bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Morphological adaptations to arboreal habitats and heart position in species of the neotropical whipsnakes genusChironius
Authors: Guimarães Murilo , Gaiarsa Marília P. , Cavalheri Hamanda B. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThe evolution of arboreality in snakes is accompanied by modifications that are remarkably similar across species. Gravity is one of the most important selective agents, and arboreal snakes present adaptations to circumvent the gradient of pressure, including modifications on heart position (HP) and body slenderness (BS). However, the degree to which different life‐history traits influence the cardiovascular system of snakes remains unclear. Here, we used an ecological and a phylogenetic approach to explore the relationship between habitat,HP,BS, and heart size (HS) in five species of the neotropical whipsnakes genusChironiusthat occupy terrestrial, semiarboreal, and arboreal habits. Our ecological comparison indicated that the arboreal species have the most posterior‐positioned heart, the most slender body, and the smallestHS, whereas the terrestrial representative of the group exhibited the most anterior heart, the less flattened body, and the largestHS. After removing the phylogenetic effect, we found no difference inHPandBSbetween terrestrial and arboreal species. Habitat only differed when contrasting withHS. Body slenderness andHSwere correlated withHP. Our results suggest that different restrictions, such as anatomical constraints, behavior, and phylogenetic inertia, may be important for the studied species.
Effect of negative attributions on depressive symptoms of patients with coronary heart disease after controlling for physical functional impairment
Authors: Sanjuán Pilar , Arranz Henar , Castro Almudena 
Published: April 2013

ObjectivesNegative attributional style (NAS), or tendency to explain negative events through internal, stable, and global causes, has proved to be an important predictor of depressive symptoms and poor health, including coronary heart disease (CHD). The goal of this two‐wave longitudinal study was to look at whether depressive symptoms are caused by or are a consequence of this style in a sample of patients with CHD while controlling for the effect of physical functional impairment on the development of these symptoms.MethodsNinety‐one patients, who had just suffered a first cardiac episode, were evaluated on NAS, depressive symptoms and functional capacity (measured in metabolic equivalent levels or METs) both on the first and on last day of an 8‐week cardiac rehabilitation programme.ResultsGlobality dimension of NAS at Time 1 predicted depressive symptoms at Time 2 after controlling for both depressive symptoms and METs at Time 1. However, depressive symptoms at Time 1 could not predict any dimension of this style at Time 2.ConclusionsThese results seem to support that negative attributions about the disease are one of the causes contributing to the development of depression and not a consequence of it, and also suggest that intervention programme should be aimed not only at reducing depressive symptoms, but also at replacing stable and global attributions of negative situations with more unstable and specific explanations.Statement of contributionWhat is already known on this subject?

Negative attributional style (NAS) is an important predictor of depressive symptoms.Depressive symptoms worsen the diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients.

What does this study add?

Globality dimension predicts depression in patients with CHD after controlling for functional capacity.

Negative attributions contribute to the development of depression and are not a consequence of it.
Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is not an independent predictor of outcome in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) after long‐term follow‐up
Authors: Zhang Ben Y. , Thompson R. Houston , Lohse Christine M. , Dronca Roxana S. , Cheville John C. , Kwon Eugene D. , Leibovich Bradley C. 
Published: April 2013

Objective
To evaluate carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) expression as an independent prognostic marker for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). With recent smaller studies showing conflicting results, we aimed to update our initial analysis in 2007 with an additional 5‐year follow‐up.
Patients and Methods
We provided long‐term follow‐up of the same cohort used in our 2007 study (730 patients with unilateral, sporadic ccRCC treated surgically between 1990 and 1999).
Associations of CAIX expression with RCC death and distant metastases were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.
Results
CAIX was expressed in 708 (97.0%) of the specimens; 163 tumours (22.3%) had low (≤85%) expression and 567 (77.7%) high (>85%) expression. There were 483 deaths and 265 RCC‐specific deaths. The median follow‐up for the 247 patients still under observation was 13.8 years.
Univariately, low CAIX expression was associated with an increased risk of RCC death vs high expression (hazard ratio 1.62; P < 0.001).
Low CAIX expression was not statistically significantly associated with RCC death or distant metastases after adjusting for nuclear grade or coagulative tumour necrosis.
Conclusion
After additional long‐term follow‐up of our large cohort, our results continue to suggest that CAIX is not an independent prognostic marker for ccRCC.
Improving risk stratification in patients with prostate cancer managed by active surveillance: a nomogram predicting the risk of biopsy progression
Authors: Iremashvili Viacheslav , Burdick‐Will Joshua , Soloway Mark S. 
Published: April 2013

Objective
To develop a clinical tool that integrates different risk factors and provides individual predictions of the risk of biopsy progression in patients with prostate cancer managed by active surveillance.
Materials and Methods
Our analysis included 205 patients on active surveillance, each of whom had had at least two surveillance biopsies.
We used the Cox proportional hazard regression model to analyse the association between different risk factors and progression‐free survival over successive biopsies. This multivariate model was then used to develop a nomogram.
Discrimination and calibration of the nomogram were internally validated using 200 bootstrap resamplings.
Results
The median follow‐up of patients free of progression was 4.6 years. A total of 58 (28%) patients experienced progression.
Factors significantly associated with progression were: overall number of positive cores in the diagnostic and first surveillance biopsies, race and prostate‐specific antigen density.
The bootstrapping concordance index of the nomogram including these variables was 81%.
The nomogram tended to underestimate the probability of progression but it identified fairly accurately the distinct groups of patients at low, intermediate and high risk of progression.
Conclusions
In the development cohort, the nomogram was able to separate patients with respect to their risk of biopsy progression.
Since accurate risk stratification is essential to optimize patient care, this tool, if external validation confirms its performance, may prove useful for both the counselling and management of patients with low‐volume, Gleason 6 prostate cancer.
Neuroprotective activities of catalpol against CaMKII‐dependent apoptosis induced by LPS in PC12 cells
Authors: Chen Wenna , Li Ximing , Jia Lian‐Qun , Wang Jun , Zhang Lin , Hou Diandong , Wang Junyan , Ren Lu 
Published: April 2013

Background and PurposeNeurodegenerative diseases present progressive neurological disorder induced by cell death or apoptosis. Catalpol, an iridoid glucoside isolated from the root of Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch, is present in a wide range of plant families. Although catalpol is an effective anti‐apoptotic agent in LPS‐induced neurodegeneration, the underlying mechanism has not been established. Here we have identified some of the mechanisms involved the prevention by catalpol of apoptosis induced by LPS in an experimental model of neurodegeneration in vitro.Experimental ApproachApoptosis was induced by adding LPS (80 ng·mL−1) to pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells, pretreated with catalpol for 12 h. We measured intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), apoptosis and intracellular calcium concentration ( [Ca2+]i) by flow cytometry or laser confocal scanning microscopy. We also analysed the protein expression of Bcl‐2, Bax and Ca2+‐calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII)‐dependent apoptosis signal‐regulating kinase‐1 (ASK‐1)/JNK/p38 signalling pathway in PC12 cells by Western blot.Key ResultsCatalpol stimulated expression of Bcl‐2 and inhibited the expression of Bax. Catalpol also attenuated the increase in Ca2+ concentration induced by LPS in PC12 cells and down‐regulated CaMK phosphorylation. The CaMKII‐dependent ASK‐1/JNK/p38 signalling cascade was blocked by catalpol. All these changes were accompanied by a decrease of apoptosis induced by LPS in PC12 cells.Conclusions and ImplicationsThe data presented here provide new mechanistic insights into the links between the CaMKII‐dependent ASK‐1/JNK/p38 signalling pathway and the protective effect of catalpol on apoptosis induced by LPS in PC12 cells.
Patterns of Cenozoic sediment flux from western Scandinavia: discussion
Authors: Rasmussen E. S. , Dybkjær K. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThe recent paper by Gołędowski et al. (2012) is a contribution to the ongoing debate regarding the possible processes involved in the geological evolution of the North Sea basin and adjacent hinterlands during the Cenozoic. Their major conclusions state (1) that the prominent seismic feature called the ‘mid‐Miocene unconformity’ (MMU) is a diachroneous surface in the North Sea basin and forms a regional hiatus and (2) that sediment flux from western Scandinavia was primarily controlled by climate and vegetation cover from the Late Eocene and onwards. We believe, however, that regarding the eastern North Sea basin, which was the depocentre for sediments sourced from southwestern Scandinavia, these conclusions are not supported by the geological record. The so‐called ‘mid‐Miocene unconformity’ is not a regional hiatus in the Danish and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea basin, but represents a distinct shift from prograding delta/slope systems to deposition of deeper marine hemipelagic mud, and thus provides a distinct seismic marker horizon. However, detailed studies show that there is a continuous sedimentation dominated by glacony‐rich mud where a ca. 3 m thick mudlayer spans several millions years and thus are below seismic resolution. Consequently, seismic stratigraphy is not applicable for this condensed section. (1) Warm climate and dense vegetation cover in southern Scandinavia during the mid‐Miocene Climatic Optimum were not able to hinder the progradation of a major siliciclastic wedge from Scandinavia into the North Sea basin. (2) The distinct temperature decrease in the Serravallian does not correlate with the aforementioned progradation, but on the contrary, correlate with the culmination of a major flooding event and deposition of a condensed succession of marine glaucony‐rich clay.
Ara h 1 CD4+ T cell epitope‐based peptides: candidates for a peanut allergy therapeutic
Authors: Prickett S. R. , Voskamp A. L. , Phan T. , Dacumos‐Hill A. , Mannering S. I. , Rolland J. M. , O'Hehir R. E. 
Published: April 2013

SummaryBackgroundPeanut allergy is a life‐threatening condition; there is currently no cure. While whole allergen extracts are used for specific immunotherapy for many allergies, they can cause severe reactions and even fatalities in peanut allergy.ObjectiveTo identify short, HLA‐degenerate CD4+ T cell epitope‐based peptides of the major peanut allergen Ara h 1 that target allergen‐specific T cells without causing IgE‐mediated inflammatory cell activation, as candidates for safe peanut‐specific immunotherapy.MethodsAra h 1‐specific CD4+ T cell lines (TCL) were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of peanut‐allergic subjects using CFSE‐based methodology. T cell epitopes were identified using CFSE and thymidine‐based proliferation assays. Epitope HLA‐restriction was investigated using blocking antibodies, HLA‐genotyping and epitope prediction algorithms. Functional peanut‐specific IgE reactivity to peptides was assessed by basophil activation assay.ResultsA total of 145 Ara h 1‐specific TCL were generated from 18 HLA‐diverse peanut‐allergic subjects. The TCL recognized 20‐mer peptides throughout Ara h 1. Nine 20‐mers containing the most frequently recognized epitopes were selected and their recognition confirmed in 18 additional peanut‐allergic subjects. Ten core epitopes were mapped within these 20‐mers. These were HLA‐DQ and/or HLA–DR restricted, with each presented on at least two different HLA‐molecules. Seven short (≤ 20 aa) non‐basophil‐reactive peptides encompassing all core epitopes were designed and validated in peanut‐allergic donor PBMC T cell assays.Conclusions and Clinical RelevanceShort CD4+ T cell epitope‐based Ara h 1 peptides were identified as novel candidates for a safe, T cell targeted peanut‐specific immunotherapy for HLA‐diverse populations.
MiR‐139 Inhibits Mcl‐1 Expression and Potentiates TMZ‐Induced Apoptosis in Glioma
Authors: Li Rui‐Yan , Chen Ling‐Chao , Zhang Hai‐Yan , Du Wen‐Zhong , Feng Yan , Wang Han‐Bing , Wen Jin‐Qiong , Liu Xin , Li Xian‐Feng , Sun Ying , Yang Dong‐Bo , Jiang Tao , Li Yong‐Li , Jiang Chuan‐Lu 
Published: April 2013

SummaryAimsMcl‐1, an antiapoptotic member of the Bcl‐2 family, is overexpressed in human glioblastoma, conferring a survival advantage to tumor cells. The mechanisms underlying its dysregulation have not been clarified. In this study, we explored the involvement of micro‐RNAs that acted as endogenous sequence‐specific suppressors of gene expression.Methods and resultsUsing computational and TCGA analysis, we identified miR‐139 as being downregulated in glioblastoma in comparison with human brain tissue, as well as possessing a putative target site in Mcl‐1 mRNA. Overexpression of miR‐139 led to a clear decrease in Mcl‐1 expression in gliomas. Reporter assays revealed direct post‐transcriptional regulation involving miR‐139 and the 3′‐untranslated region of Mcl‐1. Human glioma tissues with low expression of miR‐139 displayed higher expression of Mcl‐1 protein than those with high expression, suggesting that low miR‐139 contributes to Mcl‐1 overexpression. In addition, upregulation of miR‐139 suppressed the proliferation and enhanced temozolomide (TMZ)‐induced apoptosis. Finally, we observed that Mcl‐1 knockdown resulted in similar effects compared with miR‐139 transfection.ConclusionOur results suggested that miR‐139 negatively regulated Mcl‐1 and induced apoptosis in cooperation with an anticancer drug TMZ in glioma.
Effects of Dam‐Induced Landscape Fragmentation on Amazonian Ant–Plant Mutualistic Networks
Authors: EMER CARINE , VENTICINQUE EDUARDO MARTINS , FONSECA CARLOS ROBERTO 
Published: April 2013

AbstractMutualistic networks are critical to biological diversity maintenance; however, their structures and functionality may be threatened by a swiftly changing world. In the Amazon, the increasing number of dams poses a large threat to biological diversity because they greatly alter and fragment the surrounding landscape. Tight coevolutionary interactions typical of tropical forests, such as the ant–myrmecophyte mutualism, where the myrmecophyte plants provide domatia nesting space to their symbiotic ants, may be jeopardized by the landscape changes caused by dams. We analyzed 31 ant–myrmecophyte mutualistic networks in undisturbed and disturbed sites surrounding Balbina, the largest Central Amazonian dam. We tested how ant–myrmecophyte networks differ among dam‐induced islands, lake edges, and undisturbed forests in terms of species richness, composition, structure, and robustness (number of species remaining in the network after partner extinctions). We also tested how landscape configuration in terms of area, isolation, shape, and neighborhood alters the structure of the ant–myrmecophyte networks on islands. Ant–myrmecophytic networks were highly compartmentalized in undisturbed forests, and the compartments had few strongly connected mutualistic partners. In contrast, networks at lake edges and on islands were not compartmentalized and were negatively affected by island area and isolation in terms of species richness, density, and composition. Habitat loss and fragmentation led to coextinction cascades that contributed to the elimination of entire ant–plant compartments. Furthermore, many myrmecophytic plants in disturbed sites lost their mutualistic ant partners or were colonized by opportunistic, nonspecialized ants. Robustness of ant–myrmecophyte networks on islands was lower than robustness near lake edges and in undisturbed forest and was particularly susceptible to the extinction of plants. Beyond the immediate habitat loss caused by the building of large dams in Amazonia, persistent edge effects and habitat fragmentation associated with dams had large negative effects on animal–plant mutualistic networks.Efectos de la Fragmentación del Paisaje Inducida por Presas sobre Redes Mutualistas Hormiga‐Planta Amazónicas
A Small‐Scale Land‐Sparing Approach to Conserving Biological Diversity in Tropical Agricultural Landscapes
Authors: CHANDLER RICHARD B. , KING DAVID I. , RAUDALES RAUL , TRUBEY RICHARD , CHANDLER CARLIN , ARCE CHÁVEZ VÍCTOR JULIO 
Published: April 2013

AbstractTwo contrasting strategies have been proposed for conserving biological diversity while meeting the increasing demand for agricultural products: land sparing and land sharing production systems. Land sparing involves increasing yield to reduce the amount of land needed for agriculture, whereas land‐sharing agricultural practices incorporate elements of native ecosystems into the production system itself. Although the conservation value of these systems has been extensively debated, empirical studies are lacking. We compared bird communities in shade coffee, a widely practiced land‐sharing system in which shade trees are maintained within the coffee plantation, with bird communities in a novel, small‐scale, land‐sparing coffee‐production system (integrated open canopy or IOC coffee) in which farmers obtain higher yields under little or no shade while conserving an area of forest equal to the area under cultivation. Species richness and diversity of forest‐dependent birds were higher in the IOC coffee farms than in the shade coffee farms, and community composition was more similar between IOC coffee and primary forest than between shade coffee and primary forest. Our study represents the first empirical comparison of well‐defined land sparing and land sharing production systems. Because IOC coffee farms can be established by allowing forest to regenerate on degraded land, widespread adoption of this system could lead to substantial increases in forest cover and carbon sequestration without compromising agricultural yield or threatening the livelihoods of traditional small farmers. However, we studied small farms (<5 ha); thus, our results may not generalize to large‐scale land‐sharing systems. Furthermore, rather than concluding that land sparing is generally superior to land sharing, we suggest that the optimal approach depends on the crop, local climate, and existing land‐use patterns.Un Método para Reservar Tierras a Pequeña Escala para Conservar la Biodiversidad en Paisajes Agrícolas Tropicales
Estimating Extinction Risk with Metapopulation Models of Large‐Scale Fragmentation
Authors: SCHNELL JESSICA K. , HARRIS GRANT M. , PIMM STUART L. , RUSSELL GARETH J. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractHabitat loss is the principal threat to species. How much habitat remains—and how quickly it is shrinking—are implicitly included in the way the International Union for Conservation of Nature determines a species’ risk of extinction. Many endangered species have habitats that are also fragmented to different extents. Thus, ideally, fragmentation should be quantified in a standard way in risk assessments. Although mapping fragmentation from satellite imagery is easy, efficient techniques for relating maps of remaining habitat to extinction risk are few. Purely spatial metrics from landscape ecology are hard to interpret and do not address extinction directly. Spatially explicit metapopulation models link fragmentation to extinction risk, but standard models work only at small scales. Counterintuitively, these models predict that a species in a large, contiguous habitat will fare worse than one in 2 tiny patches. This occurs because although the species in the large, contiguous habitat has a low probability of extinction, recolonization cannot occur if there are no other patches to provide colonists for a rescue effect. For 4 ecologically comparable bird species of the North Central American highland forests, we devised metapopulation models with area‐weighted self‐colonization terms; this reflected repopulation of a patch from a remnant of individuals that survived an adverse event. Use of this term gives extra weight to a patch in its own rescue effect. Species assigned least risk status were comparable in long‐term extinction risk with those ranked as threatened. This finding suggests that fragmentation has had a substantial negative effect on them that is not accounted for in their Red List category.Estimación del Riesgo de Extinción Mediante Modelos Metapoblacionales de Fragmentación a Gran Escala
Women with metabolic syndrome present different autonomic modulation and blood pressure response to an acute resistance exercise session compared with women without metabolic syndrome
Authors: Tibana Ramires A. , Boullosa Daniel A. , Leicht Anthony S. , Prestes Jonato 
Published: April 2013

SummaryMetabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of risk factors in individuals with high risk of diabetes and heart disease. Resistance training (RT) has been proposed to be a safe, effective and worthwhile method for the prevention and treatment of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. However, no study has analysed the acute response of blood pressure (BP) and autonomic control of heart rate (HR) after a RT session in female patients with MetS. The aim of the present study was to analyse the response of laboratory assessed and ambulatory BP and cardiac autonomic modulation after a RT session in women with MetS. Nine women without MetS (35·0 ± 6·7 years) and 10 women with MetS (34·1 ± 9·4 years) completed one experimental exercise session and a control session. Laboratory BP, heart rate variability (HRV) and ambulatory BP of each subject were measured at rest, over 60 min, and for 24 h after the end of the sessions, respectively. There was a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP), night time diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and mean blood pressure (MBP) only for women with MetS, for all periods after the RT session when compared with the control session (P<0·05). Significantly lower laboratory values of SBP and DBP (10, 30 and 40 min postexercise) and MBP (10, 40 and 50 min postexercise) were observed in women with MetS (P<0·05). Patients with MetS exhibited significant lower basal HRV and a lower autonomic responsiveness during the 60 min of acute recovery. These results confirmed that an acute session of resistance exercise induced a lower BP during day time and sleeping hours in women with MetS that may offer a cardio‐protective effect. Women with MetS exhibited an impaired autonomic modulation at rest and a lower acute autonomic responsiveness to a RT session. The dissociation between BP and HRV responses suggests that other factors than autonomic control could be involved in the hypotensive effect of a RT session in MetS patients.