bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of synthetic peptides of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus recognized by long‐lasting immunity
Authors: Shichijo S. , Keicho N. , Long H.T. , Quy T. , Phi N.C. , Ha L.D. , Ban V.V. , Itoyama S. , Hu C.‐J. , Komatsu N. , Kirikae T. , Kirikae F. , Shirasawa S. , Kaji M. , Fukuda T. , Sata M. , Kuratsuji T. , Itoh K. , Sasazuki T.
Published: October 2004

Abstract:  In order to determine highly immunogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV) epitope peptides capable of inducing long‐lasting immunity, we first screened immunoglobulin‐G (IgG) antibodies reactive to 197 different overlapping 15‐mers from the SARS‐CoV proteins in the sera of three infected patients. Forty‐two peptides among them were reactive to the sera from all three patients. Consequently, we tested for the reactivity of these 42 peptides to patients' sera (n = 45) at 6‐month post‐infection. The significantly higher levels of IgG antibodies specific to three (S791, M207 and N161) of 42 peptides were detectable in the post‐infection sera from 23 (51%), 27 (60%) and 19 (42%) of 45 patients, respectively. These three peptides, recognized by their long‐lasting immunity, may provide a better understanding of the immunogenicity of SARS‐CoV.
The preventive anti‐oxidant action of thiazolidinediones: a new therapeutic prospect in diabetes and insulin resistance
Authors: Da Ros R. , Assaloni R. , Ceriello A.
Published: October 2004

Background  Hyperglycaemia‐derived oxygen free radicals may be mediators of diabetic complications.

Methods  Recent studies show that hyperglycaemia‐induced overproduction of superoxide seems to be the first and key event in activation of pathways involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. Superoxide overproduction is accompanied by increased nitric oxide generation and consequently formation of the powerful oxidant peroxynitrite and by poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase activation. This results in acute endothelial dysfunction and activation of inflammation in blood vessels that contribute to the development of diabetic complications.

Results  Thiazolidinediones are a new class of insulin‐sensitizing agents. They inhibit intracellular free radical overproduction. In particular, they inhibit the same pathways involved in hyperglycaemia‐derived oxidative stress, particularly iNOS and NF‐κB. Studies in animal models suggest that thiazolidinediones can reduce oxidative stress, independent of their ability to reduce hyperglycaemia.

Conclusions  The availability of compounds that simultaneously decrease hyperglycaemia, restore insulin resistance and inhibit pathways activated by high glucose producing oxidative stress signals a promising approach.
Diurnal blood glucose profiles in women with gestational diabetes with or without hypertension
Authors: Leinonen A. , Hiilesmaa V. , Andersen H. , Teramo K. , Kaaja R.
Published: October 2004

Aim  The aim of the study was to establish whether diurnal blood glucose profiles differed in women with gestational diabetes (GDM) with different forms of hypertensive complications.

Methods  The subjects were patients diagnosed at 26–32 gestational weeks as having GDM (n = 178). They were classified as being normotensive, having chronic hypertension (with or without superimposed pre‐eclampsia on chronic hypertension) or pregnancy‐induced hypertension (with or without proteinuria). We compared diurnal blood glucose profiles (blood glucose taken every 4 h over 24 h) in these three groups.

Results  Hypertension complicated 43% of the women with GDM. The glucose profiles were similar between the three groups, except that in early morning hours (from 04:00 to 08:00 h) blood glucose concentrations increased in mothers with chronic hypertension, whereas they decreased in the normotensive women. In univariate regression analysis, both obesity (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2) and chronic hypertension showed significant association with blood glucose rise from 04:00 to 08:00 h, but in a multiple regression model neither showed significant independent effect.

Conclusions  The rise in blood glucose levels during the early morning hours in women with GDM and chronic hypertension could reflect greater insulin resistance and sympathetic overactivity.
Better long‐term glycaemic control with the basal insulin glargine as compared with NPH in patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus given meal‐time lispro insulin
Authors: Porcellati F. , Rossetti P. , Pampanelli S. , Fanelli C. G. , Torlone E. , Scionti L. , Perriello G. , Bolli G. B.
Published: October 2004

Background  Glargine is a long‐acting insulin analogue potentially more suitable than NPH insulin in intensive treatment of Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1 DM), but no study has proven superiority. The aim of this study was to test superiority of glargine on long‐term blood glucose (BG) as well as on responses to hypoglycaemia vs. NPH.

Methods  One hundred and twenty‐one patients with T1 DM on intensive therapy on four times/day NPH and lispro insulin at each meal, were randomized to either continuation of NPH four times/day (n = 60), or once daily glargine at dinner‐time (n = 61) for 1 year. Lispro insulin at meal‐time was continued in both groups. In 11 patients from each group, responses to stepped hyperinsulinaemic‐hypoglycaemia were measured before and after 1 year's treatment.

Results  Mean daily BG was lower with glargine [7.6 ± 0.11 mmol/l (137 ± 2 mg/dl)] vs. NPH [8.1 ± 0.22 mmol/l (146 ± 4 mg/dl)] (P < 0.05). HbA1c at 4 months did not change with NPH, but decreased with glargine (from 7.1 ± 0.1 to 6.7 ± 0.1%), and remained lower than NPH at 12 months (6.6 ± 0.1%, P < 0.05 vs. NPH). Frequency of mild hypoglycaemia [self‐assisted episodes, blood glucose ≤ 4.0 mmol/l (72 mg/dl)] was lower with glargine vs. NPH (7.2 ± 0.5 and 13.2 ± 0.6 episodes/patient‐month, P < 0.05). After 1 year, NPH treatment resulted in no change of responses to hypoglycaemia, whereas with glargine plasma glucose, thresholds and maximal responses of plasma adrenaline and symptoms to hypoglycaemia improved (P < 0.05).

Conclusions  The simpler glargine regimen decreases the percentage of HbA1c and frequency of hypoglycaemia and improves responses to hypoglycaemia more than NPH. Thus, glargine appears more suitable than NPH as basal insulin for intensive treatment of T1 DM.
New and experimental approaches to treatment of diabetic foot ulcers: a comprehensive review of emerging treatment strategies
Authors: Eldor R. , Raz I. , Ben Yehuda A. , Boulton A. J. M.
Published: October 2004

Diabetic foot ulcers occur in up to 15% of all diabetic patients and are a leading cause of nontraumatic amputation worldwide. Neuropathy, abnormal foot biomechanics, peripheral vascular disease and external trauma are the major contributors to the development of a foot ulcer in the diabetic patient. Therapy today includes repeated debridement, offloading, and dressings, for lower grade ulcers, and broad spectrum antibiotics and occasionally limited or complete amputation for higher grades, requiring a team effort of health care workers from various specialties.

The large population affected by diabetic foot ulcers and the high rates of failure ending with amputation even with the best therapeutic regimens, have resulted in the development of new therapies and are the focus of this review. These include new off loading techniques, dressings from various materials, methods to promote wound closure using artificial skin grafts, different growth factors or wound bed modulators and methods of debridement.

These new techniques are promising but still mostly unproven and traditional approaches cannot be replaced. New and generally more expensive therapies should be seen as adding to traditional approaches.
Increased cysteine availability is essential for cadmium tolerance and accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Domínguez‐Solís José R. , López‐Martín M. Carmen , Ager Francisco J. , Ynsa M. Dolores , Romero Luis C. , Gotor Cecilia
Published: October 2004

Employing genetic transformation using an Atcys‐3A cDNA construct expressing the cytosolic O‐acetylserine(thiol)lyase (OASTL), we obtained two Arabidopsis lines with different capabilities for supplying cysteine under metal stress conditions. Lines 1‐2 and 10‐10, grown under standard conditions, showed similar levels of cysteine and glutathione (GSH) to those of the wild‐type. However, in the presence of cadmium, line 10‐10 showed significantly higher levels. The increased thiol content allowed line 10‐10 to survive under severe heavy metal stress conditions (up to 400 µm of cadmium in the growth medium), and resulted in an accumulation of cadmium in the leaves to a level similar to that of metal hyperaccumulator plants. Investigation of the epidermal leaf surface clearly showed that most of the cadmium had accumulated in the trichomes. Furthermore, line 10‐10 was able to accumulate more cadmium in its trichomes than the wild‐type, whereas line 1‐2 showed a reduced capacity for cadmium accumulation. Our results suggest that an increased rate of cysteine biosynthesis is responsible for the enhanced cadmium tolerance and accumulation in trichome leaves. Thus, molecular engineering of the cysteine biosynthesis pathway, together with modification of the number of leaf trichomes, may have considerable potential in increasing heavy metal accumulation for phytoremediation purposes.
A transcriptomics resource for wheat functional genomics
Authors: Wilson Ian D. , Barker Gary L. A. , Beswick Richard W. , Shepherd Sophie K. , Lu Chungui , Coghill Jane A. , Edwards David , Owen Philippa , Lyons Rebecca , Parker Jill S. , Lenton John R. , Holdsworth Michael J. , Shewry Peter R. , Edwards Keith J.
Published: October 2004

Grain development, germination and plant development under abiotic stresses are areas of biology that are of considerable interest to the cereal community. Within the Investigating Gene Function programme we have produced the resources required to investigate alterations in the transcriptome of hexaploid wheat during these developmental processes. We have single pass sequenced the cDNAs of between 700 and 1300 randomly picked clones from each of 35 cDNA libraries representing highly specific stages of grain and plant development. Annotated sequencing results have been stored in a publicly accessible, online database at http://www.cerealsdb.uk.net. Each of the tissue stages used has also been photographed in detail, resulting in a collection of high‐quality micrograph images detailing wheat grain development. These images have been collated and annotated in order to produce a web site focused on wheat development (http://www.wheatbp.net/). We have also produced high‐density microarrays of a publicly available wheat unigene set based on the 35 cDNA libraries and have completed a number of microarray experiments which validate their quality.
Targeted knockouts of Physcomitrella lacking plant‐specific immunogenic N‐glycans
Authors: Koprivova Anna , Stemmer Christian , Altmann Friedrich , Hoffmann Axel , Kopriva Stanislav , Gorr Gilbert , Reski Ralf , Decker Eva L.
Published: October 2004

Using plants as production factories for therapeutic proteins requires modification of their N‐glycosylation pattern because of the immunogenicity of plant‐specific sugar residues. In an attempt towards such humanization, we disrupted the genes for α1,3‐fucosyltransferase and β1,2‐xylosyltransferase in Physcomitrella patens by homologous recombination. The single Δfuc‐t and Δxyl‐t plants, as well as the double knockout, lacked transcripts of the corresponding genes, but did not differ from the wild‐type moss in morphology, growth, development, and ability to secrete a recombinant protein, the human vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF121, into the culture medium. N‐Glycan analysis, however, revealed the absence of 1,3‐fucosyl and/or 1,2‐xylosyl residues, respectively. Therefore, the modifications described here represent the key step towards the generation of moss lines suitable for the production of plant‐made glycosylated biopharmaceuticals with nonallergenic N‐glycans.
Early development of subcortical regions involved in non‐cued attention switching
Authors: Casey B.J. , Davidson Matthew C. , Hara Yuko , Thomas Kathleen M. , Martinez Antigona , Galvan Adriana , Halperin Jeffrey M. , Rodríguez‐Aranda Claudia E. , Tottenham Nim
Published: October 2004

This study examined the cognitive and neural development of attention switching using a simple forced‐choice attention task and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Fourteen children and adults made discriminations among stimuli based on either shape or color. Performance on these trials was compared to performance during blocked trials requiring all color or all shape discriminations. Magnetic resonance echo planar images were acquired during performance of the task. Both children and adults showed robust bilateral activity of the caudate nucleus when switching attention between color and shape discriminations that correlated negatively with mean response latency on these trials. However, neither switching costs nor caudate activity correlated with age, suggesting early development of the underlying neural circuitry involved in switching between salient stimulus sets. Overall, children and adults differed in performance and patterns of brain activity on the task, with adults responding more accurately and faster than children, and recruiting more prefrontal and parietal regions. These results suggest an important role of subcortical regions (i.e. caudate nucleus) in non‐cued attention switching, with increasing recruitment of cortical regions with age.
Two‐ and three‐year‐olds infer and reason about design intentions in order to categorize broken objects
Authors: Kemler Nelson Deborah G. , Holt Morghan B. , Egan Louisa Chan
Published: October 2004

In naming artifacts, do young children infer and reason about the intended functions of the objects? Participants between the ages of 2 and 4 years were shown two kinds of objects derived from familiar categories. One kind was damaged so as to undermine its usual function. The other kind was also dysfunctional, but made so by adding features that appeared to be intentional. Evidence that 2‐, 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds were more likely to apprehend the broken objects than the intentionally dysfunctional objects as members of the familiar lexical categories favors the conclusion that, in naming, children may spontaneously infer and reason about design intentions from an early age. This is the first evidence that 2‐ and 3‐year‐olds not only take design intentions into account in object categorization, but that they do so even without explicit mention of the objects’ accidental or intentional histories. The results cast doubt on a proposal that young children's lexical categorization is based on automatic, non‐deliberative processes.
An Overlapping‐generations Model of Escape Clause Protection
Authors: Davidson Carl , Matusz Steven J.
Published: October 2004

The paper explores the efficiency consequences of using temporary protection to ease adjustment following an unexpected, permanent improvement in a country's terms of trade. In the model, workers trade off the potentially higher wage that the export sector has to offer with a lower job acquisition rate. An unexpected improvement in the terms of trade surprises old workers who cannot undo the decisions they made while young. Some old workers who had not planned to search for work in the export sector end up changing their plans, adding to the pool of searchers, creating congestion. Temporary protection can reduce congestion and make the transition to the new steady state smoother. Moreover, there are conditions under which the congestion externalities lead to multiple steady‐state equilibria that can be Pareto‐ranked. Temporary protection may lead to a permanent change in the allocation of resources, and this permanent change may be welfare‐enhancing.
Aspects of International Fragmentation
Authors: Kohler Wilhelm
Published: October 2004

The paper uses a specific‐factors framework to address efficiency and distributional implications of international fragmentation which is driven by a low foreign wage rate. Focusing on the cost‐savings linkage between fragmentation and labor demand in the remaining domestic activities, the author establishes a fragmentation surplus. If capital is an indivisible asset specific to the fragment produced abroad, then fragmentation may cause a domestic welfare loss, because outsourcing takes place in discrete steps where it affords firms “quasi‐market‐power” on the domestic labor market. The regime shift from domestic production to fragmentation is modeled as a two‐stage game. In stage one, firms locate indivisible assets at home or abroad; in stage two they choose optimal employment. The share of fragmented firms is endogenously determined. The paper explores conditions under which outsourcing is beneficial for the domestic economy.
Two Dimensions of Convergence: National and International Wage Adjustment Effects of Cross‐border Outsourcing in Europe
Authors: Egger Peter , Pfaffermayr Michael
Published: October 2004

The paper proposes a distinction between the two dimensions of convergence—within and between countries—when analyzing the impact of cross‐border outsourcing on real wage rates in the EU‐15 and the CEEC. In the CEEC, international outsourcing has not affected the adjustment of average real wage rates at the manufacturing industry level, but it has led to a closure of the gap within a typical EU economy. Between‐country convergence is likewise fostered by cross‐border outsourcing, supporting the hypothesis that outsourcing facilitates international factor price equalization.
“Export Experience” under Borrowing Constraints
Authors: Jafarey Saqib , Lahiri Sajal
Published: October 2004

The paper develops a two‐period, two‐country, multigood model with endogenous investment. Borrowing is subject to quantitative restrictions. The authors examine the effect of promoting exports in period 1 on the level of exports in period 2. They consider a number of scenarios depending on how the initial values of the policy instruments are determined, and compare the “export‐experience” effects under the different scenarios.
Fluid systems and mineralization in the north German and Polish basin
Authors: Schmidt Mumm A. , Wolfgramm M.
Published: October 2004

The North European Basin hosts mineral deposits like the Kupferschiefer and the Mississippi Valley Type deposits in the Silesian sub‐basin in Poland. The basement to this basin, exposed in the Harz Mts and in the Flechtingen and Calvörde Blocks, contains Mesozoic Pb–Zn vein mineralization and barite–fluorite deposits as well as massive hematite veins in the Rotliegend volcanics. A comparison of the mineralizing models of these deposits with results from a basin‐wide petrographic, fluid inclusion and stable isotope study shows that the genesis of the mineral deposits can be explained by fluid systems that were active during different stages of basin evolution. These comprise syn‐ to post‐magmatic fluids derived from or mobilized in the course of the Rotliegend magmatism, fluids convecting in the Rotliegend units during the extensional basin subsidence in the Permo‐Triassic and originating from progressive devolatilization of the basin sequence and fluids derived from the overlying Zechstein evaporites. Deep‐reaching fault systems developing during the Cretaceous tectonic reactivation enhanced fluid percolation from the surface to the deep sections of the basin sequence. Identification and correlation of these fluids across the basin and in the mineralizations provide the base for a basin‐wide metallogenetic model.
The Ixtacamaxtitlán kaolinite deposit and sinter (Puebla State, Mexico): a magmatic‐hydrothermal system telescoped by a shallow paleoaquifer
Authors: Tritlla J. , Camprubí A. , Morales‐Ramírez J. M. , Iriondo A. , Corona‐Esquivel R. , González‐Partida E. , Levresse G. , Carrillo‐Chávez A.
Published: October 2004

The Ixtacamaxtitlán hydrothermal deposit is made up of a succession, from bottom to top, of: (1) a porphyritic subvolcanic body, crosscut by quartz veins, and a stockwork with subordinate sulfides (pyrite and chalcopyrite), showing propylitic alteration haloes overprinting a previous potassic alteration event (biotitization); (2) an overlying, kaolinized lithic‐rich rhyolitic tuff; and (3) a layered opal deposit with preserved sedimentary structures. This vertical zonation, coupled with the distribution of the alteration assemblages, lead us to the interpretation of the whole as a porphyry‐type deposit grading upwards to a barren, steam‐heated, acid‐leached, kaolinite blanket with a partially preserved silica sinter on top. Both the fluid inclusion study carried out on the veins and stockwork, and the stable isotopic analyses of the kaolinized bodies, suggest the presence of two major hydrothermal events. The older event is characterized by the occurrence of hot hypersaline fluids (up to 320°C and 36 wt% NaCl equivalents), likely of magmatic origin, closely associated with the emplacement of the underlying early Miocene porphyry‐type deposit. The later event is characterized by the presence of cooler and dilute fluids (up to 140°C and 4 wt% NaCl equivalents) and by advanced argillic alteration close to the paleosurface. The calculated isotopic composition of water in equilibrium with the kaolinitic sequence plots close to and underneath the meteoric water line, partially overlapping the Los Humeros present‐day geothermal fluids. This evidence coupled with the petrographic observations suggests that steam‐heated phreatic waters altered the lithic‐rich rhyolitic tuff. This would have occurred when acid vapors, exsolved from deeper hydrothermal fluids by boiling, reached the local paleowater table and condensed, after a sector collapse that changed the system from lithostatic to hydrostatic conditions.
American youth consumption of licit and illicit substances
Authors: Lee Yoon G. , Abdel‐Ghany Mohamed
Published: October 2004

Using a representative sample of the 2001 National School‐based Youth Risk Behavior Survey, this study investigated the contemporaneous and intertemporal relationship between the use of licit and illicit substances by American youth between the ages 12 and 18. The results indicated a strong contemporaneous relationship between smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, and using cocaine. The results supported the gateway hypothesis indicating that prior smoking of cigarettes is significantly associated with the probability of current marijuana and cocaine use, as prior drinking of alcohol is significantly associated with the probability of current marijuana and cocaine use. The results also showed that males had a higher probability of using cocaine than females, whereas black students had a higher probability of smoking marijuana and using cocaine than white students. Age and race were associated with marijuana and cocaine use, but cocaine use was further linked with the factors of gender, region, and metropolitan area. These findings could have implications for public policies regarding prevention.
SHORT COMMUNICATION: Adverse maternal outcomes in multifetal pregnancies
Authors: Walker Mark C. , Murphy Kellie E. , Pan Saiyi , Yang Qiuying , Wen Shi Wu
Published: October 2004

In this retrospective cohort of 165,188 singleton pregnancies and 44,674 multiple‐fetal pregnancies in Canada from 1984 to 2000, we compared the incidence of maternal complications. Multiple gestation pregnancies were associated with significant increases in cardiac morbidity, haematologic morbidity, amniotic fluid embolus, pre‐eclampsia, gestational diabetes, postpartum haemorrhage, prolonged hospital stay, the need for obstetric intervention, hysterectomy and blood transfusion. Multiple gestation pregnancies are associated with an increased risk of morbidity for the mother. This should be taken into consideration in antenatal care of these women.
Should cryopreserved epididymal or testicular sperm be recovered from obstructive azoospermic men for ICSI?
Authors: Griffiths M. , Kennedy C.R. , Rai J. , Wilson L. , Blacklock A.R.E. , Keay S.D.
Published: October 2004

Objective  To determine the effect of the anatomical site of sperm recovery on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) embryo implantation, pregnancy and live birth rates in couples with isolated obstructive azoospermia as the sole cause of infertility.

Design  Controlled, single centre, retrospective clinical study.

Setting  University Hospital, Centre for Reproductive Medicine.

Sample  One hundred and fifty‐one cycles of ICSI were performed, using surgically recovered sperm, between August 1996 and March 2002.

Methods  The outcome of ICSI, with surgically recovered sperm, was compared between epididymal (Group E) and testicular (Group T) derived sperm. Inclusion was limited to couples undergoing their first treatment cycle, where female age was ≤39 years and a minimum of five oocytes were available for injection. Women with a history of ovarian surgery, ultrasonic evidence of polycystic ovaries, uterine anomalies or hydrosalpinx were excluded.

Main outcome measures  Clinical pregnancy, implantation and live birth rate.

Results  Forty‐two of 151 cycles met the strict inclusion criteria. Groups E and T were comparable with respect to age, basal serum FSH, ovarian response; number of oocytes injected and number of embryos available and transferred. No difference existed between Groups E and T in implantation, clinical pregnancy or live birth rate (28.8%vs 25.8%, 42.9%vs 42.9% and 39.3%vs 42.9%, respectively).

Conclusions  Cryopreserved epididymal and testicular sperm, from men with obstructive azoospermia, appear equally effective in ICSI. Epididymal recovery should remain the method of first choice for obstructive azoospermic men but further study of sperm DNA damage rates in different testicular sites is required.
Low dose recombinant FSH treatment may reduce multiple gestations caused by controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and intrauterine insemination
Authors: Papageorgiou Theocharis C. , Guibert Juliette , Savale Michèle , Goffinet François , Fournier Charles , Merlet Françoise , Janssens Yvette , Zorn Jean‐René
Published: October 2004

Objective  To evaluate the rate of multiple pregnancies in intrauterine insemination cycles stimulated with a minimal dose of recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rec‐FSH).

Design  Retrospective study.

Setting  University Medical Center.

Population  A total of 1256 patients underwent 3219 consequent intrauterine insemination cycles with minimal ovarian stimulation.

Methods  Patients received 50 or 75 IU of rec‐FSH from day four to day seven. The dose was adjusted according to oestradiol (E2) levels in order to achieve a maximum of two follicles on the day of hCG administration.

Main outcome measures  Peak E2 levels, the number of follicles >15 mm and pregnancy rates were calculated. The predictive value of E2 levels for multiple gestations was also estimated.

Results  Of 3219 cycles, 334 resulted in pregnancies (10%). Of these, 238 (91%) were singletons, 28 (8%) twins and 1 (0.3%) was a triplet. The cumulative overall pregnancy rate was 43%. Patients over 40 years old had a significantly lower pregnancy rate per cycle and overall live birth rate (P < 0.05). Most pregnancies (83%) occurred during the first three cycles. Pregnancy rates per cycle varied from 8% for tubal factor to 14% for anovulation infertility.

Conclusions  Minimal FSH stimulation in intrauterine insemination cycles may reduce the rates of twins and high order multiple pregnancies without affecting overall pregnancy rates.
A survey of the attitudes of infertile and parous women towards the availability of assisted reproductive technology
Authors: Heikkilä Katri , Länsimies Esko , Hippeläinen Maritta , Heinonen Seppo
Published: October 2004

Objective  The aim of the study was to assess differences in attitudes towards aspects of assisted reproduction technology between infertile and parous women.

Design  Case‐control study.

Setting  University‐based tertiary care clinic.

Population/Sample  Three hundred and ninety‐two women with fertility problems and 200 parous controls.

Methods  A questionnaire was sent out to 392 the members of Childless Support Association and 200 parous women who had at least three infants and had given birth at Kuopio University Hospital. The questionnaire consisted of 46 questions: demographic information, fertility history, different aspects of assisted reproduction technology and prioritisation issues.

Main outcome measures  Attitudes towards assisted reproduction technology.

Results  The overall response rate was 46%. Infertile women were highly educated (P < 0.01) and had lower parity (mean 0.83 vs 4.76, P < 0.01) than parous women. We recorded four major differences in attitudes between the two groups (OR >2 or <0.5) including provision of infertility treatment to lesbian (46.9%vs 16.7%) and homosexual couples (28.4%vs 11.4%), the opportunity for homosexual couples to use surrogate mothers (30.6%vs 15.2%) and limitations in the number of infertility treatment cycles (28.4%vs 61.4%). For 11 questions, we recorded minor, but statistically significant, differences. In the prioritisation questions, the women set the order according to their own interests, probably because the women were at fertile age and they had or would like to have a child. Maternity services and screening for cancer in women (Papanicolaou's test and mammography) were at the top of the list.

Conclusion  These results reflect a split attitude that was influenced by the wish of infertile women to help childless couples and to be able to recruit suitable sperm/oocyte donors. Parous women were motivated by their concern for children's rights.
Beyond the Understanding of Visual Culture: A Pragmatist Approach to Aesthetic Education
Authors: Aguirre Imanol
Published: October 2004

In the recent decades art education has tried to move away from the trends based on practical skills and techniques towards a greater stress on interpreting and understanding visual culture, created by the mass media. This approach implies a revision of the field of study and a redefinition of goals, replacing the study of art with a study of ‘visual culture’, a concept that better describes the daily environment of students and which reorientates art education towards social and cultural awareness. In this article, starting from Dewey's conception of art as experience, a theoretical framework is offered based on three ideas. Firstly, the subject of art education involves aesthetic experience, which includes both ‘high’ art and popular culture. Secondly, it is necessary to reconstruct the balance between understanding and production in art education, in order to consider art products as narratives, stories or comments about life experiences. Thirdly, to review the educational function of art education in order to determinate its value for social reconstruction and for which Rorty calls ‘self‐creation’.
Building a Creative Ecosystem – The Young Designers on Location Project
Authors: Davies Dan , Howe Alan , Haywood Susan
Published: October 2004

This article reports on findings from a research project designed to explore ways in which creativity can be fostered through interactions between selected children, particular environments, materials, techniques and key adults. The Young Designers on Location (YDoL) project was funded by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), and brought together selected groups of 11 year‐olds with ‘design‐related professionals’ (DRPs) to work together intensively for a week in two locations (Bath Spa University College and Ironbridge Gorge Museum, Shropshire) then subsequently in participants' schools. The findings from case studies of selected individuals within the Bath location include key messages about the quality of environment and relationships in unlocking children's creativity. The study has exemplified aspects of Harrington's model of a ‘creative ecosystem’ [1].
The Importance of Painting in Pedagogic Practice
Authors: Jarvis Michael
Published: October 2004

In this paper I emphasise the continuing importance of painting as a critical art practice. Contemporary art has always, naturally, reflected the development and exploration of new technologies and our current postmodern era is no different. However, despite our obsession with, and increasing reliance on, computer and filmbased technologies, it is interesting that traditional methods of making art remain a valid means of expression.

One reason for the continuing persistence of painting can be located in the early years' classroom. In its very physical guise of constructing a world through materials, painting continues to be relevant to children and adults of all ages. Furthermore, because of its expressive potential in the classroom and studio alike, painting retains an authentic voice, legitimated by the past, rather than hidebound by its traditions. Painting constitutes a living discourse which speaks directly and unequivocally to the present age.
In Silico Genetics: Identification of a Functional Element Regulating
H2
-
E
α Gene Expression
Authors: Liao Guochun , Wang Jianmei , Guo Jingshu , Allard John , Cheng Janet , Ng Anh , Shafer Steve , Puech Anne , McPherson John D. , Foernzler Dorothee , Peltz Gary , Usuka Jonathan
Published: October 2004

Computational tools can markedly accelerate the rate at which murine genetic models can be analyzed. We developed a computational method for mapping phenotypic traits that vary among inbred strains onto haplotypic blocks. This method correctly predicted the genetic basis for strain-specific differences in several biologically important traits. It was also used to identify an allele-specific functional genomic element regulating
H2-E
α gene expression. This functional element, which contained the binding sites for YY1 and a second transcription factor that is probably serum response factor, is located within the first intron of the
H2-E
α gene. This computational method will greatly improve our ability to identify the genetic basis for a variety of phenotypic traits, ranging from qualitative trait information to quantitative gene expression data, which vary among inbred mouse strains.
A Centenarian's Summary
Authors: Glaubrecht Matthias
Published: October 2004

What Makes Biology Unique?
Considerations on the Autonomy of a Scientific Discipline. by Ernst Mayr. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2004. 246 pp. $30, £25. ISBN 0-521-84114-3.

In his 25th book and 101st year, the author offers a collection of revised and new essays that explore the philosophy of biology and evolution.
Growth, reproduction, and population structure in four alpine lichens during 240 years of primary colonization
Authors: Hestmark Geir , Skogesal Olav , Skullerud Øystein
Published: October 2004

The increase in thallus diameter and apothecium production, and the population size structure of the saxicolous lichens Umbilicaria cylindrica (L.) Del., Umbilicaria hyperborea (Ach.) Hoffm., Umbilicaria proboscidea (L.) Schrad, and Umbilicaria torrefacta (Lightf.) Schrad, were measured in a chronosequence of 240 years in a glacier foreland in the alpine Jotunheimen National Park in Norway. All four species exhibited a pattern of fast growth in the early decades of their life history, followed by a rapid decrease in growth, slowly approaching a maximum body size. There were clear interspecific differences in initial estimated growth rate, growth period, and maximum size. In all species, apothecium production is strongly correlated with thallus size, but in U. hyperborea the relationship approximates an exponential function, while in the other species the trend is more linear. In U. proboscidea, the slowest to mature, a fairly high proportion of sterile individuals also occur in the higher size classes. There was no observed trade off between growth and reproduction. Quite the contrary: the species that grow faster also start to reproduce abundantly and early. The relatively slow growth and reproductive maturation of the species implies that a population of 40- to 50-year-old individual thalli is still a population consisting mainly of immigrants. The population size structure of all four species remains strongly skewed during the entire chronosequence, with a predominance of small thalli.Key words: plant life histories, lichen growth rates, size structure, Umbilicaria.
Pollen performance and male fitness in an anemophilous, monoecious tree, Betula pendula
Authors: Pietarinen Päivi , Pasonen Hanna-Leena
Published: October 2004

Betula pendula Roth clones were examined to study the relationship between pollen grain size and pollen tube growth rate and pollen and seed performance. Two hypotheses were tested: (i) pollen donors with larger pollen grains have faster growing pollen tubes and (ii) maternal plants produce more seeds when inflorescences have been pollinated by pollen from donors with fast pollen tube growth. Pollen from 15 plants was collected, and pollen grain sizes and pollen tube growth rates were studied in vitro. Eight maternal clones were pollinated by pollen from seven paternal clones, pollen tube growth rates of the pollen donors were measured on each maternal plant, and the number and mass of the resulting seeds were analysed. There was no correlation between pollen grain size and pollen tube growth rate in vitro. Also, there was no relationship between pollen tube growth rate and the number of produced or aborted seeds. Thus, the hypothesis that larger pollen grains would have longer pollen tubes was not supported by the present study. The results of the present study do not support the idea that pollen donors with fast pollen tube growth should sire more and better seeds.Key words: Betula pendula, female choice, nonrandom abortion, pollen competition, sexual selection.
Species-specific variation in shoot production patterns of five birch species with respect to vegetative and reproductive shoots
Authors: Ishihara Masae , Kikuzawa Kihachiro
Published: October 2004

We tested whether the difference in shoot production patterns of reproductive and vegetative shoots is only due to resource or meristem availability or also due to species-specific factors. Rates of shoot production by four shoot types (reproductive long shoots, vegetative long shoots, reproductive short shoots, and vegetative short shoots) in Betula platyphylla Sukatchev var. japonica (Miq.) Hara, Betula davurica Pall., Betula ermanii Cham., Betula grossa Sieb. et Zucc., and Betula maximowicziana Regel were compared. In the first three species, each shoot type produced all four shoot types. However, in the latter species, limited shoot production pathways were found both in reproductive shoots and in vegetative shoots, which do not carry any costs associated with reproduction. Furthermore, shoot production by reproductive shoots was not always diminished, but rather was enhanced compared with that by vegetative shoots in B. maximowicziana. These results suggest the importance of species-specific patterns in shoot production, in addition to previously suggested explanations involving resource or meristem limitation.Key words: species specificity, cost of reproduction, Betula, reproductive shoots, vegetative shoots.
Coupled fluid flow, heat and mass transport, and erosion in the Alberta basin: implications for the origin of the Athabasca oil sands
Authors: Adams J J , Rostron B J , Mendoza C A
Published: October 2004

Regional topography-driven flow systems related to Laramide tectonic rebound were simulated using two-dimensional, coupled fluid-flow, heat transport, and solute transport numerical models to replicate present formation water salinity and temperature distributions and investigate the accumulation of the Athabasca oil sands. Previous modelling of this system was replicated, and it predicted repeated replacement of all basin formation water with freshwater during deposition of the oil sands due to high permeabilities. To match present Alberta basin temperature and salinity distributions, model hydrostratigraphy, permeabilities, and heat fluxes were adjusted. This revised model conducts fluids along the Mannville aquifer, rather than the Upper Devonian aquifer, and replicates present salinity distributions, assuming instantaneous uplift around 60 Ma. Fluid fluxes in principal aquifers decrease by two-orders of magnitude using new permeabilities, resulting in primarily conductive heat transport. Thus, genesis of the Athabasca oil sands cannot be explained by dissolved-phase petroleum transport due to low simulated fluxes. Model simulations representing constant erosion of a higher topographic gradient produce similar flow patterns, but fluid fluxes, temperatures and hydraulic heads uniformly decrease over 58 million years. Increased erosion rates in the last stage of simulations produce sub-hydrostatic pressures near the uplift, which trigger a flow reversal in the basin. Thinning of the capping Cretaceous aquitard and Mannville permeability distribution causes discharge in the vicinity of the Peace River, coincident with Peace River oil sands and solonetzic soil zones. Regional topography-driven flow gradually decays via diminishing fluid fluxes, underpressuring near the disturbed belt, and development of local flow sub-systems driven by small-scale relief.
Simultaneous painting of three genomes in hexaploid wheat by BAC-FISH
Authors: Zhang Peng , Li Wanlong , Friebe Bernd , Gill Bikram S
Published: October 2004

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is widely used in the physical mapping of genes and chromosome landmarks in plants and animals. Bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) contain large inserts, making them amenable for FISH mapping. In our BAC-FISH experiments, we selected 56 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-locus-specific BAC clones from the libraries of Triticum monococcum and Aegilops tauschii, which are the A- and D-genome donors of wheat (Triticum aestivum, 2n = 6x = 42), respectively. The BAC clone 676D4 from the T. monococcum library contains a dispersed repeat that preferentially hybridizes to A-genome chromosomes, and two BAC clones, 9I10 and 9M13, from the Ae. tauschii library contain a dispersed repeat that preferentially hybridizes to the D-genome chromosomes. These repeats are useful in simultaneously discriminating the three different genomes in hexaploid wheat, and in identifying intergenomic translocations in wheat or between wheat and alien chromosomes. Sequencing results show that both of these repeats are transposable elements, indicating the importance of transposable elements, especially retrotransposons, in the genome evolution of wheat.Key words: bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), transposable elements (TEs), wheat, Triticum aestivum.
Alterations in subtelomeric tandem repeats during early stages of allopolyploidy in wheat
Authors: Salina E A , Numerova O M , Ozkan H , Feldman M
Published: October 2004

The genomic content of the subtelomeric repeated sequences Spelt1 and Spelt52 was studied by dot, Southern, and in situ hybridization in 11 newly synthesized amphiploids of Aegilops and Triticum, and data were compared with the parental plants. Spelt1 had reduced copy numbers in the first generation of three synthetic amphiploids, but two others did not change; Spelt52 was amplified in nine amphiploids and did not change in two. In the second allopolyploid generation, Spelt1 copy number did not change, whereas there was amplification of Spelt52 in some allopolyploids and decreases in others. Neither allopolyploidy level nor the direction of the cross affected the patterns of change in the newly synthesized amphiploids. Changes did not result from intergenomic recombination because similar alterations were noticed in allopolyploids with and without Ph1, a gene that suppresses homoeologous pairing. No differences in Spelt1 and Spelt52 tandem organization were found by Southern hybridization. The significance of these data are discussed in relation to the establishment of newly formed allopolyploids.Key words: Aegilops, genomic changes, polyploidy, subtelomeric tandem repeats, Triticum, wheat.
Extracting DNA from submerged pine wood
Authors: Reynolds M Megan , Williams Claire G
Published: October 2004

A DNA extraction protocol for submerged pine logs was developed with the following properties: (i) high molecular weight DNA, (ii) PCR amplification of chloroplast and nuclear sequences, and (iii) high sequence homology to voucher pine specimens. The DNA extraction protocol was modified from a cetyltrimehtylammonium bromide (CTAB) protocol by adding stringent electrophoretic purification, proteinase K, RNAse, polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), and Gene Releaser®. Chloroplast rbcL (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase) could be amplified. Nuclear ribosomal sequences had >95% homology to Pinus taeda and Pinus palustris. Microsatellite polymorphism for PtTX2082 matched 2 of 14 known P. taeda alleles. Our results show DNA analysis for submerged conifer wood is feasible.Key words: conifers, wood, polymerase chain reaction, sequencing.
Map positions of third chromosomal female sterile and lethal mutations ofDrosophila melanogaster
Authors: Schuetze Christopher , Peters Michelle , Duong Jia-Jen , Cavey Matthieu , Dörig Ruth , Lasko Paul , Suter Beat
Published: October 2004

Chromosomal mutations induced by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) treatment can cause female sterility or maternal-effect lethality in Drosophila. EMS is particularly useful to researchers because it creates mutations independent of position effects. However, because researchers have little control over the chromosomal site of mutation, post-mutagenic genetic mapping is required to determine the cytological location of the mutation. To make a valuable set of mutants more useful to the research community, we have mapped the uncharacterized part of the female-sterile – maternal-effect lethal Tübingen collection. We mapped 49 female-sterile – maternal-effect lethal alleles and 72 lethal alleles to individual deficiency intervals on the third chromosome. In addition, we analyzed the phenotype of ovaries resulting from female sterile mutations. The observed phenotypes range from tumorous ovaries and early blocks in oogenesis, to later blocks, slow growth, blocks in stage 10, to apparently full development of the ovary. The mapping and phenotypic characterization of these 121 mutations provide the necessary information for the researcher to consider a specific mutant as a candidate for their gene of interest.Key words: Drosophila melanogaster, oogenesis, female sterile, maternal-effect lethal, EMS-induced mutations.