bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An Analysis of CPC’s Operational 0.5-Month Lead Seasonal Outlooks
Authors: Peng Peitao , Kumar Arun , Halpert Michael S. , Barnston Anthony G. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractAn analysis and verification of 15 years of Climate Prediction Center (CPC) operational seasonal surface temperature and precipitation climate outlooks over the United States is presented for the shortest and most commonly used lead time of 0.5 months. The analysis is intended to inform users of the characteristics and skill of the outlooks, and inform the forecast producers of specific biases or weaknesses to help guide development of improved forecast tools and procedures. The forecast assessments include both categorical and probabilistic verification diagnostics and their seasonalities, and encompass both temporal and spatial variations in forecast skill. A reliability analysis assesses the correspondence between the forecast probabilities and their corresponding observed relative frequencies. Attribution of skill to specific physical sources is discussed. ENSO and long-term trends are shown to be the two dominant sources of seasonal forecast skill. Higher average skill is found for temperature than for precipitation, largely because temperature benefits from trends to a much greater extent than precipitation, whose skill is more exclusively ENSO based. Skill over the United States is substantially dependent on season and location. The warming trend is shown to have been reproduced, but considerably underestimated, in the forecasts. Aside from this underestimation, and slight overconfidence in precipitation forecast probabilities, a fairly good correspondence between forecast probabilities and subsequent observed relative frequencies is found. This confirms that the usually weak forecast probability anomalies, while disappointing to some users, are justified by normally modest signal-to-noise ratios.
Accelerating the EnKF Spinup for Typhoon Assimilation and Prediction
Authors: Yang Shu-Chih , Kalnay Eugenia , Miyoshi Takemasa 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
A mesoscale ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) for a regional model is often initialized from global analysis products and with initial ensemble perturbations constructed based on the background error covariance used in the three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVar) system. Because of the lack of proper mesoscale information, a long spinup period of typically a few days is required for the regional EnKF to reach its asymptotic level of accuracy, and thus, the impact of observations is limited during the EnKF spinup. For the case of typhoon assimilation, such spinup usually corresponds to the stages of generation and development of tropical cyclones, when observations are important but limited over open waters. To improve the analysis quality during the spinup, the “running in place” (RIP) method is implemented within the framework of the local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF) coupled with the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF). Results from observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) for a specific typhoon show that the RIP method is able to accelerate the analysis adjustment of the dynamical structures of the typhoon during the LETKF spinup, and improves both the accuracy of the mean state and the structure of the ensemble-based error covariance. These advantages of the RIP method are found not only in the inner-core structure of the typhoon but also identified in the environmental conditions. As a result, the LETKF-RIP analysis leads to better typhoon prediction, particularly in terms of both track and intensity.
Changes in DNA methylation and transgenerational mobilization of a transposable element (mPing) by the Topoisomerase II inhibitor, Etoposide, in rice
Authors: Yang Xuejiao , Yu Yingjie , Jiang Lily , Lin Xiuyun , Zhang Chunyu , Ou Xiufang , Osabe Kenji , Liu Bao 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackgroundEtoposide (epipodophyllotoxin) is a chemical commonly used as an anti-cancer drug which inhibits DNA synthesis by blocking topoisomerase II activity. Previous studies in animal cells have demonstrated that etoposide constitutes a genotoxic stress which may induce genomic instability including mobilization of normally quiescent transposable elements (TEs). However, it remained unknown whether similar genetically mutagenic effects could be imposed by etoposide in plant cells. Also, no information is available with regard to whether the drug may cause a perturbation of epigenetic stability in any organism.ResultsTo investigate whether etoposide could generate genetic and/or epigenetic instability in plant cells, we applied etoposide to germinating seeds of six cultivated rice (Oryza sativaL.) genotypes including both subspecies,japonicaandindica. Based on the methylation-sensitive gel-blotting results, epigenetic changes in DNA methylation of three TEs (Tos17,Osr23andOsr36) and two protein-encoding genes (HomeoboxandCDPK-relatedgenes) were detected in the etoposide-treated plants (S0 generation) in four of the six studiedjaponicacultivars, Nipponbare, RZ1, RZ2, and RZ35, but not in the restjaponicacultivar (Matsumae) and theindicacultivar (93-11). DNA methylation changes in the etoposide-treated S0 rice plants were validated by bisulfite sequencing at both of two analyzed loci (Tos17andOsr36). Transpositional activity was tested for eight TEs endogenous to the rice genome in both the S0 plants and their selfed progenies (S1 and S2) of one of the cultivars, RZ1, which manifested heritable phenotypic variations. Results indicated that no transposition occurred in the etoposide-treated S0 plants for any of the TEs. Nonetheless, a MITE transposon,mPing, showed rampant mobilization in the S1 and S2 progenies descended from the drug-treated S0 plants.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that etoposide imposes a similar genotoxic stress on plant cells as it does on animal and human cells, which may induce transgenerational genomic instability by instigating transpositional activation of otherwise dormant TEs. In addition, we show for the first time that etoposide may induce epigenetic instability in the form of altered DNA methylation patterns in eukaryotes. However, penetrance of the genotoxic effects of etoposide on plant cells, as being reflected as genetic and epigenetic instability, appears to be in a strictly genotype- and/or generation-dependent manner.
Chromium picolinate and chromium histidinate protects against renal dysfunction by modulation of NF-κB pathway in high-fat diet fed and Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
Authors: Selcuk Mustafa Yavuz , Aygen Bilge , Dogukan Ayhan , Tuzcu Zeynep , Akdemir Fatih , Komorowski James R , Atalay Mustafa , Sahin Kazim 
Published: April 2012

Abstract

Background
Diabetic nephropathy is one of major complications of diabetes mellitus. Although chromium is an essential element for carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, its effects on diabetic nephropathy are not well understood. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of chromium picolinate (CrPic) and chromium histidinate (CrHis) on nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and nuclear factor-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) pathway in the rat kidney.

Methods
Male Wistar rats were divided into six groups. Group I received a standard diet (8% fat) and served as a control; Group II was fed with a standard diet and received CrPic; Group III was fed with a standard diet and received CrHis; Group IV received a high fat diet (HFD, 40% fat) for 2 weeks and then were injected with streptozotocin (STZ) (HFD/STZ); Group V was treated as group IV (HFD/STZ) but supplemented with CrPic for 12 weeks. Group VI was treated as group IV (HFD/STZ) but supplemented with CrHis.

Results
The increased NF-κβ p65 in the HFD/STZ group was inhibited by CrPic and CrHis supplementation (P < 0.05). In STZ-treated rats, a significant decrease in levels of nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor, alpha (IκBα) was found in kidney tissues when compared to control rats (P < 0.05). A significant increase in the levels of IκBα was observed in CrPic- and CrHis-treated rats when compared with STZ-treated rats. Renal Nrf2 levels were significantly decreased in diabetic rats compared with the control rats. There was a higher tendency for increase of kidney Nrf2 level and decrease in kidney NFκBp65 levels and 4- hydroxyl nonenal (4-HNE) protein adducts (P < 0.05) in diabetic rats.

Conclusion
Our result show that in kidney tissue CrHis/CrPic increases Nrf2 level, parallelly decreases NF-κB and partially restores IκBα levels in HFD/STZ group, suggesting that CrPic and CrHis may play a role in antioxidant defense system via the Nrf2 pathway by reducing inflammation through NF-κβ p65 inhibition. Moreover, a greater reduction in NF-κB expression and greater increases in expressions of IκBα and Nrf2 in diabetic rats supplemented with CrHis than rats supplemented with CrPic suggest that CrHis has more favorable effects than CrPic.
Loss of glutathione homeostasis associated with neuronal senescence facilitates TRPM2 channel activation in cultured hippocampal pyramidal neurons
Authors: Belrose Jillian C , Xie Yu-Feng , Gierszewski Lynn J , MacDonald John F , Jackson Michael F 
Published: April 2012

Abstract

Background
Glutathione (GSH) plays an important role in neuronal oxidant defence. Depletion of cellular GSH is observed in neurodegenerative diseases and thereby contributes to the associated oxidative stress and Ca2+ dysregulation. Whether depletion of cellular GSH, associated with neuronal senescence, directly influences Ca2+ permeation pathways is not known. Transient receptor potential melastatin type 2 (TRPM2) is a Ca2+ permeable non-selective cation channel expressed in several cell types including hippocampal pyramidal neurons. Moreover, activation of TRPM2 during oxidative stress has been linked to cell death. Importantly, GSH has been reported to inhibit TRPM2 channels, suggesting they may directly contribute to Ca2+ dysregulation associated with neuronal senescence. Herein, we explore the relation between cellular GSH and TRPM2 channel activity in long-term cultures of hippocampal neurons.

Results
In whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings, we observe that TRPM2 current density increases in cultured pyramidal neurons over time in vitro. The observed increase in current density was prevented by treatment with NAC, a precursor to GSH synthesis. Conversely, treatment of cultures maintained for 2 weeks in vitro with L-BSO, which depletes GSH by inhibiting its synthesis, augments TRPM2 currents. Additionally, we demonstrate that GSH inhibits TRPM2 currents through a thiol-independent mechanism, and produces a 3.5-fold shift in the dose-response curve generated by ADPR, the intracellular agonist for TRPM2.

Conclusion
These results indicate that GSH plays a physiologically relevant role in the regulation of TRPM2 currents in hippocampal pyramidal neurons. This interaction may play an important role in aging and neurological diseases associated with depletion of GSH.
Mitotic Spindle Form and Function
Authors: Winey Mark , Bloom Kerry 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
The Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitotic spindle in budding yeast is exemplified by its simplicity and elegance. Microtubules are nucleated from a crystalline array of proteins organized in the nuclear envelope, known as the spindle pole body in yeast (analogous to the centrosome in larger eukaryotes). The spindle has two classes of nuclear microtubules: kinetochore microtubules and interpolar microtubules. One kinetochore microtubule attaches to a single centromere on each chromosome, while approximately four interpolar microtubules emanate from each pole and interdigitate with interpolar microtubules from the opposite spindle to provide stability to the bipolar spindle. On the cytoplasmic face, two to three microtubules extend from the spindle pole toward the cell cortex. Processes requiring microtubule function are limited to spindles in mitosis and to spindle orientation and nuclear positioning in the cytoplasm. Microtubule function is regulated in large part via products of the 6 kinesin gene family and the 1 cytoplasmic dynein gene. A single bipolar kinesin (Cin8, class Kin-5), together with a depolymerase (Kip3, class Kin-8) or minus-end-directed kinesin (Kar3, class Kin-14), can support spindle function and cell viability. The remarkable feature of yeast cells is that they can survive with microtubules and genes for just two motor proteins, thus providing an unparalleled system to dissect microtubule and motor function within the spindle machine.
Comments by the Auditing Standards Committee of the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association on Public Exposure Draft: Internal Control—Integrated Framework (COSO Framework)
Authors: Vandervelde Scott D. , Brazel Joseph F. , Jones Keith L. , Walker Paul L. 
Published: April 2012

SUMMARY
In November 2010, COSO announced a project to review and update the 1992 Internal Control—Integrated Framework (COSO 1992). COSO's goal in updating the framework was to increase its relevance in the increasingly complex and global business environment to help ensure that organizations worldwide can better design, implement, and assess internal control. The proposed Framework retains the core definition of internal control and the five components of internal control. One of the most significant enhancements is the expression of concepts described in the original framework into 17 principles, accompanied by related attributes. COSO provided for a 104-day exposure period (from December 19, 2011 to March 31, 2012) for interested parties to examine the exposure draft and provide comments. On March 29, 2012, the Auditing Standards Committee of the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association provided the comments in the letter below to COSO on Public Exposure Draft: Internal Control—Integrated Framework (COSO Framework).
Data Availability: Information about and access to the release is available at: http://www.ic.coso.org/default.aspx
The influence of resiniferatoxin on the chemical coding of neurons in dorsal root ganglia supplying the urinary bladder in the female pig
Authors: Bossowska A. , Majewski M. 
Published: April 2012

The influence of resiniferatoxin on the chemical coding of neurons in dorsal root ganglia supplying the urinary bladder in the female pig
Although resiniferatoxin (RTX) becomes more often used in experimental therapies of sensory system disorders, so far there is no data concerning the influence of RTX on the chemical coding of neurons in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) supplying the urinary bladder in the pig, an animal species considered as a reliable animal model for investigation dealing with human lower urinary tract disorders. Retrograde tracer Fast Blue (FB) was injected into the wall of the right half of the urinary bladder in six juvenile female pigs, and three weeks later, bladder instillation of RTX (500 nmol per animal) was carried out in all the animals. After a week, DRGs were harvested from all the pigs and the neurochemical characterization of FB+ neurons was performed using routine single-immunofluorescence labeling technique on 10-μm-thick cryostat sections. RTX instillation resulted in a distinct decrease in the numbers of FB+ cells containing calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), somatostatin (SOM) and calbindin (CB) when compared with those found in the healthy animals (18% vs. 36%, 1% vs. 6%, 0.8% vs. 4% and 0.5% vs. 3%, respectively), and an increase in the number of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP)- and galanin (GAL)-immunoreactive (IR) nerve cells (51% vs. 26% and 47% vs. 6.5%). The results obtained suggest that RTX could be taken into consideration when the neuroactive agents are planned to be used in experimental therapies of selected neurogenic bladder illnesses.
First record of Vulgarogamasus immanis (Acari, Mesostigmata) in Svalbard
Authors: Gwiazdowicz Dariusz , Solhøy Torstein , Coulson Stephen , Lebedeva Natalia , Melekhina Elena 
Published: April 2012

First record ofVulgarogamasus immanis(Acari, Mesostigmata) in SvalbardThe mesostigmatid miteVulgarogamasus immanis(Berlese, 1904) is reported in Svalbard for the first time. The gamasid mite community of Svalbard is amongst the best known of invertebrate groups of the archipelago due to recent revisions based on fresh sampling campaigns. Nonetheless, a hitherto unrecorded species of gamasid mite was recently found along the strandline in Barentsburg. This record brings the total gamasid mite inventory of Svalbard to 23 species. The current inventory of Svalbard is bedeviled with synonyms and misidentifications. Nevertheless, resolving these confusions and maintaining an accurate and updated species inventory is of prime importance in understanding the ecology of this region. Especially in a period of rapid environmental change.
Genetic and epigenetic variation in a cosmopolitan grass Poa annua from Antarctic and Polish populations
Authors: Chwedorzewska Katarzyna , Bednarek Piotr 
Published: April 2012

Genetic and epigenetic variation in a cosmopolitan grassPoa annuafrom Antarctic and Polish populationsPoa annuaL. is the only non-native vascular plant that was successfully established in the maritime Antarctic. This project aimed to determine the amount of genetic and epigenetic variation within and between two populations ofP. annua, one from South Shetland Is. (Antarctic) and the other one from Central Europe. We applied two AFLP marker systems, using endonucleases that recognised the same restriction site but differed in their sensitivity towards methylation. The Antarctic population differed from the Polish one both at the genetic and epigenetic levels. Genetic variability in the Antarctic population was lower than in the Polish one. Some loci in the Antarctic population showed signs of selection. The difference between Polish and Antarctic populations might be due to a weak bottleneck effect followed by population expansion. Using only epigenetic markers, the Antarctic population exhibited increased variation level compared to the Polish one. These may have resulted from plastic responses to environmental factors and could be associated with survival in extreme conditions.
Coreless winters in the European sector of the Arctic and their synoptic conditions
Authors: Bednorz Ewa , Fortuniak Krzysztof 
Published: April 2012

Coreless winters in the European sector of the Arctic and their synoptic conditions
The coreless winters (i.e. not having a cold core) were distinguished in four stations within the European sector of the Arctic. Anomalies of the frequency of the Niedźwiedź's (2011) circulation types were calculated separately for the mid-winter warm months and for cold months preceding and following the warm-spells. Furthermore, composite and anomaly maps of the sea level pressure as s well as anomaly maps of the air temperature at 850 gpm (geopotential meters) were constructed separately for the mid-winter warm events and for the cold months before and after warming. Different pressure patterns were recognized among the days of mid-winter warm spells, using the clustering method. The occurrence of coreless winters in the study area seems to be highly controlled by the position, extension and intensity of large scale atmospheric systems, mainly the Icelandic Low. When the Low spreads to the east and its centre locates over the Barents Sea the inflow of air masses from the northern quadrant is observed over the North Atlantic. This brings cold air of Arctic origin to the islands and causes an essential drop in the air temperature. Such situation takes place during the cold months preceding and following the warm mid-winter events. During the warm spells the Icelandic Low gets deeper-than-usual and it is pushed to the northeast, which contributes to the air inflow from the southern quadrant.
Shifting concepts in rectal cancer management
Authors: Kosinski Lauren , Habr‐Gama Angelita , Ludwig Kirk , Perez Rodrigo 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThe management of rectal cancer has transformed over the last 3 decades and continues to evolve. Some of these changes parallel progress made with other cancers: refinement of surgical technique to improve organ preservation, selective use of neoadjuvant (and adjuvant) therapy, and emergence of criteria suggesting a role for individually tailored therapy. Other changes are driven by fairly unique issues including functional considerations, rectal anatomic features, and surgical technical issues. Further complexity is due to the variety of staging modalities (each with its own limitations), neoadjuvant treatment alternatives, and competing strategies for sequencing multimodal treatment even for nonmetastatic disease. Importantly, observations of tumor response made in the era of neoadjuvant therapy are reshaping some traditionally held concepts about tumor behavior. Frameworks for prioritizing and integrating complex data can help to formulate treatment plans for patients. CA Cancer J Clin 2012;. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Flowering asynchrony and mating system effects on reproductive assurance and mutualism persistence in fragmented fig–fig wasp populations
Authors: Gates Daniel J. , Nason John D. 
Published: April 2012

•Premise of the study:Plants and animals may experience reproductive Allee effects in fragmented populations, and obligate pollination mutualisms may be especially sensitive to extinction risk via this density‐dependent process. In this study we examine how a shift from within‐crown reproductive synchrony to asynchrony influences reproductive assurance through contributions to selfing and outcrossing in small, spatially isolated populations ofFicus.•Methods:The research focuses on the monoecious figF. petiolarisand consists of phenological analyses and genetic assessments of selfing and outcrossing for populations located in Baja California's Sonoran Desert.•Key results:Phenological censuses of eight populations revealed within‐crown asynchrony in 44% of reproducing trees, with 16% having sufficient overlap of male and female flowering phases to permit selfing via the cycling of pollinating fig wasps within natal trees. In mating system analyses of two of these populations, however, multilocus outcrossing rates (tm) were indistinguishable from 1. This result, combined with low levels of inbreeding, indicates selfing to be absent or at best a minor contributor to reproductive assurance.•Conclusions:The results indicate that the fitness benefits of within‐crown asynchrony lie not with selfing, as commonly asserted, but with increased opportunities for outcross pollen transmission and receipt, changing our understanding of the mechanisms by which reproduction is facilitated and extinction risk minimized in naturally fragmentedFicuspopulations. Given the role of fig fruit as a keystone food resource in many tropical environments, trait variation leading to reproductive assurance in figs, such as within‐crown asynchrony, has broader ecosystem‐level implications.