bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Natural variation of C‐repeat‐binding factor (CBFs) genes is a major cause of divergence in freezing tolerance among a group of Arabidopsis thaliana populations along the Yangtze River in China
Authors: Kang Juqing , Zhang Huiting , Sun Tianshu , Shi Yihao , Wang Jianqiao , Zhang Baocai , Wang Zhiheng , Zhou Yihua , Gu Hongya 
Published: May 2013

Summary

We used a monophyletic group of four natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana expanded from a single ancestor along the Yangtze River c. 90 000 yr ago to study the molecular mechanism of the divergence in their freezing tolerance, in order to gain an insight into the genetic basis of their local adaption to low temperatures.

Freezing tolerance assays, measurements of metabolites in the raffinose biosynthesis pathway and transactivation‐activity assays of variation in forms of cold‐responsive transcription factors were conducted on the four populations. Quantitative trait locus mapping was adopted with F2 populations of the most‐ and least freezing‐tolerant populations.

The degree of freezing tolerance among the four populations was negatively correlated with the lowest monthly average temperature of January in their native habitats, and positively correlated to the expression level of some cold‐regulated genes. We identified a major locus harboring three cold‐responsive transcription factor genes CBF1–3, and found a nucleotide insertion in CBF2 in all populations except SXcgx, which generated a dysfunctional CBF2 protein.

The CBF2 in SXcgx experienced a stronger natural selection in the cooler environment after CBF3 lost its response to low temperature, which possibly reflects a local adaptation of these populations during the expansion from a common ancestor.
Does The Necessity of Mathematical Truths Imply Their Apriority?
Authors: McEvoy Mark 
Published: May 2013

AbstractIt is sometimes argued that mathematical knowledge must be a priori, since mathematical truths are necessary, and experience tells us only what is true, not what must be true. This argument can be undermined either by showing that experience can yield knowledge of the necessity of some truths, or by arguing that mathematical theorems are contingent. Recent work by Albert Casullo and Timothy Williamson argues (or can be used to argue) the first of these lines; W. V. Quine and Hartry Field take the latter line. I defend a version of the argument against these, and other objections.
Successful outcome of severe Amanita phalloides poisoning in children
Authors: Grabhorn Enke , Nielsen Dirk , Hillebrand Georg , Brinkert Florian , Herden Uta , Fischer Lutz , Ganschow Rainer 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAmanita phalloides intoxication can lead to FHF with high mortality, especially in children. There is still ongoing discussion about the optimal treatment and decision criteria for emergency liver transplantation (LTx). Here, we summarize our experience with outcomes in five children. Five children with severe A. phalloides intoxication were treated at our tertiary center from 1995 to 2010 and studied retrospectively with respect to clinical and laboratory aspects that might help to decide between LTx or conservative therapy only. The findings are discussed with regard to recommended treatment and transplantation criteria for adults. All patients survived, of whom two of five received emergency LTx. Three patients survived with conservative treatment consisting of intravenous silibinin, NAC, detoxification measures, and intensive care. Indications for LTx in two children were progressive brain edema and cardiovascular failure. Children with FHF due to A. phalloides intoxication should be considered early for emergency LTx but should be monitored closely for the necessity of definite LTx. Early detoxification with active charcoal as well as silibinin and NAC seems to improve the outcome. Late recovery of liver function after day 4 post‐ingestion is possible.
Microtopography and the Properties of Residual Peat Are Convenient Indicators for Restoration Planning of Abandoned Extracted Peatlands
Authors: Triisberg Triin , Karofeld Edgar , Liira Jaan , Orru Mall , Ramst Rein , Paal Jaanus 
Published: May 2013

AbstractThe natural recovery of vegetation on abandoned peat extraction areas lasts for decades and the result of restoration succession can be unpredictable. The aim of the study was to specify environmental factors that affect the formation of the pioneer stages of mire communities and, therefore, be helpful in the prediction of the resulting ecosystem properties. We used the national inventory data from 64 milled peatlands in Estonia, distributed over the region of 300 × 200 km. This is the first national‐scale statistical evaluation of abandoned extracted peatlands. During surveys, vascular plants, bryophytes, and residual peat properties were recorded on three microtopographic forms: flats, ditch margins, and ditches. The microtopography was the main factor distinguishing the composition of plant communities on flats and ditches, while ditch margins resembled flats. The extracted indicator species suggested two successional pathways, toward fen or raised bog community. A single indicator trait—the depth of residual peat, which combines the information about peat properties (e.g.pH, ash content, and trophicity status), predicted the plant community succession in microtopographic habitats. We suggest that peatland management plans about the cost‐efficient restoration of abandoned peat mining areas should consider properties of residual peat layer as the baseline indicator: milled peatfields with thin (<2.3 m) and well‐decomposed residual peat should be restored toward fen vegetation types, whereas sites with thick (>2.3 m) and less decomposed residual peat layer should be restored toward transitional mires or raised bogs. Specific methodological suggestions are provided.
Fibroblast Growth Factor 23, Hepatocyte Growth Factor, Interleukin‐6, High‐Sensitivity C‐Reactive Protein and Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor. Inflammation Markers in Chronic Haemodialysis Patients?
Authors: Almroth G. , Lönn J. , Uhlin F. , Nayeri F. , Brudin L. , Andersson B. , Hahn‐Zoric M. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractSera from 84 haemodialysis (HD) patients and 68 healthy blood donors were analysed with commercially available ELISA techniques for fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF‐23), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), interleukin‐6 (Il‐6), high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP) and soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), to find a possible correlation of FGF‐23 and HGF with the earlier recognized inflammatory markers Il‐6 and hs‐CRP or suPAR. All patients studied had significantly elevated levels of FGF‐23, HGF, hs‐CRP and suPAR as compared to the controls. Il‐6 and hs‐CRP correlated for patients (R = 0.6) as well as for patients and controls altogether. Ln (natural logarithm) of HGF correlated weakly with Ln Il‐6 and Ln CRP (R 0.28–0.37). Ln FGF‐23 correlated only with Ln HGF (r = −0.25) in controls. Ln HGF correlated with ln suPAR (r = 0.6) in both patients and controls. Although elevated as compared to controls, we found no correlation of FGF‐23 with the recognized inflammatory markers Il‐6, hs‐CRP, nor HGF or the new marker suPAR in HD patients. Ln HGF correlated with Ln Il‐6, Ln CRP and Ln suPAR. Although probably involved in vessel disease, FGF‐23 and HGF may play other roles than acting in inflammatory vessel disease in HD patients. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the role of these immunological markers in chronic haemodialysis patients with atherosclerosis.
Testing for established viruses: from the screening to the confirmation
Authors: Laperche S. 
Published: May 2013

Enzyme Immunoassays (EIAs) detecting antibodies (Ab) or antigen (Ag) used to avoid viral transmissions by transfusion, are the most suitable methods for blood screening because they are economical and adaptable to high‐throughput testing. The continuing need to improve screening for HIV and HCV, led to develop Ag/Ab combination assays. The benefit of such assays has been widely demonstrated, since they are able to detect infected individuals in viremic pre‐seroconversion phase, making them particularly attractive for ensuring blood safety when nucleic acid testing (NAT) cannot be implemented.In resource‐limited countries, especially in remote‐areas, blood safety is often based upon rapid tests (RT) which are easy to handle and can be used with whole blood. Nevertheless, the poor sensitivity of RT compared to EIAs could significantly impair blood safety.Because NAT could efficiently detect serologically negative donors, many developed countries have implemented this method in blood screening. NAT yields vary depending on epidemiological situations. NAT is subjected to false‐negative results due to viral diversity or to extremely low viral loads, but also to false‐positive due to sample cross‐contamination. A repeatedly NAT reactive sample with multiplexed NAT is submitted to a virus‐specific amplification testing to discriminate between the viruses, creating some problematic situations consisting of samples reactive with the screening assay but non‐reactive with the discriminatory assay.Although the primary purpose of viral screening testing is to prevent pathogen transmission to recipients, confirmatory testing intends to manage donors with adverse test results and to guarantee an optimal blood supply. As EIAs show a low positive predictive value in low‐prevalence countries due to frequent non‐specific reactions, the use of confirmatory assays is justified. Nevertheless confirmatory tests are known to be less sensitive than EIAs in the early phase of infection and show also nonspecific reactivity leading to indeterminate results which create difficulties in managing donors.As in limited‐resource countries, specific confirmatory assay cannot be used, alternate strategies for confirmatory testing have been proposed, as to simultaneously test blood with two assays and to exclude donors reactive with both, or to use screening test signal values to support confirmation.Although the direct detection of the virus through its genome might be considered as the best solution to ensure blood safety, the choice of blood screening strategy should be adapted to local epidemiology and organization constraints.
Transfusion risk reduction: Testing for bacteria
Authors: McDonald C. P. 
Published: May 2013

Bacterial transmission by transfusion remains a significant problem in transfusion medicine and several Blood Services have introduced bacterial testing of platelet components. Platelet components present the greatest risk due to their storage at 18–22°C, which enhances the proliferation of most bacterial species. Platelet components were involved in 87% of bacterial fatalities in the USA between 2005 to 2009 and in 83% of bacterial transmissions in the UK between 1996 and 2011.The major challenge for testing is that (unlike viruses) bacteria may multiply in blood components. Key testing issues are when to test, what volume to test and which assay or assays to use?An ideal screening test needs to be rapid (2 h), sensitive (approximately 1 cfu/ml), specific, inexpensive and simple to use. No current tests fit these criteria. Culture assays are the most widely used for the detection of bacteria. BacT/ALERT™ is the most commonly used system world wide and can be regarded as the gold standard in this field. The sensitivity of culture is 1–10 cfu/ml and detection times are generally 18‐24 h.Rapid tests currently available include the Bacti‐Flow™ (sensitivity 102 cfu/ml) flow cytometric assay; the Verax (sensitivity 103–105 cfu/ml) and BacTx™ (sensitivity 103–104 cfu/ml) assays which detect bacterial cell wall antigens and the pH SAFE™ which detects pH change. In house molecular assays (sensitivity <50 cfu/ml) have been developed, but none are commercially available.Bacterial screen testing of blood components is a complex topic, but its implementation has undoubtedly increased the safety of the blood supply. In the USA, bacterial culture methods reduced the number of adverse bacterial transmissions by 50–75%, and in England no transmissions have been reported since implementation of routine culture in February 2011.
Blood donor profiling using donation patterns
Authors: Veldhuizen I. J. T. 
Published: May 2013

To have a better insight in the donor career, blood establishments need to have a reliable donor profiling system. Keeping track of the regularity of donating behaviour is crucial. Yet, different viewpoints exist on what is to be understood with the term regular donor. The article will present and compare two useful approaches of donor profiling.The first approach distinguishes different donor groups by using the total number of donations. This method uses the total number of donations to create donor groups. These donor groups are then studied in order to try to define factors that accurately describe differences between them. Up till now, the concrete number of donations that is used as a cut‐off value to create donor group varies widely among studies, as do the names allocated to describe the groups.The second approach uses donation frequency, thus donations made within a certain time frame, to allocate donors into different groups. Not only the number of donations is important, but donation frequency as well. Recently, a European wide project on blood donor management, called DOMAINE (Donor Management in Europe) has created a new set of donor types by using both the total number of donations but also the different donation patterns. The newly defined donor types are mutually exclusive and present donors in different stages of their donor career. The donor types range from first‐time, regular, returning, lapsing and inactive donor, to the last type, the stopped donor. This classification provides blood banks with relevant information on the current ‘activity’ status of their donors.A blood donor profiling system based on the number of blood donations has the clear advantage of getting a quick insight in the career of the donor. However, only focusing on the number of donations leaves out important information about the current activity status of the donor. By using both the total number of donations as well as donation patterns, a more clear‐cut classification of donor types is possible. In the short run, this may require a more time‐consuming and/or costly method of keeping track of donations, yet it has the advantage of keeping better track of donor activity and employability. It is a useful addition to donor profiling based solely on the total number of donations. Knowing the composition of the donor base and understanding accompanying donor behaviour allows for immediate directed retention, and if necessary, recruitment activities.
Complement: new therapies and emergence of the complotype
Authors: Paul Morgan B. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractComplement, an ancient and rather neglected part of the innate immune system, is undergoing a renaissance. Informed by basic discoveries on structure and function of complement proteins and fuelled by discovery of genetic links to diverse diseases, complement is rapidly emerging from the shadows. The recognition that aberrant complement activation is a drive to pathology in many degenerative and inflammatory disorders has driven the development of new drugs targeting the complement system that are proving effective in haemolytic, renal, rheumatological and neurological diseases. In this brief overview, I will attempt to give a flavour of the key current developments that are transforming the field and provide signposts to guide the interested reader to more detailed and scholarly reviews.
Whole blood as an alternative for component transfusion?
Authors: Thomas S. 
Published: May 2013

Blood services commonly separate whole blood (WB) into its components of red cells, platelets and plasma. This enables storage of the components under conditions that optimise their quality for as long as possible, and enables transfusion of only the required components to each recipient. However, there are certain situations where separation and storage of components is not possible, and some evidence that components may not be the best therapy for major trauma. Nevertheless, there are significant risks associated with WB transfusion such as transfusion transmitted infections, alloimmunisation to human leucocyte antigens (HLA), post‐transfusion purpura (PTP), and transfusion associated graft versus host disease (TA‐GvHD).The use of leucodepletion (LD) filters is relatively simple and has significant benefits such as reduced incidence of febrile transfusion reactions, reduced HLA immunisation, and reduced risk of TA‐GvHD and PTP. The LD process reliably reduces the transmission risk of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and of Human T‐cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV). There is also interest in the use of WB that has undergone a pathogen inactivation (PI) process, with storage either at refrigerated or ambient temperature. Initial studies suggest acceptable blood quality, killing of parasites, viruses and bacteria, and inactivation of any residual leucocytes. The transfusion of FWB in the developing world is a relatively common practice, as not all hospital or blood bank facilities can support component production, but there are arguments against the use of component therapy such as the delay in obtaining components, the cost (to the patient's family) of the treatment, and the wastage of the plasma.It is clear that the use of component therapy may not be the most appropriate practice for all healthcare systems and the ability to use safely WB, whether fresh or stored, may be of significant benefit. The associated risks may be mitigated to some extent by the use of established and novel techniques, such as LD and PI.
Characterization of blood donors with high haemoglobin concentration
Authors: Magnussen K. , Hasselbalch H. , Ullum H. , Bjerrum O. W. 
Published: May 2013

The literature contains little on the prevalence and causes of high predonation haemoglobin levels among blood donors. This study aimed to characterize and develop an algorithm to manage would‐be donors with polycythaemia. Between November 2009 and November 2011, we offered haematology consultations to blood donors with repeated haemoglobin concentration (Hb) above the WHO limit for polycythaemia vera (PV) (10.2 and 11.5 mm ⁄ 16.5 and 18.5 g/dl for women and men, respectively). Investigation of such donors included Hb, haematocrit, mean cell volume, erythropoietin, ferritin, platelet count and leucocyte count, JAK2 V617F and JAK2 exon12 analysis, as well as other routine measurements. Among 46 such donors, 39 had a history of smoking, which contributes to erythrocytosis. Two had PV, five had severe hypertension, one of them because of renal artery stenosis, and two had diabetes mellitus. Thus, we found a high morbidity among such donors. Of the 36 others, 30 donated again before May 2012, at which time the Hb was significantly lower. We recommend JAK2 V617F and JAK2 exon12 screening and clinical investigation for donors with concurrently high Hb, high haematocrit and iron deficiency. We also recommend that they stop or cut down on smoking to reduce the risk of thrombosis in general. We disqualified 10 of the donors.
Rozrolimupab, a mixture of recombinant human monoclonal anti‐D antibodies, for the treatment of primary immune thrombocytopenia – a review
Authors: Robak T. , Trelinski J. , Flensburg M. F. , Næsted H. , Petersen J. 
Published: May 2013

BackgroundIn patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) who are Rhesus (Rh) D positive and who have not undergone splenectomy, the platelet count can be supported by anti‐D Ig therapy. The response rate to plasma‐derived intravenous anti‐D at a dose of 50–75 μg/kg is 70–80% with an increase in platelet count after 24–72 h and duration for more than 21 days in 50% of responders. Rozrolimupab is a mixture of 25 fully human IgG1 recombinant monoclonal anti‐D antibodies produced in CHO cells using a single‐batch manufacturing strategy from a polyclonal cell bank.Materials & MethodsThe primary objective of the phase I/II study was to evaluate safety of a single dose in adult RhD‐positive non‐splenectomized patients with ITP. The secondary objectives were evaluations of the efficacy and appropriate dose for pivotal study. Patients were dosed with a single rozrolimupab dose ranging from 75 to 300 μg/kg, infused intravenously over 15–20 min.ResultsRozrolimupab was well tolerated with no unexpected toxicities. The most frequent adverse events were headache, pyrexia, chills and fatigue. Serious adverse events were observed in nine patients, mainly in cohorts treated with doses of 200 μg/kg and 250 μg/kg, but only considered related to rozrolimupab in four patients: decrease in Hb (one patient), extravascular haemolysis (one patient) and transient increase of D‐dimers (two patients). Hb decreased by ≥3.0 g/dl in six patients, but decrease by ≥5 g/dl was not observed. Seven patients required blood transfusions. Across all cohorts, 21 of 61 patients (34%) met the response criterion on day 7. The best response was noted in the 300 μg/kg dose cohort with response observed in eight of 13 patients (62%). Median time to response was 2 days and median duration of response was 14 days.DiscussionThe advantage of rozrolimupab over polyclonal anti‐D immunoglobulin is unlimited supply, high and reproducible specificity and activity, and an improved safety profile.ConclusionIn conclusion, our data suggest that rozrolimupab is safe, well tolerated and has efficacy similar to plasma‐derived anti‐D immunoglobulin in the treatment of primary ITP.
Appropriate clinical use of blood in Uganda
Authors: Kajja I. 
Published: May 2013

The Uganda Blood Transfusion Services, in line with the requirements for the minimum health care package of Uganda, has made tremendous strides in improving the adequacy and quality on blood supply to hospitals and health center that administer blood. This is mainly due to the extensive technical and financial support to the procurement and processing components of the transfusion chain. Unfortunately these efforts have not been reciprocated at the in‐hospital setting. This is characterized by underdeveloped administrative structures catering for blood transfusion like lack of a hospital transfusion policy which has lead to paucity of instructive procedures, monitoring and evaluation as well as defined persons responsible for in‐hospital transfusion quality assurance. Additionally, documentation of what is to be or what has been done is still under‐developed.As a way of improvement, a step‐by‐step quality improvement strategy should be developed. First, a small working group of clinicians, laboratory technicians and administrators should be created to design the policy and strategies (blood transfusion plan) for clinical use of blood. Second, start creating Hospital Transfusion Committees with appropriate terms of reference. These should be supported by the hospital high authority. Third, design simple education materials for the three major in‐hospital transfusion processes and identified procedures, with their respective standard operating procedures (SOPs) and related outcome documents like a Blood Request Form (ordering, component selection and administration). Disseminate these materials through continuous professional trainings for in‐service staff and curriculum reviews for medical and paramedical schools. Fifth, embark on updating the National Transfusion Policy to embrace and support the development of National clinical standards and guidelines. These steps will be achieved when the concept of quality assurance is formally and philosophically incorporated into the structure and functioning of Uganda's health systems, consistently implemented, and supported by a culture of quality, as reflected in organizational values and policies that advocate quality of care.