bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
‘It’s not just about food': mother–infant interaction and the wider context of nutrition
Authors: Tomlinson Mark , Landman Mireille 
Published: September 2007

AbstractIn recent years, attention has increasingly focused on the wider context of nutrition, rather than simply on calorie and nutrient intake. Recent estimates put the figure of people in the world living in extreme poverty (an income of less than $1 a day) at 1.1 billion. This has significant implications for nutritional deficiencies in infants and young children. In this paper, we will show how the physical growth and psychological development of infants and children are intimately linked, and how many of the same aetiological factors (such as caregiver sensitivity, psychosocial support, communicative exchange between infant/child and their caregiver) are implicated in both domains. Preliminary evidence indicates that community‐based interventions impact on the mother–infant relationship as well as infant physical growth, and contribute to the increasing sense of how aspects of the early relationship between infants and their caretakers are crucial to any complete understanding of infant growth and development. The paediatric food‐based dietary guidelines (PFBDGs) include guidelines relating to the mother–infant relationship and may thus prove to be a significant tool in community interventions.
The rationale for adopting current international breastfeeding guidelines in South Africa
Authors: Meyer Aila , Van Der Spuy Dorothy A. , Du Plessis Lisanne M. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractCurrent international breastfeeding guidelines recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, followed by the appropriate and adequate introduction of complementary foods at 6 months, with continued breastfeeding for 2 years and beyond. This guideline is based on evidence to support exclusive and extended breastfeeding as the optimal method of feeding infants and young children. Not only do these breastfeeding practices meet the nutrition needs of infants and children for optimal growth and development, but they also offer a host of other health and socio‐economic benefits at all levels of society. The poor breastfeeding rates and increase in infant and child morbidity and mortality in South Africa have led to increased prioritized attention towards the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding. In 2000, the National Department of Health formally adopted the international breastfeeding guidelines for exclusive and extended breastfeeding practices. Therefore, it remains a priority to implement these guidelines in all current and future breastfeeding programmes and interventions, including the South African paediatric food‐based dietary guidelines.
Interaction between Valproic Acid and Acyclovir after Intravenous and Oral Administration in a Rabbit Model
Authors: Van Jaarsveld Magdalena F. P. C. , Walubo Andrew , Du Plessis Jan B. 
Published: September 2007

Abstract: This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of co‐administration of valproic acid and acyclovir on the pharmacokinetic parameters of each other. Fifteen white New Zealand rabbits were divided into three groups: A, B and C. Group A received acyclovir only, group B received valproic acid only and group C received a combination of acyclovir and valproic acid. In a cross‐over design, the intravenous route was studied first, followed by the oral route after a 2‐week wash‐out period. Blood samples were drawn over 10 hr and the pharmacokinetic parameters were derived from the concentrations. After intravenous administration, the area under the plasma concentration time curve and plasma concentrations of acyclovir in group C were higher than in group A, while the volume of distribution and plasma clearance of acyclovir in group C were only 12.8% and 10.36% of those of group A, respectively. A similar trend was observed after oral administration. However, the bioavailability (F) of acyclovir was 8.4% in group A versus 1.5% in group C. In addition, the concentrations and kinetic parameters of valproic acid between the two groups after oral and intravenous administration were not different. In conclusion, co‐administration of single doses of acyclovir and valproic acid led to reduced oral bioavailability of acyclovir, but increased concentrations of acyclovir due to reduced volume of distribution and clearance. These observations call for a cautious approach to the concomitant use of the two drugs until human studies are done.
Estimating Stem Volume Using QuickBird Imagery and Allometric Relationships for Open Populus xiaohei Plantations
Authors: Wang Xiao‐Qing , Li Zeng‐Yuan , Liu Xing‐E , Deng Guang , Jiang Ze‐Hui 
Published: September 2007

Abstract There has been a great deal of interest in studying the crown of trees using remote sensing data. In this study, crown width was extracted from high‐resolution QuickBird images for open Populus xiaohei plantations. Regression models for predicting the individual stem volumes of Populus xiaohei were established using extracted crown width, as well as estimated tree parameters (i.e. diameter at breast height [DBH] and tree height) as predictors. Our results indicated that crown width could be accurately extracted from QuickBird images using a multi‐scale segmentation approach with a mean relative error of 5.74%, especially for wide‐spacing stands. Using either extracted crown width alone or with estimated DBH and tree height can successfully estimate individual stem volume of Populus xiaohei with the R2 value ranging from 0.87 to 0.92 depending on different model forms. In particular, the two second‐order polynomial models (model 2 and model 6), based on QuickBird image‐derived crown widths and estimated DBH and tree heights, respectively, were the best at describing the relationship between stem volume and tree characteristics.
Sewerage network modelling in Latvia, use of InfoWorks CS and Storm Water Management Model 5 in Liepaja city
Authors: Koudelak Pavel , West Sue 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThe existing partially combined sewerage system in the city of Liepaja, Latvia, is in a poor structural condition and hydraulic overloading causes flooding and pollution. As part of a wider project to upgrade water services in the city, supported by the European Union (EU) cohesion fund (CF), a mathematical model of the system was constructed and verified. In determining appropriate software for use, two key objectives had to be considered: (i) fast model construction to allow upgrading works to be designed and implemented within the timeframe given in the EU Financing Agreement and (ii) provision of an affordable design and assessment tool for future use by the water company. To meet these objectives, InfoWorks CS software was used for model building and verification and the model was subsequently exported to freely available Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) 5. The predictive results of the two models were compared with validate the SWMM5 model.
Effects of a 3‐day fast on regional lipid and glucose metabolism in human skeletal muscle and adipose tissue
Authors: Gjedsted J. , Gormsen L. C. , Nielsen S. , Schmitz O. , Djurhuus C. B. , Keiding S. , Ørskov H. , Tønnesen E. , Møller N. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractAim:  Fasting is characterized by increased whole body lipolysis and lipid oxidation, decreased glucose oxidation and insulin resistance. To identify the regional sources and underlying mechanisms, we studied 10 healthy male volunteers post‐absorptively and after 72 h of fasting.Methods:  Each study comprised a 3‐h basal period and a 3‐h hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp and we used a combination of leg and forearm arteriovenous techniques, upper and lower body microdialysis and glucose and palmitate tracers.Results:  In the basal state, plasma levels, fluxes and oxidation rates of free fatty acids all roughly doubled after fasting. Palmitate fluxes across the forearm and leg also increased by two to threefold and interstitial leg muscle glycerol concentrations doubled. Subcutaneous femoral glycerol concentrations and blood flows were unaltered, but abdominal subcutaneous blood flow increased by 50% in the presence of unchanged glycerol concentrations, indicating stimulated abdominal lipolysis. During the clamp, we observed whole body insulin resistance and glucose uptake across the leg and forearm decreased by 60%.Conclusion:  Our data show that fasting induces insulin resistance in upper and lower body muscles and suggest that increased lipolysis, is primarily due to the activation of lipolysis in muscle‐associated fat (in the leg) and in upper body subcutaneous fat, whereas peripheral subcutaneous fat is spared.
Initial mechanomyographical signals from twitching fibres of human skeletal muscle
Authors: Morimoto S. , Takemori S. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractAim:  To elucidate the origin of characteristic low‐frequency sound of contracting skeletal muscle, propagation properties of mechanical and electrical signals along twitching muscle were studied.Methods:  From voluntarily twitching muscle in human vastus medialis muscle, mechanical and electrical signals were simultaneously recorded through the skin with microphones and wire electrodes.Results:  The initial part of the mechanical signal recorded by the microphone showed transient pressure decrease (negative‐going phase) followed by sustained pressure increase (positive‐going phase). The mechanical signals obtained over the nerve insertion lacked the negative‐going phase. The onset of the positive‐going phase appeared 2.5 ± 0.2 (mean ± SEM, n = 7) ms behind the onset of spike potential independently of the sensor position. The onset of the negative‐going phase propagated along the muscle at a constant velocity of 29.8 ± 3.4 m s−1, which was about ten times faster than the propagation velocity of action potentials (3.2 ± 0.1 m s−1). Extrapolation analyses showed that the negative‐ and positive‐going phases originated at the nerve insertion 2.1 ± 0.3 and 1.6 ± 0.1 ms behind the generation of muscle action potentials respectively. Local muscle compression blocked the propagation of only the negative‐going phase.Conclusions:  The negative‐going mechanical signal represents a passive process, probably the thinning of the internally stretched segments of the twitching muscle. The positive‐going phase, on the other hand, represents an active process, probably muscle thickening due to the internal shortening. Each phase, therefore, would convey information about the mechanical properties of resting and contracting muscle fibres respectively.
Aminoguanidine produces beneficial haemodynamic effects in a canine model of acute pulmonary thromboembolism
Authors: Dias‐Junior C. A. C. , Sertorio J. T. C. , Tanus‐Santos J. E. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractAim:  Activating the nitric oxide (NO)‐cyclic guanosine 3′,5′‐monophosphate (cGMP) pathway improves haemodynamics following acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APT). However, the role of NO synthase (NOS) isoforms in the responses to APT has not been determined. We examined the effects of selective and non‐selective inducible NOS (iNOS) inhibition.Methods:  Haemodynamic evaluations were performed in non‐embolized dogs treated with saline (control group; n = 4), l‐NAME (NAME group; n = 3), or aminoguanidine (AG group; n = 3), and in dogs that received the same drugs and were embolized with 5 mL kg−1 of clots made with autologous blood (Emb group, n = 9; NAME + Emb group, n = 4 and AG + Emb group, n = 7). The lung concentrations of nitrite/nitrate (NOx) and cGMP were determined by chemiluminescence and ELISA respectively.Results:  Acute pulmonary thromboembolism increased mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) and pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRI) by 21.4 ± 1.7 mmHg and by 843 ± 34 dyn s cm−5 m−2, respectively, in Emb group. MPAP and PVRI increased to higher levels in the NAME + Emb group 15 min after APT and all dogs in this group died 15–30 min after APT. Conversely, lower MPAP and PVRI levels were found in the AG + Emb group 2 h after APT compared with the Emb group (both P < 0.05). Higher NOx concentrations were found in the Emb group compared with the other groups (all P < 0.05). Higher cGMP concentrations were found in the Emb and AG + Emb groups compared with the other groups (all P < 0.05).Conclusions:  These results indicate that endogenous NO protects against APT‐induced cardiovascular responses. Moreover, iNOS‐derived NO possibly produces unfavourable effects, which are counteracted by aminoguanidine. However, non‐NO‐related mechanisms may also be involved.
Loose Lips and Silver Tongues, or, Projecting Sexual Orientation Through Speech
Authors: Munson Benjamin , Babel Molly 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThe notion that an individual's sexual orientation can be ascertained through distinctive speech patterns abounds in popular culture. This article reviews the small but growing body of literature examining whether sexual orientation is conveyed and perceived through speech. These studies show some individuals speak in a way that conveys their sexual orientation to naïve listeners. Contrary to many popular‐culture stereotypes, the phonetic parameters that convey gay, lesbian, or bisexual identities are not whole‐sale approximation of opposite sex norms, nor does the perception of sexual orientation through speech appear to involve the simple perception of the sex typicality of a talker's voice. In addition to reviewing these studies, this article discusses their implications for research on language acquisition, language processing, and sociolinguistics.
RESEARCH ON BROWNIAN MOVEMENT BASED ON GENERALIZED MANDELBROT–JULIA SETS FROM A CLASS COMPLEX MAPPING SYSTEM
Authors: WANG XINGYUAN , LIU WEI , YU XUEJING 
Published: September 2007

This article analyzes the typical Langevin problem, i.e. the dynamics of a charged particle under the circularly successive influence of several simple impulse functions moving in a double-well potential and a time-dependent magnetic field. Using the stroboscopic sampling, by selecting an appropriate magnetic intensity and time interval, we reduce the Langevin equation to a class complex mapping system. Through an experimental mathematical method, the authors study the structures of generalized M–J (Mandelbrot–Julia) sets generated by the complex mapping system, and expatiate the theory of Brownian movement. The authors find that:.(1) This paper extends Shirriff constructed M sets by combining two simple complex mappings;.(2) The fractal structure of the generalized M–J sets may visually depict the rule of Brownian movement, and the infinite overlapping embedment self-similar structure reflects the complexity of Brownian movement;.(3) Whether the selected time interval is significant or not determines the continuity of the fractal structure for the generalized M–J sets;.(4) The changing rule of particle velocity depends on the different choices of the principal range of phase angle;.(5) If we change the choices of the magnetic intensity and time interval, for example, we choose a randomly fluctuating magnetic field, the generalized J sets may emerge the interior-filling structure feature, i.e. "explosion" phenomena appear in the closure of the unstable periodic orbits of the particle in the velocity space.
PREDICTION OF cis-REGULATORY ELEMENTS: FROM HIGH-INFORMATION CONTENT ANALYSIS TO MOTIF IDENTIFICATION
Authors: LI GUOJUN , LU JIZHU , OLMAN VICTOR , XU YING 
Published: September 2007

One popular approach to prediction of binding motifs of transcription factors is to model the problem as to search for a group of l-mers (motifs), for some l > 0, one from each of the provided promoter regions of a group of co-expressed genes, that exhibit high information content when aligned without gaps. In our current work, we assume that these desired l-mers have evolved from a common ancestor, each of which has mutations in at most k-positions from the common ancestor, where k is substantially smaller than l. This implies that these l-mers should belong to the k-neighborhood of their common ancestor, measured in terms of Hamming distance. If the ancestor is given, then the problem for finding these l-mers becomes trivial. Unfortunately, the problem of identifying the unknown ancestor is probably as hard as the problem of predicting the motifs themselves. Our goal is to identify a set of l-mers that slightly violate the k-neighborhood of a putative ancestor, but capture all the desired motifs, which will lead to an efficient way for identification of the desired motifs. The main contributions of this paper are in four aspects: (a) we have derived nontrivial lower and upper bounds of information content for a set of l-mers that differ from an unknown ancestor in no more than k positions; (b) we have defined a new distance between two sequences and a k-pseudo-neighborhood, based on the new distance, that contains the k-neighborhood, defined by Hamming distance, of the to-be-defined ancestor; (c) we have developed an algorithm to minimize the sum of all the distances between a predicted ancestor motif and a group of l-mers from the provided promoter regions, using the new distance; and (d) we have tested PROMOCO and compared its prediction results performance with two other prediction programs. The algorithm, implemented as a computer software program PROMOCO, has been used to find all conserved motifs in a set of provided promoter sequences. Our preliminary application of PROMOCO shows that it achieves better or comparable prediction results, when compared to popular programs for identification of cis regulatory binding motifs. A limitation of the algorithm is that it does not work well when the size of the set of provided promoter sequences is too small or when desired motifs appear in only small portion of the given sequences.
The Application of an Institutional Clinical Data Warehouse to the Assessment of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs)
Authors: Zhang Q. , Teratani T. , Yoshimoto S. , Mineno T. , Nakagawa K. , Nagahama M. , Kuwata S. , Takeda H. , Matsumura Y. 
Published: September 2007

Summary

Objectives:
To apply an institutional clinical data warehouse (CDW) to the assessment of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and demonstrate its utility through a specific example.

Methods:
We modeled the process for assessing ADRs through retrospective cohort design by using CDW at the Osaka University Hospital as follows: 1) We defined a drug X, an adverse drug reaction (ADR) Y, and a laboratory measurement Z to assess Y during a given study period; 2) we excluded those whose Z value exceeded the defined criteria or were not available at the inception of the cohort; 3) we divided the patients into two groups based on exposure or non-exposure to X; 4) we matched the patient characteristics between the two groups through stratification and randomization; and 5) we compared the frequency of patients who presented Y during the study period between the two groups. Aminoglycoside and Cephalosporin associated nephrotoxicity in pediatric inpatients was used as an example to demonstrate the usefulness of this approach.

Results:
Our evaluation indicates that there is an increased risk of nephrotoxicity for pediatric inpatients who were prescribed cephalosporin either alone or in combination with aminoglycoside; further, aminoglycoside tends to increase the cephalosporin-associated nephrotoxicity.

Conclusions:
Our findings are consistent with those drawn from other studies, indicating thatthe method of a pplying an institutional CDW is useful for assessing ADRs.
Pseudo-precision in Gene Expression Values Can Reduce Efficiency
Authors: Boes T. , Jöckel K.-H. , Neuhäuser M. 
Published: September 2007

Summary

Objectives:
When estimating the expression of genes based on the scanned images from microarrays various algorithms are applied in a so-called low-level analysis which can calculate expression values with an arbitrary number of digits beyond the decimal point. However, too many digits (decimal places) are usually not justified because they do not represent the precision of the measured expression. Thus, there is pseudo-precision and, as a result, there are no tied values.

Methods:
We suggest avoiding, or omitting, the pseudo-precision: ties can remain, or be created by rounding the computed expression values. Then, average ranks can be used in order to apply nonparametric tests when ties occur. We use two actual data sets and the Wilcoxon rank sum test.

Results:
We demonstrate that rounding gives a more efficient test, i.e. the average p-value is decreased and the number of p-values smaller than 0.05 is increased.

Conclusions:
The random noise of pseudo-precision can reduce the efficiency of statistical tests applied to detect differentially expressed genes. This result is, obviously, relevant in many other areas of our digitalized world.
Accurate Variance Estimation for Prevalence Ratios
Authors: Bruckner T. , Schumacher M. , Wolkewitz M. 
Published: September 2007

Summary

Objectives:
The log-binomial model is recommended for calculating the prevalence ratio in cross-sectional studies with binary outcomes. However, convergence problems may occur as this model is numerically unstable. If this happens, the Poisson model should be used, but the Poisson model variance needsto be adjusted. Here, we compare different adjustments.

Methods:
Using simulation we evaluated the performance of Poisson models with i) a robust variance, ii) the scale parameter adjusted by Pearson’s chi-square, and iii) the scale parameter adjusted by the deviance. These models were compared with the log-binomial model with respectto hypothesis testing. Confounding and effect modification are considered.

Results:
All adjustment models improved the variance estimation. The Poisson model with a robust variance performed best. When the log-binomial model is numerically stable as well as unstable, this model yields reasonable power and type I error values. But the Poisson model with the scale parameter adjusted by Pearson’s chi-square also showed good results.

Conclusions:
When estimating prevalence ratios, if the log-binomial fails to converge, we recommend the Poisson modelwith a robust estimate of variance.
Event Oriented Representation for Collaborative Activities (EORCA)
Authors: Bonnardel N. , Antonini F. , Albanese J. , Martin C. , Chaudet H. , Pellegrin L. 
Published: September 2007

Summary

Objectives:
In this paper, we introduce a method that aims at describing components of medical activities that are performed by a medical team, including physicians and nurses, during patients’ management in an ICU (intensive care unit). This method is based on formal taskanalyses developed in cognitive ergonomics.Our ultimate aim is to build a method covering the observation and the representation of collective activities during patients’ management, which should be re-usable by the team members in order to prepare themselvesfor accreditation.

Methods:
This method comprises two main steps: – the formal observations of medical staff’s activities that occur during patient management, -a representation of the findings with regard to an ontology and a temporal flowchart, which describes actors and events related to patient management.

Results:
This paper describes field studies performed in ICUs. This method has been used for analyzing the management of 24 cases of neurological and multiple traumas. We have represented the different actions of the medical team members (clinicians, nurses and outside medical consultants).

Conclusion:
The results allow us to identify the specific features of these complexand time-constrained situations, especially about the strong collaborative activities between members of the patient-care teams, especially the interaction between information management and medical actions.