bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is the cardholder an efficient alarm system to detect credit card incidents?
Authors: Pavía Jose M. , Veres‐Ferrer Ernesto J. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThere is a growing tendency in credit card industry to increase the contribution of the smallest players, the cardholders, in the detection of card incidents. This article examines whether cardholders are efficient at detecting/communicating incidents of theft, loss or fraudulent use of their cards. The analysis focuses on whether they demonstrate enough speed of response to support a risk control subsystem by the issuer. The research follows a completely new approach showing how the issue can be handled by applying the concept of elasticity, a notion just recently exported from economics to the field of statistics by linking it with the reverse hazard rate. The issue is focused on the analysis of the characteristics of the elasticity function of the random variable that measures the delay of cardholders in reporting incidents. This study is illustrated with an application to a real data set of 1069 incidents.
Extracellular 2′5′‐oligoadenylate synthetase 2 mediates T‐cell receptor CD3‐ζ chain down‐regulation via caspase‐3 activation in oral cancer
Authors: Dar Asif A. , Pradhan Trupti N. , Kulkarni Dakshayni P. , Shah Sagar U. , Rao Kanury V. , Chaukar Devendra A. , D'Cruz Anil K. , Chiplunkar Shubhada V. 
Published: November 2015

SummaryDecreased expression of CD3‐ζ chain, an adaptor protein associated with T‐cell signalling, is well documented in patients with oral cancer, but the mechanistic justifications are fragmentary. Previous studies in patients with oral cancer have shown that decreased expression of CD3‐ζ chain was associated with decreased responsiveness of T cells. Tumours are known to induce localized as well as systemic immune suppression. This study provides evidence that oral tumour‐derived factors promote immune suppression by down‐regulating CD3‐ζ chain expression. 2′5′‐Oligoadenylate synthetase 2 (OAS2) was identified by the proteomic approach and our results established a causative link between CD3‐ζ chain down‐regulation and OAS2 stimulation. The surrogate situation was established by over‐expressing OAS2 in a HEK293 cell line and cell‐free supernatant was collected. These supernatants when incubated with T cells resulted in down‐regulation of CD3‐ζ chain, which shows that the secreted OAS2 is capable of regulating CD3‐ζ chain expression. Incubation of T cells with cell‐free supernatants of oral tumours or recombinant human OAS2 (rh‐OAS2) induced caspase‐3 activation, which resulted in CD3‐ζ chain down‐regulation. Caspase‐3 inhibition/down‐regulation using pharmacological inhibitor or small interfering RNA restored down‐regulated CD3‐ζ chain expression in T cells induced by cell‐free tumour supernatant or rh‐OAS2. Collectively these results show that OAS2 leads to impairment in CD3‐ζ chain expression, so offering an explanation that might be applicable to the CD3‐ζ chain deficiency observed in cancer and diverse disease conditions.
Dead‐end intermediates in the enterobacterial common antigen pathway induce morphological defects in Escherichia coli by competing for undecaprenyl phosphate
Authors: Jorgenson Matthew A. , Kannan Suresh , Laubacher Mary E. , Young Kevin D. 
Published: November 2015

SummaryBacterial morphology is determined primarily by the architecture of the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall, a mesh‐like layer that encases the cell. To identify novel mechanisms that create or maintain cell shape in Escherichia coli, we used flow cytometry to screen a transposon insertion library and identified a wecE mutant that altered cell shape, causing cells to filament and swell. WecE is a sugar aminotransferase involved in the biosynthesis of enterobacterial common antigen (ECA), a non‐essential outer membrane glycolipid of the Enterobacteriaceae. Loss of wecE interrupts biosynthesis of ECA and causes the accumulation of the undecaprenyl pyrophosphate‐linked intermediate ECA‐lipid II. The wecE shape defects were reversed by: (i) preventing initiation of ECA biosynthesis, (ii) increasing the synthesis of the lipid carrier undecaprenyl phosphate (Und‐P), (iii) diverting Und‐P to PG synthesis or (iv) promoting Und‐P recycling. The results argue that the buildup of ECA‐lipid II sequesters part of the pool of Und‐P, which, in turn, adversely affects PG synthesis. The data strongly suggest there is competition for a common pool of Und‐P, whose proper distribution to alternate metabolic pathways is required to maintain normal cell shape in E. coli.
Historical changes in flowering phenology are governed by temperature × precipitation interactions in a widespread perennial herb in western North America
Authors: Matthews Elizabeth R. , Mazer Susan J. 
Published: November 2015

Summary

For most species, a precise understanding of how climatic parameters determine the timing of seasonal life cycle stages is constrained by limited long‐term data. Further, most long‐term studies of plant phenology that have examined relationships between phenological timing and climate have been local in scale or have focused on single climatic parameters. Herbarium specimens, however, can expand the temporal and spatial coverage of phenological datasets.

Using Trillium ovatum specimens collected over > 100 yr across its native range, we analyzed how seasonal climatic conditions (mean minimum temperature (Tmin), mean maximum temperature and total precipitation (PPT)) affect flowering phenology. We then examined long‐term changes in climatic conditions and in the timing of flowering across T. ovatum's range.

Warmer Tmin advanced flowering, whereas higher PPT delayed flowering. However, Tmin and PPT were shown to interact: the advancing effect of warmer Tmin was strongest where PPT was highest, and the delaying effect of higher PPT was strongest where Tmin was coldest. The direction of temporal change in climatic parameters and in the timing of flowering was dependent on geographic location. Tmin, for example, decreased across the observation period in coastal regions, but increased in inland areas.

Our results highlight the complex effects of climate and geographic location on phenology.
Donations and Gift‐Giving among Newar Buddhists, Nepal
Authors: Toffin Gérard 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe Newar form of Buddhism that is practised in the Kathmandu Valley constitutes an intricate pluralistic religious system. If we consider the situation today, it combines old forms of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism which rely on Sanskrit texts and recently adopted Theravāda beliefs and practices based on Pali texts. The first of these two schools of Buddhism has been strongly influenced by the caste system over the course of time, whereas Theravāda lays emphasis on renunciation. The paper sets out to show the centrality of the gift in all religious contexts and its role in establishing lasting social ties between the laity and religious specialists. Two different gift‐giving ceremonies are discussed: (1) the Mahāyāna/Vajrayāna Pañca Dāna, a regular annual ritual event and (2) the Theravāda Kathina Dāna, which is more of an occasional event.In both cases, donations of rice, money, etc.—more specifically a monastic robe at Kathina Dāna—are offered with much pomp and circumstance to religious specialists and/or the monastic community. During Pañca Dāna, this abundance of gifts goes to the traditional Newar samgha, i.e. Vajrayāna married priests (Vajrāchārya) and the heirs of a formerly monastic tradition (Shākya). During Kathina Dāna, they are offered to Theravāda monks. In both cases, the emphasis is on generosity; the gifts/offerings go to recipients of high socio‐religious status and express the superiority of transcendental values over secular values. However, there is one notable difference. Contrary to Kathina, which has a more individualistic optional orientation, Pañca Dāna is shaped more by caste social rules.My findings, which are drawn from a South Asian society, are a far cry from Marcel Mauss's definition of the gift as reciprocal, as discussed in his notorious essay. In the Newar community, Buddhists offer gifts with no guarantee of their being reciprocated and do not expect to receive a counter‐gift. The gifts analysed here do contribute to the cohesion of society, however, by reproducing hierarchical links and maintaining the identity of the religious specialists on the one hand, and of the laity on the other. By and large, they reinforce the bonds between people.
Towards a Comparative Anthropology of the Buddhist Gift (and Other Transfers)
Authors: Sihlé Nicolas 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe aim of this essay is threefold. I would like first to propose a more refined choice of analytical vocabulary for the study of Buddhist giving and related practices, by taking into consideration recent contributions by Testart and F. Weber, who have forcefully argued that the Maussian category of ‘the gift’ is in need of conceptual clarification: we need a typology of forms of ‘transfers’, to use Testart's term. I will argue for the analytical importance of the distinction between ‘gifts’ strictly speaking and patterns of transfers that are more akin to an exchange or transaction, such as the provision of ritual services and their remuneration. Second, I address the question of the extent to which we can we speak of ‘reciprocity’ in the case of actual Buddhist gifts (e.g. alms or donations made outside of contexts in which monks are asked for religious services). The scholarly literature displays here a remarkable lack of consensus and, to some extent, of clarity; I will offer an attempt at clarification. The third aim is to reconsider critically the common assumption that the gift is a central if not an outright essential and defining component in Buddhist laity‐sangharelations. I will draw here on data from a Tibetan society in which Buddhist gift‐giving is only of minor importance and transactions centred on ritual services are much more central to laity‐sangharelations, and contrast this with the data from mainstream Thai(‐Lao) and Burmese Theravada contexts. This may serve as a useful corrective to scholarly accounts that echo perhaps too closely emic emphases on the gift, or might have been misled by ill‐fitting theoretical models. The overall aim is to contribute, through the angle of the gift and its variants, to an emerging comparative anthropology of Buddhism.
Cascade plasmapheresis as preconditioning regimen for ABO‐incompatible renal transplantation: a single‐center experience
Authors: Jha Pranaw K. , Tiwari Aseem K. , Bansal Shyam B. , Sethi Sidharth K. , Ahlawat Rajesh , Kher Vijay 
Published: November 2015

BACKGROUNDRemoval of anti‐ABO is an important component of the preconditioning regimen for ABO‐incompatible (ABOi) renal transplant. Cascade plasmapheresis (CP) is one of the extracorporeal methods of antibody removal, others being conventional plasma exchange (PE) and immunoadsorption. There is no previous published experience with CP in this context. The purpose of this study was to present an early experience with this approach.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSConsecutive ABOi renal transplant recipients in whom CP was used for pre‐ and posttransplant anti‐ABO removal were included. All the patients received intravenous rituximab 2 weeks before transplant. After 1 week, CP was started along with oral tacrolimus and mycophenolate sodium. Alternate‐day CP was done to attain immediate pretransplant antibody titer of not more than 8.RESULTSFifteen ABOi renal transplant recipients had baseline (pretreatment) antibody titers ranging from 16 to 512. Desensitization rate was 100%. The mean number of procedures before transplant to achieve titer of not more than 8 was 3.27 ± 1.39. Patient survival was 93% and death‐censored graft survival was 87%. Biopsy‐proven acute rejection was seen in three patients (20%), one (6.67%) being acute antibody mediated rejection. The complication rate during CP was 4% and two patients had bleeding complication after surgery. Posttransplant infection rate was 13%.CONCLUSIONBased on limited number of patients, we conclude that CP is a safe and effective extracorporeal method for pretransplant ABO antibody removal in patients undergoing ABOi transplant. Patients undergoing CP met target preoperative antibody titers and the clinical outcomes were acceptable.
ASVCP quality assurance guidelines: external quality assessment and comparative testing for reference and in‐clinic laboratories
Authors: Camus Melinda S. , Flatland Bente , Freeman Kathleen P. , Cruz Cardona Janice A. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe purpose of this document is to educate providers of veterinary laboratory diagnostic testing in any setting about comparative testing. These guidelines will define, explain, and illustrate the importance of a multi‐faceted laboratory quality management program which includes comparative testing. The guidelines will provide suggestions for implementation of such testing, including which samples should be tested, frequency of testing, and recommendations for result interpretation. Examples and a list of vendors and manufacturers supplying control materials and services to veterinary laboratories are also included.
Canaliculosinostomy as a Long‐Term Treatment of Seven Horses for Permanent Obstruction of the Nasolacrimal Duct
Authors: Brink Palle , Schumacher James 
Published: November 2015

ObjectiveTo describe canaliculosinostomy performed to resolve epiphora caused by nasolacrimal duct obstruction and to report the outcome of horses undergoing this procedure.Study DesignCase series.AnimalsSeven horses with uni‐ or bilateral nasolacrimal duct obstruction.MethodsThe ventral lacrimal punctum and canaliculus were expanded with catheters of increasing diameter until a 14 gauge, Jamshedi needle could be passed into and through the lacrimal sac into the caudal maxillary sinus. One end of a plastic tube was inserted through the needle into the sinus, and the needle was withdrawn over the tubing. Using a hubless needle, the other end of the tube was passed through the lower eyelid leaving a segment of tubing exposed ventral to the eyelid. The end of the tubing within the sinus was exteriorized through a trephine hole in the frontal sinus and then tunneled beneath the skin adjacent to the osteotomy using a hubless needle, leaving a segment of tubing exposed on the forehead. Exposed tubing was sutured to the skin. The tubing was removed at 5–6 weeks.ResultsCanaliculosinostomy was easily performed with the horses sedated. Five horses had resolution of epiphora, and 2 had improvement.ConclusionCanaliculosinostomy to divert lacrimal secretions into the sinuses resolves or improves epiphora caused by nasolacrimal duct obstruction and provides a good functional and cosmetic outcome. Canaliculosinostomy can be performed in the sedated horse.
Adaptive responses of cell hydration to a low temperature arrest
Authors: Christmann Jens , Azer Lale , Dörr Daniel , Fuhr Günter R. , Bastiaens Philippe I. H. , Wehner Frank 
Published: November 2015

Key points
Na+ conducting cation channels are key players in the volume restoration of osmotically shrunken cells. Accordingly, they are potential candidates for the compensation of water loss during slow‐freezing procedures.
Cells were subjected to different levels of hypertonic stress, aiming to disturb cell water content and to define the energy demands of water channels and Na+ channels in the process of rehydration.
Activation of Na+ channels was clearly the rate‐limiting step in the restoration of cell volume post‐cryo, whereas water channels merely played a permissive role.
Low temperatures increased cell viscosity with a remarkable hysteresis; furthermore, increasing cell viscosity experimentally was shown to stimulate Na+ channels.
The peptide hormone vasopressin was a further activator of Na+ channels and increased the viability of post‐cryo cells considerably. This opens the path for a new class of cryo‐protectants with an intrinsic biological activity.
AbstractSlow cooling leads to a passive dehydration of cells, whereas rehydration during warming reflects the active regain of functionality. The ability to modulate such an energy demanding process could be instrumental in optimizing the cryo‐arrest of living systems. In the present study, various levels of hypertonic stress were used to disturb the water content of cells and to define the energy profiles of aquaporins and (Na+ conducting) cation channels during rehydration. Na+ import was found to be the rate‐limiting step in water restoration, whereas aquaporins merely played a permissive role. Indeed, regulated Na+ import was increased 2‐fold following cryo‐arrests, thus facilitating the osmotic rehydration of cells. Freezing temperatures increased cell viscosity with a remarkable hysteresis and viscosity was a trigger of cation channels. The peptide hormone vasopressin was a further activator of channels, increasing the viability of post‐cryo cells considerably. Hence, the hormone opens the path for a novel class of cryo‐protectants with an intrinsic biological activity.
Frecuencia aumentada del alelo D y el genotipo DD del gen de la enzima convertidora de angiotensina en pacientes con un primer evento coronario
Authors: Loango Nelsy , Vargas Ramiro , Osorio José H. , Gallego Martha L. , Landázuri Patricia 
Published: November 2015

<p><strong>Objective.</strong> To evaluate the genotypic and allelic frequencies of the I/D polymorphism of the ACE gene and the enzymatic activity in a group of Colombian patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and in a group of healthy subjects. <strong>Materials and Methods.</strong> We examined 41 patients diagnosed MI and admitted consecutively in the San Juan de Dios Hospital, and 39 subjects with no clinical evidence of coronary syndrome. ACE genotypes were determined by means of the polymerase chain reaction and the enzyme activity using spectrophotometry. <strong>Results.</strong> Polymorphism distribution among the patients was II 30.8%, ID 28.2%, and DD 51.2%, whilst in the control group it was II 30.8%, ID 28.2% and DD 41.0%, without significant differences between groups. ID and DD subjects were combined and after adjustment for other variables, their risk of MI was 3.5 times higher than in those subjects with the I allele (95% IC: 1.2-10.4 p=0.02). Enzyme activity was higher in subjects with the D allele, except in patients with enzyme inhibitor medication. <strong>Conclusions.</strong> Results show a higher frequency of the D allele and the DD genotype in patients with a first myocardial infarction, besides confirming a variation in the ACE activity levels influenced by the I/D. Our findings provide evidence of an increased risk of MI in Colombian subjects with the D allele.</p> <p><strong>Key words: </strong>angiotensin-converting enzyme, hypertension, myocardial infarction, polymorphism, risk factors.</p><br />
Capartogramma crucicula (Grunow ex Cleve) Ross, primer registro del género para Colombia
Authors: Montoya-Moreno Yimmy , Sala Silvia , Vouilloud Amelia , Aguirre Néstor 
Published: November 2015

<p><em><em></em></em><strong>Objective.</strong> To report for the first time the occurrence in Colombia of the genus <em>Capartogramma</em> and the species <em>Capartogramma crucicula</em> (Grunow <em>ex</em> Cleve) Ross. <strong>Materials and methods</strong><strong>.</strong> This diatom is described based on epiphyton samples collected during the years 2006-2009 in the Ayapel swamp in Cordoba. <strong>Results.</strong> We describe the morphology of the studied materials and present some aspects related to their geographical distribution and the physicochemical conditions of the aquatic environment where they were collected. <strong>Conclusion.</strong> The confirmation of the presence of this species in Colombia broadens its geographic distribution in South America.</p> <p><strong>Key words</strong><em>:</em> <em><em>Carpatogramma crucicula</em></em>, diatom, tropical, periphyton, Colombia.</p><br />
Preparación simple de nuevas N-(6-metil-2-nitrofenil-1,2,3,4-tetrahidroquinolin-4-il) pirrolidin-2-onas y su análisis espectroscópico. Objetivos.
Authors: Bermudez John H. , Pinto José Luis , Meléndez Carlos Mario , Henao José A. , Kouznetsov Vladimir V. 
Published: November 2015

<p><strong>Objectives. </strong>To prepare new N-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolin-4-yl) pyrrolidin-2-one molecules and to characterize them by spectroscopic methods. <strong>Materials and methods. </strong>All reagents were purchased from Aldrich, commercial grade. The purity of the products and the composition of the reaction mixtures were monitored by thin layer chromatography over Silufol UV<sub>254</sub> chromatoplates (0.25 mm). Product isolation and purification were performed by column chromatography (SiO<sub>2</sub>), using ethyl acetate. <strong>Results.</strong> Preparation of new N-(2-nitrophenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolin-4-yl) pyrrolidin-2-ones has been achieved via the one-pot synthesis, based on a BiCl<sub>3</sub>-catalyzed imino Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction of toluidine, N-vinylpyrrolidin-2-one and 4-nitro- or 3-nitrobenzaldehydes. The structure of the pyrrolidine derivatives was confirmed by <sup>1</sup>H nmr and <sup>13</sup>C nmr studies, in addition to inverse-detected 2D NMR experiments and monocrystal X-ray diffraction. <strong>Conclusions. </strong>An efficient, economic, and fast synthetic route (multi-component imino Diels-Alder reaction) was employed in the construction of several new tetrahydroquinoline derivatives, useful and attractive rigid skeleton with well-defined stereochemistry.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Key words: </strong>tetrahydroquinoline derivatives, N-substituted pyrrolidin-2-ones, three component imino Diels-Alder reaction, one-pot synthesis.</p>
Análisis retrospectivo (2009-2010) de las alteraciones dermatológicas, óticas y oftalmológicas con diagnóstico clínico presuntivo de micosis en caninos y felinos
Authors: Pulido-Villamarin Adriana Del Pilar , Linares-Linares Melva Yomary , Castañeda-Salazar Rubiela , Gutiérrez-Granados Carolina , Aranda-Silva Moises , Rueda-Varón Milton Januario 
Published: November 2015

<p><strong> </strong> <strong>Objective.</strong> To determine the prevalence of dermatological, ear and ophthalmological alterations clinically suspected to be caused by fungi and to analyze their occurrence demographically. <strong>Materials and methods.</strong> We carried out a retrospective study in a clinic in Bogota for small animals. We reviewed the medical histories of patients who requested medical appointments due to dermatological, ear and ophtalmological alterations in 2009 and 2010. <strong>Results.</strong> In the assessed period, the prevalence of dermatological alterations in dogs was of 7.8%, 4.2% of ear alterations and of 3.3% of ophtalmological alterations. The main etiological suspects through clinical diagnosis were: dermatophytes with an incidence of 86.9% among dermatological alterations, <em>Malassezia</em> with an 86.5% of incidence in ear alterations, and <em>Candida</em> with 83.3% of incidence in ophtalmological alterations. Statistical analysis of variables showed no association with symptoms or clinically diagnosed etiological agents, but the categorized evaluation showed associations of races and ages with the etiologies through clinical diagnosis. The diagnosis of fungal etiologies was accomplished in most cases by clinical findings and less frequently by skin scrapings and ear cytology; in none of the cases a mycological culture was done. The feline population showed no dermatological, ear or ophtalmological alterations compatible with a fungal etiology. <strong>Conclusion.</strong> In canines, the prevalence of dermatological alterations clinically compatible with dermatophytes was of 86.9%; ear alterations associated with <em>Malassezia</em> were of 86.5%; and ophtalmological alterations <em>Candida</em>-suspected were 83.3%. Final diagnoses were accomplished with the help of clinical findings without following standard diagnostic methodologies such as cultivation.</p> <p><strong>Key words: </strong>canines, felines, dermatophytes, <em>Malassezia</em>, <em>Candida</em></p> <p><em> </em></p><br />