bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Veiled Yet Vulnerable
Authors: Millon Underwood Sandra , Shaikha Lubna , Bakr Dhiya
Published: March 2003

objectives: While multiple reports have been published in the literature that describe the effect of religion and spirituality on healthcare practices, few have been reported that attempt to describe the effect of the fundamental beliefs and customs of the followers of Islam. A qualitative study aimed toward gaining an understanding of the degree to which Islamic beliefs and customs influence followers' breast cancer screening practices was, therefore, undertaken.

materials and methods: The study was designed with semistructured focus groups as the primary means of gathering data. A purposefully selected sample of nine Muslim women were recruited to participate in the study. Throughout the focus group, attempts were made to engage the women in a manner that stimulated in‐depth discussion of the beliefs and customs influencing breast cancer screening.

results: Data revealed that the religious beliefs and customs of the Muslim women participating in the focus group significantly influenced their participation in breast cancer screening. Despite their knowledge of the benefits of regular breast cancer screening, the women indicated that they choose not to participate in available breast cancer screening programs, given that they were not structured in a manner that was consistent with the beliefs and customs of Islam.

conclusions: This study illustrates the manner and degree to which Islamic beliefs and customs can influence the breast cancer screening behavior of Muslim women and the importance of carefully designing breast health programs tailored to the needs of this population of women.
Daily Fatigue Patterns and Effect of Exercise in Women with Breast Cancer
Authors: Schwartz Anna L.
Published: March 2003

Objectives: Cancer treatment‐related fatigue is a common and disruptive side effect of chemotherapy. Exercise is an intervention proposed to reduce fatigue in cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to describe the patterns of daily fatigue in women with breast cancer who did and did not exercise while receiving the first three cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy.

Materials and methods: Women received instruction to follow an 8‐week home‐based exercise program and to maintain daily exercise and fatigue diaries. Functional ability (12‐minute walk) was measured pretest and post‐test.

Results: Several distinct patterns of fatigue emerged. The most common pattern of fatigue after chemotherapy demonstrated a sharp rise in fatigue. However, several women demonstrated a chaotic pattern with erratic and wide swings in their fatigue throughout the entire study period. Women who adopted exercise experienced fewer days of high fatigue levels and more days of low levels of fatigue for both average and worst levels of fatigue. Women who did not exercise experienced more bad days (high fatigue) and fewer good days (low fatigue).

Conclusions: Exercise appears to reduce the levels of average and worst fatigue and may help women recognize their pattern of fatigue. Exercise may reduce the intensity of fatigue by reorganizing women's interpretation of fatigue. Routine clinical assessment and education about fatigue by health professionals can help patients to understand their pattern of fatigue and may help them to manage the symptom.
The Sexual Rehabilitation of Persons with Cancer
Authors: Gallo‐Silver Les
Published: March 2003

Objectives: This article presents cognitive and behavioral sexual rehabilitation interventions to assist persons with cancer in understanding and adjusting to the physical changes caused by cancer treatment.

Materials and methods: Interventions described here include educating patients about the phases of sexual functioning and the impact of treatment, giving patients permission to explore their ability to respond to sexual stimulation by using self‐pleasuring exercises, teaching sensate focus exercises that structure noncoital foreplay; and suggesting changes in coital positions.

Results: Sexual functioning is an important aspect of quality of life for people with cancer that continues to be difficult for oncology professionals to address. Familiarity with these interventions can prepare the properly trained oncology social workers, nurses, and other mental health professionals to assist cancer patients with their concerns about sexual functioning.

Conclusions: All oncology professionals should be aware of the importance of recognizing and addressing issues of sexual functioning in patients with cancer to validate the patient's experience and make the proper referral to a trained sex therapist.
Smoking Behavior, Knowledge, and Beliefs Among Korean Americans
Authors: Kim Katherine K. , Yu Elena S.H. , Chen Edwin H. , Kim JaeKyung , Brintnall RuthAnn , Vance Simon
Published: March 2003

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine smoking behavior, knowledge, and beliefs among Korean Americans.

description of Study: One hundred four Korean American men and 159 women, 40 to 69 years old, living in Chicago, Illinois, served as study respondents. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Cancer Control Supplement Questionnaire was used to collect data. The NHIS was translated into Korean with minor modifications to develop a culturally appropriate instrument.

Results: This study suggests that smoking is almost exclusively a male behavior (38.5%) and that Korean American men smoke mostly cigarettes. Almost 90% of women have never smoked, whereas 23% of men reported never smoking. Respondents with a non‐Christian background or no religious affiliation were 16.5 times more likely to be current smokers. Respondents who had lived in the United States less than 10 years were 12.5 times more likely to be current smokers. More than 90% of men, regardless of smoking status, were able to identify an association between smoking and major chronic diseases.

clinical Implications: The prevalence of smoking among these Korean American men places them at considerable risk for smoking‐related disease. Healthcare providers must be better informed about smoking behavior in this group, and specific attention to recently migrated men and those reporting religions other than Christianity is recommended. Health‐protecting strategies for women and children who fall victim to secondhand smoke, or who may be targeted by tobacco advertising, are also an important step in disease prevention for this population.
Fatigue and Quality of Life Outcomes of Exercise During Cancer Treatment
Authors: Mock Victoria , Pickett Mary , Ropka Mary E. , Lin Esther Muscari , Stewart Kerry J. , Rhodes Verna A. , McDaniel Roxanne , Grimm Patricia M. , Krumm Sharon , McCorkle Ruth
Published: March 2003

Purpose: Despite the recognition of fatigue as a common and distressing symptom during cancer treatment, there are few evidence‐based interventions available to manage such fatigue. The purpose of this multi‐institutional pilot study was to explore the effects of a home‐based moderate walking exercise intervention on fatigue, physical functioning, emotional distress, and quality of life (QOL) during breast cancer treatment.

Description of study: Fifty‐two women were recruited from five university hospital outpatient departments for this pilot study with an experimental design. Subjects were randomly assigned to the walking program or to usual care during adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy for breast cancer. Symptoms, physical functioning, and QOL were measured at baseline, midtreatment, and at the end of treatment.

Results: Women who exercised at least 90 minutes per week on 3 or more days reported significantly less fatigue and emotional distress as well as higher functional ability and QOL than women who were less active during treatment.

Clinical implications: A home‐based walking exercise program is a potentially effective, low‐cost, and safe intervention to manage fatigue and to improve QOL during adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy for breast cancer. This health‐promoting self‐care activity needs further testing in large randomized clinical trials.
Supports and Obstacles to Cancer Survival for Hawaii's Native People
Authors: Braun Kathryn L. , Mokuau Noreen , Hunt G. Haunani , Kaanoi Momi , Gotay Carolyn C.
Published: March 2003

purpose: Investigators have suggested that high cancer mortality rates among Native Hawaiians are due to fatalistic attitudes toward the disease, poor access to care, and lack of consideration of Native Hawaiian cultural values in Western approaches to healthcare. This study used qualitative methods to examine these factors in Native Hawaiian cancer survivors.

methods: Eight focus groups were held on five islands, attracting 45 Native Hawaiian cancer survivors from both rural and urban locales. The focus groups explored survivors' experiences with cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Participatory research methods were used, with researchers gaining community input on study design, incorporating appropriate Native Hawaiian cultural protocols into the focus groups, and engaging participants in the interpretation of the data.

results: Similar to cancer survivors of other ethnicities, these individuals demonstrated the following: success in accessing healthcare information, professionals, facilities, and insurance; the ability to overcome the barriers confronted; and proactive health behaviors regarding screening, diagnosis, and treatment. They also demonstrated ways in which they were sustained through the cancer experience by Native Hawaiian traditions, such as helping others, gaining strength from Hawaiian spiritual beliefs, and relying on family for personal support. Participants did not respond passively to their cancer diagnoses, and they expressed few fatalistic attitudes. Participants did give numerous examples of other Native Hawaiians who did not seek screening or treatment for cancer because they lacked insurance, had poor access to care, or felt alienated by Western healthcare.

clinical implications: The findings suggest that improving access to care and incorporating cultural values in health education and services can enhance survivorship and quality of life for Native Hawaiians with cancer. These themes may have applications for other minority groups.
Evaluating Post‐Treatment Screening in Women with Breast Cancer
Authors: Stark Azadeh , Prince Angela , Kucera Gena , Lu Mei , Raju Usha , Nathanson David
Published: March 2003

purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the 5‐year post‐treatment use rate for screening mammography and clinical breast examination (CBE) among women treated for atypical hyperplasia (AH) or carcinoma in situ (CIS).

description of study: A total of 103 women, who had received diagnoses and had been treated for primary AH or CIS, were observed for 5 years through a review of medical records and electronic databases. Adequate screening use was defined as the patient undergoing one mammography examination and at least one CBE per year.

results: Multivariate logistic regression showed that screening activity declined significantly with time. During the first year, 83.5% and 80.6%, respectively, of women were screened by CBE and mammography. By year 2, CBE screening had dropped by 25.2% (P < .01) and mammography screening by 9.7% (P = .08). Attrition in CBE and mammography screening continued for each consecutive year and was significant (P < .01). During the first year, 70.9% of women received both methods of screening, which declined to 9.7% by year 5. Women who had received diagnoses of CIS and those married with children were more likely to use post‐treatment screening, while fee‐for‐service insurance was negatively associated with screening.

clinical implications: The reasons for the observed decline in the annual post‐treatment screening are not known. Negative findings from follow‐up screenings might have lowered the perception of cancer susceptibility and promoted the decline in screening use. A communication gap between physicians and patients might have reinforced this perception. The importance of annual screening may be verbally emphasized at each clinic visit, and reminder notes and telephone calls may be used to remind patients of upcoming screenings. Additional studies are planned to evaluate the effect of various intervention strategies in improving post‐treatment screening use.
Hemichordates and deuterostome evolution: robust molecular phylogenetic support for a hemichordate + echinoderm clade
Authors: Bromham Lindell D. , Degnan Bernard M.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY Hemichordates were traditionally allied to the chordates, but recent molecular analyses have suggested that hemichordates are a sister group to the echinoderms, a relationship that has important consequences for the interpretation of the evolution of deuterostome body plans. However, the molecular phylogenetic analyses to date have not provided robust support for the hemichordate + echinoderm clade. We use a maximum likelihood framework, including the parametric bootstrap, to reanalyze DNA data from complete mitochondrial genomes and nuclear 18S rRNA. This approach provides the first statistically significant support for the hemichordate + echinoderm clade from molecular data. This grouping implies that the ancestral deuterostome had features that included an adult with a pharynx and a dorsal nerve cord and an indirectly developing dipleurula‐like larva.
Development and evolution of adult feeding structures in Caenogastropods: overcoming larval functional constraints
Authors: Page L.R.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY Comparative study of the developing foregut in three species of caenogastropods, including an herbivorous grazer (Lacuna vincta) and two carnivores (Euspira[Polinices]lewisii and Nassarius mendicus), suggests how the specialized adult foregut of a carnivorous neogastropod evolved within a life cycle having a planktotrophic larva. Postmetamorphic feeding structures (buccal cavity and radular sac) in all three species achieve advanced differentiation in the larval stage, permitting juvenile feeding at 3 days postmetamorphosis. Recent phylogenetic hypotheses for the Gastropoda predict that foregut developmental patterns in E. lewisii and N. mendicus are derived, relative to that of L. vincta. In hatching larvae of these three, the anlage of postmetamorphic feeding structures is a small patch of nonciliated cells embedded in the ventral wall of the larval foregut and the patch soon forms an outpocketing. During subsequent morphogenesis, Euspira lewisii and N. mendicus share a developmental novelty that involves semi‐isolation of the developing, postmetamorphic buccal cavity and radular sac from the larval foregut and formation of a new, definitive mouth at metamorphosis. Nassarius mendicus, a neogastropod, embellishes this novelty by adding the entire anterior esophagus and valve of Leiblein (de novo structures) to the semi‐isolated buccal cavity. Therefore, a valve and long stretch of muscular anterior esophagus, which are necessary for feeding with a pleurembolic proboscis, are preformed in the larval stage of this neogastropod without interfering with larval feeding. The inferred evolutionary events leading to postmetamorphic feeding specialization in N. mendicus are invisible in adults; they require reconstruction from comparative developmental analysis.
The A/P axis in echinoderm ontogeny and evolution: evidence from fossils and molecules
Authors: Peterson Kevin J. , Arenas‐Mena César , Davidson Eric H.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY Even though echinoderms are members of the Bilateria, the location of their anterior/posterior axis has remained enigmatic. Here we propose a novel solution to the problem employing three lines of evidence: the expression of a posterior class Hox gene in the coeloms of the nascent adult body plan within the larva; the anatomy of certain early fossil echinoderms; and finally the relation between endoskeletal plate morphology and the associated coelomic tissues. All three lines of evidence converge on the same answer, namely that the location of the adult mouth is anterior, and the anterior/posterior axis runs from the mouth through the adult coelomic compartments. This axis then orients the animal such that there is but a single plane of symmetry dividing the animal into left and right halves. We tentatively hypothesize that this plane of symmetry is positioned along the dorsal/ventral axis. These axis identifications lead to the conclusion that the five ambulacra are not primary body axes, but instead are outgrowths from the central anterior/posterior axis. These identifications also shed insight into several other evolutionary mysteries of various echinoderm clades such as the independent evolution of bilateral symmetry in irregular echinoids, but do not elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the adult coelomic architecture.
maxillopedia is the Tribolium ortholog of proboscipedia
Authors: Shippy Teresa D. , Brown Susan J. , Denell Robin E.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY Null mutations in the Drosophila melanogaster homeotic gene proboscipedia (pb) cause transformation of the adult labial palps to legs. The similar phenotype produced by mutations in the Tribolium castaneum homeotic complex (HOMC) gene maxillopedia (mxp) has led to suggestions that the two genes may be orthologous. We have cloned the Tribolium ortholog of pb, which predicts a protein with a homeodomain identical to that of Drosophila Pb. The two proteins also share several additional regions of identity, including an N‐box, a motif unique to Pb orthologs. We have identified a frameshift mutation within Tribolium pb associated with an mxp null mutation, demonstrating that Tribolium pb corresponds to the mxp genetic locus. Thus, we will refer to the cloned gene as mxp. In addition, we have begun to construct a molecular map of the Tribolium HOMC. Two overlapping BAC clones which span the mxp locus also include the Tribolium labial ortholog (Tclabial  ) and part of Tczerknüllt, indicating that the order of these genes in the HOMC is conserved between Drosophila and Tribolium.
Maternal expression and early zygotic regulation of the Hox3/zen gene in the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria
Authors: Dearden Peter , Grbic Miodrag , Falciani Francesco , Akam Michael
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY In insects, a key step in the early patterning of the egg is to distinguish the primordium of the embryo proper from those regions that will form extra‐embryonic membranes. In Drosophila, where these processes are well understood, the structure of the extra‐embryonic membranes is highly derived. The distinct amnion and serosa typical of lower insects is replaced by a single, fused, and much reduced membrane, the amnioserosa, which never secretes an embryonic cuticle.

We have used the Zen gene as a marker to study the formation of the extra‐embryonic membranes, and other aspects of early embryonic patterning, in the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria (African Plague Locust). Zen genes are derived from Hox genes, but in Drosophila they appear to have lost any role in patterning the A/P axis of the embryo; instead, they are involved in D/V patterning and the specification of the extra‐embryonic membranes.

We show that the Schistocerca zen gene is expressed during embryogenesis in three distinct phases. The first of these is during cleavage, when Sgzen is transiently expressed in all energids that reach the cell surface. The second phase of expression initiates in a ring of “necklace cells” that surround the forming embryo, and demarcate the boundary between the amnion and serosa. This leads to expression throughout the serosa. The final phase of expression is in the amnion, after this has separated from the serosa. This complex pattern implies that the role of Sgzen in Schistocerca is not limited solely to the specification of cell identity in the extra‐embryonic membranes.

We also report that the Schistocerca zen gene is expressed maternally, unlike its Drosophila and Tribolium counterparts. A distinct maternal transcript, and maternal Zen protein, accumulate in the developing oocyte from early post‐meiotic stages. They remain uniformly distributed in the oocyte cytoplasm until late vitellogenic stages, when the protein and RNA become somewhat concentrated at the egg cortex and in the posterior polar cap of the oocyte, probably by passive exclusion from the yolk. The cytoplasmic localization of Sgzen protein in the oocyte, and at some stages during embryogenesis, implies that nuclear exclusion of this transcription factor is specifically controlled.
Developmental system drift and flexibility in evolutionary trajectories
Authors: True John R. , Haag Eric S.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARYThe comparative analysis of homologous characters is a staple of evolutionary developmental biology and often involves extrapolating from experimental data in model organisms to infer developmental events in non‐model organisms. In order to determine the general importance of data obtained in model organisms, it is critical to know how often and to what degree similar phenotypes expressed in different taxa are formed by divergent developmental processes. Both comparative studies of distantly related species and genetic analysis of closely related species indicate that many characters known to be homologous between taxa have diverged in their morphogenetic or gene regulatory underpinnings. This process, which we call “developmental system drift” (DSD), is apparently ubiquitous and has significant implications for the flexibility of developmental evolution of both conserved and evolving characters. Current data on the population genetics and molecular mechanisms of DSD illustrate how the details of developmental processes are constantly changing within evolutionary lineages, indicating that developmental systems may possess a great deal of plasticity in their responses to natural selection.
Neurogenesis in the crustacean ventral nerve cord: homology of neuronal stem cells in Malacostraca and Branchiopoda?
Authors: Harzsch Steffen
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY In Insecta and malacostracan Crustacea, neurons in the ventral ganglia are generated by the unequal division of neuronal stem cells, the neuroblasts (Nbs), which are arranged in a stereotyped, grid‐like pattern. In malacostracans, however, Nbs originate from ectoteloblasts by an invariant lineage, whereas Nbs in insects differentiate without a defined lineage by cell‐to‐cell interactions within the neuroectoderm. As the ventral ganglia in entomostracan crustaceans were thought to be generated by a general inward proliferation of ectodermal cells, the question arose as to whether neuroblasts in Euarthropoda represent a homologous type of stem cell. In the current project, neurogenesis in metanauplii of the entomostracan crustaceans Triops cancriformis Fabricius, 1780 (Branchiopoda, Phyllopoda) and Artemia salina Linné, 1758 (Branchiopoda, Anostraca) was examined by in vivo incorporation of the mitosis marker bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and compared to stem cell proliferation in embryos of the malacostracan Palaemonetes argentinus Nobili, 1901 (Eucarida, Decapoda). The developmental expression of synaptic proteins (synapsins) was studied immunohistochemically. Results indicate that in the ventral neurogenic zone of Branchiopoda, neuronal stem cells with cellular characteristics of malacostracan neuroblasts are present. However, a pattern similar to the lineage‐dependent, grid‐like arrangement of the malacostracan neuroblasts was not found. Therefore, the homology of entomostracan and malacostracan neuronal stem cells remains uncertain. It is now well established that during arthropod development, identical and most likely homologous structures can emerge, although the initiating steps or the mode of generation of these structures are different. Recent evidence suggests that adult Entomostraca and Malacostraca share corresponding sets of neurons so that the present report provides an example that those homologous neurons may be generated via divergent developmental pathways. In this perspective, it remains difficult at this point to discuss the question of common patterns of stem cell proliferation with regard to the phylogeny and evolution of Atelocerata and Crustacea.
Animal phylogeny and the ancestry of bilaterians: inferences from morphology and 18S rDNA gene sequences
Authors: Peterson Kevin J. , Eernisse Douglas J.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARYInsight into the origin and early evolution of the animal phyla requires an understanding of how animal groups are related to one another. Thus, we set out to explore animal phylogeny by analyzing with maximum parsimony 138 morphological characters from 40 metazoan groups, and 304 18S rDNA sequences, both separately and together. Both types of data agree that arthropods are not closely related to annelids: the former group with nematodes and other molting animals (Ecdysozoa), and the latter group with molluscs and other taxa with spiral cleavage. Furthermore, neither brachiopods nor chaetognaths group with deuterostomes; brachiopods are allied with the molluscs and annelids (Lophotrochozoa), whereas chaetognaths are allied with the ecdysozoans. The major discordance between the two types of data concerns the rooting of the bilaterians, and the bilaterian sister‐taxon. Morphology suggests that the root is between deuterostomes and protostomes, with ctenophores the bilaterian sister‐group, whereas 18S rDNA suggests that the root is within the Lophotrochozoa with acoel flatworms and gnathostomulids as basal bilaterians, and with cnidarians the bilaterian sister‐group. We suggest that this basal position of acoels and gnathostomulids is artifactal because for 1000 replicate phylogenetic analyses with one random sequence as outgroup, the majority root with an acoel flatworm or gnathostomulid as the basal ingroup lineage. When these problematic taxa are eliminated from the matrix, the combined analysis suggests that the root lies between the deuterostomes and protostomes, and Ctenophora is the bilaterian sister‐group. We suggest that because chaetognaths and lophophorates, taxa traditionally allied with deuterostomes, occupy basal positions within their respective protostomian clades, deuterostomy most likely represents a suite of characters plesiomorphic for bilaterians.
Developmental genetics and arthropod evolution: part I, on legs
Authors: Schram Frederick R. , Koenemann Stefan
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY Developmental genetic information as it relates to the ontogeny of limbs can help evaluate various scenarios of arthropod evolution proposed in the past, as well as help frame other alternatives. First, the cascade of genetic expressions, which controls the development of the arthropod limb, suggests that a postulated evolution of the crustacean coxa from a proximal endite, a structure seen on certain Cambrian crustaceomorphs, might not be correct. Alternative hypotheses could explain the fossil anatomy, and the genetic patterns of expression demand that we at least be cautious in interpreting the Orsten material. Second, recognition of three distinct models of limb formation in arthropods would appear to preclude Rehbachiella, from the Cambrian Orsten, and Lepidocaris, from the Devonian Rhynie Chert, as members of the crown‐group Branchiopoda. The recognition of a distinct Artemia Model of limb induction within living anostracans, notostracans, cladocerans, and conchostracans requires that such a model be part of the ground pattern of the Branchiopoda, a pattern that does not appear to have been possible in the fossil species. Finally, the suggestion that a large number of leg segments must be a plesiomorphic condition in arthropods should be considered cautiously. A sequential occurrence of mutations including, for example, a recessive loss‐of‐function mutant of a Hox‐gene like Antennapedia could have resulted in the apomorphic evolution of long, multisegmented limbs within different groups of arthropods. The need for more comprehensive phylogenetic studies using as many taxa and characters possible is obvious both for the generation of scenarios of evolution, as well as in testing multiple alternative hypotheses of relationships.
Rapid restructuring of bicoid‐dependent hunchback promoters within and between Dipteran species: implications for molecular coevolution
Authors: McGregor Alistair P. , Shaw Philip J. , Hancock John M. , Bopp Daniel , Hediger Monika , Wratten Naomi S. , Dover Gabriel A.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY Interacting genetic elements need to coevolve if their joint function is to be maintained; for example, the correct binding of transcriptional regulators to defined binding sites in gene promoters needs to be maintained during evolution to ensure proper function. As part of a wider investigation into the molecular coevolution of the Dipteran homeodomain‐bearing regulator bicoid (bcd) and Bcd‐dependent promoters, we present data on the functional, structural, and sequence differences between the promoters of the segmentation gene hunchback (hb), in several species of Cyclorrhaphan (higher) Diptera. The result of phenocopying hb mutations using RNA interference (RNAi) in Musca domestica shows broadly similar functions to the hb gene in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the Bcd‐binding sites in the hb promoters of Drosophila, Musca, and the two blowfly species Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina differ in copy number, sequence, orientation, and spacing. Furthermore, all promoters are subject to rapid turnover by slippage‐like processes leading to high densities of short repetitive motifs. A study of polymorphism among six strains of M. domestica reveals that turnover by slippage also occurs in the promoter, untranslated leader, and exonic coding sequences of hb, but to different extents. We discuss these results in terms of the known interspecific differences in bcd and the potential coevolution of selected compensatory mutations in trans and cis in response to continuous promoter restructuring.
Comparison of the neuromuscular systems among actinotroch larvae: systematic and evolutionary implications
Authors: Santagata Scott , Zimmer Russel L.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY A comparative analysis of the larval and presumptive juvenile neuromuscular systems among actinotroch larvae was performed using confocal laser microscopy with probes for F‐actin and serotonin. Currently, there are two main categories of larval nervous systems based on the origin of the nerve fibers that innervate the larval tentacles. Characteristics of the serotonergic cells of the larval apical ganglion and juvenile nervous system have remained relatively conserved, but the structure of the secondary (hood) sense organ and the juvenile tentacles has diversified among species. Differences in larval musculature are mainly associated with differences in hood morphology. The presumptive, juvenile neuromuscular system is either integrated or separated from that of the larva based on the origin of the juvenile tentacles. Among species, the juvenile tentacles are made by remodeling the larval tentacles, developed from a basal tentacular thickening, or developed as a completely separate set in the larva. Differentiation of the neuromuscular structures of the juvenile tentacles is more diverse than their outward morphological characteristics would suggest. Importance of these larval characters is discussed in terms of current problems that exist within phoronid systematics. Evolutionary implications of these morphological characters are discussed among the phoronids, brachiopods, and related bilaterians. Overall, the integration or separation of larval and juvenile neuromuscular characters may yield insights into the evolution of lophotrochozoan body plans.
Evolutionary implications of developmental instability in parthenogeneticDrosophila mercatorum. II. Comparison of two strains with identical genotypes, but different modes of reproduction
Authors: Kramer Melissa G. , Templeton Alan R. , Miller Kathryn G.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARYDevelopmental instability is particularly pronounced in parthenogenetic strains ofDrosophila mercatorum. All parthenogenetically produced eggs in a given strain have the same genotype, but even when reared in the same environment, only approximately 5% of the eggs initiating development ever reach adulthood. A sexual analogue of a parthenogenetic strain was created to investigate the basis of this developmental instability. The two strains have identical genotypes (except for the Y chromosome in males of the sexual strain) and differ only in mode of reproduction. The sexual strain had a much lower rate of developmental instability than the parthenogenetic strain, suggesting that the instability is caused by the mode of reproduction per se and is not due to homozygosity, disruption of coadapted gene complexes, or any other feature of the parthenogenetic genome. The increased rate of abortion with parthenogenetic reproduction is caused by a proportional increase in the normal panoply of errors that occur in sexual reproduction but at a much lower rate. Attempts to establish other sexual analogues of laboratory parthenogenetic strains revealed different male sterility factors within several parthenogenetic genomes that could potentially act to prevent hybridization with sexually reproducing ancestors during the incipient stages in the evolution of an entirely parthenogenetic lineage.
Testing putative hemichordate homologues of the chordate dorsal nervous system and endostyle: expression of NK2.1 (TTF‐1) in the acorn worm Ptychodera flava (Hemichordata, Ptychoderidae)
Authors: Takacs Carter M. , Moy Vanessa N. , Peterson Kevin J.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY Recent phylogenetic investigations have confirmed that hemichordates and echinoderms are sister taxa. However, hemichordates share several cardinal characteristics with chordates and are thus an important taxon for testing hypotheses of homology between key chordate characters and their putative hemichordate antecedents. The chordate dorsal nervous system (DNS) and endostyle are intriguing characters because both hemichordate larval and adult structures have been hypothesized as homologues. This study attempts to test these purported homologies through examination of the expression pattern of a Ptychodera flava NK2 gene, PfNK2.1, because this gene is expressed both in the DNS and endostyle/thyroid in a wide range of chordate taxa. We found that PfNK2.1 is expressed in both neuronal and pharyngeal structures, but its expression pattern is broken up into distinct embryonic and juvenile phases. During embryogenesis, PfNK2.1 is expressed in the apical ectoderm, with transcripts later detected in presumable neuronal structures, including the apical organ and ciliated feeding band. In the developing juvenile we detected PfNK2.1 signal throughout the pharynx, including the stomochord, and later in the hindgut. We conclude that the similar utilization of NK2.1 in apical organ development and chordate DNS is probably due to a more general role for NK2.1 in neurogenesis and that hemichordates do not possess a homologue of the chordate DNS. In addition, we conclude that P. flava most likely does not possess a true endostyle; rather during the evolution of the endostyle NK2.1 was recruited from its more general role in pharynx development.
An amphioxusnodalgene (AmphiNodal  ) with early symmetrical expression in the organizer and mesoderm and later asymmetrical expression associated with left–right axis formation
Authors: Yu Jr‐Kai , Holland Linda Z. , Holland Nicholas D.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARYThe full‐length sequence and zygotic expression of an amphioxusnodalgene are described. Expression is first detected in the early gastrula just within the dorsal lip of the blastopore in a region of hypoblast that is probably comparable with the vertebrate Spemann's organizer. In the late gastrula and early neurula, expression remains bilaterally symmetrical, limited to paraxial mesoderm and immediately overlying regions of the neural plate. Later in the neurula stage, all neural expression disappears, and mesodermal expression disappears from the right side. All along the left side of the neurula, mesodermal expression spreads into the left side of the gut endoderm. Soon thereafter, all expression is down‐regulated except near the anterior and posterior ends of the animal, where transcripts are still found in the mesoderm and endoderm on the left side. At this time, expression also begins in the ectoderm on the left side of the head, in the region where the mouth later forms. These results suggest that amphioxus and vertebratenodalgenes play evolutionarily conserved roles in establishing Spemann's organizer, patterning the mesoderm rostrocaudally and setting up the asymmetrical left–right axis of the body.
Environmental and endogenous control of sexuality in a rotifer life cycle: developmental and population biology
Authors: Gilbert John J.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARYInduction of mictic females, and hence initiation of sexuality, in the life cycle of someBrachionusrequires an environmental stimulus associated with crowding. The inducing stimulus appears to be a taxonomically specific chemical released into the environment by the rotifers. Oocytes are induced to develop into mictic females before they are oviposited by their amictic mothers and begin cleavage divisions. Thus, the inducer affects the oocyte in the maternal body cavity either directly or indirectly by altering the physiology of its mother. The level of sexual reproduction expressed in populations of a Florida strain ofB. calyciflorusis controlled by two types of endogenous factors and by the degree of crowding. First, some fraction of genetically identical oocytes in a clonal population fails to respond to even extreme crowding conditions, thus ensuring some potential for continued population growth by female parthenogenesis. Second, the propensity of amictic females to produce mictic daughters is extremely low when they hatch from fertilized resting eggs and then gradually increases to an asymptote after about 12 parthenogenetic generations. This multigenerational parental effect likely is due to a cytoplasmic factor in fertilized eggs that inhibits expression of the mictic‐female phenotype and that is gradually diluted in successive parthenogenetic generations. The effect may increase a clone's genetic contribution to the resting‐egg bank by increasing its population size through parthenogenetic generations before mictic females are induced.
Scrambled eggs: mechanical forces as ecological factors in early development
Authors: Moore Steven W.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY Many ecological interactions involve, at some level, mechanical forces and the movements or structural deformations they produce. Although the most familiar examples involve the functional morphology of adult structures, all life history stages (not just the adults) are subject to the laws of physics. Moreover, the success of every lineage depends on the success of every life history stage (again, not just the adults). Therefore, insights gained by using mechanical engineering principles and techniques to study ecological interactions between gametes, embryos, larvae, and their environment are essential to a well‐rounded understanding of development, ecology, and evolution. Here I draw on examples from the literature and my own research to illustrate ways in which mechanical forces in the environment shape development. These include mechanical forces acting as selective factors (e.g., when coral gamete size and shape interact with turbulent water flow to determine fertilization success) and as developmental cues (e.g., when plant growth responds to gravity or bone growth responds to mechanical loading). I also examine the opposite cause‐and‐effect relationship by considering examples in which the development of organisms impacts ecologically relevant mechanical forces. Finally, I discuss the potential for ecological pattern formation as a result of feedback loops created by such bidirectional interactions between developmental processes and mechanical forces in the environment.
Concerted evolution and developmental integration in modular butterfly wing patterns
Authors: Beldade Patrícia , Brakefield Paul M.
Published: March 2003

SUMMARY Developing organisms are thought to be modular in organization so that traits in different modules evolve independently whereas traits within a module change in a concerted manner. The eyespot pattern in Bicyclus anynana butterflies provides an ideal system where morphological modularity can be dissected and different levels of genetic integration analyzed. Several lines of evidence show that all eyespots in an individual butterfly are genetically integrated, suggesting that the whole pattern, rather than the separate eyespots, should be considered as a single character. However, despite the strong genetic correlations between the two eyespots on the dorsal forewing of B. anynana, there is great potential for independent changes. Here we use laboratory lines selected in different directions for the size of those eyespots to study correlated responses in the whole eyespot pattern. We show clear changes in eyespot size across all wing surfaces, which depend on eyespot position along the anterior–posterior axis. There are also changes in the number of extra eyespots and in eyespot color composition but no changes in eyespot position relative to wing margin. Our analysis of eyespot pattern modularity is discussed in the light of what is known about the cellular and genetic mechanisms of eyespot formation and the great potential for evolutionary diversification in butterfly wing patterns.
Lipoprotein(a) Apheresis in Severe Coronary Heart Disease: an Immunoadsorption Method
Authors: Ullrich Heidrun , Lackner Karl J. , Schmitz Gerd
Published: March 2003

Lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. It is similar to low‐density lipoprotein with an additional molecule of apo A covalently linked to apo B‐100 by one disulfide bridge. Apo A is highly homologous to plasminogen. The kringle 4 motive of plasminogen is repeated between 10 and 40 times in apo (a). Currently, there is no drug therapy available to lower Lp(a). Since October 1993, we have carried out over 160 immunoadsorption treatments on 3 patients with elevated Lp(a) as their only risk factor and a history of myocardial infarction. Lp(a) was removed from plasma by sepharose coupled anti‐Lp(a) columns. Lp(a) levels were lowered from above 170 mg/dl to below 30 mg/dl immediately after Lp(a) apheresis. To achieve this, the patient's plasma volume had to be treated 2 to 3 times. Nonspecific protein loss during column changes remained negligible. There were no serious unwanted effects during or after treatment. Minor circulatory problems (tachycardia, flush) occurred in 11% of the treatments but only with plasma flow rates above 55 ml/min. In 1 patient, coronary angiography after 2 years and in another patient after 1 year showed no progression. The third patient has not yet had repeat coronary angiography. Like the others, he reported subjective improvement after 1 year of apheresis. It is concluded that Lp(a) apheresis may retard progression of atherosclerosis in patients with selective Lp(a) elevation. Further studies to support this hypothesis are needed.
Analysis of Oscillatory Components of Short‐Term Heart Rate Variability in Hemodynamically Stable and Unstable Patients During Hemodialysis
Authors: Cavalcanti Silvio , Severi Stefano , Enzman Guido
Published: March 2003

Short period oscillatory components embedded in heart rate variability (HRV) were studied during hemodialysis induced hypovolemia in 15 hypotension‐resistant (stable) and 15 hypotension‐prone (unstable) patients. Hemodialysis was undertaken so that a similar blood volume reduction was induced in all patients (p > 0.05) without causing acute hypotension events. Autoregressive HRV power spectrums were calculated using an eigenanalysis‐based approach. The frequencies of the main HRV rhythmic components were estimated through the Pisarenko harmonic decomposition. Percent changes during the hemodialysis in both heart rate and arterial pressure were similar in the stable and unstable groups (p > 0.05). The HRV spectral density showed markedly different power distributions. In the stable patients, power was mainly in the low frequency band (74 ± 7 nU in the low frequency [LF] band vs. 21 ± 6 nU in the high frequency [HF] band) whereas in stable patients, it was mainly in the high frequency band (39 ± 10 nU in the LF band vs. 47 ± 7 nU in the HF band). The frequency of the main oscillation was 0.1 ± 0.02 Hz in stable patients and 0.18 ± 0.04 Hz in unstable ones (p < 0.01). These HRV spectral parameters have a clear diagnostic value in discriminating between stable and unstable patients when their hemodynamic behaviors are similar.
Endotoxin Removal Column Containing Polymyxin B Immobilized Fiber Is Useful for the Treatment of the Patient with Vibrio Vulnificus
Authors: Sato Toshihide , Tadakuma Natsuko , Ikezaki Nobuhiko , Hashiguchi Akira , Masuda Kazuyuki
Published: March 2003

A case of primary septicemia due to Vibrio vulnificus infection is reported. The patient was successfully treated with appropriate antibiotic therapy, drainage, and debridement of the necrotic tissues and direct hemoperfusion (DHP) using polymyxin B immobilized fiber (PMX‐F). The effectiveness of DHP using PMX‐F, which removes endotoxin in the circulating blood for the treatment of septic shock and multiple organ dysfunction occurring due to this fulminant infectious disease, is discussed.

Vibrio vulnificus infection causes fulminant and frequently fatal septicemia. The fatality rate for Vibrio vulnificus septicemia is very high ( 1, 2). Vibrio vulnificus is generally only pathogenic in immunocompromised hosts, and its pathogenicity is particularly related to liver diseases. Circulating endotoxin is considered to be seriously pathogenic in patients with Vibrio vulnificus infections. Direct hemoperfusion (DHP) using Polymyxin B immobilized fiber (PMX‐F) is a new treatment for endotoxemia which eliminates endotoxin from the blood circulation (3). We report a case of primary endotoxemia due to Vibrio vulnificus infection successfully treated by a combination of aggressive intensive care and DHP using PMX‐F.