bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Symplekin and multiple other polyadenylation factors participate in 3′-end maturation of histone mRNAs
Authors: Kolev Nikolay G. , Steitz Joan A.
Published: October 2005

Most metazoan messenger RNAs encoding histones are cleaved, but not polyadenylated at their 3′ ends. Processing in mammalian cell extracts requires the U7 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (U7 snRNP) and an unidentified heat-labile factor (HLF). We describe the identification of a heat-sensitive protein complex whose integrity is required for histone pre-mRNA cleavage. It includes all five subunits of the cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF), two subunits of the cleavage stimulation factor (CstF), and symplekin. Reconstitution experiments reveal that symplekin, previously shown to be necessary for cytoplasmic poly(A) tail elongation and translational activation of mRNAs during Xenopus oocyte maturation, is the essential heat-labile component. Thus, a common molecular machinery contributes to the nuclear maturation of mRNAs both lacking and possessing poly(A), as well as to cytoplasmic poly(A) tail elongation.
Short-term treatment with anti-CD44v7 antibody, but not CD44v4, restores the gut mucosa in established chronic dextran sulphate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice
Authors: Farkas S , Hornung M , Sattler C , Anthuber M , Gunthert U , Herfarth H , Schlitt H J , Geissler E K , Wittig B M
Published: October 2005

Increased expression of CD44 variant isoforms have been shown on the inflammatory infiltrates in human and mouse colitis and blockade or deletion of CD44 isoforms inhibit experimental colitis. The objective of this study was to find out if short-term treatment of CD44 antibodies specific to CD44v7, but not to other variant isoforms, suppresses leucocyte–endothelial interaction in chronic dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. Chronic colitis was induced by oral administration of four cycles of 5% DSS in BALB/c mice. Expression of CD44 was investigated on isolated mononuclear cells of the gut immune system. In established colitis, mice were treated with antibodies against CD44v7 or CD44v4 three times in 7 days. Intravital microscopy was used to study leucocyte–endothelial interactions and leucocyte extravasation. As a marker of inflammatory infiltrates myeloperoxidase was quantified in gut tissue. CD44-induced apoptosis was determined by fluorescence staining of hypodiploidic cell nuclei. In chronic DSS-induced colitis both CD44 variant isoforms, v4 and v7 were significantly up-regulated on mononuclear cells. However, whereas anti-CD44v7 antibody treatment induced a marked restoration of the gut mucosa and significantly reduced endothelial sticking and extravasation of circulating leucocyte in vivo (P < 0·01), application of anti-CD44v4 or an isotype control antibody had no anti-inflammatory effect. A significant reduction of myeloperoxidase activity was detected after blockade of CD44v7, but not v4. Short-term treatment with anti-CD44v7 antibody blocks T cell extravasation and recruitment to the intestinal mucosa and cures established experimental colitis.
Peripheral regulatory mechanisms in erection
Authors: MORELLI A. , FILIPPI S. , ZHANG X.‐H. , LUCONI M. , VIGNOZZI L. , MANCINA R. , MAGGI M.
Published: October 2005

The most important pathway underlying the penile erection is the nonadrenergic/noncholinergic signalling, which through the release of nitric oxide (NO), leads to an intracellular increase of cyclic GMP (cGMP), the main secondary messenger mediating tumescence in the penis. Interestingly, both cGMP formation and degradation are affected by testosterone (T). In fact, beyond the well‐known role of T in regulating sexual desire and NO release, recent experimental evidences from our group showed that T also regulates the expression of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5), the hydrolytic enzyme involved in cGMP breakdown. This antithetic role of T seems to be the main way through which the peripheral hormonal regulation of penile erections occurs, allowing an important synchronization between erectile processes and sexual desire. Hence, erections are still possible in hypogonadal conditions where a decreased cGMP formation, because of impaired NO production, is counterbalanced by a reduced cGMP hydrolysis. The purpose of this review is to describe evidences about the peripheral role of T in regulating penile erection and to justify the importance to test T plasma levels in those patients with erectile dysfunction who do not respond to PDE5 inhibitors.
Diagnosing Erectile Dysfunction: instruments for the study of smooth muscle relaxation
Authors: PESCATORI E. S. , MORGIA G. , FARINA F. P.
Published: October 2005

Complete cavernosal smooth muscle relaxation is the pre‐requisite for the reliability of every evaluation of the integrity of the corporal veno‐occlusive system. Such evaluation is needed whenever reaching a diagnostic conclusion on the haemodynamic status of a given patient is clinically relevant. Clinical challenges that a laboratory evaluation of veno‐occlusive integrity face comprise both the induction of complete smooth muscle relaxation, and the possibility to monitor it. This article will review the relevant aspects of normal range values of veno‐occlusive function, existing strategies aimed to promote complete smooth muscle relaxation, and available techniques to monitor the cavernosal smooth muscle status.
Diagnosing Erectile Dysfunction: The penile dynamic colour duplex ultrasound revisited
Authors: AVERSA A. , BRUZZICHES R. , SPERA G.
Published: October 2005

A number of disease processes of the penis including Peyronie's disease, priapism, penile fractures and tumors are clearly visualized with ultrasound. Diagnostic evaluation of erectile dysfunction (ED) by penile dynamic colour‐duplex Doppler ultrasonography (D‐CDDU) is actually considered a second level approach to ED patients because of the fact that intracavernous injections test IV with prostaglandin‐E1 may provide important information about the patients’ erectile capacity. However, no direct vascular imaging and a high percentage of false negative diagnoses of vasculogenic ED are its major pitfalls and subsequent treatment decisions remain quite limited. The occurrence of ED and its sentinel relationship to cardiovascular disease has prompted more accurate vascular screening in all patients even in the absence of cardiovascular risk factors. The sonographic evaluation of the intima‐media thickness of the carotid arteries may sometimes represent an early manifestation of diffuse atherosclerotic disease and endothelial damage. This latter finding is often the cause of failure to oral agents, i.e. phosphodiesterase inhibitors, because of inability of the dysfunctional endothelium to release nitric oxide. D‐CDDU represents an accurate tool to investigate cavernous artery inflow and venous leakage when compared with more invasive diagnostic techniques i.e. selective arteriography and dynamic infusion cavernosometry along with cavernosography.
The therapeutic dilemma: how to use short‐acting PDE5 inhibitor drugs
Authors: FABBRI A. , AVERSA A.
Published: October 2005

In the last few years, the clinical context of the diagnosis and treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) has changed radically. In fact, oral drug treatment with phosphodiesterase type‐5 inhibitors (PDE5‐i), licensed in the past years, appeared to offer advantages over other medical approaches in terms of ease of administration and cost. PDE5‐i are now widely advocated as first‐line therapy for ED. PDE5‐i represent a class of orally active drugs for ED, which inhibit PDE5 enzyme and in turn enhance smooth muscle relaxation via prolongation of cyclic GMP action within the cavernous smooth muscle. Although the various types of PDE5‐i differ with respect to selectivity and pharmacokinetic profiles, efficacy and safety of these agents are mostly comparable in broad populations of men with erectile ED, including those with diabetes, cardiovascular disease or those taking multiple antihypertensive agents. Aim of this article will be to review the different efficacy and safety profiles of oral short‐acting compounds and to give indication for treatment of special populations of men with ED.
A brief history of Great Basin pikas
Authors: Grayson Donald K.
Published: October 2005

Aim Within the past few decades, seven of the 25 historically described populations of American pikas (Ochotona princeps) in the Great Basin of arid western North America appear to have become extinct. In this paper, the prehistoric record for pikas in the Great Basin is used to place these losses in deeper historical context.

Location The Great Basin, or area of internal drainage, of the western United States.

Methods The location, elevation, and age of all reported prehistoric Great Basin specimens of American pikas were extracted from the literature. Elevations of extinct pika populations were arrayed through time, and latitudes and longitudes of those populations used to determine changing distances of those populations from the nearest extant populations.

Results The average elevation of now‐extinct Great Basin pika populations during the late Wisconsinan (c.40,000–10,000 radiocarbon years ago) and early Holocene (c.10,000–7500 years ago) was 1750 m. During the hot and dry middle Holocene (c.7500–4500 years ago), the average elevation of these populations rose 435 m, to 2168 m. All prehistorically known late Holocene (c.4500–200 years ago) populations in the Great Basin are from mountain ranges that currently support populations of this animal, but historic period losses have caused the average elevation of pika populations to rise an additional 152 m. The total elevational increase, from the late Wisconsinan and early Holocene to today, has been 783 m. As lower elevation pika populations were lost, their distribution increasingly came to resemble its modern form. During the late Wisconsinan, now‐extinct pika populations were located an average of 170 km from the nearest extant population. By the late Holocene, this distance had declined to 30 km.

Main conclusions Prehistoric alterations in the distribution of pika population in the Great Basin were driven by climate change and attendant impacts on vegetation. Today, Great Basin pikas contend with both climate change and anthropogenic impacts and thus may be on the brink of extinction.
Phylogenetics of the allodapine bee genus Braunsapis: historical biogeography and long‐range dispersal over water
Authors: Fuller Susan , Schwarz Michael , Tierney Simon
Published: October 2005

Aim  A previous study of the allodapine bee genus Braunsapis suggested an African origin, with dispersal events into Madagascar and Asia, and from Asia into Australia. We re‐examine the phylogeny of this genus, using an expanded set of taxa from Madagascar and Malawi and additional sequence data, in order to determine the number of dispersals and the timeframe over which they occurred.

Location  Africa, Madagascar, Malawi, Asia and Australia.

Methods  One nuclear (EF‐1α F2) and two mitochondrial (CO1 and Cyt b) gene regions were sequenced for 36 allodapine bee species (including members of the genera Braunsapis, Nasutapis, Allodape, Allodapula, and Macrogalea) and one ceratinine species (Ceratina japonica). We used Bayesian analyses to examine phylogenetic structure and a penalized likelihood approach to estimate approximate ages for key divergences in our phylogeny.

Results  Our analyses indicate a tropical African origin for Braunsapis in the early Miocene followed by very early dispersal into Asia and then a subsequent dispersal, following Asian diversification, into Australia during the late Miocene. There have also been two dispersals of Braunsapis from Africa to Madagascar and this result, when combined with phylogenetic and biogeographical data for other allodapines, suggests that these bees have the ability to cross moderately large ocean expanses. These dispersals may have been aided by the West Wind Drift, but rafting across the Mozambique Channel is also possible, and could be aided by the existence of developmental stages that require minimal or no feeding and by tolerance to sea water and spume. Accumulating evidence suggests that many biogeographical patterns in the southern hemisphere may be better explained by dispersal than by Gondwanan vicariance hypotheses. Our results add to this growing body of data and raise the possibility that some puzzling trans‐Indian Ocean distributions may also be explained by historical dispersal events across oceanic barriers that now seem insuperable.
Biogeographical and geological evidence for a smaller, completely‐enclosed Pacific Basin in the Late Cretaceous
Authors: McCarthy Dennis
Published: October 2005

Aim To use biogeographical, palaeomagnetic, palaeosedimentary, and plate circuit data from Late Cretaceous regions in and around the Pacific to test the plate tectonic hypothesis of a pre‐Pacific superocean.

Location East Asia, Australia, Antarctica, the western Americas, and the Pacific.

Methods Literature surveys of the distributions of Cretaceous, circum‐Pacific taxa were compared with palaeomagnetic and palaeosedimentary data. Uncontroversial plate motions based on seafloor spreading data were also used to test the results of the biogeographical and palaeomagnetic analyses.

Results The distributions of Cretaceous terrestrial taxa, mostly dinosaurs, imply direct, continental connections between Australia and East Asia, East Asia and North America, North America and South America, South America and Antarctica, and Antarctica and Australia. Palaeomagnetic, palaeosedimentary, and basic plate circuit analyses require little to no latitudinal motion of the Pacific plate with respect to the surrounding continents. Specifically, the data implies that western North America, East Asia, and the Pacific plate all increased in latitude by roughly the same amount (c. 11 ± 5°) since the Campanian – and that the Pacific Ocean Basin has increased in length north‐to‐south.

Main conclusions Each of the analyses provides independent corroboration for the same conclusion: the Late Cretaceous Pacific plate was completely enclosed by the surrounding continents and has not experienced significant latitudinal motion with respect to North America, East Asia, or the Bering land bridge. This contrasts significantly with the plate tectonic history of the Pacific, implying instead that the Pacific plate formedin situ, pushing the continents apart as the plate and basin expanded. These results also substantiate recent biogeographical analyses that have concluded that a narrower Pacific Ocean Basin in the Mesozoic and early Tertiary provides the most reasonable explanation for the great number of trans‐Pacific disjunctions of poor dispersing taxa.
Ca2+‐dependent lipid binding and membrane integration of PopA, a harpin‐like elicitor of the hypersensitive response in tobacco
Authors: Racapé Judith , Belbahri Lassaad , Engelhardt Stefan , Lacombe Benoit , Lee Justin , Lochman Jan , Marais Antoine , Nicole Michel , Nürnberger Thorsten , Parlange Francis , Puverel Sandrine , Keller Harald
Published: October 2005

PopA is released by type III secretion from the bacterial plant pathogenRalstonia solanacearumand triggers the hypersensitive response (HR) in tobacco. The function of PopA remains obscure, mainly because mutants lacking this protein are not altered in their ability to interact with plants. In an attempt to identify the site of PopA activity in plant cells, we generated transgenic tobacco plants expressing thepopAgene under the control of an inducible promoter. Immunocytologic analysis revealed that the HR phenotype of these plants correlated with the presence of PopA at the plant plasma membrane. Membrane localization was observed irrespective of whether the protein was designed to accumulate in the cytoplasm or to be secreted by the plant cell, suggesting a general lipid‐binding ability. We found that the protein had a high affinity for sterols and sphingolipidsin vitroand that it required Ca2+for both lipid binding and oligomerization. In addition, the protein was integrated into liposomes and membranes fromXenopus laevisoocytes where it formed ion‐conducting pores. These characteristics suggest that PopA is part of a system that aims to attach the host cell plasma membrane and to allow molecules cross this barrier.
Fibronectin‐binding proteins of Staphylococcus aureus mediate activation of human platelets via fibrinogen and fibronectin bridges to integrin GPIIb/IIIa and IgG binding to the FcγRIIa receptor
Authors: Fitzgerald J. Ross , Loughman Anthony , Keane Fiona , Brennan Marian , Knobel Morris , Higgins Judy , Visai Livia , Speziale Pietro , Cox Dermot , Foster Timothy J.
Published: October 2005

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of infective endocarditis (IE). Platelet activation promoted by S. aureus resulting in aggregation and thrombus formation is an important step in the pathogenesis of IE. Here, we report that the fibrinogen/fibronectin‐binding proteins FnBPA and FnBPB are major platelet‐activating factors on the surface of S. aureus from the exponential phase of growth. Truncated derivatives of FnBPA, presenting either the fibrinogen‐binding A domain or the fibronectin‐binding BCD region, each promoted platelet activation when expressed on the surface of S. aureus or Lactococcus lactis, indicating two distinct mechanisms of activation. FnBPA‐promoted platelet activation is mediated by fibrinogen and fibronectin bridges between the A domain and the BCD domains, respectively, to the low affinity form of the integrin GPIIb/IIIa on resting platelets. Antibodies recognizing the FnBPA A domain or the complex between the FnBPA BCD domains and fibronectin were essential for activation promoted by bacteria expressing the A domain or the BCD domain respectively. Activation was inhibited by a monoclonal antibody (IV‐3) specific for the FcγRIIa IgG receptor on platelets. We propose that the activation of quiescent platelets by bacteria expressing FnBPs involves the formation of a bridge between the bacterial cell and the platelet surface by (i) fibronectin and fibrinogen interacting with the low affinity form of GPIIb/IIIa and (ii) by antibodies specific to FnBPs that engage the platelet Fc receptor FcγRIIa. Platelet activation by S. aureus clinical IE isolates from both the exponential and stationary phases of growth was completely inhibited by monoclonal antibody IV‐3 suggesting that the IgG–FcγRIIa interaction is of fundamental importance for platelet activation mediated by this organism. This suggests new avenues for development of therapeutics against vascular infections.
Differential effects of chemoreceptor methylation‐domain mutations on swarming and development in the social bacterium Myxococcus xanthus
Authors: Astling David P. , Lee Josephine Y. , Zusman David R.
Published: October 2005

The soil bacterium Myxococcus xanthus is a model organism for the study of multicellular behaviour and development in bacteria. M. xanthus cells move on solid surfaces by gliding motility, periodically reversing their direction of movement. Motility is co‐ordinated to allow cells to effectively feed on macromolecules or prey bacteria when nutrients are plentiful and to form developmental fruiting bodies when nutrients are limiting. The Frz signal transduction pathway regulates cellular movements by modulating cell reversal frequency. Input to the Frz pathway is controlled by the cytoplasmic receptor, FrzCD, a methyl‐accepting chemotaxis protein (MCP). FrzCD lacks the transmembrane and periplasmic domains common to MCPs but contains a unique N‐terminal domain, the predicted ligand‐binding domain. As deletion of the N‐terminal domain of FrzCD only results in minor defects in motility, we investigated the possibility that the methylation of the conserved C‐terminal domain of FrzCD plays a central role in regulating the pathway. For this study, each of the potential methylation sites of FrzCD were systematically modified by site‐directed mutagenesis, substituting glutamine/glutamate pairs for alanines. Four of the seven mutations produced dramatic phenotypes; two of the mutations had a stimulatory effect on the pathway, as evidenced by cells hyper‐reversing, whereas another two had an inhibitory effect, causing these cells to rarely reverse. These four mutants displayed defects in vegetative swarming and developmental aggregation. These results suggests a model in which the methylation domain can both activate and inhibit the Frz pathway depending on which residues are methylated. The diversity of phenotypes suggests that specific modifications of FrzCD act to differentially regulate motility and developmental aggregation in M. xanthus.
Mutagenesis via IS transposition in Deinococcus radiodurans
Authors: Mennecier Samuel , Servant Pascale , Coste Geneviève , Bailone Adriana , Sommer Suzanne
Published: October 2005

Analysis of the complete genome indicates that insertion sequences (ISs) are abundant in the radio‐resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. By developing a forward mutagenesis assay to detect any inactivation events in D. radiodurans, we found that in the presence of an active mismatch repair system 75% of the mutations to trimethoprim‐resistance (TmpR) resulted from an IS insertion into the thyA coding region. Analysis of their distribution among the spontaneous TmpR mutants indicated that five different ISs were transpositionally active. A type II Miniature Inverted‐repeat Transposable Element (MITE), related to one of the deinococcal ISs, was also discovered as an insertion into thyA. Seven additional genomic copies of this MITE element were identified by BLASTN. γ‐ray irradiation of D. radiodurans led to an increase of up to 10‐fold in the frequency of TmpR mutants. Analysis of the induced mutations in cells exposed to 10 kGy indicated that γ‐irradiation induced transposition of ISDra2 approximately 100‐fold. A 50‐fold induction of ISDra2 transposition was also observed in cells exposed to 600 J m−2 UV‐irradiation. Point mutations to rifampicin resistance (RifR) were also induced by γ‐irradiation to reach a plateau at 2 kGy. The plateau value represented a 16‐fold increase in the mutant frequency over the background. Although error‐free repair strategies predominate in D. radiodurans, an upregulation of transposition, as well as induction of point mutations in cells recovering from DNA damage, provide a genetic variability that may have long‐term evolutionary consequences on the fitness of this organism in its habitat.
High‐frequency homologous recombination in plants mediated by zinc‐finger nucleases
Authors: Wright David A. , Townsend Jeffrey A. , Winfrey Ronnie Joe , Irwin Phillip A. , Rajagopal Jyothi , Lonosky Patricia M. , Hall Bradford D. , Jondle Michael D. , Voytas Daniel F.
Published: October 2005

Homologous recombination offers great promise for plant genome engineering. This promise has not been realized, however, because when DNA enters plant cells homologous recombination occurs infrequently and random integration predominates. Using a tobacco test system, we demonstrate that chromosome breaks created by zinc‐finger nucleases greatly enhance the frequency of localized recombination. Homologous recombination was measured by restoring function to a defective GUS:NPTII reporter gene integrated at various chromosomal sites in 10 different transgenic tobacco lines. The reporter gene carried a recognition site for a zinc‐finger nuclease, and protoplasts from each tobacco line were electroporated with both DNA encoding the nuclease and donor DNA to effect repair of the reporter. Homologous recombination occurred in more than 10% of the transformed protoplasts regardless of the reporter's chromosomal position. Approximately 20% of the GUS:NPTII reporter genes were repaired solely by homologous recombination, whereas the remainder had associated DNA insertions or deletions consistent with repair by both homologous recombination and non‐homologous end joining. The DNA‐binding domain encoded by zinc‐finger nucleases can be engineered to recognize a variety of chromosomal target sequences. This flexibility, coupled with the enhancement in homologous recombination conferred by double‐strand breaks, suggests that plant genome engineering through homologous recombination can now be reliably accomplished using zinc‐finger nucleases.
Do growth monitoring and promotion programs answer the performance criteria of a screening program? A critical analysis based on a systematic review
Authors: Roberfroid D. , Kolsteren P. , Hoerée T. , Maire B.
Published: October 2005

Objective  Growth Monitoring and Promotion programs (GMP) have been intensively promoted to improve children's health in developing countries. It has been hoped that regularly weighing children would result in the early detection of growth falterers, and that the growth chart would serve as an educational tool to make that state apparent to both health workers and caretakers in order to trigger improved caring practices. Our objective was to review whether GMP answers the theoretical grounds of a screening and intervention program.

Method  A systematic literature review was performed. The WHO framework developed by Wilson and Jungner for planning and evaluating screening programs guided the analysis.

Results  Sixty‐nine studies were retrieved. Overall, evidence is weak on the performance of GMP as a screening program for malnutrition through early detection of growth falterers. The main results are: (1) malnutrition remains a public health problem, but its importance is context specific; (2) the value of a low weight velocity to predict malnutrition is unknown and likely to vary in different contexts; (3) the performance of GMP for improving nutrition status of children and in reducing mortality and morbidity is unknown; (4) the performance of the screening is affected by the unreliability of weight measurements; (5) the promotional and educational effectiveness of GMP is low, in particular the growth chart is poorly understood by mothers; (6) the acceptability seems low in regards of low attendance rates; (7) evidence is lacking regarding cost‐effectiveness.

Conclusions  We conclude that there is too little scientific evidence to indiscriminately support international promotion of GMP. However GMP could constitute a valid strategy of public nutrition in specific situations. We indicate paths for further research and how prevention programs could be developed.
Evaluation of long‐lasting insecticidal nets after 2 years of household use
Authors: Lindblade Kim A. , Dotson Ellen , Hawley William A. , Bayoh Nabie , Williamson John , Mount Dwight , Olang George , Vulule John , Slutsker Laurence , Gimnig John
Published: October 2005

Development of long‐lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) may eliminate the need for insecticide retreatment of ITNs. While two LLINs (Olyset®, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Japan; and PermaNet® 1.0, Vestergaard‐Frandsen, Denmark) have received recommendations from the World Health Organization Pesticide Evaluation Scheme, field‐testing under normal use has been limited. We used a survival analysis approach to compare time to net failure of conventional polyester bednets treated only with deltamethrin to two LLINs and two candidate LLINs (Olyset®; PermaNet®; Insector, Athanor, France; and Dawa®, Siamdutch Mosquito Netting Co., Thailand). Additionally, we evaluated nets treated with a process designed to increase the wash‐durability of permethrin‐treated nets through the addition of cyclodextrin (a starch) in the treatment process. Houses in western Kenya were randomly assigned to one of the six net types and nets were distributed to cover all sleeping spaces. Households were visited monthly to assess reported side effects in inhabitants and washing frequency. Nets were evaluated for insecticidal activity by periodic WHO cone bioassays with mortality assessed at 24 h. Nets with bioassay mortality <70% were assayed monthly until failure, defined as the first of two consecutive bioassay mortality rates <50%. Time to failure was analyzed using an extended Cox Proportional Hazards model controlling for the cumulative number of washes. We distributed 314 nets to 177 households in June–July 2002; 22 nets (7.0%) were lost to follow‐up and 196 (62.4%) failed during the first 2 years of the evaluation. Controlling for cumulative number of washes, PermaNet® 1.0 [Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.14, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.06–0.31] had a significantly lower risk of failure than conventional nets while Insector had a significantly higher risk of failure (HR 2.57, 95% CI 1.06–4.15). The risks of failure of the remaining nets (Olyset®: HR 1.29, 95% CI 0.79–2.10; Dawa®: HR 0.58, 95% CI 0.32–1.18; cyclodextrin: HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.40–1.1) were not significantly different from that of a conventional net. PermaNet® 1.0 performed significantly better than conventional nets and should be recommended to malaria control programs.
A review of the quality of randomized clinical trials of adjunctive therapy for the treatment of cerebral malaria
Authors: Enwere Godwin
Published: October 2005

Background  Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) of adjunctive treatment to reduce the high‐mortality associated with cerebral malaria (CM) have so far failed to show any benefit. This may be due in part to improperly designed and/or conducted trials. Therefore a systematic review of quality of RCTs for the treatment of CM with mortality as either primary or secondary outcome published between 1980 and 2000, was conducted.

Methods  RCTs from the peer‐reviewed literature using electronic searches. Methodological quality was assessed using an individual component approach (adequacy of concealment of allocation schedule, generation of allocation sequence, double blinding and analysis of participant as randomized). Sample sizes were recalculated for the ability of reviewed trials to detect 25% and 50% reductions in mortality.

Results  Nine trials satisfied the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Only two had sufficient power to detect a 50% reduction in mortality, and none could detect a 25% reduction. All the trials had inadequate methodological quality in one or more of the components, although in two trials these deficiencies were few.

Conclusion  There is a need for researchers and donors to ensure proper planning and implementation of RCTs in developing countries. In CM, demonstration of worthwhile reduction in mortality by a single intervention will require a large number of subjects, which a single centre may not be able to recruit.
The prevalence of food hypersensitivity in an unselected population of children and adults
Authors: Osterballe M. , Hansen T. K. , Mortz C. G. , Høst A. , Bindslev‐Jensen C.
Published: October 2005

A rising prevalence of food hypersensitivity (FHS) and severe allergic reactions to food has been reported the last decade. To estimate the prevalence of FHS to the most common allergenic foods in an unselected population of children and adults. We investigated a cohort of 111 children <3 yr of age, 486 children 3 yr of age, 301 children older than 3 yr of age and 936 adults by questionnaire, skin prick test, histamine release test and specific immunoglobulin E followed by oral challenge to the most common allergenic foods. In total, 698 cases of possible FHS were recorded in 304 (16.6%) participants. The prevalence of FHS confirmed by oral challenge was 2.3% in the children 3 yr of age, 1% in children older than 3 yr of age and 3.2% in adults. The most common allergenic foods were hen's egg affecting 1.6% of the children 3 yr of age and peanut in 0.4% of the adults. Of the adults, 0.2% was allergic to codfish and 0.3% to shrimp, whereas no challenges with codfish and shrimp were positive in the children. The prevalence of clinical reactions to pollen‐related foods in pollen‐sensitized adults was estimated to 32%. This study demonstrates the prevalence of FHS confirmed by oral challenge to the most common allergenic foods in an unselected population of children and adults.
Intervention during pregnancy and allergic disease in the offspring
Authors: Salvatore S. , Keymolen K. , Hauser B. , Vandenplas Y.
Published: October 2005

The etiology of allergy is multifactorial, with many variables contributing to the final expression of atopic disease. Three breeding grounds are needed to develop allergic disease: the appropriate genetic background, contact with the allergen(s) and environmental factors. Timing and dosing of allergen(s) are of major importance. Contact with (dietary) allergens and various agents such as tobacco smoke and infections occur not only during post‐natal life, but also perinatally and even pre‐natally. A critical review of published evidence regarding the impact of maternal exposure to antigens during pregnancy on later development of allergy in the offspring can only conclude that more research is urgently needed. Contact with multiple dietary allergens should be in general of benefit to the fetus to develop tolerance. Current knowledge suggests that pregnant women should have a normal diversified diet, avoiding toxic agents such as tobacco and alcohol. The role of maternal intake of poly‐unsaturated fatty acids on the development of atopy in the infants needs to be further evaluated. If parental history would be insufficient to determine the fetal risk, preventive measurements would be advisable for all fetuses.
Variability of immunodeficiency associated with ataxia telangiectasia and clinical evolution in 12 affected patients
Authors: Claret Teruel G. , Giner Muñoz M. T. , Plaza Martín A. M. , Martín Mateos M. A. , Piquer Gibert M. , Sierra Martínez J. I.
Published: October 2005

Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) is an infrequent condition, which is difficult to diagnose in children. The objective was to describe the evolution of all affected patients controlled in our hospital and to highlight the keys for an early diagnosis considering the variability of immunological disorders. The present study is a retrospective review of all patients diagnosed and controlled of AT in our hospital. Twelve patients were found, including two couples of siblings. The most frequent reason for consultation was unstable gait. Seven patients suffered repeated infections, being pneumonia the most frequent cause of infection, followed by sinusitis. One of the patients developed Burkitt's lymphoma, and another patient, Hodgkin's lymphoma, which caused the death of the patient at the age of 11. A couple of siblings aged 17 and 22 years developed insulin‐resistant diabetes mellitus. The most frequent immunity disorders were the IgG deficiency and the decrease of T lymphocytes. Seven patients were treated with non‐specific gamma‐globulin. By the end of the follow‐up, 8 patients (ages ranged 7 to 12 years) lost gait. Molecular genetic testing was conducted in patients who are still cared for in our hospital. Clinical suspicion of this entity will lead to an early diagnosis, the treatment of complications, and to provide genetic counselling for the families.
Household hygiene practices in relation to dampness at home and current wheezing and rhino‐conjunctivitis among school age children
Authors: Zhang Guicheng , Spickett Jeffery , Lee Andy H. , Rumchev Krassi , Stick Stephen
Published: October 2005

Good household hygiene practices may improve indoor air quality in the domestic environment. Conversely, a ‘hygiene hypothesis’ is challenging the importance of hygiene and sanitation at home. This study aims to investigate the relationship between household hygiene practices and dampness at home and current wheezing, asthma and other allergic conditions among Australian children. Nine hundred and ninety‐six children from four primary schools in Perth, Western Australia, were recruited for a domestic environmental and health survey during March and April of 2002. The results showed that high cleanliness scores were negatively associated with moulds at home before and after adjustment for age of dwelling (p < 0.001). High ventilation scores were inversely related with damp patches, condensation and moulds at home (p < 0.05). However, households with high cleanliness scores appeared to have significantly higher prevalence of current wheezing (p < 0.05) and current rhino‐conjunctivitis (p < 0.05) in children. The association remained even after controlling for confounders such as age and gender of children, asthma history of parents, passive smoking and dampness at home.
Ecology of two‐spotted ladybird, Adalia bipunctata: a review
Authors: Omkar  , Pervez A.
Published: October 2005

Abstract:  Adalia bipunctata (Linnaeus) is a generalist aphidophagous ladybird having a wide prey range. It exhibits complex polymorphism. We reviewed the information on its general characteristics, polymorphism, sexual activity, foraging behaviour, food range and prey suitability, growth and development, heterospecific interactions including natural enemies, and its biocontrol potential. Although a poor biocontrol agent (only successful against aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea in Switzerland), it was used in the past as a good model to test various hypotheses and models facilitating ecological understanding in insects. In the present review, the empirical data are interpreted and inferences drawn and a checklist of its prey is provided.
Effects of a kaolin‐based particle film on oviposition and feeding of gypsy moth (Lep., Lymantriidae) and forest tent caterpillar (Lep., Lasiocampidae) in the laboratory
Authors: Cadogan B. L. , Scharbach R. D.
Published: October 2005

Abstract:  In the laboratory we investigated a kaolin‐based crop protectant, Surround® WP, that was mixed in a spray carrier (94% water, 2% methanol, 4% Triton X100) and applied as particle film against gypsy moth Lymantria dispar (L.) and forest tent caterpillar Malacosoma disstria Hubner. Paired‐choice feeding tests showed that gypsy moth larvae were significantly (P < 0.05) less disposed to feed on red oak Quercus rubrus L. treated with high concentrations (60 and 120 g/l carrier) of kaolin than on untreated foliage. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between gypsy moth's consumption of kaolin‐treated and untreated red oak when given a single food choice, but the adults were less inclined to oviposit on the kaolin‐treated surfaces than on controls. However, no kaolin treatment completely deterred gypsy moth feeding or oviposition. Kaolin particle film did not influence forest tent caterpillar feeding and there were insufficient data to evaluate the effect of kaolin on the species' oviposition. The spray carrier did not increase the efficacy of the kaolin, but as an independent, albeit impractical treatment it constrained feeding by both insect species but did not affect gypsy moth oviposition. These initial laboratory findings suggest that applying kaolin‐based particle film to forests would present significant challenges; but if these could be surmounted, the technique might assist in the management of gypsy moth but not likely in that of forest tent caterpillar.
The SCAR‐3 study: 5‐year adhesion‐related readmission risk following lower abdominal surgical procedures
Authors: Parker M. C. , Wilson M. S. , Menzies D. , Sunderland G. , Clark D. N. , Knight A. D. , Crowe A. M. ,   the Surgical and Clinical Adhesions Research (SCAR) Group
Published: October 2005

Objective  The Surgical and Clinical Adhesions Research (SCAR) and SCAR‐2 studies demonstrated that the burden of adhesions following lower abdominal surgery is considerable and appears to remain unchanged despite advances in strategies to prevent adhesions. In this study, we assessed the adhesion‐related readmission risk directly associated with common lower abdominal surgical procedures, taking into account the effect of previous surgery, demography and concomitant disease.

Methods  Data from the Scottish National Health Service medical record linkage database were used to assess the risk of an adhesion‐related readmission following open lower abdominal surgery during April 1996–March 1997.

Results  Patients undergoing lower abdominal surgery (excluding appendicectomy) had a 5% risk of readmission directly related to adhesions in the 5 years following surgery. Appendicectomy was associated with a lower rate of readmission (0.9%), but contributed over 7% of the total lower abdominal surgery patient readmission burden. Panproctocolectomy (15.4%), total colectomy (8.8%) and ileostomy surgery (10.6%) were associated with the highest risk of an adhesion‐related readmission. Overall, the risk of readmission was doubled in patients who had undergone abdominal or pelvic surgery within 5 years of the incident operation. A higher risk of readmission was also recorded in patients aged < 60 years compared with those aged ≥ 60 yrs. The effect of gender was assessed. However, as the surgical codes used were found to be skewed towards women, these data have not been reported. Readmission risk was slightly higher in patients with concomitant peritonitis compared with patients without peritonitis. In contrast, Crohn's disease had no effect on risk. Patients with colorectal cancer had a lower risk of adhesion formation. However, this may have been due to the type of surgery performed in this patient group.

Conclusion  The identification of high‐risk patient subgroups may assist in effectively targeting adhesion‐prevention strategies and the proffering of preoperative advice on adhesion risk.
Anastomotic leak following mesorectal excision for rectal cancer: true incidence and diagnostic challenges
Authors: Nesbakken A. , Nygaard K. , Lunde O. C. , Blücher J. , Gjertsen Ø. , Dullerud R.
Published: October 2005

Objective  Anastomotic leakage is a potentially serious complication of low anterior resection which may be accompanied by clinical symptoms (clinical leak) or may be silent (subclinical leak). In this study the true incidence of the complication was evaluated, and the diagnostic accuracy of clinical symptoms, conventional rectal radiography (CRR) and computed tomography (CT) was compared.

Patients and methods  Fifty‐six consecutive patients were included in a prospective trial. Clinical parameters were recorded and CRR and CT performed 6–10 days postoperatively or earlier if a leak was suspected. Endoscopy was performed three months postoperatively.

Results  Based on all available information including late endoscopy, 5 (9%) patients had clinical leak and five a leak that was asymptomatic during the hospital stay. Clinical assessment, CRR and CT during the hospital stay had an accuracy of 82%, 93% and 94%, respectively, and a sensitivity of 50%, 60% and 57%, respectively. The specificity of clinical assessment was 89%, whereas both CRR and CT had a specificity of 100%.

Conclusion  The incidence of anastomotic leakage seemed acceptable when compared with other series. Fifty per cent of the leaks were silent. CRR and CT may be false negative and immediate treatment should be started if clinical signs are highly suggestive of leak, irrespective of radiological findings CT was not more accurate than CRR in detecting anastomotic leak.
END GAMES: EUTHANASIA UNDER INTERMINABLE SCRUTINY
Authors: PARKER MALCOLM
Published: October 2005

It is increasingly asserted that the disagreements of abstract principle between adversaries in the euthanasia debate fail to account for the complex, particular and ambiguous experiences of people at the end of their lives. A greater research effort into experiences, meaning, connection, vulnerability and motivation is advocated, during which the euthanasia ‘question’ should remain open. I argue that this is a normative strategy, which is felicitous to the status quo and further medicalises the end of life, but which masquerades as a value‐neutral assertion about needing more knowledge.
ANALYSIS OF SOME FILIPINO PERSPECTIVES ON ETHICAL ISSUES IN MULTI‐COUNTRY COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: A CASE OF DEEP LISTENING
Authors: MANALOTO RENATO B. , ANDREW ALLEN , ALVAREZ A. , ALVAREZ MARY ANN V.
Published: October 2005

The discussion on ethical issues, it is said, should not be confined to experts but should be extended to patients and local communities, because of the real need to engage stakeholders and non‐stakeholders alike not only in carrying out any biomedical research project, but also in the drafting and legislation of bioethics instruments. Several local and inter‐country consultations have already been conducted in furtherance of this goal, but there is much left to be desired in them. The consultations may have helped in articulating local principles, but not in making the instruments embody these principles. As such, instruments turn incompossible, i.e. the principles and actions they legitimate are not performable. In an ethnographic study conducted in the Philippines, for example, paragraphs 29 and 30 of the Declaration of Helsinki and CIOMS guidelines 8 and 15 are construed as not only contradictory to one another but also to local principles. This problem can be solved by taking deliberate steps to ensure that consultations are grounded in ethnographic data about local principles, which the instruments would embody. A steering committee can be of help in gathering ethnographic data, in conducting consultations at the local level, and in providing a venue for discourse on various bioethical issues.
Territorial Justice and Devolution
Authors: Kay Adrian
Published: October 2005

The concept of territorial justice has a long history in studies of the spatial distribution of welfare state services in the UK. Since the inception of the devolution process, territorial justice has maintained support as a principle to guide policy and has been promoted recently as an objective for the reform of the financial arrangements for the devolved administrations. The first part of the article argues that the standard version of territorial justice is premised on the UK as a unitary state and is unworkable as a political principle of justice after devolution. An alternative version of territorial justice is developed to accommodate a union state. The final part discusses several policy issues post-devolution in terms of different versions of territorial justice: intergovernmental fiscal relations; health care policy including access to medicines; and free community care for the elderly.
Online Participation in the UK: Testing a ‘Contextualised’ Model of Internet Effects
Authors: Gibson Rachel K. , Lusoli Wainer , Ward Stephen
Published: October 2005

This article offers a new test of the mobilisation thesis of Internet effects on individual political participation using data from an NOP survey of 1,972 UK adults during May 2002. The analysis differs from that of previous studies in that it significantly widens the understanding of the dependent variable—online participation—as well as introducing new Internet-specific variables as explanatory factors for this new type of participation. Using this broader ‘contextualised’ model of online political activity we find support for the idea that the Internet is expanding the numbers of the politically active, specifically in terms of reaching groups that are typically inactive or less active in conventional or offline forms of politics. In drawing these conclusions our article joins with a growing body of literature calling for the re-evaluation of the so-called normalisation thesis which argues that ultimately the Internet will lead to a further narrowing of the pool of politically active citizens by reinforcing existing levels of engagement. At a broader level we consider the findings point to the need for scholars in the area to work towards a more sophisticated theoretical and empirical modelling of participation in the online environment.