bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Recombinant high molecular weight‐glutenin subunit‐specific IgE detection is useful in identifying wheat‐dependent exercise‐induced anaphylaxis complementary to recombinant omega‐5 gliadin‐specific IgE test
Authors: Takahashi H. , Matsuo H. , Chinuki Y. , Kohno K. , Tanaka A. , Maruyama N. , Morita E. 
Published: May 2012

SummaryBackgroundWheat‐dependent exercise‐induced anaphylaxis (WDEIA) is a special form of food allergy typically induced by exercise after ingestion of wheat products. We identified wheat omega‐5 gliadin and high molecular weight‐glutenin subunit (HMW‐glutenin) as major allergens for WDEIA and clarified that simultaneous detection of serum IgE binding to synthetic epitope peptides of these allergens identifies more than 90% of WDEIA patients. However, the short synthetic peptides are not suitable for CAP‐fluorescent enzyme‐immunoassay (CAP‐FEIA), which is widely utilized for detecting allergen‐specific IgE.ObjectiveIn this study, we constructed a CAP‐FEIA with recombinant HMW‐glutenin, and evaluated its usefulness in identifying the patients with WDEIA.MethodsRecombinant HMW‐glutenin was expressed as histidine‐tag protein in E. coli and purified by histidine‐tag affinity column. Wheat, gluten, recombinant omega‐5 gliadin, epitope peptide of HMW‐glutenin, native and recombinant HMW‐glutenin specific IgE in the sera from 48 patients with WDEIA, 16 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) who had no immediate allergic reaction after wheat ingestion and 12 healthy controls were determined by using CAP‐FEIA method.ResultsIn 16 AD patients without wheat allergy 12 of them (75%) had positive results for native HMW‐glutenin test in contrast to epitope peptide of HMW‐glutenin (12.5%) and recombinant HMW‐glutenin test (12.5%). These results indicate the native HMW‐glutenin test has low specificity. Sensitivity and specificity of the IgE test with recombinant HMW‐glutenin were 16.7% and 92.9%. These are well compatible with results obtained by using epitope peptide of HMW‐glutenin. However, sensitivity and specificity reached to 93.8% and 92.9%, when the test was combined to the test with recombinant omega‐5 gliadin.Conclusions and Clinical RelevanceWe demonstrated that recombinant HMW‐glutenin is best for CAP‐FEIA system in point of stability and specificity and confirmed that detection of specific IgE against recombinant HMW‐glutenin is useful for diagnosis of WDEIA when combined with the CAP‐FEIA (recombinant omega‐5 gliadin) test.
Asthma and obesity
Authors: Boulet L.‐P. 
Published: May 2012

SummaryThe prevalence and incidence of asthma have increased among obese children and adults, particularly among women. Obesity seems to be a predisposing factor for the development of asthma, but the underlying mechanisms of its influence are still uncertain. Various hypotheses have been proposed to explain the link between obesity and asthma such as a common genetic predisposition, developmental changes, altered lung mechanics, the presence of a systemic inflammatory process, and an increased prevalence of associated comorbid conditions. Over‐diagnosis of asthma does not seem to be more frequent in obese compared to non‐obese subjects, but the added effects of obesity on respiratory symptoms can affect asthma control assessment. Obesity can make asthma more difficult to control and is associated with a reduced beneficial effect of asthma medications. This could be due to a change in asthma phenotype, particularly evidenced as a less eosinophilic type of airway inflammation combined to the added effects of changes in lung mechanics. Weight loss is associated with a universal improvement of asthma and should be part of asthma management in the obese patient. Additional research should be conducted to better determine how obesity influences the development and clinical expression of asthma, establish the optimal management of asthma in this population and determine how obesity affects long‐term asthma outcomes in these patients.
Monocyte activation is a feature of common variable immunodeficiency irrespective of plasma lipopolysaccharide levels
Authors: Barbosa R R , Silva S P , Silva S L , Tendeiro R , Melo A C , Pedro E , Barbosa M P , Santos M C P , Victorino R M M , Sousa A E 
Published: May 2012

Summary
Common variable immunodeficiency disorders (CVID), the most frequent cause of symptomatic primary immunodeficiency, are defined by impaired antibody production. Notwithstanding, T cell activation and granulomatous manifestations represent the main causes of CVID morbidity even in patients receiving immunoglobulin (Ig) G replacement therapy. Additionally, gut pathology is a frequent feature of CVID. In this study, we investigated monocyte imbalances and their possible relationship with increased microbial translocation in CVID patients. Monocyte subsets were defined according to CD14 and CD16 expression levels and evaluated in terms of human leucocyte antigen D-related (HLA-DR), CD86 and programmed death-1 molecule ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression by flow cytometry, in parallel with the quantification of plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and serum levels of soluble CD14 (sCD14), LPS-binding protein (LBP) and anti-LPS antibodies. CVID patients (n = 31) featured significantly increased levels of serum sCD14 and an expansion of CD14brightCD16+ monocytes in direct correlation with T cell and B cell activation, the latter illustrated by the frequency of the CD21lowCD38low subset. Such alterations were not observed in patients lacking B cells due to congenital agammaglobulinaemia (n = 4). Moreover, we found no significant increase in circulating LPS or LBP levels in CVID patients, together with a relative preservation of serum anti-LPS antibodies, in agreement with their presence in commercial IgG preparations. In conclusion, CVID was associated with monocyte imbalances that correlated directly with T cell activation markers and with B cell imbalances, without an association with plasma LPS levels. The heightened monocyte activated state observed in CVID may represent an important target for complementary therapeutic strategies.
Post‐prandial remnant lipoprotein metabolism in autosomal recessive hypercholesterolaemia
Authors: Tada Hayato , Kawashiri Masa‐aki , Tanaka Akira , Nakano Takamitsu , Nakajima Katsuyuki , Inoue Takeshi , Noguchi Tohru , Nakanishi Chiaki , Konno Tetsuo , Hayashi Kenshi , Nohara Atsushi , Inazu Akihiro , Kobayashi Junji , Mabuchi Hiroshi , Yamagishi Masakazu 
Published: May 2012

Eur J Clin Invest 2012; 42 (10): 1094–1099AbstractBackground  Phenotype of autosomal recessive hypercholesterolaemia (ARH), a rare lipid disorder, is known to be milder than that of homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) with LDL receptor gene mutation. However, few data exist regarding the functional differences in ARH and FH particularly in terms of remnant‐like particles’ (RLP) metabolism.Materials and methods  Blood sampling was performed up to 6 h after OFTT cream loading (50 g/body surface area) with 2‐h intervals in a single ARH proband, four heterozygous FH patients with LDL receptor gene mutation and four normal controls. Plasma lipoprotein and RLP fraction were determined by HPLC system. The area under curve (AUC) of each lipoprotein including RLP fractions was evaluated.Results  The AUC of TG, RLP cholesterol (RLP‐C) and RLP triglyceride (RLP‐TG) levels of heterozygous FH subjects was significantly higher than those of controls (466 ± 71 mg/dL × h vs. 303 ± 111 mg/dL × h, P < 0·05; 35 ± 7 mg/dL × h vs. 21 ± 8 mg/dL × h, P < 0·05; 124 ± 57 mg/dL × h vs. 51 ± 13 mg/dL×h, P < 0·05, respectively). Under these conditions, those values of ARH were close to those of controls (310 mg/dL × h, 22 mg/dL × h, 23 mg/dL × h, respectively).Conclusion  These data demonstrate that unlike in FH, RLP clearance is preserved in ARH. The preservation of post‐prandial RLP clearance may contribute to the mild phenotype of ARH compared with FH.
Using stable isotopes to test for trophic niche partitioning: a case study with stream salamanders and fish
Authors: SEPULVEDA ADAM J. , LOWE WINSOR H. , MARRA PETER P. 
Published: May 2012

Summary1. Stream salamanders and fish often co‐occur even though fish prey on and outcompete salamanders. However, the mechanisms that allow palatable salamanders to coexist with fish are unknown.2. We tested mechanisms in the field that promote coexistence between Idaho giant salamanders (Dicamptodon aterrimus) and stream salmonid fishes in headwater streams. Previous research in this system indicated that salamander dispersal did not promote coexistence with fish. We tested the hypothesis that D. aterrimus shift their diet when they occur with fish, facilitating coexistence through local niche partitioning.3. We used nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes to describe the trophic niche of D. aterrimus and fish in three co‐occurring populations of salamanders and fish and three populations of salamanders without fish. We used two approaches to quantify trophic niche partitioning with stable isotopes: 95% kernel density estimators and isotopic mixing models.4. We found that salamanders and fish were generalists that consumed aquatic invertebrates primarily, but both species were also cannibalistic and predatory on one another. We also found no support for trophic niche partitioning as a coexistence mechanism because there were no differences in the trophic niche metrics among salamander populations with and without fish.5. Although we did not identify mechanisms that facilitate salamander and fish coexistence, our empirical data and use of novel approaches to describe the trophic niche did yield important insights on the role of predator–prey interactions and cannibalism as alternative coexistence mechanisms. In addition, we found that 95% kernel estimators are a simple and robust method to describe population‐level measure of trophic structure.
Costs of predator‐induced morphological defences in Daphnia
Authors: RIESSEN HOWARD P. 
Published: May 2012

Summary1. Inducible defences are advantageous because they protect the prey while limiting associated fitness costs. The presence of these costs is an essential component of this conditional strategy, since their absence would favour constitutive (fixed) defences. In some cases, however, these costs have been difficult to measure because of complex interactions between the defences themselves, resultant life history changes and the organism’s environment.2. The pond‐dwelling water flea, Daphnia pulex, forms defensive neck spines in response to kairomones released by predatory larvae of the phantom midge, Chaoborus. This predator–prey interaction and the formation of these inducible defences have been well studied, but costs associated with the development of neck spines remain unclear. In this study, I address this problem by analysing the effect of Chaoborus kairomones on the life history responses (and fitness costs associated with these responses) of two clones of D. pulex that are from the same pond population, but differ greatly in their degree of neck spine development.3. Both D. pulex clones exhibited the same predator‐induced shifts in life history: larger size at birth, reduced juvenile growth rate (producing a smaller size at maturity), delayed reproduction and a reduction in the number of neonates produced after the first clutch. Relative fitness decreased significantly and to the same degree (c. 10% reduction in r) in each clone. This observed fitness cost was not directly related to the neck spines per se since the cost was the same in both clones, despite their considerable differences in neck spine development. Rather, it appears to be indirectly related to this antipredator morphology via a combination of delayed reproduction and a set of life history trade‐offs (decreased growth rate, decreased reproduction after the first clutch) for increased neonate body size, which is necessary for neck spines to be effective defences. This suite of induced responses is probably a result of local adaptation of these two D. pulex clones to their common pond environment.4. Costs of inducible defences do not always entail direct allocation costs associated with forming and maintaining a defence, but may also involve indirect life history responses that are specific to particular environmental situations. This local adaptation would explain the highly variable life history responses observed among D. pulex clones from different pond environments.
To leave or not to leave: survival trade‐offs between different migratory strategies in the greater flamingo
Authors: Sanz‐Aguilar Ana , Béchet Arnaud , Germain Christophe , Johnson Alan R. , Pradel Roger 
Published: May 2012

Summary1. The balance between costs and benefits of migration under different environmental, density‐dependent and individual conditions may promote a broad range of migratory behaviours. We studied the factors influencing first‐year migration and subsequent fidelity or dispersal among wintering areas, and the survival costs of different wintering behaviours in the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus).2. We analysed by multievent capture–recapture modelling among‐site dispersal/fidelity and site‐dependent survival probabilities from 22 671 flamingos ringed in the Camargue (France) between 1977 and 2010 and resighted subsequently in their wintering grounds classified as France, Iberian Peninsula, Italy and North Africa.3. We found that first‐ and second‐year birds either resident or wintering at medium distances from their birth place, survived better than those wintering further afield. However, under severe winter conditions (extremely cold winter 1984–1985), individuals with the sedentary strategy suffered the highest levels of mortality. From the third winter onwards, the pattern of survival reversed: the long‐distance wintering individuals (i.e. North Africa) survived better.4. The proportion of first‐year birds migrating for wintering was highly variable among cohorts and increased with favourable environmental conditions (wet years). After the first winter, birds showed high fidelity (>90%) to their previous wintering area and wintered preferably near their natal colony when they became adults (>2 years).5. Survival estimates suggest that long‐distance migration was costly for young and inexperienced individuals. Nonetheless, for adults, the most southern wintering areas seem to offer the most favourable local conditions for overwinter survival.6. The higher availability of intermediate stopover sites during wet years may facilitate first‐year migration. Then, once they have some wintering experience, flamingos appear to favour the known wintering grounds. As they grow older, dispersing towards the vicinity of the natal colony may provide higher breeding prospects for individuals wintering closer to this high‐quality and saturated breeding ground, as predicted by the arrival‐time hypothesis.
Convergence in the distribution patterns of Europe’s plants and mammals is due to environmental forcing
Authors: Heikinheimo Hannes , Eronen Jussi T. , Sennikov Alexander , Preston Christopher D. , Oikarinen Emilia , Uotila Pertti , Mannila Heikki , Fortelius Mikael 
Published: May 2012

AbstractAim  Our aims were to test: (1) the extent to which vascular plant associations are related in space to mammalian associations, and (2) whether the plant associations are more closely related than the mammalian associations to climate and to a published environmental stratification of Europe.Location  Europe, as defined by the following boundaries: 11° W, 32° E, 71° N and 35° N.Methods  The analysis is based on presence/absence records of mammal species and plant species with a resolution of 50 km × 50 km. The similarity of the overall spatial structure was tested using a partial Mantel test while controlling for the effect of geographical proximity. To further identify the main spatial components in the datasets, we used k‐means clustering and principal components analysis. The resulting geographical patterns were compared with one another, with climate variables and with the environmental stratification of Europe.Results  The clustering of the plant data forms coherent areas that can be interpreted as reflections of floristic regions that are controlled to a large extent by climate and topography. In terms of the correlation between distance matrices, the relationship between plants and mammals is relatively strong. The relationships between mammals and climate, and between plants and climate, are more complex but always statistically significant. There is no evidence that the plant clusters are more closely related than the mammalian clusters to climate, although plant clusters are closer to environmental data than to climate.Main conclusions  The clustering patterns of mammals and plants form groups that agree with one another in their spatial extent. The forcing of floristic patterns into coherent entities appears mainly to be caused by climatic variables (temperature, temperature range and rainfall), mediated by elevation differences. The formation of individual plant clusters is also related to species numbers and to local and regional floristic differences. The close correlation between the floristic and faunal patterns suggests that the mammal and plant distributions are controlled by the same environmental variables, although the extent to which the mammals are controlled directly by climate or through the influence of vegetation requires more detailed study.
The partitioning of Africa: statistically defined biogeographical regions in sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Linder H. Peter , de Klerk Helen M. , Born Julia , Burgess Neil D. , Fjeldså Jon , Rahbek Carsten 
Published: May 2012

AbstractAim  To test whether it is possible to establish a common biogeographical regionalization for plants and vertebrates in sub‐Saharan Africa (the Afrotropical Region), using objective multivariate methods.Location  Sub‐Saharan Africa (Afrotropical Region).Methods  We used 1° grid cell resolution databases for birds, mammals, amphibians and snakes (4142 vertebrate species) and c. 13% of the plants (5881 species) from the Afrotropical Region. These databases were analysed using cluster analysis techniques to define biogeographical regions. A β(sim) dissimilarity matrix was subjected to a hierarchical classification using the unweighted pair‐group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA). The five group‐specific biogeographical regionalizations were compared against a regionalization developed from a combined database, and a regionalization that is maximally congruent with the five group‐specific datasets was determined using a consensus classification. The regionalizations were interpreted against measures of spatial turnover in richness and composition for the five datasets as well as the combined dataset.Results  We demonstrate the existence of seven well‐defined and consistent biogeographical regions in sub‐Saharan Africa. These regionalizations are statistically defined and robust between groups, with minor taxon‐specific biogeographical variation. The proposed biogeographical regions are: Congolian, Zambezian, Southern African, Sudanian, Somalian, Ethiopian and Saharan. East Africa, the West African coast, and the transitions between the Congolian, Sudanian and Zambezian regions are unassigned. The Cape area in South Africa, Afromontane areas and the coastal region of East Africa do not emerge as distinct regions but are characterized by high neighbourhood heterogeneity, rapid turnover of species and high levels of narrow endemism.Main conclusions  Species distribution data and modern cluster analysis techniques can be used to define biogeographical regions in Africa that reflect the patterns found in both vertebrates and plants. The consensus of the regionalizations between different taxonomic groups is high. These regions are broadly similar to those proposed using expert opinion approaches. Some previously proposed transitional zones are not recognized in this classification.
Cartography of cell morphology in tomato pericarp at the fruit scale
Authors: LEGLAND D. , DEVAUX M.‐F. , BOUCHET B. , GUILLON F. , LAHAYE M. 
Published: May 2012

SummaryIn fleshy fruits, the variability of cell morphology at the fruit scale is largely unknown. It presents both a huge variability and a high level of organization. Better knowledge of cell morphology heterogeneity within the fruit is necessary to understand fruit development, to model fruit mechanical behaviour, or to investigate variations of physico‐chemical measurements. A generic approach is proposed to build cartographies of cell morphology at the fruit scale, which depict regions corresponding to different cell morphologies. The approach is based on: (1) sampling the whole fruit at known positions; (2) imaging and quantifying local cell morphology; (3) pooling measurements to take biological variability into account and (4) projecting results in a morphology model of the whole fruit. The result is a synthetic representation of cell morphology variations within the whole fruit. The method was applied to the characterization of cell morphology in tomato pericarp. Two different imaging scales that provided complementary descriptions were used: 3D confocal microscopy and macroscopy. The approach is generic and can be adapted to other fruits or other products.
The protective layer of biofilm: a repellent function for a new class of amphiphilic proteins
Authors: Kovács Ákos T. , van Gestel Jordi , Kuipers Oscar P. 
Published: May 2012

SummaryBacteria can survive harsh conditions when growing in complex communities of cells known as biofilms. The matrix of the biofilm presents a scaffold where cells are attached to each other and to the surface. The biofilm matrix is also a protective barrier that confers tolerance against various antimicrobial agents. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, Kobayashi and Iwano (2012) show that the liquid permeability of Bacillus subtilis biofilms is determined by a small secreted protein, i.e. BslA (formerly called YuaB). BslA is important for the proper development of biofilms, but unlike exopolysaccharide and TasA, is not directly involved in cell cluster formation, and is synthesized following the production of exopolysaccharide and amyloid fibres. The amphiphilic BslA protein forms a polymer in vitro and localizes in vivo to the surface of the biofilm. The microstructures of the biofilm wrinkles are reduced in the bslA mutant strain and the liquid repellency of the biofilm surface is diminished. Exogenously added BslA42–181 protein complements the bslA mutation and restores not only water repellency, but also the formation of aerial structures. This study demonstrates that amphiphilic proteins have an important role in liquid repellency of biofilms and it suggests that these polymers contribute to antimicrobial resistance.
The conflict between DNA replication and transcription
Authors: McGlynn Peter , Savery Nigel J. , Dillingham Mark S. 
Published: May 2012

SummaryThere is mounting evidence that there are frequent conflicts between complexes that replicate DNA and those that transcribe the same template, and that these conflicts lead to blockage of replication and genome instability. Such problems are perhaps best understood in bacteria, but it is becoming apparent that replicative barriers associated with transcription are a universal feature of life. This review summarizes what is currently known about how collisions between replisomes and transcription complexes are minimized and the mechanisms that help to resolve such collisions when they do occur. Although our understanding of these processes is still far from complete, a picture is emerging of a wide variety of different types of transcriptional blocks to replication that have resulted in a complex, overlapping system of mechanisms to avoid or tolerate such collisions.