bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quantitative trait loci with additive effects on growth and carcass traits in a Wagyu–Limousin F2 population
Authors: Alexander L. J. , Geary T. W. , Snelling W. M. , MacNeil M. D. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryA whole‐genome scan for carcass traits [average daily gain during the pre‐weaning, growth and finishing periods; birth weight; hot carcass weight and longissimus muscle area (LMA)] was performed on 328 F2 progeny produced from Wagyu × Limousin‐cross parents derived from eight founder Wagyu bulls. Nine significant (P ≤ 0.05) and four suggestive (P ≤ 0.1) QTL affecting seven growth and carcass traits were identified. Significant QTL were located on bovine chromosomes 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 16, 17 and 29. A QTL previously reported on chromosome 2 for LMA was also detected in this study. These results provide insight into genetic differences between the Wagyu and Limousin breeds.
Computer simulation of the structure and dynamics of phenol in sodium montmorillonite hydrates
Authors: Lock P. A. , Skipper N. T. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryMonte Carlo and molecular dynamics computer simulations have been used to study the structure and dynamics of phenol‐water solutions in the bulk and confined within the interlayer pores of sodium montmorillonite clays, as a function of pressure and temperature. Conditions have been chosen to mimic those encountered at burial depths of up to 6 km, thereby enabling us to shed light on subsurface processes including groundwater contamination and oil and gas migration. The structural data show that the phenol molecules are able to form a donor hydrogen bond to the clay surface. In addition, the phenolic –OH group is solvated by approximately three water molecules, and is also able to coordinate directly to an interlayer sodium cation. The phenolic aromatic ring is surrounded by approximately 25 water molecules in the bulk, compared to 18 in the compacted clay. Interlayer diffusion increases by an order of magnitude as temperature is increased from 275 K to 460 K. However, diffusion decreases by a factor of 2–4 as we move from the bulk into a clay hydrate of layer spacing ∼17 Å. For example, at 275 K the diffusion coefficient of phenol is 8.3 × 10−10 m2 s−1 in bulk solution, compared to 2.5 × 10−10 m2 s−1 in the clay.
Humoral immunity to HIV‐1: neutralization and beyond
Authors: Huber M. , Trkola A. 
Published: June 2007

Abstract.Humoral immunity is considered a key component of effective vaccines against HIV‐1. Hence, an enormous effort has been put into investigating the neutralizing antibody response to HIV‐1 over the past 20 years which generated key information on epitope specificity, potency, breadth and in vivo activity of the neutralizing antibodies. Less clear is still the role of antibody‐mediated effector functions (antibody‐dependent cellular cytotoxicity, phagocytosis, complement system) and uncertainty prevails whether Fc‐mediated mechanisms are largely beneficial or detrimental for the host. The current knowledge on the manifold functions of the humoral immune response in HIV infection, their underlying mechanisms and potential in vaccine‐induced immunity will be discussed in this review.
Diabetes mellitus as a prothrombotic condition
Authors: Grant P. J. 
Published: June 2007

Abstract.Diabetes mellitus (DM) is characterized by fasting hyperglycaemia and a high risk of atherothrombotic disorders affecting the coronary, cerebral and peripheral arterial trees. The risk of myocardial infarction (MI) is 3‐5 fold higher in Type 2 DM and a DM subject with no history of MI has the same risk as a non‐DM subject with a past history of MI. In total around 70% of deaths are vascular with poorer outcomes to both acute events and cardiological interventions. It was proposed that clustering of vascular risk factors (hyperinsulinaemia, dysglycaemia, dyslipidaemia and hypertension) around insulin resistance (IR) accounted for the increase in risk with Type 2 DM. The importance of this became apparent with the recognition that risk clustering occurs in normoglycaemic and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) subjects with IR, in total around 25% of the population in addition to long‐standing Type 1 subjects with renal disease. Evidence indicates that thrombotic risk clustering also occurs in association with IR, suppression of fibrinolysis due to elevated concentrations of the fibrinolytic inhibitor, plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 (PAI‐1) is invariable with IR and there is evidence that this is regulated by the effects of triglyceride on the PAI‐1 gene promoter. Other studies indicated that prothrombotic risk (coagulation factors VII, XII and fibrinogen) also associates with the IR syndrome. The development of endothelial cell dysfunction with suppression of nitric oxide and prostacyclin synthesis, combined with platelet resistance to the anti‐aggregatory effects of these hormones leads to loss of control over platelet activation. In addition, hyperglycaemia and glycation have marked effects on fibrin structure function, generating a clot which has a denser structure, resistant to fibrinolysis. The combination of increased circulating coagulation zymogens, inhibition of fibrinolysis, changes in fibrin structure/function and alterations in platelet reactivity creates a thrombotic risk clustering which underpins the development of cardiovascular disease.
Perceived stress and risk of colorectal cancer in men and women: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Nielsen N. R. , Kristensen T. S. , Strandberg‐Larsen K. , Zhang Z.‐F. , Schnohr P. , Grønbæk M. 
Published: June 2007

Abstract.Objective.  We aim to assess the relationship between stress and risk of primary colorectal cancer in men and women.Design.  A prospective cohort studySetting.  The Copenhagen City Heart Study, DenmarkSubjects.  A total of 6488 women and 5426 men were included in the study. The participants were asked about intensity and frequency of stress at baseline in 1981–1983 and were followed until the end of 2000 in the Danish Cancer Registry. Less than 0.1% was lost to follow‐up.Main outcome measures.  First time incidence of primary colorectal cancer.Results.  During follow‐up 162 women and 166 men were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Women with moderate and high stress intensity had a hazard ratio of 0.60 (95% CI: 0.37–0.98) and 0.52 (0.23–1.14) for colorectal cancer, respectively, compared to women with no stress. For colon cancer, a one‐unit increase on a seven‐point stress‐score was associated with an 11% lower incidence of the disease (HR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.81–0.99) amongst women. There was no consistent evidence of an association between stress and colorectal cancer in men.Conclusion.  Perceived stress was associated with lower risk of particularly colon cancer in women, whilst there was no clear relationship between stress and colorectal cancer in men.
Glycinebetaine accumulation is more effective in chloroplasts than in the cytosol for protecting transgenic tomato plants against abiotic stress
Authors: PARK EUNG‐JUN , JEKNIĆ ZORAN , PINO MARÍA‐TERESA , MURATA NORIO , CHEN TONY HWEI‐HWANG 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTTomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Moneymaker) plants were transformed with a gene for choline oxidase (codA) from Arthrobacter globiformis. The gene product (CODA) was targeted to the chloroplasts (Chl–codA), cytosol (Cyt–codA) or both compartments simultaneously (ChlCyt–codA). These three transgenic plant types accumulated different amounts and proportions of glycinebetaine (GB) in their chloroplasts and cytosol. Targeting CODA to either the cytosol or both compartments simultaneously increased total GB content by five‐ to sixfold over that measured from the chloroplast targeted lines. Accumulation of GB in codA transgenic plants was tissue dependent, with the highest levels being recorded in reproductive organs. Despite accumulating, the lowest amounts of GB, Chl–codA plants exhibited equal or higher degrees of enhanced tolerance to various abiotic stresses. This suggests that chloroplastic GB is more effective than cytosolic GB in protecting plant cells against chilling, high salt and oxidative stresses. Chloroplastic GB levels were positively correlated with the degree of oxidative stress tolerance conferred, whereas cytosolic GB showed no such a correlation. Thus, an increase in total GB content does not necessarily lead to enhanced stress tolerance, but additional accumulation of chloroplastic GB is likely to further raise the level of stress tolerance beyond what we have observed.
Demonstration of In vivo Expression of a Hypothetical Open Reading Frame (ORF‐14) Encoded by the RD1 Region of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: Amoudy H. A. , Ahmad S. , Thole J. E. , Mustafa A. S. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractPreviously we identified a novel antigenic open reading frame (ORF), designated as ORF‐14, on the RD1 region of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that was not originally predicted by Mahairas or by annotation of the M. tuberculosis H37 Rv genome. Here we show that anti‐ORF‐14 antibodies either from mice immunized with recombinant ORF‐14 protein or isolated from serum samples from tuberculosis patients, react with a protein in culture filtrate but not in cytoplasmic or cell wall fractions from M. tuberculosis. Our data indicate that the ORF‐14 protein is expressed as a secreted protein, representing one more secreted protein antigen not previously identified by genomics.
Crustal thinning and mafic underplating beneath the Neogene Volcanic Province (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain): evidence from crustal xenoliths
Authors: Álvarez‐Valero A. M. , Kriegsman L. M. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThree metapelitic xenolith suites in the Neogene Volcanic Province (NVP) of SE Spain (from SW to NE: El Hoyazo, Mazarrón and Mar Menor) originated by partial melting at different crustal depths, decreasing from 20–25 km in the SW to 9–12 km in the NE. Peak temperatures reached c. 900 °C. The xenolith source level is equated with the base of a felsic upper crust of high melting potential (‘fertility’). At El Hoyazo, this matches a thin, intracrustal low‐velocity zone recently inferred from seismic studies. Isostatic calculations indicate that this zone increases in thickness from SW to NE. A model of increasing upper crustal thinning from SW to NE in the NVP, accompanied by mafic underplating, is consistent with the 9 Ma petrological data, with current heat flow, seismic data and gravimetry. It is concluded that significant crustal extension occurred in the NVP in the late Miocene, i.e. after the main phase of widespread extension, exhumation of high‐pressure rocks and formation of the Alborán Sea.
Genetic Diversity in Monilinia laxa Populations in Peach Orchards in Spain
Authors: Gell I. , Larena I. , Melgarejo P. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractOne‐hundred and forty‐four random amplified polymorphic DNA markers, of which 59 were polymorphic and 85 monomorphic, were used to assess the genetic diversity and to study the structure of Monilinia laxa populations in Spain. Twenty‐one isolates collected from several orchards (subpopulations), in various years and in various hosts, were used. The analysis of population structure revealed that genetic diversity within orchards (HS) accounted for 97% of the total genetic diversity (HT), while genetic diversity among the orchards represented only 3%. The relative magnitude of gene differentiation between subpopulations (GST) and the estimate of the number of migrants per generation (Nm) averaged 0.032 and 15.1 respectively. The results obtained in dendrograms were in accordance with the gene diversity analysis. Grouping of isolates in the dendrogram was independent of whether they came from the same or different orchards. There was no relationship between clustering among isolates from distinct years and hosts. The relative importance of several evolutionary forces in populations of M. laxa is discussed, together with implications for the management of brown rot.
Gastric antisecretory and antiulcer effects of simvastatin in rats
Authors: Tariq Mohammad , Khan Haseeb A , Elfaki Ibrahim , Arshaduddin Mohammad , Al Moutaery Meshal , Al Rayes Hannan , Al Swailam Ramiz 
Published: June 2007

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Recently, statins have appeared to have additional benefits beyond their lipid lowering effects, which has led to the interest in the use of this class of drugs outside the realm of cardiovascular disease. Simvastatin (SIM) is a commonly prescribed statin with anti‐inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Excessive generation of oxygen‐derived free radicals (ODFR) and proinflammatory mediators has been implicated in the pathogenesis of gastric ulcers. This investigation aimed to study the effect of SIM on experimentally induced gastric acid secretion and ulcer formation.Methods:  Adult Wistar rats were divided into experimental groups containing six animals. Acid secretion studies were undertaken using pylorus‐ligated rats pretreated with SIM (20, 40, and 60 mg/kg). The effect of orally administered SIM was also studied on indomethacin‐ and ethanol‐induced gastric ulcers. The levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO), non‐protein sulfhydryls (NP‐SH), nitric oxide (NO), antioxidant enzymes, and gastric wall mucus were measured in the glandular stomach of rats following ethanol‐induced gastric lesions.Results:  Administration of SIM significantly and dose‐dependently inhibited the volume of gastric secretion and the acidity. Pretreatment with SIM significantly reduced the formation of indomethacin‐ and ethanol‐induced gastric lesions. The antiulcer activity of SIM was associated with significant attenuation of adverse effects of ethanol on gastric wall mucus, NP‐SH and MPO. SIM modified the gastric NO levels and reversed the ethanol‐induced decrease in glutathione‐S‐transferase and increase in superoxide dismutase and catalase.Conclusions:  These findings clearly suggest the involvement of proinflammatory agents and ODFR in the pathogenesis of gastric lesions. The gastroprotective effects of SIM are mediated by inhibition of neutrophils activity, reduction of oxidative stress, and maintenance of vascular integrity. This study was conducted in rats; its relevance to human gastric ulcers is not known and warrants further study.
Iatrogenic perforation associated with therapeutic colonoscopy: A multicenter study in Japan
Authors: Taku Keisei , Sano Yasushi , Fu Kuang‐I , Saito Yutaka , Matsuda Takahisa , Uraoka Toshio , Yoshino Takayuki , Yamaguchi Yuichirou , Fujita Mikio , Hattori Santa , Ishikawa Tsutomu , Saito Daizo , Fujii Takahiro , Kaneko Eizo , Yoshida Shigeaki 
Published: June 2007

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Colonic perforation is the serious accidental complication. The aim of this study is to analyze the clinical presentation and management of recent iatrogenic perforations during therapeutic colonoscopy.Methods:  Consecutive patients referred to four academic cancer centers in Japan were retrospectively reviewed using each center's endoscopy database of medical records. Data was obtained by means of an extensive data collection sheet. Since we evaluated the data including iatrogenic perforation during newly developed therapeutic procedure such as endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) or hemoclips, the collection of patient data was set from the period of the beginning of ESD technique in each hospital in this study.Results:  The overall rate of occurrence of perforation was 0.15% (23/15, 160). Perforation rate for EMR (0.58%) showed a significantly higher rate (P < 0.0001) than that for hot biopsy and polypectomy. The rate for ESD (14%) showed a markedly higher rate (P < 0.0001) than that for other standard procedures. Of those perforations, endoscopic clipping was performed in 56.5% of the patients, and conservative treatment was successful in 100% of the patients with successful closure. Both CT scan findings and seology results (WBC, CRP) after perforation were poor predictors for need for surgery as opposed to conservative management.Conclusions:  Further improvements in EMR with special knife techniques are required to simply and safely remove large colorectal neoplasms, because perforation rate for ESD shows a markedly higher. Conservative management may be possible in patients who have undergone complete endoscopic clipping.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a prophylactic and treatment against ileus and recurrent intestinal obstruction soon after surgery to relieve adhesive intestinal obstruction
Authors: Ambiru Satoshi , Furuyama Nobuaki , Kimura Fumio , Shimizu Hiroaki , Yoshidome Hiroyuki , Miyazaki Masaru , Shimada Hideaki , Ochiai Takenori 
Published: June 2007

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Nonoperative management of cases of adhesive intestinal obstruction would be ideal, especially for patients who have recently undergone surgery to relieve the same condition. We aimed to examine whether hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy might have therapeutic potential for the treatment of postoperative paralytic ileus and recurrent adhesive intestinal obstruction soon after surgery, to relieve adhesive intestinal obstruction, because of its unique mechanisms in these contexts.Methods:  A total of 133 patients were enrolled in the present study. We examined non–per os periods, hospital stay, and clinical course according to the postoperative course of the 133 patients.Results:  After surgical intervention, 75 patients left the hospital without morbidity. Nineteen patients were successfully administered prophylactic HBO therapy to facilitate intestinal motility and to prevent paralytic ileus. The remaining 39 patients suffered from postoperative paralytic ileus or early recurrence of obstruction during the same hospitalization period. The patients who underwent prophylactic HBO therapy had significantly shorter non–per os periods and hospital stays after surgery than those who were not initially given HBO therapy (P < 0.05). Similarly, there were significant differences in duration of hospital stay after surgery between patients with HBO therapy as treatment and those who received other conservative therapies (P < 0.05).Conclusions:  HBO therapy may have a prophylactic effect on postoperative paralytic ileus and may be of therapeutic benefit in the management of early recurrent adhesive intestinal obstruction following surgery to relieve adhesive intestinal obstruction.
Prospective evaluation of adjunctive ketamine on sphincter of Oddi motility in humans
Authors: Varadarajulu Shyam , Tamhane Ashutosh , Wilcox C Mel 
Published: June 2007

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Performance of sphincter of Oddi manometry (SOM) at endoscopic retrograde cholangio‐pancreatogram (ERCP) is technically demanding and requires that the patient be well sedated. Droperidol is used as an adjunctive agent in patients who are difficult to sedate. Concerns regarding the safety profile of droperidol and its effects on sphincter of Oddi motility has resulted in the search for other potent sedative agents that do not influence SOM readings. Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, is increasingly being used as an adjunctive agent for conscious sedation. This study evaluates the effect of ketamine on sphincter of Oddi motility when used as an adjunctive sedative agent during ERCP.Patients and Methods:  This is a prospective study of 30 consecutive patients undergoing SOM who were difficult to sedate and required adjunctive ketamine. Manometry was initially performed with intravenous administration of diazepam plus meperidine or a combination of diazepam plus meperidine and midazolam. After the initial two pull‐throughs, 20 mg of ketamine was administered intravenously and the measurements were repeated 5 min later.Results:  The basal pressures of the biliary sphincter and of the pancreatic sphincter were not significantly altered by ketamine. By using a definition for sphincter of Oddi dysfunction of a basal pressure ≥40 mmHg, concordance (normal vs abnormal) between the basal sphincter pressure before and after ketamine was seen in 28 patients (93%). Ketamine also did not lead to a difference in phasic wave amplitude, duration, or frequency. No complication was associated with ketamine use.Conclusions:  Ketamine at 20 mg did not significantly affect SOM parameters. Further studies are required to confirm our preliminary findings before ketamine can be added to the armamentarium of agents used for performance of sphincter of Oddi manometry.
Mouse model mimics multiple sclerosis in the clinico‐radiological paradox
Authors: Wuerfel Jens , Tysiak Eva , Prozorovski Timour , Smyth Maureen , Mueller Susanne , Schnorr Joerg , Taupitz Matthias , Zipp Frauke 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe value of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis, in deriving novel diagnostic and therapeutic input has been subject to recent debate. This study is the first to report a disseminated distribution of plaques including cranial nerves, prior to or at early stages of disease in murine adoptive transfer EAE, irrespective of the development of clinical symptoms. We induced EAE by adoptive proteolipid protein‐specific T‐cell transfer in 26 female SJL/J mice, and applied high‐field‐strength magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans longitudinally, assessing blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption by gadopentate dimeglumine enhancement. We visualized inflammatory nerve injury by gadofluorine M accumulation, and phagocytic cells in inflamed tissue by very small anionic iron oxide particles (VSOP‐C184). MRI was correlated with immunohistological sections. In this study, we discovered very early BBB breakdown of white and grey brain matter in 25 mice; one mouse developed exclusively spinal cord inflammation. Widely disseminated contrast‐enhancing lesions preceded the onset of disease in 10 animals. Such lesions were present despite the absence of any clinical disease formation in four mice, and coincided with the first detectable symptoms in others. Cranial nerves, predominantly the optic and trigeminal nerves, showed signal intensity changes in nuclei and fascicles of 14 mice. At all sites of MRI lesions we detected cellular infiltrates on corresponding histological sections. The discrepancy between the disease burden visualized by MRI and the extent of disability indeed mimics the human clinico‐radiological paradox. MRI should therefore be implemented into evaluational in vivo routines of future therapeutic EAE studies.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa cupA‐encoded fimbriae expression is regulated by a GGDEF and EAL domain‐dependent modulation of the intracellular level of cyclic diguanylate
Authors: Meissner Andree , Wild Verena , Simm Roger , Rohde Manfred , Erck Christian , Bredenbruch Florian , Morr Michael , Römling Ute , Häussler Susanne 
Published: June 2007

SummaryCyclic‐diguanylate (c‐di‐GMP) is a widespread bacterial signal molecule that plays a major role in the modulation of cellular surface components, such as exopolysaccharides and fimbriae, and in the establishment of a sessile life style. Here, we report that intracellular c‐di‐GMP levels influence cupA‐encoded fimbriae expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In an autoaggregative P. aeruginosa small colony variant (SCV) CupA fimbriae and the intracellular c‐di‐GMP concentration were found to be enhanced as compared with the clonal wild‐type. The SCV morphology and the expression of CupA fimbriae were dependent on a functional PA1120 and morA gene both encoding a GGDEF domain. Overexpression of the GGDEF domain protein PA1120 complemented the PA1120 and the morA mutant with respect to CupA fimbriae expression. In agreement with these findings, overexpression of the EAL domain containing phenotypic variance regulator (PvrR) in the SCV resulted in a decreased intracellular level of c‐di‐GMP, a reduced cupA fimbriae expression and a switch to wild‐type colony morphology.