bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Presence and interaction of inflammatory cells in the spleen of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua L., infected with Francisella noatunensis
Authors: Gjessing M C , Inami M , Weli S C , Ellingsen T , Falk K , Koppang E O , Kvellestad A 
Published: August 2011

AbstractSerious infectious diseases, accompanied by macrophage‐dominated chronic inflammation, are common in farmed Atlantic cod. To increase knowledge relating to morphological aspects of such inflammatory responses, cod were challenged with Francisella noatunensis, an important bacterial pathogen of this fish species. Tissue and cell dynamics in the spleen were examined sequentially over 60 days. Small clusters of mainly macrophage‐like cells (MLCs) staining for non‐specific esterase and acid phosphatase developed with time. These foci were transiently infiltrated by pleomorphic proliferating cells of unknown nature and by granulocyte‐like cells (GCLCs) staining for peroxidase and lysozyme. The latter cell type, which appeared to be resident in the red pulp of control fish, migrated into the inflammatory foci of infected fish. Cells expressing genes encoding IFN‐γ and IL‐8 increased in number during the study period. Bacteria were detected only in the MLCs and their number increased despite the extensive inflammation. Our results demonstrate an intimate spatial relationship in inflammatory foci between at least three cell types. The presence of GCLCs, together with MLCs, suggests pyogranulomatous inflammation as a more appropriate descriptive term than granulomatous inflammation.
Non‐invasive magnetic stimulation of the human cerebellum facilitates cortico‐bulbar projections in the swallowing motor system
Authors: Jayasekeran V. , Rothwell J. , Hamdy S. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractBackground  Animal and human brain imaging studies suggest that the cerebellum plays an important role in the control of swallowing. In this study, we probed the interaction between cerebellar and pharyngeal motor cortical activity with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to determine if the cerebellum can modulate cortical swallowing motor circuitry.Methods  Healthy volunteers (n = 16, eight men, mean age = 32, range 19–57 years) underwent TMS measurements of pharyngeal electromyography (EMG) recorded from a swallowed intraluminal catheter to assess cortical and cerebellar excitability. Subjects then underwent a paired pulse paradigm, where active or sham TMS conditioning pulses over the cerebellum and control sites were followed by suprathreshold TMS over the cortical pharyngeal area. Paired pulses were delivered at varying inter‐stimulus intervals (ISIs) with the cortical response amplitudes being assessed.Key Results  Stimulation of the cerebellum over its midline or hemispheres evoked distinct pharyngeal EMG responses. There was no difference in EMG amplitudes following cerebellar hemispheric or midline stimulation (mean 55.5 ± 6.9 vs 42.8 ± 5.9 μV, P = 0.08). In contrast, after cerebellar preconditioning, the cortically evoked responses underwent maximal facilitation at ISIs of 50–200 ms (P < 0.05), an effect not seen with sham or trigeminal nerve preconditioning.Conclusions & Inferences  Posterior fossa stimulation excites the cerebellum and evokes direct motor responses within the pharynx. When conditioned with TMS, the cerebellum strongly facilitates the cortical swallowing motor pathways. This finding suggests that the cerebellum exerts a modulatory effect on human swallowing and raises the possibility that excitatory neurostimulation of the cerebellum may be therapeutically useful in promoting recovery of dysphagia after neural damage.
The electrifying stomach
Authors: Koch K. L. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThe stomach is electrified and subject to eurhythmic and dysrhythmic electrical events – much like the heart. The normal human slow wave ranges from 2.5 to 3.75 cycles per min (cpm), tachygastrias range from 3.75 cpm to 10.0 cpm and bradygastrias from .5 to 2.5 cpm, the gastric dysrhythmias of men and women. In this issue of Neurogastroenterology & Motility, O’Grady, et al. describe the gastric dysrhythmias of pigs in electrocardiology terms. Printed circuit boards (PCB) with multi‐electrode arrays (160–192 electrodes) were attached to the stomach serosa. Gastric dysrhythmias occurred in eight of the 16 anesthetized pigs and were analysed by manually and by computer. The patterns of dysrhythmias were reminiscent of cardiac dysrhythmias: conduction blocks, ectopic foci, re‐entrant wave fronts, premature and aberrant slow waves and regular and irregular tachygastrias. The authors suggest gastric dysrhythmias recorded in pigs may be relevant to human gastric dysrhythmias and electricity‐based therapies. The categories of porcine gastric dysrhythmias may help to understand the spectrum of gastric dysrhythmias of men and women recorded over the past 25 years. Analogies between gastric and cardiac neuromuscular disorders are explored because Neurogastroenterology is evolving as a clinical and therapeutic field utilizing knowledge of gastric rhythmicity and electro‐contractile events. Interstitial cells of Cajal are the pacemaker cells of the stomach and loss of cells or faulty circuitry appear to be key pathways to gastric dysrhythmias. Gastric electrophysiology (EP) labs, human and animal, are needed to test hypotheses and advance understanding of human gastric dysrhythmias and upper GI symptoms.
Tn5 transposon mutagenesis in Acidovorax citrulli for identification of genes required for pathogenicity on cucumber
Authors: Liu J. , Luo S. Z. , Zhang Q. , Wang Q. H. , Chen J. F. , Guo A. G. , Shan W. X. 
Published: August 2011

An Acidovorax citrulli–cucumber pathosystem was established through which A. citrulli mutants with altered pathogenicity, generated by transposon mutagenesis, were identified on cucumber cotyledons. The A. citrulli group I strain FC440 was shown to grow faster in cucumber leaf tissues than a group II strain and was used for Tn5 transposon mutagenesis. A total of 2100 Tn5 insertional mutants were generated, and analysis of the mutant library showed that the transposon insertions were single, independent and stable. A conserved non‐flagellar type III secretion system (NF‐T3SS) ATPase gene hrcN was identified and confirmed to be essential for pathogenicity and functionality of NF‐T3SS in A. citrulli. Comparative sequence analysis of the HrcN protein and its homologues in other representative bacterial plant pathogens revealed that the NF‐T3SS of A. citrulli is close to that of Ralstonia solanacearum and Xanthomonas campestris, but distant from that of Pseudomonas syringae and Erwinia amylovora. The generated Tn5 insertional mutant collection is valuable for identification of genes required for A. citrulli pathogenesis, and the established A. citrulli–cucumber pathosystem will facilitate an improved understanding of A. citrulli biology and pathology.
Resistance to Pseudomonas syringae in a collection of pea germplasm under field and controlled conditions
Authors: Martín‐Sanz A. , Pérez de la Vega M. , Caminero C. 
Published: August 2011

A total of 242 Pisum accessions were screened for resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. pisi under controlled conditions. Resistance was found to all races, including race 6 and the recently described race 8. Fifty‐eight accessions were further tested for resistance to P. syringae pv. syringae under controlled conditions, with some highly resistant accessions identified. Finally, a set of 41 accessions were evaluated for resistance to P. syringae pv. pisi and pv. syringae under spring‐ and winter‐sowing field conditions. R2, R3 and R4 race‐specific resistance genes to P. syringae pv. pisi protected pea plants in the field. Resistance sources to race 6 identified under controlled conditions were ineffective in the field. Frost effects were also evaluated in relation to disease response. Results strongly suggest that frost tolerance is effective in lowering the disease effects caused by P. syringae pv. pisi and pv. syringae under frost‐stress conditions, even in the absence of disease resistance genes, although the highest degree of this protection is reached when frost tolerance and disease‐resistance genes are combined in the same genetic background.
Patient delay determinants for patients with suspected tuberculosis in Yogyakarta province, Indonesia
Authors: Lock Willem A. , Ahmad Riris A. , Ruiter Robert A. C. , van der Werf Marieke J. , Bos Arjan E. R. , Mahendradhata Yodi , de Vlas Sake J. 
Published: August 2011

SummaryObjectives  Indonesia has a high incidence of tuberculosis (TB), despite the successful introduction of the directly observed treatment short‐course strategy (DOTS strategy). DOTS depends on passive case finding. It is therefore important to identify determinants of patient delay and reasons for visiting a DOTS healthcare provider when seeking care. The aim of this study was to assess these determinants in TB suspects (coughing for at least 2 weeks).Methods  Cross‐sectional data were gathered with a structured questionnaire in which psychosocial determinants were based on an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The study was conducted in five governmental lung clinics of Yogyakarta province. In total, 194 TB suspects that registered at the lung clinics were interviewed.Results  The median patient delay was 14 days (range 0–145). Ordinal regression analyses showed that visiting a private healthcare provider when first seeking health care, reporting travel distance/travel time as reason for choosing a certain healthcare provider when first seeking health care, discussing the symptoms with family and a reported short travel time, but no factors of TPB, were significantly associated with a shorter patient delay. An important factor negatively associated with visiting a DOTS clinic was the reported travel time.Conclusion  Accessibility of the healthcare provider was the main determinant of patient delay, but the role of psychosocial factors cannot be fully excluded. Urban and suburban areas have relatively good access to (private) health care, hence the short delay. Thus, future studies should be focussed on extending the DOTS strategy to the private sector.
Prioritization based on neutral genetic diversity may fail to conserve important characteristics in cattle breeds
Authors: Hall S.J.G. , Lenstra J.A. , Deeming D.C. ,   The European Cattle Genetic Diversity Consortium
Published: August 2011

SummaryConservation of the intraspecific genetic diversity of livestock species requires protocols that assess between‐breed genetic variability and also take into account differences among individuals within breeds. Here, we focus on variation between breeds. Conservation of neutral genetic variation has been seen as promoting, through linkage processes, the retention of useful and potentially useful variation. Using public information on beef cattle breeds, with a total of 165 data sets each relating to a breed comparison of a performance variable, we have tested this paradigm by calculating the correlations between pairwise breed differences in performance and pairwise genetic distances deduced from biochemical and immunological polymorphisms, microsatellites and single‐nucleotide polymorphisms. As already observed in floral and faunal biodiversity, significant positive correlations (n = 54) were found, but many correlations were non‐significant (n = 100) or significantly negative (n = 11). This implies that maximizing conserved neutral genetic variation with current techniques may conserve breed‐level genetic variation in some traits but not in others and supports the view that genetic distance measurements based on neutral genetic variation are not sufficient as a determinant of conservation priority among breeds.
Antifungal activities of Astragalus verus Olivier. against Trichophyton verrucosum on in vitro and in vivo guinea pig model of dermatophytosis
Authors: Mikaeili Ali , Modaresi Masoud , Karimi Isaac , Ghavimi Hamed , Fathi Mazyar , Jalilian Nastaran 
Published: August 2011

SummaryAstragalus verus Olivier, Fabaceae has been used against ringworm in Kurdish ethnomedicine throughout millennia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of A. verus extracts against Trichophyton verrucosum on in vitro and in vivo guinea pig model of dermatophytosis. The skin of albino guinea pigs was infected with T. verrucosum (1.0 × 107 conidia) and animals were divided into five groups (n = 5 for each): negative control (NC), received a vehicle; positive control (PC), received topical terbinafine 1.0% and three other groups: AE10%, AE20% and AE40% which received topical 10%, 20% and 40% aqueous extract of A. verus, respectively. Evaluation of clinical efficacy was performed 72 h after completion of a 7‐day treatment regimen. Higher significant antifungal activities were observed in aqueous extract in the concentration 320 mg ml−1 compared with acetone and methanol extracts. The aqueous extract showed minimum inhibitory concentration at 160 mg ml−1. Lower clinical scores indicate improved efficacy compared with NC. The lesion scores significantly declined in AE20%, AE40% and PC groups in comparison with NC group. The lesion scores in AE10% and AE20% groups were significantly higher than that of PC group. The AE10% group (18.3%) and AE20% group (39.43%) and AE40% group (66.19%) showed clinical efficacies compared with PC group (76.05%). In conclusion, aqueous extract showed promising antidermatophytic activity.
Trappings of technology: casting palliative care nursing as legal relations
Authors: Larsen Ann‐Claire 
Published: August 2011

LARSEN A‐C. Nursing Inquiry 2012; 19: 334–344  Trappings of technology: casting palliative care nursing as legal relationsCommunity palliative care nurses in Perth have joined the throng of healthcare workers relying on personal digital assistants (PDAs) to store, access and send client information in ‘real time’. This paper is guided by Heidegger’s approach to technologies and Habermas’ insights into the role of law in administering social welfare programs to reveal how new ethical and legal understandings regarding patient information add to nursing’s professional responsibilities. This qualitative research interprets data from interviews with twenty community palliative care nurses about clients’ legal rights to informational privacy and confidentiality. It explores nurses’ views of their nursing responsibilities regarding clients’ legal rights, liability issues, bureaucratic monitoring and enforcement procedures. It concludes that nurses and clients are construed as legal subjects entrenched in legal relations that have magnified since these nurses began using PDAs in 2005/2006.
Disturbed vibrotactile sense in finger pulps in patients with Type 1 diabetes—correlations with glycaemic level, clinical examination and electrophysiology
Authors: Dahlin L. B. , Granberg V. , Rolandsson O. , Rosén I. , Dahlin E. , Sundkvist G. 
Published: August 2011

Diabet. Med. 28, 1045–1052 (2011)AbstractAims  In a cohort of men and women with Type 1 diabetes, prospectively followed for > 20 years, vibrotactile sense in fingers was investigated and related to neurophysiological tests, glycaemic level and clinical score.Methods  Out of 58 patients, diagnosed at the age of 15–25 years and recruited 1984–1985, 32 patients (13 women, median age 52 years, range 44–75 years; 19 men, median age 52 years, range 39–69 years; median duration 33.5 years, range 21–52 years) accepted follow‐up in 2006. Vibration thresholds were measured in finger pulps of index and little fingers bilaterally at seven frequencies and related to results of touch (monofilaments), tactile discrimination (two‐point discrimination test), electrophysiology (median nerve function), glycaemic level (HbA1c levels since 1984–1985) and a clinical score.Results  Vibrotactile sense was reduced in finger pulps, mainly in men, compared with an age‐ and gender‐matched healthy control group with normal HbA1c. Vibration thresholds were increased, particularly at 250 and 500 Hz, in both index and little finger pulps. Touch and tactile discrimination correlated with vibration thresholds, but not with each other or with electrophysiology. HbA1c levels (at follow‐up or mean values from five follow‐ups since recruitment) did not correlate with any nerve function variables. Clinical scores correlated with vibrotactile sense, particularly at higher frequencies (> 125 Hz), but not with total Z‐scores of electrophysiology. Duration of disease did not correlate with any variables.Conclusions  Examination of vibration thresholds in index and little finger pulps may be valuable to detect neuropathy, where thresholds correlate with symptoms and tests.
Information content of earnings announcements in the New Zealand equity market, a longitudinal analysis
Authors: Truong Cameron 
Published: August 2011

AbstractWe compute abnormal return variance and abnormal trading volume in the 3‐day window surrounding earnings announcements to examine the information content of earnings announcements in the New Zealand equity market over the past 16 years. We find that the information content of earnings announcements has increased significantly over time, and this finding holds true for both interim and preliminary earnings announcements. We find evidence that earnings announcements with June year‐ends exhibit a higher level of information content and experience a more pronounced rising trend as compared to earnings announcements with non‐June year‐ends. Several firm characteristics appear to relate to the level of the information content of earnings announcements as well as to compound the trend over time. We document an important finding that the information content of earnings announcements increases remarkably in the period after the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Molecular, phylogenetic and comparative genomic analysis of the cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase gene family in the Poaceae
Authors: Mameaux Sabine , Cockram James , Thiel Thomas , Steuernagel Burkhard , Stein Nils , Taudien Stefan , Jack Peter , Werner Peter , Gray John C. , Greenland Andy J. , Powell Wayne 
Published: August 2011

SummaryThe genomes of cereals such as wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) are large and therefore problematic for the map‐based cloning of agronomicaly important traits. However, comparative approaches within the Poaceae permit transfer of molecular knowledge between species, despite their divergence from a common ancestor sixty million years ago. The finding that null variants of the rice gene cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase 2 (OsCKX2) result in large yield increases provides an opportunity to explore whether similar gains could be achieved in other Poaceae members. Here, phylogenetic, molecular and comparative analyses of CKX families in the sequenced grass species rice, brachypodium, sorghum, maize and foxtail millet, as well as members identified from the transcriptomes/genomes of wheat and barley, are presented. Phylogenetic analyses define four Poaceae CKX clades. Comparative analyses showed that CKX phylogenetic groupings can largely be explained by a combination of local gene duplication, and the whole‐genome duplication event that predates their speciation. Full‐length OsCKX2 homologues in barley (HvCKX2.1, HvCKX2.2) and wheat (TaCKX2.3, TaCKX2.4, TaCKX2.5) are characterized, with comparative analysis at the DNA, protein and genetic/physical map levels suggesting that true CKX2 orthologs have been identified. Furthermore, our analysis shows CKX2 genes in barley and wheat have undergone a Triticeae‐specific gene‐duplication event. Finally, by identifying ten of the eleven CKX genes predicted to be present in barley by comparative analyses, we show that next‐generation sequencing approaches can efficiently determine the gene space of large‐genome crops. Together, this work provides the foundation for future functional investigation of CKX family members within the Poaceae.
The Effectiveness of English Secondary Schools for Pupils of Different Ability Levels*
Authors: Dearden Lorraine , Micklewright John , Vignoles Anna 
Published: August 2011

Abstract‘League table’ information on school effectiveness in England generally relies either on a comparison of the average outcomes of pupils by school (for example, mean exam scores) or on estimates of the average value added by each school. These approaches assume that the information parents and policymakers need most to judge school effectiveness is the average achievement level or gain in a particular school. Yet schools can be differentially effective for children with differing levels of prior attainment. We present evidence on the extent of differential effectiveness in English secondary schools and find that even the most conservative estimate suggests that around one‐quarter of schools in England are differentially effective for students of differing prior ability levels. This affects an even larger proportion of children, as larger schools are more likely to be differentially effective.
Can School League Tables Help Parents Choose Schools?*
Authors: Allen Rebecca , Burgess Simon 
Published: August 2011

AbstractInformation on schools' performance is central to the school choice process in England. This paper evaluates school performance tables against criteria of functionality, relevance and comprehensibility. We estimate a model to judge functionality by setting up the following question: ‘In which feasible school will my child achieve the highest exam score?’. We show that neither of the current leading performance measures scores very well. We propose an alternative measure which performs better on relevance and comprehensibility and not significantly worse on functionality. We demonstrate how the measure could be best delivered to parents. We also describe the trade‐offs between the criteria of functionality and relevance and between comprehensibility and relevance.
Measuring School Value Added with Administrative Data: The Problem of Missing Variables*
Authors: Dearden Lorraine , Miranda Alfonso , Rabe‐Hesketh Sophia 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThe UK Department for Education (DfE) calculates contextual value added (CVA) measures of school performance using administrative data that contain only a limited set of explanatory variables. Differences in schools' intakes regarding characteristics such as mother's education are not accounted for due to the lack of background information in the data. In this paper, we use linked survey and administrative data to assess the potential biases that missing control variables cause in the calculation of CVA measures of school performance. We find that ignoring the effect of mother's education leads the DfE to erroneously overpenalise low‐achieving schools that have a greater proportion of mothers with low qualifications and to over‐reward high‐achieving schools that have a greater proportion of mothers with higher qualifications. This suggests that collecting a rich set of controls in administrative records is necessary for producing reliable CVA measures of school performance.