bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sexual activity does not predispose to reflux episodes in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease
Authors: Bor Serhat , Valytova Elen , Yapali Suna , Yildirim Esra , Vardar Rukiye 
Published: September 2014

BackgroundThe role of sexual activity on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is an under‐recognized concern of patients, and one rarely assessed by physicians.ObjectiveThe objective of this article is to determine the influence of sexual activity on the intraesophageal acid exposure and acid reflux events in GERD patients.MethodsTwenty‐one patients with the diagnosis of GERD were prospectively enrolled. Intraesophageal pH monitoring was recorded for 48 hours with a Bravo capsule. All patients were instructed to have sexual intercourse or abstain in a random order two hours after the same refluxogenic dinner within two consecutive nights. Patients were requested to have sex in the standard “missionary position” and women were warned to avoid abdominal compression. The patients completed a diary reporting the time of the sexual intercourse and GERD symptoms. The percentage of reflux time and acid reflux events were compared in two ways: within 30 and 60 minutes prior to and after sexual intercourse on the day of sexual intercourse and in the same time frame of the day without sexual intercourse.ResultsFifteen of 21 GERD patients were analyzed. The percentage of reflux time and number of acid reflux events did not show a significant difference within the 30‐ and 60‐minute periods prior to and after sexual intercourse on the day of sexual intercourse and on the day without sexual intercourse, as well.ConclusionSexual activity does not predispose to increased intraesophageal acid exposure and acid reflux events. Larger studies are needed to confirm our findings in patients who define reflux symptoms during sexual intercourse.
Spatial distribution of lepidocrocite in a soil hydrosequence
Authors: Smeck N. E. , Bigham J . M. , Guertal W. F. , Hall G. F. 
Published: September 2014

AbstractThree terrace soils comprising a hydrosequence were examined to determine how the spatial distribution of lepidocrocite was related to depth and duration of saturation. Vertical relief was 1.0 m with well drained, moderately well drained, and somewhat poorly drained pedons spaced ∼60 m apart. All soils contained brittle, slowly-permeable subsoil horizons and were acidic with <35% base saturation throughout the upper sola. The well drained soil (Fragic Hapludult) had no morphological indicators of wetness within a depth of 180 cm, and water was perched above a brittle horizon at 82 cm for a total of only 41 days during the 3.4 year observation period. Nevertheless, trace amounts of lepidocrocite were detected in the subsoil. The moderately well drained soil (Typic Fragiudult) was saturated at a depth of 180 cm for 6% of the time, and water was perched on top of a fragipan at 74 cm for 13% of the time. Lepidocrocite was most abundant in this pedon and reached maximum concentrations below the fragipan in the capillary fringe of the regional water table (150–183 cm). The somewhat poorly drained member of the hydrosequence (Aeric Fragiaquult) was saturated at a depth of 180 cm for 96% of the observation period and also contained perched water above a fragipan for >90% of the time. Lepidocrocite occurred throughout this pedon but was most concentrated in fragipan horizons (86–135 cm) between the perched and regional zones of saturation. These horizons were saturated from 22 to 48% of the observation period. The results of this study suggest that lepidocrocite formation was favoured in horizons that were saturated for 5–50% of the time when soil temperatures exceeded 5°C.
Epigenetic control of dendritic cell development and fate determination of common myeloid progenitor by Mysm1
Authors: Won Haejung , Nandakumar Vijayalakshmi , Yates Peter , Sanchez Suzi , Jones Lindsey , Huang Xue F. , Chen Si-Yi 
Published: September 2014

Key PointsDeletion of Mysm1 impairs development of steady-state DC, but no other myeloid lineages; monocyte, macrophage, and granulocyte. Mysm1 governs DC differentiation from CMP by regulating Flt3 expression via modulating histone modifications and mediating Pu.1 recruitment.
Pyk2 promotes tumor progression in multiple myeloma
Authors: Zhang Yu , Moschetta Michele , Huynh Daisy , Tai Yu-Tzu , Zhang Yong , Zhang Wenjing , Mishima Yuji , Ring Jennifer E. , Tam Winnie F. , Xu Qunli , Maiso Patricia , Reagan Michaela , Sahin Ilyas , Sacco Antonio , Manier Salomon , Aljawai Yosra , Glavey Siobhan , Munshi Nikhil C. , Anderson Kenneth C. , Pachter Jonathan , Roccaro Aldo M. , Ghobrial Irene M. 
Published: September 2014

Key PointsPyk2 plays a tumor-promoting role in MM progression via modulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Pyk2 inhibitors represent a new therapeutic option against MM.
JAK2V617F+ myeloproliferative neoplasm clones evoke paracrine DNA damage to adjacent normal cells through secretion of lipocalin-2
Authors: Kagoya Yuki , Yoshimi Akihide , Tsuruta-Kishino Takako , Arai Shunya , Satoh Takashi , Akira Shizuo , Kurokawa Mineo 
Published: September 2014

Key Points
JAK2V617F+ MPN clones induce paracrine DNA damage into coexisting normal clones through secretion of lipocalin-2. Lipocalin-2 suppresses normal hematopoiesis via p53 pathway activation and gives relative growth advantage to MPN clones.
Hemicrania continua: major shortcomings in the new classification
Authors: Fredriksen Torbjørn A , Antonaci Fabio , Sjaastad Ottar 
Published: September 2014

Abstract
Hemicrania continua ( HC) was described and coined by Sjaastad and Spierings in 1984. Later cases, carrying this appellation should, grossly, conform to this original description. The proposed classification criteria (ICHD, 3rd edition beta version) for HC has major shortcomings, and ordinary HC cases do not fulfill the proposed criteria. Relatively rare symptoms and signs are e.g. made obligatory (point C 1). And the recommended dosage of indomethacin- both test and long-term dosages-is unallowably high. In this way, bogus HC cases are systematically created. This irrational diagnostic system is in urgent need of a major revision.
High-performance binder-free supercapacitor electrode by direct growth of cobalt-manganese composite oxide nansostructures on nickel foam
Authors: Jiang Shulan , Shi Tielin , Long Hu , Sun Yongming , Zhou Wei , Tang Zirong 
Published: September 2014

AbstractA facile approach composed of hydrothermal process and annealing treatment is proposed to directly grow cobalt-manganese composite oxide ((Co,Mn)3O4) nanostructures on three-dimensional (3D) conductive nickel (Ni) foam for a supercapacitor electrode. The as-fabricated porous electrode exhibits excellent rate capability and high specific capacitance of 840.2 F g-1at the current density of 10 A g-1, and the electrode also shows excellent cycling performance, which retains 102% of its initial discharge capacitance after 7,000 cycles. The fabricated binder-free hierarchical composite electrode with superior electrochemical performance is a promising candidate for high-performance supercapacitors.
A dynamic adjustable contention period mechanism and adaptive backoff process to improve the performance for multichannel mesh deterministic access in wireless mesh LAN
Authors: Chien Hung-Chi , Lee Bih-Hwang , Wu Huai-Kuei , Hsu Wen-Pin , Hsieh Hsin-Hung 
Published: September 2014

Abstract
IEEE802.11s draft proposes a new medium access control function-mesh deterministic access (MDA), which is mainly used for single-channel wireless mesh local area network (LAN). In single-channel environment, collisions between control packets and data packets may occur very often. To completely avoid the collision between control packets and data packets, the mesh delivery traffic indication message (DTIM) interval is first divided into contention period and data transmission period. To reduce the hardware requirements in design, we require a mesh point (MP) only equips a single transceiver to support multichannel environment. To provide higher performance and network capacity than the original MDA for wireless mesh LAN, we proposed a multichannel MDA (MMDA) algorithm. However, the MMDA algorithm may suffer from the resource waste problem when wireless mesh LAN is at heavy-loading situation, so this paper proposes a dynamic adjustable contention period (DACP) mechanism to solve this problem. In addition, we use an adaptive backoff process (ABP) to improve the fairness of the MMDA algorithm. The theoretical analysis gives the upper limit of the throughput for the DACP mechanism. The simulation experiments clearly show the results in multichannel wireless mesh LAN environment that the proposed scheme performs better than the MMDA algorithm and the enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) in throughput, average waiting time, and packet drop ratio.
Using weighted dynamic range for histogram equalization to improve the image contrast
Authors: Huynh-The Thien , Le Ba-Vui , Lee Sungyoung , Le-Tien Thuong , Yoon Yongik 
Published: September 2014

Abstract
In this paper, an effective method, named the brightness preserving weighted dynamic range histogram equalization (BPWDRHE), is proposed for contrast enhancement. Although histogram equalization (HE) is a universal method, it is not suitable for consumer electronic products because this method cannot preserve the overall brightness. Therefore, the output images have an unnatural looking and more visual artifacts. An extension of the approach based on the brightness preserving bi-histogram equalization method, the BPWDRHE used the weighted within-class variance as the novel algorithm in separating an original histogram. Unlike others using the average or the median of gray levels, the proposed method determined gray-scale values as break points based on the within-class variance to minimize the total squared error of each sub-histogram corresponding to the brightness shift when equalizing them independently. As a result, the contrast of both overall image and local details was enhanced adequately. The experimental results are presented and compared to other brightness preserving methods.
Quantifying Blood-Spinal Cord Barrier Permeability after Peripheral Nerve Injury in the Living Mouse
Authors: Cahill Lindsay S , Laliberté Christine L , Liu Xue Jun , Bishop Jonathan , Nieman Brian J , Mogil Jeffrey S , Sorge Robert E , Jones Catherine D , Salter Michael W , Henkelman R Mark 
Published: September 2014

Background: Genetic polymorphisms, gender and age all influence the risk of developing chronic neuropathic pain following peripheral nerve injury (PNI). It is known that there are significant inter-strain differences in pain hypersensitivity in strains of mice after PNI. In response to PNI, one of the earliest events is thought to be the disruption of the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB). The study of BSCB integrity after PNI may lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to chronic pain. Results: Here we used in vivo dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) to establish a timecourse for BSCB permeability following PNI, produced by performing a spared nerve injury (SNI). From this longitudinal study, we found that the SNI group had a significant increase in BSCB permeability over time throughout the entire spinal cord. The BSCB opening had a delayed onset and the increase in permeability was transient, returning to control levels just over one day after the surgery. We also examined inter-strain differences in BSCB permeability using five mouse strains (B10, C57BL/6J, CD-1, A/J and BALB/c) that spanned the range of pain hypersensitivity. We found a significant increase in BSCB permeability in the SNI group that was dependent on strain but that did not correlate with the reported strain differences in PNI-induced tactile hypersensitivity. These results were consistent with a previous experiment using Evans Blue dye to independently assess the status of the BSCB permeability. Conclusions: DCE-MRI provides a sensitive and non-invasive method to follow BSCB permeability in the same group of mice over time. Examining differences between mouse strains, we demonstrated that there is an important genetically-based control of the PNI-induced increase in BSCB permeability and that the critical genetic determinants of BSCB opening after PNI are distinct from those that determine genetic variability in PNI-induced pain hypersensitivity.
Cardiac taurine and principal amino acids in right and left ventricles of patients with either aortic valve stenosis or coronary artery disease: the importance of diabetes and gender
Authors: Lewis Martin , Littlejohns Ben , Lin Hua , Angelini Gianni D , Suleiman M-Saadeh 
Published: September 2014

Abstract
Free intracellular taurine and principal α-amino acids (glutamate, glutamine, aspartate, asparagine and alanine) are abundant in human heart. They are cellular regulators and their concentration can change in response to disease and cardiac insults and have been shown to differ between hypertrophic left ventricle (LV) and the relatively “normal” right ventricle (RV) in patients with aortic valve stenosis (AVS). This difference has not been shown for coronary artery disease (CAD) and there are no studies that have simultaneously compared amino acid content in LV and RV from different pathologies. In this study we investigated the effect of disease on taurine and principal amino acids in both LV and RV, measured in myocardial biopsies collected from patients with either AVS (n = 22) or CAD (n = 36). Amino acids were extracted and measured using HPLC. Intra- and inter-group analysis was performed as well as subgroup analysis focusing on gender in AVS and type 2 diabetes in CAD. LV of both groups has significantly higher levels of taurine compared to RV. This difference disappears in both diabetic CAD patients and in male AVS patients. Alanine was the only α-amino acid to be altered by diabetes. LV of female AVS patients had significantly more glutamate, aspartate and asparagine than corresponding RV, whilst no difference was seen between LV and RV in males. LV of females has higher glutamate and glutamine and less metabolic stress than LV of males. This work shows that in contrast to LV, RV responds differently to disease which can be modulated by gender and diabetes.
Herpes simplex encephalitis in Iceland 1987–2011
Authors: Dagsdóttir Heiður Mist , Sigurðardóttir Bryndís , Gottfreðsson Magnús , Kristjánsson Már , Löve Arthur , Baldvinsdóttir Guðrún Erna , Guðmundsson Sigurður 
Published: September 2014

Abstract
Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) is a serious disease with 10-20% mortality and high rate of neuropsychiatric sequelae. This study is a long-term, nationwide study in a single country, Iceland. Clinical data were obtained from patient records and from DNA PCR and antibody assays of CSF. Diagnosis of HSE was classified as definite, possible or rejected based on symptoms, as well as virological, laboratory and brain imaging criteria. A total of 30 definite cases of HSE were identified during the 25 year period 1987-2011 corresponding to incidence of 4.3 cases/106 inhabitants/year. Males were 57% of all patients, median age 50 years (range, 0-85). Fever (97%), cognitive deficits (79%), impaired consciousness (79% with GCS < 13), headache (55%) and seizures (55%) were the most common symptoms. Brain lesions were found in 24 patients (80%) by MRI or CT. All patients received intravenous acyclovir for a mean duration of 20 days. Three patients (10%) died within one year and 21/28 pts (75%) had a Karnofsky performance score of <70% with memory loss (59%), dysphasia (44%), frontal symptoms (44%) and seizures (30%) as the most frequent sequelae. Mean delay from onset of symptoms to treatment was 6 days; this was associated with adverse outcome. In conclusion, the incidence of `HSE is higher than recently reported in a national registry study from Sweden. Despite advances in rapid diagnosis and availability of treatment of HSE, approximately three of every four patients die or are left with serious neurological impairment.
Defining the genome structure of `Tongil' rice, an important cultivar in the Korean "Green Revolution"
Authors: Kim Backki , Kim Dong-Gwan , Lee Gileung , Seo Jeonghwan , Choi Ik-Young , Choi Beom-Soon , Yang Tae-Jin , Kim Kwang Soo , Lee Joohyun , Chin Joong Hyoun , Koh Hee-Jong 
Published: September 2014

Abstract

Background
Tongil (IR667-98-1-2) rice, developed in 1972, is a high-yield rice variety derived from a three-way cross between indica and japonica varieties. Tongil contributed to the self-sufficiency of staple food production in Korea during a period known as the `Korean Green Revolution'. We analyzed the nucleotide-level genome structure of Tongil rice and compared it to those of the parental varieties.

Results
A total of 17.3 billion Illumina Hiseq reads, 47× genome coverage, were generated for Tongil rice. Three parental accessions of Tongil rice, two indica types and one japonica type, were also sequenced at approximately 30x genome coverage. A total of 2,149,991 SNPs were detected between Tongil and Nipponbare varieties. The average SNP frequency of Tongil was 5.77 per kb. Genome composition was determined based on SNP data by comparing Tongil with three parental genome sequences using the sliding window approach. Analyses revealed that 91.8% of the Tongil genome originated from the indica parents and 7.9% from the japonica parent. Copy numbers of SSR motifs, ORF gene distribution throughout the whole genome, gene ontology (GO) annotation, and some yield-related QTLs or gene locations were also comparatively analyzed between Tongil and parental varieties using sequence-based tools. Each genetic factor was transferred from the parents into Tongil rice in amounts that were in proportion to the whole genome composition.

Conclusions
Tongil was derived from a three-way cross among two indica and one japonica varieties. Defining the genome structure of Tongil rice demonstrates that the Tongil genome is derived primarily from the indica genome with a small proportion of japonica genome introgression. Comparative gene distribution, SSR, GO, and yield-related gene analysis support the finding that the Tongil genome is primarily made up of the indica genome.
Genetic identification method for two subspecies of the Indonesian short-finned eel, Anguilla bicolor, using an allelic discrimination technique
Authors: Tanaka Chikaya , Shirotori Fumiaki , Sato Masaki , Ishikawa Mina , Shinoda Akira , Aoyama Jun , Yoshinaga Tatsuki 
Published: September 2014

Abstract

Background
There is an increasing pressure on tropical species of the freshwater eel genus Anguilla for use in aquaculture, so species identification methods are needed to monitor these activities and to facilitate conservation efforts. A method was developed to genetically distinguish two subspecies of the Indonesian short-finned eel, Anguilla bicolor, based on an allelic discrimination technique.

Results
A single DNA nucleotide substitution in the mitochondrial DNA 16S rRNA gene was employed to identify the two subspecies where Anguilla bicolor bicolor and Anguilla bicolor pacifica possessed adenine and guanine, respectively. This substitution was highly conserved at 100% in A. bicolor bicolor (108/108) and 99.9% in A. bicolor pacifica (181/182), and the misidentification rate was estimated to be 0.34%. Subsequently, fluorescent-labeled oligo probes and PCR primers were designed and succeeded to clearly distinguish the two subspecies. Further, the other ten anguillid species that may be sympatrically distributed with A. bicolor showed negative results.

Conclusions
The method developed in this study is useful to accurately identify the two subspecies of A. bicolor and can contribute to ecological studies, stock management, and conservation.
Autocrine Activation of the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway by CUX1 and GLIS1 in Breast Cancers
Authors: Vadnais Charles , Shooshtarizadeh Peiman , Rajadurai Charles V. , Lesurf Robert , Hulea Laura , Davoudi Sayeh , Cadieux Chantal , Hallett Michael , Park Morag , Nepveu Alain 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACT
Autocrine activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway occurs in several cancers, notably in breast tumors, and is associated with higher expression of various Wnt ligands. Using various inhibitors of the FZD/LRP receptor complex, we demonstrate that some adenosquamous carcinomas that develop in MMTV-CUX1 transgenic mice represent a model for autocrine activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. By comparing expression profiles of laser-capture microdissected mammary tumors, we identify Glis1 as a transcription factor that is highly expressed in the subset of tumors with elevated Wnt gene expression. Analysis of human cancer datasets confirms that elevated WNT gene expression is associated with high levels of CUX1 and GLIS1 and correlates with genes of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signature: VIM, SNAI1 and TWIST1 are elevated whereas CDH1 and OCLN are decreased. Co-expression experiments demonstrate that CUX1 and GLIS1 cooperate to stimulate TCF/β-catenin transcriptional activity and to enhance cell migration and invasion. Altogether, these results provide additional evidence for the role of GLIS1 in reprogramming gene expression and suggest a hierarchical model for transcriptional regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.
Serine integrase chimeras with activity in E. coli and HeLa cells
Authors: Farruggio Alfonso P. , Calos Michele P. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACT
In recent years, application of serine integrases for genomic engineering has increased in popularity. The factor-independence and unidirectionality of these large serine recombinases makes them well suited for reactions such as site-directed vector integration and cassette exchange in a wide variety of organisms. In order to generate information that might be useful for altering the specificity of serine integrases and to improve their efficiency, we tested a hybridization strategy that has been successful with several small serine recombinases. We created chimeras derived from three characterized members of the serine integrase family, phiC31, phiBT1, and TG1 integrases, by joining their amino- and carboxy-terminal portions. We found that several phiBT1-phiC31 (BC) and phiC31-TG1 (CT) hybrid integrases are active in E. coli. BC chimeras function on native att-sites and on att-sites that are hybrids between those of the two donor enzymes, while CT chimeras only act on the latter att-sites. A BC hybrid, BC{−1}, was also active in human HeLa cells. Our work is the first to demonstrate chimeric serine integrase activity. This analysis sheds light on integrase structure and function, and establishes a potentially tractable means to probe the specificity of the thousands of putative large serine recombinases that have been revealed by bioinformatics studies.