bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dazzle coloration and prey movement
Authors: Stevens Martin , Yule Daniella H , Ruxton Graeme D
Published: August 2008

Many traits in animals reduce the rate of attack from visually hunting predators, including camouflage, warning signals and mimicry. In addition, some animal markings may reduce the likelihood that an attack ends in successful capture. These might include dazzle markings, high-contrast patterns that make the estimation of speed and trajectory difficult. However, until now, no study has experimentally tested whether some markings may achieve such an effect. We developed a computer ‘game’ where human ‘predators’ have to capture computer-generated prey moving across a background. In two experiments, we find that although uniform camouflaged targets were among the hardest to capture, so were a range of high-contrast conspicuous patterns, such as bands and zigzags. Prey were also more difficult to capture against more heterogeneous than uniform backgrounds, and at faster speeds of movement. As such, we find the first experimental evidence that conspicuous patterns, similar to those found in a wide range of real animals, make the capture of moving prey more challenging. Various anti-predator markings may work prey during motion, and some animals may combine such dazzle patterns with other functions, such as camouflage, thermoregulation, sexual and warning signals.
Incipient allochronic speciation due to non-selective assortative mating by flowering time, mutation and genetic drift
Authors: Devaux Céline , Lande Russell
Published: August 2008

We model the evolution of flowering time using a multilocus quantitative genetic model with non-selective assortative mating and mutation to investigate incipient allochronic speciation in a finite population. For quantitative characters with evolutionary parameters satisfying empirical observations and two approximate inequalities that we derived, disjunct clusters in the population flowering phenology originated within a few thousand generations in the absence of disruptive natural or sexual selection. Our simulations and the conditions we derived showed that cluster formation was promoted by limited population size, high mutational variance of flowering time, short individual flowering phenology and a long flowering season. By contrast, cluster formation was hindered by inbreeding depression, stabilizing selection and pollinator limitation. Our results suggest that incipient allochronic speciation in populations of limited size (satisfying two inequalities) could be a common phenomenon.
Predation risk cues associated with killed conspecifics affect the behavior and reproduction of prey animals
Authors: Fievet Virgil , Lhomme Patrick , Outreman Yannick
Published: August 2008

Organisms often perceive risk to be attacked by natural enemies through cues that accompany or persist after attacks on conspecifics. Under the risk of attack, preys may prioritize anti‐enemy behaviours, sacrificing their feeding activities. These enemy‐induced changes can affect the prey population growth. The presence of killed congeners is a past attack events cue but, in terrestrial prey–enemy systems, its effect on prey population biology is an open question. This was addressed here by studying both the space use and reproductive effort of aphids exposed to congeners killed by parasitoids. To test whether preys adjust their responses with the threat intensity, aphids' responses in presence of killed conspecifics were compared to those measured when directly exposed to non‐consumptive parasitoids. The results showed that killed congeners are perceived by aphids and led to both changes in their space use and a strong decline in their population size. This experiment is the first to demonstrate that the presence of congeners killed by an enemy can contribute to the suppressive effects of natural enemies on prey populations.
Light partitioning in experimental grass communities
Authors: Vojtech Eva , Loreau Michel , Yachi Shigeo , Spehn Eva M. , Hector Andy
Published: August 2008

Through complementary use of canopy space in mixtures, aboveground niche separation has the potential to promote species coexistence and increase productivity of mixtures as compared to monocultures. We set up an experiment with five perennial grass species which differed in height and their ability to compete for light to test whether plants partition light under conditions where it is a limiting resource, and if this resource partitioning leads to increased biomass production in mixtures (using relative yield‐based methods). Further, we present the first application of a new model of light competition in plant communities. We show that under conditions where biomass production was high and light a limiting resource, only a minority of mixtures outperformed monocultures and overyielding was slight. The observed overyielding could not be explained by species differences in canopy structure and height in monoculture and was also not related to changes in the canopy traits of species when grown in mixture rather than monoculture. However, where overyielding occurred, it was associated with higher biomass density and light interception. In the new model of competition for light, greater light use complementarity was related to increased total energy absorption. Future work should address whether greater canopy space‐filling is a cause or consequence of overyielding.
Wing‐spreading, wing‐drying and food‐warming in great cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo
Authors: White Craig R. , Martin Graham R. , Butler Patrick J.
Published: August 2008

Wing‐spreading of cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae) is a characteristic and enigmatic aspect of their behavioural repertoire. It has been suggested to have a range of functions including wing‐drying, food‐warming, and social signalling of foraging success. We investigated two of these putative roles by comparing the wing‐spreading behaviour of fed and unfed animals after they had been swimming and diving. The duration of wing‐spreading was correlated only with time spent on the water. The ingestion of food did not influence the duration of wing‐spreading, a finding that supports a wing‐drying, rather than a food‐warming, function.
Effects of dog ownership in early childhood on immune development and atopic diseases
Authors: Bufford J. D. , Reardon C. L. , Li Z. , Roberg K. A. , DaSilva D. , Eggleston P. A. , Liu A. H. , Milton D. , Alwis U. , Gangnon R. , Lemanske R. F. , Gern J. E.
Published: August 2008

Background
Exposure to pets in childhood has been associated with a reduced risk of wheezing and atopy.

Objective
Our objective was to determine whether the effects of pet exposure on immune development and atopy in early childhood can be explained by alterations in exposure to innate immune stimuli in settled dust.

Methods
Two hundred and seventy‐five children at increased risk of developing allergic diseases were evaluated to age 3 years for pet ownership, blood cell cytokine responses, and atopy. Can f 1, Fel d 1, endotoxin, ergosterol, and muramic acid were measured in settled dust from 101 homes.

Results
Dog exposure at birth was associated with decreased atopic dermatitis (AD) (12% vs. 27%; P=0.004) and wheezing (19% vs. 36%; P=0.005) in year 3. The rates of AD (23%) and wheezing (42%) in year 3 were relatively high in children who acquired dogs after birth. The prevalence of dog sensitization (10–12%) did not vary according to dog exposure. Can f 1 levels in bedroom dust were positively associated with IL‐10 (r=0.26; P=0.01), IL‐5 (r=0.34, P<0.001), and IL‐13 (r=0.28; P=0.004) responses at age 1, and IL‐5 (r=0.24; P=0.022) and IL‐13 (r=0.25; P=0.015) responses at age 3. In contrast, endotoxin was associated with IFN‐γ (r=0.31; P=0.002) and IL‐13 (r=0.27; P=0.01) responses at age 3 but not at age 1, and similar relationships were present for muramic acid. Adjustment for levels of innate immune stimuli in house dust did not significantly affect the relationships between Can f 1 and cytokine responses.

Conclusions
Exposure to dogs in infancy, and especially around the time of birth, is associated with changes in immune development and reductions in wheezing and atopy. These findings are not explained by exposure to endotoxin, ergosterol, or muramic acid.
GH sensitivity of GH‐deficient adults is dependent on gender but not timing of onset
Authors: Columb Breeda , Smethurst Linda E. , Mukherjee Annice , Jostel Andreas , Shalet Stephen M. , Murray Robert D.
Published: August 2008

Background  Females secrete 2–3‐fold greater amounts of GH compared with males despite maintaining similar IGF‐I levels. IGF‐I generation tests in healthy subjects suggest this discordancy results from relative resistance to GH in females. In GHD females the presumed relative insensitivity to GH is reflected by a lower basal IGF‐I and the need for higher GH maintenance doses during replacement. Adults with severe GHD of childhood‐onset (CO) have lower basal IGF‐I SDS and require higher GH maintenance doses compared with adult‐onset (AO) patients with GHD of equal severity. We hypothesised CO‐GHD adults to be less sensitive to GH than AO‐GHD patients.

Methodology  In a single site study we analysed the incremental change in IGF‐I (ΔIGF‐I) in 116 GHD adults following initiation of GH replacement. The data were corrected to provide ΔIGF‐I/mg GH because of slight variances in initial GH dose.

Results  Following GH replacement ΔIGF‐I was 230 ± 245 and 356 ± 278 ng/ml/mg GH in females and males, respectively (P = 0·01). In CO and AO patients ΔIGF‐I was 282 ± 206 and 294 ± 292 ng/ml/mg GH, respectively (P = 0·83). Further analysis after stratification by both gender and timing of onset of GHD showed ΔIGF‐I was 226 ± 164, 324 ± 228, 231 ± 268, and 373 ± 304 ng/ml/mg GH in the CO females, CO males, AO females, and AO males, respectively (AO males vs. AO females, P = 0·03; CO males vs. CO females, P = 0·17; AO males vs. CO males, P > 0·05; AO females vs. CO females, P > 0·05). Multiple linear regression with ΔIGF‐I as the dependent variable and age, gender, BMI, baseline IGF‐I level, and timing of onset as independent variables showed ΔIGF‐I to be dependent on gender alone (R = 0·28, P = 0·004). Age (P = 0·44), BMI (P = 0·54), baseline IGF‐I level (P = 0·63) and timing of onset (P = 0·61) had no effect on ΔIGF‐I.

Conclusion  We have shown gender to have a significant impact on GH sensitivity in GHD adults, which, at least in part, explains differences in maintenance dosages during replacement. None of the additional variables impacted significantly on GH sensitivity. The lower basal IGF‐I SDS and higher GH replacement requirement reported in CO compared with AO patients cannot be explained by differences in sensitivity to GH.
Long‐term consequences of intracranial haemorrhage in children with haemophilia
Authors: BLADEN M. , KHAIR K. , LIESNER R. , MAIN E.
Published: August 2008

Summary.  Intracranial haemorrhages (ICH) in children with haemophilia are rare, and the outcome is variable, ranging from no apparent impairment to death. The aim of this investigation was to identify if children with haemophilia and ICH, have any long‐term problems with motor function, visual motor integration or strengths and difficulties compared with a control group. A review of the Haemophilia Database at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust was undertaken to identify boys with haemophilia and a history of ICH, as well as a control group of peers with no such history. Boys were born between January 1994 and December 2002. All boys were assessed using the movement Assessment Battery for Children, the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration and The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as standardized assessments of motor competence, visual motor integration and behavioural difficulties. Six boys with haemophilia and ICH and 11 controls (mean age: 7 years; range: 4–12 years) were assessed. Children with ICH were significantly more likely to have problems with motor function and visual motor integration (Fisher’s exact: P < 0.05). In addition, they had a tendency towards more problems with strengths and difficulties than their peer group (Fisher’s exact: P = 0.06). Five of the six boys who had sustained an ICH were in mainstream schools; four requiring assistance with their education. The results of this small study suggest that ICH may signify long‐term consequences for boys with haemophilia. The multidisciplinary team need to be aware of the rare but potentially important impact on motor function, visual motor integration and behaviour, which may inhibit the child from functioning optimally. An agreed comprehensive battery of assessments in collaboration with schools and healthcare workers is required to identify impairments to enable prompt interventions to be co‐ordinated.
Unplanned readmission within the most recent postoperative year of heart transplant patients in Taiwan
Authors: Huang Su‐Hsia , Wang Shoei‐Shen , Tai John Jen , Lou Meei‐Fang
Published: August 2008

Aims.  The aim of this study was to examine the rate of unplanned readmissions within the most recent postoperative year for heart transplant patients and the causes and contributing factors leading to such readmissions.

Background.  Advances in medical technology have significantly increased the survival rate of heart transplant patients. However, several postoperative complications make it common for patients to be readmitted to hospitals. An ‘unplanned readmission’ rate will better reflect the quality of postdischarge care than will mortality rate alone. Little research has been conducted on the heart transplant population in Taiwan.

Design.  Descriptive, cross‐sectional.

Methods.  Data were collected from a purposive sample by structured questionnaires and medical record reviews.

Results.  Seventy‐one patients were recruited at different times after heart transplantation. The unplanned readmission rate was 35·2% in the most recent postoperative year. The unplanned readmission rate was 52·2% for patients who had received transplantation five years ago or less, which was significantly higher than that for patients who had received transplantation more than five years ago (27·1%). Leading causes of unplanned readmission included infection (31·8%), rejection (25·0%) and cardiac allograft vasculopathy (18·2%). Blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels were significantly higher in readmitted patients than in patients who were not (t = 2·09, p < 0·05 and t = 2·12, p < 0·05, respectively).

Conclusion.  To reduce unplanned readmissions, the health professionals must continuously evaluate and monitor for adverse effects of treatment on patients, providing suitable guidance to equip the patient with the knowledge and ability to manage symptoms appropriately.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Continuous postoperative follow‐up should be performed for patients. Nurses can function as the patient’s evaluator, advisor, educator and advocator, to conduct postoperative care and carry out follow‐up plans to prevent readmission.
Does the body temperature change in older people?
Authors: Güneş Ülkü Yapucu , Zaybak Ayten
Published: August 2008

Aim.  The aim of this study was to determine the mean body temperatures in older people using mercury‐in‐glass thermometer.

Background.  Older people are unable to regulate their body temperatures to the same degree as young adults because their responses to changes in body temperature are altered. Several published reports suggest that body temperature decreases with advancing age and has a greater variability in older populations. The aim of this study was to determine the mean body temperatures in older people.

Design.  Non‐experimental.

Methods.  Axillary body temperatures were taken in 133 older subjects in a nursing home for older people using mercury‐in‐glass thermometer. Temperatures were measured at 8 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m., over three consecutive days. Each subject had all three measurements taken on the same day.

Results.  The mean age of the subjects was 77·2, SD 7·3. In the 133 older subjects, the mean axillary temperatures ranged from 35·1 to 36·4 °C (95·3–97·6 °F). The mean temperatures for those aged 65–74 was higher than in those aged 75–84 (p < 0.001) and those aged 85 and older (p < 0·001) at 6 p.m. but not at 8 a.m. or 2 p.m. We concluded that older people have mean axillary body temperatures lower than the reference point of 36·5 °C (97·7 °F).

Relevance to clinical practice.  When assessing body temperature, it is important to take the age of the patient into consideration. Also, the reference point of 36·5 °C is inappropriate in older people, especially when diagnosing a febrile illness.
Incongruence between nurses’ and patients’ understandings and expectations of rehabilitation
Authors: Pryor Julie , O’Connell Beverly
Published: August 2008

Aims and objectives.  To explore nurses’ understandings and expectations of rehabilitation and nurses’ perceptions of patients’ understandings and expectations of rehabilitation.

Background.  Within the context of a broadening appreciation of the benefits of rehabilitation, interest in the nature of rehabilitation is growing. Some believe that rehabilitation services do not adequately meet the needs of patients. Others are interested in the readiness of patients to participate in rehabilitation.

Design.  Qualitative.

Method.  Grounded theory using data collected during interviews with nurses in five inpatient rehabilitation units and during observation of the nurses’ everyday practice.

Findings.  According to nurses working in inpatient rehabilitation units, there is a marked incongruence between nurses’ understandings and expectations of rehabilitation and what they perceive patients to understand and expect.

Conclusion.  Given these different understandings, an important nursing role is the education of patients about the nature of rehabilitation and how to optimise their rehabilitation.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Before patients are transferred to rehabilitation, the purpose and nature of rehabilitation, in particular the roles of patients and nurses, needs to be explained to them. The understandings of rehabilitation that nurses in this study possessed provide a framework for the design of education materials and orientation programmes that inform patients (and their families) about rehabilitation. In addition, reinforcement of the differences between acute care and rehabilitation will assist patients new to rehabilitation to understand the central role that they themselves can play in their recovery.
An integrative literature review of lifestyle interventions for the prevention of type II diabetes mellitus
Authors: Madden Suzanne G , Loeb Susan J , Smith Carol A
Published: August 2008

Aims and objectives.  An integrative literature review was undertaken to determine what type II diabetes prevention programmes have been evaluated, what type of programme is the most effective and how adherent to lifestyle changes adults are after participating in a prevention programme.

Background.  Type II diabetes is important because the disease is affecting millions of people worldwide. Obesity and sedentary lifestyles are preventable risk factors for type II diabetes, leading many researchers from around the world to examine different programmes that are focussed on prevention of the disease.

Design.  Integrative literature review.

Method.  Search of electronic databases.

Results.  Diet, exercise, counselling and diet plus exercise were the types of prevention programmes, with the diet plus exercise being the most efficacious. Although many studies demonstrated excellent results initially, maintaining the effects of the lifestyle behaviour change proved to be difficult for participants, with only one study demonstrating the persistence of results after six years.

Conclusion.  Future research should focus on long‐term maintenance programmes, rather than just short‐term prevention programmes to determine the need for booster interventions or other means to ultimately decrease the incidence of type II diabetes.

Relevance to clinical practice.  As front‐line healthcare providers working across a broad array of settings, nurses are particularly well‐suited to play an integral part in future applications of diabetes prevention programmes. Lifestyle interventions are being delivered in a variety of settings and venues such as the workplace, the Internet and places of worship. In addition, at‐risk populations also can be targeted, particularly overweight and obese persons, with at least one parent having type II diabetes or persons with gestational diabetes.
A review of the early discharge experiences of stroke survivors and their carers
Authors: Pringle Jan , Hendry Charles , McLafferty Ella
Published: August 2008

Aims and objectives.  Understanding the experiences of stroke patients and their carers during the early days following discharge from hospital is an important aspect of providing appropriate care during this crucial time.

Background.  Due to the diverse changes that can result from a stroke, adjustment to returning home may raise many issues for those involved. A review of research was undertaken with the aim of identifying what is already known about experiences at this time.

Design.  Systematic review.

Method.  Search of electronic databases.

Results.  The review revealed that recognition of the impact of stroke on patients and carers is improving, with many studies focussing on the longer‐term aspects of stroke recovery. Research into the early discharge experiences of stroke patients and/or their carers is often limited to retrospective, longitudinal studies. With the continuing shift towards care in the community, patients and carers can increasingly expect more recovery to be taking place at home at an even earlier stage. Earlier discharge may have important implications for those involved. The review also highlighted that patients with aphasia have frequently been excluded from stroke research and that social roles are important aspects in stroke recovery.

Conclusions.  To prepare patients and carers better for the impact of returning home, further research is needed into their experiences at this significant time, particularly in the UK. There is also a need to facilitate the inclusion of those with aphasia in stroke research.

Relevance to clinical practice.  An improved understanding of the issues facing stroke patients and carers during their early days at home should facilitate the preparation for discharge in the hospital setting and allow more focussed follow‐up services in the community.
Screening the risk of falls: a general or a specific instrument?
Authors: Heinze Cornelia , Dassen Theo , Halfens Ruud , Lohrmann Christa
Published: August 2008

Aims and objectives.  The aim of this study is to investigate if a general instrument (Care Dependency Scale; CDS) has the same sensitivity and specificity as a specific instrument (Hendrich Fall Risk Model; HFRM) in a screening for fall risks.

Background.  Falls of older patients are a common problem in hospitals. Apart from falls risk, nurses have to use many assessment tools to detect the patients’ different care problems. To decrease the workload it would be helpful to have a general instrument used as a first screening for possible risks for different healthcare problems, such as falls, instead of specific risk instruments for each individual healthcare problem.

Design.  A prospective design was used by measuring each patient upon admission and by registering all falls during their hospital stay.

Methods.  The sample consisted of 560 patients of a geriatric hospital in Germany. All of whom gave their informed consent to participate in the study. Nurses filled in the CDS and the HFRM at the time of hospital admission.

Results.  The CDS (cut off point ≤54) had a sensitivity of 75% (47/63 fallers) and a specificity of 46% (227/497 non‐fallers). The HFRM (cut off point ≥11) had a sensitivity of 75% (47/63 fallers) and a specificity of 47% (237/497 non‐fallers).

Conclusion.  The results of the CDS are similar to those of the HFRM in predicting falls.

Relevance to clinical practice.  The use of the CDS is preferred as it is more general and more reliable than the HFRM. The workload for nursing staff can be decreased when only one instrument is used.
Phylogeography and recolonization of the Swiss Alps by the Valais shrew (Sorex antinorii), inferred with autosomal and sex‐specific markers
Authors: YANNIC G , BASSET P , HAUSSER J
Published: August 2008

Using one male‐inherited, one female‐inherited and eight biparentally inherited markers, we investigate the population genetic structure of the Valais shrew (Sorex antinorii) in the Swiss Alps. Bayesian analysis on autosomal microsatellites suggests a clear genetic differentiation between two groups of populations. This geographically based structure is consistent with two separate postglacial recolonization routes of the species into Switzerland from Italian refugia after the last Pleistocene glaciations. Sex‐specific markers also confirm genetic structuring among western and eastern areas, since very few haplotypes for either Y chromosome or mtDNA genome are shared between the two regions. Overall, these results suggest that two already well‐differentiated genetic lineages colonized the Swiss Alps and came into secondary contact in the Rhône Valley. Low level of admixture between the two lineages is likely explained by the mountainous landscape structure of lateral valleys orthogonal to the main Rhône valley.
Novel pharmacology: asimadoline, a κ‐opioid agonist, and visceral sensation
Authors: Camilleri M.
Published: August 2008

Abstract Asimadoline is a potent κ‐opioid receptor agonist with a diaryl acetamide structure. It has high affinity for the κ receptor, with IC50of 5.6 nmol L−1(guinea pig) and 1.2 nmol L−1(human recombinant), and high selectively with κ : μ : δ binding ratios of 1 : 501 : 498 in human recombinant receptors. It acts as a complete agonist inin vitroassay. Asimadoline reduced sensation in response to colonic distension at subnoxious pressures in healthy volunteers and in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients without alteration of colonic compliance. Asimadoline reduced satiation and enhanced the postprandial gastric volume (in female volunteers). However, there were no significant effects on gastrointestinal transit, colonic compliance, fasting or postprandial colonic tone. In a clinical trial in 40 patients with functional dyspepsia (Rome II), asimadoline did not significantly alter satiation or symptoms over 8 weeks. However, asimadoline, 0.5 mg, significantly decreased satiation in patients with higher postprandial fullness scores, and daily postprandial fullness severity (over 8 weeks); the asimadoline 1.0 mg group was borderline significant. In a clinical trial in patients with IBS, average pain 2 h post‐on‐demandtreatment with asimadoline was not significantly reduced.Post hocanalyses suggest that asimadoline was effective in mixed IBS. In a 12‐week study in 596 patients,chronic treatmentwith 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg asimadoline was associated with adequate relief of pain and discomfort, improvement in pain score and number of pain‐free days in patients with IBS‐D. The 1.0 mg dose was also efficacious in IBS‐alternating. There were also weeks with significant reduction in bowel frequency and urgency. Asimadoline has been well tolerated in human trials to date.
Protonophore‐ and pH‐insensitive glucose and sucrose accumulation detected by FRET nanosensors in Arabidopsis root tips
Authors: Chaudhuri Bhavna , Hörmann Friederike , Lalonde Sylvie , Brady Siobhan M. , Orlando David A. , Benfey Philip , Frommer Wolf B.
Published: August 2008

Although soil contains only traces of soluble carbohydrates, plant roots take up glucose and sucrose efficiently when supplied in artificial media. Soluble carbohydrates and other small metabolites found in soil are in part products from exudation from plant roots. The molecular nature of the transporters for uptake and exudation is unknown. Here, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) glucose and sucrose sensors were used to characterize accumulation and elimination of glucose and sucrose in Arabidopsis roots tips. Using an improved image acquisition set‐up, FRET responses to perfusion with carbohydrates were detectable in roots within less than 10 sec and over a wide concentration range. Accumulation was fully reversible within 10–180 sec after glucose or sucrose had been withdrawn; elimination may be caused by metabolism and/or efflux. The rate of elimination was unaffected by pre‐incubation with high concentrations of glucose, suggesting that elimination is not due to accumulation in a short‐term buffer such as the vacuole. Glucose and sucrose accumulation was insensitive to protonophores, was comparable in media differing in potassium levels, and was similar at pH 5.8, 6.8 and 7.8, suggesting that both influx and efflux may be mediated by proton‐independent transport systems. High‐resolution expression mapping in root tips showed that only a few proton‐dependent transport of the STP (Sugar Transport Protein) and SUT/SUC (Sucrose Transporter/Carrier) families are expressed in the external cell layers of root tips. The root expression maps may help to pinpoint candidate genes for uptake and release of carbohydrates from roots.
Auxin‐induced fruit‐set in tomato is mediated in part by gibberellins
Authors: Serrani Juan Carlos , Ruiz‐Rivero Omar , Fos Mariano , García‐Martínez José Luis
Published: August 2008

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicumL.) fruit‐set and growth depend on gibberellins (GAs). Auxins, another kind of hormone, can also induce parthenocarpic fruit growth in tomato, although their possible interaction with GAs is unknown. We showed that fruit development induced by the auxins indole‐3‐acetic acid and 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4‐D) were significantly reduced by the simultaneous application of inhibitors of GA biosynthesis, and that this effect was reversed by the application of GA3. This suggested that the effect of auxin was mediated by GA. Parthenocarpic fruits induced by 2,4‐D had higher levels of the active GA1, its precursors and metabolites, than unpollinated non‐treated ovaries, but similar levels as those found in pollinated ovaries. Application experiments of radioactive‐labelled GAs to unpollinated ovaries showed than 2,4‐D altered GA metabolism (both biosynthesis and catabolism)in vivo. Transcript levels of genes encoding copalyldiphosphate synthase (SlCPS), SlGA20ox1, SlGA20ox2 and SlGA20ox3, and SlGA3ox1 were higher in unpollinated ovaries treated with 2,4‐D. In contrast, transcript levels ofSlGA2ox2(out of the fiveSlGA2oxgenes known to encode this kind of GA‐inactivating enzyme) were lower in ovaries treated with 2,4‐D. Our results support the idea that auxins induce fruit‐set and growth in tomato, at least partially, by enhancing GA biosynthesis (GA 20‐oxidase, GA 3‐oxidase and CPS), and probably by decreasing GA inactivation (GA2ox2) activity, thereby leading to higher levels of GA1. The expression of diverse Aux/indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA) and auxin response factors, which may be involved in this effect of auxin, was also altered in 2,4‐D‐induced ovaries.
Specificities of leucocyte alloantibodies in transfusion‐related acute lung injury and results of leucocyte antibody screening of blood donors
Authors: Reil A. , Keller‐Stanislawski B. , Günay S. , Bux J.
Published: August 2008

Background  Antibody‐mediated transfusion‐related acute lung injury (TRALI) is an important cause of transfusion‐associated morbidity and death. Preventive strategies are currently a matter of debate.

Methods  Specificities of leucocyte antibodies implicated in previous severe TRALI reactions were determined using standard techniques. Based on these results, a leucocyte antibody screening strategy for the testing of parous female donors was introduced.

Results  Of 36 TRALI cases, 17, 12, four and three were due to human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class II, human neutrophil alloantigen (HNA), HLA class I, and mixtures of HLA class I and II antibodies, respectively. HNA‐3a antibodies accounted for 10 of 12 HNA antibody‐mediated reactions and 6 of 10 fatalities including one after transfusion of red blood cells. Investigation 5332 parous female donors showed leucocyte antibodies in 473 samples, resulting in an alloimmunization rate of 8·9%. Sixty‐one per cent of these donors presented HLA class I, 19% class II, 12% HLA class I and II antibodies and 5% HNA antibodies. Additional HLA class I antibodies were found in 39% of HLA class II and in 17% of HNA antibodies containing sera. Our restrictive plasma strategy did not result in a shortage of plasma or platelets. No antibody‐mediated TRALI case was observed since introduction of the policy of plasma from male, nulliparous or tested multiparous donors.

Conclusion  Compared to HLA class I antibodies, those directed against HLA class II and HNA‐3a were of greater clinical relevance. Isolated HLA class I antibody screening was found to be insufficient for leucocyte antibody screening.
Newly proposed fibrosis staging criterion for assessing carbon tetrachloride‐ and albumin complex‐induced liver fibrosis in rodents
Authors: Zhao Xin‐Yan , Wang Bao‐En , Li Xin‐Min , Wang Tai‐Ling
Published: August 2008

The fibrosis staging criterion (Knodell's) for viral hepatitis in human should not be applied to experimental liver fibrosis in rodents because of differences of species and etiology. Liver fibrosis was induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) or albumin antigen–antibody complex in Balb/C mice or Wistar rats. The degree of fibrosis was quantified by staging scores or hydroxyproline measurement or image analysis. Inter‐ and intra‐observer variations of the criterion were also evaluated. Liver fibrosis was divided into seven stages: stage 0, no fibrosis; stage 1, short fibrous tissue in central venule (C); stage 2, fibrous C‐C septa appearance; stage 3, C‐C fibrous septa developed incompletely; stage 4, C‐C septa completely connected (pseudo‐lobule); stage 5, C‐P (Portal Tract) bridging fibrosis, nodular appearance ≤50%.; and stage 6, nodular appearance >50%. There was significant correlation between the staging scores and hydroxyproline concentration (r = 0.708 in mice, r = 0.841 in rats) and, between staging scores and fibrosis area (r = 0.919 in rats, P < 0.001). The interobserver and intraobserver agreement was consistent (κ = 0.738 or 0.726, P < 0.001). This staging of hepatic fibrosis in rodents is scientifically rational and repeatable, and is therefore suggested as the criterion for the assessment of experimental hepatic fibrosis in rodent studies.
Analysis of gene and protein expression of cytochrome P450 and stress‐associated molecules in rat liver after spaceflight
Authors: Baba Taisuke , Nishimura Masuhiro , Kuwahara Yoshikazu , Ueda Nobuhiko , Naitoh Shinsaku , Kume Makoto , Yamamoto Yuzo , Fujita Jun , Funae Yoshihiko , Fukumoto Manabu
Published: August 2008

As the incidence and length of spaceflight increases, the need to administer pharmacological agents to crew members may become greater. The final goal is to predict the therapeutic or toxic effects of drugs, especially those with a low therapeutic index, during spaceflight. The liver is central to systemic metabolism, therefore, various drugs rely on hepatic metabolism by cytochrome P450 (CYP). The function of individual CYP enzymes is diverse because they are subject to different regulatory mechanisms and substrate specificity. Because spaceflight may be a stressor and influence each CYP expression individually, the purpose of the present study was to measure the expression of 11 CYP genes and protein distribution in the liver of rats after spaceflight, using real‐time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The gene and protein expression of stress‐related proteins such as cold‐inducible RNA binding protein (Cirp), heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), HSP90 and the p53 tumor suppressor gene, were also determined. CYP4A1and Cirp gene expression was significantly increased whereas HSP90 and p53 gene expression was significantly decreased in the flight group than in the ground control. Combined with histology, it is concluded that the effects of spaceflight on the liver may be similar to mild cold stress or fasting.
Marketization and Performance Measurement in Swedish Central Government: A Comparative Institutionalist Study
Authors: Modell Sven , Wiesel Fredrika
Published: August 2008

Public sector organizations have increasingly been subject to varying forms of marketization, ranging from competitive contracting to a more general conception of citizens or users as customers or consumers regardless of whether such economic factors prevail. Drawing on neo‐institutional sociology (NIS) and other advances in economic sociology, we examine such marketization efforts as an institutionally embedded phenomenon with particular reference to how it is implicated in the performance measurement practices (PMPs) of two state agencies in Sweden. This reveals how PMPs are embedded in only partly consistent institutional logics and under what circumstances such practices can be reconciled. Some PMPs, especially those grounded in efficiency concerns, tend to play an important constitutive role in operating‐level practices, partly as a result of also being embedded in regulatory pressures. Other PMPs, imbued with symbolic meanings signifying a more customer‐oriented rationale, only seem to approach such a status if they are dis‐embedded from the ‘global’ practices in which they originate and re‐embedded in evolving PMPs dominated by efficiency concerns. We discuss the implications of these findings for emerging research into practice variations embedded in competing logics in institutional fields and for policy development.
Influence of Culture on Earnings Management: A Note
Authors: Doupnik Timothy S.
Published: August 2008

This article examines the influence of national culture on earnings management across a broad cross‐section of countries. In addition to examining the relation between culture and earnings management in general, two different types of earnings management are examined, namely, earnings smoothing and earnings discretion. Regression results indicate that, as expected, the cultural dimensions of uncertainty avoidance and individualism are significantly related to earnings management, even after controlling for investor protection and other legal institutional factors. Culture has a stronger relation with earnings smoothing than with earnings discretion, and cultural dimensions explain a greater percentage of the variation in aggregate earnings management and earnings smoothing than do investor protection variables. These findings suggest that there is a significant link between culture and cross‐national differences in earnings management, especially in the form of earnings smoothing.
Toddlers can adaptively change how they categorize: same objects, same session, two different categorical distinctions
Authors: Horst Jessica S. , Ellis Ann E. , Samuelson Larissa K. , Trejo Erika , Worzalla Samantha L. , Peltan Jessica R. , Oakes Lisa M.
Published: August 2008

Two experiments demonstrate that 14‐ to 18‐month‐old toddlers can adaptively change how they categorize a set of objects within a single session, and that this ability is related to vocabulary size. In both experiments, toddlers were presented with a sequential touching task with objects that could be categorized either according to some perceptually salient dimension corresponding to a taxonomic distinction (e.g. animals vs. vehicles) or to some less obvious dimension (e.g. rigid vs. deformable). In each experiment, children with larger productive vocabularies responded to both dimensions, showing evidence of sensitivity to each way of categorizing the items. Children with smaller productive vocabularies attended only to the taxonomically related categorical grouping. These experiments confirm that toddlers can adaptively shift the basis of their categorization and highlight the dynamic interaction between the child and the current task in early categorization.
What makes relational reasoning smart? Revisiting the perceptual‐to‐relational shift in the development of generalization
Authors: Bulloch Megan J. , Opfer John E.
Published: August 2008

Development of reasoning is often depicted as involving increasing use of relational similarities and decreasing use of perceptual similarities (‘the perceptual‐to‐relational shift’). We argue that this shift is a special case of a broader developmental trend: increasing sensitivity to the predictive accuracy of different similarity types. To test this hypothesis, we asked participants (3‐, 4‐, 5‐year‐olds and adults) to generalize novel information on two types of problems – offspring problems, where relational matches yield accurate generalizations, and prey problems, where perceptual matches yield accurate generalizations. On offspring problems, we replicated prior findings of increasing relational matches with age. However, we observed decreasing relational matches on prey problems. Provided feedback on their responses, 3‐year‐olds showed the same trend. Findings suggest that the relational shift commonly observed in categorization and analogical reasoning may reflect a general increase in children's sensitivity to cue validity rather than an overall preference to generalize over perceptual similarity.
Early bilingualism enhances mechanisms of false‐belief reasoning
Authors: Kovács Ágnes Melinda
Published: August 2008

In their first years, children's understanding of mental states seems to improve dramatically, but the mechanisms underlying these changes are still unclear. Such ‘theory of mind’ (ToM) abilities may arise during development, or have an innate basis, developmental changes reflecting limitations of other abilities involved in ToM tasks (e.g. inhibition). Special circumstances such as early bilingualism may enhance ToM development or other capacities required by ToM tasks. Here we compare 3‐year‐old bilinguals and monolinguals on a standard ToM task, a modified ToM task and a control task involving physical reasoning. The modified ToM task mimicked a language‐switch situation that bilinguals often encounter and that could influence their ToM abilities. If such experience contributes to an early consolidation of ToM in bilinguals, they should be selectively enhanced in the modified task. In contrast, if bilinguals have an advantage due to better executive inhibitory abilities involved in ToM tasks, they should outperform monolinguals on both ToM tasks, inhibitory demands being similar. Bilingual children showed an advantage on the two ToM tasks but not on the control task. The precocious success of bilinguals may be associated with their well‐developed control functions formed during monitoring and selecting languages.
Developmental changes in visual object recognition between 18 and 24 months of age
Authors: Pereira Alfredo F. , Smith Linda B.
Published: August 2008

Two experiments examined developmental changes in children's visual recognition of common objects during the period of 18 to 24 months. Experiment 1 examined children's ability to recognize common category instances that presented three different kinds of information: (1) richly detailed and prototypical instances that presented both local and global shape information, color, textural and featural information, (2) the same rich and prototypical shapes but no color, texture or surface featural information, or (3) that presented only abstract and global representations of object shape in terms of geometric volumes. Significant developmental differences were observed only for the abstract shape representations in terms of geometric volumes, the kind of shape representation that has been hypothesized to underlie mature object recognition. Further, these differences were strongly linked in individual children to the number of object names in their productive vocabulary. Experiment 2 replicated these results and showed further that the less advanced children's object recognition was based on the piecemeal use of individual features and parts, rather than overall shape. The results provide further evidence for significant and rapid developmental changes in object recognition during the same period children first learn object names. The implications of the results for theories of visual object recognition, the relation of object recognition to category learning, and underlying developmental processes are discussed.
Mobile technology in the village: ICTs, culture, and social logistics in India
Authors: Tenhunen Sirpa
Published: August 2008

Mobile technology is currently emerging as the first extensive form of electronic communication system in many regions of Africa and Asia. This article analyses the appropriation of mobile phones in rural India by exploring what new social alternatives mobile phones enable and how these new social constellations relate to culture and cultural change. The ethnographic description relates phone usage to other communication patterns and ongoing processes of transformation. The article shows how the appropriation of phones draws from the local cultural and social context, but also that phones facilitate new patterns that show great similarity with social processes in other places where phones have been introduced as the first form of communication technology, such as the increased multiplicity of social contacts and the greater efficiency of market relationships. I argue that mobile technology amplifies ongoing processes of cultural change but does so selectively, so that it brings about the homogenization of ‘social logistics’.

Dans de nombreuses régions d'Asie et d'Afrique, la technologie mobile apparaît aujourd'hui comme la première forme étendue de communications électroniques. L'auteur analyse ici l'appropriation de la téléphonie mobile en Inde, en explorant les nouvelles alternatives sociales que le téléphone portable rend possibles et les liens entre ces nouvelles constellations sociales, d'une part, et d'autre part la culture et le changement culturel. La description ethnographique fait le lien entre l'utilisation du téléphone et les autres modes de communication et avec les processus actuels de transformation. L'article montre comment l'appropriation du téléphone s'inscrit dans le contexte culturel et social local, tout en mettant en lumière la similarité entre la façon dont le téléphone facilite de nouveaux schémas de communication et les processus sociaux qui se déploient dans d'autres lieux où la téléphonie a été introduite comme première forme de technologie de communication : multiplication des contacts sociaux, efficacité accrue des relations de marché. L'auteur affirme que la technologie mobile amplifie les processus actuels de changement culturel, mais quelle le fait de manière sélective, en induisant ainsi une homogénéisation de la « logistique sociale ».