bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Current trends in the evolutionary ecology of plant defence
Authors: Agrawal Anurag A. 
Published: October 2010

Summary1. In this essay I summarize current trends in the evolutionary ecology of plant defence, while advocating for approaches that integrate community ecology with specific tests of classic evolutionary hypotheses. Several conclusions emerge.2. The microevolution of defence is perhaps best studied by reciprocal transplant experiments of differentiated plant populations while simultaneously manipulating the presence of the herbivore(s) hypothesized to be the agent(s) of natural selection.3.Although there is continued interest in the costs of defence, I argue that some empirical approaches to estimating costs (e.g. genetic engineering) may provide limited insight into evolutionary processes.4. Essentially all plants employ several different lines of defence against herbivory. It is thus time to abandon searching for single silver bullet traits and the simple trade‐off model (where traits are arbitrarily expected to negatively covary across genotypes or species). We still know very little about which trait combinations are most effective and have repeatedly evolved together. Thus, some of our prominent theories (e.g. a predicted trade‐off between direct and indirect defence) need to be revised.5. Studies of the macroevolution of plant defence are enjoying renewed interest due to available phylogenies and analytical methods. Although general trends are not currently surmisable, we will soon have strong case studies evaluating both biotic and abiotic drivers of convergent evolution in defence strategies and the role of defence evolution in the adaptive radiation of plant lineages.6. The evolution of specificity is proposed as a final frontier in understanding complexity in plant–herbivore interactions. Although it is abundantly clear that plants can deploy highly specific defensive responses that are differentially perceived by herbivore species, how such responses evolve and are physiologically regulated remains an important gap. Relatively straightforward methodologies are now available to close the loop between plant perception of herbivory, hormonal responses, and production of defensive end‐products across genotype or species.
T‐cell autoantigens in the non‐obese diabetic mouse model of autoimmune diabetes
Authors: Babad Jeffrey , Geliebter Ari , DiLorenzo Teresa P. 
Published: October 2010

SummaryThe non‐obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model of autoimmune (type 1) diabetes has contributed greatly to our understanding of disease pathogenesis and has facilitated the development and testing of therapeutic strategies to combat the disease. Although the model is a valuable immunological tool in its own right, it reaches its fullest potential in areas where its findings translate to the human disease. Perhaps the foremost example of this is the field of T‐cell antigen discovery, from which diverse benefits can be derived, including the development of antigen‐specific disease interventions. The majority of NOD T‐cell antigens are also targets of T‐cell autoimmunity in patients with type 1 diabetes, and several of these are currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Here we review the journeys of these antigens from bench to bedside. We also discuss several recently identified NOD T‐cell autoantigens whose translational potential warrants further investigation.
Linking patterns in phylogeny, traits, abiotic variables and space: a novel approach to linking environmental filtering and plant community assembly
Authors: Pavoine Sandrine , Vela Errol , Gachet Sophie , de Bélair Gérard , Bonsall Michael B. 
Published: October 2010

Summary1. We introduce a novel method that analyses environmental filtering of plant species in a geographic and phylogenetic context. By connecting species traits with phylogeny, traits with environment, and environment with geography, this comprehensive approach partitions the ecological and evolutionary processes that influence community assembly.2. Our analysis extendsRLQordination, which connects site attributes in matrixR(here environmental variables and spatial positions) with species attributes in matrixQ(here biological traits and phylogenetic positions), through the composition of sites in terms of species presences or abundances (matrixL). This methodology, which explores and identifies environmental filters that organize communities, was developed to answer four questions: which combinations of trait states are filtered by the environment, which lineages are affected by these filters, which environmental variables contribute to the assemblage of local communities and where do these filters act?3. At La Mafragh in north‐eastern Algeria, our approach shows that plant species traits were distributed according to environmental filters associated with a salinity gradient. Traits associated with the salinity gradient were convergent among Juncaceae, Cyperaceae and Amaranthaceae. The observed phylogenetic and trait patterns were related to how species survived the xeric season. Juncaceae and Cyperaceae, being perennials and anemogamous, tolerate the xeric hot season by restricting their range to the humid centre of the study area (where conditions are close to a subtropical climate). Several Amaranthaceae species co‐occur with the Juncaceae and Cyperaceae in two areas with the highest salinity. Most dicots were observed at higher elevations (up to 7 m a.s.l.), had hairy structures that can retain water and reflect solar radiation and were mostly annual or biennial, completing their life cycle before the onset of the xeric season.4. Synthesis. Our methodology describes environmental filters in terms of identified combinations of traits and environmental factors. It allows spatial and phylogenetic signals to be determined by identifying convergent and conserved patterns in the evolution of traits and spatial scales that structured the environment. Our statistical framework is generic and can be readily extended to a wide range of exciting issues, such as host‐parasite, plant‐pollinator and predator–prey interactions.
Doctor pharmaceutical utilization behaviour changed by the global budget programme strategies on hypertensive outpatient prescription
Authors: Wei Ching‐Kuo , Wang Shun‐Mu , Yeh Ming‐Kung 
Published: October 2010

AbstractRationale, aims and objectives  This study was to examine changes in doctor pharmaceutical utilization behaviour in response to Taiwan's newly implemented National Health Insurance individual hospital global budget (GB) programme and the changes in health care costs and prescription trends for hypertensive (HT) patients.Method  We analysed hospital outpatient prescription utilization with a pre–post individual hospital GB group and comparison group (the hospitals who did not join the programme) to evaluate the impact of GB strategies on hypertensive expenditure. Descriptive analyses were performed based on the average daily medication expenditure for each prescription, and average number of items per prescription.Results  This study reviewed 16 770 057 outpatient records and prescription records of 213 568 hypertensive patients. The average total medication expense (+17.6%), HT medication expense (+8.8%), daily medication expense (+16.3%), and daily HT medication expense (+6.3%) significantly increased after the action. After the individual hospital GB action, hospital doctors participating in action switched their patients' prescription drugs to other less expensive drugs such as rennin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system inhibitors (−1.1%). The increase in volume of medications prescribed for control group were significantly larger for both alfa‐ and beta‐adrenergic blocking agents (1.5%), and calcium channel blocking agents (3.9%).Conclusion  The individual hospital GB programme slowed down the trend of prescription drug cost increasing rate and reduced the prescription drug volume in hospitals.
Sedimentary characteristics of large‐scale lacustrine beach‐bars and their formation in the Eocene Boxing Sag of Bohai Bay Basin, East China
Authors: JIANG ZAIXING , LIU HUI , ZHANG SHANWEN , SU XIN , JIANG ZHENGLONG 
Published: October 2010

AbstractThe beach‐bar reservoir play has become an important exploration target within the Bohai Bay Basin, especially in the Boxing Sag within the Dongying Depression, where a large‐scale lacustrine beach‐bar oil pool has been discovered recently. The sedimentary characteristics, distribution patterns and formation mechanisms of beach‐bar sand bodies in the upper fourth member of the Eocene Shahejie Formation (Es4s) in the Boxing Sag were studied in detail based on seismic, well log data and core data. The Es4s in the Boxing Sag is composed of a third‐order sequence consisting of three systems tracts, i.e. a lowstand systems tract, a transgressive systems tract and a highstand systems tract. Beach‐bar sand bodies were deposited widely in the basin during the lowstand systems tract period. The sandy beach‐bars are characterized by siltstones, fine‐grained silty sandstones interbedded with thin mudstone units. The presence of well‐developed sedimentary structures, such as swash bedding, parting lineation, parallel bedding, ellipsoidal mud clasts, ripples, terrestrial plant debris and vertical burrows, suggests that beach‐bars were deposited in a relatively shallow water environment under the influence of strong hydrodynamics. Laterally, the sandy beach facies occurred as a more continuous sheet‐like body around the sandy bar in most parts of the sag. Stratigraphically, beach‐bars were distributed mainly in the lowstand systems tract and they were less well‐developed in the transgressive systems tract and highstand systems tract. Several factors were probably responsible for the occurrence of the large‐scale beach‐bars during the lowstand systems tract period, including: (i) a gentle palaeoslope and relatively weak structural activities; (ii) a shallow‐water condition with a strong hydrodynamic environment; (iii) high‐frequency oscillations of the lake level; and (iv) an abundant terrigenous clastic feeding system with multiple‐point and linear sediment sources.
Origin of Early Carboniferous pseudo‐adakites in northern Brittany (France) through massive amphibole fractionation from hydrous basalt
Authors: Barboni Mélanie , Bussy François , Chiaradia Massimo 
Published: October 2010

Terra Nova, 23, 1–10, 2011AbstractThe first Variscan pseudo‐adakites were identified in close association with the Saint‐Jean‐du‐Doigt (SJDD) mafic intrusion (Brittany, France) in a geodynamic context unrelated to subduction. These rocks are trondhjemites emplaced 347 ± 4 Ma ago as 2–3 km2 bodies and dykes. Trace‐element concentrations and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope ratios indicate that the SJDD pseudo‐adakites probably resulted from extreme differentiation of an SJDD‐type hydrous basaltic magma in a lower continental crust of normal thickness (0.8 GPa). Modelling shows that garnet is not a required phase, which was commonly believed to be the case for continental arc‐derived adakite‐like rocks. A massive fractionation of amphibole fits the data much better and does not require high pressures, in agreement with the inferred extensional tectonic regime at the time of pluton emplacement. Alternatively, the SJDD pseudo‐adakites could have resulted from the melting of newly underplated SJDD mafic precursors, but thermal considerations lead us to believe that this was not the case.
The chloroplastic 2‐oxoglutarate/malate transporter has dual function as the malate valve and in carbon/nitrogen metabolism
Authors: Kinoshita Hiromu , Nagasaki Junko , Yoshikawa Nanako , Yamamoto Aya , Takito Shizuka , Kawasaki Michio , Sugiyama Tatsuo , Miyake Hiroshi , Weber Andreas P. M. , Taniguchi Mitsutaka 
Published: October 2010

SummaryTransport of dicarboxylates across the chloroplast envelope plays an important role in transferring carbon skeletons to the nitrogen assimilation pathway and exporting reducing equivalent to the cytosol to prevent photo‐inhibition (the malate valve). It was previously shown that the Arabidopsis plastidic 2‐oxoglutarate/malate transporter (AtpOMT1) and the general dicarboxylate transporter (AtpDCT1) play crucial roles at the interface between carbon and nitrogen metabolism. However, based on the in vitro transport properties of the recombinant transporters, it was hypothesized that AtpOMT1 might play a dual role, also functioning as an oxaloacetate/malate transporter, which is a crucial but currently unidentified component of the chloroplast malate valve. Here, we test this hypothesis using Arabidopsis T‐DNA insertional mutants of AtpOMT1. Transport studies revealed a dramatically reduced rate of oxaloacetate uptake into chloroplasts isolated from the knockout plant. CO2‐dependent O2 evolution assays showed that cytosolic oxaloacetate is efficiently transported into chloroplasts mainly by AtpOMT1, and supported the absence of additional oxaloacetate transporters. These findings strongly indicate that the high‐affinity oxaloacetate transporter in Arabidopsis chloroplasts is AtpOMT1. Further, the knockout plants showed enhanced photo‐inhibition under high light due to greater accumulation of reducing equivalents in the stroma, indicating malfunction of the malate valve in the knockout plants. The knockout mutant showed a phenotype consistent with reductions in 2‐oxoglutarate transport, glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase activity, subsequent amino acid biosynthesis and photorespiration. Our results demonstrate that AtpOMT1 acts bi‐functionally as an oxaloacetate/malate transporter in the malate valve and as a 2‐oxoglutarate/malate transporter mediating carbon/nitrogen metabolism.
Shape at the cross‐roads: homoplasy and history in the evolution of the carnivoran skull towards herbivory
Authors: FIGUEIRIDO B. , SERRANO‐ALARCÓN F. J. , SLATER G. J. , PALMQVIST P. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractPatterns of skull shape in Carnivora provide examples of parallel and convergent evolution for similar ecomorphological adaptations. However, although most researchers report on skull homoplasies among hypercarnivorous taxa, evolutionary trends towards herbivory remain largely unexplored. In this study, we analyse the skull of the living herbivorous carnivorans to evaluate the importance of natural selection and phylogenetic legacy in shaping the skulls of these peculiar species. We quantitatively estimated shape variability using geometric morphometrics. A principal components analysis of skull shape incorporating all families of arctoid carnivorans recognized several common adaptations towards herbivory. Ancestral state reconstructions of skull shape and the reconstructed phylogenetic history of morphospace occupation more explicitly reveal the true patterns of homoplasy among the herbivorous carnivorans. Our results indicate that both historical constraints and adaptation have interplayed in the evolution towards herbivory of the carnivoran skull, which has resulted in repeated patterns of biomechanical homoplasy.
Efficacy outcomes in a randomised trial of liposomal amphotericin B based on revised EORTC/MSG 2008 definitions of invasive mould disease
Authors: Cornely Oliver A. , Maertens Johan , Bresnik Mark , Ebrahimi Ramin , Dellow Emma , Herbrecht Raoul , Donnelly J. Peter 
Published: October 2010

SummaryIn 2008, the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group (EORTC/MSG) published revised definitions for diagnosing invasive fungal disease. A previous prospective trial of liposomal amphotericin B for invasive mould disease (AmBiLoad) used modified EORTC/MSG 2002 criteria. We wished to re‐evaluate the response and survival based on the revised definitions to compare the outcomes of early vs. late treatment. Patients who had received an allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant or who were neutropaenic (absolute neutrophil count <500 μl−1 within 14 days of study entry) had been recruited on the basis of a halo or air crescent sign on chest computerised tomography. Originally classified as probable invasive mould disease, they were categorised as possible invasive mould disease using 2008 criteria. Patients had received liposomal amphotericin B at either 3 or 10 mg kg−1 QD for 14 days, followed by 3 mg kg−1 QD. Response at end of treatment and the 12‐week survival were re‐calculated according to 2008 definitions. Six‐week survival was estimated by Kaplan–Meier analysis. Of 201 patients with invasive mould disease, 118 (59%) had a diagnosis based on halo signs (possible cases). Mycological evidence was present in 83 (41%) cases (probable/proven cases). Survival rates at 12 weeks for possible vs. probable/proven cases in the 3 mg kg−1 QD group were 82% vs. 58% (P = 0.006), and 65% vs. 50% (P = 0.15) in the 10 mg kg−1 QD group. At 6 weeks, rates were 87% vs. 69% in the 3 mg kg−1 QD group (P = 0.009), and 75% vs. 61% in the 10 mg kg−1 QD group (P = 0.01). Patients with possible invasive mould disease based on EORTC/MSG 2008 criteria had improved survival rates compared with those treated for probable/proven invasive mould disease. As possible invasive mould disease probably reflects an early‐stage of disease, a better outcome might be expected when treatment with liposomal amphotericin B is started preemptively.
Surviving multi‐trauma in the past
Authors: Cornish Brian , Solomon Lucian Bogdan , Walshe Keryn 
Published: October 2010

AbstractBackground:  Surviving multi‐trauma is strongly associated with emergent resuscitation and treatment in modern medical facilities. Multi‐trauma survival before the advent of modern medicine is likely to have been extremely uncommon, particularly in primitive societies. The aim of this study was to investigate the case of an ancient Australian Aboriginal who appeared to have survived multi‐trauma.Methods:  We investigated the skeletal remains of an adult Australian Aboriginal with healed fractures of the right femur and humerus. The time of death was assessed by carbon dating. The sex and approximate age of the subject were assessed from the skeleton's morphometry. The fractured bones were assessed by visual inspection, plain radiographs and computer tomography (CT) scanning.Results:  The remains were of a male aged approximately 50 years at the time of his death, approximately 1000 years ago, preceding European settlement. Analysis of the malunions indicated that all fractures occurred in one traumatic event, normally a life‐threatening injury combination, and that the subject survived for years after this incident, despite no or failed active treatment of his fractures.Conclusions:  The survival of a man living in a primitive society after multi‐trauma reflects an impressive depth of nursing and social support in a community of hunter gatherers.
Working hours and roster structures of surgical trainees in Australia and New Zealand
Authors: O'Grady Gregory , Loveday Benjamin , Harper Simon , Adams Brandon , Civil Ian D. , Peters Matthew 
Published: October 2010

AbstractBackground:  The working hours of surgical trainees are a subject of international debate. Excessive working hours are fatiguing, and compromise performance, learning and work–life balance. However, reducing hours can impact on continuity of care, training experience and service provision. This study defines the current working hours of Australasian trainees, to inform the working hours debate in our regions.Methods:  An online survey was conducted of all current Australasian trainees. Questions determined hours spent at work (AW) and off‐site on‐call (OC) per week, and roster structures were evaluated by training year, specialty and location.Results:  The response rate was 55.3%. Trainees averaged 61.4 ± 11.7 h/week AW, with 5% working ≥80 h. OC shifts were worked by 73.5%, for an average of 27.8 ± 14.3 h/week. Trainees of all levels worked similar hours (P= 0.10); however, neurosurgical trainees worked longer hours than most other specialties (P < 0.01). Tertiary centre rotations involved longer AW hours (P= 0.01) and rural rotations more OC (P < 0.001). Long days (>12 h) were worked by 86%; median frequency 1:4.4 days; median duration 15 h. OC shifts of 24‐h duration were worked by 75%; median frequency 1:4.2 days; median sleep: 5–7 h/shift; median uninterrupted sleep: 3–5 h/shift.Conclusions:  This study has quantified the working hours and roster structures of Australasian surgical trainees. By international standards, Australasian trainee working hours are around average. However, some rosters demand long hours and/or induce chronic sleep loss, placing some trainees at risk of fatigue. Ongoing efforts are needed to promote safe rostering practices.
Learning‐dependent dynamics of beta‐frequency oscillations in the basal forebrain of rats
Authors: Quinn Laleh K. , Nitz Douglas A. , Chiba Andrea A. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractCholinergic, GABAergic and glutamatergic projection neurons of the basal forebrain (BF) innervate widespread regions of the neocortex and are thought to modulate learning and attentional processes. Although it is known that neuronal cell types in the BF exhibit oscillatory firing patterns, whether the BF as a whole shows oscillatory field potential activity, and whether such neuronal patterns relate to components of cognitive tasks, has yet to be determined. To this end, local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded from the BF of rats performing an associative learning task wherein neutral objects were paired with differently valued reinforcers (pellets). Over time, rats developed preferences for the different objects based on pellet‐value, indicating that the pairings had been well learned. LFPs from all rats revealed robust, short‐lived bursts of beta‐frequency oscillations (∼25 Hz) around the time of object encounter. Beta‐frequency LFP events were found to be learning‐dependent, with beta‐frequency peak amplitudes significantly greater on the first day of the task when object–reinforcement pairings were novel than on the last day when pairings were well learned. The findings indicate that oscillatory bursting field potential activity occurs in the BF in freely behaving animals. Furthermore, the temporal distribution of these bursts suggests that they are probably relevant to associative learning.
Comparative analysis of gonadal morphology in six fish species of the Incertae Sedis genera in Characidae of occurrence in the São Francisco River Basin, Brazil
Authors: Martins Yuri Simões , Arantes Fábio Pereira , Sato Yoshimi , dos Santos José Enemir , Rizzo Elizete , Bazzoli Nilo 
Published: October 2010

AbstractMartins, Y.S., Arantes, F.P., Sato, Y., dos Santos, J.E., Rizzo, E. and Bazzoli, N. 2012. Comparative analysis of gonadal morphology in six fish species of the Incertae Sedis genera in Characidae of occurrence in the São Francisco River Basin, Brazil. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 93: 48–56.This study presents a comparative analysis aiming to show the remarkable differences found in gonad morphology between six fish species from the genera Incertae Sedis in the Characidae family. Maturing ovaries of Astyanax fasciatus presented grayish color whilst the other species’ were yellowish in color. The cortical alveoli of the analyzed species are small (5.20 ± 1.44–8.28 ± 2.02 μm) and are formed by various discontinuous layers of vesicles except in the Bryconops affinis, where they are large (12.87 ± 2.41 μm) and form various continuous layers of vesicles. The pellucid zone is thin and varies from 2.44 ± 0.90 to 5.79 ± 1.90 μm and is thickest in B. affinis (10.57 ± 2.08 μm). Folds in the pellucid zone were observed in Astyanax bimaculatus, A. fasciatus, Hemigrammus marginatus, and Moenkhausia costae. The follicular cells of B. affinis are columnar (28.19 ± 13.71 μm), while they are squamous in other species (1.52 ± 0.64–2.12 ± 0.78 μm). This study showed that the morphologic and biometric characteristics of the B. affinis vitellogenic oocytes are statistically different than the analyzed other ones Incertae Sedis of the Characidae family. In advanced maturing testis of A. bimaculatus and A. fasciatus, the spermatozoa were embedded in acidophilic secretion which was gradually reabsorbed in the seminiferous tubules when males were partially spent.