bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Natural variation of salinity response, population structure and candidate genes associated with salinity tolerance in perennial ryegrass accessions
Authors: TANG JINCHI , YU XIAOQING , LUO NA , XIAO FANGMING , CAMBERATO JAMES J. , JIANG YIWEI 
Published: April 2013

AbstractNatural variation in salinity response, effects of population structure on growth and physiological traits and gene–trait association were examined in 56 global collections of diverse perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) accessions. Three population structure groups were identified with 66 simple sequence repeat markers, which on average accounted for 9 and 11% of phenotypic variation for the control and salinity treatment at 300 mm NaCl. Group 1 (10 accessions) had greater plant height, leaf dry weight and water content, chlorophyll index, K+ concentration and K+/Na+ than group 2 (39 accessions) and group 3 (7 accessions) under salinity stress, while group 3 had higher Na+ than groups 1 and 2. Eighty‐seven single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected from four partial candidate genes encoding aquaporin and Na+/H+ antiporter in both plasma and tonoplast membranes. Overall, rapid decay of linkage disequilibrium was observed within 500 bp. Significant associations were found between the putative LpTIP1 and Na+ for the control and between the putative LpNHX1 and K+/Na+ under the control and salinity treatments after controlling population structure. These results indicate that population structure influenced phenotypic traits, and allelic variation in LpNHX1 may affect salinity tolerance of perennial ryegrass.
Risk factors for symptoms in long QT syndrome patients in a single pediatric center
Authors: Ninomiya Yumiko , Yoshinaga Masao , Kucho Yu , Tanaka Yuji 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBackgroundLong QT syndrome (LQTS) is a leading cause of sudden cardiac death due to arrhythmia in the pediatric population. This study aimed to determine risk factors for the presence of LQTS‐related symptoms in a single pediatric center.MethodsSubjects were 146 consecutive LQTS patients (M:F = 72:74) who visited our hospital between April 2005 and August 2012 and during the preceding 24 months. A total of 103 subjects were discovered by the school‐based screening, 15 subjects visited because of their symptoms, and the others were 28 subjects. One subject died.ResultsRisk factors for the presence of symptoms after diagnosis were longer QTc values (P = 0.01), the presence of history of LQTS‐related symptoms (P = 0.04), and longer follow‐up periods (P = 0.03). Non‐compliance with medicine was the sole risk factor for frequent symptoms after diagnosis (P = 0.02). In subjects discovered by the school‐based screening, nine subjects (9%) had LQTS‐related symptoms after diagnosis. Longer follow‐up periods were the sole risk for the presence of symptoms (P = 0.04). The mean period until the presence of symptoms after diagnosis was 3.1 ± 2.7 years (0.1–7.1 years).ConclusionGood compliance with medicine is essential to prevent recurrent episodes. A new strategy is required to prevent subjects, including school‐based screened subjects, from dropping out of hospital visits.
Clinical manifestations of respiratory adenoviral infection among hospitalized children in Korea
Authors: Kwon Hyo Jin , Rhie Young Jun , Seo Won Hee , Jang Gi‐Young , Choi Byung Min , Lee Jung Hwa , Lee Chang‐Kyu , Kim Yun Kyung 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBackgroundThe objective of our study was to understand the epidemiological and clinical features of respiratory adenoviral infections among children at a single institution over the course of several years.MethodsFrom January 2005 to April 2009, 1836 children (≤15 years old) who had been admitted to Korea University Ansan Hospital were tested for acute respiratory infection. The patients who were positive for an adenovirus infection were enrolled in this study, and their medical records were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsAdenoviruses were isolated from 310 patients. The male to female ratio was 1.6:1 and mean age was 32 ± 24 months. Children under 5 years of age had the highest prevalence. In 2007, adenovirus infections occurred endemically throughout the year. The clinical diagnoses were primarily upper respiratory tract infections (45.4%), lower respiratory tract infections (48.1%), and neurologic disease (5.2%). Associated symptoms, signs and laboratory findings included fever (91.9%), cough (83.9%), pharyngeal injection (62.3%), rale (32.6%) and elevated C‐reactive protein (93.9%). The most common radiologic findings were perihilar and peribronchial infiltrates (42.6%). Co‐infections were observed in 29 cases. The mean durations of hospitalization and fever were 6.2 ± 6.5 and 4.8 ± 3.1 days, respectively. The lengths of hospitalization were similar for patients admitted for upper respiratory tract infections with severe morbidity and those admitted for lower respiratory tract infections. No children in the study died.ConclusionOur study demonstrates that respiratory adenovirus infections are an important cause of hospitalization in young children, and contribute to a significant morbidity.
Synthesis, Characterization and Photocatalytic Activity of KAl0.33W1.67O6 and Sn0.5Al0.33W1.67O6xH2O
Authors: Ravi Gundeboina , Veldurthi Naveen K. , Palla Suresh , Velchuri Radha , Pola Someshwar , Reddy Jitta Raju , Vithal Muga 
Published: April 2013

AbstractNano sized defect pyrochlore, KAl0.33W1.67O6 (KAW), is prepared through sol–gel method. Divalent tin‐doped KAW is obtained at room temperature by ion exchange method using acidified SnCl2 and parent KAW. These materials are characterized by powder X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy—energy dispersive spectra (SEM‐EDS), Raman Spectroscopy and X‐ray photo electronic spectroscopy. The composition of tin‐doped KAW is obtained from chemical analysis, SEM‐EDS and TGA methods and written as Sn0.5Al0.33W1.67O6 xH2O (x = 1.4–1.5) (SnAW). It crystallizes in cubic lattice with space group. The band gap energies are found to be 2.82 and 2.21 eV for KAW and SnAW respectively. The observed reduction in the band gap with the introduction of Sn2+ in defect pyrochlore lattice is due to mixing of 5s state of Sn2+ with O 2p states leading to an upward shift in the valence band. The Raman spectra of these materials gave more bands than the number expected for defect pyrochlores due to substitutional disorder in 16c sites and displacive disorder of A ions. The photoactivity of SnAW is higher compared to KAW.
An in vivo analysis of the effect and duration of treatment with botulinum toxin type A using digital image speckle correlation
Authors: Bhatnagar Divya , Conkling Nicole , Rafailovich Miriam , Phillips Brett T. , Bui Duc T. , Khan Sami U. , Dagum Alexander B. 
Published: April 2013

BackgroundUse of Botulinum toxin type A (BTX‐A) for facial wrinkles is well‐documented, but current methods of subjective evaluation by clinicians and patients fail to objectively quantify the magnitude and duration of facial muscle paralysis.Objective(a) Determine the locus of facial muscular tension; (b) Quantify and monitor muscular paralysis and subsequent return; (c) Continuously correlate the appearance of wrinkles and muscular tension using non‐invasive digital image speckle correlation (DISC) to measure treatment efficacy; (d) Corroborate objective data with existing rating scales (subject global assessment and facial lines outcome‐11).MethodsTwo sequential images of slight facial motion (frowning, raising eyebrows) are taken with a camera for n = 6 patients pre‐ and post‐treatment at different time points up to 24 weeks. DISC processes the images to produce a vector map of muscular displacement to obtain spatially resolved information regarding facial tension.ResultsWe observed maximum paralysis (≥70%) at 2 weeks, and the rate of recovery varied widely ranging from 2 to 5 months, with two patients continuing to exhibit reduced contraction at 24 weeks. Vector analysis of pre‐treatment contraction correctly predicted injection site and illustrated lines of maximum tension.ConclusionsDigital image speckle correlation can precisely track the degree of contraction of different muscle groups following BTX‐A injection. It can help predict injection site, quantify muscle paralysis, and monitor the recovery following BTX‐A injection. Results were found to be reproducible across six patients.
Endoperoxide 4 receptors play a role in evoking the exercise pressor reflex in rats with simulated peripheral artery disease
Authors: Yamauchi Katsuya , Kim Joyce S. , Stone Audrey J. , Ruiz‐Velasco Victor , Kaufman Marc P. 
Published: April 2013

Key points
In decerebrated rats, the exercise pressor reflex arising from a hindlimb whose femoral artery was occluded for 72 h was significantly higher than that arising from a hindlimb whose femoral artery was freely perfused.
Blockade of endoperoxide 4 receptors, but not blockade of endoperoxide 3 receptors, prevented the exaggerated exercise pressor reflex in rats with ligated femoral arteries.
Blockade of endoperoxide 3 or 4 receptors in rats with freely perfused femoral arteries had no effect on the exercise pressor reflex.
Western immunoblots showed that ligation of the femoral artery for 72 h increased the endoperoxide 4 receptor protein in the L4 and L5 dorsal root ganglia over their freely perfused counterparts by 24% (P < 0.05).
Abstract  Ligating the femoral artery for 72 h in decerebrated rats exaggerates the exercise pressor reflex. The sensory arm of this reflex is comprised of group III and IV afferents, which can be either sensitized or stimulated by PGE2. In vitro studies showed that endoperoxide (EP) 3 and 4 receptors were responsible for the PGE2‐induced sensitization of rat dorsal root ganglion cells. This in vitro finding prompted us to test the hypothesis that blockade of EP3 and/or EP4 receptors attenuated the exaggerated exercise pressor reflex in rats with ligated femoral arteries. We measured the cardiovascular responses to static hindlimb contraction or tendon stretch before and after femoral arterial injection of L798106 (an EP3 antagonist) or L161982 (an EP4 antagonist). The pressor and cardioaccelerator responses to either contraction or tendon stretch were not attenuated by L798106 in either the ligated or freely perfused rats. Likewise in five rats whose hindlimb muscles were freely perfused, the pressor and cardioaccelerator responses to either contraction or tendon stretch were not attenuated by L161982. In the six ligated rats, however, the pressor response to contraction was attenuated by L161982, averaging 37 ± 3 mmHg before, 18 ± 2 mmHg afterward (P < 0.05). Western blotting analysis revealed that ligation of the femoral artery for 72 h increased the EP4 receptor protein in the L4 and L5 dorsal root ganglia over their freely perfused counterparts by 24% (P < 0.05). We conclude that EP4 receptors, but not EP3 receptors, play an important role in the exaggerated exercise pressor reflex found in rats with ligated femoral arteries.
Dopaminergic modulation of axonal potassium channels and action potential waveform in pyramidal neurons of prefrontal cortex
Authors: Yang Jing , Ye Mingyu , Tian Cuiping , Yang Mingpo , Wang Yonghong , Shu Yousheng 
Published: April 2013

Key points
Dopamine and its receptors in prefrontal cortex (PFC) play an important role in regulating synaptic transmission and PFC‐mediated cognitive functions.
Considering that presynaptic action potential waveform can modulate postsynaptic responses, we investigated whether axonal K+ channels and action potential waveform are subjected to modulation by dopamine.
Patch‐clamp recording from the axon of PFC pyramidal neurons showed that the activation of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors decreased and enhanced axonal K+ currents, respectively. Further experiments revealed that intracellular cAMP–PKA pathway was involved in this dopaminergic modulation of axonal K+ currents.
Recording from axons disconnected from the soma revealed that the dopaminergic modulation still occurred, indicating the presence of functional dopamine receptors along the axon.
We further demonstrate that axonal action potentials were substantially prolonged by D1 receptor activation. Taken together, our results reveal a new mechanism for dopaminergic modulation of neuronal signalling in PFC.
Abstract  Voltage‐gated K+ (KV) channels play critical roles in shaping neuronal signals. KV channels distributed in the perisomatic regions and thick dendrites of cortical pyramidal neurons have been extensively studied. However, the properties and regulation of KV channels distributed in the thin axons remain unknown. In this study, by performing somatic and axonal patch‐clamp recordings from layer 5 pyramidal neurons of prefrontal cortical slices, we showed that the rapidly inactivating A‐currents mediated the transient K+ currents evoked by action potential (AP) waveform command (KAP) at the soma, whereas the rapidly activating but slowly inactivating KV1‐mediated D‐currents dominated the KAP at the axon. In addition, activation of D1‐like receptors for dopamine decreased the axonal K+ currents, as a result of an increase in the activity of cAMP–PKA pathway. In contrast, activation of D2‐like receptors showed an opposite effect on the axonal K+ currents. Further experiments demonstrated that functional D1‐like receptors were expressed at the main axon trunk and their activation could broaden the waveforms of axonal APs. Together, these results show that axonal KV channels were subjected to dopamine modulation, and this modulation could regulate the waveforms of propagating APs at the axon, suggesting an important role of dopaminergic modulation of axonal KV channels in regulating neuronal signalling.
Molecular Characterization of the Carboxypeptidase B1 of Anopheles stephensi and Its Evaluation as a Target for Transmission-Blocking Vaccines
Authors: Raz Abbasali , Dinparast Djadid Navid , Zakeri Sedigheh 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACT

Malaria is one of the most important infectious diseases in the world, and it has many economic and social impacts on populations, especially in poor countries. Transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs) are valuable tools for malaria eradication. A study on
Anopheles gambiae
revealed that polyclonal antibodies to carboxypeptidase B1 of
A. gambiae
can block sexual parasite development in the mosquito midgut. Hence, it was introduced as a TBV target in regions where
A. gambiae
is the main malaria vector. However, in Iran and neighboring countries as far as China, the main malaria vector is
Anopheles stephensi
. Also, the genome of this organism has not been sequenced yet. Therefore, in this study, carboxypeptidase B1 of
A. stephensi
was characterized by genomic and proteomic approaches. Furthermore, its expression pattern after ingestion of
Plasmodium falciparum
gametocytes and the effect of anti-CPBAs1 antibodies on sexual parasite development were evaluated. Our results revealed that the
cpbAs1
expression level was increased after ingestion of the mature gametocytes of
P. falciparum
and that anti-CPBAs1 directed antibodies could significantly reduce the mosquito infection rate in the test group compared with the control group. Therefore, according to our findings and with respect to the high similarity of carboxypeptidase enzymes between the two main malaria vectors in Africa (
A. gambiae
) and Asia (
A. stephensi
) and the presence of other sympatric vectors, CPBAs1 could be introduced as a TBV candidate in regions where
A. stephensi
is the main malaria vector, and this will broaden the scope for the potential wider application of CPBAs1 antigen homologs/orthologs.
A-DFA
Authors: Becchi Michela , Crowley Patrick 
Published: April 2013

Modern network intrusion detection systems need to perform regular expression matching at line rate in order to detect the occurrence of critical patterns in packet payloads. While Deterministic Finite Automata (DFAs) allow this operation to be performed in linear time, they may exhibit prohibitive memory requirements. Kumar et al. [2006a] have proposed Delayed Input DFAs (D2FAs), which provide a trade-off between the memory requirements of the compressed DFA and the number of states visited for each character processed, which in turn affects the memory bandwidth required to evaluate regular expressions.

In this article we introduce
Amortized time
−
bandwidth overhead DFAs
(
A
−
DFAs
), a general compression technique that results in at most
N
(
k
+ 1)/
k
state traversals when processing a string of length
N
,
k
being a positive integer. In comparison to the D2FA approach, our technique achieves comparable levels of compression with lower provable bounds on memory bandwidth (or greater compression for a given bandwidth bound). Moreover, the A-DFA algorithm has lower complexity, can be applied during DFA creation, and is suitable for scenarios where a compressed DFA needs to be dynamically built or updated. Finally, we show how to combine A-DFA with alphabet reduction and multistride DFAs, two techniques aimed at reducing the memory space and bandwidth requirement of DFAs, and discuss memory encoding schemes suitable for A-DFAs.
Internet nuggets
Authors: Thorson Mark 
Published: April 2013

This column consists of selected traffic from the comp.arch newsgroup, a forum for discussion of computer architecture on the Internet---an international computer network.
As always, the opinions expressed in this column are the personal views of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the institutions to which they are affiliated.
Text which sets the context of a message appears underlined or in italics; this is usually text the author has quoted from earlier messages. The code-like expressions below the authors' names are their addresses on Internet.
Bleeding symptoms at disease presentation and prediction of ensuing bleeding in inherited FVII deficiency
Authors: Dolce Alberto , Mariani Guglielmo , Di Minno Matteo Nicola ,   the STER Study Group
Published: April 2013

SummaryIndividuals with inherited factor VII (FVII) deficiency display bleeding phenotypes ranging from mild to severe, with 30% of patients having always been asymptomatic (non-bleeding). In 626 FVII-deficient individuals, by analysing data from the International Factor VII (IF7) Registry and the Seven Treatment Evaluation Registry (STER), we determined whether bleeding type at disease presentation and FVII coagulant activity (FVIIc) predict ensuing bleeds. At disease presentation/diagnosis, 272 (43.5%) individuals were non-bleeding, 277 (44.2%) had minor bleeds, and 77 (12.3%) had major bleeds. During a median nine-year index period (IP) observation, 87.9% of non-bleeding individuals at presentation remained asymptomatic, 75.1% of minor-bleeders had new minor bleeds, and 83.1% of major-bleeders experienced new major bleeds. After adjusting for FVIIc levels and other clinical and demographic variables, the relative risk (RR) for ensuing bleedings during the IP was 6.02 (p <0.001) and 5.87 (p <0.001) in individuals presenting with major and minor bleeds, respectively. Conversely, compared to non-bleeding individuals, a 10.95 (p = 0.001) and 28.21 (p <0.001) RR for major bleedings during the IP was found in those with minor and with major bleeds at presentation, respectively. In conclusion, in FVII deficiency, the first major bleeding symptom is an independent predictor of the risk of subsequent major bleeds.
Platelet factor 4 mediates vascular smooth muscle cell injury responses
Authors: Shi Guanfang , Field David J. , Long Xiaochun , Mickelsen Deanne , Ko Kyung-ae , Ture Sara , Korshunov Vyacheslav A. , Miano Joseph M. , Morrell Craig N. 
Published: April 2013

Key Points
PF4 mediates VSMC injury responses. PF4-driven effects are, in part, KLF4 dependent.
TP53p.R337H is a conditional cancer-predisposing mutation: further evidence from a homozygous patient
Authors: Giacomazzi Juliana , Selistre Simone , Duarte Juliana , Ribeiro Jorge Pinto , Vieira Paulo JC , de Souza Macedo Gabriel , Rossi Cristina , Czepielewski Mauro , Netto Cristina Brinkmann Oliveira , Hainaut Pierre , Ashton-Prolla Patricia 
Published: April 2013

Abstract

Background
Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs) are among the most common childhood cancers occurring in infants affected with the Li-Fraumeni and Li- Fraumeni-like (LFS/LFL) syndromes, which are caused by dominant germline mutations in the TP53 gene. In Brazil, a particular mutation, occurring in the tetramerisation domain of the gene, p.R337H, is exceedingly common due to a founder effect and is strongly associated with ACC. In this report, we describe the phenotype and long-term clinical follow-up of a female child diagnosed with ACC and homozygous for the TP53 p.R337H founder mutation.

Case presentation
At age 11 months, the patient was diagnosed with a virilising anaplastic adrenal cortical tumour, which was completely excised without disturbing the adrenal capsule. Family history was consistent with an LFL tumour pattern, and genotyping identified the TP53 p.R337H mutation in both alleles in genomic DNA from lymphocytes and fibroblasts. Haplotype analysis confirmed the occurrence of the mutation in the same founder haplotype previously described in other Brazilian patients. No other germline or somatic TP53 mutations or rearrangements were identified. At age 9 years, the child was asymptomatic and had no evidence of endocrine derangements. Full body and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) failed to detect any suspicious proliferative lesions, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing results were within the normal reference for the child’s age, ruling out a major exercise capacity deficiency.

Conclusion
This is the first clinical and aerobic functional capacity documentation of a patient who carries two mutant TP53 alleles and no wild-type allele. Our results support the hypothesis that TP53 p.R337H, the most common TP53 mutation ever described in any population, is a conditional mutant. Furthermore, our observations over a long period of clinical follow-up suggest that TP53 p.R337H homozygotes do not have a more severe disease phenotype than do heterozygote carriers of the same mutation. Patients with the homozygous TP53 p.R337H genotype will require careful surveillance for lifetime cancer risk and for effects on metabolic capacity later in life.
Analysis of trabecular distribution of the proximal femur in patients with fragility fractures
Authors: Lu Yaogang , Wang Lei , Hao Yongqiang , Wang Ziping , Wang Minghui , Ge Shengfang 
Published: April 2013

Abstract

Background
Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) was used in order to assess the trabecular distribution of proximal femur and its relationship with hip fragility fractures.

Methods
A total of 99 elderly women were scanned by MDCT including: 27 trochanteric hip fractures (group A), 40 femoral neck fractures (group B), and 32 non-fractures (group C). A mid-coronal MPR image of the proximal femur was reconstructed for every patient by e-Film95 software. Four regions of interest (ROI) were chosen in the images including compressive trabecula (ComT), tensile trabecula (TenT), trochanteric trabecula (TroT) and Ward's triangle (WT) region. The mean CT values were measured by the software.

Results
The mean age was 81.44, 74.10 and 69.25 years for groups A, B and C, respectively. There was significant inter-group differences based on one-way ANOVA (P<0.05). The CT values in the four ROIs had significant differences in the groups except for TenT between group A and B (P>0.05). After the age adjustment with ANCOVA, the mean CT values of TroT and WT were significantly lower in group A as compared to that of the group B (P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences for ComT and TenT between groups A and B (P>0.05).

Conclusions
The occurrence of femoral neck fracture was closely related to the degeneration of ComT and TenT. Trochanteric hip fractures were associated with a more severe degeneration in TroT as well as an enlargement of WT region besides the ComT and TenT degeneration. We concluded that the hip fragility fractures might be predicted by the measurement of the mean CT values in ComT, TenT, TroT and WT region.