bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The RNA binding protein CsrA controls cyclic di‐GMP metabolism by directly regulating the expression of GGDEF proteins
Authors: Jonas Kristina , Edwards Adrianne N. , Simm Roger , Romeo Tony , Römling Ute , Melefors Öjar 
Published: August 2008

SummaryThe carbon storage regulator CsrA is an RNA binding protein that controls carbon metabolism, biofilm formation and motility in various eubacteria. Nevertheless, in Escherichia coli only five target mRNAs have been shown to be directly regulated by CsrA at the post‐transcriptional level. Here we identified two new direct targets for CsrA, ycdT and ydeH, both of which encode proteins with GGDEF domains. A csrA mutation caused mRNA levels of ycdT and ydeH to increase more than 10‐fold. RNA mobility shift assays confirmed the direct and specific binding of CsrA to the mRNA leaders of ydeH and ycdT. Overexpression of ycdT and ydeH resulted in a more than 20‐fold increase in the cellular concentration of the second messenger cyclic di‐GMP (c‐di‐GMP), implying that both proteins possess diguanylate cyclase activity. Phenotypic characterization revealed that both proteins are involved in the regulation of motility in a c‐di‐GMP‐dependent manner. CsrA was also found to regulate the expression of five additional GGDEF/EAL proteins and a csrA mutation led to modestly increased cellular levels of c‐di‐GMP. All together, these data demonstrate a global role for CsrA in the regulation of c‐di‐GMP metabolism by regulating the expression of GGDEF proteins at the post‐transcriptional level.
Responses of Brassica oleracea cultivars to infestation by the aphid Brevicoryne brassicae: an ecological and molecular approach
Authors: BROEKGAARDEN COLETTE , POELMAN ERIK H. , STEENHUIS GREET , VOORRIPS ROELAND E. , DICKE MARCEL , VOSMAN BEN 
Published: August 2008

ABSTRACTIntraspecific variation in resistance or susceptibility to herbivorous insects has been widely studied through bioassays. However, few studies have combined this with a full transcriptomic analysis. Here, we take such an approach to study the interaction between the aphid Brevicoryne brassicae and four white cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) cultivars. Both under glasshouse and field conditions, two of the cultivars clearly supported a faster aphid population development than the other two, indicating that aphid population development was largely independent of the environmental conditions. Genome‐wide transcriptomic analysis using 70‐mer oligonucleotide microarrays based on the Arabidopsis thaliana genome showed that only a small number of genes were differentially regulated, and that this regulation was highly cultivar specific. The temporal pattern in the expression behaviour of two B. brassicae‐responsive genes in all four cultivars together with targeted studies employing A. thaliana knockout mutants revealed a possible role for a trypsin‐and‐protease inhibitor in defence against B. brassicae. Conversely, a xyloglucan endotransglucosylase seemed to have no effect on aphid performance. Overall, this study shows clear intraspecific variation in B. brassicae susceptibility among B. oleracea cultivars under glasshouse and field conditions that can be partly explained by certain differences in induced transcriptional changes.
Arabidopsis transcript and metabolite profiles: ecotype‐specific responses to open‐air elevated [CO2]
Authors: LI PINGHUA , AINSWORTH ELIZABETH A. , LEAKEY ANDREW D. B. , ULANOV ALEXANDER , LOZOVAYA VERA , ORT DONALD R. , BOHNERT HANS J. 
Published: August 2008

ABSTRACTA Free‐Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiment compared the physiological parameters, transcript and metabolite profiles of Arabidopsis thaliana Columbia‐0 (Col‐0) and Cape Verde Island (Cvi‐0) at ambient (∼0.375 mg g−1) and elevated (∼0.550 mg g−1) CO2 ([CO2]). Photoassimilate pool sizes were enhanced in high [CO2] in an ecotype‐specific manner. Short‐term growth at elevated [CO2] stimulated carbon gain irrespective of down‐regulation of plastid functions and altered expression of genes involved in nitrogen metabolism resembling patterns observed under N‐deficiency. The study confirmed well‐known characteristics, but the use of a time course, ecotypic genetic differences, metabolite analysis and the focus on clusters of functional categories provided new aspects about responses to elevated [CO2]. Longer‐term Cvi‐0 responded by down‐regulating functions favouring carbon accumulation, and both ecotypes showed altered expression of genes for defence, redox control, transport, signalling, transcription and chromatin remodelling. Overall, carbon fixation with a smaller commitment of resources in elevated [CO2] appeared beneficial, with the extra C only partially utilized possibly due to disturbance of the C : N ratio. To different degrees, both ecotypes perceived elevated [CO2] as a metabolic perturbation that necessitated increased functions consuming or storing photoassimilate, with Cvi‐0 emerging as more capable of acclimating. Elevated [CO2] in Arabidopsis favoured adjustments in reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis and signalling that defined genotypic markers.
Cell cycle phase‐specific death response of tobacco BY‐2 cell line to cadmium treatment
Authors: KUTHANOVA ANDREA , FISCHER LUKAS , NICK PETER , OPATRNY ZDENEK 
Published: August 2008

ABSTRACTThe character of programmed cell death (PCD) in plants differs in connection with the context, triggering factors and differentiation state of the target cells. To study the interconnections between cell cycle progression and cell death induction, we treated synchronized tobacco BY‐2 cells with cadmium ions that represent a general abiotic stressor influencing both dividing and differentiated cellsin planta. Cadmium induced massive cell death after application in all stages of the cell cycle; however, both the progression and the forms of the cell death differed pronouncedly. Apoptosis‐like PCD induced by cadmium application in the S and G2 was characterized by pronounced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. In contrast, application of cadmium in M and G1 phases was not accompanied by DNA cleavage, indicating suppression of autolysis and non‐programmed character of the death. We interpret these results in the context of the situationin planta, where the induction of apoptosis‐like PCD in the S and G2 phase might be connected with a need to preserve genetic integrity of dividing meristematic cells, whereas suppression of PCD response in differentiated cells (situated in G1/G0 phase) might help to avoid death of the whole plant, and thus enable initiation of the recovery and adaptation processes.
Two divergent genes encoding L‐myo‐inositol 1‐phosphate synthase1 (CaMIPS1) and 2 (CaMIPS2) are differentially expressed in chickpea
Authors: KAUR HARMEET , SHUKLA RAKESH KUMAR , YADAV GITANJALI , CHATTOPADHYAY DEBASIS , MAJEE MANOJ 
Published: August 2008

ABSTRACTL‐myo‐inositol 1‐phosphate synthase (MIPS; EC5.5.1.4) catalyses the rate‐limiting step in inositol biosynthetic pathway, and is extremely widespread in living organisms including plants. Several plants possess multiple copies of MIPS gene(s) indicating a possibility of differential expression of each gene to perform distinct physiological functions. To explore this, two MIPS genes (CaMIPS1 and CaMIPS2) were isolated from a drought‐tolerant plant chickpea. Both genes are extremely divergent in respect to their introns, at the same time retaining 85% identity to their exons and functionally complementing inositol auxotroph Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Expression analysis showed both genes were expressed in all organs except seed, where only CaMIPS2 transcript was detected. Under environmental stresses, only CaMIPS2 was induced whereas CaMIPS1 expression remained same, which could be explained by the divergence of their 5′ upstream regulatory sequences. Remarkably, both gene products exhibited similar biochemical characteristics; however, CaMIPS2 retained higher activity than CaMIPS1 at a high temperature and salt concentration. Furthermore, functional expression of CaMIPS2 in S. pombe results better growth response than CaMIPS1 under stress environment. Taken together, our results suggest that CaMIPS1 and CaMIPS2 are differentially expressed in chickpea to play discrete though overlapping roles in plant; however CaMIPS2 is likely to be evolved through gene duplication to function under environmental stresses.
Antistreptococcal treatment of guttate psoriasis: a controlled study
Authors: Dogan Bilal , Karabudak Ozlem , Harmanyeri Yavuz 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBackground  The role of streptococcal infection in the initiation of guttate psoriasis is well‐recognized. But the treatment results with oral erythromycin and phenoxymethylpenicillin are conflicting.Objective  Our purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of these antibiotics in the treatment of streptococcus associated guttate psoriasis comparing with a control group.Methods  A total of 43 male patients with serologic evidence of a recent streptococcal infection were studied. Their mean age was 21 years (ranged between 19 and 23 years). These 43 patients were randomly allocated into three groups (no treatment group n = 15, erythromycin group n = 14, phenoxymethylpenicillin group n = 14). Both the treatment groups were treated for 14 d. All the groups were followed up for additional 4 weeks.Results  There were no statistically significant improvement in any group and among the groups.Conclusion  There was no statistically significant improvement in streptococcus associated guttate psoriasis with or without a course of oral penicillin or erythromycin.
Alexithymia and dermatology: the state of the art
Authors: Willemsen Ria , Roseeuw Diane , Vanderlinden Johan 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBackground  Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by difficulties in differentiating and describing feelings. Research indicates that alexithymia acts as a triggering factor for many medical and psychiatric disorders. The interest in alexithymia has increased considerably over the past decade. A state of the art review of recent research on alexithymia in medical and dermatological research is presented.Methods  We reviewed most relevant publications on alexithymia from the field of clinical research, psychology, psychosomatics, and psycho‐neuro‐endocrinology. Systematic searches on alexithymia in dermatology were undertaken using the Cochrane Library and PUBMed.Results  Interdisciplinary research, investigating alexithymia, is advancing rapidly into different fields of medicine. Alexithymia has been found to be associated with changes in sympathetic activity, immunity and brain activity. Some researchers link alexithymia with insecure parental attachment and adverse childhood experiences. Although research of alexithymia in dermatology is still scarce and reveals conflicting results, preliminary data show that alexithymia seems to be associated with alopecia areata, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, vitiligo or chronic urticaria.Conclusion  Present research findings on alexithymia in the field of dermatology suggest important implications for the treatment of some specific dermatological disorders. Besides treating comorbid psychological problems such as anxiety and depression, dermatologists should also be aware of alexithymia and its possible association with an underlying dermatologic disease.
Cutaneous cytomegalovirus infection in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
Authors: AbdullGaffar Badr , Raman Lakshmiah G. , Al Muala Alia 
Published: August 2008

AbstractCytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in immunocompromised patients is a common opportunistic systemic infection which can lead to death, and usually presents with visceral manifestations, especially of the lung, brain, eye, and gastrointestinal tract. Cutaneous CMV infection is, however, relatively rare in immunocompromised patients. Cutaneous CMV infection can have variable clinical and histologic manifestations, and thus can be easily missed. We report a case of cutaneous CMV infection in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, presenting as a generalized, pruritic, erythematous, maculopapular eruption.
Hospital inpatients’ experiences of access to food: a qualitative interview and observational study
Authors: Naithani Smriti , Whelan Kevin , Thomas Jane , Gulliford Martin C , Morgan Myfanwy 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBackground  Hospital surveys indicate that overall patients are satisfied with hospital food. However undernutrition is common and associated with a number of negative clinical outcomes. There is little information regarding food access from the patients’ perspective.Purpose  To examine in‐patients’ experiences of access to food in hospitals.Methods  Qualitative semi‐structured interviews with 48 patients from eight acute wards in two London teaching hospitals. Responses were coded and analysed thematically using NVivo.Results  Most patients were satisfied with the quality of the meals, which met their expectations. Almost half of the patients reported feeling hungry during their stay and identified a variety of difficulties in accessing food. These were categorized as: organizational barriers (e.g. unsuitable serving times, menus not enabling informed decision about what food met their needs, inflexible ordering systems); physical barriers (not in a comfortable position to eat, food out of reach, utensils or packaging presenting difficulties for eating); and environmental factors (e.g. staff interrupting during mealtimes, disruptive and noisy behaviour of other patients, repetitive sounds or unpleasant smells). Surgical and elderly patients and those with physical disabilities experienced greatest difficulty accessing food, whereas younger patients were more concerned about choice, timing and the delivery of food.Conclusions  Hospital in‐patients often experienced feeling hungry and having difficulty accessing food. These problems generally remain hidden because staff fail to notice and because patients are reluctant to request assistance.
A systematic review of decision support needs of parents making child health decisions
Authors: Jackson Cath , Cheater Francine M. , Reid Innes 
Published: August 2008

AbstractObjective  To identify the decision support needs of parents attempting to make an informed health decision on behalf of a child.Context  The first step towards implementing patient decision support is to assess patients’ information and decision‐making needs.Search strategy  A systematic search of key bibliographic databases for decision support studies was performed in 2005. Reference lists of relevant review articles and key authors were searched. Three relevant journals were hand searched.Inclusion criteria  Non‐intervention studies containing data on decision support needs of parents making child health decisions.Data extraction and synthesis  Data were extracted on study characteristics, decision focus and decision support needs. Studies were quality assessed using a pre‐defined set of criteria. Data synthesis used the UK Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co‐ordinating Centre approach.Main results  One‐hundred and forty nine studies were included across various child health decisions, settings and study designs. Thematic analysis of decision support needs indicated three key issues: (i) information (including suggestions about the content, delivery, source, timing); (ii) talking to others (including concerns about pressure from others); and (iii) feeling a sense of control over the process that could be influenced by emotionally charged decisions, the consultation process, and structural or service barriers. These were consistent across decision type, study design and whether or not the study focused on informed decision making.
Cerebellar ataxia in youths at risk for bipolar disorder
Authors: Giles Lisa L , DelBello Melissa P , Gilbert Donald L , Stanford Kevin E , Shear Paula K , Strakowski Stephen M 
Published: August 2008

Objective:  Structural, biochemical, and functional cerebellar abnormalities occur in individuals with or at‐risk for developing bipolar disorder (BD), but the clinical implications of these abnormalities are unknown. The present study examined cerebellar function in youths who were at familial risk for BD by comparing ataxia battery scores of youths with a bipolar parent to those of healthy youths.Methods:  Trained raters administered an ataxia battery, consisting of three tasks, to children (aged 8–12 years) with at least one parent with BD type I (BDI) who themselves did not have BDI (at‐risk or AR group, n = 21) and healthy comparison children (aged 8–12 years) with parents free of DSM‐IV Axis I psychopathology (HC group, n = 23).Results:  AR youths performed worse than HC youths on the Sharpened Romberg test (subjects standing heel‐to‐toe) and standing on one foot with eyes open (p < 0.02).Conclusions:  The results indicate that youths at familial risk for BD have more difficulty performing a Sharpened Romberg test than a HC group, suggesting that midline cerebellar dysfunction may be a biomarker for the future development of BD. Further studies examining the relationships among youths at risk for BD, coordination abnormalities, and cerebellar dysfunction are needed.
Severity of mood symptoms and work productivity in people treated for bipolar disorder
Authors: Simon Gregory E , Ludman Evette J , Unützer Jürgen , Operskalski Belinda H , Bauer Mark S 
Published: August 2008

Objective:  To evaluate the relationship between mood symptoms and work productivity in people with bipolar disorder.Methods:  A total of 441 outpatients treated for bipolar disorder were enrolled from mental health clinics of a health plan in Washington State. A baseline assessment included confirmation of diagnosis (using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV) as well as assessment of employment status, functional impairment, and days missed from work. Eight follow‐up interviews over 24 months included self‐reported employment status, self‐reported days missed from work due to illness, and assessment of current and interval mood symptoms using the Longitudinal Interval Follow‐up Examination.Results:  Averaged over four assessments, patients with current major depression were 15% less likely to be employed than those without significant depressive symptoms [odds ratio (OR) = 0.84, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.76–0.92]. Manic or hypomanic symptoms were not significantly associated with probability of employment (OR = 0.93, CI: 0.83–1.04). Among those employed, major depression was associated with 4.06 additional days of work missed per month (CI: 1.05–7.06) compared to those without significant depressive symptoms. Meeting criteria for manic or hypomanic episode was associated with a similar number of missed work days, but this difference was not statistically significant (adjusted difference = 4.11 days, CI: ‐0.18–8.40).Conclusions:  Among patients with bipolar disorder, depression is strongly and consistently associated with decreased probability of employment and more days missed from work due to illness. Symptoms of mania or hypomania have more variable effects on work productivity.
Small effective population sizes in two planktonic freshwater copepod species (Eudiaptomus) with apparently large census sizes
Authors: ZELLER M. , REUSCH T. B. H. , LAMPERT W. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractIn small planktonic organisms, large census sizes (Nc) suggest large effective population sizes (Ne), but reliable estimates are rare. Here, we present Ne/Nc ratios for two freshwater copepod species (Eudiaptomus sp.) using temporal samples of multilocus microsatellite genotypes and a pseudo‐likelihood approach. Ne/Nc ratios were very small in both Eudiaptomus species (10−7–10−8). Although we hypothesized that the species producing resting eggs (E. graciloides) had a larger Ne than the other (E. gracilis), estimates were not statistically different (E. graciloides: Ne = 672.7, CI: 276–1949; E. gracilis: Ne = 1027.4, CI: 449–2495), suggesting that the propagule bank of E. graciloides had no detectable influence on Ne.
The oxidation handicap hypothesis and the carotenoid allocation trade‐off
Authors: ALONSO‐ALVAREZ C. , PÉREZ‐RODRÍGUEZ L. , MATEO R. , CHASTEL O. , VIÑUELA J. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThe oxidation handicap hypothesis proposes that testosterone mediates the trade‐off between the expression of secondary sexual traits and the fight against free radicals. Coloured traits controlled by testosterone can be produced by carotenoid pigments (yellow–orange–red traits), but carotenoids also help to quench free radicals. Recently, it has been shown that testosterone increases the amount of circulating carotenoids in birds. Here, a testosterone‐mediated trade‐off in the carotenoid allocation between colour expression and the fight against oxidative stress is proposed. Male red‐legged partridges were treated with testosterone, anti‐androgens or manipulated as controls. Testosterone‐treated males maintained the highest circulating carotenoid levels, but showed the palest red traits and no evidence of oxidative damage. Increased levels of a key intracellular antioxidant (i.e. glutathione) indicated that an oxidative challenge was in fact induced but controlled. The trade‐off was apparently solved by reducing redness, allowing increased carotenoid availability, which could have contributed to buffer oxidative stress.
No resistance to male‐killing Wolbachia after thousands of years of infection
Authors: JAENIKE J. , DYER K. A. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractMaternally transmitted male‐killing endosymbionts can exert strong and relentless selection pressure on their hosts to evolve resistance to these infections. Surveys of current infection prevalence and mtDNA diversity indicate that Drosophila innubila is and has been infected with male‐killing Wolbachia at moderate frequencies for extended evolutionary periods. Here, we use coalescent simulations to infer the minimum age of the Wolbachia infection in this species, and estimate that the infection is at least 15 000 and perhaps over 700 000 years old. We also surveyed this species for genetic variation for resistance to the male‐killing effects of infection. Our surveys revealed no evidence for any resistance polymorphism, such that all flies are completely susceptible to male killing. Given the general assumption that Drosophila can be selected for anything, the lack of resistance, despite thousands of years of strong selection, is an apparent evolutionary conundrum. We hypothesize that resistance requires a mutation of major effect that acts early in development, and that the adverse pleiotropic consequences of such mutations in both infected and uninfected individuals may exceed the possible benefit to infected flies.