bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of thermo‐resistant non‐starch polysaccharide degrading multi‐enzyme on growth performance, meat quality, relative weights of body organs and blood profile in broiler chickens
Authors: Mohammadi Gheisar M. , Hosseindoust A. , Kim I. H. 
Published: September 2015

SummaryThis research was conducted to study the performance and carcass parameters of broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with heat‐treated non‐starch polysaccharide degrading enzyme. A total of 432 one‐day old Ross 308 broiler chickens were allocated to five treatments: (i) CON (basal diet), (ii) E1: CON + 0.05% multi‐enzyme, (iii) E2: CON + 0.1% multi‐enzyme, (iv) E3: CON + 0.05% thermo‐resistant multi‐enzyme and (v) E4: CON + 0.1% thermo‐resistant multi‐enzyme, each treatment consisted of six replications and 12 chickens in each replication. The chickens were housed in three floor battery cages during 28‐day experimental period. On days 1–7, gain in body weight (BWG) improved by feeding the diets supplemented with thermo‐resistant multi‐enzyme. On days 7–21 and 1–28, chickens fed the diets containing thermo‐resistant multi‐enzyme showed improved (p < 0.05) BWG and feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to CON group. Supplementing the diets with multi‐enzyme or thermo‐resistant multi‐enzyme affected the percentage of drip loss on d 1 (p < 0.05). Drip loss percentage on days 3 and 5 and also meat colour were not affected significantly. Supplementing the diets with multi‐enzyme or thermo‐resistant multi‐enzyme did not affect the relative weights of organs but compared to CON group, relative weight of breast muscle increased and abdominal fat decreased (p < 0.05). Among measured blood constituents, chickens fed supplemented diets with thermo‐resistant multi‐enzyme showed higher (p < 0.05) IgG. Counts of red and white blood cells and lymphocyte percentage were not affected. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that supplementing pelleted diets with thermo‐resistant multi‐enzyme improved performance of broiler chickens.
Analyzing Rural Versus Urban Differences in Career Dissatisfaction and Plans to Leave Among Pennsylvanian Physicians
Authors: Vick Brandon 
Published: September 2015

AbstractPurposeThis study estimates whether physicians in rural Pennsylvania have higher odds of career dissatisfaction and plans to leave patient care in the next 6 years, compared to their urban counterparts. Rural‐urban differences were estimated across specific subgroups of physicians (gender, race, and specialty) and with regard to specific sources of career dissatisfaction.MethodsThe 2012 Pennsylvania Health Workforce Survey of Physicians allowed for analysis of 17,444 physicians younger than 55 years old actively practicing patient care. Multivariate, logistic regression was performed to estimate the associations with 2 outcome areas: career dissatisfaction and plans to leave patient care in the next 6 years. Controls included rural setting, age, sex, race, work hours, specialty, and practice characteristics.ResultsOver 12% of under‐55 physicians are dissatisfied with their careers and over 18% report plans to leave patient care in the next 6 years. Rural physicians in Pennsylvania have 18.6% higher odds of reporting career dissatisfaction and 29.5% higher odds of leaving patient care in the next 6 years (P < .01 for each) versus their urban counterparts.ConclusionsRates of dissatisfaction and potential attrition among younger physicians are not insignificant, with a stronger association with rural practice. Given the large number of rural health shortage areas, better understanding this association is important to health care providers and policy makers. Regression results suggest that higher rural odds are related more to physician work (ie, stress, practice demands, and lack of autonomy) and family situations and less related to income concerns.
NREM‐related parasomnias in Machado–Joseph disease: clinical and polysomnographic evaluation
Authors: Silva Giselle Melo Fontes , Pedroso José Luiz , Dos Santos Diogo Fernandes , Braga‐Neto Pedro , Do Prado Lucila Bizari Fernandes , De Carvalho Luciane Bizari Coin , Barsottini Orlando G. P. , Do Prado Gilmar Fernandes 
Published: September 2015

SummarySpinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) are autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorders that affect the cerebellum and its connections, and have a marked clinical and genetic variability. Machado–Joseph disease (MJD) or spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3)—MJD/SCA3—is the most common SCA worldwide. MJD/SCA3 is characterized classically by progressive ataxia and variable other motor and non‐motor symptoms. Sleep disorders are common, and include rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder (RBD), restless legs syndrome (RLS), insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, excessive fragmentary myoclonus and sleep apnea. This study aims to focus upon determining the presence or not of non‐REM (NREM)‐related parasomnias in MJD/SCA 3, using data from polysomnography (PSG) and clinical evaluation. Forty‐seven patients with clinical and genetic diagnosis of MJD/SCA3 and 47 control subjects were evaluated clinically and by polysomnography. MJD/SCA3 patients had a higher frequency of arousals from slow wave sleep (P < 0.001), parasomnia complaints (confusional arousal/sleep terrors, P = 0.001; RBD, P < 0.001; and nightmares, P < 0.001), REM sleep without atonia (P < 0.001), periodic limb movements of sleep index (PLMSi) (P < 0.001), percentage of N3 sleep (P < 0.001) and percentage of N1 sleep (P < 0.001). These data show that NREM‐related parasomnias must be included in the spectrum of sleep disorders in MJD/SCA3 patients.
A new discovery of parautochthonous moldavites in southwestern Poland, Central Europe
Authors: Brachaniec Tomasz , Szopa Krzysztof , Karwowski Łukasz 
Published: September 2015

AbstractMoldavites represent tektites derived from the Ries impact structure (~24 km diameter, ~15 Myr old) in southern Germany. Two new localities with parautochthonous moldavites in southwestern Poland were found. In these localities, fluvial sediments of the so‐called Gozdnicka formation host the moldavites. Characteristic tektite features, especially bubbles and inclusions of lechatelierite, are reported. The moldavites' size distribution and their abraded shapes indicate that they were redeposited from the nearby Lusatia substrewn field.
Sporicidal effect of amorolfine and other antimycotics used in the therapy of fungal nail infections
Authors: Seidl Hans P. , Jäckel Andreas , Müller Julia , Schaller Martin , Borelli Claudia , Polak Annemarie 
Published: September 2015

SummaryAlthough topical antifungal therapies for treating onychomycosis are available, the cure rate is unsatisfactorily low with a simultaneously high risk of recurrence. One reason might be the formation of dormant fungal cells by the pathogen, known as spores, which can survive in the affected nail keratin, thereby evading the effect of antifungal drugs. In this in vitro study, the ability of amorolfine and four other antimycotics (ciclopirox, bifonazole, terbinafine and fluconazole) to kill microconidia of the dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum, chlamydospores of the dermatophyte Epidermophyton floccosum and blastospores of the yeast Candida albicans was extensively studied as these fungi occur predominantly in onychomycosis. The effectiveness of all five antimycotics depended on the drug concentration and the incubation time: a concentration of 10–1000 times the minimum inhibitory concentration against growing hyphae cells is needed to exert a sporicidal action. Amorolfine and ciclopirox showed the same sporicidal efficacy and kinetics for all three varieties of spores. Both were more effective than fluconazole and bifonazole against microconidia and chlamydospores as well as slightly more potent against chlamydospores and blastospores than terbinafine after 4 days of incubation and at concentrations of ≥10 μg ml−1. Finally, sporicidal activity on the tested strains was demonstrated for all five different antimycotics used for onychomycosis treatment.
More of the same?In situleaf and root decomposition rates do not vary between 80 native and nonnative deciduous forest species
Authors: Jo Insu , Fridley Jason D. , Frank Douglas A. 
Published: September 2015

SummaryInvaders often have greater rates of production and produce more labile litter than natives. The increased litter quantity and quality of invaders should increase nutrient cycling through faster litter decomposition. However, the limited number of invasive species that have been included in decomposition studies has hindered the ability to generalize their impacts on decomposition rates. Further, previous decomposition studies have neglected roots.We measured litter traits and decomposition rates of leaves for 42 native and 36 nonnative woody species, and those of fine roots for 23 native and 25 nonnative species that occur in temperate deciduous forests throughout the Eastern USA.Among the leaf and root traits that differed between native and invasive species, only leaf nitrogen was significantly associated with decomposition rate. However, native and nonnative species did not differ systematically in leaf and root decomposition rates. We found that among the parameters measured, litter decomposer activity was driven by litter chemical quality rather than tissue density and structure.Our results indicate that litter decomposition rateper seis not a pathway by which forest woody invasive species affect North American temperate forest soil carbon and nutrient processes.
A poststructural rethinking of the ethics of technology in relation to the provision of palliative home care by district nurses
Authors: Nagington Maurice , Walshe Catherine , Luker Karen A. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractTechnology and its interfaces with nursing care, patients and carers, and the home are many and varied. To date, healthcare services research has generally focussed on pragmatic issues such access to and the optimization of technology, while philosophical inquiry has tended to focus on the ethics of how technology makes the home more hospital like. However, the ethical implications of the ways in which technology shapes the subjectivities of patients and carers have not been explored. In order to explore this, poststructural theory, in particular the work of Butler, Foucault, and Deleuze, is used to theorize the relationship between subjectivity and materiality as ethically mandated on producing rather than precluding the development of subjectivities in novel ways. This theoretical understanding is then utilized through a process of ‘plugged in’ as described by Jackson and Massie that aims to link empirical data, research, and philosophical inquiry. Through this process, it is suggested that power, which the empirical data demonstrate, is frequently exercised through medical discourses and restricts patients' and carers' ability to shape the material environment of the home as a place to live and be cared for in palliative stages of illness. Alternative discourses are suggested both from the empirical data as well as other research, which may offer patients and carers the possibility of reclaiming power over the home and their subjectivities. Finally, the dichotomy between the home and hospital, mediated via technology, is posited as being problematic. It is argued the dichotomy is false and should be moved away from in order to allow an ethical embrace of technology in palliative care.
Characterization of skin Port‐Wine Stain and Hemangioma vascular lesions using Doppler OCT
Authors: Latrive A. , Teixeira L. R. C. , Gomes A. S. L. , Zezell D. M. 
Published: September 2015

BackgroundPort‐Wine Stains (PWS) are vascular malformations of the dermis, whereas hemangiomas are vascular tumors usually present at birth. Early non‐invasive diagnosis of the vascular lesion would greatly increase treatment efficiency. We propose to use optical coherence tomography (OCT), a morphological imaging technique, coupled with functional blood‐flow Doppler modality.MethodsWe imaged lesions from five patients: one with PWS, four with hemangiomas, using a Thorlabs Swept‐Source OCT system at 1325 nm. Additional Doppler images allow for distinguishing blood vessels from empty cavities that appear similar on conventional OCT images.ResultsWe are able to distinguish between normal skin and vascular lesions. The PWS lesion presents blood vessels of mean diameter 114 μm with a standard deviation of 92 μm, and mean depth 304 μm with a standard deviation of 99 μm. The hemangiomas present blood vessels of mean diameter 39 μm with a standard deviation of 19 μm, and mean depth 298 μm with a standard deviation of 133 μm.ConclusionWe show a significant difference between the vascular characteristics of the studied PWS and hemangiomas lesions. We believe that OCT complemented by Doppler OCT could be a promising method for future non‐invasive diagnosis and monitoring of some vascular lesions.
A comprehensive strategy for identifying long‐distance mobile peptides in xylem sap
Authors: Okamoto Satoru , Suzuki Takamasa , Kawaguchi Masayoshi , Higashiyama Tetsuya , Matsubayashi Yoshikatsu 
Published: September 2015

SummaryThere is a growing awareness that secreted pemediate organ‐to‐organ communication in higher plants. Xylem sap peptidomics is an effective but challenging approach for identifying long‐distance mobile peptides. In this study we developed a simple, gel‐free purification system that combines o‐chlorophenol extraction with HPLC separation. Using this system, we successfully identified seven oligopeptides from soybean xylem sap exudate that had one or more post‐transcriptional modifications: glycosylation, sulfation and/or hydroxylation. RNA sequencing and quantitative PCR analyses showed that the peptide‐encoding genes are expressed in multiple tissues. We further analyzed the long‐distance translocation of four of the seven peptides using gene‐encoding peptides with single amino acid substitutions, and identified these four peptides as potential root‐to‐shoot mobile oligopeptides. Promoter–GUS analysis showed that all four peptide‐encoding genes were expressed in the inner tissues of the root endodermis. Moreover, we found that some of these peptide‐encoding genes responded to biotic and/or abiotic factors. These results indicate that our purification system provides a comprehensive approach for effectively identifying endogenous small peptides and reinforce the concept that higher plants employ various peptides in root‐to‐shoot signaling.
Molecular Epidemiological Interpretation of the Epidemic of Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in South Africa
Authors: Streicher E. M. , Sampson S. L. , Dheda K. , Dolby T. , Simpson J. A. , Victor T. C. , Gey van Pittius N. C. , van Helden P. D. , Warren R. M. 
Published: September 2015

ABSTRACT

We show that the interpretation of molecular epidemiological data for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is dependent on the number of different markers used to define transmission. Using spoligotyping, IS6
110
DNA fingerprinting, and DNA sequence data, we show that XDR-TB in South Africa (2006 to 2008) was predominantly driven by the acquisition of second-line drug resistance.
Emergence of Macrolide-Resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae in Hong Kong Is Linked to Increasing Macrolide Resistance in Multilocus Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Analysis Type 4-5-7-2
Authors: Ho Pak-Leung , Law Pierra Y. , Chan Betsy W. K. , Wong Chun-Wai , To Kelvin K. W. , Chiu Susan S. , Cheng Vincent C. C. , Yam Wing-Cheong 
Published: September 2015

ABSTRACT

Macrolide-resistant
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
(MRMP) is rapidly emerging in Asia, but information on the temporal relationship between the increase in macrolide resistance and changes in strain types is scarce. Between 2011 and 2014,
M. pneumoniae
infection was diagnosed by PCR as part of routine care in a health care region in Hong Kong. Testing was initiated by clinicians, mainly in patients with suspected
M. pneumoniae
pneumonia. Specimens positive for
M. pneumoniae
were retrospectively investigated by macrolide resistance genotyping and a four-locus (Mpn13 to -16) multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) scheme. The overall percentage of
M. pneumoniae
-positive specimens was 17.9%, with annual rates ranging from 9.8% to 27.2%. The prevalence of MRMP had rapidly increased from 13.6% in 2011 to 30.7% in 2012, 36.6% in 2013, and 47.1% in 2014 (
P
= 0.038). Two major MLVA types, 4-5-7-2 and 3-5-6-2, accounted for 75% to 85% of the infections each year. MLVA types 4-5-7-2 and 3-5-6-2 predominated among macrolide-resistant and macrolide-sensitive groups, respectively. The increase in MRMP was mainly caused by increasing macrolide resistance in the prevalent MLVA type 4-5-7-2, changing from 25.0% in 2011 to 59.1% in 2012, to 89.7% in 2013, and to 100% in 2014 (
P
< 0.001). In conclusion, increasing MRMP in Hong Kong was linked to a single MLVA type, which was both prevalent and increasingly resistant to macrolides.
Th1/17 Polarization of CD4 T Cells Supports HIV-1 Persistence during Antiretroviral Therapy
Authors: Sun Hong , Kim Dhohyung , Li Xiaodong , Kiselinova Maja , Ouyang Zhengyu , Vandekerckhove Linos , Shang Hong , Rosenberg Eric S. , Yu Xu G. , Lichterfeld Mathias 
Published: September 2015

ABSTRACT

The ability to persist long term in latently infected CD4 T cells represents a characteristic feature of HIV-1 infection and the predominant barrier to efforts aiming at viral eradication and cure. Yet, increasing evidence suggests that only small subsets of CD4 T cells with specific developmental and maturational profiles are able to effectively support HIV-1 long-term persistence. Here, we analyzed how the functional polarization of CD4 T cells shapes and structures the reservoirs of HIV-1-infected cells. We found that CD4 T cells enriched for a Th1/17 polarization had elevated susceptibilities to HIV-1 infection in
ex vivo
assays, harbored high levels of HIV-1 DNA in persons treated with antiretroviral therapy, and made a disproportionately increased contribution to the viral reservoir relative to their contribution to the CD4 T memory cell pool. Moreover, HIV-1 DNA levels in Th1/17 cells remained stable over many years of antiretroviral therapy, resulting in a progressively increasing contribution of these cells to the viral reservoir, and phylogenetic studies suggested preferential long-term persistence of identical viral sequences during prolonged antiretroviral treatment in this cell compartment. Together, these data suggest that Th1/17 CD4 T cells represent a preferred site for HIV-1 DNA long-term persistence in patients receiving antiretroviral therapy.

IMPORTANCE
Current antiretroviral therapy is very effective in suppressing active HIV-1 replication but does not fully eliminate virally infected cells. The ability of HIV-1 to persist long term despite suppressive antiretroviral combination therapy represents a perplexing aspect of HIV-1 disease pathogenesis, since most HIV-1 target cells are activated, short-lived CD4 T cells. This study suggests that CD4 T helper cells with Th1/17 polarization have a preferential role as a long-term reservoir for HIV-1 infection during antiretroviral therapy, possibly because these cells may imitate some of the functional properties traditionally attributed to stem cells, such as the ability to persist for extremely long periods of time and to repopulate their own pool size through homeostatic self-renewal. These observations support the hypothesis that HIV-1 persistence is driven by small subsets of long-lasting stem cell-like CD4 T cells that may represent particularly promising targets for clinical strategies aiming at HIV-1 eradication and cure.
HuR Displaces Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein To Facilitate La Binding to the 3′ Untranslated Region and Enhances Hepatitis C Virus Replication
Authors: Shwetha Shivaprasad , Kumar Anuj , Mullick Ranajoy , Vasudevan Deeptha , Mukherjee Nilanjan , Das Saumitra 
Published: September 2015

ABSTRACT
HuR is a ubiquitous, RNA binding protein that influences the stability and translation of several cellular mRNAs. Here, we report a novel role for HuR, as a regulator of proteins assembling at the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of viral RNA in the context of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. HuR relocalizes from the nucleus to the cytoplasm upon HCV infection, interacts with the viral polymerase (NS5B), and gets redistributed into compartments of viral RNA synthesis. Depletion in HuR levels leads to a significant reduction in viral RNA synthesis. We further demonstrate that the interaction of HuR with the 3′ UTR of the viral RNA affects the interaction of two host proteins, La and polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB), at this site. HuR interacts with La and facilitates La binding to the 3′ UTR, enhancing La-mediated circularization of the HCV genome and thus viral replication. In addition, it competes with PTB for association with the 3′ UTR, which might stimulate viral replication. Results suggest that HuR influences the formation of a cellular/viral ribonucleoprotein complex, which is important for efficient initiation of viral RNA replication. Our study unravels a novel strategy of regulation of HCV replication through an interplay of host and viral proteins, orchestrated by HuR.

IMPORTANCE
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is highly dependent on various host factors for efficient replication of the viral RNA. Here, we have shown how a host factor (HuR) migrates from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and gets recruited in the protein complex assembling at the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of HCV RNA. At the 3′ UTR, it facilitates circularization of the viral genome through interaction with another host factor, La, which is critical for replication. Also, it competes with the host protein PTB, which is a negative regulator of viral replication. Results demonstrate a unique strategy of regulation of HCV replication by a host protein through alteration of its subcellular localization and interacting partners. The study has advanced our knowledge of the molecular mechanism of HCV replication and unraveled the complex interplay between the host factors and viral RNA that could be targeted for therapeutic interventions.