bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intestinal microbial profiles in extremely preterm infants with and without necrotizing enterocolitis
Authors: Normann Erik , Fahlén Annika , Engstrand Lars , Lilja Helene Engstrand 
Published: October 2012

AbstractAimNecrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) represents one of the gravest complications in premature infants. The suggested role of intestinal microbiota in the development of NEC needs to be elucidated.MethodsThis prospective single‐centre case–control study applied barcoded pyrosequencing to map the bacterial composition of faecal samples from extremely preterm infants. Ten patients were diagnosed with NEC and matched to healthy controls with regard to sex, gestational age and mode of delivery prior to analysis of the samples.ResultsEnterococcus, Bacillales and Enterobacteriaceae dominated the flora. Although not statistically significant, a high relative abundance of Bacillales and Enterobacteriaceae was detected at early time points in patients developing NEC, while healthy controls had a microbiota more dominated by Enterococcus. A low diversity of intestinal microbial flora was found without any differences between NEC patients and controls. In 16 healthy controls, Firmicutes (Enterococcus and Bacillales) dominated the faecal flora during the first weeks after birth and were then succeeded by Enterobacteriaceae.ConclusionNo significant differences in the composition of intestinal microbiota of patients developing NEC were detected; however, some findings need to be scrutinized in subsequent studies.
Exogenous Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Inhibits ER Stress–Induced Apoptosis and Improves Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Zhang Hong‐Yu , Zhang Xie , Wang Zhou‐Guang , Shi Hong‐Xue , Wu Fen‐Zan , Lin Bei‐Bei , Xu Xin‐Long , Wang Xiao‐Jie , Fu Xiao‐Bing , Li Zhao‐Yu , Shen Chen‐Jie , Li Xiao‐Kun , Xiao Jian 
Published: October 2012

SummaryAimTo investigate the mechanism of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress–induced apoptosis as well as the protective action of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) both in vivo and in vitro.Methods and ResultsER stress–induced apoptosis was involved in the injuries of spinal cord injury (SCI) model rat. bFGF administration improved the recovery and increased the survival of neurons in spinal cord lesions in model rat. The protective effect of bFGF is related to the inhibition of CHOP, GRP78 and caspase‐12, which are ER stress–induced apoptosis response proteins. bFGF administration also increased the survival of neurons and the expression of growth‐associated protein 43 (GAP43), which is related to neural regeneration. The protective effect of bFGF is related to the activation of downstream signals, PI3K/Akt/GSK‐3β and ERK1/2, especially in the ER stress cell model.ConclusionsThis is the first study to illustrate that the role of bFGF in SCI recovery is related to the inhibition of ER stress–induced cell death via the activation of downstream signals. Our work also suggested a new trend for bFGF drug development in central neural system injuries, which are involved in chronic ER stress–induced apoptosis.
Endoscopic mucosal resection vs endoscopic submucosal dissection for rectal carcinoid tumours: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Zhong D.‐D. , Shao L.‐M. , Cai J.‐T. 
Published: October 2012

AbstractAimEndoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) are used for the removal of rectal carcinoid tumours. There are no current guidelines or consensus on the optimal treatment strategy for these lesions. A systematic review was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of ESD and EMR.MethodThe generation of inclusion criteria and analysis of data were based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses recommendations. A systematic literature review was conducted using the following databases: Medline, Embase, SpringerLink, Elsevier ScienceDirect, Science Citation Index and the Cochrane Library. Only papers comparing treatment of rectal carcinoid tumours by EMR and by ESD were selected. The data collected included the patients' demographic information, interventions made, observed outcome and sources of bias.ResultsFour papers were included in this systematic review and meta‐analysis. ESD was more effective than EMR in complete resection (OR 0.29; 95% CI 0.14–0.58; P = 0.000). ESD was as safe as EMR [rate difference (RD) −0.01; 95% CI −0.07 to 0.05; P = 0.675]. Recurrence rates did not differ significantly between the EMR and ESD groups (RD 0.04; 95% CI −0.01 to 0.09; P = 0.150). The duration of ESD was longer than EMR (standardized mean difference −1.73; 95% CI −2.73 to −0.74; P = 0.001).ConclusionThe study indicates that ESD is the better treatment for rectal carcinoid tumours.
Molecular genetic analysis of 16 XP‐C patients from Germany: environmental factors predominately contribute to phenotype variations
Authors: Schäfer Annika , Hofmann Lars , Gratchev Alexei , Laspe Petra , Schubert Steffen , Schürer Anke , Ohlenbusch Andreas , Tzvetkov Mladen , Hallermann Christian , Reichrath Jörg , Schön Michael P. , Emmert Steffen 
Published: October 2012

AbstractPatients belonging to xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) complementation group C comprise one‐third of all XP patients. Only four major reports compiled larger groups of XP‐C patients from southern Europe (12 pts), North America (16 pts) and Africa (14 and 56 pts) as well as their genetic background (46 XPC mutations). We identified 16 XP‐C patients from Germany. Interestingly, only five patients exhibited severe sun sensitivity. The mean age of XP diagnosis was 9.4 years, and the median age of the first skin cancer was 7 years. Neurological symptoms were absent in all but two patients. Primary fibroblasts from all 16 patients showed reduced post‐UV cell survival (mean: 50% vs 93% in normal cells) and reduced reactivation of an UV‐treated luciferase reporter gene (mean: 6.4% vs 30.7% in normal cells). XPC mRNA expression was also greatly reduced compared with normal cells (mean: 14.3%; range 8.3–25.7%) except in XP47MA (274.1%). All patients carried homozygous XPC mutations. Four mutations have been described previously: c.1747_1748delTG (found in 4/16), c.567 C>T (4/16), c.1839 C>T (1/16) and a complex insertion/deletion mutation in exon 9 (1/16). The novel frameshift mutations c.446_447delAG (2/16), c.1525insA (1/16) and c.2271delC (1/16) lead to truncated XPC proteins as does the novel nonsense mutation c.843C>T (1/16). XP47MA carries an interesting mutation (c.2538_2540delATC; p.Ile812del) resulting in an in‐frame single amino acid deletion. This mutation results in a classical XP phenotype, a non‐functional XPC protein, but elevated XPC mRNA expression. Our study indicates that extrinsic factors may contribute to XP‐C symptom severity due to nonsense‐mediated message decay.
Non‐invasive assessment of tryptophan fluorescence and confocal microscopy provide information on skin barrier repair dynamics beyond TEWL
Authors: Bargo Paulo R. , Walston Steven T. , Chu Melissa , Seo Inseok , Kollias Nikiforos 
Published: October 2012

AbstractThe stratum corneum (SC) serves a primary function of skin barrier and understanding the kinetics of SC formation may provide great insight for skin diagnosis and evaluation of therapies. Besides trans‐epidermal water loss (TEWL), few methods have been characterized to assess skin barrier non‐invasively in vivo, particularly for dynamic measurements on the same specimen over time. The objective of this study was to characterize alternative non‐invasive methods to evaluate the dynamic processes involved in the recovery of normal human SC after total removal. TEWL, tryptophan fluorescence and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) were used to determine skin barrier function, cell turnover and epidermal morphology over a period of 10 days after total removal of the SC by tape stripping. The results show a biphasic recovery of TEWL over time, which contrasted with a linear increase of 2.3 μm/day in SC thickness. Tryptophan assessment of cell turnover also demonstrated a biphasic pattern attaining a maximum three to four times the levels of the control site 3 days after injury that slowly returned to baseline and displayed great correlation (R2 > 0.95) to viable epidermis thickness that also achieved a maximum about 3 days after injury with an approximate increase of 55%. When plotting the change of TEWL versus SC thickness, a single exponential function is observed [Δ‐TEWL = 55 exp (−0.157×)] which contrasts with other proposed models. These methods were able to present rates for SC recovery processes beyond skin barrier (TEWL) that may provide new insights on kinetics of barrier formation for evaluation of skin conditions and treatments.
Structural basis of peptide recognition by the angiotensin‐1 converting enzyme homologue AnCE from Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Akif Mohd , Masuyer Geoffrey , Bingham Richard J. , Sturrock Edward D. , Isaac R. Elwyn , Acharya K. Ravi 
Published: October 2012

Human somatic angiotensin‐1 converting enzyme (ACE) is a zinc‐dependent exopeptidase, that catalyses the conversion of the decapeptide angiotensin I to the octapeptide angiotensin II, by removing a C‐terminal dipeptide. It is the principal component of the renin‐angiotensin–aldosterone system that regulates blood pressure. Hence it is an important therapeutic target for the treatment of hypertension and cardiovascular disorders. Here, we report the structures of an ACE homologue from Drosophila melanogaster (AnCE; a proven structural model for the more complex human ACE) co‐crystallized with mammalian peptide substrates (bradykinin, Thr6–bradykinin, angiotensin I and a snake venom peptide inhibitor, bradykinin‐potentiating peptide‐b). The structures determined at 2‐Å resolution illustrate that both angiotensin II (the cleaved product of angiotensin I by AnCE) and bradykinin‐potentiating peptide‐b bind in an analogous fashion at the active site of AnCE, but also exhibit significant differences. In addition, the binding of Arg–Pro–Pro, the cleavage product of bradykinin and Thr6– bradykinin, provides additional detail of the general peptide binding in AnCE. Thus the new structures of AnCE complexes presented here improves our understanding of the binding of peptides and the mechanism by which peptides inhibit this family of enzymes.DatabaseThe atomic coordinates and structure factors for AnCE–Ang II (code 4AA1), AnCE–BPPb (code 4AA2), AnCE–BK (code 4ASQ) and AnCE–Thr6–BK (code 4ASR) complexes have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank, Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (http://www.rcsb.org/)Structured digital abstract• AnCE cleaves Ang I by enzymatic study (View interaction)• Bradykinin and AnCE bind by x-ray crystallography (View interaction)• BPP and AnCE bind by x-ray crystallography (View interaction)• AnCE cleaves Bradykinin by enzymatic study (View interaction)• Ang II and AnCE bind by x-ray crystallography (View interaction)
Plant functional traits mediate reproductive phenology and success in response to experimental warming and snow addition in Tibet
Authors: Dorji Tsechoe , Totland Ørjan , Moe Stein R. , Hopping Kelly A. , Pan Jianbin , Klein Julia A. 
Published: October 2012

AbstractGlobal climate change is predicted to have large impacts on the phenology and reproduction of alpine plants, which will have important implications for plant demography and community interactions, trophic dynamics, ecosystem energy balance, and human livelihoods. In this article we report results of a 3‐year, fully factorial experimental study exploring how warming, snow addition, and their combination affect reproductive phenology, effort, and success of four alpine plant species belonging to three different life forms in a semiarid, alpine meadow ecosystem on the central Tibetan Plateau. Our results indicate that warming and snow addition change reproductive phenology and success, but responses are not uniform across species. Moreover, traits associated with resource acquisition, such as rooting depth and life history (early vs. late flowering), mediate plant phenology, and reproductive responses to changing climatic conditions. Specifically, we found that warming delayed the reproductive phenology and decreased number of inflorescences of Kobresia pygmaea C. B. Clarke, a shallow‐rooted, early‐flowering plant, which may be mainly constrained by upper‐soil moisture availability. Because K. pygmaea is the dominant species in the alpine meadow ecosystem, these results may have important implications for ecosystem dynamics and for pastoralists and wildlife in the region.
The imprint of humans on landscape patterns and vegetation functioning in the dry subtropics
Authors: Baldi Germán , Verón Santiago R. , Jobbágy Esteban G. 
Published: October 2012

AbstractDry subtropical regions (DST), originally hosting woodlands and savannas, are subject to contrasting human pressures and land uses and different degrees of water limitation. We quantified how this variable context influences landscape pattern and vegetation functioning, by exploring the associations between three groups of variables describing (i) human pressures (population density, poverty, and market isolation) and climate (water availability), (ii) landscape pattern (woody cover, infrastructure, paddock size, etc.), and (iii) vegetation functioning (magnitude and stability of primary productivity), in regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and America. We collected data from global socioeconomic databases and remote sensing products for 4525 samples (representing uncultivated and cultivated conditions), located along 35 transects spanning semiarid to subhumid conditions. A Reciprocal Averaging ordination of uncultivated samples revealed a dominant gradient of declining woody cover accompanied by lower and less stable productivity. This gradient, likely capturing increasing vegetation degradation, had a negative relationship with poverty (characterized by infant mortality) and with market isolation (measured by travel time to large cities). With partial overlaps, regions displayed an increasing degradation ranking from Africa to South America, to Australia, to North America, and to Asia. A similar analysis of cultivated samples, showed a dominant gradient of increasing paddock size accompanied by decreasing primary productivity stability, which included all regions except Asia. This gradient was negatively associated with poverty and population density. A unique combination of small paddocks and high infrastructure differentiated Asian cultivated samples. While water availability gradients were related to productivity trends, they were unrelated to landscape pattern. Our comparative approach suggests that, in DST, human pressures have an overwhelming role driving landscape patterns and one shared with water availability shaping vegetation functioning.
Environmental context determines multi‐trophic effects of consumer species loss
Authors: O'Connor Nessa E. , Donohue IAN 
Published: October 2012

AbstractLoss of biodiversity and nutrient enrichment are two of the main human impacts on ecosystems globally, yet we understand very little about the interactive effects of multiple stressors on natural communities and how this relates to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Advancing our understanding requires the following: (1) incorporation of processes occurring within and among trophic levels in natural ecosystems and (2) tests of context‐dependency of species loss effects. We examined the effects of loss of a key predator and two groups of its prey on algal assemblages at both ambient and enriched nutrient conditions in a marine benthic system and tested for interactions between the loss of functional diversity and nutrient enrichment on ecosystem functioning. We found that enrichment interacted with food web structure to alter the effects of species loss in natural communities. At ambient conditions, the loss of primary consumers led to an increase in biomass of algae, whereas predator loss caused a reduction in algal biomass (i.e. a trophic cascade). However, contrary to expectations, we found that nutrient enrichment negated the cascading effect of predators on algae. Moreover, algal assemblage structure varied in distinct ways in response to mussel loss, grazer loss, predator loss and with nutrient enrichment, with compensatory shifts in algal abundance driven by variation in responses of different algal species to different environmental conditions and the presence of different consumers. We identified and characterized several context‐dependent mechanisms driving direct and indirect effects of consumers. Our findings highlight the need to consider environmental context when examining potential species redundancies in particular with regard to changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, non‐trophic interactions based on empirical evidence must be incorporated into food web‐based ecological models to improve understanding of community responses to global change.
The effects of cerebral white matter changes on cardiovascular responses to cognitive and physical activity in a stroke population
Authors: Williamson J. B. , Lewis G. F. , Nyenhuis D. L. , Stebbins G. T. , Murphy C. , Handelman M. , Harden E. , Heilman K. M. , Gorelick P. B. , Porges S. W. 
Published: October 2012

AbstractAutonomic nervous system (ANS) control may be disrupted by cerebrovascular disease. We investigated the relationship between alterations in white matter integrity and regulation of the ANS in 23 participants who sustained a stroke within 5 years. These participants underwent diffusion tensor imaging, and fractional anisotropy values were calculated (DTI‐FA) for each hemisphere and lobe. Cognitive and physical exertion tasks were performed while recording an electrocardiogram. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) decreased more during a verbal fluency task with lower left hemisphere DTI‐FA. Further, the physical stressor yielded decreases in RSA with lower frontal DTI‐FA and higher temporal lobe DTI‐FA, p < .05 (perhaps a release effect on the central autonomic network). Decrements in ANS regulation may have functional consequences that alter behavior, as well as potentially increasing the risk for further vascular disease.
Effects of Meloxicam and Phenylbutazone on Equine Gastric Mucosal Permeability
Authors: D'Arcy‐Moskwa E. , Noble G.K. , Weston L.A. , Boston R. , Raidal S.L. 
Published: October 2012

BackgroundNewerNSAIDs that more selectively target the induced isoform of the cyclooxygenase enzyme (COX2) activity might reduce adverse effects while preserving therapeutic benefits of these drugs.ObjectivesTo compare the effect of oral administration of multiple dose rates of meloxicam and phenylbutazone (PBZ) on gastric mucosal integrity in horses.AnimalsTwenty‐five light breed horses.MethodsIn vivo toxicity study. Horses were randomly assigned to 5 treatment groups, receiving placebo,PBZ(4.4 mg/kgPOq12h day 1, 2.2 mg/kgPOq12h for 4 days, 2.2 mg/kgPOq24h for 9 days), or 3 dose rates of meloxicam (0.6 mg/kg q24h, 1.8 mg/kg q24h, 3.0 mg/kg q24h) for 14 days. Sucrose permeability testing was performed on Day 0 (before treatment) and on Day 13. All personnel involved with data collection or analysis were blinded to treatment.ResultsAdministration ofPBZat the above dose rate significantly increased gastric permeability to sucrose, evidenced by increased peak serum sucrose concentrations (280–1,580 pg/μL,P = .001) after treatment. Similar changes were not evident after administration of meloxicam at any dose rate tested, or in control horses (P > .05). Treatment was not associated with significant differences in ulceration of the squamous or glandular mucosa. Peak sucrose concentrations were not correlated with serum total protein or albumin concentrations (R2 = −0.07,P = .61, R2 = −0.08,P = .58, respectively).Conclusion and Clinical ImportanceThese results suggest thatPBZwas associated with greater compromise to gastric mucosal integrity than meloxicam.
Suicide Attempts and Suicide among Marines: A Decade of Follow‐up
Authors: Gradus Jaimie L. , Shipherd Jillian C. , Suvak Michael K. , Giasson Hannah L. , Miller Matthew 
Published: October 2012

Suicidal behavior among military personnel is of paramount public health importance because of the increased risk of death from suicide in this population. Pre‐ and post‐Marine recruit training risk factors for suicide attempts among current and former Marines were examined in 10 years following recruit training. The characteristics of the subsample of current and former Marines who died by suicide during this time are also described. Stressful and traumatic life events (e.g., childhood physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, sexual harassment during recruit training) and pre‐recruit training suicide attempts emerged as having strong associations with post‐recruit training attempts. Half of those who died by suicide in the 10 years following recruit training endorsed at least one significant life stressor prior to joining the Marines. This study highlights the importance of screening for stressful and potentially traumatic experiences occurring both before and during military service as part of a comprehensive suicide risk assessment in military samples.
Emotional and behavioural outcomes later in childhood and adolescence for children with specific language impairments: meta‐analyses of controlled prospective studies
Authors: Yew Shaun Goh Kok , O’Kearney Richard 
Published: October 2012

Background:  Prospective evidence on psychological outcomes for children with specific language impairments (SLI) is accumulating. To date, there has been no attempt to summarise what this evidence says about the strength of link between SLI and later child and adolescent emotional and behavioural (EB) outcomes.Methods:  We undertook a systematic review and meta‐analysis (following PRISMA guidelines and involving a literature search to June 2012 of seven databases, including MEDLINE and PsychAPA) of prospective, cohort studies of children with SLI and typical language development (TLD) reporting on the incidence and severity of EB problems later in childhood or adolescence.Results:  Nineteen follow‐up reports of eight cohorts with 553 SLI children and 1533 TLD controls were identified. Initial assessment was at 3–8.8 years of age and follow‐up duration from 2 to 12 years. Pooled across comparable studies, SLI children were about two times more likely to show disorder levels of overall internalising problems, overall externalising and ADHD problems than TLD children. Compared with the average TLD child (50 percentile), at follow‐up, the symptom severity of the average SLI child was at the 72 percentile (95% CI 65–79 percentile) on internalising symptoms, the 69 percentile (95% CI 63–74 percentile) on externalising symptoms and the 60 percentile (95% CI 52–68 percentile) on AHDH severity. The findings about risk to specific mental disorders and the severity of specific problems were inconclusive.Conclusions:  Relative to typical children, SLI children experience clinically important increases in the severity of diverse emotional, behavioural and ADHD symptoms and more frequently show a clinical level of these problems. The small number of studies included in pooled analysis and methodological heterogeneity reduce the precision and generalisability of the findings. Most studies do not account for initial levels of EB problems.