bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Gene-Centric Analysis Identifies Variants Associated With Interleukin-6 Levels and Shared Pathways With Other Inflammation Markers
Authors: Shah Tina , Zabaneh Delilah , Gaunt Tom , Swerdlow Daniel I. , Shah Sonia , Talmud Philippa J. , Day Ian N. , Whittaker John , Holmes Michael V. , Sofat Reecha , Humphries Steve E. , Kivimaki Mika , Kumari Meena , Hingorani Aroon D. , Casas Juan P 
Published: March 2013

Background—
Inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), a possible risk factor for coronary heart disease, has an estimated heritability of >60%, but to date few genetic variants influencing IL-6 levels are known.

Methods and Results—

We used the ITMAT-Broad-Care (IBC) HumanCVD disease BeadChip in the Whitehall II study (N=4911) and British Women’s Heart and Health Study (N=3445) to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with circulating IL-6 levels. Twenty-two single-nucleotide polymorphisms from 7 loci (
IL6R/TDRD10
,
HLA-DRB1
,
BUD13
,
SEZ6L
,
IL1RN
,
TRIB3
, and
ABO
) were associated with IL-6 (
P
<10
–5
), although none were associated with the
IL6
gene itself. With the exception of
TRIB3
, all loci have been previously reported in genome-wide association studies for autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases. Fourteen single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the
IL6R
region in high-linkage disequilibrium (r
2
>0.9) with a nonsynonymous variant, rs2228145, were also associated with IL-6 and C-reactive protein concentration (
P
<10
–5
). An IL-6–specific weighted allele score explained 2% of the variance of log IL-6 levels (
P
=2.4410
–22
) in Whitehall II and 1% (
P
=1.910
–8
) in British Women’s Heart and Health Studies.

Conclusions—
Multiple common genetic variants of modest effect influence IL-6 concentration. Several loci contain single-nucleotide polymorphisms, exhibiting overlapping associations with autoimmune and cardiovascular disorders and other circulating biomarkers. Genetic variants associated with IL-6 provide important tools for probing the causal relevance of IL-6 signaling in a range of cardiometabolic diseases.
Philopatric vervet monkey females are the focus of social attention rather independently of rank
Authors: Renevey N. , Bshary R. , van de Waal E. 
Published: March 2013

Social learning has potential advantages over individual learning but one challenge is to identify valuable information. One possibility is to not randomly learn from any social partner but mainly from specific role models like for example the mother or high ranking group members. A potential mechanism for such directed social learning could be that individuals observe the actions of role models more often than of other group members. Field experiments showed that in vervet monkeys — a species with female philopatry — dominant females are more closely watched than dominant males in an artificial fruit-type social learning task. Here, we quantified social attention to males and females under natural conditions in six groups of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) at Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, South Africa. Using the focal sampling method, we quantified the frequencies with which all adult individuals were observed by other group members of known age class, rank, sex and degree of relatedness during foraging bouts and grooming interactions. We found that group members generally paid more attention to females than to males. This effect remained when we excluded matriline members from the analyses. Furthermore, we found that an individual’s rank did not affect the attention it received from other group members. These results suggest that philopatry may promote social attention independently of an individual’s rank and across situations.
Vernacular Architecture in Venetian Crete: Urban and Rural Practices
Authors: Georgopoulou Maria 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
The architecture built in Venice’s colony on Crete between its establishment in 1211 and the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1669 displays an intermingling of Western (Latin) architectural traditions with pre-Venetian Byzantine (Orthodox) forms and styles. Previous scholarship has explored the urban architecture of Venetian Crete, but less attention has been granted to the many rural Orthodox churches of the later medieval period that dot the Cretan countryside. While the official monuments of Cretan cities have been interpreted as employing architectural forms with a strong ideological—especially political—intent, the use of forms in rural buildings was not as ideologically charged. These more modest structures employed “Western” and “Byzantine” architectural styles in an ideologically neutral manner that reflected trends in fashion or taste rather than distinctions of cultural or political identity. By the fourteenth century, “Latin” and “Orthodox” architectural traditions had merged into a local style that expressed the cosmopolitan character of medieval Crete.
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Transforming World Politics: Between Isomorphism and Path Dependence
Authors: Georgiadou Elena 
Published: March 2013

Summary
This article explores the contemporary organization and functions of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the ways in which it responds to the transforming world politics. In contemporary foreign policy management discourse, the study of the foreign ministry — its organization, role, functions and position within national foreign policy and diplomatic systems — constitutes a central theme. This is because patterns of change within its structure, processes and operation can provide significant evidence regarding the state’s responses to systemic change, as well as its fundamental assumptions about world politics. There is no uniformity of opinion in the literature regarding foreign ministries’ responses to the changing policy milieus. On the one hand there are observations and arguments that view the foreign ministry as adaptive and retaining its centrality in national foreign policy systems, while on the other hand there are suggestions that the transforming world politics have diminished its significance, leading to its decline. Evidence gathered through a series of interviews with Greek diplomats indicates no discernible trend towards a decline of the Greek MFA. The data rather demonstrate that this Greek diplomatic institution, similar to other European foreign ministries, is in a process of adapt-ing to its contemporary operational environment, but that this process is slow because of its organizational culture.
Diplomacy and Symbolism
Authors: Faizullaev Alisher 
Published: March 2013

Summary
Diplomacy makes extensive use of symbols, rituals and ceremonies. This practice is related to the nature of the state and diplomatic representation: (a) states and their intentions can be objectified through symbols, symbolic actions and interactions; and (b) diplomatic agencies and agents symbolically represent the state. Symbolism in diplomacy helps people to capture the meaning of international affairs and socially and individually to experience states and inter-state relations. Symbols, rituals and ceremonies in diplomacy are designed to create a shared sense and also to motivate and regulate the moods of groups and individuals who directly or indirectly participate in or observe diplomatic practice. Linguistics, imagery and ritualistic/ceremonial formats of symbolism exist in diplomatic practice. Each can have communicative, regulative and affective functions. Symbolism is meaningful and instrumental in making sense of states and international politics and in managing and regulating inter-state relations. However, diplomatic symbolism can also be used formally and manipulatively.
Recasting Qushayrī’s Risāla in Fifteenth-Century Egypt
Authors: Ingalls Matthew 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
The scholarly works of the Egyptian Sufi and chief qadi Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī (d. 926/1520) often reflect a late-medieval Muslim trend of subtle intellectual innovation—that is, innovation that cloaks itself in the received tradition while often diverging markedly from it. It is particularly his celebrated Iḥkām al-dalāla ʿalā taḥrīr al-Risāla, a commentary on ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī’s (d. 465/1072) Risāla in Sufism, that embodies such an intellectual trend quite starkly. This study examines the Iḥkām to understand how Anṣārī adapted an eleventh-century Nishapuri handbook in Sufism to his own fifteenth-century Egyptian context. It argues that Anṣārī’s redirecting of Qushayrī’s Risāla occurs through three broad interpretative techniques: a recasting in content, a recasting in form, and a recasting in tone and objective of the original text. After exploring these techniques in depth, a few larger implications for the field of commentary theory are noted in a concluding section. A preliminary consideration of Anṣārī’s biography, particularly those biographical details related to his scholarly training and career, his background in Sufism, and the writing of his Iḥkām, appears as a preface to the textual analysis that comprises the second half of the study.
The Spiritual and Physical Progeny of ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī: A Preliminary Study in Abū Naṣr al-Qushayrī’s (d. 514/1120) Kitāb al-Shawāhid wa-l-amthāl
Authors: Chiabotti Francesco 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
This article discusses discoveries made concerning the teachings of ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī based on a preliminary analysis of the manuscript Kitāb al-Shawāhid wa l-amthāl recorded by Abū Naṣr al-Qushayrī (d. 514/1120), one of Qushayrī’s six sons. This text is the most significant attestation to the transmission of Qushayrī’s influence as it was passed down directly by his progeny. The first part of this study will briefly examine the careers of Qushayrī’s sons and their intellectual and spiritual legacy. The primary questions here are: what did the sons receive from their father and how did they transmit it? What role did familial bonds play in the transmission of religious knowledge and the mystical path? How should we understand the term Qushayriyya that the biographical sources used to describe the Qushayrī family? The second part will concentrate on the above mentioned manuscript and its transmission. After summing up the life and the career of Abū Naṣr and discussing issues of this manuscript’s authorship, the significance of the term shawāhid will be analyzed according to the role of poetry in Sufi literature. Then three important aspects of the Kitāb will be also examined.
Effect of Lignin Genetic Modification on Wood Anatomy of Aspen Trees
Authors: Horvath Balazs , Peszlen Ilona , Peralta Perry , Kasal Bohumil , Li Laigeng 
Published: March 2013

The directed modification of specific traits of trees through genetic engineering provides opportunities for making significant genetic improvements to wood properties in matter of years instead of extended time frames required for traditional natural selection. An attractive target of forest- tree engineering is the modification of lignin content and lignin structure. While lower lignin content improves pulping efficiency, a decrease in lignin content could affect wood characteristics that are critical for solid wood use.
After one year of growth in a greenhouse, a total of forty transgenic aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) with reduced lignin content and increased syringyl to guaiacyl ratio were harvested and diameter growth and cell morphology were investigated using quantitative wood anatomy and fiber quality analysis techniques. Comparing genetic groups to the wild-type as the control, similar radial growth and quantitative anatomical properties were observed for the genetic group with reduced lignin content. The genetic group with increased S/G ratio had lower diameter growth, lower vessel lumen diameter, but more numerous vessels. The combined effect of changes in lignin content and structure on radial growth and cell morphology seems to be more complex and gave inconsistent results.
A Meteorological Analysis of Important Contributors to the 1999–2005 Canadian Prairie Drought
Authors: Hryciw Lisa M. , Atallah Eyad H. , Milrad Shawn M. , Gyakum John R. 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
Drought is a complex natural hazard that is endemic to the Canadian prairies. The 1999–2005 Canadian prairie drought, which had great socioeconomic impacts, was meteorologically unique in that it did not conform to the traditional persistent positive Pacific–North American (PNA) pattern and west coast ridging paradigm normally associated with prairie drought. The purpose of this study is to diagnose the unique synoptic-scale mechanisms responsible for modulating subsidence during this drought. Using 30-day running means of the percent of normal precipitation from station data, key severe dry periods during 1999–2005 are identified. Analysis of the mean fields from reanalysis data shows that these dry events can be grouped into three upper-level flow categories: amplified warm, amplified cold, and zonal. Amplified warm cases match the traditional ridging paradigm, while amplified cold and zonal cases elucidate the fact that cold-air advection and downsloping flow, respectively, can also be important subsidence mechanisms during a Canadian prairie drought. In all, the 1999–2005 drought was more meteorologically complex on the synoptic scale than previous historic prairie droughts. Finally, a brief historical perspective shows that the drought was centered in 2001–02 and was not as severe as historical droughts, suggesting that societal vulnerability also played a substantial role in the impacts of the 1999–2005 drought.
On Mass Conservation in High-Order High-Resolution Rigorous Remapping Schemes on the Sphere
Authors: Erath Christoph , Lauritzen Peter H. , Tufo Henry M. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractIt is the purpose of this short article to analyze mass conservation in high-order rigorous remapping schemes, which contrary to flux-based methods, relies on elaborate integral constraints over overlap areas and reconstruction functions. For applications on the sphere these integral constraints may be violated primarily as a result of inexact or ill-conditioned integration and the authors propose a generic, local, and multitracer efficient method that guarantees that the integral constraints are satisfied in discrete space irrespective of the accuracy of the numerical integration method and slight inaccuracies in the computation of overlap areas. The authors refer to this method as enforcement of consistency as it is based on integral constraints valid in continuous space. The consistency enforcement method is illustrated in idealized transport tests with the Conservative Semi-Lagrangian Multitracer scheme (CSLAM) in the High Order Method Modeling Environment (HOMME) where the analytic integrals, which were found to be ill conditioned at certain resolutions and flow conditions, have been replaced with robust quadrature. This violates mass conservation; however, with the consistency enforcement method, mass conservation is inherent even with low-order quadrature and renders rigorous remap schemes such as CSLAM (which was previously limited to gnomonic cubed-sphere grids) mass conservative on any spherical grid.
Explaining differences in ministerial ménages à trois: multiple bargains in Belgium and Denmark
Authors: de Visscher Christian , Salomonsen Heidi Houlberg 
Published: March 2013

While special advisers play an important role in most Western governments, the research on the subject is limited. This article aims to explain variations in the ménage à trois relationships between ministers, senior civil servants and special advisers in two different politico-administrative systems. The theoretical starting point is to conceptualize and explain such trilateral relationships as multiple Public Service Bargains. We find that the differences in Public Service Bargains generate differences in these ménages à trois relationships, resulting in different types of functional differentiation as well as differences in the degree of cooperation vis-à-vis conflict. These differences are primarily the result of differences in the interests as well as formal, institutional rules and the competencies of the actors involved. The empirical data include documents as well as interviews with and questionnaires completed by senior civil servants. The countries compared are Belgium and Denmark. Points for practitioners Our study confirms that it is important for a ‘ménage à trois’ (ministers, special advisers, SCSs) ‘… to spell out the terms of the bargain applying to political advisers (…)’ ( Hood and Lodge, 2006 : 128) in order to regulate the relationship between special advisers and SCSs and avoid potential conflicts among them. In addition, the study shows that the number of political appointments plays a role in the relationship. Finally, the study shows that clear differences in the competencies brought to the bargain by the two types of agent may ensure cooperation and mutual respect, whereas an overlapping of competencies may cause rivalry.
Intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms contribute to maintain the JAK/STAT pathway aberrantly activated in T-type large granular lymphocyte leukemia
Authors: Teramo Antonella , Gattazzo Cristina , Passeri Francesca , Lico Albana , Tasca Giulia , Cabrelle Anna , Martini Veronica , Frezzato Federica , Trimarco Valentina , Ave Elisa , Boscaro Elisa , Piazza Francesco , Facco Monica , Trentin Livio , Semenzato Gianpietro , Zambello Renato 
Published: March 2013

Key PointsIn T-LGLL, autologous LGL-depleted PBMCs release high levels of IL-6 contributing to the constitutive STAT3 activation in leukemic LGL. Leukemic LGLs show SOCS3 down-modulation, which is responsible for lack of the negative feedback mechanism controlling STAT3 activation.
The dimeric structure of factor XI and zymogen activation
Authors: Geng Yipeng , Verhamme Ingrid M. , Smith Stephen B. , Sun Mao-fu , Matafonov Anton , Cheng Qiufang , Smith Stephanie A. , Morrissey James H. , Gailani David 
Published: March 2013

Key PointsFXI must be a dimer for normal activation by fXIIa but not for activation by thrombin or autoactivation. Poly-P is a cofactor for activation of coagulation fXI by fXIIa and thrombin and supports fXI autoactivation.
Consistency of linkage disequilibrium between Chinese and Nordic Holsteins and genomic prediction for Chinese Holsteins using a joint reference population
Authors: Zhou Lei , Ding Xiangdong , Zhang Qin , Wang Yachun , Lund Mogens S , Su Guosheng 
Published: March 2013

AbstractBackgroundIn China, the reference population of genotyped Holstein cattle is relatively small with to date, 80 bulls and 2091 cows genotyped with the Illumina 54 K chip. Including genotyped Holstein cattle from other countries in the reference population could improve the accuracy of genomic prediction of the Chinese Holstein population. This study investigated the consistency of linkage disequilibrium between adjacent markers between the Chinese and Nordic Holstein populations, and compared the reliability of genomic predictions based on the Chinese reference population only or the combined Chinese and Nordic reference populations.MethodsGenomic estimated breeding values of Chinese Holstein cattle were predicted using a single-trait GBLUP model based on the Chinese reference dataset, and using a two-trait GBLUP model based on a joint reference dataset that included both the Chinese and Nordic Holstein data.ResultsThe extent of linkage disequilibrium was similar in the Chinese and Nordic Holstein populations and the consistency of linkage disequilibrium between the two populations was very high, with a correlation of 0.97. Genomic prediction using the joint versus the Chinese reference dataset increased reliabilities of genomic predictions of Chinese Holstein bulls in the test data from 0.22, 0.15 and 0.11 to 0.51, 0.47 and 0.36 for milk yield, fat yield and protein yield, respectively. Using five-fold cross-validation, reliabilities of genomic predictions of Chinese cows increased from 0.15, 0.12 and 0.15 to 0.26, 0.17 and 0.20 for milk yield, fat yield and protein yield, respectively.ConclusionsThe linkage disequilibrium between the two populations was very consistent and using the combined Nordic and Chinese reference dataset substantially increased reliabilities of genomic predictions for Chinese Holstein cattle.
Structured association analysis leads to insight into Saccharomyces cerevisiaegene regulation by finding multiple contributing eQTL hotspots associated with functional gene modules
Authors: Curtis Ross E , Kim Seyoung , Woolford Jr John L , Xu Wenjie , Xing Eric P 
Published: March 2013

AbstractBackgroundAssociation analysis using genome-wide expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) data investigates the effect that genetic variation has on cellular pathways and leads to the discovery of candidate regulators. Traditional analysis of eQTL data via pairwise statistical significance tests or linear regression does not leverage the availability of the structural information of the transcriptome, such as presence of gene networks that reveal correlation and potentially regulatory relationships among the study genes. We employ a new eQTL mapping algorithm, GFlasso, which we have previously developed for sparse structured regression, to reanalyze a genome-wide yeast dataset. GFlasso fully takes into account the dependencies among expression traits to suppress false positives and to enhance the signal/noise ratio. Thus, GFlasso leverages the gene-interaction network to discover the pleiotropic effects of genetic loci that perturb the expression level of multiple (rather than individual) genes, which enables us to gain more power in detecting previously neglected signals that are marginally weak but pleiotropically significant.ResultsWhile eQTL hotspots in yeast have been reported previously as genomic regions controlling multiple genes, our analysis reveals additional novel eQTL hotspots and, more interestingly, uncovers groups of multiple contributing eQTL hotspots that affect the expression level of functional gene modules. To our knowledge, our study is the first to report this type of gene regulation stemming from multiple eQTL hotspots. Additionally, we report the results from in-depth bioinformatics analysis for three groups of these eQTL hotspots: ribosome biogenesis, telomere silencing, and retrotransposon biology. We suggest candidate regulators for the functional gene modules that map to each group of hotspots. Not only do we find that many of these candidate regulators contain mutations in the promoter and coding regions of the genes, in the case of the Ribi group, we provide experimental evidence suggesting that the identified candidates do regulate the target genes predicted by GFlasso.ConclusionsThus, this structured association analysis of a yeast eQTL dataset via GFlasso, coupled with extensive bioinformatics analysis, discovers a novel regulation pattern between multiple eQTL hotspots and functional gene modules. Furthermore, this analysis demonstrates the potential of GFlasso as a powerful computational tool for eQTL studies that exploit the rich structural information among expression traits due to correlation, regulation, or other forms of biological dependencies.