bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Pepper Extracellular Xyloglucan-Specific Endo-β-1,4-Glucanase Inhibitor Protein Gene,CaXEGIP1, Is Required for Plant Cell Death and Defense Responses
Authors: Choi Hyong Woo , Kim Nak Hyun , Lee Yeon Kyeong , Hwang Byung Kook
Published: October 2012

Plants produce various proteinaceous inhibitors to protect themselves against microbial pathogen attack. A xyloglucan-specific endo-β-1,4-glucanase inhibitor1 gene, CaXEGIP1, was isolated and functionally characterized in pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants. CaXEGIP1 was rapidly and strongly induced in pepper leaves infected with avirulent Xanthomonas campestris pv vesicatoria, and purified CaXEGIP1 protein significantly inhibited the hydrolytic activity of the glycoside hydrolase74 family xyloglucan-specific endo-β-1,4-glucanase from Clostridium thermocellum. Soluble-modified green fluorescent protein-tagged CaXEGIP1 proteins were mainly localized to the apoplast of onion (Allium cepa) epidermal cells. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated overexpression of CaXEGIP1 triggered pathogen-independent, spontaneous cell death in pepper and Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. CaXEGIP1 silencing in pepper conferred enhanced susceptibility to virulent and avirulent X. campestris pv vesicatoria, accompanied by a compromised hypersensitive response and lowered expression of defense-related genes. Overexpression of dexamethasone:CaXEGIP1 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) enhanced resistance to Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis infection. Comparative histochemical and proteomic analyses revealed that CaXEGIP1 overexpression induced a spontaneous cell death response and also increased the expression of some defense-related proteins in transgenic Arabidopsis leaves. This response was also accompanied by cell wall thickening and darkening. Together, these results suggest that pathogen-inducible CaXEGIP1 positively regulates cell death-mediated defense responses in plants.
Knockdown of a Rice Stelar Nitrate Transporter Alters Long-Distance Translocation But Not Root Influx
Authors: Tang Zhong , Fan Xiaorong , Li Qing , Feng Huimin , Miller Anthony J. , Shen Qirong , Xu Guohua
Published: October 2012

Root nitrate uptake is well known to adjust to the plant’s nitrogen demand for growth. Long-distance transport and/or root storage pools are thought to provide negative feedback signals regulating root uptake. We have characterized a vascular specific nitrate transporter belonging to the high-affinity Nitrate Transporter2 (NRT2) family, OsNRT2.3a, in rice (Oryza sativa ssp. japonica ‘Nipponbare’). Localization analyses using protoplast expression, in planta promoter-β-glucuronidase assay, and in situ hybridization showed that OsNRT2.3a was located in the plasma membrane and mainly expressed in xylem parenchyma cells of the stele of nitrate-supplied roots. Knockdown expression of OsNRT2.3a by RNA interference (RNAi) had impaired xylem loading of nitrate and decreased plant growth at low (0.5 mm) nitrate supply. In comparison with the wild type, the RNAi lines contained both nitrate and total nitrogen significantly higher in the roots and lower in the shoots. The short-term [15N]NO3  − influx (5 min) in entire roots and NO3  − fluxes in root surfaces showed that the knockdown of OsNRT2.3a in comparison with the wild type did not affect nitrate uptake by roots. The RNAi plants showed no significant changes in the expression of some root nitrate transporters (OsNRT2.3b, OsNRT2.4, and OsNAR2.1), but transcripts for nia1 (nitrate reductase) had increased and OsNRT2.1 and OsNRT2.2 had decreased when the plants were supplied with nitrate. Taken together, the data demonstrate that OsNRT2.3a plays a key role in long-distance nitrate transport from root to shoot at low nitrate supply level in rice.
Action of Gibberellins on Growth and Metabolism of Arabidopsis Plants Associated with High Concentration of Carbon Dioxide
Authors: Ribeiro Dimas M. , Araújo Wagner L. , Fernie Alisdair R. , Schippers Jos H.M. , Mueller-Roeber Bernd
Published: October 2012

Although the positive effect of elevated CO2 concentration [CO2] on plant growth is well known, it remains unclear whether global climate change will positively or negatively affect crop yields. In particular, relatively little is known about the role of hormone pathways in controlling the growth responses to elevated [CO2]. Here, we studied the impact of elevated [CO2] on plant biomass and metabolism in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) in relation to the availability of gibberellins (GAs). Inhibition of growth by the GA biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol (PAC) at ambient [CO2] (350 µmol CO2 mol−1) was reverted by elevated [CO2] (750 µmol CO2 mol−1). Thus, we investigated the metabolic adjustment and modulation of gene expression in response to changes in growth of plants imposed by varying the GA regime in ambient and elevated [CO2]. In the presence of PAC (low-GA regime), the activities of enzymes involved in photosynthesis and inorganic nitrogen assimilation were markedly increased at elevated [CO2], whereas the activities of enzymes of organic acid metabolism were decreased. Under ambient [CO2], nitrate, amino acids, and protein accumulated upon PAC treatment; however, this was not the case when plants were grown at elevated [CO2]. These results suggest that only under ambient [CO2] is GA required for the integration of carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism underlying optimal biomass determination. Our results have implications concerning the action of the Green Revolution genes in future environmental conditions.
Systems Dynamic Modeling of a Guard Cell Cl− Channel Mutant Uncovers an Emergent Homeostatic Network Regulating Stomatal Transpiration
Authors: Wang Yizhou , Papanatsiou Maria , Eisenach Cornelia , Karnik Rucha , Williams Mary , Hills Adrian , Lew Virgilio L. , Blatt Michael R.
Published: October 2012

Stomata account for much of the 70% of global water usage associated with agriculture and have a profound impact on the water and carbon cycles of the world. Stomata have long been modeled mathematically, but until now, no systems analysis of a plant cell has yielded detail sufficient to guide phenotypic and mutational analysis. Here, we demonstrate the predictive power of a systems dynamic model in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) to explain the paradoxical suppression of channels that facilitate K+ uptake, slowing stomatal opening, by mutation of the SLAC1 anion channel, which mediates solute loss for closure. The model showed how anion accumulation in the mutant suppressed the H+ load on the cytosol and promoted Ca2+ influx to elevate cytosolic pH (pHi) and free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), in turn regulating the K+ channels. We have confirmed these predictions, measuring pHi and [Ca2+]i in vivo, and report that experimental manipulation of pHi and [Ca2+]i is sufficient to recover K+ channel activities and accelerate stomatal opening in the slac1 mutant. Thus, we uncover a previously unrecognized signaling network that ameliorates the effects of the slac1 mutant on transpiration by regulating the K+ channels. Additionally, these findings underscore the importance of H+-coupled anion transport for pHi homeostasis.
Crystal sample pins and a storage cassette system compatible with the protein crystallography beamlines at both the Photon Factory and SPring-8
Authors: Fujihashi Masahiro , Hiraki Masahiko , Ueno Go , Baba Seiki , Murakami Hironori , Suzuki Mamoru , Watanabe Nobuhisa , Tanaka Isao , Nakagawa Atsushi , Wakatsuki Soichi , Yamamoto Masaki , Miki Kunio
Published: October 2012

Protein crystallography beamlines at the two major Japanese synchrotron facilities (SPring-8 and Photon Factory) employ different crystal-exchange robots. The robots SPACE and PAM, installed at SPring-8 and the Photon Factory, respectively, accelerate crystal exchange and assist in the efficient use of beamtime. SPACE also supports customizable automatic data collection, in which an X-ray beam is irradiated at a manually determined position during the crystal evaluation process. However, this data collection requires special crystal-mounting screw pins made of polyacetal, which are not compatible with PAM. In order to give users the flexibility to collect diffraction data sets at either of the two synchrotrons, we have developed a compatible cassette system. Pins stored in the cassette can be mounted or demounted using either SPACE or PAM, and are compatible with the customizable automatic data collection provided by SPACE. Users can handle the pins and cassettes easily, employing common tools and techniques for efficient protein cryocrystallography experiments.
Time-of-flight studies of multiple Bragg reflections in cylindrically bent perfect crystals
Authors: Mikula Pavol , Furusaka Michihiro , Ohkubob Kenji , Saroun Jan
Published: October 2012

Multiple Bragg reflections (MBRs) realized in a bent perfect crystal (BPC) slab by sets of different lattice planes behave differently from the case of perfect nondeformed or mosaic crystals. Because of elastic bending (homogeneous deformation), individual sets of lattice planes are mutually in dispersive diffraction geometry and the kinematical approach can be applied on this MBR process. The elastic deformation produced by the cylindrical bending can enormously strengthen the MBR effects, which can then be investigated even at small neutron sources. By using neutron diffraction and the time-of-flight method, carried out at the 45 MeV linac-based pulsed cold neutron source at Hokkaido University, it has been demonstrated that when setting the BPC slabs in the symmetric transmission geometry many strong MBRs accompanying forbidden Si(222) or Si(002) reflections can be observed. The advantage of the time-of-flight method consists in the fact that it is possible to observe not only primary MBRs related to the basic forbidden reflections but also their higher orders, which could be easily separated in the time-of-flight spectra.
Multiple repeat caesarean section in the UK: incidence and consequences to mother and child. A national, prospective, cohort study
Authors: Cook JR , Jarvis S , Knight M , Dhanjal MK
Published: October 2012

Objective  To estimate the incidence of multiple repeat caesarean section (MRCS) (five or more) in the UK and to describe the outcomes for women and their babies relative to women having fewer repeat caesarean sections.

Design  A national population‐based prospective cohort study using the UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS).

Setting  All UK hospitals with consultant‐led maternity units.

Population  Ninety‐four women having their fifth or greater MRCS between January 2009 and December 2009, and 175 comparison women having their second to fourth caesarean section.

Methods  Prospective cohort and comparison identification through the UKOSS monthly mailing system.

Main outcome measures  Incidence, maternal and neonatal complications. Relative risk, unadjusted (OR) and adjusted (aOR) odds ratio estimates.

Results  The estimated UK incidence of MRCS was 1.20 per 10 000 maternities [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.97–1.47]. Women with MRCS had significantly more major obstetric haemorrhages (>1500 ml) (aOR, 18.6; 95% CI, 3.89–88.8), visceral damage (aOR, 17.6; 95% CI, 1.85–167.1) and critical care admissions (aOR, 15.5; 95% CI, 3.16–76.0), than women with lower order repeat caesarean sections. These risks were greatest in the 18% of women with MRCS who also had placenta praevia or accreta. Neonates of mothers having MRCS were significantly more likely to be born prior to 37 weeks of gestation (OR, 6.15; 95% CI, 2.56–15.78) and therefore had higher rates of complications and admissions.

Conclusions  MRCS is associated with greater maternal and neonatal morbidity than fewer caesarean sections. The associated maternal morbidity is largely secondary to placenta praevia and accreta, whereas higher rates of preterm delivery are most likely a response to antepartum haemorrhage.
Comparison of 454 pyrosequencing methods for characterizing the major histocompatibility complex of nonmodel species and the advantages of ultra deep coverage
Authors: Oomen Rebekah A. , Gillett Roxanne M. , Kyle Christopher J.
Published: October 2012

Characterization and population genetic analysis of multilocus genes, such as those found in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is challenging in nonmodel vertebrates. The traditional method of extensive cloning and Sanger sequencing is costly and time‐intensive and indirect methods of assessment often underestimate total variation. Here, we explored the suitability of 454 pyrosequencing for characterizing multilocus genes for use in population genetic studies. We compared two sample tagging protocols and two bioinformatic procedures for 454 sequencing through characterization of a 185‐bp fragment of MHC DRB exon 2 in wolverines (Gulo gulo) and further compared the results with those from cloning and Sanger sequencing. We found 10 putative DRB alleles in the 88 individuals screened with between two and four alleles per individual, suggesting amplification of a duplicated DRB gene. In addition to the putative alleles, all individuals possessed an easily identifiable pseudogene. In our system, sequence variants with a frequency below 6% in an individual sample were usually artefacts. However, we found that sample preparation and data processing procedures can greatly affect variant frequencies in addition to the complexity of the multilocus system. Therefore, we recommend determining a per‐amplicon‐variant frequency threshold for each unique system. The extremely deep coverage obtained in our study (approximately 5000×) coupled with the semi‐quantitative nature of pyrosequencing enabled us to assign all putative alleles to the two DRB loci, which is generally not possible using traditional methods. Our method of obtaining locus‐specific MHC genotypes will enhance population genetic analyses and studies on disease susceptibility in nonmodel wildlife species.
Mouse models of laminopathies
Authors: Zhang Haoyue , Kieckhaefer Julia E. , Cao Kan
Published: October 2012

The A‐ and B‐type lamins are nuclear intermediate filament proteins in eukaryotic cells with a broad range of functions, including the organization of nuclear architecture and interaction with proteins in many cellular functions. Over 180 disease‐causing mutations, termed ‘laminopathies,’ have been mapped throughout LMNA, the gene for A‐type lamins in humans. Laminopathies can range from muscular dystrophies, cardiomyopathy, to Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome. A number of mouse lines carrying some of the same mutations as those resulting in human diseases have been established. These LMNA‐related mouse models have provided valuable insights into the functions of lamin A biogenesis and the roles of individual A‐type lamins during tissue development. This review groups these LMNA‐related mouse models into three categories: null mutants, point mutants, and progeroid mutants. We compare their phenotypes and discuss their potential implications in laminopathies and aging.
Exploring change processes in compassion focused therapy in psychosis: Results of a feasibility randomized controlled trial
Authors: Braehler Christine , Gumley Andrew , Harper Janice , Wallace Sonia , Norrie John , Gilbert Paul
Published: October 2012

Objectives

Compassion focused therapy (CFT) was developed to stimulate capacities for soothing and affiliation to self and others as a way to regulate the threat system. This feasibility study aimed to assess the safety, the acceptability, the potential benefits, and associated change processes of using groupCFTwith people recovering from psychosis.

Design

A prospective, randomized, open‐label, blinded end point evaluation design was used.

Method

Forty adult patients with a schizophrenia‐spectrum disorder were randomized toCFTplus treatment as usual (TAU;n = 22) or toTAUalone (n = 18). GroupCFTcomprised 16 sessions (2 hr each, 1 x week). Participants were assessed prior to randomization and at the end of treatment. Assessments included semi‐structured interviews to elicit narratives of recovery from psychosis and self‐report measures. At the end of treatment, participants were rated on the Clinical Global Impression Scale. Narratives were coded using the Narrative Recovery Style Scale to provide measures of change in compassion and avoidance. Change processes were correlated with changes in depression, personal beliefs about illness, fear of recurrence, and positive and negative affect.

Results

GroupCFTwas associated with no adverse events, low attrition (18%), and high acceptability. Relative toTAU,CFTwas associated with greater observed clinical improvement (p < 0.001) and significant increases in compassion (p = 0.015) of large magnitude. Relative toTAU, increases in compassion in theCFTgroup were significantly associated with reductions in depression (p = 0.001) and in perceived social marginalization (p = 0.002).

Discussion

Findings support the feasibility of groupCFTin psychosis and suggest that changes in compassion can be achieved, which appear to reduce depression in particular. This is the first randomized controlled evaluation ofCFT.

Conclusion

Compassion focused therapy appears as a safe, acceptable, promising, and evolving intervention for promoting emotional recovery from psychosis.

Practitioner Points

Compassion focused therapy appears safe to use with people recovering from psychosis.

Compassion focused therapy was associated with significantly greater clinical improvement than Treatment as Usual.

Relative to TAU, CFT was associated with a significant increase in compassion of large magnitude.

Relative to TAU, in the CFT group increases in compassion were significantly associated with reductions in depression and in perceived social marginalization.
Methodological and theoretical improvements in the study of superstitious beliefs and behaviour
Authors: Fluke Scott M. , Webster Russell J. , Saucier Donald A.
Published: October 2012

Via four studies (N = 901), we developed an improved Belief in Superstition Scale (BSS) composed of three distinct components (belief in bad luck, belief in good luck, and the belief that luck can be changed), whose structure was supported through exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory (Studies 2 and 3) factor analyses using divergent samples. We found that among theoretical predictors, higher ‘chance’ locus of control (i.e., the belief that chance/fate controls one's life) best predicted all three BSS subscales (Studies 2–3). In Study 3, we found that BSS subscale scores were reliable, but largely invariant across age and education with a non‐general psychology sample. In Study 4, the BSS subscales best predicted participants’ superstitious attitudes and behaviour in a new lottery drawing paradigm among other commonly used superstition scales. Taken together, our results indicate that the BSS is a valuable addition to the burgeoning research on superstitious attitudes and behaviour.
Late Ediacaran syn‐rift/post‐rift transition and related fault‐driven hydrothermal systems in the Anti‐Atlas Mountains, Morocco
Authors: Javier Álvaro J.
Published: October 2012

The syn‐rift/post‐rift transition of the late Ediacaran‐mid Cambrian Atlas rift is characterized by the interplay of several processes, such as a widespread episode of fracturing and tilting, associated with encasement of fault‐controlled vein metallic ore deposits of economic importance, and carbonate production and phosphogenesis (Taguedit Bed, Tabia Member) bordering rift‐flank uplifts. A correlatable unconformity marks the end of these processes and the beginning of a thermal subsidence‐dominated regime with development of a more stable, carbonate, peritidal‐dominated platform (Tifnout Member). Late Ediacaran microbial carbonate production and phosphogenesis extended in discontinuous belts around the periphery of uplifted rift shoulders and flanks. Karst development is interpreted to have formed along synsedimentary faults and fractures during abrupt tectonic uplift associated with emplacement of polymetallic hydrothermal dikes (rich in Cu, Fe and subsidiary Pb, Zn). Isotopic analysis indicates that speleothem precipitation in karstic palaeocaves displays significantly lighter δ13C and δ18O values as compared to the host dolomite, implying calcite precipitation by terrestrial fluids rich in decomposing organic matter and/or microbial activity in the cave system.
Vitamin D status is not associated with inflammatory cytokine levels during experimental human endotoxaemia
Authors: Kox M , van den Berg M J W , van der Hoeven J G , Wielders J P M , van der Ven A J , Pickkers P
Published: October 2012

Vitamin D has been shown to modulate innate immune responses in vitro and ex vivo; however, human in-vivo data are lacking. At high latitudes, seasonal vitamin D deficiency is common due to alternating ultraviolet (UV)-B radiation exposure. In the present study, we investigated whether levels of 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] and its active metabolite 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] are subject to seasonal variation and whether plasma levels of these vitamin D metabolites correlate with the in-vivo cytokine response during experimental human endotoxaemia [administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in healthy volunteers]. Plasma levels of 25(OH)D3 and 1,25(OH)2D3 were determined in samples obtained just prior to administration of an intravenous bolus of 2 ng/kg LPS (derived from Escherichia coli O:113) in 112 healthy male volunteers. In the same subjects, plasma levels of the inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 were analysed serially after endotoxin administration. Plasma levels of 1,25(OH)2D3, but not 25(OH)D3, were subject to significant seasonal variation, with lower levels in autumn and winter. 25(OH)D3 and 1,25(OH)2D3 levels did not correlate with plasma cytokine responses. Furthermore, 25(OH)D3 deficient subjects (< 50 nmol/l) displayed an identical cytokine response compared with sufficient subjects. In conclusion, plasma levels of vitamin D are not correlated with the LPS-induced TNF, IL-6 and IL-10 cytokine response in humans in vivo. These findings question the direct role of vitamin D in modulation of the innate immune response.
Treatment with anti-NAP monoclonal antibody reduces disease severity in murine model of novel angiogenic protein-induced or ovalbumin-induced arthritis
Authors: Nataraj N B , Krishnamurthy J , Salimath B P
Published: October 2012

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a polyarticular inflammatory, angiogenic disease. Synovial angiogenesis contributes to inflammation in RA. In this study we have developed an arthritic model in rats using a novel angiogenic protein (NAP), isolated from human synovial fluid of RA patients. We produced anti-NAP monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and investigated the therapeutic efficacy of the same in adjuvant-induced or NAP-induced arthritis as a model of human RA. The treatment of arthritic rats with anti-NAP mAbs resulted in effective amelioration of paw oedema, radiological arthritic characteristics, serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and NAP, compared to that of untreated arthritic animals. Further, profiling of angiogenic markers such as synovial microvessel density, angiogenesis, CD31, VEGF and fms-like tyrosine kinase (Flt1) by immunohistochemistry both in arthritic and anti-NAP mAb-treated animals revealed the efficacy of mAb as an anti-angiogenic functional antibody. Therefore, NAP may be an attractive target to design anti-angiogenic and anti-arthritic therapies to control the pathogenesis of arthritis.
Immunological indicators of coeliac disease activity are not altered by long-term oats challenge
Authors: Cooper S E J , Kennedy N P , Mohamed B M , Abuzakouk M , Dunne J , Byrne G , McDonald G , Davies A , Edwards C , Kelly J , Feighery C F
Published: October 2012

Coeliac disease is a gluten-sensitive enteropathy that develops in genetically susceptible individuals. The disease exhibits many features of an autoimmune disorder. These include the production of highly specific anti-endomysial autoantibodies directed against the enzyme tissue transglutaminase. It is well accepted that wheat-, barley- and rye-based foods should be excluded in the gluten-free diet. Although several studies report that oats ingestion is safe in this diet, the potential toxicity of oats remains controversial. In the current study, 46 coeliac patients ingested oats for 1 year and were investigated for a potential immunogenic or toxic effect. Stringent clinical monitoring of these patients was performed and none experienced adverse effects, despite ingestion of a mean of 286 g of oats each week. Routine histological analysis of intestinal biopsies showed improvement or no change in 95% of the samples examined. Furthermore, tissue transglutaminase expression in biopsy samples, determined quantitatively using the IN Cell Analyzer, was unchanged. Employing immunohistochemistry, oats ingestion was not associated with changes in intraepithelial lymphocyte numbers or with enterocyte proliferation as assessed by Ki-67 staining. Finally, despite the potential for tissue transglutaminase to interact with oats, neither endomysial nor tissue transglutaminase antibodies were generated in any of the patients throughout the study. To conclude, this study reaffirms the lack of oats immunogenicity and toxicity to coeliac patients. It also suggests that the antigenic stimulus caused by wheat exposure differs fundamentally from that caused by oats.
Multiple assessors of child welfare youths' mental‐health functioning: comparing perceptions of adolescents, caregivers and teachers
Authors: Simmel Cassandra , Lee Inseon , Kim Soyoun , Miles Jonathan
Published: October 2012

For youth involved with the child welfare system, accurate assessment of mental‐health functioning is a critical factor in case planning. To assess correspondence among multiple reporters of child welfare youths' mental‐health difficulties, this study, using data drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well‐being dataset, examined the caregiver, teacher and youth (aged 11–16 years) reports on the Child Behavior Checklist (n = 464). Perceptions about symptomatology on a variety of externalizing and internalizing behaviour problem scales were measured with a correlation analysis. Subsequently, logistic regression models were created, which explored how each reporter category matched a fourth reporter category: the child welfare investigation caseworkers' identification of youths' mental‐health needs. Results show that in several models, the odds of matching caseworkers' determination of youths' mental‐health needs significantly increased as youths' perceptions of psychopathology increased. A similar pattern was found for caregivers' perceptions in some of the models, across both internalizing and externalizing domains. Implications for child welfare practice and research with child welfare youth are discussed.
Individual Differences in the Encoding Processes of Egocentric and Allocentric Survey Knowledge
Authors: Wen Wen , Ishikawa Toru , Sato Takao
Published: October 2012

This study examined how different components of working memory are involved in the acquisition of egocentric and allocentric survey knowledge by people with a good and poor sense of direction (SOD). We employed a dual‐task method and asked participants to learn routes from videos with verbal, visual, and spatial interference tasks and without any interference. Results showed that people with a good SOD encoded and integrated knowledge about landmarks and routes into egocentric survey knowledge in verbal and spatial working memory, which is then transformed into allocentric survey knowledge with the support of all three components, distances being processed in verbal and spatial working memory and directions in visual and spatial working memory. In contrast, people with a poor SOD relied on verbal working memory and lacked spatial processing, thus failing to acquire accurate survey knowledge. Based on the results, a possible model for explaining individual differences in spatial knowledge acquisition is proposed.
Primary Cardiac Lymphoma: Echocardiography and F‐18‐Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography in Selection of a Biopsy Site
Authors: Okayama Satoshi , Dote Yoko , Takeda Yukiji , Uemura Shiro , Fujimoto Shinichi , Saito Yoshihiko
Published: October 2012

A 63‐year‐old man was referred to our hospital because of a cardiac tumor. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a rough, mobile tumor in the dilated right atrium, and transesophageal echocardiography showed that the tumor consisted of small, botryoidal masses. Catheter‐based biopsy carried a high risk of embolism. Therefore, we used F‐18‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG‐PET), which revealed an abnormal accumulation in the right cervical lymph nodes, as well as in the heart. We safely performed biopsy of the lymph nodes and diagnosed the patient with primary cardiac lymphoma. We concluded that echocardiography and FDG‐PET are useful for selecting an appropriate biopsy site in primary cardiac lymphoma.
An Unusual Mediastinal Mass in a Patient with Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Mahesh Kumar Saktheeswaran , Thajudeen Anees
Published: October 2012

Achalasia cardiae is a rare esophageal motility disorder of unknown cause, which can remain asymptomatic for a long time. Diagnosis can be missed in view of the frequent absence of pathognomonic clinical signs and symptoms. We present the case of an elderly gentleman, who had achalasia incidentally detected by transthoracic echocardiography during evaluation of coronary artery disease.
Doppler Echocardiography Unraveling Lewis and Wiggers Diagrams
Authors: Saura Daniel , Oliva María J. , Peñafiel Pablo , de la Morena Gonzalo
Published: October 2012

Mini‐Abstract

In a patient with complete atrioventricular block and junctional escape rhythm that showed near‐isorrhythmic atrioventricular dissociation, the characteristic pattern of Doppler spectra of mitral inflow, pulmonary veins flow, and tricuspid regurgitation profile could help to analyze heart activation sequence and its related hemodynamics to confirm a somewhat doubtful electrocardiographic diagnosis.
High levels of soluble serum hemojuvelin in patients with congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type I
Authors: Shalev Hanna , Perez‐Avraham Galit , Kapelushnik Joseph , Levi Itai , Rabinovich Anat , Swinkels Dorine W. , Brasse‐Lagnel Carole , Tamary Hannah
Published: October 2012

Objective

Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia (CDA) is a rare group of red blood cell disorders with ineffective erythropoiesis and secondary hemochromatosis. Inappropriate suppression of hepcidin and high levels of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) have been described in CDA I and II patients, probably contributing to secondary hemochromatosis. Hemojuvelin (HJV) is an important regulator of serum hepcidin, while soluble form of HJV (s‐HJV) competitively down‐regulates hepcidin.

Methods

We determined the soluble hemojuvelin (s‐HJV) levels in 17 patients with CDA I and in 17 healthy volunteers (HV) and looked for correlations with other parameters of iron overload and erythropoiesis.

Results

Significantly higher levels of s‐HJV were found in patients (2.32 ± 1.40 mg/L) compared with healthy volunteers (0. 69 ± 0.44 mg/L) (P = 0.001). Western blot analysis confirmed the presence of high levels of s‐HJV in CDA I patients. s‐HJV positively correlated with serum ferritin, erythropoietin, soluble transferrin receptor, and GDF15 and negatively correlated with hepcidin to ferritin ratios.

Conclusions

We for the first time documented high levels of serum s‐HJV in CDA I patients, suggesting that it may contribute to iron loading pathology in CDA I and eventually in other anemias with ineffective erythropoiesis.
Understanding diversity–stability relationships: towards a unified model of portfolio effects
Authors: Thibaut Loïc M. , Connolly Sean R.
Published: October 2012

A major ecosystem effect of biodiversity is to stabilise assemblages that perform particular functions. However, diversity–stability relationships (DSRs) are analysed using a variety of different population and community properties, most of which are adopted from theory that makes several restrictive assumptions that are unlikely to be reflected in nature. Here, we construct a simple synthesis and generalisation of previous theory for the DSR. We show that community stability is a product of two quantities: the synchrony of population fluctuations, and an average species‐level population stability that is weighted by relative abundance. Weighted average population stability can be decomposed to consider effects of the mean‐variance scaling of abundance, changes in mean abundance with diversity and differences in species' mean abundance in monoculture. Our framework makes explicit how unevenness in the abundances of species in real communities influences the DSR, which occurs both through effects on community synchrony, and effects on weighted average population variability. This theory provides a more robust framework for analysing the results of empirical studies of the DSR, and facilitates the integration of findings from real and model communities.
Cancer stem cells as ‘units of selection’
Authors: Greaves Mel
Published: October 2012

Cancer development is widely recognized to be a somatic cell evolutionary process with complex dynamics and highly variable time frames. Variant cells and descendent subclones gain competitive advantage via their fitness in relation to micro‐environmental selective pressures. In this context, the ‘unit’ of selection is the cell, but not any cell. The so‐called ‘cancer stem cells’ have the essential properties required to function as the key units of selection, particularly with respect to their proliferative potential and longevity. These cells drive evolutionary progression of disease and provide reservoirs for relapse or recurrence and drug resistance. They represent the prime, but elusive and moving, targets for therapeutic control.
Fatigue crack growth prediction models for metallic materials Part II: Strip yield model – choices and decisions
Authors: MACHNIEWICZ T.
Published: October 2012

Deterministic models developed to predict fatigue crack growth in metallic materials are considered with special emphasis on approaches suitable for variable amplitude load histories. Part I gave a concise review of available models and their assessment based on reported in the literature comparisons between predicted and observed results. It was concluded that the so‐called strip yield model based on the plasticity‐induced crack closure mechanism is a most versatile predictive tool convenient to use in the case of mode I crack growth under arbitrary variable amplitude loading. Part II of the paper is focused on the strip yield model and its predictive capabilities. Implementations of this type prediction approach reported in the literature are reviewed. It is shown that decisions regarding the constraint factor conception, a choice of the crack driving force parameter, the crack growth rate description and various numerical details can have a profound effect on the model results and the prediction quality.
Climate change has indirect effects on resource use and overlap among coexisting bird species with negative consequences for their reproductive success
Authors: Auer Sonya K. , Martin Thomas E.
Published: October 2012

Climate change can modify ecological interactions, but whether it can have cascading effects throughout ecological networks of multiple interacting species remains poorly studied. Climate‐driven alterations in the intensity of plant–herbivore interactions may have particularly profound effects on the larger community because plants provide habitat for a wide diversity of organisms. Here we show that changes in vegetation over the last 21 years, due to climate effects on plant–herbivore interactions, have consequences for songbird nest site overlap and breeding success. Browsing‐induced reductions in the availability of preferred nesting sites for two of three ground nesting songbirds led to increasing overlap in nest site characteristics among all three bird species with increasingly negative consequences for reproductive success over the long term. These results demonstrate that changes in the vegetation community from effects of climate change on plant–herbivore interactions can cause subtle shifts in ecological interactions that have critical demographic ramifications for other species in the larger community.
Reintroduction of grazing management after deforestation of formerly abandoned grassland and its effect on early vegetation changes in the Western Carpathians (Slovakia)
Authors: Novák J. , Pavlů V. , Ludvíková V.
Published: October 2012

Although the process of reforestation of grassland has been widely studied in Europe, little is known about the effect of deforestation on grassland development. Thus, the specific objective of this study was to evaluate early changes in plant species composition, functional group, yield and biomass quality after deforestation of long‐term abandoned pastures. The experiment was established immediately after deforestation on sparse herbaceous vegetation (mean initial cover 27%) with the following treatments: grazing management only (G0), cutting and grazing aftermath (CG), grazing after seeding of grassland mixture (GS), grazing after a burning treatment in which branches were burned after deforestation (GB) and unmanaged control (U). Very rapid recovery of bare ground by germination and/or sprouting of grassland species was similar under all types of grazing management. Total plant species richness increased in all managed treatments except GB. Similarities according to redundancy analyses in plant species composition were found among G0, CG and GB treatments, especially for forbs with correlated rosette or creeping growth. The woody species, tall grasses and tall forbs had higher abundance in the U treatment. The restoration of grassland following deforestation of formerly reforested grassland area by grazing management was a relatively fast process, and swards were created after 3 years. The highest biomass yield was observed under treatments GS and GB. Forage quality of all managed treatments was sufficient for the demands of beef cattle grazing. However, for subsequent grassland preservation, some type of grazing management is necessary to prevent reforestation, which can occur immediately after deforestation in unmanaged places.
‘You don't get told anything, they don't do anything and nothing changes’. Medicine as a resource and constraint in progressive ataxia
Authors: Daker‐White Gavin , Kingston Helen , Payne Katherine , Greenfield Julie , Ealing John , Sanders Caroline
Published: October 2012

Background

Progressive ataxias are neurological disorders affecting balance, co‐ordination of movement and speech.

Objective

A qualitative study was undertaken to discover patients' experiences of ataxia and its symptoms.

Participants

Thirty‐eight people with ataxia recruited from patient support groups and two hospital outpatients departments.

Design

Cross‐sectional qualitative study with thematic analysis.

Results

These accounts highlight the limits of medicine in the context of a rare, incurable and disabling disorder, and the embodied uncertainties brought by slowly progressive diseases that lie at the boundaries of mainstream medical knowledge. The existential crises faced by people with ataxia are seemingly magnified by sometimes idiopathic aetiologies and the limited number of inherited conditions identifiable by the available genetic tests. Interviewees were drawn into a medical system that was focused mainly on the diagnosis process, with widely varying results. However, when asked, most had rather valued the provision of disability aids and physical therapies. Only one informant reported overcoming the myriad uncertainties of progressive ataxia, and their account supported the notion of ‘biographical repair’ in chronic illness.

Conclusions

Clinical uncertainties in ataxia constrained people's attempts to deal with their condition. The construction of the proactive, informed, medical consumer who is assumed to be a partner in care is problematic in the context of a rare and difficult‐to‐diagnose disease for which there is usually no cure. Service providers should be mindful of the need to manage patient expectations in relation to diagnosis and cure. More focus might usefully be placed on the provision of physical therapies and disability aids.
A comprehensive phylogeny of extinct and extant Rhizomyinae (Rodentia): evidence for multiple intercontinental dispersals
Authors: López‐Antoñanzas Raquel , Flynn Lawrence J. , Knoll Fabien
Published: October 2012

The subfamily Rhizomyinae is known from the Late Oligocene up to the present. Today this group comprises six species, which live in southern Asia and eastern Africa. Despite the current moderate diversity of the rhizomyines, they had a greater diversification and wider distribution in the past: from Asia, their land of origin, to Africa, which they entered during the Early Miocene. So far 33 fossil species can be referred to this group. A cladistic analysis involving fossil and living species has been carried out. Prokanisamys spp. turned out to be the most basal taxa of the ingroup. This analysis calls into question the monophyly of several genera, and allows the proposal of a phylogenetic definition of the tribes Tachyoryctini and Rhizomyini. It also provides information about the origin of the African rhizomyines and allows inferring multiple dispersal phenomena from Asia to Africa in Early and Late Miocene times.
Effects of surfactants and the kinetic energy of monodroplets on the deposit structure of glyphosate at the micro‐scale and their relevance to herbicide bio‐efficacy on selected weed species
Authors: BASI S , HUNSCHE M , NOGA G
Published: October 2012

The deposit pattern of foliar‐applied agrochemicals, and its relation to their bio‐efficacy, has major practical importance. Thus, in our experiments, we evaluated the relevance of the deposition properties of glyphosate for its bio‐efficacy. The deposition pattern of glyphosate monodroplets was influenced by using surfactant and by applying the droplets with or without kinetic energy to the plant foliage. Monodroplets (1 μL) of glyphosate, formulated with or without ethoxylated rapeseed oil surfactant (RSO) having on average 5, 10, 30 or 60 ethylene oxide units (EO), as well as one commercial glyphosate product (CGP), were applied either by carefully placing the droplet on the foliage with a pipette (kinetic energy assumed to be near zero) or by a monodroplet generator (with kinetic energy). We selected two easy‐to‐wet (Stellaria media and Viola arvensis) and two difficult‐to‐wet (Chenopodium album and Setaria viridis) weed species as target plants. The deposit structure was determined using a scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive x‐ray microanalysis. The kinetic energy of the droplet had no consistent effect on the deposit structure or the bio‐efficacy of glyphosate formulations. In contrast, surfactants differing in EO unit, affected both the deposit structure and the bio‐efficacy of the formulations, depending upon the species. In easy‐to‐wet species, the increase in EO unit of RSO surfactant failed to affect the deposit area of glyphosate and its bio‐efficacy. However, in difficult‐to‐wet species, the increase in EO unit of RSO surfactant reduced the deposit area of glyphosate and enhanced its bio‐efficacy.
Stabilityand chemical modification of xylanase from Aspergillus sp. (2M1 strain)
Authors: Angelo Raquel , Aguirre Carolina , Curotto Emilia , Esposito Elisa , Fontana José D. , Baron Madalena , Milagres Adriane M.F. , Durán Nelson
Published: October 2012

The 2M1 strain of Aspergillus sp., which showed high extracellular xylanolytic activities in a pre‐screening, was studied. Oat‐spelt, birch, eucalyptus and pine xylans were used as xylanolytic inductors. The following activities were found at 50 ° C in the presence of 1′ xylan: 120 units/ml (oat‐spelt xylan), 132 units/ml (birch xylan), 107 units/ml (eucalyptus xylan), 67 units/ml (pine xylan) and 137 units/ml (larch‐wood xylan). Xylanase induced by pine xylan exhibited a higher stability than those induced by the other xylans. The stability was improved by addition of glycerol. In the crude extract, reagents which were found to affect xylanase activity were 1‐ethyl‐3‐(3‐dimethylaminopropyl)carbodi‐imide for amidation of carboxylic groups and N‐bromosuccinimide at a concentration of 0.5 mM for indole oxidation. Methylene Blue, butane‐2,3‐dione, N‐acetylimidazole, chloramine‐T and iodoacetate had little effect on the enzyme activity (more than 97′ of the original activity remained).
Antigenicity of deoxyadenosine 5‐monophosphate cross‐linked with polyamine
Authors: Ahmad Aftab , Ahmad Shama , Ali Asif
Published: October 2012

Deoxyadenosine 5‐monophosphate was cross‐linked to spermine using glutaraldehyde as cross‐linking reagent. The complex thus obtained was characterized by UV absorption spectroscopy, size‐exclusion chromatography and CD. The complex had a molecular mass of around 10200 Da. Antibodies were raised against this complex in rabbits and the titre obtained was found to be >1:3200. The fine specificity of the raised antibodies was checked by competition ELISA. The complex also bound to naturally occurring anti‐DNA autoantibodies, suggesting a possible role of the complex in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus.
Heterologous expression of human granzyme K in Bacillus subtilis and characterization of its hydrolytic activity in vitro
Authors: Bab Lilia M. , Yoast Sienna , Dreyer Mark , Schmidt Brian F.
Published: October 2012

Human granzyme K, a serine protease found in secretory granules of cytotoxic T‐lymphocytes, was produced in its catalytically active form by recombinant technology using Bacillus subtilis as host. The enzyme displays 40–45 identity to other members of the human granzyme group, and its closest homologue (75% identity) is the rat tryptase RNK‐tryp2. The recombinant protein can be recovered in its mature form from the bacterial culture supernatant and purified by cation exchange chromatography. Initial characterization reveals a protein of approximately 28 kDa that is specifically labelled by [3H]di‐isopropyl fluorophosphate. Measurements of kcat/Km for single‐residue thioester substrates show approximately a two‐fold preference for a Lys versus Arg residue at P1. No activity was observed on ester substrates with various other residues at the P1 position. Using oligopeptide substrates, the enzyme displays peptidolytic activity C‐terminal to both Lys and Arg residues with comparable rates of hydrolysis. Likewise, substrate hydrolysis is blocked most efficiently by inhibitors that contain Lys or Arg at position P1. The availability of the cloned enzyme will facilitate the analysis of biological roles for this novel granzyme, and differentiate its activity from that of other granzymes.
Rendering One Autolysis Site in Bacillus Subtilis Neutral Protease Resistant to Cleavage Reveals a New Fission
Authors: Van den Burg Bertus , Eijsink Vincent G. H. , Vriend Gert , Veltman Oene R. , Venema Gerard
Published: October 2012

Autolytic degradation of the thermolysin‐like proteinase of Bacillus subtilis (TLP‐sub) is responsible for the irreversible inactivation of the enzyme at elevated temperatures. Previously we have reported five cleavage sites in TLP‐sub [Van den Burg et al. (1990) Biochem. J. 272, 93–97]. In an attempt to render the enzyme less susceptible to autolytic breakdown, one of the fission sites, located between Leu‐156 and Ile‐157, was modified by replacing Ile‐157, C‐terminally located with respect to the fission site, by an Asp residue. Aspartic acid is less preferred at this position with respect to the substrate preference of TLP‐sub. Modelling studies indicated that this mutation was unlikely to cause conformational changes in the enzyme. Although the 156×157 fission was not observed in the mutant enzyme, a new fission site, between Gly‐148 and Val‐149, was now observed.