bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Maintenance infliximab does not result in increased abscess development in fistulizing Crohn's disease: results from the ACCENT II study
Authors: SANDS B. E. , BLANK M. A. , DIAMOND R. H. , BARRETT J. P. , VAN DEVENTER S. J. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground  Rapid fistula healing may predispose Crohn's disease patients to abscess development.Aim  Data from ACCENT II were analysed to determine whether fistula‐related abscess development is affected by infliximab exposure.Methods  Following infliximab 5 mg/kg infusions at weeks 0, 2 and 6, patients were evaluated for fistula response for two consecutive visits at least 4 weeks apart. Patients (N = 282) were randomized at week 14 to either placebo or infliximab 5 mg/kg every 8 weeks through week 46. If response was lost at or after week 22, patients could crossover to a 5 mg/kg higher infliximab dose. Fistula‐related abscesses were diagnosed by physical examination or by imaging procedures according to usual practice.Results  Infliximab exposure was approximately twofold higher for the infliximab maintenance group. Twenty‐one (15%) patients in the infliximab maintenance group had at least one newly developed fistula‐related abscess compared with 27 (19%) in the placebo maintenance group (P = 0.526). The proportion of patients with a new fistula‐related abscess was similar regardless of whether or not patients crossed over to a 5 mg/kg higher infliximab dose. The number of fistula‐related abscesses diagnosed over time did not differ between groups.Conclusion  Abscess development in patients with fistulizing Crohn's disease is not dependent on cumulative infliximab exposure.
Reinfection after successful eradication of Helicobacter pylori: a 2‐year prospective study in Alaska Natives
Authors: McMAHON B. J. , BRUCE M. G. , HENNESSY T. W. , BRUDEN D. L. , SACCO F. , PETERS H. , HURLBURT D. A. , MORRIS J. M. , REASONOVER A. L. , DAILIDE G. , BERG D. E. , PARKINSON A. J. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground  Limited information exists regarding risk factors for reinfection after cure of Helicobacter pylori infection.Aim  To determine the 2‐year reinfection rate of H. pylori in a cohort of urban Alaska Natives.Methods  Participants over 18 years of age undergoing oesophagogastroduodenoscopy had 13C urea breath test, culture, CLOtest and histology performed. Those diagnosed with H. pylori who tested urea breath test‐negative at 8 weeks after treatment were followed prospectively at 4 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years. Subjects experiencing H. pylori reinfection as defined by a positive urea breath test were compared with those who did not become reinfected using univariable and multivariable analysis. Risk of reinfection over time was estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method.Results  Helicobacter pylori reinfection occurred in 14 of 98 subjects successfully treated. The cumulative reinfection rate was 5.1% (95% CI: 0.7%–9.5%) at 4 months, 7.2% (2.0–12.3%) at 6 months, 10.3% (4.2–16.3%) at 1‐year and 14.5% (7.5–21.6%) at 2 years. In multivariable analysis, a history of previous peptic ulcer disease or presence of ulcer at time of study oesophagogastroduodenoscopy were the only risk factors associated with reinfection (P = 0.01).Conclusions  Based on the findings from our study, subjects with a history of or current peptic ulcer disease should be followed, after successful treatment for H. pylori, with periodic urea breath test to detect reinfection, as reinfection would put them at high risk for ulcer recurrence.
Prokinetic effect of gut‐oriented hypnosis on gastric emptying
Authors: CHIARIONI G. , VANTINI I. , DE IORIO F. , BENINI L. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground  No data are available on the effect of hypnosis on gastric emptying.Aim  To determine the effect of a hypnosis session on gastric emptying and dyspeptic symptoms.Methods  We studied emptying by ultrasonography and epigastric sensations in 11 healthy subjects and in 15 patients affected by functional dyspepsia under three conditions according to a fixed schedule: (a) basal, (b) after cisapride and (c) during a 90 min hypnotic trance. Eight healthy subjects repeated an emptying study listening to relaxing music. Statistical analysis was performed using the Friedman test or RM‐anova.Results  In dyspeptics, the postprandial increase in the antral area was significantly smaller during the hypnosis trance than under the basal and the cisapride conditions. For the patients gastric emptying was significantly shortened by cisapride, and even more by hypnosis (basal 274 ± 16.8 min; cisapride 227 ± 13.2; hypnosis 150 ± 9.7) whereas for healthy subjects it was shortened only by hypnosis. The repeated study in healthy subjects listening to relaxing music showed no significant difference compared with the basal. Epigastric sensations were improved in dyspeptics by hypnosis, but not by cisapride.Conclusions  Gut‐oriented hypnosis is effective in shortening gastric emptying both in dyspeptic and in healthy subjects.
The usefulness of transabdominal ultrasound for the diagnosis of lower gastrointestinal bleeding
Authors: YAMAGUCHI T. , MANABE N. , HATA J. , TANAKA S. , HARUMA K. , CHAYAMA K. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground  Lower gastrointestinal bleeding is a frequent cause of hospitalization, but diagnostic methods for this condition are not fully established. Transabdominal ultrasound is a widely accepted diagnostic tool in bowel diseases.Aim  To evaluate the usefulness of transabdominal ultrasound for lower gastrointestinal bleeding.Methods  We reviewed the medical records of consecutive patients who underwent transabdominal ultrasound as the first diagnostic procedure for acute haematochezia during the period June 1999 to June 2004. The study group comprised 111 patients and all underwent colonoscopy thereafter. Detection and diagnosis of lower gastrointestinal bleeding by ultrasonographic examination were evaluated by comparing the ultrasound diagnosis with the colonoscopic findings and final diagnosis.Results  The bleeding site was localized by colonoscopy in 90 of the 111 patients (81%). The bleeding site was localized by ultrasound in 59 of the 90 patients (66%). When the bleeding site was in the rectum, ultrasonographic detectability was 30% (10/33); ultrasonographic detectability was 82–100% when the bleeding site was elsewhere. Rectal bleeding and diverticular bleeding were difficult to diagnose by ultrasound, but for the other diseases, diagnosis by ultrasonographic examination was possible in 91–100% of cases.Conclusions  Ultrasonographic examination may be an effective screening method for lower gastrointestinal bleeding.
Red blood cells, platelets and polymorphonuclear neutrophils of patients with sickle cell disease exhibit oxidative stress that can be ameliorated by antioxidants
Authors: Amer Johnny , Ghoti Hussam , Rachmilewitz Eliezer , Koren Ariel , Levin Carina , Fibach Eitan 
Published: March 2006

SummarySickle cell disease (SCD) is basically a red blood cell (RBC) disorder characterised by sickling and haemolysis, but platelets and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are also involved. Oxidative damage may play a role in the pathogenesis of SCD. Using flow cytometry, we measured oxidative‐state markers simultaneously in RBC, platelets and PMN obtained from 25 normal donors, nine homozygous (SS) patients and six SS/beta‐thalassaemia patients. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured following staining of blood samples with fluorescence probes and gating on specific subpopulations based on size and granularity. Ten‐ to 30‐fold higher ROS production and 20–50% lower GSH content were found in RBC, platelets and PMN from SCD patients versus those of their normal counterparts. This could in part account for the clinical manifestations, such as haemolysis, a hypercoagulable state, recurrent bacterial infections and vaso‐occlusive incidences, in SCD. We further showed that exposure of SCD samples to antioxidants, such as N‐acetyl‐cysteine, vitamin C and vitamin E, decreased their oxidative stress. These results suggest that antioxidant treatment of patients with SCD could reduce oxidative damage to RBC, PMN and platelets, thereby alleviating symptoms associated with their pathology. The flow cytometry techniques presented herein could assist in monitoring the efficacy of such treatment.
Pelagic ecology of a northern boundary current system: effects of upwelling on the production and distribution of sardine (Sardinops sagax), anchovy (Engraulis australis) and southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) in the Great Australian Bight
Authors: WARD TIM M. , MCLEAY LACHLAN J. , DIMMLICH WETJENS F. , ROGERS PAUL J. , MCCLATCHIE SAM , MATTHEWS ROGER , KÄMPF JOCHEN , VAN RUTH PAUL D. 
Published: March 2006

AbstractShelf waters of southern Australia support the world's only northern boundary current ecosystem. Although there are some indications of intense nitrate enrichment in the eastern Great Australian Bight (GAB) arising from upwelling of the Flinders Current, the biological consequences of these processes are poorly understood. We show that productivity in the eastern GAB is low during winter, but that coastal upwelling at several locations during the austral summer–autumn results in localized increases in surface chlorophyll a concentrations and downstream enhancement of zooplankton biomass. Sardine (Sardinops sagax) and anchovy (Engraulis australis) eggs and larvae are abundant and widely distributed in shelf waters of the eastern and central GAB during summer–autumn, with high densities of sardine eggs and larvae occurring in areas with high zooplankton biomass. Egg densities and distributions support previous evidence suggesting that the spawning biomass of sardine in the waters off South Australia is an order of magnitude higher than elsewhere in southern Australia. Sardine comprised >50% of the identified prey species of juvenile southern bluefin tuna (SBT, Thunnus maccoyii) collected during this study. Other studies have shown that the lipid content of sardine from the GAB is relatively high during summer and autumn. We suggest that juvenile SBT migrate into the eastern and central GAB during each summer–autumn to access the high densities of lipid‐rich sardines that are available in the region during the upwelling period. Levels of primary, secondary and fish production in the eastern GAB during summer–autumn are higher than those recorded in other parts of Australia, and within the lower portion of ranges observed during upwelling events in the productive eastern boundary current systems off California, Peru and southern Africa.
Caveolin‐1 is down‐regulated and inversely correlated with HER2 and EGFR expression status in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast
Authors: Park S‐S , Kim J E , Kim Y A , Kim Y C , Kim S‐W 
Published: March 2006

Aims : To evaluate the caveolin‐1 status of invasive ductal carcinoma and its correlation with other important parameters of breast carcinogenesis. Caveolin‐1, the main structural protein of caveolae, is involved in the regulation of several intracellular signalling pathways and also functions as a tumour suppressor in breast carcinogenesis.Methods and results : One hundred and thirty cases of invasive ductal carcinomas with matched normal breast tissue were evaluated immunohistochemically for caveolin‐1 expression. Using a tissue microarray, caveolin‐1 expression was also correlated with the expression of other antigens such as eostrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), HER2, β‐catenin, E‐cadherin, p53, Ki67 and with clinicopathological parameters. Immunohistochemical results showed strong expression of caveolin‐1 in all normal breast epithelial cells, but a reduction of caveolin‐1 expression in 56 cases (43.1%) of invasive ductal carcinoma. Furthermore, a statistically significant inverse correlation between caveolin‐1 and EGFR and HER2 was noted (P < 0.001).Conclusions : Our results indicate a reduction in caveolin‐1 expression in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, which supports in vitro studies of its role as a tumour suppressor. Caveolin‐1 also shows an inverse correlation with EGFR and HER2, which fits with its function as a negative regulator of signal transduction.
Continuous response functions for quantifying the strength of edge effects
Authors: EWERS ROBERT M. , DIDHAM RAPHAEL K. 
Published: March 2006

Summary

Ecological boundaries are a dominant feature of human‐modified landscapes and have been the subject of numerous empirical studies. Robust statistical methods for determining the strength of edge effects are a vital requirement for the effective management of species that are negatively affected by habitat boundaries in heavily fragmented landscapes, but development of such methods has been slow.
We define edge effects as being composed of two complementary, and statistically definable, components: magnitude (the degree of difference in response values between patch and matrix interiors) and extent (the distance over which the difference in response values can be detected).
We present a statistical approach to rigorously delineate edge‐effect magnitude and extent. Our approach adapts a form of the general logistic model to describe continuous response functions for any biotic or abiotic variable across ecological boundaries from the landscape matrix into focal patch habitats. The model describes sigmoid and unimodal response functions that have been both theoretically predicted and empirically demonstrated. We use the second derivatives of the functions as an objective means to calculate the magnitude and extent of edge effects, and present a bootstrap technique for calculating confidence intervals around these values.
Synthesis and applications. Our results show clearly that edge‐effect magnitude and extent are not necessarily correlated, and therefore provide quantitatively different, and complementary, information about the strength of edge effects. Both effect magnitude and extent can be easily used for cross‐study comparisons, either by directly comparing the absolute values of response variables in the patch and matrix, or by converting those values to a percentage change. Furthermore, this method provides a management tool for more accurately predicting the presence, spatial location and utilization of core habitat by species in fragmented landscapes.
Widespread gene flow and high genetic variability in populations of water volesArvicola terrestrisin patchy habitats
Authors: AARS J. , DALLAS J. F. , PIERTNEY S. B. , MARSHALL F. , GOW J. L. , TELFER S. , LAMBIN X. 
Published: March 2006

AbstractTheory predicts that the impact of gene flow on the genetic structure of populations in patchy habitats depends on its scale and the demographic attributes of demes (e.g. local colony sizes and timing of reproduction), but empirical evidence is scarce. We inferred the impact of gene flow on genetic structure among populations of water volesArvicola terrestristhat differed in average colony sizes, population turnover and degree of patchiness. Colonies typically consisted of few reproducing adults and several juveniles. Twelve polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci were examined. Levels of individual genetic variability in all areas were high (HO= 0.69–0.78). Assignments of juveniles to parents revealed frequent dispersal over long distances. The populations showed negativeFISvalues among juveniles,FISvalues around zero among adults, highFSTvalues among colonies for juveniles, and moderate, often insignificant,FSTvalues for parents. We inferred that excess heterozygosity within colonies reflected the few individuals dispersing from a large area to form discrete breeding colonies. Thus pre‐breeding dispersal followed by rapid reproduction results in a seasonal increase in differentiation due to local family groups. Genetic variation was as high in low‐density populations in patchy habitats as in populations in continuous habitats used for comparison. In contrast to most theoretical predictions, we found that populations living in patchy habitats can maintain high levels of genetic variability when only a few adults contribute to breeding in each colony, when the variance of reproductive success among colonies is likely to be low, and when dispersal between colonies exceeds nearest‐neighbour distances.
INVITED REVIEW: What is a population? An empirical evaluation of some genetic methods for identifying the number of gene pools and their degree of connectivity
Authors: WAPLES ROBIN S. , GAGGIOTTI OSCAR 
Published: March 2006

AbstractWe review commonly used population definitions under both the ecological paradigm (which emphasizes demographic cohesion) and the evolutionary paradigm (which emphasizes reproductive cohesion) and find that none are truly operational. We suggest several quantitative criteria that might be used to determine when groups of individuals are different enough to be considered ‘populations’. Units for these criteria are migration rate (m) for the ecological paradigm and migrants per generation (Nm) for the evolutionary paradigm. These criteria are then evaluated by applying analytical methods to simulated genetic data for a finite island model. Under the standard parameter set that includes L = 20 High mutation (microsatellite‐like) loci and samples of S = 50 individuals from each of n = 4 subpopulations, power to detect departures from panmixia was very high (∼100%; P < 0.001) even with high gene flow (Nm = 25). A new method, comparing the number of correct population assignments with the random expectation, performed as well as a multilocus contingency test and warrants further consideration. Use of Low mutation (allozyme‐like) markers reduced power more than did halving S or L. Under the standard parameter set, power to detect restricted gene flow below a certain level X (H0: Nm < X) can also be high, provided that true Nm ≤ 0.5X. Developing the appropriate test criterion, however, requires assumptions about several key parameters that are difficult to estimate in most natural populations. Methods that cluster individuals without using a priori sampling information detected the true number of populations only under conditions of moderate or low gene flow (Nm ≤ 5), and power dropped sharply with smaller samples of loci and individuals. A simple algorithm based on a multilocus contingency test of allele frequencies in pairs of samples has high power to detect the true number of populations even with Nm = 25 but requires more rigorous statistical evaluation. The ecological paradigm remains challenging for evaluations using genetic markers, because the transition from demographic dependence to independence occurs in a region of high migration where genetic methods have relatively little power. Some recent theoretical developments and continued advances in computational power provide hope that this situation may change in the future.
Relationship between leaf emergence and optimum spray timing for leaf blotch (Rhynchosporium secalis) control on winter barley
Authors: Young C. S. , Thomas J. M. , Parker S. R. , Paveley N. D. 
Published: March 2006

For wheat, the optimum time to apply fungicide to control disease on a given leaf layer is usually at, or shortly after, full leaf emergence. Data from field experiments on barley were used to investigate whether the same relationship was applicable to control of leaf blotch on barley. Replicated plots of winter barley were sown in the autumns of 1991, 1992 and 1993 at sites in southwest England with high risk of Rhynchosporium secalis infection. Single fungicide treatments at four doses (0·25, 0·5, 0·75 or 1·0 times the label rate) were applied at one of eight different spray times, starting in mid‐March in each year, with intervals of 10–11 days between spray timings. Disease was assessed every 10–11 days and area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) values were used to construct fungicide dose by spray time response surfaces for each of the upper four leaves, for each year. Spray timings shortly before leaf emergence were found to minimize the AUDPC for each year and leaf layer, and also the effective dose (the dose required to achieve a specified level of control), similar to wheat. Fungicide treatments on barley were effective for a longer period before leaf emergence than afterwards, probably because treatments before emergence of the target leaf reduced inoculum production on leaves below. This partly explains why fungicides tend to be applied earlier in the growth of barley compared with wheat.
A high‐throughput glasshouse bioassay to detect crown rot resistance in wheat germplasm
Authors: Mitter V. , Zhang M. C. , Liu C. J. , Ghosh R. , Ghosh M. , Chakraborty S. 
Published: March 2006

A high‐throughput and reliable seedling bioassay to screen wheat germplasm for crown rot resistance was developed. Single wheat seedlings were grown in square seedling punnets in a glasshouse and inoculated with a monoconidial Fusarium pseudograminearum isolate 10 days after emergence. The punnets were laid horizontally on their side and a 10‐µL inoculum droplet placed on the stem base. Seedlings were incubated at near‐saturated relative humidity, and crown rot severity was assessed 35 days after inoculation. Studies on the duration of incubation period, inoculum concentration and temperature were carried out to optimize these parameters. Seedling growth at 25/15(±5)°C in a glasshouse and 48‐h incubation at near‐saturated RH in darkness gave the best results. When crown rot resistance rankings of 16 Australian cultivars from the bioassay were compared with their field performance, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was highly significant. This indicated that the seedling bioassay mimicked field resistance to crown rot in adult plants. A bootstrap resampling analysis showed little or no improvement in the coefficient of variation with an increasing number of replications, indicating a high level of precision and reproducibility. By detecting small but consistent differences in crown rot severity, the bioassay proved effective in large‐scale screening for partial resistance: already over 1400 wheat genotypes have been screened. The high degree of precision makes this an invaluable tool in the understanding of pathogen aggressiveness, host specialization and parasitic fitness.