bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
‘Leptorapide’ – a one-step assay for rapid diagnosis of human leptospirosis
Authors: BROWNLOW T. , KAVANAGH O. V. , LOGAN E. F. , HARTSKEERL R. A. , SAVAGE R. , PALMER M. F. , KRAHL M. , MACKIE D. P. , ELLIS W. A. 
Published: September 2013

SUMMARYLeptospirosis is a globally important zoonotic infection caused by spirochaetes of the genusLeptospira. It is transmitted to humans by direct contact with infected animals or indirectly via contaminated water. It is mainly a problem of the resource-poor developing countries of the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world but outbreaks due to an increase in travel and recreational activities have been reported in developed and more industrialized areas of the world. Current methods of diagnosis are costly, time-consuming and require the use of specialized laboratory equipment and personnel. The purpose of this paper is to report the validation of the ‘Leptorapide®’ test (Linnodee Ltd, Northern Ireland) for the diagnosis of human leptospirosis. It is a simple one-step latex agglutination assay performed using equal volumes of serum sample and antigen-bound latex beads. Evidence of leptospiral antibodies is determined within minutes. Agglutination is scored on a scale of 1–5 and the results interpreted using a score card provided with the kit. Validation has been performed with a large sample size obtained from individuals originating from various parts of the world including Brazil and India. The test has shown sensitivity and specificity values of 97·1% and 94·0%, respectively, relative to the microscopic agglutination test. The results demonstrate that Leptorapide offers a cost-effective and accurate alternative to the more historical methods of antibody detection.
Prevalence of congenital heart disease among Palestinian children born in the Gaza Strip
Authors: Zaqout Mahmoud , Aslem Emad Said , Oweida Forijat Sadeldin , De Wolf Daniel 
Published: September 2013

AbstractObjectiveThis study was designed to estimate the birth prevalence of children with congenital heart disease born in the Gaza Strip during 2010 and to compare these with estimates from elsewhere.MethodsWe reviewed the medical records of all children born in 2010 who were diagnosed, treated, and/or followed up in the four paediatric cardiology clinics in the Gaza Strip. Data were also obtained from El Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem and from the Schneider Hospital, Wolfson Medical Center, and Tel HaShomer Hospital in Israel, where we had referred some of our patients for percutaneous or surgical treatment.ResultsA total of 598 children with congenital heart disease were detected among the 59,757 children born alive in the Gaza Strip during 2010, yielding a birth incidence of 10 per 1000 live births. The most frequently occurring conditions were ventricular septal defects (28%), ostium secundum atrial septal defects (17%), patent ductus arteriosus (8.5%), and pulmonary valve abnormalities (8%). In this study, 7% of the children died. The actuarial survival at 6 months and 1 year of age was 94% and 93%, respectively, and remained stable over 18 months of follow-up.ConclusionThe birth incidence of congenital heart disease in the Gaza Strip in 2010 (10 per 1000) is higher than most estimates in Western Europe (8.2 per 1000 live births) and North America (6.9 per 1000 live births) but is similar to estimates from other parts of Asia (9.3 per 1000 live births).
Inverse relationship between vitamin D status and insulin resistance and the risk of impaired fasting glucose in Korean children and adolescents: the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2009–2010
Authors: Chung Seung Joon , Lee Young Ah , Hong Hyunsook , Kang Min Jae , Kwon Hyun Jin , Shin Choong Ho , Yang Sei Won 
Published: September 2013

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate whether low vitamin D status was related to insulin resistance (IR) or impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in Korean adolescents, after adjusting for total body fat mass (FM).DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingKorea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNAHNES) 2009–2010.SubjectsIn total, 1466 participants (769 males) aged 10–19 years were assessed for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels, for FM by whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and for IR by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) after an 8 h fast.ResultsAge-, sex-, season- and physical-activity-adjusted regression models showed that serum 25(OH)D levels were significantly related to markers of adiposity (P = 0·016 for FM (g), P = 0·023 for FM (%) and P = 0·035 for fat mass index). When the participants were stratified into three 25(OH)D categories (<37·5 nmol/l (n 553), 37·5 to < 50 nmol/l (n 543) and ≥ 50 nmol/l (n 370)), significantly decreasing trends were observed for fasting insulin (all P < 0·001), HOMA-IR (all P < 0·001) and the odds ratios for IFG (all P for trend < 0·05) from the lowest to the highest 25(OH)D category, after adjustments for age, sex, physical activity and all markers of adiposity. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the likelihood of participants in the lowest serum 25(OH)D category having IFG was 2·96–3·15 compared with those in the highest 25(OH)D category (all P < 0·05).ConclusionsThere was a significant inverse relationship between vitamin D status and IR and the risk of IFG, independent of adiposity, in Korean adolescents.
Trends in Legal Education and the Legal Profession: Comparative Perspectives
Authors: Bird Ruth 
Published: September 2013

AbstractLegal education in each of the jurisdictions varies in the requirements of its lawyers. In this paper, Ruth Bird, addresses the requirements in each country to study law; the specific requirement for foreign law graduates to study law, and which bodies regulate legal education. The answers to these questions are presented in a series of charts to provide a degree of clarity for the reader.
The Globalisation of the Australian Legal Profession in the Asian Century: a Report of the Paper Presented at the Joint Study Institute, 2013
Authors: Kelly Celine 
Published: September 2013

AbstractThis piece, by Celine Kelly, is a report on a paper that was presented at the JSI 2013 in Melbourne and explores the key points made by Andrew Godwin on the globalisation and liberalisation of legal services in the Australasia region. The talk included a discussion on the pros and cons of globalisation and case studies of legal services in South Korea, Singapore, Japan, China, India and Australia.
Normative fault-lines of trans-national human rights jurisprudence: National pride and religious prejudice in the European legal space
Authors: AUGENSTEIN DANIEL 
Published: September 2013

AbstractThe article explores the relationship between religious pluralism and national-majoritarian models of social cohesion in European human rights jurisprudence. Comparing the German, French and British interpretation of the ‘social cohesion limitation’ of freedom of religion it contends that, at the national level, concerns for social cohesion are fuelled by attitudes towards religious diversity that range from indifference to intolerance and that are difficult to reconcile with the normative premises of religious pluralism in a democratic society. The second section of the article traces the relationship between religious pluralism and social cohesion in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The analysis suggests that the diversity of national-majoritarian approaches to social cohesion in Europe prevents the Court from ensuring an effective trans-national protection of religious pluralism. The third section turns to the controversial Lautsi judgments of the European Court of Human Rights to place the Court’s approach to religious minority protection in the context of trans-national judicial politics in the European legal space. The concluding section suggests an alternative approach to religious pluralism and social cohesion that vindicates religious diversity and does justice to the counter-majoritarian telos of human rights protection.
Dynamically correlated mutations drive human Influenza A evolution
Authors: Tria F. , Pompei S. , Loreto V. 
Published: September 2013

AbstractHuman Influenza A virus undergoes recurrent changes in the hemagglutinin (HA) surface protein, primarily involved in the human antibody recognition. Relevant antigenic changes, enabling the virus to evade host immune response, have been recognized to occur in parallel to multiple mutations at antigenic sites in HA. Yet, the role of correlated mutations (epistasis) in driving the molecular evolution of the virus still represents a challenging puzzle. Further, though circulation at a global geographic level is key for the survival of Influenza A, its role in shaping the viral phylodynamics remains largely unexplored. Here we show, through a sequence based epidemiological model, that epistatic effects between amino acids substitutions, coupled with a reservoir that mimics worldwide circulating viruses, are key determinants that drive human Influenza A evolution. Our approach explains all the up-to-date observations characterizing the evolution of H3N2 subtype, including phylogenetic properties, nucleotide fixation patterns and composition of antigenic clusters.
In vivo characterization of the properties of SUMO1-specific monobodies
Authors: Berndt Anja , Wilkinson Kevin A. , Heimann Michaela J. , Bishop Paul , Henley Jeremy M. 
Published: September 2013

Monobodies are small recombinant proteins designed to bind with high affinity to target proteins. Monobodies have been generated to mimic the SIM [SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier)-interacting motif] present in many SUMO target proteins, but their properties have not been determined in cells. In the present study we characterize the properties of two SUMO1-specific monobodies (hS1MB4 and hS1MB5) in HEK (human embyronic kidney)-293 and HeLa cells and examine their ability to purify SUMO substrates from cell lines and rat brain. Both hS1MB4 and hS1MB5 compared favourably with commercially available antibodies and were highly selective for binding to SUMO1 over SUMO2/3 in pull-down assays against endogenous and overexpressed SUMO and SUMOylated proteins. Monobodies expressed in HeLa cells displayed a nuclear and cytosolic distribution that overlaps with SUMO1. Expression of the monobodies effectively inhibited protein SUMOylation by SUMO1 and, surprisingly, by SUMO2/3, but were not cytotoxic for at least 36 h. We attribute the effects on SUMO2/3 to the role of SUMO1 in chain termination and/or monobody inhibition of the SUMO-conjugating E1 enzyme complex. Taken together, these data provide the first demonstration that monobodies represent useful new tools both to isolate SUMO conjugates and to probe cell SUMOylation pathways in vivo.
Doubling the critical current density of high temperature superconducting coated conductors through proton irradiation
Authors: Jia Y. , LeRoux M. , Miller D. J. , Wen J. G. , Kwok W. K. , Welp U. , Rupich M. W. , Li X. , Sathyamurthy S. , Fleshler S. , Malozemoff A. P. , Kayani A. , Ayala-Valenzuela O. , Civale L. 
Published: September 2013

The in-field critical current of commercial YBa2Cu3O7 coated conductors can be substantially enhanced by post-fabrication irradiation with 4 MeV protons. Irradiation to a fluence of 8 × 1016 p/cm2 induces a near doubling of the critical current in fields of 6 T || c at a temperature of 27 K, a field and temperature range of interest for applications, such as rotating machinery. A mixed pinning landscape of preexisting precipitates and twin boundaries and small, finely dispersed irradiation induced defects may account for the improved vortex pinning in high magnetic fields. Our data indicate that there is significant head-room for further enhancements.
Measurements of methane emissions at natural gas production sites in the United States
Authors: Allen David T. , Torres Vincent M. , Thomas James , Sullivan David W. , Harrison Matthew , Hendler Al , Herndon Scott C. , Kolb Charles E. , Fraser Matthew P. , Hill A. Daniel , Lamb Brian K. , Miskimins Jennifer , Sawyer Robert F. , Seinfeld John H. 
Published: September 2013

Significance
This work reports direct measurements of methane emissions at 190 onshore natural gas sites in the United States. The measurements indicate that well completion emissions are lower than previously estimated; the data also show emissions from pneumatic controllers and equipment leaks are higher than Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) national emission projections. Estimates of total emissions are similar to the most recent EPA national inventory of methane emissions from natural gas production. These measurements will help inform policymakers, researchers, and industry, providing information about some of the sources of methane emissions from the production of natural gas, and will better inform and advance national and international scientific and policy discussions with respect to natural gas development and use.
The relative age effect in the German Football TID Programme: Biases in motor performance diagnostics and effects on single motor abilities and skills in groups of selected players
Authors: Votteler Andreas , Höner Oliver 
Published: September 2013

AbstractThis study examined the disturbing effects of relative age on the talent identification process in the talent development programme of the German Football Association. The bias in the selection rate was examined via the extent of relative age effects. The bias in motor performance diagnostics was analysed by comparing the motor performance of selected players with normal motor development. The mechanisms underlying the relative age biases in motor performance were examined by modelling the direct and indirect effects of relative age on single motor performance tests for sprint, running agility, dribbling and ball passing and control. Data from 10,130 selected football players from the U12 to U15 age groups were collected in autumn 2010. The birth distribution differed significantly from the reference population with approximately 61% of the players born in the first half of the year. The selection probability was approximately two times higher for players born in the first quarter of the year than for players born in the last quarter. Revised motor performance diagnostics showed better results on average for relatively younger players. Path analysis revealed significant direct and indirect relative age effects for physiologically demanding tests and almost no effects for technically demanding tests. Large sample sizes allowed high resolution in relative age with additional informational content and multivariate modelling of the complex relationships among relative age, physical development and motor performance. The results are discussed on how relative age affects the effectiveness and fairness of talent identification and development processes.
The impact of the achievement motive on athletic performance in adolescent football players
Authors: Zuber Claudia , Conzelmann Achim 
Published: September 2013

AbstractResearchers largely agree that there is a positive relationship between achievement motivation and athletic performance, which is why the achievement motive is viewed as a potential criterion for talent. However, the underlying mechanism behind this relationship remains unclear. In talent and performance models, main effect, mediator and moderator models have been suggested. A longitudinal study was carried out among 140 13‐year‐old football talents, using structural equation modelling to determine which model best explains how hope for success (HS) and fear of failure (FF), which are the aspects of the achievement motive, motor skills and abilities that affect performance. Over a period of half a year, HS can to some extent explain athletic performance, but this relationship is not mediated by the volume of training, sport‐specific skills or abilities, nor is the achievement motive a moderating variable. Contrary to expectations, FF does not explain any part of performance. Aside from HS, however, motor abilities and in particular skills also predict a significant part of performance. The study confirms the widespread assumption that the development of athletic performance in football depends on multiple factors, and in particular that HS is worth watching in the medium term as a predictor of talent.
Toxygates: interactive toxicity analysis on a hybrid microarray and linked data platform
Authors: Nyström-Persson Johan , Igarashi Yoshinobu , Ito Maori , Morita Mizuki , Nakatsu Noriyuki , Yamada Hiroshi , Mizuguchi Kenji 
Published: September 2013

Abstract
Motivation: In early stage drug development, it is desirable to assess the toxicity of compounds as quickly as possible. Biomarker genes can help predict whether a candidate drug will adversely affect a given individual, but they are often difficult to discover. In addition, the mechanism of toxicity of many drugs and common compounds is not yet well understood. The Japanese Toxicogenomics Project provides a large database of systematically collected microarray samples from rats (liver, kidney and primary hepatocytes) and human cells (primary hepatocytes) after exposure to 170 different compounds in different dosages and at different time intervals. However, until now, no intuitive user interface has been publically available, making it time consuming and difficult for individual researchers to explore the data.
Results: We present Toxygates, a user-friendly integrated analysis platform for this database. Toxygates combines a large microarray dataset with the ability to fetch semantic linked data, such as pathways, compound–protein interactions and orthologs, on demand. It can also perform pattern-based compound ranking with respect to the expression values of a set of relevant candidate genes. By using Toxygates, users can freely interrogate the transcriptome’s response to particular compounds and conditions, which enables deep exploration of toxicity mechanisms.
Availability and implementation: Toxygates is freely available to the public at http://toxygates.nibio.go.jp.
Contact: johan@nibio.go.jp, kenji@nibio.go.jp or y-igarashi@nibio.go.jp
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Lubiprostone for the Treatment of Functional Constipation in Children
Authors: Hyman Paul E. , Di Lorenzo Carlo , Prestridge Laurel L. , Youssef Nader N. , Ueno Ryuji 
Published: September 2013

ABSTRACTObjectives:Pediatric functional constipation is common; effective, easily administered treatment options are limited. Lubiprostone is an oral chloride channel protein‐2 activator that stimulates gastrointestinal fluid secretion, softens stools, and facilitates bowel movements (BMs). We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of lubiprostone in children and adolescents with functional constipation.Methods:Patients ≥12 kg, 17 years or younger, and with <3 spontaneous BMs (SBMs; ie, BMs that did not occur within 24 hours of rescue medication use) per week were enrolled at 22 US general pediatric and pediatric gastroenterology centers (January 2007–October 2008). Patients received 4 weeks of open‐label lubiprostone at doses of 12 μg once daily (QD), 12 μg twice daily (BID), or 24 μg BID based on age and weight. The primary endpoint was SBM frequency during week 1 versus baseline.Results:Of 127 enrolled patients, 124 were treated and analyzed (12 μg QD, n = 27; 12 μg BID, n = 65; 24 μg BID, n = 32), and 109 completed the study. The mean age of treated patients was 10.2 years (range 3−17 years); 65 were boys. Mean SBM frequency significantly increased compared with baseline at week 1 (3.1 vs 1.5 SBMs/week, P < 0.0001). SBM frequency was improved significantly from baseline overall (P < 0.0001) and for individual dose groups (P ≤ 0.0062) during weeks 2, 3, and 4. Common (≥5%) adverse events included nausea (18.5%), vomiting (12.1%), diarrhea (8.1%), abdominal pain (7.3%), and headache (5.6%). Two patients experienced serious adverse events (unrelated abdominal pain; unrelated sickle cell crisis).Conclusions:Lubiprostone was efficacious and well tolerated in children and adolescents with functional constipation.
Elevated C‐Reactive Protein and Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Children With Chronic Liver Disease and Ascites
Authors: Preto‐Zamperlini Marcela , Farhat Sylvia Costa Lima , Perondi Maria Beatriz Moliterno , Pestana Adriana Pozzi , Cunha Patricia Salles , Pugliese Renata Pereira Sustovich , Schvartsman Cláudio 
Published: September 2013

ABSTRACTObjectives:The aims of this study were to compare laboratory indices of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) and noninfected ascites in children with chronic liver disease and to determine the infectious agents involved in SBP.Methods:The medical records of 90 children with chronic liver disease and ascites studied between January 2005 and August 2011 were reviewed for laboratory data of diagnostic significance in SBP. Standard laboratory tests included blood cell count, coagulation indices, liver and renal function tests, C‐reactive protein (CRP), serum sodium concentration, serum albumin, and serum cultures. Ascitic fluid obtained from 152 paracentesis procedures was assayed for cytology, Gram stains, neutrophil counts, and bacteriological cultures.Results:The SBP group manifested significantly lower albumin levels and elevated CRP levels, prothrombin times, international normalized ratios, and leukocyte number (P < 0.05 in each case). CRP was shown to be an independent variable in the prediction of SBP. Values of serum creatinine, sodium concentration, urea, total bilirubin and differential leukocyte shift were comparable in SBP and noninfected ascites. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most prevalent infectious agent in the ascitic fluid (44%).Conclusions:CRP may be useful in early detection and monitoring of SBP in children with liver disease.
Measuring the emotional development of adults with ID
Authors: Frankish Pat 
Published: September 2013

Purpose
– This paper demonstrates that it is both possible and useful to measure the emotional developmental stage of people with intellectual disability.

Design/methodology/approach
– A tool was designed, based on a stage theory of development and tested for reliability and validity.

Findings
– The tool was found to be both reliable and valid.

Originality/value
– This is new work with no predecessor.