bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Essential and non‐essential interactions in interactome networks: the Escherichia coli division proteins FtsQ–FtsN interaction
Authors: Grenga L. , Rizzo A. , Paolozzi L. , Ghelardini P. 
Published: May 2013

SummaryThe Escherichia coli division protein FtsQ, which plays a central role in the septosome assembly, interacts with several protein partners of the division machinery. Its interaction with FtsB and FtsL allows the formation of the trimeric complex connecting the early cytoplasmic cell division proteins with the late, essentially periplasmic, ones. Little is known about the interactions that FtsQ contracts with other divisome components, besides the fact that all are localized in its periplasmic domain. In this domain, two independent subdomains, both involved in FtsQ, FtsI and FtsN interactions, were also identified. The study of FtsQ interaction‐defective mutants constituted a basis to investigate the biological significance of its interactions. However, in the case of interactions where two independent sites are involved, mutation(s) in one domain can be suppressed by the presence of the still‐functional second interaction region. To ascertain the biological role of these interactions, it is therefore necessary to select double mutants, where both sites are impaired. This paper describes the behaviour of FtsQ double mutants that have lost the ability to interact with FtsN, which is the last component in the hierarchy of divisome assembly, and is necessary to guarantee its stability and function.
Deconstructing the control of the spotted alfalfa aphid Therioaphis maculata
Authors: Gutierrez Andrew Paul , Ponti Luigi 
Published: May 2013

Abstract
The control of insect pests and other taxa may be a result of many factors that are difficult to separate and quantify. Introduced parasitoids, host plant resistance, pathogens and native predators led to the successful control of the spotted alfalfa aphid (SAA; Therioaphis maculata Monell) in California and elsewhere, although the relative contribution of each factor remained largely unknown.
The relative contribution of each control factor was estimated using a weather‐driven physiologically‐based demographic system model consisting of alfalfa, SAA, its three exotic parasitoids [Aphelinus semiflavus Howard, Praon palitans Muesebeck and Trioxys complanatus (Quilis)], a native coccinellid beetle [Hippodamia convergens (Guérin‐Menéville)], a fungal pathogen [Erynia neoaphidis Remaudière & Hennebert (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales)] and host plant resistance (HPR). Daily weather data for the period 1995–2006 from 142 locations in Arizona and California were used to drive the model.
The factors were introduced to the model singly or in combination to assess their effects in suppressing simulated SAA populations using SAA‐days m−2 year−1 (i.e. density) as the metric of control.
Data from selected runs were mapped using the geographic information system grass (http://grass.osgeo.org). The simulation data across all factor combinations, years and locations were summarized using linear multiple regression, with the dependent variable being log10 SAA‐days m−2 year−1 and the independent variables being the presence–absence (0, 1) of the various factors and their interactions. Marginal analysis of the regression model (∂y/∂xi) enabled separation of the average effects of the different factors (xi) given the average effects of the other factors.
Alone, each factor failed to control SAA, as did combinations of the parasitoids and coccinellid predation. Control was predicted across all ecological zones only when all mortality factors were included. The marginal analysis suggests that the order of importance of the mortality factors is HPR > coccinellid beetles > T. complanatus > P. palitans > A. semiflavus > the fungal pathogen. The variability of control by coccinellid beetles and the fungal pathogen was high and hence unreliable.
The prevalence and risk factors for psychological distress in older men and women affected by the Wenchuan, China earthquake
Authors: Cao Xiaoyi , Jiang Xiaolian , Pang Samantha , Li Sijian , Cheng Yijuan , Tian Lang 
Published: May 2013

AimsThe aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of psychological distress in survivors aged 60 years old and older by sex and analyse risk factors for psychological distress in male and female older survivors 2 years after the Wenchuan earthquake.MethodsThis was a cross‐sectional study. Two hundred and fifty‐seven older people were involved and a multistage random sampling method was utilised. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine risk factors for psychological distress among older men and women.ResultsA higher prevalence of psychological distress was observed in older women than in older men. Loss of family members and displacement from pre‐earthquake residence were significant risk factors for psychological distress in older men. Significant risk factors for psychological distress in older women were low educational level, chronic diseases, loss of family members, and displacement from original residence.ConclusionsHealth‐care providers should develop gender‐based strategies to improve mental health among older survivors in a long‐term post‐disaster recovery programme.
Progressive mandibular midline deviation after difficult tracheal intubation
Authors: Mareque Bueno J. , Fernández‐Barriales M. , Morey‐Mas M. A. , Hernández‐Alfaro F. 
Published: May 2013

SummaryWe report condylar resorption of the temporomandibular joint after difficult intubation, leading to progressive midline mandibular deviation, subsequently treated by prosthetic joint replacement.
Sub‐threshold autism traits: The role of trait emotional intelligence and cognitive flexibility
Authors: Gökçen Elif , Petrides Konstantinos V. , Hudry Kristelle , Frederickson Norah , Smillie Luke D. 
Published: May 2013

Theory and research suggests that features of autism are not restricted to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), and that autism‐like traits vary throughout the general population at lower severities. The present research first investigated the relationship of autism traits with trait emotional intelligence and empathy in a sample of 163 adults aged between 18 and 51 years (44% male). It then examined performance on a set of tasks assessing social cognition and cognitive flexibility in 69 participants with either high or low scores on ASD traits. Results confirm that there is pronounced variation within the general population relating to ASD traits, which reflect similar (though less severe) social‐cognitive and emotional features to those observed in ASDs.
Genetic polymorphisms in matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of MPs (TIMPs), and bladder cancer susceptibility
Authors: Wieczorek Edyta , Reszka Edyta , Jablonowski Zbigniew , Jablonska Ewa , Beata Krol Magdalena , Grzegorczyk Adam , Gromadzinska Jolanta , Sosnowski Marek , Wasowicz Wojciech 
Published: May 2013

Objectives
To elucidate genetic polymorphisms of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) MMP1 (rs1799750), MMP2 (rs243865), MMP9 (rs3918242), MMP12 (rs2276109) and tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) TIMP1 (rs2070584) and TIMP3 (rs9619311) genes that may be involved in susceptibility to bladder cancer (BC).
Patients and Methods
We enrolled 241 patients with BC and 199 controls.
Genomic DNA samples were extracted from peripheral blood and polymorphisms were analysed by high‐resolution melting analysis and by real‐time polymerase chain reaction using TaqMan fluorescent probes.
Results
Of the six evaluated polymorphisms of MMPs and TIMPs, only one was found to be associated with BC risk.
There was a significant difference for MMP1 (rs1799750) 2G/1G+1G/1G genotype (odds ratio [OR] 0.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.39–0.98; P = 0.042). Additionally, there was a joint effect of this genotype on BC risk among ‘ever smokers’ (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.28–0.89; P = 0.019), but not in ‘never smokers’.
The combined genotype MMP2 –1306C/T (rs243865) allele T with MMP9 –1562C/T (rs3918242) allele T was found to increase BC risk (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.10–3.62; P = 0.022).
Conclusions
Our results suggest that genetic variations in five polymorphisms of MMPs and TIMPs are not associated with a high risk of BC.
Only MMP1 polymorphism may be related to the risk of BC, notably in ‘ever smokers’.
Our study suggests that the effects of polymorphisms of MMPs and TIMPs on BC risk deserve further investigation.
Sperm nuclear DNA fragmentation rate is associated with differential protein expression and enriched functions in human seminal plasma
Authors: Intasqui Paula , Camargo Mariana , Del Giudice Paula T. , Spaine Deborah M. , Carvalho Valdemir M. , Cardozo Karina H. M. , Zylbersztejn Daniel S. , Bertolla Ricardo P. 
Published: May 2013

Objective
To analyse the proteomic profile of seminal plasma with the aim of identifying the proteins and post‐genomic pathways associated with sperm DNA fragmentation.
Materials and Methods
A cross‐sectional study including 89 subjects from a human reproduction service was carried out.
All semen samples were assessed for sperm DNA fragmentation using a comet assay.
Results from 60 sperm were analysed using Komet 6.0.1 software and the ‘Olive tail moment’ variable was used to stratify these into low and high sperm DNA fragmentation groups.
Seminal plasma proteins from the two groups were pooled and used for proteomic analysis.
Quantitative data were used for functional enrichment studies.
Results
Seventy‐two proteins were identified or quantified in seminal plasma. Of these, nine were differentially expressed in the low group and 21 in the high group. Forty‐two proteins were conserved between these groups.
Functional enrichment analysis indicated that sperm DNA fragmentation was related to functions such as lipoprotein particle remodelling and regulation, fatty acid binding and immune response.
Proteins found exclusively in the low group may be involved in correcting spermatogenesis and/or improving sperm function. Proteins in the high group were associated with increased innate immune response, sperm motility and/or maturation and inhibition of mitochondrial apoptosis.
Conclusion
Protein expression and post‐genomic pathways of seminal plasma differ according to the rate of sperm DNA integrity.
N‐FIRM OLIGOPOLY WITH GENERAL ISO‐ELASTIC DEMAND
Authors: Beard Rodney 
Published: May 2013

ABSTRACTIn this note oligopoly with iso‐elastic demand is analysed. Unlike previous studies we consider general iso‐elastic demand rather than the case of unit elasticity. An n‐firm Nash‐Cournot equilibrium for the case of heterogeneous constant marginal costs is derived. The main result is a closed‐form solution that shows the dependency of the equilibrium on the elasticity of demand and the share of industry costs. The result has applications to a wide range of areas in oligopoly theory by allowing comparisons across markets with different elasticities of demand.
Behavioural syndromes and social insects: personality at multiple levels
Authors: Jandt Jennifer M. , Bengston Sarah , Pinter‐Wollman Noa , Pruitt Jonathan N. , Raine Nigel E. , Dornhaus Anna , Sih Andrew 
Published: May 2013

ABSTRACTAnimal personalities or behavioural syndromes are consistent and/or correlated behaviours across two or more situations within a population. Social insect biologists have measured consistent individual variation in behaviour within and across colonies for decades. The goal of this review is to illustrate the ways in which both the study of social insects and of behavioural syndromes has overlapped, and to highlight ways in which both fields can move forward through the synergy of knowledge from each. Here we, (i) review work to date on behavioural syndromes (though not always referred to as such) in social insects, and discuss mechanisms and fitness effects of maintaining individual behavioural variation within and between colonies; (ii) summarise approaches and principles from studies of behavioural syndromes, such as trade‐offs, feedback, and statistical methods developed specifically to study behavioural consistencies and correlations, and discuss how they might be applied specifically to the study of social insects; (iii) discuss how the study of social insects can enhance our understanding of behavioural syndromes—research in behavioural syndromes is beginning to explore the role of sociality in maintaining or developing behavioural types, and work on social insects can provide new insights in this area; and (iv) suggest future directions for study, with an emphasis on examining behavioural types at multiple levels of organisation (genes, individuals, colonies, or groups of individuals).
Middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity in response to lower body positive pressure
Authors: Perry Blake G. , Schlader Zachary J. , Raman Aaron , Cochrane Darryl J. , Lucas Samuel J. E. , Mündel Toby 
Published: May 2013

SummaryLower body positive pressure (LBPP) has been used in the treatment of haemorrhagic shock and in offsetting g‐force induced fluid shifts. However, the middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCAv) response to supine LBPP is unknown. Fifteen healthy volunteers (mean ± SD: age, 26 ± 5 year; body mass, 79 ± 10 kg; height, 174 ± 9 cm) completed 5 minutes of 20 and 40 mm Hg LBPP, in a randomized order, separated by 5 minutes rest (baseline). Beat‐to‐beat MCAv and blood pressure, partial pressure of end‐tidal carbon dioxide (PETCO2) and heart rate were recorded and presented as the change from the preceding baseline. All measures were similar between baseline periods (all P>0·30). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) increased by 7 ± 6 (8 ± 7%) and 13 ± 7 mm Hg (19 ± 11%) from baseline during 20 and 40 mm Hg (P<0·01), respectively. The greater MAP increase at 40 mm Hg (P<0·01 versus 20 mm Hg) was mediated via a greater increase in total peripheral resistance (P<0·01), with heart rate, cardiac output (Model flow) and PETCO2 remaining unchanged (all P>0·05) throughout. MCAv increased from baseline by 3 ± 4 cm s−1 (5 ± 5%) during 20 mm Hg (P = 0·003), whilst no change (P = 0·18) was observed during 40 mm Hg. Our results indicate a divergent response, in that 20 mm Hg LBPP‐induced modest increases in both MCAv and MAP, yet no change in MCAv was observed at the higher LBPP of 40 mm Hg despite a further increase in MAP.
Training the Translational Research Teams of the Future: UC Davis—HHMI Integrating Medicine into Basic Science Program
Authors: Knowlton Anne A. , Rainwater Julie A. , Chiamvimonvat Nipavan , Bonham Ann C. , Robbins John A. , Henderson Stuart , Meyers Frederick J. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractThere is a need for successful models of how to recruit, train, and retain bench scientists at the earliest stages of their careers into translational research. One recent, promising model is the University of California Davis Howard Hughes Medical Institute Integrating Medicine into Basic Science (HHMI‐IMBS) program, part of the HHMI Med into Grad initiative. This paper outlines the HHMI‐IMBS program's logic, design, and curriculum that guide the goal of research that moves from bedside to bench. That is, a curriculum that provides graduate students with guided translational training, clinical exposure, team science competencies, and mentors from diverse disciplines that will advance the students careers in clinical translational research and re‐focusing of research to answer clinical dilemmas. The authors have collected data on 55 HHMI‐IMBS students to date. Many of these students are still completing their graduate work. In the current study the authors compare the initial two cohorts (15 students) with a group of 29 control students to examine the program success and outcomes. The data indicate that this training program provides an effective, adaptable model for training future translational researchers. HHMI‐IMBS students showed improved confidence in conducting translational research, greater interest in a future translational career, and higher levels of research productivity and collaborations than a comparable group of predoctoral students.
Initiation of Aspirin Therapy Modulates Angiogenic Protein Levels in Women with Breast Cancer Receiving Tamoxifen Therapy
Authors: Holmes Chris E. , Jasielec Jagoda , Levis Jamie E. , Skelly Joan , Muss Hyman B. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAspirin has a range of antineoplastic properties linked to inhibition of cyclooxygenase enzymes in tumor cells, platelet inhibition and to inhibition of angiogenesis. We undertook a prospective study to determine the influence of a 45‐day course of aspirin therapy on circulating and intraplatelet levels of selected proangiogenic (vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]) and antiangiogenic (thrombospondin‐1 [TSP‐1]) proteins, and platelet protein release in women diagnosed with breast cancer who were receiving tamoxifen therapy. Initiation of aspirin therapy increases serum and intraplatelet levels of TSP‐1 without a corresponding increase in VEGF levels. Following aspirin therapy, VEGF levels decreased (relative to pretreatment levels) while TSP‐1 returned to pretreatment levels. Plasma TSP‐1 and VEGF levels did not change on aspirin therapy. Aspirin use also decreased thrombin receptor mediated release of TSP‐1 and VEGF from platelets. The selective impact on platelet angiogenic protein content and release supports one mechanism by which aspirin can modify the angiogenic balance in women receiving tamoxifen therapy. Aspirin therapy appears to favor an overall antiangiogenic balance in women with breast cancer who are receiving tamoxifen therapy.
The Financialization of Micro‐Credit
Authors: Aitken Rob 
Published: May 2013

ABSTRACTThe financial crisis which crested in 2008/2009 sparked much debate regarding the future of global financial governance. Echoing the ways in which that crisis entailed a particular intrusion of ‘high finance’ into everyday lives, the main contention of this article is that critical analyses of finance would benefit from training attention onto the intersections between global finance and the level of the everyday and the mundane. To explore this intersection, this article reviews the increasing ways in which micro‐credit has been financialized. This process of micro/financialization, I argue, has been accomplished in very particular ways which have brought micro‐credit networks and their borrowers more fully into the spaces of global capital markets. This development, however, confronts vulnerable populations of micro‐borrowers with serious risks of various sorts. Most importantly, micro/financialization risks exporting — and globalizing — some of the riskiest parts of financial practices to the ‘poorest of the poor’. I conclude the article by noting the ways in which this involves a particularly dangerous extension of what some commentators have referred to as the ‘democratization of finance’.
Social Struggles as Epistemic Struggles
Authors: Icaza Rosalba , Vázquez Rolando 
Published: May 2013

ABSTRACTThis contribution offers a view on social struggles as epistemic struggles to critically engage with the Activism 2010+ debate. Our core idea is that social struggles that stand up against depoliticization, economic exploitation and cultural alienation cannot be adequately understood through the same rationality that underlies the processes that they are breaking with. We invite a reading of social struggles as open questions to the dominant ways of thinking and ordering of the real. Our way of doing this is by developing a view of the Zapatistas uprising in Chiapas, Mexico, and the Battle of Seattle, USA, as political events that have challenged the epistemic hegemony of modernity, its instrumental rationality and its chronological temporality. In so doing, we establish a relation between the political ideas of Hanna Arendt and those of decolonial thought, as a means to connect traditions of critique that belong to different genealogies (Western critical thought and Latin American decolonial thought) and which correspond to different conceptions of modernity and social justice. Bringing together these different traditions of critique is a key analytical step to move beyond one‐sided universalisms into forms of argumentation that are built on the possibility of dialogue across a plurality of epistemic locations. This is a modest move in the much‐needed search for epistemic justice.
The incidence of type 2 diabetes in the United Kingdom from 1991 to 2010
Authors: Holden S. E. , Barnett A. H. , Peters J. R. , Jenkins‐Jones S. , Poole C. D. , Morgan C. L. , Currie C. J. 
Published: May 2013

AimsTo characterize the incidence of type 2 diabetes in the UK over the previous 20 years; and determine if there has been an increase in people aged 40 years or less at diagnosis.MethodsFor this retrospective cohort study, patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between 1991 and 2010 were identified from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Patient data were grouped into 5‐year intervals by year of diagnosis and age at diagnosis. A standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was determined (1991–1995 = 100). The percentage of newly diagnosed patients for each age group and aged ≤40 years was calculated for each 5‐year calendar period. The incidence rate by age and 5‐year calendar period was also determined.ResultsIn 2010, the crude incidence rate of type 2 diabetes was 515 per 100,000 population. The overall SIR increased to 158 (95% CI 157–160, p < 0.001), 237 (235–238, p < 0.001) and 275 (273–276, p < 0.001) for 1996–2000, 2001–2005 and 2006–2010, respectively. For those ≤40, the respective values were 217 (209–226, p < 0.001), 327 (320–335, p < 0.001) and 598 (589–608, p < 0.001). An increase in incidence occurred with increasing 5‐year calendar period. The incidence of type 2 diabetes was higher for males after the age of 40 and higher for females aged ≤40. The percentage of patients aged ≤40 years at diagnosis increased with each increasing 5‐year calendar period (5.9, 8.4, 8.5 and 12.4%, respectively).ConclusionsThere was a significant increase in the incidence of diagnosed type 2 diabetes between 1991 and 2010 and the proportion of people diagnosed at a relatively early age has increased markedly.
Serum level of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 is associated with the outcome of patients with diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma treated with the R‐CHOP regimen
Authors: Nakamura Nobuhiko , Goto Naoe , Tsurumi Hisashi , Takemura Masao , Kanemura Nobuhiro , Kasahara Senji , Hara Takeshi , Yasuda Ichiro , Shimizu Masahito , Sawada Michio , Yamada Toshiki , Seishima Mitsuru , Takami Tsuyoshi , Moriwaki Hisataka 
Published: May 2013

AbstractBackgroundSerum soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (sTNFR2) concentration predicted the clinical outcome of patients with aggressive non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma including diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone) in our previous study. However, after rituximab (R) was introduced in clinical practice, R‐CHOP replaced CHOP as the standard therapy for DLBCL.Patients and methodsIn this study, we re‐evaluated the prognostic significance of serum sTNFR2 in 154 patients with DLBCL treated with R‐CHOP.ResultsFive‐yr overall survival (5‐yr OS) rates with sTNFR2 ≥20 ng/mL and <20 ng/mL were 29.2% and 83.3% (P < 0.0001), respectively, and the corresponding 5‐yr progression‐free survival (5‐yr PFS) rates were 26.9% and 76.4% (P < 0.0001), respectively. A multivariate analysis revealed that serum sTNFR2 and complete remission (CR) were independent prognostic factors for both OS (CR: P < 0.0001, sTNFR2: P = 0.0001) and PFS (CR: P < 0.0001, sTNFR2: P = 0.0001). The prognosis of patients with poor risk groups according to the revised International Prognostic Index who also had high serum sTNFR2 was especially poor.ConclusionSerum sTNFR2 might be a powerful prognostic factor for patients with DLBCL in the rituximab era.