bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Origin of Hungarian indigenous chicken breeds inferred from mitochondrial DNA D‐loop sequences
Authors: Revay T. , Bodzsar N. , Mobegi V. E. , Hanotte O. , Hidas A. 
Published: April 2010

SummaryIn this study, we assessed the maternal origin of six Hungarian indigenous chicken breeds using mitochondrial DNA information. Sequences of Hungarian chickens were compared with the D‐loop chicken sequences annotated in the GenBank and to nine previously described reference haplotypes representing the main haplogroups of chicken. The first 530 bases of the D‐loop region were sequenced in 74 chickens of nine populations. Eleven haplotypes (HIC1‐HIC11) were observed from 17 variable sites. Three sequences (HIC3, HIC8 and HIC9) of our chickens were found as unique to Hungary when searched against the NCBI GenBank database. Hungarian domestic chicken mtDNA sequences could be assigned into three clades and probably two maternal lineages. Results indicated that 86% of the Hungarian haplotypes are related to the reference sequence that likely originated from the Indian subcontinent, while the minor part of our sequences presumably derive from South East Asia, China and Japan.
Sequence analysis of a pea comb locus on chicken chromosome 1
Authors: Sato S. , Sato S. , Otake T. , Suzuki C. , Uemoto Y. , Saburi J. , Hashimoto H. , Kobayashi E. 
Published: April 2010

SummaryTo facilitate gene identification, this study aimed to narrow the scope of the genome region affecting chicken comb type by using two bird populations. First, an F2 resource population was generated by crossing Japanese game fowl (Shamo; pea comb, P/p and P/P) with White Plymouth Rock (single comb, p/p). Comb types of the 240 F2 offspring produced by an F1 intercross between eight males and 57 females were segregated at a ratio of 3:1 (pea:single). The pea comb locus was mapped to a chromosomal region on Gallus gallus chromosome 1 that was flanked by microsatellite markers MCW0112, MCW0019 and ABR521. The second population (five‐generation, n=1300 animals) was derived from a cross between Shamo and Rhode Island Red (single comb, p/p) that had been genotyped for additional polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphisms and microsatellite markers within this region through development of chicken draft sequences. To close some gaps in these draft sequences, we constructed a bacterial artificial chromosome contig and sequenced it using the shotgun sequencing technique. Chickens selected from pedigrees in these populations were grouped by inheritance of a P or p haplotype at the locus constructed by the additional markers. Finally, this locus was fine‐mapped to roughly 60 kb based on the association of haplotypes and comb types. Chicken genome sequences suggest that the most likely polymorphism responsible for the pea comb locus is a duplicated sequence and that the sex determining region Y‐box 5 gene, one predicted gene and one expressed sequence tag in a critical region may be associated with the duplicated sequence.
A review and meta‐analysis of computerized cognitive behaviour therapy for the treatment of pain in children and adolescents
Authors: Velleman S. , Stallard P. , Richardson T. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractBackground  Chronic pain is relatively common in children and adolescents. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective for treating pain in this age group. This paper aims to review the literature on the use of computerized cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT) with children and adolescents with pain.Methods  Three databases, Pubmed (including Medline), Embase and PsychInfo, were searched and papers were identified using specific inclusion criteria.Results  Four studies met the inclusion criteria, all of which indicated beneficial results of using cCBT, with those who completed cCBT being more likely to experience at least a 50% post‐treatment reduction in symptoms than those in a control group. A meta‐analysis suggested a medium effect size of −0.41 for reduced pain intensity post treatment for cCBT compared with the control groups. A mean odds ratio of 6.03 was found for achieving a clinically significant reduction in pain in the cCBT group compared with the control groups.Conclusion  This review tentatively suggests potential for using cCBT for pain in children and adolescents. However, there is only a small body of research exploring this relationship at present, and so further research is needed before any solid conclusions can be drawn.
Effects of temperature and sediment properties on benthic CO2 production in an oligotrophic boreal lake
Authors: BERGSTRÖM IRINA , KORTELAINEN PIRKKO , SARVALA JOUKO , SALONEN KALEVI 
Published: April 2010

Summary1. Temperature and many other physical and chemical factors affecting CO2 production in lake sediments vary significantly both seasonally and spatially. The effects of temperature and sediment properties on benthic CO2 production were studied in in situ and in vitro experiments in the boreal oligotrophic Lake Pääjärvi, southern Finland.2. In in situ experiments, temperature of the water overlying the shallow littoral sediment varied seasonally between 0.5 and 15.7 °C, but in deep water (≥20 m) the range was only 1.1–6.6 °C. The same exponential model (r2 = 0.70) described the temperature dependence at 1.2, 10 and 20 m depths. At 2.5 and 5 m depths, however, the slopes of the two regression models (r2 = 0.94) were identical but the intercept values were different. Sediment properties (wet, dry, mineral and organic mass) varied seasonally and with depth, but they did not explain a significantly larger proportion of variation in the CO2 output rate than temperature.3. In in vitro experiments, there was a clear and uniform exponential dependence of CO2 production on temperature, with a 2.7‐fold increase per 10 °C temperature rise. The temperature response (slope of regression) was always the same, but the basic value of CO2 production (intercept) varied, indicating that other factors also contributed to the benthic CO2 output rate.4. The annual CO2 production of the sediment in Lake Pääjärvi averaged 62 g CO2 m−2, the shallow littoral at 0–3 m depth releasing 114 g CO2 m−2 and deep profundal (>15 m) 30 g CO2 m−2. On the whole lake basis, the shallow littoral at 0–3 m depth accounted for 53% and the sediment area in contact with the summer epilimnion (down to a depth c. 10 m) 75% of the estimated total annual CO2 output of the lake sediment, respectively. Of the annual production, 83% was released during the spring and summer.5. Using the temperature‐CO2 production equations and climate change scenarios we estimated that climatic warming might increase littoral benthic CO2 production in summer by nearly 30% from the period 1961–90 to the period 2071–2100.
Feedbacks between community assembly and habitat selection shape variation in local colonization
Authors: Kraus Johanna M. , Vonesh James R. 
Published: April 2010

Summary 1. Non‐consumptive effects of predators are increasingly recognized as important drivers of community assembly and structure. Specifically, habitat selection responses to top predators during colonization and oviposition can lead to large differences in aquatic community structure, composition and diversity. 2. These differences among communities due to predators may develop as communities assemble, potentially altering the relative quality of predator vs. predator‐free habitats through time. If so, community assembly would be expected to modify the subsequent behavioural responses of colonists to habitats containing top predators. Here, we test this hypothesis by manipulating community assembly and the presence of fish in experimental ponds and measuring their independent and combined effects on patterns of colonization by insects and amphibians. 3. Assembly modified habitat selection of dytscid beetles and hylid frogs by decreasing or even reversing avoidance of pools containing blue‐spotted sunfish (Enneacanthus gloriosus). However, not all habitat selection responses to fish depended on assembly history. Hydrophilid beetles and mosquitoes avoided fish while chironomids were attracted to fish pools, regardless of assembly history. 4. Our results show that community assembly causes taxa‐dependent feedbacks that can modify avoidance of habitats containing a top predator. Thus, non‐consumptive effects of a top predator on community structure change as communities assemble and effects of competitors and other predators combine with the direct effects of top predators to shape colonization. 5. This work reinforces the importance of habitat selection for community assembly in aquatic systems, while illustrating the range of factors that may influence colonization rates and resulting community structure. Directly manipulating communities both during colonization and post‐colonization is critical for elucidating how sequential processes interact to shape communities.
Working memory and executive function profiles of individuals with borderline intellectual functioning
Authors: Alloway T. P. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractBackground  The aim of the present study was to investigate the following issues: (1) Do students with borderline intellectual functioning have a pervasive pattern of impaired working memory skills across both verbal and visuo‐spatial domains? (2) Is there evidence for impairment in executive function skills, and which tasks indicate greater deficits? and (3) Which executive function tasks can effectively identify students with low IQ from typically developing peers?Method  Students with borderline intellectual functioning (low‐IQ; IQ standard scores were between 70 and 85) were age‐matched with typically developing students (IQ standard scores >95). They were administered a range of working memory and executive function measures.Results  The results show that students with low IQ have pervasive working memory and executive function deficits. Specifically, visuo‐spatial working memory and the Sorting task were the best single predictors that reliably classified students with low IQ.Conclusions  Implications for education are discussed in the context of appropriate diagnosis and support in the classroom.
Executive functions in individuals with Williams syndrome
Authors: Menghini D. , Addona F. , Costanzo F. , Vicari S. 
Published: April 2010

AbstractBackground  The present study was aimed at investigating working memory (WM) and executive functions capacities in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) as compared with mental‐age matched typically developing (TD) children.Method  In order to serve the study goal, a sizeable battery of tasks tapping WM as well as attention, memory, planning, categorisation, shifting and inhibition abilities was administered to 15 individuals with WS (mean chronological age of 19.11 and mean mental age of 6.10), and to a group of 15 TD children (mean chronological age of 7.6 and mean mental age of 6.9).Results  Participants with WS showed deficits in both verbal and visual‐spatial modalities for selective and sustained attention, short‐term memory and WM, planning and inhibition. However, considering categorisation and shifting abilities, relatively unimpaired performance emerged on those tasks relying on verbal materials.Conclusions  These findings are both relevant to improve our knowledge about certain qualitative aspects of the anomalous cognitive development in WS as well as for its eventual clinical implications.
Elongator, a conserved multitasking complex?
Authors: Versées Wim , De Groeve Steven , Van Lijsebettens Mieke 
Published: April 2010

SummaryPost‐transcriptional modifications on transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules occur frequently but their implication on the translational regulation is only recently becoming fully appreciated. Several tRNA molecules in the eukaryotic cytoplasm carry a methoxycarbonylmethyl (mcm) or carbamoylmethyl (ncm) group on their wobble uridine to ensure the efficient and reliable decoding of A‐ or G‐ending codons. Evidence suggests that the six subunits of the conserved Elongator complex are all required for an early step in the synthesis of the mcm and ncm groups in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as in Caenorhabditis elegans. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, Mehlgarten et al. convincingly show that the tRNA‐modifying role of Elongator is also conserved in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, combinations of subunits of the Arabidopsis Elongator complex can structurally and functionally complement deletion mutants in yeast and substitute for the tRNA modification activity. The data suggest that Elongator might be a unique multitasking complex with at least two conserved roles in all eukaryotes, i.e. transcriptional activation via histone acetylation in the nucleus and translational control through tRNA modification in the cytoplasm.
Members of protein O‐mannosyltransferase family in Aspergillus fumigatus differentially affect growth, morphogenesis and viability
Authors: Mouyna Isabelle , Kniemeyer Olaf , Jank Thomas , Loussert Céline , Mellado Emilia , Aimanianda Vishukumar , Beauvais Anne , Wartenberg Dirk , Sarfati Jacqueline , Bayry Jagadeesh , Prévost Marie‐Christine , Brakhage Axel A. , Strahl Sabine , Huerre Michel , Latgé Jean‐Paul 
Published: April 2010

SummaryO‐mannosylation is an essential protein modification in eukaryotes. It is initiated at the endoplasmic reticulum by O‐mannosyltransferases (PMT) that are evolutionary conserved from yeast to humans. The PMT family is phylogenetically classified into PMT1, PMT2 and PMT4 subfamilies, which differ in protein substrate specificity and number of genes per subfamily. In this study, we characterized for the first time the whole PMT family of a pathogenic filamentous fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus. Genome analysis showed that only one member of each subfamily is present in A. fumigatus, PMT1, PMT2 and PMT4. Despite the fact that all PMTs are transmembrane proteins with conserved peptide motifs, the phenotype of each PMT deletion mutant was very different in A. fumigatus. If disruption of PMT1 did not reveal any phenotype, deletion of PMT2 was lethal. Disruption of PMT4 resulted in abnormal mycelial growth and highly reduced conidiation associated to significant proteomic changes. The double pmt1pmt4 mutant was lethal. The single pmt4 mutant exhibited an exquisite sensitivity to echinocandins that is associated to major changes in the expression of signal transduction cascade genes. These results indicate that the PMT family members play a major role in growth, morphogenesis and viability of A. fumigatus.
The Rpd3L HDAC complex is essential for the heat stress response in yeast
Authors: Ruiz‐Roig Clàudia , Viéitez Cristina , Posas Francesc , De Nadal Eulàlia 
Published: April 2010

SummaryTo ensure cell survival and growth during temperature increase, eukaryotic organisms respond with transcriptional activation that results in accumulation of proteins that protect against damage and facilitate recovery. To define the global cellular adaptation response to heat stress, we performed a systematic genetic screen that yielded 277 yeast genes required for growth at high temperature. Of these, the Rpd3 histone deacetylase complex was enriched. Global gene expression analysis showed that Rpd3 partially regulated gene expression upon heat shock. The Hsf1 and Msn2/4 transcription factors are the main regulators of gene activation in response to heat stress. RPD3‐deficient cells had impaired activation of Msn2/4‐dependent genes, while activation of genes controlled by Hsf1 was deacetylase‐independent. Rpd3 bound to heat stress‐dependent promoters through the Msn2/4 transcription factors, allowing entry of RNA Pol II and activation of transcription upon stress. Finally, we found that the large, but not the small Rpd3 complex regulated cell adaptation in response to heat stress.
Genetic characterization reveals no role for the reported ABA receptor, GCR2, in ABA control of seed germination and early seedling development in Arabidopsis
Authors: Gao Yajun , Zeng Qingning , Guo Jianjun , Cheng Jia , Ellis Brian E. , Chen Jin‐Gui 
Published: April 2010

SummaryAbscisic acid (ABA) is perceived by several different types of receptors in plant cells. At the cell surface, the ABA signal is proposed to be perceived by GCR2, which mediates ABA responses in seed germination, early seedling development and stomatal movement. GCR2 was also proposed to be a seven‐transmembrane (7TM) G‐protein‐coupled receptor (GPCR). Here we characterize GCR2 and one of its two homologs, GCR2‐LIKE 1 (GCL1), in ABA‐mediated seed germination and early seedling development in Arabidopsis. We show that loss‐of‐function mutations in GCL1 did not confer ABA insensitivity. Similarly, we did not observe ABA insensitivity in three independent gcr2 alleles. Furthermore, we generated gcr2 gcl1 double mutants and found that the double mutants still had near wild‐type responses to ABA. Consistent with this, we found that the transcription of ABA marker genes was induced by ABA to levels that were comparable in wild type and gcr2 and gcl1 single and double mutants. On the other hand, the loss‐of‐function alleles of the sole Arabidopsis heterotrimeric G protein α subunit, GPA1, were hypersensitive to ABA in the ABA‐inhibition of seed germination and early seedling development, disfavoring a genetic coupling of GCR2 by GPA1. Using multiple robust transmembrane prediction systems, GCR2 was predicted not to be a 7TM protein, a structural hallmark of GPCRs. Taken together, our results do not support the notion that GCR2 is an ABA‐signaling GPCR in seed germination and early seedling development.
Epidemiology of allergic reactions to hymenoptera stings in Irish school children
Authors: Jennings Aisling , Duggan Eileen , Perry Ivan J. , Hourihane Jonathan O’B. 
Published: April 2010

Jennings A, Duggan E, Perry IJ, Hourihane JO’B. Epidemiology of allergic reactions to hymenoptera stings in Irish school children. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2010: 21: 1166–1170. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/SThe aim of this was to study generate the first epidemiological data regarding the prevalence of hymenoptera allergy among school children in Ireland. Questionnaires, including six sting‐specific questions (1), were distributed to the parents of primary school children aged 6–8 and 11–13, divided equally between rural and urban backgrounds. From 110 schools, 4112 questionnaires were returned. A total of 1544 (37.5%) children had been stung in their lifetime. Among the total, 5.8% of children stung experienced a large local reaction, 3.4% had a mild (cutaneous) systemic reaction (MSR) and 0.8% experienced a moderate/severe systemic reaction (SSR); these figures respectively represent 2.2%, 1.3% and 0.2% of the total study group. On logistic regression analysis, older children and rural children were at a higher risk of being stung (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.4–2.; OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.8 respectively). Rural dwellers and asthma sufferers were more likely to experience an SSR (OR 4.3; 95% CI 1.4–13.5 and OR 2.8; 95% CI 1.8–4.3, respectively). Hymenoptera stings are more common in rural than urban dwelling Irish children. Asthma imparted a greater risk of SSR in this study population. Severe reactions are unusual overall, occurring in <1% of those stung, a lower prevalence than in Israeli teenagers but in keeping with other European reports relating to young children.
Classification of a traumatic brain injury: the Glasgow Coma scale is not enough
Authors: CHIEREGATO A. , MARTINO C. , PRANSANI V. , NORI G. , RUSSO E. , NOTO A. , SIMINI B. 
Published: April 2010

Background: Classifying the severity of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) solely by means of the Glasgow Coma scale (GCS) is under scrutiny, because it overlooks other important clinical signs. Clinicians treating patients with acute TBI are well placed to suggest which variables, in addition to the GCS, should concur in a new classification of TBI.Methods: In Italy, acute TBI patients are treated by anaesthetists, and so we asked them, in a questionnaire survey, to rate the weight they give to the GCS and to other clinical variables in their approach to TBI. Because sedation may underestimate GCS scores, we also inquired whether anaesthetists select sedatives that allow drug‐free GCS scores. The questionnaire was distributed to 1334 anaesthetists attending courses on neurotrauma; the response rate was 63%.Results: Two thirds of the respondents believe that the definition of severe TBI should include, in addition to GCS scores, pupil reactivity to light and computer tomogram (CT) findings, the variables that guide Italian anaesthetists in TBI management.Most respondents (68.2%) administer sedation which allows prompt neurological evaluation and reliable GCS scoring. A minority of respondents (9.3%) withhold or antagonize sedation, delay tracheal intubation or allow patient–ventilator asynchrony.Conclusions: Italian anaesthetists would welcome a definition of TBI severity that includes CT findings and pupil reactivity in addition to the GCS.
Gravity is an important determinant of oxygenation during one‐lung ventilation
Authors: SZEGEDI L. L. , D'HOLLANDER A. A. , VERMASSEN F. E. , DERYCK F. , WOUTERS P. F. 
Published: April 2010

Background: The role of gravity in the redistribution of pulmonary blood flow during one‐lung ventilation (OLV) has been questioned recently. To address this controversial but clinically important issue, we used an experimental approach that allowed us to differentiate the effects of gravity from the effects of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) on arterial oxygenation during OLV in patients scheduled for thoracic surgery.Methods: Forty patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease scheduled for right lung tumour resection were randomized to undergo dependent (left) one‐lung ventilation (D‐OLV; n=20) or non‐dependent (right) one‐lung ventilation (ND‐OLV; n=20) in the supine and left lateral positions. Partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) was measured as a surrogate for ventilation/perfusion matching. Patients were studied before surgery under closed chest conditions.Results: When compared with bilateral lung ventilation, both D‐OLV and ND‐OLV caused a significant and equal decrease in PaO2 in the supine position. However, D‐OLV in the lateral position was associated with a higher PaO2 as compared with the supine position [274.2 (77.6) vs. 181.9 (68.3) mmHg, P<0.01, analysis of variance (ANOVA)]. In contrast, in patients undergoing ND‐OLV, PaO2 was always lower in the lateral as compared with the supine position [105.3 (63.2) vs. 187 (63.1) mmHg, P<0.01, ANOVA].Conclusion: The relative position of the ventilated vs. the non‐ventilated lung markedly affects arterial oxygenation during OLV. These data suggest that gravity affects ventilation–perfusion matching independent of HPV.