bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Menthol on Cigarette Smoking Behaviors, Biomarkers and Subjective Responses
Authors: Strasser Andrew A. , Ashare Rebecca L. , Kaufman Madeline , Tang Kathy Z. , Mesaros A. Clementina , Blair Ian A. 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
Background: As part of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration charged the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee with developing a report and recommendations about the effect of menthol in cigarettes on the public health. The purpose of this study was to examine smoking behaviors, biomarkers of exposure, and subjective responses when switching from a novel menthol cigarette to a non-menthol cigarette to isolate the effect of menthol and to approximate the effect a menthol ban might have on smokers.
Methods: Thirty-two adult smokers completed this 35-day randomized, open-label, laboratory study. After a 5-day baseline period, participants were randomized to the experimental group (n = 22) where they would smoke menthol Camel crush for 15 days followed by 15 days of non-menthol Camel crush, or the control group (n = 10) where they smoked their own brand cigarette across all periods. Participants attended study visits every 5 days and completed measures of smoking rate, smoking topography, biomarkers of exposure, and subjective responses.
Results: Although total puff volume tended to increase when the experimental group switched from menthol to non-menthol (P = 0.06), there were no corresponding increases in cigarette consumption or biomarkers of exposure (P &gt; 0.1). Subjective ratings related to taste and smell decreased during the non-menthol period (P &lt; 0.01), compared with the menthol.
Conclusions: Results suggest menthol has minimal impact on smoking behaviors, biomarkers of exposure, and subjective ratings.
Impact: When controlling for all other cigarette design features, menthol in cigarettes had minimal effect on outcome measures. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(3); 382–9. ©2013 AACR.
Targetome Profiling, Pathway Analysis and Genetic Association Study Implicate miR-202 in Lymphomagenesis
Authors: Hoffman Aaron E. , Liu Ran , Fu Alan , Zheng Tongzhang , Slack Frank , Zhu Yong 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
Background: miRNAs have been implicated in numerous tumorigenic pathways, and previous studies have associated miR-202 dysregulation with various cancer types, including follicular lymphoma.
Methods: The miR-202 targetome was identified by ribonucleoprotein immunoprecipitation-microarray (RIP-Chip), and functional interactions among identified targets were investigated using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis tool. We also conducted a population-based genetic association study of a polymorphism within the miR-202 stem-loop sequence and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In vitro gain-of-function experiments were further conducted to elucidate the functional significance of the variant.
Results: A total of 141 potential members of the miR-202 targetome were identified by a transcriptome-wide RIP-Chip assay. Functional interactions among identified targets suggested that miR-202-regulated genes are involved in biologic pathways relevant for hematologic function and cancer. Consistent with this, a genetic association analysis using human blood samples revealed a significant association between a germline mutation (rs12355840) in the miR-202 precursor sequence and follicular lymphoma risk. An in vitro functional assay further showed that the variant allele resulted in diminished miR-202 levels, possibly by altering precursor-processing efficiency.
Conclusions: Taken together, our findings suggest that miR-202 is involved in follicular lymphomagenesis.
Impact: These findings implicate miR-202 as a potential tumor suppressor in follicular lymphoma and warrant the investigation of miR-202 as a novel biomarker of follicular lymphoma risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(3); 327–36. ©2013 AACR.
Trials and Tribulations of Interrogating Biomarkers to Define Efficacy of Cancer Risk Reductive Interventions
Authors: Brenner Dean E. , Hawk Ernest 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
The challenges of clinical screening of cancer risk reductive interventions (“chemopreventive”) have slowed progress in deployment of therapeutics to reverse or delay the carcinogenesis process. The preoperative or window-of-opportunity design clinical trial design enrolls subjects rapidly, has short study periods, and quantifies tissue biomarkers that reflect both anti-carcinogenesis mechanism of the risk reductive intervention and key molecular events of the carcinogenesis process for a specific epithelial target. High subject screened to on study ratios reduce the efficiency and increase cost of this research strategy. Small-sized tissue samples obtained by minimally invasive endoscopic technologies limit the number of biomarkers that can be detected and quantified, forcing investigators into choosing either a broad-based but superficial multi-mechanism exploration of signaling intermediates or a more focused analysis of multiple molecular events in a linear signaling-specific pathway. More efficient strategies of the future might involve isolation and expansion of pluripotent cells from at-risk epithelium or intraepithelial neoplastic lesions. Such a strategy would allow interrogation of key carcinogenesis-associated pathways and mechanisms in representative primary single-cell cultures amenable to genomic, proteomics, or transfection-based technologies. Cancer Prev Res; 6(2); 71–3. ©2013 AACR.
Ultra-low-molecular-weight heparins: Precise structural features impacting specific anticoagulant activities
Authors: Lima Marcelo , Viskov Christian , Herman Frederic , Gray Angel , de Farias Eduardo , Cavalheiro Renan , Sassaki Guilherme , Hoppensteadt Debra , Fareed Fareed , Nader Helena 
Published: January 2013

SummaryUltra-low-molecular-weight heparins (ULMWHs) with better efficacy and safety ratios are under development; however, there are few structural data available. The main structural features and molecular weight of ULMWHs were studied and compared to enoxaparin. Their monosaccharide composition and average molecular weights were determined and preparations studied by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, scanning ultraviolet spectroscopy, circular dichroism and gel permeation chromatography. In general, ULMWHs presented higher 3-O-sulphated glucosamine and unsaturated uronic acid residues, the latter being comparable with their higher degree of depolymerisation. The analysis showed that ULMWHs are structurally related to LMWHs; however, their monosaccharide/oligosaccharide compositions and average molecular weights differed considerably explaining their different anticoagulant activities. The results relate structural features to activity, assisting the development of new and improved therapeutic agents, based on depolymerised heparin, for the prophylaxis and treatment of thrombotic disorders.
Targeting GGTase-I Activates RHOA, Increases Macrophage Reverse Cholesterol Transport, and Reduces Atherosclerosis in Mice
Authors: Khan Omar M. , Akula Murali K. , Skålen Kristina , Karlsson Christin , Ståhlman Marcus , Young Stephen G. , Borén Jan , Bergo Martin O. 
Published: January 2013

Background—
Statins have antiinflammatory and antiatherogenic effects that have been attributed to inhibition of RHO protein geranylgeranylation in inflammatory cells. The activity of protein geranylgeranyltransferase type I (GGTase-I) is widely believed to promote membrane association and activation of RHO family proteins. However, we recently showed that knockout of GGTase-I in macrophages activates RHO proteins and proinflammatory signaling pathways, leading to increased cytokine production and rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, we asked whether the increased inflammatory signaling of GGTase-I–deficient macrophages would influence the development of atherosclerosis in low-density lipoprotein receptor–deficient mice.

Methods and Results—

Aortic lesions in mice lacking GGTase-I in macrophages (
Pggt1b
▵/▵) contained significantly more T lymphocytes than the lesions in controls. Surprisingly, however, mean atherosclerotic lesion area in
Pggt1b
▵/▵ mice was reduced by ≈60%. GGTase-I deficiency reduced the accumulation of cholesterol esters and phospholipids in macrophages incubated with minimally modified and acetylated low-density lipoprotein. Analyses of GGTase-I–deficient macrophages revealed upregulation of the cyclooxygenase 2–peroxisome proliferator-activated-γ pathway and increased scavenger receptor class B type I– and CD36-mediated basal and high-density lipoprotein–stimulated cholesterol efflux. Lentivirus-mediated knockdown of RHOA, but not RAC1 or CDC42, normalized cholesterol efflux. The increased cholesterol efflux in cultured cells was accompanied by high levels of macrophage reverse cholesterol transport and slightly reduced plasma lipid levels in vivo.

Conclusions—
Targeting GGTase-I activates RHOA and leads to increased macrophage reverse cholesterol transport and reduced atherosclerosis development despite a significant increase in inflammation.
The variations of vertebrate-type steroid hormones in the freshwater narrow-clawed crayfish Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) (Decapoda, Astacidae) during oocyte development
Authors: Forouzandeh Malati E. , Heidari B. , Zamani M. 
Published: January 2013

In this study, the levels of 17β-oestradiol (E2) and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone in the haemolymph, ovary and hepatopancreas of the freshwater narrow-clawed crayfish, Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) were analysed in different stages of oocyte development. In recent years, the occurrence of vertebrate-type steroid hormones, E2 and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, has been reported in a few decapods, although their precise role in female reproduction is not fully elucidated. Thirty specimens of A. leptodactylus were caught at Aras Dam (Western Azerbaijan, Iran) and maintained under experimental conditions (at 25°C with a photoperiod of 14 : 10 hours light/dark) from November to March 2010. For steroid extraction, 3 ml haemolymph was withdrawn from the pericardial cavity with a syringe, and frozen at −20°C. The pieces of ovary and hepatopancreas were homogenized with phosphate buffer (pH 7.8) and, centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 15 min at 4°C as well. It was observed that the level of E2 increased in haemolymph and ovary during vitellogenesis, and decreased in the hepatopancreas. The level of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was enhanced in haemolymph and ovary during the maturation stage. Maximum levels of E2 and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone were present in the ovary. The results point out the possible involvement of vertebrate-type steroids in the endocrine regulation of the ovarian cycle of A. leptodactylus.
Spatial distribution of Decapoda in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea) based on a trawl survey
Authors: Spanò Nunziacarla , Porporato Erika M. D. , Ragonese Sergio 
Published: January 2013

The spatial representation of decapod crustaceans (Crustacea, Malacostraca) of the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea) is presented for the first time, together with comments on their vertical and horizontal distributions. The most relevant trawlable species were analysed using quantitative data gathered in 260 daylight lasting hauls, which covered a large portion (about 100 000 km2) of the investigated area. The index of local abundance, standardized to 1 km2, both in weight (Biomass Index), number (Density Index) and mean body weight were obtained for each species and for all species combined. A spatial representation of the Density Index was produced for all decapod crustaceans combined and for the most frequent species. In particular, the indices were transferred under a GIS system and spatial maps produced by applying the program ArcView™ 9.0. Different interpolators were tested and the most exact interpolator (IDW Inverse Distance Weighting) was chosen. Both historical (i.e., doubts about the presence or identification of the species) and spatial (i.e., differential distribution among different fishing areas) heterogeneity were detected and commented upon. Concerning the trawlable bottoms, very few species (such as Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846), Aristaeomorpha foliacea (Risso, 1827), Aristeus antennatus (Risso, 1816), Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Plesionika martia (A. Milne-Edwards, 1883)) are consistently and largely represented in the catches. A high spatial heterogeneity, likely reflecting the complex interaction between fishing pattern, hydrological features and bottom typology, was made evident.
On the Strandesia obtusata/elliptica lineage (Ostracoda, Cyprididae) in the alluvial valley of the upper Paraná River (Brazil), with the description of three new species
Authors: Higuti Janet , Schön Isa , Audenaert Leen , Martens Koen 
Published: January 2013

We redescribe Strandesia tolimensis Roessler, 1990, originally described from Colombia, and describe three new species, Strandesia lansactohai n. sp., S. velhoi n. sp. and S. nupelia n. sp. from lakes, channels and rivers in the alluvial valley of the upper Paraná River. Mainly valve morphology and shape and size of the attachment of the caudal ramus are used to characterize these species, as other soft parts are uninformative. All populations studied here are parthenogenetic, so male morphologies are not available.
Sequences of the mitochondrial COI-gene are used to construct a phylogeny, as well as a genetic network of specimens, and in both analyses the four species are well-supported. In addition, we also delimit the four species with genetic distances using Birky’s K/θ method and conclude that it supports the identity of the species under consideration.
Keep Research Weird: Psychoanalytic Techniques and Fieldwork in the Study of Religion
Authors: Seitz John C. 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
Contemporary ethnographic fieldwork in the study of religion has made a relational turn. Research in this field is often explicitly conceived as a relationship between scholars and those they seek to understand. Knowledge is inter-subjective, the field agrees, and the only reasonable way to move forward is in open acknowledgement of this through attentiveness to the relational character of research. This paper aims to augment this relational turn by considering and addressing the risks it entails. Drawing on research experience among Catholics in Boston, it identifies normalization as a potential liability entailed in the relational understanding of research. Opportunities for enriched understanding may not emerge if researchers prioritize smooth relations with those they get to know. The paper explores the possibility that clinical psychoanalytic techniques of listening, while likely to make research relationships “weird,” may be an asset in the search for understanding in the ethnographic study of religion.
Complicating Myth: A Review of Bruce Lincoln’s Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars: Critical Explorations in the History of Religions
Authors: Ullucci Daniel C. 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
Bruce Lincoln’s recent work, Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars: Critical Explorations in the History of Religions is a collection of previously published essays on theory and myth. The collection has great pedagogical value for introducing graduate and advanced undergraduate students to the critical study of religion. This review takes up one common refrain in the essays, the role and work of religious experts, and suggests ways in which Lincoln’s work can be clarified and expanded by the cognitive theory of Harvey Whitehouse.
Regimes of Truth: Review of Bruce Lincoln’s Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars
Authors: Albinus Lars 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
In this review of Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars, I shall not so much focus on the concrete analyses, but rather discuss implications of a more theoretical and philosophical nature. First, I shall deal with Lincoln’s method by grasping (if not recasting) it as a sort of discourse analysis. Secondly, I shall critically go through some of the cases by paying a special attention to his distinction between ‘truth’ and ‘regimes of truth’ as well as the concomitant reference to empirical criteria. Thirdly, and finally, I shall I challenge his stance on “weak comparison” and argue for the complementary value of various universalizing theories in the study of religion.
Religion, Myth and Ideology
Authors: Junginger Horst 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
The thirteen articles collected in Bruce Lincoln’s Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars are a persuasive plea for an appropriate contextualization of religious phenomena in their mundane circumstances. Starting with the well-known Theses on Method that structure the book in methodological regard, each of the following texts is divided in a thorough historical research introduced or accompanied by extensive theoretical considerations. Particularly the case studies addressing problems of the Old Norse and Old Iranian history of religions are in-depth examinations of their own. Lincoln’s general interest is directed towards the analytical differentiation between the objects of the academic study of religion and their scholarly investigation. Only on the basis of a reflected distinction between both, the study of religion will achieve a deeper understanding of the attractiveness of religions and myths along with their capacity to adapt themselves to changing worldly conditions.
Review of Lincoln’s Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars
Authors: Arvidsson Stefan 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
For the last decades, Bruce Lincoln has been a leading scholar within the field of the history of religions. His philological skills, historical accuracy and innovations on a concrete “low-theoretical” level as well as his critical approach toward theology and discourse of the religious elites and overall ethical commitment has been widely estimated. This review article aims to uncover some of the prerequisites for the ideology criticism that has been the hallmark of Lincoln’s work and to discuss some alternative tracks to continue that tradition of scholarship.
Reflections on the Reflections of Messrs. Junginger, Arvidsson, Albinus, and Ullucci
Authors: Lincoln Bruce 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
The author responds to the reviews of Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars (Chicago, 2012) that appear in this issue by Horst Junginger, Stefan Arvidsson, Lars Albinus, and Daniel Ullucci, each of which focuses on different aspects of his work, which he suggests emerged in a rough chronological sequence. Three of these—a concern for the political, ideological, and discursive aspects of religion—he considers justified and complementary to each other, although there is occasional disjuncture and tension between the last two. He rejects the fourth suggestion, however, i.e. that he ought now turn attention to cognitive theory, a line of inquiry he dismisses as trendy, timid, and toothless.
Beyond the “Keystone” CoPs: The Ecology of Institutional Governance in Conservation Treaty Regimes
Authors: Bowman Michael 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
The effectiveness of conservation treaty regimes plainly depends heavily on the extent to which they are informed by developing scientific understanding of the principles which govern the operation of biological systems and natural processes generally. As a result, the “ecosystem approach” has become a crucial element in the substantive conservation policies which underpin such regimes. There is an emerging view, however, that the principles which determine the essential robustness, stability and productivity of biological systems may actually be applicable to complex systems of any kind, including those of an institutional character. Accordingly, it may be instructive to have regard to such principles when devising the institutional arrangements which indisputably represent another crucial element of regime effectiveness. This article explores the relevance of such matters in relation to the structures, attributes and commitments with which such arrangements will need to be invested if their respective regimes are to flourish.
Delegate Preparation and Participation in Conferences of the Parties to Environmental Treaties
Authors: Goodwin Edward J. 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
Little research has been conducted into the way delegations prepare for, and then participate in, plenary meetings under multi-lateral environmental agreements – a key administrative stage in the on-going development of international environmental regimes and law. Using the 1971 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance as the main example, this paper explores the external rules that shape the ‘internal modalities’ of states and their delegations as they undertake these stages. Other insights into delegate preparation and participation are sought from published accounts and internet based resources.
Non-Compliance – a Pivotal or Secondary Function of CoP Governance?
Authors: Davies Peter G.G. 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
This article seeks to assess the extent to which Conferences of the Parties (CoPs) of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), rather than other treaty bodies established within MEA regimes, have played and continue to play a role in the establishing and operation of compliance systems and techniques. The roles of plenary bodies of a number of earlier MEAs adopted in the 1970s provide the particular focus of discussion (CITES, RAMSAR, the CMS Convention, LRTAP and the Berne Convention). Discussion will focus on the given plenary body’s role in the following areas: clarification of compliance by means of the interpretation of primary rules; the monitoring and verification process; establishing reporting requirements and improving reporting by parties; the facilitation of compliance by means of capacity-building and funding; the establishment and development of non-compliance procedures and mechanisms without an express treaty basis; and, finally, determining the consequences of non-compliance.
UNFCCC REDD+ COP Decisions: The Cumulative Effect on Forest Related Law Processes
Authors: Lesniewska Feja 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
International law development theories fail to determine the legal nature and effect of decisions made by treaty bodies. An example that demonstrates this is the ongoing evolution of a mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). REDD+ was incorporated into the UNFCCC negotiating agenda on further implementation by the Bali Action Plan in 2007. Although using classical interpretation of the making of international law there is no REDD+ legal agreement, REDD+ has permeated many areas of law in a number of ways, from the international to the local level. This article examines the cumulative effect that REDD+ is having on related forest law and policy making, as well as indigenous peoples and human rights. It concludes with consideration of the potential linking role that REDD+ safeguards could have, and the problems with this approach.
Governing the Environment without CoPs – The Case of Water
Authors: Cullet Philippe 
Published: January 2013

Abstract
CoPs have played a key role in governing the environment. Yet, CoPs have only provided the institutional framework for governing issues falling under existing treaty regimes. They have not been able to go beyond the regimes they govern. In the case of water, the absence of a well-developed treaty regime has opened the door to new non-governmental institutions taking the lead. This happens to coincide in part with the framework proposed by global administrative law that sees governance as a set of largely non-hierarchical relationships where states are not necessarily dominant. This article critically analyses the contribution that global administrative law makes to our understanding of environmental stewardship, and looks at ongoing institutional reforms in the water sector that are not based on CoPs being the main actor.