bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The cis‐regulatory effect of an Alzheimer's disease‐associated poly‐T locus on expression of TOMM40 and apolipoprotein E genes
Authors: Linnertz Colton , Anderson Lauren , Gottschalk William , Crenshaw Donna , Lutz Michael W. , Allen Jawara , Saith Sunita , Mihovilovic Mirta , Burke James R. , Welsh‐Bohmer Kathleen A. , Roses Allen D. , Chiba‐Falek Ornit 
Published: January 2014

AbstractBackgroundWe investigated the genomic region spanning the Translocase of the Outer Mitochondrial Membrane 40‐kD (TOMM40) and Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genes, that has been associated with the risk and age of onset of late‐onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) to determine whether a highly polymorphic, intronic poly‐T within this region (rs10524523; hereafter, 523) affects expression of the APOE and TOMM40 genes. Alleles of this locus are classified as S, short; L, long; and VL, very long based on the number of T residues.MethodsWe evaluated differences in APOE messenger RNA (mRNA) and TOMM40 mRNA levels as a function of the 523 genotype in two brain regions from APOE ε3/ε3 white autopsy‐confirmed LOAD cases and normal controls. We further investigated the effect of the 523 locus in its native genomic context using a luciferase expression system.ResultsThe expression of both genes was significantly increased with disease. Mean expression of APOE and TOMM40 mRNA levels were higher in VL homozygotes compared with S homozygotes in the temporal and occipital cortexes from normal and LOAD cases. Results of a luciferase reporter system were consistent with the human brain mRNA analysis; the 523 VL poly‐T resulted in significantly higher expression than the S poly‐T. Although the effect of poly‐T length on reporter expression was the same in HepG2 hepatoma and SH‐SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, the magnitude of the effect was greater in the neuroblastoma than in the hepatoma cells, which implies tissue‐specific modulation of the 523 poly‐T.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the 523 locus may contribute to LOAD susceptibility by modulating the expression of TOMM40 and/or APOE transcription.
Increased CSF α‐synuclein levels in Alzheimer's disease: Correlation with tau levels
Authors: Slaets Sylvie , Vanmechelen Eugeen , Le Bastard Nathalie , Decraemer Hilde , Vandijck Manu , Martin Jean‐Jacques , De Deyn Peter Paul , Engelborghs Sebastiaan 
Published: January 2014

AbstractBackgroundGiven the difficult clinical differential diagnosis between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), growing interest resulted in research on α‐synuclein as a potential cerebrospinal fluid biomarker (CSF) for synucleinopathies.MethodsCSF α‐synuclein‐140 concentrations were determined by a prototype xMAP™ bead‐based assay (Innogenetics NV, Belgium). In addition, CSF amyloid β1‐42 (Aβ1‐42), total tau (T‐tau), and phosphorylated tau (P‐tau181P) levels were determined.ResultsCSF α‐synuclein levels were higher in AD patients as compared with cognitively healthy controls (P = .019) and patients with synucleinopathies (P < .001). CSF α‐synuclein levels were correlated with T‐tau (P < .001) and P‐tau181P (P < .001) levels in autopsy‐confirmed AD patients. A diagnostic algorithm using α‐synuclein and P‐tau181P discriminated neuropathologically confirmed AD from DLB patients, resulting in sensitivity and specificity values of 85% and 81%, respectively.ConclusionBecause CSF α‐synuclein levels were significantly higher in AD as compared with synucleinopathies, α‐synuclein might have a value as a biomarker for differential dementia diagnosis.
Honokiol inhibits epithelial—mesenchymal transition in breast cancer cells by targeting signal transducer and activator of transcription 3/Zeb1/E‐cadherin axis
Authors: Avtanski Dimiter B. , Nagalingam Arumugam , Bonner Michael Y. , Arbiser Jack L. , Saxena Neeraj K. , Sharma Dipali 
Published: January 2014

Epithelial—mesenchymal transition (EMT), a critical step in the acquisition of metastatic state, is an attractive target for therapeutic interventions directed against tumor metastasis. Honokiol (HNK) is a natural phenolic compound isolated from an extract of seed cones from Magnolia grandiflora. Recent studies from our lab show that HNK impedes breast carcinogenesis. Here, we provide molecular evidence that HNK inhibits EMT in breast cancer cells resulting in significant downregulation of mesenchymal marker proteins and concurrent upregulation of epithelial markers. Experimental EMT induced by exposure to TGFβ and TNFα in spontaneously immortalized nontumorigenic human mammary epithelial cells is also completely reversed by HNK as evidenced by morphological as well as molecular changes. Investigating the downstream mediator(s) that may direct EMT inhibition by HNK, we found functional interactions between HNK, Stat3, and EMT‐signaling components. In vitro and in vivo analyses show that HNK inhibits Stat3 activation in breast cancer cells and tumors. Constitutive activation of Stat3 abrogates HNK‐mediated activation of epithelial markers whereas inhibition of Stat3 using small molecule inhibitor, Stattic, potentiates HNK‐mediated inhibition of EMT markers, invasion and migration of breast cancer cells. Mechanistically, HNK inhibits recruitment of Stat3 on mesenchymal transcription factor Zeb1 promoter resulting in decreased Zeb1 expression and nuclear translocation. We also discover that HNK increases E‐cadherin expression via Stat3‐mediated release of Zeb1 from E‐cadherin promoter. Collectively, this study reports that HNK effectively inhibits EMT in breast cancer cells and provide evidence for a previously unrecognized cross‐talk between HNK and Stat3/Zeb1/E‐cadherin axis.
Late Holocene (~ 2 ka) East Asian Monsoon variations inferred from river discharge and climate interrelationships in the Pearl River Estuary
Authors: Nan Qingyun , Li Tiegang , Chen Jinxia , Nigma Rajiv , Yu Xinke , Xu Zhaokai , Yang Zaibao 
Published: January 2014

AbstractA sediment core from the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) was analyzed for grain size and organic geochemistry parameters (TOC and δ13Corg). The results showed that high mean grain-size value and increased sand content were correlated with the high TOC and negative δ13Corg. These results indicated high river runoff in the PRE area. Peak river discharge occurred during the periods 1900–1750, 1500–1600, 1400–1200, 1000–900 and 750–600 cal yr BP. The main changes recorded in grain-size distributions, TOC contents, and δ13Corg variations appear to be directly related to monsoon precipitation in the sediment source area. An increased East Asian summer monsoon rainfall (EASM) and/or an enhanced East Asian winter monsoon rainfall could result in the increasing of monsoon rainfall. Typhoon related rainfalls could act as positive influence on precipitation levels. The study of the correlations between the rainfall records and ENSO activities revealed a close relationship between the monsoon rainfall in the PRE and the tropical Pacific variations. The frequent occurrence of ENSO might result in the southern migration of the EASM rain belt and lead to more typhoon-derived rainfall in the PRD during the late Holocene.
SUFFICIENTLY GOOD MEASURES OF OBESITY: THE CASE OF A DEVELOPING COUNTRY
Authors: SOHN KITAE 
Published: January 2014

SummaryObesity is pandemic, but no consensus has yet emerged regarding appropriate tools for measuring it. Medical research based on populations in the developed world has largely dismissed body mass index (BMI) because it is a weak predictor of some health outcomes. In contrast, social science research still relies on it for its simplicity and ready availability in surveys. This paper uses consistent definitions and measures to select sufficiently good predictors of health and economic outcomes from among the anthropometrics that are considered alternatives to BMI. The results from the Indonesian Family Life Survey indicate that BMI and waist circumference are better predictors than waist-to-height ratio and waist-to-hip ratio. This paper argues that given its advantages, BMI is an adequate measure of obesity for Indonesia and possibly for the developing world. Further, if BMI is to be replaced, waist circumference is preferable to other anthropometrics.
The obedience of the Son in the theology of Karl Barth and of Thomas F. Torrance
Authors: Molnar Paul D. 
Published: January 2014

AbstractBoth Thomas F. Torrance and Karl Barth speak of the obedience of the Son as a condescension of the Son to become incarnate for our sakes. Thus there is wide agreement between them with regard to both the doctrines of atonement and the Trinity. Yet, despite the fact that Barth never wavered in his rejection of subordinationism and modalism and always affirmed the freedom of God's love, he also claimed that there ‘is in God Himself an above and a below, apriusand aposterius, a superiority and a subordination’,1while Torrance unequivocally refused to read elements of the economy, such as the ideas of super and subordination and a before or after, back into the immanent Trinity. By comparing the thinking of Barth and Torrance on this issue, I hope to show why I think Barth illegitimately read back elements of the economy into the immanent Trinity, thus creating confusion where clarity would help us see that what God does for us in the economy is and remains an act of free grace which becomes obscured when any sort of hierarchy is introduced into the Trinity.Both theologians thoroughly agree that what God is towards us in the economy, he is eternally in himself and what he is eternally in himself, he is towards us in the economy. But, there is a difference between them over how to interpret this insight, since Barth thinks super and subordination should be ascribed to the immanent Trinity. While Torrance, like Barth, will argue that the incarnation and Christ's mediatorial activity fall ‘within the life of God’, he also insists that the incarnation cannot in any way be confused with the generation of the Son from the Father in eternity. Barth would agree; yet this important distinction becomes fuzzy when he ascribes subordination and obedience to the eternal Son as a basis for his actionsad extra.This article will develop in four sections. First, I will discuss the obedience of the Son as condescension for Torrance and Barth. Second, I will consider the implications of theExtra Calvinisticumfor each theologian's view of the obedience of the Son and of the Trinity. Third, I will explore how each theologian attempts to avoid subordinationism and modalism indicating the problems which arise in Barth's thinking in connection with these views. Fourth, I will compare Torrance and Barth, showing that Torrance more consistently maintains God's freedom and love by not reading back elements of the economy into the life of the immanent Trinity.
Lebensraum – just what is this ‘habitat’ or ‘living space’ that Dietrich Bonhoeffer claimed for the church?
Authors: Fergus Donald 
Published: January 2014

AbstractDietrich Bonhoeffer's liberal use of spatial concepts in constructing an ecclesiology served his theological purpose in the articulation of a concrete ecclesiology. In particular, Bonhoeffer uses the themes of taking-up-space and the visibility of the church. The visibility of the church is depicted as a proclamatory space, a liturgical space and an ordered space, all encapsulated in the concept of Lebensraum. Within this space, witness is given to the foundation of all reality in Jesus Christ. The church is the place where this reality is proclaimed; a space no bigger than that required to serve the world in witness to Christ. As opposed to any idea of a ‘privatised’ or individual space, Bonhoeffer insisted on the public and territorial nature of this space as essential to the church's witness, for it was in this very visibility that the church gains space for Christ.Lebensraum, an idea popularised by Adolf Hitler and incorporated into the foreign policy of the Third Reich, was a highly charged political concept taken over by Bonhoeffer to represent a living space diametrically opposed in form to that proposed by the Reich. A useful way of thinking about the Christian form of Lebensraum as proposed by Bonhoeffer is to regard it as the space in which the ‘social acts that constitute the community of love and that disclose in more detail the structure and nature of the Christian church’1 are to be demonstrated and observed. These ‘social acts’ are built upon the foundational concepts, first found in Sanctorum Communio, of Stellvertretung or vicarious representative action, Miteinander or church members being with-each-other, and Füreinander or church members actively being for-each-other. Bonhoeffer proposes that, as its life is lived out in this way, the church will take the form of its suffering servant Lord. It is in this particular space and no other, grounded and upright in Christ, that Christians are to live their lives in witness to Christ.
Civic Socialising: a revealing new theory about older people's social relationships
Authors: STEWART JOAN , BROWNING COLETTE , SIMS JANE 
Published: January 2014

ABSTRACTThe research reported in this article investigated the nature and the purpose of older people's social interactions in their local neighbourhood shops. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with and observation of 11 shoppers, aged 67 years and older, and six shopkeepers. Classic grounded theory analysis method revealed a previously uncharted psycho-social process associated with these interactions entitled by the authors as Civic Socialising; it highlights that older people's interactions in their local neighbourhood shops embody authentication of themselves as individuals and as community members, and their co-construction and co-preservation of the milieu of their local neighbourhood shopping precinct with a view to sustaining their ongoing autonomy. The new conceptual theory Civic Socialising highlights that older people can be proactive, resilient and capable, dimensions integral to human fulfilment, and demonstrates that older people can play an active role in their communities where the environment is enabling. The new conceptual theory Civic Socialising has significance for the way we determine and view older people's social relationships. Crucially, in light of a burgeoning older population world-wide, it is clear that policy makers and social planners must ensure that older people can continue to interact in their communities if ageing in place is to be a satisfying and cost-effective experience. Without such consideration, ageing in place could well create dependency and despondency.
Torque distribution optimization of redundantly actuated planar parallel mechanisms based on a null-space solution
Authors: Choi Jung Hyun , Seo TaeWon , Lee Jeh Won 
Published: January 2014

SUMMARYRedundant actuation for the parallel kinematic machine (PKM) is a well-known technique for overcoming general drawbacks of the PKM by helping it to avoid singularity and enhance stiffness characteristics, among others. Torque distribution plays a critical role in redundant actuation because this actuation causes the PKM to consume too much energy or put a substantial amount of stress on joints and links. This paper proposes a new torque distribution method for reducing the maximum torque of the actuator of a planar PKM. Here the main idea behind the proposed method is the use of superposition of a particular solution for a non-redundant case and an optimized null-space solution for a redundant case with a constant coefficient. The optimal value of a null-space solution can be easily determined by checking only the intersection points of the profile of the actuator's torque as the coefficient varies. We consider three cases of planar PKMs—2-, 3-, and 4-RRR PKMs—and present a detailed procedure for deriving a kinematic solution for the 2-RRR PKM based on Screw theory. We compare the proposed method with the minimum-norm pseudo-inverse method and assess a limitation of the proposed method. The torque distribution algorithm can be used to determine the number of actuators in an efficient manner and to reduce energy consumption.
Prevalence and control of H7 avian influenza viruses in birds and humans
Authors: ABDELWHAB E. M. , VEITS J. , METTENLEITER T. C. 
Published: January 2014

SUMMARYThe H7 subtype HA gene has been found in combination with all nine NA subtype genes. Most exhibit low pathogenicity and only rarely high pathogenicity in poultry (and humans). During the past few years infections of poultry and humans with H7 subtypes have increased markedly. This review summarizes the emergence of avian influenza virus H7 subtypes in birds and humans, and the possibilities of its control in poultry. All H7Nx combinations were reported from wild birds, the natural reservoir of the virus. Geographically, the most prevalent subtype is H7N7, which is endemic in wild birds in Europe and was frequently reported in domestic poultry, whereas subtype H7N3 is mostly isolated from the Americas. In humans, mild to fatal infections were caused by subtypes H7N2, H7N3, H7N7 and H7N9. While infections of humans have been associated mostly with exposure to domestic poultry, infections of poultry have been linked to wild birds or live-bird markets. Generally, depopulation of infected poultry was the main control tool; however, inactivated vaccines were also used. In contrast to recent cases caused by subtype H7N9, human infections were usually self-limiting and rarely required antiviral medication. Close genetic and antigenic relatedness of H7 viruses of different origins may be helpful in development of universal vaccines and diagnostics for both animals and humans. Due to the wide spread of H7 viruses and their zoonotic importance more research is required to better understand the epidemiology, pathobiology and virulence determinants of these viruses and to develop improved control tools.
Histochemical and morphological features of biopsied and stripped oocytes from the Brazilian endangered teleost pirapitinga, Brycon nattereri (Characiformes)
Authors: Maria Alexandre N. , Orfão Laura H. , Rizzo Elizete , Ninhaus-Silveira Alexandre , Viveiros Ana T.M. 
Published: January 2014

SummaryThe aim of the present study was to characterize biopsied and stripped oocytes from the Brazilian endangered teleost pirapitinga (Brycon nattereri) using histochemical and morphological analyses. Biopsied oocytes had a mean diameter of 2.225 mm (modal diameter: 2.312 mm), complete vitellogenesis and a central or slightly eccentric nucleus. Neutral polysaccharides were detected in the follicular cells, zona radiata and yolk globules, while acidic polysaccharides were detected in the follicular cells and cortical alveoli. Ten out of the 19 females treated with two doses of carp pituitary extract (cPE) released oocytes, which were also analysed. Stripping occurred 292 ± 39 degree-hours after the second dose of cPE and led to a mean spawning weight of 36.2 g, 10% spawning index, 241 oocytes/g of ova, 8222 oocytes/female and 23 oocytes/g of body weight. Stripped oocytes had a mean diameter of 2.33 mm and a mode at 2.375 mm, were weakly adhesive and coloration ranged from wine to brown. Under scanning electron microscopy, stripped oocytes exhibited a single funnel-shaped micropyle located at the animal pole and a zona radiata that measured 7.7 μm in thickness with eight pore canals/μm2. Oocyte morphology in Brycon nattereri is similar to that found in other species of the genus, except for the larger size and weaker adhesiveness. These findings provide essential information for a better understanding of the reproductive biology of B. nattereri and the establishment of conservation measures for this threatened species.
Médecins Sans Frontières Experience in Orthopedic Surgery in Postearthquake Haiti in 2010
Authors: Teicher Carrie Lee , Alberti Kathryn , Porten Klaudia , Elder Greg , Baron Emannuel , Herard Patrick 
Published: January 2014

AbstractIntroductionDuring January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, resulting in death and destruction for hundreds of thousands of people. This study describes the types of orthopedic procedures performed, the options for patient follow-up, and limitations in obtaining outcomes data in an emergency setting.ProblemThere is not a large body of data that describes larger orthopedic cohorts, especially those focusing on internal fixation surgeries in resource-poor settings in postdisaster regions. This article describes 248 injuries and over 300 procedures carried out in the Médecins Sans Frontières-Orthopedic Centre Paris orthopedic program.MethodsSurgeries described in this report were limited to orthopedic procedures carried out under general anesthesia for all surgical patients. Exclusion factors included simple fracture reduction, debridement, dressing changes, and removal of hardware. This data was collected using both prospective and retrospective methods; prospective inpatient data were collected using a data collection form designed promptly after the earthquake and retrospective data collection was performed in October 2010.ResultsOf the 264 fractures, 204 were fractures of the major long bones (humerus, radius, femur, tibia). Of these 204 fractures of the major long bones, 34 (16.7%) were upper limb fractures and 170 (83.3%) were lower limb fractures. This cohort demonstrated a large number of open fractures of the lower limb and closed fractures of the upper limb. Fractures were treated according to their location and type. Of the 194 long bone fractures, the most common intervention was external fixation (36.5%) followed by traction (16.7%), nailing (15.1%), amputation (14.6%), and plating (9.9%).ConclusionThe number of fractures described in this report represents one of the larger orthopedic cohorts of patients treated in a single center in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The emergent surgical care described was carried out in difficult conditions, both in the hospital and the greater community. While outcome and complication data were limited, the proportion of patients attending follow-up most likely exceeded expectations and may reflect the importance of the rehabilitation center. This data demonstrates the ability of surgical teams to perform highly-specialized surgeries in a disaster zone, and also reiterates the need for access to essential and emergency surgical programs, which are an essential part of public health in low- and medium-resource settings.TeicherCL, AlbertiK, PortenK, ElderG, BaronE, HerardP. Médecins Sans Frontières experience in orthopedic surgery in postearthquake Haiti in 2010. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(1):1-6.