bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Gene expression of Escherichia coli in continuous culture during adaptation to artificial sunlight
Authors: Berney Michael , Weilenmann Hans‐Ulrich , Egli Thomas 
Published: May 2006

Summary Escherichia coli growing in continuous culture under continuous UVA irradiation exhibits growth inhibition with a subsequent adaptation to the stress. Transcriptome analysis was performed during transient growth inhibition and in the UVA light‐adapted growth state. The results indicate that UVA light induces stringent response and an additional response that includes the upregulation of the synthesis of valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, histidine and glutamate. The induction of several SOS response‐genes strongly points to DNA damage as a result of UVA exposure. The involvement of oxidative stress was observed with the induction of ahpCF. Taken together it supports the hypothesis of the production of reactive oxygen species by UVA light. In the UVA‐adapted cell population strong repression of the acid tolerance response was found. We identified the enzyme chorismate mutase as a possible chromophore for UVA light‐inactivation and found strong repression of the pyrBI operon and the gene mgtA encoding for an ATP‐dependent Mg2+ transporter. Furthermore, our results indicate that the role of RpoS may not be as important in the adaptation of E. coli to UVA light as it was implicated by previous results with starved cells, but that RpoS might be of crucial importance for the resistance under transient light exposure.
The role of endothelial dysfunction in the pathophysiology of erectile dysfunction in diabetes and in determining response to treatment
Authors: Pegge N. C. , Twomey A. M. , Vaughton K. , Gravenor M. B. , Ramsey M. W. , Price D. E. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractBackground  Erectile dysfunction (ED) in diabetes is related to autonomic neuropathy and endothelial dysfunction. We studied the relative importance of these factors in diabetic and non‐diabetic men with ED and determined if they predict responses to treatment with sildenafil.Methods  Thirty‐three men, aged 35–65 years, with ED (20 diabetic, 13 non‐diabetic), 15 of whom were sildenafil responders and 18 non‐responders, were compared with 30 age and risk‐matched control subjects (15 diabetic, 15 non‐diabetic). Subjects with ED completed the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire. Endothelial function was assessed by changes in brachio‐radial and femoro‐tibial arterial pulse‐wave velocity (pulse‐wave velocity) during reactive hyperaemia, expressed as percentage endothelium‐dependent dilatation. Autonomic function was assessed by heart rate variation during expiration and inspiration (E/I ratio) and during the valsalva manoeuvre.Results  The respective changes in pulse‐wave velocity, in the arm and leg [mean (sd)] were 0.71 (6.5)% and 3.5 (6.4)% in the impotent diabetic men, 0.7 (7.6)% and 2.4 (5.9)% in the non‐diabetic impotent men, −0.68 (5.7)% and −1.31 (7.2)% in the non‐impotent diabetic men and 7.7 (3.7)% and 7.6 (3.4)% in the control subjects. There was a significant interaction between ED and diabetic status such that there was significantly impaired vascular response in the diabetic group (both with and without ED) and in the non‐diabetic group with ED compared with the non‐diabetic control group (P = 0.01 and P = 0.001 for brachio‐radial and femoro‐tibial measures, respectively). The E/I ratios of the diabetic men were significantly lower than those of the control subjects [1.17 (0.14) vs. 1.33 (0.16), P < 0.02), but there were no differences in the measures of autonomic neuropathy between the groups with ED and those with normal erectile function. Amongst diabetic men, the initial IIEF scores (maximum score 30, low score indicates more severe ED) were significantly higher in sildenafil‐responders than non‐responders [16.3 (8.4), vs. 6.8 (7 1), P < 0.02]. The rate of sildenafil response was not significantly affected by the measures of endothelial or autonomic function.Conclusions  ED in both diabetic and non‐diabetic men is characterized by marked endothelial dysfunction in comparison with non‐diabetic control subjects. Response to sildenafil is not predicted by either endothelial function or autonomic function, but in diabetic men appears to be related to the initial degree of erectile dysfunction.
Relationship between common functional polymorphisms of the p22phox gene (−930A > G and +242C > T) and nephropathy as a result of Type 2 diabetes in a Chinese population
Authors: Lim S. C. , Goh S. K. , Lai Y. R. , Tee W. W. , Koh A. , Xu X. H. , Wu Y. S. , Yap E. , Subramaniam T. , Sum C. F. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractObjective  Genetic determinants are important in diabetic nephropathy (DN). Oxidative stress has also emerged as an important pathogenic factor in DN and vascular NADH oxidase is a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Previous small studies reported a strong but contradictory association between functional genetic variation of p22phox, an important subcomponent of NADH oxidase, and DN. We investigated the association between two common functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (−930 A > G and +242 C > T) and DN in a much larger group of Chinese patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Research design and methods  Case‐control study of Chinese subjects with long‐standing T2DM (> 10 years). Cases (n = 306) were subjects with a spot urinary albumin : creatinine ratio (ACR) of > 113 mg/mmol or elevated serum creatinine. Control subjects (n = 306) had ACR < 3.3 mg/mmol and normal serum creatinine. Genotyping was carried out by standard PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.Results  Gender distribution, age, duration of diabetes and HbA1c were similar in cases and control subjects. Distribution of genotypes in the control subjects for both SNPs was consistent with the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Distribution of genotypes did not differ significantly between cases and control subjects for both polymorphisms—+2424C > T: cases CC 84.6%, CT 15.0%, TT 0.4% and control subjects CC 87.6%, CT 11.8%, TT 0.6% (P = 0.45); −930 A > G: cases AA 40.5%, AG 41.8%, GG 17.7% and control subjects AA 38.2%, AG 49.0%, GG 12.8% (P = 0.12). Distribution of alleles was also similar—+2424 C > T: cases C 92.2%, T 7.8% and control subjects C 93.5%, T 6.5% (P = 0.66); −930 A > G cases A 61.4%, G 38.6% and control subjects A 62.7%, G 37.3% (P = 0.38). We estimated that our study has approximately 80% power to detect a relative risk of 1.65 (for +242 C > T) and 1.35 (for −930 A > G) conferred by the minor allele, respectively.Conclusions  In contrast with previous small studies, our data suggest that these SNPs do not confer significantly increased susceptibility to DN secondary to T2DM in Chinese subjects.
‘It Was Such a Handy Term’: Management Fashions and Pragmatic Ambiguity*
Authors: Giroux Hélène 
Published: May 2006

abstract This article builds on constructs that authors have labelledstrategic ambiguity,interpretative viability,umbrella constructs, andboundary objects, and suggests that these constructs all articulate a central concern for collective action and the role of ambiguity therein. It characterizes aspragmatic ambiguitythe condition of admitting more than one course of action, and elucidates and operationalizes this new construct. Drawing on the sociology of translation (Callon, 1986;Latour, 1987),[1]it argues that pragmatic ambiguity is both the result and the resource of a collective process ofintéressementoccurring during the rise in popularity of a new management approach.FollowingBenders and van Veen (2001), the article posits that pragmatic ambiguity increases during the rise of a management fashion. It provides empirical evidence in support of this claim by means of a longitudinal analysis of quality management (QM) concepts as articulated by several authors both before and during the Quality Movement of the 1980s and 1990s. The analyses of QM texts show that concepts became vaguer, more ambiguous, and more general as the Quality Movement gained momentum, suggesting the presence of a positive feedback loop between pragmatic ambiguity and popularity. In addition, the data illustrate how pragmatic ambiguity was achieved and sustained textually, and how it was supported by a variety of social, linguistic and rhetorical factors.
MAXIMS AND THICK ETHICAL CONCEPTS
Authors: Moore A. W. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractI begin with Kant’s notion of a maxim and consider the role which this notion plays in Kant’s formulations of the fundamental categorical imperative. This raises the question of what a maxim is, and why there is not the same requirement for resolutions of other kinds to be universalizable. Drawing on Bernard Williams’ notion of a thick ethical concept, I proffer an answer to this question which is intended neither in a spirit of simple exegesis nor as a straightforward exercise in moral philosophy but as something that is poised somewhere between the two. My aim is to provide a kind of rational reconstruction of Kant. In the final section of the essay, I argue that this reconstruction, while it manages to salvage something distinctively Kantian, also does justice to the relativism involved in what J. L. Mackie calls ‘people’s adherence to and participation in different ways of life’.
A CRITIQUE OF FREGE ON COMMON NOUNS
Authors: Ben‐Yami Hanoch 
Published: May 2006

AbstractFrege analyzed the grammatical subject‐term ‘S’ in quantified subject‐predicate sentences, ‘q S are P’, as being logically predicative. This is in contrast to Aristotelian Logic, according to which it is a logical subject‐term, like the proper name ‘a’ in ‘a is P’– albeit a plural one, designating many particulars. I show that Frege’s arguments for his analysis are unsound, and explain how he was misled to his position by the mathematical concept of function. If common nouns in this grammatical subject position are indeed logical subject‐terms, this should require a thorough reevaluation of the adequacy of Frege’s predicate calculus as a tool for the analysis of the logic and semantics of natural language.
ACTIONS, HABITS AND CONSTITUTION
Authors: Pollard Bill 
Published: May 2006

AbstractIn this paper I offer a critique of the view made popular by Davidson that rationalization is a species of causal explanation, and propose instead that in many cases the explanatory relation is constitutive. Given Davidson’s conception of rationalization, which allows that a huge range of states gathered under the heading ‘pro attitude’ could rationalize an action, I argue that whilst the causal thesis may have some merit for some such ‘attitudes’, it has none for others. The problematic ‘attitudes’ are those which can be attributed to the agent only on the basis of her history of doing a certain sort of thing. In other words, they are among the agent’s habits. I argue that such temporally extended states cannot be the causes of any present occurrence. Instead, I suggest we should think of the present action as partly constituting the state in question, and give a corresponding interpretation of the explanatory relation. Such explanations invite us to abandon a conception of agency narrowly based on psychology, in favour of an enriched one which takes an agent’s habits to partly constitute the agent.
Demographic predictors of a positive HIV test result among clients attending a large metropolitan voluntary counselling and testing centre in Thailand
Authors: Khongphatthanayothin M , Tantipaibulvut S , Nookai S , Chumchee P , Kaldor J , Phanuphak P 
Published: May 2006

ObjectivesThe Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic in Bangkok, established in 1991, was the first centre in Asia to provide anonymous, voluntary counselling and testing for HIV infection. We present outcomes of testing for the period 1997–2004.MethodsNewcomers to the Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic were invited to complete a brief questionnaire concerning HIV risk behaviour and personal characteristics. The questionnaire was linked by code numbers to the HIV test result. Information obtained from the pretest questionnaire and HIV antibody test results from January 1997 to December 2004 were analysed. Data are presented as means [with standard deviation (SD)], medians [with interquartile range (IQR)] or percentages. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression was performed to identify factors predicting a positive HIV test result.ResultsOver the 8‐year study period, 65 807 new clients attended the clinic. Two‐thirds were male and the mean age was 31.7 years (SD 9 years), and more than half were single. The proportion of high‐school graduates was 43%, and 36% earned more than 10 000 Baht a month (40 Baht:$US1). Of 54 578 new clients who had an HIV test during the study period, 17.5% had a positive test result. In multivariate analysis, predictive factors for HIV positivity included female gender, age group 25–34 years, widowed status (women), residence outside Bangkok, birthplace in a northern province, no formal schooling, farmer as profession, and salary less than 5000 Baht a month (the current legal minimum daily wage set by the Thai Ministry of Labor is 181 Baht).ConclusionsWith nearly 7000 clients newly tested for HIV infection each year, the Anonymous Clinic in Bangkok has provided a unique epidemiological window into the patterns of HIV infection in the Thai capital.
HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase (RT) genotypic patterns and treatment characteristics associated with the K65R RT mutation
Authors: Boucher S , Recordon‐Pinson P , Ragnaud JM , Dupon M , Fleury H , Masquelier B 
Published: May 2006

BackgroundThe K65R HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase (RT) mutation is a multidrug resistance mutation which may be correlated with specific antiretroviral combinations and with the presence or absence of other RT resistance mutations.ObjectivesThe aims of this study were: (i) to determine the prevalence of the K65R mutation in a cohort of antiretroviral‐treated patients; (ii) to study genotypic patterns and treatment characteristics in patients in whom the K65R mutation was present.Study designWe included in the study all antiretroviral‐experienced patients followed up at the Bordeaux University Hospital in 2003 and 2004 for whom an HIV‐1 genotypic resistance analysis was available. Information on RT resistance mutations was reported from a hospital database including therapeutic and biological parameters. The prevalence of K65R was investigated for all patients. Genotypic patterns and treatment characteristics were examined at the time of detection of the K65R mutation.ResultsThe prevalence of K65R was 1.9% (26 of 1404 patients). K65R was associated with nucleoside RT inhibitor‐based regimens in 22 patients, and with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine, didanosine and abacavir in 23, 17, 17 and eight patients, respectively. The M184V and Q151M mutations were the most commonly co‐selected substitutions. Thymidine analogue mutations (TAMs) were rarely co‐selected with K65R and inversely associated with K65R.ConclusionThe K65R mutation may emerge preferentially in the absence of zidovudine and TAMs, suggesting the possibility of an antagonistic interaction between K65 and TAMs.
The impact of malnutrition on survival and the CD4 count response in HIV‐infected patients starting antiretroviral therapy
Authors: Paton NI , Sangeetha S , Earnest A , Bellamy R 
Published: May 2006

BackgroundThe impact that malnutrition at the time of starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) has on survival and the CD4 count response is not known.MethodsA retrospective cohort study of patients attending the national HIV referral centre in Singapore who had a CD4 count less than 250 cells/μL and a measurement of body weight performed at the time of starting ART was carried out. Demographic and clinical variables were extracted from an existing database. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in metres. Moderate to severe malnutrition was defined as BMI less than 17 kg/m2. Intent‐to‐treat Cox models were used to determine the predictors of survival.ResultsA total of 394 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 79 died during a median study follow‐up of 2.4 years. Moderate to severe malnutrition was present in 16% of patients at the time of starting ART, and was found to be a significant independent predictor of death [hazard ratio (HR) 2.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29–3.73, P=0.004 for those with BMI<17 compared with those with BMI>18.5] as were stage of disease (HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.20–5.07, P=0.014 for those who were at stage C compared with those at stage A) and the type of ART [HR 0.50, 95% CI 0.27–0.93, P=0.03 for highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) compared with non‐HAART treatment]. Malnutrition did not impair the magnitude of the increase in CD4 count at 6 or 12 months.ConclusionsMalnutrition at the time of starting ART was significantly associated with decreased survival, but the effect appeared not to be mediated by impaired immune reconstitution. Given the increasing access to ART in developing countries and the high frequency of HIV‐associated wasting, studies of nutritional therapy as an adjunct to the initiation of HAART are urgently needed.
National review of maternity care for women with HIV infection
Authors: McDonald C , Curtis H , De Ruiter A , Johnson MA , Welch J ,   on behalf of the British HIV Association (BHIVA) and the BHIVA audit subcommittee
Published: May 2006

ObjectiveTo assess adherence to the British HIV Association (BHIVA) 2001 guidelines for the management of HIV‐infected pregnant women.MethodsA survey and a case note review were carried out using structured questionnaires sent to providers of adult HIV care in the UK and Ireland. Participants were women with HIV infection who delivered a live or stillborn infant between October 2002 and September 2003. The main outcome measures were the appropriate use of antiretroviral therapy, the use and timing of elective Caesarean section, and support for the avoidance of breast‐feeding.ResultsOf 186 centres, 100 (54%) responded with data on 501 eligible pregnancies.ConclusionsIn general, practice was in accordance with the BHIVA 2001 guidelines. However, in a number of cases Caesarean sections were planned later than the recommended 38 weeks.
What Can Account for Fluctuations in the Terms of Trade?*
Authors: Baxter Marianne , Kouparitsas Michael A. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThis paper studies the sources of terms of trade volatility. We decompose the terms of trade into two components. The ‘goods price’ component stems from differences in the composition of import and export baskets, while the ‘country price’ component stems from deviations from the law of one price. Countries are classified according to their major import and export goods: commodities, manufactured goods and fuels. Except fuel exporters, there is roughly equal importance of goods price vs country price volatility. These results suggest that there may be a role for reducing terms of trade volatility through diversification of a country's exports.
Chemical and isotopic signatures of Na/HCO3/CO2‐rich geofluids, North Portugal
Authors: MARQUES J. M. , ANDRADE M. , CARREIRA P. M. , EGGENKAMP H. G. M. , GRAÇA R. C. , AIRES‐BARROS L. , ANTUNES DA SILVA M. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractGeochemical and isotopic studies have been undertaken to assess the origin of CO2‐rich waters issuing in the northern part of Portugal. These solutions are hot (76°C) to cold (17°C) Na–HCO3 mineral waters. The δ2H and δ18O signatures of the mineral waters reflect the influence of altitude on meteoric recharge. The lack of an 18O‐shift indicates there has been no high temperature water–rock interaction at depth, corroborating the results of several chemical geothermometers (reservoir temperature of about 120°C). The low 14C activity (up to 9.9 pmC) measured in some of the cold CO2‐rich mineral waters (total dissolved inorganic carbon) is incompatible with the presence of 3H (from 1.7 to 4.1 TU) in those waters, which indicates relatively short subsurface circulation times. The δ13C values of CO2 gas and dissolved inorganic carbon range between −6‰ and −1‰ versus Vienna‐Peedee Belemnite, indicating that the total carbon in the recharge waters is being diluted by larger quantities of CO2 (14C‐free) introduced from deep‐seated (upper mantle) sources, masking the 14C‐dating values. The differences in the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the studied thermal and mineral waters seem to be caused by water–rock interaction with different granitic rocks. Chlorine isotope signatures (−0.4‰ < δ37Cl < +0.4‰ versus standard mean ocean chloride) indicate that Cl in these waters could be derived from mixing of a small amount of igneous Cl from leaching of granitic rocks.
Syntectonic infiltration by meteoric waters along the Sevier thrust front, southwest Montana
Authors: RYGEL A. C. , ANASTASIO D. J. , BEBOUT G. E. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractStructural, petrographic, and isotopic data for calcite veins and carbonate host‐rocks from the Sevier thrust front of SW Montana record syntectonic infiltration by H2O‐rich fluids with meteoric oxygen isotope compositions. Multiple generations of calcite veins record protracted fluid flow associated with regional Cretaceous contraction and subsequent Eocene extension. Vein mineralization occurred during single and multiple mineralization events, at times under elevated fluid pressures. Low salinity (Tm = −0.6°C to +3.6°C, as NaCl equivalent salinities) and low temperature (estimated 50–80°C for Cretaceous veins, 60–80°C for Eocene veins) fluids interacted with wall‐rock carbonates at shallow depths (3–4 km in the Cretaceous, 2–3 km in the Eocene) during deformation. Shear and extensional veins of all ages show significant intra‐ and inter‐vein variation in δ18O and δ13C. Carbonate host‐rocks have a mean δ18OV‐SMOW value of +22.2 ± 3‰ (1σ), and both the Cretaceous veins and Eocene veins have δ18O ranging from values similar to those of the host‐rocks to as low as +5 to +6‰. The variation in vein δ13CV‐PDB of −1 to approximately +6‰ is attributed to original stratigraphic variation and C isotope exchange with hydrocarbons. Using the estimated temperature ranges for vein formation, fluid (as H2O) δ18O calculated from Cretaceous vein compositions for the Tendoy and Four Eyes Canyon thrust sheets are −18.5 to −12.5‰. For the Eocene veins within the Four Eyes Canyon thrust sheet, calculated H2O δ18O values are −16.3 to −13.5‰.Fluid–rock exchange was localized along fractures and was likely coincident with hydrocarbon migration. Paleotemperature determinations and stable isotope data for veins are consistent with the infiltration of the foreland thrust sheets by meteoric waters, throughout both Sevier orogenesis and subsequent orogenic collapse. The cessation of the Sevier orogeny was coincident with an evolving paleogeographic landscape associated with the retreat of the Western Interior Seaway and the emergence of the thrust front and foreland basin. Meteoric waters penetrated the foreland carbonate thrust sheets of the Sevier orogeny utilizing an evolving mesoscopic fracture network, which was kinematically related to regional thrust structures. The uncertainty in the temperature estimates for the Cretaceous and Eocene vein formation prevents a more detailed assessment of the temporal evolution in meteoric water δ18O related to changing paleogeography. Meteoric water‐influenced δ18O values calculated here for Cretaceous to Eocene vein‐forming fluids are similar to those previously proposed for surface waters in the Eocene, and those observed for modern‐day precipitation, in this part of the Idaho‐Montana thrust belt.