bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Determinants of excessive daytime sleepiness in a French community‐dwelling elderly population
Authors: TSUNO NORIFUMI , JAUSSENT ISABELLE , DAUVILLIERS YVES , TOUCHON JACQUES , RITCHIE KAREN , BESSET ALAIN 
Published: November 2007

SummaryEpidemiological studies have suggested that excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is associated with depression, but the association between EDS and other psychiatric disorders has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of EDS with a wide range of psychiatric disorders and health‐related conditions in the elderly population. Two thousand two hundred and fifty‐nine non‐institutionalised persons aged 65‐years and over randomly recruited from the Montpellier district, France, completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Psychiatric status was assessed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and demographic and other health information was obtained. This cross‐sectional study was conducted from March 1999 to February 2001. Men were significantly more likely to report EDS (ESS score>10) compared with women (12.0% versus 6.0% respectively). EDS was significantly associated in univariate analyses with chronic diseases, early awakening, snoring, severity of depression and lifetime prevalence of manic and hypomanic episodes. A multivariate analysis revealed that the lifetime prevalence of manic and hypomanic episodes, snoring and gender (male) were independently associated with EDS. No independent association with other psychiatric disorders was found.
Electroencephalographic arousals during sleep do not alter the pressor response to Cheyne–Stokes respiration in subjects with chronic heart failure
Authors: WILLSON GRANT N. , GRUNSTEIN RONALD R. , KIRJAVAINEN TURKKA , YOUNG IVEN H. , PIPER AMANDA J. , SULLIVAN COLIN E. , WILCOX IAN 
Published: November 2007

SummaryThis study examined the influence of electroencephalographic (EEG) arousal on the magnitude and morphology of the pressor response to Cheyne–Stokes respiration (CSR) in subjects with congestive heart failure (CHF). Thirteen subjects with stable CHF (left ventricular ejection fraction, 26 ± 7%) and CSR (apnea–hypopnea index 52 ± 15 h−1) underwent overnight polysomnography with beat‐to‐beat measurement of systemic arterial blood pressure (BP). CSR events were divided into those with or without an EEG arousal defined according to the criteria of the American Sleep Disorders Association. The pressor response was quantified in terms of the delta BP change (difference between the minimum BP during apnea and maximum BP during hyperpnea). Changes in the morphology of the pressor response were assessed by subdividing individual respiratory events into six periods (three during apnea: A1, A2, A3; and three during hyperpnea: H1, H2, H3). Considerable fluctuations in BP and heart rate (HR) were observed across the CSR cycle (delta mean BP 20.2 ± 6.5 mmHg). The presence of an EEG arousal did not alter the amplitude of fluctuations in BP. Mean blood pressure (MBP) increased 21.0 ± 7.5 mmHg with arousal versus 19.3 ± 5.8 mmHg without arousal (NS). A repeated measures ANOVA showed no significant interaction between the presence of arousal and the proportional change in mean BP across the six periods, indicating that an EEG arousal had no effect on the morphology of MBP change during CSR [F(5,60) = 1.44, P = 0.22]. This study showed that EEG‐defined arousal does not amplify the pressor response to CSR in CHF.
Children’s sleep and adjustment: the moderating role of vagal regulation
Authors: EL‐SHEIKH MONA , ERATH STEPHEN A. , KELLER PEGGY S. 
Published: November 2007

SummaryChildren’s vagal tone and vagal suppression were examined as moderators of associations between children’s sleep disruptions and adjustment problems. A relatively large sample (n = 167) of boys and girls who ranged in age between 8 and 9 years participated with their parents. Sleep was examined via actigraphy in the child’s home for seven consecutive days. Children’s vagal tone was examined during baseline conditions, and their vagal suppression was assessed in response to an inter‐adult argument. In comparison with children exhibiting higher levels of vagal tone, those with lower vagal tone were at increased risk of externalizing problems, depression symptoms and higher body mass index associated with increased sleep disruptions (i.e. lower Sleep Efficiency, increased Wake Minutes and fewer Sleep Minutes). Thus, lower vagal tone functioned as a vulnerability factor for adjustment problems in the context of sleep problems. A higher level of vagal suppression to the inter‐adult argument functioned as a protective factor against externalizing behaviors otherwise associated with increased Wake Minutes and reduced Sleep Efficiency. Findings demonstrating the moderating role of vagal functioning in the context of sleep disruptions are novel, and highlight the importance of individual differences in children’s physiological regulation for sleep and adjustment.
Multiple mating strategies explain unexpected genetic mixing of New Zealand fur seals with two congenerics in a recently recolonized population
Authors: LANCASTER MELANIE L. , GOLDSWORTHY SIMON D. , SUNNUCKS PAUL 
Published: November 2007

AbstractHuman impacts on natural systems can cause local population extinctions, which may promote redistribution of taxa and secondary contact between divergent lineages. In mammalian populations that have mating systems shaped by polygyny and sexual selection, the potential for hybridization to ensue and persist depends on individual and demographic factors. At Macquarie Island, a recently formed fur seal population is comprised of both sexes of breeding Antarctic (Arctocephalus gazella) and subantarctic (A. tropicalis) fur seals, and an itinerant collection of male New Zealand fur seals (A. forsteri), presumed to be non‐breeders due to their absence from principle breeding areas. The mating system of the three species is described as resource‐defence polygyny: males defend beach territories containing breeding females for exclusive mating rights. A recent genetic study identified a high level of hybridization in the population (17–30%), unexpectedly involving all three species. This study examined the source of involvement in breeding by A. forsteri with respect to mating strategies operating in the population. Ninety‐five (10%) pups born from 1992 to 2003 were genetically identified as New Zealand hybrids. Most resulted from reproduction within territories by New Zealand hybrids of both sexes, although some were conceived extra‐territorially, indicating that males successfully utilize strategies other than territory holding to achieve paternities. Female reproductive status influenced mating partner and mating location, and females without pups were more likely to conceive extra‐territorially and with A. forsteri males. This study illustrates an important consequence of low heterospecific discrimination in a sympatric population of long‐lived mammals.
Variations in parasitism in sympatric populations of three invasive leaf miners
Authors: Girardoz S. , Volter L. , Tomov R. , Quicke D. L. J. , Kenis M. 
Published: November 2007

Abstract:  Parasitism was investigated in sympatric populations of three invasive gracillariid leaf miners in Europe, Cameraria ohridella, Phyllonorycter robiniella and Phyllonorycter platani to test the hypotheses that C. ohridella is less heavily parasitized by native parasitoids and attacked by fewer species than the two other invasive species. In all regions investigated, C. ohridella showed a lower parasitism rate, and its parasitoid complex was poorer in species than those of either Phyllonorycter spp. Comparisons were made between sympatric populations of C. ohridella on its main host tree, Aesculus hippocastanum, and an occasional host, Acer pseudoplatanus. Parasitism rates were similarly low and composed of the same parasitoid species on both trees. In contrast, a sympatric population of Phyllonorycter geniculella, a native species mining A. pseudoplatanus, was heavily parasitized by a totally different parasitoid complex. These results suggest that the low parasitism in C. ohridella by native polyphagous leaf miner parasitoids is due neither to its host tree, nor to a problem of synchronization between the phenology of the pest and that of its parasitoids. Instead, it probably results from the inability of the native parasitoids to locate, attack, or develop on a new host that does not have any native congener in Europe.
The effect of autopolyploidy on biomass production in homozygous lines of Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea
Authors: Abel S. , Becker H. C. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractIn Brassica species contradictory results on the effect of polyploidization on vegetative biomass production have been reported. This might result from the fact that the level of heterozygosity in diploid and tetraploid lines as a major factor of plant performance in Brassicas is often disregarded. Therefore in this study autotetraploid lines were developed from seven completely homozygous lines of B. rapa and B. oleracea in order to analyse the unconfounded effect of polyploidy on vegetative biomass production of young plants. The tetraploid lines yielded 2–64% less than the corresponding diploid lines and there was no significant effect of the ploidy level on the dry matter content. These results indicate that the direct effect of polyploidization in B. rapa and B. oleracea is negative while in some other studies this negative effect could be compensated by a higher level of heterosis in tetraploid populations compared to their diploid reference populations.
An overview of chronic severe asthma
Authors: Polosa R. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractMost asthmatic patients with moderate to severe disease can be satisfactorily managed with a combination of inhaled corticosteroids and β2‐agonists. However, there are a few with persistent symptoms, impaired quality of life and excessive health‐care utilization, despite this management regimen. These patients often require frequent and even occasionally regular oral corticosteroid use. Chronic, severe asthma is a heterogeneous disease and a systematic diagnostic work‐up may help to guide treatment and may even provide information about prognosis. Optimal treatment of chronic severe asthma (CSA) should achieve the best possible asthma control and quality of life with the least dose of systemic corticosteroids. The choice and formulation of therapeutic agent is dictated by the severity of disease and includes conventional, immunosuppressive/immunomodulating and biologic therapies. Unfortunately, current asthma management guidelines offer little contribution to the care of the challenging patient with CSA. In this review, a diagnostic and therapeutic overview of CSA is provided for the benefit of those who have a specific interest in this problematic condition.
First direct landscape‐scale measurement of tropical rain forest Leaf Area Index, a key driver of global primary productivity
Authors: Clark David B. , Olivas Paulo C. , Oberbauer Steven F. , Clark Deborah A. , Ryan Michael G. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractLeaf Area Index (leaf area per unit ground area, LAI) is a key driver of forest productivity but has never previously been measured directly at the landscape scale in tropical rain forest (TRF). We used a modular tower and stratified random sampling to harvest all foliage from forest floor to canopy top in 55 vertical transects (4.6 m2) across 500 ha of old growth in Costa Rica. Landscape LAI was 6.00 ± 0.32 SEM. Trees, palms and lianas accounted for 89% of the total, and trees and lianas were 95% of the upper canopy. All vertical transects were organized into quantitatively defined strata, partially resolving the long‐standing controversy over canopy stratification in TRF. Total LAI was strongly correlated with forest height up to 21 m, while the number of canopy strata increased with forest height across the full height range. These data are a benchmark for understanding the structure and functional composition of TRF canopies at landscape scales, and also provide insights for improving ecosystem models and remote sensing validation.
Emergence of Life
Authors: Weber Bruce H. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractDiscussions of the origin of life usually assume that there is a specific event, however improbable, by which dead matter became a living entity. Naturalistic accounts, although in seeming opposition to theistic explanations of the apparent design of even the simplest cells, often share the assumption that there is a specific line to be crossed. If the problem is recast as one of a process of emergence of biochemistry from protobiochemistry, which in turn emerged from the organic chemistry and geochemistry of primitive earth, the resources of the new sciences of complex systems dynamics can provide a more robust conceptual framework within which to explore the possible pathways of chemical complexification leading to life. In such a view the emergence of life is the result of deep natural laws (the outlines of which we are only beginning to perceive) and reflects a degree of holism in those systems that led to life. Further, there is the possibility of developing a more general theory of biology and of natural organization from such an approach. The emergence of life may thus be seen as an instance of the broader innate creativity of nature and consistent with a possible natural teleology.
The Emergence of Sex
Authors: Goodenough Ursula 
Published: November 2007

AbstractBiological traits, the foci of natural selection, are by definition emergent from the genes, proteins, and other “nothing‐buts” that constitute them. Moreover, and with the exception of recently emergent “spandrels,” each can be accorded a teleological dimension—each is “for” some purpose conducive to an organism's continuation. Sex, which is “for” the generation of recombinant genomes, may be one of the most ancient and ubiquitous traits in biology. In the course of its evolution, many additional traits, such as gender and nurture, have emerged. Patterns of sexual exchange are the basis for patterns of biological evolution and are central to the process of eukaryotic speciation. Human sexuality is central to our selves.
Science, Religious Naturalism, and Biblical Theology: Ground for the Emergence of Sustainable Living
Authors: Fisher George W. , Van Utt Gretchen 
Published: November 2007

AbstractDuring this century, humans must learn to live in ways that are sustainable, both ecologically and morally. The global community already consumes more ecological resources than Earth can generate; population growth and increasing development are widening that gap. We suggest that paths to sustainability can be found by mindful reflection on meanings discerned in the convergence of a scientific understanding of nature, religious naturalism, and biblical understandings of creation. The patterns of ecological sustainability observed in natural systems and the wise ways of relating to the land discerned in the Hebrew Bible suggest that sustainability must be grounded in social and ecological justice and that just ways of living can emerge from a deep sense of the ways in which nature and all of humanity are interdependent. We conclude that the twentieth‐century emphasis on individual control of our future must make room for the emergence of a new understanding of mutuality. There can be no flourishing apart from mutual flourishing.
Emergence, Naturally!
Authors: Ulanowicz Robert E. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractThe prevailing common assumptions about how nature behaves have their origins in the early Enlightenment. The notion of emergence does not sit comfortably within this framework. Emergence appears virtually impossible within a world determined by ineluctable and unwavering natural laws. But the variety and combinations inherent in living systems render physical laws indeterminate. The study of ecological dynamics suggests that processes rather than laws are what accounts for most order seen in the living realm. As a consequence, there are aspects of ecological dynamics that violate each of the Newtonian postulates. The dynamics of ecosystems suggest a smaller set of rational assumptions through which to view nature—an “ecological metaphysic.” Emergence appears as a rare but wholly natural phenomenon within the new rational platform. In addition, several apparent conflicts between science and theism that arose under the Newtonian framework simply vanish under the new perspective.
Plumbing the Depths: A Recovery of Natural Law and Natural Wisdom in the Context of Debates about Evolutionary Purpose
Authors: Deane‐Drummond Celia 
Published: November 2007

AbstractI argue that the theological traditions of natural law and wisdom offer helpful meeting points in discussions about evolutionary “purpose” and contingency in relation to theological purpose, and serve to form the basis for a theology of nature. Natural law offers a way of describing the ordered action of God toward complexity in a contingent world without using the language of either “design” or “progress.” The theological tradition of wisdom as implicit in the natural world, learned in the human community, and received as gift of grace offers a further means of interconnecting biological reality with spiritual experience, while retaining distinctions. Wisdom and natural law intersect inasmuch as natural law is participation in Eternal Wisdom, although the latter makes sense only from the prior perspective of faith.
Odysseans of the Twenty‐First Century
Authors: Bradley James T. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractIn his book Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies—and What It Means to Be Human (2005), author‐journalist Joel Garreau identifies four technologies whose synergistic activity may transform humankind into a state transcending present human nature: genetic, robotic, information, and nano (GRIN) technologies. If the GRIN technologies follow Moore's Law, as information technology has done for the past four decades, Homo sapiens and human society may be unimaginably different before the middle of this century. But among scientists, futurists, and other pundits there is no agreement on the nature and ramifications of this transformation. Based on dozens of interviews, Garreau sees three possible scenarios for our species. The Heaven Scenario foresees enhanced bodies and minds in a disease‐free world, perhaps even immortality; the Hell Scenario warns of losing our identity as a biological entity and perhaps the demise of liberal democracy; the Prevail Scenario predicts that we will muddle through the GRIN technology revolution basically intact, as we have prevailed during past technological upheavals. In this review, these scenarios are examined in the context of Kuhn's “normal” versus “extraordinary” science and in the context of current understanding about gene function.
Fractionated aminolevulinic acid–photodynamic therapy provides additional evidence for the use of PDT for non‐melanoma skin cancer
Authors: De Haas ERM , De Vijlder HC , Sterenborg HJCM , Neumann HAM , Robinson DJ 
Published: November 2007

AbstractBackground  Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an accepted treatment for superficial basal cel carcinoma (sBCC) and Bowens disease. In Rotterdam, extensive preclinical research has lead to an optimized twofold illumination scheme for aminolevulinic acid–PDT (ALA‐PDT).Objective  To provide additional evidence of ALA‐PDT for sBCC, Bowens disease (BD), nodular BCC (nBCC) and actinic keratosis (AK) using a 2‐fold illumination scheme after a single application of ALA.Methods  Five hundred fifty‐two lesions (430 sBCC, 20 nBCC, 32 BD, 70 AK) were treated with ALA‐PDT using a twofold illumination scheme. ALA was applied topically for 4 h. Lesions were treated with two light fractions of 20 and 80 J/cm2 separated by a 2‐h dark interval.Results  After a minimum follow‐up of 12 months, in average follow‐up of 2 years, an overall complete response of 95% was seen for all lesions. For sBCC, the complete response at 2 years was 97% (for AK 98%, for BD 84% and for nBCC 80% after 2 years). A sub‐analysis of the results of lesions larger than 2 cm showed CR at 2 years of 89% for all lesions (n = 57). Cosmetic outcome was good to excellent in 95% of the treated lesions.Conclusion  ALA‐PDT using a twofold illumination scheme of 20 plus 80 J/cm2 separated by a 2‐h dark interval leads to high complete response rates at 2 years and can be regarded as an evidence‐based treatment modality for superficial growing non‐melanoma skin cancer and the (pre)malignant AK. The Rotterdam fractionated approach should be included in future guidelines.
Effects ofl‐arginine and phosphodiesterase‐5 inhibitor, sildenafil, on inflammation and airway responsiveness of sensitized BP2 mice
Authors: Al Qadi‐Nassar B. , Bichon‐Laurent F. , Portet K. , Tramini P. , Arnoux B. , Michel A. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractNitric oxide (NO) levels are elevated in the exhaled breath of asthmatic patients and NO is considered as a biomarker of airway inflammation. However, the functions of NO in the airways are not completely understood.l‐arginine, as the substrate of NO synthases, is the precursor of NO which stimulates guanylate cyclase and leads to the formation of cyclic GMP (cGMP). Sildenafil, a phosphodiestérase‐5 (PDE‐5) inhibitor, prevents the degradation of cGMP. In this study the effects ofl‐arginine and sildenafil treatment, alone or in combination, were evaluated in ovalbumin‐sensitized BP2 mice. These effects concerning the airway responsiveness to inhaled methacholine (MCh) were evaluated by whole‐body plethysmography (WBP), the inflammatory response evaluated by bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) analyses and lung tissue biopsies (eosinophilic inflammation associated with lung remodelling), and NO metabolite measurements (by Griess reaction) in BALF. Ovalbumin sensitization induced: (a) an inflammatory reaction with eosinophil and neutrophil influx in BALF and lung; and (b) an increased bronchial responsiveness to MCh.l‐arginine treatment [50 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.), for 7 days] increased the relative amount of eosinophils and neutrophils in BALF, had a tendency to increase the airway responsiveness to inhaled MCh and increased the NO metabolite level in BAL. Sildenafil treatment (20 mg/kg i.p. for 7 days) did not affect the airway responsiveness to MCh and had a lower effect compared withl‐arginine on inflammatory reactions. The combination of the two treatments resulted in a dramatic enhancement of the airway responsiveness to inhaled MCh. The relative amount of eosinophils was increased and lung histology showed obvious worsened tissular lesions such as epithelial shedding and hypertrophy, hyperplasia of smooth muscle cells, and fibrosis. These findings are consistent with the notion that NO production plays a role in the development of airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness of sensitized mice and highlighted the potential risk of thel‐arginine dietary complement or PDE5 treatment in asthmatic patients.