bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Morphological Changes in Amplatzer Device on the Atrial and Aortic Walls Following Transcatheter Closure of Atrial Septal Defects
Authors: KITANO MASATAKA , YAZAKI SATOSHI , SUGIYAMA HISASHI , YAMADA OSAMU
Published: February 2009

Objective: This study prospectively investigated morphological changes in Amplatzer Septal Occluder (ASO) over time and the influences of these changes on the atrial and aortic walls after atrial septal defect (ASD) closure.

Methods: Between August 2005 and December 2007, 78 patients with ASD were treated with ASO devices and changes in the device shape, the device thickness, and relations of the discs to the atrial and aortic walls over time were evaluated by transesophageal echocardiography immediately and 3–12 months after deployment.

Results: The maximum unstretched ASD diameter was 16.2 ± 4.8 mm and the device diameter selected was 20.6 ± 5.5 mm. At the time of last follow‐up, the device thickness decreased by 17–33%, 6 of 26 devices with a flare shape on the aortic side developed a closed shape, and the relations of the discs to the anterior atrial and aortic walls changed from touching to intermittent compression in 14 of the 78 cases. In these 14 cases, the aortic rim was significantly smaller, the number of flared device shapes on the aortic side/the number of closed shapes immediately after deployment was significantly larger, and the maximum device thickness at the middle part was significantly more decreased than those in other cases.

Conclusion: As the device becomes thinner, loses its flexibility, and often changes from a flare‐to‐closed shape on the aortic side over time, the edges of ASO can start to compress the atrial and aortic walls. However, erosion was not recognized in these cases.
The Performer's Reactions to Procedural Injustice: When Prosocial Identity Reduces Prosocial Behavior1
Authors: Grant Adam M. , Molinsky Andrew , Margolis Joshua , Kamin Melissa , Schiano William
Published: February 2009

Considerable research has examined how procedural injustice affects victims and witnesses of unfavorable outcomes, with little attention to the “performers” who deliver these outcomes. Drawing on dissonance theory, we hypothesized that performers' reactions to procedural injustice in delivering unfavorable outcomes are moderated by prosocial identity—a helping‐focused self‐concept. Across 2 experiments, individuals communicated unfavorable outcomes decided by a superior. Consistent with justice research, when prosocial identities were not primed, performers experienced greater negative affect and behaved more prosocially toward victims when a superior's decision‐making procedures were unjust. Subtly activating performers' prosocial identities reversed these reactions. Results highlight how roles and identities shape the experience and delivery of unfavorable outcomes: When procedures are unjust, prosocial identity can reduce prosocial behavior.
Sociodemographic Variations in Self‐Reported Racism in a Community Sample of Blacks and Latino(a)s
Authors: Brondolo Elizabeth , Beatty Danielle L. , Cubbin Catherine , Pencille Melissa , Saegert Susan , Wellington Robin , Tobin Johnathan , Cassells Andrea , Schwartz Joseph
Published: February 2009

This study investigated dimensions of socioeconomic status (SES) and self‐reported racism among a convenience sample of 418 U.S.‐born, Black and Latino(a) urban‐dwelling adults. Predictors included indexes of individual and neighborhood SES. Self‐reported racism was assessed with the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire–Community Version. Individuals at all levels of SES report racism, but the type of exposure varies by SES. Lower levels of SES predict higher levels of lifetime exposure to race‐related stigmatization and threat/harassment, and more past‐week discrimination. In contrast, higher levels of SES predict greater workplace discrimination. The findings highlight the importance of considering the complex ways in which SES and racism, 2 contributors to racial disparities in health, overlap and diverge.
Implicit Hopelessness and Condom Use Frequency: Exploring Nonconscious Predictors of Sexual Risk Behavior1
Authors: Broccoli Tara L. , Sanchez Diana T.
Published: February 2009

Current models of affect and health posit that affective disturbance influences health through behavioral pathways. The current research explores this hypothesis in the domain of sexual risk behavior by testing explicit and implicit hopelessness as predictors of condom use. Male and female undergraduates (n = 60) completed implicit and explicit measures of depression, hopelessness, and self‐reported condom use frequency. Findings revealed that implicit hopelessness predicted less condom use. However, this relationship was moderated by gender such that implicit hopelessness predicted less condom use for men, but not for women. The applicability of the findings to broader health theories is discussed.
Death? Be Proud! The Ironic Effects of Terror Salience on Implicit Self‐Esteem
Authors: Gurari Inbal , Strube Michael J , Hetts John J.
Published: February 2009

Using a variety of approaches and an array of methodologies, research has shown that mortality salience enhances people's self‐esteem. In line with previous work on terror management theory, the current study tested the hypothesis that when mortality salience is high, implicit self‐esteem (ISE) is, paradoxically, more positive than when mortality salience is low. Participants were given an implicit measure of self‐evaluation either before or after completion of a series of terrorism‐related questions. As predicted, participants who completed the terrorism questionnaire first exhibited significantly more positive ISE than did those who completed it second. Ironically, it seems that implicitly, people may feel better about themselves in the face of terrorist attacks designed to demoralize them.
Effects of larval starvation and adult diet‐derived amino acids on reproduction in a fruit‐feeding butterfly
Authors: Bauerfeind Stephanie S. , Fischer Klaus
Published: February 2009

Availability of adequate nutrition is among the most important factors affecting growth, development, and reproduction in animals. In holometabolous insects, diets and nutritional needs change between life stages, with larval storage, and adult feeding and reproduction being linked to one another. In several butterfly species, adult feeding is of fundamental importance to realize the full reproductive potential, primarily due to a prominent role of adult diet‐derived carbohydrates. In contrast, the role of adult diet‐derived amino acids is still under debate, despite the fact that butterflies were often found to preferentially feed on amino acid‐rich substrates. Recently it was found that amino acids from adult income could compensate for adverse effects of larval food quality. In our study on the tropical butterfly Bicyclus anynana (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), we used larval starvation to investigate corresponding effects on female reproductive output. Short periods of larval starvation prolonged development time and reduced larval survival, larval growth rate, pupal mass, and egg size. Regardless of the degree of larval starvation, access to amino acids in the adult diet increased egg size, whereas egg number remained largely unaffected. Thus, although there was some evidence for adult diet‐derived amino acids being overall beneficial to reproduction, there was no indication that they can compensate for larval starvation.
Can chemical signals, responsible for mutualistic partner encounter, promote the specific exploitation of nursery pollination mutualisms? – The case of figs and fig wasps
Authors: Proffit Magali , Chen Chun , Soler Catherine , Bessière Jean‐Marie , Schatz Bertrand , Hossaert‐McKey Martine
Published: February 2009

In nursery pollination mutualisms, where pollinators reproduce within the inflorescence they pollinate, floral scents often play a major role in advertizing host location and rewards for the pollinator. However, chemical messages emitted by the plant that are responsible for the encounter of mutualist partners can also be used by parasites of these mutualisms to locate their host. Each species of Ficus (Moraceae) is involved in an obligatory nursery pollination mutualism with usually one pollinating fig wasp (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Agaonidae). In this interaction, volatile compounds emitted by receptive figs are responsible for the attraction of their specific pollinator. However, a large and diverse community of non‐pollinating chalcidoid wasps can also parasitize this mutualism. We investigated whether the chemical message emitted by figs to attract their pollinator can promote the host specificity of non‐pollinating fig wasps. We analysed the volatile compounds emitted by receptive figs of three sympatric Ficus species, namely, Ficus hispida L., Ficus racemosa L., and Ficus tinctoria G. Forster, and tested the attraction of the pollinator of F. hispida (Ceratosolen solmsi marchali Mayr), and of one species of non‐pollinating fig wasp [Philotrypesis pilosa Mayr (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae)] to scents emitted by receptive figs of these three Ficus species. Analysis of the volatile compounds emitted by receptive figs revealed that the three Ficus species could be clearly distinguished by their chemical composition. Behavioural bioassays performed in a Y‐tube olfactometer showed that both pollinator and parasite were attracted only by the specific odour of F. hispida. These results suggest that the use by non‐pollinating fig wasps of a specific chemical message produced by figs could limit host shifts by non‐pollinating fig wasps.
Synergistic interaction of the histone deacetylase inhibitor SAHA with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib in cutaneous T cell lymphoma
Authors: Heider Ulrike , Rademacher Jessica , Lamottke Britta , Mieth Maren , Moebs Markus , Von Metzler Ivana , Assaf Chalid , Sezer Orhan
Published: February 2009

Proteasome inhibitors and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are novel targeted therapies being evaluated in clinical trials for cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma (CTCL). However, data in regard to tumor biology are limited with these agents. In the present study we analyzed the effects of the HDAC inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib on human CTCL cells. Four CTCL cell lines (SeAx, Hut‐78, MyLa, and HH) were exposed to bortezomib and/ or SAHA at different concentrations. Cell viability was quantified using the MTT assay. In addition, apoptosis and generation of reactive oxygen species were analyzed. Both agents potently inhibited cell viability and induced apoptosis. After 48 h of incubation, IC50 of bortezomib was noted at 8.3 nm, 7.9 nm, 6.3 nm, and 22.5 nm in SeAx, Hut‐78, HH, and MyLa cells, respectively. For SAHA, the IC50 values were at 0.6 μm in SeAx cells, 0.75 μm in Hut‐78 cells, 0.9 μm in HH cells, and 4.4 μm in MyLa cells. Importantly, combined treatment resulted in synergistic cytotoxic effects, as indicated by Combination indices values <1 using the median effect method of Chou and Talalay. We furthermore found that combined treatment with both agents lead to a decreased proteasome activity, an upregulation of the cell regulators p21 and p27 and increased expression of phosphorylated p38. In addition, we showed that SAHA reduced the vascular endothelial growth factor production of CTCL cells. Our results demonstrate that bortezomib and SAHA synergistically induce apoptosis in CTCL cells and thus provide a rationale for clinical trials of combined proteasome and histone deacetylase inhibition in the treatment of CTCL.
Melatonin inhibits LPS‐induced NO production in rat endothelial cells
Authors: Tamura Eduardo Koji , Cecon Erika , Monteiro Alex Willian Arantes , Silva Cláudia Lúcia Martins , Markus Regina Pekelmann
Published: February 2009

Abstract:  Endothelial cells produce NO by activation of constitutive nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and transcription of inducible NOS (iNOS). We have previously shown that melatonin, in the nanomolar range, inhibits activation of constitutive NOS, and in the present paper, we evaluated whether it could interfere with the expression of iNOS, which is activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major component of gram‐negative bacteria cell walls. Primary cultures of rat endothelial cells were loaded with fluorescent probe for NO detection. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) translocation in endothelial cells elicited by LPS was measured by electromobility shift assay, and the vasodilation of aortic rings was accessed by recording isometric contraction. Melatonin in a micromolar but not in a nanomolar range inhibits the NO production induced by LPS. This effect is not dependent on the activation of G protein‐coupled melatonin receptors. The nuclear NF‐κB translocation is a process necessary for iNOS transcription, and melatonin also inhibits its translocation. LPS induced vasodilation only in endothelium‐intact aortic rings, and melatonin (10 μm) inhibits the vasodilation. Here, we show that concentrations compatible with nocturnal melatonin surge (nm) did not interfere with the activity of iNOS. Considering that micromolar melatonin concentrations could be locally achieved through production by activated immune competent cells, extra‐pineal melatonin could have a protective effect against tissue injury. We propose that melatonin blocked the LPS‐induced vasodilation by inhibiting the NF‐κB pathway. Finally, we propose that the effect of melatonin on vascular reactivity is one of the mechanisms that underlies the protective effect of this indolamine against LPS.
Melatonin reduces experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage‐induced oxidative brain damage and neurological symptoms
Authors: Ersahin Mehmet , Toklu Hale Z. , Çetinel Şule , Yüksel Meral , Yeğen Berrak Ç. , Şener Göksel
Published: February 2009

Abstract: Oxidative stress has detrimental effects in several models of neurodegenerative diseases, including subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). This study investigated the putative neuroprotective effect of melatonin, a powerful antioxidant, in a rat model of SAH. Male Wistar albino rats were divided as control, vehicle‐treated SAH, and melatonin‐treated (10 mg/kg, i.p.) SAH groups. To induce SAH, 0.3 mL blood was injected into cisterna magna of rats. Forty‐eight hours after SAH induction, neurological examination scores were measured and the rats were decapitated. Brain tissue samples were taken for blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability, brain water content, histological examination, or determination of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, myeloperoxidase (MPO), and Na+‐K+‐ATPase activities. Formation of reactive oxygen species in brain tissue samples was monitored by using a chemiluminescence (CL) technique. The neurological examination scores were increased in SAH groups on the second day of SAH induction and SAH caused a significant decrease in brain GSH content and Na+‐K+‐ATPase activity, which was accompanied with significant increases in CL, MDA levels, and MPO activity. On the other hand, melatonin treatment reversed all these biochemical indices as well as SAH‐induced histopathological alterations, while increased brain water content and impaired BBB were also reversed by melatonin treatment. This study suggests that melatonin, which can easily cross BBB, alleviates SAH‐induced oxidative stress and exerts neuroprotection by preserving BBB permeability and by reducing brain edema.
Using community maternity care assistants to facilitate family‐focused breastfeeding support
Authors: Ingram Jenny , Johnson Debbie
Published: February 2009

Increasing breastfeeding rates, particularly in lower socio‐economic areas, would have considerable impact upon public health. Social support has been found to have direct and positive effects on breastfeeding rates, and fathers' attitudes have an important influence on the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding. In the UK, trained maternity care assistants (MCAs) are increasingly being used to support community midwives by providing post‐natal women with breastfeeding support. The current study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of MCAs involving fathers from economically deprived communities in antenatal breastfeeding discussions to equip them to provide support and encouragement.

Eleven couples who took part in the intervention were interviewed post‐natally. MCAs, midwives and midwifery managers gave their views on the intervention and role of MCAs in the community. The study showed that MCAs with appropriate training are very effective at delivering antenatal breastfeeding information, which both mothers and other family members value. MCAs found giving such breastfeeding support both enjoyable and fulfilling, while involving fathers and family members proved a practical way of encouraging them to be more supportive. Midwives and midwifery managers were positive about involving MCAs in giving the antenatal intervention, but did not see the routine introduction of this type of session for couples being possible at present due to current staffing problems.

Involving fathers in breastfeeding support may start to increase knowledge and change attitudes towards breastfeeding in communities where formula feeding is seen as the normal way to feed a baby.
Beyond Romance? Re‐Reading the ‘Lives’ of Anne, Lady Halkett (1621/2?–1699)
Authors: Trill Suzanne
Published: February 2009

While for many Anne, Lady Halkett will be an unfamiliar figure, if and when she is discussed it is usually in the context of her (potentially scandalous) relationship with Colonel Joseph Bampfield. Here I argue that this image is based on a disproportionate critical focus on Halkett's ‘Autobiography’ or ‘Memoirs’, which has distorted our perception of Halkett's life and writing. By tracing how the focus on ‘romance’ emerged in the earliest responses to Halkett, I examine why this persists in more recent criticism. Only Ezell, Lamb, Wiseman and I have so far paid any attention to the other twenty‐one manuscript volumes which Halkett produced over the course of her life. This leads me to conclude that ‘in contrast to the current tendency to focus on Halkett's “life” as articulated in the singular (and with reference to a single text), it is vital that we pay more attention to the plurality of Halkett's “lives”’, which suggest ‘that while modern critics have been obsessed with romance, Halkett herself was far more preoccupied with royalism and religion’.
Breaking through the Mode: Celia Fiennes and the Exercise of Curiosity
Authors: Picciotto Joanna
Published: February 2009

This essay explores the contribution of Baconian ideology to an emergent discourse of the nerves, using Celia Fiennes's Journeys as a case study. Viewed in the context of the Baconian propaganda associated with the Royal Society and the early eighteenth‐century literature on nervous disease, Fiennes's project offers evidence that the national myth constructed around the English as a nervous people had its origin in a campaign to reform them into a curious people.
Troping Mood: Pfau, Wordsworth, and Hegel
Authors: Collings David
Published: February 2009

Drawing on discussions of mood in Kant, Novalis, Hegel, and Heidegger, Thomas Pfau, in his recent major work, Romantic Moods, provides an innovative and philosophically nuanced approach to the study of affect. In doing so, he challenges key aspects of new historicism, arguing that history is to be found not in actual events but in the prediscursive, collective, quasi‐cognitive mood that partly registers and partly resists them. Such a mood, he argues, can never be captured directly, but is best evoked in the virtual mode of literature; as a result, rather than falsifying a material history, literature remains faithful to a bewildered historicity betrayed by the fixity of actual events. Yet Pfau's analysis of three subperiods of romantic paranoia, trauma, and melancholy tends to separate them too strictly from each other; in Wordsworth's Salisbury Plain poems, Blake's Book of Urizen, and Godwin's Caleb Williams, the literature of paranoia, by carrying out a critique of its own premises, transforms into the literature of trauma, thereby shifting from the articulation of one mood into that of another. These instances of self‐critique participate in a literary version of the dialectic, whereby feeling reflects formally on itself. Moreover, Pfau's interweaving of romantic lyric and modern philosophical reflection suggests that for him, romanticism is an exemplary instance of modernity; what he leaves out of view is the possibility that modernity itself is a trope, a strong interpretation, to which we might best respond with a nonmodern critique.
The Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Androgen Deficiency in Aging Taiwanese Men
Authors: Liu Chia-Chu , Wu Wen-Jeng , Lee Yung-Chin , Wang Chii-Jye , Ke Hung-Lung , Li Wei-Ming , Hsiao Hsi-Lin , Yeh Hsin-Chih , Li Ching-Chia , Chou Yii-Her , Huang Chun-Hsiung , Huang Shu-Pin
Published: February 2009

Introduction

Androgen deficiency in aging men has attracted much medical interest. Most studies on androgen deficiency have been conducted in Caucasian populations, and data from other ethnicities are lacking.

Aim

To evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for androgen deficiency and symptomatic androgen deficiency in Taiwanese men over 40 years old.

Methods

From August 2007 to April 2008, a free health screening was conducted by a medical center in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and 819 men participated in this health screening. All participants completed a health questionnaire, received a detailed physical examination, and blood samples were drawn between 8:00 and 12:00 am.

Main Outcome Measures

Serum total testosterone (TT), albumin, and sex hormone-binding globulin levels were measured. The level of free testosterone (FT) was calculated. Clinical symptoms of androgen deficiency were assessed using the Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male (ADAM) questionnaire.

Results

Seven hundred thirty-four men who met the inclusion criteria (mean age 57.4 ± 6.7 years; range: 43–87 years) were included in this study. The prevalence of androgen deficiency was 24.1% based on the criterion of TT level < 300 ng/dL, and 16.6% based on the criterion of both TT < 300 ng/dL and FT < 5 ng/dL. The prevalence of symptomatic androgen deficiency was 12.0%. Both prevalence of androgen deficiency and symptomatic androgen deficiency increased with age. Older age, obesity, and diabetes mellitus were independent risk factors for androgen deficiency and symptomatic androgen deficiency.

Conclusions

In a sample of aging Taiwanese men, a substantial proportion had androgen deficiency and symptomatic androgen deficiency, and the prevalence increased with age. Older age, obesity, and diabetes mellitus were independent risk factors for androgen deficiency and symptomatic androgen deficiency. Those potentially modifiable risk factors like obesity and diabetes mellitus should be prevented to maintain normal testosterone levels during aging in men.
Misremembering Pain: Memory Bias for Pain Words in Women Reporting Sexual Pain
Authors: Thaler Lea , Meana Marta , Lanti Alessandra
Published: February 2009

Introduction

The debate over the classification of dyspareunia as a sexual dysfunction or as a pain disorder raises the question of the comparative cognitive salience of sex and/or pain in the experience of women who report pain with intercourse. Refinements in our understanding of cognitive factors in the experience of pain with intercourse may be important in the development of effective treatments.

Aim

This study aimed to compare the cognitive salience of sex and pain word stimuli in women reporting pain with intercourse and in a control group of women without sexual dysfunction.

Methods

Twenty women reporting pain during sexual intercourse and 20 women reporting no sexual dysfunction (controls) participated in a memory protocol designed to detect differences as a function of group membership and type of stimulus (sex, pain, and two other control stimuli).

Main Outcome Measures

Dependent measures were recall, recognition, intrusions, and false positives for sex words, pain words, and two other control word types.

Results

Regardless of group membership, women had best recall for sex-related words; however, women reporting sexual pain evidenced more false memories for pain words than did control women, and pain words elicited more false memories than any other type of word for women with sexual pain.

Conclusion

Results are interpreted to suggest that repeated activation through experience with persistent sexual pain may have contributed to the: (i) development of stronger semantic networks related to pain in comparison to no sexual dysfunction controls and; (ii) activation of pain networks more easily triggered by pain-related stimuli in women with sexual pain than in no sexual dysfunction controls. Sex, however, had not attained the cognitive salience of pain.
Forest Conversion and Degradation in Papua New Guinea 1972–2002
Authors: Shearman Phil L. , Ash Julian , Mackey Brendan , Bryan Jane E. , Lokes Barbara
Published: February 2009

Quantifying forest change in the tropics is important because of the role these forests play in the conservation of biodiversity and the global carbon cycle. One of the world's largest remaining areas of tropical forest is located in Papua New Guinea. Here we show that change in its extent and condition has occurred to a greater extent than previously recorded. We assessed deforestation and forest degradation in Papua New Guinea by comparing a land‐cover map from 1972 with a land‐cover map created from nationwide high‐resolution satellite imagery recorded since 2002. In 2002 there were 28,251,967 ha of tropical rain forest. Between 1972 and 2002, a net 15 percent of Papua New Guinea's tropical forests were cleared and 8.8 percent were degraded through logging. The drivers of forest change have been concentrated within the accessible forest estate where a net 36 percent were degraded or deforested through both forestry and nonforestry processes. Since 1972, 13 percent of upper montane forests have also been lost. We estimate that over the period 1990–2002, overall rates of change generally increased and varied between 0.8 and 1.8 percent/yr, while rates in commercially accessible forest have been far higher—having varied between 1.1 and 3.4 percent/yr. These rates are far higher than those reported by the FAO over the same period. We conclude that rapid and substantial forest change has occurred in Papua New Guinea, with the major drivers being logging in the lowland forests and subsistence agriculture throughout the country with comparatively minor contributions from forest fires, plantation establishment, and mining.
Zinc and cadmium accumulation in cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) host plants and developmental instability
Authors: Görür Gazi
Published: February 2009

Developmental instability in morphological characters can occur during individual development due to various environmental stresses. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is often used as a measurement of developmental instability, but within‐environment variation (CVe) is also considered an indicator of developmental instability. Cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) populations were reared on zinc‐ (Zn) or cadmium‐ (Cd) contaminated cabbage and radish plants. Developmental instability indicators were measured and their relations with fitness were explored. Results revealed that cabbage aphids exposed to Cd and Zn displayed considerable developmental instability, particularly fluctuating asymmetry. Differences in developmental instability between the two metals were also detected, as well as differences between the two developmental instability measurements. For almost all measured traits, FA was greater on Cd‐ and Zn‐contaminated compared to non‐contaminated host plants. In contrast, CVe of some traits was greater on non‐contaminated host plants, yet for other traits CVe was greater on contaminated host plants. There were also non‐significant inverse relationships between FA and fitness of cabbage aphid populations. Due to weak correlations between FA and different patterns of two developmental instability measurements, this study does not support the hypothesis that developmental instability is a useful bioindicator of environmental quality.
Chronic exposure to elevated levels of manganese and nickel is not harmful to a cosmopolitan detritivore, Megaselia scalaris (Diptera: Phoridae)
Authors: Sorensen Mary A. , Chase‐Dunn C. Mae , Trumble John T.
Published: February 2009

Environmental contamination with metals such as manganese (Mn) and nickel (Ni) often results in elevated concentrations of these metals in plant tissues. At high concentrations, these metals are known to have detrimental effects on certain insect herbivores. Using laboratory bioassays and artificial diet, we investigated the development and survival of a cosmopolitan insect detritivore, Megaselia scalaris (Diptera: Phoridae), exposed to concentrations of Mn and Ni reaching 2600 mg Mn/kg and 5200 mg Ni/kg dry mass (dm) in artificial diet. Surprisingly, Ni and Mn at the concentrations tested did not harm this fly. Treatment groups from diets with 260–2600 mg Mn/kg dm and 1300–5200 mg Ni/kg dm had significantly shorter larval development times, overall times to adult emergence, and both pupariation and pupal eclosion times compared to a control group. Wing length of females, a correlate of adult fitness, was also greater in metal treatment groups. Other measures including rate of egg hatch, percentage of emerging flies that were female, and wing length of male flies, were not significantly different in metal treatment groups. We conclude that Megaselia scalaris is tolerant of exceptionally high levels of Mn and Ni.
Cadmium in insects after ash fertilization
Authors: Lodenius Martin , Josefsson Jussi , Heliövaara Kari , Tulisalo Esa , Nummelin Matti
Published: February 2009

Ash fertilization of forests returns nutrients to forest ecosystems and has a positive effect on soil pH, but it also may elevate Cd concentrations of forest biota. Cadmium concentrations of some forest insects (Formica ants, carabids and Coleopteran larvae from decaying wood) were investigated in southern Finland, where two plots were fertilized with wood ash, while two other plots represented unfertilized control plots. In ants, mean Cd concentration was 3.6 ± 1.4 mg/kg, with nest workers having significantly higher concentrations than workers trapped in pitfall traps. Concentrations at fertilized and unfertilized plots were similar. In carabid beetles, the average Cd concentration of Carabus glabratus was 0.44 ± 0.36 mg/kg, with no significant difference between control plots and fertilized plots. In another carabid beetle, Pterostichus niger, mean Cd concentration was higher at fertilized plots compared to control plots. We conclude that the variation of Cd concentrations in the insects studied is more efficiently controlled by species‐specific differences than fertilization history of the forest floor.
POLYSACCHARIDES FROM MULBERRY LEAF IN RELATION TO THEIR ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND ANTIBACTERIAL ABILITY
Authors: WANG FANG , LI JIANRONG , JIANG YUEMING
Published: February 2009

Polysaccharides play important roles in physiological and pathological effects. Experiments were conducted to compare various methods of polysaccharides extracted from a mulberry leaf using the orthotropic test, and then to determine the optimum extraction conditions. The antioxidant activity and antibacterial ability of mulberry polysaccharides were also evaluated. In this study, the optimum extraction conditions of mulberry polysaccharides were determined to be a ratio of mulberry leaf to water solution of 1:40 (w/v) for 1 h at 80C. Under these optimum conditions, a polysaccharide yield (11.3%) was obtained. Furthermore, the most effective enzymatic removal of proteins from mulberry polysaccharides was achieved using 2.5% protease for a 2.5‐h reaction at 40C, with 73.2% of the protein removal proportion and 86.4% of the polysaccharide proportion, while application of active carbon was the best treatment to remove pigments present in mulberry polysaccharides, with 81.4% of the pigment removal proportion and 71.7% of the polysaccharide proportion. In addition, the antioxidant activity and bactericidal ability of mulberry polysaccharides were evaluated. This study indicated that mulberry polysaccharides exhibited an obvious antioxidant activity in a dose‐dependent manner and distinct antibacterial ability.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

There is increasing interest of utilizing polysaccharides from plant sources for their bioactive activities. As extraction conditions greatly influence polysaccharide yield and quality, great attention has been paid to the efficient extraction of polysaccharides from mulberry leaf. In this study, the optimum extraction conditions of polysaccharides from mulberry leaf were obtained using a ratio of mulberry leaf to water solution of 1:40 (w/v) for 1 h at 80C. Application of protease was the most effective in removing proteins, while active carbon was the best treatment to remove pigments present in mulberry polysaccharides. Moreover, mulberry polysaccharides exhibited a strong antioxidant activity and a good antibacterial ability. This study can help better utilize mulberry polysaccharides, especially as a readily accessible source of natural antioxidants and/or possible antibacterial agents in food or pharmaceutical industry.
IMAGE PROCESSING AND PHYSICO‐MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BASIL SEED (OCIMUM BASILICUM)
Authors: RAZAVI SEYED M.A. , BOSTAN A. , REZAIE M.
Published: February 2009

Various physical properties of basil seed (Ocimum basilicum) were investigated at a moisture content of 5.32% (wet basis). In order to present a quick and an accurate method for measuring small seed dimensions, the image processing data was compared with the one measured experimentally, and the correlations between these were determined. The average length, width and thickness obtained by image processing and micrometer methods were 3.216, 3.220, 1.838, 1.840, 1.363 and 1.374 mm, respectively. The average projected area, sphericity and roundness evaluated by image processing were 4.407 mm2, 0.95 and 0.54, respectively. However, the average geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, surface area and sphericity calculated theoretically based on micrometer data were 2.009, 2.145 mm, 12.796 mm2 and 0.62, respectively. The average unit mass, 1,000 grain mass, volume, true density, bulk density and porosity were measured as 0.0020 and 2.23 g; 7.55 mm3; 1,038; 340.24 kg/m3; and 67.2%, respectively. The friction coefficient ranged from 0.300 for basil seed on glass up to 0.547 on plywood surface. The filling and funning angles of repose were established as 14.64° and 12.35°, respectively. The terminal velocity was 4.26 m/s, and textural properties including rupture force, hardness and toughness were determined as 537.4, 926.13 g and 246.32 g/mm, respectively.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

According to the small size of some seeds, dimension measurement is difficult and time consuming; therefore, developing a rapid, easy, accurate and nondestructive method seems to be necessary. In recent years, computer vision system (CVS) has been increasingly used in the agricultural and food industry. Some examples of CVS application in food industry are: classification of cereal grains, evaluation of pork color, measurement and classification of corn whiteness, automated sorting of pistachio nuts, quality inspection of bakery products, inspection of Golden Delicious apples, detection of pinhole damage in almonds and detection of bones in fish and chicken; therefore, we decided to examine the possibility and accuracy of this technique for measuring seed dimension for the first time.

In this study, in addition to introducing the CVS system for dimension measurement, the physico‐mechanical properties of basil seed have been determined, which is necessary for the design of equipment for harvesting, transporting, cleaning, packing, processing, etc.
Structural Insights for Design of Potent Spleen Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors from Crystallographic Analysis of Three Inhibitor Complexes
Authors: Villaseñor Armando G. , Kondru Rama , Ho Hoangdung , Wang Sandra , Papp Eva , Shaw David , Barnett Jim W. , Browner Michelle F. , Kuglstatter Andreas
Published: February 2009

Spleen tyrosine kinase is considered an attractive drug target for the treatment of allergic and antibody mediated autoimmune diseases. We have determined the co‐crystal structures of spleen tyrosine kinase complexed with three known inhibitors: YM193306, a 7‐azaindole derivative and R406. The cis‐cyclohexyldiamino moiety of YM193306 is forming four hydrophobically shielded polar interactions with the spleen tyrosine kinase protein and is therefore crucial for the high potency of this inhibitor. Its primary amino group is inducing a conformational change of the spleen tyrosine kinase DFG Asp side chain. The crystal structure of the 7‐azaindole derivative bound to spleen tyrosine kinase is the first demonstration of a 2‐substituted 7‐azaindole bound to a protein kinase. Its indole‐amide substituent is tightly packed between the N‐ and C‐terminal kinase lobes. The co‐crystal structure of the spleen tyrosine kinase–R406 complex shows two main differences to the previously reported structure of spleen tyrosine kinase soaked with R406: (i) the side chain of the highly conserved Lys is disordered and not forming a hydrogen bond to R406 and (ii) the DFG Asp side chain is pointing away from and not towards R406. The novel protein–ligand interactions and protein conformational changes revealed in these structures guide the rational design and structure‐based optimization of second‐generation spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Assessment of drainage discharge for widening the M1 motorway between junctions 25 and 28
Authors: Greenstock A. C. , Ravening J.
Published: February 2009

The method of how surface water from highway drainage systems is assessed has been refined and the changes have been implemented towards achieving compliance with the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This directive has identified the need to significantly improve the surface water quality in the United Kingdom and Europe. Our road network plays a significant part in achieving a legacy of better environmental standards, and developments in the assessment and control of the drainage discharge, demonstrate commitment towards this. This paper discusses some of these changes and presents how the M1 Widening project addressed the requirement of obtaining appropriate source data.
Interleukin‐4 as a Neuromodulatory Cytokine
Authors: Sholl‐Franco Alfred , Da Silva Ana Gabriela Ledo Santos , Adão‐Novaes Juliana
Published: February 2009

Although interleukin (IL)‐4 is described as a prototypical anti‐inflammatory cytokine, in recent years its role as a neuromodulatory cytokine has been extensively discussed. This review highlights the pivotal contributions of IL‐4 during the development and normal physiology of neural cells as well as IL‐4 connections with the pathophysiology of degenerative or inflammatory processes observed in the central and peripheral nervous system.
Organizing the Thymus Gland
Authors: Muñoz Juan José , García‐Ceca Javier , Alfaro David , Stimamiglio Marco Augusto , Cejalvo Teresa , Jiménez Eva , Zapata Agustín G.
Published: February 2009

Eph receptors and their ligands, ephrins, are molecules involved in the morphogenesis of numerous tissues, including the central nervous system in which they play a key role in determining cell positioning and tissue domains containing or excluding nerve fibers. Because common features have been suggested to occur in the microenvironmental organization of brain and thymus, a highly compartmentalized organ central for T cell differentiation, we examined the expression and possible role of Eph/ephrins in the biology of the thymus gland. We reviewed numerous in vivo and in vitro results that confirm a role for Eph and ephrins in the maturation of the thymic epithelial cell (TEC) network and T cell differentiation. Their possible involvement in different steps of early thymus organogenesis, including thymus primordium branching, lymphoid colonization, and thymocyte–TEC interactions, that determine the organization of a mature three‐dimensional thymic epithelial network is also analyzed.
Immunology, Signal Transduction, and Behavior in Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis‐related Genetic Mouse Models
Authors: Silberstein Susana , Vogl Annette M. , Bonfiglio Juán José , Wurst Wolfgang , Holsboer Florian , Arzt Eduardo , Deussing Jan M. , Refojo Damián
Published: February 2009

A classical view of the neuroendocrine–immune network assumes bidirectional interactions where pro‐inflammatory cytokines influence hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis‐derived hormones that subsequently affect cytokines in a permanently servo‐controlled circle. Nevertheless, this picture has been continuously evolving over the last years as a result of the discovery of redundant expression and extended functions of many of the molecules implicated. Thus, cytokines are not only expressed in cells of the immune system but also in the central nervous system, and many hormones present at hypothalamic–pituitary level are also functionally expressed in the brain as well as in other peripheral organs, including immune cells. Because of this intermingled network of molecules redundantly expressed, the elucidation of the unique roles of HPA axis‐related molecules at every level of complexity is one of the major challenges in the field. Genetic engineering in the mouse offers the most convincing method for dissectingin vivothe specific roles of distinct molecules acting in complex networks. Thus, various immunological, behavioral, and signal transduction studies performed with different HPA axis‐related mutant mouse lines to delineate the roles of β‐endorphin, the type 1 receptor of corticotropin‐releasing hormone (CRHR1), and its ligand CRH will be discussed here.
Early Maternal Deprivation in Rats
Authors: De la Fuente M. , Llorente R. , Baeza I. , De Castro N. M. , Arranz L. , Cruces J. , Viveros M. P.
Published: February 2009

Adult animals that had been subjected to a single prolonged episode of maternal deprivation (MD) [24 h, postnatal day (PND) 9–10] show long‐term behavioral alterations that resemble specific symptoms of schizophrenia. Moreover, at adolescence MD rats showed depressive‐like behavior and altered motor responses. According to the neurodevelopmental hypothesis, certain behavioral abnormalities observed in MD animals may be related to altered neurodevelopmental processes triggered by MD‐induced elevated glucocorticoids in relevant specific brain regions. We review here these neuroendocrine effects and show new data indicating that the MD procedure induces diverse detrimental effects on the immune system that are already revealed in the short term (PND 13) and persist into adulthood. These long‐lasting effects might be related to altered hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis activity and to social as well as nutrition‐related factors. In fact, MD induces long‐lasting decreases in body weight. In view of our findings we propose the present MD procedure as a potentially useful model to analyze developmental interactions between early psychophysiological stress and immunodeficient states.
Neuroendocrine‐immunology of Experimental Chagas' Disease
Authors: Roggero Eduardo , Pérez Ana R. , Bottasso Oscar A. , Besedovsky Hugo O. , Del Rey Adriana
Published: February 2009

The cytokine‐mediated stimulation of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is relevant for immunoregulation and survival during bacterial endotoxemia and certain viral infections. However, only limited information is available regarding the effect of endogenous glucocorticoids on parasitic diseases. Here, we discuss evidence that the increased levels of corticosterone that occur following Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mice is an endocrine response that protects the host by impeding an excessive production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines. Comparative studies between susceptible C57Bl/6J and resistant Balb/c mice indicate that the predisposition to the disease depends on the appropriate timing and magnitude of the activation of the HPA axis. However, this endocrine response also results in thymus atrophy and depletion of CD4+CD8+ by apoptosis. On the other hand, using tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐receptor knockout mice, we found that TNF‐α plays a complex role during this disease; it is involved in the mediation of cardiac tissue damage but it also contributes to prolonged survival. Taken together, this evidence indicates that a subtle balance between endocrine responses and cytokine production is necessary for an efficient defense against T. cruzi infection.
Nutrition, Inflammation, and Cognitive Function
Authors: Wärnberg Julia , Gomez‐Martinez Sonia , Romeo Javier , Díaz Ligia‐Esperanza , Marcos Ascensión
Published: February 2009

Inflammation, particularly low‐grade chronic inflammation, appears to affect several brain functions, from early brain development to the development of neurodegenerative disorders and perhaps some psychiatric diseases. On the other hand, nutrition and dietary components and patterns have a plethora of anti‐ and pro‐inflammatory effects that could be linked to cognitive function. Even a modest effect of nutrition on cognitive decline could have significant implications for public health. This paper summarizes the available evidence regarding inflammation as a key mechanism in cognitive function and nutritional pro‐ or anti‐inflammatory effects with the purpose of linking the apparent disparate disciplines of nutrition, immunity, and neurology.
Myth and Science: Their Varying Relationships
Authors: Segal Robert A.
Published: February 2009

The relationship between myth and science is a subject as old as that of myth and science themselves. The position on the issue taken by modern theories of myth can be divided chronologically by the centuries. In the nineteenth century, myth and science were commonly taken to be incompatible. One could not consistently accept both. Because moderns were assumed to be scientific, the choice had already been made for them: they had to abandon myth. In the twentieth century, by contrast, myth and science were usually taken to be compatible, so that one could consistently accept both. Moderns were still assumed to be scientific, but myth was now re‐characterized to accommodate science. Only recently, with the rise of postmodernism, has the deference to science assumed by both nineteenth‐ and twentieth‐century theorists been challenged. This article concentrates on the varying positions on myth and science taken in both centuries by those for whom myth and science intersect rather than diverge. Whether, as the ‘mission’ of the twenty‐first century, myth can be brought back to the world – the world explained by science – is finally considered with the case of Gaia.
Parcel Data for Research and Policy
Authors: Manson Steven M. , Sander Heather A. , Ghosh Debarchana , Oakes J. Michael , Orfield, Jr Myron W. , Craig William J. , Luce, Jr Thomas F. , Myott Eric , Sun Shipeng
Published: February 2009

Parcel data, or information about individual plots of land, may be used to examine a broad range of social and environmental issues. While analog parcel information has long been available, the move towards digital georeferenced data offers a more readily available means of using detailed structural and land use information. Parcels map onto useful units of analysis such as individuals and households, and serve as the foci of policy institutions tasked with functions such as taxation, schooling, zoning, or public health. The promise of digital parcel data is offset by challenges related to format, availability, maintenance, quality, augmentation, and confidentiality. We examine the use of digital parcel data in research and policy with special reference to land use, public health, education, and environmental applications. We also make recommendations for improving and using parcel datasets.