bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Microbial 13C utilization patterns via stable isotope probing of phospholipid biomarkers in Mojave Desert soils exposed to ambient and elevated atmospheric CO2
Authors: JIN V. L. , EVANS R. D. 
Published: February 2010

AbstractChanges in plant inputs under changing atmospheric CO2 can be expected to alter the size and/or functional characteristics of soil microbial communities which can determine whether soils are a C sink or source. Stable isotope probing was used to trace autotrophically fixed 13C into phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) biomarkers in Mojave Desert soils planted with the desert shrub, Larrea tridentata. Seedlings were pulse‐labeled with 13CO2 under ambient and elevated CO2 in controlled environmental growth chambers. The label was chased into the soil by extracting soil PLFAs after labeling at Days 0, 2, 10, 24, and 49. Eighteen of 29 PLFAs identified showed 13C enrichment relative to nonlabeled control soils. Patterns of PLFA enrichment varied temporally and were similar for various PLFAs found within a microbial functional group. Enrichment of PLFA 13C generally occurred within the first 2 days in general and fungal biomarkers, followed by increasingly greater enrichment in bacterial biomarkers as the study progressed (Gram‐negative, Gram‐positive, actinobacteria). While treatment CO2 level did not affect total PLFA‐C concentrations, microbial functional group abundances and distribution responded to treatment CO2 level and these shifts persisted throughout the study. Specifically, ratios of bacterial‐to‐total PLFA‐C decreased and fungal‐to‐bacterial PLFA‐C increased under elevated CO2 compared with ambient conditions. Differences in the timing of 13C incorporation into lipid biomarkers coupled with changes in microbial functional groups indicate that microbial community characteristics in Mojave Desert soils have shifted in response to long‐term exposure to increased atmospheric CO2.
Are badgers ‘Under The Weather’? Direct and indirect impacts of climate variation on European badger (Meles meles) population dynamics
Authors: MACDONALD DAVID W. , NEWMAN CHRISTOPHER , BUESCHING CHRISTINA D. , NOUVELLET PIERRE 
Published: February 2010

AbstractWeather conditions, and how they in turn define and characterize regional climatic conditions, are a primary limit on global species diversity and distribution, and increasing variability in global and regional climates have significant implications for species and habitat conservation. A Capture–Mark–Recapture study revealed that badger (Meles meles) life history parameters interact in complicated ways with annual variability in the seasonality of temperature and rainfall, both in absolute and in phenological terms. A strong predictive relationship was observed between survival and both temperature and late‐summer rainfall. This link at the population dynamics level was related to individual body‐weight increases observed between summer and autumn. In addition, fecundity was correlated with spring rainfall and temperature. We investigated and confirmed that relationships were consistent with observed variation in the intensity of a parasitic infection. Finally, fecundity during any given year correlated with conditions in the preceding autumn. Badger survival also correlated with late winter weather conditions. This period is critical for badgers insofar as it coincides with their peak involvement in road traffic accidents (RTAs). RTA rate during this period was linked strongly to temperature, underlining the intricate ways in which a changing climate might interact with anthropogenic agents to influence species' population processes. Equinoctial conditions produced significant population driver effects. That is, while summers will always be relatively warm compared with winters, spring and autumn weather can be more variable and functionally delimit the ‘productive’ vs. nonproductive period of the year in terms of badger behavioural and physiological cycles. This study highlights how appropriately informed conservation strategies, mindful of trends in climatic conditions, will become ever‐more essential to ensure the survival of many species globally.
RET gene mutations are not involved in the origin of human testicular seminoma
Authors: Chevalier N. , Barlier A. , Roche C. , Mograbi B. , Camparo P. , Devouassoux‐Shisheboran M. , Michiels J.‐F , Nebout M. , Chevallier D. , Benahmed M. , Enjalbert A. , Fénichel P. 
Published: February 2010

SummaryTesticular germ cell cancers are the most common solid malignancies in young men, but their pathogenesis remains undetermined although some epidemiological data have implicated both environmental and genetic factors. Glial cell‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is secreted by Sertoli cells, and promotes germ stem cell proliferation by activating RET, a tyrosine kinase receptor. Over‐expression of GDNF in adult transgenic mice induces the development of testicular tumours that mimic human seminoma, the most frequent testicular germ cell tumour. Activating mutations of RET were previously reported in several types of cancer, including thyroid, pituitary, adrenal and melanoma cancer. Both mouse experimental model and clinical studies suggested that mutations or selective polymorphisms of RET might be associated with human seminoma. To verify this hypothesis, we conducted this study in a French University Hospital and carried out an association study using tissue samples from 66 paraffin‐embedded seminoma tumours. The most frequently mutated exons of the RET proto‐oncogene were sequenced to identify mutations or selective polymorphisms. No somatic mutations were identified. The polymorphic variants frequencies did not differ from those in a control Caucasian population. Human classical seminoma that occurs in young men does not appear to be linked with mutations or relevant polymorphisms of RET.
Relationship between cystic fibrosis respiratory tract bacterial communities and age, genotype, antibiotics and Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Klepac‐Ceraj Vanja , Lemon Katherine P. , Martin Thomas R. , Allgaier Martin , Kembel Steven W. , Knapp Alixandra A. , Lory Stephen , Brodie Eoin L. , Lynch Susan V. , Bohannan Brendan J. M. , Green Jessica L. , Maurer Brian A. , Kolter Roberto 
Published: February 2010

SummaryPolymicrobial bronchopulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) cause progressive lung damage and death. Although the arrival of Pseudomonas aeruginosa often heralds a more rapid rate of pulmonary decline, there is significant inter‐individual variation in the rate of decline, the causes of which remain poorly understood. By coupling culture‐independent methods with ecological analyses, we discovered correlations between bacterial community profiles and clinical disease markers in respiratory tracts of 45 children with CF. Bacterial community complexity was inversely correlated with patient age, presence of P. aeruginosa and antibiotic exposure, and was related to CF genotype. Strikingly, bacterial communities lacking P. aeruginosa were much more similar to each other than were those containing P. aeruginosa, regardless of antibiotic exposure. This suggests that community composition might be a better predictor of disease progression than the presence of P. aeruginosa alone and deserves further study.
You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For: Bonuses, Perceived Income and Effort
Authors: Schnedler Wendelin 
Published: February 2010

AbstractConsider a principal-agent relationship in which more effort by the agent raises the likelihood of success. This paper provides conditions such that no success bonus induces the agent to exert more effort and the optimal contract is independent of success. Moreover, success bonuses may even reduce effort and thus the probability of success. The reason is that bonuses increase the perceived income of the agent and can hence reduce his willingness to exert effort. This perceived income effect has to be weighed against the incentive effect of the bonus. The tradeoff is determined by the marginal effect of effort on the success probability in relation to this probability itself (success hazard-rate of effort). The paper also discusses practical implications of the finding.
Comorbidities amongst patients with multiple sclerosis: a population‐based controlled study
Authors: Kang J.‐H. , Chen Y.‐H. , Lin H.‐C. 
Published: February 2010

Background:  Data regarding the wide spectrum of comorbidity amongst patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are still scanty, especially in Asian populations. Our goal was to analyze comorbidity prevalences and risks amongst Chinese patients with MS, compared to matched controls.Methods:  In total, 898 patients with MS and 4490 randomly matched individuals without MS were extracted from the National Health Insurance Research Dataset in Taiwan. We selected 30 comorbid medical conditions for analysis. Conditional logistic regression analyses were used to examine the risks of comorbidity between the two groups.Results:  The regression analyses showed that patients with MS were more likely to have systemic lupus erythematosus (OR = 26.9, 95% CI = 10.3–70.3), depression (OR = 6.9, 95% CI = 5.3–8.9), peripheral vascular disorders (OR = 6.6, 95% CI = 4.0–11.0), deficiency anemias (OR = 4.9, 95% CI = 2.8–8.7), rheumatoid arthritis (OR = 4.8, 95% CI = 2.9–8.1) and fluid and electrolyte disorders (OR = 4.8, 95% CI = 2.8–8.3) than the matched controls.Conclusions:  Patients with MS had higher risk of multiple medical comorbidities compared to a matched control group in an ethnic Chinese population.
Hydrologic responses to earthquakes and a general metric
Authors: WANG CHI‐YUEN , MANGA MICHAEL 
Published: February 2010

Geofluids(2010)10, 206–216AbstractHydrologic responses to earthquakes, including liquefaction, changes in stream and spring discharge, changes in the properties of groundwater such as geochemistry, temperature and turbidity, changes in the water level in wells, and the eruption of mud volcanoes, have been documented for thousands of years. Except for some water‐level changes in the near field which can be explained by poroelastic responses to static stress changes, most hydrologic responses, both within and beyond the near field, can only be explained by the dynamic responses associated with seismic waves. For these responses, the seismic energy densityemay be used as a general metric to relate and compare the various hydrologic responses. We show that liquefaction, eruption of mud volcanoes and increases in streamflow are bounded bye ∼ 10−1 J m−3; temperature changes in hot springs are bounded bye ∼ 10−2 J m−3; most sustained groundwater changes are bounded bye ∼ 10−3 J m−3; geysers and triggered seismicity may respond to seismic energy density as small as 10−3and 10−4 J m−3, respectively. Comparing the threshold energy densities with published laboratory measurements, we show that undrained consolidation induced by dynamic stresses can explain liquefaction only in the near field, but not beyond the near field. We propose that in the intermediate field and far field, most responses are triggered by changes in permeability that in turn are a response to the cyclic deformation and oscillatory fluid flow. Published laboratory measurements confirm that changes in flow and time‐varying stresses can change permeability, inducing both increases and decreases. Field measurements in wells also indicate that permeability can be changed by earthquakes in the intermediate field and far field. Further work, in particular field monitoring and measurements, are needed to assess the generality of permeability changes in explaining far‐field hydrologic responses to earthquakes.
Stereotypic movement disorder: easily missed
Authors: FREEMAN ROGER D , SOLTANIFAR ATEFEH , BAER SUSAN 
Published: February 2010

Aim  To expand the understanding of stereotypic movement disorder (SMD) and its differentiation from tics and autistic stereotypies.Method  Forty‐two children (31 males, mean age 6y 3mo, SD 2y 8mo; 11 females, mean age 6y 7mo, SD 1y 9mo) consecutively diagnosed with SMD, without‐self‐injurious behavior, intellectual disability, sensory impairment, or an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), were assessed in a neuropsychiatry clinic. A list of probe questions on the nature of the stereotypy was administered to parents (and to children if developmentally ready). Questionnaires administered included the Stereotypy Severity Scale, Short Sensory Profile, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Repetitive Behavior Scale – Revised, and the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire. The stereotyped movement patterns were directly observed and in some cases further documented by video recordings made by parents. The probe questions were used again on follow‐up at a mean age of 10 years 7 months (SD 4y 4mo).Results  Mean age at onset was 17 months. Males exceeded females by 3:1. Family history of a pattern of SMD was reported in 13 and neuropsychiatric comorbidity in 30 (attention‐deficit–hyperactivity disorder in 16, tics in 18, and developmental coordination disorder in 16). Obsessive–compulsive disorder occurred in only two. The Short Sensory Profile correlated with comorbidity (p<0.001), the Stereotypy Severity Scale (p=0.009), and the Repetitive Behavior Scale (p<0.001); the last correlated with the Stereotypy Severity Scale (p=0.001). Children (but not their parents) liked their movements, which were usually associated with excitement or imaginative play. Mean length of follow‐up was 4 years 8 months (SD 2y 10mo). Of the 39 children followed for longer than 6 months, the behavior stopped or was gradually shaped so as to occur primarily privately in 25. Misdiagnosis was common: 26 were initially referred as tics, 10 as ASD, five as compulsions, and one as epilepsy. Co‐occurring facial grimacing in 15 children and vocalization in 22 contributed to diagnostic confusion.Interpretation  SMD occurs in children without ASD or intellectual disability. The generally favorable clinical course is largely due to a gradual increase in private expression of the movements. Severity of the stereotypy is associated with sensory differences and psychopathology. Differentiation of SMD from tics and ASD is important to avoid misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment.
Early prediction of cerebral palsy by computer‐based video analysis of general movements: a feasibility study
Authors: ADDE LARS , HELBOSTAD JORUNN L , JENSENIUS ALEXANDER R , TARALDSEN GUNNAR , GRUNEWALDT KRISTINE H , STØEN RAGNHILD 
Published: February 2010

Aim  The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of a computer‐based video analysis of the development of cerebral palsy (CP) in young infants.Method  A prospective study of general movements used recordings from 30 high‐risk infants (13 males, 17 females; mean gestational age 31wks, SD 6wks; range 23–42wks) between 10 and 15 weeks post term when fidgety movements should be present. Recordings were analysed using computer vision software. Movement variables, derived from differences between subsequent video frames, were used for quantitative analyses. CP status was reported at 5 years.Results  Thirteen infants developed CP (eight hemiparetic, four quadriparetic, one dyskinetic; seven ambulatory, three non‐ambulatory, and three unknown function), of whom one had fidgety movements. Variability of the centroid of motion had a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 71% in identifying CP. By combining this with variables reflecting the amount of motion, specificity increased to 88%. Nine out of 10 children with CP, and for whom information about functional level was available, were correctly predicted with regard to ambulatory and non‐ambulatory function.Interpretation  Prediction of CP can be provided by computer‐based video analysis in young infants. The method may serve as an objective and feasible tool for early prediction of CP in high‐risk infants.
Superior longitudinal fasciculus and cognitive dysfunction in adolescents born preterm and at term
Authors: FRYE RICHARD E , HASAN KHADER , MALMBERG BENJAMIN , DESOUZA LAURA , SWANK PAUL , SMITH KAREN , LANDRY SUSAN 
Published: February 2010

Aim  To understand the relationship between cognition and white‐matter structure in adolescents born preterm without obvious brain injury.Methods  Thirty‐two adolescents from a longitudinal study of child development were selected according to risk of developmental disorders at birth (born at term: eight males, five females; median age 16y 1mo, interquartile range 10mo; low risk preterm: four males, five females, median age 16y, range 4mo; high risk preterm: three males, seven females, median age 16y 2mo, range 1y 2mo) and reading ability (good: three males, eight females, median age 16y, range 7mo; average: six males, three females, median age 16y 10mo, range 1y; poor: six males, six females, median age 16y, range 6mo). Preterm birth was defined as a gestational age of 36 weeks or less and a birthweight of 1600g or less. All participants had normal clinical neuroimaging findings. We examined fractional anisotropy, radial diffusivity, and volume of three major white‐matter fasciculi. The relationship between structural measures and birth risk, hemisphere, and cognitive ability (attention, lexical and sublexical decoding, auditory phonological awareness, and processing speed) were analysed using mixed‐model regression.Results  Left‐hemisphere superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity were linked to reading‐related skills (fractional anisotropy vs letter–word identification, r(30)=−0.37, p<0.05; fractional anisotropy vs phoneme reversal, r(30)=−0.34, p=0.05; radial diffusivity vs letter–word identification, r(30)=0.31, p<0.10; radial diffusivity vs phoneme reversal, r(30)=0.40, p<0.05), whereas right‐hemisphere SLF fractional anisotropy was related to attention skills (fractional anisotropy vs inattentiveness, r(30)=−0.38, p<0.05). SLF volume decreased as these skills declined for adolescents born preterm (volume vs phoneme reversal, r(17)=0.58, p<0.01; volume vs inattentiveness, r(17)=−0.69, p<0.01), but not for those born at term.Interpretation  The relationship between cognitive skills and SLF volume suggests that in adolescents born preterm, cryptic white‐matter injury may exist, possibly related to oligodendrocyte or axonal loss, despite normal clinical neuroimaging.
Narrative skills following early confirmation of permanent childhood hearing impairment
Authors: WORSFOLD SARAH , MAHON MERLE , YUEN HO MING , KENNEDY COLIN 
Published: February 2010

Aim  The aim of this study was to compare spoken language production in children with permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) whose PCHI was confirmed either early or late.Method  Audio‐taped spoken narrative was assessed for syntax, phonology, morphology, and narrative in transcripts from a population‐based sample of 89 children (49 males, 40 females; age mean age 7y 7mo, SD1y 1mo, range 6y 6mo–10y 9mo) with bilateral PCHI (≥40dB hearing loss) and a comparison group of 63 children (37 males, 26 females; mean age 8y 1mo; SD 1y) with normal hearing. Of the 89 children with PCHI, 41 (21 males, 20 females) had their hearing impairment confirmed by the age of 9 months. All children with PCHI were tested with hearing aids in place, including 16 with cochlear implants. The group of children whose PCHI had been confirmed by age 9 months was compared with the group with later confirmation of PCHI using regression models on the outcome measures.Results  Compared with those with late‐confirmed PCHI, children with early‐confirmed PCHI used significantly more sentences (mean difference 2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49–5.24; p=0.019) and categories of high‐pitched morphological markers (mean difference 6.64; 95% CI 1.96–11.31; p=0.006). The number of categories of low‐pitched morphological markers, phonological simplifications, and sentences with multiple clauses did not differ between groups. The odds ratios (95% CI) of superior narrative structure and narrative content in children whose PCHI was confirmed early were 3.03 (1.09–8.46; p=0.034) and 4.43 (1.52–12.89; p=0.006) respectively.Interpretation  Early confirmation compared with late confirmation of PCHI was associated with benefit to narrative skills and to certain expressive aspects of syntax and morphology, but not expressive phonology.
The anti‐protozoal drug pentamidine blocks KIR2.x‐mediated inward rectifier current by entering the cytoplasmic pore region of the channel
Authors: De Boer TP , Nalos L , Stary A , Kok B , Houtman MJC , Antoons G , Van Veen TAB , Beekman JDM , De Groot BL , Opthof T , Rook MB , Vos MA , Van Der Heyden MAG 
Published: February 2010

Background and purpose: Pentamidine is a drug used in treatment of protozoal infections. Pentamidine treatment may cause sudden cardiac death by provoking cardiac arrhythmias associated with QTc prolongation and U‐wave alterations. This proarrhythmic effect was linked to inhibition of hERG trafficking, but not to acute block of ion channels contributing to the action potential. Because the U‐wave has been linked to the cardiac inward rectifier current (IK1), we examined the action and mechanism of pentamidine‐mediatedIK1block.Experimental approach: Patch clamp measurements ofIK1were made on cultured adult canine ventricular cardiomyocytes, KIR2.1‐HEK293 cells and KIR2.x inside‐out patches. Pentamidine binding to cytoplasmic amino acid residues of KIR2.1 channels was studied by molecular modelling.Key results: Pentamidine application (24 h) decreasedIK1in cultured canine cardiomyocytes and KIR2.1‐HEK293 cells under whole cell clamp conditions. Pentamidine inhibitedIK1in KIR2.1‐HEK293 cells 10 min after application. When applied to the cytoplasmic side under inside‐out patch clamp conditions, pentamidine block ofIK1was acute (IC50= 0.17 µM). Molecular modelling predicted pentamidine‐channel interactions in the cytoplasmic pore region of KIR2.1 at amino acids E224, D259 and E299. Mutation of these conserved residues to alanine reduced pentamidine block ofIK1. Block was independent of the presence of spermine. KIR2.2, and KIR2.3 basedIK1was also sensitive to pentamidine blockade.Conclusions and implications: Pentamidine inhibits cardiacIK1by interacting with three negatively charged amino acids in the cytoplasmic pore region. Our findings may provide new insights for development of specificIK1blocking compounds.