bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Habitat niche specialization in an understory species in a warm temperate forest
Authors: Takeshita Yuhei , Muller Onno , Yamada Toshihiro 
Published: July 2008

AbstractRelationships between microhabitat variables; understory light conditions in summer and winter, altitude, slope inclination and topographic categories (valley, ridge, and slope) and the distribution of Aucuba japonica Thunb. (Cornaceae), a common understory shrub species in Japan were examined using non‐contagious 66, 20 × 20 m2 quadrats. The Morishita's Iδ suggested that A. japonica distributions were strongly heterogeneous among the quadrats. Therefore positive spatial autocorrelation of A. japonica at a within‐quadrat level (≤20 m) was obvious. Moran's I statistics showed a significant positive spatial autocorrelation in A. japonica abundance within the distance shorter than 60 m. But the partial Mantel tests suggested that the mass effect from neighboring quadrats would little explain A. japonica abundance in a quadrat. The partial Mantel tests also clearly showed that A. japonica distributions were strongly structured by topography and understory light conditions. Using Monte Carlo randomization tests, we found that A. japonica was aggregately distributed in quadrats in valley which were covered by deciduous canopies. Better understory light conditions in winter together with valley edaphic conditions may increase the abundance of A. japonica there. It is concluded that habitat niche specialization is important in structuring distribution of A. japonica in this forest community.
Metabolic Syndrome Affects Fatty Acid Composition of Plasma Lipids in Obese Prepubertal Children
Authors: Gil‐Campos Mercedes , del Carmen Ramírez‐Tortosa Maria , Larqué Elvira , Linde Javier , Aguilera Concepción M. , Cañete Ramón , Gil Angel 
Published: June 2008

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to assess the plasma fatty acid composition of the total plasma lipids and lipid fractions in obese prepubertal children with and without metabolic syndrome (MS). Thirty‐four obese prepubertal children were recruited: 17 who met MS criteria and 17 who did not; and twenty prepubertal children of normal weight. MS characteristics, insulin resistance (by homeostasis model assessment [HOMA‐IR]), and plasma adiponectin (by radioimmunoassay) were recorded. Separation of lipid fractions was performed by liquid chromatography and the concentration of fatty acids in total plasma lipids and fractions was determined by gas–liquid chromatography. Concentrations of 16:1n‐7, 16:1n‐9, 18:3n‐3, 22:6n‐3, and n‐3 PUFA in total plasma lipids (P < 0.05) and of 16:0, 16:1n‐7, 18:1n‐9, 18:2n‐6, and n‐6 PUFA in triacylglycerols (TG) (P < 0.05) were significantly higher in obese MS versus normal‐weight children. Increased risk of MS was positively associated with plasma concentration of 16:1n‐7 and negatively associated with proportion of 20:4n‐6 (OR 2.76; P = 0.004; OR 0.56, P = 0.030, respectively). Saturated FA in TG were associated with HOMA‐IR (R = 0.349, P = 0.017) and 22:5n‐6 with adiponectin (R = 0.336, P = 0.05). In conclusion, increased concentrations of 16:1n‐7 and decreased proportions of 20:4n‐6 and 22:5n‐6 in plasma lipids appear to be early markers of MS in children at prepubertal age.
Comparison of a New Estolide Oxidative Stability Package
Authors: Cermak Steven C. , Biresaw Girma , Isbell Terry A. 
Published: July 2008

AbstractThe rotating pressurized vessel oxidation test (RPVOT) was used in the analysis and determination of a new oxidative stability package (OSP) for a series of estolide based materials. Three antioxidants (BHT, two different alkylated diphenyl amines) were used in either 0.5 or 1.0 wt/wt%, in different ratios, and in conjunction with one another (hindered phenol/alkylated diphenyl amines or hindered phenol/mixed alkylated diphenyl amines). The estolide‐based samples analyzed for their resistance to oxidation were two pure (distilled) estolides (oleic estolide 2‐EH esters and coco‐oleic estolide 2‐EH esters), an estolide mixture that was analyzed straight from the reaction (coco‐oleic estolide 2‐EH esters with coco 2‐EH esters) and finally the ester fraction from the estolide mixture (coco 2‐EH esters). The coco estolide mixture and coco 2‐EH esters had the best overall RPVOT times with 1.0% of the alkylated diphenyl amine, coco estolide mixture, 326 min, and coco 2‐EH esters, 310 min. Coco estolides were expected to have an advantage over the simple oleic estolides due to the increase in saturation in the estolide. Unexpectedly, the two distilled estolides (oleic and coco) had very similar RPVOT max times with all the antioxidants, and were much higher than the other oxidative packages tested to date. In general, the alkylated diphenyl amine outperformed mixed alkylated diphenyl amines in the majority of the individual samples tested specially the coco 2‐EH esters and distilled coco‐oleic estolide 2‐EH esters material at 1% OSP. Overall, a series of new antioxidants were tested and compared to other commercial products. A variety of physical properties of the four estolide based material were collected and compared to commercially acceptable material. Coco‐oleic estolide 2‐EH esters were formulated to have excellent pour points (−36 °C), were both oxidatively and hydrolytically stable (RPVOT, 310 min), with expected good biodegradability which should help commercialization.
Evaluation of equations for fat-free mass based on anthropometry in infants and young children in South Asia
Authors: Sen Bandana , Mahalanabis Dilip , Shaikh Saijuddin , Kurpad Anura V. , Bose Kaushik 
Published: June 2008

Rapid postnatal growth in low-birth weight infants increases the risk of hypertension, CHD and type 2 diabetes in adult life. To provide validated tools to study the growth in South Asian infants, we evaluated two published equations to measure total body water (TBW) and fat-free mass (FFM) based on anthropometry in 6- to 24-month-old infants, using 2H2O dilution. In a method-comparison study in seventy-eight infants aged 6–24 months (forty-two girls and thirty-six boys) from the urban poor attending an immunisation clinic of a hospital in Kolkata, we measured their length to the nearest 0·1 cm, weight to the nearest 10 g and TBW using 2H2O dilution. The calculated TBW in kg (TBWkg) and FFM in kg (FFMkg) using two equations based on the length and weight were each compared with TBWkg and FFMkg calculated from 2H2O dilution. The mean FFMkg were 7·31 (sd 1·11), 7·13 (sd 1·08) and 7·26 (sd 1·13) by the 2H2O dilution method, and the anthropometry equations of Mellits and Cheek (AN-1) and Morgenstern et al. (AN-2), respectively. The mean of the paired difference in FFMkg was 0·18 (sem 0·06) and 0·04 (sem 0·07) between 2H2O, and AN-1 and AN-2, respectively. There is a good agreement for FFM derived by AN-2 with 2H2O dilution. The former is 1 % lower than that obtained from the reference method (P = 0·28). The AN-2 equation is useful for evaluating FFM in infants in India.
The effects of age, birth cohort and survey period on leisure-time physical activity by Australian adults: 1990–2005
Authors: Allman-Farinelli Margaret A. , Chey Tien , Merom Dafna , Bowles Heather , Bauman Adrian E. 
Published: June 2008

The prevalence of obesity continues to rise with many factors contributing to energy imbalance. Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) has been proposed as one solution to counteract increasing energy intakes. The present study determined whether age, birth cohort and period of survey had independent effects on time, volume and energy expended in LTPA by Australian adults from 1990 to 2005. Adults were categorised into twelve age groups (5-year intervals from 20–24 years to >75 years), four survey periods (1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005) and fifteen birth cohorts (5-year intervals from pre-1916 to 1985). Time spent in three categories of LTPA was determined and metabolic equivalent (MET) values of 3·3, 4·0 and 8·0 were assigned for walking, moderate and vigorous activities, respectively, to calculate daily volume (MET minutes). Energy expended in LTPA was calculated using estimated BMR (from self-reported weight and published formulae), multiplied by the MET value. Regression models were fitted to the data. Age and period had independent effects on duration, volume and energy expenditure of LTPA for both males (P < 0·01) and females (P < 0·01), while birth cohort had independent effects for males only such that all three LTPA factors declined with recency of birth cohort (P < 0·01). This indicates that more recent birth cohorts of males may need to be targeted to increase LTPA, but as duration, volume and energy expended in leisure time have been declining since 1990, both the sexes may benefit from the promotion of increased LTPA.
Media, Public Opinion and Health Care in Canada: How the Media Affect “The Way Things Are”
Authors: Blidook Kelly 
Published: June 2008

Abstract.Health care has arguably been the most important issue in Canadian politics in the past decade. This paper focuses on the extent to which the media affect public perceptions of “the way things are” in the Canadian health care system. Individual perceptions of the state of health care are analyzed as being a function of personal experience with the system, loyalty or pre-formed opinions and the information that the individual receives through the media. Results indicate that media use has a significant effect on the likelihood of negative perceptions regarding the state of health care.Résumé.Le système de soins de santé représente sans doute le thème dominant de la dernière décennie sur la scène politique canadienne. Cet article examine l'influence exercée par les médias sur les perceptions du public concernant «la situation courante» du système de soins de santé canadien. L'analyse présente les perceptions individuelles sur l'état du système comme étant le reflet de l'expérience personnelle, d'une loyauté ou d'une opinion préétablie et de l'information transmise par les médias. Les résultats indiquent que les médias ont une incidence importante sur d'éventuelles perceptions négatives concernant l'état du système de soins de santé.
How Ideology Divides Generations: The 2002 and 2004 South Korean Elections
Authors: Kang Won-Taek 
Published: June 2008

Abstract.An interesting phenomenon in recent South Korean electoral politics is the generation gap. In the 2002 presidential and the 2004 National Assembly elections, voting behaviour was sharply split between different age groups. A main question of this article is to figure out the underlying characteristics of the generational differences in the two elections and of the ideological division in the South Korean context. Findings show that the generation gap reflects different assessments of the authoritarian period and its inheritance. Young voters took a libertarian view and a negative assessment of the authoritarian era, while older voters, especially in their fifties and older, had a positive attitude toward the authoritarian legacies. Roh Moo-hyun's victory was largely attributed to his successful mobilization of young voters' generational rebellion.Résumé.Un des phénomènes intéressants dans la vie politique électorale sud-coréenne concerne les différences de générations. Les groupes d'âge différents ont montré un comportement électoral différencié dans les élections présidentielles de 2002 et les législatives de 2004. L'interrogation majeure de cet article est de trouver les principales caractéristiques des différences générationnelles dans les deux élections, ainsi que les clivages idéologiques dans le contexte sud-coréen. Les résultats de cette étude montrent que les différences générationnelles reflètent celles du jugement sur la période du régime autoritaire et de ses héritages. Les jeunes électeurs possèdent une vision libertaire et un jugement négatif sur la période du régime autoritaire, tandis que les électeurs plus âgés, notamment ceux qui ont plus de 50 ans, font preuve d'une attitude positive sur les héritages de la période autoritaire. La victoire de Roh Moo-hyun s'explique en grande partie par la mobilisation réussie de la révolte générationnelle de jeunes électeurs.
Bivariate genome linkage analysis suggests pleiotropic effects on chromosomes 20p and 3p for body fat mass and lean mass
Authors: ZHAO JIAN , XIAO PENG , GUO YAN , LIU YONG-JUN , PEI YU-FANG , YANG TIE-LIN , PAN FENG , CHEN YUAN , SHEN HUI , ZHAO LAN-JUAN , PAPASIAN CHRISTOPHER J. , DREES BETTY M. , HAMILTON JAMES J. , DENG HONG-YI , RECKER ROBERT R. , DENG HONG-WEN 
Published: July 2008

SummaryTotal body fat mass (TBFM) and total body lean mass (TBLM) are the major components of the human body. Although these highly correlated phenotypic traits are frequently used to characterize obesity, the specific shared genetic factors that influence both traits remain largely unknown. Our study was aimed at identifying common quantitative trait loci (QTLs) contributing to both TBFM and TBLM. We performed a whole genome-linkage scan study in a large sample of 3255 subjects from 420 Caucasian pedigrees. Bivariate linkage analysis was carried out in both the entire sample and gender-specific subsamples. Several potentially important genomic regions that may harbour QTLs important for TBFM and TBLM were identified. For example, 20p12-11 achieved a LOD score of 2·04 in the entire sample and, in the male subsample, two genomic regions, 20p12 (LOD=2·08) and 3p26-25 (LOD=1·92), showed suggestive linkage. In addition, two-point linkage analyses for chromosome X showed suggestive linkages on Xp22 in the entire sample (LOD=2·14) and significant linkage on Xp22 in the female subsample (LOD=3·05). Complete pleiotropy was suggested for 20p12 and 3p26-25 in males. Our results suggest that QTLs on chromosomes 20p12, 3p26-25 and Xp22 may jointly influence TBFM and TBLM. Further fine mapping and gene identification studies for these pleiotropic effects are needed.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue: a 25-year, single institution experience
Authors: Mosleh-Shirazi M S , Mohammadianpanah M , Mosleh-Shirazi M A 
Published: June 2008

AbstractAim:To report the characteristics, prognostic factors and treatment outcomes of 102 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue treated and followed up at a single institution over a 25-year period.Patients and methods:This retrospective study was carried out by auditing the medical records of 102 patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue and treated at our institution between 1982 and 2007. Patient follow up ranged from nine to 310 months (median 35 months). Fifty per cent of the patients were treated with surgery followed by a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy (43.1 per cent received concurrent chemoradiation and 6.9 per cent received sequential chemotherapy and radiotherapy), whereas 29.4 per cent received surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy alone. The remaining patients (20.6 per cent) did not undergo surgery and were treated with definitive radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy.Results:There were 48 men and 54 women. The age at presentation was 19–85 years (median 57 years). The peak incidence was observed between 60 and 70 years. Resection margins were clear in 75 per cent of patients and involved in 25 per cent. Stage I disease was found in 11.8 per cent of patients, stage II in 34.3 per cent, stage III in 22.5 per cent and stage IV in 31.4 per cent. The five-year disease-free survival and overall survival were 65.7 and 72.5 per cent, respectively. Thirty-five patients suffered recurrence after treatment, 74.0 per cent of them at the site of initial cervical nodal involvement. Univariate analysis for overall survival revealed the following as prognostic factors: treatment schedule (surgical vs non-surgical; p < 0.001); age (<60 years vs ≥60 years; p = 0.038); extent of cervical lymph node involvement (p = 0.015); primary tumour stage (p < 0.001); node stage (p = 0.034); and disease stage (p = 0.013). However, on multivariate analysis, only non-surgical treatment (p = 0.001) and advanced disease stage (p = 0.05) were found to have a negative influence on survival.Conclusions:Our limited data suggest that, in Iran, squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue tends to present at a locally advanced stage, with a high frequency of locoregional failure and a poor outcome. Combined modality therapy should be considered for the majority of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.
Botulinum toxin A injection into corrugator muscle for frontally localised chronic daily headache or chronic tension-type headache
Authors: de Ru J A , Buwalda J 
Published: June 2008

AbstractObjective:To describe our results with botulinum toxin type A injection for headache in carefully selected patients, and to present the rationale behind this therapy.Setting:Tertiary referral centre.Patients and methods:This article describes a case series of 10 consecutive patients with frontally localised headache, whose pain worsened when pressure was applied at the orbital rim near the supratrochlear nerve. The patients received a local anaesthetic nerve block with Xylocaine 2 per cent at this site. If this reduced the pain, they were then offered treatment with botulinum toxin.Intervention:Injection with 12.5 IU of botulinum toxin A into the corrugator supercilii muscle on both sides (a total of 25 IU).Main outcome measure:Pain severity scoring by the patients, ranging from zero (no pain) to 10 (severe pain) on a verbal scale.Results:Following injection, all patients had less pain for approximately two months. This treatment did not appear to have lasting side effects.Conclusion:Xylocaine injection is a good predictor of the effectiveness of botulinum toxin injection into the corrugator muscle as treatment of frontally localised headache. We hypothesise that this pain is caused by entrapment of the supratrochlearis nerve in the corrugator muscle. Furthermore, we found botulinum toxin injection to be a safe and effective means of achieving pain relief in this patient group.
Do patients with schizophrenia exhibit aberrant salience?
Authors: Roiser J. P. , Stephan K. E. , den Ouden H. E. M. , Barnes T. R. E. , Friston K. J. , Joyce E. M. 
Published: June 2008

BackgroundIt has been suggested that some psychotic symptoms reflect ‘aberrant salience’, related to dysfunctional reward learning. To test this hypothesis we investigated whether patients with schizophrenia showed impaired learning of task-relevant stimulus–reinforcement associations in the presence of distracting task-irrelevant cues.MethodWe tested 20 medicated patients with schizophrenia and 17 controls on a reaction time game, the Salience Attribution Test. In this game, participants made a speeded response to earn money in the presence of conditioned stimuli (CSs). Each CS comprised two visual dimensions, colour and form. Probability of reinforcement varied over one of these dimensions (task-relevant), but not the other (task-irrelevant). Measures of adaptive and aberrant motivational salience were calculated on the basis of latency and subjective reinforcement probability rating differences over the task-relevant and task-irrelevant dimensions respectively.ResultsParticipants rated reinforcement significantly more likely and responded significantly faster on high-probability-reinforced relative to low-probability-reinforced trials, representing adaptive motivational salience. Patients exhibited reduced adaptive salience relative to controls, but the two groups did not differ in terms of aberrant salience. Patients with delusions exhibited significantly greater aberrant salience than those without delusions, and aberrant salience also correlated with negative symptoms. In the controls, aberrant salience correlated significantly with ‘introvertive anhedonia’ schizotypy.ConclusionsThese data support the hypothesis that aberrant salience is related to the presence of delusions in medicated patients with schizophrenia, but are also suggestive of a link with negative symptoms. The relationship between aberrant salience and psychotic symptoms warrants further investigation in unmedicated patients.
Is executive impairment associated with schizophrenic syndromes? A meta-analysis
Authors: Dibben C. R. M. , Rice C. , Laws K. , McKenna P. J. 
Published: June 2008

BackgroundA key neuropsychological proposal in schizophrenia is that negative and disorganization symptoms are associated with different patterns of impairment on executive tasks.MethodStudies reporting correlations between positive, negative or disorganization symptoms and any type of executive test were meta-analysed. The influence of moderating factors was also examined, including age, treatment and stage of illness and whether symptoms were relapsing or persistent. The magnitudes of the correlations were compared with those for general intellectual impairment.ResultsPooled correlations between executive impairment and both negative symptoms and disorganization were significant in the small-to-moderate range. That for positive symptoms (‘reality distortion’), however, was close to zero. The pattern of correlations among different executive tests differed significantly for negative symptoms and disorganization. Patients with stable clinical pictures showed significantly higher correlations with executive impairment than those with relapsing and remitting illnesses. Both negative symptoms and disorganization also correlated significantly with general intellectual function as indexed by current IQ.ConclusionsMeta-analysis supports the view that negative symptoms and disorganization are associated with partially dissociable patterns of executive impairment. However, co-existent general intellectual impairment has been an important confounding factor in the studies to date.
Personality traits among ADHD adults: implications of late-onset and subthreshold diagnoses
Authors: Faraone S. V. , Kunwar A. , Adamson J. , Biederman J. 
Published: June 2008

BackgroundDiagnosing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults is difficult when diagnosticians cannot establish onset prior to the DSM-IV criterion of age 7 or if the number of symptoms does not achieve the DSM threshold for diagnosis. Previous work has assessed the validity of such diagnoses based on psychiatric co-morbidity, family history and neuropsychological functions but none of these studies have used personality as a validation criterion.MethodWe compared four groups of adults: (1) full ADHD subjects who met all DSM-IV criteria for childhood-onset ADHD; (2) late-onset subjects who met all criteria except the age at onset criterion, (3) subthreshold subjects who did not meet full symptom criteria and (4) non-ADHD subjects who did not meet any of the above criteria. Diagnoses were made by using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was used to assess personality traits.ResultsWe found that full ADHD and late-onset ADHD showed similar personality profiles with significant deviations on all TCI scales except reward dependence and self-transcendence. By contrast, subthreshold cases only showed deviations on novelty seeking and self-directiveness.ConclusionsThese data call into question the stringent age of onset of ADHD symptom criteria for adults when making retrospective diagnoses of ADHD. Subthreshold ADHD seems to be a milder form of the disorder that is consistent with dimensional views of the disorder.