bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Proinsulin/insulin is synthesized locally and prevents caspase‐ and cathepsin‐mediated cell death in the embryonic mouse retina
Authors: Valenciano Ana I. , Corrochano Silvia , De Pablo Flora , De La Villa Pedro , De La Rosa Enrique J. 
Published: September 2006

AbstractProgrammed cell death is an essential, highly regulated process in neural development. Although the role of insulin‐like growth factor I in supporting the survival of neural cells has been well characterized, studies on proinsulin/insulin are scarce. Here, we characterize proinsulin/insulin effects on cell death in embryonic day 15.5 mouse retina. Both proinsulin mRNA and proinsulin/insulin immunoreactivity were found in the developing retina. Organotypic embryonic day 15.5 retinas cultured under growth factor deprivation showed an increase in cell death that was reversed by proinsulin, insulin and insulin‐like growth factor I, with similar median effective concentration values via phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase activation. Although insulin and insulin‐like growth factor I provoked a sustained Akt phosphorylation, proinsulin‐induced phosphorylation of Akt was not found. Analysis of the growth factor deprivation‐induced cell death mechanisms, using caspase and cathepsin inhibitors, demonstrated that both protease families were required for the effective execution of cell death. The insulin survival effect, which decreased the extent and distribution of cell death to levels similar to those found in vivo, was not enhanced by simultaneous treatment with caspase and cathepsin inhibitors, suggesting that insulin interferes with these protease pathways in the embryonic mouse retina. The mechanisms characterized in this study provide new details on early neural cell death and its genuine regulation by insulin/proinsulin.
Difference in the time of mating activity between host‐associated populations of the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker)
Authors: UENO Hideki , FURUKAWA Shunsuke , TSUCHIDA Koji 
Published: September 2006

AbstractMating activities of the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis, were compared between rice‐ and wateroat‐feeding populations, and two potential temporal factors that may act as reproductive barriers were examined. Seasonal data of the number of moths attracted to pheromone traps showed that the peak of emergence at the rice field was approximately 10 days earlier than that at the wateroat vegetation in the first flight season, although there was a broad overlap of emergence at the two locations. Both field observations and a laboratory experiment showed that moths from the rice field started mating earlier than those from the wateroat vegetation. However, whereas the difference was distinctive in the laboratory experiment, mating activity at the wateroat vegetation shifted significantly to an earlier time phase than that observed in the laboratory. Body size data showed that the male moths attracted to the pheromone traps at the wateroat vegetation were significantly larger than those at the rice field, suggesting that the traps at the two locations mainly attracted moths originating from different host plants. However, pheromone‐trapped males at the rice field were significantly larger than those reared from overwintering samples. These results support the idea that males from the wateroat vegetation migrate to the rice field. The differences in seasonal and temporal mating activity and their effects on development of reproductive isolation between host‐associated populations are discussed.
Effects of the juvenile hormone mimic pyriproxyfen on female reproduction and longevity in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana
Authors: STEIGENGA Marc J. , HOFFMANN Klaus H. , FISCHER Klaus 
Published: September 2006

AbstractFemale Bicyclus anynana butterflies given pyriproxyfen, a mimic of juvenile hormone, exhibited increased egg‐laying rates and early fecundity, but reduced longevity compared with control animals. Thus, pyriproxyfen application yielded antagonistic effects on different components of fitness, possibly demonstrating a juvenile hormone‐mediated trade‐off between present and future reproduction. Lifetime fecundity and egg size, however, showed no consistent response to pyriproxyfen, with lifetime fecundity being increased or decreased and egg size being reduced in one out of four experiments only. Females were most sensitive to pyriproxyfen around the onset of oviposition, coinciding with naturally increasing juvenile hormone titers in other Lepidoptera. Amounts between 1 and 10 µg pyriproxyfen were found to be effective, with, however, pronounced differences among experiments. This is attributed to differences in assay conditions. High pyriproxyfen concentrations (100 µg) as well as repeated applications of smaller amounts did not affect reproductive traits, but tended to reduce longevity.
Abaristophora sachalinensis Michailovskaya (Diptera: Phoridae) representing genitalic affinities with the genus Borophaga Enderlein
Authors: NAKAYAMA Hiroto , SHIMA Hiroshi 
Published: September 2006

Abstract Abaristophora sachalinensis Michailovskaya is reviewed based on Japanese materials. Its male genitalia are compared with those of the genus Borophaga, which is a genus in a group of the related genera, the Borophaga subgroup. A synapomorphic character of the Borophaga subgroup including Abaristophora, the left flattened arm derived from the posterodorsal margin of the hypandrium being broadened at the base, is confirmed in A. sachalinensis. Morphology of the aedeagus in A. sachalinensis is complex and extremely asymmetric, and very similar to that of species of the genus Borophaga, but the characters observed in this study are not regarded as synapomorphic for the Borophaga subgroup.
Fungivory of Anatatha lignea, an interesting habit in Noctuidae (Lepidoptera)
Authors: YOSHIMATSU Shin‐ichi , NAKATA Yukitatsu 
Published: September 2006

AbstractThe larvae of Anatatha lignea (Butler) were found consuming the brown surface of synthetic logs on which the shiitake mushroom, Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler, formed a thick mycelial coat. Fungivory has been rarely reported in the Noctuidae, and this is the first record of fungivory from the genus Anatatha. The female genitalia and the immature stages of A. lignea are illustrated and described for the first time. Its lectotype is designated and illustrated, and details of the species’ biology is given. The female genitalia of A. misae Sugi, a species closely related to A. lignea, are illustrated and described for the first time.
A systematic study of the pulchra species group of Archips occurring in Japan (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae)
Authors: JINBO Utsugi 
Published: September 2006

AbstractThis paper reviews the pulchra species group of Archips, describes a new species, Archips stellata, and redescribes A. pulchra (Butler) and A. abiephaga (Yasuda). Although long confused with each other, these three species are distinguishable by differences in the wing markings, abdominal dorsal pits, and genitalia. To position the pulchra group systematically within the genus Archips, earlier related studies are reviewed and the phylogenetic relevance and polarities of traits are discussed. The forewing pattern, consisting of transverse black and glossy gray fasciae, is presumed to be the only synapomorphy of this group; affinity between the pulchra group and other groups of Archips in some traits may reflect symplesiomorphy.
The giant arc statistics in the three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe cosmological model
Authors: Li G. L. , Mao S. , Jing Y. P. , Mo H. J. , Gao L. , Lin W. P. 
Published: September 2006

Abstract
We use high-resolution N-body simulations to investigate the optical depth of giant arcs with length-to-width ratios larger than 7.5 and 10 in the ‘standard’Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model with σ8 = 0.9 and Ωm,0 = 0.3 and a model based on three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data. We find that, in dark-matter-only simulations, the lensing probability in the three-year WMAP model (with σ8 = 0.74 and Ωm,0 = 0.238) decreases by a factor of ∼6 compared with that in the ‘standard’Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model. The effects of baryonic cooling, star formation and feedbacks are uncertain, but we argue that baryons will only increase the the lensing cross-section by a moderate factor, ∼2. We conclude that the low central value of σ8 and Ωm,0 preferred by the WMAP three-year data may be too low to be compatible with observations if the conventional assumptions of the background source population are correct.
Extremely red objects in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey Early Data Release
Authors: Simpson Chris , Almaini Omar , Cirasuolo Michele , Dunlop Jim , Foucaud Sébastien , Hirst Paul , Ivison Rob , Page Mat , Rawlings Steve , Sekiguchi Kaz , Smail Ian , Watson Mike 
Published: September 2006

Abstract
We construct a sample of extremely red objects (EROs) within the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey by combining the Early Data Release with optical data from the Subaru/XMM–Newton Deep Field. We find a total of 3715 objects over 2013 arcmin2 with R−K &gt; 5.3 and K≤ 20.3, which is a higher surface density than found by previous studies. This is partly due to our ability to use a small aperture in which to measure colours, but is also the result of a genuine overdensity of objects compared to other fields. We separate our sample into passively evolving and dusty star-forming galaxies using their RJK colours and investigate their radio properties using a deep radio map. The dusty population has a higher fraction of individually detected radio sources and a higher mean radio flux density among the undetected objects, but the passive population has a higher fraction of bright radio sources, suggesting that active galactic nuclei are more prevalent among the passive ERO population.
Numerical Optimization of a Vaned Shroud Design for Increased
Operability Margin in Modern Centrifugal Compressors
Authors: Barton M. T. , Mansour M. L. , Liu J. S. , Palmer D. L. 
Published: September 2006

Abstract
This paper describes the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach coupled with an automated grid generation technique utilized for the numerical optimization of a modern centrifugal compressor with an inducer vaned shroud for increased operability margin. The grid generation process was automated to permit rapid optimization of the impeller and vaned shroud geometry. A three-dimensional, viscous, steady flow, mixing-plane approach was utilized to numerically analyze the impeller and vaned shroud in a coupled fashion to capture the interaction effects. The numerical technique verifies the ability of the vane shroud to extend compressor surge margin at the part-speed operating condition, while maintaining acceptable high-speed performance. CFD analyses confirm that the aerodynamics of the vaned shroud match expectation, and are consistent with the mass-averaged compressor speedline characteristics generated from the CFD results.
Defining the Efficiency of a Cooled Turbine
Authors: Young J. B. , Horlock J. H. 
Published: September 2006

Abstract
Despite 40 years development of gas turbine cooling technology, there is no general agreement on the most appropriate definition of cooled turbine efficiency; the critical issue is the choice of a hypothetical “ideal” process. This paper reviews the definitions in use and presents new proposals for overcoming the problems. Attention is first focused on a stationary cooled cascade, and it is shown that the commonly used Hartsel efficiency definition (where the gas and coolant streams expand separately in the ideal process) is unsatisfactory. Three “mixed” efficiencies, referred to as the MP (mainstream-pressure), FR (fully reversible), and WP (weighted-pressure) efficiencies are then discussed. The MP ideal process involves mixing of the coolant and the mainstream to give an unchanged mainstream pressure before expansion. This definition, although sometimes used, is unsatisfactory because the efficiency is independent of the coolant supply pressures. The FR and WP efficiencies have not appeared in the literature previously. The FR efficiency is based on a fully reversible ideal process and has the soundest thermodynamic foundation. It is equivalent to a suitably defined rational efficiency and can be directly related to the various cooling losses. However, as it gives a significantly lower value than the Hartsell and MP definitions, it may not appeal to turbine manufacturers. The WP definition is a pragmatic alternative. In the WP ideal process the entropy increase associated with temperature equilibration of the mainstream and coolant flows is allowed in the mixing before expansion. All three mixed efficiencies can be applied to turbine stages with multiple coolant streams. Turbine manufacturers are urged to reconsider their current procedures with a view to standardizing on a thermodynamically sound definition of efficiency.
Analysis of Airfoil
Trailing Edge Heat Transfer and Its Significance in Thermal-Mechanical Design and
Durability
Authors: Cunha F. J. , Dahmer M. T. , Chyu M.
K. 
Published: September 2006

Abstract
The trailing edge section of modern high-pressure turbine airfoils is an area that requires a high degree of attention from turbine performance and durability standpoints. Aerodynamic loss near the trailing edge includes expansion waves, normal shocks, and wake shedding. Thermal issues associated with trailing edge are also very complex and challenging. To maintain effective cooling ensuring metal temperature below design limit is particularly difficult, as it needs to be implemented in a relatively small area of the airfoil. To date, little effort has been devoted to advancing the fundamental understanding of the thermal characteristics in airfoil trailing edge regions. Described in this paper are the procedures leading to closed-form, analytical solutions for temperature profile for four most representative trailing edge configurations. The configurations studied are: (1) solid wedge shape without discharge, (2) wedge with slot discharge, (3) wedge with discrete-hole discharge, and (4) wedge with pressure-side cutback slot discharge. Comparison among these four cases is made primarily in the context of airfoil metal temperature and resulting cooling effectiveness. Further discussed in the paper are the overall and detail design parameters for preferred trailing edge cooling configurations as they affect turbine airfoil performance and durability.
Effect of PEX, a Noncatalytic Metalloproteinase Fragment with Integrin-Binding Activity, on Experimental
Chlamydophila pneumoniae
Infection
Authors: Caronzolo Dario , Lucini Valeria , Pannacci Marilou , Grosso Silvia , Kieffer Nelly , Bello Lorenzo , Bikfalvi Andreas , Scaglione Francesco 
Published: September 2006

ABSTRACT

Chlamydophila pneumoniae
is a pathogen that is involved in acute and chronic respiratory infections and that is associated with asthma and coronary artery diseases. In this study, we evaluated the effects of PEX, a noncatalytic metalloproteinase fragment with integrin-binding activity, against experimental infections caused by
C. pneumoniae
. Moreover, we investigated the relationships between
C. pneumoniae
and α
v
β
3
integrin functions in order to explain the possible mechanism of action of PEX both in vitro and in vivo. For the in vitro experiments, HeLa cells were infected with
C. pneumoniae
and treated with either PEX or azithromycin. The results obtained with PEX were not significantly different (
P
> 0.05) from those achieved with azithromycin. Similar results were also obtained in a lung infection model. Male C57BL/J6 mice inoculated intranasally with 10
6
inclusion-forming units of
C. pneumoniae
were treated with either PEX or azithromycin plus rifampin. Infected mice treated with PEX showed a marked decrease in
C. pneumoniae
counts versus those for the controls; this finding did not differ significantly (
P
> 0.05) from the results observed for the antibiotic-treated group. Integrin α
v
β
3
plays an important role in
C. pneumoniae
infection. Blockage of integrin activation led to a significant inhibition of
C. pneumoniae
infection in HeLa cells. Moreover, CHO
DHFR
α
v
β
3
-expressing cells were significantly (
P
< 0.001) more susceptible to
C. pneumoniae
infection than CHO
DHFR
cells. These results offer new perspectives on the treatment of
C. pneumoniae
infection and indicate that α
v
β
3
could be a promising target for new agents developed for activity against this pathogen.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility among Pathogens Collected from Hospitalized Patients in the United States and In Vitro Activity of Tigecycline, a New Glycylcycline Antimicrobial
Authors: Waites Ken B. , Duffy Lynn B. , Dowzicky Michael J. 
Published: September 2006

ABSTRACT

The activities of tigecycline and comparators against isolates collected from 76 U.S. centers between January 2004 and September 2005 were assessed. Tigecycline MIC
90
s were ≤2 μg/ml for
Klebsiella pneumoniae
,
Klebsiella oxytoca
,
Escherichia coli
,
Enterobacter aerogenes
,
Enterobacter cloacae
,
Serratia marcescens
,
Acinetobacter baumannii
,
Staphylococcus aureus
,
Enterococcus faecalis
,
Enterococcus faecium
, and
Streptococcus agalactiae
.
Compartmentalized Intrapulmonary Pharmacokinetics of Amphotericin B and Its Lipid Formulations
Authors: Groll Andreas H. , Lyman Caron A. , Petraitis Vidmantas , Petraitiene Ruta , Armstrong Derek , Mickiene Diana , Alfaro Raul M. , Schaufele Robert L. , Sein Tin , Bacher John , Walsh Thomas J. 
Published: September 2006

ABSTRACTWe investigated the compartmentalized intrapulmonary pharmacokinetics of amphotericin B and its lipid formulations in healthy rabbits. Cohorts of three to seven noninfected, catheterized rabbits received 1 mg of amphotericin B deoxycholate (DAMB) per kg of body weight or 5 mg of either amphotericin B colloidal dispersion (ABCD), amphotericin B lipid complex (ABLC), or liposomal amphotericin B (LAMB) per kg once daily for a total of 8 days. Following sparse serial plasma sampling, rabbits were sacrificed 24 h after the last dose, and epithelial lining fluid (ELF), pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PAM), and lung tissue were obtained. Pharmacokinetic parameters in plasma were derived by model-independent techniques, and concentrations in ELF and PAM were calculated based on the urea dilution method and macrophage cell volume, respectively. Mean amphotericin B concentrations ± standard deviations (SD) in lung tissue and PAM were highest in ABLC-treated animals, exceeding concurrent plasma levels by 70- and 375-fold, respectively (in lung tissue, 16.24 ± 1.62 versus 2.71 ± 1.22, 6.29 ± 1.17, and 6.32 ± 0.57 μg/g for DAMB-, ABCD-, and LAMB-treated animals, respectively [P= 0.0029]; in PAM, 89.1 ± 37.0 versus 8.92 ± 2.89, 5.43 ± 1.75, and 7.52 ± 2.50 μg/ml for DAMB-, ABCD-, and LAMB-treated animals, respectively [P= 0.0246]). By comparison, drug concentrations in ELF were much lower than those achieved in lung tissue and PAM. Among the different cohorts, the highest ELF concentrations were found in LAMB-treated animals (2.28 ± 1.43 versus 0.44 ± 0.13, 0.68 ± 0.27, and 0.90 ± 0.28 μg/ml in DAMB-, ABCD-, and ABLC-treated animals, respectively [P= 0.0070]). In conclusion, amphotericin B and its lipid formulations displayed strikingly different patterns of disposition in lungs 24 h after dosing. Whereas the disposition of ABCD was overall not fundamentally different from that of DAMB, ABLC showed prominent accumulation in lung tissue and PAM, while LAMB achieved the highest concentrations in ELF.
Pharmacokinetics and Tolerability of Daptomycin at Doses up to 12 Milligrams per Kilogram of Body Weight Once Daily in Healthy Volunteers
Authors: Benvenuto Mark , Benziger David P. , Yankelev Sara , Vigliani Gloria 
Published: September 2006

ABSTRACT

Daptomycin, a novel lipopeptide, is bactericidal against a broad range of gram-positive strains, including methicillin- (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
. Daptomycin is approved at 4 mg/kg of body weight given intravenously once daily for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections and at 6 mg/kg for the treatment of
S. aureus
bloodstream infections (bacteremia), including right-sided endocarditis caused by methicillin-susceptible
S. aureus
and MRSA. The present study was designed to evaluate the multiple-dose pharmacokinetics and safety of daptomycin at doses of 6 to 12 mg/kg in healthy volunteers. Three cohorts of 12 subjects each were given daptomycin (10 mg/kg) or placebo once daily for 14 days, daptomycin (12 mg/kg) or placebo once daily for 14 days, or daptomycin (6 or 8 mg/kg) once daily for 4 days. Daptomycin produced dose-proportional increases in the area under the plasma concentration-time curve and in trough daptomycin levels and nearly dose-proportional increases in peak daptomycin concentrations. Other pharmacokinetic parameters measured on day 1 and at steady state were independent of the dose, including the half-life (approximately 8 h), weight-normalized plasma clearance (9 to 10 ml/h/kg), and volume of distribution (approximately 100 ml/kg). Plasma protein binding was 90% to 93% and was independent of the daptomycin concentration. Daptomycin did not produce electrocardiographic abnormalities or electrophysiological evidence of muscle or nerve toxicity. Daptomycin was well tolerated in subjects dosed with up to 12 mg/kg intravenously for 14 days. Doses of daptomycin higher than 6 mg/kg once daily may be considered in further studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of daptomycin in difficult-to-treat infections.
The
mef
(E)-Carrying Genetic Element (mega) of
Streptococcus pneumoniae
: Insertion Sites and Association with Other Genetic Elements
Authors: Del Grosso Maria , Camilli Romina , Iannelli Francesco , Pozzi Gianni , Pantosti Annalisa 
Published: September 2006

ABSTRACT

The structure of the macrolide efflux genetic assembly (mega) element, its genomic locations, and its association with other resistance determinants and genetic elements were investigated in 16
Streptococcus pneumoniae
isolates carrying
mef
(E), of which 1 isolate also carried
tet
(M) and 4 isolates also carried
tet
(M) and
erm
(B). All isolates carried a mega element of similar size and structure that included the operon
mef
(E)-
msr
(D) encoding the efflux transport system. Among tetracycline-susceptible isolates, six different integration sites were identified, five of which were recognized inside open reading frames present in the R6 genome. In the five isolates also carrying
tet
(M), mega was inserted in different genetic contexts. In one isolate, it was part of previously described Tn
916
-like element Tn
2009
. In another isolate, mega was inserted in a transposon similar to Tn
2009
that also included an
erm
(B) element. This new composite transposon was designated Tn
2010
. Neither Tn
2009
nor Tn
2010
could be transferred by conjugation to pneumococcal or enterococcal recipients. In the three isolates in which mega was not physically linked with
tet
(M), this gene was associated with
erm
(B) in transposon Tn
3872
, a Tn
916
-like element. Homologies between the chromosomal insertions of these composite transposons and sequences of multidrug-resistant pneumococcal genomes in the databases indicate the presence of preferential sites for the integration of composite Tn
916
-like elements carrying multiple resistance determinants in
S. pneumoniae
.