bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Disassortative mating and the maintenance of sexual polymorphism in painted maple
Authors: FIELD DAVID L. , BARRETT SPENCER C. H. 
Published: July 2012

Since Darwin’s pioneering research on plant reproductive biology (e.g. Darwin 1877), understanding the mechanisms maintaining the diverse sexual strategies of plants has remained an important challenge for evolutionary biologists. In some species, populations are sexually polymorphic and contain two or more mating morphs (sex phenotypes). Differences in morphology or phenology among the morphs influence patterns of non‐random mating. In these populations, negative frequency‐dependent selection arising from disassortative (intermorph) mating is usually required for the evolutionary maintenance of sexual polymorphism, but few studies have demonstrated the required patterns of non‐random mating. In the current issue of Molecular Ecology, Shang et al. (2012) make an important contribution to our understanding of how disassortative mating influences sex phenotype ratios in Acer pictum subsp. mono (painted maple), a heterodichogamous, deciduous tree of eastern China. They monitored sex expression in 97 adults and used paternity analysis of open‐pollinated seed to examine disassortative mating among three sex phenotypes. Using a deterministic ‘pollen transfer’ model, Shang et al. present convincing evidence that differences in the degree of disassortative mating in progeny arrays of the sex phenotypes can explain their uneven frequencies in the adult population. This study provides a useful example of how the deployment of genetic markers, demographic monitoring and modelling can be integrated to investigate the maintenance of sexual diversity in plants.
Tales of the unexpected: Phylogeography of the arctic‐alpine model plant Saxifraga oppositifolia (Saxifragaceae) revisited
Authors: WINKLER MANUELA , TRIBSCH ANDREAS , SCHNEEWEISS GERALD M. , BRODBECK SABINE , GUGERLI FELIX , HOLDEREGGER ROLF , ABBOTT RICHARD J. , SCHÖNSWETTER PETER 
Published: July 2012

AbstractArctic‐alpine biota occupy enormous areas in the Arctic and the northern hemisphere mountain ranges and have undergone major range shifts during their comparatively short history. The origins of individual arctic‐alpine species remain largely unknown. In the case of the Purple saxifrage, Saxifraga oppositifolia, an important model for arctic‐alpine plants, phylogeographic studies have remained inconclusive about early stages of the species’ spatiotemporal diversification but have provided evidence for long‐range colonization out of a presumed Beringian origin to cover today’s circumpolar range. We re‐evaluated the species’ large‐scale range dynamics based on a geographically extended sampling including crucial areas such as Central Asia and the (south‐)eastern European mountain ranges and employing up‐to‐date phylogeographic analyses of a plastid sequence data set and a more restricted AFLP data set. In accordance with previous studies, we detected two major plastid DNA lineages also reflected in AFLP divergence, suggesting a long and independent vicariant history. Although we were unable to determine the species’ area of origin, our results point to Europe (probably the Alps) and Central Asia, respectively, as the likely ancestral areas of the two main lineages. AFLP data suggested that contact areas between the two clades in the Carpathians, Northern Siberia and western Greenland were secondary. In marked contrast to high levels of diversity revealed in previous studies, populations from the major arctic refugium Beringia did not exhibit any plastid sequence polymorphism. Our study shows that adequate sampling of the southern, refugial populations is crucial for understanding the range dynamics of arctic‐alpine species.
Cross‐allergic Reactions to Legumes in Lupin and Fenugreek‐Sensitized Mice
Authors: Vinje N. E. , Namork E. , Løvik M. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractSeveral legumes may induce allergy, and there is extensive serological cross‐reactivity among legumes. This cross‐reactivity has traditionally been regarded to have limited clinical relevance. However, the introduction of novel legumes to Western countries may have changed this pattern, and in some studies cross‐allergy to lupin has been reported in more than 60% of peanut‐allergic patients. We wanted to explore cross‐reactions among legumes using two newly established mouse models of food allergy. Mice were immunized perorally with fenugreek or lupin with cholera toxin as adjuvant. The mice were challenged with high doses of fenugreek, lupin, peanut or soy, and signs of anaphylactic reactions were observed. Cross‐allergic mechanisms were investigated using serum mouse mast cell protease‐1 (MMCP‐1), antibody responses, immunoblotting and ex vivo production of cytokines by spleen cells. Signs of cross‐allergy were observed for all the tested legumes in both models. The cross‐allergic symptoms were milder and affected fewer mice than the primary allergic responses. The cross‐allergy was reflected to a certain extent in the antibody and T‐cell responses, but not in serum MMCP‐1 levels. Cross‐allergy to peanut, soy, fenugreek and lupin was observed in lupin‐sensitized and fenugreek‐sensitized mice. Differences in serological responses between primary allergy and cross‐allergy might be due to mediation through different immune mechanisms or reflect different epitope affinity to IgE. These differences need to be further investigated.
Blood and bombs: the demand and use of blood following the London Bombings of 7 July 2005 – a retrospective review
Authors: Glasgow S. M. , Allard S. , Doughty H. , Spreadborough P. , Watkins E. 
Published: July 2012

SummaryMass casualty events (MCE) present health systems with a sudden demand on key services. The overall objective of this study was to describe the experience of the National Blood Service (NBS) following the largest UK MCE in recent times. Data was collated from the NBS database and directly from the hospitals involved. All data was collected immediately following the event and included: all blood components requested, issued and transfused in relation to the bombings, blood stock levels at the time and the injury profiles of the casualties transfused. The total NBS order from hospitals for the event was 1455 units of blood components. All requests were fulfilled, this included: 978 units of red cells (RC), 36 doses of platelets, 141 units of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and 300 doses of cryoprecipitate. The amount of blood ordered was three times that initially used and the total number of RC transfused in treating all victims from admission to discharge was approximately 440 units. The greatest use of blood components was for those casualties who had sustained traumatic amputations amongst their injury profile. Published data with which to compare these results is lacking, although the RC use was similar to the initial mean individual usage described in previous military and civilian bombings. The overall implication for any blood service remains, there is now likely to be a far greater demand for plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate in any future incidents involving victims suffering major haemorrhage.
Procalcitonin and C‐reactive protein as predictors of blood culture positivity among hospitalised children with severe pneumonia in Mozambique
Authors: Díez‐Padrisa N. , Bassat Q. , Morais L. , O’Callaghan‐Gordo C. , Machevo S. , Nhampossa T. , Ibarz‐Pavón A. B. , Quintó L. , Alonso P. L. , Roca A. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractObjectives  To evaluate the benefits of using procalcitonin (PCT) and C‐reactive protein (CRP) as pre‐screening tools to predict blood culture positivity among Mozambican children with clinical severe pneumonia (CSP).Methods  586 children <5 years with CSP and no concurrent malaria fulfilled criteria to be included in the study groups. We determined PCT and CRP for all children with positive bacterial culture (BC+ group, n = 84) and of a random selection of children with negative bacterial culture (BC− group, n = 246).Results  PCT and CRP levels were higher in the BC+ group than the BC− one (PCT: median 7.73 versus 0.48 ng/ml, P < 0.001; CRP: 177.65 mg/l vs. 26.5 mg/l, P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, PCT was the only independent predictor of the group. To be used as pre‐screening tool, PCT presented higher specificities for predetermined sensitivities (≥85%) than CRP. Pursuing a sensitivity of 95%, PCT could reduce the need for bacterial culture by 49% and overall diagnosis costs by 7–35% [assuming variable costs for PCT measurement (ranging from 10 to 30 USD) and a fixed cost of 72.5 USD per blood culture].Conclusions  Among hospitalised children with CSP and absence of concurrent malaria, PCT pre‐screening could help reduce the number of blood cultures and diagnosis costs by specifically targeting patients more likely to yield positive results.
Neurocysticercosis: is serology useful in the absence of brain imaging?
Authors: Garcia Hector H. , Rodriguez Silvia , Gilman Robert H. , Gonzalez Armando E. , Tsang Victor C. W. ,   for the Cysticercosis Working Group in Peru
Published: July 2012

AbstractNeurocysticercosis (NCC) is endemic in most parts of the world and is now recognised as an important contributor to neurological disease. Serological diagnosis of NCC improved greatly in the past two decades and contributed to demonstrating previously unsuspected regions of endemicity. Claims for an accurate serological screening tool for human cysticercosis are frequently raised. However, after symptomatic therapeutics are applied, management of NCC is driven by the characteristics of the central nervous system infection in terms of viability, number, location size and evolutionary stage of parasites, as well as by the resulting inflammation. It is unclear whether, in the absence of neuroimaging, serological confirmation of aetiology of suspected cases (neurologically symptomatic) or detection of asymptomatic cases in population screening would affect their management or prognosis.
Space‐time clusters of dengue fever in Bangladesh
Authors: Banu Shahera , Hu Wenbiao , Hurst Cameron , Guo Yuming , Islam Mohammad Zahirul , Tong Shilu 
Published: July 2012

AbstractObjective  To examine the space‐time clustering of dengue fever (DF) transmission in Bangladesh using geographical information system and spatial scan statistics (SaTScan).Methods  We obtained data on monthly suspected DF cases and deaths by district in Bangladesh for the period of 2000–2009 from Directorate General of Health Services. Population and district boundary data of each district were collected from national census managed by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. To identify the space‐time clusters of DF transmission a discrete Poisson model was performed using SaTScan software.Results  Space‐time distribution of DF transmission was clustered during three periods 2000–2002, 2003–2005 and 2006–2009. Dhaka was the most likely cluster for DF in all three periods. Several other districts were significant secondary clusters. However, the geographical range of DF transmission appears to have declined in Bangladesh over the last decade.Conclusion  There were significant space‐time clusters of DF in Bangladesh over the last decade. Our results would prompt future studies to explore how social and ecological factors may affect DF transmission and would also be useful for improving DF control and prevention programs in Bangladesh.
Characteristics of adults and children diagnosed with tuberculosis in Lilongwe, Malawi: findings from an integrated HIV/TB clinic
Authors: Feldacker C. , Tweya H. , Keiser O. , Weigel R. , Kalulu M. , Fenner L. , Egger M. , Manda E. , Mwafilaso J. B. , Kamba C. , Phiri S. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractObjectives  To describe initial registration characteristics of adult and paediatric TB patients at a large, public, integrated TB and HIV clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi, between January 2008 and December 2010.Methods  Routine data on patient with TB category and TB type, stratified by HIV and ART status, were used to explore differences in proportions among TB only, TB/HIV co‐infected patients not on ART and TB/HIV co‐infected patients on ART using chi‐square tests. Trends over time illustrate strengths and weaknesses of integrated service provision.Results  Among 10 143 adults, HIV ascertainment and ART uptake were high and increased over time. The proportion of relapse was highest among those on ART (5%). The proportion of smear‐positive pulmonary TB (PTB) was highest among HIV‐negative patients with TB (34.9%); extra‐pulmonary TB (EPTB) was lowest among TB only (16.2%). Among 338 children <15 years, EPTB and smear‐positive PTB were more common among TB‐only patients. Time trends showed significant increases in the proportion of adults with smear‐positive PTB and the proportion of adults already on ART before starting TB treatment. However, some co‐infected patients still delay ART initiation.Conclusions  HIV ascertainment and ART uptake among co‐infected patients are successful and improving over time. However, delays in ART initiation indicate some weakness linking TB/HIV patients into ART during TB follow‐up care. Improved TB diagnostics and screening efforts, especially for paediatric patients, may help improve quality care for co‐infected patients. These results may aid efforts to prioritise TB and HIV prevention, education and treatment campaigns for specific populations.
Response to hepatitis A and B vaccination after pediatric heart transplant
Authors: Martin Kathy , Drabble Alison , Manlhiot Cedric , Dipchand Anne I. 
Published: July 2012

Martin K, Drabble A, Manlhiot C, Dipchand AI. Response to hepatitis A and B vaccination after pediatric heart transplant.Abstract:  The determination of optimal immunization protocols for immunocompromised patients is important given limited data, the potential for decreased vaccine response, and the increased threat of infection. This retrospective study assessed the response to HA and/or HB vaccination in a cohort of 13 PHTx recipients. Descriptive statistics were applied to the data, and univariate analysis was utilized to identify possible factors associated with vaccine response. HA vaccination occurred in 12 (92%) patients of whom three (25%) became HA IgG positive post‐vaccination. Eight (62%) patients had previously received HB vaccination. HB vaccination occurred in 10 (77%) patients of whom five (50%) were anti‐HBS IgG positive post‐vaccination. Median age at HA and HB vaccination was 10.0 yr, and median time post‐PHTx was 8.2 yr. Looking at the entire patient cohort, a previous history of HB vaccination was associated with increased probability of HB vaccine success (7/8 [88%] vs. 1/5 [20%], p = 0.03). Vaccine response in this cohort of PHTx recipients was well below the rates of healthy children. Only a previous history of HB vaccination was significant for increased likelihood of vaccine response. Further study is needed to identify the optimal approach to vaccination for PHTx recipients.
Desquamative interstitial pneumonia may progress to lung fibrosis as characterized radiologically
Authors: KAWABATA YOSHINORI , TAKEMURA TAMIKO , HEBISAWA AKIRA , SUGITA YUTAKA , OGURA TAKASHI , NAGAI SONOKO , SAKAI FUMIKAZU , KANAUCHI TETSU , COLBY THOMAS V. ,   THE DESQUAMATIVE INTERSTITIAL PNEUMONIA STUDY GROUP
Published: July 2012

ABSTRACTBackground and objective:  In some patients, desquamative interstitial pneumonia may progress to lung fibrosis. The aim of this study was to assess the long‐term radiological follow‐up results in patients with desquamative interstitial pneumonia.Methods:  Among 75 patients suspected of having desquamative interstitial pneumonia, 31 who fulfilled the criteria were included in this study. Clinical characteristics at presentation, responses to treatment and long‐term follow‐up were evaluated.Results:  The 31 patients were predominantly males (94%), and the mean age was 55 years; 93% (28/30) had a history of smoking. The clinical findings included high serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase and immunoglobulin G. Bronchoalveolar lavage (26 patients, 84% of cases) frequently showed an increased percentage of eosinophils (mean 17%). Computed tomography (CT) or high resolution (HR) CT at presentation showed ground glass opacities and/or consolidation in all patients, with one third of patients also showing thin‐walled cysts within the ground glass opacities. There was no honeycombing on CT or HRCT scans at presentation. Corticosteroid therapy was effective early in the course of the disease; long‐term follow‐up (mean 99 months) of 31 patients showed only one death due to progression of the disease, but long‐term follow‐up of 14 patients (mean 125 months) by HRCT showed the development of new thin‐walled cysts and honeycombing in five and lung cancer in four patients, respectively.Conclusions:  In a proportion of patients, desquamative interstitial pneumonia may progress to lung fibrosis with honeycombing on HRCT, despite therapy.
Dietary treatment of hypoglycaemia: should the Australian recommendation be increased?
Authors: Vindedzis S. , Marsh B. , Sherriff J. , Dhaliwal S. , Stanton K. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractAustralian recommendations for treatment of hypoglycaemia are 15 g of carbohydrate repeated at 10–15 min if hypoglycaemia persists. Cited evidence is expert opinion or older studies not pertinent to current insulin regimens. This study aimed to determine the effect of increasing initial treating carbohydrate and decreasing wait‐time to retreatment on resolution of hypoglycaemia in 92 free‐living adults on current insulin regimens. The results support an initial treatment of 20‐g carbohydrate, with a 10‐min wait to repeat treatment as an optimal recommendation for the insulin‐treated individual self‐treating hypoglycaemia.
Using computational models to relate structural and functional brain connectivity
Authors: Hlinka Jaroslav , Coombes Stephen 
Published: July 2012

AbstractModern imaging methods allow a non‐invasive assessment of both structural and functional brain connectivity. This has lead to the identification of disease‐related alterations affecting functional connectivity. The mechanism of how such alterations in functional connectivity arise in a structured network of interacting neural populations is as yet poorly understood. Here we use a modeling approach to explore the way in which this can arise and to highlight the important role that local population dynamics can have in shaping emergent spatial functional connectivity patterns. The local dynamics for a neural population is taken to be of the Wilson–Cowan type, whilst the structural connectivity patterns used, describing long‐range anatomical connections, cover both realistic scenarios (from the CoComac database) and idealized ones that allow for more detailed theoretical study. We have calculated graph–theoretic measures of functional network topology from numerical simulations of model networks. The effect of the form of local dynamics on the observed network state is quantified by examining the correlation between structural and functional connectivity. We document a profound and systematic dependence of the simulated functional connectivity patterns on the parameters controlling the dynamics. Importantly, we show that a weakly coupled oscillator theory explaining these correlations and their variation across parameter space can be developed. This theoretical development provides a novel way to characterize the mechanisms for the breakdown of functional connectivity in diseases through changes in local dynamics.
Network effects of subthalamic deep brain stimulation drive a unique mixture of responses in basal ganglia output
Authors: Humphries Mark D. , Gurney Kevin 
Published: July 2012

AbstractDeep brain stimulation (DBS) is a remarkably successful treatment for the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. High‐frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) within the basal ganglia is a main clinical target, but the physiological mechanisms of therapeutic STN DBS at the cellular and network level are unclear. We set out to begin to address the hypothesis that a mixture of responses in the basal ganglia output nuclei, combining regularized firing and inhibition, is a key contributor to the effectiveness of STN DBS. We used our computational model of the complete basal ganglia circuit to show how such a mixture of responses in basal ganglia output naturally arises from the network effects of STN DBS. We replicated the diversification of responses recorded in a primate STN DBS study to show that the model’s predicted mixture of responses is consistent with therapeutic STN DBS. We then showed how this ‘mixture of response’ perspective suggests new ideas for DBS mechanisms: first, that the therapeutic frequency of STN DBS is above 100 Hz because the diversification of responses exhibits a step change above this frequency; and second, that optogenetic models of direct STN stimulation during DBS have proven therapeutically ineffective because they do not replicate the mixture of basal ganglia output responses evoked by electrical DBS.
Neuronal avalanches, epileptic quakes and other transient forms of neurodynamics
Authors: Milton John G. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractPower‐law behaviors in brain activity in healthy animals, in the form of neuronal avalanches, potentially benefit the computational activities of the brain, including information storage, transmission and processing. In contrast, power‐law behaviors associated with seizures, in the form of epileptic quakes, potentially interfere with the brain’s computational activities. This review draws attention to the potential roles played by homeostatic mechanisms and multistable time‐delayed recurrent inhibitory loops in the generation of power‐law phenomena. Moreover, it is suggested that distinctions between health and disease are scale‐dependent. In other words, what is abnormal and defines disease it is not the propagation of neural activity but the propagation of activity in a neural population that is large enough to interfere with the normal activities of the brain. From this point of view, epilepsy is a disease that results from a failure of mechanisms, possibly located in part in the cortex itself or in the deep brain nuclei and brainstem, which truncate or otherwise confine the spatiotemporal scales of these power‐law phenomena.
The dynamics of neurological disease: integrating computational, experimental and clinical neuroscience
Authors: Coombes Stephen , Terry John R. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractThere is a vast (and rapidly growing) amount of experimental and clinical data of the nervous system at very diverse spatial scales of activity (e.g. from sub‐cellular through to whole organ), with many neurological disorders characterized by oscillations in neural activity across these disparate scales. Computer modelling and the development of associated mathematical theories provide us with a unique opportunity to integrate information from across these diverse scales of activity; leading to explanations of the potential mechanisms underlying the time‐evolving dynamics and, more importantly, allowing the development of new hypotheses regarding neural function that may be tested experimentally and ultimately translated into the clinic. The purpose of this special issue is to present an overview of current integrative research in the areas of epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia, where multidisciplinary relationships involving theory, experimental and clinical research are becoming increasingly established.