bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The role of owner/manager in adoption of electronic commerce in small businesses
Authors: Ghobakhloo Morteza , Tang Sai Hong 
Published: December 2013

Purpose– Based on theories from the innovation diffusion literature, the purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated model of electronic commerce (EC) adoption in small businesses (SBs) of developing countries. The research model specifies variables at managerial level as the primary determinants to EC adoption in SBs.Design/methodology/approach– A questionnaire-based field survey was conducted to collect data from 268 owner/managers of SBs in Iran. The data were analysed using factorial analysis. Subsequently, six hypotheses were derived and tested by hierarchical multiple regression and logistic regression analysis.Findings– Perceived benefits, perceived compatibility, perceived risks, perceived costs, and innovativeness were found to be the significant determinants of decision to adopt EC. Likewise, discussion on discriminators between adopters and non-adopters of different EC applications has been provided.Research limitations/implications– Cross-sectional data of this research tends to have certain limitations when it comes to explaining the direction of causality of the relationships between the variables. The study focuses only on the manufacturing SBs of Iran.Practical implications– The research findings have important implications for practising managers, information systems experts, and policy-makers. Governments should follow specific policies to facilitate institutionalisation of EC in SBs. Similarly, EC vendors and technology providers should collaborate with SBs to enhance the compatibility of different EC applications with specific characteristics of these businesses.Originality/value– To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is perhaps one of the first that examines the adoption of EC by SBs in a developing country context, using a research model which tests the effects of owner/managers' attributes on adoption of simple and advanced EC applications.
Measurement of the difference in intraocular pressure between the sitting and lying body positions in healthy subjects: direct comparison of the Icare Pro with the Goldmann applanation tonometer, Pneumatonometer and Tonopen XL
Authors: Barkana Yaniv , Gutfreund Shay 
Published: December 2013

AbstractBackgroundChange in intraocular pressure is known to occur with body posture. Previously, markedly different estimations of this change were reported. The Icare Pro (Icare; Tiolat Oy, Helsinki, Finland) is designed to measure intraocular pressure with the subject supine. We compared the measurement of postural change in intraocular pressure obtained with this and 3 other tonometers: Goldmann applanation tonometer (CSO, Firenze, Italy), Pneumatonometer (Model 30, Reichert, Depew, NY, USA) and the Tonopen XL (Reichert).DesignProspective comparative study.ParticipantsTwenty‐one healthy subjects.MethodsIntraocular pressure was measured in random order with four tonometers, first sitting then after 10 min of lying.Main Outcome MeasuresAverage postural intraocular pressure change (mmHg) and the 95% limits of agreement for measuring postural intraocular pressure change between tonometers.ResultsAverage postural intraocular pressure change (lying minus sitting, mmHg) was measured highest with the Goldmann applanation tonometer (4.1 ± 2.6) and Pneumatonometer (3.9 ± 2.1), significantly lower with the Tonopen (0.9 ± 1.7) and was negative with the Icare (−0.9 ± 3.3). The 95% limits of agreement for measuring postural intraocular pressure change between Goldmann applanation tonometer and Icare, Pneumatonometer and Tonopen were −3.2–13.3, −6.4–6.9 and −2.8–9.4 mmHg, respectively.ConclusionsPostural change in intraocular pressure was measured similarly, on average, with Goldmann applanation tonometer and Pneumatonometer, and much lower with Tonopen and Icare Pro. There was poor interdevice agreement in measuring this parameter. We observed high intersubject variability, suggesting the clinical importance of this measurement in the diagnosis and management of glaucoma.
Effect of HLA‐DP and IL28B gene polymorphisms on response to interferon treatment in hepatitis B e‐antigen seropositive chronic hepatitis B patients
Authors: Cheng Lin , Sun Xiaowen , Tan Shun , Tan Wenting , Dan Yunjie , Zhou Yi , Mao Qing , Deng Guohong 
Published: December 2013

AimThe reason why the majority of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients do not respond to conventional interferon (IFN)‐α or pegylated interferon (PEG IFN) treatment has not been formally demonstrated. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and response to IFN‐α or PEG IFN therapy in Chinese patients with CHB.MethodsFour SNPs among the HLA‐DPA1, HLA‐DPB1 (rs3077 and rs9277535) and IL28B (rs12979860 and rs8099917) regions were genotyped using the MGB‐TaqMan SNP genotyping assay in 144 hepatitis B e‐antigen (HBeAg) seropositive CHB patients who had received 6–12 months IFN‐α or PEG IFN treatment. Patients were classified as responders who achieved any of the four targets: (i) the loss of HBeAg; (ii) anti‐HBe seroconversion; (iii) suppression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level to below 3 log of baseline; and (iv) alanine aminotransferase normalization.ResultsBy multivariate analysis at 6 months of therapy and 6 months post‐therapy, the results showed that rs3077‐GG genotype was independently associated with higher HBeAg loss rate and anti‐HBe seroconversion rate, and rs9277535‐GG genotype was independently associated with decline of HBV DNA level. However, we did not observe the significant association between SNP near IL28B and the response to IFN‐α or PEG IFN treatment.ConclusionThis study suggested that HLA‐DPA1 and HLA‐DPB1 variants were significantly associated with HBeAg loss, anti‐HBe seroconversion and HBV DNA level suppression in HBeAg seropositive CHB patients who received IFN‐α or PEG IFN treatment.
Detection and Molecular Characterization of a 16SrII‐A* Phytoplasma in Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) with Huanglongbing‐like Symptoms in China
Authors: Lou Binghai , Bai Xianjin , Bai Yang , Deng Chongling , RoyChowdhury Moytri , Chen Chuanwu , Song Yaqin 
Published: December 2013

AbstractIn the year 2010, in a survey in Guangxi Province, China, to detect and characterize phytoplasmas in a huanglongbing (HLB)‐infected grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) orchard, 87 leaf samples with symptoms of blotchy mottle were collected from symptomatic grapefruit trees, and 320 leaf samples from symptomless trees adjacent to the symptomatic trees. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using universal phytoplasma primer set P1/P7 followed by primer set fU5/rU3 identified 7 (8.0%) positive samples from symptomatic samples but none from symptomless samples. Of the 87 symptomatic samples, 77 (88.5%) were positive for ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ and 5 for both phytoplasma and ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’. Sequence analysis indicated that seven 881‐bp amplicons, amplified by nested phytoplasma primer sets P1/P7 and fU5/rU3, shared 100.0% sequence identity with each other. Genome walking was then performed based on the 881 bp known sequences, and 5111 bp of upstream and downstream sequences were obtained. The total 5992 bp sequences contained a complete rRNA operon, composed of a 16S rRNA gene, a tRNAIle gene, a 23S rRNA gene and a 5S rRNA gene followed by eight tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis and virtual restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis confirmed the phytoplasma was a variant (16SrII‐A*) of phytoplasma subgroup 16SrII‐A. As phytoplasmas were only detected in blotchy‐mottle leaves, the 16SrII‐A* phytoplasma identified was related to HLB‐like symptoms.
Assessing benthic health under multiple human pressures in Bohai Bay (China), using density and biomass in calculating AMBI and M‐AMBI
Authors: Cai Wenqian , Borja Ángel , Liu Lusan , Meng Wei , Muxika Iñigo , Rodríguez José Germán 
Published: December 2013

AbstractIn recent decades, China has undergone an impressive development, which has produced increasing human pressures including coastal degradation. Bohai Bay, located in the west of the Bohai Sea (north of China), has been affected by various human pressures, including waste water discharges, land reclamation and oil exploitation. To monitor the effects of these pressures on this ecosystem, benthic macroinvertebrates and environmental variables (dissolved oxygen, nutrients, metals, etc.) were sampled in 2009 and 2011. To assess the ecological status of the benthic communities, the AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) and multivariate‐AMBI (M‐AMBI) were used, including both density and biomass in the calculation. This is the first research in which M‐AMBI based on biomass (M‐bAMBI) is applied. Both methods showed that the nearshore areas, especially close to the Haihe and Jiyun estuaries, were affected by human pressures, with a clear gradient of decreasing impacts offshore. The ecological status as assessed using density and biomass was quite similar. Significant relationships were also found between both methods and environmental variables. The use of AMBI and M‐AMBI, based upon density and biomass, in assessing the ecological status of water bodies in China seems to be promising.
Susceptibility to Acute Rheumatic Fever Based on Differential Expression of Genes Involved in Cytotoxicity, Chemotaxis, and Apoptosis
Authors: Bryant Penelope A. , Smyth Gordon K. , Gooding Travis , Oshlack Alicia , Harrington Zinta , Currie Bart , Carapetis Jonathan R. , Robins-Browne Roy , Curtis Nigel 
Published: December 2013

ABSTRACTIt is unknown why only some individuals are susceptible to acute rheumatic fever (ARF). We investigated whether there are differences in the immune response, detectable by gene expression, between individuals who are susceptible to ARF and those who are not. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 15 ARF-susceptible and 10 nonsusceptible (control) adults were stimulated with rheumatogenic (Rh+) group A streptococci (GAS) or nonrheumatogenic (Rh−) GAS. RNA from stimulated PBMCs from each subject was cohybridized with RNA from unstimulated PBMCs on oligonucleotide arrays to compare gene expression. Thirty-four genes were significantly differentially expressed between ARF-susceptible and control groups after stimulation with Rh+ GAS. A total of 982 genes were differentially expressed between Rh+ GAS- and Rh− GAS-stimulated samples from ARF-susceptible individuals. Thirteen genes were differentially expressed in the same direction (predominantly decreased) between the two study groups and between the two stimulation conditions, giving a strong indication of their involvement. Seven of these were immune response genes involved in cytotoxicity, chemotaxis, and apoptosis. There was variability in the degree of expression change between individuals. The high proportion of differentially expressed apoptotic and immune response genes supports the current model of autoimmune and cytokine dysregulation in ARF. This study also raises the possibility that a “failed” immune response, involving decreased expression of cytotoxic and apoptotic genes, contributes to the immunopathogenesis of ARF.
Kidney allograft survival of African American and Caucasian American recipients with lupus
Authors: Contreras G , Li H , Gonzalez-Suarez M , Isakova T , Scialla JJ , Pedraza F , Mattiazzi A , Diaz-Wong R , Sageshima J , Brito Y , Guerra G , Acevedo B , Ali A Sajid , Kershaw TJ , Chen L , Burke GW , Kupin W , Ciancio G , Roth D 
Published: December 2013

Background African Americans with lupus who receive kidney transplants have high prevalence of predictors of allograft failure, which can explain their poor outcomes. Methods Of 1223 African Americans and 1029 Caucasian Americans with lupus who received kidney transplants from deceased donors between 1987 and 2006 with complete records in the UNOS program, 741 pairs were matched in 16 predictors employing a predicted probability of group membership. The primary outcome was allograft failure. Main secondary outcomes were rejection, allograft failure due to rejection, and mortality. Results Matched pairs were predominantly women (82%) with a mean age of 39 years. Twenty-four percent of recipients received kidneys from expanded criteria donors. African Americans and Caucasian Americans matched well ( p ≥ 0.05): donor age, gender and race; recipient age, gender, education and insurance; dialysis prior to transplant, kidneys from expanded criteria donors, cold ischemia time, history of prior kidney transplant, panel reactive antibodies, human leukocyte antigens mismatch, blood type compatibility, transplant Era, and follow-up time. Contrary to the unmatched cohort with significantly higher allograft failure rate (events per 100 patient-years) in African Americans compared to Caucasian Americans (10.49 vs 6.18, p < 0.001), matched pairs had similar allograft failure rates (8.41 vs 7.81, p = 0.418). Matched pairs also had similar rates of rejections (9.82 vs 9.39, p = 0.602), allograft failure due to rejection (6.19 vs 5.71, p = 0.453), and mortality (2.79 vs 3.52, p = 0.097). Conclusion In lupus recipients of kidney transplants from deceased donors, African American and Caucasian Americans have similar allograft failure rates when predictors are matched between groups.
Risk evaluation and monitoring in multiple sclerosis therapeutics
Authors: Clanet Michel C , Wolinsky Jerry S , Ashton Raymond J , Hartung Hans-Peter , Reingold Stephen C 
Published: December 2013

Background: Risk for multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapies (DMT) must be assessed on an ongoing basis. Early concerns regarding the first-approved DMTs for MS have been mitigated, but recently licensed therapies have been linked to possibly greater risks. Objectives: The objective of this review is to discuss risk assessment in MS therapeutics based on an international workshop and comprehensive literature search and recommend strategies for risk assessment/monitoring. Results: Assessment and perception of therapeutic risks vary between patients, doctors and regulators. Acceptability of risk depends on the magnitude of risk and the demonstrated clinical benefits of any agent. Safety signals must be distinguishable from chance occurrences in a clinical trial and in long-term use of medications. Post-marketing research is crucial for assessing longer-term safety in large patient cohorts. Reporting of adverse events is becoming more proactive, allowing more rapid identification of risks. Communication about therapeutic risks and their relationship to clinical benefit must involve patients in shared decision making. Conclusions: It is difficult to produce a general risk-assessment algorithm for all MS therapies. Specific algorithms are required for each DMT in every treated-patient population. New and evolving risks must be evaluated and communicated rapidly to allow patients and physicians to be well informed and able to share treatment decisions.
Lumbar puncture, chronic fatigue syndrome and idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Higgins Nicholas , Pickard John , Lever Andrew 
Published: December 2013

Objective Unsuspected idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is found in a significant minority of patients attending clinics with named headache syndromes, if it is specifically sought out. Chronic fatigue syndrome is frequently associated with headache. Could the same be true of chronic fatigue? Moreover, there are striking similarities between the two conditions. Could they be related? Attempting to answer these questions, we describe the results of a change in clinical practice aimed at capturing patients with chronic fatigue who might have IIH. Design Cross-sectional. Setting Hospital outpatient and radiology departments. Participants Patients attending a specialist clinic with chronic fatigue syndrome and headache who had lumbar puncture to exclude raised intracranial pressure. Main outcome measures Intracranial pressure measured at lumbar puncture and the effect on headache of cerebrospinal fluid drainage. Results Mean cerebrospinal fluid pressure was 19 cm H2O (range 12–41 cm H2O). Four patients fulfilled the criteria for IIH. Thirteen others did not have pressures high enough to diagnose IIH but still reported an improvement in headache after drainage of cerebrospinal fluid. Some patients also volunteered an improvement in other symptoms, including fatigue. No patient had any clinical signs of raised intracranial pressure. Conclusions An unknown, but possibly substantial, minority of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome may actually have IIH. An unknown, but much larger, proportion of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome do not have IIH by current criteria but respond to lumbar puncture in the same way as patients who do. This suggests that the two conditions may be related.
Novel expression of Haemonchus contortus vaccine candidate aminopeptidase H11 using the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Roberts Brett , Antonopoulos Aristotelis , Haslam Stuart M , Dicker Alison J , McNeilly Tom N , Johnston Stephanie L , Dell Anne , Knox David P , Britton Collette 
Published: December 2013

AbstractWith the problem of parasitic nematode drug resistance increasing, vaccine development offers an alternative sustainable control approach. For some parasitic nematodes, native extracts enriched for specific proteins are highly protective. However, recombinant forms of these proteins have failed to replicate this protection. This is thought to be due to differences in glycosylation and/or conformation between native and recombinant proteins. We have exploited the free-living nematodeCaenorhabditis elegansto examine its suitability as an alternative system for recombinant expression of parasitic nematode vaccine candidates. We focussed onHaemonchus contortusaminopeptidase H11 glycoprotein, which is enriched in a gut membrane fraction capable of inducing significant protection against this important ovine gastrointestinal nematode. We show thatH. contortusH11 expressed inC. elegansis enzymatically active and MALDI mass spectrometry identifies similar di- and tri-fucosylated structures to those on native H11, with fucose at the 3- and/or 6-positions of the proximal GlcNAc. Some glycan structural differences were observed, such as lack of LDNF. Serum antibody to native H11 binds toC. elegansrecombinant H11 and most of the antibody to rH11 or native H11 is directed to glycan moieties. Despite these similarities, no reduction in worm burden or faecal egg count was observed following immunisation of sheep withC. elegans-expressed recombinant H11 protein. The findings suggest that the di- and tri-fucosylated N-glycans expressed on rH11 do not contribute to the protective effect of H11 and that additional components present in native H11-enriched extract are likely required for enhancing the antibody response necessary for protection.
LncRNA DQ786243 affects Treg related CREB and Foxp3 expression in Crohn’s disease
Authors: Qiao Yu Qi , Huang Mei Lan , Xu An Tao , Zhao Di , Ran Zhi Hua , Shen Jun 
Published: December 2013

Abstract

Background
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have different functions in cells. They work as signals, decoys, guides, and scaffolds. Altered lncRNA levels can affect the expression of gene products. There are seldom studies on the role of lncRNAs in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Results
Quantitative RT-PCR showed that DQ786243 was significantly overexpressed in clinical active CD patients compared with clinical inactive CD patients (P = 0.0118) or healthy controls (P = 0.002). CREB was also more highly expressed in active CD than in inactive CD (P = 0.0034) or controls (P = 0.0241). Foxp3 was interestingly lower in inactive CD than in active CD (P = 0.0317) or controls (P = 0.0103), but there were no apparent differences between active CD and controls. CRP was well correlated with DQ786243 (r = 0.489, P = 0.034), CREB (r = 0.500, P = 0.029) and Foxp3 (r = 0.546, P = 0.016). At 48 hours after DQ786243 transfection, qRT-PCR showed both CREB (P = 0.017) and Foxp3 (P = 0.046) had an increased mRNA expression in Jurkat cells. Western blot showed the same pattern. After DQ786243 transfection, CREB phosphorylation ratio (p-CREB/t-CREB) was increased (P = 0.0043).

Conclusion
DQ786243 can be related with severity of CD. It can affect the expression of CREB and Foxp3 through which regulates the function of Treg. CREB itself seems not the mediator of DQ786243 to up-regulate Foxp3. The phosphorylation of CREB might play a more important role in the process.
Suppression of anoikis in human intestinal epithelial cells: differentiation state-selective roles of α2β1, α3β1, α5β1, and α6β4 integrins
Authors: Beauséjour Marco , Thibodeau Sonya , Demers Marie-Josée , Bouchard Véronique , Gauthier Rémy , Beaulieu Jean-François , Vachon Pierre H 
Published: December 2013

Abstract

Background
Regulation of anoikis in human intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) implicates differentiation state-specific mechanisms. Human IECs express distinct repertoires of integrins according to their state of differentiation. Therefore, we investigated whether α2β1, α3β1, α5β1, and α6β4 integrins perform differentiation state-specific roles in the suppression of IEC anoikis.

Results
Human (HIEC, Caco-2/15) IECs were exposed to specific antibodies that block the binding activity of integrin subunits (α2, α3, α5, α6, β1 or β4) to verify whether or not their inhibition induced anoikis. The knockdown of α6 was also performed by shRNA. Additionally, apoptosis/anoikis was induced by pharmacological inhibition of Fak (PF573228) or Src (PP2). Anoikis/apoptosis was assayed by DNA laddering, ISEL, and/or caspase activity (CASP-8, -9, or -3). Activation levels of Fak and Src, as well as functional Fak-Src interactions, were also assessed. We report herein that differentiated IECs exhibit a greater sensitivity to anoikis than undifferentiated ones. This involves an earlier onset of anoikis when kept in suspension, as well as significantly greater contributions from β1 and β4 integrins in the suppression of anoikis in differentiated cells, and functional distinctions between β1 and β4 integrins in engaging both Fak and Src, or Src only, respectively. Likewise, Fak performs significantly greater contributions in the suppression of anoikis in differentiated cells. Additionally, we show that α2β1 and α5β1 suppress anoikis in undifferentiated cells, whereas α3β1 does so in differentiated ones. Furthermore, we provide evidence that α6β4 contributes to the suppression of anoikis in a primarily α6 subunit-dependent manner in undifferentiated cells, whereas this same integrin in differentiated cells performs significantly greater contributions in anoikis suppression than its undifferentiated state-counterpart, in addition to doing so through a dependence on both of its subunits.

Conclusions
Our findings indicate that the suppression of human IEC anoikis implicates differentiation state-selective repertoires of integrins, which in turn results into distinctions in anoikis regulation, and sensitivity, between undifferentiated and differentiated IECs. These data further the functional understanding of the concept that the suppression of anoikis is subjected to cell differentiation state-selective mechanisms.