bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Interference between Active Implanted Medical Devices and Electromagnetic Field Emitting Devices is Rare but Real: Results of an Incidence Study in a Population of Physicians in France
Authors: HOURS MARTINE , KHATI INÈS , HAMELIN JOEL 
Published: September 2013

Background and ObjectiveAssessing the behavior of active implanted medical devices (AIMDs) in response to electromagnetic field (EMF) transmitters is a current issue of great importance. Given the numerous telecommunication systems and our lack of knowledge as to the impact of electromagnetic effects, this study investigated the reality of possible AIMD disturbance by EMFs by interviewing health professionals.MethodA self‐administered postal questionnaire was sent to almost 5,000 physicians in five specialties: cardiology; endocrinology; ears, nose, and throat; urology; and neurology. It collected data on the existence and annual number of incidents observed and the conditions under which they occurred, the EMF sources involved, and the means of managing the malfunctions.ResultsA total of 1,188 physicians agreed to participate. Sixteen percent of participants reported cases of implant failure, three‐quarters of whom, mainly in cardiology, reported rates of at least one incident per year—amounting to more than 100 incidents per year in all. Severity appeared to be moderate (discomfort or transient symptoms), but frequently required resetting or, more rarely, replacing the device. Some serious incidents were, however, reported. The sources implicated were basically of two types: electronic security systems (antitheft and airport gates) and medical electromagnetic radiation devices. These incidents were poorly reported within the public health system, preventing follow‐up and effective performance of alert and surveillance functions.ConclusionAlthough minor, the risk of interference between EMF sources and AIMDs is real and calls for vigilance. It particularly concerns antitheft and airport security gates, though other sources may also cause incidents.
Genes for iron–sulphur cluster assembly are targets of abiotic stress in rice, Oryza sativa
Authors: LIANG XUEJIAO , QIN LU , LIU PEIWEI , WANG MEIHUAN , YE HONG 
Published: September 2013

AbstractIron–sulphur (Fe–S) cluster assembly occurs in chloroplasts, mitochondria and cytosol, involving dozens of genes in higher plants. In this study, we have identified 41 putative Fe–S cluster assembly genes in rice (Oryza sativa) genome, and the expression of all genes was verified. To investigate the role of Fe–S cluster assembly as a metabolic pathway, we applied abiotic stresses to rice seedlings and analysed Fe–S cluster assembly gene expression by qRT‐PCR. Our data showed that genes for Fe–S cluster assembly in chloroplasts of leaves are particularly sensitive to heavy metal treatments, and that Fe–S cluster assembly genes in roots were up‐regulated in response to iron toxicity, oxidative stress and some heavy metal assault. The effect of each stress treatment on the Fe–S cluster assembly machinery demonstrated an unexpected tissue or organelle specificity, suggesting that the physiological relevance of the Fe–S cluster assembly is more complex than thought. Furthermore, our results may reveal potential candidate genes for molecular breeding of rice.
The combined effect of salinity and heat reveals a specific physiological, biochemical and molecular response in tomato plants
Authors: RIVERO ROSA M. , MESTRE TERESA C. , MITTLER RON , RUBIO FRANCISCO , GARCIA‐SANCHEZ FRANCISCO , MARTINEZ VICENTE 
Published: September 2013

AbstractMany studies have described the response mechanisms of plants to salinity and heat applied individually; however, under field conditions some abiotic stresses often occur simultaneously. Recent studies revealed that the response of plants to a combination of two different stresses is specific and cannot be deduced from the stresses applied individually. Here, we report on the response of tomato plants to a combination of heat and salt stress. Interestingly, and in contrast to the expected negative effect of the stress combination on plant growth, our results show that the combination of heat and salinity provides a significant level of protection to tomato plants from the effects of salinity. We observed a specific response of plants to the stress combination that included accumulation of glycine betaine and trehalose. The accumulation of these compounds under the stress combination was linked to the maintenance of a high K+ concentration and thus a lower Na+/K+ ratio, with a better performance of the cell water status and photosynthesis as compared with salinity alone. Our findings unravel new and unexpected aspects of the response of plants to stress combination and provide a proposed list of enzymatic targets for improving crop tolerance to the abiotic field environment.
Antisense suppression of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) sucrose synthase 3 (CsSUS3) reduces hypoxic stress tolerance
Authors: WANG HONGYUN , SUI XIAOLEI , GUO JINJU , WANG ZHENYU , CHENG JINTAO , MA SI , LI XIANG , ZHANG ZHENXIAN 
Published: September 2013

AbstractSucrose synthase (SUS; EC 2.4.1.13) plays important roles in sugar metabolism and abiotic stress response. But the genes encoding SUS in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) have not been well studied. Here, we isolated four cucumber sucrose synthase genes (CsSUS). Among them, CsSUS3, which highly expressed in the roots, was chosen for further study. Immunolocalization and subcellular localization analysis indicated that CsSUS3 localized in the cytosol and the plasma membrane, and mainly existed in the companion cells of phloem in the roots. When suffering hypoxia stress from flooding, CsSUS3 expression and SUS activity in roots increased, especially in the lateral roots; moreover, the soluble SUS activity increased clearly, but the membrane fraction hardly changed. Compared with the wild‐type cucumbers, the transgenic lines with antisense expression of CsSUS3 were more sensitive to flooding. After 6 d of flooding, the SUS activity, soluble sugar and uridine 5′‐diphosphate glucose (UDPG) content and the ratio of ATP/ADP in the roots of transgenic plants were significantly lower than that in wild‐type plants. Moreover, the transgenic lines grew more slowly with more yellow necrosis in the leaves. These findings suggested CsSUS3 participated in resisting hypoxic stress. Furthermore, the mechanism of CsSUS3 in resisting hypoxic stress was also discussed.
Light induces jasmonate‐isoleucine conjugation via OsJAR1‐dependent and ‐independent pathways in rice
Authors: SVYATYNA KATHARINA , JIKUMARU YUSUKE , BRENDEL RITA , REICHELT MICHAEL , MITHÖFER AXEL , TAKANO MAKOTO , KAMIYA YUJI , NICK PETER , RIEMANN MICHAEL 
Published: September 2013

AbstractThe bioactive form of jasmonate is the conjugate of the amino acid isoleucine (Ile) with jasmonic acid (JA), which is biosynthesized in a reaction catalysed by the GH3 enzyme JASMONATE RESISTANT 1 (JAR1). We examined the biochemical properties of OsJAR1 and its involvement in photomorphogenesis of rice (Oryza sativa). OsJAR1 has a similar substrate specificities as its orthologue in Arabidopsis. However, osjar1 loss‐of‐function mutants did not show as severe coleoptile phenotypes as the JA‐deficient mutants coleoptile photomorphogenesis 2 (cpm2) and hebiba, which develop long coleoptiles in all light qualities we examined. Analysis of hormonal contents in the young seedling stage revealed that osjar1 mutants are still able to synthesize JA‐Ile conjugate in response to blue light, suggesting that a redundantly active enzyme can conjugate JA and Ile in rice seedlings. A good candidate for this enzyme is OsJAR2, which was found to be able to catalyse the conjugation of JA with Ile as well as with some additional amino acids. In contrast, if plants in the vegetative stage were mechanically wounded, the content of JA‐Ile was severely reduced in osjar1, demonstrating that OsJAR1 is the most important JA‐Ile conjugating enzyme in the wounding response during the vegetative stage.
A novel fluorescence imaging approach to monitor salt stress‐induced modulation of ouabain‐sensitive ATPase activity in sunflower seedling roots
Authors: Mukherjee Soumya , Bhatla Satish Chander 
Published: September 2013

AbstractSeedlings exposed to salt stress are expected to show modulation of intracellular accumulation of sodium ions through a variety of mechanisms. Using a new methodology, this work demonstrates ouabain (OU)‐sensitive ATPase activity in the roots of sunflower seedlings subjected to salt stress (120 mM NaCl). 9‐Anthroylouabain (a derivative of ouabain known to inhibit Na+,K+‐ATPase activity in animal systems, EC 3.6.3.9) has been used as a probe to analyze OU‐sensitive ATPase activity in sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seedling roots by spectrofluorometric estimation and localization of its spatial distribution using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Salt stress for 48 h leads to a significant induction of OU‐sensitive ATPase activity in the meristematic region of the seedling roots. Calcium ions (10 mM) significantly inhibit enzyme activity and a parallel accumulation of sodium ions in the cytosol of the columella cells, epidermis and in the cells of the meristematic region of the roots is evident. As a rapid response to NaCl stress, the activity of OU‐sensitive ATPase gets localized in the nuclear membrane of root protoplasts and it gets inhibited after treatment with calcium ions. Nuclear membrane localization of the OU‐sensitive ATPase activity highlights a possible mechanism to efflux sodium ions from the nucleus. Thus, a correlation between OU‐sensitive ATPase activity, its modulation by calcium ions and accumulation of sodium ions in various regions of the seedling roots, has been demonstrated using a novel approach in a plant system.
Geodesic Monte Carlo on Embedded Manifolds
Authors: Byrne Simon , Girolami Mark 
Published: September 2013

ABSTRACTMarkov chain Monte Carlo methods explicitly defined on the manifold of probability distributions have recently been established. These methods are constructed from diffusions across the manifold and the solution of the equations describing geodesic flows in the Hamilton–Jacobi representation. This paper takes the differential geometric basis of Markov chain Monte Carlo further by considering methods to simulate from probability distributions that themselves are defined on a manifold, with common examples being classes of distributions describing directional statistics. Proposal mechanisms are developed based on the geodesic flows over the manifolds of support for the distributions, and illustrative examples are provided for the hypersphere and Stiefel manifold of orthonormal matrices.
Draft Genome Sequence of
Thermoanaerobacter
sp. Strain A7A, Reconstructed from a Metagenome Obtained from a High-Temperature Hydrocarbon Reservoir in the Bass Strait, Australia
Authors: Li Dongmei , Greenfield Paul , Rosewarne Carly P. , Midgley David J. 
Published: September 2013

ABSTRACT

The draft genome sequence of
Thermoanaerobacter
sp. strain A7A was reconstructed from a metagenome of a microbial consortium obtained from the Tuna oil field in the Gippsland Basin, Australia. The organism is a strict anaerobe that is predicted to ferment a range of simple sugars and undertake sulfur reduction.
Complete Genome Sequence of Staphylococcus aureus Tager 104, a Sequence Type 49 Ancestor
Authors: Davis Richard , Hossain Mohammad J. , Liles Mark R. , Panizzi Peter 
Published: September 2013

ABSTRACT

We report here the complete genome sequence of
Staphylococcus aureus
Tager 104, originally isolated from a cutaneous abscess in 1947 by Morris Tager. Sequence typing of the strain revealed its membership in sequence type 49 (ST49), a previously unknown multilocus sequence type (MLST) in clinical samples.
Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus pumilus CCMA-560, Isolated from an Oil-Contaminated Mangrove Swamp
Authors: Domingos Daniela F. , Dellagnezze Bruna M. , Greenfield Paul , Reyes Luciana R. , Melo Itamar S. , Midgley David J. , Oliveira Valéria M. 
Published: September 2013

ABSTRACT

Bacillus pumilus
strain CCMA-560 was isolated from an oil-contaminated mangrove swamp and was shown to produce biosurfactants. The strain appears to be capable of degrading some plant cell wall-related compounds, including hemicelluose and pectin. Genes for biopolymer export and polysaccharide intercellular adhesin synthesis were also annotated.
Draft Genome Sequence of Ammonia-Producing
Aeromonas
sp. MDS8 Strain MCC2167 from Sludge of a Dairy Effluent Treatment Plant
Authors: RayChaudhuri Shaon , Saha Amrita , Ghoshal Thungri , Thakur Ashoke Ranjan 
Published: September 2013

ABSTRACT

The draft genome sequence of an amylase-, protease-, lipase-, oxidase-, and catalase-producing Gram-negative bacillus (
Aeromonas
sp. MDS8 strain MCC2167) with the ability to produce ammonia during 16 h of growth at 37°C, isolated from dairy sludge, with a size of 4,841,753 bp and a G+C content of 63.1%, is reported here.
Chromosome Sequence of Borrelia miyamotoi, an Uncultivable Tick-Borne Agent of Human Infection
Authors: Hue Fong , Ghalyanchi Langeroudi Arash , Barbour Alan G. 
Published: September 2013

ABSTRACT

Borrelia miyamotoi
is a newly recognized agent of human disease.
B. miyamotoi
strain LB-2001, an isolate from the tick
Ixodes scapularis
, was propagated in mice. The sequence of the chromosome was determined by next-generation sequencing of DNA isolated from whole blood. The sequence established that
B. miyamotoi
is a relapsing fever group species.
Genome Sequence of Novosphingobium lindaniclasticum LE124
T
, Isolated from a Hexachlorocyclohexane Dumpsite
Authors: Saxena Anjali , Nayyar Namita , Sangwan Naseer , Kumari Rashmi , Khurana J. P. , Lal Rup 
Published: September 2013

ABSTRACT

Novosphingobium lindaniclasticum
LE124
T
is a hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)-degrading bacterium isolated from a high-dosage-point HCH dumpsite (450 mg HCH/g soil) located in Lucknow, India (27°00′N and 81°09′E). Here, we present the annotated draft genome sequence of strain LE124
T
, which has an estimated size of 4.86 Mb and is comprised of 4,566 coding sequences.
Prevalence of, and risk factors for, HIV, hepatitis B and C infections among men who inject image and performance enhancing drugs: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Hope Vivian D , McVeigh Jim , Marongiu Andrea , Evans-Brown Michael , Smith Josie , Kimergård Andreas , Croxford Sara , Beynon Caryl M , Parry John V , Bellis Mark A , Ncube Fortune 
Published: September 2013

ObjectiveTo describe drug use, sexual risks and the prevalence of blood-borne viral infections among men who inject image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs).DesignA voluntary unlinked-anonymous cross-sectional biobehavioural survey.Setting19 needle and syringe programmes across England and Wales.Participants395 men who had injected IPEDs.ResultsOf the participants (median age 28 years), 36% had used IPEDs for <5 years. Anabolic steroids (86%), growth hormone (32%) and human chorionic gonadotropin (16%) were most frequently injected, with 88% injecting intramuscularly and 39% subcutaneously. Two-thirds also used IPEDs orally. Recent psychoactive drug use was common (46% cocaine, 12% amphetamine), 5% had ever injected a psychoactive drug and 9% had shared injecting equipment. ‘Viagra/Cialis’ was used by 7%, with 89% reporting anal/vaginal sex in the preceding year (20% had 5+ female-partners, 3% male-partners) and 13% always using condoms. Overall, 1.5% had HIV, 9% had antibodies to the hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and 5% to hepatitis C (anti-HCV). In multivariate analysis, having HIV was associated with: seeking advice from a sexual health clinic; having had an injection site abscess/wound; and having male partners. After excluding those reporting male partners or injecting psychoactive drugs, 0.8% had HIV, 8% anti-HBc and 5% anti-HCV. Only 23% reported uptake of the hepatitis B vaccine, and diagnostic testing uptake was poor (31% for HIV, 22% for hepatitis C).ConclusionsPrevious prevalence studies had not found HIV among IPED injectors. HIV prevalence in this, the largest study of blood-borne viruses among IPED injectors, was similar to that among injectors of psychoactive drugs. Findings indicate a need for targeted interventions.
Governing patient safety: lessons learned from a mixed methods evaluation of implementing a ward-level medication safety scorecard in two English NHS hospitals
Authors: Ramsay Angus I G , Turner Simon , Cavell Gillian , Oborne C Alice , Thomas Rebecca E , Cookson Graham , Fulop Naomi J 
Published: September 2013

BackgroundRelatively little is known about how scorecards presenting performance indicators influence medication safety. We evaluated the effects of implementing a ward-level medication safety scorecard piloted in two English NHS hospitals and factors influencing these.MethodsWe used a mixed methods, controlled before and after design. At baseline, wards were audited on medication safety indicators; during the ‘feedback’ phase scorecard results were presented to intervention wards on a weekly basis over 7 weeks. We interviewed 49 staff, including clinicians and managers, about scorecard implementation.ResultsAt baseline, 18.7% of patients (total n=630) had incomplete allergy documentation; 53.4% of patients (n=574) experienced a drug omission in the preceding 24 h; 22.5% of omitted doses were classified as ‘critical’; 22.1% of patients (n=482) either had ID wristbands not reflecting their allergy status or no ID wristband; and 45.3% of patients (n=237) had drugs that were either unlabelled or labelled for another patient in their drug lockers. The quantitative analysis found no significant improvement in intervention wards following scorecard feedback. Interviews suggested staff were interested in scorecard feedback and described process and culture changes. Factors influencing scorecard implementation included ‘normalisation’ of errors, study duration, ward leadership, capacity to engage and learning preferences.DiscussionPresenting evidence-based performance indicators may potentially influence staff behaviour. Several practical and cultural factors may limit feedback effectiveness and should be considered when developing improvement interventions. Quality scorecards should be designed with care, attending to evidence of indicators’ effectiveness and how indicators and overall scorecard composition fit the intended audience.
Wrigley India Pvt Limited: Leveraging Trade Promotions for Competitive Advantage
Authors: Singhvi Sajjan Raj , Gera Rajat 
Published: September 2013

The Indian confectionary market consisted of sugar and non-sugar confectionary items. The confectionary market was highly fragmented with several local players. The confectionary market had been growing at over 6% but the gum-based confectionary segment was growing faster at over 10% in last few years. The principal players in this segment were Perfetti, Wrigley, Lotte, Candico and a few local players. Wrigley acquired Joyco group from Spanish food conglomerate Agrolimen in 2004 in India. The deal further added to a long list of various brands available to Wrigley. Recently the company had been acquired by Mars. The acquired brand from Joyco, Boomer had been the undisputed leader in the bubble gum market in India since 1995. Orbit from Mars-Wrigley was also not only India's but the world's no. 1 sugar-free chewing gum. Mars-Wrigley India distributed its product both through organized retailers and traditional CFA-distributor-wholesaler-retailer route. 85% of food and beverage sales to consumers in India took place through traditional retail outlets such as Pan and Beedi shops, Kiryana merchants etc. Wrigley had an elaborate system of market coverage and distributors, salespeople and merchandisers performed an important role in the total system. Wrigley India spent heavily on marketing communication. Trade promotions played an important role in increasing the sales and market share and the company's sales force need to possess adequate skills in carrying out trade promotions and making it a success.
Beijing Tianyu Communications: Winning in the 3G Era
Authors: Tsai Terence , Lu Shaohua , Liu Gary , Liu Shubo 
Published: September 2013

As emerging markets such as mainland China grew to be vital for the global commercial players, leading mobile telecommunication giants increasingly turned to China for opportunities. China's fast-expanding mobile telecommunication market became a throat-cutting battlefield for both international and local players. Among these competitors, Rong Xiuli's Tianyu had the local advantages. In order to sustain Tianyu's hardearned success, Rong decided to upgrade Tianyu brand and firmly secure a foothold in the 3G era. In 2002, Rong Xiuli closed Beijing Benephon, the then largest distributor of Samsung Mobile Phone in the Chinese market, and established Beijing Tianyu Communication Equipment Co. Ltd (hereinafter referred to as “Tianyu”) entering the handset manufacturing industry. Despite the growing pains in the beginning, Tianyu eventually went ahead of other domestic mobile phone manufacturers. In 2008, Tianyu reached a sales volume of 24 million mobile phones and a market share of more than 6%, ranking after Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola in the Chinese mobile phone market. A transition from the second generation (2G) communication technologies to the third generation (3G), however, was initiated at the end of 2008. Mobile phone manufacturers responded by investing heavily on technology upgrades. 3G also elevated the position of telecommunication operators in the industry value chain. As such, Tianyu's advantage in the 2G market could not necessarily guarantee its success in the 3G market. Adding to the uncertainties, demands for 2G mobile phone dropped sharply due to the 2007–2008 global financial crisis. Despite the oppositions from many colleagues, Rong Xiuli launched a campaign to win the 3G market, reconfiguring almost all the resources to the new business. The case describes Tianyu's success in the 2G mobile phone market and its entry into the 3G market.
ON DUALITY, SYMMETRY AND SYMMETRY LOST IN SOLID MECHANICS
Authors: BUI HUY DUONG 
Published: September 2013

The paper recalls the concept of duality in mathematics and extends it to solid mechanics. One important application of duality is to restore some symmetry between current fields and their adjoint ones. This leads to many alternative schemes for numerical analyses, different from the classical one as used in classical formulation of boundary value problems (finite element method). Usually, conservation laws in fracture mechanics make use of the current fields, displacement and stress. Many conservation laws of this type are not free of the source term. Consequently, one cannot derive path-independent integrals for use in fracture mechanics. The introduction of variables and dual or adjoint variables leads to true path-independent integrals. Duality also introduces some anti-symmetry in current fields and adjoint ones for some boundary value problems. The symmetry is lost between fields and adjoint fields. The last notion enables us to derive new variational formulation on dual subspaces and to exactly solve inverse problems for detecting cracks and volume defects.