bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
AmrZ Beta-Sheet Residues Are Essential for DNA Binding and Transcriptional Control of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Virulence Genes
Authors: Waligora Elizabeth A. , Ramsey Deborah M. , Pryor Edward E. , Lu Haiping , Hollis Thomas , Sloan Gina P. , Deora Rajendar , Wozniak Daniel J. 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT

AmrZ is a putative ribbon-helix-helix (RHH) transcriptional regulator. RHH proteins utilize residues within the β-sheet for DNA binding, while the α-helices promote oligomerization. AmrZ is of interest due to its dual roles as a transcriptional activator and as a repressor, regulating genes encoding virulence factors associated with both chronic and acute
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
infection. In this study, cross-linking revealed that AmrZ forms oligomers in solution but that the amino terminus, containing an unordered region and a β-sheet, were not required for oligomerization. The first 12 unordered residues (extended amino terminus) contributed minimally to DNA binding. Mutagenesis of the AmrZ β-sheet demonstrated that residues 18, 20, and 22 were essential for DNA binding at both activation and repressor sites, suggesting that AmrZ utilizes a similar mechanism for binding to these sites. Mice infected with
amrZ
mutants exhibited reduced bacterial burden, morbidity, and mortality. Direct
in vivo
competition assays showed a 5-fold competitive advantage for the wild type over an isogenic
amrZ
mutant. Finally, the reduced infection phenotype of the
amrZ
-null strain was similar to that of a strain expressing a DNA-binding-deficient AmrZ variant, indicating that DNA binding and transcriptional regulation by AmrZ is responsible for the
in vivo
virulence defect. These recent infection data, along with previously identified AmrZ-regulated virulence factors, suggest the necessity of AmrZ transcriptional regulation for optimal virulence during acute infection.
Identification, Source, and Metabolism of
N
-Ethylglutamate in
Escherichia coli
Authors: White Robert H. 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT

N
-Ethylglutamate (NEG) was detected in
Escherichia coli
BL21 cells grown on LB broth, and it was found to occur at a concentration of ∼4 mM in these cells under these conditions. The same cells grown on M9 glucose medium contained no detectable amount of NEG. Analysis of the LB broth showed the presence of NEG, a compound never before reported as a natural product. Isotope dilution analysis showed that it occurred at a concentration of 160 μM in LB broth. Analyses of yeast extract and tryptone, the organic components of LB broth, both showed the presence NEG. It was demonstrated that NEG can be generated during the autolysis of the yeast used in the preparation of the yeast extract. Growth of these
E. coli
cells in LB broth prepared in deuterated water showed no incorporation of deuterium into NEG, demonstrating that
E. coli
cells did not generate the NEG. Cell growth rates were not affected by the addition of 5 mM NEG to either LB or M9 glucose medium.
l
-[
ethyl
-
2
H
4
]NEG was found to be readily incorporated into the cells and metabolized by the cells. From these results, it was concluded that all of the NEG present in the cells was taken up from the medium. NEG could serve as the sole nitrogen source for
E. coli
when grown on M9 glucose medium in the presence of glucose but could not serve as the sole carbon source on M9 medium in the absence of glucose.
Ex uno homine tota haec animarum redundantia. Ursprung, Entstehung und Weitergabe der individuellen Seele nach Tertullian
Authors: Kitzler Petr 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to examine Tertullian’s opinions on the origin, beginning and transmission of the human soul. These opinions cannot be considered as representing a coherent and systematic doctrine which is evidenced not only by some inner inconsequences and contradictions but also by the fact that Tertullian’s reasoning is to a great extent motivated by the efforts to refute the arguments of his opponents. The core of Tertullian’s “doctrine”—the distinction between the Spirit of God (spiritus) and his breath ( flatus), the latter being the very substance of the human soul, transmitted by the act of procreation and deriving, ultimately, from the original soul of Adam (traducianism)—was intended by him as the main weapon against the alternative concepts of the soul as presented by Hermogenes and Marcion.
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Gospel of John in Egypt
Authors: Chapa Juan 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe numerous manuscripts of John among the earliest Christian papyri have given rise to discussion and speculation. It has been suggested, on the grounds of an alleged preference for the Fourth Gospel among gnostics, that the high number of papyri of John compared to other gospels would favour Walter Bauer’s thesis of the ‘heterodox’ character of early Christian Egypt. The obscurity which veils the origins of the early Egyptian Church allows for conjectures of this kind. However, recent studies on the reception of the Fourth Gospel in the early Church and newly published papyri show that the abundance of early manuscripts of John is not necessarily indicative of the gnostic nature of early Christianity in Egypt. This paper attempts to shed additional light on the issue by comparing early papyri of John with other pieces of Christian evidence.
The Paradox of China’s Policy in Africa
Authors: Adem Seifudein 
Published: August 2010

AbstractIn many cases it was China’s longstanding solidarity with several liberation movements in Africa in the colonial period which was later upgraded to bilateral and state-level diplomatic relations in the postcolonial era. However, the twenty-first century has also brought about quantitative and potentially qualitative changes in Sino-African relations which are more complex than what the advocates of stronger Sino-African relations (Sino-optimists) and proponents of disengagement (Sino-pessimists) seem to suggest. The defining patterns of China’s influence in Africa are either not yet fully crystallized or they come in paradoxical pairs. The essay spells out the manifestations of these paradoxes and what can be done under the circumstances to improve the African condition. The divergent schools of thought about the possible impacts of China’s increased activities in Africa seem not to be totally unrelated to their underlying assumptions about the causes of Africa’s unsuccessful modernization. The essay also explores these intellectual issues by focusing on the contradictory dimensions of Afro-Chinese relations.
Regimes of Piety Revisited: Zaydī Political Moralities in Republican Yemen
Authors: vom Bruck Gabriele 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe gradual decline of Zaydī-Shī'ī Islam in Yemen occurred within contexts of state transformation over the past three centuries, culminating in the revolution of 1962 that abolished the imāmate. It has since lost its institutional framework and struggled to define its location in the newly established republic. The republic's commitment to an Islam which transcends the schools of law (madhāhib) has become part of Yemen's nationalist project and of the state's political agenda. At the intersection of nation-building and Saudi Arabia's assertion of its hegemony over the Arabian Peninsula, the Salafī da'wa—consonant with the teachings of the 18th/19th century scholar Muhammad al-Shawkānī—has twinned with Hanbalī-'Wahhābī' doctrine. The establishment of educational institutions and mosques propagating anti-Shī'ī schools of thought have provoked a Zaydī revival movement that gained momentum after Yemen's 'unification' in 1990. The movement has led to increased polarisation between the Zaydīs and the Salafīs, and demonstrated profound tensions among Zaydīs who subscribe to diverse political moralities. The article explores how categories of legitimisation have been modulated, and what recent Zaydī political activism reveals about the conflicting meanings people attach to 'being Zaydī'.
Sayyid Ni'mat Allāh al-Jazā'irī and his Anthologies: Anti-Sufism, Shi'ism and Jokes in the Safavid World
Authors: Rizvi Sajjad 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe paper examines an important Arabic anthology of literary material of mixed content, the al-Anwār al-nu'māniyya of Sayyid Ni'matullāh al-Jazā'irī (d. 1701) to ascertain its value as a source for intellectual and cultural history of the Safavid period. Al-Jazā'irī was a prominent transnational Shi'i intellectual who was born in the marshlands of Southern Iraq, a leading light of the Akhbārī movement of his time, and major scholar associated with the hadīth-based Shi'i revival of Mullā Muhammad Bāqir Majlisī (d. 1699). Literary anthologies are of critical importance for understanding, on the one hand, the anthropology of what it meant to be human as well as the wider contours of the cultural, literary and intellectual history of the Safavid period. They represent both a serious engagement and demonstration of literary excellence in the pre-modern and post-classical period, contrary to rather dated notions of the stagnation of the period. Three themes from the text are analysed: the nature of philosophy, attitudes towards Sufism and mysticism, and the formation of a Safavid Shi'i cultural identity that was reactive and anti-Sunni and articulated through jokes and light-hearted anecdotes.
Adriaan Schoonebeek's Etching Manual (1698): Edition, Translation, Comments
Authors: Stijnman Ad , Janssen Frans , Leeflang Huigen , Markus Adri 
Published: August 2010

AbstractOne of the many practitioners of trades and techniques engaged by Tsar Peter the Great during his visit to the Dutch Republic in 1697-8, was the Amsterdam printmaker Adriaan Schoonebeek (1661-1705). Within the framework of this appointment Schoonebeek wrote a concise manual of the technique of etching. This article presents an edition of this oldest complete Dutch etching manual, together with a modern English translation.
On the occurrence of a myxozoan parasite, Thelohanellus anilae sp. n. from a fresh water fish of India
Authors: Hemananda Thounaojam , Bandyopadhyay Probir , Mohilal Naorem , Mitra Amlan Kumar 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
A new species of the genus Thelohanellus Kudo, 1933 is described from the gills of Labeo rohita. Thelohanellus anilae sp. n. occurs in two morphometrically dissimilar forms which are described as microspore and macrospore of the same species.
Status Quo Camouflaged: Economic and Social Transformation of Egypt and Jordan
Authors: Saif Ibrahim , Choucair Farah 
Published: August 2010

AbstractExamining reforms in Egypt and Jordan, this article calls for rethinking the relationship between economic reform and governance. Conventional analyses of economic and governance reforms overlook the complex relationships between social, political and economic factors within a country that affect reform success. This is quite evident by contrasting the extensive literature praising the "successful" reform progress achieved by countries such as Jordan and Egypt with the failure to achieve significant institutional and legislative reforms that would lead to more effective governance, as well as persistent inequality. Both countries have achieved high GDP growth over the last decade; however, no new social or political forces have been drawn into a new social contract. Instead of reforms being transformative, a complex interplay between political and economic agents has sustained a status quo based on weak governance institutions. The paper suggests that this is the outcome of the international community's unwillingness to press real reforms, as well as cautious domestic elites. Consequently they maintain a Pareto Efficient balance, proclaiming reform while seeking to maintain political stability. The article aims not merely to provide evidence of a contradictory scenario of unsuccessful reforms, but rather to advocate for a more careful reading into governance indicators and deeper understanding of the context for governance reform in the Middle East.
Religion, Religiosity and the Place of Islam in Political Life: Insights from the Arab Barometer Surveys
Authors: Tessler Mark 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis paper explores the nature and determinants of attitudes toward the political role of Islam held by ordinary citizens in the Arab world. Based on results from nationally representative surveys carried out in seven Arab states during 2006-2007, it engages the pervasive debate about Islam and democracy—showing that the significant divide is not between those who favor democracy and those who favor Islam, but between those who favor secular democracy and those who favor a political system that is both democratic and Islamic in some meaningful way. Furthermore, this analysis finds that the civic values and predispositions of individuals who favor a political role for Islam are overwhelmingly similar to those of individuals who favor a separation of religion and politics. The paper also finds little consistency in the factors that incline individuals towards support for political Islam in the different countries surveyed. Most importantly, this analysis concludes that there is little or no incompatibility between Islam and democracy in the public mind and that a proper understanding of the reasons and ways that Muslim Arab publics think about governance and the political role of Islam is possible only if attention is paid to the particular political and societal contexts within which attitudes are formed.
States and Social Rights: Women's Economic Citizenship in the Maghreb
Authors: Moghadam Valentine 
Published: August 2010

AbstractHow has economic reform transformed states, societies, and state-society relations in the countries of the Maghreb (North Africa)? With a focus on Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, the paper identifies new actors, opportunities, and challenges observed in the Maghreb. Specifically, it examines how—in an era of globalization characterized by neoliberal economic policy but also the worldwide diffusion of norms of women's rights—state strategies for integration into the global economy have been affecting women's economic participation and social rights and have, in turn, led to women's collective action for legal equality and social-economic rights. As such, state-society relations are being renegotiated in terms of both new social and new gender contracts. In examining recent reforms of family codes and labor laws, the paper elucidates the contradictory effects of globalization on women and the complicated relations between states and feminist organizations in the region. The argument is informed conceptually by world-systems theory, feminist political economy, theories of citizenship, and the social movements literature.
Catheter associated urinary tract infection within care of the elderly facilities: results from a Scottish pilot study
Authors: Mullings Abigail , Murdoch Fiona , Reilly Jacqui 
Published: August 2010

Following a review of the current methodology for catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) surveillance in Scotland a protocol was developed by Health Protection Scotland incorporating infection definitions based on clinical signs and symptoms rather than microbiology criteria. These definitions are recommended by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for use in care of the elderly facilities as they hope to reduce the overestimation of urinary tract infections by excluding asymptomatic bacteriuria. In 2009, a pilot study of the protocol was carried out in volunteer care of the elderly facilities across Scotland. A total of 659 patients admitted to the care of the elderly facilities participated in CAUTI surveillance in six pilot hospitals and a total of 122 catheters were inserted. During the study period a total of 19 urinary tract infections were identified of which 15 met the criteria for CAUTI. The CAUTI surveillance protocol and data definitions appeared to be robust. The study was therefore able to provide valuable data about catheter use and CAUTI incidence rates. The surveillance protocol and collection tool can be easily adapted for use in care home settings thus providing a valuable surveillance tool for these resident populations.
Matrix metalloproteinase-3 promoter polymorphisms but not dupA-H. pylori correlate to duodenal ulcers in H. pylori-infected females
Authors: Yeh Yi-Chun , Cheng Hsiu-Chi , Chang Wei-Lun , Yang Hsiao-Bai , Sheu Bor-Shyang 
Published: August 2010

Abstract

Background
This study investigated if the H. pylori dupA genotype and certain host single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors (TIMPs), including MMP-3, MMP-7, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2, might correlate with ulcer risk of H. pylori- infected Taiwanese patients.

Results
Of the 549 H. pylori- infected patients enrolled, 470 patients (265 with gastritis, 118 with duodenal ulcer, and 87 with gastric ulcer) received SNPs analysis of MMP-3-1612 6A > 5A, MMP-7-181 A > G, MMP-9exon 6 A > G, TIMP-1372 T > C and TIMP-2-418 G > C by PCR-RFLP. The 181 collected H. pylori isolates were detected for the dupA genotype by PCR. The rates of dupA-positive H. pylori infection were similar among patients with duodenal ulcer (22.8%), gastric ulcer (20.0%), and gastritis (25.5%) (p > 0.05). Males had higher rates of duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcer than females (p < 0.01). Of H. pylori-infected patients, the MMP-3 6A6A genotype were more common in patients with duodenal ulcers than in those with gastritis (87.7% vs. 74.9%, p < 0.05) in females. This genotype had a 2.4-fold (95% CI: 1.02-5.66) increased risk of duodenal ulcer, compared to those with the 5A carrier. Combining the MMP-3/TIMP-1 genotype as 6A6A/CC, the risk of duodenal ulcer increased up to 3.6 fold (p < 0.05) in H. pylori- infected females.

Conclusions
The MMP-3 promoter polymorphism, but not the dupA-status, may correlate with susceptibility to duodenal ulcer after H. pylori infection in Taiwanese females.
Endotoxin tolerance and cross-tolerance in mast cells involves TLR4, TLR2 and FcεR1 interactions and SOCS expression: perspectives on immunomodulation in infectious and allergic diseases
Authors: Saturnino Saulo F , Prado Roberta O , Cunha-Melo José R , Andrade Marcus V 
Published: August 2010

Abstract

Background
The study of the endotoxin tolerance phenomenon in light of the recently defined roles of mast cells and toll-like receptors as essential components of the innate immune response and as orchestrators of acquired immunity may reveal potentially useful mechanisms of immunomodulation of infectious and allergic inflammatory responses, such as sepsis or asthma. Here we evaluated the phenomenon of direct tolerance of endotoxins, as well as the induction of cross-tolerance and synergism by stimulation with toll-like receptor-2 (TLR2) and FcεR1 agonists, in murine mast cells prestimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Additionally, we evaluated some stimulatory and inhibitory signaling molecules potentially involved in these phenomena.

Methods
MC/9 cells and primary bone marrow-derived mast cells obtained from C57BL/6 and TLR4-/- knock-out mice were sensitized to DNP-HSA (antigen) by incubation with DNP-IgE and were prestimulated with LPS for 18 hr prior to stimulation. Cultures were stimulated with LPS or Pam3Cys-Ser-(Lys)4 3HCl (P3C), a TLR2 agonist, individually or in combination with antigen. The production of IL-6 and TNFα, the phosphorylation of NFκB and p38 MAPK, and the expression of TLR4 and SOCS-1 and -3 were analyzed.

Results
We found that production of TNFα and IL-6 in murine mast cells that have been pretreated with LPS and challenged with TLR4 (LPS) or -2 (P3C) agonists was reduced, phenomena described as endotoxin tolerance (LPS) and cross-tolerance (P3C), respectively. The expression of TLR4 was not affected by LPS pretreatment. Our results show that the FcεR1 agonist DNP-HSA (antigen) interacts synergistically with LPS or P3C to markedly enhance production of cytokines (TNFα and IL-6). This synergistic effect with LPS and P3C was also attenuated by LPS pretreatment and was mediated by TLR4. These results may be attributed to the reduction in phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), p38, and the transcription factor NFκB, as well as to an increase in the expression of the suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 and -3 proteins in LPS-pretreated mast cells.

Conclusions
These findings can be explored with respect to the modulation of inflammatory responses associated with infectious and allergic processes in future studies.
Comparative cost assessment of the Kato-Katz and FLOTAC techniques for soil-transmitted helminth diagnosis in epidemiological surveys
Authors: Speich Benjamin , Knopp Stefanie , Mohammed Khalfan A , Khamis I Simba , Rinaldi Laura , Cringoli Giuseppe , Rollinson David , Utzinger Jürg 
Published: August 2010

Abstract

Background
The Kato-Katz technique is widely used for the diagnosis of soil-transmitted helminthiasis in epidemiological surveys and is believed to be an inexpensive method. The FLOTAC technique shows a higher sensitivity for the diagnosis of light-intensity soil-transmitted helminth infections but is reported to be more complex and expensive. We assessed the costs related to the collection, processing and microscopic examination of stool samples using the Kato-Katz and FLOTAC techniques in an epidemiological survey carried out in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Methods
We measured the time for the collection of a single stool specimen in the field, transfer to a laboratory, preparation and microscopic examination using standard protocols for the Kato-Katz and FLOTAC techniques. Salaries of health workers, life expectancy and asset costs of materials, and infrastructure costs were determined. The average cost for a single or duplicate Kato-Katz thick smears and the FLOTAC dual or double technique were calculated.

Results
The average time needed to collect a stool specimen and perform a single or duplicate Kato-Katz thick smears or the FLOTAC dual or double technique was 20 min and 34 sec (20:34 min), 27:21 min, 28:14 min and 36:44 min, respectively. The total costs for a single and duplicate Kato-Katz thick smears were US$ 1.73 and US$ 2.06, respectively, and for the FLOTAC double and dual technique US$ 2.35 and US$ 2.83, respectively. Salaries impacted most on the total costs of either method.

Conclusions
The time and cost for soil-transmitted helminth diagnosis using either the Kato-Katz or FLOTAC method in epidemiological surveys are considerable. Our results can help to guide healthcare decision makers and scientists in budget planning and funding for epidemiological surveys, anthelminthic drug efficacy trials and monitoring of control interventions.
B cell receptor triggering sensitizes human B cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis
Authors: Guerreiro-Cacais Andre Ortlieb , Levitskaya Jelena , Levitsky Victor 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
BCR-triggering shown as the first known B-cell-specific signal enhancing cellular sensitivity to TRAIL.
TRAIL is known to cause death in tumor cells, but physiological regulation of its activity remains poorly characterized. We demonstrate that BCR triggering sensitizes transformed centroblast-like BL cells and peripheral blood memory B cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. The sensitization correlated with surface down-regulation and intracellular retention of TRAIL-R4, along with changes in the expression of several Bcl-2 protein family members. Although enhancing FAS-mediated cell death, CD40 activation protected B cells from TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Combination of Ig cross-linking with CD40 ligation did not prevent TRAIL-R4 down-regulation but induced changes in the mitochondria-regulated pathway of apoptosis that are known to be associated with resistance to TRAIL. Human CD5+ B cells, presumably stimulated by reactivity to self without immunological help, exhibited very high ex vivo sensitivity to TRAIL. Our results define the first B-lymphocyte-specific physiological signal that increases cellular sensitivity to TRAIL. This may be important for our understanding of TRAIL involvement in the control of B cell responses and aid in designing TRAIL-based therapies for B cell lymphomas.