bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Brief communication: Improved simulation of the present-day
Greenland firn layer (1960–2016)
Authors: Ligtenberg Stefan R. M. , Kuipers Munneke Peter , Noël Brice P. Y. , van den Broeke Michiel R.
Published: January 2018

Abstract. By providing pore space for storage or refreezing of meltwater, the Greenland ice sheet firn layer strongly modulates runoff. Correctly representing the firn layer is therefore crucial for Greenland (surface) mass balance studies. Here, we present an improved simulation of the Greenland firn layer with the firn model IMAU-FDM forced by the latest output of the regional climate model RACMO2, version 2.3p2. In the percolation zone, much improved agreement with firn density and temperature observations is found. A full simulation of Greenland firn at high temporal (10 days) and spatial (11 km) resolution is available for the period 1960–2016.
2018 AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats*
Authors: Behrend Ellen , Holford Amy , Lathan Patty , Rucinsky Renee , Schulman Rhonda
Published: January 2018

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common disease encountered in canine and feline medicine. The 2018 AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats revise and update earlier guidelines published in 2010. The 2018 guidelines retain much of the information in the earlier guidelines that continues to be applicable in clinical practice, along with new information that represents current expert opinion on controlling DM. An essential aspect of successful DM management is to ensure that the owner of a diabetic dog or cat is capable of administering insulin, recognizing the clinical signs of inadequately managed DM, and monitoring blood glucose levels at home, although this is ideal but not mandatory; all topics that are reviewed in the guidelines. Insulin therapy is the mainstay of treatment for clinical DM. The guidelines provide recommendations for using each insulin formulation currently available for use in dogs and cats, the choice of which is generally based on efficacy and duration of effect in the respective species. Also discussed are non-insulin therapeutic medications and dietary management. These treatment modalities, along with insulin therapy, give the practitioner an assortment of options for decreasing the clinical signs of DM while avoiding hypoglycemia, the two conditions that represent the definition of a controlled diabetic. The guidelines review identifying and monitoring patients at risk for developing DM, which are important for avoiding unnecessary insulin therapy in patients with transient hyperglycemia or mildly elevated blood glucose.
An Assessment of Utilization of the Adolescent Friendly Health Services by the respective clients in Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia
Authors: Muyenga M. , Amakali K. , Wilkinson W.
Published: January 2018

Adolescents experience development related challenges more so related to the reproductive health. If they are not guided during this transitional stage, they may reap detrimental results including teenage pregnancy. Despite the existence of the national standards for Adolescent Friendly Health Services (AFHS) for the prevention of among others, teenage pregnancy, adolescent pregnancy continues to rise across the regions of Namibia.This article presents quantitative, descriptive findings of a cross-sectional study regarding the utilization of the Adolescent Active Participation component of the Adolescent Friendly Health Services standards by adolescent girls in Otjozondjupa region of Namibia.Quantitative data were collected (through structured questionnaire) from a sample of 540 (out of 4995 study population) school-going teenage girls as the potential users of the AFHS in Otjozondjupa Region.The findings indicated that, although the standards for the implementation of AFHS exist, adolescent girls do not utilize the services as demonstrated by high percentage (96%) of lack of awareness of the existence of the AFHS among the study participants, low (33%) use of condom among the sexually active study participants, non-participation (92%) of adolescent girls in health care committees as well as lack of participation (91%).  in development and distributions of the Information Education Communication materials (IEC) Therefore, the study recommended the strategies which may accelerate active participations of the adolescents in the implementation of the AFHS standards, particularly in Otjozondjupa region and Namibia at large.
Protecting Human Rights and Constitutional Law in Bicameral Systems
Authors: Baharestanfar Mohammadreza , Hashemi Seyed Mohammad
Published: January 2018

Background and objective: The second legislative chamber has played different roles and functions since its formation in ancient Rome and Greece. The philosophy behind the presence of this chamber (either in Federal systems or unitary systems) was a matter of controversy between its proponents and critics. There are more than 78 countries with two legislative chambers in the world. Protecting constitutional law and human rights are two notable functions of the second chambers. Research method: This paper used the descriptive–analytical method. The methods used by some second chambers are discussed as an example. Results (findings): how a second chamber can be considered as the scout of constitutional law and protector of human rights with regard to their normative behavior depends on the structure of the constitutional law. The role of the second chamber in protecting constitutional law is manifested in several forms: coinciding the bills and laws with constitutional law, amending and revising the constitutional law, vetoing or suspending bill a general appointments. Second chambers have several solutions including establishing the human rights committee with various duties. Therefore, these two criteria seem to be useful in order to measure the extent of democracy. Conclusion: A powerful second chambers are needed to make decisions, have the authority to amend the laws, and to have effect on the politics to realize human rights and protection of Constitutional law. It can also act as a human rights watch with regard to the nature of the norms of human rights.
Veilige resocialisatie van zedendaders met inzet van vrijwilligers
Authors: Höing Mechtild , Alards Audrey
Published: January 2018

Safe resocialization of sex offenders with the aid of volunteers

Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) is a method in which volunteers support and monitor a convicted sex offender during his or her re-entry into society in order to prevent new sex offences. COSA was developed in Canada in 1994 as a grass roots approach to an acute crisis in a small town near Toronto, and since then has spread throughout Canada. In 2002, the COSA model was introduced and further developed in England, and from there the approach found its way to the Netherlands, where circle projects are provided by the Dutch Probation Organization since 2010. Until now, more than one hundred sex offenders (‘core members’ in a circle) have participated in a circle in the Netherlands. Although the COSA model predates the Good Lives Model, it’s basic principles align very well to the Good Lives Model. In COSA, a group of three to five volunteers form a surrogate social network, that offers social inclusion, practical and moral support in all kinds of daily challenges the core member faces, and that monitors risk and risk behavior. The volunteers are supervised by a professional circle-coordinator and supported by professionals who are involved in the core members’ after care arrangements. The COSA intervention model describes a number of conditions and strategies that support its effectiveness. Canadian, American and English case-control studies into the effectiveness of COSA shows a substantial reduction of offending behavior in core members compared to controls. Since the international proliferation of the COSA model is ever increasing, protecting the program integrity is a growing concern, and stresses the need for international cooperation between COSA providers.
Dangerous liaisons
Authors: Janssen Janine , Rasenberg Mart
Published: January 2018

Dangerous liaisons On the relation between honour-based violence an human trafficking

Violence in the name of the honour of the family and human trafficking are considered to be different phenomena. But in the impressive body of literature on both types of crime and as seen by specialists from the Dutch National Police, some indications can be found that there is a toxic relationship between the two forms of delinquency: human traffickers can call on the family-honour of their victims in order to blackmail them into prostitution and to keep them working in that field against their will.
Genetic Characterization of a Novel Composite Transposon Carrying armA and aac(6)-Ib Genes in an Escherichia coli Isolate from Egypt
Authors: KASHEF MONA T. , HELMY OMNEYA M.
Published: January 2018

Aminoglycosides are used in treating a wide range of infections caused by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria; however, aminoglycoside resistance is common and occurs by several mechanisms. Among these mechanisms is bacterial rRNA methylation by the 16S rRNA methyl transferase (16S-RMTase) enzymes; but data about the spread of this mechanism in Egypt are scarce. Cephalosporins are the most commonly used antimicrobial agents in Egypt; therefore, this study was conducted to determine the frequency of 16S-RMTase among third generation cephalosporin-resistant clinical isolates in Egypt. One hundred and twenty three cephalosporin resistant Gram-negative clinical isolates were screened for aminoglycosides resistance by the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method and tested for possible production of 16S-RMTase. PCR testing and sequencing were used to confirm the presence of 16S-RMTase and the associated antimicrobial resistance determinants, as well as the genetic region surrounding the armA gene. Out of 123 isolates, 66 (53.66%) were resistant to at least one aminoglycoside antibiotic. Only one Escherichia coli isolate (E9ECMO) which was totally resistant to all tested aminoglycosides, was confirmed to have the armA gene in association with bla
TEM-1, bla
CTX-M-15, bla
CTX-M-14 and aac(6)-Ib genes. The armA gene was found to be carried on a large A/C plasmid. Genetic mapping of the armA surrounding region revealed, for the first time, the association of armA with aac(6)-Ib on the same transposon. In conclusion, the isolation frequency of 16S-RMTase was low among the tested aminoglycosideresistant clinical samples. However, a novel composite transposon has been detected conferring high-level aminoglycosides resistance.
Temperature, pH and Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Are Potent Inhibitors of Biofilm Formation by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Clinical Isolates
Authors: BIOČANIN MARJAN , MADI HAOWA , VASILJEVIĆ ZORICA , KOJIĆ MILAN , JOVČIĆ BRANKO , LOZO JELENA
Published: January 2018

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, an opportunistic pathogen usually connected with healthcare-associated infections, is an environmental bacterium. Intrinsic resistance to multiple antibiotics, with different virulence determinants in the last decade classified this bacterium in the group of global multiple drug resistant (MDR) organism. S. maltophilia clinical isolates, were collected from tertiary care pediatric hospital in Belgrade, Serbia to investigate influence of different factors on biofilm formation, kinetics of biofilm formation for strong biofilm producers and effect of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) on formed biofilm. Most of the isolates (89.8%) were able to form a biofilm. Analysis of biofilm formation in different growth conditions showed that changing of temeperature and pH had the stronggest effect on biofilm formation almost equally in group of cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-CF strains. TMP/SMX in concentration of 50 μg/ml reduced completely 24 h old biofilms while concentration of 25 μg/ml effects formed biofilms in a strain dependent manner. Among strains able to form strong biofilm CF isolates formed biofilm slower than non-CF isolates, while shaking conditions did not affect biofilm formation. Swimming motility was detected in both CF and non-CF isolates, however more motile strain formed stronger biofilms. This study suggests that temperature, pH and TMP/SMX had the strongest influence on biofilm formation in analyzed collection of S. maltophilia. A positive correlation between motility and strength of formed biofilm was demonstrated.
Production, Characterization and Valuable Applications of Exopolysaccharides from Marine Bacillus subtilis SH1
Authors: HASSAN SAHAR W.M. , IBRAHIM HASSAN A.H.
Published: January 2018

Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are high molecular weight polymers consisting of different sugar residues they are preferable for replacing synthetic polymers as they are degradable and nontoxic. Many microorganisms possess the ability to synthesize and excrete exopolysaccharides with novel chemical compositions, properties and structures to have potential applications in different fields. The present study attempt to optimize the production of EPS by marine Bacillus subtilis SH1 in addition to characterization and investigation of different valuable applications. Effect of medium type, incubation period and pH were studied using the one factor at a time experiments. It was shown that the highest productivity (24 gl–1) of exopolysaccharides was recorded by using yeast malt glucose medium with pH 9 at the fourth day of incubation. Experimental design using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize various nutrients at different concentrations. The finalized optimized medium contained (gl–1) glucose (5), peptone (2.5), yeast extract (4.5) and malt extract (4.5) increased the production of EPS to 33.8 gl–1 with1.4 fold increase compared to the basal medium. Chemical characterization of the extracted EPS showed that, FTIR spectra exhibited bands at various regions. Moreover, HPLC chromatogram indicated that the EPS was a heteropolysaccharide consisting of maltose and rhamnose. The study was extended to evaluate the potentiality of the extracted polysaccharides in different medical applications. Results concluded that, EPS exhibited antibacterial activity against Aeromonas hydrophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus faecalis and the highest antibacterial activity (7.8, 9 and 10.4 AU/ml) was against S. faecalis at 50, 100 and 200 mg/ml respectively. The EPS exhibited various degree of antitumor effect toward the tested cell lines (MCF-7, HCT-116 and HepG2). In addition, EPS exhibited antiviral activity at 500 μg/ml. The antioxidant capacity increased with increasing the concentration of the sample. Scanning electron microscopic analysis showed that EPS had compact film-like structure, which could make it a useful in the future applications as in preparing plasticized film.
Prevalence, Influencing Factors, Antibiotic Resistance, Toxin and Molecular Characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA Nasal Carriage among Diabetic Population in the United States, 2001–2004
Authors: LIN JIALING , PENG YANG , BAI CHAN , ZHANG TING , ZHENG HAOQU , WANG XIAOJIE , YE JIAPING , YE XIAOHUA , LI YING , YAO ZHENJIANG
Published: January 2018

Diabetic population were reported more likely to suffer carriage and infection with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) than non-diabetic population. We aim to elucidate the prevalence and characteristics of S. aureus and MRSA nasal carriage among diabetic population in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2001–2004. Univariate analyses were conducted using Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact probability test or student t test, as appropriate. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression was conducted to assess the association between influencing factors and S. aureus and MRSA nasal carriage. 1010 diabetic participants were included in the study. The prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA nasal carriage were 28.32% and 1.09%, respectively. After the logistic regression, ever had a painful sensation or tingling in hands or feet past three months (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.359, 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 0.146–0.882) was significant among S. aureus nasal carriage and gender (OR = 3.410, 95% CI, 1.091–10.653) was significant among MRSA nasal carriage. The proportions of staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) A, SEB, SEC, SED, Toxic-shock syndrome toxin-1, and Panton Valentine Leukocidin toxin among S. aureus strains were 18.75%, 3.13%, 12.50%, 15.63%, 28.13%, and 9.38%, respectively. 63.63% of MRSA strains were community-acquired, 27.27% were hospital-acquired, and 9.09% were non-typeable. Diabetic patients might be more likely to carry S. aureus and MRSA in the United States. Improving hand hygiene compliance, reducing antibiotic overuse, screening for carriers, and decolonization are recommended to reduce the spread of S. aureus and MRSA, especially in community.
The Determination and Correlation of Various Virulence Genes, ESBL, Serum Bactericidal Effect and Biofilm Formation of Clinical Isolated Classical Klebsiella pneumoniae and Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae from Respiratory Tract Infected Patients
Authors: SHAH RAMBHA K. , NI ZHAO H. , SUN XIAO Y. , WANG GUO Q. , LI FAN
Published: January 2018

Klebsiella pneumoniae strains that are commonly recognized by clinicians and microbiologists are termed as classical K. pneumoniae (cKP). A strain with capsule-associated mucopolysaccharide web is known as hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKP) as it enhances the serum resistant and biofilm production. Aim is to determine and correlate various virulence genes, ESBL, serum bactericidal effect and biofilm formation of clinical isolated cKP and hvKP from respiratory tract infected patients. A total of 96 K. pneumoniae strains were isolated from sputum of respiratory tract infected patients. The isolates were performed string test, AST, ESBL virulence gene, serum bactericidal and biofilm assays. Out of 96 isolates, 39 isolates (40.6%) were identified with hypervirulent phenotypes. The number of cKP exhibiting resistance to the tested antimicrobials and ESBLs were significantly higher than that of the hvKP strains. The virulence genes of K. pneumoniae such as K1, K2, rmpA, uge, kfu and aerobactin were strongly associated with hvKP than cKP. However, no significant difference was found in FIM-1 and MrKD3 genes. ESBL producing cKP and hvKP were significantly associated with strong biofilm formation (both P < 0.05) and highly associated with bactericidal effect of serum (both P < 0.05) than cKP strains. However, neither biofilm formation nor bactericidal effect of serum was found with significant difference in between ESBL producing cKP and ESBL producing hvKP strains (both P > 0.05). Although the hvKP possess more virulence gene, but they didn’t show any significant difference between biofilm formation and bactericidal effect of serum compared with ESBL producing cKP strains.
Study of Patterns and Markers of Human Immune Deficiency Virus -1 (HIV-1) Progression and Unemployment Rate among Patients from Alexandria, Egypt
Authors: GHONEIM FAIKA M. , RAOUF MAY M. , ELSHAER NOHA S. , ABDELHAMID SARAH M. , NOOR ELDEEN REEM A.
Published: January 2018

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) new HIV cases show the highest increase among all regions in the world. Even though Egypt has a low prevalence among the general population (< 0.02%), a national HIV epidemic occurs in certain population risk groups. The current study was conducted to asses clinical and immunological disease progression; following up viral load (VL) and detecting delta-32 CCR5 genotype polymorphism in selected cases, determining unemployment rate and identify predictors of employment for HIV-cases. A cross sectional design was adopted. HIV infected cases attending Alexandria Fever Hospital (AFH) for one year. Interview questionnaire and four CD+4 counts were done for all patients, HIV VL and delta-32 CCR5 polymorphism were done for selected cases. Sexual transmission and drug abuse are the most important risk factors. Infectious comorbidity increases the rate of HIV progression. CD4+ count at the end of the study; CD+4 (4), count was significantly higher than all other CD4+ readings among the whole cohort and among the treated group. Also, VL at the end of the study; VL(2), was significantly higher than VL(1) among the untreated group. Unemployment rate was 40%. Male gender and obtaining vocational training were significant predictors of employment. It can be concluded that having a family member living with HIV and drug abusers are high risk groups for HIV acquisition. Factors responsible for progression of HIV should be further investigated. Antiretroviral therapy is very effective in checking HIV replication rate, delaying the progression of HIV, reconstituting the immune response and should be available for all cases detected.
Inhibition of Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria by a Photoactivated Porphyrin
Authors: BONDI MORENO , MAZZINI ANNA , DE NIEDERHÄUSERN SIMONA , ISEPPI RAMONA , MESSI PATRIZIA
Published: January 2018

The authors studied the in vitro antibacterial activity of the photo-activated porphyrin meso-tri(N-methyl-pyridyl), mono(N-tetradecylpyridyl)porphine (C14) against four multidrug-resistant bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis (Gram-positive), Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-negative). Using 10 μg/ml of porphyrin and 60 sec irradiation we observed the remarkable susceptibility of S. aureus and E. faecalis to treatment while, under the same conditions, E. coli and P. aeruginosa showed very low susceptibility. In a later stage, suspensions of Gram-negative bacteria were processed with EDTA before photo-activation, obtaining a significant decrease in viable counts. In view of the results, if the combination of low porphyrin concentrations and short irradiation times will be effective in vivo also, this approach could be a possible alternative to antibiotics, in particular against localized infections due to multidrug-resistant microorganisms.
Seroprevalence of Rubella and Cytomegalia in Young Women from Biała Podlaska District
Authors: PLEWIK DOROTA , TOKARSKA-RODAK MAŁGORZATA , PASZKIEWICZ JUSTYNA , SZEPELUK ADAM
Published: January 2018

The aim of this study was to analyze the seroprevalence of rubella and cytomegalia among young women. The study included 175 healthy women from the Biała Podlaska District, aged 16 to 35 years. Anti-rubella and anti-CMV IgG were determined by ELISA. 172 (98.3%) study subjects tested positive for rubella antibodies, 1 (0.6%) was seroindeterminate and 2 (1.1%) were seronegative. CMV antibodies were detected in 119 (68.0%) participants; the series included also 1 (0.6%) seroindeterminate and 55 (31.4%) seronegative women. The levels of rubella and CMV antibodies were not significantly affected by age, place of residence and educational level of the study subjects.
Molecular Study of Indigenous Bacterial Community Composition on Exposure to Soil Arsenic Concentration Gradient
Authors: BASU SEMANTI , PAUL TANIMA , YADAV PRIYA , DEBNATH ABHIJIT , SARKAR KEKA
Published: January 2018

Community structure of bacteria present in arsenic contaminated agricultural soil was studied with qPCR (quantitative PCR) and DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) as an indicator of extreme stresses. Copy number of six common bacterial taxa (Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, α-, β- and γ-Proteobacteria, Firmicutes) was calculated using group specific primers of 16S rDNA. It revealed that soil contaminated with low concentration of arsenic was dominated by both Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria but a shift towards Proteo bacteria was observed with increasing arsenic concentration, and number of Actinobacteria eventually decreases. PCA (Principle Component Analysis) plot of bacterial community composition indicated a distinct resemblance among high arsenic content samples, while low arsenic content samples remained separated from others. Cluster analysis of soil parameters identifies three clusters, each of them was related to the arsenic content. Further, cluster analysis of 16S rDNA based DGGE fingerprint markedly distributed the soil bacterial populations into low (< 10 ppm) and high (> 10 ppm) arsenic content subgroups. Following analysis of diversity indices shows significant variation in bacterial community structure. MDS (Multi Dimensional Scaling) plot revealed distinction in the distribution of each sample denoting variation in bacterial diversity. Phylogenetic sequence analysis of fragments excised from DGGE gel revealed the presence of γ-Proteobacteria group across the study sites. Collectively, our experiments indicated that gradient of arsenic contamination affected the shape of the soil bacterial population by significant structural shift.
Safety Evaluation of Enterocin Producer Enterococcus sp. Strains Isolated from Traditional Turkish Cheeses
Authors: AVCI MINE , TUNCER BANU ÖZDEN
Published: January 2018

The purpose of this study was to determine the antimicrobial activity and occurrence of bacteriocin structural genes in Enterococcus spp. isolated from different cheeses and also investigate some of their virulence factors. Enterococcus strains were isolated from 33 different cheeses. Enterococcus faecium (6 strains) and Enterococcus faecalis (5 strains) enterocin-producing strains were identified by 16S rDNA analyses. Structural genes entA, entB, entP and entX were detected in some isolates. Multiple enterocin structural genes were found in 7 strains. None of the tested enterococci demonstrated anyβ-haemolytic activity and only one strain had gelatinase activity. Six strains showed multiple antibiotic resistance patterns and in addition, vanA and several virulence genes were detected in many strains. Only E. faecalis MBE1-9 showed tyrosine decarboxylase activity and tdc gene was detected only in this strain.
In vitro Interaction between Fumonisin B1 and the Intestinal Microflora of Pigs
Authors: DANG HUU ANH , ZSOLNAI ATTILA , KOVACS MELINDA , BORS ISTVÁN , BÓNAI ANDRÁS , BÓTA BRIGITTA , SZABÓ-FODOR JUDIT
Published: January 2018

The caecal chyme of pigs was incubated anaerobically in McDougall buffer with and without fumonisin B1 (5 μg/ml) for 0, 24 and 48 h. The plate count agar technique was applied for enumerating the amount of bacteria including aerobic, anaerobic bacteria, coliform, Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus sp. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction was also performed to estimate the number of copies of the total bacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella. No significant differences in the amount of bacterial groups between the experimental (buffer, chyme, and fumonisin B1) and control 1 groups (buffer + chyme) were observed in both methods. Fumonisin B1 and hydrolysed fumonisin B1 concentration were analysed by liquid chromatograghy – mass spectrometry. There was no significant difference in FB1 concentration between the experimental and the control 2 group (buffer and fumonisin B1) at 0 h incubation, 5.185 ± 0.174 μg/ml compared with 6.433 ± 0.076 μg/ml. Fumonisin B1 concentration in the experimental group was reduced to 4.080 ± 0.065 μg/ml at 24 h and to 2.747 ± 0.548 μg/ml at 48 h incubation and was significantly less than that of in the control group. Hydrolysed fumonisin B1 was detected after 24 h incubation (0.012 ± 0 μg/ml). At 48 h incubation time, hydrolysed fumonisin B1 concentration was doubled to 0.024 ± 0.004 μg/ml. These results indicate that fumonisin B1 can be metabolised by caecal microbiota in pigs though the number of studied bacteria did not change.
Early KPC-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Bacteremia among Intensive Care Unit Patients Non-Colonized upon Admission
Authors: PAPADIMITRIOU-OLIVGERIS MATTHAIOS , FLIGOU FOTINI , SPILIOPOULOU IRIS , BARTZAVALI CHRISTINA , DODOU VASILIKI , VAMVAKOPOULOU SOPHIA , KOUTSILEOU KYRIAKI , ZOTOU ANASTASIA , ANASTASSIOU EVANGELOS D. , CHRISTOFIDOU MYRTO , MARANGOS MARKOS
Published: January 2018

Among 140 patients colonized by KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) between fourth and seventh day of Intensive Care Unit stay, 24 developed bacteraemia immediately after colonization. Colistin-resistance of the colonizing isolate was the factor significantly associated with early KPC-Kp bacteraemia (P < 0.001; OR 6.6, 95% CI 2.4–18.4), a worrisome finding since infections by colistin-resistant isolates is associated with increased mortality due to limited remaining therapeutic options.
An Improve Protocol for PCR Using LM1 and LM2 Primers for Listeria monocytogenes Detection in Food Matrices
Authors: GODÍNEZ-OVIEDO ANGÉLICA , NAVA GERARDO M. , ARVIZU-MEDRANO SOFÍA M. , HERNÁNDEZ-ITURRIAGA MONTSERRAT
Published: January 2018

Several studies have observed that use of a conventional PCR protocol with primers LM1 and LM2 for the identification of the hlyA gene of Listeria monocytogenes generates non-specific PCR amplifications and false positives. For this reason, in this study we provide a modified PCR protocol that improves the specificity of the results obtained with LM1 and LM2 primers.
Betaine Improves Polymer-Grade D-Lactic Acid Production by Sporolactobacillus inulinus Using Ammonia as Green Neutralizer
Authors: LV GUOPING , CHE CHENGCHUAN , LI LI , XU SHUJING , GUAN WANYI , ZHAO BAOHUA , JU JIANSONG
Published: January 2018

The traditional CaCO3-based fermentation process generates huge amount of insoluble waste. To solve this problem, we have developed an efficient and green D-lactic acid fermentation process by using ammonia as neutralizer. The 106.7 g/l of D-lactic acid production and 0.89 g/g of consumed sugar were obtained by Sporolactobacillus inulinus CASD with a high optical purity of 99.7% by adding 100 mg/l betaine in the simple batch fermentation. The addition of betaine was experimentally proven to protect cells at high concentration of ammonium ion, increase D-lactate dehydrogenase specific activity and thus promote the production of D-lactic acid.
Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Phoma complanata, a New Causal Agent of Archangelica officinalis Hoffm. in Poland
Authors: ZIMOWSKA BEATA , ZALEWSKA EWA DOROTA , DOROTA KRÓL EWA , FURMAŃCZYK AGNIESZKA
Published: January 2018

The paper concerns the fungus Phoma complanata, isolated for the first time in Poland, from the roots and umbels of angelica (Archangelica officinalis) in 2009. The morphology of fungal isolates was tested on standard culture media. Moreover, the sequence analysis of ITS regions was conducted. Morphological similarity of P. complanata Polish isolates to the reference isolate obtained from CBS culture collection was determined and together with the molecular analysis confirmed the affiliation of the fungus to the species.
Winter Issue, 2017
Authors: Madden Kenneth M. , Maxwell Colleen , Rapoport Mark
Published: January 2018

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Genotoxicidade de Helianthus annuus Linné, 1753 (Asteraceae): novas perspectivas e tendências
Authors: Boriollo Marcelo Fabiano Gomes , Da Silva Thaísla Andriele , Silva Jeferson Júnior , Rodrigues Netto Manoel Francisco , Höfling José Francisco , Chavasco Jorge Kleber
Published: January 2018

A presente revisão reúne informações acerca dos aspectos genotóxicos de Helianthus annuus Linné (girassol), até o presente momento na literatura. O girassol é uma importante fonte de óleo natural e sua ampla aplicabilidade é atribuível ao variável repertório fitoquímico. A ação preventiva da diurese, diarreia e doenças inflamatórias, além dos efeitos de alívio dos sintomas asmáticos, proteção gástrica, cicatrização, ação anti-inflamatória e antimicrobiana foram reconhecidas quanto às propriedades farmacológicas do girassol. Com um grande potencial fitoquímico, é importante também analisarmos seu potencial tóxico e genotóxico. Vários resultados inconclusivos a respeito da correlação entre a carcinogênese e o óleo de girassol foram observados na literatura. Por outro lado, um número limitado de informações sobre a mutagênese ou antimutagênese do extrato hidroalcoólico e distintas fontes do óleo de sementes de girassol, submetido ou não ao estresse térmico, foi relatado. Esta revisão apresentará os atuais trabalhos envolvendo a ação genotóxica ou anti genotóxica de H. annuus L., colaborando com a implantação de limites ao consumo, potenciais riscos à saúde ou medidas estratégicas quimiopreventivas.
Morinda citrifolia: fatos e riscos sobre o uso do noni
Authors: Barbosa Andreia Freire , Costa Isabelly Cristina de Matos , Langassner Silvana Zucolotto , Giordani Raquel Brandt
Published: January 2018

Morinda citrifolia L. (Rubiaceae), popularmente conhecida como noni, é amplamente utilizada, na Polinésia e no Havaí, para tratamento de diversas patologias, como: dislipidemia, diabetes, câncer, hipertensão, cicatrização, dentre outras.  Atualmente, observa-se também o uso exacerbado no Brasil, especialmente na região Nordeste, onde a planta se adaptou bem. Porém, ainda não há certeza da sua eficácia, e muitas pesquisas sobre a ação terapêutica do noni estão em desenvolvimento, embora os resultados sejam bastante controversos. O que torna o noni uma planta diferenciada e que requer atenção especial é seu potencial hepatotóxico. A Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) fundamenta a sua recomendação de não utilizar o noni, também, com base em relatos de toxicidade em humanos. Este trabalho é uma revisão da literatura, com objetivo de avaliar o potencial terapêutico desta planta de acordo com os estudos já desenvolvidos. Dessa forma, é possível realizar uma análise crítica do uso irracional desta planta e contribuir com a divulgação de possíveis riscos à saúde.
El artículo 16 de la Constitución en su concepción y desarrollo: cuarenta años de laicidad y libertad religiosa
Authors: Polo Sabau José Ramón
Published: January 2018

Resumen:En este trabajo se realiza un balance y examen global del desarrollo que ha experimentado el llamado sistema de relaciones Iglesia-Estado en España en las cuatro décadas de vigencia de la Constitución de 1978, prestando una especial atención a las razones de fondo que llevaron al constituyente a incluir una referencia en él a la cooperación con la Iglesia católica y las demás confesiones así como a la consecuencias que ha tenido el hecho de que las relaciones con aquella estuviesen ya configuradas concordatariamente en el momento en el que fue aprobada la Constitución. En este contexto general, se exponen lasprincipales claves de interpretación del actual régimen de la libertadreligiosa en España, del estatuto de las entidades religiosas y del subsistemaconformado por el contenido de los acuerdos de cooperaciónsuscritos por el Estado con las confesiones religiosas.Summary:I. Introduction. 2. The constitutional framework on Church and State and its historical, political and sociological background. 3. Controversial aspects concerning the legal development of religious freedom and the legal status of religious denominations. 4. Constitution and agreements between the State and religious denominations. 5. Concluding remarks: the unfinished process os disestablishment of religion in Spanish law and the main proposals of reform in this field.Abstract:In this paper the author conducts an overview of the relations between Church and State in Spain and how they have evolved since the promulgation of the 1978 Constitution; to this regard, special consideration is given to the fact that the relations between the Catholic Church and the State were already predetermined by the existence of certain agreements that were elaborated even before the Constitution came into force, a fact that has had significant consequences in the development of this particular field of law. Further consideration is also given to the current legal status of religious freedom in Spain and to the legal position of religious organizations in this country, including some remarks focused on the content of the current agreements signed by the State with some of the so called minority religious denominations.
El derecho-deber de protección del medio ambiente
Authors: Pérez Sola Nicolás
Published: January 2018

Resumen:El artículo 45 CE incluye el derecho a disfrutar el medio ambiente y, por tanto, la necesidad de proteger el ejercicio del mismo. En este precepto se combinan diversos postulados proteccionistas como la calidad de vida y la utilización racional de los recursos naturales con la consecución de objetivos de progreso y desarrollo. La ausencia de una ley general de medio ambiente que desarrollara el artículo 45 CE ha sido suplida en gran medida por la transposición de normativa ambiental de la Unión europea. La jurisprudencia ha reconocido el carácter dinámico de este derecho pero no su consideración como derecho fundamental. Summary:I. Introduction. II. The right of enjoyment of the environment. III. The duty of protection of the environment. IV. The state of the matter.Abstract:Article 45 of Spanish Constitution foresees the right to enjoy the environment and, therefore, the need to protect the exercise of the environment. This precept combines several protectionist postulates such as the quality of life and the rational use of natural resources with the achievement of goals of progress and development. The absence of a general environmental law in order to develop this constitutional article has been filled, to some extent, by the transposition ofenvironmental legislation of the European Union. Jurisprudence has recognized the dynamic nature of this right, but has denied the status of fundamental right.
Proanthocyanidins in seed coat’s tegmen and endospermic cap inhibit seed germination in the bioenergy plant Sapium sebiferum
Authors: Shah Faheem Afzal , Ni Jun , Chen Jing , Wang Qiaojian , Liu Wenbo , Chen Xue , Tang Caiguo , Fu Songling , Wu Lifang
Published: January 2018

Sapium sebiferum, a highly ornamental and bioenergy plant, is propagated by seed. Its seed coat contains germination inhibitors and needs long time stratification for germination. In this experiment, we discovered that S. Sebiferum seed coat (especially tegmen) and endospermic cap contained high levels of proanthocyanidins (PAs). Seed coat and endospermic cap removal induced seed germination whereas exogenous application with seed coat extract (SCE) or PAs significantly inhibited this process, suggesting that PAs in the seed coat played a major role in regulating seed germination in S. sebiferum. We further investigated how seed coat extract affected the expression of the seed germination-related genes. The results showed that SCE treatment upregulated the transcription level of the dormancy-related gene, abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis and signalling genes and gibberellins (GA) suppressing genes. SCE decreased the transcript levels of ABA catabolic, GA biosynthesis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrates signalling genes. Exogenous application of nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), gibberellic acid (GA3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and potassium nitrate (KNO3) recovered seed germination in SCE supplemented medium. In this experiment, we highlighted the role of PAs, and its interactions with the other germination regulators, in the regulation of seed dormancy in S. Sebiferum.
An empirical analysis of machine learning models for automated essay grading
Authors: Madala Deva Surya Vivek , Gangal Ayushree , Krishna Shreyash , Goyal Anjali , Sureka Ashish
Published: January 2018

Background. Automated Essay Scoring (AES) is an area which falls at the intersection of computing and linguistics. AES systems conduct a linguistic analysis of a given essay or prose and then estimates the writing skill or the essay quality in the form a numeric score or a letter grade. AES systems are useful for the school, university and testing company community for efficiently and effectively scaling the task of grading a large number of essays.

Methods. We propose an approach for automatically grading a given essay based on 9 surface level and deep linguistic features, 2 feature selection and ranking techniques and 4 text classification algorithms. We conduct a series of experiments on publicly available manually graded and annotated essay data and demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. We investigate the performance of two different features selection techniques (1) RELIEF (2) Correlation-based Feature Subset Selection (CFS) with three different machine learning classifiers (kNN, SVM and Linear Regression). We also apply feature normalization and scaling.

Results. Our results indicate that features like world count with respect to the world limit, appropriate use of vocabulary, relevance of the terms in the essay with the given topic and coherency between sentences and paragraphs are good predictors of essay score. Our analysis reveals that not all features are equally important and few features are more relevant and better correlated with respect to the target class. We conduct experiments with k-nearest neighbour, logistic regression and support vector machine based classifiers. Our results on 4075 essays across multiple topics and grade score range are encouraging with an accuracy of 73% to 93%.

Discussion. Our experiments and approach are based on Grade 7 to Grade 10 essays which can be generalized to essays from other grades and level after doing context specific customization. Few features are more relevant and important than other features and it is interplay or combination of multiple feature values which determines the final score. We observe that different classifiers result in difference accuracy.
No general relationship between mass and temperature in endothermic species
Authors: Riemer Kristina , Guralnick Robert P , White Ethan P
Published: January 2018

Bergmann's rule is a widely-accepted biogeographic rule stating that individuals within a species are smaller in warmer environments. While there are many single-species studies and integrative reviews documenting this pattern, a data-intensive approach has not been used yet to determine the generality of this pattern. We assessed the strength and direction of the intraspecific relationship between temperature and individual mass for 952 bird and mammal species. For eighty-seven percent of species, temperature explained less than 10% of variation in mass, and for 79% of species the correlation was not statistically significant. These results suggest that Bergmann's rule is not general and temperature is not a dominant driver of biogeographic variation in mass. Further understanding of size variation will require integrating multiple processes that influence size. The lack of dominant temperature forcing weakens the justification for the hypothesis that global warming could result in widespread decreases in body size.
Associability-modulated loss learning is increased in posttraumatic stress disorder
Authors: Brown Vanessa M , Zhu Lusha , Wang John M , Frueh B Christopher , King-Casas Brooks , Chiu Pearl H
Published: January 2018

Disproportionate reactions to unexpected stimuli in the environment are a cardinal symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Here, we test whether these heightened responses are associated with disruptions in distinct components of reinforcement learning. Specifically, using functional neuroimaging, a loss-learning task, and a computational model-based approach, we assessed the mechanistic hypothesis that overreactions to stimuli in PTSD arise from anomalous gating of attention during learning (i.e., associability). Behavioral choices of combat-deployed veterans with and without PTSD were fit to a reinforcement learning model, generating trial-by-trial prediction errors (signaling unexpected outcomes) and associability values (signaling attention allocation to the unexpected outcomes). Neural substrates of associability value and behavioral parameter estimates of associability updating, but not prediction error, increased with PTSD during loss learning. Moreover, the interaction of PTSD severity with neural markers of associability value predicted behavioral choices. These results indicate that increased attention-based learning may underlie aspects of PTSD and suggest potential neuromechanistic treatment targets.
Replication Study: Transcriptional amplification in tumor cells with elevated c-Myc
Authors: Lewis L Michelle , Edwards Meredith C , Meyers Zachary R , Talbot C Conover , Hao Haiping , Blum David ,   Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology, Iorns Elizabeth , Tsui Rachel , Denis Alexandria , Perfito Nicole , Errington Timothy M
Published: January 2018

As part of the Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology, we published a Registered Report (Blum et al., 2015), that described how we intended to replicate selected experiments from the paper ‘Transcriptional amplification in tumor cells with elevated c-Myc’ (Lin et al., 2012). Here we report the results. We found overexpression of c-Myc increased total levels of RNA in P493-6 Burkitt’s lymphoma cells; however, while the effect was in the same direction as the original study (Figure 3E; Lin et al., 2012), statistical significance and the size of the effect varied between the original study and the two different lots of serum tested in this replication. Digital gene expression analysis for a set of genes was also performed on P493-6 cells before and after c-Myc overexpression. Transcripts from genes that were active before c-Myc induction increased in expression following c-Myc overexpression, similar to the original study (Figure 3F; Lin et al., 2012). Transcripts from genes that were silent before c-Myc induction also increased in expression following c-Myc overexpression, while the original study concluded elevated c-Myc had no effect on silent genes (Figure 3F; Lin et al., 2012). Treating the data as paired, we found a statistically significant increase in gene expression for both active and silent genes upon c-Myc induction, with the change in gene expression greater for active genes compared to silent genes. Finally, we report meta-analyses for each result.
Astrocytic modulation of excitatory synaptic signaling in a mouse model of Rett syndrome
Authors: Rakela Benjamin , Brehm Paul , Mandel Gail
Published: January 2018

Studies linking mutations in Methyl CpG Binding Protein 2 (MeCP2) to physiological defects in the neurological disease, Rett syndrome, have focused largely upon neuronal dysfunction despite MeCP2 ubiquitous expression. Here we explore roles for astrocytes in neuronal network function using cortical slice recordings. We find that astrocyte stimulation in wild-type mice increases excitatory synaptic activity that is absent in male mice lacking MeCP2 globally. To determine the cellular basis of the defect, we exploit a female mouse model for Rett syndrome that expresses wild-type MeCP2-GFP in a mosaic distribution throughout the brain, allowing us to test all combinations of wild-type and mutant cells. We find that the defect is dependent upon MeCP2 expression status in the astrocytes and not in the neurons. Our findings highlight a new role for astrocytes in regulation of excitatory synaptic signaling and in the neurological defects associated with Rett syndrome.
Identification of a novel botulinum neurotoxin gene cluster in Enterococcus
Authors: Brunt Jason , Carter Andrew T. , Stringer Sandra C. , Peck Michael W.
Published: January 2018

The deadly neurotoxins of Clostridium botulinum (BoNTs) comprise eight serotypes (A–G; X). The neurotoxin gene cluster encoding BoNT and its accessory proteins includes an operon containing an ntnh gene upstream of the boNT gene. Another operon contains either ha (haemagglutinin) or orfX genes (of unknown function). Here we describe a novel boNT gene cluster from Enterococcus sp. 3G1_DIV0629, with a typical ntnh gene and an uncommon orfX arrangement. The neurotoxin (designated putative eBoNT/J) contains a metallopeptidase zinc‐binding site, a translocation domain and a target cell attachment domain. Structural properties of the latter suggest a novel targeting mechanism with consequent implications for application by the pharmaceutical industry. This is the first complete boNT gene cluster identified in a non‐clostridial genome.