bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The De‐Skilling of Ethnographic Labor: Signs of an Emerging Predicament
Authors: Lombardi Gerald 
Published: December 2009

An oft‐stated rule in design and engineering is, “Good, fast, cheap: pick two”. The success of ethnography in business has forced this rule into action with a vengeance. As a result, ethnographers now face a threat experienced by many categories of worker over the past two centuries: job de‐skilling. Some mechanisms of de‐skilling in business‐world ethnography are reviewed, including:

simplifications that invert the conventional depth‐vs.‐breadth balance of ethnographic knowledge;
standardizations that permit research to be distributed among workers of varying cost;
the rise of ethnographic piecework suppliers who rely on pools of underemployed social scientists.

I argue that pressures leading in this direction must be contested, and that only by altering the cost‐time‐quality paradigm that controls our work can we restore its value to our employers and clients.
Tangible Steps Toward Tomorrow: Designing a Vision for Early Childhood Education
Authors: Carey Hillary , Howard Suzanne Gibbs 
Published: December 2009

“The area of early education is experiencing tremendous experimentation and progress, but what has been missing are right brain thinkers. These are individuals whose craft is seeing patterns, making connections, adapting what works in one context to the realities of another context.” ‐ Tony Berkley, Program Director, Youth and Education, The W. K. Kellogg FoundationIn 2007 the W. K. Kellogg Foundation engaged the innovation and design firm, IDEO, to design a compelling vision for the future of early childhood education. The foundation was ready for a new perspective on a well‐explored topic. IDEO's design thinking approach engaged the foundation and its stakeholders in new ways that promoted feasible, yet innovative, solutions.In this paper we describe the combined use of ethnographic‐style research and design thinking in a project addressing a complex, systemic and philanthropic challenge: public education in the United States. We seek to provide the reader with a clear and convincing case study demonstrating the value of ethnography plus design thinking in any business context or social system where many stakeholders need to be brought together to work toward a system wide solution.
How transgenic and classically bred apple genotypes affect non‐target organisms on higher trophic levels
Authors: Vogler Ute , Rott Anja S. , Gessler Cesare , Dorn Silvia 
Published: December 2009

AbstractCurrent plant breeding comprises classical techniques as well as biotechnological methods suitable to insert target genes into the plant genome. Potential non‐target effects of these newly developed plants have to be evaluated in appropriate risk assessment studies. We investigated non‐target effects of four apple genotypes (Malus × domestica L. Borkh.; Rosaceae). They were either susceptible or resistant to the fungal phytopathogen causing apple scab, Venturia inaequalis (Cke.) Wint. (Ascomycotina: Pleosporales), and were either of transgenic origin or classically bred, differing in or sharing a single trait each. Experiments on insect performance were carried out with two non‐target species, namely the apple leafminer Phyllonorycter blancardella Fabricius (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) and its parasitoid Pholetesor circumscriptus Nees (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Development time of the apple leafminer was not affected by the four apple genotypes. By contrast, the number of emerged adult moths significantly differed between the two classically bred cultivars, whereas no effect of the two transgenic apple genotypes was detected. Paralleling the observations of the apple leafminer development, no impact of the four apple genotypes on parasitoid development time and parasitism success could be detected. Although mean numbers of emerged parasitoids were lower on the cultivars with fewer emerged apple leafminers, these differences were not significant. Herbivore and parasitoid performance was not altered in the presence of pathogen inoculation. In conclusion, host plant suitability was found to be more determined by variability among classically bred apple cultivars than by the transgenic genotypes tested. To elucidate possible effects of transgenic plants within multitrophic interactions, an appropriate risk assessment incorporating the relevant controls is crucial.
25‐Hydroxy‐vitamin D levels among Callithrix penicillata primate species raised in captivity
Authors: Teixeira Danilo Simonini , Castro Luiz Claudio G. , Nóbrega Yanna Karla M. , Almeida Rodrigo Coutinho , Gandolfi Lenora , Pratesi Riccardo 
Published: December 2009

AbstractBackground  Animals in captivity should receive adequate sunlight exposure for sufficient generation of vitamin D [25(OH)D]. In the present study, 25(OH)D serum levels of 84 Callithrix penicillata primates were evaluated.Objectives  To determine 25(OH)D levels of those animals; to evaluate the influence of gender and period of sunlight exposure on their 25(OH)D levels.Methods  Three groups were evaluated: group 1 (n = 29) on free sunlight exposure; group 2 (n = 34) on partial sunlight exposure; group 3 (n = 21) without sunlight exposure.Results  The obtained 25(OH)D values were: group 1, 121.2 ± 33.3 ng/ml; group 2, 115.2 ± 32.2 ng/ml; group 3, 53.3 ± 10.4 ng/ml. Significant statistical differences were obtained between groups 1 and 3 (p < 0.001) and groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.001); no statistical difference was found between genders.Conclusion  Direct sunlight exposure is essential for 25(OH)D sufficiency and it is proposed that the 25(OH)D normal range for captive Callithrix penicillata would be from 104.8 to 137.1 ng/ml (CI = 95%).
Very long-term X-ray variations in LMXBs: solar cycle-like variations in the donor?
Authors: Kotze M. M. , Charles P. A. 
Published: December 2009

Abstract
Long-term monitoring of Low Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs) by the All Sky Monitor on board the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer now covers ∼13 yr and shows that certain LMXB types display very long-term (approximately several to tens of years) quasi-periodic modulations. These time-scales are much longer than any ‘super-orbital’ periods reported hitherto and likely have a different origin. We suggest here that they are due to long-term variations in the mass-transfer rate from the donor, which are a consequence of solar-like magnetic cycles that lead to Porb changes (as proposed by Richman, Applegate & Patterson for similar long-term variations in cataclysmic variables). Atoll sources display much larger amplitude modulations than Z sources over these time-scales, presumably because Z sources are Eddington limited and hence unable to respond as readily as Atoll sources to fluctuations in the mass-transfer rate from the donor.
Endoscopic removal of an endodontic file accidentally swallowed: Clinical and legal approaches
Authors: Silva Rhonan F. , Martins Emerson C. , Prado Felippe B. , Júnior Jacy R.C. , Júnior Eduardo D. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractThe use of a rubber dam is an essential procedure when treating root canals, and not using it may compromise the success of the treatment, as well as the patient's health. This report presents a case in which a K‐file was accidentally swallowed during an endodontic procedure, performed without the use of a rubber dam. Given the absence of immediate clinical complications, the subject underwent a chest radiograph. The file was located at the oesophagogastric junction and was later removed by endoscopy. In addition to the clinical repercussions, this example also illustrates the ethical‐legal aspects of this type of accident.
DIAGENETIC EVOLUTION OF INCISED CHANNEL SANDSTONES: IMPLICATIONS FOR RESERVOIR CHARACTERISATION OF THE LOWER CARBONIFEROUS MARAR FORMATION, GHADAMES BASIN, WESTERN LIBYA
Authors: Fröhlich S. , Redfern J. , Petitpierre L. , Marshall J.D. , Power M. , Grech P.V. 
Published: December 2009

This paper assesses the diagenetic history of potential fluvial hydrocarbon reservoir rocks deposited within incised valley systems of the Lower Carboniferous Marar Formation in western Libya. Outcrop data were collected in the Tinedhan Anticline, located at the southern margin of the Ghadames Basin. Four discrete intervals with channelized sandstones were identified in a section dominated by alternating offshore mudstones and shallow‐marine clastics. The incised channels were cut during major sea‐level lowstands, and filled by fluvial sandstone packages up to 50 m thick. Fifty‐eight samples from four different localities, representing three lowstand systems tracts, were analysed to obtain a statistically meaningful mineralogical and compositional dataset.In addition to burial compaction, three main diagenetic events influenced the reservoir quality of the sandstones. Firstly, early eodiagenesis involved kaolinitization of plagioclase grains. This began before subsequent calcite cementation, probably as a result of flushing by meteoric pore‐waters. The deformation of kaolinite during later compaction resulted in the formation of pseudomatrix which further reduced porosity and permeability. Kaolinite is commonly transformed to illite at temperatures above 140°C in the presence of K‐feldspar. Although K‐feldspar was recorded in the samples, no illite was observed, suggesting that the Lower Carboniferous strata in the study area were not buried in excess of approximately 3.5 km.The second diagenetic phase was the precipitation of calcite cement, present either dispersed throughout the sandbodies or as concretions up to 2 m across, in both cases reducing reservoir quality. The high intergranular volumes (IGV) of calcite‐cemented sandstones (ranging between 35% and 40%) suggest that cementation occurred at burial depths of <500 m. Sandstones without calcite cement have lower IGV of between 17% and 25% as a result of mechanical and chemical compaction. Stable C and O isotope analysis of the calcite cement also supports precipitation at shallow burial depths, indicating a meteoric pore‐water source for the calcite. The third and final diagenetic stage was partial chloritisation of kaolinite during meso‐diagenesis. The elevated temperatures required for this transformation indicate burial to a minimum depth of approximately 2.5 km, which is consistent with the compaction data.Despite these diagenetic effects, the fluvial sandstones have an average porosity of 12%, with a range from 0.5% up to 25%. Permeability measurements on four sandstone samples indicate that the development of pseudomatrix did not reduce permeability significantly.
DOLOMITIZATION AND ANHYDRITE PRECIPITATION IN PERMO‐TRIASSIC CARBONATES AT THE SOUTH PARS GASFIELD, OFFSHORE IRAN: CONTROLS ON RESERVOIR QUALITY
Authors: Rahimpour‐Bonab H. , Esrafili‐Dizaji B. , Tavakoli V. 
Published: December 2009

Dolomitization and related anhydrite cementation can complicate the characterization of carbonate reservoirs. Both processes have affected the Permo‐Triassic Upper Dalan – Kangan carbonates, the main reservoir at the South Pars gasfield, offshore Iran. The carbonates were deposited in a shallow‐marine ramp or epeiric platform and, according to previous studies, underwent intense near‐surface diagenesis and minor burial modification. Detailed petrographical and geochemical analyses indicate that dolomitization and anhydrite precipitation can be explained in terms of the sabkha/seepage‐reflux models. The early dolomites then re‐equilibrated or re‐crystallized in a shallow burial setting. Evaluation of poroperm values in different reservoir intervals indicates that replacive dolomitization in the absence of anhydrite precipitation or with only patchy anhydrite has enhanced the reservoir quality. Where anhydrite cement is pervasive and has plugged the rock fabric, poroperm values are significantly decreased.As emphasized in previous studies and confirmed here, dolomitization and anhydrite cementation, together with original facies type, are the major factors controlling reservoir quality in the Dalan – Kangan carbonates at South Pars. When associated with minor anhydrite cementation, replacive dolomitization has enhanced reservoir quality by increasing permeability. However, porosity in fabric‐retentive dolomite was apparently inherited from the precursor rock and therefore reflects the original depositional environment.Low‐temperature dolomitization is commonly fabric‐selective and partially fabric‐retentive. Whole rock stable isotope thermometry indicates that fabric‐destructive dolomites in the reservoir rocks formed at temperatures above 22°C, whereas fabric‐retentive dolomites and associated anhydrites formed in surface and near‐surface conditions. Fabric‐destructive dolomite or dolomite neomorphism post‐date fabric‐retentive dolomite and continued to form in deep burial conditions (∼1400m). These observations may explain why fabric‐retentive dolomite and anhydrite fabrics are traversed by stylolites.
Smoothable del Pezzo surfaces with quotient singularities
Authors: Hacking Paul , Prokhorov Yuri 
Published: December 2009

AbstractWe classify del Pezzo surfaces with quotient singularities and Picard rank one which admit a ℚ-Gorenstein smoothing. These surfaces arise as singular fibres of del Pezzo fibrations in the 3-fold minimal model program and also in moduli problems.
Evaluation of WLBU2 Peptide and 3-
O
-Octyl-
sn
-Glycerol Lipid as Active Ingredients for a Topical Microbicide Formulation Targeting
Chlamydia trachomatis
Authors: Skinner M. C. , Kiselev A. O. , Isaacs C. E. , Mietzner T. A. , Montelaro R. C. , Lampe M. F. 
Published: December 2009

ABSTRACT

Topical microbicides for prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) would be especially useful for women who are not able to persuade their partner(s) to take precautions. Many topical microbicides are in various stages of development, based on a variety of active ingredients. We investigated the
in vitro
activity of an engineered antimicrobial peptide (WLBU2) and a lipid (3-
O
-octyl-
sn
-glycerol [3-OG]) which could potentially be used as active ingredients in such a product. Using commercially available cytotoxicity reagents [Alamar Blue, 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)], we first determined the toxicity of WLBU2 and 3-OG to the host cells in our assay procedure and excluded toxic concentrations from further testing. To determine activity against
Chlamydia trachomatis
, we used an assay previously developed by our laboratory in which chlamydial elementary bodies (EBs) were exposed to microbicides prior to contact with epithelial cells: the minimum (microbi)cidal concentration (MCC) assay. To further simulate conditions of transmission, we carried out the same assay in the presence of a simulated vaginal fluid, a simulated seminal fluid, human serum albumin, and a range of pH values which might be found in the human vagina at the time of exposure. Last, we tested WLBU2 and 3-OG in combination to determine if adding them together resulted in synergistic activity. We found that WLBU2 and 3-OG both have excellent activity
in vitro
against
C. trachomatis
and significantly more activity when added together. The simulated fluids reduced activity, but the synergy seen is good evidence that they would be effective when combined in a microbicide formulation.
Constitutive SoxS Expression in a Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Strain with a Truncated SoxR Protein and Identification of a New Member of themarA-soxS-robRegulon,mdtG
Authors: Fàbrega Anna , Martin Robert G. , Rosner Judah L. , Tavio M. Mar , Vila Jordi 
Published: December 2009

ABSTRACTElevated levels of fluoroquinolone resistance are frequently found amongEscherichia coliclinical isolates. This study investigated the antibiotic resistance mechanisms of strain NorE5, derivedin vitroby exposing anE. coliclinical isolate, PS5, to two selection steps with increasing concentrations of norfloxacin. In addition to the amino acid substitution in GyrA (S83L) present in PS5, NorE5 has an amino acid change in ParC (S80R). Furthermore, we now find by Western blotting that NorE5 has a multidrug resistance phenotype resulting from the overexpression of the antibiotic resistance efflux pump AcrAB-TolC. Microarray and gene fusion analyses revealed significantly increased expression in NorE5 ofsoxS, a transcriptional activator ofacrABandtolC. The highsoxSactivity is attributable to a frameshift mutation that truncates SoxR, rendering it a constitutive transcriptional activator ofsoxS. Furthermore, microarray and reverse transcription-PCR analyses showed thatmdtG(yceE), encoding a putative efflux pump, is overexpressed in the resistant strain. SoxS, MarA, and Rob activated anmdtG::lacZfusion, and SoxS was shown to bind to themdtGpromoter, showing thatmdtGis a member of themarA-soxS-robregulon. ThemdtGmarbox sequence is in the backward or class I orientation within the promoter, and its disruption resulted in a loss of inducibility by MarA, SoxS, and Rob. Thus, chromosomal mutations inparCandsoxRare responsible for the increased antibiotic resistance of NorE5.
Newly Identified Antibacterial Compounds Are Topoisomerase Poisons in African Trypanosomes
Authors: Tang Sonya C. , Shapiro Theresa A. 
Published: December 2009

ABSTRACT

Human African trypanosomiasis, caused by the
Trypanosoma brucei
protozoan parasite, is fatal when left untreated. Current therapies are antiquated, and there is a need for new pharmacologic agents against
T. brucei
targets that have no human ortholog. Trypanosomes have a single mitochondrion with a unique mitochondrial DNA, known as kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), a topologically complex network that contains thousands of interlocking circular DNAs, termed minicircles (∼1 kb) and maxicircles (∼23 kb). Replication of kDNA depends on topoisomerases, enzymes that catalyze reactions that change DNA topology.
T. brucei
has an unusual type IA topoisomerase that is dedicated to kDNA metabolism. This enzyme has no ortholog in humans, and RNA interference (RNAi) studies have shown that it is essential for parasite survival, making it an ideal drug target. In a large chemical library screen, two compounds were recently identified as poisons of bacterial topoisomerase IA. We found that these compounds are trypanocidal in the low micromolar range and that they promote the formation of linearized minicircles covalently bound to protein on the 5′ end, consistent with the poisoning of mitochondrial topoisomerase IA. Surprisingly, however, band depletion studies showed that it is topoisomerase II
mt
, and not topoisomerase IA
mt
, that is trapped. Both compounds are planar aromatic polycyclic structures that intercalate into and unwind DNA. These findings reinforce the utility of topoisomerase II
mt
as a target for development of new drugs for African sleeping sickness.
Characterization of Small ColE-Like Plasmids Mediating Widespread Dissemination of the
qnrB19
Gene in Commensal Enterobacteria
Authors: Pallecchi Lucia , Riccobono Eleonora , Sennati Samanta , Mantella Antonia , Bartalesi Filippo , Trigoso Christian , Gotuzzo Eduardo , Bartoloni Alessandro , Rossolini Gian Maria 
Published: December 2009

ABSTRACT

In this work, we have characterized two small ColE-like plasmids (pECY6-7, 2.7 kb in size, and pECC14-9, of 3.0 kb), encoding the QnrB19 quinolone resistance determinant, that were carried by several clonally unrelated quinolone-resistant commensal
Escherichia coli
strains isolated from healthy children living in different urban areas of Peru and Bolivia. The two plasmids are closely related to each other and carry the
qnrB19
gene as the sole resistance determinant, located in a conserved genetic context between the plasmid RNAII sequence (which controls plasmid replication) and the plasmid Xer site (involved in plasmid dimer resolution). IS
Ecp1
-like or other putative insertion sequences are not present in the
qnrB19
-flanking regions or elsewhere on the plasmids. Since we previously observed a high prevalence (54%) of
qnrB
genes in the metagenomes of commensal enterobacteria from the same population of healthy children, the presence of pECY6-7- and pECC14-9-like plasmids in those
qnrB
-positive metagenomes was investigated by PCR mapping. Both plasmids were found to be highly prevalent (67% and 16%, respectively) in the
qnrB
-positive metagenomes, suggesting that dissemination of these small plasmids played a major role in the widespread dissemination of
qnrB
genes observed in commensal enterobacteria from healthy children living in those areas.
Regulatory Role of the MisR/S Two-Component System in Hemoglobin Utilization in
Neisseria meningitidis
Authors: Zhao Shuming , Montanez Grisselle E. , Kumar Pradeep , Sannigrahi Soma , Tzeng Yih-Ling 
Published: December 2009

ABSTRACT

Outer membrane iron receptors are some of the major surface entities that are critical for meningococcal pathogenesis. The gene encoding the meningococcal hemoglobin receptor, HmbR, is both independently transcribed and transcriptionally linked to the upstream gene
hemO
, which encodes a heme oxygenase. The MisR/S two-component system was previously determined to regulate
hmbR
transcription, and its
hemO
and
hmbR
regulatory mechanisms were characterized further here. The expression of
hemO
and
hmbR
was downregulated in
misR
/
S
mutants under both iron-replete and iron-restricted conditions, and the downregulation could be reversed by complementation. No significant changes in expression of other iron receptors were detected, suggesting that the MisR/S system specifically regulates
hmbR
. When hemoglobin was the sole iron source, growth defects were detected in the mutants. Primer extension analysis identified a promoter upstream of the
hemO
-associated Correia element (CE) and another promoter at the proximal end of CE, and processed transcripts previously identified for other cotranscribed CEs were also detected, suggesting that there may be posttranscriptional regulation. MisR directly interacts with sequences upstream of the CE and upstream of the
hmbR
Fur binding site and thus independently regulates
hemO
and
hmbR
. Analysis of transcriptional reporters of
hemO
and
hmbR
further demonstrated the positive role of the MisR/S system and showed that the transcription of
hmbR
initiated from
hemO
was significantly reduced. A comparison of the effects of the
misS
mutation under iron-replete and iron-depleted conditions suggested that activation by the MisR/S system and iron-mediated repression by Fur act independently. Thus, the expression of
hemO
and
hmbR
is coordinately controlled by multiple independent regulatory mechanisms, including the MisR/S two-component system.