bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
“Everyone with Eyes Can See the Problem”: Moral Citizens and the Space of Irish Nationhood
Authors: Tormey Anwen 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTThis paper examines Ireland's 2004 Constitutional Amendment which removes birthright citizenship from any future Irish‐born children of immigrant parents. I argue that for particular historical reasons, the ability of the state to convince its citizens of the necessity for this Amendment was remarkable and I suggest that it was able to do so by constructing citizenship as a moral regime and foreign‐nationals and their foetuses as ‘suspect patriots.’ I describe how the notion of immorality is laminated upon black bodies — specifically black pregnant women — and how the presence of black migrant workers, refugees and asylees consequently comes to be experienced in Irish national space as transgressive, their political subjecthood constrained by the supposedly legible abjectivity of their bodies. The issue of race remains unenunciated, and yet, as the Minister for Justice stated during the referendum debate, ‘anyone with eyes can see the problem.’ The Irish government's privileging of moral rather than cultural incommensurability is strikingly similar to culturalist rhetorics of exclusion that are often invoked when race is at issue in European public debate on immigration. Configured upon, and therefore experienced as a type of body, immorality becomes an alibi for race and is naturalized as a form of exclusion and as a potential site of state intervention in the form of xenophobic legislation and policymaking. Reading this decision as merely racist however, fails to give voice to the experiences of Irish Citizens who voted for this Amendment. Their struggle to build a “New Ireland” and to accept a multiculturalist framework in the face of neo‐liberal restructuring policies and a European‐wide retreat from the welfare state must be considered as being in dialectical tension with the ideological smearing of immigrants if we are to fully grasp the complex interaction between relations of power and the privileging of difference.
Evaluation of the Thyroid Transcription Factor‐1 Gene (TITF1) as a Hirschsprung's Disease Locus
Authors: Garcia‐Barceló Maria‐Mercè , Lau Danny Ko‐chun , Ngan Elly Sau‐wai , Leon Thomas Yuk‐yu , Liu Ting‐ting , So Man‐ting , Miao Xiao‐ping , Lui Vincent Chi‐hang , Wong Kenneth Kak‐yuen , Ganster Raymond William , Cass Daniel Thomas , Croaker Geoffrey David Hain , Tam Paul Kwong‐hang 
Published: July 2007

SummaryHirschsprung's disease (HSCR, colonic aganglionosis) is an oligogenic entity that usually requires mutations in RET and other interacting loci. Decreased levels of RET expression may lead to the manifestation of HSCR. We previously showed that RET transcription was decreased due to alteration of the TITF1 binding site by two HSCR‐associated RET promoter single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This prompted us to investigate whether DNA alterations in TITF1 could play a role in HSCR by affecting the RET‐regulatory properties of the TITF1 protein. Our initial study on 86 Chinese HSCR patients revealed a Gly322Ser amino acid substitution in the TITF1protein. In this study we have examined an additional 102 Chinese and 70 Caucasian patients, and 194 Chinese and 60 Caucasian unselected, unrelated, subjects as controls. The relevance of the DNA changes detected in TITF1 by direct sequencing were evaluated using bioinformatics, reporter and binding‐assays, mouse neurosphere culture, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence techniques. Met3Leu and Pro48Pro were identified in 2 Caucasian patients and 1 Chinese patient, respectively. In vitro analysis showed that Met3Leu reduced the activity of the RET promoter by 100% in the presence of the wild‐type or HSCR‐associated RET promoter SNP alleles. The apparent binding affinity of the TITF1 mutated protein was not decreased. The Met3Leu mutation may affect the interaction of TITF1 with its protein partners. The absence of Titf1 expression in mouse gut but not in human gut suggests that the role of TITF1 in gut development differs between the two species. TITF1 mutations could contribute to HSCR by affecting RET expression through defective interactions with other transcription factors.
Isolation and characterization of 39 microsatellite loci in the endangered Japanese loach Leptobotia curta
Authors: WATANABE KATSUTOSHI , TAKESHIMA HIROHIKO , IWATA AKIHISA , ABE TSUKASA , UEHARA KAZUHIKO , KAKIOKA RYO , KIHIRA DAIJIRO , NISHIDA MUTSUMI 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA microsatellite‐enriched genomic library was obtained for the endangered Japanese loach Leptobotia curta, and 39 dinucleotide markers were successfully isolated and characterized. These markers had between one and nine alleles, with expected heterozygosity ranging from 0 to 0.839, in a population from the Lake Biwa–Yodo River system of Japan. Linkage equilibrium was observed in most loci, and only one locus showed significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. These microsatellite markers will be useful for genetic diversity studies of wild and captive L. curta populations.
fingerprint: visual depiction of variation in multiple sequence alignments
Authors: LOU MELANIE , GOLDING G. BRIAN 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThere is a lack of programs available that focus on providing an overview of an aligned set of sequences such that the comparison of homologous sites becomes comprehensible and intuitive. Being able to identify similarities, differences, and patterns within a multiple sequence alignment is biologically valuable because it permits visualization of the distribution of a particular feature and inferences about the structure, function, and evolution of the sequences in question. We have therefore created a web server, fingerprint, which combines the characteristics of existing programs that represent identity, variability, charge, hydrophobicity, solvent accessibility, and structure along with new visualizations based on composition, heterogeneity, heterozygosity, dN/dS and nucleotide diversity. fingerprint is easy to use and globally accessible through any computer using any major browser. fingerprint is available at http://evol.mcmaster.ca/fingerprint/.
Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci from RAPD product in half‐smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) and a test of cross‐species amplification
Authors: LIU Y. G. , BAO B. L. , LIU L. X. , WANG L. , LIN H. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractEleven polymorphic microsatellite loci have been isolated and characterized from random amplified polymorphic DNA product in half‐smooth tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis. Twenty‐one microsatellites were selected for designing microsatellite primers, of which 11 gave working primer pairs. They had between three and 12 alleles. Observed and expected heterozygosities varied from 0.53 to 0.93, and from 0.52 to 0.80, respectively. Five additional fish species assessed for cross‐species amplification revealed between one and three positive amplifications and between zero and three polymorphic loci per species.
Decreased transfusion needs associated with hydroxyurea therapy in Algerian patients with thalassemia major or intermedia
Authors: Bradai Mohamed , Pissard Serge , Abad Mohand Tayeb , Dechartres Agnes , Ribeil Jean‐Antoine , Landais Paul , De Montalembert Mariane 
Published: July 2007

BACKGROUND: Studies of evolution of transfusion requirements in thalassemic patients treated with hydroxyurea have produced somewhat conflicting results, especially in patients with thalassemia major. Our aims were to determine the proportion of good responders to hydroxyurea in a population of transfusion‐dependent thalassemic patients and to identify the factors associated with a decrease of transfusion needs.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Hydroxyurea treatment was initiated in 9 patients with thalassemia intermedia (TI) and 45 with thalassemia major (TM). Patients received transfusions when their hemoglobin (Hb) levels dropped below 6 g per dL. A decrease in annual transfusion requirements greater than 70 percent defined a good response, between 40 and 70 percent a partial response, and smaller than 40 percent no response.RESULTS: The response was good in 8 (90%) patients with TI and 20 (44.5%) with TM, partial in 9 (20%) patients with TM, and absent in 1 (10%) with TI and 16 (35.5%) with TM. In TM patients, transfusion needs decreased by 56 percent over the first year of hydroxyurea treatment. By univariate analysis, a better response to hydroxyurea was associated with older age at the first transfusion (p = 0.02), higher prehydroxyurea Hb (p = 0.0004), codon 6(–A) mutation (p = 0.002), TI (p = 0.03), and history of splenectomy (p = 0.05). Xmn1–/– was associated with a worse response (p = 0.0001). By multivariate analysis, a better response was associated with the Xmn1 polymorphism (p = 0.008).CONCLUSION: Hydroxyurea may be an alternative to transfusions for TI patients as well as for TM patients in countries that have limited blood supplies.
Intravenous immunoglobulin utilization in the Canadian Atlantic provinces: a report of the Atlantic Collaborative Intravenous Immune Globulin Utilization Working Group
Authors: Constantine Maggie M. , Thomas Wanda , Whitman Lucinda , Kahwash Eiad , Dolan Sean , Smith Susan , Caudle Christopher J. , Burton Erica , Anderson David R. 
Published: July 2007

BACKGROUND: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) use for labeled and unlabeled indications is growing steadily. By use of a collaborative regional strategy, baseline IVIG usage and appropriateness of utilization were determined for Atlantic Canada. The effectiveness of strategies designed to optimize utilization was also studied.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A regional working group was created to monitor IVIG utilization for a 2‐year period in the four Canadian Atlantic Provinces. A registry of IVIG was created. Assessment of indication appropriateness was determined with national and provincial guidelines along with expert clinical opinion. To optimize IVIG use, IVIG guidelines and feedback reports were distributed to stakeholders. Appropriateness of IVIG use was compared over the course of the study.RESULTS: The leading indications for IVIG use were idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (17.3%), primary immune deficiency conditions (14.9%), and chronic idiopathic demyelinating polyneuropathy (11.8%). The leading prescribing specialists were neurologists (32.2%) and hematologists (26.1%). A total of 37.1 percent of IVIG usage was in accordance with labeled indications. After optimization strategies were implemented, there was little change in labeled use. There was a 4.2 percent decrease in unlabeled use not supported by evidence (p < 0.001).CONCLUSIONS: A regional collaborative strategy for monitoring IVIG use was established. Most of the IVIG use was for labeled or appropriate indications. The majority of unlabeled use was supported by the medical literature. Strategies to optimize IVIG utilization were associated with a decrease in inappropriate IVIG use and a plateau in IVIG utilization compared to the rest of the country.
Single‐Center Randomized Evaluation of Paclitaxel‐Eluting Versus Conventional Stent in Acute Myocardial Infarction (SELECTION)
Authors: CHECHI TANIA , VITTORI GUIDO , BIONDI ZOCCAI GIUSEPPE G.L. , VECCHIO SABINE , FALCHETTI ELENA , SPAZIANI GAIA , BALDERESCHI GIORGIO , GIGLIOLI CRISTINA , VALENTE SERAFINA , MARGHERI MASSIMO 
Published: July 2007

Objectives:

To evaluate the superiority of the paclitaxel‐eluting stent (PES) in reducing neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) over its corresponding bare metal stent (BMS) during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
Background:

Primary PCI with stent implantation is the repercussion strategy of choice for ST‐elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI); nonetheless restenosis rate is still high. Drug‐eluting stents have been proven to reduce restenosis rate in many settings, but their use during primary PCI is still controversial.
Methods:

Consecutive patients with STEMI <12 hours were randomized to receive PES or BMS. The primary end‐point was the percentage of the stent volume obstructed by neointimal proliferation (NIH) measured by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) at a 7‐month angiographic follow‐up. Secondary end‐points were binary restenosis rate and major adverse cardiac events (MACE, i.e., death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization).
Results:

Eighty patients with STEMI were randomized into the PES or BMS group. Patients were well matched for baseline characteristics and the index procedure was always successful. In‐hospital and 1‐month MACE were 2.5% per group. NIH at 7 months was 4.6% versus 20% (P< 0.01), late lumen loss 0.1 versus 1.01 mm (P = 0.01). MACE were 7.5% versus 42.5% (P = 0.001) with no difference in death and recurrent myocardial infarction rates. Late‐acquired incomplete stent apposition (ISA) rate was 5.1% versus 2.7% (P = 0.65). One subacute stent thrombosis was reported in each group.
Conclusions:

PES was superior to its corresponding BMS in reducing NIH in the STEMI setting without any increase in early and long‐term clinical adverse events.
PTCH germline mutations in Chinese nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome patients
Authors: Li T‐J , Yuan J‐W , Gu X‐M , Sun L‐S , Zhao H‐S 
Published: July 2007

Objectives:  PTCH, the human homologue of the Drosophila segment polarity gene, patched, has been identified as the gene responsible for nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome. The aim of this study was to investigate PTCH gene mutation in Chinese patients with nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome.Materials and methods:  DNA was isolated from both odontogenic keratocyst tissue and peripheral blood of five patients with syndrome and one patient with only multiple odontogenic keratocysts, and mutational analysis of the PTCH gene performed by direct sequencing after amplification of all 23 exons by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Results:  A previously reported germline mutation (c.2619C>A) was identified in two familial cases involving the mother and the daughter, with the mother also carrying a novel somatic mutation (c.361_362insGAGC). Three novel germline PTCH mutations (c.1338_1339insGCG, c.331delG and c.1939A>T) were detected in three unrelated patients with syndrome. The patient with multiple odontogenic keratocysts who failed to fulfill the diagnostic criteria of the syndrome also carried a novel germline mutation (c.317T>G).Conclusion:  The frequent germline PTCH mutations detected in our series provide further evidence for the crucial role of PTCH in the pathogenesis of nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome in Chinese.
Immunoglobulins G, M, and A againstSporothrix schenckiiExoantigens in Patients with Sporotrichosis before and during Treatment with Itraconazole
Authors: Almeida-Paes Rodrigo , Pimenta Monique Amorim , Monteiro Paulo Cezar F. , Nosanchuk Joshua D. , Zancopé-Oliveira Rosely Maria 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTSporotrichosis is an important subcutaneous mycosis, with an increasing worldwide incidence. However, few data are available regarding the immunological aspects ofSporothrix schenckiiinfection, particularly the humoral responses to the fungus. In this study we measured immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and IgA in sera from 41 patients with sporotrichosis before antifungal treatment and from another 35 patients with sporotrichosis during itraconazole treatment by using a recently describedS. schenckiiexoantigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). More than 95% of patients had detectable IgA antibodies, and more than 85% had IgM and IgG antibodies before treatment. The number of patients with IgG antibodies increased to 91% during treatment. Conversely, significantly fewer samples from treated patients were positive for IgM (71%) and IgA (89%). Overall, 78% of patients had detectable levels of all isotypes tested at diagnosis, and this percentage dropped to 62.9% in patients receiving itraconazole. Testing of all three isotypes improved the sensitivity; at least two isotypes were detected in 93% of patients before and 89% after treatment. The reactivity of 94 sera from patients with other diseases and healthy individuals was also tested. Cross-reactivity occurred in 33% of the heterologous sera. Most of them were positive only in one isotype, 8.5% were positive for at least two isotypes, and only one serum (1.1%) was positive for the three isotypes. Antibodies produced duringS. schenckiiinfection are diverse, and we demonstrate that an exoantigen ELISA for the detection of combinations of IgA, IgG, and IgM antibodies is a highly sensitive and specific diagnostic assay for sporotrichosis.
Similarity of Bacterial Populations in Saliva from African-American Mother-Child Dyads
Authors: Li Yihong , Ismail Amid I. , Ge Yao , Tellez Marisol , Sohn Woosung 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT
Using PCR-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analyses of oral bacterial samples in 20 mother-child dyads, this study demonstrated a high degree of similarity of bacterial compositions between the mothers and their children; the two may share as much as 94% of their oral bacterial spectra, including cariogenic species.
Assessment of Use of Microsatellite Polymorphism Analysis for Improving Spatial Distribution Tracking of
Echinococcus multilocularis
Authors: Knapp J. , Bart J. M. , Glowatzki M. L. , Ito A. , Gerard S. , Maillard S. , Piarroux R. , Gottstein B. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE)—caused by the cestode
Echinococcus multilocularis
—is a severe zoonotic disease found in temperate and arctic regions of the northern hemisphere. Even though the transmission patterns observed in different geographical areas are heterogeneous, the nuclear and mitochondrial targets usually used for the genotyping of
E. multilocularis
have shown only a marked genetic homogeneity in this species. We used microsatellite sequences, because of their high typing resolution, to explore the genetic diversity of
E. multilocularis
. Four microsatellite targets (EmsJ, EmsK, and EmsB, which were designed in our laboratory, and NAK1, selected from the literature) were tested on a panel of 76
E. multilocularis
samples (larval and adult stages) obtained from Alaska, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Genetic diversity for each target was assessed by size polymorphism analysis. With the EmsJ and EmsK targets, two alleles were found for each locus, yielding two and three genotypes, respectively, discriminating European isolates from the other groups. With NAK1, five alleles were found, yielding seven genotypes, including those specific to Tibetan and Alaskan isolates. The EmsB target, a tandem repeated multilocus microsatellite, found 17 alleles showing a complex pattern. Hierarchical clustering analyses were performed with the EmsB findings, and 29 genotypes were identified. Due to its higher genetic polymorphism, EmsB exhibited a higher discriminatory power than the other targets. The complex EmsB pattern was able to discriminate isolates on a regional and sectoral level, while avoiding overdistinction. EmsB will be used to assess the putative emergence of
E. multilocularis
in Europe.
Evaluation of Replication and Pathogenicity of Avian Influenza A H7 Subtype Viruses in a Mouse Model
Authors: Joseph Tomy , McAuliffe Josephine , Lu Bin , Jin Hong , Kemble George , Subbarao Kanta 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT
Avian influenza A H7 subtype viruses pose a significant threat to human health because of their ability to transmit directly from domestic poultry to humans and to cause disease and, sometimes, death. Although it is important to develop vaccines against viruses of this subtype, very limited information is available on the immune response and pathogenesis of H7 viruses in animal models such as mice and ferrets. Ten H7 viruses were selected for possible vaccine development on the basis of their phylogenetic relationships and geographical locations. The virulence of the 10 viruses for mice and the immunogenicity of the viruses in mice and ferrets were evaluated to study the extent of antigenic relatedness and the level of cross-reactivity of antibodies. Most of the viruses showed similar patterns of cross-reactivity with mouse and ferret antisera. The Eurasian viruses elicited broadly cross-reactive antibodies that neutralized viruses from both Eurasian and North American lineages, but the converse was not true. A subset of the viruses was also evaluated for the ability to replicate and cause disease in BALB/c mice following intranasal administration. H7 subtype viruses were able to infect mice without adaptation and manifested different levels of lethality and kinetics of replication. On the basis of phylogenetic data, induction of broadly cross-neutralizing antibodies in mouse and ferret antisera, and their ability to replicate in mice, we have selected A/Netherlands/219/03 (subtype H7N7) and A/chicken/BC/CN-7/04 (subtype H7N3) viruses for vaccine development. The mouse model can be used for the preclinical evaluation of these vaccines against H7 subtype viruses.
A Functional Ubiquitin-Specific Protease Embedded in the Large Tegument Protein (ORF64) of Murine Gammaherpesvirus 68 Is Active during the Course of Infection
Authors: Gredmark Sara , Schlieker Christian , Quesada Victor , Spooner Eric , Ploegh Hidde L. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT
All herpesviruses contain a ubiquitin (Ub)-specific cysteine protease domain embedded within their large tegument protein, based on homology with the corresponding sequences of UL36 from herpes simplex virus type 1 and M48 from murine cytomegalovirus. This type of activity has yet to be demonstrated for cells infected with a gammaherpesvirus. By activity-based profiling, we show that the large tegument protein of murine gammaherpesvirus (MHV-68) ORF64 (273 kDa) is a functional deubiquitinating protease, as assessed by tandem mass spectrometry of adducts in extracts from MHV-68-infected cells that had been labeled with ubiquitin vinylmethylester, a ubiquitin-based active site-directed probe. The recombinantly expressed amino-terminal segment of ORF64 displays deubiquitinating activity toward Ub C-terminal 7-amido-4-methylcoumarin in vitro. The findings reported here for MHV-68 ORF64 extend those made for the alpha- and betaherpesvirus families and are consistent with an important, conserved enzymatic function of the tegument protein.