bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ophthalmologic Complications in Children With Chronic Hepatitis C Treated With Pegylated Interferon
Authors: Narkewicz Michael R , Rosenthal Philip , Schwarz Kathleen B , Drack Arlene , Margolis Todd , Repka Michael X ,   PEDS‐C Study Group
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACTObjectives:Interferon treatment for chronic viral hepatitis C (HCV) has been associated with the development of retinopathy in 19% to 29% of adults. Our purpose is to describe the ophthalmologic complications of pegylated interferon‐α2a with either placebo or ribavirin in children with chronic HCV (the PEDS‐C trial).Materials and Methods:Prospective, comprehensive ophthalmologic examinations including slit lamp at enrollment and after 24 and 48 weeks of treatment of 114 children participating in a randomized clinical trial.Results:One hundred and twenty‐eight children were screened for entry, of whom 123 had an eye examination and no child had existing retinal disease. One hundred fourteen children were eligible and were treated. One hundred ten children had an eye examination at 24 weeks and 103 children at 48 weeks. Three of 114 subjects (2.6%) developed documented (n = 2) or possible (1) serious eye complications. One subject developed evidence of ischemic retinopathy (cotton‐wool spots) by week 24, 1 developed uveitis by week 48, and 1 reported at week 48 transient (<4 hours) monocular blindness that had occurred at week 36 with a subsequent normal examination at week 48.Conclusions:Ophthalmologic complications are infrequent in children who are treated with pegylated interferon‐α2a for HCV (2%–3%). Because of the potential severity of ischemic retinopathy and uveitis, prospective ocular assessment should remain part of the monitoring strategy for children who are treated with interferon for HCV.
Asymptomatic Colonization by Clostridium difficile in Infants: Implications for Disease in Later Life
Authors: Jangi Sushrut , Lamont J Thomas 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACTApproximately 60% to 70% of healthy newborns and infants are colonized by the enteric pathogen Clostridium difficile. For reasons that remain obscure, these colonized infants show no ill effects from the potent exotoxins released by this anaerobe, in contrast to older children and adults who are susceptible to severe diarrhea and colitis. The organism is acquired in infancy, as in adults, from environmental contamination in the nursery or home environment. Between 12 and 24 months C difficile is evicted as a commensal, presumably by the gradual development of the adult colonic microflora. The carrier state is well tolerated by infants, and the immunoglobulin G antitoxin response that develops during the carrier state appears to provide durable protection against subsequent C difficile disease.
Body Mass Index, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and Carotid Intima‐Media Thickness in a Pediatric Population in Southern Italy
Authors: Caserta Carmelo Antonio , Pendino Gaspare Maria , Alicante Saverio , Amante Angela , Amato Fulvia , Fiorillo Mariateresa , Messineo Arianna , Polito Irene , Surace Monica , Surace Pasquale , Vacalebre Carmelo , Zuin Massimo , Cotichini Rodolfo , Marcucci Fabrizio , Rosmini Francesco , Mele Alfonso ,   MAREA Study Group
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACTObjectives:Obesity and exposure to cardiovascular risk factors during adolescence may be associated with the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases later in life. The objective of the study was to investigate whether any excess body weight, including moderate overweight, is associated with a more severe cardiovascular risk profile and signs of early atherosclerosis in a pediatric population.Patients and Methods:A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 646 adolescents ages 11 to 13 years from several primary schools of Reggio Calabria, Italy. Body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, glucose, insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, total cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, and C‐reactive protein (CRP) were determined. All of the subjects underwent carotid ultrasonography for the measurement of intima‐media thickness. Complete clinical data were available from 575 subjects.Results:Overweight was similarly frequent in boys and girls (31.2% vs 31.0%), whereas prevalence of obesity was higher in boys (18.4% vs 10.1%). Subjects with lower levels of HDL and higher levels of triglycerides, insulin, and CRP plasma were observed more frequently among overweight and obese subjects than nonoverweight. At multivariate analysis, HDL cholesterol, insulin, and CRP were associated (P < 0.05) with overweight and obesity in girls, whereas in boys, insulin and CRP were associated (P < 0.05) with overweight and obesity, and LDL cholesterol with obesity. The association between overweight or obesity and increased intima‐media thickness, a sign of early atherosclerosis, was present in girls (P < 0.05) and was close to statistical significance in obese boys (P = 0.07).Conclusions:Overweight and obese adolescents have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and show signs of early atherosclerosis. In girls, in particular, overweight is sufficient to determine a more severe cardiovascular risk profile.
Aspects of anticoagulation in children
Authors: Payne Jeanette H. 
Published: May 2010

SummaryThe number of children receiving anticoagulation is increasing. Thromboembolic events are associated with significant risk of morbidity and mortality although the optimal management of asymptomatic events remains unclear. Specific challenges in paediatrics include the diagnosis of thrombosis, delivery and monitoring of anticoagulation in a wide range of ages from neonates through to adolescents. The development of the haemostatic system as children age results in changing pathophysiology of thrombosis and response to anticoagulation agents. Although registry and observational studies have provided vital information, specific paediatric, prospective anticoagulation studies have been few and limited in design. The result is that much of current practice is extrapolated from adult studies. Traditional anticoagulants have significant limitations. Both heparin and warfarin are in widespread use but many fundamental questions regarding dose, therapeutic range, efficacy and optimum duration have not been fully answered. Alternative agents, such as direct thrombin inhibitors and the selective anti‐factor Xa inhibitor fondaparinux, may have advantages for children. Clinical trials in adults and preliminary data in children are promising but caution should be applied until specific paediatric studies have demonstrated safety and efficacy.
Salvage therapy with nelarabine, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide in relapsed/refractory paediatric T‐cell lymphoblastic leukaemia and lymphoma
Authors: Commander Leah A. , Seif Alix E. , Insogna Iris G. , Rheingold Susan R. 
Published: May 2010

SummaryA combination of 5 d of nelarabine (AraG) with 5 d of etoposide (VP) and cyclophosphamide (CPM) and prophylactic intrathecal chemotherapy was used as salvage therapy in seven children with refractory or relapsed T‐cell leukaemia or lymphoma. The most common side effects attributable to the AraG included Grade 2 and 3 sensory and motor neuropathy and musculoskeletal pain. Haematological toxicity was greater for the combination than AraG alone, although median time to neutrophil and platelet recovery was consistent with other salvage therapies. All patients had some response to the combined therapy and five of the seven went into complete remission after one or two courses of AraG/VP/CPM. Our experience supports the safety of giving AraG as salvage therapy in synchrony with etoposide and cyclophosphamide, although neurological toxicity must be closely monitored.
PINCH‐2 expression in cancers involving serosal effusions using quantitative PCR
Authors: Yuan Y. , Dong H. P. , Nymoen D. A. , Nesland J. M. , Wu C. , Davidson B. 
Published: May 2010

Y. Yuan, H. P. Dong, D. A. Nymoen, J. M. Nesland, C. Wu and B. Davidson PINCH‐2 expression in cancers involving serosal effusions using quantitative PCRObjective:  The PINCH‐2 gene was previously shown to be overexpressed in malignant mesothelioma compared with ovarian/peritoneal serous carcinoma in Affymetrix array analysis. The objective of the present study was to validate this finding at the mRNA and protein level.Methods:  Effusions (n = 91; 71 ovarian and 10 breast carcinomas, 10 malignant mesotheliomas) were assayed for PINCH‐2 mRNA expression using quantitative PCR. PINCH‐2 protein expression was analysed in 37 effusions using flow cytometry.Results:  Quantitative PCR analysis showed significantly higher PINCH‐2 mRNA levels in mesotheliomas compared with carcinomas (P = 0.004). Values of <10 copies were found exclusively in carcinoma effusions (25.4% of ovarian and 50% of breast carcinomas). However, PINCH‐2 protein expression by flow cytometry did not differ significantly between the three cancer types. No association was observed between PINCH‐2 levels and patient survival or expression of previously‐studied molecules related to adhesion, metastasis and apoptosis inhibition in ovarian carcinoma.Conclusions:  Our data suggest that PINCH‐2 mRNA is overexpressed in malignant mesothelioma compared with carcinomas involving serosal cavities, and that low levels of this gene argue against the diagnosis of mesothelioma. The frequent PINCH‐2 protein expression in all three studied cancers suggests a role for this molecule in cancer cell biology in effusions and merits further research.
Impacts of drought and predicted effects of climate change on fish growth in temperate Australian lakes
Authors: MORRONGIELLO JOHN R. , CROOK DAVID A. , KING ALISON J. , RAMSEY DAVID S. L. , BROWN PAUL 
Published: May 2010

AbstractClimate change is expected to negatively impact many freshwater environments due to reductions in stream‐flow and increases in temperature. These conditions, however, can already be found today in areas experiencing significant drought; current observations of species' responses to droughts can be used to make predictions about their future responses to climate change. Using otolith analysis, we recreated golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) growth chronologies from two temperate lake populations in southeastern Australia over a 15‐year period pre‐ and during a supraseasonal drought. We related interannual growth variation to landscape‐scale changes in temperature and hydrological regimes: fish growth declined as water levels in the lakes dropped during the drought, but this effect was offset by increased growth in warmer years. We hypothesize that golden perch are responding to fluctuations in food availability and intraspecific competition related to water level and to an optimization of physiological growth conditions related to increases in growing season length. Based on our analyses, we made predictions of future growth under a number of climate change scenarios that incorporate forecast deviations in stream‐flows and air temperature. Despite climatic models predicting significant declines in future water availability, fish growth may increase due to a disproportionate lengthening of the growing season. As the two lakes are at the limit of the southerly range of golden perch, our results are consistent with previous findings of climate‐change driven latitudinal range shifts in a poleward direction. We discuss assumptions concerning the constancy of ecological interactions into the future that warrant further study. Our research provides a novel application of biochronological analysis that could be used elsewhere to further our knowledge of species responses to changing environments.
The reaction norm of size and age at maturity under multiple predator risk
Authors: Beckerman Andrew P. , Rodgers Gwendolene M. , Dennis Stuart R. 
Published: May 2010

Summary1. Two major theories underpin our understanding of how predation risk shapes life history. The first is centred around predator induced changes in activity that subsequently reduce food intake and thus growth. The second is centred around size selective, predator induced changes in development.2. Here, we challenge these theories using experiments and probabilistic models of maturation reaction norms to investigate predator induced life history in the water fleaDaphnia pulexfacing two different predators.3. We combine this reaction norm investigation with an assessment of growth rate, development rate, moult number and moult duration to uncover the mechanisms controlling predator induced life history plasticity whenD. pulexface either large or small size selective predators.4. The probabilistic reaction norms reveal predator specific norms of reaction in size and age along a food gradient. Fish cues reduce age and size, with a bias in age, and do so by reducing moult number and duration. Midge cues increase age and size, with a bias in size, and do so by fine scale modulation of early growth rates.5. These data contribute towards developing a unified view of how predation risk from multiple predators shapes life history evolution.
Linkages of plant traits to soil properties and the functioning of temperate grassland
Authors: Orwin Kate H. , Buckland Sarah M. , Johnson David , Turner Benjamin L. , Smart Simon , Oakley Simon , Bardgett Richard D. 
Published: May 2010

Summary 1. Global change is likely to alter plant community structure, with consequences for the structure and functioning of the below‐ground community and potential feedbacks to climate change. Understanding the mechanisms behind these plant–soil interactions and feedbacks to the Earth‐system is therefore crucial. One approach to understanding such mechanisms is to use plant traits as predictors of functioning. 2. We used a field‐based monoculture experiment involving nine grassland species that had been growing on the same base soil for 7 years to test whether leaf, litter and root traits associated with different plant growth strategies can be linked to an extensive range of soil properties relevant to carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Soil properties included the biomass and structure of the soil microbial community, soil nutrients, soil microclimate and soil process rates. 3. Plant species with a high relative growth rate (RGR) were associated with high leaf and litter quality (e.g. low toughness, high nitrogen concentrations), an elevated biomass of bacteria relative to fungi in soil, high rates of soil nitrogen mineralization and concentrations of extractable inorganic nitrogen, and to some extent higher available phosphorus pools. 4. In contrast to current theory, species with a high RGR and litter quality were associated with soils with a lower rate of soil respiration and slow decomposition rates. This indicates that predicting processes that influence carbon cycling from plant traits may be more complex than predicting processes that influence nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. 5. Root traits did not show strong relationships to RGR, leaf or litter traits, but were strongly correlated with several soil properties, particularly the biomass of bacteria relative to fungi in soil and measures relating to soil carbon cycling. 6. Synthesis. Our results indicate that plant species from a single habitat can result in significant divergence in soil properties and functioning when grown in monoculture, and that many of these changes are strongly and predictably linked to variation in plant traits associated with different growth strategies. Traits therefore have the potential to be a powerful tool for understanding the mechanisms behind plant–soil interactions and ecosystem functioning, and for predicting how changes in plant species composition associated with global change will feedback to the Earth‐system.
Experimental investigation of the importance of litterfall in lowland semi‐evergreen tropical forest nutrient cycling
Authors: Sayer Emma J. , Tanner Edmund V. J. 
Published: May 2010

Summary 1. The cycling of nutrients in litterfall is considered a key mechanism in the maintenance of tropical forest fertility but its importance has rarely been quantified experimentally. 2. We carried out a long‐term (5 years), large‐scale litter manipulation experiment in lowland semi‐evergreen tropical forest to determine how changes in litterfall affect forest nutrient cycling. We hypothesized that: (i) long‐term litter removal would decrease the forest’s nutrient supply; (ii) litter addition would increase the forest’s nutrient supply; (iii) soil and foliar nutrient concentrations would change in response to litter manipulation and would eventually affect above‐ground productivity. 3. To test our hypotheses, we measured trunk growth, litterfall, and nutrient concentrations in live leaves, litter and soil in plots where litter was removed once a month (L−), litter was added once a month (L+) and controls (CT). 4. After 5 years, the concentration of nitrate in the soil and soil stocks of inorganic nitrogen were higher in the L+ plots and lower in the L− plots compared to the controls. Ammonium concentrations in the soil were also lower in the L− plots. Nitrogen in leaves and litter and the annual nitrogen return by litter were higher in the L+ plots, while potassium return was lower in the L− plots. Surprisingly, our treatments had little effect on phosphorus in soil, leaves or litter, even though lowland tropical forests are generally thought to be largely phosphorus limited. 5. Trunk growth of large trees was not affected by litter manipulation but rainy season litterfall from 2003 to 2008 was 13% higher in the L+ plots compared to the controls. 6. Synthesis. Litter removal affected forest nutrient cycling and productivity less than expected, probably because the soil at our site is moderately fertile. However, litter addition increased litterfall indicating that some limitation of forest production was removed by litter addition. We expected strong effects of litter manipulation on phosphorus cycling; instead, we found a stronger effect on nitrogen cycling. Our results suggest that litter is an important source of nutrients, in particular nitrogen, to trees in this lowland semi‐evergreen tropical forest.
Localization and induction of the A2 virulence factor in Leishmania: evidence that A2 is a stress response protein
Authors: McCall Laura‐Isobel , Matlashewski Greg 
Published: May 2010

SummaryLeishmaniasis is a vector‐borne infectious disease with a wide range of pathologies depending on the species of Leishmania. Leishmania parasites are transmitted by the sand fly vector as promastigotes; within the mammalian host, Leishmania parasites differentiate into amastigotes and replicate in macrophages. The A2 protein from Leishmania donovani is expressed predominantly in amastigotes and therefore likely plays a role in survival in the mammalian host. In the present study, we have determined that the A2 protein colocalized with the Leishmania endoplasmic reticulum binding protein, BiP, was induced by stress and complexed with BiP following heat shock. The A2 gene in Leishmania major is a non‐expressed pseudogene, and we present evidence that ectopic expression of a transfected A2 gene in L. major enhanced its viability following heat shock. A2 may therefore play a role in protecting L. donovani from stress associated with infection in visceral organs, including the fever typically associated with visceral leishmaniasis. Interestingly, when comparing A2 protein localization, we also observed that the Leishmania secreted acid phosphatase SAcP protein was transported out of the parasite‐containing phagolysosome and was located throughout the macrophage cytoplasm in vesicles, providing the first example of a secreted Leishmania‐derived protein exiting the parasite‐containing phagolysosome.
Freeze avoidance: a dehydrating moss gathers no ice
Authors: LENNÉ THOMAS , BRYANT GARY , HOCART CHARLES H. , HUANG CHENG X. , BALL MARILYN C. 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACTUsing cryo‐SEM with EDX fundamental structural and mechanical properties of the moss Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid. were studied in relation to tolerance of freezing temperatures. In contrast to more complex plants, no ice accumulated within the moss during the freezing event. External ice induced desiccation with the response being a function of cell type; water‐filled hydroid cells cavitated and were embolized at −4 °C while parenchyma cells of the inner cortex exhibited cytorrhysis, decreasing to ∼20% of their original volume at a nadir temperature of −20 °C. Chlorophyll fluorescence showed that these winter acclimated mosses displayed no evidence of damage after thawing from −20 °C while GCMS showed that sugar concentrations were not sufficient to confer this level of freezing tolerance. In addition, differential scanning calorimetry showed internal ice nucleation occurred in hydrated moss at ∼−12 °C while desiccated moss showed no evidence of freezing with lowering of nadir temperature to −20 °C. Therefore the rapid dehydration of the moss provides an elegantly simple solution to the problem of freezing; remove that which freezes.
Idiopathic generalized sebaceous gland hyperplasia of the Border terrier: a morphometric study
Authors: Dedola Carla , Ressel Lorenzo , Hill Peter B. , Van Den Broek Adri H. M. , Thoday Keith L. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractSkin biopsies from five Border terriers with histologically confirmed idiopathic, generalized sebaceous gland hyperplasia (Group A) were compared morphometrically to those from four unaffected Border terriers (Group B) and the unaffected dogs to biopsies from four other terrier breeds (Group C). Dogs in Group A had significantly higher numbers of sebaceous gland lobules per hair follicle than those in Group B (P = 0.020) but there was no significant difference between Groups B and C. The total sebaceous gland lobular area per hair follicle was significantly higher in dogs in Group A than Group B (P = 0.020) but there were no differences between Groups B and C. There were no significant differences in the size of the individual sebaceous gland lobules. There were no significant differences in the total number of basal or mature sebocytes between Groups A and B but significantly lower numbers of both cell types were seen in Group C compared to Group B. There were significantly more basal sebaceous cells undergoing mitosis in dogs in Group A than Group B (P = 0.017) but no significant difference between Groups B and C. These results indicate that the physical signs of sebaceous gland hyperplasia are caused by an increase in the number of sebaceous gland lobules and total lobular area. Border terriers may be genetically predisposed to the development of idiopathic generalized sebaceous gland hyperplasia compared with other dog breeds but also to sebaceous gland hyperplasia secondary to other dermatopathies.