bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pain‐ and distress‐reducing interventions for venepuncture in children
Authors: Tak J. H. , Van Bon W. H. J.
Published: March 2006

Objective  To compare the effect of eutectic mixture of local anaesthetics (EMLA) and a placebo cream on reported pain and observed distress associated with venepuncture, and to investigate effects of procedural information before and distraction during venepuncture.

Methods  Children 3–12 years of age undergoing venepuncture under five experimental and a control condition reported their pain at venepuncture on visual scales. Distress was observed when the child entered the waiting room, just before, and during venepuncture.

Results  Distress increased over the measurement occasions, but a distress‐reducing effect of EMLA only was found at the actual venepuncture. The placebo diminished the reported pain, but the effect of EMLA was larger. Procedural information and distraction showed no effects.

Conclusions  EMLA reduces pain from venepuncture. The placebo effect probably results from desirable responding. Behavioural distress is a more direct measure than self‐reported pain. More sophisticated designs should be used for the provision of procedural information and distraction.
The effect of interviewing techniques on young children's responses to questions
Authors: Krähenbühl S. , Blades M.
Published: March 2006

Background  Research into the effect of interviewing techniques has been predominantly within the paradigm of eyewitness testimony. This review focuses on the issues of questioning and examines whether children's responses are affected by questioning techniques, and whether these effects are generic to all interviewing contexts.

Methods  Systematic literature searches were used to identify areas of concern and current findings in research on interviewing young children (aged 4–12).

Results  The style and wording of questioning can affect children's responses and accuracy positively and negatively. These effects were especially apparent in interviews with the youngest children.

Conclusions  The implications of these findings are relevant in all contexts where an adult questions a child. It has been demonstrated that interviewing techniques can affect responses from children and that it is therefore imperative that interviewers are aware of, understand and control their influence in order to elicit complete, accurate and reliable information from the child.
Social class inequalities in childhood mortality and morbidity in an English population
Authors: Reading Richard
Published: March 2006

.
 
Petrou S.,
Kupek E.,
Hockley C. &
Goldacre M.
(
2006
)

,
20
,
14
–
23
.
House dust mite‐specific T cells in healthy non‐atopic children
Authors: Bullens D. M. A. , De. Swerdt A. , Dilissen E. , Kasran A. , Kroczek R. A. , Cadot P. , Casaer P. , Ceuppens J. L.
Published: March 2006

Background
T‐helper type 2 (Th2) cells play an important role in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated that allergen‐specific T cells can also be found in the blood of healthy individuals. Both IL‐10 and IFN‐γ might modulate the induction and maintenance of allergen‐specific tolerance.

Aim
To study the phenotype and functional characteristics of allergen‐specific T cells in healthy non‐atopic children.

Methods
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 13 symptomatic house dust mite (HDM)‐allergic children and from nine matched healthy control children were stimulated with recombinant (r)Der p 2, a major allergen from HDMs.

Results
Stimulation with rDer p 2 resulted in Th2 cytokine production in cultures of PBMC from allergic but not from healthy children. In contrast, IL‐10 and IFN‐γ were induced in PBMC cultures from both healthy and HDM‐allergic children. Intracellular staining revealed that IL‐10 and IFN‐γ are largely produced by the same T cells. Stimulation of T cells from healthy children with rDer p 2 also induced expression of inducible costimulator (ICOS) on a small T cell subset.

Conclusion
Allergen‐specific memory T cells from healthy non‐atopic children produce IL‐10 and IFN‐γ (but not Th2 cytokines) and express ICOS upon stimulation. These cells might be responsible for a normal immune balance after allergen encounter in non‐atopics.
The ‘microflora hypothesis’ of allergic diseases
Authors: Noverr M. C. , Huffnagle G. B.
Published: March 2006

Increasingly, epidemiologic and clinical data support the hypothesis that perturbations in the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota because of antibiotic use and dietary differences in ‘industrialized’ countries have disrupted the normal microbiota‐mediated mechanisms of immunological tolerance in the mucosa, leading to an increase in the incidence of allergic airway disease. The data supporting this ‘microflora hypothesis’ includes correlations between allergic airway disease and (1) antibiotic use early in life, (2) altered fecal microbiota and (3) dietary changes over the past two decades. Our laboratory has recently demonstrated that mice can develop allergic airway responses to allergens if their endogenous microbiota is altered at the time of first allergen exposure. These experimental and clinical observations are consistent with other studies demonstrating that the endogenous microbiota plays a significant role in shaping the development of the immune system. Data are beginning to accumulate that a ‘balanced’ microbiota plays a positive role in maintaining mucosal immunologic tolerance long after post‐natal development. Other studies have demonstrated that even small volumes delivered to the nasopharynx largely end up in the GI tract, suggesting that airway tolerance and oral tolerance may operate simultaneously. The mechanism of microbiota modulation of host immunity is not known; however, host and microbial oxylipins are one potential set of immunomodulatory molecules that may control mucosal tolerance. The cumulative data are beginning to support the notion that probiotic and prebiotic strategies be considered for patients coming off of antibiotic therapy.
Association between first‐degree familial predisposition of asthma and atopy (total IgE) in newborns
Authors: Kuiper S. , Muris J. W. M. , Dompeling E. , Van Schayck C. P. , Schönberger H. J. A. M. , Wesseling G. , Knottnerus J. André
Published: March 2006

Background

It is generally thought that infants with a first‐degree familial predisposition of asthma are at higher risk of developing asthma than infants without predisposition.

Objective

To investigate whether there is an association between being at high risk for developing asthma and increased level of total IgE in newborns and whether total IgE is influenced by gender, family size, birth season, maternal smoking, birth weight, gestational age, and maternal diet.

Methods

Two hundred and twenty‐one high risk and 308 low‐risk infants were prenatally selected in a 5‐year‐period. Three to 5 days after birth, the total IgE was measured in capillary heel blood.

Results

Data on total IgE and first‐degree familial predisposition were available for 170 high‐risk and 300 low‐risk infants. There was a statistically significant relationship between being at high‐risk (maternal asthma) and increased levels of total IgE in newborns (total IgE cut‐off levels: 0.6–0.9 IU/mL (odds ratio (OR)=2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2–3.7 to 3.0, 95% CI: 1.5–5.9)), between being born in autumn and increased levels of total IgE in newborns [total IgE cut‐off levels: 0.5–0.6 IU/mL (OR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.2–5.1 to 2.5, 95% CI: 1.2–5.4)] and between maternal vitamin supplements intake and decreased levels of total IgE in newborns (total IgE cut‐off level: 0.9 IU/mL (OR=0.5, 95% CI:0.3–1.0)). There was no interaction between the effects of maternal asthma and birth season on total IgE, as well as between the effects of maternal asthma and maternal vitamin supplements intake. Gender, family size, maternal smoking, birth weight, and gestational age did not influence the associations.

Conclusion
Being at high‐risk of asthma (maternal asthma) and birth season are positively associated with the presence of increased levels of total IgE at birth, whereas maternal vitamin supplements intake is negatively associated with the presence of total IgE at birth.
Schwannoma of the gastrointestinal tract: a clinicopathological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study of 33 cases
Authors: Hou Y Y , Tan Y S , Xu J F , Wang X N , Lu S H , Ji Y , Wang J , Zhu X Z
Published: March 2006

Aims : Thirty‐three cases of gastrointestinal schwannomas were analysed to elucidate their peculiar clinicopathological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural features.

Methods and results : The patients were 16 men and 17 women, whose ages ranged from 27 to 81 years (median 52.6 years). Tumour size ranged from 10 to 120 mm in diameter. Follow‐up in 23 cases from 6 months to 13 years showed no recurrences or metastases. Microscopically, all tumours were composed of spindle cells with focal epithelioid cells in four cases. In all cases except one, there were peripheral cuff‐like lymphoid aggregates. Immunohistochemically, tumours were strongly positive for S100 protein and vimentin, the tumours were variably positive for nestin (78.8%, 26/33) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (63.6%, 21/33), three tumours had CD34+ cells, but all were negative for CD117, α‐smooth muscle actin and desmin. Ultrastructurally, the tumours were composed of elongated spindle shaped cells with prominent parallel membranous structures.

Conclusions : Gastrointestinal schwannomas have characteristic histological features, especially the presence of a lymphoid cuff, that are different from their soft tissue and central nervous system counterparts. Gastrointestinal tract schwannomas behave in a benign fashion.
A new vision of tubular and tubulo‐lobular carcinomas of the breast, as revealed by 3‐D modelling
Authors: Marchiò C , Sapino A , Arisio R , Bussolati G
Published: March 2006

Aims : To reveal architectural structure and growth patterns of tubular carcinomas (TC) and tubulo‐lobular carcinomas (TLC) of the breast.

Methods and results : We studied a series of 20 pure TC and 22 TLC, evaluating the architectural features of the two entities by bi‐dimensional microscopy and by 3‐D modelling. We traced the spatial organization of three TCs and three TLCs on serial sections using AE1/AE3 cytokeratin as a marker of the epithelial structures and reconstructed 3‐D models of each histological type. The analysis of TC on serial cytokeratin‐stained sections showed that the form of the ‘tubules’ was related to the plane of sectioning and that often they were tear‐drop shaped, with a final tail of single cells connecting them together. 3‐D models corresponded to a necklace appearance and the tubules of TC appeared as blebs bridging through solid cords to other blebs. In TLC the structure was similar, but the connecting single‐cell files were usually longer. Both TC and TLC showed similar E‐cadherin positivity and an indolent clinical behaviour.

Conclusions : TC and TLC share the same architectural and growth patterns and ultimately seem to represent variants of the same tumour type.
Condition‐dependent nesting in bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus
Authors: CARGNELLI LUCA M. , NEFF BRYAN D.
Published: March 2006

There are two prominent, nonmutually exclusive hypotheses to explain the timing of reproduction in animals: energetic constraint and adaptive behaviour.

We tested these hypotheses by quantifying the costs and benefits of nesting at different times in the season for male bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus, a species with paternal care, in Lake Opinicon (Ontario, Canada).

The value of nesting at different times during the breeding season (RSb) was determined from spawning individuals as RSb = Pb × Cb × Sb × Ob, where Pb is the probability of spawning during each bout b, Cb is the expected brood size, Sb is the expected brood survivorship to ‘swim‐up’, and Ob is the survivorship of free‐swimming fry to age 1 year.

The results show that the value of nesting peaks during the middle of the season. However, nesting patterns varied with male condition and not all males nested at the peak.

Larger males, which were able to nest multiple times, first nested early in the season when overwinter survivorship of offspring and renesting opportunities later in the season were maximized. These males had the highest seasonal reproductive success.

Smaller males, which nested a single time, delayed nesting until the middle of the season when spawning opportunities and brood sizes were greatest.

These data suggest that both energetics and adaptive behaviour play roles in determining the timing of reproduction.
Incorporating movement into models of grey seal population dynamics
Authors: HARRISON PHILIP J. , BUCKLAND STEPHEN T. , THOMAS LEN , HARRIS ROB , POMEROY PADDY P. , HARWOOD JOHN
Published: March 2006

One of the most difficult problems in developing spatially explicit models of population dynamics is the validation and parameterization of the movement process. We show how movement models derived from capture–recapture analysis can be improved by incorporating them into a spatially explicit metapopulation model that is fitted to a time series of abundance data.

We applied multisite capture–recapture analysis techniques to photo‐identification data collected from female grey seals at the four main breeding colonies in the North Sea between 1999 and 2001. The best‐fitting movement models were then incorporated into state‐space metapopulation models that explicitly accounted for demographic and observational stochasticity.

These metapopulation models were fitted to a 20‐year time series of pup production data for each colony using a Bayesian approach. The best‐fitting model, based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), had only a single movement parameter, whose confidence interval was 82% less than that obtained from the capture–recapture study, but there was some support for a model that included an effect of distance between colonies.

The state‐space modelling provided improved estimates of other demographic parameters.

The incorporation of movement, and the way in which it was modelled, affected both local and regional dynamics. These differences were most evident as colonies approached their carrying capacities, suggesting that our ability to discriminate between models should improve as the length of the grey seal time series increases.
Host resistance and the evolutionary response of plant viruses
Authors: VAN DEN BOSCH FRANK , AKUDIBILAH GORDON , SEAL SUE , JEGER MIKE
Published: March 2006

Plant virus diseases severely constrain agricultural production world‐wide, especially in less developed countries. The use of resistant cultivars may put a selection pressure on the plant virus to evolve towards more aggressive types. We used a modelling approach to show the impact of resistance, expressed through different mechanisms, on selection for plant virus strains with a higher multiplication rate. Begomoviruses (Geminiviridae: Begomovirus) inducing leaf curl diseases on tomato were used as key examples.

A model for the epidemiology of the plant–virus–vector system was combined with a model for the within‐plant dynamics of the virus. Four types of resistance were defined, each expressing resistance through one or more model parameters. The evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) approach was used to study the effect of resistance on the evolution of within‐plant virus multiplication rate.

Resistance expressed through reduced virus acquisition by the vector, and resistance expressed through reduced inoculation of the plant, do not put a selection pressure on the virus to evolve towards a higher multiplication rate.

Resistance expressed through reducing within‐plant virus titre and symptom reducing resistance do put a selection pressure on the virus to evolve towards a higher multiplication rate.

Synthesis and applications. We have shown how to disentangle different types of plant resistance. We have also shown that each type of resistance puts a different type of selection pressure on the virus. Virologists and plant breeders can use these results to develop methods to characterize the combination of resistance mechanisms in the cultivars they breed and, on the basis of this, determine whether the cultivar will put a selection pressure on the virus to evolve more harmful types. This new approach to plant resistance against virus diseases has been made possible by combining ecological insight in virus–vector–plant interactions with ESS calculations.
Dynamics of forest–savanna mosaics in north‐eastern Ivory Coast from 1954 to 2002
Authors: Goetze Dethardt , Hörsch Bianca , Porembski Stefan
Published: March 2006

Aim  In the transition between the southern Sudanian and northern Guinean zones of West Africa, numerous islands of predominantly semi‐deciduous forests are interspersed in extensive savannas. During the past decades, human population and intensity of land use have increased. At the same time, almost nothing is known about the natural dynamics of this widespread forest–savanna mosaic and how they are altered by human activities. This was investigated with respect to past, present and future forest–savanna dynamics, which presumably influence northern Guinean biodiversity.

Location  The Comoé National Park (CNP) region in north‐eastern Ivory Coast.

Methods  Landscape dynamics and the rates of anthropogenic deforestation and natural reforestation were retrospectively analysed by means of historical and recent aerial photographs and satellite images, directly relating the semi‐natural conditions in the CNP to neighbouring, traditionally utilized countryside.

Results  From 1954 to 1996, the studied forest–savanna pattern proved to be remarkably stable, even with extensive land utilization outside the CNP. The contour towards the surrounding savanna and, thus, the size of 95.4% of 653 forest islands remained unchanged. Unvegetated surfaces also remained remarkably constant during the period from 1967 to 1996. Although dynamics were clearly higher outside the CNP as a result of human activities, the 913 unvegetated surfaces studied showed no general trend of decrease or increase, i.e. there was no response over the study period to an identified climatic shift. Anthropogenic deforestation and subsequent natural reforestation within the contours of the existing forest have occurred to a noteworthy extent only outside the CNP. For the period 1988–2002, the extent of deforestation was greater than the extent of reforestation (40% vs. 14%). By 2002, 62% of the original gallery forest along a 75‐km section of the Comoé river had been cleared.

Main conclusions  With its remarkable overall stability, the landscape pattern inside the CNP has responded with resilience to varying influences (in particular climatic variations) and disturbances (e.g. episodic mass herbivory). A possible natural succession from savanna to forest appears to proceed only very slowly due to the counteracting effects of annual savanna fires and the lower climatic humidity of the area compared to the southern Guinean zone. Consequently, the forests should be considered as habitat islands rather than as habitat fragments. As deforestation outside the CNP has increased considerably, the pre‐existing pattern of forest insularization is now becoming overlain in these non‐CNP areas by a pattern of forest fragmentation. This will aggravate the ecological and genetic isolation of the undisturbed forests in the CNP, which are among the last remaining natural forests of the entire Guineo‐Sudanian transition zone.
Cover and growth habit of Polylepis woodlands and shrublands in the mountains of central Argentina: human or environmental influence?
Authors: Renison Daniel , Hensen Isabell , Suarez Ricardo , Cingolani Ana M.
Published: March 2006

Aim  To determine whether the cover and growth habit of the main forest forming species (Polylepis australis BITT.) in a mountain range with low human population density is mainly affected by anthropogenic activities or by environmental influences.

Location  Central Argentina.

Methods  Using GIS and field surveys we established 146 plots of 30 × 30 m located in five river basins differing in human impact. We measured P. australis cover, growth habit of each individual (number of basal ramifications), index of long term human impact (percentage of rock exposed by soil erosion due to livestock and fires), evidence of logging, fire scars, local relief, percentage of rock outcrops and altitude above sea level. We analysed the influence of independent variables on P. australis cover and growth habit (average number of basal ramifications per plot) using correlations and General Linear Models.

Results  Polylepis australis cover was greater at intermediate altitudes above sea level and in areas with reduced long term human impact. Contrastingly local relief, percentage of rock outcrops and logging in the recent past did not have a major influence on P. australis abundance. Growth habit varied in complex patterns. Individuals with fewer ramifications were found in valley bottoms and more disturbed basins, while more ramifications were found at mid‐ and upper slopes and well preserved basins. In valley bottoms, ramifications decreased with increasing altitude whereas the opposite trend was observed for mid‐slopes. Ramifications were positively related to fires in two river basins and in mid‐ and upper slopes but not in valley bottoms. Fire impact was always less in valley bottoms than at mid‐ and upper slopes.

Main conclusions  Human impact had a major role on P. australis cover, while growth habit was determined by complex combinations of potentially cumulative natural and anthropogenic factors. Even in sparsely populated mountains, both human impact and their interaction with natural environmental gradients influence plant communities and need to be understood for effective management.
The DNA‐remodelling activity of DnaD is the sum of oligomerization and DNA‐binding activities on separate domains
Authors: Carneiro Maria J. V. M. , Zhang Wenke , Ioannou Charikleia , Scott David J. , Allen Stephanie , Roberts Clive J. , Soultanas Panos
Published: March 2006

The Bacillus subtilis DnaD protein is an essential protein that has been implicated in the primosomal step of DNA replication, and recently in global DNA remodelling. Here we show that DnaD consists of two domains with distinct activities; an N‐terminal domain (Nd) with oligomerization activity, and a C‐terminal domain (Cd) with DNA‐binding activity and a second DNA‐induced oligomerization activity. Although Cd can bind to DNA and form large nucleoprotein complexes, it does not exhibit global DNA‐remodelling activity. The presence of separate Nd does not restore this activity. Our data suggest that the global DNA‐remodelling activity of DnaD is the sum of three separate oligomerization and DNA‐binding activities residing on two distinct but linked domains.
Proteasome‐ and SCF‐dependent degradation of yeast adenine deaminase upon transition from proliferation to quiescence requires a new F‐box protein named Saf1p
Authors: Escusa Stéphanie , Camblong Jurgi , Galan Jean‐Marc , Pinson Benoît , Daignan‐Fornier Bertrand
Published: March 2006

In response to nutrient limitation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells enter into a non‐proliferating state termed quiescence. This transition is associated with profound changes in gene expression patterns. The adenine deaminase encoding gene AAH1 is among the most precociously and tightly downregulated gene upon entry into quiescence. We show that AAH1 downregulation is not specifically due to glucose exhaustion but is a more general response to nutrient limitation. We also found that Aah1p level is tightly correlated to RAS activity indicating thus an important role for the protein kinase A pathway in this regulation process. We have isolated three deletion mutants, srb10, srb11 and saf1 (ybr280c) affecting AAH1 expression during post‐diauxic growth and in early stationary phase. We show that the Srb10p cyclin‐dependent kinase and its cyclin, Srb11p, regulate AAH1 expression at the transcriptional level. By contrast, Saf1p, a previously uncharacterized F‐box protein, acts at a post‐transcriptional level by promoting degradation of Aah1p. This post‐transcriptional regulation is abolished by mutations affecting the proteasome or constant subunits of the SCF (Skp1–Cullin–F‐box) complex. We propose that Saf1p targets Aah1p for proteasome‐dependent degradation upon entry into quiescence. This work provides the first direct evidence for active degradation of proteins in quiescent yeast cells.
A single amino acid substitution in the enzymatic domain of cytotoxic necrotizing factor type 1 of Escherichia coli alters the tissue culture phenotype to that of the dermonecrotic toxin of Bordetella spp.
Authors: McNichol Beth A. , Rasmussen Susan B. , Meysick Karen C. , O’Brien Alison D.
Published: March 2006

Cytotoxic necrotizing factor type 1 (CNF1) and dermonecrotic toxin (DNT) share homology within their catalytic domains and possess deamidase and transglutaminase activities. Although each toxin has a preferred enzymatic activity (i.e. deamidation for CNF1 and transglutamination for DNT) as well as target substrates, both modify a specific glutamine residue in RhoA, Rac1 and Cdc42, which renders these GTPases constitutively active. Here we show that despite their similar mechanisms of action CNF1 and DNT induced unique phenotypes on HEp‐2 and Swiss 3T3 cells. CNF1 induced multinucleation of HEp‐2 cells and was cytotoxic for Swiss 3T3 cells (with binucleation of the few surviving cells) while DNT showed no morphological effects on HEp‐2 cells but did induce binucleation of Swiss 3T3 cells. To determine if the enzymatic domain of each toxin dictated the induced phenotype, we constructed enzymatically active chimeric toxins and mutant toxins that contained single amino acid substitutions within the catalytic site and tested these molecules in tissue culture and enzymatic assays. Moreover, both site‐directed mutant toxins showed reduced time to maximum transglutamination of RhoA compared with the parent toxins. Nevertheless, the substitution of threonine for Lys1310 in the DNT‐based mutant, while affecting transglutamination efficiency of the toxin, did not abrogate that enzymatic activity.
Challenges in drug development for functional gastrointestinal disorders. Part I: Functional dyspepsia
Authors: Andresen V. , Camilleri M.
Published: March 2006

Abstract  There is a need to have predictive biomarkers to test novel experimental medicines in functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID). The human pharmacodynamic models and biomarkers in functional dyspepsia (part I) and visceral pain (part II) are reviewed, including the general challenges of these two disorders (part I). Part II will also discuss the importance of drug pharmacokinetics and potential of pharmacogenomics, including the influence of CYP metabolism and potential drug interactions. The great heterogeneity of mechanisms potentially responsible for dyspeptic symptoms adds a significant complexity to this FGID. Strategies are needed to identify subgroups most likely to benefit from a specific pharmacological action targeted to one or more mechanisms. Thus, while there are significant challenges in drug development for functional dyspepsia, there is still an important role for pharmacodynamic studies. It remains to be demonstrated that identifying subgroups enhances the response to the pharmacological drug effect. This is feasible as the end points and performance of each test of gastric emptying, accommodation and sensitivity are well characterized. Of these, gastric emptying appears best validated at present, though responsiveness to this biomarker has not yet been translated into positive phase III trials. Eligibility criteria are proposed for selection of patients for functional dyspepsia trials.
High prevalence of the IVS 1 + 1 G to A/GJB2 mutation among Czech hearing impaired patients with monoallelic mutation in the coding region of GJB2
Authors: Seeman P , Sakmaryová I
Published: March 2006

Biallelic pathogenic GJB2 gene mutations cause pre‐lingual genetic hearing loss in up to 50% of individuals with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss worldwide. Sequencing of the entire GJB2 gene‐coding region in Czech patients with pre‐lingual bilateral hearing loss revealed that 10.3% of Czech patients carry only one monoallelic pathogenic mutation in the coding region of the GJB2 gene, which is significantly more than the population frequency of 3.4%. The 309‐kb GJB6 deletion, frequent in Spain and France, is very rare in the Czech population. In order to evaluate the impact of the IVS1 + 1 G to A splice site mutation in the non‐coding part of the GJB2 gene among Czech patients, we tested all available patients with pre‐lingual hearing loss with only one monoallelic mutation in the coding part of GJB2. By sequencing of the exon 1 region of the GJB2 gene and HphI restriction analysis in 20 Czech patients we identified nine patients carrying IVS1 + 1 G to A. Testing for this mutation explained deafness in 45% of Czech GJB2 monoallelic patients. This mutation represents now 4% of GJB2 pathogenic mutations in Czech patients and is the third most common GJB2 mutation found in our cohort of 242 unrelated Czech patients with prelingual hearing loss. A similar frequency may also be expected in other Central European or Slavic populations.
Expanding the phenotypic spectrum of L1CAM‐associated disease
Authors: Basel‐Vanagaite L , Straussberg R , Friez MJ , Inbar D , Korenreich L , Shohat M , Schwartz CE
Published: March 2006

Mutations in the L1CAM gene cause neurological abnormalities of variable severity, including congenital hydrocephalus, agenesis of the corpus callosum, spastic paraplegia, bilaterally adducted thumbs, aphasia, and mental retardation. Inter‐ and intrafamilial variability is a well‐known feature of the L1CAM spectrum, and several patients have a combination of L1CAM mutations and Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR). We report on two siblings with a missense mutation in exon 7 (p.P240L) of the L1CAM gene. In one of the siblings, congenital dislocation of the radial heads and HSCR were present. Neither patient had hydrocephalus, adducted thumbs, or absent speech, but both had a hypoplastic corpus callosum. We suggest that L1CAM mutation testing should be considered in male patients with a positive family history compatible with X‐linked inheritance and either the combination of agenesis of the CC and HSCR or the combination of agenesis of the CC and limb abnormalities, including abnormalities other than adducted thumbs.
Cardiac diastolic dysfunction in renal‐transplant recipients is associated with increased circulating Adrenomedullin
Authors: Geny Bernard , Ellero Bernard , Chakfé Nabil , Kretz Jean‐George , Brandenberger Gabrielle , Piquard François
Published: March 2006

Abstract:  Background:  Renal transplantation is an excellent therapeutic alternative for end‐stage renal diseases. Nevertheless, the cardiac function is often impaired in renal‐transplant patients (RTR) and importantly determines their prognosis. Adrenomedullin (ADM), a peptide involved in cardiovascular homeostasis, is believed to protect both cardiac and renal functions – by increasing local blood flows, attenuating the progression of vascular damage and remodelling and by reducing glomerular injury – and might be involved in renal‐transplantation physiopathology. This work was performed to investigate whether an increase in circulating ADM might be related to RTR cardiac function.

Methods:  Twenty‐nine subjects, 19 RTR and 10 healthy subjects, participated in the study. After 15 min rest in supine position, heart rate and systemic blood pressure were measured together with cyclosporine through levels, creatinine and ADM. Systolic and diastolic cardiac functions were assessed, using Doppler echocardiography.

Results:  Subjects were similar concerning age, weight, heart rate and blood pressure. Creatinine and ADM (53.8±6.9 vs. 27.2±4.1 pmol/L, p = 0.02) were significantly increased in RTR (73±10 months after transplantation). Cardiac systolic function was normal, but a reduced mitral E:A ratio was observed in RTR (0.90±0.06 vs. 1.38±0.10, p<0.001), reflecting their impaired left ventricular relaxation. Such a ratio was negatively correlated with ADM (r = −0.55, p = 0.002).

Conclusions:  RTR present with an increased ADM is likely related to cardiac diastolic dysfunction. In view of its protective effect on the cardiovascular system, these data support further studies to better define the role and the therapeutic potential of ADM after renal transplantation.
Expression of nerve growth factor receptors is correlated with progression and prognosis of human pancreatic cancer
Authors: Dang Chengxue , Zhang Yong , Ma Qingyong , Shimahara Yasuyuki
Published: March 2006

Background and Aim:  The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic value of the two types of nerve growth factor receptors (NGFR), namely high‐affinity receptor TrkA and low‐affinity receptor p75NGFR, in pancreatic cancer.

Methods:  The mRNA expression of NGFR for TrkA and p75NGFR was examined in 56 human primary pancreatic cancers using real‐time quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction.

Results:  Nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors were found in all tumor specimens. It appears that the growth of pancreatic cancer cells stimulated by NGF depended on the expression levels and the ratio of TrkA to p75NGFR. TrkA and p75NGFR were negatively correlated and both were associated with abdominal or back pain and perineural invasion. Regarding this, patients with high TrkA expression levels exhibited more frequent perineural invasion and a higher degree of pain, whereas the results of p75NGFR were opposite. For Cox univariate analyses in the overall survival study, high expression of p75NGFR was associated with longer overall survival, but TrkA exhibited opposite effects and included an effect on perineural invasion and pain. Histoprognostic grading, tumor size and node involvement were not prognostic factors. In Cox multivariate analyses, TrkA and p75NGFR were both prognostic parameters.

Conclusions:  The present study found that the expression of TrkA in pancreatic cancer is a marker of tumor aggressiveness. Conversely, we also found that elevated p75NGFR expression is associated with a favorable prognosis. We demonstrated that NGF exerts both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on pancreatic cancers, with the overall effect determined by the expression levels and the ratio of TrkA to p75NGFR.
Oral peppermint oil is a useful antispasmodic for double‐contrast barium meal examination
Authors: Mizuno Shigeaki , Kato Kimitoshi , Ono Yoshiki , Yano Kiyoshi , Kurosaka Hanzo , Takahashi Atsuhiko , Abeta Hiromi , Kushiro Toshio , Miyamoto Syunpachi , Kurihara Ryuichi , Hiki Naoki , Kaminishi Michio , Iwasaki Ariyoshi , Arakawa Yasuyuki
Published: March 2006

Background and Aim:  Intraluminally administered peppermint oil (PO) is reportedly a safe and useful antispasmodic for gastroscopy, colonoscopy and double‐contrast barium enema. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of oral PO for double‐contrast barium meal examination (DCBM) without other antispasmodics.

Methods:  Two hundred and five randomly chosen subjects (PO group) and 215 sex‐ and age‐matched controls were enrolled. All participants underwent DCBM. The PO group was orally administered PO and a barium suspension mixture at the start of DCBM. Radiographs were blindly evaluated for spasm and overlapping with barium‐filled duodenal loops (scored 0–3, indicating none to severe). The quality of barium coating of the mucosa and overall diagnostic quality (scored 0–3, indicating not acceptable to excellent) were also evaluated.

Results:  There was no significant difference in subject acceptance between PO group and controls, and no adverse effects in either group. Scores for spasm at the esophagus, lower stomach and duodenal bulb were significantly lower in the PO than in the control group (P < 0.001). Scores for overlapping at the lower stomach and duodenal bulb were significantly lower in the PO than in the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, respectively). Scores for overall diagnostic quality at the esophagus, lower stomach and duodenal bulb were significantly higher in the PO than in the control group (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:  Oral PO reduces spasm of the esophagus, lower stomach and duodenal bulb, inhibits barium flow to the distal duodenum, and improves diagnostic quality without other antispasmodics. Oral PO is a safe, easy to use and effective antispasmodic for DCBM.
Pantoprazole infusion as adjuvant therapy to endoscopic treatment in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding: Prospective randomized controlled trial
Authors: Zargar Showkat Ali , Javid Gul , Khan Bashir Ahmad , Yattoo Ghulam Nabi , Shah Altaf Hussain , Gulzar Ghulam Mohammad , Sodhi Jaswinder Singh , Mujeeb Sheikh Abdul , Khan Mushtaq Ahmad , Shah Nisar Ahmad , Shafi Hakim Mohamad
Published: March 2006

Background and Aim:  Following successful endoscopic therapy in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding, rebleeding occurs in 20% of patients. Rebleeding remains the most important determinant of poor prognosis. We investigated whether or not administration of pantoprazole infusion would improve the outcome in ulcer bleeding following successful endoscopic therapy.

Methods:  In this double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, prospective trial, patients who had gastric or duodenal ulcers with active bleeding or non‐bleeding visible vessel received combined endoscopy therapy with injection of epinephrine and heater probe application. Patients who achieved hemostasis were randomly assigned to receive pantoprazole (80 mg intravenous bolus followed by an infusion at a rate of 8 mg per hour) or placebo for 72 h. The primary end‐point was the rate of rebleeding.

Results:  Rebleeding was lower in the pantoprazole group (8 of 102 patients, 7.8%) than in the placebo group (20 of 101 patients, 19.8%; P = 0.01). Patients in the pantoprazole group required significantly fewer transfusions (1 ± 2.5 vs 2 ± 3.3; P = 0.003) and days of hospitalization (5.6 ± 5.3 vs 7.7 ± 7.3; P = 0.0003). Rescue therapies were needed more frequently in the placebo group (7.8% vs 19.8%; P = 0.01). Three (2.9%) patients in the pantoprazole group and eight (7.9%) in the placebo group required surgery to control their bleeding (P = 0.12). Two patients in the pantoprazole group and four in the placebo group died (P = 0.45).

Conclusion:  In patients with bleeding peptic ulcers, the use of high dose pantoprazole infusion following successful endoscopic therapy is effective in reducing rebleeding, transfusion requirements and hospital stay.
Parasitoids and hyperparasitoids of Mythimna convecta (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae infesting late‐maturing maize in southern New South Wales
Authors: Hardwick Scott
Published: March 2006

Abstract  After several reports of late‐maturing maize in Murrumbidgee valley, southern New South Wales, Australia, being severely damaged by armyworm, five crops were surveyed for the presence of larvae in April 2003. Mythimna convecta Walker (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was the only species successfully reared from armyworm larvae collected in the field. Ninety‐six per cent of armyworm larvae collected were parasitised. Five parasitoid species, Cuphocera sp. nr pilosa (Malloch), Ceromya horma (Malloch), Tritaxys scutellate (Macquart), Chaetophthalmus sp. (Diptera: Tachinidae) and Netelia sp. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) were reared from M. convecta larvae. Cuphocera sp. nr pilosa was the most frequently encountered parasitoid being reared from 83% of M. convecta larvae collected. Examination of maize plants at each collection site showed high numbers of tachinid puparia adhering to plants. Cuphocera sp. nr pilosa was the only species reared from these puparia. Of the Cu. sp. nr pilosa puparia collected, 23–83% were parasitised by five parasitoid wasps: Trichomalopsis sp. Crawford (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), Brachymeria sp. Westwood, Eupelmus sp. Dalman (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae), Perilampus sp. Latreille (Hymenoptera: Perilampidae) and a species belonging to the family Diapriidae.
The genetic bases of high‐level resistance to diflubenzuron and low‐level resistance to cyromazine in a field strain of the Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
Authors: Batterham Philip , Hill‐Williams Ayscha , Levot Garry , Sales Narelle , McKenzie John A
Published: March 2006

Abstract  Several genes on chromosomes IV and VI have a significant influence on high‐level resistance to diflubenzuron in a strain of the Australian sheep blowfly from Tara, Queensland. Low‐level resistance to cyromazine in the same strain is due to genes on these chromosomes with a gene (gene complex) in the sv marker region of chromosome IV being particularly important. For both insecticides, genetic background influences resistance status. If the results of the Tara strain prove typical for those of other populations, resistance to diflubenzuron in the Australian sheep blowfly has potentially significant consequences for woolgrowers.
Two new species and a new Australian record of Bactrocera Macquart (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) from northern Queensland, Torres Strait and Papua New Guinea
Authors: Huxham Kerrie A , Fay Harry A C , Hancock David L
Published: March 2006

Abstract  Bactrocera (Bactrocera) speewahensis Fay & Hancock sp. n. is described from northern Queensland and B. (B.) torresiae Huxham & Hancock sp. n. is described from Boigu, Saibai and Dauan islands in Torres Strait and southern Papua New Guinea. Bactrocera (B.) nigrovittata Drew is newly recorded from Australia. All records are of male flies responding to chemical lures.
Dispersion statistics and a sampling plan for Helicoverpa (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on fresh‐market tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum)
Authors: Dawson Joanne , Hamilton Andrew J , Mansfield Catherine
Published: March 2006

Abstract  Helicoverpa spp. is the primary pest in the Australian fresh‐market tomato industry. We describe the spatial distribution of Helicoverpa spp. eggs on fresh‐market tomato crops in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, and present a sequential sampling plan for monitoring population densities. The distribution of Helicoverpa spp. eggs was highly contagious, as indicated by a Taylor's b‐value of 1.59. This high level of contagion meant that relatively large sample sizes would need to be collected to obtain an estimate of population density. High‐precision sampling plans generally necessitated impractical sample sizes, and thus the plan we present is a relatively low‐precision level plan (SE/mean = 0.3). Nonetheless, this level of precision is considered adequate for most agronomic scenarios. The plan was validated using a statistical re‐sampling approach. The level of precision achieved was generally close to the nominal level. Likewise, the number of samples collected generally showed little departure from the theoretically calculated minimum sample size.
Studies of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) ovipositional responses to newly identified semiochemicals from conspecific eggs
Authors: Ganesan Kumaran , Mendki Murlidhar J , Suryanarayana Malladi V S , Prakash Shri , Malhotra Ramesh C
Published: March 2006

Abstract  The chemical factors influencing the selection of oviposition site by gravid females of various mosquito species have been the subject of numerous investigations. Recent studies have revealed this behaviour to be controlled by semiochemicals. Here we report studies on semiochemicals of egg origin and their effect on the ovipositional behaviour of Aedes aegypti. The compounds present in egg extracts of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes were isolated and identified by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. They were then evaluated for their effect on ovipositional behaviour against gravid females of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes at different concentrations. Gravid female Ae. aegypti were found to be sensitive to all the identified compounds: 6‐hexanolactone, methyl dodecanoate, dodecanoic acid, methyl tetradecanoate, tetradecanoic acid, methyl (Z)‐9‐hexadecenoate, methyl hexadecanoate (Z)‐9‐hexadecenoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, methyl (Z)‐9‐octadecenoate, methyl octadecanoate (Z)‐9‐octadecenoic acid and octadecanoic acid. Among them, dodecanoic and (Z)‐9‐hexadecenoic acids showed significant positive ovipositional response at different concentrations whereas all the esters showed deterrent/repellent ovipositional effect.
Attributes pertinent to overwintering potential do not explain why Bactrocera neohumeralis (Hardy) (Diptera: Tephritidae) does not spread further south within the geographical range of B. tryoni (Froggatt)
Authors: Meats Alan
Published: March 2006

Abstract  The geographical range of Bactrocera neohumeralis does not extend as far south as that of its sibling species, B. tryoni. However, there was no evidence of any difference between the two species in terms of physiological limitation to southerly spread when comparisons were made of low temperature torpor thresholds of adults, survival time of adults at −4°C and development rates of all stages in either warm or cool regimes. The survival schedule of the two species was similar in the laboratory and also in the moderately cold conditions experienced by caged cohorts that were exposed to winter field temperatures between late April and early November at Richmond, New South Wales (500 km south of the usual southerly limit of B. neohumeralis). Overwintered cohorts of both species laid similar numbers of eggs in September in terms of eggs per emerged female (an indicator of the reproductive potential). However, because the proportion of B. tryoni surviving to the period of 1–15 September was less than half that for B. neohumeralis, the production per surviving female was more than double in B. tryoni. The possibility of the southerly spread of B. neohumeralis being limited by an Allee effect is discussed.
Traumatic tracheoesophageal fistula in a 5‐year old
Authors: JACOB REBECCA , KUNDER SAMUEL , MATHAI JOHN , CHACKO JACOB , JOHN VIJU
Published: March 2006

Tracheosophageal fistula following blunt trauma is rare and diagnosis and management can be difficult. All reported cases have involved victims above 12 years of age. Here we report the anesthesia management, for surgery, of a tracheoesophageal fistula caused by blunt trauma in a 5‐year‐old boy.
Glands, muscles and genitalia. Morphological and phylogenetic implications of histological characters in the male genitalia of Fritillary butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Argynnini)
Authors: Simonsen Thomas J.
Published: March 2006

The histology and internal morphology of the male valve in a broad sample of Fritillary butterflies are examined. A large internal ridge to which the extensor of the valve muscle fastens is probably an autapomorphy for the tribe Argynnini. A large glandular pocket is found in the valves of all examined Heliconiinae, but is missing in other examined Nymphalidae. The pocket shows considerable variation between the higher taxa. In the higher Fritillaries (subtribe Argynnina) the pocket probably has an effective closing mechanism allowing the male to store a considerable amount of glandular secretion. It has earlier been suggested that the secreta from the pocket glands are transferred to the female during copulation, where they probably have an antiaphrodisiac effect, preventing other males from mating a once mated female. All examined male Fritillaries also have glands in the anellus, the terminal membrane between the valves. In Boloria these glands are extremely well developed and abundant, a condition that is probably an autapomorphy for that genus. The obtained characters are tested against a known phylogeny of the tribe Argynnini.