bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interictal Brain 5-HT1A Receptors Binding in Migraine Without Aura: A 18F-MPPF-PET Study
Authors: Lothe A , Merlet I , Demarquay G , Costes N , Ryvlin P , Mauguière F
Published: August 2008

In this study we aimed to assess the brain distribution of 5-HT1A receptors in migraine patients without aura. Ten female migraine patients and 24 female healthy volunteers underwent magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography using a radioligand antagonist of 5-HT1A receptors [4-(2'-methoxyphenyl)-1-[2'-( N-2-pirydynyl)-p-fluorobenzamido]-ethylpiperazine (18F-MPPF)]. A simplified reference tissue model was used to generate parametric images of 5-HT1A receptor binding potential (BP) values. Statistical Parametrical Mapping (SPM) analysis showed increased MPPF BP in posterior cortical areas and hippocampi bilaterally in patients compared with controls. Region of interest (ROI) analysis showed a non-significant trend in favour of a BP increase patients in cortical regions identified by the SPM analysis except in hippocampi, left parietal areas and raphe nuclei. During the interictal period of migraine patients without aura, the increase of MPPF BP in posterior cortical and limbic areas could reflect an increase in receptor density or a decrease of endogenous serotonin, which could explain their altered cortical excitability.
Endotracheal suctioning in children with severe traumatic brain injury: a literature review
Authors: Tume Lyvonne , Jinks Annette
Published: August 2008

Aim:  This paper aims to present an overview of the literature relating to the effects of endotracheal suctioning (ETS) in children and adults with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Background:  TBI is the leading cause of death in children worldwide and continues to result in widespread mortality and morbidity. In intensive care, ETS is an essential nursing procedure that is undertaken but is known to produce some adverse effects in children.

Method:  A comprehensive literature search was undertaken using a Parahoo and quality of reporting of meta‐analyses (QUOROM) approach. A range of databases was searched to identify published papers with key search terms. The databases searched included Cochrane Library, Medline, PubMed Central, CINAHL, Proquest and Science Direct.

Findings:  This review is based on 21 papers (with 433 patients in total), but specific papers in paediatric head injury children were extremely limited, and the evidence was largely dated and inconclusive. Although the majority of papers demonstrate an increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) with ETS, there are contradictory results with regard to recovery times.

Conclusions:  Further research is needed specifically into the effect of ETS on ICP and cerebral perfusion pressure of children with severe TBI, taking into account all the known confounding variables.
Identifying and Predicting Biological Risks Associated With Manufactured Nanoparticles in Aquatic Ecosystems
Authors: MacCormack Tyson J. , Goss Greg G.
Published: August 2008

Nanotechnology has great potential for revolutionizing the treatment of disease, optimizing manufacturing processes and consumer products, and remediating polluted environments. Increased use and disposal of products containing nanoparticles will inevitably result in their accumulation in aquatic ecosystems via direct input and runoff from contaminated soils. Aquatic organisms are particularly susceptible to pollutants due to their large, fragile respiratory epithelium. This potential toxicity can be exacerbated by common stressors, such as changes in water temperature, salinity, pH, and oxygen levels, and must be considered in environmental risk assessments. The unique properties of manufactured nanoparticles present serious problems for risk assessment strategies, and there is a concern in the regulatory community that standard toxicological methods may be inadequate to address these compounds. Our capacity to detect and quantify nanoparticles is extremely limited, especially in complex biological, soil, or water samples. The distinctive chemistry and physical structure of each nanomaterial will determine its bioavailability, and these parameters can be altered over time or with changes in water chemistry. The use of advanced analytical techniques, such as functional genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, can provide a global assessment of the biological response to a novel chemical and will be important in determining the potential toxicity of nanoparticles. Industry should adopt a proactive approach to identifying potential risks to aquatic ecosystems so that the benefits of nanotechnology can be fully realized.
Using Nanotechnology for the Substitution of Hazardous Chemical Substances
Authors: Fiedeler Ulrich
Published: August 2008

It is often assumed that nanotechnology (NT) holds the potential to provide a substantial contribution to the solution of various ecological problems, including high consumption of energy and materials and the generation of waste. However, problems surrounding the use and release of hazardous substances remain largely unexplored. For this reason, the Scientific Technical Option Assessment (STOA) Panel of the European Parliament initiated a study on “The Role of Nanotechnology in Chemical Substitution.” The subject and aim of the study was an investigation into preexisting and potential applications of NT that could lead to a reduction in hazardous substances by providing substitutes for them. In terms of method, it was based on electronic searches of the literature, expert interviews, and an expert workshop. This article discusses the results of the project. It focuses on the methodological challenges and the principal problems resulting from a combination of the broad and ill‐defined concept of NT and the specific concept of hazardous substances. The hazardous substances addressed had to be reduced to a manageable number, and the term substitution was understood according to the characteristics of NT and the way in which the latter could reduce the use of hazardous substances. Although several applications of NT were identified that could lead to a considerable reduction in the use of hazardous substances, ambiguities in both the concept of NT and the concept of substitution in relation to NT prevent a comprehensive assessment of the potential of NT in respect to substitution.
Regulation of microRNA processing in development, differentiation and cancer
Authors: Schmittgen Thomas D.
Published: August 2008

Introduction

microRNA processing and function

Regulation of microRNA processing during development, differentiation and normal cell function

Examples of altered miRNA processing in cancer

Conclusion

microRNA (miRNA) is a class of small, noncoding, regulatory RNAs. The ∼ 21 nt mature miRNA is processed from larger precursor molecules following a coordinated series of events. In theory, miRNA processing may be regulated at any of these steps. A growing body of evidence has demonstrated various steps in the miRNA biogenesis process for which regulation occurs. RNA editing of miRNA precursors, SNPs or mutations in the miRNA precursors, regulation by RNA binding proteins, alterations in the levels of key processing proteins, as well as a number of unknown mechanisms contribute to the regulation of miRNA processing. This article reviews the available literature on the regulation of miRNA processing that occurs within normal cells, during development or in diseases such as cancer.
Genetic parameters for production traits and measures of residual feed intake in Duroc and Landrace pigs
Authors: HOQUE Md. Azharul , SUZUKI Keiichi
Published: August 2008

Data on 380 Duroc boars from seven generations, and 1026 Landrace pigs (341 boars and 685 gilts) from six generations were used to estimate genetic parameters for daily gain (DG), backfat thickness (BF), metabolic weight (MWT), daily feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and residual feed intake (RFI). Two measures of RFI were estimated as the difference between actual feed intake and that predicted from models that included initial test age and weight and DG (RFI1); and initial test age and weight, DG and BF (RFI2). Heritability estimates for DG, MWT and FI were moderate for both breeds. BF estimates were high for both the breeds. The measures of feed efficiency (FCR and RFI) were moderately heritable. Genetic correlations of BF with measures of RFI were stronger when BF was not included in the estimation of RFI (0.40 and 0.46 for Duroc and Landrace, respectively (for RFI1), compared with 0.05 and 0.06 for Duroc and Landrace, respectively (for RFI2)). Genetic correlations of MWT with measures of RFI were all negative and low. Genetic and phenotypic correlations between DG and measures of RFI were close to zero, which indicated that selection for reduced RFI could be made without adversely affecting DG. BF should also decrease, and MWT should increase under selection for reduced RFI. The reduction in BF would depend on the measure of RFI used.
Energy expenditure for chewing in sheep fed timothy or sudangrass hay at the same intake level
Authors: SUZUKI Tomoyuki , TAKUSARI Naosumi , HIGUCHI Koji , KURIHARA Mitsunori , TERADA Fuminori
Published: August 2008

In order to investigate the energy expended in chewing during eating and rumination in sheep fed timothy or sudangrass hay at the same intake level, the energy expenditure of the head was measured using the arterial‐venous difference technique and that of the whole body was measured using an open‐circuit, indirect respiration calorimeter. There was no difference in the per‐chew energy expenditure between timothy hay and sudangrass hay during eating and rumination, but for both types of hay there was a difference in energy expenditure between eating (0.25 J per chew per kilogram body weight) and rumination (0.18 J per chew per kilogram body weight). There was no effect of time period after feeding on the energy expended in one chew during eating and rumination. On average, for a given type of hay, the energy expended in chewing during eating + rumination accounted for 4.9% of the daily energy expenditure of the whole body.
Characterization of two microsatellites in chicken monoamine oxidase A
Authors: HONG Kyung‐Won , INOUE‐MURAYAMA Miho , NAKAMURA Akihiro , NAGAO Kenji , ITO Shin'ichi
Published: August 2008

We surveyed two polymorphic microsatellites in a candidate gene for fear response, monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), in chicken. Two hundred and eighty chickens from five breeds (Nagoya, Mikawa, White Leghorn, White Plymouth Rock, and Rhode Island Red) were investigated. A thymine (T) repeat and an adenine (A) repeat were found on MAOA intron 4 (CMin4T) and intron 9 (CMin9A), respectively. Nine alleles (127‐bp to 166‐bp) in CMin4T and six alleles (184‐bp to 198‐bp) in CMin9A were detected. A 128‐bp allele in CMin4T was observed in the Nagoya breed only, implying a highly useful marker for discriminating the Nagoya breed from other breeds. In addition, the Mikawa breed had the fixed 127‐bp and 198‐bp alleles in CMin4T and CMin9A, respectively. The Nagoya breed chickens show densely cowardly behavior, but the Mikawa breed chickens do not show the same behavior. The current results may indicate that MAOA is an informative candidate gene for breed difference.
The Relationship between Local Abundance and Distribution of Rain Forest Trees across Environmental Gradients in India
Authors: Davidar Priya , Rajagopal B. , Arjunan M. , Puyravaud Jean Philippe
Published: August 2008

We tested whether local abundance of rain forest trees in the medium elevation wet forests of the southern Western Ghats (WG) was related to environmental tolerance, life form, and geographical range. We selected trees in medium elevation wet forests (750–1700 m asl) of the southern WG, using two data bases: a small plot (30 × 30 m) data base of 288 species of trees (≥ 3 cm dbh) in 33 plots totaling 2.97 ha, and a data base of 135 species of tree (≥ 10 cm dbh) in larger plots of 1 ha each, totaling 4.84 ha. The species density per hectare and number of records in the plot network was used in a factor analysis to give a measure of the local abundance of each species. The altitude and seasonality ranges of these species in the WG was assessed from independent data bases and used to generate an environmental tolerance score. Results indicated that as a species became locally more abundant, it occurred across a wider range of environmental gradients, but regional distribution was not related to geographical distribution. Understory species tended to be rarer with smaller range sizes and lower environmental tolerances than overstory species. Climate change is predicted to have drastic effects on restricted range species with limited environmental tolerances.
Susceptibility of Tree Seedlings to Biotic and Abiotic Hazards in the Understory of a Moist Tropical Forest in Panama
Authors: Alvarez‐Clare Silvia , Kitajima Kaoru
Published: August 2008

We evaluated temporal patterns of seedling survival of eight Neotropical tree species generated under multiple abiotic and biotic hazards (vertebrates, disease, litterfall) in the forest understory on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Seedlings were transplanted at first leaf expansion in low densities along a 6‐km transect and damage and mortality were recorded for 1 yr. We also planted and monitored small and large artificial seedlings to estimate physical disturbance regimes. During 0–2 mo after transplant, vertebrate consumers of reserve cotyledons caused high mortality of real seedlings, but little damage to artificial seedlings. On real seedlings after 2 mo, disease became an important agent of mortality, despite a decrease in overall mortality rates. Damage by litterfall remained relatively low during the 1‐yr study period. Survival ranks among species showed ontogenetic shifts over time, as species changed susceptibility to the mortality agents. Survival after 2 mo was positively correlated with stem toughness, not because species with tough stems were less likely to receive mechanical damage, but because they survived better after receiving mechanical damage. Within each transplant station, artificial seedlings were not good predictors of litterfall damage experienced by real seedlings. Forest‐wide litterfall damage level, however, was similar for both real and artificial seedlings (ca 10%/yr), a moderate level compared to other tropical forests. In conclusion, species traits including biomechanical traits interact to create complex temporal patterns of first year seedling survival, resulting in ontogenetic shifts that largely reflect changes in the relative importance of vertebrate consumers relative to other hazards.
Arboreal Ant Abundance and Leaf Miner Damage in Coffee Agroecosystems in Mexico
Authors: De la Mora Aldo , Livingston George , Philpott Stacy M.
Published: August 2008

Shaded coffee agroecosystems traditionally have few pest problems potentially due to higher abundance and diversity of predators of herbivores. However, with coffee intensification (e.g., shade tree removal or pruning), some pest problems increase. For example, coffee leaf miner outbreaks have been linked to more intensive management and increased use of agrochemicals. Parasitic wasps control the coffee leaf miner, but few studies have examined the role of predators, such as ants, that are abundant and diverse in coffee plantations. Here, we examine linkages between arboreal ant communities and coffee leaf miner incidence in a coffee plantation in Mexico. We examined relationships between incidence and severity of leaf miner attack and: (1) variation in canopy cover, tree density, tree diversity, and relative abundance of Inga spp. shade trees; (2) presence of Azteca instabilis, an arboreal canopy dominant ant; and (3) the number of arboreal twig‐nesting ant species and nests in coffee plants. Differences in vegetation characteristics in study plots did not correlate with leaf miner damage perhaps because environmental factors act on pest populations at a larger spatial scale. Further, presence of A. instabilis did not influence presence or severity of leaf miner damage. The proportion of leaves with leaf miner damage was significantly lower where abundance of twig‐nesting ants was higher but not where twig‐nesting ant richness was higher. These results indicate that abundance of twig‐nesting ants in shaded coffee plantations may contribute to maintenance of low leaf miner populations and that ants provide important ecosystem services in coffee agroecosystems.
Determination of the charge of the plasma proteins and consequent Donnan equilibrium across the capillary barriers in the rat microvasculature
Authors: Rügheimer L. , Hansell P. , Wolgast M.
Published: August 2008

Aim:  Due to the negatively charged proteins in plasma, a Donnan equilibrium will be formed between plasma and interstitium or, as in the glomerulus, between glomerular plasma and Bowman’s space. The phenomenon is of great physiological significance in the sense that the electro‐osmotic pressure offered by the small ions attracted to the proteins may account for an important part of the total colloid osmotic pressure and also as the electric potential consequent to the Donnan distribution will affect the transcapillary transport of all charged molecular compounds. The present study aimed at estimating the protein charge in rat plasma in order to validate its importance for colloid osmotic pressure and potential.

Methods:  The charge of the plasma proteins was determined in vitro from the concentration of sodium across a cellophane membrane separating a rat plasma sample from saline alone. However, in order to improve the sensitivity of the method, the studies were carried out at an ionic strength of 1/10 of physiological saline.

Results:  The average charge of plasma was estimated at 0.23 ± 0.003 mEq g−1 protein (mean ± SE), and the standard variation at ±0.01 mEq g−1, i.e. about 5%. At the normal protein concentration in Wistar rats of 50 g L−1, the charge of the proteins in systemic plasma was calculated to be 11.5 mEq L−1, whereas in glomerular and peritubular capillary plasma, the larger protein concentration increases the protein charge to 14.4 mEq L−1.

Conclusion:  The results verify that the plasma protein charge accounts for about one‐third of the total colloid osmotic pressure and that the obtained potential will constitute a major driving force for the transport of charged molecular compounds.
Fixed-Dose Isosorbide Dinitrate-Hydralazine: Race-Based Cardiovascular Medicine Benefit or Mirage?
Authors: Ferdinand Keith C.
Published: August 2008

The goal of this paper is to present a succinct overview, from a clinician’s perspective, of the importance and implications of research on heart failure in African Americans. It first gives a brief outline of the rationale and results of the African-American Heart Failure Trial (A-HeFT), which showed evidence for the effectiveness of fixed-dose combination of isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine (ISDN/Hyd), marketed as BiDil (NitroMed Inc.), in this population. Finally, it underscores the necessity of treating African Americans with evidence-based medicine given that humanistic physicians and other clinicians strive to provide holistic treatment to their patients.

Most researchers and clinicians recognize the difficulty with utilizing race as a category for inclusion in trials. While race lacks any true biologic definition, it is potentially beneficial as a consideration in clinical studies, based on prior evidence of certain potential differences across self-identified racial/ethnic groups in morbidity and mortality and responses to medicine. Even though use of race as a classification is a problematic distinction, it should not be ignored. If clinical trials demonstrate significant improvement with targeted treatment in African Americans, clinicians should not withhold life-saving drugs that result from such studies.
Revitalizing Difference in the HapMap: Race and Contemporary Human Genetic Variation Research
Authors: Hamilton Jennifer A.
Published: August 2008

In 2000, researchers from the Human Genome Project (HGP) proclaimed that the initial sequencing of the human genome definitively proved, among other things, that there was no genetic basis for race. The genetic fact that most humans were 99.9% the same at the level of their DNA was widely heralded and circulated in the English-speaking press, especially in the United States. This pronouncement seemed proof that long-term antiracist efforts to de-biologize race were legitimized by scientific findings. Yet, despite the seemingly widespread acceptance of the social construction of race, post-HGP genetic science has seen a substantial shift toward the use of race variables in genetic research and, according to a number of prominent scholars, is re-invoking the specter of earlier forms of racial science in some rather discomfiting ways. During the past seven years, the main thrust of human genetic research, especially in the realm of biomedicine, has shifted from a concern with the 99.9% of the shared genome — what is thought to make humans alike — towards an explicit focus on the 0.1% that constitutes human genetic variation. Here I briefly explore some of the potential implications of the conceptualization and practice of early 21st century genetic variation research, especially as it relates to questions of race.
“Special Treatment”: BiDil, Tuskegee, and the Logic of Race
Authors: Reverby Susan M.
Published: August 2008

The presence of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study was palpable at the June 16, 2005, Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Advisory Committee meeting on BiDil, a heart medication from the pharmaceutical company NitroMed that sought approval as the first race-specific drug. So ubiquitous is the restless and unsettled spirit of Tuskegee that it continues to hover over the African American public and the biomedical research/health care provider communities more than three and a half decades after the actual study “died.” No one invoked the word “Tuskegee” in that dimly lit meeting room as BiDil gained the Advisory Committee’s approval. Yet its power was exerted even when it was not named. The FDA Committee’s chairman, Cleveland Clinic cardiology chief Steven Nissen, acknowledged this after the committee met: “We were putting [Tuskegee]…to rest.”
Understanding Race at the Frontier of Pharmaceutical Regulation: An Analysis of the Racial Difference Debate at the ICH
Authors: Kuo Wen-Hua
Published: August 2008

Reflecting on the tension of which he was aware between the imperial West and the still-mysterious East, Victorian writer Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) penned the above phrase to express the incommensurable situation wherein the Westerner never understands the Asian, as the latter’s culture differs too greatly from his own. However, aware that East and West nevertheless cannot remain separated forever, the author ends the poem with an eventual encounter between the two.

Over 100 years have passed since this poem was written, yet the ambivalent encounter between East and West that it depicts still exists and is currently playing out within the field of pharmaceuticals. On one side of the divide are the many people in the industry who want to standardize global acceptance of drugs; on the other are the local authorities who want to maintain the overruling legal need not to compromise on health care at a national level. In this sense, the divergence and unity that Kipling captures is what this paper aims to discuss as it addresses how race is debated at the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH).
Imperialism, Race, and Therapeutics: The Legacy of Medicalizing the “Colonial Body”
Authors: Barton Patricia
Published: August 2008

The BiDil controversy in America coincides with a renewed interest in the linkages between race and therapeutics, whether in the medical history of the United States itself, or in the colonial world. During the colonial era in South Asia, many anthropological and medical researchers conducted research which compared the European and “colonial” body, contrasting everything from blood composition to brain weight between the races of the Indian Empire. This, as Mark Harrison has shown, was fundamentally a phenomenon of the 19th century, arguing that “[i]t was only after 1800 that racial identities came to be fixed and that India was viewed with terror, as a reservoir of filth and disease.” Racist attitudes in British Indian colonial medicine are not hard to discover. They underpinned, for instance, campaigns to improve the appallingly high maternal and infant mortality rates in which the blame was placed squarely upon the women and the indigenous midwives who delivered them rather than the poverty in which they lived. As such, Peers Dimmock, a professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the Calcutta Medical School, opened his address to the First Indian Medical Congress in 1894 with a diatribe against “the unclean and repulsive traditionary [sic] methods of the native midwives.”
Mustard Gas and American Race-Based Human Experimentation in World War II
Authors: Smith Susan L.
Published: August 2008

During World War II, scientists funded by the United States government conducted mustard gas experiments on 60,000 American soldiers as part of military preparation for potential chemical warfare. One aspect of the chemical warfare research program on mustard gas involved race-based human experimentation. In at least nine research projects conducted during the 1940s, scientists investigated how so-called racial differences affected the impact of mustard gas exposure on the bodies of soldiers. Building on cultural beliefs about “race,” these studies occurred on military bases and universities, which became places for racialized human experimentation.
Human Subjects Protections in Biomedical Enhancement Research: Assessing Risk and Benefit and Obtaining Informed Consent
Authors: Mehlman Maxwell J. , Berg Jessica W.
Published: August 2008

There are two critical steps in determining whether a medical experiment involving human subjects can be conducted in an ethical manner: assessing risks and potential benefits and obtaining potential subjects’ informed consent. Although an extensive literature on both of these aspects exists, virtually nothing has been written about human experimentation for which the objective is not to prevent, cure, or mitigate a disease or condition, but to enhance human capabilities. One exception is a 2004 article by Rebecca Dresser on preimplantation genetic modification — one of the most controversial enhancement technologies — in which she states, “Under existing research ethics principles, it would be unethical for investigators to perform modifications exposing embryos expected to develop into healthy children to significant risk in exchange for a possible physical or mental enhancement.” But Dresser does not explain why such an experiment would be unethical under existing principles, and her conclusion is not self-evident.
Rethinking Risk in Pediatric Research
Authors: Glass Kathleen Cranley , Binik Ariella
Published: August 2008

Many activities concerning the unknown involve the potential for risk, and clinical research is no exception. Some research participants experience correlative benefit; others do not. When the participants are adults, as in Phase I trials with healthy volunteers, we rely on a highly individualistic decision-making process based on autonomous choice. This assumes that the ability to make voluntary, competent, informed choices, evaluating the risks and benefits from a personal perspective, offers the best protection for research participants. Rightly or wrongly, we depend heavily on informed consent for protection. We have further refined our post-Nuremberg ethical principles by requiring that safety and toxicity of drugs and devices be first assessed on the least vulnerable. In addition, we assume Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) will screen out protocols involving an inappropriate level of risk.
Optimum Level of Salt in French‐Type Bread. Influence of Income Status, Salt Level in Daily Bread Consumption, and Test Location
Authors: Sosa M. , Flores A. , Hough G. , Apro N. , Ferreyra V. , Orbea M.M.
Published: August 2008

ABSTRACT:  The objectives of the present study were to measure the ideal salt concentration in French‐type bread among Argentine consumers in a home‐usage‐test (HUT) considering income status and salt content of daily bread consumption as covariables, and to compare the ideal salt concentrations measured in a HUT and a central‐location test (CLT). For the HUT, 420 consumers each received a sample of bread with a single salt concentration, and for the CLT, 100 consumers each received 7 samples with different salt concentrations. For each sample, consumers responded if they found the bread “not‐salty‐enough,”“okay,” or “too‐salty.” Neither income level nor salt content of daily bread influenced probability of rejection. The optimum sodium concentrations (milligrams per 100 g of bread dry basis) ± 95% confidence limits for the HUT and CLT were 980 ± 74 and 1157 ± 87, respectively. These values are substantially higher than 628, the mean sodium content of the bread sampled from the bakery shops where consumers bought their daily bread.
Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Whey Protein Isolate Coating Incorporated with Nisin, Grape Seed Extract, Malic Acid, and EDTA on a Turkey Frankfurter System
Authors: Gadang V.P. , Hettiarachchy N.S. , Johnson M.G. , Owens C.
Published: August 2008

ABSTRACT: The effectiveness of whey protein isolate (WPI) coatings incorporated with grape seed extract (GSE), nisin (N), malic acid (MA), and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and their combinations to inhibit the growth ofListeria monocytogenes, E. coliO157:H7, andSalmonella typhimuriumwere evaluated in a turkey frankfurter system through surface inoculation (approximately 106CFU/g) of pathogens. The inoculated frankfurters were dipped into WPI film forming solutions both with and without the addition of antimicrobial agents (GSE, MA, or N and EDTA, or combinations). Samples were stored at 4 °C for 28 d. TheL. monocytogenespopulation (5.5 log/g) decreased to 2.3 log/g after 28 d at 4 °C in the samples containing nisin (6000 IU/g) combined with GSE (0.5%) and MA (1.0%). TheS. typhimuriumpopulation (6.0 log/g) was decreased to approximately 1 log cycles after 28 d at 4 °C in the samples coated with WPI containing a combination of N, MA, GSE, and EDTA. TheE. coliO157:H7 population (6.15 log/g) was decreased by 4.6 log cycles after 28 d in samples containing WPI coating incorporated with N, MA, and EDTA. These findings demonstrated that the use of an edible film coating containing nisin, organic acids, and natural extracts is a promising means of controlling the growth and recontamination ofL. monocytogenes, S. typhimurium,andE. coliO157:H7 in ready‐to‐eat poultry products.
Secondary Hypertension: Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome
Authors: Singer Gregory M. , Setaro John F.
Published: August 2008

The epidemic of obesity in the United States and around the world is intensifying in severity and scope and has been implicated as an underlying mechanism in systemic hypertension. Obese hypertensive individuals characteristically exhibit volume congestion, relative elevation in heart rate, and high cardiac output with concomitant activation of the renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system. When the metabolic syndrome is present, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia may contribute to hypertension through diverse mechanisms. Blood pressure can be lowered when weight control measures are successful, using, for example, caloric restriction, aerobic exercise, weight loss drugs, or bariatric surgery. A major clinical challenge resides in converting short‐term weight reduction into a sustained benefit. Pharmacotherapy for the obese hypertensive patient may require multiple agents, with an optimal regimen consisting of inhibitors of the renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system, thiazide diuretics, β‐blockers, and calcium channel blockers if needed to attain contemporary blood pressure treatment goals.
Cardiac and coronary function in the Langendorff‐perfused mouse heart model
Authors: Reichelt Melissa E. , Willems Laura , Hack Benjamin A. , Peart Jason N. , Headrick John P.
Published: August 2008

The Langendorff mouse heart model is widely employed in studies of myocardial function and responses to injury (e.g. ischaemia). Nonetheless, marked variability exists in its preparation and functional properties. We examined the impact of early growth (8, 16, 20 and 24 weeks), sex, perfusion fluid [Ca2+] and pacing rate on contractile function and responses to 20 min ischaemia followed by 45 min reperfusion. We also assessed the impact of strain, and tested the utility of the model in studying coronary function. Under normoxic conditions, hearts from 8‐week‐old male C57BL/6 mice (2 mmfree perfusate [Ca2+], 420 beats min–1) exhibited 145 ± 2 mmHg left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP). Force development declined by ∼15% (126 ± 5 mmHg) with a reduction in free [Ca2+] to 1.35 mm, and by 25% (108 ± 3 mmHg) with increased pacing to 600 beats min–1. While elevated heart rate failed to modify ischaemic outcome, the lower [Ca2+] significantly improved contractile recovery (by >30%). We detected minimal sex‐dependent differences in normoxic function between 8 and 24 weeks, although age modified contractile function in males (increased LVDP at 24versus8 weeks) but not females. Both male and female hearts exhibited age‐related reductions in ischaemic tolerance, with a significant decline in recovery evident at 16 weeks in males and later, at 20–24 weeks, in females (versusrecoveries in hearts at 8 weeks). Strain also modified tolerance to ischaemia, with similar responses in hearts from C57BL/6, 129/sv, Quackenbush Swiss and FVBN mice, but substantially greater tolerance in BALB/c hearts. In terms of vascular function, baseline coronary flow (20–25 ml min−1g−1) was 50–60% of maximally dilated flows, and coronary reactive and functional hyperaemic responses were pronounced (up to 4‐fold elevations in flow in hearts lacking ventricular balloons). These data indicate that attention to age (and sex) of mice will reduce variability in contractile function and ischaemic responses. Even small differences in perfusion fluid [Ca2+] also significantly modify tolerance to ischaemia (whereas modest shifts in heart rate do not impact). Ischaemic responses are additionally strain dependent, with BALB/c hearts displaying greatest intrinsic tolerance. Finally, the model is applicable to the study of vascular reactivity, providing large responses and excellent reproducibility.
Purinergic cotransmission
Authors: Burnstock Geoffrey
Published: August 2008

Adenosine 5′‐triphosphate (ATP) is a cotransmitter with classical transmitters in most nerves in the peripheral and central nervous systems, although the proportions vary between tissues and species and in different developmental and pathophysiological circumstances. There was early evidence that ATP was released together with acetylcholine (ACh) from motor nerves supplying skeletal muscle, although it was considered at the time as a molecule involved in the vesicular uptake and storage of ACh. Later it was shown that in the developing neuromuscular junction, released ATP acted on P2X receptor ion channels as a genuine cotransmitter with ACh. Adenosine triphosphate was shown to be released from sympathetic nerves supplying the guinea‐pig taenia coli in 1971. Soon after, the possibility was raised that ATP was coreleased with noradrenaline from sympathetic nerves to guinea‐pig seminal vesicle, cat nictitating membrane and guinea‐pig vas deferens. Sympathetic purinergic cotransmission has also been demonstrated in many blood vessels. Parasympathetic nerves supplying the urinary bladder use ACh and ATP as cotransmitters; ATP acts through P2X ionotropic receptors, whereas the slower component of the response is mediated by the metabotropic muscarinic receptor. Adenosine triphosphate and glutamate appear to be cotransmitters in primary afferent sensory neurons. Adenosine triphosphate, calcitonin gene‐related peptide and substance P coexist in some sensory‐motor nerves. A subpopulation of intramural enteric nerves provides non‐adrenergic, non‐cholinergic inhibitory innervation of gut smooth muscle. Three cotransmitters are involved, namely ATP, nitric oxide and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. In recent years, studies have shown that ATP is released with ACh, noradrenaline, glutamate, γ‐aminobutyric acid, 5‐hyroxytryptamine and dopamine in different subpopulations of neurons in the central nervous system.
Angiotensin II stimulates water and NaCl intake through separate cell signalling pathways in rats
Authors: Daniels Derek , Mietlicki Elizabeth G. , Nowak Erica L. , Fluharty Steven J.
Published: August 2008

Angiotensin II (AngII) stimulation of water and NaCl intake is a classic model of the behavioural effects of hormones.In vitrostudies indicate that the AngII type 1 (AT1) receptor stimulates intracellular pathways that include protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinase activation. Previous studies support the hypotheses that PKC is involved in AngII‐induced water, but not NaCl intake and that MAP kinase plays a role in NaCl consumption, but not water intake, after injection of AngII. The present experiments test these hypotheses in rats using central injections of AngII in the presence or absence of a PKC inhibitor or a MAP kinase inhibitor. Pretreatment with the PKC inhibitor chelerythrine attenuated AngII‐induced water intake, but NaCl intake was unaffected. In contrast, pretreatment with U0126, a MAP kinase inhibitor, had no effect on AngII‐induced water intake, but attenuated NaCl intake. These data support the working hypotheses and significantly extend our earlier findings and those of others. Perhaps more importantly, these experiments demonstrate the remarkable diversity of peptide receptor systems and add support for the surprising finding that intracellular signalling pathways can have divergent behavioural relevance.
A Finite-Deformation Shell Theory for Carbon Nanotubes Based on the Interatomic Potential—Part II: Instability Analysis
Authors: Wu J. , Hwang K. C. , Song J. , Huang Y.
Published: August 2008

Based on the finite-deformation shell theory for carbon nanotubes established from the interatomic potential in Part I of this paper, we have studied the instability of carbon nanotubes subjected to different loadings (tension, compression, internal and external pressures, and torsion). Similar to the conventional shells, carbon nanotubes may undergo bifurcation under compression/torsion/external pressure. Our analysis, however, shows that carbon nanotubes may also undergo bifurcation in tension and internal pressure, though the bifurcation modes for tension and compression are very different, and so are the modes for the internal and external pressures. The critical load for instability and bifurcation depends on the interatomic potential used.
Coupled Superconducting and Magnetic Order in CeCoIn
5
Authors: Kenzelmann M. , Strässle Th. , Niedermayer C. , Sigrist M. , Padmanabhan B. , Zolliker M. , Bianchi A. D. , Movshovich R. , Bauer E. D. , Sarrao J. L. , Thompson J. D.
Published: August 2008

Strong magnetic fluctuations can provide a coupling mechanism for electrons that leads to unconventional superconductivity. Magnetic order and superconductivity have been found to coexist in a number of magnetically mediated superconductors, but these order parameters generally compete. We report that close to the upper critical field, CeCoIn
5
adopts a multicomponent ground state that simultaneously carries cooperating magnetic and superconducting orders. Suppressing superconductivity in a first-order transition at the upper critical field leads to the simultaneous collapse of the magnetic order, showing that superconductivity is necessary for the magnetic order. A symmetry analysis of the coupling between the magnetic order and the superconducting gap function suggests a form of superconductivity that is associated with a nonvanishing momentum.
Characterization of DegQ
Vh
, a Serine Protease and a Protective Immunogen from a Pathogenic
Vibrio harveyi
Strain
Authors: Zhang Wei-wei , Sun Kun , Cheng Shuang , Sun Li
Published: August 2008

Vibrio harveyi
is an important marine pathogen that can infect a number of aquaculture species.
V. harveyi degQ
(

degQ
Vh

), the gene encoding a DegQ homologue, was cloned from T4, a pathogenic
V. harveyi
strain isolated from diseased fish. DegQ
Vh
was closely related to the HtrA family members identified in other
Vibrio
species and could complement the temperature-sensitive phenotype of an
Escherichia coli
strain defective in
degP
. Expression of

degQ
Vh

in T4 was modulated by temperature, possibly through the σ
E
-like factor. Enzymatic analyses demonstrated that the recombinant DegQ
Vh
protein expressed in and purified from
E. coli
was an active serine protease whose activity required the integrity of the catalytic site and the PDZ domains. The optimal temperature and pH of the recombinant DegQ
Vh
protein were 50°C and pH 8.0. A vaccination study indicated that the purified recombinant DegQ
Vh
was a protective immunogen that could confer protection upon fish against infection by
V. harveyi
. In order to improve the efficiency of DegQ
Vh
as a vaccine, a genetic construct in the form of the plasmid pAQ1 was built, in which the DNA encoding the processed DegQ
Vh
protein was fused with the DNA encoding the secretion region of AgaV, an extracellular β-agarase. The
E. coli
strain harboring pAQ1 could express and secrete the chimeric DegQ
Vh
protein into the culture supernatant. Vaccination of fish with viable
E. coli
expressing chimeric

degQ
Vh

significantly (
P
< 0.001) enhanced the survival of fish against
V. harveyi
challenge, which was possibly due to the relatively prolonged exposure of the immune system to the recombinant antigen produced constitutively, albeit at a gradually decreasing level, by the carrier strain.
The Genome of
Polaromonas
sp. Strain JS666: Insights into the Evolution of a Hydrocarbon- and Xenobiotic-Degrading Bacterium, and Features of Relevance to Biotechnology
Authors: Mattes Timothy E. , Alexander Anne K. , Richardson Paul M. , Munk A. Christine , Han Cliff S. , Stothard Paul , Coleman Nicholas V.
Published: August 2008

Polaromonas
sp. strain JS666 can grow on
cis
-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE) as a sole carbon and energy source and may be useful for bioremediation of chlorinated solvent-contaminated sites. Analysis of the genome sequence of JS666 (5.9 Mb) shows a bacterium well adapted to pollution that carries many genes likely to be involved in hydrocarbon and xenobiotic catabolism and metal resistance. Clusters of genes coding for haloalkane, haloalkanoate,
n
-alkane, alicyclic acid, cyclic alcohol, and aromatic catabolism were analyzed in detail, and growth on acetate, catechol, chloroacetate, cyclohexane carboxylate, cyclohexanol, ferulate, heptane, 3-hydroxybenzoate, hydroxyquinol, gentisate, octane, protocatechuate, and salicylate was confirmed experimentally. Strain JS666 also harbors diverse putative mobile genetic elements, including retrons, inteins, a miniature inverted-repeat transposable element, insertion sequence transposases from 14 families, eight genomic islands, a Mu family bacteriophage, and two large (338- and 360-kb) plasmids. Both plasmids are likely to be self-transferable and carry genes for alkane, alcohol, aromatic, and haloacid metabolism. Overall, the JS666 genome sequence provides insights into the evolution of pollutant-degrading bacteria and provides a toolbox of catabolic genes with utility for biotechnology.
Gram-Negative Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide Retention by a Positively Charged New-Generation Filter
Authors: Bononi Ilaria , Balatti Veronica , Gaeta Soccorso , Tognon Mauro
Published: August 2008

Removing endotoxins is an important target in the pharmaceutical industry and in clinical practice. A filter introduced into an intravenous line prevents microbiological contamination, but to date no filters have retained bacterial endotoxins. In our study, we assayed a new-generation filter which is able to capture endotoxins from solutions.
Factors Associated with Cross-Contamination of Hides of Scottish Cattle by
Escherichia coli
O157
Authors: Mather A. E. , Reid S. W. J. , McEwen S. A. , Ternent H. E. , Reid-Smith R. J. , Boerlin P. , Taylor D. J. , Steele W. B. , Gunn G. J. , Mellor D. J.
Published: August 2008

The putative source of hide contamination for 236 cattle in Scotland followed from the farm through to slaughter was determined using phage and verocytotoxin type data. The majority of cattle (84%) were found to have subtypes of
Escherichia coli
O157 on their hide that had not been found previously in any animal from the farm of origin, strongly suggesting that contamination occurred once animals had left the farm of origin. Using logistic regression analysis, several variables and factors were found to be strongly associated (
P
< 0.01) with cross-contamination of cattle hides at the univariate level; commercial transport to slaughter, transport with other animals, use of a crush, line automation, and increasing slaughterhouse throughput were all risk factors, while feeding hay in lairage, processing an animal earlier in a slaughter cohort, and cleaning the landing area poststunning were protective. In the multivariable model, with the slaughterhouse and the farm group included as random effects, factors associated with the cross-contamination of cattle hides were identified. Transport to the slaughterhouse by a commercial hauler had a borderline-significant association with increased odds of an animal having a cross-contaminated hide (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval {CI}] = 5.7 [0.99, 33.0];
P
= 0.05). At the slaughterhouse, providing hay to cattle waiting in lairage (OR [95% CI] = 0.04 [<0.01, 1.04];
P
= 0.05) and cleaning the landing area (OR [95% CI] = 0.03 [<0.01, 1.15,];
P
= 0.06) also had a borderline-significant association with decreased odds of an animal having a cross-contaminated hide. Although the prevalence of carcass contamination remains very low, targeted intervention at the preslaughter stage may have the potential to reduce further the risk to public health.
Extensive Genome Rearrangements and Multiple Horizontal Gene Transfers in a Population of
Pyrococcus
Isolates from Vulcano Island, Italy
Authors: White James R. , Escobar-Paramo Patricia , Mongodin Emmanuel F. , Nelson Karen E. , DiRuggiero Jocelyne
Published: August 2008

The extent of chromosome rearrangements in
Pyrococcus
isolates from marine hydrothermal vents in Vulcano Island, Italy, was evaluated by high-throughput genomic methods. The results illustrate the dynamic nature of the genomes of the genus
Pyrococcus
and raise the possibility of a connection between rapidly changing environmental conditions and adaptive genomic properties.
Identification and Characterization of Lactococcal-Prophage-Carried Superinfection Exclusion Genes
Authors: Mahony Jennifer , McGrath Stephen , Fitzgerald Gerald F. , van Sinderen Douwe
Published: August 2008

Superinfection exclusion (Sie) proteins are prophage-encoded phage resistance systems. In this study, genes encoding Sie systems were identified on the genomes of
Lactococcus lactis
subsp.
cremoris
MG1363 and
L. lactis
subsp.
lactis
IL1403. These Sie systems are genetically distinct and yet were shown to act specifically against a particular subset of the 936 phage group. Each of the systems allows normal phage adsorption while affecting plasmid transduction and intracellular phage DNA replication, which points to the blocking of phage DNA injection as their common mode of action. Sie-specifying genes found on the MG1363 prophages are also present in various lactococcal strains, whereas the prophage-encoded Sie systems of IL1403 do not appear to be as widely disseminated.