bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Current Food Safety Management Systems in Fish‐Exporting Companies Require Further Improvements to Adequately Cope with Contextual Pressure: Case Study
Authors: Onjong Hillary Adawo , Wangoh John , Njage Patrick Murigu Kamau
Published: September 2014

Fish‐processing plants still face food safety (FS) challenges worldwide despite the existence of several quality assurance standards and food safety management systems/s (FSMSs). This study assessed performance of FSMS in fish exporting sector considering pressure from the context in which they operate. A FSMS diagnostic tool with checklist was used to assess the context, FSMS, and FS output in 9 Kenyan fish exporting companies. Majority (67%) companies operated at moderate‐ to high‐risk context but with an average performance in control and assurance activities. This situation could be insufficient to deal with ambiguity, uncertainty, and vulnerability issues in the context characteristics. Contextual risk posed by product characteristics (nature of raw materials) and chain environment characteristics was high. Risk posed by the chain environment characteristics, low power in supplier relationships, and low degree of authority in customer relationships was high. Lack of authority in relationship with suppliers would lead to high raw material risk situation. Even though cooling facilities, a key control activity, was at an advanced level, there was inadequate packaging intervention equipment which coupled with inadequate physical intervention equipment could lead to further weakened FSMS performance. For the fish companies to improve their FSMS to higher level and enhance predictability, they should base their FSMS on scientific information sources, historical results, and own experimental trials in their preventive, intervention, and monitoring systems. Specific suggestions are derived for improvements toward higher FSMS activity levels or lower risk levels in context characteristics.
The Brazilian National Development Bank goes International: Innovations and Limitations of BNDES' Internationalization
Authors: Hochstetler Kathryn
Published: September 2014

The Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) saw dramatic increases in its financial resources for lending after 2005. This article explains how the bank has been ‘internationalized’ alongside this growth in total resources, beginning with export finance and expanding to supporting foreign direct investments and other international economic activities. At the same time, legal and structural factors restrict BNDES’ international activities in ways that are often poorly understood, but that keep many of the bank's resources inside Brazil or tightly linked to Brazilian firms. After a general explanation of these factors, this paper examines empirical claims about BNDES’ lending to its South American neighbors, concluding that it is considerably more limited than both the bank's critics and champions contend.
Synthesis, Characterization and Antibacterial Properties of Dihydroxy Quaternary Ammonium Salts with Long Chain Alkyl Bromides
Authors: Liu Wen‐Shuai , Wang Chun‐Hua , Sun Ju‐Feng , Hou Gui‐Ge , Wang Yu‐Peng , Qu Rong‐Jun
Published: September 2014

Five N‐methyl‐N‐R‐N,N‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) ammonium bromides (R = ‐benzyl (chloride, BNQAS), ‐dodecyl (C12QAS), ‐tetradecyl (C14QAS), ‐hexadecyl (C16QAS), ‐octadecyl (C18QAS)) were prepared based on N‐methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and halohydrocarbon. Five QAS were characterized by FTIR, NMR, and MS. BNQAS, C12QAS, C14QAS, and C16QAS were confirmed by X‐ray single‐crystal diffraction. Their antibacterial properties indicated good antibacterial abilities against E. coli, S. aureus, B. subtilis, especially C12QAS with the best antibacterial ability (100% to E. coli, 95.65% to S. aureus, and 91.41% to B. subtilis). In addition, C12QAS also displayed the best antifungal activities than BNQAS and C18QAS against Cytospora mandshurica, Botryosphaeria ribis, Physalospora piricola, and Glomerella cingulata with the ratio of full marks. The strategy provides a facile way to design and develop new types of antibacterial drugs for application in preventing the fruit rot, especially apple.
Retracted: si‐RNA‐Mediated Knockdown of PDLIM5 Suppresses Gastric Cancer Cell Proliferation in Vitro
Authors: Li Yanliang , Gao Yongsheng , Xu Yue , Sun Xianjun , Song Xilin , Ma Heng , Yang Mingshan
Published: September 2014

Gastric cancer is the second most prominent cause of cancer mortality in the world. This study was designed to identify the possible use of si‐RNA‐mediated PDLIM5 gene silencing as a therapeutic tool for gastric cancer. Expression levels of PDLIM5 were detected in several gastric cancer cell lines using Western blot and qRT‐PCR. We found PDLIM5 is highly expressed in all cultured gastric cancer cell lines. Small interfering RNA (si‐RNA) was then employed to knock down PDLIM5 expression in MGC80‐3 gastric cancer cells. Knockdown of PDLIM5 significantly inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation. Moreover, the absence of PDLIM5 in MGC80‐3 cells led to S phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. This study highlights the critical role of PDLIM5 in gastric cancer cell growth and suggests that si‐RNA‐mediated silencing of PDLIM5 might serve as a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of gastric cancer.
Effects of starch addition on the characteristics of CoAl2O4 nano pigments
Authors: Torkian Leila , Radmanesh Elham , Daghighi Maryam
Published: September 2014

Nanocrystalline cobalt aluminate spinel, CoAl2O4, was prepared via a microwave‐assisted solution combustion process applying various mixtures of urea, glycine, and starch as a novel mixed fuel. The effects of starch addition (0, 10, 20, and 30 wt%) on the physical characteristics (e.g. crystallite size and colour) of the blue nano pigments were also investigated. The resultant powders were characterised by means of X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive X‐ray analysis, and CIE L*a*b* colour measurements. The presence of a CoAl2O4 spinel lattice after calcination of precursors at 600 °C was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction patterns, and the crystallite sizes were ca. 10–39 nm. Colorimetric data pointed to the formation of bright‐blue pigments at low levels of starch addition. Scanning electron microscope images showed that starch enrichment reduced the agglomeration and size of synthesised nanoparticles.
Beyond Technocratic Debates: The Significance and Transience of Political Incentives in the Malawi Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP)
Authors: Chinsinga Blessings , Poulton Colin
Published: September 2014

The Malawi FISP resurrected debates about the role of subsidies in African agricultural policy. Recent literature has highlighted the social and political interests that influence the distribution of input‐subsidy vouchers, often tending to reduce the efficiency with which such programmes contribute to poverty reduction. Taking the FISP as a case study, this article examines the political incentives that have driven programme implementation. Two streams of rents associated with the FISP were used to generate support for the first‐term government of President Mutharika (2005–9), with very different implications for programme efficiency. One then stopped abruptly in 2009. The Malawi case demonstrates both the importance of political incentives in determining subsidy outcomes and how they can change dramatically over time.
The Politics of Revitalising Agriculture in Kenya
Authors: Poulton Colin , Kanyinga Karuti
Published: September 2014

In March 2004 the Kenyan government set out its Strategy for Revitalising Agriculture (SRA). Eight years later, almost no progress had been made. The SRA experience highlights both the potential and the limitations of competitive politics in promoting reform and the collective‐action challenge that can confront reform of agriculture‐sector institutions. The December 2002 election had created a window of opportunity for issue‐ and performance‐based politics in Kenya. However, the new government coalition began to unravel soon after attaining power, and the return to ethnically‐based patronage politics – illustrated here in relation to agriculture – undermined the SRA's chances of success.
Not all roads can be taken: development induces anisotropic accessibility in morphospace
Authors: Gerber Sylvain
Published: September 2014

Morphospaces are quantitative representations of phenotype space that are widely used in studies of morphological evolution. Do current conceptualizations of morphospaces, however, appropriately reflect the evolutionary dynamics of organisms depicted in these spaces? Most empirical morphospace studies implicitly consider variability of biological forms as isotropic, but such a view appears inadequate when the properties of development mediating phenotypic changes are considered. Here, a trilobite case study is used to visualize the constraints imposed by development on the accessibility structure of morphospace. Variability in the resultant morphospace is strongly anisotropic and reveals discordances between the apparent range of possible phenotypes and their actual accessibility. Homoplasy, directionality, and asymmetry of evolutionary transitions appear as natural consequences of anisotropic variability and point out the limitation of morphological distance for evolutionary inference. Measures of distance in morphospace should be used with considerable caution and must be complemented with developmentally meaningful measures of evolutionary accessibility.
Improving the prediction performance of a large tropical vis‐NIR spectroscopic soil library from Brazil by clustering into smaller subsets or use of data mining calibration techniques
Authors: Araújo S. R. , Wetterlind J. , Demattê J. A. M. , Stenberg B.
Published: September 2014

Effective agricultural planning requires basic soil information. In recent decades visible near‐infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (vis‐NIR) has been shown to be a viable alternative for rapidly analysing soil properties. We studied 7172 samples of seven different soil types collected from several regions of Brazil and varying in organic matter (OM) (0.2–10.3%) and clay content (0.2–99.0%). The aim was to explore the possibility of enhancing the performance of vis‐NIR data in predicting organic matter and clay content in this library by dividing it into smaller sub‐libraries on the basis of their vis‐NIR spectra. We used partial least square regression (PLSR) models on the sub‐libraries and compared the results with PLSR and two non‐linear calibration techniques, boosted regression trees (BT) and support vector machines (SVM) applied to the whole library. The whole library calibrations for clay performed well (ME (modelling efficiency) > 0.82; RMSE (root mean squared error) < 10.9%), reflecting the influence of the direct spectral responses of this property in the vis‐NIR range. Calibrations for OM were reasonably good, especially in view of the very small variation in this property (ME > 0.60; RMSE < 0.55%). The best results were, however, found when dividing the large library into smaller subsets by using variation in the mean‐normalized or first derivative spectra. This divided the global data set into clusters that were more uniform in mineralogy, regardless of geographical origin, and improved predictive performance. The best clustering method improved the RMSE in the validation to 8.6% clay and 0.47% OM, which corresponds to a 21% and 15% reduction, respectively, as compared with whole library PLSR. For the whole library, SVM performed almost equally well, reducing RMSE to 8.9% clay and 0.48% OM.
Large‐scale patterns in summer diffusive CH4 fluxes across boreal lakes, and contribution to diffusive C emissions
Authors: Rasilo Terhi , Prairie Yves T. , del Giorgio Paul A.
Published: September 2014

Lakes are a major component of boreal landscapes, and whereas lake CO2 emissions are recognized as a major component of regional C budgets, there is still much uncertainty associated to lake CH4 fluxes. Here, we present a large‐scale study of the magnitude and regulation of boreal lake summer diffusive CH4 fluxes, and their contribution to total lake carbon (C) emissions, based on in situ measurements of concentration and fluxes of CH4 and CO2 in 224 lakes across a wide range of lake type and environmental gradients in Québec. The diffusive CH4 flux was highly variable (mean 11.6 ± 26.4 SD mg m−2 d−1), and it was positively correlated with temperature and lake nutrient status, and negatively correlated with lake area and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). The relationship between CH4 and CO2 concentrations fluxes was weak, suggesting major differences in their respective sources and/or regulation. For example, increasing water temperature leads to higher CH4 flux but does not significantly affect CO2 flux, whereas increasing CDOM concentration leads to higher CO2 flux but lower CH4 flux. CH4 contributed to 8 ± 23% to the total lake C emissions (CH4 + CO2), but 18 ± 25% to the total flux in terms of atmospheric warming potential, expressed as CO2‐equivalents. The incorporation of ebullition and plant‐mediated CH4 fluxes would further increase the importance of lake CH4. The average Q10 of CH4 flux was 3.7, once other covarying factors were accounted for, but this apparent Q10 varied with lake morphometry and was higher for shallow lakes. We conclude that global climate change and the resulting shifts in temperature will strongly influence lake CH4 fluxes across the boreal biome, but these climate effects may be altered by regional patterns in lake morphometry, nutrient status, and browning.
Effect of dialysis dose and membrane flux on hemoglobin cycling in hemodialysis patients
Authors: He Liyu , Fu Min , Chen Xian , Liu Hong , Chen Xing , Peng Xiaofei , Liu Fuyou , Peng Youming
Published: September 2014

Many studies found that hemoglobin (Hb) fluctuation was closely related to the prognosis of the maintenance hemodialysis patients. We investigated the association of factors relating dialysis dose and dialyzer membrane with Hb levels. We undertook a randomized clinical trial in 140 patients undergoing thrice‐weekly dialysis and assigned patients randomly to a standard or high dose of dialysis; Hb level was measured every month for 12 months. In the standard‐dose group, the mean (±SD) urea reduction ratio was 65.1% ± 7.3%, the single‐pool Kt/V was 1.26 ± 0.11, and the equilibrated Kt/V was 1.05 ± 0.09; in the high‐dose group, the values were 73.5% ± 8.7%, 1.68 ± 0.15, and 1.47 ± 0.11, respectively. The standard deviation (SD) and residual SD (liner regression of Hb) values of Hb were significantly higher in the standard‐dose group and low‐flux group. The percentage achievement of target Hb in the high‐dose dialysis group and high‐flux dialyzer group was significantly higher than the standard‐dose group and low‐flux group, respectively. Patients undergoing hemodialysis thrice weekly appear to have benefit from a higher dialysis dose than that recommended by current KDQQI (Kidney Disease Qutcome Quality Initiative) guidelines or from the use of a high‐flux membrane, which is in favor of maintaining stable Hb levels.
SMALL DATA
Authors: Peters Georgina
Published: September 2014

It really is a numbers business
HOW WOMEN TAKE CHARGE OF THEIR CAREERS
Authors: Noël Lauren
Published: September 2014

How do successful women progress in organisations? Lauren Noël offers new practical insights
FUTURE THINKING
Authors: Crainer Stuart
Published: September 2014

Scenario planning attempts to identify every plausible outcome of pursuing a particular strategy
The mediating effect of ‘bothersome’ urinary incontinence on help‐seeking intentions among community‐dwelling women
Authors: Xu Dongjuan , Wang Xiaojuan , Li Jingjing , Wang Kefang
Published: September 2014

Aim

To explore the mediating effect of bother of urinary incontinence between urinary incontinence severity and help‐seeking intentions and detect whether the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire‐UI Short Form could be a valid measure to delineate bothersome urinary incontinence.

Background

Urinary incontinence is a common condition among women, which has a profound adverse effect on quality of life. However, many of them experiencing significant clinical symptoms do not seek medical help.

Design

A cross‐sectional survey design.

Methods

Women with urinary incontinence (N = 620) from three randomized selected community health service centres from May–October 2011 participated in the study. Data were collected using a pencil‐and‐paper questionnaire. Multivariate regression models were used to test the role of bother as a mediator in the relation between urinary incontinence severity and help‐seeking intentions. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to find the best cut‐off International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire‐UI Short Form score (range: 0–21) to delineate the bother of urinary incontinence.

Results

Bothersome urinary incontinence mediated the relationship between urinary incontinence severity and help‐seeking intentions. Age and duration of urine leakage had a negative association on help‐seeking intentions, while educational level and previous help‐seeking behaviours had a positive association.

Conclusions

Bother was a mediator in the relation between urinary incontinence severity and help‐seeking intentions. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire‐UI Short Form was a discriminative measure to delineate the bothersome urinary incontinence.
Anchored protein kinase A signalling in cardiac cellular electrophysiology
Authors: Soni Siddarth , Scholten Arjen , Vos Marc A. , van Veen Toon A.B.
Published: September 2014

The cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)‐dependent protein kinase (PKA) is an elementary molecule involved in both acute and chronic modulation of cardiac function. Substantial research in recent years has highlighted the importance of A‐kinase anchoring proteins (AKAP) therein as they act as the backbones of major macromolecular signalling complexes of the β‐adrenergic/cAMP/PKA pathway. This review discusses the role of AKAP‐associated protein complexes in acute and chronic cardiac modulation by dissecting their role in altering the activity of different ion channels, which underlie cardiac action potential (AP) generation. In addition, we review the involvement of different AKAP complexes in mechanisms of cardiac remodelling and arrhythmias.
Meniscus maturation in the swine model: changes occurring along with anterior to posterior and medial to lateral aspect during growth
Authors: Di Giancamillo Alessia , Deponti Daniela , Addis Alessandro , Domeneghini Cinzia , Peretti Giuseppe M.
Published: September 2014

The meniscus plays important roles in knee function and mechanics and is characterized by a heterogeneous matrix composition. The changes in meniscus vascularization observed during growth suggest that the tissue‐specific composition may be the result of a maturation process. This study has the aim to characterize the structural and biochemical variations that occur in the swine meniscus with age. To this purpose, menisci were collected from young and adult pigs and divided into different zones. In study 1, both lateral and medial menisci were divided into the anterior horn, the body and the posterior horn for the evaluation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), collagen 1 and 2 content. In study 2, the menisci were sectioned into the inner, the intermediate and the outer zones to determine the variations in the cell phenotype along with the inner–outer direction, through gene expression analysis. According to the results, the swine meniscus is characterized by an increasing enrichment in the cartilaginous component with age, with an increasing deposition in the anterior horn (GAGs and collagen 2; P < 0.01 both); moreover, this cartilaginous matrix strongly increases in the inner avascular and intermediate zone, as a consequence of a specific differentiation of meniscal cells towards a cartilaginous phenotype (collagen 2, P < 0.01). The obtained data add new information on the changes that accompany meniscus maturation, suggesting a specific response of meniscal cells to the regional mechanical stimuli in the knee joint.
Interferon‐γ regulates the function of mesenchymal stem cells from oral lichen planus via indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase activity
Authors: Zhang Zhihui , Han Ying , Song Jiangyuan , Luo Ruxi , Jin Xin , Mu Dongdong , Su Sha , Ji Xiaoli , Ren Yan‐Fang , Liu Hongwei
Published: September 2014

Background

Little is known about mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in normal or inflammatory oral mucosal tissues, such as in oral lichen planus (OLP). Our objectives were to identify, isolate, and characterize MSCs from normal human oral mucosa and OLP lesions, and to evaluate indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) activity in mediating immunomodulation of MSCs from these tissues.

Methods

Expressions of MSCs‐related markers were examined in isolated cells by flow cytometry. Self‐renewal and multilineage differentiations were studied to characterize these MSCs. Interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), IDO, and STRO‐1 were assessed by immunofluorescence. MSCs from oral mucosa and OLP or IFN‐γ‐pretreated MSCs were co‐cultured with allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction assays (MLR). Proliferation and apoptosis of MLR or MSCs were detected by CCK8 and the annexin V‐FITC apoptosis detection kit, respectively. IDO expression and activity were measured by real‐time PCR, Western blotting, and high‐performance liquid chromatography.

Results

Isolated cells from oral mucosa and OLP expressed MSC‐related markers STRO‐1, CD105, and CD90 but were absent for hematopoietic stem cell markers CD34. Besides, they all showed self‐renewal and multilineage differentiation capacities. MSCs in OLP presented STRO‐1/IDO+ phenotype by immunofluorescence. MSCs and IFN‐γ‐pretreated MSCs could inhibit lymphocyte proliferation via IDO activity, but not via cell apoptosis. Long‐term IFN‐γ could also inhibit MSC proliferation via IDO activity.

Conclusions

Mesenchymal stem cells can be isolated from human oral mucosa and OLP tissues. Besides self‐renewal and multilineage differentiation properties, these cells may participate in immunomodulation mediated by IFN‐γ via IDO activity in human OLP.
Demographic Changes in the Older Adult Population of Persons with Intellectual Disability in Germany
Authors: Dieckmann Friedrich , Giovis Christos
Published: September 2014

The authors examine how the demographic structure of older adults with intellectual disability in Germany is changing. Using the example of Westphalia‐Lippe, a region with 8.3 million inhabitants, an alteration of the age structure is projected through to the year 2030. The projection is based on personal data of current recipients of services for people with disability from the regional funding authority (Landschaftsverband), as well as on educational statistics. Assumptions were drawn from the current utilization of support services. It is projected that the percentage of older adults among the German adult population with intellectual disability will increase from 10% in 2010 to 31% in 2030. In 2030, one of two residents of residential institutions will be 60 years old or older, and one of three adults will be 60 years or older who live in supported living. The authors provide a forecast for the numbers of people who will need any kind of support during the day after retirement or who will be in need of care when they get older. In cooperation with other social sectors (care for the elderly, health service system) and the local authorities, the authors suggest that providers have to adjust their services to these age‐related demands.
Reproductive phenology and seed dispersal syndromes of woody species in the Brazilian Chaco
Authors: Carvalho Fábia S. , Sartori Ângela L.B.
Published: September 2014

Questions

(1) Do woody species flourish and fructify according to environmental seasonality? (2) Is there a positive correlation with dry/rainy season? (3) Are the flowering and fruiting of woody species positively correlated with rainfall, temperature and photoperiod? (4) Do anemochorous, autochorous and zoochorous species fructify according to environmental seasonality, i.e. dry or rainy season?

Location

Thorn forest, southern Midwest Brazil.

Methods

Qualitative data collection included the presence or absence of flowers and/or fruits of each species, independently of the development phase of their reproductive organs. A Rayleigh test was used to determine if flowering and fructification were seasonal throughout the year and to detect possible significant seasonal patterns. Spearman's rank correlation and Bonferroni correction were used to determine possible correlations between phenological events and rainfall, temperature and photoperiod.

Results

Flowering and fruiting of the woody community showed a low degree of seasonality. No significant correlations were found between flowering and fructification and the climatic variables studied: temperature, photoperiod and rainfall. Approximately 60% of the zoochorous species bore fruit during the rainy season, but with a low degree of seasonality. The fruiting of anemochorous species presented two opposite points of higher frequency, corresponding to the transition period between rainfall and drought and the rainy season. No seasonality was found. Autochorous species showed no pattern of seasonal fruiting.

Conclusions

The data on flowering and fruiting in the community studied are unexpected and contrast with studies performed in seasonal environments. Seed dispersal syndromes showed no significant seasonal events. These results differ from those usually found in markedly seasonal environments. The Brazilian Chaco can be considered an arid environment in which abiotic syndromes prevail in a manner similar to that seen in tropical dry forests.
The orphan regulator ReiD of Salmonella enterica is essential for myo‐inositol utilization
Authors: Rothhardt Johannes E. , Kröger Carsten , Broadley Steven P. , Fuchs Thilo M.
Published: September 2014

In Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium), the genomic island GEI4417/4436 is responsible for the utilization of myo‐inositol (MI) as carbon and energy source. Here, we report the characterization of a novel, island‐encoded positive autoregulator termed ReiD (STM4423) that is specific to certain S. enterica strains and Escherichia coli strain ED1a able to use MI. ReiD was essential for growth with this polyol and also contributed to S. Typhimurium proliferation in swine caecum content. Providing higher copy numbers of ReiD reduced the long lag phase of 2 days during growth of S. Typhimurium in MI medium by 50%. In a heterologous host, expression of ReiD activated the transcription from the promoter of iolE/iolG, whose products catalyse the initial two steps in MI degradation. Episomal expression of iolE/iolG1 rescued the otherwise zero growth phenotype of a reiD deletion mutant in MI medium. Gel mobility shift assays with purified ReiD demonstrated directed interaction of ReiD with its own promoter and that of iolE. The repressor IolR bound the reiD promoter, implying that reiD is part of the IolR regulon. Taken together, the regulator ReiD is a trigger to accelerate the switch from more easily accessible nutrients to MI utilization by S. Typhimurium.
Extended glycan diversity in a bacterial protein glycosylation system linked to allelic polymorphisms and minimal genetic alterations in a glycosyltransferase gene
Authors: Børud Bente , Anonsen Jan Haug , Viburiene Raimonda , Cohen Ellen Hanne , Samuelsen Anne Berit C. , Koomey Michael
Published: September 2014

Glycans manifest in conjunction with the broad spectrum O‐linked protein glycosylation in species within the genus Neisseria display intra‐ and interstrain diversity. Variability in glycan structure and antigenicity are attributable to differences in the content and expression status of glycan synthesis genes. Given the high degree of standing allelic polymorphisms in these genes, the level of glycan diversity may exceed that currently defined. Here, we identify unique protein‐associated disaccharide glycoforms that carry N‐acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) at their non‐reducing end. This altered structure was correlated with allelic variants of pglH whose product was previously demonstrated to be responsible for the expression of glucose (Glc)‐containing disaccharides. Allele comparisons and site‐specific mutagenesis showed that the presence of a single residue, alanine at position 303 in place of a glutamine, was sufficient for GlcNAc versus Glc incorporation. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that GlcNAc‐containing disaccharides may be widely distributed within the pgl systems of Neisseria particularly in strains of N. meningitidis. Although analogous minimal structural alterations in glycosyltransferases have been documented in association with lipopolysaccharide and capsular polysaccharide variability, this appears to be the first example in which such changes have been implicated in glycan diversification within a bacterial protein glycosylation system.
Bacillithiol, a new role in buffering intracellular zinc
Authors: Eide David J.
Published: September 2014

Zinc is a catalytic or structural cofactor of numerous proteins but can also be toxic if cells accumulate too much of this essential metal. Therefore, mechanisms of zinc homeostasis are needed to maintain a low but adequate amount of free zinc so that newly translated zinc‐dependent proteins can bind their cofactor without confounding issues of toxicity. These mechanisms include the regulation of uptake and efflux transporters and buffering of the free metal concentration by low‐molecular‐weight ligands in the cytosol. While many of the transporters involved in zinc homeostasis have been discovered in recent years, the molecules that buffer zinc have remained largely a mystery. In the new report highlighted by this commentary,Maet al. (2014) provide convincing evidence that bacillithiol, the major low‐molecular‐weight thiol compound inBacillus subtilis, serves as an important zinc buffer in those cells. Their discovery provides an important piece to the puzzle of how zinc buffering occurs in a large number of microbes and provides new clues about the role and relative importance of zinc buffering in all organisms.
‘From boom to where?’: the impact of crisis on work and employment in Indian BPO
Authors: Taylor Phil , D'Cruz Premilla , Noronha Ernesto , Scholarios Dora
Published: September 2014

This article locates Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) within the global supply chains of business services delivery and an international division of service labour. It acknowledges the BPO market's essential dependence on demand from lead firms in the United States and United Kingdom. Drawing on a conceptual synthesis of the Global Commodity Chain, Global Value Chain and Global Production Network frameworks, the article examines the impact of 2008's financial crisis on employment, work organisation and the experience of work in Indian BPO. Employer/industry sources and employee interviews reveal reconfigured local labour market dynamics, tightened work discipline, an extensification of working time, work intensification and unprecedented growth in job insecurity. Such changed characteristics suggest a watershed that raises questions concerning the sustainability of models of BPO work constructed in pre‐crisis years.
Periodontitis in the absence of B cells and specific anti‐bacterial antibody
Authors: Oliver‐Bell J. , Butcher J.P. , Malcolm J. , MacLeod M.K.L. , Adrados Planell A. , Campbell L. , Nibbs R.J.B. , Garside P. , McInnes I.B. , Culshaw S.
Published: September 2014

Periodontitis (PD) results from complex interactions between a dysbiotic oral microbiota and a dysregulated host immune response. The inflammatory infiltrate in the gingiva of PD patients includes an abundance of B cells, implicating these cells in the immunopathology. We sought to investigate the role of B cells in PD using a murine model. Wild‐type or B‐cell‐deficient (μMT) mice were orally infected with Porphyromonas gingivalis. One or six weeks following infection, lymphocyte populations in the gingiva and cervical draining lymph nodes (dLN) were analysed by flow cytometry; serum anti‐P. gingivalis IgG antibody titers were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, and alveolar bone loss was determined. In wild‐type mice, the percentage of gingival B cells expressing receptor activator of nuclear factor‐κB ligand (RANKL) was significantly increased 1 week post‐infection (5.36% control versus 11% PD, P < 0.01). The percentage of Fas+ GL7+ germinal centre B cells in the dLN was significantly increased at both 1 week (2.03% control versus 6.90% PD, P < 0.01) and 6 weeks (4.45% control versus 8.77% PD, P < 0.05) post‐infection. B‐cell‐deficient mice were protected from P. gingivalis‐induced alveolar bone loss, with a lack of B‐cell proliferation and lack of CD4+ CD44+ CD62L− T‐cell generation in the dLN, and absence of serum anti‐P. gingivalis antibodies. Our data imply a pathological role for B cells in PD, and that selective targeting of this immune axis may have a role in treating severe periodontal disease.
A CBCT measurement of the mandibular buccal bone thickness in dentate adults
Authors: Talaat W.M. , Al Bayatti S.W. , Dohair D.E. , Zobeidi M.A. , Hannouneh K.M.
Published: September 2014

Aim

This study aims to measure the mandibular cortical bone thickness and the proximity of the tooth roots and the inferior alveolar canal to the outer cortex using cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT).

Materials and methods

Eighty CBCT scans were analysed. Buccal cortical plate and trabecular bone thickness were measured. Measurements of canine, first premolar, second premolar, first molar and second molar regions were taken at following levels: cortical plate thickness at the level of the midpoint of the midapical third of the root and at the level of apex, cortical plate and trabecular bone thickness at the level of the midpoint of the midapical third of the root, at the level of apex and at the level of inferior alveolar canal.

Results

Cortical bone thickness was greatest at the second molar region with 2.66 ± 0.72 at the root's midapical third, 3.27 ± 0.52 at the apex and 3.12 ± 0.64 at the level of the canal. Cortical plate and trabecular bone thickness was greatest at the second molar region with 4.72 ± 0.86 at the midapical third, 6.49 ± 0.8 at the apex and 5.3 ± 0.6 at the level of the canal.

Conclusions

Thickness of the outer cortex as well as the distance from cortex to canal and root is greatest at the second molar region, allowing placement of 4 mm monocortical screws safely and providing better implant stability and a thicker bone graft.
The relationship between UV exposure and incidence of skin cancer
Authors: Moan Johan , Grigalavicius Mantas , Baturaite Zivile , Dahlback Arne , Juzeniene Asta
Published: September 2014

Background

The incidence rates of skin cancer increase with decreasing latitude in most western countries. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a main risk factor for skin cancer.

Methods

We have studied the relationship between UV exposure and skin cancer incidence rates of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and cutaneous melanoma (CM), and tried to fit different mathematical models to the experimental data.

Results

The incidence–UV exposure relationship for all three cancers is best described by the power law: ln(RTD) = Ab·ln(annual UVEry dose), with relative tumor density (RTD) being age‐adjusted incidence rate per unit area of skin, and the power parameter Ab being the biological amplification factor. For SCC, the RTD is a factor of 16–19 times larger on the head than on the trunk. For BCC, this factor is 7 and for CM it is 0.9–1.3. Ab for CM has remained almost unchanged from the 1960s until recently.

Conclusions

The incidence–sun exposure relationship for all three cancers is well described by the power law. SCC is dependent on total UV exposures, while BCC, and even more CM, is dependent also on exposure patterns, with intermittent exposures being most carcinogenic.
Influence of nitrogen stress on Isochrysis galbana strain U4, a candidate for biodiesel production
Authors: Roopnarain Ashira , Gray Vincent M. , Sym Stuart
Published: September 2014

Lipid accumulation has been investigated in numerous microalgal species to assess their potential with respect to biodiesel production. The present work determines the effect of nitrogen stress on physiological and ultrastructural changes in Isochrysis galbana U4. This study is unique in showing the correlations between growth, lipid production, pigmentation and ultrastructural changes in Isochrysis cells undergoing nitrogen starvation. The continuation of algal growth after the complete depletion of external nitrogen was shown to be supported by internal nitrogen stores, possibly in the pyrenoid. Cell growth ceased and lipid accumulation was initiated after the internal store of nitrogen had become exhausted. The depletion of intracellular nitrogen reservoirs to critical thresholds initiated the onset of the stationary phase, a decline in chlorophyll content and the initiation of lipid and carotenoid accumulation. The most notable ultrastructural changes, upon nitrogen stress, were the accumulation of plastidial and cytoplasmic lipid bodies and the dismantling of the chloroplast. The size of the pyrenoid when external nitrogen became depleted was found to decrease significantly, up to four‐fold. This was attributed to the remobilization of nitrogen from Rubisco. The level of expression of heterochromatin was found to increase when cells were nitrogen starved. This is thought to favor long‐term dormancy in this species because aging cells have been noted to recover rapidly when returned to conditions favorable for growth. The observations of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that the responses of Isochrysis cells to nitrogen starvation are regulated by the internal reserves of nitrogen, and the depletion of these reserves is an important trigger for lipid accumulation in this species. The findings of this study also indicate that Isochrysis galbana U4 is a promising candidate for biodiesel lipid production.
Use and misuse of alcohol and psychotropic drugs among older people: Is that an issue when services are planned for and implemented?
Authors: Johannessen Aud , Engedal Knut , Helvik Anne‐Sofie
Published: September 2014

Background

To investigate health personnel's perceptions and experiences of alcohol and psychotropic drug use among older people (65 years and above) and to what extent this is an issue when services are planned for and implemented.

Method

Qualitative interviews with 16 health professionals who work with older patients, 13 registered district nurses, two occupational therapists and one physiotherapist, were performed during 2013. The sample included informants aged 34–62 years from 14 municipalities, four were male.

Findings

Two main categories emerged: state of practice and a desire to improve services. The first category details the informants' perceptions of legitimacy and attention to substance use and misuse among older people in need of healthcare, and their competence and knowledge on the topic. The topic was experienced as demanding to bring up. Health personnel described a lack of attention and competence how to handle use and misuse of alcohol and psychotropic drugs. The category is described in the subcategories legitimacy and attention to substance use and misuse and competence and knowledge in practice. The second category demonstrates the informants' desire to improve services so it better can contribute to detect misuse among older people and contribute to treatment. The variation is contained in the subcategories improving collaboration and changing routines.

Conclusion

Use and misuse of alcohol and psychoactive drugs among older people had little attention when the community health service is planned for and implemented. The participating health professionals had a desire to improve routines and collaboration in the healthcare services, but were also in need of improved competence about use and misuse of alcohol and psychoactive drugs.
A room of one′s own – Being cared for in a hospital with a single‐bed room design
Authors: Persson Eva , Anderberg Patrice , Kristensson Ekwall Anna
Published: September 2014

Aim

To illuminate patients’ experiences of being hospitalised in a hospital with a single‐bed room design.

Introduction

Many patients seem to prefer single‐bed hospital rooms. However, studies have also shown that patients do see the advantages of multiple‐bed rooms.

Method

Interviews were conducted with 16 inpatients from a surgical ward in a hospital building with a single‐bed room design. A hermeneutical–phenomenological approach guided by van Manen′s four life‐world existentials was used to analyse the interviews.

Results

The essential meaning was that patients felt secure because they could create a personal environment without disruptive elements. The room was private, and this implied feelings of homeliness, which allowed patients to focus on themselves and was thought to facilitate the recovery process. The patients preferred staying in their room, and the relationship with the personnel was central. Feelings of loneliness and isolation could occur and could be frightening. Being hospitalised in a single‐bed room meant balancing between feeling secure and feeling insecure. The following four themes emerged: A homely environment, The need for company and security, Time as unpredictable and involving waiting and Focus on healing the body.

Conclusion

Patients experienced that a single‐bed room allowed them to focus on their recovery, have visitors without disturbing others and create a feeling of homeliness. However, mobilisation is not a natural part of the recovery process when patients have all they need in their rooms. The patients’ need for social interaction and confirmation was not satisfied without effort and planning on the part of staff.
Evidence‐based Review of Gastrointestinal Bleeding in the Chronic Kidney Disease Patient
Authors: Kalman Richard S. , Pedrosa Marcos C.
Published: September 2014

Patients with end‐stage renal disease are more likely to suffer from gastrointestinal (GI) problems, including bleeding from upper and lower sources. Peptic ulcer disease is the most common cause of upper GI bleeding, and although there is some debate in the literature regarding whether the frequency of ulcer disease is higher in patients with kidney disease, it is well established that outcomes are worse in patients with compromised renal function. Angioectasias can be found throughout the GI tract and are another common cause of bleeding; management can be divided into localized endoscopic therapy and systemic hormonal treatment, or surgery for refractory cases. The most frequent causes of lower GI bleeding in this population, in addition to angioectasias, are diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, and ischemic colitis.
Geocomputation over the Emerging Heterogeneous Computing Infrastructure
Authors: Shi Xuan , Lai Chenggang , Huang Miaoqing , You Haihang
Published: September 2014

Emerging computer architectures and systems that combine multi‐core CPUs and accelerator technologies, like many‐core Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) and Intel's Many Integrated Core (MIC) coprocessors, would provide substantial computing power for many time‐consuming spatial‐temporal computation and applications. Although a distributed computing environment is suitable for large‐scale geospatial computation, emerging advanced computing infrastructure remains unexplored in GIScience applications. This article introduces three categories of geospatial applications by effectively exploiting clusters of CPUs, GPUs and MICs for comparative analysis. Within these three benchmark tests, the GPU clusters exemplify advantages in the use case of embarrassingly parallelism. For spatial computation that has light communication between the computing nodes, GPU clusters present a similar performance to that of the MIC clusters when large data is applied. For applications that have intensive data communication between the computing nodes, MIC clusters could display better performance than GPU clusters. This conclusion will be beneficial to the future endeavors of the GIScience community to deploy the emerging heterogeneous computing infrastructure efficiently to achieve high or better performance spatial computation over big data.
Optical conductivity of Ni1−xPtxSi monosilicides (0 < x < 0.3) from spectroscopic ellipsometry
Authors: Abdallah Lina S. , Zollner Stefan , Lavoie Christian , Ozcan Ahmet S. , Raymond Mark
Published: September 2014

The optical constants of 22 nm thick Ni1−xPtxSi (0 < x < 0.3) monosilicide films were measured using spectroscopic ellipsometry, in the spectral range from 0.6 to 6.6 eV at room temperature. Ni1−xPtx films sputtered on clean Si were annealed at 500 °C for 30 s to form nickel platinum monosilicides. The correct silicide thickness was found by minimizing Si substrate artifacts in the optical constants of Ni1−xPtxSi determined from ellipsometric data analysis. Two interband transitions at 1.8 and 4.5 eV were observed (rather than three peaks in PtSi). The absorption peak at 4.5 eV broadens with increasing Pt content in the monosilicide.
The intelligibility of interrupted speech depends upon its uninterrupted intelligibility
Authors: Ardoint Marine , Green Tim , Rosen Stuart
Published: September 2014

Recognition of sentences containing periodic, 5-Hz, silent interruptions of differing duty cycles was assessed for three types of processed speech. Processing conditions employed different combinations of spectral resolution and the availability of fundamental frequency (F0) information, chosen to yield similar, below-ceiling performance for uninterrupted speech. Performance declined with decreasing duty cycle similarly for each processing condition, suggesting that, at least for certain forms of speech processing and interruption rates, performance with interrupted speech may reflect that obtained with uninterrupted speech. This highlights the difficulty in interpreting differences in interrupted speech performance across conditions for which uninterrupted performance is at ceiling.
Mechanisms of shear thickening in transient guar network
Authors: Thomas Hu Y.
Published: September 2014

The shear-thickening behavior of reversibly cross-linked guar network is studied using rheological and particle imaging velocity measurements. New evidence suggests that both shear-induced increase in crosslink density and non-Gaussian chain stretching are possible mechanisms for shear thickening. Which mechanism plays a predominant role depends on the applied shear rate γ̇a  and shear time. At γ̇a not too much larger than 1/τ, where τ is the network relaxation time, shear thickening is mainly caused by the increase in crosslink density. At higher shear rates, shear thickening is initiated by the increase in chain density at short times, and non-Gaussian chain stretching occurs at longer times. It is demonstrated that the linear elastic modulus measured for the shear-thickening state and its relaxation time can be used to discriminate between non-Gaussian chain stretching and shear-induced crosslinking mechanisms. The detection of a linear step strain regime where the measured modulus does not change with the strain amplitude indicates the absence of non-Gaussian chain stretch. When chains are stretched into the non-Gaussian regime, the relaxation time becomes smaller whereas relaxation time remains unchanged if only crosslink density increases. At high shear rates, flow may become unstable with bulk fracture, shear banding, and continuous flow occurring randomly as revealed by the velocity profile across the flow cell gap.