bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Role of γ/δ T Cells in Progesterone‐Mediated Immunomodulation During Pregnancy: A Review
Authors: Szekeres‐Bartho Julia , Barakonyi A. , Polgar B. , Par G. , Faust Zs. , Palkovics T. , Szereday L. 
Published: September 2011

PROBLEM: To determine if pregnancy is recognized by the immune system and if inadequate recognition of fetal antigens might result in failed pregnancy.METHOD OF STUDY: Review of literature and current data.RESULTS: In the decidua γ/δ TCR positive cells significantly increase in number. A subset of γ/δ T cells reacts with nonpolymorphic Class I or Class I like molecules. Trophoblast recognition is mediated by the Vγ1 subset which recognize a conserved mammalian sequence on the trophoblast. Almost all γ/δ T cells in the decidua are activated and use the Vδ1 chain, whereas the majority of human peripheral γ/δ lymphocytes expresses Vγ9/Vδ2 TCR. Peripheral γ/δ T cells of healthy pregnant women preferentially use VγVδ1 chains, on the other hand, those of recurrent aborters use the Vγ9Vδ2 combination. Signaling via the Vγ1.4Vδl receptor induces a Th2 type response, whereas activation of the lymphocytes via the Vγ9Vδ2 receptor results in increased IL‐12 production and natural killer (NK) activity. In the presence of progesterone, activated lymphocytes synthesize the progesterone induced blocking factor (PIBF), which inhibits NK activity and exerts an anti abortive effect in vivo. Decidual CD56 + and γδ + cells are to a high extent the same population.CONCLUSION: All decidual CD56 + cells express PIBF, thus it cannot be excluded that local production of this substance contributes to low decidual NK activity and thus to the success of the pregnancy.
Biological Effects of Genes in the Grc and EC Region of the Rat Major Histocompatibility Complex
Authors: Yuan Xiu‐Juan , McCarthy Barbara Dixon , Salgar Shashikumar K. , Kunz Heinz W. , Gill Thomas J. 
Published: September 2011

PROBLEM: To study the mechanism of action of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)‐linked genes affecting reproduction, growth, and susceptibility to chemical carcinogens.METHOD OF STUDY: Tumors derived from rat embryonic fibroblasts were transfected with cosmids from the Grc and its linked regions, the unrelated A region, and a nonMHC region, or with genes from the Grc, Grc‐linked, and nonMHC regions, to determine whether they could suppress tumor growth as determined by in vitro (soft agar) and in vivo assays.RESULTS: Tumor fibroblasts transfected with cosmids from the Grc or from the EC region decreased tumor growth in both the in vitro and in vivo assays. Transfection with individual genes from the Grc had no effect on tumor growth in either assay.CONCLUSIONS: The effects of the Grc on reproduction, growth, and tumorigenesis are mediated by extended genetic effects, i.e., by the conformation of the DNA in this region. Similar effects were seen following transfection with cosmids from the Grc‐linked EC region, and this finding strengthens the hypothesis that the conformation of the DNA in this general region is critical for its function. A similar effect has been described for the locus control region (LCR) in the β‐globin gene family in the human.
Thy‐1 Differentiation Protein and Monocyte‐Derived Cells During Regeneration and Aging of Human Placental Villi*
Authors: Bukovsky A. , Caudle M.R. , Keenan J.A. , Wimalasena J. , McKenzie P.P. 
Published: September 2011

PROBLEM: The classification of placental villi was reviewed, and regeneration of villous trees in mature human placentae was examined.METHOD OF STUDY: Expression of Thy‐1 by placental fibroblasts and pericytes, and markers of endothelial cells and monocyte‐derived cells were studied by immuno‐histochemistry and image analysis.RESULTS: Villous regeneration consists of: (i) dedifferentiation of mature ramuli into young stem villi producing mesenchymal villi; (ii) differentiation of mesenchymal villi into immature intermediate villi; and (iii) differentiation of immature intermediate villi into transitory intermediate villi, branching into the precursors of mature intermediate and terminal villi. These processes are associated with dedifferentiation and redifferentiation of placental monocyte‐derived cells. Significant changes of Thy‐1 expression by fibroblasts and pericytes accompany aging and degeneration, as well as regeneration of placental villi.CONCLUSIONS: Villous aging and degeneration in normal mature human placenta is compensated by regeneration of villous trees. Lack of villous regeneration may cause chronic fetal distress, due to the increasing demands of the growing fetus on the remaining terminal villi.
Characterization of Boar Spermadhesins by Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies and Their Role in Binding to Oocytes
Authors: Veselský Leopold , Pěknicová Jana , ČEchová Dana , Kraus Marek , Geussová Gizela , Jonáková Věra 
Published: September 2011

PROBLEM: The role of Ala‐Trp‐Asn (AWN) and Ala‐Gln‐Asn (AQN) families of spermadhesive sperm proteins in fertilization.METHOD OF STUDY: The preparation and characterization of polyclonal antibodies against AWN and AQN spermadhesins and one monoclonal antibody (MAb), designated Bo.5, against AWN spermadhesin. The use of biochemical and immunocytochemical methods for characterization of spermadhesins on the sperm membrane of boar spermatozoa and in the cryostat sections of boar reproductive organs.RESULTS: Polyclonal anti‐AWN and anti‐AQN antibodies specifically reacted with AWN and AQN proteins, respectively. MAb Bo.5 detected the 17‐, 16‐, and 14‐kDa protein members of AWN subfamily. The monoclonal, as well as the polyclonal, AWN antibodies remarkably decreased the sperm binding to the egg surface in an in vitro sperm‐zona pellucida binding assay.CONCLUSIONS: Presented results demonstrate that polyclonal antibodies and MAb Bo.5 against spermadhesins specifically recognize the membrane‐associated antigens and inhibit the binding of sperm to oocytes. Reduced binding of sperm to oocytes, due to the antibodies, indicates the role of these spermadhesins in sperm–egg primary binding.
EFFECT OF SHRINKAGE ON PREDICTION ACCURACY OF THE WATER DIFFUSION MODEL FOR PINEAPPLE DRYING
Authors: RAMALLO L.A , MASCHERONI R.H. 
Published: September 2011

ABSTRACTDrying kinetics of pineapple slabs was analyzed. Fruits were cut into 6‐mm‐thick slices and dried in a convective cross flow dryer at constant air velocity (1.5 m/s) and temperature (45, 60 or 75C). Two simple diffusional models were applied for modeling the mass transfer during pineapple drying. In the first model, fruit shrinkage was ignored and the analytical solution was applied. In the second model, the premise of variable shrinkage with moisture content was assumed, and the mass transfer equations were solved through a finite differences scheme. In addition, an empirical model of drying rate was found. The average error of moisture estimation was lower for the model with shrinkage. Moisture diffusivity values increased with temperature and decreased when shrinkage was taken into account. Results also showed that fruit shrinkage can be represented by a linear function of moisture content and that volume variation was independent of drying temperature.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSPineapple is one of the most popular tropical fruits and is consumed mainly as canned, juice or fresh fruit; a lesser proportion is consumed as dried fruit. However, the drying makes it possible to extend the shelf life of pineapple by reducing water content and improves efficiency in transportation and storage. In this study, characteristics of drying kinetics of pineapple slices at different air temperatures were studied. Also, a simple model for the simulation of drying process, taking into account the fruit shrinkage, was proposed. The results of this study will be helpful in the technological application of hot air drying for pineapple preservation.
Promoting discussions and decisions about dogs' quality‐of‐life
Authors: Yeates J. W. , Mullan S. , Stone M. , Main D. C. J. 
Published: September 2011

Objective: The objective of this paper is to report the formulation and preliminary testing of a participatory tool in order to encourage discussions and decisions about dogs’ quality‐of‐life.Materials andMethods: A tool was designed in which owners rated aspects of their dog’s quality‐of‐life. Two randomised controlled trials were conducted: one with a veterinary surgeon who was involved in the tool design, the second with other veterinary surgeons. In each, owners either were given the tool before a veterinary consultation or underwent normal consultations. After each consultation, owners were asked to report what they had discussed and what decisions they had made.Results: The study involved a total of 170 consultations, of which 91 were randomly allocated to the tool group and 79 into the control group. In both trials, using the tool was associated with a significant increase in the frequency of discussions. In the first trial, using the tool was also associated with an increase in the number of decisions made, but this was not found in the second trial with practitioners who were not involved in the trial design.ClinicalSignificance: These data suggest that the use of a participatory tool has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of consultations, especially if the practitioner is familiar with the tool design.
J‐LEAPS peptide and LEAPS dendritic cell vaccines
Authors: Rosenthal Ken S. , Taylor Patricia , Zimmerman Daniel H. 
Published: September 2011

SummaryThe J‐LEAPS vaccines contain a peptide from β‐2‐microglobulin covalently attached to disease‐related peptides of 8–30 amino acids which contain a T cell epitope. The J‐LEAPS vaccines can initiate a protective Th1 immune response or modulate an ongoing Th17 autoimmune response to the peptide. J‐LEAPS vaccines activate and direct the nature of the subsequent immune response by promoting the maturation of precursor cells into a unique type of dendritic cell that produces interleukin 12, but not IL‐1 or tumour necrosis factor, and presents the antigenic peptide to T cells. Adoptive transfer of JgD‐LEAPS dendritic cells, matured with an anti‐HSV‐1 vaccine, promoted antigen‐specific Th1 protection against lethal challenge with the virus. J‐LEAPS peptide immunogens and J‐LEAPS dendritic cell vaccines have potential applications for antimicrobial prevention and therapy, treatment of autoimmune diseases, and for cancer immunotherapy.
Science and the Mass Media –‘Medialization’ as a New Perspective on an Intricate Relationship
Authors: Rödder Simone 
Published: September 2011

AbstractThis survey article discusses a recently proposed perspective on the science–media interface the concept of medialization. The medialization approach assumes that there is mutual resonance between science and the mass media. Medialization research systematically investigates structural transformation in science: What are the implications of high media attention for science funding, for research agendas, for universities and the professional self‐understanding of scientists? And how do these developments relate to the production of scientific knowledge? For detailed empirical studies of these processes, the medialization approach separates the role of mass media, but its grounding in general social theory contextualises this research with social science studies on sciences relation to other spheres such as politics and the economy.
Using a Mass Balance Model to Evaluate Groundwater Budget of Seawater‐Intruded Island Aquifers1
Authors: Jang Cheng‐Shin , Liu Chen‐Wuing , Chen Shih‐Kai , Lin Wen‐Sheng 
Published: September 2011

Jang, Cheng‐Shin, Chen‐Wuing Liu, Shih‐Kai Chen, and Wen‐Sheng Lin, 2011. Using a Mass Balance Model to Evaluate Groundwater Budget of Seawater‐Intruded Island Aquifers. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(1): 61‐73. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00593.xAbstract:  The study developed a mass balance model to evaluate the groundwater budget of seawater‐intruded island aquifers using limited available data. The Penghu islands were selected as a study area. As sparse observed data were available in the islands, methods of combining water and chloride balances were used to determine the amounts of groundwater pumping, seawater intrusion, aquifer storages, and safe yields in the shallow and deep aquifers. The groundwater budget shows that seawater intrusion to freshwater aquifers was 1.38 × 106 and 0.29 × 106 m3/year in the shallow and deep aquifers, respectively, indicating that the seawater intrusion is severe in the both aquifers. The safe yield of the shallow aquifer was 14.56 × 106 m3/year in 2005 which was four times higher than that of the deep aquifer (3.70 × 106 m3/year). However, the annual pumping amounts in the shallow and deep aquifers were 4.77 × 106 and 3.63 × 106 m3/year, respectively. Although the safe yield of the shallow aquifer is enough for all water resources demands, only 55% of exploitation amount was extracted from the shallow aquifer due to its poor water quality. Groundwater exploitation in the deep aquifer should be significantly reduced and regulated by a dynamic management of pumping scheme because the annual pumping amounts are close to the safe yield and seawater intrusion occurs continually. Additionally, to alleviate further aquifer salination, at least half of the current annual groundwater abstraction should be reduced.
Crop Discharge Permits for Reduction of Nitrogen Loads to the Baltic Sea1
Authors: Collentine Dennis , Johnsson Holger 
Published: September 2011

Collentine, Dennis and Holger Johnsson, 2011. Crop Discharge Permits for Reduction of Nitrogen Loads to the Baltic Sea. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(1): 24‐31. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00596.xAbstract:  Current international agreements call for a significant reduction of nutrient loads to the Baltic Sea. In one of the signatory countries, Sweden, regulatory authorities have concluded that new measures will be needed to meet national reduction targets. This article evaluates the effect of one possible new measure for reducing nitrogen loads, introducing mandatory discharge permits for crop cultivation as one component of a proposed discharge permit system. Using the framework of the proposed system, expected net load reductions and permit prices are calculated for three crop permit scenarios in a catchment in Southern Sweden. In addition, gross leaching is calculated for a larger region to study the potential for reducing net loads. The article concludes that while permitting reduces loading, achieving reduction targets will require additional measures beyond the scenarios studied.
Effects of cationic hydroxyethyl cellulose on glucose metabolism and obesity in a diet‐induced obesity mouse model
Authors: YOUNG Scott A. , HUNG Shao‐Ching , ANDERSON William H.K. , ALBERS David R. , LANGHORST Marsha L. , YOKOYAMA Wallace 
Published: September 2011

AbstractBackground:  To investigate the effect of a new soluble fiber, namely cationic hydroxyethyl cellulose (cHEC), on weight loss and metabolic disorders associated with obesity using a high‐fat diet‐induced obese mouse model.Methods:  Obese male C57BL/6J (B6) mice were fed high‐fat (60% kcal) diets supplemented with cHEC for 5 weeks. Body weight, energy intake, mesenteric adipose and liver weights, plasma cholesterol, plasma insulin, glucose, adiponectin, and leptin were assessed to determine the effects of cHEC. Hepatic and fecal lipids were also analyzed to investigate the effect of cHEC on lipid absorption and metabolism.Results:  Supplementation of the high‐fat diet with cHEC resulted in significant weight loss in obese mice. In addition, significant decreases were seen in mesenteric adipose and liver weights, as well as concentrations of plasma cholesterol and hepatic lipids. A significant improvement in glucose homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, and leptin concentrations were observed at 4% cHEC. Moreover, increases in fecal excretion of total bile acids, sterols, and fats indicated altered fat absorption when cHEC was supplemented in the diet.Conclusions:  We have shown in the present study that cHEC reduces body weight, improves insulin sensitivity, and prevents the development of metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, the effects of cHEC on glucose and lipid homeostasis in B6 mice are mediated by improvements in leptin sensitivity resulting from reduced fat absorption.
Prefetch-aware shared resource management for multi-core systems
Authors: Ebrahimi Eiman , Lee Chang Joo , Mutlu Onur , Patt Yale N. 
Published: September 2011

Chip multiprocessors (CMPs) share a large portion of the memory subsystem among multiple cores. Recent proposals have addressed high-performance and fair management of these shared resources; however, none of them take into account prefetch requests. Without prefetching, significant performance is lost, which is why existing systems prefetch. By not taking into account prefetch requests, recent shared-resource management proposals often significantly degrade both performance and fairness, rather than improve them in the presence of prefetching.
This paper is the first to propose mechanisms that both manage the shared resources of a multi-core chip to obtain high-performance and fairness, and also exploit prefetching. We apply our proposed mechanisms to two resource-based management techniques for memory scheduling and one source-throttling-based management technique for the entire shared memory system. We show that our mechanisms improve the performance of a 4-core system that uses network fair queuing, parallelism-aware batch scheduling, and fairness via source throttling by 11.0%, 10.9%, and 11.3% respectively, while also significantly improving fairness.
SpecTLB
Authors: Barr Thomas W. , Cox Alan L. , Rixner Scott 
Published: September 2011

Data-intensive computing applications are using more and more memory and are placing an increasing load on the virtual memory system. While the use of large pages can help alleviate the overhead of address translation, they limit the control the operating system has over memory allocation and protection. We present a novel device, the SpecTLB, that exploits the predictable behavior of reservation-based physical memory allocators to interpolate address translations.
Our device provides speculative translations for many TLB misses on small pages without referencing the page table. While these interpolations must be confirmed, doing so can be done in parallel with speculative execution. This effectively hides the execution latency of these TLB misses. In simulation, the SpecTLB is able to overlap an average of 57% of page table walks with successful speculative execution over a wide variety of applications. We also show that the SpecTLB outperforms a state-of-the-art TLB prefetching scheme for virtually all tested applications with significant TLB miss rates. Moreover, we show that the SpecTLB is efficient since mispredictions are extremely rare, occurring in less than 1% of TLB misses. In essense, the SpecTLB effectively enables the use of small pages to achieve fine-grained allocation and protection, while avoiding the associated latency penalties of small pages.
The antineoplastic effect of nitric oxide-donating acetylsalicylic acid (NO-ASA) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells is highly dependent on its positional isomerism
Authors: Gehrke Iris , Razavi Regina , Poll-Wolbeck Simon Jonas , Berkessel Albrecht , Hallek Michael , Kreuzer Karl-Anton 
Published: September 2011

Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is not curable in patients that are not eligible for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Therefore, new treatment options are highly desirable. Chemically modified nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as nitric-oxide-donating acetylsalicylic acid (NO-ASA), have been described to possess antineoplastic capacity. Recently, we could demonstrate a potent apoptosis induction in primary CLL cells in vitro and tumor growth inhibition by para-NO-ASA in a xenograft mouse model. However, little is known about the impact of positional isomerism of NO-ASA on its antineoplastic capacity in CLL. Methods: Primary CLL cells were treated with the meta- or para-isomer of NO-ASA at varying concentrations and durations. Viability was assessed flow cytometrically by annexin V-FITC/PI staining and by CellTiter-Glo luminescence cell viability assay. Caspase and PARP cleavage as well as involvement of β-catenin/Lef-1 signaling was determined by immunoblotting. For caspase inhibition, BD™ ApoBlock was used. Nude mice were xenografted with JVM3 cells and treated with meta-NO-ASA, para-NO-ASA or vehicle control. Results: The meta-isomer was entirely ineffective in inducing CLL cell apoptosis in concentrations up to 100 µM, while para-NO-ASA acted in the low micromolar range. meta-NO-ASA, in contrast to para-NO-ASA, did not alter caspase activity. While para-NO-ASA action involved inhibition of β-catenin/Lef-1 signaling, meta-NO-ASA did not show any impact on this signaling pathway. Further, meta-NO-ASA did not significantly reduce tumor growth in a CLL xenograft mouse model, while para-NO-ASA was highly potent. Conclusion: We conclude that positional isomerism is crucial for the antineoplastic effect of NO-ASA in CLL. It can be suggested that the para-isomer, but not the meta-isomer, generates a chemical structure which is essential for the neoplastic effect of NO-ASA.
Zebrafish Ext2 is necessary for Fgf and Wnt signaling, but not for Hh signaling
Authors: Fischer Sabine , Filipek-Gorniok Beata , Ledin Johan 
Published: September 2011

Abstract

Background
Heparan sulfate (HS) biosynthesis is tightly regulated during vertebrate embryo development. However, potential roles for HS biosynthesis in regulating the function of paracrine signaling molecules that bind to HS are incompletely understood.

Results
In this report we have studied Fgf, Wnt and Hedgehog (Hh) signaling in ext2 mutants, where heparan sulfate content is low. We found that Fgf targeted gene expression is reduced in ext2 mutants and that the remaining expression is readily inhibited by SU5402, an FGF receptor inhibitor. In the ext2 mutants, Fgf signaling is shown to be affected during nervous system development and reduction of Fgf ligands in the mutants affects tail development. Also, Wnt signaling is affected in the ext2 mutants, as shown by a stronger phenotype in ext2 mutants injected with morpholinos that partially block translation of Wnt11 or Wnt5b, compared to injected wild type embryos. In contrast, Hh dependent signaling is apparently unaffected in the ext2 mutants; Hh targeted gene expression is not reduced, the Hh inhibitor cyclopamine is not more affective in the mutants and Hh dependent cell differentiation in the retina and in the myotome are normal in ext2 mutants. In addition, no genetic interaction between ext2 and shha during development could be detected.

Conclusion
We conclude that ext2 is involved in Fgf and Wnt signaling but not in Hh signaling, revealing an unexpected specificity for ext2 in signaling pathways during embryonic development. Thus, our results support the hypothesis that regulation of heparan sulfate biosynthesis has distinct instructive functions for different signaling factors.