bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cannabinoid actions at TRPV channels: effects on TRPV3 and TRPV4 and their potential relevance to gastrointestinal inflammation
Authors: De Petrocellis L. , Orlando P. , Moriello A. Schiano , Aviello G. , Stott C. , Izzo A. A. , Di Marzo V. 
Published: July 2011

Abstract
Aim:  Plant cannabinoids, like Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), activate/desensitize thermosensitive transient receptor potential (TRP) channels of vanilloid type‐1 or ‐2 (TRPV1 or TRPV2). We investigated whether cannabinoids also activate/desensitize two other ‘thermo‐TRP’s’, the TRP channels of vanilloid type‐3 or ‐4 (TRPV3 or TRPV4), and if the TRPV‐inactive cannabichromene (CBC) modifies the expression of TRPV1–4 channels in the gastrointestinal tract.
Methods:  TRP activity was assessed by evaluating elevation of [Ca2+]i in rat recombinant TRPV3‐ and TRPV4‐expressing HEK‐293 cells. TRP channel mRNA expression was measured by quantitative RT‐PCR in the jejunum and ileum of mice treated with vehicle or the pro‐inflammatory agent croton oil.
Results:  (i) CBD and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) stimulated TRPV3‐mediated [Ca2+]i with high efficacy (50–70% of the effect of ionomycin) and potency (EC50∼3.7 μm), whereas cannabigerovarin (CBGV) and cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) were significantly more efficacious at desensitizing this channel to the action of carvacrol than at activating it; (ii) cannabidivarin and THCV stimulated TRPV4‐mediated [Ca2+]i with moderate‐high efficacy (30–60% of the effect of ionomycin) and potency (EC50 0.9–6.4 μm), whereas CBGA, CBGV, cannabinol and cannabigerol were significantly more efficacious at desensitizing this channel to the action of 4‐α‐phorbol 12,13‐didecanoate (4α‐PDD) than at activating it; (iii) CBC reduced TRPV1β, TRPV3 and TRPV4 mRNA in the jejunum, and TRPV3 and TRPV4 mRNA in the ileum of croton oil‐treated mice.
Conclusions:  Cannabinoids can affect both the activity and the expression of TRPV1–4 channels, with various potential therapeutic applications, including in the gastrointestinal tract.
The parable of the poisoned pork: Network governance and the 2008 Irish pork dioxin contamination
Authors: Casey Donal K. , Lawless James S. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThe 2008 contamination of Irish pork with dioxins was one of the most significant recent food safety incidents in the European Union (EU). While the contamination posed no real risk to public health, it tested the efficacy of EU food safety regulation and governance which has been considerably overhauled in the past decade. The exchange of risk information through networks of regulators is an important element of the EU food safety risk management framework. Networks are a much‐lauded form of new governance, though they are not without their problems. In this paper, we address the question of why governance networks can fail. We examine this issues using the case study of the 2008 Irish dioxin contamination and explore the reason for the failure to make more substantial use of networks in the governance of that incident. We hypothesize that the reason for such failure may be found in three inherent tensions which exist in the design and management of networks, namely flexibility/stability, inclusiveness/efficiency, and internal/external legitimacy. The paper concludes that by ensuring the external legitimacy of the EU's Rapid Alert System for Feed and Food (RASFF) through increased transparency of communications, the design of RASFF has stifled its internal legitimacy with regard to certain types of important information exchanges.
Pagan Pilgrimage: New Religious Movements Research on Sacred Travel within Pagan and New Age Communities
Authors: Zwissler Laurel 
Published: July 2011

AbstractBurgeoning literature on sacred travel among contemporary Pagan and New Age communities draws on previous anthropological categories, but also offers new perspectives on important theoretical debates within pilgrimage studies. New religious movements’ adherents often travel for spiritual purposes to places traditionally held as sacred by other, more established religious traditions or to places popularly understood as secular tourist sites. This offers opportunities to think through theoretical debates in the field, including distinctions between tourists and pilgrims, and whether the pilgrimage experience is one mainly comprised of shared feelings of togetherness and community, or alternatively, one fraught with competition to define the ultimate meaning of the journey. Communitastheories, based on Victor Turner and Edith Turner’s argument that pilgrimage creates community and cooperation among fellow religious travelers, contrast with conflict theories, first offered by John Eade and Michael Sallnow, who argue that pilgrimages are grounded in competing discourses, both among pilgrims and between them and institutional religious authorities. By defining spaces in new ways and offering alternative explanations for the sacredness of particular sites, religiously motivated Pagan and New Age travelers highlight the contention, emphasized by ethnographers of more traditional sacred travel, that pilgrimages are the sites of contested meanings, in which not only different theological interpretations and values, but even different religions and cosmologies, coexist.
Guilt and Guiltlessness: An Integrative Review
Authors: Xu Hanyi , Bègue Laurent , Shankland Rébecca 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThis paper reviews the relationship between guilt and prosocial behaviors, and integrates multiple antisocial phenomena with the construct of guiltlessness both at the interpersonal and intergroup level. Interpersonal guilt is basically prosocial and introspective. Collective guilt is the vicarious acceptance of misdeeds of the ingroup. Yet it is sometimes so painful and detrimental for the individual and the society to tolerate guilt that people do not feel guilty, especially when the possibility of reparation is low. We argue that guilt is the acceptance of the mildly undesirable self whereas guiltlessness is the rejection of unbearable mental distress of anticipatory guilt. Guiltlessness requires great efforts for defense and justification. Multiple strategies and justifications are sought to relieve guilt. Furthermore, guiltlessness is related to various personality and ideology variables and entails moral disengagement. Guiltlessness can be destructive because, for example, during times of large‐scale conflicts ordinary people who feel guiltless are inclined to become ruthless. Reciprocity morality, ostracism, deservingness, empathy, and self‐control are proposed as means of explaining the origins of guilt and their implications for guiltlessness.
Globalization, Flexibility and New Workplace Culture in the United States and India
Authors: Arabandi Bhavani 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThe literature on globalization of services has tended to focus on advanced industrial nations, underestimating the important role Southern markets have played. Given the complexities of the global economy, much can be gained from exploring the ways in which flexible management practices and workplace culture in the United States and India have increasingly conjoined under an emerging set of common principles. In particular, one finds similar phenomena contributing to patterns of job insecurity in both countries: non‐standard employment contracts, long working hours, growing emphasis on individualization, and increasing control over workers. Interestingly, workers in both countries have similar strategies in staying employed as well as dealing with the growing insecurity. In neither country, however, has employment precariousness resulted in a backlash against the government. I posit the reason for this is that even as workers recognize the structural sources of job insecurity due to globalization, they individualize their failures and inability to cope with the changing market.
Varying disease‐mediated selection at different life‐history stages of Atlantic salmon in fresh water
Authors: de Eyto Elvira , McGinnity Philip , Huisman Jisca , Coughlan Jamie , Consuegra Sofia , Farrell Killian , O’Toole Ciar , Tufto Jarle , Megens Hendrik‐Jan , Jordan William , Cross Tom , Stet Rene′ J. M. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractLaboratory studies on associations between disease resistance and susceptibility and major histocompatibility (MH) genes in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar have shown the importance of immunogenetics in understanding the capacity of populations to fight specific diseases. However, the occurrence and virulence of pathogens may vary spatially and temporally in the wild, making it more complicated to predict the overall effect that MH genes exert on fitness of natural populations and over several life‐history stages. Here we show that MH variability is a significant determinant of salmon survival in fresh water, by comparing observed and expected genotype frequencies at MH and control microsatellite loci at parr and migrant stages in the wild. We found that additive allelic effects at immunogenetic loci were more likely to determine survival than dominance deviation, and that selection on certain MH alleles varied with life stage, possibly owing to varying pathogen prevalence and/or virulence over time. Our results highlight the importance of preserving genetic diversity (particularly at MH loci) in wild populations, so that they have the best chance of adapting to new and increased disease challenges as a result of projected climate warming and increasing aquaculture.
Comparison of incretin immunoassays with or without plasma extraction: Incretin secretion in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Yabe Daisuke , Watanabe Koin , Sugawara Kenji , Kuwata Hitoshi , Kitamoto Yuka , Sugizaki Kazu , Fujiwara Shuichi , Hishizawa Masahiro , Hyo Takanori , Kuwabara Kyoko , Yokota Kayo , Iwasaki Masahiro , Kitatani Naomi , Kurose Takeshi , Inagaki Nobuya , Seino Yutaka 
Published: July 2011

AbstractAims/Introduction:  The effectiveness of incretin‐based therapies in Asian type 2 diabetes requires investigation of the secretion and metabolism of glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypepide (GIP) and glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1). Plasma extractions have been suggested to reduce variability in intact GLP‐1 levels among individuals by removing interference that affects immunoassays, although no direct demonstration of this method has been reported. We have evaluated the effects of ethanol and solid‐phase extractions on incretin immunoassays. We determined incretin levels during meal tolerance tests in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes and characterized predictors for incretin secretion.Materials and Methods:  Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes (23 anti‐diabetic drug‐naïve and 18 treated with sulfonylurea [SU] alone) were subjected to meal tolerance tests, and incretin levels were determined by immunoassays with or without extraction.Results:  Intact GLP‐1 levels determined by an intact GLP‐1 immunoassay with ethanol and solid‐phase extractions were lower than those determined without extraction. Intact GLP‐1 levels determined by the extractions were highly correlated with each other, much more so than the levels with and without extraction. Total GLP‐1 was unaffected by extractions, showing that extractions remove interference only in the case of intact GLP‐1. Incretin secretion after meal ingestion was similar between drug‐naïve and SU‐treated patients. Fasting and postprandial GLP‐1 levels were correlated positively with fasting free fatty acids and negatively with dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 activity.Conclusions:  Ethanol and solid‐phase extractions remove interference for intact GLP‐1 immunoassay. SU showed little effect on incretin secretion. GLP‐1 and GIP secretion were predicted by different factors. (J Diabetes Invest, doi: 10.1111/j.2040‐1124.2011.00141.x, 2012)
The dynamic interplay between negative and positive emotions in daily life predicts response to treatment in depression: A momentary assessment study
Authors: Wichers Marieke , Lothmann Claudia , Simons Claudia J. P. , Nicolson Nancy A. , Peeters Frenk 
Published: July 2011

Objectives.  Although the treatment of depressive illness aims to restore the imbalance between an excess of negative affect (NA) and a shortage of positive affect (PA), no study has examined how NA and PA may influence each other in depression. This study examines how NA and PA dynamically influence each other in depression and how this may impact on treatment response.Design.  Depressed help‐seeking individuals participated in the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), which enables visualization of subtle dynamic alterations of momentary affective states over time. Thereafter, participants received a combination of antidepressant treatment and psychotherapy, and were followed up each month.Methods.  NA and PA were assessed during ESM at 10 random moments per day for 6 days. Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and at monthly intervals during treatment.Results.  Future response to treatment was associated with altered baseline NA–PA dynamics in individuals with previous depressive episodes. Their daily life boosts of PA were followed by a stronger suppression of NA over subsequent hours than in other depressed groups or controls.Conclusions.  Subtle individual differences in daily life emotional dynamics predict future treatment outcome in depression.
Additional Effects of Silver Nanoparticles on Bactericidal Efficiency Depend on Calcination Temperature and Dip-Coating Speed
Authors: Le Nhung Thi Tuyet , Nagata Hirofumi , Aihara Mutsumi , Takahashi Akira , Okamoto Toshihiro , Shimohata Takaaki , Mawatari Kazuaki , Kinouchi Yhosuke , Akutagawa Masatake , Haraguchi Masanobu 
Published: July 2011

ABSTRACT

There is an increasing interest in the application of photocatalytic properties for disinfection of surfaces, air, and water. Titanium dioxide is widely used as a photocatalyst, and the addition of silver reportedly enhances its bactericidal action. However, the synergy of silver nanoparticles and TiO
2
is not well understood. The photocatalytic elimination of
Bacillus atrophaeus
was examined under different calcination temperatures, dip-coating speeds, and ratios of TiO
2
, SiO
2
, and Ag to identify optimal production conditions for the production of TiO
2
- and/or TiO
2
/Ag-coated glass for surface disinfection. Photocatalytic disinfection of pure TiO
2
or TiO
2
plus Ag nanoparticles was dependent primarily on the calcination temperature. The antibacterial activity of TiO
2
films was optimal with a high dip-coating speed and high calcination temperature (600°C). Maximal bacterial inactivation using TiO
2
/Ag-coated glass was also observed following high-speed dip coating but with a low calcination temperature (250°C). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the Ag nanoparticles combined together at a high calcination temperature, leading to decreased antibacterial activity of TiO
2
/Ag films due to a smaller surface area of Ag nanoparticles. The presence of Ag enhanced the photocatalytic inactivation rate of TiO
2
, producing a more pronounced effect with increasing levels of catalyst loading.
Involvement of the Pleiotropic Drug Resistance Response, Protein Kinase C Signaling, and Altered Zinc Homeostasis in Resistance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Diclofenac
Authors: van Leeuwen Jolanda S. , Vermeulen Nico P. E. , Vos J. Chris 
Published: July 2011

ABSTRACT

Diclofenac is a widely used analgesic drug that can cause serious adverse drug reactions. We used
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
as a model eukaryote with which to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of diclofenac toxicity and resistance. Although most yeast cells died during the initial diclofenac treatment, some survived and started growing again. Microarray analysis of the adapted cells identified three major processes involved in diclofenac detoxification and tolerance. In particular, pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) genes and genes under the control of Rlm1p, a transcription factor in the protein kinase C (PKC) pathway, were upregulated in diclofenac-adapted cells. We tested if these processes or pathways were directly involved in diclofenac toxicity or resistance. Of the pleiotropic drug resistance gene products, the multidrug transporter Pdr5p was crucially important for diclofenac tolerance. Furthermore, deletion of components of the cell wall stress-responsive PKC pathway increased diclofenac toxicity, whereas incubation of cells with the cell wall stressor calcofluor white before the addition of diclofenac decreased its toxicity. Also, diclofenac induced flocculation, which might trigger the cell wall alterations. Genes involved in ribosome biogenesis and rRNA processing were downregulated, as were zinc-responsive genes. Paradoxically, deletion of the zinc-responsive transcription factor Zap1p or addition of the zinc chelator 1,10-phenanthroline significantly increased diclofenac toxicity, establishing a regulatory role for zinc in diclofenac resistance. In conclusion, we have identified three new pathways involved in diclofenac tolerance in yeast, namely, Pdr5p as the main contributor to the PDR response, cell wall signaling via the PKC pathway, and zinc homeostasis, regulated by Zap1p.
Poly-3-Hydroxybutyrate Metabolism in the Type II Methanotroph Methylocystis parvus OBBP
Authors: Pieja Allison J. , Sundstrom Eric R. , Criddle Craig S. 
Published: July 2011

ABSTRACT

Differences in carbon assimilation pathways and reducing power requirements among organisms are likely to affect the role of the storage polymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB). Previous researchers have demonstrated that PHB functions as a sole growth substrate in aerobic cultures enriched on acetate during periods of carbon deficiency, but it is uncertain how C
1
metabolism affects the role of PHB. In the present study, the type II methanotroph
Methylocystis parvus
OBBP did not replicate using stored PHB in the absence of methane, even when all other nutrients were provided in excess. When PHB-rich cultures of
M. parvus
OBBP were deprived of carbon and nitrogen for 48 h, they did not utilize significant amounts of stored PHB, and neither cell concentrations nor concentrations of total suspended solids changed significantly. When methane and nitrogen both were present, PHB and methane were consumed simultaneously. Cells with PHB had significantly higher specific growth rates than cells lacking PHB. The addition of formate (a source of reducing power) to PHB-rich cells delayed PHB consumption, but the addition of glyoxylate (a source of C
2
units) did not. This and results from other researchers suggest that methanotrophic PHB metabolism is linked to the supply of reducing power as opposed to the supply of C
2
units for synthesis.
Modification of Norfloxacin by a Microbacterium sp. Strain Isolated from a Wastewater Treatment Plant
Authors: Kim Dae-Wi , Heinze Thomas M. , Kim Bong-Soo , Schnackenberg Laura K. , Woodling Kellie A. , Sutherland John B. 
Published: July 2011

ABSTRACTAntimicrobial residues found in municipal wastewater may increase selective pressure on microorganisms for development of resistance, but studies with mixed microbial cultures derived from wastewater have suggested that some bacteria are able to inactivate fluoroquinolones. Medium containingN-phenylpiperazine and inoculated with wastewater was used to enrich fluoroquinolone-modifying bacteria. One bacterial strain isolated from an enrichment culture was identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis as aMicrobacteriumsp. similar to a plant growth-promoting bacterium,Microbacterium azadirachtae(99.70%), and a nematode pathogen, “M. nematophilum” (99.02%). During growth in medium with norfloxacin, this strain produced four metabolites, which were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses as 8-hydroxynorfloxacin, 6-defluoro-6-hydroxynorfloxacin, desethylene norfloxacin, andN-acetylnorfloxacin. The production of the first three metabolites was enhanced by ascorbic acid and nitrate, but it was inhibited by phosphate, amino acids, mannitol, formate, and thiourea. In contrast,N-acetylnorfloxacin was most abundant in cultures supplemented with amino acids. This is the first report of defluorination and hydroxylation of a fluoroquinolone by an isolated bacterial strain. The results suggest that some bacteria may degrade fluoroquinolones in wastewater to metabolites with less antibacterial activity that could be subject to further degradation by other microorganisms.
Microbial Diversity in Anaerobic Sediments at Río Tinto, a Naturally Acidic Environment with a High Heavy Metal Content
Authors: Sánchez-Andrea Irene , Rodríguez Nuria , Amils Ricardo , Sanz José Luis 
Published: July 2011

ABSTRACT

The Tinto River is an extreme environment located at the core of the Iberian Pyritic Belt (IPB). It is an unusual ecosystem due to its size (100 km long), constant acidic pH (mean pH, 2.3), and high concentration of heavy metals, iron, and sulfate in its waters, characteristics that make the Tinto River Basin comparable to acidic mine drainage (AMD) systems. In this paper we present an extensive survey of the Tinto River sediment microbiota using two culture-independent approaches: denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and cloning of 16S rRNA genes. The taxonomic affiliation of the
Bacteria
showed a high degree of biodiversity, falling into 5 different phyla:
Proteobacteria
,
Firmicutes
,
Bacteroidetes
,
Acidobacteria
, and
Actinobacteria
; meanwhile, all the
Archaea
were affiliated with the order
Thermoplasmatales
. Microorganisms involved in the iron (
Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans
,
Sulfobacillus
spp.,
Ferroplasma
spp., etc.), sulfur (
Desulfurella
spp.,
Desulfosporosinus
spp.,
Thermodesulfobium
spp., etc.), and carbon (
Acidiphilium
spp.,
Bacillus
spp.,
Clostridium
spp.,
Acidobacterium
spp., etc.) cycles were identified, and their distribution was correlated with physicochemical parameters of the sediments. Ferric iron was the main electron acceptor for the oxidation of organic matter in the most acid and oxidizing layers, so acidophilic facultative Fe(III)-reducing bacteria appeared widely in the clone libraries. With increasing pH, the solubility of iron decreases and sulfate-reducing bacteria become dominant, with the ecological role of methanogens being insignificant. Considering the identified microorganisms—which, according to the rarefaction curves and Good's coverage values, cover almost all of the diversity—and their corresponding metabolism, we suggest a model of the iron, sulfur, and organic matter cycles in AMD-related sediments.
Evidence of Autoinduction Heterogeneity via Expression of the Agr System of Listeria monocytogenes at the Single-Cell Level
Authors: Garmyn Dominique , Gal Laurent , Briandet Romain , Guilbaud Morgan , Lemaître Jean-Paul , Hartmann Alain , Piveteau Pascal 
Published: July 2011

ABSTRACT

To investigate if the primary function of the Agr system of
Listeria monocytogenes
is to monitor cell density, we followed Agr expression in batch cultures, in which the autoinducer concentration was uniform, and in biofilms. Expression was heterogeneous, suggesting that the primary function of Agr is not to monitor population density.