bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Modulation of mucosal/systemic antibody response after sublingual immunotherapy in mite‐allergic children
Authors: Queirós Meimei G. J. , Silva Deise A. O. , Siman Isabella L. , Ynoue Leandro H. , Araújo Núbia S. , Pereira Fernando L. , Almeida Karine C. , Miranda Juliana S. , Pena Janethe D. O. , Cunha‐Junior Jair P. , Taketomi Ernesto A. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractBackgroundThere have been no data on sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) in Brazilian patients sensitized to house dust mites. This study aimed to evaluate the mucosal/systemic antibody response changes and clinical efficacy after SLIT using Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpt) allergens with or without bacterial extracts in mite‐allergic Brazilian children.MethodsPatients with allergic rhinitis and asthma were selected for a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial randomized to three groups: DPT (Dpt extract, n = 34), DPT+MRB (Dpt plus mixed respiratory bacterial extracts, n = 36), and Placebo (n = 32). Total symptom and medication scores for rhinitis/asthma, skin prick test (SPT) to Dpt, and measurements of Dpt‐, Der p 1‐, Der p 2‐specific serum IgE, IgG4, IgG1, and specific salivary IgA were evaluated at baseline and after 12 and 18 months of treatment.ResultsA significant long‐term decline in total symptom/medication scores was observed only in active groups (DTP and DPT+MRB). There was no significant change in SPT results in all groups. SLIT using Dpt allergen alone induced increased levels of serum IgG4 to Dpt, Der p 1, and Der p 2, serum IgG1 and salivary IgA to Dpt and Der p 1. SLIT with Dpt plus bacterial extracts was able to decrease IgE levels, particularly to Der p 2, to increase salivary IgA levels to Der p 1, but had no changes on specific IgG4 and IgG1 levels.ConclusionsAll children undergoing SLIT showed clinical improvement, but a long‐term reduction in symptom/medication scores with modulation of mucosal/systemic antibody responses were seen only in active groups (DPT and DPT+MRB).
Conceptual Ethics I
Authors: Burgess Alexis , Plunkett David 
Published: December 2013

AbstractWhich concepts should we use to think and talk about the world and to do all of the other things that mental and linguistic representation facilitates? This is the guiding question of the field that we call ‘conceptual ethics’. Conceptual ethics is not often discussed as its own systematic branch of normative theory. A case can nevertheless be made that the field is already quite active, with contributions coming in from areas as diverse as fundamental metaphysics and social/political philosophy. In this pair of papers, we try to unify the field, reflecting on its basic nature, structure, and methodology.
The impact of giving support to others on older adults' perceived health status
Authors: Abolfathi Momtaz Yadollah , Ibrahim Rahimah , Hamid Tengku A. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractBackgroundSocial support that may contribute to the physical and mental health of older adults is widely studied. However, much of the existing research has focused on the impact of receiving support; the effects of giving support have largely been neglected. Using the biopsychosocial perspective, this study aimed to examine the independent impact of giving support to others on older adults' perceived health status.MethodsData for this study were obtained from a nationwide community‐based cross‐sectional survey entitled ‘Determinants of Wellness among Older Malaysians: A Health Promotion Perspective’, which was conducted in 2010. To assess the unique effects of giving support on perceived health status, above and beyond other possible known factors, a four‐step hierarchical regression model using SPSS was used to test the hypothesis.ResultsThe findings from the analysis revealed that giving support to others was a significant positive predictor of older adults' perceived health status after receiving support, demographic variables and chronic medical conditions were considered. Further results showed that giving support to others had almost twice the effect on perceived health status (β = 0.11, P < 0.001) as receiving support (β = 0.06, P < 0.05).ConclusionThe findings from this study underscore the need to develop programmes that encourage older adults' participation in productive activities such as caring for and helping others and volunteering.
Modelling Heterogeneity and Uncertainty in Contingent Valuation: an Application to the Valuation of Informal Care
Authors: Mentzakis Emmanouil , Ryan Mandy , McNamee Paul 
Published: December 2013

AbstractBoth the lack of market data and the need to adopt a more holistic approach in the valuation of non‐market activities within health care have pointed towards the use of contingent valuation (CV) methods. However, to date, few studies have employed such techniques to value informal care, despite its provision being an important public policy question. We propose an analytical framework that through the use of random parameters models and respondents' certainty scales can incorporate both unobserved and observed heterogeneity in the CV modelling. This is the first CV study of informal care for Scotland (UK) and a £7.68 per hour value is estimated.
Independent Service Operators in ATM Markets
Authors: Wenzel Tobias 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThis paper studies the impact of entry of non‐banks (termed Independent Service Operators, ISOs) into ATM markets. We compare two different regimes by which the ISO may generate income: (1) The ISO receives interchange fees and (2) the ISO charges consumers directly. We find that due to the entry of an ISO, the size of the total ATM network increases independent of the way the ISO is financed. Account fees increase if the ISO receives interchange fees and decrease if the ISO charges consumers directly. Consumers may not benefit from the entry of the ISO. If a regulator can control the interchange fee, entry by an ISO financed through interchange fees increases consumer surplus, while the entry of a surcharging ISO decreases consumer surplus.
Monopolistic Competition and Different Wage Setting Systems
Authors: García José Ramón , Sorolla Valeri 
Published: December 2013

AbstractIn this paper, we present a disequilibrium unemployment model without labor market frictions and monopolistic competition in the goods market within an infinite horizon model of growth. We consider different wage setting systems and compare wages, the unemployment rate, and income per capita in the long‐run at firm, sector, and national (centralized) levels. The aim of this paper is to determine under which conditions, the inverted‐U hypothesis between unemployment and the degree of centralization of wage bargaining, reported by Calmfors and Driffill [Economic Policy, 6, 14–61, 1988], is confirmed. Our analysis shows that a high degree of market power normally produces the inverted‐U shape for unemployment. Moreover, we also illustrate that this inverted‐U shape can be reversed when the ability of trade unions to internalize the provision of social services is great enough at sector level.
Time‐Varying Spot and Futures Oil Price Dynamics
Authors: Caporale Guglielmo Maria , Ciferri Davide , Girardi Alessandro 
Published: December 2013

AbstractIn this paper, we investigate the role of crude oil spot and futures prices in the process of price discovery by using daily data over the period from January 1992 to September 2012. We provide evidence that futures markets play a more important role than spot markets, but their relative contributions turn out to be highly unstable, especially for the most deferred contracts. Furthermore, considering the time‐varying dynamics provides evidence of a smaller role for futures markets and a greater role for fundamental factors in driving oil prices during the global financial turmoil of 2007–2008. The implications of the main results for hedging and forecasting crude oil spot prices are also discussed.
Goal Adjustment Capacities, Subjective Well‐being, and Physical Health
Authors: Wrosch Carsten , Scheier Michael F. , Miller Gregory E. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThis article addresses how individuals can adjust to the experience of unattainable goals and protect their subjective well‐being and physical health. We discuss theoretical aspects involved in the self‐regulation of unattainable goals and point to the importance of general individual differences in goal disengagement and goal reengagement capacities. In addition, we review the extant literature, suggesting that goal disengagement capacities can reduce psychological distress and ameliorate patterns of biological dysregulation and physical health problems if individuals experience unattainable goals. Goal reengagement capacities, by contrast, are shown to be associated with positive indicators of subjective well‐being (e.g., positive affect or purpose in life) but rarely predict psychological distress or physical health outcomes. We finally address several remaining issues that have become apparent in the extant literature and may deserve more attention in future research.
Why Does It Feel Good To Act Like an Extravert?
Authors: Smillie Luke D. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractResearch into enacted personality provides a novel perspective on the tendency for extraverted individuals to experience high levels of positive affect. Several studies now show that behaving in an extraverted way – thereby enacting an extraverted ‘personality state’ – is sufficient for elevating levels of positive affect. A question that remains, however, is why extraverted behavior has this robust impact on affective experience. In this paper, I consider several potential explanatory mechanisms for this phenomenon, including reward‐ and goal‐related processes, as well as physical/bodily processes underpinning affective experience. Future research addressing these explanations may facilitate greater understanding of this intriguing phenomenon, along with its potential theoretical and practical implications.
Prevalence of methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus spp. in the conjunctival sac of healthy dogs
Authors: Mouney Meredith C. , Stiles Jean , Townsend Wendy M. , Guptill Lynn , Weese J. Scott 
Published: December 2013

AbstractObjectivesTo determine the prevalence of selected coagulase‐positive methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRS) in the conjunctival sac in a group of healthy dogs and to compare the prevalence of ocular MRS colonization with colonization of typically assessed body sites including the nasal cavity and rectum.Animals studied123 healthy dogs were used in the prevalence study: 40 dogs from a shelter and 83 privately owned dogs.ProceduresThe sampling procedure included culturing three separate sites per subject in the following order: the lower conjunctival fornices, the nares, and rectum.ResultsA low prevalence of 1.6% (2/123) of MRS was detected in healthy dogs. Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius was isolated from two dogs, one from a conjunctival swab and the other from a rectal swab.ConclusionThe survey data indicate the ocular surface is a potential site of MRS colonization, although the prevalence was low in healthy dogs.
Age‐related changes in afferent pathways and urothelial function in the male mouse bladder
Authors: Daly Donna M. , Nocchi Linda , Liaskos Marina , McKay Neil G. , Chapple Christopher , Grundy David 
Published: December 2013

Key points
The prevalence of bladder conditions such as overactive bladder syndrome and urinary incontinence significantly increases with age, but how bladder function is altered by ageing is unclear.
Sensory nerves together with the epithelial lining of the bladder known as the urothelium play a key role in mediating bladder function.
In aged male mice we find a significant increase in natural bladder voiding, augmented afferent nerve firing during bladder filling and a significant increase in urothelial responses to purinergic receptor stimulation.
This suggests that with ageing there is increased purinergic transmission in the mouse bladder which may lead to increased sensation and result in bladder hypersensitivity.
These findings help us better understand how the function of the bladder may be affected by advancing age.
AbstractThe prevalence of lower urinary tract storage disorders such as overactive bladder syndrome and urinary incontinence significantly increase with age. Previous studies have demonstrated age‐related changes in detrusor function and urothelial transmitter release but few studies have investigated how the urothelium and sensory pathways are affected. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ageing on urothelial‐afferent signalling in the mouse bladder. Three‐month‐old control and 24‐month‐old aged male mice were used. In vivo natural voiding behaviour, sensory nerve activity, urothelial cell function, muscle contractility, transmitter release and gene and protein expression were measured to identify how all three components of the bladder (neural, contractile and urothelial) are affected by ageing. In aged mice, increased voiding frequency and enhanced low threshold afferent nerve activity was observed, suggesting that ageing induces overactivity and hypersensitivity of the bladder. These changes were concurrent with altered ATP and acetylcholine bioavailability, measured as transmitter overflow into the lumen, increased purinergic receptor sensitivity and raised P2X3 receptor expression in the urothelium. Taken together, these data suggest that ageing results in aberrant urothelial function, increased afferent mechanosensitivity, increased smooth muscle contractility, and changes in gene and protein expression (including of P2X3). These data are consistent with the hypothesis that ageing evokes changes in purinergic signalling from the bladder, and further studies are now required to fully validate this idea.
The small GTPase Rac1 is required for smooth muscle contraction
Authors: Rahman Awahan , Davis Benjamin , Lövdahl Cecilia , Hanumaiah Veena T. , Feil Robert , Brakebusch Cord , Arner Anders 
Published: December 2013

Key points
The role of the small G‐protein Rac1 was investigated in smooth muscle, using a smooth muscle‐specific knockout mouse and pharmacological blockers.
Inhibition of the interaction between Rac1 and upstream regulators inhibited the α‐receptor contractions and potentiated prostaglandin F2α contractions in vascular tissue.
The inhibition was mediated via an attenuation of the Ca2+ transient.
A global inhibition of Rac1 activity inhibited contractions in response to several agonists in a range of smooth muscle tissues.
The results demonstrate a novel Rac1‐associated signalling pathway for regulation of smooth muscle contraction.
AbstractThe role of the small GTP‐binding protein Rac1 in smooth muscle contraction was examined using small molecule inhibitors (EHT1864, NSC23766) and a novel smooth muscle‐specific, conditional, Rac1 knockout mouse strain. EHT1864, which affects nucleotide binding and inhibits Rac1 activity, concentration‐dependently inhibited the contractile responses induced by several different modes of activation (high‐K+, phenylephrine, carbachol and protein kinase C activation by phorbol‐12,13‐dibutyrate) in several different visceral (urinary bladder, ileum) and vascular (mesenteric artery, saphenous artery, aorta) smooth muscle tissues. This contractile inhibition was associated with inhibition of the Ca2+ transient. Knockout of Rac1 (with a 50% loss of Rac1 protein) lowered active stress in the urinary bladder and the saphenous artery consistent with a role of Rac1 in facilitating smooth muscle contraction. NSC23766, which blocks interaction between Rac1 and some guanine nucleotide exchange factors, specifically inhibited the α1 receptor responses (phenylephrine) in vascular tissues and potentiated prostaglandin F2α and thromboxane (U46619) receptor responses. The latter potentiating effect occurred at lowered intracellular [Ca2+]. These results show that Rac1 activity is required for active contraction in smooth muscle, probably via enabling an adequate Ca2+ transient. At the same time, specific agonists recruit Rac1 signalling via upstream modulators, resulting in either a potentiation of contraction via Ca2+ mobilization (α1 receptor stimulation) or an attenuated contraction via inhibition of Ca2+ sensitization (prostaglandin and thromboxane receptors).
Synaptic noise is an information bottleneck in the inner retina during dynamic visual stimulation
Authors: Freed Michael A. , Liang Zhiyin 
Published: December 2013

Key points
At chemical synapses, vesicles fuse with the presynaptic membrane at random, generating noise in postsynaptic currents.
To determine how much noise synapses generate, we recorded excitatory postsynaptic currents from ganglion cells in an in vitro preparation of the mammalian retina during flickering visual stimulation.
Postsynaptic currents received noise from three sources: substantial noise from bipolar cell synapses, somewhat more from the presynaptic retinal circuitry, but little from sources intrinsic to the ganglion cell.
Presynaptic circuit elements but not bipolar cell synapses were significant sources of noise shared by pairs of ganglion cells.
Signal‐to‐noise ratio was substantially reduced from the presynaptic bipolar cell array to the postsynaptic ganglion cell, indicating that synaptic noise can reduce the amount of information transmitted to a neuron.
AbstractIn daylight, noise generated by cones determines the fidelity with which visual signals are initially encoded. Subsequent stages of visual processing require synapses from bipolar cells to ganglion cells, but whether these synapses generate a significant amount of noise was unknown. To characterize noise generated by these synapses, we recorded excitatory postsynaptic currents from mammalian retinal ganglion cells and subjected them to a computational noise analysis. The release of transmitter quanta at bipolar cell synapses contributed substantially to the noise variance found in the ganglion cell, causing a significant loss of fidelity from bipolar cell array to postsynaptic ganglion cell. Virtually all the remaining noise variance originated in the presynaptic circuit. Circuit noise had a frequency content similar to noise shared by ganglion cells but a very different frequency content from noise from bipolar cell synapses, indicating that these synapses constitute a source of independent noise not shared by ganglion cells. These findings contribute a picture of daylight retinal circuits where noise from cones and noise generated by synaptic transmission of cone signals significantly limit visual fidelity.
Developments of MEMS-Based Thermocouple Array for Sensing Effects of a Flow Channel on PEMFC Local Temperature Distribution
Authors: Sugimoto Toshiki , Horiuchi Yuhei , Araki Takuto 
Published: December 2013

Measuring temperature inside PEMFCs is necessary for proper water management, because water vapor pressure is a strong function of temperature. In this paper, we have developed thin film thermocouple (TFTC) array to measure temperature distributions near the Cathode Catalyst layer (CCL) with a resolution smaller than the rib-channel scale.
The sensor array was placed between CL and gas diffusion layer (GDL) at the cathode. No performance decrement was observed with the insertion of TFTC array. The measurements of temperature distributions showed that the temperature rises at the cathode CL is about 9 °C at 1.2 A/cm2 with supplying 98.5 % RH Hydrogen / Air.
3D Focusing of Micro-Particles by Sheath Flow Warping
Authors: Perfetti C. , Iorio C. S. , Dubois F. 
Published: December 2013

Observation of biological samples is a common issue in many applications relative to marine environment and in the field of water treatments. In particular, the ability to detect the presence of bacteria such as Criptosporidium and Giardia Lamblia in freshwater contributes to prevent people from critical diseases even in developed countries. The main challenge in this field is to analyze a large enough volume of biological sample to make it representative of the selected environment, while characterizing the species of interest whose size is often many order of magnitude smaller.
In order to obtain detailed information of the observed species, the magnification of the visualization systems — often optical microscopes — should fit the size of the objects, involving a restrained field of view. As a result; the rate of analysis is lowered and the characterization of the samples time-consuming. To tackle this issue, an increase of the flow rate is possible by focusing of particles in the observation field of view. Such technique allows for increasing the overall flow rate, inversely related to the sampling time.
In this article a new 3D hydrofocusing device is presented. A square section glass capillary (400×400μm2) used as the nozzle is inserted into a square section glass channel (2×2mm2). The inlets are fixed on a custom device that enables the sheath flow to completely wrap the sample flow after the injection. The 3D position of the particles used as representative substitutes of the biological species has been measured thanks to digital holographic microscopy and their distribution in cross-sections 2mm and 30mm downstream the injection nozzle compared to numerical simulations. A successful match of the location has been observed.
The carrier fluid used in the experiments was water seeded with 27–45μm diameter neutrally buoyant particles. Several flow rates have been tested for both samples and sheath flow to investigate the shape of the focused stream line and to validate the prototype design. A maximum constriction — ratio between the part of the cross-sections where particles are present with and without focusing sheath flow — of 47% has been observed confirming the potentiality of the technique.
Antiviral Activity of (+)-Rutamarin against Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus by Inhibition of the Catalytic Activity of Human Topoisomerase II
Authors: Xu Bo , Wang Ling , González-Molleda Lorenzo , Wang Yan , Xu Jun , Yuan Yan 
Published: December 2013

ABSTRACT

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is an etiological agent of several AIDS-associated malignancies, including Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), and multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). Its lytic replication cycle has been proven to be critical for the pathogenesis of KSHV-associated diseases. In KS lesions, lytic viral replication, production of virion particles, and reinfection of endothelial cells are essential to sustain the population of infected cells that otherwise would be quickly lost as spindle cells divide. Thus, antivirals that block KSHV replication could be a strategy in the treatment of KSHV-associated diseases. However, there is no effective anti-KSHV drug currently available. Our previous work showed that human topoisomerase II (Topo II) is indispensable for KSHV lytic replication and is suggested to be an effective target for antiviral drugs. Here, we report the discovery and characterization of a novel catalytic inhibitor of human Topo IIα, namely, (+)-rutamarin. The binding mode of (+)-rutamarin to the ATPase domain of human Topo IIα was established by docking and validated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. More importantly, (+)-rutamarin efficiently inhibits KSHV lytic DNA replication in BCBL-1 cells with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC
50
) of 1.12 μM and blocks virion production with a half-maximal antiviral effective concentration (EC
50
) of 1.62 μM. It possesses low cytotoxicity, as indicated by the selectivity index (SI) of 84.14. This study demonstrated great potential for (+)-rutamarin to become an effective drug for treatment of human diseases associated with KSHV infection.