bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Recollective experience in alcohol dependence: a laboratory study
Authors: Thoma Patrizia , Johann Katharina , Wähner Alfred , Juckel Georg , Daum Irene 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTAims  Alcohol dependence has been linked to dysfunction of fronto‐temporo‐striatal circuits which mediate memory and executive function. The present study aimed to explore the specificity of recognition memory changes in alcohol dependence.Design, setting and participants  Twenty hospitalized alcohol‐dependent detoxified patients and 20 healthy control subjects completed a verbal list discrimination task.Measurements  Hits and false alarm rates were analysed. Additionally, both the dual process signal detection model (DPSD) and the process dissociation procedure (PDP) were used to derive estimates of the contribution of recollection and familiarity processes to the recognition memory performance in patients and controls.Findings  Alcohol‐dependent patients showed intact hit rates, but increased false alarm rates and an impaired ability to remember the learning context. Both the DPSD model and PDP estimates yielded significantly reduced recollection estimates in the alcohol‐dependent compared to control subjects. Whether or not familiarity was impaired, depended upon the sensitivity of the estimation procedure.Conclusion  Taken together, the result pattern suggests a significant impairment in recollection and mild familiarity changes in recently detoxified, predominantly male, alcohol‐dependent subjects.
Ciprofloxacin‐induced torsades de pointes in a methadone‐dependent patient
Authors: Nair Murali K. , Patel Krunal , Starer Perry J. 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTBackground Methadone has been associated with QT prolongation and Torsades de pointes. Ciprofloxacin may prolong QT interval and induce Torsades de pointes when other risk factors are present.Case description A case is described in which a patient receiving methadone treatment developed Torsades de pointes following the addition of ciprofloxacin.Conclusion Ciprofloxacin should be used with caution in patients receiving methadone.
A large kindred with X‐linked neutropenia with an I294T mutation of the Wiskott‐Aldrich syndrome gene
Authors: Beel Karolien , Cotter Melanie M. , Blatny Jan , Bond Jonathan , Lucas Geoff , Green Frances , Vanduppen Vik , Leung Daisy W. , Rooney Sean , Smith Owen P. , Rosen Michael K. , Vandenberghe Peter 
Published: November 2008

SummaryX‐linked neutropenia (XLN, OMIM #300299) is a rare form of severe congenital neutropenia. It was originally described in a three‐generation family with five affected members that had an L270P mutation in the GTP‐ase binding domain (GBD) of the Wiskott‐Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) [Devriendt et al (2001) Nature Genetics, Vol. 27, 313–317]. Here, we report and describe a large three‐generation family with XLN, with 10 affected males and eight female carriers. A c.882T>C mutation was identified in the WAS gene, resulting in an I294T mutation. The infectious course is variable and mild in view of the profound neutropenia. In addition to the original description, low‐normal IgA levels, low to low‐normal platelet counts and reduced natural killer (NK)‐cell counts also appear as consistent XLN features. However, inverted CD4/CD8 ratios were not found in this family, nor were cases identified with myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukaemia. Female carriers exhibited a variable attenuated phenotype. Like L270P WASP, I294T WASP is constitutively active towards actin polymerization. In conclusion, this largest XLN kindred identified to date provides new independent genetic evidence that mutations disrupting the auto‐inhibitory GBD of WASP are the cause of XLN. Reduced NK cells, low to low normal platelet counts and low to low‐normal IgA levels are also features of XLN.
Cytogenetics of paediatric and adolescent acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Authors: Harrison Christine J. 
Published: November 2008

SummaryCytogenetics has determined the incidence and prognostic significance of chromosomal abnormalities in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The development of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and array technologies has led to the discovery of novel aberrations. Five ‘hot topics’ are presented in which cytogenetics and related techniques have been instrumental in understanding the role of genetics in leukaemogenesis: (i) genetic changes are integral to the biology of T‐cell ALL; (ii) intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome 21 is a new recurrent abnormality in precursor‐B ALL (BCP‐ALL); (iii) the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (IGH@) is significant in BCP‐ALL; (iv) alterations in genes involved in B‐cell development and cell cycle control contribute to the pathogenesis of BCP‐ALL; (v) age‐related cytogenetic profiles define ALL in children and adolescents as distinct biological entities. In this molecular era, cytogenetics continues to be integral to our understanding of the genetics of this disease.
Valproate synergizes with purine nucleoside analogues to induce apoptosis of B‐chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells
Authors: Bouzar Amel Baya , Boxus Mathieu , Defoiche Julien , Berchem Guy , Macallan Derek , Pettengell Ruth , Willis Fenella , Burny Arsène , Lagneaux Laurence , Bron Dominique , Chatelain Bernard , Chatelain Christian , Willems Luc 
Published: November 2008

SummaryResistance to chemotherapy and drug toxicity are two major concerns of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B‐CLL) treatment by purine nucleoside analogues (PNA, i.e. fludarabine and cladribine). We hypothesized that targeting epigenetic changes might address these issues and evaluated the effect of the histone deacetylase inhibitor valproate (VPA) at a clinically relevant concentration. VPA acted in a highly synergistic/additive manner with fludarabine and cladribine to induce apoptosis of B‐CLL cells. Importantly, VPA also restored sensitivity to fludarabine in B cells from poor prognosis CLL patients who became resistant to chemotherapy. Mechanism of apoptosis induced by VPA alone or combined with fludarabine or to cladribine was caspase‐dependent and involved the extrinsic pathway. VPA, but neither fludarabine nor cladribine, enhanced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inhibition of ROS withN‐acetylcysteine decreases apoptosis of CLL cells. VPA stimulates hyperphosphorylation of p42/p44 ERK, cytochromecrelease and overexpression of Bax and Fas. Together, our data indicate that VPA may ameliorate the outcome of PNA‐based therapeutic protocols and provide a potential alternative treatment in both the relapsed and front‐line resistant patients and in patients with high risk features.
Freshwater reconditioning and ranching of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., kelts: growth and reproductive performance
Authors: MOFFETT I.J.J. , KENNEDY G.J.A. , CROZIER W.W. 
Published: November 2008

Abstract Artificial reconditioning of Atlantic salmon in fresh water over two successive years produced kelt survival rates of 28% and 55% in years one and two, respectively. Eye damage and failure to identify non‐feeders were important factors contributing to high mortalities. Average fecundities of kelts reconditioned for the first (1220 ova kg‐1) and second (1093 ova kg‐1) year were lower than obtained for virgin control fish (1590 and 1728 ova kg‐1 respectively). Average survival to swim‐up for progeny of first‐year (64.5%) and second‐year (71.4%) reconditioned fish were similar to survival of virgin control fish progeny (72.3% and 68.9% respectively).Ranched kelts showed better growth parameters than for freshwater reconditioning but had lower average fecundities (1310 ova kg‐1 compared with 1820 ova kg‐1) and lower average progeny survival to swim‐up (60.8% compared with 88.6%) than their control group.
Impact of sediment and nutrient inputs on growth and survival of tadpoles of the Western Toad
Authors: WOOD SYLVIA L. R. , RICHARDSON JOHN S. 
Published: November 2008

Summary1. Sediment and nutrient loading in freshwater systems are leading causes of aquatic habitat degradation globally. We investigated the impacts of fine‐sediment and nutrient additions on the growth and survival of western toad (Bufo boreas) tadpoles and emergent metamorphs in mesocosm and exclosure experiments.2. Mesocosm tanks received weekly pulses of fine sediments to create initial concentrations of 0, 130 and 260 mg L−1 of suspended sediment and either bi‐weekly additions of nutrients (N = 160 μg L−1, P = 10 μg L−1) or no additions in a factorial design. Within mesocosms, tadpole exclosures allowed for quantification of tadpole grazing pressure on periphyton biomass, chlorophyll‐a and sediment deposition.3. Tadpoles receiving sediment additions experienced slower growth rates and reduced survival to metamorphosis, although no effects of treatment were detected on size at metamorphosis or time to metamorphosis. Nutrient additions also lowered survival, but had no impact on other measured parameters of tadpole fitness. Dissections and gut content analysis revealed that tadpoles ingested sediment in large quantities altering the proportion of the organic content of ingested food.4. Together these results suggest that although sediment was readily consumed by tadpoles, its presence in the larval environment had an overall negative effect on tadpole growth and survival, although not as severe as predicted.
Reorganization of a large marine ecosystem due to atmospheric and anthropogenic pressure: a discontinuous regime shift in the Central Baltic Sea
Authors: MÖLLMANN CHRISTIAN , DIEKMANN RABEA , MÜLLER‐KARULIS BÄRBEL , KORNILOVS GEORGS , PLIKSHS MARIS , AXE PHILIP 
Published: November 2008

AbstractMarine ecosystems such as the Baltic Sea are currently under strong atmospheric and anthropogenic pressure. Besides natural and human‐induced changes in climate, major anthropogenic drivers such as overfishing and anthropogenic eutrophication are significantly affecting ecosystem structure and function. Recently, studies demonstrated the existence of alternative stable states in various terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. These so‐called ecosystem regime shifts have been explained mainly as a result of multiple causes, e.g. climatic regime shifts, overexploitation or a combination of both. The occurrence of ecosystem regime shifts has important management implications, as they can cause significant losses of ecological and economic resources. Because of hysteresis in ecosystem responses, restoring regimes considered as favourable may require drastic and expensive management actions. Also the Baltic Sea, the largest brackish water body in the world ocean, and its ecosystems are strongly affected by atmospheric and anthropogenic drivers. Here, we present results of an analysis of the state and development of the Central Baltic Sea ecosystem integrating hydroclimatic, nutrient, phyto‐ and zooplankton as well as fisheries data. Our analyses of 52 biotic and abiotic variables using multivariate statistics demonstrated a major reorganization of the ecosystem and identified two stable states between 1974 and 2005, separated by a transition period in 1988–1993. We show the change in Baltic ecosystem structure to have the characteristics of a discontinuous regime shift, initiated by climate‐induced changes in the abiotic environment and stabilized by fisheries‐induced feedback loops in the food web. Our results indicate the importance of maintaining the resilience of an ecosystem to atmospherically induced environmental change by reducing the anthropogenic impact.
Litter decomposition in grasslands of Central North America (US Great Plains)
Authors: BONTTI ELIANA E. , DECANT JOSEPH P. , MUNSON SETH M. , GATHANY MARK A. , PRZESZLOWSKA AGNIESZKA , HADDIX MICHELLE L. , OWENS STEPHANIE , BURKE INGRID C. , PARTON WILLIAM J. , HARMON MARK E. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractOne of the major concerns about global warming is the potential for an increase in decomposition and soil respiration rates, increasing CO2 emissions and creating a positive feedback between global warming and soil respiration. This is particularly important in ecosystems with large belowground biomass, such as grasslands where over 90% of the carbon is allocated belowground. A better understanding of the relative influence of climate and litter quality on litter decomposition is needed to predict these changes accurately in grasslands. The Long‐Term Intersite Decomposition Experiment Team (LIDET) dataset was used to evaluate the influence of climatic variables (temperature, precipitation, actual evapotranspiration, and climate decomposition index), and litter quality (lignin content, carbon : nitrogen, and lignin : nitrogen ratios) on leaf and root decomposition in the US Great Plains. Wooden dowels were used to provide a homogeneous litter quality to evaluate the relative importance of above and belowground environments on decomposition. Contrary to expectations, temperature did not explain variation in root and leaf decomposition, whereas precipitation partially explained variation in root decomposition. Percent lignin was the best predictor of leaf and root decomposition. It also explained most variation in root decomposition in models which combined litter quality and climatic variables. Despite the lack of relationship between temperature and root decomposition, temperature could indirectly affect root decomposition through decreased litter quality and increased water deficits. These results suggest that carbon flux from root decomposition in grasslands would increase, as result of increasing temperature, only if precipitation is not limiting. However, where precipitation is limiting, increased temperature would decrease root decomposition, thus likely increasing carbon storage in grasslands. Under homogeneous litter quality, belowground decomposition was faster than aboveground and was best predicted by mean annual precipitation, which also suggests that the high moisture in soil accelerates decomposition belowground.
Seasonal variation in enzyme activities and temperature sensitivities in Arctic tundra soils
Authors: WALLENSTEIN MATTHEW D. , MCMAHON SHAWNA K. , SCHIMEL JOSHUA P. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractArctic soils contain large amounts of organic matter due to very slow rates of detritus decomposition. The first step in decomposition results from the activity of extracellular enzymes produced by soil microbes. We hypothesized that potential enzyme activities are low relative to the large stocks of organic matter in Arctic tundra soils, and that enzyme activity is low at in situ temperatures. We measured the potential activity of six hydrolytic enzymes at 4 and 20 °C on four sampling dates in tussock, intertussock, shrub organic, and shrub mineral soils at Toolik Lake, Alaska. Potential activities of N‐acetyl glucosaminidase, β‐glucosidase, and peptidase tended to be greatest at the end of winter, suggesting that microbes produced enzymes while soils were frozen. In general, enzyme activities did not increase during the Arctic summer, suggesting that enzyme production is N‐limited during the period when temperatures would otherwise drive higher enzyme activity in situ. We also detected seasonal variations in the temperature sensitivity (Q10) of soil enzymes. In general, soil enzyme pools were more sensitive to temperature at the end of the winter than during the summer. We modeled potential in situβ‐glucosidase activities for tussock and shrub organic soils based on measured enzyme activities, temperature sensitivities, and daily soil temperature data. Modeled in situ enzyme activity in tussock soils increased briefly during the spring, then declined through the summer. In shrub soils, modeled enzyme activities increased through the spring thaw into early August, and then declined through the late summer and into winter. Overall, temperature is the strongest factor driving low in situ enzyme activities in the Arctic. However, enzyme activity was low during the summer, possibly due to N‐limitation of enzyme production, which would constrain enzyme activity during the brief period when temperatures would otherwise drive higher rates of decomposition.
Climate change effects on physiology and population processes of hosts and vectors that influence the spread of hemipteran‐borne plant viruses
Authors: CANTO TOMÁS , ARANDA MIGUEL A. , FERERES ALBERTO 
Published: November 2008

AbstractPlant virus diseases constitute one of the limiting factors to the productivity of agriculture. Changes in host plants and insect vector populations that might result from climate change (their geographical distribution range, their densities, migration potential and phenology) could affect the spread of plant viruses. At the individual level, alterations in plant physiological processes that are relevant to their molecular interactions with viruses, like changes in metabolism, leaf temperature, and their effects on some processes, like the temperature‐sensitive antiviral resistance based in RNA silencing, can also influence the ability of individual plants to control viral infections. In order to assess the impact that climate change may have on the incidence and spread of hemipteran‐borne plant viruses, its potential effects on virus/plant interactions and hemipteran insect vectors, as well as other operating processes, which could exacerbate or mitigate them, are identified and analyzed in this review.
Genome‐wide analysis of genes related to ovary activation in worker honey bees
Authors: Thompson G. J. , Kucharski R. , Maleszka R. , Oldroyd B. P. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractA defining characteristic of eusocial animals is their division of labour into reproductive and nonreproductive specialists. Here, we used a microarray study to identify genes associated with functional sterility in the worker honey bee Apis mellifera. We contrasted gene expression in workers from a functionally sterile wild‐type strain with that in a mutant (anarchist) strain selected for high rates of ovary activation. We identified a small set of genes from the brain (n = 7) and from the abdomen (n = 5) that are correlated in their expression with early stages of ovary activation. Sterile wild‐type workers up‐regulated two unknown genes and a homologue of Drosophila CG6004. By contrast, reproductive anarchist workers up‐regulated genes for the yolk protein vitellogenin, venom peptides and a member of the AdoHycase superfamily, among others. The differentially expressed genes identified are likely to be involved in early differentiation into sterile and reproductive worker phenotypes and may therefore form part of the gene networks associated with the regulation of honey bee worker sterility. Our study may have lacked sufficient power to detect all but a minority of biologically relevant changes taking place; however, the differential expression of vitellogenin and a putative AdoHycase suggests that our screen has captured core reproductive genes and that ovary activation may involve an epigenetic mechanism.
Isolation and functional characterization of two independently‐evolved fatty acid Δ12‐desaturase genes from insects
Authors: Zhou X.‐R. , Horne I. , Damcevski K. , Haritos V. , Green A. , Singh S. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractWe report the first isolation and characterization of insect fatty acid Δ12‐desaturase genes, AdD12Des from house cricket (Acheta domesticus) and TcD12Des from the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum), responsible for the production of linoleic acid from oleic acid. Sequence analysis shows the cricket and flour beetle Δ12‐desaturase genes have evolved independently from all previously known Δ12‐desaturases and are much more closely related to the archetypal stearoyl‐Coenzyme A‐acting desaturase from rat than to the phospholipid‐acting Δ12‐desaturases widely reported in plants. Phylogenetic and functional analysis indicates the cricket AdD12Des gene may have evolved from an ancestral Δ9‐desaturase. By contrast, the beetle Δ12‐desaturase is distantly related to the cricket genes and beetle Δ9‐desaturases suggesting evolution by an independent route. Linoleic acid has key physiological roles in insects and this is the first report of genes capable of producing this essential fatty acid in higher animals.
Chikungunya‐Wolbachiainterplay inAedes albopictus
Authors: Tortosa P. , Courtiol A. , Moutailler S. , Failloux A.‐B. , Weill M. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractA severe Chikungunya (CHIK) outbreak recently hit several countries of the Indian Ocean. On La Réunion Island,Aedes albopictuswas incriminated as the major vector. This mosquito species is naturally co‐infected with two distinct strains of the endosymbiontWolbachia, namelywAlbA andwAlbB, which are increasingly attracting interest as potential tools for vector control. A PCR quantitative assay was developed to investigateWolbachia/mosquito host interactions. We show thatWolbachiadensities are slightly decreased in CHIK virus (CHIKV)‐infected females. We measured the impact of CHIKV replication on a lysogenic virus: WO bacteriophage. Our data indicate that WO is sheltered bywAlbB, likely at a single copy per bacteria, and that CHIKV replication is not a physiological stress triggering WO entrance into the lytic cycle.
Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry in measuring activated caspases in human spermatozoa
Authors: Brugnon F. , Ouchchane L. , Verheyen G. , Communal Y. , Van der Elst J. , Tournaye H. , Janny L. , Grizard G. 
Published: November 2008

SummaryStaining of spermatozoa with the fluorescein‐Val‐Ala‐Asp‐fluoromethylketone has already been performed on ejaculated sperm samples, using fluorescence microscopy (FM) or flow cytometry (FCM) in order to score activated caspases. This assay may help in assessing apoptosis and its role in male fertility. The present study compares the above two techniques in order to adopt the most accurate method for detection in human frozen‐thawed testicular, epididymal and ejaculated spermatozoa. The analyses were carried out on frozen/thawed testicular (n = 14), epididymal (n = 8) and ejaculated (n = 10) sperm samples. Activated caspases were detected in living spermatozoa using fluorescein‐labelled inhibitors of poly‐caspases (FLICA). For the measurements by FM, the same‐observer and different‐observer reliability were assessed in testicular and epididymal sperm samples. The inter‐method (FM and FCM) reliability was assessed both in epididymal and ejaculated sperm samples. The reliability was evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the differences between paired measurements from the same sample were tested by Wilcoxon test for matched pairs. For the same‐observer and the different‐observer data, the ICC were 0.980 and 0.986. In testicular suspensions, the presence of different types of germinal and somatic cells hampers the differentiation of stained spermatozoa by FCM. For the inter‐method reliability, the ICC was 0.903. A lower proportion of the viable spermatozoa stained with FLICA was observed by using FM (−6.60 ± 7.38 %, mean ± SD; p = 0.003) compared with FCM. To measure the proportion of spermatozoa with activated caspases by this test, FM is a highly accurate and reliable method whatever the sperm origin (ejaculate, epididymis, and testis). FCM cannot be used for testicular samples but seems to be more appropriate for analysis of epididymal and ejaculated sperm samples. The systematic lower proportion by FM in measuring the proportion of stained viable spermatozoa with FLICA involves that only the data measured by the same method (FM or FCM) may be compared.