bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mapping the high‐affinity binding domain of 5‐substituted benzimidazoles to the proximal N‐terminus of the GluN2B subunit of the NMDA receptor
Authors: Wee X‐K , Ng K‐S , Leung H‐W , Cheong Y‐P , Kong K‐H , Ng F‐M , Soh W , Lam Y , Low C‐M 
Published: January 2010

Background and purpose: N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors represent an attractive drug target for the treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders associated with glutamate‐induced excitotoxicity. The aim of this study was to map the binding domain of high affinity 5‐substituted benzimidazole derivatives [N‐{2‐[(4‐benzylpiperidin‐1‐yl)methyl]benzimidazol‐5‐yl}methanesulphonamide (XK1) and N‐[2‐(4‐phenoxybenzyl)benzimidazol‐5‐yl]methanesulphonamide (XK2)] on the GluN2B subunit of the NMDA receptor.Experimental approach: The pharmacological antagonistic profiles of XK1 and XK2 were assessed usingin vitrorat primary cerebrocortical neurones and two‐electrode voltage clamp onXenopusoocytes expressing heterologous GluN1/GluN2B receptors. Direct ligand binding was determined using the recombinant amino‐terminal domain (ATD) of GluN2B.Key results: XK1 and XK2 effectively protected against NMDA‐induced excitotoxicity in rat primary cortical neurones. Low concentrations of XK1 (10 nM) and XK2 (1 nM) significantly reversed neuronal death. Both compounds failed to inhibit currents measured from oocytes heterologously expressing GluN1‐1a subunit co‐assembled with the ATD‐deleted GluN2B subunit. XK1 and XK2 showed specific binding to recombinant protein of GluN2B ATD with low nanomolar affinities. Several residues in the recombinant ATD of GluN2B were identified to be critical for conferring XK1 and XK2 sensitivity. The inhibitory effects of XK1 and XK2 were pH‐sensitive, being increased at acidic pH.Conclusions and implications: These results demonstrate that XK1 and XK2 are effective neuroprotective agentsin vitroand indicate that 5‐substituted benzimidazole derivatives inhibit GluN1/GluN2B receptors via direct binding to the ATD of the GluN2B subunit. These compounds represent valuable alternatives to the classical antagonist ifenprodil as pharmacological tools for studying GluN2B‐containing NMDA receptors.
Modelling the Risks Associated with the Increased Importation of Fresh Produce from Emerging Supply Sources Outside the EU to the UK
Authors: Mwebaze Paul , Monaghan Jim , Spence Nicola , MacLeod Alan , Hare Martin , Revell Brian 
Published: January 2010

Abstract The risk of non‐indigenous plant pests entering the UK via international trade in fresh produce is increasing. The objective of this article is to identify existing and emerging supply sources for UK fresh produce importers and examine the extent to which they could provide invasion pathways. We tested the hypothesis that increased imports of fresh produce from new sources outside the European Union could increase the risks of non‐indigenous insect pests. We use a bio‐economic model approach in which the number of species arrivals is a function of the volume of imports, whereas the volume of imports itself is a function of gross domestic product, relative import prices and seasonality. The study has identified clear trends, which show import volumes of fresh produce and species detections increasing from new supply sources. If this trend continues in the future, then the UK inspection agency should expect to confront species from new suppliers in much greater numbers, given that import volumes of fresh produce are income elastic.
New antigen in the Dombrock blood group system, DOYA, ablates expression of Doa and weakens expression of Hy, Joa, and Gya antigens
Authors: Mayer Beate , Thornton Nicole , Yürek Salih , Wylie Dwane , Hue‐Roye Kim , Poole Joyce , Bartolmäs Thilo , Salama Abdulgabar , Lomas‐Francis Christine , Velliquette Randall W. , Yazdanbakhsh Karina , Reid Marion E. 
Published: January 2010

BACKGROUND: The Dombrock (Do) blood group system consists of five distinct antigens: Doa, Dob, Gya, Hy, and Joa. Our finding of a patient whose plasma contained a Do‐related alloantibody suggested the presence of a sixth antigen.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Standard hemagglutination, flow cytometry, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based methods were used throughout. Protein homology modeling was used to map the amino acid change on the protein structure.RESULTS: The patient's red blood cells (RBCs) typed as Do(a−b−), Hy+w, Jo(a+w), and Gy(a+w). The patient's plasma agglutinated RBCs with common Dombrock phenotypes. Reactivity with Hy– and Jo(a−) RBC samples was weak, and Gy(a−) RBC samples were nonreactive. DNA analysis showed the patient to be DO*793A (DO*A/DO*A), DO*323G, and DO*350C, which predicts the Do(a+b−), Hy+, and Jo(a+) phenotype, and revealed a homozygous single‐nucleotide change of 547T>G in Exon 2 that is predicted to change tyrosine at Amino Acid Position 183 to aspartic acid. This missense substitution introduced a BtgZI restriction enzyme site. The sequence data were confirmed with a PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism assay and revealed that the patient's parents and children were heterozygous DO*547T/G. Homology modeling predicted that the 183Tyr substitution by Asp altered the Cys182 environment and influenced the formation and/or stability of the Cys182‐Cys231 disulfide bond.CONCLUSION: The patient's DO genes have a single‐nucleotide change, which leads to the absence of the high‐prevalence antigen DOYA. The absence of this antigen is associated with 183Asp and silencing of Doa and weakening of Gya, Hy, and Joa antigens.
The African American church as a donation site: motivations and barriers
Authors: Shaz B.H. , James A.B. , Demmons D.G. , Schreiber G.B. , Hillyer C.D. 
Published: January 2010

BACKGROUND: In the United States, African Americans donate at approximately half the rate of whites and therefore are underrepresented in the volunteer blood donor pool. The goal of this study was to identify motivators and barriers to African Americans donating blood.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A consortium of 15 predominantly African American churches of varying denominations in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, participated in an 81‐item self‐administered survey. The questionnaire was designed to assess participant's demographic background, blood donation frequency, motivators and barriers to donation, knowledge and beliefs regarding donation, and overall health status.RESULTS: A total of 930 participants completed the survey: 72% female, 55% age 40 or older, 99% African American, and 58% college‐educated. The most frequent reported motivators were donating to help save a life (96%) and donating because blood is needed (95%), while the most frequent barriers were that they rarely think about it and they were afraid, nervous, or anxious to give blood (35%). The association of barriers with donation status, age, gender, and education level was stronger than for motivators. Fear was more common in nondonors than lapsed and current donors, youngest compared to older adults, and women than men and less in those with higher income.CONCLUSION: Motivators and barriers to blood donation in African American church attendees differ depending on the respondents' demographics. To increase the effectiveness of church drives, donor recruitment should focus on addressing these barriers and motivators.
Involvement of HAb18G/CD147 in T cell activation and immunological synapse formation
Authors: Hu Jinsong , Dang Nana , Yao Hui , Li Yu , Zhang Hongxin , Yang Xiangmin , Xu Jing , Bian Huijie , Xing Jinliang , Zhu Ping , Chen Zhinan 
Published: January 2010

AbstractHAb18G/CD147, a glycoprotein of the immunoglobulin super‐family (IgSF), is a T cell activation‐associated molecule. In this report, we demonstrated that HAb18G/CD147 expression on both activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was up‐regulated. In vitro cross‐linking of T cells with an anti‐HAb18G/CD147 monoclonal antibody (mAb) 5A12 inhibited T cells proliferation upon T cell receptor stimulation. Such co‐stimulation inhibited T cell proliferation by down‐regulating the expression of CD25 and interleukin‐2 (IL‐2), decreased production of IL‐4 but not interferon‐γ. Laser confocal imaging analysis indicated that HAb18G/CD147 was recruited to the immunological synapse (IS) during T cell activation; triggering HAb18G/CD147 on activated T cells by anti‐HAb18G/CD147 mAb 5A12 strongly dispersed the formation of the IS. Further functional studies showed that the ligation of HAb18G/CD147 with mAb 5A12 decreased the tyrosine phosphorylation and intracellular calcium mobilization levels of T cells. Through docking antibody–antigen interactions, we demonstrated that the function of mAb 5A12 is tightly dependent on its specificity of binding to N‐terminal domain I, which plays pivotal role in the oligomerization of HAb18G/CD147. Taken together, we provide evidence that HAb18G/CD147 could act as a co‐stimulatory receptor to negatively regulate T cell activation and is functionally linked to the formation of the IS.
The Relative Health Benefits of Different Sexual Activities
Authors: Brody Stuart 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTIntroductionAlthough many studies examine purported risks associated with sexual activities, few examine potential physical and mental health benefits, and even fewer incorporate the scientifically essential differentiation of specific sexual behaviors.AimsThis review provides an overview of studies examining potential health benefits of various sexual activities, with a focus on the effects of different sexual activities.MethodsReview of peer-reviewed literature.Main Outcome MeasuresFindings on the associations between distinct sexual activities and various indices of psychological and physical function.ResultsA wide range of better psychological and physiological health indices are associated specifically with penile–vaginal intercourse. Other sexual activities have weaker, no, or (in the cases of masturbation and anal intercourse) inverse associations with health indices. Condom use appears to impair some benefits of penile–vaginal intercourse. Only a few of the research designs allow for causal inferences.ConclusionsThe health benefits associated with specifically penile–vaginal intercourse should inform a new evidence-based approach to sexual medicine, sex education, and a broad range of medical and psychological consultations.
Killer cell immunoglobulin‐like receptor gene diversity in a Caucasian population of Southern Brazil
Authors: Jobim M. , Salim P. H. , Portela P. , Wilson T. J. , Fraportti J. , Baronio D. , Gil B. , Penna L. S. , Roesler R. , Jobim L. F. , Schwartsmann G. 
Published: January 2010

SummaryKiller immunoglobulin‐like receptors (KIR) regulate the activity of natural killer and T cells through an interaction with specific human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules on target cells. Diversity in KIR gene content, KIR allelic and haplotype polymorphism has been observed between different ethnic groups. However, most population studies on KIR variability have focused on Europe and Asia, while Americas, Oceania and Africa remain poorly studied. The aim of this study was to analyse the variability of KIR genes in 200 healthy nonrelated individuals from the Southern Brazilian population. KIR genes and HLA‐A, ‐B and ‐Cw were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction‐sequence‐specific primers. Southern Brazilian population demonstrated several similarities to states that are closer geographically and distinct differences with Northern Brazil in the frequency of genes KIR2DS1, 2DS2, 2DS3, 2DS5, 3DL1, 3DS1, 2DL1 and 2DL2. The activating gene KIR2DS5 was the least frequent locus found in our group. Interaction of KIR/HLA was more common in the 2DS1−/2DL1+/C2+ association. This study demonstrated the diversity of KIR genes and of KIR/HLA association in a Caucasian group of Southern Brazil, establishing differences and similarities to other different populations.
Environmental reservoirs of Vibrio cholerae and their role in cholera
Authors: Vezzulli Luigi , Pruzzo Carla , Huq Anwar , Colwell Rita R. 
Published: January 2010

SummaryIn the aquatic environment, Vibrio cholerae has been reported to be associated with a variety of living organisms, including animals with an exoskeleton of chitin, aquatic plants, protozoa, bivalves, waterbirds, as well as abiotic substrates (e.g. sediments). Most of these are well‐known or putative environmental reservoirs for the bacterium, defined as places where the pathogen lives over time, with the potential to be released and to cause human infection. Environmental reservoirs also serve as V. cholerae disseminators and vectors. They can be responsible for the start of an epidemic, may be critical to cholera endemicity, and affect the evolution of pathogen virulence. To date, in addition to the generally recognized role of zooplankton as the largest environmental reservoir for V. cholerae, other environmental reservoirs play some role in cholera epidemiology by favouring persistence of the pathogen during inter‐epidemic periods. Little is known about the ecological factors affecting V. cholerae survival in association with aquatic substrates. Studies aimed at these aspects, i.e. understanding how environmental reservoirs interact, are affected by climate, and contribute to disease epidemiology, will be useful for understanding global implications of V. cholerae and the disease cholera.
Creating Extraordinary Learning Environments
Authors: Walter Charlie H. 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTThere is more to developing effective exhibitions than following a particular process model. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History utilizes a strategy that includes a clearly articulated framework of core purpose and values, development teams that think systemically and focus on maintaining positive relationships, along with the help of outside experts, professional literature, and visitor feedback to continually infuse the team's thinking. This strategy has led to exhibits that more clearly reflect the institution, and at the same time are deemed extraordinary learning environments by two important stakeholders: the advisors whose content and technical expertise supported the project, and by visitors.
A Conversation on Object‐Centered Learning in Art Museums
Authors: Rice Danielle , Yenawine Philip 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTDanielle Rice and Philip Yenawine are veteran art museum educators who have wrestled for decades with the thorny issues involved in teaching about and learning from art objects in the museum setting. While there is general agreement within art museums today that the object should be the focus of educational practice, debate continues as to the most effective processes for facilitating learning. Gallery teaching is one of the most contested arenas, with much of the disagreement centering on the place of information in teaching beginning viewers. In art museums, the issue of what and how to teach is complicated by the fact that many people, including artists, museum professionals, psychologists and educators consider art primarily as something to be enjoyed, and they posit this enjoyment in direct opposition to learning about art. Partly because of this, the function of art museum education and gallery‐based instruction is still evolving.
Mission, Message, and Visitors: How Exhibit Philosophy Has Evolved at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Authors: Ramberg Jenny Sayre , Rand Judy , Tomulonis Jaci 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTSince the Monterey Bay Aquarium opened in 1984, its exhibit teams have been guided by an exhibit philosophy that is mission‐driven, message‐driven, and visitor‐driven. Balancing mission, message, and visitors over the years has meant that the exhibit philosophy has evolved as the aquarium learned about their visitors, changed their mission, and kept the focus on the Monterey Bay. Like many aquaria and zoos, MBA's mission has shifted from raising awareness about nature to advocating and inspiring conservation of nature. This article reviews the history of these changes from a developer's point of view and reports on how the aquarium is continuing to examine how mission, message, and visitors interrelate. The current challenge of inspiring visitors to care about the ocean and to take action on its behalf is proving to be the most difficult challenge yet.
Reinventing a State Funding Program for Museums
Authors: Baron Robert 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTWhile state funding represents a primary source of support for museums, its characteristics and significance have eluded recognition and analysis. Programs and funding mechanisms vary considerably among states, ranging from support for specific projects in museums by agencies that fund multiple types of cultural institutions to state agencies exclusively devoted to museums. The Museum Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, which supports all disciplines of museums, faced critical challenges to its leadership role as funding was restored following a period of severe retrenchment. It engaged in open dialogue with the museum community as it developed new initiatives and services to the field. The Program worked with service organizations to create new approaches for professional learning about museum practices, made revisioning permanent collections an overarching guidelines theme and challenged exhibition applicants to explore neglected topics. It also emphasized multiple interpretive perspectives, mutual engagement with communities and sequential educational activities that provide in‐depth learning experiences.
Users or Supporters? Understanding Motivations and Behaviors of Museum Members
Authors: Slater Alix 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTResearch into museum membership schemes and their members is limited and fragmented. This study presents an overview of existing research as a contextual framework for a study of the motivations and behavior of members of a British national museum. The paper examines factors such as members' motives for joining, their usage of benefits, the value they place on membership, and their feelings about the host organization. It concludes with advice as to how membership managers can more effectively manage their own membership organization.
A Jewish Museum in an Arab Country
Authors: Hein Hilde 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTJews have lived in comparative peace with their neighbors in North Africa for millennia. In the last century, however, political forces have altered an ancient live‐and‐let‐live ethos. A Peace Corps volunteer who began work at the Museum of Moroccan Judaism—the only Jewish museum in the Arab world—just before the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York describes the shock waves engulfing her small museum and the Jewish communities whose artifacts it shelters.
Museums and Impact
Authors: Scott Carol 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTSince the 1980s, governments throughout the western industrialized world have required greater emphasis on fiscal and public accountability within the public sector. As a result, museum value has been constructed in response to economic rationalism and government policies without sufficient input from the museum sector itself. This paper asserts that any discussion of the role of museums, the contribution they make to societies and appropriate ways of evaluating their impact requires the perspectives and contributions of all stakeholders. It examines preliminary findings from a study that asked about the impact of museums from the perspective of museum professionals and end‐users. It reports significant areas of agreement between public and professional cohorts regarding the role museums play and the contribution they make both to individuals and to the social and economic development.
Time to Listen
Authors: Jennings Gretchen 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTThis article is a reflection on two aspects of the exhibition development process that are important but elusive. One is a habit of listening, and the other is the importance of allowing time for listening—to advisers, visitors, and other members of the exhibition team. The team that developed the touring exhibition Invention at Play used visitor research throughout the process of exhibition development to explore the links between the work of inventors and familiar human activities such as exploration, imagination, and play. The exhibition won an award of excellence at the AAM convention in Portland, Oregon in 2003. It was used as a case study on integrating accessibility into exhibition planning and design at an international conference, ADA Coordinators and Accessibility Managers in the Cultural Arts, sponsored by the Kennedy Center in 2002.
Visitors' Long‐term Memories of World Expositions
Authors: Anderson David 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTThis article reports on the outcomes of a study that investigated the nature and character of visitors' long‐term memories associated with their experiences at large‐scale exhibitions. The study investigated themes that characterized visitors' memories of two global exhibitions: World Expo 86, hosted in Vancouver, Canada in 1986; and World Expo 88, hosted in Brisbane, Australia in 1988. There are a few studies in the literature that have considered long‐term memories associated with visits to informal learning environments, but no studies to date that have considered the impact and long‐term memories associated with large‐scale exhibitions such as world expositions. This study probed the long‐term memories of a total of 50 visitors who attended either Expo 86 or Expo 88, through in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews. Analysis of the interview data suggests that the key themes in memories of these events center on the social dimensions of visitors' experiences, visitors' recalled agendas at the time of the experience, and the socio‐cultural identities of visitors at the time of the experience.
How Families Use Questions at Dioramas: Ideas for Exhibit Design
Authors: Ash Doris 
Published: January 2010

AbstractThis paper explores the role of questioning in scientific meaning‐making as families talk, look and gesture in front of realistic and artful dioramas at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The focus is on the ways questioning can either enable movement towards scientific understanding or hinder such progress. The socio‐cultural framework of this research emphasizes Vygotsky's interpretation of the zone of proximal development (zpd). Questions are viewed as tools for mediation in the zpd. This paper examines three families' dialogues, excerpted from a larger study of collaborative sense‐making among family groups in a natural history museum. It seeks to understand how collaborative dialogue meshes everyday understandings with canonical science, in this case through the use of questions.
From Living to Virtual: Learning from Museum Objects
Authors: Eberbach Catherine , Crowley Kevin 
Published: January 2010

ABSTRACTInteractive museum exhibits have increasingly placed replicated and virtual objects alongside exhibited authentic objects. Yet little is known about how these three categories of objects impact learning. This study of family learning in a botanical garden specifically focuses on how 12 parent‐child family units used explanations as they engaged with three plant types: living, model, and virtual. Family conversations were videotaped, transcribed, and coded. Findings suggested that: 1) explanations of biological processes were more frequent than other types; 2) model and virtual plants supported more process explanations than did the living plants; 3) the model plant supported more references to school than did the living and virtual plants; and 4) the living plant supported more references to everyday experiences than did the virtual plant.
The form of the Cairngorm Granite Pluton
Authors: Harry W. T. 
Published: January 2010

Synopsis
The Cairngorm Granite mass appears to be a discordant stock-like intrusion. It comprises at least two important units, the Main Granite, which is largely a more or less even-grained microcline-oligoclase-biotite granite, and the Porphyritic Granite generally distinguished by conspicuous felspar phenocrysts. Contacts between these two units are steep, like the external boundaries of the entire granite mass.