bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antifungal susceptibility and genotypes of Candida albicans strains from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis
Authors: Liu X. P. , Fan S. R. , Bai F. Y. , Li J. , Liao Q. P. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryStudies of the genetic diversity of Candida albicans strains and the correlation between the antifungal susceptibility and gene diversity of C. albicans were carried out and the results were found to be inconsistent. To investigate antifungal susceptibility and genotypes of C. albicans strains from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), the genotypes of C. albicans in patients with VVC were studied using a recently developed polymerase chain reaction‐single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR‐SSCP) of CAI microsatellite method and antifungal susceptibility was tested using E‐test methods. Twenty‐six genotypes were identified from 89 strains of C. albicans isolated from patients with VVC. Candida albicans isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B, flucytosine, ketoconazole and fluconazole. The dominant genotypes (A, B, C, D) account for 69.7% (62/89) of C. albicans. The resistant rate of C. albicans genotype B to itraconazole (ITR) and that of C. albicans non‐genotype B strains were 66.7% (14/21) and 4.4% (3/68) respectively at P < 0.05. We concluded that C. albicans genotype B from patients with VVC was more resistant to ITR.
Phylogenetic analyses of ribosomal DNA‐containing bacterioplankton genome fragments from a 4000 m vertical profile in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
Authors: Pham Vinh D. , Konstantinidis Konstantinos T. , Palden Tsultrim , DeLong Edward F. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryHigh‐throughput identification of rRNA gene‐containing clones in large insert metagenomic libraries is difficult, because of the high background of host ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and rRNA genes. To address this challenge, a membrane hybridization method was developed to identify all bacterial small subunit rRNA‐containing fosmid clones of microbial community DNA from seven different depths in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Out of 101,376 clones screened, 751 rDNA‐containing clones were identified that grouped in ∼60 different clades. Several rare sequences only remotely related to known groups were detected, including a Wolbachia‐related sequence containing a putative intron or intervening sequence, as well as seven sequences from Order Myxococcales not previously detected in pelagic habitats. Stratified, depth‐specific population structure was evident within both cultured and uncultured lineages. Conversely, some eurybathyal members of the genera Alcanivorax and Rhizobium shared identical small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences that were distributed from surface waters to the 4000 m depth. Comparison with similar analyses in Monterey Bay microbial communities revealed previously recognized, as well as some distinctive, depth‐stratified partitioning that distinguished coastal from open ocean bacterioplankton populations. While some bias was evident in fosmid clone recovery in a few particular lineages, the overall phylogenetic group recovery and distributions were consistent with previous studies, as well as with direct shotgun sequence data from the same source DNA.
Comparison of twice‐daily injections of biphasic insulin lispro and basal‐bolus therapy: glycaemic control and quality‐of‐life of insulin‐naïve type 2 diabetic patients
Authors: Masuda H. , Sakamoto M. , Irie J. , Kitaoka A. , Shiono K. , Inoue G. , Atsuda K. , Yamada S. 
Published: May 2008

Objective:  The aim of this study was to evaluate twice‐daily injections of biphasic insulin lispro vs. basal–bolus (BB) therapy with regard to quality‐of‐life (QOL) and glycaemic control in insulin‐naïve type 2 diabetic patients.Methods:  Twenty‐eight patients with type 2 diabetes were randomized to receive either twice‐daily 50/50 premixed insulin lispro (Mix50 group) or BB (NPH insulin at bedtime and preprandial insulin lispro) therapy (BB group) for 12 weeks. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C), 1,5‐anhydroglucitol (1,5‐AG), blood plasma glucose level, body mass index (BMI), daily total insulin dosage and insulin therapy–related QOL (ITR‐QOL) were studied.Results:  ITR‐QOL was significantly better in the Mix50 than in the BB group (103.1 ± 9.8 vs. 90.6 ± 19.4; p < 0.05). HbA1c improved in both groups (from 11.1 ± 2.1 to 6.9 ± 1.0% with Mix50 vs. from 11.0 ± 2.3 to 6.6 ± 0.8% with BB therapy).Conclusion:  These results might suggest that twice‐daily injections of premixed rapid‐acting insulin analogue therapy could achieve good glycaemic control and better QOL compared with BB therapy in insulin‐naïve type 2 diabetes.
Increase in high molecular weight adiponectin by bariatric surgery‐induced weight loss
Authors: Linscheid P. , Christ‐Crain M. , Stoeckli R. , Reusch C. E. , Lutz T. A. , Müller B. , Keller U. 
Published: May 2008

Aim:  To determine the changes in adiponectin multimers upon marked weight loss.Methods:  Plasma samples were obtained preoperatively and 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after surgery from 12 obese subjects undergoing weight loss–inducing bariatric surgery. Seven non‐operated obese subjects served as controls. Plasma levels of adiponectin multimers were determined by protease digestion and Enzyme‐Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) detection. In addition, adiponectin multimers were assessed by western blotting.Results:  In patients with weight loss after surgery but not in controls, total adiponectin and high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin steadily increased during the observation period. Twenty‐four months after surgery, the increase in total and HMW adiponectin was 2.2 ± 0.46 and 1.4 ± 0.3 μg/ml, respectively. In contrast, plasma concentrations of middle and low molecular weight adiponectin remained unchanged.Conclusions:  The increase in plasma adiponectin levels observed 24 months after bariatric surgery depended on continuous weight loss and was completely attributable to the HMW complex.
Production of polyhydroxybutyrate in switchgrass, a value‐added co‐product in an important lignocellulosic biomass crop
Authors: Somleva Maria N. , Snell Kristi D. , Beaulieu Julie J. , Peoples Oliver P. , Garrison Bradley R. , Patterson Nii A. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryPolyhydroxyalkanoate bio‐based plastics made from renewable resources can reduce petroleum consumption and decrease plastic waste disposal issues as they are inherently biodegradable in soil, compost and marine environments. In this paper, the successful engineering of the biomass crop switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) for the synthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is reported. Polymer production was monitored in more than 400 primary transformants grown under in vitro and glasshouse conditions. Plants containing up to 3.72% dry weight of PHB in leaf tissues and 1.23% dry weight of PHB in whole tillers were obtained. Results from the analysis of the polymer distribution at the cellular and whole plant levels are presented, and target areas for the improvement of PHB production are highlighted. Polymer accumulation was also analysed in the T1 generation obtained from controlled crosses of transgenic plants. This study presents the first successful expression of a functional multigene pathway in switchgrass, and demonstrates that this high‐yielding biomass crop is amenable to the complex metabolic engineering strategies necessary to produce high‐value biomaterials with lignocellulose‐derived biofuels.
Down‐regulated expression of plant‐specific glycoepitopes in alfalfa
Authors: Sourrouille Christophe , Marquet‐Blouin Estelle , D’Aoust Marc‐André , Kiefer‐Meyer Marie‐Christine , Seveno Martial , Pagny‐Salehabadi Sophie , Bardor Muriel , Durambur Gaelle , Lerouge Patrice , Vezina Louis , Gomord Véronique 
Published: May 2008

SummaryCompared with other plant expression systems used for pharmaceutical protein production, alfalfa offers the advantage of very homogeneous N‐glycosylation. Therefore, this plant was selected for further attempts at glycoengineering. Two main approaches were developed in order to humanize N‐glycosylation in alfalfa. The first was a knock‐down of two plant‐specific N‐glycan maturation enzymes, β1,2‐xylosyltransferase and α1,3‐fucosyltransferases, using sense, antisense and RNA interference strategies. In a second approach, with the ultimate goal of rebuilding the whole human sialylation pathway, human β1,4‐galactosyltransferase was expressed in alfalfa in a native form or in fusion with a targeting domain from N‐acetylglucosaminyltransferase I, a glycosyltransferase located in the early Golgi apparatus in Nicotiana tabacum. Both knock‐down and knock‐in strategies strongly, but not completely, inhibited the biosynthesis of α1,3‐fucose‐ and β1,2‐xylose‐containing glycoepitopes in transgenic alfalfa. However, recombinant human β1,4‐galactosyltransferase activity in transgenic alfalfa completely prevented the accumulation of the Lewis a glycoepitope on complex N‐glycans.
Epidemiology of Fixed Unilateral Headaches
Authors: Leone M , Cecchini AP , Mea E , Tulio V , Bussone G 
Published: May 2008

A fixed location unilateral headache suggests involvement of a precise nervous structure, and neuroimaging investigations are essential to seek to identify it. Nevertheless, side-locked primary headaches also occur, although they are rare. Side-locked primary headaches are more frequently found in the group of the short-lasting (≤ 4 hours) headaches but long-lasting headache forms may also present with the pain always on the same side, including migraine, tension-type headache, new daily persistent headache and cervicogenic headache. Future studies should address the issue whether patients with side-locked headache form differ from those with non-side-locked form both in terms of natural history and biological markers. Among 63 consecutive chronic cluster headache patients seen by us from 1999 to 2007, 32 (51±) had side shift. We also found that the duration of the chronic condition was significantly longer in those with side shift than those without. The high frequency of side shift in chronic cluster headache should be considered when proposing surgical treatment for severe intractable forms of the disease.
Permeability of continental crust influenced by internal and external forcing
Authors: ROJSTACZER S. A. , INGEBRITSEN S. E. , HAYBA D. O. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThe permeability of continental crust is so highly variable that it is often considered to defy systematic characterization. However, despite this variability, some order has been gleaned from globally compiled data. What accounts for the apparent coherence of mean permeability in the continental crust (and permeability–depth relations) on a very large scale? Here we argue that large‐scale crustal permeability adjusts to accommodate rates of internal and external forcing. In the deeper crust, internal forcing – fluxes induced by metamorphism, magmatism, and mantle degassing – is dominant, whereas in the shallow crust, external forcing – the vigor of the hydrologic cycle – is a primary control. Crustal petrologists have long recognized the likelihood of a causal relation between fluid flux and permeability in the deep, ductile crust, where fluid pressures are typically near‐lithostatic. It is less obvious that such a relation should pertain in the relatively cool, brittle upper crust, where near‐hydrostatic fluid pressures are the norm. We use first‐order calculations and numerical modeling to explore the hypothesis that upper‐crustal permeability is influenced by the magnitude of external fluid sources, much as lower‐crustal permeability is influenced by the magnitude of internal fluid sources. We compare model‐generated permeability structures with various observations of crustal permeability.
Adrenomedullin protects neurons against oxygen glucose deprivation stress in an autocrine and paracrine manner
Authors: Tixier Emmanuelle , Leconte Claire , Touzani Omar , Roussel Simon , Petit Edwige , Bernaudin Myriam 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThe understanding of mechanisms involved in ischaemic brain tolerance may provide new therapeutical targets for stroke. In vivo genomic studies revealed an up‐regulation of adrenomedullin expression by hypoxic pre‐conditioning. Furthermore, adrenomedullin reduced ischaemia‐induced brain damage in rodents. However, whether adrenomedullin is involved in hypoxic pre‐conditioning‐induced tolerance and whether adrenomedullin protects directly neurons against ischaemia remain unknown. Using a neuronal model of hypoxic pre‐conditioning and oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD), we showed that 0.1% or 0.5% of O2 pre‐conditioning reduced the OGD‐induced neuronal death, whereas 1% or 2% of O2 pre‐treatment did not induce neuroprotection. Adrenomedullin expression increased following the hypoxic period, and following OGD only in pre‐conditioned (0.1% or 0.5% of O2) neurons. Adrenomedullin pre‐treatment and post‐treatment reduced the OGD‐induced neuronal death, partly through PI3kinase‐dependent pathway. However, adrenomedullin antagonism during hypoxic pre‐conditioning failed to inhibit the neuroprotection whereas adrenomedullin antagonism following OGD abolished the hypoxic pre‐conditioning‐induced neuroprotection. Finally, we showed that adrenomedullin is involved in neuroprotection induced by endothelial cells and microglia. In contrast, neuroprotection induced by astrocytes occurred through adrenomedullin‐independent mechanisms. Altogether, our results suggest that adrenomedullin is an effector of the hypoxic pre‐conditioning‐induced neuronal tolerance and a potent autocrine and paracrine neuroprotective factor during cerebral ischaemia.
Productivity Impacts of Veil Nets on UK Crangon Vessels
Authors: Innes James , Pascoe Sean 
Published: May 2008

AbstractAs with many shrimp fisheries, the North Sea brown shrimp (Crangon crangon) fishery has been characterised by by‐catch and discarding of juvenile fish species that are of value to other fleet segments. To offset this externality, the mandatory use of veil nets or separator panels was introduced in 2003 for all vessels using an aggregate beam length of more than 8 m. Sea trials prior to this date suggested that retained catch might be reduced by between 8% and 35%, depending on the area and season. These studies, however, do not consider the behavioural response by fishers to reduce this impact. In this study, the actual impact of the restrictions on the productivity of UK Crangon vessels was estimated using a production frontier approach. The ex post analysis suggests that a productivity decline of around 14% has been experienced by UK vessels adopting this gear.
Sympatric speciation in Yponomeuta: no evidence for host plant fidelity
Authors: Bakker Aletta C. , Roessingh Peter , Menken Steph B.J. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractAccording to sympatric speciation theory, adaptation to different host plants is expected to pleiotropically lead to assortative mating, an important factor in the reduction of gene flow between the diverging subpopulations. This scenario predicts mating on and oviposition preference for the respective hosts in both the diverging subpopulations and recently originated species. Here, we test both predictions in the oligophagous Yponomeuta padellus (L.) and the monophagous Yponomeuta cagnagellus (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), two closely related small ermine moth species from the western European clade of Yponomeuta for which speciation in sympatry has been proposed. Mating location and adult host acceptance were evaluated under both semi‐field (in a large outdoor cage with a choice of host and non‐host plants) and field conditions. In the semi‐field experiment, only Y. cagnagellus showed some preference for mating on its own host (16% of all mating pairs) over non‐host plants (3% of all mating pairs). However, in both species, more than 80% of the mating pairs were not formed on a plant but instead on the cage itself. Further examination of the mating site of Y. cagnagellus in the field revealed no preference for host plants over non‐host plants in the two consecutive years of observation. Yponomeuta padellus females, collected from and reared on Prunus spinosa L. (Rosaceae), showed an oviposition preference for the alternative host Crataegus monogyna Jacq. (Rosaceae) in the semi‐field experiment. We thus found no evidence that host‐plant fidelity (in terms of mating site) has been the driving force in the speciation process of these Yponomeuta species, nor did we find evidence of host race formation in the tested population of the oligophagous Y. padellus.
Parasitoid load affects plant fitness in a tritrophic system
Authors: Smallegange Renate C. , Van Loon Joop J.A. , Blatt Suzanne E. , Harvey Jeff A. , Dicke Marcel 
Published: May 2008

AbstractPlants attacked by herbivorous insects emit volatile compounds that attract predators or parasitoids of the herbivores. Plant fitness increases when these herbivorous insects are parasitized by solitary parasitoids, but whether gregarious koinobiont parasitoids also confer a benefit to plant fitness has been disputed. We investigated the relationship between parasitoid load of the gregarious Cotesia glomerata (L.) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), food consumption by larvae of their host Pieris brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), and seed production in a host plant, Brassica nigra L. (Brassicaceae), in a greenhouse experiment. Plants damaged by caterpillars containing single parasitoid broods produced a similar amount of seeds as undamaged control plants and produced significantly more seeds than plants with unparasitized caterpillars feeding on them. Increasing the parasitoid load to levels likely resulting from superparasitization, feeding by parasitized caterpillars was significantly negatively correlated with plant seed production. Higher parasitoid brood sizes were negatively correlated with pupal weight of Cotesia glomerata, revealing scramble competition leading to a fitness trade‐off for the parasitoid. Our results suggest that in this tritrophic system plant fitness is higher when the gregarious parasitoid deposits a single brood into its herbivorous host. A prediction following from these results is that plants benefit from recruiting parasitoids when superparasitization is prevented. This is supported by our previous results on down‐regulation of synomone production when Brassica oleracea was fed on by parasitized caterpillars of P. brassicae. We conclude that variable parasitoid loads in gregarious koinobiont parasitoids largely explain existing controversies about the putative benefit of recruiting these parasitoids for plant reproduction.
Attractiveness of binary blends of floral odorant compounds to moths in Florida, USA
Authors: Meagher Robert L. , Landolt Peter J. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractEvaluation of combinations of flower odor compounds in the field revealed several compounds that were attractive or co‐attractive with phenylacetaldehyde (PAA) to pest noctuid and pyralid moths. A number of moth species responded positively to the key floral odorant PAA. The floral odorants cis‐jasmone, linalool, benzyl acetate, limonene, β‐myrcene, methyl salicylate, and methyl 2‐methoxybenzoate all increased captures of some moths when added to traps with PAA, but responses varied among the moth species that were trapped. For example, soybean looper moths, Pseudoplusia includens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), most strongly responded to PAA + β‐myrcene, but benzyl acetate, cis‐jasmone, and limonene also increased captures of these moths when these compounds were used in traps along with PAA. Velvetbean caterpillar moths, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), responded most strongly to PAA + linalool, but β‐myrcene, cis‐jasmone, and limonene also increased captures of these moths in traps over numbers trapped with PAA. Positive responses to floral compound blends were also noted for golden looper [Argyrogramma verruca (F.)], grass looper [Mocis disseverans (Walker)], tobacco budworm [Heliothis virescens (F.)], southern armyworm [Spodoptera eridania (Stoll) (all Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)], and melonworm [Diaphania hyalinata (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)]. Overall, PAA + β‐myrcene appeared to be the strongest floral compound combination for pest species trapped, compared to PAA or other compound blends.
Development of methods to evaluate susceptibility of soybean aphid to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam at lethal and sublethal concentrations
Authors: Magalhaes Leonardo C. , Hunt Thomas E. , Siegfried Blair D. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThe soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Homoptera: Aphididae), is a recent introduction (2000) from Asia and has become a serious soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. (Fabaceae)] pest in North America. Seed treatments using the neonicotinoid insecticides, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, have been suggested as a method of control, and the use of these insecticides is becoming widespread. As a consequence, there is increased potential to select for resistance to these compounds. In the case of soybean aphids, baseline susceptibility to neonicotinoid insecticides and standardized methods for bioassay are lacking. A bioassay technique that uses excised soybean leaves immersed in an insecticide solution was developed to determine systemic insecticidal activity at lethal and sublethal concentrations. Mortality and population growth inhibition were evaluated after 7 days. Life table parameters were calculated by exposing 1‐day‐old aphids to three concentrations of thiamethoxam. Aphid mortality and nymph production were recorded daily until the entire cohort collapsed. Soybean aphid age‐specific survivorship, fecundity, net reproductive rate, longevity, intrinsic rate of increase, discrete daily growth rate, and life expectancy were all significantly reduced at higher thiamethoxam concentrations. Soybean aphid response to both insecticides was similar, and both compounds were very toxic with LC50s of 31.3 and 16.9 ng ml−1 and EC50s of 6.3 and 5.4 ng ml−1 for imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, respectively. These results indicate that the methods developed in this study had negligible impact on the life table estimates measured and can be used to develop a baseline of susceptibility as a benchmark for subsequent resistance monitoring. Given the rapid and widespread adoption of this new insecticide class, vigilant monitoring for changes in susceptibility will be essential to its long‐term sustainability.