bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Diverse subthreshold cross‐modal sensory interactions in the thalamic reticular nucleus: implications for new pathways of cross‐modal attentional gating function
Authors: Kimura Akihisa 
Published: March 2014

AbstractOur attention to a sensory cue of a given modality interferes with attention to a sensory cue of another modality. However, an object emitting various sensory cues attracts attention more effectively. The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) could play a pivotal role in such cross‐modal modulation of attention given that cross‐modal sensory interaction takes place in the TRN, because the TRN occupies a highly strategic position to function in the control of gain and/or gating of sensory processing in the thalamocortical loop. In the present study cross‐modal interactions between visual and auditory inputs were examined in single TRN cells of anesthetised rats using juxta‐cellular recording and labeling techniques. Visual or auditory responses were modulated by subthreshold sound or light stimuli, respectively, in the majority of recordings (46 of 54 visual and 60 of 73 auditory cells). However, few bimodal sensory cells were found. Cells showing modulation of the sensory response were distributed in the whole visual and auditory sectors of the TRN. Modulated cells sent axonal projections to first‐order or higher‐order thalamic nuclei. Suppression predominated in modulation that took place not only in primary responses but also in late responses repeatedly evoked after sensory stimulation. Combined sensory stimulation also evoked de‐novo responses, and modulated response latency and burst spiking. These results indicate that the TRN incorporates sensory inputs of different modalities into single cell activity to function in sensory processing in the lemniscal and non‐lemniscal systems. This raises the possibility that the TRN constitutes neural pathways involved in cross‐modal attentional gating.
Structural and functional analysis of a FeoB A143S G5 loop mutant explains the accelerated GDP release rate
Authors: Guilfoyle Amy P. , Deshpande Chandrika N. , Vincent Kimberley , Pedroso Marcelo M. , Schenk Gerhard , Maher Megan J. , Jormakka Mika 
Published: March 2014

GTPases (G proteins) hydrolyze the conversion of GTP to GDP and free phosphate, comprising an integral part of prokaryotic and eukaryotic signaling, protein biosynthesis and cell division, as well as membrane transport processes. The G protein cycle is brought to a halt after GTP hydrolysis, and requires the release of GDP before a new cycle can be initiated. For eukaryotic heterotrimeric Gαβγ proteins, the interaction with a membrane‐bound G protein‐coupled receptor catalyzes the release of GDP from the Gα subunit. Structural and functional studies have implicated one of the nucleotide binding sequence motifs, the G5 motif, as playing an integral part in this release mechanism. Indeed, a Gαs G5 mutant (A366S) was shown to have an accelerated GDP release rate, mimicking a G protein‐coupled receptor catalyzed release state. In the present study, we investigate the role of the equivalent residue in the G5 motif (residue A143) in the prokaryotic membrane protein FeoB from Streptococcus thermophilus, which includes an N‐terminal soluble G protein domain. The structure of this domain has previously been determined in the apo and GDP‐bound states and in the presence of a transition state analogue, revealing conformational changes in the G5 motif. The A143 residue was mutated to a serine and analyzed with respect to changes in GTPase activity, nucleotide release rate, GDP affinity and structural alterations. We conclude that the identity of the residue at this position in the G5 loop plays a key role in the nucleotide release rate by allowing the correct positioning and hydrogen bonding of the nucleotide base.
Structural and functional interaction of fatty acids with human liver fatty acid‐binding protein (L‐FABP) T94A variant
Authors: Huang Huan , McIntosh Avery L. , Martin Gregory G. , Landrock Kerstin K. , Landrock Danilo , Gupta Shipra , Atshaves Barbara P. , Kier Ann B. , Schroeder Friedhelm 
Published: March 2014

The human liver fatty acid‐binding protein (L‐FABP) T94A variant, the most common in the FABP family, has been associated with elevated liver triglyceride levels. How this amino acid substitution elicits these effects is not known. This issue was addressed using human recombinant wild‐type (WT) and T94A variant L‐FABP proteins as well as cultured primary human hepatocytes expressing the respective proteins (genotyped as TT, TC and CC). The T94A substitution did not alter or only slightly altered L‐FABP binding affinities for saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated long chain fatty acids, nor did it change the affinity for intermediates of triglyceride synthesis. Nevertheless, the T94A substitution markedly altered the secondary structural response of L‐FABP induced by binding long chain fatty acids or intermediates of triglyceride synthesis. Finally, the T94A substitution markedly decreased the levels of induction of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α‐regulated proteins such as L‐FABP, fatty acid transport protein 5 and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α itself meditated by the polyunsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in cultured primary human hepatocytes. Thus, although the T94A substitution did not alter the affinity of human L‐FABP for long chain fatty acids, it significantly altered human L‐FABP structure and stability, as well as the conformational and functional response to these ligands.
Roles of cell division control factor SdiA: recognition of quorum sensing signals and modulation of transcription regulation targets
Authors: Shimada Tomohiro , Shimada Kaori , Matsui Makoto , Kitai Yuichi , Igarashi Jun , Suga Hiroaki , Ishihama Akira 
Published: March 2014

In Gram‐negative bacteria, N‐acylhomoserine lactone (HSL) is used as a signal in cell–cell communication and quorum sensing (QS). The model prokaryote Escherichia coli lacks the system of HSL synthesis, but is capable of monitoring HSL signals in environment. Transcription factor SdiA for cell division control is believed to play a role as a HSL sensor. Using a collection of 477 species of chemically synthesized HSL analogues, we identified three synthetic signal molecules (SSMs) that bind in vitro to purified SdiA. After SELEX‐chip screening of SdiA‐binding DNA sequences, a striking difference was found between these SSMs in the pattern of regulation target genes on the E. coli genome. Based on Northern blot analysis in vivo, a set of target genes were found to be repressed by SdiA in the absence of effectors and derepressed by the addition of SSMs. Another set of genes were, however, expressed in the absence of effector ligands but repressed by the addition of SSMs. Taken together, we propose that the spectrum of taget gene selection by SdiA is modulated in multiple modes depending on the interacting HSL‐like signal molecules.
Troubling the Notion of Satisfied Students
Authors: Gibbs Paul , Dean Aftab 
Published: March 2014

AbstractThis paper investigates whether students' personal happiness is different from student satisfaction and considers if this may have consequences for university policy and management. It does this by comparing happiness and satisfaction in two cohorts of students from two United Kingdom universities. One is a distinctive research university and the other a university whose heritage has been in the polytechnic sector prior to its charter, referred to as a post‐1992 university. The results, although preliminary, do appear to show that satisfied students are also happy students. However, what contributes to these states of being is different. The implication for institutional policy is discussed and a warning that to assume satisfaction (measured by satisfaction survey results) as happiness might be problematic in addressing improvement in the student experience.
Histological changes within dental pulps in teeth with moderate‐to‐severe chronic periodontitis
Authors: Wan L. , Lu H. B. , Xuan D. Y. , Yan Y. X. , Zhang J. C. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractAimTo investigate the effect of chronic periodontitis on dental pulps by assessing histological changes in the pulps of teeth with moderate‐to‐severe periodontitis.MethodologyA total of 242 teeth from 162 patients with moderate‐to‐severe periodontitis were collected, and histological changes in pulps were investigated by staining with haematoxylin and eosin. Baseline data were taken from the patients' records before extraction. The morphologic changes observed in the pulp were classified as degree I, degree II, degree III and degree IV. Statistical analysis of the severity of periodontitis and histological changes with the pulps was applied using the Mann–Whitney U rank sum test, whilst the contingency coefficient was used to analyse the inter‐relationship between the severity of periodontitis and histological changes in the pulps.ResultsThe inter‐relationship between the severity of periodontitis and histological changes in the pulps was 0.274 (P < 0.001), and significant differences existed between teeth with moderate periodontitis and severe periodontitis group (Z = 4.145, P < 0.001). The inter‐relationship between attachment loss and histological changes in the pulps was 0.397 (P < 0.001). There were significant differences in the histological changes amongst teeth with various degrees of attachment loss (χ2 = 33.023, P < 0.001) and amongst teeth in different locations (χ2 = 23.163, P < 0.001).ConclusionsThere was a positive association between the severity of periodontitis and histological changes within the pulp. More attachment loss was correlated with pathological changes within the dental pulp.
Clinical correlates of attentional bias to drug cues associated with cocaine dependence
Authors: Kennedy Ashley P. , Gross Robin E. , Ely Tim , Drexler Karen P.G. , Kilts Clinton D. 
Published: March 2014

Background and ObjectivePreoccupation (attentional bias) related to drug‐related stimuli has been consistently observed for drug‐dependent persons with several studies reporting an association of the magnitude of measured attentional bias with treatment outcomes. The major goal of the present study was to determine if pre‐treatment attentional bias to personal drug use reminders in an addiction Stroop task predicts relapse in treatment‐seeking, cocaine‐dependent subjects.MethodsWe sought to maximize the potential of attentional bias as a marker of risk for relapse by incorporating individualized rather than generalized drug use cues to reflect the personal conditioned associations that form the incentive motivation properties of drug cues in a sample of cocaine‐dependent subjects (N = 35).ResultsAlthough a significant group Stroop interference effect was present for drug versus neutral stimuli (ie, attentional bias), the level of attentional bias for cocaine‐use words was not predictive of eventual relapse in this sample (d = .56). A similar lack of prediction power was observed for a non‐drug counting word Stroop task as a significant interference effect was detected but did not predict relapse outcomes (d = .40).Conclusions and Scientific SignificanceThe results of the present study do not provide clear support for the predictive value of individual variation in drug‐related attentional bias to forecast probability of relapse in cocaine‐dependent men. (Am J Addict 2014;23:478–484)
Depressive comorbidity in preschool anxiety disorder
Authors: von Klitzing Kai , White Lars O. , Otto Yvonne , Fuchs Sandra , Egger Helen L. , Klein Annette M. 
Published: March 2014

BackgroundThe threshold for clinical relevance of preschool anxiety has recently come under increasing scrutiny in view of large variations in prevalence estimates. We studied the impact of presence/absence of additional depressive comorbidity (symptoms and/or diagnosis) on preschoolers with anxiety disorders in relation to clinical phenomenology, family, and peer problems compared to healthy controls.MethodA population of 1738 preschoolers were screened and oversampled for internalizing symptoms from community sites, yielding a sample of 236 children.ResultsUsing a multi‐informant approach (mother, father, teacher, child), we found evidence that children with anxiety disorders and depressive comorbidity display a greater internalizing symptom‐load, more peer problems and live in families with more psychosocial impairment (poor family functioning, family adversity, maternal mental health problems). The pure anxiety group was merely dissociable from controls with regard to internalizing symptoms and family adversity.ConclusionThe presence of depressive comorbidity in anxiety disorders may mark the transition to a more detrimental and impairing disorder at preschool age.
Paediatric cutaneous lymphoma in Korea: a retrospective study at a single institution
Authors: Moon H.‐R. , Lee W.J. , Won C.H. , Chang S.E. , Lee M.W. , Choi J.H. , Moon K.C. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractBackgroundThe clinical features and incidences of cutaneous lymphoma (CL) differ by ethnicity and age. However, there is to our knowledge no study to show characteristics and distribution of paediatric CL in Asian population.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate distinctive clinicopathological features of CL in paediatric population, particularly in Korea.MethodsWe conducted a clinicopathological review of 41 paediatric cases with CL, diagnosed at Asan Medical Center from January 1990 to December 2012. The clinical records, haematoxylin & eosin‐stained slides and immunohistochemical stains from paediatric patients with CL were analyzed. In addition, the results in this present paediatric group were compared with previously reported studies in the Korean all‐ages group and Western paediatric group.ResultsLymphomatoid papulosis was more common in the present paediatric group than in the all‐ages group (34.5% vs. 9.4%) and Western paediatric group (34.5% vs. 17.7%). Mycosis fungoides, the most common cutaneous lymphoma in the all‐ages group and Western paediatric group, is the second most common subtype in this study. Three of nine paediatric mycosis fungoides patients (33%) have the follicular variant. Compared with all‐ages group, B‐lmphoblastic lymphoma was relatively higher incidence (10.3% vs. 1%) and NK‐/T‐cell lymphoma and subcutaneous panniculitis‐like T‐cell lymphoma was relatively in lower proportions in the paediatric group.ConclusionThe clinical features and distribution of paediatric CL in our study suggest that CL of Asian childhood is quite different from that of adulthood and Western childhood.
Extraction and Characterization of Mucilage From Wild Species of Opuntia
Authors: Rodríguez‐González Sarahi , Martínez‐Flores Hector E. , Chávez‐Moreno Carla K. , Macías‐Rodríguez Lourdes. I. , Zavala‐Mendoza Eder , Garnica‐Romo M.G. , Chacón‐García Luis 
Published: March 2014

AbstractThe aim of this work was to characterize the mucilage extracted from six species of Opuntia. The species studied were as follows: O. atropes, O. tomentosa, O. hyptiacantha, O. streptacantha y O. joconostle and O. ficus‐indica. The first step was to find the best extraction conditions to obtain an unaltered chemical structure of mucilage. The mucilages were characterized using high‐performance liquid chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. The optimal conditions employed to obtain the mucilage were: ratio of cladodes : ethanol solution at 50% of 1:1 (w/v), temperature of 22C and precipitation of mucilage with a solution of ethanol 96%, at a ratio of 1:4 (v/v). Mucilage from all species studied had a high content of soluble dietary fiber, ranging from 51.79 to 67.51%. In decreasing order, sugars found in the mucilages were: L‐arabinose (26.83–35.36%), D‐galactose (21.59–45.48%), D‐xylose (12.23–17.05%), uronic acids (5.59–13.91%), D‐glucose (5.18–16.21%) and L‐rhamnose (1.41–5.40%).Practical ApplicationsThis research presents an optimization method for the extraction of mucilage five wild species of cactus based on temperature and time of extraction and solvent ratio: sample used. Mucilages were characterized chemically and by chromatographic and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques and were compared with the species mucilage Opuntia ficus‐indica, the species most commercially studied. The mucilage obtained can be used for commercial purposes as additives in the food industry.
Extraction and Functional Properties of Water‐Soluble Dietary Fiber from Apple Pomace
Authors: Li Xueli , He Xiuli , Lv Yuanping , He Qiang 
Published: March 2014

AbstractThe extraction of water‐soluble dietary fiber (SDF) from apple pomace (AP) by cellulase, microwave‐ and ultrasound‐assisted methods was studied in comparison with conventional acid method. The functional properties of extracted SDFs were further evaluated, and the speciality of each method was clarified in order to suggest the right method to adopt for practice. Results indicated that AP is rich in SDF, which is significantly potential to be applied in food processing. Acid hydrolysis of AP gave 10.3% of SDF, whereas ultrasound‐assisted extraction (UAE) provided a yield of 16.4% after 40 min of sonication. Microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) gave a slightly lower yield (14.9%) than UAE, but it showed a drastic efficiency, wherein the yield was achieved after 2 min of irradiation. The hydrolysis of AP by cellulase occurred with the highest SDF yield (18.7%) among all the methods used. The functional properties of SDF were improved by UAE, MAE and cellulase extraction, wherein the water retention and swelling capacities were increased more considerably than the oil retention capacity. Especially, cellulase showed a remarkable performance in improving the hydration property.Practical ApplicationsA large amount of apple pomace (AP) was produced as the by‐product of apple processing in China. Its disposal is of significance in consideration of resource utilization and environmental protection. Therefore, the results of this study can promote the full use of AP and similar industrial wastes, and also help to avoid possible pollution. In addition, the comparison of acid, cellulase, microwave‐ and ultrasound‐assisted methods suggests the right method to adopt SDF extraction method for practice.
Haplotype variation of Green Revolution gene Rht‐D1 during wheat domestication and improvement
Authors: Zhang Chihong , Gao Lifeng , Sun Jiaqiang , Jia Jizeng , Ren Zhenglong 
Published: March 2014

AbstractGreen Revolution made a substantial contribution to wheat yields worldwide in the 1960s and 1970s. It is of great importance to analyze the haplotype variation of Rht‐D1, the Green Revolution gene, during wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) domestication and breeding to understand its evolution and function in wheat breeding history. In this study, the Rht‐D1 and its flanking regions were sequenced and single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected based on a panel of 45 accessions of Aegilops tauschii, 51 accessions of landraces and 80 accessions of commercial varieties. Genetic diversity in the wild accessions was much higher than that in the varieties and higher than that reported previously. Seven haplotypes (Hapl I to Hapl VII) of Rht‐D1 were identified and their evolutionary relationships were proposed. In addition to the well‐known Green Revolution allele Rht‐D1b, Hapl VII (an allele Rht‐D1k) was identified in early breeding varieties, which reduced plant height by 16%. The results suggested that Rht‐D1k had been used in breeding before the Green Revolution and made a great contribution to wheat production worldwide. Based on the breeding history and molecular evidence, we proposed that the wheat Green Revolution in China and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) occurred independently.
Phase equilibria modelling of retrograde amphibole and clinozoisite in mafic eclogite from the Tso Morari massif, northwest India: constraining the P–T–M(H2O) conditions of exhumation
Authors: Palin R. M. , St‐Onge M. R. , Waters D. J. , Searle M. P. , Dyck B. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractPhase equilibria modelling of post‐peak metamorphic mineral assemblages in (ultra)high‐P mafic eclogite from the Tso Morari massif, Ladakh Himalaya, northwest India, has provided new insights into the potential behaviour and source of metamorphic fluid during exhumation, and constrained the P–T conditions of hydration. A series of P–M(H2O) pseudosections constructed in the Na2O–CaO–K2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O–TiO2–O (NCKFMASHTO) system show that a number of petrographically distinct hydration episodes occurred during exhumation from peak P–T conditions (~640 °C, 27–28 kbar), resulting in the formation of abundant compositionally zoned amphibole and minor clinozoisite poikiloblasts at the expense of a peak assemblage dominated by garnet and omphacite. Initial hydration is interpreted to have occurred as a result of the destabilization of talc following isothermal decompression to ~23 kbar, which led to the formation of barroisite–winchite amphibole core domains. An episode of fluid infiltration from an external source at ~19 kbar, with or without syn‐decompressional cooling to ~560 °C, resulted in further barroisitic–winchitic amphibole growth, followed by the formation of clinozoisite poikiloblasts. Continued buoyancy‐driven exhumation to the base of the lower crust is constrained to have taken place with no additional fluid input. A final hydration event is characterized by the formation of magnesiohornblende rims on the barroisite–winchite cores, with the former interpreted to have formed during later prograde overprinting in the middle crust associated with the final stages of exhumation. Notably, the vast majority of externally sourced H2O, comprising just over half of the current bulk rock fluid content, was added during this later hydration event. In a middle crustal setting, this is interpreted as the result of devolatilization reactions occurring in migmatitic host orthogneiss and/or metasedimentary units, or following the crystallization of partial melt.
Sero‐epidemiological survey for brucellosis, leptospirosis, and toxoplasmosis in free‐rangingAlouatta carayaandCallithrix penicillatafromSãoPaulo State,Brazil
Authors: Molina Camila Vieira , Catão‐Dias José Luiz , Ferreira Neto José Soares , Vasconcellos Silvio Arruda , Gennari Solange Maria , do Valle Rodrigo Del Rio , de Souza Gisele Oliveira , de Morais Zenaide Maria , Vitaliano Sérgio Netto , Strefezzi Ricardo De Francisco , Bueno Marina Galvão 
Published: March 2014

AbstractBackground and MethodsSera were tested forBrucella spp.,Leptospira spp. andToxoplasma gondiiantibodies in 68 free‐ranging New World monkeys from a forest fragment of the Brazilian Cerrado.Results and ConclusionAll animals were negative forBrucella spp. andLeptospira spp. However, 75% ofAlouatta carayaand 16.6% ofCallithrix penicillatawere positive forT. gondii. The implications for conservation and health management are discussed.