in the placebo group. GPx activity was increased at 6 months for both treatment and placebo groups (p < 0.05).

Conclusion
The observed improvement of plasma cholesterol, AGE and antioxidant vitamin levels as well as the reduced protein damage may indicate a restoration of redox balance after TRF supplementation, particularly in individuals over 50 years of age.
Neuroprotective and anti-oxidant effects of caffeic acid isolated from Erigeron annuus leaf
Authors: Jeong Chang-Ho , Jeong Hee Rok , Choi Gwi Nam , Kim Dae-Ok , Lee Uk , Heo Ho Jin 
Published: June 2011

Abstract

Background
Since oxidative stress has been implicated in a neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), natural antioxidants are promising candidates of chemopreventive agents. This study examines antioxidant and neuronal cell protective effects of various fractions of the methanolic extract of Erigeron annuus leaf and identifies active compounds of the extract.

Methods
Antioxidant activities of the fractions from Erigeron annuus leaf were examined with [2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenz thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid diammonium salt)] (ABTS) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Neuroprotective effect of caffeic acid under oxidative stress induced by H2O2 was investigated with [3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays.

Results
This study demonstrated that butanol fraction had the highest antioxidant activity among all solvent fractions from methanolic extract E. annuus leaf. Butanol fraction had the highest total phenolic contents (396.49 mg of GAE/g). Caffeic acid, an isolated active compound from butanol fraction, showed dose-dependent in vitro antioxidant activity. Moreover, neuronal cell protection against oxidative stress induced cytotoxicity was also demonstrated.

Conclusion

Erigeron annuus leaf extracts containing caffeic acid as an active compound have antioxidative and neuroprotective effects on neuronal cells.
Automated Bayesian model development for frequency detection in biological time series
Authors: Granqvist Emma , Oldroyd Giles ED , Morris Richard J 
Published: June 2011

AbstractBackgroundA first step in building a mathematical model of a biological system is often the analysis of the temporal behaviour of key quantities. Mathematical relationships between the time and frequency domain, such as Fourier Transforms and wavelets, are commonly used to extract information about the underlying signal from a given time series. This one-to-one mapping from time points to frequencies inherently assumes that both domains contain the complete knowledge of the system. However, for truncated, noisy time series with background trends this unique mapping breaks down and the question reduces to an inference problem of identifying the most probable frequencies.ResultsIn this paper we build on the method of Bayesian Spectrum Analysis and demonstrate its advantages over conventional methods by applying it to a number of test cases, including two types of biological time series. Firstly, oscillations of calcium in plant root cells in response to microbial symbionts are non-stationary and noisy, posing challenges to data analysis. Secondly, circadian rhythms in gene expression measured over only two cycles highlights the problem of time series with limited length. The results show that the Bayesian frequency detection approach can provide useful results in specific areas where Fourier analysis can be uninformative or misleading. We demonstrate further benefits of the Bayesian approach for time series analysis, such as direct comparison of different hypotheses, inherent estimation of noise levels and parameter precision, and a flexible framework for modelling the data without pre-processing.ConclusionsModelling in systems biology often builds on the study of time-dependent phenomena. Fourier Transforms are a convenient tool for analysing the frequency domain of time series. However, there are well-known limitations of this method, such as the introduction of spurious frequencies when handling short and noisy time series, and the requirement for uniformly sampled data. Biological time series often deviate significantly from the requirements of optimality for Fourier transformation. In this paper we present an alternative approach based on Bayesian inference. We show the value of placing spectral analysis in the framework of Bayesian inference and demonstrate how model comparison can automate this procedure.
Hyperuricemia and the risk for subclinical coronary atherosclerosis - data from a prospective observational cohort study
Authors: Krishnan Eswar , Pandya Bhavik J , Chung Lorinda , Dabbous Omar 
Published: June 2011

Abstract
Introduction
Our purpose was to test the hypothesis that hyperuricemia is associated with coronary artery calcification (CAC) among a relatively healthy population, and that the extent of calcification is directly proportional to the serum uric acid (sUA) concentration.

Methods
Data from 2,498 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study were analyzed using logistic regression models. Subjects were free of clinical heart disease, diabetes, and renal impairment. The main measure was the presence of any CAC by computerized tomography (Agatston score >0).

Results
Forty-eight percent of the study participants were male and 45% were African-American. Mean (± SD) age was 40 ± 4 years, body mass index 28 ± 6 kg/m2, Framingham risk score -0.7 ± 5%, blood pressure 113 ± 14/75 ± 11 mmHg, alcohol consumption 12 ± 27 ml/day, and sUA 297 ± 89 μmol/L (5.0 ± 1.5 mg/dL). Prevalence of CAC increased with sUA concentration among both men and women. Adjusted for age, gender, race, lipoproteins, triglycerides, smoking, blood pressure, presence of metabolic syndrome, C-reactive protein, waist circumference, alcohol use, creatinine, and serum albumin, the highest quartile of sUA (>393 μmol/L [6.6 mg/dL] for men and >274 μmol/L [4.6 mg/dL] for women) was associated with an odds ratio of 1.87 (1.19-2.93) compared to the lowest quartile (<291 μmol/L [4.9 mg/dL] for men and <196 μmol/L [3.3 mg/dL] for women). Among those with any CAC, each unit increase in sUA was associated with a 22% increase in Agatston score (P = 0.008) after adjusting for the above covariates.

Conclusions
Hyperuricemia is an independent risk factor for subclinical atherosclerosis in young adults.
DNA Methylation of Tumor Suppressor and Metastasis Suppressor Genes in Circulating Tumor Cells
Authors: Chimonidou Maria , Strati Areti , Tzitzira Alexandra , Sotiropoulou Georgia , Malamos Nikos , Georgoulias Vasilis , Lianidou Evi S 
Published: June 2011

BACKGROUND
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are associated with prognosis in a variety of human cancers and have been proposed as a liquid biopsy for follow-up examinations. We show that tumor suppressor and metastasis suppressor genes are epigenetically silenced in CTCs isolated from peripheral blood of breast cancer patients.

METHODS
We obtained peripheral blood from 56 patients with operable breast cancer, 27 patients with verified metastasis, and 23 healthy individuals. We tested DNA extracted from the EpCAM-positive immunomagnetically selected CTC fraction for the presence of methylated and unmethylated CST6, BRMS1, and SOX17 promoter sequences by methylation-specific PCR (MSP). All samples were checked for KRT19 (keratin 19, formerly CK-19) expression by reverse-transcription quantitative PCR.

RESULTS
In CTCs of patients with operable breast cancer, promoter methylation of CST6 was observed in 17.9%, BRMS1 in 32.1%, and SOX17 in 53.6% of patients. In CTCs of patients with verified metastasis, promoter methylation of CST6 was observed in 37.0%, BRMS1 in 44.4%, and SOX17 in 74.1%. In healthy individuals, promoter methylation of CST6 was observed in 4.3%, BRMS1 in 8.7%, and SOX17 in 4.3%. DNA methylation of these genes for both operable and metastatic breast cancer was significantly different from that of the control population.

CONCLUSIONS
DNA methylation of tumor suppressor and metastasis suppressor genes is a hallmark of CTCs and confirms their heterogeneity. Our findings add a new dimension to the molecular characterization of CTCs and may underlie the acquisition of malignant properties, including their stem-like phenotype.
The Last Supper
Authors: green julie 
Published: June 2011

Texas, home to cattle ranches and more death-row executions than any other state, doesn’t allow steak for a final meal. If you order steak in Texas, you get hamburger. I have always been focused on food. As a kid, I won eating contests; these days I grow organic produce. The years I spent in Oklahoma, which has the highest per capita rate of executions, turned my interest in food toward final meals.
The Last Supper is a series of ceramic plates illustrating final meal requests in the United States. Starting in Norma, Oklahoma in 1999, I have painted 420 plates to date. I plan to continue adding fifty more each year until capital punishment is abolished.
When looking at the inmates’ humble choices, it is important to note that while rituals and traditions vary, most states limit final-meal allowances to twenty dollars. Maryland is the only state that does not allow any meal selection. A last cigarette is permitted in some prisons. Alcohol is prohibited in all. Texas denies bubble gum. Sometimes requests provide clues about personality, race, and region. An Oregon inmate’s final meal request closed with “I would appreciate the eggs hot.” And who wouldn’t?
The Last Supper plates have travelled to nine states and the UK. The project has been included in the book Confrontational Ceramics by Judith Schwartz, on the radio program The Splendid Table and on Southern California Public Radio.
John James Audubon's Tastes of America
Authors: riely elizabeth gawthrop 
Published: June 2011

John James Audubon (1785–1851), the ornithologist and artist, traveled widely through the great American wilderness searching for bird specimens to draw for what became The Birds of America (1827–38). He observed them closely in their natural environment, keeping detailed field notes and journals under difficult conditions. Out of curiosity and hunger, he often cooked and ate these birds after drawing them and wrote down how they tasted—another kind of evidence. The article concentrates on his written descriptions (lively, humorous, wry, or astonished) and tasting notes in the wild.
Audubon traveled down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, north to Labrador, south to the Florida Keys, and later, when searching for mammals to draw for The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, northwest up the Missouri River. There he wrote about hunting American buffalo (bison), sometimes comparing customs and rituals of white hunters and various Indian tribes, and even sampled dog served by a Blackfoot princess.
During the western expansion of the early nineteenth century, Audubon witnessed and recorded profound changes in the American landscape. Settlers’ encroachment on habitat and hunters’ wanton destruction of wildlife increasingly alarmed him. He presaged the extinction of some species whose habits and tastes he described. Conservation is an implicit theme.
Identity Politics and the Fragmenting of the 1970s Evangelical Left
Authors: Swartz David R. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractIn the early 1970s, a group of progressive evangelicals challenged the mid-century cultural conservatism of their tradition. Activists associated with Reformed, Anabaptist, and neo-evangelical institutions denounced militarism, racism, sexism, economic injustice, and President Richard Nixon's “lust for and abuse of power.” When this coalition met in 1973 to issue the Chicago Declaration, delegates effused a profound sense of optimism. The evangelical left held very real potential for political impact.Within a decade, however, the movement seemed to be in disarray. This article suggests the centrality of identity politics to evangelicalism in the 1970s and outlines the fragmentation of the progressive evangelical coalition along gender, racial, and theological lines. The formation of the Evangelical Women's Caucus, the growing stridency of the National Black Evangelical Association, and the divergence of Anabaptist-oriented Evangelicals for Social Action and the Reformed-oriented Association for Public Justice sapped the evangelical left of needed resources and contributed to its impotence into the 1980s. The forces of identity politics, which also plagued the broader political left, were powerful enough to sabotage even a group of evangelicals with remarkably similar theological convictions, religious cultures, and critiques of conservative politics. The story of the fragmenting evangelical left, however, reflects more than broader culture's preoccupation with identity. It points to often-overlooked religious elements of the broader left. And alongside the New Left and the New Right, the evangelical left's debates over racial, sexual, and theological difference added to the disruptions of the liberal consensus in the 1960s and 1970s.
In Vitro Comparison of Microleakage of Posterior Resin Composites With and Without Liner Using Two-Step Etch-and-Rinse and Self-etch Dentin Adhesive Systems
Authors: Kasraei S , Azarsina M , Majidi S 
Published: June 2011

Clinical Relevance
The use of resin-modified glass ionomers as cavity liners in the closed-sandwich technique reduced microleakage in Class II composite restorations.
Increased genetic differentiation but no reduced genetic diversity in peripheral vs. central populations of a steppe grass
Authors: Wagner Viktoria , Durka Walter , Hensen Isabell 
Published: June 2011

• Premise of the Study: Intraspecific genetic variation is essential for the performance and evolution of species. Populations at a species’ geographic range periphery receive considerable attention in biogeography and conservation because they are smaller and spatially more isolated than central populations, a pattern expected to lead to higher genetic differentiation and lower within‐population genetic diversity. We tested these predictions in central and peripheral populations of the Eurasian steppe grass Stipa capillata.• Methods: We analyzed AFLP fingerprint patterns in 319 individuals from 20 large and abundant populations in the core, in Kazakhstan, and 23 small and isolated populations at the periphery, in Central Europe. We calculated different genetic diversity estimates and assessed genetic differentiation among populations by examining FST values, a neighbor‐net network, and an AMOVA.• Key Results: As expected, genetic differentiation among populations was significantly larger at the range periphery (FST = 0.415) than in the range core (FST = 0.164). In contrast to predictions, however, we found similarly low genetic diversity within central (proportion of polymorphic bands = 21.9%) and peripheral (20%) populations.• Conclusions: Higher genetic differentiation in the small and spatially isolated peripheral populations is likely driven by genetic drift and reduced gene flow due to a complex landscape structure and the abandonment of traditional management regimes. With regard to unchanged genetic diversity, it appears that life‐history traits like longevity or sufficiently large population sizes could allow S. capillata to escape deleterious effects at the range edge.
Root suckering in a Triassic conifer from Antarctica: Paleoecological and evolutionary implications
Authors: Decombeix Anne‐Laure , Taylor Edith L. , Taylor Thomas N. 
Published: June 2011

• Premise of the study: Although root suckering and other types of sprouting are well studied in extant woody plants, little is known about the distribution of these traits at a macroevolutionary scale. Anatomically preserved fossil plants represent an excellent but understudied source of information of the distribution of sprouting behavior through time and across taxa.• Methods: A block of silicified peat collected in the Middle Triassic Fremouw Formation at the Fremouw Peak locality, Central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica, contains a group of anatomically preserved roots of the fossil conifer Notophytum krauselii that bear young shoots. The specimen was prepared using the standard acetate peel technique and studied in reflected and transmitted light.• Key results: Young sucker shoots bearing well‐preserved leaves are produced in groups in some areas of the Notophytum roots.• Conclusions: The production of root suckers in Notophytum indicates that some of the trees growing in polar forests during the Triassic could respond to environmental stresses by regenerating their vegetative structures and had the potential to reproduce vegetatively. The specimens also represent the first anatomical evidence of root suckering in any fossil seed plant, and its occurrence in an early putative podocarp supports the idea that this trait might be ancestral in at least some extant conifer families.
Development of microsatellite markers for Miscanthus sinensis (Poaceae) and cross‐amplification in other related species
Authors: Zhou Hai‐Fei , Li Shan‐Shan , Ge Song 
Published: June 2011

• Premise of the study: We developed microsatellite loci for the biomass crop Miscanthus sinensis to investigate genetic diversity and population structure of M. sinensis and its closely related species.• Methods and Results: Fourteen microsatellite loci were identified from an enriched genomic library of M. sinensis and tested in one M. sinensis population. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 1 to 15, with a mean of 7.0. The observed and expected heterozygosities varied from 0.318 to 0.864 and from 0.424 to 0.901, respectively. Of them, 12 primers could be applied to three other species in Miscanthus (M. sacchariflorus, M. floridulus, and M. lutarioriparius).• Conclusions: These markers will be important for further analyzing population genetics and evolutionary history, as well as facilitating molecular breeding of Miscanthus sinensis and its related species.
Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers in distylous Palicourea padifolia (Rubiaceae)
Authors: Covarrubias Sara , Gutiérrez‐Rodríguez Carla , González Clementina , Ornelas Juan Francisco 
Published: June 2011

• Premise of the study: Eighteen microsatellite loci of distylous Palicourea padifolia were isolated and characterized for population genetics studies.• Methods and Results: Following a microsatellite enrichment protocol, 18 primer pairs amplified successfully, and the polymorphism of the loci was initially evaluated in 15 individuals from three populations in Mexico. Seven loci were polymorphic, and their variability was further assessed in 60 individuals from three populations. The total number of alleles per locus, combining samples from all populations, ranged from 7 to 12. Nei's genetic diversity average across loci was 0.681, 0.714, and 0.703 for El Riscal, Montebello, and Ruiz Cortínez, respectively. Palicourea padifolia individuals had one to four alleles, confirming the polyploidy of this species.• Conclusions: These markers will facilitate genetic diversity studies of P. padifolia across its distribution range and facilitate investigations on the evolution of its breeding system.
Microsatellite markers for Butia eriospatha (Arecaceae), a vulnerable palm species from the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil
Authors: Nazareno Alison G. , Zucchi Maria I. , Reis Mauricio S. dos 
Published: June 2011

• Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were developed for the vulnerable palm species Butia eriospatha (Mart. ex Drude) Becc. to investigate genetic diversity, spatial genetic structure, mating system, and population dynamics.• Methods and Results: From a genomic library enriched for GA/CA repeats, 14 sets of primers were isolated and characterized for 50 B. eriospatha samples from two populations. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 6 (with amplified dinucleotide repeat‐based primers); the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and from 0.120 to 0.690, respectively. At least 86% of primers were also amplified for Butia catarinensis Noblick & Lorenzi, another threatened palm species from the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil.• Conclusions: The new marker set described here will be useful for studies of population genetics of B. eriospatha, and they have been shown to be applicable for other species from the Butia genus.