bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pollen–vegetation–climate relationships in some desert and desert-steppe communities in northern China
Authors: Li Yuecong , Bunting M. Jane , Xu Qinghai , Jiang Suxue , Ding Wei , Hun Lingyun
Published: April 2011

In this paper, we consider the relationship between pollen assemblages, vegetation and climate in some desert and desert-steppe areas in northern China using both surface soil samples and pollen trap samples. Discriminant analysis shows that samples originating from different climatic or geographical regions can be separated reliably on the basis of pollen assemblage regardless of sample type. DCCA analysis indicates that surface soil pollen assemblages show significant correlations with climate parameters. DCCA Axis 1 is negatively correlated with the mean temperature in the warmest month (MTwa; r = −0.58), whilst axis 2 is positively correlated with mean annual precipitation (Pann; r = −0.73). Artemisia-to-Chenopodiaceae ratios are generally lower in desert areas than in desert-steppe areas. Pollen productivity relative to Chenopodiaceae ( RChenopodiaceae) was estimated using least-squares linear regression of pollen influx data against vegetation data and ERV model analysis of percentage pollen data against vegetation data. Rank order of RChenopodiaceae is consistent regardless of data set or analysis method. Artemisia has RChenopodiaceae values greater than 3, whilst RChenopodiaceae Nitraria is around 0.1 and RChenopodiaceae Poaceae is below 0.1. Our results provide useful information for quantitative reconstructions of paleovegation and paleoclimate in arid or semi-arid Asia.
Different patterns of changes in the Asian summer and winter monsoons on the eastern Tibetan Plateau during the Holocene
Authors: Yu Xuefeng , Zhou Weijian , Liu Zhao , Kang Zhihai
Published: April 2011

Previous sedimentological studies on peat sequences from the eastern Tibetan Plateau showed that there have been eolian dust inputs to the wetlands on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, thereby providing an opportunity to reconstruct the history of the Asian winter monsoon at a higher temporal resolution. Here the dust flux and the content of trace metallic elements (Ti, Ni, and V) in a peat sequence from the Hongyuan Swamp (32°46.7′N, 102°31.0′E) are used to reconstruct variations in the intensity of the Asian winter monsoon during the Holocene. This record, when compared with the summer monsoon proxy, can help elucidate the phase relationship between these two systems. Our proxy-based reconstructions show different patterns of changes in the Asian winter and summer monsoons before and after 5.5 cal. ka BP. Generally, the two monsoons varied reciprocally before 5.5 cal. ka BP; however, after 5.5 cal. ka BP, these two systems exhibit synchronous changes. Moreover, both the frequency and amplitude of the variations in these two monsoons are different before and after 5.5 cal. ka BP. The rate of changes in the solar insolation during the Holocene matches well with these monsoon records, implying that the mid-Holocene climate transition may have resulted from orbital forcing.
Primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome presenting with adrenal insufficiency in a child: Case report and review of literature
Authors: Bhakhri BK , Katewa S , Sharma R , Mahajan S
Published: April 2011

A 7-year-old boy presented with adrenal insufficiency. He subsequently developed venous thrombosis in the limbs and was diagnosed with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) based on clinical and laboratory parameters. Both adrenals were normal on imaging. He required thrombolysis and anticoagulation. The progressive course of PAPS was controlled with methylprednisolone. There are few reports of PAPS in pediatric patients, and associated adrenal involvement is rare. The unusual presentation, course and management of the patient and of four other reported children with adrenal insufficiency heralding manifestation of PAPS are discussed.
Assessment of IgG antibodies to oxidized LDL in patients with acute coronary syndrome
Authors: Laczik R , Szodoray P , Veres K , Szomják E , Csípő I , Sipka S , Shoenfeld Y , Szekanecz Z , Soltész P
Published: April 2011

Objectives. Circulating IgG antibodies to oxidized low-density lipoprotein (anti-oxLDL) have been implicated in the development of atherosclerotic plaques. In this study, we investigated the prognostic value of IgG anti-oxLDL antibodies in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods. In total 54 patients with ACS and 41 matched healthy controls were involved in this prospective study. Serum IgG anti-oxLDL levels were assessed by ELISA. Results. Higher IgG anti-oxLDL levels were found in patients with ACS versus controls (22.8 ± 23.3 vs. 7.5 ± 5.27 EU/ml, p < 0.0001). IgG anti-oxLDL concentrations were significantly higher in ACS patients with unstable clinical complications (circulatory insufficiency, malignant arrhythmias, recurring ischaemic pain, positive stress-test, need for urgent coronary intervention or sudden cardiac death) versus those without such complications (30.0 vs. 11.7 EU/ml, p < 0.001). Twelve patients (22%) were taking statins. Patients on statins had a significant reduction in clinical complications (33%) versus patients not receiving statin therapy (61%). IgG anti-oxLDL levels were also different in these two groups (11.4 vs. 25.8 EU/ml, respectively; p = 0.03). Serum IgG anti-oxLDL levels correlated with the subsequent development of unstable coronary events. Levels of anti-oxLDL significantly decreased in response to statin therapy, independently of its lipid-lowering effect. Conclusions. Anti-oxLDL antibodies are involved in ACS. The association of anti-oxLDL with unstable clinical complications may indicate the role of this antibody in plaque destabilization.
Metaphysical remains: Anti-materialism and cultural temporality
Authors: Dee Liam
Published: April 2011

Three critiques against cultural timelessness, the notion of late style, recycled ready-mades, and minimalist preservation, are examined to show how they are all compromised by a latent idealism. Such idealism, based on the decoupling of time from materiality through removal, displacement or wilful ignorance of material markers of age, forecloses the kinds of radical change and innovation espoused by the above critiques. While they all embrace timeliness and decay in the materiality of artists’ bodies and cultural artefacts, the ideology of timeless bourgeois art persists in their maintenance of a separate immaterial, eternal cultural essence.
Time, empire and resistance in settler-colonial Victoria
Authors: Nanni Giordano
Published: April 2011

This article addresses the role of time as a locus of power and resistance in the context of 19th-century European colonialism. It adopts the case-study of the British settler-colony of Victoria, Australia, to illustrate the manner in which colonization entailed, as well as territorial conquest, the subversion of conflicting attitudes to time. It is argued that whilst the colonization of ‘Aboriginal time’ aided the broader economic interests of settler-colonialism by helping to absorb the Indigenous presence within the temporal landscape of colonial society, time also functioned as a tool for Indigenous resistance and cultural negotiation.
Crisis of temporalities: Global capitalism after the 2007–08 financial collapse
Authors: Hope Wayne
Published: April 2011

As global capitalism took shape, during the 1990s and early 2000s, high-speed, financialized profit making disrupted long-term strategies of capital accumulation centered upon production, employment, commodity exchange and aggregate demand. In addition, state constructions of time and temporality were besieged by the short-termist tendencies of financialized capitalism. This sharpened temporal disjunctures within the nationally constituted economy and the nationally circumscribed state. And, as upper reaches of many nation states conformed to the temporal urgency of supra-national decision-making bodies such as the IMF, national politics could not effectively process the slower rhythms of the representative assembly, the election cycle, public policy formation and mediated public debate. Against this background, the aftermath and repercussions of the 2007--08 financial collapse will be examined. Global capitalism became pervaded by a crisis of temporalities, manifestations of which can be summarized as follows. First, the temporal contradiction between financialized profit making and long-term strategies of capital accumulation remain unresolved; therefore, financial instability and recessionary spirals will be a recurring pattern. Second, in a world of financial turbulence and global recession, spatio-temporal fixities within and across particular national political economies have weakened or disintegrated. Third, the political impossibility of reconstructing Keynesian policy instruments at a national, supra-national and international level has generated a historic malaise. Unregulated financialized capitalism and neo-liberal policy regimes cannot be sustained over time, yet new political-economic arrangements characterized by spatio-temporal fixity are not in prospect.
Capitalism, Landnahme and social time régimes: An outline
Authors: Dörre Klaus
Published: April 2011

In this paper the influence of capitalist Landnahme on the modification of social time régimes will be discussed. The paper's main thesis is that time is distributed extremely unequally in processes of social acceleration. A régime of discontinuous time deprives part of the subordinates of material and cultural resources which are essential for rational actions in markets. Moreover, different forms of exploitation of time resources divide the subalterns. As a result, developed capitalist metropolises are defined by what is best described as stable instability.
Introduction
Authors: Navarro Mercedes , Arriaga Mercedes
Published: April 2011

The Escuela Feminista de Teología de Andalucía (EFETA) [the Andalusian School of Feminist Theology], held a conference titled ‘Feminine Mysticism and Counterculture: A Rebellious Genre’ October 15-17, 2009 at the University of Seville (Spain). This annual seminar is held thanks to an agreement between the University of Seville and EFETA, with the direct support of the research group ‘Escritoras y Escrituras,’ whose principal researcher is Mercedes Arriaga. The guest of honour at this year’s conference was Lisa Isherwood, who kindly presented EFETA with the opportunity to publish some of the seminar’s papers in Feminist Theology, and who we here in Spain thank wholeheartedly for her contributions. Before presenting the texts that were selected for this edition, we would like to take this opportunity to explain a little about the EFETA project.
Body Mystique, Mystic Bodies
Authors: Arriaga Flórez Mercedes
Published: April 2011

The feminine mystique confines women to the golden cage of the home, where the female body is locked in inactivity, in placidity at least. Against an institutionalized form of love, the mystics of the spiritual realm choose a ‘wild’ love, a love without rules, without conditions, a love that goes beyond the material to become pure adhesion, pure proximity, pure fusion and confusion. It is a strange form of love in that it consists only of reciprocity of subjects, a strange love that feeds on passion and intensity. It is a love that exists outside the quotidian, one that never gets tired or grows old.
Mary, Model of Biblical Contemplation
Authors: Gómez-Acebo Isabel
Published: April 2011

The purpose of this work is to take Mary as the subject of a life of contemplation, to observe her manner of relating with God, of speaking to His messengers and of praising Yhwh. She is a daughter of Israel who speaks to the God of her people and interprets His figure according to that tradition. The questions we will attempt to answer are: with what God did she relate? Where did their encounters take place? How did she regard her person in relation to the divinity? To what degree did her son’s life affect her understanding of God? We do not know her feelings nor her reactions at the Cross but by following Old Testament patterns I am going to offer possible conjectures.

Rather than present Mary simply as an object of biblical contemplation I want to give the model of Marian spirituality that can serve as a personal path for Christians so that her figure as summa contemplatrix becomes that of illuminatrix, helping us to enter into a relationship with God and discover the whole range of possibilities that this offers.2
Mysticism and Rebel Mystics in the Book Religions
Authors: León Trinidad
Published: April 2011

Mysticism denotes phenomena related with Divine experience. In religion it is perceived as a state in which a person seems to have passed beyond the normal parameters of human life and neither behaves nor expresses him/herself in the manner generally considered correct and acceptable in cultural or religious terms. I will approach the central theme of this paper from an ecumenical and multi-faith point of view. It entails demonstrating through the lives of certain figures, by no means conventional ones, that female mysticism in the three big monotheistic religions contains a good degree of rebelliousness and transgresses, more or less openly, traditional doctrine. But it also goes beyond the platitudes of mystic experience itself.
Psychology and Mysticism: the Case of Saint Theresa of Jesus
Authors: Navarro Puerto Mercedes
Published: April 2011

Strictly speaking, it is not possible to make psychology of Saint Teresa of Jesus, to study her experience or psychic reality, since we do not have direct access to her as an historical subject. Psychology can, however, legitimately approach her texts and study them through their language, since written texts are intentionally communicative. Cognitive psychology has tools which are suited to this type of analysis. I will examine texts written by Saint Teresa of Jesus (she is often also called Saint Teresa de Ávila) as human conduct and as especially suited to psychology as an explicative-causal and comprehensive-intentional science, though I do prefer to look at them as a mix of the two, explicative-comprehensive — a combination of both levels of reality.
Cross-Cultural Validation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Spanish Brief Religious Coping Scale (S-BRCS)
Authors: Martinez Nelda C. , Sousa Valmi D.
Published: April 2011

Purpose: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish Brief Religious Coping Scale (S-BRCS). Design: A descriptive correlational design was used to conduct the study among a convenience sample of 121 Mexican Americans with diabetes. Results: The positive and negative religious coping subscales had Cronbach’s alphas of .85 and .86, respectively. All interitem and item-to-total correlations for each subscale were above the recommended criteria of .30. Factor loadings of the positive subscale using oblique (oblimin) and orthogonal (varimax) rotation ranged from .71 to .86 and from .72 to .86, respectively. Factor loadings of the negative subscale using oblimin and varimax rotation ranged from .64 to .83 and from .63 to .83, respectively. Discussion and Conclusions: The S-BRCS was found to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure religious coping among Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans with type 2 diabetes. Implications for Further Research and Practice: Further psychometric evaluation of the S-BRCS among larger sample of Mexican Americans and other Hispanic ethnic groups is warranted. The S-BRCS has the potential to become a standard instrument that can be used by clinicians who work with Hispanic clients with diabetes mellitus to provide culturally competent diabetes care.
Untaming Grief ? For Palliative Care Physicians
Authors: Moon Paul J.
Published: April 2011

Little doubt (if any) remains as to the assured importance of physicians possessing praxis regarding psychosocial issues, including grief dynamics, in order to tend to dying and sorrowing people. It stands to reason then that palliative care physicians become knowledgeable enough about the phenomenon of grief. But imperative nuances must also be considered: what sort of knowledge on grief, as well as how much of such knowledge, is enough? This article poses topical queries on the importance of the palliative care physician exercising a deliberate agenda to persistently refine one’s personal framework or beliefs regarding grief. In doing so, it is proposed physicians will engender improved self-knowledge, which will serve to better poise themselves toward being with and purposefully encountering aggrieved others.
The cognitive agent: Overcoming informational limits
Authors: Vakarelov Orlin
Published: April 2011

This article provides an answer to the question: What is the function of cognition? By answering this question it becomes possible to investigate what are the simplest cognitive systems. It addresses the question by treating cognition as a solution to a design problem. It defines a nested sequence of design problems: (1) How can a system persist? (2) How can a system affect its environment to improve its persistence? (3) How can a system utilize better information from the environment to select better actions? And, (4) How can a system reduce its inherent informational limitations to achieve more successful behavior? This provides a corresponding nested sequence of system classes: (1) autonomous systems, (2) (re)active autonomous systems, (3) informationally controlled autonomous systems (autonomous agents), and (4) cognitive systems.

This article provides the following characterization of cognition: The cognitive system is the set of mechanisms of an autonomous agent that (1) allow increase of the correlation and integration between the environment and the information system of the agent, so that (2) the agent can improve the selection of actions and thereby produce more successful behavior.

Finally, it shows that common cognitive capacities satisfy the characterization: learning, memory, representation, decision making, reasoning, attention, and communication.
An in-depth analysis of domestically adopted children with special needs and their biological mothers
Authors: Hussey David L
Published: April 2011

• Summary: In 2001, federal research funding (#90-CO-0960) was awarded to conduct an in-depth study of one agency’s experience with domestic special needs adoption placements (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2001). This private Ohio agency has been involved in the placement of special needs children since the beginning of the US special needs adoption movement in 1976. A rigorous and comprehensive chart review was conducted profiling 362 consecutively referred special needs adoption cases from 1997 to 2005, providing one of the most accurate and in-depth profiles of both special needs adoption children and their biological mothers to date.

• Findings: In summing the major child and biological mother risk factors reported in this study (i.e. child neglect + child physical abuse + child sexual abuse + child prenatal drug exposure + child positive toxicology screen at birth + maternal mental illness + maternal substance abuse + maternal homelessness + maternal history of domestic violence + parental incarceration + and death of a significant person), youth averaged 4.7 (SD = 1.61) cumulative risk factors, not including poverty, multiple placement disruptions, and other undocumented risk factors.

• Applications: Accurate and comprehensive profiling of child and biological parent characteristics are required to inform the service needs of at-risk families, domestic special needs adopted children, and adoptive parents. Implications for adoptive parent recruitment, training, and support, as well child monitoring and treatment are discussed.
Machinima’s Promise
Authors: Kirschner Friedrich
Published: April 2011

The author investigates machinima’s incapacity to achieve full emancipation from the video game sphere to become a mature, autonomous, and independent form of expression; one possible explanation behind this conundrum is that the machinima community generally perceives itself as consisting of filmmakers — as in live action filmmaking — rather than animators. Thus, the stylistic, narrative and production methods used in both traditional and computer-generated animated stories are ignored or overlooked. For machinima to become more diverse, both visually and narratively, its production tools have to untie themselves from the computer games that they originated from, while embracing the unique approach and ease of use of real-time animation.
Machinima: Limited, Ghettoized, and Spectacularly Promising
Authors: Hancock Hugh
Published: April 2011

The author assesses machinima’s role in the contemporary cultural and academic milieu, and whether online video sharing sites like YouTube were important but not essential in the diffusion of machinima. Machinima’s apparent user-friendliness is also questioned. The author concludes that machinima appeals to a traditional technophile demographic: white, male, middle class, age 14 to 45. Although the vast majority of machinima are self-referential and game-based, the medium as a whole could expand beyond gaming. Machinima is a powerful and versatile filmmaking practice, not a simple byproduct of gaming.
Where Were You the Day Onyxia Died?
Authors: Hackleman Clint
Published: April 2011

Thanks to machinima, users can document, archive, and share their performances in video games and virtual worlds. As game developers create engaging environments and immersive stories for players to experience, independent machinima producers can expand the fictional universe by tinkering with the game engine itself. However, the author suggests that machinima’s relation to games is problematic. The popularity of this form of expression among fans of the original games is paradoxically an obstacle for machinima’s broader acceptance outside the gaming sphere. It is not clear if machinima can break from its esoteric roots and become a valid alternative to traditional filmmaking.
Machinima in a Fanvid Ecology
Authors: Ito Mizuko
Published: April 2011

The author discusses machinima in relation to a proliferating family of emerging DIY fanvids, remixes, and parodies spawning on the internet today. Like many other forms of DIY video, machinima is the byproduct of the creative energies of popular culture enthusiasts, fueled by increasingly accessible digital media production tools and online video distribution. Although machinima’s roots in gaming platforms and cultures make it unique, it shares a history and future with other kinds of DIY fanvids. In this diversified ecosystem, the author concludes, the base of machinima makers will continue to expand, while expert creators will proliferate more and more esoteric niches, some of which cater to the core gaming crowd, and others that cross over to other genres.
Eight Questions (and Answers) about Machinima
Authors: Nideffer Robert F.
Published: April 2011

The author argues that, unlike traditional filmmaking or video recording through inexpensive digital videocameras, machinima presents a high barrier of entry, remaining a relatively complex method of creating videos. In fact, producing rendered animations generated from recordings of gameplay requires fairly high-end hardware capable of running real-time graphics intensive 3D or pseudo-3D environments. Nonetheless, machinima has the potential to make a real impact on the political landscape and can be considered a relatively sophisticated form of art, although one has to remember that art is socially constructed and it is not an intrinsic quality of an artifact.
Censorship as Criticism: Performance Art and Fair Use in Virtual Territory
Authors: Cornblatt Marque
Published: April 2011

The author discusses the removal of his machinima-based performance artwork from the popular online video sharing site Vimeo, based on the accusation that it violated the service’s terms of use. The artist challenged the validity of Vimeo’s administrators via a series of emails, without much success. By examining this particular case, the author raises a series of important questions related to copyright, e.g. who owns virtual space and who is responsible for policing it? Are multi-user games a territory or a tool? Can a creative act transform a videogame from private property into a public art site? And perhaps most appropriate in the author’s situation: can copyright censors distinguish their personal criticism of an artwork from that work’s legal status?
Machinima as a Viable Commercial Medium
Authors: Falkenstein Jun
Published: April 2011

The author investigates the feasibility of machinima as a commercial filmmaking format, suggesting that quality-wise, it cannot compete, in its current state, with computer generated imagery. Moreover, although computers and game engines will improve dramatically in the next decades, machinima’s re-sampling nature will not allow this form of expression to achieve the variety and originality of live action or animation. The author concludes that machinima could become more successful — critically and commercially — in other areas, such as television and the internet.
Molotov Alva’s Further Adventures: A Conversation Which Could’ve Happened (But Never Did)
Authors: Gayeton Douglas
Published: April 2011

The author uses a graphic novel approach to explore various aspects of machinima through the character Molotov Alva and his companion Orhalla Zander. Together they contemplate the nature of machinima. Is it an art or a technique? While machinima’s noblest goal, as defined by the author, is to live beyond the now and illuminate the human condition, do its game-based roots prevent it from going mainstream?
‘A Counter-Friction to the Machine’: What Game Scholars, Librarians, and Archivists Can Learn from Machinima Makers about User Activism
Authors: Kraus Kari
Published: April 2011

The author examines the legal issues associated with machinima creation in relation to archival and preservation efforts. Specifically, she argues that what makes machinima as a cultural practice particularly interesting from a legal perspective is its ability to dramatize the tension between copyright law and contract law; public rights and private rights; and the right of reproduction versus the right of adaptation. She proposes that game scholars, librarians and archivists take a page from the play book of machinima creators when developing their own professional approaches to user activism and digital access and preservation.
Special Review Article: Beyond culture or beyond control? Reviewing the use of Hall’s high-/low-context concept
Authors: Kittler Markus G. , Rygl David , Mackinnon Alex
Published: April 2011

This paper reviews Edward T. Hall’s influential concept of high-/low-context communication and its use in cross-cultural research. Hall’s concept suggests that individuals combine preprogrammed culture specific context and information to create meaning. The use of context is argued to vary across cultures and country classifications have been attached to Hall’s concept. These country rankings have evolved over time classifying (national) cultures as ‘high-context’ (HC) and ‘low-context’ (LC). Since future studies employing Hall’s context idea as an underlying framework in cross-cultural research need to rely on a valid and reliable country classification, our study analyses literature related to Hall’s HC/LC concept. Based on a systematic review, we particularly question whether the country classification attached to Hall’s concept is built on rigorous and substantiated findings. Our study shows that most previous research that utilized HC/LC country classifications is based on seemingly less-than-adequate evidence. Mixed and often contradictory findings reveal inconsistencies in the conventional country classifications and show that they are flawed or, at best, very limited.
Special Review Article: Culture in groups and teams: A review of three decades of research
Authors: Wencang Zhou  , Xuli Shi
Published: April 2011

This article reviews research on culture in groups and teams by analyzing 85 empirical studies published in the 15 leading management journals from 1980 to 2009. At first, we review the culture values used in the 85 articles. We next review how these culture values, as independent variables or dependent variables, were studied in each research topic. Then we review the methodological issues in the 85 articles. The review shows some advances but also many gaps in both theory and methods. Therefore, we highlight critical challenges for future research.
Gene–Culture Interaction
Authors: Kim Heejung S. , Sherman David K. , Mojaverian Taraneh , Sasaki Joni Y. , Park Jinyoung , Suh Eunkook M. , Taylor Shelley E.
Published: April 2011

Research has demonstrated that certain genotypes are expressed phenotypically in different forms depending on the social environment. To examine sensitivity to cultural norms regarding emotion regulation, we explored the expression of the oxytocin receptor polymorphism ( OXTR) rs53576, a gene previously related to socioemotional sensitivity, in conjunction with cultural norms. Emotional suppression is normative in East Asian cultures but not in American culture. Consequently, we predicted an interaction of Culture and OXTR in emotional suppression. Korean and American participants completed assessments of emotion regulation and were genotyped for OXTR. We found the predicted interaction: Among Americans, those with the GG genotype reported using emotional suppression less than those with the AA genotype, whereas Koreans showed the opposite pattern. These findings suggest that OXTR rs53576 is sensitive to input from cultural norms regarding emotion regulation. These findings also indicate that culture is a moderator that shapes behavioral outcomes associated with OXTR genotypes.
The Evaluation of Electrocardiogram Findings in Acute Abdominal Pain Patients Admitted to the Emergency Department
Authors: Oguzturk Hakan , Turtay Muhammet Gokhan , Tekin Yusuf Kenan , Tekin Gulacan
Published: April 2011

The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of electrocardiogram in differential diagnosis of patients with nonspecific abdominal pain. This prospective observational study was conducted in a university emergency department over 2 weeks. One hundred twenty patients with complaints of abdominal pain were admitted to the emergency department. During the study period, a total of 120 cases were evaluated. The final emergency department disposition status of the 120 patients was 1 (0.8%) died in the emergency department, 28 (23.3%) were admitted to the general ward, 27 (22.5%) were admitted to other services, and 10 (8.3%) were admitted to the cardiology service and coronary care unit. The examination indicated that 38 (31.7%) patients with abdominal pain showed cardiac pathologies on their electrocardiograms; 3 (2.5%) patients with abdominal pain admitted to cardiology service had ST elevation, and 2 (1.6%) had electrocardiogram depression on their electrocardiograms. According to the results, the authors claim that the electrocardiogram played an important role in the treatment and diagnosis of patients presenting with abdominal pain in emergency medicine. For this reason, it was thought that emergency medicine specialists should understand the basis of the perception of abdominal pain and develop a focused approach to the initial evaluation of these patients.
Three-dimensional imaging of whole midgestation murine embryos shows an intravascular localization for all hematopoietic clusters
Authors: Yokomizo Tomomasa , Ng Cherry Ee Lin , Osato Motomi , Dzierzak Elaine
Published: April 2011

Hematopoietic cell clusters associated with the midgestation mouse aorta, umbilical and vitelline arteries play a pivotal role in the formation of the adult blood system. Both genetic and live-imaging data indicate that definitive hematopoietic progenitor/stem cells (visualized as clusters) are generated from hemogenic endothelium. A 3-dimensional (3-D) whole embryo immunostaining and imaging technique has allowed quantitation and cartographic mapping of intravascular hematopoietic clusters. During this period the vitelline artery is most extensively remodeled, and several reports have suggested that vitelline remodeling leads to extravascular hematopoietic cluster emergence. Whether the earliest definitive progenitors/stem cells are intra or extra vascular could influence the process by which these cells migrate to the next hematopoietic territory, the fetal liver. Hence, by 3-D imaging we more closely examined hematopoietic clusters in the vitelline and associated connected small vessels and show here that hematopoietic clusters (particularly large clusters) are intravascular during the period of vascular remodeling.
STAT3-dependent IL-21 production from T helper cells regulates hematopoietic progenitor cell homeostasis
Authors: Kaplan Mark H. , Glosson Nicole L. , Stritesky Gretta L. , Yeh Norman , Kinzfogl John , Rohrabaugh Sara L. , Goswami Ritobrata , Pham Duy , Levy David E. , Brutkiewicz Randy R. , Blum Janice S. , Cooper Scott , Hangoc Giao , Broxmeyer Hal E.
Published: April 2011

The contribution of specific cell types to the production of cytokines that regulate hematopoiesis is still not well defined. We have previously identified T cell–dependent regulation of hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) numbers and cycling. In this report, we demonstrated that HPC activity is decreased in mice with STAT3-deficient T cells, a phenotype that is not because of decreased expression of IL-17 or RORγt. STAT3 expression in T cells was required for IL-21 production by multiple T helper subsets, and neutralization of IL-21 resulted in decreased HPC activity identical to that in mice with STAT3-deficient T cells. Importantly, injection of IL-21 rescued HPC activity in mice with STAT3-deficient T cells. Thus, STAT3-dependent IL-21 production in T cells is required for HPC homeostasis.
Bergamot (Citrus bergamia Risso) fruit extracts and identified components alter expression of interleukin 8 gene in cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelial cell lines
Authors: Borgatti Monica , Mancini Irene , Bianchi Nicoletta , Guerrini Alessandra , Lampronti Ilaria , Rossi Damiano , Sacchetti Gianni , Gambari Roberto
Published: April 2011

Background

Cystic fibrosis (CF) airway pathology is a fatal, autosomal, recessive genetic disease characterized by extensive lung inflammation. After induction by TNF-α, elevated concentrations of several pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e. IL-6, IL-1β) and chemokines (i.e. IL-8) are released from airway epithelial cells. In order to reduce the excessive inflammatory response in the airways of CF patients, new therapies have been developed and in this respect, medicinal plant extracts have been studied. In this article we have investigated the possible use of bergamot extracts (Citrus bergamia Risso) and their identified components to alter the expression of IL-8 associated with the cystic fibrosis airway pathology.

Methods

The extracts were chemically characterized by 1H-NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), GC-FID (gas chromatography-flame ionization detector), GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) and HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography). Both bergamot extracts and main detected chemical constituents were assayed for their biological activity measuring (a) cytokines and chemokines in culture supernatants released from cystic fibrosis IB3-1 cells treated with TNF-α by Bio-Plex cytokine assay; (b) accumulation of IL-8 mRNA by real-time PCR.

Results

The extracts obtained from bergamot (Citrus bergamia Risso) epicarps contain components displaying an inhibitory activity on IL-8. Particularly, the most active molecules were bergapten and citropten. These effects have been confirmed by analyzing mRNA levels and protein release in the CF cellular models IB3-1 and CuFi-1 induced with TNF-α or exposed to heat-inactivated Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Conclusions

These obtained results clearly indicate that bergapten and citropten are strong inhibitors of IL-8 expression and could be proposed for further studies to verify possible anti-inflammatory properties to reduce lung inflammation in CF patients.
CDAO-Store: Ontology-driven Data Integration for Phylogenetic Analysis
Authors: Chisham Brandon , Wright Ben , Le Trung , Son Tran Cao , Pontelli Enrico
Published: April 2011

Background

TheComparative Data Analysis Ontology (CDAO)is an ontology developed, as part of the EvoInfo and EvoIO groups supported by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, to provide semantic descriptions of data and transformations commonly found in the domain of phylogenetic analysis. The core concepts of the ontology enable the description of phylogenetic trees and associated character data matrices.

Results

Using CDAO as the semantic back-end, we developed a triple-store, namedCDAO-Store. CDAO-Store is a RDF-based store of phylogenetic data, including a complete import of TreeBASE. CDAO-Store provides a programmatic interface, in the form of web services, and a web-based front-end, to perform both user-defined as well as domain-specific queries; domain-specific queries include search for nearest common ancestors, minimum spanning clades, filter multiple trees in the store by size, author, taxa, tree identifier, algorithm or method. In addition, CDAO-Store provides a visualization front-end, calledCDAO-Explorer, which can be used to view both character data matrices and trees extracted from the CDAO-Store. CDAO-Store provides import capabilities, enabling the addition of new data to the triple-store; files in PHYLIP, MEGA, , and NEXUS formats can be imported and their CDAO representations added to the triple-store.

Conclusions

CDAO-Store is made up of a versatile and integrated set of tools to support phylogenetic analysis. To the best of our knowledge, CDAO-Store is the first semantically-aware repository of phylogenetic data with domain-specific querying capabilities. The portal to CDAO-Store is available athttp://www.cs.nmsu.edu/~cdaostore.
Quantitative digital in situ senescence-associated β-galactosidase assay
Authors: Shlush Liran I , Itzkovitz Shalev , Cohen Ariel , Rutenberg Aviad , Berkovitz Ron , Yehezkel Shiran , Shahar Hofit , Selig Sara , Skorecki Karl
Published: April 2011

Background

Cellular senescence plays important roles in the aging process of complex organisms, in tumor suppression and in response to stress. Several markers can be used to identify senescent cells, of which the most widely used is the senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SABG) activity. The main advantage of SABG activity over other markers is the simplicity of the detection assay and the capacity to identify in situ a senescent cell in a heterogeneous cell population. Several approaches have been introduced to render the SABG assay quantitative. However none of these approaches to date has proven particularly amenable to quantitative analysis of SABG activity in situ. Furthermore the role of cellular senescence (CS) in vivo remains unclear mainly due to the ambiguity of current cellular markers in identifying CS of individual cells in tissues.

Results

In the current study we applied a digital image analysis technique to the staining generated using the original SABG assay, and demonstrate that this analysis is highly reproducible and sensitive to subtle differences in staining intensities resulting from diverse cellular senescence pathways in culture. We have further validated our method on mouse kidney samples with and without diabetes mellitus, and show that a more accurate quantitative SABG activity with a wider range of values can be achieved at a pH lower than that used in the conventional SABG assay.

Conclusions

We conclude that quantitative in situ SABG assay, is feasible and reproducible and that the pH at which the reaction is performed should be tailored and chosen, depending on the research question and experimental system of interest.
Evolution of light-harvesting complex proteins from Chl c-containing algae
Authors: Hoffman Gabriel E , Sanchez-Puerta M Virginia , Delwiche Charles F
Published: April 2011

Background

Light harvesting complex (LHC) proteins function in photosynthesis by binding chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoid molecules that absorb light and transfer the energy to the reaction center Chl of the photosystem. Most research has focused on LHCs of plants and chlorophytes that bind Chl a and b and extensive work on these proteins has uncovered a diversity of biochemical functions, expression patterns and amino acid sequences. We focus here on a less-studied family of LHCs that typically bind Chl a and c, and that are widely distributed in Chl c-containing and other algae. Previous phylogenetic analyses of these proteins suggested that individual algal lineages possess proteins from one or two subfamilies, and that most subfamilies are characteristic of a particular algal lineage, but genome-scale datasets had revealed that some species have multiple different forms of the gene. Such observations also suggested that there might have been an important influence of endosymbiosis in the evolution of LHCs.

Results

We reconstruct a phylogeny of LHCs from Chl c-containing algae and related lineages using data from recent sequencing projects to give ~10-fold larger taxon sampling than previous studies. The phylogeny indicates that individual taxa possess proteins from multiple LHC subfamilies and that several LHC subfamilies are found in distantly related algal lineages. This phylogenetic pattern implies functional differentiation of the gene families, a hypothesis that is consistent with data on gene expression, carotenoid binding and physical associations with other LHCs. In all probability LHCs have undergone a complex history of evolution of function, gene transfer, and lineage-specific diversification.

Conclusion

The analysis provides a strikingly different picture of LHC diversity than previous analyses of LHC evolution. Individual algal lineages possess proteins from multiple LHC subfamilies. Evolutionary relationships showed support for the hypothesized origin of Chl c plastids. This work also allows recent experimental findings about molecular function to be understood in a broader phylogenetic context.
FungalRV: adhesin prediction and immunoinformatics portal for human fungal pathogens
Authors: Chaudhuri Rupanjali , Ansari Faraz Alam , Raghunandanan Muthukurussi Varieth , Ramachandran Srinivasan
Published: April 2011

Background

The availability of sequence data of human pathogenic fungi generates opportunities to develop Bioinformatics tools and resources for vaccine development towards benefitting at-risk patients.

Description

We have developed a fungal adhesin predictor and an immunoinformatics database with predicted adhesins. Based on literature search and domain analysis, we prepared a positive dataset comprising adhesin protein sequences from human fungal pathogensCandida albicans, Candida glabrata, Aspergillus fumigatus, Coccidioides immitis, Coccidioides posadasii, Histoplasma capsulatum, Blastomyces dermatitidis, Pneumocystis carinii, Pneumocystis jirovecii and Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The negative dataset consisted of proteins with high probability to function intracellularly. We have used 3945 compositional properties including frequencies of mono, doublet, triplet, and multiplets of amino acids and hydrophobic properties as input features of protein sequences to Support Vector Machine. Best classifiers were identified through an exhaustive search of 588 parameters and meeting the criteria of best Mathews Correlation Coefficient and lowest coefficient of variation among the 3 fold cross validation datasets. The "FungalRV adhesin predictor" was built on three models whose average Mathews Correlation Coefficient was in the range 0.89-0.90 and its coefficient of variation across three fold cross validation datasets in the range 1.2% - 2.74% at threshold score of 0. We obtained an overall MCC value of 0.8702 considering all 8 pathogens, namely,C. albicans, C. glabrata, A. fumigatus, B. dermatitidis, C. immitis, C. posadasii, H. capsulatumandP. brasiliensisthus showing high sensitivity and specificity at a threshold of 0.511. In case ofP. brasiliensisthe algorithm achieved a sensitivity of 66.67%. A total of 307 fungal adhesins and adhesin like proteins were predicted from the entire proteomes of eight human pathogenic fungal species. The immunoinformatics analysis data on these proteins were organized for easy user interface analysis. A Web interface was developed for analysis by users. The predicted adhesin sequences were processed through 18 immunoinformatics algorithms and these data have been organized into MySQL backend. A user friendly interface has been developed for experimental researchers for retrieving information from the database.

Conclusion

FungalRV webserver facilitating the discovery process for novel human pathogenic fungal adhesin vaccine has been developed.
A cytochrome P450 monooxygenase commonly used for negative selection in transgenic plants causes growth anomalies by disrupting brassinosteroid signaling
Authors: Dasgupta Kasturi , Ganesan Savita , Manivasagam Sindhu , Ayre Brian G
Published: April 2011

Background

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases form a large superfamily of enzymes that catalyze diverse reactions. The P450

SU1
gene from the soil bacteria Streptomyces griseolus encodes CYP105A1 which acts on various substrates including sulfonylurea herbicides, vitamin D, coumarins, and based on the work presented here, brassinosteroids. P450

SU1
is used as a negative-selection marker in plants because CYP105A1 converts the relatively benign sulfonyl urea pro-herbicide R7402 into a highly phytotoxic product. Consistent with its use for negative selection, transgenic Arabidopsis plants were generated with P450

SU1
situated between recognition sequences for FLP recombinase from yeast to select for recombinase-mediated excision. However, unexpected and prominent developmental aberrations resembling those described for mutants defective in brassinosteroid signaling were observed in many of the lines.

Results

The phenotypes of the most affected lines included severe stunting, leaf curling, darkened leaves characteristic of anthocyanin accumulation, delayed transition to flowering, low pollen and seed yields, and delayed senescence. Phenotype severity correlated with P450

SU1
transcript abundance, but not with transcript abundance of other experimental genes, strongly implicating CYP105A1 as responsible for the defects. Germination and seedling growth of transgenic and control lines in the presence and absence of 24-epibrassinolide indicated that CYP105A1 disrupts brassinosteroid signaling, most likely by inactivating brassinosteroids.

Conclusions

Despite prior use of this gene as a genetic tool, deleterious growth in the absence of R7402 has not been elaborated. We show that this gene can cause aberrant growth by disrupting brassinosteroid signaling and affecting homeostasis.