bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Copper‐Catalyzed Reaction Cascade of Thiophenol Hydroxylation and S‐Arylation through Disulfide‐Directed C−H Activation
Authors: Wang Dawei , Yu Xin , Yao Wei , Hu Wenkang , Ge Chenyang , Shi Xiaodong 
Published: March 2016

AbstractCopper‐catalyzed thiophenol C−H activation is described. Through an initial attempt to conduct C‐arylation with arylboronic acid, a rather surprising sequential C−H activation and S‐arylation was discovered. Mechanistic investigation revealed the disulfide intermediate as the key component in directing C−H oxidation. The overall reaction proceeded under mild conditions with molecular oxygen as the oxidant. Discovery of disulfide as the directing group provides a potential new direction for catalytic C−H functionalization under mild conditions.
Microstructure and magnetocaloric effect in as‐quenched GdGeSi alloys with addition of Ni and Ce
Authors: Hasiak Mariusz 
Published: March 2016

Microstructure as well as AC and DC thermomagnetic properties were studied for the as‐quenched Gd80Ge15Si5, Gd75Ge15Si5Ni5 and Gd75Ge15Si5Ce5 (wt.%) alloys in a wide range of magnetic fields. The structural investigations performed by X‐ray diffractometry show the presence of Gd‐based phases in the investigated alloys. These results were also confirmed by structure investigations as temperature dependence of specific heat capacity. Besides the crystalline phases discovered in the samples the regions with different atom concentration were observed in Ni and Ce‐containing alloys. The Curie temperature for the Gd80Ge15Si5, Gd75Ge15Si5Ni5 and Gd75Ge15Si5Ce5 alloys is 272, 235, and 284 K, respectively. The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) calculated as magnetic entropy change (−ΔSM) depends on magnetizing field and for the Gd80Ge15Si5 and Gd75Ge15Si5Ni5 alloys reaches almost the same maximum value of 12 J kg−1 K−1. Ce‐containing sample shows about 2.4 times lower MCE than the master alloy.Magnetic entropy change (−ΔSM) versus temperature for the Gd80Ge15Si5, Gd75Ge15Si5Ni5, and Gd75Ge15Si5Ce5 alloys calculated for the maximum magnetizing field of 3 T.
The Merits of a Two‐Day Evidence‐Based Medicine Course for Surgical Residents
Authors: Ubbink Dirk T. , Legemate Dink A. , Koelemay Mark J. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractBackgroundOver 10 years ago, we introduced a two‐day, evidence‐based surgery course for surgical residents. During the last 4 years, we evaluated its effect on the participants’ evidence‐based medicine (EBM) knowledge and skills.MethodsBetween 2012 and 2015, six courses were organised for residents of various surgical specialties of allied hospitals in the Amsterdam educational district. The courses covered the literature search, critical appraisal of surgical papers, and how to communicate and weigh the benefits and harms of surgical interventions. Proficiency regarding interpreting evidence was tested before and directly after the course using a modified Berlin questionnaire.ResultsOne hundred participants attended the courses, comprising residents in surgery (61 %), orthopaedics (16 %), urology (7 %), plastic surgery (7 %), and surgical PhD students (9 %), most of whom had already been taught EBM during their medical curriculum. Pre‐course score levels were already fairly high (6.19 out of 10), but scores after the course were significantly higher (7.04); mean difference 0.85 (95 % confidence interval 0.4–1.3). No significant differences were observed among the surgical specialties. Attendees highly appreciated the course.ConclusionsA two‐day, evidence‐based surgery course improved EBM aptitude of surgical residents. Hence, the course appears useful to refresh the EBM paradigm among future Dutch surgeons.
Improving freeze-tolerance of baker’s yeast through seamless gene deletion of NTH1 and PUT1
Authors: Dong Jian , Chen Didi , Wang Guanglu , Zhang Cuiying , Du Liping , Liu Shanshan , Zhao Yu , Xiao Dongguang 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Baker’s yeast strains with freeze-tolerance are highly desirable to maintain high leavening ability after freezing. Enhanced intracellular concentration of trehalose and proline in yeast is linked with freeze-tolerance. In this study, we constructed baker’s yeast with enhanced freeze-tolerance by simultaneous deletion of the neutral trehalase-encoded gene NTH1 and the proline oxidase-encoded gene PUT1. We first used the two-step integration-based seamless gene deletion method to separately delete NTH1 and PUT1 in haploid yeast. Subsequently, through two rounds of hybridization and sporulation-based allelic exchange and colony PCR-mediated tetrad analysis, we obtained strains with restored URA3 and deletion of NTH1 and/or PUT1. The resulting strain showed higher cell survival and dough-leavening ability after freezing compared to the wild-type strain due to enhanced accumulation of trehalose and/or proline. Moreover, mutant with simultaneous deletion of NTH1 and PUT1 exhibits the highest relative dough-leavening ability after freezing compared to mutants with single-gene deletion perhaps due to elevated levels of both trehalose and proline. These results verified that it is applicable to construct frozen dough baker’s yeast using the method proposed in this paper.
On the phenotypic spectrum of serine biosynthesis defects
Authors: El‐Hattab Ayman W. , Shaheen Ranad , Hertecant Jozef , Galadari Hassan I. , Albaqawi Badi S. , Nabil Amira , Alkuraya Fowzan S. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractL‐serine is a non‐essential amino acid that is de novo synthesized via the enzymes phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PGDH), phosphoserine aminotransferase (PSAT), and phosphoserine phosphatase (PSP). Besides its role in protein synthesis, L‐serine is a precursor of a number of important compounds. Serine biosynthesis defects result from deficiencies in PGDH, PSAT, or PSP and have a broad phenotypic spectrum ranging from Neu‐Laxova syndrome, a lethal multiple congenital anomaly disease at the severe end to a childhood disease with intellectual disability at the mild end, with infantile growth deficiency, and severe neurological manifestations as an intermediate phenotype. In this report, we present three subjects with serine biosynthesis effects. The first was a stillbirth with Neu‐Laxova syndrome and a homozygous mutation in PHGDH. The second was a neonate with growth deficiency, microcephaly, ichthyotic skin lesions, seizures, contractures, hypertonia, distinctive facial features, and a homozygous mutation in PSAT1. The third subject was an infant with growth deficiency, microcephaly, ichthyotic skin lesions, anemia, hypertonia, distinctive facial features, low serine and glycine in plasma and CSF, and a novel homozygous mutation in PHGDH gene. Herein, we also review previous reports of serine biosynthesis defects and mutations in the PHGDH, PSAT1, and PSPH genes, discuss the variability in the phenotypes associated with serine biosynthesis defects, and elaborate on the vital roles of serine and the potential consequences of its deficiency.
Roost characteristics as indicators for heterothermic behavior of forest‐dwelling bats
Authors: Otto Matthias S. , Becker Nina I. , Encarnação Jorge A. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractMany forest‐dwelling bats spend their diurnal inactivity period in tree cavities. During this time bats can save energy through heterothermy. A heterothermic response (torpor) is characterized by a lowered body temperature, reduced metabolic rate, and reduction of other physiological processes, and can be influenced by the microclimatic conditions of roost cavities. The thermal and physical characteristics of roosts used by the sympatric, ecologically, and morphologically similar bat species Myotis bechsteinii, M. nattereri, and Plecotus auritus were compared. These three species differ in their heterothermic behavior, with the lowest skin temperatures observed for P. auritus. Therefore, we hypothesized that roosts occupied by the three species should differ in roost characteristics and microclimatic conditions, whereby P. auritus should select colder and thermally less stable roosts. The results showed that horizontal depth of the cavity, diameter of the roost tree, and microclimatic conditions within roosts differed among species. Roosts of P. auritus had the lowest horizontal depth, lowest thermal stability, and lowest mean minimum roost temperatures. Height of the roost, diameter of the roost tree, and vertical depth were also shown to influence microclimatic conditions. With increasing diameter of the tree and increasing horizontal depth, mean minimum roost temperature increased and thermal stability improved. Furthermore, with ascending height above ground insulation and mean roost temperatures increased. Our results imply that species such as P. auritus, which use pronounced torpor as a primary energy saving strategy, prefer colder cavities that support their heterothermic strategy.
FGF‐2 deficiency causes dysregulation of Arhgef6 and downstream targets in the cerebral cortex accompanied by altered neurite outgrowth and dendritic spine morphology
Authors: Baum Philip , Vogt Miriam A. , Gass Peter , Unsicker Klaus , von Bohlen und Halbach Oliver 
Published: March 2016

AbstractFibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF‐2) is an abundant growth factor in the brain and exerts multiple functions on neural cells ranging from cell division, cell fate determination to differentiation. However, many details of the molecular mechanisms underlying the diverse functions of FGF‐2 are poorly understood. In a comparative microarray analysis of motor sensory cortex (MSC) tissue of adult knockout (FGF‐2−/−) and control (FGF‐2+/+) mice, we found a substantial number of regulated genes, which are implicated in cytoskeletal machinery dynamics. Specifically, we found a prominent downregulation of Arhgef6. Arhgef6 mRNA was significantly reduced in the FGF‐2−/− cortex, and Arhgef6 protein virtually absent, while RhoA protein levels were massively increased and Cdc42 protein levels were reduced. Since Arhgef6 is localized to dendritic spines, we next analyzed dendritic spines of adult FGF2−/− and control mouse cortices. Spine densities were significantly increased, whereas mean length of spines on dendrites of layer V of MSC neurons in adult FGF‐2−/− mice was significantly decreased as compared to respective controls. Furthermore, neurite length in dissociated cortical cultures from E18 FGF‐2−/− mice was significantly reduced at DIV7 as compared to wildtype neurons. Despite the fact that altered neuronal morphology and alterations in dendritic spines were observed, FGF‐2−/− mice behave relatively unsuspicious in several behavioral tasks. However, FGF‐2−/− mice exhibited decreased thermal pain sensitivity in the hotplate‐test.
Effect of chronic undernutrition on body mass and mechanical bone quality under normoxic and altitude hypoxic conditions
Authors: Lezon Christian , Bozzini Clarisa , Agûero Romero Alan , Pinto Patricia , Champin Graciela , Alippi Rosa M. , Boyer Patricia , Bozzini Carlos E. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractBoth undernutrition and hypoxia exert a negative influence on both growth pattern and bone mechanical properties in developing rats. The present study explored the effects of chronic food restriction on both variables in growing rats exposed to simulated high-altitude hypoxia. Male rats (n 80) aged 28 d were divided into normoxic (Nx) and hypoxic (Hx) groups. Hx rats were exposed to hypobaric air (380 mmHg) in decompression chambers. At T0, Nx and Hx rats were subdivided into four equal subgroups: normoxic control and hypoxic controls, and normoxic growth-restricted and hypoxic growth-restricted received 80 % of the amount of food consumed freely by their respective controls for a 4-week period. Half of these animals were studied at the end of this period (T4). The remaining rats in each group continued under the same environmental conditions, but food was offered ad libitum to explore the type of catch-up growth during 8 weeks. Structural bone properties (strength and stiffness) were evaluated in the right femur midshaft by the mechanical three-point bending test; geometric properties (length, cross-sectional area, cortical mass, bending cross-sectional moment of inertia) and intrinsic properties of the bone tissue (elastic modulus) were measured or derived from appropriate equations. Bone mineralisation was assessed by ash measurement of the left femur. These data indicate that the growth-retarded effects of diminished food intake, induced either by food restriction or hypoxia-related inhibition of appetite, generated the formation of corresponding smaller bones in which subnormal structural and geometric properties were observed. However, they seemed to be appropriate to the body mass of the animals and suggest, therefore, that the bones were not osteopenic. When food restriction was imposed in Hx rats, the combined effects of both variables were additive, inducing a further reduction of bone mass and bone load-carrying capacity. In all cases, the mechanical properties of the mineralised tissue were unaffected. This and the capacity of the treated bones to undergone complete catch-up growth with full restoration of the biomechanical properties suggest that undernutrition, under either Nx or Hx conditions, does not affect bone behaviour because it remains appropriate to its mechanical functions.
Presidential Address—MESA 1983: Our Rôles as Scholars and Citizens
Authors: Antoun Richard T. 
Published: March 2016

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselvesShakespeare, Julius CaesarI wish to speak to you tonight about common dilemmas we face as scholars, citizens, and human beings. Each of these rôles involves distinctive obligations and at the same time casts a shadow on the others. Let me begin by discussing a subject that has enthralled or distracted (depending on your point of view) many members of our association over the last few years, the subject of religious resurgence. I shall confine my remarks to Islamic resurgence, since my own research in Jordan and Iran makes me somewhat more familiar with the phenomenon as it works in local contexts there, although the questions raised may quite possibly apply to the phenomena of Jewish and Christian resurgence.
The American University in Cairo Resumes Activities
Authors: Stegeman Richard 
Published: March 2016

The American University in Cairo has resumed a broad range of activities in research, education, and public service. Adjustments in staffing and scheduling have been necessary, but the University’s overall operations this fall are close to normal, and it is expected that all programs will be restored and the full faculty will be back in Cairo by February.After hostilities began in June non-Egyptian members of the University staff were required to leave Egypt. The University was sequestrated and its property inventoried and safeguarded by the government of the United Arab Republic. An administrator, Dr. Hussein Said, was appointed to manage the University during the period of sequestration. Dr. Said, one of the U.A.R.’s most respected educators, has served as Minister of Higher Education and vice President of Cairo University.
Presidential Address 1990 Middle East Area Studies: Current Concerns and Future Directions
Authors: Haddad Yvonne Y. 
Published: March 2016

Several MESA Members met in October to organize a two-week summer institute for high school teachers on the general subject of teaching about Islam and the Arab world. Having determined the overall topics to be addressed, we decided to leave one session open to deal with whatever might be “The Crisis of the Day.” Someone asked, “But what if there isn’t a crisis?” Such a possibility seemed quite unthinkable to most of us. “I’m sure there will be something,” said one person. And another, for good measure, added, “And if there isn’t, we can make one up.”This rather cynical view of the importance of conflict in the overall reality of the Middle East may remind some of us of the distorted joke about the scorpion and the frog crossing the river, often repeated by speakers with the clincher, “This is the Middle East.” In reality, however, it may reflect a deeper concern that many of us have. What is this Middle East to the study of which we have devoted our lives? Have we somehow created an entity for our own needs and purposes that may not correspond to reality?
Visions of the City: Urban Studies on the Gulf
Authors: Fuccaro Nelida 
Published: March 2016

So Harran had been since the beginning of time, and so it was when Ibn Rasheed and his men arrived. The Company men, who had visited many places before Harran, chose it as a port and headquarters of the Company, as well as a city of finality and damnation.Abdelrahman Munif,Cities of SaltThe cultural, physical, and socio-economic displacement of traditional Gulf societies has been strikingly portrayed by Abdelrahman Munif in his fictional account of the diaspora of a poor oasis community after the discovery of oil. Munif's oil city, seen through the eyes of this community, is a daunting and transient place of contrast and dual personality, a city whose historical memory has been swept away by the evils of modern technology and by neo-colonial forms of economic exploitation.Cities of Saltrecounts the hidden tale of Gulf cities, a tale which, this article will argue, is too often neglected in urban studies on the region.
Five year follow-up of non-psychotic adults with frequent auditory verbal hallucinations: are they still healthy?
Authors: Daalman K. , Diederen K. M. J. , Hoekema L. , van Lutterveld R. , Sommer I. E. C. 
Published: March 2016

BackgroundPreviously, we described 103 adults (mean age 41 years) who experienced frequent, auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH), in the absence of a need for mental healthcare. Importantly, these adults were largely past the peak incidence age for psychosis (15–35 years). It is unclear if these older individuals with AVH are still at increased risk for psychosis or other psychopathology. To address this question, we conducted a 5-year follow-up of previously included individuals (103 with AVH, 60 controls).MethodEighty-one adults with AVH (78.6%) and forty-nine controls (81.7%) could be contacted and were willing to participate. Participants were screened for psychosis and a need for mental healthcare at follow-up using the Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History interview (CASH). Need for mental healthcare was defined as a clinical diagnosis as identified using the CASH and/or treatment by a mental healthcare specialist. Phenomenology of AVH was assessed with the PSYRATS Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale.ResultsFive individuals with AVH (6.2%) had developed psychosis and 32 (39.5%) had developed a need for mental healthcare. Voice-related distress at baseline significantly predicted need for mental healthcare. AVH persisted in most individuals (86.4%), without significant changes in phenomenology. None of the controls had developed psychotic symptoms, and need for mental healthcare (n= 6, 12.2%) was significantly lower in this group.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that frequent AVH in non-psychotic adults past the peak incidence age for psychosis constitute a rather static symptom and that individuals with AVH may be best viewed as situated on a need for care continuum.
Democracies and the Power to Revoke Citizenship
Authors: Tamara Lenard Patti 
Published: March 2016

Citizenship status is meant to be secure, that is, inviolable. Recently, however, several democratic states have adopted or are considering adopting laws that allow them the power to revoke citizenship. This claimed right forces us to consider whether citizenship can be treated as a “conditional” status, in particular whether it can be treated as conditional on the right sort of behavior. Those who defend such a view argue that citizenship is a privilege rather than a right, and thus in principle is revocable. Participating in a foreign state's military, treason, spying, or committing acts that otherwise threaten the national security of one's state may all warrant revocation. This article assesses the justifications given for the claimed power to revoke citizenship in democratic states and concludes that, ultimately, such a power is incompatible with democracy.I begin with a brief account of the claims given by contemporary democratic states for the “right to revoke.” Democratic citizenship is today commonly understood to beegalitarian, that is, it protects an equal basic package of rights for all citizens; and to be “the highest and most secure legal status,” that is, it is meant to be secure from unilateral withdrawal by the state. Formally, many democratic states have revocation laws on the books, but most of these have long been in disuse. Although I argue in this article that all revocation laws are inconsistent with democratic citizenship, I focus on the recent surge in proposed and implemented revocation laws, which are justified as essential to protecting national security.In the second section I outline three reasons to object to revocation laws. First, revocation laws discriminate between citizens based on their citizenship status. Second, since they single out those who are eligible for revocation, they apply unequal penalties for the same crime. Third, they are inadequately justified, in general, but also particularly to those who may be subject to them, because they are not adequately connected to the policy goal they are said to fulfill. I conclude with some brief observations concerning the ways in which revocation permits states to abrogate their shared responsibility for protecting the global community from dangerous individuals.
Morphophysiological epicotyl dormancy in seeds of threePsychotriaspecies from Sri Lanka: first record for Rubiaceae
Authors: Athugala Yasoja S. , Jayasuriya K.M.G. , Gunaratne A.M.T.A. , Baskin Carol C. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractTo increase our knowledge of the diversity of seed dormancy and germination in Rubiaceae, we investigated seed desiccation sensitivity and germination of threePsychotriaspecies. Seeds ofP. gardneri, P. nigraandP. zeylanicagerminated to high percentages at <15% seed moisture content. Intact seeds ofP. zeylanicaandP. nigraimbibed water and thus do not have physical dormancy. More than 50% of the seeds ofP. zeylanica, P. nigraandP. gardneritook 33, 53 and 110 d, respectively, at 25°C for the radicle to emerge, and embryo growth occurred before and after radicle emergence. Thus, seeds have morphophysiological dormancy. Shoot emergence ofP. nigraandP. zeylanicaseeds was delayed 50 and 80 d after radical emergence, respectively; thus, seeds have epicotyl morphophysiological dormancy (eMPD). This is the first report of eMPD in Rubiaceae. Since warm stratification promoted both radicle and shoot emergence in seeds ofP. zeylanicaandP. nigra, the level of eMPD is non-deep simple. Hence, dormancy of the studiedPsychotriaspp. can be described as C1bBb(radicle)–C1bBb(epicotyl), i.e. the embryo is underdeveloped and grows prior to radicle emergence and epicotyl emergence under warm temperatures (Bb), and both the radicle and epicotyl have non-deep simple physiological dormancy broken by warm temperatures (C1b). In twoPsychotriaspecies studied in detail, radicle emergence occurs at the beginning of the rainy season and plumule emergence at the peak rainy season when conditions are most favourable for rapid seedling development.