bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Blame Game and Rotten Apples in Private Investigation Reports: The Case of Hadeland and Ringerike Broadband in Norway
Authors: Gottschalk Petter 
Published: May 2015

AbstractBlame game is a term often used to describe a phenomenon that happens in groups of people when something goes wrong. The blame game hypothesis postulates that private investigators may be misled in their search for suspects and that suspected individuals do not necessarily become subject to a fair investigation by financial crime specialists and fraud examiners. The rotten apple hypothesis postulates that it is comforting to assume that one bad apple within an organisation is essentially responsible for the crime that is all too prevalent. The rotten apple view of white‐collar crime is a comfortable perspective to apply to business and public organisations as it allows them to look no further than suspect a single individual. Based on a case study of the Norwegian company Hadeland and Ringerike Broadband, this paper discusses blame game and rotten apple issues in an internal investigation report written by an external financial crime specialist. The study finds support for both hypotheses, as blame is mainly isolated to the criminal and his superior, and both board and top management are protected from scrutiny. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of pH and oxygen on biofilm formation in acute otitis media associated NTHi clinical isolates
Authors: Osgood Robert , Salamone Frank , Diaz Alexis , Casey Janet R. , Bajorski Peter , Pichichero Michael E. 
Published: May 2015

Objectives/HypothesisBiofilms occur in animal models of acute otitis media (AOM) and in children with recurrent AOM (rAOM) and chronic otitis media with effusion (OME). We therefore studied the ability of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) strains from children to form biofilms in vitro under conditions we presumed occurred in the middle ear during AOM, rAOM, and OME.Study DesignEvaluate NTHi isolates for biofilm formation across a pH range under aerobic, microaerophilic, and anaerobic conditions.MethodsUsing a crystal violet biofilm assay we studied 12 NTHi pediatric clinical isolates to investigate biofilm formation over a pH range of 4.5 to 10 under aerobic, microaerophilic, and anaerobic conditions.ResultsOur findings included: 1) not all clinical NTHi strains form biofilms (75% did); 2) the pH of middle ear fluid collected from AOM (n = 170; age range, 4–36 months), rAOM (n = 54; age range, 7–36 months), and OME (n = 30; age range, 9–60 months) subjects tested immediately after withdrawal was similar (mean = 8.0;range 7.0–9.0); 3) biofilms formed optimally at pH 8.0, a finding that is consistent with previous studies by other investigators; 4) biofilms did not form under aerobic conditions as likely occurs in AOM, whereas under microaerophilic and anaerobic conditions biofilm formation was observed as likely occurs during rAOM and OME.ConclusionsWe concluded that biofilm formation by NTHi does not occur in all strains, occurs best where the pH = 8.0 and in anaerobic conditions as likely occurs in children during rAOM and OME. However, biofilm formation is limited or absent under aerobic conditions as likely occurs during AOM.Level of EvidenceNA Laryngoscope, 125:2204–2208, 2015
Endoscopic transmucosal direct puncture sclerotherapy for management of airway vascular malformations
Authors: Oomen Karin P. Q. , Paramasivam Srinivasan , Waner Milton , Niimi Yasunari , Fifi Johanna T. , Berenstein Alejandro , O Teresa M. 
Published: May 2015

Objectives/HypothesisTo describe a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of airway vascular malformations (venous or lymphatic) with direct suspension rigid laryngoscopy and direct puncture transmucosal bleomycin sclerotherapy injected under road‐mapping fluoroscopic monitoring, supplemented by Dyna‐computed tomography utilization.Study DesignCase series.MethodsWe performed a retrospective medical record and imaging review of four patients with venous malformations or lymphatic malformations located in the airway. Patients were treated with a combination of direct suspension laryngoscopy or rigid nasopharyngoscopy and image‐guided direct puncture bleomycin sclerotherapy.ResultsTwo patients presented to our institution with extensive lymphatic malformation of the neck, parapharyngeal, and retropharyngeal spaces, and two presented with venous malformation of the nasopharynx and oropharynx. All patients were treated with multiple sclerotherapy and debulking procedures before undergoing combined direct transmucosal puncture bleomycin sclerotherapy guided by direct laryngoscopy or nasopharyngoscopy. All patients had complete resolution of disease while maintaining a safe airway.ConclusionsA multidisciplinary approach to airway vascular malformations with a combination of endoscopy and direct puncture bleomycin sclerotherapy was demonstrated to be a safe and effective treatment in our patient cohort. Direct laryngoscopy and nasopharyngoscopy provide easy access to the nasopharynx, oropharynx, retro‐ and/or parapharyngeal spaces and larynx. Unlike traditional agents, bleomycin induces minimal edema and therefore is an ideal substance to treat airway lesions.Level of Evidence4. Laryngoscope, 126:205–211, 2016
The influence of a novel in‐office tooth whitening procedure using an Er,Cr:YSGG laser on enamel surface morphology
Authors: Dionysopoulos Dimitrios , Strakas Dimitrios , Koliniotou‐Koumpia Eugenia 
Published: May 2015

Background and ObjectiveThe purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the influence of a novel in‐office tooth whitening procedure using Er,Cr:YSGG laser radiation on bovine enamel.Study Design/Materials and MethodsForty‐eight enamel specimens were prepared from bovine canines and divided into four groups: Group 1 specimens (control) received no whitening treatment; Group 2 received whitening treatment with an at‐home whitening agent (22% carbamide peroxide) for 7 days; Group 3 received whitening treatment with a novel in‐office whitening agent (35% H2O2); Group 4 received the same in‐office whitening therapy with Group 3 using Er,Cr:YSGG laser in order to accelerate the whitening procedure. The specimens were stored for 10 days after the whitening treatment in artificial saliva. Vickers hardness was determined using a microhardness tester and surface roughness was evaluated using a VSI microscope. Three specimens of each experimental group were examined under SEM and the mineral composition of the specimens was evaluated using EDS. Data were statistically analyzed using one‐way ANOVA, Tukey's post‐hoc test, Wilcoxon signed rank and Kruskal‐Wallis tests (a = 0.05).ResultsThe surface microhardness of the enamel was reduced after the in‐office whitening treatments (P< 0.05), but not influenced after the at‐home whitening treatment (P> 0.05). Moreover, the surface roughness was not significantly changed after tooth whitening. EDS analysis did not show alterations in the enamel mineral composition, while SEM observations indicated changes in the surface morphology, especially after in‐office tooth whitening (P< 0.05).ConclusionsThe laser‐assisted whitening treatment with Er,Cr:YSGG laser did not affect the alterations in enamel surface compared with the conventional in‐office whitening technique. Lasers Surg. Med. 47:503–511, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Physicochemical Profiles of the Marketed Agrochemicals and Clues for Agrochemical Lead Discovery and Screening Library Development
Authors: Rao Hanbing , Huangfu Changxin , Wang Yanying , Wang Xianxiang , Tang Tiansheng , Zeng Xianyin , Li Zerong , Chen Yuzong 
Published: May 2015

AbstractCombinatorial chemistry, high‐throughput and virtual screening technologies have been extensively used for discovering agrochemical leads from chemical libraries. The knowledge of the physicochemical properties of the marketed agrochemicals is useful for guiding the design and selection of such libraries. Since the earlier profiling of marketed agrochemicals, the number and types of marketed agrochemicals have significantly increased. Recent studies have shown the change of some physicochemical properties of oral drugs with time. There is a need to also profile the physicochemical properties of the marketed agrochemicals. In this work, we analyzed the key physicochemical properties of 1751 marketed agrochemicals in comparison with the previously‐analyzed herbicides and insecticides, 106 391 natural products and 57 548 diverse synthetic libraries compounds. Our study revealed the distribution profiles and evolution trend of different types of agrochemicals that in many respects are broadly similar to the reported profiles for oral drugs, with the most marked difference being that agrochemicals have a lower number of hydrogen bond donors. The derived distribution patterns provided the rule of thumb guidelines for selecting potential agrochemical leads and also provided clues for further improving the libraries for agrochemical lead discovery.
Using semidiscrete decomposition and vector space models to identify users of social networks
Authors: Gosnell Denise K. , Berry Michael W. 
Published: May 2015

SummaryUsers of social media interact with the network and its users. Each interaction creates network‐specific data between the engaged users and the chosen social avenue. Over time, these engagements accumulate to describe the user's social fingerprint, a data trail that encapsulates the user's identity on the network. The agglomeration of this information showcases the user's activity on the social network and establishes a traceable social fingerprint. The focus of this study is to examine the accuracy of user identification via semidiscrete decomposition of social network adjacency matrices. The use of semidiscrete decomposition in this application creates separability amongst observed data trails as a means to establish uniqueness amongst the users of the social network. The results presented herein illustrate to what extent a user's social fingerprint can be both quantified and identified on a social network through time. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Diet Transition or Human Migration in the Chinese Neolithic? Dietary and Migration Evidence from the Stable Isotope Analysis of Humans and Animals from the Qinglongquan Site, China
Authors: Guo Y. , Fan Y. , Hu Y. , Zhu J. , Richards M. P. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThe Qinglongquan site, China, includes materials from the Neolithic Qujialing (3000–2600 bc) and Shijiahe (2600–2200 bc) periods, and lies within the Sui‐Zao Corridor that connects the Nanyang Basin in the north and the Hanjiang River Plain in the south. Previous research suggested a dietary shift from rice‐based to millet‐based agriculture between the Qujialing and Shijiehe periods at this site. The reason for this dietary shift is still unclear, and it is possible because of immigration into the region by people who already had a mainly C4‐millet‐based diet (i.e. from Northern China). In this study, we examine the carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) results and present sulfur (δ34S) isotope analyses of human (n = 27) and animal (n = 36) samples to test the hypothesis of whether this dietary shift was due to migration. The δ34S values of the Qujialing humans ranged from 5.5‰ to 8.1‰ [average 6.5‰ ± 1.0 (n = 7)], and the δ34S values of the Shijiahe humans ranged from 4.1‰ to 7.4‰ [average 5.8‰ ± 0.9 (n = 18)]. Because these values overlapped and were similar to the animal δ34S results [4.3‰ to 8.8‰, average of 6.6 ± 1.3‰ (n = 31)], no evidence of migration was found for the humans with the different diets at the Qinglongquan site. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A national survey of public views about the classification of obesity as a disease
Authors: Puhl Rebecca M. , Liu Sai 
Published: May 2015

ObjectiveIn 2013, the American Medical Association classified obesity as a disease. This study assessed public opinions about this disease classification.MethodsIn January 2014, a national sample of 1118 adults completed surveys assessing their agreement with 33 statements in support of and against the disease classification of obesity, as well as measures assessing sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsThe majority of participants (51‐61.7%) agreed with 11 of 17 statements in support of the disease classification of obesity (average agreement across all statements = 51%), including views that it will help people gain access to obesity treatment. A minority of participants (31‐47.3%) agreed with 15 of 16 statements against the disease classification (average agreement across statements = 39.5%), including views that it will increase overreliance on medications or surgery to treat obesity (47.3%). Participants' attitudes were unaffected by sex, income, education, or health status but were related to causal beliefs about obesity. The disease classification received more support from African Americans and more opposition by individuals with higher weight stigma.ConclusionsThis study found more public agreement supporting the disease classification of obesity than opposing it. Further work should identify whether this classification affects health behaviors among individuals with obesity or societal weight stigmatization.
Structural insights into interactions between ubiquitin specific protease 5 and its polyubiquitin substrates by mass spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry
Authors: Scott Daniel , Layfield Robert , Oldham Neil J. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractNanoelectrospray ionization‐mass spectrometry and ion mobility‐mass spectrometry have been used to study the interactions of the large, multidomain, and conformationally flexible deubiquitinating enzyme ubiquitin specific protease 5 (USP5) with mono‐ and poly‐ubiquitin (Ub) substrates. Employing a C335A active site mutant, mass spectrometry was able to detect the stable and cooperative binding of two mono‐Ub molecules at the Zinc‐finger ubiquitin binding protein (ZnF‐UBP) and catalytic site domains of USP5. Tetra‐ubiquitin, in contrast, bound to USP5 with a stoichiometry of 1 : 1, and formed additional interactions with USP5's two ubiquitin associated domains (UBAs). Charge‐state distribution and ion mobility analysis revealed that both mono‐ and tetra‐ubiquitin bound to the compact conformation of USP5 only, and that tetra‐ubiquitin binding was able to shift the conformational distribution of USP5 from a mixture of extended and compact forms to a completely compact conformation.
Conformational plasticity surrounding the active site of NADH oxidase from Thermus thermophilus
Authors: Miletti Teresa , Di Trani Justin , Jr. Levros Louis‐Charles , Mittermaier Anthony 
Published: May 2015

AbstractBiotechnological applications of enzymes can involve the use of these molecules under nonphysiological conditions. Thus, it is of interest to understand how environmental variables affect protein structure and dynamics and how this ultimately modulates enzyme function. NADH oxidase (NOX) from Thermus thermophilus exemplifies how enzyme activity can be tuned by reaction conditions, such as temperature, cofactor substitution, and the addition of cosolutes. This enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of reduced NAD(P)H to NAD(P)+ with the concurrent reduction of O2 to H2O2, with relevance to biosensing applications. It is thermophilic, with an optimum temperature of approximately 65°C and sevenfold lower activity at 25°C. Moderate concentrations (≈1M) of urea and other chaotropes increase NOX activity by up to a factor of 2.5 at room temperature. Furthermore, it is a flavoprotein that accepts either FMN or the much larger FAD as cofactor. We have used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) titration and 15N spin relaxation experiments together with isothermal titration calorimetry to study how NOX structure and dynamics are affected by changes in temperature, the addition of urea and the substitution of the FMN cofactor with FAD. The majority of signals from NOX are quite insensitive to changes in temperature, cosolute addition, and cofactor substitution. However, a small cluster of residues surrounding the active site shows significant changes. These residues are implicated in coupling changes in the solution conditions of the enzyme to changes in catalytic activity.
Conformational landscape and pathway of disulfide bond reduction of human alpha defensin
Authors: Snijder Joost , van de Waterbeemd Michiel , Glover Matthew S. , Shi Liuqing , Clemmer David E. , Heck Albert J. R. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractHuman alpha defensins are a class of antimicrobial peptides with additional antiviral activity. Such antimicrobial peptides constitute a major part of mammalian innate immunity. Alpha defensins contain six cysteines, which form three well defined disulfide bridges under oxidizing conditions. Residues C3‐C31, C5‐C20, and C10‐C30 form disulfide pairs in the native structure of the peptide. The major tissue in which HD5 is expressed is the crypt of the small intestine, an anaerobic niche that should allow for substantial pools of both oxidized and (partly) reduced HD5. We used ion mobility coupled to mass spectrometry to track the structural changes in HD5 upon disulfide bond reduction. We found evidence of stepwise unfolding of HD5 with sequential reduction of the three disulfide bonds. Alkylation of free cysteines followed by tandem mass spectrometry of the corresponding partially reduced states revealed a dominant pathway of reductive unfolding. The majority of HD5 unfolds by initial reduction of C5‐C20, followed by C10‐C30 and C3‐C31. We find additional evidence for a minor pathway that starts with reduction of C3‐C31, followed by C5‐C20 and C10‐C30. Our results provide insight into the pathway and conformational landscape of disulfide bond reduction in HD5.
Kinesin, 30 years later: Recent insights from structural studies
Authors: Wang Weiyi , Cao Luyan , Wang Chunguang , Gigant Benoît , Knossow Marcel 
Published: May 2015

AbstractMotile kinesins are motor proteins that move unidirectionally along microtubules as they hydrolyze ATP. They share a conserved motor domain (head) which harbors both the ATP‐ and microtubule‐binding activities. The kinesin that has been studied most moves toward the microtubule (+)‐end by alternately advancing its two heads along a single protofilament. This kinesin is the subject of this review. Its movement is associated to alternate conformations of a peptide, the neck linker, at the C‐terminal end of the motor domain. Recent progress in the understanding of its structural mechanism has been made possible by high‐resolution studies, by cryo electron microscopy and X‐ray crystallography, of complexes of the motor domain with its track protein, tubulin. These studies clarified the structural changes that occur as ATP binds to a nucleotide‐free microtubule‐bound kinesin, initiating each mechanical step. As ATP binds to a head, it triggers orientation changes in three rigid motor subdomains, leading the neck linker to dock onto the motor core, which directs the other head toward the microtubule (+)‐end. The relationship between neck linker docking and the orientations of the motor subdomains also accounts for kinesin's processivity, which is remarkable as this motor protein only falls off from a microtubule after taking about a hundred steps. As tools are now available to determine high‐resolution structures of motor domains complexed to their track protein, it should become possible to extend these studies to other kinesins and relate their sequence variations to their diverse properties.
Collisional unfolding of multiprotein complexes reveals cooperative stabilization upon ligand binding
Authors: Niu Shuai , Ruotolo Brandon T. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractCooperative binding mechanisms are a common feature in biology, enabling a diverse range of protein‐based molecular machines to regulate activities ranging from oxygen uptake to cellular membrane transport. Much, however, is not known about such cooperative binding mechanisms, including how such events typically add to the overall stability of such protein systems. Measurements of such cooperative stabilization events are challenging, as they require the separation and resolution of individual protein complex bound states within a mixture of potential stoichiometries to individually assess protein stabilities. Here, we report ion mobility‐mass spectrometry results for the concanavalin A tetramer bound to a range of polysaccharide ligands. We use collision induced unfolding, a relatively new methodology that functions as a gas‐phase analog of calorimetry experiments in solution, to individually assess the stabilities of concanavalin A bound states. By comparing the differences in activation voltage required to unfold different concanavalin A–ligand stoichiometries, we find evidence suggesting a cooperative stabilization of concanavalin A occurs upon binding most carbohydrate ligands. We critically evaluate this observation by assessing a broad range of ligands, evaluating the unfolding properties of multiple protein charge states, and by comparing our gas‐phase results with those obtained from calorimetry experiments carried out in solution.
Polyglycine hydrolases: Fungal β‐lactamase‐like endoproteases that cleave polyglycine regions within plant class IV chitinases
Authors: Naumann Todd A. , Naldrett Michael J. , Ward Todd J. , Price Neil P. J. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractPolyglycine hydrolases are secreted fungal proteases that cleave glycine–glycine peptide bonds in the inter‐domain linker region of specific plant defense chitinases. Previously, we reported the catalytic activity of polyglycine hydrolases from the phytopathogens Epicoccum sorghi (Es‐cmp) and Cochliobolus carbonum (Bz‐cmp). Here we report the identity of their encoding genes and the primary amino acid sequences of the proteins responsible for these activities. Peptides from a tryptic digest of Es‐cmp were analyzed by LC‐MS/MS and the spectra obtained were matched to a draft genome sequence of E. sorghi. From this analysis, a 642 amino acid protein containing a predicted β‐lactamase catalytic region of 280 amino acids was identified. Heterologous strains of the yeast Pichia pastoris were created to express this protein and its homolog from C. carbonum from their cDNAs. Both strains produced recombinant proteins with polyglycine hydrolase activity as shown by SDS‐PAGE and MALDI‐MS based assays. Site directed mutagenesis was used to mutate the predicted catalytic serine of Es‐cmp to glycine, resulting in loss of catalytic activity. BLAST searching of publicly available fungal genomes identified full‐length homologous proteins in 11 other fungi of the class Dothideomycetes, and in three fungi of the related class Sordariomycetes while significant BLAST hits extended into the phylum Basidiomycota. Multiple sequence alignment led to the identification of a network of seven conserved tryptophans that surround the β‐lactamase‐like region. This is the first report of a predicted β‐lactamase that is an endoprotease.
Effect of O2 flow rate on the thermochromic performance of VO2 coatings grown by atmospheric pressure CVD
Authors: Louloudakis Dimitris , Vernardou Dimitra , Spanakis Emmanouel , Dokianakis Spyros , Panagopoulou Marianthi , Raptis Giannis , Aperathitis Elias , Kiriakidis George , Katsarakis Nikolaos , Koudoumas Emmanouel 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThis paper reports the atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition of vanadium oxide coatings using vanadyl (IV) acetylacetonate at 500 oC. The as‐grown samples for 0.8 L min‐1 O2 flow rate showed an (022)‐oriented single vanadium dioxide monoclinic phase of low crystallinity. The narrowest hysteresis width is observed for the particular flow rate indicating a dependency on the shape of the grown crystallites. Regarding the difference in transmittance is determined by the enhanced presence of short‐ and long‐range bond ordering of the samples. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)