bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social capital and health: Does egalitarianism matter? A literature review
Authors: Islam M Kamrul , Merlo Juan , Kawachi Ichiro , Lindström Martin , Gerdtham Ulf-G
Published: April 2006

The aim of the paper is to critically review the notion of social capital and review empirical literature on the association between social capital and health across countries. The methodology used for the review includes a systematic search on electronic databases for peer-reviewed published literature. We categorize studies according to level of analysis (single and multilevel) and examine whether studies reveal a significant health impact of individual and area level social capital. We compare the study conclusions according to the country's degrees of economic egalitarianism. Regardless of study design, our findings indicate that a positive association (fixed effect) exists between social capital and better health irrespective of countries degree of egalitarianism. However, we find that the between-area variance (random effect) in health tends to be lower in more egalitarian countries than in less egalitarian countries. Our tentative conclusion is that an association between social capital and health at the individual level is robust with respect to the degree of egalitarianism within a country. Area level or contextual social capital may be less salient in egalitarian countries in explaining health differences across places.
Mitochondrial aconitase and citrate metabolism in malignant and nonmalignant human prostate tissues
Authors: Singh Keshav K , Desouki Mohamed M , Franklin Renty B , Costello Leslie C
Published: April 2006

Background

In prostate cancer, normal citrate-producing glandular secretory epithelial cells undergo a metabolic transformation to malignant citrate-oxidizing cells. m-Aconitase is the critical step involved in this altered citrate metabolism that is essential to prostate malignancy. The limiting m-aconitase activity in prostate epithelial cells could be the result of a decreased level of m-aconitase enzyme and/or the inhibition of existing m-aconitase. Earlier studies identified zinc as an inhibitor of m-aconitase activity in prostate cells; and that the depletion of zinc in malignant cells is an important factor in this metabolic transformation. However, a possibility remains that an altered expression and level of m-aconitase enzyme might also be involved in this metabolic transformation. To address this issue, the in situ level of m-aconitase enzyme was determined by immunohistochemical analysis of prostate cancer tissue sections and malignant prostate cell lines.

Results

The immunocytochemical procedure successfully identified the presence of m-aconitase localized in the mitochondrial compartment in PC-3, LNCaP, and DU-145 malignant prostate cell lines. The examination of prostate tissue sections from prostate cancer subjects demonstrated that m-aconitase enzyme is present in the glandular epithelium of normal glands, hyperplastic glands, adenocrcinomatous glands, and prostatic intraepithelial neoplastic foci. Quantitative analysis of the relative level of m-aconitase in the glandular epithelium of citrate-producing adenomatous glands versus the citrate-oxidizing adenocarcinomatous glands revealed no significant difference in m-aconitase enzyme levels. This is in contrast to the down-regulation of ZIP1 zinc transporter in the malignant glands versus hyperplastic glands that exists in the same tissue samples.

Conclusion

The results demonstrate the existence of m-aconitase enzyme in the citrate-producing glandular epithelial cells; so that deficient m-aconitase enzyme is not associated with the limiting m-aconitase activity that prevents citrate oxidation in these cells. The level of m-aconitase is maintained in the malignant cells; so that an altered enzyme level is not associated with the increased m-aconitase activity. Consequently, the elevated zinc level that inhibits m-aconitase enzyme is responsible for the impaired citrate oxidation in normal and hyperplastic prostate glandular epithelial cells. Moreover, the down-regulation of ZIP1 zinc transporter and corresponding depletion of zinc results in the increase in the activity of the existing m-aconitase activity in the malignant prostate cells. The studies now define the mechanism for the metabolic transformation that characterizes the essential transition of normal citrate-producing epithelial cells to malignant citrate-oxidizing cells.
Incidence of post myocardial infarction left ventricular thrombus formation in the era of primary percutaneous intervention and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors. A prospective observational study
Authors: Rehan Arshad , Kanwar Manpreet , Rosman Howard , Ahmed Sujood , Ali Arshad , Gardin Julius , Cohen Gerald
Published: April 2006

Background

Before the widespread use of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GP IIb/IIIa) left ventricular (LV) thrombus formation had been reported to complicate up to 20% of acute myocardial infarctions (AMI). The incidence of LV thrombus formation with these treatment modalities is not well known.

Methods

92 consecutive patients with ST-elevation AMI treated with PCI and GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors underwent 2-D echocardiograms, with and without echo contrast agent, within 24–72 hours.

Results

Only 4/92 (4.3%) had an LV thrombus, representing a significantly lower incidence than that reported in the pre-PCI era. Use of contrast agents did not improve detection of LV thrombi in our study.

Conclusion

The incidence of LV thrombus formation after acute MI, in the current era of rapid reperfusion, is lower than what has been historically reported.
Proteomic analysis of acidic chaperones, and stress proteins in extreme halophile Halobacterium NRC-1: a comparative proteomic approach to study heat shock response
Authors: Shukla Hem D
Published: April 2006

Background

Halobacteriumsp. NRC-1 is an extremely halophilic archaeon and has adapted to optimal growth under conditions of extremely high salinity. Its proteome is highly acidic with a median pI of 4.9, a unique characteristic which helps the organism to adapt high saline environment. In the natural growth environment,HalobacteriumNRC-1 encounters a number of stressful conditions including high temperature and intense solar radiation, oxidative and cold stress. Heat shock proteins and chaperones play indispensable roles in an organism's survival under many stress conditions. The aim of this study was to develop an improved method of 2-D gel electrophoresis with enhanced resolution of the acidic proteome, and to identify proteins with diverse cellular functions using in-gel digestion and LC-MS/MS and MALDI-TOF approach.

Results

A modified 2-D gel electrophoretic procedure, employing IPG strips in the range of pH 3–6, enabled improved separation of acidic proteins relative to previous techniques. Combining experimental data from 2-D gel electrophoresis with available genomic information, allowed the identification of at least 30 cellular proteins involved in many cellular functions: stress response and protein folding (CctB, PpiA, DpsA, and MsrA), DNA replication and repair (DNA polymerase A α subunit, Orc4/CDC6, and UvrC), transcriptional regulation (Trh5 and ElfA), translation (ribosomal proteins Rps27ae and Rphs6 of the 30 S ribosomal subunit; Rpl31eand Rpl18e of the 50 S ribosomal subunit), transport (YufN), chemotaxis (CheC2), and housekeeping (ThiC, ThiD, FumC, ImD2, GapB, TpiA, and PurE). In addition, four gene products with undetermined function were also identified: Vng1807H, Vng0683C, Vng1300H, and Vng6254. To study the heat shock response ofHalobacteriumNRC-1, growth conditions for heat shock were determined and the proteomic profiles under normal (42°C), and heat shock (49°C) conditions, were compared. Using a differential proteomic approach in combination with available genomic information, bioinformatic analysis revealed five putative heat shock proteins that were upregulated in cells subjected to heat stress at 49°C, namely DnaJ, GrpE, sHsp-1, Hsp-5 and sHsp-2.

Conclusion

The modified 2-D gel electrophoresis markedly enhanced the resolution of the extremely acidic proteome ofHalobacteriumNRC-1. Constitutive expression of stress proteins and chaperones help the organism to adapt and survive under extreme salinity and other stress conditions. The upregulated expression pattern of putative chaperones DnaJ, GrpE, sHsp-1, Hsp-5 and sHsp-2 under elevated temperature clearly suggests thatHalobacteriumNRC-1 has a sophisticated defense mechanism to survive in extreme environments.
Regulation of ovulation rate in mammals: contribution of sheep genetic models
Authors: Fabre Stéphane , Pierre Alice , Mulsant Philippe , Bodin Loys , Di Pasquale Elisa , Persani Luca , Monget Philippe , Monniaux Danielle
Published: April 2006

Ovarian folliculogenesis in mammals from the constitution of primordial follicles up to ovulation is a reasonably well understood mechanism. Nevertheless, underlying mechanisms that determine the number of ovulating follicles were enigmatic until the identification of the fecundity genes affecting ovulation rate in sheep, bone morphogenetic protein-15 (BMP-15), growth and differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) and BMP receptor-1B (BMPR-1B). In this review, we focus on the use of these sheep genetic models for understanding the role of the BMP system as an intra-ovarian regulator of follicular growth and maturation, and finally, ovulation rate.
Perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal surface malignancy
Authors: Yan Tristan D , Stuart Oswald A , Yoo Dal , Sugarbaker Paul H
Published: April 2006

The treatment of peritoneal surface malignancy mainly focuses on diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, pseudomyxoma peritonei from appendiceal cancer, and peritoneal dissemination from gastrointestinal and ovarian cancers. Cancer progression causes peritoneal implants to be distributed throughout the abdominopelvic cavity. These nodules plus the ascitic fluid result in abdominal distension. As the disease progresses, these tumors cause intestinal obstruction leading to debilitating symptoms and a greatly impaired quality of life. In the past, the prognosis of patients with peritoneal surface malignancy was regarded dismal and cure was not an option. Recently, cytoreductive surgery combined with perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy has shown an improved survival in selected patients with this disease. To date, multiple different treatment regimens of perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy have been used. This review focuses on the perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy currently in use in conjunction with cytoreductive surgery for the treatment of peritoneal surface malignancy at the Washington Cancer Institute.
IL-10, IL-6 and CD14 polymorphisms and sepsis outcome in ventilated very low birth weight infants
Authors: Baier R John , Loggins John , Yanamandra Krishna
Published: April 2006

Background

Genetic variation in the innate immune system of the host may play a role in determining the risk of developing infection, as well as outcome from infection.

Methods

Infectious complications were retrospectively determined in 293 (233 African-American (AA), 57 Caucasian and 3 Hispanic) mechanically ventilated very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (<1500 grams at birth) who were genotyped for the IL-6 -174 G/C, IL-10 -1082 G/A and CD14 -260 C/T single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Results

The IL-6 -174C allele was associated with an increased incidence of late blood stream infection (BSI) in AA but not Caucasian infants. In AA infants with the C allele the incidence of late BSI was 20/29 (69%) compared to 94/204 (46%) in homozygous GG infants (RR 2.6, 95% CI: 1.1–6.0, p = 0.021). The IL-10 -1082A allele was associated with an increased incidence of late BSI. One or more episodes of late BSI developed in 14 (35%) of 40 infants with the GG genotype, 71 (49%) of 145 infants with the GA genotype and 63 (58%) of 108 infants with the AA genotype (p = 0.036). Infants with the A allele (AA or GA genotypes) had an incidence of late BSI that was 134/253 (53%) compared to 14/40 (35%) in homozygous GG infants (RR 2.1, 95% CI: 1.04–4.19, p = 0.035). The CD14 -260 C/T SNP did not alter the overall risk for BSI in ventilated VLBW infants. Multiple BSI episodes were more common in the TT genotype group (CC: 17%, CT: 11%, TT: 30%, p = 0.022). This effect was due to the strong effect of the TT genotype on the incidence of multiple BSI in AA infants (CC: 15%, CT: 11%, TT: 39%, p = 0.003).

Conclusion

The IL-6 -174 G/C, IL-10 -1082 G/A and CD14 -260 C/T SNPs may alter risk for BSI in ventilated VLBW infants.
A hospital-based surveillance for Japanese encephalitis in Bali, Indonesia
Authors: Kari Komang , Liu Wei , Gautama Kompiang , Mammen Mammen P , Clemens John D , Nisalak Ananda , Subrata Ketut , Kim Hyei Kyung , Xu Zhi-Yi
Published: April 2006

Background

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is presumed to be endemic throughout Asia, yet only a few cases have been reported in tropical Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. To estimate the true disease burden due to JE in this region, we conducted a prospective, hospital-based surveillance with a catchment population of 599,120 children less than 12 years of age in Bali, Indonesia, from July 2001 through December 2003.

Methods

Balinese children presenting to any health care facility with acute viral encephalitis or aseptic meningitis were enrolled. A "confirmed" diagnosis of JE required the detection of JE virus (JEV)-specific IgM in cerebrospinal fluid, whereas a diagnosis of "probable JE" was assigned to those cases in which JEV-specific IgM was detected only in serum.

Results

In all, 86 confirmed and 4 probable JE cases were identified. The annualized JE incidence rate was 7.1 and adjusted to 8.2 per 100,000 for children less than 10 years of age over the 2.5 consecutive years of study. Only one JE case was found among 96,920 children 10–11 years old (0.4 per 100,000). Nine children (10%) died and 33 (37%) of the survivors had neurological sequelae at discharge. JEV was transmitted in Bali year-round with 70% of cases in the rainy season.

Conclusion

JE incidence and case-fatality rates in Bali were comparable to those of other JE-endemic countries of Asia. Our findings contradict the common wisdom that JE is rare in tropical Asia. Hence, the geographical range of endemic JE is broader than previously described. The results of the study support the need to introduce JE vaccination into Bali.
Apolipoprotein E-specific innate immune response in astrocytes from targeted replacement mice
Authors: Maezawa Izumi , Maeda Nobuyo , Montine Thomas J , Montine Kathleen S
Published: April 2006

Background

Inheritance of the three different alleles of the human apolipoprotein (apo) E gene (APOE) are associated with varying risk or clinical outcome from a variety of neurologic diseases. ApoE isoform-specific modulation of several pathogenic processes, in addition to amyloid β metabolism in Alzheimer's disease, have been proposed: one of these is innate immune response by glia. Previously we have shown that primary microglia cultures from targeted replacement (TR) APOE mice have apoE isoform-dependent innate immune activation and paracrine damage to neurons that is greatest with TR by the ε4 allele (TR APOE4) and that derives from p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) activity.

Methods

Primary cultures of TR APOE2, TR APOE3 and TR APOE4 astrocytes were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). ApoE secretion, cytokine production, and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) subunit activity were measured and compared.

Results

Here we showed that activation of primary astrocytes from TR APOE mice with LPS led to TR APOE-dependent differences in cytokine secretion that were greatest in TR APOE2 and that were associated with differences in NF-κB subunit activity.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that LPS activation of innate immune response in TR APOE glia results in opposing outcomes from microglia and astrocytes as a result of TR APOE-dependent activation of p38MAPK or NF-κB signaling in these two cell types.
Functional neuroanatomy of the rhinophore of Aplysia punctata
Authors: Wertz Adrian , Rössler Wolfgang , Obermayer Malu , Bickmeyer Ulf
Published: April 2006

Background

For marine snails, olfaction represents a crucial sensory modality for long-distance reception, as auditory and visual information is limited. The posterior tentacle of Aplysia, the rhinophore, is a chemosensory organ and several behavioural studies showed that the rhinophores can detect pheromones, initiate orientation and locomotion toward food. However the functional neuroanatomy of the rhinophore is not yet clear. Here we apply serotonin-immunohistochemistry and fluorescent markers in combination with confocal microscopy as well as optical recording techniques to elucidate the structure and function of the rhinophore of the sea slug Aplysia punctata.

Results

With anatomical techniques an overview of the neuroanatomical organization of the rhinophore is presented. Labelling with propidium iodide revealed one layer of cell nuclei in the sensory epithelium and densely packed cell nuclei beneath the groove of the rhinophore, which extends to about two third of the total length of the rhinophore. Serotonin immunoreactivity was found within the olfactory glomeruli underneath the epithelium as well as in the rhinophore ganglion. Retrograde tracing from the rhinophore ganglion with 4-(4-(dihexadecylamino)styryl)-N-methylpyridinium iodide (DiA) demonstrated the connection of glomeruli with the ganglion. Around 36 glomeruli (mean diameter 49 μm) were counted in a single rhinophore. Fluorimetric measurements of intracellular Ca2+ levels using Fura-2 AM loading revealed Ca2+-responses within the rhinophore ganglion to stimulation with amino acids. Bath application of different amino acids revealed differential responses at different positions within the rhinophore ganglion.

Conclusion

Our neuroanatomical study revealed the number and position of glomeruli in the rhinophore and the rhinophore ganglion as processing stage of sensory information. Serotonin-immunoreactive processes were found extensively within the rhinophore, but was not detected within any peripheral cell body. Amino acids were used as olfactory stimuli in optical recordings and induced sensory responses in the rhinophore ganglion. The complexity of changes in intracellular Ca2+-levels indicates, that processing of odour information takes place within the rhinophore ganglion. Our neuroanatomical and functional studies of the rhinophore open up a new avenue to analyze the olfactory system in Aplysia.
Expression of HIV receptors, alternate receptors and co-receptors on tonsillar epithelium: implications for HIV binding and primary oral infection
Authors: Kumar Renu B , Maher Diane M , Herzberg Mark C , Southern Peter J
Published: April 2006

Background

Primary HIV infection can develop from exposure to HIV in the oral cavity. In previous studies, we have documented rapid and extensive binding of HIV virions in seminal plasma to intact mucosal surfaces of the palatine tonsil and also found that virions readily penetrated beneath the tissue surfaces. As one approach to understand the molecular interactions that support HIV virion binding to human mucosal surfaces, we have examined the distribution of the primary HIV receptor CD4, the alternate HIV receptors heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HS) and galactosyl ceramide (GalCer) and the co-receptors CXCR4 and CCR5 in palatine tonsil.

Results

Only HS was widely expressed on the surface of stratified squamous epithelium. In contrast, HS, GalCer, CXCR4 and CCR5 were all expressed on the reticulated epithelium lining the tonsillar crypts. We have observed extensive variability, both across tissue sections from any tonsil and between tonsils, in the distribution of epithelial cells expressing either CXCR4 or CCR5 in the basal and suprabasal layers of stratified epithelium. The general expression patterns of CXCR4, CCR5 and HS were similar in palatine tonsil from children and adults (age range 3–20). We have also noted the presence of small clusters of lymphocytes, including CD4+T cells within stratified epithelium and located precisely at the mucosal surfaces. CD4+T cells in these locations would be immediately accessible to HIV virions.

Conclusion

In total, the likelihood of oral HIV transmission will be determined by macro and micro tissue architecture, cell surface expression patterns of key molecules that may bind HIV and the specific properties of the infectious inoculum.
Impaired germ cell development due to compromised cell cycle progression in Skp2-deficient mice
Authors: Fotovati Abbas , Nakayama Keiko , Nakayama Keiichi I
Published: April 2006

Background

The gonads are responsible for the production of germ cells through both mitosis and meiosis. Skp2 is the receptor subunit of an SCF-type ubiquitin ligase and is a major regulator of the progression of cells into S phase of the cell cycle, which it promotes by mediating the ubiquitin-dependent degradation of p27, an inhibitor of cell proliferation. However, the role of the Skp2-p27 pathway in germ cell development remains elusive.

Results

We now show that disruption of Skp2 in mice results in a marked impairment in the fertility of males, with the phenotypes resembling Sertoli cell-only syndrome in men. Testes of Skp2
-/- mice manifested pronounced germ cell hypoplasia accompanied by massive apoptosis in spermatogenic cells. Flow cytometry revealed an increased prevalence of polyploidy in spermatozoa, suggesting that the aneuploidy of these cells is responsible for the induction of apoptosis. Disruption of the p27 gene of Skp2
-/- mice restored germ cell development, indicating that the testicular hypoplasia of Skp2
-/- animals is attributable to the antiproliferative effect of p27 accumulation.

Conclusion

Our results thus suggest that compromised cell cycle progression caused by the accumulation of p27 results in aneuploidy and the induction of apoptosis in gonadal cells of Skp2
-/- mice. The consequent reduction in the number of mature gametes accounts for the decreased fertility of these animals. These findings reinforce the importance of the Skp2-p27 pathway in cell cycle regulation and in germ cell development.
Why do we treat adolescent idiopathic scoliosis? What we want to obtain and to avoid for our patients. SOSORT 2005 Consensus paper
Authors: Negrini Stefano , Grivas Theodoros B , Kotwicki Tomasz , Maruyama Toru , Rigo Manuel , Weiss Hans Rudolf ,   the members of the Scientific society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT)
Published: April 2006

Background

Medicine is a scientific art: once science is not clear, choices are made according to individual and collective beliefs that should be better understood. This is particularly true in a field like adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, where currently does not exist definitive scientific evidence on the efficacy either of conservative or of surgical treatments.

Aim of the study

To verify the philosophical choices on the final outcome of a group of people believing and engaged in a conservative treatment of idiopathic scoliosis.

Methods

We performed a multifaceted study that included a bibliometric analysis, a questionnaire, and a careful Consensus reaching procedure between experts in the conservative treatment of scoliosis (SOSORT members).

Results

The Consensus reaching procedure has shown to be useful: answers changed in a statistically significant way, and 9 new outcome criteria were included. The most important final outcomes were considered Aesthetics (100%), Quality of life and Disability (more than 90%), while more than 80% of preferences went to Back Pain, Psychological well-being, Progression in adulthood, Breathing function, Scoliosis Cobb degrees (radiographic lateral flexion), Needs of further treatments in adulthood.

Discussion

In the literature prevail outcome criteria driven by the contingent treatment needs or the possibility to have measurement systems (even if it seems that usual clinical and radiographic methods are given much more importance than more complex Disability or Quality of Life instruments). SOSORT members give importance to a wide range of outcome criteria, in which clinical and radiographic issues have the lowest importance.

Conclusion

We treat our patients for what they need for their future (Breathing function, Needs of further treatments in adulthood, Progression in adulthood), and their present too (Aesthetics, Disability, Quality of life). Technical matters, such as rib hump or radiographic lateral alignment and rotation, but not lateral flexion, are secondary outcomes and only instrumental to previously reported primary outcomes. We advocate a multidimensional, comprehensive evaluation of scoliosis patients, to gather all necessary data for a complete therapeutic approach, that goes beyond x-rays to reach the person and the family.
Mesoderm progenitor cells of common origin contribute to the head musculature and the cardiac outflow tract
Authors: Tirosh-Finkel Libbat , Elhanany Hadas , Rinon Ariel , Tzahor Eldad
Published: April 2006

During early embryogenesis, heart and skeletal muscle progenitor cells are thought to derive from distinct regions of the mesoderm (i.e. the lateral plate mesoderm and paraxial mesoderm, respectively). In the present study, we have employed both in vitro and in vivo experimental systems in the avian embryo to explore how mesoderm progenitors in the head differentiate into both heart and skeletal muscles. Using fate-mapping studies, gene expression analyses, and manipulation of signaling pathways in the chick embryo, we demonstrate that cells from the cranial paraxial mesoderm contribute to both myocardial and endocardial cell populations within the cardiac outflow tract. We further show that Bmp signaling affects the specification of mesoderm cells in the head: application of Bmp4, both in vitro and in vivo, induces cardiac differentiation in the cranial paraxial mesoderm and blocks the differentiation of skeletal muscle precursors in these cells. Our results demonstrate that cells within the cranial paraxial mesoderm play a vital role in cardiogenesis, as a new source of cardiac progenitors that populate the cardiac outflow tract in vivo. A deeper understanding of mesodermal lineage specification in the vertebrate head is expected to provide insights into the normal, as well as pathological, aspects of heart and craniofacial development.
Basonuclin: a novel mammalian maternal-effect gene
Authors: Ma Jun , Zeng Fanyi , Schultz Richard M. , Tseng Hung
Published: April 2006

Basonuclin is a zinc-finger protein found in abundance in oocytes. It qualifies as a maternal-effect gene because the source of pre-implantation embryonic basonuclin is maternal. Using a transgenic-RNAi approach, we knocked down basonuclin specifically in mouse oocytes, which led to female sub-fertility. Basonuclin deficiency in oocytes perturbed both RNA polymerase I- and II-mediated transcription, and oocyte morphology was affected (as evidenced by cytoplasmic and cell surface abnormalities). Some of the affected oocytes, however, could still mature to and arrest at metaphase II, and be ovulated. Nevertheless, fertilized basonuclin-deficient eggs failed to develop beyond the two-cell stage, and this pre-implantation failure accounted for the sub-fertility phenotype. These results suggest that basonuclin is a new member of the mammalian maternal-effect genes and, interestingly, differs from the previously reported mammalian maternal-effect genes in that it also apparently perturbs oogenesis.
Maintenance of mammalian enteric nervous system progenitors by SOX10 and endothelin 3 signalling
Authors: Bondurand Nadege , Natarajan Dipa , Barlow Amanda , Thapar Nikhil , Pachnis Vassilis
Published: April 2006

The transcriptional regulator SOX10 and the signalling molecule endothelin 3 have important roles in the development of the mammalian enteric nervous system (ENS). Using a clonal cell culture system, we show that SOX10 inhibits overt neuronal and glial differentiation of multilineage ENS progenitor cells(EPCs), without interfering with their neurogenic commitment. We also demonstrate that endothelin 3 inhibits reversibly the commitment and differentiation of EPCs along the neurogenic and gliogenic lineages,suggesting a role for this factor in the maintenance of multilineage ENS progenitors. Consistent with such a role, the proportion of Sox10-expressing progenitors in the total population of enteric neural crest cells is reduced in the gut of endothelin 3-deficient embryos. This reduction may be related to the requirement of endothelin signalling for the proliferation of ENS progenitors. The dependence of ENS progenitors on endothelin 3 is more pronounced at the migratory front of enteric neural crest cells, which is associated with relatively high levels of endothelin 3 mRNA. Our findings indicate that SOX10 and endothelin 3 have a crucial role in the maintenance of multilineage enteric nervous system progenitors.
Consumption Flexibility, Product Configuration, and Market Competition
Authors: Guo Liang
Published: April 2006

When purchase and consumption decisions are separated in time and when future utility is state dependent, consumers may desire to pursue consumption flexibility by purchasing different products together (multiple buying). This paper analyzes the effects of consumption flexibility on competing firms’ marketing mix decisions, in a model in which future preference uncertainty exists and consumers differ in their preferred product location on a horizontal attribute. The analysis shows that the nature of price competition in such markets is dependent upon whether consumer multiple buying (and thus primary demand) is endogenously induced. When preference uncertainty is important, the firms are involved in a “flexibility trap” in which primary demand is expanded but profits decrease with the spread of consumer heterogeneity. This counter-intuitive result is caused by the firms being induced to over-cut prices to increase primary demand when consumption flexibility is important. In response to this, the firms may configure their products to alleviate the adverse effect of consumer heterogeneity. For example, if preference uncertainty is important, the firms may choose to minimize differentiation on the horizontal attribute, or extend the current product line, to deal with the “flexibility trap.” The implications of allowing for positive salvage value, uncertainty heterogeneity, preference correlation, and state-dependent preference configuration are also investigated.
Delayed Complaints in Childhood Sexual Abuse Prosecutions—A Comparative Evaluation of Admissibility Determinations and Judicial Warnings
Authors: Lewis Penney
Published: April 2006

This article reviews legal responses to delayed complaints in child sexual abuse prosecutions in Australia, Canada, the United States, Ireland, and England and Wales, focusing on recent legislative and judicial modifications to the historical common law requirement for early or recent complaint. Consideration is given to three legal mechanisms regulating the jury's access to information about delayed complaints: cross-examination of the complainant on the issue of delay, the admissibility of a late complaint for the prosecution, and judicial warnings indicating how, if at all, jurors should incorporate the fact of late complaint into their deliberations.
Calls to Police and Police Response: A Case Study of Latina Immigrant Women in the USA
Authors: Ammar Nawal H. , Orloff Leslye E. , Dutton Mary Ann , Aguilar-Hass Giselle
Published: April 2006

This paper addresses the experiences of battered immigrant Latina women when contacting police for assistance in attempting to reduce, end or flee violence. The research consists of interviews with 230 battered immigrant Latina women experiencing violence. The analysis examined the factors contributing to the extent, frequency and readiness of the women to call the police. The police response to and the effect of seeking help by battered immigrant Latina women on arrest of the perpetrator were also explored. The results show that the number of times and the frequency of contacting the police among battered immigrant Latina women was far less than would be expected based on their experiences with intimate partner violence. The factors which led women to call the police were mostly related to the stability of their immigration status, their children's exposure to violence, the women's region of origin and the frequency of domestic violence. The police response to this group of women demonstrates a lack of cultural sensitivity, and produces concerns regarding language accessibility and low rates of arrest. The paper concludes with recommendations about the need to better incorporate immigration as an additional factor in understanding intimate partner violence and help-seeking from police. We propose more thorough diversity training of police focusing particularly on immigrant battered women; the availability of interpreters for such calls within the immigrant communities; educating of the police about appropriate culturally based services available in their communities and better understanding of immigration options for battered immigrant women, including the protections afforded by the Violence Against Women Act.
On the Quantitative Genetics of Mixture Characters
Authors: Gianola Daniel , Heringstad Bjorg , Odegaard Jorgen
Published: April 2006

Finite mixture models are helpful for uncovering heterogeneity due to hidden structure. Quantitative genetics issues of continuous characters having a finite mixture of Gaussian components as statistical distribution are explored in this article. The partition of variance in a mixture, the covariance between relatives under the supposition of an additive genetic model, and the offspring–parent regression are derived. Formulas for assessing the effect of mass selection operating on a mixture are given. Expressions for the genetic and phenotypic correlations between mixture and Gaussian traits and between two mixture traits are presented. It is found that, if there is heterogeneity in a population at the genetic or environmental level, then genetic parameters based on theory treating distributions as homogeneous can lead to misleading interpretations. Some peculiarities of mixture characters are: heritability depends on the mean values of the component distributions, the offspring–parent regression is nonlinear, and genetic or phenotypic correlations cannot be interpreted devoid of the mixture proportions and of the parameters of the distributions mixed.
Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci for Malaria Parasite Susceptibility in the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti
Authors: Zhong Daibin , Menge David M , Temu Emmanuel A , Chen Hong , Yan Guiyun
Published: April 2006

The yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti has been the subject of extensive genetic research due to its medical importance and the ease with which it can be manipulated in the laboratory. A molecular genetic linkage map was constructed using 148 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and six single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) markers. Eighteen AFLP primer combinations were used to genotype two reciprocal F2 segregating populations. Each primer combination generated an average of 8.2 AFLP markers eligible for linkage mapping. The length of the integrated map was 180.9 cM, giving an average marker resolution of 1.2 cM. Composite interval mapping revealed a total of six QTL significantly affecting Plasmodium susceptibility in the two reciprocal crosses of Ae. aegypti. Two common QTL on linkage group 2 were identified in both crosses that had similar effects on the phenotype, and four QTL were unique to each cross. In one cross, the four main QTL accounted for 64% of the total phenotypic variance, and digenic epistasis explained 11.8% of the variance. In the second cross, the four main QTL explained 66% of the variance, and digenic epistasis accounted for 16% of the variance. The actions of these QTL were either dominance or underdominance. Our results indicated that at least three new QTL were mapped on chromosomes 1 and 3. The polygenic nature of susceptibility to P. gallinaceum and epistasis are important factors for significant variation within or among mosquito strains. The new map provides additional information useful for further genetic investigation, such as identification of new genes and positional cloning.
Modified Hudson–Kreitman–Aguadé Test and Two-Dimensional Evaluation of Neutrality Tests
Authors: Innan Hideki
Published: April 2006

There are a number of polymorphism-based statistical tests of neutrality, but most of them focus on either the amount or the pattern of polymorphism. In this article, a new test called the two-dimensional (2D) test is developed. This test evaluates a pair of summary statistics in a two-dimentional field. One statistic should summarize the pattern of polymorphism, while the other could be a measure of the level of polymorphism. For the latter summary statistic, the polymorphism-divergence ratio is used following the idea of the Hudson–Kreitman–Aguadé (HKA) test. To incorporate the HKA test in the 2D test, a summary statistic-based version of the HKA test is developed such that the polymorphism–divergence ratio at a particular region of interest is examined if it is consistent with the average of those in other independent regions.
A Defect in Protein Farnesylation Suppresses a Loss of Schizosaccharomyces pombe tsc2+, a Homolog of the Human Gene Predisposing to Tuberous Sclerosis Complex
Authors: Nakase Yukiko , Fukuda Keiko , Chikashige Yuji , Tsutsumi Chihiro , Morita Daisuke , Kawamoto Shinpei , Ohnuki Mari , Hiraoka Yasushi , Matsumoto Tomohiro
Published: April 2006

Mutations in the human Tsc1 and Tsc2 genes predispose to tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), a disorder characterized by the wide spread of benign tumors. Tsc1 and Tsc2 proteins form a complex and serve as a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for Rheb, a GTPase regulating a downstream kinase, mTOR. The genome of Schizosaccharomyces pombe contains tsc1+ and tsc2+, homologs of human Tsc1 and Tsc2, respectively. In this study we analyzed the gene expression profile on a genomewide scale and found that deletion of either tsc1+ or tsc2+ affects gene induction upon nitrogen starvation. Three hours after nitrogen depletion genes encoding permeases and genes required for meiosis are less induced. Under the same condition, retrotransposons, G1-cyclin (pas1+), and inv1+ are more induced. We also demonstrate that a mutation (cpp1-1) in a gene encoding a β-subunit of a farnesyltransferase can suppress most of the phenotypes associated with deletion of tsc1+ or tsc2+. When a mutant of rhb1+ (homolog of human Rheb), which bypasses the requirement of protein farnesylation, was expressed, the cpp1-1 mutation could no longer suppress, indicating that deficient farnesylation of Rhb1 contributes to the suppression. On the basis of these results, we discuss TSC pathology and possible improvement in chemotherapy for TSC.
Numerous and Rapid Nonstochastic Modifications of Gene Products in Newly SynthesizedBrassica napusAllotetraploids
Authors: Albertin Warren , Balliau Thierry , Brabant Philippe , Chèvre Anne-Marie , Eber Frédérique , Malosse Christian , Thiellement Hervé
Published: April 2006

Polyploidization is a widespread process that results in the merger of two or more genomes in a common nucleus. To investigate modifications of gene expression occurring during allopolyploid formation, the Brassica napus allotetraploid model was chosen. Large-scale analyses of the proteome were conducted on two organs, the stem and root, so that >1600 polypeptides were screened. Comparative proteomics of synthetic B. napus and its homozygous diploid progenitors B. rapa and B. oleracea showed that very few proteins disappeared or appeared in the amphiploids (<1%), but a strikingly high number (25–38%) of polypeptides displayed quantitative nonadditive pattern. Nonstochastic gene expression repatterning was found since 99% of the detected variations were reproducible in four independently created amphiploids. More than 60% of proteins displayed a nonadditive pattern closer to the paternal parent B. rapa. Interspecific hybridization triggered the majority of the deviations (89%), whereas very few variations (∼3%) were associated with genome doubling and more significant alterations arose from selfing (∼9%). Some nonadditive proteins behaved similarly in both organs, while others exhibited contrasted behavior, showing rapid organ-specific regulation. B. napus formation was therefore correlated with immediate and directed nonadditive changes in gene expression, suggesting that the early steps of allopolyploidization repatterning are controlled by nonstochastic mechanisms.
The mechanics of an Italian silt: an example of ‘transitional’ behaviour
Authors: Nocilla A. , Coop M. R. , Colleselli F.
Published: April 2006

By controlling the particle size distribution of an Italian silt, the influence of grading on its behaviour was investigated. As the clay content was reduced, the behaviour changed from a typical clay mode to a transitional form between that of clays and sands that had previously been seen only for gap-graded soils, emphasising that this type of behaviour is possibly much more extensive than previously thought. The work has highlighted several features of transitional behaviour, and in particular that unique normal compression and critical state lines do not exist, that Rendulic's principle does not apply, and that drained and undrained tests do not reach unique ultimate states.
Rate‐Limited Boron Transport in Soils: The Effect of Soil Texture and Solution pH
Authors: Communar G. , Keren R.
Published: April 2006

Although boron (B) adsorption significantly depends on soil texture and pH, few attempts have been made to estimate their influence on B transport behavior. Adsorption and transport of B in three soils of different textures were investigated in batch and column experiments. The B adsorption on the soils in batch experiments was rapid and an apparent adsorption equilibrium was reached over the first several hours. The extent of adsorption on each of the soils was strongly dependent on pH, increasing sharply as the pH increased from 7.0 to 9.2–9.4. The Langmuir equation with the pH‐dependent adsorption coefficient simulated well the B adsorption at equilibrium. Miscible‐displacement experiments were conducted at two water fluxes of 2.9 and 0.19 cm h−1 and at two pH values. The transport of B through the soil columns was retarded. The retardation increased with the increase of clay content and solution pH. The impact of the rate‐limited adsorption on B transport was dependent on water flux and was controlled by mass‐transfer processes. The B breakthrough curves (BTCs) for the loamy sand and sandy loam soils (where Br− transport was ideal) were simulated using the ideal‐transport‐based (local equilibrium‐nonequilibrium [LE‐NE]) model. This model successfully described B transport at different water fluxes and pH values when using the adsorption parameters derived from batch equilibrium experiments. The adsorption rate coefficient values obtained from BTCs were smaller than those obtained from the batch kinetic data. The non‐ideal transport behavior of B in the clay soil was associated with intra‐aggregate and rate‐limited adsorption in the mobile domain. A successful simulation of B BTCs for this soil for the two aggregate sizes (<2 and 4–4.75 mm) was obtained when used the two‐domain, two‐rate (TD‐TR) model. The results indicate that the influence of rate‐limited adsorption on NE B behavior was more pronounced at fast than at slow water flux. However, at slow water flux, the rate‐limited adsorption had a secondary importance in comparison with the rate‐limited mass‐transfer between mobile and immobile water domains.
Sidney's Verse Adaptations to Two Sixteenth-Century Italian Art Songs
Authors: Fabry Frank J .
Published: April 2006

It is well known that Sir Philip Sidney modeled eight of his thirty-two 'Certaine Sonnets’ upon existing ‘tunes,’ as he called them. To date, only one, relatively unimportant, musical model is known—the current Dutch National Anthem, to which Sidney wrote CS 23, ‘Who hath his fancy pleased.’ The result of this association of the sister arts is a simple, metrically precise, stylistically dull lyric whose numbers are directly proportioned to the regularity of its musical model. Of his other models, one, ‘The Smokes of Melancholy,’ appears to have been an English consort song; the others (five Italian, one Spanish) are probably variant forms of the villanella, a type of sixteenth-century art-song written for three or four voices and distinguished by its rhythmic lightness, its homophonic (chordal) structure, and its mildly satirical or openly vulgar text.
Robert Burton and Ramist Method
Authors: Renaker David
Published: April 2006

Readers have always found it easier to agree that Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy is a good book than to agree on precisely what makes it so good or what message it is, in its laborious and complicated manner, delivering. As they stress now this aspect and now that of its fathomless richness, they seem at times hardly to be talking about the same work. For example, we are told that Burton is utterly credulous: 'For the nature of evidence (as it is called by the moderns) he cares nothing. Everything is admissible that has been written in a book.' And yet, ‘in Burton the English Renaissance grows… skeptical.' The book is ‘a medical treatise … orderly in arrangement.' Yet it is a ‘trackless jungle.’ It is a ‘formidable statement of … skepticism.' On the contrary, 'no greater adept of Platonism’ than Burton ‘ever lived'; or rather, ‘Burton was, first of all, a neo-Platonist.'6 But then, ‘he is no metaphysician.
All's Well That Ends Well and the Galenico-Paracelsian Controversy
Authors: Stensgaard Richard K.
Published: April 2006

Despite the prominence given by Shakespeare to the ‘healing of the king’ in All's Well That Ends Well, criticism of the episode has been both sketchy and unenlightening. Writers intent on demonstrating its failure point to the incredibility of the king's cure or to the inconsistency of the heroine's motives. Those arguing for its success speak of the simple sympathetic response that an appeal to romantic source materials would likely have evoked. Either way, preoccupation with questions of literary modes and standards, the critical legacy of W. W. Lawrence's influential pioneer interpretation, has obscured the extent to which the meaning turns not so much on subtleties of literary perception as on matters of contemporary medical interest.
A Textual Problem in the Epistolary of Guarino
Authors: Thomson Ian
Published: April 2006

In Remigio Sabbadini's edition of the epistolary of Guarino Veronese, Letter 192 (Vol. 1, 306-307) ends as follows: ‘Vale mea suavitas; valeat et primaria femina θεoδωρα a sua filia Tadea, quae illam tantopere amat, sitit, ardet oculis et animo, ut iam nunc ascensionem meditetur.’ Sabbadini notes in his critical apparatus: ‘ascensionem non capisco. Forse a me secessionem.’ I hope to show, however, that the text is sound.

By its subscription we know that Letter 192 was written at Verona on October 15. On internal evidence Sabbadini conclusively assigns it to 1420. The addressee was Guarino's Venetian friend, Andrea Zulian. Teodora was Zulian's second wife, whom he wed in 1415.3 Taddea was Guarino's wife, no relation to Teodora; the word filia was simply a term of affectionate respect.