bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Google: to use, or not to use. What is the question?
Authors: Choolhun Natasha 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis article by Natasha Choolhun, with input from Emma Harris and colleagues, considers how the proliferation of freely available legal information has affected standards of information literacy and research capability in the current legal environment. Real life examples are given to illustrate how staff in law firms are using resources such as Google and Wikipedia in preference over authoritative legal material. The phrase “Google Generation” is explored and consideration is given to how law schools and commercial firms are attempting to instil in their lawyers principles of good information literacy and research skills.
A Practical Guide to Insolvency
Authors: Fergusson Richard 
Published: September 2009

AbstractIn the current economic climate, many law librarians are having to deal with enquiries relating to various aspects of insolvency law with which they may not be familiar. Richard Fergusson, an insolvency specialist at Keeble Hawson in Leeds, has written an overview of the different types of insolvency and the processes involved in each.
Clinical and microcirculatory effects of transcutaneous CO2 therapy in intermittent claudication. Randomized double-blind clinical trial with a parallel design
Authors: Fabry  , Monnet  , Schmidt  , Lusson  , Carpentier  , Baguet  , Dubray  
Published: September 2009

Background: This randomized, double blind trial determined the short and long-term clinical and hemodynamic vasodilator effects induced by percutaneous applications of natural CO2 gas in patients with moderate Fontaine stage II. Patients and methods: 62 patients with intermittent claudication (100-500 meters) were randomized to 18 consecutive days of CO2 treatment or placebo (air). The gas fluids were applied at a constant temperature of 30°C on pre-humidified skin. The effects of the treatment were evaluated by total distance walked (primary criterion) and hemodynamic and microcirculatory findings. Patients also answered a quality of life questionnaire. Results: The Strandness test showed a significant increase in total distance walked (+ 131 meters, 66%; p = 0.001) and pain-free distance (+ 81 meters, 73%; p = 0.02) after 18 days of CO2 treatment. The improvement was maintained 3 and 12 months later. The systolic pressure index (ABI) increased by 37% (p = 0.001) 1 minute after treadmill walking and ABI recovery time decreased significantly by 38% (p = 0.002). Microcirculatory findings showed an increase in systolic pressure of the great toe (13%; p < 0.0001), in baseline pO2 (20%; p = 0.01) and in vasomotion (78%; p = 0.001) in the treatment group. The improvement in total walking distance was correlated with the increase in ABI and peripheral cutaneous oxygenation. Patients’ subjective assessments corroborated the benefits. No significant change was observed in the placebo group. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that 18 consecutive days of percutaneous CO2 treatment significantly increases walking distance in patients with moderate intermittent claudication. This effect, which was associated with an increase in peripheral systolic pressure and pO2, is evidence of a better ability to withstand effort.
Outcome of carotid endarterectomy under local anaesthesia with respect to the patients’ risk profile
Authors: Aleksic  , Luebke  , Brunkwall  
Published: September 2009

Background: In the present study the perioperative complication rate is compared between high- and low-risk patients when carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is routinely performed under local anaesthesia (LA). Patients and methods: From January 2000 through June 2008 1220 consecutive patients underwent CEA under LA. High-risk patients fulfilled at least one of the following characteristics: ASA 4 classification, “hostile neck”, recurrent ICA stenosis, contralateral ICA occlusion, age ≥ 80 years. The combined complication rate comprised any new neurological deficit (TIA or stroke), myocardial infarction or death within 30 days after CEA, which was compared between patient groups. Results: Overall 309 patients (25%) were attributed to the high-risk group, which differed significantly regarding sex distribution (more males: 70% vs. 63%, p = 0,011), neurological presentation (more asymptomatic: 72% vs. 62%, p = 0,001) and shunt necessity (33% vs. 14%, p < 0,001). In 32 patients 17 TIAs and 15 strokes were observed. In 3 patients a myocardial infarction occurred. Death occurred in one patient following a stroke and in another patient following myocardial infarction, leading to a combined complication rate of 2,9% (35/1220). In the multivariate analysis only previous neurological symptomatology (OR 2,85, 95% CI 1,38-5,91) and intraoperative shunting (OR 5,57, 95% CI 2,69-11,55) were identified as independent risk factors for an increased combined complication rate. Conclusions: With the routine use of LA, CEA was not associated with worse outcome in high-risk patients. Considering the data reported in the literature, it does not appear justified to refer high-risk patients principally to carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) when LA can be chosen to perform CEA.
Salvage of a dialysis angioaccess by bypassing a central venous obstruction to the common femoral vein
Authors: Asciutto  , Mumme  , Asciutto  , Geier  
Published: September 2009

We describe the case of a 71 year-old male patient undergoing haemodialysis who presented with severe symptoms of venous hypertension at the left upper extremity due to subclavian and innominate vein obstruction. The patient had a well functioning ispilateral angioaccess. The pain and disabling swelling of the upper extremity developed 12 months after having a radio-cephalic arteriovenous fistula performed and progressively worsened in the last two months. The patient underwent extraanatomic axillo-femoral venous bypass grafting with a 8 mm polytetrafluoroethylene graft to the ispilateral common femoral vein. The postoperative recovery was regular and the patient was discharged 6 days after surgery with a functioning bypass and relief from the venous hypertension symptoms. In this case, surgical bypassing of a central venous obstruction through an extra-anatomical pathway relieved the symptoms of venous hypertension and prolonged the use of the haemodialysis access.
Modeling, Simulation and Application of Bacterial Transduction in Genetic Algorithms
Authors: Perales-Gravan Carlos , de Vicente Buendia Javier , Lahoz-Beltra Rafael 
Published: September 2009

AbstractAt present, all methods in Evolutionary Computation are bioinspired in the fundamental principles of neo-Darwinism as well as on a vertical gene transfer. Thus, on a mechanism in which an organism receives genetic material from its ancestor. Horizontal, lateral or cross-population gene transfer is any process in which an organism transfers a genetic segment to another one that is not its offspring. Virus transduction is one of the key mechanisms of horizontal gene propagation in microorganism (e.g. bacteria). In the present paper, we model and simulate a transduction operator, exploring a possible role and usefulness of transduction in a genetic algorithm. The genetic algorithm including transduction has been named PETRI (abbreviation of Promoting Evolution Through Reiterated Infection). The efficiency and performance of this algorithm was evaluated using a benchmark function and the 0/1 knapsack problem. The utility was illustrated designing an AM radio receiver, optimizing the main features of the electronic components of the AM radio circuit as well as those of the radio enclosure. Our results shown how PETRI approaches to higher fitness values as transduction probability comes near to 100%. The conclusion is that transduction improves the performance of a genetic algorithm, assuming a population divided among several sub-populations or ‘bacterial colonies’.
How to Select and Interpret Molecular Strain Typing Methods for Epidemiological Studies of Bacterial Infections A Review for Healthcare Epidemiologists
Authors: Tenover Fred C. , Arbeit Robert D. , Goering Richard V. ,   Molecular Typing Working Group of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Published: September 2009

AbstractStrain typing is an integral part of epidemiological investigations of nosocomial infections. Methods for distinguishing among bacterial strains have improved dramatically over the last 5 years, due mainly to the introduction of molecular technology. Although not all molecular techniques are equally effective for typing all organisms, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis is the technique currently favored for most nosocomial pathogens. Criteria to aid epidemiologists in interpreting results have been published. Nucleic acid amplification-based typing methods also are applicable to many organisms and can be completed within a single day, but interpretive criteria still are under debate. Strain typing cannot be used to replace a sound epidemiological investigation, but serves as a useful adjunct to such investigations.
Predicting homologous signaling pathways using machine learning
Authors: Bostan Babak , Greiner Russell , Szafron Duane , Lu Paul 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
Motivation: In general, each cell signaling pathway involves many proteins, each with one or more specific roles. As they are essential components of cell activity, it is important to understand how these proteins work—and in particular, to determine which of the species' proteins participate in each role. Experimentally determining this mapping of proteins to roles is difficult and time consuming. Fortunately, many pathways are similar across species, so we may be able to use known pathway information of one species to understand the corresponding pathway of another.
Results: We present an automatic approach, Predict Signaling Pathway (PSP), which uses the signaling pathways in well-studied species to predict the roles of proteins in less-studied species. We use a machine learning approach to create a predictor that achieves a generalization F-measure of 78.2% when applied to 11 different pathways across 14 different species. We also show our approach is very effective in predicting the pathways that have not yet been experimentally studied completely.
Availability: The list of predicted proteins for all pathways over all considered species is available at http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~bioinfo/signaling.
Contact: bioinfo@cs.ualberta.ca; duane@cs.ualberta.ca
Updates to the RMAP short-read mapping software
Authors: Smith Andrew D. , Chung Wen-Yu , Hodges Emily , Kendall Jude , Hannon Greg , Hicks James , Xuan Zhenyu , Zhang Michael Q. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
Summary: We report on a major new version of the RMAP software for mapping reads from short-read sequencing technology. General improvements to accuracy and space requirements are included, along with novel functionality. Included in the RMAP software package are tools for mapping paired-end reads, mapping using more sophisticated use of quality scores, collecting ambiguous mapping locations and mapping bisulfite-treated reads.
Availability: The applications described in this note are available for download at http://www.cmb.usc.edu/people/andrewds/rmap and are distributed as Open Source software under the GPLv3.0. The software has been tested on Linux and OS X platforms.
Contact: andrewds@usc.edu; mzhang@cshl.edu
The RMAP algorithm was introduced by (Smith et al., 2008) as one of the earliest available programs for mapping reads from the Illumina second-generation sequencing technology. One important contribution of RMAP was to incorporate the use of quality scores directly into the mapping process: read positions with too low a quality score were not considered while mapping, and that quality score cutoff could be adjusted by the user. Subsequently, numerous mapping algorithm have appeared (Langmead et al., 2009; Li,H. et al., 2008; Li,R. et al., 2008; Lin et al., 2008; Schatz, 2009; Yanovsky et al., 2008), with improvements in both efficiency and breadth of functionality (e.g. ability to map paired-end reads; integrated SNP calling). Investigators requiring solutions to mapping problems now have many options. As new applications of short-read sequencing emerge, many variations on the analysis task of read mapping emerge. Diversity in performance characteristics of existing mapping tools becomes potentially valuable.
We report the first major update to RMAP. The basic algorithmic framework in RMAP is still to preprocess reads and scan the genome, but several modifications have been made and much additional functionality has been included. Importantly, RMAP has a memory footprint that depends on the number of reads being mapped. This feature allows RMAP to be used effectively in cluster environments with commodity nodes, because partitioning the reads allows natural parallelizations with linear reduction in memory requirements per processor core used.
Included in this release of the RMAP software package is functionality for mapping paired-end reads, making more sophisticated use of quality scores, collecting mapping locations for ambiguously mapping reads and mapping bisulfite-treated reads.
The carboxy‐terminal tail of Aeromonas sobria serine protease is associated with the chaperone
Authors: Kobayashi Hidetomo , Tateishi Arisa , Tsuge Hideaki , Takahashi Eizo , Okamoto Keinosuke , Yamanaka Hiroyasu 
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACTASP is the only bacterial protease in the kexin group of the subtilisin family. Previous studies have revealed that the ORF2 protein encoded at the 3′ end of the asp operon is required for ASP to change from a nascent form into an active form in the periplasm. However, the mechanism by which ORF2 makes contact and interacts with ASP in the maturation process remains unknown. The present study examined the effect of mutations in the carboxy‐terminal region of ASP on the ASP maturation process. Both deletion‐mutation and amino acid‐substitution studies have demonstrated that the histidine residue at position 595 (His‐595), the sixth residue from the carboxyl terminus of ASP, is highly involved in the generation of active ASP molecules. An analysis by pull‐down assay revealed that mutation at His‐595 reduces the efficacy of nascent ASP to transition into active ASP by reducing the ability of ASP to make contact and interact with ORF2. Thus, it appears likely that nascent ASP in the periplasm interacts with ORF2 via the carboxy‐terminal region, and His‐595 of ASP appears to be an indispensable residue in this interaction.
Preventing heavy alcohol use in adolescents (PAS): cluster randomized trial of a parent and student intervention offered separately and simultaneously
Authors: Koning Ina M. , Vollebergh Wilma A. M. , Smit Filip , Verdurmen Jacqueline E. E. , Van Den Eijnden Regina J. J. M. , Ter Bogt Tom F. M. , Stattin Håkan , Engels Rutger C. M. E. 
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACTAims  To evaluate the effectiveness of two preventive interventions to reduce heavy drinking in first‐ and second‐year high school students.Design and setting  Cluster randomized controlled trial using four conditions for comparing two active interventions with a control group from 152 classes of 19 high schools in the Netherlands.Participants  A total of 3490 first‐year high school students (mean 12.68 years, SD = 0.51) and their parents.Intervention conditions  (i) Parent intervention (modelled on the Swedish Örebro Prevention Program) aimed at encouraging parental rule‐setting concerning their children's alcohol consumption; (ii) student intervention consisting of four digital lessons based on the principles of the theory of planned behaviour and social cognitive theory; (iii) interventions 1 and 2 combined; and (iv) the regular curriculum as control condition.Main outcome measures  Incidence of (heavy) weekly alcohol use and frequency of monthly drinking at 10 and 22 months after baseline measurement.Findings  A total of 2937 students were eligible for analyses in this study. At first follow‐up, only the combined student–parent intervention showed substantial and statistically significant effects on heavy weekly drinking, weekly drinking and frequency of drinking. At second follow‐up these results were replicated, except for the effects of the combined intervention on heavy weekly drinking. These findings were consistent across intention‐to‐treat and completers‐only analyses.Conclusions  Results suggest that adolescents as well as their parents should be targeted in order to delay the onset of drinking, preferably prior to onset of weekly drinking.
Interplay of genetic risk factors and parent monitoring in risk for nicotine dependence
Authors: Chen Li‐Shiun , Johnson Eric O. , Breslau Naomi , Hatsukami Dorothy , Saccone Nancy L. , Grucza Richard A. , Wang Jen C. , Hinrichs Anthony L. , Fox Louis , Goate Alison M. , Rice John P. , Bierut Laura J. 
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACTBackground  Several studies have found replicable associations between nicotine dependence and specific variants in the nicotinic receptor genes CHRNA5(rs16969968) and CHRNA3(rs3743078). How these newly identified genetic risks combine with known environmental risks is unknown. This study examined whether the level of parent monitoring during early adolescence modified the risk of nicotine dependence associated with these genetic variants.Methods  In a cross‐sectional case–control study of US‐based community sample of 2027 subjects, we use a systematic series of regression models to examine the effect of parent monitoring on risk associated with two distinct variants in the nicotinic receptor genes CHRNA5(rs16969968) and CHRNA3(rs3743078).Results  Low parent monitoring as well as the previously identified genetic variants were associated with an increased risk of nicotine dependence. An interaction was found between the SNP(rs16969968) and parent monitoring (P = 0.034). The risk for nicotine dependence increased significantly with the risk genotype of SNP(rs16969968) when combined with lowest‐quartile parent monitoring. In contrast, there was no evidence of an interaction between SNP(rs3743078) and parent monitoring (P = 0.80).Conclusions  The genetic risk of nicotine dependence associated with rs16969968 was modified by level of parent monitoring, while the genetic risk associated with rs3743078 was not, suggesting that the increased risk due to some genes may be mitigated by environmental factors such as parent monitoring.
Legislation to institutionalize resources for tobacco control: the 1987 Victorian Tobacco Act
Authors: Borland Ron , Winstanley Margaret , Reading Dorothy 
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACTAim  To describe the process surrounding the creation of the first organization in the world to be funded from an earmarked tax on tobacco products, the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), and to outline briefly its subsequent history.Description  The genesis of VicHealth came from an interest of the Minister for Health in the Victorian State Government to address the tobacco problem, and the strategic capacity of Dr Nigel Gray from the Anti‐Cancer Council of Victoria to provide a vehicle and help the government to muster support for its implementation. Success involved working with government to construct a Bill it was happy with and then working with the community to support the implementation and to counter industry attempts to derail it. The successful Bill led to the creation of VicHealth. VicHealth has played a creative and important role in promoting health not only in Victoria (Australia), but has been a stimulus for similar initiatives in other parts of the world.Conclusions  Enacting novel advances in public policy is made easier when there is a creative alliance between advocates outside government working closely with governments to develop a proposal that is politically achievable and then to work together to sell it. Health promotion agencies, once established, can play an important role in advancing issues like tobacco control.
Microarray analysis and functional tests suggest the involvement of expansins in the early stages of symbiosis of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
Authors: DERMATSEV VLADIMIR , WEINGARTEN‐BAROR CARMIYA , RESNICK NATHALIE , GADKAR VIJAY , WININGER SMADAR , KOLOTILIN IGOR , MAYZLISH‐GATI EINAV , ZILBERSTEIN AVIA , KOLTAI HINANIT , KAPULNIK YORAM 
Published: September 2009

SUMMARYArbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis occurs between fungi of the phylum Glomeromycota and most terrestrial plants. However, little is known about the molecular symbiotic signalling between AM fungi (AMFs) and non‐leguminous plant species. We sought to further elucidate the molecular events occurring in tomato, a non‐leguminous host plant, during the early, pre‐symbiotic stage of AM symbiosis, i.e. immediately before and after contact between the AMF (Glomus intraradices) and the host. We adopted a semi‐synchronized AMF root infection protocol, followed by genomic‐scale, microarray‐based, gene expression profiling at several defined time points during pre‐symbiotic AM stages. The microarray results suggested differences in the number of differentially expressed genes and in the differential regulation of several functional groups of genes at the different time points examined. The microarray results were validated and one of the genes induced during contact between AMF and tomato, the expansin‐like EXLB1, was functionally analysed. Expansins, encoded by a large multigene family, facilitate plant cell expansion. However, no biological or biochemical function has yet been established for plant‐originated expansin‐like proteins. EXLB1 transcripts were localized early during the association to cells that may perceive the fungal signal, and later during the association in close proximity to sites of AMF hypha–root colonization. Moreover, in transgenic roots, we demonstrated that a reduction in the steady‐state level of EXLB1 transcript was correlated with a reduced rate of infection, reduced arbuscule expansion and reduced AMF spore formation.
Aboveground biomass estimation of the shrubs, Echiochilon fruticosum (Desf.) and Helianthemum kahiricum (Del.) in the arid zone rangelands of Tunisia
Authors: Idi Abdelkader , Ali Ferchichi , Mohamed Chaieb 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThe knowledge of the plant biomass is very important for the assessment of the rangeland productivity. It could help to select the appropriate species for the improvement of natural ecosystems (rehabilitation, restoration and seedling). By examining different correlations between the biomass production and the volume parameters of two North African shrub species of high range value (Echiochilon fruticosum Desf. and Helianthemum kahiricum Del.), we aimed to establish the appropriate regression models, which could be useful for the prediction of the productivity of these species. The data showed a significant relationship between the total biomass (TB) production and the mean diameter (MD) of the studied species (R2 = 0.65 for Echiochilon and R2 = 0.75 for Helianthemum). Likewise, annual fresh production (leaves and current‐year shoots) was well correlated with MD of Helianthemum (R2 = 0.82). However, the correlation between these two parameters was relatively low for Echiochilon (R2 = 0.42).