bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Schistosoma mansoniantigens modulate the allergic response in a murine model of ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation
Authors: Cardoso L S , Oliveira S C , Góes A M , Oliveira R R , Pacífico L G , Marinho F V , Fonseca C T , Cardoso F C , Carvalho E M , Araujo M I 
Published: February 2010

SummarySchistosoma mansoni infection has been associated with protection against allergies. The mechanisms underlying this association may involve regulatory cells and cytokines. We evaluated the immune response induced by the S. mansoni antigens Sm22·6, PIII and Sm29 in a murine model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway inflammation. BALB/c mice were sensitized with subcutaneously injected OVA-alum and challenged with aerolized OVA. Mice were given three doses of the different S. mansoni antigens. Lung histopathology, cellularity of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and eosinophil peroxidase activity in lung were evaluated. Immunoglobulin (Ig)E levels in serum and cytokines in BAL were also measured. Additionally, we evaluated the frequency of CD4+forkhead box P3 (FoxP3)+ T cells in cultures stimulated with OVA and the expression of interleukin (IL)-10 by these cells. The number of total cells and eosinophils in BAL and the levels of OVA-specific IgE were reduced in the immunized mice. Also, the levels of IL-4 and IL-5 in the BAL of mice immunized with PIII and Sm22·6 were decreased, while the levels of IL-10 were higher in mice immunized with Sm22·6 compared to the non-immunized mice. The frequency of CD4+FoxP3+ T cells was higher in the groups of mice who received Sm22·6, Sm29 and PIII, being the expression of IL-10 by these cells only higher in mice immunized with Sm22·6. We concluded that the S. mansoni antigens used in this study are able to down-modulate allergic inflammatory mediators in a murine model of airway inflammation and that the CD4+FoxP3+ T cells, even in the absence of IL-10 expression, might play an important role in this process.
Being a generalist herbivore in a diverse world: how do diets from different grasslands influence food plant selection and fitness of the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus?
Authors: FRANZKE ALEXANDRA , UNSICKER SYBILLE B. , SPECHT JULIANE , KÖHLER GÜNTER , WEISSER WOLFGANG W. 
Published: February 2010

1. Generalist insect herbivores occupy a variety of habitats that differ in food plant composition. Dietary mixing has been proposed as a possibility for generalists to overcome nutritional deficiencies of single plant species, but only a few studies have investigated herbivore feeding and fitness for diets that resemble natural scenarios. We studied feeding behaviour, survival, and reproduction of the generalist grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus raised on food plants of four typical habitats.2. Grasshopper diet consisted of grasses (92.5%), legumes (6.7%) and, in small quantities, other forbs (0.8%). Diet selection differed between the four food plant mixtures, and depended on grasshopper sex and developmental stage. There was no correlation between the relative abundance of plant species in the field and the fraction of these species in the grasshopper diet.3. Grasshoppers survived on average for 40.4 ± 1.0 days before maturity, grew 106.8 mg until maturity moult, and females laid 4.1 ± 0.4 egg pods, each of which contained 8.5 ± 0.4 eggs. However, despite the differences in feeding behaviour, grasshopper fitness was the same in all of the four food plant mixtures. While the digestibility of ingested food was similar in the four different treatments, indices indicated differences in the conversion efficiency to body mass.4. Our results show that C. parallelus is a plastic feeder with no fixed preferences in diet composition. The results emphasise that generalist herbivores can counteract putative quality deficiencies of single food plants by selective dietary mixing.
Impact of intraguild predation on parasitoid foraging behaviour
Authors: MARTINOU ANGELIKI F. , RAYMOND BENJAMIN , MILONAS PANAGIOTIS G. , WRIGHT DENIS J. 
Published: February 2010

1. Trophic interactions between predators and parasitoids can be described as intraguild predation (IGP) and are often asymmetric. Parasitoids (typically the IG prey) may respond to the threat of IGP by mitigating the predation risk for their offspring.2. We used a system with a facultative predatorMacrolophus caliginosus, the parasitoidAphidius colemani, and their shared prey, the aphidMyzus persicae. We examined the functional responses of the parasitoid in the presence/absence of the predator on two host plants (aubergine and sweet pepper) with differing IGP risk.3. Estimated model parameters such as parasitoid handling time increased on both plants where the predator was present, but impact of the predator varied with plant species. The predator, which could feed herbivorously on aubergine, had a reduced impact on parasitoid foraging on that plant. IG predator presence could reduce the searching effort of the IG prey depending on the plant, and on likely predation risk.4. The results are discussed with regard to individual parasitoid's foraging behaviour and population stability; it is suggested that the presence of the predator can contribute to the stabilisation of host–parasitoid dynamics
The effects of water‐level manipulation on the benthic invertebrates of a managed reservoir
Authors: McEWEN DANIEL C. , BUTLER MALCOLM G. 
Published: February 2010

Summary1. Reservoir creation and management can enhance many ecological services provided by freshwater ecosystems, but may alter the natural conditions to which aquatic biota have adapted. Benthic macroinvertebrates often reflect environmental conditions, and this community may be particularly susceptible to water‐level changes that alter sediment exposure, temperature regime, wave‐induced sediment redistribution and basal productivity.2. Using a before–after control–impact experimental design, we assessed changes in macroinvertebrate community structure corresponding with changes in water‐level management in two lentic systems in the Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, U.S.A. Littoral zone (depths 1–5 m) benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages were sampled in Rainy Lake (control system) and Namakan Reservoir (impact system) in 1984–85, and again in 2004–05 following a change in water‐level management that began in January 2000. The new regime reduced the magnitude of winter drawdown in Namakan Reservoir from 2.5 to 1.5 m, and allowed the reservoir to fill to capacity in late May, a month earlier than under the prior regime. Rainy Lake water levels were not altered substantially.3. We found changes in macroinvertebrate community structure in Namakan Reservoir relative to Rainy Lake at 1–2 m depths but not at 3–5 m depths. These shallower depths would have been most directly affected by changes in sediment exposure and ice formation.4. In 2004–05, Namakan Reservoir benthos showed lower overall abundance, more large‐bodied taxa and an increase in non‐insect invertebrates relative to 1984–85, without corresponding changes in Rainy Lake.5. Changes in the benthic community in Namakan may reflect cooler water in spring and early summer as well as lower resource availability (both autochthonous production and allochthonous inputs) under the new regime.
Characterizing the pigment composition of a variable warning signal of Parasemia plantaginis larvae
Authors: Lindstedt Carita , Morehouse Nathan , Pakkanen Hannu , Casas Jérôme , Christides Jean‐Philippe , Kemppainen Kimmo , Lindström Leena , Mappes Johanna 
Published: February 2010

Summary 1. Aposematic animals advertise their defences to predators via warning signals that often are bright colours combined with black patterns. Predation is assumed to select for large pattern elements and conspicuousness of warning signals because this enhances avoidance learning of predators. However, conspicuousness of the colour pattern can vary among individuals of aposematic species, suggesting that warning signal expression may be constrained by opposing selection pressures. If effective warning signals are costly to produce, variation in signal expression may be maintained via physiological trade‐offs. To understand the costs of signalling that might underlay both physiological and ecological trade‐offs, it is crucial to identify the pigments involved in aposematic traits, how they or their precursors are acquired and how their production and/or deposition interact with other physiological processes. 2. We characterized the pigments responsible for the genetically and phenotypically variable orange‐black warning signal of the hairy larvae of an Arctiid moth, Parasemia plantaginis. We tested orange and black coloured hairs for the presence of six candidate pigment types using high‐performance liquid chromatography, spectral and solubility analyses. 3. After excluding the presence of carotenoids, ommochromes, pterins and pheomelanins in orange hairs, our results suggest that tiger moth larvae produce their orange warning signal by depositing both diet‐derived flavonoids and trace levels of synthesized eumelanin in their hairs. The nearby black hairs are coloured by eumelanin. 4. In light of previous studies, we conclude that although a large orange patch increases the 1larvae’s antipredator efficacy, variation in the size of orange patches within a population can be driven by scarcity of flavonoids in diet. However, traces of eumelanin found in the orange hairs of the larvae may also play a significant role in the maintenance of the signal pattern on poor quality diets. 5. The goal of the future studies will be to test the condition dependence of pigment deposition in aposematic colour patterns by directly manipulating relevant nutritional parameters such as dietary flavonoid or nitrogen content (i.e. amino acid content).
Molecular characterization of two novel milk proteins in the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans morsitans)
Authors: Yang G. , Attardo G. M. , Lohs C. , Aksoy S. 
Published: February 2010

AbstractPurpose: Milk proteins are an essential component of viviparous reproduction in the tsetse fly. Milk proteins are synthesized in and secreted from the milk gland tissue and constitute 50% of the secretions from which the intrauterine larva derives its nourishment. To understand milk protein function and regulation during viviparous reproduction, milk proteins need to be identified and characterized.Methods: Two putative unknown secretory proteins (GmmMGP2 and GmmMGP3) were selected by bioinformatic analysis of tissue specific tsetse cDNA libraries. RT‐PCR analysis was performed to verify their milk gland/fat body specific expression profile. Detailed characterization of developmental and tissue specific expression of these proteins was performed by northern blot analysis and fluorescent in situ hybridization. Functional analysis of the milk gland proteins during the tsetse gonotrophic cycle was performed using RNA interference (RNAi).Results: The predicted proteins from gmmmgp2 and gmmmgp3 are small ∼22 kD and contain a high proportion of hydrophobic amino acids and potential phosphorylation sites. Expression of both genes is tissue specific to the secretory cells of the milk gland. Transcript abundance for both genes increases over the course of intrauterine larval development and parallels that of gmmmgp, a well characterized milk protein gene considered to be the major milk protein. Phenotypic analysis of flies after RNA interference treatment revealed a significant effect upon fecundity in the gmmmgp2 knockdown flies, but not the gmmmgp3 flies. Knockdown of gmmmgp2 resulted in disruption of ovulation and consequent oocyte accumulation and degradation. Gmmmgp2 knockdown also had a significant impact on fly mortality.Conclusions: This work identifies two novel genes, the proteins of which appear to function in response to intrauterine larvigenesis in tsetse. These proteins may be nutritional components of the milk secretions provided to the larva from the mother. Phenotypic data from knockdown of gmmmgp2 suggests that this protein may also have a regulatory function given the defect in ovulation observed in knockdown flies. Further analysis of these genes will be important (in conjunction with other milk proteins) for identification of transcriptional regulation mechanisms that direct milk gland/pregnancy specific gene expression.
Fra proteins influencing filament integrity, diazotrophy and localization of septal protein SepJ in the heterocyst‐forming cyanobacterium Anabaena sp.
Authors: Merino‐Puerto Victoria , Mariscal Vicente , Mullineaux Conrad W. , Herrero Antonia , Flores Enrique 
Published: February 2010

Summary Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 is a filamentous cyanobacterium that can fix N2 in differentiated cells called heterocysts, which exchange nutritional and regulatory compounds with the neighbouring photosynthetic vegetative cells. The cells in the filament appear to be joined by some protein structures, of which SepJ (FraG) that is located at the cell poles in the intercellular septa and is needed for filament integrity seems to be a component. Other known proteins required for filament integrity include FraC and FraH. Whereas fraC (alr2392) was constitutively expressed as an operon together with two downstream genes, alr2393 (fraD) and alr2394 (fraE), fraH (alr1603) was induced under nitrogen deprivation. Single mutants of these genes showed filament fragmentation under nitrogen deprivation and did not grow diazotrophically, although they formed heterocysts. The fraC and fraD mutants showed an impaired localization of SepJ at the intercellular septa and were hampered in the intercellular transfer of the fluorescent probe calcein. As shown with GFP fusions, FraC and FraD are also located at the intercellular septa. Therefore, at least three different proteins, SepJ, FraC and FraD, influence the architecture and function of the intercellular septa in the Anabaena filaments.
Nuclear factor‐κB activation predicts an unfavourable outcome in human upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma
Authors: Yeh Hsin‐Chih , Huang Chun‐Hsiung , Yang Sheau‐Fang , Li Ching‐Chia , Chang Lin‐Li , Lin Hui‐Hui , Ke Hung‐Lung , Wei Yu‐Ching , Wu Wen‐Jeng 
Published: February 2010

OBJECTIVETo examine the hypothesis that nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB), a transcription factor involved in anti‐apoptosis, invasion, and angiogenesis, plays a role in the carcinogenesis of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT‐UC) and has prognostic value for survival.PATIENTS AND METHODSIn all, 90 patients with UUT‐UC [mean (range) age, 64.5 (24–84) years] who underwent surgery at our institution from January 1991 to December 2005 were included. Clinicopathological data were collected retrospectively. We performed immunohistochemical staining for NF‐κB (p65) on paraffin‐embedded sections of the tumour and corresponding normal tissues. The association between survival and potential prognostic factors was examined.RESULTSThe median follow‐up was 40 months. In all, 55 patients (61.1%) with UUT‐UC overexpressed cytoplasmic NF‐κB, and nuclear immunoreactivity for NF‐κB was detected in 24 patients (26.7%). On univariate analysis, significant prognostic factors for survival were tumour location, stage, grade, lymph node involvement, and nuclear NF‐κB expression. On multivariate analysis, nuclear NF‐κB positivity was an independent predictor for disease‐specific survival [Cox regression hazard ratio (HR) 2.87; P= 0.025] and overall survival (HR 2.24; P= 0.037).CONCLUSIONThese results imply a role for nuclear NF‐κB expression in the tumorigenesis of UUT‐UC. Nuclear NF‐κB may serve as a useful independent molecular marker to predict outcome and may represent a promising therapeutic target for patients with UUT‐UC.
International validation of the prognostic value of lymphovascular invasion in patients treated with radical cystectomy
Authors: Shariat Shahrokh F. , Svatek Robert S. , Tilki Derya , Skinner Eila , Karakiewicz Pierre I. , Capitanio Umberto , Bastian Patrick J. , Volkmer Bjoern G. , Kassouf Wassim , Novara Giacomo , Fritsche Hans‐Martin , Izawa Jonathan I. , Ficarra Vincenzo , Lerner Seth P. , Sagalowsky Arthur I. , Schoenberg Mark P. , Kamat Ashish M. , Dinney Colin P. , Lotan Yair , Marberger Michael J. , Fradet Yves 
Published: February 2010

Study Type – Prognosis (retrospective cohort) Level of Evidence 2bOBJECTIVETo externally validate the prognostic value of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in a large international cohort of patients treated with radical cystectomy (RC) for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB).PATIENTS AND METHODSWe collected data from 4257 patients treated with RC and pelvic lymphadenectomy for UCB, without neoadjuvant chemotherapy, at 12 centres. LVI was defined as presence of nests of tumour cells within an endothelium‐lined space.RESULTSLVI was detected in 1407 patients (33.1%); the proportion of LVI increased with advancing stage, higher grade, soft‐tissue surgical margin involvement, and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001 for all). In standard multivariate models, LVI was associated with both disease recurrence (hazard ratio 1.43, P < 0.001) and cancer‐specific mortality (1.45, P < 0.001). In the entire cohort, adding LVI to a base model that included standard features improved only minimally its predictive accuracy for both recurrence and cancer‐specific mortality (by 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively). In 3122 patients with negative lymph nodes, LVI remained independently associated with and improved the predictive accuracy of the standard predictors for recurrence (hazard ratio 1.68, P < 0.001; +2.3%) and cancer‐specific mortality (1.70, P < 0.001; +2.4%). By contrast, in 1071 node‐positive patients, LVI only marginally improved the prediction of cancer‐specific recurrence (hazard ratio 1.20, P < 0.001; +0.2%) and survival (1.23, P < 0.001; +0.5%).CONCLUSIONSLVI is strongly associated with clinical outcome in node‐negative patients treated with RC. The assessment of LVI might help to identify patients who could benefit from adjuvant therapy after RC. After confirmation in different populations, LVI should be included in the staging of UCB.
Independent predictive roles of eotaxin Ala23Thr, paraoxonase 2 Ser311Cys and β3‐adrenergic receptor Trp64Arg polymorphisms on cardiac disease in Type 2 Diabetes—an 8‐year prospective cohort analysis of 1297 patients
Authors: Wang Y. , Luk A. O. Y. , Ma R. C. W. , So W. Y. , Tam C. H. T. , Ng M. C. Y. , Yang X. , Baum L. , Lam V. , Tong P. C. Y. , Chan J. C. N. 
Published: February 2010

Diabet. Med. 27, 376–383 (2010)AbstractAims  To examine the independent and joint effects of multiple genetic variants on a cardiac end‐point in an 8‐year prospective study of a Chinese diabetic cohort.Methods  Seventy‐seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of 53 candidate genes for inflammation, thrombosis, vascular tone regulation and lipid metabolism were genotyped in 1297 Chinese patients with no prior history of coronary heart disease (CHD) or heart failure at baseline. Cardiac end‐point was defined by the occurrence of CHD and/or heart failure.Results  In Cox regression model, after adjustment for baseline confounding variables including age, sex, smoking status, duration of diabetes, glycaemic control, lipid levels, waist circumference, blood pressure, albuminuria and estimated glomerular filtration rate, genetic variants, including Ala/Ala of SCYA11 (eotaxin) Ala23Thr, Cys/Cys or Cys/Ser of PON2 (paraoxonase 2) Ser311Cys and Arg/Arg of ADRB3 (β3‐adrenergic receptor) Trp64Arg, were independently associated with incident cardiac end‐point, with respective hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of 1.70 (1.10–2.61, P = 0.037), 1.42 (1.08–1.88, P = 0.013) and 3.84 (1.18–12.50, P = 0.025). Analysis of the joint effect of the risk alleles showed significant increased risk of the cardiac end‐point with increasing number of risk alleles (P < 0.001). The adjusted risk for the cardiac end‐point was 4.11 (P = 0.002) for patients carrying four risk alleles compared with those carrying one or no risk allele.Conclusions  The independent risk conferred by genetic variants encoding pathways such as inflammation and lipid metabolism, not adequately reflected by conventional biomarkers, may identify high‐risk individuals for intensified control of modifiable risk factors.
Global Knowledge‐based Policy in Fragmented Societies: the case of curriculum reform in French‐speaking Belgium
Authors: MANGEZ ERIC 
Published: February 2010

This article examines the relationship between knowledge and policy in French‐speaking Belgium. It starts by describing Belgium as a consociational democracy, i.e. a society that is largely organised around integrated pillars of society (Catholic, secular), each of which provides a wide range of services (educational, training, health, health insurance, social care, family planning, leisure) to ‘its’ people. This special political‐institutional arrangement has profound implications for the way knowledge circulates (or not) and the way it is used (or not) both within pillars and across the policy community. We argue that consociational democracies are not likely to generate knowledge‐driven policy communities. Since knowledge could threaten the peace, some things are better left unknown: the co‐existence of distinct communities requires a form of discretion (Mangez, 2009).Recently, however, globalisation has led to changes in this long‐standing state of affairs: elites are now seeking more knowledge about systems and joint regulation is on the rise. In the education sector, several policy issues, including curriculum issues, have been subject to new joint regulation. In the second part of the article, we take curriculum reform as a case study to investigate these changes. Although all school networks from both pillars are now obliged to follow common guidelines (influenced by globalisation), they are still responsible for transposing them to their individual curriculum programmes. Lexico‐statistical analysis reveals that when they transpose these common guidelines to their own curricula, each network reasserts its own values and cultural references (including its own view of the role of knowledge).
Psychosocial Hazards in UK Universities: Adopting a Risk Assessment Approach
Authors: Kinman Gail , Court Stephen 
Published: February 2010

AbstractDrawing on the findings of a recent national survey, this article examines the extent to which higher education institutions in the United Kingdom meet the minimum standards recommended by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for the management of work‐related stressors. A comparison is also made between the average weekly working hours reported in the current survey with those found in two previous studies of the higher education sector (1998 and 2004). A sample of 9,740 academic and academic‐related employees working in higher education institutions in the UK completed a measure of seven job‐related stressors (or psychosocial hazards) (that is, demands, control, support from colleagues and managers, interpersonal relationships, role clarity and involvement in organisational change). With one exception (job control), levels of job‐related stressors in the higher education sector exceeded the benchmarks stipulated by the HSE. Stressors relating to change, role, job demands and managerial support were particularly high. Recommendations made by the HSE for interim and longer‐term targets to be achieved for the management of each stressor category are provided. Findings also revealed that average working hours remain high in the sector, with many employees continuing to exceed the weekly limit set by the UK Working Time Directive. The utility of the HSE approach in higher education institutions and ways in which the sector might work towards meeting the HSE management standards and consequently enhance employee well‐being are considered.