bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sex and age‐related anxiety in a community sample of Norwegian adolescents
Authors: LEIKANGER EINAR , INGUL JO MAGNE , LARSSON BO 
Published: October 2011

Leikanger, E., Ingul, J. M. & Larsson, B. (2012). Sex and age‐related anxiety in a community sample of Norwegian adolescents. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 150–157.The first aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of anxiety and DSM‐related anxiety symptom‐clusters among adolescents (13–19 years of age) in middle Norway. A second aim was to examine the developmental trajectories of anxiety symptoms for boys and girls during adolescence. In a cross‐sectional study, 1,802 students in junior high schools and high schools in the Mid‐Norway Health Region filled out a questionnaire (a response‐rate of 77%) including the SCARED self‐report form (Birmaher et al., 1997) during one school hour. In line with findings of previous studies, girls reported higher anxiety‐levels than did boys. A large gender‐specific increase in anxiety in 14–15‐year‐old girls was also found. Apart from this age‐specific effect, the results indicated a general reduction in anxiety during adolescence for all symptom groups except generalized anxiety and school phobia. The high anxiety levels in girls aged 13 to 14 years implicate a need for caution by clinicians because such high anxiety levels may be mistaken for the existence of an anxiety disorder. The rapid increase in anxiety symptoms among girls in early adolescence may reflect a heightened sensitivity in this age group, and may have implications for when to implement secondary prevention programs.
Attachment insecurity and strategies for regulation: When emotion triggers attention
Authors: SILVA CATARINA , SOARES ISABEL , ESTEVES FRANCISCO 
Published: October 2011

Silva, C., Soares, I. & Esteves, F. (2012). Attachment insecurity and strategies for regulation: When emotion triggers attention. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 9–16.Attachment‐related strategies are thought to be critical for regulation and processing of emotional information. This study examined biases in selective attention to emotional stimuli as a function of insecure attachment. Participants searched for a single target image preceded by to‐be‐ignored distracters depicting emotional images varying in valence and arousal. Results revealed that, in general, negative distracters affected accuracy levels, and that the anxious attached participants showed a clear interference of the emotional distracters. In contrast, the avoidant group evinced a higher control on such interference. In addition, arousal ratings to distracter images indicated superior emotional activation only for anxious attached participants. Consistent with the evolutionary‐based attachment theory threat‐related stimuli prompted priority attentional responses. Present findings are in line with evidence showing the deployment of distinct strategies in insecurely attached individuals for the regulation of attention to emotional information.
Cup‐to‐disc and arteriole‐to‐venule ratios in children aged 6–7 and 12–13 years
Authors: McClelland Julie F , O’Donoghue Lisa , McIntyre Marta , Saunders Kathryn J 
Published: October 2011

Citation information: McClelland JF, O’Donoghue L, McIntyre M & Saunders KJ. Cup‐to‐disc and arteriole‐to‐venule ratios in children aged 6–7 and 12–13 years. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2011. doi: 10.1111/j.1475‐1313.2011.00878.xAbstractPurpose:  Little data exist detailing the normal cup‐to‐disc (CD) ratios and arteriole‐to‐venule (A/V) ratios of school age children. In addition, controversy exists in the literature regarding associations between CD and A/V ratios and visual and biometric parameters. The present study investigates the success rates of obtaining useable optic disc images from the portable Nidek Handheld Non‐Mydriatic Fundus Camera (NM‐200D) from school‐age children and describes the distribution of CD ratios and A/V ratios in children aged 6–7 years of age and 12–13 years of age. In addition, the present study explores associations between CD and A/V ratios and a range of visual function and biometric parameters in children.Methods:  Fundus images were obtained from 195 6–7 year old children and 227 12–13 year old children participating in a wider study of visual function in childhood (Northern Ireland Childhood Errors of Refraction Study or NICER). ImageJ software was used to obtain CD and A/V ratios from the digital images. Visual function measures and biometric parameters were also available for all participants including; cycloplegic refractive error, vision, corneal curvature, axial length, height and weight.Results:  One hundred and eighty fundus images (92.3%) from the 6–7 year olds and 194 images (85.5%) from the 12–13 year olds children were considered useable. Analysis (one way anova) demonstrated statistically significant differences between CD ratios and A/V ratios between the age groups. Participants aged 12–13 years had larger CD ratios and smaller A/V ratios (mean CD ratio 0.37 ± 0.09, mean A/V ratio 0.75 ± 0.10) than 6–7 year old participants (mean CD ratio 0.30 ± 0.09, mean A/V ratio 0.78 ± 0.12). No significant associations were noted between CD ratios and A/V ratio and any visual, ocular or biometric parameters.Conclusions:  The present study provides novel normative data on CD and A/V ratios in UK school age children for clinicians in practice.
Accelerated removal of antibody‐coated red blood cells from the circulation is accurately tracked by a biotin label
Authors: Mock Donald M. , Lankford Gary L. , Matthews Nell I. , Burmeister Leon F. , Kahn Daniel , Widness John A. , Strauss Ronald G. 
Published: October 2011

BACKGROUND: Safe, accurate methods to reliably measure circulating red blood cell (RBC) kinetics are critical tools to investigate pathophysiology and therapy of anemia, including hemolytic anemias. This study documents the ability of a method using biotin‐labeled RBCs (BioRBCs) to measure RBC survival (RCS) shortened by coating with a highly purified monomeric immunoglobulin G antibody to D antigen.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Autologous RBCs from 10 healthy D+ subjects were labeled with either biotin or 51Cr (reference method), coated (opsonized) either lightly (n = 4) or heavily (n = 6) with anti‐D, and transfused. RCS was determined for BioRBCs and for 51Cr independently as assessed by three variables: 1) posttransfusion recovery at 24 hours (PTR24) for short‐term RCS; 2) time to 50% decrease of the label (T50), and 3) mean potential life span (MPL) for long‐term RCS.RESULTS: BioRBCs tracked both normal and shortened RCS accurately relative to 51Cr. For lightly coated RBCs, mean PTR24, T50, and MPL results were not different between BioRBCs and 51Cr. For heavily coated RBCs, both short‐term and long‐term RCS were shortened by approximately 17 and 50%, respectively. Mean PTR24 by BioRBCs (84 ± 18%) was not different from 51Cr (81 ± 10%); mean T50 by BioRBCs (23 ± 17 days) was not different from 51Cr (22 ± 18 days).CONCLUSION: RCS shortened by coating with anti‐D can be accurately measured by BioRBCs. We speculate that BioRBCs will be useful for studying RCS in conditions involving accelerated removal of RBCs including allo‐ and autoimmune hemolytic anemias.
Reversal of antibiotic resistance in Gram‐positive bacteria by the antihistaminic azelastine
Authors: EL‐NAKEEB MOUSTAFA A. , ABOU‐SHLEIB HAMIDA M. , KHALIL AMAL M. , OMAR HODA G. , EL‐HALFAWY OMAR M. 
Published: October 2011

El‐Nakeeb MA, Abou‐Shleib HM, Khalil AM, Omar HG, El‐Halfawy OM. Reversal of antibiotic resistance in Gram‐positive bacteria by the antihistaminic azelastine. APMIS 2012; 120: 215–20.Antibiotic resistance represents a serious problem that complicates microbial infection. The use of ‘helper compounds’ capable of enhancing the antimicrobial activity of antibiotics is being investigated. Azelastine, a new generation antihistaminic, possesses certain antibacterial activity and is capable of inducing alteration in the bacterial membrane permeability. Hence, we hypothesized that it could reverse resistance to antibiotics. Azelastine significantly increased the antibacterial activity of eight antibiotics belonging to five different classes (β‐lactams, macrolides, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides and tetracyclines) against nine Gram‐positive clinical isolates: five Staphylococcus aureus, two Staphylococcus epidermidis and two Enterococcus faecium, seven of which were multi‐drug resistant, reversing their resistance to the tested antibiotics. The synergistic effects of azelastine with the studied antibiotics increased with raising the pH from 5 to 8. Antibiotics did not affect the ability of azelastine to alter the permeability of a liposomal artificial membrane model, an effect thought to be critical for the interaction with antibiotics. The findings of this study present azelastine as a potential ‘helper compound’ that could reverse the resistance of multi‐drug resistant Gram‐positive clinical isolates to antibiotics.
Discovery of Safe and Orally Effective 4-Aminoquinaldine Analogues as Apoptotic Inducers with Activity against Experimental Visceral Leishmaniasis
Authors: Palit Partha , Hazra Abhijit , Maity Arindam , Vijayan R. S. K. , Manoharan Prabu , Banerjee Sukdeb , Mondal Nirup B. , Ghoshal Nanda , Ali Nahid 
Published: October 2011

ABSTRACTNovel antileishmanials are urgently required to overcome emergence of drug resistance, cytotoxic effects, and difficulties in oral delivery. Toward this, we investigated a series of novel 4-aminoquinaldine derivatives, a new class of molecules, as potential antileishmanials. 4-Aminoquinaldine derivatives presented inhibitory effects onL. donovanipromastigotes and amastigotes (50% inhibitory concentration range, 0.94 to 127 μM). Of these, PP-9 and PP-10 were the most effectivein vitroand demonstrated strong efficaciesin vivothrough the intraperitoneal route. They were also found to be effective against both sodium antimony gluconate-sensitive and -resistantLeishmania donovanistrains in BALB/c mice when treated orally, resulting in more than 95% protection. Investigation of their mode of action revealed that killing by PP-10 involved moderate inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase and elicitation of the apoptotic cascade. Our studies implicate that PP-10 augments reactive oxygen species generation, evidenced from decreased glutathione levels and increased lipid peroxidation. Subsequent disruption ofLeishmaniapromastigote mitochondrial membrane potential and activation of cytosolic proteases initiated the apoptotic pathway, resulting in DNA fragmentation and parasite death. Our results demonstrate that PP-9 and PP-10 are promising lead compounds with the potential for treating visceral leishmaniasis (VL) through the oral route.
Do Firms' Comply with the Shorter Form 8-K Reporting Deadlines? Initial Evidence on the Effectiveness of the SEC's 2004 Current Report Rule
Authors: Karim Khondkar , Pinsker Robert 
Published: October 2011

When examining Form 8-K filings under the Securities and Exchange Commissions' (SEC) Rule 10b-5, Carter and Soo (1999) found that over 26% are filed after the statutory due date. "Bad news" filings resulted in over 30% tardiness. Effective August 23, 2004, the SEC passed the Additional Form 8-K Disclosure and Acceleration of Filing Date Rule (henceforth, the 2004 Current Report Rule), which expanded the number of disclosures required to be submitted on the Form 8-K, while decreasing the reporting deadline from 15 calendar days (for most events) to only four business days after event occurrence. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to assess the immediate compliance behavior of firms, consequent to the passage of the 2004 Current Report Rule (CRR). In order to examine immediate effects, our sample consists of 2004 fourth quarter Form 8-K filings. Results indicate that compliance with stated Form 8-K deadlines has significantly improved. Relative to the other events examined, Form 8-K filings are more likely to be late if they report director resignations (i.e. "bad news"). Other results indicate no discernable differences between the number of days to file within the four day requirement and no industry is more likely than another to be noncompliant. In sum, this paper's findings should be of interest to the SEC, because they support the SEC's policy (i.e. the 2004 CRR) of firms providing material information to investors in a more timely fashion.
Distinct Epigenomic Features in End-Stage Failing Human Hearts
Authors: Movassagh Mehregan , Choy Mun-Kit , Knowles David A. , Cordeddu Lina , Haider Syed , Down Thomas , Siggens Lee , Vujic Ana , Simeoni Ilenia , Penkett Chris , Goddard Martin , Lio Pietro , Bennett Martin R. , Foo Roger S.-Y. 
Published: October 2011

Background—
The epigenome refers to marks on the genome, including DNA methylation and histone modifications, that regulate the expression of underlying genes. A consistent profile of gene expression changes in end-stage cardiomyopathy led us to hypothesize that distinct global patterns of the epigenome may also exist.

Methods and Results—

We constructed genome-wide maps of DNA methylation and histone-3 lysine-36 trimethylation (H3K36me3) enrichment for cardiomyopathic and normal human hearts. More than 506 Mb sequences per library were generated by high-throughput sequencing, allowing us to assign methylation scores to ≈28 million CG dinucleotides in the human genome. DNA methylation was significantly different in promoter CpG islands, intragenic CpG islands, gene bodies, and H3K36me3-enriched regions of the genome. DNA methylation differences were present in promoters of upregulated genes but not downregulated genes. H3K36me3 enrichment itself was also significantly different in coding regions of the genome. Specifically, abundance of RNA transcripts encoded by the
DUX4
locus correlated to differential DNA methylation and H3K36me3 enrichment. In vitro,
Dux
gene expression was responsive to a specific inhibitor of DNA methyltransferase, and
Dux
siRNA knockdown led to reduced cell viability.

Conclusions—
Distinct epigenomic patterns exist in important DNA elements of the cardiac genome in human end-stage cardiomyopathy. The epigenome may control the expression of local or distal genes with critical functions in myocardial stress response. If epigenomic patterns track with disease progression, assays for the epigenome may be useful for assessing prognosis in heart failure. Further studies are needed to determine whether and how the epigenome contributes to the development of cardiomyopathy.
MicroRNA-130a–mediated down-regulation of Smad4 contributes to reduced sensitivity to TGF-β1 stimulation in granulocytic precursors
Authors: Häger Mattias , Pedersen Corinna Cavan , Larsen Maria Torp , Andersen Mette Klarskov , Hother Christoffer , Grønbæk Kirsten , Jarmer Hanne , Borregaard Niels , Cowland Jack Bernard 
Published: October 2011

Abstract
Smad4 is important in the TGF-β pathway and required for transcriptional activation and inhibition of cell growth after TGF-β1 stimulation. We demonstrate that miR-130a is differentially expressed during granulopoiesis and targets Smad4 mRNA. The transcript for Smad4 is present throughout neutrophil maturation, but Smad4 protein is undetectable in the most immature cells, where miR-130a is highly expressed. Two miR-130a binding sites were identified in the 3′-untranslated region of the Smad4 mRNA. Overexpression of miR-130a in HEK293, A549, and 32Dcl3 cells repressed synthesis of Smad4 protein without affecting Smad4 mRNA level. Repression of Smad4 synthesis in a granulocytic cell line by miR-130a reduced its sensitivity to TGF-β1–induced growth inhibition. This effect was reversed by inhibiting the activity of miR-130a with an antisense probe or by expressing a Smad4 mRNA lacking miR-130a binding sites. High endogenous miR-130a and Smad4 mRNA levels and low expression of Smad4 protein were found in the t(8;21)(q22;q22) acute myelogenous leukemia–derived cell line Kasumi-1. When miR-130a was inhibited by an antisense RNA, the amount of Smad4 protein increased in Kasumi-1 cells and rendered it susceptible for TGF-β1–mediated cell growth inhibition. Our data indicate that miR-130a is involved in cell cycle regulation of granulocytic cells through engagement of Smad4 in the TGF-β pathway.
PMS5: an efficient exact algorithm for the (ℓ, d)-motif finding problem
Authors: Dinh Hieu , Rajasekaran Sanguthevar , Kundeti Vamsi K 
Published: October 2011

Abstract

Background
Motifs are patterns found in biological sequences that are vital for understanding gene function, human disease, drug design, etc. They are helpful in finding transcriptional regulatory elements, transcription factor binding sites, and so on. As a result, the problem of identifying motifs is very crucial in biology.

Results
Many facets of the motif search problem have been identified in the literature. One of them is (ℓ, d)-motif search (or Planted Motif Search (PMS)). The PMS problem has been well investigated and shown to be NP-hard. Any algorithm for PMS that always finds all the (ℓ, d)-motifs on a given input set is called an exact algorithm. In this paper we focus on exact algorithms only. All the known exact algorithms for PMS take exponential time in some of the underlying parameters in the worst case scenario. But it does not mean that we cannot design exact algorithms for solving practical instances within a reasonable amount of time. In this paper, we propose a fast algorithm that can solve the well-known challenging instances of PMS: (21, 8) and (23, 9). No prior exact algorithm could solve these instances. In particular, our proposed algorithm takes about 10 hours on the challenging instance (21, 8) and about 54 hours on the challenging instance (23, 9). The algorithm has been run on a single 2.4GHz PC with 3GB RAM. The implementation of PMS5 is freely available on the web at http://www.pms.engr.uconn.edu/downloads/PMS5.zip.

Conclusions
We present an efficient algorithm PMS5 that uses some novel ideas and combines them with well-known algorithm PMS1 and PMSPrune. PMS5 can tackle the large challenging instances (21, 8) and (23, 9). Therefore, we hope that PMS5 will help biologists discover longer motifs in the futures.
Regulation of the HIV-1 promoter by HIF-1α and Vpr proteins
Authors: Deshmane Satish L , Amini Shohreh , Sen Satarupa , Khalili Kamel , Sawaya Bassel E 
Published: October 2011

Abstract
We previously demonstrated the ability of HIV-1 Vpr protein to activate the oxidative stress pathway, thus leading to the induction of the hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α). Therefore, we sought to examine the interplay between the two proteins and the impact of HIF-1α activation on HIV-1 transcription. Using transient transfection assays, we identified the optimal concentration of HIF-1α necessary for the activation of the HIV-1 promoter as well as the domain within HIF-1α responsible for this activation. Our findings indicated that activation of the HIV-1 LTR by Vpr is HIF-1α dependent. Furthermore, we showed that both Vpr and HIF-1α activate the HIV-1 promoter through the GC-rich binding domain within the LTR. Taken together, these data shed more light on the mechanisms used by Vpr to activate the HIV-1 promoter and placed HIF-1α as a major participant in this activation.
Health system determinants of infant, child and maternal mortality: A cross-sectional study of UN member countries
Authors: Muldoon Katherine A , Galway Lindsay P , Nakajima Maya , Kanters Steve , Hogg Robert S , Bendavid Eran , Mills Edward J 
Published: October 2011

Abstract

Objective
Few studies have examined the link between health system strength and important public health outcomes across nations. We examined the association between health system indicators and mortality rates.

Methods
We used mixed effects linear regression models to investigate the strength of association between outcome and explanatory variables, while accounting for geographic clustering of countries. We modelled infant mortality rate (IMR), child mortality rate (CMR), and maternal mortality rate (MMR) using 13 explanatory variables as outlined by the World Health Organization.

Results
Significant protective health system determinants related to IMR included higher physician density (adjusted rate ratio [aRR] 0.81; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.71-0.91), higher sustainable access to water and sanitation (aRR 0.85; 95% CI 0.78-0.93), and having a less corrupt government (aRR 0.57; 95% CI 0.40-0.80). Out-of-pocket expenditures on health (aRR 1.29; 95% CI 1.03-1.62) were a risk factor. The same four variables were significantly related to CMR after controlling for other variables. Protective determinants of MMR included access to water and sanitation (aRR 0.88; 95% CI 0.82-0.94), having a less corrupt government (aRR 0.49; 95%; CI 0.36-0.66), and higher total expenditures on health per capita (aRR 0.84; 95% CI 0.77-0.92). Higher fertility rates (aRR 2.85; 95% CI: 2.02-4.00) were found to be a significant risk factor for MMR.

Conclusion
Several key measures of a health system predict mortality in infants, children, and maternal mortality rates at the national level. Improving access to water and sanitation and reducing corruption within the health sector should become priorities.
Preliminary Efficacy of the Anti-Insulin–Like Growth Factor Type 1 Receptor Antibody Figitumumab in Patients With Refractory Ewing Sarcoma
Authors: Juergens Heribert , Daw Najat C. , Geoerger Birgit , Ferrari Stefano , Villarroel Milena , Aerts Isabelle , Whelan Jeremy , Dirksen Uta , Hixon Mary L. , Yin Donghua , Wang Tao , Green Stephanie , Paccagnella Luisa , Gualberto Antonio 
Published: October 2011

Purpose Patients with Ewing sarcoma (ES) with metastases and those who relapse fare poorly and receive therapies that carry significant toxicity. This phase 1/2 study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of figitumumab in advanced ES. Patients and Methods Patients with sarcoma 10 to 18 years old were enrolled in two dose escalation cohorts (20 and 30 mg/Kg intravenously every 4 weeks) in the phase 1 portion of the study. Patients with ES 10 years old or older were enrolled in the phase 2 portion of the study. The primary phase 2 objective was objective response rate (ORR). Results Thirty-one patients with ES (n = 16), osteosarcoma (n = 11), or other sarcomas (n = 4) were enrolled in the phase 1 portion of the study. Dose escalation proceeded to 30 mg/kg every 4 weeks with no dose-limiting toxicity identified. In the phase 2 portion of the study, 107 patients with ES received figitumumab at 30 mg/kg every 4 weeks for a median of 2 cycles (range, 1 to 16). Sixty three percent of phase 2 patients had received at least three prior treatment regimens. Of 106 evaluable patients, 15 had a partial response (ORR, 14.2%) and 25 had stable disease. Median overall survival was 8.9 months. Importantly, patients with a pretreatment circulating free insulin-like growth factor (IGF) -1 lower than 0.65 ng/mL (n = 14) had a median OS of 3.6 months, whereas those with a baseline free IGF-1 ≥ 0.65 ng/mL (n = 84) had a median OS of 10.4 months (P < .001). Conclusion Figitumumab had modest activity as single agent in advanced ES. A strong association between pretreatment serum IGF-1 and survival benefit was identified.
Screening for mutations in the α-globin genes leading to abnormal hemoglobin variants with high resolution melting analysis
Authors: Liu Ying-Na , Li Ru , Zhou Jian-Ying , Xie Xing-Mei , Li Jian , Liao Can , Li Dong-Zhi 
Published: October 2011

Abstractα-Thalassemia is one of the most commonly inherited single-gene disorders in southern China. It is important to identify non-deletional α-thalassemia in areas where α-thalassemia is prevalent, since non-deletional HbH disease (An approach based on high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis was used. A total of 74 samples, including 54 abnormal α-chain samples and 20 control samples, were tested.All of the 54 samples with point mutations at the exons 1, 2 or 3 of the α-globin genes, including 33 non-deletional α-thalassemia, were successfully detected.HRM has the potential to become an efficient, rapid screening method for non-deletional α-thalassemia.