bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Review on Energetic Thermoplastic Elastomers (ETPEs) for Military Science
Authors: Kanti Sikder Arun , Reddy Sreekantha 
Published: December 2012

AbstractEnergetic thermoplastic elastomers (ETPE) are futuristic binders for propellant/explosive formulations. Various aspects of ETPEs are addressed in this review. Synthesis modes of different copolymers for ETPEs are discussed. Attention is also given to formulations and thermal studies of ETPE‐based propellants and explosives. Processing methods and parameters of composition are included. As the cost and environmental concerns are prime factors of future generation propellants/explosives, the recovery and reprocessing methods are also briefly discussed.
Cardiac Remodeling in Obese Patients After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy
Authors: Cavarretta Elena , Casella Giovanni , Calì Benedetto , Dammaro Carmelisa , Biondi‐Zoccai Giuseppe , Iossa Angelo , Leonetti Frida , Frati Giacomo , Basso Nicola 
Published: December 2012

AbstractBackgroundObesity is associated with high morbidity and represents an increasing health care problem worldwide. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has been used effectively for weight loss and co‐morbidity remission. In this retrospective study, we evaluated cardiac reverse remodeling at medium‐term follow‐up by echocardiography, the amount of cardiovascular medications, and the impact of co‐morbidities after sleeve gastrectomy.MethodsAltogether, 16 obese patients (4 men, 12 women; 46.4 ± 10.3 years) underwent complete clinical evaluation, laboratory tests, and color Doppler/tissue Doppler imaging echocardiography preoperatively and 12–20 months after bariatric surgery.ResultsBody weight (mean body mass index) was significantly reduced (from 44.8 ± 8.0 to 31.2 ± 7.8 kg/m2; p = 0.001). Lipid profile significantly improved: total cholesterol and triglycerides decreased (respectively: 215.5 ± 53.8 vs. 205.3 ± 46.6 mg/dl and 184.9 ± 109.3 vs. 116.1 ± 49.9 mg/dl, both p ≤ 0.05), and high‐density lipoprotein increased (43.1 ± 10.9 vs. 51.4 ± 12.8 mg/dl, p = 0.005). Systolic blood pressure significantly decreased (from 133.0 ± 17.1 to 120.6 ± 13.7 mmHg; p = 0.04). Diabetes remission was complete in five of six patients (83 %) and sleep apnea in four of five (80 %). Echocardiography showed significantly reduced interventricular septum and posterior wall thickness (11.3 ± 1.8 to 9.4 ± 2.1 mm and 10.4 ± 1.7 to 8.6 ± 1.9 mm, respectively; both p < 0.007) and reduced left ventricular mass (absolute value and indexed by height, respectively: 222.41 ± 78.2 to 172.75 ± 66.3 g (p = 0.003) and 55.9 ± 14.3 to 43.8 ± 17.2 g/m2.7 (p = 0.0004). Antihypertensive drug intake was significantly reduced (p = 0.03), as shown by the 10‐year Framingham Risk Score (from 14.2 ± 9.3 to 8.3 ± 9.5 %, p = 0.003).ConclusionsSleeve gastrectomy is associated with marked improvement in terms of weight loss, lipid profile, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, and left ventricular hypertrophy, with a significantly reduced Framingham Risk Score.
Newborn Screening for SCID Identifies Patients with Ataxia Telangiectasia
Authors: Mallott Jacob , Kwan Antonia , Church Joseph , Gonzalez-Espinosa Diana , Lorey Fred , Tang Ling Fung , Sunderam Uma , Rana Sadhna , Srinivasan Rajgopal , Brenner Steven E. , Puck Jennifer 
Published: December 2012

Abstract

Purpose
Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is characterized by failure of T lymphocyte development and absent or very low T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs), DNA byproducts of T cell maturation. Newborn screening for TRECs to identify SCID is now performed in several states using PCR of DNA from universally collected dried blood spots (DBS). In addition to infants with typical SCID, TREC screening identifies infants with T lymphocytopenia who appear healthy and in whom a SCID diagnosis cannot be confirmed. Deep sequencing was employed to find causes of T lymphocytopenia in such infants.

Methods
Whole exome sequencing and analysis were performed in infants and their parents. Upon finding deleterious mutations in the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene, we confirmed the diagnosis of ataxia telangiectasia (AT) in two infants and then tested archival newborn DBS of additional AT patients for TREC copy number.

Results
Exome sequencing and analysis led to 2 unsuspected gene diagnoses of AT. Of 13 older AT patients for whom newborn DBS had been stored, 7 samples tested positive for SCID under the criteria of California’s newborn screening program. AT children with low neonatal TRECs had low CD4 T cell counts subsequently detected (R = 0.64).

Conclusions
T lymphocytopenia in newborns can be a feature of AT, as revealed by TREC screening and exome sequencing. Although there is no current cure for the progressive neurological impairment of AT, early detection permits avoidance of infectious complications, while providing information for families regarding reproductive recurrence risks and increased cancer risks in patients and carriers.
Dynamic Analysis and Preliminary Evaluation of a Spring-Loaded Upper Limb Exoskeleton for Resistance Training with Overload Prevention
Authors: Wu T.-M. , Chen D.-Z. 
Published: December 2012

ABSTRACTResistance training has been shown to be effective for developing musculoskeletal strength and is recommended by many major health organizations, such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. This form of training is available for most populations, including adolescents, healthy adults, the elderly, and the clinical population. Resistance training equipment design relies heavily on the analysis of human movement. Dynamic models of human movement help researchers identify key forces, movements, and movement patterns that should be measured. An at-home resistance training upper limb exoskeleton has been designed with a three-degree-of-freedom shoulder joint and a one-degree-of-freedom elbow joint to allow movement of the upper limb at single and multiple joints in different planes. The exoskeleton can continuously increase the resistance as the spring length changes to train more muscle groups and to reduce the potential risk of muscle injury to the upper limb by free weights and training equipment. The objectives of this research were to develop a dynamic model of the spring-loaded upper limb exoskeleton and to evaluate this model by adopting an appropriate motion analysis system to verify our hypotheses and to determine the optimal configuration of a spring-loaded upper limb exoskeleton for further verification studies.
Medieval business networks: St Mary's guild and the borough court in later medieval Nottingham
Authors: GODDARD RICHARD 
Published: December 2012

ABSTRACT:Historians have suggested that medieval urban guilds played a role in political and commercial networking. Guilds’ commercial protectionism was designed to benefit their membership and close ties have been discovered between merchant guilds and urban oligarchies. This article asks if all guilds should be viewed as commercial networking hubs. It uses evidence from a later fourteenth-century membership roll of St Mary's guild in Nottingham in conjunction with Nottingham's borough court rolls to analyse the commercial connections between members and non-members in that period. It concludes that the guild did not function as a networking hub.
‘The city in our hands’: urban management and contested modernity in nineteenth-century Belgrade
Authors: JOVANOVIĆ MILOŠ 
Published: December 2012

ABSTRACT:This article examines the image of the city and notions of urban management in the discourse of elite groups in Belgrade between 1830 and the late 1860s. It focuses on the negotiation of modernity in heterogeneous cultural spaces, particularly looking at the textual interplay of power, orientalized exoticism and notions of backwardness. These discourses were integral to the processes of managing urban populations and homogenizing the cityscape. The city's specific political situation as a site of dual authority, however, left room for minor acts of contestation which questioned the primacy of exclusion and dispossession as bases for modern urban transformation. This dynamic interplay framed the city as a site of conflict between mutually defining forces of ‘Europeanization’ and ‘backwardness’.
The celebration, condemnation and reinterpretation of the Geddes plan, 1925: the dynamic planning history of Tel Aviv
Authors: HYSLER RUBIN NOAH 
Published: December 2012

ABSTRACT:The article presents the short urban history of Tel Aviv as a case-study for critical readings in urban planning. Focusing on Patrick Geddes’ celebrated plan for the city (1925) and its various interpretations along the years, the main claim made in the article is that when present planners are confronted with a past which does not suit current needs, history is contested, or reinvented entirely. The appreciation of Geddes’ plan over the years always reflected the city's contemporary image and its planners’ attitudes, which initially reflected the pioneering spirits of the city's Zionist creation. The plan was later blamed for the city's deterioration; and finally celebrated again, alongside the city's new found architectural heritage and urban spirit.
Beyond Patronage: Violent Struggle, Ruling Party Cohesion, and Authoritarian Durability
Authors: Levitsky Steven R. , Way Lucan A. 
Published: December 2012

We explore the sources of durability of party-based authoritarian regimes in the face of crisis. Recent scholarship on authoritarianism suggests that ruling parties enhance elite cohesion—and consequently, regime durability—by providing institutionalized access the spoils of power. We argue, by contrast, that while elite access to power and spoils may ensure elite cooperation during normal times, it often fails to do so during crises. Instead, the identities, norms, and organizational structures forged during periods of sustained, violent, and ideologically-driven conflict are a critical source of cohesion—and durability—in party-based authoritarian regimes. Origins in violent conflict raise the cost of defection and provide leaders with additional (non-material) resources that can be critical to maintaining unity and discipline, even when a crisis threatens the party's hold on power. Hence, where ruling parties combine mechanisms of patronage distribution with the strong identities, solidarity ties, and discipline generated by violent origins, regimes should be most durable.We apply this argument to four party-based competitive authoritarian regimes in post-Cold War Africa: Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In each of these cases, an established single- or dominant-party regime faced heightened international pressure, economic crisis, and a strong opposition challenge after 1990. Yet whereas ruling parties in Kenya and Zambia were organized almost exclusively around patronage, those in Mozambique and Zimbabwe were liberation parties that came to power via violent struggle. This difference is critical to explaining diverging post-Cold War regime outcomes: whereas ruling parties in Zambia and Kenya imploded and eventually lost power in these face of crises, those in Mozambique and Zimbabwe remained intact and regimes survived.
Different molecular mechanisms involved in spontaneous and oxidative stress-induced mitochondrial fragmentation in tripeptidyl peptidase-1 (TPP-1)-deficient fibroblasts
Authors: Van Beersel Guillaume , Tihon Eliane , Demine Stéphane , Hamer Isabelle , Jadot Michel , Arnould Thierry 
Published: December 2012

NCLs (neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses) form a group of eight inherited autosomal recessive diseases characterized by the intralysosomal accumulation of autofluorescent pigments, called ceroids. Recent data suggest that the pathogenesis of NCL is associated with the appearance of fragmented mitochondria with altered functions. However, even if an impairement in the autophagic pathway has often been evoked, the molecular mechanisms leading to mitochondrial fragmentation in response to a lysosomal dysfunction are still poorly understood. In this study, we show that fibroblasts that are deficient for the TPP-1 (tripeptidyl peptidase-1), a lysosomal hydrolase encoded by the gene mutated in the LINCL (late infantile NCL, CLN2 form) also exhibit a fragmented mitochondrial network. This morphological alteration is accompanied by an increase in the expression of the protein BNIP3 (Bcl2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa interacting protein 3) as well as a decrease in the abundance of mitofusins 1 and 2, two proteins involved in mitochondrial fusion. Using RNAi (RNA interference) and quantitative analysis of the mitochondrial morphology, we show that the inhibition of BNIP3 expression does not result in an increase in the reticulation of the mitochondrial population in LINCL cells. However, this protein seems to play a key role in cell response to mitochondrial oxidative stress as it sensitizes mitochondria to antimycin A-induced fragmentation. To our knowledge, our results bring the first evidence of a mechanism that links TPP-1 deficiency and oxidative stress-induced changes in mitochondrial morphology.
The kinetic properties of a human PPIP5K reveal that its kinase activities are protected against the consequences of a deteriorating cellular bioenergetic environment
Authors: Weaver Jeremy D. , Wang Huanchen , Shears Stephen B. 
Published: December 2012

We obtained detailed kinetic characteristics–stoichiometry, reaction rates, substrate affinities and equilibrium conditions–of human PPIP5K2 (diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate kinase 2). This enzyme synthesizes ‘high-energy’ PP-InsPs (diphosphoinositol polyphosphates) by metabolizing InsP6 (inositol hexakisphosphate) and 5-InsP7 (5-diphosphoinositol 1,2,3,4,6-pentakisphosphate) to 1-InsP7 (1-diphosphoinositol 2,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate) and InsP8 (1,5-bis-diphosphoinositol 2,3,4,6-tetrakisphosphate), respectively. These data increase our insight into the PPIP5K2 reaction mechanism and clarify the interface between PPIP5K catalytic activities and cellular bioenergetic status. For example, stochiometric analysis uncovered non-productive, substrate-stimulated ATPase activity (thus, approximately 2 and 1.2 ATP molecules are utilized to synthesize each molecule of 1-InsP7 and InsP8, respectively). Impaired ATPase activity of a PPIP5K2-K248A mutant increased atomic-level insight into the enzyme's reaction mechanism. We found PPIP5K2 to be fully reversible as an ATP-synthase in vitro, but our new data contradict previous perceptions that significant ‘reversibility’ occurs in vivo. PPIP5K2 was insensitive to physiological changes in either [AMP] or [ATP]/[ADP] ratios. Those data, together with adenine nucleotide kinetics (ATP Km=20–40 μM), reveal how insulated PPIP5K2 is from cellular bioenergetic challenges. Finally, the specificity constants for PPIP5K2 revise upwards by one-to-two orders of magnitude the inherent catalytic activities of this enzyme, and we show its equilibrium point favours 80–90% depletion of InsP6/5-InsP7.
Sperm Quality of Hatchery-Reared Lake Trout Throughout the Spawning Season
Authors: Johnson Katelynn , Butts Ian A E , Wilson Chris C , Pitcher Trevor E 
Published: December 2012

Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate variation in sperm quality metrics (motility, velocity, linearity, longevity, and density) of hatchery-reared Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush throughout the spawning season. Seasonal variation in sperm quality was investigated using both a regression and repeated-measures approach. Sperm was collected from the same 16 individuals over four sampling periods, separated by 3-week intervals. Regression analyses showed that 7–27% of the variation in sperm traits could be explained by seasonal variation, indicating that seasonality can have a significant impact on the quality of sperm. Significant positive linear relationships were found for percent motility and linearity at 5 s postactivation. Significant negative quadratic relationships were found for velocity at 5 s postactivation, longevity, and density, whereas a positive quadratic relationship was found for linearity at 10 s postactivation. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed a significant effect of season for percent motility and linearity at 5 and 10 s postactivation, velocity at 10 s postactivation, and longevity. Our findings are important for optimizing fertilization protocols for hatchery production and can also be used to understand reproductive biology and ecology of wild Lake Trout stocks.
Population-Based Incidence of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae along the Continuum of Care, Los Angeles County
Authors: Marquez Patricia , Terashita Dawn , Dassey David , Mascola Laurene 
Published: December 2012

Objective.Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is an emerging multidrug-resistant pathogen associated with higher mortality, longer hospital stays, and increased costs. CRKP was thought to be sporadic in Los Angeles County (LAC); however, the actual incidence is unknown. To address this, LAC declared CRKP a laboratory-reportable disease on June 1, 2010.Design.Laboratory-based community-wide surveillance.Patients.Any individual who was identified as CRKP positive. CRKP was defined as a K. pneumoniae isolate resistant to all carbapenems by 2010 Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute criteria.Methods.Laboratory directors of 102 LAC acute care hospitals (ACHs) and 5 reference laboratories were to submit susceptibility testing results for all CRKP-positive specimens. Positive specimens from the same patient within the same calendar month of previous culture were excluded.Results.A total of 814 reports were received from June 1, 2010, through May 31, 2011, from 69 laboratories; 675 (83%) met the case definition. Cases were reported from ACHs (387 [57%]), long-term ACHs (LTACs; 231 [34%]), and skilled nursing facilities (57 [8%]); an outbreak in 1 LTAC was identified. The pooled mean incidence rate in LAC ACHs and LTACs was 0.46 per 1,000 patient-days; the rate in LTACs (2.54 per 1,000 patient-days) was higher than that in ACHs (0.31 per 1,000 patient-days; P < .001). Sixty-five individuals had multiple incidences, accounting for 147 case reports.Conclusion.CRKP is more present in LAC than suspected. Rates were consistently higher in LTACs than in ACHs. Heightened awareness of this problem is needed in all LAC healthcare facilities, as patients access services along the continuum of care.
Adult–Child Interactions in the Postanesthesia Care Unit
Authors: Chorney Jill MacLaren , Tan Edwin T. , Kain Zeev N. 
Published: December 2012

Abstract

Background:
Many children experience significant distress before and after surgery. Previous studies indicate that healthcare providers’ and parents’ behaviors may influence children’s outcomes. This study examines the influence of adults’ behaviors on children’s distress and coping in the postanesthesia care unit.

Methods:
Children aged 2–10 yr were videotaped during their postanesthesia care unit stay (n = 146). Adult and child behaviors were coded from video, including the onset, duration, and order of behaviors. Correlations were used to examine relations between behaviors, and time-window sequential statistical analyses were used to examine whether adult behaviors cued or followed children’s distress and coping.

Results:
Sequential analysis demonstrated that children were significantly less likely to become distressed after an adult used empathy, distraction, or coping/assurance talk than they were at any other time. Conversely, if a child was already distressed, children were significantly more likely to remain distressed if an adult used reassurance or empathy than they were at any other time. Children were more likely to display coping behavior (e.g., distraction, nonprocedural talk) after an adult used this behavior.

Conclusions:
Adults can influence children’s distress and coping in the postanesthesia care unit. Empathy, distraction, and assurance talk may be helpful in keeping a child from becoming distressed, and nonprocedural talk and distraction may cue children to cope. Reassurance should be avoided when a child is already distressed.
Mitochondrial Targeting of theArabidopsisF1-ATPase γ-Subunit via Multiple Compensatory and Synergistic Presequence Motifs
Authors: Lee Sumin , Lee Dong Wook , Yoo Yun-Joo , Duncan Owen , Oh Young Jun , Lee Yong Jik , Lee Goeun , Whelan James , Hwang Inhwan 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThe majority of mitochondrial proteins are encoded in the nuclear genome and imported into mitochondria posttranslationally from the cytosol. An N-terminal presequence functions as the signal for the import of mitochondrial proteins. However, the functional information in the presequence remains elusive. This study reports the identification of critical sequence motifs from the presequence of Arabidopsis thaliana F1-ATPase γ-subunit (pFAγ). pFAγ was divided into six 10–amino acid segments, designated P1 to P6 from the N to the C terminus, each of which was further divided into two 5–amino acid subdivisions. These P segments and their subdivisions were substituted with Ala residues and fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP). Protoplast targeting experiments using these GFP constructs revealed that pFAγ contains several functional sequence motifs that are dispersed throughout the presequence. The sequence motifs DQEEG (P4a) and VVRNR (P5b) were involved in translocation across the mitochondrial membranes. The sequence motifs IAARP (P2b) and IAAIR (P3a) participated in binding to mitochondria. The sequence motifs RLLPS (P2a) and SISTQ (P5a) assisted in pulling proteins into the matrix, and the sequence motif IAARP (P2b) functioned in Tom20-dependent import. In addition, these sequence motifs exhibit complex relationships, including synergistic functions. Thus, multiple sequence motifs dispersed throughout the presequence are proposed to function cooperatively during protein import into mitochondria.
Germline-Specific MATH-BTB Substrate Adaptor MAB1 Regulates Spindle Length and Nuclei Identity in Maize
Authors: Juranić Martina , Srilunchang Kanok-orn , Krohn Nádia Graciele , Leljak-Levanić Dunja , Sprunck Stefanie , Dresselhaus Thomas 
Published: December 2012

AbstractGermline and early embryo development constitute ideal model systems to study the establishment of polarity, cell identity, and asymmetric cell divisions (ACDs) in plants. We describe here the function of the MATH-BTB domain protein MAB1 that is exclusively expressed in the germ lineages and the zygote of maize (Zea mays). mab1 (RNA interference [RNAi]) mutant plants display chromosome segregation defects and short spindles during meiosis that cause insufficient separation and migration of nuclei. After the meiosis-to-mitosis transition, two attached nuclei of similar identity are formed in mab1 (RNAi) mutants leading to an arrest of further germline development. Transient expression studies of MAB1 in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Bright Yellow-2 cells revealed a cell cycle–dependent nuclear localization pattern but no direct colocalization with the spindle apparatus. MAB1 is able to form homodimers and interacts with the E3 ubiquitin ligase component Cullin 3a (CUL3a) in the cytoplasm, likely as a substrate-specific adapter protein. The microtubule-severing subunit p60 of katanin was identified as a candidate substrate for MAB1, suggesting that MAB1 resembles the animal key ACD regulator Maternal Effect Lethal 26 (MEL-26). In summary, our findings provide further evidence for the importance of posttranslational regulation for asymmetric divisions and germline progression in plants and identified an unstable key protein that seems to be involved in regulating the stability of a spindle apparatus regulator(s).