bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Patterns of abundance of fire ants and native ants in a native ecosystem
Authors: STUBLE KATHARINE L. , KIRKMAN L. KATHERINE , CARROLL C. RONALD 
Published: May 2009

Abstract 1. This correlational study examines the relationship between the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) and native ants in a longleaf pine savanna. Fire ants are frequently associated with a decline in native ants throughout the invaded range, but fire ant invasion is often coupled with habitat disturbance. Invasion of fire ants into the longleaf pine savanna provides an opportunity to examine the structure of the ant community in the absence of habitat disturbance.2. Pitfall trapping was conducted within the longleaf pine savanna as well as across a naturally occurring soil moisture gradient, in plots that had been artificially watered.3. Species richness did not vary as a function of fire ant density. There was an inverse relationship between native ant density and fire ant density, but this abundance pattern does not necessarily imply a causal link between fire ant invasion and native ant decline. For individual species, fire ant densities were negatively correlated with the densities of only two native ant species, including Solenopsis carolinensis, a native species that potentially limits the invasion of fire ants. Additionally, fire ants and native ants respond differently to soil moisture, with native ants favouring drier conditions than fire ants.4. The possible exclusion of fire ants by some native ants, as well as differences in habitat preferences, provide alternative explanations for the frequently observed negative correlation between fire ants and native ants.
Overnight emotional adaptation to negative stimuli is altered by REM sleep deprivation and is correlated with intervening dream emotions
Authors: LARA‐CARRASCO JESSICA , NIELSEN TORE A. , SOLOMONOVA ELIZAVETA , LEVRIER KATIA , POPOVA ANI 
Published: May 2009

SummaryRapid eye movement (REM) sleep and dreaming may be implicated in cross‐night adaptation to emotionally negative events. To evaluate the impact of REM sleep deprivation (REMD) and the presence of dream emotions on a possible emotional adaptation (EA) function, 35 healthy subjects randomly assigned to REMD (n = 17; mean age 26.4 ± 4.3 years) and control (n = 18; mean age 23.7 ± 4.4 years) groups underwent a partial REMD and control nights in the laboratory, respectively. In the evening preceding and morning following REMD, subjects rated neutral and negative pictures on scales of valence and arousal and EA scores were calculated. Subjects also rated dream emotions using the same scales and a 10‐item emotions list. REMD was relatively successful in decreasing REM% on the experimental night, although a mean split procedure was applied to better differentiate subjects high and low in REM%. High and low groups differed – but in a direction contrary to expectations. Subjects high in REMD% showed greater adaptation to negative pictures on arousal ratings than did those low in REMD% (P < 0.05), even after statistically controlling sleep efficiency and awakening times. Subjects above the median on EAvalence had less intense overall dream negativity (P < 0.005) and dream sadness (P < 0.004) than subjects below the median. A correlation between the emotional intensities of the morning dream and the morning picture ratings supports a possible emotional carry‐over effect. REM sleep may enhance morning reactivity to negative emotional stimuli. Further, REM sleep and dreaming may be implicated in different dimensions of cross‐night adaptation to negative emotions.
Arousal in obstructive sleep apnoea patients is associated with ECG RR and QT interval shortening and PR interval lengthening
Authors: SMITH JANET H. , BAUMERT MATHIAS , NALIVAIKO EUGENE , McEVOY RONALD DOUGLAS , CATCHESIDE PETER G. 
Published: May 2009

SummarySudden cardiac death appears to be more prevalent during the normal sleeping hours in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients compared with the general population as well as to cardiovascular disease patients. The reasons for this remain unclear, but there are three likely main contributors to nocturnal death in OSA patients; cardiac arrhythmias, stroke/ruptured cerebral aneurism and myocardial infarction. Particularly marked cardiovascular system activation with arousal may play a role in initiating sudden adverse cardiovascular events in OSA. The purpose of this study was to investigate cardiac RR, QT and PR interval changes in the electrocardiogram (ECG) associated with spontaneous and respiratory‐related arousals in OSA patients. A detailed observational study of ECG records obtained during conventional diagnostic sleep study with no further interventions was carried out in 20 patients (12 males, age 42.8 ± 2.1 years, body mass index 35.1 ± 1.9 kg m−2, and respiratory disturbance index 51.8 ± 6.4 events/hour). RR and QT intervals showed significant shortening during arousals. RR interval shortening was found to be greater during respiratory arousals when compared to spontaneous arousals. PR interval showed a trend toward a greater prolongation during respiratory arousal. QT interval shortening was weakly correlated with arterial oxygen saturation levels preceding arousal. In conclusion, these data suggest that despite greater cardiac acceleration following respiratory versus spontaneous arousals from sleep, QT shortening and PR prolongation responses are similar independent of arousal type. These data support that arousals produce quite marked and differential cardiac conduction system activation in OSA and that the degree and pattern of activation may be partly influenced by the presence and severity of preceding respiratory events.
Site‐specific weed control technologies
Authors: CHRISTENSEN S , SØGAARD H T , KUDSK P , NØRREMARK M , LUND I , NADIMI E S , JØRGENSEN R 
Published: May 2009

SummarySite‐specific weed control technologies are defined as machinery or equipment embedded with technologies that detect weeds growing in a crop and, taking into account predefined factors such as economics, take action to maximise the chances of successfully controlling them. In this study, we describe the basic parts of site‐specific weed control technologies, comprising weed sensing systems, weed management models and precision weed control implements. A review of state‐of‐the‐art technologies shows that several weed sensing systems and precision implements have been developed over the last two decades, although barriers prevent their breakthrough. Most important among these is the lack of a truly robust weed recognition method, owing to mutual shading among plants and limitations in the capacity of highly accurate spraying and weeding apparatus. Another barrier is the lack of knowledge about the economic and environmental potential for increasing the resolution of weed control. The integration of site‐specific information on weed distribution, weed species composition and density and the effect on crop yield, is decisive for successful site‐specific weed management.
Identification of the first Toll‐like receptor gene in passerine birds: TLR4 orthologue in zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
Authors: Vinkler M. , Bryjová A. , Albrecht T. , Bryja J. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractToll‐like receptors (TLRs) are the basic components of the vertebrate pathogen recognition system. Despite uniform general structure, remarkable variability in domain composition can be found in individual TLRs among species. Knowledge of interspecific differences is of particular importance to our understanding of selective pressures on TLRs. Currently, most TLRs are characterized only in a limited number of model species, including domestic chicken as a universal avian model. Here, we describe structure and expression pattern of TLR4 in zebra finch, a widely used passerine model species. The tgTlr4 gene consists of three exons (204, 167 and 3033–3043 bp) that are transcribed into messenger RNA with a relatively long 3′‐untranslated region (788 bp). Predicted protein is composed of 842 amino acids (aas) forming extracellular domain with nine leucine‐rich repeat (LRR) motives flanked at the carboxy‐terminal end by leucine‐rich repeat carboxy‐terminal domain, transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic toll/interleukin‐1 receptor domain. The overall structure is similar to other known TLR4 molecules with 32%–49% aa identity to various mammals and 74% to chicken. Although the position of most of the domains in zebra finch TLR4 resembles their position in chicken, there is one extra LRR at the aa position 207–229 in tgTLR4 and one LRR known in chTLR4 is missing. The gene is highly expressed in the bone marrow and in the spleen, intermediately in the gut and low expression was found in the liver and lungs. For the first time in birds, expression of tgTLR4 in peritoneal macrophages was found to be enhanced by the Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide treatment.
Histomorphology of the Proventriculus of three Species of Australian Passerines: Lichmera indistincta, Zosterops lateralis and Poephila guttata
Authors: Ogunkoya Y. O. , Cook R. D. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryHistomorphology of the proventriculi of nectarivorous, granivorous and omnivorous passerines was studied. The proventriculus consisted of mucosal, submucosal, muscularis and serosal layers. Proventricular wall was thickest in omnivore, thinnest in granivore and intermediate in nectarivore. The openings of mucosal glands had a single spiral‐like fold of mucosa in the omnivorous Silvereye, 2–3 spirals in the granivorous Zebra finch and 4–5 spirals in the nectarivorous Brown honeyeater. The mucosal glands were arranged in a uniform row in the wall of the organ and opened individually via a primary duct to the lumen of the proventriculus. The surface epithelial cells of the tunica mucosa contained secretory cells and the proventricular glands contained endocrine, neck and oxynticopeptic cells. The ultrastructural features of the oxynticopeptic cells changed from the oral to the aboral portion of the gland. In the oral region, the cytoplasm presented numerous, smaller (600–900 nm) homogenously dense zymogen secretory vesicles and larger (0.8–2.3 μm) pale floccular, tubular, mucin‐like secretory granules, few small mitochondria and RER while in the aboral portion of the gland, the cytoplasm presented numerous, large mitochondria with closely packed cristae, secondary lysosome and infolding of the basal and apical cell membrane. The tunica sub mucosa was thin with occasional large blood vessels. The tunica muscularis consisted of inner longitudinal, middle circular and outer longitudinal layers. The external tunica serosa contained large bundles of myelinated and unmyelinated axons that were possibly branches of the intestinal nerve. The structural adaptations of the proventriculi of these three species to their various diets are discussed.
Lectin Histochemical Aspects of Mucus Function in the Oesophagus of the Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus)
Authors: Meyer W. , Luz S. , Schnapper A. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryUsing lectin histochemistry, the study characterizes basic functional aspects of the mucus produced by the oesophageal epithelium of the Reticulated python (Python reticulatus). Reaction staining varied as related to the two epithelium types present, containing goblet cells and ciliary cells. Remarkable intensities were achieved especially in the luminal mucus layer and the fine mucus covering the epithelial ciliary border for Con A (α‐D‐Man; α‐D‐Glc) as part of neutral glycoproteins,Limax flavusagglutinin (NeuNac = NeuNgc), emphasizing that water binding hyaluronan provides a hydrated interface conductive to the passage of material and UEA‐I (α‐L‐Fuc), corroborating the view that fucose‐rich highly viscous mucus is helpful against mechanical stress during prey transport.
Rapid differentiation of Ophiostoma ulmi and Ophiostoma novo‐ulmi isolates by matrix‐assisted‐laser‐desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight/time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry
Authors: Huang C. , Jeng R. , Sain M. , Hubbes M. , Dumas M. T. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryThe intact yeast phase spores of Ophiostoma ulmi and O. novo‐ulmi isolates were analysed by matrix‐assisted‐laser‐desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight/time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. The results clearly showed that isolates of O. ulmi and O. novo‐ulmi have different mass peak profiles. The specific mass in m/z may vary slightly. One of the peaks from m/z 7623 to 7630 dominated (in high intensity) mass spectra for all isolates of O. novo‐ulmi tested in this study. This specific peak is believed to be CU (cerato‐ulmi) protein. However, no specific m/z peak can be found to distinguish between the isolates of ssp. novo‐ulmi and ssp. americana. On the contrary, all isolates of O. ulmi tested possessed one of a dominate peak at m/z 7337 to 7342, but none around m/z 7626 as shown in O. novo‐ulmi isolates.
Identification and distribution of Armillaria species associated with an oak decline event in the Arkansas Ozarks
Authors: Kelley M. B. , Fierke M. K. , Stephen F. M. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryForests in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas recently experienced a widespread oak decline event. Armillaria, a root rot fungus, has been associated with other oak decline events and may have been an important contributing factor to tree mortality in this event. Although Armillaria has been identified from the Ozark Mountains in Missouri, it has never been investigated in the Arkansas Ozarks. Molecular diagnostic techniques were used in this study to identify species of Armillaria present on roots removed from dead trees of two common oak species, northern red oak, Quercus rubra L., and white oak, Q. alba L., from three geographic areas and on three topographic positions – ridges, south‐ and west‐facing benches. Armillaria(A. mellea, A. gallica or A. tabescens) was identified from 31% of root samples taken from 102 trees in seven of nine sample plots. Armillaria mellea, occurred most often (20 samples, both oak species on seven plots) followed by A. gallica (10 samples, northern red oak only on four plots), and A. tabescens occurred twice (on northern red oak in a single plot). Thus, all three Armillaria species occurred on northern red oaks while A. mellea was the only species recovered from white oaks. Results varied by topographic position with samples from tree roots on ridges having the fewest positive identifications, one of 29. West‐facing benches had the highest positive samples with 20 of 41 testing positive and trees on south‐facing benches were intermediate with 11 of 32 samples from infected trees. This study documents the occurrence of three species of Armillaria in the Arkansas Ozarks and their association with oak mortality resulting from an oak decline event coupled with a red oak borer, Enaphalodes rufulus, outbreak. Further, it documents some potential variation in host/pathogen combinations and forest site conditions.
Screening for resistance in the primary and secondary gene pool of barley against the root‐lesion nematode Pratylenchus neglectus
Authors: Keil T. , Laubach E. , Sharma S. , Jung C. 
Published: May 2009

AbstractRoot‐lesion nematodes of the genus Pratylenchus are significant pests in crop cultivation throughout many parts of the world. A study was initiated to determine the resistance of Hordeum vulgare and H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum (wild barley) against one major representative of the genus Pratylenchus, P. neglectus. A glasshouse test was first established. Barley seedlings were grown in 20 cm3 tubes filled with sand. Each plant was inoculated with 400 P. neglectus juveniles. After 12 weeks of cultivation nematodes were isolated from roots and sand using a misting chamber. The nematodes were counted under a microscope. A representative collection of 565 barley and wild barley accessions was tested in this way. The average number of nematodes per accession ranged from 350 to 12 000. In a verification experiment, 35 accessions with low and high infection rates were tested. This experiment identified a number of accessions with low infection rates. The perspectives for future breeding of barley cultivars resistant to root‐lesion nematodes are discussed.
Oestrous Synchronization, Ovarian Superovulation and Intraspecific Transfers From a Closed Breeding Colony of Inbred SLA Miniature Pigs
Authors: Arlaud JJ , Baker L , Williams RL , French AJ 
Published: May 2009

ContentsThe inbred SLA miniature pig is a unique animal model developed for organ transplantation studies and pre‐clinical experimental purposes. Reported oestrous synchronization and superovulation treatments were examined in two SLA haplotypes (AA and DD) to allow collection of embryos for both practical embryo transfer and experimental technologies from a closed breeding colony. Pre‐puberal miniature pigs were poor responders to oestrous synchronization treatments, while post‐puberal sows were equivalent to commercial sows. Following superovulation, the ovulation number (corpora .hemorrhagica) was higher (p < 0.05) in the cycling sows when compared with non‐cycling sows. Ovulations were equivalent to commercial pre‐puberal gilts and non‐cycling sows (p > 0.05). No difference in ovulation number between haplotypes was observed, which differs from the previous report (DD>AA). Collection of zygotes for pronuclear injection was the highest in the non‐cycling post‐puberal miniature pig group (p < 0.05), although significantly lower when compared with the commercial pig treatment groups (p < 0.05). The incidence of cystic endometrial hyperplasia in our colony was equivalent to rates observed in commercial pigs. Pronuclear visualization following centrifugation was the highest in the non‐cycling miniature sow group and approximates to about 25% of ovulations and about half the rate observed in the commercial pigs (50%). Miniature pig embryos transferred between SLA haplotypes and transfer of DD embryos to commercial pigs resulted in live births at a higher efficiency than previously reported. This study demonstrates the feasibility of undertaking assisted reproductive technologies in a closed breeding colony of inbred SLA miniature pigs without compromise to the breeding programmes.
CHANGES IN microRNA (miR) PROFILE AND EFFECTS OF miR‐320 IN INSULIN‐RESISTANT 3T3‐L1 ADIPOCYTES
Authors: Ling Hong‐Yan , Ou He‐Sheng , Feng Shui‐Dong , Zhang Xiao‐Ying , Tuo Qin‐Hui , Chen Lin‐Xi , Zhu Bing‐Yang , Gao Zhi‐Ping , Tang Cao‐Ke , Yin Wei‐Dong , Zhang Liang , Liao Duan‐Fang 
Published: May 2009

SUMMARY

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play essential roles in many biological processes. It is known that aberrant miRNA expression contributes to some pathological conditions. However, it is not known whether miRNAs play any role in the development of insulin resistance in adipocytes, a key pathophysiological link between obesity and diabetes.
To investigate the function of miRNAs in the development of insulin resistance, using miRNA microarray analysis we compared miRNA expression profiles between normal insulin‐sensitive 3T3‐L1 adipocytes and 3T3‐L1 adipocytes rendered insulin resistant following treatment with high glucose (25 mmol/L) and high insulin (1 µmol/L). Furthermore, adipocytes were transfected with specific antisense oligonucleotides against miRNA‐320 (anti‐miR‐320 oligo) and the effects on the development of insulin resistance were evaluated.
We identified 50 upregulated and 29 downregulated miRNAs in insulin‐resistant (IR) adipocytes, including a 50‐fold increase in miRNA‐320 (miR‐320) expression. Using bioinformatic techniques, the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3‐K) was found to be a potential target of miR‐320. In experiments with anti‐miR‐320 oligo, insulin sensitivity was increased in IR adipocytes, as evidenced by increases in p85 expression, phosphorylation of Akt and the protein expression of the glucose transporter GLUT‐4, as well as insulin‐stimulated glucose uptake. These beneficial effects of anti‐miR‐320 oligo were observed only in IR adipocytes and not in normal adipocytes.
In conclusion, the miRNA profile changes in IR adipocytes compared with normal 3T3‐L1 adipocytes. Anti‐miR‐320 oligo was found to regulate insulin resistance in adipocytes by improving insulin–PI3‐K signalling pathways. The findings provide information regarding a potentially new therapeutic strategy to control insulin resistance.
Administration of midazolam in infancy does not affect learning and memory of adult mice
Authors: Xu Hua , Liu Zhi‐Qiang , Liu Yi , Zhang Wei‐Shi , Xu Bo , Xiong Yuan‐Chang , Deng Xiao‐Ming 
Published: May 2009

Summary

Midazolam is a common fast‐acting GABAA receptor agonist. Recent data suggest that exposure to midazolam in early life may cause long‐term effects on brain function through stable epigenetic reprogramming. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the administration of midazolam to infant mice would affect their learning and memory in adulthood.
An open‐field test was conducted before and then 3, 24, 48 and 72 h after administration of midazolam (50 mg/kg, i.p.) to infant mice. Saline control mice received an equal volume of saline i.p. 3 h before the open‐field test. Total movements, total movement time, total movement distance and velocity were analysed. Novel object recognition (NOR), Morris water‐maze and passive avoidance tests were performed when the treated mice grew to adulthood (105 days of age).
The results of open‐field test showed that midazolam significantly reduced locomotor activity (total movements, total movement time, total movement distance and velocity) in infant mice 3 and 24 h after drug administration and that these effects had disappeared by 72 h after drug administration. The results of the water‐maze, NOR and passive avoidance tests in adulthood (at 105 days of age) indicated that administration of midazolam in infancy had no long‐term effects on the learning and memory behaviours of adult mice compared with the saline control.
Acute midazolam administration to infant mice affected spontaneous locomotor activity for approximately 2 days, but did not seem to have any significant impact on cognitive functioning that lasted into adulthood.