bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Carbonate rocks in the Mojave Desert as an analogue for Martian carbonates
Authors: Bishop Janice L. , Schelble Rachel T. , McKay Christopher P. , Brown Adrian J. , Perry Kaysea A. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractCarbonate rocks in the Mojave Desert are presented as potential analogues for the carbonates on Mars. Rocks collected from the Little Red Hill site contain iron oxide-bearing coatings that greatly suppress the spectral features due to carbonate of the underlying material and impart a spectral slope. The Mojave Desert was formerly a lush pedogenic soil environment that, over time, transformed into the current arid climate with abundant rock varnish. One niche for microbes in the current desolate environment is inside and underneath the rocks where the microbes profit from solar protection by the iron oxide rock coatings. Carbonates were long predicted to be present on Mars and have recently been detected by instruments on Phoenix and MER and using hyperspectral orbiters such as the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) and the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES). We describe here the results of a study of carbonate rocks from the Little Red Hill site of the Mojave Desert that includes X-ray diffraction (XRD), chemistry and visible-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Coatings on the carbonate rocks greatly reduced the strength of the carbonate bands and caused changes in the shape of some bands. We compare these data with a carbonate outcrop at Nili Fossae, Mars. If microbes once inhabited Mars, similar carbonate rocks with iron oxide coatings could have provided a UV-protected niche there as well. Thus, analysis of carbonate-bearing regions on Mars by future landers would be useful sites to search for biosignatures.
Modifying prescribing behaviour of angiotensin receptor blockers by selectively rescinding managerial prior authorization requirements for losartan
Authors: Kahan Natan R. , Chinitz David P. , Blackman Shimon , Waitman Dan‐Andrei , Vardy Daniel A. 
Published: June 2011

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT• The utility of a prior authorization (PA) requirement for curtailing the prescription of expensive drugs and improving quality of care has been well substantiated. Although studies have evaluated changes in prescribing behaviour after revocation of a PA requirement, the effectiveness of selective revocation for the first drug within a class to go off patent as an incentive to reduce prescription of the more expensive drugs has not been studied.WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS• Rescinding the PA requirement for a generic drug alone within a pharmacological category upon its introduction into the market is a successful managerial strategy for reduction of prescription of the more expensive drugs still on patent in that class. The observed duration of effect was approximately 1 year.AIMS To evaluate whether rescinding the prior authorization (PA) requirement (managerial pre‐approval) for losartan in an health maintenance organization (HMO) could reduce prescribing of the more expensive angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs).METHODS HMO physicians were notified that losartan would no longer require PA, and appropriate changes were made to the electronic prescribing computer program. The monthly distribution by drug of the number of prescriptions for ARBs dispensed for new patients was calculated before and after the policy change from data captured from electronic records. The proportion of patients (percentage and 95% confidence interval) treated with losartan who met the criteria for treatment with ARBs (hypertension or cardiac insufficiency in patients who have developed adverse effects in response to angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors or macroproteinuria) during the first month after the PA requirement was rescinded was calculated.RESULTS The total number of PA requests for ARBs declined by 48.6% from 961 in December 2008, the month before the policy change, to 494 the following January, rising again to 651 during January 2010. Prescription incidence changed from 121 to 255 patients treated per month (114% increase) for losartan, from 15 to 16 (6.7% increase) for candesartan, and from 89 to 71 (20.2% decrease) for valsartan. The duration of effect for decrease in ARB requests for the more expensive drugs was approximately 1 year. Only 23.3% (95% confidence interval 18.1–28.4) of patients receiving losartan met the criteria for receiving ARBs.CONCLUSIONS Rescinding the PA requirement for this drug alone was an effective limited‐duration strategy for reduction of prescription of relatively expensive drugs.
Nestedness patterns and the dual nature of community reassembly in California streams: a multivariate permutation‐based approach
Authors: Novak Mark , Moore Jonathan W. , Leidy Robert A. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractMany factors contribute to the nonrandom processes of extinctions and invasions that are changing the structure of ecological communities worldwide. These factors include the attributes of the species, their abiotic environment, and the interactions and feedbacks between them. The relative importance of these factors has been difficult to quantify. We used nested subset theory and a novel permutation‐based extension of gradient analysis to disentangle the direct and indirect pathways by which these factors affect the metacommunity structure of freshwater fishes inhabiting the streams tributary to the San Francisco Bay. Our analyses provide quantitative measures of how species and stream attributes may influence extinction vulnerability and invasion risk, highlight the need for considering the multiple interacting drivers of community change concurrently, and indicate that the ongoing disassembly and assembly of Bay Area freshwater fish communities are not fully symmetric processes. Fish communities are being taken apart and put back together in only partially analogous trajectories of extinction and invasion for which no single explanatory hypothesis is sufficient. Our study thereby contributes to the forecasting of continued community change and its effects on the functioning of freshwater ecosystems.
A carbon cost–gain model explains the observed patterns of xylem safety and efficiency
Authors: HÖLTTÄ TEEMU , MENCUCCINI MAURIZIO , NIKINMAA EERO 
Published: June 2011

ABSTRACTEfficient water transport from the soil to the leaves is essential for plant function, while building and maintaining the water transport structure in the xylem require a major proportion of the assimilated carbon of the tree. Xylem transport also faces additional challenges as water in the xylem is under tension and therefore cavitation cannot be completely avoided. We constructed a model that calculates the xylem structure that maximizes carbon‐use efficiency while simultaneously taking into account pit structure in increasing the resistance to water transport and constricting the spreading of embolisms. The optimal xylem structure predicted by the model was found to correspond well to the generally observed trends: xylem conduits grew in size from the apex towards the base while simultaneously decreasing in number, and vulnerability to cavitation increased with conduit size. These trends were caused primarily by the axial water potential gradient in the xylem. The pits have to be less porous near the apex where water potential is lower to restrict the spreading of embolisms, while whole‐plant carbon‐use efficiency demands that conduit size decreases and conduit number increases simultaneously. The model predictions remained qualitatively the same regardless of the exact optimality criterion used for defining carbon‐use efficiency.
De novo genetic variation associated with retrotransposon activation, genomic rearrangements and trait variation in a recombinant inbred line population of Brassica napus derived from interspecific hybridization with Brassica rapa
Authors: Zou Jun , Fu Donghui , Gong Huihui , Qian Wei , Xia Wei , Pires J. Chris , Li RuiYuan , Long Yan , Mason Annaliese S. , Yang Tae‐Jin , Lim Yong P. , Park Beom S. , Meng Jinling 
Published: June 2011

SummaryInterspecific hybridization is a significant evolutionary force as well as a powerful method for crop breeding. Partial substitution of the AA subgenome in Brassica napus (AnAnCnCn) with the Brassica rapa (ArAr) genome by two rounds of interspecific hybridization resulted in a new introgressed type of B. napus (ArArCnCn). In this study, we construct a population of recombinant inbred lines of the new introgressed type of B. napus. Microsatellite, intron‐based and retrotransposon markers were used to characterize this experimental population with genetic mapping, genetic map comparison and specific marker cloning analysis. Yield‐related traits were also recorded for identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs). A remarkable range of novel genomic alterations was observed in the population, including simple sequence repeat (SSR) mutations, chromosomal rearrangements and retrotransposon activations. Most of these changes occurred immediately after interspecific hybridization, in the early stages of genome stabilization and derivation of experimental lines. These novel genomic alterations affected yield‐related traits in the introgressed B. napus to an even greater extent than the alleles alone that were introgressed from the Ar subgenome of B. rapa, suggesting that genomic changes induced by interspecific hybridization are highly significant in both genome evolution and crop improvement.
A specific role for Arabidopsis TRAPPII in post‐Golgi trafficking that is crucial for cytokinesis and cell polarity
Authors: Qi Xingyun , Kaneda Minako , Chen Jun , Geitmann Anja , Zheng Huanquan 
Published: June 2011

SummaryCytokinesis and cell polarity are supported by membrane trafficking from the trans‐Golgi network (TGN), but the molecular mechanisms that promote membrane trafficking from the TGN are poorly defined in plant cells. Here we show that TRAPPII in Arabidopsis regulates the post‐Golgi trafficking that is crucial for assembly of the cell plate and cell polarity. Disruptions of AtTRS120 or AtTRS130, two genes encoding two key subunits of TRAPPII, result in defective cytokinesis and cell polarity in embryogenesis and seedling development. In attrs120 and attrs130, the organization and trafficking in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–Golgi interface are normal. However, post‐Golgi trafficking to the cell plate and to the cell wall, but not to the vacuole, is impaired. Furthermore, TRAPPII is required for the selective transport of PIN2, but not PIN1, to the plasma membrane. We revealed that AtTRS130 is co‐localized with RAB‐A1c. Expression of constitutively active RAB‐A1c partially rescues attrs130. RAB‐A1c, which resides at the TGN, is delocalized to the cytosol in attrs130. We propose that TRAPPII in Arabidopsis acts upstream of Rab‐A GTPases in post‐Golgi membrane trafficking in plant cells.
The invasive weed Lantana camara increases fire risk in dry rainforest by altering fuel beds
Authors: BERRY Z C , WEVILL K , CURRAN T J 
Published: June 2011

Berry ZC, Wevill K & Curran TJ (2011). The invasive weed Lantana camara increases fire risk in dry rainforest by altering fuel beds. Weed Research51, 525–533.SummaryThe invasive weed, Lantana camara, dominates numerous tropical and sub‐tropical ecosystems and affects many aspects of ecosystem functioning, one of them being susceptibility to fire intrusion. The process by which L. camara might alter fire regimes in dry rainforest was examined by considering two potential mechanisms: (i) by being more ignitable than native species or (ii) by altering the structure and distribution of biomass to facilitate fire spread. We hypothesised that L. camara might alter fire regimes by both mechanisms. Measurements of leaf dry matter content, twig dry matter content and burn durations in laboratory trials implied that L. camara was less ignitable than native dry rainforest species. Fuel bed depths, leaf litter depths, percentage cover by fuels and amount of medium‐size class fuels were higher in dry rainforest invaded by L. camara than in non‐invaded forests. This suggests that the mechanism by which L. camara alters the fire regime in dry rainforest is by shifting the distribution of available fuels closer to the ground and providing a more continuous fuel layer in the understory. Management should focus on targeting L. camara removal around forest edges adjacent to frequently burned savannas and in areas of high conservation value.
Acetyl‐L‐Carnitine ameliorates spatial memory deficits induced by inhibition of phosphoinositol‐3 kinase and protein kinase C
Authors: Jiang Xia , Tian Qing , Wang Yue , Zhou Xin‐Wen , Xie Jia‐Zhao , Wang Jian‐Zhi , Zhu Ling‐Qiang 
Published: June 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 118, 864–878.AbstractGlycogen synthase kinase‐3β (GSK‐3β) plays a crucial role in memory deficits and tau hyperphosphorylation as seen in Alzheimer’s disease, the most common dementia in the aged population. We reported that ventricular co‐injection of wortmannin and GF‐109203X (WT/GFX) can induce tau hyperphosophorylation and memory impairment of rats through activation of GSK‐3 [Liu S. J., Zhang A. H., Li H. L., Wang Q., Deng H. M., Netzer W. J., Xu H. X. and Wang J. Z. (2003) J. Neurochem. 87, 1333]. In the present study, we found that feeding the rats with Acetyl‐L‐Carnitine (ALCAR, 50 mg/day·rat, per os) for 2 weeks rescued the WT/GFX‐induced spatial memory retention impairment of the rats by antagonizing GSK‐3β activation independent of Akt, PKCζ and Erk1/2. We also found that ALCAR arrested microtubule‐associated protein tau hyperphosphorylation at multiple Alzheimer’s disease sites in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, ALCAR enhanced the expression of several memory‐associated proteins including c‐Fos, synapsin I in rat hippocampus. These results suggest that ALCAR could ameliorate WT/GFX‐induced spatial memory deficits through inhibition tau hyperphosphorylation and modulation of memory‐associated proteins.
SKF‐83566, a D1‐dopamine receptor antagonist, inhibits the dopamine transporter
Authors: Stouffer Melissa A. , Ali Solav , Reith Maarten E. A. , Patel Jyoti C. , Sarti Federica , Carr Kenneth D. , Rice Margaret E. 
Published: June 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 118, 714–720.AbstractDopamine (DA) is an important transmitter in both motor and limbic pathways. We sought to investigate the role of D1‐receptor activation in axonal DA release regulation in dorsal striatum using a D1‐receptor antagonist, SKF‐83566. Evoked DA release was monitored in rat striatal slices using fast‐scan cyclic voltammetry. SKF‐83566 caused a concentration‐dependent increase in peak single‐pulse evoked extracellular DA concentration, with a maximum increase of ∼ 65% in 5 μM SKF‐83566. This was accompanied by a concentration‐dependent increase in extracellular DA concentration clearance time. Both effects were occluded by nomifensine (1 μM), a dopamine transporter (DAT) inhibitor, suggesting that SKF‐83566 acted via the DAT. We tested this by examining [3H]DA uptake into LLc‐PK cells expressing rat DAT, and confirmed that SKF‐83566 is a competitive DAT inhibitor with an IC50 of 5.7 μM. Binding studies with [3H]CFT, a cocaine analog, showed even more potent action of SKF‐83566 at the DAT cocaine binding site (IC50 = 0.51 μM). Thus, data obtained using SKF‐83566 as a D1 DA‐receptor antagonist may be confounded by concurrent DAT inhibition. More positively, however, SKF‐83566 might be a candidate to attenuate cocaine effects in vivo because of the greater potency of this drug at the cocaine versus DA binding site of the DAT.
Amyloid‐beta levels are significantly reduced and spatial memory defects are rescued in a novel neuroserpin‐deficient Alzheimer’s disease transgenic mouse model
Authors: Fabbro Shay , Schaller Kristin , Seeds Nicholas W. 
Published: June 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 118, 928–938.AbstractAmyloid‐beta (Aβ) plaques are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Several proteases including plasmin are thought to promote proteolytic cleavage and clearance of Aβ from brain. The activity of both plasmin and tissue plasminogen activator are reduced in Alzheimer’s disease brain, while the tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor neuroserpin is up‐regulated. Here, the relationship of tissue plasminogen activator and neuroserpin to Aβ levels is explored in mouse models. Aβ1‐42 peptide injected into the frontal cortex of tissue plasminogen activator knockout mice is slow to disappear compared to wildtype mice, whereas neuroserpin knockout mice show a rapid clearance of Aβ1‐42. The relationship of neuroserpin and tissue plasminogen activator to Aβ plaque formation was studied further by knocking‐out neuroserpin in the human amyloid precursor protein‐J20 transgenic mouse. Compared to the J20‐transgenic mouse, the neuroserpin‐deficient J20‐transgenic mice have a dramatic reduction of Aβ peptides, fewer and smaller plaques, and more active tissue plasminogen activator associated with plaques. Furthermore, neuroserpin‐deficient J20‐transgenic mice have near normal performances in the Morris water maze, in contrast to the spatial memory defects seen in J20‐transgenic mice. These results support the concept that neuroserpin inhibition of tissue plasminogen activator plays an important role both in the accumulation of brain amyloid plaques and loss of cognitive abilities.
Detecting a leachate plume in an aeolian sand landscape using a DUALEM‐421 induction probe to measure electrical conductivity followed by inversion modelling
Authors: Triantafilis J. , Roe J. A. E. , Monteiro Santos F. A. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractSolid waste poses a serious health risk when it is disposed of inadequately because water‐based solutions derived from the decomposition of solid waste products (leachate) can enter groundwater systems via plumes. To assess the public health risk and potential ecological impacts, we require knowledge on the pedological and hydrogeological settings in which waste is disposed. This is particularly the case in coarse textured highly permeable soil. To rapidly collect data, geophysical methods such as direct current (dc) resistivity techniques have been used. Moreover, non‐contact electromagnetic (EM) induction instruments have also been employed. The aim of this research was to demonstrate how the inversion using a 1‐dimensional inversion algorithm with lateral constraints of the apparent electrical conductivity (σa) measured in the horizontal coplanar (HCP) and perpendicular co‐planar arrays (PRP) of a DUALEM‐421 EM induction probe can be used to develop a two‐dimensional model of the true electrical conductivity (σ) within a Quaternary aeolian sand in the Tuggerah Soil Landscape southeast of Sydney in Australia. Our results from 2D models of σ accord with estimates of bulk electrical conductivity (σb) of a leachate plume and uncontaminated groundwater, the stratigraphy of the Tuggerah soil landscape unit and the depth of sand used to landscape the decommissioned landfill. Further research is needed to determine the origin of the plume and a quasi‐3D modelling approach is applicable.
Predicting the degree of phosphorus saturation using the ammonium acetate–EDTA soil test
Authors: Houben D. , Meunier C. , Pereira B. , Sonnet Ph. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractAs a result of the important role played by phosphorus (P) in surface water eutrophication, the susceptibility of soils to release P requires evaluation. The degree of phosphorus saturation, assessed by oxalate extraction (DPSox), has been used as an indicator. However, most laboratories do not include DPSox in routine soil tests because of cost and time. This study evaluates the suitability of the ammonium acetate extraction in the presence of EDTA (AAEDTA), the standard soil test P (STP) in Wallonia (Southern Belgium), to predict DPSox; we also compared it with the Mehlich 3 extraction. Ninety‐three topsoil samples were collected in agricultural soils throughout Wallonia. Good correlations were found between the AAEDTA and the Mehlich 3 methods for P, Fe and Al (r = 0.85, 0.77 and 0.86, respectively). An exponential relationship was found between PAAEDTA and DPSox. Results of principal component analysis and regression demonstrated that STP can be used to predict DPSox (r = 0.93) after logarithmic transformation. Soil test Al was also a good indicator of the P sorption capacity (PSCox) of soils (r = 0.86). Including the clay fraction in regression equations only slightly improved the prediction of PSCox (r = 0.90), while other readily available data (such as pH or organic carbon) did not significantly improve either DPSox or PSCox predictions.
Assessment of cardiac output measurement in dogs by transpulmonary pulse contour analysis
Authors: Shih Andre , Maisenbacher Herbert W. , Bandt Carsten , Ricco Carolina , Bailey James , Rivera Jess , Estrada Amara 
Published: June 2011

AbstractObjective
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To determine if metatarsal artery pressure (COmet) is comparable to femoral artery pressure (COfem) as the input for transpulmonary pulse contour analysis (PiCCO) in anesthetized dogs, using the lithium dilution method (LiDCO) as a standard for cardiac output (CO) measurement.Design
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Prospective randomized study.Setting
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University research laboratory.Animals
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Ten healthy purpose‐bred mixed breed dogs were anesthetized and instrumented to measure direct blood pressure, heart rate, arterial blood gases, and CO.Interventions
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The CO was measured using LiDCO and PiCCO techniques. Animals had their right femoral and left distal metatarsal artery catheterized for proximal (COfem) and distal (COmet) PiCCO analysis, respectively. Measurements were obtained from each animal during low, normal, and high CO states by changing amount of inhalant anesthetics and heart rate. Measurements were converted to CO indexed to body weigh (CIBW=CO/kg) for statistical analysis. Agreement was determined using Bland and Altman analysis and concordance correlation coefficients.Measurements and Main Results
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Thirty paired measurements were taken. The LiDCO CIBW (± SD) was 68.7 ± 30.3, 176.0 ± 53.0, and 211.1 ± 76.5 mL/kg/min during low, normal, and high CO states, respectively. There was a significant effect of CIBW state on bias and relative bias with COmet (P<0.001 and P=0.003, respectively). Bias of the COmet method (± SD) was −116.6 (70.5), 20.1(76.4), and 91.3 (92.0) mL/kg/min at low, normal, and high CIBW, respectively. Bias of the COfem (± SD) was −20.3 (19.0), 8.6 (70.9), and −2.9 (83.0) mL/kg/min at low, normal, and high CIBW, respectively. The mean relative bias for COfem was −6.7 ± 44% (limits of agreements: −81.2 to 67.9%).Conclusion
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Compared with lithium dilution, the pulse contour analysis provides a good estimation of CO, but requires femoral artery catheterization in anesthetized dogs.