bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rationalizable Irrationalities of Choice
Authors: Dayan Peter 
Published: March 2014

AbstractAlthough seemingly irrational choice abounds, the rules governing these mis‐steps that might provide hints about the factors limiting normative behavior are unclear. We consider three experimental tasks, which probe different aspects of non‐normative choice under uncertainty. We argue for systematic statistical, algorithmic, and implementational sources of irrationality, including incomplete evaluation of long‐run future utilities, Pavlovian actions, and habits, together with computational and statistical noise and uncertainty. We suggest structural and functional adaptations that minimize their maladaptive effects.
Genetic Diversity and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Campylobacter jejuni Isolates Associated with Sheep Abortion in the United States and Great Britain
Authors: Wu Zuowei , Sippy Rachel , Sahin Orhan , Plummer Paul , Vidal Ana , Newell Diane , Zhang Qijing 
Published: March 2014

ABSTRACTCampylobacterinfection is a leading cause of ovine abortion worldwide. Historically, genetically diverseCampylobacter fetusandCampylobacter jejunistrains have been implicated in such infections, but since 2003 a highly pathogenic, tetracycline-resistantC. jejuniclone (named SA) has become the predominant cause of sheep abortions in the United States. Whether clone SA was present in earlier U.S. abortion isolates (before 2000) and is associated with sheep abortions outside the United States are unknown. Here, we analyzed 54C. jejuniisolates collected from U.S. sheep abortions at different time periods and compared them with 42C. jejuniisolates associated with sheep abortion during 2002 to 2008 in Great Britain, using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and array-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). Although clone SA (ST-8) was present in the early U.S. isolates, it was not as tetracycline resistant (19% versus 100%) or predominant (66% versus 91%) as it was in the late U.S isolates. In contrast,C. jejuniisolates from Great Britain were genetically diverse, comprising 19 STs and lacking ST-8. PFGE and CGH analyses of representative strains further confirmed the population structure of the abortion isolates. Notably, the Great Britain isolates were essentially susceptible to most tested antibiotics, including tetracycline, while the late U.S. isolates were universally resistant to this antibiotic, which could be explained by the common use of tetracyclines for control of sheep abortions in the United States but not in Great Britain. These results suggest that the dominance of clone SA in sheep abortions is unique to the United States, and the use of tetracyclines may have facilitated selection of this highly pathogenic clone.
Fosfomycin Susceptibility in Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae from Germany
Authors: Kaase Martin , Szabados Florian , Anders Agnes , Gatermann Sören G. 
Published: March 2014

ABSTRACT

Due to the increase in multidrug-resistant
Enterobacteriaceae
, the interest in older antimicrobial agents, like fosfomycin, has increased. In this study, we used agar dilution for testing susceptibilities to fosfomycin in a collection of 107 carbapenem-nonsusceptible
Enterobacteriaceae
isolates, of which 80 produced various types of carbapenemases, including KPC, VIM, NDM, and OXA-48. Overall, 78% of the strains had fosfomycin MICs of ≤32 mg/liter and were thus considered to be susceptible according to the current EUCAST breakpoint. The MIC
50
and MIC
90
were 8 mg/liter and 512 mg/liter, respectively.
Escherichia coli
strains had significantly lower fosfomycin MICs than the
Klebsiella pneumoniae
and
Enterobacter cloacae
strains. Furthermore, comparisons of the susceptibility testing methods, like Etest and disk diffusion, were performed against agar dilution as the reference method. Essential agreement between Etest and agar dilution was 78.9%, and categorical agreement between the two methods was 92.5%, with 20% very major errors and 2.6% major errors. Disk diffusion was studied with 50-μg and 200-μg fosfomycin disks, but no inhibition zone breakpoint that reduced very major and major errors to an acceptable level was found. Etest and disk diffusion showed poor agreement with fosfomycin agar dilution.
Comparison of Microscopy, Nested-PCR, and Real-Time-PCR Assays Using High-Throughput Screening of Pooled Samples for Diagnosis of Malaria in Asymptomatic Carriers from Areas of Endemicity in Myanmar
Authors: Wang Bo , Han Soe-Soe , Cho Cho , Han Jin-Hee , Cheng Yang , Lee Seong-Kyun , Galappaththy Gawrie N. L , Thimasarn Krongthong , Soe Myat Thu , Oo Htet Wai , Kyaw Myat Phone , Han Eun-Taek 
Published: March 2014

ABSTRACT

Asymptomatic infection is an important obstacle for controlling disease in countries where malaria is endemic. Because asymptomatic carriers do not seek treatment for their infections, they can have high levels of gametocytes and constitute a reservoir available for new infection. We employed a sample pooling/PCR-based molecular detection strategy for screening malaria infection in residents from areas of Myanmar where malaria is endemic. Blood samples (
n
= 1,552) were collected from residents in three areas of malaria endemicity (Kayin State, Bago, and Tanintharyi regions) of Myanmar. Two nested PCR and real-time PCR assays showed that asymptomatic infection was detected in about 1.0% to 9.4% of residents from the surveyed areas. The sensitivities of the two nested PCR and real-time PCR techniques were higher than that of microscopy examination (sensitivity, 100% versus 26.4%; kappa values, 0.2 to 0.5). Among the three regions, parasite-positive samples were highly detected in subjects from the Bago and Tanintharyi regions. Active surveillance of residents from regions of intense malaria transmission would reduce the risk of morbidity and mitigate transmission to the population in these areas of endemicity. Our data demonstrate that PCR-based molecular techniques are more efficient than microscopy for nationwide surveillance of malaria in countries where malaria is endemic.
An Evaluation of Phylogenetic Methods for Reconstructing Transmitted HIV Variants using Longitudinal Clonal HIV Sequence Data
Authors: McCloskey Rosemary M. , Liang Richard H. , Harrigan P. Richard , Brumme Zabrina L. , Poon Art F. Y. 
Published: March 2014

ABSTRACTA population of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) within a host often descends from a single transmitted/founder virus. The high mutation rate of HIV, coupled with long delays between infection and diagnosis, make isolating and characterizing this strain a challenge. In theory, ancestral reconstruction could be used to recover this strain from sequences sampled in chronic infection; however, the accuracy of phylogenetic techniques in this context is unknown. To evaluate the accuracy of these methods, we applied ancestral reconstruction to a large panel of published longitudinal clonal and/or single-genome-amplification HIV sequence data sets with at least one intrapatient sequence set sampled within 6 months of infection or seroconversion (n= 19,486 sequences, median [interquartile range] = 49 [20 to 86] sequences/set). The consensus of the earliest sequences was used as the best possible estimate of the transmitted/founder. These sequences were compared to ancestral reconstructions from sequences sampled at later time points using both phylogenetic and phylogeny-naive methods. Overall, phylogenetic methods conferred a 16% improvement in reproducing the consensus of early sequences, compared to phylogeny-naive methods. This relative advantage increased with intrapatient sequence diversity (P< 10−5) and the time elapsed between the earliest and subsequent samples (P< 10−5). However, neither approach performed well for reconstructing ancestral indel variation, especially within indel-rich regions of the HIV genome. Although further improvements are needed, our results indicate that phylogenetic methods for ancestral reconstruction significantly outperform phylogeny-naive alternatives, and we identify experimental conditions and study designs that can enhance accuracy of transmitted/founder virus reconstruction.IMPORTANCEWhen HIV is transmitted into a new host, most of the viruses fail to infect host cells. Consequently, an HIV infection tends to be descended from a single “founder” virus. A priority target for the vaccine research, these transmitted/founder viruses are difficult to isolate since newly infected individuals are often unaware of their status for months or years, by which time the virus population has evolved substantially. Here, we report on the potential use of evolutionary methods to reconstruct the genetic sequence of the transmitted/founder virus from its descendants at later stages of an infection. These methods can recover this ancestral sequence with an overall error rate of about 2.3%—about 15% more information than if we had ignored the evolutionary relationships among viruses. Although there is no substitute for sampling infections at earlier points in time, these methods can provide useful information about the genetic makeup of transmitted/founder HIV.
The Measles Virus Hemagglutinin Stalk: Structures and Functions of the Central Fusion Activation and Membrane-Proximal Segments
Authors: Navaratnarajah Chanakha K. , Kumar Swati , Generous Alex , Apte-Sengupta Swapna , Mateo Mathieu , Cattaneo Roberto 
Published: March 2014

ABSTRACT
The measles virus (MeV) membrane fusion apparatus consists of a fusion protein trimer and an attachment protein tetramer. To trigger membrane fusion, the heads of the MeV attachment protein, hemagglutinin (H), bind cellular receptors while the 96-residue-long H stalk transmits the triggering signal. Structural and functional studies of the triggering mechanism of other paramyxoviruses suggest that receptor binding to their hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) results in signal transmission through the central segments of their stalks. To gain insight into H-stalk structure and function, we individually replaced its residues with cysteine. We then assessed how stable the mutant proteins are, how efficiently they can be cross-linked by disulfide bonds, whether cross-linking results in loss of function, and, in this case, whether disulfide bond reduction restores function. While many residues in the central segment of the stalk and in the spacer segment above it can be efficiently cross-linked by engineered disulfide bonds, we report here that residues 59 to 79 cannot, suggesting that the 20 membrane-proximal residues are not engaged in a tetrameric structure. Rescue-of-function studies by disulfide bond reduction resulted in the redefinition and extension of the central fusion-activation segment as covering residues 84 to 117. In particular, we identified four residues located between positions 92 and 99, the function of which cannot be restored by disulfide bond reduction after cysteine mutagenesis. These mutant H proteins reached the cell surface as complex oligomers but could not trigger membrane fusion. We discuss these observations in the context of the stalk exposure model of membrane fusion triggering by paramyxoviruses.

IMPORTANCE
Measles virus, while being targeted for eradication, still causes significant morbidity and mortality. Here, we seek to understand how it enters cells by membrane fusion. Two viral integral membrane glycoproteins (hemagglutinin tetramers and fusion protein trimers) mediate the concerted receptor recognition and membrane fusion processes. Since previous studies have suggested that the hemagglutinin stalk transmits the triggering signal to the fusion protein trimer, we completed an analysis of its structure and function by systematic Cys mutagenesis. We report that while certain residues of the central stalk segment confer specificity to the interaction with the fusion protein trimer, others are necessary to allow folding of the H-oligomer in a standard conformation conducive to fusion triggering, and still other residues sustain the conformational change that transmits the fusion-triggering signal.
Ore fluids of orogenic gold deposits of the Gurupi Belt, Brazil: a review of the physico-chemical properties, sources, and mechanisms of Au transport and deposition
Authors: Klein Evandro L. 
Published: March 2014

Abstract

The Neoproterozoic Gurupi Belt in northern Brazil developed at the southwestern margin of the Palaeoproterozoic São Luís-West Africa Craton. Orogenic gold deposits of this belt are hosted in Palaeoproterozoic (2160–2147 Ma) metavolcano-sedimentary and calc-alkaline granitoid rocks formed in arc and/or back-arc settings during a protracted Rhyacian orogeny (2240–2080 Ma). These host rock assemblages were tectonically and isotopically reworked during the Neoproterozoic and represent the reworked margin of the craton, that is, the external domain of the Neoproterozoic (Brasiliano-Pan African) orogen. The location of the gold deposits is controlled by the Tentugal shear zone, which represents the tectonic boundary between craton and the Gurupi Belt, and its subsidiary structures. Gold occurs in veins and in association with pyrite, and subordinately arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite, in strongly altered and variable deformed host rocks. Geological characteristics, petrographic, fluid inclusion, and isotopic evidence indicate near-neutral, reduced aqueous-carbonic metamorphic fluids, with local contributions from host rocks at the deposit site. Ore deposition occurred at about 300–370 °C and up to 3 kbars in response to fluid immiscibility and fluid-rock reactions (sulphidation, desulphidation, carbonatization, CO
2
removal) and local fluid mixing and oxidation.
Existence of Positive Solutions for an Elastic Beam Equation with Nonlinear Boundary Conditions
Authors: Liu Ruikuan , Ma Ruyun 
Published: March 2014

We study the existence and nonexistence of positive solutions for the following fourth-order two-point boundary value problem subject to nonlinear boundary conditionsu′′′′(t)=λf(t,u(t)),  t∈(0,1),u(0)=0,  u′(0)=μh(u(0)),  u′′(1)=0,  u′′′(1)=μg(u(1)), whereλ>0, μ≥0are parameters, andf:0, 1×0,+∞→0, +∞, h:0, +∞→0, +∞, andg:0, +∞→-∞,0are continuous. By using the fixed-point index theory, we prove that the problem has at least one positive solution forλ,  μsufficiently small and has no positive solution forλlarge enough.
Insulin-like Growth Factor-I and Risk of Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition
Authors: Schmidt Julie A. , Allen Naomi E. , Almquist Martin , Franceschi Silvia , Rinaldi Sabina , Tipper Sarah J. , Tsilidis Konstantinos K. , Weiderpass Elisabete , Overvad Kim , Tjønneland Anne , Boutron-Ruault Marie-Christine , Dossus Laure , Mesrine Sylvie , Kaaks Rudolf , Lukanova Annekatrin , Boeing Heiner , Lagiou Pagona , Trichopoulos Dimitrios , Trichopoulou Antonia , Palli Domenico , Krogh Vittorio , Panico Salvatore , Tumino Rosario , Zanetti Roberto , Bueno-de-Mesquita H. Bas , Peeters Petra H. , Lund Eiliv , Menéndez Virginia , Agudo Antonio , Sánchez María-José , Chirlaque Maria-Dolores , Ardanaz Eva , Larrañaga Nerea , Hennings Joakim , Sandström Maria , Khaw Kay-Tee , Wareham Nick , Romieu Isabelle , Gunter Marc J. , Riboli Elio , Key Timothy J. , Travis Ruth C. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractBackground: Little is known about the causes of thyroid cancer, but insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) might play an important role in its development due to its mitogenic and antiapoptotic properties.Methods: This study prospectively investigated the association between serum IGF-I concentrations and risk of differentiated thyroid carcinoma in a case–control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. The 345 incident cases of differentiated thyroid carcinoma were individually matched to 735 controls by study center, sex and age, date, time, and fasting status at blood collection, follow-up duration, and for women menopausal status, use of exogenous hormones, and phase of menstrual cycle at blood collection. Serum IGF-I concentrations were measured by immunoassay, and risk of differentiated thyroid cancer in relation to IGF-I concentration was estimated using conditional logistic regression.Results: There was a positive association between IGF-I concentrations and risk of differentiated thyroid carcinoma: the OR for a doubling in IGF-I concentration was 1.48 (95% confidence interval, 1.06–2.08; Ptrend = 0.02). The positive association with IGF-I was stable over time between blood collection and cancer diagnosis.Conclusion: These findings suggest that IGF-I concentrations may be positively associated with risk of differentiated thyroid carcinoma.Impact: This study provides the first prospective evidence of a potential association between circulating IGF-I concentrations and risk of differentiated thyroid carcinoma and may prompt the further investigations needed to confirm the association. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(6); 976–85. ©2014 AACR.
miR-141 Is a Key Regulator of Renal Cell Carcinoma Proliferation and Metastasis by Controlling EphA2 Expression
Authors: Chen Xuanyu , Wang Xuegang , Ruan Anming , Han Weiwei , Zhao Yan , Lu Xing , Xiao Pei , Shi Hangchuan , Wang Rong , Chen Li , Chen Shaoyong , Du Quansheng , Yang Hongmei , Zhang Xiaoping 
Published: March 2014

AbstractPurpose: Although microRNAs (miRNA) have been revealed as crucial modulators of tumorigenesis, our understanding of their roles in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is limited. Here we sought to identify human miRNAs that act as key regulators of renal carcinogenesis.Experimental Design: We performed microarray-based miRNA profiling of clear cell RCC (ccRCC) and adjacent normal tissues and then explored the roles of miR-141 both in vitro and in vivo, which was the most significantly downregulated in ccRCC tissues.Results: A total of 74 miRNAs were dysregulated in ccRCC compared with normal tissues. miR-141 was remarkably downregulated in 92.6% (63/68) ccRCC tissues and would serve as a promising biomarker for discriminating ccRCC from normal tissues with an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.93. Overexpression of miR-141 robustly impaired ccRCC cell migratory and invasive properties and suppressed cell proliferation by arresting cells at G0–G1 phase in vitro and in human RCC orthotopic xenografts. Significantly, the antitumor activities of miR-141 were mediated by its reversal regulation of erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular (Eph) A2 (EphA2), which then relayed a signaling transduction cascade to attenuate the functions of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), AKT, and MMP2/9. In addition, a specific and inverse correlation between miR-141 and EphA2 expression was obtained in human ccRCC samples. Finally, miR-141 could be secreted from the ccRCC donor cells, and be taken up and function moderately in the ccRCC recipient cells.Conclusion: miR-141 serves as a potential biomarker for discriminating ccRCC from normal tissues and a crucial suppressor of ccRCC cell proliferation and metastasis by modulating the EphA2/p-FAK/p-AKT/MMPs signaling cascade. Clin Cancer Res; 20(10); 2617–30. ©2014 AACR.
Activated protein C based therapeutic strategies in chronic diseases
Authors: Bock Fabian , Shahzad Khurrum , Vergnolle Nathalie , Isermann Berend 
Published: March 2014

SummaryActivated protein C (aPC) is a natural anticoagulant and a potent antiinflammatory and cytoprotective agent. At the expense of increased bleeding risk aPC has been used – with some success – in sepsis. The design of cytoprotective-selective aPC variants circumvents this limitation of increased bleeding, reviving the interest in aPC as a therapeutic agent. Emerging studies suggest that aPC’s beneficial effects are not restricted to acute illness, but likewise relevant in chronic diseases, such as diabetic nephropathy, neurodegeneration or wound healing. Epigenetic regulation of gene expression, reduction of oxidative stress, and regulation of ROS-dependent transcription factors are potential mechanisms of sustained cytoprotective effects of aPC in chronic diseases. Given the available data it seems questionable whether a unifying mechanism of aPC dependent cytoprotection in acute and chronic diseases exists. In addition, the signalling pathways employed by aPC are tissue and cell specific. The mechanistic insights gained from studies exploring aPC’s effects in various diseases may hence lay ground for tissue and disease specific therapeutic approaches. This review outlines recent investigations into the mechanisms and consequences of long-term modulation of aPC-signalling in models of chronic diseases.
Altered fibrin clot structure/function in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome: association with thrombotic manifestation
Authors: Celińska-Löwenhoff Magdalena , Iwaniec Teresa , Padjas Agnieszka , Musiał Jacek , Undas Anetta 
Published: March 2014

SummaryWe tested the hypothesis that plasma fibrin clot structure/function is unfavourably altered in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Ex vivo plasma clot permeability, turbidity and susceptibility to lysis were determined in 126 consecutive patients with APS enrolled five months or more since thrombotic event vs 105 controls. Patients with both primary and secondary APS were characterised by 11% lower clot permeability (p<0.001), 4.8% shorter lag phase (p<0.001), 10% longer clot lysis time (p<0.001), and 4.7% higher maximum level of D-dimer released from clots (p=0.02) as compared to the controls. Scanning electron microscopy images confirmed denser fibrin networks composed of thinner fibres in APS. Clots from patients with “triple-antibody positivity” were formed after shorter lag phase (p=0.019) and were lysed at a slower rate (p=0.004) than in the remainder. Clots from APS patients who experienced stroke and/or myocardial infarction were 8% less permeable (p=0.01) and susceptible to lysis (10.4% longer clot lysis time [p=0.006] and 4.5% slower release of D-dimer from clots [p=0.01]) compared with those following venous thromboembolism alone. Multivariate analysis adjusted for potential confounders showed that in APS patients, lupus anticoagulant and “triple-positivity” were the independent predictors of clot permeability, while “triple-positivity” predicted lysis time. We conclude that APS is associated with prothrombotic plasma fibrin clot phenotype, with more pronounced abnormalities in arterial thrombosis. Molecular background for this novel prothrombotic mechanism in APS remains to be established.
Recognizing Religion: Disciplinary Traditions, Epistemology, and History
Authors: Lambek Michael 
Published: March 2014

AbstractQuestions of methodology hang on epistemology. I consider the conceptualization of the subject of the study of religion, arguing that the disciplines that carry out the study and also the objects or subjects of their study can be understood as traditions. I briefly review the conceptualization of religion within the anthropological tradition, noting a tension between understanding religion as socially immanent or as a set of explicit beliefs and practices constitutive of the transcendent. Religion is probably conceptualized rather differently within religious studies, especially insofar as each tradition has formulated itself in relation to secularism in its own way and in relation to, or confrontation with, other distinct traditions, whether of science or theology. Drawing on a meteorological metaphor, I suggest that both disciplines and religions qua traditions can be understood to change along historical “fronts;” these form both the conditions of our knowledge and its appropriate subject matter.