bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Using variability in gene expression as a tool for studying gene regulation
Authors: Padovan‐Merhar Olivia , Raj Arjun 
Published: August 2013

With the advent of quantitative tools for measuring gene expression in single cells, researchers have made the discovery that in many contexts, messenger RNA and protein levels can vary widely from cell to cell, often because of inherently stochastic events associated with gene expression. The study of this cellular individuality has become a field of study in its own right, characterized by a blend of technological development, theoretical analysis, and, more recently, applications to biological phenomena. In this review, we focus on the use of the variability inherent to gene expression as a tool to understand gene regulation. We discuss the use of variability as a natural systems‐level perturbation, its use in quantitatively characterizing the biological processes underlying transcription, and its application to the discovery of new gene regulatory interactions. We believe that use of variability can provide new biological insights into different aspects of transcriptional control and can provide a powerful complementary approach to that of existing techniques. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2013, 5:751–759. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1243This article is categorized under:

Analytical and Computational Methods > Analytical Methods
Laboratory Methods and Technologies > Genetic/Genomic Methods
Importance of microbial natural products and the need to revitalize their discovery
Authors: Demain Arnold L 
Published: August 2013

Abstract
Microbes are the leading producers of useful natural products. Natural products from microbes and plants make excellent drugs. Significant portions of the microbial genomes are devoted to production of these useful secondary metabolites. A single microbe can make a number of secondary metabolites, as high as 50 compounds. The most useful products include antibiotics, anticancer agents, immunosuppressants, but products for many other applications, e.g., antivirals, anthelmintics, enzyme inhibitors, nutraceuticals, polymers, surfactants, bioherbicides, and vaccines have been commercialized. Unfortunately, due to the decrease in natural product discovery efforts, drug discovery has decreased in the past 20 years. The reasons include excessive costs for clinical trials, too short a window before the products become generics, difficulty in discovery of antibiotics against resistant organisms, and short treatment times by patients for products such as antibiotics. Despite these difficulties, technology to discover new drugs has advanced, e.g., combinatorial chemistry of natural product scaffolds, discoveries in biodiversity, genome mining, and systems biology. Of great help would be government extension of the time before products become generic.
From Constraints to Opportunities? Provision of Psychosocial Support in Portuguese Oncogenetic Counseling Services
Authors: Mendes Álvaro , Sousa Liliana , Paneque Milena 
Published: August 2013

AbstractAlthough available guidelines for familial cancer risk counseling clearly state the need to provide adequate psychosocial assessments and support, this feature of care is only available in part for individuals and families in oncogenetic counseling protocols in Portugal. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychosocial aspects of oncogenetic counseling provided by a sample of Portuguese genetics professionals. We sought to ascertain perceived need for the provision of psychosocial services and ways to enhance the psychosocial focus in service delivery. A qualitative study was designed; semi‐structured focus groups and individual interviews were performed with 30 professionals from Portuguese healthcare institutions where oncogenetic counseling is offered. Findings suggest: current practice is aligned with the teaching model, with a mainly information‐based focus; use of psychosocial counseling techniques and psychosocial support is limited throughout the genetic counseling timeline; there is a limited workforce of adequately trained psychosocial professionals, who are disadvantaged by structural and organizational constraints. These factors are considered to be serious barriers for psychosocial delivery. Development of multidisciplinary teams working in oncogenetics, and need for further counselling skills and training for genetics healthcare professionals were identified as priorities. Implications for practice and policy are discussed. Portuguese genetic counselors who have recently completed their training, may therefore contribute to enhanced psychosocial services delivery.
Central Line Infections in Repaired Catheters: A Retrospective Review
Authors: Gordon Stuart , Gardiner Stuart 
Published: August 2013

Abstract
Background: There have been very few studies conducted to assess the infection risk of repairing a ruptured or broken tunneled central venous access device or a ruptured peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), a procedure that is fairly common in a certain population of patients.
Methods: In a retrospective review of repairs to both tunneled central venous access devices and PICCs in a large metropolitan health system, 258 medical records were reviewed. During a 4-year period there were 258 repairs, 202 to PICC lines and 56 to tunneled catheters. The system-wide infection database was the source queried to provide evidence for and confirmation of a central line infection. This database is maintained by the infection control team using strict guidelines, reducing inter-rater reliability issues.
Results: The Fisher exact test for proportions was used to compare infection rates between repaired infected and repaired noninfected lines. The infection rate was 5% in repaired catheters and 5.9% in unrepaired catheters (P = 1.00). On average, repaired catheters were in place longer (mean log [time-days in situ] 2.71 vs 2.31). Despite repairs and longer dwell times the repaired catheters did not have a significantly higher rate of infection when compared with unrepaired catheters.
Conclusions: Despite longer dwell times the infection rate for repaired catheters was not statistically significant when compared with unrepaired catheters.
Does Lumbar Dorsal Ramus Syndrome Have an Objective Clinical Basis?
Authors: Annaswamy Thiru M. , Bierner Samuel M. , Doppalapudi Hima 
Published: August 2013

BackgroundDegenerative processes can cause chronic low back pain that occasionally creates impingement of the lumbar dorsal rami, resulting in a clinical syndrome previously described as lumbar dorsal ramus syndrome (LDRS).ObjectivesTo evaluate the clinical basis of LDRS by comparing pain, disability, and objective measures of pathophysiology in 3 groups of subjects defined by needle electromyography examination (NEE) findings.DesignProspective group cohort study with retrospective chart review.SettingVeterans Affairs medical center outpatient clinic.PatientsSubjects who had undergone lower limb NEE and lumbar magnetic resonance imaging.MethodsA total of 71 subjects' records that met the study criteria were retrospectively reviewed for interventional spine procedures performed and to measure the lumbosacral paraspinal cross‐sectional area (PSP CSA); 28 of the 71 subjects underwent further clinical assessment. One‐way analysis of variance was performed to evaluate group differences.Main Outcome MeasurementsIn the retrospective arm: (1) PSP CSAs measured at 4 lower lumbar disk levels (average of 3 consecutive slices/level) bilaterally and overall left and right lumbar average PSP CSA and (2) the frequency and type of interventional spine procedures performed. In the prospective arm: (1) temporal changes of NEE abnormalities, (2) pain measured using the Visual Analog Scale, (3) Pain Disability Questionnaire responses, and (4) Short Form–36 scores.ResultsThe right L5 CSA was significantly greater in the group with mechanical low back pain compared with the group with lumbar radicular syndrome (F = 3.3; P < .05). No significant group differences were noted in the number of spine procedures performed. No significant differences in pain or disability scores were found among the groups. NEE findings improved over time predominantly in the LDRS group.ConclusionsLDRS is a diagnosis with identifiable NEE (lumbar multifidus denervation) findings and magnetic resonance imaging findings that may include lower lumbar paraspinal atrophy. NEE (paraspinal denervation) findings in persons with LDRS may change over time, and the clinical relevance of LDRS to pain, functional disability, and treatment response is unclear.
A Voice for Children and Young People in the City
Authors: Wilks Judith , Rudner Julie 
Published: August 2013

AbstractA major challenge for researchers and urban planning practitioners is how to obtain meaningful and influential contributions on urban and environmental planning activities from children and young people within the constraints of adult policy and practice. The key elements of this challenge concern traditional methods of communication between ‘experts’ and children and young people in rationalist planning settings, versus emerging research in relation to children's and young people's views and agency around civic participation. This article will address the work of a number of researchers and practitioners who have grappled with the inherent tenions of making planning practice and urban design more inclusionary, while facilitating and respecting children and young people's civic participation. This article also advocates the advantages and strengths of their participation in planning and urban design processes.With a focus on two exploratory programs developed by the authors in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria, this article will demonstrate how the sharing of knowledge and skills between planning and design professionals and children and young people can lead to more meaningful and influential contributions from them. The programs examined were informed by leading practice both in Australia and internationally, and have assisted to develop children and young people's sense of spatial competence, and their confidence and efficacy in their local environment, contributing ultimately to their wellbeing. They have also supported the establishment of youth leadership groups with the confidence and skills to contribute to ongoing local government urban and environmental planning activities.
The Place of Experience and the Experience of Place: Intersections Between Sustainability Education and Outdoor Learning
Authors: Hill Allen 
Published: August 2013

AbstractAs social, economic and environmental issues have become more prominent in the 21st century, there has been increased critical scrutiny into the ways that outdoor learning interacts with sustainability issues and concepts. As a result, a number of discourses have emerged which interrogate human/nature relationships in traditional outdoor education and propose greater engagement with place-responsive or sustainable approaches. Drawing on research with teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand, this article explores possible intersections between sustainability education outdoor learning. Accordingly, this article focuses on two key ideas: First, the nexus of experience and place offers significant promise for educational endeavours that seek to educate for a sustainable future. Second, traditional conceptions of wilderness as a pedagogical site, can be problematic for outdoor education programs which seek to claim the ground of sustainability. While there is much that can be gained from journeys in remote pristine environments, not all of these experiences necessarily lead to the development of attitudes, understandings, skills, and motivation to live more sustainably. Furthermore, approaches to outdoor learning that seek to develop connection to and care for remote, pristine places, at the same time ignoring more local or impacted places, could present a dichotomous view of ‘nature’ to students, thereby disrupting efforts to educate for sustainability.
Education for Sustainability, Graduate Capabilities, Professional Employment: How They All Connect
Authors: Thomas Ian , Barth Matthias , Day Teresa 
Published: August 2013

AbstractEducation for Sustainability (EfS) has an intimate relationship with professional employment as we seek to develop graduates who will take EfS values and understanding into their workplaces to build a sustainable future. The connection is through the capabilities that employers are wanting in the people they employ, and they are the outcomes of the educational experiences that we educators provide for the graduates. This article discusses the role of capabilities and their articulation in universities, particularly the types of capabilities sought by employers, both in Australia and more generally. We discuss similarities and differences articulated by academics and industry, and the implications for curriculum design and outcomes. In parallel, we note the discussion of capabilities associated with EfS and identify similarities with more broadly defined graduate capabilities. Research associated with the exploration of the breadth of the environment profession provides examples of the connections. These insights combine to highlight tension between what is sought by industry and what is needed to embed sustainable development actions into industry through the change agents graduated from our universities.
Cognitive performance in irritable bowel syndrome: evidence of a stress-related impairment in visuospatial memory
Authors: Kennedy P. J. , Clarke G. , O‘Neill A. , Groeger J. A. , Quigley E. M. M. , Shanahan F. , Cryan J. F. , Dinan T. G. 
Published: August 2013

BackgroundCentral nervous system (CNS) dysfunction is a prominent feature of the functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, the neurobiological and cognitive consequences of key pathophysiological features of IBS, such as stress-induced changes in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA)-axis functioning, is unknown. Our aim was to determine whether IBS is associated with cognitive impairment, independently of psychiatric co-morbidity, and whether cognitive performance is related to HPA-axis function.MethodA cross-sectional sample of 39 patients with IBS, a disease control group of 18 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) in clinical remission and 40 healthy age- and IQ-matched control participants were assessed using the Paired Associates Learning (PAL), Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift (IED) and Spatial Working Memory (SWM) tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) and a computerized Stroop test. HPA-axis function was determined by measuring the cortisol awakening response (CAR).ResultsIBS patients exhibited a subtle visuospatial memory deficit at the PAL six- pattern stage (p = 0.03), which remained after psychiatric co-morbidity was controlled for (p = 0.04). Morning cortisol levels were lower in IBS (p = 0.04) and significantly associated with visuospatial memory performance within IBS only (p = 0.02).ConclusionsFor the first time, altered cognitive function on a hippocampal-mediated test of visuospatial memory, which was related to cortisol levels and independent of psychiatric co-morbidity, has been identified in IBS. Visuospatial memory impairment may be a common, but currently neglected, component of IBS. Further elucidation of the nature of this impairment may lead to a greater understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of IBS, and may provide novel therapeutic approaches.
Cold climates demand more intertemporal self-control than warm climates
Authors: Ainslie George 
Published: August 2013

AbstractA climate that is too cold to grow crops for part of the year demands foresight and self-control skills. To the extent that a culture has developed intertemporal bargaining, its members will have more autonomy, but pay the cost of being more compulsive, than members of societies that have not. Monetary resources will be a consequence but will also be fed back as a cause.
Is there a role for “climatotherapy” in the sustainable development of mental health?
Authors: Desseilles Martin , Duclos Catherine , Flohimont Valérie , Desseilles François 
Published: August 2013

AbstractClimate, diet, lifestyle, and environmental settings have all been shown to modulate mood, play a role in mental disorders, and even pose a mental health risk. Can climatotherapy, in its adaptive approach aiming to restore balance among the economic, social, and ecological realms of human societies, situate itself as a therapeutic avenue for the promotion of sustainable mental health?
Ecological priming: Convergent evidence for the link between ecology and psychological processes
Authors: Gelfand Michele J. , Lun Janetta 
Published: August 2013

AbstractThis commentary describes the use of ecological priming methods to address the limitations of the correlational research discussed in the target article. We provide examples from our own work on cultural tightness–looseness to illustrate how we can bring ecological and societal conditions into the laboratory in order to study the impact of ecological threats on psychological processes experimentally.
Extending climato-economic theory: When, how, and why it explains differences in nations' creativity
Authors: Karwowski Maciej , Lebuda Izabela 
Published: August 2013

AbstractThe climato-economic theory postulates mechanisms of threat and challenge to explain differences between countries. Interestingly, both of these mechanisms are often considered to be components of the models of organizational climate for creativity. We show that among rich countries, climatic demands are related to creative achievement in a reversed-U manner, whereas the relationship is linear among poor countries.
Methodological suggestions for climato-economic theory
Authors: Leung Kwok , Cheng Grand H.-L. 
Published: August 2013

AbstractTo evaluate and extend climato-economic theory, the use of more micro units of analysis, such as cities and families, may open up new data sources. The consideration of environmental demands other than thermal climate may also broaden the range of useful data. Longitudinal designs can provide causal evidence, and so can experiments if the theory can be applied to individuals.
Cultural adaptations to the differential threats posed by hot versus cold climates
Authors: Murray Damian R. 
Published: August 2013

AbstractHot and cold climates have posed differential threats to human survival throughout history. Cold temperatures can pose direct threats to survival in themselves, whereas hot temperatures may pose threats indirectly through higher prevalence of infectious disease. These differential threats yield convergent predictions for the relationship between more demanding climates and freedom of expression, but divergent predictions for freedom from discrimination.
Personality traits, national character stereotypes, and climate–economic conditions
Authors: Terracciano Antonio , Chan Wayne 
Published: August 2013

AbstractCross-cultural personality research suggests that individuals from wealthier countries tend to be more open-minded. This openness to values may support more democratic governments and the expansion of fundamental freedoms. The link between wealth and freedom is evident in cold-to-temperate climates, but not across wealthy nations in hot climates. Furthermore, temperature and economic conditions shape perceptions of national character stereotypes.
White, gray, and black domains of cultural adaptations to climato-economic conditions
Authors: Van de Vliert Evert 
Published: August 2013

AbstractForty-nine commentators have reviewed the theory that needs-based stresses and freedoms are shaped differently in threatening, comforting, and challenging climato-economic habitats. Their commentaries cover the white domain, where the theory does apply (e.g., happiness, collectivism, and democracy), the gray domain, where it may or may not apply (e.g., personality traits and creativity), and the black domain, where it does not apply (e.g., human intelligence and gendered culture). This response article provides clarifications, recommendations, and expectations.
Physiologic and metagenomic attributes of the rhodoliths forming the largest CaCO3 bed in the South Atlantic Ocean
Authors: Cavalcanti Giselle S , Gregoracci Gustavo B , dos Santos Eidy O , Silveira Cynthia B , Meirelles Pedro M , Longo Leila , Gotoh Kazuyoshi , Nakamura Shota , Iida Tetsuya , Sawabe Tomoo , Rezende Carlos E , Francini-Filho Ronaldo B , Moura Rodrigo L , Amado-Filho Gilberto M , Thompson Fabiano L 
Published: August 2013

Abstract
Rhodoliths are free-living coralline algae (Rhodophyta, Corallinales) that are ecologically important for the functioning of marine environments. They form extensive beds distributed worldwide, providing a habitat and nursery for benthic organisms and space for fisheries, and are an important source of calcium carbonate. The Abrolhos Bank, off eastern Brazil, harbors the world’s largest continuous rhodolith bed (of ∼21 000 km2) and has one of the largest marine CaCO3 deposits (producing 25 megatons of CaCO3 per year). Nevertheless, there is a lack of information about the microbial diversity, photosynthetic potential and ecological interactions within the rhodolith holobiont. Herein, we performed an ecophysiologic and metagenomic analysis of the Abrolhos rhodoliths to understand their microbial composition and functional components. Rhodoliths contained a specific microbiome that displayed a significant enrichment in aerobic ammonia-oxidizing betaproteobacteria and dissimilative sulfate-reducing deltaproteobacteria. We also observed a significant contribution of bacterial guilds (that is, photolithoautotrophs, anaerobic heterotrophs, sulfide oxidizers, anoxygenic phototrophs and methanogens) in the rhodolith metagenome, suggested to have important roles in biomineralization. The increased hits in aromatic compounds, fatty acid and secondary metabolism subsystems hint at an important chemically mediated interaction in which a functional job partition among eukaryal, archaeal and bacterial groups allows the rhodolith holobiont to thrive in the global ocean. High rates of photosynthesis were measured for Abrolhos rhodoliths (52.16 μmol carbon m−2s−1), allowing the entire Abrolhos rhodolith bed to produce 5.65 × 105 tons C per day. This estimate illustrates the great importance of the Abrolhos rhodolith beds for dissolved carbon production in the South Atlantic Ocean.