bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of a silver colloidal gel against selected oral bacteria in vitro
Authors: Tran Phat L. , Luth Keaton , Wang James , Ray Coby , de Souza Anselm , Mehta Dilip , Moeller K. W. , Moeller C. D. , Reid Ted W. 
Published: March 2019

Background:It is necessary to develop new strategies to protect against bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguis, andStreptococcus salivarius, which contribute to tooth decay and plaque formation. Our current study investigated the efficacy of a colloidal silver gel in inhibiting biofilm formation by these principal oral bacteria, in vitro. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a colloidal silver gel formulation for inhibiting bacterial biofilm formation (Ag-gel) by the principal bacteria that cause plaque formation and tooth decay.Methods:The effect of Ag-gel on viability ofS. mutans,S. sanguis,and S. salivariuswas assessed by quantifying their colony forming units (CFU) in presence or absence of the test gel. The effect of this formulation on biofilm-forming ability of these bacteria was studied through scanning electron microscopy.Results:Using the CFU assays, over 6 logs of inhibition (100%) were found forS. mutans,S. sanguis, andS. salivariusfor the Ag-gel-treated bacteria when compared with the control gel. In addition, the Ag-gel also inhibited biofilm formation by these three bacteria mixed together. These results were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy.Conclusions:The Ag-gel was effective in preventing biofilm formation byS. mutans, S. sanguis, and S. salivarius. This Ag-gel should be tested for the ability to block plaque formation in the mouth, through its use as a tooth paste.
Fast and accurate differential transcript usage by testing equivalence class counts
Authors: Cmero Marek , Davidson Nadia M. , Oshlack Alicia 
Published: March 2019

Background: RNA sequencing has enabled high-throughput and fine-grained quantitative analyses of the transcriptome. While differential gene expression is the most widely used application of this technology, RNA-seq data also has the resolution to infer differential transcript usage (DTU), which can elucidate the role of different transcript isoforms between experimental conditions, cell types or tissues. DTU has typically been inferred from exon-count data, which has issues with assigning reads unambiguously to counting bins, and requires alignment of reads to the genome. Recently, approaches have emerged that use transcript quantifications estimates directly for DTU. Transcript counts can be inferred from 'pseudo' or lightweight aligners, which are significantly faster than traditional genome alignment. However, recent evaluations show lower sensitivity in DTU analysis. Transcript abundances are estimated from equivalence classes (ECs), which determine the transcripts that any given read is compatible with. Recent work has proposed performing differential expression testing directly on equivalence class read counts (ECs). Methods: Here we demonstrate that ECs can be used effectively with existing count-based methods for detecting DTU. We evaluate this approach on simulated human and drosophila data, as well as on a real dataset through subset testing. Results: We find that ECs counts have similar sensitivity and false discovery rates as exon-level counts but can be generated in a fraction of the time through the use of pseudo-aligners. Conclusions: We posit that equivalence class read counts are a natural unit on which to perform many types of analysis.
Earth, Tree, Rock and Sea
Authors: Poynor Helen 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
The following statement of practice focuses on my experience of moving and working with others in ‘natural’ environments. The introduction contextualises this practice indicating what it can offer participants including: ‘time out’ from daily life, a deeper experience of the body and a renewed sense of kinship with the natural world. Environmental movement practice can support us to navigate our inner and outer landscapes simultaneously. The introduction is followed by two pieces of poetic writing reflecting my own experience of moving in response to two local sites with which I have a long-standing relationship: one a wooded hill-fort, the other a tidal area on the coast. The text is accompanied by images taken on the sites.
Zarf & Portakal: Dance as a medium for understanding experiences of violence
Authors: Çam Ninel 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
The dance performance Zarf & Portakal was staged on the 11 February 2016 at the Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall, Istanbul. It opened a concert addressing the issue of ‘Violence against Women’, organized by the Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz. Its title is a metaphorical expression of two powerful sensations that emerged through the investigation of this subject through dance. Zarf is the Turkish word for envelope, evoked by the clothing and concealment of a woman’s body and existence. The concept of female jouissance, as used by Hélène Cixous to describe the physical, mental and spiritual aspects that come together in female sexual pleasure, is expressed through Portakal, meaning an orange, the fruit.
Politische Erziehung und politische Stabilität bei Thomas Hobbes
Authors: Brantl Dirk 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
Hobbes’ theory of political education and its impact on his political thought has received relatively little attention. Existing contributions rarely extend beyond Hobbes’ political philosophy to analyze how he understood education to work in the first place. This article aims to fill in the gap by first reconstructing Hobbes’ understanding of the mechanism of teaching and learning. Tracing the continuities and developments of the concept from the Elements of Law (1640) to Behemoth (1668) in the first section, the second half sketches the theory of political education and its importance to the central issue of Hobbes’ political thought, the generation of sustained political stability. The core question turns out to be: Is teaching the truth in political matters compatible with political stability? The article argues that while those who answer the question in the negative provide insufficient textual evidence, those who affirm it are hard pressed to describe a content of political education that could be politically effective.
Every Man a Legislator: Aristotle on Political Wisdom
Authors: Jagannathan Dhananjay 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
I argue that Aristotle’s unmodern conception of politics can only be understood by first understanding his distinctive picture of human agency and the excellence of political wisdom. I therefore undertake to consider three related puzzles: (1) why at the outset of the Nicomachean Ethics [NE] is the human good said to be the same for a city and for an individual, such that the NE’s inquiry is political? (2) why later on in the NE is political wisdom said to be the same state of soul as practical wisdom? (3) why in the Politics does Aristotle identify practical wisdom as the peculiar excellence of rulers when deliberation was said to be the common work of all citizens insofar as they are genuinely citizens? While these puzzles have individually received treatment in the literature, they have seldom been treated together. Taken independently, the passages in question can seem to express a more familiar conception of politics. In particular, each of the sameness claims made in (1) and (2) has too easily been assimilated to a more modern conception of the relation of ethics to politics and thereby domesticated. As I hope to show, in (1) Aristotle is not simply asserting that the human good in a city supervenes on the good as achieved by its inhabitants (since this by itself, while true, would fall short of establishing the political character of his inquiry in the NE); and in (2) he is not claiming only that political wisdom is a species of practical wisdom, but is rather asserting a more thoroughgoing identity between various types of deliberative excellence that are conventionally distinguished and assigned different names. Working through these passages will provide a sufficient basis for tackling (3), the question about the respective excellences of rulers and citizens. I will show that, despite his restriction of the exercise of practical wisdom to rulers, Aristotle imagines that non-ruling citizens will also exercise their political agency and thereby require a distinct rational excellence. More precisely, for Aristotle, there are two forms of political agency, deliberation on behalf of one’s community, which is perfected by practical-political wisdom, and the comprehension (sunesis) exercised by citizens on the basis of the view of life preserved by their character-virtues. Understood this way, the division of labor between rulers and citizens does not generate two spheres of activity, political and private, which could have unrelated excellences or concern distinct goods.
Uniform continuity of nonautonomous superposition operators in ΛBV-spaces
Authors: Gulgowski Jacek 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
In this paper we investigate the problem of uniform continuity of nonautonomous superposition operators acting between spaces of functions of bounded Λ-variation. In particular, we give the sufficient conditions for nonautonomous superposition operators to continuously map a space of functions of bounded Λ-variation into itself. The conditions cover the generators being functions of

C
1

{C^{1}}

-class (in view of two variables), but also allow for less regular functions, including discontinuous generators.
Indigoid dyes by group E monooxygenases: mechanism and biocatalysis
Authors: Heine Thomas , Großmann Carolin , Hofmann Sarah , Tischler Dirk 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
Since ancient times, people have been attracted by dyes and they were a symbol of power. Some of the oldest dyes are indigo and its derivative Tyrian purple, which were extracted from plants and snails, respectively. These ‘indigoid dyes’ were and still are used for coloration of textiles and as a food additive. Traditional Chinese medicine also knows indigoid dyes as pharmacologically active compounds and several studies support their effects. Further, they are interesting for future technologies like organic electronics. In these cases, especially the indigo derivatives are of interest but unfortunately hardly accessible by chemical synthesis. In recent decades, more and more enzymes have been discovered that are able to produce these indigoid dyes and therefore have gained attention from the scientific community. In this study, group E monooxygenases (styrene monooxygenase and indole monooxygenase) were used for the selective oxygenation of indole (derivatives). It was possible for the first time to show that the product of the enzymatic reaction is an epoxide. Further, we synthesized and extracted indigoid dyes and could show that there is only minor by-product formation (e.g. indirubin or isoindigo). Thus, group E monooxygenase can be an alternative biocatalyst for the biosynthesis of indigoid dyes.
Improved adherence and growth outcomes with jet-delivered growth hormone
Authors: Michaelidou Maria , Whitten Susan , Bajaj Priti , Knight Alastair , Spoudeas Helen A. 
Published: March 2019

Abstract

Background
We previously reported improved persistence and adherence to daily recombinant growth hormone (rGH) in children using jet transjection delivery compared to using needle-based devices. This study examines the relationship between improved adherence and medium-term growth outcomes in children receiving jet-delivered rGH (JrGH) at a single centre.

Methods
This was a retrospective longitudinal follow-up study of children (<16 years) treated with daily JrGH (somatropin; Ferring Pharmaceuticals) in the form of Zomacton® with the Zomajet® device. Delivery schedules of home distribution services were utilised to calculate adherence, quantified as the proportion of days covered (PDC) index (PDC > 0.8 adherent, PDC ≤ 0.8 less adherent). Demography, patient history, height standard deviation scores (HTSDS) and difference from mid-parental height SDS (MPHSDS − HTSDS) were extracted from hospital records for up to 3 years of treatment.

Results
Of 75 patients eligible for JrGH, 52 had PDC treatment and height data for at least 1 year and 22 for 3 years. A greater proportion of patients were classified as adherent in both 1- and 3-year treated cohorts (adherent 30 [57.7%] and 14 [63.6%], less adherent 22 [42.3%] and 8 [36.4%]). After 1 year of JrGH treatment, HTSDS was not significantly different in either adherence group. After 3 years, only adherent patients demonstrated sustained year-on-year increments in HTSDS and significant improvement in target HTSDS positions (by 1.32 SDS) compared to baseline (p = 0.0008). MPHSDS – HTSDS showed a similar significant improvement at 3 years in adherent patients only (p = 0.0043).

Conclusions
Patients adherent to JrGH demonstrate significant growth improvement compared to baseline over 3 years.
Identification of two novel TPK1 gene mutations in a Chinese patient with thiamine pyrophosphokinase deficiency undergoing whole exome sequencing
Authors: Zhu Lina , Wu Ruijuan , Ye Zhenlong , Gu Ruijie , Wang Yongxia , Hou Yu , Feng Zhichun , Ma Xiuwei 
Published: March 2019

Abstract

Background
The mutations of thiamine pyrophosphokinase-1 (TPK1) gene have been frequently studied in some patients with thiamine metabolism dysfunction syndrome-5 (THMD5), while TPK1 mutations in Chinese patients have been investigated by only homozygous. A search of the literature on the mutations in the Chinese population currently published revealed that no reports of compound heterozygous mutations were reported. Here, we report a Chinese patient with compound heterozygous TPK1 mutations who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), whole exome sequencing (WES), molecular diagnosis, bioinformatics analysis, and three-dimensional (3D) protein structure analysis.

Case presentation
A Chinese boy was born after an uneventful pregnancy to non-consanguineous and healthy parents. On the sixth day after his birth, the lactate level of the patient was between 8.6 mmol/L and 14.59 mmol/L in plasma (the normal level is in the range of 0.5–2.2 mmol/L). Lactate was reduced to the normal level after rehydration, acid correction, expansion, and other treatments. After 4 months, the patient presented with an acute, 3-h-long, non-induced convulsions, and was admitted to our hospital for weakness, decreased oral intake, and lethargy. Results achieved by electroencephalography (EEG), cerebrospinal fluid, and other biochemical findings were normal. A visible hemorrhagic lesion was also observed in the brain. Seizures increased significantly during infection, which was accompanied by higher lactic acid levels. MRI of the brain showed an obvious signal shadow, in which bilateral frontal and temporal parietal subarachnoid cavities were widened, and more abnormal signals were observed; therefore, further consideration of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and genetic metabolic disease was taken into account.

Conclusions
The results of WES revealed that the patient was associated with compound heterozygous mutations NM_022445.3:c.[263G>A]; [226A>G] of TPK1. His parents were non-consanguineous; while his father was found to be a heterozygous carrier with the mutation c.[263G>A], his mother was identified as a heterozygous carrier with the mutation c.[226A>G]. The results indicated that the patient had a compound heterozygous TPK1 mutation, and this is the first reported case in China.
Gradient index phononic crystals and metamaterials
Authors: Jin Yabin , Djafari-Rouhani Bahram , Torrent Daniel 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
Phononic crystals and acoustic metamaterials are periodic structures whose effective properties can be tailored at will to achieve extreme control on wave propagation. Their refractive index is obtained from the homogenization of the infinite periodic system, but it is possible to locally change the properties of a finite crystal in such a way that it results in an effective gradient of the refractive index. In such case the propagation of waves can be accurately described by means of ray theory, and different refractive devices can be designed in the framework of wave propagation in inhomogeneous media. In this paper we review the different devices that have been studied for the control of both bulk and guided acoustic waves based on graded phononic crystals.
Exposure to environmental toxicants and young children’s cognitive and social development
Authors: Davis Alexandra N. , Carlo Gustavo , Gulseven Zehra , Palermo Francisco , Lin Chung-Ho , Nagel Susan C. , Vu Danh C. , Vo Phuc H. , Ho Thi L. , McElroy Jane A. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractBackgroundUnderstanding the role of environmental toxicant exposure on children’s development is an important area of inquiry in order to better understand contextual factors that shape development and ultimately school readiness among young children. There is evidence suggesting negative links between exposure to environmental toxicants and negative physical health outcomes (i.e. asthma, allergies) in children. However, research on children’s exposure to environmental toxicants and other developmental outcomes (cognitive, socioemotional) is limited.ObjectivesThe goal of the current review was to assess the existing literature on the links between environmental toxicants (excluding heavy metals) and children’s cognitive, socioemotional, and behavioral development among young children.MethodsThis literature review highlights research on environmental toxicants (i.e. pesticide exposure, bisphenol A, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, tobacco smoke, polychlorinated biphenyls, flame retardants, phthalates and gas pollutions) and children’s development across multiple domains.ResultsThe results highlight the potential risk of exposure to multiple environmental toxicants for young children’s cognitive and socioemotional development.DiscussionDiscussion will focus on the role of environmental toxicants in the cognitive and socioemotional development of young children, while highlighting gaps in the existing literature.
Electrophysiological Properties of Medium Spiny Neuron Subtypes in the Caudate-Putamen of Prepubertal Male and FemaleDrd1a-tdTomato Line 6 BAC Transgenic Mice
Authors: Willett Jaime A. , Cao Jinyan , Dorris David M. , Johnson Ashlyn G. , Ginnari Laura A. , Meitzen John 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe caudate-putamen is a striatal brain region essential for sensorimotor behaviors, habit learning, and other cognitive and premotor functions. The output and predominant neuron of the caudate-putamen is the medium spiny neuron (MSN). MSNs present discrete cellular subtypes that show differences in neurochemistry, dopamine receptor expression, efferent targets, gene expression, functional roles, and most importantly for this study, electrophysiological properties. MSN subtypes include the striatonigral and the striatopallidal groups. Most studies identify the striatopallidal MSN subtype as being more excitable than the striatonigral MSN subtype. However, there is some divergence between studies regarding the exact differences in electrophysiological properties. Furthermore, MSN subtype electrophysiological properties have not been reported disaggregated by biological sex. We addressed these questions using prepubertal male and female Drd1a-tdTomato line 6 BAC transgenic mice, an important transgenic line that has not yet received extensive electrophysiological analysis. We made acute caudate-putamen brain slices and assessed a robust battery of 16 relevant electrophysiological properties using whole-cell patch-clamp recording, including intrinsic membrane, action potential, and miniature EPSC (mEPSC) properties. We found that: (1) MSN subtypes exhibited multiple differential electrophysiological properties in both sexes, including rheobase, action potential threshold and width, input resistance in both the linear and rectified ranges, and mEPSC amplitude; (2) select electrophysiological properties showed interactions between MSN subtype and sex. These findings provide a comprehensive evaluation of mouse caudate-putamen MSN subtype electrophysiological properties across females and males, both confirming and extending previous studies.
Choice-Related Activity during Visual Slant Discrimination in Macaque CIP But Not V3A
Authors: Elmore L. Caitlin , Rosenberg Ari , DeAngelis Gregory C. , Angelaki Dora E. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractCreating three-dimensional (3D) representations of the world from two-dimensional retinal images is fundamental to visually guided behaviors including reaching and grasping. A critical component of this process is determining the 3D orientation of objects. Previous studies have shown that neurons in the caudal intraparietal area (CIP) of the macaque monkey represent 3D planar surface orientation (i.e., slant and tilt). Here we compare the responses of neurons in areas V3A (which is implicated in 3D visual processing and precedes CIP in the visual hierarchy) and CIP to 3D-oriented planar surfaces. We then examine whether activity in these areas correlates with perception during a fine slant discrimination task in which the monkeys report if the top of a surface is slanted toward or away from them. Although we find that V3A and CIP neurons show similar sensitivity to planar surface orientation, significant choice-related activity during the slant discrimination task is rare in V3A but prominent in CIP. These results implicate both V3A and CIP in the representation of 3D surface orientation, and suggest a functional dissociation between the areas based on slant-related choice signals.
Martynas Yčas: The “Archivist” of the RNA Tie Club
Authors: Strauss Bernard S 
Published: March 2019

AbstractBetween about 1951 and the early 1960s, the basic structure of molecular biology was revealed. Central to our understanding was the unraveling of the various roles of RNA, culminating in the identification of messenger RNA (mRNA) and the deciphering of the genetic code. We know a great deal about the role of Brenner, Crick, Jacob, and Nirenberg in these discoveries, but many others played important supporting parts. One of these is a little-known scientist, Martynas Yčas, who appears in histories, generally without explanation, as the “archivist of the RNA Tie Club.” Yčas was born in Lithuania. His father helped write the Lithuanian Constitution in 1919. He studied Roman Law and served in the Lithuanian army before escaping from the Russians in 1940. The records of correspondence of Yčas with the physicist George Gamow and with Francis Crick throw some light on the genesis of our understanding of the role of mRNA. The story of the “RNA Tie Club” illustrates the difficulty in assigning credit for important discoveries and underscores the importance of a free exchange of information, even (or especially) among competitors.