bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
First Report of Septoria Leaf Spot of Pistachio in New Mexico
Authors: French J. M. , Heerema R. J. , Gordon E. A. , Goldberg N. P. 
Published: June 2009

In September of 2008, a Septoria sp., the causal agent of Septoria leaf spot of pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) was isolated from leaf lesions in an orchard in southern New Mexico. Tree fruit and nut crops including pistachios are becoming an increasingly important part of New Mexico's agricultural industry with total cash receipts of $103 million in 2007 (3). This preliminary positive for Septoria prompted a survey of pistachio-growing counties in the state. The surveyed orchards accounted for approximately 30% of the pistachio acreage in New Mexico. Results indicated that all five pistachio-growing counties had orchards infected with a Septoria sp. Isolates of Septoria from leaf lesions were identified as Septoria pistaciarum Caracc. based on the following symptoms and morphological characteristics of the fungus: leaf lesions were usually circular, 0.5 to 3 mm in diameter, and contained many pycnidia per lesion; pycnidia were dark, ostiolate, and measured 101 to 255 × 69 to 133 μm; and conidia were hyaline, filiform, contained 3 to 9 septa, and measured 3 to 4 × 60 to 149 μm. Most orchards were only mildly affected. In severe cases, hundreds of leaf lesions were present on diseased leaves; large sections of the leaves turned tan and some trees defoliated prematurely. This widespread occurrence of Septoria leaf spot in New Mexico in 2008 suggests that the disease had already been present in the state for several years. A higher average rainfall in the summer of 2008 provided excellent conditions for disease development. Because of the high amounts of inoculum currently present in New Mexico orchards, Septoria leaf spot may emerge as a recurring disease problem for pistachio producers. This disease was first reported in the United States in Texas in 1971 and was also reported in Arizona in 1989 (1,2,4). To our knowledge, this is the first report of Septoria leaf spot of pistachio in New Mexico. References: (1) A. Chitzandis. Ann. Inst. Phytopathol. Benaki 10:29, 1956. (2) J. L. Maas et al. Plant Dis. Rep. 55:72, 1971. (3) New Mexico Agricultural Statistics, Department of Agriculture, 2007. (4) D. J. Young and T. Michailides. Plant Dis. 73:775, 1989.
The effects of turbidity and an invasive species on foraging success of rosyside dace (Clinostomus funduloides)
Authors: HAZELTON PETER D. , GROSSMAN GARY D. 
Published: June 2009

Summary1. Habitat degradation and biological invasions are important threats to fish diversity worldwide. We experimentally examined the effects of turbidity, velocity and intra‐ and interspecific competition on prey capture location, reactive distance and prey capture success of native rosyside dace (Clinostomus funduloides) and invasive yellowfin shiners (Notropis lutipinnis) in Coweeta Creek, North Carolina, U.S.A.2. Increased turbidity and velocity produced significant decreases in the number of prey captured forward of the fish’s location. It is possible that this represents an increase in the amount of energy expended per prey captured.3. We used Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) to evaluate competing explanatory models for reactive distance (10 generalised linear models, GLM) and prey capture success (9 generalised linear mixed models, GLMM).4. Reactive distance decreased by 12% with an increase from 2 to 4 conspecifics, whereas a 10 NTU increase in turbidity reduced reactive distance by 9%. Capture success was affected by velocity, dominance and competition, and varied among species. A 6 cm s−1 increase in velocity produced a 28% decline in capture probability; however, dominant fish were 3.2 times more likely to capture a prey item than non‐dominant fish. Yellowfin shiners only were 0.62 times as likely to capture a prey item as rosyside dace. Both intra‐ and interspecific competition reduced capture probability, and fish in high density intraspecific or interspecific trials were 0.46 times and 0.44 times as likely to capture prey, respectively, as fish in two fish intraspecific trials.5. These results suggest behavioural variables are as important as physical factors in determining reactive distance and capture probability by these minnows.
The sperm penetration assay predicts the litter size in pigs
Authors: Oh Shin‐Ae , You Young‐Ah , Park Yoo‐Jin , Pang Myung‐Geol 
Published: June 2009

SummaryThe prediction of sperm fertility is of paramount importance for breeding animals. Multiple laboratory approaches have been developed for this purpose, but they have yielded equivocal results. The objective of this study was to develop and standardize to a method for predicting fertility in vivo in boars using the in vitro penetration assay. To increase the sensitivity and reduce false‐negative results of the assay, each step in the procedure was standardized and quality control was applied. Maximum penetration of hamster zona‐free oocytes and immature porcine oocytes was obtained using heparin‐treated sperm cells. Hamster zona‐free oocytes showed a significantly higher penetration than immature porcine oocytes. To eliminate interassay variability, two frozen bull semen samples were applied. All possible variables related to the female were excluded. The SPA (sperm penetration assay using zona‐free oocytes) result showed significant correlation with historic average litter size but had no significant correlation with farrowing rates. To determine the normal range for the SPA, lower limits of the sperm fertility index were established as 1.2 for the small litter sizes (<8 piglets) and 2.5 for the large litter sizes. The overall accuracy was 92 and 96% respectively, for the small and large litter sizes. Our laboratory has standardized the procedure for the SPA, resulting in greatly increased sensitivities for small and large litter sizes. The protocol increases the ability to discriminate between good and poor fertility groups and it was highly effective at ranking 24 boars by litter size into large and small litter groups.
Husbandry stress exacerbates mycobacterial infections in adult zebrafish, Danio rerio (Hamilton)
Authors: Ramsay J M , Watral V , Schreck C B , Kent M L 
Published: June 2009

AbstractMycobacteria are significant pathogens of laboratory zebrafish, Danio rerio (Hamilton). Stress is often implicated in clinical disease and morbidity associated with mycobacterial infections but has yet to be examined with zebrafish. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of husbandry stressors on zebrafish infected with mycobacteria. Adult zebrafish were exposed to Mycobacterium marinum or Mycobacterium chelonae, two species that have been associated with disease in zebrafish. Infected fish and controls were then subjected to chronic crowding and handling stressors and examined over an 8‐week period. Whole‐body cortisol was significantly elevated in stressed fish compared to non‐stressed fish. Fish infected with M. marinum ATCC 927 and subjected to husbandry stressors had 14% cumulative mortality while no mortality occurred among infected fish not subjected to husbandry stressors. Stressed fish, infected with M. chelonae H1E2 from zebrafish, were 15‐fold more likely to be infected than non‐stressed fish at week 8 post‐injection. Sub‐acute, diffuse infections were more common among stressed fish infected with M. marinum or M. chelonae than non‐stressed fish. This is the first study to demonstrate an effect of stress and elevated cortisol on the morbidity, prevalence, clinical disease and histological presentation associated with mycobacterial infections in zebrafish. Minimizing husbandry stress may be effective at reducing the severity of outbreaks of clinical mycobacteriosis in zebrafish facilities.
Variant Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease and exposure to fractionated plasma products
Authors: Ward H. J. T. , MacKenzie J. M. , Llewelyn C. A. , Knight R. S. G. , Hewitt P. E. , Connor N. , Molesworth A. , Will R. G. 
Published: June 2009

Background  The risk to public health of onward transmission of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) via blood transfusion and plasma product administration is of on‐going concern, particularly with the recent reported detection of abnormal prion protein in a person with haemophilia.Objectives  To describe the history of fractionated plasma product exposure in clinical cases of vCJD in the UK.Methods  Through examination of records held at the National CJD Surveillance Unit (from relatives, general practices and hospitals).Results  Nine out of 168 UK vCJD cases had a history of receipt of fractionated plasma products on 12 different occasions (1 pre‐vCJD risk in 1970, the remaining between 1989–1998). According to the UK CJD Incident Panel risk assessment criteria, 11 were low‐risk products and one was low or medium risk.Conclusion  It is unlikely that any of the UK vCJD clinical cases to date were infected through exposure to fractionated plasma products. However, the possibility that such transmission may result in vCJD cases in the future cannot be excluded.
Novel blue light‐sensitive proteins from a metagenomic approach
Authors: Pathak G. P. , Ehrenreich A. , Losi A. , Streit W. R. , Gärtner W. 
Published: June 2009

SummaryA microarray‐based approach was used to screen a soil metagenome for the presence of blue light (BL) photoreceptor‐encoding genes. The microarray carried 149 different 54‐mer oligonucleotides, derived from consensus sequences of light, oxygen and voltage (LOV) domain BL photoreceptor genes. Calibration of the microarrays allowed the detection of minimally 50 ng of genomic DNA against a background of 2–5 μg of genomic DNA. Identification of a positive cosmid clone was still possible for an amount of 0.25 ng against a background of 10 μg of labelled DNA clones. The array could readily identify targets carrying 4% sequence mismatch. Using the LOV microarray, up to 1200 library clones in concentrations of c. 20 ng each with a c. 40 kb insert size could be screened in a single batch. After calibration and reliability controls, the microarray was probed with cosmid‐cloned DNA from the thermophilic fraction of a soil sample. From this approach, a novel gene was isolated that encodes a protein consisting of several Per‐Arnt‐Sim domains, a LOV domain associated to a histidine kinase and a response regulator domain. The novel gene showed highest similarity to a known sequence from Kineococcus radiotolerans SRS30216 (58% identity for the LOV domain only) and to a gene from Methylibium petroleiphilum PM1 (57% identity). The gene, designated as ht‐met1 (Hamburg Thermophile Metagenome 1), was isolated and fully sequenced (3615 bp). ht‐met1 is followed by a second open reading frame encoding a Fe‐chelatase, an arrangement quite frequent for BL photoreceptors. The LOV domain region of ht‐met1 was subcloned and expressed yielding a fully functional, flavin‐containing LOV domain. Irradiation generated the typical LOV photochemistry, with the transient formation of a flavin‐protein photoadduct. The dark recovery lifetime was found as τREC = 120 s (20°C) and is among the fastest ones determined so far for bacterial LOV domains.
Maximal lipid oxidation in patients with type 2 diabetes is normal and shows an adequate increase in response to aerobic training
Authors: Mogensen M. , Vind B. F. , Højlund K. , Beck‐Nielsen H. , Sahlin K. 
Published: June 2009

Aim: Insulin resistance in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity is associated with an imbalance between the availability and the oxidation of lipids. We hypothesized that maximal whole‐body lipid oxidation during exercise (FATmax) is reduced and that training‐induced metabolic adaptation is attenuated in T2D.Methods: Obese T2D (n = 12) and control (n = 11) subjects matched for age, sex, physical activity and body mass index completed 10 weeks of aerobic training. Subjects were investigated before and after training with maximal and submaximal exercise tests and euglycaemic–hyperinsulinaemic clamps combined with muscle biopsies.Results: Training increased maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) and muscle citrate synthase activity and decreased blood lactate concentrations during submaximal exercise in both groups (all p < 0.01). FATmax increased markedly (40–50%) in both T2D and control subjects after training (all p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in these variables and lactate threshold (%VO2max) between groups before or after training. Insulin‐stimulated glucose disappearance rate (Rd) was lower in T2D vs. control subjects both before and after training. Rd increased in response to training in both groups (all p < 0.01). There was no correlation between Rd and measures of oxidative capacity or lipid oxidation during exercise or the training‐induced changes in these parameters.Conclusions: FATmax was not reduced in T2D, and muscle oxidative capacity increased adequately in response to aerobic training in obese subjects with and without T2D. These metabolic adaptations to training seem to be unrelated to changes in insulin sensitivity and indicate that an impaired capacity for lipid oxidation is not a major cause of insulin resistance in T2D.
Twice‐daily and three‐times‐daily dosing of a repaglinide/metformin fixed‐dose combination tablet provide similar glycaemic control
Authors: Raskin P. , Lewin A. , Reinhardt R. , Lyness W. ,   for the Repaglinide/Metformin Fixed‐Dose Combination Study Group
Published: June 2009

Aim: To assess the efficacy and safety of a new repaglinide/metformin fixed‐dose combination (FDC) tablet administered either twice a day (BID) or three times a day (TID) for the management of type 2 diabetes.Methods: This was a 26‐week, multicentre, open‐label parallel trial in which subjects poorly controlled with mono‐ or dual‐oral antidiabetic therapy were randomized 1 : 1 : 1 to instead receive repaglinide/metformin FDC either BID or TID or a rosiglitazone/metformin FDC BID. Two primary hypotheses were tested in a hierarchical manner: (i) treatment with the repaglinide/metformin FDC BID is non‐inferior to that of the rosiglitazone/metformin FDC BID as measured by changes in haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (results presented in companion paper) and (ii) repaglinide/metformin BID is non‐inferior to repaglinide/metformin TID (as measured by changes in HbA1c). Additional efficacy and safety end‐points were also assessed.Results: A total of 561 subjects were randomized; 383 completed the study. Repaglinide/metformin FDC BID was non‐inferior to repaglinide/metformin FDC TID with respect to HbA1c. Additionally, changes in mean fasting plasma glucose values from baseline to end of study were not significantly different between the BID and the TID dose groups. There were no major hypoglycaemic episodes reported in either group during the trial, and overall adverse event profiles were similar.Conclusion: The efficacy of twice‐daily dosing of a repaglinide/metformin FDC tablet was non‐inferior to that of three‐times‐daily dosing.
Poly‐GLP‐1, a novel long‐lasting glucagon‐like peptide‐1 polymer, ameliorates hyperglycaemia by improving insulin sensitivity and increasing pancreatic beta‐cell proliferation
Authors: Ma X. , Hui H. , Liu Z. , He G. , Hu J. , Meng J. , Guan L. , Luo X. 
Published: June 2009

Aim: The clinical value of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) is restricted because of its short half‐life. To overcome this limitation, a new polymer of GLP‐1 was developed by prodrug strategy, termed Poly‐GLP‐1, and its pharmacological properties were investigated.Methods: The in vitro release kinetics of GLP‐1 from Poly‐GLP‐1 was analysed by Western blot. Plasma GLP‐1 levels following a single administration of Poly‐GLP‐1 were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The in vitro effects of Poly‐GLP‐1 were evaluated using isolated pancreatic islets. The acute effects on glycaemic control and food intake were investigated in C57BL/6J mice s.c. administered with Poly‐GLP‐1. The chronic effects of Poly‐GLP‐1 on glycaemic control were further assessed in C57BL/6J and db/db mice treated twice daily for 6 weeks.Results: Pro‐GLP‐1 dose dependently increased insulin secretion and decreased glucose, but did not exhibit the insulinotropic action in isolated pancreatic islets without plasma. The glucose‐lowering actions of Poly‐GLP‐1 (3 nmol/kg) remained no less than 12 h after a single injection. Poly‐GLP‐1 caused a durable restoration of glycaemic control, food intake and body weight gain in db/db mice following 6‐week administration. The chronic treatment with Poly‐GLP‐1 improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and increased β‐cell mass and proliferation in db/db mice. There was little effect on normal mice treated in the same manner.Conclusions: Our results indicated that Poly‐GLP‐1, a novel GLP‐1 polymer, has long‐lasting and potent effects on glycaemic control in vivo, and these beneficial effects may be because of improvement of insulin sensitivity and promotion of islet growth and function.
The weight of US residence among immigrants: a systematic review
Authors: Oza‐Frank R. , Cunningham S. A. 
Published: June 2009

SummaryAs the number of immigrants in the USA continues to rise, it becomes increasingly important to understand how their health differs from native‐born individuals. Obesity is a public health concern and a component of health that may differ and change in important ways in immigrants. This research synthesizes the current literature on the relationship between immigrant duration of residence in the USA and body weight. Five databases from the health and social sciences were searched for all pertinent publications. Fifteen articles met inclusion criteria, 14 of which reported a significant, positive relationship between body mass index and duration of residence in the USA (all P‐values <0.10). Two studies reported a threshold effect of weight gain after 10 years of US residence, and another study reported that body mass index peaks after 21 years of duration for men and after 15 years for women. The results of this review suggest that weight gain prevention programmes would be beneficial for many immigrants within the first decade of residence in the USA. Prevention efforts may be more successful if nativity and acculturation are considered in addition to race/ethnicity. Future research is needed to identify the specific mechanisms through which living in the USA may adversely affect health outcomes.
Factors that may impede the weight loss response to exercise‐based interventions
Authors: Boutcher S. H. , Dunn S. L. 
Published: June 2009

SummaryThe results of exercise programmes designed to reduce body fat are disappointing. However, the reporting of weight loss as mean values disguises those individuals who do lose significant amounts of fat. Why some participants produce significant exercise‐induced fat loss whereas others lose little or increase fat stores is likely to be an outcome of a range of behavioural (e.g. sleep deprivation, caloric intake), inherited (e.g. muscle fibre type, gender) and physiological (e.g. hyperinsulinaemia, hypothyroidism) factors. The following review highlights possible factors involved in weight loss and discusses how individual differences may determine the extent of weight loss after an exercise intervention. Finally, implications for the treatment and prevention of obesity are discussed.
Risk Management Lessons from the Credit Crisis
Authors: Jorion Philippe 
Published: June 2009

Abstract Risk management, even if flawlessly executed, does not guarantee that big losses will not occur. Big losses can occur because of business decisions and bad luck. Even so, the events of 2007 and 2008 have highlighted serious deficiencies in risk models. For some firms, risk models failed because of known unknowns. These include model risk, liquidity risk, and counterparty risk. In 2008, risk models largely failed due to unknown unknowns, which include regulatory and structural changes in capital markets. Risk management systems need to be improved and place a greater emphasis on stress tests and scenario analysis. In practice, this can only be based on position‐based risk measures that are the basis for modern risk measurement architecture. Overall, this crisis has reinforced the importance of risk management.
Downward Wage Rigidity in Europe: A New Flexible Parametric Approach and Empirical Results
Authors: Behr Andreas , Pötter Ulrich 
Published: June 2009

AbstractWe suggest a new parametric approach to estimate the extent of downward nominal wage rigidity in ten European countries between 1995 and 2001. The database used throughout is the User Data Base of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). The proposed approach is based on the generalized hyperbolic distribution, which allows to model wage change distributions characterized by thick tales, skewness and leptokurtosis. Significant downward nominal wage rigidity is found in all countries under analysis, but the extent varies considerably across countries. Yearly estimates reveal increasing rigidity in Italy, Greece and Portugal, while rigidity is declining in Denmark and Belgium. The results imply that the costs of price stability differ substantially across Europe.
Going Multinational: What are the Effects on Home-Market Performance?
Authors: Jäckle Robert , Wamser Georg 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
This paper compares the home-market performance of German multinational enterprises (MNEs) and national firms, both before and after switching from national to multinational activities. Regarding the former case, our results show that future multinationals outperform domestic firms. When assessing the ex post performance of multinationals, selectivity issues must be taken into account. Applying an endogenous treatment model, it turns out that after switching, both productivity and wage growth are higher at newly founded MNEs. While capital intensities increase compared with those of national firms, employment growth rates are negatively related to switching, suggesting that home and foreign employment are substitutes.
The consumer stuck between a rock of victimhood and a hard place called responsibility: political discourses on the ‘consumer’ in Finnish and German governmental policy documents
Authors: Wahlen Stefan 
Published: June 2009

AbstractExecutive governmental authorities contribute a discourse, making‐up, outlining and configuring the consumer. The objective of this paper is to elaborate on the discursive construction of the consumer provided by governmental institutions. Exemplified by Finnish and German policy documents, this paper tries to provide an insight on the consumer as the subject that is governed by politics. Thus, a discourse analytic approach reveals according to what rationale the consumer is discursively constructed on a dichotomous sovereignty‐vulnerability‐continuum. Hence, this paper provides actors and institutions that are involved in consumer policy deliberate basic principles for the understanding of consumers.