bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Variation in pathogenicity among the three subspecies ofPhytophthora alnion detached leaves, twigs and branches ofAlnus glutinosa
Authors: Haque M. M. U. , Martín‐García J. , Diez J. J. 
Published: May 2015

SummaryPathogenicity tests were carried out on leaves, twigs and branches ofAlnus glutinosausing several isolates ofPhytophthora alnissp.alni,P. alnissp.multiformisandP. alnissp.uniformis in vitro. Healthy fresh leaves were collected from disease‐free areas and inoculated with mycelium on agar discs or by dipping in zoospore suspensions. In addition, twigs and branches were collected from both disease‐free and disease‐affected areas, inoculated with mycelium on agar discs and incubated at four temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30°C). All subspecies tested were pathogenic but with varied level of virulence. In inoculation tests on foliage, wounding was a key factor in causing infections: lesions on inoculated wounded leaves were larger than on non‐wounded leaves. In the twig and branch inoculation tests, no differences in virulence were observed among theP. alnisubspecies in terms of sampling locations, but lesions differed in size according to incubation temperature, with the largest lesions occurring on tissues incubated at 25°C. The work is the first to report foliar necrosis caused byP. alnionA. glutinosa.P. alnissp.uniformiswas the least virulent of the subspecies in branch inoculations. These findings demonstrate that various tissues ofA. glutinosacould act as sources of pathogen inoculum and may disseminate alderPhytophthorain natural ecosystems.
Current use of active surveillance for localized prostate cancer: A nationwide survey in Japan
Authors: Mitsuzuka Koji , Koga Hirofumi , Sugimoto Mikio , Arai Yoichi , Ohyama Chikara , Kakehi Yoshiyuki , Naito Seiji 
Published: May 2015

AbstractObjectiveTo understand the current practice pattern of active surveillance using a nationwide survey among Japanese urologists.MethodsA new questionnaire about active surveillance was developed and mailed to 863 training institutes in January 2014. The questionnaire included indications for active surveillance, percentage of active surveillance for localized prostate cancer, problems with active surveillance, which protocol was used, timing of first repeat biopsy, use of prostate‐specific antigen or doubling time and use of magnetic resonance imaging.ResultsA total of 2133 Japanese urologists in the 632 training institutes answered the questionnaire. The median age was 42 years (26–84 years). Of the responders, 26.9% had no use of active surveillance for localized prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Research International: Active Surveillance criteria were most frequently used (29.7%), followed by a low‐risk group without a definitive follow‐up protocol (29.4%). Regarding repeat biopsy, 40.6% carried it out at 1 year after active surveillance initiation, but 24.1% did not usually carry it out and 31.8% carried it out only when they considered it necessary. Magnetic resonance imaging was used routinely in 22.2% and as required in 67.6%. Re‐biopsy or magnetic resonance imaging was less carried out in general hospitals than in universities. The percentage of no usual repeat biopsy was significantly higher in urologists who had more than 10 years of experience. Repeat biopsies (60.3%), inadequate inclusion criteria (49.9%), psychological burden for patients (43.7%), unexpected progression (41.1%) and unknown long‐term outcomes (40.6%) were considered the major problems of active surveillance in the responders.ConclusionsThe practice pattern of active surveillance varies widely among Japanese urologists. It is necessary to gain a correct understanding of active surveillance.
A proteomic approach to obesity and type 2 diabetes
Authors: López‐Villar Elena , Martos‐Moreno Gabriel Á. , Chowen Julie A. , Okada Shigeru , Kopchick John J. , Argente Jesús 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThe incidence of obesity and type diabetes 2 has increased dramatically resulting in an increased interest in its biomedical relevance. However, the mechanisms that trigger the development of diabetes type 2 in obese patients remain largely unknown. Scientific, clinical and pharmaceutical communities are dedicating vast resources to unravel this issue by applying different omics tools. During the last decade, the advances in proteomic approaches and the Human Proteome Organization have opened and are opening a new door that may be helpful in the identification of patients at risk and to improve current therapies. Here, we briefly review some of the advances in our understanding of type 2 diabetes that have occurred through the application of proteomics. We also review, in detail, the current improvements in proteomic methodologies and new strategies that could be employed to further advance our understanding of this pathology. By applying these new proteomic advances, novel therapeutic and/or diagnostic protein targets will be discovered in the obesity/Type 2 diabetes area.
Structural positioning of nurse leaders and empowerment
Authors: Hughes Kerri‐ann , Carryer Jennifer Barbara , White Jill 
Published: May 2015

Aims and ObjectivesTo analyse the reporting structures of nursing leaders of publicly funded hospitals and seek both the views of nurse leaders and Chief Executive Officers/Chief Operating Officers on the structural positioning of nurse leaders in the organisation.BackgroundConcern that the continuing restructuring within hospital structures and focus on economic outputs in health services is diminishing the value of nursing leadership.DesignQualitative surveys with Nursing leaders and Chief Executive Officers of public hospitals.MethodsSeventeen Directors of Nursing and 10 Chief Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officers’ responses were received using two semi‐structured questionnaires. Themes were developed from data coded and analysed by hand.ResultsFour broad themes emerged from analysis of the data: (1) variable positional reporting between Director of Nursing and Chief Executive Officers occurred; (2) variable levels of inclusion and influence at the executive decision‐making level; (3) ambiguous financial responsibilities and accountabilities held by Director of Nursing; and (4) blurred lines existed between operational and professional reporting lines. Findings unique to the research indicate that the varying levels of visibility and inclusion impact on the structural positioning of nurse leaders which influences authority and empowerment.ConclusionResponses from the data analysis indicate that the structural power of nurse leaders defined by the factors of opportunity, power and proportion were hindered by dual accountability reporting lines and a lack of financial control.Relevance to clinical practiceThe structural positioning of nurse leaders is vital to ensure that they are empowered and able to meet the adaptations required in a changing environment that supports the delivery of effective, quality healthcare.
The Human Right to Food as Political Imaginary
Authors: López José Julián 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThe overwhelmingly normative nature of the study of Economic, Social, and Cultural (ESC) human rights enablesESCrights to function in their default settings as taken for granted norms and principles, originating in international agreements. This paper, instead, probes the social and historical “thingness” ofESChuman rights themselves. It analyses the emergence of the Human Right to Food (HRF), and proposes a sociological model, political imaginary, as an explanatory tool to identify the historical socio‐discursive conditions of the emergence of theHRF. It uses this model to understand FoodFirst Internal Action Network (FIAN)'s contributions to the development of theHRF.
Oral perception of liquid volume changes with age
Authors: Kamarunas E. , McCullough G. H. , Mennemeier M. , Munn T. 
Published: May 2015

SummaryBolus volume has been widely studied, and research has demonstrated a variety of physiological impacts on swallowing and swallowing disorders. Oral perception of bolus volume has not, to our knowledge, been investigated in association with normal ageing processes. Research suggests many sensory changes with age, some within the oral cavity, and changes in swallowing function with age have been defined. The role of perception in oropharyngeal deglutition with age requires further investigation. The purpose of this study was to establish the psychophysical relationship between liquid volume and oral perception and examine changes with age. Healthy young and older adults were prospectively assessed using a magnitude estimation task differentiating five volumes of water delivered randomly to the oral cavity. Results suggest a fourfold increase in liquid volume is required by older participants to perceive an approximate twofold increase in the perception of volume compared with younger healthy adults. Sensory receptors in the oral cavity provide a feedback loop that modulates the swallowing motor response so that it is optimal for the size and consistency of the bolus. Changes in perception of bolus volume with age are consistent with other perceptual changes and may provide valuable information regarding sensorineural rehabilitation strategies in the future.
Interactive regulation by the Bacillus subtilis global regulators CodY and ScoC
Authors: Belitsky Boris R. , Barbieri Giulia , Albertini Alessandra M. , Ferrari Eugenio , Strauch Mark A. , Sonenshein Abraham L. 
Published: May 2015

SummaryCodY and ScoC are Bacillus subtilis transcriptional regulators that control the expression of dozens of genes and operons. Using scoC–lacZ fusions and DNA‐binding experiments, we show here that scoC is directly repressed by CodY. This effect creates multiple forms of cascade regulation. For instance, expression of the dtpT gene, which is directly and negatively controlled by ScoC and encodes a putative oligopeptide permease, was activated indirectly by CodY due to CodY‐mediated repression of scoC. The opp operon, which encodes an oligopeptide permease that is essential for sporulation and genetic competence development, proved to be a direct target of repression by both ScoC and CodY but was not significantly affected in codY or scoC single mutants. The combined actions of CodY and ScoC maintain opp repression when either one of the regulators loses activity but limit the level of repression to that provided by one of the regulators acting alone. Under conditions of nitrogen limitation, repression by ScoC of dtpT and opp was partly prevented by TnrA. Thus, the functioning of ScoC is determined by other transcription factors via modulation of its expression or DNA binding.
Dendritic Cells Transfected with a DNA Construct Encoding Tumour‐associated Antigen Epitopes Induce a Cytotoxic Immune Response Against Autologous Tumour Cells in a Culture of Mononuclear Cells from Colorectal Cancer Patients
Authors: Kulikova E. V. , Kurilin V. V. , Shevchenko J. A. , Obleukhova I. A. , Khrapov E. A. , Boyarskikh U. A. , Filipenko M. L. , Shorokhov R. V. , Yakushenko V. K. , Sokolov A. V. , Sennikov S. V. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractSignificant effort has been devoted to developing effective cancer vaccines based on dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with various tumour antigens, including DNA constructs that carry sequences of tumour‐associated antigens (TAAs). Such vaccines efficiently and selectively activate the T cell immune response. In this study, we describe a method to induce an antitumour immune response in mononuclear cell (MNC) cultures from colorectal cancer patients using DNA‐transfected DCs encoding TAA epitopes of carcinoembryonic antigen, epithelial cell adhesion molecule and mucin 4. DCs were obtained from peripheral blood monocytes of colorectal cancer patients. Magnetic‐assisted transfection was used to deliver the genetic constructs to DCs. To assess the potency of the immune response, the antitumour cytotoxic response was assessed by lymphocyte intracellular perforin and the MNC cytotoxic activity against autologous tumour cells. We showed that polyepitope DNA‐transfected DCs enhanced MNC antitumour activity, increasing tumour cell death and the percentage of perforin‐positive lymphocytes. In addition, DNA‐transfected DCs elicited a cytotoxic response that was as efficient as that of tumour lysate‐loaded DCs. Taken together, the data suggest that it is feasible to induce an antitumour immune response in colorectal MNCs using transfected DCs. Thus, the DNA construct reported in this study may potentially be used in therapeutic and prophylactic DC‐based vaccines.
Stimulation of cutaneous wound healing by an FPR2‐specific peptide agonist WKYMVm
Authors: Kwon Yang Woo , Heo Soon Chul , Jang Il Ho , Jeong Geun Ok , Yoon Jung Won , Mun Je‐Ho , Kim Jae Ho 
Published: May 2015

ABSTRACTDiabetes is one of the most common human diseases and 15% of the 200 million diabetics worldwide suffer from diabetic wounds. Development of new therapeutic agents is needed for treatment of diabetic wounds. Wound healing is mediated by multiple steps, including inflammation, epithelialization, neoangiogenesis, and granulation. Formyl peptide receptor 2 has been known to stimulate angiogenesis, which is essential for tissue repair and cutaneous wound healing. In this study, we explored the therapeutic effects of WKYMVm (Trp‐Lys‐Tyr‐Met‐Val‐D‐Met‐NH2), a synthetic peptide agonist of formyl peptide receptor 2, on cutaneous wounds in streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rats. Topical application of WKYMVm onto cutaneous wounds stimulated formation of von Willebrand factor‐positive capillary and α‐smooth muscle actin‐positive arteriole with a maximal stimulation on day 6, suggesting WKYMVm‐stimulated angiogenesis. Infiltration of immune cells could be detected on early phase during wound healing and WKYMVm treatment acutely augmented infiltration of CD68‐positive macrophages. In addition, reepithelialization and granulation tissue formation were accelerated by treatment with WKYMVm. These results suggest that WKYMVm has therapeutic effects on diabetic wounds by stimulating angiogenesis and infiltration of immune cells.
KNOWLEDGE, VALUES, AND BELIEFS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT SINCE 1948: AN OVERVIEW
Authors: Conradie Ernst M. , du Toit Cornel W. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractIn this contribution, an overview of the distinct ways in which the interplay between knowledge, values, and beliefs took shape in the South African context since 1948 is offered. This is framed against the background of the paleontological significance of South Africa and an appreciation of indigenous knowledge systems, but also of the ideological distortion of knowledge and education during the apartheid era through the legacy of neo‐Calvinism. The overview includes references to discourse on human rationality (as an implicit critique against ideology), on the use of social sciences in theological reflection, on the teaching of evolution in public schools, on science and religion, and on religion and ecology. The essay concludes with a survey of some of the major voices regarding the interface between religion and science in South Africa.
THE “GHOSTS” OF IRAS PAST AND THE CHANGING CULTURAL CONTEXT OF RELIGION AND SCIENCE
Authors: Peters Karl E. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractBeginning with our cosmic ancestors and the 1950s ancestors of Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS, the “Ghosts”), this essay highlights the wider, post‐World War II cultural context, including other science and religion organizations, in which IRAS was formed. It then considers eight challenges from today's context. From the context of science there are (1) the challenge of scale that leads us to question our place in the scheme of things and can lead to a challenge to morale concerning whether we make any difference; (2) the challenge of human variability that leads to the question whether there is a single human moral nature; and (3) the challenge of detailed explanation that leads to the question of what is the task of theology in relation to detailed scientific explanation. From the religion context there are (4) the challenge of objectivity—studying religion without practicing religion; and (5) the challenge of pluralism and the variety of cultural and religious perspectives. From the context of the growing and diverse science‐and‐religion enterprise, considered from the perspective of IRAS developed in the first part of this essay, there are the challenges of (6) apologetics and (7) intellectualization. Finally, from the context of our growing, worldwide consumerist culture that is contributing to the radical alteration of the planetary environment, leading to much suffering, there is (8) the challenge of becoming more motivated to act for the long‐term global good.
AN IDEA OF NATURE: A BIPOLAR PROPOSAL
Authors: Hefner Philip 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThis article argues that in order to understand nature, we depend on a basic idea or ideal type of nature, following R. G. Collingwood's workThe Idea of Nature. Collingwood asserted that the prevailing idea of nature in Western thought evolved through three analogies for understanding nature: (1) living organism, (2) machine, and (3) historical process. His use of the concept of idea is comparable to the use of ideal type proposed by Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch. This article is a bipolar proposal: the one pole suggests revising Collingwood by including three additional elements: (4) emergence, (5) mystery, and (6) full‐bodied/God‐intoxication. Each of these elements is elaborated. The second pole concludes that under the aegis of this sixfold idea of nature, the classical Christian dogma of the Incarnation, the Two Natures of Christ can be interpreted as a proposal for understanding nature. The two poles are not necessarily bound together, but for certain theological purposes they may indeed work in tandem.
RELIGION, SCIENCE, AND GLOBALIZATION: BEYOND COMPARATIVE APPROACHES
Authors: Bauman Whitney 
Published: May 2015

AbstractUsing case studies from the Indonesian context, this article argues that the current truth regimes we now live by are always and already “hybrid” and that we need new methods for understanding meaning‐making practices in an era of globalization and climate change than comparative approaches allow. Following the works of such thinkers as physicist Karen Barad, political philosopher William Connolly, and eco‐critic Timothy Morton, this article develops the idea that an event‐oriented or object‐oriented approach better captures our hybrid meaning‐making practices. Not only that, but it also provides a lens through which to understand traditions as polydox (rather than orthodox) and the rise of “modern” science as itself a planetary (rather than a Western) phenomenon.
THE CHRISTIAN CORE OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN
Authors: Woodill Sharon 
Published: May 2015

AbstractIntelligent design (ID) theorists assert that ID is a scientific theory that is merely consistent with some religious beliefs. Many critics point to the circumstantial evidence of the apparent development of ID from creation science and the affiliation of ID with mainstream evangelical organizations to assert its religious orientation. This article suggests that the position of ID proponents is a substantial understatement, and that beyond the circumstantial evidence of critics, fundamental Christian doctrine constitutes the essence of ID theory. The bulk of scholarship on ID is polarized into those for and against, as most focus on adjudicating ID truth claims, but this adversarial structure elides some important complexities. This article sets aside the truth claims of ID and focuses more broadly on the discourse in which it is situated to show the Christian core of ID and to examine several hallmarks of religion apparent from this perspective.
RELIGION AND SCIENCE IN GERMANY
Authors: Evers Dirk 
Published: May 2015

AbstractDuring the last fifty years, the dialogue between science and religion in Germany has gained momentum. This essay briefly describes the academic setting in Germany with denominational theology at state universities and explains the development of secularization in reunified Germany. Twenty‐five years after reunification, East Germany is one of the most secular societies in the world, and religion is seen as a strange relic. This poses challenges to the interaction between science and religion in both parts of Germany. The essay then presents important institutions and contributors to the interaction between science and religion in Germany over the past fifty years, emphasizing the importance of private institutes at the intersection of the academy with society, churches, and ethical challenges.
SCHOLARS, AMATEURS, AND ARTISTS AS PARTNERS FOR THE FUTURE OF RELIGION AND SCIENCE
Authors: Fredericks Sarah E. , Schweitz Lea F. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractWe recommend that the future of religion and science involve more partnerships between scholars, amateurs, and artists. This reimagines an underdeveloped aspect of the history of religion and science. Case studies of an undergraduate course examining religious ritual and technology, seminarians reflecting on memory and identity in light of Alzheimer's disease, environmentalists responding to their guilt and shame about climate change, and Chicagoans recognizing the presence of nature in the city show how these partnerships respect insights and experiences of our varied partners, identify and resolve community problems, and advance scholarship. Sourdough starter, a new metaphor, describes these collaborative, nourishing partnerships.
WHY I AM AN ACCOMMODATIONIST AND PROUD OF IT
Authors: Ruse Michael 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThere is a strong need of a reasoned defense of what was known as the “independence” position of the science–religion relationship but that more recently has been denigrated as the “accommodationist” position, namely that while there are parts of religion—fundamentalist Christianity in particular—that clash with modern science, the essential parts of religion (Christianity) do not and could not clash with science. A case for this position is made on the grounds of the essentially metaphorical nature of science. Modern science functions because of its root metaphor of the machine: the world is seen in mechanical terms. As Thomas Kuhn insisted, metaphors function in part by ruling some questions outside their domain. In the case of modern science, four questions go unasked and hence unanswered: Why is there something rather than nothing? What is the foundation of morality? What is mind and its relationship to matter? What is the meaning of it all? You can remain a nonreligious skeptic on these questions, but it is open for the Christian to offer his or her answers, so long as they are not scientific answers. Here then is a way that science and religion can coexist.
A GOD THAT COULD BE REAL IN THE NEW SCIENTIFIC UNIVERSE
Authors: Abrams Nancy Ellen 
Published: May 2015

AbstractWe are living at the dawn of the first truly scientific picture of the universe‐as‐a‐whole, yet people are still dragging along prescientific ideas about God that cannot be true and are even meaningless (e.g., omniscience) in the universe we now know we live in. This makes it impossible to have a coherent big picture of the modern world that includes God. But we don't have to accept an impossible God or else no God. We can have a real God if we redefine God in light of knowledge no one ever had before. The key question is, “Could anything actually exist in the scientific universe that is worthy of the name, God?” My answer is yes: God is an “emergent phenomenon,” as real as the global economy or the government or the worldwide web, which are all emergent phenomena. But God arose from something deeper: the complex interactions of all humanity's aspirations. An emerging God has enormous implications.