bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Yang and Yin in Communication: Towards a Typology and Logic of Persuasion in China
Authors: Liu Li 
Published: February 2008

AbstractIn contrast to the individualistically focused paradigm, this article suggests that persuasion is a relationship- and context-specific phenomenon. The article analyses how interpersonal and mass persuasion operates in Chinese daily life. The key concepts of filial piety and guanxi as a major feature of persuasion in the public sphere are thoroughly analysed. It is argued that persuasion is indispensable in dialogical relationships between the self and other, and between the individual and society; yet at the same time it is indigenous to the socio-cultural context.
Human invariant Vα24+ natural killer T cells acquire regulatory functions by interacting with IL-10–treated dendritic cells
Authors: Yamaura Ayako , Hotta Chie , Nakazawa Masatoshi , Van Kaer Luc , Minami Mutsuhiko 
Published: February 2008

AbstractGlycolipid-reactive Vα24+ invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells have been implicated in regulating a variety of immune responses and in the induction of immunologic tolerance. Activation of iNKT cells requires interaction with professional antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells (DCs). We have investigated the capacity of distinct DC subsets to modulate iNKT cell functions. We demonstrate that tolerogenic DCs (tolDCs), generated by treatment of monocyte-derived DC with interleukin (IL)-10, induced regulatory functions in human iNKT cells. tolDCs, compared with immunogenic DCs, had reduced capacity to induce iNKT-cell proliferation, but these cells produced large amounts of IL-10 and acquired an anergic phenotype. These anergic Vα24+ iNKT cells were able to potently inhibit allogeneic CD4+ T-cell proliferation in vitro. Furthermore, the anergic Vα24+ iNKT cells could suppress DC maturation in vitro. We conclude that the interaction of iNKT cells with tolDCs plays an important role in the immune regulatory network, which might be exploited for therapeutic purposes.
Somatic mutations and germline sequence variants in the expressed tyrosine kinase genes of patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Tomasson Michael H. , Xiang Zhifu , Walgren Richard , Zhao Yu , Kasai Yumi , Miner Tracie , Ries Rhonda E. , Lubman Olga , Fremont Daved H. , McLellan Michael D. , Payton Jacqueline E. , Westervelt Peter , DiPersio John F. , Link Daniel C. , Walter Matthew J. , Graubert Timothy A. , Watson Mark , Baty Jack , Heath Sharon , Shannon William D. , Nagarajan Rakesh , Bloomfield Clara D. , Mardis Elaine R. , Wilson Richard K. , Ley Timothy J. 
Published: February 2008

AbstractActivating mutations in tyrosine kinase (TK) genes (eg, FLT3 and KIT) are found in more than 30% of patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML); many groups have speculated that mutations in other TK genes may be present in the remaining 70%. We performed high-throughput resequencing of the kinase domains of 26 TK genes (11 receptor TK; 15 cytoplasmic TK) expressed in most AML patients using genomic DNA from the bone marrow (tumor) and matched skin biopsy samples (“germline”) from 94 patients with de novo AML; sequence variants were validated in an additional 94 AML tumor samples (14.3 million base pairs of sequence were obtained and analyzed). We identified known somatic mutations in FLT3, KIT, and JAK2 TK genes at the expected frequencies and found 4 novel somatic mutations, JAK1V623A, JAK1T478S, DDR1A803V, and NTRK1S677N, once each in 4 respective patients of 188 tested. We also identified novel germline sequence changes encoding amino acid substitutions (ie, nonsynonymous changes) in 14 TK genes, including TYK2, which had the largest number of nonsynonymous sequence variants (11 total detected). Additional studies will be required to define the roles that these somatic and germline TK gene variants play in AML pathogenesis.
Red blood cells induce hypoxic lung inflammation
Authors: Kiefmann Rainer , Rifkind Joseph M. , Nagababu Enika , Bhattacharya Jahar 
Published: February 2008

AbstractHypoxia, which commonly associates with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, provokes an acute inflammatory response. However, underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Here we report that red blood cells (RBCs) induce hypoxic inflammation by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) that diffuse to endothelial cells of adjoining blood vessels. Real-time fluorescence imaging of rat and mouse lungs revealed that in the presence of RBC-containing vascular perfusion, hypoxia increased microvascular ROS, and cytosolic Ca2+, leading to P-selectin–dependent leukocyte recruitment. However, in the presence of RBC-free perfusion, all hypoxia-induced responses were completely inhibited. Because hemoglobin (Hb) autoxidation causes RBC superoxide formation that readily dismutates to H2O2, hypoxia-induced responses were lost when we inhibited Hb autoxidation with CO or nitrite, or when the H2O2 inhibitor, catalase was added to the infusion to neutralize the RBC-derived ROS. By contrast, perfusion with RBCs from BERK-trait mice that are more susceptible to Hb autoxidation and to hypoxia-induced superoxide production enhanced the hypoxia-induced responses. We conclude that in hypoxia, increased Hb autoxidation augments superoxide production in RBCs. Consequently, RBCs release H2O2 that diffuses to the lung microvascular endothelium, thereby initiating Ca2+-dependent leukocyte recruitment. These findings are the first evidence that RBCs contribute to hypoxia-induced inflammation.
Impact of clonal competition for peptide-MHC complexes on the CD8+ T-cell repertoire selection in a persistent viral infection
Authors: Wynn Katherine K. , Fulton Zara , Cooper Leanne , Silins Sharon L. , Gras Stephanie , Archbold Julia K. , Tynan Fleur E. , Miles John J. , McCluskey James , Burrows Scott R. , Rossjohn Jamie , Khanna Rajiv 
Published: February 2008

AbstractCD8+ T-cell responses to persistent viral infections are characterized by the accumulation of an oligoclonal T-cell repertoire and a reduction in the naive T-cell pool. However, the precise mechanism for this phenomenon remains elusive. Here we show that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)–specific CD8+ T cells recognizing distinct epitopes from the pp65 protein and restricted through an identical HLA class I allele (HLA B*3508) exhibited either a highly conserved public T-cell repertoire or a private, diverse T-cell response, which was uniquely altered in each donor following in vitro antigen exposure. Selection of a public T-cell receptor (TCR) was coincident with an atypical major histocompatibility complex (MHC)–peptide structure, in that the epitope adopted a helical conformation that bulged from the peptide-binding groove, while a diverse TCR profile was observed in response to the epitope that formed a flatter, more “featureless” landscape. Clonotypes with biased TCR usage demonstrated more efficient recognition of virus-infected cells, a greater CD8 dependency, and were more terminally differentiated in their phenotype when compared with the T cells expressing diverse TCR. These findings provide new insights into our understanding on how the biology of antigen presentation in addition to the structural features of the pMHC-I might shape the T-cell repertoire and its phenotype.
Analyzing the simplicial decomposition of spatial protein structures
Authors: Ördög Rafael , Szabadka Zoltán , Grolmusz Vince 
Published: February 2008

Abstract

Background
The fast growing Protein Data Bank contains the three-dimensional description of more than 45000 protein- and nucleic-acid structures today. The large majority of the data in the PDB are measured by X-ray crystallography by thousands of researchers in millions of work-hours. Unfortunately, lots of structural errors, bad labels, missing atoms, falsely identified chains and groups make dificult the automated processing of this treasury of structural biological data.

Results
After we performed a rigorous re-structuring of the whole PDB on graph-theoretical basis, we created the RS-PDB (Rich-Structure PDB) database. Using this cleaned and repaired database, we defined simplicial complexes on the heavy-atoms of the PDB, and analyzed the tetrahedra for geometric properties.

Conclusion
We have found surprisingly characteristic differences between simplices with atomic vertices of different types, and between the atomic neighborhoods – described also by simplices – of different ligand atoms in proteins.
Text-mining assisted regulatory annotation
Authors: Aerts Stein , Haeussler Maximilian , van Vooren Steven , Griffith Obi L , Hulpiau Paco , Jones Steven JM , Montgomery Stephen B , Bergman Casey M ,   The Open Regulatory Annotation Consortium
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Background
Decoding transcriptional regulatory networks and the genomic cis-regulatory logic implemented in their control nodes is a fundamental challenge in genome biology. High-throughput computational and experimental analyses of regulatory networks and sequences rely heavily on positive control data from prior small-scale experiments, but the vast majority of previously discovered regulatory data remains locked in the biomedical literature.

Results
We develop text-mining strategies to identify relevant publications and extract sequence information to assist the regulatory annotation process. Using a vector space model to identify Medline abstracts from papers likely to have high cis-regulatory content, we demonstrate that document relevance ranking can assist the curation of transcriptional regulatory networks and estimate that, minimally, 30,000 papers harbor unannotated cis-regulatory data. In addition, we show that DNA sequences can be extracted from primary text with high cis-regulatory content and mapped to genome sequences as a means of identifying the location, organism and target gene information that is critical to the cis-regulatory annotation process.

Conclusion
Our results demonstrate that text-mining technologies can be successfully integrated with genome annotation systems, thereby increasing the availability of annotated cis-regulatory data needed to catalyze advances in the field of gene regulation.
De novo induction of antigen-specific CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in vivo following systemic antigen administration accompanied by blockade of mTOR
Authors: Kang Johnthomas , Huddleston Stephen J , Fraser Joanne M , Khoruts Alexander 
Published: February 2008

AbstractAlthough regulatory CD4+CD25+ forkhead box p3+ (Foxp3+) T cells (Tregs) are generally thought to arise in the thymus as a separate lineage of CD4 T cells, they can also be induced de novo in the periphery. Peripheral development of Tregs from naïve T cells is favored by low-intensity activation and absence of inflammation. We show here that absence of CD28 costimulation results in a modest decrease in activation of naïve, antigen-specific CD4 T cells under noninflammatory conditions and benefits their initial Foxp3 induction. However, expression of Foxp3 following T cell activation without CD28 costimulation remains sensitive to the antigen dose. Furthermore, basal CD28 costimulation is critical for survival of the induced Foxp3+ CD4 T cells, and their accumulation is abrogated in the absence of CD28. In contrast, pharmacologic blockade of mammalian target of rapamycin enhances lasting induction of Tregs, irrespective of the initial antigen dose used to activate the antigen-specific T cells. This finding may have important practical, clinical implication in development of tolerance protocols.
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular Axis Disruptions in Older Men Are Differentially Linked to Age and Modifiable Risk Factors: The European Male Aging Study
Authors: Wu Frederick C. W. , Tajar Abdelouahid , Pye Stephen R. , Silman Alan J. , Finn Joseph D. , O'Neill Terence W. , Bartfai Gyorgy , Casanueva Felipe , Forti Gianni , Giwercman Aleksander , Huhtaniemi Ilpo T. , Kula Krzysztof , Punab Margus , Boonen Steven , Vanderschueren Dirk ,   The European Male Aging Study Group
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Context: The cause of declining testosterone (T) in aging men and their relationships with risk factors are unclear.
Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the relationships between lifestyle and health with reproductive hormones in aging men.
Design: This was a baseline cross-sectional survey on 3200 community-dwelling men aged 40–79 yr from a prospective cohort study in eight European countries.
Results: Four predictors were associated with distinct modes of altered function: 1) age: lower free T (FT; −3.12 pmol/liter·yr, P &lt; 0.001) with raised LH, suggesting impaired testicular function; 2) obesity: lower total T (TT; −2.32 nmol/liter) and FT (−17.60 pmol/liter) for body mass index (BMI; ≥ 25 to &lt; 30 kg/m2) and lower TT (−5.09 nmol/liter) and FT (−53.72 pmol/liter) for BMI 30 kg/m2 or greater (P &lt; 0.001–0.01, referent: BMI &lt; 25 kg/m2) with unchanged/decreased LH, indicating hypothalamus/pituitary dysfunction; 3) comorbidity: lower TT (−0.80 nmol/liter, P &lt; 0.01) with unchanged LH in younger men but higher LH in older men; and 4) smoking: higher SHBG (5.96 nmol/liter, P &lt; 0.001) and LH (0.77 U/liter, P &lt; 0.01) with increased TT (1.31 nmol/liter, P &lt; 0.001) but not FT, compatible with a resetting of T-LH-negative feedback due to elevated SHBG.
Conclusions: Complex multiple alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis function exist in aging men against a background of progressive age-related testicular impairment. These changes are differentially linked to specific risk factors. Some risk factors operate independently of but others interact with age, in contributing to the T decline. These potentially modifiable risk factors suggest possible preventative measures to maintain T during aging in men.
Erectile Dysfunction in Patients with Hyper- and Hypothyroidism: How Common and Should We Treat?
Authors: Krassas Gerasimos E. , Tziomalos Kostas , Papadopoulou Fotini , Pontikides Nikolaos , Perros Petros 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Context: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with numerous diseases and aging.
Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of hyper- and hypothyroidism on male sexual health by using the Sexual Health Inventory for Males (SHIM).
Design: Seventy-one men, 27 hyper- and 44 hypothyroid and a similar number of controls were included in the study. A validated SHIM 5-item questionnaire was administered to all participants. Patients were asked to respond before and a year after initiation of treatment for thyroid dysfunction. A score between 25 and 22 is considered normal, between 21 and 11 diagnostic of mild to moderately severe ED, and 10 or less diagnostic of severe ED.
Results: Fifty-six men with thyroid dysfunction (78.9%; 19 hyperthyroid and 37 hypothyroid) had a SHIM score of 21 or less, compared with 24 controls (33.8%) (P &lt; 0.0001). Twenty-one patients with ED (37.5%) had SHIM scores 10 or less, indicative of severe ED, compared with six controls (25%) (P &lt; 0.01). ED was more prevalent in patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, compared with controls (P &lt; 0.001 and P &lt; 0.0001, respectively). Positive correlation was found between SHIM scores and serum free T4 (r = 0.413, P = 0.005) and negative for TSH (r = −0.669, P &lt; 0.001). After treatment a significant increase of SHIM scores was noted in both hyperthyroid (P &lt; 0.0001) and hypothyroid (P &lt; 0.0001) patients.
Conclusions: ED is extremely common in males with dysthyroidism. Treatment of the latter restores erectile function. Screening for thyroid dysfunction in men presenting with ED is recommended, whereas specific treatment for ED should be postponed in such patients for at least 6 months after achieving euthyroidism because the latter might be responsible for ED.
The hypopigmentary action of KI-063 (a new tyrosinase inhibitor) combined with terrein
Authors: Kim Dong-Seok , Lee Sangku , Lee Hyun-Kyung , Park Seo-Hyoung , Ryoo In-Ja , Yoo Ick-Dong , Kwon Sun-Bang , Baek Kwang Jin , Na Jung-Im , Park Kyoung-Chan 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Resorcinol derivatives are known to inhibit melanin synthesis. In this study, resorcinol derivatives were synthesized and screened for their activity on melanogenesis. KI-063 (a tyrosinase inhibitor) was examined for its effects on melanogenesis using a spontaneously immortalized mouse melanocyte cell line (Mel-Ab). In a cell-free system, KI-063 directly inhibited tyrosinase, the rate-limiting melanogenic enzyme. Moreover, in a cell system, it inhibited melanin synthesis in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, KI-063 inhibited the activity of cellular tyrosinase. Thus, this study examined the effects of a combination of KI-063 with terrein, an agent that down-regulates microphthalmia-associated transcription factor. The data suggest that KI-063 has an additive effect in combination with terrein. Thus, the suppression of tyrosinase activity by KI-063 and the inhibition of tyrosinase production by terrein appear to be an optimal combination for skin whitening.
Induction of apoptosis in human leukaemia HL-60 cells by furanone-coumarins from Murraya siamensis
Authors: Murata Tomiyasu , Itoigawa Masataka , Ito Chihiro , Nakao Keisuke , Tsuboi Masaru , Kaneda Norio , Furukawa Hiroshi 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
To identify potential anti-tumour agents, we screened five furanone-coumarins isolated from Murraya siamensis Craib (Rutaceae) for their ability to inhibit the growth of human leukaemia HL-60 cells. Among the furanone-coumarins tested, murrayacoumarin B (compound 2) showed significant cytotoxicity against HL-60 cells. Fluorescence microscopy with Hoechst 33342 staining revealed that the percentage of apoptotic cells with fragmented nuclei and condensed chromatin increased in a time-dependent manner after treatment with murrayacoumarin B. Interestingly, this furanone-coumarin induced the loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, treatment with murrayacoumarin B stimulated the activities of caspase-9 and caspase-3, and caspase-9 and caspase-3 inhibitors suppressed the apoptosis induced by murrayacoumarin B. These results suggest that murrayacoumarin B induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells through activation of the caspase-9/caspase-3 pathway triggered by mitochondrial dysfunction.
Schisandrin B from Schisandra chinensis reduces hepatic lipid contents in hypercholesterolaemic mice
Authors: Pan Si-Yuan , Dong Hang , Zhao Xing-Ye , Xiang Chun-Jing , Fang Hai-Yan , Fong Wang-Fun , Yu Zhi-Ling , Ko Kam-Ming 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
The effects of schisandrin B (Sch B) on liver and serum lipid contents were investigated in mice with experimentally-induced hypercholesterolaemia. Hypercholesterolaemia was induced either by oral administration of a cholesterol/bile salts mixture (2/0.5 g kg−1) for four days or by feeding a high fat/cholesterol/bile salts (10/1/0.3%, w/w) diet for seven days. Daily co-administration of Sch B (50–200 mg kg−1, i.g.) for four or six days, respectively, decreased hepatic total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels (by up to 50% and 52%, respectively) in hypercholesterolaemic mice. Sch B treatment also increased hepatic indices (14–84%) in hypercholesterolaemic mice. The results indicated that Sch B treatment could decrease hepatic TC and TG levels, and increase liver weight, in mouse models of hypercholesterolaemia. Fenofibrate treatment (100 mg kg−1) produced effects similar to those of Sch B on the hepatic index and lipid levels of hypercholesterolaemic mice.
Obsessive compulsive symptoms and the simulation of future negative events
Authors: Keen Nadine , Brown Gary P. , Wheatley Jonathan 
Published: February 2008

ObjectivesTo explore whether Kahneman and Tversky's (1982) simulation heuristic might help account for why the obsessions of people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are so compelling to them. It was predicted that participants would be better able to simulate a scenario relevant to a central OCD fear than they would scenarios related to other OCD and non‐OCD fears and that how well participants simulated feared scenarios would be associated with higher ratings of subjective probability for that outcome and consequently greater worry.DesignIndividuals with obsessive compulsive symptoms mentally simulated hypothetical scenarios so as to enable comparison of a personally relevant to less relevant scenarios.MethodsThirty participants recruited from OCD support groups simulated four scenarios each and completed symptom and relevant construct measures.ResultsPersonally relevant scenarios were better simulated than less relevant scenarios. ‘Goodness of simulation’ (GOS) was related to worry about the feared outcome, but this was not mediated by raised subjective probabilities. GOS correlated with OCD symptomatology, anxiety, and depression but not with cognitive variables thought to be related to OCD phenomenology.ConclusionThe overall findings converge with recent literature (O'Connor, 2002) emphasizing the importance of imagination and imaginary narratives in fuelling OCD symptoms.
A Case Study of Oil-Based Mud Effect on Horizontal-Well Productivity
Authors: Chaabouni Hassan , Baux Pierre , Manalu Dasa , Sobirin Muhammad , Enkababian Philippe 
Published: February 2008

Abstract
Completing horizontal wells with openhole sections or non-cemented liners is a common practice. This type of openhole wells is preferred to maximize reservoir productivity. Some questions that always come up for this type of wells are: will it be necessary to cleanup the mud and filtercake from the openhole section before or while starting production? Will the filtercake disperse and get removed while producing the well and applying drawdown to the formation? Will the remaining filtercake impair well productivity?
The paper presents the case of a gas producing horizontal well in Indonesia completed with a perforated liner. The target reservoir is a clean sandstone reservoir. The horizontal drain is 1155 feet (ft) long. The reservoir permeability is ranging between 0.1 and 5 millidarcies (mD)
An engineered oil-based mud was used as drill-in fluid to prevent any damage to the reservoir. A carbonate particle-based filtercake was used to create a thin and reliable filter cake. While drilling this well, it was believed that reservoir damage was minimized. It was also believed that there would be no need to cleanup the mud and filtercake left in the hole and that the well would cleanup by itself easily once it started producing.
After disappointing production results from this well, zero production was achieved, a decision was taken to investigate the effect of the mud on well productivity, consecutive interventions were planned to remove one potential damage mechanism at a time and investigate the effect on well performance. Upon the completion of all the intervention steps, the well started to produce. A pressure buildup test performed one month after the intervention showed that the well was producing with a damage skin value of zero.
The different interventions, the laboratory results and the effect of each taken step on well productivity are discussed in this paper. Overall results of the interventions will be shown and a complete solution for bringing new openhole horizontal wells into production will be proposed.