bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Components of variation of surface hoof strain with time
Authors: THOMASON J. J. , BIGNELL W. W. , SEARS° W. 
Published: June 2010

SummaryThe relative contribution of a number of random and fixed variables to variation in surface strain magnitudes on the hoof capsule was assessed for healthy feet under normal conditions. Principal strains were recorded in vivo from 5 rosette gauges glued around the circumference of the right forefeet of 4 horses on 4 occasions over a 9 month period. Recordings were made at every other trimming and reshoeing. During each session, gauges were positioned with a template for repeatability. Strains were recorded at the trot and canter (at consistent speeds), for straight motion and turns, and before and after the hoof was trimmed and reset. Up to 30 strides were recorded for each combination of these variables. ANOVAs were performed on midstance strains of 7008 strides to determine the relative contributions to strain variation of individual horse, test day, gait and direction combined as one factor, gauge position on the hoof, trimming, interstride variability and the interactions among these factors.The ANOVA model explained 87% of the variation, of which approximately 84% was due to fixed effects and 16% to random effects. Circumferential position of the gauges and several of the interactions including this term were by far the greatest contributors to strain variation.Differences among gauge positions, individuals and gait+direction are consistent with previous work. This study has added the relative effects, which are small but significant, of trimming on a regular basis and of time. The change in strain magnitudes with trimming was different for each horse, which leads to the possibility that over‐ and underuse may have to be quantified on an individual basis.
Modification of a force plate system for equine gait analysis on hard road surfaces: a technical note
Authors: WILSON A. M. , PARDOE C. H. 
Published: June 2010

SummaryStudies on horseshoe materials have been limited to the analysis of kinematic data to determine slip times and distances, since equine force plate analysis is traditionally undertaken on a rubber‐surfaced force plate. The purpose of this study was to modify a force plate for measuring ground reaction forces on a road surface and report preliminary data from the system.A steel‐reinforced concrete top plate of 18 mm thickness and mass 23 kg, and a 12 mm thick top plate of 6 mm bituminous macadam wear coat (road surface) contained in a tray constructed of 2 mm thick steel, mass 21 kg, were constructed. The top plates were bolted to a forceplate and resonance frequency of the force plate top plate combinations were 278 Hz (concrete) and 218 Hz (roadway), respectively.Simultaneous kinetic and kinematic data were collected while a horse, shod in steel horseshoes, was trotted over the concrete‐topped force plate until 8 foot placements were recorded. The foot slipped for mean ± s.d. 35± 7 mm in 29 ±8 ms after impact and both Fy and Fz increased during foot slip. The ratio of Fy/Fz during slip was relatively constant at 0.56 ± 0.05.The top plates have proved resilient in use and have withstood a variety of horseshoe designs and tungstencapped stud nails with minimal damage. They enable measurement of ground reaction forces on hard surfaces and the calculation of the energy dissipated via foot slippage by integration of the craniocaudal force‐foot position data after impact.
Comparison between radiological and magnetic resonance imaging lesions in the distal border of the navicular bone with particular reference to distal border fragments and osseous cyst‐like lesions
Authors: BIGGI M. , DYSON S. 
Published: June 2010

SummaryReasons for performing study: There are no data concerning the accuracy of conventional and computed or digital radiography for evaluation of the equine foot.Objectives: To compare conventional film‐screen and computed radiography with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detection of distal border fragments of the navicular bone; and to establish which type of fragment was more likely to be detected radiologically.Methods: Horses were included if forelimb lameness was localised to the foot and both radiography and high‐field MR images had been acquired. Horses were divided into 2 groups based on acquisition of conventional (Group A) or computed (Group B) radiographs. The presence of distal border fragments was recorded. From MR images, distal border fragments were graded based on their size and changes in signal intensity in the adjacent navicular bone. Sensitivity and specificity of conventional and computed radiography for detection of fragments were calculated using MRI as the gold standard. A Chi‐squared test was used to test for associations between specific radiological and MRI findings in the distal border of the navicular bone.Results: In Group A 46 and 18 fragments were identified on MR and radiographic images, respectively; in Group B 45 and 17 fragments were seen. There was no significant difference between computed and conventional radiography. Grades 4 and 5 fragments or large‐sized fragments were identified most frequently; low‐grade fragments were unlikely to be observed. There was a significant correlation between radiological and MRI abnormalities of the distal border of the navicular bone.Conclusions: Conventional and computed radiography had similar, rather low sensitivity for identification of distal border fragments of the navicular bone, but specificity was high. Large‐sized and high‐grade fragments were most likely to be identified radiologically.Potential relevance: Fragments observed radiologically are likely to be associated with other pathological abnormalities of the distal border of the navicular bone.
GeneXpert Captures Unstable Methicillin-Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
Prone to Rapidly Losing the
mecA
Gene
Authors: Ciardo Diana E. , Burger Sibylle , Payer Michael , Lee Christian , McCallum Nadine 
Published: June 2010

ABSTRACT

A cefoxitin-susceptible
Staphylococcus aureus
strain was identified by the Cepheid GeneXpert as methicillin-resistant
S. aureus
(MRSA). This strain was highly unstable and rapidly lost SCC
mec
upon subculturing
in vitro
, indicating that unstable MRSA is best detected by gene amplification-based methods.
Polo-Like Kinase 1 Is Involved in Hepatitis C Virus Replication by Hyperphosphorylating NS5A
Authors: Chen Yung-Chia , Su Wen-Chi , Huang Jing-Ying , Chao Ti-Chun , Jeng King-Song , Machida Keigo , Lai Michael M. C. 
Published: June 2010

ABSTRACT

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication involves many viral and host factors. Here, we employed a lentivirus-based RNA interference (RNAi) screening approach to search for possible cellular factors. By using a kinase-phosphatase RNAi library and an HCV replicon reporter system, we identified a serine-threonine kinase, Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), as a potential host factor regulating HCV replication. Knockdown of Plk1 reduced both HCV RNA replication and nonstructural (NS) protein production in both HCV replicon cells and HCV-infected cells while it did not significantly affect host cellular growth or cell cycle. Overexpression of Plk1 in the knockdown cells rescued HCV replication. Interestingly, the ratio between the hyperphosphorylated form (p58) and the basal phosphorylated form (p56) of NS5A was lower in the Plk1 knockdown cells and Plk1 kinase inhibitor-treated cells than in the control groups. Further studies showed that Plk1 could be immunoprecipitated together with NS5A. Both proteins partially colocalized in the perinuclear region. Furthermore, Plk1 could phosphorylate NS5A to both the p58 and p56 forms in an
in vitro
assay system; the phosphorylation efficiency was comparable to that of the reported casein kinase. Taken together, this study shows that Plk1 is an NS5A phosphokinase and thereby indirectly regulates HCV RNA replication. Because of the differential effects of Plk1 on HCV replication and host cell growth, Plk1 could potentially serve as a target for anti-HCV therapy.
Random Transposon-Mediated Mutagenesis of the Essential Large Tegument Protein pUL36 of Pseudorabies Virus
Authors: Möhl Britta S. , Böttcher Sindy , Granzow Harald , Fuchs Walter , Klupp Barbara G. , Mettenleiter Thomas C. 
Published: June 2010

ABSTRACT

Homologs of the pseudorabies virus (PrV) essential large tegument protein pUL36 are conserved throughout the
Herpesviridae
. pUL36 functions during transport of the nucleocapsid to and docking at the nuclear pore as well as during virion formation after nuclear egress in the cytoplasm. Deletion analyses revealed several nonessential regions within the 3,084-amino-acid PrV pUL36 (S. Böttcher, B. G. Klupp, H. Granzow, W. Fuchs, K. Michael, and T. C. Mettenleiter, J. Virol. 80:9910-9915, 2006; S. Böttcher, H. Granzow, C. Maresch, B. Möhl, B. G. Klupp, and T. C. Mettenleiter, J. Virol. 81:13403-13411, 2007), while the C-terminal 62 amino acids are essential for virus replication (K. Coller, J. Lee, A. Ueda, and G. Smith, J. Virol. 81:11790-11797, 2007). To identify additional functional domains, we performed random mutagenesis of PrV pUL36 by transposon-mediated insertion of a 15-bp linker. By this approach, 26 pUL36 insertion mutants were selected and tested in transient transfection assays for their ability to complement one-step growth and/or viral spread of a PrV UL36 null mutant. Ten insertion mutants in the N-terminal half and 10 in the C terminus complemented both, whereas six insertion mutants clustering in the center of the protein did not complement in either assay. Interestingly, several insertions within conserved parts yielded positive complementation, including those located within the essential C-terminal 62 amino acids. For 15 mutants that mediated productive replication, stable virus recombinants were isolated and further characterized by plaque assay,
in vitro
growth analysis, and electron microscopy. Except for three mutant viruses, most insertion mutants replicated like wild-type PrV. Two insertion mutants, at amino acids (aa) 597 and 689, were impaired in one-step growth and viral spread and exhibited a defect in virion maturation in the cytoplasm. In contrast, one functional insertion (aa 1800) in a region which otherwise yielded only nonfunctional insertion mutants was impaired in viral spread but not in one-step growth without a distinctive ultrastructural phenotype. In summary, these studies extend and refine previous analyses of PrV pUL36 and demonstrate the different sensitivities of different regions of the protein to functional loss by insertion.
Determinants in 3D
pol
Modulate the Rate of Growth of Hepatitis A Virus
Authors: Konduru Krishnamurthy , Kaplan Gerardo G. 
Published: June 2010

ABSTRACT

Hepatitis A virus (HAV), an atypical member of the
Picornaviridae
, grows poorly in cell culture. To define determinants of HAV growth, we introduced a blasticidin (Bsd) resistance gene into the virus genome and selected variants that grew at high concentrations of Bsd. The mutants grew fast and had increased rates of RNA replication and translation but did not produce significantly higher virus yields. Nucleotide sequence analysis and reverse genetic studies revealed that a T6069G change resulting in a F42L amino acid substitution in the viral polymerase (3D
pol
) was required for growth at high Bsd concentrations whereas a silent C7027T mutation enhanced the growth rate. Here, we identified a novel determinant(s) in 3D
pol
that controls the kinetics of HAV growth.
Molecular Characterization ofIn VivoAdjuvant Activity in Ferrets Vaccinated against Influenza Virus
Authors: Fang Yuan , Rowe Thomas , Leon Alberto J. , Banner David , Danesh Ali , Xu Luoling , Ran Longsi , Bosinger Steven E. , Guan Yi , Chen Honglin , Cameron Cheryl C. , Cameron Mark J. , Kelvin David J. 
Published: June 2010

ABSTRACTThe 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic has prompted a significant need for the development of efficient, single-dose, adjuvanted vaccines. Here we investigated the adjuvant potential of CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) when used with a human seasonal influenza virus vaccine in ferrets. We found that the CpG ODN-adjuvanted vaccine effectively increased antibody production and activated type I interferon (IFN) responses compared to vaccine alone. Based on these findings, pegylated IFN-α2b (PEG-IFN) was also evaluated as an adjuvant in comparison to CpG ODN and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Our results showed that all three vaccines with adjuvant added prevented seasonal human A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1) virus replication more effectively than did vaccine alone. Gene expression profiles indicated that, as well as upregulating IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), CpG ODN enhanced B-cell activation and increased Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and IFN regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) expression, whereas PEG-IFN augmented adaptive immunity by inducing major histocompatibility complex (MHC) transcription and Ras signaling. In contrast, the use of CFA as an adjuvant induced limited ISG expression but increased the transcription of MHC, cell adhesion molecules, and B-cell activation markers. Taken together, our results better characterize the specific molecular pathways leading to adjuvant activity in different adjuvant-mediated influenza virus vaccinations.
Effects of Electroacupuncture on Local Anaesthesia for Inguinal Hernia Repair: A Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trial
Authors: Dias Marcio , Carneiro Norton Moritz , Guerra Luiz Antônio Vanni , Velarde Guillermo Coca , de Souza Pedro Assaf Teixeira , da Silva Lidiane Luiz Damásio , de Abreu e Souza Rafael Ramalho , Nolasco Roberta , Olej Beni 
Published: June 2010

Objective To assess the effect of electroacupuncture (EA), akin to percutaneous electroneurostimulation, on pain and biochemical measures during and after inguinal hernia repair. Methods Thirty-three patients were randomised to EA (n=16) or sham transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) control (n=17). EA was applied at different frequencies, through needles inserted around the incision, over selected peripheral nerve branches and in the ear, from 30 min before surgery until the end of surgery, when needles were removed. All patients also received routine sedation and local anaesthesia. Results There was no difference between the pain scores in the groups receiving EA and sham TENS in the immediate postoperative period, which may be owing to adequate levels of analgesia from conventional techniques. On the fourth and seventh postoperative days, less pain and lower consumption of analgesic drugs were reported in the treatment group. Seroma occurred more frequently in the control group, which also had higher glucose blood levels in the immediate postoperative surgery period. The single case of chronic postoperative pain occurred in the control group. Conclusions The sample size was too small to draw any conclusions about the effect of EA on pain and other parameters following inguinal hernia surgery, but our observations suggest that future studies in this area are justified.
A Study of Acupuncture in Asian Patients: Clinical Aspects and Effects on Cortical Excitability
Authors: Lo Y L , Cui S L , Lum S Y , Chong S Fook , Siow H C 
Published: June 2010

Objective To determine the effect of acupuncture on the phosphene threshold, by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and the clinical effect of acupuncture on headache frequency, duration and severity. Methods Twenty-one patients (16 women; mean age 46 years; range 23–61 years, 17 Chinese, 2 Malays, 2 Indians) underwent 10 acupuncture sessions scheduled twice a week for 5 weeks. The lowest TMS intensity to elicit phosphene perception is defined as the phosphene threshold. TMS was performed before the first and last sessions, and at 2 months’ follow-up. Results Acupuncture resulted in reduction of headache frequency, duration and severity over the course of treatment. However, this was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in the phosphene threshold over a similar time course. The baseline threshold before acupuncture treatment had no predictive value for outcome of treatment. Conclusions Although acupuncture was effective in treating migraine, the use of occipital cortex excitability as an adjunctive parameter to evaluate treatment response was not suitable. The relief of migraine with acupuncture may be related to separate neural pathways independent of occipital or visual processes in the human brain.
Insights into shallow‐level processes of mountain building from the Northern Apennines, Italy
Authors: VANNUCCHI PAOLA , MALTMAN ALEX J. 
Published: June 2010

Recent observations from submarine convergent margins reveal that sediments at shallow levels of burial undergo intricate and irregular fluctuations in physical conditions as they progressively deform and lithify—the early stages of mountain building. Similar on‐land evidence is comparatively sparse, as a result of difficulties of exposure and of early features having been obscured. Here we describe aspects of three structures from the Northern Apennines of Italy that corroborate these notions of complex shallow‐level orogenic processes.
The Upper Cretaceous Castiglioncello mélange formed during the subduction phase of Apennine orogenesis; the major Cervarola thrust and the smaller, intra‐formational, Balduini thrust, both of Tortonian age, represent the ensuing collisional phase. All three structures formed at burial depths less than 2 or 3 km and are syn‐diagenetic. Although differing in detail, all three show features such as clay fabrics and mineralized veins that record complex histories of fluid flow, overpressure, and deformation. The clays show varying types of scaliness, some of which had to involve pore dilation and collapse operating in cycles. The veins typically evolved from networks of bedding‐parallel and bedding‐perpendicular veinlets, through dilation breccias and mosaic textures, to shear and extensional fibre‐growth during hydrofracture. Such observations imply fluctuating physical conditions and dynamic tectonic processes operating on shallow‐level sediments in a way that is highly heterogeneous—with depth, areally and through time.
Revised geochronology of the Neogene calc‐alkaline volcanic suite in Sierra de Gata, Alborán volcanic province, SE Spain
Authors: ZECK H. P. , MALUSKI H. , KRISTENSEN A. B. 
Published: June 2010

40
Ar/
39
Ar step heating experiments were performed on biotites from seven andesites/dacites/rhyolites which represent the entire volcano‐stratigraphic range in a
c.
125 km
2
area in Sierra de Gata. Each sample rendered well defined plateau shaped incremental
39
Ar release spectra which define a time span of
c.
12–10.5 Ma for the volcanic activity. There appears to have been a time gap in the volcanism, separating a basal section of
c.
12–11.5 Ma from a cover section of
c.
11–10.5 Ma. The two samples from the basal section constrain a weighed average age of 11.75 ± 0.15(2σ) Ma and the five samples from the cover section of 10.70 ± 0.15(2σ) Ma. This contrasts with earlier claims of
c.
15–7 Ma for the whole spectrum, based mainly on K–Ar whole rock and ‘groundmass’ experiments. The
c.
12–10.5 Ma age for the calc‐alkaline volcanism places it unequivocally after the late stage extensional tectonics (
c.
24–17 Ma). This supports the currently available model for the Alborán volcanic province, which connects magma generation not to an active subduction zone of the collisional stage, but rather to a late stage anatectic event in the Betic–Ligurian lithosphere under influence of post‐collisional lithospheric slab detachment.
Evidence for the Lower Palaeozoic age of the Tay Nappe: the timing and nature of Grampian events in the Scottish Highland sector of the Laurentian Margin
Authors: ROSE P. T. S. , HARRIS A. L. 
Published: June 2010

Stratigraphical and structural evidence for latest Proterozoic–Phanerozoic deposition of the Dalradian Supergroup in the Scottish Highlands sector of the Laurentian margin is incompatible with geochronological data suggesting
c.
750 Ma (Knoydartian) and
c.
600 Ma (Grampian) orogenesis. The age of the 590 ± 2 Ma Ben Vuirich Granite is critical to the dating of Grampian orogenesis. Fabric evidence indicates that the granite predates D2 while its relationship to D1 is unclear. In this paper the D1–D2 overprint during the evolution of the Tay Nappe, a regional Grampian structure, is examined. Documentation of the distribution, style and orientation of D1 and D2 structures from well exposed sections near the Highland Border has allowed the development of a kinematic model for the D1/D2 deformation. In this model early crustal shortening resulted in D1 upright structures that were subsequently overturned in a D2, SE‐directed shear regime associated with underthrusting of a southern landmass. The model is best explained in terms of a single continental collision event with no evidence of a time gap between D1 and D2. This analysis is consistent with pre‐regional D1 intrusion of the Ben Vuirich Granite and an Early Palaeozoic Grampian Orogeny.
Variscan collisional magmatism and deformation in NW Iberia: constraints from U–Pb geochronology of granitoids
Authors: FERNÁNDEZ‐SUÁREZ J. , DUNNING G. R. , JENNER G. A. , GUTIÉRREZ‐ALONSO G. 
Published: June 2010

U–Pb geochronology of Variscan granitoid rocks from the West Asturian Leonese Zone of the NW Iberian belt documents the episodic nature of magmatism in this section of the western European Variscides. Each magmatic episode is characterized by granitoids with distinct features and has a duration on the scale of several millions of years. The ages of these granitoids place new constraints on the age and duration of magmatic and tectonic events, that are consistent with previous structural studies and proposed models for the tectonic evolution and migration of deformation in the NW Iberian Variscan belt.

Granitoid rocks in this zone belong to two main magmatic episodes (syn‐ and post‐tectonic relative to the Variscan Orogeny) and are broadly representative of the granitoid types found in the NW Iberian Variscan belt. The syntectonic association is formed by: (i) tonalite–granodiorite–monzogranite intrusions emplaced synchronously with the main phase of crustal deformation (D
2
) at
c.
325 Ma and (ii) younger leucogranite intrusions emplaced synchronously with syn‐convergence extensional structures at
c.
320–310 Ma. The post‐tectonic association is composed of: (i) volumetrically dominant tonalite–granodiorite–monzogranite intrusions (and associated minor mafic‐intermediate rocks) emplaced at
c.
295–290 Ma; and (ii) scarce leucogranite intrusions emplaced at
c.
290–285 Ma.
Evidence for a 6000 km length NW–SE-striking lineament in northern Africa: the Tibesti Lineament
Authors: GUIRAUD R. , DOUMNANG MBAIGANE J.-C. , CARRETIER S. , DOMINGUEZ S. 
Published: June 2010

Satellite images of Africa and Digital Elevation Models exhibit a
c.
6000 km length NW–SE-striking lineament extending from southwestern Algeria to Kenya. This lineament often corresponds to a 200 to 300 km wide fault swarm, including faults sporadically interrupted, including faults sporadically interrupted, with a possible late Proterozoic origin. We name it the Tibesti Lineament as it is the most obvious and best documented massif along this structure. Some plate-scale geophysical studies substantiate the connection of this tectonic lineament with a major discontinuity affecting the deep lithosphere. The existence of other lithospheric fault zones crosscutting the African plate and/or the neighbouring plates of the Gondwana is underlined.