bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio as a novel‐potential marker for predicting prognosis of Bell palsy
Authors: Bucak Abdulkadir , Ulu Sahin , Oruc Serdar , Yucedag Fatih , Tekin Mustafa Said , Karakaya Fatıma , Aycicek Abdullah
Published: December 2013

Objectives/Hypothesis

Bell palsy can be defined as an idiopathic, acute, facial nerve palsy. Although the pathogenesis of Bell palsy is not fully understood, inflammation seems to play important role. Neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte (NLR) ratio was defined as a novel potential marker to determine inflammation and it is routinely measured in peripheral blood. Our goal was to investigate the relationship between Bell palsy and inflammation by using NLR.

Study Design

Retrospective study.

Methods

The 54 patients who were followed up for Bell palsy for a period of 1 to 3 years, along with 45 age‐ and sex‐matched controls, were included in the study. An automated blood cell counter was used for NLR measurements. All patients were treated with prednisone, 1 mg/kg per day with a progressive dose reduction. Patients were classified according to the House‐Brackmann grading system at posttreatment period. Those with House‐Brackmann grade I and grade II were regarded as satisfactory recovery; and those with House‐Brackmann grade III to grade VI were regarded as nonsatisfactory recovery.

Results

The mean NLR and neutrophil values in patients with Bell palsy were significantly higher than in the control group (P = 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). In addition, NLR levels were higher in nonsatisfactory recovered patients compared with satisfactory recovered ones (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

This is the first study investigating the relationship between NLR levels and Bell palsy and its prognosis. Our result suggest that while evaluating Bell palsy patients, NLR might be taken into account as a novel potential marker to predict the patients' prognosis.

Level of Evidence

3b. Laryngoscope, 124:1678–1681, 2014
In vitro digestion of soluble cashew proteins and characterization of surviving IgE‐reactive peptides
Authors: Mattison Christopher P. , Grimm Casey C. , Wasserman Richard L.
Published: December 2013

Scope

The stability of food allergens to digestion varies. We characterized the stability of cashew allergens to digestion by pepsin and trypsin and identified IgE‐binding epitopes that survive digestion.

Methods and results

The ability of pepsin and trypsin to digest cashew allergens was assessed with an in vitro digestion model. Samples were evaluated by SDS‐PAGE, MS, ELISA, and immunoblotting to compare IgE binding. Increasing amount of protease resulted in greater degradation of higher molecular weight cashew proteins. Among cashew proteins, the 2S albumin, Ana o 3, was most resistant to digestion by both pepsin and trypsin. MS identified digestion resistant Ana o 3 protein fragments that retained reported IgE‐binding epitopes. Pretreatment of extracts or purified Ana o 3 with reducing agent increased the sensitivity of Ana o 3 to protease digestion. Circular dichroism revealed the structure of purified Ana o 3 was largely alphahelical and was disrupted following reduction. Ana o 3 reduction followed by protease digestion decreased binding of serum IgE from cashew allergic patients. Our results indicate that the Ana o 3 disulfide bond dependent structure protects the protein from proteolysis.

Conclusion

Ana o 3 is the cashew allergen most likely to survive gastrointestinal digestion intact.
Lignans 7‐hydroxymatairesinol and 7‐hydroxymatairesinol 2 exhibit anti‐inflammatory activity in human aortic endothelial cells
Authors: Spilioti Eliana , Holmbom Bjarne , Papavassiliou Athanasios G. , Moutsatsou Paraskevi
Published: December 2013

Scope

In the present study, we evaluated the anti‐inflammatory properties of several plant lignans most commonly distributed in foods. 7‐Hydroxymatairesinol (HMR) and its major isomer 7‐hydroxymatairesinol 2 (HMR2), lariciresinol, secoisolariciresinol, and pinoresinol, isolated from Norway spruce knots were examined.

Methods and results

We investigated the anti‐inflammatory effects of lignans on tumor necrosis factor‐α‐treated human aortic endothelial cells by measuring the expression of intracellular adhesion molecule‐1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 by cell ELISA and the adhesion of U937 monocytes to activated endothelial cells using a cell adhesion assay. Among the lignans studied, HMR and HMR2 significantly reduced intracellular adhesion molecule‐1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 levels as well as the adhesion of U937 to endothelial cells. To further characterize the molecular mechanisms involved in this regulation, the effect of HMR and HMR2 on nuclear factor‐κB, SAPK/c‐Jun NH2‐terminal kinase and extracellular signal regulated kinase phosphorylation was assessed.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrated that the lignans HMR and HMR2, dominant in cereals such as in wheat, triticale, oat, barley, millet, corn bran, and in amaranth whole grain, exhibit strong anti‐inflammatory properties in endothelial cells, at least in part, through attenuation of nuclear factor‐κB and extracellular signal regulated kinase phosphorylation.
Impact of EPA ingestion on COX‐ and LOX‐mediated eicosanoid synthesis in skin with and without a pro‐inflammatory UVR challenge – Report of a randomised controlled study in humans
Authors: Pilkington Suzanne M. , Rhodes Lesley E. , Al‐Aasswad Naser M. I. , Massey Karen A. , Nicolaou Anna
Published: December 2013

Scope

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), abundant in oily fish, is reported to reduce skin inflammation and provide photoprotection, potential mechanisms include competition with arachidonic acid (AA) for metabolism by cyclooxygenases/lipoxygenases to less pro‐inflammatory mediators. We thus examine impact of EPA intake on levels of AA, EPA and their resulting eicosanoids in human skin with or without ultraviolet radiation (UVR) challenge.

Methods and results

In a double‐blind randomised controlled study, 79 females took 5 g EPA‐rich or control lipid for 12 wk. Pre‐ and post‐supplementation, red blood cell and skin polyunsaturated fatty acids were assessed by GC, and eicosanoids from unexposed and UVR‐exposed skin by LC‐MS/MS. Active supplementation increased red blood cell and dermal EPA versus control (both p < 0.001), lowering relative AA:EPA content (4:1 versus 15:1 and 5:1 versus 11:1, respectively; both p < 0.001). Pre‐supplementation, UVR increased PGE2, 12‐hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids, 12‐HEPE (all p < 0.001) and PGE3 (p < 0.05). Post‐EPA, PGE2 was reduced in unchallenged skin (p < 0.05) while EPA‐derived PGE3 (non‐sign) and 12‐HEPE (p < 0.01) were elevated post‐UVR. Thus, post‐EPA, PGE2:PGE3 was lower in unchallenged (12:1 versus 28:1; p < 0.05) and UVR exposed (12:1 versus 54:1; p < 0.01) skin; 12‐hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids:12‐HEPE was lower in UVR‐exposed skin (3:1 versus 11:1; p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Dietary EPA augments skin EPA:AA content, shifting eicosanoid synthesis towards less pro‐inflammatory species, and promoting a regulatory milieu under basal conditions and in response to inflammatory insult.
Marine neurotoxins: State of the art, bottlenecks, and perspectives for mode of action based methods of detection in seafood
Authors: Nicolas Jonathan , Hendriksen Peter J. M. , Gerssen Arjen , Bovee Toine F. H. , Rietjens Ivonne M. C. M.
Published: December 2013

Marine biotoxins can accumulate in fish and shellfish, representing a possible threat for consumers. Many marine biotoxins affect neuronal function essentially through their interaction with ion channels or receptors, leading to different symptoms including paralysis and even death. The detection of marine biotoxins in seafood products is therefore a priority. Official methods for control are often still using in vivo assays, such as the mouse bioassay. This test is considered unethical and the development of alternative assays is urgently required. Chemical analyses as well as in vitro assays have been developed to detect marine biotoxins in seafood. However, most of the current in vitro alternatives to animal testing present disadvantages: low throughput and lack of sensitivity resulting in a high number of false‐negative results. Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of new in vitro tests that would allow the detection of marine biotoxins in seafood products at a low cost, with high throughput combined with high sensitivity, reproducibility, and predictivity. Mode of action based in vitro bioassays may provide tools that fulfil these requirements. This review covers the current state of the art of such mode of action based alternative assays to detect neurotoxic marine biotoxins in seafood.
Block architecture influence on the structure and mechanical performance of drawn polyurethane elastomers
Authors: Fernández‐d'Arlas Borja , Corcuera Marian , Runt James , Eceiza Arantxa
Published: December 2013

Some natural biopolymers such as spider silk exhibit superb mechanical properties, characterised by their great toughness. Synthetic polyurethane (PU) copolymers also endow great toughness but lack silk's stiffness and strength. The aim of this work was to elucidate the role of segment block architectural features that influence PU stiffness and strength after cold drawing. For this purpose PUs with varied soft segment character, crystalline versus rubbery, as well as with different hard segment chemistries, 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate/1,4‐butanediol versus 1,6‐hexamethylene diisocyanate/1,4‐butanediol, were synthesised by a two‐step polymerisation method. We found that the architecture of both block segments has a dramatic influence on drawn PU mechanical performance, in which PUs with crystallisable soft segments and crystalline hard segments are shown to have a greater impact on developing stiffer and stronger materials. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry
Photonic electric field sensor based on polymeric microspheres
Authors: R. Ali Amir , Ioppolo Tindaro , Ötügen Volkan , Christensen Marc , MacFarlane Duncan
Published: December 2013

The detection of electric field by monitoring the optical whispering gallery mode shifts of polymeric microspheres is demonstrated. Two types of spheres are considered; (i) a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sphere with 60 parts base silicon elastomer‐to‐1 part polymer curing agent by volume and; (ii) a silica sphere coated with a PDMS (uncured) base. The optical mode shifts are caused by perturbations to the resonator morphology induced by electrostriction effect in the presence of an external electric field. Preliminary experiments show that the latter microsphere yields higher sensitivity (0.027 pm/V m−1) with a measurement precision of ∼1.8 V/m. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014, 52, 276–279
Enantioselectivity in the cytochrome P450‐dependent conversion of tegafur to 5‐fluorouracil in human liver microsomes
Authors: Yamamiya Ikuo , Yoshisue Kunihiro , Ishii Yuji , Yamada Hideyuki , Yoshida Ken‐ichiro
Published: December 2013

Tegafur (FT) is a prodrug of 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) used in cancer chemotherapy, and the bioactivation of FT to 5‐FU is mainly catalyzed by cytochrome P450 (CYP) in hepatic microsomes. FT has a chiral center and is a racemate consisting of the enantiomers, R‐ and S‐FT. In the present study, we clarified the enantioselectivity in the conversion of FT to 5‐FU and identified human CYP isoforms involved in the metabolism of its enantiomers using human hepatic preparations and recombinant CYP isoforms. Although 5‐FU was generated from both FT enantiomers, R‐FT was a preferred substrate than S‐FT, because of the considerably higher intrinsic clearance for 5‐FU formation from R‐FT in liver. Eadie–Hofstee plots in microsomes showed that the conversions of R‐ and S‐FT to 5‐FU followed biphasic and monophasic kinetics, respectively. Based on the evaluation using cDNA‐expressed enzymes, CYP2A6 showed the highest activity for 5‐FU formation from R‐FT with the Km value similar to that of the high‐affinity component in microsomes. Also, CYP2A6 was the most effective catalyst for S‐FT. Inhibition studies using CYP‐selective inhibitors and anti‐CYP antibodies demonstrated that CYP2A6 mainly contributed to the enantioselective metabolism of FT, and were almost in accordance with the relative percentage contribution of each CYP isoform to the metabolism of FT estimated using relative activity factor methods. These results suggest that the enantioselectivity in the bioactivation of FT to 5‐FU in humans is mainly due to the large difference of the catalytic activity of CYP2A6 between R‐ and S‐FT.
Process simulation of dopant diffusion and activation in germanium
Authors: Zographos Nikolas , Erlebach Axel
Published: December 2013

Germanium with its high carrier mobility is currently being investigated as an alternative material to silicon for advanced MOS devices. We have reviewed the literature on n‐type and p‐type doping of germanium and established a baseline calibration for technology process simulation. Fundamental parameters for germanium point defects have been selected and extended defect evolution has been calibrated. Models and parameters for accurate simulation of ion implantation, diffusion, and activation of the most common dopants (phosphorus and arsenic for n‐type, boron for p‐type) have been defined. We discuss the current accuracy and limitations of the process calibration and specify missing experimental data needed for enhancing and broaden the simulation capabilities for germanium processing.
Correlation between nanostructural, optical, and photoelectrical properties of P3HT:SiNW nanocomposites for solar‐cell application
Authors: Braik Mourad , Dridi Chérif , Rybak Andrzej , Davenas Joel , Cornu David
Published: December 2013

Hybrid organic/inorganic nanocomposite solar cells are a potential candidate as an alternative to photovoltaic (PV) devices based on semiconducting inorganic or organic nanomaterials. In a recent study, carried on ITO/PVK:n‐TiO2/Al structures, we have observed a performance degradation due to bipolar charge recombination and space‐charge formation. Then, a simulation of I–V characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) diodes for different organic nanomaterials suggested replacing poly (N‐vinylcarbazole) (PVK) by poly (3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) P3HT. In this work, we have studied the current–voltage characteristics of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:SiNW/Al solar cell under white illumination with different volume ratios (10%, 20%, 50%) of SiNW. The results have shown a maximum FF for 20% silicon nanowire (SiNW) volume ratio corresponding on the one hand to the morphology exhibiting the lowest RMS and on the other hand the maximum quenching of PL spectra. A degradation of the PV properties is induced at higher composition by the formation of larger of SiNW aggregates. Procedures have been developed to extract the different parameters from I–V characteristics under illumination in the basis of an equivalent circuit. The variation of the photogenerated current with SiNW volume ratios confirms that the PV response is optimum for 20 vol% SiNW.
Influence of iron contaminations on local and bulk magnetic properties of nonfunctionalized and functionalized multi‐wall carbon nanotubes
Authors: Jamrozik Agnieszka , Przewoźnik Janusz , Mazurkiewicz Marta , Małolepszy Artur , Stobiński Leszek , Trykowski Grzegorz , Habina Iwona , Matlak Krzysztof , Korecki Józef , Kapusta Czesław , Sitarz Maciej , Burda Kvĕtoslava
Published: December 2013

We investigated Fe‐phases of iron complexes embedded in nonfunctionalized (as‐prepared) and functionalized multi‐wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Mössbauer spectroscopy is a very sensitive tool to study chemical states of iron compounds embedded in MWCNTs. It showed that the chemical treatment of the as‐prepared MWCNTs caused release of about 84% of iron and modification of the remaining iron compounds. In as‐prepared and carboxylated MWCNTs almost 80 and 75% of iron complexes in a form of Fe3C exhibited magnetic ordering even at room temperature, respectively. In MWCNT‐COONH4 only 50% of such iron compounds showed local magnetic ordering. In all cases about 2% of magnetic α‐Fe fraction was detected. Through the dc magnetization and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements it was proved that cementite nanoparticles formed agglomerates and their sizes were larger than 10 nm. STM measurements indicated increased homogeneity of the surface electric properties in the case of chemically treated carbon nanotubes.
Conductivity of anodic TiO2 nanotubes: Influence of annealing conditions
Authors: Tighineanu Alexei , Albu Sergiu P. , Schmuki Patrik
Published: December 2013

The present work reports on the resistivity of anodic TiO2 nanotubes as function of annealing temperature and atmosphere. Significant effects of several orders of magnitude are observed and explained by different crystallinity and self‐doping level. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
New perspectives on the diversification of the RNA interference system: insights from comparative genomics and small RNA sequencing
Authors: Burroughs Alexander Maxwell , Ando Yoshinari , Aravind L
Published: December 2013

Our understanding of the pervasive involvement of small RNAs in regulating diverse biological processes has been greatly augmented by recent application of deep‐sequencing technologies to small RNA across diverse eukaryotes. We review the currently known small RNA classes and place them in context of the reconstructed evolutionary history of the RNA interference (RNAi) protein machinery. This synthesis indicates that the earliest versions of eukaryotic RNAi systems likely utilized small RNA processed from three types of precursors: (1) sense–antisense transcriptional products, (2) genome‐encoded, imperfectly complementary hairpin sequences, and (3) larger noncoding RNA precursor sequences. Structural dissection of PIWI proteins along with recent discovery of novel families (including Med13 of the Mediator complex) suggest that emergence of a distinct architecture with the N‐terminal domains (also occurring separately fused to endoDNases in prokaryotes) formed via duplication of an ancestral unit was key to their recruitment as primary RNAi effectors and use of small RNAs of certain preferred lengths. Prokaryotic PIWI proteins are typically components of several RNA‐directed DNA restriction or CRISPR/Cas systems. However, eukaryotic versions appear to have emerged from a subset that evolved RNA‐directed RNAi. They were recruited alongside RNaseIII domains and RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) domains, also from prokaryotic systems, to form the core eukaryotic RNAi system. Like certain regulatory systems, RNAi diversified into two distinct but linked arms concomitant with eukaryotic nucleocytoplasmic compartmentalization. Subsequent elaboration of RNAi proceeded via diversification of the core protein machinery through lineage‐specific expansions and recruitment of new components from prokaryotes (nucleases and small RNA‐modifying enzymes), allowing for diversification of associating small RNAs. WIREs RNA 2014, 5:141–182. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1210

This article is categorized under:

RNA Evolution and Genomics > RNA and Ribonucleoprotein Evolution

RNA Evolution and Genomics > Computational Analyses of RNA

Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Regulatory RNAs
The extreme N‐terminal region of human apolipoprotein A‐I has a strong propensity to form amyloid fibrils
Authors: Adachi Emi , Kosaka Asako , Tsuji Kohei , Mizuguchi Chiharu , Kawashima Hiroyuki , Shigenaga Akira , Nagao Kohjiro , Akaji Kenichi , Otaka Akira , Saito Hiroyuki
Published: December 2013

The N‐terminal 1–83 residues of apolipoprotein A‐I (apoA‐I) have a strong propensity to form amyloid fibrils, in which the 46–59 segment was reported to aggregate to form amyloid‐like fibrils. In this study, we demonstrated that a fragment peptide comprising the extreme N‐terminal 1–43 residues strongly forms amyloid fibrils with a transition to β‐sheet‐rich structure, and that the G26R point mutation enhances the fibril formation of this segment. Our results suggest that in addition to the 46–59 segment, the extreme N‐terminal region plays a crucial role in the development of amyloid fibrils by the N‐terminal fragment of amyloidogenic apoA‐I variants.
Trk receptors need neutral sphingomyelinase activity to promote cell viability
Authors: Candalija Ana , Cubí Roger , Ortega Arturo , Aguilera José , Gil Carles
Published: December 2013

Neurotrophins are a group of secreted polypeptides, which comprises Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and Brain‐Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). Each neurotrophin can bind specifically to a tyrosine kinase Trk receptor (TrkA, TrkB or TrkC), while all of the neurotrophins can bind, with similar affinity, to the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR). Experiments on cell viability promotion by BDNF in granule neurons or by NGF in PC12 cells show that neurotrophin‐exerted cell viability is neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase)‐dependent, since GW4869 or siRNA knockdown abrogates the protective effects, as well as neurotrophin‐induced Akt phosphorylation. Finally, the assessment of nSMase activity promotion drives to the conclusion that neurotrophins can promote cell viability through Trk receptors in a manner depending on basal nSMase but not through SMase activity enhancement.
Cloning and characterization of canadine synthase involved in noscapine biosynthesis in opium poppy
Authors: Dang Thu-Thuy T. , Facchini Peter J.
Published: December 2013

Noscapine biosynthesis in opium poppy is thought to occur via N‐methylcanadine, which would be produced through 9‐O‐methylation of (S)‐scoulerine, methylenedioxy bridge formation on (S)‐tetrahydrocolumbamine, and N‐methylation of (S)‐canadine. Only scoulerine 9‐O‐methyltransferase has been functionally characterized. We report the isolation and characterization of a cytochrome P450 (CYP719A21) from opium poppy that converts (S)‐tetrahydrocolumbamine to (S)‐canadine. Recombinant CYP719A21 displayed strict substrate specificity and high affinity (Km

= 4.63 ± 0.71 μM) for (S)‐tetrahydrocolumbamine. Virus‐induced gene silencing of CYP719A21 caused a significant increase in (S)‐tetrahydrocolumbamine accumulation and a corresponding decrease in the levels of putative downstream intermediates and noscapine in opium poppy plants.
The E144 residue of Scherffelia dubia centrin discriminates between the DNA repair protein XPC and the centrosomal protein Sfi1
Authors: Grecu Dora , Blouquit Yves , Assairi Liliane
Published: December 2013

Centrins are members of the EF‐hand family of calcium‐binding proteins, which are highly conserved among eukaryotes. Centrins bind to several cellular targets, through a hydrophobic triad. However, the W1xxL4xxxL8 triad in XPC (Xeroderma Pigmentosum Group C protein) is found in the reverse orientation, as in the L8xxxL4xxW1 triad in Sfi1 (Suppressor of Fermentation‐Induced loss of stress resistance protein 1). As shown by previous NMR studies of human centrin 2 in complex with XPC or Sfi1, the E148 residue of human centrin 2 is in contact with XPC but is pushed away from the triad of Sfi1. We corroborated these findings using site‐directed mutagenesis to generate mutations in Scherffelia dubia centrin (SdCen) and by using isothermal titration calorimetry to analyze the binding affinity of these mutants to XPC and Sfi1. We mutated the F109 residue, which is the main residue involved in target binding regardless of triad orientation, and the E144 residue, which was thought to be involved only in XPC binding. The F109L mutation reduced the binding of SdCen to XPC and Sfi1 and the negative effect was greater upon temperature increase. By contrast, the E144A mutation reduced the binding to XPC but had no effect on Sfi1 binding. The F109L‐E144A mutation enhanced the negative effect of the two single mutations on XPC binding. Sfi1 proteins from Ostreococcus lucimarinus and Ostreococcus tauri, which belong to the same clade as S. dubia, were also investigated. A comparative analysis shows that the triad residues are more conserved than those in human Sfi1.
Effective ablation therapy of adenomyosis with ultrasound‐guided high‐intensity focused ultrasound
Authors: Zhang Xin , Li Kequan , Xie Bin , He Min , He Jia , Zhang Lian
Published: December 2013

Objective

To evaluate the effects of ultrasound‐guided high‐intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) on adenomyosis.

Methods

In a retrospective analysis, data were reviewed from 202 patients with adenomyosis who underwent ultrasound‐guided HIFU between November 2010 and June 2012 at Suining Central Hospital, Sichuan, China. Among these patients, 120 and 82 were classified as having focal adenomyosis and diffuse adenomyosis, respectively. All patients underwent pre‐treatment and post‐treatment magnetic resonance imaging by a standardized protocol to evaluate the treatment. All adverse effects were recorded.

Results

All patients completed the ultrasound‐guided HIFU treatment in 1 session. A non‐perfused volume ratio of 71.6% ± 19.1% was achieved. Compared with baseline data, the average menorrhagia severity score and the average dysmenorrhea severity pain score decreased significantly after ultrasound‐guided HIFU (both P < 0.001). The proportion of women with complete relief of dysmenorrhea at the 3‐month follow‐up was significantly higher among women with focal adenomyosis than among those with diffuse adenomyosis (P = 0.02). No other significant differences were observed between the 2 patient groups.

Conclusion

Ultrasound‐guided HIFU was found to be an effective technique for treating both focal and diffuse adenomyotic lesions to alleviate the symptoms of menorrhagia or dysmenorrhea.
A case of mucositis due to the allergy to self‐curing resin
Authors: Hashimoto Ken‐ichiro , Naganuma Kaori , Yamashita Yoshihiro , Ikebe Tetsuro , Ozeki Satoru
Published: December 2013

A 59‐year‐old woman noticed a swelling and redness in the buccal and palatal mucosa 12 h after setting of a temporary crown (TEK) made of self‐curing resin at a dental clinic. When she came to our hospital, the edema and redness in the buccal and palatal mucosa around the right upper molar were seen. The TEK had already been removed at the clinic. We suspected an allergy to TEK, and performed a patch test to the chemicals of the resin. The only liquid component of resin showed a positive reaction. Topical glucocorticoid ointment was applied, and the symptoms almost subsided 3 days later.
Forging Romantic China
Authors: Kitson Peter J.
Published: December 2013

The first major cultural study to focus exclusively on this decisive period in modern British-Chinese relations. Based on extensive archival investigations, Peter J. Kitson shows how British knowledge of China was constructed from the writings and translations of a diverse range of missionaries, diplomats, travellers, traders, and literary men and women during the Romantic period. The new perceptions of China that it gave rise to were mediated via a dynamic print culture to a diverse range of poets, novelists, essayists, dramatists and reviewers, including Jane Austen, Thomas Percy, William Jones, S. T. Coleridge, George Colman, Robert Southey, Charles Lamb, William and Dorothy Wordsworth and others, informing new British understandings and imaginings of China on the eve of the Opium War of 1839–42. Kitson aims to restore China to its true global presence in our understandings of the culture and literature of Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
The Archaeology of Greek and Roman Troy
Authors: Rose Charles Brian
Published: December 2013

The Archaeology of Greek and Roman Troy provides an overview of all excavations that have been conducted at Troy, from the nineteenth century through the latest discoveries between 1988 and the present. Charles Brian Rose traces the social and economic development of the city and related sites in the Troad, as well as the development of its civic and religious centers from the Bronze Age through the early Christian period, with a focus on the settlements of Greek and Roman date. Along the way, he reconsiders the circumstances of the Trojan War and chronicles Troy's gradual development into a Homeric tourist destination and the adoption of Trojan ancestry by most nation-states in medieval Europe.
Brownian Models of Performance and Control
Authors: Harrison J. Michael
Published: December 2013

Direct and to the point, this book from one of the field's leaders covers Brownian motion and stochastic calculus at the graduate level, and illustrates the use of that theory in various application domains, emphasizing business and economics. The mathematical development is narrowly focused and briskly paced, with many concrete calculations and a minimum of abstract notation. The applications discussed include: the role of reflected Brownian motion as a storage model, queuing model, or inventory model; optimal stopping problems for Brownian motion, including the influential McDonald–Siegel investment model; optimal control of Brownian motion via barrier policies, including optimal control of Brownian storage systems; and Brownian models of dynamic inference, also called Brownian learning models or Brownian filtering models.
The Law of Development Cooperation
Authors: Dann Philipp
Published: December 2013

Development interventions are agreed by states and international organisations which administer public development funds of huge proportions. They have done so with debatable success, but, unlike the good governance of recipients, the rules applying to donors have hitherto received little scrutiny. This analysis of the normative structures and conceptual riddles of development co-operation argues that development co-operation is increasingly structured by legal rules and is therefore no longer merely a matter of politics, economics or ethics. By focusing on the rules of development co-operation, it puts forward a new perspective on the institutional law dealing with the process, instruments and organisation of this co-operation. Placing the law in its theoretical and political context, it provides the first comparative study on the laws of foreign aid as a central field of global public policy and asks how accountability, autonomy and human rights can be preserved while combating poverty.
The Works of Francis Bacon
Authors: Bacon Francis
Published: December 2013

Francis Bacon (1561–1626), the English philosopher, statesman and jurist, is best known for developing the empiricist method which forms the basis of modern science. Bacon's writings concentrated on philosophy and judicial reform. His most significant work is the Instauratio Magna comprising two parts - The Advancement of Learning and the Novum Organum. The first part is noteworthy as the first major philosophical work published in English (1605). James Spedding (1808–81) and his co-editors arranged this fourteen-volume edition, published in London between 1857 and 1874, not in chronological order but by subject matter, so that different volumes would appeal to different audiences. The material is divided into three parts: philosophy and general literature; legal works; and letters, speeches and tracts relating to politics. Volume 6, published in 1858, contains the first part of Bacon's literary works, including his histories in English and Essays or Counsels Civil and Moral in Latin.
What Was History?
Authors: Grafton Anthony
Published: December 2013

From the late fifteenth century onwards, scholars across Europe began to write books about how to read and evaluate histories. These pioneering works grew from complex early modern debates about law, religion and classical scholarship. Anthony Grafton's book is based on his Trevelyan Lectures of 2005, and it proves to be a powerful and imaginative exploration of some central themes in the history of European ideas. Grafton explains why so many of these works were written, why they attained so much insight – and why, in the centuries that followed, most scholars gradually forgot that they had existed. Elegant and accessible, What Was History? is a deliberate evocation of E. H. Carr's celebrated Trevelyan Lectures, What Is History?.
Rabbis, Language and Translation in Late Antiquity
Authors: Smelik Willem F.
Published: December 2013

Exposed to multiple languages as a result of annexation, migration, pilgrimage and its position on key trade routes, the Roman Palestine of Late Antiquity was a border area where Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew and Arabic dialects were all in common use. This study analyses the way scriptural translation was perceived and practised by the rabbinic movement in this multilingual world. Drawing on a wide range of classical rabbinic sources, including unused manuscript materials, Willem F. Smelik traces developments in rabbinic thought and argues that foreign languages were deemed highly valuable for the lexical and semantic light they shed on the meanings of lexemes in the holy tongue. Key themes, such as the reception of translations of the Hebrew Scriptures, multilingualism in society, and rabbinic rules for translation, are discussed at length. This book will be invaluable for students of ancient Judaism, rabbinic studies, Old Testament studies, early Christianity and translation studies.
Reforming Ideas in Britain
Authors: Philp Mark
Published: December 2013

Between 1789 and 1815, Britain faced a surge of challenges brought about by the French Revolution. Growing tensions with France, then the outbreak of war, exacerbated domestic political controversy, giving rise to new forms of political protest, to which the government responded with ever-increasing severity. Reforming Ideas in Britain brings together a series of essays to provide a vibrant historiography of Britain's political thought and movements during the 1790s and beyond. Challenging traditional perceptions of the period, Philp prompts us to reconsider the weight of various ideas, interpretations and explanations of British politics and language; showing us instead that this dynamic world of popular politics was at once more chaotic, innovative and open-minded than historians have typically perceived it to be. This is an essential interdisciplinary text for scholars of history, political theory and romanticism that offers a fresh perspective on radicalism, loyalism and republicanism in Britain during the French Revolution.
Urban Poverty and Party Populism in African Democracies
Authors: Resnick Danielle
Published: December 2013

When and why do the urban poor vote for opposition parties in Africa's electoral democracies? The strategies used by political parties to incorporate the urban poor into the political arena provide a key answer to this question. This book explores and defines the role of populism in Africa's urban centers and its political outcomes. In particular, it examines how a populist strategy offers greater differentiation from the multitude of African parties that are defined solely by their leader's personality, and greater policy congruence with those issues most relevant to the lives of the urban poor. These arguments are elaborated through a comparative analysis of Senegal and Zambia based on surveys with informal sector workers and interviews with slum dwellers and politicians. The book contributes significantly to scholarship on opposition parties and elections in Africa, party linkages, populism, and democratic consolidation.
Americomania and the French Revolution Debate in Britain, 1789–1802
Authors: Verhoeven Wil
Published: December 2013

This book explores the evolution of British identity and participatory politics in the 1790s. Wil Verhoeven argues that in the course of the French Revolution debate in Britain, the idea of 'America' came to represent for the British people the choice between two diametrically opposed models of social justice and political participation. Yet the American Revolution controversy in the 1790s was by no means an isolated phenomenon. The controversy began with the American crisis debate of the 1760s and 1770s, which overlapped with a wider Enlightenment debate about transatlantic utopianism. All of these debates were based in the material world on the availability of vast quantities of cheap American land. Verhoeven investigates the relation that existed throughout the eighteenth century between American soil and the discourse of transatlantic utopianism: between America as a physical, geographical space, and 'America' as a utopian/dystopian idea-image.
Biogeography of Australasia
Authors: Heads Michael
Published: December 2013

Over the last decade, molecular studies carried out on the Australasian biota have revealed a new world of organic structure that exists from submicroscopic to continental scale. Furthermore, in studies of global biogeography and evolution, DNA sequencing has shown that many large groups, such as flowering plants, passerine birds and squamates, have their basal components in this area. Using examples ranging from kangaroos and platypuses to kiwis and birds of paradise, the book examines the patterns of distribution and evolution of Australasian biodiversity and explains them with reference to tectonic and climatic change in the region. The surprising results from molecular biogeography demonstrate that an understanding of evolution in Australasia is essential for understanding the development of modern life on Earth. A milestone in the literature on this subject, this book will be a valuable source of reference for students and researchers in biogeography, biodiversity, ecology and conservation.
Ovid's Revisions
Authors: Martelli Francesca K. A.
Published: December 2013

A striking feature of Ovid's literary career derives from the processes of revision to which he subjects the works and collections that make up his oeuvre. From the epigram prefacing the Amores, to the editorial notices built into the book-frames of the Epistulae Ex Ponto, Ovid repeatedly invites us to consider the transformative horizons that these editorial interventions open up for his individual works, and which also affect the shape of his career and authorial identity. Francesca K. A. Martelli plots the vicissitudes of Ovid's distinctive career-long habit, considering how it transforms the relationship between text, oeuvre and authorial voice, and how it relates to the revisory practices at work in the wider cultural and political matrix of Ovid's day. This fascinating study will be of great interest to students and scholars of classical literature, and to any literary critic interested in revision as a mode of authorial self-fashioning.
Eating and Ethics in Shakespeare's England
Authors: Goldstein David B.
Published: December 2013

David B. Goldstein argues for a new understanding of Renaissance England from the perspective of communal eating. Rather than focus on traditional models of interiority, choice and consumption, Goldstein demonstrates that eating offered a central paradigm for the ethics of community formation. The book examines how sharing food helps build, demarcate and destroy relationships – between eater and eaten, between self and other, and among different groups. Tracing these eating relations from 1547 to 1680 – through Shakespeare, Milton, religious writers and recipe book authors – Goldstein shows that to think about eating was to engage in complex reflections about the body's role in society. In the process, he radically rethinks the communal importance of the Protestant Eucharist. Combining historicist literary analysis with insights from social science and philosophy, the book's arguments reverberate well beyond the Renaissance. Ultimately, Eating and Ethics in Shakespeare's England forces us to rethink our own relationship to food.
Revealing the Heart of the Galaxy
Authors: Sanders Robert H.
Published: December 2013

Written in an informal and engaging style, this volume traces the discoveries that led to our understanding of the size and structure of the Milky Way, and the conclusive evidence for a massive black hole at its center. Robert H. Sanders, an astronomer who witnessed many of these developments, describes how we parted the veil of interstellar dust to probe the strange phenomena within. We now know that the most luminous objects in the Universe - quasars and radio galaxies - are powered by massive black holes at their hearts. But how did black holes emerge from being a mathematical peculiarity, a theoretical consequence of Einstein's theory of gravity, to become part of the modern paradigm that explains active galactic nuclei and galaxy evolution in normal galaxies such as the Milky Way? This story, aimed at non-specialist readers and students and historians of astronomy, will both inform and entertain.
Host immune responses accelerate pathogen evolution
Authors: Trivedi Pankaj , Wang Nian
Published: December 2013

Pathogens face a hostile and often novel environment when infecting a new host, and adaptation is likely to be an important determinant of the success in colonization and establishment. We hypothesized that resistant hosts will impose stronger selection on pathogens than susceptible hosts, which should accelerate pathogen evolution through selection biased toward effector genes. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an experimental evolution study on Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) in a susceptible plant species and a resistant plant species. We performed 55 rounds of repeated reinoculation of Xcc through susceptible host grapefruit (isolates G1, G2, G3) and resistant host kumquat (isolates K1, K2, K3). Consequently, only K1 and K3 isolates lost their ability to elicit a hypersensitive response (HR) in kumquat. Illumina sequencing of the parental and descendant strains P, G1, G2, G3, K1, K2 and K3 revealed that fixed mutations were biased toward type three secretion system effectors in isolates K1 and K3. Parallel evolution was observed in the K1 and K3 strains, suggesting that the mutations result from selection rather than by random drift. Our results support our hypothesis and suggest that repeated infection of resistant hosts by pathogens should be prevented to avoid selecting for adaptive pathogens.
Phage infection of an environmentally relevant marine bacterium alters host metabolism and lysate composition
Authors: Ankrah Nana Yaw D , May Amanda L , Middleton Jesse L , Jones Daniel R , Hadden Mary K , Gooding Jessica R , LeCleir Gary R , Wilhelm Steven W , Campagna Shawn R , Buchan Alison
Published: December 2013

Viruses contribute to the mortality of marine microbes, consequentially altering biological species composition and system biogeochemistry. Although it is well established that host cells provide metabolic resources for virus replication, the extent to which infection reshapes host metabolism at a global level and the effect of this alteration on the cellular material released following viral lysis is less understood. To address this knowledge gap, the growth dynamics, metabolism and extracellular lysate of roseophage-infected Sulfitobacter sp. 2047 was studied using a variety of techniques, including liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based metabolomics. Quantitative estimates of the total amount of carbon and nitrogen sequestered into particulate biomass indicate that phage infection redirects ∼75% of nutrients into virions. Intracellular concentrations for 82 metabolites were measured at seven time points over the infection cycle. By the end of this period, 71% of the detected metabolites were significantly elevated in infected populations, and stable isotope-based flux measurements showed that these cells had elevated metabolic activity. In contrast to simple hypothetical models that assume that extracellular compounds increase because of lysis, a profile of metabolites from infected cultures showed that >70% of the 56 quantified compounds had decreased concentrations in the lysate relative to uninfected controls, suggesting that these small, labile nutrients were being utilized by surviving cells. These results indicate that virus-infected cells are physiologically distinct from their uninfected counterparts, which has implications for microbial community ecology and biogeochemistry.
Mechanisms of leading edge protrusion in interstitial migration
Authors: Wilson Kerry , Lewalle Alexandre , Fritzsche Marco , Thorogate Richard , Duke Tom , Charras Guillaume
Published: December 2013

While the molecular and biophysical mechanisms underlying cell protrusion on two-dimensional substrates are well understood, our knowledge of the actin structures driving protrusion in three-dimensional environments is poor, despite relevance to inflammation, development and cancer. Here we report that, during chemotactic migration through microchannels with 5 μm × 5 μm cross-sections, HL60 neutrophil-like cells assemble an actin-rich slab filling the whole channel cross-section at their front. This leading edge comprises two distinct F-actin networks: an adherent network that polymerizes perpendicular to cell-wall interfaces and a ‘free’ network that grows from the free membrane at the cell front. Each network is polymerized by a distinct nucleator and, due to their geometrical arrangement, the networks interact mechanically. On the basis of our experimental data, we propose that, during interstitial migration, medial growth of the adherent network compresses the free network preventing its retrograde movement and enabling new polymerization to be converted into forward protrusion.
Section Editorial-Cutaneous Biology
Authors: Williams F. M.
Published: December 2013

Understanding the biology of healthy skin and how it changes in disease is important for the development of new drugs to treat skin disease and for understanding and interpreting the effects of chemical exposure. Current developments in molecular medicine, use of in vitro models, in vivo imaging techniques integrated with clinical observation in dermatology are directed towards improving knowledge in this area. The chapters in this book section cover a wide range of such developing areas of biology and make a useful contribution to our current understanding of the biology of the skin.
Factors Influencing Expression and Specificity of Carboxylesterases in Skin: Implications for Local and Systemic Paraben Ester Toxicity
Authors: Williams F. M. , Ravi V. , Boulton S. J. , Mutch E. , Jewell C. , Wilkinson S. C.
Published: December 2013

Carboxylesterases (CES) are present in a number of skin cells and have known physiological and exogenous substrates including drugs, chemicals, pro-drugs, carbamate and pyrethroid insecticides, cosmetic chemicals and environmental toxicants. A typical reaction scheme for CES is presented in Figure 1. During drug discovery and design, an ester linkage is frequently included to selectively target a pro-drug to a tissue or to improve dermal absorption and deliver a novel compound. Skin is an important tissue regulating uptake of environmental chemicals as well as a delivery site for drugs targeted locally to the skin and systemically.
Gabor Domain Optical Coherence Microscopy of Human Skin
Authors: Rolland J. P. , Lee K. S. , Meemon P. , Ibrahim S. F.
Published: December 2013

The skin is the largest organ of the human body. Its key functions are to cover the internal organs, serve as a barrier to external pathogens and elements, and control haemostasis through thermoregulation and prevention of water loss. Because it is in constant contact with physical, chemical, and biological factors, the skin is susceptible to the development of various benign and malignant tumours. Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC), which include basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), are the most prevalent human cancers, with numbers exceeding that of all other malignancies combined.