bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cell-Penetrating Peptides Derived from Viral Capsid Proteins
Authors: Qi Xiaopeng , Droste Tyler , Kao C. Cheng
Published: December 2010

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPP) can translocate across the cell membrane and have been extensively studied for the delivery of proteins, nucleic acids, and therapeutics in mammalian cells. However, characterizations of CPP in plants have only recently been initiated. We showed that the intact virion and a recombinant capsid protein (CaP) from a plant-infecting nonenveloped icosahedral RNA virus, Brome mosaic virus (BMV), can penetrate the membranes of plant protoplasts but are trapped by the extracellular matrix. Furthermore, a 22-residue peptide derived from the N-terminal region of the CaP (CPNT) can enter barley protoplasts and cells of intact barley and Arabidopsis roots. An inhibitor of the macropinocytosis reduced CPNT entry, while treatment with NiCl2 changed the cellular localization of CPNT. CPNT increased uptake of the green flourescent protein (GFP) into the cell when covalently fused to GFP or when present in trans of GFP. The BMV CPNT overlaps with the sequence known to bind BMV RNA, and it can deliver BMV RNAs into cells, resulting in viral replication, as well as deliver double-stranded RNAs that can induce gene silencing.
Infection of Soybean Seed by Fusarium graminearum and Effect of Seed Treatments on Disease Under Controlled Conditions
Authors: Ellis M. L. , Broders K. D. , Paul P. A. , Dorrance A. E.
Published: December 2010

Fusarium graminearum causes seed decay and damping-off of soybean. This study evaluated the effect of inoculum density of F. graminearum, temperature, and fungicide seed treatments on disease development. To determine the optimum conditions for disease development, individual soybean seed was inoculated with 100 μl of a suspension of 2.5 × 102, 2.5 × 103, 2.5 × 104, or 2.5 × 105 macroconidia/ml in a rolled-towel assay at temperatures of 18, 22, and 25°C. Inoculum concentrations of 2.5 × 104 macroconidia/ml or higher were necessary for optimum disease development at all temperatures. The efficacy of captan, fludioxonil, mefenoxam + fludioxonil, azoxystrobin, trifloxystrobin, and pyraclostrobin as seed treatments was then evaluated with the same assay at 2.5 × 104 and 2.5 × 105 macroconidia/ml. Seed treated with captan at 61.9 g a.i. or fludioxonil at 2.5 or 5.0 g a.i. per 100 kg developed smaller lesions than other seed treatments and the nontreated control. Based on these results, there are limited choices in fungicide seed treatments for managing this seedling disease, and it is possible that shifts in seed treatment products may have played a role in the recent emergence of this soybean pathogen.
Ethnoepidemiology of HTLV‐1 related diseases: Ethnic determinants of HTLV‐1 susceptibility and its worldwide dispersal
Authors: Sonoda Shunro , Li Hong Chuan , Tajima Kazuo
Published: December 2010

Human T‐cell lymphotropic virus type 1 is vertically transmitted in neonatal life and is causatively associated with adult T‐cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV‐1‐associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) in adults. Persistence of HTLV‐1 in host T cells, clonal expansion of the HTLV‐1 carrying T cells, and emergence of malignantly transformed T cells are in accord with the multistep model of human cancer and roles for continuous interaction between host genes and environmental factors. This article reviews two lines of HTLV‐1 investigation, one regarding worldwide surveillance of HTLV‐1 infection foci by serological testing and molecular analysis of HTLV‐1 isolates, and the other focusing on genetics of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) that determines the ethnic background of HTLV‐1 permissiveness and susceptibility to ATL or HAM/TSP. The serological surveillance revealed transcontinental dispersal of HTLV‐1 in the prehistoric era that started out of Africa, spread to Austro‐Melanesia and the Asian continent, then moved to North America and through to the southern edge of South America. This was highlighted by an Andean mummy study that proved ancient migration of paleo‐mongoloid HTLV‐1 from Asia to South America. Phylogenetic analysis of HLA alleles provided a basis for ethnic susceptibility to HTLV‐1 infection and associated diseases, both ATL and HAM/TSP. Ethnicity‐based sampling of peripheral blood lymphocytes has great potential for genome‐wide association studies to illuminate ethnically defined host factors for viral oncogenesis with reference to HTLV‐1 and other pathogenic elements causatively associated with chronic disease and malignancies. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 295–301)
Management of relapsed and refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma in children and adolescents
Authors: Daw Stephen , Wynn Rob , Wallace Hamish
Published: December 2010

There are a number of options for salvage treatment in children and adolescents with relapsed and refractory classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. These include salvage with standard dose chemotherapy, high dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplant, allogeneic stem cell transplant or other novel approach. Radiotherapy has an important role in the salvage of some patients as part of a combined modality approach. This review outlines these salvage approaches and discusses whether the evidence from paediatric studies justifies a risk‐adapted approach to salvage for individual patients or whether all patients should receive consolidation with high dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation, which is often described as standard salvage management in adults. The important prognostic factors and how these may be used to allocate patients to standard versus high dose chemotherapy regimens are discussed. The role of allogeneic transplantation, novel agents and late effects will also be discussed.
Morphology and Ultrastructure of the Pronephros of Testudo hermanni Gmelin, 1789 (Chelonian Reptiles)
Authors: Chimenti C. , Accordi F.
Published: December 2010

With 4 figures

The aim of this study was to investigate the morphology and ultrastructure of the pronephros of Testudo hermanni as observed in the earlier part of its development. This paired structure appears during renal ontogenesis and originates from the first somites localised in the cephalic part of the embryo. The first pronephric evidence is noted at stage 12. The kidney is composed of large glomeruli that are devoid of a capsule and protrude into the coelomic cavity. A ciliated nephrostome provides access to short renal tubules, lined with a well‐developed brush border. Two nephric ducts on the lateral sides of the embryo are connected to the tubules. The cytological characteristics of the pronephric structure suggest that it might be functional, at least in the first part of development. The pronephros of Testudo hermanni regresses after a short time around stage 18, while the mesonephros is already well differentiated. Its plesiomorphic characteristics, similar to those observed in amphibians, might be related to the phyletic position of chelonians within the reptiles.
Dothistromin biosynthesis genes allow inter‐ and intraspecific differentiation between Dothistroma pine needle blight fungi
Authors: Mcdougal R. L. , Schwelm A. , Bradshaw R. E.
Published: December 2010

Dothistroma septosporum and D. pini are the causal agents of Dothistroma needle blight (DNB) of Pinus spp. in natural forests and plantations. The main aim of this study was to develop molecular diagnostic procedures to distinguish between isolates within D. septosporum, for use in biosecurity and forest health surveillance programmes. This is of particular interest for New Zealand where the population is clonal and introduction of a new isolate of the opposite mating type could have serious consequences. Areas of diversity in the dothistromin toxin gene clusters were identified in D. septosporum (51 isolates) and D. pini (6 isolates) and used as the basis of two types of diagnostic tests. PCR‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of part of the dothistromin polyketide synthase gene (pksA) enabled distinction between two groups of D. septosporum isolates (A and B) as well as distinguishing D. septosporum and D. pini. The intergenic region between the epoA and avfA genes allowed further resolution between some of the A group isolates in RFLP assays. These regions were analysed further to develop a rapid real‐time PCR method for diagnosis by high‐resolution melting (HRM) curve analysis. The pksA gene enabled rapid discrimination between D. septosporum and D. pini, whilst the epoA–avfA region distinguished the New Zealand isolate from most other isolates in the collection, including some isolates from DNB epidemics in Canada and Europe. Although this study is focused on differences between the New Zealand isolate and other global isolates, this type of diagnostic system could be used more generally for high‐throughput screening of D. septosporum isolates.
An autopsy case of an aged patient with spinocerebellar ataxia type 2
Authors: Ishida Chiho , Komai Kiyonobu , Yonezawa Kohei , Sakajiri Ken‐ichi , Nitta Eishun , Kawashima Atsuhiro , Yamada Masahito
Published: December 2010

We report the case of a woman who developed limb clumsiness in her fifties and gait disturbance in her sixties. She was bedridden after bone fractures at age 75 and showed disorientation, slow eye movement, gaze palsy, ataxic speech, muscle atrophy and weakness, and areflexia with pathological reflex. She died of respiratory failure at age 85. This patient was diagnosed genetically as having spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), and the number of expanded CAG repeats was 41. At autopsy, the brain weighed 965 g, and the brainstem, cerebellum, frontal convexity and spinal cord were atrophic. Neuronal loss and gliosis were severe in the pontine nucleus, inferior olivary nucleus, cerebellar cortex, gracile and cuneate nuclei and moderate in the substantia nigra, cerebellar dentate nucleus, anterior horns of the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia. Axonal loss was observed in the middle and inferior cerebellar peduncles, pyramidal tract and posterior column of the spinal cord. Senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) were diffusely found in the cerebrum (plaque stage C; NFT stage IV). Expanded polyglutamine‐immunoreactive inclusions in the neuronal cytoplasm were widely distributed in the CNS, and neuronal intranuclear inclusions were observed in the pontine nucleus and cerebral cortex. This patient in this autopsy case is a late‐onset and aged patient with SCA2, and this is the first report of SCA2 combined with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Neuropathological findings in this patient, except for AD pathology, were consistent with those of reported SCA2 cases. However, the olivo‐ponto‐cerebellar system of this patient was relatively preserved and the cerebellar dentate nucleus was more involved as compared with previously reported cases. These results suggest that age at onset or the number of CAG repeat expansions could correlate with the distribution pattern of SCA2 neurodegeneration.
Duodenal gangliocytic paraganglioma with regional lymph node metastasis and a glandular component
Authors: Ogata Sho , Horio Takuya , Sugiura Yoshiaki , Aiko Satoshi , Aida Shinsuke
Published: December 2010

Gangliocytic paraganglioma (GP) is generally considered to be a benign periampullary lesion, although it is unclear whether it should be classified as a hamartoma or as a neoplasm. Here, we present a GP case with lymph node metastasis. A 16‐year‐old boy complained of exertional dyspnea. Upper endoscopy and imaging studies revealed a polypoid ampullary tumor. Pancreaticoduodenectomy with lymph node dissection was performed due to swelling of peripancreatic lymph nodes. Histologically, the tumor consisted of three cell types: epithelioid; spindle; and ganglion cells. In addition to these typical components of GP, a distinct glandular component was also present. There was substantial invasion of tumor cells into the lymphovascular vessels, associated with lymph node metastases. These lymph node metastases were histologically similar to the primary tumor. To judge from these findings GP may be a true neoplasm with metastatic capacity. Pre‐ and intraoperative investigations for lymph node or distant metastases are required for adequate resection of this kind of tumor.
MRSA – global threat and personal disaster: patients' experiences
Authors: Andersson H. , Lindholm C. , Fossum B.
Published: December 2010

ANDERSSON H., LINDHOLM C. & FOSSUM B. (2011) MRSA – global threat and personal disaster: patients' experiences. International Nursing Review58, 47–53

Aim:  To ascertain and describe the patients' knowledge, perceptions and experiences of being methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) positive.

Background:  Antibiotic resistant bacteria are a serious global threat. MRSA can cause wound infection, pneumonia, septicaemia and mortality. This qualitative study has focused on patients' experiences of living with MRSA.

Methods:  Fifteen patients with MRSA‐infected wounds were interviewed. All data were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to content analysis.

Findings:  Information about the MRSA diagnosis often caused a shock‐like reaction. Patients' perception of being MRSA positive was stigmatizing as plague or leprosy; they felt dirty and felt that they were a severe threat to their environment. Fears of infecting someone else and being rejected were commonly expressed. The key findings emerged as a theme: Being exposed to others' shortcomings and being a threat to others' health. Three categories were identified: understanding and emotional reactions, treatment by the healthcare professionals and consequences and expectations. Gaps in both patient and staff knowledge of MRSA led to unnecessary misunderstandings, causing fear, social isolation and suffering.

Conclusions:  Living with MRSA can be extremely stressful for the patients. Knowledge and empathy from staff involved in their care is crucial to optimize patients' experiences. Staff education to meet patients' demand for information and prevent contamination is essential.
Victim or Victimizer: Firm Responses to Government Corruption
Authors: Galang Roberto Martin N.
Published: December 2010

abstract

What is the relationship between government corruption and firm performance? To address this question, I conduct a review of articles published in the leading management journals on government‐business interactions pertaining to rent‐seeking activities and integrate findings from the fields of international business, social issues in management, public organization, institutional change, and corporate political activity. I find that while much empirical work corroborates the earlier findings suggesting a corrosive impact of government corruption on firm performance in general, management research also points to the heterogeneous impact of government corruption on individual firm performance, driven by the strategic activities conducted by firms in response to corruption. I propose an integrative model of firm strategy vis‐à‐vis corruption that predicts the activity choice of the firm as predicated by its organizational structure, political resources, industry regulation, and surrounding political and social institutions.
The unthinkable: who survives when disaster strikes – and why
Authors: Savage David A.
Published: December 2010

Book reviewed in this issue.

The unthinkable: who survives when disaster strikes – and why

Amanda Ripley
A DIRECT ADVANCE ON ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
Authors: SHAW DAVID
Published: December 2010

Advance directives (ADs), which are also sometimes referred to as ‘living wills’, are statements made by a person that indicate what treatment she should not be given in the event that she is not competent to consent or refuse at the future moment in question. As such, ADs provide a way for patients to make decisions in advance about what treatments they do not want to receive, without doctors having to find proxy decision‐makers or having recourse to the doctrine of necessity. While patients can request particular treatments in an AD, only refusals are binding. This paper will examine whether ADs safeguard the autonomy and best interests of the incompetent patient, and whether legislating for the use of ADs is justified, using the specific context of the legal situation in the United Kingdom to illustrate the debate. The issue of whether the law should permit ADs is itself dependent on the issue of whether ADs are ethically justified; thus we must answer a normative question in order to answer the legislative one. It emerges that ADs suffer from two major problems, one related to autonomy and one to consent. First, ADs’ emphasis on precedent autonomy effectively sentences some people who want to live to death. Second, many ADs might not meet the standard criteria for informed refusal of treatment, because they fail on the crucial criterion of sufficient information. Ultimately, it transpires that ADs are typically only appropriate for patients who temporarily lose physical or mental capacity.
Modelling method of recursive entity
Authors: Amal Rifai , Messoussi Rochdi
Published: December 2010

With the development of the Information and Communication Technologies, great masses of information are published in the Web. In order to reuse, to share and to organise them in distance formation and e‐learning frameworks, several research projects have been achieved and various standards and modelling languages developed. In our previous article, the limits of theses languages were examined and a new method named the recursive entity modelling method (REMM) was established to overcome these limits. But, when it was revised, some limitations were discovered. So, in this paper, an improved version of the REMM will be proposed, and the diagram of classes for a scenario modelled by this version will be established. In addition, both the learning scenario package and the generic XML schema permitting to implement these scenarios will be conceived.
THE ONE STORY: A CRITIQUE OF DAVID KELSEY'S THEOLOGICAL ROBOTICS
Authors: PICKSTOCK CATHERINE
Published: December 2010

In this article I argue that David Kelsey's approach to theological anthropology is problematic. I argue that a narrative basis proves inadequate to establish the doctrine of the Trinity and its relationship to human beings. Similarly, a Reformed humanist starting point, together with a Reformed extrinsicist account of revelation, I argue, cannot arrive at an orthodox Christology or an account of humanity as a divine gift. By bypassing ontology in favour of narrative and positivity, Kelsey is ironically forced to deny the truth of many passages of the Bible, especially the opening of Genesis, and to reject the Biblical doctrine of the image of God in humanity.
THE LOST LEGACY OF ANSELM'S ARGUMENT: RE‐THINKING THE PURPOSE OF PROOFS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Authors: SCHUMACHER LYDIA
Published: December 2010

In his Proslogion, Anselm presents a proof for God's existence which has attracted a tremendous amount of scholarly attention. In spite of all that has been said about this proof and proofs for God's existence more generally, scholarly consensus seems to dissipate when it comes to determining whether theistic proofs are persuasive and sound. In this article, I will argue that there is a way to provide compelling proof for the existence of God. To substantiate this claim, I will not attempt to prove that God exists apart from His revelation in any of the ways that have been advocated by various philosophers of religion. Rather, I will endeavor to explain that Anselm's approach to offering evidence for God's existence is quite different from the approach that modern philosophers tend to attribute to him and to elaborate on what that approach involves by reading Anselm's argument in the context of Augustine's De Trinitate and the whole of the Proslogion.
EVIDENCING THE ESCHATON: PROGRESSIVE‐TRANSFORMATIVE ANIMAL WELFARE IN THE CHURCH FATHERS
Authors: McLAUGHLIN RYAN PATRICK
Published: December 2010

The author aims to retrieve and creatively develop a strand of Christian thought, stretching from early Christian interpretations of biblical data through the hagiographies of the saints into modern Christian thought, which provides a foundation for concern over the welfare of nonhuman animals. To provide the framework for this strand, the author explores the theology of Irenaeus of Lyons and Ephrem the Syrian. First, he considers their positions regarding the place of nonhuman animals in protology and eschatology. Then, he notes their view that the created order is in via toward its eschatological consummation. With this framework in place, he turns to other voices in the Christian tradition, including the hagiographies of the saints, in order to further develop the framework. Ultimately, the author suggests that, within this particular strand of Christian thought, the further a human being progresses along the path of redemption, the more he or she ought to serve as a prolepsis of eschatological hope, which includes peaceful relationships between humans and animals.
ON “THOMISTIC KABBALAH”
Authors: MILBANK JOHN
Published: December 2010

The Christian Bible was from the outset a dogmatic and Christological conception, which entailed a mystical reading of signs and events, a practise of speculation at once narratological and phenomenological. The trilogy of Olivier‐Thomas Venard OP – Thomas d'Aquin, poète théologien – is proposed as crucial to understanding how Thomas Aquinas preserves the authentic biblical character of Christian theology, proceeding along the diagonal axis of the mystagogical, an axis neither purely vertical nor purely horizontal but a blending of both at once. Here a reading of Aquinas is offered as initiating a participational ‘linguistic turn’, an alternative modernity that can heal the dissociation of the science of being from the phenomenal and hermeneutical embeddings in which human life is constituted.
PRENATALLY DIAGNOSED FOETAL MALFORMATIONS AND TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY: THE CASE OF LEBANON
Authors: ARAWI THALIA , NASSAR ANWAR
Published: December 2010

Termination of pregnancy (TOP) is offered in many countries, for foetuses prenatally diagnosed with congenital malformations that are deemed incompatible with life or that are associated with a high morbidity. In Lebanon, a middle income country where religion plays a focal role, the law prohibits any form of TOP unless it is the only means to save the mother's life. It is the contention of the authors of this article that even if the foetus is a person, if it were medically revealed that there is a substantial risk that the newborn will suffer severe physical abnormalities that will cause it to be seriously handicapped; it is morally acceptable to terminate the pregnancy. Hence, TOP carried out for these indications is justified in the interest of the foetus and the child. Whatever the status of the foetus is, once born, it will become a full‐fledged sentient being with all that this entails. When given the option of starting an existence, this person‐to‐be has the right to a minimum that allows him/her to enjoy a relatively good quality of life. Today, Lebanese obstetricians are confronted with the burden placed on them under the law to refuse TOP, or, when performing them, to forge records or deny having done them. This is why we strongly believe that the Lebanese policy on abortion should be amended.
Survival of a Male Mosaic for PORCN Mutation with Mild Focal Dermal Hypoplasia Phenotype
Authors: Yoshihashi Hiroshi , Ohki Hirotaka , Torii Chiharu , Ishiko Akira , Kosaki Kenjiro
Published: December 2010

Abstract:  We report a 46,XY boy with a mild focal dermal hypoplasia phenotype who had both wild‐type and mutated copies of the PORCN gene and was, therefore, mosaic for the mutation. He had cutaneous syndactyly, hydronephrosis, and nail dystrophy. Small whitish depigmented spots, which were slightly depressed from the skin surface, were distributed linearly on the trunk and arms. Aside from these findings, streaks of brown‐pigmented macules were seen on the dorsal aspect of the legs. Both the linear arrangement of the whitish spots and the streaks of pigmented macules followed the lines of Blaschko. The phenotype of the patient, who did not exhibit cribriform atrophy, telangiectasia or fat herniation, seemed to be much milder than that of typical female patients with focal dermal hypoplasia. Analysis of the genomic DNA extracted from the peripheral lymphocytes revealed a transition 129G>A within exon 1 of PORCN, which leads to a nonsense mutation W43X. The percentage of peripheral lymphocytes carrying a mutation was estimated to be 50% by the subcloning and sequencing of individual clones of the PCR product amplified across the mutation. This patient’s case history provides further molecular evidence supporting the concept that “male focal dermal hypoplasia” does exist and that typical features such as telangiectasia and fat herniation are sometimes absent.
Congenital Syphilis: Early‐ and Late‐Stage Findings of Rhagades and Dental Anomalies
Authors: Khetarpal Shilpi , Kempf Ellen , Mostow Eliot
Published: December 2010

Abstract:  Congenital syphilis occurs via vertical transmission when Treponema pallidum crosses the placenta after the 16th week of gestation. Manifestations of congenital syphilis vary from asymptomatic infection to stillbirth. We present a case of congenital syphilis in a Vietnamese orphan who presented with rhagades, hearing deficit, and abnormal dentition after adoption in the United States. He demonstrated both early‐ and late‐stage findings of congenital syphilis. He is presumed to be 5 years old, and it is uncertain if he received treatment. Upon arrival to the United States, his rapid plasma reagin test was negative, but his fluorescent treponemal antibody‐absorption test was positive, so no further treatment was recommended. It is possible that other late congenital syphilis stigmata may develop in his later years. The Centers for Disease Control recommends screening all pregnant women for syphilis at the beginning of prenatal care. Clinicians should be made aware of the manifestations of congenital syphilis, especially when caring for international orphans and children born to mothers who lacked prenatal care.
Dynamics of Angiogenesis During Wound Healing: A Coupled In Vivo and In Silico Study
Authors: MACHADO MARIA J.C. , WATSON MICHAEL G. , DEVLIN ANDREA H. , CHAPLAIN MARK A.J. , MCDOUGALL STEVEN R. , MITCHELL CHRISTOPHER A.
Published: December 2010

Please cite this paper as: Machado, Watson, Devlin, Chaplain, McDougall and Mitchell (2011). Dynamics of Angiogenesis During Wound Healing: A Coupled In Vivo and In Silico Study. Microcirculation 18(3), 183–197.

Objective:  The most critical determinant of restoration of tissue structure during wound healing is the re‐establishment of a functional vasculature, which largely occurs via angiogenesis, specifically endothelial sprouting from the pre‐existing vasculature.

Materials and Methods:  We used confocal microscopy to capture sequential images of perfused vascular segments within the injured panniculus carnosus muscle in the mouse dorsal skin‐fold window chamber to quantify a range of microcirculatory parameters during the first nine days of healing. This data was used to inform a mathematical model of sequential growth of the vascular plexus. The modeling framework mirrored the experimental circular wound domain and incorporated capillary sprouting and endothelial cell (EC) sensing of vascular endothelial growth factor gradients.

Results:  Wound areas, vessel densities and vessel junction densities obtained from the corresponding virtual wound were in excellent agreement both temporally and spatially with data measured during the in vivo healing process. Moreover, by perturbing the proliferative ability of ECs in the mathematical model, this leads to a severe reduction in vascular growth and poor healing. Quantitative measures from this second set of simulations were found to correlate extremely well with experimental data obtained from animals treated with an agent that targets endothelial proliferation (TNP‐470).

Conclusion:  Our direct combination and comparison of in vivo longitudinal analysis (over time in the same animal) and mathematical modeling employed in this study establishes a useful new paradigm. The virtual wound created in this study can be used to investigate a wide range of experimental hypotheses associated with wound healing, including disorders characterized by aberrant angiogenesis (e.g., diabetic models) and the effects of vascular enhancing/disrupting agents or therapeutic interventions such as hyperbaric oxygen.
Spectroscopic Investigation and Molecular Modeling on Porphyrin/PAMAM Supramolecular Adduct
Authors: Castriciano Maria Angela , Romeo Andrea , Angelini Nicola , Micali Norberto , Guccione Salvatore , Scolaro Luigi Monsù
Published: December 2010

Noncovalent adducts (TPPC@PAMAM) between meso‐tetrakis(4‐carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TPPC) and polyamidoamine PAMAM dendrimer (generation 2.0) have been obtained by simply mixing the two components at different stoichiometric amount. The resulting species are readily soluble and stable in aqueous solution up to millimolar concentration. Electrostatic interactions between the anionic carboxylate groups of TPPC and the protonated amino groups of the PAMAM dendrimer play an important role in the stabilization of these adducts. UV/Vis absorption, steady state and time‐resolved fluorescence emission and anisotropy measurements suggest the presence of equilibria involving different species as function of the [PAMAM]/[TPPC] ratio. At low ratios the observed spectroscopic behavior evidence the presence of H‐aggregates, while at higher ratios well‐defined species containing monomeric TPPC strongly interacting with the charged dendrimer are formed. Docking of the binary supramolecular adduct further supports the experimental results showing a favorable interaction with the porphyrin being completely included in the dendrimer. The interaction of the binary TPPC@PAMAM adduct (1/1 ratio) with calf‐thymus DNA has been investigated through spectroscopic and photophysical techniques. All the experimental results point to the formation of a ternary complex between the binary adduct and the DNA backbone.
Chiritopsis danxiaensis sp. nov. (Gesneriaceae) from Mount Danxiashan, south China
Authors: Shen Ru‐Jiang , Lin Shi‐Shi , Yu Yi , Cui Da‐Fang , Liao Wen‐Bo
Published: December 2010

A new species of Chiritopsis (Gesneriaceae), C. danxiaensis W. B. Liao, S. S. Lin & R. J. Shen, is described and illustrated from Mount Danxiashan, Guangdong Province, China. The new species is morphologically closely related to C. lobulata and C. cordifolia, but is characterized by having denticulate bracts, yellowish corolla, 2 glabrous staminodes and longer style. A revised key to all species of the genus is also provided.
Saussurea baoxingensis sp. nov. (Compositae, Cardueae) from Sichuan, China
Authors: Chen You‐Sheng
Published: December 2010

Saussurea baoxingensis Y. S. Chen (Compositae, Cardueae), a new species of snow lotus from the Sichuan province, China is described and illustrated. It belongs to subgenus Amphilaena and is allied to S. muliensis. Morphological characteristics that distinguish the new species from S. muliensis are presented and discussed.
A literature review of dental erosion in children
Authors: Taji S , Seow WK
Published: December 2010

Dental erosion is increasingly recognized as a common condition in paediatric dentistry with complications of tooth sensitivity, altered aesthetics and loss of occlusal vertical dimension. The prevalence of erosion in children has been reported to range from 10% to over 80%. The primary dentition is thought to be more susceptible to erosion compared to the permanent dentition due to the thinner and less mineralized enamel. The aim of this paper was to critically review dental erosion in children with regards to its prevalence, aetiology, diagnosis and prevention. The associations between erosion and other common conditions in children such as caries and enamel hypoplasia are also discussed.
Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma survival by biopsy type: a cancer registry study
Authors: Frydrych AM , Parsons R , Threlfall T , Austin N , Davies GR , Booth D , Slack‐Smith LM
Published: December 2010

Background:  Biopsy of a suspected oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is important for diagnosis. Concerns have been raised about the potential for tumour spread by incisional biopsy techniques. This study aimed to investigate the five‐year survival and recurrence of oral SCC after incisional and excisional biopsy in total population data available from the Western Australian Cancer Registry (WACR).

Methods:  Total population data from the WACR, comprising all primary oral SCC cases diagnosed between 1990 and 1999, were examined. Information extracted included date of birth, gender, biopsy date, biopsy type, disease stage (TNM classification), disease site, date of recurrence and date of death. Records were excluded if the diagnosis was fine needle aspiration based, was not that of oral SCC and if a history was noted of another malignant neoplasm. Incisional and excisional biopsy cases were compared for five‐year survival, adjusting for disease stage.

Results:  No association was found between biopsy type and five‐year survival or recurrence amongst individuals with Stage I or II disease.

Conclusions:  In this study, biopsy type was not associated with survival of oral SCC patients with Stage I or II disease, adding to the evidence that incisional biopsy of oral SCC can be a safe procedure.
Parental support for water fluoridation in Lithgow, New South Wales
Authors: Arora A , Evans RW , Sivaneswaran S , Sujeer AN , Blinkhorn AS
Published: December 2010

Background:  The objective of this paper was to report on the level of support for water fluoridation among parents of primary school children in Lithgow and on the socio‐demographic and oral health factors that may have influenced this support.

Methods:  As part of a survey in Lithgow of the oral health status of school children, their parents were asked to complete an oral health‐related questionnaire. Questions on support for fluoridation and socio‐demographics were included. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to examine associations between variables.

Results:  Seventy per cent of the responding parents supported water fluoridation. However, this support was significantly higher among those from a higher socio‐economic background. Nearly half the parents thought that health authorities or the government should take on the responsibility for matters related to water fluoridation. No statistically significant differences in caries experience were observed amongst children whether or not their parents supported fluoridation, except for 5–6 year olds (p < 0.01).

Conclusions:  Lithgow parents strongly supported the introduction of water fluoridation but suggested that governments and health authorities should adopt a more proactive role in relation to fluoridation implementation.
Owners’ insights into private practice dentistry in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory
Authors: Fischer JE , Marchant T
Published: December 2010

Background:  The aim of this study was to investigate aspects of practice ownership including debt on graduation, the time period between graduation and acquiring practice ownership and small business skills.

Methods:  A mail survey of 400 dentists with practice ownership, in New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), addressed demographics, setting up practice, technology and business management. Most respondents were male and nearly half had 20 years of practice ownership.

Results:  Dentists agreed with the need to be taught small business management skills. Average debt on graduation was AUD$18 000 and the figure was higher for post 1995 graduates. On average, it took five years to acquire some form of practice ownership, but nearly half acquired ownership within three years. Few favoured opening a new practice. Staff were the most frequently nominated contributors to a successful practice, with fees, profit and parking noted least frequently.

Conclusions:  There was no question that these experienced dentists thought small business skills should be taught to the dental fraternity. Given the significance of staff to a successful practice, dentists may need to learn more about advanced human resource management including professional development and performance management.
A Bayesian Inventory Model Using Real‐Time Condition Monitoring Information
Authors: Li Rong , Ryan Jennifer K.
Published: December 2010

Lack of coordination between machinery fault diagnosis and inventory management for spare parts can lead to increased inventory costs and disruptions in production activity. We develop a framework for incorporating real‐time condition monitoring information into inventory decisions for spare parts. We consider a manufacturer who periodically replenishes inventory for a machine part that is subject to deterioration. The deterioration is captured via condition monitoring and modeled using a Wiener process. The resulting degradation model is used to derive the life distribution of a functioning part and to estimate the demand distribution for spare parts. This estimation is periodically updated, in a Bayesian manner, as additional information on part deterioration is obtained. We develop an inventory model that incorporates this updated demand distribution and demonstrate that a dynamic base‐stock policy, in which the optimal base‐stock level is a function of some subset of the observed condition monitoring information, is optimal. We propose a myopic critical fractile policy that captures the essence of the optimal policy, but is easier to compute. Computational experiments indicate that this heuristic performs quite well relative to the optimal policy. Adaptive inventory policies such as these can help manufacturers to increase machine availability and reduce inventory costs.
PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR A MIXED‐GRAZING SCENARIO FOR AUSTRALIA'S RANGELANDS
Authors: MOLONEY P.D. , HEARNE J.W. , GORDON I.J. , McLEOD S.R.
Published: December 2010

Abstract Currently pastoralists in Australia view native mammal species as one of many variables that impact, usually negatively, on their productivity and therefore profitability. This does not necessarily have to be the case. The species with the largest impact, kangaroos, have a value that could be incorporated into their income stream as a method of both reducing risk and increasing biodiversity, and therefore increasing resilience. An investigation of the idea of optimally allocating stocking rates using techniques analogous to classical portfolio selection optimization is conducted. Using historical pricing data for beef, wool, and kangaroo meat, an efficient frontier is formed to analyze the best scenario dependent on an investors risk aversion. It is shown that there is a clear opportunity for pastoralists to benefit economically by the inclusion of kangaroos in a mixed‐grazing strategy for Australian rangelands.
Neo‐Darwinism, the Modern Synthesis and selfish genes: are they of use in physiology?
Authors: Noble Denis
Published: December 2010

This article argues that the gene‐centric interpretations of evolution, and more particularly the selfish gene expression of those interpretations, form barriers to the integration of physiological science with evolutionary theory. A gene‐centred approach analyses the relationships between genotypes and phenotypes in terms ofdifferences(change the genotype and observe changes in phenotype). We now know that, most frequently, this does not correctly reveal the relationships because of extensive buffering by robust networks of interactions. By contrast, understanding biological function through physiological analysis requires anintegrativeapproach in which the activity of the proteins and RNAs formed from each DNA template is analysed in networks of interactions. These networks also include components that are not specified by nuclear DNA. Inheritance is not through DNA sequences alone. The selfish gene idea is not useful in the physiological sciences, since selfishness cannot be defined as an intrinsic property of nucleotide sequences independently of gene frequency, i.e. the ‘success’ in the gene pool that is supposed to be attributable to the ‘selfish’ property. It is not a physiologically testable hypothesis.
Linear transmission of cortical oscillations to the neural drive to muscles is mediated by common projections to populations of motoneurons in humans
Authors: Negro Francesco , Farina Dario
Published: December 2010

Non‐technical summary

Since the human central nervous system controls muscle contraction through inputs to spinal motoneurons, oscillations recorded on the primary motor cortex during voluntary movements are correlated with the electrical activity produced on the surface of the muscles. We show through theoretical derivations and experimental recordings that cortical input is transmitted partly in a linear way to the population of motoneurons. The results demonstrate the effective spread of the cortical projections to the motoneuron pool to allow an efficient control of the muscle force output.
Development and Evaluation of the Time-Resolved Heat and Temperature Array
Authors: Hubble David , Diller Thomas
Published: December 2010

The development and evaluation of a differential style heat flux gauge is presented. The sensor is constructed from spot-welded foils of copper and constantan on either side of a thin Kapton polyimide film and is capable of measuring the heat flux and surface temperature at ten locations simultaneously. Analytical modeling was performed to estimate the sensor’s sensitivity and time response. Calibrations were performed in conduction and radiation yielding an average heat flux sensitivity of 20.4 μV/(kW/m2). Time response measurements were also performed, which gave an average 63% time response of 168 ms. The capabilities of the sensor are demonstrated by showing its use in ongoing convection research.
Regulation of the 26
S
Proteasome Complex During Oxidative Stress
Authors: Wang Xiaorong , Yen James , Kaiser Peter , Huang Lan
Published: December 2010

Oxidative stress triggers release of the core catalytic subunit of the yeast 26
S
proteasome, enabling degradation of toxic oxidized proteins.
Inflammatory Decline
Authors: Foley John F.
Published: December 2010

The pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor triggers cognitive decline after surgery.
Preventing Depletion
Authors: Gough Nancy R.
Published: December 2010

Mice without Lkb1 cannot keep making blood cells.
DNA Damage Pathways Revealed
Authors: Zahn Laura M.
Published: December 2010

A network comparison of genetic interactions mapped at two conditions reveals genetic responses to DNA damage in yeast.
Just Beet It
Authors: Zahn Laura M.
Published: December 2010

A homolog of a flowering time gene has evolved a flowering repression function, affecting the seasonal cold response in beet.
Comparative Studies Evaluating Mouse Models Used for Efficacy Testing of Experimental Drugs against
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: De Groote Mary A. , Gilliland Janet C. , Wells Colby L. , Brooks Elizabeth J. , Woolhiser Lisa K. , Gruppo Veronica , Peloquin Charles A. , Orme Ian M. , Lenaerts Anne J.
Published: December 2010

Methodologies for preclinical animal model testing of drugs against
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
vary from laboratory to laboratory; however, it is unknown if these variations result in different outcomes. Thus, a series of head-to-head comparisons of drug regimens in three commonly used mouse models (intravenous, a low-dose aerosol, and a high-dose aerosol infection model) and in two strains of mice are reported here. Treatment with standard tuberculosis (TB) drugs resulted in similar efficacies in two mouse species after a low-dose aerosol infection. When comparing the three different infection models, the efficacies in mice of rifampin and pyrazinamide were similar when administered with either isoniazid or moxifloxacin. Relapse studies revealed that the standard drug regimen showed a significantly higher relapse rate than the moxifloxacin-containing regimen. In fact, 4 months of the moxifloxacin-containing combination regimen showed similar relapse rates as 6 months of the standard regimen. The intravenous model showed slower bactericidal killing kinetics with the combination regimens tested and a higher relapse of infection than either aerosol infection models. All three models showed similar outcomes for
in vivo
efficacy and relapse of infection for the drug combinations tested, regardless of the mouse infection model used. Efficacy data for the drug combinations used also showed similar results, regardless of the formulation used for rifampin or timing of the drugs administered in combination. In all three infection models, the dual combination of rifampin and pyrazinamide was less sterilizing than the standard three-drug regimen, and therefore the results do not support the previously reported antagonism between standard TB agents.
Characterization and Evaluation of the
Moraxella catarrhalis
Oligopeptide Permease A as a Mucosal Vaccine Antigen
Authors: Yang Min , Johnson Antoinette , Murphy Timothy F.
Published: December 2010

Moraxella catarrhalis
is a common cause of otitis media in children and of lower respiratory tract infections in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; therefore, these two groups would benefit from a vaccine to prevent
M. catarrhalis
infections. A genome mining approach for vaccine antigens identified oligopeptide permease protein A (OppA), an oligopeptide binding protein of an apparent oligopeptide transport system. Analysis of the
oppA
gene by PCR and sequence analysis revealed that OppA is highly conserved among clinical isolates of
M. catarrhalis
. Recombinant OppA was expressed as a lipoprotein and purified, and an
oppA
knockout mutant was constructed. Antiserum raised to recombinant purified OppA recognized epitopes on the bacterial surface of the wild type but not the OppA knockout mutant. Antibodies raised to purified recombinant OppA recognized native OppA in multiple strains. Intranasal immunization of mice induced systemic and mucosal antibodies to OppA and resulted in enhanced clearance of
M. catarrhalis
in a mouse pulmonary clearance model. OppA is a highly conserved, immunogenic protein that expresses epitopes on the bacterial surface and that induces potentially protective immune responses in a mouse model. OppA should be evaluated further as a vaccine antigen for
M. catarrhalis
.