bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Patient perspectives on the promptness and quality of care of road traffic incident victims in Peru: a cross-sectional, active surveillance study
Authors: Miranda J Jaime , Rosales-Mayor Edmundo , Quistberg D Alex , Paca-Palao Ada , Gianella Camila , Perel Pablo , Lopez Luis , Luna Diego , Best Pablo , Huicho Luis ,   PIAT Working Group
Published: December 2013

Background: Road injuries are the second-leading cause of disease and injury in the Andean region of South America. Adequate management of road traffic crash victims is important to prevent and reduce deaths and serious long-term injuries. Objective: To evaluate the promptness of health care services provided to those injured in road traffic incidents (RTIs) and the satisfaction with those services during the pre-hospital and hospital periods. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with active surveillance to recruit participants in emergency departments at eight health care facilities in three Peruvian cities: a large metropolitan city (Lima) and two provincial cities (an urban center in the southern Andes and an urban center in the rainforest region), between August and September 2009. The main outcomes of interest were promptness of care, measured by time between injury and each service offered, as well as patient satisfaction measured by the Service Quality (SERVQUAL) survey. We explored the association between outcomes and city, type of health care facility (HCF), and type of provider. Results: We recruited 644 adults seeking care for RTIs. This active surveillance strategy yielded 34% more events than anticipated, suggesting under-reporting in traditional registries. Median response time between a RTI and any care at a HCF was 33 minutes overall and only 62% of participants received professional care during the initial “golden” hour after the RTI. After adjustment for various factors, there was strong evidence of higher global dissatisfaction levels among those receiving care at public HCFs compared to private ones (odds ratio (OR) 5.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.88-13.54). This difference was not observed when provincial sites were compared to Lima (OR 1.41, 95% CI 0.42-4.70). Conclusions: Response time to RTIs was adequate overall, though a large proportion of RTI victims could have received more prompt care. Overall, dissatisfaction was high, mainly at public institutions indicating much need for improvements in service provision.
Performance of Direct Estradiol Immunoassays with Human Male Serum Samples
Authors: Handelsman David J , Newman Julie D , Jimenez Mark , McLachlan Robert , Sartorius Gideon , Jones Graham R D 
Published: December 2013

AbstractBACKGROUNDSteroid immunoassays originally required solvent extraction, chromatography, and structurally authentic tracers to avoid interference from steroid cross-reactivity and matrix effects. The demand for steroid assays has driven assay simplification, bypassing this triplet of validity criteria to allow use of unextracted serum, which has introduced bias and nonspecificity at low steroid concentrations. We aimed to evaluate the performance of commercial direct estradiol (E2) immunoassays relative to the reference method of LC-MS and compared serum E2 measurements from each assay with biomarkers of estrogen action.METHODSWe measured serum E2 in duplicate using 5 commercial direct immunoassays and LC-MS in a nested cohort of 101 healthy, asymptomatic men &gt;40 years old from the Healthy Man Study. For each immunoassay, we evaluated the detectability and distribution of serum E2 measurements, CV, and bias (relative to LC-MS) by Passing–Bablok regression and deviance plots.RESULTSThree assays detected E2 in all samples, whereas E2 was detected in only 53% and 72% of samples by 2 other assays. All 5 assays had positive biases, ranging from 6% to 74%, throughout their ranges. CVs were lower with 4 immunoassays than with LC-MS. LC-MS, but none of the direct immunoassays, correlated with serum testosterone and sex steroid–binding globulin.CONCLUSIONSThe positive bias of direct E2 immunoassays throughout their working range reflects the nonspecific effects of steroid cross-reactivity and/or matrix interference arising from the violation of the triplet validity criteria for steroid immunoassay.
An Age-of-Allele Test of Neutrality for Transposable Element Insertions
Authors: Blumenstiel Justin P , Chen Xi , He Miaomiao , Bergman Casey M 
Published: December 2013

Abstract
How natural selection acts to limit the proliferation of transposable elements (TEs) in genomes has been of interest to evolutionary biologists for many years. To describe TE dynamics in populations, previous studies have used models of transposition–selection equilibrium that assume a constant rate of transposition. However, since TE invasions are known to happen in bursts through time, this assumption may not be reasonable. Here we propose a test of neutrality for TE insertions that does not rely on the assumption of a constant transposition rate. We consider the case of TE insertions that have been ascertained from a single haploid reference genome sequence. By conditioning on the age of an individual TE insertion allele (inferred by the number of unique substitutions that have occurred within the particular TE sequence since insertion), we determine the probability distribution of the insertion allele frequency in a population sample under neutrality. Taking models of varying population size into account, we then evaluate predictions of our model against allele frequency data from 190 retrotransposon insertions sampled from North American and African populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Using this nonequilibrium neutral model, we are able to explain ∼80% of the variance in TE insertion allele frequencies based on age alone. Controlling for both nonequilibrium dynamics of transposition and host demography, we provide evidence for negative selection acting against most TEs as well as for positive selection acting on a small subset of TEs. Our work establishes a new framework for the analysis of the evolutionary forces governing large insertion mutations like TEs, gene duplications, or other copy number variants.
The Novel Zinc Finger Protein dASCIZ Regulates Mitosis in Drosophila via an Essential Role in Dynein Light-Chain Expression
Authors: Zaytseva Olga , Tenis Nora , Mitchell Naomi , Kanno Shin-ichiro , Yasui Akira , Heierhorst Jörg , Quinn Leonie M 
Published: December 2013

Abstract
The essential zinc finger protein ASCIZ (also known as ATMIN, ZNF822) plays critical roles during lung organogenesis and B cell development in mice, where it regulates the expression of dynein light chain (DYNLL1/LC8), but its functions in other species including invertebrates are largely unknown. Here we report the identification of the Drosophila ortholog of ASCIZ (dASCIZ) and show that loss of dASCIZ function leads to pronounced mitotic delays with centrosome and spindle positioning defects during development, reminiscent of impaired dynein motor functions. Interestingly, similar mitotic and developmental defects were observed upon knockdown of the DYNLL/LC8-type dynein light chain Cutup (Ctp), and dASCIZ loss-of-function phenotypes could be suppressed by ectopic Ctp expression. Consistent with a genetic function of dASCIZ upstream of Ctp, we show that loss of dASCIZ led to reduced endogenous Ctp mRNA and protein levels and dramatically reduced Ctp–LacZ reporter gene activity in vivo, indicating that dASCIZ regulates development and mitosis as a Ctp transcription factor. We speculate that the more severe mitotic defects in the absence of ASCIZ in flies compared to mice may be due to redundancy with a second, ASCIZ-independent, Dynll2 gene in mammals in contrast to a single Ctp gene in Drosophila. Altogether, our data demonstrate that ASCIZ is an evolutionary highly conserved transcriptional regulator of dynein light-chain levels and a novel regulator of mitosis in flies.
Intergenic Transcriptional Interference Is Blocked by RNA Polymerase III Transcription Factor TFIIIB in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Korde Asawari , Rosselot Jessica M , Donze David 
Published: December 2013

Abstract
The major function of eukaryotic RNA polymerase III is to transcribe transfer RNA, 5S ribosomal RNA, and other small non-protein-coding RNA molecules. Assembly of the RNA polymerase III complex on chromosomal DNA requires the sequential binding of transcription factor complexes TFIIIC and TFIIIB. Recent evidence has suggested that in addition to producing RNA transcripts, chromatin-assembled RNA polymerase III complexes may mediate additional nuclear functions that include chromatin boundary, nucleosome phasing, and general genome organization activities. This study provides evidence of another such “extratranscriptional” activity of assembled RNA polymerase III complexes, which is the ability to block progression of intergenic RNA polymerase II transcription. We demonstrate that the RNA polymerase III complex bound to the tRNA gene upstream of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATG31 gene protects the ATG31 promoter against readthrough transcriptional interference from the upstream noncoding intergenic SUT467 transcription unit. This protection is predominately mediated by binding of the TFIIIB complex. When TFIIIB binding to this tRNA gene is weakened, an extended SUT467–ATG31 readthrough transcript is produced, resulting in compromised ATG31 translation. Since the ATG31 gene product is required for autophagy, strains expressing the readthrough transcript exhibit defective autophagy induction and reduced fitness under autophagy-inducing nitrogen starvation conditions. Given the recent discovery of widespread pervasive transcription in all forms of life, protection of neighboring genes from intergenic transcriptional interference may be a key extratranscriptional function of assembled RNA polymerase III complexes and possibly other DNA binding proteins.
Diverting electron fluxes towards sulfate reduction using linoleic acid in a mixed anaerobic culture
Authors: Sharma Mamata , Biswas Nihar 
Published: December 2013

Sulfate (1500  mg/L) reduction and glucose (1870  mg/L) degradation was examined in the presence of five varying linoleic acid (LA) levels (100  –  1000  mg/L) at 37  ±  2°C and pH 7·0  –  7·2. The sulfate reduction and methane formation data suggest that LA selectively inhibited methane producing bacteria (MPB). The quantity of sulfate removed increased with increasing LA dosage. Approximately 1375  mg/L (92%) sulfate was removed in cultures fed with high concentrations of LA (1000  mg/L), which was 68% more than that removed in glucose and sulfate controls. The quantity of sulfate removed in cultures fed with 100, 300, 500 and 700  mg/L LA were 62%, 66%, 77%, and 84%, respectively. Initial sulfate degradation rates increased with increasing LA levels in the cultures. High LA levels (1000  mg/L) attributed to approximately a sevenfold increase in the initial sulfate degradation rates compared to cultures containing sulfate plus glucose. The highest initial sulfate removal rate (0·19  µg/(mgVSS  min)) was observed in cultures receiving 1000  mg/L LA. Initial glucose degradation rates decreased with increasing LA concentrations. The rates for the cultures receiving 1000  mg/L LA were 2·53  µg/(mgVSS  min) while the degradation rate for cultures containing 100  mg/L LA was 5·40  µg/(mgVSS  min). Methane formation decreased when sulfate and LA were added. Methane formation was lowest in cultures receiving elevated LA concentrations. The percent electron flow fluxes increased towards sulfidogenesis and decreased towards methanogenesis with increasing LA levels. Less than 0·6% electron flow was diverted to methanogenesis in cultures containing high levels of LA (≥700  mg/L) while ≤ 45% was diverted to sulfidogenesis. Acetate and propionate were the major volatile fatty acids (VFAs) detected during glucose degradation. The amount of sulfate reduced in the cultures receiving only LA or sulfate and no other carbon source was comparable (approximately 10%), which suggests that LA did not contribute to electrons during the course of experiment for sulfate reduction.
Fractional nonlinear systems with sequential operators
Authors: Mozyrska Dorota , Girejko Ewa , Wyrwas Małgorzata 
Published: December 2013

Abstract
In the paper possible approximation of solutions to initial value problems stated for fractional nonlinear equations with sequential derivatives of Caputo type is presented. We proved that values of Caputo derivatives in continuous case can be approximated by corresponding values of h-difference operators with h being small enough. Numerical examples are presented.
Reduced-order anti-synchronization of the projections of the fractional order hyperchaotic and chaotic systems
Authors: Srivastava Mayank , Agrawal Saurabh , Das Subir 
Published: December 2013

Abstract
The article aims to study the reduced-order anti-synchronization between projections of fractional order hyperchaotic and chaotic systems using active control method. The technique is successfully applied for the pair of systems viz., fractional order hyperchaotic Lorenz system and fractional order chaotic Genesio-Tesi system. The sufficient conditions for achieving anti-synchronization between these two systems are derived via the Laplace transformation theory. The fractional derivative is described in Caputo sense. Applying the fractional calculus theory and computer simulation technique, it is found that hyperchaos and chaos exists in the fractional order Lorenz system and fractional order Genesio-Tesi system with order less than 4 and 3 respectively. The lowest fractional orders of hyperchaotic Lorenz system and chaotic Genesio-Tesi system are 3.92 and 2.79 respectively. Numerical simulation results which are carried out using Adams-Bashforth-Moulton method, shows that the method is reliable and effective for reduced order anti-synchronization.
First-principles calculations of structural, electronic and thermal properties of Zn1−x MgxS ternary alloys
Authors: Lamraoui Samia , Bensalem Rachid , Hacini Khadidja , Meradji Hocine , Ghemid Sebti , Hassan Fouad 
Published: December 2013

AbstractStructural, electronic and thermal properties of Zn1−x MgxS ternary alloys are studied by using the full potential-linearized augmented plane wave method (FP-LAPW) within the density functional theory (DFT). The Wu-Cohen generalized gradient approximation (WC-GGA) is used in this approach for the exchangecorrelation potential. Moreover, the modified Becke-Johnson approximation (mBJ) is adopted for band structure calculations. The dependence of the lattice constant, bulk modulus and band gap on the composition x showed that the first exhibits a small deviation from the Vegard’s law, whereas, a marginal deviation of the second from linear concentration dependence (LCD). The bowing of the fundamental gap versus composition predicted by our calculations agrees well with the available theoretical data. The microscopic origins of the gap bowing are explained by using the approach of Zunger and co-workers. Thermal effects on some macroscopic properties of Zn1−x MgxS alloys are also investigated using the quasi-harmonic Debye model, in which the phononic effects are considered. As, this is the first quantitative theoretical prediction of the thermal properties of Zn1−x MgxS alloys, no other calculated results and furthermore no experimental studies are available for comparison.
Complex lag synchronization of two identical chaotic complex nonlinear systems
Authors: Mahmoud Emad , Abualnaja Kholod 
Published: December 2013

AbstractMuch progress has been made in the research of synchronization for chaotic real or complex nonlinear systems. In this paper we introduce a new type of synchronization which can be studied only for chaotic complex nonlinear systems. This type of synchronization may be called complex lag synchronization (CLS). A definition of CLS is introduced and investigated for two identical chaotic complex nonlinear systems. Based on Lyapunov function a scheme is designed to achieve CLS of chaotic attractors of these systems. The effectiveness of the obtained results is illustrated by a simulation example. Numerical results are plotted to show state variables, modulus errors and phase errors of these chaotic attractors after synchronization to prove that CLS is achieved.
Spectroscopic properties of the Pr3+ ion in TeO2-WO3-PbO-La2O3 and TeO2-WO3-PbO-Lu2O3 glasses
Authors: Burtan Bożena , Sitarz Maciej , Lisiecki Radosław , Ryba-Romanowski Witold , Jeleń Piotr , Cisowski Jan , Reben Manuela 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThe goal of this work was to investigate the spectroscopic properties of Pr3+ ions, embedded in two different tellurite glass matrices, TeO2-WO3-PbO-La2O3 and TeO2-WO3-PbO-Lu2O3. The absorption and fluorescence spectra have been recorded and analyzed in terms of the Judd-Ofelt theory along with the luminescence decay of the 3P0 and 1D2 levels of the Pr3+ ion. The spectroscopic studies were completed with ellipsometric measurements providing the dispersion relation of the refractive index of the investigated glasses.
Exploration of the in vitro cytotoxic and antiviral activities of different medicinal plants against infectious bursal disease (IBD) virus
Authors: Ahmad Waqas , Ejaz Sohail , Anwar Khaleeq , Ashraf Muhammad 
Published: December 2013

Abstract
Infectious bursal disease (IBD) caused by non-enveloped double stranded RNA virus is an acute and contagious poultry disease. Outbreak of IBD could result in 10–75% mortality of the birds; hence it has gained socio-economic importance worldwide. Medicinal plants have shown broad spectrum anti-viral activities against RNA and DNA viruses. Moringa oleifera Lam (MOL), Phyllanthus emblicus Linn (PEL), Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn (GGL), and Eugenia jambolana Lam (EJL) are commonly available medicinal plants of the sub-continent and exhibited anti-viral potential against different viruses. Ethanolic extracts of the leaves of MOL and EJL, roots of GGL and dried fruit of PEL were investigated for their cytotoxic and anti-viral potential against IBD virus using MTT colorimetric assay and anti-viral assay. Significant anti-viral potential (P<0.001) was demonstrated at concentrations 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 µg ml−1 of GGL, PEL, MOL and EJL, respectively, with no cytotoxicity. Data also spotlighted that all tested plant extracts possess significant anti-viral potential and this trend was higher in GGL followed by PEL, MOL, and EJL. The data undoubtedly conclude that these medicinal plants contain several health beneficial phyto-chemicals which got significant anti-viral potential and effectively be utilized against IBD virus. Moreover, the outcomes of this study provide a platform on the way to discover novel anti-viral agents against IBD virus and other viruses from plant origin.
Effect of irrigation on yield parameters and antioxidant profiles of processing cherry tomato
Authors: Pék Zoltán , Szuvandzsiev Péter , Daood Hussein , Neményi András , Helyes Lajos 
Published: December 2013

AbstractA two-year (2010 and 2011) open field experiment was conducted to study the effect of drip irrigation and seasonal variation on the yield parameters and main bioactive components, carotenoids (mainly all trans, cis lycopene, and β-carotene), polyphenols (chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, gallic acid, quercetin, rutin, naringin, etc.), and tocopherols of processing Strombolino F1 cherry tomatoes. The irrigated plants (STI) gave a higher marketable yield (61% and 101% respectively), and rain fed plants showed a yield loss. Water supply had a strong positive (R2=0.98) effect on marketable yield in 2011, but weak (R2=0.69) in 2010. In both years, the antioxidant concentration (all carotenoids, total polyphenols, tocopherols) showed a decrease with irrigation. Water supply affected the composition of carotenoids to a considerable extent. The optimum water supply treatment gave a lower proportion of lycopene than the rain fed control (STC) treatment. We observed significant negative correlation between rutin concentration and irrigation. The α-tocopherol concentration was significantly higher in STC treatments. Irrigation negatively influenced antioxidant concentrations of cherry tomato fruits, but higher yield could account for the concentration loss of individual fruits by higher antioxidant production per unit area.
Prevalence and phenology of white-nose syndrome fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans in bats from Poland
Authors: Sachanowicz Konrad , Stępień Arkadiusz , Ciechanowski Mateusz 
Published: December 2013

AbstractPseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), a parasitic fungus (being responsible for a disease known as white-nose syndrome, WNS) that caused mass mortality of cave-dwelling, hibernating bats in North America, appears to be native of Europe, where it also occurs on wintering bats, but no similar outbreaks of WNS have been recorded. Herein, we provide the first account on prevalence and phenology of P. destructans in Poland. Bats were counted once per month, from October or January to May (2010-2013), in an abandoned ore mine in southern Poland. Presence of P. destructans in two samples was confirmed by sequencing of isolated fungal DNA. Observations of phenotypically identical mycosis on bats hibernating at this site in March 2006 are likely to be the first known records of P. destructans from Poland. All Pd-suspected individuals were Myotis myotis with an exception of one Myotis daubentonii. The first Pd-suspected bats were noted in mid-February, but their number was the highest in March, what overlapped with maximum numbers of hibernating M. myotis. The prevalence in March was 7%–27% of M. myotis individuals. No mass mortality of bats was observed in the mine, with only three dead individuals found in the hibernaculum which hosted up to 130 bats, representing 6–7 species.
Microthermomechanical infrared sensors
Authors: Steffanson M. , Rangelow I. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractWe present a state-of-the-art overview of microthermomechanical infrared sensor technology. The working principle of this sensor is based on a bi-material actuated micromechanical deflection, generated by an induced temperature rise due to incident infrared radiation absorption. In order to generate a thermal image the thermomechanical deflections of the freestanding microstructures are read by either capacitive, piezoresistive or optical means. Research and development activities in this field began in the early 1990s. The development of this technology within the last 20 years has resulted in innovations such as uncooled multiband infrared detection, high-speed infrared sensing and uncooled THz imaging. This paper outlines representative milestones of this technology and analyses important results of notable groups. Significant activities on capacitive and optical readout techniques of thermomechanical infrared arrays are presented. Furthermore the advantages of microthermomechanical infrared sensors over current well-established uncooled infrared technologies are summarized. In conclusion the latest developments of this technology offer a highly potential solution for a variety of important energy-saving, safety and security applications.