bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Macromolecular synthesis by yeasts under frozen conditions
Authors: Amato Pierre , Doyle Shawn , Christner Brent C. 
Published: December 2008

SummaryAlthough viable fungi have been recovered from a wide variety of icy environments, their metabolic capabilities under frozen conditions are still largely unknown. We investigated basidiomycetous yeasts isolated from an Antarctic ice core and showed that after freezing at a relatively slow rate (0.8°C min−1), the cells are excluded into veins of liquid at the triple junctions of ice crystals. These strains were capable of reproductive growth at −5°C under liquid conditions. Under frozen conditions, metabolic activity was assessed by measuring rates of [3H]leucine incorporation into the acid‐insoluble macromolecular fraction, which decreased exponentially at temperatures between 15°C and −15°C and was inhibited by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. Experiments at −5°C under frozen and liquid conditions revealed 2–3 orders of magnitude lower rates of endogenous metabolism in ice, likely due to the high salinity in the liquid fraction of the ice (equivalent of ≈ 1.4 mol l−1 of NaCl at −5°C). The mesophile Saccharomyces cerevisae also incorporated [3H]leucine at −5°C and −15°C, indicating that this activity is not exclusive to cold‐adapted microorganisms. The ability of yeast cells to incorporate amino acid substrates into macromolecules and remain metabolically active under these conditions has implications for understanding the survival of Eukarya in icy environments.
Local recurrence after abdomino‐perineal resection
Authors: Davies M. , Harries D. , Hirst G. , Beynon R. , Morgan A. R. , Carr N. D. , Beynon J. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractObjective  Local recurrence of rectal cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality following curative resection. The published rates vary after abdomino‐perineal resection (APR) from 5% to 47%. The aim of this study was to evaluate local recurrence following curative APR for low rectal cancer in our unit.Method  The medical notes of patients treated between 1st January 1996 and 31st December 2000 were retrieved. Local recurrence was defined as the presence of tumour within the pelvis confirmed by clinical findings, pathological specimen or radiological reports. A curative resection was defined as excision of tumour in the absence of macroscopic metastatic disease and whose resection margins were greater than 1 mm circumferentially and 10 mm distally. Outcomes and survival were compared using Fisher’s exact test and Kaplan–Meier method.Results  Two hundred consecutive cases with a diagnosis of rectal cancer were identified of which 139 underwent a curative resection (69.5%). Of these 40 patients (28%) underwent APR with curative intent. Two patients (5%) developed local recurrence at 18 and 24 months respectively. The overall local recurrence rate for all curative rectal cancer surgery, in the same period was 2.6%. Eleven patients have died in the follow‐up period of which nine were cancer‐related deaths.Conclusion  The local recurrence rates achieved with APR were not significantly different from those achieved with restorative operations. Tumours at the ano‐rectal junction should not be dissected off the pelvic floor, but radically excised en bloc with the surrounding levator ani, as a cylinder, as originally described by Miles.
Imperiled and Perilous: Exploring the History of Childhood Sexuality
Authors: EGAN R. DANIELLE , HAWKES GAIL L. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractThis article explores the dominant cultural constructions of the child and its sexuality that emerged over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century in the Anglophone west. Examining how the child and its sexuality were constructed within reform and institutional discourse, we illuminate the social and political implications of frameworks of protection. We argue that discourses of protection foreclose the possibility of the sexual agency of children. The regulation, management and protection of childhood sexuality in various cultural contexts are key themes in the articles featured in this special issue on the history of sexuality of childhood and youth.
The Tightrope of Normalcy: Homosexuality, Developmental Citizenship, and American Adolescence, 1890–1940
Authors: ROMESBURG DON 
Published: December 2008

AbstractIn the early twentieth century, American developmental citizenship presumed a gradual extension of rights based upon a naturalized trajectory that would lead individuals toward heterosexuality, gender complimentarity, and increasing social and political investment. Means changed dramatically through which psychological, pedagogical, and political discourses positioned adolescence, sexuality, and gender in relationship to national belonging. Yet compliance with gender and sexual normativity as a marker of successful adjustment into adulthood persisted as a powerful precondition to full citizenship. Figurative “problem youth” were attacked in part because they threatened to expose exclusionary assumptions undergirding supposedly universal ideals in optimistic modern American democracy.
“Children's Talk and Parental Fear”. Cases of Sexual Misconduct in Danish State Schools 1900–19701
Authors: DE CONINCK‐SMITH NING 
Published: December 2008

AbstractCases of sexual misconduct in Danish state schools became the objects of attention in the years following the turn of the 20th Century. An analysis of 85 cases where teachers were accused of sexual misconduct towards their students reveals that the period from 1900 to 1970 present a set of changes in the attitudes to and management of intergenerational sexuality. Throughout these years there existed three ambivalent features relating to the child and its sexuality, to the pros and cons of reporting the case, and to the behaviour of the masculine teacher at a time of changing pedagogical ideals.
CHALLENGING THE RHETORIC OF CHOICE IN PRENATAL SCREENING
Authors: SEAVILLEKLEIN VICTORIA 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTPrenatal screening, consisting of maternal serum screening and nuchal translucency screening, is on the verge of expansion, both by being offered to more pregnant women and by screening for more conditions. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have each recently recommended that screening be extended to all pregnant women regardless of age, disease history, or risk status. This screening is commonly justified by appeal to the value of autonomy, or women's choice. In this paper, I critically examine the value of autonomy in the context of prenatal screening to determine whether it justifies the routine offer of screening and the expansion of screening services. I argue that in the vast majority of cases the option of prenatal screening does not promote or protect women's autonomy. Both a narrow conception of choice as informed consent and a broad conception of choice as relational reveal difficulties in achieving adequate standards of free informed choice. While there are reasons to worry that women's autonomy is not being protected or promoted within the limited scope of current practice, we should hesitate before normalizing it as part of standard prenatal care for all.
RETHINKING RADICAL POLITICS IN THE CONTEXT OF ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Authors: PARKS JENNIFER 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTRadical feminists have argued for both the radical potential of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and its oppressive and damaging effects for women. This paper will address the question of what constitutes a radical feminist position on ART; I will argue that the very debate over whether ART liberates or oppresses women is misguided, and that instead the issue should be understood dialectically. Reproductive technologies are neither inherently liberating nor entirely oppressive: we can only understand the potential and effects by considering how they are actually taken up within a culture. The internal contradictions, tensions, and inconsistencies within ART and the way it is addressed within the law points to a dialectic that resists a simple reductivist understanding.
TOWARD A GENDER‐SENSITIVE ASSISTED REPRODUCTION POLICY
Authors: DONCHIN ANNE 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTThe recent case of the UK woman who lost her legal struggle to be impregnated with her own frozen embryos, raises critical issues about the meaning of reproductive autonomy and the scope of regulatory practices. I revisit this case within the context of contemporary debate about the moral and legal dimensions of assisted reproduction. I argue that the gender neutral context that frames discussion of regulatory practices is unjust unless it gives appropriate consideration to the different positions women and men occupy in relation to reproductive processes and their options for autonomous choice. First, I consider relevant legal rulings, media debate, and scholarly commentary. Then I discuss the concept of reproductive autonomy imbedded in this debate. I argue that this concept conflates informed consent and reproductive autonomy, thereby providing an excessively narrow reading of autonomy that fails to give due regard to relations among individuals or the social, political and economic environment that shapes their options. I contrast this notion of autonomy with feminist formulations that seek to preserve respect for the agency of individuals without severing them from the conditions of their embodiment, their surrounding social relationships, or the political contexts that shape their options. Taking these considerations into account I weigh the advantages of regulation over the commercial market arrangement that prevails in some countries and suggest general guidelines for a regulatory policy that would more equitably resolve conflicting claims to reproductive autonomy.
IN FAVOUR OF FREEZING EGGS FOR NON‐MEDICAL REASONS
Authors: GOOLD IMOGEN , SAVULESCU JULIAN 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTThis article explores the social benefits and moral arguments in favour of women and couples freezing eggs and embryos for social reasons. Social IVF promotes equal participation by women in employment; it offers women more time to choose a partner; it provides better opportunities for the child as it allows couples more time to become financially stable; it may reduce the risk of genetic and chromosomal abnormality; it allows women and couples to have another child if circumstances change; it offers an option to women and children at risk of ovarian failure; it may increase the egg and embryo pool. There are strong arguments based on equal concern and respect for women which require that women have access to this new technology. Freezing eggs also avoids some of the moral objections associated with freezing embryos.
New Wine in Old Bottles: Critical Discourse Analysis of the Current Common EU Agricultural Policy Reform Agenda
Authors: Erjavec Karmen , Erjavec Emil , Juvančič Luka 
Published: December 2008

AbstractA critical discourse analysis of two EU agricultural commissioners' speeches in the period 2000–2006 was carried out and substantiated by rational choice theory. The analysis reveals how the latest Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms have been gradually overturning prevailing CAP discourses. The neo‐mercantilism discourse that dominated for decades has been replaced by the discourse of multifunctionality. With the change of commissioners in 2004, the emphasis on the multifunctionality discourse has changed. The legitimisation of the CAP with environmental and rural public goods has been replaced by less well‐articulated arguments of ‘quality production’ and ‘competitiveness’, implying a gradual move to a neoliberal orientation for the future CAP.
The impact of Chinese monetary policy shocks on East and South‐East Asia1
Authors: Koluk Tomasz , Mehrotra Aaron 
Published: December 2008

AbstractWe study the effects of Chinese monetary policy shocks on China's major trading partners in East and South‐East Asia by estimating structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) models for six economies in the region. We find that a monetary expansion in Mainland China leads to an increase in real GDP (temporary) and the price level (permanent) in a number of economies in our sample, most notably in Hong Kong and the Philippines. The impact could result from intertemporal substitution present in a general equilibrium framework, which allows for positive domestic impacts of foreign monetary expansions. Our results emphasize the growing importance of China for its neighbouring economies and the significance of Chinese shocks for the design of monetary policy in Asian economies.
Staff attitudes towards the sexuality of people with learning disabilities: a comparison of different professional groups and residential facilities
Authors: Grieve Alan , McLaren Shona , Lindsay William , Culling Ewan 
Published: December 2008

Accessible summaryThis study asked 188 nurses and care staff what they thought about people with learning disabilities having relationships. Other studies found that care stuff often think that it is not okay for people with learning disabilities to have relationships. Studies have also found that staff do not think that it is okay for men to have relationships with other men. This study found that:

Staff in the community were more likely than nursing home staff to think that it was okay for people with learning disabilities to have relationships.
Staff with more training were likely to think that it was okay for people with learning disabilities to have relationships.
Nursing home staff were less likely to think that it was okay for men with learning disabilities to have relationships with other men.

SummaryThe role of care staff is invaluable in the day to day living of many people with learning disabilities. Consequently, care staff can often have substantial influence, although this may not always serve the best interests of the individual. Previous studies have shown significant levels of stigma towards people with learning disabilities, both from other members of the community and from carers. This is especially the case in relation to the sexuality of people with learning disabilities. Standardised measures of attitudes towards the sexuality of people with learning disabilities (Mitchell et al. 1978) were completed by qualified nurses and other care staff (n = 188). Place of employment was a main variable and it was found that nursing home staff held significantly more conservative attitudes when compared with community care staff. This was the case with attitudes towards homosexuality, and attitudes towards the sexuality of people with mild, moderate and severe/profound learning disabilities. Levels of training emerged as a significant factor. These findings suggest that training and education on issues relating to the sexuality of people with learning disabilities may benefit all care staff, and especially those who work in nursing homes. Training may help to change their attitudes and develop an awareness of the ways in which people with learning disabilities form loving and personal relationships.
Noradrenergic parenchymal nerve fiber branching after cold acclimatisation correlates with brown adipocyte density in mouse adipose organ
Authors: Murano I. , Barbatelli G. , Giordano A. , Cinti S. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractThe mammalian adipose organ is composed of subcutaneous and visceral depots containing white and brown adipocytes. Cold acclimatisation induces an increase in the brown component without affecting the overall number of adipocytes; this form of plasticity is associated to obesity and diabetes resistance in experimental models. Cold activates the drive of the sympathetic nervous system to the adipose organ, where the vast majority of nerve fibers are in fact noradrenergic. However, it is unclear whether and how such fibers are involved in the plastic changes of the adipose organ. We thus conducted a systematic study of the distribution and number of sympathetic noradrenergic nerve fibers in the adipose organ of mice kept at different environmental temperatures. Adult Sv129 female mice were kept at 28 °C or 6 °C for 10 days. The density of tyrosine hydroxylase (noradrenergic)‐positive nerve fibers (no. of fibers per 100 adipocytes) was calculated in the subcutaneous and visceral depots of the adipose organ, and a correlation was sought between fiber density and proportion of brown adipocytes. Tyrosine hydroxylase‐positive parenchymal fibers were detected in all subcutaneous and visceral depots among white as well as brown adipocytes, the mediastinal depot displaying the densest innervation. Cold acclimatisation induced a threefold increase in the total number of TH fibers in the whole organ. The proportion of brown adipocytes positively correlated with noradrenergic fiber density in the organ. Taken together, these data suggest that cold acclimatisation induces noradrenergic fiber branching in the adipose organ of adult mice, and that such changes may be a precondition for its plastic transformation into a brown phenotype.
Determination of metabolic plasmids and their effects on the growth of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis MN24
Authors: AKKOÇ NEFİSE , ŞİMŞEK ÖMER , AKÇELİK MUSTAFA 
Published: December 2008

Mutational analyses revealed the 21.5 kb plasmid‐encoded lactose fermentation and proteolytic activity properties in Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis MN24. Reductions in maximum specific growth rate and population density of the 21.5 kb plasmid‐cured mutant of MN24 confirmed the data obtained by mutation tests. Plasmid curing, polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequence analyses data showed that the lacticin 481 operon was located on 22.4 kb plasmid. The phage resistance system in strain MN24 was identified as an adsorption inhibition type and chromosomally encoded via phage–host interaction tests and mutation analyses.
Isolation and characterization of new exon 11‐associated N‐terminal splice variants of the human mu opioid receptor gene
Authors: Xu Jin , Xu Mingming , Hurd Yasmin L. , Pasternak Gavril W. , Pan Ying‐Xian 
Published: December 2008

AbstractAlternative splicing of the mu opioid receptor genes to create multiple mu receptor subtypes has been demonstrated in animals and humans. Previously, we identified a number of C‐terminal variants in mice, rats and human, followed by several N‐terminal variants associated with a new upstream exon in mice (exon 11). Behavioral studies in exon 11 knockout mice suggest an important role for the exon 11 variants in the analgesic actions of heroin and morphine‐6β‐glucuronide, but not morphine or methadone. We now have identified a homologous human exon 11 and three similar human exon 11‐associated variants, suggesting conservation of exon 11 and its associated variants across species. hMOR‐1i has an additional 93 amino acids at the tip of the N‐terminus but is otherwise identical to hMOR‐1. When expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells, the additional 93 amino acids in hMOR‐1i had little effect on opioid binding, but significantly altered agonist‐induced G‐protein activation. hMOR‐1G1 and hMOR‐1G2 predicted six transmembrane domain variants, similar to those seen in mice. The regional expression of these exon 11‐associated variants, as determined by RT‐PCR, varied markedly, implying region‐specific alternative splicing. The presence of exon 11‐associated variants in humans raises questions regarding their potential role in heroin and morphine‐6β‐glucuronide actions in people as they do in mice.
The Kv2.1 channels mediate neuronal apoptosis induced by excitotoxicity
Authors: Yao Hailan , Zhou Kechun , Yan Dong , Li Mingtao , Wang Yizheng 
Published: December 2008

AbstractChronic loss of intracellular K+ can induce neuronal apoptosis in pathological conditions. However, the mechanism by which the K+ channels are regulated in this process remains largely unknown. Here, we report that the increased membrane expression of Kv2.1 proteins in cortical neurons deprived of serum, a condition known to induce K+ loss, promotes neuronal apoptosis. The increase in IK current density and apoptosis in the neurons deprived of serum were inhibited by a dominant negative form of Kv2.1 and MK801, an antagonist to NMDA receptors. The membrane level of Kv2.1 and its interaction with SNAP25 were increased, whereas the Kv2.1 phosphorylation was inhibited in the neurons deprived of serum. Botulinum neurotoxin, an agent known to prevent formation of soluble N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive factor attachment protein receptor complex, suppressed the increase in IK current density. Together, these results suggest that NMDA receptor‐dependent Kv2.1 membrane translocation is regulated by a soluble N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive factor attachment protein receptor‐dependent vesicular trafficking mechanism and is responsible for neuronal cell death induced by chronic loss of K+.
A rapid technique for assessing the suitability of areas for invasive species applied to New Zealand's rivers
Authors: Kilroy Cathy , Snelder Ton H. , Floerl Oliver , Vieglais Christina C. , Dey Katie L. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTEarly responses to incursions of non‐indigenous species (NIS) into new areas include modelling and surveillance to define the organisms’ potential and actual distributions. For well‐studied invasive species, predictive models can be developed based on quantitative data describing environmental tolerances. In late 2004, an invasive freshwater diatom Didymosphenia geminata, an NIS for which we had no such quantitative data, was detected in a New Zealand river. We describe a procedure used to rapidly develop a classification of suitability for all New Zealand's rivers, based on two sources of information. First, from a review of the limited available literature and unpublished data, we determined that temperature, hydrological and substrate stability, light availability, and water pH were the most important environmental gradients determining D. geminata's broad‐scale distribution and capacity for establishing and forming blooms in rivers. The second information source was a GIS‐based river network developed for a national classification of New Zealand's rivers, with associated data describing environmental characteristics of each section of the network. We used six variables that were available for every section of the network as surrogates for the environmental gradients that determine suitability. We then determined the environmental distance of all the river sections in the network from our assessment of the optimal conditions conducive to D. geminata blooms. The analysis suggested that > 70% of New Zealand's river sections (stream order > 3) fell into the two highest suitability categories (on a five‐point scale). At the time of writing, D. geminata had spread to 12 catchments, all of which were within these two categories. The technique is applicable in initial responses to incursions of NIS where quantitative information is limited, and makes optimal use of available qualitative information. Our assessment contributed to evaluations of the potential ecological, social, and economic impacts of D. geminata and is currently being used to stratify site selection for ongoing surveillance.