bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Open vs specific questioning during anaesthetic follow‐up after Caesarean section
Authors: Nguyen T. , Slater P. , Cyna A. M.
Published: January 2009

Words with negative emotional content such as pain or itch may enhance perception of these symptoms. We assessed open and direct questioning for symptoms in 100 women following Caesarean section. Of the 65 women reporting pain, 25 (39%) did so only when questioned specifically. Similarly, three women with bothersome pain (5%), and two requesting analgesia (3%), failed to disclose pain until questioned specifically. None of the 46 women with pain scores < 6 on a verbal numerical rating scale requested additional analgesia. Of 31 women with pruritus, two (6%) stated it bothered them and requested treatment and one (3%) failed to disclose pruritus on open questioning. Most women with bothersome pain or who request analgesia reveal this with open questioning. However, specific questioning is required to elicit pain in all patients. Most patients are bothered by pain at pain scores ≥ 6, while those with scores < 6 are unlikely to request additional analgesia.
Leaf phenology in 22 North American tree species during the 21st century
Authors: MORIN XAVIER , LECHOWICZ MARTIN J. , AUGSPURGER CAROL , O'KEEFE JOHN , VINER DAVID , CHUINE ISABELLE
Published: January 2009

Recent shifts in phenology are the best documented biological response to current anthropogenic climate change, yet remain poorly understood from a functional point of view. Prevailing analyses are phenomenological and approximate, only correlating temperature records to imprecise records of phenological events. To advance our understanding of phenological responses to climate change, we developed, calibrated, and validated process‐based models of leaf unfolding for 22 North American tree species. Using daily meteorological data predicted by two scenarios (A2: +3.2 °C and B2: +1 °C) from the HadCM3 GCM, we predicted and compared range‐wide shifts of leaf unfolding in the 20th and 21st centuries for each species. Model predictions suggest that climate change will affect leaf phenology in almost all species studied, with an average advancement during the 21st century of 5.0 days in the A2 scenario and 9.2 days in the B2 scenario. Our model also suggests that lack of sufficient chilling temperatures to break bud dormancy will decrease the rate of advancement in leaf unfolding date during the 21st century for many species. Some temperate species may even have years with abnormal budburst due to insufficient chilling. Species fell into two groups based on their sensitivity to climate change: (1) species that consistently had a greater advance in their leaf unfolding date with increasing latitude and (2) species in which the advance in leaf unfolding differed from the center to the northern vs. southern margins of their range. At the interspecific level, we predicted that early‐leafing species tended to show a greater advance in leaf unfolding date than late‐leafing species; and that species with larger ranges tend to show stronger phenological changes. These predicted changes in phenology have significant implications for the frost susceptibility of species, their interspecific relationships, and their distributional shifts.
High microbial activity on glaciers: importance to the global carbon cycle
Authors: ANESIO ALEXANDRE M. , HODSON ANDREW J. , FRITZ ANDREAS , PSENNER ROLAND , SATTLER BIRGIT
Published: January 2009

Cryoconite holes, which can cover 0.1–10% of the surface area of glaciers, are small, water‐filled depressions (typically <1 m in diameter and usually <0.5 m deep) that form on the surface of glaciers when solar‐heated inorganic and organic debris melts into the ice. Recent studies show that cryoconites are colonized by a diverse range of microorganisms, including viruses, bacteria and algae. Whether microbial communities on the surface of glaciers are actively influencing biogeochemical cycles or are just present in a dormant state has been a matter of debate for long time. Here, we report primary production and community respiration of cryoconite holes upon glaciers in Svalbard, Greenland and the European Alps. Microbial activity in cryoconite holes is high despite maximum temperatures seldom exceeding 0.1 °C. In situ primary production and respiration in cryoconites during the summer is often comparable with that found in soils in warmer and nutrient richer regions. Considering only glacier areas outside Antarctica and a conservative average cryoconite distribution on glacial surfaces, we found that on a global basis cryoconite holes have the potential to fix as much as 64 Gg of carbon per year (i.e. 98 Gg of photosynthesis minus 34 Gg of community respiration). Most lakes and rivers are generally considered as heterotrophic systems, but our results suggest that glaciers, which contain 75% of the freshwater of the planet, are largely autotrophic systems.
Are local weather, NDVI and NAO consistent determinants of red deer weight across three contrasting European countries?
Authors: MARTÍNEZ‐JAUREGUI MARÍA , SAN MIGUEL‐AYANZ ALFONSO , MYSTERUD ATLE , RODRÍGUEZ‐VIGAL CARLOS , CLUTTON‐BROCK TIM , LANGVATN ROLF , COULSON TIM
Published: January 2009

There are multiple paths via which environmental variation can impact herbivore ecology and this makes the identification of drivers challenging. Researchers have used diverse approaches to describe the association between environmental variation and ecology, including local weather, large‐scale patterns of climate, and satellite imagery reflecting plant productivity and phenology. However, it is unclear to what extent it is possible to find a single measure that captures climatic effects over broad spatial scales. There may, in fact, be no a priori reason to expect populations of the same species living in different areas to respond in the same way to climate as their population may experience limiting factors at different times of the year, and the forms of regulation may differ among populations. Here, we examine whether the same environmental indices [seasonal Real Bioclimatic Index (RBI), seasonal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)] influence body size in different populations of a large ungulate living in Mediterranean Spain, Western Scotland and Norway. We found substantial differences in the pattern of weight change over time in adult female red deer among study areas as well as different environmental drivers associated with variation in weight. The lack of general patterns for a given species at a continental scale suggest that detailed knowledge regarding the way climate affects local populations is often necessary to successfully predict climate impact. We caution against extrapolation of results from localized climate–population studies to broad spatial scales.
How far do experimentally elevated CO2 levels reach into the surrounding? – An example using the 13C label of soil organic matter as an archive
Authors: HEIM ALEXANDER , MOSER NINA , BLUM HERBERT , SCHMIDT MICHAEL W. I.
Published: January 2009

During the last two decades, free air CO2 enrichment (FACE) studies have been conducted to study the effects of rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations on ecosystems. The distances between fumigated and control plots differ widely among those projects, but no experimental data are available how far into the surrounding area an effect of CO2 fumigation can be detected. As the CO2 gas added to the fumigated plots has a different 13C label than ambient atmospheric CO2, its carbon can be traced into plants and soil organic matter (SOM). The Swiss FACE in Eschikon had been conducted for 10 years on a grassland site. After it had ended, we analysed soil samples from three transects extending from the plots to the surrounding area for their organic carbon (Corg) content and carbon isotopic signature. We determined the maximum spatial extension to which carbon originating from the fumigation was incorporated into SOM. A budget of the fumigation gas‐derived Corg in the upper 10 cm of the soil showed that approximately 50 kg C were stored within the plots, and an additional 31 kg C were stored in their immediate surroundings up to a distance of 9 m from the gas pipes. The presented approach provides us with a method to determine a posteriori the extension to which the CO2 fumigation treatment contaminated its immediate surroundings during a FACE experiment. In the presented example, this showed that the distances between plots could have been reduced significantly. Although not generalizable to other experimental settings, the finding indicates that optimizing the spatial layout, e.g. by modelling gas dispersion, will be useful when planning future large‐scale FACE infrastructures. Our approach provides a solid basis to test such gas‐dispersion models on existing FACE sites before planning new sites.
Do increases in agricultural yield spare land for nature?
Authors: EWERS ROBERT M. , SCHARLEMANN JÖRN P. W. , BALMFORD ANDREW , GREEN RHYS E.
Published: January 2009

Feeding a rapidly expanding human population will require a large increase in the supply of agricultural products during the coming decades. This may lead to the transformation of many landscapes from natural vegetation cover to agricultural land use, unless increases in crop yields reduce the need for new farmland. Here, we assess the evidence that past increases in agricultural yield have spared land for wild nature. We investigated the relationship between the change in the combined energy yield of the 23 most energetically important food crops over the period 1979–1999 and the change in per capita cropland area for 124 countries over the same period. Per capita area of the 23 staple crops tended to decrease in developing countries where large yield increases occurred. However, this was counteracted by a tendency for the area used to grow crops other than staples to increase in the countries where staple crop yields increased. There remained a weak tendency in developing countries for the per capita area of all cropland to decline as staple crop yield increased, a pattern that was most evident in developing countries with the highest per capita food supplies. In developed countries, there was no evidence that higher staple crop yields were associated with decreases in per capita cropland area. This may be because high agricultural subsidies in developed countries override any land‐sparing pattern that might otherwise occur. Declines in the area of natural forest were smaller in countries where the yield of staple crops increased most, when the negative effects of human population increases on forest area were controlled for. Our results show that land‐sparing is a weak process that occurs under a limited set of circumstances, but that it can have positive outcomes for the conservation of wild nature.
Changes in organic carbon distribution with depth in agricultural soils in northern Belgium, 1960–2006
Authors: MEERSMANS J. , VAN WESEMAEL B. , DE RIDDER F. , FALLAS DOTTI M. , DE BAETS S. , VAN MOLLE M.
Published: January 2009

In most studies concerning the carbon (C) exchange between soil and atmosphere only the topsoil (0–0.3 m) is taken into account. However, it has been shown that important amounts of stable soil organic carbon (SOC) are also stored at greater depth. Here, we developed a quantitative model to estimate the evolution of the distribution of SOC with depth between 1960 (database ‘Aardewerk’) and 2006 in northern Belgium. This temporal analysis was conducted under different land use, texture and drainage conditions. The results indicate that intensified land management practices seriously affect the SOC status of the soil. The increase in plough depth and a change in crop rotation result in a significant decrease of C near the surface for dry silt loam cropland soils, (i.e. 1.02 ± 0.23 kg C m−2 in the top 0.3 m between 1960 and 2006). In wet to extremely wet grasslands, topsoil SOC decreased significantly, indicating a negative influence of intensive soil drainage on SOC stock. This resulted in a decline of SOC between 1960 and 2006 in the top 1 m, ranging from 3.99 ± 2.57 kg C m−2 in extremely wet silt loam soils to 2.04 ± 2.08 kg C m−2 in wet sandy soils. A slight increase of SOC stock is observed under dry to moderately wet grasslands at greater depths corresponding to increased livestock densities in the region. The increase of SOC in the top 1 m under grassland ranges from 0.65 ± 1.39 kg C m−2 in well drained silt loam soils to 2.59 ± 6.49 kg C m−2 in moderately drained silt loam soils over entire period.
Regulatory T cells overturned: the effectors fight back
Authors: Walker Lucy S. K.
Published: January 2009

In the past 15 years, regulatory T cell (Treg) suppression has graduated from a phenomenon that ‘dare not speak its name’ to a field at the centre of a global research effort. It is now accepted that Tregs can target numerous cell populations to elicit potent immunosuppression. Intriguingly, emerging data suggest that certain signals can confer resistance to Treg suppression. Moreover, such resistance may be relevant to the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. In this article I review various pathways linked to resistance to Treg suppression. These include Toll‐like receptor (TLR) signals, cytokines [in particular those that use the common γ chain, such as interleukin (IL)‐7 and IL‐21] and the triggering of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor family members (such as glucocorticoid induced tumor necrosis factor receptor (GITR), OX40 and 4‐1BB). I also propose a model of ‘tuned suppression’ in which inflammatory stimuli and TLR ligation actively promote Treg function, such that as soon as effector cells re‐acquire sensitivity to suppression the immune response can be efficiently curtailed.
Use of a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic approach in the cat to determine a dosage regimen for the COX‐2 selective drug robenacoxib
Authors: GIRAUDEL J. M. , KING J. N. , JEUNESSE E. C. , LEES P. , TOUTAIN P.‐L.
Published: January 2009

This study investigated the analgesic, anti‐inflammatory and antipyretic efficacy of the new COX‐2 selective inhibitor robenacoxib in the cat and established pharmacodynamic (PD) parameters for these effects. Robenacoxib, at a dosage of 2 mg/kg administered subcutaneously, was evaluated in a kaolin‐induced paw inflammation model in 10 cats, using both clinically relevant endpoints (lameness scoring, locomotion tests) and other indicators of inflammation (body and skin temperature, thermal pain threshold) to establish its pharmacological profile. A pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) modelling approach, based on indirect response models, was used to describe the time course and magnitude of the responses to robenacoxib. All endpoints demonstrated good responsiveness to robenacoxib administration and both the magnitude and time courses of responses were well described by the indirect pharmacodynamic response models. Pharmacokinetic and clinically relevant pharmacodynamic parameters were used to simulate dosage regimens that will assist the planning of clinical trials and the selection of an optimal dosage regimen for robenacoxib in the cat.
High‐P metamorphism, pattern of induced flow in the mantle wedge, and the link with plutonism in paired metamorphic belts
Authors: Aoya Mutsuki , Mizukami Tomoyuki , Uehara Shin‐ichi , Wallis Simon R.
Published: January 2009

The convex form of subduction‐stage pressure–temperature (P–T) paths up to c. 2.0 GPa implies the Sambagawa high‐P metamorphic belt, Japan, formed a few million years before ridge subduction. Additional compilation of P–T conditions for higher‐P Sambagawa rocks (c. 2.0–2.5 GPa) reveals that the thermal profile along the slab surface shows a remarkable high‐T‐ward warping at c. 2.0 GPa (c. 65 km). Previous thermal models indicate that this warping corresponds to the onset of induced mantle flow towards the subducting slab. If a normal thickness continental crust of c. 30 km was present, this implies the hangingwall region between 30 and 65 km depth was occupied by serpentinized wedge mantle isolated from large‐scale mantle flow. Subsequent arrival of the spreading ridge, reheating and dehydration of the serpentinized wedge probably supplied the water necessary for causing granitic magmatism in the Ryoke high‐T metamorphic belt, which is paired with the Sambagawa belt.
Missense mutation Thr309Lys in the coagulation factor XII gene in a Spanish family with hereditary angioedema type III
Authors: Prieto A. , Tornero P. , Rubio M. , Fernández‐Cruz E. , Rodriguez‐Sainz C.
Published: January 2009

Background:  A new type of hereditary angioedema (type III) affecting mainly women with normal C1‐inhibitor level and function has been described. Exposition to estrogens is an important precipitating factor. Recently, a missense mutation in the gene of the blood coagulation factor XII (Hageman factor) has been reported in a few families with this type of hereditary angioedema.

Aim:  To study a patient and her family with recurrent swelling attacks during pregnancy.

Methods:  Complement factors C3 and C4 as well as C1‐inhibitor level and function were determined. Genomic DNA was isolated from venous blood samples and screened for mutations in the coagulation factor XII gene.

Results:  C3 and C4 levels as well as C1‐inhibitor level and function were normal. A missense mutation Thr309Lys was identified in factor XII gene with a heterozygotic pattern. This mutation was also identified in the mother of the patient, her daughter and her son.

Conclusion:  These results support that the mentioned mutation in factor XII gene causes hereditary angioedema type III.
Interleukin‐13 promoter gene polymorphism ‐1112C/T is associated with the systemic form of mastocytosis
Authors: Nedoszytko B. , Niedoszytko M. , Lange M. , Van Doormaal J. , Gleń J. , Zabłotna M. , Renke J. , Vales A. , Buljubasic F. , Jassem E. , Roszkiewicz J. , Valent P.
Published: January 2009

Background:  Mastocytosis is a heterogenous disease involving mast cells (MC) and their progenitors. Cutaneous and systemic variants of the disease have been reported. In contrast to cutaneous mastocytosis (CM), patients with systemic mastocytosis (SM) are at risk to develop disease progression or a nonMC‐lineage haematopoietic neoplasm. Little is known, however, about factors predisposing for the development of SM. One factor may be cytokine regulation of MC progenitors.

Methods:  We examined the role of the interleukin‐13 (IL‐13) promoter gene polymorphism ‐1112C/T, known to be associated with increased transcription, in mastocytosis using allele‐specific polymerase chain reaction method. Serum tryptase and IL‐13 levels were determined by immunoassay, and expression of the IL‐13 receptor in neoplastic MC by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and flow cytometry.

Results:  The frequency of the ‐1112T allele of the IL‐13 promoter was significantly higher in patients with SM compared with CM (P < 0.008) and in mastocytosis patients compared with healthy controls (P < 0.0001). Correspondingly, the polymorphism was found to correlate with an elevated serum tryptase level (P = 0.004) and with adult‐onset of the disease (P < 0.0015), both of which are almost invariably associated with SM. Serum IL‐13 levels were also higher in SM patients compared with CM (P = 0.011), and higher in CT‐ than in CC carriers (P < 0.05). Finally, we were able to show that neoplastic human MC display IL‐13 receptors and grow better in IL‐13‐containing medium.

Conclusions:  The ‐1112C/T IL‐13 gene polymorphism and the resulting ‘hypertranscription’ may predispose for the development of SM.
Skin testing in patients with hypersensitivity reactions to iodinated contrast media – a European multicenter study
Authors: Brockow K. , Romano A. , Aberer W. , Bircher A. J. , Barbaud A. , Bonadonna P. , Faria E. , Kanny G. , Lerch M. , Pichler W. J. , Ring J. , Rodrigues Cernadas J. , Tomaz E. , Demoly P. , Christiansen C. ,   for the European Network of Drug Allergy and the EAACI interest group on drug hypersensitivity
Published: January 2009

Background:  Iodinated contrast media cause both immediate and nonimmediate hypersensitivity reactions. The aim of this prospective study was to determine the specificity and sensitivity of skin tests in patients who have experienced such reactions.

Methods:  Skin prick, intradermal and patch tests with a series of contrast media were conducted in 220 patients with either immediate or nonimmediate reaction. Positive skin tests were defined according to internationally accepted guidelines. Seventy‐one never‐exposed subjects and 11 subjects who had tolerated contrast medium exposure, served as negative controls.

Results:  Skin test specificity was 96–100%. For tests conducted within the time period from 2 to 6 months after the reaction, up to 50% of immediate reactors and up to 47% of nonimmediate reactors were skin test positive. For immediate reactors, the intradermal tests were the most sensitive, whereas delayed intradermal tests in combination with patch tests were needed for optimal sensitivity in nonimmediate reactors. Contrast medium cross‐reactivity was more common in the nonimmediate than in the immediate group. Interestingly, 49% of immediate and 52% of nonimmediate symptoms occurred in previously unexposed patients. Many of these patients were skin test positive, indicating that they were already sensitized at the time of first contrast medium exposure.

Conclusions:  These data suggest that at least 50% of hypersensitivity reactions to contrast media are caused by an immunological mechanism. Skin testing appears to be a useful tool for diagnosis of contrast medium allergy and may play an important role in selection of a safe product in previous reactors.
Identification of B‐cell epitopes of Bet v 1 involved in cross‐reactivity with food allergens
Authors: Klinglmayr E. , Hauser M. , Zimmermann F. , Dissertori O. , Lackner P. , Wopfner N. , Ferreira F. , Wallner M.
Published: January 2009

Background:  The pollen‐food syndrome (PFS) is an association of food allergies to fruits, nuts, and vegetables in patients with pollen allergy. Mal d 1, the major apple allergen, is one of the most commonly associated food allergens for birch pollen‐allergic patients suffering from PFS. Although the reactions are due to cross‐reactive IgE antibodies originally raised against pollen Bet v 1, not every Bet v 1‐allergic patient develops clinical reactions towards apple.

Aim of the study:  We speculate that distinct IgE epitopes are responsible for the clinical manifestation of PFS. To test this hypothesis we grafted five Mal d 1 stretches onto Bet v 1. The grafted regions were 7‐ or 8‐amino acids long encompassing amino acids residues previously shown to be crucial for IgE recognition of Bet v 1.

Methods:  A Bet v 1‐Mal d 1 chimeric protein designated BMC was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. IgE reactivity of BMC was tested with patients’ sera originating from (i) Bet v 1‐allergic patients displaying no clinical symptoms upon ingestion of apples; and (ii) Bet v 1‐allergic patients displaying allergic symptoms upon ingestion of apples and other Bet v 1‐related foods.

Results and conclusion:  Compared to birch pollen‐allergic individuals, patients suffering from PFS showed significantly higher IgE reactivity with BMC (chimeric protein). The results suggest that the Mal d 1 regions grafted onto the Bet v 1 sequence comprise important IgE epitopes recognized by Bet v 1‐allergic patients suffering from allergy to apples.
A simple filtration system for red blood cell depletion and volume reduction in routine processing of human umbilical cord blood
Authors: Sowemimo‐Coker S. O. , Andrade F. , Kim A. , Pesci S.
Published: January 2009

Background and Objectives  Currently, stem cells and other progenitor cells are obtained from human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) using a variety of methods that are designed primarily for red blood cell depletion and volume reduction prior to freezing and storage. Some of these methods are very cumbersome and involve several steps that may result in significant cell loss. Therefore, processes that minimize the loss of haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) remains very critical. In the present study, we describe a simple filtration process for achieving both volume reduction and red blood cell depletion in a ‘closed sterile system’ with significant recovery of viable HSPC.

Materials and Methods  About 80–100 ml of HUCB were collected into citrate–phosphate–dextrose–adenine 1 anticoagulant. Each HUCB was divided into 25–70‐ml aliquots and then either diluted with isotonic saline or filtered without any prior dilution with an experimental Red Cell Volume Reduction System (RCVRS). The HSPCs were recovered by retrograde rinsing of the filter with an isotonic stem cell recovery solution. The viability, colony forming properties, leucocytes and CD34+ cells recoveries were determined.

Results  The mean volume of the HUCB before processing was reduced from 43·9 ± 7·9 ml to 11·8 ± 0·7 ml (n = 55) with red blood cell depletion of 85·2 ± 3·7%. Diluting the HUCB with isotonic saline prior to processing with RCVRS increased the red blood cell depletion to 91·9 ± 3·0% (n = 7) without any significant loss in viability or cell recovery. The mean viability of the RCVRS‐processed HUCB was not significantly different from the control unprocessed blood (96·60 ± 1·90 vs. 96·63 ± 2·12%; P > 0·05). The mean recoveries of the CD34+ and the haematopoietic clonogenic progenitor cells with the filter were 83·9 ± 26·8 (n = 40) and 99·9 ± 27·9% (n = 35), respectively.

Conclusion  The present results show that the RCVRS provides a simple and easy‐to‐use process for obtaining red blood cell depletion and volume reduction of HUCB with good cell viability and recoveries.
Oxidative stress in developmental brain disorders
Authors: Hayashi Masaharu
Published: January 2009

Oxidative stress is one of the predisposing factors in adult neurological disorders. We have examined the involvement of oxidative stress in child‐onset neurodegenerative disorders, and here we review the findings from our analysis. In cases of Cockayne syndrome, the oxidative products of lipids and proteins were increased in the globus pallidus; however, oxidative nucleotide damage that coincided with reduced copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/ZnSOD) expression was observed in cases of xeroderma pigmentosum, and these patients also presented increased oxidative stress markers in urine samples. In spinal muscular atrophy, lipid peroxidation in conjunction with oxidative DNA damage was observed in motor neurons. Cases of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis presented oxidative nucleoside damage in cerebral cortical neurons at early disease stages, which were subsequently replaced by lipid peroxidation in glial cells of cerebral white matter. In relation to progressive myoclonic epilepsy, oxidative damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids appeared to coincide with cerebral and cerebellar cortical lesions of neuronal ceroid‐lipofuscinosis. Patients with Lafora disease also presented an increase in oxidative stress markers for DNA and/or lipids in the brain and urine. These findings imply involvement of oxidative stress in developmental brain disorders; antioxidant agents could prove to be useful for treating patients with those disorders.
Evidence of a latitudinal gradient in spider diversity in Australian cotton
Authors: WHITEHOUSE MARY E. A. , HARDWICK SCOTT , SCHOLZ BRAD C. G. , ANNELLS AMANDA J. , WARD ANDREW , GRUNDY PAUL R. , HARDEN STEVEN
Published: January 2009

The most common explanation for species diversity increasing towards the tropics is the corresponding increase in habitats (spatial heterogeneity). Consequently, a monoculture (like cotton in Australia) which is grown along a latitudinal gradient, should have the same degree of species diversity throughout its range. We tested to see if diversity in a dominant cotton community (spiders) changed with latitude, and if the community was structurally identical in different parts of Australia. We sampled seven sites extending over 20° of latitude. At each site we sampled 1–3 fields 3–5 times during the cotton growing season using pitfall traps and beatsheets, recording all the spiders collected to family. We found that spider communities in cotton are diverse, including a large range of foraging guilds, making them suitable for a conservation biological control programme. We also found that spider diversity increased from high to low latitudes, and the communities were different, even though the spiders were in the same monocultural habitat. Spider beatsheet communities around Australia were dominated by different families, and responded differently to seasonal changes, indicating that different pest groups would be targeted at different locations. These results show that diversity can increase from high to low latitudes, even if spatial heterogeneity is held constant, and that other factors external to the cotton crop are influencing spider species composition. Other models which may account for the latitudinal gradient, such as non‐equilibrium regional processes, are discussed.
Native Australian frogs avoid the scent of invasive cane toads
Authors: PIZZATTO LÍGIA , SHINE RICHARD
Published: January 2009

Invasive species can affect the ecosystems they colonize by modifying the behaviour of native taxa; for example, avoidance of chemical cues from the invader may modify habitat use (shelter site selection) by native species. In laboratory trials, we show that metamorphs of most (but not all) native frog species on a tropical Australian floodplain avoid the scent of invasive cane toads (Bufo marinus Linnaeus 1758). Cane toads also avoid conspecific scent. This response might reduce vulnerability of metamorph frogs and toads to larger predatory toads. However, similar avoidance of one type of pungency control (garlic), and the presence of this avoidance behaviour in frogs at the toad invasion front (and hence, with no prior exposure to toads), suggest that this may not be an evolved toad‐specific response. Instead, our data support the simpler hypothesis that the metamorph anurans tend to avoid shelter sites that contain strong and unfamiliar scents. Temporal and spatial differences in activity of frogs versus toads, plus the abundance of suitable retreat sites during the wet season (the primary time of frog activity), suggest that avoiding toad scent will have only a minor impact on the behaviour of native frogs. However, this behavioural impact may be important when environmental conditions bring toads and frogs into closer contact.
The big ecological questions inhibiting effective environmental management in Australia
Authors: MORTON S. R. , HOEGH‐GULDBERG O. , LINDENMAYER D. B. , OLSON M. HARRISS , HUGHES L. , McCULLOCH M. T. , McINTYRE S. , NIX H. A. , PROBER S. M. , SAUNDERS D. A. , ANDERSEN A. N. , BURGMAN M. A. , LEFROY E. C. , LONSDALE W. M. , LOWE I. , McMICHAEL A. J. , PARSLOW J. S. , STEFFEN W. , WILLIAMS J. E. , WOINARSKI J. C. Z.
Published: January 2009

The need to improve environmental management in Australia is urgent because human health, well‐being and social stability all depend ultimately on maintenance of life‐supporting ecological processes. Ecological science can inform this effort, but when issues are socially and economically complex the inclination is to wait for science to provide answers before acting. Increasingly, managers and policy‐makers will be called on to use the present state of scientific knowledge to supply reasonable inferences for action based on imperfect knowledge. Hence, one challenge is to use existing ecological knowledge more effectively; a second is to tackle the critical unanswered ecological questions. This paper identifies areas of environmental management that are profoundly hindered by an inability of science to answer basic questions, in contrast to those areas where knowledge is not the major barrier to policy development and management. Of the 22 big questions identified herein, more than half are directly related to climate change. Several of the questions concern our limited understanding of the dynamics of marine systems. There is enough information already available to develop effective policy and management to address several significant ecological issues. We urge ecologists to make better use of existing knowledge in dialogue with policy‐makers and land managers. Because the challenges are enormous, ecologists will increasingly be engaging a wide range of other disciplines to help identify pathways towards a sustainable future.
Three microsatellites from the T1DGC MHC data set show highly significant association with type 1 diabetes, independent of the HLA‐DRB1, ‐DQA1 and ‐DQB1 genes
Authors: Eike M. C. , Humphreys K. , Becker T. , Olsson M. , Lie B. A. ,   Diabetes Genetics Consortium
Published: January 2009

Aim:  The aim of this study was to test the microsatellites in the Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium major histocompatibility complex (MHC) data set for association with type 1 diabetes (T1D) independent of the HLA‐DRB1, ‐DQA1 and ‐DQB1 genes.

Methods:  The data set was edited to contain only one affected child per family, and broad ethnic subgroups were defined. Genotypes for HLA‐DRB1, ‐DQA1 and ‐DQB1 were replaced by a haplotype code spanning all three loci, with phase inferred based on common haplotypes. The final data set contained 8190 samples in 2301 families, 59 microsatellites and the DRB1–DQA1–DQB1 haplotype code. Statistical analyses consisted of conditional logistic regression and haplotype estimations and linkage disequilibrium calculations.

Results:  The data set was screened using a main effects test approach adjusted for DRB1–DQA1–DQB1, and significant results tested for validity. After these procedures, four markers remained significant at the Bonferroni‐corrected threshold: D6S2773 (p = 0.00014), DG6S185 (p = 0.00015), DG6S398 (p = 0.00043) and D6S2998 (p = 0.00015). These results were supported by allelic tests conditioned on DRB1–DQA1–DQB1 haplotypes, except for DG6S185, which may contain artefacts.

Conclusions:  We have identified three microsatellites that mark additional risk factors for T1D at highly significant levels in the MHC. Further analyses are needed to establish the relationship with other possible genetic determinants in this region.
Several loci in the HLA class III region are associated with T1D risk after adjusting for DRB1‐DQB1
Authors: Valdes A. M. , Thomson G. ,   Diabetes Genetics Consortium
Published: January 2009

Aim:  Several studies have indicated that genes in the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) region additional to the HLA class II DRB1‐DQB1 contribute to type 1 diabetes (T1D) susceptibility. The aim of this study was to assess if markers in the class III Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) region are associated with T1D after accounting for linkage disequilibrium (LD) with DRB1‐DQB1.

Methods:  We investigated 356 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the class III region covering 1.1 megabases in two subsets of data: 289 Human Biological Data Interchange (HBDI) Caucasian families and 597 additional Caucasian families collected by the Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium (T1DGC). Analysis conditioning on DRB1‐DQB1 was performed using the overall conditional genotype method.

Results:  Thirteen SNPs replicated in both subsets of the data and showed evidence of an additional effect on disease risk. Although some of the SNPs are in tight LD with each other, at least six of the associations were not because of LD with other class III markers. The strongest association within class III markers was with rs2395106 that maps 5′ to the NOTCH4 gene, which has also been implicated in susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis. The second association was with rs707915 mapping to the MSH5 gene, in a block of six markers significantly associated with T1D after adjusting for LD with DR‐DQ. In total, six‐independent associations within class III were observed although results were not adjusted for LD with class I.

Conclusions:  Our data confirm that the class III region is involved in T1D susceptibility and suggest that more than one gene in the region is involved.
MHC–environment interactions leading to type 1 diabetes: feasibility of an analysis of HLA DR‐DQ alleles in relation to manifestation periods and dates of birth
Authors: Badenhoop K. , Kahles H. , Seidl C. , Kordonouri O. , Lopez E. R. , Walter M. , Rosinger S. , Ziegler A. , Böhm B. O. ,   Diabetes Genetics Consortium
Published: January 2009

Aim:  The region on chromosome 6p21 (IDDM1) confers the largest part of genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes (T1D) with particular human leucocyte antigen (HLA) alleles predisposing and others protecting from it. As T1D is primarily a “sporadic” disease, the pathophysiology must involve gene–environment interactions. We searched for indirect evidence for such major histocompatibility complex (MHC)–environment interactions by asking two questions: (i) can the degree of an HLA association vary over time periods? and (ii) if a prenatal event like an intrauterine infection – that might cluster in seasons – leads to differences of HLA associations in patients with particular birth months?

Methods:  We screened the Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium (T1DGC) database (in addition our own database and the original UK, US and SCAND databases) for MHC DR‐DQ and CTLA4 associations. First, we separated the groups of patients with onset of disease before 1980 in comparison with onset after 1980. Second, we analysed the data according to dates of birth (grouped in months). Not all patients’ dates of birth or manifestation periods were available, leading to different group sizes. There were 282 patients analysed for manifestation periods and 329 for birth month.

Results:  The cohorts of manifestation before 1980 demonstrated a significantly lower frequency of DQ2/X (2 vs. 14.2%; p = 0.03). There was a trend for DQ8/x to be more frequent for manifestations before 1980 (34 vs. 21.6%; p < 0.10). Other alleles did not differ significantly. The months of birth were not evenly distributed. Significant deviations from the whole group were seen in August (DQ2/8 trough and DQx/x high), whereas birth in September was more frequent in DQ8/x or DQ8/8 carriers. This pattern was significantly different from the expected distribution of months at birth (13.9 vs. 7.6%; p < 0.04).

Conclusions:  We demonstrate the feasibility of an analysis that searches for indirect evidence of gene–environment interactions. These preliminary data need to be confirmed in larger data sets.
Association of MHC SNP genotype with susceptibility to type 1 diabetes: a modified survival approach
Authors: McKinnon E. , Morahan G. , Nolan D. , James I. ,   Diabetes Genetics Consortium
Published: January 2009

Aim: The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is a highly polymorphic region on chromosome 6 encompassing the human leucocyte antigen (HLA)‐DQ/DRloci most predictive of susceptibility to type 1 diabetes (T1D). To assess the contribution of other MHC genes, in this exploratory analysis of Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium (T1DGC) family data we characterize association between susceptibility and MHC single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype, with an emphasis on effects of genetic variation additional to carriage of predisposing or protective MHC haplotypes.

Methods: We use Cox regression analyses of age of onset, stratified by family, to jointly test both linkage and association. Analysis is restricted to children from families having both affected and unaffected siblings and is conducted with and without adjustment for known HLA class I and II effects. Model fits provide scores for each individual that are based on estimates of the probability of being affected by the age of 35, given the individual’s SNP genotype. The mean within‐family variation in these scores provides a measure that closely reflects the relative size of the likelihood ratio test statistics, and their covariation provides a means of mapping patterns of association that incorporate both effect size and commonality of effect that is attributable to the strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) extending across the region.

Results: Univariate analyses yielded strong associations with T1D susceptibility that are dominated by SNPs in the class IIHLA‐DR/DQregion but extend across the MHC. Similar effects are frequently observed across SNPs within multiple genes, sometimes spanning hundreds of kilobases. SNPs within a region at the telomeric end of the class II geneHLA‐DRAyielded significant associations with and without adjustment for carriage of the predictive DR3, DR4, DR2 and DR7 HLA haplotypes, and remained highly prominent in a secondary analysis that was restricted to 66 families in whom at least one of the affected siblings carried neither the DR3 nor DR4 haplotype.

Conclusions: While many of the associations can be attributed to LD between the SNPs and the dominantHLA‐DRB/DQA/DQBloci, there is also evidence of additional modifying effects.
Tadalafil and vardenafil vs sildenafil: a review of patient‐preference studies
Authors: Mirone Vincenzo , Fusco Ferdinando , Rossi Andrea , Sicuteri Riccardo , Montorsi Francesco
Published: January 2009

The immediate objective of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor treatment is to restore the ability of a man to achieve and/or maintain an erection adequate for sexual intercourse. As erectile dysfunction (ED) generally develops in the second half of life, the ultimate objective generally is not procreation, but quality of sexual life. Indeed, ED is known to impair quality of life considerably; two‐thirds of men report that ED has impaired their self‐esteem and nearly a third claim that it has damaged the relationship with their partner. It follows that the therapeutic success of PDE5 inhibition has an important subjective component, which is compounded by the subjective nature and complexity of sexual life in humans. This makes it very difficult for physicians to be certain that they have selected the optimal therapy for a couple, even after a thorough evaluation. The 2007 European Association of Urology Guidelines stress the importance of educating the patient and claim that ‘the patient will choose the final drug after his own experience’. However, PDE5 inhibitors are typically used twice a week, so a patient would have to spend ≈3 months trying the various compounds and dosages to achieve adequate exposure to all three PDE5 inhibitors; this would seem an unrealistic strategy in normal clinical practice. The acknowledgement that the patient has an important role in therapeutic decisions for ED has fuelled interest in the concept of patient preference. It has been established that patient preference depends on three factors, i.e. personal characteristics, e.g. age, duration of ED, frequency and dynamics of sexual relations, and the characteristics of their partners, e.g. age, menopausal status and level of interest in sexual activity and medication profile. Medication features of interest include efficacy in terms of quality of erection, consistency of effects, rapid onset of action, long duration of action, side‐effect profile and route of administration; drug costs must also be considered if the medicinal product is not reimbursed.
ESTIMATION, PREDICTION AND INFERENCE FOR THE LASSO RANDOM EFFECTS MODEL
Authors: Foster Scott D. , Verbyla Arūnas P. , Pitchford Wayne S.
Published: January 2009

The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) can be formulated as a random effects model with an associated variance parameter that can be estimated with other components of variance. In this paper, estimation of the variance parameters is performed by means of an approximation to the marginal likelihood of the observed outcomes. The approximation is based on an alternative but equivalent formulation of the LASSO random effects model. Predictions can be made using point summaries of the predictive distribution of the random effects given the data with the parameters set to their estimated values. The standard LASSO method uses the mode of this distribution as the predictor. It is not the only choice, and a number of other possibilities are defined and empirically assessed in this article. The predictive mode is competitive with the predictive mean (best predictor), but no single predictor performs best across in all situations. Inference for the LASSO random effects is performed using predictive probability statements, which are more appropriate under the random effects formulation than tests of hypothesis.
Reliability, validity and normative data for the Danish Beck Youth Inventories
Authors: THASTUM MIKAEL , RAVN KRISTINE , SOMMER SØREN , TRILLINGSGAARD ANEGEN
Published: January 2009

This study examines reliability and validity and establish Danish norms for the Danish version of the Beck Youth Inventories (BYI) (Beck, Beck & Jolly, 2001), which consists of five self‐report scales; Self‐Concept (BSCI), Anxiety (BAI), Depression (BDI), Anger (BANI) and Disruptive Behavior (BDBI). A total of 1,116 school children and 128 clinical children, aged 7–14, completed BYI. Internal consistency coefficients were high. Most test‐retest correlations were >0.70. A test‐retest difference was found for BAI. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the five factor structure of the instrument was justified. The BSCI, BAI and BDI discriminated moderately between the norming sample and the clinical group, and the latter group included more children who exceeded the 90th percentile of the norming sample. Diagnostic groups scored higher on relevant scales than norms. Only BSCI and BDI differentiated between diagnostic groups. The BYI showed acceptable internal consistency and test‐retest stability, except for BAI. The BYI did not adequately differentiate between internalizing disorders.
Classroom Composition, Childcare History and Social Development: Are Childcare Effects Disappearing or Spreading?
Authors: Belsky Jay
Published: January 2009

Core findings of the ongoing National Institute of Child Health and Human Development study of early child care and youth development through the end of the primary‐school years are summarized, highlighting the fact that both positive effects of good quality care on cognitive‐linguistic‐academic functioning and negative effects of extensive exposure to childcare on social development dissipate over time. Results showing that more time spent in any type of care or in center‐based care in particular predict somewhat elevated levels of externalizing problems are given special attention and considered in light of new results from the early childhood longitudinal study showing that being in kindergarten classrooms comprised of many children with extensive childcare histories contributes to externalizing behavior over and above children's own personal childcare histories. Implications of these latter results for the study of childcare are considered, especially with respect to the meaning of evidence documenting apparently dissipating childcare effects.
Making the Most of Small Effects
Authors: Thompson Ross A.
Published: January 2009

The idea that classroom social ecologies are shaped by the aggregate effects of peers’ prior care experiences is provocative, even though the evidence is weak that this explains the small and diminishing effect of childcare experience in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development study. Small effects may indeed be small effects, but students of early development should attend to the potential importance of group‐level influences on social and cognitive growth.