bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Public Health, Ethics, and Human Rights: A Tribute to the Late Jonathan Mann
Authors: Gostin Lawrence O.
Published: January 2007

The late Jonathan Mann famously theorized that public health, ethics, and human rights are complementary fields motivated by the paramount value of human well-being. He felt that people could not be healthy if governments did not respect their rights and dignity as well as engage in health policies guided by sound ethical values. Nor could people have their rights and dignity if they were not healthy. Mann and his colleagues argued that public health and human rights are integrally connected: Human rights violations adversely affect the community's health, coercive public health policies violate human rights, and advancement of human rights and public health reinforce one another. Despite the deep traditions in public health, ethics, and human rights, they have rarely cross-fertilized—although there exists an important emerging literature. For the most part, each of these fields has adopted its own terminology and forms of reasoning. Consequently, Mann advocated the creation of a code of public health ethics and the adoption of a vocabulary or taxonomy of “dignity violation”.
Public Health Legal Preparedness for the 21st Century
Authors: Moulton Anthony D. , Goodman Richard A. , Cahill Kathy , Baker Edward L.
Published: January 2007

Law is indispensable to the public's health. The twentieth century proved this true as law contributed to each of the century's ten great public health achievements: vaccination, healthier mothers and babies, family planning, safer and healthier foods, fluoridation of drinking water, the control of infectious diseases, the decline in death from heart disease and stroke, recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard, motor vehicle safety, and safer workplaces.

The readers of this journal can give examples of the relevant types of laws with ease: Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the 1905 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of compulsory vaccination; mandatory immunization for school admission; authorization of state prenatal care programs; mandatory fortification of foods; Title X of the Public Health Service Act; the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906; the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, and hundreds of state and local enactments regulating food; fluoridation ordinanceswater, and sanitation; the Surgeon General's warning notices on cigarette packs and restrictions on marketing tobacco; seat belt laws and mandated vehicle and highway design features; and laws like the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 that regulate working conditions.
Litigation as Public Health Policy: Theory or Reality?
Authors: Jacobson Peter D. , Soliman Soheil
Published: January 2007

An ongoing debate among legal scholars and public health advocates is the role of litigation in shaping public policy. For the most part, the debate has been waged at a conceptual level, with opponents and proponents arguing within fairly well-defined boundaries. The debate has been based either on speculation of what litigation could achieve or on ideological grounds as to why litigation should or should not be used this way. With the exception of Rosenberg's study of how litigation shaped policy in civil rights, abortion, and environmental matters, there is almost no empirical support for either position.

In recent years, the most ardent proponents of litigation as public policy have been public health advocates. Perhaps out of frustration with the inability to achieve desired public health goals through the legislative branch of government, public health advocates have pursued litigation as an alternative strategy. Beginning with tobacco class action litigation in the early 1990s and continuing with litigation against gun manufacturers at the end of that decade, public health advocates have waged a veritable litigation assault aimed at changing how public health policy is formed.
Evidence, Belief, and Action: The Failure of Equipoise to Resolve the Ethical Tension in the Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Hellman Deborah
Published: January 2007

Clinical research employing the randomized clinical trial has, traditionally, been understood to pose an ethical dilemma. On the one hand, each patient ought to get the treatment that best meets her needs, as judged by the patient in consultation with her doctor. On the other hand, the method most helpful to advancing our understanding about what treatments are indeed best able to meet patient needs is the randomized trial, which necessitates that each patient's care is decided not by physician judgment or patient choice but instead by random assignment. The tension can be described as a conflict between the interests of individual patients who are sick today, and the interests of the group of people who will become sick in the future and would benefit from advances in medical understanding. How one ought to balance these important and often competing interests is an important ethical question that resists easy resolution.
All Donations Should Not Be Treated Equally: A Response to Jeffrey Kahn's Commentary
Authors: Ross Lainie Friedman
Published: January 2007

Jeffrey Kahn and I agree that organ donation by altruistic strangers is acceptable, and that the organ procured this way ought to be allocated equitably. Our agreement in principle, however, is challenged in the details of its application. Specifically, I want to focus on three issues raised by Kahn that merit further discussion: whether relationships matter; how kidneys should be allocated; and the ethical acceptability of the expanded donor pool.
Zoning Law, Health, and Environmental Justice: What’s the Connection?
Authors: Maantay Juliana
Published: January 2007

Zoning laws determine what types of land uses and densities can occur on each property lot in a municipality, and therefore also govern the range of potential environmental and health impacts resulting from the land use. Zoning regulations are the most ubiquitous of the land use laws in the United States, as well as in many other countries. As such, they have far-reaching effects on the location of noxious uses, and any concomitant environmental or human health impacts.

Zoning has enormous implications, in general, for shaping our environment, and because changes to zoning are made through a political process, it has possibilities for abuse. One zoning expert stated:

I suppose what really disturbs me is that because zoning is the most universal of the legal tools for shaping the character of the municipality, any unwise use of the process has a far greater impact upon our national character than does the abuse of a less widely employed device.
Co-Opting the Health and Human Rights Movement
Authors: Jacobson Peter D. , Soliman Soheil
Published: January 2007

Public health is concerned with how to improve the population’s health. At times, though, actions to improve the community’s health may collide with individual civil rights. For example, a public health response to a bioterrorism attack, such as smallpox, may require relaxing an individual’s due process protections to prevent the smallpox from spreading. This tension lies at the heart of public health policy. It also must be considered in discussing the concept of human rights in health.

Proponents of incorporating the concept of human rights in health emphasize the importance of both individual rights and collective rights. They argue that observing human rights is not only consistent with broad public health goals, but necessary to their attainment. To many human rights advocates, the concept is not limited to protecting against governmental intrusion. Accordingly, they emphasize the government’s obligation to promote attainment of human rights by, for instance, providing adequate health care.
Should We Impose Quotas? Evaluating the “Disparate Impact” Argument against Legalization of Assisted Suicide
Authors: Lindsay Ronald A.
Published: January 2007

Prominent among the arguments against the legalization of assisted suicide is the contention that legalization will have a disproportionately adverse, or “disparate,” impact on various vulnerable groups. There are many versions of this argument, with different advocates of this argument focusing on different vulnerable groups, and some advocates confusedly blending slippery slope and social justice concerns. Also, the weight placed on this argument by its various advocates is not uniform, with some including the argument in a list of multiple, apparently similarly persuasive, reasons for not legalizing assisted suicide, while others place significant reliance on it and yet others advance the argument without any clear indication of its importance. Nonetheless, the various versions share a common core: One reason assisted suicide should not be legalized is that members of certain vulnerable groups are more likely to be pressured into requesting it, whether directly by those hostile or indifferent to their interests, or indirectly by social circumstances, such as an inability to pursue other healthcare choices.
Legislating Privilege
Authors: Spindelman Marc S.
Published: January 2007

Serious concerns about pervasive, persistent, and unjustified social inequalities have prompted a small—but growing—number of academic commentators to raise some hard and troubling questions for those who would like to legalize physician-assisted suicide. In various ways, these commentators have asked: In light of existing social inequalities—inequalities that operate, for example, along sometimes intersecting lines of race, class, age, sex (including sexual orientation), and disability—how persuasive are autonomy-based arguments in favor of legalization of assisted suicide when those arguments depend (as they typically do) on a conception of autonomy that either presupposes social equality or does not expressly account for its absence? How compelling are arguments that we ought to legalize assisted suicide out of feelings of mercy for the sick and dying, when such affective expressions may actually be the socially acceptable manifestation of private ambivalence that includes merciless discrimination?
Pain Relief, Prescription Drugs, and Prosecution: A Four-State Survey of Chief Prosecutors
Authors: Ziegler Stephen J. , Lovrich Nicholas P.
Published: January 2007

The experience of having to suffer debilitating pain is far too common in the United States, and many patients continue to be inadequately treated by their doctors. Although many physicians freely admit that their pain management practices may have been somewhat lacking, many more express concern that the prescribing of heightened levels of opioid analgesics may result in closer regulatory scrutiny, criminal investigation, or even criminal prosecution.

Although several researchers have examined the regulatory environment and the threat of sanction or harm it poses to physicians and patients, few have examined the likelihood of investigation or prosecution stemming from the aggressive use of opioids in physician-directed pain management. Accordingly, in an effort to assess whether the fear of prosecution is realistic and, if so, what factors contribute to its likelihood, we surveyed chief prosecutors in four states about their knowledge, opinions, and attitudes concerning opioids and the prosecution of physicians stemming from the treatment of patients who were either terminally ill or suffering from chronic noncancer pain.
Improving State Medical Board Policies: Influence of a Model
Authors: Gilson Aaron M. , Joranson David E. , Maurer Martha A.
Published: January 2007

Despite advances in medical knowledge regarding pain management, pain continues to be significantly undertreated in the United States. There are many drug and nondrug treatments, but the use of controlled substances, particularly the opioid analgesics, is universally accepted for the treatment of pain from cancer. Although opioid analgesics are safe and effective in treating chronic pain, there is continued research and discussion about patient selection and long-term effects. A number of barriers in the health care and drug regulatory systems account for the gap between what is known about pain management and what is practiced. Among the barriers are physicians’ fears of being disciplined by state regulatory boards for inappropriate prescribing.

State medical boards are in a unique position not only to address physicians’ concerns about being investigated, but also to encourage pain management. Prior to 1989, a few state medical boards had policies relating to controlled substances or pain. Subsequently, state medical boards began adopting policies regarding the prescribing of opioids for the treatment of pain; many of these specifically addressed physicians’ fear of regulatory scrutiny.
Medicare: Ninth Circuit Limits Rates Providers Can Charge Medigap Insurers
Authors: Caldie Ed
Published: January 2007

InVencor, Inc. v. National States Insurance Co.,the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a Medigap insurance provider was only obligated to pay the rates that Medicare would have paid for the same care.

Clarence Rollins purchased a Medigap insurance policy from National States Insurance Company (NSIC) to supplement his Medicare coverage. When Rollins became ill and required care beyond that which Medicare would cover, he received his medical treatment from Vencor Hospital-Phoenix (Vencor). Upon Rollins's death, NSIC paid Vencor $38,760. Vencor claimed that NSIC owed an additional $132,438 because NSIC was not entitled to the lower care rates established by Medicare. NSIC refused to pay Vencor's higher rates. As a result, Vencor sued NSIC for breach of contract.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona held, on a motion for summary judgment, that no breach occurred, and that NSIC was obligated to pay only the lower rates established by Mediare. The Ninth Circuit affirmed this decision.
Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Failure to Cover Does Not Violate ADA, Title VII, or PDA
Authors: Gutmann Valerie
Published: January 2007

InSaks v. Franklin Covey Co., the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), and New York state law do not proscribe an employer's self-insured employee health plan from excluding surgical impregnation procedures from its coverage. Although the court found that infertility qualifies as a disability under the ADA, it restricted required coverage of certain infedty treatments.

Title I of the ADA prohibits an employer from discriminating on the basis of disability “in regard to … fringe benefits available by virtue of employment, whether or not administered by the covered entity.” The ADA defines “disability” as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.” InBragdon v. Abbott, the U.S. Supreme Court found that reproduction was a major life activity under the ADA.
Populations and the Law: The Changing Scope of Health Policy
Authors: Fox Daniel M.
Published: January 2007

Changes in the scope of health policy in the United States are creating opportunities and obligations for lawmakers and the lawyers who advise them. These changes are the result of a new politics of policy for the health of populations. The new politics is connecting areas of policy that, because they have had separate histories, are governed by distinct, usually uncoordinated laws and regulations.

The subject of the new politics of health policy is what the Iowa Senate President, speaking in a plenary at the 2003 conference on Public Health Law in the 21stCentury, called the “quality of life, what the people think is important.” An increasing number of leaders in general govemment–people who run for office and their staff–have practical reasons to make policy that acknowledges the expanding scope of what their constituents define as health policy.
Forensic Epidemiology: Law at the Intersection of Public Health and Criminal Investigations
Authors: Goodman Richard A. , Munson Judith W. , Dammers Kim , Lazzarini Zita , Barkley John P.
Published: January 2007

Since at least the mid-1970s, public health and law enforcement officials have conducted joint or parallel investigations of both health problems possibly associated with criminal intent and crimes having particular health dimensions. However, the anthrax and other terrorist attacks of fall 2001 have dramatically underscored the needs that public health and law enforcement officials have for a clear understanding of the goals and methods each discipline uses in investigating such problems, including and especially the potential use of biologic agents as weapons of mass destruction. Recognition of these needs has prompted some experts to call for the application of “forensic epidemiology” to such problems. Even before the attacks of fall 2001, other problems, such as the detection of the West Nile Virus in the United States and concerns that the emergence of this infectious agent was the consequence of a deliberate act, raised novel challenges to the combined interests of public health and criminal investigators.
“Underground Euthanasia” and the Harm Minimization Debate
Authors: Magnusson Roger S.
Published: January 2007

I have a hairstylist whose lover was very sick. I’d been seeing this stylist for ten years and we’re good friends. [His lover was] becoming an invalid, not able to get out of bed. He said “I hate to ask you this but would you mind writing a prescription to help us out?” [So] I wrote a prescription to a patient who I had never seen, and I sent it to him in the mail and I heard the next time I went in to get my hair cut that it was the most beautiful experience that my stylist had ever had. It was Valentine’s Day and they had a lovely meal with champagne. And they held each other and then, you know, his partner took his pills and was released.

(Joseph, physician)
Strengthening the Collaboration between Public Health and Criminal Justice to Prevent Violence
Authors: Prothrow-Stith Deborah
Published: January 2007

Over the last two decades in the United States, public health practitioners, policy makers, and researchers have charted new tenitory by increasingly using public health strategies to understand and prevent youth violence, which has been considered a criminal justice problem. The utilization of public health approaches has generated several contributions to the understanding and prevention of violence, including new and expanded knowledge in surveillance, delineation of risk factors, and prop design, including implementation and evaluation strategies.

While public health activities generally complement those of criminal justice, confrontations, challenges and turf issues within this cross-disciplinary enterprise remain inevitable. Continued progress is dependent upon expanded efforts and greater collaboration within both disciplines.
Legal Enforcement of Xenotransplantation Public Health Safeguards
Authors: Florencio Patrik S. , Ramanathan Erik D.
Published: January 2007

Xenotransplantation is any transplantation, implantation, or infusion of either live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source, or human bodily fluids, cells, tissues, or organs that have had ex vivo contact with live nonhuman animal cells, tissues, or organs into a human recipient. Most scientists agree that clinical xenotransplantation should not be performed in the absence of accompanying public health safeguards The science upon which that consensus is based has been extensively described in the literature. By and large the most compelling reason for public health safeguards is the possible introduction of new infectious agents into the human life cycle as a result of xenotransplantation.

The most frequent source of new infectious diseases in human populations is the transfer of agents, such as viruses, bacteria, or prions, from animals to man. Human diseases and infectious agents that are thought to have originated from animals include influenza, rabies, malaria, lassa fever, lyme disease, AIDS, yellow fever, tuberculosis, the human t-cell lymphotropic virus, the herpes B virus, the hantavirus, and even the bubonic and pneumonic plagues.
Political Authority in a Bioterror Emergency
Authors: May Thomas
Published: January 2007

The events of September 11, 2001 have prompted significant concern to protect against future terror attacks, especially attacks that would involve the use of biological weapons - the most dangerous weapons of massdestruction considered accessible to terrorist groups and organizations. This concern, in turn, has led to a re-evaluation of the public health system and its preparedness to meet the challenges of treating a large number of people in circumstances of public fear and significant demand for resources. One important result of this re-evaluation has been the development of a Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MSEHPA) that is designed to grant state officials the authority necessary to coordinate an effective response to biological tenor. The Model Act was first publicized in late October, 2001,and a revised version was publicized December21, 2001.As of October 1,2002,legislation based on the Act had been introduced in thirty-six states, and versions of the Act had been enacted in twenty states and the District of Columbia.
New Malaise: Bioethics and Human Rights in the Global Era
Authors: Farmer Paul , Campos Nicole Gastineau
Published: January 2007

First, to what level of quality can medical ethics a spire, if it ignores callous discrimination in medrcal practice against large populations of the innocent poor? Second, how effective can such theories be in addressing the critical issues of medical and clinical ethics if they are unable to contribute to the closing of the gap of sociomedical disparity?

Marcio Fabri dos Anjos, Medical Ethics in the Developing World: A Liberation Theology Perspective
How Can We Help? From “Sociology in” to “Sociology of” Bioethics
Authors: De Vries Raymond
Published: January 2007

The relationship between sociology and bioethics has been an uneasy one. It has been described as contentious and adversarial, and at least some of the sociologists who have ventured into the territory of medical ethics report back on unfriendly natives. This bioethical ill will toward sociology is not without cause. Sociologists have been quite critical of what they call (with not-so-subtle pejorative overtones) the bioethical project.

Two decades ago - when bioethics was just getting up on its organizational feet - Renée Fox and Judith Swazey leveled the charge of cultural myopia against bioethics, noting that this myopia generally manifests itself in the form of systematic inattention to the social and cultural sources and implications of its own thought. They go on to sayifbioethics is an indicator of the general state of American ideas, values, and beliefs, of our collective self knowledge, and our understanding of other societies and cultures - then there is every reason to be worried about who we are, what we have become, and where we are going
Technology Transfer in BioBanking: Credits, Debits, and Population Health Futures
Authors: Malinowski Michael J.
Published: January 2007

Bioinformatics, the integration of information technology and biotechnology, is the primary means to make medical sense out of the map of the human genome, and bioinformatics capabilities continue to expand exponentially. Consequently, the demand for access to human biological samples and medical information has never been greater. This demand is giving rise to ambitious biobanking initiatives - meaning the organized collection of samples and medical information from human population.
An Enhanced Approach to Distinguishing Public Health Practice and Human Subjects Research
Authors: Hodge James G.
Published: January 2007

What are the Differences between Public Health Practice and Research?This perplexing question constantly arises in the planning and performance of public health activities involving the acquisition and use of identifiable health information. Public health agencies collect and analyze significant identifiable health data from health care providers, insurers, other agencies, or individuals to perform an array of public health activities. These activities include surveillance (e.g., reporting requirements, disease registries, sentinel networks), epidemiological investigations (e.g., to investigate disease outbreaks), and evaluation and monitoring (e.g., public health program development and analysis, oversight functions). Few debate that these essential public health activities, often specifically authorized by law, are classifiable as public health practice.

Other public health activities in which identifiable health data are acquired or used, however, can resemble, include, or constitute human subjects research. “Human subjects research” is legally defined as “a systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge” that involves living human subjects (or their identifiable, private data).
Physician-Assisted Suicide and Criminal Prosecution: Are Physicians at Risk?
Authors: Ziegler Stephen J.
Published: January 2007

The legalization of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) remains a hotly debated issue throughout the United States, and continues to capture the attention of government officials at both the state and federal levels. While the practice is currently legal in Oregon, some federal lawmakers and officials from the U.S. Department of Justice have attempted to outlaw that state's practice through legislation (e.g., the Pain Relief Promotion Act of 1999), or through a strained interpretation of the federal Controlled Substances Act. And while several citizen groups throughout the United States have attempted but failed to legalize PAS through popular initiative, several state lawmakers have succeeded in specifically outlawing the practice. Yet even though physician-assisted suicide (PAS) remains unlawful in every state except Oregon, there is ample evidence that American physicians throughout the United States have participated in PAS by providing their terminally ill patients with lethal prescriptions.
The Clinical Investigator as Fiduciary: Discarding a Misguided Idea
Authors: Morreim E. Haavi
Published: January 2007

One of the most important questions in the ethics of human clinical research asks what obligations investigators owe the people who enroll in their studies. Research differs in many ways from standard care - the added uncertainties, for instance, and the nontherapeutic interventions such as diagnostic tests whose only purpose is to measure the effects of the research intervention. Hence arises the question whether a physician engaged in clinical research has the same obligations toward research subjects that he owes his medical patients, or whether they differ in any fundamental way.

Perhaps the most common answer is that the relationship is the same. Investigators, like physicians, are said to be fiduciaries of the volunteers who enroll in research trials. Each owes the best available medical care, which means that a physician can only justify enrolling his patient in research if the study meets the requirements of clinical equipoise, namely, that there is legitimate disagreement within the medical community as to whether the standard treatment or the investigational intervention is superior.
Phantom Tumors and Hysterical Women: Revising our View of the Schloendorff Case
Authors: Lombardo Paul A.
Published: January 2007

Over the past thirty years, the doctrine of informed consent has become a focal point in discussions of medical ethics. The literature of informed consent explores the evolution of the principle of autonomy, purportedly emerging from the mists of 19th Century medical practice, and finding its earliest articulation in legal cases where wronged citizens asserted their rights against medical authority. A commonplace, if not obligatory, feature of that literature is a reference to the case of Mary Schloendorff and the opinion written by Judge Benjamin Cardozo by which the case is remembered. Commentators today applaud the prescience of Cardozo for an early articulation of what eventually would become bioethical orthodoxy concerning informed consent and its place as a bulwark of patient autonomy. They inevitably quote Cardozo's famous statement, “Every human being of adult years and sound mind has a right to determine what shall be done with his own body.”
Clinical Trials Registries: A Reform that is Past Due
Authors: Gold Jennifer L. , Studdert David M.
Published: January 2007

Several high-profile episodes have recently thrust drug safety and the pharmaceutical industry's practices into the spotlight. Merck's recall of the drug Vioxx, for instance, was a major news event. GlaxoSmithKline's suppression of data linking suicidal behavior among children to Paxil also galvanized tremendous public attention. What differentiates these events from the usual evolving process of scientific knowledge, and marks them with an aura of “scandal,” are questions about the propriety of corporate behavior. Who knew what, and when did they know it? Concerns are growing about the potential for industry sponsors to suppress negative results from clinical trials research. Scientists, medical journal editors, legislators, and the public have called for greater transparency in the conduct of clinical trials and the drug approval process.
Antioxidant Activity of Sugar Molasses, Including Protective Effect Against DNA Oxidative Damage
Authors: Guimarães Carla M. , Gião Maria S. , Martinez Sidónia S. , Pintado Ana I. , Pintado Manuela E. , Bento Luis S. , Malcata F. Xavier
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACT:  Extracts were obtained from molasses, a byproduct of the sugar industry, via a number of chromatographic steps. Their antioxidant capacity was studied, including the inhibitory effect upon DNA oxidative damage; the phenolic compound profile thereof was ascertained as well. Two extracts exhibited significant antioxidant features, expressed by their capacity to decolorize ABTS radical cation and to scavenge hydroxyl free radicals (via deoxyribose assay). Those 2 extracts also brought about protection against induced DNA oxidative damage (via decreasing DNA scission, as assessed by electrophoresis). The phenolic compounds syringic acid, p‐hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, p‐hydroxybenzaldehyde, and ferulic acid were positively identified and quantified.
Quality Changes in Fresh‐Cut Fuji Apple as Affected by Ripeness Stage, Antibrowning Agents, and Storage Atmosphere
Authors: Rojas‐Graü M.A. , Grasa‐Guillem R. , Martín‐Belloso O.
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACT: The effect of ripening state, modified atmosphere, and the use of antibrowning agents was investigated in an attempt to determine optimum ripeness and processing conditions for extending the shelf‐life of fresh‐cut Fuji apple. Apples were classified in 3 groups: mature‐green, partially ripe, and ripe; after peeling and slicing, fruits were treated with 1% (w/v)N‐acetylcysteine, or 1% (w/v) ascorbic acid (control), and then packed into polypropylene trays with air or a gas mixture (2.5% O2+ 7% CO2+ 90.5% N2) and sealed. Trays containing the apple slices were stored in darkness at 4 °C ± 1 °C and analyzed periodically during 43 d. Changes in atmosphere composition, color, and firmness were examined. Partially ripe apples, based on their lower ethanol production and maintenance of their original color and firmness, were the most suitable to prepare the fresh‐cut commodities. A postcutting dip in 1% (w/v)N‐acetylcysteine was the most effective treatment to prevent cut surface browning and preserve the initial appearance of Fuji apple slices during more than 1 mo at 4 °C. Low O2and elevated CO2(2.5% O2+ 7% CO2) atmosphere extended the shelf life of apple slices because of a significant inhibition of ethylene production.
Effects of Microcrystalline Cellulose on Functional Properties of Hydroxy Propyl Methyl Cellulose Microcomposite Films
Authors: Dogan N. , McHugh T.H.
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACT:  Edible films and coatings in foods can be used to increase shelf‐life and improve organoleptic characteristics of foods by avoiding deterioration of food components and therefore promoting preservation of the final product. This study is the first to investigate the use of different size fillers for the purpose of preparing edible composite films with fillers < 1.0 μm in size. For this purpose, water vapor permeability and mechanical properties of HPMC (hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose) based films with the inclusion of different size MCC (microcrystalline cellulose) fillers were studied. The water vapor permeability of the control HPMC film was 1.2 ± 0.2 g‐mm/kPa‐h‐m2 and did not show a significant change with the addition of fillers. A comparison of mechanical properties of the films with a tensile test showed that tensile strength of the control film, which was prepared using a 3 wt% HPMC solution, increased from 29.7 ± 1.6 MPa to 70.1 ± 7.9 MPa with the addition of 500‐nm size particles, while it increased only to 37.4 ± 5.5 MPa with the addition of 3‐μm size particles. Also important is that the elongation percentage of the control film did not decrease significantly with the addition of submicron size fillers to the HPMC films. This study showed that the increased surface area per weight of smaller size MCC fillers compared to their larger size counterparts was highly beneficial in terms of film mechanical property improvement.
Thermal Characteristics of Ohmically Heated Rice Starch and Rice Flours
Authors: An H. J. , King J. M.
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACT:  Thermal properties of conventionally and ohmically heated rice starch and rice flours at various frequencies and voltages were studied. There was an increase in gelatinization temperature for conventionally heated rice starches since they were pregelatinized and became more rigid due to starch–chain interactions. In addition, there was a decrease in enthalpy (energy needed) for conventionally and ohmically heated starches during gelatinization; thus, the samples required less energy for gelatinization during DSC analysis. Ohmically heated commercial starch showed the greatest decrease in enthalpy probably because of the greatest extent of pregelatinization through ohmic heating. Brown rice flour showed the greatest gelatinization temperature resulting from the delay of starch granule swelling by lipid and protein. Enthalpy of ohmically heated starches at 20 V/cm was the lowest, which was most likely due to the lower voltage resulting in a more complete pregelatinization from a longer heating time required to reach 100 °C. Ohmic treatment at 70 V/cm decreased onset gelatinization temperature of white flour; therefore, it produced rice flour that swelled faster, whereas the conventionally heated sample showed a better thermal resistance.
Water Catalysis of a Radical-Molecule Gas-Phase Reaction
Authors: Vöhringer-Martinez E. , Hansmann B. , Hernandez H. , Francisco J. S. , Troe J. , Abel B.
Published: January 2007

There has been considerable speculation about the role of water and water complexes in chemical gas-phase reactions, including the conjecture that water may act as a molecular catalyst through its ability to form hydrogen bonds. Here, we present kinetic studies in which the effect of water on the rate of the reaction between hydroxyl radicals and acetaldehyde has been measured directly in Laval nozzle expansions at low temperatures. An increasing enhancement of the reaction rate by added water was found with decreasing temperatures between 300 and 60 kelvin. Quantum chemical calculations and statistical rate theory support our conclusions that this observation is due to the reduction of an intrinsic reaction barrier caused by specific water aggregation. The results suggest that even single water molecules can act as catalysts in radical-molecule reactions.
Reversible Switching of Hydrogel-Actuated Nanostructures into Complex Micropatterns
Authors: Sidorenko Alexander , Krupenkin Tom , Taylor Ashley , Fratzl Peter , Aizenberg Joanna
Published: January 2007

Responsive behavior, which is intrinsic to natural systems, is becoming a key requirement for advanced artificial materials and devices, presenting a substantial scientific and engineering challenge. We designed dynamic actuation systems by integrating high–aspect-ratio silicon nanocolumns, either free-standing or substrate-attached, with a hydrogel layer. The nanocolumns were put in motion by the “muscle” of the hydrogel, which swells or contracts depending on the humidity level. This actuation resulted in a fast reversible reorientation of the nanocolumns from tilted to perpendicular to the surface. By further controlling the stress field in the hydrogel, the formation of a variety of elaborate reversibly actuated micropatterns was demonstrated. The mechanics of the actuation process have been assessed. Dynamic control over the movement and orientation of surface nanofeatures at the micron and submicron scales may have exciting applications in actuators, microfluidics, or responsive materials.
A Virus in a Fungus in a Plant: Three-Way Symbiosis Required for Thermal Tolerance
Authors: Márquez Luis M. , Redman Regina S. , Rodriguez Russell J. , Roossinck Marilyn J.
Published: January 2007

A mutualistic association between a fungal endophyte and a tropical panic grass allows both organisms to grow at high soil temperatures. We characterized a virus from this fungus that is involved in the mutualistic interaction. Fungal isolates cured of the virus are unable to confer heat tolerance, but heat tolerance is restored after the virus is reintroduced. The virus-infected fungus confers heat tolerance not only to its native monocot host but also to a eudicot host, which suggests that the underlying mechanism involves pathways conserved between these two groups of plants.
Response to Comment on "Evolutionary Paths Underlying Flower Color Variation in
Antirrhinum
"
Authors: Whibley Annabel C. , Langlade Nicolas B. , Andalo Christophe , Hanna Andrew I. , Bangham Andrew , Thébaud Christophe , Coen Enrico
Published: January 2007

Rausher's assertion that divergent selection across a hybrid zone is incompatible with adaptive ridges, although intuitively reasonable, is incorrect on several fronts. His alternative hypothesis of a single moveable peak predicts a sharp environmental transition across the hybrid zone that is not supported by observations. Thus, a high fitness path still provides the most straightforward explanation of our data.
Electromechanical Resonators from Graphene Sheets
Authors: Bunch J. Scott , van der Zande Arend M. , Verbridge Scott S. , Frank Ian W. , Tanenbaum David M. , Parpia Jeevak M. , Craighead Harold G. , McEuen Paul L.
Published: January 2007

Nanoelectromechanical systems were fabricated from single- and multilayer graphene sheets by mechanically exfoliating thin sheets from graphite over trenches in silicon oxide. Vibrations with fundamental resonant frequencies in the megahertz range are actuated either optically or electrically and detected optically by interferometry. We demonstrate room-temperature charge sensitivities down to 8 × 10
–4
electrons per root hertz. The thinnest resonator consists of a single suspended layer of atoms and represents the ultimate limit of two-dimensional nanoelectromechanical systems.
First Molecular Epidemiology Study ofMycobacterium tuberculosisin Burkina Faso
Authors: Godreuil S. , Torrea G. , Terru D. , Chevenet F. , Diagbouga S. , Supply P. , Van de Perre P. , Carriere C. , Bañuls A. L.
Published: January 2007

We conducted a molecular epidemiology study on 120Mycobacterium tuberculosisisolates from patients presenting pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in Burkina Faso. Classical antibiogram studies and genetic characterization, using mycobacterial interspersed repetitive-unit-variable-number tandem-repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing and spoligotyping, were applied after culture. Molecular analysis of specific signatures showed that all TB cases reported in this study were caused byM. tuberculosisand identified noMycobacterium bovisorMycobacterium africanumisolates. This result is unexpected, asM. africanumstrains were reportedly the etiologic agent in 20% of TB cases 2 decades ago. The comparison of spoligotypes from Burkina Faso with an international spoligotype database (SpolDB4) showed that the majority of isolates belong to major clades ofM. tuberculosis(Haarlem, 9%; Latin American-Mediterranean, 30%; and T, 20%). The predominant group of isolates (30%) corresponds to spoligotype 61, described in Cameroon as the “Cameroon family.” In Burkina Faso, as in Cameroon, this family could be associated with recent transmission of TB, suggesting a recent expansion in West Africa. Our data suggest a low level of primary drug resistance that may be a positive result of the Directly Observed Therapy Shortcourse program. Besides, based on spoligotyping plus MIRU-VNTR, data showed a high number of clusters in our sample, suggesting a high level of recent TB transmission in Burkina Faso. Nevertheless, an important genetic polymorphism was observed in this country, reflecting an endemicity situation where the control of TB would have less impact in the main towns.
Identification of Beijing LineageMycobacterium tuberculosiswith Combined Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit Loci 26, 31, and ETR-A
Authors: Chin Pei-Ju , Chiu Chen-Che , Jou Ruwen
Published: January 2007

A rapid method for identification of Beijing lineageMycobacterium tuberculosisis still needed in regions of tuberculosis endemicity, especially if genotyping methods are not readily accessible. After analyzing 1,557 clinical isolates, a PCR method with combined mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit loci 26, 31, and ETR-A for differentiation of Beijing lineage isolates was established, the sensitivity and specificity of which are 94.7% and 98.5%, respectively.
Identification of
Burkholderia pseudomallei
and Related Bacteria by Multiple-Locus Sequence Typing-Derived PCR and Real-Time PCR
Authors: Wattiau Pierre , Van Hessche Mieke , Neubauer Heinrich , Zachariah Reena , Wernery Ulrich , Imberechts Hein
Published: January 2007

Close relatedness and genomic plasticity characterizing the high-threat pathogens
Burkholderia pseudomallei
and
Burkholderia mallei
render the molecular diagnosis of these species hard to guarantee with a maximal confidence level. This article describes fast molecular assays derived from compiled sequences of housekeeping genes determined in more than 1,000 strains. The assays proved to be robust and appropriate for general detection as well as species identification purposes.
Distinct Transcriptional Profiles in Ex Vivo CD4+and CD8+T Cells Are Established Early in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection and Are Characterized by a Chronic Interferon Response as Well as Extensive Transcriptional Changes in CD8+T Cells
Authors: Hyrcza Martin D. , Kovacs Colin , Loutfy Mona , Halpenny Roberta , Heisler Lawrence , Yang Stuart , Wilkins Olivia , Ostrowski Mario , Der Sandy D.
Published: January 2007

Changes in T-cell function are a hallmark of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, but the pathogenic mechanisms leading to these changes are unclear. We examined the gene expression profiles in ex vivo human CD4+and CD8+T cells from untreated HIV-1-infected individuals at different clinical stages and rates of disease progression. Profiles of pure CD4+and CD8+T-cell subsets from HIV-1-infected nonprogressors with controlled viremia were indistinguishable from those of individuals not infected with HIV-1. Similarly, no gene clusters could distinguish T cells from individuals with early infection from those seen in chronic progressive HIV-1 infection, whereas differences were observed between uninfected individuals or nonprogressors versus early or chronic progressors. In early and chronic HIV-1 infection, three characteristic gene expression signatures were observed. (i) CD4+and CD8+T cells showed increased expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). However, some ISGs, including CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11, and the interleukin-15 alpha receptor were not upregulated. (ii) CD4+and CD8+T cells showed a cluster similar to that observed in thymocytes. (iii) More genes were differentially regulated in CD8+T cells than in CD4+T cells, including a cluster of genes downregulated exclusively in CD8+T cells. In conclusion, HIV-1 infection induces a persistent T-cell transcriptional profile, early in infection, characterized by a dramatic but potentially aberrant interferon response and a profile suggesting an active thymic output. These findings highlight the complexity of the host-virus relationship in HIV-1 infection.
Human Coronavirus 229E Papain-Like Proteases Have Overlapping Specificities but Distinct Functions in Viral Replication
Authors: Ziebuhr John , Schelle Barbara , Karl Nadja , Minskaia Ekaterina , Bayer Sonja , Siddell Stuart G. , Gorbalenya Alexander E. , Thiel Volker
Published: January 2007

Expression of the exceptionally large RNA genomes of CoVs involves multiple regulatory mechanisms, including extensive proteolytic processing of the large replicase polyproteins, pp1a and pp1ab, by two types of cysteine proteases: the chymotrypsin-like main protease and papain-like accessory proteases (PLpros). Here, we characterized the proteolytic processing of the human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) amino-proximal pp1a/pp1ab region by two paralogous PLproactivities. Reverse-genetics data revealed that replacement of the PL2proactive-site cysteine was lethal. By contrast, the PL1proactivity proved to be dispensable for HCoV-229E virus replication, although reversion of the PL1proactive-site substitution to the wild-type sequence after several passages in cell culture indicated that there was selection pressure to restore the PL1proactivity. Further experiments showed that both PL1proand PL2prowere able to cleave the nsp1-nsp2 cleavage site, with PL2procleaving the site less efficiently. The PL1pro-negative mutant genotype could be stably maintained in cell culture when the nsp1-nsp2 site was replaced by a short autoproteolytic sequence, suggesting that the major driving force for the observed reversion of the PL1promutation was the requirement for efficient nsp1-nsp2 cleavage. The data suggest that the two HCoV-229E PLproparalogs have overlapping substrate specificities but different functions in viral replication. Within the tightly controlled interplay of the two protease activities, PL2proplays a universal and essential proteolytic role that appears to be assisted by the PL1proparalog at specific sites. Functional and evolutionary implications of the differential amino-terminal polyprotein-processing pathways among the main CoV lineages are discussed.