bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Role of toll‐like receptor 4 in melatonin‐induced cardioprotection
Authors: Nduhirabandi Frederic , Lamont Kim , Albertyn Zulfah , Opie Lionel H. , Lecour Sandrine 
Published: October 2015

AbstractMelatonin protects the heart against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury via the activation of the survivor activating factor enhancement (SAFE) pathway which involves tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) plays a crucial role in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and activates TNFα. In this study, we investigated whether melatonin may target TLR4 to activate the SAFE pathway. Isolated hearts from rats or mice were subjected to ischemia/reperfusion injury. Melatonin (75 ng/L) and/or TAK242 (a specific inhibitor of TLR4 signaling, 500 nm) were administered to the rat hearts before the induction of ischemia. Pre‐ischemic myocardial STAT3 was evaluated by Western blotting. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS, a stimulator of TLR4) was administered to wild type, TNFα receptor 2 knockout or cardiomyocyte‐specific STAT3‐deficient mice (2.8 mg/kg, i.p) 45 min before the heart isolation. Myocardial infarct size was measured as an endpoint. Compared to the control, administration of melatonin reduced myocardial infarct size (34.7 ± 2.8% versus 62.6 ± 2.7%, P < 0.01). This protective effect was abolished in the presence of TAK242 (49.2 ± 6.5%). Melatonin administered alone increased the pre‐ischemic activation of mitochondrial STAT3, and this effect was attenuated with TAK242. Furthermore, stimulation of TLR4 with LPS pretreatment to mice reduced myocardial infarct size of the hearts isolated from wild‐type animals but failed to protect the hearts isolated from TNFα receptor 2‐knockout mice or cardiomyocyte‐specific STAT3‐deficient mice (P < 0.001). Taken together, these data suggest that cardioprotection induced by melatonin is mediated by TLR4 to activate the SAFE pathway.
Characterization of key genes of the renin–angiotensin system in mature feline adipocytes and during in vitro adipogenesis
Authors: Riedel J. , Badewien‐Rentzsch B. , Kohn B. , Hoeke L. , Einspanier R. 
Published: October 2015

SummaryObesity is a growing health problem in humans as well as companion animals. In the development and progression of obesity‐associated diseases, the members of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) are proposed to be involved. Particularly, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in cats has increased enormously which is often been linked to obesity as well as to RAS. So far, reports about the expression of a local RAS in cat adipocytes are missing. Therefore, we investigated the mRNA expression of various RAS genes as well as the adipocyte marker genes adiponectin, leptin and PPAR‐γ in feline adipocytes using quantitative PCR. To characterize the gene expression during adipogenesis, feline pre‐adipocytes were differentiated into adipocytes in a primary cell culture and the expression of RAS key genes measured. All major RAS components were expressed in feline cells, but obvious differences in the expression between pre‐adipocytes and the various differentiation stages were found. Interestingly, the two enzymes ACE and ACE2 showed an opposite expression course. In addition to the in vitro experiments, mature adipocytes were isolated from subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue. Significant differences between both fat depots were found for ACE as well as AT1 receptor with greater expression in subcutaneous than in visceral adipocytes. Visceral adipocytes had significantly higher adiponectin and PPAR‐γ mRNA level compared to the subcutaneous fat cells. Concerning the nutritional status, a significant lower expression of ACE2 was measured in subcutaneous adipocytes of overweight cats. In summary, the results show the existence of a potentially functional local RAS in feline adipose tissue which is differentially regulated during adipogenesis and dependent on the fat tissue depot and nutritional status. These findings are relevant for understanding the development of obesity‐associated diseases in cats such as diabetes mellitus.
Effect of raw soya bean particle size on productive performance and digestion of dairy cows
Authors: Naves A. B. , Freitas Júnior J. E. , Barletta R. V. , Gandra J. R. , Calomeni G. D. , Gardinal R. , Takiya C. S. , Vendramini T. H. A. , Mingoti R. D. , Rennó F. P. 
Published: October 2015

SummaryDiffering soya bean particle sizes may affect productive performance and ruminal fermentation due to the level of fatty acid (FA) exposure of the cotyledon in soya bean grain and because the protein in small particles is more rapidly degraded than the protein in large particles, which influence ruminal fibre digestion and the amounts of ruminally undegradable nutrients. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of raw soya bean particle size on productive performance, digestion and milk FA profile of dairy cows. Twelve Holstein cows were assigned to three 4 × 4 Latin squares with 21‐day periods. At the start of the experiment, cows were 121 days in milk (DIM) and yielded 30.2 kg/day of milk. Cows were fed 4 diets: (i) control diet (CO), without raw soya bean; (ii) whole raw soya bean (WRS); (iii) cracked raw soya bean in Wiley mill 4‐mm screen (CS4); and (iv) cracked raw soya bean in Wiley mill 2‐mm screen (CS2). The inclusion of soya beans (whole or cracked) was 200 g/kg on dry matter (DM) basis and partially replaced ground corn and soya bean meal. Uncorrected milk yield and composition were not influenced by experimental diets; however, fat‐corrected milk (FCM) decreased when cows were fed soya bean treatments. Soya bean diets increased the intake of ether extract (EE) and net energy of lactation (NEL), and decreased the intake of DM and non‐fibre carbohydrate (NFC). Ruminal propionate concentration was lower in cows fed WRS than cows fed CS2 or CS4. Cows fed cracked raw soya bean presented lower nitrogen in faeces than cows fed WRS. The milk of cows fed WRS, CS2 and CS4 presented higher unsaturated FA than cows fed CO. The addition of raw soya bean in cow diets, regardless of the particle size, did not impair uncorrected milk yield and nutrient digestion, and increased the concentration of unsaturated FA in milk. Cows fed cracked raw soya bean presented similar productive performance to cows fed whole raw soya bean.
Genomic sequencing reveals historical, demographic and selective factors associated with the diversification of the fire‐associated fungusNeurospora discreta
Authors: Gladieux Pierre , Wilson Benjamin A. , Perraudeau Fanny , Montoya Liliam A. , Kowbel David , Hann‐Soden Christopher , Fischer Monika , Sylvain Iman , Jacobson David J. , Taylor John W. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractDelineating microbial populations, discovering ecologically relevant phenotypes and identifying migrants, hybrids or admixed individuals have long proved notoriously difficult, thereby limiting our understanding of the evolutionary forces at play during the diversification of microbial species. However, recent advances in sequencing and computational methods have enabled an unbiased approach whereby incipient species and the genetic correlates of speciation can be identified by examining patterns of genomic variation within and between lineages. We present here a population genomic study of a phylogenetic species in theNeurospora discretaspecies complex, based on the resequencing of full genomes (~37 Mb) for 52 fungal isolates from nine sites in three continents. Population structure analyses revealed two distinct lineages in South–East Asia, and three lineages in North America/Europe with a broad longitudinal and latitudinal range and limited admixture between lineages. Genome scans for selective sweeps and comparisons of the genomic landscapes of diversity and recombination provided no support for a role of selection at linked sites on genomic heterogeneity in levels of divergence between lineages. However, demographic inference indicated that the observed genomic heterogeneity in divergence was generated by varying rates of gene flow between lineages following a period of isolation. Many putative cases of exchange of genetic material between phylogenetically divergent fungal lineages have been discovered, and our work highlights the quantitative importance of genetic exchanges between more closely related taxa to the evolution of fungal genomes. Our study also supports the role of allopatric isolation as a driver of diversification in saprobic microbes.
Vasodilation Mechanism of Cerebral Microvessels Induced by Neural Activation under High Baseline Cerebral Blood Flow Level Results from Hypercapnia in Awake Mice
Authors: Nishino Asuka , Takuwa Hiroyuki , Urushihata Takuya , Ito Hiroshi , Ikoma Yoko , Matsuura Tetsuya 
Published: October 2015

AbstractObjectiveWe investigated the effects of the baseline CBF level at resting state on neurovascular coupling.MethodsDiameters of arterioles, capillaries, and venulas in awake mouse brain were measured by a two‐photon microscope. Vasodilation in each of the cerebral vessels was caused by three experimental conditions: (1) sensory stimulation, (2) 5% CO2 inhalation (hypercapnia), (3) simultaneous exposure to sensory stimulation and 5% CO2 inhalation. CBF and CBV were also measured by a microscope and a CCD camera.ResultsIncreases in CBF and CBV were observed under all experimental conditions. After the increases in CBF and CBV due to hypercapnia, additional increases in CBF and CBV occurred during sensory stimulation. Diameter changes in arterioles were significantly larger than those in capillaries and venulas under both sensory stimulation and 5% CO2 inhalation. Additional vasodilation from sensory stimulation was observed under hypercapnia. The diameter change in each vessel type during sensory stimulation was maintained under simultaneous exposure to sensory stimulation and hypercapnia.ConclusionsThe diameter change of cerebral vessels during neural activation is reproducible regardless of whether baseline CBF has increased or not. Our finding directly demonstrates the concept of uncoupling between energy consumption and energy supply during cortical activation.
Integrated Inspection Scheduling and Maintenance Planning for Infrastructure Systems
Authors: Memarzadeh Milad , Pozzi Matteo 
Published: October 2015

AbstractOperation and maintenance of an infrastructure system rely on information collected on its components, which can provide the decision maker with an accurate assessment of their condition states. However, resources to be invested in data gathering are usually limited and observations should be collected based on their Value of Information (VoI). Assessing the VoI is computationally intractable for most applications involving sequential decisions, such as long‐term infrastructure maintenance. In this article, we propose an approach for integrating adaptive maintenance planning based on Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) and inspection scheduling based on a tractable approximation of VoI. Two alternative myopic approaches, namely pessimistic and optimistic, are introduced, and compared theoretically and by numerical examples.
Validity and Reliability of the Spanish Version of the “Abuse Assessment Screen” among Pregnant Women
Authors: Escribà‐Agüir Vicenta , Ruiz‐Pérez Isabel , Artazcoz Lucía , Martín‐Baena David , Royo‐Marqués Manuela , Vanaclocha‐Espí Mercedes 
Published: October 2015

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the reliability, accuracy, and construct validity of the Spanish Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) among pregnant women using the Spanish version of Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA) as a reference standard.Design and SampleCross‐sectional survey. A total of 1,329 pregnant women were selected in nine primary care centers during 2008–2009.MeasuresThe Spanish ISA was self‐administered first, followed by the AAS, administered by the midwife. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the Spanish AAS were compared with the Spanish version of the ISA as a reference standard.ResultsPercentage of agreement between initial and retest administration of the Spanish AAS was high, from 96.4% to 100%. Specificity was for all types of abuse above 97%, but sensitivity values were much lower (33.3%, 22.9%, 6.9%, for severe physical abuse, minor psychological abuse, and minor physical abuse, respectively). The sensitivity of severe psychological abuse was perfect. Construct validity was good.ConclusionThe Spanish AAS has good test‐retest reliability, specificity, and construct validity. The sensitivity was good for severe psychological abuse and moderate for severe physical abuse. Further formal psychometric evaluations, in other languages from countries with low prevalence of abuse, remains a priority for clinical and research efforts in pregnancy domestic violence screening.
Political Socialization in Flux?: Linking Family Non-Intactness During Childhood to Adult Civic Engagement
Authors: Hener Timo , Rainer Helmut , Siedler Thomas 
Published: October 2015

SummarySome sociologists argue that non-intact family structures during childhood have a negative effect on adult children's civic engagement, since they undermine, and in some cases prevent, the processes and activities through which parents shape their children’s political attitudes and orientations. In this paper, we evaluate this hypothesis on the basis of longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. In a first step, we construct various measures of family structure during childhood and perform both cross-sectional and sibling difference analyses for various indicators of young adults’ civic engagement. Both exercises reveal a significant negative relationship between growing up in a non-intact family and children’s political engagement as adults. In a second step, we implement a novel technique—proposed by Oster—for evaluating robustness of results to omitted variable bias. The distinctive feature of this technique is that it accounts for both coefficient movements and movements in R2-values after the inclusion of controls. Results suggest that our estimates do not suffer from omitted variable bias.
Teaching Elder: Erik H. Erickson
Authors: Myers William R. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractA renowned child psychoanalyst, Erik H. Erikson (1902–1994) is perhaps best known for his work on developmental theory (Childhood and Society, 1950) and his studies of the lives of Martin Luther (Young Man Luther, 1958) and Gandhi (Gandhi's Truth, 1969). Twice he found himself intensely engaged in the role of teacher – once as a young artist who had been called by a friend to help in the progressive school formed for the children of Sigmund and Anna Freud's patients in Vienna (1927–1932), and years later (1960–1970) as a tenured professor at Harvard. This essay describes Erickson's teaching experience in both settings and suggests some of the reasons he was honored by Harvard in 1980 as a “humane teacher.” Implications from Erikson's educational practice are drawn that demonstrate how Erikson moved beyond the rote memorization and authoritarian educational practice he experienced as a youth. The essay suggests Erikson's teaching stance at Harvard fits the author's theological tradition's use of the term “teaching elder.”
Equipping the Equippers: The Pedagogical and Programmatic Implications of The Christians' Callings in the World Project
Authors: Lose David J. , Mikoski Gordon S. , Crowley Eileen D. , Jacobson Rolf , Cormode Scott , Conklin‐Miller Jeffrey 
Published: October 2015

AbstractWhen five theological schools realized (a) their graduates affirmed vocation as central to their theology and practice, yet (b) the parishioners of their graduates nevertheless did not feel called, they knew they had to do something. For six years, faculty teams from these schools conducted a variety of experiments in pedagogy, curriculum reform, and program development in order to train their graduates to equip all of God's people to claim and live their vocational identity in the world. This article introduces the identified challenge and necessary theological and pedagogical shift and then describes five of those experiments in greater detail.
Response of steroid‐refractory chronic graft‐versus‐host disease to extracorporeal photopheresis correlates with the dose of CD3+ lymphocytes harvested during early treatment cycles
Authors: Bertani Giambattista , Santoleri Luca , Ferri Ursula , Marenco Paola , Grillo Giovanni , Zucchetti Elisa , Forno Barbara , Lando Giuliana , Scarpati Barbara , Cairoli Roberto , Rossini Silvano , Cesana Clara 
Published: October 2015

BACKGROUNDExtracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a recognized second‐line treatment for steroid‐refractory chronic graft‐versus‐host disease (cGVHD). Treatment course is usually long, expensive, and demanding for patients, so predictors for response are needed. We carried out a retrospective study on cGVHD patients treated at our institution with the aim to identify a possible correlation between apheretic yields composition and probability of response.STUDY DESIGNPatients treated for at least 6 months were eligible for the study. Flow cytometry data, including absolute counts of lymphocytes and their subpopulations in ECP products from cGVHD patients, were collected. For each cell population 1) the median dose per procedure harvested during the first 3 months of treatment and 2) the cumulative dose collected in the same period were compared with clinical response.RESULTSA total of 726 ECP procedures were performed in 15 patients. Overall response, defined as either a complete response (CR) or a partial response according to National Institutes of Health criteria, was obtained in 10 of 15 patients (66.7%), and CR, in eight of 15 (53.3%). According to Cox regression analysis, the probability of achieving an overall response is significantly correlated with the median number of CD3+, CD3+CD4+, and CD3+CD8+ lymphocytes collected during the early treatment phase (first 3 months).CONCLUSIONOur data suggest that CD3+ cell evaluation in ECP during the early phase of treatment course could predict response and help identify patients who deserve further treatment.
The Effect of R&D Services Offshoring on Skilled Employment: Firm Evidence
Authors: Tamayo Mery Patricia , Huergo Elena 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe offshoring of high‐tech services has greatly increased in recent years, with consequences for firms demand for skilled employment in firms. This paper specifically analyses the relationship between R&D offshoring and the demand for R&D employment using firm‐level data for Spanish manufacturing and services companies during the period 2004–11. Estimating different specifications with panel data techniques, we find that this association is statistically positive. In particular, for services firms a 1 percentage point increase in R&D offshoring raises the demand for researchers by about 11 per cent.
Comparison of chemotherapeutic drug resistance in cells transfected with canineABCG2or felineABCG2
Authors: Lewis R. S. , Fidel J. , Dassanayake S. , Court M. H. , Burke N. S. , Mealey K. L. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractABCG2(ATP binding cassette subfamily G, member 2) mediates resistance to a variety of cytotoxic agents. Although humanABCG2is well characterized, the function of canineABCG2has not been studied previously. FelineABCG2has an amino acid substitution in the adenosine triphosphate‐binding domain that decreases its transport capacity relative to humanABCG2. Our goal was to compare canineABCG2‐mediated chemotherapeutic drug resistance to felineABCG2‐mediated chemotherapeutic drug resistance.HEK‐293 cells stably transfected with plasmid containing canineABCG2, felineABCG2or noABCG2were exposed to carboplatin, doxorubicin, mitoxantrone, toceranib or vincristine, and cell survival was subsequently determined. CanineABCG2conferred a greater degree of chemotherapy resistance than felineABCG2for mitoxantrone. Neither canine nor felineABCG2conferred resistance to doxorubicin, vincristine or toceranib. Canine, but not feline,ABCG2conferred resistance to carboplatin, a drug that is not reported to be a substrate forABCG2in other species.
Premethylation of Foreign DNA Improves Integrative Transformation Efficiency in Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803
Authors: Wang Bo , Yu Jianping , Zhang Weiwen , Meldrum Deirdre R. 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACTRestriction digestion of foreign DNA is one of the key biological barriers against genetic transformation in microorganisms. To establish a high-efficiency transformation protocol in the model cyanobacterium,Synechocystissp. strain PCC 6803 (Synechocystis6803), we investigated the effects of premethylation of foreign DNA on the integrative transformation of this strain. In this study, two type II methyltransferase-encoding genes, i.e.,sll0729(geneM) andslr0214(geneC), were cloned from the chromosome ofSynechocystis6803 and expressed inEscherichia coliharboring an integration plasmid. After premethylation treatment inE. coli, the integration plasmid was extracted and used for transformation ofSynechocystis6803. The results showed that although expression of methyltransferase M had little impact on the transformation ofSynechocystis6803, expression of methyltransferase C resulted in 11- to 161-fold-higher efficiency in the subsequent integrative transformation ofSynechocystis6803. Effective expression of methyltransferase C, which could be achieved by optimizing the 5′ untranslated region, was critical to efficient premethylation of the donor DNA and thus high transformation efficiency inSynechocystis6803. Since premethylating foreign DNA prior to transformingSynechocystisavoids changing the host genetic background, the study thus provides an improved method for high-efficiency integrative transformation ofSynechocystis6803.
Virulence-Associated Enzymes of Cryptococcus neoformans
Authors: Almeida Fausto , Wolf Julie M. , Casadevall Arturo 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACT

Enzymes play key roles in fungal pathogenesis. Manipulation of enzyme expression or activity can significantly alter the infection process, and enzyme expression profiles can be a hallmark of disease. Hence, enzymes are worthy targets for better understanding pathogenesis and identifying new options for combatting fungal infections. Advances in genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and mass spectrometry have enabled the identification and characterization of new fungal enzymes. This review focuses on recent developments in the virulence-associated enzymes from
Cryptococcus neoformans
. The enzymatic suite of
C. neoformans
has evolved for environmental survival, but several of these enzymes play a dual role in colonizing the mammalian host. We also discuss new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies that could be based on the underlying enzymology.