bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evolution of body size in the genusDamaliscus: a comparison with hartebeestAlcelaphusspp.
Authors: Capellini I. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractIn species with low levels of sexual size dimorphism, it may be relatively easy to detect the role of natural selection in the evolution of body size. Habitat primary production (HPP) appears to be a key factor in the divergence of size in the hartebeest clade (Alcelaphusspp.), such that subspecies in less productive savannahs are smaller than those in richer ones. Here I test whether a similar pattern exists within the genusDamaliscus(topi and their allies). Basal skull length was used as a surrogate of body size and measured in the seven allopatric subspecies ofDamaliscus. Means for each subspecies and sex were regressed against climatic factors as surrogates of HPP. Variation in skull length acrossDamaliscustaxa was less than in hartebeest. Two clusters were present in both sexes and corresponded to the distinction between the species,Damaliscus dorcasandDamaliscus lunatus. This may reflect differences in productivity between edaphic grasslands, occupied by allD. lunatus, and dry grasslands, occupied byD. dorcas. Mean annual rainfall was the best predictor of body size in males and showed a non‐significant positive tendency in females. After accounting for phylogenetic effects, these correlations were both non‐significant. Edaphic grasslands might be less dependent on precipitation for primary production because the impeded drainage of their soil prolongs water availability after the end of the rains. Furthermore, they are probably more consistent in productivity across African regions than secondary grasslands and savannah woodlands, which rely on rainfall for grass growth. These properties of edaphic grasslands may explain why size inDamaliscusappears to be less sensitive to variation in rainfall and less variable across subspecies than inAlcelaphus.
Molecular phylogenetics of soricid shrews (Mammalia) based on mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences: with special reference to the Soricinae
Authors: Ohdachi S. D. , Hasegawa M. , Iwasa M. A. , Vogel P. , Oshida T. , Lin L.‐K. , Abe H. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractMolecular phylogeny of soricid shrews (Soricidae, Eulipotyphla, Mammalia) based on 1140 bp mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (cytb) sequences was inferred by the maximum likelihood (ML) method. All 13 genera of extant Soricinae and two genera of Crocidurinae were included in the analyses. Anourosorex was phylogenetically distant from the main groupings within Soricinae and Crocidurinae in the ML tree. Thus, it could not be determined to which subfamily Anourosorex should be assigned: Soricinae, Crocidurinae or a new subfamily. Soricinae (excluding Anourosorex) should be divided into four tribes: Neomyini, Notiosoricini, Soricini and Blarinini. However, monophyly of Blarinini was not robust in the present data set. Also, branching orders among tribes of Soricinae and those among genera of Neomyini could not be determined because of insufficient phylogenetic information of the cytb sequences. For water shrews of Neomyini (Chimarrogale, Nectogale and Neomys), monophyly of Neomys and the Chimarrogale–Nectogale group could not be verified, which implies the possibility of multiple origins for the semi‐aquatic mode of living among taxa within Neomyini. Episoriculus may contain several separate genera. Blarinella was included in Blarinini not Soricini, based on the cytb sequences, but the confidence level was rather low; hence more phylogenetic information is needed to determine its phylogenetic position. Furthermore, some specific problems of taxonomy of soricid shrews were clarified, for example phylogeny of local populations of Notiosorex crawfordi, Chimarrogale himalayica and Crocidura attenuata.
Correlates with body size and mass in yearling brown bears (Ursus arctos)
Authors: Dahle B. , Zedrosser A. , Swenson J. E. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractBody size and mass have a strong effect on an individual's fitness, and conditions experienced early in life may affect survival to adulthood, age and size at maturation, and reproductive success. For this reason, body size and mass of 226 yearling brown bearsUrsus arctoswere analysed in relation to maternal size, litter size, sex, multilocus heterozygosity, population density and cohort in two study areas in Sweden. Body mass of yearlings varied from 8 to 48 kg (X̄=24.5±0.5se). Yearling body size and mass were positively related to maternal size and negatively related to litter size. Males were on average 2.6% larger and 7.8% heavier than females. Population density negatively affected both size and mass of yearlings. Yearling body size and mass varied among cohorts, but data on food availability were not available to evaluate the relationship between food availability and size and mass of yearlings. Maternal age and multilocus heterozygosity did not seem to influence yearling body size or mass. Body mass of yearlings varied within litters, especially in litters with three offspring, where the heaviest yearling was on average 29.5±2.8% (se) heavier than the lightest one. This suggests that competition among offspring increases with litter size, thereby having a pronounced negative effect on the smallest offspring. Survival of subadult brown bears from ages 1 to 3 increased with increasing yearling body size.
The quality of care in Norwegian nursing homes
Authors: Kirkevold Øyvind , Engedal Knut 
Published: May 2006

Background:  Promoting the quality of life is an importing aim of the long‐term care for the elderly, and the quality of life is related to quality of care (QoC). This way the QoC in nursing homes, and its correlates, is an interesting subject.Aim:  To describe to what degree Norwegian nursing homes provide services in line with the core areas of the ‘regulation of care’ and whether patient or ward characteristics are associated with the QoC.Methods and material:  Cross‐sectional study where data were collected in structured interview of the nursing staff in 251 wards regarding 1926 patients.Results:  Most of the patients receive good basic care in Norwegian nursing homes, but taking part in leisure activities and having the opportunity to go out for a walk are more often neglected. Acceptable QoC had a strongly negative association with patient characteristics such as low function in mental capacity, low function in activities of daily living and aggressive behaviour. In most of the measured areas of QoC, ward characteristics, such as type of ward, size of ward and staffing ratio, do have an influence on QoC.
Development and characterization of microsatellite markers in the Point Arena mountain beaver Aplodontia rufa nigra
Authors: PILGRIM KRISTINE L. , ZIELINSKI WILLIAM J. , MAZUREK MARY J. , SCHLEXER FREDRICK V. , SCHWARTZ MICHAEL K. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThe Point Arena mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa nigra) is an endangered subspecies. Efforts to recover this sub‐species will be aided by advances in molecular genetics, specifically the ability to estimate population size using noninvasive genetic sampling. Here we report on the development of nine polymorphic loci for the Point Arena mountain beaver. These markers provide us sufficient power to distinguish individuals, and thus can be used for calculating population size and delineating population substructure.
Cardiac overexpression of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) alleviates aging‐associated cardiomyocyte contractile dysfunction: role of intracellular Ca2+cycling proteins
Authors: Guo Kelly K. , Ren Jun 
Published: May 2006

SummaryAging is a complex biological process with contributions from a wide variety of genes including insulin‐like growth factor I and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which decline with advanced age. The goal of this study was to examine if ADH enzyme plays any role in cardiac aging. Ventricular myocytes were isolated from young (2–3 months old) or aged (26–28 months old) male FVB wild‐type and cardiac‐specific ADH (class I, isozyme type 1) transgenic mice. Mechanical properties were measured using an IonOptix system. Aged FVB myocytes displayed significantly reduced ADH activity compared with young ones, which was restored by the ADH transgene. Compared with young cardiomyocytes, aged FVB myocytes exhibited prolonged relengthening duration and a steaper decline in peak shortening amplitude in response to elevated electrical stimuli. Although ADH transgene itself did not alter mechanical properties in young mice, it rescued aging‐associated diastolic dysfunction without affecting dampened contractile response to high stimulus frequency. Immunoblot analysis revealed reduced sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA2a) and Na+‐Ca2+exchanger (NCX) levels in conjunction with enhanced phospholamban expression in aged FVB hearts. ADH transgene prevented aging‐induced reduction in SERCA2a and NCX without affecting up‐regulated phospholamban. Our data suggest that aging is associated with a reduced ADH enzymatic activity and diastolic dysfunction, which may be corrected with cardiac overexpression of the ADH enzyme. Alteration in cardiac Ca2+cycling proteins including SERCA2a and NCX may play a role in both pathogenesis of cardiac aging and the beneficial effect of ADH enzyme.
Spanish‐English Bilingual Children with Psychopathology: Language Deficits and Academic Language Proficiency
Authors: Toppelberg Claudio O. , Munir Kerim , Nieto‐Castañon Alfonso 
Published: May 2006

Background:  The aim was to study the language profiles of a well‐characterised sample (n = 50) of Spanish–English bilingual children consecutively referred to psychiatric services.Methods:  Spanish and English language profiles were assessed with the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery‐Revised (WLPB). Profiles included language ability levels, deficits and dominance in five expressive and receptive/expressive domains, and academic (school‐related) language proficiency levels.Results:  General language ability was low for 69% in either language and for 51% in both. Language dominance data suggested that expressive skills were dominant in English. In 73% of the children, ability to function at school in the strongest language is ‘limited’, defined by the WLPB as incorrect responses to 50% of the items typically answered correctly by children of the same age. Classroom language demands, also according to the WLPB, would be ‘extremely difficult’ to ‘impossible’ for 40% of the children in at least one language, and for 19% in either language.Conclusions:  Language deficits, present in many psychiatrically‐referred bilingual children, ought to be suspected by the clinician. The typical language demands of schooling appear to be overwhelming for many of these children, with ensuing implications for psychosocial adaptation and educational attainment. Thorough language ability assessments of both languages are often necessary for the early detection of language deficits and for understanding how dual language abilities relate to psychiatric symptoms. Therefore, language assessment services need to be closely linked to programs serving psychiatrically‐referred bilingual children. Other implications of this research for clinical practice are discussed.
Efficacy of Rizatriptan 10 mg Administered Early in a Migraine Attack
Authors: Cady Roger , Martin Vincent , Mauskop Alexander , Rodgers Anthony , Hustad Carolyn M. , Ramsey Karen E. , Skobieranda Franck 
Published: May 2006

Objective.—To determine if administration of rizatriptan 10 mg is superior to placebo for the early treatment of acute migraine, while the pain is mild.Background.—Past studies have suggested that treatment outcomes can be improved if a triptan is administered early in the time course of a migraine attack.Methods.—Two randomized, parallel, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind studies. TAME (Treat A Migraine Early)1 was conducted at 46 centers in the United States; TAME2, at 48 centers in the United States. Totally, 1030 adult patients with at least a 6‐month history of migraine were studied. Patients were instructed to treat within 1 hour of migraine onset, while pain was mild. Patients maintained a headache diary in which they rated their levels of pain and disability, and recorded other symptoms of migraine. Primary endpoints were pain freedom at 2 hours and sustained pain freedom at 24 hours post‐dose.Results.—In TAME1, 57.3% versus 31.1% of patients reported pain freedom at 2 hours post‐dose and 42.6% versus 23.2% reported 24‐hour sustained pain freedom with rizatriptan versus placebo, respectively (P < .001 for both). In TAME2, 58.9% versus 31.1% of patients reported pain freedom at 2 hours post‐dose and 48.0% versus 24.6% reported 24‐hour sustained pain freedom with rizatriptan versus placebo, respectively (P < .001 for both). All other efficacy endpoints favored rizatriptan. Repeat doses of the medicine were not allowed; patients may have delayed treatment; non‐migraine headaches may have been treated.Conclusions.—Rizatriptan 10 mg was superior to placebo when treating migraine early, while pain is mild, as measured by pain freedom at 2 hours and 24‐hour sustained pain freedom.
Noise as a Trigger for Headaches: Relationship Between Exposure and Sensitivity
Authors: Martin Paul R. , Reece John , Forsyth Michael 
Published: May 2006

Objective.—This study investigated how triggers acquire the capacity to precipitate headaches.Background.—Traditional clinical advice is that the best way to prevent headache/migraine is to avoid the triggers. Avoidance of anxiety‐eliciting stimuli, however, results in sensitization to the stimuli, so is there a danger that avoidance of migraine/headache triggers results in decreased tolerance for the triggers?Design.—One hundred and fifty subjects, 60 of whom suffered from regular headaches, were randomly assigned to 5 experimental conditions, defined by length of exposure to the headache trigger of noise.Methods.—Subjects attended a laboratory session divided into 3 phases: preintervention test, intervention (1 of 5 levels of exposure to the trigger), and postintervention test. Response to the intervention was measured in terms of noise tolerance, sensitivity to noise, and nociceptive response to noise.Results.—A curvilinear relationship was found between length of exposure to the trigger and pain response for individuals who do not suffer from regular headaches, that is, short exposure was associated with sensitization and prolonged exposure with desensitization. The relationship for headache patients was less clear.Conclusions.—The findings are consistent with the proposition that 1 etiological pathway to suffering from frequent headaches is via trying to avoid, or escape from, potential trigger factors. These results suggest that the traditional clinical advice to headache patients, that the best way to prevent migraine/headache is to avoid the triggers, runs the risk of establishing an insidious sensitization process thereby increasing headache frequency.
Not Tonight, I Have a Headache?
Authors: Houle Timothy T. , Dhingra Lara K. , Remble Thomas A. , Rokicki Lori A. , Penzien Donald B. 
Published: May 2006

Objective.—The present study examined the relationship between the diagnosis of migraine and self‐reported sexual desire.Background.—There is evidence for a complex relationship between sexual activity and headache, particularly migraine. The current headache diagnostic criteria even distinguish between several types of primary headaches associated with sexual activity.Methods.—Members of the community or students at the Illinois Institute of Technology (N = 68) were administered the Brief Headache Diagnostic Interview and the Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI). Based on the revised diagnostic criteria established by the International Headache Society (ICHD‐II), participants were placed in 1 of the 2 headache diagnostic groups: migraine (n = 23) or tension‐type (n = 36).Results.—Migraine subjects reported higher SDI scores, and rated their own perceived level of desire higher than those suffering from tension‐type headache. The presence of the symptom “headache aggravated by routine physical activity” significantly predicted an elevated SDI score.Conclusions.—Migraine headaches and sexual desire both appear to be at least partially modulated by serotonin (5‐HT). The metabolism of 5‐HT has been shown to covary with the onset of a migraine attack, and migraineurs appear to have chronically low systemic 5‐HT. As sexual desire also has been linked to serotonin levels, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that migraine and sexual desire both may be modulated by similar serotonergic phenomena.
Vasovagal symptoms mediate the relationship between predonation anxiety and subsequent blood donation in female volunteers
Authors: Ditto Blaine , France Christopher R. 
Published: May 2006

BACKGROUND:  Although not universal, a certain amount of predonation anxiety is common and not surprising among inexperienced blood donors. Variations in predonation anxiety, however, may influence the donor’s experience in several respects and might be related to the likelihood of subsequent donation even among those who do not report particularly high levels of anxiety.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS:  A total of 671 inexperienced blood donors (zero or one prior donation) enrolled in a treatment study and completed questionnaires assessing anxiety before and after giving blood. Ratings of pain and blood donation–related symptoms were obtained after giving blood, as well as information from the nurses about the blood donation procedure. Follow‐up information on number of additional visits to a blood collection clinic during the subsequent year was also obtained for most participants.RESULTS:  Predonation anxiety was positively related to ratings of blood donation–related symptoms and chair reclining by the nurses and negatively related to the donor’s rating, obtained at the end of the procedure, of the likelihood that he or she would give blood again. Women, but not men, with higher predonation anxiety were significantly less likely to return to a blood clinic in the following year. The results of mediation analyses suggest that this was due to the association between anxiety and donation‐related symptoms.CONCLUSION:  The results do not indicate whether or not it is feasible or useful to modify predonation anxiety, but highlight the relationships between the emotional state of inexperienced donors and several aspects of the donation experience, including subsequent donor return. Further study of the psychosocial aspects of blood donation and examination of related research (e.g., treatment of dental anxieties) may be worthwhile.
Telomere length changes after umbilical cord blood transplant
Authors: Pipes Brian L. , Tsang Tom , Peng Shu‐Xin , Fiederlein Roger , Graham Michael , Harris David T. 
Published: May 2006

BACKGROUND:  The establishment of donor‐derived hematopoiesis in the recipients of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants involves extensive proliferation and differentiation of HSCs. Data from long‐term survivors of HSC transplants suggest that these transplanted HSCs may experience a debilitating replicative senescence. A significant posttransplant shortening of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMNC) telomeres has been observed in both marrow transplant and peripheral blood progenitor cell transplant recipients. Similar studies have not been performed for umbilical cord blood (UCB) HSC transplants, which might be expected to exhibit increased posttransplant replicative potential due to their inherently greater telomere length.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS:  Blood was obtained from donor‐recipient pairs of allogeneic PBHSC transplant and UCB HSC transplant, both before transplant and at follow‐up treatments (minimum 1 year after transplant) after engraftment. Telomere restriction fragment length (TRFL) analysis was performed on the blood samples. The mean TRFL and posttransplant changes in the mean TRFL were analyzed.RESULTS:  Measurements of telomere lengths in the PBMNCs of transplant patients revealed a significant net decrease in telomere length in all transplant recipients compared with their respective donors. Our results also revealed that the PBMNCs of umbilical cord stem cell transplant patients retain a significantly longer posttransplant telomere length.CONCLUSION:  The significantly longer telomeres observed in the allogeneic UCB HSC transplant recipients compared to the allogeneic PBHSC transplant recipients in our study may be indicative of a replicative advantage inherent in the use of UCB HSC for transplant.
ceRA: an RH allele variant producing a new rare blood
Authors: Noizat‐Pirenne France , Tournamille Christophe , Gallon Philippe , Juszczak Geneviève , Rouger Philippe , Ansart‐Pirenne Hélène 
Published: May 2006

BACKGROUND: Antibodies against RH antigens are clinically significant. Some rare RH phenotypes, for example, RH:−46 (RN), RH:−18 (Hrs–), RH:−34 (Hrb–), and homozygous partial RH5 (e), are found exclusively in black persons of African descent. Quantitative and qualitative RHCE variants require characterization because the presence of these alleles can lead to difficulties when transfusion is needed.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Here a new RH5 variant (ceRA) in an Indian patient is described and investigated by serology (agglutination and flow cytometry analysis) and molecular and immunoblot analysis.RESULTS: Red blood cells (RBCs), typed as RH:‐1,‐2, ‐3,4,w5, expressed a very depressed RH5 antigen, with no expression of the RH19 (h) high‐frequency antigen. Molecular analysis revealed a new Rhce allele (homozygous state), hereafter called ceRA. This new allele exhibited a G48C mutation in exon 1 and a G538C mutation in exon 4, predicting, respectively, a Trp16Cys substitution and a Gly180Arg substitution, both in the intramembranous domain of the Rhce polypeptide. Immunoblot analysis showed that this defect results in a dramatic loss of the amount of RHCE polypeptides within the RBC membrane. No reactivity was evidenced with most of anti‐RH5, in agglutination as well as in flow cytometry techniques.CONCLUSION: Both serologic results and localization of the Gly180Arg substitution emphasize the risk of anti‐RH5 alloimmunization for patients expressing this new allele ceRA at the homozygous state. These results point out the importance of obtaining blood donations for the frozen rare blood bank in case future transfusion is needed.