bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A tropical grass resource for pasture improvement and landscape management: Themeda triandra Forssk
Authors: Dell'Acqua M. , Gomarasca S. , Porro A. , Bocchi S. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThemeda triandra Forssk. is one of the most widespread grasses in the dry to mesic prairie ecosystems of Africa, Asia and Australia. It is of particular interest due to its high value as a forage species for wildlife and livestock, and its potential use in landscaping practices. In this review we have collated information from the many studies that have been devoted to this species since the 1960s to provide information about the species' distribution, taxonomy, morphology, ploidy and reproduction, and to describe its vegetation and germination and their relationship with the most important ecological aspects of its preferred habitats. Agronomic aspects are considered in detail, with particular focus on the role of T. triandra as a forage species and the relative importance of grazing, fire and rainfall regimes for its management. We also explore how this species can help with the rehabilitation of degraded areas, soil and water conservation, countering exotic species invasion and landscaping in general. We conclude with a brief discussion of the as yet unresolved taxonomic relationship between the African species T. triandra and the Australian species Themeda australis.
Transient elastography for monitoring the fibrosis of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease for 4 years
Authors: Suzuki Kaori , Yoneda Masato , Imajo Kento , Kirikoshi Hiroyuki , Nakajima Atsushi , Maeda Shin , Saito Satoru 
Published: December 2012

AimThere have been some reports on the use of paired biopsies for monitoring disease progression in non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. Recently, transient elastography has been developed as a non‐invasive method for predicting the severity of liver fibrosis. We investigated 4‐year disease progression in NAFLD patients by evaluating liver stiffness measurements (LSM) obtained using transient elastography.MethodsOf 97 biopsy‐proven NAFLD patients whose LSM were obtained 4 years prior, we revaluated 36 who were available for follow up and compared their current stage of fibrosis with that at initial assessment. Fibrosis stage was diagnosed according to the cut‐off values previously reported by our institution. We also investigated correlations between changes in LSM and changes in non‐invasive fibrosis markers obtained by performing biochemical tests and clinical data.ResultsA total of nine (25%) patients had fibrosis progression, 17 (47.2%) had static disease and 10 (27.8%) had fibrosis remission. Among patients with stage 0 fibrosis as per initial LSM (n = 16), 11 had static disease and five had fibrosis progression according to LSM obtained 4 years later. Changes in LSM correlated with changes in the FIB4 index (R = 0.519, P = 0.0011) and aspartate aminotransferase‐to‐platelet ratio index (R = 0.346, P = 0.0412), but not with changes in other non‐invasive markers.ConclusionTransient elastography is non‐invasive and easy to use; therefore, it can be a useful tool for monitoring the severity of hepatic fibrosis in NAFLD patients.
Establishing local priorities for a health research agenda
Authors: Whear Rebecca , Thompson‐Coon Jo , Boddy Kate , Papworth Helen , Frier Julie , Stein Ken 
Published: December 2012

AbstractAim/BackgroundTo describe the two‐stage prioritization process being used by the UK National Institute for Health Research's Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for the South‐West Peninsula (or PenCLAHRC) – a joint health service and university partnership and reflect on implications for the wider context of priority setting in health‐care research.MethodPenCLAHRC's process establishes the priorities of Stakeholders including service users across a regional health system for locally relevant health services research and implementation. Health research questions are collected from clinicians, academics and service users in Devon and Cornwall (UK) using a web‐based question formulation tool. There is a two‐stage prioritization process which uses explicit criteria and a wide Stakeholder group, including service users to identify important research questions relevant to the south‐west peninsula locality.ResultsTo date, a wide variety of health research topics have been prioritized by the PenCLAHRC Stakeholders. The research agenda reflects the interests of academics, clinicians and service users in the local area. Potential challenges to implementation of the process include time constraints, variable quality of questions (including the language of research) and initiating and maintaining engagement in the process. Shared prioritization of local health research needs can be achieved between Stakeholders from a wide range of perspectives.ConclusionsThe processes developed have been successful and, with minor changes, will continue to be used during subsequent rounds of prioritization. Engagement of Stakeholders in establishing a research agenda encourages the most relevant health questions to be asked and may improve implementation of research findings and take up by service users.
Multiple lines of evidence suggest mosaic polyploidy in the hybrid parthenogenetic stick insect lineageAcanthoxyla
Authors: Myers Shelley S. , Trewick Steven A. , Morgan‐Richards Mary 
Published: December 2012

AbstractAlthough hybridisation is common in animals, it rarely results in speciation. Yet, many examples of hybrid species have been documented in one animal group, the stick insects (Phasmida).TheNewZealand stick insectAcanthoxylais of particular interest as the entire genus is of hybrid origin and consists of eight morphological forms recognised as species, all of which are obligate parthenogens.Using five complementary techniques on the same individuals, our study confirms that both triploids and diploids are present inAcanthoxylapopulations, and further, that some individuals contain both diploid and triploid cells.Chromosome spreads and estimates of relativeDNAcontent from flow cytometry provided contrasting information about the ploidy of this unusual parthenogenetic genus.Analysis of morphometric variation showed no correlation with ploidy level inAcanthoxyla, and alsomtDNAsequence networks failed to distinguish morphospecies or ploidy level.Unexpectedly, cloned sequences of a putatively single‐copy nuclear marker were also unhelpful in distinguishing ploidy, instead indicating that phosphoglucose isomerase is likely to be a multiple copy gene.We propose a mechanism for the evolution of theAcanthoxylalineage and suggest that interpretation may be complicated by the presence of individuals that are diploid and triploid mosaics.
Potential role of proteomics in the diagnosis of lymphoma: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Hu Q.‐Y. , Su J. , Jiang H. , Wang L.‐L. , Jia Y.‐Q. 
Published: December 2012

SummarySurface‐enhanced laser desorption/ionisation time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (SELDI‐TOF‐MS) has been approved for identifying biomarkers and diagnosing many diseases such as lymphomas. It is arguable whether the SELDI technique has its value of diagnostic accuracy for lymphomas. The purpose of our study is to determine the diagnostic accuracy of SELDI‐TOF‐MS for diagnosing lymphomas. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Pub Med, EMBASE, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, the China Academic Journals Full‐text Database, and the Chinese Scientific Journals Database were searched systematically for potential studies. Reference lists of included studies and review articles were also reviewed. All studies that reported data on patients with a confirmed diagnosis of lymphomas and that compared the measurement of SELDI‐TOF‐MS with pathology standard were considered for inclusion. Eleven studies were included in the systematic review. The ranges of the diagnostic value of SELDI‐TOF‐MS for lymphoma were as follows: sensitivity (SEN) was 0.69–0.96; specificity (SPE) was 0.70–1.00; positive likelihood ratio (PLR) was 2.99–96.09; negative likelihood ratio (NLR) was 0.04–0.35; and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 18.13–1250.71, respectively. Further, we analysed serum samples as a subgroup, and the pooled endpoints were as follows: pooled SEN was 0.89 (0.85–0.91); pooled SPE was 0.91 (0.88–0.93); pooled PLR was 12.35 (5.36–28.44); pooled NLR was 0.13 (0.09–0.20); and pooled DOR was 101.04 (39.57–258.04), respectively. SELDI‐TOF‐MS showed high accuracy in identifying lymphoma and could be a useful screening tool for diagnosing lymphoma patients.
Active release of microcystins controlled by an endogenous rhythm in the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa
Authors: Cordeiro‐Araújo Micheline Kézia , Bittencourt‐Oliveira Maria do Carmo 
Published: December 2012

SummaryThe active release of microcystins in cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa (Kützing) Kützing, strain BCCUSP232 was confirmed. The microcystin release is controlled by an endogenous rhythm, pointing to a biosynthetic pattern of toxins in cyanobacteria. Proofing tests for this active release were carried out by experiments at two independent 24 h cycles, light : dark and continuous light (12:12 h) along the exponential growing phase. Cultivation samples at light, temperature and photoperiod controlled conditions were collected in 2‐h intervals. Microcystin concentrations from the pellet aliquots (intracellular microcystin per cell‐quota –IMC) and supernatant (extracellular microcystin per equivalent cell‐quota – EMC) were quantified with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The IMC concentrations showed increases and decreases in both cycles. Decreases of IMC clearly demonstrate that the toxin was actively released to the surrounding medium and not by cell lysis. The total microcystins concentrations (IMC and EMC) between the light : dark and continuous light cycles presented similar variations between the same hours.
The Long‐term Unemployed: A New Protected Class of Employee?
Authors: Hemphill Thomas A. , Lillevik Waheeda , Cullari Francine 
Published: December 2012

AbstractSince the onset of the latest United States (U.S.) recession (beginning in December 2007), the U.S. economy has been posting high unemployment levels consistently exceeding 8 percent. Of specific interest, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), reports on a specific subset of the U.S. unemployed: the long‐term unemployed, defined as those who are unemployed for 27 weeks and over. Since December 2009, the share of the long‐term unemployed of the total U.S. unemployed has exceeded 40 percent (through April 2012), the highest level since 1948 when data was first collected. A phenomenon of this recession is an alleged public bias by American private sector employers against hiring the long‐term unemployed, or even simply those unemployed. While the authors support the removal of discrimination against the unemployed in job advertisements, they cannot support the larger notion of including those who are unemployed as a protected class of employees. Becoming or being unemployed is a state that one can change, and based on the lack of research on how widespread this discrimination is (beyond anecdotal stories or limited research surveys), they believe that extending protection under equal employment opportunity legislation would be overreaching and inappropriate at this time.
Canonising the Shakespeare Apocrypha: Shakespeare, Middleton and Co‐Existent Canons
Authors: Kirwan Peter 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThe Shakespeare Apocrypha has persisted as a category for plays of dubious authorship since 1908. Despite recent calls for this group to be dissolved, it persists as the “other” of the Shakespeare canon. The definition of the plays as a collectively excluded canon leads to their relative obscurity in print and on stage. Yet recent calls for the adoption of different kinds of dramatic canon present a means of reintegrating canon and apocrypha. The new Middleton Collected Works offers a model for “co‐existent canons” which share plays and disperse the authority of fixed authorial canons, allowing the plays of the Shakespeare Apocrypha to be read and seen in new, productive contexts.
A Medieval French Book in an Early Modern English World: Christine de Pisan’s Livre de la Cité des Dames and Women Readers in the Age of Print
Authors: Long Mary Beth 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThe Boke of the Cyte of Ladyes is Bryan Anslay’s 1521 translation of Christine de Pisan’s Le Livre de la Cité des Dames. Its form as an English printed book had implications for its readership and reception: Christine’s emphases on rhetoric, reading, and scholarship dovetailed with the spread in England of more accessible books and education. Given the cultural context of the early sixteenth century – a time during which print was beginning to compete with manuscript, women were becoming an important segment of the market for books, and Protestant values were negotiating coexistence with Catholic culture – we can deduce that Anslay’s version of Christine’s text resonated more strongly with sixteenth‐century English readers than the original did with its fifteenth‐century French audience, gaining more sympathy for Christine’s goal of elevating the status of women.
Tracking the impact of Pliocene/Pleistocene sea level and climatic oscillations on the cladogenesis of the Cape legless skink, Acontias meleagris species complex, in South Africa
Authors: Engelbrecht Hanlie M. , van Niekerk Adriaan , Heideman Neil J.L. , Daniels Savel R. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractAimTo determine the geographical boundaries among cryptic lineages and examine the evolutionary drivers of cladogenesis within the Cape legless skink, Acontias meleagris species complex.LocationCoastal plains and adjacent interior of the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.MethodsA total of 231 specimens from 55 localities were collected from the entire known distribution range of the A. meleagris complex. Partial sequence data were collected from two mitochondrial DNA loci, 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), and one protein‐coding nuclear DNA locus, exophilin 5 (EXPH5). Phylogenetic, phylogeographical and population genetic analyses, together with divergence time estimation, were conducted on the DNA sequence data to examine evolutionary history and diversification within the species complex.ResultsMarked genetic structure was observed within the A. meleagris complex, and five clades were retrieved, most of which were statistically well supported. These five clades were also evident within the haplotypic analyses and were characterized by demographic stability. Cladogenesis was induced during the Pliocene/Pleistocene epochs, most likely as a result of oscillations in climate and sea level, and Neogene geomorphic phenomena. The Breede River Valley is an area of high genetic diversity and is likely to have served as a refugium.Main conclusionsLineage diversification and the current biogeographical patterning reflect the impact of sea level oscillations on historical coastal habitat availability. Fine‐scale differences between co‐distributed subterranean and supraterranean herpetofaunal taxa can be attributed to differences in life‐history traits amongst different habitat types. Historical evolutionary drivers within this subterranean species complex are inferred and discussed.
Phylogeographical patterns in the widespread arctic–alpine plant Bistorta vivipara (Polygonaceae) with emphasis on western North America
Authors: Marr Kendrick L. , Allen Geraldine A. , Hebda Richard J. , McCormick L. J. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractAimWe investigated genetic variation in Bistorta vivipara, a widespread Northern Hemisphere tundra species, to infer patterns of migration and where it may have survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).LocationSamples came primarily from western North America, with a few from the Arctic and Eurasia.MethodsWe sequenced two chloroplast DNA spacer regions, trnH–psbA and trnS–G, in individuals from 199 populations and mapped haplotype distributions and their relationships using a haplotype network. We calculated genetic and molecular diversity statistics for the seven geographical regions from which we obtained samples.ResultsFifteen haplotypes were detected, with very little divergence among them. The haplotypes are separated into two main groups by the presence or absence of a 22 bp tandem duplication. Four haplotypes are common, widespread and with substantial range overlap; 11 are rare and mostly unique to one region. Two rare haplotypes were found only in British Columbia (BC). Western North America and Asia have the highest levels of genetic and molecular diversity. Northern and southern BC have different haplotype complements.Main conclusionsBistorta vivipara has relatively low genetic diversity, with much less genetic structure than we expected for such a widespread species. We expected significant geographical structure due to the combined effects of genetic drift and geographical isolation. The asexual reproductive mode of B. vivipara may facilitate relatively rapid population establishment and spread compared with sexual reproduction by seed. Bistorta vivipara probably originated in Asia and spread to North America and Europe prior to the LGM. In western North America it spread to its modern distribution from Beringia and the western USA following the LGM. Populations in northern and southern BC may have different histories, possibly related to the timing and extent of glaciation. The occurrence of two unique haplotypes within BC suggests that some individuals may have survived in full glacial refugia within BC.
Annual Research Review: Positive adjustment to adversity – trajectories of minimal–impact resilience and emergent resilience
Authors: Bonanno George A. , Diminich Erica D. 
Published: December 2012

Background: Research on resilience in the aftermath of potentially traumatic life events (PTE) is still evolving. For decades, researchers have documented resilience in children exposed to corrosive early environments, such as poverty or chronic maltreatment. Relatively more recently, the study of resilience has migrated to the investigation of isolated PTE in adults.Methods: In this article, we first consider some of the key differences in the conceptualization of resilience following chronic adversity versus resilience following single‐incident traumas, and then describe some of the misunderstandings that have developed about these constructs. To organize our discussion, we introduce the terms emergent resilience and minimal‐impact resilience to represent trajectories of positive adjustment in these two domains, respectively.Results: We focused in particular on minimal‐impact resilience, and reviewed recent advances in statistical modeling of latent trajectories that have informed the most recent research on minimal‐impact resilience in both children and adults and the variables that predict it, including demographic variables, exposure, past and current stressors, resources, personality, positive emotion, coping and appraisal, and flexibility in coping and emotion regulation.Conclusions: The research on minimal‐impact resilience is nascent. Further research is warranted with implications for a multiple levels of analysis approach to elucidate the processes that may mitigate or modify the impact of a PTE at different developmental stages.
Green peach aphid [Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae)] control using Brassicaceae ethyl ester oil sprays
Authors: Hansson D. , Morra M. J. , Borek V. , Eigenbrode S. D. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractControl of green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), a globally important pest, using plant‐derived oils is a promising alternative to conventional insecticides. Although various plant‐derived oils are potentially useful for insect control, dose–response studies and efficacy comparisons among oils have not been widely reported. Our objective was to compare M. persicae control by plant‐derived oils, focusing on oils derived from Brassicaceae species that exhibit rotational and environmental quality benefits. We thus applied sprays of emulsified ethyl esters from the seed oils of yellow mustard (Sinapis alba), oriental mustard (Brassica juncea) and rapeseed (Brassica napus) to M. persicae in a laboratory bioassay. A dose–response relationship was modelled for the S. alba spray yielding LD50/LD95 values of 18.2 ± 0.87/128.1 ± 5.10 μg ester per cm2 (P < 0.0001). Ethyl esters of oils from all three species and soybean (Glycine max) ethyl ester were compared to determine the efficacy of Brassicaceae oils relative to the dominant plant‐oil spray currently available. All ethyl esters were equally efficacious despite measured differences in fatty acid profiles among the oils. Oils derived from mustards B. juncea and S. alba are potentially useful feedstocks for the production of insecticidal sprays, and testing on additional insects is warranted.
The influence of metastatic site on the expression of CEA and cellular localization of β‐catenin in colorectal cancer
Authors: Rao U Subrahmanyeswara , Hoerster Nicole S , Thirumala Seshadri , Rao Prema S 
Published: December 2012

AbstractBackground and AimThe usefulness of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) is unclear. The aim was to analyze changes in the expression of CEA during CRC progression and metastasis, so as to determine the influence of tumor metastatic organ on the CEA expression by CRC cells.MethodsThe human biopsies of adenocarcinomas in colon and CRC liver and lung metastases were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for the expression of CEA. Expression of E‐cadherin and β‐catenin was also analyzed to localize the CRC neoplastic glands in metastatic tissues.ResultsThe CRC neoplastic glands in colon and liver expressed significantly higher amount of CEA compared with crypts in normal colon. In contrast, CRC neoplastic glands formed in lung expressed low CEA level. However, CEA expression was high in areas of tumor necrosis in lung. E‐cadherin and β‐catenin were cell membrane‐bound in normal crypts and CRC neoplastic glands in colon and liver. Although these two proteins were also cell membrane‐bound in a majority of CRC neoplastic glands in lungs, a significant proportion of these expressed β‐catenin in the nucleus, which lacked either E‐cadherin or β‐catenin at the cell membrane.ConclusionOur findings indicate that lung microenvironment is unique in that it suppresses the expression of CEA by CRC cells forming neoplastic glands. In addition, lung microenvironment promotes nuclear localization of β‐catenin, suggesting that the Wnt signaling pathway is relatively active highly in CRC metastasized to lung, when compared with liver or colon.