bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Selection and characterization of Bacillus thuringiensis strains toxic against pyralid stored‐product pests
Authors: Azzouz H. , Kebaili‐Ghribi J. , Daoud F. , Abdelmalak N. , Ennouri K. , Belguith‐Ben Hassan N. , Tounsi S. , Rouis S. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractIn this study, we present the selection and the characterization of Bacillus thuringiensis strains toxic against pyralid pests of stored products. Among 201 new B. thuringiensis strains isolated from different countries, two strains (BLB249 and BLB384) showed greater toxicity than the commercialized strain B. thuringiensis kurstaki HD1 against Ephestia kuehniella larvae. Morphological, molecular and biochemical investigations revealed that these strains were similar to HD1 but presented different cry gene content. Additional bioassays revealed that only strain BLB249 displayed higher toxicity than HD1 against Plodia interpunctella larvae. The study of Cry protoxin activation by midgut proteases of E. kuehniella and P. interpunctella larvae supported that higher toxicity of BLB249 and BLB384 strains compared to HD1 was not due to differential protoxin activation. Moreover, the toxic strains produced δ‐endotoxins and spores in similar amounts to HD1. Interestingly, the δ‐endotoxin production and the yield of BUPM26 strain were 32.87% and 35.12% greater than that of HD1. The potent insecticidal activities of BLB249 and BLB384 strains and the high level of δ‐endotoxin production by BUPM26 strain make them excellent candidates for use against E. kuehniella and P. interpunctella larvae.
Effect of Ohmic Heating on the Electrical Conductivity, Biochemical and Rheological Properties of Papaya Pulp
Authors: Gomathy K. , Thangavel K. , Balakrishnan M. , Kasthuri R. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractA laboratory scale static ohmic heating unit of 1 L capacity was designed and fabricated for conducting the study. The electrical conductivity of the pulp was measured over a temperature range of 35–95C. Ohmic heating was conducted at three voltage gradients (6.66, 13.33 and 20 V/cm) and holding times (1, 2 and 3 min). Voltage gradient of 13.33 V/cm with a holding time of 2 min was optimized statistically for the pasteurization of papaya pulp based on the microbial analysis. The ohmic heated pulp was compared with fresh pulp with respect to the biochemical and rheological properties. Ohmic heated pulp retained 86.44% lycopene, 87.13% β‐carotene and 85.23% ascorbic acid. Rheologically, papaya pulp exhibited a non‐Newtonian (n < 1) and pseudoplastic behavior with yield stress following Herschel–Bulkley model (R2 0.99). The frequency sweep curve established the resemblance of ohmic heated pulp to that of the fresh pulp without any structural breakdown upon processing.Practical ApplicationsPapaya fruit possesses high nutritional and medicinal properties which are recommended for infants and adults. But owing to its faster rate of deterioration, about 50% of the fruit harvest suffers heavy postharvest losses. A thermal processing technology is required in order to prevent the postharvest losses and make the pulp suitable for infant formulations. Novel thermal processing technology, such as ohmic heating, could preserve the pulp for a long period without compromising on the microbial stability and quality of the product. Hence, this research was planned to concentrate on understanding the suitability of ohmic heating for the pasteurization of papaya pulp. The research finding would contribute toward the growth of pulp processing and infant formulating industries.
A Novel Procedure on Vancomycin, Cephalothin and Sucrose for Isolation of Cronobacter spp. from Powdered Infant Formula
Authors: Ling Na , Ye Yingwang , Li Hui , Wu Qingping , Han Yongjia , Lu Yudong 
Published: January 2015

AbstractA novel procedure on vancomycin, α‐glucosidase activity, cephalothin and sucrose for isolation of Cronobacter spp. from powdered infant formula (PIF) was developed. Meanwhile, a comparison between the new procedure, Druggan‐Forsythe‐Iversen (DFI) and modified lauryl sulfate tryptose (mLST) procedure was also carried out. The recovery rate is higher by the new procedure than those by DFI and mLST procedures. In combination with API‐20e test, 9, 9 and 8 PIF samples were found to be contaminated by Cronobacter spp. by the new procedure, DFI and mLST procedure, respectively. The sensitivity of 100, 87.5 and 87.5% and the specificity of 88.8, 77.7 and 87.5% were observed by the new procedure, DFI and mLST method, respectively. The new procedure, DFI and mLST procedure also gave the false‐positive/false‐negative rates of 11.1/0.0, 22.2/12.5 and 12.5/12.5%. The data presented here indicated that the new protocol could be widely used for monitoring Cronobacter in PIF and a combination of traditional methods and molecular assays is strongly recommended.Practical ApplicationsThe current culture‐based procedures for isolation of Cronobacter should be improved for assuring microbial safety of PIF. In this study, a selective and efficient procedure for isolation of Cronobacter was developed. The recovery rate was higher from artificially contaminated PIF by the new procedure than those by DFI and mLST procedures. In addition, the new procedure was found to be sensitive and specific for isolation of Cronobacter from commercial PIF.
Between Liberal Aspirations and Market Forces: Obamacare's Precarious Balancing Act
Authors: Oberlander Jonathan 
Published: January 2015

The American health care system long has been distinctive in its embrace of market forces. For-profit private insurers play a major role in providing coverage, though they operate alongside public insurance programs that cover over one-third of the population. Historically, federal and state governments’ regulation of insurance markets was limited, leaving insurers to set premiums and coverage rules largely as they saw fit.Government’s role in controlling health care spending has been even more circumscribed. Purchasing power is fragmented, with each insurer negotiating its own rates with physicians and hospitals. A formidable medical-industrial complex of for-profit providers, from hospitals to home-health care agencies, dialysis facilities, pharmaceutical companies and much more, has arisen to sell services.
Curing the Disobedient Patient: Medication Adherence Programs as Pharmaceutical Marketing Tools
Authors: Lamkin Matt , Elliott Carl 
Published: January 2015

About a week after Maran Wolston was prescribed Copaxone, a drug for multiple sclerosis (MS), she got a phone call from a nurse at an organization called Shared Solutions. The organization was familiar to Wolston; when her neurologist had asked permission to share her health information with Shared Solutions, Wolston had agreed, assuming it was connected to her health insurance.The nurse who called Wolston was checking in to see how the treatment was going. It was not going well. While Copaxone is not typically associated with some of the unpleasant side effects of other MS drugs, it does have at least one serious drawback: the drug must be injected every day. The injections can be brutally painful. “No matter where I injected the drug each day, the injection site swelled up into a huge welt and felt like a gigantic bee sting,” Wolston writes.
Medical versus Fiscal Gatekeeping: Navigating Professional Contingencies at the Pharmacy Counter
Authors: Chiarello Elizabeth 
Published: January 2015

Commercialization of medicine is a growing trend that threatens to undermine physicians’ commitments to patient care in favor of personal financial interests. Bemoaned by Arnold Relman as early as 1980, growing for-profit sectors of health care have been reshaping medicine from a profession into a business, forming the foundation of what he terms a “medical-industrial complex” that threatens to undermine professional identity and reshape health care funding. Commercialization poses new ethical challenges for health care providers who have a financial stake in their health care decisions and may undermine their fiduciary duties to patients.Certainly, commercialization has brought about new trends in medicine — one need only to look as far as the rise in for-profit hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and proprietary nursing homes to see how opportunities for financial gain reposition physicians’ orientations vis-à-vis patients.
Factors Affecting Community Participation in the CDTI Program in Morogoro, Tanzania
Authors: York Kate J. , Kabole Ibrahim , Mrisho Mwifadhi , Berry Devon M. , Schmidt Elena 
Published: January 2015

AbstractBackgroundUp to 4 million people in Tanzania are at risk for the parasitic disease onchocerciasis. A treatment program, Community‐Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI), has made significant gains in prevention and treatment. Understanding factors affecting participation could help boost treatment coverage and sustain gains made in controlling onchocerciasis in endemic areas.PurposeTo explore community‐perceived factors related to participation in and sustainability of the CDTI program in southwest Tanzania.MethodsMultilevel triangulation design using surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs), and semistructured interviews to collect data in two villages in the Morogoro Rural District of Tanzania. In total, 456 villagers participated in the survey and 42 in FDGs. Five community‐directed distributors (CDDs) and three community health workers were interviewed.FindingsHigh levels of awareness of onchocerciasis (90%) and methods of prevention and treatment (95%) were reported. Over 75% of participants knew how ivermectin was distributed and 74% have taken the drug. Over 90% of villagers knew that distribution of the drug was for treatment and prevention. Only 43% knew the cause of onchocerciasis. Through FGDs, villagers reported barriers to participation, including lack of comprehensive understanding of the disease, fears of medication, distrust of the method determining dose, lack of health education materials, insufficient CDD‐resident communication, and inflexible drug distribution mechanisms.ConclusionsSustaining programs without supporting growth of CDDs and reinforcing education of communities could lead to a decrease in treatment and an increase in the public health threat. This research uncovered a need for more effective community education and sensitization.Clinical RelevanceUnderstanding barriers to participation in community‐based programs can assist public health and community health nurses and key stakeholders including Ministries of Health and local and regional health systems in the development of education and support materials to enhance health literacy and encourage program participation.
Self‐Monitoring and the Metatraits
Authors: Wilmot Michael P. , DeYoung Colin G. , Stillwell David , Kosinski Michal 
Published: January 2015

AbstractPrior attempts at locating self‐monitoring within general taxonomies of personality traits have largely proved unsuccessful. However, past research has typically neglected (a) the bidimensionality of the Self‐Monitoring Scale and (b) the hierarchical nature of personality. The objective of this study was to test hypotheses that the two self‐monitoring factors are located at the level of the metatraits. Using data from two large multi‐informant samples, one community (Sample 1: N = 552, Mage = 51.26, 61% female; NPeers = 1,551, Mage = 48.61, 37% female) and one online (Sample 2: N = 3,726, Mage = 24.89, 59% female; NPeers = 17,868, Mage = 26.23, 64% female), confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Results confirmed hypotheses that acquisitive self‐monitoring would have a strong positive relation to metatrait Plasticity, whereas protective self‐monitoring would have a moderate negative relation to metatrait Stability. In both samples, constraining the correlation between acquisitive self‐monitoring and Plasticity to unity did not alter model fit indices, indicating that the two putatively distinct constructs are identical. Findings have wide‐ranging implications, including integration of the construct of self‐monitoring into the mainstream of personality research, as the latter moves toward the development of broad explanatory theories.
Specifying Associations Between Conscientiousness and Executive Functioning: Mental Set Shifting, Not Prepotent Response Inhibition or Working Memory Updating
Authors: Fleming Kimberly A. , Heintzelman Samantha J. , Bartholow Bruce D. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractConscientiousness is characterized by self‐control, organization, and goal orientation and is positively related to a number of health and professional outcomes. Thus, it is commonly suggested that conscientiousness should be related to superior executive functioning (EF) abilities, especially prepotent response inhibition. However, little empirical support for this notion has emerged, perhaps due to oversimplified and underspecified modeling of EF. The current study sought to fill this gap by testing relations between conscientiousness and three facets of EF using a nested factors latent variable approach. Participants (N = 420; Mage = 22.5; 50% male; 91% Caucasian) completed a measure of conscientiousness and nine EF tasks designed to tap three related yet distinguishable facets of EF: working memory updating, mental set shifting, and prepotent response inhibition. Structural equation models showed that conscientiousness is positively associated with the EF facet of mental set shifting but not response inhibition or working memory updating. Despite the common notion that conscientiousness is associated with cognitive abilities related to rigid control over impulses (i.e., inhibition), the current results suggest the cognitive ability most associated with conscientiousness is characterized by flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing environmental contingencies and task demands.
Sound the Alarm: The Effect of Narcissism on Retaliatory Aggression Is Moderated by dACC Reactivity to Rejection
Authors: Chester David S. , DeWall C. Nathan 
Published: January 2015

AbstractNarcissists behave aggressively when their egos are threatened by interpersonal insults. This effect has been explained in terms of narcissists' motivation to reduce the discrepancy between their grandiose self and its threatened version, though no research has directly tested this hypothesis. If this notion is true, the link between narcissism and retaliatory aggression should be moderated by neural structures that subserve discrepancy detection, such as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). This study tested the hypothesis that narcissism would only predict greater retaliatory aggression in response to social rejection when the dACC was recruited by the threat. Thirty participants (15 females; Mage = 18.86, SD = 1.25; 77% White) completed a trait narcissism inventory, were socially accepted and then rejected while undergoing fMRI, and then could behave aggressively toward one of the rejecters by blasting him or her with unpleasant noise. When narcissists displayed greater dACC activation during rejection, they behaved aggressively. But there was only a weak or nonsignificant relation between narcissism and aggression among participants with a blunted dACC response. Narcissism's role in aggressive retaliation to interpersonal threats is likely determined by the extent to which the brain's discrepancy detector registers the newly created gap between the grandiose and threatened selves.
The effects of serum apolipoprotein E genetic variants and concentration on serum lipid parameters in haemodialysis patients
Authors: Wang Kai , Wang Pei , Qiao Yingjin , Lu Xiaoqing , Wang Xin , Liu Zhangsuo 
Published: January 2015

Abstract

Objectives
Many epidemiological studies demonstrate that the apolipoprotein E gene (ApoE) is an important candidate gene for playing key roles in the development of haemodialysis (HD). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of ApoE genetic variants and concentration on serum lipid parameters in HD.

Methods
A total of 288 HD patients and 292 healthy controls were enrolled in this case–control study. The genotypes of ApoE genetic variants were investigated through the created restriction site-polymerase chain reaction and DNA-sequencing methods.

Key findings
Our data indicated that the levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), ApoB, ApoE, lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) of mutant genotypes in ApoE c.61G &gt; A and c.761T &gt; A genetic variants were different from those subjects with wild genotype in HD patients and healthy controls.

Conclusions
These preliminary results from this study suggest that the ApoE genetic variants and concentration could affect the serum lipid parameters in HD and could be risk factors for evaluating HD.
Estimates on HCV disease burden worldwide – filling the gaps
Authors: Wedemeyer H. , Dore G. J. , Ward J. W. 
Published: January 2015

SummaryHepatitis C is caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and represents a major global health burden. Persistent HCV infection can lead to progressive liver disease with the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, possibly accounting for up to 0.5 million deaths every year. Treatment of HCV infection is undergoing a profound and radical change. As new treatments are extremely safe and effective, there are virtually no medical reasons to withhold therapy. Yet, the new therapies are expensive. As resources are limited, solid data to estimate the disease burden caused by HCV are urgently needed. Epidemiology data and disease burden analyses for 16 countries are presented. For almost all countries, the peak of HCV‐related cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver‐related death is a decade or more away. However, a surprising heterogeneity in country‐specific HCV‐associated disease burden exists. Also, HCV diagnosis and treatment uptake varied markedly between countries. A consistent finding was that a reduction of HCV liver‐related mortality is dependent on access to therapy. Increasing efficacy of therapy alone with a constant numbers of treatments will not have a major impact on the HCV‐related disease burden. The data presented here should inform public health policy and help drive advocacy for enhanced strategic investment and action. HCV kills patients, and the disease burden will continue to rise in most countries unless action is taken soon. Chronic HCV is a curable infection and a reversible liver disease. Fortunately, the tools to eliminate HCV are now available.
Clinical Phenotype of X‐Linked Myotubular Myopathy in Labrador Retriever Puppies
Authors: Snead E.C.R. , Taylor S.M. , van der Kooij M. , Cosford K. , Beggs A.H. , Shelton G.D. 
Published: January 2015

BackgroundSeven male Labrador Retriever puppies from 3 different litters, born to clinically normal dams and sires, were evaluated for progressive weakness and muscle atrophy. Muscle biopsies identified a congenital myopathy with pathologic features consistent with myotubular myopathy. Further investigations identified a pathogenic mutation in the myotubularin gene, confirming that these puppies had X‐linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM).ObjectiveTo review the clinical phenotype, electrodiagnostic and laboratory features of XLMTM in this cohort of Labrador Retrievers.ResultsMale puppies with XLMTM were small and thin compared with their normal littermates. Generalized weakness and muscle atrophy were present by 7 weeks of age in some puppies and evident to most owners by 14 weeks of age. Affected puppies stood with an arched spine and low head carriage, and walked with a short, choppy stride. Muscle atrophy was severe and progressive. Patellar reflexes were absent. Laryngeal and esophageal dysfunction, and weakness of the masticatory muscles occurred in puppies surviving beyond 4 months of age. Serum creatine kinase activity was normal or only mildly increased. EMG findings were nonspecific and included positive sharp waves and fibrillation potentials. Clinical signs progressed rapidly, with most affected puppies unable to walk within 3–4 weeks after clinical signs were first noticed.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceAlthough initial clinical signs of XLMTM are similar to the phenotypically milder centronuclear myopathy in Labrador Retrievers, XLMTM is a rapidly progressive and fatal myopathy. Clinicians should be aware of these 2 distinct myopathies with similar clinical presentations in the Labrador retriever breed.
Women's Life Writing in the Long 18th Century: A Critical Survey
Authors: Culley Amy 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThis essay provides an overview of developments in studies of British women's life writing in the long 18th century over the last 25 years and explores possible future directions at an exciting moment for the field. It addresses the expansion of the canon under the influence of feminist criticism and the shift in emphasis from autobiography to life writing as a hybrid and indeterminate form which works across disciplinary boundaries. It takes account of scholarly work on traditional categories of women's life writing, such as the scandalous memoir and spiritual autobiography, and considers more recent interests in biography, collective biography, afterlives and the letter. The article concludes with some reflections on potential avenues for future research, including a more rigorous approach to genre, the interrelations of manuscript and print and collaboration and collective authorship, as well as highlighting some of the challenges (and rewards) of working with life writing texts.
Evolution of phenotypic plasticity in colonizing species
Authors: Lande Russell 
Published: January 2015

AbstractI elaborate an hypothesis to explain inconsistent empirical findings comparing phenotypic plasticity in colonizing populations or species with plasticity from their native or ancestral range. Quantitative genetic theory on the evolution of plasticity reveals that colonization of a novel environment can cause a transient increase in plasticity: a rapid initial increase in plasticity accelerates evolution of a new optimal phenotype, followed by slow genetic assimilation of the new phenotype and reduction of plasticity. An association of colonization with increased plasticity depends on the difference in the optimal phenotype between ancestral and colonized environments, the difference in mean, variance and predictability of the environment, the cost of plasticity, and the time elapsed since colonization. The relative importance of these parameters depends on whether a phenotypic character develops by one‐shot plasticity to a constant adult phenotype or by labile plasticity involving continuous and reversible development throughout adult life.