bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Isolation of stem/progenitor cells from normal lung tissue of adult humans
Authors: Tesei A.  , Zoli W.  , Arienti C.  , Storci G.  , Granato A. M.  , Pasquinelli G.  , Valente S.  , Orrico C.  , Rosetti M.  , Vannini I.  , Dubini A.  , Dell’Amore D.  , Amadori D.  , Bonafè M.  
Published: March 2009

AbstractObjectives:  This study aimed to isolate and characterize stem/progenitor cells, starting from normal airway epithelia, obtained from human adults.Materials and methods:  Cultures of multicellular spheroids were obtained from human lung tissue specimens after mechanical and enzymatic digestion. Tissue‐specific markers were detected on their cells by immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent techniques. Ultrastructural morphology of the spheroids (termed as bronchospheres) was evaluated by electron microscopy, gene expression analysis was performed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction, and gene down‐regulation was analysed by an RNA interference technique.Results:  Bronchospheres were found to be composed of cells with high expression of stem cell regulatory genes, which was not or was only weakly detectable in original tissues. Morphological analysis showed that bronchospheres were composed of mixed phenotype cells with type II alveolar and Clara cell features, highlighting their airway resident cell origin. In addition to displaying specific pulmonary and epithelial commitment, bronchospheres showed mesenchymal features. Silencing of the Slug gene, known to play a pivotal role in epithelial–mesenchymal transition processes and which was highly expressed in bronchospheres but not in original tissue, led bronchospheres to gain a differentiated bronchial/alveolar phenotype and to lose the stemness gene expression pattern.Conclusions:  Ours is the first study to describe ex vivo expansion of stem/progenitor cells resident in human lung epithelia, and our results suggest that the epithelial–mesenchymal transition process, still active in a subset of airway cells, may regulate transit of stem/progenitor cells towards epithelial differentiation.
Detecting ecological responses to flow variation using Bayesian hierarchical models
Authors: WEBB J. ANGUS , STEWARDSON MICHAEL J. , KOSTER WAYNE M. 
Published: March 2009

Summary1. Inferring effects of environmental flows is difficult with standard statistical approaches because flow‐delivery programs are characterised by weak experimental design, and monitoring programs often have insufficient replication to detect ecologically significant effects. Bayesian hierarchical approaches may be more suited to the task, as they are more flexible and allow data from multiple non‐replicate sampling units (e.g. rivers) to be combined, increasing inferential strength.2. We assessed the utility of Bayesian hierarchical models for detecting ecological effects of flow variation by conducting both hierarchical and non‐hierarchical analyses on two environmental endpoints. We analysed effects of discharge on salinity in the Wimmera and Glenelg rivers (Victoria, Australia) using a linear regression with autocorrelation terms, and on Australian smelt in the Thomson River (Victoria, Australia) using a multi‐level covariate model. These analyses test some of the hypotheses upon which environmental flow recommendations have been made for these rivers.3. Discharge was correlated with reduced salinity at six of 10 sites, but with increased salinity at two others. The results were very similar for hierarchical and non‐hierarchical models. For Australian smelt, the hierarchical model found some evidence that excess summer discharge reduces abundance in all river reaches, but the non‐hierarchical model was able to detect this response in only one reach.4. The results highlight the power and flexibility of Bayesian analysis. Neither of the models fitted would have been amenable to more widely used statistical approaches, and it is unlikely that we would have detected responses to flow variation in these data had we been using such techniques. Hierarchical models can greatly improve inferential strength in the data‐poor situations that are common in ecological monitoring, and will be able to be used to assess the effectiveness of environmental flow programs and maximise the benefits of large‐scale environmental flow monitoring programs.
Nesting ecology in the freshwater turtlePodocnemis unifilis: spatiotemporal patterns and inferred explanations
Authors: Escalona Tibisay , Valenzuela Nicole , Adams Dean C. 
Published: March 2009

SummaryHabitat selection has profound ecological and evolutionary consequences. For example, there may be strong selection for nest‐site choice such that oviparous females, lacking parental care, may adaptively manipulate their offspring survival or phenotype. Alternatively, nesting decisions may be a passive by‐product of other processes leading to similar nonrandom nesting patterns.Here we examined the nesting ecology of the turtlePodocnemis unifilisat multiple spatiotemporal scales to determine whether randomness, adaptive nest‐site selection or social facilitation best explained the observed population‐level patterns. We addressed these alternative strategies by exploring how environmental and geographic variation in nest sites influences embryonic survival within and across four nesting beaches in three years.We found nonrandom spatial and environmental patterns of nesting within beaches and years, consistent with both the adaptive nest‐site selection and social facilitation hypotheses. However, nesting patterns were unpredictable among beaches and among years. Furthermore, environmental conditions at nest sites and offspring survival were not associated, and nests from the most gregarious nesting night clustered more tightly geographically and suffered lower predation than nests laid on other nights.Together, our findings provide more extensive support for social facilitation as compared to the adaptive nest‐site selection hypothesis. Our results suggest that selection for female nest‐site choice in reptiles may be acting more strongly via offspring survival through nest clustering derived from conspecific cueing and less strongly via environmental cueing than previously anticipated.Our findings underscore the importance of examining multiple sites during multiple seasons. This approach permits testing critical predictions about the consistency of population‐level patterns across space and time that enable the distinction between models.Our results support a shift with regards to the trait that is usually considered the target of selection for female nest‐site choice in a way that exemplifies the classic dichotomy between selectionfor(survival of nests and perhaps of females) and selectionof(offspring phenotype, such as sex).
A slow life in hell or a fast life in heaven: demographic analyses of contrasting roe deer populations
Authors: Nilsen Erlend B. , Gaillard Jean‐Michel , Andersen Reidar , Odden John , Delorme Daniel , Van Laere Guy , Linnell John D. C. 
Published: March 2009

SummaryEnvironmental conditions shape population growth through their impact on demographic parameters. While knowledge has accumulated concerning the effects of population density and climatic conditions, a topical question now concerns how predation and harvest influence demographic parameters and population growth (λ).We performed a comparative demographic analysis based on projection matrix models for female roe deer. Population‐specific matrices were parameterized based on longitudinal data from five intensively monitored populations in Norway and France, spanning a large variability in environmental characteristics such as densities of large predators, hunter harvest and seasonality.As expected for a large iteroparous vertebrate, temporal variation was invariably higher in recruitment than in adult survival, and the elasticity of adult survival was consistently higher than that of recruitment. However, the relative difference in elasticity of λ to recruitment and adult survival varied strongly across populations, and was closely correlated with adult survival.Different traits accounted for most of the variance in λ in different ecological settings. Adult survival generally contributed more in populations with low mean adult survival and low mean growth rate during the study period. Hunters and predators (Eurasian lynx and red foxes) occurred in two of our study populations and contributed substantially to the variance in λ, accounting for a total of 35% and 70% in the two populations respectively.Across populations, we did not find any evidence that roe deer increased their reproductive output when faced with harsh conditions, resulting in some populations having negative growth rates.Generation time, a measure of the speed of the life‐history cycle, increased from less than 4 years in the most productive population (‘roe deer heaven’) to more than 6 years in declining populations facing predation from lynx, red fox and hunters (‘roe deer hell’), and was tightly and inversely correlated with λ. Such a deceleration of the life cycle in declining populations might be a general feature in large herbivores.Our results shows that the plethora of environmental conditions faced by populations of large herbivores also induce high intraspecific variation in their ranking along the ‘fast–slow’ continuum of life‐history tactics.
Auxin‐induced WUS expression is essential for embryonic stem cell renewal during somatic embryogenesis in Arabidopsis
Authors: Su Ying H. , Zhao Xiang Y. , Liu Yu B. , Zhang Chuan L. , O’Neill Sharman D. , Zhang Xian S. 
Published: March 2009

SummarySomatic embryogenesis requires auxin and establishment of the shoot apical meristem (SAM). WUSCHEL (WUS) is critical for stem cell fate determination in the SAM of higher plants. However, regulation of WUS expression by auxin during somatic embryogenesis is poorly understood. Here, we show that expression of several regulatory genes important in zygotic embryogenesis were up‐regulated during somatic embryogenesis of Arabidopsis. Interestingly, WUS expression was induced within the embryonic callus at a time when somatic embryos could not be identified morphologically or molecularly. CorrectWUS expression, regulated by a defined critical level of exogenous auxin, is essential for somatic embryo induction. Furthermore, it was found that auxin gradients were established in specific regions that could then give rise to somatic embryos. The establishment of auxin gradients was correlated with the induced WUS expression. Moreover, the auxin gradients appear to activate PIN1 polar localization within the embryonic callus. Polarized PIN1 is probably responsible for the observed polar auxin transport and auxin accumulation in the SAM and somatic embryo. Suppression of WUS and PIN1 indicated that both genes are necessary for embryo induction through their regulation of downstream gene expression. Our results reveal that establishment of auxin gradients and PIN1‐mediated polar auxin transport are essential for WUS induction and somatic embryogenesis. This study sheds new light on how auxin regulates stem cell formation during somatic embryogenesis.
Amino acid requirement studies in Oreochromis niloticus by application of principles of the diet dilution technique
Authors: Liebert F. 
Published: March 2009

SummaryData analysis utilized four growth experiments with mixed diets limiting in lysine, in threonine, and in methionine respectively. All male juvenile Orechromis niloticus [12 g average body weight instead of average (BW) at start, four repetition tanks per diet, 56 days experimental period] provided the database for application of an exponential N‐utilization model. Imposing amino acid efficiency data were utilized for modelling of amino acid requirements depending on the level of daily protein deposition. According to the observed average dietary amino acid efficiency of the amino acids under study, 16.3 g/kg of lysine, 8.3 g/kg of threonine and 7.3 g/kg of methionine were established as required in feed content for 187 mg daily protein deposition (50 g BW, feed intake at 3% of BW). Further modelling by use of graded dietary amino acid efficiency yielded strong evidence for the significance of this dietary factor of influence. Current data analysis has led to conclusion, that the applied non‐linear modelling of amino acid requirements is an advantageous approach because of its quantitative reflection of graded dietary amino acid efficiency corresponding to protein deposition data. The procedure has the potential to contribute to alternate approaches for improved reliability of recommended quantitative amino acid supply in fish nutrition.
Impact of dietary crude protein and amino acids status on performance and some excreta characteristics of broiler chicks during 10–28 days of age
Authors: Namroud N. F. , Shivazad M. , Zaghari M. 
Published: March 2009

SummaryA study was conducted in a completely randomised design to evaluate the effects of providing almost all important essential amino acids (EAA) in low‐crude protein (CP) diets equal to that of higher CP diets in broiler chickens. Also the effects of additional mixture of glycine (Gly) and glutamic acid (Glu) or supplementation of excess EAA to low‐CP diets on the live performance and excreta characteristics including pH, moisture, nitrogen, uric acid and ammonia concentration were measured to ascertain the optimum CP concentration for the maximum performance and reduced excreta ammonia concentration. Male, broiler chickens growing from 10 to 28 days of age were fed eight experimental diets. Reducing dietary CP below 19% negatively affected performance. Adding the Gly and Glu mixtures to 17% CP diets improved live performance. Reducing CP to 19% with a normal amino acids status declined N, ammonia, uric acid, moisture and pH of excreta significantly. These findings suggest that diminishing dietary CP from 23% to 19% while maintaining adequate EAA levels during 10–28 days of age results in not only a significant decline in N emission, but also a probable reduction in the NH3 volatilisation because of reduction in pH and moisture. Contrary to expectations, reduction of dietary CP below the minimum level (19%) resulted in more ammonia. All these factors may improve on litter and air quality within the housing facility and reduce the ventilation rate required to emit the elevated ammonia gas concentrations.
Role and significance of focal adhesion proteins in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Yam Judy Wai Ping , Tse Edith Yuk Ting , Ng Irene Oi‐Lin 
Published: March 2009

AbstractFocal adhesions are structural links between the extracellular matrix and actin cytoskeleton. They are important sites where dynamic alterations of proteins in the focal contacts are involved during cell movement. Focal adhesions are composed of diverse molecules, for instance, receptors, structural proteins, adaptors, GTPase, kinases and phosphatases. These molecules play critical roles in normal physiological events such as cellular adhesion, movement, cytoskeletal structure and intracellular signaling pathways. In cancers, aberrant expression and altered functions of focal adhesion proteins contribute to adverse tumor behavior. It is evident that these proteins do not function alone, but rather associate and work together in the process of tumor development and cancer metastasis. Focal adhesion proteins have been shown to play critical roles in hepatocellular carcinoma. Understanding the molecular interactions and mechanisms of the interconnected focal adhesion proteins is of particular importance in understanding mechanisms underlying hepatocellular carcinoma progression and development of potential effective treatment.
Cost‐effectiveness of routine and group programs for treatment of obese children
Authors: Kalavainen Marja , Karjalainen Senja , Martikainen Janne , Korppi Matti , Linnosmaa Ismo , Nuutinen Outi 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground: Cost‐effectiveness analyses facilitate the allocation of health care resources. The aim of the study was to compare the cost‐effectiveness of group treatment, already known to be more effective, with routine counseling in obese children.Method: A prospective 6‐month intervention assessed family‐based group treatment (15 separate sessions for parents and children) and routine counseling (two appointments for children). Children's weights and heights were measured at baseline, at the end of the intervention and at follow up 6 months later, and the changes in weight for height and body mass index standard deviations scores (BMI‐SDS) were calculated and used as main outcome measures. The mean costs and effects of the programs were analyzed to produce the incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio, which is an estimate of the additional costs per 1% decrease in weight for height or 0.1 decrease in BMI‐SDS. Cost‐effectiveness analysis was performed from the perspective of the service provider.Results: At the end of the intervention, group treatment costs were 1.4‐fold (non‐calculable 6 months later) when counted per 1% weight for height decrease, and 3.5‐fold (2.8‐fold 6 months later) when counted per 0.1 BMI‐SDS decrease. Incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio estimates were €53 when calculated for 1% weight for height decrease, and €266 (€275 6 months later) when calculated for 0.1 BMI‐SDS decrease.Conclusions: Family‐based group treatment is more costly compared with individual routine counseling. Salaries form most of the total costs.
Psychopathology in thalassemia major
Authors: Cakaloz Burcu , Cakaloz Inanc , Polat Aziz , Inan Murat , Oguzhanoglu Nalan Kalkan 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground:  Thalassemia major (TM) is a chronic disease with adverse emotional effects on both the child and the family. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychiatric state and behavioral problems of children with TM.Methods:  Twenty children diagnosed with TM and 34 healthy children were enrolled in this study carried out by the Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics. Mothers of the children of both the groups were handed a child behavior check‐list for 4–18‐year‐old children and adolescents as well as a short questionnaire requesting demographic information.Results:  The psychiatric diagnosis was significantly higher in the children with TM (55.0%) as compared to the control group (14.7%). The thalassemic children showed an anxiety disorder frequency of 30.0% and a depressive disorder frequency of 15.0%. T scores of the indicators of internalizing problems, externalizing problems, attention problems and social problems contained in the child behavior check‐list were shown to be higher in children with TM than in the control group. The TM group demonstrated significantly higher problems in peer relationships and educational success in comparison with the controls.Conclusion:  Children with TM are posed with an increased risk of psychopathology.
Psychogastroenterology: a call for psychological input in Australian gastroenterology clinics
Authors: Mikocka‐Walus A. , Turnbull D. , Andrews J. M. , Moulding N. , Wilson I. , Holtmann G. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractGastroenterologists should be able to refer patients directly to psychologists with full Medicare reimbursement. Psychological comorbidities are frequently seen in patients with gastrointestinal conditions. However, time pressure and lack of expertise in non‐medical therapies of psychological problems prevent gastroenterologists from initiating psychological treatment although such treatment may improve patients’ outcomes and reduce health‐care utilization. Psychologists are needed as part of the multidisciplinary team in gastroenterology clinics in Australia to take the leading role in the psychological management of those patients by contributing to screening, faster diagnosis and treatment of depression and anxiety disorders in particular.
Laparoscopic simultaneous bilateral partial and total adrenalectomy: a longer follow‐up
Authors: Liao Chun‐Hou , Chung Shiu‐Dong , Lai Ming‐Kuen , Yu Hong‐Jeng , Chueh Shih‐Chieh 
Published: March 2009

OBJECTIVETo examine the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic simultaneous bilateral adrenal surgery (LSBAS) and to compare the results between laparoscopic total adrenalectomy (TA) and partial adrenalectomy (PA).PATIENTS AND METHODSBetween 1999 and January 2008, 12 patients underwent LBAS in our institution, with TA used in four with Cushing’s disease refractory to pituitary surgery or radiation, in one with occult ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) Cushing’s syndrome, and one with bilateral adrenal macronodular hyperplasia. Six patients (five with primary aldosteronism and one with Cushing’s syndrome) had bilateral functioning tumours had bilateral PAs.RESULTSAll 12 operations were completed with no intraoperative complication, conversion, re‐operation or death. The mean (range) operative duration was 323 (180–560) min, and the mean estimated blood loss was 79 (20–200) mL. There was adrenal insufficiency after surgery in three patients. Patients who had a PA had significantly longer surgery than those treated with TA, with a mean (sd) of 390 (36) vs 255 (27) min.CONCLUSIONLSBAS is technically feasible; although surgery was longer than TA, bilateral PA in patients with bilateral functioning tumours mitigated the need for life‐long steroid replacement.
Association of tumour necrosis factor‐α gene (T‐1031C, C‐863A, and C‐857T) polymorphisms with bladder cancer susceptibility and outcome after bacille Calmette‐Guérin immunotherapy
Authors: Ahirwar Dinesh K. , Mandhani Anil , Dharaskar Anand , Kesarwani Pravin , Mittal Rama D. 
Published: March 2009

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association of tumour necrosis factor‐α gene (TNF‐α) polymorphisms T‐1031C, C‐863A, and C‐857T with bladder cancer risk and recurrence after bacille Calmette‐Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy, as TNF‐α regulates inflammatory process influencing bladder cancer susceptibility and outcome of BCG immunotherapy.PATIENTS AND METHODSIn all, 220 patients with bladder cancer and 206 controls were recruited. Genotyping was done using allele specific‐polymerase chain reaction.RESULTSA T‐1031C, CC genotype and haplotype −1031C/−863C/−857T showed enhanced susceptibility to bladder cancer, with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.23 and 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.17–4.26; and an OR of 6.05 and 95%CI of 2.46–14.90, respectively. A T‐1031C, CC genotype had a reduced risk of recurrence after BCG treatment (hazard ratio 0.38, 95%CI 0.14–0.98).CONCLUSIONThe present data suggests that T‐1031C (CC) genotype and C/C/T haplotype may confer risk for bladder cancer, moreover T‐1031C (CC) decreased the risk of recurrence after BCG immunotherapy.
Does Reputation Contribute to Reducing Organizational Errors? A Learning Approach
Authors: Rhee Mooweon 
Published: March 2009

abstractIn this study I examine the effect of a firm's reputation for product quality on its effort in learning to reduce its product defect rate. Theoretical ideas on the motivation of learning associated with social aspiration levels and the self‐serving bias combined with social categorization suggest that poor quality reputation firms are more likely than their counterparts with a good reputation to attend to potential product defects and consequently reduce their defect rate. However, a stream of research on the motivation of learning stemming from historical aspiration levels and slack search leads to a different argument: a reputation for good quality is more likely to provide firms with a motivation to avoid product defects. I build upon these two competing arguments and hypothesize that stronger motives for learning exist in situations where firms have either a weak or strong reputation for product quality. My study of product recalls in the US automotive industry highlights an inverted U‐shaped relationship, indicating the liability of an intermediate reputation in reducing product defects.