bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Relationship of kinds of seed dormancy with habitat and life history in theSouthernKalahari flora
Authors: Kos Martijn , Baskin Carol C. , Baskin Jerry M. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractQuestionsIs kind of seed dormancy important in environmental filtering at the local scale? Are there differences among kinds of seed dormancy in life‐history traits like seed mass and adult life span?LocationSouthern Kalahari (Botswana,Namibia andSouthAfrica).MethodsUsing mainly literature data, we determined kind of dormancy for each species in the SouthernKalahari flora and combined this data set with data on seed mass, life form and soil texture. Soil sand content was used as an environmental gradient because the risks associated with seedling establishment increase with soil sand content and would favour seed dormancy as a bet‐hedging strategy. Also, the rapid descent of water in very sandy soils may exclude species with morphological (MD) or morphophysiological (MPD) dormancy that require relatively long moist periods for dormancy breaking. Multinomial logistic regression and phylogenetically independent contrasts were applied to determine relationships of kind of dormancy with life‐history variables and soil texture.ResultsThe proportion of species with some kind of seed dormancy was not correlated with soil sand content. However, the proportion of species withMDorMPDdecreased with increasing sand content, and proportion of species with some kind of dormancy decreased with increasing seed mass and life span. Life form and seed mass, but not soil sand content, had significant effects in a multinomial regression model predicting the presence of kind of dormancy. With increasing seed mass, the probability of a species having physical dormancy (PY) increased relative to the probability of having physiological dormancy (PD). With an increase in life span, the probability of a species lacking dormancy increased relative to the probability of havingPD.ConclusionsWe found little evidence that kind of seed dormancy plays a direct role in environmental filtering. Our results suggest that traits related to dormancy do not evolve independently and are part of a syndrome of co‐adapted plant traits.
CcpA forms complexes with CodY and RpoA in Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Wünsche Andrea , Hammer Elke , Bartholomae Maike , Völker Uwe , Burkovski Andreas , Seidel Gerald , Hillen Wolfgang 
Published: April 2012

The Bacillus subtilis catabolite control protein A (CcpA) is a global transcriptional regulator that is controlled by interactions with the phosphoproteins histidine‐containing protein (HPr)Ser46P and the catabolite responsive HPr (Crh)Ser46P and with low molecular weight effectors, depending on the availability of preferred carbon sources such as glucose. Distinct point mutations in CcpA abolish the regulation of some but not all target genes, suggesting additional interactions of CcpA. Therefore, in vivo crosslinking and MS were applied to identify CcpA complexes active in repression and activation. To compensate for an excess of promoters only repressed by CcpA, this experiment was accomplished with cells using multiple copies of the activated ackA promoter. Among the identified proteins HPr, RNA polymerase subunits and the global regulator transcriptional pleiotropic repressor (CodY) were observed. Bacterial two‐hybrid assays combining each RNA polymerase subunit with CcpA localized CcpA binding at the α‐subunit of the RNA polymerase (RpoA). In vivo crosslinking combined with immunoblot analyses revealed CcpA–RpoA complexes in cultures with or without glucose, whereas CcpA–HPr and CcpA–CodY complexes occurred only or predominantly in cultures with glucose. Surface plasmon resonance analyses confirmed the binding of CcpA to the N‐terminal domain (αNTD) and C‐terminal domain (αCTD) of RpoA, as well as to CodY. Furthermore, interactions of CodY with the αNTD and the αCTD were detected by surface plasmon resonance. The KD values of complexes of CcpA or CodY with the αNTD or the αCTD are in the range 5–8 μm. CcpA and CodY form a loose complex with a KD of 60 μm. These data were combined to propose a model for a transcription initiation complex at the ackA promoter.Structured digital abstract
A list of the large number of protein‐protein interactions described in this article is available via the MINT article ID MINT‐8367262
Adoption of Agri‐environmental Programmes in Swiss Crop Production  L’adoption des programmes agroenvironnementaux dans les grandes cultures suisses  Die Adoption von Agrarumweltprogrammen in der Schweizer Getreideproduktion
Authors: Finger Robert , Lehmann Bernard 
Published: April 2012

summaryAdoption of Agri‐environmental Programmes in Swiss Crop ProductionWe analyse the adoption of agri‐environmental programmes, i.e. extensive and organic crop production, in Switzerland for the years 2008 and 2009. While extensive crop production is adopted by about 60 per cent of all eligible farms, the adoption of organic crop production is very limited. Using logistic regressions we find that farms located in adverse production conditions (e.g. at higher altitudes) are more likely to be adopters of extensive crop production. Moreover, our results show that the probability of adopting organic production decreases with increasing specialisation in crop production. We find that organic producers tend to be slightly younger and better educated than other farmers. However, no differences in farmers’ age and education are found between non‐adopters and extensive crop producers. This shows that, in general, the non‐adoption of agri‐environmental programmes in Switzerland is not primarily an educational problem. Moreover, we find that land tenure has no influence on the adoption of agri‐environmental crop production schemes. Thus, large shares of rented land do not limit the adoption of agri‐environmental programmes. In order to increase the adoption rates of extensive and organic production, particularly in non‐adverse production conditions, site‐ and region‐specific levels of ecological direct payments could be used.
Challenges in the Global Agri‐Food Sector: A Consultant’s Perspective on ‘Big Picture’ Issues  Les défis pour le secteur agroalimentaire mondial : le point de vue d’un consultant sur les grandes questions  Herausforderungen in der globalen Agrar‐ und Ernährungswirtschaft: Ansichten eines Unternehmensberaters mit Blick auf das große Ganze
Authors: Giles John 
Published: April 2012

summaryChallenges in the Global Agri‐Food Sector:A Consultant’s Perspective on ‘Big Picture’ IssuesThe UK and international agri‐food supply chain is going through an extraordinary period of change. The impact of the global economic recession and the ongoing growth of world population and incomes, especially in the emerging markets of the BRICs and N–11 countries, along with unusual climatic and production conditions have all combined to create the so‐called ‘perfect storm’. Many reports tell us why we have reached this situation; but fewer focus on what we need to do in order to meet the challenges and how the well informed, bold and brave companies might take advantage of the opportunities. For farmers, we have often given the advice of ‘farm a bit bigger, buy a bit sharper and sell a bit higher’. It sounds simple but I am not sure that the current situation changes this very much. For food companies our advice has often been, ‘find, get in and stay in an identified chain’. Again in this fast changing environment, being outside a recognised supply chain is a risky place to be. And there are a host of other factors to take into account. As consultants, our biggest challenge is providing advice on what to do, rather just explaining what has happened and why.
The Festivals Trial Protocol: A Randomized Evaluation of the Efficacy of Functional Strength Training on Enhancing Walking and Upper Limb Function Later Post Stroke
Authors: Mares Kathryn , Cross Jane , Clark Allan , Barton Garry R. , Poland Fiona , O'Driscoll Marie-Luce , Watson Martin J. , McGlashan Kate , Myint Phyo K. , Pomeroy Valerie M. 
Published: April 2012

Rationale Functional Strength Training may enhance motor function of people who are more than six months post stroke. Aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy of enhancing upper and lower limb motor function with FST to explore participants' views (expectations and experiences) of FST, and to determine what cost-effectiveness data to collect in a subsequent Phase III trial. Design Randomized, observer-blind trial with embedded qualitative investigation of participants' views of FST ( n = 6, purposive sampling). Study Participants ( n = 58), six months to five years after stroke with difficulty using their paretic upper (UL) and lower limbs (LL) for everyday functional activity. All will be randomized to either FST-UL or FST-LL delivered in their own homes for fours days each week for six weeks. FST involves repetitive progressive resisted exercise during goal directed functional activities. The therapist's main input is to provide verbal prompting and feedback. Outcomes Measures will be undertaken before randomization (baseline), after the six-week intervention (outcome) and six weeks thereafter (follow-up). Primary outcomes for clinical efficacy will be the Functional Ambulation Categories (FAC) and the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT). Clinical efficacy analysis will use the proportional odds model for FAC and a Mann-Whitney test for ARAT. Participants' views of FST will be explored at baseline and outcome through audio-taped, semi-structured, narrative approach, interviews. The analytic process for interviews will sort transcribed data thematically and seek categories to inform conceptualization (theory-building). A purpose-designed cost questionnaire will identify what cost resource items are likely to be affected by FST.
Regulatory mobilization and service delivery at the edge of the regulatory state
Authors: Chng Nai Rui 
Published: April 2012

AbstractWhere there is weak state capacity to carry out regulatory, redistributional, and developmental functions characterizing much of the developing world, the role of governance and service delivery is also performed by a myriad of private actors. Institutional reform in the utility sector in developing countries has often failed to distinguish between social and economic regulation. I show how private actors like NGOs and local community groups undertake what I term “regulatory mobilization” to influence the new rules of the service delivery game, as well as to deliver much‐needed basic services to urban poor communities. Based on extensive fieldwork carried out in the Philippines, this article reveals and explains the politics of the informal sector at the edge of the regulatory state. More than a decade since the privatization of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System in Metro Manila in 1997, water access for the urban poor remained limited as privatized water utilities faced difficulties in extending service provision. In the context of an unpredictable regulatory landscape and an oligarchic patrimonial state, unexpected collective action by organized urban poor communities and NGOs has taken place around water as a subsistence right. Combining hybrid mobilizations to obtain water as well as influencing the rules governing their provision, these forms of regulatory mobilization appear to be peripheral and episodic. However, depending on how local and sectoral politics are conflated, such regulatory mobilization may sometimes not only result in obtaining subsistence goods, but may also occasionally project countervailing power in the policy sector, and influence formal regulatory frameworks in surprising ways.
Mindfulness Training and Teachers' Professional Development: An Emerging Area of Research and Practice
Authors: Roeser Robert W. , Skinner Ellen , Beers Jeffry , Jennings Patricia A. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis article focuses on how mindfulness training (MT) programs for teachers, by cultivating mindfulness and its application to stress management and the social‐emotional demands of teaching, represent emerging forms of teacher professional development (PD) aimed at improving teaching in public schools. MT is hypothesized to promote teachers' “habits of mind,” and thereby their occupational health, well‐being, and capacities to create and sustain both supportive relationships with students and classroom climates conducive to student engagement and learning. After defining mindfulness and its potential applications in teacher education and PD, this article discusses emerging MT programs for teachers, a logic model outlining potential MT program effects in educational settings, and directions for future research.
Predicting efficacy of dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes: Association of glycated hemoglobin reduction with serum eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid levels
Authors: Iwasaki Masahiro , Hoshian Fuminori , Tsuji Tomoko , Hirose Naoki , Matsumoto Tomoko , Kitatani Naomi , Sugawara Kenji , Usui Ryota , Kuwata Hitoshi , Sugizaki Kazu , Kitamoto Yuka , Fujiwara Shuichi , Watanabe Koin , Hyo Takanori , Kurose Takeshi , Seino Yutaka , Yabe Daisuke 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis study was initiated to identify clinical and dietary parameters that predict efficacy of dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitors. A total of 72 untreated Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes who received DPP‐4 inhibitors (sitagliptin, alogliptin or vildagliptin) for 4 months were examined for changes of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and body mass index (BMI), and self‐administered 3‐day food records, as well as serum levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DPP‐4 inhibitors significantly reduced HbA1c (before initiation of DPP‐4 inhibitors 7.2 ± 0.7%, 4 months after initiation of DPP‐4 inhibitors 6.7 ± 0.6% [paired t‐test, P < 0.01 vs before]). Multiple regression analysis showed that changes of HbA1c were significantly correlated with baseline HbA1c, as well as estimated intake of fish. Furthermore, changes of HbA1c were significantly correlated with serum levels of EPA (r = −0.624, P < 0.01) and DHA (r = −0.577, P < 0.01). HbA1c reduction by DPP‐4 inhibitors is significantly correlated with estimated intake of fish and serum levels of EPA and DHA. (J Diabetes Invest, doi: 10.1111/j.2040‐1124.2012.00214.x, 2012)
Associations between aggressive behaviour scores and cardiovascular risk factors in childhood
Authors: Louise S. , Warrington N. M. , McCaskie P. A. , Oddy W. H. , Zubrick S. R. , Hands B. , Mori T. A. , Briollais L. , Silburn S. , Palmer L. J. , Mattes E. , Beilin L. J. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryObjectiveTo examine the influence of aggressive behaviour scores on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors throughout childhood.MethodsThis study utilized cross‐sectional and longitudinal data from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study (n = 2900). Aggressive behaviour scores were derived from the Child Behavior Checklist/4–18(CBCL), Youth Self‐Report/11–18 (YSR) and Teacher Report Form/6–18 (TRF). CVD risk factors included body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting lipids and homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR).ResultsGirls with higher aggressive behaviour scores had higher BMI from 10 years of age (P ≤ 0.001), higher BMI trajectories throughout childhood (P = 0.0003) and at 14 years higher HOMA‐IR (P = 0.008). At the 14‐year survey, this equated to a difference of 1.7 kg/m2 in the predicted BMI between the extreme CBCL scores in girls (top 5% (CBCL ≥ 17) vs. CBCL score = 0). Boys with higher aggressive behaviour scores had higher BMI at 5 years (P = 0.002), lower diastolic pressure at 14 years (P = 0.002) and lower systolic blood pressure trajectories throughout childhood (P = 0.016).ConclusionAggressive behaviour influences BMI from early childhood in girls but not boys. If this association is causal, childhood offers the opportunity for early behavioural intervention for obesity prevention.
Design and evaluation of a hybrid photoacoustic tomography and diffuse optical tomography system for breast cancer detection
Authors: Xi Lei , Li Xiaoqi , Yao Lei , Grobmyer Stephen , Jiang Huabei 
Published: April 2012

Purpose: The authors present the design and evaluation of a second‐generation (G2) hybrid photoacoustic tomography (PAT) and diffuse optical tomography (DOT) imaging system for detection of breast cancer. The combined PAT/DOT system takes full advantages of two different modalities to provide complementary information and most accurate recovery of tissue optical properties.Methods: This system was designed to produce cross‐section images of breast tissue with a ring‐shaped home‐made array of 64 wideband acoustic transducers combined with an array of 16/16 source/detector optical fiber bundles. A scanning light delivery system was built to illuminate a large area of breast tissue for optimized tissue penetration. Finite element reconstruction methods for quantitative PAT and DOT were utilized to recover absorption and scattering coefficients of tissue‐mimicking phantoms andex vivo tumor tissue.Results: Performances of the acoustic transducer array and the PAT/DOT system were investigated in detail. Frequency response of the transducers is from 380 kHz to 1.48 MHz and maximum frequency response is up to 2 MHz. Directivity of a single element in the array is ±30°. The PAT/DOT system offers a spatial resolution of ∼0.5 mm for PAT and of ∼4.0 mm for DOT. Quantitatively accurate absorption and scattering coefficients were obtained from both the phantom andex vivo experiments.Conclusions: The PAT/DOT system provided better PAT images when the targets were smaller in size and located near the center of the background phantom, while better DOT images were obtained when the targets were larger in size and located away from the center of the background. The successful results obtained from both the phantom andex vivo experiments will allow us to test the hybrid system in humans with breast cancer in the near future.
The NorR Regulon Is Critical for Vibrio cholerae Resistance to Nitric Oxide and Sustained Colonization of the Intestines
Authors: Stern Andrew M. , Hay Amanda J. , Liu Zhi , Desland Fiona A. , Zhang Juan , Zhong Zengtao , Zhu Jun 
Published: April 2012

ABSTRACT

Vibrio cholerae
, the cause of an often fatal infectious diarrhea, remains a large global public health threat. Little is known about the challenges
V. cholerae
encounters during colonization of the intestines, which genes are important for overcoming these challenges, and how these genes are regulated. In this study, we examined the
V. cholerae
response to nitric oxide (NO), an antibacterial molecule derived during infection from various sources, including host inducible NO synthase (iNOS). We demonstrate that the regulatory protein NorR regulates the expression of NO detoxification genes
hmpA
and
nnrS
, and that all three are critical for resisting low levels of NO stress under microaerobic conditions
in vitro
. We also show that
prxA
, a gene previously thought to be important for NO detoxification, plays no role in NO resistance under microaerobic conditions and is upregulated by H
2
O
2
, not NO. Furthermore, in an adult mouse model of prolonged colonization,
hmpA
and
norR
were important for the resistance of both iNOS- and non-iNOS-derived stresses. Our data demonstrate that NO detoxification systems play a critical role in the survival of
V. cholerae
under microaerobic conditions resembling those of an infectious setting and during colonization of the intestines over time periods similar to that of an actual
V. cholerae
infection.

IMPORTANCE
Little is known about what environmental stresses
Vibrio cholerae
, the etiologic agent of cholera, encounters during infection, and even less is known about how
V. cholerae
senses and counters these stresses. Most prior studies of
V. cholerae
infection relied on the 24-h infant mouse model, which does not allow the analysis of survival over time periods comparable to that of an actual
V. cholerae
infection. In this study, we used a sustained mouse colonization model to identify nitric oxide resistance as a function critical for the survival of
V. cholerae
in the intestines and further identified the genes responsible for sensing and detoxifying this stress.
Adipokines Linking Obesity with Colorectal Cancer Risk in Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Ho Gloria Y.F. , Wang Tao , Gunter Marc J. , Strickler Howard D. , Cushman Mary , Kaplan Robert C. , Wassertheil-Smoller Sylvia , Xue Xiaonan , Rajpathak Swapnil N. , Chlebowski Rowan T. , Vitolins Mara Z. , Scherer Philipp E. , Rohan Thomas E. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
Mechanistic associations between obesity and colorectal cancer remain unclear. In this study, we investigated whether adipokines are risk factors for colorectal cancer and whether they may mediate its association with obesity. In a case–cohort study nested within the Women's Health Initiative cohort of postmenopausal women, baseline plasma samples from 457 colorectal cancer cases and 841 subcohort subjects were assayed for seven adipokines—adiponectin, leptin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), resistin, hepatocyte growth factor, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and TNF-α. Serum insulin and estradiol values measured previously were also available for data analysis. After adjusting for age, race, smoking, colonoscopy history, and estrogen level, a low level of anti-inflammatory adiponectin and high levels of proinflammatory leptin, PAI-1, and IL-6 were associated with increased colorectal cancer risk, though only leptin remained significant after further adjustment for insulin [HRs comparing extreme quartiles (HRQ4–Q1), 1.84; 95% CI, 1.17–2.90]. Mediation analyses showed that leptin and insulin partially explained the association between waist circumference and colorectal cancer and attenuated it by 25% and 37%, respectively, with insulin being a significant mediator (P = 0.041). Our findings support the conclusion that adipokines involved in inflammation are associated with colorectal cancer risk, but that their effects may be mediated mostly by insulin, with leptin exerting an independent effect. Hyperinsulinemia and hyperleptinemia may therefore partially explain the adiposity association with colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women. Cancer Res; 72(12); 3029–37. ©2012 AACR.