bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Cardiac Autonomic Modulation during Adolescent Obesity
Authors: Rabbia Franco , Silke Bernard , Conterno Andrea , Grosso Tiziana , De Vito Barbara , Rabbone Ivana , Chiandussi Livio , Veglio Franco 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: To investigate the cardiovascular autonomic function in pediatric obesity of different duration by using standard time domain, spectral heart rate variability (HRV), and nonlinear methods.Research Methods and Procedures: Fifty obese children (13.9 ± 1.7 years) were compared with 12 lean subjects (12.9 ± 1.6 years). Obese children were classified as recent obese (ROB) (<4 years), intermediate obese (IOB) (4 to 7 years), and long‐term obese (OB) (>7 years). In all participants, we performed blood pressure (BP) measurements, laboratory tests, and 24‐hour electrocardiogram/ambulatory BP monitoring. The spectral power was quantified in total power, very low‐frequency (LF) power, high‐frequency (HF) power, and LF to HF ratio. Total, long‐term, and short‐term time domain HRV were calculated. Poincaré plot and quadrant methods were used as nonlinear techniques.Results: All obese groups had higher casual and ambulatory BP and higher glucose, homeostasis model assessment, and triglyceride levels. All parameters reflecting parasympathetic tone (HF band, root mean square successive difference, proportion of successive normal‐to‐normal intervals, and scatterplot width) were significantly and persistently reduced in all obese groups in comparison with lean controls. LF normalized units, LF/HF, and cardiac acceleration (reflecting sympathetic activation) were significantly increased in the ROB group. In IOB and OB groups, LF, but not nonlinear, measures were similar to lean controls, suggesting biphasic behavior of sympathetic tone, whereas nonlinear analysis showed a decreasing trend with the duration of obesity. Long‐term HRV measures were significantly reduced in ROB and IOB.Discussion: Autonomic nervous system changes in adolescent obesity seem to be related to its duration. Nonlinear methods of scatterplot and quadrant analysis permit assessment of autonomic balance, despite measuring different aspects of HRV.
Physical Activity Levels Are Low in Free‐Living Adults with Chronic Paraplegia
Authors: Buchholz Andrea C. , McGillivray Colleen F. , Pencharz Paul B. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjectives: To compare physical activity levels (PALs) of free‐living adults with chronic paraplegia with World Health Organization recommendations and to compare energy expenditure between persons with complete vs. incomplete paraplegia.Research Methods and Procedures: Twenty‐seven euthyroid adults (17 men and 10 women) with paraplegia (12.5 ± 9.5 years since onset; 17 with complete lesions and 10 with incomplete lesions) participated in this cross‐sectional study. Resting metabolic rate was measured by indirect calorimetry and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) by heart rate monitoring. PAL was calculated as TDEE/resting metabolic rate. Total body water was measured by deuterium dilution and fat‐free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) by calculation (FFM = total body water/0.732; FM = weight − FFM). Obesity was defined using the following percentage FM cutoffs: men 18 to 40 years >22% and 41 to 60 years >25%; and women 18 to 40 years >35% and 41 to 60 years >38%.Results: Nineteen subjects (70.4%; 13 men and six women) were obese. Fifteen subjects (56%) engaged in structured physical activity 1.46 ± 0.85 times during the observation period for a mean of 49.4 ± 31.0 minutes per session. Despite this, mean PAL of the group was 1.56 ± 0.34, indicative of limited physical activity. TDEE was 24.6% lower in subjects with complete paraplegia (2072 ± 505 vs. 2582 ± 852 kcal/d, p = 0.0372).Discussion: PAL of the group was low, indicating that persons with paraplegia need to engage in increased frequency, intensity, and/or duration of structured physical activity to achieve a PAL ≥1.75 and, thereby, to offset sedentary activities of daily living.
What Consumers Want to Know about Commercial Weight‐Loss Programs: A Pilot Investigation**
Authors: Wang Shirley S. , Wadden Thomas A. , Womble Leslie G. , Nonas Cathy A. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: In 1999, the Partnership for Healthy Weight Management recommended that providers of commercial weight‐loss programs (and products) voluntarily disclose information concerning the safety, costs, and central components of their programs, as well as the credentials of program staff. These guidelines were drafted without the benefit of data from consumers concerning the specific information they desired. The present study provides such data.Research Methods and Procedures: Participants were 90 women with a mean age of 44.02 ± 9.17 years and body mass index of 36.11 ± 4.82 kg/m2 who were participants in one of two randomized weight‐control trials. Before treatment, respondents were asked to imagine that they were “looking for a weight‐loss plan” and to rate how important each of 16 factors would be in helping them select a plan. Ratings were made using 5‐point scales, anchored by “not at all important” and “extremely important,” (scored 1 and 5, respectively). Participants also identified the five factors that they thought were the most important, as well as the single most important.Results: The mean rating for the importance of safety (4.57 ± 0.60) was significantly greater than that for each of the 15 other variables (all p values < 0.05). In addition, significantly more respondents (27.8%) selected safety as the single most important factor than any other variable (all p values < 0.05). Other factors that were consistently judged as very important included information about diet (4.38 ± 0.68), behavior modification (4.32 ± 0.76), cost (4.19 ± 0.92), and maintenance of weight loss (4.15 ± 0.91). Staff credentials (3.88 ± 0.83) were among the lowest rated items.Discussion: The results generally support the disclosure guidelines proposed by the Partnership for Health Weight Management. Consumers, however, seem to desire information about weight loss, in addition to that concerning safety, cost, and central program components.
Assessing Dietary and Exercise Stage of Change to Optimize Weight Loss Interventions
Authors: Sutton Karen , Logue Everett , Jarjoura David , Baughman Kristin , Smucker William , Capers Cynthia 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: According to the Transtheoretical Model (TM), tailoring interventions to patients’ readiness to change can enhance patient progress and help patients use therapeutic resources more effectively. However, tailoring an intervention depends on accurate assessment of patients’ stage of change (SOC). This study describes a multi‐item algorithm of SOC (M‐SOC) for weight loss‐related behaviors that attempts to overcome some of the conceptual and methodological difficulties encountered in previously SOC assessments.Research Methods: Data were collected from participants randomly assigned to the treatment arm of a clinical trial comparing a TM‐based, cognitive‐behavioral intervention with enhanced usual care for weight loss.Results: The stair‐step relationships hypothesized by the TM between assessed SOC and key behavioral measures were found for all algorithms (p < 0.05), indicating that the M‐SOC algorithm performs as well as single item algorithms. However, 50% fewer patients were classified in action or maintenance for dietary fat intake and portion control (p < 0.05) by the multiple‐item algorithms, providing staging more consistent with the clinical presentation of obese individuals. In addition, logistic regression analyses indicated that the single‐item algorithms were not sufficient predictors of these behavioral domains.Discussion: To the extent that treatment is guided by assessed SOC, there is potential for a considerable variability in interventions with different approaches to staging. For weight‐loss interventions that target portion control and decreased fat intake, the multi‐item SOC algorithms seem to be better guides for matching treatments to SOC.
Dentin non‐collagenous proteins (dNCPs) can stimulate dental follicle cells to differentiate into cementoblast lineages
Authors: Wu Junjie , Jin Fang , Tang Liang , Yu Jinhua , Xu Lin , Yang Zhenhua , Wu Gang , Duan Yinzhong , Jin Yan 
Published: April 2008

Background information. Although the mechanism of cementogenesis is an area full of debate, the DFCs (dental follicle cells) are thought to be the precursors of cementoblasts. At the onset of cementogenesis, DFCs come into contact with the root dentin surface and undergo subsequent differentiation. But the exact effects of dentin or dentin matrix on DFCs remain an open question. In the present study, we hypothesized that dNCPs (dentin non‐collagenous proteins) extracted from dentin could stimulate DFCs to differentiate into cementoblast lineages.Results. DFCs were isolated from tooth germs of SD (Sprague—Dawley) rats and then co‐cultured with dNCPs. Treated DFCs presented several features of cementoblast lineages in vitro, as indicated by morphological changes, decreased proliferation, enhanced ALP (alkaline phosphatase) activity and increased matrix mineralization. The expression of mineralization‐associated proteins and genes were up‐regulated after induction, whereas the expression of specific markers of odontoblast were not detected. Incubation of treated DFC pellets in vivo revealed that a large amount of cementum‐like tissues was formed within the novel dentin carriers, which were quite distinct from the newly formed osteodentin secreted by DPSCs (dental pulp stem cells). The negative expression of DSP (dentin sialoprotein) also excluded the possibility of producing dentin matrix by treated DFCs.Conclusions. dNCPs can stimulate DFCs to differentiate into cementoblast lineages. The present study provides new insights into the mechanism of cementogenesis.
REGION AND NATION
Authors: Thom Martin 
Published: April 2008

Carl Levy (ed.), Italian Regionalism. History, Identity and Politics, Berg, Oxford 1996, 197 pp., ISBN 1–85975–131–7 hbk, 1–85973–156–2 pbk, £12.95.It would seem to be self-evident that we cannot say what regions (and regionalism) are until we have said what nations (and nationalism) are, for the concept of region was formulated in response to, and to some degree in opposition to, that of nation. It would be overstating the case, even in the France of the Restoration or of the July Monarchy, to define ‘regionalism’ as belonging on the Right of the political spectrum, for there are liberal counter-examples to pit against de Gobineau, and yet many did indeed construe regional identity as a threat to the principle of nationality. Thus, in the Italian context, as David Hine observes in the volume under review, the real explanation for the limited nature of the challenge to the highly centralized state ‘probably lies, at least for the period from 1860 to 1922, in the cultural dominance of the myth of national popular resurgence on which the Risorgimento was based’ (p. 110). On this reading, critics of unity, who were often advocates of diversity also, were bound to remain unheeded.
Next to the Dog Pound: Institutional Discourses and Practices About Rom Refugees in Left-Wing Bologna
Authors: Però Davide 
Published: April 2008

SummaryThis article examines the institutional discourses and practices that have characterized the process of incorporation of a group of Rom refugees from the former Yugoslavia in Bologna, the ‘showcase’ of the Italian Left. Following an anthropology of policy approach, the article provides insights into both the conditions of refugees in Italy and the relationships which exist between the political Left and the ‘new’ immigrations. This is done by showing how the discourses and the practices of the Left can be oppressive and how such oppression is not merely due to an inescapable macro-structural order of things but has local ‘origins’, too. Thus it is argued that if social justice is still a priority in the political agenda of the mainstream Left in Italy, as is claimed, then the Left has some rethinking to do in order to avoid its entanglement and responsibility in processes of oppression and domination in the context of migration.
Coexistence in North Sea fish communities: implications for growth and natural mortality
Authors: Gislason Henrik , Pope John G. , Rice Jake C. , Daan Niels 
Published: April 2008

AbstractGislason, H., Pope, J. G., Rice, J. C., and Daan, N. 2008. Coexistence in North Sea fish communities: implications for growth and natural mortality. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 514–530. For a fish community to persist over time, all species must be able on average to replace themselves on a one-for-one basis over their lifetime. We use this principle and a size-based equilibrium model where asymptotic length is used as a functional trait to investigate how natural mortality should scale with size within and across pelagic and demersal species of North Sea teleosts. The model predicts natural mortality to scale with body length raised to a power of −1.66 at current levels of exploitation. Additionally, natural mortality of demersal species should be proportional to asymptotic length raised to a power of 0.80, so generating a higher natural mortality at a given length for large species than for small ones. The model also suggests that the exponent in the scaling of the von Bertalanffy growth parameter K with asymptotic length should be more negative for pelagic than for demersal species. We test our results by analysing independent estimates of predation mortality, the scaling of maximum recruitment per unit of spawning-stock biomass with asymptotic length, and the general relationship between K and asymptotic length for demersal and pelagic families of fish. All tests are consistent with our modelling results.
In situ target-strength measurements of Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus murphyi) collected with a scientific echosounder installed on a fishing vessel
Authors: Peña Hector 
Published: April 2008

AbstractPeña, H. 2008. In situ target-strength measurements of Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus murphyi) collected with a scientific echosounder installed on a fishing vessel. – ICES Journal of Marine Science 65: 594–604. The use of commercial fishing vessels for scientific purposes has increased worldwide in the past 10 years. Many such studies have involved the collection of acoustic data from both uncalibrated and calibrated echosounders. However, few studies have involved investigations of in situ target strength (TS). During August/September 2003, in situ TS data on Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus murphyi) were collected on board a commercial purse-seiner during normal fishing operations off Chile, using a 38 kHz, Simrad EK60 scientific echosounder. The single-target detections of Chilean jack mackerel were filtered by depth, off-axis beam angle, and beam-compensation criteria to improve the quality of the data used for the TS calculations. Two methods, using raw data and tracked data, were employed to calculate the mean acoustic-backscattering cross section (σbs) and mean TS of Chilean jack mackerel. The results of the two approaches gave similar results, with a strong mode in the mean TS distribution between −35 and −37 dB for fish lengths ranging from 26 to 34 cm, indicating a b20 value of −66 dB. These results agreed well with most results published for this species and others of the same genus (i.e. T. trachurus, Trachurus t. capensis, and T. japonicus).
Bayesian assessment of overtriage and undertriage at a level I trauma centre
Authors: DiDomenico Paul B , Pietzsch Jan B , Paté-Cornell M. Elisabeth 
Published: April 2008

We analysed the trauma triage system at a specific level I trauma centre to assess rates of over- and undertriage and to support recommendations for system improvements. The triage process is designed to estimate the severity of patient injury and allocate resources accordingly, with potential errors of overestimation (overtriage) consuming excess resources and underestimation (undertriage) potentially leading to medical errors.
We first modelled the overall trauma system using risk analysis methods to understand interdependencies among the actions of the participants. We interviewed six experienced trauma surgeons to obtain their expert opinion of the over- and undertriage rates occurring in the trauma centre. We then assessed actual over- and undertriage rates in a random sample of 86 trauma cases collected over a six-week period at the same centre. We employed Bayesian analysis to quantitatively combine the data with the prior probabilities derived from expert opinion in order to obtain posterior distributions. The results were estimates of overtriage and undertriage in 16.1 and 4.9% of patients, respectively.
This Bayesian approach, which provides a quantitative assessment of the error rates using both case data and expert opinion, provides a rational means of obtaining a best estimate of the system's performance. The overall approach that we describe in this paper can be employed more widely to analyse complex health care delivery systems, with the objective of reduced errors, patient risk and excess costs.
Validation of image segmentation by estimating rater bias and variance
Authors: Warfield Simon K , Zou Kelly H , Wells William M 
Published: April 2008

The accuracy and precision of segmentations of medical images has been difficult to quantify in the absence of a ‘ground truth’ or reference standard segmentation for clinical data. Although physical or digital phantoms can help by providing a reference standard, they do not allow the reproduction of the full range of imaging and anatomical characteristics observed in clinical data.
An alternative assessment approach is to compare with segmentations generated by domain experts. Segmentations may be generated by raters who are trained experts or by automated image analysis algorithms. Typically, these segmentations differ due to intra-rater and inter-rater variability. The most appropriate way to compare such segmentations has been unclear.
We present here a new algorithm to enable the estimation of performance characteristics, and a true labelling, from observations of segmentations of imaging data where segmentation labels may be ordered or continuous measures. This approach may be used with, among others, surface, distance transform or level-set representations of segmentations, and can be used to assess whether or not a rater consistently overestimates or underestimates the position of a boundary.
Alcohol dependence is associated with reduced plasma and fundic ghrelin levels
Authors: Badaoui A. , De Saeger C. , Duchemin J. , Gihousse D. , De Timary P. , Stärkel P. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractBackground  Conflicting data concerning the involvement of ghrelin in the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence have been reported. The aim of this study is to investigate how chronic alcohol ingestion influences plasma ghrelin levels and whether potential changes observed in plasma relate to modifications in ghrelin production in the stomach where this peptide is primarily synthesized.Materials and methods  Fifty‐one consecutive alcoholics admitted for alcohol withdrawal were prospectively enrolled and compared to a control group of 32 healthy volunteers matched for age, sex, height and weight. All subjects underwent fasting plasma ghrelin determination. Twenty‐seven randomly selected alcoholics and 17 controls underwent gastroscopy for fundic and duodenal biopsies. Tissues were fixed for histology or frozen in liquid nitrogen for ghrelin protein and mRNA determinations by a radioimmunoassay and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Alcohol consumption was normalized to body weight (BW) or body mass index (BMI) given the influence of BW and volume distribution on alcohol levels.Results  Plasma and fundic ghrelin protein levels were significantly decreased in alcoholics. Fundic but not plasma ghrelin protein levels inversely correlated with alcohol consumption normalized to BW or BMI. Ghrelin mRNA levels in fundic biopsies were similar in alcoholics and controls. No significant differences in duodenal ghrelin protein and mRNA levels were found between both groups.Conclusions  Alcoholism was associated with decreased plasma ghrelin levels partly due to reduced ghrelin production in the stomach. Alcohol affected ghrelin production on the post‐transcriptional level in the fundus, whereas duodenal ghrelin secretion did not respond in a similar manner to alcohol intake.
Cohort splitting in bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, in the US mid‐Atlantic Bight
Authors: CALLIHAN JODY L. , TAKATA LYNN T. , WOODLAND RYAN J. , SECOR DAVID H. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractAtlantic bluefish exhibit cohort splitting, whereby two modes of juvenile recruits originate from spatially distinct spring‐ and summer‐spawning regions in US Atlantic shelf waters. We evaluate the pattern of cohort splitting in a transition area (US Maryland coastal region and Chesapeake Bay) between the two major spawning regions. Spring and summer cohorts were differentially represented in Maryland estuarine (Chesapeake Bay) and coastal waters. The spring cohort was dominant in Chesapeake Bay, but was not well represented in the ocean environment, and the converse true for the summer cohort. We hypothesized that ocean temperatures control the bimodal spawning behavior and extent of cohort splitting. As evidence, we observed an intervening early summer cohort produced in years when shelf temperatures during early summer were suitably warm for spawning. In most years however, two dominant cohorts were evident. We propose that vernal warming dynamics in the mid‐Atlantic Bight influence spawning behavior and the resultant bimodal pattern of seasonal juvenile cohort production commonly observed along the US east coast.
Research on couples: are feminist approaches useful?
Authors: Peters Kathleen , Jackson Debra , Rudge Trudy 
Published: April 2008

AbstractTitle.  Research on couples: are feminist approaches useful? Aim.  This paper is an exploration of the utility and value of feminist approaches when undertaking narrative‐based research with partner dyads (within both heterosexual and same sex partnerships) and when researching sensitive issues.Background.  Adverse life events or conditions experienced by individuals have been found also to have a negative impact on their partners. Most literature addressing partner issues uses quantitative methods, and existing qualitative research on couples has traditionally interviewed only one person in the partnership or coupled partners together. There is little discussion in the literature about the use of feminist research when researching male perspectives and experiences, and even less discussion of the possibilities that feminist research methods bring to the study of couple dyads.Discussion.  Qualitative methodologies informed by feminist perspectives, including issues of reciprocity and self disclosure, can be used to unpack structural, personal and political issues related to couples’ experiences. A feminist approach allows us to show that the origin of oppression is not personal but very much about power and that men as well as women, regardless of their sexuality, may experience the effects of oppression. Narrative and story‐telling complements feminist research because of the value it assigns to the storytellers.Conclusion.  To care for women effectively, we must also consider the experiences of their partners as the health of one partner has the potential to impact on the other. The concept of oppression is not absent, but indeed is illuminated, in the lives of some men. Gathering stories using feminist perspectives enhances respect and mutuality in the research process.