bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fluorescence Based Platform to Discriminate Protein Using Carbon Quantum Dots
Authors: Carneiro Cruz Antônio Alvernes , Freire Rafael Melo , Froelich Deise Beatriz , Alves de Lima Ari Clesius , Muniz André Rodrigues , Ferreira Odair Pastor , Fechine Pierre Basílio Almeida 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThere is an urgent demand to develop a cheap, fast and robust methodology to sense proteins, since these biomolecules are often used as biomarker responsible for diagnosing of some diseases, such as cancer. In this regard, we report a theoretical and experimental study, as well as a cheap and effective ‘chemical‐nose’ strategy based on carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and metallic cations (M) to discriminate proteins at concentration as low as 50 nM. Thus, the CQDs were firstly synthesized through citric acid thermolysis and their characteristics were fully investigated by UV‐Vis absorption, fluorescence, infrared (FTIR), XPS and Raman spectroscopies and atomic force microscopy (AFM). These results pointed out for quasi‐spherical CQDs with diameters in the range of 1.2‐7 nm, presence of stacked graphitic layers and oxygenated functional groups, as well as disordered carbon. Based on the structural and morphological features, computational simulations were carried out to obtain a better understanding of the atomic structure. Our results evidenced a carbon‐based nanoparticle formed by stacked graphene nanoflakes containing defects due to the presence of functional groups within the graphene layers. Afterwards, a ‘tongue’‐based approach was developed by using three distinct CQDs – M (M=Fe3+, Cu2+ or Ni2+) ensembles, which allowed us to acquire different and reproducible fluorescence patterns for four proteins (bovine serum albumin, hemoglobin, myoglobin and cytochrome C) at 50 nM. Subsequently, the pattern recognition was performed using linear discriminant analysis and 36 samples were correctly identified affording 100% of accuracy.
Potency Analysis of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Using a Phospho-STAT Matrix Loop Analytical Approach
Authors: Chinnadurai Raghavan , Rajakumar Augustine , Schneider Andrew J. , Bushman Wade A. , Hematti Peiman , Galipeau Jacques 
Published: May 2019

Abstract
Potency assays for mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) need to be defined in advanced clinical trials. Here, we have developed an assay matrix approach that captures the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) phosphorylation of MSCs upon stimulation with their combined secretome that arose with the interaction of activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Secretome of heat-inactivated (HI) MSCs cocultured with and without activated PBMCs was used as an internal reference. We have compared the short-term phosphorylation status of STAT1, STAT3, STAT4, STAT5, and STAT6 on MSCs derived from human bone marrow, adipose tissue, and umbilical cord using phosflow technology. Secretome of live MSCs cocultured with activated PBMCs downregulate STAT1 and STAT3 phosphorylation on MSCs, whereas the secretome of HI-MSCs or PBMCs do not. Thus, investigation of the combined secretome of MSC and PBMC interaction on MSCs determine the potency of MSCs as the generator and sensor of the secretome. Bone marrow, adipose, and umbilical cord MSCs are comparable in modulating STAT1 and STAT3 responses. Measurements of STAT1 and STAT3 phosphorylation on MSCs as responder cells correlate and predict allogeneic T-cell suppression. Our comparative phosphomatrix approach between live and reference HI-MSCs defines the potency of MSCs as both stimulators and responders as part of a robust platform for predictive potency analysis. Stem Cells 2019;37:1119–1125
Islamic business research
Authors: Hassan M. Kabir 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe Islamic finance industry, which is deeply rooted in Islamic law (Sharia), will undoubtedly have an increasingly large impact on modern finance in the years to come. Since its formal establishment in the 1970s, the industry has already grown to US$2.2 trillion, with a growth rate that outpaces that of conventional finance. The purpose of this special issue is to inspire academic researchers, regulators and standard setters, and providers and users of Islamic funding to advance the research of critical issues related to the efficiency of Islamic finance.
Signatures of sex: Sex differences in gene expression in the vertebrate brain
Authors: Gegenhuber Bruno , Tollkuhn Jessica 
Published: May 2019

AbstractWomen and men differ in disease prevalence, symptoms, and progression rates for many psychiatric and neurological disorders. As more preclinical studies include both sexes in experimental design, an increasing number of sex differences in physiology and behavior have been reported. In the brain, sex‐typical behaviors are thought to result from sex‐specific patterns of neural activity in response to the same sensory stimulus or context. These differential firing patterns likely arise as a consequence of underlying anatomic or molecular sex differences. Accordingly, gene expression in the brains of females and males has been extensively investigated, with the goal of identifying biological pathways that specify or modulate sex differences in brain function. However, there is surprisingly little consensus on sex‐biased genes across studies and only a handful of robust candidates have been pursued in the follow‐up experiments. Furthermore, it is not known how or when sex‐biased gene expression originates, as few studies have been performed in the developing brain. Here we integrate molecular genetic and neural circuit perspectives to provide a conceptual framework of how sex differences in gene expression can arise in the brain. We detail mechanisms of gene regulation by steroid hormones, highlight landmark studies in rodents and humans, identify emerging themes, and offer recommendations for future research.This article is categorized under:

Nervous System Development > Vertebrates: General Principles
Gene Expression and Transcriptional Hierarchies > Regulatory Mechanisms
Gene Expression and Transcriptional Hierarchies > Sex Determination
A novel pilot‐scale tubular bioreactor‐enhanced floating treatment wetland for efficient in situ nitrogen removal from urban landscape water: Long‐term performance and microbial mechanisms
Authors: Cui He , Yang Yinchuan , Ding Yu , Li Dan , Zhen Guangyin , Lu Xueqin , Huang Minsheng , Huang Xiao 
Published: May 2019

AbstractIn order to strengthen in situ nitrogen removal of urban landscape water, a novel pilot‐scale tubular bioreactor‐enhanced floating treatment wetland (TB‐EFTW) was constructed, and the long‐term performance and responsible microbial mechanisms were investigated in this study. The results showed that the system could remove 81.5% nitrogen from the landscape water after 240 days' operation. Moreover, the contribution rate of plant absorption to nitrogen was low (8.3%), which indicated that microbial biotransformation rather than plant absorption played a more key role in nitrogen removal in TB‐EFTW system. The declining dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration along the axial direction of tubular bioreactor (TB) resulted in the sequential bacterial community of nitrifying, aerobic denitrifying, and anoxic denitrifying bacteria in the front, middle, and final part of TB. High‐throughput sequencing results demonstrated that the internal environment of the system realized the coexistence of nitrifying, aerobic denitrifying and anoxic denitrifying process. The reason was mainly because that oxic‐anoxic (O‐A) areas were formed in sequence along the axial direction of tubular bioreactor. Overall, a unique advantage in nitrogen removal was achieved in TB‐EFTW, which could provide important references for in situ treatment of urban landscape water.Practitioner points

TB‐EFTW strengthened nitrogen removal for in situ urban landscape water treatment.

Microbial conversion played a key role in nitrogen removal of the TB‐EFTW system.

The unique distribution of oxic‐anoxic (O‐A) areas was formed in sequence along the TB.

Nitrification, aerobic, and anoxic denitrification were synergistically involved in the TB.
Monitoring the social behavior of a bachelor mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) dyad participating in touchscreen‐mediated cognitive testing
Authors: Leeds Austin , Lukas Kristen E. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractCognitive testing of primates in zoos is becoming increasingly common. Cognition experiments are generally thought to be beneficial as they provide participants with an opportunity to engage in species‐specific cognitive functioning, perhaps more so than with traditional forms of environmental enrichment. However, testing may increase competition and aggression between conspecifics if it has monopolizable features or creates social tension within groups. The purpose of this study was to monitor the social behavior of a bachelor mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) dyad participating in a touchscreen‐mediated cognition study. The mandrills' behavior was monitored before and after testing sessions for 8 months. Positive changes in the mandrills' affiliative behavior were observed. Rates of play, presentations, and silent bared‐teeth face increased posttesting. No change in rates of agonism were observed between pre‐ and posttesting conditions. The observed positive changes in affiliative behavior suggest cognitive testing was enriching for the mandrills and participating in testing improved their welfare. Zoos beginning cognitive studies should monitor participant behavior to ensure their welfare is not compromised and is, ideally, enhanced.
Husbandry, morbidity, and mortality of slender‐tailed cloud rats (Phleomys pallidus)
Authors: Sykes John M. , Wilson Claudia , McAloose Denise 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo has been housing and breeding slender‐tailed cloud rats (Phleomys pallidus) since 1985. Records of 82 animals from 1985 to 2013 were reviewed for this study. The animals were kept successfully in small family groups with a single adult male, multiple adult females, and their offspring. Sexual maturity was noted at approximately 2 years of age and gestation length ranged from 52 to 55 days. Animals were fed a diet including a complete commercial pelleted feed, mixed greens, carrot or yam, mixed hard nuts, and locally sourced browse. Medical conditions requiring treatment in neonates were often fatal whereas most medical conditions in adults were survivable. The most common cause of morbidity and mortality in neonates was maternal neglect or trauma (42%, 5/12 antemortem problems; cause of death in 32%, 8/25). The most significant problems in adults were cryptococcal pneumonia and trauma.Cryptococcussp. was the cause of death in 11 cases (34%, 11/32) and significant comorbidity in an additional three cases. Treatment with antifungal medications was attempted but was unsuccessful in four cases. Many cases of trauma were treated successfully with conservative management or limited intervention. In four cases, treatment was complicated by extensive self‐mutilation after surgical repair of traumatic lesions, which resulted in death or euthanasia. Lymphoplasmacytic thyroiditis was a common postmortem finding in adults (95%, 21/22 for which the thyroid gland was examined histologically). It is unclear if thyroiditis resulted in functional hypothyroidism so the significance of this finding is undetermined.
Impact of an automated hand hygiene monitoring system and additional promotional activities on hand hygiene performance rates and healthcare-associated infections
Authors: Boyce John M. , Laughman Jennifer A. , Ader Michael H. , Wagner Pamela T. , Parker Albert E. , Arbogast James W. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractObjective:Determine the impact of an automated hand hygiene monitoring system (AHHMS) plus complementary strategies on hand hygiene performance rates and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).Design:Retrospective, nonrandomized, observational, quasi-experimental study.Setting:Single, 93-bed nonprofit hospital.Methods:Hand hygiene compliance rates were estimated using direct observations. An AHHMS, installed on 4 nursing units in a sequential manner, determined hand hygiene performance rates, expressed as the number of hand hygiene events performed upon entering and exiting patient rooms divided by the number of room entries and exits. Additional strategies implemented to improve hand hygiene included goal setting, hospital leadership support, feeding AHHMS data back to healthcare personnel, and use of Toyota Kata performance improvement methods. HAIs were defined using National Healthcare Safety Network criteria.Results:Hand hygiene compliance rates generated by direct observation were substantially higher than performance rates generated by the AHHMS. Installation of the AHHMS without supplementary activities did not yield sustained improvement in hand hygiene performance rates. Implementing several supplementary strategies resulted in a statistically significant 85% increase in hand hygiene performance rates (P < .0001). The incidence density of non–Clostridioies difficile HAIs decreased by 56% (P = .0841), while C. difficile infections increased by 60% (P = .0533) driven by 2 of the 4 study units.Conclusion:Implementation of an AHHMS, when combined with several supplementary strategies as part of a multimodal program, resulted in significantly improved hand hygiene performance rates. Reductions in non–C. difficile HAIs occurred but were not statistically significant.
On the Idea of a National Church: Reassessing Congregationalism in Revolutionary England
Authors: Bingham Matthew C. 
Published: May 2019

In 1641, the Congregational minister Thomas Goodwin delivered a series of sermons to his independent church in London, expounding the letter to the Ephesians in characteristically meticulous detail. Goodwin had recently returned to England after a brief but formative period of religious exile in the Netherlands, and as the Sundays passed, his auditors were surely moved by the oratory of a speaker so “blessed with a rich invention and a solid and exact judgment.” The minister's breadth was equally impressive. The sermons opened up a cornucopia of Christian themes, flowing from one topic to the next as Goodwin's capacious mind found stimulus in the scriptural text. Seemingly eager to follow every possible digression, application, and excursus, Goodwin's unhurried pace required thirty-six sermons simply to exhaust the epistle's first chapter. And yet, amid this abundance of subject matter, one issue in particular arrested Goodwin's attention. While delivering his thirty-fifth discourse on Ephesians, Goodwin paused to consider what he described as “the Great question of these times” and, alternatively, “the great Controversy of the times.” By the middle of 1641, Goodwin's world was experiencing an unprecedented upheaval—England had been invaded by Scottish covenanters, the archbishop of Canterbury had been arrested and imprisoned, and the king had been forced to call a parliament he would be unable to dissolve. Yet Goodwin's “great Controversy” turned not upon political or cultural convulsion but rather upon a seemingly obscure point of ecclesiastical polity, a question not often considered by modern historians and even less often fully appreciated: “the great Question of these times,” said Goodwin, was “whether yea or no . . . many congregations, many Churches united in one may not be called one particular Church.” What did this strangely worded question mean to Goodwin and his hearers, and why did the future president of Magdalen College and religious adviser to the Lord Protector deem this rather specific query the very hinge upon which the nation's future turned? To answer these questions, we must consider how the early modern English mind understood the idea of a “national church”—for though he does not explicitly invoke the term, it was, as we will see, a concept embedded at the very center of Goodwin's “great Controversy.”
United States: Foreign Legal Consultant Rules of California, The District of Columbia and New York
Authors: Porges Amelia 
Published: May 2019

On April 2, 1987, California's new rules on licensing of foreign legal consultants came into effect, joining the foreign legal consultant rules in New York, the District of Columbia, Michigan, and Hawaii [Rule 988, Cal. Rules of Court; N.Y. Ct. App. R. for Licensing of Legal Consultants, 22 N.Y.C.R.R. Part 521; Rule 46 (c) (4), D.C. Ct. App.; Rule 5 (E), Mich. Bd. of L. Exam'rs; Rule 14, Sup. Ct. of Hawaii]. The California, New York and District of Columbia rules are reprinted here. In addition, a foreign legal consultants proposal is now under active consideration in Texas.The table following this note summarizes the provisions of the five foreign legal consultant rules with regard to eligibility for admission, the scope of practice permitted the foreign legal consultant, and professional discipline. In the United States, it is unconstitutional for a state to deny admission to the bar by reason of citizenship (In re Griffiths, 413 U.S. 717 (1973). State residency requirements are also unconstitutional as applied to citizens of other states (Supreme Court of New Hampshire v. Piper, 470 U.S. 274 (1985). State bar examination pass rates range from 40% to 99%; a substantial number of foreign lawyers have been admitted to the bar by passing the bar examination. As of June 1, 1987, over 70 foreign legal consultants had been licensed in New York, and none in other jurisdictions (one application was pending).
Israeli Law and Jewish Law — Interaction and Independence: A Commentary
Authors: Shochetman Eliav 
Published: May 2019

The focus of the article written by my colleague, Prof. Brahyahu Lifshitz, was the extent of the influence of Jewish law on the legal system of the State of Israel during the forty years since its establishment. In my view, a symposium on “Forty Years of Israeli Law” ought also to include a study of the innovations and developments which have taken place within Jewish law during this period, since to a certain extent, Jewish law is an integral part of Israeli law. A comprehensive analysis of this issue is clearly beyond the scope of this paper. Nevertheless, one major question should be dealt with, i.e. to what extent does the legal system of the State find expression in modern Rabbinical case law? Has the new political reality of statehood, achieved after many centuries of exile, and the ramifications of this reality in the field of law, in any way affected modern Rabbinic decisions in the years following the establishment of the State—decisions which are meant to reflect the changes and developments that have taken place in the world of Jewish law?In the opening section of his article, Prof. Lifshitz describes the influence of Israeli law upon Jewish law in the following terms:
The generally accepted view is that Jewish law does not respond to, nor is shaped by, developments in the legislative or judicial organs of the State of Israel.
Comments on a Reform of the Rules of Civil Procedure
Authors: Levin Shlomo 
Published: May 2019

The central proposals of the Advisory Committee on Civil Procedure cover five areas: the use of affidavits in the support of pleas; witness lists; document lists; alternative pleas; and a redefinition of causes of action. I have reservations about the Committee's proposals both on grounds of principle and on specific grounds.(a) The committee's proposals assume that a substantial number of the judicial system's deficiencies are a result of faulty rules of civil procedure. These faults allow litigants to play games of “hide-and-seek” and to conceal the truth, and they hinder an examination of the issues actually in dispute. The committee's approach is a very naive one; in reality, efficient judges who make proper use of the existing rules have no difficulty in conducting a proper hearing of the disputes brought before them.
ZULUNESS ON TRIAL: RE-READING JOHN W. COLENSO'S 1874 LANGALIBALELE AND THE AMAHLUBI TRIBE: BEING REMARKS UPON THE OFFICIAL RECORD
Authors: MOKOENA HLONIPHA 
Published: May 2019

AbstractAlthough John W. Colenso thought that he was merely acting asamicus curiae— a friend of the court — in compiling evidence to explain Langalibalele's supposed rebellion in 1873, the Bishop of Natal ended up writing a damning anti-colonial tract. This paper will attempt to show how this report — written for the Queen and Colenso's House of Lord peers — is not just an achievement in legal refutation and forensic analysis but that it was a linguistic and cultural statement about the working and limits of Zulu law as Colenso understood it through his interactions with his Natal converts. Although it is obvious that Colenso's audience was not moved by his supplications on Langalibelele's behalf, it is less obvious why those who thought of Colenso as a maverick and heretic should have ignored his thorough repudiation of cultural chauvinism. The paper will suggest that Colenso'sRemarkswere ignored precisely because to take them seriously would have meant abandoning the authoritarian underpinnings of the late 19thcentury colonial project.
Effects of daidzein on growth performance, blood metabolites and meat quality of finishing Xianan beef cattle
Authors: Liang H. , Zhao X. H. , Pan K. , Xu L. J. , Yi Z. H. , Bai J. , Qi X. L. , Chen Z. D. , Song X. Z. , Ouyang K. H. , Liu C. J. , Qu M. R. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractAn experiment was conducted to determine the effects of supplementing different amounts of daidzein in a diet on the growth performance, blood biochemical parameters and meat quality of finishing beef cattle. Thirty finishing Xianan steers were distributed in three groups equilibrated by weight and fed three different dietary treatments (concentrate ratio = 80%): (1) control; (2) 500 mg/kg daidzein and (3) 1000 mg/kg daidzein, respectively. Steers were slaughtered after an 80-day feeding trial. Results showed that daidzein supplementation had no effect on the final body weight, average daily gain and feed conversion rate of steers. Steers fed with 1000 mg/kg daidzein had greater dry matter intake than those fed with control diets. Compared with the control group, the 1000 mg/kg daidzein group had a higher fat thickness, lower shear force and lightness. The pH, drip loss, cooking loss, redness (a*), yellowness (b*), moisture, ash, crude protein and intramuscular fat of the Longissimus dorsi muscle were unaffected by daidzein supplementation. Compared with the control group, the 1000 mg/kg daidzein group significantly increased the serum concentrations of insulin, free fatty acid and Glutamic-pyruvic transaminase. The 500 mg/kg daidzein group significantly increased the serum concentration of tetraiodothyronine compared with the control group. Supplemental daidzein did not affect the blood antioxidant ability and blood immune parameters in serum. In conclusion, daidzein supplementation above 500 mg/day modifies feed intake and metabolic and hormonal profile, with positive and negative effects on meat quality.