bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Post‐translational dual regulation of cytochrome P450 aromatase at the catalytic and protein levels by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation
Authors: Hayashi Takanori , Harada Nobuhiro 
Published: August 2014

The post‐translational regulation of aromatase has not been well characterized as compared with transcriptional regulation. Several studies of post‐translational regulation have focused on decreases in catalytic activity following phosphorylation. We report here dual post‐translational regulation of aromatase, at the catalytic activity and protein levels. Microsomal aromatase prepared from JEG‐3 cells was rapidly inactivated and subsequently degraded in the presence of a cytosolic fraction with calcium, magnesium, and ATP. In a reconstituted system consisting of microsomal and cytosolic fractions, aromatase was protected from protein degradation by treatment with alkaline phosphatase, whereas degradation was enhanced by treatment with calcineurin inhibitors (FK506 and cyclosporin A). Furthermore, aromatase was protected from degradation by treatment with kinase inhibitors, especially the calcium/calmodulin kinase inhibitors KN62 and KN93. Similarly to the reconstituted system, aromatase in cultured JEG‐3 cells was protected from degradation by KN93, whereas FK503 increased degradation in the presence of cycloheximide, although cellular aromatase mRNA levels were unchanged by these reagents. Knockdown of calcineurin and calcium/calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII) with small interfering RNAs resulted in a dose‐dependent increase in aromatase degradation and protection from degradation, respectively. The cytosol fraction‐dependent phosphorylation of microsomal aromatase was inhibited by calcineurin, KN62, and KN93, and promoted by CaMKII and FK506. These results indicate that aromatase is regulated acutely at the catalytic activity level and subsequently at the enzyme content level by CaMKII/calcineurin‐dependent phosphorylation/dephosphorylation.
Roles of Edc3 in the oxidative stress response and CaMCA1‐encoded metacaspase expression in Candida albicans
Authors: Jung Jong‐Hwan , Kim Jinmi 
Published: August 2014

The Edc3 protein is an enhancer of mRNA decapping, and acts as a scaffold protein for the mRNA granules that are known as processing bodies in yeast. In the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans, various stresses, such as glucose depletion, oxidative stress, and filamentation defects, induce the accumulation of processing bodies. Here, we report that the edc3/edc3 deletion strain showed increased resistance to various stresses, including hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid, and high temperature. Oxidative stress is known to induce the intracellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptotic cell death in C. albicans. We found that the ROS level was lower in edc3/edc3 cells than in wild‐type cells following oxidative stress. We also observed that expression of the metacaspase gene CaMCA1 was decreased in edc3/edc3 cells. Overexpression of CaMCA1 suppressed the decreased accumulation of ROS and the increased resistance to hydrogen peroxide in edc3/edc3 cells. The catalase Cat1 and the superoxide dismutase Sod1 were upregulated in edc3/edc3 cells as compared with wild‐type cells. On the basis of these findings, we suggest that EDC3 plays a critical role in the expression of CaMCA1 and the oxidative stress response in C. albicans.
Climate‐related genetic variation in drought‐resistance of Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Authors: Bansal Sheel , Harrington Constance A. , Gould Peter J. , St.Clair J. Bradley 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThere is a general assumption that intraspecific populations originating from relatively arid climates will be better adapted to cope with the expected increase in drought from climate change. For ecologically and economically important species, more comprehensive, genecological studies that utilize large distributions of populations and direct measures of traits associated with drought‐resistance are needed to empirically support this assumption because of the implications for the natural or assisted regeneration of species. We conducted a space‐for‐time substitution, common garden experiment with 35 populations of coast Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesiivar.menziesii) growing at three test sites with distinct summer temperature and precipitation (referred to as ‘cool/moist’, ‘moderate’, or ‘warm/dry’) to test the hypotheses that (i) there is large genetic variation among populations and regions in traits associated with drought‐resistance, (ii) the patterns of genetic variation are related to the native source‐climate of each population, in particular with summer temperature and precipitation, (iii) the differences among populations and relationships with climate are stronger at the warm/dry test site owing to greater expression of drought‐resistance traits (i.e., a genotype × environment interaction). During midsummer 2012, we measured the rate of water loss after stomatal closure (transpirationmin), water deficit (% below turgid saturation), and specific leaf area (SLA, cm2 g−1) on new growth of sapling branches. There was significant genetic variation in all plant traits, with populations originating from warmer and drier climates having greater drought‐resistance (i.e., lower transpirationmin, water deficit andSLA), but these trends were most clearly expressed only at the warm/dry test site. Contrary to expectations, populations from cooler climates also had greater drought‐resistance across all test sites. Multiple regression analysis indicated that Douglas‐fir populations from regions with relatively cool wintersandarid summers may be most adapted to cope with drought conditions that are expected in the future.
A systematic review and conceptual framework for the mechanistic pathways of nurse plants
Authors: Filazzola Alessandro , Lortie Christopher J. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractAimTo conceptualize the mechanistic pathways of the nurse‐plant syndrome by life‐form and to identify the implications of positive plant–plant interactions for landscape and evolutionary ecology.LocationGlobal.MethodsWe conducted a quantitative review examining 298 articles to categorize the literature on nurse‐plant interactions based on geographic region, mechanism of facilitation, ecological hypothesis and nurse life‐form.ResultsA total of nine different nurse mechanisms were identified and two were classified as meta‐mechanisms. We found that shrubs were the dominant nurse life‐form (46% of total studies) and that studies of positive plant interactions were most frequent in areas of high abiotic stress. Nurse‐plant studies were also distributed unevenly around the globe with nearly a quarter in the South American Andes and Spain. Studies testing the direct nurse–protégé interactions were the most frequently performed, including the ecophysiological responses of protégé species (32.2%). Research gaps identified in the nurse‐plant literature included indirect interactions and seed trapping as well as the large‐scale implications for landscape ecology and evolution.Main conclusionsNurse plants are often considered keystone species because they commonly structure plant communities. This is an important confirmatory finding in many respects, but it is also novel in that it challenges traditional plant ecology theory and has important implications for landscape‐level dynamics over time. The categorization of mechanisms proposed provides a conceptual framework useful for organizing the research to date and can accelerate linkages with theory and application by identifying important connections. It is becoming increasingly apparent that future studies of the nurse‐plant syndrome must decouple and consider multiple mechanisms of interaction to explain the processes that influence community structure, particularly in high‐stress conditions, given a changing climate and potential shifts in biodiversity.
Metagenetic analysis of patterns of distribution and diversity of marine meiobenthic eukaryotes
Authors: Fonseca Vera G. , Carvalho Gary R. , Nichols Ben , Quince Christopher , Johnson Harriet F. , Neill Simon P. , Lambshead John D. , Thomas W. Kelley , Power Deborah M. , Creer Simon 
Published: August 2014

AbstractAimMeiofaunal communities that inhabit the marine benthos offer unique opportunities to simultaneously study the macroecology of numerous phyla that exhibit different life‐history strategies. Here, we ask: (1) if the macroecology of meiobenthic communities is explained mainly by dispersal constraints or by environmental conditions; and (2) if levels of meiofaunal diversity surpass existing estimates based on morphological taxonomy.LocationUK and mainland European coast.MethodsNext‐generation sequencing techniques (NGS; Roche 454 FLX platform) using 18S nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene. Pyrosequences were analysed using AmpliconNoise followed by chimera removal using Perseus.ResultsRarefaction curves revealed that sampling saturation was only reached at 15% of sites, highlighting that the bulk of meiofaunal diversity is yet to be discovered. Overall, 1353 OTUs were recovered and assigned to 23 different phyla. The majority of sampled sites had c. 60–70 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) per site, indicating high levels of beta diversity. The environmental parameters that best explained community structure were seawater temperature, geographical distance and sediment size, but most of the variability (R2 = 70%–80%) remains unexplained.Main conclusionsHigh percentages of endemic OTUs suggest that meiobenthic community composition is partly niche‐driven, as observed in larger organisms, but also shares macroecological features of microorganisms by showing high levels of cosmopolitanism (albeit on a much smaller scale). Meiobenthic communities exhibited patterns of isolation by distance as well as associations between niche, latitude and temperature, indicating that meiobenthic communities result from a combination of niche assembly and dispersal processes. Conversely, isolation‐by‐distance patterns were not identified in the featured protists, suggesting that animals and protists adhere to radically different macroecological processes, linked to life‐history strategies.
Life cycle assessment of beef cow‐calf systems with and without grazing on abandoned cultivated lands in Japan
Authors: Tsutsumi Michio , Hikita Kumiko , Takahashi Yoshitaka , Yamamoto Naoyuki 
Published: August 2014

AbstractBeef production contributes to environmental problems, such as climate change, air pollution and water pollution. Our objective was to determine how much the introduction of beef cow grazing on abandoned lands into a housing system (housed in barns throughout the year) alters environmental impacts. We used life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impacts of beef cow‐calf systems with and without grazing on abandoned cultivated lands, on 11 Japanese farms. The functional unit was one marketed beef calf (Japanese Black) at 8 months of age. A reduction of global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP) and eutrophication potential (EP) was found in all five grazing systems (including an experimental farm), compared with the average values for housing systems. A reduction of energy consumption was also found in the five grazing systems; however, the reduction was not large in one farm. Feed transportation and production were the main contributors to energy consumption, and unless there is a decrease in the energy consumption associated with these two processes, the energy consumption throughout the life cycle will not decrease. Thus, the introduction of grazing on abandoned lands can reduce environmental impacts, but the effects can be weakened or offset depending on the amount of imported feed. In the experimental farm with a grazing system, the reduction of GWP, AP, EP and energy consumption compared with the average values for the housing systems was 32, 48, 48 and 45%, respectively. In the four commercial farms with grazing systems, the reduction of GWP, AP, EP and energy consumption was 11–24, 13–22, 19–24 and 2–21%, respectively, which we regard as possible reductions in a real life situation. We conclude that a large reduction of environmental impacts could not be achieved solely through the introduction of grazing.
Answering relevant research questions via careful observation of clinical practice: a fresh look at the old way forward
Authors: Matino D. , Iorio A. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractAlthough many aspects of inhibitor development have been elucidated, the role of switching FVIII product concentrate in the risk of inhibitors development in previously treated patients is still under discussion. To provide their contribution, Aznar et al [9] transparently showed the numerous different brands used over time and the number of patients treated with one or another class of concentrates in their center. This way of inclusively reporting data as generated in routine clinical practice would need to be adopted more broadly among hemophilia treater and scientists. Strength and limitations of the approach are discussed.
Black Britain and the Politics of Race in the 20th Century
Authors: Hammond Perry Kennetta 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThis essay examines a growing literature on postcolonial Black Britain that seeks to suture the ties between prewar and postwar histories of Black political activity in Britain. By examining how people of African descent articulated the political conditions of being Black in metropolitan Britain during the 20th century, recent studies have shown how non‐state actors shaped ideas about the relationship between race and citizenship. In unearthing the myriad of ways that people of African descent navigated the politics of being both Black and British, this body of work has begun to offer critical perspectives on postcolonial Black Britain's place within the political history of the African Diaspora. Moreover, this essay argues that new work on Black Britain and the politics of race yields fruitful ground for dismantling some of the artificial historiographical partitions that have oftentimes separated metropolitan race politics in the postwar era from the broader history of empire, decolonization, and transnational anti‐racist movements organized around the pursuit of Black freedom.
Taiwan under Japanese Rule. Showpiece of a Model Colony? Historiographical Tendencies in Narrating Colonialism
Authors: Heé Nadin 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThere is a tendency within research on Japanese Colonialism to idealize Taiwan under Japanese rule as a “model colony.” This paper questions such narratives and asks what implications this assumption has for historiographical studies on colonial Taiwan. Research based on the idea of Taiwan as a “model colony” promotes the idea of a linear modernization during colonial rule in Taiwan and leads to the assumption that uprisings or colonial violence occurred only at the beginning of colonial rule. With a few exceptions, most recent studies use cultural‐historical approaches and focus on colonial modernity or colonial governmentality, agency, and hybridity on the basis of postcolonial studies and their theoretical agenda. Therefore, the so‐called scientific colonialism – often seen as the specific characteristic of colonial rule in Taiwan – is not linked to colonial violence. The thesis of this paper, however, is that scientific colonialism as a form of rule did not exhaust itself in ‘civilizational achievements’ such as the introduction of contemporary medical treatments or road construction. Rather, a reciprocal relationship emerged between knowledge production and the use of violence. On the one hand, the aim of knowledge production was to pacify the island and keep violence in check. On the other hand, however, the government instrumentalized the knowledge it had gained, subsequently using it to perpetrate further violence. Taiwan, therefore, did not see a linear civilizing progression and, moreover, violence did not decline steadily.
Relationships between the antibacterial activity of sodium hypochlorite and treatment time and biofilm age in early Enterococcus faecalis biofilms
Authors: Chau N. P. T. , Chung N. H. , Jeon J. G. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractAimTo determine the relationships between the antibacterial activity of NaOCl and treatment time and biofilm age in early Enterococcus faecalis biofilms using a linear fitting procedure.MethodologyEnterococcus faecalis biofilms were formed on hydroxyapatite discs. To investigate the relationship between the antibacterial activity of NaOCl and biofilm age, 22‐, 46‐, 70‐ and 94‐h‐old biofilms were exposed to NaOCl (0–3%) for 5 min. To investigate the relationship between the antibacterial activity of NaOCl and treatment time, 70‐h‐old biofilms were exposed to NaOCl (0–3%) for 1, 3, 5 and 7 min. After treatment, colony‐forming units (CFUs) were counted. To determine the relationships between these variables, linear fitting was performed.ResultsThe change in the minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) of NaOCl followed a linear pattern of biofilm age (R = 0.941, R2 = 0.886) or treatment time dependence (R = −0.948, R2 = 0.898). Below the MBEC, the fitting lines for bacterial CFU count versus NaOCl concentration (R ≤ −0.973, R2 ≥ 0.948) in the 22‐, 46‐, 70‐ and 94‐h‐old biofilms implied that the antibacterial activity of NaOCl decreased as the biofilm age increased. The fitting lines for bacterial CFU count versus NaOCl concentration (R ≤ −0.970, R2 ≥ 0.942) in the 1‐, 3‐, 5‐ and 7‐min treatments implied that the antibacterial activity of NaOCl increased with treatment time.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the antibacterial activity of NaOCl against early E. faecalis biofilms in root canals may follow a linear pattern depending on biofilm age or treatment time.
INFLATION, SECURITY VALUES, AND RISK PREMIA
Authors: Lewellen Wilbur G. , Ang James S. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThe impact of stochastic inflation on the cross‐sectional structure of nominal securities yields is examined. The analysis indicates that equilibrium required returns on debt and equity securities are affected differently by inflation and that the “Fisher Effect” is more likely to hold for equity returns than for debt yields. Implications for empirical investigations of portfolio performance and the real interest rate are explored.
GROWTH, BETA AND AGENCY COSTS AS DETERMINANTS OF DIVIDEND PAYOUT RATIOS
Authors: Rozeff Michael S. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractA model of optimal dividend payout is presented in which increased dividends lower agency costs but raise the transactions cost of external financing. The optimal dividend payout minimizes the sum of these two costs. A cross‐sectional test of the model relates dividend payout to the fraction of equity held by insiders, the past and expected future revenue growth of the firm, the firm's beta coefficient, and the number of common stockholders. The coefficients of all variables are significant in the predicted directions. The results indicate that investment policy influences dividend policy.
DIVERSIFICATION AND SKEWNESS IN OPTION PORTFOLIOS
Authors: Sears R. Stephen , Trennepohl Gary L. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractSkewness in returns is relevant to option investors. Because options possess positively skewed distributions, the traditional maxim of diversification, which can destroy positive skewness, is not necessarily consistent with investment objectives. The results indicate that the majority of skewness in option portfolios is diversified with a relatively small portfolio size, suggesting a strategy of antidiversification for option investors. Even though the investment performance of options is inferior to stocks on a risk‐return basis, the data indicate the suitability of option portfolios in an environment where an investor's utility is measured by the return, risk, and skewness of the return distribution.
MARKET TIMING AND MUTUAL FUND PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION
Authors: Ferri Michael G. , Oberhelman H. Dennis , Roenfeldt Rodney L. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThis study uses a methodology that is independent of beta estimates to provide empirical evidence on the success of market timing by mutual fund managers. A fund's success at market timing is evaluated by determining if the percentage of the portfolio invested in stocks increases prior to an upturn in the general level of stock market prices and declines prior to a downturn in the level of stock prices. No evidence is found that managers possess, as a group, any market timing ability.
INTRADAY AND OVERNIGHT RETURNS AND DAY‐OF‐THE‐WEEK EFFECTS
Authors: McInish Thomas H. , Wood Robert A. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThis paper examines intra‐trading‐day and overnight returns constructed from a transactions data base. Day‐of‐the‐week effects are examined for firms classified by level of thin trading. Results indicate that thin trading masks day‐of‐the‐week effects. Day‐of‐the‐week effects are much more pronounced for actively traded stocks. The importance of controlling for thin trading in studies where segmentation of returns into distinct periods is important is illustrated through an examination of day‐of‐the‐week effects for firms classified by size.
MARKOWITZ ALLOCATION–FIXED INCOME SECURITIES
Authors: Barnes Tom 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThe Markowitz allocation model has not been properly tested with individual corporate bonds. Several authors have argued theoretically that the expectations necessary for the model cannot be formed from ex post time series data because the distribution of bond returns is not stationary. A methodology under which corporate bonds can be included in tests of the Markowitz model is presented in this study. Five sets of naive expectations are used, and as the distribution problem is removed from the data, the risk‐adjusted performance of the Markowitz model becomes potentially very useful.
A NEW APPROACH TO CONTROLLING FOR THIN TRADING
Authors: McInish Thomas H. , Wood Robert A. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractRecent research has shown that thin trading can seriously bias beta estimates. Present techniques for controlling this bias in research designs involve the adjustment of OLS betas. This paper presents a new methodology that controls for this bias by forming portfolios where the level of thin trading is held constant, while the difference of another variable, pertinent to a specific research design, is maximized across the portfolios. Directly controlling the level of thin trading avoids reliance on beta adjustment techniques. Further, the linear programming model permits the control of the mean and higher moments of additional variables across portfolios.
HUMAN CAPITAL AND LIFE‐CYCLE EFFECTS ON RISK AVERSION
Authors: Bellante Don , Saba Richard P. 
Published: August 2014

AbstractThis paper provides additional evidence on life‐cycle patterns of relative risk aversion, using spline functions generated on Consumer Expenditure Survey data. Human capital is hypothesized to affect relative risk aversion; age has been used in previous work as a proxy for human capital. The objective of this study is to determine whether there is a life‐cycle pattern that is independent of the effect of human capital. The results suggest an affirmative answer. Moreover, this independent life‐cycle pattern is the opposite of that estimated in a previous study that used age as a proxy.