bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Indole signalling contributes to the stable maintenance of Escherichia coli multicopy plasmids
Authors: Chant Eleanor L. , Summers David K.
Published: December 2006

The efficient transmission of multicopy plasmids to daughter cells at division requires that a high copy number is maintained. Plasmid multimers depress copy number, thereby causing instability. Various mechanisms exist to counter multimerization and thus ensure stable maintenance. One well‐studied example is the multimer resolution system of the Escherichia coli plasmid ColE1 which carries a recombination site (cer) at which multimers are resolved to monomers by the XerCD recombinase. A promoter within cer initiates synthesis of a short transcript (Rcd) in multimer‐containing cells. The Rcd checkpoint hypothesis proposes that Rcd delays cell division until multimer resolution is complete. We have identified tryptophanase (which catabolizes tryptophan to pyruvate and indole) as an Rcd binding protein. Furthermore, the stabilization of multicopy plasmids by Rcd is shown to be tryptophanase dependent, and a tryptophanase‐deficient strain is resistant to growth inhibition by Rcd overexpression. Rcd increases the affinity of tryptophanase for its substrate tryptophan which causes increased indole production by cells in low‐density cultures. Thus Rcd‐mediated stabilization of multicopy plasmids is dependent upon indole acting as a signalling molecule. This is an novel role for this molecule which previously has been implicated in quorum sensing‐like processes at high cell density.
DinI and RecX modulate RecA–DNA structures in Escherichia coli K‐12
Authors: Renzette Nicholas , Gumlaw Nathan , Sandler Steven J.
Published: December 2006

RecA plays a central role in recombination, DNA repair and SOS induction through forming a RecA–DNA helical filament. Biochemical observations show that at low ratios to RecA, DinI and RecX stabilize and destabilize RecA–DNA filaments, respectively, and that the C‐terminal 17 residues of RecA are important for RecX function. RecA–DNA filament formation was assayed in vivo using RecA–GFP foci formation in log‐phase and UV‐irradiated cells. In log‐phase cells, dinI mutants have fewer foci than wild type and that recX mutants have more foci than wild type. A recAΔ17::gfp mutant had more foci like a recX mutant. dinI recX double mutants have the same number of foci as dinI mutants alone, suggesting that dinI is epistatic to recX. After UV treatment, the dinI, recX and dinI recX mutants differed in their ability to form foci. All three mutants had fewer foci than wild type. The dinI mutant's foci persisted longer than wild‐type foci. Roles of DinI and RecX after UV treatment differed from those during log‐phase growth and may reflect the different DNA substrates, population of proteins or amounts during the SOS response. These experiments give new insight into the roles of these proteins.
Aspergillus nidulans VeA subcellular localization is dependent on the importin α carrier and on light
Authors: Stinnett Suzanne M. , Espeso Eduardo A. , Cobeño Laura , Araújo‐Bazán Lidia , Calvo Ana M.
Published: December 2006

The veA gene is a light‐dependent regulator governing development and secondary metabolism in Aspergillus nidulans. We have identified a putative bipartite nuclear localization signal (NLS) motif in the A. nidulans VeA amino acid sequence and demonstrated its functionality when expressed in yeast. Furthermore, migration of VeA to the nucleus was dependent on the importin α. This bipartite NLS is also functional when VeA is expressed in A. nidulans. Interestingly, we found that VeA migration to the nucleus is light‐dependent. While in the dark VeA is located mainly in the nuclei, under light VeA is found abundantly in the cytoplasm. The VeA1 mutant protein (lacking the first 36 amino acids at the N‐terminus) was found predominantly in the cytoplasm independent of illumination. This indicates that the truncated bipartite NLS in VeA1 is not functional and fails to respond to light. These results might explain the lack of the morphological light‐dependent response in strains carrying the veA1 allele. We also evaluated the effect of light on production of the mycotoxin sterigmatocystin in a veA wild‐type and the veA1 mutant strains and found that the highest amount of toxin was produced by the veA+ strain growing in the dark, condition favouring accumulation of VeA in the nucleus.
The dominating outer membrane protein of the hyperthermophilic Archaeum Ignicoccus hospitalis: a novel pore‐forming complex
Authors: Burghardt Tillmann , Näther Daniela J. , Junglas Benjamin , Huber Harald , Rachel Reinhard
Published: December 2006

The membrane protein Imp1227 (Ignicoccus outer membrane protein; Imp1227) is the main protein constituent of the unique outer sheath of the hyperthermophilic, chemolithoautotrophic Archaeum Ignicoccus hospitalis. This outer sheath is the so far only known example for an asymmetric bilayer among the Archaea and is named ‘outer membrane’. With its molecular mass of only 6.23 kDa, Imp1227 is found to be incorporated into the outer membrane in form of large, stable complexes. When separated by SDS‐PAGE, they exhibit apparent masses of about 150, 50, 45 and 35 kDa. Dissociation into the monomeric form is achieved by treatment with SDS‐containing solutions at temperatures at or above 113°C. Electron micrographs of negatively stained samples confirm that isolated membranes are tightly packed with round complexes, about 7 nm in diameter, with a central, stain‐filled 2 nm pore; a local two‐dimensional crystalline arrangement in form of small patches can be detected by tomographic reconstruction. The comparison of the nucleotide and amino acid sequence of Imp1227 with public databases showed no reliable similarities with known proteins. Using secondary structure prediction and molecular modelling, an α‐helical transmembrane domain is proposed; for the oligomer, a ring‐shaped nonamer with a central 2 nm pore is a likely arrangement.
Release of outer membrane vesicles by Gram‐negative bacteria is a novel envelope stress response
Authors: McBroom Amanda J. , Kuehn Meta J.
Published: December 2006

Conditions that impair protein folding in the Gram‐negative bacterial envelope cause stress. The destabilizing effects of stress in this compartment are recognized and countered by a number of signal transduction mechanisms. Data presented here reveal another facet of the complex bacterial stress response, release of outer membrane vesicles. Native vesicles are composed of outer membrane and periplasmic material, and they are released from the bacterial surface without loss of membrane integrity. Here we demonstrate that the quantity of vesicle release correlates directly with the level of protein accumulation in the cell envelope. Accumulation of material occurs under stress, and is exacerbated upon impairment of the normal housekeeping and stress‐responsive mechanisms of the cell. Mutations that cause increased vesiculation enhance bacterial survival upon challenge with stressing agents or accumulation of toxic misfolded proteins. Preferential packaging of a misfolded protein mimic into vesicles for removal indicates that the vesiculation process can act to selectively eliminate unwanted material. Our results demonstrate that production of bacterial outer membrane vesicles is a fully independent, general envelope stress response. In addition to identifying a novel mechanism for alleviating stress, this work provides physiological relevance for vesicle production as a protective mechanism.
Conjugative transfer can be inhibited by blocking relaxase activity within recipient cells with intrabodies
Authors: Garcillán‐Barcia M. Pilar , Jurado Paola , González‐Pérez Blanca , Moncalián Gabriel , Fernández Luis A. , de la Cruz Fernando
Published: December 2006

Horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes carried by conjugative plasmids poses a serious health problem. As conjugative relaxases are transported to recipient cells during bacterial conjugation, we investigated whether blocking relaxase activity in the recipient cell might inhibit conjugation. For that purpose, we used an intrabody approach generating a single‐chain Fv antibody library against the relaxase TrwC of conjugative plasmid R388. Recombinant single‐chain Fv antibodies were engineered for cytoplasmic expression in Escherichia coli cells and either selected in vitro for their specific binding to TrwC, or in vivo by their ability to interfere with conjugation using a high‐throughput mating assay. Several intrabody clones were identified showing specific inhibition against R388 conjugation upon cytoplasmic expression in the recipient cell. The epitope recognized by one of these intrabodies was mapped to a region of TrwC containing Tyr‐26 and involved in the conjugative DNA‐processing termination reaction. These findings demonstrate that the transferred relaxase plays an important role in the recipient cell and open a new approach to identify specific inhibitors of bacterial conjugation.
A gene in European wheat cultivars for resistance to an African isolate of Mycosphaerella graminicola
Authors: Arraiano L. S. , Chartrain L. , Bossolini E. , Slatter H. N. , Keller B. , Brown J. K. M.
Published: December 2006

Genes for specific resistance to European and American isolates of Mycosphaerella graminicola, the causal agent of septoria tritici blotch (STB) of wheat, have been identified and mapped in various cultivars and breeding lines and are distributed throughout the genome. The location of a gene for resistance to an Ethiopian isolate, IPO88004, which is currently the most widespread resistance present in European wheat cultivars, is reported. The resistance was mapped in the Swiss cultivar Arina which, besides high partial resistance to STB, also has specific resistance to IPO323, controlled by Stb6 and to IPO88004. An F5 recombinant inbred population from a cross between Arina and the susceptible cultivar Forno was tested in whole seedling trials. Using multiple QTL mapping (MQM), a gene for resistance to M. graminicola isolate IPO88004 in cv. Arina was located to chromosome 6AS. The gene is named Stb15. Seedling tests on a double haploid population of cvs Arina × Riband indicated that the UK wheat cv. Riband also has Stb15 or another gene for specific resistance to IPO88004 allelic or closely linked to Stb15.
Molecular characterization and pathogenicity of Pythium species associated with damping‐off in greenhouse cucumber (Cucumis sativus) in Oman
Authors: Al‐Sa'di A. M. , Drenth A. , Deadman M. L. , De Cock A. W. A. M. , Aitken E. A. B.
Published: December 2006

A study was undertaken in 2004 and 2005 to characterize pathogens associated with damping‐off of greenhouse‐grown cucumber seedlings in 13 districts in Oman. Identification of Pythium to the species level was based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the ribosomal DNA. Of the 98 Pythium isolates collected during the survey, Pythium aphanidermatum, P. spinosum, P. splendens and P. oligandrum accounted for 76%, 22%, 1% and 1%, respectively. Pythium aphanidermatum was isolated from all of the districts, while P. spinosum was isolated from seven districts. Pathogenicity tests showed inter‐ and intraspecific variation in aggressiveness between Pythium species. Pythium aphanidermatum, P. spinosum and P. splendens were found to be highly aggressive at 25°C. However, the aggressiveness of P. spinosum decreased when the temperature was raised to 30°C, which was found to correspond to the lower frequency of isolation of P. spinosum in the warmer seasons, compared to the cooler time of the year. Pythium aphanidermatum exhibited limited intraspecific variation in the sequences of the ITS region of the rDNA and showed 100% similarity to the corresponding P. aphanidermatum sequences from GenBank. The ITS sequence data, as well as morphological characteristics of P. spinosum isolates, showed a high level of similarity within and between P. spinosum and P. kunmingense, and suggested that the two species were synonymous. This study represents the first report of P. spinosum, P. splendens and P. oligandrum in Oman.
Long‐term cancer risk of the anorectal cuff following restorative proctocolectomy assessed by p53 expression and cuff dysplasia
Authors: Coull D. B. , Lee F. D. , Anderson J. H. , McKee R. F. , Finlay I. G. , Dunlop M. G.
Published: December 2006

Objective  Restorative proctocolectomy (RP) for ulcerative colitis (UC) retains a ‘cuff’ of columnar rectal epithelium that has unknown risk of malignant change. Markers of malignant potential in UC include aberrant p53 expression and dysplasia. We undertook a prospective study comprising serial surveillance biopsy and assessed the occurrence of aberrant p53 expression, epithelial dysplasia and carcinoma in the retained anorectal cuff following stapled RP.

Method  A total of 110 patients who underwent stapled RP for UC between 1988 and 1998 were followed up by cuff surveillance biopsies under general anaesthesia. Histological samples were analysed by a specialist colorectal pathologist for the presence of rectal mucosa, dysplasia and carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry for p53 expression was performed for each most recent cuff biopsy. Median follow‐up was 56 months (12–145) and median time since diagnosis of UC was 8.8 years (2–32).

Results  Rectal mucosa was obtained from the cuff in 65% of biopsies. No overt carcinomas developed during the follow‐up period and there was no dysplasia or carcinoma in any cuff biopsy. The p53 overexpression was identified in 38 specimens (50.6%), but was also identified in controls (3/3 colitis, 3/3 ileal pouch and 6/6 stapled haemorrhoidectomy donuts).

Conclusion  The lack of carcinoma and dysplasia in the columnar cuff epithelium specimens is reassuring. The lack of stabilized p53 and absence of a relationship between p53 stabilization and dysplasia up to 12 years after pouch formation suggests neoplastic transformation is a rare event. Furthermore, p53 expression was not useful in surveillance of cuff biopsies from patients who have undergone RP for UC and the search should continue for alternative predysplastic markers. These data suggest that in patients who do not have high‐grade dysplasia or colorectal cancer at the time of RP, cuff surveillance in the first decade after pouch formation is unnecessary. However, we consider regular cuff surveillance biopsies should continue for patients with high‐grade dysplasia, whether or not there was a carcinoma in the original colectomy specimen.
State, Citizen, and Character in French Criminal Process
Authors: Field Stewart
Published: December 2006

This paper charts some major differences in the way in which evidence of the defendant's character is treated in France when compared with practice in England and Wales. Such evidence is more pervasive and visible (especially in the most serious cases) and its relevance is more broadly defined. Further, its presentation is shaped by a developed and positive conception of the French citizen. In part, these differences may be explained by differences in procedural tradition: the unitary trial structure in France, the dominance of fact—finding by the professional judiciary, and the rejection of general exclusionary rules of evidence. But a full explanation requires French legal culture to be understood in the context of French political culture. This reveals a very different conception of relations between state and citizen to that of Anglo‐Saxon liberalism. As a result the legitimacy of trial is seen in terms of the rehabilitation of the accused as a citizen of the state rather than simply the punishment of a particular infraction.
Emancipatory Cosmopolitanism: Towards an Agenda
Authors: Pieterse Jan Nederveen
Published: December 2006

This contribution explores what, in outline, an agenda of emancipatory cosmopolitanism would consist of. The first step in this treatment is to scrutinize capitalist cosmopolitanism as the dominant variant of cosmopolitanism. Understanding its influence is crucial to the task of counterbalancing it. The second section concerns the strange double life of conventional cosmopolitanism, which, while claiming universality, reflects a regional, parochial order. This paper argues that if globalization is multipolar then cosmopolitanism too is multicentric and this involves overcoming West‐centrism or monocultural cosmopolitanism. Third, whilst acknowledging the importance of the reflection on planetary ethics, the tendency toward normative abstraction is problematic; bringing history back into cosmopolitanism is necessary as a counterpoint to monocultural cosmopolitanism.
International Relations and Responsibility in an Increasingly Unequal World
Authors: Murphy Craig N.
Published: December 2006

Martha Nussbaum has provided a major service to the study and practice of international relations (IR) by articulating the moral claims made on states and international organizations by the fact of human capabilities. In return, something of what has been learned by scholars of IR can contribute to her project by considering the ways in which concrete international institutions (such as UNDP) have struggled with their international responsibilities, highlighting the role of egalitarian social movements in the establishment and reform of global level intergovernmental organizations, and searching for ways to embody Nussbaum's ‘Principles for Global Structure’ in the current agenda for reform of the United Nations' system.
THE ATTRIBUTION PROCESS OF DELEGATION CONTRACTS IN THE FRENCH URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT SECTOR: WHY COMPETITIVE TENDERING IS A MYTH
Authors: Yvrande‐Billon Anne
Published: December 2006

ABSTRACT**:  This paper analyses the French recent experience of franchising in the urban public transport sector in the light of Transaction Cost Economics arguments. It provides theoretical arguments supported by empirical evidence explaining why the compulsory use of competitive tendering in this sector did not translate into better performance, the main reasons being the lack of transparency of the attribution process and the limited monitoring capabilities of local authorities.
USING LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS TO DESIGN EFFICIENT MARKET INSTITUTIONS: THE CASE OF WHOLESALE ELECTRICITY MARKETS
Authors: Staropoli Carine , Jullien Céline
Published: December 2006

ABSTRACT**:  This paper assesses the contribution of laboratory experiments to the economics of design applied to the electricity industry. The analysis is dedicated to wholesale markets, and reviews the results accumulated to date concerning both the general architecture of power markets and the very details of the market rules or institution, that is the auction rule. We argue that these experimental results contribute to a better understanding of the performances properties and implementation features of competitive market designs and that experimental economics has proven very useful to public authorities to inform the restructuring of the electricity industry. It thus confirms the role of experimental economics as a complement to theoretical approaches in the design effort.
Parental Divorce and Students’ Performance: Evidence from Longitudinal Data*
Authors: Sanz‐de‐Galdeano Anna , Vuri Daniela
Published: December 2006

In this article, we analysed data from the National Education Longitudinal Study to investigate whether experiencing parental divorce during adolescence had an adverse impact on students’ performance on standardized tests. To account for the potential endogeneity of parental divorce we employed double and triple difference models that rely on observing teenagers from intact and divorced backgrounds before and after the divorce occurs. We found that parental divorce does not negatively affect teenagers’ cognitive skills. Our results also suggest that cross‐sectional estimates overstate the detrimental effect of parental divorce.
Is Child Work Necessary?*
Authors: Bhalotra Sonia
Published: December 2006

This article investigates the hypothesis that child labour is compelled by poverty. It shows that a testable implication of this hypothesis is that the wage elasticity of child labour supply is negative. Using a large household survey for rural Pakistan, labour supply models for boys and girls in wage work are estimated. Conditioning on non‐labour income and a range of demographic variables, the article finds a negative wage elasticity for boys and an elasticity that is insignificantly different from zero for girls. Thus, while boys appear to work on account of poverty compulsions, the evidence for girls is ambiguous.
Networks, Regional Development and Democratic Control
Authors: HADJIMICHALIS COSTIS , HUDSON RAY
Published: December 2006

The networking literature has burgeoned in recent years within a complex cross‐disciplinary field and particularly in economic geography and regional planning. Networks have been analysed both as organizational expressions of globalization, linked to claims about the rise of the network society, and as territorial and cultural systems of exchange. Concepts of networks and networking have been accepted as positive, and sometimes also as progressive or radical within both social science and policy discourses. In this article we analyse regionally embedded economic networks and the EU’s urban and regional policy networks as a new mode of administration, at a variety of spatial scales. Little attention has been paid to the theoretical implications of using the concept of network as a social metaphor or to the operation of actually existing networks, as a result of conceptualizing networks in ways that deny their constitutive inequalities, asymmetries and democratic deficits. This darker side has been pushed into the shadows by the rhetorical emphasis on the benefits claimed for networked organizational forms.
Cities as the Industrial Districts of Housebuilding
Authors: BUZZELLI MICHAEL , HARRIS RICHARD
Published: December 2006

In North America the housebuilding industry is ubiquitous and locally autonomous. In Ontario during the 1990s, 81% of urban single‐family homes were erected by locally based builders, a proportion that varied with urban isolation. Urban areas may be regarded as the industrial districts of home builders: numerous small, specialized firms interact frequently within a rich, embedded market network; subcontracting is the norm; networks and firm boundaries are fluid. The theory of industrial districts offers a useful vocabulary for analysing the neglected building industry. Analytically, the building industry offers unequalled opportunities to explore the dynamics of industrial districts, and how economic globalization meets local limits.
Nail changes associated with chemotherapy in children
Authors: Chen W , Yu Y‐S , Liu Y‐H , Sheen J‐M , Hsiao C‐C
Published: December 2006

Background  Large series of chemotherapy‐induced nail changes in children have rarely been reported in the literature.

Objective  To study the pattern and onset of nail changes in cancer children receiving various chemotherapy regimens.

Methods  A cross‐sectional study was performed on 30 paediatric patients (aged 1–17, mean 8.3 years), including 11 with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, five with acute myeloid leukaemia, and others.

Results  Nail changes developed in 10 children during chemotherapy, five of whom had Muehrcke's lines, three Beau's lines, one Mees’ lines and another had trachyonychia. There appeared to be no correlation between the pattern of nail alteration and the underlying cancer types or stages, or the regimens of chemotherapy.

Conclusion  One third of the children with cancers developed nail changes associated with chemotherapy. Among them, Muehrcke's lines were the most common manifestation, which were unrelated to hypoalbuminaemia in our series.
A Comparative Study of Stress Profiles in Mothers of Children with Autism and those of Children with Down's Syndrome
Authors: Pisula Ewa
Published: December 2006

Background  The purpose of the present study was to determine the stress in mothers whose children have autism and to compare it with the stress in mothers whose children have Down's syndrome.

Method  Fifty mothers whose children had autism (n = 25) or Down's syndrome (n = 25) completed the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS) and answered some demographic questions.

Results  The mothers of children with autism presented higher stress levels on seven of the 15 scales of the QRS.

Conclusion  The results are discussed in the context of the unsatisfactory care system for children with autism in Poland.
Is there a Difference? The Performance Characteristics of SRI Equity Indices
Authors: Schröder Michael
Published: December 2006

Abstract:  This study analyses whether stock indices that represent socially responsible investments (SRI) exhibit a different performance compared to conventional benchmark indices. In contrast to other studies, the analysis concentrates on SRI indices and not on investment funds. This has several advantages, since transaction costs of funds, the timing activities and the skill of the fund management do not have to be considered. A direct measure of the performance effects of SRI screens is therefore examined. The 29 SRI stock indices are analysed by single‐equation models as well as by multi‐equation systems that exploit the information in the cross‐section. SRI stock indices do not exhibit a different level of risk‐adjusted return than conventional benchmarks. But many SRI indices have a higher risk relative to the benchmarks. The findings are robust to the use of different benchmark indices and apply to all common types of SRI screening.
Psychosocial stress predicts future symptom severities in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome and/or obsessive‐compulsive disorder
Authors: Lin Haiqun , Katsovich Liliya , Ghebremichael Musie , Findley Diane B. , Grantz Heidi , Lombroso Paul J. , King Robert A. , Zhang Heping , Leckman James F.
Published: December 2006

Background:  The goals of this prospective longitudinal study were to monitor levels of psychosocial stress in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome (TS) and/or obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) compared to healthy control subjects and to examine the relationship between measures of psychosocial stress and fluctuations in tic, obsessive‐compulsive (OC), and depressive symptom severity.

Methods:  Consecutive ratings of tic, OC and depressive symptom severity were obtained for 45 cases and 41 matched healthy control subjects over a two‐year period. Measures of psychosocial stress included youth self‐report, parental report, and clinician ratings of long‐term contextual threat. Structural equation modeling for unbalanced repeated measures was used to assess the temporal sequence of psychosocial stress with the severity of tic, OC and depressive symptoms.

Results:  Subjects with TS and OCD experienced significantly more psychosocial stress than did the controls. Estimates of psychosocial stress were predictive of future depressive symptoms. Current levels of psychosocial stress were also a significant predictor of future OC symptom severity, but not vice versa. Current OC symptom severity was a predictor of future depressive symptom severity, but not vice versa. Current levels of psychosocial stress and depression were independent predictors of future tic severity, even after controlling for the effect of advancing chronological age.

Conclusions:  The impact of antecedent psychosocial adversity is greater on future depressive symptoms than for tic and/or OC symptoms. Worsening OC symptoms are also a predictor of future depressive symptoms. Advancing chronological age is robustly associated with reductions in tic severity.
The role of smoking‐cessation‐specific parenting in adolescent smoking‐specific cognitions and readiness to quit
Authors: Van Zundert Rinka M. P. , Van De Ven Monique O. M. , Engels Rutger C. M. E. , Otten Roy , Van Den Eijnden Regina J. J. M.
Published: December 2006

Background:  An instrument assessing smoking‐cessation‐specific parenting was developed and tested in relation to a) the pros of smoking and quitting and self‐efficacy to resist smoking, and b) adolescent readiness to quit.

Methods:  Cross‐sectional survey data from 998 Dutch adolescents who smoked regularly were used to perform structural equation analyses.

Results:  Adolescents who perceived relatively few advantages of smoking and many benefits of quitting reported a high readiness to quit. Self‐efficacy was not related to readiness to quit. Smoking‐cessation‐specific parenting was both directly related to a high readiness to quit, and indirectly through the perceived pros of quitting. Also, if one or both parents were smokers, adolescents reported experiencing less smoking‐cessation‐specific parenting and a lower readiness to quit. However, in general, differences in paths were not found between adolescents with two parents who did not smoke and adolescents with one or two parents who smoked.

Conclusions:  Given that anti‐smoking socialisation has not yet been operationalised in terms of smoking‐cessation‐specific parenting, the present results will warrant further research into smoking‐cessation‐specific parenting in relation to adolescent smoking cessation. Further, parental smoking should not discourage parents from engaging in smoking‐cessation‐specific parenting as its relations with smoking cognitions and readiness to quit were highly similar in both the group with two parents who did not smoke and the group with one or two parents who smoked.
Are sibling relationships protective? A longitudinal study
Authors: Gass Krista , Jenkins Jennifer , Dunn Judy
Published: December 2006

Background:  Although the protective effects of familial and parental support have been studied extensively in the child psychopathology literature, few studies have explored the protective quality of positive sibling relationships.

Methods:  A two‐wave longitudinal design was used to examine the protective effect of positive sibling relationships on child adjustment for children experiencing stressful life events. Mothers reported on stressful life events and child adjustment. Older siblings assessed the quality of relationship between themselves and target children.

Results:  Sibling affection moderated the relationship between stressful life events and internalizing symptomatology but not the relationship between stressful life events and externalizing symptomatology. Notably, the protective effect of sibling affection was evident regardless of mother–child relationship quality.

Conclusions:  Positive sibling relationships are an important source of support for children experiencing stressful life events. Implications for intervention are discussed.
Phonological short‐term memory, language and literacy: developmental relationships in early adolescence in young people with SLI
Authors: Conti‐Ramsden Gina , Durkin Kevin
Published: December 2006

Background:  Research has consistently documented a relationship between phonological short‐term memory skills (STM) and specific language impairment (SLI). This study reports on the development of phonological STM abilities over 3 years in 80 young adolescents with a history of SLI, investigating the nature of the relationship between phonological STM abilities and language and literacy skills, and vice versa.

Methods:  Tests of nonverbal ability, expressive and receptive language, reading and nonword repetition were administered at 11 and 14 years of age.

Results:  There was striking longitudinal stability of phonological STM capacity in young people with SLI. This finding was consistent for the group as a whole, for subgroups, and at the individual level. Regression analyses revealed reciprocal relationships between phonological STM abilities and language/literacy measures. In particular, phonological STM abilities contributed significantly to later expressive language skills and basic reading skills contributed to later phonological STM abilities. Poor phonological STM abilities related to Expressive‐Receptive profiles of SLI (ER‐SLI) and to the presence of reading difficulties.

Conclusions:  Relationships among the processes involved in language, literacy and memory in young adolescents with SLI indicate complex reciprocal interactions across development.
Systematic review: Laparoscopic colposuspension and tension‐free vaginal tape: a systematic review*
Authors: Dean N , Herbison P , Ellis G , Wilson D
Published: December 2006

Background  Advances in surgical techniques have led to the availability of a number of minimal‐access procedures to treat urodynamic stress incontinence (USI). These procedures have been individually compared with the ‘gold standard’ open Burch colposuspension; however, it now seems appropriate to compare like with like and compare these minimal‐access techniques with each other.

Objectives  To determine the effectiveness of laparoscopic colposuspension with tension‐free vaginal tape (TVT) for the treatment of USI.

Search strategy  Randomised trials in woman with USI, which compared laparoscopic colposuspension with TVT in the arms of the trial, were identified from the Cochrane Incontinence Review Group’s Specialised Register of Controlled Trials.

Selection criteria  The trials were evaluated for methodological quality and appropriateness for inclusion by the reviewers using the Incontinence Group’s assessment criteria.

Data collection and analysis  The data were extracted independently, and when appropriate, meta‐analysis was undertaken to calculate pooled estimates and their confidence intervals (CI). The main outcomes measured were: subjective cure, objective cure, quality of life (QoL) measurements, surgical outcomes and health economic measures.

Main results  Seven trials compare laparoscopic colposuspension (n= 264) with TVT (n= 290). There was no statistically

significant difference in the reported subjective cure rate between laparoscopic colposuspension and TVT within 18 months (relative risk [RR] 1.12, 95% CI 0.98−1.29). However, within the same time period, the overall objective cure rate was statistically significantly higher for TVT (RR 1.16, 95% CI 1.07−1.25). There were no significant differences between the two procedures with regards to perioperative complication, de novo detrusor overactivity, voiding dysfunction, procedural costs and QoL scores. However, TVT procedure is quicker to perform and has a shorter hospital stay.

Conclusions  The evidence so far appears to be in favour of the TVT as the minimal‐access technique of choice for USI in comparison with laparosopic colposuspension; however, long‐tem data are needed. Further well‐designed trials with standardized outcomes are required to draw accurate conclusions from this comparison.
Three hundred and thirty cycles of preimplantation genetic diagnosis for serious genetic disease: clinical considerations affecting outcome
Authors: Grace J , El‐Toukhy T , Scriven P , Ogilvie C , Pickering S , Lashwood A , Flinter F , Khalaf Y , Braude P
Published: December 2006

Objective  To report on our experience with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) cycles performed for serious genetic disease in relation to the clinical factors affecting outcome.

Design  Retrospective review of data from a single centre.

Setting  Tertiary referral PGD centre in a London teaching hospital.

Methods  The PGD cycles included 172 cycles for chromosome rearrangements, 96 cycles for single‐gene disorders and 62 cycles for X‐linked disorders. In vitro fertilisation was the preferred method in chromosome rearrangement and X‐linked cases, while intra cytoplasmic sperm injection was used in all single‐gene disorders. Appropriate in situ hybridisation fluorescence probes were used in chromosome rearrangement and X‐linked cases and polymerase chain reaction was used in single‐gene disorders. All pregnancies were followed till delivery.

Main outcome measure  Live birth rate per PGD cycle started.

Results  Eighty‐six percent of cycles started (283) reached oocyte retrieval and 3743 eggs were collected, of which 2086 fertilised normally (55.7%). Two hundred and fifty cycles (76%) had embryos sutiable for biopsy on day 3 of in vitro culture, 1714 embryos were biopsied, and in 205 cycles (62%), there was at least one unaffected embryo available for transfer, resulting in 90 pregnancies, 68 clinical pregnancies and 58 live birth. The live birth rate was 18% per cycle started, 21% per egg retrieval and 28% per embryo transfer which significantly affected the live birth outcome. Woman age, number of eggs collected and achieving cryopreservation of surplus embryos had no statistically significant effect on treatment outcome.

Conclusions  The live birth outcome of PGD cycles for serious genetic disorder is modest and is affected by the number of embryos genetically suitable for transfer.
Improving the existing diagnostic strategy by accounting for characteristics of the women in the diagnostic work up for postmenopausal bleeding
Authors: Opmeer BC , Van Doorn HC , Heintz APM , Burger CW , Bossuyt PMM , Mol BWJ
Published: December 2006

Objectives  The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the efficiency of the current diagnostic work up following postmenopausal bleeding could be improved by diagnostic strategies that take into account characteristics of the women in addition to the currently recommended transvaginal measurement of endometrial thickness to determine for subsequent histological assessment.

Design  Multicenter, prospective cohort study.

Setting  A university hospital and seven teaching hospitals in the Netherlands.

Sample  Consecutive women not using hormone replacement therapy, presenting with postmenopausal bleeding.

Methods  Five hundred and forty women underwent transvaginal sonography, and in case of endometrial thickness (double layer) above 4 mm, subsequent endometrial sampling was performed. Presence of carcinoma was ruled out by the absence of abnormalities in histological specimen or by an uneventful follow up of at least 6 months.

Main outcome measures  Probability of endometrial carcinoma was estimated by multivariable logistic regression models. For each diagnostic strategy, we calculated diagnostic accuracy (area under receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC]), negative predictive value (NPV) and the number of diagnostic procedures.

Results  A strategy with transvaginal sonography alone with a fixed threshold incorrectly classified 0.7% of the women as nonmalignant (NPV: 99.3% [98.5–100%]), with 97% sensitivity and 56% specificity. A strategy integrating characteristics of the women with transvaginal sonography could result in less false reassurances (NPV: 99.6% [99.2–100%]), with only marginal decrease in diagnostic procedures, or a minor increase in false reassurances (NPV: 99.0% [98.3–100%]), with a substantial reduction (15–20%) in the procedures. AUCs associated with these strategies could improve from 0.76 (0.73–0.79) for transvaginal sonography alone to 0.90 (0.87–0.93) for the integrated strategy.

Conclusion  Taking into account the characteristics of the women could increase the efficiency of the diagnostic work up for postmenopausal bleeding.
Risk factors for first trimester miscarriage—results from a UK‐population‐based case–control study
Authors: Maconochie N , Doyle P , Prior S , Simmons R
Published: December 2006

Objective  The aim of this study was to examine the association between biological, behavioural and lifestyle risk factors and risk of miscarriage.

Design  Population‐based case–control study.

Setting  Case–control study nested within a population‐based, two‐stage postal survey of reproductive histories of women randomly sampled from the UK electoral register.

Population  Six hundred and three women aged 18–55 years whose most recent pregnancy had ended in first trimester miscarriage (<13 weeks of gestation; cases) and 6116 women aged 18–55 years whose most recent pregnancy had progressed beyond 12 weeks (controls).

Methods  Women were questioned about socio‐demographic, behavioural and other factors in their most recent pregnancy.

Main outcome measure  First trimester miscarriage.

Results  After adjustment for confounding, the following were independently associated with increased risk: high maternal age; previous miscarriage, termination and infertility; assisted conception; low pre‐pregnancy body mass index; regular or high alcohol consumption; feeling stressed (including trend with number of stressful or traumatic events); high paternal age and changing partner. Previous live birth, nausea, vitamin supplementation and eating fresh fruits and vegetables daily were associated with reduced risk, as were feeling well enough to fly or to have sex. After adjustment for nausea, we did not confirm an association with caffeine consumption, smoking or moderate or occasional alcohol consumption; nor did we find an association with educational level, socio‐economic circumstances or working during pregnancy.

Conclusions  The results confirm that advice to encourage a healthy diet, reduce stress and promote emotional wellbeing might help women in early pregnancy (or planning a pregnancy) reduce their risk of miscarriage. Findings of increased risk associated with previous termination, stress, change of partner and low pre‐pregnancy weight are noteworthy, and we recommend further work to confirm these findings in other study populations.
Genetic research and genetic information: a health information professional's perspective on the benefits and risks
Authors: Cullen Rowena , Marshall Stephen
Published: December 2006

Background: The completion of the Human Genome Project, and recent breakthroughs in identifying the genes both directly responsible for and contributing to the severity of specific diseases and disabilities in humans offer great potential for future health care.

Aim: The aim of the paper is to inform the health information community of these developments in order to foster debate over their wide‐reaching implications.

Methods: The article outlines recent research in this area and explains how our growing understanding opens the way for improved diagnosis of disease, detection of possible predisposition to specific diseases, the interaction between genetics and environmental aspects such as diet, as well as enabling gene therapy and preventative actions. This new knowledge also opens the way for the use of pharmacogenetic information to enhance the efficacy of pharmaceuticals and to avoid toxic reactions.

Results: These advances have significant social, legal and ethical implications. Most countries have limited legislative control over the use and protection of genetic information about individuals.

Conclusion: There is a role for health information professionals to play in promoting wider public knowledge of genetic research and its implications, in fostering public debate on key issues, and in seeking clearer policies in the health sector concerning the use of genetic information about individuals.
Information needs and information sources of individuals living with spinal cord injury
Authors: Burkell Jacquelyn A. , Wolfe Dalton L. , Potter Patrick J. , Jutai Jeffrey W.
Published: December 2006

Aims and objectives: Access to health information is important for the well‐being of people living in the community after spinal cord injury (SCI). In order to design appropriate information interventions, it is critical first to understand the information sources typically used. The goal of this study therefore is to identify the information‐seeking practices of this group.

Sample and methods: A sample of 207 individuals living in the community following traumatic spinal cord injury were surveyed regarding their ongoing information needs and practices for seeking information.

Results: The results reveal that respondents have unmet information needs, despite the fact that they typically access information through a variety of channels. SCI specialists are the most commonly used source, although they are viewed as relatively inaccessible. By contrast, the Internet (used by a relatively high proportion of respondents) is viewed as comparatively accessible, although there are some concerns about the quality of information found there.

Conclusions: These survey results point to the need for an information source that is accessible and delivers high quality information. Although respondents use a variety of information sources, none meets this ideal profile. Information professionals should consider this gap in the design of information interventions.
Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers from the budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus
Authors: KAMARA D. , GENG T. , XU J. , GUYNN S. , HOPWOOD K. , SMITH E. J.
Published: December 2006

The budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus, belongs to a group of birds that are among the most common captive‐held avian species that are also most threatened. Budgies are also a valuable resource as model species for many important vertebrate characteristics including auditory and ageing. Several microsatellite‐enriched genomic libraries were developed using standard protocols. Twelve of 20 primer pairs developed from microsatellite‐containing sequences were codominant and polymorphic when tested on 21 birds from three different states. The number of alleles detected ranged from two to four, with the expected and observed heterozygosities ranging from 0.09 to 0.61 and from 0.00 to 0.85, respectively. The genomic libraries and the primers described here will be useful in characterizing budgies.
Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from a commercial cultivar of Porphyra haitanensis
Authors: ZUO ZHENGHONG , WANG CHONGGANG , CAO XIAOHUA , SU YING , LIAO LIJING , CHEN YIXIN
Published: December 2006

Here we report 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci obtained from Porphyra haitanensis through an enriched genomic library. The analysis of 22 individuals from conchocelis phase of P. haitanensis, which possess a diploid nuclear phase, showed that allelic diversity range from three to six alleles. The polymorphism revealed by these loci will be extremely useful for genetic mapping, marker‐assistant selection, germplasm characterization and evolutionary studies in Porphyra.
Development of 18 polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers of Laminaria japonica (Phaeophyceae)
Authors: SHI YUANYUAN , YANG GUANPIN , LIU YONGJIAN , LIAO MEIJIE , LI XIAOJIE , CONG YIZHOU
Published: December 2006

Eighteen polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers were developed for Laminaria japonica, a brown alga cultured intensively in China. These markers are independent from each other and are moderately variable in L. japonica. The number of alleles and gene diversity detected in 53 gametophyte clones representing the varieties of L. japonica cultured once or currently in China range from two to nine and from 0.355 to 0.768, respectively. These markers will certainly facilitate the management and exploitation of the germplasm resource of L. japonica conserved indoor as gametophyte clones and the determination of the genetic diversity of L. japonica naturally distributed.