bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Global Roles of Currencies*
Authors: Thimann Christian 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis paper presents a new concept – the global roles of currencies. The concept combines the domestic and international (cross‐border) use of currencies, and therefore captures the overall importance of different currencies in a globalized economy. The measure of a currency's global role is based on the size and stage of development of the underlying economy, as well as the size and stage of development of its financial markets and the scope of financial instruments available in this currency. The paper applies the concept to 22 currencies of advanced and emerging economies. The results confirm the well‐known ranking for the leading currencies – in particular the US dollar and the euro – but give considerably greater weight to currencies of emerging economies than the results obtained from the international debt market, which has so far been used as the basis for measuring the international role of currencies in capital markets. The paper also discusses this established measure in detail, arguing that in view of financial globalization, an indicator based on currency shares in the international debt market alone represents a decreasing share of international financial market activity, as this market excludes government debt, other domestic debt and equities, which are increasingly of interest to international investors. The paper also presents an empirical application of the new global concept to examine cross‐border portfolio holdings in debt and equity markets across advanced and emerging economies. It finds that the global role indicator is positively correlated with such holdings and, especially for emerging economies, fares better than the established international debt market indicator. The findings suggest a positive relationship between domestic financial development and international financial integration.
β‐N‐methylamino‐l‐alanine induced in vivo retinal cell death
Authors: Santucci Serena , Zsürger Nicole , Chabry Joëlle 
Published: March 2009

J. Neurochem. (2009) 109, 819–825.AbstractControversial debates still remain around the nature of the etiologic agent responsible for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/Parkinson dementia complex (ALS/PDC) whose incidence is unusually high among the population of the pacific island of Guam. It has been hypothesized that the neurotoxin β‐N‐methylamino‐l‐alanine (l‐BMAA) produced by cyanobacteria in the roots of Cycas Circinalis seeds might trigger ALS/PDC. Frequently observed in patients with ALS/PDC, retinopathy is one of the clinical features of the disease. The effect of the l‐BMAA on cell viability was examined in vivo by measuring the electrophysiological activity of the mouse retinal neurons by electroretinography recordings. Intra‐ocular injections of l‐BMAA selectively reduced the b‐wave amplitude, without affecting neither the a‐wave amplitude nor the a‐ and b‐latencies. The cell death of retinal cells was evidenced by histology on retina sections, caspase 3 activation, incorporation of propidium iodide and production of reactive oxygen species. Co‐injection with the specific NMDA antagonist, MK‐801, significantly protected the retinal neurons from l‐BMAA/NMDA‐induced apoptosis. We provide evidence that l‐BMAA induced neuronal cell death in vivo supporting a direct causal link between l‐BMAA and neuronal damages.
Proteomic identification and profiling of canine lymphoma patients*
Authors: Ratcliffe L. , Mian S. , Slater K. , King H. , Napolitano M. , Aucoin D. , Mobasheri A. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis study employed proteomic and bioinformatic approaches to identify serum biomarkers in canine lymphoma patients. Chilled serum samples derived from non‐lymphoma (n = 92) and lymphoma (n = 87) patients were shipped from first opinion veterinary practices, subjected to ion exchange chromatography and analysed by surface‐enhanced laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. Nineteen serum protein peaks were identified between the two groups as being significantly different (P < 0.05) based upon their normalized ion intensities. Two biomarkers were identified that were capable of differentiating lymphoma and non‐lymphoma patients. Analysis of the test data provided a positive predictive value (PPV) of 82%. A clinical follow‐up study was carried out on 96 canine patients suspected of having lymphoma. Evaluation of this data gave a specificity value of 91%, sensitivity of 75%, PPV of 80% and negative predictive value of 88%. In conclusion, the expression pattern of two serum biomarkers has enabled serum samples to be classified into either lymphoma or non‐lymphoma categories.
Redundant Protective Barriers: Minimizing Operator Occupational Risk
Authors: CHALLA KARTHIK , WARREN STAFFORD G. , DANAK SUBHASH , BATES MARK C. 
Published: March 2009

Background: The ubiquitous use of less invasive therapeutic angiographic procedures has created the milieu for long‐term occupational risk of cancer and genetic defects. This study set out to determine the relative effectiveness of redundant radiation protective barriers and their impact on operator total‐body‐ionizing radiation exposure in the catheterization suite.
Methods: Thermolucent dosimeter x‐irradiation was measured inside and outside personal and movable protective barriers used concurrently during 50 consecutive procedures by a single operator. Additionally, the entrance/exit doses were recorded on the back and chest for all patients to provide insight into radiation scatter patterns.
Results: The x‐ray beam had an average 90.8% decrement in energy traversing the patient's chest when entrance and exit doses were compared, suggesting a 3.3‐fold greater operator scatter radiation exposure below the table compared with that above the table. All 0.5‐mm lead equivalent personal barriers reduced operator exposure by 72–95%, whereas the 1.0‐mm leaded personal barrier (overlapping gown) reduced exposure by 96%. The 0.75‐mm leaded glasses reduced exposure to the left eye by 67%. A leaded left‐hand glove reduced exposure by only 20%. The effective calculated operator radiation exposure risk reduction provided by the use of personal and movable barriers reduced the theoretical risk of fatal or nonfatal cancer by 22‐fold while decreasing potential severe genetic effect by 25‐fold in comparison to movable barriers alone.
Conclusions: The optimal use of combined personal and movable (redundant) lead barriers results in a significant reduction in total‐body operator radiation exposure in the catheterization laboratory. The use of redundant barriers in the catheterization suite is associated with a dramatic theoretical long‐term occupational risk reduction and should be encouraged.
The disintegrin‐metalloproteinases ADAM 10, 12 and 17 are upregulated in invading peripheral tumor cells of basal cell carcinomas
Authors: Oh Shin Taek , Schramme A. , Stark A. , Tilgen W. , Gutwein P. , Reichrath J. 
Published: March 2009

Background:  Members of the a disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM) family are expressed in malignant tumors and participate in the pathogenesis of cancer. However, the presence of ADAM 10, 12, 17 and their role in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) have not been described. The purpose of this study was to investigate expression of ADAM 10, 12 and 17 in BCC.Methods:  Expression of ADAM 10, 12 and 17 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in skin tissues obtained from 25 patients with different types of BCC.Results:  Immunoreactivity of ADAM 10, 12 and 17 was increased at the peripheral tumor margin compared with central areas of BCC tumor cell nests. Immunoreactivity of ADAM 10 and 12 was increased in the deep margin of invading tumor cell nests in mixed BCC. Focally increased expression of ADAM 12 was detected in squamous differentiated tumor cells of nodular BCC. In addition, immunoreactivity of ADAM 17 was increased in superficial BCC.Conclusions:  ADAM 10, 12 and 17 showed different expression pattern in BCC histologic subtypes, indicating their different role in the BCC pathogenesis. Overexpression of ADAM 10, 12 and 17 immunoreactivity in deep invasion area of BCC indicates that these three proteases may play an important role in the locally invasive and highly destructive growth behavior of BCC. Additionally, we suggest that ADAM 17 may play an important role in early development of BCC.
Tree regeneration before and after restoration treatments in managed boreal Picea abies stands
Authors: De Chantal M. , Lilja‐Rothsten S. , Peterson C. , Kuuluvainen T. , Vanha‐Majamaa I. , Puttonen P. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractQuestions: What are the short‐term effects of restoration treatments, including fire and/or partial cutting with dead wood creation, on seedling density and distribution among microsites, and do they differ between upland and paludified biotopes?Location: Mature managed Picea abies‐dominated stands in southern Finland.Methods: The restoration treatments consisted of four levels of cutting, with and without fire: uncut, low‐CWD (partial cutting leaving 50 m3 ha−1 of standing retention trees and 5 m3 ha−1 of down retention trees, DRT), intermediate‐CWD (as previous but with 30 m3 ha−1 of DRT), and high‐CWD (as previous but with 60 m3 ha−1 of DRT).Results: The cutting treatment alone did not affect seedling density. Fire had an immediate effect, both by itself in upland biotopes (decreasing effect on P. abies density) and in combination with cutting in paludified biotopes (increasing effect on Betula spp. density). The density of other deciduous species (Sorbus aucuparia, Populus tremula, and Salix spp.) was not affected. Before treatments, seedlings grew predominantly on level ground and mounds. After treatments, more Betula, but fewer P. abies and other deciduous species, grew on these microsites. More Betula and other deciduous species grew next to CWD and under a fallen crown; more P. abies grew under a fallen crown in unburned stands.Conclusion: The post‐treatment tree seedling density and distribution among microsites can be affected by restoration treatments. However, knowledge of local site characteristics and their interaction with different restoration treatments is needed to achieve the goals set for restoration at the stand and landscape levels.
Changes in vegetation types and Ellenberg indicator values after 65 years of fertilizer application in the Rengen Grassland Experiment, Germany
Authors: Chytrý Milan , Hejcman Michal , Hennekens Stephan M. , Schellberg Jürgen 
Published: March 2009

AbstractQuestion: How does semi‐natural grassland diversify after 65 years of differential application of Ca, N, P, and K fertilizers? Is fertilizer application adequately reflected by the Ellenberg indicator values (EIVs)?Location: Eifel Mountains, West Germany.Methods: The Rengen Grassland Experiment (RGE) was established in an oligotrophic grassland in 1941. Six fertilizer treatments (Ca, CaN, CaNP, CaNP‐KCl, CaNP‐K2SO4, and unfertilized control) were applied annually in five complete randomized blocks. Species composition of experimental plots was sampled in 2006 and compared with constancy tables representing grassland types in a phytosociological monograph of a wider area. Each plot was matched to the most similar community type using the Associa method. Mean EIVs were calculated for each treatment.Results: The control plots supported oligotrophic Nardus grassland of the Polygalo‐Nardetum association (Violion caninae alliance). Vegetation in the Ca and CaN treatments mostly resembled montane meadow of Geranio‐Trisetetum (Polygono‐Trisetion). Transitional types between Poo‐Trisetetum and Arrhenatheretum (both from the Arrhenatherion alliance) developed in the CaNP treatment. In the CaNP‐KCl and CaNP‐K2SO4 treatments, vegetation corresponded to the mesotrophic Arrhenatheretum meadow. Major discontinuity in species composition was found between control, Ca, and CaN treatments, and all treatments with P application. EIVs for both nutrients and soil reaction were considerably higher in P treatments than in Ca and CaN treatments. Surprisingly, the control plots had the lowest EIVs for continentality and moisture, although these factors had not been manipulated in the experiment.Conclusions: Long‐term fertilizer application can create different plant communities belonging to different phytosociological alliances and classes, even within a distance of a few meters. Due to their correlated nature, EIVs can erroneously indicate changes in factors that actually did not change, but co‐varied with factors that did change. In P‐limited ecosystems, EIVs for nutrients may indicate availability of P rather than N.
Breastfeeding protects against infectious diseases during infancy in industrialized countries. A systematic review
Authors: Duijts Liesbeth , Ramadhani Made K. , Moll Henriëtte A. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractFirstly, this review was performed to assess the effect of breastfeeding on infections during infancy in industrialized countries. Secondly, the effect of duration and exclusiveness of breastfeeding were explored. Studies were identified using Medline, Cochrane Library, Science Citation Index and by a manual search from bibliographies of articles from August 1986 to January 2008. Follow‐up, case–control and randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies performed in an industrialized country, published in English, with breastfeeding as a determinant, with overall infections, gastrointestinal or respiratory tract infections as a major outcome, and at least 40 participants in the study were included. Using Bauchner's criteria published in a review in 1986, two reviewers and a peer reviewer assessed the internal validity of those studies. Twenty‐one studies that met the inclusion and internal validity criteria were included. These included 16 follow‐up and four case–control studies and one RCT. Four out of five studies observed decreased effects on overall infections in breastfed infants. With regard to gastrointestinal infections, six out of eight studies suggested that breastfeeding had a protective effect. Thirteen out of 16 studies concluded that breastfeeding protects infants against respiratory tract infections. Five studies combined duration and exclusiveness of breastfeeding. All studies observed a protective dose/duration‐response effect on gastrointestinal or respiratory tract infections. These studies strongly suggest that breastfeeding protects infants against overall infections, gastrointestinal and respiratory tract infections in industrialized countries. The optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding for protection against infectious diseases needs to be studied in more detail.
Are We Born and do We Die?
Authors: Lash Nicholas 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe stranglehold on our imagination by the mind-body dualisms that permeate the culture is such that most people seem to suppose that “body” and “soul” name distinct and separable entities. Resisting such dualisms in favour of an old-fashioned Aristotelean view of the soul as the form of the body, this essay considers two questions: do human parents produce human beings, and do human beings die? The doctrine of the special creation of the individual soul seems to require us to answer the first question in the negative because, according to this doctrine, parents only produce matter for the God-given soul to form. As to the second, many people seem to suppose that human beings do not die, only their bodies do. Arguing against the view that immortality is a natural property of human minds, the essay suggests (with the help of Joseph Ratzinger) that, whether we speak of “immortality” or of “resurrection”, life from death is neither nature, nor achievement, but gift.
‘Not One Thing Exactly’: Gender, Performance and Critical Debates over the Early Modern Boy‐Actress
Authors: Barker Roberta 
Published: March 2009

AbstractCoined by Harley Granville Barker, the term ‘boy‐actress’ describes young male actors, probably aged between 10 and 22 years, who appeared in women's roles on the early modern stage of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. These boys, their techniques, and their cultural meanings have recently become the subjects of heated critical debate. In our time as in their own, the impact of their onstage cross‐dressing on their gender identities and on the sexual desires of their spectators has proved particularly controversial. This essay outlines key early modern sources for our knowledge of the boy‐actress before considering the conflicting ways in which scholars have interpreted this evidence. Critical debates about the early modern boy‐actress may have as much to teach us about our own era's constructions of gender, sexuality and performance as about the realities of the Shakespearean stage.
The association of CTLA‐4 and CD28 gene polymorphisms with idiopathic ischemic stroke in the paediatric population
Authors: Wang J.‐J. , Jiang L.‐Q. , He B. , Shi K.‐L. , Li J.‐W. , Zou L.‐P. 
Published: March 2009

SummaryAutoimmune vasculitis is believed to be a critical factor in the development of idiopathic childhood ischemic stroke. The association of polymorphisms in CTLA‐4 and CD28 with some immune vasculitides, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Behçet's disease has been reported. The aim of the present study is to investigate the association of the genetic variants in the CTLA‐4 and CD28 genes of children who suffered idiopathic ischemic stroke using a case–control design. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CTLA‐4 gene and an SNP in the CD28 gene were genotyped in 51 patients who suffered idiopathic ischemic stroke, and in 74 healthy controls from mainland China. An SNP, CTLA‐4+49A/G located in exon 1 of the CTLA‐4 gene, showed nominal association with the disease (P = 0.012, odds ratio (OR) = 2.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.17–3.73) using allele‐based analysis. Homozygous carriers of the G allele of this SNP were more common in the patients than in the controls (P = 0.008). The CD28IVS3 +17TT genotype was found to be more common in the patients than in the controls (P = 0.039, OR = 2.96, 95% CI = 1.02–8.58). No correlations of at‐risk genotype (G/G) of CTLA‐4+49A/G and genotype (T/T) of CD28+17T/C with the main clinical features of idiopathic childhood ischemic stroke were observed. The results suggest that polymorphisms in the CTLA‐4 and CD28 genes may contribute to the increased risk of idiopathic ischemic stroke.
Effects of time of seed maturation on dormancy and germination requirements of Sporobolus spicatus (Vahl) Kunth, a native desert grass of the United Arab Emirates
Authors: El‐Keblawy Ali , Al‐Sodany Yassen M. , Al‐Hadad Fedea A. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe effect of time of seed maturation on dormancy and germination requirements was determined for seeds of Sporobolus spicatus (Vahl) Kunth, a species that could be used in rehabilitation of the degraded salt‐affected habitats. Seeds of S. spicatus were collected in May, August and December 2005 and March 2006 from a population around Al‐Ain City, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Seeds were germinated in incubators adjusted at 20°C, 25°C, 30°C and 35°C in continuous light and in darkness. Seeds incubated at the highest temperature (35°C) germinated significantly greater and faster, compared to those at the lower temperatures. The highest germination percentage in S. spicatus was observed for seeds matured during August, followed by those matured in December and May, but the lowest germination was recorded for seeds of March. Seeds of August germinated significantly greater in dark than in light, but the reverse was true for seeds of May. Germination rate was significantly faster for seeds of December than that of other seed lots, even at the lower temperature. The results are discussed in the light of the adaptive significance of the production of tiny seeds at different times of the year in S. spicatus.
Preliminary evaluation of native grasses collected from alpine rangelands in Qinghai Province, China, as materials for breeding grazing‐tolerant fine herbage
Authors: Zhou Qingping , Ji Yajun , De Bruijn Koos , Liang Guoling , Yan Hongbo 
Published: March 2009

AbstractDevelopment and introduction of productive, high‐quality herbage grasses tolerant of heavy grazing is an urgent necessity for sustainable use of rangelands in Qinghai Province, north‐west China, where degradation of rangelands caused mainly by overstocking has become a serious problem. Four hundred and sixty‐six native grass materials (species and types) were collected in the summer of 2002 from grazed alpine rangelands (2500–4000 m a.s.l.) in Qinghai Province, as original materials for breeding the target grasses. The plants were initially grown in the nurseries in Xining and Gancha until 2003, when 177 materials were preliminarily selected. Then, 147 materials that formed the most part of the 177 materials were grown in the new nursery in Xining and evaluated in 2005 for their productivity, palatability, persistency and seed yield. Two promising materials of Agrostis gigantea, three of Elymus cylindricus, eight of Elymus dahuricus, 10 of Elymus nutans, 14 of Elymus sibiricus, one of Puccinellia diffusa, five of Puccinellia distans, one of Puccinellia glauca, four of Puccinellia hauptiana, two of Puccinellia roborovski and four of Puccinellia tenuiflora were selected for future evaluation under grazing.
Polyamine Accumulation in Transgenic Tomato Enhances the Tolerance to High Temperature Stress
Authors: Cheng Lin , Zou Yijing , Ding Shuli , Zhang Jiajing , Yu Xiaolin , Cao Jiashu , Lu Gang 
Published: March 2009

Abstract Polyamines play an important role in plant response to abiotic stress. S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) is one of the key regulatory enzymes in the biosynthesis of polyamines. In order to better understand the effect of regulation of polyamine biosynthesis on the tolerance of high‐temperature stress in tomato, SAMDC cDNA isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was introduced into tomato genome by means of Agrobacterium tumefaciens through leaf disc transformation. Transgene and expression was confirmed by Southern and Northern blot analyses, respectively. Transgenic plants expressing yeast SAMDC produced 1.7‐ to 2.4‐fold higher levels of spermidine and spermine than wild‐type plants under high temperature stress, and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity and the protection of membrane lipid peroxidation was also observed. This subsequently improved the efficiency of CO2 assimilation and protected the plants from high temperature stress, which indicated that the transgenic tomato presented an enhanced tolerance to high temperature stress (38 °C) compared with wild‐type plants. Our results demonstrated clearly that increasing polyamine biosynthesis in plants may be a means of creating high temperature‐tolerant germplasm.