bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Thermostability of Subpopulations of H2N3 Influenza Virus Isolates from Mallard Ducks
Authors: Negovetich Nicholas J. , Webster Robert G. 
Published: July 2010

ABSTRACT
Maintenance of avian influenza virus in waterfowl populations requires that virions remain infectious while in the environment. Temperature has been shown to negatively correlate with persistence time, which is the duration for which virions are infectious. However, thermostability can vary between isolates regardless of subtype, and it is not known whether this variation occurs when host and geographic location of isolation are controlled. In this study, we analyzed the thermostabilities of 7 H2N3 viruses isolated from mallard ducks in Alberta, Canada. Virus samples were incubated at 37°C and 55°C, and infectivity titers were calculated at different time points. Based on the rate of infectivity inactivation at 37°C, isolates could be grouped into either a thermosensitive or thermostable fraction for both egg- and MDCK-grown virus populations. Titers decreased more rapidly for isolates incubated at 55°C, and this loss of infectivity occurred in a nonlinear, 2-step process, which is in contrast with the consensus on thermostability. This suggests that stock samples contain a mixture of subpopulations with different thermostabilities. The rate of decrease for the sensitive fraction was approximately 14 times higher than that for the stable fraction. The presence of subpopulations is further supported by selection experiments and plaque purification, both of which result in homogenous populations that exhibit linear decreases of infectivity titer. Therefore, variation of thermostability of influenza virus isolates begins at the level of the population. The presence of subpopulations with high thermostability suggests that avian viruses can persist in water longer than previously estimated, thus increasing the probability of transmission to susceptible hosts.
A Useful Approach to Identify Novel Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Wnt-Dependent Transcription
Authors: Ewan Kenneth , Pająk Bożena , Stubbs Mark , Todd Helen , Barbeau Olivier , Quevedo Camilo , Botfield Hannah , Young Rodrigo , Ruddle Ruth , Samuel Lee , Battersby Alysia , Raynaud Florence , Allen Nicholas , Wilson Stephen , Latinkic Branko , Workman Paul , McDonald Edward , Blagg Julian , Aherne Wynne , Dale Trevor 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
The Wnt signaling pathway is frequently deregulated in cancer due to mutations in genes encoding APC, β-catenin, and axin. To identify small-molecule inhibitors of Wnt signaling as potential therapeutics, a diverse chemical library was screened using a transcription factor reporter cell line in which the activity of the pathway was induced at the level of Disheveled protein. A series of deconvolution studies was used to focus on three compound series that selectively killed cancer cell lines with constitutive Wnt signaling. Activities of the compounds included the ability to induce degradation of β-catenin that had been stabilized by a glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) inhibitor. This screen illustrates a practical approach to identify small-molecule inhibitors of Wnt signaling that can seed the development of agents suitable to treat patients with Wnt-dependent tumors. Cancer Res; 70(14); 5963–73. ©2010 AACR.
Intake of Cruciferous Vegetables Modifies Bladder Cancer Survival
Authors: Tang Li , Zirpoli Gary R. , Guru Khurshid , Moysich Kirsten B. , Zhang Yuesheng , Ambrosone Christine B. , McCann Susan E. 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Background: Intake of cruciferous vegetables, a rich source of dietary isothiocyanates, has been inversely associated with risk of bladder cancer. Due to the potent antiproliferative effects of dietary isothiocyanates on bladder cancer in in vitro and in vivo models, cruciferous vegetable intake may also play a role in survival among patients with bladder cancer.
Methods: Using information obtained from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute Tumor Registry, patient medical records, and routinely collected questionnaire data, we examined potential associations between intake of cruciferous vegetables and survival among bladder cancer patients. As cooking can substantially reduce or destroy isothiocyanates, consumption of raw versus cooked cruciferous vegetables was examined separately. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models.
Results: A total of 239 bladder cancer patients were included in the study. After an average of 8 years of follow-up, 179 deaths occurred, with 101 deaths attributable to bladder cancer. After adjustment for other prognostic factors, a strong and significant inverse association was observed between bladder cancer mortality and broccoli intake, in particular raw broccoli intake (≥1 versus &lt;1 serving per month; HR for overall death, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.39-0.83; HR for disease-specific death, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.25-0.74). There were no significant associations for total vegetables, total fruits, or other individual cruciferous vegetables.
Conclusions: Considering the strong preclinical evidence, intake of broccoli may improve bladder cancer survival.
Impact: Further prospective investigation is warranted to confirm the potential role of cruciferous vegetables in bladder cancer prognosis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(7); 1806–11. ©2010 AACR.
Randomized Controlled Trial of Mammography Intervention in Insured Very Low–Income Women
Authors: Ahmed Nasar U. , Haber Gillian , Semenya Kofi A. , Hargreaves Margaret K. 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Background: The expectation that insurance coverage mitigates health disparities and equalizes use of healthcare assumes that services are equally accessed; however, the insured low-income target population in this research had a mammography rate of 23.4%, well below the general population. Our objective was to determine the most effective intervention to improve mammography use in low-income women insured by a managed care organization (MCO).
Methods: The study was a randomized controlled trial. Participants were 2,357 women noncompliant with screening mammography randomly assigned to one of three groups: control (n = 786) received usual care; simple intervention (n = 785) received prompt letter from the MCO medical director; and stepwise intervention (n = 786) received the same prompt letter from the MCO; if noncompliant, a second prompt letter from their primary care physician and, if still noncompliant, counseling from lay health workers. Outcome was completion of screening mammography extracted from medical records.
Results: Screening rates were 13.4% for the control, 16.1% for the simple intervention, and 27.1% for the stepwise intervention. Compared with the control, the primary care physician letter in the stepwise intervention increased the likelihood of screening by 80% [Relative Risk (RR) = 1.80; P &lt; 0.001], and counseling tripled the likelihood of screening (RR = 3.11; P &lt; 0.001).
Conclusions: Compared with the control and simple intervention, a stepwise intervention to increase mammography is effective in a target population of hard-to-reach, low-income, insured women.
Impact: The research provides evidence for the impact of stepwise interventions to improve cancer screening in low-income insured populations, although the screening rates remain well below those of the general population. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(7); 1790–8. ©2010 AACR.
Lack of Association between Human Papillomavirus Type 16 and 18 Infections and Female Lung Cancer
Authors: Simen-Kapeu Aline , Surcel Heljä-Marja , Koskela Pentti , Pukkala Eero , Lehtinen Matti 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Background: A carcinogenic role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in lung cancer development has been suggested through both clinical and laboratory research during the last two decades.
Methods: We did a population-based case-control study nested within the Finnish Maternity Cohort to assess the role of HPV16/18 infections in female lung carcinogenesis. The Finnish Maternity Cohort containing samples from more than 600,000 subjects were linked with nationwide cancer registries (1973-2006). Serum samples were retrieved from 311 women who developed lung cancer and 930 matched controls. The samples were analyzed for antibodies to HPV types 16 and 18 and cotinine (a biomarker of tobacco exposure). Conditional logistic regression-based estimates of odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals adjusted for cotinine levels were calculated.
Results: Overall, there was no evidence of increased risk of lung cancer associated with HPV 16 and 18 type–specific infections among nonsmokers and smokers, assessed via cotinine levels.
Conclusions: The question of HPV etiologic effect on lung carcinoma deserves further longitudinal studies using different HPV detection methods.
Impact: Our results bring new insights into female HPV lung cancer research. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(7); 1879–81. ©2010 AACR.
A Common Neural Substrate for Language Production and Verbal Working Memory
Authors: Acheson Daniel J. , Hamidi Massihullah , Binder Jeffrey R. , Postle Bradley R. 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Verbal working memory (VWM), the ability to maintain and manipulate representations of speech sounds over short periods, is held by some influential models to be independent from the systems responsible for language production and comprehension [e.g., Baddeley, A. D. Working memory, thought, and action. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2007]. We explore the alternative hypothesis that maintenance in VWM is subserved by temporary activation of the language production system [Acheson, D. J., & MacDonald, M. C. Verbal working memory and language production: Common approaches to the serial ordering of verbal information. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 50–68, 2009b]. Specifically, we hypothesized that for stimuli lacking a semantic representation (e.g., nonwords such as mun), maintenance in VWM can be achieved by cycling information back and forth between the stages of phonological encoding and articulatory planning. First, fMRI was used to identify regions associated with two different stages of language production planning: the posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) for phonological encoding (critical for VWM of nonwords) and the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) for lexical–semantic retrieval (not critical for VWM of nonwords). Next, in the same subjects, these regions were targeted with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) during language production and VWM task performance. Results showed that rTMS to the pSTG, but not the MTG, increased error rates on paced reading (a language production task) and on delayed serial recall of nonwords (a test of VWM). Performance on a lexical–semantic retrieval task (picture naming), in contrast, was significantly sensitive to rTMS of the MTG. Because rTMS was guided by language production-related activity, these results provide the first causal evidence that maintenance in VWM directly depends on the long-term representations and processes used in speech production.
Implied Motion Activation in Cortical Area MT Can Be Explained by Visual Low-level Features
Authors: Lorteije Jeannette A. M. , Barraclough Nick E. , Jellema Tjeerd , Raemaekers Mathijs , Duijnhouwer Jacob , Xiao Dengke , Oram Mike W. , Lankheet Martin J. M. , Perrett David I. , van Wezel Richard J. A. 
Published: July 2010

AbstractTo investigate form-related activity in motion-sensitive cortical areas, we recorded cell responses to animate implied motion in macaque middle temporal (MT) and medial superior temporal (MST) cortex and investigated these areas using fMRI in humans. In the single-cell studies, we compared responses with static images of human or monkey figures walking or running left or right with responses to the same human and monkey figures standing or sitting still. We also investigated whether the view of the animate figure (facing left or right) that elicited the highest response was correlated with the preferred direction for moving random dot patterns. First, figures were presented inside the cell's receptive field. Subsequently, figures were presented at the fovea while a dynamic noise pattern was presented at the cell's receptive field location. The results show that MT neurons did not discriminate between figures on the basis of the implied motion content. Instead, response preferences for implied motion correlated with preferences for low-level visual features such as orientation and size. No correlation was found between the preferred view of figures implying motion and the preferred direction for moving random dot patterns. Similar findings were obtained in a smaller population of MST cortical neurons. Testing human MT+ responses with fMRI further corroborated the notion that low-level stimulus features might explain implied motion activation in human MT+. Together, these results suggest that prior human imaging studies demonstrating animate implied motion processing in area MT+ can be best explained by sensitivity for low-level features rather than sensitivity for the motion implied by animate figures.
Tracking the Time Course of Action Priming on Object Recognition: Evidence for Fast and Slow Influences of Action on Perception
Authors: Kiefer Markus , Sim Eun-Jin , Helbig Hannah , Graf Markus 
Published: July 2010

AbstractPerception and action are classically thought to be supported by functionally and neuroanatomically distinct mechanisms. However, recent behavioral studies using an action priming paradigm challenged this view and showed that action representations can facilitate object recognition. This study determined whether action representations influence object recognition during early visual processing stages, that is, within the first 150 msec. To this end, the time course of brain activation underlying such action priming effects was examined by recording ERPs. Subjects were sequentially presented with two manipulable objects (e.g., tools), which had to be named. In the congruent condition, both objects afforded similar actions, whereas dissimilar actions were afforded in the incongruent condition. In order to test the influence of the prime modality on action priming, the first object (prime) was presented either as picture or as word. We found an ERP effect of action priming over the central scalp as early as 100 msec after target onset for pictorial, but not for verbal primes. A later action priming effect on the N400 ERP component known to index semantic integration processes was obtained for both picture and word primes. The early effect was generated in a fronto-parietal motor network, whereas the late effect reflected activity in anterior temporal areas. The present results indicate that action priming influences object recognition through both fast and slow pathways: Action priming affects rapid visuomotor processes only when elicited by pictorial prime stimuli. However, it also modulates comparably slow conceptual integration processes independent of the prime modality.
Fusiform Gyrus Face Selectivity Relates to Individual Differences in Facial Recognition Ability
Authors: Furl Nicholas , Garrido Lúcia , Dolan Raymond J. , Driver Jon , Duchaine Bradley 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Regions of the occipital and temporal lobes, including a region in the fusiform gyrus (FG), have been proposed to constitute a “core” visual representation system for faces, in part because they show face selectivity and face repetition suppression. But recent fMRI studies of developmental prosopagnosics (DPs) raise questions about whether these measures relate to face processing skills. Although DPs manifest deficient face processing, most studies to date have not shown unequivocal reductions of functional responses in the proposed core regions. We scanned 15 DPs and 15 non-DP control participants with fMRI while employing factor analysis to derive behavioral components related to face identification or other processes. Repetition suppression specific to facial identities in FG or to expression in FG and STS did not show compelling relationships with face identification ability. However, we identified robust relationships between face selectivity and face identification ability in FG across our sample for several convergent measures, including voxel-wise statistical parametric mapping, peak face selectivity in individually defined “fusiform face areas” (FFAs), and anatomical extents (cluster sizes) of those FFAs. None of these measures showed associations with behavioral expression or object recognition ability. As a group, DPs had reduced face-selective responses in bilateral FFA when compared with non-DPs. Individual DPs were also more likely than non-DPs to lack expected face-selective activity in core regions. These findings associate individual differences in face processing ability with selectivity in core face processing regions. This confirms that face selectivity can provide a valid marker for neural mechanisms that contribute to face identification ability.
Land Use and Reactive Nitrogen Discharge: Effects of Dietary Choices
Authors: Eshel Gidon , Martin Pamela A. , Bowen Esther E. 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Modern agriculture alters natural biological and geophysical processes, with magnitudes proportional to its spatial extent. Cultivation is also the main cause of artificially enhanced reactive nitrogen (Nr) availability in natural ecosystems. Sustainable food production should thus minimize Nr use while maximizing human-destined caloric output per acre. The authors demonstrate that it is possible to design realistic, nutritionally sound plant-based diets that require a quarter to a half of the Nr and a quarter to a third of the land the mean American diet’s animal-based portion does. Broad application of these findings (e.g., by incorporating environmental considerations into official dietary recommendations) would reduce food production’s environmental impacts dramatically.
The THORPEX Observation Impact Intercomparison Experiment
Authors: Gelaro Ronald , Langland Rolf H. , Pellerin Simon , Todling Ricardo 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
An experiment is being conducted to directly compare the impact of all assimilated observations on short-range forecast errors in different forecast systems using an adjoint-based technique. The technique allows detailed comparison of observation impacts in terms of data type, location, satellite sounding channel, or other relevant attributes. This paper describes results for a “baseline” set of observations assimilated by three forecast systems for the month of January 2007. Despite differences in the assimilation algorithms and forecast models, the impacts of the major observation types are similar in each forecast system in a global sense. However, regional details and other aspects of the results can differ substantially. Large forecast error reductions are provided by satellite radiances, geostationary satellite winds, radiosondes, and commercial aircraft. Other observation types provide smaller impacts individually, but their combined impact is significant. Only a small majority of the total number of observations assimilated actually improves the forecast, and most of the improvement comes from a large number of observations that have relatively small individual impacts. Accounting for this behavior may be especially important when considering strategies for deploying adaptive (or “targeted”) components of the observing system.
GPCE-AX: An Anisotropic Extension to the Goerss Predicted Consensus Error in Tropical Cyclone Track Forecasts
Authors: Hansen James A. , Goerss James S. , Sampson Charles 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
A method to predict an anisotropic expected forecast error distribution for consensus forecasts of tropical cyclone (TC) tracks is presented. The method builds upon the Goerss predicted consensus error (GPCE), which predicts the isotropic radius of the 70% isopleth of expected TC track error. Consensus TC track forecasts are computed as the mean of a collection of TC track forecasts from different models and are basin dependent. A novel aspect of GPCE is that it uses not only the uncertainty in the collection of constituent models to predict expected error, but also other features of the predicted storm, including initial intensity, forecast intensity, and storm speed. The new method, called GPCE along–across (GPCE-AX), takes a similar approach but separates the predicted error into across-track and along-track components. GPCE-AX has been applied to consensus TC track forecasts in the Atlantic (CONU/TVCN, where CONU is consensus version U and TVCN is the track variable consensus) and in the western North Pacific (consensus version W, CONW). The results for both basins indicate that GPCE-AX either outperforms or is equal in quality to GPCE in terms of reliability (the fraction of time verification is bound by the 70% uncertainty isopleths) and sharpness (the area bound by the 70% isopleths). GPCE-AX has been implemented at both the National Hurricane Center and at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center for real-time testing and evaluation.
TAT-mediated transduction of NF-Ya peptide induces the ex vivo proliferation and engraftment potential of human hematopoietic progenitor cells
Authors: Domashenko Alevtina D. , Danet-Desnoyers Gwenn , Aron Alissa , Carroll Martin P. , Emerson Stephen G. 
Published: July 2010

AbstractRetroviral overexpression of NF-Ya, the regulatory subunit of the transcription factor NF-Y, activates the transcription of multiple genes implicated in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal and differentiation and directs HSCs toward self-renewal. We asked whether TAT-NF-Ya fusion protein could be used to transduce human CD34+ cells as a safer, more regulated alternative approach to gene therapy. Here we show that externally added recombinant protein was able to enter the cell nucleus and activate HOXB4, a target gene of NF-Ya, using real-time polymerase chain reaction RNA and luciferase-based protein assays. After TAT-NF-Ya transduction, the proliferation of human CD34+ cells in the presence of myeloid cytokines was increased 4-fold. Moreover, TAT-NF-Ya-treated human primary bone marrow cells showed a 4-fold increase in the percentage of huCD45+ cells recovered from the bone marrow of sublethally irradiated, transplanted NOD-Scid IL2Rγnull mice. These data demonstrate that TAT-peptide therapies are an alternative approach to retroviral stem cell therapies and suggest that NF-Ya peptide delivery should be further evaluated as a tool for HSC/progenitors ex vivo expansion and therapy.