bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fetal growth reference ranges in twin pregnancy: analysis of the Southwest Thames Obstetric Research Collaborative (STORK) multiple pregnancy cohort
Authors: Stirrup O. T. , Khalil A. , D'Antonio F. , Thilaganathan B. ,   on behalf of the Southwest Thames Obstetric Research Collaborative (STORK)
Published: July 2014

AbstractObjectiveTo generate reference charts for expected fetal growth in dichorionic diamniotic (DCDA) and monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twin pregnancies and to compare these with those from singleton pregnancies.MethodsThis was a retrospective study of biometric measurements from serial ultrasound examinations of twin pregnancies in the second and third trimesters, from 14 weeks' gestation to term, collected by nine hospitals over a 10‐year period. The measurements obtained in each fetus at each examination included head circumference (HC), biparietal diameter (BPD), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL). Multilevel mixed effects statistical models were used to evaluate growth in each biometric variable in relation to gestational age, taking account of the serial examinations and the association between the two fetuses in each pregnancy, with separate models constructed for DCDA and MCDA pregnancies.ResultsThe final dataset for analysis included a total of 9866 second‐ and third‐trimester ultrasound examinations in 1802 DCDA and 323 MCDA twin pregnancies, with a median of five (range, 1–14) scans per pregnancy. For each variable, the mean value for DCDA twins was close to the reported value in singletons at 20–30 weeks and showed a decrease relative to singletons beyond 30 weeks. The differences were greater for AC and HC, for which the mean in twins was approximately equivalent to the 30th percentile in singletons at 18 weeks, the 35th percentile at 25 weeks and the 30th percentile at 35 weeks. Fetuses in MCDA twin pregnancies displayed lower mean measurements than did those in DCDA pregnancies throughout the gestational age range considered.ConclusionsUltrasound biometry shows a small but statistically significant reduction in fetal growth in twin pregnancies relative to that in singletons, particularly in the third trimester, with a more marked difference for MCDA than for DCDA pregnancies. Copyright © 2014 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Phenotypic and genome size changes (variation) in synthetic tetraploids of daylily (Hemerocallis) in relation to their diploid counterparts
Authors: Podwyszyńska M. , Gabryszewska E. , Dyki B. , Stępowska A. A. , Kowalski A. , Jasiński A. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractTetraploids of daylily have taken a leading position among the daylily cultivars due to desirable traits such as vigorous growth and flowers with more intense colour. In our previous studies, several tetraploids of daylily cultivars ‘Blink of an Eye’ and ‘Berlin Multi’ were obtained using in vitro techniques with different antimitotic agents (colchicine, oryzalin, trifluralin, and amiprophos methyl). The purposes of this study were to evaluate changes in daylily tetraploids in relation to their diploid counterparts and to assess variation among diploids and tetraploids derived from genetically homogenous plant material treated with antimitotic agents. In the first year of the ex vitro cultivation, growth of tetraploids was poorer in comparison with diploids, but in the second year, tetraploid growth was much more vigorous. Compared to diploids, in tetraploids of both cultivars percentage of flowering plants was lower, flowering was delayed by 8 days and 1 month in ‘Blink of an Eye’ and ‘Berlin Multi’, respectively, and bud number per scape was lower by approximately 20 and 40 %, respectively. Tetraploid leaves and flowers of both cultivars were significantly larger, chlorophyll concentration index was higher by approximately 40 %, and stomata were longer by 35 %. In ‘Berlin Multi’ tetraploids, inflorescence stems were shorter by 20 %. In ‘Blink of an Eye’, variation in flower colour tone and shape and stamen malformation rate was detected both within the unconverted diploids and tetraploids but was more evident in tetraploids. In both cultivars, variation was also found in the nuclear DNA content, which ranged in diploids and tetraploids, respectively, 8.02–8.53 and 16.01–17.13 pg in ‘Berlin Multi’ and 8.28–8.71 and 15.93–17.36 pg in ‘Blink of an Eye’. Since the variation, while less evident, also occurred in the diploids (regenerated from the antimitotic treated material), we suppose that these variations could be due to antimitotic agents that can induce not only chromosome doubling but also chromosomal and gene mutations. The extent and character of these changes can be related to parental genotype and/or antimitotic agent. Further research is required at the cytological and molecular level to explain the character of changes, epigenetic and/or genetic.
Using scorecards to achieve facility improvements for maternal and newborn health
Authors: Yilla Mohamed , Nam Sara L. , Adeyemo Austine , Kargbo Samuel A. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractThe Government of Sierra Leone launched the Free Health Care Initiative in 2010, which contributed to increased use of facility based maternity services. However, emergency obstetric and neonatal care (EmONC) facilities were few and were inadequately equipped to meet the increased demand. To ensure provision of EmONC in some priority facilities, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation undertook regular facility assessments. With the use of assessment tools and scorecards it is possible to make improvements to the services provided in the period after assessment. The exercise shows that evidence that is shared with providers in visually engaging formats can help decision‐making for facility based improvements.
Optimization of Survey Strategies for Detecting Slow Radio Transients
Authors: Macquart Jean-Pierre 
Published: July 2014

AbstractWe investigate the optimal tradeoff between sensitivity and field of view in surveys for slow radio transients using the event detection rate as the survey metric. This tradeoff bears implications for the design of surveys conducted with upcoming widefield radio interferometers, such as the ASKAP VAST survey and the MeerKAT TRAPUM survey. We investigate (i) a survey in which the events are distributed homogeneously throughout a volume centred on the Earth, (ii) a survey in which the events are homogeneously distributed, but are only detectable beyond a certain minimum distance, and (iii) a survey in which all the events occur at an identical distance, as is appropriate for a targetted survey of a particular field which subtends Npoint telescope pointings. For a survey of fixed duration, Tobs, we determine the optimal tradeoff between number of telescope pointings, N, and integration time per field. We consider a population in which the event luminosity distribution follows a power law with index − α, and tslew is the slewing time between fields or, for a drift scan, the time taken for the telescope drift by one beamwidth. Several orders of magnitude improvement in detection rate is possible by optimization of the survey parameters. The optimal value of N for case (i) is Nmax ~ Tobs/4tslew, while for case (iii) we find Nmax = (Lmax/L0)2[(3 − α)/2]2/(α − 1), where Lmax is the maximum luminosity of a transient event and L0 is the minimum luminosity event detectable in an integration of duration Tobs. (The instance Nmax > Npoint in (iii) implies re-observation of fields over the survey area, except when the duration of transient events exceeds that between re-observations of the same field, where Nmax = Npoint applies instead.) We consider the balance in survey optimization between telescope field of view, Ω, and sensitivity, characterised by the minimum detectable flux density, S0. For homogeneously distributed events (i), the detection rate scales as NΩS−3/20, while for targetted events (iii) it scales as NΩS1 − α0. However, if the targetted survey is optimised for N the event detection rate scales instead as ΩS−20. This analysis bears implications for the assessment of telescope designs: the quantity ΩS−20 is often used as the metric of telescope performance in the SKA transients literature, but only under special circumstances is it the metric that optimises the event detection rate.
STATE POLICING AND INVISIBLE FORCES IN MOZAMBIQUE
Authors: Kyed Helene Maria 
Published: July 2014

ABSTRACTThis article explores how the state police in Mozambique tried to (re)encroach upon a former war zone and what their methods implied for state authority more generally. Post-war reform efforts to professionalize the police in accordance with the rule of law and human rights have had apparently paradoxical results. This is in part because efforts to constitute state authority have relied on both embracing and taming ‘tradition’ as an alternative domain of authority, order and law. Ethnographic fieldwork at police stations shows that the police increasingly handle witchcraft cases and spiritual problems. This, the article argues, does not only reflect a tension between local/customary and state/legal notions of order and justice. Equally significant is the existence of partial sovereignties. A spiritual idiom of power and evildoing constitutes an alternative articulation of sovereignty due to the capacity of invisible forces to give and take life. This is an idiom mastered by chiefs and healers. Police officers engage with invisible forces to gain popular legitimacy and manifest state power, and yet they never manage to fully master those forces. Consequently, state police authority remains uncertain, and must be continually reinforced by enacting hierarchies and jurisdictional boundaries and by using force.
THUGS, SPIES AND VIGILANTES: COMMUNITY POLICING AND STREET POLITICS IN INNER CITY ADDIS ABABA
Authors: Di Nunzio Marco 
Published: July 2014

ABSTRACTThe implementation of community policing schemes and development programmes targeting street youth in inner city Addis Ababa, intended to prevent crime and unrest, has resulted in an expansion of structures of political mobilization and surveillance of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the party that has ruled the country since 1991. Yet the fact that the government managed to implement its programmes does not imply that the ruling party was entirely successful in tackling ordinary crime as well as political dissent. As neighbourhoods continued to be insecure, especially at night, the efficacy of the ruling party's politicized narratives on community policing and crime prevention was questioned. An appreciation of the shortcomings of government action on the streets of the inner city raises questions about the extent of the reach of the EPRDF's state into the grass roots of urban society as well as about the ways in which dissent is voiced in a context where forms of political surveillance and control are expanding. This paper investigates these issues in order to contribute to the study of the Ethiopian state and to the broader debate on community policing and crime prevention on the African continent.
Clinical impacts of genomic copy number gains at Xq28
Authors: Yamamoto Toshiyuki , Shimojima Keiko , Shimada Shino , Yokochi Kenji , Yoshitomi Shinsaku , Yanagihara Keiko , Imai Katsumi , Okamoto Nobuhiko 
Published: July 2014

AbstractDuplications of the Xq28 region are the most frequent chromosomal aberrations observed in patients with intellectual disability (ID), especially in males. These duplications occur by variable mechanisms, including interstitial duplications mediated by segmental duplications in this region and terminal duplications (functional disomy) derived from translocation with other chromosomes. The most commonly duplicated region includes methyl CpG-binding protein 2 gene (MECP2), which has a minimal duplicated size of 0.2 Mb. Patients with MECP2 duplications show severe ID, intractable seizures and recurrent infections. Duplications in the telomeric neighboring regions, which include GDP dissociation inhibitor 1 gene (GDI1) and ras-associated protein RAB39B gene (RAB39B), are independently associated with ID, and many segmental duplications located in this region could mediate these frequently observed interstitial duplications. In addition, large duplications, including MECP2 and GDI1, induce hypoplasia of the corpus callosum. Abnormalities observed in the white matter, revealed by brain magnetic resonance imaging, are a common finding in patients with MECP2 duplications. As primary sequence analysis cannot be used to determine the region responsible for chromosomal duplication syndrome, finding this region relies on the collection of genotype–phenotype data from patients.
Enantioselective microbial synthesis of the indigenous natural product (−)-α-bisabolol by a sesquiterpene synthase from chamomile (Matricaria recutita)
Authors: Son Young-Jin , Kwon Moonhyuk , Ro Dae-Kyun , Kim Soo-Un 
Published: July 2014

(−)-α-Bisabolol, a sesquiterpene alcohol, is a major ingredient in the essential oil of chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and is used in many health products. The current supply of (−)-α-bisabolol is mainly dependent on the Brazilian candeia tree (Eremanthus erythropappus) by distillation or by chemical synthesis. However, the distillation method using the candeia tree is not sustainable, and chemical synthesis suffers from impurities arising from undesirable α-bisabolol isomers. Therefore enzymatic synthesis of (−)-α-bisabolol is a viable alternative. In the present study, a cDNA encoding (−)-α-bisabolol synthase (MrBBS) was identified from chamomile and used for enantioselective (−)-α-bisabolol synthesis in yeast. Chamomile MrBBS was identified by Illumina and 454 sequencing, followed by activity screening in yeast. When MrBBS was expressed in yeast, 8 mg of α-bisabolol was synthesized de novo per litre of culture. The structure of purified α-bisabolol was elucidated as (S,S)-α-bisabolol [or (−)-α-bisabolol]. Although MrBBS possesses a putative chloroplast-targeting peptide, it was localized in the cytosol, and a deletion of its N-terminal 23 amino acids significantly reduced its stability and activity. Recombinant MrBBS showed kinetic properties comparable with those of other sesquiterpene synthases. These data provide compelling evidence that chamomile MrBBS synthesizes enantiopure (−)-α-bisabolol as a single sesquiterpene product, opening a biotechnological opportunity to produce (−)-α-bisabolol.
Cervical Spinal Cord Dimensions and Clinical Outcomes in Adults with Klippel-Feil Syndrome: A Comparison with Matched Controls
Authors: Cho Woojin , Lee Dong-Ho , Auerbach Joshua D. , Sehn Jennifer K. , Nabb Colin E. , Riew K. Daniel 
Published: July 2014

Study Design Retrospective case–control study. Objectives To confirm the fact that spinal cord dimensions are smaller in adults with Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS) than in pediatric patients with KFS and to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of neurologic complications in patients with KFS with matched controls. Methods We performed an independent 1:2 case–control retrospective radiographic and chart review of a consecutive series of adults with KFS who underwent surgical intervention. The control group consisted of consecutive non-KFS surgical patients. Patients were matched in 1:2 case–control manner. Their charts were reviewed and the clinical characteristics were compared. Axial T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure the anteroposterior and mediolateral axial spinal cord and spinal canal at the operative levels and measurements were compared. Results A total of 22 patients with KFS and 44 controls were identified. The KFS group had a tendency of more myeloradiculopathy, and the control group had a tendency toward more radiculopathy. Both tendencies, however, were not significantly different. MRIs of 10 patients from the KFS group and 22 controls were available. There was no difference in the area of both spinal cord and canal at the operative levels. Conclusion Contrary to the finding in previous reports on pediatric patients, there were no differences between KFS and well-matched control groups in terms of age of onset, presentation, revision rate, complication rate, surgical outcome, and cross-sectional spinal cord and canal dimensions at the operative level.
Determination of char combustion kinetics parameters: Comparison of point detector and imaging-based particle-sizing pyrometry
Authors: Schiemann Martin , Geier Manfred , Shaddix Christopher R. , Vorobiev Nikita , Scherer Viktor 
Published: July 2014

In this study, the char burnout characteristics of two German coals (a lignite and a high-volatile bituminous coal) were investigated using two different experimental configurations and optical techniques in two distinct laboratories for measurement of temperature and size of burning particles. The optical diagnostic hardware is quite different in the two systems, but both perform two-color pyrometry and optical sizing measurements on individual particles burning in isolation from each other in high-temperature laminar flows to characterize the char consumption kinetics. The performance of the specialized systems is compared for two different combustion atmospheres (with 6.6 and 12 vol.% O2) and gas temperatures between 1700 and 1800 K. The measured particle temperatures and diameters are converted to char burning rate parameters for several residence times during the course of the particles’ burnout. The results confirm that comparable results are obtained with the two configurations, although higher levels of variability in the measured data were observed in the imaging-based pyrometer setup. Corresponding uncertainties in kinetics parameters were larger, and appear to be more sensitive to systematic measurement errors when lower oxygen contents are used in the experiments. Consequently, burnout experiments in environments with sufficiently high O2 contents may be used to measure reliable char burning kinetics rates. Based on simulation results for the two coals, O2 concentrations in the range 10%–30% are recommended for kinetic rate measurements on 100 μm particles.
Adaptor protein DOK3 promotes plasma cell differentiation by regulating the expression of programmed cell death 1 ligands
Authors: Ou Xijun , Xu Shengli , Li Yan-Feng , Lam Kong-Peng 
Published: July 2014

Significance
Plasma cells (PCs) are terminally differentiated B cells that secret large amounts of antibodies to protect the host from infectious pathogens. Our study describes an important role for the adaptor protein Downstream-of-Kinase (DOK) 3 in promoting the differentiation of PCs by regulating the expression of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) ligands PDL1 and PDL2. Moreover, we discover an unexpected role of calcium signalling in inhibiting the expressions of PD-1 ligands, and this inhibition is attenuated by DOK3. Knowing the signalling pathways that govern PC differentiation is critical for the optimal design of vaccines and adjuvants.
Solvent-tolerance of fungi located on an interface between an agar plate and an organic solvent
Authors: Oda Shinobu , Sugitani Ayaka , Ohashi Shinichi 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
While 6 by 20 of type culture fungi could grow on an interface between organic solvent (log P, 4.12) and agar plate, 13 by 20 of strains could form a large colony after the removal of more toxic solvent, such as styrene (log P, 2.95) and tert-butyl acetate (log P, 1.76) because of viability of spores on the interface.
Detection of flavor compounds in longissimus muscle from four hybrid pig breeds of Sus scrofa, Bamei pig, and Large White
Authors: Chen Guoshun , Sui Yanan , Chen Sheng 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
To detect the flavor quality and flavor compounds in raw longissimus muscle from four typical pig breeds: Sus scrofa × Bamei pig named F1 (group A), F1 × F1 (group B), F1 × Bamei pig (group C), and F1 × Large White (group D). The chemical compositions of longissimus muscles from four breeds were examined using headspace solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography mass spectrometry method. Distinct differences for the same flavor compounds of longissimus muscles between different breeds were analyzed. Totally 64 flavor compounds shared in four groups, and 10 flavor compounds with significant difference among four groups (p &lt; 0.05), including allyl butyrate, (Z)-2-penten-1-ol, 2,2-dimethyl-3-methyl oxirane, 2-pentylfuran, dodecane, 2,4-decadienal, vinylsilane, 3-methyl-1-butanol, (1-methyldecyl)-benzene, and dipropyl phthalate. Totally, 23–41 flavor compounds did not commonly exist in four groups, such as only as dibutyl isophthalate in group A; 6,10-dimethyl-5-9-undecadien-2 one, bis (2-trimethylsilyl) ethyl ester-malonic acid, heptadecane, 2,4,6-trimethyl pyridine, and diisooctyl adipate in group C alone; and 1,3-dimethylcyclopentanol, 2-octanone, and trimethylsilane in group D alone. While, no specific flavor compounds were identified in group B. All these flavor compounds covered 12 types of hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, hydroxybenzenes, acids, ketones, esters, sulfides, furans, alkenes, and pyrrole. Besides, we analyzed 14 flavor compounds with different flavors combining with previous studies. The flavor compounds in longissimus muscles might be closely related to the breeds, and the hybrid of S. scrofa × Bamei pig had the most flavor compounds in raw longissimus muscle.
Gene cloning and biochemical characterization of eryngase, a serine aminopeptidase of Pleurotus eryngii belonging to the family S9 peptidases
Authors: Arima Jiro , Tokai Shota , Chiba Masanori , Ichiyanagi Tsuyoshi , Yabuta Yukinori , Mori Nobuhiro , Aimi Tadanori 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
Pleurotus eryngii serine aminopeptidase that has peptide bond formation activity, redesignated as eryngase, was cloned and expressed. Eryngase has a family S9 peptidase unit in the C-terminal region having a catalytic triad of Ser, Asp, and His. In the phylogenetic relations among the subfamilies of family S9 peptidase (S9A, prolyl oligopeptidase; S9B, dipeptidyl peptidase; S9C, acylaminoacyl peptidase; S9D, glutamyl endopeptidase), eryngase existed alone in the neighbor of S9C subfamily. Mutation of the active site Ser524 of the eryngase with Ala eliminated its catalytic activity. In contrast, S524C mutant maintained low catalytic activity. Investigation of aminolysis activity using l-Phe-NH2 as a substrate showed that S524C mutant exhibited no hydrolysis reaction but synthesized a small amount of l-Phe-l-Phe-NH2 by the catalysis of aminolysis. In contrast, wild-type eryngase hydrolyzed the product of aminolysis l-Phe-l-Phe-NH2. Results show that the S524C mutant preferentially catalyzed aminolysis when on an l-Phe-NH2 substrate.
Knockdown of the NHR-8 nuclear receptor enhanced sensitivity to the lipid-reducing activity of alkaloids in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Chow Yit-Lai , Kawasaki Yuriko , Sato Fumihiko 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
Caenorhabditis elegans is a versatile, whole-organism model for bioactivity screening. However, this worm has extensive defensive mechanisms against xenobiotics which limit its use for screening of pharmacologically active compounds. In this study, we report that knockdown of nhr-8, a gene involved in the xenobiotic response, increased the worm’s sensitivity to the lipid-reducing effects of some isoquinoline alkaloids, especially berberine. On the other hand, crude extract of rhizome and cultured cells showed enhanced biological activity compared to the pure alkaloids in wild type worm, but this enhanced activity was not detected in nhr-8 RNAi worm, suggesting that some components in cell extracts might interfere with the defense response in this worm. The possibility of using C. elegans as a model for screening bioactive chemicals is discussed.