bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fatigue and sleep disturbance in HIV‐positive women: a qualitative and biomedical approach
Authors: Chen Wei‐Ti , Lee Shih‐Yu , Shiu Cheng‐Shi , Simoni Jane M , Pan Chengen , Bao Meijuan , Lu Hongzhou 
Published: December 2012

Aims and objectivesThis study explores how sleep and energy levels were affected in Chinese women diagnosed with HIV in China employing the Actiwatch actigraphy system to collect data on the women's sleep characteristics.BackgroundThe worldwide AIDS pandemic, a major impetus behind the recent focus on global aspects of health, is one area in which the behavioural and biomedical expertise of nursing science is sorely needed. In particular, few studies of HIV+ women have examined the association of HIV‐related stress with sleep disturbance and fatigue. Especially, fatigue and sleep disturbances are a common complaint among people with HIV.DesignA qualitative study with actigraphy device used.MethodsIn‐depth interviews were conducted with 19 HIV+ women in Shanghai, China, from December 2009–March 2010 and within this group, nine of the women agreed to wear an Actiwatch actigraphy device for 72 hours.ResultsTwo major themes emerged from the in‐depth interviews are as follows: sleep disturbance and fatigue. Participants presented varying amounts of sleeplessness, and fatigue resulting from nightmares, worrying about whether to disclose their diagnosis, and whether they might transmit the disease to their partners or children. Among the nine Actiwatch study participants, data shown that those who experienced fragmented sleep also slept more during the daytime.ConclusionsIn this study, Chinese HIV+ women described how stress had caused them to become sleepless. The objective data collected via Actiwatch showed that these women required longer nap times, which indicates they did not have refreshing nocturnal sleep. Designing a culturally acceptable stress management intervention for these women is urgently needed.Relevance to clinical practiceSleep and fatigue level should be evaluated in each visit with HIV care. Nurses need to be trained in evaluating the HIV+ patients' sleep and fatigue status and refer them to psychologist and/or relaxation technique accordingly. Self‐management intervention for HIV+ individuals should also include the sleep hygiene into consideration.
Still Blue‐Collar after all these Years? An Ethnography of the Professionalization of Emergency Ambulance Work
Authors: McCann Leo , Granter Edward , Hyde Paula , Hassard John 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThis paper explores the professionalization project of paramedics, based on an ethnographic study of UK National Health Service (NHS) ambulance personnel. Drawing on concepts derived from institutional theory and the sociology of professions, we argue that the project is enacted at two levels, namely a formal, structural and senior level reflecting changing legitimation demands made on NHS practitioners and pursued through institutional entrepreneurship, and an informal, agentic, ‘street level’ enacted by the practitioners themselves via ‘institutional work’. Focusing on this latter, front‐line level, our ethnographic data demonstrate that the overall impact of the senior level professionalization project on the working lives of paramedics has been somewhat muted, mostly because it has had limited power over the organizations that employ paramedics. Given the slow progress of the senior level professionalization project, paramedics at street level continue to enact subtle forms of institutional work which serve to maintain ‘blue‐collar professionalism’ – a form originally identified in Donald Metz's ethnography of ambulance work. Our analysis draws attention to the complex and contested nature of professionalization projects, in that their enactment at senior and street levels can be somewhat misaligned and possibly contradictory.
Conformity and Distinctiveness in a Global Institutional Framework: The Legitimation of Ontario Fine Wine
Authors: Voronov Maxim , De Clercq Dirk , Hinings C. R. 
Published: December 2012

Abstract The study investigates how local actors pursue two paradoxical aspects of legitimacy in a global institutional framework: the need for global conformity and the need for local distinctiveness. Drawing on the notion of glocalization, it explicates how this pursuit is accomplished by actors' selective fidelity to global norms and adaptation of these norms to local conditions. The empirical work consists of a five‐year qualitative case study of the Ontario wine industry. It provides empirical evidence for the presence of several non‐mutually exclusive paths through which local actors seek legitimation in a global context. The study offers important implications for future research on legitimation and globalization.
Managing Legitimacy in Complex and Heterogeneous Environments: Sustainable Development in a Globalized World
Authors: Scherer Andreas Georg , Palazzo Guido , Seidl David 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThe sustainability problems with regard to the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services increasingly challenge the legitimacy of corporations. The literature distinguishes three strategies that corporations commonly employ to respond to legitimacy problems: adapt to external expectations, manipulate the perception of their stakeholders, or engage in a discourse with those who question their legitimacy. We discuss three approaches to determine the appropriate response strategy: one‐best‐way approach, contingency approach, and paradox approach. We argue that in the face of heterogeneous environments with conflicting demands, corporations that follow a paradox approach are likely to be more successful in preserving their legitimacy than those that adopt one of the other two approaches. We develop a theoretical framework for the application of different response strategies and explore the management of paradoxes by way of structural, contextual, or reflective means.
Do the smiles of the world's most influential individuals have common parameters?
Authors: Orce‐Romero A. , Iglesias‐Linares A. , Cantillo‐Galindo M. , Yañez‐Vico R. M. , Mendoza‐Mendoza A. , Solano‐Reina E. 
Published: December 2012

SummaryThe aim of this study was to determine – on the basis of the most recent yearly listings – whether there were any common measurable variables associated with the smiles of the world's most influential people. A total of 168 subjects were selected from the lists of Time magazine's 100 most influential people during the period 2006–2010. Smiling frontal view photographs were obtained. Thirty‐six variables for each subject were traced and measured using photogrammetric analysis to obtain qualitative and quantitative proportions and measurements. Differences with respect to gender, occupation and year of listing were tested to 95% significance, using the Student's t‐test and the Kruskal–Wallis test. The chi‐squared test was used for qualitative variables. Irrespective of gender or occupation, the similar quantifiable characteristics of the smiles of the most influential subjects were the following: vertical upper lip proportion, smile width, incisor exposure, buccal corridor ratio, smile symmetry index and intra‐dental proportions (P > 0·05). Other qualitative standards were as follows: smile symmetry, the buccal corridors and smile arc, direction of occlusal cant and the degree of deviation between maxillary and facial midlines. Differences were found for gingival display and smile height parameters (P = 0·001). The smiles of the world's most influential people revealed common standards, regardless of occupation or gender, which may play a decisive role in the expressions of influential faces.
First Report of Root‐knot Nematodes (Meloidogyne arenaria) on Angelica dahurica in China
Authors: Wang Xizhuo , Wang Laifa F. , Piao Chungen , Ma Jianwei , Shang Yutong , Li Yong , Guo Minwei 
Published: December 2012

AbstractAngelica dahurica is an important Chinese herbal medicine plant, and its rhizome is of high medicinal value. In recent years, a severe decline in yield has been observed in Bozhou City (China's largest A. dahurica producing area), Anhui province, China. It showed symptoms of decline, stunting, yellowing and many galls in the roots, which was the characterization of infestation by root‐knot nematodes. A survey of root‐knot nematodes on its roots was conducted in this area from June to September, 2011. Based on our results, the nematode species on A. dahurica was identified as Meloidogyne arenaria by the morphological, biochemical and molecular methods. To our knowledge, this is the first report of M. arenaria on A. dahurica in China.
Detection and Molecular Characterization of Pepper Mild Mottle Virus from Turkey
Authors: Çağlar Behcet Kemal , Fidan Hakan , Elbeaino Toufic 
Published: December 2012

AbstractUsing double‐antibody sandwich–enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (DAS‐ELISA), pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) was detected in 27 pepper (Capsicum spp.) plants of 3000 tested and found to be present in Adana, Antalya, Kahramanmaraş, Mersin and Şanlıurfa, all provinces devoted to pepper production in southern Turkey. Results of reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) using primers specific to RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and capsid protein (CP) genes confirmed those of ELISA by amplifying all PMMoV‐infected plants. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and PCR assays using sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker primers showed that PMMoV from Turkey overcomes L3‐gene‐mediated resistance, so pepper plantations are susceptible to PMMoV infection. Sequences of CPs showed high amino acid identities (92–99%) with their homologues in the database and, furthermore, to share a distinguished molecular print found common uniquely in pathotypes P1,2,3. The phylogenetic tree allocated the Turkish isolates in one cluster together with PMMoV pathotypes P1,2,3 of the Italian, Spanish and Israeli isolates, all reported to overcome the L3‐resistance‐breaking gene in pepper. This is the first molecular information on PMMoV isolates present in Turkey, for which this information could have guiding significance in future pepper resistance breeding in the country.
Protecting South Asian Wheat Production from Stem Rust (Ug99) Epidemic
Authors: Sharma Rajiv K. , Singh Pawan K. , Vinod  , Joshi Arun K. , Bhardwaj Subhash C. , Bains Navtej S. , Singh Sukhwinder 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThe Ug99 group of stem rust races (Puccinia graminis Pers. f. sp. tritici Eriks. & E. Henn.) has evolved and migrated. While the original variant overcame the widely deployed gene Sr31, and Sr21 (in Chinese Spring background), but not Sr21 in Einkorn, a new strain of Ug99, virulent on Sr24, was detected in 2006 and caused a severe epidemic in 2007 in Kenya. Forms virulent on Sr36 and Sr21 were identified in 2007. Likewise, an Ug99 variant virulent to both Sr21 and Sr24 was identified in 2008 in Kenya. Simultaneously, the original strain spread to Yemen and Sudan in 2006. Fears of a spread into Asia were confirmed when this race was detected in Iran in 2007. This has raised serious concerns that Ug99 could follow the same migratory route from Africa to Asia as Yr9 and cause major epidemics across the epidemiological region of South Asia. In 2005–06, screening in Kenya and Ethiopia of wheat materials from Asian countries revealed a very low frequency of lines resistant to Ug99 and its variants. Under the umbrella of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI), significant efforts have been made to counter the challenges posed by Ug99 and its derivative races. Diverse sources of resistance to the pathogen have been identified and incorporated in high‐yielding wheat backgrounds. The most promising strategy has been to deploy spring wheat varieties possessing adult plant resistance (APR) in infested and bordering areas to decrease inoculum amounts and slow down the development of new virulence, for example four CIMMYT genotypes with Sr2+ have been released in Afghanistan and their seed is also distributed in region bordering Iran. For an immediate remedy, race‐specific resistance genes can be deployed in combinations using marker‐assisted selection. Several Ug99‐resistant varieties have already been released in South Asian countries (Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan), and seed dissemination is underway. The Ug99 risk in the region can be reduced to minimum levels by identifying, releasing and providing seed of high‐yielding and resistant cultivars.
Effect of ensiling moist field bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum) and lupine (Lupinus spp.) grains on the contents of alkaloids, oligosaccharides and tannins
Authors: Gefrom A. , Ott E. M. , Hoedtke S. , Zeyner A. 
Published: December 2012

SummaryEnsiling legume grain may be an inexpensive and ecologically interesting method to produce a high‐protein feed of local origin. The typically patchy maturation recommends harvesting and ensiling the seeds in moist condition. Developing a method for preserving legume grains harvested before maturation by lactic acid fermentation would have several advantages. Under laboratory conditions, crushed legume seeds of beans, peas and lupines with high moisture content of 35 % were ensiled with different additives (molasses and lactic acid bacteria). To characterize the final silages, contents of proximate nutrients and antinutritional factors (alkaloids, oligosaccharides, tannins) were analysed. The addition of lactic acid bacteria ensured a fast and pronounced lactic acid production and decreased contents of undesired fermentation products like ethanol. An additional use of molasses for ensilage did not provide a remarkable additional benefit. Excluding sugar and starch, the contents of proximate nutrients were not remarkably altered after ensiling. As an overall effect, lactic acid fermentation reduced tannins and oligosaccharides. It can be supposed that the oligosaccharides after breakdown of the complex molecules acted as a source of fermentable carbohydrates. A relevant reduction of alkaloids did not occur. The lactic acid fermentation of legume grains can be recommended as an appropriate method for conservation. With respect to the economic advantages and compared with methods of chemical preservation, the lactic acid fermentation of legume grains under anaerobic conditions is an environmentally compliant procedure and therefore also an option for organic farming.
Efficacy and safety of continuous 4‐year telbivudine treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B
Authors: Wang Y. , Thongsawat S. , Gane E. J. , Liaw Y.‐F. , Jia J. , Hou J. , Chan H. L. Y. , Papatheodoridis G. , Wan M. , Niu J. , Bao W. , Trylesinski A. , Naoumov N. V. 
Published: December 2012

SummaryIn the phase‐III GLOBE/015 studies, telbivudine demonstrated superior efficacy vs lamivudine during 2‐year treatment in HBeAg‐positive and HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB). After completion, 847 patients had an option to continue telbivudine treatment for further 2 years. A total of 596 (70%) of telbivudine‐treated patients, who were serum HBV DNA positive or negative and without genotypic resistance to telbivudine at the end of the GLOBE/015 trials, were enrolled into a further 2‐year extension study. A group of 502 patients completed 4 years of continuous telbivudine treatment and were included in the telbivudine per‐protocol population. Amongst 293 HBeAg‐positive patients, 76.2% had undetectable serum HBV DNA and 86.0% had normal serum ALT at the end of 4 years. Notably, the cumulative rate of HBeAg seroconversion was 53.2%. Amongst 209 HBeAg‐negative patients, 86.4% had undetectable HBV DNA and 89.6% had normal serum ALT. In patients who had discontinued telbivudine treatment due to HBeAg seroconversion, the HBeAg response was durable in 82% of patients (median 111 weeks of off‐treatment follow‐up). The cumulative 4‐year resistance rate was 10.6% for HBeAg‐positive and 10.0% for HBeAg‐negative patients. Most adverse events were mild or moderate in severity and transient. Renal function measured by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) increased by 14.9 mL/min/1.73 m2 (16.6%) from baseline to 4 years (P < 0.0001). In conclusion, in HBeAg‐positive and HBeAg‐negative CHB patients without resistance after 2 years, two additional years of telbivudine treatment continued to provide effective viral suppression with a favourable safety profile. Moreover, telbivudine achieved 53% of HBeAg seroconversion in HBeAg‐positive patients.
Polymorphic APOBEC3 modulates chronic hepatitis B in Moroccan population
Authors: Ezzikouri S. , Kitab B. , Rebbani K. , Marchio A. , Wain‐Hobson S. , Dejean A. , Vartanian J.‐P. , Pineau P. , Benjelloun S. 
Published: December 2012

SummaryThe cytidine deaminase apolipoprotein B mRNA editing catalytic subunit‐3 (APOBEC3) induces G‐to‐A hypermutation in hepatitis B virus (HBV) genomes and operates as part of the innate antiviral immune system. We investigated the associations between the presence of APOBEC3 variants and HBV carriage in a case–control study in the Moroccan population. A polymorphic deletion affecting the APOBEC3B gene and the H186R variant of APOBEC3G were genotyped in 179 HBV chronic carriers and 216 healthy control subjects. In addition, to assess the overall impact of APOBEC3 deaminases on circulating HBV, we looked for hyperedited forms of the viral genome using the 3DPCR technique and analysed editing context. Data analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the frequencies of deleted APOBEC3B alleles (P = 0.261) or genotypes (P = 0.333) between patients with chronic hepatitis B and control subjects. By contrast, subjects bearing deleted genotype had a faster progression of liver disease than those with the insertion genotype (adjusted OR, 3.72; 95% CI, 0.38–36.12). The analysis of the APOBEC3G H186R polymorphism revealed that R/R genotype frequencies were not significantly different in HBV infected patients and in healthy subjects. 3DPCR was positive in 26 samples (14%) among 179. Amplified viral segments displayed monomorphic G>A transitions highly reminiscent of APOBEC3G activity. Most intriguingly, hemi/homozygous carriers of the APOBEC3B deletion had significantly lower virus loads than patients with the wild type (median 539 vs. 2213 IU/mL, P = 0.0023). This result suggests that genetic variations in APOBEC3 cytidine deaminases do not predispose to chronicity but may modulate the course of persistent HBV infection.
Effect of Canine Hyperadrenocorticism on Coagulation Parameters
Authors: Rose L. , Dunn M.E. , Bédard C. 
Published: December 2012

BackgroundHyperadrenocorticism (HAC) has been associated with thrombotic disease in dogs.HypothesisThe purpose of this study was to use thromboelastography (TEG) and measurement of thrombin generation (TG) to characterize the hypercoagulable state in dogs with HAC. We hypothesized that dogs with HAC would have a hypercoagulable profile on TEG tracings and an increase in thrombin generation as measured by endogenous thrombin potential (ETP).AnimalsSixteen dogs with HAC. Dogs were compared with a population of normal dogs used to obtain reference intervals.MethodsTEG tracings on citrated whole blood were obtained from 15 dogs, and TG measurements on frozen‐thawed platelet‐poor plasma (PPP) were obtained from 15 dogs.ResultsFor the TEG analysis, when results of individual dogs were compared with the reference interval, 12/15 dogs had at least 1 parameter associated with hypercoagulability. When the population of HAC dogs was compared with a population of healthy dogs, HAC dogs had decreases in R and K and increases in α and MA values. The ETP was increased when the HAC group was compared with a population of normal dogs. However, only 3/15 dogs had an ETP above reference interval, and 1/15 had a decreased lag time.Conclusion and Clinical ImportanceOf 16 dogs with HAC, 12/15 had evidence of hypercoagulability when evaluated by TEG, 4/15 when evaluated by TG, and 2 dogs had increases in ETP and MA.
Vitamin D in chronic liver disease
Authors: Stokes Caroline S. , Volmer Dietrich A. , Grünhage Frank , Lammert Frank 
Published: December 2012

AbstractChronic liver disease (CLD) and several related extrahepatic manifestations such as hepatic osteodystrophy are associated with deficiency of vitamin D, which has therefore been suggested as therapeutic target. Vitamin D undergoes hepatic 25‐hydroxylation, rendering the liver critical to the metabolic activation of this vitamin. Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in CLD patients, and vitamin D levels are inversely related to the severity of CLD. Declining levels of carrier proteins such as albumin and vitamin D‐binding protein might also be critical in CLD. Intervention studies report improvements of CLD following supplementation, and benefits to health outcomes in particular with respect to hepatitis C virus infection have recently been documented.Content:We discuss vitamin D sources, functions and metabolism with a focus on the inherent complications of analytical measurements, such as the interference of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D C‐3 epimers. Global discrepancies in the definition of optimal serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D levels are covered, and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in CLD is reviewed. We also address the functional mechanisms underlying this deficiency, and refer to associations between genetic variation in vitamin D metabolism and CLD. Lastly, we consider the health implications of a vitamin D deficiency in CLD and consider therapeutic options.SummaryHerein, we focus on the epidemiological and functional relationships between vitamin D deficiency and CLD, followed by a discussion of the potential implications for therapeutic interventions.
Statistical analyses of protein sequence alignments identify structures and mechanisms in signal activation of sensor histidine kinases
Authors: Szurmant Hendrik , Hoch James A. 
Published: December 2012

SummaryStatistical analyses of genome sequence‐derived protein sequence data can identify amino acid residues that interact between proteins or between domains of a protein. These statistical methods are based on evolution‐directed amino acid variation responding to structural and functional constraints in proteins. The identified residues form a basis for determining structure and folding of proteins as well as inferring mechanisms of protein function. When applied to two‐component systems, several research groups have shown they can be used to identify the amino acid interactions between response regulators and histidine kinases and the specificity therein. Recently, statistical studies between the HisKA and HATPase‐ATP‐binding domains of histidine kinases identified amino acid interactions for both the inactive and the active catalytic states of such kinases. The identified interactions generated a model structure for the domain conformation of the active state. This conformation requires an unwinding of a portion of the C‐terminal helix of the HisKA domain that destroys the inactive state residue contacts and suggests how signal‐binding determines the equilibrium between the inactive and active states of histidine kinases. The rapidly accumulating protein sequence databases from genome, metagenome and microbiome studies are an important resource for functional and structural understanding of proteins and protein complexes in microbes.