bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The influence of total number of favourable working conditions and lifestyle on mental health in Japanese workers in a large company
Authors: Suwazono Yasushi , Okubo Yasushi , Kobayashi Etsuko , Kido Teruhiko , Nogawa Koji 
Published: April 2003

AbstractHealthy Work and Lifestyle Scores were totalled, and their influence on the prevalence of mental symptoms was investigated. A cross‐sectional design was employed in this study. Participants were workers in a telecommunications enterprise who had received annual health check‐ups from 1995 to 1997 and were between 20 and 59 years of age. A self‐administered questionnaire survey obtaining information about sex, age, past history of disease, present illness, working conditions, lifestyle and subjective mental symptoms was conducted once a year. Workers with a past history of disease or present illness were excluded from the analysis. In total, 66 004 questionnaires were analysed in this study. Favourable lifestyles and working conditions were enumerated; Healthy Work and Lifestyle Scores were totalled, and their influence on mental symptoms was also investigated. It was found that for every year, the result of ANCOVA suggested that the lower the Healthy Work and Lifestyle Scores, the higher the age‐adjusted mean number of perceived mental symptoms. The results of multiple comparisons revealed significant deterioration in the number of perceived mental symptoms in the groups whose Healthy Work and Lifestyle Scores were 0–4‐, 5‐ and 6‐point. This comprehensive score suggested that working conditions and lifestyle correlated with the mental health of Japanese workers. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Modal identification of Di Wang Building under Typhoon York using the Hilbert–Huang transform method
Authors: Xu Y. L. , Chen S. W. , Zhang R. C. 
Published: April 2003

AbstractThe Di Wang Building is one of the tallest composite buildings in the world, located in downtown Shenzhen City of China about 2 km from the Hong Kong border. On 16 September 1999, Typhoon York – that is the strongest typhoon since 1983 and the typhoon of longest duration on record – attacked Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The wind and structural monitoring system installed in the Di Wang Building timely recorded wind and structural response data. The newly emerged Hilbert–Huang transform (HHT) method in conjunction with the random decrement technique (RDT) is applied to the measured data in this paper to identify dynamic characteristics of the building. A series of natural frequencies and modal damping ratios of the building under different wind speeds in different directions are identified and compared with those from the fast Fourier transform (FFT)‐based method. The variations of natural frequency, total modal damping ratio and net structural modal damping ratio with wind speed and vibration amplitude are also investigated. The results show that the natural frequencies identified by the HHT method are almost the same as those obtained by the FFT‐based method. The first two modal damping ratios given by the HHT method are, however, lower than those by the FFT‐based method, which may indicate that the FFT‐based method overestimates the modal damping ratios. Both the total and the net structural modal damping ratios increase with increasing wind speed and vibration amplitude but the situation is reversed for the natural frequency. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stable Isotope Stratigraphy of a Late Last Interglacial Speleothem from Rana, Northern Norway
Authors: Linge Henriette , Lauritzen Stein-Erik , Lundberg Joyce 
Published: April 2003

AbstractA stalagmite from Rana, northern Norway, dated by the TIMS uranium-series technique, yields records of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes covering the period from late marine oxygen isotope substages (MIS) 5e to 5a, that is, 123,350 to 73,300 yr ago. Rapid growth (∼46 μm/yr) between 123,350 and 119,500 yr ago reflects climatic conditions favorable for speleothem growth. This period is characterized by century- to millennial-scale oscillations in both stable isotope records, where both the absolute values and the isotope ranges are similar to Holocene and older samples from the region. From 119,500 to 107,700 yr ago, speleothem growth was slow (∼0.7 μm/yr), and between 107,700 and 73,300 yr ago growth is barely noticeable (0.07 μm/yr). During the period of slow growth the stable isotope records show an overall enrichment trend. The transition between rapid and slow growth rate occurring sometime between 119,500 and 107,700 yr ago is believed to reflect the termination of interglacial climate in this region. The absence of detritus and corrosion features in the slowly deposited calcite suggests that the valley outside the cave remained sufficiently ice free for speleothem growth to occur until at least 73,300 yr ago.
230Th/U Dating of Frozen Peat, Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island (Northern Siberia)
Authors: Schirrmeister Lutz , Oezen Deniz , Geyh Mebus A 
Published: April 2003

AbstractThe chronology of Quaternary paleoenvironment and climate in northeastern Siberia is poorly understood due to a lack of reliable numerical age determinations. The best climatic archives are ice-rich permafrost sequences, which are widely distributed in northeastern Siberia. For this study, 230Th/U-ages were determined by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) from frozen peat in a permafrost deposit at the southern cliff of the Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island (New Siberian Archipelago), west of the Zimov'e River. These yielded a Pre-Eemian “isochron”-corrected 230Th/U-age of 200,900±3400 yr. This result is reliable because permafrost deposits behave as closed systems with respect to uranium and thorium. Our findings suggest that 230Th/U dating of frozen peat in permafrost deposits is a useful tool for the reconstruction of the Middle Quaternary environment of northern Siberia and of the whole Arctic.
A comparative analysis of leveraged recapitalization versus leveraged buyout as a takeover defense
Authors: Bae Sung C. , Simet Daniel P. 
Published: April 2003

AbstractTwo types of defensive scheme—leveraged buyout (LBO) and leveraged recapitalization (LR)—are examined. In particular, this article examines (1) whether the two similar defensive tactics affect stockholder returns differently and (2) what firm attributes are associated with stockholder gains in LBO and LR announcements. This study finds that stocks of both LBO and LR firms, on average, exhibit significant positive abnormal returns during the announcement period, but that the latter experience substantially smaller returns than the former. This study further finds that while mitigation of agency problems associated with a firm's free cash flow is present for both LR and LBO firms, it is more pronounced for the LBO firms. These results provide evidence that a firm with higher free cash flow could benefit a greater reduction of agency costs by going private through a LBO plan than by remaining public through a LR plan.
Can insiders bail themselves out before private renegotiation?
Authors: Yur‐Austin Jasmine 
Published: April 2003

AbstractThis study examines insider trading for a sample of firms that announce a workout agreement, controlling for both successful and unsuccessful workout attempts. I find that insider trading activity is related to the outcome of the workout proposal. Managers tend to bail out (sell shares) of firms that are unsuccessful in the workout process while they purchase shares prior to the workout announcements if the firms are ultimately successful in their workout. In addition, the evidence suggests managerial trading behavior is related to the workout market reaction. When a workout announcement is preceded by insider buying (selling), the stock price reaction is positive (negative). Overall, the evidence presented in this article is consistent with the notion that insider transactions convey private information to the stock market about a financially distressed firm.
Adenosine 5′‐triphosphate (ATP) is an excitatory cotransmitter with noradrenaline to the smooth muscle of the rat prostate gland
Authors: Ventura Sabatino , Dewalagama Ramila K , Lau Linda C L 
Published: April 2003

This study investigated whether adenosine 5′‐triphosphate (ATP) is involved in neurotransmission to the rat prostate gland.
Fluorescence immunohistochemistry carried out on formaldehyde‐fixed and frozen sections of rat prostate showed immunoreactivity for the P2X1‐receptor in the fibromuscular stroma surrounding the secretory acini but not in the glandular epithelium. P2X2‐, P2X3‐, P2X4‐ and P2X7‐receptors were immunonegative in the rat prostate stroma. Double‐staining procedures showed P2X1‐receptor immunoreactivity to be colocalized with α‐actin immunoreactivity.
Isolated organ bath studies investigated whether drugs, which modify purinergic mechanisms, are able to affect contractility of the rat prostate gland. Suramin (100 μM) and αβmethylene ATP (10 μM) inhibited contractile responses to trains of electrical‐field stimulation (70 V, 0.5 ms, 0.1–2 Hz) in the absence and presence of prazosin (300 nM). Responses to 5–20 Hz were unaffected by suramin or αβmethylene ATP.
Exogenous application of ATP analogues to unstimulated isolated preparations of rat prostate produced concentration‐dependent suramin (100 μM) sensitive transient contractions with a relative order of potency: αβmethylene ATP>βγmethylene ATP>ATP.
Adenosine and adenosine 5′‐monophosphate (AMP) did not produce contractile responses.
These results suggest that P2X1‐receptors for ATP, which mediate contractions are present in the fibromuscular stroma of the rat prostate. The relative order of potency of ATP analogues in producing contractions of the rat prostate is consistent with the activation of P2X1‐receptors. Inhibition by suramin and αβmethylene ATP of electrically evoked nerve‐mediated contractions of the rat prostate implies that ATP contributes to this contractile response and is therefore a cotransmitter with noradrenaline during low‐frequency stimulation.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 138, 1277–1284. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705167
Opposite nociceptive effects of the arginine/NO/cGMP pathway stimulation in dermal and subcutaneous tissues
Authors: Vivancos Gustavo G , Parada Carlos A , Ferreira Sérgio H 
Published: April 2003

Nitric oxide has been described either as pronociceptive or antinociceptive. In this investigation, using an electronic pressure‐metre, the intradermal and the subcutaneous effects of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and agents that mimic or inhibit the arginine/NO/cGMP pathway were compared.
The hypernociceptive effect of the intradermal injection of PGE2 (100 ng) was immediate, peaking within 15–30 min and returning to basal values in 45–60 min. The subcutaneous injection of PGE2 induced a hypernociception with a delayed peak (3 h) plateauing for 4–6 h.
Intradermal administration of 3‐morpholino‐sydnonimine‐hydrochloride (SIN‐1) enhanced, while its subcutaneous administration inhibited, subcutaneous hypernociception induced by PGE2. This inhibition was prevented by ODQ (8 μg) but not by NG‐monomethyl‐L‐arginine (L‐NMMA) (50 μg).
Intradermal but not subcutaneous administration of L‐arginine (1–100 μg), SIN‐1 (1–100 μg) and dibutyrylguanosine 3′:5′‐cyclic monophosphate (db cGMP) (0.1–100 μg) induced an early (15–30 min) dose‐dependent hypernociceptive effect. Intradermal pretreatment with NG‐monomethyl‐L‐arginine (L‐NMMA; 50 μg) inhibited the hypernociception induced by L‐Arg (10 μg), but not that induced by SIN‐1 (10 μg) or db cGMP (10 μg).
Intradermal injection of ODQ (8 μg) antagonized the hypernociception induced by L‐arginine and SIN‐1, but not that induced by db cGMP.
Considering (a) the different time course of intradermal and subcutaneous PGE2‐induced hypernociception, (b) the opposite nociceptive effect of intradermal and subcutaneous administration of SIN‐1 (db cGMP) as well as the arginine/NO/cGMP pathway, the existence of different subsets of nociceptive primary sensory neurons in which the arginine/NO/cGMP pathway plays opposing roles is suggested. This hypothesis would explain the apparent contradictory observations described in the literature.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 138, 1351–1357. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705181
Functional Activity of Antibodies against the Recombinant OpaJ Protein fromNeisseria meningitidis
Authors: de Jonge M. I. , Vidarsson G. , van Dijken H. H. , Hoogerhout P. , van Alphen L. , Dankert J. , van der Ley P. 
Published: April 2003

ABSTRACTThe opacity proteins belong to the major outer membrane proteins of the pathogenicNeisseriaand are involved in adhesion and invasion. We studied the functional activity of antibodies raised against the OpaJ protein from strain H44/76. Recombinant OpaJ protein was obtained fromEscherichia coliin two different ways: cytoplasmic expression in the form of inclusion bodies followed by purification and refolding and cell surface expression followed by isolation of outer membrane complexes (OMCs). Immunization with purified protein and Quillaja saponin A (QuilA) induced high levels of Opa-specific antibodies, whereas theE. coliOMC preparations generally induced lower levels of antibodies. Two chimeric Opa proteins, hybrids between OpaB and OpaJ, were generated to demonstrate that the hypervariable region 2 is immunodominant. Denatured OpaJ with QuilA induced high levels of immunoglobulin G2a (IgG2a) in addition to IgG1, whereas refolded OpaJ with QuilA induced IgG1 exclusively. These sera did not induce significant complement-mediated killing. However, all sera blocked the interaction of OpaJ-expressing bacteria to CEACAM1-transfected cells. In addition, cross-reactive blocking of OpaB-expressing bacteria to both CEACAM1- and CEA-transfected cells was found for all sera. Sera raised against purified OpaJ and against OpaJ-containing meningococcal OMCs also blocked the nonopsonic interaction of Opa-expressing meningococci with human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
Invasion and Killing of Human Endothelial Cells by Viridans Group Streptococci
Authors: Stinson Murray W. , Alder Susan , Kumar Sarmishtha 
Published: April 2003

ABSTRACT

Colonization of the cardiovascular endothelium by viridans group streptococci can result in infective endocarditis and possibly atherosclerosis; however, the mechanisms of pathogenesis are poorly understood. We investigated the ability of selected oral streptococci to infect monolayers of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in 50% human plasma and to produce cytotoxicity. Planktonic
Streptococcus gordonii
CH1 killed HUVEC over a 5-h period by peroxidogenesis (alpha-hemolysin) and by acidogenesis but not by production of protein exotoxins. HUVEC were protected fully by addition of supplemental buffers and bovine liver catalase to the culture medium. Streptococci were also found to invade HUVEC by an endocytic mechanism that was dependent on polymerization of actin microfilaments and on a functional cytoskeleton, as indicated by inhibition with cytochalasin D and nocodazole. Electron microscopy revealed streptococci attached to HUVEC surfaces via numerous fibrillar structures and bacteria in membrane-encased cytoplasmic vacuoles. Following invasion by
S. gordonii
CH1, HUVEC monolayers showed 63% cell lysis over 4 h, releasing 64% of the total intracellular bacteria into the culture medium; however, the bacteria did not multiply during this time. The ability to invade HUVEC was exhibited by selected strains of
S. gordonii
,
S. sanguis
,
S. mutans
,
S. mitis
, and
S. oralis
but only weakly by
S. salivarius
. Comparison of isogenic pairs of
S. gordonii
revealed a requirement for several surface proteins for maximum host cell invasion: glucosyltransferase, the sialic acid-binding protein Hsa, and the hydrophobicity/coaggregation proteins CshA and CshB. Deletion of genes for the antigen I/II adhesins, SspA and SspB, did not affect invasion. We hypothesize that peroxidogenesis and invasion of the cardiovascular endothelium by viridans group streptococci are integral events in the pathogenesis of infective endocarditis and atherosclerosis.
Aae, an Autotransporter Involved in Adhesion of
Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans
to Epithelial Cells
Authors: Rose John E. , Meyer Diane H. , Fives-Taylor Paula M. 
Published: April 2003

ABSTRACT

The periodontal pathogen
Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans
possesses myriad virulence factors, among them the ability to adhere to and invade epithelial cells. Recent advances in the molecular manipulation of this pathogen and the sequencing of strain HK 1651 (
http://www.genome.ou.edu/act.html
) have facilitated examination of the genetics of its interaction with epithelial cells. The related gram-negative organism,
Haemophilus influenzae
, possesses autotransporter adhesins. A search of the sequence database of strain HK 1651 revealed a homologue with similarity in the pore-forming domain to that of the
H. influenzae
autotransporter, Hap.
A. actinomycetemcomitans
mutants deficient in the homologue, Aae, showed reduced binding to epithelial cells. A method for making
A. actinomycetemcomitans
SUNY 465 transiently resistant to spectinomycin was used with conjugation to generate an isogenic
aae
mutant. An allelic replacement mutant was created in the naturally transformable
A. actinomycetemcomitans
strain ATCC 29523. Lactoferrin, an important part of the innate host defense system, protects against bacterial infection by bactericidal and antiadhesion mechanisms. Lactoferrin in human milk removes or cleaves Hap and another autotransporter, an immunoglobulin A1 protease, from the surface of
H. influenzae
, thereby reducing their binding to epithelial cells. Human milk whey had similar effects on Aae from
A. actinomycetemcomitans
ATCC 29523 and its binding to epithelial cells; however, there was little effect on the binding of SUNY 465. A difference in the genetic structure of
aae
in the two strains, apparently due to the copy number of a 135-base repeated sequence, may be the cause of the differential action of lactoferrin.
aae
is the first
A. actinomycetemcomitans
gene involved in adhesion to epithelial cells to be identified.
Parasite-Specific Immunomodulatory Functions of Filarial Cystatin
Authors: Schierack Peter , Lucius Richard , Sonnenburg Bettina , Schilling Klaus , Hartmann Susanne 
Published: April 2003

ABSTRACTCystatins of parasitic nematodes are well-described pathogenicity factors which contribute to downregulation of T-cell proliferation of their hosts and induce anti-inflammatory cytokine responses. We compared the immunomodulatory effects of two cystatins of the filarial nematodesOnchocerca volvulusandAcanthocheilonema viteaewith two homologous proteins of the free-living nematodeCaenorhabditis elegans.Like filarial cystatins, theC. eleganscystatins (rCysele1 and rCysele2) possessed domains relevant for inhibition of papain-like proteases and were biologically active inhibitors of human cathepsins B, L, and S. However, the inhibition of cathepsin B byC. eleganscystatin was much stronger.C. eleganscystatins lacked a domain involved in inhibition of legumain-like proteases that was present inO. volvuluscystatin. Filarial cystatins suppressed the proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and murine spleen cells, while theC. eleganscystatins had this effect to a much lesser extent. Whereas filarial cystatins markedly increased the production of interleukin (IL)-10,C. eleganscystatins increased the production of IL-12 and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) by human PBMC. The cystatins of both the filariae andC. elegansinduced an upregulation of inducible nitric oxide by IFN-γ-stimulated murine macrophages. These data suggest that filarial cystatins but not theC. eleganscystatins downregulate proliferative responses of host cells due to characteristics which might reflect an adaptation of filariae to their parasitic life style.
Isolation of cDNAs Encoding Secreted and Transmembrane Proteins fromSchistosoma mansoniby a Signal Sequence Trap Method
Authors: Smyth Danielle , McManus Donald P. , Smout Michael J. , Laha Thewarach , Zhang Wenbao , Loukas Alex 
Published: April 2003

ABSTRACTSurface and secreted proteins of schistosomes orchestrate the basic physiologic requirements of a parasitic existence. These proteins are often exposed to host tissues during penetration, migration, feeding, and immune evasion, and they are obvious targets for control strategies. Signal sequence trap (SST) represents a novel approach that selects for cDNAs encoding secreted and surface proteins with N-terminal signal peptides, so we constructed a randomly primed adultSchistosoma mansonicDNA library fused to a signalless reporter gene encoding placental alkaline phosphatase. The library was used to transfect COS-7 cells, which were then assayed for the presence of reporter at the cell surface. EighteenS. mansonicDNA fragments were isolated and sequenced. Expression profiles of the novel clones were determined for different developmental stages; some transcripts were restricted to single-sex adult worms, while others were ubiquitously distributed. Most clones contained signal peptides or signal anchors as determined by the SignalP algorithm. Open reading frames (ORFs) were categorized as follows: (i) previously identifiedS. mansonicDNAs encoding proteins of known function; (ii) cDNAs encoding proteins of known function in other organisms but novel forSchistosoma; (iii)S. mansoniexpressed sequence tags (ESTs) of unknown function; and (iv) completely novel ORFs without homologues (including ESTs) from any phylum. Clones of particular interest included tetraspanins similar to human cell surface antigens, a protein kinase, and ORFs transcribed in the antisense orientation to previously characterizedS. mansonicDNAs. This is the first report describing the use of SST as a tool for identifying secreted proteins from any pathogenic organism.