bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Myxoxanthophyll Is Required for Normal Cell Wall Structure and Thylakoid Organization in the Cyanobacterium
Synechocystis
sp. Strain PCC 6803
Authors: Mohamed Hatem E. , van de Meene Allison M. L. , Roberson Robert W. , Vermaas Wim F. J. 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

Myxoxanthophyll is a carotenoid glycoside in cyanobacteria that is of unknown biological significance. The sugar moiety of myxoxanthophyll in
Synechocystis
sp. strain PCC 6803 was identified as dimethyl fucose. The open reading frame sll1213 encoding a fucose synthetase orthologue was deleted to probe the role of fucose and to determine the biological significance of myxoxanthophyll in
Synechocystis
sp. strain PCC 6803. Upon deletion of sll1213, a pleiotropic phenotype was obtained: when propagated at 0.5 μmol photons m
−2
s
−1
, photomixotrophic growth of cells lacking sll1213 was poor. When grown at 40 μmol photons m
−2
s
−1
, growth was comparable to that of the wild type, but cells showed a severe reduction in or loss of the glycocalyx (S-layer). As a consequence, cells aggregated in liquid as well as on plates. At both light intensities, new carotenoid glycosides accumulated, but myxoxanthophyll was absent. New carotenoid glycosides may be a consequence of less-specific glycosylation reactions that gained prominence upon the disappearance of the native sugar moiety (fucose) of myxoxanthophyll. In the mutant, the N-storage compound cyanophycin accumulated, and the organization of thylakoid membranes was altered. Altered cell wall structure and thylakoid membrane organization and increased cyanophycin accumulation were also observed for Δslr0940K, a strain lacking ζ-carotene desaturase and thereby all carotenoids but retaining fucose. Therefore, lack of myxoxanthophyll and not simply of fucose results in most of the phenotypic effects described here. It is concluded that myxoxanthophyll contributes significantly to the vigor of cyanobacteria, as it stabilizes thylakoid membranes and is critical for S-layer formation.
Vibrio vulnificus
Secretes a Broad-Specificity Metalloprotease Capable of Interfering with Blood Homeostasis through Prothrombin Activation and Fibrinolysis
Authors: Chang Alan K. , Kim Hyo Young , Park Jung Eun , Acharya Pankaj , Park Il-Seon , Yoon Seong Myeong , You Ho Jin , Hahm Kyung-Soo , Park Jong Kun , Lee Jung Sup 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

Vibrio vulnificus
is a causative agent of serious food-borne diseases in humans related to the consumption of raw seafood. It secretes a metalloprotease that is associated with skin lesions and serious hemorrhagic complications. In this study, we purified and characterized an extracellular metalloprotease (designated as vEP) having prothrombin activation and fibrinolytic activities from
V. vulnificus
ATCC 29307. vEP could cleave various blood clotting-associated proteins such as prothrombin, plasminogen, fibrinogen, and factor Xa, and the cleavage could be stimulated by addition of 1 mM Mn
2+
in the reaction. The cleavage of prothrombin produced active thrombin capable of converting fibrinogen to fibrin. The formation of active thrombin appeared to be transient, with further cleavage resulting in a loss of activity. The cleavage of plasminogen, however, did not produce an active plasmin. vEP could cleave all three major chains of fibrinogen without forming a clot. It could cleave fibrin polymer formed by thrombin as well as the cross-linked fibrin formed by factor XIIIa. In addition, vEP could also cleave plasma proteins such as bovine serum albumin and gamma globulin, and its broad specificity is reflected in the cleavage sites, which include Asp
207
-Phe
208
and Thr
272
-Ala
273
bonds in prothrombin and a Tyr
80
-Leu
81
bond in plasminogen. Taken together, the data suggest that vEP is a broad-specificity protease that could function as a prothrombin activator and a fibrinolytic enzyme to interfere with blood homeostasis as part of the mechanism associated with the pathogenicity of
V. vulnificus
in humans and thereby facilitate the development of systemic infection.
WOR5, a Novel Tungsten-Containing Aldehyde Oxidoreductase from
Pyrococcus furiosus
with a Broad Substrate Specificity
Authors: Bevers Loes E. , Bol Emile , Hagedoorn Peter-Leon , Hagen Wilfred R. 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACT

WOR5 is the fifth and last member of the family of tungsten-containing oxidoreductases purified from the hyperthermophilic archaeon
Pyrococcus furiosus
. It is a homodimeric protein (subunit, 65 kDa) that contains one [4Fe-4S] cluster and one tungstobispterin cofactor per subunit. It has a broad substrate specificity with a high affinity for several substituted and nonsubstituted aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes with various chain lengths. The highest catalytic efficiency of WOR5 is found for the oxidation of hexanal (
V
max
= 15.6 U/mg,

K
m

= 0.18 mM at 60°C). Hexanal-incubated enzyme exhibits
S
= 1/2 electron paramagnetic resonance signals from [4Fe-4S]
1+
(
g
values of 2.08, 1.93, and 1.87) and W
5+
(
g
values of 1.977, 1.906, and 1.855). Cyclic voltammetry of ferredoxin and WOR5 on an activated glassy carbon electrode shows a catalytic wave upon addition of hexanal, suggesting that ferredoxin can be a physiological redox partner. The combination of WOR5, formaldehyde oxidoreductase, and aldehyde oxidoreductase forms an efficient catalyst for the oxidation of a broad range of aldehydes in
P. furiosus
.
Global Transcriptome Analysis ofShewanella oneidensisMR-1 Exposed to Different Terminal Electron Acceptors
Authors: Beliaev A. S. , Klingeman D. M. , Klappenbach J. A. , Wu L. , Romine M. F. , Tiedje J. M. , Nealson K. H. , Fredrickson J. K. , Zhou J. 
Published: September 2005

ABSTRACTTo gain insight into the complex structure of the energy-generating networks in the dissimilatory metal reducerShewanella oneidensisMR-1, global mRNA patterns were examined in cells exposed to a wide range of metal and non-metal electron acceptors. Gene expression patterns were similar irrespective of which metal ion was used as electron acceptor, with 60% of the differentially expressed genes showing similar induction or repression relative to fumarate-respiring conditions. Several groups of genes exhibited elevated expression levels in the presence of metals, including those encoding putative multidrug efflux transporters, detoxification proteins, extracytoplasmic sigma factors and PAS-domain regulators. Only one of the 42 predictedc-type cytochromes in MR-1, SO3300, displayed significantly elevated transcript levels across all metal-reducing conditions. Genes encoding decaheme cytochromes MtrC and MtrA that were previously linked to the reduction of different forms of Fe(III) and Mn(IV), exhibited only slight decreases in relative mRNA abundances under metal-reducing conditions. In contrast, specific transcriptome responses were displayed to individual non-metal electron acceptors resulting in the identification of unique groups of nitrate-, thiosulfate- and TMAO-induced genes including previously uncharacterized multi-cytochrome gene clusters. Collectively, the gene expression results reflect the fundamental differences between metal and non-metal respiratory pathways ofS. oneidensisMR-1, where the coordinate induction of detoxification and stress response genes play a key role in adaptation of this organism under metal-reducing conditions. Moreover, the relative paucity and/or the constitutive nature of genes involved in electron transfer to metals is likely due to the low-specificity and the opportunistic nature of the metal-reducing electron transport pathways.
What makes the best medical ethics journal? A North American perspective
Authors: Savulescu J , Viens A M 
Published: September 2005

Background:There currently exist no data on the factors that contribute to determining why medical ethicists choose to review for and submit articles to medical ethics journals.Objective:To establish which factors contribute to medical ethicists reviewing articles for or submitting them to medical ethics journals by consulting those who are active in this capacity.Methods:Medical ethicists were surveyed to determine their incentives and disincentives for reviewing articles for or submitting them to medical ethics journals. Survey participants were chosen based on a review of the academic and research record of medical ethicists working in North America in higher education institutions.Results:The most frequent incentives to reviewing journal articles were: an opportunity to contribute to the field/profession, the good reputation of the journal, the high impact factor of the journal, and to keep up to date on current research. The most frequent disincentives to reviewing journal articles were: time constraints due to academic commitments, the poor reputation of the journal, and time constraints caused by other editorial commitments (for example, reviewing for other journals/publishers). The most important incentives to submitting journal articles were: the good reputation of the journal, the quality of scholarship previously published in the journal, the impact factor of the journal, and a fast turn-around from acceptance to publication. The most important disincentives to submitting journal articles were: the poor reputation of the journal, the poor quality of work previously published in the journal, and a slow turn-around from acceptance to publication.Conclusion:A series of factors that medical ethics journals should strive to employ to encourage reviewing and submission of articles are recommended.
The ethics of policy writing: how should hospitals deal with moral disagreement about controversial medical practices?
Authors: Winkler E C 
Published: September 2005

Every healthcare organisation (HCO) enacts a multitude of policies, but there has been no discussion as to what procedural and substantive requirements a policy writing process should meet in order to achieve good outcomes and to possess sufficient authority for those who are asked to follow it.Using, as an example, the controversy about patient’s refusal of blood transfusions, I argue that a hospital wide policy is preferable to individual decision making, because it ensures autonomy, quality, fairness, and efficiency.Policy writing for morally controversial medical practices needs additional justification compared to policies on standard medical practices and secures legitimate authority for HCO members by meeting five requirements: all parties directed by the policy are represented; the deliberative process encompasses all of the HCO’s obligations; the rationales for the policy are made available; there is a mechanism for criticising, and for evaluating the policy.
Characteristics of selectors of nicotine replacement therapy
Authors: Shiffman S , Di Marino M E , Sweeney C T 
Published: September 2005

Objective:To assess differences in demographic and smoking characteristics between smokers who have and have not used nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).Design:Mail survey of US smokers from a national research panel.Participants:Smokers 18 years and over who returned a survey on smoking (n  =  9630). The sample was weighted to match the US smoker population on age and sex.Main outcome measures:Compared smokers who had/had not used NRT in a quit attempt (ever NRT use or over the counter (OTC) NRT use) on: demographic characteristics, nicotine dependence, history of craving and withdrawal, expected difficulty quitting, and self reported history of smoking related medical illness and psychopathology.Results:NRT users (both ever-users and OTC users) were more likely to be older, male, and better educated. They were also heavier smokers, had experienced more craving and withdrawal upon quitting, and scored higher on measures of dependence. These differences were evident among light smokers, and remained even when smoking rate and time to first cigarette were controlled.Conclusion:Smokers who elect to use NRT differ from non-NRT users in ways that predispose them to failure in cessation. Controlling for smoking rate and time to first cigarette does not eliminate these differences, even among light smokers. These differences must be considered when comparing the effectiveness of NRT among samples of smokers who self select their treatment and are likely to bias such outcome comparisons.
Tobacco industry influence on the definition of tobacco related disorders by the American Psychiatric Association: Table 1
Authors: Neuman M D , Bitton A , Glantz S A 
Published: September 2005

Objective:TheDiagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, third edition (DSM-III), published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1980, included the first official definitions by the APA of tobacco dependence and tobacco withdrawal. Tobacco industry efforts to influence the DSM-III were investigated.Method:Searches of previously secret tobacco industry documents, primarily the University of California San Francisco Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and British American Tobacco collections. Additional information was collected through discussions with editors of DSM-III, and library and general internet searches.Results:The tobacco companies regarded the inclusion of tobacco dependence as a diagnosis in DSM-III as an adverse event. It worked to influence the content of the DSM-III and its impact following publication. These efforts included public statements and private lobbying of DSM-III editors and high ranking APA officers by prominent US psychiatrists with undisclosed ties to the tobacco industry. Following publication of DSM-III, tobacco companies contracted with two US professors of psychiatry to organise a conference and publish a monograph detailing controversies surrounding DSM-III.Conclusions:The tobacco industry and its allies lobbied to narrow the definition of tobacco dependence in serial revisions of DSM-III. Following publication of DSM-III, the industry took steps to try to mitigate its impact. These actions mirror industry tactics to influence medical research and policy in various contexts worldwide. Such tactics slow the spread of a professional and public understanding of smoking and health that otherwise would reduce smoking, smoking induced disease, and tobacco company profits.
From strange bedfellows to natural allies: the shifting allegiance of fire service organisations in the push for federal fire-safe cigarette legislation: Table 1
Authors: Barbeau E M , Kelder G , Ahmed S , Mantuefel V , Balbach E D 
Published: September 2005

Background:Cigarettes are the leading cause of fatal fires in the USA and are associated with one in four fire deaths. Although the technology needed to make fire-safe cigarettes has been available for many years, progress has been slow on legislative and regulatory fronts to require the tobacco industry to manufacture fire-safe cigarettes.Method and results:We conducted a case study, drawing on data from tobacco industry documents, archives, and key informant interviews to investigate tobacco industry strategies for thwarting fire-safe cigarette legislation in the US Congress. We apply a theoretical framework that posits that policymaking is the product of three sets of forces: interests, institutions, and ideas, to examine tobacco industry behaviour, with a special focus on their and others’ attempts to court fire service organisations, including firefighters’ unions as allies. We discuss the implications of our findings for future policy efforts related to fire-safe cigarettes and other tobacco control issues.Conclusions:Tobacco control advocates ought to: continue efforts to align key interest groups, including the firefighters unions; contest tobacco industry “diversionary” science tactics; and pursue a state based legislative strategy for fire-safe cigarettes, building towards national legislation.
Tobacco industry successfully prevented tobacco control legislation in Argentina
Authors: Sebrié E M , Barnoya J , Pérez-Stable E J , Glantz S A 
Published: September 2005

Objective:To evaluate how transnational tobacco companies, working through their local affiliates, influenced tobacco control policymaking in Argentina between 1966 and 2005.Methods:Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents, local newspapers and magazines, internet resources, bills from the Argentinean National Congress Library, and interviews with key individuals in Argentina.Results:Transnational tobacco companies (Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Lorillard, and RJ Reynolds International) have been actively influencing public health policymaking in Argentina since the early 1970s. As in other countries, in 1977 the tobacco industry created a weak voluntary self regulating code to avoid strong legislated restrictions on advertising. In addition to direct lobbying by the tobacco companies, these efforts involved use of third party allies, public relations campaigns, and scientific and medical consultants. During the 1980s and 1990s efforts to pass comprehensive tobacco control legislation intensified, but the organised tobacco industry prevented its enactment. There has been no national activity to decrease exposure to secondhand smoke.Conclusions:The tobacco industry, working through its local subsidiaries, has subverted meaningful tobacco control legislation in Argentina using the same strategies as in the USA and other countries. As a result, tobacco control in Argentina remains governed by a national law that is weak and restricted in its scope.
Tobacco industry consumer research on socially acceptable cigarettes
Authors: Ling P M , Glantz S A 
Published: September 2005

Objective:To describe tobacco industry consumer research to inform the development of more “socially acceptable” cigarette products since the 1970s.Methods:Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents.Results:28 projects to develop more socially acceptable cigarettes were identified from Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, British American Tobacco, and Lorillard tobacco companies. Consumer research and concept testing consistently demonstrated that many smokers feel strong social pressure not to smoke, and this pressure increased with exposure to smoking restrictions. Tobacco companies attempted to develop more socially acceptable cigarettes with less visible sidestream smoke or less odour. When presented in theory, these product concepts were very attractive to important segments of the smoking population. However, almost every product developed was unacceptable in actual product tests or test markets. Smokers reported the complete elimination of secondhand smoke was necessary to satisfy non-smokers. Smokers have also been generally unwilling to sacrifice their own smoking satisfaction for the benefit of others. Many smokers prefer smoke-free environments to cigarettes that produce less secondhand smoke.Conclusions:Concerns about secondhand smoke and clean indoor air policies have a powerful effect on the social acceptability of smoking. Historically, the tobacco industry has been unable to counter these effects by developing more socially acceptable cigarettes. These data suggest that educating smokers about the health dangers of secondhand smoke and promoting clean indoor air policies has been difficult for the tobacco industry to counter with new products, and that every effort should be made to pursue these strategies.
Effect of the New York State cigarette fire safety standard on ignition propensity, smoke constituents, and the consumer market
Authors: Connolly G N , Alpert H R , Rees V , Carpenter C , Wayne G F , Vallone D , Koh H 
Published: September 2005

Objectives:This study examines empirical evidence from the New York experience testing tobacco industry arguments made in opposition to fire safety standards for cigarettes.Design:Percentages of cigarettes exhibiting full length burns (FLBs), cigarette sales before and following the implementation of the New York standards, a sample of retail cigarette prices, brand availability, and selected smoke constituent yields were compared between cigarettes sold in New York and two other states. Cigarette paper analysis was conducted on cigarettes sold in New York.Results:New York cigarette brands averaged 10.0% FLBs as compared to 99.8% for California and Massachusetts brands. Reduced ignition propensity (RIP) appears to have been achieved by cigarette paper banding. Cigarette sales, prices, and brand availability do not appear to have been affected by the New York standards. Yields of the majority of smoke constituents tested did not differ substantially between RIP cigarettes sold in New York as compared to the same brands sold in Massachusetts. Average yields of tar, carbon monoxide, and two compounds were slightly higher, the yields of seven compounds were higher for one brand only, and nicotine was lower, among New York brands tested.Conclusions:RIP cigarette brands have been designed to meet the New York fire safety standards. Their introduction has not affected cigarette sales or prices in New York. There is no evidence that the small increases in smoke constituent yields affect the already highly toxic nature of cigarette smoke. Data on smoking caused fires, deaths, and injuries dating from after the change in law are not yet available. Such data will be able to address the question of whether the demonstrated reduced ignition standards are associated with reduced fires and injuries. Based on the New York experience, prior industry objections to producing RIP cigarettes are unfounded. Other states and nations should adopt similar standards.
Health consequences of smoking 1–4 cigarettes per day
Authors: Bjartveit K , Tverdal A 
Published: September 2005

Objectives:To determine the risk in men and women smoking 1–4 cigarettes per day of dying from specified smoking related diseases and from any cause.Design:Prospective study.Setting:Oslo city and three counties in Norway.Participants:23 521 men and 19 201 women, aged 35–49 years, screened for cardiovascular disease risk factors in the mid 1970s and followed throughout 2002.Outcomes:Absolute mortality and relative risks adjusted for confounding variables, of dying from ischaemic heart disease, all cancer, lung cancer, and from all causes.Results:Adjusted relative risk (95% confidence interval) in smokers of 1–4 cigarettes per day, with never smokers as reference, of dying from ischaemic heart disease was 2.74 (2.07 to 3.61) in men and 2.94 (1.75 to 4.95) in women. The corresponding figures for all cancer were 1.08 (0.78 to 1.49) and 1.14 (0.84 to 1.55), for lung cancer 2.79 (0.94 to 8.28) and 5.03 (1.81 to 13.98), and for any cause 1.57 (1.33 to 1.85) and 1.47 (1.19 to 1.82).Conclusions:In both sexes, smoking 1–4 cigarettes per day was associated with a significantly higher risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease and from all causes, and from lung cancer in women. Smoking control policymakers and health educators should emphasise more strongly that light smokers also endanger their health.