bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Anticarcinogenic effect of probiotic fermented milk and chlorophyllin on aflatoxin-B1-induced liver carcinogenesis in rats
Authors: Kumar M. , Verma V. , Nagpal R. , Kumar A. , Behare P. V. , Singh B. , Aggarwal P. K. 
Published: August 2011

The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of probiotic fermented milk (FM) containingLactobacillus rhamnosusGG andLactobacillus caseistrain Shirota, alone as well as in combination with chlorophyllin (CHL) as an antioxidant agent in male Wistar rats administered aflatoxin-B1(AFB1). AFB1was injected intraperitoneally at the rate of 450 μg/kg body weight per animal twice a week for 6 weeks, maintaining an equal time interval between the two consecutive AFB1administrations. A total of 125 male Wistar rats were randomly allocated to five groups, each group having twenty-five animals. Group I was offered FM containingL. rhamnosusGG andL. caseistrain Shirota. Group II was administered AFB1and served as the control group; group III was administered FM-AFB1, in which besides administering AFB1, FM was also offered. Group IV was offered CHL and AFB1, and group V was offered both FM and CHL along with AFB1. The rats were euthanised at the 15th and 25th week of the experiment and examined for the biochemical and hepatopathological profile. A significant reduction in thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) was observed in the FM–CHL–AFB1group compared with the AFB1control group. FM alone or in combination with CHL was found to show a significant (P < 0·05) hepatoprotective effect by lowering the levels of TBARS and by enhancing the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione-S-transferase, indicating that probiotic FM alone or in combination with CHL possesses a potent protective effect against AFB1-induced hepatic damage.
An unusual dark pigmentation on the tympanic membrane
Authors: Sagit M , Uludag M , San I 
Published: August 2011

AbstractObjective:To report an extremely rare case of dark pigmentation on the tympanic membrane due to alkaptonuria, and to discuss the probable association between this condition and hearing loss.Case report:A 58-year-old man with alkaptonuria was admitted with tinnitus and hearing loss in both ears. Physical examination showed bluish-black pigmentation on the helixes of both ears and both sclerae. Otoscopic examination revealed dark discolouration of both tympanic membranes. Audiological evaluation revealed mixed high frequency hearing loss in both ears. Tympanometric examination revealed type A tympanograms bilaterally, and absence of acoustic reflexes both ipsilaterally and contralaterally. Computed tomography of the temporal bones revealed no abnormality.Conclusion:Clinicians should consider alkaptonuria in the differential diagnosis of patients with abnormal tympanic membrane pigmentation and hearing loss.
Cholesteatoma in patients with congenital external auditory canal anomalies: retrospective review
Authors: Mazita A , Zabri M , Aneeza W H , Asma A , Saim L 
Published: August 2011

AbstractObjective:To review cases of congenital external auditory canal anomaly with cholesteatoma, documenting clinical presentation, cholesteatoma site and extent, complications, and surgery.Method:Retrospective review of all cases of congenital canal anomaly with cholesteatoma treated between 1998 and 2009.Results:Of 41 cases with canal anomalies, 17 (43.9 per cent) had associated cholesteatoma. Medical records were unretrievable for four cases. Of the remaining 13 patients (five females and eight males, age range four to 73 years, mean 21 years), 10 presented chiefly with recurrent otorrhoea, two with postauricular discharge from mastoid abscess, and one with otalgia, postauricular tenderness and neck stiffness. Hearing loss was conductive in 10 patients (76.9 per cent) and sensorineural (severe to profound) in three. No facial nerve palsy was documented. Cholesteatoma was seen in all cases on high resolution computed tomography, and confirmed intra-operatively. Six patients underwent canalplasty with split skin grafting, and seven modified radical mastoidectomy. Six patients recovered well, two needed repeated canalplasty for soft tissue restenosis, and five needed cautery and split skin grafting for mastoid cavity granulation tissue.Conclusion:Congenital canal anomaly is uncommon. Canal cholesteatoma should be suspected in all cases, and high resolution temporal bone computed tomography undertaken in all patients aged four years or more. In patients with otorrhoea, the risk of cholesteatoma is greater. Treatment is generally surgery; the type depends on the disease extent.
Democratic demands and social policies: the politics of health reform in Ghana
Authors: Carbone Giovanni 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTIt is commonly assumed that the advent of democracy tends to bring about social welfare improvements. Few studies, however, have examined empirically the impact of third-wave democratisation processes on social policies in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Through a diachronic comparison, this paper examines the effects of Ghana's democratisation process on the evolution of its health policy. It shows that the emergence of democratic competition played an important role in the recent adoption of a crucial health reform. A policy feedback effect on politics and a process of international policy diffusion were additional but secondary factors.
Living by the gun in Chad: armed violence as a practical occupation
Authors: Debos Marielle 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTThis article explores men in arms’ conceptions of armed violence in a country which has been prone to a violent cycle of rebellion and repression. Based on ethnographic research in Chad, it analyses combatants’ life trajectories in an unstable political environment and a militarised economy. It moves beyond rebellion towards an analysis of the most mundane patterns of the activities conducted by men in arms, to understand what is at stake beyond times and spaces of war. It argues that armed violence is an ordinary way of expressing contestation, as well as a practical occupation ormétier, a French word that indicates a non-institutionalised profession.
Rhetorical legacies of leadership: projections of ‘benevolent leadership’ in pre- and post-genocide Rwanda
Authors: Desrosiers Marie-Eve , Thomson Susan 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTComparing pre- and post-genocide Rwanda, this article argues that clear continuities exist between the regimes of Juvénal Habyarimana and Paul Kagame. Both have projected a remarkably similar image of ‘benevolent leadership’. Presenting themselves as harbingers of an ‘improved’ or ‘new’ Rwanda, both leaderships have claimed to be best able and willing to guide Rwanda along the right path to peace, security, ethnic unity and development. ‘Benevolent leadership’ in both periods has also served as a tool to try and shape regime relationships with international and domestic audiences. Internationally, each government has worked to promote Rwanda and its authorities as a good development partner. Domestically, these projections have served to establish norms of order and obedience. We argue that projections of ‘benevolent leadership’ have been a tool designed to win over the international community and discipline the Rwandan population.
The lifetime impact of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC)
Authors: Bernardi S. , Faraone S. V. , Cortese S. , Kerridge B. T. , Pallanti S. , Wang S. , Blanco C. 
Published: August 2011

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to present nationally representative data on the lifetime independent association between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and psychiatric co-morbidity, correlates, quality of life and treatment seeking in the USA.MethodData were derived from a large national sample of the US population. Face-to-face surveys of more than 34 000 adults aged 18 years and older residing in households were conducted during the 2004–2005 period. Diagnoses of ADHD, Axis I and II disorders were based on the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM-IV version.ResultsADHD was associated independently of the effects of other psychiatric co-morbidity with increased risk of bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, specific phobia, and narcissistic, histrionic, borderline, antisocial and schizotypal personality disorders. A lifetime history of ADHD was also associated with increased risk of engaging in behaviors reflecting lack of planning and deficient inhibitory control, with high rates of adverse events, lower perceived health, social support and higher perceived stress. Fewer than half of individuals with ADHD had ever sought treatment, and about one-quarter had ever received medication. The average age of first treatment contact was 18.40 years.ConclusionsADHD is common and associated with a broad range of psychiatric disorders, impulsive behaviors, greater number of traumas, lower quality of life, perceived social support and social functioning, even after adjusting for additional co-morbidity. When treatment is sought, it is often in late adolescence or early adulthood, suggesting the need to improve diagnosis and treatment of ADHD.
Origin and deposition sites influence seed germination and seedling survival of Manilkara zapota: implications for long-distance, animal-mediated seed dispersal
Authors: O'Farrill Georgina , Chapman Colin A. , Gonzalez Andrew 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThe distribution and dynamics of plant populations depend on the recruitment of young individuals, which is influenced by seed production, animal seed dispersal, dispersal distance, and the deposition of seeds in favourable places for seed germination/establishment and seedling survival. In particular, seeds dispersed over long distances will likely encounter new environmental conditions that occur at large spatial scales, with seed and seedling survival influenced by the adaptation of plant populations to soil and climate conditions. In this paper, it is hypothesized that seed germination and seedling survival probabilities depend on seed origin and deposition sites. A reciprocal seed and seedling transplant experiment was carried out with zapote seeds (Manilkara zapota) to determine the effect of origin and deposition sites on seed germination and seedling survival over a year in the Greater Calakmul Region of Mexico. Two origin and two deposition sites were selected that show different soil moisture levels within the habitat of the Baird's tapir, a major seed disperser of M. zapota seeds. The results show that sites of origin and deposition influenced seed germination and seedling survival probabilities. This suggests that the displacement of seeds far from parent trees, while potentially reducing intraspecific competition, does not ensure their survival, and that seeds need to be deposited in microsites within their environmental tolerance for dispersal to be successful. Furthermore, this paper emphasizes the importance of field experiments to provide strong inference about the effects of environmental conditions on recruitment and distribution of plant species.
Carbon-related border tax adjustment: mitigating climate change or restricting international trade?
Authors: KAUFMANN CHRISTINE , WEBER ROLF H. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractBorder tax adjustments in the form of carbon taxes on products from countries with lax environmental production standards or in the form of a required participation in an emissions allowances' trading system have become a heavily debated issue under WTO law. Such an adjustment might be permissible if energy taxes as indirect taxes are applied on inputs during the production process. Compliance with the Most Favoured Nation principle has less practical importance than the not-yet settled likeness discussion under the National Treatment principle. Consequently, since the compatibility of carbon-related border tax adjustment measures is partly contested, potential justifications such as the conservation of exhaustible national resources or the protection of health (Art. XX GATT) become relevant. The application of the necessity and proportionality test requires that carbon measures are tailored so as to substantially contribute to the achievement of environmental objectives and do not create any arbitrary or unjustified discrimination.
Dual Diode Array and Fourier Transform Near Infrared Reflectance Spectrometer Calibrations for Composition Analysis of Single Soybean Seeds for Genetic Selection, Cross-Breeding Experiments
Authors: Baianu I. , You Tiefeng , Nelson Randall 
Published: August 2011

AbstractExperimental results of extensive evaluations of Diode-Array and FT-NIRS instruments are presented that aim at developing reliable and robust NIR calibrations for single soybean seed composition analysis on both Dual Diode Array and Fourier Transform NIR reflectance instruments. Single soybean seed, bulk, and powder calibrations were developed on four different NIRS spectrometer models that are commercially available.
Psychosocial Functioning and Health‐related Quality of Life in Paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Ross Sarah C. , Strachan Julie , Russell Richard K. , Wilson Sarah L. 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTObjectives:The present systematic review examined the literature focusing on psychosocial functioning and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) in young people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It aimed to critique the methodological quality of the identified studies, discuss the implications of their findings, and make recommendations for future research.Patients and Methods:Relevant articles (January 1990–December 2009) were subject to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. Identified papers were rated for methodological quality using SIGN 50 and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme guidelines before data extraction.Results:Of 2141 articles initially identified, 278 were screened in detail, leaving 12 articles for inclusion in the review: 3 having “acceptable” and 9 having “good” quality rating scores. These 12 studies yielded a combined total of 5330 participants including 790 with IBD and 4540 controls (ages 4–18 years). Five main outcomes—self‐esteem, HRQOL, anxiety and depression, social competence, and behavioural functioning—were examined. Three of the 4 controlled studies addressing self‐reported HRQOL found it to be significantly lower in the participants with IBD. The evidence for lowered self‐esteem, self‐reported symptoms of depression and anxiety, impaired social competence, and behavioural problems were conflicting. Methodological heterogeneity was noted in terms of areas of functioning addressed, measures used, sample size, and use of control groups.Conclusions:HRQOL is lower in patients with IBD, but conflicting results and methodological flaws limit conclusions on other aspects of psychosocial functioning. Future research should present data on effect sizes, avoid confounding findings by not combining across age groups or disease severity indices, and consider investigating body image disturbance.
Expression of genes from the lignin synthesis pathway in guineagrass genotypes differing in cell‐wall digestibility
Authors: Stabile S. S. , Bodini A. P. , Jank L. , Rennó F. P. , Santos M. V. , Silva L. F. P. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractRapid decline in cell‐wall digestibility hinders efficient use of warm‐season grasses. The objective of this study was to identify genes whose expressions are related to the slope of decline in cell‐wall digestibility. Eleven guineagrass genotypes were harvested at three ages and classified according to fibre digestibility. Extreme genotypes were separated into groups with either FAST or SLOW decline in fibre digestibility. Expression of transcripts from six genes from the lignin synthesis pathway was quantified by real‐time PCR. Fast decline in fibre digestibility was associated with higher DM yield after 90 d of regrowth. Apart from lower fibre digestibility and higher lignin content for the FAST group, there were no other differences between the two groups for the chemical composition of stems and leaves. Maturity affected differently the expression of two of the six genes, cinnamate 4‐hydroxylase and caffeoyl‐CoA O‐methyltransferase (C4H and CCoAOMT). Genotypes with fast decline in fibre digestibility had greater increase in the expression of C4H and CCoAOMT from 30 to 60 d of regrowth, than genotypes with slower decline. Expression of C4H and CCoAOMT appears to be related to the decline in cell‐wall digestibility with advance in maturity of guineagrass.
Virtuous acts as practical medical ethics: an empirical study
Authors: Little Miles , Gordon Jill , Markham Pippa , Rychetnik Lucie , Kerridge Ian 
Published: August 2011

AbstractRationale, aims and objectives To examine the nature, scope and significance of virtues in the biographies of medical practitioners and to determine what kind of virtues are at play in their ethical behaviour and reflection.Methods A case study involving 19 medical practitioners associated with the Sydney Medical School, using semi‐structured narrative interviews. Narrative data were analysed using dialectical empiricism, constant comparison and iterative reformulation of research questions.Results Participants represented virtuous acts as centrally important in their moral assessments of both themselves and others. Acts appeared to be contextually virtuous, rather than expressions of stable character traits, and virtue was linked to acts that served to protect or enhance fundamental values attached to ontological security and human flourishing. Virtue ethics, in this sense, was the single most important ethical system for each of the participants.Conclusion Virtue ethics, construed as the appraisal of acts in contexts of risk, danger or threat to foundational values, emerged as the ‘natural’ ethical approach for medical practitioners in this case study. Teaching medical ethics to students and graduates alike needs to accommodate the priority attached to virtuous acts.
Transcription factor genes of Schizophyllum commune involved in regulation of mushroom formation
Authors: Ohm Robin A. , de Jong Jan F. , de Bekker Charissa , Wösten Han A. B. , Lugones Luis G. 
Published: August 2011

SummaryMushrooms represent the most conspicuous structures of fungi. Their development is being studied in the model basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune. The genome of S. commune contains 472 genes encoding predicted transcription factors. Of these, fst3 and fst4 were shown to inhibit and induce mushroom development respectively. Here, we inactivated five additional transcription factor genes. This resulted in absence of mushroom development (in the case of deletion of bri1 and hom2), in arrested development at the stage of aggregate formation (in the case of c2h2) and in the formation of more but smaller mushrooms (in the case of hom1 and gat1). Moreover, strains in which hom2 and bri1 were inactivated formed symmetrical colonies instead of irregular colonies like the wild type. A genome‐wide expression analysis identified several gene classes that were differentially expressed in the strains in which either hom2 or fst4 was inactivated. Among the genes that were downregulated in these strains were c2h2 and hom1. Based on these results, a regulatory model of mushroom development in S. commune is proposed. This model most likely also applies to other mushroom‐forming fungi and will serve as a basis to understand mushroom formation in nature and to enable and improve commercial mushroom production.
Combined experimental and computational strategies define an expansive regulon for GcvB small RNA
Authors: Vanderpool Carin K. 
Published: August 2011

SummaryThe bacterial small RNA GcvB has been known as a translational repressor of mRNAs encoding amino acid transporters and has been postulated to limit uptake of unnecessary amino acids under nutrient‐rich conditions. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, Sharma et al. (2011) provide evidence for a much broader role for GcvB as a global regulator of amino acid metabolism. Using a unique combination of experimental and biocomputational approaches, the authors triple the size of the GcvB regulon, making it the largest sRNA regulon defined to date.
A seven‐WD40 protein related to human RACK1 regulates mating and virulence in Ustilago maydis
Authors: Wang Lei , Berndt Patrick , Xia Xiaojuan , Kahnt Jörg , Kahmann Regine 
Published: August 2011

SummaryIn mammalian cells RACK1 serves as a scaffold protein that has a role in integrating inputs from different signalling pathways and affects translation through association with ribosomes. Ustilago maydis contains a seven‐WD40 repeat motif protein designated Rak1, which shows 68% identity to RACK1 and 51% identity to Asc1p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. An asc1 mutant could be complemented by introduction of U. maydis rak1. The deletion of rak1 affected cell growth, cell wall integrity and specifically attenuated cell fusion. This latter defect was caused by reduced expression of prf1 encoding the regulator for pheromone (mfa) and pheromone‐receptor genes. Rak1 interacts with a variety of ribosomal proteins and microarray analysis revealed that the deletion of rak1 led to severely reduced expression of rop1, a transcriptional activator of prf1. The constitutive expression of rop1 could rescue the defect of mfa1 expression as well as conjugation tube formation in response to pheromone induction in the rak1 mutant. Moreover, a solopathogenic rak1 mutant failed to respond to plant‐derived stimuli, resulting in attenuated filamentation and pathogenicity. This could be partially rescued by constitutive expression of the b heterodimer. These data suggest that rak1 is a regulator of rop1 expression with additional roles after cell fusion.
Leafcutter ants: a small dispersal agent of the invasive plant Murraya paniculata
Authors: PIKART T G , SOUZA G K , SERRÃO J E , ZANUNCIO J C 
Published: August 2011

Pikart TG, Souza GK, Serrão JE & Zanuncio JC (2011). Leafcutter ants: a small dispersal agent of the invasive plant Murraya paniculata. Weed Research51, 548–551.SummaryAnts can play an important role in the success and impact of many species invasions, including weed species. This study, in a fragment of secondary forest in Viçosa, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, evaluates the role of native leafcutter ants in the spread of the exotic plant Murraya paniculata, an alternative host of bacteria causing citrus greening disease. The foraging activity of leafcutter ants on fruits of ten M. paniculata plants was observed daily during August 2010. The only leafcutter ant species observed was Acromyrmex niger (Smith, 1858) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), which showed a preference to remove M. paniculata fruits to its nests, cleaning them and discarding the seeds on refuse piles afterwards. Murraya paniculata was the main plant whose seeds were deposited in refuse piles (61–82% of the seeds), where they commonly germinated. This study shows that dispersal of this weed is facilitated by native leafcutter ants. This may promote the spread and establishment of this alternative host of citrus greening disease and so lead to problems in monitoring and control of this disease.