bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Generation and Characterization of Spiking and Nonspiking Oligodendroglial Progenitor Cells from Embryonic Stem Cells
Authors: Jiang Peng , Chen Chen , Liu Xiao-Bo , Selvaraj Vimal , Liu Wei , Feldman Daniel H. , Liu Ying , Pleasure David E. , Li Ronald A. , Deng Wenbin 
Published: August 2013

Abstract
Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have been differentiated into oligodendroglial progenitor cells (OPCs), providing promising cell replacement therapies for many central nervous system disorders. Studies from rodents have shown that brain OPCs express a variety of ion channels, and that a subset of brain OPCs express voltage-gated sodium channel (NaV), mediating the spiking properties of OPCs. However, it is unclear whether PSC-derived OPCs exhibit electrophysiological properties similar to brain OPCs and the role of NaV in the functional maturation of OPCs is unknown. Here, using a mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Olig2 knockin reporter line, we demonstrated that unlike brain OPCs, all the GFP+/Olig2+ mESC-derived OPCs (mESC-OPCs) did not express functional NaV and failed to generate spikes (hence termed “nonspiking mESC-OPCs”), while expressing the delayed rectifier and inactivating potassium currents. By ectopically expressing NaV1.2 α subunit via viral transduction, we successfully generated mESC-OPCs with spiking properties (termed “spiking mESC-OPCs”). After transplantation into the spinal cord and brain of myelin-deficient shiverer mice, the spiking mESC-OPCs demonstrated better capability in differentiating into myelin basic protein expressing oligodendrocytes and in myelinating axons in vivo than the nonspiking mESC-OPCs. Thus, by generating spiking and nonspiking mESC-OPCs, this study reveals a novel function of NaV in OPCs in their functional maturation and myelination, and sheds new light on ways to effectively develop PSC-derived OPCs for future clinical applications. Stem Cells 2013;31:2620–2631
WIREs Climate Change after 4 years: an editorial essay
Authors: Hulme Mike 
Published: August 2013

AbstractThe first issue of WIREs (Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews) Climate Change appeared in January 2010 and nearly 4 years later the journal has published over 200 review articles at the average rate of more than one per week. Over these 4 years, the journal has made a unique, visible, and valuable contribution to the burgeoning and broadening scholarship on climate change. This reflects not only the vision and work of the Executive Editorial Board, but also the way in which the idea of climate change continues to take on new meanings as it meets and shapes new physical processes and cultural practices. In this editorial I reflect on the contribution of WIREs Climate Change to this scholarship and assess the achievements of the journal to date. WIREs Clim Change 2014, 5:1–5. doi: 10.1002/wcc.248This article is categorized under:

Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Communication
Climate, History, Society, Culture > Ideas and Knowledge
One‐Stage Urethroplasty for Urethral Strictures at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, South Western Nigeria
Authors: Eziyi Amogu K. , Olajide Abimbola O. , Etonyeaku Amarachukwu C. , Ojewuyi Olufemi O. , Eziyi Josephine A. E. , Adeyanju Temiloluwa , Adeyemo Lukman 
Published: August 2013

AbstractBackgroundUrethral stricture, a common urologic condition, is probably the most common cause of urinary retention in tropical Africa and a frequent cause of lower urinary tract symptoms worldwide. This study aimed at presenting our experience with one‐stage urethroplasty at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital Osogbo, Nigeria.MethodsAll male patients who underwent one‐stage urethroplasty between December 2005 and December 2011 were studied retrospectively. Details of their presentation and management were reviewed.ResultsA total of 50 patients aged 2–75 years (mean ± SD 44.2 ± 21.53 years) with a urethral stricture underwent one‐stage urethroplasty. The modal age group was 61–75 years (26 %). In all, 27 (54 %) patients were >40 years. Strictures following previous urethritis were more common (29, 58 %) than those seen after trauma (21, 42 %). Strictures following trauma were more common in men ≤40 years (52.2 %), and 69 % of strictures in men >40 years were infective in origin. Altogether, 88 % of strictures were exclusively found in the anterior urethra. In all, 32 (64 %) patients had bacteriuria at presentation. Strictures ≥2 cm with extensive fibrosis were noted in 21 (42 %). Excision of scar tissue was done, followed by end‐to‐end anastomosis in 32 (64 %), penile pedicle flap in 16 (32 %), and buccal mucosal graft in 2 (4 %) of the patients. Wound infection was the most common complication. Overall, 76 % of patients achieved a urine flow rate of 15 ml/s and postvoid residual urine of ≤50 ml.ConclusionsOne‐stage urethroplasty offered satisfactory results in the study group. It is recommended for urethral reconstruction in men with urethral stricture.
Antidyslipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Novel Lupeol‐Derived Chalcones
Authors: Srivastava Shishir , Sonkar Ravi , Mishra Sunil Kumar , Tiwari Avinash , Balramnavar Vishal , Mir Snober , Bhatia Gitika , Saxena Anil K. , Lakshmi Vijai 
Published: August 2013

AbstractA series of Lupeol‐based chalcones have been synthesized aiming to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of parent compound, the novel compounds were evaluated for their antidyslipidemic activity in triton‐WR 1339 induced hyperlipidemic rats. Among the ten synthesized chalcones, the most active K4, K8, and K9 reversed the plasma levels of TC by (24, 25, 27 %), phospholipid by (25, 26, 25 %) and triacylglycerol by (27, 24, 24 %) respectively. In addition, the compounds showed significant in vitro antioxidant activity. The lipid lowering activity of these compounds were mediated through lipoprotein lipase activation (12–21 %) and enhanced post‐heparin lipolytic activity (15–16 %). The compounds also displayed noteworthy inhibitory effect on 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methyl‐glutaryl reductase activity (in vitro). The in vitro effect of the most active compounds on MDI‐induced adipogenesis using 3T3‐L1 preadipocytes at 10 and 20 μM concentrations showed significant inhibition (20–32 %) of adipogenesis.
Water extract of Pueraria lobata Ohwi has anti‐viral activity against human respiratory syncytial virus in human respiratory tract cell lines
Authors: Lin Tzeng‐Jih , Yeh Chia‐Feng , Wang Kuo‐Chih , Chiang Lien‐Chai , Tsai Jih‐Jin , Chang Jung‐San 
Published: August 2013

AbstractHuman respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) infects all age groups and causes bronchiolitis, pneumonia, and acute respiratory distress syndrome with a significant mortality rate. To date, only ribavirin has been used to manage HRSV infection. However, ribavirin is expensive with an only modest effect. Furthermore, ribavirin has several side effects, which means it has limited clinical benefit. Pueraria lobata Ohwi (P. lobata) is a common ingredient of Ge‐Gen‐Tang (Kakkon‐to) and Sheng‐Ma‐Ge‐Gen‐Tang (Shoma‐kakkon‐to), which are prescriptions of Chinese traditional medicine proven to have antiviral activity against HRSV. Therefore, it was hypothesized that P. lobata might be effective against HRSV. To find a cost‐effective therapeutic modality, both human upper (HEp‐2) and lower (A549) respiratory tract cell lines were used to test the hypothesis that P. lobata could inhibit HRSV‐induced plaque formation. Results showed that the water extract of P. lobata was effective (p < 0.0001) against HRSV‐induced plaque formation. P. lobata was more effective when given prior to viral inoculation (p < 0.0001) by inhibiting viral attachment (p < 0.0001) and penetration (p < 0.0001). However, supplementation with P. lobata could not stimulate interferon secretion after HRSV infection. In conclusion, P. lobata has antiviral activity against HRSV‐induced plaque formation in airway mucosa mainly by inhibiting viral attachment and internalization. Further identification of effective constituents could contribute to the prevention of HRSV infection.
Quality of life in terminally ill patients – a challenge for future research
Authors: Meffert Cornelia , Becker Gerhild 
Published: August 2013

Summary
Recent statistics reveal a substantial and even growing need for palliative care in present-day society. Providing adequate pain therapy remains a largely unsolved problem, mainly because of the small number of clinical studies in palliative medicine. Hence, clinical research is urgently needed – and therefore suitable tools to measure outcomes must be developed. Contrary to typical clinical studies, the usual outcome parameters such as decreased mortality and/or morbidity are unsuitable. Future research should focus on developing an instrument which allows to measure quality of life as the central outcome criterion of clinical studies in palliative medicine.
Confronting the Politics of Nonconforming Sexualities in Africa
Authors: Tamale Sylvia 
Published: August 2013

Abstract:The connections between democracy and sexuality—that is, between civil liberties and the protection of nonconforming sexualities—are rarely discussed in Africa. On the contrary, nonconforming sexualities have been instrumentalized to entrench dictatorships and to weaken democracy. As was the case in early twentieth-century Europe and North America, homophobia has become a political tool used by conservative politicians to promote self-serving agendas. Heterosexuality is also idealized by an acute ahistoricization of African politics by the Western media and civil society. The problem is also compounded by the distortion of African history promulgated by the dictatorial leadership on the continent.
The Morality of the U.N. Security Council Sanctions against Eritrea: Defensibility, Political Objectives, and Consequences
Authors: Bereketeab Redie 
Published: August 2013

Abstract:This article seeks to examine the sanctions imposed on Eritrea by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) based on Eritrea’s alleged involvement in Somalia and its border dispute with Djibouti. It argues that the UNSC’s failure to sanction the parties for reneging on their commitment to implement the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s verdict on the border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia casts doubt on the morality of the sanctions. It also argues that the decision may have been driven by political motives. These sanctions will hurt the people of Eritrea and the Eritrean nation, and indeed, there is a real risk that the outcome of the sanctions could be the collapse of the Eritrean state.
Obama’s Africa Policy: The Limits of Symbolic Power
Authors: Zeleza Paul Tiyambe 
Published: August 2013

Abstract:The election of Barack Obama as the first African-descended president of the United States in 2008 was greeted with euphoria in the U.S. and around the world, including Africa. Little, however, changed in the substance of U.S.–Africa relations. This underscores the limits of the symbolic politics of race and presidential personalities in the face of the structural imperatives of U.S. power and foreign policy in which African interests remain marginal and subordinate to U.S. interests. The article explores the structural contexts of foreign policy-making in the United States and what might be expected from the second Obama administration.
Africa: Beware of Obama’s Second Term
Authors: Samatar Abdi Ismail 
Published: August 2013

Abstract:Obama’s rise to the U.S. presidency in 2008 gave many supporters of Africa the false hope that U.S. policy toward Africa would become more progressive. When such a shift failed to transpire, advocates argued that the major economic crisis in the U.S. monopolized the president’s attention and that his second term would create new opportunities for the continent. These claims failed to take into account the deep-rooted U.S. interests that dominate Africa policy with or without Obama. In addition, most of the Africa advocates have ignored the influence of the new breed of African Americans who staff key positions in the Department of State and whose priority is their own careers rather than a just policy toward the continent. Finally, most African leaders have not advocated for African interests and instead have pursued their particularistic agendas, leaving Africa vulnerable. Given this context, it is unlikely that Obama’s second term will introduce an Africa-friendly policy.
Area-preserving diffeomorphisms of the torus whose rotation sets have non-empty interior
Authors: ADDAS-ZANATA SALVADOR 
Published: August 2013

AbstractIn this paper we consider${C}^{1+ \epsilon } $area-preserving diffeomorphisms of the torus $f$, either homotopic to the identity or to Dehn twists. We suppose that$f$has a lift$\widetilde {f} $to the plane such that its rotation set has interior and prove, among other things, that if zero is an interior point of the rotation set, then there exists a hyperbolic$\widetilde {f} $-periodic point$\widetilde {Q} \in { \mathbb{R} }^{2} $such that${W}^{u} (\widetilde {Q} )$intersects${W}^{s} (\widetilde {Q} + (a, b))$for all integers$(a, b)$, which implies that$ \overline{{W}^{u} (\widetilde {Q} )} $is invariant under integer translations. Moreover,$ \overline{{W}^{u} (\widetilde {Q} )} = \overline{{W}^{s} (\widetilde {Q} )} $and$\widetilde {f} $restricted to$ \overline{{W}^{u} (\widetilde {Q} )} $is invariant and topologically mixing. Each connected component of the complement of$ \overline{{W}^{u} (\widetilde {Q} )} $is a disk with diameter uniformly bounded from above. If$f$is transitive, then$ \overline{{W}^{u} (\widetilde {Q} )} = { \mathbb{R} }^{2} $and$\widetilde {f} $is topologically mixing in the whole plane.
Abelian maximal pattern complexity of words
Authors: KAMAE TETURO , WIDMER STEVEN , ZAMBONI LUCA Q. 
Published: August 2013

AbstractIn this paper, we study the maximal pattern complexity of infinite words up to Abelian equivalence. We compute a lower bound for the Abelian maximal pattern complexity of infinite words which are both recurrent and aperiodic by projection. We show that in the case of binary words, the bound is actually achieved and gives a characterization of recurrent aperiodic words.
The Indian Voice: Connecting Self-Representation and Identity Formulation in Diaspora
Authors: Nasar Saima 
Published: August 2013

AbstractThis article examines a previously overlooked publication titled The Indian Voice of British East Africa, Uganda and Zanzibar. Printed in Nairobi between 1911 and 1913, the Indian Voice has been dismissed by some scholars as “insignificant” in the wider context of Kenya’s militant press. As an important tool for discovering, exploring and analyzing the nature of racial hierarchies, diasporic identity and belonging, this article argues that the Indian Voice can be used to understand how “new kinds of self-representation” both emerged and dissolved in early twentieth-century East Africa. By contextualizing the historical significance of the newspaper, it demonstrates how the Indian Voice offers an invaluable means of generating new insights into the complex cultural and political formulations of Indian identities in diaspora. In doing so, this article contributes to remapping the historical perspective of East African Indians within the early colonial period.
The Legacy of Pierre Fatumbi Verger in the Whydah Historical Museum (Benin): Development of an Ambivalent Concept of Hybridity
Authors: Seiderer Anna 
Published: August 2013

AbstractThis article analyses the ambivalent legacy of Pierre Verger in the Whydah Historical Museum (Benin). Created in the Portuguese fort once used for the Atlantic slave trade and transformed into a museum in 1967, it is dedicated to the history of the region and its cultural consequences. This article examines the distinction between the way Verger used his photographs as a tool for anthropological exploration and the reinterpretation of those pictures by way of an ideological discourse once they were fixed in a museological context.
The Wiriyamu Massacre of 1972: Its Context, Genesis, and Revelation
Authors: Dhada Mustafah 
Published: August 2013

AbstractThis text on the Wiriyamu massacre of 1972 in Mozambique uses fieldwork and archival materials to address its historical context, the methods used to collect data for the narrative, the trajectory that the narrative took to reach the pages ofThe Times of London, the contest that ensued over its veracity, and its eventual acceptance as true by all parties concerned. The text concludes that both the context as well as the construction of the massacre narrative was much more complex and nuanced than the extant literature suggests. Its revelation too was governed by a series of factors, some directly related to the story and the timing of its arrival in London, and others entirely disconnected from the text of the massacre as received byThe Times of London. The text discusses in the end how both the preponderance of evidence and a change in regime in Portugal among other factors delivered the narrative safely for all to agree on its veracity as a common text.
The Dilemmas of Digital Patrimonialization: The Digital Museum of African and Afro-Brazilian Memory
Authors: Sansone Livio 
Published: August 2013

AbstractHistorically subaltern groups envisage new possibilities for the creation of community museums and exhibits. This seems to be particularly true of the Global South and, even more so, of Sub-Saharan Africa and the African diaspora to Southern America – two regions of the world where, when it concerns ethno-racial minorities and social movements, presential museums and “actual” archives have more often than not been poorly funded, ill-equipped, and underscored. This article teases out the process of creating such a digital museum that focuses on African and Afro-Brazilian heritage. It is a technological and political experiment that is being developed in a country experiencing a process of rediscovery and of the patrimonialization of a set of elements of popular culture, within which “Africa” as a trope has moved from being generally considered a historical onus to (Western-oriented) progress to become a bonus for a country that is discovering itself both multiculturally and as part of the powerful group of BRIC nations (Brazil/Russia/India/China).
The Mopra Southern Galactic Plane CO Survey
Authors: Burton Michael G. , Braiding C. , Glueck C. , Goldsmith P. , Hawkes J. , Hollenbach D. J. , Kulesa C. , Martin C. L. , Pineda J. L. , Rowell G. , Simon R. , Stark A. A. , Stutzki J. , Tothill N. J. H. , Urquhart J. S. , Walker C. , Walsh A. J. , Wolfire M. 
Published: August 2013

AbstractWe present the first results from a new carbon monoxide (CO) survey of the southern Galactic plane being conducted with the Mopra radio telescope in Australia. The 12CO, 13CO, and C18O J = 1–0 lines are being mapped over the $l = 305^{\circ }\text{--} 345^{\circ }, b = \pm 0.5^{\circ }$ portion of the fourth quadrant of the Galaxy, at 35 arcsec spatial and 0.1 km s−1 spectral resolution. The survey is being undertaken with two principal science objectives: (i) to determine where and how molecular clouds are forming in the Galaxy and (ii) to probe the connection between molecular clouds and the ‘missing’ gas inferred from gamma-ray observations. We describe the motivation for the survey, the instrumentation and observing techniques being applied, and the data reduction and analysis methodology. In this paper, we present the data from the first degree surveyed, $l = 323^{\circ } \text{--} 324^{\circ }, b = \pm 0.5^{\circ }$. We compare the data to the previous CO survey of this region and present metrics quantifying the performance being achieved; the rms sensitivity per 0.1 km s−1 velocity channel is ~1.5 K for ${\rm ^{12}CO}$ and ~0.7 K for the other lines. We also present some results from the region surveyed, including line fluxes, column densities, molecular masses, ${\rm ^{12}CO/^{13}CO}$ line ratios, and ${\rm ^{12}CO}$ optical depths. We also examine how these quantities vary as a function of distance from the Sun when averaged over the 1 square degree survey area. Approximately 2 × 106M⊙ of molecular gas is found along the G323 sightline, with an average H2 number density of $n_{\text{H}_2} \sim 1$ cm−3 within the Solar circle. The CO data cubes will be made publicly available as they are published.
PROPERTY L AND COMMUTING EXPONENTIALS IN DIMENSION AT MOST THREE
Authors: BOURGEOIS GERALD 
Published: August 2013

AbstractLet$A, B$be two square complex matrices of the same dimension$n\leq 3$. We show that the following conditions are equivalent. (i) There exists a finite subset$U\subset { \mathbb{N} }_{\geq 2} $such that for every$t\in \mathbb{N} \setminus U$,$\exp (tA+ B)= \exp (tA)\exp (B)= \exp (B)\exp (tA)$. (ii) The pair$(A, B)$has property L of Motzkin and Taussky and$\exp (A+ B)= \exp (A)\exp (B)= \exp (B)\exp (A)$. We also characterise the pairs of real matrices$(A, B)$of dimension three, that satisfy the previous conditions.
Impact of immune system stimulation on the ileal nutrient digestibility and utilisation of methionine plus cysteine intake for whole-body protein deposition in growing pigs
Authors: Rakhshandeh Anoosh , Htoo John K. , Karrow Neil , Miller Stephen P. , de Lange Cornelis F. M. 
Published: August 2013

The impact of immune system stimulation (ISS) on the ileal nutrient digestibility and utilisation of dietary methionine plus cysteine (SAA) intake for whole-body protein deposition (PD) was evaluated in growing pigs. For this purpose, sixty barrows were used in two experiments: thirty-six pigs in Expt I and twenty-four pigs in Expt II. Pigs were feed restricted and assigned to five levels of dietary SAA allowance (three and two levels in Expt I and II, respectively) from SAA-limiting diets. Following adaptation, pigs at each dietary SAA level were injected with either increasing amounts ofEscherichia colilipopolysaccharide (ISS+; eight and six pigs per dietary SAA level in Expt I and II, respectively) or saline (ISS − ; four and six pigs in Expt I and II, respectively) while measuring the whole-body nitrogen (N) balance. After N-balance observations, pigs were euthanised, organs were removed and ileal digesta were collected for determining nutrient digestibility. Ileal digestibility of gross energy, crude protein and amino acids was not affected by ISS (P>0·20). ISS reduced PD at all levels of dietary SAA intake (P< 0·01). The linear relationship between daily dietary SAA intake and PD observed at the three lowest dietary SAA intake levels indicated that ISS increased extrapolated maintenance SAA requirements (P< 0·05), but had no effect on the partial efficiency of the utilisation of dietary SAA intake for PD (P>0·20). Physiological and metabolic changes associated with systemic ISS had no effect on the ileal digestibility of nutrientsper se, but altered SAA requirements for PD in growing pigs.