bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contextual startle responses moderate the relation between behavioral inhibition and anxiety in middle childhood
Authors: Barker Tyson V. , Reeb‐Sutherland Bethany , Degnan Kathryn A. , Walker Olga L. , Chronis‐Tuscano Andrea , Henderson Heather A. , Pine Daniel S. , Fox Nathan A.
Published: September 2015

Behavioral inhibition (BI), a temperament characterized in early childhood by wariness and avoidance of novelty, is a risk factor for anxiety disorders. An enhanced startle response has been observed in adolescents characterized with BI in childhood, particularly when they also manifest concurrent symptoms of anxiety. However, no prior study has examined relations among BI, startle responsivity, and anxiety in a prospective manner. Data for the present study were from a longitudinal study of infant temperament. Maternal reports and observations of BI were assessed at ages 2 and 3. At age 7, participants completed a startle procedure, while electromyography was collected, where participants viewed different colors on a screen that were associated with either the delivery of an aversive stimulus (i.e., puff of air to the larynx; threat cue) or the absence of the aversive stimulus (i.e., safety cue). Parental reports of child anxiety were collected when children were 7 and 9 years of age. Results revealed that startle responses at age 7 moderated the relation between early BI and 9‐year anxiety. These findings provide insight into one potential mechanism that may place behaviorally inhibited children at risk for anxiety.
The neural correlates of motion‐induced shifts in reaching
Authors: Rodríguez‐Herreros Borja , Rodríguez‐Fornells Antoni , López‐Moliner Joan
Published: September 2015

A basic function of the visual system is to estimate the location of objects. Among other sensory inputs, the coding of an object's position involves the integration of visual motion, such as that produced by other moving patterns in the scene. Psychophysical evidence has shown that motion signals can shift, in the direction of motion, both the perceived position and the directed action to a stationary object. The neural mechanisms that sustain this effect are generally assumed to be mediated by feedback circuits from the middle temporal area to the primary visual cortex. However, evidence from neural responses is lacking. We used measures of ERPs and Granger causality analysis—a tool to predict the causal connectivity of two brain responses—to unravel the circuit by which motion influences position coding. We found that the motion‐induced hand shift is tightly related to a neural delay: Participants with larger shifts of the pointing location presented slower sensory processing, in terms of longer peak latencies of the primary visual evoked potentials. We further identified early neural activity in the vicinity of the extrastriate cortex as the cause of this delay, which likely reflects the early processing of motion signals in position coding. These results suggest the rapid transfer of visual motion through feedforward circuits as a putative neural substrate in charge of the motion‐induced shift in reaching.
Establishment, Differentiation, Electroporation and Nuclear Transfer of Porcine Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Authors: Song Z , Cong P , Ji Q , Chen L , Nie Y , Zhao H , He Z , Chen Y
Published: September 2015

Contents

The limited success of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is largely attributed to defects in epigenetic reprogramming of the donor genome. Donor cell types with distinct potential competence may offer different epigenetic flexibility for subsequent genome reprogramming in SCNT. Stem cells possibly enable their genomes to be more readily reprogrammed than differentiated cells. To improve the efficiency of cloning, porcine mesenchymal stem cells (pMSCs) were isolated and well identified by 6‐channel flow cytometry and differentiation assays and were used as donors in SCNT. Compared with porcine embryonic fibroblasts (pEFs), our results showed that pMSCs markedly enhanced cloned embryo development in terms of cleavage and blastocyst formation (p < 0.05). To enhance the epigenetic flexibility of pMSCs, classical reprogramming factors (RFs) were transfected by electroporation, and we achieved optimization with ectopic expression of RFs in pMSCs. Our results suggest that the epigenetic status of donor cells has an improvement on genome reprogramming, and multipotent pMSCs favoured subsequent embryonic development.
Tiger, Bengal and Domestic Cat Embryos Produced by Homospecific and Interspecific Zona‐Free Nuclear Transfer
Authors: Moro LN , Jarazo J , Buemo C , Hiriart MI , Sestelo A , Salamone DF
Published: September 2015

Contents

The aim of this study was to evaluate three different cloning strategies in the domestic cat (Felis silvestris) and to use the most efficient to generate wild felid embryos by interspecific cloning (iSCNT) using Bengal (a hybrid formed by the cross of Felis silvestris and Prionailurus bengalensis) and tiger (Panthera tigris) donor cells. In experiment 1, zona‐free (ZP‐free) cloning resulted in higher fusion and expanded blastocyst rates with respect to zona included cloning techniques that involved fusion or injection of the donor cell. In experiment 2, ZP‐free iSCNT and embryo aggregation (2X) were assessed. Division velocity and blastocyst rates were increased by embryo aggregation in the three species. Despite fewer tiger embryos than Bengal and cat embryos reached the blastocyst stage, Tiger 2X group increased the percentage of blastocysts with respect to Tiger 1X group (3.2% vs 12.1%, respectively). Moreover, blastocyst cell number was almost duplicated in aggregated embryos with respect to non‐aggregated ones within Bengal and tiger groups (278.3 ± 61.9 vs 516.8 ± 103.6 for Bengal 1X and Bengal 2X groups, respectively; 41 vs 220 ± 60 for Tiger 1X and Tiger 2X groups, respectively). OCT4 analysis also revealed that tiger blastocysts had higher proportion of OCT4‐positive cells with respect to Bengal blastocysts and cat intracytoplasmic sperm injection blastocysts. In conclusion, ZP‐free cloning has improved the quality of cat embryos with respect to the other cloning techniques evaluated and was successfully applied in iSCNT complemented with embryo aggregation.
Serum and Tissue Steroid Hormone Levels in Canine Mammary Tumours: Clinical and Prognostic Implications
Authors: Queiroga FL , Pérez‐Alenza D , González‐Gil A , Silván G , Peña L , Illera JC
Published: September 2015

Contents

Hormonal dependency of canine mammary tumours (CMT) has been studied over the last few decades. However, studies assessing the prognostic and predictive potential of serum and/or tissue steroid hormone levels are still scarce in CMT. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report relating serum and tissue levels of steroid hormones and prognosis in dogs. Serum and tumour tissue from 45 female dogs with spontaneous CMT were included in the study. Moreover, serum and normal mammary tissue from 13 healthy female dogs were also included as controls. Steroid hormones were determined by competitive enzyme immunoassay. Overall, levels of steroid hormones in serum and tissue homogenates were significantly different between malignant and benign mammary tumours (p < 0.01), except for progesterone (P4) serum levels that revealed no statistical differences between groups. In malignant tumours, oestrone sulphate (SO4E1), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), androstenedione (A4), testosterone (T) and P4 elevated tissue concentrations were significantly associated with tumour relapse and/or distant metastasis during follow‐up. A significant association was found between elevated tissue SO4E1 (p = 0.003), 17β‐oestradiol (E2) (p = 0.036), DHEA (p = 0.022), A4 (p = 0.001) and P4 (p = 0.013) concentrations and shorter disease‐free survival and overall survival in female dogs with malignant mammary tumours. The high levels of tissue steroids found in cases of poor prognosis open the possibility of additional new therapeutic approaches. Future clinical trials will be needed to clarify the usefulness of targeting steroid hormones in the treatment of this neoplastic disease.
Capital united? Business unity in regulatory politics and the special place of finance
Authors: Young Kevin , Pagliari Stefano
Published: September 2015

While organized business is a key actor in regulatory politics, its influence is often conditional on the level of unity or conflict occurring within the business community at any given time. Most contemporary regulatory policy interventions put pressure on the normal mechanisms of business unity, as they are highly targeted and sector‐specific. This raises the question of how business unity operates across a highly variegated economic terrain in which costs are asymmetric and free‐riding incentives are high. In this paper, we empirically assess patterns of business unity within regulatory policymaking across different regulated sectors. Our analysis utilizes data from hundreds of regulatory policy proposals and business community reactions to them in the telecommunications, energy, agriculture, pharmaceutical, and financial sectors over a variety of institutional contexts. We find considerable empirical support for the “finance capital unity” hypothesis – the notion that the financial sector enjoys more business unity than other regulated sectors of the economy. When the financial sector is faced with new regulations, business groups from other sectors frequently come to its aid.
Physiological impairment in mild COPD
Authors: O'Donnell Denis E. , Neder J. Alberto , Elbehairy Amany F.
Published: September 2015

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common and often progressive inflammatory disease of the airways, alveoli and microvasculature that is both preventable and treatable. It is well established that smokers with mild airway obstruction, as spirometrically defined, represent the vast majority of patients with COPD, yet this population has not been extensively studied. An insidious preclinical course means that mild COPD is both underdiagnosed and undertreated. In this context, recent studies have confirmed that even patients with mild COPD can have extensive physiological impairment, which contributes to poor perceived health status compared with non‐smoking healthy controls. This review describes the heterogeneous pathophysiology that can exist in COPD patients with only mild airway obstruction on spirometry. It exposes the compensatory adaptations that develop in such patients to ensure that the respiratory system fulfils its primary task of maintaining adequate pulmonary gas exchange for the prevailing metabolic demand. It demonstrates that adaptations such as increased inspiratory neural drive to the diaphragm due to combined effects of increased mechanical loading and chemostimulation underscore the increased dyspnoea and exercise intolerance in this population. Finally, based on available evidence, we present what we believe is a sound physiological rationale for earlier diagnosis in this population.
Approximate Uncertainty Modeling in Risk Analysis with Vine Copulas
Authors: Bedford Tim , Daneshkhah Alireza , Wilson Kevin J.
Published: September 2015

Many applications of risk analysis require us to jointly model multiple uncertain quantities. Bayesian networks and copulas are two common approaches to modeling joint uncertainties with probability distributions. This article focuses on new methodologies for copulas by developing work of Cooke, Bedford, Kurowica, and others on vines as a way of constructing higher dimensional distributions that do not suffer from some of the restrictions of alternatives such as the multivariate Gaussian copula. The article provides a fundamental approximation result, demonstrating that we can approximate any density as closely as we like using vines. It further operationalizes this result by showing how minimum information copulas can be used to provide parametric classes of copulas that have such good levels of approximation. We extend previous approaches using vines by considering nonconstant conditional dependencies, which are particularly relevant in financial risk modeling. We discuss how such models may be quantified, in terms of expert judgment or by fitting data, and illustrate the approach by modeling two financial data sets.
Learning by simulation in prehospital emergency care – an integrative literature review
Authors: Abelsson Anna , Rystedt Ingrid , Suserud Björn‐Ove , Lindwall Lillemor
Published: September 2015

Background

Acquiring knowledge and experience on high‐energy trauma is often difficult due to infrequent exposure. This creates a need for training which is specifically tailored for complex prehospital conditions. Simulation provides an opportunity for ambulance nurses to focus on the actual problems in clinical practice and to develop knowledge regarding trauma care. The aim of this study was to describe what ambulance nurses and paramedics in prehospital emergency care perceive as important for learning when participating in simulation exercises.

Methods

An integrative literature review was carried out. Criteria for inclusion were primary qualitative and quantitative studies, where research participants were ambulance nurses or paramedics, working within prehospital care settings, and where the research interventions involved simulation.

Results

It was perceived important for the ambulance nurses' learning that scenarios were advanced and possible to simulate repeatedly. The repetitions contributed to increase the level of experience, which in turn improved the patients care. Moreover, realism in the simulation and being able to interact and communicate with the patient were perceived as important aspects, as was debriefing, which enabled the enhancement of knowledge and skills. The result is presented in the following categories: To gain experience, To gain practice and To be strengthened by others.

Conclusion

Learning through simulation does not require years of exposure to accident scenes. The simulated learning is enhanced by realistic, stressful scenarios where ambulance nurses interact with the patients. In this study, being able to communicate with the patient was highlighted as a positive contribution to learning. However, this has seldom been mentioned in a previous research on simulation. Debriefing is important for learning as it enables scrutiny of one's actions and thereby the possibility to improve and adjust one's caring. The effect of simulation exercises is important on patient outcome.
TLR‐7 and ‐9 Stimulation of Peripheral Blood B Cells Indicate Altered TLR Signalling in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome Patients by Increased Secretion of Cytokines
Authors: Karlsen M. , Jonsson R. , Brun J. G. , Appel S. , Hansen T.
Published: September 2015

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease characterised by lymphocytic infiltrations in the exocrine glands, resulting in destruction of salivary and lacrimal glands. B cells have an important role in the disease, as detection of autoantibodies against SSA/Ro or SSB/La is one of the diagnostic criteria, being found in a majority of the patients. Toll‐like receptors (TLR) are pattern recognition receptors. TLR‐7 and ‐9 are found in endosomes and bind microbial nucleic acids. We have previously shown that pSS patients and healthy controls have similar expression pattern of TLR‐7 and ‐9 in various B‐cell populations. In this study we further analysed the responsiveness of B cells upon TLR stimulation. B cells isolated from peripheral blood of 21 pSS patients and 18 healthy controls were stimulated with TLR‐7 and ‐9 ligands for 24 h before being analysed for the expression of certain surface markers and intracellular cytokine levels by flow cytometry. Secreted cytokines were measured by a multiplex cytokine assay. Patients with pSS had more naïve and less preswitched memory B cells compared to controls in unstimulated as well as via TLR‐7 stimulated cells. Unstimulated and via TLR‐7 stimulated B cells from pSS patients also had fewer IL‐10+ preswitched memory B cells. Moreover, TLR‐7 and ‐9 stimulated B cells of pSS patients secreted increased amounts of several cytokines. B cells of pSS patients show a different responsiveness upon stimulation of TLR‐7 and ‐9 compared to controls.
Mannan Derivatives Instruct Dendritic Cells to Induce Th1/Th2 Cells Polarization via Differential Mitogen‐Activated Protein Kinase Activation
Authors: Tong C. , Cui Z. , Sun X. , Lei L. , Feng X. , Sun C. , Gu J. , Han W.
Published: September 2015

Mannan derived from fungal cell walls have potential uses as immunomodulating agents and vaccine adjuvants. Immunization with antigen conjugated to oxidized mannan (OM) or reduced mannan (RM) have induced differential immune responses in mice. Yet, the adjuvant effect and differences in molecular profiles of OM and RM on APCs is unresolved. Here, we investigated the response of mouse bone marrow‐derived DCs to OM and RM. OM and RM stimulated DCs to produce differential Th1/Th2‐inducing cytokines in vitro. OM and RM‐activated DCs stimulated allogeneic T‐cell Th1 and Th2 polarization reaction. OM instruct DCs to stimulate Th1 responses via IL‐12p70 production, which depends on the phosphorylation of p38, RM barely induce IL‐12p70, but IL‐10 and IL‐4, and magnitude of ERK phosphorylation, which results in a Th2 bias. These findings indicate that OM and RM were potent adjuvant capable of directly initiating DC activation Th1 and Th2 polarization respectively.
Apologia pro Vita‐Fabula Sua: Defending Narrativity and How We Make Sense of Our Lives
Authors: Chen Melvin
Published: September 2015

This paper attempts to provide a defence for a narrative theory of the self in the face of criticisms from the anti‐narrative camp. It begins by addressing certain uncontroversial premises that both pro‐ and the anti‐narrative camps might be thought to agree on: the status of humans as homo significans or meaning‐makers, the natural form‐finding tendency and certain desiderata for significance and value that we possess, and the raw material of life and its constituents that we proceed from. Whereas the pro‐narrative camp seeks to provide the narrative theory of the self as a valid argument for how we proceed from the raw material of life and undifferentiated experience and these desiderata and tendencies (i.e.: the premises) to a conception of both selfhood and moral responsibility (i.e.: the conclusion), the anti‐narrative camp holds the conclusion to be false and the narrative theory of the self to be invalid. The Parfitian view holds the conception of the self to be ultimately false, whereas the Strawsonian view holds both the conception of the self and the conception of moral responsibility to be ultimately false. The grounds they provide, however, tend to be metaphysical in nature, demonstrating that they have fundamentally misunderstood how the narrative theory of the self functions as a semantic thesis. I will demonstrate certain defects in the metaphysical arguments that anti‐narrativists like Parfit and Strawson have made against what is essentially a semantic thesis about how we make sense of our lives. I will also attempt to shore up the semantic thesis in other relevant aspects.
Rilkean Memory
Authors: Rowlands Mark
Published: September 2015

This paper identifies a form of remembering sufficiently overlooked that it has not yet been dignified with a name. I shall christen it Rilkean Memory. This form of memory is, typically, embodied and embedded. It is a form of involuntary, autobiographical memory that is neither implicit nor explicit, neither declarative nor procedural, neither episodic nor semantic, and not Freudian. While a discussion of the importance of Rilkean memory lies beyond the scope of this paper, I shall try to show that admitting Rilkean memory into our ontology does point us in the direction of a very different conception of the mind and mental processes.
Radical Predictive Processing
Authors: Clark Andy
Published: September 2015

Recent work in computational and cognitive neuroscience depicts the brain as an ever‐active prediction machine: an inner engine continuously striving to anticipate the incoming sensory barrage. I briefly introduce this class of models before contrasting two ways of understanding the implied vision of mind. One way (Conservative Predictive Processing) depicts the predictive mind as an insulated inner arena populated by representations so rich and reconstructive as to enable the organism to ‘throw away the world’. The other (Radical Predictive Processing) stresses the use of fast and frugal, action‐involving solutions of the kind highlighted by much work in robotics and embodied cognition. But it goes further, by showing how predictive schemes can combine frugal and more knowledge‐intensive strategies, switching between them fluently and continuously as task and context dictate. I end by exploring some parallels with work in enactivism, and by noting a certain ambivalence concerning internal representations and their role in the predictive mind.
Overly Enactive Imagination? Radically Re‐Imagining Imagining
Authors: Hutto Daniel D.
Published: September 2015

A certain philosophical frame of mind holds that contentless imaginings are unimaginable, “inconceivable” (Shapiro , p. 214) ‐ that it is simply not possible to imagine acts of imagining in the absence of representational content. Against this, this paper argues that there is no naturalistically respectable way to rule out the possibility of contentless imaginings on purely analytic or conceptual grounds. Moreover, agreeing with Langland‐Hassan (2015), it defends the view that the best way to understand the content and correctness conditions of non‐basic, hybrid imaginative attitudes is to assume that basic sensory imaginings are enlisted to play many different kinds of cognitive roles depending on the surrounding contentful attitudes that imaginers adopt toward them. Finally, it argues that when it comes to understanding how pure, basic sensory imaginings do their explanatorily important work there is every reason to focus on the properties of such imaginings that enable appropriate interactions and exactly no reason for thinking that representational contents are amongst those properties.
Skin characteristics: normative data for elasticity, erythema, melanin, and thickness at 16 different anatomical locations
Authors: Nedelec B. , Forget N. J. , Hurtubise T. , Cimino S. , de Muszka F. , Legault A. , Liu W. L. , de Oliveira A. , Calva V. , Correa J. A.
Published: September 2015

Background

The clinical use of non‐invasive instrumentation to evaluate skin characteristics for diagnostic purposes and to evaluate treatment outcomes has become more prevalent. The purpose of this study was to generate normative data for skin elasticity, erythema (vascularity), melanin (pigmentation), and thickness across a broad age range at a wide variety of anatomical locations using the Cutometer® (6 mm probe), Mexameter®, and high‐frequency ultrasound in a healthy adult sample.

Methods

We measured skin characteristics of 241 healthy participants who were stratified according to age and gender. Sixteen different anatomical locations were measured using the Cutometer® for maximum skin deformation, gross elasticity, and biological elasticity, the Mexameter® for erythema and melanin, and high‐frequency ultrasound for skin thickness. Standardized measurement procedures were applied for all participants.

Results

The means and standard deviations for each measured skin characteristic for females and males across five different age groups (20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, and 70–85 years old) are presented. As previously described, there were variations in skin characteristics across age groups, anatomical locations, and between females and males highlighting the need to use site specific, age and gender matched data when comparing skin characteristics.

Conclusion

The reported data provides normative data stratified by anatomical location, age, and gender that can be used by clinicians and researchers to objectively determine whether patients' skin characteristics vary significantly from healthy subjects.
The value of culturedness: Bosnian and Hungarian migrants' experiences of belonging in Australia
Authors: Voloder Lejla , Andits Petra
Published: September 2015

In this paper we investigate how the values of respect and dignity inform the ways migrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary in Australia locate themselves in relation to local, national and transnational identities. Drawing upon ethnographic insights, we discuss how the concept of culturedness is implicated in these migrant claims for dignified belonging. Determinants of culturedness are informed by influential narratives of ‘East versus West’, ‘Balkan versus Europe’, the ‘New World (Australia) versus the Old World’ (Europe). Implicit within these discourses are attempts to demarcate civilisational distinctions. We argue that dignified belonging for people from these migrant communities in Australia involves negotiating identification with culturedness and positioning themselves on the right side of the civilised/primitive divide. This collaboration draws attention to the significance of ontological security through respect within the shared discourses and experiences of belonging for members of these two migrant groups in Australia.
Identification of a novel HLA allele, HLA‐A* 24:02:90, in a Han Chinese individual
Authors: Chen Y.‐Sh. , Gao S.‐Q. , Wang D.‐M , He L.‐M
Published: September 2015

HLA‐A*24:02:09 shows one nucleotide difference from HLA‐A*24:02:01:01 at position 408 in exon 3 (codon 112 GGG>GGC)
Qualitative GIS: An Open Framework Using SpatiaLite and Open Source GIS
Authors: Garnett Ryan , Kanaroglou Pavlos
Published: September 2015

Qualitative GIS is a relatively new methodological approach for analyzing and visualizing qualitative data within a geographic context. Qualitative data can take many forms, including interviews, documents, photographs, and audio and video clips. Content analysis for example, is an effective qualitative method for analyzing text‐based data. We argue that basic concepts, (i.e. how to store data, data requirements, visualization techniques, and modes of analysis) within qualitative GIS have not been adequately defined, rendering difficult the replication of work performed and hindering the development of incremental knowledge in the field. Database management systems provide a means for storing, managing, and analyzing qualitative GIS data. A standardized and well‐designed open source database system provides a mechanism for qualitative GIS projects, ensuring consistency and project replication. Qualitative GIS data stored in a database allows for additional visualization options, such as geographic word clouds. To demonstrate the concepts we performed content analysis on Master Transportation Plans from Calgary and Montreal using SpatiaLite, an open source database system. We developed Structured Query Language (SQL) queries to generate and populate groups and theme tables within the SpatiaLite database. We present our database design and queries in the hopes that they will help others conducting qualitative GIS research.
Acute respiratory infection case definitions for young children: a systematic review of community‐based epidemiologic studies in South Asia
Authors: Roth Daniel E. , Gaffey Michelle F. , Smith‐Romero Evelyn , Fitzpatrick Tiffany , Morris Shaun K.
Published: September 2015

Objective

To explore the variability in childhood acute respiratory infection case definitions for research in low‐income settings where there is limited access to laboratory or radiologic investigations.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review of community‐based, longitudinal studies in South Asia published from January 1990 to August 2013, in which childhood acute respiratory infection outcomes were reported. Case definitions were classified by their label (e.g. pneumonia, acute lower respiratory infection) and clinical content ‘signatures’ (array of clinical features that would be always present, conditionally present or always absent among cases). Case definition heterogeneity was primarily assessed by the number of unique case definitions overall and by label. We also compared case definition‐specific acute respiratory infection incidence rates for studies reporting incidence rates for multiple case definitions.

Results

In 56 eligible studies, we found 124 acute respiratory infection case definitions. Of 90 case definitions for which clinical content was explicitly defined, 66 (73%) were unique. There was a high degree of content heterogeneity among case definitions with the same label, and some content signatures were assigned multiple labels. Within studies for which incidence rates were reported for multiple case definitions, variation in content was always associated with a change in incidence rate, even when the content differed by a single clinical feature.

Conclusion

There has been a wide variability in case definition label and content combinations to define acute upper and lower respiratory infections in children in community‐based studies in South Asia over the past two decades. These inconsistencies have important implications for the synthesis and translation of knowledge regarding the prevention and treatment of childhood acute respiratory infection.
The wheat transcription factor TaGAMyb recruits histone acetyltransferase and activates the expression of a high‐molecular‐weight glutenin subunit gene
Authors: Guo Weiwei , Yang Hua , Liu Yongqiang , Gao Yujiao , Ni Zhongfu , Peng Huiru , Xin Mingming , Hu Zhaorong , Sun Qixin , Yao Yingyin
Published: September 2015

Glutenin proteins in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) flour confer unique viscoelastic properties to dough products and, therefore, the concentration and composition of the glutenin proteins determine its end‐use value. However, the mechanisms governing the glutenin gene expression remain elusive. In this study, we report that wheat TaGAMyb activates the high‐molecular‐weight glutenin subunit genes (TaGLU) through recruiting the histone acetyltransferase GCN5. By sequencing the promoters of TaGLU‐1 genes from 40 modern wheat cultivars, we identified eight types of TaGAMyb binding motifs and verified these by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. The number of TaGAMyb binding motifs in TaGLU‐1 genes is correlated with the abundance of glutenin in different cultivars. Chromatin immunoprecipitation plus polymerase chain reaction (ChIP‐PCR) analysis reveals that TaGCN5 directly targets the promoters of TaGLU‐1 genes in wheat endosperm. We find that TaGAMyb physically interacts with the wheat histone acetyltransferase TaGCN5 and also interacts with Arabidopsis thaliana AtGCN5. TaGAMyb ectopically expressed in Arabidopsis binds to the TaGLU‐1Dy promoter on a TaGLU‐1Dy transgene and activates its expression. AtGCN5 also targets the TaGLU‐1Dy transgene and is involved in the establishment of acetylation at H3K9 and H3K14. These results demonstrate that TaGAMyb plays a dual role in activating expression of glutenin gene by directly binding to the TaGLU promoter and by recruiting GCN5 to modulate histone acetylation during wheat endosperm development.
Plerixafor in combination with granulocyte–colony‐stimulating factor after chemotherapy increases mobilization efficiency in patients with lymphoma or myeloma: results of a Phase II clinical trial
Authors: Jagirdar Neera , Harvey R. Donald , Nooka Ajay , Flowers Christopher , Kaufman Jonathan , Lonial Sagar , Lechowicz Mary Jo , Langston Amelia , Lipscomb Carol , Gaylor Cynthia , Waller Edmund K.
Published: September 2015

BACKGROUND

We tested whether adding plerixafor to G‐CSF mobilization after chemotherapy would increase the proportion of patients collecting the target number of CD34+ cells/kg in 1 day of apheresis to >75%.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Autologous stem cell transplant–anticipated multiple myeloma or lymphoma patients were eligible. Patients were mobilized with cyclophosphamide (n=17); DCEP (n=1); R‐ICE (n=20); CHOP (n=2); or R‐HCVAD (n=5) and given 5 mg/kg/day GCSF starting on Day 2 and increasing to 10 mg/kg/day on Day 6. Plerixafor 240 mg/kg was injected subcutaneously on the day the neutrophil count was more than 1.5 × 109 cells/L with apheresis the folllowing day. G‐CSF, plerixafor, and apheresis continued daily until 5 × 106 (lymphoma) or 10 × 106 (myeloma) CD34+ cells/kg were collected.

RESULTS

Seventeen myeloma and 28 lymphoma patients enrolled, and 76% collected the target number of CD34+ cells in 1 day. Twelve subjects with median CD34+ counts of 142 × 106 cells/L began apheresis without plerixafor and collected 20 × 106 CD34+ cells/kg in 1 day. The remaining 33 subjects, with median 11.7 × 106 CD34+ cells/L and 5.4 × 109 WBC/L, received plerixafor. Plerixafor‐treated subjects collected 7.8 × 106 CD34+ cells/kg; 22 (67%) collected in 1 day, while 11 (33%) required more than 1 day. Plerixafor was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events.

CONCLUSIONS

Plerixafor administration after chemotherapy for autologous stem cell mobilization is feasible, well tolerated, and increases the proportion of subjects collected in a single day compared to mobilization with G‐CSF after chemotherapy.
The impact of fetal and maternal physiologic factors on umbilical cord blood quality as a source of stem cells in Egyptian population
Authors: Abdelrazik Abeer Mohamed , El Said Manal Niazi , Abdelaziz Hossam Eldin M. , Badran Haithm Mohannd , Elal Eman Yousief Ali Abd
Published: September 2015

BACKGROUND

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) has rapidly become a clinically useful alternative stem cell source. Many variables have been used to evaluate a UCB unit and predict transplant outcomes. The objective of this study was to measure the expression of hematopoietic stem cells in UCB and its relation to certain maternal and neonatal physiologic factors to establish optimum criteria for UCB donor selection.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Two hundred UCB units were collected from normal uncomplicated vaginal and cesarean deliveries. Total volume was noted and immediately assessed for total nucleated cell (TNC) count and CD34+ cell concentration. Assessment of maternal and neonatal variables such as mode of delivery, placental weight, baby's birthweight, and sex was made.

RESULTS

The volume of the donations ranged from 42.0 to 126 mL, the TNC count ranged from 5 × 109 to 28.7 × 109 cells/L, and CD34+ cells ranged from 0.03% to 0.62%. There was a significant positive correlation between cord blood volume and cesarean section (p = 0.01) and placental weight (p = 0.02). There was a significant positive correlation with a p value of less than 0.05 between the number of CD34+ cells and UCB volume and TNC. There was no significant difference between the variables and the TNC count.

CONCLUSION

Our study concludes that cord units collected for banking should be obtained by selecting units of larger volumes, of higher TNCs, from female babies with heavy placenta, and from babies delivered via cesarean section.
Flucloxacillin‐induced immune thrombocytopenia
Authors: Jatzlauk Gregor , Althaus Karina , Strobel Ulrike , Kiefel Volker , Wesche Jan , Muehlenberg Klaus , Greinacher Andreas , Bakchoul Tamam
Published: September 2015

BACKGROUND

Drug‐induced immune thrombocytopenia (DITP) is an adverse drug reaction associated with platelet (PLT) destruction by drug‐dependent antibodies. Demonstration of drug‐dependent PLT antibodies is often difficult and can only be rendered by extensive laboratory testing. In this report, we present the first serologically confirmed case of DITP caused by the antibiotic flucloxacillin.

CASE REPORT

A 68‐year‐old man developed severe thrombocytopenia that was first suspected to be related to heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia. The absence of PLT‐activating heparin‐dependent antibodies and the abrupt decrease in PLT count to fewer than 20 × 109/L raised the suspicion of DITP.

DISCUSSION

Flucloxacillin‐dependent antibodies were detected in patient serum using whole PLT enzyme immunoassay and flow cytometry. The glycoprotein (GP) specificity was identified to be against GP IIb/IIIa complexes using the monoclonal antibody immobilization of PLT antigens assay. Interestingly, antibody binding was abolished when EDTA plasma was used and restored after adding calcium.

CONCLUSION

In summary, DITP should be considered in cases of acute thrombocytopenia during treatment with flucloxacillin.
Membrane lipid rafts and neurobiology: age‐related changes in membrane lipids and loss of neuronal function
Authors: Egawa Junji , Pearn Matthew L. , Lemkuil Brian P. , Patel Piyush M. , Head Brian P.
Published: September 2015

A better understanding of the cellular physiological role that plasma membrane lipids, fatty acids and sterols play in various cellular systems may yield more insight into how cellular and whole organ function is altered during the ageing process. Membrane lipid rafts (MLRs) within the plasma membrane of most cells serve as key organizers of intracellular signalling and tethering points of cytoskeletal components. MLRs are plasmalemmal microdomains enriched in sphingolipids, cholesterol and scaffolding proteins; they serve as a platform for signal transduction, cytoskeletal organization and vesicular trafficking. Within MLRs are the scaffolding and cholesterol binding proteins named caveolin (Cav). Cavs not only organize a multitude of receptors including neurotransmitter receptors (NMDA and AMPA receptors), signalling proteins that regulate the production of cAMP (G protein‐coupled receptors, adenylyl cyclases, phosphodiesterases (PDEs)), and receptor tyrosine kinases involved in growth (Trk), but also interact with components that modulate actin and tubulin cytoskeletal dynamics (e.g. RhoGTPases and actin binding proteins). MLRs are essential for the regulation of the physiology of organs such as the brain, and age‐related loss of cholesterol from the plasma membrane leads to loss of MLRs, decreased presynaptic vesicle fusion, and changes in neurotransmitter release, all of which contribute to different forms of neurodegeneration. Thus, MLRs provide an active membrane domain that tethers and reorganizes the cytoskeletal machinery necessary for membrane and cellular repair, and genetic interventions that restore MLRs to normal cellular levels may be exploited as potential therapeutic means to reverse the ageing and neurodegenerative processes.

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Thermal Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of an Optimized Cam–Tappet Pair in Smooth Contact
Authors: Wu W. , Wang J. , Venner C. H.
Published: September 2015

A high-order polynomial gas distribution cam mechanism is investigated theoretically from the viewpoint of thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL). First, a cam with a larger base circle radius is employed, which results in slide–roll ratio 2.0 < S < 9.0 when the two surfaces move oppositely. The pressure, film thickness, and temperature profiles at a number of angular positions of the cam are presented, together with the isothermal results. The comparison between thermal and isothermal oil characteristics is also shown. It is revealed that the isothermal analysis partly overestimates the actual film thickness and it also misses some essential local phenomena. Second, a cam with a smaller base circle radius is studied, which leads to drastic variations in the slide–roll ratio which encounters four times’ occurrences of infinity in one working period. The pressure, film thickness, and temperature profiles at some angular cam positions together with the oil characteristics are given, showing much dramatic variations. A very small film thickness is observed at the contact of the tappet with the start of the cam basic segment, which suggests a possible risk of direct contact of both surfaces.
Experimental Evaluation of the Structure Characterization of a Novel Hybrid Bump-Metal Mesh Foil Bearing
Authors: Feng Kai , Liu Yuman , Zhao Xueyuan , Liu Wanhui
Published: September 2015

Rotors supported by gas foil bearings (GFBs) experience stability problem caused by subsynchronous vibrations. To obtain a GFB with satisfactory damping characteristics, this study presented a novel hybrid bump-metal mesh foil bearing (HB-MMFB) that consists of a bump foil and metal mesh blocks in an underlying supporting structure, which takes advantage of both bump-type foil bearings (BFBs) and MMFBs. A test rig with a nonrotating shaft was designed to estimate structure characterization. Results from the static load tests show that the proposed HB-MFBs exhibit an excellent damping level compared with the BFBs with a similar size because of the countless microslips in the metal mesh blocks. In the dynamic load tests, the HB-MFB with a metal mesh density of 36% presents a viscous damping coefficient that is approximately twice that of the test BFB. The dynamics structural coefficients of HB-MFBs, including structural stiffness, equivalent viscous damping, and structural loss factor, are all dependent on excitation frequency and motion amplitude. Moreover, they exhibit an obvious decrease with the decline in metal mesh density.
Design, Modeling, and Experimental Validation of a Novel Infinitely Variable Transmission Based on Scotch Yoke Systems
Authors: Wang X. F. , Zhu W. D.
Published: September 2015

A novel infinitely variable transmission (IVT) based on scotch yoke systems is designed to provide a continuously varied output-to-input speed ratio from zero to a specified value. By changing the crank length of scotch yoke systems, the speed ratio of the IVT can be continuously adjusted. The IVT consists of a pair of noncircular gears and two modules: an input-control module and a motion conversion module. The input-control module employs two planetary gear sets to combine the input speed of the IVT with the control speed from the stepper motor that changes the crank length of scotch yoke systems. The motion conversion module employs two scotch yoke systems to convert the combined speeds from the input-control module to translational speeds of yokes, and the translational speeds are converted to output speeds through rack–pinions. The speed ratio between the output of the motion conversion module and the input of the input-control module has a shape of a sinusoidal-like wave, which generates instantaneous variations. Use of scotch yoke systems provides a benefit to isolate the interaction between the crank length and the shape of the speed ratio, and a pair of noncircular gears can be used to eliminate the instantaneous variations of the speed ratio for all crank lengths. A prototype of the IVT was built and instrumented, and its kinematic behavior was experimentally validated. A driving test was conducted to examine the performance of the IVT.
Methods to calibrate the absolute receive sensitivity of single-element, focused transducers
Authors: Rich Kyle T. , Mast T. Douglas
Published: September 2015

Absolute pressure measurements of acoustic emissions by single-element, focused passive cavitation detectors would be facilitated by improved wideband receive calibration techniques. Here, calibration methods were developed to characterize the absolute, frequency-dependent receive sensitivity of a spherically focused, single-element transducer using pulse-echo and pitch-catch techniques. Validation of these calibration methods on a focused receiver were made by generating a pulse from a small diameter source at the focus of the transducer and comparing the absolute pressure measured by a calibrated hydrophone to that of the focused transducer using the receive sensitivities determined here.
Magnetic resonance image features identify glioblastoma phenotypic subtypes with distinct molecular pathway activities
Authors: Itakura Haruka , Achrol Achal S. , Mitchell Lex A. , Loya Joshua J. , Liu Tiffany , Westbroek Erick M. , Feroze Abdullah H. , Rodriguez Scott , Echegaray Sebastian , Azad Tej D. , Yeom Kristen W. , Napel Sandy , Rubin Daniel L. , Chang Steven D. , Harsh Griffith R. , Gevaert Olivier
Published: September 2015

Quantitative imaging stratifies glioblastoma into three different phenotypes with distinct molecular activities independent of established molecular markers and clinical status.
ACVR1

R206H

receptor mutation causes fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva by imparting responsiveness to activin A
Authors: Hatsell Sarah J. , Idone Vincent , Wolken Dana M. Alessi , Huang Lily , Kim Hyon J. , Wang Lili , Wen Xialing , Nannuru Kalyan C. , Jimenez Johanna , Xie Liqin , Das Nanditha , Makhoul Genevieve , Chernomorsky Rostislav , D’Ambrosio David , Corpina Richard A. , Schoenherr Christopher J. , Feeley Kieran , Yu Paul B. , Yancopoulos George D. , Murphy Andrew J. , Economides Aris N.
Published: September 2015

In patients with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, the disease-causing mutation changes the ligand response profile of the ACVR1 receptor so that it is activated by the normally antagonistic ligand activin A.
The wheezing house
Authors: Henriques-Forsythe Marshaleen
Published: September 2015

Household endotoxin exposure is associated with health outcomes related to wheezing and asthma.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
pncA
Polymorphisms That Do Not Confer Pyrazinamide Resistance at a Breakpoint Concentration of 100 Micrograms per Milliliter in MGIT
Authors: Whitfield Michael G. , Warren Robin M. , Streicher Elizabeth M. , Sampson Samantha L. , Sirgel Frik A. , van Helden Paul D. , Mercante Alexandra , Willby Melisa , Hughes Kelsey , Birkness Kris , Morlock Glenn , van Rie Annelies , Posey James E.
Published: September 2015

Sequencing of the
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
pncA
gene allows for pyrazinamide susceptibility testing. We summarize data on
pncA
polymorphisms that do not confer resistance at a susceptibility breakpoint of 100 μg/ml pyrazinamide in MGIT within a cohort of isolates from South Africa and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Isolation on Chocolate Agar Culture of Legionella pneumophila Isolates from Subcutaneous Abscesses in an Immunocompromised Patient
Authors: Barigou Mohammed , Cavalie Laurent , Daviller Benjamin , Dubois Damien , Mantion Benoît , Delobel Pierre , Debard Alexa , Prere Marie-Françoise , Marchou Bruno , Martin-Blondel Guillaume
Published: September 2015

Cutaneous infections due to
Legionella
species have rarely been reported (L. J. Padrnos, J. E. Blair, S. Kusne, D. J. DiCaudo, and J. R. Mikhael, Transpl Infect Dis 16:307–314, 2014; P. W. Lowry, R. J. Blankenship, W. Gridley, N. J. Troup, and L. S. Tompkins, N Engl J Med 324:109–113, 1991; M. K. Waldor, B. Wilson, and M. Swartz, Clin Infect Dis 16:51–53, 1993). Here we report the identification of
Legionella pneumophila
isolates, from subcutaneous abscesses in an immunocompromised patient, that grew in an unusual medium for
Legionella
bacteria.
Evaluation of Surrogate Disk Tests for Detection of Ciprofloxacin and Levofloxacin Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Salmonella enterica
Authors: Deak Eszter , Skov Robert , Hindler Janet A. , Humphries Romney M.
Published: September 2015

Detection of fluoroquinolone resistance in
Salmonella enterica
has become increasingly difficult due to evolving resistance mechanisms to this antimicrobial class in this organism. We evaluated two quinolone disks and five fluoroquinolone disks for their ability to act as a surrogate agent for the detection of fluoroquinolone resistance in a collection of 136
S. enterica
isolates, including 111 with intermediate or resistant ciprofloxacin MICs mediated by a variety of resistance mechanisms. Ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and pefloxacin disks detected all isolates resistant to ciprofloxacin (0% very major error) and yielded false resistance (major error) in 8, 4, and 12% of susceptible isolates, respectively. Ciprofloxacin and pefloxacin provided clearer differentiation of susceptible and resistant isolates.