bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Soil structure and greenhouse gas emissions: a synthesis of 20 years of experimentation
Authors: Ball B. C.
Published: January 2013

Soil structure affects microbial activity and thus influences greenhouse gas production and exchange in soil. Structure is variable and increasingly vulnerable to compaction and erosion damage as agriculture intensifies and climate changes. Few studies have specifically related the impact of structure and its variability to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over a wide range of soils and management treatments. The objective of this study was to draw from research in Scotland, Japan and New Zealand, which examined how soil structures affected by wheel compaction, animal trampling, tillage and land‐use change influence GHG emissions in order to help identify key controlling properties. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the main focus, though carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitric oxide (NO) are included. Gas emissions were measured by using static chambers in the field or incubated intact cores. Poor structure, measured as small relative gas diffusivities and air permeabilities, restricted aeration, resulting in N2O emission or consumption dependent on mineral nitrogen contents. Structural damage (identifiable using the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure) was especially important near the soil surface where microsites of microbial activity were exposed and aeration was impaired. Moist, well‐aerated soils favoured CH4 oxidation and CO2 exchange. N2O emissions were not necessarily increased in anaerobic soils because of possible N2O consumption and microbial adaptation. Soil matric potential, volumetric water content, relative diffusivity, air permeability and water‐filled pore space are relevant indicators for N2O and CH4 flux and aeration status. As pore continuity and size are so relevant, pore‐scale models are likely to have an increasing role in understanding mechanisms of GHG production, transport and release.
Survival of an adult Quarter Horse gelding following bacterial meningitis caused by Escherichia coli
Authors: Hepworth K. L. , Wong D. M. , Sponseller B. A. , Alcott C. J. , Sponseller B. T. , Ben‐Shlomo G. , Whitley R. D.
Published: January 2013

Bacterial meningitis in the mature horse is a rare and typically fatal condition. This report describes a 7‐year‐old Quarter Horse gelding that initially presented following suspected trauma to the left eye but subsequently developed bacterial meningitis, and a nasal and palpebral abscess, all of which cultured the same isolate of Escherichia coli. The entry site of infection in bacterial meningitis is often related to a breach in the calvarium and extension of bacteria residing in the paranasal sinuses. This case is unique as there were multiple pathways through which bacteria may have entered the central nervous system including haematogenous spread from a nasal abscess, local extension of periocular infection or an undetected skull fracture. Aside from persistent blindness in the left eye, the horse made a full recovery.
Resilience and responsibility: governing uncertainty in a complex world
Authors: Welsh Marc
Published: January 2013

‘Resilience’ has risen to prominence across a range of academic disciplines and political discourses. Situating resilience theories in historical context the paper argues that the resilience discourse of complex adaptive systems, for all its utility as a means for conceptualising and managing change, is allied with contemporary governmental discourses that responsibilise risk away from the state and on to individuals and institutions. Further, in arguing that resilience theories originate in two distinct epistemological communities (natural and social science) in its mobilisation as a ‘boundary object’ resilience naturalises an ontology of ‘the system’. Resilience approaches increasingly structure, not only academic, but also government policy discourses, with each influencing the development of the other. It is argued that by mobilising ‘the system’ as the metaconcept for capturing socio‐natural and socio‐economic relations resilience theories naturalise and reify two abstractions: firstly, the system itself – enrolling citizens into practices that give it meaning and presence; secondly, the naturalisation of shocks to the system, locating them in a post‐political space where the only certainty is uncertainty. With reference to an emerging governmentality through resilience, this paper argues for a critical interrogation of plural resilience theories and wonders at their emancipatory possibilities.
Information needs of clinicians and non‐clinicians in the Emergency Department: a qualitative study
Authors: Ayatollahi Haleh , Bath Peter A. , Goodacre Steve
Published: January 2013

Background

Identifying the information needs of Emergency Department (ED) staff and sources of information that they use can help to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the ED. As Emergency Medicine has unique characteristics, information needs of the Emergency Department (ED) staff might be different from other settings. However, few studies have investigated the information needs of ED staff and the sources of information that they use.

Objectives

We aimed to investigate the information needs of ED staff and the sources of information that they used in their practice.

Methods

It was a qualitative study, in which data were collected using semi‐structured interviews and 34 ED staff were interviewed in total. To analyse data, the method of framework analysis was used.

Results

Different types of information needs and sources of information were found in the ED. Patient information was considered the most important type of information, and verbal communication was the most frequently used source of information.

Conclusion

The variety of information used in the ED shows task complexity in this department which might not be simply addressed by technology. Further research is needed to identify how computerised information systems can be improved to meet users' information needs in the ED.
Knowing what we know about knowledge in social work: The search for a comprehensive model of knowledge production
Authors: Gray Mel , Schubert Leanne
Published: January 2013

Influenced by its historical beginnings, the production and modelling of knowledge in social work has become a small but diverse field. Ten key models exploring the nature of knowledge and its production in social work are reviewed against significant ideas from the interdisciplinary knowledge production literature beyond social work. In so doing, the place of holistic approaches to modelling the knowledge production process within social work and the human services is highlighted. It is argued that despite the number of models that attempt to describe the knowledge production process, there is scope for a more comprehensive, holistic, complex approach to modelling knowledge production in social work and the human services.
Mood changes, depression and suicide risk during isotretinoin treatment: a prospective study
Authors: Nevoralová Zuzana , Dvořáková Dagmar
Published: January 2013

Background  Depression and mood changes appear as potentional side effects of isotretinoin in the Summary of Product Characteristics. There have been many studies treating this topic but in most cases not identifying any significant depression or suicide risk. To further investigate this issue, we conducted a prospective, uncontrolled study to evaluate mood changes and suicidal ideations in patients receiving isotretinoin therapy.

Methods  One‐hundred patients were included in our single center, no‐blind, and no controlled prospective study. All patients completed the Beck’s Depression Inventory, Version II (BDI‐II) before the treatment, following the first month of the treatment and then every third month until finishing the isotretinoin therapy. All questionnaires were checked by a psychiatrist. Suicidal ideations were monitored. Statistical analysis of BDI‐II scores was performed.

Results  All patients completed the study. Before the treatment, six percent of the patients had suffered from depressive symptoms. During the isotretinoin treatment, we did not find any deterioration of depression problems in any of these patients. On the contrary, in most patients the depressive symptoms disappeared. Symptoms of depression occurred in two patients, in which case coexisting situational factors were found to be the cause. No occurrence of suicidal ideations was found.

Conclusions  We did not find any depressive symptoms or suicide risk caused by isotretinoin. On the contrary, a statistically significant improvement of BDI‐II scores was found. In our opinion, patients have to be informed about the risk of depression but emphasizing the fact that it is very rare.
Presence or absence of a positive pathological margin outperforms any other margin‐associated variable in predicting clinically relevant biochemical recurrence in Gleason 7 prostate cancer
Authors: Huang James G. , Pedersen John , Hong Matthew K.H. , Harewood Laurence M. , Peters Justin , Costello Anthony J. , Hovens Chris M. , Corcoran Niall M.
Published: January 2013

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

The presence of a positive pathological margin is an independent risk factor for clinically significant disease recurrence only in intermediate‐risk disease when the a priori risk of micrometastatic disease is accounted for.

The study examines patients with Gleason 7 prostate cancer to assess the relative importance of various margin‐related variables (focality, linear length, tumour grade at margin, presence of diathermy artifact and plane of tumour) with regard to biochemical recurrence. We found that the presence or absence of a positive pathological margin outperforms any other margin‐associated variable in predicting significant disease recurrence.

Objective

To determine the influence of pathological margin variables on the risk of clinically significant biochemical recurrence in Gleason 7 prostate cancer.

Materials and Methods

Patients with Gleason 7 prostate cancer with complete clinical and pathological data and detailed follow‐up were identified from a prospectively recorded prostatectomy database.

Slides from all patients with positive pathological margins were reviewed by a single expert uropathologist and the following information recorded: multifocality, linear length, predominant Gleason grade at the margin, diathermy artifact and margin plane.

Cox regression models were generated to determine the impact of positive pathological margins on the risk of biochemical recurrence (using various definitions thereof).

Results

Of 1048 patients with Gleason 7 prostate cancer, 238 (23%) patients had positive margins.

With a median follow‐up of 11 months, biochemical recurrence occurred in 9.7% of patients with negative surgical margins and 28.4% of patients with positive margins.

Positive margins were significantly associated with higher serum prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level, tumour grade, stage and volume.

In patients with positive pathological margins, controlling for other factors, no margin‐derived variable (focality, linear length, tumour grade at margin, diathermy artifact or plane of tumour) was a consistent predictor of biochemical recurrence, although the presence of Gleason score 4 or tertiary Gleason score 5 tumour at the margin edge was an independent predictor of recurrence with PSA doubling times ≤ 6 and ≤9 months.

Similarly, in the cohort as a whole, the pathological margin status was a more important predictor of recurrence than any other margin‐derived variable.

Conclusions

In Gleason 7 prostate cancer, positive pathological margin status was the only consistent margin‐derived variable determining biochemical failure.

The presence of high‐grade disease at the margin may also have an impact on the development of clinically significant biochemical recurrence.
Assessment of a Modified DSM‐5 Diagnosis of Alcohol Use Disorder in a Genetically Informative Population
Authors: Edwards Alexis C. , Gillespie Nathan A. , Aggen Steven H. , Kendler Kenneth S.
Published: January 2013

Background

Proposed changes to the upcoming DSM‐5 include the following: (i) combining criteria for DSM‐IV alcohol abuse (AA) and alcohol dependence (AD) into 1 diagnostic category (alcohol use disorder [AUD]); (ii) exclusion of the “legal problems” (LP) criterion; and (iii) addition of a “craving” criterion. Few published studies empirically assess the potential consequences of the proposed changes.

Methods

Using a population‐based sample of twins assessed for lifetime AA/AD diagnoses, we explored phenotypic differences across DSM‐IV and a modified DSM‐5 diagnoses without craving because of its unavailability in the data set. We used factor analysis and item response theory (IRT) to evaluate the potential consequences of excluding the LP criterion from AUD and used twin modeling to examine genetic differences between DSM‐IV and the modified DSM‐5 diagnoses.

Results

The prevalence of AUD was slightly higher than that of DSM‐IV diagnoses. Individuals meeting DSM‐IV or DSM‐5 criteria, but not both, exhibit fewer comorbid diagnoses than those meeting both sets of criteria. Individuals meeting only DSM‐5 criteria were slightly less severely affected than those meeting only DSM‐IV criteria. Factor analysis indicated that the LP criterion loading is the lowest of all symptoms; IRT analysis suggested that this criterion has low discriminatory power. The genetic correlation between DSM‐IV and DSM‐5 diagnoses was slightly but significantly lower than unity.

Conclusions

The proposed DSM‐5 AUD criteria are unlikely to result in significant changes in prevalence of diagnosed alcohol problems. However, it is unclear whether the new criteria represent a more valid diagnosis: new cases are no more severely affected than DSM‐IV‐only cases. Given the psychometric properties of LP, its exclusion should not negatively impact diagnostic validity. Similarly, the stable heritability across DSM‐IV and DSM‐5 diagnoses suggests that the proposed changes will not have substantial negative consequences in terms of familial influences, a key validator. These results provide equivocal empirical support for the proposed DSM‐5 changes for AUDs.
Perceived emotional intelligence and its relationship with perceptions of effectiveness in negotiation
Authors: Pulido‐Martos Manuel , Lopez‐Zafra Esther , Augusto‐Landa Jose M.
Published: January 2013

In this study, we examined possible connections between perceived emotional intelligence (PEI) and effectiveness during the negotiation process in a sample of 123 workers from different organizations. Participants completed a set of questionnaires, including an exploration of the predictive and incremental validity of PEI measured by Trait‐Meta‐Mood Scale. Moreover, personality traits were carefully controlled to test the percentage of variance that PEI accounted for in efficiency during negotiation. Multiple regression analyses revealed that emotional repair accounts for part of the variance in the balance of power and in procedural flexibility that cannot be explained by personality traits alone. Thus, our results show that emotional repair accounts for negotiation effectiveness in a way that is independent of personality traits.
Does environmental heterogeneity affect species co‐occurrence in ecological guilds across stream macroinvertebrate metacommunities?
Authors: Heino Jani , Grönroos Mira
Published: January 2013

Null model analyses have greatly improved our understanding of species co‐occurrence. Null model analyses have shown, for example, that cold‐blooded animals show less segregated distributions than warm‐blooded animals. This topic has rarely been studied simultaneously across multiple metacommunities. We analysed data on 10 stream metacommunities (with 10 communities in each metacommunity) of a cold‐blooded animal group, benthic macroinvertebrates, and examined co‐occurrence within five ecological guilds. We found that the segregated species co‐occurrence was not the rule in stream invertebrate guilds. This was evidenced by the finding that only 10% of the 50 guild matrices we analyzed showed significant segregation and no matrices showed significant aggregation in the within‐stream analyses. However, in the across‐streams analysis, all guilds showed significant segregation. We neither found differences in the degree of segregation among the guilds, the degree of species segregation did not increase with overall environmental heterogeneity, and there were no differences in the relationships between species segregation and overall environmental heterogeneity among the guilds. Expanding the spatial extent from single stream metacommunities (i.e. within each stream) to the whole study region (i.e. across the streams) increased significantly segregation in all guilds. Because environmental heterogeneity across streams was much higher than within single streams, overall environmental heterogeneity may nevertheless have effects on species segregation. It also seems that the effects of overall heterogeneity on species segregation were masked by mass effects in the within‐stream analyses.
Rubia austrozhejiangensis sp. nov. (Rubiaceae) from Zhejiang, China
Authors: Lei Zu‐Pei , Zhou Ying‐Ying , Wang Rong‐Wei , Jin Xiao‐Feng
Published: January 2013

Rubia austrozhejiangensis Z. P. Lei, Y. Y. Zhou & R. W. Wang, a new species of Rubiaceae from China, is described and illustrated. The new species is similar to R. ovatifolia Z. Ying Zhang and R. argyi (H. Lév. & Vaniot) H. Hara ex Lauener, but differs from the former in having stems and branches cylindrical, not quadrate‐angled, long‐ovate to ovate‐lanceolate leaf blades, many‐flowered inflorescence, and smaller mericarps, 3–4 mm in diameter. In R. ovatifolia, stems and branches are quadrate‐angled, leaf blades ovate, ovate‐cordate to rounded cordate, and the inflorescences are sparsely flowered. Compared to R. argyi, the new species has cylindrical, not quadrate‐angled stems and branches, leaf blades that are long‐ovate to ovate‐lanceolate, 3–5‐veined, and slightly reflexed corolla lobes. In R. argyi, stems and branches are quadrate‐angled or winged, the corolla lobes are spreading, and the mericarps are 5–7 mm in diameter.
Anomalous Correlation between Dielectric Constant and Tunability in (Ba,Sr)TiO3–MgO–Mg2SiO4 Composite Ceramics
Authors: He Yanyan , Zhao Jingyuan , Xu Yebin , Li Changnian
Published: January 2013

(Ba, Sr)TiO3–MgO–Mg2SiO4 composite ceramics were prepared by a solid‐state reaction method. The microstructures, microwave dielectric characteristics, and tunability of composite ceramics were investigated. An anomalous correlation between tunability and dielectric constant was observed: with the increase in Mg2SiO4 content and the decrease in MgO content, the dielectric constant of (Ba, Sr)TiO3–MgO–Mg2SiO4 composite ceramics decreases, but the tunability increases. The anomalous increased tunability is beneficial for tunable microwave applications and can be attributed to the redistribution of the electric field. For 50Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3–(50−x)MgO–xMg2SiO4, the dielectric constant was decreased from 164.2 to 126.5 by increasing Mg2SiO4 content from 5 to 45 wt% and the tunability at 3.9 kV/mm increased from 11.5% to 15.2%.
Tracing Patterns of Chloroplast Evolution in Euglenoids: Contributions from Colacium vesiculosum and Strombomonas acuminata (Euglenophyta)
Authors: Wiegert Krystle E. , Bennett Matthew S. , Triemer Richard E.
Published: January 2013

The chloroplast genomes of two photosynthetic euglenoids, Colacium vesiculosum Ehrenberg (128,889 bp), and Strombomonas acuminata (Schmarda) Deflandre (144,167 bp) have been sequenced. These chloroplast genomes in combination with those of Euglena gracilis, Eutreptia viridis, and Eutreptiella gymnastica provide a snapshot of euglenoid chloroplast evolution allowing comparisons of gene content, arrangement, and expansion. The gene content of the five chloroplast genomes is very similar varying only in the presence or absence of, rrn5, roaA, psaI, psaM, rpoA, and two tRNAs. Large gene rearrangements have occurred within the C. vesiculosum and S. acuminata chloroplast genomes. Most of these rearrangements represent repositioning of entire operons rather than single genes. When compared with previously sequenced genomes, C. vesiculosum and S. acuminata chloroplast genomes more closely resemble the E. gracilis chloroplast genome in size of the genome, number of introns, and gene order than they do those of the Eutreptiales. Overall, the chloroplast genomes of these five species show an evolutionary trend toward increased intron number, a decrease in gene density, and substantial rearrangement of gene clusters.
Killing the Dead: Chemotherapeutic Strategies Against Free‐Living Cyst‐Forming Protists (Acanthamoeba sp. and Balamuthia mandrillaris)
Authors: Siddiqui Ruqaiyyah , Aqeel Yousuf , Khan Naveed Ahmed
Published: January 2013

The opportunist free‐living protists such as Acanthamoeba spp. and Balamuthia mandrillaris have become a serious threat to human life. As most available drugs target functional aspects of pathogens, the ability of free‐living protists to transform into metabolically inactive cyst forms presents a challenge in treatment. It is hoped, that the development of broad spectrum antiprotist agents acting against multiple cyst‐forming protists to provide target‐directed inhibition will offer a viable drug strategy in the treatment of these rare infections. Here, we present a comprehensive report on upcoming drug targets, with emphasis on cyst wall biosynthesis along with the related biochemistry of encystment pathways, as we strive to bring ourselves a step closer to being able to combat these deadly diseases.
Choice of microsatellite markers for identifying homozygosity of mitotic gynogenetic diploids in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus
Authors: Liu Y. X. , Han H. Z. , Wang Q. L. , Jiang L. , Wang S. L. , Zhang X. Y. , Liu Y. , Wang Y. F. , Liu Y. J. , Liu H. J.
Published: January 2013

A set of 72 microsatellite markers distributed evenly among 24 linkage groups were selected from the published genetic linkage maps of Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. In two normal diploid full‐sib families, the test for Mendelian inheritance showed that genotypic segregation deviations were not significant at all analysed loci. To estimate microsatellite‐centromere map distances, four meiotic gynogenetic diploid lines were produced by the activation of eggs using UV irradiated sperm of red seabream Pagrus major and cold‐shock treatment to block the extrusion of the second polar body. Under the assumption of complete interference, 21 markers were located in the centromeric region, 39 in the telomeric region and the rest in the intermediate region of linkage groups. A total of 192 mitotic gynogenetic diploids from one spawn were identified by these markers. Genotype analysis showed that the number of homozygous individuals decreased as microsatellite‐centromere map distance increased on each linkage group.
Effect of Different Prepackaging Treatments on the Physical/Chemical Quality of Margariteño Tomatoes During Postharvest Storage at Room Temperature
Authors: Hernández‐Yépez José‐Neptalí , De La Haba María‐José , Sánchez María‐Teresa
Published: January 2013

The effect of different prepackaging treatments on the physical/chemical quality of Margariteño tomatoes during postharvest storage at room temperature was studied. One hundred sixty green‐ripe tomatoes showing no signs of deterioration were divided into four groups of 40, to each of which one of the following prepackaging treatments was applied: (1) immersion in hot water (60C) for 30 s; (2) washing in chlorinated water (150 mg/L sodium hypochlorite [NaOCl] solution) for 5 min at 2C, pH 7.5; (3) covering of the peduncle area with commercial paraffin wax; and (4) untreated controls, placed in 0.5 mm polyethylene terephthalate containers and stored at room temperature. The results obtained confirmed that all the pretreatments applied delayed the onset of the physical/chemical changes characteristic of ripening and the appearance of signs of deterioration. Waxing was found to be the most effective treatment for extending the postharvest shelf life of commercial samples from 11 days to 19 days.

Practical Applications

The study evaluated the effect of three treatments applied prior to commercial packaging (immersion in hot water, washing in chlorinated water and waxing) on the physical/chemical quality of Margariteño tomatoes kept at room temperature, in view of identifying low‐cost technological alternatives for extending their shelf life without impairing quality attributes, in developing countries where refrigerated storage of horticultural products is not always feasible. The results suggested that waxing was the most effective treatment for extending postharvest shelf life from 11 days to 19 days at 30C and 90% relative humidity, satisfying in a constantly increasing consumer demand for high quality produce in those countries.
Discriminative Ability and Predictive Validity of the Timed Up and Go Test in Identifying Older People Who Fall: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Schoene Daniel , Wu Sandy M.‐S. , Mikolaizak A. Stefanie , Menant Jasmine C. , Smith Stuart T. , Delbaere Kim , Lord Stephen R.
Published: January 2013

Objectives

To investigate the discriminative ability and diagnostic accuracy of the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) as a clinical screening instrument for identifying older people at risk of falling.

Design

Systematic literature review and meta‐analysis.

Setting and Participants

People aged 60 and older living independently or in institutional settings.

Measurements

Studies were identified with searches of the PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane CENTRAL data bases. Retrospective and prospective cohort studies comparing times to complete any version of the TUG of fallers and non‐fallers were included.

Results

Fifty‐three studies with 12,832 participants met the inclusion criteria. The pooled mean difference between fallers and non‐fallers depended on the functional status of the cohort investigated: 0.63 seconds (95% confidence (CI) = 0.14–1.12 seconds) for high‐functioning to 3.59 seconds (95% CI = 2.18–4.99 seconds) for those in institutional settings. The majority of studies did not retain TUG scores in multivariate analysis. Derived cut‐points varied greatly between studies, and with the exception of a few small studies, diagnostic accuracy was poor to moderate.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that the TUG is not useful for discriminating fallers from non‐fallers in healthy, high‐functioning older people but is of more value in less‐healthy, lower‐functioning older people. Overall, the predictive ability and diagnostic accuracy of the TUG are at best moderate. No cut‐point can be recommended. Quick, multifactorial fall risk screens should be considered to provide additional information for identifying older people at risk of falls.
Measurement of gingival thickness using digital vernier caliper and ultrasonographic method: a comparative study
Authors: Sharma Swati , Thakur Srinath L. , Joshi Shyamsunder K. , Kulkarni Sudhindra S.
Published: January 2013

Background

The measurement of the thickness of the gingival tissues has been done using different techniques. Trans‐gingival probing with a graduated probe, use of vernier calipers, ultrasonography and cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT), have all been tried, but no one technique has been shown to be consistent and better than the others. The present study was done to evaluate and compare the gingival thickness as measured with a digital vernier caliper and ultrasonography.

Methods

A total of 30 systemically healthy, non‐smokers were included in the study. The gingival measurements were made and recorded from the maxillary and mandibular lateral incisor areas at 2 locations: (a) at a point apical to the free gingival groove; and (b) at a point immediately coronal to the muco‐gingival junction.

Results

The mean gingival thickness ranged from 0.56 to 1.02 mm. Males had a significantly thicker gingiva as compared to females (P < 0.10). Significant differences were not observed when the measurements made using the digital vernier caliper and those made with ultrasonography were compared.

Conclusions

The thickness of the gingiva was in the range of 0.56–1.02 mm. A digital vernier caliper and ultrasonography both can be used to assess the gingival thickness with equal accuracy.
A small peptide mimetic of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor promotes peripheral myelination
Authors: Xiao Junhua , Hughes Richard A. , Lim Joe Y. , Wong Agnes W. , Ivanusic Jason J. , Ferner Anita H. , Kilpatrick Trevor J. , Murray Simon S.
Published: January 2013

The expression of the neurotrophins and their receptors is essential for peripheral nervous system development and myelination. We have previously demonstrated that brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) exerts contrasting influences upon Schwann cell myelination in vitro – promoting myelination via neuronally expressed p75NTR, but inhibiting myelination via neuronally expressed TrkB. We have generated a small peptide called cyclo‐dPAKKR that structurally mimics the region of BDNF that binds p75NTR. Here, we have investigated whether utilizing cyclo‐dPAKKR to selectively target p75NTR is an approach that could exert a unified promyelinating response. Like BDNF, cyclo‐dPAKKR promoted myelination of nerve growth factor‐dependent neurons in vitro, an effect dependent on the neuronal expression of p75NTR. Importantly, cyclo‐dPAKKR also significantly promoted the myelination of tropomyosin‐related kinase receptor B‐expressing neurons in vitro, whereas BDNF exerted a significant inhibitory effect. This indicated that while BDNF exerted a contrasting influence upon the myelination of distinct subsets of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in vitro, cyclo‐dPAKKR uniformly promoted their myelination. Local injection of cyclo‐dPAKKR adjacent to the developing sciatic nerve in vivo significantly enhanced myelin protein expression and significantly increased the number of myelinated axons. These results demonstrate that cyclo‐dPAKKR promotes peripheral myelination in vitro and in vivo, suggesting it is a strategy worthy of further investigation for the treatment of peripheral demyelinating diseases.
Chalcone-based derivatives as new scaffolds for hA3 adenosine receptor antagonists
Authors: Vazquez-Rodriguez Saleta , Matos Maria João , Santana Lourdes , Uriarte Eugenio , Borges Fernanda , Kachler Sonja , Klotz Karl-Norbert
Published: January 2013

Objectives

With the aim of finding new adenosine receptor (AR) ligands based on the chalcone scaffold, we report the synthesis of a new series of coumarin–chalcone hybrids and the pharmacological characterization of their actions at four subtypes of AR.

Methods

The synthesized compounds 5–10 were characterized in radioligand binding (A1, A2A and A3) and adenylyl cyclase activity assays (A2B) to determine the affinity of the compounds for the four human AR (hAR) subtypes.

Key findings

Coumarin–chalcone hybrids were found to be ligands with a novel structure, not reported thus far, that showed varying affinity and selectivity for AR subtypes.

Conclusions

The coumarin–chalcone hybrids in which ring B of the chalcone scaffold was a thiophene (compounds 5 and 9) were found to be the most potent compounds of the series. Compound 9, in which ring A of the chalcone moiety was the phenyl ring of the coumarin, showed similar activity against hA1, hA2A and hA3 ARs, while compound 5, in which ring A of the chalcone was substituted by the benzopyrone ring of the coumarin moiety, showed similar activity only at the hA3 AR and, therefore, was deemed to be selective (Ki (dissociation constant) = 5160 nm).
Vitreous and aqueous penetration of intravitreally and orally administered moxifloxacin in an experimental rabbit model of fungal endophthalmitis
Authors: Arikan Sedat , Ozdek Sengul , Aktas Zeynep , Dinçel Aysun , Hasanreisoglu Berati
Published: January 2013

Objectives

Moxifloxacin (MXF), is a fluoroquinolone drug thought to have some antifungal activity against Candida albicans. The aim of our study was to investigate whether intravitreally and orally administered MXF has an effective penetration into the aqueous and vitreous in an experimental model of C. albicans endophthalmitis.

Methods

Thirty-two New Zealand rabbits were included. Endophthalmitis was induced in the right eyes of the rabbits. Left eyes were used as sham controls. Group 1 received a single dose of 160 μg MXF/0.1 ml intravitreally. Group 2 received a single intravitreal dose of 160 μg MXF/0.1 ml and an oral dose of 7 mg/kg/day for 4 days. Group 3 received only an oral dose of MXF 7 mg/kg/day for 4 days. Group 4 comprised of healthy controls. On the first and fourth day of treatment aqueous and vitreous samples were aspirated to compare the penetration of MXF.

Key findings

Between the first and fourth days, in group 1, mean MXF levels in the aqueous and vitreous tended to decrease; however, in group 3, these drug levels were tended to increase. There was also a decline in the drug levels in the aqueous and vitreous of group 2.

Conclusions

MXF cannot achieve sufficient penetration into the aqueous and vitreous of eyes infected with C. albicans.
In-vivo rat striatal 5-HT4 receptor occupancy using non-radiolabelled SB207145
Authors: Nirogi Ramakrishna , Kandikere Vishwottam , Bhyrapuneni Gopinadh , Saralaya Ramanatha , Ajjala Devender Reddy , Aleti Raghupathi Reddy , Rasheed Mohammed Abdul
Published: January 2013

Objectives

The objective of the current investigation was to develop a simple, rapid method for determining in-vivo 5-hydroxytryptamine type 4 receptor (5-HT4R) occupancy in rat brain using non-radiolabelled SB207145 as a tracer for accelerating the drug discovery process.

Methods

In-vivo tracer optimization studies for tracer dose, survival intervals and brain distribution profile were carried out in rats. The tracer was pharmacologically validated using potent well-characterized 5-HT4R ligands. The brain regional concentrations of tracer (SB207145); plasma and brain concentrations of 5-HT4R ligands were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a tandem mass spectrometric detector (LC-MS/MS).

Key findings

SB207145 showed a higher specific binding in striatum (1.96 ng/g) and lower binding in cerebellum (0.66 ng/g), which is consistent with findings of other published 5-HT4R expression studies. Pretreatment with potent 5-HT4 ligands dose-dependently reduced striatal SB207145 concentration and the effective dose to achieve 50% receptor occupancy (ED50) values were 4.8, 2.0, 7.4, 9.9, 3.8 and 0.02 mg/kg for GR113808, piboserod, prucalopride, RS67333, TD8954 and PF04995274, respectively.

Conclusions

Results from the mass spectrometry approach to determine 5-HT4R occupancy in rat brain are comparable with those reported using radiolabelled scintillation spectroscopy methods. In conclusion, the LC-MS/MS characterization permits use of tracer at a preclinical stage in high-throughput fashion as well as characterization of target expression.
A National Network to Advance the Field of Cancer and Female Sexuality
Authors: Goldfarb Shari B. , Abramsohn Emily , Andersen Barbara L. , Baron Shirley R. , Carter Jeanne , Dickler Maura , Florendo Judith , Freeman Leslie , Githens Katherine , Kushner David , Makelarski Jennifer A. , Yamada S. Diane , Lindau Stacy Tessler
Published: January 2013

Introduction

Understanding sexual health issues in cancer patients is integral to care for the continuously growing cancer survivor population.

Aim

To create a national network of active clinicians and researchers focusing on the prevention and treatment of sexual problems in women and girls with cancer.

Methods

Interdisciplinary teams from the University of Chicago and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center jointly developed the mission for a national conference to convene clinicians and researchers in the field of cancer and female sexuality. The invitee list was developed by both institutions and further iterated through suggestions from invitees. The conference agenda focused on three high-priority topics under the guidance of a professional facilitator. Breakout groups were led by attendees recognized by collaborators as experts in those topics. Conference costs were shared by both institutions.

Main Outcome Measure

Development of Scientific Working Groups (SWGs).

Results

One hundred two clinicians and researchers were invited to attend the 1st National Conference on Cancer and Female Sexuality. Forty-three individuals from 20 different institutions across 14 states attended, including representation from eight National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded cancer centers. Attendees included PhD researchers (N = 19), physicians (N = 16), and other healthcare professionals (N = 8). Breakout groups included (i) Defining key life course sexuality issues; (ii) Building a registry; and (iii) Implementing sexual health assessment. Breakout group summaries incorporated group consensus on key points and priorities. These generated six SWGs with volunteer leaders to accelerate future research and discovery: (i) Technology-based interventions; (ii) Basic science; (iii) Clinical trials; (iv) Registries; (v) Measurement; and (vi) Secondary data analysis. Most attendees volunteered for at least one SWG (N = 35), and many volunteered for two (N = 21).

Conclusion

This 1st National Conference demonstrated high motivation and broad participation to address research on cancer and female sexuality. Areas of need were identified, and SWGs established to help promote research in this field.
Sleep‐disordered breathing in major depressive disorder
Authors: Cheng Philip , D. Casement Melynda , Chen Chiau‐Fang , Hoffmann Robert F. , Armitage Roseanne , Deldin Patricia J.
Published: January 2013

Individuals with major depressive disorder often experience obstructive sleep apnea. However, the relationship between depression and less severe sleep‐disordered breathing is unclear. This study examined the rate of sleep‐disordered breathing in depression after excluding those who had clinically significant sleep apnea (>5 apneas∙h−1). Archival data collected between 1991 and 2005 were used to assess the prevalence of sleep‐disordered breathing events in 60 (31 depressed; 29 healthy controls) unmedicated participants. Respiratory events were automatically detected using a program developed in‐house measuring thermal nasal air‐flow and chest pressure. Results show that even after excluding participants with clinically significant sleep‐disordered breathing, individuals with depression continue to exhibit higher rates of sleep‐disordered breathing compared with healthy controls (depressed group: apnea–hypopnea index mean = 0.524, SE = 0.105; healthy group: apnea–hypopnea index mean = 0.179, SE = 0.108). Exploratory analyses were also conducted to assess for rates of exclusion in depression studies due to sleep‐disordered breathing. Study exclusion of sleep‐disordered breathing was quantified based on self‐report during telephone screening, and via first night polysomnography. Results from phone screening data reveal that individuals reporting depression were 5.86 times more likely to report a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea than presumptive control participants. Furthermore, all of the participants excluded for severe sleep‐disordered breathing detected on the first night were participants with depression. These findings illustrate the importance of understanding the relationship between sleep‐disordered breathing and depression, and suggest that screening and quantification of sleep‐disordered breathing should be considered in depression research.
“The Word is destroyed”? Women’s Studies, Modernist Studies, and the “New Normal” in Academe
Authors: Detloff Madelyn
Published: January 2013

This article pays homage to Virginia Woolf’s epistolary essay Three Guineas by constructing an imaginary email exchange between a women’s studies professor and a concerned citizen (an updated version of Woolf’s interlocutor in Three Guineas.) Ultimately concluding that the fate of women’s literature in general and modernist women’s literature in particular is tied to the fate of the humanities and to other non‐instrumentalized forms of learning, such as women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, this epistolary essay discusses the impact of budget cutting and educational downsizing (the “new normal” in academe) on public estimates of the value of the humanities, women’s studies, women’s literature, and literary studies. In this climate of the “new normal,” it is distressing, but not surprising, that modernist studies and women’s studies are embattled by calls for more “useful” (a.k.a. instrumentalized and job‐focused) education and research. Woolf, who analyzed the connections between the British educational system, gendered ideology, class difference, and nationalist ideology in Three Guineas, offers one example of a female modernist whose analysis of culture and ideology in the early 20th century is still apt today.
On Remaining Minor in Modernisms: The Future of Women’s Literature
Authors: Sarker Sonita
Published: January 2013

This essay revisits the idea of the ‘minor’, as manifested in the origins of women’s studies, in the newer contexts of globalization, and presents a potential future for it within modernist studies. This idea has represented identity in genealogies of activism and in the history of scholarship on women’s literature. Now, it may be read as also representing a position and a strategy that interrupt hegemonic forces in the field. This interruption allows the juxtaposition of the well‐known with the lesser‐known as well as different formations of the minoritized to enable new forms of modernist studies.
Cosmogenic production rates and recoil loss effects in micrometeorites and interplanetary dust particles
Authors: Trappitsch Reto , Leya Ingo
Published: January 2013

We present a purely physical model to determine cosmogenic production rates for noble gases and radionuclides in micrometeorites (MMs) and interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) by solar cosmic‐rays (SCR) and galactic cosmic‐rays (GCR) fully considering recoil loss effects. Our model is based on various nuclear model codes to calculate recoil cross sections, recoil ranges, and finally the percentages of the cosmogenic nuclides that are lost as a function of grain size, chemical composition of the grain, and the spectral distribution of the projectiles. The main advantage of our new model compared with earlier approaches is that we consider the entire SCR particle spectrum up to 240 MeV and not only single energy points. Recoil losses for GCR‐produced nuclides are assumed to be equal to recoil losses for SCR‐produced nuclides. Combining the model predictions with Poynting‐Robertson orbital lifetimes, we calculate cosmic‐ray exposure ages for recently studied MMs, cosmic spherules, and IDPs. The ages for MMs and the cosmic‐spherule are in the range <2.2–233 Ma, which corresponds, according to the Poynting‐Robertson drag, to orbital distances in the range 4.0–34 AU. For two IDPs, we determine exposure ages of longer than 900 Ma, which corresponds to orbital distances larger than 150 AU. The orbital distance in the range 4–6 AU for one MM and the cosmic spherule indicate an origin either in the asteroid belt or release from comets coming either from the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud. Three of the studied MMs have orbital distances in the range 23–34 AU, clearly indicating a cometary origin, either from short‐period comets from the Kuiper Belt or from the Oort Cloud. The two IDPs have orbital distances of more than 150 AU, indicating an origin from Oort Cloud comets.
An alternative sigma factor governs the principal sigma factor in Streptomyces griseus
Authors: Otani Hiroshi , Higo Akiyoshi , Nanamiya Hideaki , Horinouchi Sueharu , Ohnishi Yasuo
Published: January 2013

In bacteria, the RNA polymerase holoenzyme comprises a five‐subunit core enzyme and a dissociable subunit, sigma factor, which is responsible for transcriptional initiation. The filamentous bacterium Streptomyces griseus has 52 sigma factors, including one essential ‘principal’ sigma factor (σHrdB) that is responsible for the transcription of housekeeping genes. Here we characterized an alternative sigma factor (σShbA), which is highly conserved within the genus Streptomyces. A σShbA‐deficient mutant showed a severe growth defect and transcriptome analysis indicated that many housekeeping genes were downregulated in response to insufficient σShbA production. Biochemical and genetic analyses proved that σShbA is a major determinant of transcription of the σHrdB gene. This observation of a principal sigma factor being governed by another sigma factor throughout growth is unprecedented. We found that increasing σShbA production with mycelial growth maintained a high σHrdB level late in growth. Furthermore, a hrdB‐autoregulatable σShbA‐deficient mutant, in which the principal sigma factor gene can be transcribed by RNA polymerase containing σHrdB itself, showed several defects: rapid mycelial lysis in stationary phase in liquid culture and delayed morphological development and impaired streptomycin production in solid culture. From these observations, we discuss the biological significance of control of σHrdB by σShbA in S. griseus.
Pretransplant model for end stage liver disease score predicts posttransplant incidence of fungal infections after liver transplantation
Authors: Lichtenstern Christoph , Hochreiter Marcel , Zehnter Verena D. , Brenner Thorsten , Hofer Stefan , Mieth Markus , Büchler Markus W. , Martin Eike , Weigand Markus A. , Schemmer Peter , Busch Cornelius J.
Published: January 2013

Liver transplant recipients are at a significant risk for invasive fungal infections (IFI). This retrospective study evaluated the impact of the pretransplant model for end stage liver disease (MELD) on the incidence of posttransplant IFI in a single centre. From 2004 to 2008, 385 liver transplantations were included, from which 210 transplantations were conducted allocated by Child Turcotte Pugh and 175 were allocated by MELD score. Both groups differed regarding the age of transplant recipients (50.1 ± 10.7 vs. 52.5 ± 9.9, P = 0.036), pretransplant MELD score (16.43 ± 8.33 vs. 18.29 ± 9.05), rate of re‐transplantations, duration of surgery, demand in blood transfusions and rates of renal impairments. In the MELD era, higher incidences of IFI (pre‐MELD 11.9%, MELD 24.0%, P < 0.05) and Candida infections (9% vs. 18.9%, P < 0.05) were observed. There was no difference in the incidence of probable or possible aspergillosis. Mortality, length of stay in intensive care or hospital, and duration of mechanical ventilation did not differ between the pre‐MELD and MELD era. Regardless the date of transplantation, patients with fungi‐positive samples showed higher mortality rates than patients without. MELD score was analysed as independent predictors for posttransplant IFI. Higher MELD scores predispose to a more problematic postoperative course and are associated with an increase in fungal infections.