bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MicroRNA‐21 promotes orthodontic tooth movement by modulating the RANKL/OPG balance in T cells
Authors: Wu Lili , Su Yingying , Lin Feiran , Zhu Siying , Wang Jingyi , Hou Yanan , Du Juan , Liu Yi , Guo Lijia 
Published: November 2019

AbstractObjectivesThe present study was designed to investigate the effects of microRNA‐21 (miR‐21) on orthodontic tooth movement.MethodsThe orthodontic tooth movement model was established in C57BL/6 and miR‐21−/−mice with or without implantation of activated T cells. Histological and histomorphometrical analyses were performed by hematoxylin–eosin staining. Tartrate‐resistant acid phosphate staining was used to analyze the osteoclast numbers during tooth movement. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry analysis were used to examine the expression of RANKL and OPG.ResultsIn miR‐21−/−mice, the distance of tooth movement was retarded, the osteoclast number was decreased, and serum RANKL expression was strongly reduced. MiR‐21 promoted the secretion of RANKL from activated T cells. Furthermore, activated T cells could partially rescue the decreased orthodontic tooth movement distance in miR‐21−/−mice. MiR‐21 was shown to promote orthodontic tooth movement by modulating the RANKL/OPG balance in T cells.ConclusionsThe impact of miR‐21 on tooth movement was better elucidated, furthering our understanding of its role and clinical applications in orthodontics.
Parliamentary scrutiny of executive patronage: The relationship between institutional norms, reputation and accountability
Authors: Matthews Felicity 
Published: November 2019

AbstractWhile executive patronage brings important benefits in terms of governance and control, political influence over the selection of agency staff entails a democratic dilemma: how should the exercise of executive patronage be controlled? This article addresses this critical issue, examining Westminster's system of pre‐appointment scrutiny by analysing an original database that encompasses every pre‐appointment hearing held between 2007 and 2018. The article demonstrates that although the conduct of hearings accords with select committees’ longstanding commitment to cross‐party working, members have not prioritized pre‐appointment scrutiny relative to their other committee activities. By systematically disaggregating the factors which affect how select committees dispatch this account‐holding responsibility, the article deepens previous analyses of pre‐appointment scrutiny, and dovetails with scholarship examining the institutional determinants of select committee power. More broadly, it draws attention to the reputational dynamics of accountability, and how institutional norms can serve as vital reputational resources, enabling account‐holders to demonstrate ‘responsible’ account‐holding.
Allergy development is associated with consumption of breastmilk with a reduced microbial richness in the first month of life
Authors: Dzidic Majda , Mira Alex , Artacho Alejandro , Abrahamsson Thomas R. , Jenmalm Maria C. , Collado Maria Carmen 
Published: November 2019

AbstractBackgroundEarly colonization with a diverse microbiota seems to play a crucial role for appropriate immune maturation during childhood. Breastmilk microbiota is one important source of microbes for the infant, transferred together with maternal IgA antibodies. We previously observed that allergy development during childhood was associated with aberrant IgA responses to the gut microbiota already at 1 month of age, when the IgA antibodies are predominantly maternally derived in breastfed infants.ObjectiveTo determine the microbial composition and IgA‐coated bacteria in breastmilk in relation to allergy development in children participating in an intervention trial with pre‐ and post‐natal Lactobacillus reuteri supplementation.MethodsA combination of flow cytometric cell sorting and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to characterize the bacterial recognition patterns by IgA in breastmilk samples collected one month post‐partum from 40 mothers whose children did or did not develop allergic and asthmatic symptoms during the first 7 years of age.ResultsThe milk fed to children developing allergic manifestations had significantly lower bacterial richness, when compared to the milk given to children that remained healthy. Probiotic treatment influenced the breastmilk microbiota composition. However, the proportions of IgA‐coated bacteria, the total bacterial load and the patterns of IgA‐coating were similar in breastmilk between mothers of healthy children and those developing allergies.ConclusionConsumption of breastmilk with a reduced microbial richness in the first month of life may play an important role in allergy development during childhood.
Opsin3 Downregulation Induces Apoptosis of Human Epidermal Melanocytes via Mitochondrial Pathway
Authors: Wang Yu , Lan Yinghua , Lu Hongguang 
Published: November 2019

AbstractG protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs) are core switches connecting excellular survival or death signals with cellular signaling pathways in a context‐dependent manner. Opsin 3 (OPN3) belongs to the GPCR superfamily. However, whether OPN3 can control the survival or death of human melanocytes is not known. Here, we try to investigate the inherent function of OPN3 on the survival of melanocytes. Our results demonstrate that OPN3 knockdown by RNAi‐OPN3 in human epidermal melanocytes leads to cell apoptosis. The downregulation of OPN3 markedly reduces intracellular calcium levels and decreases phosphorylation of BAD. Attenuated BAD phosphorylation and elevated BAD protein level alter mitochondria membrane permeability, which trigger activation of BAX and inhibition of BCL‐2 and raf‐1. Activated BAX results in the release of cytochrome c and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Cytochrome c complexes associate with caspase 9, forming a postmitochondrial apoptosome that activate effector caspases including caspase 3 and caspase 7. The release of apoptotic molecules eventually promotes the occurrence of apoptosis. In conclusion, we hereby are the first to prove that OPN3 is a key signal responsible for cell survival through a calcium‐dependent G protein‐coupled signaling and mitochondrial pathway.
Photosynthesis and growth of Ulva ohnoi and Ulva pertusa (Ulvophyceae) under high light and high temperature conditions, and implications for green tide in Japan
Authors: Nakamura Masaya , Kumagai Naoki H. , Tamaoki Masanori , Arita Koichi , Ishii Yuichi , Nakajima Nobuyoshi , Yabe Tohru 
Published: November 2019

SUMMARYThe macroalga Ulva ohnoi constitutes a considerable fraction of green tides in coastal areas of Japan, but little is known about the physiological characteristics of this species. To investigate the environmental factors that promote the formation of green tides, we tested the responses of U. ohnoi and another common Japanese species, Ulva pertusa, to various levels of irradiance at different water temperatures. Because the two species are morphologically similar, we identified them using the PCR‐restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Under laboratory conditions, we evaluated the photosynthetic, dark respiration, and relative growth rate at a range of water temperatures (5 to 35°C) and photosynthetically active radiation (0 to 1000 μmol photons m−2 s−1). The maximum gross photosynthetic rate of U. ohnoi was larger than that of U. pertusa. The dark respiration rates revealed no significant differences among the species and temperature conditions. At 500 μmol photons m−2 s−1, the relative growth rate of U. ohnoi was larger than that of U. pertusa in higher temperature and the difference was the largest at 20°C. The estimated compensation irradiance and estimated saturation irradiance of U. ohnoi and U. pertusa ranged from 0.709 to 5.510 and 40.530 to 58.674 μmol photons m−2 s−1, which were lower than those in other intertidal green macroalgae, from 6 to 11 and 50 to 82 μmol photons m−2 s−1, respectively. Thus, U. ohnoi which exists as free‐floating near the water surface and accumulating inside the green tide can survive extensively in the water column of the intertidal zone, furthermore, the species can maintain rapid growth in this situation. Therefore, as a result of this study, it is suggested that the ecological success of U. ohnoi in shallow waters such as the tidal flats, estuarine, and coasts of the inner bay in comparison with U. pertusa.
Recycled insular phosphates and coated grains: Case study from Little Cayman, British West Indies
Authors: Jones Brian 
Published: November 2019

AbstractPhosphatic limestones on the west end of Little Cayman, at an elevation of 3 to 4 m above sea level and ca 320 to 550 m inland of the coast, lie on top of a phytokarst surface that defines the upper boundary of the Pedro Castle Formation (Pliocene). These phosphatic limestones are formed of phosphatic lithoclasts, detrital phosphate grains, coated grains (glaebules), composite coated grains, biofragments and phosphate rafts that are held in a matrix that is formed of micrite, calcite cement, and non‐crystalline masses formed of P, Al, Si and Fe. The phosphate in these limestones is primarily hydroxylapatite, whereas the overlying soils, found in some areas, are formed of hydroxylapatite, crandallite and minor amounts of boehemite, kaolinite and quartz. Textures in the lithoclasts and detrital phosphate grains indicate that they were derived from older insular phosphates that that were largely removed by mining in 1890 to 1895. The coated grains (glaebules) typically have nuclei formed of a detrital phosphate grains that are encased by non‐crystalline cortical laminae that are composed primarily of Al with their variable red colour reflecting the variable Fe content. The phosphatic limestones developed in a low‐lying coastal area where the guano produced by a large seabird colony that was close to or mixed with terra rossa and marine carbonates that were washed onshore during storms/hurricanes. The Al, Fe, Si and rare earth elements found in the phosphatic limestones came from the terra rossa. Critically, this study documents the complex depositional regimes and diagenetic processes that can exist at the interface of marine carbonates, coastal phosphates and terrestrial soils as sea‐level fluctuations control phases of sediment accumulation that were periodically interrupted by periods of non‐deposition.
Efficient volatility estimation in a two‐factor model
Authors: Féron Olivier , Gruet Pierre , Hoffmann Marc 
Published: November 2019

AbstractWe statistically analyze a multivariate Heath‐Jarrow‐Morton diffusion model with stochastic volatility. The volatility process of the first factor is left totally unspecified while the volatility of the second factor is the product of an unknown process and an exponential function of time to maturity. This exponential term includes some real parameter measuring the rate of increase of the second factor as time goes to maturity. From historical data, we efficiently estimate the time to maturity parameter in the sense of constructing an estimator that achieves an optimal information bound in a semiparametric setting. We also nonparametrically identify the paths of the volatility processes and achieve minimax bounds. We address the problem of degeneracy that occurs when the dimension of the process is greater than two, and give in particular optimal limit theorems under suitable regularity assumptions on the drift process. We consistently analyze the numerical behavior of our estimators on simulated and real datasets of prices of forward contracts on electricity markets.
Organized crime and wage inequality
Authors: Pi Jiancai , Zhang Pengqing 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThis paper stresses the role of industrial organization of crime, and explores how organized crime affects wage inequality. We find that, when only unskilled workers (or both skilled and unskilled workers) engage in organized crime, an increase in the number of criminal groups will increase wage inequality if (1) the skilled sector is more capital intensive than the unskilled sector, and (2) the price elasticity of demand for the skilled product is large enough. However, when there are only skilled workers engaging in organized crime, condition (1) is sufficient to widen wage inequality, irrespective of the price elasticity.
Gender (mis)measurement: Guidelines for respecting gender diversity in psychological research
Authors: Cameron Jessica J , Stinson Danu Anthony 
Published: November 2019

AbstractEmpirical evidence affirms that gender is a nonbinary spectrum. Yet our review of recently published empirical articles reveals that demographic gender measurement in psychology still assumes that gender comprises just two categories: women and men. This common practice is problematic. It fails to represent psychologists' current understanding of gender, violates our ethical principles as scientists, and can result in gender misclassification. Psychologists' reliance on binary measures also conveys an exclusionary attitude that is contrary to recent ethical recommendations and contrary to the growing public concern about transgender rights. We extend five simple, no‐cost recommendations that begin to resolve these ethical and methodological problems: use and report, nonbinary gender measures; report the prevalence of nonbinary participants; clarify their inclusion and treatment in analysis; and use gender inclusive language. We also address common concerns expressed by researchers, including whether measuring “sex” resolves the issue and whether gender‐inclusive measures confuse or offend participants.
Clarity and creativity as womanist ethics for teaching and evaluating theological writing
Authors: Jordan Zandra L. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThis article uses womanist ethics and theories of writing instruction to illuminate the experiences of black women seminarians with theological writing at a predominantly white institution. The three cases presented here highlight two ethics for teaching and evaluating theological writing: clarity and creativity. Already triply marginalized by race, sex, and class, black women are often greeted with unwritten norms around academic theological writing that threaten their self‐concept and their development as producers of theological knowledge. This work centers reflections of student‐learning on the voices of black women who found their own ways of negotiating these demands. Their responses to the problems of writing for and in white, male‐dominated theological discourses provide moral strategies that all writers can employ and that all theology professors can make a regular part of their ethical pedagogical practice.
Confronting racism and white privilege in courses on religion and the environment: An inclusive pedagogical approach
Authors: Baugh Amanda J. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractCourses on religion and the environment must confront racism and white privilege in order to remain relevant for the diverse students who increasingly fill higher education classrooms. Recognizing that traditional approaches for understanding environmentalism can isolate students of color by failing to recognize their own communities and experiences, I offer two assignments – Ecological Footprint Journals and a community‐based research project – that empower students to think of environmentalism in new, more relevant ways. This approach has benefitted my students by displacing the dominance of Eurocentric thinking in my curriculum and creating a class culture that values diverse perspectives. It has also profoundly shaped my research trajectory, by helping me identify raced and classed biases that are embedded in my field, and leading me to develop a research project that complements my teaching by challenging some of those hidden assumptions.
Efficacy study of a topical treatment with a plant extract with antibiofilm activities using an in vivo model of canine superficial pyoderma
Authors: Bäumer Wolfgang , Jacobs Megan , Tamamoto‐Mochizuki Chie 
Published: November 2019

BackgroundCanine pyoderma is a common skin infection caused predominantly by staphylococcal bacteria. Because of increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial isolates, there is an urgent need for alternative or supplementary treatment options. W16P576, a Water Extract of Complex Mix of Edible Plants (WECMEP), has shown in vitro activity against a variety of bacteria, including Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. A canine model of pyoderma was developed which allows in vivo testing of antimicrobial agents in a controlled environment.ObjectiveTo evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of topical application of W16P576 in a model of canine pyoderma.AnimalsNine laboratory housed beagle dogs.Methods and materialsIn an evaluator‐blinded cross‐over study with an eight week washout period, dogs were treated topically twice daily with W16P576 WECMEP or its vehicle, starting three days before bacterial challenge. On the day of challenge, each dog was treated with two concentrations of a clinical S. pseudintermedius strain on opposite sides of the body. Topical treatment was continued for 11 days and lesions of pyoderma were evaluated and scored for 14 days.ResultsAll dogs developed lesions consistent with bacterial pyoderma. Lesion scores were generally higher on the side inoculated with a higher concentration of bacteria. Treatment with W16P576 significantly reduced lesion development and hastened resolution of lesions, compared to placebo.ConclusionTopical application of W16P576 markedly reduced lesion development in this proof of principle study. Clinical trials are warranted to estimate benefits for dogs with naturally occurring pyoderma under field conditions.
Gene frequencies of human platelet antigen‐1 to ‐5 and ‐15 in the Iranian population
Authors: Shaiegan Mojgan , Ghasemi Ali , Madani Tahereh , Samiee Shahram , Bayat Behnaz , Mohammadi Saeed , Zadsar Maryam 
Published: November 2019

BackgroundAs the frequency of human platelet antigens varies between different ethnic groups and the data about the HPA gene frequency in Iran have been absent yet, the purpose of this study was to determine HPA‐1 to HPA‐5 and HPA‐15 allele frequency among Iranians.Materials and methodsHPA‐1, HPA‐2, HPA‐3, HPA‐4, HPA‐5 and HPA‐15 typing was performed by the polymerase chain reaction–sequence‐specific primer techniques (PCR‐SSP) for 210 subjects [Including 100 blood donors, 55 hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) recipient/donor pairs].ResultsThe frequencies of HPA phenotypes were determined as follows: HPA‐1a/1a: 98%, HPA‐1a/1b:2%, HPA‐2a/2a: 8/.5%, HPA‐2a/2b: 91·5%, HPA‐3a/3a: 21%, HPA‐3a/3b: 67·2%, HPA‐3b/3b: 22·8%, HPA‐4a/4a: 100%, HPA‐5a/5a: 99·5%, HPA‐5a/5b: 0·5%, HPA‐15a/15a: 14·2%, HPA‐15a/15b: 67·2% and HPA‐15b/15b: 18·6%.ConclusionHPA‐4b was absent and there was not any homozygosity for HPA‐1b/1b, HPA‐2b/2b and HPA‐5b/5b besides no HPA‐1b/b, HPA‐2b/b and HPA‐5b/b homozygosity was found. So it seems that HPA‐1a, HPA‐2a, HPA‐4a and HPA‐5a might not be involved in the alloimmunization and transfusion reactions on the Iranian population but HPA‐15a and HPA3a. Furthermore, extensive studies covering diverse ethnic groups, in the field of platelet immunobiology, will help to find the local pattern more precisely.
Outcomes of eight cats with oral neoplasia treated with radical mandibulectomy
Authors: Boston Sarah E. , van Stee Lucinda L. , Bacon Nicholas J. , Szentimrey David , Kirby Barbara M. , van Nimwegen Sebastiaan , Wavreille Vincent A. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractObjectiveTo report outcomes after radical mandibulectomy in cats.Study designMulti‐institutional retrospective study.AnimalsEight cats were included.MethodsMedical records were searched for cats with confirmed oral neoplasia treated with radical mandibulectomy. Data collected included demographics, surgical procedure, histopathological diagnosis, postoperative management, and outcomes.ResultsAges ranged from 8 to 17 years. All cats had 75% to 90% of the mandible removed and feeding tubes placed. Seven cats had squamous cell carcinoma, and one cat had a giant cell tumor. Six cats ate on their own postoperatively. Three cats had local recurrence and tumor‐related died at 136 and 291 days. Six cats had no recurrence, with survival times of 156, 465, 608, and 1023 days, and two cats were still alive at 316 and 461 days after surgery. The three long‐term survivors died of causes unrelated to oral neoplasia. One cat died at 156 days due to aspiration of food material. The overall estimated mean survival time was 712 days.ConclusionAfter radical mandibulectomy, independent food intake was achieved in 6 of eight cats, and four cats lived longer than one year.Clinical significance:Radical mandibulectomy should be considered for the treatment of extensive oral neoplasia in cats. Successful long‐term outcomes are possible with aggressive supportive care perioperatively.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy accelerates wound healing in diabetic mice by decreasing active matrix metalloproteinase‐9
Authors: Nguyen Trung T. , Jones Jeffrey I. , Wolter William R. , Pérez Rocio L. , Schroeder Valerie A. , Champion Matthew M. , Hesek Dusan , Lee Mijoon , Suckow Mark A. , Mobashery Shahriar , Chang Mayland 
Published: November 2019

AbstractDiabetic foot ulcers are characterized by hypoxia. For many patients, hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is the last recourse for saving the limb from amputation, for which the molecular basis is not understood. We previously identified the active form of matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) as responsible for diabetic foot ulcer's recalcitrance to healing. Transcription of mmp‐9 to the inactive zymogen is upregulated during hypoxia. Activation of the zymogen is promoted by proteases and reactive oxygen species (ROS). We hypothesized that the dynamics of these two events might lead to a lowering of active MMP‐9 levels in the wounded tissue. We employed the full‐thickness excisional db/db mouse model to study wound healing, and treated the mice to 3.0 atm of molecular oxygen for 90 minutes, 5 days per week for 10 days in an HBO research chamber. Treatment with HBO accelerated diabetic wound healing compared to untreated mice, with more completed and extended reepithelialization. We imaged the wounds for ROS in vivo with a luminol‐based probe and found that HBO treatment actually decreases ROS levels. The levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase—enzymes that turn over ROS—increased after HBO treatment, hence the observation of decreased ROS. Since ROS levels are lowered, we explored the effect that this would have on activation of MMP‐9. Quantitative analysis with an affinity resin that binds and pulls down the active MMPs exclusively, coupled with proteomics, revealed that HBO treatment indeed reduces the active MMP‐9 levels. This work for the first time demonstrates that diminution of active MMP‐9 is a contributing factor and a mechanism for enhancement of diabetic wound healing by HBO therapy.