bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Methods to Improve the Diagnosis of Systemic Inflammation in Alpacas
Authors: Passler T. , Chamorro M.F. , Riddell K.P. , Edmondson M.A. , van Santen E. , Cray C. , Maxwell H.S. , Walz P.H. 
Published: May 2013

BackgroundThe stoic nature of alpacas and limitations of current diagnostic tests make early recognition of inflammatory diseases in this species challenging.ObjectivesIn a model of mild systemic inflammation, this study evaluated the utility of different clinical and clinicopathologic variables as accurate predictors of inflammation in alpacas.AnimalsTwelve clinically healthy alpacas were randomly assigned to equal‐sized treatment (TG) and control (CG) groups. After collection of initial blood samples (0 hour), lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 20 μg/kg/24 h) or saline was administered by SC osmotic mini‐pumps (OMP) for 96 hours. Additional blood samples were collected at 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 240 hours and differential leukocyte counts and concentrations of globulin, albumin, iron, haptoglobin, and serum amyloid A were measured.ResultsMild swelling was observed at OMP implantation sites in both groups. Other clinical signs of systemic inflammation were not observed. Total leukocytes, neutrophils, albumin, and globulin concentrations were not significantly different between groups. Compared with CG‐alpacas, TG‐alpacas had fewer lymphocytes (P = .0322), more band neutrophils (P = .0087), and higher neutrophil/lymphocyte ratios (P = .0295) during the first 96 hours of the study. During LPS administration, serum iron concentrations were significantly decreased in TG‐alpacas (P < .0001). Haptoglobin concentrations of TG‐animals exceeded those of CG‐animals after removal of OMP (P = .0056). Serum amyloid A was not detectable in alpacas in this study.Conclusion and Clinical ImportanceThese results indicated that neutrophil/lymphocyte ratios and serum iron concentrations are early indicators of inflammation in alpacas. Additional research is needed to evaluate the acute phase protein responses of alpacas.
Multimedia literacy practices in beginning classrooms and at home: the differences in practices and beliefs
Authors: Arrow Alison W. , Finch Brian T. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractMultimedia literacy practices in the homes of young children are changing rapidly, but the use of them in the early years of education is moving slowly. This research was aimed to find out what teachers of 5‐year‐olds, in their first 6 months of compulsory schooling, think about the children's literacy practices at home, including the perceived use of digital media at home. We also wanted to find out what the teachers did in their classrooms that was similar or different to the students' experiences of literacy practices across several media. Parents of 76 children, and their teachers, from 10 classrooms in mid‐high and mid‐low socio‐economic areas completed surveys. The parents' survey asked about the literacy‐related experiences their children are involved in. The teachers' survey asked for their beliefs about the literacy‐related experiences the children in their classrooms engaged in, on average, including the use of digital media. The teachers were also asked about the literacy practices in their classroom and their use of media. This paper describes the teachers' beliefs and the similarities and differences in practices between home and school, including literacy practices using digital technology.
Selection of habitat by a marine amphipod
Authors: Gestoso Ignacio , Olabarria Celia , Troncoso Jesús S. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractMarine algae are known to provide habitats for a wide range of marine organisms. Populations of marine epiphytal invertebrates are generalists and are less adapted to live in only one macroalga species. However, there are some examples of local adaptation and, in particular, amphipods have shown strong host specificity.Amphitholina cuniculus, an amphipod with an alga‐burrowing habit, has been mainly observed inBifurcaria bifurcatamats on the intertidal rocky shores of the southern region of the Galician coast (NWSpain; 42º11.27′ N, 8º48.25′ W). We designed a laboratory experiment conducted in June 2009 to analyse the association between the amphipod and the macroalga. In particular, we hypothesised that (i) this species would exhibit different behaviour during the day and at night, and (ii) adults ofA. cuniculuswould preferB. bifurcataas habitat rather thanFucus vesiculosusorSargassum muticum. Results supported the hypothesis that adults ofA. cuniculuspreferredB. bifurcata, although such preferences did not show the day/night variability predicted. This amphipod might be considered a specialist species, at least on rocky intertidal shores along the Galician coast.
Complex transcriptional and post‐transcriptional regulation of an enzyme for lipopolysaccharide modification
Authors: Moon Kyung , Six David A. , Lee Hyun‐Jung , Raetz Christian R. H. , Gottesman Susan 
Published: May 2013

SummaryThe PhoQ/PhoP two‐component system activates many genes for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) modification when cells are grown at low Mg2+ concentrations. An additional target of PhoQ and PhoP is MgrR, an Hfq‐dependent small RNA that negatively regulates expression of eptB, also encoding a protein that carries out LPS modification. Examination of LPS confirmed that MgrR effectively silences EptB; the phosphoethanolamine modification associated with EptB is found in ΔmgrR::kan but not mgrR+ cells. Sigma E has been reported to positively regulate eptB, although the eptB promoter does not have the expected Sigma E recognition motifs. The effects of Sigma E and deletion of mgrR on levels of eptB mRNA were independent, and the same 5′ end was found in both cases. In vitro transcription and the behaviour of transcriptional and translational fusions demonstrate that Sigma E acts directly at the level of transcription initiation for eptB, from the same start point as Sigma 70. The results suggest that when Sigma E is active, synthesis of eptB transcript outstrips MgrR‐dependent degradation; presumably the modification of LPS is important under these conditions. Adding to the complexity of eptB regulation is a second sRNA, ArcZ, which also directly and negatively regulates eptB.
Uncoupling of mRNA synthesis and degradation impairs adaptation to host temperature in Cryptococcus neoformans
Authors: Bloom Amanda L. M. , Solomons J. T. Graham , Havel Virginia E. , Panepinto John C. 
Published: May 2013

SummaryThe pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans must overcome multiple stressors to cause disease in its human host. In this study, we report that C. neoformans rapidly and transiently repressed ribosomal protein (RP) transcripts during a transition from 30°C to host temperature. This repression was accompanied by accelerated mRNA degradation mediated by the major deadenylase, Ccr4, and influenced by the dissociable RNA polymerase II subunit, Rpb4. Destabilization and deadenylation of RP transcripts were impaired in an rpb4Δ mutant, suggesting that Rpb4 may be involved in host temperature‐induced Ccr4‐mediated decay. Accelerated decay of ER stress transcripts 1 h following a shift to host temperature was also impaired in the rpb4Δ mutant. In response to host temperature, Rpb4 moved from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, supporting a role for Rpb4 in coupling transcription and degradation. The PKH signalling pathway was implicated as a regulator of accelerated degradation of the RP transcripts, but not of the ER stress transcripts, revealing a further level of specificity. When transcription and degradation were uncoupled by deletion of Rpb4, growth at host temperature was impaired and virulence was attenuated. These data suggest that mRNA synthesis and decay are coupled in C. neoformans via Rpb4, and this tight coordination promotes host‐temperature adaptation and pathogenicity.
RNA‐Seq facilitates a new perspective on signal transduction and gene regulation in important plant pathogens
Authors: Vorhölter Frank‐Jörg 
Published: May 2013

SummaryRNA‐Seq is opening new doors for the functional understanding of microorganisms. Advances in RNA‐Seq technology are allowing investigators to focus their studies on specific functional questions. An interesting example is presented by An et al. (2013) in this issue of Molecular Microbiology. New genes were identified for proteins and ncRNAs when the authors concentrated on the role of the rpf genes, which code for key components of a signal transduction hub in the plant pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. Although rpf gene products were already known to be involved in controlling transcription of many genes, including those encoding several important virulence factors, novel and unexpected properties of this signal transduction system emerged from the RNA‐Seq analysis. In addition to identifying new target genes influenced by the rpf genes, the study found that the regulons of RpfC and RpfG, the sensor and response regulator of the master two‐component regulatory system, only partially overlapped, indicating that the Rpf signalling system is even more complex than previously appreciated.
Progressive myoclonus epilepsy: extraneuronal brown pigment deposition and system neurodegeneration in the brains of Japanese patients with novel SCARB2 mutations
Authors: Fu Yong‐Juan , Aida Izumi , Tada Masayoshi , Tada Mari , Toyoshima Yasuko , Takeda Shigeki , Nakajima Takashi , Naito Haruhiko , Nishizawa Masatoyo , Onodera Osamu , Kakita Akiyoshi , Takahashi Hitoshi 
Published: May 2013

AimsMutations in the SCARB2 gene cause a rare autosomal recessive disease, progressive myoclonus epilepsy (PME) with or without renal failure, the former also being designated action myoclonus‐renal failure syndrome. Although reported cases have been accumulating, only a few have described its neuropathology. We studied two Japanese patients with PME without renal failure, in whom the ages at onset and disease durations were 45 and 20 years, and 14 and 8.5 years respectively.MethodsSequencing and restriction analysis of the SCARB2 gene and neuropathological examination with immunohistochemistry were performed.ResultsGene analyses revealed novel homozygous frameshift and nonsense mutations in the SCARB2 gene. Both cases exhibited deposition of brown pigment in the brain, especially the cerebellar and cerebral cortices. Ultrastructurally, the pigment granules were localized in astrocytes. Neuronal loss and gliosis were also evident in the brain, including the pallidoluysian and cerebello‐olivary systems. The spinal cord was also affected. Such changes were less severe in one patient with late‐onset disease than in the other patient with early‐onset disease. In brain and kidney sections, immunostaining with an antibody against the C‐terminus of human SCARB2 revealed decreased levels and no expression of the protein respectively.ConclusionsThe frameshift mutation detected in the patient with late‐onset disease is a hitherto undescribed, unique type of SCARB2 gene mutation. The present two patients are the first reported to have clearly demonstrated both extraneuronal brown pigment deposition and system neurodegeneration as neuropathological features of PME with SCARB2 mutations.
Weight of tradition: culture as a rationale for obesity in contemporary U.S. news coverage
Authors: Shugart H. A. 
Published: May 2013

SummaryIn studies of mediated representations of obesity to date, the overwhelming majority have found predominant a personal responsibility frame, specifically as drawn against environmental frames, which are nonetheless gaining ground in recent years. In this essay, I review that extant literature and seek to trouble the binary by isolating national news coverage of obesity in two historically and culturally specific regions of the United States that are regularly referenced in relation to the issue: the South and the Midwest. I evaluate the key characterizations of obesity and obese individuals in these regions in mainstream national news coverage between January 2009 and December 2012 in order to assess whether, how, and to what extent personal responsibility or environmental frames are invoked in this coverage. I argue that ‘culture’ appears to be gaining traction as an emergent discourse for obesity, which may appear to offer a more complex or nuanced explanation of the issue; however, this analysis suggests that it can be taken up in ways that feature troubling implications and consequences.
Open‐Irrigated Laser Catheter Ablation Produces Flow‐Dependent Sizes of Lesions
Authors: WEBER HELMUT P. , SAGERER‐GERHARDT MICHAELA 
Published: May 2013

BackgroundGrowth and sizes of lesions produced during catheter ablation is difficult to control. Laser lesion formation was evaluated during various flow rates and energy settings by using an open‐irrigated laser catheter on a thigh‐muscle dog model.MethodsLaser radiation at 15 W or 20 W was applied in blood for 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, and 50 seconds during an irrigation flow of 16 mL/min or 35 mL/min, in direct contact, and in a noncontact mode of laser application. Lesions were evaluated morphometrically.ResultsThere was a linear increase of lesions with the increase of the level of energy applied. Maximal depth of lesions achieved during a flow rate of 16 mL/min at 15 W/50 seconds increased significantly from 9.9 ± 0.3 mm to 12.1 ± 0.5 mm, and at 20 W/50 seconds from 11.1 ± 0.55 mm to 12.4 ± 0.26 mm, when irrigation flow was 35 mL/min (P < 0.5). However, difference of lesion increase between 15 W and 20 W was not significant (P = 0.30). Lesions were achieved also in a noncontact mode of radiation at a distance of 1–2 mm, but not at 5 mm away. Radiation at 20 W > 40 seconds and a flow rate of 35 mL/min may cause steam pop with intramural cavitation.ConclusionsBy using an open‐irrigated laser catheter augmentation of catheter flow increases lesion sizes. Lesions can be achieved also in a noncontact mode of radiation. In order to avoid unwanted effects the level of energy applied must be limited.
Postoperative Junctional Ectopic Tachycardia: Risk Factors for Occurrence in the Modern Surgical Era
Authors: MOAK JEFFREY P. , ARIAS PATRICIO , KALTMAN JONATHAN R. , CHENG YAO , MCCARTER ROBERT , HANUMANTHAIAH SRIDHAR , MARTIN GERARD R. , JONAS RICHARD A. 
Published: May 2013

BackgroundPostoperative (PO) junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) can be a life‐threatening arrhythmia that follows surgical repair of congenital heart disease (CHD) and results in PO morbidity.MethodsWe reviewed 750 open heart surgeries (OHS) for CHD performed between January 2005 and February 2009. Kaplan‐Meier and Cox proportional hazards model analyses were used to estimate the frequency and evaluate risk factors that might predict JET occurrence.ResultsThe patients ranged in age from 1 day to 36.6 years; half were less than 4.8 months at the time of OHS. JET occurred in 115 of 750 (15.3%) OHS. JET was bimodally distributed by age with a peak incidence between 1–2 weeks and 1–3 years. JET occurred more commonly: (1) in specific types of OHS (single ventricle [19.5%] and cono‐truncal defects [19.3%]) (P = 0.03); (2) with increased total surgical time (P = 0.001), aortic cross‐clamp time (P < 0.001), cardiopulmonary bypass time (P < 0.001); and (3) followed use of inotropic agents (dopamine or milrinone, P < 0.001). JET lengthened intensive care stay by 3 days (P = 0.0001) and increased mortality (+JET [9.6%] vs –JET [4.6%], P = 0.03). In a multiple variable Cox regression model, total surgical time and PO use of milrinone were the best predictors for JET risk. PO administration of nitroprusside decreased risk of JET.ConclusionsJET occurred more commonly following OHS associated with prolonged surgical times and PO use of inotropic medications. In contrast to previous reports, our results suggest that mechanical injury to the atrioventricular node area is not strongly associated with JET.
Utility of whole‐blood aggregometry for evaluating anti‐platelet therapy for Kawasaki disease
Authors: Suzuki Chinatsu , Yahata Tomoyo , Okamoto‐Hamaoka Akiko , Fujii Maiko , Yoshioka Ayako , Niwa Youko , Ikeda Kazuyuki , Nakamura Akihiro , Hamaoka Kenji 
Published: May 2013

AbstractBackgroundAnti‐platelet therapy for Kawasaki disease (KD) is often done without monitoring drug efficacy. The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of whole‐blood aggregometry to evaluate the efficacy of anti‐platelet therapy for KD.MethodsOf 37 late‐phase KD patients included in the present study, 20 were prescribed anti‐platelet drugs. Platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) aggregation with collagen as the stimulus was measured using an optical aggregometer. The area under the curve of small and large size aggregations was calculated, and categorized into five classes: –2, –1, 0, 1, and 2. Whole‐blood aggregation with collagen or adenosine 5′‐diphosphate (ADP) as stimulus was evaluated using the platelet aggregation threshold index (PATI), which is the concentration of stimulus that induces a whole‐blood aggregation rate of 50%.ResultsIn both collagen‐ and ADP‐induced aggregation, there was a negative correlation between PATI and class determination using the PRP technique (collagen, rs = −0.870, P < 0.0001; ADP, rs = −0.620, P < 0.0001). Moreover, the PATI in collagen‐ and ADP‐induced aggregation was significantly higher in the anti‐platelet drug therapy group than in the untreated group (collagen, P < 0.0001; ADP, P = 0.0002). The serum thromboxane B2 level in the anti‐platelet drug therapy group was also significantly lower than that in the untreated group (P < 0.0001). PATI was significantly higher in those treated with thienopyridine drug combinations than those without drug therapy (P = 0.0036).ConclusionsWhole‐blood aggregometry is useful for monitoring the efficacy of anti‐platelet therapy for KD.
Risk factors for poor outcome in congenital cytomegalovirus infection and neonatal herpes on the basis of a nationwide survey in Japan
Authors: Ito Yoshinori , Kimura Hiroshi , Torii Yuka , Hayakawa Masahiro , Tanaka Toshihiro , Tajiri Hitoshi , Yoto Yuko , Tanaka‐Taya Keiko , Kanegane Hirokazu , Nariai Akiyoshi , Sakata Hiroshi , Tsutsumi Hiroyuki , Oda Megumi , Yokota Shumpei , Morishima Tsuneo , Moriuchi Hiroyuki ,   Japanese Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Published: May 2013

AbstractBackgroundCongenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and neonatal herpes are major mother‐to‐child infections, and analyses of the important clinical issues, including risk factors for prognosis, are essential.MethodsA secondary survey of congenital CMV infection and neonatal herpes was performed using questionnaires for cases reported in the primary survey between 2006 and 2008.ResultsUnivariate analysis of 71 cases of congenital CMV infection showed that intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) or other specific findings on fetal ultrasonography (US), microcephaly, intracranial calcification, disseminated intravascular coagulation, abnormal findings on computed tomography, and the use of i.v. gammaglobulin were all significantly correlated with poor outcome (death or severe sequelae). Multivariate analysis showed that only IUGR was significantly associated with poor outcome. Hearing impairment is one of the major abnormalities associated with congenital CMV infection. Automatic auditory brainstem response (automatic ABR) appeared to be useful for detection of hearing impairment in comparison with conventional ABR. Moreover, univariate analysis showed that specific fetal US or abnormal magnetic resonance imaging findings were correlated with sensorineural hearing loss. In 24 cases of neonatal herpes, fever and seizure were correlated with poor outcome on univariate analysis. All patients received acyclovir treatment, although substantial numbers of patients in severe clinical categories (disseminated or central nervous system diseases) received a low dose of acyclovir (<60 mg/kg per day).ConclusionsThis secondary survey has identified the risk factors associated with outcome and important issues in diagnosis and treatment of two mother‐to‐child infections: congenital CMV and neonatal herpes, in Japan.
Lateral transfer of a phytopathogenic symbiont among native and exotic ambrosia beetles
Authors: Carrillo D. , Duncan R. E. , Ploetz J. N. , Campbell A. F. , Ploetz R. C. , Peña J. E. 
Published: May 2013

Different ambrosia beetle species can coexist in tree trunks, where their immature stages feed upon symbiotic fungi. Although most ambrosia beetles are not primary pests and their fungal symbionts are not pathogenic to the host tree, exceptional situations exist. Notably, Xyleborus glabratus carries a phytopathogenic symbiont, Raffaelea lauricola, which causes laurel wilt, a lethal disease of some Lauraceae species. Both X. glabratus and R. lauricola are natives of Asia that recently invaded much of the coastal plain of the southeastern USA. This study examined ambrosia beetles that breed in susceptible trees in Florida (USA), including avocado (Persea americana), redbay (P. borbonia) and swampbay (P. palustris). Raffaelea lauricola was recovered from six of eight ambrosia beetle species that emerged from laurel wilt‐affected swampbay trees, in addition to X. glabratus. Controlled infestations with cohorts of the six species other than X. glabratus revealed that each could transmit the pathogen to healthy redbay trees and two could transmit the pathogen to healthy avocado trees; laurel wilt developed in five and one of the respective beetle × host interactions. These results indicate flexibility in the lateral transfer of a non‐native ambrosial fungus to other ambrosia beetles, and for the first time documents the transmission of a laterally transferred phytopathogenic symbiont by new ambrosia beetle species. Additional work is needed to determine whether, or to what extent, the new beetle × R. lauricola combinations play a role in spreading laurel wilt.
Politics in a State of Nature
Authors: Edmundson William A. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAristotle thought we are by nature political animals, but the state‐of‐nature tradition sees political society not as natural but as an artifice. For this tradition, political society can usefully be conceived as emerging from a pre‐political state of nature by the exercise of innate normative powers. Those powers, together with the rest of our native normative endowment, both make possible the construction of the state, and place sharp limits on the state's just powers and prerogatives. A state‐of‐nature theory has three components. One is an account of the native normative endowment, or “NNE.” Two is an account of how the state is constructed using the tools included in the NNE. Three is an account of the state's resulting normative endowment, which includes a (purported) moral power to impose duties of obedience. State‐of‐nature theories disagree about the NNE. For Locke, it included a “natural executive right” to punish wrongdoing. Recent social scientific findings suggest a quite different NNE. Contrary to Locke, people do not behave in experimental settings as one would predict if they possessed a “natural executive right” to punish wrongdoing. Moral reproof is subject to standing norms. These norms limit the range of eligible reprovers. The social science can support two claims. One, is that the NNE is (as Aristotle held) already political. The other is that political authority can be re‐conceived as a matter of standing—that is, as the state's unique moral permission coercively to enforce moral norms, rather than as a moral power to impose freestanding duties of obedience.