bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Age at menarche in a group of French schoolgirls
Authors: Lalys Loïc , Pineau Jean‐Claude 
Published: January 2014

AbstractBackgroundMean age at menarche in France decreased from 12.78 years in 1979 to 12.6 years in 1994. The aim of this study was to determine mean age at first menstruation in French adolescent girls in order to study the secular trend.MethodsAge at first menstruation was noted to the nearest month during recording of anthropometric measurements in three secondary schools in the Aisne administrative department, France, in classes in years 7, 8, 9 and 10. A total of 339 girls aged 11–15½ years were examined. The majority were from a social background of workers, employees and middle managerial staff. Mean age at first menses and standard deviation were calculated using the probits method.ResultsMean age was 12.5 ± 0.08 years (χ2γ=14 = 16.7, P > 0.05), indicating that it had remained stable for more than 15 years.ConclusionsA secular decline has already been observed in Belgium, Britain, Hungary, Scandinavia and the USA. In all these countries, age at menarche has reached a stable level at around 13 ± 0.5 years.
Immunoregulation in human American leishmaniasis: balancing pathology and protection
Authors: Gollob K. J. , Viana A. G. , Dutra W. O. 
Published: January 2014

SummaryLeishmaniasis covers a broad spectrum of diseases with distinct, and sometimes overlapping, characteristics. The common thread in all forms of leishmaniasis is the infection by the parasite Leishmania belonging to the genus Leishmania. Upon infection of humans, there can be at least three outcomes, (i) control of Leishmania by the host immune response resulting in asymptomatic disease, (ii) patent infection and development of a relatively mild form of leishmaniasis and (iii) patent infection and development of severe clinical forms. The factors that determine the outcome of an initial inoculation with Leishmania are many, with the species of Leishmania representing one of the strongest predictive factors for the development of a given clinical form of disease. This is seen with L. braziliensis and L. amazonensis, infection leading mostly to tegumentary forms of disease, and L. infantum with the potential to induce visceral disease. However, it is also clear that the host immune response is a key factor in disease progression, not only responsible for control of Leishmania, but also playing an important role in disease progression and pathology. This duality between protective and pathogenic immune responses in individuals infected with Leishmania in the Americas is the focus of this review.
Laughter and Humor Therapy in Dialysis
Authors: Bennett Paul N. , Parsons Trisha , Ben‐Moshe Ros , Weinberg Melissa , Neal Merv , Gilbert Karen , Rawson Helen , Ockerby Cherene , Finlay Paul , Hutchinson Alison 
Published: January 2014

AbstractLaughter and humor therapy have been used in health care to achieve physiological and psychological health‐related benefits. The application of these therapies to the dialysis context remains unclear. This paper reviews the evidence related to laughter and humor therapy as a medical therapy relevant to the dialysis patient population. Studies from other groups such as children, the elderly, and persons with mental health, cancer, and other chronic conditions are included to inform potential applications of laughter therapy to the dialysis population. Therapeutic interventions could range from humorous videos, stories, laughter clowns through to raucous simulated laughter and Laughter Yoga. The effect of laughter and humor on depression, anxiety, pain, immunity, fatigue, sleep quality, respiratory function and blood glucose may have applications to the dialysis context and require further research.
The Copula Information Criteria
Authors: Grønneberg Steffen , Hjort Nils Lid 
Published: January 2014

ABSTRACTWe derive two types of Akaike information criterion (AIC)‐like model‐selection formulae for the semiparametric pseudo‐maximum likelihood procedure. We first adapt the arguments leading to the original AIC formula, related to empirical estimation of a certain Kullback–Leibler information distance. This gives a significantly different formula compared with the AIC, which we name the copula information criterion. However, we show that such a model‐selection procedure cannot exist for copula models with densities that grow very fast near the edge of the unit cube. This problem affects most popular copula models. We then derive what we call the cross‐validation copula information criterion, which exists under weak conditions and is a first‐order approximation to exact cross validation. This formula is very similar to the standard AIC formula but has slightly different motivation. A brief illustration with real data is given.
Weighted Logrank Permutation Tests for Randomly Right Censored Life Science Data
Authors: Brendel Michael , Janssen Arnold , Mayer Claus‐Dieter , Pauly Markus 
Published: January 2014

AbstractIn biomedical research, weighted logrank tests are frequently applied to compare two samples of randomly right censored survival times. We address the question how to combine a number of weighted logrank statistics to achieve good power of the corresponding survival test for a whole linear space or cone of alternatives, which are given by hazard rates. This leads to a new class of semiparametric projection tests that are motivated by likelihood ratio tests for an asymptotic model. We show that these tests can be carried out as permutation tests and discuss their asymptotic properties. A simulation study together with the analysis of a classical data set illustrates the advantages.
The Social Psychology of Corruption: Why It Does Not Exist and Why It Should
Authors: Zaloznaya Marina 
Published: January 2014

AbstractIn recent decades, corruption has emerged as a major cause of global inequality and an important subject of social scientific research. This article argues that social psychologists have not taken full advantage of analytical tools at their disposal to generate explanatory accounts of corruption in non‐Western contexts. In the first part of the article, the author maintains that the lack of social psychological research on why people engage in corruption is due to the dearth of empirical data on corruption, the theoretical complexity of this phenomenon, and current popularity of neoliberalism in politics and academic research. In the second part of the article, the author argues that the symbolic interactionism school of social psychology has a number of tools that could be more helpful in exploring the causes of corruption in non‐Western settings than rational‐choice approaches that are currently en vogue. The article concludes with an argument that such analyses could generate culturally sensitive as well as policy‐relevant theories of corruption.
Interrogating Whiteness Within Criminology
Authors: Smith Justin M. 
Published: January 2014

AbstractThis paper merges critical White studies with the sociological field of criminology as a means to progress understanding of criminal behavior, justice, and social control. Up to this point, criminology has largely neglected the significance of whiteness within its boundaries of study. Thankfully, a strong foundation of research and theoretical statements has been completed in the interdisciplinary field of critical White studies. The formation of criminal law can be more clearly understood through the inclusion of frameworks offered by critical White studies. Additionally, nuanced explanations of criminal behavior and hate crime among Whites can be attained through this perspective.
Comparative evaluation of aqueous humor viscosity
Authors: Davis Kyshia , Carter Renee , Tully Thomas , Negulescu Ioan , Storey Eric 
Published: January 2014

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate aqueous humor viscosity in the raptor, dog, cat, and horse, with a primary focus on the barred owl (Strix varia).Animals studiedTwenty‐six raptors, ten dogs, three cats, and one horse.ProcedureAnimals were euthanized for reasons unrelated to this study. Immediately, after horizontal and vertical corneal dimensions were measured, and anterior chamber paracentesis was performed to quantify anterior chamber volume and obtain aqueous humor samples for viscosity analysis. Dynamic aqueous humor viscosity was measured using a dynamic shear rheometer (AR 1000 TA Instruments, New Castle, DE, USA) at 20 °C. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, unpaired t‐tests, and Tukey's test to evaluate the mean ± standard deviation for corneal diameter, anterior chamber volume, and aqueous humor viscosity amongst groups and calculation of Spearman's coefficient for correlation analyses.ResultsThe mean aqueous humor viscosity in the barred owl was 14.1 centipoise (cP) ± 9, cat 4.4 cP ± 0.2, and dog 2.9 cP ± 1.3. The aqueous humor viscosity for the horse was 1 cP.ConclusionsOf the animals evaluated in this study, the raptor aqueous humor was the most viscous. The aqueous humor of the barred owl is significantly more viscous than the dog (P < 0.0001). The aqueous humor viscosity of the raptor, dog, cat, and horse can be successfully determined using a dynamic shear rheometer.
Slowed muscle oxygen uptake kinetics with raised metabolism are not dependent on blood flow or recruitment dynamics
Authors: Wüst Rob C. I. , McDonald James R. , Sun Yi , Ferguson Brian S. , Rogatzki Matthew J. , Spires Jessica , Kowalchuk John M. , Gladden L. Bruce , Rossiter Harry B. 
Published: January 2014

Key points
A slow adjustment of skeletal muscle oxygen uptake () to produce energy during exercise predisposes to early fatigue.
In human studies, kinetics are slow when exercise is initiated from an elevated baseline; this is proposed to reflect slow blood flow regulation and/or recruitment of muscle fibres containing few mitochondria.
To investigate this, we measured kinetics in canine muscle, with experimental control over muscle activation and blood flow.
We found that kinetics remained slow when contractions were initiated from an elevated baseline despite experimentally increased blood flow and uniform fibre activation.
These data challenge our current understanding of the control of muscle and demand consideration of new alternative mediators for control.
AbstractOxygen uptake kinetics (τ) are slowed when exercise is initiated from a raised metabolic rate. Whether this reflects the recruitment of muscle fibres differing in oxidative capacity, or slowed blood flow () kinetics is unclear. This study determined τ in canine muscle in situ, with experimental control over muscle activation and during contractions initiated from rest and a raised metabolic rate. The gastrocnemius complex of nine anaesthetised, ventilated dogs was isolated and attached to a force transducer. Isometric tetanic contractions (50 Hz; 200 ms duration) via supramaximal sciatic nerve stimulation were used to manipulate metabolic rate: 3 min stimulation at 0.33 Hz (S1), followed by 3 min at 0.67 Hz (S2). Circulation was initially intact (SPON), and subsequently isolated for pump‐perfusion (PUMP) above the greatest value in SPON. Muscle was determined contraction‐by‐contraction using an ultrasonic flowmeter and venous oximeter, and normalised to tension‐time integral (TTI). τ/TTI and τ were less in S1SPON (mean ± s.d.: 13 ± 3 s and 12 ± 4 s, respectively) than in S2SPON (29 ± 19 s and 31 ± 13 s, respectively; P < 0.05). τ/TTI was unchanged by pump‐perfusion (S1PUMP, 12 ± 4 s; S2PUMP, 24 ± 6 s; P < 0.001) despite increased O2 delivery; at S2 onset, venous O2 saturation was 21 ± 4% and 65 ± 5% in SPON and PUMP, respectively. kinetics remained slowed when contractions were initiated from a raised metabolic rate despite uniform muscle stimulation and increased O2 delivery. The intracellular mechanism may relate to a falling energy state, approaching saturating ADP concentration, and/or slowed mitochondrial activation; but further study is required. These data add to the evidence that muscle control is more complex than previously suggested.
Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ uptake and leak properties, and SERCA isoform expression, in type I and type II fibres of human skeletal muscle
Authors: Lamboley C. R. , Murphy R. M. , McKenna M. J. , Lamb G. D. 
Published: January 2014

Key points
Release and uptake of Ca2+ ions by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) regulates contraction in skeletal muscle. SR Ca2+ uptake and leak properties in human muscle are presently not well defined.
The surface membrane of individual human muscle fibres was removed by microdissection, and the rate of SR Ca2+ uptake at different applied [Ca2+] assessed from the amount of Ca2+ accumulated.
Ca2+ uptake occurred at lower [Ca2+] in type I fibres than in type II fibres, consistent with the contractile apparatus properties in the respective fibre types. Maximal uptake rate was slightly greater in type II fibres, and approximately two Ca2+ were taken up per ATP hydrolysed.
Ca2+ leaking out of the SR ultimately has to be pumped back in again at the cost of ATP usage. SR Ca2+ leakage in human muscle fibres was smaller and regulated differently to that in rat muscle fibres, probably reflecting different contributions to thermogenesis.
AbstractThe Ca2+ uptake properties of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) were compared between type I and type II fibres of vastus lateralis muscle of young healthy adults. Individual mechanically skinned muscle fibres were exposed to solutions with the free [Ca2+] heavily buffered in the pCa range (–log10[Ca2+]) 7.3–6.0 for set times and the amount of net SR Ca2+ accumulation determined from the force response elicited upon emptying the SR of all Ca2+. Western blotting was used to determine fibre type and the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA) isoform present in every fibre examined. Type I fibres contained only SERCA2 and displayed half‐maximal Ca2+ uptake rate at ∼pCa 6.8, whereas type II fibres contained only SERCA1 and displayed half‐maximal Ca2+ uptake rate at ∼pCa 6.6. Maximal Ca2+ uptake rate was ∼0.18 and ∼0.21 mmol Ca2+ (l fibre)–1 s–1 in type I and type II fibres, respectively, in good accord with previously measured SR ATPase activity. Increasing free [Mg2+] from 1 to 3 mm had no significant effect on the net Ca2+ uptake rate at pCa 6.0, indicating that there was little or no calcium‐induced calcium release occurring through the Ca2+ release channels during uptake in either fibre type. Ca2+ leakage from the SR at pCa 8.5, which is thought to occur at least in part through the SERCA, was ∼2‐fold lower in type II fibres than in type I fibres, and was little affected by the presence of ADP, in marked contrast to the larger SR Ca2+ leak observed in rat muscle fibres under the same conditions. The higher affinity of Ca2+ uptake in the type I human fibres can account for the higher relative level of SR Ca2+ loading observed in type I compared to type II fibres, and the SR Ca2+ leakage characteristics of the human fibres suggest that the SERCAs are regulated differently from those in rat and contribute comparatively less to resting metabolic rate.
Crystal Structure of Carbapenemase OXA-58 from Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Smith Clyde A. , Antunes Nuno Tiago , Toth Marta , Vakulenko Sergei B. 
Published: January 2014

ABSTRACT

Class D β-lactamases capable of hydrolyzing last-resort carbapenem antibiotics represent a major challenge for treatment of bacterial infections. Wide dissemination of these enzymes in
Acinetobacter baumannii
elevated this pathogen to the category of most deadly and difficult to treat. We present here the structure of the OXA-58 β-lactamase, a major class D carbapenemase of
A. baumannii
, determined to 1.30-Å resolution. Unlike two other
Acinetobacter
carbapenemases, OXA23 and OXA-24, the OXA-58 enzyme lacks the characteristic hydrophobic bridge over the active site, despite conservation of the residues which participate in its formation. The active-site residues in OXA-58 are spatially conserved in comparison to those in other class D β-lactamases. Lys86, which activates water molecules during the acylation and deacylation steps, is fully carboxylated in the OXA-58 structure. In the absence of a substrate, a water molecule is observed in the active site of the enzyme and is positioned in the pocket that is usually occupied by the 6α-hydroxyethyl moiety of carbapenems. A water molecule in this location would efficiently deacylate good substrates, such as the penicillins, but in the case of carbapenems, it would be expelled by the 6α-hydroxyethyl moiety of the antibiotics and a water from the surrounding medium would find its way to the vicinity of the carboxylated Lys86 to perform deacylation. Subtle differences in the position of this water in the acyl-enzyme complexes of class D β-lactamases could ultimately be responsible for differences in the catalytic efficiencies of these enzymes against last-resort carbapenem antibiotics.
Phase I, Open-Label, Safety and Pharmacokinetic Study To Assess Bronchopulmonary Disposition of Intravenous Eravacycline in Healthy Men and Women
Authors: Connors Kevin P. , Housman Seth T. , Pope J. Samuel , Russomanno John , Salerno Edward , Shore Eric , Redican Susan , Nicolau David P. 
Published: January 2014

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the pulmonary disposition of eravacycline in 20 healthy adult volunteers receiving 1.0 mg of eravacycline/kg intravenously every 12 h for a total of seven doses over 4 days. Plasma samples were collected at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 12 h on day 4, with each subject randomized to undergo a single bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) at 2, 4, 6, or 12 h. Drug concentrations in plasma, BAL fluid, and alveolar macrophages (AM) were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and the urea correction method was used to calculate epithelial lining fluid (ELF) concentrations. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by noncompartmental methods. Penetration for ELF and AM was calculated by using a ratio of the area under the concentration time curve (AUC
0–12
) for each respective parameter against free drug AUC (
f
AUC
0–12
) in plasma. The total AUC
0–12
in plasma was 4.56 ± 0.94 μg·h/ml with a mean
f
AUC
0–12
of 0.77 ± 0.14 μg·h/ml. The eravacycline concentrations in ELF and AM at 2, 4, 6, and 12 h were means ± the standard deviations (μg/ml) of 0.70 ± 0.30, 0.57 ± 0.20, 0.34 ± 0.16, and 0.25 ± 0.13 with a penetration ratio of 6.44 and 8.25 ± 4.55, 5.15 ± 1.25, 1.77 ± 0.64, and 1.42 ± 1.45 with a penetration ratio of 51.63, respectively. The eravacycline concentrations in the ELF and AM achieved greater levels than plasma by 6- and 50-fold, respectively, supporting further study of eravacycline for patients with respiratory infections.
Disuccinyl Betulin Triggers Metacaspase-Dependent Endonuclease G-Mediated Cell Death in Unicellular Protozoan Parasite Leishmania donovani
Authors: Chowdhury Sayan , Mukherjee Tulika , Chowdhury Somenath Roy , Sengupta Souvik , Mukhopadhyay Sibabrata , Jaisankar Parasuraman , Majumder Hemanta K. 
Published: January 2014

ABSTRACT

The unicellular organism
Leishmania
undergoes apoptosis-like cell death in response to external stress or exposure to antileishmanial agents. Here, we showed that 3-
O
,28-
O
-disuccinyl betulin (DiSB), a potent topoisomerase type IB inhibitor, induced parasitic cell death by generating oxidative stress. The characteristic feature of the death process resembled the programmed cell death (PCD) seen in higher eukaryotes. In the current study, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), followed by the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ
m
), caused a loss in ATP production in
Leishmania
parasites. This further gave positive feedback to produce a large amount of ROS, which in turn caused oxidative DNA lesions and genomic DNA fragmentation. The treatment of promastigotes with DiSB induced high expression levels of metacaspase protein that led to cell death in this unicellular organism. The PCD was insensitive to benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp(OMe)-fluoromethylketone (zVAD-fmk), suggesting that the death process was not associated with the activation of caspases. DiSB treatment translocated
Leishmania donovani
endonuclease G (LdEndoG) from mitochondria to the nucleus, which was responsible for the DNA degradation process. Conditional antisense knockdown of
L. donovani
metacaspase (LdMC), as well as EndoG, -subverted death of the parasite and rescued cell cycle arrest in G
1
phase. The present study on the effector molecules associated with the PCD pathway of the parasite should help to manifest the mechanisms of PCD and also might be exploited in antileishmanial chemotherapy.
An Altered Mycobacterium tuberculosis Metabolome Induced by
katG
Mutations Resulting in Isoniazid Resistance
Authors: Loots Du Toit 
Published: January 2014

ABSTRACT

The most common form of drug resistance found in tuberculosis (TB)-positive clinical samples is monoresistance to isoniazid. Various genomics and proteomics studies to date have investigated this phenomenon; however, the exact mechanisms relating to how this occurs, as well as the implications of this on the TB-causing organisms function and structure, are only partly understood. Considering this, we followed a metabolomics research approach to identify potential new metabolic pathways and metabolite markers, which when interpreted in context would give a holistic explanation for many of the phenotypic characteristics associated with a
katG
mutation and the resulting isoniazid resistance in
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
. In order to achieve these objectives, gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS)-generated metabolite profiles from two isoniazid-resistant strains were compared to a wild-type parent strain. Principal component analyses showed clear differentiation between the groups, and the metabolites best describing the separation between these groups were identified. It is clear from the data that due to a mutation in the
katG
gene encoding catalase, the isoniazid-resistant strains experience increased susceptibility to oxidative stress and have consequently adapted to this by upregulating the synthesis of a number of compounds involved in (i) increased uptake and use of alkanes and fatty acids as a source of carbon and energy and (ii) the synthesis of a number of compounds directly involved in reducing oxidative stress, including an ascorbic acid degradation pathway, which to date hasn't been proposed to exist in these organisms.
OXA-48 Carbapenemase-Producing Salmonella enterica Serovar Kentucky Isolate of Sequence Type 198 in a Patient Transferred from Libya to Switzerland
Authors: Seiffert Salome N. , Perreten Vincent , Johannes Sönke , Droz Sara , Bodmer Thomas , Endimiani Andrea 
Published: January 2014

ABSTRACT

Here, we report a case of OXA-48-producing
Salmonella enterica
serovar Kentucky of sequence type 198 (ST198) from perianal screening cultures of a patient transferred from Libya to Switzerland. The
bla
OXA-48
gene was carried by Tn
1999.2
and located on an ∼60-kb IncL/M plasmid. This
Salmonella
strain also possessed the
bla
VEB-8
,
aac
(
6
)-
Ib
,
tet
(A),
sul1
, and
mphA
resistance genes and substitutions in GyrA (Ser83Phe and Asp87Asn) and ParC (Ser80Ile). This finding emphasizes that prompt screening strategies are essential to prevent the dissemination of carbapenemase producers imported from countries where they are endemic.