bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pancreas Divisum: A Differentiated Surgical Approach in Symptomatic Patients
Authors: Schneider Lutz , Müller Elias , Hinz Ulf , Grenacher Lars , Büchler Markus W. , Werner Jens 
Published: April 2011

AbstractBackgroundSome patients with pancreas divisum (PD) develop symptoms of recurrent pancreatitis. This is probably caused by insufficient drainage of the pancreatic duct. We report the results of our follow‐up of patients who underwent surgery for symptomatic pancreas divisum according to an individualized surgical approach.MethodsBetween October 2001 and April 2009, 28 patients with symptomatic pancreas divisum were operated at the University Hospital of Heidelberg. According to the localization and type of morphological changes of the pancreas, patients received a reinsertion of the papilla (SP; n = 11), duodenum‐preserving pancreatic head resection (DPPHR; n = 10), pylorus‐preserving Whipple (ppWhipple; n = 4), or other pancreatic resections (n = 3). Hospitalization, morbidity, mortality, pain course, and patient satisfaction were analyzed.ResultsBefore surgery, patients received a median of three endoscopic interventions and were hospitalized for 77 days. The median postoperative follow‐up was 4.1 years. Surgical morbidity was 11% and mortality 0%. We performed an SP when the pancreas was soft (n = 10). When the pancreas was inflammatory altered, a DPPHR was performed in ten, ppW in four, segmental resection in two, and SP and pancreatic left resection in one case. A redo operation for persisting symptoms was needed in six patients (3 soft and 3 altered pancreas). Compared with the preoperative situation, pain was significantly reduced in the follow‐up (median Visual Analogue Scale 0 vs. 10). Ninety‐six percent of patients were without symptoms during the follow‐up.ConclusionsThe individualized surgical approach for patients with symptomatic PD achieves significant reduction of pain in all patients. Reinsertions of the papilla should be performed as a first surgical intervention in patients with a soft pancreas when symptoms persist despite adequate endoscopic treatment. DPPHR should be performed when fibrotic alterations of the pancreas are present.
A novel in silico approach to identify potential therapeutic targets in human bacterial pathogens
Authors: Vetrivel Umashankar , Subramanian Gurunathan , Dorairaj Sudarsanam 
Published: April 2011

Abstract
In recent years, genome-sequencing projects of pathogens and humans have revolutionized microbial drug target identification. Of the several known genomic strategies, subtractive genomics has been successfully utilized for identifying microbial drug targets. The present work demonstrates a novel genomics approach in which codon adaptation index (CAI), a measure used to predict the translational efficiency of a gene based on synonymous codon usage, is coupled with subtractive genomics approach for mining potential drug targets. The strategy adopted is demonstrated using respiratory pathogens, namely, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae as examples. Our approach identified 8 potent target genes (Streptococcus pneumoniae–2, H. influenzae–6), which are functionally significant and also play key role in host-pathogen interactions. This approach facilitates swift identification of potential drug targets, thereby enabling the search for new inhibitors. These results underscore the utility of CAI for enhanced in silico drug target identification.
Preparation of Diacylglycerol‐Enriched Oil from Free Fatty Acids Using Lecitase Ultra‐Catalyzed Esterification
Authors: Wang Lili , Wang Yong , Hu Changying , Cao Qian , Yang Xiaohui , Zhao Mouming 
Published: April 2011

AbstractProduction of diacylglycerol‐enriched oil by esterification of free fatty acids (FFA) with glycerol (GLY) using phospholipase A1 (Lecitase Ultra) was investigated in this work. The variables including reaction time (2–10 h), water content (2–14 wt%, FFA and GLY mass), enzyme load (10–120 U/g, FFA and GLY mass), reaction temperature (30–70 °C) and mole ratio of GLY to FFA (0.5–2.5) were studied. The optimum conditions obtained were as follows: reaction temperature 40 °C, water content 8 wt%, reaction time 6 h, molar ratio of GLY to FFA 2.0, and an enzyme load of 80 U/g. Under these conditions, the esterification efficiency (EE) of free fatty acids was 74.8%. The compositions of the FFA and acylglycerols of the upper oil layer (crude diacylglycerol) of the reaction mixture were determined using a high temperature gas chromatograph (GC). The crude diacylglycerol from the selected conditions was molecularly distilled at 170 °C evaporator temperatures to produce a diacylglycerol‐enrich oil (DEO) with a purity of 83.1% and a yield of 42.7%.
Yet another Poincaré Polyhedron Theorem
Authors: Anan'in Sasha , Grossi Carlos H. 
Published: April 2011

AbstractPoincaré's Polyhedron Theorem is a widely known valuable tool in constructing manifolds endowed with a prescribed geometric structure. It is one of the few criteria providing discreteness of groups of isometries. This work contains a version of Poincaré's Polyhedron Theorem that is applicable to constructing fibre bundles over surfaces and also suits geometries of non-constant curvature. Most conditions of the theorem, being as local as possible, are easy to verify in practice.
Effect of household land management on cropland topsoil organic carbon storage at plot scale in a red earth soil area of South China
Authors: FENG S. , TAN S. , ZHANG A. , ZHANG Q. , PAN G. , QU F. , SMITH P. , LI L. , ZHANG X. 
Published: April 2011

SUMMARYAn inventory of topsoil soil organic carbon (SOC) content in household farms was performed in a village from a red earth region in Jiangxi Province, China in 2003. In this region, the farmland managed by each household is fragmented, consisting of several plots of land that are not necessarily adjacent to each other. A statistical analysis of SOC variation with land use and household management type, and with crop management practices was conducted. Plot size ranged from 0·007 to 0·630 ha with a mean of 0·1 ha, and SOC content ranged from 1·72 to 25·2 g/kg, varying widely with a variety of land management and agricultural practices, arising from individual household behaviours. The mean SOC content in plot size <0·1 ha was 20% lower than in plot size ⩾0·1 ha. SOC of dry crop plots was 70% lower than that in rice paddies, and SOC of plots contracted from the village was almost double that of plots leased from other householders. Moreover, a 30% increase in SOC was observed with green manure cultivation, and a 55% increase under triple cropping. The difference in SOC levels between the least and most favourable cases of household land management and agricultural practice was up to 150%. The results suggest that policies targeted at crop management alone may not deliver the expected SOC benefits if household land management is also not improved.
Hidden viability risks in the use of farm-saved small-grain seed
Authors: PELTONEN-SAINIO P. , RAJALA A. , JAUHIAINEN L. 
Published: April 2011

SUMMARYAgriculture must provide sustainable food security and economic development to meet future challenges; new cultivars and the use of quality seed will be key components of this. The use of farm-saved seed may increase due to imbalances between income and expenditure associated with farming. The present study characterized the quality of commonly used, and thereby easily available, farm-saved seed in Finland. Farmers provided 657 seed lot samples of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that they intended to use for sowing. Germination, seed weight, seedling elongation and within-seed-lot variability were analysed. Information was available on region, number of seed generations and cultivar. The specific aims were to identify how many generations of farm-saved seed are generally used by farmers, whether there is any safe generation threshold and the variability of quality of the seed lots. It was found that 0·80–0·84 of barley seed lots exceeded the 0·85 minimum germination requirement for certified seed, but only 0·60 of wheat. The risk of poor establishment was higher in wheat if the seed was not tested: 0·13 of wheat seed lots had germination of ⩽0·65 and 0·06 of ⩽0·50, while for barley the proportions with inadequate germination were 0·03–0·05. At most, >0·30 abnormal seedlings were recorded for barley and >0·50 for wheat. Variation in seed size and seedling length within seed lots was important, and increase in the latter was associated with reduced germination. In combination with up to 0·14 lethal fungus-infected seed, this emphasizes the need for seed upgrading measures. No safe threshold for farm-saved seed generations was determined.
Molecular characterization of pouched amphistome parasites (Trematoda: Gastrothylacidae) using ribosomal ITS2 sequence and secondary structures
Authors: Ghatani S. , Shylla J.A. , Tandon V. , Chatterjee A. , Roy B. 
Published: April 2011

AbstractMembers of the family Gastrothylacidae (Trematoda: Digenea: Paramphistomata) are parasitic in ruminants throughout Africa and Asia. In north-east India, five species of pouched amphistomes, namely Fischoederius cobboldi, F. elongatus, Gastrothylax crumenifer, Carmyerius spatiosus and Velasquezotrema tripurensis, belonging to this family have been reported so far. In the present study, the molecular phylogeny of these five gastrothylacid species is derived using the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) sequence and secondary structure analyses. ITS2 sequence analysis was carried out to see the occurrence of interspecific variations among the species. Phylogenetic analyses were performed for primary sequence data alone as well as the combined sequence-structure information using neighbour-joining and Bayesian approaches. The sequence analysis revealed that there exist considerable interspecific variations among the various gastrothylacid fluke species. In contrast, the inferred secondary structures for the five species using minimum free energy modelling showed structural identities, in conformity with the core four-helix domain structure that has been recently identified as common to almost all eukaryotic taxa. The phylogenetic tree reconstructed using combined sequence–structure data showed a better resolution, as compared to the one using sequence data alone, with the gastrothylacid species forming a monophyletic group that is well separated from members of the other family, Paramphistomidae, of the amphistomid flukes group. The study provides the molecular characterization based on primary sequence data of the rDNA ITS2 region of the gastrothylacid amphistome flukes. Results also demonstrate the phylogenetic utility of the ITS2 sequence–secondary structure data for inferences at higher taxonomic levels.
Genetic variation and population structure of Holothuria polii from the eastern and western Mediterranean coasts in Tunisia
Authors: Gharbi Aicha , Said Khaled 
Published: April 2011

Seven populations of Holothuria polii were sampled from the eastern and western Mediterranean coastal waters of Tunisia and screened electrophoretically for genetic variation at 11 allozyme loci. Six among the seven polymorphic loci were out of Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in at least one population. In the same way, the multilocus test showed deviation from HWE in all populations. These populations showed heterozygote deficiency. Genetic variability was relatively low. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2.09 to 2.27 (average = 2.15), and the observed heterozygosity varied between 0.14 and 0.20 (average = 0.17). The observed overall differentiation among populations was slight but significant, with a mean FST value of 0.024 (P < 0.001). Pairwise FST values reflected the differentiation of the two populations, which were at the margins of the range sampled, from all the others. Our data suggest a population structure consistent with separation by Mediterranean Sea basins that might reflect different local biogeographical zones.
Making a Sovereign State: Javed Ghamidi and ‘Enlightened Moderation’
Authors: AZIZ SADAF 
Published: April 2011

AbstractThis paper takes a critical look at a recent attempt by the Pakistani state to manage religious thought and practice, under the broad banner of ‘Enlightened Moderation’. One of the key Islamic thinkers associated in popular imagination with this project is Javed Ahmed Ghamidi. In contextualizing the work and role of Ghamidi, it is tempting to work backwards from his opinions on Islamic truth to situate him as a reformer whose interventions are primarily oriented to the task of reconciling Islam to conditions of liberal modernity. Against such a tendency it is argued here that such an exercise of classification and categorization needs to be undertaken with greater care as against a critique of the imperialist typology of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Islams, a project of delineating authentic from inauthentic Islams has also more recently been activated.
Orthographic and phonological parafoveal processing of consonants, vowels, and tones when reading Thai
Authors: WINSKEL HEATHER 
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACTFour eye movement experiments investigated whether readers use parafoveal input to gain information about the phonological or orthographic forms of consonants, vowels, and tones in word recognition when reading Thai silently. Target words were presented in sentences preceded by parafoveal previews in which consonant, vowel, or tone information was manipulated. Previews of homophonous consonants (Experiment 1) and concordant vowels (Experiment 2) did not substantially facilitate processing of the target word, whereas the identical previews did. Hence, orthography appears to be playing the prominent role in early word recognition for consonants and vowels. Incorrect tone marker previews (Experiment 3) substantially retarded the subsequent processing of the target word, indicating that lexical tone plays an important role in early word recognition. Vowels in VOP (Experiment 4) did not facilitate processing, which points to vowel position being a significant factor. Primarily, orthographic codes of consonants and vowels (HOP) in conjunction with tone information are assembled from parafoveal input and used for early lexical access.
Facial emotion labeling in language impaired children
Authors: DELAUNAY-EL ALLAM MARYSE , GUIDETTI MICHÈLE , CHAIX YVES , REILLY JUDY 
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACTThe few studies that have investigated emotion labeling in children with specific language impairment (SLI) have generally focused on global identification performances and appear contradictory. The current study is a fine-grained examination of how children with SLI and typical peers differ in the accuracy of their emotional lexicon use. Children underwent a free labeling task of five basic emotions expressed by still face photographs. Results revealed that children with SLI were less accurate in their label use than typical children. However, pattern of confusions between the two groups differed only by a confusion between sadness and anger displayed by the SLI group. It is argued that this emotion labeling deficiency may rely on semantic fields overlap.
The management of foot problems in the older person through podiatry services
Authors: Vernon Wesley , Borthwick Alan , Walker Jeremy 
Published: April 2011

SummaryThe scale of foot problems in the population is high, and highest in older people. Whilst podiatry is solely concerned with the foot, other professions with a broader remit are also involved in foot care, as not only the foot may be at risk but also there may be serious systemic sequelae. Foot problems can be usefully viewed from a functional, hierarchical perspective. The interventions required are suggested by considering problems according to this hierarchy. Many approaches exist for the management of foot conditions from educated self-care to surgery. In managing such conditions, multi-disciplinary approaches are required. Podiatry has developed considerably over the years, has a growing research base, an extensive scope of practice and anticipated developments. The profession can develop further, particularly in its preventative role, in terms of professional autonomy and in further increasing its evidence base.
Light-induced transcriptional responses associated with proteorhodopsin-enhanced growth in a marine flavobacterium
Authors: Kimura Hiroyuki , Young Curtis R , Martinez Asuncion , DeLong Edward F 
Published: April 2011

Abstract
Proteorhodopsin (PR) is a photoprotein that functions as a light-driven proton pump in diverse marine Bacteria and Archaea. Recent studies have suggested that PR may enhance both growth rate and yield in some flavobacteria when grown under nutrient-limiting conditions in the light. The direct involvement of PR, and the metabolic details enabling light-stimulated growth, however, remain uncertain. Here, we surveyed transcriptional and growth responses of a PR-containing marine flavobacterium during carbon-limited growth in the light and the dark. As previously reported (Gómez-Consarnau et al., 2007), Dokdonia strain MED134 exhibited light-enhanced growth rates and cell yields under low carbon growth conditions. Inhibition of retinal biosynthesis abolished the light-stimulated growth response, supporting a direct role for retinal-bound PR in light-enhanced growth. Among protein-coding transcripts, both PR and retinal biosynthetic enzymes showed significant upregulation in the light. Other light-associated proteins, including bacterial cryptochrome and DNA photolyase, were also expressed at significantly higher levels in the light. Membrane transporters for Na+/phosphate and Na+/alanine symporters, and the Na+-translocating NADH-quinone oxidoreductase (NQR) linked electron transport chain, were also significantly upregulated in the light. Culture experiments using a specific inhibitor of Na+-translocating NQR indicated that sodium pumping via NQR is a critical metabolic process in the light-stimulated growth of MED134. In total, the results suggested the importance of both the PR-enabled, light-driven proton gradient, as well as the generation of a Na+ ion gradient, as essential components for light-enhanced growth in these flavobacteria.
Reasoning with bio-ontologies: using relational closure rules to enable practical querying
Authors: Blondé Ward , Mironov Vladimir , Venkatesan Aravind , Antezana Erick , De Baets Bernard , Kuiper Martin 
Published: April 2011

Abstract
Motivation: Ontologies have become indispensable in the Life Sciences for managing large amounts of knowledge. The use of logics in ontologies ranges from sound modelling to practical querying of that knowledge, thus adding a considerable value. We conceive reasoning on bio-ontologies as a semi-automated process in three steps: (i) defining a logic-based representation language; (ii) building a consistent ontology using that language; and (iii) exploiting the ontology through querying.
Results: Here, we report on how we have implemented this approach to reasoning on the OBO Foundry ontologies within BioGateway, a biological Resource Description Framework knowledge base. By separating the three steps in a manual curation effort on Metarel, a vocabulary that specifies relation semantics, we were able to apply reasoning on a large scale. Starting from an initial 401 million triples, we inferred about 158 million knowledge statements that allow for a myriad of prospective queries, potentially leading to new hypotheses about for instance gene products, processes, interactions or diseases.
Availability: SPARUL code, a query end point and curated relation types in OBO Format, RDF and OWL 2 DL are freely available at http://www.semantic-systems-biology.org/metarel.
Contact: ward.blonde@ugent.be
Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
GmPep914, an Eight-Amino Acid Peptide Isolated from Soybean Leaves, Activates Defense-Related Genes
Authors: Yamaguchi Yube , Barona Guido , Ryan Clarence A. , Pearce Gregory 
Published: April 2011

Abstract
Only a handful of endogenous peptide defense signals have been isolated from plants. Herein, we report a novel peptide from soybean (Glycine max) leaves that is capable of alkalinizing the media of soybean suspension cells, a response that is generally associated with defense peptides. The peptide, DHPRGGNY, was synthesized and found to be active at 0.25 nm and requiring only 5 to 10 min to obtain a maximal pH change. The peptide is located on the carboxy-terminal end of a 52-amino acid precursor protein (Glyma12g00990) deduced from the soybean genome project. A search of the soybean databank revealed a homolog (Glyma09g36370) that contained a similar peptide, DLPRGGNY, which was synthesized and shown to have identical activity. The peptides, designated GmPep914 (DHPRGGNY) and GmPep890 (DLPRGGNY), were capable of inducing the expression of both Glyma12g00990 (GmPROPEP914) and Glyma09g36370 (GmPROPEP890) in cultured soybean suspension cells within 1 h. Both peptides induced the expression of defense genes, including CYP93A1, a cytochrome P450 gene involved in phytoalexin synthesis, chitinaseb1-1, a chitinase involved in pathogen defense, and Glycine max chalcone synthase1 (Gmachs1), chalcone synthase, involved in phytoalexin production. Both GmPROPEP914 and GmPROPEP890 were highly expressed in the roots, relative to the aerial portions of the plant. However, treatment of the aerial portion of soybean plants with hormones involved in elicitation of defense responses revealed a significant increase in expression levels of GmPROPEP914 and GmPROPEP890. A search of gene databases revealed homologous sequences in other members of the Fabales and also in the closely related Cucurbitales but not in any other order of plants.
Control of Leaf Expansion: A Developmental Switch from Metabolics to Hydraulics
Authors: Pantin Florent , Simonneau Thierry , Rolland Gaëlle , Dauzat Myriam , Muller Bertrand 
Published: April 2011

Abstract
Leaf expansion is the central process by which plants colonize space, allowing energy capture and carbon acquisition. Water and carbon emerge as main limiting factors of leaf expansion, but the literature remains controversial about their respective contributions. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the importance of hydraulics and metabolics is organized according to both dark/light fluctuations and leaf ontogeny. For this purpose, we established the developmental pattern of individual leaf expansion during days and nights in the model plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Under control conditions, decreases in leaf expansion were observed at night immediately after emergence, when starch reserves were lowest. These nocturnal decreases were strongly exaggerated in a set of starch mutants, consistent with an early carbon limitation. However, low-light treatment of wild-type plants had no influence on these early decreases, implying that expansion can be uncoupled from changes in carbon availability. From 4 d after leaf emergence onward, decreases of leaf expansion were observed in the daytime. Using mutants impaired in stomatal control of transpiration as well as plants grown under soil water deficit or high air humidity, we gathered evidence that these diurnal decreases were the signature of a hydraulic limitation that gradually set up as the leaf developed. Changes in leaf turgor were consistent with this pattern. It is concluded that during the course of leaf ontogeny, the predominant control of leaf expansion switches from metabolics to hydraulics. We suggest that the leaf is better armed to buffer variations in the former than in the latter.