bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Epidemiological Profile and Clinical Associations of Human Bocavirus and Other Human Parvoviruses
Authors: Manning A. , Russell V. , Eastick K. , Leadbetter G. H. , Hallam N. , Templeton K. , Simmonds P.
Published: October 2006

BackgroundHuman bocavirus (HBoV) and PARV4 are newly discovered human parvoviruses. HBoV, which was first detected in respiratory samples, has a potential role in the development of human respiratory disease. The present study compared the frequencies, epidemiological profiles, and clinical backgrounds of HBoV and PARV4 infections with those of other respiratory virus infections, by evaluating diagnostic samples referred to the Specialist Virology Laboratory (SVL) at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (Edinburgh, United Kingdom)

MethodsAnonymized samples and study subject information were obtained from the respiratory sample archive of the SVL. Samples were screened for HBoV, PARV4, B19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenoviruses, influenza viruses, and parainfluenza viruses by use of nested polymerase chain reaction

ResultsHBoV infection was detected in 47 (8.2%) of 574 study subjects,&ranking third in prevalence behind RSV infection (15.7%) and adenovirus infection (10.3%). Peak incidences of HBoV were noted among infants and young children (age, 6–24 months) during the midwinter months (December and January) and were specifically associated with lower respiratory tract infections. HBoV infections were frequently accompanied by other respiratory viruses (frequency, 43%), and they were more prevalent among individuals infected with other respiratory viruses (17%), frequently adenovirus or RSV. All respiratory samples were negative for PARV4

ConclusionsIn the present study, HBoV was a frequently detected, potential respiratory pathogen, with a prevalence and an epidemiological profile comparable to those of RSV. Identification of HBoV infections may be clinically important in the future
Learning the ecological niche
Authors: Slagsvold Tore , Wiebe Karen L
Published: October 2006

A cornerstone of ecological theory is the ecological niche. Yet little is known about how individuals come to adopt it: whether it is innate or learned. Here, we report a cross-fostering experiment in the wild where we transferred eggs of blue tits,
Cyanistes caeruleus
, to nests of great tits,
Parus major
, and vice versa, to quantify the consequences of being reared in a different social context, but in an environment otherwise natural to the birds. We show that early learning causes a shift in the feeding niche in the direction of the foster species and that this shift lasts for life (foraging conservatism). Both species changed their feeding niches, but the change was greater in the great tit with its less specialized feeding behaviour. The study shows that cultural transmission through early learning is fundamental to the realization of ecological niches, and suggests a mechanism to explain learned habitat preference and sympatric speciation in animals.
Recurrent replacement of mtDNA and cryptic hybridization between two sibling bat speciesMyotis myotisandMyotis blythii
Authors: Berthier Pierre , Excoffier Laurent , Ruedi Manuel
Published: October 2006

The two sibling bat speciesMyotis myotisandMyotis blythiioccur in sympatry over wide areas of Southern and Central Europe. Morphological, ecological and previous genetic evidences supported the view that the two species constitute two well-differentiated groups, but recent phylogenetic analyses have shown that the two species shared some mtDNA haplotypes when they occurred in sympatry. In order to see whether some genetic exchange occurred between the two species, we sequenced a highly variable segment of the mitochondrial control region in both species living in sympatry and in allopatry. We also analysed the nuclear diversity of 160 individuals of both species found in two mixed nursery colonies located north and south of the Alps. MtDNA analysis confirmed that EuropeanM. blythiishare multiple, identical or very similar haplotypes withM. myotis. Since allopatric AsianM. blythiipresents mtDNA sequences that are very divergent from those of the two species found in Europe, we postulate that the mitochondrial genome of the EuropeanM. blythiihas been replaced by that ofM. myotis. The analysis of nuclear diversity shows a strikingly different pattern, as both species are well differentiated within mixed nursery colonies (FST=0.18). However, a Bayesian analysis of admixture reveals that the hybrids can be frequently observed, as about 25% of sampledM. blythiishow introgressed genes ofM. myotisorigin. Contrastingly, less than 4% of theM. myotisanalysed were classified as non-parental genotypes, revealing an asymmetry in the pattern of hybridization between the two species. These results show that the two species can interbreed and that the hybridization is still ongoing in the areas of sympatry. The persistence of well-differentiated nuclear gene pools, in spite of an apparent replacement of mitochondrial genome in EuropeanM. blythiiby that ofM. myotis, is best explained by a series of introgression events having occurred repeatedly during the recent colonization of Europe byM. blythiifrom Asia. The sharp contrast obtained from the analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear markers further points to the need to cautiously interpret results based on a single class of genetic markers.
Continuous characters analyzed as such
Authors: Goloboff Pablo A. , Mattoni Camilo I. , Quinteros Andrés Sebastián
Published: October 2006

Quantitative and continuous characters have rarely been included in cladistic analyses of morphological data; when included, they have always been discretized, using a variety of ad hoc methods. As continuous characters are typically additive, they can be optimized with well known algorithms, so that with a proper implementation they could be easily analyzed without discretization. The program TNT has recently incorporated algorithms for analysis of continuous characters. One of the problems that has been pointed out with existing methods for discretization is that they can attribute different states to terminals that do not differ significantly—or vice versa. With the implementation in TNT, this problem is diminished (or avoided entirely) by simply assigning to each terminal a range that goes from the mean minus one (or two) SE to the mean plus one (or two) SE; given normal distributions, terminals that do not overlap thus differ significantly (more significantly if using more than 1 SE). Three real data sets (for scorpions, spiders and lizards) comprising both discrete and quantitative characters are analyzed to study the performance of continuous characters. One of the matrices has a reduced number of continuous characters, and thus continuous characters analyzed by themselves produce only poorly resolved trees; the support for many of the groups supported by the discrete characters alone, however, is increased when the continuous characters are added to the analysis. The other two matrices have larger numbers of continuous characters, so that the results of separate analyses for the discrete and the continuous characters can be more meaningfully compared. In both cases, the continuous characters (analyzed alone) result in trees that are relatively similar to the trees produced by the discrete characters alone. These results suggest that continuous characters carry indeed phylogenetic information, and that (if they have been observed) there is no real reason to exclude them from the analysis.

© The Willi Hennig Society 2006.
Properties and Morphology of Barium Germanate Glasses
Authors: SHELBY J. E.
Published: October 2006

The density, thermal expansion behavior, and transformation‐range viscosity of barium germanate glasses containing 0 to 9 mol% BaO were measured. The addition of BaO to Ge02 resulted in phase separation at all BaO concentrations. The results of the property measurements indicate that glasses containing up to 3 mol% BaO consist of a matrix of essentially pure GeO2 with barium‐rich droplets. Glasses containing 6 mol% BaO or more consist of two interconnected vitreous phases. The morphology of glasses containing between approximately 3.5 and 5.5 mol% BaO can be altered from the droplet/matrix form to that of two continuous phases by the appropriate heat treatment.
Chemical Durability of Fluorozirconate Glasses
Authors: Frischat Günther H. , Overbeck Iris
Published: October 2006

The chemical durability of four fiuorozirconate glasses was tested in distilled water at 20° and 80°C. Overall dissolution of the glasses, obtained from weight losses, followed a nearly perfect t1/2 dependence, and evidence for an F‐/OH‐ ion exchange between glass and solution was found. These observations, however, do not necessarily imply a simple diffusion‐controlled process. All surfaces were cracked and showed crystalline deposits of differing composition. A protective layer did not form on the surface.
Influence of Aggregates on Sintering
Authors: DYNYS F. W. , HALLORAN J. W.
Published: October 2006

Alumina powders containing controlled amounts of hard aggregates exhibit isothermal shrinkage rates which decrease markedly with increasing aggregate content. Sintered densities achieved after 1‐ and 24‐h anneals decreased linearly with aggregate content. The microstructures of regions near aggregates and within aggregates showed that the compacts sinter differently inside and outside the aggregates.
Electrical Conductivity and Defect Structure of Y2O3 as a Function of Water Vapor Pressure
Authors: NORBY TRULS , KOFSTAD PER
Published: October 2006

The electrical conductivity of several sintered yttria ceramics with different levels of lower valent cation impurities was studied as a function of the partial pressure of water vapor (3 to 1600 Pa) at 500° to 1300°C in oxygen or air. At the higher temperatures yttria is a P‐type conductor, but at the lowest temperatures and highest water vapor pressures, an ionic contribution becomes significant. The p‐type conductivity decreases with increasing water vapor pressure. This is interpreted in terms of a model involving dissolution of hydrogen as interstitial protons and which counterbalance the effective charges of the lower valent impurities. At the higher water vapor pressures and lower impurity levels excess protons are probably compensated by interstitial hydroxide or oxygen ions. Indications of grain boundary segregation of impurities are reported.
Crystallization of Calcia‐Gallia‐Silica Glasses
Authors: RAY CHANDRA S. , DAY DELBERT E.
Published: October 2006

The critical cooling rate, Rc, for glass formation and the kinetics of crystallization of the compositions 18.4CaO‐(81.6 ‐ X)Ga2O3‐XSiO2 (in wt%), with X=3, 6, 9, and 13.8, were studied by using a thermal image furnace. Crystallization was studied nonisothermally and the data were analyzed by using the Avrami equation. The Rc and activation energy for crystallization both decrease with increasing silica content. The results obtained by the present technique agree with those obtained from DTA measurements.
Addressing the efficacy of dihydrocodeine versus methadone as an alternative maintenance treatment for opiate dependence: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Robertson J. Roy , Raab Gillian M. , Bruce Malcolm , McKenzie James S. , Storkey Helen R. , Salter Amy
Published: October 2006

Aim  The aim of this study is to define the efficacy of dihydrocodeine as an alternative to methadone in the maintenance treatment of opiate dependence.

Design  A pragmatic open‐label randomized controlled study of patients recommended for opiate maintenance treatment to test equivalence of the two treatment options with follow‐up continuing for up to 42 months after recruitment.

Setting  Assessment at either Edinburgh’s Community Drug Problem Service or at two general practitioner practices with specialist drug community psychiatric nurses, then with shared care follow‐up.

Participants  Two hundred and thirty‐five subjects (168 male, 67 female) with opiate dependence syndrome were recruited. Subjects selected were suitable for opiate maintenance treatment. Routine treatment was offered throughout.

Intervention  Patients were randomized to receive either methadone mixture 1 mg/ml or dihydrocodeine, 30 mg or 60 mg tablets.

Measurements  The primary outcome measure was retention in treatment. Eight secondary outcomes included total illicit opiate use, reported crime, physical health, mental health, injecting drug use, overdoses, selling drugs and being in education or work. Measures were compared over 42 months follow‐up.

Findings  There was no difference in groups for retention in treatment at follow‐up and there was improvement in all secondary outcomes from baseline. No significant difference in outcomes was found between randomized groups over time. Compliance with randomized treatment differed by randomized group and was affected by experiences in custody during follow‐up. Those randomized to dihydrocodeine were more likely to switch treatments.

Conclusions  These results, combined with existing clinical experience, provide evidence that dihydrocodeine is a viable alternative to methadone as a maintenance treatment for opiate dependence. Indirect comparisons with other studies show dihydrocodeine (and methadone) to be superior to placebo.
Comorbidity of DCD and SLI: significance of epileptiform activity during sleep
Authors: Scabar A. , Devescovi R. , Blason L. , Bravar L. , Carrozzi M.
Published: October 2006

Background  In children affected by specific language impairment (SLI), many authors have investigated a link between language and epileptiform discharges during sleep resembling the focal sharp waves typical of benign epilepsy with centro‐temporal spikes (BECTS), the so‐called rolandic spikes. On the other hand, the same electroencephalographic trait occurs in more than 50% of children affected by learning or behavioural disabilities without seizures, supporting the hypothesis of a common genetic disposition. The biological background of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is currently unknown, but a genetic liability may be assumed. The aims of our study were first to estimate the prevalence of sleep‐related epileptiform discharges in children affected by DCD and second to investigate the occurrence of DCD in a population of children affected by BECTS.

Methods  We selected a group of eight children with severe DCD. In this group, the presence of epileptiform activity was investigated. We also searched for DCD among a group of 13 children affected by BECTS.

Results  We found rolandic spikes in more than 70% of the children with severe DCD and severe DCD in more than 30% of the children with BECTS.

Conclusions  In children with severe DCD other disabilities are frequently associated. In these children, epileptiform activity during sleep is very frequently found and in our opinion, this represents a hallmark of ‘Hereditary Impairment of Brain Maturation’, a term only partially resembling ‘Atypical Brain Development’.
Genital warts in children: what do they mean?
Authors: Reading Richard
Published: October 2006

.
 
Jayasinghe Y. &
Garland S.M.
(
2006
)

,
91
,
696
–
700
.
Bacterial degradation of airborne phenol in the phyllosphere
Authors: Sandhu Amarjyoti , Halverson Larry J. , Beattie Gwyn A.
Published: October 2006

Despite the vast surface area of terrestrial plant leaves and the large microbial communities they support, little is known of the ability of leaf‐associated microorganisms to access and degrade airborne pollutants. Here, we examined bacterial acquisition and degradation of phenol on leaves by an introduced phenol degrader and by natural phyllosphere communities. Whole‐cell gfp‐based Pseudomonas fluorescens bioreporter cells detected phenol on leaves that had previously been transiently exposed to gaseous phenol, indicating that leaves accumulated phenol; moreover, they accumulated it in sites that were accessible to epiphytic bacteria and to concentrations that were at least 10‐fold higher than those in the air. After inoculated leaves were exposed to gaseous 14C‐phenol, leaves harbouring the phenol‐degrading Pseudomonas sp. strain CF600 released eight times more 14CO2 than did leaves harbouring a non‐degrading mutant, demonstrating that CF600 actively mineralized phenol on leaves. We evaluated phenol degradation by natural microbial communities on green ash leaves that were collected from a field site rich in airborne organic pollutants. We found that significantly more phenol was mineralized by these leaves when the communities were present than by these leaves following surface sterilization. Thus, phenol‐degrading organisms were present in these natural communities and were metabolically capable of phenol degradation. Collectively, these results provide the first direct evidence that bacteria on leaves can degrade an organic pollutant from the air, and indicate that bacteria on leaves could potentially contribute to the natural attenuation of organic air pollutants.
Thioquinolobactin, a Pseudomonas siderophore with antifungal and anti‐Pythium activity
Authors: Matthijs Sandra , Tehrani Kourosch Abbaspour , Laus George , Jackson Robert W. , Cooper Richard M. , Cornelis Pierre
Published: October 2006

Under conditions of iron limitation Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC 17400 produces two siderophores, pyoverdine, and a second siderophore quinolobactin, which itself results from the hydrolysis of the unstable molecule 8‐hydroxy‐4‐methoxy‐2‐quinoline thiocarboxylic acid (thioquinolobactin). Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC 17400 also displays a strong in vitro antagonism against the Oomycete Pythium, which is repressed by iron, suggesting the involvement of a siderophore(s). While a pyoverdine‐negative mutant retains most of its antagonism, a thioquinolobactin‐negative mutant only slowed‐down Pythium growth, and a double pyoverdine‐, thioquinolobactin‐negative mutant, which does not produce any siderophore, totally lost its antagonism against Pythium. The siderophore thioquinolobactin could be purified and identified from spent medium and showed anti‐Pythium activity, but it was quickly hydrolysed to quinolobactin, which we showed has no antimicrobial activity. Analysis of antagonism‐affected transposon mutants revealed that genes involved in haem biosynthesis and sulfur assimilation are important for the production of thioquinolobactin and the expression of antagonism.
Reduced left ventricular mass after treatment of obese patients with sibutramine: an echocardiographic multicentre study
Authors: Wirth A. , Scholze J. , Sharma A. M. , Matiba B. , Boenner G.
Published: October 2006

Aim:  In obesity, left ventricular hypertrophy is frequently observed, especially in the presence of hypertension. Following body weight reduction, the left ventricular mass (LVM) is reduced. It is not known to which extent this occurs after treatment with sibutramine.

Methods:  In this multicentre trial, 195 male and female patients (18–65 years of age, body mass index 30–40 kg/m2) were treated for 12 weeks with either 15 mg/day sibutramine or placebo. They were advised to follow mildly hypocaloric reducing diets. Exclusion criteria were blood pressure values >180/110 mmHg and tachycardia (heart rate ≥100 beats/min). Echocardiography in M‐mode was performed to determine LVM as well as systolic function.

Results:  Body weight was reduced by 6.9 ± 0.3 kg under sibutramine and by 2.1 ± 0.6 kg under placebo; body fat was reduced by 5.2 ± 0.4 kg and 1.6 ± 0.7 kg respectively. In the sibutramine group, LVM was reduced by 10.9 ± 24.2 g; LVM indexed for body surface area was reduced by 2.3 ± 11.8 g/m2 and LVM indexed for body height was reduced by 2.5 ± 6.0 g/m2.7. In the placebo group, LVM and LVM indices were not significantly changed. Changes in LVM correlated with reductions in body weight and initial LVM but not with changes in blood pressure or heart rate.

Conclusions:  After 3 months of treatment with sibutramine, obese patients lost about three times as much of body weight and LVM than patients treated with placebo. Therefore, sibutramine may be recommended not only to reduce body weight but also to obtain a regression of the LVM in obese patients with and without hypertension.
Self‐Regulation and Personality: How Interventions Increase Regulatory Success, and How Depletion Moderates the Effects of Traits on Behavior
Authors: Baumeister Roy F. , Gailliot Matthew , DeWall C. Nathan , Oaten Megan
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT
Self‐regulation is a highly adaptive, distinctively human trait that enables people to override and alter their responses, including changing themselves so as to live up to social and other standards. Recent evidence indicates that self‐regulation often consumes a limited resource, akin to energy or strength, thereby creating a temporary state of ego depletion. This article summarizes recent evidence indicating that regular exercises in self‐regulation can produce broad improvements in self‐regulation (like strengthening a muscle), making people less vulnerable to ego depletion. Furthermore, it shows that ego depletion moderates the effects of many traits on behavior, particularly such that wide differences in socially disapproved motivations produce greater differences in behavior when ego depletion weakens the customary inner restraints.
Towards a method for postcolonial development geography? Possibilities and challenges
Authors: Raghuram Parvati , Madge Clare
Published: October 2006

In this paper we explore the contours of a ‘method’ for postcolonial development geography, which makes it possible to imagine another ‘world‐picturing’. We suggest three steps towards such a method. First, we propose that a postcolonial method involves thinking about why we are doing research in the south in the first place; how we come to and produce our questions; and how we analyze and represent our findings based on our subject positionings. Second, that we need to recognize theorization as an inherent part of method, rethink how we currently theorize and reconfigure our methods of theorization to address wider political aims. Problematizing theorization helps challenge the universalism of Eurocentric theories, thus enabling development geography to move towards more decolonized versions and visions. Finally, that this must be accompanied by firmer recognition of our multiple investments – personal, institutional and geopolitical – and how they frame the possibilities for change. These are some possible steps that we think can reconfigure the ‘scholarly track’ that postcolonial development geographers traverse.
Disrupting the ‘whiteness’ of fieldwork in geography
Authors: Abbott Dina
Published: October 2006

This paper argues that whilst fieldwork continues to make an important contribution to the learning and teaching of geography, analysis of the present‐day practice of UK universities taking students on long‐distance overseas trips remains apolitical and, by and large, concerned with practicalities. If this practice is analysed by locating it within a postcolonial theoretical framework of ‘whiteness’ it is then possible to look at the differing standpoint and positionality of those doing the viewing and those being viewed, and to also see the connections between the imperialist history of geographical exploration and present‐day overseas field trips, in particular to developing countries. Using personal experience of taking UK undergraduates to visit historic slave trading sites in The Gambia as an example, the paper argues that the potential of field study to contribute to the critical pedagogy of geographical fieldwork within UK institutions of higher education requires stronger political analysis.
Participatory Research by Niigata Minamata Disease Victims, and Empowerment of These Victims
Authors: Seki Reiko
Published: October 2006

Abstract:  Niigata Minamata disease is the result of environmental pollution. In the present paper I discuss the activities conducted thus far by victims (uncertified patients) of Niigata Minamata disease to receive the necessary physical and medical examinations, as well as requests for administrative appeal. Such activities, stemming primarily from efforts being made in Sentoji of Yasuda Town (Agano City at present), have had relevance in the lawsuits of uncertified patients of Minamata disease. Those who participated in these activities, even those who are not plaintiffs in the corresponding court cases, were able to receive a set amount of financial and medical support following a political settlement related to Minamata disease. As of 2005, the movement has been assisting people who visit the Agano River basin area to learn about Niigata Minamata disease, and approximately half of all victims manifesting symptoms of the disease have had some association with the Sentoji movement. I also examine how the activities being conducted in Sentoji have helped victims learn more about their own bodies, and how these activities have also helped people understand the significance of taking the initiative to become involved in such movements. And I examine how victims of the disease have received empowerment through victim movements.
Three Paradigms behind River Governance in Japan: Modern Technicism, Nature Conservationism and Life Environmentalism
Authors: Kada Yukiko
Published: October 2006

Abstract:  In this paper I examine river governance or river policy in Japan through the process of modernization over one century and analyze three hidden paradigms, “modern technicism”, “nature conservationism” and “life environmentalism”, with the theory of environmental value. Japanese rivers were governed traditionally by local people (life environmentalism) but the river management was put under the control of administration and the specialist (modern technicism) in the tide of modernization, and in order to confront this situation a new paradigm of “nature conservationism” was born. In the analysis of the stages of river policy development, the development of economic and political power will be traced according to an environmental sociology point of view. This means analyzing people's initiatives resulting from their recognition and value in the political and economical arena. Structuring of river governance through the interactive process of “government and self‐government” is also analyzed by putting an emphasis on local residents as a political body and second, I will describe the theoretical direction of environmental sociology. Lake Biwa and The Yodo River Basin system, which have historical importance in Japanese river policy, will be taken as an example. From the position of environmental sociology, river governance as an interactive process of “government and self‐governance” based on independence of people, is one practical model that can give us important keys for the new river governance, transcending difference of social conditions. Consider learning the spirit of traditional communal structure as a process of practice for building a new communalism, life environmentalism model, which fits today's society.
Between the Global Environmental Regime and Local Sustainability: A Local Review on the Inclusion, Failure and Reinventing Process of the Environmental Governance
Authors: Nakazawa Hideo
Published: October 2006

Abstract: Japan has undergone drastic changes in ecological policy and practice over the past 40 years. Although this short history began with significant levels of pollution, notoriously termed “kogai”, the country seems to have achieved great ecological improvements, both technologically and institutionally, and now is one of the most highly ecologically modernized countries. But can this process really be posited as a simple, linear one of ecological modernization, a sort of natural, historical progress toward ideal environmental governance? This paper proposes some questions that cast doubt over this view. It focuses on local struggles for environmental governance, particularly in the city of Kamakura, which proclaimed itself an “environmental municipality” in 1993, a designation that seemingly fell by the wayside in 2001. Investigating this 8‐year case we can extract some lessons concerning the contradictions between global and local, and consequently about the inherent difficulties of top‐down environmental ordinances and insufficiently decentralized environmental governance. At the same time, through this case readers may also discover a new type of civic activity: cities with agriculture. After a short sketch of agri‐environmental movements, I will suggest that such movements are converging with more conventional ones and prevailing throughout the country. Therefore, the ecological modernization process can be seen to include a sort of restoration process: an updated return to perma‐cultural sustainability. Consequently, this essay contributes to international environmental discussion, not only by uncovering the cleavages between global and local, but also by suggesting the possibility of environmental governance alternative to technologically and institutionally driven ones.
Cortical Malformations and Epilepsy: New Insights from Animal Models
Authors: Chevassus‐au‐Louis N. , Baraban S. C. , Gaíarsa J‐L. , Ben‐Ari Y.
Published: October 2006

Summary: In the last decade, the recognition of the high frequency of cortical malformations among patients with epilepsy especially children, has led to a renewed interest in the study of the pathophysiology of cortical development. This field has also been spurred by the recent development of several experimental genetic and non‐genetic, primarily rodent, models of cortical malformations. Epileptiform activity in these animals can appear as spontaneous seizure activity in vivo, in vitro hyperexcitability, or reduced seizure susceptibility in vitro and in vivo. In the neonatal freeze lesion model, that mimics human microgyria, hyperexcitability is caused by a reorganization of the network in the borders of the malformation. In the prenatal methylazoxymethanol model, that causes a diffuse cortical malformation, hyperexcitability is associated with alteration of firing properties of discrete neuronal subpopulations together with the formation of bridges between normally unconnected structures. In agreement with clinical evidence, these experimental data suggest that cortical malformations can both form epileptogenic foci and alter brain development in a manner that causes a diffuse hyperexcitability of the cortical network.
Intracranial EEG with Very Low Frequency Activity Fails to Demonstrate an Advantage Over Conventional Recordings
Authors: Gross D. W. , Gotman J. , Quesney L. F. , Dubeau F. , Olivier A.
Published: October 2006

Summary: Purpose: Conventional scalp and intracranial EEG is recorded within a limited band of frequencies (0.3–70 Hz) based on the premise that clinically relevant cerebral activity occurs within this frequency range. Ikeda et al. recently demonstrated focal very low frequency activity (VLFA), <0.3 Hz, at seizure onset for both intra‐ and extracranial recordings. The purpose of this investigation was prospectively to study VLFA during seizures in intracranial recordings to determine whether activity in this frequency range provides useful information regarding localization of seizure onset and spread.

Methods: Patients undergoing intracranial electrode implantation were studied by using a high‐pass filter of 0.01 Hz. The timing, location, and pattern of seizure onset were first determined by using a digital high‐pass filter of 0.3 Hz (conventional seizure onset). Seizures were then reviewed without digital filters and the presence of VLFA recorded, along with its timing and location.

Results: Forty‐seven seizures were recorded in four patients. VLFA was not observed in 29 seizures and, in one other case, VLFA occurred simultaneous with movement. Of seizures with VLFA (n= 17), the timing and location of VLFA were not consistent with those of conventional seizure onset or propagation.

Conclusions: Our study failed to demonstrate any clinical advantage of intracranial telemetry recordings with a high‐pass filter of 0.01 Hz over conventional recordings with regard to determining the timing and location of seizure onset and propagation.
Familial Paroxysmal Kinesigenic Choreoathetosis: An Electrophysiologic and Genotypic Analysis
Authors: Sadamatsu Miyuki , Masui Akira , Sakai Toshiyuki , Kunugi Hiroshi , Nanko Shin‐ichirou , Kato Nobumasa
Published: October 2006

Summary: Purpose: We report a pedigree of familial paroxysmal kinesigenic choreoathetosis (PKC) in which five of 18 members are affected. The pathophysiologic basis for PKC is still uncertain; reflex epilepsy versus dysfunction of basal ganglia. We examined (a) whether there were ictal discharges during the attacks, and (b) a linkage between PKC and possible DNA markers linked to several familial epileptic or movement disorders.

Methods: Video‐monitoring EEG was performed in two patients with PKC during attacks elicited by movements of the lower extremities. Blood samples for DNA studies were obtained from 15 members of the pedigree. Fourteen polymorphic markers on chromosomes 1p, 2q, 6p, 10q, and 20q were genotyped, and two‐point lod scores were calculated for each marker under a dominant model.

Results: No ictal discharges were found during the attacks in both patients. We could not obtain significant linkage of PKC with any marker examined.

Conclusions: The video‐monitoring EEG findings in our cases strongly suggested that the etiology of PKC should be considered distinct from that of reflex epilepsy. However, the patients in this pedigree had experienced generalized convulsions in their infancies; thus we could not deny the possibility of an epileptogenic basis for PKC. There was no strong evidence for a linkage of the gene for PKC with the candidate regions on 1p, 2q, 6p, 10q, or 20q.
Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus in Childhood Localization‐Related Epilepsy
Authors: Ohtsuka Yoko , Sato Masahiro , Oka Eiji
Published: October 2006

Summary: Purpose: To report on three children with localization‐related epilepsy who exhibited minor seizures (atypical absences, brief atonic, and myoclonic) and nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) consisting of these minor seizures, and to elucidate their significance.

Methods: We studied the electroclinical characteristics of these children. Ictal electroencephalograms (EEGs) of NCSE were evaluated by using simultaneous video‐EEG‐electromyo‐gram (EMG) polygraphic recordings.

Results: All patients began to have partial seizures between the ages of 6 months and 2 years 7 months, with minor seizures appearing later, between the ages of 1 year 11 months and 6 years 6 months. These minor seizures evolved into NCSE. Complex partial seizures remained after suppression of the minor seizures. Interictal EEGs taken when the minor seizures appeared showed excessive diffuse epileptic discharges in addition to multifocal spike‐waves. Before and after suppression of the minor seizures, focal epileptic discharges predominated on the EEGs. On ictal EEGs of brief atonic and myoclonic seizures, diffuse spike‐wave and polyspike‐wave bursts were detected. Ictal EEGs of the atypical absences revealed diffuse spike‐wave bursts mixed with irregular high‐voltage slow waves, often interspersed with brief atonic and myoclonic seizures. When atypical absences lasted for a long time, patients manifested NCSE. Polytherapy might be related to the occurrence of minor seizures and NCSE, because all patients were treated with polytherapy at their appearance, and simplification of antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy seemed to be effective.

Conclusions: We concluded that this NCSE is a type of atypical absence status which is an age‐dependent, transient, electroclinical condition. The mechanism of occurrence of these minor seizures might be related to secondary bilateral synchrony.
Aspirin and Clopidogrel Resistance: Consideration and Management
Authors: GURBEL PAUL A. , TANTRY UDAYA S.
Published: October 2006

The efficacy with aspirin and clopidogrel treatment has been demonstrated in various clinical trials. Laboratory evaluation of platelet response in recent studies revealed that a distinctive response variability and nonresponsiveness/resistance in selected patients were associated with these antiplatelet agents. Moreover, some studies have correlated this nonresponsiveness/resistance phenomenon to the occurrence of thrombotic events. At this time there are no uniformly established methods to quantify exvivo platelet reactivity after clopidogrel and aspirin treatment of the extent of platelet inhibition by clopidogrel and aspirin. Therefore, specific treatment recommendations for patients exhibiting high platelet reactivity or poor platelet inhibition during clopidogrel or aspirin therapy are not established. A higher aspirin dose and strict compliance to therapy may overcome the occurrence of “aspirin resistance” in selected patients. A higher clopidogrel dose may be considered in patients exhibiting clopidogrel nonresponsiveness.
The Relationship of Body Mass Index to Outcomes after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Authors: SHUBAIR MAMDOUH M. , PRABHAKARAN POORNIMA , PAVLOVA VIKTORIA , VELIANOU JAMES L. , SHARMA ARYA M. , NATARAJAN MADHU K.
Published: October 2006

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on in‐hospital outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at a tertiary care hospital center in Ontario, Canada. Background: Obesity is present in a large population of patients undergoing revascularization with PCI. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 4,631 patients aged 62.0 ± 12 years, stratified by BMI into five groups: nonobese (<25 kg/m2); overweight (25–29.9 kg/m2); class I obese (30–34.9 kg/m2); class II obese (35–39.9 kg/m2); and class III obese (≥40 kg/m2). Results: A BMI >25 kg/m2 was present in 79% of patients, and 35% were obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). Obese patients, particularly the class III obese, were significantly younger and had higher prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia (P < 0.0001). After adjustment for several covariates, lower BMI was independently associated with higher risk of major bleeding requiring transfusion (adjusted odds ratio [OR]= 1.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–1.88, P = 0.025), and femoral hematoma (adjusted OR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.05–1.25, P = 0.003) in lean (<20 kg/m2) and normal BMI (20–24.9 kg/m2) patients. Obesity was not associated with death, myocardial infarction, repeat PCI, coronary artery bypass grafting, or major adverse cardiac event. Conclusions: Obesity is not associated with increased risk of adverse postprocedural in‐hospital outcomes. These findings, however, do not discount the need for sustained efforts in secondary prevention of obesity and its consequences.
Does a long‐term oscillation in nitrogen concentration reflect climate impact on submerged vegetation and vulnerability to state shifts in a shallow lake?
Authors: Hargeby Anders , Jonzén Niclas , Blindow Irmgard
Published: October 2006

Various ecosystems, including shallow lakes, are suggested to possess alternative stable state dynamics. The response of such systems to environmental change is non‐linear and not fully reversible, which calls for identification of feedback mechanisms and subtle changes connected to structural stability. Here, we used a 25‐year data series on water chemistry to make inferences on processes prior to a recent shift from a clear to a turbid state in Lake Tåkern, Sweden. Before the shift, annual concentration of total organic nitrogen (TON) described a cyclic pattern, with a periodicity of eight years. Annual TON was negatively correlated with the magnitude of a summer decline in calcium carbonate, treated as a proxy of the seasonal production of submerged vegetation. Cross‐correlations of TON and the north Atlantic oscillation (NAO) indicated a possible connection to climate. The strongest correlation was obtained by a three‐year lag of the NAO index. Using a set of linear time series models, the most parsimonious model was a 3rdorder autoregressive model with NAO, delayed three years, as a covariate. Analyses of seasonality indicated that the delayed NAO signal was strongly correlated with summer TON. Also, the autocorrelation function was very similar for these two time series, and autoregressive models including NAO as a covariate were strongly supported (sum of Akaike weights=0.93). These results indicate that climate may have contributed to the regime shift through lowered macrophyte production at the time of the shift, and therefore most likely also a depleted resilience of the clear water state. The delayed effect of climate is suggested to result from indirect and inter‐year dependent response of submerged vegetation to fish kills during harsh winters.
Masting in Buxus balearica: assessing fruiting patterns and processes at a large spatial scale
Authors: Lázaro Amparo , Traveset Anna , Méndez Marcos
Published: October 2006

Masting consists of the synchronous highly variable seed production among years by a plant population. We studied spatiotemporal variation in fruit production in ten populations of Buxus balearica (six in the Balearic Islands and four in the Iberian Peninsula) from 2001 to 2004 in the light of masting. In some of them we assessed, by means of both observational and experimental data, the relationship between fruit production and some abiotic variables, the role of previous reproduction, the “pollination efficiency” and the “predator satiation” hypotheses, as well as the consequences for seedling density and survival. Fruit production in B. balearica showed substantial between‐year variation, especially in island compared to mainland populations. Correlative evidence indicated that this variation and its geographic pattern were related to differences between regions in rainfall variability, cost of reproduction and the degree of ambophily. We found no indication of predator satiation. However, experimental tests failed to support many of our results, namely a negative effect of previous reproduction on future flowering in island populations and lower pollen limitation with increasing flower production. We therefore warn against exclusive reliance on correlations when testing hypotheses related to masting. In addition, seedling recruitment increased after some episodes of high fruit production but probably additional factors had a role in recruitment, suggesting that mast events not always translate into increased reproductive success. Although a limited time series only allows considering B. balearica as showing ‘putative’ masting, weather and pollination‐related processes are good candidates for further exploration of fruiting patterns and processes at a large spatial scale.
A tale of two cycles – distinguishing quasi‐cycles and limit cycles in finite predator–prey populations
Authors: Pineda‐Krch Mario , J. Blok Hendrik , Dieckmann Ulf , Doebeli Michael
Published: October 2006

Periodic predator–prey dynamics in constant environments are usually taken as indicative of deterministic limit cycles. It is known, however, that demographic stochasticity in finite populations can also give rise to regular population cycles, even when the corresponding deterministic models predict a stable equilibrium. Specifically, such quasi‐cycles are expected in stochastic versions of deterministic models exhibiting equilibrium dynamics with weakly damped oscillations. The existence of quasi‐cycles substantially expands the scope for natural patterns of periodic population oscillations caused by ecological interactions, thereby complicating the conclusive interpretation of such patterns. Here we show how to distinguish between quasi‐cycles and noisy limit cycles based on observing changing population sizes in predator–prey populations. We start by confirming that both types of cycle can occur in the individual‐based version of a widely used class of deterministic predator–prey model. We then show that it is feasible and straightforward to accurately distinguish between the two types of cycle through the combined analysis of autocorrelations and marginal distributions of population sizes. Finally, by confronting these results with real ecological time series, we demonstrate that by using our methods even short and imperfect time series allow quasi‐cycles and limit cycles to be distinguished reliably.
Can the cause of aggregation be inferred from species distributions?
Authors: Van Teeffelen Astrid J.A. , Ovaskainen Otso
Published: October 2006

Species distributions often show an aggregated pattern, which can be due to a number of endo‐ and exogenous factors. While autologistic models have been used for modelling such data with statistical rigour, little emphasis has been put on disentangling potential causes of aggregation. In this paper we ask whether it is possible to infer sources of aggregation in species distributions from a single set of occurrence data by comparing the performance of various autologistic models. We create simulated data sets, which show similar occupancy patterns, but differ in the process that causes the aggregation. We model the distribution of these data with various autologistic models, and show how the relative performance of the models is sensitive to the factor causing aggregation in the data. This information can be used when modelling real species data, where causes of aggregation are typically unknown. To illustrate, we use our approach to assess the potential causes of aggregation in data of seven bird species with contrasting statistical patterns. Our findings have important implications for conservation, as understanding the mechanisms that drive population fluctuations in space and time is critical for the development of effective management actions for long‐term conservation.
Territory quality, survival and reproductive success in southern emu‐wrens Stipiturus malachurus
Authors: Maguire Grainne S.
Published: October 2006

Multi‐factor analyses of territory quality in relation to fitness components of adults are rare, especially in non‐migratory species. I studied the influence of multiple attributes of territory quality (habitat type and the abundance of food and predators) on the reproductive success and survival of a threatened Australian passerine, the southern emu‐wren Stipiturus malachurus. The abundance of frequently‐selected prey types (lepidoptera, diptera, hemiptera and larvae) varied significantly across territories according to habitat type. Reproductive success (number of offspring fledged) was highest in territories containing a greater proportion of tall shrubland, which had the highest insect abundance of any habitat. Closed heathland and sedge/rushland also had high food abundance compared to other habitat types, but higher fledging success occurred only within closed heathland, possibly because predator density was lower in this habitat type. High snake density was associated with reduced adult survival during the breeding season and a lower probability of nest success. In sedge/rushland, any benefits of prey abundance may therefore be offset by a high density of predators. Emu‐wren age and size were unrelated to breeding output of pairs, suggesting that ecological factors may swamp effects of individual quality on emu‐wren fitness components. Preservation of tall shrubland and closed heathland habitats appear to be of key conservation priority for emu‐wrens.