bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Teeth with double internal inflammatory resorption: Report of two cases
Authors: Rossi‐Fedele Giampiero , Figueiredo Jose A.P. , Abbott Paul V.
Published: September 2009

Internal inflammatory resorption is an uncommon condition, which requires the presence of necrotic and infected pulp tissue within the coronal portion of the root canal system as well as inflamed pulp tissue apical to the resorptive defect. The defect usually appears as a bowl‐shaped radiolucency within the tooth root. Most cases are asymptomatic and many cases are only seen once the entire pulp has necrosed and all of the root canal system is infected resulting in apical periodontitis. The two cases presented are unusual in that they both had two distinct areas of internal inflammatory resorption. It is hypothesised that the more coronal lesion occurred first and then it ceased to continue resorbing the root in that position as the ‘necrotic, infected front’ moved apically at which time a second resorptive defect developed. The management, using different approaches, of these two cases of ‘double internal inflammatory resorption’ is described.
A Comparison of the Effect of Macerating Enzymes and Pulsed Electric Fields Technology on Phenolic Content and Color of Red Wine
Authors: Puértolas E. , Saldaña G. , Condón S. , Álvarez I. , Raso J.
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACT:  The effect of the addition of 2 enzymatic preparations and the application of a pulsed electric fields treatment (PEF) on the phenolic content and color of Cabernet Sauvignon wine has been compared. The evolution of color intensity (CI), anthocyanic content (AC), and total polyphenol index (TPI) from crushing to 3 mo of aging in bottle was studied. The results demonstrated that both treatments promoted greater extraction of phenolic compounds, compared to the untreated wine. However, PEF technology was more effective. After 3 mo of storage, CI, AC, and TPI were 28%, 26%, and 11%, respectively, higher in PEF‐wine than in control wine. By contrast, while both enzymatic preparations increased the CI of the wine around 5%, only one of them increased the AC and TPI by 11% and 3%, respectively, in comparison with the control. After 3 mo of aging in bottle, the phenolic composition was also analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The content of nonanthocyanic families was higher in PEF‐wine than in the rest of the wines. In wines treated by enzymes, only an increase in phenolic acids and flavonols with respect to the control was detected.

Practical Application: Pulsed electric fields is a novel food processing technology that poses a very promising future to the enological field, due to its capacity to improve the mass transfer phenomenon. The continuous development of this technology allows nowadays the application of treatments at the semi‐industrial scale. In this article, it has been demonstrated that the application of a PEF treatment to the grape pomace before maceration/fermentation is more effective, in terms of color intensity and phenolic content, than the addition of macerating enzymes.
Effect of Fortification with Various Types of Milk Proteins on the Rheological Properties and Permeability of Nonfat Set Yogurt
Authors: Peng Y. , Serra M. , Horne D.S. , Lucey J.A.
Published: September 2009

ABSTRACT:  Yogurt base was prepared from reconstituted skim milk powder (SMP) with 2.5% protein and fortified with additional 1% protein (wt/wt) from 4 different milk protein sources: SMP, milk protein isolate (MPI), micellar casein (MC), and sodium caseinate (NaCN). Heat‐treated yogurt mixes were fermented at 40 °C with a commercial yogurt culture until pH 4.6. During fermentation pH was monitored, and storage modulus (G′) and loss tangent (LT) were measured using dynamic oscillatory rheology. Yield stress (σyield) and permeability of gels were analyzed at pH 4.6. Addition of NaCN significantly reduced buffering capacity of yogurt mix by apparently solubilizing part of the indigenous colloidal calcium phosphate (CCP) in reconstituted SMP. Use of different types of milk protein did not affect pH development except for MC, which had the slowest fermentation due to its very high buffering. NaCN‐fortified yogurt had the highest G′ and σyield values at pH 4.6, as well as maximum LT values. Partial removal of CCP by NaCN before fermentation may have increased rearrangements in yogurt gel. Soluble casein molecules in NaCN‐fortified milks may have helped to increase G′ and LT values of yogurt gels by increasing the number of cross‐links between strands. Use of MC increased the CCP content but resulted in low G′ and σyield at pH 4.6, high LT and high permeability. The G′ value at pH 4.6 of yogurts increased in the order: SMP = MC < MPI < NaCN. Type of milk protein used to standardize the protein content had a significant impact on physical properties of yogurt.

Practical Application: In yogurt processing, it is common to add additional milk solids to improve viscosity and textural attributes. There are many different types of milk protein powders that could potentially be used for fortification purposes. This study suggests that the type of milk protein used for fortification impacts yogurt properties and sodium caseinate gave the best textural results.
Dysglycemia Predicts Cardiovascular and Kidney Disease in the Kidney Early Evaluation Program
Authors: Whaley‐Connell Adam , Pavey Brian S. , McCullough Peter A. , Saab Georges , Li Suying , McFarlane Samy I. , Chen Shu‐Cheng , Vassalotti Joseph A. , Collins Allan J. , Bakris George , Sowers James R. ,   on behalf of the KEEP Investigators
Published: September 2009

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2010;12:51–58. ©2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The cardiometabolic syndrome has been associated with both chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Using data from the National Kidney Foundation‐Kidney Early Evaluation Program, the authors sought to investigate this association in a targeted CKD cohort. A total of 26,992 patients met eligibility criteria including age 18 years and older, diabetes, hypertension, or family history of CKD, diabetes, or hypertension and excluded those taking renal replacement therapy. Individuals were identified by Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP‐ATP III) criteria (dysglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia) and World Health Organization criteria (obesity and proteinuria). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate increasing components of the cardiometabolic syndrome, CKD, and CVD. On multivariate analysis there was a graded relationship between increasing components with an increased prevalence of CKD and CVD. Additionally, there was a graded trend with the stage of dysglycemia (eg, normoglycemia, prediabetes, and overt diabetes) and increasing CKD. However, there was only an increased prevalence of CVD observed in the clinically diabetic group. This trend was also observed with increasing serum glucose levels and an increasing percent of CVD and CKD up to 160 mg/dL. However, prevalent CVD increased at >140 mg/dL and prevalent CKD at >180 mg/dL. Therefore, data support that increasing metabolic components and dysglycemia are strongly associated with an increased prevalence of CKD and CVD.
The Metabolic Syndrome: A Modern Plague Spread by Modern Technology
Authors: Spalding Aaron , Kernan Joseph , Lockette Warren
Published: September 2009

Malnutrition and infectious disease represent the most common health threats facing the developing world. However, increasing technological developments and the expansion of western culture have contributed to the increasing prevalence of the metabolic syndrome. The epidemiologic significance and potential costs to governmental health care systems of an increasing incidence of metabolic syndrome could become high. The role of environmental influences that lead to the development of the metabolic syndrome needs to be explored. Because the metabolic syndrome becomes more common as nations develop, investigations into the ramifications of this disease often come too late.
Trainee Multicultural Case Conceptualization Ability and Couples Therapy
Authors: Schomburg Allison M. , Prieto Loreto R.
Published: September 2009

Previous literature on the assessment of multicultural counseling competence has been concerned only with counselors’ abilities when working with individual clients. We expanded this line of research by investigating trainees’ multicultural case conceptualization ability in the context of working with couples. Despite the fact that trainees self‐reported a high level of multicultural competency, trainees were largely inattentive to racial factors in their case conceptualization responses to vignettes involving both African American and European American clients presenting for couples therapy. On the whole, despite didactic, clinical, and extracurricular training in multiculturalism, marriage and family therapy trainees did not sufficiently incorporate cultural factors into their clinical case conceptualizations. We discuss implications for teaching, practice, and future research.
Characterization of highly informative cross‐species microsatellite panels for the Australian dugong (Dugong dugon) and Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) including five novel primers
Authors: HUNTER MARGARET KELLOGG , BRODERICK DAMIEN , OVENDEN JENNIFER R. , TUCKER KIMBERLY PAUSE , BONDE ROBERT K. , MCGUIRE PETER M. , LANYON JANET M.
Published: September 2009

The Australian dugong (Dugong dugon) and Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) are threatened species of aquatic mammals in the order Sirenia. Sirenian conservation and management actions would benefit from a more complete understanding of genetic diversity and population structure. Generally, species‐specific microsatellite markers are employed in conservation genetic studies; however, robust markers can be difficult and costly to isolate. To increase the number of available markers, dugong and manatee microsatellite primers were evaluated for cross‐species amplification. Furthermore, one manatee and four dugong novel primers are reported. After polymerase chain reaction optimization, 23 (92%) manatee primers successfully amplified dugong DNA, of which 11 (48%) were polymorphic. Of the 32 dugong primers tested, 27 (84%) yielded product in the manatee, of which 17 (63%) were polymorphic. Dugong and manatee primers were compared and the most informative markers were selected to create robust and informative marker‐panels for each species. These cross‐species microsatellite marker‐panels can be employed to assess other sirenian populations and can provide beneficial information for the protection and management of these unique mammals.
New insights into the pathobiology of portal hypertension
Authors: Guturu Praveen , Shah Vijay
Published: September 2009

Portal Hypertension is a frequent complication of cirrhosis and causes significant morbidity and mortality. Increased intrahepatic resistance is the primary factor but portal hypertension is also associated with changes in systemic and porto‐sytemic collateral circulation. Cirrhosis is a state of vasoregulatory imbalance with excess vasoconstrictors and less vasodilators in hepatic circulation and the reverse is true for systemic circulation. Multiple pathophysiologic mechanisms including endothelial dysfunction, sinusoidal remodeling and angiogenesis are involved in increasing resistance in hepatic vascular bed. Current evidence suggests that these changes in vasoreactivity contribute to a significant proportion of intrahepatic vascular resistance and that they are reversible, providing an attractive target for therapeutic intervention.
Diagnosis and treatment of portal hypertension
Authors: Segawa Makoto , Sakaida Isao
Published: September 2009

Major progress has been made in the area of diagnosis and treatment of portal hypertension. Multi‐detector row computed tomography (MD‐CT) enabled the revelation of the precise overview of portal hemodynamics and was applied into the decision of therapeutic strategies. A noninvasive liver stiffness measurement device, transient elastography, is expected to be applied in the prediction of existence of esophageal varices. Balloon‐occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B‐RTO) is performed mainly in Japan to eradiate the fundic varices and high eradiation rate and low recurrence rate are reported. Partial splenic embolization (PSE) has been performed to improve hypersplenism without serious side‐effect and excellent result is reported. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are promising drugs for its portal hypotensive effect and antifibrotic effect and more investigation is necessary. Anti‐fibrotic therapy, including autologous bone marrow therapy, has the possibility to improve not only liver fibrosis but also portal hypertension.
A Device for Measuring Thin Fluid Flow Depth Over an Inclined Open Rectangular Channel
Authors: Majumder A. K.
Published: September 2009

Accurate knowledge of the fluid flow depth over an inclined rectangular open channel is of obvious value in the modeling of flow characteristics over that channel. Understanding of this type of fluid flow behavior is of immense importance to the mineral processing fraternity as a large number of separators work on this principle. Therefore, a multiple point computer-controlled depth gauge was developed to measure water flow depths at various flow rates ranging from 0.81 l/s to 2.26 l/s over an inclined (17.5 deg) rectangular channel (2400 mm long and 370 mm wide). This paper describes the details about the device and the data acquisition procedure. An attempt has also been made to predict the measured flow depths at various operating conditions by using a modified form of the conventional law of the wall model. An overall relative error of 4.23% between the measured and the predicted flow depths at various flow rates establishes the validity of the model.
The Aerodynamic Interaction Between an Inverted Wing and a Rotating Wheel
Authors: van den Berg M. A. , Zhang X.
Published: September 2009

The fundamental aerodynamic influence of downstream wheels on a front wing flow field and vice versa has been investigated using generic wind tunnel models. The research has been conducted using a wing with a fixed configuration, whereas the wing ride height with respect to the ground has been varied as the primary variable. The overlap and gap between the wing and wheels have been kept constant within the context of the current paper. At higher ride heights the wheels reduce wing downforce and increase wing drag, whereas the drag of the wheels themselves also rises. At low ride heights, however, the opposite happens and the wing performance improves, while the wheels produce less drag. The ride height range has been subdivided into force regions with consistent characteristics throughout each of them. Force and pressure measurements, particle image velocimetry results, and oil flow images have been used to explain the differences between the force regions and to derive the governing flow mechanisms. The trajectories and interaction of vortices play a dominant role in the observed force behavior, both as force enhancing and reducing mechanisms. The effect of wheel circulation, flow separation, and flow channeling by the ground and by the wheels are among the other main contributors that have been discussed within this paper.
Transient Thin-Film Flow on a Moving Boundary of Arbitrary Topography
Authors: Khayat Roger E. , Muhammad Tauqeer
Published: September 2009

The transient two-dimensional flow of a thin Newtonian fluid film over a moving substrate of arbitrary shape is examined in this theoretical study. The interplay among inertia, initial conditions, substrate speed, and shape is examined for a fluid emerging from a channel, wherein Couette–Poiseuille conditions are assumed to prevail. The flow is dictated by the thin-film equations of the “boundary layer” type, which are solved by expanding the flow field in terms of orthonormal modes depthwise and using the Galerkin projection method. Both transient and steady-state flows are investigated. Substrate movement is found to have a significant effect on the flow behavior. Initial conditions, decreasing with distance downstream, give rise to the formation of a wave that propagates with time and results in a shocklike structure (formation of a gradient catastrophe) in the flow. In this study, the substrate movement is found to delay shock formation. It is also found that there exists a critical substrate velocity at which the shock is permanently obliterated. Two substrate geometries are considered. For a continuous sinusoidal substrate, the disturbances induced by its movement prohibit the steady-state conditions from being achieved. However, for the case of a flat substrate with a bump, a steady state exists.
Models for Vortex-Induced Vibration of Cylinders Based on Measured Forces
Authors: Blevins Robert D.
Published: September 2009

This paper develops experimentally based nonlinear models for the vortex shedding forces on oscillating cylinders. The lift in-phase and out-of-phase with cylinder motion and mean drag are determined from experiments with cylinder amplitudes from 0.05 cm to 1.5 cm, and reduced velocities between 2 and 12. The results are reduced to a uniform grid, tabulated, and applied to prediction of resonant, nonresonant, and time history vortex-induced vibration. The results are reduced to a uniform grid, tabulated, and applied to prediction of resonant, nonresonant and time history vortex-induced vibration.
Aerodynamic Forces on Multiple Unit Trains in Cross Winds
Authors: Baker Christopher J. , Sterling Mark
Published: September 2009

This paper describes the results of wind tunnel tests that were carried out to measure the aerodynamic characteristics of an electrical multiple unit (EMU) vehicle in a cross wind. The measurements were made on a 1/30 scale model of the Class 365 EMU in a simulation of the natural wind. The time histories of surface pressures were measured at a large number of points over the vehicle from which the aerodynamic characteristics and force coefficients were determined. This paper describes the complex fluctuating pressure field over the vehicle, through a consideration of the mean and fluctuating pressure coefficients and their spectra, and through a proper orthogonal decomposition analysis, which identifies the major modes of this distribution. The mean, fluctuating, and extreme aerodynamic side and lift forces are also discussed. It is shown that the flow pattern around the vehicle is dominated by large windward roof corner pressure fluctuations.
Unanswered questions and ethical issues concerning US biodefence research
Authors: Schumm W R , Nazarinia R R , Bosch K R
Published: September 2009

Unanswered questions and ethical issues associated with US biodefence medical research over the past five decades are discussed. Objective scientific standards are essential for making policy decisions that can stand the test of time. For decades, scholars have reported that the human anthrax vaccine field trials conducted in the 1950s by Brachman and his colleagues were single-blind rather than double-blind. Nevertheless, in March 2005, Dr Philip S Brachman reported in a letter to the US Food and Drug Administration that his study had been double-blind. It is here argued that, rather, the field trial of a human anthrax vaccine should continue to be deemed as single-blind unless more detailed information is provided to explain exactly how the investigators were kept unaware of which subjects were in the treatment and control groups. Moreover, a number of other questions about the details of this critically important study have remained unanswered and are discussed. More recently, similar concerns have arisen with respect to more contemporary biodefence research, especially with reference to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s allegations that Dr Bruce Ivins, a US government biodefence researcher, was responsible for the anthrax letter attacks of fall 2001. The medical ethics and related issues involved with continuing to base national biodefence and public health policy on unclear, if not contradictory, research are discussed.
Undertreating pain violates ethical principles
Authors: Macpherson C
Published: September 2009

Disabling pain or symptoms can occur at any age from many different causes. Pain and palliative specialists are able to relieve most pain and symptoms, although repeated adjustments to modalities, medications and doses may be needed. Because pain and palliative specialists comprise only a small percentage of physicians, many patients find it difficult to access them or obtain pain relief. Globally, there are too few such specialists to meet existing needs. Most are affiliated with hospice and palliative units, so their accessibility to patients without terminal conditions is negligible. Doctors outside pain and palliative specialties are often unfamiliar with pain guidelines and sceptical about patient reports of unrelieved pain. They are therefore likely to undertreat it. Undertreating pain, however, violates respect for persons and beneficence. This paper reviews literature supporting these claims and offers a narrative description of the author’s attempts to find relief from shingles and postherpetic neuralgia. It argues that physicians in most specialties are not, but should be, familiar with palliative evidence and guidelines so that they are equipped to relieve pain and symptoms quickly and effectively. Such information should be routinely introduced in medical curricula to encourage the mastery of knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to upholding ethical principles and to ensure that more doctors in any discipline are willing to believe and be compassionate to patients whose pain is unresponsive to initial treatments. Routinely exposing students to such information would better prepare them to fulfil their professional duties to patients and society.
All hail the new flesh: some thoughts on scarification, children and adults
Authors: Oultram S
Published: September 2009

Body art as expressed through non-therapeutic bodily modification is extremely popular, with techniques ranging from the commonplace such as ear piercing to the more esoteric forms such as tongue splitting. Scarification is one such body art practice that is becoming popular as an alternative to tattooing and ear piercing. This paper begins by outlining the regulatory problems that scarification poses. It then goes on to argue that although there is a reasonable case for permitting competent adults to make use of scarification, the practice should not be made available to minors.
Locked inpatient units in modern mental health care: values and practice issues
Authors: Cleary M , Hunt G E , Walter G , Robertson M
Published: September 2009

Locked inpatient units are an increasing phenomenon, introduced in response to unforseen abscondences and suicides of patients. This paper identifies some value issues concerning the practice of locked psychiatric inpatient units. Broad strategies, practicalities and ethical matters that must be considered in inpatient mental health services are also explored. The authors draw on the published research and commentary to derive relevant information to provide to patients and staff regarding the aims and rationales of locked units. Further debate is warranted in relation to best practice. Inpatient staff need to be aware of their practice values, be able to access education and supervision and negotiate apparent contradictions. Further patient/clinician focused enquiry is necessary to mitigate the negative and stigmatising effects of locked mental health units.
Obtaining informed consent: observations from community research with refugee and impoverished youth: Figure 1
Authors: Nakkash R , Makhoul J , Afifi R
Published: September 2009

This paper presents challenges facing researchers in applying basic ethical principles while conducting research with youth in a developing country context. A discussion of the cultural and social challenges to adherence to the elements of informed consent: disclosure, comprehension, capacity, voluntariness and consent is presented. The authors argue that the current institutional review board requirements that guide research reflect values and stem from western contexts that may not be fully applicable to non-western contexts. More dialogue is needed among researchers in developing world contexts on challenges of and possible revisions to requirements that maintain respect for persons, beneficence, autonomy and justice, particularly when working with youth.
The robustness of medical professional ethics when times are changing: a comparative study of general practitioner ethics and surgery ethics in The Netherlands
Authors: Dwarswaard J , Hilhorst M , Trappenburg M
Published: September 2009

Society in the 21st century is in many ways different from society in the 1950s, the 1960s or the 1970s. Two of the most important changes relate to the level of education in the population and the balance between work and private life. These days a large percentage of people are highly educated. Partly as a result of economic progress in the 1950s and the 1960s and partly due to the fact that many women entered the labour force, people started searching for ways to combine their career with family obligations and a private life (including hobbies, outings and holidays). Medical professional ethics, more specifically: professional attitudes towards patients and colleagues, is influenced by developments such as these, but how much and in what way? It was assumed that surgery ethics would be more robust, resistant to change and that general practitioner (GP) ethics would change more readily in response to a changing society, because surgeons perform technical work in operating theatres in hospitals whereas GPs have their offices in the midst of society. The journals of Dutch surgeons and GPs from the 1950s onwards were studied so as to detect traces of change in medical professional ethics in The Netherlands. GP ethics turned out to be malleable compared with surgery ethics. In fact, GP medicine proved to be an agent of change rather than merely responding to it, both with regard to the changing role of patients and with regard to the changing work life balance.
Is it ethical for a general practitioner to claim a conscientious objection when asked to refer for abortion?
Authors: Gerrard J W
Published: September 2009

Abortion is one of the most divisive topics in healthcare. Proponents and opponents hold strong views. Some health workers who oppose abortion assert a right of conscientious objection to it, a position itself that others find unethical. Even if allowance for objection should be made, it is not clear how far it should extend. Can conscientious objection be given as a reason not to refer when a woman requests her doctor to do so? This paper explores the idea of the general practitioner (GP) who declines to make a direct referral for abortion, asking the woman to see another GP instead. The purpose is to defend the claim that an appeal to conscientious objection in this way can be reasonable and ethical.
Clinical obligations and public health programmes: healthcare provider reasoning about managing the incidental results of newborn screening
Authors: Miller F A , Hayeems R Z , Bombard Y , Little J , Carroll J C , Wilson B , Allanson J , Paynter M , Bytautas J P , Christensen R , Chakraborty P
Published: September 2009

Background:

Expanded newborn screening generates incidental results, notably carrier results. Yet newborn screening programmes typically restrict parental choice regarding receipt of this non-health serving genetic information. Healthcare providers play a key role in educating families or caring for screened infants and have strong beliefs about the management of incidental results.

Methods:

To inform policy on disclosure of infant sickle cell disorder (SCD) carrier results, a mixed-methods study of healthcare providers was conducted in Ontario, Canada, to understand attitudes regarding result management using a cross-sectional survey (N  =  1615) and semistructured interviews (N  =  42).

Results:

Agreement to reasons favouring disclosure of SCD carrier results was high (65.1%–92.7%) and to reasons opposing disclosure was low (4.1%–18.1%). Genetics professionals expressed less support for arguments favouring disclosure (35.3%–78.8%), and more agreement with arguments opposing disclosure (15.7%–51.9%). A slim majority of genetics professionals (51.9%) agreed that a reason to avoid disclosure was the importance of allowing the child to decide to receive results. Qualitatively, there was a perceived “duty” to disclose, that if the clinician possessed the information, the clinician could not withhold it.

Discussion:

While a majority of respondents perceived a duty to disclose the incidental results of newborn screening, the policy implications of these attitudes are not obvious. In particular, policy must balance descriptive ethics (ie, what providers believe) and normative ethics (ie, what duty-based principles oblige), address dissenting opinion and consider the relevance of moral principles grounded in clinical obligations for public health initiatives.
“Personality disorder” and capacity to make treatment decisions
Authors: Szmukler G
Published: September 2009

Whether treatment decision-making capacity can be meaningfully applied to patients with a diagnosis of “personality disorder” is examined. Patients presenting to a psychiatric emergency clinic with threats of self-harm are considered, two having been assessed and reviewed in detail. It was found that capacity can be meaningfully assessed in such patients, although the process is more complex than in patients with diagnoses of a more conventional kind. The process of assessing capacity in such patients is very time-consuming and may become, in itself, a therapeutic intervention.
Differential regulation of H+-ATPases in MDCK-C11 cells by aldosterone and vasopressin
Authors: Dos Santos Priscilla M.C. , Freitas Fabio P. , Mendes Jeane , Tararthuch Ana Lucia , Fernandez Ricardo
Published: September 2009

The objective of the present work was to characterize the biochemical activity of the proton pumps present in the C11 clone of Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, akin to intercalated cells of the collecting duct, as well as to study their regulation by hormones like aldosterone and vasopressin. MDCK-C11 cells from passages 78 to 86 were utilized. The reaction to determine H+-ATPase activity was started by addition of cell homogenates to tubes contained the assay medium. The inorganic phosphate (Pi) released was determined by a colorimetric method modified from that described by Fiske and Subbarow. Changes in intracellular calcium concentration in the cells was determined using the Ca2+-sensing dye fluo-4 AM. Homogenates of MDCK-C11 cells present a bafilomycin-sensitive activity (vacuolar H+-ATPase), and a vanadate-sensitive activity (H+/K+-ATPase). The bafilomycin-sensitive activity showed a pH optimum of 6.12. ATPase activity was also stimulated in a dose-dependent fashion as K+concentration was increased between 0 and 50 mmol·L–1, with an apparent Kmfor the release of Piof 0.13 mmol·L–1and Vmaxof 22.01 nmol·mg–1·min–1. Incubation of cell monolayers with 10−8 mol·L–1aldosterone for 24 h significantly increased vacuolar H+-ATPase activity, an effect prevented by 10−5 mol·L–1spironolactone. Vacuolar H+-ATPase activity was also stimulated by 10−11 mol·L–1vasopressin, an effect prevented by a V1 receptor-specific antagonist. This dose of vasopressin determined a sustained rise of cytosolic ionized calcium. We conclude that (i) homogenates of MDCK-C11 cells present a bafilomycin-sensitive (H+-ATPase) activity and a vanadate-sensitive (H+/K+-ATPase) activity, and (ii) vacuolar H+-ATPase activity is activated by aldosterone through a genomic pathway and by vasopressin through V1 receptors.
Dietary fenugreek seed regresses preestablished cholesterol gallstones in mice
Authors: Reddy R.L.R. , Srinivasan K.
Published: September 2009

An animal study was carried out to evaluate the influence of dietary fenugreek seeds on regression of preestablished cholesterol gallstones (CGS). CGS was induced by feeding a high-cholesterol diet for 10 weeks. After CGS induction, the animals were maintained for a further 10 weeks on experimental diets of high cholesterol, 6% fenugreek powder, 12% fenugreek powder, or basal control. Incidence of CGS and its severity were evaluated at the end of this feeding regimen. The incidence of CGS was significantly lowered as a result of dietary fenugreek seeds, the extent of regression being 61% and 64% in the low and high dose groups compared with 10% regression in the basal control group. The antilithogenic influence of dietary fenugreek was accompanied by significant reductions of more than 35% in serum cholesterol concentration. Hepatic cholesterol concentration was also profoundly lowered by dietary fenugreek, being 53%–63% lower than that of the basal control diet. Biliary cholesterol concentration was significantly lower as a result of dietary fenugreek during the post-CGS induction period, resulting in a decreased cholesterol:phospholipid ratio (0.44 and 0.40 compared with 0.79 in the basal control group). Biliary cholesterol : bile acid ratio was lowered by 67% and 73% upon feeding fenugreek, significantly lower than that in the basal control group. The cholesterol saturation index in the bile was also beneficially lowered by fenugreek treatment during the post-CGS induction period (the index was 0.90 and 0.42 compared with 1.86 in the basal control group). The present study provides evidence of the potency of hypolipidemic fenugreek seeds in regressing preestablished CGS, and this beneficial antilithogenic effect is attributable to its primary influence on cholesterol levels. This finding is significant in the context of evolving a dietary strategy to address CGS, which could help in preventing the incidence and regression of existing CGS and controlling possible recurrence.
Regulation of liver glucokinase activity in rats with fructose-induced insulin resistance and impaired glucose and lipid metabolism
Authors: Francini Flavio , Castro María C. , Gagliardino Juan J. , Massa María L.
Published: September 2009

We evaluated the relative role of different regulatory mechanisms, particularly 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase (PFK2/FBPase-2), in liver glucokinase (GK) activity in intact animals with fructose-induced insulin resistance and impaired glucose and lipid metabolism. We measured blood glucose, triglyceride and insulin concentration, glucose tolerance, liver triglyceride content, GK activity, and GK and PFK2 protein and gene expression in fructose-rich diet (FRD) and control rats. After 3 weeks, FRD rats had significantly higher blood glucose, insulin and triglyceride levels, and liver triglyceride content, insulin resistance, and impaired glucose tolerance. FRD rats also had significantly higher GK activity in the cytosolic fraction (18.3 ± 0.35 vs. 11.27 ± 0.34 mU/mg protein). Differences in GK protein concentration (116% and 100%) were not significant, suggesting a potentially impaired GK translocation in FRD rats. Although GK transcription level was similar, PFK2 gene expression and protein concentration were 4- and 5-fold higher in the cytosolic fraction of FRD animals. PFK2 immunological blockage significantly decreased GK activity in control and FRD rats; in the latter, this blockage decreased GK activity to control levels. Results suggest that increased liver GK activity might participate in the adaptative response to fructose overload to maintain glucose/triglyceride homeostasis in intact animals. Under these conditions, PFK2 increase would be the main enhancer of GK activity.
Naringenin inhibits allergen-induced airway inflammation and airway responsiveness and inhibits NF-κB activity in a murine model of asthma
Authors: Shi Ying , Dai Jian , Liu Hua , Li Ruo-Ran , Sun Pei-Li , Du Qiang , Pang Ling-ling , Chen Zhen , Yin Kai-Sheng
Published: September 2009

Naringenin, a flavonoid, has antiinflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. We investigated whether naringenin could attenuate allergen-induced airway inflammation and its possible mechanism in a murine model of asthma. Mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin. Some mice were administered with naringenin before ovalbumin challenge. We evaluated the development of airway inflammation and airway reactivity. Interleukin (IL)4, IL13, chemokine (C–C motif) ligand (CCL)5, and CCL11 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum total IgE were detected by ELISA. IκBα degradation and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in lungs were measured by Western blot. We also tested NF-κB binding activity by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. The mRNA levels of iNOS, CCL5, and CCL11 were detected by real-time PCR. Naringenin attenuated ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation and airway reactivity in experimental mice. The naringenin-treated mice had lower levels of IL4 and IL13 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lower serum total IgE. Furthermore, naringenin inhibited pulmonary IκBα degradation and NF-κB DNA-binding activity. The levels of CCL5, CCL11, and iNOS were also significantly reduced. The results indicated that naringenin may play protective roles in the asthma process. The inhibition of NF-κB and the decreased expression of its target genes may account for this phenomenon.
Food availability in spring influences reproductive output in the seed-preying edible dormouse (Glis glis)
Authors: Kager T. , Fietz J.
Published: September 2009

Edible dormice ( Glis glis (L., 1766)) display strong annual variation in their reproductive output that is closely related to resource availability, commonly measured through the quantity of seeds produced by their most important food provider, the European beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.). Dormouse mating takes place several weeks before beech seeds ripen, and to the present day it remains unclear how dormice achieve optimized reproductive output in reflection of the quantity of food available in the future. The first aim of this field study carried out over 13 years was thus to investigate the relationship between beech masting and reproductive performance in edible dormice in Germany. If food availability in spring influenced litter size, this would partially explain observed natural variability in offspring numbers. We thus chose an experimental approach and provided supplemental food to edible dormice in the field. Our results showed that numbers and proportions of reproductively active females, as well as litter sizes, between 1993 and 2005 were positively correlated with beech mast. Food supplementation positively affected litter size and litters of food-supplemented females were found to be larger than those of unsupplemented females. Food-supplemented mothers and their offspring gained body mass considerably faster during lactation and were heavier at the end of the lactation period compared with controls. However, juvenile body size, as well as its increase, did not differ between the two treatments. Our results suggest a link between edible dormice reproductive output and food availability after emergence from hibernation.
Reduced sperm performance in backcross hybrids between species pairs of whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)
Authors: Whiteley A. R. , Persaud K. N. , Derome N. , Montgomerie R. , Bernatchez L.
Published: September 2009

Previous work has demonstrated that genomic incompatibilities work together with ecologically divergent selection to promote and maintain reproductive isolation between incipient species (dwarf and normal) of lake whitefish ( Coregonus clupeaformis (Mitchill, 1818)). Whitefish spawn in groups with external fertilization, which creates conditions for strong sperm competition. In this study, we asked whether reduced sperm performance in hybrids from whitefish species-pair matings might contribute to postzygotic isolating mechanisms between these taxa. We examined two sperm traits, sperm swimming speed and flagellum length, in pure dwarf and normal whitefish and in their F1 and backcross hybrids. We observed significantly reduced sperm swimming speed in backcross but not in F1 hybrids. Sperm flagellum length was not significantly correlated with sperm swimming speed. These results demonstrate that F1 hybrids formed in nature should be capable of the same fertilization success as the parental species during sperm competition, everything else being equal. However, reduced sperm performance in the backcross generation is consistent with other evidence suggesting that genomic incompatibilities create a range of negative fitness effects in post-F1 whitefish hybrids and provides evidence for an additional postzygotic isolation mechanism involved in the incipient speciation of sympatric dwarf and normal whitefish.
Ontogeny of a sexual dimorphism in tiger salamanders
Authors: Howard Richard D.
Published: September 2009

Sexual dimorphism results when the sexes differ in the degree to which trait elaboration confers a reproductive or survival advantage. Trait size dimorphism is often reported in terms of allometry, typically using adults of varying ages (static allometry). A static allometric analysis of tail length in breeding tiger salamanders ( Ambystoma tigrinum (Green, 1825)) revealed that tail length is a positive allometric trait in both sexes, as well as a sexually dimorphic trait. Although static analyses are common in the literature, ontogenetic allometric analyses in which individuals are measured through time are preferred because they provide insight into the heterochronic process underlying trait divergence between the sexes and which sex is diverging from its earlier growth trajectory. I reared 91 individuals from the zygote stage to sexual maturity. An ontogenetic analysis revealed that tail length was isometric in larvae and young metamorphs of both sexes; however, tail length became allometric in males but not in females prior to sexual maturation. I also present static allometric analyses and show how conclusions differ from those of ontogenetic analyses. Lastly, I discuss how sex differences in selection gradients, as well as resource allocation costs, might influence differences between the sexes in the duration and rate of trait growth.
Intraspecific variation of temperature-induced effects on metamorphosis in the pool frog (Rana lessonae)
Authors: Orizaola Germán , Laurila Anssi
Published: September 2009

Understanding the factors that affect the process of metamorphosis in species with complex life cycles, and in particular their variation within and among populations, has been rarely explored until recently. We examined the effects of temperature environment on several metamorphic characteristics in three populations of the pool frog ( Rana lessonae Camerano, 1882) by rearing individuals at two temperature environments (20 and 25 °C). Higher temperature shortened the metamorphic period and reduced the absolute mass loss, although there was no difference between the temperatures in the percentage of mass lost. No differences among the populations were detected, but there was significant intrapopulation variation both in the mean and in the plasticity for the duration of metamorphosis. These results indicate that several aspects of metamorphosis are plastic in amphibians, these traits may have considerable intrapopulation variation, and that temperature is a strong factor affecting the process of metamorphosis.
Effects of shell size on behavioural consistency and flexibility in hermit crabs
Authors: Briffa Mark , Bibost Anne-Laurence
Published: September 2009

Animal personalities are assumed to be present when there are consistent between-individual differences in behaviour, whereas behavioural flexibility occurs when individual responses are continuously adjusted. Where both possibilities have been tested for, individuals may show both behavioural consistency and flexibility. Therefore, to gauge the importance of consistent individual differences in behaviour, it is useful to compare the strength of consistency with that of plasticity in behaviour. Here we investigate startle responses in hermit crabs ( Pagurus bernhardus (L., 1758)) in high- and low-risk situations. We vary the level of risk between situations by manipulating the quality of empty gastropod shells available to the crabs. Comparison of statistical effect size estimates for tests of concordance and difference between situations reveals a strong pattern of consistent between-individual differences in behaviour in comparison to a statistically significant but reactively weak pattern of behavioural flexibility. Although the startle duration varied, on average, in crabs from different sites, this was mainly due to different responses during an in situ phase of the experiment.
White-winged vampire bats (Diaemus youngi) exchange contact calls
Authors: Carter G. G. , Fenton M. B. , Faure P. A.
Published: September 2009

Temporally precise vocal exchanges, termed “antiphonal calling”, might allow pair or group members to maintain social contact with greater efficiency than when calling independently. The white-winged vampire bat ( Diaemus youngi (Jentink, 1893)) is a group-living species that produces social calls in antiphonal exchanges. Because white-winged vampire bats can use social calls to discriminate conspecifics, we suspect that one function of these vocal exchanges is to allow group members to know who is where. Here, we tested the prediction that antiphonal calling by groups of white-winged vampire bats increases when the spatial positions of conspecifics change. We recorded social calls from groups of four individually caged bats in total darkness, with each bat located in the corner of a 4 m × 4 m room. During test trials, we shifted the spatial positions of caged bats to new positions. During control trials, caged bats were displaced an equal distance but were returned to their original positions. We found that both the number of social calls and the proportion of antiphonal exchanges were greater during test trials than during control trials. These results suggest that white-winged vampire bats use antiphonal exchanges of social calls to monitor the spatial positions of conspecifics.
Orientation and dispersal of hatchling Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) from experimental nests
Authors: Pappas M. J. , Congdon J. D. , Brecke B. J. , Capps J. D.
Published: September 2009

We determined initial dispersal directions of 1052 naïve and 278 experienced hatchling Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii (Holbrook, 1838)) in experimental arenas in a variety of settings. Dispersal of naïve hatchlings was nonrandom in 7 of 10 sites. All nonrandom dispersal patterns suggested hatchlings primarily used vision to orient toward dark far horizons, particularly those associated with riparian habitats. We found no evidence that hatchlings use positive geotaxis, olfaction, humidity gradients, or scent trailing of other individuals during dispersal. Despite the lack of relationships between the changing position of the sun and relationships between nest sites and wetlands, patterns of dispersal were different for hatchlings released in the morning and late afternoon at two sites. Comparisons of the dispersal of naïve and translocated experienced hatchlings (those with previous exposure to environmental cues) suggest that hatchlings develop a sun compass within 2 days of emergence from nests. Based on all nonrandom dispersals of hatchlings at arenas, the estimated maximum perception distance of hatchlings was 325 m. In some situations, forest succession, agriculture activities, and introduction of pine trees may increase risks faced by hatchlings dispersing from nests by reducing their ability to find wetlands.