bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficient inhibition of SDF‐1α‐mediated chemotaxis and HIV‐1 infection by novel CXCR4 antagonists
Authors: Iwasaki Yuki , Akari Hirofumi , Murakami Tsutomu , Kumakura Sei , Dewan Md. Zahidunnabi , Yanaka Mikiro , Yamamoto Naoki 
Published: February 2009

CXC chemokine receptor‐4, the receptor for stromal cell‐derived factor‐1α as well as human immunodeficiency virus type 1, belongs to the chemokine receptor family and has been shown to play a critical role in directing the migration of cancer cells to sites of metastasis as well as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection. We had previously reported that a duodenally absorbable CXC chemokine receptor‐4 antagonist, KRH‐1636, showed a potent anti‐human immunodeficiency virus type 1 activity both in vivo and in vitro. In this study, we initially examined the effect of the compound and its derivatives on stromal cell‐derived factor‐1α‐mediated chemotaxis of cancer cells in order to evaluate if they could be applicable as a novel inhibitor of cancer metastasis. We found that both KRH‐2731 and KRH‐3955 were highly potent antagonists of stromal cell‐derived factor‐1α‐mediated chemotaxis, i.e. the derivatives exhibited 50% effective concentrations of less than 10 nM, for more than 1000‐fold efficacy improvement over the prototype KRH‐1636. We further demonstrated the greater anti‐human immunodeficiency virus type 1 efficacy of the derivatives compared with the original KRH‐1636. Taken together, the KRH‐1636 derivatives KRH‐2731 and KRH‐3955 may be promising as a novel inhibitory drug for cancer metastasis as well as for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection. (Cancer Sci 2009; 100: 778ndash;781)
Microbe‐associated molecular pattern (MAMP) signatures, synergy, size and charge: influences on perception or mobility and host defence responses
Authors: ASLAM SHAZIA N. , ERBS GITTE , MORRISSEY KATE L. , NEWMAN MARI‐ANNE , CHINCHILLA DELPHINE , BOLLER THOMAS , MOLINARO ANTONIO , JACKSON ROBERT W. , COOPER RICHARD M. 
Published: February 2009

SUMMARYTriggering of defences by microbes has mainly been investigated using single elicitors or microbe‐associated molecular patterns (MAMPs), but MAMPs are released in planta as complex mixtures together with endogenous oligogalacturonan (OGA) elicitor. We investigated the early responses in Arabidopsis of calcium influx and oxidative burst induced by non‐saturating concentrations of bacterial MAMPs, used singly and in combination: flagellin peptide (flg22), elongation factor peptide (elf18), peptidoglycan (PGN) and component muropeptides, lipo‐oligosaccharide (LOS) and core oligosaccharides. This revealed that some MAMPs have additive (e.g. flg22 with elf18) and even synergistic (flg22 and LOS) effects, whereas others mutually interfere (flg22 with OGA). OGA suppression of flg22‐induced defences was not a result of the interference with the binding of flg22 to its receptor flagellin‐sensitive 2 (FLS2). MAMPs induce different calcium influx signatures, but these are concentration dependent and unlikely to explain the differential induction of defence genes [pathogenesis‐related gene 1 (PR1), plant defensin gene 1.2 (PDF1.2) and phenylalanine ammonia lyase gene 1 (PAL1)] by flg22, elf18 and OGA. The peptide MAMPs are potent elicitors at subnanomolar levels, whereas PGN and LOS at high concentrations induce low and late host responses. This difference might be a result of the restricted access by plant cell walls of MAMPs to their putative cellular receptors. flg22 is restricted by ionic effects, yet rapidly permeates a cell wall matrix, whereas LOS, which forms supramolecular aggregates, is severely constrained, presumably by molecular sieving. Thus, MAMPs can interact with each other, whether directly or indirectly, and with the host wall matrix. These phenomena, which have not been considered in detail previously, are likely to influence the speed, magnitude, versatility and composition of plant defences.
Characterization of a putative endoxylanase in the migratory plant‐parasitic nematodeRadopholus similis
Authors: HAEGEMAN ANNELIES , VANHOLME BARTEL , GHEYSEN GODELIEVE 
Published: February 2009

SUMMARYPlant‐parasitic nematodes have developed an arsenal of enzymes to degrade the rigid plant cell wall. In this article, we report the presence of a putative endoxylanase in the migratory endoparasitic nematodeRadopholus similis. This enzyme is thought to facilitate the migration of the nematode, as it breaks down xylan, the major component of hemicellulose. The corresponding gene (Rs‐xyl1) was cloned and the sequence revealed three small introns. Interestingly, the position of all three introns was conserved in a putative endoxylanase fromMeloidogyne hapla, and the position of one intron was conserved in two endoxylanases fromMeloidogyne incognita, which suggests a common ancestral gene. The spatial and temporal expression of theRs‐xyl1gene was examined byin situhybridization and semi‐quantitative reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. The putative protein consists of a signal peptide, a catalytic domain and a carbohydrate‐binding module (CBM). The catalytic domain showed similarity to both glycosyl hydrolase family 5 (GHF5) and GHF30 enzymes. Using Hidden Markov Model profiles and phylogenetic analysis, we were able to show that Rs‐XYL1 and its closest homologues are not members of GHF5, as suggested previously, but rather form a subclass within GHF30. Silencing the putative endoxylanase by double‐stranded RNA targeting of the CBM region resulted in an average decrease in infection of 60%, indicating that the gene is important for the nematode to complete its life cycle.
Home range and seasonal movements of Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis in the northern Namib Desert
Authors: Fennessy Julian 
Published: February 2009

AbstractEstimates of home range size of giraffe in the northern Namib Desert were on average larger than those in other populations. In particular, the largest individual home range of any giraffe bull (1950 km2) was recorded – correlated with low population density, reduced forage density and increased searching for receptive cows. The predominant pattern of movement was linear, along the riparian environments, however, large‐scale irregular movements into tributaries and other areas were also recorded. Small‐scale movements by bulls into the mountains above the Hoarusib River as well as by cows into the northern tributaries of the Hoanib River were observed. Seasonal movements of giraffe were not as distinctive as those in other giraffe populations. Small‐scale habitat segregation was observed in the Hoarusib River study area with giraffe cows foraging only in the Gomatum River during the hot‐dry season. The first ever study of GPS satellite collared giraffe provided some of the highest resolution data on giraffe movements to date, including strong biphasic movement behaviour of giraffe over 24‐h periods.
Changing patterns of coeliac serology requests
Authors: EVANS K. E. , MALLOY A. R. , GORARD D. A. 
Published: February 2009

SummaryBackground  Accurate serological tests have revolutionized the diagnosis of coeliac disease.Aim  To quantify the volume of coeliac serology requests at a district hospital over a decade, identify their origin, assess positivity rates and subsequent duodenal biopsy and histological confirmation rates.Methods  Details of patients in whom coeliac serology was requested from 1997 to 2006 were obtained from laboratory databases. The origins of request were categorized into gastroenterology, general practice, paediatrics and other specialities. Duplicate requests were excluded.Results  A total of 9976 serological tests were requested. Testing increased from 302 in 1997, to 1826 in 2006. In all, 66% of requests were in females. Tests in children accounted for 14–25% of each year’s total. General practitioner requests increased from 3.3% in 1997 to 52% in 2006. The proportion of positive serological results fell from 5.7% in 1997 to 2.6% in 2006. Duodenal biopsies were performed in approximately 85% of seropositive patients in earlier years and approximately 75% of seropositive patients in later years. Most nonbiopsied seropositive patients had serology requested by general practitioners. Biopsies confirmed coeliac disease in 91% of seropositive patients.Conclusion  Increasingly, coeliac serological testing is requested by general practitioners. Twice as many females are tested. Increasing test numbers but diminishing positivity rates suggest testing is requested at lower symptom thresholds. Positive serological results are often not confirmed histologically.
Family‐centred care and health‐related quality of life of patients in paediatric neurosciences
Authors: Moore M. H. , Mah J. K. , Trute B. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground  Little is known about the influence of contextual factors such as health services characteristics on health‐related quality of life (HRQL) for children with a neurological condition. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory study of the relationship between family‐centred care (FCC) and HRQL outcomes in children from neurosciences clinics in a large acute care hospital.Methods  A total of 187 family caregivers completed questionnaires regarding their socio‐demographic status, the severity of their children's condition (FIM™), perceptions of their children's HRQL (PedsQL 4.0) and their experiences of FCC (MPOC‐20). Hierarchical regression analyses explored the hypothesis that FCC is a significant predictor of children's HRQL, independent of illness severity.Results  Illness severity and FCC jointly explained one‐third of the variance in children's total HRQL. When FCC was controlled for illness severity, it remained a significant predictor of physical, psychosocial and total HRQL scores.Conclusions  This study provides evidence that the level of FCC is positively related to paediatric HRQL independent of neurological illness severity. The implication is that the uptake of FCC practices by service providers can positively impact the quality of life of children with neurological disorders.
Daily stressors and coping responses of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes
Authors: Hema D. A. , Roper S. O. , Nehring J. W. , Call A. , Mandleco B. L. , Dyches T. T. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground  Youth with type 1 diabetes cope with a variety of stressors related to daily life and disease management. While previous studies have focused on diabetes‐related stressors, little research has examined daily stressors.Methods  In this qualitative descriptive study, daily stressors and coping responses of 19 children and 33 adolescents with type 1 diabetes (65% are female) were investigated. Participants recorded their own stressors and coping responses in daily diaries for 2–3 weeks.Results  Five broad themes of daily stressors emerged: people, self, context, no stressor and ambiguous. Coping responses included three general themes: submission, personal responsibility and ambiguous. Younger children reported more stressors related to friends/peers and siblings (people), and adolescents described more stressors related to self, parents (people) and school (context). Younger children used more coping that involved choosing an alternate activity, helping others and an emotional response (taking personal responsibility), whereas adolescents used more coping that involved persistence, alternate thinking and talking things over (taking personal responsibility).Conclusions  Youth with diabetes did not report stressors related to diabetes and its management as major themes in their daily lives. Clinical interventions based on perceptions of how youth understand and cope with stress are explored.
Translational Mini-Review Series on Immunology of Vascular Disease: Accelerated atherosclerosis in vasculitis
Authors: Cohen Tervaert J W 
Published: February 2009

Abstract
Premature atherosclerosis has been observed during the course of different systemic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and sytemic lupus erythematosus. Remarkably, relatively few studies have been published on the occurrence of accelerated atherosclerosis in patients with vasculitis. In giant cell arteritis (GCA), mortality because of ischaemic heart disease is not increased. In addition, intima media thickness (IMT) is lower in patients with GCA than in age-matched controls. In contrast, IMT is increased significantly in Takayasu arteritis, another form of large vessel vasculitis occurring in younger patients. In Takayasu arteritis and in Kawasaki disease, a form of medium-sized vessel vasculitis, accelerated atherosclerosis has been well documented. In small vessel vasculitis because of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies-associated vasculitis, cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of mortality. IMT measurements reveal conflicting results. During active disease these patients experience acceleration of the atherosclerotic process. However, when inflammation is controlled, these patients have atherosclerotic development as in healthy subjects. Several risk factors, such as diabetes and hypertension, are present more often in patients with vasculitis compared with healthy controls. In addition, steroids may be pro-atherogenic. Most importantly, many patients have impaired renal function, persistent proteinuria and increased levels of C-reactive protein, well-known risk factors for acceleration of atherosclerosis. Enhanced oxidation processes, persistently activated T cells and reduced numbers of regulatory T cells are among the many pathophysiological factors that play a role during acceleration of atherogenesis. Finally, autoantibodies that may be relevant for acceleration of atherosclerosis are found frequently in elevated titres in patients with vasculitis. Because patients have an increased risk for cardiovascular events, vasculitis should be treated with as much care as possible. In addition, treatment should be considered with angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors and/or angiotensin receptor-1 blockers, statins and acetylsalicyl acid. Finally, classical risk factors for cardiovascular disease should be monitored and treated as much as possible.
Algal mats and insect emergence in rivers under Mediterranean climates: towards photogrammetric surveillance
Authors: POWER M. , LOWE R. , FUREY P. , WELTER J. , LIMM M. , FINLAY J. , BODE C. , CHANG S. , GOODRICH M. , SCULLEY J. 
Published: February 2009

Summary1. In a nitrogen (N)‐limited river subject to Mediterranean summer drought hydrology, the colour of macroalgal proliferations changed with successional and seasonal changes in epiphyte assemblages. New growth of the dominant macroalga,Cladophora glomerata, was green, as were proliferations ofOedogonium,MougeotiaandSpirogyra, which did not become heavily colonized with diatoms. GreenCladophoraturned yellow asCladophorafilaments became colonized by diatoms that were not N fixers, and turned rust‐coloured as later‐successional epiphyte assemblages became dominated by denseEpithemia turgidaandE. sorex, which both contain N‐fixing cyanobacterial endosymbionts.2. The rate and composition of insect emergence from floating algal mats differed among proliferations of different colour. The rates of emergence (individuals day−1 500 cm−2) of nematoceran flies were three to 25 times greater from yellow or rusty‐colouredCladophoramats than from greenCladophora,OedogoniumorMougeotiamats that had lower epiphyte densities. Biomass emergence fromCladophoramats that were rusty in colour was eight to 10 times greater than from yellowCladophoramats, because larger nematocerans dominated in rusty mats (Chironominae versus Ceratopogonidae in yellow mats).3. Proliferations ofEpithemia‐infestedCladophoraoccur at and above drainage areas of about 100 km2(channel widths of 25–30 m) in this river network, coinciding with the drainage area threshold where a step increase in concentration of total dissolved N is observed during summer.4. In rivers under Mediterranean climate regimes, algal succession during the prolonged low flow season is less subject to stochastic interruption by spates than in rivers under more continental climates. Under these summer drought conditions, photogrammetric detection of colour changes in algal proliferations may help us track reach or basin‐scale change in their ecological functions.
Is structure or function a better measure of the effects of water abstraction on ecosystem integrity?
Authors: DEATH RUSSELL G. , DEWSON ZOË S. , JAMES ALEXANDER B. W. 
Published: February 2009

Summary1. Assessments of flow abstractions in streams often focus on changes to biological communities and in‐stream physical characteristics, with little consideration for changes in ecosystem functioning. It is unclear whether functional indicators of ecosystem health may be useful for assessing the impacts of reduced discharge on small streams.2. We used weirs and diversions to reduce stream discharge by over 89% in three small New Zealand streams (11–84 L s−1), ranging in water quality from pristine to moderately impaired.3. We used both structural (benthic invertebrates) and functional (drifting invertebrates, leaf breakdown, coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) retention and primary productivity) measures of ecosystem integrity to compare responses to water abstraction in before‐after, control‐impact designed experiments during summer 2005.4. At the pristine site, the density of invertebrates, taxon richness, Macroinvertebrate Community Index (MCI), Quantitative MCI, percentage of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera individuals and percentage of filter‐feeders decreased in response to reduced flows. Only taxon richness decreased at the mildly impaired stream, and reduced discharge had no effect on the invertebrate community at the stream with the lowest water quality.5. We found that reduced discharge had little influence on the breakdown rate of willow leaves in mesh bags over 1 month. Primary productivity was also relatively insensitive to water abstraction. However, CPOM retention increased with decreased flows. Drift propensity of invertebrates increased at two sites but only within the first few days after flow reduction.6. Structural measures of ecosystem integrity suggested that the impacts of water abstraction differed among streams of varying water quality, probably because of differences in the sensitivity of invertebrate assemblages in the three streams. In contrast, the three functional measures tested were generally less sensitive to water abstraction impacts, although understanding how stream ecosystems respond to water abstraction clearly requires that both are considered.
Effects of fire on regional evapotranspiration in the central Canadian boreal forest
Authors: BOND‐LAMBERTY BEN , PECKHAM SCOTT D. , GOWER STITH T. , EWERS BRENT E. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractChanges in fire regimes are driving the carbon balance of much of the North American boreal forest, but few studies have examined fire‐driven changes in evapotranspiration (ET) at a regional scale. This study used a version of the Biome‐BGC process model with dynamic and competing vegetation types, and explicit spatial representation of a large (106 km2) region, to simulate the effects of wildfire on ET and its components from 1948 to 2005 by comparing the fire dynamics of the 1948–1967 period with those of 1968–2005. Simulated ET averaged, over the entire temporal and spatial modeling domain, 323 mm yr−1; simulation results indicated that changes in fire in recent decades decreased regional ET by 1.4% over the entire simulation, and by 3.9% in the last 10 years (1996–2005). Conifers dominated the transpiration (EC) flux (120 mm yr−1) but decreased by 18% relative to deciduous broadleaf trees in the last part of the 20th century, when increased fire resulted in increased soil evaporation, lower canopy evaporation, lowerEC, and a younger and more deciduous forest. Well‐ and poorly drained areas had similar rates of evaporation from the canopy and soil, butECwas twice as high in the well‐drained areas. Mosses comprised a significant part of the evaporative flux to the atmosphere (22 mm yr−1). Modeled annual ET was correlated with net primary production, but not with temperature or precipitation; ET and its components were consistent with previous field and modeling studies. Wildfire is driving significant changes in hydrological processes by affecting mean stand age, forest species, and energy balance. These changes, particularly in poorly drained areas, may control the future carbon balance of the boreal forest.
Predicting population survival under future climate change: density dependence, drought and extraction in an insular bighorn sheep
Authors: Colchero Fernando , Medellin Rodrigo A. , Clark James S. , Lee Raymond , Katul Gabriel G. 
Published: February 2009

SummaryOur understanding of the interplay between density dependence, climatic perturbations, and conservation practices on the dynamics of small populations is still limited. This can result in uninformed strategies that put endangered populations at risk. Moreover, the data available for a large number of populations in such circumstances are sparse and mined with missing data. Under the current climate change scenarios, it is essential to develop appropriate inferential methods that can make use of such data sets.We studied a population of desert bighorn sheep introduced to Tiburon Island, Mexico in 1975 and subjected to irregular extractions for the last 10 years. The unique attributes of this population are absence of predation and disease, thereby permitting us to explore the combined effect of density dependence, environmental variability and extraction in a ‘controlled setting.’ Using a combination of nonlinear discrete models with long‐term field data, we constructed three basic Bayesian state space models with increasing density dependence (DD), and the same three models with the addition of summer drought effects.We subsequently used Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the combined effect of drought, DD, and increasing extractions on the probability of population survival under two climate change scenarios (based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predictions): (i) increase in drought variability; and (ii) increase in mean drought severity.The population grew from 16 individuals introduced in 1975 to close to 700 by 1993. Our results show that the population's growth was dominated by DD, with drought having a secondary but still relevant effect on its dynamics.Our predictions suggest that under climate change scenario (i), extraction dominates the fate of the population, while for scenario (ii), an increase in mean drought affects the population's probability of survival in an equivalent magnitude as extractions. Thus, for the long‐term survival of the population, our results stress that a more variable environment is less threatening than one in which the mean conditions become harsher. Current climate change scenarios and their underlying uncertainty make studies such as this one crucial for understanding the dynamics of ungulate populations and their conservation.