bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Essential Oils as Biopreservatives: Different Methods for the Technological Application in Lettuce Leaves
Authors: Ponce Alejandra , Roura Sara I. , Moreira María del R. 
Published: November 2010

Abstract: Investigations were carried out to assess the efficiency of 3 essential oils, clove, tea tree, and rosemary, as natural preservatives during the postharvest of lettuce leaves. The effect of different concentration (1 and 0.5 MIC) of plant essential oils applied in 3 forms (spray, immersion, and capsules) was studied on lettuce leaves. The evolution of different microbial populations was evaluated during refrigerated storage. The application forms of the biopreservatives were shown to be an important factor in determining the effectiveness of the essential oils. Clove and tea tree essential oils at 1 MIC and applied embedded in lactose capsules presented a significant inhibition on mesophilic, psicrotrophic, and coliforms populations, while rosemary in none of the 3 technological applications forms exerted inhibitory effect on all microbial populations evaluated. Essential oils (at 0.5 MIC) applied by spray, immersion, and embedded in lactose capsules exerted lower inhibitory effects, with respect to 1 MIC, on the different microbial populations present on lettuce leaves. At the end of the storage (7 d), lettuce samples treated with tea tree, clove, and rosemary (at 1 and 0.5 MIC) by spray were the only organoleptically acceptable. It is concluded that clove and tea tree essential oils can control different microbial population present in lettuce.Practical Application: The exploration of naturally occurring antimicrobials in food preservation receives increasing attention due to consumer awareness of natural food products. Biopreservatives are useful in extending the shelf life of foods, reducing or eliminating pathogenic bacteria and increasing overall quality of food products. The effectiveness of essential oil application in foods is the result of factor associations such as applications forms, concentration applied, the way of action, storage temperatures. The application methods (spray, immersion, and embedded in lactose capsules) and the concentration of essential oils have been shown to be important factors in determining the effectiveness of these biopreservatives. The oil concentrations required to produce a certain level of inhibition in actual foods could be questionable due to the organoleptic impact. However, these novel natural preservatives in combination with other factors in obstacle technologies are an alternative to control the pathogen growth minimizing undesirable changes in organoleptic characteristics.
Sources of drug information for patients with chronic conditions in Alexandria, Egypt
Authors: Amin Mohamed E K , Chewning Betty A , Wahdan Ashraf M H 
Published: November 2010

Abstract

Objectives
This study sought to identify patients' perceived drug knowledge, need for more information and drug information sources, and how they varied by patient characteristics, particularly education level.

Methods
A convenience sample of 366 adult patients was interviewed when leaving 20 Egyptian pharmacies after collecting a dispensed prescription. Patients were asked about their (1) perceived knowledge of their drugs' purpose, (2) use of package inserts (PIs) to learn about side effects, contraindications and drug interactions, (3) perceived need to know more about their drugs and (4) general sources of drug information beyond healthcare providers.

Key findings
More than 30% of the patients reported that they did not know the purpose of at least one of their drugs and only read PIs selectively. Whereas 36% read about drug interactions, more reported reading about side effects (65%) and contraindications (60%) in PIs. Sixty-nine per cent of patients reported that they needed more information about their drugs. This was true for 86.8% of patients with limited education compared to 48.5% of university graduates. University graduates reported using PI topics, newspapers, internet, TV and family and friends as sources of drug information at significantly higher rates than did patients with lower levels of education.

Conclusion
There is a need for healthcare professionals to evaluate patient comprehension and needs for drug information, especially for patients with less schooling. Healthcare providers should also consider other information sources that a patient is using.
Effects of Mn and Fe Levels on
Bacillus subtilis
Spore Resistance and Effects of Mn
2+
, Other Divalent Cations, Orthophosphate, and Dipicolinic Acid on Protein Resistance to Ionizing Radiation
Authors: Granger Amanda C. , Gaidamakova Elena K. , Matrosova Vera Y. , Daly Michael J. , Setlow Peter 
Published: November 2010

ABSTRACT

Spores of
Bacillus subtilis
strains with (wild type) or without (α
−
β
−
) most DNA-binding α/β-type small, acid-soluble proteins (SASP) were prepared in medium with additional MnCl
2
concentrations of 0.3 μM to 1 mM. These haploid spores had Mn levels that varied up to 180-fold and Mn/Fe ratios that varied up to 300-fold. However, the resistance of these spores to desiccation, wet heat, dry heat, and in particular ionizing radiation was unaffected by their level of Mn or their Mn/Fe ratio; this was also the case for wild-type spore resistance to hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
). However, α
−
β
−
spores were more sensitive to H
2
O
2
when they had high Mn levels and a high Mn/Fe ratio. These results suggest that Mn levels alone are not essential for wild-type bacterial spores' extreme resistance properties, in particular ionizing radiation, although high Mn levels sensitize α
−
β
−
spores to H
2
O
2
, probably by repressing expression of the auxiliary DNA-protective protein MrgA. Notably, Mn
2+
complexed with the abundant spore molecule dipicolinic acid (DPA) with or without inorganic phosphate was very effective at protecting a restriction enzyme against ionizing radiation
in vitro
, and Ca
2+
complexed with DPA and phosphate was also very effective in this regard. These latter data suggest that protein protection in spores against treatments such as ionizing radiation that generate reactive oxygen species may be due in part to the spores' high levels of DPA conjugated to divalent metal ions, predominantly Ca
2+
, much like high levels of Mn
2+
complexed with small molecules protect the bacterium
Deinococcus radiodurans
against ionizing radiation.
Relation Between Right Ventricular Function and Increased Right Ventricular [
18
F]Fluorodeoxyglucose Accumulation in Patients With Heart Failure
Authors: Mielniczuk Lisa M. , Birnie David , Ziadi Maria C. , deKemp Robert A. , DaSilva Jean N. , Burwash Ian , Tang Anthony T. , Davies Ross A. , Haddad Haissam , Guo Ann , Aung May , Williams Kathryn , Ukkonen Heikki , Beanlands Rob S.B. 
Published: November 2010

Background—

Left heart failure is characterized by alterations in metabolic substrate utilization, and metabolic modulation may be a future strategy in the management of heart failure. Little is known about cardiac metabolism in the right ventricle and how it relates to other measures of right ventricular (RV) function. This study was designed to measure glucose metabolism in the right ventricle, as estimated by [
18
F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography imaging and to determine the relation between RV function and FDG uptake in patients with heart failure.

Methods and Results—

A total of 68 patients underwent cardiac [
18
F]FDG positron emission tomography scanning with measurement of RV FDG uptake as a standardized uptake value. Perfusion imaging was acquired at rest with rubidium-82 or [
13
N]ammonia. RV function was determined by equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography. Relative RV FDG uptake was determined as the ratio of RV to LV standardized uptake value. Fifty-five percent of these patients had ischemic cardiomyopathy. The mean LV and RV ejection fractions were 21±7% and 35±10%, respectively. There was a correlation between RV ejection fraction and the ratio of RV to LV FDG uptake whether the entire LV myocardium (
r
=−0.40,
P
<0.001) or LV free wall (
r
=−0.43,
P
<0.001) was used. This relation persisted in the subgroup with nonischemic cardiomyopathy (
r
=−0.37,
P
=0.04). RV FDG uptake was weakly related to increased RV systolic pressure but not related to LV size, function, or FDG uptake. The correlation between RV ejection fraction and RV/LV FDG was maintained after partial-volume correction (
r
=−0.68,
P
<0.001).

Conclusions—
RV dysfunction is associated with an increase in RV FDG uptake, the magnitude of which may be correlated with severity.
Islamic Law and Muslim Governance in Northern Nigeria: Crimes against Life, Limb and Property in Shari'a Judicial Practice
Authors: Weimann Gunnar 
Published: November 2010

AbstractA decade ago, twelve northern Nigerian states introduced Islamic criminal legislation. Many governors of these states supported the move only with reluctance. They were caught between popular demands for the introduction of the shari'a and the exigencies of their office, established by the Nigerian Constitution. Their situation may be compared to that of the colonial period emirs whose legitimacy was closely linked to the imple mentation of Islamic criminal law, but who were forced to implement British orders containing its application. In this article, I analyse the judicial practice of modern shari'a courts with regard to crimes against life, limb and property, a major concern for northern Nigerian Muslims in the past and at present. I conclude that because both the emirs and the governors have been unable to find lasting solutions to the problem of reconciling the two legal systems, they have opted for delaying tactics.
Punishing the Guilty, Not Punishing the Innocent
Authors: Lippke Richard 
Published: November 2010

AbstractDiscussion in this paper focuses on how strongly we should prefer non-punishment of persons guilty of serious crimes to punishment of persons innocent of them. William Blackstone's version of that preference, expressed as a ten to one ratio, is first shown to be untenable on standard accounts of legal punishment's justifying aims. Somewhat weaker versions of that ratio also appear suspect. More to the point, Blackstone's adage obscures the crucial way in which there are risks to be assessed in setting up a criminal justice system – the risk that it will not be eff ective enough at apprehending and punishing serious off enders, as well as the risk that it will expose innocent persons to harsh punishment. I urge a balancing of such risks, and argue that the salient features of many contemporary criminal justice systems can be plausibly interpreted as attempting to achieve and maintain such a balance. We do not grant criminal defendants a presumption of innocence that the state must overcome with proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in order to institutionally express a strong degree of preference for non-punishment of the guilty to punishment of the innocent. Instead, we do so in order to ensure that institutions of legal punishment have suffi cient scope while preserving their ability to accurately sort the guilty from the innocent.
A Kantian Defense of Prudential Suicide
Authors: Cholbi Michael 
Published: November 2010

AbstractKant's claim that the rational will has absolute value or dignity appears to render any prudential suicide morally impermissible. Although the previous appeals of Kantians (e. g., David Velleman) to the notion that pain or mental anguish can compromise dignity and justify prudential suicide are unsuccessful, these appeals suggest three constraints that an adequate Kantian defense of prudential suicide must meet. Here I off er an account that meets these constraints. Central to this account is the contention that some suicidal agents, because they are unable to fashion a rational conception of their own happiness, are diminished with respect to their dignity of humanity, and as a result, lack the pricelessness that makes prudential suicide wrong on a Kantian view.
On the Non-instrumental Value of Basic Rights
Authors: Cruft Rowan 
Published: November 2010

AbstractBasic rights are often of great instrumental value in securing protection for important human needs and interests. The first two sections of this paper defend the thesis that basic rights are also valuable independently of their instrumental role. Taking my cue from Frances Kamm's suggestion that basic rights reflect or express human worth, in the third, fourth and fifth sections I develop the proposal that the non-instrumental value of basic rights derives from their constitutive role in a universal form of community or fellowship. The importance of basic rights' instrumental role is reaffi rmed in the final section of the paper, which builds on the earlier sections to offer a 'mixed' theory according to which basic rights have both instrumental and non-instrumental value.
The impact of lifestyle modification in preventing or delaying the progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus among high-risk people in Jordan
Authors: Abujudeh Bashar A. , Abu Al Rub Raeda F. , Al-Faouri Ibrahim G. , Gharaibeh Muntaha K. 
Published: November 2010

Purpose: To investigate (1) the effectiveness of educational interventions in reducing the risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) among Jordanian adults at high risk, and (2) whether levels of self-esteem and self-efficacy affect the responses of participants towards educational interventions in reducing risks for developing type 2 DM. Design: A comparative experimental pretest–post-test control group design was used. One hundred and thirteen participants at high risk for developing type 2 DM were randomly assigned to a study group ( n = 57) and a control group ( n = 56) based on the matching technique according to the risk factors. Methods: The participants in the study group received 12 educational sessions about healthy diet guidelines and five educational sessions about guidelines for moderately intense physical activity. Participants in the control group received general written information about diet and exercises, but no specific individualised interventions were offered to them. Results: The risk of type 2 DM among the study group was reduced by 28%. The results also indicated that participants in the study group had significant reduction in their body weight, and body mass index, and fasting blood sugar level. Participants in the study group with higher self-esteem and self-efficacy levels before receiving interventions achieved lower weight loss comparing to those who had lower self-esteem and self-efficacy levels. Implications: The findings of the present study confirmed that lifestyle interventions concerned with educational sessions about dietary behaviours and exercises illustrate promising results in preventing or delaying the risk of developing type 2 DM by modifying its risk factors.
New primers for single‐copy nuclear‐encoded chloroplast‐expressed glutamine synthetase (ncpGS) in Oxalidaceae
Authors: Oberlander Kenneth C. , Dreyer Léanne L. , Roets Francois 
Published: November 2010

• Premise of the study: New primers were developed for the nuclear marker glutamine synthetase (ncpGS) in Oxalidaceae.• Methods and Results: New forward and reverse primers were designed and tested across a wide range of Oxalidaceae. Selected taxa were sequenced to confirm homology. Potential for phylogenetic study was assessed by comparing sequenced taxa with commonly used nuclear and plastid markers.• Conclusions: Four out of five Oxalidaceae genera and all tested Oxalis spp. amplified successfully. Sequencing confirmed homology of the amplicon. Parsimony analysis of ncpGS showed that it is a promising candidate for future phylogenetic work in Oxalidaceae.
Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor α and γ Agonists Together with TGF-β Convert Human CD4+CD25− T Cells into Functional Foxp3+ Regulatory T Cells
Authors: Lei Jin , Hasegawa Hitoshi , Matsumoto Takuya , Yasukawa Masaki 
Published: November 2010

Abstract
Human peripheral CD4+CD25− T cells can be induced to express Foxp3 when activated in vitro by TCR stimulation with TGF-β and IL-2. However, these TGF-β–induced Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (iTregs) lack a regulatory phenotype. From libraries of nuclear receptor ligands and bioactive lipids, we screened three peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)α (bezafibrate, GW7647, and 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid) and two PPARγ agonists (ciglitazone and 15-deoxy-Δ-12,14-PG J2) as molecules that increased Foxp3 expression in human iTregs significantly compared with that in DMSO-treated iTregs (control). These PPARα and PPARγ agonist-treated iTregs maintained a high level of Foxp3 expression and had suppressive properties. There were no significant differences in the suppressive properties of iTregs treated with the three PPARα and two PPARγ agonists, and all of the treated iTregs increased demethylation levels of the Foxp3 promoter and intronic conserved noncoding sequence 3 regions. Furthermore, PPARα and PPARγ agonists, together with TGF-β, more strongly inhibited the expression of all three DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) (DNMT1, DNMT3a, and DNMT3b) in activated CD4+ T cells. These results demonstrate that PPARα and PPARγ agonists together with TGF-β elicit Foxp3 DNA demethylation through potent downregulation of DNMTs and induce potent and stable Foxp3 expression, resulting in the generation of functional iTregs. Moreover, trichostatin A and retinoic acid enhanced the generation of iTregs synergistically with PPARα and PPARγ agonists.
Pseudolocality for the Ricci Flow and Applications
Authors: Chau Albert , Tam Luen-Fai , Yu Chengjie 
Published: November 2010

Abstract Perelman established a differential Li-Yau-Hamilton (LYH) type inequality for fundamental solutions of the conjugate heat equation corresponding to the Ricci flow on compact manifolds. As an application of the LYH inequality, Perelman proved a pseudolocality result for the Ricci flow on compact manifolds. In this article we provide the details for the proofs of these results in the case of a complete noncompact Riemannian manifold. Using these results we prove that under certain conditions, a finite time singularity of the Ricci flow must form within a compact set. The conditions are satisfied by asymptotically flatmanifolds. We also prove a long time existence result for the Kähler-Ricci flow on complete nonnegatively curved Kähler manifolds.
Analyzing behavioral properties of semantic business processes with parametric data
Authors: Ibáñez María José , Álvarez Pedro , Ezpeleta Joaquín 
Published: November 2010

AbstractOne of the basic problems in (semantic) business process management concerns the behavioral analysis at design time so that only correct processes are exposed. Although this analysis requires the semantic propagation of data and system preconditions through processes and between processes to be considered, some concrete data are usually obtained at runtime and cannot be used in early process development phases. This paper proposes Parametric Unary RDF Annotated Petri Net Systems (P‐U‐RDF‐PN Systems) as a formalism to alleviate this problem. The formalism allows analyzing behavioral properties of semantic business processes at design time. Parametric values are used to represent the data that will be obtained at runtime, allowing to also consider them in the analysis phase. The paper formally defines the semantics of the formalism in terms of enabling and firing of transitions as well as the concept of reachability graph. It also presents how to compute and analyze this parametric reachability graph. The analysis is based on an adaption of model checking techniques, being temporal logic the formalism used to specify the system properties to be analyzed. Finally, an implementation prototype using RDF and SPARQL tools and a Satisfiability Modulo Theories solver is presented, with some experiments evaluating how scalable the prototype is. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Definitive treatment of metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Report of 5 cases with review of literature
Authors: Setton Jeremy , Wolden Suzanne , Caria Nicola , Lee Nancy 
Published: November 2010

AbstractBackgroundTo review the treatment outcomes of patients presenting to Memorial Sloan‐Kettering Cancer Center with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.MethodsFrom April 1999 to April 2008, 5 patients with histologically confirmed nasopharyngeal carcinoma initially presenting with distant metastasis underwent chemotherapy and definitive radiation therapy at our institution. Each patient received platinum‐based chemotherapy concurrently with definitive radiotherapy to the primary region and subsequent consolidation radiotherapy to distant metastases. In addition, 2 patients received induction chemotherapy (cisplatin, fluorouracil), and 3 others received adjuvant chemotherapy (cisplatin or carboplatin, fluorouracil).ResultsOf 5 patients initially presenting to our institution with M1 disease, 2 have no evidence of disease as of their last follow‐up (29 and 91 months). The remaining 3 patients had progression of disease within 12 months of the start of treatment.ConclusionsLong‐term disease‐free survival is possible in a select group of patients with M1 disease at presentation treated with platinum‐based chemotherapy and definitive radiotherapy © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2012
A coding RNA segment that enhances the ribosomal recruitment of chicken ccn1 mRNA
Authors: Mukudai Yoshiki , Kubota Satoshi , Eguchi Takanori , Sumiyoshi Kumi , Janune Danilo , Kondo Seiji , Shintani Satoru , Takigawa Masaharu 
Published: November 2010

AbstractCCN1, a member of the CCN family of proteins, plays important physiological or pathological roles in a variety of tissues. In the present study, we initially found a highly guanine–cytosine (GC)‐rich region of approximately 200 bp near the 5′‐end of the open reading frame, which was always truncated by amplification of the corresponding cDNA region through the conventional polymerase chain reaction. An RNA in vitro folding assay and selective ribonuclease digestion of the corresponding segment of the ccn1 mRNA confirmed the involvement of a stable secondary structure. Subsequent RNA electromobility‐shift assays demonstrated the specific binding of some cytoplasmic factor(s) in chicken embryo fibroblasts to the RNA segment. Moreover, the corresponding cDNA fragment strongly enhanced the expression of the reporter gene in cis at the 5′‐end, but did not do so at the 3′‐end. According to the results of a ribosomal assembly test, the effect of the mRNA segment can predominantly be ascribed to the enhancement of transport and/or entry of the mRNA into the ribosome. Finally, the minimal GC‐rich mRNA segment that was predicted and demonstrated to form a secondary structure was confirmed to be a functional regulatory element. Thus, we here uncover a novel dual‐functionality of the mRNA segment in the ccn1 open reading frame, which segment acts as a cis‐element that mediates posttranscriptional gene regulation, while retaining the information for the amino acid sequence of the resultant protein. J. Cell. Biochem. 111: 1607–1618, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.