bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Towards Flexible Coexistence Regulations for GM crops in the EU   Vers des réglementations flexibles en terme de coexistence pour les cultures transgéniques dans l’Union européenne   Hin zu flexiblen Koexistenzregelungen für genetisch veränderte Feldfrüchte in der EU
Authors: Demont Matty , Devos Yann , Sanvido Olivier 
Published: July 2009

SummaryTowards Flexible Coexistence Regulations for GM crops in the EUThe European Union (EU) is currently facing a challenge that might unnecessarily hamper the adoption of GM crops: regulating the coexistence of genetically modified (GM) and non‐GM crops. Member states are currently implementing or developing both ex ante coexistence regulations and ex post liability schemes to ensure that both GM and non‐GM crops can be cultivated in the EU. In this article, we explore in detail how national and/or regional policymakers can build in a certain degree of flexibility in ex ante coexistence regulations in order to reduce the regulatory burden on certain agricultural options and avoid jeopardising the economic incentives for coexistence. We use the example of GM maize as a case study, being the only GM crop planted over a significant area in the EU. We conclude that flexibility could be integrated into regulations at different levels: (i) at the regulatory level by relaxing some of the regulatory rigidity in ex ante regulations; (ii) at the farm level by allowing the substitution of isolation distances by pollen barriers; and (iii) at the national/regional level through plural coexistence measures, consistent with heterogeneity of farming in the EU.
Articulation Characteristics of Severely and Profoundly Deaf Children and Approaches to Therapy: A Review of the Electropalatography Literature
Authors: Ellis Lucy 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThis article provides a concise review of (i) the segmental articulation errors produced by severely and profoundly deaf children and (ii) the approaches to therapy carried out to remediate these errors. In both cases, evidence is gathered from studies using electropalatography (EPG), an instrumental technique which provides a direct articulatory display of the timing and location of contact between the tongue and the hard palate during speech. Attention is paid to what is known about the generalisation and maintenance of improvements in speech production following EPG visual feedback therapy.
The British Housing Market: What has been happening?*
Authors: Nickell Stephen 
Published: July 2009

Abstract:The current system of planning and development in the UK generates new homes at a rate which has been well below the rate of increase of households for many years. This has helped to generate very rapid increases in house prices relative to incomes in the last decade as well as rapidly lengthening waiting lists for social housing. The fundamental problem has been the severe rationing of land for new house building by Local Authorities as they respond to opposition to housing development on the part of their constituents and the absence of any significant financial incentives to encourage development. Our policy proposals are geared to alleviate the situation by allowing Local Authorities to access the large financial gains accruing to landowners consequent on the granting of planning permission. The money can then be used to subsidize social housing and improve the locality more generally.
Collective Behavior
Authors: Goldstone Robert L. , Gureckis Todd M. 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe resurgence of interest in collective behavior is in large part due to tools recently made available for conducting laboratory experiments on groups, statistical methods for analyzing large data sets reflecting social interactions, the rapid growth of a diverse variety of online self‐organized collectives, and computational modeling methods for understanding both universal and scenario‐specific social patterns. We consider case studies of collective behavior along four attributes: the primary motivation of individuals within the group, kinds of interactions among individuals, typical dynamics that result from these interactions, and characteristic outcomes at the group level. With this framework, we compare the collective patterns of noninteracting decision makers, bee swarms, groups forming paths in physical and abstract spaces, sports teams, cooperation and competition for resource usage, and the spread and extension of innovations in an online community. Some critical issues surrounding collective behavior are then reviewed, including the questions of “Does group behavior always reduce to individual behavior?”“Is ‘group cognition’ possible?” and “What is the value of formal modeling for understanding group behavior?”
A Philosopher’s Reflections on the Discovery of Mirror Neurons
Authors: Jacob Pierre 
Published: July 2009

AbstractMirror neurons fire both when a primate executes a transitive action directed toward a target (e.g., grasping) and when he observes the same action performed by another. According to the prevalent interpretation, action‐mirroring is a process of interpersonal neural similarity whereby an observer maps the agent’s perceived movements onto her own motor repertoire. Furthermore, ever since Gallese and Goldman’s (1998) influential paper, action‐mirroring has been linked to third‐person mindreading on the grounds that it enables an observer to represent the agent’s intention. In this paper, I criticize the prevalent interpretation on two grounds. First, action‐mirroring could not result in interpersonal neural similarity unless there was a single mechanism active at different times in a single brain during the execution and the perception of acts of grasping. Second, such a neural mechanism is better conceived as underlying the possession of the concept of grasping than as a basis for mindreading.
Performance of the Ascensia ENTRUST glucose meter for determination of blood glucose concentration in rats
Authors: Vijayakumar S. , Everds Nancy E. , Kalaiselvan P. , Shakthidevan R.K. , Murkunde Yogesh Kumar V. , Wells Monique Y. 
Published: July 2009

Background: The Ascensia ENTRUST blood glucose meter is intended for self‐monitoring of blood glucose by diabetic patients. Use of such a glucometer would minimize blood volume requirements for the measurement of glucose in small laboratory animals.Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the performance of the Ascensia ENTRUST for measuring glucose in whole blood from Wistar rats by evaluating the effect of anticoagulant and sample processing delay and comparing normalized results with plasma glucose concentration.Methods: Blood samples were collected from the retroorbital sinus of 30 male Wistar rats with a wide range of blood glucose concentrations. Glucose concentration was measured with the Ascensia ENTRUST in nonheparinized (NH) and heparinized samples immediately after collection (Hep‐0) and in heparinized samples after a 15 min delay at 23–28°C (Hep‐15). Heparinized samples were centrifuged and glucose concentration was determined in plasma using an automated chemistry analyzer. Results were compared to assess the effect of anticoagulant (NH vs Hep‐0) and time (Hep 0 vs Hep 15), and to compare normalized Hep‐15 results with plasma glucose concentration.Results: Glucose concentration was not significantly different between NH and Hep‐0 samples. Glucose concentration was lower in Hep‐15 (77±36.9 mg/dL) than Hep‐0 (88±39.7 mg/dL) samples, but the difference was not significant. With normalization, Hep‐15 glucose concentration correlated well (r≥.98) with plasma glucose concentration but was lower by 6.0±16.7 mg/dL, with a positive bias at low glucose concentrations and a negative bias at high concentrations.Conclusion: The Ascensia ENTRUST may be adequate for repeated blood glucose measurements in rats, but its results do not accurately predict plasma glucose concentrations measured by an automated clinical chemistry analyzer.
Evaluation of Analogs of Reutericyclin as Prospective Candidates for Treatment of Staphylococcal Skin Infections
Authors: Hurdle Julian G. , Yendapally Raghunandan , Sun Dianqing , Lee Richard E. 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACT

The potential for reutericyclin derivatives to be used as topical antibiotics to treat staphylococcal skin infections was investigated. All reutericyclins inhibited the growth of clinical isolates of drug-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
. Unlike the standard topical agent mupirocin, most reutericyclin derivatives eradicated staphylococcal biofilms. Moreover, two compounds formulated in hydrophilic petrolatum (10%, wt/wt) were efficacious in treating
S. aureus
superficial skin infections in mice. These data exemplify the prospect of developing reutericyclins as new topical antibiotics.
Didanosine Population Pharmacokinetics in West African Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Children Administered Once-Daily Tablets in Relation to Efficacy after One Year of Treatment
Authors: Hirt Déborah , Bardin Christophe , Diagbouga Serge , Nacro Boubacar , Hien Hervé , Zoure Emmanuelle , Rouet François , Ouiminga Adama , Urien Saik , Foulongne Vincent , Van De Perre Philippe , Tréluyer Jean-Marc , Msellati Philippe 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACTOur objective was to study didanosine pharmacokinetics in children after the administration of tablets, the only formulation available in Burkina Faso for which data are missing, and to establish relationships between doses, plasma drug concentrations, and treatment effects (efficacy/toxicity). Didanosine concentrations were measured for 40 children after 2 weeks and for 9 children after 2 to 5 months of treatment with a didanosine-lamivudine-efavirenz combination. A population pharmacokinetic model was developed with NONMEM. The link between the maximal concentration of the drug in plasma (Cmax), the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC), and the decrease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 RNA levels after 12 months of treatment was evaluated. The threshold AUC that improved efficacy was determined by the use of a Wilcoxon test for HIV RNA, and an optimized dosing schedule was simulated. Didanosine pharmacokinetics was best described by a one-compartment model with first-order absorption and elimination. The apparent clearance and volume of distribution were higher for tablets, probably due to a lower bioavailability with tablets than with pediatric powder. The decrease in the viral load after 12 months of treatment was significantly correlated with the didanosine AUC andCmax(P≤ 0.02) during the first weeks of treatment. An AUC of >0.60 mg/liter·h was significantly linked to a greater decrease in the viral load (a decrease of 3 log10versus 2.4 log10copies/ml;P= 0.03) than that with a lower AUC. A didanosine dose of 360 mg/m2administered as tablets should be a more appropriate dose than 240 mg/m2to improve efficacy for these children. However, data on adverse events with this dosage are missing.
Identification of Amino Acid Residues Responsible for the Enantioselectivity and Amide Formation Capacity of the Arylacetonitrilase fromPseudomonas fluorescensEBC191
Authors: Kiziak Christoph , Stolz Andreas 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACTThe nitrilase fromPseudomonas fluorescensEBC191 converted (R,S)-mandelonitrile with a low enantioselectivity to (R)-mandelic acid and (S)-mandeloamide in a ratio of about 4:1. In contrast, the same substrate was hydrolyzed by the homologous nitrilase fromAlcaligenes faecalisATCC 8750 almost exclusively to (R)-mandelic acid. A chimeric enzyme between both nitrilases was constructed, which represented in total 16 amino acid exchanges in the central part of the nitrilase fromP. fluorescensEBC191. The chimeric enzyme clearly resembled the nitrilase fromA. faecalisATCC 8750 in its turnover characteristics for (R,S)-mandelonitrile and (R,S)-2-phenylpropionitrile (2-PPN) and demonstrated an even higher enantioselectivity for the formation of (R)-mandelic acid than the nitrilase fromA. faecalis. An alanine residue (Ala165) in direct proximity to the catalytically active cysteine residue was replaced in the nitrilase fromP. fluorescensby a tryptophan residue (as found in the nitrilase fromA. faecalisATCC 8750 and most other bacterial nitrilases) and several other amino acid residues. Those enzyme variants that possessed a larger substituent in position 165 (tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine, or histidine) converted racemic mandelonitrile and 2-PPN to increased amounts of theRenantiomers of the corresponding acids. The enzyme variant Ala165His showed a significantly increased relative activity for mandelonitrile (compared to 2-PPN), and the opposite was found for the enzyme variants carrying aromatic residues in the relevant position. The mutant forms carrying an aromatic substituent in position 165 generally formed significantly reduced amounts of mandeloamide from mandelonitrile. The important effect of the corresponding amino acid residue on the reaction specificity and enantiospecificity of arylacetonitrilases was confirmed by the construction of a Trp164Ala variant of the nitrilase fromA. faecalisATCC 8750. This point mutation converted the highlyR-specific nitrilase into an enzyme that converted (R,S)-mandelonitrile preferentially to (S)-mandeloamide.
Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Drinking Water Treatment and Distribution Systems
Authors: Xi Chuanwu , Zhang Yongli , Marrs Carl F. , Ye Wen , Simon Carl , Foxman Betsy , Nriagu Jerome 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACT
The occurrence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) are pressing public health problems worldwide, and aquatic ecosystems are a recognized reservoir for ARB. We used culture-dependent methods and quantitative molecular techniques to detect and quantify ARB and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in source waters, drinking water treatment plants, and tap water from several cities in Michigan and Ohio. We found ARGs and heterotrophic ARB in all finished water and tap water tested, although the amounts were small. The quantities of most ARGs were greater in tap water than in finished water and source water. In general, the levels of bacteria were higher in source water than in tap water, and the levels of ARB were higher in tap water than in finished water, indicating that there was regrowth of bacteria in drinking water distribution systems. Elevated resistance to some antibiotics was observed during water treatment and in tap water. Water treatment might increase the antibiotic resistance of surviving bacteria, and water distribution systems may serve as an important reservoir for the spread of antibiotic resistance to opportunistic pathogens.
Genetic Analysis of a NovelXylella fastidiosaSubspecies Found in the Southwestern United States
Authors: Randall Jennifer J. , Goldberg Natalie P. , Kemp John D. , Radionenko Maxim , French Jason M. , Olsen Mary W. , Hanson Stephen F. 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACTXylella fastidiosa, the causal agent of several scorch diseases, is associated with leaf scorch symptoms inChitalpa tashkentensis, a common ornamental landscape plant used throughout the southwestern United States. For a number of years, many chitalpa trees in southern New Mexico and Arizona exhibited leaf scorch symptoms, and the results from a regional survey show that chitalpa trees from New Mexico, Arizona, and California are frequently infected withX. fastidiosa.Phylogenetic analysis of multiple loci was used to compare theX. fastidiosainfecting chitalpa strains from New Mexico, Arizona, and trees imported into New Mexico nurseries with previously reportedX. fastidiosastrains. Loci analyzed included the 16S ribosome, 16S-23S ribosomal intergenic spacer region, gyrase-B, simple sequence repeat sequences,X. fastidiosa-specific sequences, and the virulence-associated protein (VapD). This analysis indicates that theX. fastidiosaisolates associated with infected chitalpa trees in the Southwest are a highly related group that is distinct from the four previously defined taxonsX. fastidiosasubsp.fastidiosa(piercei),X. fastidiosasubsp.multiplex,X. fastidiosasubsp.sandyi, andX. fastidiosasubsp.pauca. Therefore, the classification proposed for this new subspecies isX. fastidiosasubsp.tashke.
Role of AP-1 in Developmentally Regulated Lysosomal Trafficking in
Trypanosoma brucei
Authors: Tazeh Ngii N. , Silverman Jason S. , Schwartz Kevin J. , Sevova Elitza S. , Sutterwala Shaheen S. , Bangs James D. 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACT
African trypanosomes are the causative agents of human trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). The pathogenic stage of the parasite has unique adaptations to life in the bloodstream of the mammalian host, including upregulation of endocytic and lysosomal activities. We investigated stage-specific requirements for cytoplasmic adaptor/clathrin machinery in post-Golgi apparatus biosynthetic sorting to the lysosome using RNA interference silencing of the Tbμ1 subunit of adaptor complex 1 (AP-1), in conjunction with immunolocalization, kinetic analyses of reporter transport, and quantitative endocytosis assays. Tbμ1 silencing was lethal in both stages, indicating a critical function(s) for the AP-1 machinery. Transport of soluble and membrane-bound secretory cargoes was Tbμ1 independent in both stages. In procyclic parasites, trafficking of the lysosomal membrane protein, p67, was disrupted, leading to cell surface mislocalization. The lysosomal protease trypanopain was also secreted, suggesting a transmembrane-sorting receptor for this soluble hydrolase. In bloodstream trypanosomes, both p67 and trypanopain trafficking were unaffected by Tbμ1 silencing, suggesting that AP-1 is not necessary for biosynthetic lysosomal trafficking. Endocytosis in bloodstream cells was also unaffected, indicating that AP-1 does not function at the flagellar pocket. These results indicate that post-Golgi apparatus sorting to the lysosome is critically dependent on the AP-1/clathrin machinery in procyclic trypanosomes but that this machinery is not necessary in bloodstream parasites. We propose a simple model for stage-specific default secretory trafficking in trypanosomes that is consistent with the behavior of other soluble and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored cargos and which is influenced by upregulation of endocytosis in bloodstream parasites as an adaptation to life in the mammalian bloodstream.
Plasminogen Acquisition and Activation at the Surface of
Leptospira
Species Lead to Fibronectin Degradation
Authors: Vieira Monica L. , Vasconcellos Silvio A. , Gonçales Amane P. , de Morais Zenaide M. , Nascimento Ana L. T. O. 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACT

Pathogenic
Leptospira
species are the etiological agents of leptospirosis, a widespread disease of human and veterinary concern. In this study, we report that
Leptospira
species are capable of binding plasminogen (PLG) in vitro. The binding to the leptospiral surface was demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence confocal microscopy with living bacteria. The PLG binding to the bacteria seems to occur via lysine residues because the ligation is inhibited by addition of the lysine analog 6-aminocaproic acid. Exogenously provided urokinase-type PLG activator (uPA) converts surface-bound PLG into enzymatically active plasmin, as evaluated by the reaction with the chromogenic plasmin substrate
d
-Val-Leu-Lys 4-nitroanilide dihydrochloridein. The PLG activation system on the surface of
Leptospira
is PLG dose dependent and does not cause injury to the organism, as cellular growth in culture was not impaired. The generation of active plasmin within
Leptospira
was observed with several nonvirulent high-passage strains and with the nonpathogenic saprophytic organism
Leptospira biflexa
. Statistically significant higher activation of plasmin was detected with a low-passage infectious strain of
Leptospira
. Plasmin-coated virulent
Leptospira interrogans
bacteria were capable of degrading purified extracellular matrix fibronectin. The breakdown of fibronectin was not observed with untreated bacteria. Our data provide for the first time in vitro evidence for the generation of active plasmin on the surface of
Leptospira
, a step that may contribute to leptospiral invasiveness.
The RNA Binding Protein CsrA Is a Pleiotropic Regulator of the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement Pathogenicity Island of Enteropathogenic
Escherichia coli
Authors: Bhatt Shantanu , Edwards Adrianne Nehrling , Nguyen Hang Thi Thu , Merlin Didier , Romeo Tony , Kalman Daniel 
Published: July 2009

ABSTRACT

The
a
ttaching and
e
ffacing (A/E) pathogen enteropathogenic
Escherichia coli
(EPEC) forms characteristic actin-filled membranous protrusions upon infection of host cells termed pedestals. Here we examine the role of the RNA binding protein CsrA in the expression of virulence genes and proteins that are necessary for pedestal formation. The
csrA
mutant was defective in forming actin pedestals on epithelial cells and in disrupting transepithelial resistance across polarized epithelial cells. Consistent with reduced pedestal formation, secretion of the translocators EspA, EspB, and EspD and the effector Tir was substantially reduced in the
csrA
mutant. Purified CsrA specifically bound to the
sepL espADB
mRNA leader, and the corresponding transcript levels were reduced in the
csrA
mutant. In contrast, Tir synthesis was unaffected in the
csrA
mutant. Reduced secretion of Tir appeared to be in part due to decreased synthesis of EscD, an inner membrane architectural protein of the type III secretion system (TTSS) and EscF, a protein that forms the protruding needle complex of the TTSS. These effects were not mediated through the
l
ocus of
e
nterocyte
e
ffacement (LEE) transcriptional regulator GrlA or Ler. In contrast to the
csrA
mutant, multicopy expression of
csrA
repressed transcription from
LEE1
,
grlRA
,
LEE2
,
LEE5
,
escD
, and
LEE4
, an effect mediated by GrlA and Ler. Consistent with its role in other organisms, CsrA also regulated flagellar motility and glycogen levels. Our findings suggest that CsrA governs virulence factor expression in an A/E pathogen by regulating mRNAs encoding translocators, effectors, or transcription factors.