bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Molecular analysis of Malassezia microflora in the lesional skin of psoriasis patients
Authors: AMAYA Misato , TAJIMA Mami , OKUBO Yukari , SUGITA Takashi , NISHIKAWA Akemi , TSUBOI Ryoji 
Published: August 2007

ABSTRACTSystemic and focal infections by microorganisms have been known to induce or exacerbate psoriasis. To investigate the role of Malassezia species in the development of psoriasis, we analyzed the Malassezia microflora in psoriasis patients using a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, and compared it with those in atopic dermatitis (AD) patients and healthy subjects. Fungal DNA was directly collected from the lesional and non‐lesional skin of the trunk of 22 psoriasis patients by applying a transparent dressing. The extracted DNA was amplified by using specific primers designed for the PCR in the intergenic spacer or internal transcribed spacer area of the ribosomal RNA. All nine of the Malassezia species were detected at different rates from the 22 psoriasis patients. The overall detection rates in lesional and non‐lesional skin of M. restricta, M. globosa and M. sympodialis were high (96%, 82% and 64%, respectively), whereas the detection rates of the other species were relatively low. However, there was no difference in the rates between lesional and non‐lesional skin areas. The average number of Malassezia species detected in overall sites of the psoriasis patients was 3.7 ± 1.6 species, although this fact showed no correlation with the severity of the symptoms. The number of Malassezia species detected was 4.1 ± 1.9 in the AD patients, and 2.8 ± 0.8 in the healthy subjects, suggesting that the skin microflora of psoriasis patients and AD patients show greater diversity than that of healthy subjects.
Childhood bullous pemphigoid treated by i.v. immunoglobulin
Authors: XIAO Ting , LI Bo , WANG Ya‐Kun , HE Chun‐Di , CHEN Hong‐Duo 
Published: August 2007

ABSTRACTBullous pemphigoid is an acquired autoimmune subepidermal blistering disorder mostly seen in the elderly. Childhood bullous pemphigoid is very rare. For the first time we report a case of childhood bullous pemphigoid associated with infantile eczema. Two weeks after a routine vaccination, a 3.5‐month‐old boy with infantile eczema developed a generalized blistering disorder. Histopathology revealed a subepidermal blister. Direct immunofluorescence showed linear depositions of C3 along the basement membrane zone. Indirect immunofluorescence studies demonstrated the presence of circulating immunoglobulin G antibodies directed against the epidermal side of salt‐split skin. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay demonstrated serum level of anti‐BP180 antibody elevated. The patient was successfully treated by high‐dose i.v. immunoglobulin.
Juvenile systemic sclerosis: Report of three cases and review of Japanese published work
Authors: AOYAMA Kumi , NAGAI Yayoi , ENDO Yukie , ISHIKAWA Osamu 
Published: August 2007

ABSTRACTJuvenile or childhood onset systemic sclerosis (SSc) is rare. In our department, we encountered three juvenile SSc patients among the overall 206 SSc patients. All three cases were diffuse cutaneous type SSc (dSSc) with positive antinuclear antibodies. In this report, we report the three patients and analyze clinical and serological features of 58 Japanese patients with juvenile SSc. Forty‐eight patients (92.3%) were classified as dSSc and 21 out of 35 patients (60%) had anti‐topoisomelase I antibodies, while anticentromere antibodies were not detected in any patients. Prevalence of lung fibrosis and scleroderma renal crisis was low, however, the rate of cardiac involvement was higher than that in adult patients.
Relationship between daily survival rates of larval Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus) and concentrations of copepod nauplii in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan
Authors: ZENITANI HIROMU , KONO NAOAKI , TSUKAMOTO YOUICHI 
Published: August 2007

AbstractWe attempted to estimate the survival rates of larval cohorts (3–15 mm in body length) of the Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonicus population in Hiuchi‐nada, Seto Inland Sea, Japan, and examined the relationship to their food availability. The survival rates were directly calculated from the change in larval density during the survey. The estimated daily survival rate ranged between 0 and 89% d−1, but increased with the increase in the mean concentration of small‐sized copepod nauplii (<100 μm in body length) sampled at 10 m depth. When the food concentration was higher than about 5 nauplii L−1, the daily survival rate of larval anchovy reached an asymptote of approximately 89% day−1. It might be possible to provide a framework for the forecast for larval abundance immediately prior to recruitment size (10–15 mm SL), based on larval abundance of the monitored size (3–8 mm SL) and the survival rate which is estimated from the concentration of small‐sized nauplii.
Interannual and interdecadal variability in juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) diets in relation to environmental changes in the northern California Current
Authors: BRODEUR RICHARD D. , DALY ELIZABETH A. , SCHABETSBERGER ROBERT A. , MIER KATHRYN L. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThe feeding habits of juvenile coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, in the northern California Current were examined using samples from two different time periods (1980–85 and 1998–2003) of highly contrasting oceanographic conditions. The goal was to test the influence of interannual and interdecadal changes in taxonomic composition of prey, feeding intensity, and size spectra of teleost prey. Analyses were done for samples taken both early in the summer (June) shortly after the salmon enter the ocean, and also in late summer (September) following some ocean residency. Fish prey dominated coho salmon diets by weight during most years, but this trend was more pronounced during the 1980–85 sampling period. In terms of numerical composition, the diets were more variable on an interannual basis, but decapod larvae and euphausiids were important prey in most years. Pteropods and copepods were important prey during weak upwelling or El Niño years, whereas euphausiids were important during strong upwelling or otherwise highly productive years. Hyperiid amphipods comprised a substantial proportion of the diets only in 2000. Coho salmon showed highly significant differences in prey composition among years or between decades both in weight and numerical composition. The percentage of empty stomachs was highly variable by year in both June and September, but was significantly different only for September between decades. In contrast, an index of feeding intensity did not show many significant changes in either comparison. However, the relative size ratios for fish prey consumed were highly variable by year, and larger than average fish prey were consumed during 1998, leading to the highest feeding intensity observed.
Chlorophyll a variation in the Kuroshio Extension revealed with a mixed‐layer tracking float: implication on the long‐term change of Pacific saury (Cololabis saira)
Authors: YASUDA ICHIRO , WATANABE TOMOWO 
Published: August 2007

AbstractVariation of chlorophyll a from March 2004 to July 2005 in the formation region of Subtropical Mode Water in the Kuroshio Extension was observed with a mixed‐layer tracking profiling float parking at around 40 m depth. Chlorophyll a concentration in the mixed‐layer is seasonally high from winter to early spring (January–April) even in the deep mixed layer; whereas during winter it tends to be lower for the corresponding deeper mixed layer. The chlorophyll a integrated over the winter mixed‐layer depth (MLD) increases with MLD for MLD <200 m and for MLD > 250 m the integrated chlorophyll a almost disappears, probably because of the large MLD exceeds in the critical depth with light limitation. These results suggest that the wintertime MLD influences the recruitment of Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) in the Kuroshio Extension because the wintertime food environment for larvae and juvenile of the Pacific saury could be better in the shallow wintertime MLD period of the 1950s and 1990s and worse in the deep MLD period of the 1970s and early 1980s.
Age‐specific reproductive success in a long‐lived bird: do older parents resist stress better?
Authors: ANGELIER FREDERIC , MOE BØRGE , WEIMERSKIRCH HENRI , CHASTEL OLIVIER 
Published: August 2007

Summary

In many vertebrates, reproductive performance increases with advancing age but mechanisms involved in such a pattern remain poorly studied. One potential mechanism may be the hormonal stress response, which shifts energy investment away from reproduction and redirects it towards survival. In birds, this stress response is achieved through a release of corticosterone and is also accompanied by a decrease in circulating prolactin, a hormone involved widely in regulating parental cares.
It has been predicted that, when the value of the current reproduction is high relative to the value of future reproduction and survival, as it is expected to be in older adults, the stress response should be attenuated to ensure that reproduction is not inhibited.
We tested this hypothesis by measuring the corticosterone and prolactin responses of known‐age (8–36 years old) incubating snow petrels (Pagadroma nivea) to a standardized capture/handling stress protocol. We also investigated whether an attenuation of the stress responses will correlate with a lower occurrence of egg neglect, a frequently observed behaviour in snow petrels.
The probability of successfully fledging a chick increased from 6 years to 12 years before stabilizing after 12 years of age. Corticosterone response to stress was unaffected by age. Prolactin response to stress, however, was influenced clearly by age: in both sexes older breeders had higher stress‐induced prolactin levels than younger ones. This was due to an increasing attenuation of the prolactin response to stress with advancing age in females, and in males this was due to a probably higher intrinsic capacity of older males to secrete prolactin. Moreover, higher stress‐induced prolactin levels were correlated with a lower probability of neglecting the egg.
In young breeders, the combination of a robust corticosterone increase with a lower ability to maintain prolactin secretion during acute stress is probably one of the functional causes of their lower incubation commitment. We suggest that the ability to maintain a threshold level of prolactin during a stressful situation may be an important physiological mechanism involved in the improvement of reproductive performance with advancing age in long‐lived birds.
Effect of an evidence‐based education programme on ED discharge advice for febrile children
Authors: Considine Julie , Brennan Denise 
Published: August 2007

Aims.  This study aimed to examine the effect of an educational intervention on discharge advice given to parents leaving the emergency department with a febrile child.Background.  Childhood fever is a common reason to seek emergency care. Many children are discharged from the emergency department with fever as a significant component of their illness; therefore, it is vital that emergency department medical and nursing staff provide accurate and reliable information about childhood fever management.Design.  A pre/post‐test design was used. The outcome measure was parental advice regarding paediatric fever management and the intervention for the study was an educational intervention for emergency department nursing staff that consisted of two tutorials. Data were collected using structured telephone interviews.Results.  Data were collected from 22 families during the pretest period and 18 families during the post‐test period. The number of parents leaving the emergency department with no advice decreased by 48% (p = 0·002). Reports of written advice increased by 69·7% (p < 0·001) and there was a 38·4% increase in reports of verbal advice (p = 0·014). Parents leaving the emergency department with both written and verbal advice increased from 0 to 55·6% (p < 0·001). Reports of advice by nursing staff increased by 52% (p < 0·001) and there were significant increases in specific instructions related to oral fluid administration (22·7 vs. 77·8, p = 0·001) and use of antipyretic medications (27·2 vs. 77·8, p = 0·001).Conclusion.  Evidence‐based education of emergency nurses improved both the amount and quality of discharge advice for parents of febrile children.Relevance to clinical practice.  Parents and health care professionals alike need to better understand the physiological benefits of fever and the potential harmful effects of aggressive and often unwarranted treatment of fever.
An exploration of the smoking‐related health beliefs of older people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Schofield Irene , Kerr Susan , Tolson Debbie 
Published: August 2007

Aim.  To explore the smoking‐related health beliefs of older people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Background.  Globally, smoking is a major cause of COPD and symptoms present typically mid to later life. Substantial numbers of people with COPD continue to smoke even though smoking cessation is known to slow the rate of disease progression and prevent further deterioration in lung function. There is evidence to suggest that, although older long‐term smokers can successfully quit smoking with the help of specialist structured programmes, those with COPD find it more difficult to achieve sustained cessation. An understanding of the health beliefs of people with COPD will assist professionals to provide the most appropriate support with cessation attempts.Design.  A secondary analysis of qualitative interview data.Methods.  Twenty‐two current and former smokers with COPD who used the outreach service of an inner city hospital in Scotland were interviewed in their own homes using semi‐structured interviews which were transcribed verbatim. The main concepts of the Health Belief Model were used as an analysis framework.Findings.  Interviews were carried out with 15 women and seven men with a median age of 68 years. Almost 90% lived in areas of the highest socio‐economic deprivation according to DEPCAT scores. Almost two‐thirds of the individuals in this study continued to smoke even though they largely perceived smoking as a threat to health. Individuals who continued to smoke cited various barriers to quitting smoking and all had, at some time, attempted smoking cessation. Over half were still attempting to quit. Cues to action came from external sources rather than increasing disease severity.Conclusions.  Cessation is challenging and knowledge of a person's health beliefs is a prerequisite to supporting behaviour change.Relevance to clinical practice.  Findings emphasize the need for frontline health professionals to reflect on their current practice with a view to providing sustained encouragement and support towards smoking cessation and relapse prevention for people with COPD.
Daily life after moving into a care home – experiences from older people, relatives and contact persons
Authors: Andersson Ingegerd , Pettersson Elisabet , Sidenvall Birgitta 
Published: August 2007

Aims and objectives.  To describe older people's experiences of daily life at the care home after admittance with respect to their perceptions of participation in the decision to move. Furthermore, the aim was to study the experiences of their relatives and contact persons with respect to the daily life of the same residents.Background.  When older persons move into a care home, the whole family often play an important part. Thus, it is interesting to study how newly admitted older people, their relatives and staff members experience daily life in a modern care home.Methods.  Qualitative design. The participants comprised a purposive sample of 13 residents, recently admitted to a care home, 69–90 years old, both single living and married, both moving from their own homes and from different institutions. Interviews were carried out with the older people (n = 13), their relatives (n = 10) and contact persons (n = 11).Results.  The majority of the residents reported satisfaction with care home living. The relatives were also satisfied, secure and appreciated the privacy and homely atmosphere of the flat. The disadvantage of one‐room flats was that the residents might have felt lonely. The relatives felt that the residents were bored, but few residents desired more activities, even if some of them longed for people to socialize with. For many older people, perhaps talking is the most important ‘activity’ at care homes. Concerning self‐determination, some residents did not find it satisfactory.Relevance to clinical practice.  Staff members must pay attention to residents’ need to talk with people. For many older people, talking is perhaps the most important ‘activity’ at care homes. Nurses must safeguard residents’ self‐determination. When residents are in control of their lives, they may become satisfied with time.
Bipolar gene flow in deep‐sea benthic foraminifera
Authors: PAWLOWSKI J. , FAHRNI J. , LECROQ B. , LONGET D. , CORNELIUS N. , EXCOFFIER L. , CEDHAGEN T. , GOODAY A. J. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractDespite its often featureless appearance, the deep‐ocean floor includes some of the most diverse habitats on Earth. However, the accurate assessment of global deep‐sea diversity is impeded by a paucity of data on the geographical ranges of bottom‐dwelling species, particularly at the genetic level. Here, we present molecular evidence for exceptionally wide distribution of benthic foraminifera, which constitute the major part of deep‐sea meiofauna. Our analyses of nuclear ribosomal RNA genes revealed high genetic similarity between Arctic and Antarctic populations of three common deep‐sea foraminiferal species (Epistominella exigua, Cibicides wuellerstorfi and Oridorsalis umbonatus), separated by distances of up to 17 000 km. Our results contrast with the substantial level of cryptic diversity usually revealed by molecular studies, of shallow‐water benthic and planktonic marine organisms. The very broad ranges of the deep‐sea foraminifera that we examined support the hypothesis of global distribution of small eukaryotes and suggest that deep‐sea biodiversity may be more modest at global scales than present estimates suggest.
The California Hotspots Project: identifying regions of rapid diversification of mammals
Authors: DAVIS EDWARD BYRD , KOO MICHELLE S. , CONROY CHRIS , PATTON JAMES L. , MORITZ CRAIG 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThe high rate of anthropogenic impact on natural systems mandates protection of the evolutionary processes that generate and sustain biological diversity. Environmental drivers of diversification include spatial heterogeneity of abiotic and biotic agents of divergent selection, features that suppress gene flow, and climatic or geological processes that open new niche space. To explore how well such proxies perform as surrogates for conservation planning, we need first to map areas with rapid diversification —‘evolutionary hotspots’. Here we combine estimates of range size and divergence time to map spatial patterns of neo‐endemism for mammals of California, a global biodiversity hotspot. Neo‐endemism is explored at two scales: (i) endemic species, weighted by the inverse of range size and mtDNA sequence divergence from sisters; and (ii) as a surrogate for spatial patterns of phenotypic divergence, endemic subspecies, again using inverse‐weighting of range size. The species‐level analysis revealed foci of narrowly endemic, young taxa in the central Sierra Nevada, northern and central coast, and Tehachapi and Peninsular Ranges. The subspecies endemism‐richness analysis supported the last four areas as hotspots for diversification, but also highlighted additional coastal areas (Monterey to north of San Francisco Bay) and the Inyo Valley to the east. We suggest these hotspots reflect the major processes shaping mammal neo‐endemism: steep environmental gradients, biotic admixture areas, and areas with recent geological/climate change. Anthropogenic changes to both environment and land use will have direct impacts on regions of rapid divergence. However, despite widespread changes to land cover in California, the majority of the hotspots identified here occur in areas with relatively intact ecological landscapes. The geographical scope of conserving evolutionary process is beyond the scale of any single agency or nongovernmental organization. Choosing which land to closely protect and/or purchase will always require close coordination between agencies.
Lipopopeptidephosphoglycan from Entamoeba histolytica activates human macrophages and dendritic cells and reaches their late endosomes
Authors: VIVANCO‐CID H. , ALPUCHE‐ARANDA C. , WONG‐BAEZA I. , ROCHA‐RAMÍREZ L. M. , RIOS‐SARABIA N. , ESTRADA‐GARCIA I. , VILLASIS‐KEEVER M. A. , LOPEZ‐MACIAS C. , ISIBASI A. 
Published: August 2007

SUMMARY Lipopopeptidephosphoglycan (LPPG) is a complex macromolecule from the surface of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites. We analysed the interaction between LPPG and human macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) and found that LPPG is internalized by these cells and activates them. The internalization process involves intracellular traffic from the cell membrane to late endosomes, as shown by co‐localization of LPPG with late endosomes marked with FITC‐dextran and LAMP‐1. LPPG‐activated DCs have increased expression of co‐stimulatory molecules CD80, CD86 and CD40 and produce pro‐inflammatory cytokines TNF‐α, IL‐8 and IL‐12. Taken together, these results show that LPPG activates antigen‐presenting cells and reaches intracellular compartments that are involved in antigen presentation.
Endoscopic Diagnosis of Early Malignant Lymphoma of the Stomach
Authors: MISUMI Atsunobu , YOSHINAKA Ichiro , HARADA Kazunori , MURAKAMI Akitoshi , KAKO Hirofumi , HONMYO Ubehiko , OHSHIMA Shigeki , SUGIYAMA Makio , SUKO Hironobu , SUKO Shuji 
Published: August 2007

Abstract: The findings and results obtained by endoscopies and direct vision biopsies carried out in 13 patients with early primary gastric lymphoma, were compared with those of 8 patients with RLH, 28 with depressed type of early gastric carcinoma, and 10 patients with benign gastric ulcers, to deal with problems inherent to endoscopic diagnosis of early primary gastric lymphomaThe first endoscopy attained a correct diagnosis in only 1 patient (7.7%) but in 7 patients (53.8%) with the final endoscopy. Endoscopic features of early gastric lymphoma characteristically yielded a cobblestone appearance and reticulated erosion when they were compared with that of RLH, early carcinoma and benign ulcer. Furthermore, early gastric lymphoma presented ill demarcated margins associated with discoloration of the mucosa more frequently comparing with that of early gastric carcinoma. Also, hemorrhage, lustrous nodules, regulalr and white‐coated ulcer were the findings more frequently seen in early gastric lymphoma but redness was less frequent in early gastric carcinoma. Dye endoscopies provided a more detailed appearance of the lesion and margins than conventional endoscopies. In addition, dye endoscopies made visible the lesions that were not visible by conventional endoscopies, in areas repelling dye solution.In this paper, the importance to pay an attention to the endoscopic findings described above and an application of dye endoscopy was emphasized for detection of an early gastric lymphoma.