bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Validation of apathy evaluation scale and assessment of severity of apathy in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Hsieh Chia‐Jung , Chu Hsin , Cheng Joseph Jror‐Serk , Shen Winston W. , Lin Chia‐Chin 
Published: March 2012

Aim:  Apathy is a well‐recognized symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of the present study was to validate the Taiwanese version of the Apathy Evaluation Scale, clinician version (AES‐C) and assess the severity of apathy in patients with AD.Methods:  Comprehensive evaluations were conducted in a total of 144 AD patients. This study used a cross‐sectional comparative design. Data were collected from clinical interviews using the AES, the Mini‐Mental Status Examination (MMSE), the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR).Results:  Internal consistency was indicated by Cronbach's alphas of 0.85; test–retest reliability was 0.89 over a period of 3 days. Criterion‐related validity was supported by the fact that AES‐C significantly correlated with the apathy scores of the NPI. Factor analysis indicated a three‐factor structure. Convergent validity was supported by a positive correlation between the AES‐C score and the anxiety score of the NPI. Discriminant validity was supported by the fact that the AES‐C scores did not correlate with the depression subscale of the NPI, and the correlation between the AES‐C score and the euphoria score of the NPI score was negative. Known‐group validity was supported by results showing that AD patients in a moderate stage of dementia (CDR = 2) had significantly higher scores on the AES‐C than patients with mild‐stage dementia (CDR = 1).Conclusion:  The AES‐C is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring symptoms of apathy among AD patients in Taiwan.
A history of pediatric anesthesia: a tale of pioneers and equipment
Authors: Mai Christine L. , Coté Charles J. 
Published: March 2012

SummaryThe history of pediatric anesthesia is fascinating in terms of how inventive anesthesiologists became over time to address the needs for advances in surgery. We have many pioneers and heroes. We hope you will enjoy this brief overview and that we have not left out any of the early contributors to our speciality. Obviously there is insufficient space to include everyone.
Thymosin β4 is a novel potential prognostic marker in gastrointestinal stromal tumors
Authors: Can Bilge , Karagoz Filiz , Yildiz Levent , Yildirim Arzu , Kefeli Mehmet , Gonullu Guzin , Kandemir Bedri 
Published: March 2012

Thymosin beta‐4 (Tβ4) is a major actin‐sequestering molecule that contributes to cell growth, differentiation, motility, survival, mitosis and angiogenesis. It is overexpressed in certain type of carcinoma and fibrosarcoma cell lines and is associated with metastatic potential. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Tβ4 expression and clinicopathologic features and VEGF status in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Retrospectively, 60 GISTs were re‐examined and immunohistochemistry for Tβ4 and VEGF was performed. Increased expression of Tβ4 and VEGF was observed in 26 (43.3%) and in 19 (31.6%) of the tumors, respectively. Tβ4 expression was positively correlated with VEGF expression (p < 0.01). Tβ4 and VEGF expression were significantly associated with tumor size (p = 0.00 and p = 0.02, respectively) and high mitosis (p = 0.03 and p = 0.00, respectively). Although Tβ4 expression was positively associated with pleomorphism (p = 0.01), VEGF expression was positively associated with necrosis (p = 0.03). Tβ4 expression was related with local recurrence and/or metastasis (p = 0.03), but VEGF expression was not (p = 0.12). We firstly demonstrate the presence of Tβ4 protein in GISTs. Our study reveals that increased expression of Tβ4 could be considered as an indicator of aggressive behavior of tumor.
Are Investment Banks Special Too? Evidence on Relationship‐Specific Capital in Investment Bank Services
Authors: Fernando Chitru S. , Megginson William L. , May Anthony D. 
Published: March 2012

The question of whether optimal provision of these services comes mainly from established relationships between banks and client firms or can result from arms'‐length market transactions has been the topic of considerable recent debate. This discussion has paralleled the debate in the commercial banking literature on the “specialness” of banks and whether lending can and should be relational or purely transactional. Whether the provision of investment bank services is relationship‐based or transactional is especially relevant now thanks to recent trends that have blurred the distinction between commercial and investment banks, and changed the competitive landscape for investment bank services.In their study summarized in this article, the authors examine whether investment bank‐client relationships create valuable relationship‐specific capital using stock market evidence from the period surrounding the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Specifically, they studied the effect of the Lehman collapse on companies that used Lehman for (1) underwriting equity offerings, (2) underwriting debt offerings, (3) advice on mergers and acquisitions, (4) analyst research services, and (5) market‐making services.The study addressed two specific questions. First, which investment bank services, if any, are associated with the creation of relationship‐specific capital; and second, what are the value drivers of this relationship capital?The authors report finding that companies that used Lehman as lead underwriter for public equity offerings experienced significantly negative abnormal stock returns in the days surrounding Lehman's bankruptcy announcement. By contrast, they find no significant reaction to the announcement for Lehman's debt underwriting clients or any of the other client categories they examine. While most of these investment bank services have at least the potential to create relationship‐specific capital, the authors' findings suggest that except for equity underwriting, all the other investment bank services appear to be transactional rather than relationship‐based, at least in the average case.Moreover, the authors report significant differences even among different groups of Lehman's equity underwriting clients. An equity underwriting relationship with Lehman appears to have been especially valuable for smaller, younger, and more financially constrained firms—those firms which presumably had a high degree of dependence on Lehman to access the capital market.
HIGH‐RESOLUTION STRATIGRAPHY, PALYNOFACIES AND SOURCE ROCK POTENTIAL OF THE ÁGUA DE MADEIROS FORMATION (LOWER JURASSIC), LUSITANIAN BASIN, PORTUGAL
Authors: Duarte L.V. , Silva R.L. , Mendonça Filho J.G. , Ribeiro N. Poças , Chagas R.B.A. 
Published: March 2012

In the Lusitanian Basin (central‐western Portugal), the Lower Jurassic carbonate‐dominated succession is thought to have significant source rock potential. One of the most important units is the Água de Madeiros Formation (Upper Sinemurian – lowermost Pliensbachian) which is composed of alternating organic‐rich marls and limestones including black shale horizons. This paper is based on a study of this formation at its type locality at S. Pedro de Moel in western Portugal. Data includes Total Organic Carbon (TOC) measurements, palynofacies analyses and results of Rock‐Eval pyrolysis presented within a high‐resolution lithostratigraphic framework.TOC contents were measured in some 200 samples from the Água de Madeiros Formation covering a stratigraphic interval of 58 m, and vary widely up to a maximum of about 22 wt %. Kerogen assemblages are dominated by marine amorphous organic matter with varying contributions by phytoclasts and palynomorphs. A majority of the 85 samples analyzed by Rock‐Eval pyrolysis have S2 values above 10 mg HC/g rock, reaching a maximum of 78 mg HC/g rock. These high S2 values are correlative with maximum values of the Hydrogen Index which averages 355 mg HC/g TOC (maximum of 637 mg HC/g TOC). However in spite of these indicators of source‐rock potential, the Água de Madeiros Formation in the study area is thermally immature or very early mature, as indicated by Tmax values below 437 °C and average vitrinite reflectance values of 0.43 % Ro.
Presence and Persistence of Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium in the Phyllosphere and Rhizosphere of Spray-Irrigated Parsley
Authors: Kisluk Guy , Yaron Sima 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACT

Salmonella enterica
is one of the major food-borne pathogens associated with ready-to-eat fresh foods. Although polluted water might be a significant source of contamination in the field, factors that influence the transfer of
Salmonella
from water to the crops are not well understood, especially under conditions of low pathogen levels in water. The aim of this study was to investigate the short- and long-term (1 h to 28 days) persistence of
Salmonella enterica
serotype Typhimurium in the phyllosphere and the rhizosphere of parsley following spray irrigation with contaminated water. Plate counting and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR)-based methods were implemented for the quantification. By applying qRT-PCR with enrichment, we were able to show that even irrigation with water containing as little as ∼300 CFU/ml resulted in the persistence of
S
. Typhimurium on the plants for 48 h. Irrigation with water containing 8.5 log CFU/ml resulted in persistence of the bacteria in the phyllosphere and the rhizosphere for at least 4 weeks, but the population steadily declined with a major reduction in bacterial counts, of ∼2 log CFU/g, during the first 2 days. Higher levels of
Salmonella
were detected in the phyllosphere when plants were irrigated during the night compared to irrigation during the morning and during winter compared to the other seasons. Further elucidation of the mechanisms underlying the transfer of
Salmonella
from contaminated water to crops, as well as its persistence over time, will enable the implementation of effective irrigation and control strategies.
Influence of Substrate Mineralogy on Bacterial Mineralization of Calcium Carbonate: Implications for Stone Conservation
Authors: Rodriguez-Navarro Carlos , Jroundi Fadwa , Schiro Mara , Ruiz-Agudo Encarnación , González-Muñoz María Teresa 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACTThe influence of mineral substrate composition and structure on bacterial calcium carbonate productivity and polymorph selection was studied. Bacterial calcium carbonate precipitation occurred on calcitic (Iceland spar single crystals, marble, and porous limestone) and silicate (glass coverslips, porous sintered glass, and quartz sandstone) substrates following culturing in liquid medium (M-3P) inoculated with different types of bacteria (Myxococcus xanthus,Brevundimonas diminuta, and a carbonatogenic bacterial community isolated from porous calcarenite stone in a historical building) and direct application of sterile M-3P medium to limestone and sandstone with their own bacterial communities. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and 2-dimensional XRD (2D-XRD) analyses revealed that abundant highly oriented calcite crystals formed homoepitaxially on the calcitic substrates, irrespective of the bacterial type. Conversely, scattered spheroidal vaterite entombing bacterial cells formed on the silicate substrates. These results show that carbonate phase selection is not strain specific and that under equal culture conditions, the substrate type is the overruling factor for calcium carbonate polymorph selection. Furthermore, carbonate productivity is strongly dependent on the mineralogy of the substrate. Calcitic substrates offer a higher affinity for bacterial attachment than silicate substrates, thereby fostering bacterial growth and metabolic activity, resulting in higher production of calcium carbonate cement. Bacterial calcite grows coherently over the calcitic substrate and is therefore more chemically and mechanically stable than metastable vaterite, which formed incoherently on the silicate substrates. The implications of these results for technological applications of bacterial carbonatogenesis, including building stone conservation, are discussed.
Hypoxia and Fungal Pathogenesis: To Air or Not To Air?
Authors: Grahl Nora , Shepardson Kelly M. , Chung Dawoon , Cramer Robert A. 
Published: March 2012

ABSTRACT

Over the last 3 decades, the frequency of life-threatening human fungal infections has increased as advances in medical therapies, solid-organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantations, an increasing geriatric population, and HIV infections have resulted in significant rises in susceptible patient populations. Although significant advances have been made in understanding how fungi cause disease, the dynamic microenvironments encountered by fungi during infection and the mechanisms by which they adapt to these microenvironments are not fully understood. As inhibiting and preventing
in vivo
fungal growth are main goals of antifungal therapies, understanding
in vivo
fungal metabolism in these host microenvironments is critical for the improvement of existing therapies or the design of new approaches. In this minireview, we focus on the emerging appreciation that pathogenic fungi like
Candida albicans
,
Cryptococcus neoformans
, and
Aspergillus fumigatus
are exposed to oxygen-limited or hypoxic microenvironments during fungal pathogenesis. The implications of these
in vivo
hypoxic microenvironments for fungal metabolism and pathogenesis are discussed with an aim toward understanding the potential impact of hypoxia on invasive fungal infection outcomes.
Nature and timing of incidents intercepted by the SURPASS checklist in surgical patients
Authors: de Vries Eefje N , Prins Hubert A , Bennink M Christine , Neijenhuis Peter , van Stijn Ilse , van Helden Sven H , van Putten M Agnes , Smorenburg Susanne M , Gouma Dirk J , Boermeester Marja A 
Published: March 2012

IntroductionMore than half of in-hospital adverse events can be attributed to a surgical discipline. Checklists can effectively decrease errors and adverse events. However, the mechanisms by which checklists lead to increased safety are unclear. This study aimed to assess the number, nature and timing of incidents intercepted by use of the Surgical Patient Safety System (SURPASS) checklist, a patient-specific multidisciplinary checklist that covers the entire surgical patient pathway.MethodsThe checklist was implemented in two academic hospitals and four teaching hospitals in the Netherlands. Users of the checklist had three options for each item that was checked: ‘not applicable’, ‘yes’ and ‘intercepted by checklist’. In each hospital, the first 1000 completed checklists were entered into an online central database.ResultsIn six participating hospitals, 6313 checklists were collected. One or more incidents were intercepted in 2562 checklists (40.6%). In total, 6312 incidents were intercepted. After correction for the number of items and the extent of adherence in each part of the checklist, the number of intercepted incidents was highest in the preoperative and postoperative stages.ConclusionsThe checklist intercepts many potentially harmful incidents across all stages of the surgical patient pathway. The majority of incidents were intercepted in the preoperative and postoperative stages of the pathway. The degree to which these incidents would have been intercepted by a single checklist in the operating room only, compared with a checklist for the entire surgical pathway, remains a subject for future study.
Infantile haemangioma expresses embryonic stem cell markers
Authors: Itinteang Tinte , Tan Swee T , Brasch Helen D , Steel Ryan , Best Heather A , Vishvanath Anasuya , Jia Jun , Day Darren J 
Published: March 2012

BackgroundThe origin of infantile haemangioma (IH) remains enigmatic. A primitive mesodermal phenotype origin of IH with the ability to differentiate down erythropoietic and terminal mesenchymal lineages has recently been demonstrated.AimsTo investigate the expression of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) markers in IH and to determine whether IH-derived cells have the functional capacity to form teratomain vivo.MethodsImmunohistochemical staining and quantitative reverse transcription PCR were used to investigate the expression of hESC markers in IH biopsies. The ability of cells derived from proliferating IH to form teratomas in a mouse xenograft model was investigated.ResultsThe hESC markers, Oct-4, STAT-3 and stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 were collectively expressed on the endothelium of proliferating IH lesions, whereas Nanog was not. Nanog was expressed by cells in the interstitium and these cells did not express Oct-4, stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 or STAT-3. Proliferating IH-derived cells were unable to form teratomas in severely compromised immunodeficient/non-obese diabetic mice.ConclusionThe novel expression of hESC on two different populations of cells in proliferating IH and their inability to form teratomasin vivoinfer the presence of a primitive cellular origin for IH downstream from hESC.
Measuring the Performance of Microfinancing Institutions: A New Approach
Authors: Nanayakkara Gemunu 
Published: March 2012

Microfinancing Institutions (MFIs) have grown in popularity as an effective tool for reducing poverty in the developing countries over the last three decades. MFIs are different from traditional financial institutions like banks in many ways. They mainly provide financial assistance (usually without any security) to the needy poor who are denied access to institutional credit from other sources. Data relating to 2007 has shown that there are more than 3,000 MFIs operating around the world. Hundreds of millions of dollars of donor funds are injected into the microfinancing sector. Therefore, the ‘performance’ of MFIs which affect the effective and efficient utilization of these funds is an important issue. Standard criteria used to measure the performance of commercial enterprises such as profitability, return on investment, share price, etc., are not appropriate to assess the performance of MFIs which have fundamentally different objectives that conflict with commercial interests. This article analyzes the issues relating to criteria used for identifying the performance of MFIs and recommends a new approach to measure the performance of MFIs in an objective manner. JEL: G21
Winner or Loser? A Post-Quota Case Study of Pakistan’s Textiles and Clothing Exports
Authors: Ghori Umair Hafeez 
Published: March 2012

Textiles and Clothing (T&C) is a critically important sector of international trade for developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs). The T&C sector engages abundant labour resources and requires low investment threshold. The T&C sector has been a contentious area in multilateral trade negotiations. With the expiration of quotas in 2005, many T&C dependent countries are experiencing considerable adjustment challenges. Pakistan is one such country that is extensively reliant on T&C industries. This research note presents a brief case study which looks at post-quota developments in Pakistan’s T&C trade and the trade and economic policy issues it raises. JEL: L67, L52, F50
Nuclear expression of Rac1 in cervical premalignant lesions and cervical cancer cells
Authors: Mendoza-Catalán Miguel A , Cristóbal-Mondragón Gema R , Adame-Gómez Jesús , del Valle-Flores Heidi N , Coppe José Fco , Sierra-López Laura , Romero-Hernández Mirna A , del Carmen Alarcón-Romero Luz , Illades-Aguiar Berenice , Castañeda-Saucedo Eduardo 
Published: March 2012

Abstract

Background
Abnormal expression of Rho-GTPases has been reported in several human cancers. However, the expression of these proteins in cervical cancer has been poorly investigated. In this study we analyzed the expression of the GTPases Rac1, RhoA, Cdc42, and the Rho-GEFs, Tiam1 and beta-Pix, in cervical pre-malignant lesions and cervical cancer cell lines.

Methods
Protein expression was analyzed by immunochemistry on 102 cervical paraffin-embedded biopsies: 20 without Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (SIL), 51 Low- grade SIL, and 31 High-grade SIL; and in cervical cancer cell lines C33A and SiHa, and non-tumorigenic HaCat cells. Nuclear localization of Rac1 in HaCat, C33A and SiHa cells was assessed by cellular fractionation and Western blotting, in the presence or not of a chemical Rac1 inhibitor (NSC23766).

Results
Immunoreacivity for Rac1, RhoA, Tiam1 and beta-Pix was stronger in L-SIL and H-SIL, compared to samples without SIL, and it was significantly associated with the histological diagnosis. Nuclear expression of Rac1 was observed in 52.9% L-SIL and 48.4% H-SIL, but not in samples without SIL. Rac1 was found in the nucleus of C33A and SiHa cells but not in HaCat cells. Chemical inhibition of Rac1 resulted in reduced cell proliferation in HaCat, C33A and SiHa cells.

Conclusion
Rac1 is expressed in the nucleus of epithelial cells in SILs and cervical cancer cell lines, and chemical inhibition of Rac1 reduces cellular proliferation. Further studies are needed to better understand the role of Rho-GTPases in cervical cancer progression.
Bioaugmentation of a historically contaminated soil by polychlorinated biphenyls with Lentinus tigrinus
Authors: Federici Ermanno , Giubilei Mariangela , Santi Guglielmo , Zanaroli Giulio , Negroni Andrea , Fava Fabio , Petruccioli Maurizio , D'Annibale Alessandro 
Published: March 2012

AbstractBackgroundSeveral species belonging to the ecological group of white-rot basidiomycetes are able to bring about the remediation of matrices contaminated by a large variety of anthropic organic pollutants. Among them, polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) are characterized by a high recalcitrance due to both their low bioavailability and the inability of natural microbial communities to degrade them at significant rates and extents. Objective of this study was to assess the impact of a maize stalk-immobilizedLentinus tigrinusCBS 577.79 inoculant combined with soybean oil (SO), as a possible PCB-mobilizing agent, on the bioremediation and resident microbiota of an actual Aroclor 1260 historically contaminated soil under unsaturated solid-phase conditions.ResultsBest overall PCB depletions (33.6 ± 0.3%) and dechlorination (23.2 ± 1.3%) were found after 60 d incubation in the absence of SO where, however, the fungus appeared to exert adverse effects on both the growth of biphenyl- and chlorobenzoate-degrading bacteria and the abundance of genes coding for both biphenyl dioxygenase (bph) and catechol-2,3-dioxygenase. A significant (P< 0.001) linear inverse relationship between depletion yields and degree of chlorination was observed in both augmented and control microcosms in the absence of SO; conversely, this negative correlation was not evident in SO-amended microcosms where the additive inhibited the biodegradation of low chlorinated congeners. The presence of SO, in fact, resulted in lower abundances of both biphenyl-degrading bacteria andbph.ConclusionsThe PCB depletion extents obtained in the presence ofL. tigrinusare by far higher than those reported in other remediation studies conducted under unsaturated solid phase conditions on actual site soils historically contaminated by Aroclor 1260. These results suggest that the bioaugmentation strategy with the maize stalk-immobilized mycelium of this species might be promising in the reclamation of PCB-contaminated soils. The addition of SO to matrices contaminated by technical PCB mixtures, such as Aroclor 1242 and Delor 103 and characterized by a large preponderance of low chlorinated congeners, might not be advisable.