bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of hepatic stem/progenitor cells in the fetal and adult liver
Authors: Koike Hiroyuki , Taniguchi Hideki 
Published: September 2012

AbstractBackgroundThe liver is an essential organ that maintains vital activity through its numerous important functions. It has a unique capability of fully regenerating after injury. Regulating a balance between self‐renewal and differentiation of hepatic stem cells that are resources for functional mature liver cells is required for maintenance of tissue homeostasis.MethodsThis review describes the characteristics of hepatic stem/progenitor cells and the regulatory mechanism of their self‐renewal and differentiation capacity.ResultsIn liver organogenesis, undifferentiated hepatic stem/progenitor cells expand their pool by repeated self‐renewal in the early stage of liver development and then differentiate into two different types of cell lineage, namely hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. Liver development is regulated by expression of stem cell transcription factors in a complex multistep process. Recent studies suggest that stem cells are maintained by integrative regulation of gene expression patterns related to self‐renewal and differentiation by epigenetic mechanisms such as histone modification and DNA methylation.ConclusionsAnalysis of the proper regulatory mechanism of hepatic stem/progenitor cells is important for regenerative medicine that utilizes hepatic stem cells and for preventing liver cancer through clarification of the carcinogenetic mechanism involved in stem cell system failure.
Petrological and Geochemical Studies of Paleoproterozoic Mafic Dykes from the Chitrangi Region, Mahakoshal Supracrustal Belt, Central Indian Tectonic Zone: Petrogenetic and Tectonic Significance
Authors: Srivastava Rajesh K. 
Published: September 2012

Abstract
A number of Paleoproterozoic mafic dykes are reported to intrude volcano-sedimentary sequences of the Mahakoshal supracrustal belt. They are medium to coarse-grained and mostly trend in ENE-WSW to E-W. Petrographically they are metadolerite and metabasite. Geochemical compositions classify them as sub-alkaline basalts to andesites with high-iron tholeiitic nature. Both groups, i.e. metabasites and metadolerites, show distinct geochemical characteristics; high-field strength elements are relatively higher in metadolerites than metabasites. This suggests their derivation from different mantle melts. Chemistry does not support any possibility of crustal contamination. Trace element modeling advocates that metabasite dykes are derived from a melt originated through ~20% melting of a depleted mantle source, whereas metadolerite dykes are probably derived from a tholeiitic magma generated through &lt;10% melting of a enriched mantle source. Chemistry also reveals that the studied samples are derived from deep mantle sources. HFSE based discrimination diagrams suggest that metabasite dykes are emplaced in tectonic environment similar to the N-type mid-oceanic ridge basalts (N-MORB) and the metadolerite dykes exhibit tectonic setting observed for the within-plate basalts. These inferences show agreement with the available tectonic model presented for the Mahakoshal supracrustal belt. The Chitrangi region experienced N-MORB type mafic magmatism around 2.5 Ga (metabasite dykes) and within-plate mafic magmatism around 1.5-1.8 Ga (metadolerite dykes and probably other alkaline and carbonatite magmatic rocks).
Late Holocene Storm Records from Lower Reaches of Narmada Valley, Western India
Authors: Sukumaran Prabhin , Rajshekhar C. , Sant Dhananjay A. , Krishnan K. 
Published: September 2012

Abstract
Storms from the Arabian Sea are the most significant meteorological feature in western India that brings extreme rainy days together with catastrophic flooding. The present study reports two such palaeo-storm horizons at 1.16 m and 3.2 m above the present day water level in the Narmada channel, 56 km inland based on sedimentology and foraminiferal records. Both the horizons show similar sediment facies and foraminiferal assemblage. The present findings instigate to look for such new sites and build palaeo-storm records for western India.
Reservoir Induced Landslide at Assar, Jammu and Kashmir: A Case Study
Authors: Singh Yudhbir , Bhat G. M. , Sharma Vinay , Pandita S. K. , Thakur K. K. 
Published: September 2012

Abstract
In February 2009, a huge landslide occurred at Assar in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir state. The slide triggered after the reservoir level of the Baglihar dam increased from initial water level of 850 m to 870 m. The impounding of reservoir water created high angle scarps at number of fossil slide sites on either side of the river within the reservoir area. One such scarp (about 250 m long) at Assar caused a huge landslide washing out about 150 m road stretch. The sliding material is dominated by finer fraction (71.5 %) of micaceous silty sand and coarser fraction of gravel to boulder size. Over saturation of the slope forming material, weak rocks and high absorption and swelling nature of the soil, high slope angle and toe cutting by the water are the main reasons that triggered this slide.
The unstable ‘clone’: evidence from monitoring AFLP-based mutations for short-term clonal genetic variation in two asexual lineages of the grain aphid,Sitobion avenae(F.)
Authors: Loxdale H.D. , Vorwerk S. , Forneck A. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractClones have been in the forefront of biological interest for many years. Even so, open discussions continue to surround the concept of clonality, which has been recently much debated in the scientific literature, both in terms of philosophical meaning as well as empirical determination. Philosophically, the clone is the horizontally produced lineage from a single fertlized egg (e.g. mammals by division of the fertilized egg and representing a single generation) or vertically produced offspring (e.g. aphids representing different successive generations) from a single asexual stem mother (originally for a particular lineage, following hatching of the overwintering sexual egg in the spring); empirically, the aspect of genetic fidelity is also considered important, so-called clones being assumed to have an identical genome among clone mates. In reality of course, such members of a clonal lineage must differ at various regions of the genome, since mutation is a fundamental property of the DNA itself. Yet few studies have so far set out to show this empirically in eukaryotic organisms, which indulge in periods of asexual reproduction, sometimes, as in aphids, over many generations. In the present study, we have investigated asexual lineages of the grain aphid,Sitobion avenae(F.), a global pest of cereals, over five successive generations employing AFLP-PCR molecular techniques. Our main interest was to see how much variation was present in the early generations and if this variation was transmitted through the asexual lineages. By monitoring AFLP-based polymorphisms, we show that, in this aphid species, of a total of 110 individuals from two lineages tested (termed SA and SB), random mutations (band deletions, more rarely additions) were apparent from the third generation onwards, and although some mutations were found to be transmitted transgenerationally, others were rarely transmitted through the particular lineages they were detected in. Using Arlequin v. 2.0, average gene diversity within the lineages was found to be 0.024 ± 0.013 and 0.031 ± 0.016 for SA and SB, respectively. It was also found from the rearing of the lineages that one lineage, SA, was more fecund than the other lineage, SB, over the five generations (N = 818vs. N = 358 total stem mothers plus nymphs for the two lineages, respectively).
Taxonomic identification of Macrolophus pygmaeus and Macrolophus melanotoma based on morphometry and molecular markers
Authors: Castañé C. , Agustí N. , Arnó J. , Gabarra R. , Riudavets J. , Comas J. , Alomar Ó. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractTwo Macrolophus species, M. melanotoma (=M. caliginosus) and M. pygmaeus, have been referred to as efficient predators of several key pests on vegetable crops in Europe. However, due to the great morphological similarity of these species, they have been confused, with important consequences for inoculative releases of these predators in greenhouses and for the conservation of their natural populations on greenhouse and outdoor crops. In this work, we developed tools to identify these morphologically very similar species. We first confirmed the specific status of two Macrolophus populations collected on their respective host plants (Dittrichia viscosa and tomato) through crossing experiments. Then, using multivariate morphometric analysis, we proposed a linear discriminant function that combines head measurements separating males from the two species without error. Finally, we designed specific primers for a mitochondrial DNA region that were able to distinguish field-collected Macrolophus individuals through conventional PCR. In conclusion, the tools developed in the present study will allow reliable identification of the Macrolophus species present in crops and in the native flora that are the source of populations that colonise them. They will also allow correct identification of mass reared Macrolophus to be introduced in greenhouse crops in inoculative releases.
Interannual and geographical reproducibility of the nutritional quality of milk fat from commercial grazing flocks
Authors: Virto Mailo , Bustamante Marian , Ruiz de Gordoa Juan Carlos , Amores Gustavo , Fernández-Caballero Paula N. , Mandaluniz Nerea , Arranz Josune , Nájera Ana I. , Albisu Marta , Pérez-Elortondo Francisco J. , Barron Luis J. R. , de Renobales Mertxe 
Published: September 2012

The objective of the present work was to study the differences in the fatty acid (FA) composition of raw sheep milk fat under commercial milk production conditions throughout lactation, in two consecutive years. Particular attention was placed on the C18:2cis-9,trans-11 isomer, C18:1trans-11 acid, and unsaturated FA as the feeding regimen of 10 commercial flocks oflatxadairy sheep changed from indoor feeding to part-time grazing conditions (from early spring) as traditionally practiced in the Basque Country (Northern Spain). Farms located at an altitude of between 600 and 700 m, in two different geographical areas with different rainfall were selected. Milk samples were collected monthly from late January (indoor feeding) until mid-, or end of, June (outdoor feeding), during two consecutive years. In spite of some interannual variability (most likely due to large differences in rainfall), the evolution of individual FA throughout lactation was comparable between years, indicating that it was reproducible under commercial milk production conditions. The average concentrations of C18:2cis-9,trans-11 isomer and C18:1trans-11 acid in milk from the commercial flocks increased about 200% during the transition period (end of March or early April until May), from indoor feeding (late January or early February until the end of March) to the outdoor period (early May to mid-June), remaining constant during the outdoor period (27·53 ± 9·32 μmol/g fat and 71·58 ± 20·53 μmol/g fat, respectively). Non-atherogenic FA comprised approximately 50% of all saturated FA at any time during lactation, whereas the milk atherogenicity index decreased significantly during the outdoor period. The Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity of the water-soluble milk fraction did not appear to be influenced by feeding management. The FA composition of cheeses made during the second year with milk from the indoor or outdoor periods reflected those of the corresponding milks. A principal components analysis clearly showed that differences in the milk FA composition were primarily due to outdoor grazing, with very little contribution from the geographical zone or the year.
Genetic structure of the wide-ranging fiddler crabUca crassipesin the west Pacific region
Authors: Aoki Misuzu , Wada Keiji 
Published: September 2012

The genetic relationship between fiddler crabUca crassipespopulations from the continental coast, continental islands, and oceanic islands in the west Pacific was investigated using 1039 bp (base pairs)-long combined 12Sr-RNA–16Sr-RNA sequences and a 504-bp mitochondrial DNA control region. The combined 12Sr-RNA–16Sr-RNA sequences indicated that the Vietnamese population, located along the continental coast, and the Chichi-jima population, which is located on an oceanic island north of the Northern Mariana Islands, formed different clades than populations from the other Ryukyu Islands and Moorea Island. Conversely, the Ryukyu Islands and Moorea Island populations exhibited a close genetic relationship, although the mtDNA control region indicated significant differentiation between the Ryukyu Islands and Moorea Island populations. The isolated Vietnam and Chichi-jima populations exhibited higher genetic diversity in the control region than the other populations.
A phenomenological challenge to ‘enlightened secularism’
Authors: KIDD IAN JAMES 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThis article challenges Philip Kitcher's recent proposals for an ‘enlightened secularism’. I use William James's theory of the emotions and his related discussion of ‘temperaments’ to argue that religious and naturalistic commitments are grounded in tacit, inarticulate ways that one finds oneself in a world. This indicates that, in many cases, religiosity and naturalism are grounded not in rational and evidential considerations, but in a tacit and implicit sense of reality which is disclosed through phenomenological enquiry. Once the foundational role of these temperaments is appreciated, it emerges that enlightened secularism relies upon a facile conception of the nature of religious belief – one that lessens its chances for success. The article ends with some positive proposals for incorporating phenomenological insights into debates about science, religion, and secularism.
COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF CARDIAC RESYNCHRONIZATION THERAPY: PERSPECTIVE FROM ARGENTINA
Authors: Poggio Rosana , Augustovsky Federico , Caporale Joaquín , Irazola Vilma , Miriuka Santiago 
Published: September 2012

Objectives: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has recently been shown to reduce both mid-term and long-term mortality in patients with mild heart failure. Although proven effective, it is unclear whether CRT is cost-effective in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Therefore, we set out to analyze the cost-effectiveness of CRT in Argentina in patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class (FC) I or II heart failure (HF). We chose to compare patients receiving optimal medical treatment (OMT) and CRT with those patients receiving only OMT.Methods: We constructed a Markov model with a cohort simulation, and a life-time horizon to assess costs, life-years, and quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained as a result of treatment with both CRT and OMT from an Argentine third party payer perspective. We included patients who met the following criteria: left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 40 percent, sinus rhythm with a QRS ≥ 120 msec, and NYHA FC I-II HF. The results were expressed as cost per life-year and QALY gained in international dollars (ID$) for the year 2009.Results: For the base case analysis performed, we started at a fixed age of 65. After applying a 3 percent annual discount rate, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was 38.005 ID$ per year of life gained and 34.185 ID$ per QALY gained.Conclusions: Long-term treatment with CRT appears to be cost-effective in Argentina compared with patients treated solely with OMT. Similar analysis should be performed to determine if this treatment option is cost-effective in other LMIC.
COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF ORAL TRIPTANS FOR ACUTE MIGRAINE: MIXED TREATMENT COMPARISON
Authors: Asseburg Christian , Peura Piia , Oksanen Tuija , Turunen Juha , Purmonen Timo , Martikainen Janne 
Published: September 2012

Background: The cost-effectiveness of triptans in the treatment of migraine has not been assessed since generic sumatriptan entered the Finnish market in 2008.Methods: Using systematic review and mixed treatment comparison, the effectiveness of triptans was estimated with regard to 2-hour response, 2-hour pain-free, recurrence, and any adverse event, using published clinical data. Direct and indirect costs (2010 EUR, societal perspective) and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were evaluated over one acute migraine attack using a decision-tree model.Results: The meta-analysis combined data from fifty-six publications. The highest probability of achieving the primary outcome, “sustained pain-free, no adverse event” (SNAE), was estimated for eletriptan 40 mg (20.9 percent). Sumatriptan 100 mg was the treatment with lowest estimated costs (€20.86), and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of eletriptan 40 mg compared with sumatriptan 100 mg was €43.65 per SNAE gained (€19,659 per QALY gained).Conclusion: Depending on the decision-maker's willingness-to-pay threshold, either sumatriptan 100 mg or eletriptan 40 mg is likely to be cost-effective.
Emergence of novelLeptospiraserovars: a need for adjusting vaccination policies for dogs?
Authors: ARENT Z. J. , ANDREWS S. , ADAMAMA-MORAITOU K. , GILMORE C. , PARDALI D. , ELLIS W. A. 
Published: September 2012

SUMMARYA total of 855 sera from dogs in Greece were tested for antibodies to strains belonging to the Pomona, Grippotyphosa and Australis serogroups ofLeptospirato assess exposure levels to these serogroups, possible associations with clinical disease and to evaluate whether these findings support the inclusion of additional serovars in dog vaccines. Antibodies were detected in 110 (12·9%) dogs. The highest seroprevalence (4·9%) was to the proposed novel serovar Altodouro belonging to the Pomona serogroup. This serovar also showed a statistically significant association with clinical disease. Serovar Bratislava antibodies were found in 3·4% of sera. Consideration should be given to the inclusion of serovars belonging to the Pomona serogroup and serovar Bratislava in future dog vaccines for the Greek market.
Gaming as extramural English L2 learning and L2 proficiency among young learners
Authors: Sylvén Liss Kerstin , Sundqvist Pia 
Published: September 2012

AbstractToday, playing digital games is an important part of many young people's everyday lives. Claims have been made that certain games, in particular massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) provide L2 English learners with a linguistically rich and cognitively challenging virtual environment that may be conducive to L2 learning, as learners get ample opportunities for L2 input and scaffolded interaction in the L2. In this paper, we present empirical evidence that L2 English proficiency correlates with the frequency of gaming and types of games played. We base our observation on a study among young L2 English learners (N = 86, aged 11–12, Sweden). Data were collected through a questionnaire, a language diary, and three proficiency tests. The questionnaire provided demographic background information but was also targeted at measuring extramural English habits, i.e., learners’ out-of-school contact with English (cf. Sundqvist, 2009). The diary measured how much time the learners spent on seven predetermined extramural English activities during one week, while the tests measured their achieved L2 proficiency regarding reading and listening comprehension, and vocabulary. Previous research among learners aged 15–16 (Sundqvist, 2009) showed positive correlations between playing digital games and L2 proficiency, in particular with regard to vocabulary, and also identified gender-related differences regarding vocabulary (boys outperformed girls) as well as the frequency of gaming and types of games played. These results were corroborated in the present study. A clear pattern emerged from our data: frequent gamers (≥ 5 hours/week) outperformed moderate gamers who, in turn, outperformed non-gamers. Background variables could not explain the between-group differences. Even though the boys might have been more proficient or apt than the girls a priori and, therefore, chose to engage more in L2 gaming, the findings suggest that playing digital games at an early age can be important for L2 acquisition.
Left ventricular hydatid cyst: an uncommon cause of chest pain in young adults
Authors: Shankarappa Ravindranath K. , Moorthy Nagaraja , Bhat Prabhavathi , Nanjappa Manjunath C. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractIsolated cardiac involvement in hydatid disease is very rare. We report the case of a young adult male who presented to the emergency department with acute onset of chest pain and was surprisingly detected to have a hydatid cyst in the left ventricular myocardium. The transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the diagnosis. Cardiac hydatid disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of chest pain in young individuals in the absence of conventional risk factors of atherosclerosis.
Oestrogen receptor α agonist improved long-term ovariectomy-induced spatial cognition deficit in young rats
Authors: Qu Na , Wang Lei , Liu Zan-Chao , Tian Qing , Zhang Qi 
Published: September 2012

Abstract
Ovariectomy is known as ‘surgical menopause’ with decreased levels of oestrogen in female rodents and its reported risks and adverse effects include cognitive impairment. In the brain, oestrogen exerts effects through its receptors, oestrogen receptor α (ERα) and β (ERβ). However, the role of ERα or ERβ in ovariectomy-induced cognitive impairment needs further investigation. Here, we observed that bilaterally ovariectomized 3-month-old rats showed obvious spatial learning and memory deficits in the Morris water maze with significant loss of neurons and synapses in the hippocampus. In addition to the rapid decline in serum oestradiol levels, the expression of ERα, but not ERβ, was decreased in the hippocampus starting 1 wk after ovariectomy. Prompt 4,4′,4″-(4-propyl-[1H]-pyrazole-1,3,5-triyl) trisphenol (PPT) treatment (1 mg/kg.d), an agonist of ERα, improved the spatial learning and memory ability of ovariectomized rats and rescued ovariectomy-induced neuron loss by up-regulating the level of BCLxl, an important anti-apoptosis protein. Furthermore, PPT treatment also improved ovariectomy-induced hippocampal synapse loss and up-regulated the levels of synaptic proteins (synapsin I, NR2A and GluR1) and the activates of CaMK Πα, ERK and Akt. Thus, these results demonstrated that ERα plays an important role in neuroprotection and that prompt ERα rescue is effective to improve hippocampal-dependent cognition deficit after long-term ovariectomy.
Commanding the commons: Constitutional enforcement and the law of the sea
Authors: JILLIONS ANDREW 
Published: September 2012

AbstractWhat role does enforcement play in protecting the constitutional authority of international law? Can enforcement be understood as a specifically constitutional practice? I argue here that international law has a greater capacity for constitutional enforcement than sceptical accounts have tended to acknowledge. This argument is anchored in the institutional account of the authority of law offered by Hart and developed by MacCormick. This focuses on the official or administrative perceptions as the determinant of constitutional legitimacy, which offers a way to offset the scepticisms caused by gaps in the constitutional order. This establishes constitutional enforcement as a practice centred on and legitimated by the attribution of role responsibilities, rather than on the direct application or policing of the rules. I illustrate these arguments using the law of the sea, a domain where the functional difficulties of enforcement have always presented a challenge to international law’s claim to authority.