bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hydrocarbon Generation Kinetic Characteristics from Different Types of Organic Matter
Authors: WANG Min , LU Shuangfang , XUE Haitao , WANG Weiming , LIU Min , DONG Qi , WANG Guihua 
Published: June 2011

Abstract:In order to contrast the hydrocarbon generation kinetic characteristics from different types of organic matter (OM), 18 samples from different basins were pyrolyzed using Rock‐Eval‐II apparatus under the open system. From the experimental results, the curve of hydrocarbon generation rate vs. temperature can be easily obtained, which usually can be used to optimize kinetic parameters (A, E, F) of the hydrocarbon generation model. In this paper, the parallel first‐order reaction with a single frequency factor model is selected to describe the hydrocarbon generation kinetic characteristics. The hydrocarbon generation kinetic parameters reveal that the types of compound structures and chemical bonds of the lacustrine facies type I OM are relatively homogeneous, with one dominating activation energy. The types of chemical bonds of the lacustrine facies type II2 OM and the terrestrial facies type III OM are relative complex, with a broad activation energy distribution, and the reaction fraction of the preponderant activation energy drops with the decrease of hydrogen index. The impact of the activation energy distribution spaces on the geological extrapolation of kinetic parameters is also investigated. The results show that it has little effect on the hydrocarbon transformation ratio (TR) and therefore, the parallel first‐order reaction model with proper number of activation energies can be better used to describe the hydrocarbon generation process. The geological extrapolation results of 18 samples of kinetic parameters show that the distribution range of the hydrocarbon generation rate of the type I OM is relatively narrow and the hydrocarbon generation curve is smooth. In comparison, the distribution range of the hydrocarbon generation for type II1 and type II2–III OM are quite wide, and the hydrocarbon generation curves have fluctuation phenomena. The distribution range of the hydrocarbon generation rate and the fluctuation phenomena are related to the kinetic parameters of OM; the narrower the activation energy distribution, the narrower the hydrocarbon generation rate distribution, and the smoother the hydrocarbon generation curve, and vice versa.
Campylobacter populations in wild and domesticated Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)
Authors: Colles Frances M. , Ali Jan S. , Sheppard Samuel K. , McCarthy Noel D. , Maiden Martin C. J. 
Published: June 2011

SummaryIdentifying the Campylobacter genotypes that colonize farmed and wild ducks will help to assess the proportion of human disease that is potentially attributable to the consumption of duck meat and environmental exposure to duck faeces. Comparison of temporally and geographically matched farmed and wild ducks showed that they had different Campylobacter populations in terms of: (i) prevalence, (ii) Campylobacter species and (iii) diversity of genotypes. Furthermore, 92.4% of Campylobacter isolates from farmed ducks were sequence types (STs) commonly associated with human disease, in contrast to just one isolate from the wild ducks. Only one ST, ST‐45, was shared between the two sources, accounting for 0.9% of wild duck isolates and 5% of farmed duck isolates. These results indicate that domestic ‘niche’ as well as host type may affect the distribution of Campylobacter, and that husbandry practises associated with intensive agriculture may be involved in generating a reservoir of human disease associated lineages.
Renal effects of dopamine infusion in conscious horses
Authors: TRIM CYNTHIA M. , MOORE J. N. , CLARK E. SUSAN 
Published: June 2011

SummaryAn ultrasonic flow probe was implanted around a branch of the left renal artery in five horses. The effects of dopamine were studied in the unsedated horses 10 days after surgery. Three experiments, separated by at least two days, were performed in random order on each horse. In two experiments, dopamine was infused intravenously for 60 mins at either 2.5 and 5.0 μg/kg bodyweight (bwt)/min. Saline was infused for 60 mins before and after each infusion, and for 180 mins in the third experiment as a control. Renal blood flow increased during administration of dopamine at both dose rates (P=0.0001). Urine volume increased (P=0.055), and osmolality decreased (P<0.05), with infusion of dopamine at 5.0 μg/kg bwt/min. Arterial blood pressure and heart rate were not significantly affected. Fractional excretions of sodium and potassium were not significantly changed with dopamine infusion. The higher dopamine dose rate was accompanied by dysrhythmias in some horses.
A novel method using confocal laser scanning microscopy for sensitive measurement of P-glycoprotein-mediated transport activity in Caco-2 cells
Authors: Wakuda Hirokazu , Nejime Namie , Tada Yukari , Kagota Satomi , Fahmi Odette A , Umegaki Keizo , Yamada Shizuo , Shinozuka Kazumasa 
Published: June 2011

Abstract

Objectives
The aim of this study was to use time-lapse confocal laser scanning microscopy to establish a more sensitive and specific method for evaluating P-glycoprotein activity in Caco-2 cells.

Methods
The change in the fluorescence of residual rhodamine 123 at the apical and central regions of Caco-2 cells was measured in the presence of digoxin or St John's wort by using time-lapse confocal laser scanning microscopy. The data were compared with measurements made using conventional techniques, a fluorescence microplate reader and a fluorescence microscope.

Key findings
The percentage decrease of rhodamine 123 caused by 10 µm digoxin or 0.1 µg/ml St John's wort was significantly larger in the apical region of the Caco-2 cell than in the central region or in the whole cell. The digoxin-induced inhibition in the apical region as measured by time-lapse confocal laser scanning microscopy was greater than that measured in the whole cell by a microplate reader or a fluorescence microscope.

Conclusions
The assay of residual rhodamine 123 in the apical region of Caco-2 cells by confocal laser scanning microscopy was more sensitive than the conventional methods using a microplate reader or fluorescence microscopy. It will be a valuable screening tool for studying both the inhibition and induction of P-glycoprotein activity.
In-vitro permeability of poorly water soluble drugs in the phospholipid vesicle-based permeation assay: the influence of nonionic surfactants
Authors: Fischer Sarah Maud , Flaten Gøril Eide , Hagesæther Ellen , Fricker Gert , Brandl Martin 
Published: June 2011

Abstract

Objectives
The aim of this study was to determine the influence of nonionic surfactants on drug permeability using the phospholipid vesicle-based permeation assay (PVPA), which excludes other than trans-membrane diffusion pathways.

Methods
Barrier integrity was monitored both by electrical resistance and permeability measurement of the hydrophilic marker calcein. Permeability of the model drugs ketoprofen and nadolol across the PVPA-barrier was measured by HPLC-UV. Micelle association of the model drugs was determined using ultrafiltration, whereby micelle-bound drug and molecular drug were separated.

Key findings
The nonionic surfactant poloxamer 188 was demonstrated not to affect barrier integrity. Drug permeability was found depressed in the presence of poloxamer 188 in a concentration-dependent manner. Both drugs were found to associate with poloxamer 188 micelles. The extent of the decrease in permeability correlated mostly, but not in all cases, with the fraction of micelle-bound drug.

Conclusions
Micelle association was one important but not the only factor affecting drug permeability across the PVPA-barrier.
Targeted lung cancer therapy using ephrinA1-loaded albumin microspheres
Authors: Lee Hung-Yen , Mohammed Kamal A , Peruvemba Shriram , Goldberg Eugene P , Nasreen Najmunnisa 
Published: June 2011

Abstract

Objectives
EphrinA1, the ligand of EphA2 receptor tyrosine kinase, has been proven to suppress the growth of tumours. The aim of this study was to conjugate ephrinA1 on the surface of albumin microspheres and investigate the non-small cell lung carcinoma growth and migration in vitro.

Methods
Bovine serum albumin microspheres were designed and synthesized using a natural polymer albumin by emulsification chemical cross-linking. EphrinA1 was then conjugated on the surface of microspheres by imine formation. The microspheres conjugated with ephrinA1 (ephrinA1-MS) were characterized for particle size, surface morphology, loading efficiency and stability in vitro. The ephrinA1-MS were labelled with fluorescein isothiocyanate to determine phagocytosis. In addition, the effects of ephrinA1-MS on A549 cell growth and migration were determined.

Key findings
Albumin microspheres exhibited low toxicity for A549 cells (above 90% cell viability). More than 80% of microspheres were phagocytosed within 2 h of incubation. EphrinA1-MS decreased the expression of focal adhesion kinase more effectively than recombinant ephrinA1 alone. Furthermore, ephrinA1-MS showed significant inhibition of non-small cell lung cancer migration when compared with resting cells. EphrinA1-MS attenuated the growth of tumour colonies in matrigels.

Conclusions
The developed ephrinA1-MS may serve as potential carriers for targeted delivery of the tumour suppressive protein ephrinA1, with minimal cytotoxic effects and greater antitumour therapeutic efficacy against non-small cell lung cancer.
Esenbeckia leiocarpa Engl. inhibits inflammation in a carrageenan-induced murine model of pleurisy
Authors: Pozzatti Patrícia , dos Reis Gustavo Oliveira , Pereira Danielle Fontana , Heller Melina , Micke Gustavo Amadeu , Horst Heros , Pizzolatti Moacir Geraldo , Fröde Tânia Silvia 
Published: June 2011

Abstract

Objectives
The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of the crude hydroalcoholic extract (CHE) isolated from Esenbeckia leiocarpa Engl., and fractions and subfractions derived from it.

Methods
Dried E. leiocarpa Engl. bark was macerated and extracted with ethanol to obtain the CHE. The n-hexane, ethyl acetate, aqueous and alkaloid fractions, as well as two alkaloid subfractions (polar and nonpolar) were obtained from the CHE. A preliminary analysis using thin-layer chromatography was performed. Capillary electrophoresis, physical characteristics and spectral data produced by IR analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H and 13C NMR), and mass spectrometry analysis were used to identify and elucidate the structure of the major compounds. Swiss mice were used in a carrageenan-induced pleurisy model. Pro-inflammatory parameters (leukocyte and exudate concentrations, myeloperoxidase and adenosine-deaminase activity, and nitrate/nitrite, interleukin 1β and tumour necrosis factor α levels) were quantified in exudates at 4 h after carrageenan-induced pleurisy in mice.

Key findings
The dihydrocorynantheol alkaloid was isolated as the majority compound in the CHE, ethyl acetate and alkaloid fractions, and in the polar and nonpolar alkaloid subfractions. The CHE, fractions and subfractions inhibited the increases in leukocyte and exudate concentrations, myeloperoxidase and adenosine-deaminase activity, and nitrite/nitrate, interleukin 1β, and tumour necrosis factor α levels (P &lt; 0.05) in the fluid secreted from the pleural cavity of the carrageenan-treated mice.

Conclusions
E. leiocarpa Engl. showed significant in vivo anti-inflammatory action by inhibiting the inflammation caused by carrageenan. This effect may be, in part, due to the dihydrocorynantheol alkaloid, which was identified as the majority compound isolated from E. leiocarpa bark.
How students’ achievement goals shape their beliefs about effective teaching: A ‘build‐a‐professor’ study
Authors: Senko Corwin , Belmonte Kimberly , Yakhkind Anastasyia 
Published: June 2011

Background.  Which instructor qualities do students consider most important? The answer likely depends on the student. This study attempted to trace beliefs about the most essential instructor qualities to students’ academic achievement goals.Aims.  The present study tested the hypothesis that students pursuing mastery goals favour instructors who stimulate and challenge them intellectually, whereas those pursuing performance goals favour instructors who present material clearly and provide clear cues about how to succeed.Sample.  Participants were 157 students at a 4‐year public university.Method.  Participants designed the ideal professor through a hypothetical combination of nine widely valued instructor qualities, such as enthusiasm, presentation clarity, and an interactive teaching style. The more they acquired of any one instructor quality, the less they could acquire of the others, thus compelling students to distinguish necessary qualities from desirable luxury qualities.Results.  Students’ achievement goals corresponded to their views about the most essential instructor qualities. Mastery goals predicted greater demand for professors who intellectually challenge students and possess topic expertise, whereas performance goals predicted high demand for professors who present material clearly and provide cues about how to succeed in the course.Conclusions.  The findings support emerging theorizing about how mastery and performance goals nudge students to pursue different learning agendas, with distinct consequences to their learning experience.
Adherence to anti‐hypertensive medication: Proposing and testing a conceptual model
Authors: Quine Lyn , Steadman Liz , Thompson Susan , Rutter Derek R. 
Published: June 2011

Objectives.  A conceptual model of the psychological factors underpinning adherence to anti‐hypertensive medication is proposed and tested. The model suggests that adherence is influenced by three sets of variables: demography, health status, and perceived effects of medication; cognitions and motivation; and intention to adhere.Methods and Design.  Patients with known hypertension were recruited from three primary care practices in South‐East England and were asked to complete a postal questionnaire. A total of 1,070 responses were received. The questionnaire asked about the three sets of predictor variables, and adherence. Eight weeks after the first questionnaire, a second was posted to all respondents, this time asking about adherence over the intervening period.Results.  The three sets of predictor variables were treated as blocks in a hierarchical model, so that each successive block added to the variance in adherence explained by the previous blocks. The data were analysed by hierarchical multiple regression. The predictors accounted for 19% of the variance in adherence at Time 1, and 34% at Time 2. The leading individual predictors at Time 1 were age, gender, conscientiousness, hypertensive identity, perceived behavioural control, and intention. At Time 2, they were the same, except that gender made way for adherence at Time 1.Conclusions.  The model offers a parsimonious account, and the findings suggest a number of approaches to designing interventions to modify behaviour.
Physicians’ communication of the common‐sense self‐regulation model results in greater reported adherence than physicians’ use of interpersonal skills
Authors: Phillips L. Alison , Leventhal Howard , Leventhal Elaine A. 
Published: June 2011

Objectives.  Interventions that address patients’ illness and treatment representations have improved patient adherence and outcomes when administered by psychologists and/or health educators and focused on a single chronic illness. The current study assesses the potential feasibility/effectiveness of an intervention based on the common‐sense self‐regulation model (CS‐SRM) when administered by providers in a primary care setting.Design.  We designed a prospective, correlational study in order to optimize patients’ and providers’ time and to gain initial evidence of the CS‐SRM‐approach's feasibility/effectiveness.Methods.  Patients (n= 243) were recruited from a primary care waiting room and reported on objective behaviours of their providers (providers’ CS‐SRM‐related behaviours and interpersonal skills) and other theoretically related measures directly after the medical encounter and reported on adherence, presenting problem resolution, and emergency care usage 1 month later.Results.  The more providers gave their patients an adaptive understanding of their presenting problem/treatment (the greater the number of CS‐SRM‐related behaviours they engaged in), the more adherent were patients in the month following the encounter and the better was their problem resolution 1 month later. The CS‐SRM‐related behaviours were more predictive of these outcomes and emergency care usage than were the providers’ interpersonal skills.Conclusions.  In the time‐limited encounter, interventions may have to prioritize theoretical approaches for attaining patient adherence. The current study, although correlational, indicates that addressing the patients’ illness/treatment representations is more important than the providers’ interpersonal skills for attaining patient adherence and provides preliminary evidence that a CSM‐based intervention in the primary care setting may be both feasible and effective.
An Insect Nidovirus Emerging from a Primary Tropical Rainforest
Authors: Zirkel Florian , Kurth Andreas , Quan Phenix-Lan , Briese Thomas , Ellerbrok Heinz , Pauli Georg , Leendertz Fabian H. , Lipkin W. Ian , Ziebuhr John , Drosten Christian , Junglen Sandra 
Published: June 2011

ABSTRACTTropical rainforests show the highest level of terrestrial biodiversity and may be an important contributor to microbial diversity. Exploitation of these ecosystems may foster the emergence of novel pathogens. We report the discovery of the first insect-associated nidovirus, tentatively named Cavally virus (CAVV). CAVV was found with a prevalence of 9.3% during a survey of mosquito-associated viruses along an anthropogenic disturbance gradient in Côte d’Ivoire. Analysis of habitat-specific virus diversity and ancestral state reconstruction demonstrated an origin of CAVV in a pristine rainforest with subsequent spread into agriculture and human settlements. Virus extension from the forest was associated with a decrease in virus diversity (P< 0.01) and an increase in virus prevalence (P< 0.00001). CAVV is an enveloped virus with large surface projections. The RNA genome comprises 20,108 nucleotides with seven major open reading frames (ORFs). ORF1a and -1b encode two large proteins that share essential features with phylogenetically higher representatives of the orderNidovirales, including the familiesCoronavirinaeandTorovirinae, but also with families in a basal phylogenetic relationship, including the familiesRoniviridaeandArteriviridae. Genetic markers uniquely conserved in nidoviruses, such as an endoribonuclease- and helicase-associated zinc-binding domain, are conserved in CAVV. ORF2a and -2b are predicted to code for structural proteins S and N, respectively, while ORF3a and -3b encode proteins with membrane-spanning regions. CAVV produces three subgenomic mRNAs with 5′ leader sequences (of different lengths) derived from the 5′ end of the genome. This novel cluster of mosquito-associated nidoviruses is likely to represent a novel family within the orderNidovirales.IMPORTANCEKnowledge of microbial diversity in tropical rainforests is sparse, and factors driving the emergence of novel pathogens are poorly understood. We discovered and mapped the spread and genetic evolution of a novel mosquito nidovirus from a pristine rainforest to human settlements. Notably, virus diversity decreased and prevalence increased during the process of spreading into disturbed habitats. The novel virus, tentatively termed Cavally virus, contains genetic features common to members of the orderNidovirales(familiesCoronaviridae,Arteriviridae, andRoniviridae), including conservation of the replicase machinery and expression of subgenomic RNA messages, has a basal phylogenetic relationship to the familyCoronaviridae, and clearly differs from the established nidovirus families. Inclusion of this putative novel family in the nidovirus phylogeny suggests that nidoviruses may have evolved from arthropods.
Characterization and Transcriptome Analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Persisters
Authors: Keren Iris , Minami Shoko , Rubin Eric , Lewis Kim 
Published: June 2011

ABSTRACT

Tuberculosis continues to be a major public health problem in many parts of the world. Significant obstacles in controlling the epidemic are the length of treatment and the large reservoir of latently infected people. Bacteria form dormant, drug-tolerant persister cells, which may be responsible for the difficulty in treating both acute and latent infections. We find that in
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
, low numbers of drug-tolerant persisters are present in lag and early exponential phases, increasing sharply at late exponential and stationary phases to make up ~1% of the population. This suggests that persister formation is governed by both stochastic and deterministic mechanisms. In order to isolate persisters, an exponentially growing population was treated with
d
-cycloserine, and cells surviving lysis were collected by centrifugation. A transcriptome of persisters was obtained by using hybridization to an Affymetrix array. The transcriptome shows downregulation of metabolic and biosynthetic pathways, consistent with a certain degree of dormancy. A set of genes was upregulated in persisters, and these are likely involved in persister formation and maintenance. A comparison of the persister transcriptome with transcriptomes obtained for several
in vitro
dormancy models identified a small number of genes upregulated in all cases, which may represent a core dormancy response.

IMPORTANCE
It is estimated that every third person on the planet is infected with
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
. The two major problems in controlling
M. tuberculosis
are the length of the treatment and the large reservoir of latently infected people. Dormant persister cells may be responsible for both problems. We find that
M. tuberculosis
produces persisters
in vitro
in a growth phase-dependent manner. Persisters were isolated from an exponentially growing population, and their transcriptome shows a distinct pattern of dormancy. These results give the first insight into
M. tuberculosis
persisters and point to possible mechanisms responsible for their formation.
Molecular epidemiology of strangles outbreaks in the UK during 2010
Authors: Parkinson N. J. , Robin C. , Newton J. R. , Slater J. , Waller A. S. 
Published: June 2011

The sequence of the Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S equi) M‐like protein (SeM) gene was determined for 105 isolates of S equi from strangles outbreaks in the UK during 2010 and compared with previous data from 2007 to 2008. Twenty‐three distinct alleles were identified, including 11 novel alleles. One allele giving rise to a putative truncated M protein was identified from the guttural pouch of an asymptomatic carrier. Allele 9 was the most prevalent, comprising 57.7 per cent of isolates, followed by allele 6 (10.3 per cent). Significant changes in allele prevalence were found between 2007, 2008 and 2010, with an increasing prevalence in SeM‐9‐related alleles and a corresponding decreasing prevalence in SeM‐6‐related alleles observed over the period (P<0.001). Geographical proximity of outbreaks caused by some uncommon alleles was apparent between 2007, 2008 and 2010.