bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Microsatellite markers for Duperrea pavettifolia (Rubiaceae)
Authors: Lin Hua , Gao Jiangyun , Zhang Zhirong , Fan Xuli , Zhou Xiang 
Published: July 2012

• Premise of the study: The development of microsatellite primers for Duperrea pavettifolia will be the foundation for mating system analysis and conservation research.• Methods and Results: Nineteen microsatellite markers were developed and characterized in two wild populations by using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining repeats (FIASCO) protocol. Polymorphisms were evaluated in 24 individuals from two natural populations. Eleven of these primers generated polymorphic loci.• Conclusions: These microsatellite markers will be useful in future investigations into the population genetics and mating system of D. pavettifolia.
Microsatellites for Tetracentron sinense (Trochodendraceae), a Tertiary relict endemic to East Asia
Authors: Yang Zhengyan , Lu Ranran , Tao Chengcheng , Chen Shaotian , Ji Yunheng 
Published: July 2012

• Premise of the study: Tetracentron sinense (Trochodendraceae) is a Tertiary relict endemic to East Asia. Microsatellite markers were developed and characterized to investigate the population genetics of the species.• Methods and Results: Microsatellite markers were isolated from the genome of T. sinense using the protocol of Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining repeats (FIASCO). Eight polymorphic microsatellite markers were assessed in 44 samples collected from three wild populations. The number of alleles observed for each locus ranged from two to five. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.0000 to 0.9375 and 0.0000 to 0.7681, respectively.• Conclusions: The microsatellite markers will be helpful in further studies of the population genetics and phylogeography of T. sinense.
Microsatellite markers for the endangered root holoparasite Dactylanthus taylorii (Balanophoraceae) from 454 pyrosequencing
Authors: McLay Todd G. B. , Tate Jennifer A. , Symonds V. Vaughan 
Published: July 2012

• Premise of the study: Microsatellite loci were isolated and developed as polymorphic markers for the New Zealand endemic root holoparasite Dactylanthus taylorii for use in population and conservation genetics studies.• Methods and Results: Shotgun 454 pyrosequencing was performed on genomic DNA pooled from three individuals of D. taylorii. From 61709 individual sequence reads, primers for 753 microsatellite loci were developed in silico and 72 of these were tested for consistent amplification and variability. Ten microsatellite loci were found to be polymorphic and consistently scorable when screened in 44 individuals from five geographically distant populations. The number of alleles per locus ranged from four to 16 with an average of 9.7, and average observed heterozygosity per locus was between 0.182 and 0.634.• Conclusions: These polymorphic microsatellite markers establish an important resource for ongoing conservation initiatives and planned population genetic studies of D. taylorii.
Variability in the parasitoid community associated with galls of Diplolepis variabilis (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae): a test of the distance decay hypothesis
Authors: Bannerman Jordan A. , Shorthouse Joseph D. , Pither Jason , Lalonde Robert G. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractGalls of Diplolepis variabilis (Bassett) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) on their host plant Rosa woodsii Lindley (Rosaceae) support a diverse community of parasitoid and inquiline wasps that exploit the gall inducer and the gall itself. Here, we studied quantitative variation in local structure of the gall community in the Okanagan Valley of southern British Columbia, Canada, from the United States border north, to test the hypothesis that dispersal limitation would generate a distance decay in gall community similarity. We also explored gall community richness in relation to latitude, as the northern range limit of the gall inducer occurs within our study area. We found that gall communities exhibited strikingly similar composition across the study region, with most of the major inquilines and parasitoids present across the gall's range. However, the increased richness of rare parasitoid taxa near the northern range limits of D. variabilis generated a marginally significant positive relationship between gall community richness and latitude. Overall, our study suggests that dispersal constraints do not influence the composition of the Diplolepis Geoffroy gall community at regional scales, and that gall communities offer useful models for studying the association between community structure and range limits.
B7-DC-Ig Enhances Vaccine Effect by a Novel Mechanism Dependent on PD-1 Expression Level on T Cell Subsets
Authors: Mkrtichyan Mikayel , Najjar Yana G. , Raulfs Estella C. , Liu Linda , Langerman Solomon , Guittard Geoffrey , Ozbun Laurent , Khleif Samir N. 
Published: July 2012

Abstract
Programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) is an important signaling molecule often involved in tumor-mediated suppression of activated immune cells. Binding of this receptor to its ligands, B7-H1 (PD-L1) and B7-DC (PD-L2), attenuates T cell activation, reduces IL-2 and IFN-γ secretion, decreases proliferation and cytotoxicity, and induces apoptosis. B7-DC-Ig is a recombinant protein that binds and targets PD-1. It is composed of an extracellular domain of murine B7-DC fused to the Fc portion of murine IgG2a. In this study, we demonstrate that B7-DC-Ig can enhance the therapeutic efficacy of vaccine when combined with cyclophosphamide. We show that this combination significantly enhances Ag-specific immune responses and leads to complete eradication of established tumors in 60% of mice and that this effect is CD8 dependent. We identified a novel mechanism by which B7-DC-Ig exerts its therapeutic effect that is distinctly different from direct blocking of the PD-L1–PD-1 interaction. In this study, we demonstrate that there are significant differences between levels and timing of surface PD-1 expression on different T cell subsets. We found that these differences play critical roles in anti-tumor immune effect exhibited by B7-DC-Ig through inhibiting proliferation of PD-1high CD4 T cells, leading to a significant decrease in the level of these cells, which are enriched for regulatory T cells, within the tumor. In addition, it also leads to a decrease in PD-1high CD8 T cells, tipping the balance toward nonexhausted functional PD-1low CD8 T cells. We believe that the PD-1 expression level on T cells is a crucial factor that needs to be considered when designing PD-1–targeting immune therapies.
Phospholipase Cγ2 Plays a Role in TCR Signal Transduction and T Cell Selection
Authors: Fu Guoping , Chen Yuhong , Schuman James , Wang Demin , Wen Renren 
Published: July 2012

Abstract
One of the important signaling events following TCR engagement is activation of phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ). PLCγ has two isoforms, PLCγ1 and PLCγ2. It is known that PLCγ1 is important for TCR signaling and TCR-mediated T cell selection and functions, whereas PLCγ2 is critical for BCR signal transduction and BCR-mediated B cell maturation and functions. In this study, we report that PLCγ2 was expressed in primary T cells, and became associated with linker for activated T cells and Src homology 2-domain containing leukocyte protein of 76 kDa and activated upon TCR stimulation. PLCγ1/PLCγ2 double-deficient T cells displayed further block from CD4 and CD8 double-positive to single-positive transition compared with PLCγ1 single-deficient T cells. TCR-mediated proliferation was further impaired in PLCγ1/PLCγ2 double-deficient T cells compared with PLCγ1 single-deficient T cells. TCR-mediated signal transduction, including Ca2+ mobilization and Erk activation, was further impaired in PLCγ1/PLCγ2 double-deficient relative to PLCγ1 single-deficient T cells. In addition, in HY TCR transgenic mouse model, thymic positive and negative selections were reduced in PLCγ1 heterozygous- and PLCγ2 homozygous-deficient (PLCγ1+/−PLCγ2−/−) relative to wild-type, PLCγ2 single-deficient (PLCγ2−/−), or PLCγ1 heterozygous-deficient (PLCγ1+/−) mice. Taken together, these data demonstrate that PLCγ2 participates in TCR signal transduction and plays a role in T cell selection.
Cutting Edge: Suppression of GM-CSF Expression in Murine and Human T Cells by IL-27
Authors: Young Andrew , Linehan Eimear , Hams Emily , O’Hara Hall Aisling C. , McClurg Angela , Johnston James A. , Hunter Christopher A. , Fallon Padraic G. , Fitzgerald Denise C. 
Published: July 2012

Abstract
GM-CSF is a potent proinflammatory cytokine that plays a pathogenic role in the CNS inflammatory disease experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. As IL-27 alleviates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, we hypothesized that IL-27 suppresses GM-CSF expression by T cells. We found that IL-27 suppressed GM-CSF expression in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in splenocyte and purified T cell cultures. IL-27 suppressed GM-CSF in Th1, but not Th17, cells. IL-27 also suppressed GM-CSF expression by human T cells in nonpolarized and Th1- but not Th17-polarized PBMC cultures. In vivo, IL-27p28 deficiency resulted in increased GM-CSF expression by CNS-infiltrating T cells during Toxoplasma gondii infection. Although in vitro suppression of GM-CSF by IL-27 was independent of IL-2 suppression, IL-10 upregulation, or SOCS3 signaling, we observed that IL-27–driven suppression of GM-CSF was STAT1 dependent. Our findings demonstrate that IL-27 is a robust negative regulator of GM-CSF expression in T cells, which likely inhibits T cell pathogenicity in CNS inflammation.
Antibodies Generated against Conserved Antigens Expressed by Bacteria and Allergen-Bearing Fungi Suppress Airway Disease
Authors: Kin Nicholas W. , Stefanov Emily K. , Dizon Brian L. P. , Kearney John F. 
Published: July 2012

Abstract
There has been a sharp rise in allergic asthma and asthma-related deaths in the developed world, in contrast to many childhood illnesses that have been reduced or eliminated. The hygiene hypothesis proposes that excessively sanitary conditions early in life result in autoimmune and allergic phenomena because of a failure of the immune system to receive proper microbial stimulation during development. We demonstrate that Abs generated against conserved bacterial polysaccharides are reactive with and dampen the immune response against chitin and Aspergillus fumigatus. A reduction in Ag uptake, cell influx, cell activation, and cytokine production occurred in the presence of anti-polysaccharide Abs, resulting in a striking decrease in the severity of allergic airway disease in mice. Overall, our results suggest that Ag exposure—derived from environmental sources, self-antigens, or vaccination—during the neonatal period has dramatic effects on the adult Ab response and modifies the development of allergic airway disease.
A Common Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in Endoplasmic Reticulum Aminopeptidase 2 Induces a Specificity Switch That Leads to Altered Antigen Processing
Authors: Evnouchidou Irini , Birtley James , Seregin Sergey , Papakyriakou Athanasios , Zervoudi Efthalia , Samiotaki Martina , Panayotou George , Giastas Petros , Petrakis Olivia , Georgiadis Dimitris , Amalfitano Andrea , Saridakis Emmanuel , Mavridis Irene M. , Stratikos Efstratios 
Published: July 2012

Abstract
Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases 1 and 2 (ERAP1 and ERAP2) cooperate to trim antigenic peptide precursors for loading onto MHC class I molecules and help regulate the adaptive immune response. Common coding single nucleotide polymorphisms in ERAP1 and ERAP2 have been linked with predisposition to human diseases ranging from viral and bacterial infections to autoimmunity and cancer. It has been hypothesized that altered Ag processing by these enzymes is a causal link to disease etiology, but the molecular mechanisms are obscure. We report in this article that the common ERAP2 single nucleotide polymorphism rs2549782 that codes for amino acid variation N392K leads to alterations in both the activity and the specificity of the enzyme. Specifically, the 392N allele excises hydrophobic N-terminal residues from epitope precursors up to 165-fold faster compared with the 392K allele, although both alleles are very similar in excising positively charged N-terminal amino acids. These effects are primarily due to changes in the catalytic turnover rate (kcat) and not in the affinity for the substrate. X-ray crystallographic analysis of the ERAP2 392K allele suggests that the polymorphism interferes with the stabilization of the N terminus of the peptide both directly and indirectly through interactions with key residues participating in catalysis. This specificity switch allows the 392N allele of ERAP2 to supplement ERAP1 activity for the removal of hydrophobic N-terminal residues. Our results provide mechanistic insight to the association of this ERAP2 polymorphism with disease and support the idea that polymorphic variation in Ag processing enzymes constitutes a component of immune response variability in humans.
HumanStreptococcus suisEndocarditis: Echocardiographic Features and Clinical Outcome
Authors: Pachirat Orathai , Taksinachanekit Suthep , Mootsikapun Piroon , Kerdsin Anusak 
Published: July 2012

BackgroundHuman Streptococcus suis endocarditis occurs infrequently and continues to be a serious illness with high mortality. However, knowledge of the echocardiographic features and clinical outcome of this disease remains unclear.MethodsOne hundred and fourteen patients were identified in a prospective study, and hospitalized at Queen Sirikit Heart Center and Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University. Echocardiography was routinely performed in all patients.ResultsBetween January 2010 and December 2011, three cases of S. suis endocarditis were diagnosed. All cases were male and aged 27-53 years. The most common risk factor for contracting S. suis infection was eating undercooked pork. Three patients presented with congestive heart failure. Transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated large, highly mobile vegetations and severe valvular damage. Aortic valve involvement was documented in two patients, and mitral valve involvement in one. One patient presented with embolic stroke and one with arterial occlusion. All patients underwent urgent valve replacement with a good clinical outcome.ConclusionThe echocardiographic features of S. suis endocarditis show destructive, extensive valvular damage and early embolization with a fulminant course, needing early surgical intervention with a good clinical outcome.
The UN Global Compact: The Challenge and the Promise
Authors: Williams Oliver F. 
Published: July 2012

Abstract:The UN Global Compact is a voluntary initiative designed to help fashion a more humane world by enlisting business to follow ten principles concerning human rights, labor, the environment, and corruption. Although the four-year-old Compact is a relatively successful initiative, having signed up over eleven hundred companies and more than two hundred of the large multinationals, and having begun some important projects on globalization issues, there is a serious problem in that very few of the major U.S. companies have joined. While the premier U.S. companies are interested in meeting the legitimate expectations of society, there is concern centering around accountability issues. The accountability issues are in four major areas: 1. Accountability showing that the globalization of the economy actually helps the poor. 2. Accountability showing the corporate performance matches rhetoric. 3. Accountability that provides legitimacy to a two-tier pricing system and other measures that are designed to assist the poor in developing countries. 4. Accountability in the human rights area; what societal expectations are multinational companies accountable for? The article outlines the problems that the Compact brings to the fore and offers some insight from the ethical literature that may address U.S. company concerns or provide new ways of thinking about the issues. It further argues that the forum provided by the Compact may be the most effective means to gain consensus of the role of business in society.
Intellectual Property Battles in a Technological Global Economy: A Just War Analysis
Authors: Schmidt David P. 
Published: July 2012

Abstract:War has broken out in the technological global economy, principally in battles over intellectual property. A particularly fierce aspect of this battle sets people who guard proprietary software against hackers, who want information to be free. The key challenge today is to produce an adequate conceptual lens for seeing what ethically is at stake in this battle. Toward this end, this paper uses the just war tradition to analyze differences between proponents of Free Software and proponents of Open Source Software. This paper’s use of three just war criteria—Just Cause, Right Intention, and Discrimination—illustrates how the just war tradition can raise the level of ethical awareness about the intellectual property wars that continue to rage in the technological global economy.The division between the two [open source and free software] is often bitterly contested, both from inside and outside the communities. The holiest of holy wars are not fought over word processors, operating systems, or compilers. They are all about software licenses.—Joe Barr
TheDangoTango: Why Corruption Blocks Real Reform in Japan
Authors: Black William K. 
Published: July 2012

Japan’s economy has stagnated since the bursting of the twin real estate and stock bubbles in 1990. Construction employment rose after the bubbles burst despite a real estate glut.Systemic corruption is delaying recovery. The key is thedango—Japan’s system of bid rigging, which is pervasive in public construction. The firms rotate who will win the “competitive” bid. The bureaucrats leak the highest price bid that will be accepted in return for favors from the industry and lucrative sinecures when they retire (amakudari—”descent from heaven”). The ruling politicians (the “construction tribes”) get kickbacks and ensure the adoption of enormous public construction programs.The result is that Japanese public and private capital flows are corruptly routed to uses that are not simply inefficient, but outright harmful to society. Pervasive corruption is the primary obstacle to Japanese economic (and environmental) health and political reform.
The Development of International Business Norms
Authors: Windsor Duane 
Published: July 2012

Abstract:International business norms do not exist. Content and development of such norms is a significant research question for business ethics scholarship. Any norms must address difficult practical and moral problems facing multinational enterprises. The author’s thesis is as follows. A key circumstance is that international relations remain a Hobbesian state of nature. The theoretical solution of a global sovereignty for norm formulation and enforcement is unlikely. The business ethics literature proposes other insightful but theoretical and conflicting solutions to abstract wealth-responsibility and universalism-relativism controversies. Theoretical convergence seems unlikely. Evolution of multiple international policy regimes fragmented by policy arena is more probable. Regimes will typically be neither morals by agreement nor a morality of the marketplace. Regime development can occur in various other ways. Moral leadership, by firms, stakeholders, nongovernmental organizations or governments, can be a vital force. Formal ethical theories can inform and guide such leadership initiatives. This process perspective is applied to several recent case examples cited here as supporting evidence: anti-corruption, labor, environmental, human rights, and fiduciary responsibility initiatives.
Experimental Evidence Relating to the Person-Situation Interactionist Model of Ethical Decision Making
Authors: Church Bryan , Gaa James C. , Khalid Nainar S. M. , Shehata Mohamed M. 
Published: July 2012

Abstract:According to a widely credited model in the business ethics literature, ethical decisions are a function of two kinds of factors, personal (individual) and situational, and these factors interact with each other. According to a contrary view of decision making that is widely held in some areas of business research, individuals’ decisions about ethical issues (and subsequent actions) are purely a function of their self-interest.The laboratory experiment reported in this paper provides a test of the person-situation interactionist model, using the general theoretical and experimental framework used in the experimental economics literature. One individual and two situational factors relating to moral intensity were examined which may influence decisions to misrepresent information in the course of business activities.The individual and one situational variable were significantly related to participants’ actions. The interactions among individual and situation variables were not individually significant, although the model including interactions had a much higher level of statistical significance. Gender was significant, both directly and in interaction with moral development, suggesting that it may be worthy of further examination.
On the Relevance of Political Philosophy to Business Ethics
Authors: Moriarty Jeffrey 
Published: July 2012

Abstract:The central problems of political philosophy (e.g., legitimate authority, distributive justice) mirror the central problems of business ethics. The question naturally arises: should political theories be applied to problems in business ethics? If a version of egalitarianism is the correct theory of justice for states, for example, does it follow that it is the correct theory of justice for businesses? If states should be democratically governed by their citizens, should businesses be democratically managed by their employees? Most theorists who have considered these questions, including John Rawls inPolitical Liberalism, and Robert Phillips and Joshua Margolis in a 1999 article, have said “no.” They claim that states and businesses are different kinds of entities, and hence require different theories of justice. I challenge this claim. While businesses differ from states, the difference is one of degree, not one of kind. Business ethics has much to learn from political philosophy.
Intellectual Property Rights, Moral Imagination, and Access to Life-Enhancing Drugs
Authors: Werhane Patricia H. , Gorman Michael 
Published: July 2012

Abstract:Although the idea of intellectual property (IP) rights—proprietary rights to what one invents, writes, paints, composes or creates—is firmly embedded in Western thinking, these rights are now being challenged across the globe in a number of areas. This paper will focus on one of these challenges: government-sanctioned copying of patented drugs without permission or license of the patent owner in the name of national security, in health emergencies, or life-threatening epidemics. After discussing standard rights-based and utilitarian arguments defending intellectual property we will present another model. IP is almost always a result of a long history of scientific or technological development and numbers of networks of creativity, not the act of a single person or a group of people at one moment in time. Thus thinking about and evaluating IP requires thinking about IP as shared rights. A network approach to IP challenges a traditional model of IP. It follows that the owner of those rights has some obligations to share that information or its outcomes. If that conclusion is applied to the distribution of antiretroviral drugs, what pharmaceutical companies are ethically required to do to increase access to these medicines in the developing world will have to be reanalyzed from a more systemic perspective.