bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MSAP markers and global cytosine methylation in plants: a literature survey and comparative analysis for a wild‐growing species
Authors: Alonso Conchita , Pérez Ricardo , Bazaga Pilar , Medrano Mónica , Herrera Carlos M. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractMethylation of DNA cytosines affects whether transposons are silenced and genes are expressed, and is a major epigenetic mechanism whereby plants respond to environmental change. Analyses of methylation‐sensitive amplification polymorphism (MS‐AFLP or MSAP) have been often used to assess methyl‐cytosine changes in response to stress treatments and, more recently, in ecological studies of wild plant populations. MSAP technique does not require a sequenced reference genome and provides many anonymous loci randomly distributed over the genome for which the methylation status can be ascertained. Scoring of MSAP data, however, is not straightforward, and efforts are still required to standardize this step to make use of the potential to distinguish between methylation at different nucleotide contexts. Furthermore, it is not known how accurately MSAP infers genome‐wide cytosine methylation levels in plants. Here, we analyse the relationship between MSAP results and the percentage of global cytosine methylation in genomic DNA obtained by HPLC analysis. A screening of literature revealed that methylation of cytosines at cleavage sites assayed by MSAP was greater than genome‐wide estimates obtained by HPLC, and percentages of methylation at different nucleotide contexts varied within and across species. Concurrent HPLC and MSAP analyses of DNA from 200 individuals of the perennial herb Helleborus foetidus confirmed that methyl‐cytosine was more frequent in CCGG contexts than in the genome as a whole. In this species, global methylation was unrelated to methylation at the inner CG site. We suggest that global HPLC and context‐specific MSAP methylation estimates provide complementary information whose combination can improve our current understanding of methylation‐based epigenetic processes in nonmodel plants.
CEO Overconfidence and Management Forecasting
Authors: Hribar Paul , Yang Holly 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThis paper examines how overconfidence affects the properties of management forecasts. Using both the “over‐optimism” and “miscalibration” dimensions of overconfidence to generate our predictions, we examine three research questions. First, we examine whether overconfidence increases the likelihood of issuing a forecast. Second, we examine whether overconfidence increases the amount of optimism in management forecasts. Third, we examine whether overconfidence increases the precision of the forecast. Using both options‐ and press‐based measures to proxy for individual overconfidence, we find support for all three research questions.
Researching accounting in health care: considering the nature of academic contribution
Authors: Chapman Christopher S. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractAs academics we naturally seek to address interesting and important questions. Our concerns for rigour drive us to work from generally accessible preoccupations towards more narrowly and precisely defined questions however. Such specialisation is properly understood as a source of strength in our knowledge. The growing impact of governance mechanisms surrounding journal rankings threatens this strength by attacking our abilities to produce, but also to integrate, the specialised contributions that we make however. This article will expand upon this basic argument and further elaborate it through a discussion of the academic literature around costing in health care.
Promoting the role of farmer‐based organizations for value chain integration: the tension between a program's targeting and an organization's investment strategy
Authors: Francesconi Gian Nicola , Wouterse Fleur 
Published: May 2015

AbstractWe use new data on 500 Farmer‐Based Organizations (FBOs) in Ghana and regression analysis to reveal determinants of collective investments and the case of the Millennium Development Authority's (MiDA) agricultural program in Ghana to demonstrate that development programs offering hard incentives may be counterproductive in promoting collective action. We show that when a program sets criteria for participation and offers in‐cash and in‐kind support to selected FBOs, it may promote rent‐seeking and crowd out equity capital formation. This is so because FBOs may have formed for the sole purpose of benefitting from incentives offered by the program and thus lack an economic justification, which is an important condition for progression through the cooperative life cycle. Further, by setting stringent participation criteria, the program may end up selecting younger organizations while it is the more consolidated organizations that are able to connect to business development services (BDS) and engage in more offensive collective action.
MicroRNA‐155 modulates P2R signaling and Th2 priming of dendritic cells during allergic airway inflammation in mice
Authors: Zech A. , Ayata C. K. , Pankratz F. , Meyer A. , Baudiß K. , Cicko S. , Yegutkin G. G. , Grundmann S. , Idzko M. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractBackgroundDendritic cells (DCs) are the professional antigen‐presenting cells (APCs) in the lung. They are known to be key players in the induction and maintenance of allergic asthma by cross‐linking innate and adaptive immune responses. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to influence cell fate and function by translational suppression or induction of messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation. miR‐155 has been shown to be a crucial regulator of the immune system. However, its function in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation (AAI) is not completely elucidated yet.MethodsWild type (WT) and miR‐155‐deficient (miR‐155−/−) mice were used in ovalbumin (OVA) and house dust mite (HDM) models of AAI. Adoptive transfer of sensitized DCs to the lungs, migration, and T‐cell priming assays were used to investigate the functional relevance of miR‐155 in DCs.ResultsmiR‐155−/− mice showed reduced eosinophilic airway inflammation compared to WT mice in both models of AAI. Furthermore, miR‐155−/− DCs showed limited Th2 priming capacity and failed to induce airway inflammation in allergen‐exposed WT mice. miR‐155 deficiency on DCs was also associated with impaired purinergic receptor signaling, as miR‐155‐/‐ DCs showed reduced chemotaxis and IL‐1beta secretion upon stimulation with ATP, probably due to direct targeting of ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolases (ENTPD) by miR‐155.ConclusionsmiR‐155 deficiency alleviates AAI by diminishing Th2 priming capacity and ATP‐/P2R‐induced activation of DCs in mice, suggesting this miRNA as a potential therapeutic target of AAI.
SCOOP: A measurement and database of student online search behavior and performance
Authors: Zhou Mingming 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThe ability to access and process massive amounts of online information is required in many learning situations. In order to develop a better understanding of student online search process especially in academic contexts, an online tool (SCOOP) is developed for tracking mouse behavior on the web to build a more extensive account of student web search processes. Over 100 university students' search activities with SCOOP were recorded as they searched for answers to assigned questions. The primary use of the SCOOP dataset is thus to provide the raw data for the development of online information search models. Further complications will arise because other personal and contextual factors affect the search process for different students with different personalities, learning styles or types of tasks. Hence, the dataset is also for testing the relationship between other factors and online search processes.
Tagclouds and group cognition: Effect of tagging support on students' reflective learning in team blogs
Authors: Xie Ying , Lin Shu‐Yuan 
Published: May 2015

AbstractWe investigated the effects of supported tagging (a prompting mechanism for students to stop and think about their writing) for team blogging on undergraduate students' reflective learning and the relationship between tagclouds and group cognition. Thirty‐nine students were randomly assigned to six groups and blogged for 5 weeks. Three groups were randomly selected to receive instructor‐provided keywords as supports for their tagging activity in the team blogs. Data analyses included: (1) comparing student‐attached tags to the instructor‐provided keywords and each participant's concept map for evidence of reflection; and (2) comparing each team's tagcloud against the team members' aggregated concept maps for the corresponding relationship between tagclouds and group cognition. Results revealed that the instructor's support in such situations might be helpful to keep students on task whereas free tagging may offer an opportunity for students' deeper processing of learning. The results also showed that tagclouds well represented students' group cognition.
Progress in understanding the diagnosis and molecular genetics of macrothrombocytopenias
Authors: Favier Remi , Raslova Hana 
Published: May 2015

SummaryThe inherited macrothrombocytopenias constitute a subgroup of congenital platelet disorders that is the best characterized from the genetic point of view. This clinically heterogeneous subgroup is characterized by a variable degree of bleeding but without predisposition to haematological malignancies, as seen in the two other subgroups. The classification of inherited thrombocytopenia is traditionally based on the description of different clinical and biological features, in particular the measurement of the mean platelet volume. In certain disorders, biochemical platelet components are abnormal, and their analyses are useful in diagnosis. However, these approaches present several limitations, and many cases remain undiagnosed, especially for patients without a clear family history. An analysis of genetic abnormalities was subsequently used for classification, demonstrating that some different clinical entities were, in fact, identical. The genomic approach that was used initially to accurately link some phenotypic diagnoses with the causal genetic alteration was positional cloning and DNA sequencing. More recently, next generation sequencing in the form of whole‐genome or ‐exome sequencing and RNA sequencing has been developed. This review will focus on the progress in understanding the different macrothrombocytopenias that have been identified.
Downregulation of miR‐375 in aldosterone‐producing adenomas promotes tumour cell growth via MTDH
Authors: He Juan , Cao Yanan , Su Tingwei , Jiang Yiran , Jiang Lei , Zhou Weiwei , Zhang Cui , Wang Weiqing , Ning Guang 
Published: May 2015

SummaryObjectivePrevious studies have investigated the genetic and molecular basis of primary aldosteronism (PA), a common cause of human hypertension, but the effects of microRNAs (miRNAs) on the adrenocortical cell proliferation and aldosterone production are largely obscure. Here, we characterized miRNA expression patterns in the subtypes of PA to gain a better understanding of its pathogenesis.MethodsmiRNA expression was assessed by microarray profiling analysis in aldosterone‐producing adenoma (APA), unilateral adrenal hyperplasia (UAH) and normal adrenal cortex tissues. Selected differentially expressed miRNAs were further validated in a validation cohort by qRT‐PCR. A gain‐of‐function approach was used to explore the functional role of the specific miRNA in vitro.ResultsOf 31 miRNAs including miR‐375, miR‐7 and miR‐29b were found to be significantly differentially expressed among these three groups. miR‐375 was the most downregulated one in adrenal cortex tissues from PA patients, and its expression level was inversely correlated with the tumour size in APA. Overexpression of miR‐375 in a human adrenocortical cell line (H295R) reduced cell proliferation and suppressed the expression of MTDH (metadherin, also known as astrocyte elevated gene‐1). Moreover, MTDH was verified as a direct target of miR‐375 through luciferase reporter assays. Knock‐down of MTDH in H295R cells attenuated Akt‐Ser473 phosphorylation and inhibited cell viability.ConclusionOur findings suggest that miR‐375 exerts its tumour‐suppressive function via targeting MTDH/Akt pathway and implicate a potential therapeutic target in PA.
‘He told me to calm down and all that’: a qualitative study of forms of social support in youth mentoring relationships
Authors: Brady Bernadine , Dolan Pat , Canavan John 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThe worldwide growth in formal youth mentoring programmes over the past two decades is partly a response to the perception that young people facing adversity do not have access to supportive relationships with adults and positive role models in their communities to the degree they once had. Formal mentoring programmes facilitate the development of a friendship or ‘match’ between an older volunteer and a young person, with the objective of supporting the young persons’ personal and social development. Drawing on 66 semi‐structured interviews with young people, parents, mentors and caseworkers associated with nine youth mentoring matches in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Programme in Ireland, this paper analyses the forms of social support evident in the mentor–mentee relationships and highlights how the mentoring relationship was perceived to have impacted on the well‐being of the young people participating. The findings reflect the consensus in the mentoring literature that close, well‐established mentoring relationships have the potential to bring about meaningful change in the lives of young people.
Effect of intentional abutment disconnection on the micro‐movements of the implant–abutment assembly: a 3D digital image correlation analysis
Authors: Messias Ana , Rocha Salomão , Calha Nuno , Neto Maria Augusta , Nicolau Pedro , Guerra Fernando 
Published: May 2015

AbstractBackgroundImplant–abutment assembly stability is critical for the success of implant‐supported rehabilitation. The intentional removal of the prosthetic components may hamper the achievement of the essential stability due to preload reduction in the screw joint and implant–screw mating surface changes.ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of intentional abutment disconnection and reconnection in the stability of internal locking hex implants and corresponding abutments using the method of 3D digital image correlation.Material and MethodsTen conical shape and internal hexagon connection implants were embedded in acrylic resin and assembled to prosthetic abutments with 30 Ncm torque and assigned to two groups: group 1 – tested for static load‐bearing capacity at 30° off‐axis for two times and group 2 – underwent intentional disconnection and reconnection between tests. Micro‐movements were captured with two high‐speed photographic cameras and analyzed with video correlation system in three spacial axes U, V and W. Screw abutment and internal implant thread morphology was observed with a field‐emission scanning electron microscopy.ResultsAfter the intentional disconnection of the abutment, group 2 showed generally higher maximum displacements for U and V directions. Under 50N load, mean difference was 24.7 μm (P = 0.008) for U direction and −7.7 μm (P = 0.008) for V direction. No significant differences were found for maximum and minimum displacements in the W direction. Mean displacement of the speckle surface presented was statistically different in the two groups (P = 0.016). SEM revealed non‐homogenous screw surfaces with scoring on group 2 plus striations and debris in the implant threads.ConclusionMicro‐movements were higher for the group submitted to intentional disconnection and reconnection of the abutment, particularly under average bite forces.
Illicit drug use in acute care settings
Authors: Grewal Harjot Kaur , Ti Lianping , Hayashi Kanna , Dobrer Sabina , Wood Evan , Kerr Thomas 
Published: May 2015

AbstractIntroduction and AimsWhile persons with addiction are often hospitalised, hospitals typically employ abstinence‐based policies specific to illicit drug use. Although illicit drug use is known to occur within hospitals, this problem has not been well characterised. Therefore, we sought to investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with having ever used drugs in hospital among people who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada.Design and MethodsData were derived from prospective cohort studies of people who use drugs between December 2012 and May 2013. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify demographic and behavioural factors associated with having ever used illicit drugs in hospital.ResultsAmong 1028 participants who had experienced ≥1 hospitalisation, 43.9% reported having ever used drugs while hospitalised. In multivariable analyses, factors positively associated with having ever used drugs in hospital included daily cocaine injection and daily crack non‐injection (both P < 0.05). Factors negatively associated with the outcome included older age and male gender (both P < 0.05). The most common reasons for drug use in hospital were ‘wanting to use’ and ‘being in withdrawal’. Drugs were most commonly used in patient washrooms.Discussion and ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate that an abstinence‐based approach to drug use in hospitals may be ineffective at prohibiting drug consumption. High‐risk drug use behaviours arising from ongoing drug use may pose risks for further harm and illness. Efforts to minimise the harms associated with using drugs in hospital are urgently needed. [Grewal HK, Ti L, Hayashi K, Dobrer S, Wood E, Kerr T. Illicit drug use in acute care settings. Drug Alcohol Rev 2015;34:499–502]
Correlates and motives of pre‐drinking with intoxication and harm around licensed venues in two cities
Authors: Miller Peter , Droste Nic , de Groot Florentine , Palmer Darren , Tindall Jennifer , Busija Lucy , Hyder Shannon , Gilham Karen , Wiggers John 
Published: May 2015

AbstractIntroduction and AimsThe study investigates the prevalence of pre‐drinking culture in the night‐time economy (NTE) and its impact upon intoxication and alcohol‐related harm and violence experienced by patrons.Design and MethodsCross‐sectional surveys were conducted in and around licensed venues in Newcastle (NSW) and Geelong (Victoria) during peak trading hours (typically 9pm–1am). Participants completed a five minute structured interview which targeted: demographics, past and planned movements on the survey night, safety/experience of harm, and patron intoxication. 3949 people agreed to be interviewed, a response rate of 90.7%. Around half (54.9%) of interviewees were male and mean age was 24.4 years (SD = 5.8).Results66.8% of participants reported pre‐drinking prior to attending licensed venues. On a 1–10 scale measuring self‐rated intoxication, pre‐drinkers scored significantly higher compared to non pre‐drinkers (P < 0.001). Compared to non‐pre‐drinkers, patrons who had consumed 6–10 standard pre‐drinks were 1.5 times more likely to be involved in a violent incident in the past 12 months (OR = 1.50, 95%CI 1.03–2.19, P = 0.037) increasing to 1.8 times more likely for patrons who had 11–15 drinks (OR = 1.80, 95%CI 1.04–3.11 P = .036). Pre‐drinking was also associated with both self‐rated and observer‐rated intoxication, as well as increased probability of illicit drug use. Amongst pre‐drinkers, price was the most commonly reported motive for pre‐drinking (51.8%).Discussion and Conclusions‘Pre‐drinking’ was normal behaviour in the current sample and contributes significantly to the burden of harm and intoxication in the NTE. Price disparity between packaged vs. venue liquor is a key motivator for pre‐drinking. [Miller P, Droste N, de Groot F, Palmer D, Tindall J, Busija L, Hyder S, Gilham K, Wiggers J. Correlates and motives of pre‐drinking with intoxication and harm around licensed venues in two cities. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:177–86]
The Pen and the Plough: Balanta Young Men in Guinea‐Bissau
Authors: Temudo Marina , Abrantes Manuel 
Published: May 2015

ABSTRACTUp until the late 1990s, the Balanta of Guinea‐Bissau constituted what could be described as a ‘deep rural society’, whose central identity was linked with rice production and cattle accumulation. At the same time, it could be argued that even in the early days after Independence in 1974, the social aspirations of Balanta young men matched those of other Guinean youths in their shared desire to get away from the strictures of gerontocracy and of rural life. Surprisingly, however, this study documents the agency of many rural Balanta young men in changing oppressive social rules, and in using agriculture as a means to fund their education, to feed their families and as a route to prosperity. The authors conclude that the persistent political instability in the country (most acutely felt in the capital city) and the national and global economic crises, together with the Balanta agricultural ethos and the softening of gerontocratic power, are at the root of this revaluing of rural livelihoods. This article challenges current dominant narratives about the crisis of young men in contemporary Africa and highlights the need to study the aspirations and achievements of youth in their rural–urban nexus from a historical and holistic perspective.
Involvement of leucocyte/endothelial cell interactions in anorexia nervosa
Authors: Víctor Víctor M. , Rovira‐Llopis Susana , Saiz‐Alarcón Vanessa , Sangüesa Maria C. , Rojo‐Bofill Luis , Bañuls Celia , de Pablo Carmen , Álvarez Ángeles , Rojo Luis , Rocha Milagros , Hernández‐Mijares Antonio 
Published: May 2015

AbstractBackgroundAnorexia nervosa is a common psychiatric disorder in adolescence and is related to cardiovascular complications. Our aim was to study the effect of anorexia nervosa on metabolic parameters, leucocyte–endothelium interactions, adhesion molecules and proinflammatory cytokines.Materials and MethodsThis multicentre, cross‐sectional, case–control study employed a population of 24 anorexic female patients and 36 controls. We evaluated anthropometric and metabolic parameters, interactions between leucocytes polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), proinflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and soluble cellular adhesion molecules (CAMs) including E‐selectin, vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 (VCAM‐1) and intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1).ResultsAnorexia nervosa was related to a decrease in weight, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, glucose, insulin and HOMA‐IR, and an increase in HDL cholesterol. These effects disappeared after adjusting for BMI. Anorexia nervosa induced a decrease in PMN rolling velocity and an increase in PMN rolling flux and PMN adhesion. Increases in IL‐6 and TNF‐α and adhesion molecule VCAM‐1 were also observed.ConclusionsThis study supports the hypothesis of an association between anorexia nervosa, inflammation and the induction of leucocyte–endothelium interactions. These findings may explain, in part at least, the increased risk of vascular disease among patients with anorexia nervosa.