bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of Small Peptides on Nonspecific Immune Responses in Sea Cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus
Authors: Wang Shuxian , Ye Haibin , Li Tianbao , Yang Xiusheng , Fan Ying , Yu Xiaoqing , Wang Yongqiang 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThe potential immunostimulatory effects of small peptides on sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, were investigated in vivo and in vitro. Small peptides were injected into sea cucumbers and a control group was injected with equal volume of sterile filtered seawater. The nonspecific humoral and cellular responses were determined, respectively, and sea cucumbers were challenged by Vibrio splendidus. The results showed that test groups significantly enhanced most of the immune parameters tested (P < 0.05). Both phagocytic capacity and respiratory burst activity were up to maximum value on the fourth day and the values were 2.3 and 1.4 times as high as the control group, respectively. However, small peptides had no significant effect on total coelomocytes counts. Among the humoral responses, the activities of acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, and superoxide dismutase were up to maximum value on the fourth, fourthth and seventh day, respectively. The values were 2.3, 2.2, and 2.0 times as high as the control group, respectively. At the end of the challenge, the cumulative mortality rate of sea cucumber injected with 0.5 mg small peptides (43.3%) was significantly lower than the control group (66.7%). In conclusion, small peptides as an additive could improve the nonspecific immunity level of Apostichopus japonicus.
Isolation and Characterization of Edwardsiella ictaluri from Southern Catfish, Silurus soldatovi meridionalis, (Chen) Cultured in China
Authors: Geng Y. , Wang K. Y. , Li C. W. , Ren S. Y. , Zhou Z. Y. , Liu X. X. , Liu X. F. , Lai W. M. , Huang X. L. , Chen D. F. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractIn April 2011, there was an outbreak of an infectious disease in southern catfish, Silurus soldatovi meridionalis, (Chen) (15–20 g) in Sichuan Province, China. Two isolates, LW101 and LW102, were isolated from kidney and liver of the sick fish on brain‐heart infusion (BHI) agar and were considered to be the cause of this disease based on experimental challenges. The morphological and physiological characteristics as well as the biochemical tests of the two isolates were the same and similar to Edwardsiella ictaluri. Furthermore, the sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and the gryB gene revealed that the isolates were highly homogeneous with E. ictaluri. On the basis of the phenotypic characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of these genes, both isolates were identified as E. ictaluri. Susceptibility of the isolates to 22 antibiotics was tested using the disc diffusion method. Both isolates showed a similar antibiotic susceptibility, which was characterized by resistance to acetylspiramycin, ampicillin, clarithromycin, penicillin, oxytetracycline, and sinomin (SMZ/TMP); the strains were susceptible to amikacin, chloramphenicol, florfenicol, roxithromycin, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, doxycycline, and tenemycin. To our knowledge, this is the first report of E. ictaluri infection in southern catfish.
Therapeutic potential of furin inhibitors for the chronic infection of hepatitis B virus
Authors: Pang Yan J. , Tan Xiao J. , Li Dong M. , Zheng Zi H. , Lei Rui X. , Peng Xiao M. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBackground & AimsHepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) is essential for the development of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Furin, a proprotein convertase, plays a key role in processing of HBeAg precursor into maturated HBeAg. For these reasons, the therapeutic potential of furin inhibition for chronic HBV infection was studied.MethodsThe effects of furin inhibitor I (decanoyl‐RVKR‐chloromethylketone, CMK) and furin inhibitor II (hexa‐D‐arginine, D6R) on HBeAg secretion, the destination of unprocessed precursor and cellular secretory functions were comparatively investigated.ResultsCMK and D6R significantly decreased the supernatant level of HBeAg and increased the intracellular level of HBeAg precursor in HepG2.2.15 cells in vitro. The accumulated HBeAg precursor was not found to be retro‐transported into the cytosol to inhibit HBV replication as expected, but was found to be expressed on the cell surface, where it may be more convenient to mediate host immune responses. Furthermore, these inhibitors at effective concentrations were not found to interfere with the maturations of albumin and prothrombin. Compared with CMK, D6R was suboptimal in effectiveness; however, D6R neither enhanced HBV replication through the accumulation of cytosolic HBcAg nor did it cause severe cell damage in an elongated safety analyses.ConclusionFurin inhibitors CMK and D6R reduce HBeAg secretion and increase cell surface expression of the HBeAg precursor in HepG2.2.15 cells. Novel furin inhibitors or modified forms of D6R may promote the reduction of immune tolerance and the elimination of infected hepatocytes in patients with chronic HBV infection.
Trends in Online Academic Publishing
Authors: Cooper Liam 
Published: April 2013

AbstractModern information technology allows academics many new ways to enhance their research activities. This article suggests that one of the most important changes in recent years has been the overwhelming proliferation of academic research. It proposes that many new developments in online publishing have been, and will continue to be, in response to this proliferation of research. It also offers some general principles based on six years' working for a series of innovative online journals, including examples of where new technologies have been used successfully to enrich a journal's content without adding substantively to the workloads of authors and editors.
Scientific Philosophy, Mathematical Philosophy, and All That
Authors: Leitgeb Hannes 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThis article suggests that scientific philosophy, especially mathematical philosophy, might be one important way of doing philosophy in the future. Along the way, the article distinguishes between different types of scientific philosophy; it mentions some of the scientific methods that can serve philosophers; it aims to undermine some worries about mathematical philosophy; and it tries to make clear why in certain cases the application of mathematical methods is necessary for philosophical progress.
The Future of Philosophy
Authors: Mulgan Tim 
Published: April 2013

AbstractIn this article the editor of the Philosophical Quarterly briefly outlines the editorial process at that journal; explains why it is foolhardy to attempt to predict the future of philosophy; and, finally, attempts such a prediction. Drawing on his recent book Ethics for a Broken World, he argues that climate change, or some other disaster, may lead to a broken world where the optimistic assumptions underlying contemporary philosophy no longer apply. He argues that the possibility of a broken world has deep and unexpected implications for philosophy.
Trends and Progress in Philosophy
Authors: Eklund Matti 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThis article is in three parts. The first discusses trends in philosophy. The second defends reliance on intuitions in philosophy from some doubts that have recently been raised. The third discusses Philip Kitcher's contention that contemporary analytic philosophy does not have its priorities straight. While the three parts are independent, there is a common theme. Each part defends what is regarded as orthodoxy from attacks. Of course there are other reasonable challenges to philosophical methodology. The article's aim is just to respond to some charges that have been made.
Christian Identity and Community – An Ethical Approach to Martin Luther
Authors: Seong ShinHyung 
Published: April 2013

AbstractChristian identity is an important basis of Christian ethics since identity formulates the notion of how to live in and for the world. This research concentrates on Martin Luther's communitarian concept in his theology and ethics. Because the church is a liturgical community for the moral transformation, church needs to communicate with the world through her liturgical ceremonies. Based on this ethical concept in Luther, this research paper focuses on how Christian identity becomes the foundation of theological ethics, how Christian ethics is active in the relation with neighbors and how the church practises her ethics in community with the world.
Inter‐species protein trafficking endows dodder (Cuscuta pentagona) with a host‐specific herbicide‐tolerant trait
Authors: Jiang Linjian , Qu Feng , Li Zhaohu , Doohan Douglas 
Published: April 2013

Summary

Besides photosynthates, dodder (Cuscuta spp.) acquires phloem‐mobile proteins from host; however, whether this could mediate inter‐species phenotype transfer was not demonstrated. Specifically, we test whether phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (PAT) that confers host plant glufosinate herbicide tolerance traffics and functions inter‐specifically.

Dodder tendrils excised from hosts can grow in vitro for weeks or resume in vivo by parasitizing new hosts. The level of PAT in in vivo and in vitro dodder tendrils was quantified by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The glufosinate sensitivity was examined by dipping the distal end of in vivo and in vitro tendrils, growing on or excised from LibertyLink® (LL; PAT‐transgenic and glufosinate tolerant) and conventional (CN; glufosinate sensitive) soybean hosts, into glufosinate solutions for 5 s. After in vitro tendrils excised from LL hosts reparasitized new CN and LL hosts, the PAT level and the glufosinate sensitivity were also examined.

When growing on LL host, dodder tolerated glufosinate and contained PAT at a level of 0.3% of that encountered in LL soybean leaf. After PAT was largely degraded in dodders, they became glufosinate sensitive. PAT mRNA was not detected by reverse transcription PCR in dodders.

In conclusion, the results indicated that PAT inter‐species trafficking confers dodder glufosinate tolerance.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Genotyping of Cutaneous Warts in Greek Children
Authors: Giannaki Maria , Kakourou Talia , Theodoridou Maria , Syriopoulou Vassiliki , Kabouris Marios , Louizou Eirini , Chrousos George 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThe human papillomavirus (HPV) infects the squamous epithelium of the skin and produces common warts, plantar warts, and flat warts, which occur commonly on the hands, face, and feet. The objective of this study was to determine the presence of HPV in warts in children in order to associate the virus with the disease. Sixty‐eight children with clinically diagnosed cutaneous warts were recruited. Skin biopsy samples were examined and DNA was extracted using a commercially available kit. To distinguish between the HPV types, we used a specific pair of primers to amplify the HPV DNA. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of the L1 region was followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and Luminex xMAP technology. HPV 57 was the predominant type in our study, although the detection of the high‐risk HPV type 16 in 33% of our positive samples indicates the presence of mucosal high‐risk HPV types in the skin of children. It seems that the newly introduced Luminex assay maximized the discrimination of genotypes even in the case of multiple HPV infections. Or findings also suggest the presence of high‐risk HPV types in cutaneous warts.
Wild rodents as a model to discover genes and pathways underlying natural variation in infectious disease susceptibility
Authors: Turner A. K. , Paterson S. 
Published: April 2013

SummaryIndividuals vary in their susceptibility to infectious disease, and it is now well established that host genetic factors form a major component of this variation. The discovery of genes underlying susceptibility has the potential to lead to improved disease control, through the identification and management of vulnerable individuals and the discovery of novel therapeutic targets. Laboratory rodents have proved invaluable for ascertaining the function of genes involved in immunity to infection. However, these captive animals experience conditions very different to the natural environment, lacking the genetic diversity and environmental pressures characteristic of natural populations, including those of humans. It has therefore often proved difficult to translate basic laboratory research to the real world. In order to further our understanding of the genetic basis of infectious disease resistance, and the evolutionary forces that drive variation in susceptibility, we propose that genetic research traditionally conducted on laboratory animals is expanded to the more ecologically valid arena of natural populations. In this article, we highlight the potential of using wild rodents as a new resource for biomedical research, to link the functional genetic knowledge gained from laboratory rodents with the variation in infectious disease susceptibility observed in humans and other natural populations.
Medical considerations relating to the oral health of older adults
Authors: Berkey Douglas B. , Scannapieco Frank A. 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACTThis review paper was written in conjunction with the 2010 National Coalition Consensus Conference: Oral Health of Vulnerable Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities. It provides an overview of specific medical considerations involved with dental diagnosis and treatment of this “at risk population.” The role of oral inflammation is referenced within the context of the oral/systemic paradigm (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease/stroke, respiratory diseases, and cognition). Oral manifestations associated with multi‐organ diseases, tobacco/alcohol use, and medications are additionally discussed. Finally, the paper encourages development of interdisciplinary approaches to positively influence health outcomes.
Analog receive signal processing for magnetic particle imaging
Authors: Graeser Matthias , Knopp Tobias , Grüttner Mandy , Sattel Timo F. , Buzug Thorsten M. 
Published: April 2013

Purpose:Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) applies oscillating magnetic fields to determine the distribution of magnetic nanoparticlesin vivo. Using a receive coil, the change of the particle magnetization can be detected. However, the signal induced by the nanoparticles is superimposed by the direct feedthrough interference of the sinusoidal excitation field, which couples into the receive coils. As the latter is several magnitudes higher, the extraction of the particle signal from the excitation signal is a challenging task.Methods:One way to remove the interfering signal is to suppress the excitation signal by means of a band‐stop filter. However, this technique removes parts of the desired particle signal, which are essential for direct reconstruction of the particle concentration. A way to recover the entire particle signal is to cancel out the excitation signal by coupling a matching cancellation signal into the receive chain. However, the suppression rates that can be achieved by signal cancellation are not as high as with the filtering method, which limits the sensitivity of this method. In order to unite the advantages of both methods, in this work the authors propose to combine the filtering and the cancellation technique. All methods were compared by measuring 10 μl Resovist, in the same field generator only switching the signal processing parts.Results:The reconstructed time signals of the three methods, show the advantage of the proposed combination of filtering and cancellation. The method preserves the fundamental frequency and is able to detect the tracer signal at its full bandwidth even for low concentrations.Conclusions:By recovering the full particle signal the SNR can be improved and errors in the x‐space reconstruction are prevented. The authors show that the combined method provides this full particle signal and makes it possible to improve image quality.
Evaluation of plastic materials for range shifting, range compensation, and solid‐phantom dosimetry in carbon‐ion radiotherapy
Authors: Kanematsu Nobuyuki , Koba Yusuke , Ogata Risa 
Published: April 2013

Purpose:Beam range control is the essence of radiotherapy with heavy charged particles. In conventional broad‐beam delivery, fine range adjustment is achieved by insertion of range shifting and compensating materials. In dosimetry, solid phantoms are often used for convenience. These materials should ideally be equivalent to water. In this study, the authors evaluated dosimetric water equivalence of four common plastics, high‐density polyethylene (HDPE), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyoxymethylene (POM).Methods:Using the Bethe formula for energy loss, the Gottschalk formula for multiple scattering, and the Sihver formula for nuclear interactions, the authors calculated the effective densities of the plastics for these interactions. The authors experimentally measured variation of the Bragg peak of carbon‐ion beams by insertion of HDPE, PMMA, and POM, which were compared with analytical model calculations.Results:The theoretical calculation resulted in slightly reduced multiple scattering and severely increased nuclear interactions for HDPE, compared to water and the other plastics. The increase in attenuation of carbon ions for 20‐cm range shift was experimentally measured to be 8.9% for HDPE, 2.5% for PMMA, and 0.0% for POM while PET was theoretically estimated to be in between PMMA and POM. The agreement between the measurements and the calculations was about 1% or better.Conclusions:For carbon‐ion beams, POM was dosimetrically indistinguishable from water and the best of the plastics examined in this study. The poorest was HDPE, which would reduce the Bragg peak by 0.45% per cm range shift, although with marginal superiority for reduced multiple scattering. Between the two clear plastics, PET would be superior to PMMA in dosimetric water equivalence.
ROC analysis in patient specific quality assurance
Authors: Carlone Marco , Cruje Charmainne , Rangel Alejandra , McCabe Ryan , Nielsen Michelle , MacPherson Miller 
Published: April 2013

Purpose:This work investigates the use of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) methods in patient specific IMRT quality assurance (QA) in order to determine unbiased methods to set threshold criteria forγ‐distance to agreement measurements.Methods:A group of 17 prostate plans was delivered as planned while a second group of 17 prostate plans was modified with the introduction of random multileaf collimator (MLC) position errors that are normally distributed withσ∼±0.5, ±1.0, ±2.0, and ±3.0 mm (a total of 68 modified plans were created). All plans were evaluated using five differentγ‐criteria. ROC methodology was applied by quantifying the fraction of modified plans reported as “fail” and unmodified plans reported as “pass.”Results:γ‐based criteria were able to attain nearly 100% sensitivity/specificity in the detection of large random errors (σ> 3 mm). Sensitivity and specificity decrease rapidly for allγ‐criteria as the size of error to be detected decreases below 2 mm. Predictive power is null with all criteria used in the detection of small MLC errors (σ< 0.5 mm). Optimal threshold values were established by determining which criteria maximized sensitivity and specificity. For 3%/3 mmγ‐criteria, optimal threshold values range from 92% to 99%, whereas for 2%/2 mm, the range was from 77% to 94%.Conclusions:The optimal threshold values that were determined represent a maximized test sensitivity and specificity and are not subject to any user bias. When applied to the datasets that we studied, our results suggest the use of patient specific QA as a safety tool that can effectively prevent large errors (e.g.,σ> 3 mm) as opposed to a tool to improve the quality of IMRT delivery.
Real-Time PCR Assay for Detection and Quantification of Leishmania (Viannia) Organisms in Skin and Mucosal Lesions: Exploratory Study of Parasite Load and Clinical Parameters
Authors: Jara Marlene , Adaui Vanessa , Valencia Braulio M. , Martinez Dalila , Alba Milena , Castrillon Carlos , Cruz Maria , Cruz Israel , Van der Auwera Gert , Llanos-Cuentas Alejandro , Dujardin Jean-Claude , Arevalo Jorge 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACT

Earlier histopathology studies suggest that parasite loads may differ between cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and mucosal leishmaniasis (ML) lesions and between acute and chronic CL. Formal demonstration requires highly sensitive detection and accurate quantification of
Leishmania
in human lesional tissue. In this study, we developed a quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay targeting minicircle kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) to detect and quantify
Leishmania
(
Viannia
) parasites. We evaluated a total of 156 lesion biopsy specimens from CL or ML suspected cases and compared the quantitative performance of our kDNA qPCR assay with that of a previously validated qPCR assay based on the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (
G6PD
) gene. We also examined the relationship between parasite load and clinical parameters. The kDNA qPCR sensitivity for
Leishmania
detection was 97.9%, and its specificity was 87.5%. The parasite loads quantified by kDNA qPCR and
G6PD
qPCR assays were highly correlated (
r
= 0.87;
P
< 0.0001), but the former showed higher sensitivity (
P
= 0.000). CL lesions had 10-fold-higher parasite loads than ML lesions (
P
= 0.009). Among CL patients, the parasite load was inversely correlated with disease duration (
P
= 0.004), but there was no difference in parasite load according to the parasite species, the patient's age, and number or area of lesions. Our findings confirm that CL and recent onset of disease (<3 months) are associated with a high parasite load. Our kDNA qPCR assay proved highly sensitive and accurate for the detection and quantification of
Leishmania
(
Viannia
) spp. in lesion biopsy specimens. It has potential application as a diagnostic and follow-up tool in American tegumentary leishmaniasis.