bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Isoflurane‐induced depolarization of neural mitochondria increases with age
Authors: BAINS RAVI , MOE M. C. , VINJE M. L. , BERG‐JOHNSEN J.
Published: December 2008

Background and objectives: The mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) drives the three fundamental functions of mitochondria, namely adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generation, Ca2+ uptake/storage, and generation/detoxification of ROS. Isoflurane depolarizes neural mitochondria. The sensitivity for general anesthetics increases with age, but the mechanism for this age‐related sensitivity is still unknown. We compared the effect of isoflurane on [Ca2+]i and ΔΨm in isolated pre‐synaptic terminals (synaptosomes) from neonatal, adolescent, and adult rats and the influence of interventions in the respiratory chain was assessed.

Methods: Synaptosomes were loaded with the fluorescent probes fura‐2 ([Ca2+]i) and JC‐1 (ΔΨm) and exposed to isoflurane 1 and 2 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC). The effect on the electron transport chain was investigated by blocking complexes I and V.

Results: In neonatal rats isoflurane had no significant effect on ΔΨm. In adolescent and adult synaptosomes, however, isoflurane 1 and 2 MAC decreased ΔΨm. Isoflurane 2 MAC increased [Ca2+]i in neonatal and adolescent rats, but not in adult synaptosomes. In Ca2+‐depleted medium, isoflurane still decreased ΔΨm, while [Ca2+]i remained unaltered. By blocking complex V of the respiratory chain, the isoflurane‐induced mitochondrial depolarization was enhanced in all age groups. Blocking complex I depolarized the mitochondria to the same extent as isoflurane 2 MAC, but without any additive effect.

Conclusions: The depolarizing effect of isoflurane on neural mitochondria is more pronounced in the adolescent and adult than in neonatal synaptosomes. The increased mitochondrial sensitivity with age seems to be related to the reversed function of the ATP synthase of the electron transport chain.
Accuracy of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scoring in clinical practice
Authors: TALLGREN M. , BÄCKLUND M. , HYNNINEN M.
Published: December 2008

Background: The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is used to quantify the severity of illness daily during intensive care. Our aim was to evaluate how accurately SOFA is recorded in clinical practice, and whether this can be improved by a refresher course in scoring rules.

Methods: The scores recorded by physicians in a university hospital intensive care unit (ICU) were compared with the gold standard determined by two expert assessors. Data concerning all consecutive patients during two 6‐week‐long observation periods (baseline and after the refresher course) were compared.

Results: SOFA was accurate on 75/158 (48%) patient days at baseline. The cardiovascular, coagulation, liver, and renal component scores showed excellent accuracy (≥82%, weighted κ≥0.92), while the neurological score showed only moderate (70%, weighted κ 0.51) and the respiration score showed good accuracy (75%, weighted κ 0.79). After the refresher course, the number of ≥2 point errors decreased (P<0.01). Sedation precluded neurological evaluation on 135/311 (43%) days. The accuracy of the assumed neurological scores was lower than those based on timely data: 89/135 (66%, weighted κ 0.55) vs. 125/176 (71%, weighted κ 0.81) (P<0.01).

Conclusion: Only half of the SOFA scores were accurate. In most cases, they were accurate enough to allow the recognition of organ failure and detection of change. The component scores showed good to excellent accuracy, except the neurological score. After the refresher course, the results improved slightly. The moderate accuracy of the neurological score was not amended. A simpler neurological classification tool than the Glasgow Coma Scale is needed in the ICU.
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN RETRACTED: Whole‐blood aggregometry: are there any limits with regard to platelet counts?
Authors: MENGISTU A. M. , MAYER J. , BOLDT J. , RÖHM K. D.
Published: December 2008

Background: Whole‐blood aggregometry (WBA) is a promising tool to assess platelet function in its physiological environment. Dilution of whole blood in WBA disregards platelet concentrations that may impact the results, especially in the case of low platelet counts. In a blinded, prospective in vitro study, the influence of platelet concentrations on WBA was assessed.

Methods: Aggregation studies were carried out using whole blood from 10 healthy volunteers adjusted to platelet concentrations of 150, 100, 75, 50 and 25/nl using a plasma‐balanced crystalloid solution. Platelet aggregation was measured by a new near‐side whole blood aggregometer, activated by adenosin‐diphosphate, collagen and thrombin‐receptor activating protein. Three different approaches were applied: P1: whole blood diluted by an isotonic saline solution before activation, P2: undiluted whole blood with the single and P3: with the twofold concentration of the stimulating agent.

Results: Aggregometry in diluted whole blood (P1) decreased significantly from a platelet concentration of 100/nl (P<0.01). In undiluted whole blood, aggregation declined significantly from concentrations of 75 and 50/nl for P2 and P3 (P<0.01). No correlation to platelet count occurred in the undiluted approaches until a platelet concentration of 75/nl, whereas correlation in the diluted test run was detected starting from 100/nl.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that WBA depends on the platelet count and sensitivity towards low platelet concentrations may be improved by abdication of further dilution and the use of undiluted whole blood.
Development and use of chloroplast microsatellites in Phaseolus spp. and other legumes
Authors: Angioi S. A. , Desiderio F. , Rau D. , Bitocchi E. , Attene G. , Papa R.
Published: December 2008

Chloroplast microsatellites (cpSSRs) provide a powerful tool to study the genetic variation and evolution of plants. We have investigated the usefulness of 39 primer pairs tagging cpSSR loci on a set of eight different genera of Leguminosae (Papilionoideae subfamily) and five species belonging to the genus Phaseolus. Thirty‐six ‘universal’ primer pairs were retrieved from the literature, one was re‐designed and a further two were designed de novo. The cpSSR loci analysed were highly polymorphic across the individuals examined. Twenty‐seven primer pairs were polymorphic in the overall sample, 18 within Phaseolus, and 16 in both P. vulgaris and P. coccineus. Analysis of the plastome sequences of four Leguminosae species (obtained from GenBank) showed that in the loci targeted by universal primer pairs: (i) the originally tagged cpSSRs can be lost; (ii) other cpSSRs can be present; and (iii) polymorphism arises not only from differences in the numbers of cpSSR repeats, but often from other insertion/deletion events. Multilocus linkage disequilibrium analysis suggests that homoplasy is not a major problem in our dataset, and principal component analysis indicates intelligible relationships among the species considered. Our study demonstrates that this set of chloroplast markers provides a useful tool to study the diversity and the evolution of several legumes, and particularly P. vulgaris and P. coccineus.
Experimentally Constrained Virulence is Costly for Common Cuckoo Chicks
Authors: Grim Tomáš , Rutila Jarkko , Cassey Phillip , Hauber Mark E.
Published: December 2008

Chicks of some avian brood parasites show high virulence by eliminating all host progeny in the nest whereas others develop in the presence of host nestmates. Common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) chicks are typically highly virulent parasites as they attempt to evict all host eggs and chicks soon after hatching. However, several features of nest design, including steep walls and/or cavity nests, may effectively prevent cuckoo hatchlings from evicting nestmates. A previous observational study showed low success of cuckoo chicks in evicting progeny of a cavity nester host, the redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) but cuckoo chicks showed low survival both when reared alone or in mixed broods with host nestmates. Whether poor cuckoo performance was caused by eviction costs and/or by the effect of presence of host chicks per se remains unclear. We experimentally cancelled any potential eviction costs by removing host eggs immediately after the cuckoo hatched and creating mixed broods 5 days later when the eviction instinct of the cuckoo already ceased. Cuckoos that were forced to compete with host nestlings experienced lower provisioning rates, poorer growth, and lower fledging success than control lone cuckoos. Cuckoos in mixed broods that survived until fledging fledged later, and at lower masses, than those in the sole cuckoo group. Thus, the cuckoo gens specializing on redstarts is similar to other cuckoo gentes, whose chicks are more successful in evicting host nestmates, and it does not benefit from the presence of host brood. Cohabitation with host nestlings then should be viewed as a maladaptive by‐product of host cavity nest design.
Sex, Reproductive Status, and Cost of Tail Autotomy via Decreased Running Speed in Lizards
Authors: Cooper Jr William E. , Wilson Dawn S. , Smith Geoffrey R.
Published: December 2008

Autotomy, voluntary shedding of body parts to permit escape, is a theoretically interesting defense because escape benefit is offset by numerous costs, including impaired future escape ability. Reduced sprint speed is a major escape cost in some lizards. We predicted that tail loss causes decreased speed in males and previtellogenic females, but not vitellogenic females already slowed by mass gain. In the striped plateau lizard, Sceloporus virgatus, adults of both sexes are subject to autotomy, and females undergo large increases in body condition (mass/length) during vitellogenesis. Time required for running 1 m was similar in intact autotomized males and previtellogenic females, but increased by nearly half after autotomy. Vitellogenic females were slower than other lizards when intact, but their speed was unaffected by autotomy. Following autotomy, speeds of all groups were similar. Thus, speed costs of autotomy vary with sex and reproductive condition: decreased running speed is not a cost of autotomy in vitellogenic females or presumably gravid females. Costs of autotomy are more complex than previously known. Speed and other costs might interact in unforseen ways, making it difficult to predict whether strategies to compensate for diminished escape ability differ with reproductive condition in females.
The Time Frame of Partner Choice in the Grooming Reciprocation ofCebus apella
Authors: Schino Gabriele , Di Giuseppe Francesca , Visalberghi Elisabetta
Published: December 2008

Recent theoretical and experimental studies argued that reciprocity is constrained by the cognitive limitations of most animals and that, when reciprocation occurs, it should necessarily be short term. In this study, we examined the time frame of partner choice in the reciprocal grooming of captive female tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Female capuchins groomed preferentially those individuals that overall groomed them most. Tufted capuchins did sometimes reciprocate grooming immediately. We quantified the time course and probability of immediate reciprocation, and excluded from the analysis cases of immediate reciprocation. We then showed that, even excluding immediate reciprocation, female capuchins still preferred to groom those individuals that groom them most. Our results show that partner choice is not necessarily based on immediate reciprocation and suggest that capuchins are able to reciprocate over longer time frames. These findings argue against the hypothesis that long‐term reciprocation is absent in species lacking sophisticated cognitive abilities. We suggest that reciprocal altruism over long time frames relies on a system of emotional bookkeeping.
Context, Structural Variability and Distinctiveness of California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis) Vocal Duets
Authors: Benedict Lauryn , McEntee Jay P.
Published: December 2008

Avian vocal duets occur when paired birds produce temporally and structurally coordinated vocalizations. Duets are given by members of many species from taxonomically distinct lineages and show great variety in form that often reflects function. By describing the structure of vocal duets we can learn about the diversity of communication signals present in nature and also gain insight into the evolution and operation of those signals. This study quantified the usage patterns and acoustic structure of California towhee duet vocalizations, and tested the distinctiveness of duets among different pairs. California towhee duets consist of a ‘squeal’ vocalization that is highly unlike the species‐typical call note or male advertizement song. California towhees duet an average of three times per hour during the breeding season, and all duets are accompanied by an approach response that brings duetting partners into close spatial proximity. Males and females produce duet contributions with the same syllabic structure. Individual birds produce highly variable squeal vocalizations that are distinctive enough to signal identity. California towhee duet characteristics indicate that the squeal vocalization has evolved separately from other vocal traits in this species and was promoted by natural selection as a duet‐specific vocalization. Duet usage patterns and structure suggest that these communication signals function in a cooperative context.
The Strength of Species Recognition in Captive Female Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata): A Comparison Across Estrildid Heterospecifics
Authors: Campbell Dana L. M. , Shaw Rachael C. , Hauber Mark E.
Published: December 2008

Conspecific recognition is essential for sexually reproducing species. Captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) are a model system in which the behavioural, ontogenetic and neurobiological bases of own‐species (conspecific) recognition have been studied in detail. To assess the potential role of phylogeographic effects on species recognition, we examined the spatial preferences of unmated captive‐bred female zebra finches between unfamiliar captive males of conspecific and estrildid heterospecific male stimuli. In accordance with prior studies using domesticated Bengalese finches (Lonchura striatavars.domestica), we found significant spatial and behavioural preference for conspecific males by female zebra finches, irrespective of heterospecific male phylogeographic origin mating status, or individual behaviour. This result has ramifications for the interpretation of social and mate preferences in this model species as it implies a consistency of species discrimination by captive female zebra finches.
Identification of Physiological Traits Underlying Cultivar Differences in Drought Tolerance in Rice and Wheat
Authors: Praba M. L. , Cairns J. E. , Babu R. C. , Lafitte H. R.
Published: December 2008

Rice is used as a model cereal to study drought response at the molecular level, with the goal of applying results to other cereals. To assess the relevance of results from rice to other species, the kinetics of drought development and plant response of tolerant and susceptible tropical rice (Oryza sativa L.) and subtropical wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars were compared under vegetative and reproductive stage drought in pot experiments. Water was withheld during reproductive stage until plant available soil moisture content was 30 % of field capacity (FC) or leaf wilting was observed, and then reapplied. Rice reached 30 % FC 9 days after withholding water and wheat after 13 days. Before rewatering, both species reached leaf water potentials of −12 bars and similarly low transpiration rates. Stress reduced leaf relative water content, leaf elongation and membrane stability. When water stress was imposed during reproductive stage, pollen fertility was most affected in wheat, while panicle exsertion and anther dehiscence were severely affected in rice. When water stress was imposed during vegetative stage, wheat was less affected to vegetative stage drought than rice. The nature of differences between tolerant and susceptible cultivars was similar for the two species. However, the differential growth habitats and growth rate of plants needs to be considered in these kinds of experiments.
Soil Temperature and Planting Depth Effects on Tef Emergence
Authors: Evert S. , Staggenborg S. , Olson B. L. S.
Published: December 2008

Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is an annual C4 grass crop that originated in Ethiopia. It has potential as a grain crop in the Great Plains because of its tolerance to drought and high temperatures. In Ethiopia, tef seed is typically broadcast on the soil surface and lightly incorporated. Shallow planting depths are used because the seed is very small and emergence can be limited by soil crusting. If planting equipment is to be used, planting depth may be important for successful tef production. The objective of this study was to identify optimal depths and soil temperatures to aid in developing tef planting recommendations for the central Plains. Tef was planted at five depths (0, 0.6, 1.3, 2.5 and 5.0 cm) in pots filled with a silt loam soil, and pots were placed in growth chambers at four temperature regimes (day/night: 15/19 °C; 19/23 °C; 23/27 °C and 27/31 °C). No plants emerged from the 5.0‐cm depth, so this depth was not included in the analysis. Emergence was greatest for planting depths of 0.6 and 1.3 cm and lower at 0 and 2.5 cm depths. Temperature did not affect final emergence, measured 21 days after planting (DAP), but did influence emergence rates during the first 9 DAP. Plant dry matter production increased as planting depth increased, but plant dry matter per pot was not different among planting depths greater than 0.9 cm, suggesting that compensation between plants across different plant densities began early in the plants’ life cycles. Our results show that tef seed can emerge from depths between 0.6 and 1.3 cm and that soil temperatures below 19 °C can slow emergence but should not affect final stands.
Evaluation of Yield Criteria for Drought and Heat Resistance in Chickpea (Cicer arietinumL.)
Authors: Canci H. , Toker C.
Published: December 2008

The chickpea (Cicer arietinumL.) is usually grown under rainfed, rather than irrigated conditions, where drought accompanied by heat stress is a major growth constraint. The aim of this study was to select chickpea genotypes having resistance to drought/heat stress and to identify the most appropriate selection criteria for this. A total of 377 chickpea accessions were sown 2 months later than normal for the Antalya region (Turkey) to increase their exposure to the drought and high‐temperature conditions of a typical summer in this part of the world. Interspersed between every 10 test genotypes as benchmark genotypes, were plants of the two known genotypes ILC 3279 (drought‐susceptible) and ILC 8617 (drought‐susceptible), while ICC 4958 (known drought‐resistant) and ICCV 96029 (known very early, double‐podded) were also sown for confirmation. All plants were subsequently screened for drought and heat stress resistance. Soon after the two known susceptible genotypes had died, evaluations of the entire trial were made visually on a scale from ‘1’ (free from drought/heat damage) to ‘9’ (all plants died from drought/heat). Yield loss in many of the test genotypes and in the two known susceptible genotypes (ILC 3279 and ILC 8617) rose to 100 %. The desi chickpeas (smaller, dark seeds) were generally more drought‐ and heat‐resistant than the kabuli chickpeas (larger, pale seeds). Two desi chickpeas, ACC 316 and ACC 317, were selected for drought and heat (>40 °C) resistance under field conditions. Seed weight was the trait least affected by adverse environmental conditions and having the highest heritability, and it should be used in early breeding selections. When breeding drought‐ and heat‐resistant chickpeas, path and multivariate analyses showed that days to the first flowering and maturity to escape terminal drought and heat stresses should be evaluated ahead of many other phenological traits, and harvest index, biological yield and pods per plant for increased yield should also be considered.
Diallel analysis of sugar composition of 10 vegetable soybean lines
Authors: Mebrahtu T. , Devine T. E.
Published: December 2008

Few studies have evaluated vegetable soybean for sugar content at the green pod stage. Information on combining ability and type of gene action that governs inheritance of seed traits can help breeders to select suitable parents and devise an appropriate breeding strategy. Ten vegetable soybean accessions were crossed in a complete diallel mating design. Parent lines and F2 and F3 progenies were evaluated for two nutritional components. In this study, both general and specific combining ability and reciprocal effects were significant for sucrose and total sugar. Cultivars ‘Kanrich’, ‘Pella’, ‘Verde’ and V81‐1603 had good general combining ability for high sucrose. In general, high sucrose content was observed in progeny of the early maturity group genotypes ‘Kanrich’, ‘Pella’ and ‘Verde’. The best combiners for high total sugar content were ‘Verde’, V81‐1603 and PI 399055. These genotypes could serve as genetic sources in a vegetable soybean breeding programme.
Follicle Dynamics and its Relation with Plasma Concentrations of Progesterone, Luteinizing Hormone and Estradiol during the Egg‐Laying Cycle in Ostriches
Authors: Bronneberg RGG , Vernooij JCM , Stegeman JA , Taverne MAM
Published: December 2008

Contents

The aims of this study were (i) to describe the changes in the volume of large ovarian follicles (diameter >3 cm) during the 48 h egg laying cycle in farmed ostriches, and (ii) to quantify factors affecting the volume of the largest measured follicle and the plasma concentrations of progesterone (P4) and estradiol‐17β (E2β). In eight egg‐producing birds, which all ovulated during the study period, transcutaneous ultrasound scanning and blood sampling was performed at 3 h intervals. The average volume of the total number of visualized large follicles (Vtotal), the largest measured follicle (VF1), the second largest follicle (VF2) and of all follicles smaller than F2 (VF3–Fn) were each higher before than after oviposition.Vtotal,VF2andVF3–Fnnearly doubled in the 24‐h period before oviposition, whileVF1remained at an equal, rather high level until oviposition. Immediately after ovipositionVtotal, as well as the volume of the other follicle categories, decreased within 6 h, i.e. around the moment of ovulation. By performing statistical analysis on the basis of linear mixed‐effects modelling, we quantified that: (i)VF1was 13.2% higher before than after oviposition and increased with 6.5% when LH increased with 1 ng/ml; (ii) P4levels were 93.2% higher before than after oviposition and increased with 43.1% for every 3 h closer to oviposition; when LH and E2β levels andVF1increased with 1 ng/ml, 10 pg/ml and 10 ml, respectively, P4increased with 116.6%, 50% and 6.1%; and (iii) E2β levels were 35.6% higher before than after oviposition, increased with 2.7% for every 3 h closer to oviposition and increased with 14.6% when LH increased with 1 ng/ml. It is concluded that during the egg‐laying cycle in ostriches: (i) follicular mass, as estimated by the volume of visualized follicles larger than 3 cm, increases before and decreases after ovulation, and (ii) follicular dynamics and its accompanying endocrine plasma hormone profiles during the egg‐laying cycle in ostriches follow a pattern similar to that in chickens.
Medical experts and the law: Safeguarding children, the public and the profession
Authors: Skellern Catherine
Published: December 2008

Paediatricians working in child protection are sometimes required to act as expert witnesses in legal proceedings. Given the significant influence of opinion evidence on the jury, it is imperative that they understand their responsibilities to the court in this medico‐legal interface and recognise their boundaries of expertise. Recent cases in the United Kingdom and in Australia have thrown the spotlight on paediatricians working as forensic experts in legal proceedings which has led to much public scrutiny and intervention by medical disciplinary bodies placing practice sanctions on child protection paediatricians. These decisions have had a significant impact on the workforce, with fewer paediatricians and those in training now willing to work in the field because of fears of disciplinary sanctions being instigated by those adversely affected by unfavourable forensic opinions. This article includes a detailed summary of these cases including excerpts from legal judgments, which highlight critical issues for the expert witness, which have had a significant impact on individuals, the profession and impacted on public confidence in the profession. In Australia, it is timely that we reflect on these lessons learnt and look to development of educational standards and forensic credentialing to enable continuity of a skilled paediatric workforce in child protection.
Carbocisteine can scavenge reactive oxygen species in vitro
Authors: NOGAWA Hisashi , ISHIBASHI Yuji , OGAWA Akitsu , MASUDA Kayoko , TSUBUKI Takeshi , KAMEDA Tomoko , MATSUZAWA Shigeki
Published: December 2008

Background and objective:  Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the pathogenesis of various respiratory diseases. Carbocisteine, a mucoregulatory drug, is used in the treatment of several disease states but little information is available about its scavenger effects on ROS. The present study was designed to examine the scavenger effects of carbocisteine on ROS.

Methods:  The oxidation‐reduction potential of carbocisteine was measured, and its scavenger effects on hypochlorous acid (HOCl), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl radical (OH•) and peroxynitrite (ONOO‐) were examined in cell‐free conditions. The effects of carbocisteine on ROS generated from rat neutrophils, intracellular oxidative stress and release of inflammatory cytokines (IL‐8 and IL‐6) from IL‐1β‐induced airway epithelial cells, NCI‐H292 cells, were investigated.

Results:  Carbocisteine provided a reducing stage and showed scavenger effects on H2O2, HOCl, OH• and ONOO‐ in cell‐free conditions. Carbocisteine inhibited ROS generation from rat neutrophils, intracellular oxidative stress and release of IL‐8 and IL‐6 from NCI‐H292 cells. N‐acetyl‐l‐cysteine, a radical scavenger, also inhibited these events related to ROS as well as carbocisteine.

Conclusions:  These results suggest that carbocisteine could exert anti‐inflammatory and anti‐oxidant effects through directly scavenging ROS in addition to its previously known mucoregulatory effect.
Marine reserve effects on fishery profits: a comment on White et al. (2008)
Authors: Hart Deborah R. , Sissenwine Michael P.
Published: December 2008

A recent study (White et al. 2008) claimed that fishery profits will often be higher with management that employs no‐take marine reserves than conventional fisheries management alone. However, this conclusion was based on the erroneous assumption that all landed fish have equal value regardless of size, and questionable assumptions regarding density‐dependence. Examination of an age‐structured version of the White et al. (2008) model demonstrates that their results are not robust to these assumptions. Models with more realistic assumptions generally do not indicate increased fishery yield or profits from marine reserves except for overfished stocks.
Transcriptional activity of paddy soil bacterial communities
Authors: Shrestha Pravin Malla , Kube Michael , Reinhardt Richard , Liesack Werner
Published: December 2008

Bulk mRNA was used to explore the transcriptional activity of bacterial communities in oxic versus anoxic paddy soil. Two microbial cDNA libraries were constructed from composite samples using semi‐randomly primed RT‐PCR. cDNAs averaged 500–600 bp in length and were treated as expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Clustering analysis of 805 random cDNAs resulted in 179 and 155 different ESTs for the oxic and anoxic zones respectively. Using an E‐value threshold of e−10, a total of 218 different ESTs could be assigned by blastx, while 116 ESTs were predicted novel. Both the proportion and significance of the EST assignments increased with cDNA length. Taxonomic assignment was more powerful in discriminating between the aerobic and anaerobic bacterial communities than functional inference, as most ESTs in both oxygen zones were putative indicators of similar housekeeping functions, in particular ABC‐type transporters. A few ESTs were putative indicators for community function in a biogeochemical context, such as β‐oxidation of long‐chain fatty acids specifically in the oxic zone. Expressed sequence tags assigned to Alpha‐ and Betaproteobacteria were predominantly found in the oxic zone, while those affiliated with Deltaproteobacteria were more frequently detected in the anoxic zone. At the genus level, multiple assignments to Bradyrhizobium and Geobacter were unique to the oxic and anoxic zones respectively. The phylum‐level affiliations of 93 16S rRNA sequences corresponded well with two taxonomically distinct EST patterns. Expressed sequence tags affiliated with Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi were frequently detected in both oxygen zones. In summary, the soil metatranscriptome is accessible for global analysis and such studies have great potential in elucidating the taxonomic and functional status of soil bacterial communities, but study significance depends on the number and length of cDNAs being randomly analysed.
Candidatus Desulfovibrio trichonymphae, a novel intracellular symbiont of the flagellate Trichonympha agilis in termite gut
Authors: Sato Tomoyuki , Hongoh Yuichi , Noda Satoko , Hattori Satoshi , Ui Sadaharu , Ohkuma Moriya
Published: December 2008

Rs‐N31, a 16S rRNA phylotype affiliated with the genus Desulfovibrio, has frequently been detected from the gut of the wood‐feeding termite Reticulitermes speratus. In this study, we designed a probe specifically targeting phylotype Rs‐N31 and performed fluorescence in situ hybridization to identify the corresponding cells. The signals were detected exclusively inside the cells of the flagellate Trichonympha agilis, which simultaneously harbours another intracellular bacterium belonging to the candidate phylum Termite Group 1 (TG1). The detected cells were coccoid or short rods and specifically localized in the cortical layer of mainly, the anterior part of the flagellate cell. Approximately 1800 cells were contained in a single host cell, accounting for, in total, 2% of the whole prokaryotic gut microbiota. The genes dsrAB and apsA for sulfate reduction and a gene‐encoding H2‐uptake hydrogenase, both possessing a high sequence identity with those of known desulfovibrios, were obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the host cells isolated using a micromanipulator, and their expression was verified by reverse‐transcription PCR. Thus, we suggest that this endosymbiont acts as a sink for the hydrogen generated by both the flagellates and possibly TG1 symbionts. For this uncultured bacterium, we propose a novel species, ‘Candidatus Desulfovibrio trichonymphae’.
Functional SOCS1 polymorphisms are associated with variation in obesity in whites
Authors: Gylvin T. , Ek J. , Nolsøe R. , Albrechtsen A. , Andersen G. , Bergholdt R. , Brorsson C. , Bang‐Berthelsen C. H. , Hansen T. , Karlsen A. E. , Billestrup N. , Borch‐Johnsen K. , Jørgensen T. , Pedersen O. , Mandrup‐Poulsen T. , Nerup J. , Pociot F.
Published: December 2008

Aims/hypothesis:  The suppressor of cytokine signalling 1 (SOCS1) is a natural inhibitor of cytokine and insulin signalling pathways and may also play a role in obesity. In addition, SOCS1 is considered a candidate gene in the pathogenesis of both type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The objective was to perform mutation analysis of SOCS1 and to test the identified variations for association to T2D‐related quantitative traits, T2D or T1D.

Methods:  Mutation scanning was performed by direct sequencing in 27 white Danish subjects. Genotyping was carried out by TaqMan allelic discrimination. A total of more than 8100 individuals were genotyped.

Results:  Eight variations were identified in the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) region. Two of these had allele frequencies below 1% and were not further examined. The six other variants were analysed in groups of T1D families (n = 1461 subjects) and T2D patients (n = 1430), glucose tolerant first‐degree relatives of T2D patients (n = 212) and normal glucose tolerant (NGT) subjects. The rs33977706 polymorphism (−820G > T) was associated with a lower body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.004). In a second study (n = 4625 NGT subjects), significant associations of both the rs33977706 and the rs243330 (−1656G > A) variants to obesity were found (p = 0.047 and p = 0.015) respectively. The rs33977706 affected both binding of a nuclear protein to and the transcriptional activity of the SOCS1 promoter, indicating a relationship between this polymorphism and gene regulation.

Conclusions/interpretation:  This study demonstrates that functional variations in the SOCS1 promoter may associate with alterations in BMI in the general white population.
Dose–response relationship of insulin glulisine in subjects with type 1 diabetes
Authors: Becker R. H. A. , Frick A. D. , Teichert L. , Nosek L. , Heinemann L. , Rave K.
Published: December 2008

Aim:  Little is known about the dose–response relationships of rapid‐acting insulin analogues in subjects with diabetes. This study compared the dose–exposure and dose–response relationships of insulin glulisine and regular human insulin (RHI) in subjects with type 1 diabetes.

Methods:  Eighteen male subjects with type 1 diabetes (mean glycosylated haemoglobin, HbA1c, 7.7%; body mass index 24.5 kg/m2) received subcutaneous injections of insulin glulisine followed by RHI (both at doses of 0.075, 0.15 and 0.3 U/kg) in the same three‐way crossover, randomized order in a euglycaemic glucose‐clamp study.

Results:  Insulin glulisine and RHI showed dose‐proportional increases in exposure (INS‐AUCtotal) and maximum serum concentration (INS‐Cmax) in the dose ranges 0.075, 0.15 and 0.3 U/kg. At all doses, within 2 h after injection, about twice as much insulin glulisine was absorbed as RHI (INS‐AUC0–2h: 3855, 6832 and 13237 vs. 2356, 3630 and 6231 μU.min/mL; p < 0.05) and INS‐Cmax was reached in about half the time (INS‐Tmax: 47, 57 and 72 vs. 82, 104 and 119 min; p < 0.05). Corresponding glucose disposition was twice as large with insulin glulisine as with RHI (GIR‐AUC0–2h: 314, 491 and 536 vs. 127, 219 and 294 mg/kg; p < 0.05), but was similar in extent upon completion (GIR‐AUCtotal: 499, 1090 and 1476 vs. 416, 1076 and 1555 mg/kg; not significant). With escalating doses, a steady increase in insulin exposure was noticed for both insulins across the entire dose range, whereas glucose disposition increased in a dose‐proportional manner only for the dose range 0.075–0.15 U/kg with insulin glulisine only. For both insulins, the end of euglycaemia occurred at insulin concentrations <10 μU/mL, with a subsequent rise in plasma glucose taking 80–90 min to reach ≥8.3 mmol/L (≥150 mg/dL) and a difference in time of ∼120 min between the insulins at any dose.

Conclusions:  Insulin glulisine presents rapid, dose‐proportional absorption, resulting in saturable glucodynamic activity in subjects with type 1 diabetes.
Manufacturing disability: HIV, women and the construction of difference
Authors: Gagnon Marilou , Stuart Meryn
Published: December 2008

In 1998, the US Supreme Court first held that asymptomatic HIV infection constituted a disability when it ruled on the case of Bragdon v. Abbott. The use of yet another label (disabled) to identify women living with HIV has been rarely (if ever) questioned. While we do value the use of this label as an anti‐discriminatory strategy, we believe that there is a need to examine how language and more specifically, the use of words such as disability, limitation, and impairment may create new forms of identities for women living with HIV. Using this legal case as a starting point, the goal of this paper is to critically examine the ‘fabrication’ of asymptomatic HIV infection as a disability. Grounded in a feminist poststructuralist perspective, this paper exposes the relationship between language, social institutions, subjectivity, and power in the construction of difference. By doing so, it addresses the identification of women living with HIV/AIDS as disabled and the self‐differentiation process that they must go through in order to live as normally as possible.
Doomed to fail: the persistent search for a modernist mental health nurse identity
Authors: Hurley John , Mears Audrey , Ramsay Michael
Published: December 2008

The perennial issue of the distinctiveness of the mental health nurse (MHN) is once again to the fore. Previous attempts to resolve this apparent identity crisis in the discipline have included proposals for new models, new research and new educational preparation as well as new alliances, and new ways of practising. Now the politically driven concept of the generic nurse is gaining enough momentum to potentially end the discussion once and for all. This paper takes a postmodernist approach to MHN identity that questions the requirement for MHNs to articulate their distinctiveness, and offers alternative constructions of this identity to those promulgated by policy makers and by other health disciplines.
Market Implications of the Audit Quality and Auditor Switches: Evidence from China
Authors: Lin Z. Jun , Liu Ming , Wang Zhemin
Published: December 2008

Independent audits enhance the credibility of corporate financial reports and assist investors to make rational decisions in the capital market. Nonetheless, the utility of the auditing function depends upon the quality of audits, which is determined by the independence and expertise of auditors. Hence, auditor choice and switch will not only affect an audit's quality, but will also influence decisions made by investors and other market participants. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how investors respond to the quality of audits and auditor switches in the Chinese context. Empirical results show that the quality of an audit and switching to a larger auditor have a positive (negative) impact on earnings response coefficients (ERCs) for firms with positive (negative) abnormal earnings. In contrast, switching to a smaller auditor has a negative (positive) impact on ERCs for firms with positive (negative) abnormal earnings. These results suggest that large auditing firms (Top 10) in China are perceived as more effective for curbing income‐increased earnings management, which leads to higher (lower) ERCs for clients with positive (negative) abnormal earnings. Firms' switching to a larger auditor may signal high‐quality earnings. Therefore, investors more often increase stock prices when firms have positive abnormal earnings and less often depreciate prices for negative abnormal earnings. Similarly, switching to a smaller auditor may signal lower earning quality, resulting in opposite market responses. In general, the empirical evidence suggests that audit information is valued by the capital market in China. Large auditing firms have been able to product‐differentiate themselves within the Chinese stock market.
Plasticity of ability to form cross‐modal representations in infant Japanese macaques
Authors: Adachi Ikuma , Kuwahata Hiroko , Fujita Kazuo , Tomonaga Masaki , Matsuzawa Tetsuro
Published: December 2008

In a previous study, Adachi, Kuwahata, Fujita, Tomonaga & Matsuzawa demonstrated that infant Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) form cross‐modal representations of conspecifics but not of humans. However, because the subjects in the experiment were raised in a large social group and had considerably less exposure to humans than to conspecifics, it was an open question whether their lack of cross‐modal representation of humans simply reflected their lower levels of exposure to humans or was caused by some innate restrictions on the ability. To answer the question, we used the same procedure but tested infant Japanese macaques with more extensive experience of humans in daily life. Briefly, we presented monkeys with a photograph of either a monkey or a human face on an LCD monitor after playing a vocalization of one of these two species. The subjects looked at the monitor longer when a voice and a face were mismatched than when they were matched, irrespective of whether the preceding vocalization was a monkey's or a human's. This suggests that once monkeys have extensive experience with humans, they will form a cross‐modal representation of humans as well as of conspecifics.
The relative salience of discrete and continuous quantity in young infants
Authors: Cordes Sara , Brannon Elizabeth M.
Published: December 2008

Whether human infants spontaneously represent number remains contentious.

Clearfield & Mix (1999

) and

Feigenson, Carey & Spelke (2002

) put forth evidence that when presented with small sets of 1–3 items infants may preferentially attend to continuous properties of stimuli rather than to number, and these results have been interpreted as evidence that infants may not have numerical competence. Here we present three experiments that test the hypothesis that infants prefer to represent continuous variables over number. In Experiment 1, we attempt to replicate the Clearfield & Mix study with a larger sample of infants. Although we replicated their finding that infants attend to changes in contour length, infants in our study attended to number and perimeter/area simultaneously. In Experiments 2 and 3, we pit number against continuous extent for exclusively large sets (Experiment 2) and for small and large sets combined (Experiment 3). In all three experiments, infants noticed the change in number, suggesting that representing discrete quantity is not a last resort for human infants. These results should temper the conclusion that infants find continuous properties more salient than number and instead suggest that number is spontaneously represented by young infants, even when other cues are available.
629. LATHYRUS TRANSSYLVANICUS
Authors: Kenicer Gregory , Norton Sylvia
Published: December 2008

Summary Lathyrus transsylvanicus (Sprengel) Rchb. f., a yellow‐flowered perennial from eastern central Europe, is described, and allied species in the genus are discussed.
635. VICIA AMERICANA
Authors: Kenicer Gregory , Norton Sylvia
Published: December 2008

Summary Vicia americana Muhl. ex Willd., a common and extremely variable perennial vetch from North America is described and illustrated. Distinguishing features between the vetches (Vicia spp.) and sweet peas (Lathyrus spp.) are also discussed.
Choosing not to choose: reproductive responses of parents of children with genetic conditions or impairments
Authors: Kelly Susan E.
Published: December 2008

Parents of children with genetic conditions or impairments stand in a unique position with regard to choices and dilemmas posed by prenatal screening and testing options offered to at‐risk parents as a means to a ‘healthy’ baby. This article reports the results of a qualitative study of parents whose children are clients of a state‐wide rural genetic outreach programme in the US. The analysis seeks to connect the lived experience of parents of children with genetic conditions or impairments to choices with which women are confronted as prenatal testing technologies continue to proliferate. It reports the finding that a majority of parents in the study chose not to choose: avoiding future pregnancies, declining prenatal testing for subsequent pregnancies, or limiting testing to ‘for information only’. These decisions do not reflect simple rejection of medical intervention, opposition to abortion, and/or affirmation of a positive parenting experience with an affected child. Rather, choosing to avoid the condition of choice appears to be a strategy of responsible parenting that emerges from ambivalence towards the options presented by reproductive technologies.
Violence, dignity and HIV vulnerability: street sex work in Serbia
Authors: Simić Milena , Rhodes Tim
Published: December 2008

Sex work can be contextualised by violence, social and material inequality, and HIV vulnerability. We undertook a qualitative study to explore female and transvestite sex workers’ accounts (n = 31) of HIV risk environment in Belgrade and Pančevo, Serbia. Violence emerged as a key theme. Accounts emphasise the ubiquity of multiple forms of everyday violence – physical, emotional, social – in street sex work scenes, linked to police as much as clients. We highlight the salience of emotions in sex work risk management, in which the preservation of dignity is of prime importance. Accounts draw upon narratives of hygiene and responsibility which, we argue, seek to resist portrayals, normative to this setting, of sex workers as contaminated and irresponsible. Findings highlight how the ubiquity of the risk of violence in street sex work scenes reflects institutionalised social inequalities and injustices. Sex workers are inevitably participant in the cycle of symbolic violence they seek to resist. The challenges for HIV prevention are therefore considerable, and require interventions which not only seek to foster safer micro‐environments of sex work but structural changes in the welfare, criminal justice and other social institutions which reproduce the cycle of violence faced by sex workers day to day.
How work reconfigures an ‘unwanted’ pregnancy into ‘the right tool for the job’ in stem cell research
Authors: Pfeffer Naomi
Published: December 2008

Tissue derived from the aborted fetus is considered ‘the right tool for the job’ in some stem cell laboratories. Relatively little is known of the arrangements in Britain for sourcing aborted fetuses for research purposes. This paper uses data from interviews with stem cell scientists, policy makers, tissue bankers, sponsors of stem cell research, clinicians and nurses, and ‘pro‐choice’ and ‘pro‐life’ activists to reconstruct the work involved in reconfiguring an ‘unwanted’ pregnancy into a source of fetal stem cells. A close scrutiny of the work allows the politics of collections to emerge. Aborted fetuses undergo a process of decorporealisation that enables scientists to claim them for their professional and economic advantage. The work, however, has consequences for women rhetorically through being reconfigured into a repository of usable fetal tissue, and, in some sites, materially, through alteration in method of abortion.
Finding an Unknown Number of Multivariate Outliers
Authors: Riani Marco , Atkinson Anthony C. , Cerioli Andrea
Published: December 2008

We use the forward search to provide robust Mahalanobis distances to detect the presence of outliers in a sample of multivariate normal data. Theoretical results on order statistics and on estimation in truncated samples provide the distribution of our test statistic. We also introduce several new robust distances with associated distributional results. Comparisons of our procedure with tests using other robust Mahalanobis distances show the good size and high power of our procedure. We also provide a unification of results on correction factors for estimation from truncated samples.