bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The incretin hormones glucagonlike peptide 1 and glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide are neuroprotective in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Hölscher Christian 
Published: February 2014

The incretin hormones glucagonlike peptide 1 and glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) have been developed to treat type 2 diabetes and also act as growth factors. We have tested several long‐acting incretin mimetics in the amyloid precursor protein (APP)Swe/presenilin 1 (PS1)ΔE9 model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We found that liraglutide, lixisenatide, and D‐Ala2‐GIP cross the blood–brain barrier and prevent the impairment in memory formation and synaptic plasticity, increase synapse numbers, reduce amyloid plaque load and soluble amyloid‐β levels, reduce oxidative stress and the chronic inflammation response in the brain, enhance the proliferation of neuronal progenitor cells, and increase neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus. In an 18fluorodeoxyglucoe positron emission tomographic/computed tomographic imaging study in PLB1‐triple mice, a mouse model that expresses human mutated APP, PS1, and tau proteins, glucose metabolism was found to be normalized in forebrain areas after liraglutide treatment, demonstrating that neuronal metabolic activity was normalized. A clinical trial testing liraglutide in patients with AD is currently ongoing.
A meaningful embrace: Contingent effects of embodied cues of affection
Authors: Hadi Rhonda , Valenzuela Ana 
Published: February 2014

AbstractCan a mere gesture lead to intimate product bonding? In this research, we find that affectionate gestures (e.g. hugging, stroking) can serve as routes to object attachment. We suggest that the mere execution of an affectionate gesture can generate emotional attachment, which translates into enhanced product attitudes. However, this effect is contingent on the existence of facilitating conditions via the presence of humanlike characteristics in the target object of the affectionate gesture.
CPSF4 activates telomerase reverse transcriptase and predicts poor prognosis in human lung adenocarcinomas
Authors: Chen Wangbing , Qin Lijun , Wang Shusen , Li Mei , Shi Dingbo , Tian Yun , Wang Jingshu , Fu Lingyi , Li Zhenglin , Guo Wei , Yu Wendan , Yuan Yuhui , Kang Tiebang , Huang Wenlin , Deng Wuguo 
Published: February 2014

The elevated expression and activation of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is associated with the unlimited proliferation of cancer cells. However, the excise mechanism of hTERT regulation during carcinogenesis is not well understood. In this study, we discovered cleavage and polyadenylation specific factor 4 (CPSF4) as a novel tumor‐specific hTERT promoter‐regulating protein in lung cancer cells and identified the roles of CPSF4 in regulating lung hTERT and lung cancer growth. The ectopic overexpression of CPSF4 upregulated the hTERT promoter‐driven report gene expression and activated the endogenous hTERT mRNA and protein expression and the telomerase activity in lung cancer cells and normal lung cells. In contrast, the knockdown of CPSF4 by siRNA had the opposite effects. CPSF4 knockdown also significantly inhibited tumor cell growth in lung cancer cells in vitro and in a xenograft mouse model in vivo, and this inhibitory effect was partially mediated by decreasing the expression of hTERT. High expression of both CPSF4 and hTERT proteins were detected in lung adenocarcinoma cells by comparison with the normal lung cells. Tissue microarray immunohistochemical analysis of lung adenocarcinomas also revealed a strong positive correlation between the expression of CPSF4 and hTERT proteins. Moreover, Kaplan‐Meier analysis showed that patients with high levels of CPSF4 and hTERT expression had a significantly shorter overall survival than those with low CPSF4 and hTERT expression levels. Collectively, these results demonstrate that CPSF4 plays a critical role in the regulation of hTERT expression and lung tumorigenesis and may be a new prognosis factor in lung adenocarcinomas.
Evaluation, Treatment, and Outcomes of Suprascapular Neuropathy: A 5‐Year Review
Authors: Hill Larisa J.N. , Jelsing Elena J. , Terry Marisa J. , Strommen Jeffrey A. 
Published: February 2014

ObjectiveTo report our diagnostic and treatment experiences, and patient outcomes, in patients with suprascapular neuropathy (SSN).DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingA tertiary medical center.Patients65 patients with electromyographically (EMG)‐confirmed SSN.MethodsA 5‐year retrospective chart review of patients with EMG‐confirmed SSN.Main Outcome MeasuresDescriptive statistics were used to summarize demographics, risk factors, causes, EMG findings, diagnostic evaluation, treatments, and self‐reported outcomes. Exact Mantel‐Haenszel χ2 tests and Fisher exact tests were used to assess correlation between these measures.ResultsThe 3 most common causes of SSN were trauma (32 patients), an inflammatory process (ie, brachial neuritis) (14), and the presence of a cyst (13). Remaining cases were related to a rotator cuff tear or were due to overuse. No cases were attributed to notch abnormalities. At the time of follow‐up (a mean of 50 months [range, 15‐84 months] after EMG), 50% of subjects returned to activity with no restrictions (excellent outcome) and 40% returned to activity with restrictions (good outcome), regardless of cause and treatment. EMG findings, specifically the presence/absence of fibrillation potentials, did not predict recovery.ConclusionsSSN should be considered in patients with shoulder pain and weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound help to exclude a structural process. Identifying a structural cause, specifically a cyst or rotator cuff tear, is important because it appears that these patients have improved recovery with return to normal activities when treated surgically. Although EMG data did not have prognostic value in this study, the data were limited and further study is warranted. Regardless of cause or treatment, most patients with SSN returned to activities in some capacity.
Propagation characteristics of a high-power broadband laser beam passing through a nonlinear optical medium with defects
Authors: Chen Xueqiong , Li Xiaoyan , Chen Ziyang , Pu Jixiong , Zhang Guowen , Zhu Jianqiang 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThe intensity distributions of a high-power broadband laser beam passing through a nonlinear optical medium with defects and then propagating in free space are investigated based on the general nonlinear Schrödinger equation and the split-step Fourier numerical method. The influences of the bandwidth of the laser beam, the thickness of the medium, and the defects on the light intensity distribution are revealed. We find that the nonlinear optical effect can be suppressed and that the uniformity of the beam can be improved for a high-power broadband laser beam with appropriate wide bandwidth. It is also found that, under the same incident light intensity, a thicker medium will lead to a stronger self-focusing intensity, and that the influence of defects in the optical elements on the intensity is stronger for a narrowband beam than for a broadband beam.
REVISITING ḤAḌAR AND BADŪ IN KUWAIT: CITIZENSHIP, HOUSING, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DICHOTOMY
Authors: Al-Nakib Farah 
Published: February 2014

AbstractKuwait today is 99 percent urbanized. Though hosting a substantial desert population in the past, Kuwait no longer contains any Bedouin who practice a nomadic or pastoral lifestyle. And yet the term badū remains in popular use in Kuwait to designate a group considered sociologically and culturally distinct from the ḥaḍar, or settled urbanites, which in Kuwait's context refers solely to descendants of the pre-oil townspeople. This article explores why these social designations still exist in Kuwait and analyzes the origins of the conflictual relationship between the two groups. I argue that the persistence of the ḥaḍar/badū dichotomy is an outcome of state-building strategies adopted in the early oil years, mainly linked to citizenship and housing policies, that contributed to fixing ḥaḍar and badū as not only socially distinct but also geographically bounded groups. These state policies implemented between the 1950s and 1980s fostered the political integration but social exclusion of the badū. The article examines the lived realities of these incoherent policies as one way of explaining how the badū shifted from being the rulers’ main loyalty base in the early oil decades to becoming their primary opposition today.
SEEKING JUSTICE: TRIBAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND SOCIETAL TRANSFORMATION IN JORDAN
Authors: Watkins Jessica 
Published: February 2014

AbstractIn Jordan, tribal dispute settlements have played a pivotal role in the management of various types of grievances between individuals since long before the establishment of the modern state. To varying degrees, Jordanians—from the East and West Banks, Muslim and Christian, urban and rural—cherish the kinship networks associated with these procedures, and theʿaṭwa(truce) andṣulḥ(reconciliation) processes remain time-honored mechanisms for preventing revenge and making amends for wrongs committed. However, under the state's influence, the purpose of observing tribal settlements is evolving within an increasingly heterogeneous society. Drawing on documentary analysis combined with ethnographic material from across the kingdom, this article investigates the current status of tribal dispute resolution traditions among different sectors of the population. I argue that observance of such traditions can signify conformity with the hegemonic values that the state promotes as well as resistance to aspects of state control.
HOUSEHOLD NETWORKS AND RURAL INTEGRATION IN QAJAR KIRMAN
Authors: Gustafson James M. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThe governorships of Muhammad Ismaʿil Khan Vakil al-Mulk (1859–68) and Murtaza Quli Khan Vakil al-Mulk II (1868–78) in Qajar Kirman were highlighted by an extensive building campaign which initiated a period of significant social and economic change in the province. This article explores the activities of local elites in managing their family estates in the context of this project through a careful analysis of provincial geographical and historical writings, Persian-language travelogues, and commentary by European administrators and travelers. Kirmani elites began investing in land and commercial agriculture on an unprecedented scale, accelerating Kirman's absorption into global economic patterns as a producer of raw materials like cotton, wool, and opium. An integrated political economy developed regionally through the expanding networks of elite households and their estates, reinforced by families combining landownership with administrative functions in rural areas. This process demonstrates the extent to which Iranians were active participants in transforming their communities in the context of the advance of global capitalism, with longstanding patterns of elite household competition playing an important role in mediating social and political change locally.
THE PYRAMID AND THE CROWN: THE EGYPTIAN BEER INDUSTRY FROM 1897 TO 1963
Authors: Foda Omar D. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThis paper focuses on a long-running and understudied Egyptian economic institution, the beer industry. While the presence of a well-developed beer industry in a predominantly Muslim country is noteworthy in itself, it is the consistent profitability of this industry despite the vicissitudes of Egypt's economic and political development that have made it truly remarkable. Relying heavily on archival material, including documents preserved in Cairo's Dar al-Wathaʾiq (Egyptian National Archives), this paper tracks the development of the beer industry in Egypt from 1897, when Belgian entrepreneurs started the Pyramid and Crown breweries, to the 1960s, when the Egyptian government nationalized the two companies. This analysis uses the history of the beer company to map larger social and economic trends in the colonial and semicolonial Egyptian economy (1882–1963) and to further problematize the foreign/Egyptian dichotomy that shapes discussions of it.
GENDER-BASED ATTITUDES, HIV MISCONCEPTIONS AND FEELINGS TOWARDS MARGINALIZED GROUPS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH STIGMATIZATION IN MUMBAI, INDIA
Authors: BHARAT SHALINI , RAMAKRISHNA JAYASHREE , HEYLEN ELSA , EKSTRAND MARIA L. 
Published: February 2014

SummaryThis study examined the association of gender-based attitudes, HIV misconceptions and community feelings for marginalized groups with stigmatizing responses towards people with HIV/AIDS in Mumbai, India. Participants included 546 men and women sampled in hospital settings during 2007–2008. Structured measures were used to assess avoidance intentions and denial of rights of people with HIV/AIDS. Mean age of participants was 32 years; 42% had less than 10 years of education. Higher HIV transmission misconceptions (β=0.47; p<0.001), more traditional gender attitudes (β=0.11; p<0.01) and more negative feelings towards HIV-positive people (β=0.23; p<0.001) were related to higher avoidance intentions. Endorsement of denial of rights was also significantly associated with higher transmission misconceptions (β=0.20; p<0.001), more traditional gender attitudes (β=0.33; p<0.001) and greater negative feelings towards HIV-positive people (β=0.12; p<0.05), as well as with a lower education level (β=−0.10; p<0.05). The feelings respondents had towards people with HIV/AIDS were more strongly correlated with their feelings towards those with other diseases (tuberculosis, leprosy) than with feelings they had towards those associated with ‘immoral’ behaviour (e.g. sex workers). Eliminating HIV transmission misconceptions and addressing traditional gender attitudes are critical for reducing HIV stigma in Indian society.
Digital processing technology for bone-anchored hearing aids: randomised comparison of two devices in hearing aid users with mixed or conductive hearing loss
Authors: Hill-Feltham P , Roberts S A , Gladdis R 
Published: February 2014

AbstractObjective:This study compared the performance of two new bone-anchored hearing aids with older bone-anchored hearing aids that were not fully digital.Methods:Fourteen experienced bone-anchored hearing aid users participated in this cross-over study. Performance of their existing bone-anchored hearing aid was assessed using speech-in-noise testing and questionnaires. Participants were then fitted with either a Ponto Pro or a BP100 device. After four weeks of use with each new device, the same assessments were repeated.Results:Speech-in-noise testing for the 50 per cent signal-to-noise ratio (the ratio at which 50 per cent of responses were correct) showed no significant differences between the Ponto Pro and the BP100 devices (p = 0.1) However, both devices showed significant improvement compared with the participants' previous bone-anchored hearing aid devices (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between the two new devices in the questionnaire data.Conclusion:Both fully digital bone-anchored hearing aids demonstrated superior speech processing compared with the previous generation of devices. There were no substantial differences between the two digital devices in either objective or subjective tests.
The effects of seasonal variation on the nutritional condition ofNephrops norvegicus(Astacidea: Nephropidae) from wild populations in the western Mediterranean
Authors: Rotllant Guiomar , Company Joan B. , Alvarez-Fernández Inmaculada , García José A. , Aguzzi Jacopo , Durfort Mercè 
Published: February 2014

The Norway lobster,Nephrops norvegicusis a target fishery species in European waters. The stock assessment ofN. norvegicusis complicated because it is caught in commercial gear only when it emerges from its burrow. Landings are lower in winter, and feeding limitations have been hypothesized as the cause. Wild large-sized male lobsters were sampled each season (winter, spring, summer and autumn), and two groups of animals were kept in captivity for 90 d (fed and food-deprived). The hepatopancreas and muscle were dissected, weighted, frozen for biochemical analyses (proximal analyses and DNA/RNA) and fixed in Bouin solution for microscopic observations. The oxygen consumption rates in the wild individuals caught in the spring and in the captive animals after the treatments were measured. Significant differences among the experimental groups were observed in the lipid concentration of the hepatopancreas and muscle, the water content in the hepatopancreas, and the numbers of vacuoles and pyknotic nuclei in the cells of the tubules of the hepatopancreas. The results showed that the wild Norway lobsters generally presented intermediate values between those observed in the food-deprived and the fed lobsters kept in captivity, but the values were closer to those obtained for the fed animals. This finding indicates that the wild animals exhibit a good nutritional condition throughout the year. Therefore, the wild males ofN. norvegicusdo not face food deprivation during winter as is suggested by the pattern of commercial catches, the flow of organic matter, and the moulting period/reproductive behaviour of the species.
The influence of flow velocity and suspended particulate concentration on net prey capture rates by the scleractinian coral Balanophyllia europaea (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae)
Authors: Purser Autun , Orejas Covadonga , Moje Annika , Thomsen Laurenz 
Published: February 2014

Balanophyllia europaea is an endemic Mediterranean sublittoral zooxanthellate solitary coral. Given the broad distribution of the species throughout many areas of the Mediterranean surprisingly little is known of preferred habitat niches or susceptibility of the species to environmental change. In this study we investigated in the laboratory the net prey capture rates of the coral achievable under a range of flow velocities (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 15 cm s−1) and under exposure to different suspended particulate concentrations (0, 7.3 and 170 mg l−1). In recirculation flumes we simulated both commonly occurring and the occasionally high flow velocities and various suspended particulate concentrations reported from the Gulf of Lions (north-west Mediterranean). We then delivered ca 500 A. salina nauplii l−1 as food (Artemia salina nauplii) to the flumes and monitored net prey capture over time. We found net prey capture rates by the species to be highest under flow velocities of 5 cm s−1, with 230 µg C coral individual−1 h−1 achieved. The presence or absence of even environmentally high particulate concentrations (up to 170 mg l−1 resuspended seabed material) did not significantly affect the net prey capture rates achieved by the coral polyps. We found that net prey capture in Balanophyllia europaea is not inhibited during periods of heavy particle exposure, as has been observed in other temperate scleractinian corals. Also, flow velocities of ca ~5 s−1 appear to be optimal for maximum net prey capture by the species.
Recovering the jaguar Panthera onca in peripheral range: a challenge to conservation policy
Authors: Povilitis Tony 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThe recovery goal for the jaguar Panthera onca in the USA should be to restore significant presence with some reproduction, consistent with historical records. Nevertheless, the prevailing conservation strategy for the jaguar does not include restoration in peripheral range and merely seeks long-term survival of the jaguar within its existing northern range, which is almost entirely in Mexico. Broader issues are whether recovery programmes should include peripheral populations, range expansion and species representation across ecoregions. Considering jaguar history, habitat, population requirements, wildlife management and other factors in the southwestern USA, efforts to re-establish the species would have a reasonable chance of success. Recovery of the jaguar in the USA would improve prospects for the adaptation and survival of the species within its northern range, given habitat loss, conflicts with humans and climate change.
The Sri Lankan paradox: high genetic diversity in Plasmodium vivax populations despite decreasing levels of malaria transmission
Authors: GUNAWARDENA SHARMINI , FERREIRA MARCELO U. , KAPILANANDA G. M. G. , WIRTH DYANN F. , KARUNAWEERA NADIRA D. 
Published: February 2014

SUMMARYHere we examined whether the recent dramatic decline in malaria transmission in Sri Lanka led to a major bottleneck in the local Plasmodium vivax population, with a substantial decrease in the effective population size. To this end, we typed 14 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers in 185 P. vivax patient isolates collected from 13 districts in Sri Lanka over a period of 5 years (2003–2007). Overall, we found a high degree of polymorphism, with 184 unique haplotypes (12–46 alleles per locus) and average genetic diversity (expected heterozygosity) of 0·8744. Almost 69% (n = 127) isolates had multiple-clone infections (MCI). Significant spatial and temporal differentiation (FST = 0·04–0·25; P⩽0·0009) between populations was observed. The effective population size was relatively high but showed a decline from 2003–4 to 2006–7 periods (estimated as 45 661 to 22 896 or 10 513 to 7057, depending on the underlying model used). We used three approaches – namely, mode-shift in allele frequency distribution, detection of heterozygote excess and the M-ratio statistics – to test for evidence of a recent population bottleneck but only the low values of M-ratio statistics (ranging between 0·15–0·33, mean 0·26) were suggestive of such a bottleneck. The persistence of high genetic diversity and high proportion of MCI, with little change in effective population size, despite the collapse in demographic population size of P. vivax in Sri Lanka indicates the importance of maintaining stringent control and surveillance measures to prevent resurgence.
The British Expedition of Septimius Severus
Authors: Hodgson N. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractArchaeological evidence has emerged over the last half century which helps shed light on the British expedition (a.d.208–11) of the emperor Septimius Severus and his sons, famously but meagrely reported by the historians Cassius Dio and Herodian. Excavation at the Severan supply-base at South Shields, full publication of excavations of the 1960s and 1970s at the fortress of Carpow on the Tay, and more recently at Cramond, and recent work on the indigenous societies encountered by the Romans, all offer new perspectives. The archaeological evidence is reviewed in conjunction with the historical. A critical assessment is made of: (1) the widespread belief that personal or political considerations brought Severus to Britain rather than actual need for military intervention; (2) recent claims that the fortress at Carpow was founded earlier under Commodus (a.d.180s) and abandoned even before the Severan expedition; (3) the widespread assumption that Severus wished to occupy Scotland permanently and thus be the first conqueror of the whole of Britain; (4) the prevailing view that Carpow and Cramond were abandoned and that all Roman activity in Scotland ceased abruptly on Severus’ death in February 211, and that the campaigns brought about a period of peace in third-century Britain.