bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
miR‐124 controls Drosophila behavior and is required for neural development
Authors: Wang Chao , Feng Tongbao , Wan Qian , Kong Yan , Yuan Liudi 
Published: August 2014

AbstractMicroRNA‐124 (miR‐124) is an evolutionarily conserved, small, noncoding RNA molecule that participates in the central nervous system (CNS) developmental control of gene expression. In the current study, we found that Drosophila embryos lacking the mir‐124 gene did not exhibit detectable defects in axon growth or CNS development. On the other hand, adult mutants showed severe problems in locomotion, flight, and female fertility. Furthermore, the deficits that we observed in the adult stage could be marginally rescued with elav‐GAL4 driven expression of miR‐124, making elav‐GAL4 an excellently simulated driver to induce entopic over‐expression of miR‐124. Further developmental assessment in the third instar larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and dendritic arborization (DA) neurons was performed with miR‐124 knock outs, flies over‐expressing miR‐124, and rescue models. Typically, the absence and over‐abundance of a molecular signal exerts opposite effects on development or phenotype. However, we determined that both miR‐124 knock‐outs and over‐expressing flies displayed reduced NMJ 6/7 bouton number and branch length. Similarly, reduced ddaE branching numbers were observed between the two mutant lines. As to ddaF, we found that branching number was not influenced by mir‐124 knock out, but was statistically reduced by miR‐124 over‐expression. While we were not able to determine any causal relationship between behavioral defects and dysplasia of NMJs or DA neurons, there were some accompanying relationships among behavioral phenotypes, NMJ abnormalities, and ddaE/ddaF dendritic branching which were all controlled by miR‐124.
Violence and Social Memory in Twentieth-Century Belfast: Stories of Buck Alec Robinson
Authors: O'Connell Sean 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThis article explores the life and commemoration of Buck Alec Robinson. A feared loyalist killer in 1920s Belfast, in more recent times he has featured as a lion-keeping “character” on wall murals and in tourist guide books. Robinson is employed as a case study to investigate two separate but, in this case, interlinked historiographical debates. The first involves Norbert Elias's analysis of the decline of violence. The second relates to discussion of the analysis of social memory in working-class communities, with violence being placed therein. The article supports historical assessments suggesting that the “civilizing offensive” had an uneven impact. That point is usually made in the context of working-class men. This article extends it to political elites in Belfast and probes their flirtations with violent hard men. The case is made that it is a mistake to assume the “civilizing” dynamic is to be understood as a teleological or top-down process.
NUTRIENT BALANCES AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN URBAN AND PERI-URBAN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS OF THREE WEST AFRICAN CITIES
Authors: ABDULKADIR AISHA , SANGARÉ SHEICK K. , AMADOU HAMADOUN , AGBENIN JOHN O. 
Published: August 2014

SUMMARYUrban and peri-urban (UPA) cultivation supplies fresh vegetables and employment for the increasing number of urban inhabitants. It is characterized by the use of large nutrient inputs to increase productivity and often associated with negative environmental risks. For these reasons, this study quantified nutrient (nitrogen, N; phosphorus, P; and potassium, K) flows and economic performance of UPA gardening of the three West African cities of Kano, Nigeria; Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso; Sikasso, Mali, during a 2-year period using theMonitoring forQualityImprovement (MonQI) toolbox considering inflows and outflows sources. Average annual N, P and K balances were positive for all gardens in the three cities with N balances of 279, 1127 and 74 kg N ha−1in Kano, Bobo Dioulasso and Sikasso, respectively, except for annual K deficits of 222 and 187 kg K ha−1in Kano and Sikasso, respectively. Nitrogen use efficiencies were 63%, 51% and 87% in Kano, Bobo Dioulasso and Sikasso, respectively, with poor P use efficiencies due to excess application in all three cities. However, a high K efficiency was observed in Bobo Dioulasso (87%) while applications of K were lower than required in Kano and Sikasso with efficiencies of 121% and 110%, indicating possible K mining. The average annual gross margins from gardening indicated a statistically higher (p< 0.05) return of US$3.83 m−2in Bobo Dioulasso than returns obtained in Kano (US$0.92 m−2) and Sikasso (US$1.37 m−2). Although an economically vibrant activity, intensive UPA vegetable production needs to be reviewed for strategic planning towards improving N and P use efficiencies in order to maintain its productivity as well as safeguard the environment. Appropriate K fertilization is necessary to avoid long term K depletion in Kano and Sikasso UPA gardening.
The fingerprint of Precambrian basement in the Chinese Central Tianshan: evidence from inherited/xenocrystic zircons of magmatic rocks
Authors: MA XUXUAN , SHU LIANGSHU , MEERT JOSEPH G. , XU ZHIQIN 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThe Central Asian Orogenic Belt is an accretionary orogen with many distinct terranes including the Chinese Central Tianshan, whose Precambrian tectonic affinity is not yet clearly known. We present Precambrian age spectra of inherited/xenocrystic zircons from magmatic rocks in the Chinese Central Tianshan, collected from published papers. The age patterns are dominated by zircons with ages ranging from 3261 to 541 Ma. These spectra provide robust clues regarding the Precambrian affinity of the Chinese Central Tianshan. The age spectra record two major tectonothermal events, represented by salient age peaks of c. 950 and 900 Ma within the ‘Grenville Orogeny’ period, and age peaks at c. 750 and 630 Ma, synchronous with magmatic events corresponding to Rodinia break-up. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the Chinese Central Tianshan was part of the Tarim craton during Precambrian time as well as documenting its incorporation into, and separation from the Rodinia landmass.
Struggles over an ‘Old, Nasty, and Inconvenient Monopoly’: Municipal Slaughterhouses and the Meat Industry in Rio de Janeiro, 1880–1920s
Authors: LOPES MARIA-APARECIDA 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThis paper examines the meat supply system in Rio de Janeiro from the late nineteenth century to the 1920s. For a period of time the city's monopoly over meat processing and retailing guaranteed a steady supply at predictable prices. However, at the turn of the century, ‘interlopers’, as municipal officials labelled those who attempted to introduce their product into Rio's market, began to question this century-old monopoly. Hence, for a relatively short period, Rio de Janeiro implemented a number of measures: curtailing the long-standing custom of clandestine slaughtering; establishing a centralised and somewhat regulated public abattoir system; and, finally, introducing meat-packing companies. This study considers these developments by undertaking a broader inquiry into how they affected per capita meat availability in Rio de Janeiro from the 1890s to the 1920s.
Empowering the Police: How the Chinese Communist Party Manages Its Coercive Leaders
Authors: Wang Yuhua 
Published: August 2014

AbstractHow does the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) secure the loyalty of its coercive leaders, and its public security chiefs in particular, in the face of numerous domestic protests every year? This article presents the first quantitative analysis of contemporary China's coercive leaders using an original data set of provincial public security chiefs and public security funding during the reform era. I demonstrate that the CCP, owing to its concern for regime stability, has empowered the public security chiefs by incorporating them into the leadership team. Empowered public security chiefs then have stronger bargaining power over budgetary issues. I rely on fieldwork, qualitative interviews and an analysis of Party documents to complement my statistical analysis. The findings of this analysis shed light on the understanding of regime durability, contentious politics and the bureaucracy in China.
Intervening to enhance cortisol regulation among children at risk for neglect: Results of a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Bernard Kristin , Dozier Mary , Bick Johanna , Gordon M. Kathleen 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThe hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis is particularly sensitive to conditions of maltreatment. In particular, neglected children have shown a flatter slope with lower wake-up values relative to nonneglected children. An intervention, the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC), was developed to enhance biological and behavioral regulation in young children at risk for neglect. The effectiveness of the intervention was assessed in a randomized clinical trial for children with involvement with Child Protective Services. Following the intervention, children receiving the ABC intervention (n= 49) showed more typical cortisol production, with higher wake-up cortisol values and a steeper diurnal slope, than children receiving the control intervention (n= 51). These results suggest that the ABC intervention is effective in enhancing biological regulation.
The use of prosody during syntactic processing in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Diehl Joshua John , Friedberg Carlyn , Paul Rhea , Snedeker Jesse 
Published: August 2014

AbstractIn this study, we employed an eye-gaze paradigm to explore whether children (ages 8–12) and adolescents (ages 12–18) with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are able to use prosodic cues to determine the syntactic structure of an utterance. Persons with ASD were compared to typically developing (TD) peers matched on age, IQ, gender, and receptive language abilities. The stimuli were syntactically ambiguous but had a prosodic break that indicated the appropriate interpretation (feel the frog … with the feathervs.feel … the frog with the feather). We found that all groups were equally sensitive to the initial prosodic cues that were presented. Children and teens with ASD used prosody to interpret the ambiguous phrase as rapidly and efficiently as their TD peers. However, when a different cue was presented in subsequent trials, the younger ASD group was more likely to respond in a manner consistent with the initial prosodic cue rather than the new one. Eye-tracking data indicated that both younger groups (ASD and TD) had trouble shifting their interpretation as the prosodic cue changed, but the younger TD group was able to overcome this interference and produce an action consistent with the prosodic cue.
Evaluation of Agave Fiber Delignification by Means of Microscopy Techniques and Image Analysis
Authors: Hernández-Hernández Hilda M. , Chanona-Pérez Jorge J. , Calderón-Domínguez Georgina , Perea-Flores María. J. , Mendoza-Pérez Jorge A. , Vega Alberto , Ligero Pablo , Palacios-González Eduardo , Farrera-Rebollo Reynold R. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractRecently, the use of different types of natural fibers to produce paper and textiles from agave plants has been proposed. Agave atrovirens can be a good source of cellulose and lignin; nevertheless, the microstructural changes that happen during delignification have scarcely been studied. The aim of this work was to study the microstructural changes that occur during the delignification of agave fibers by means of microscopy techniques and image analysis. The fibers of A. atrovirens were obtained from leaves using convective drying, milling, and sieving. Fibers were processed using the Acetosolv pulping method at different concentrations of acetic acid; increasing acid concentration promoted higher levels of delignification, structural damage, and the breakdown of fiber clumps. Delignification followed by spectrometric analysis and microstructural studies were carried out by light, confocal laser scanning and scanning electron microscopy and showed that the delignification process follows three stages: initial, bulk, and residual. Microscopy techniques and image analysis were efficient tools for microstructural characterization during delignification of agave fibers, allowing quantitative evaluation of the process and the development of linear prediction models. The data obtained integrated numerical and microstructural information that could be valuable for the study of pulping of lignocellulosic materials.
Characterization ofSatureja khuzestanicaLeaf as a Herbal Medicine
Authors: Malmir Maryam , Serrano Rita , Reza Gohari Ahmad , Silva Olga 
Published: August 2014

AbstractDried leaves ofSatureja khuzestanicaJamzad are a popular herbal medicine and dental anesthetic among the nomadic inhabitants of southwestern Iran. The present study establishes criteria for identification ofS. khuzestanicadried whole, fragmented and powdered leaves for specification as a herbal substance using macroscopic and microscopic characterization. Quantitative microscopy techniques were also considered. Macroscopically leaves exhibit a grayish-green color, are broadly ovate in shape with an acute apex, attenuate base, and ciliate margin and have a surface covered by an indumentum of glandular and non-glandular trichomes. Microscopically leaves have an isobilateral amphistomatic structure containing peltate glandular trichomes consisting of a multiseriate stalk (five cells) and an enlarged secretory head composed of 12 cells, capitate glandular trichomes of variable morphology together with two types of non-glandular trichomes. Oval-shaped hygromorphic diacytic stomata with an adaxial stomatal index of 13.54, collateral vascular bundles consisting of xylem, and three layers of sclerenchymatous tissue close to phloem together with cluster, prismatic and raphide calcium oxalate crystals were also identified as useful pharmacognostic parameters for identification ofS. khuzestanicadried leaves.
Five-year survival after palliative radiotherapy of T4/N3 lung cancer: case series and review of the literature
Authors: Ampil Federico , Devarakonda Srinivas , Previgliano Carlos , Mills Glenn 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThere is sparse literature regarding extended survival of patients treated for T4 and/or N3 lung cancers. We present the results of a case series from our radiotherapeutic experience over the last 12 years to provide additional information. Out of 189 individuals diagnosed with lung cancer between 1997 and 2008, seven treated patients who survived five years or longer were identified. The median age was 56 years. More than half of the subjects were symptomatic at the time of hospitalization, possessed voluminous, non-small-cell histologic type malignant neoplasms, and received chemotherapy also. All individuals responded to treatment, and their survival ranged from 60 to 169 months. Our observed long-term survivors seem to justify the continued practice of modern standards of care in patients with lung cancer.
Towards the production of radiotherapy treatment shells on 3D printers using data derived from DICOM CT and MRI: preclinical feasibility studies
Authors: Laycock S. D. , Hulse M. , Scrase C. D. , Tam M. D. , Isherwood S. , Mortimore D. B. , Emmens D. , Patman J. , Short S. C. , Bell G. D. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractBackground:Immobilisation for patients undergoing brain or head and neck radiotherapy is achieved using perspex or thermoplastic devices that require direct moulding to patient anatomy. The mould room visit can be distressing for patients and the shells do not always fit perfectly. In addition the mould room process can be time consuming. With recent developments in three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies comes the potential to generate a treatment shell directly from a computer model of a patient. Typically, a patient requiring radiotherapy treatment will have had a computed tomography (CT) scan and if a computer model of a shell could be obtained directly from the CT data it would reduce patient distress, reduce visits, obtain a close fitting shell and possibly enable the patient to start their radiotherapy treatment more quickly.Purpose:This paper focuses on the first stage of generating the front part of the shell and investigates the dosimetric properties of the materials to show the feasibility of 3D printer materials for the production of a radiotherapy treatment shell.Materials and methods:Computer algorithms are used to segment the surface of the patient’s head from CT and MRI datasets. After segmentation approaches are used to construct a 3D model suitable for printing on a 3D printer. To ensure that 3D printing is feasible the properties of a set of 3D printing materials are tested.Conclusions:The majority of the possible candidate 3D printing materials tested result in very similar attenuation of a therapeutic radiotherapy beam as the Orfit soft-drape masks currently in use in many UK radiotherapy centres. The costs involved in 3D printing are reducing and the applications to medicine are becoming more widely adopted. In this paper we show that 3D printing of bespoke radiotherapy masks is feasible and warrants further investigation.
401(k) participant behavior in a volatile economy
Authors: BUTRICA BARBARA A. , SMITH KAREN E. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThe booms and busts of the late 1990s and 2000s have taken 401(k) plan participants on a rollercoaster ride. Using data from administrative tax records and household surveys, this paper examines how participants responded to these periods of economic expansions and contractions by documenting changes in 401(k) participation, contributions, and contribution rates from 1990 to 2009. Controlling for earnings, job changes, and other household factors, we find that workers reduce their 401(k) participation and contributions during recessions – suggesting that they may be responding to changes in their expectations about the economy and stock market. We estimate that changes in participant behavior during the Great Recession, in particular, could lower 401(k) assets of the typical 30-year-old by as much as 8% at age 62.
Best estimate reserves and the claims development results in consecutive calendar years
Authors: Saluz Annina , Gisler Alois 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThe claims development result (CDR) is the difference between the best estimate predictions of the ultimate claim in 2 successive years. With best estimate reserves it is often argued that CDR’s in consecutive years should fluctuate randomly around zero. However, in practice one frequently observes that CDR’s in a given line of business have the same sign over several consecutive years. We show that this is a phenomenon which is not unusual and to be expected in situations of change. Moreover, we show how situations of change can adequately be described by a model, taking into account the evolving external information.
Unconventionally secreted effectors of two filamentous pathogens target plant salicylate biosynthesis
Authors: Liu Tingli , Song Tianqiao , Zhang Xiong , Yuan Hongbo , Su Liming , Li Wanlin , Xu Jing , Liu Shiheng , Chen Linlin , Chen Tianzi , Zhang Meixiang , Gu Lichuan , Zhang Baolong , Dou Daolong 
Published: August 2014

AbstractPlant diseases caused by fungi and oomycetes pose an increasing threat to food security and ecosystem health worldwide. These filamentous pathogens, while taxonomically distinct, modulate host defense responses by secreting effectors, which are typically identified based on the presence of signal peptides. Here we show that Phytophthora sojae and Verticillium dahliae secrete isochorismatases (PsIsc1 and VdIsc1, respectively) that are required for full pathogenesis. PsIsc1 and VdIsc1 can suppress salicylate-mediated innate immunity in planta and hydrolyse isochorismate in vitro. A conserved triad of catalytic residues is essential for both functions. Thus, the two proteins are isochorismatase effectors that disrupt the plant salicylate metabolism pathway by suppressing its precursor. Furthermore, these proteins lack signal peptides, but exhibit characteristics that lead to unconventional secretion. Therefore, this secretion pathway is a novel mechanism for delivering effectors and might play an important role in host–pathogen interactions.
CYP-13A12 of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a PUFA-epoxygenase involved in behavioural response to reoxygenation
Authors: Keller Julia , Ellieva Alexandra , Ma Dengke K. , Ju Jingjuan , Nehk Erik , Konkel Anne , Falck John R. , Schunck Wolf-Hagen , Menzel Ralph 
Published: August 2014

A specific behavioural response of Caenorhabditis elegans, the rapid increase of locomotion in response to anoxia/reoxygenation called the O2-ON response, has been used to model key aspects of ischaemia/reperfusion injury. A genetic suppressor screen demonstrated a direct causal role of CYP (cytochrome P450)-13A12 in this response and suggested that CYP-eicosanoids, which in mammals influence the contractility of cardiomyocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells, might function in C. elegans as specific regulators of the body muscle cell activity. In the present study we show that co-expression of CYP-13A12 with the NADPH-CYP-reductase EMB-8 in insect cells resulted in the reconstitution of an active microsomal mono-oxygenase system that metabolized EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and also AA (arachidonic acid) to specific sets of regioisomeric epoxy and hydroxy derivatives. The main products included 17,18-EEQ (17,18-epoxyeicosatetraenoic acid) from EPA and 14,15-EET (14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid) from AA. Locomotion assays showed that the defective O2-ON response of C20-PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid)-deficient, Δ−12 and Δ−6 fatty acid desaturase mutants (fat-2 and fat-3 respectively) can be restored by feeding the nematodes AA or EPA, but not ETYA (eicosatetraynoic acid), a non-metabolizable AA analogue. Short-term incubation with 17,18-EEQ was sufficient to rescue the impaired locomotion of the fat-3 strain. The endogenous level of free 17,18-EEQ declined during anoxia and was rapidly restored in response to reoxygenation. On the basis of these results, we suggest that CYP-dependent eicosanoids such as 17,18-EEQ function as signalling molecules in the regulation of the O2-ON response in C. elegans. Remarkably, the exogenously administered 17,18-EEQ increased the locomotion activity under normoxic conditions and was effective not only with C20-PUFA-deficient mutants, but to a lesser extent also with wild-type worms.
The Relationship between Selected Auditory Abilities and Beginning Reading Achievement
Authors: Sawyer Diane J. 
Published: August 2014

During the fall semester, eighty-four first grade boys of average and above-average intelligence were administered tests of auditory blending, auditory discrimination, and phonemic segmentation. End-of-year reading achievement test scores were also obtained. Of the 84, only 21 boys showed sufficient variation in achievement across the measures to permit inferences concerning relationships between and among the abilities measured. Among these 21, relatively high achievement was observed in auditory discrimination overall. Blending ability appeared less well developed among them but, overall, each was least proficient in phonemic segmentation.
Statistical tests (multiple correlation and the regression source of variance) were applied to permit inferences concerning the relative strength of each of the auditory variables in predicting the level of reading achievement. Neither performance on any of the three auditory measures nor level of intelligence alone could adequately predict end-of-year reading achievement. When considered in combination, however, the four factors measured during the first semester of first grade accounted for about 43% of the variability observed in end-of-year reading achievement. Results suggest that success in beginning reading requires the effective utilization of a complex of auditory abilities necessary for the processing of spoken language.