bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vitreous surgery for macular hole in patients with Vogt‐Koyanagi‐Harada disease
Authors: Kobayashi Izumi , Inoue Makoto , Okada Annabelle A , Keino Hiroshi , Wakabayashi Toshiko , Hirakata Akito 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWe describe two patients with Vogt‐Koyanagi‐Harada (VKH) disease, both in the convalescent stage, who presented with unilateral macular holes together with clinically significant epi‐retinal membranes. Vitreo‐retinal surgery was performed on the affected eyes and the surgical technique involved a standard three‐port vitrectomy, peeling of the epi‐retinal and internal limiting membrane (ILM). In both cases the retinae were tamponaded with air resulting in anatomical closure of the macular holes. The histology of the excised membrane was available in one case and this revealed multiple layers of presumed retinal pigment epithelial cells with cytoplasmic processes and intercellular junctions forming a basal lamina attached to the smooth surface of the ILM. Our findings demonstrate that macular holes can develop in patients with VKH but that the hole can be successfully closed with vitreo‐retinal surgery. The convalescent stage tends to occur several weeks after the acute stage when the uveitic process has subsided and is characterized by choroidal depigmentation, producing a sunset glow appearance to the ocular fundus. Patients may also demonstrate varying degrees of cutaneous hypopigmentation, poliosis and/or alopecia. Macular holes have also been reported previously in patients during the convalescent stage of VKH and this communication describes the outcome of two patients who underwent vitreo‐retinal surgery for this problem.
READING AND TEACHING PEACE STUDIES
Authors: Meyer David S. 
Published: March 2009

Book reviewed in this article:Peace/Mir: An Anthology of Historic Alternatives to War, edited by Charles Chatfield and Ruzanna Ilukhina.Realizing Peace: An Introduction to Peace Studies, by Thomas Keefe and Ron E. Roberts.Peace and World Security Studies: A Curriculum Guide (6th edition), edited by Michael T. Klare.
Effect of an Expenditure Cap on Low‐Income Seniors' Drug Use and Spending in a State Pharmacy Assistance Program
Authors: Bishop Christine E. , Ryan Andrew M. , Gilden Daniel M. , Kubisiak Joanna , Thomas Cindy Parks 
Published: March 2009

Objective. To estimate the impact of a soft cap (a ceiling on utilization beyond which insured enrollees pay a higher copayment) on low‐income elders' use of prescription drugs.Data Sources and Setting. Claims and enrollment files for the first year (  June 2002 through May 2003) of the Illinois SeniorCare program, a state pharmacy assistance program, and Medicare claims and enrollment files, 2001 through 2003. SeniorCare enrolled non‐Medicaid‐eligible elders with income less than 200 percent of Federal Poverty Level. Minimal copays increased by 20 percent of prescription cost when enrollee expenditures reached $1,750.Research Design. Models were estimated for three dependent variables: enrollees' average monthly utilization (number of prescriptions), spending, and the proportion of drugs that were generic rather than brand. Observations included all program enrollees who exceeded the cap and covered two periods, before and after the cap was exceeded.Principle Findings. On average, enrollees exceeding the cap reduced the number of drugs they purchased by 14 percent, monthly expenditures decreased by 19 percent, and the proportion generic increased by 4 percent, all significant at p<.01. Impacts were greater for enrollees with greater initial spending, for enrollees without one of five chronic illness diagnoses in the previous calendar year, and for enrollees with lower income.Conclusions. Near‐poor elders enrolled in plans with caps or coverage gaps, including Part D plans, may face sharp declines in utilization when they exceed these thresholds.
Soft tissues healing at immediate transmucosal implants placed into molar extraction sites with buccal self‐contained dehiscences. A 12‐month controlled clinical trial
Authors: Siciliano V. Iorio , Salvi G. E. , Matarasso S. , Cafiero C. , Blasi A. , Lang N. P. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAim: To assess soft tissues healing at immediate transmucosal implants placed into molar extraction sites with buccal self‐contained dehiscences.Material and methods: For this 12‐month controlled clinical trial, 15 subjects received immediate transmucosal tapered‐effect (TE) implants placed in molar extraction sockets displaying a buccal bone dehiscence (test sites) with a height and a width of ≥3 mm, respectively. Peri‐implant marginal defects were treated according to the principles of Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) by means of deproteinized bovine bone mineral particles in conjunction with a bioresorbable collagen membrane. Fifteen subjects received implants in healed molar sites (control sites) with intact buccal alveolar walls following tooth extraction. In total, 30 TE implants with an endosseous diameter of 4.8 mm and a shoulder diameter of 6.5 mm were used. Flaps were repositioned and sutured, allowing non‐submerged, transmucosal soft tissues healing. At the 12‐month follow‐up, pocket probing depths (PPD) and clinical attachment levels (CAL) were compared between implants placed in the test and the control sites, respectively.Results: All subjects completed the 12‐month follow‐up period. All implants healed uneventfully, yielding a survival rate of 100%. After 12 months, statistically significantly higher (P<0.05) PPD and CAL values were recorded around implants placed in the test sites compared with those placed in the control sites.Conclusions: The findings of this controlled clinical trial showed that healing following immediate transmucosal implant installation in molar extraction sites with wide and shallow buccal dehiscences yielded less favorable outcomes compared with those of implants placed in healed sites, and resulted in lack of ‘complete’ osseointegration.
Assessment of infrazygomatic bone depth for mini‐screw insertion
Authors: Baumgaertel Sebastian , Hans Mark G. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractObjective: To investigate the bone depth at the infrazygomatic crest with regard to orthodontic mini‐screw insertion.Material and methods: Twenty‐nine adult human dry skulls were imaged using CBCT technology, slice data were generated and multiple measurements were undertaken at three sites associated with the infrazygomatic crest and five different measurement levels. The data were analyzed using intraclass correlation and repeated measures ANOVA.Results: The greatest bone depth was available at, on average, 11.48±1.92 mm apical from the cemento‐enamel junction of the maxillary first molar and decreased rapidly further apically. Maximum bone depth (7.05±3.7 mm) was present at the lowest measurement level. However, here, insufficient clearance to the molar roots was present. Both the measurement site and the level at which the measurements were conducted had a significant impact on bone depth.Conclusions: When inserting orthodontic mini‐screws (6 mm or longer) into the infrazygomatic crest while staying clear of the molar roots perforation of the maxillary sinus or the nasal cavity can be expected, but bone depth varies considerably between individuals.
Experimental hyperhomocysteinaemia: differences in tissue metabolites between homocystine and methionine feeding in a rat model
Authors: Pexa A. , Herrmann M. , Taban‐Shomal O. , Henle T. , Deussen A. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractAim:  Hyperhomocysteinaemia, diagnosed by serum levels, is regarded as an independent risk indicator for cardiovascular events and is associated with various diseases. The pathomechanisms seem to be partly due to concentrations of homocysteine metabolites and their effect on the cellular transmethylation processes.Methods:  We compared two common models for experimental hyperhomocysteinaemia – high methionine diet and homocystine‐enriched diet – regarding their effects on tissue concentrations of homocysteine metabolites.Results:  Both diets induced hyperhomocysteinaemia without affecting renal function or vitamine status. However, the tissue contents of homocysteine and its precursors S‐adenosyl‐homocysteine (SAH) and S‐adenosyl‐methionine exhibited major differences between both models. Transmethylation potential was elevated 1.7‐fold in liver of rats fed the methionine diet, whereas it was unaltered after homocystine‐enriched diet. Kidneys of rats fed the methionine diet did not show any alterations in tissue content of homocysteine and its precursors, whereas in the homocystine group homocysteine and the transmethylation inhibitor SAH were elevated from 23.1 ± 10.4 to 78.0 ± 26.0 nmol g−1 and from 106 ± 4 to 170 ± 22 nmol g−1 respectively. Homocysteine tissue content was elevated in the homocystine, but not in the methionine group.Conclusions:  Alterations to homocysteine metabolism are distinct in both models. These findings may explain divergent results, which have been published for these models of hyperhomocysteinaemia and which have resulted in controversial discussions in the past.
Circulatory effects of apnoea in elite breath‐hold divers
Authors: Joulia F. , Lemaitre F. , Fontanari P. , Mille M. L. , Barthelemy P. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractAim:  Voluntary apnoea induces several physiological adaptations, including bradycardia, arterial hypertension and redistribution of regional blood flows. Elite breath‐hold divers (BHDs) are able to maintain very long apnoea, inducing severe hypoxaemia without brain injury or black‐out. It has thus been hypothesized that they develop protection mechanisms against hypoxia, as well as a decrease in overall oxygen uptake.Methods:  To test this hypothesis, the apnoea response was studied in BHDs and non‐divers (NDs) during static and dynamic apnoeas (SA, DA). Heart rate, arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), and popliteal artery blood flow were recorded to investigate the oxygen‐conserving effect of apnoea response, and the internal carotid artery blood flow was used to examine the mechanisms of cerebral protection.Results:  The bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction were accentuated in BHDs compared with NDs (P < 0.01), in association with a smaller SaO2 decrease (−2.7% vs. −4.9% during SA, P < 0.01 and −6% vs. −11.3% during DA, P < 0.01). Greater increase in carotid artery blood flow was also measured during apnoea in BHDs than in controls.Conclusion:  These results confirm that elite divers present a potentiation of the well‐known apnoea response in both SA and DA conditions. This response is associated with higher brain perfusion which may partly explain the high levels of world apnoea records.
Ageing influences myonuclear domain size differently in fast and slow skeletal muscle of rats
Authors: Brooks N. E. , Schuenke M. D. , Hikida R. S. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractAim:  In multinucleated skeletal muscle, a myonuclear domain is the region of cytoplasm governed by one nucleus, and myofibres are mosaics of overlapping myonuclear domains. Association of ageing and myonuclear domain is important in the understanding of sarcopenia and with prevention or combating age‐related muscle declines. This study examined the effects of age, fibre type and muscle on nucleo‐cytoplasmic (N/C) relationships as reflecting myonuclear domain size.Methods:  The N/C was compared in fibre types of soleus and plantaris muscles from young (n = 6) and ageing (n = 8) male Fisher 344 rats.Results:  There were no significant differences in fibre type composition or cross‐sectional area of the soleus across ages. The old soleus had significantly more myonuclei, resulting in a significantly smaller myonuclear domain size. The plantaris muscle showed a higher percentage of slow fibres in old compared with young fibres. There were no differences in the number of myonuclei or in myonuclear domain size between young and older animals.Conclusion:  We found muscle‐specific differences in the effects of ageing on myonuclear domain, possibly as a result of reduced efficiency of the myonuclei in the slow muscles.
Warrior‐Monks in Japanese History1
Authors: Adolphson Mikael S. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractJapan's early medieval age, roughly the late eleventh through the late fourteenth centuries, is usually described as an age when power shifted from noble elites to the warrior class, most commonly embodied in the cultic samurai. However, scholars subscribing to the notion of a clearly defined military class with a common ethos from this period will find few figures in the premodern age that correspond to those idealized images. Those who fought came from all facets of society, indicating that the separation of the samurai from other warriors was a much later invention. This distinction of different fighters have affected monastic warriors more than any other group, for they have been seen as a negative influence on society, often referred to by the later term sōhei (monk‐warriors). This essay explores the social origins of monastic warriors, their relationship to those we now call samurai (or bushi) during the early medieval age, and the later creation of stereotypical images of evil naginata (glaive)‐wielding monks that have dominated both popular culture and academe until the present.
Using Intersectionality to Examine the New Complexities of Work Identities and Social Class
Authors: Kirk John 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis article explores how the concept of intersectionality is useful for examining how class location and gender intersect in the workplace. Intersectionality foregrounds the complex ways that work identity is negotiated and achieved and how formations of identity constitute complex affiliations, solidarities and tensions in the workplace. I use data from oral histories of railway workers to illustrate the usefulness of intersectionality as an approach to analysing work. Intersectionality and the concept of structures of feeling are important tools for examining how work shapes social identity and action. These concepts have been central to an important research project conducted at the Working Lives Research Institute, part of the wider ESRC Identities programme.
DNA as an Adhesin:
Bacillus cereus
Requires Extracellular DNA To Form Biofilms
Authors: Vilain Sébastien , Pretorius Jakobus M. , Theron Jacques , Brözel Volker S. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

The soil saprophyte
Bacillus cereus
forms biofilms at solid-liquid interfaces. The composition of the extracellular polymeric matrix is not known, but biofilms of other bacteria are encased in polysaccharides, protein, and also extracellular DNA (eDNA). A Tn
917
screen for strains impaired in biofilm formation at a solid-liquid interface yielded several mutants. Three mutants deficient in the purine biosynthesis genes
purA
,
purC
, and
purL
were biofilm impaired, but they grew planktonically like the wild type in Luria-Bertani broth. Biofilm populations had higher
purA
,
purC
, and
purL
transcript ratios than planktonic cultures, as measured by real-time PCR. Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) of BacLight-stained samples indicated that there were nucleic acids in the cell-associated matrix. This eDNA could be mobilized off the biofilm into an agarose gel matrix through electrophoresis, and it was a substrate for DNase. Glass surfaces exposed to exponentially growing populations acquired a DNA-containing conditioning film, as indicated by LSCM. Planktonic exponential-phase cells released DNA into an agarose gel matrix through electrophoresis, while stationary-phase populations did not do this. DNase treatment of planktonic exponential-phase populations rendered cells more susceptible than control populations to the DNA-interacting antibiotic actinomycin D. Exponential-phase
purA
cells did not contain detectable eDNA, nor did they convey a DNA-containing conditioning film to the glass surface. These results indicate that exponential-phase cells of
B. cereus
ATCC 14579 are decorated with eDNA and that biofilm formation requires DNA as part of the extracellular polymeric matrix.
Effect of Freezing on PCR Amplification of 16S rRNA Genes from Microbes Associated with Black Band Disease of Corals
Authors: Sekar Raju , Kaczmarsky Longin T. , Richardson Laurie L. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT
Molecular analysis of black band disease of corals revealed that samples frozen immediately after collection yielded more proteobacterial 16S rRNA sequences, while unfrozen samples produced more cyanobacterial and sulfur-oxidizing bacterial sequences. These results suggest the need to use multiple approaches for preparation of samples to characterize this complex polymicrobial disease.
Mutagenesis of the Bacterial RNA Polymerase Alpha Subunit for Improvement of Complex Phenotypes
Authors: Klein-Marcuschamer Daniel , Santos Christine Nicole S. , Yu Huimin , Stephanopoulos Gregory 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

Combinatorial or random methods for strain engineering have been extensively used for the improvement of multigenic phenotypes and other traits for which the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Although the preferred method has traditionally been mutagenesis and selection, our laboratory has successfully used mutant transcription factors, which direct the RNA polymerase (RNAP) during transcription, to engineer complex phenotypes in microbial cells. Here, we show that it is also possible to impart new phenotypes by altering the RNAP core enzyme itself, in particular through mutagenesis of the alpha subunit of the bacterial polymerase. We present the use of this tool for improving tolerance of
Escherichia coli
to butanol and other solvents and for increasing the titers of two commercially relevant products,
l
-tyrosine and hyaluronic acid. In addition, we explore the underlying physiological changes that give rise to the solvent-tolerant mutant.
Evaluation of Single-Nucleotide Primer Extension for Detection and Typing of Phylogenetic Markers Used for Investigation of Microbial Communities
Authors: Nikolausz Marcell , Chatzinotas Antonis , Táncsics András , Imfeld Gwenaël , Kästner Matthias 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT
Single-nucleotide primer extension (SNuPE) is an emerging tool for parallel detection of DNA sequences of different target microorganisms. The specificity and sensitivity of the SNuPE method were assessed by performing single and multiplex reactions using defined template mixtures of 16S rRNA gene PCR products obtained from pure bacterial cultures. The mismatch discrimination potential of primer extension was investigated by introducing different single and multiple primer-target mismatches. The type and position of the mismatch had significant effects on the specificity of the assay. While a 3′-terminal mismatch has a considerable effect on the fidelity of the extension reaction, the internal mismatches influenced hybridization mostly by destabilizing the hybrid duplex. Thus, carefully choosing primer-mismatch positions should result in a high signal-to-noise ratio and prevent any nonspecific extension. Cyclic fluorescent labeling of the hybridized primers via extension also resulted in a significant increase in the detection sensitivity of the PCR. In multiplex reactions, the signal ratios detected after specific primer extension correlated with the original template ratios. In addition, reverse-transcribed 16S rRNA was successfully used as a nonamplified template to prove the applicability of SNuPE in a PCR-independent manner. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the great potential of SNuPE for simultaneous detection and typing of various nucleic acid sequences from both environmental and engineered samples.
Succession of Selected Strains of
Acetobacter pasteurianus
and Other Acetic Acid Bacteria in Traditional Balsamic Vinegar
Authors: Gullo Maria , De Vero Luciana , Giudici Paolo 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

The application of a selected
Acetobacter pasteurianus
strain for traditional balsamic vinegar production was assessed. Genomic DNA was extracted from biofilms after enrichment cultures on GYC medium (10% glucose, 1.0% yeast extract, 2.0% calcium carbonate) and used for PCR/denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus/PCR sequencing. Results suggested that double-culture fermentation is suitable for traditional balsamic vinegar acetification.
Fermentative Production of Thymidine by a Metabolically Engineered
Escherichia coli
Strain
Authors: Lee Hyeon Cheol , Kim Jin Ha , Kim Jin Sook , Jang Wonhee , Kim Sang Yong 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

Thymidine is an important precursor in the production of various antiviral drugs, including azidothymidine for the treatment of AIDS. Since thymidine-containing nucleotides are synthesized only by the de novo pathway during DNA synthesis, it is not easy to produce a large amount of thymidine biologically. In order to develop a host strain to produce thymidine, thymidine phosphorylase, thymidine kinase, and uridine phosphorylase genes were deleted from an
Escherichia coli
BL21 strain to develop BLdtu. Since the genes coding for the enzymes related to the nucleotide salvage pathway were disrupted, BLdtu was unable to utilize thymidine or thymine, and thymidine degradation activity was completely abrogated. We additionally expressed T4 thymidylate synthase, T4 nucleotide diphosphate reductase, bacteriophage PBS2 TMP phosphohydrolase,
E. coli
dCTP deaminase, and
E. coli
uridine kinase in the BLdtu strain to develop a thymidine-producing strain (BLdtu24). BLdtu24 produced 649.3 mg liter
−1
of thymidine in a 7-liter batch fermenter for 24 h, and neither thymine nor uridine was detected. However, the dUTP/dTTP ratio was increased in BLdtu24, which could lead to increased double-strand breakages and eventually to cell deaths during fermentation. To enhance thymidine production and to prevent cell deaths during fermentation, we disrupted a gene (encoding uracil-DNA
N
-glycosylase) involved in DNA excision repair to suppress the consumption of dTTP and developed BLdtug24. Compared with the thymidine production in BLdtu24, the thymidine production in BLdtug24 was increased by ∼1.2-fold (740.3 mg liter
−1
). Here, we show that a thymidine-producing strain with a relatively high yield can be developed using a metabolic engineering approach.
Heterologous Expression of Tulip Petal Plasma Membrane Aquaporins in
Pichia pastoris
for Water Channel Analysis
Authors: Azad Abul Kalam , Sawa Yoshihiro , Ishikawa Takahiro , Shibata Hitoshi 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

Water channels formed by aquaporins (AQPs) play an important role in the control of water homeostasis in individual cells and in multicellular organisms. Plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs) constitute a subclass of plant AQPs. TgPIP2;1 and TgPIP2;2 from tulip petals are members of the PIP family. In this study, we overexpressed TgPIP2;1 and TgPIP2;2 in
Pichia pastoris
and monitored their water channel activity (WCA) either by an in vivo spheroplast-bursting assay performed after hypo-osmotic shock or by growth assay. Osmolarity, pH, and inhibitors of AQPs, protein kinases (PKs), and protein phosphatases (PPs) affect the WCA of heterologous AQPs in this expression system. The WCA of TgPIP2;2-expressing spheroplasts was affected by inhibitors of PKs and PPs, which indicates that the water channel of this homologue is regulated by phosphorylation in
P. pastoris
. From the results reported herein, we suggest that
P. pastoris
can be employed as a heterologous expression system to assay the WCA of PIPs and to monitor the AQP-mediated channel gating mechanism, and it can be developed to screen inhibitors/effectors of PIPs.