bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Traffic noise correlates with calling time but not spatial distribution in the threatened poison frog Andinobates bombetes
Authors: Vargas-Salinas Fernando , Amézquita Adolfo 
Published: March 2013

Acoustically communicating species have evolved adaptations that allow them to transmit information and overcome signal masking where their habitat is disturbed by anthropogenic noise. To investigate whether calling behaviour or spatial distribution is related to road traffic noise we studied the poison frog Andinobates bombetes in a mid-elevation forest remnant that has been exposed to heavy traffic noise throughout more than four decades. To test whether frogs avoid call during noise episodes generated by passing trucks, we compared background noise levels between calling and non-calling times. To test whether traffic noise is correlated with frogs spatial distribution, we measured frog abundance, ambient noise, and environmental covariates throughout a set of 24 sampling plots between 15 and 300 m from two forest edges, one bordered by the road and another one by an agricultural field. Frogs called more often when traffic noise level was lower. Frogs abundance was only marginally correlated with distance to noisy edges but was predictable from the abundance of bromeliad tanks, an alleged limiting resource for their reproduction. Apparently, to avoid calling during episodes with higher noise level allowed frogs to reduce the detrimental masking effects of anthropogenic noise; if so, it would explain why frog distribution is poorly correlated with distance to the noisy road.
Direct renin inhibition: extricating facts from façades
Authors: Juncos Luis 
Published: March 2013

The renin–angiotensin system (RAS) affects vascular tone, cardiac output and kidney function. By these means the RAS plays a key role in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension. As a result, RAS inhibition is highly effective not only in lowering blood pressure but also in reducing kidney disease progression (particularly when associated with proteinuria) and cardiovascular events. Among RAS blocking agents, direct renin inhibitors have shown not only excellent efficacy in hypertension control but also pharmacologic tolerance that is comparable with other renin–angiotensin suppressors. Indeed, aliskiren, the only direct renin inhibitor available is effective in controlling blood pressure as monotherapy or in combination with other antihypertensive drugs, irrespective of patient’s age, ethnicity or sex. It is also effective in patients with metabolic syndrome, obesity and diabetes. Long-term studies comparing ‘hard endpoints’ of aliskiren therapy versus treatment with other RAS inhibitors, including cardiac and kidney protection, are currently ongoing. Combined with other antihypertensive agents, aliskiren not only improves their hypotensive response but may also lessen the adverse effects of other drugs. In high-risk patients, however, precautions should be taken when combining two or more renin–angiotensin inhibiting agents, as tissue perfusion may be highly renin-dependent in these patients and serious adverse side effects could take place.
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry versus quantitative ultrasonography in diagnosing osteoporosis in patients with refractory epilepsy and chronic antiepileptic drug use
Authors: Beerhorst Kim , Tan Joost , Tan In Yu , Verschuure Pauline , Aldenkamp Albert P. 
Published: March 2013

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of calcaneal quantitative ultrasonography (QUS) as a screening method for increased risk of osteoporosis in a unique population of people with chronic epilepsy, intellectual disability (ID), and chronic use of antiepileptic drugs. Methods: A total of 205 patients from a long-stay care facility for people with epilepsy underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and QUS of the calcaneus. T-scores for both DXA and QUS were calculated and correlated. Results: A total of 195 patients (95.1%) were successfully measured with DXA and 204 (99.5%) with QUS. High correlations were found between DXA and QUS T-scores: r = 0.666 (QUS versus T-score total femur), r = 0.631 (QUS versus T-score femur neck) and r = 0.485 (QUS versus T-score lumbar spine). All correlations were statistically significant ( p = 0.01). Conclusion: QUS showed a strong correlation with DXA and proved to be a feasible measuring method in a population with ID and epilepsy. Including osteopenia in the screening process increases the sensitivity of QUS to identify those patients at risk for the development of bone diseases.
Mechanistic studies of intracellular delivery of proteins by cell-penetrating peptides in cyanobacteria
Authors: Liu Betty R , Huang Yue-Wern , Lee Han-Jung 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Background
The plasma membrane plays an essential role in selective permeability, compartmentalization, osmotic balance, and cellular uptake. The characteristics and functions of cyanobacterial membranes have been extensively investigated in recent years. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are special nanocarriers that can overcome the plasma membrane barrier and enter cells directly, either alone or with associated cargoes. However, the cellular entry mechanisms of CPPs in cyanobacteria have not been studied.

Results
In the present study, we determine CPP-mediated transduction efficiency and internalization mechanisms in cyanobacteria using a combination of biological and biophysical methods. We demonstrate that both Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 strains of cyanobacteria possess red autofluorescence. Green fluorescent protein (GFP), either alone or noncovalently associated with a CPP comprised of nine arginine residues (R9/GFP complexes), entered cyanobacteria. The ATP-depleting inhibitor of classical endocytosis, N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), could block the spontaneous internalization of GFP, but not the transduction of R9/GFP complexes. Three specific inhibitors of macropinocytosis, cytochalasin D (CytD), 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)-amiloride (EIPA), and wortmannin, reduced the efficiency of R9/GFP complex transduction, indicating that entry of R9/GFP complexes involves macropinocytosis. Both the 1-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-3,5-diphenylformazan (MTT) and membrane leakage analyses confirmed that R9/GFP complexes were not toxic to the cyanobacteria, nor were the endocytic and macropinocytic inhibitors used in these studies.

Conclusions
In summary, we have demonstrated that cyanobacteria use classical endocytosis and macropinocytosis to internalize exogenous GFP and CPP/GFP proteins, respectively. Moreover, the CPP-mediated delivery system is not toxic to cyanobacteria, and can be used to investigate biological processes at the cellular level in this species. These results suggest that both endocytic and macropinocytic pathways can be used for efficient internalization of regular protein and CPP-mediated protein delivery in cyanobacteria, respectively.
The prognostic value of estrogen receptor beta and proline-, glutamic acid- and leucine-rich protein 1 (PELP1) expression in ovarian cancer
Authors: Aust Stefanie , Horak Peter , Pils Dietmar , Pils Sophie , Grimm Christoph , Horvat Reinhard , Tong Dan , Schmid Bernd , Speiser Paul , Reinthaller Alexander , Polterauer Stephan 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Background
Proline-, glutamic acid-, and leucine-rich protein 1 (PELP1), a coregulator of the estrogen receptors (ERs) alpha and beta, is a potential proto-oncogene in hormone dependent gynecological malignancies. To better understand the role of PELP1 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), the protein expression and prognostic significance of PELP1 was evaluated together with ERalpha and ERbeta in EOC tissues.

Methods
The expression of PELP1, ERalpha, and ERbeta was characterized in tumor tissues of 63 EOC patients. The prognostic value was calculated performing log-rank tests and multivariate Cox-Regression analysis. In a second step, validation analysis in an independent set of 86 serous EOC patients was performed.

Results
Nuclear PELP1 expression was present in 76.2% of the samples. Prevalence of PELP1 expression in mucinous tumors was significantly lower (37.5%) compared to serous (85.7%) and endometrioid tumors (86.7%). A significant association between PELP1 expression and nuclear ERbeta staining was found (p=0.01). Positive PELP1 expression was associated with better disease-free survival (DFS) (p=0.004) and overall survival (OS) (p=0.04). The combined expression of ERbeta+/PELP1+ revealed an independent association with better DFS (HR 0.3 [0.1-0.7], p=0.004) and OS (HR 0.3 [0.1-0.7], p=0.005). In the validation set, the combined expression of ERbeta+/PELP1+ was not associated with DFS (HR 0.7 [0.4-1.3], p=0.3) and OS (HR 0.7 [0.3-1.4], p=0.3).

Conclusion
Positive immunohistochemical staining for the ER coregulator PELP1, alone and in combination with ERbeta, might be of prognostic relevance in EOC.
Effect of Serenoa repens (Permixon®) on the expression of inflammation-related genes: analysis in primary cell cultures of human prostate carcinoma
Authors: Silvestri Ida , Cattarino Susanna , Aglianò AnnaMaria , Nicolazzo Chiara , Scarpa Susanna , Salciccia Stefano , Frati Luigi , Gentile Vincenzo , Sciarra Alessandro 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Background
To analyze the expression at basal level of inflammation-related cytokines and chemokines and the activation status of the NF-κB pathway, together with the proliferation and apoptosis indexes in two widely used in vitro tumor models, the androgen-dependent human Prostate Cancer (PC) cell line LNCaP and the androgen-independent PC3 , and in primary cultures of human PC cells. To assess in these models and primary cultures, the effects of Serenoa repens (LSESr, Permixon®) on proliferation/apoptosis ratio, inflammation-related genes expression and NF-κB pathway activation.

Methods
The expression of IL-6, CCL-5, CCL-2, COX-1, COX-2, iNOS inflammation-related genes has been evaluated at the mRNA level in two in vitro human PC models (LNCaP and PC3 cell lines) and in 40 independent human prostatic primary cultures obtained from PC patients undergoing radical prostatectomy. Tissue fragments were collected from both PC lesions and normal hyperplastic tissue counterparts for each case. All cultures were treated with two different amounts of Permixon® (44 and 88 μg/ml) for different time points (16, 24, 48 and 72 hours), depending on the cell type and the assay; the expression of inflammation-related genes, cell growth (proliferation/apoptosis ratio) and NF-κB activation has been analyzed in treated and untreated cells by means of semi-quantitative RNA-PCR, cell proliferation and immunofluorescence respectively.

Results
We detected a significant reduction (p <0.001) in PC and normal cells proliferation due to Permixon ® treatment. This result was related to an increase of the apoptotic activity showed by an increase in the number of anti-caspase-3 fluorescent cells. Almost all the inflammation-related genes (IL-6, CCL-5, CCL-2, COX-2 and iNOS) were expressed at the basal level in in vitro cultured cells and primary cultures and down-regulated by Permixon® treatment. This treatment interfered with NF-kB activation, detecting by the translocation of more than 30% of NF-κB p65 subunit to the nucleus.

Conclusions
The present study confirms the expression of inflammatory pattern in PC. We showed the effect of Permixon® on down-regulation of inflammatory-related genes in cell lines and in primary cultures. The inhibitory effect of Permixon® on cell growth could be partly associated to the down-regulation of inflammatory-related genes and to the activation of NF-κB pathway in prostate tissue.
Assessing sex assignment concordance with genotype and phenotype
Authors: Suresh Deepa , Crawford Jessica , Axelrad Marni E , Gunn Sheila K , McCullough Laurence , Smith O’Brian , Sutton Vernon R , Roth David , Karaviti Lefkothea P , Dietrich Jennifer E 
Published: March 2013

AbstractObjectivesTo catalogue patients with DSD and to assess the concordance of genotype and phenotype with sex assignment at birth compared to sex assignment before and following assessment by a Gender Medicine Team (GMT) at one institution, as an initial step in formulating standardized guidelines for management of these conditions.DesignAfter obtaining IRB approval, a retrospective chart review was conducted patients seen in the Gender Medicine Clinic (GMC) between 2006–2009 at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH), Houston, Texas. McNemar’s test and Kappa agreement provided associations of various factors with sex assignment at birth prior to GMT assessment and after GMT assessment.ParticipantsForty-seven patients seen in the GMC with confirmed DSD.ResultsForty-seven patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age of the patients at the time of GMT evaluation was 9.1+/−6.1 years; 61.7% had male karyotype, and 38.3% had female karyotype; 51.1% had a male external phenotype, 42.6% had a female external phenotype, and 6.4% had phenotypic ambiguity. Sex assignment was concordant with genotype and phenotype in 63.8% and 86.4%, respectively of cases at the time of birth and in 76.6% and 97.7%, respectively, of cases after assessment by GMT.ConclusionLong-term outcomes are needed to establish standardized practice guidelines for decision-making.
Assessment and management of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis in a reference center
Authors: Campo Ilaria , Mariani Francesca , Rodi Giuseppe , Paracchini Elena , Tsana Eric , Piloni Davide , Nobili Isabella , Kadija Zamir , Corsico Angelo , Cerveri Isa , Chalk Claudia , Trapnell Bruce C , Braschi Antonio , Tinelli Carmine , Luisetti Maurizio 
Published: March 2013

AbstractPulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a term defining an ultra-rare group of disorders characterised by a perturbation in surfactant homeostasis, resulting in its accumulation within airspaces and impaired gas transfer. In this report we provide data from a cohort of PAP patients (n = 81) followed for more than two decades at the San Matteo University Hospital of Pavia, Italy. In agreement with other large series in PAP individuals, 90% of the study subjects were affected by autoimmune/idiopathic PAP, while the remaining subjects were divided as follow: congenital 1%, secondary 4% and PAP-like 5%. The disease affected males and females with a ratio of 2:1 and approximately one third of PAP patients were lifelong nonsmokers. Occupational exposure was reported in 35% of subjects in this series. With reference to the PAP clinical course, in 29 patients (7% with spontaneous remission) disease severity did not necessitate whole lung lavage (WLL) in the long-term follow up. On the other hand, 44 PAP patients underwent therapeutic WLL: in 31 subjects a single WLL was sufficient to provide long term, durable benefit, whereas 13 patients required multiple WLLs. The intra-patient mean interval between two consecutive WLLs was 15.7 ± 13.6 months. When baseline data among never lavaged and PAP patients lavaged at least once were compared, the need for lavage was significantly associated with serum biomarkers (CEA, Cyfra, LDH), lung function parameters forced vital capacity (FVC), and lung diffusing capacity (Dlco). We conclude that patient cohorts with an ultra-rare disease, such as PAP, referred to a single reference center, can provide useful information on the natural history and clinical course of the disease.
Genes involved in carnitine synthesis and carnitine uptake are up-regulated in the liver of sows during lactation
Authors: Rosenbaum Susann , Ringseis Robert , Most Erika , Hillen Sonja , Becker Sabrina , Erhardt Georg , Reiner Gerald , Eder Klaus 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Background
Convincing evidence exist that carnitine synthesis and uptake of carnitine into cells is regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARA), a transcription factor which is physiologically activated during fasting or energy deprivation. Sows are typically in a negative energy balance during peak lactation. We investigated the hypothesis that genes involved in carnitine synthesis and uptake in the liver of sows are up-regulated during peak lactation.

Findings
Transcript levels of several PPARα target genes involved in fatty acid uptake (FABP4, SLC25A20), fatty acid oxidation (ACOX1, CYP4A24) and ketogenesis (HMGCS2, FGF21) were elevated in the liver of lactating compared to non-lactating sows (P < 0.05). In addition, transcript levels of genes involved in carnitine synthesis (ALDH9A1, TMLHE, BBOX1) and carnitine uptake (SLC22A5) in the liver were greater in lactating than in non-lactating sows (P < 0.05). Carnitine concentrations in liver and plasma were about 20% and 50%, respectively, lower in lactating than in non-lactating sows (P < 0.05), which is likely due to an increased loss of carnitine via the milk.

Conclusions
The results of the present study show that PPARα is activated in the liver of sows during lactation which leads to an up-regulation of genes involved in carnitine synthesis and carnitine uptake. The PPARα mediated up-regulation of genes involved in carnitine synthesis and uptake in the liver of lactating sows may be regarded as an adaptive mechanism to maintain hepatic carnitine levels at a level sufficient to transport excessive amounts of fatty acids into the mitochondrion.
Trace determination of lenalidomide in plasma by non-extractive HPLC procedures with fluorescence detection after pre-column derivatization with fluorescamine
Authors: Khalil Nasr Y , Darwish Ibrahim A , Wani Tanveer A , Al-Majed Abdel-Rahman A 
Published: March 2013

AbstractBackgroundLenalidomide (LND) is a new potent drug used for treatment of multiple myeloma. For its pharmacokinetic studies and therapeutic monitoring, a proper analytical method was required.ResultsIn this study, a non extractive and simple pre-column derivatization procedures have been proposed, for the for trace determination of lenalidomide (LND) in human plasma by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Plasma samples were treated with acetonitrile for protein precipitation then treated with copper acetate to form stable complexes with the biogenic amines and mask their interference with the derivatization reaction of LND. Treated plasma samples containing LND was derivatized with fluorescamine (FLC) in aqueous media at ambient temperature. Separation of the derivatized LND was performed on Hypersil BDS C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm particle size) using a mobile phase consisting of phosphate buffer (pH 4):methanol: tetrahydrofuran (70:10:20, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The derivatized samples were monitored at an emission wavelength of 495 nm after excitation at a wavelength of 382 nm. Under the optimum chromatographic conditions, a linear relationship with good correlation coefficient (r = 0.9997, n = 9) was found between the peak area and LND concentrations in the range of 2–100 ng/mL. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.8 and 2.30 ng/mL, respectively. The intra- and inter-assay precisions were satisfactory and the accuracy of the method was proved. The recovery of LND from the spiked human plasma was 99.30 ± 2.88.ConclusionsThe proposed method had high throughput as the analysis involved simple sample pre-treatment procedure and a relatively short run-time (< 15 min). The results demonstrated that the method would have a great value when it is applied in the therapeutic monitoring and pharmacokinetic studies for LND.
Special cycles on unitary Shimura varieties II: Global theory
Authors: Kudla Stephen , Rapoport Michael 
Published: March 2013

Abstract

We introduce moduli spaces
of abelian varieties which are arithmetic models of Shimura varieties
attached to unitary groups of signature

(
n
-
1
,
1
)

$(n-1, 1)$

. We define arithmetic cycles on these models and
study their intersection behavior. In particular, in the non-degenerate case, we prove a relation
between their intersection numbers and Fourier coefficients of the derivative at s = 0 of a certain
incoherent Eisenstein series for the group

U
(
n
,
n
)

$\textup {U}(n, n)$

. This is done by relating the arithmetic cycles to
their formal counterpart from part I [Invent. Math. 184 (2011), 629–682]
via non-archimedean uniformization, and by relating the Fourier
coefficients to the derivatives of representation densities of hermitian forms. The result
then follows from the main theorem of part I and a counting argument.
Treatment of wood with silica sols against attack by wood-decaying fungi and blue stain
Authors: Pries Malte , Mai Carsten 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
Pine sapwood was treated with various types of silica sols. Whereas alkaline sols were not able to penetrate deeper into wood, neutral and acidic sols showed good penetration. The weight percent gain of treated specimens amounted to 20–25%; bulking was negligible or even slightly negative. All silica sols in the treated specimens were stable against water leaching. A water submersion test revealed hydrophobation of the wood only after treatment with a cationic silica sol; all other silica sols increased the rate of water uptake. The addition of 2% cationic sol to a malt-agar growth medium caused growth inhibition of 40–50% of the wood decay fungi Coniophora puteana and Trametes versicolor, whereas the other silica sols did not inhibit growth. Pine sapwood and beech wood blocks treated with the cationic sol showed a strong reduction in mass loss compared to the control samples after incubation with C. puteana (pine) and T. versicolor (beech) according to EN 113 and CEN/TS 15083-1; all other silica sols did not inhibit fungal decay. The cationic silica sol reduced blue staining by Aureobasidium pullulans compared to the untreated control but did not fully prevent it; all other silica sols did not inhibit blue staining.
Salting-out and salting-in experiments with lignosulfonates (LSs)
Authors: Myrvold Bernt O. 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
The solubility of lignosulfonates (LSs) in water is strongly dependent on other ions present in the water phase. The differences in the solubility might strongly influence the measurements of the physical and chemical properties of the LS molecules. A reduced solubility of the LS might also affect its utility in many practical applications. The understanding of the interaction between LSs and various salts is important for both practical and theoretical reasons. Therefore, the effect of salt concentrations on the LS has been investigated for 41 different salts with 14 different cations and 16 different anions. The observations cannot be explained by the common ion effect or the screening effects. On the contrary, it was found that the stability of LS solutions follows the Hofmeister series, with the exception of those ions that will chemically interact with the LS molecule. Moreover, the positions of phosphate (HPO4
2-) and sulfate (SO4
2-) ions were reversed.
Multivariate-parameter optimization of the alkaline peroxide mechanical pulp (APMP) process for larch (Larix gmelinii Rupr.) using Box-Behnken design
Authors: He Wenming , Hu Huiren , Li Wang 
Published: March 2013

Abstract
The study is aiming at the finding of optimal pulping conditions for the alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping process applied to larch in terms of brightness (% ISO) and tensile strength (TS). Based on three variables, the Box-Behnken experimental design was applied to determine the effects of the first-stage and second-stage dosages of H2O2 and the impregnation temperature on % ISO and TS. The equations based on the quadratic regression analysis were developed, which describe the response behaviors as the simultaneous functions of the selected independent variables. The best brightness achieved was 75.4% ISO under the following conditions: first-stage H2O2 3.5%, second-stage H2O2 3.54%, and impregnation temperature 81.4°C. The best TS (37.2 N·m g-1) was found under the following conditions: first-stage H2O2 2.4%, second-stage H2O2 3.9%, and impregnation temperature 90°C.