bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Degrees of disruption: projected temperature increase has catastrophic consequences for reproduction in a tropical ectotherm
Authors: Zeh Jeanne A. , Bonilla Melvin M. , Su Eleanor J. , Padua Michael V. , Anderson Rachel V. , Kaur Dilpreet , Yang Dou‐shuan , Zeh David W. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractAlthough climate change models predict relatively modest increases in temperature in the tropics by the end of the century, recent analyses identify tropical ectotherms as the organisms most at risk from climate warming. Because metabolic rate in ectotherms increases exponentially with temperature, even a small rise in temperature poses a physiological threat to tropical ectotherms inhabiting an already hot environment. If correct, the metabolic theory of climate warming has profound implications for global biodiversity, since tropical insects and arachnids constitute the vast majority of animal species. Predicting how climate change will translate into fitness consequences for tropical arthropods requires an understanding of the effects of temperature increase on the entire life history of the species. Here, in a comprehensive case study of the fitness consequences of the projected temperature increase for the tropics, we conducted a split‐brood experiment on the neotropical pseudoscorpion, Cordylochernes scorpioides, in which 792 offspring from 33 females were randomly assigned at birth to control‐ and high‐temperature treatments for rearing through the adult stage. The diurnally varying, control treatment temperature was determined from long‐term, average daily temperature minima and maxima in the pseudoscorpion's native habitat. In the high temperature treatment, increasing temperature by the 3.5 °C predicted for the tropics significantly reduced survival and accelerated development at the cost of reduced adult size and a dramatic decrease in level of sexual dimorphism. The most striking effects, however, involved reproductive traits. Reared at high temperature, males produced 45% as many sperm as control males, and females failed to reproduce. Sequencing of the mitochondrial ND2 gene revealed two highly divergent haplogroups that differed substantially in developmental rate and survivorship but not in reproductive response to high temperature. Our findings suggest that reproduction may be the Achilles’ heel of tropical ectotherms, as climate warming subjects them to an increasingly adverse thermal environment.
Past, present and future of mountain species of the French Massif Central – the case of Soldanella alpina L. subsp. alpina (Primulaceae) and a review of other plant and animal studies
Authors: Kropf Matthias , Comes Hans Peter , Kadereit Joachim W. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractAim  Our goals were: (1) to investigate patterns of genetic variation in the French Massif Central (MC) of Soldanella alpina (Primulaceae), an alpine plant species that has only one known population in the region; (2) to analyse these patterns in order to deduce the Quaternary history of the population and to predict how current climatic warming may affect it; and (3) to review molecular analyses from the MC to evaluate the importance of the region for the conservation of genetic diversity.Location  Europe, with a special focus on the French Massif Central and adjacent regions.Methods  Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were analysed for 192 individuals (nine populations) of S. alpina (subsp. alpina) representing the MC, Pyrenees and south‐western Alps. Population genetic diversity was assessed by various parameters (e.g. HE, Shannon’s I). Neighbor‐Net and Bayesian approaches, and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) were used to infer population genetic relationships and structure.Results  Individuals generally clustered according to populations within mountain regions. Hierarchical AMOVA indicated significant variation among mountain ranges (33.2% of the total variance), but there was also strong differentiation between populations (26.3%). The single population of S. alpina from the MC was identified as a distinct lineage of high genetic diversity. Our literature survey indicated that taxa with low and with high genetic diversity exist in the MC, and that genetic relationships to surrounding regions are diverse.Main conclusions  The high genetic diversity and distinctiveness of S. alpina in the MC suggests the long‐term persistence of the single population in this region, which might have been favoured through elevational range shifts in response to past climatic change. This interpretation partly accords with other studies indicating that several plant and animal populations in the MC contain comparatively high genetic diversity, represent genetically independent lineages, and/or are likely descendants of populations that persisted in the MC throughout the Quaternary. These data underline the conservation importance of the MC as a key area for the long‐term persistence of species with often high levels of intraspecific genetic diversity.
Differences in clinical reasoning among nurses working in highly specialised paediatric care
Authors: Andersson Nina , Klang Birgitta , Petersson Gunilla 
Published: January 2012

Aims and objectives.  The aim of the study was to examine differences in clinical reasoning among novice, experienced and specialist paediatric nurses.Background.  Highly specialised paediatric care requires specific knowledge and ongoing skill performance of the nurses employed. There is a lack of research in how paediatric nurses manage the daily care problems they encounter and how they acquire the skills required to give patients the best possible care. More knowledge is needed about how paediatric nurses with different experience and education reason and communicate about paediatric patient situations.Design.  The study was based on six recorded group discussions of a fictitious, but realistic paediatric case. Three categories of nurses: novices (n = 7), experienced (n = 7) and specialists (n = 7) from a paediatric hospital participated. A qualitative content analysis approach was chosen to examine differences in clinical reasoning.Results.  Several themes were uncovered: child’s social situation, child abuse and the child’s illness, qualitative differences emerged in how the nurses discussed the case. Three approaches were identified: a task‐oriented approach (novices and experienced), an action‐oriented approach (novices and experienced) and hypothesis‐oriented approach (specialists) while discussing the case.Conclusion.  When comparing nurses in three competence groups, it was established that the groups with extensive experience and specialist education reasoned differently than the other groups. Between the novice and experienced groups, no obvious differences were found. Thus, the importance of experience alone for the development of competence is still an open question. Experience combined with further education appears important for developing professional competence in paediatric care.Relevance to clinical practice.  Nurses’ reasoning in clinical paediatric care is related to experience and training.
Retracted: The impact of nurse short message services and telephone follow‐ups on diabetic adherence: which one is more effective?
Authors: Zolfaghari Mitra , Mousavifar Seyedeh A , Pedram Shadan , Haghani Hamid 
Published: January 2012

Aim.  To compare the effectiveness of two methods of follow‐up: short message service and telephone follow‐up on type 2 diabetes adherence for three months.Background.  Using telemedicine approaches may preserve appropriate blood glucose levels and may improve adherence to diabetes control recommendations in diabetic patients.Design.  A quasi‐experimental, two‐group, pretest and post‐test design was used in this study to evaluate the effectiveness of nurse’s follow‐up via cellular phones and telephones.Methods.  The sample consisted of 77 patients with type 2 diabetes that randomly were assigned to two groups: telephone follow‐up (n = 39) and short message service (n = 38). Telephone interventions were applied by a researcher for three months; twice a week for the first month and every week for the second and third month. For three successive months, the short message service group that received messages about adherence to therapeutic regimen was examined. The data gathering instrument included data sheets – to record glycosylated haemoglobin – and the questionnaire related to adherence therapeutic regimen. Data gathering was carried out at the beginning of the study and after three and six months. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistic methods with SPSS version 11.5.Results.  Results showed that both interventions had significant mean changes in glycosylated haemoglobin. For the telephone group (p < 0·001), a mean change of −0·93 and for the short message service group (p < 0·001), a mean change of −1·01. There was no significant difference in diet adherence (p = 0·000), physical exercise (p = 0·000) and medication taking (p = 0·000) adherence in either groups.Conclusion.  Intervention using short message services of cellular phones and nurse‐led‐telephone follow‐up improved HbA1c levels and adherence to diabetes therapeutic regimen for three months in type 2 diabetic patients.Relevance to clinical practice.  Both of follow‐up intervention uses in this study can decrease HbA1c levels and escalate adherence to diabetes control recommendations in people with type 2 diabetes for three months.
Field tests of Poly(I:C) immunization with nervous necrosis virus (NNV) in sevenband grouper, Epinephelus septemfasciatus (Thunberg)
Authors: Oh M‐J , Takami I , Nishizawa T , Kim W‐S , Kim C‐S , Kim S‐R , Park M‐A 
Published: January 2012

AbstractIt was recently reported that Poly(I:C) immunization with live nervous necrosis virus (NNV) confers protection in sevenband grouper, Epinephelus septemfasciatus (Thunberg), from NNV infection. In the present study, we conducted field tests with sevenband grouper for the evaluation of Poly(I:C) immunization efficacy. In the first experiment, sevenband grouper were immunized with NNV followed by Poly(I:C) administration 7 weeks before natural occurrence of viral nervous necrosis (VNN). Survival rate of the naïve fish was 71.0%, whereas that of the immunized fish was 99.8%. In the second experiment, sevenband grouper were immunized 10 months before VNN occurrence and survival rate of the non‐treated and vaccinated fish was 79.5% and 97.5%, respectively. In the third experiment, we administered Poly(I:C) to sevenband grouper at 20 days after natural occurrence of VNN. The survival rate of the non‐treated fish was 9.8%, whereas that of fish administered Poly(I:C) was 93.7%. Based on these results, it was concluded that Poly(I:C) immunization conferred protection in fish against NNV infection in field tests and the protection lasted more than 10 months. Furthermore, even after occurrence of VNN, fish mortality could be reduced by Poly(I:C) administration and there was an unexpected curative effect on VNN‐affected fish.
Additional role of O‐acetylserine as a sulfur status‐independent regulator during plant growth
Authors: Hubberten Hans‐Michael , Klie Sebastian , Caldana Camila , Degenkolbe Thomas , Willmitzer Lothar , Hoefgen Rainer 
Published: January 2012

SummaryO‐acetylserine (OAS) is one of the most prominent metabolites whose levels are altered upon sulfur starvation. However, its putative role as a signaling molecule in higher plants is controversial. This paper provides further evidence that OAS is a signaling molecule, based on computational analysis of time‐series experiments and on studies of transgenic plants conditionally displaying increased OAS levels. Transcripts whose levels correlated with the transient and specific increase in OAS levels observed in leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana plants 5–10 min after transfer to darkness and with diurnal oscillation of the OAS content, showing a characteristic peak during the night, were identified. Induction of a serine‐O‐acetyltransferase gene (SERAT) in transgenic A. thaliana plants expressing the genes under the control of an inducible promoter resulted in a specific time‐dependent increase in OAS levels. Monitoring the transcriptome response at time points at which no changes in sulfur‐related metabolites except OAS were observed and correlating this with the light/dark transition and diurnal experiments resulted in identification of six genes whose expression was highly correlated with that of OAS (adenosine‐5′‐phosphosulfate reductase 3, sulfur‐deficiency‐induced 1, sulfur‐deficiency‐induced 2, low‐sulfur‐induced 1, serine hydroxymethyltransferase 7 and ChaC‐like protein). These data suggest that OAS displays a signalling function leading to changes in transcript levels of a specific gene set irrespective of the sulfur status of the plant. Additionally, a role for OAS in a specific part of the sulfate response can be deduced.
Population differentiation and restricted gene flow in Spanish crossbills: not isolation‐by‐distance but isolation‐by‐ecology
Authors: EDELAAR P. , ALONSO D. , LAGERVELD S. , SENAR J. C. , BJÖRKLUND M. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractDivergent selection stemming from environmental variation may induce local adaptation and ecological speciation whereas gene flow might have a homogenizing effect. Gene flow among populations using different environments can be reduced by geographical distance (isolation‐by‐distance) or by divergent selection stemming from resource use (isolation‐by‐ecology). We tested for and encountered phenotypic and genetic divergence among Spanish crossbills utilizing different species of co‐occurring pine trees as their food resource. Morphological, vocal and mtDNA divergence were not correlated with geographical distance, but they were correlated with differences in resource use. Resource diversity has now been found to repeatedly predict crossbill diversity. However, when resource use is not 100% differentiated, additional characters (morphological, vocal, genetic) must be used to uncover and validate hidden population structure. In general, this confirms that ecology drives adaptive divergence and limits neutral gene flow as the first steps towards ecological speciation, unprevented by a high potential for gene flow.
Size and asymmetry: are there costs to winning the royalty race?
Authors: MITCHELL R. E. , FROST C. L. , HUGHES W. O. H. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractBody size and morphology are key fitness‐determining traits that can vary genotypically. They are likely to be important in social insect queens, which mate in swarms and found colonies independently, but genetic influences on queen morphology have been little investigated. Here, we show that the body size and morphology of queens are influenced by their genotype in the leaf‐cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior, a species in which certain lineages (patrilines) bias their development towards reproductive queens rather than sterile workers. We found no relationship between the queen‐worker skew of patrilines and the size or morphology of queens, but there was a significant relationship with fluctuating asymmetry, which was greater in more queen‐biased patrilines. Our results suggest that queen‐biased patrilines do not incur a fitness cost in terms of body size, but may face more subtle costs in developmental stability. Such costs may constrain the evolution of royal cheating in social insects.
Reciprocal translocations in cattle: frequency estimation
Authors: De Lorenzi L. , Morando P. , Planas J. , Zannotti M. , Molteni L. , Parma P. 
Published: January 2012

SummaryChromosomal anomalies, like Robertsonian and reciprocal translocations, represent a big problem in cattle breeding as their presence induces, in the carrier subjects, a well‐documented fertility reduction. In cattle, reciprocal translocations (RCPs, a chromosome abnormality caused by an exchange of material between non‐homologous chromosomes) are considered rare as to date only 19 reciprocal translocations have been described. In cattle, it is common knowledge that the Robertsonian translocations represent the most common cytogenetic anomalies, and this is probably due to the existence of the endemic 1;29 Robertsonian translocation. However, these considerations are based on data obtained using techniques that are unable to identify all reciprocal translocations, and thus, their frequency is clearly underestimated. The purpose of this work is to provide a first realistic estimate of the impact of RCPs in the cattle population studied, trying to eliminate the factors that have caused an underestimation of their frequency so far. We performed this work using a mathematical as well as a simulation approach and, as biological data, we considered the cytogenetic results obtained in the last 15 years. The results obtained show that only 16% of reciprocal translocations can be detected using simple Giemsa techniques, and consequently, they could be present in no <0.14% of cattle subjects, a frequency five times higher than that shown by de novo Robertsonian translocations. This data is useful to open a debate about the need to introduce a more efficient method to identify RCP in cattle.
Sequence Variations in Equine Candidate Genes For XX and XY Inherited Disorders of Sexual Development
Authors: Pujar S , Meyers‐Wallen VN 
Published: January 2012

ContentsInherited disorders of sexual development (DSD) cause sterility and infertility in horses. Mutations causing such disorders have been identified in other mammals, but there is little information on the molecular causes in horses. While the equine genome sequence has made it possible to identify candidate genes, additional tools are needed to routinely screen them for causative mutations. In this study, we designed a screening panel of polymerase chain reaction primer pairs for 15 equine genes. These are the candidate genes for testicular or ovotesticular XX DSD and XY DSD, the latter of which includes gonadal dysgenesis, androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), persistent Mullerian duct syndrome and isolated cryptorchidism. Six horses with testicular or ovotesticular XX DSD and controls were screened. In addition, candidate genes for androgen insensitivity syndrome, persistent Mullerian duct syndrome and isolated cryptorchidism were screened in normal horses. While no sequence variants were uniquely associated with XX DSD, the 38 sequence variants identified can serve as intragenic markers in genome‐wide association studies or linkage studies to hasten mutation identification in equine XX DSD and XY DSD.
Experimental study of leflunomide on renal protective effect and on inflammatory response of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats
Authors: YU WEI‐MIN , WANG HUAN , REN XIAO‐JUN , LIU JUN‐PING , WANG JIAN‐YING 
Published: January 2012

ABSTRACTAim:  To further reveal the effects of leflunomide on renal protection and on inflammatory response using streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats.Methods:  Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control group (NC), diabetic group (DM) and leflunomide treatment group (LEF). LEF group rats were given leflunomide (5 mg/kg) once daily. At the end of the 12th week, general biochemical parameters in three groups were determined. The renal histopathology was observed by light microscopy and electron microscopy. Further biochemical analysis of the gene and protein expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB), tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1) and ED‐1 positive cells in renal tissue were provided using real‐time reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry.Results:  Compared with NC group rats, systolic blood pressure, blood glucose (BG), glycohemoglobin (HbAlc), renal hypertrophy index, urine albumin excretion rate (AER) and serum creatinine were increased in DM group rats (P < 0.05). Treatment with leflunomide can improve these parameters except systolic blood pressure, BG and HbAlc. Creatinine clearance rate (Ccr) in the DM group was significantly lower than that of the NC group, and leflunomide can increase its level. Compared with DM group rats, the pathological damages were significantly relieved in LEF group rats. Compared with NC group rats, the gene and protein expressions of NF‐κB, TNF‐α, MCP‐1 and ED‐1 positive cells in renal tissue of DM group rats were highly upregulated (P < 0.01). Leflunomide suppressed their high expressions in renal tissue of diabetic rats.Conclusions:  Leflunomide can ameliorate the kidney structure and function injury of diabetic rats through suppressing the expression of NF‐κB, TNF‐α, MCP‐1 and macrophage infiltration in renal tissue.
Development and validation of a prognostic index for 2‐year mortality in Chinese older residents living in nursing homes
Authors: Chan Tuen Ching , Shea Yat Fung , Luk Ka Hay , Chan Hon Wai , Chu Leung‐Wing 
Published: January 2012

Aim:  There is no mortality prediction index for Chinese nursing home older residents. The objective of this study was to derive and validate a 2‐year mortality prognostic index for them.Methods:  We carried out a prospective cohort study on 1120 older residents from 12 nursing homes of Hong Kong. We obtained potential predictors of mortality and carried out updated functional assessment. Each risk factor associated independently with 2‐year mortality in a derivation cohort was assigned a score based on the odds ratio, and risk scores were calculated for each participant by adding the points of risk factors present. Similar analysis was carried out on the validation cohort.Results:  Independent predictors of mortality included: aged 86–90 years (3 points); aged ≥91 years (4 points); Charlson comorbidity index ≥4 (6 points); Barthel Index 5–60 (5 points); Barthel Index 0 (10 points); number of hospitalizations in the preceding year (Adbefore) 1 (4 points); Adbefore 2 (5 points) and Adbefore ≥3 (6 points). In the derivation cohort, 2‐year mortality was 10.8% in the low‐risk group (≤4 points) and 59.9% in the high‐risk group (≥14 points). In the validation cohort, 2‐year mortality was 11.8% in the low‐risk group and 60.4% in the high‐risk group. The receiver–operator characteristic curve area was 0.761 for the derivation cohort and 0.742 for the validation cohort.Conclusions:  Our prognostic index had satisfactory discrimination and calibration in an independent sample of Chinese nursing home older residents. It can be used to identify older residents with a high risk for poor outcomes, who need a different level of care. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2012; 12: 555–562.