bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Burial conditions affect light responses ofDatura feroxseeds
Authors: Botto Javier F. , Sánchez Rodolfo A. , Casal Jorge J. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe dormancy pattern of buried seeds ofDatura feroxwas studied by testing germination responses to red light (R), far-red light (FR) or darkness after exhumation at regular time intervals. The seeds were deeply dormant at the time of burial in winter. After three months (spring), exhumed seeds began to respond to an R pulse. Summer temperatures did not induce secondary dormancy. During winter of the second year, seed germination after an R pulse increased further; however, germination after an FR pulse or in darkness also increased and reached values close to R. Changes in seed germination after an R or an FR pulse and in darkness were studied in a factorial design experiment, combining different depths of burial (0.5, 5 and 10 cm), presence of vegetation (with or without vegetation canopies), and date of exhumation (4 or 7 months after burial). The seeds placed at 0.5 cm depth did not germinate in any light treatment. A very high sensitivity to light, indicated by the promotion of germination by an FR pulse compared to darkness, was exhibited only in seeds buried at 5 cm in a soil without vegetation. A typical R/FR reversible response was observed in seeds exhumed at 5 and 10 cm in almost all situations of burial; except in a soil without vegetation, at 10 cm depth, in late summer when even dark controls showed high germination. It is concluded that buried seeds ofD. feroxare released from dormancy in two steps, the first step during the spring of the first year and the second step during the subsequent winter. This process is not obviously controlled by summer temperatures. The acquisition of a very high sensitivity to light depends on vegetation cover and depth of burial, and thus it is predicted to be affected by agricultural practices.
Haemoglobin expression in germinating barley
Authors: Duff Stephen M.G. , Guy Phillip A. , Nie Xianzhou , Durnin Douglas C. , Hill Robert D. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractPolyclonal antibodies to purified recombinant barley haemoglobin (Hb) have been raised in rabbits and used to investigate its expression in monocotyledonous plants. Very little or no Hb expression was observed in dry barley seeds but germination resulted in the expression of Hb which peaked at 2–3 days after imbibition. Hb expression was also observed in maize, wheat, wild oat andEchinochloa crus-galliseeds during germination. Dissection of tissues from the barley seedlings showed that most of the haemoglobin was expressed in the root and seed coat (aleurone layer), with very little in the coleoptile. Imbibition of half-seeds or excised embryos resulted in the expression of haemoglobin. ATP measurements of barley embryos showed that ATP levels quickly increase after imbibition. α-Amylase activity was also determined in embryos to correlate Hb expression with a well-characterized germination response. The results demonstrate that Hb expression is a normal consequence of germination.
Chlorophyll fluorescence of Brassica oleracea seeds as a non-destructive marker for seed maturity and seed performance
Authors: Jalink Henk , van der Schoor Rob , Frandas Angela , van Pijlen Jaap G. , Bino Raoul J. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractA method is proposed for assessing the maturity and quality of seeds, based on measuring the amount of chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) signals of intact seeds. In general, the amount of chlorophyll is directly related to the degreening process and thus the maturity. Cabbage seeds (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) were separated into three subsamples based on the CF signals of the individual intact seeds. Seeds with the lowest amount of CF had the highest percentage of germination and normal seedlings. In a controlled deterioration test, the subsample with the lowest CF signal had slightly lower germination and normal seedling percentages than the non-treated seeds, whereas the seeds with the highest CF signals had much lower germination and normal seedling percentages. Advantages of the CF method for determining seed maturity and seed quality are its high sensitivity and fully non-destructive nature and the high speed at which the fluorescence is generated and measured.
Germination behaviour of Italian ryegrass in flooding pampa rangelands
Authors: Rodriguez Adriana M. , Jacobo Elizabeth J. , Deregibus V. Alejandro 
Published: September 2008

AbstractLolium multiflorum Lam., a winter annual grass species originating from the Mediterranean region, has become widespread in native grasslands of the flooding pampa (Argentina). The dynamics of dormancy release of L. multiflorum seeds in simulated natural conditions was studied. Dormancy was overcome by exposing imbibed seeds to mild cool temperatures (15°C or below) for brief periods (pre-chilling). After-ripening progressively released dormancy, at a higher rate in seeds that remained under the canopy (30/20°C) than those that were dry-stored (20°C). Germination was promoted by red light only when the after-ripening requirement was partially fulfilled or after pre-chilling treatment. These results provide useful knowledge for designing grazing strategies aimed at obtaining well-developed ryegrass canopy of high forage quality during winter and spring.
Price response of herd off-take under market liberalization in a developing cattle sector: panel analysis applied to Kenya's ranching
Authors: NYARIKI DICKSON M. 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACTThe influence of price, in view of macro-economic policy change and a set of other factors, on herd off-take rates from ranches in Kenya over a period of 17 years was assessed. An AR(1) equation, based on Nerlove's classical dynamic supply model, was derived and fitted to panel data using the Cochrane–Orcutt procedure. Pooling of data was done to circumvent data insufficiency, thereby improving the statistical power of the analysis. Results indicate that price change has had a significant effect on ranch herd off-take, and climatic factors also account for long-run off-take levels.
Impact of assembly, testing and launch operations on the airborne bacterial diversity within a spacecraft assembly facility clean-room
Authors: Newcombe David A. , La Duc Myron T. , Vaishampayan Parag , Venkateswaran Kasthuri 
Published: September 2008

AbstractIn an effort to minimize the probability of forward contamination of pristine extraterrestrial environments, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration requires that all US robotic spacecraft undergo assembly, testing and launch operations (ATLO) in controlled clean-room environments. This study examines the impact of ATLO activity on the microbial diversity and overall bioburden contained within the air of the clean-room facility in which the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) underwent final preparations for launch. Air samples were collected from several facility locations and traditional culture-based and molecular methodologies were used to measure microbial burden and diversity. Surprisingly, the greatest estimates of airborne bioburden, as derived from ATP content and cultivation assays, were observed prior to the commencement of MER ATLO activities. Furthermore, airborne microbial diversity gradually declined from the initiation of ATLO on through to launch. Proteobacterial sequences were common in 16S rDNA clone libraries. Conspicuously absent were members of the Firmicutes phylum, which includes the genusBacillus. In previous studies, species of this genus were repeatedly isolated from the surfaces of spacecraft and clean-room assembly facilities. Increased cleaning and maintenance initiated immediately prior to the start of ATLO activity could explain the observed declines in both airborne bioburden and microbial diversity.
Grapevines (Vitis spp.) as Components of the *North American Prairie Biomass Economy:** High-Value Phytochemicals, Platform Chemicals, and Bioenergy
Authors: Rayne Sierra 
Published: September 2008

AbstractGrapevines (Vitis spp.) offer the potential for contributing to the North American prairie biomass based economy. While these regions are too cold for the traditional V. vinifera wine grape species, they are well-suited for more cold hardy varietals. The grapevines provide opportunities for high-value phytochemicals and platform chemicals (primarily stilbene based) as well as bioenergy production from resulting lignocellulosic residues. In a biorefinery concept, the 'front-end' high-value phytochemicals could help subsidize the lower-value bioenergy production.
MonkeySNP: a web portal for non-human primate single nucleotide polymorphisms
Authors: Khouangsathiene Samone , Pearson Carlo , Street Summer , Ferguson Betsy , Dubay Christopher 
Published: September 2008

Abstract
Summary: MonkeySNP is a web-based resource created by the Genetic Resource and Informatics Program at the Oregon National Primate Research Center to facilitate access to non-human primate (NHP) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) data. MonkeySNP is a mirror of the NCBI dbSNP database and contains additional NHP subpopulation genotype data and visual genotype displays to support SNP review and selection.
Availability: http://monkeysnp.ohsu.edu/snp/
Contact: dubayc@ohsu.edu
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A toolkit for capturing and sharing FuGE experiments
Authors: Belhajjame Khalid , Jones Andrew R. , Paton Norman W. 
Published: September 2008

Abstract
Motivation: The Functional Genomics Experiment Object Model (FuGE) supports modelling of experimental processes either directly or through extensions that specialize FuGE for use in specific contexts. FuGE applications commonly include components that capture, store and search experiment descriptions, where the requirements of different applications have much in common.
Results: We describe a toolkit that supports data capture, storage and web-based search of FuGE experiment models; the toolkit can be used directly on FuGE compliant models or configured for use with FuGE extensions. The toolkit is illustrated using a FuGE extension standardized by the proteomics standards initiative, namely GelML.
Availability: The toolkit and a demonstration are available at http://code.google.com/p/fugetoolkit
Contact: khalid.belhajjame@manchester.ac.uk
Sediment-bound heavy metals as indicators of human influence and biological risk in coastal water bodies
Authors: Birch Gavin F. , Olmos Marco A. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBirch, G. F., and Olmos, M. A. 2008. Sediment-bound heavy metals as indicators of human influence and biological risk in coastal water bodies. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1407–1413. Currently, many institutions are conducting or planning large, regional-scale ecosystem assessments of estuarine health. A full, integrated assessment of these environments requires a large suite of biological, physical, and chemical indicators, including sedimentary chemistry, ecotoxicology, benthic community structure, and bioaccumulation. This commitment is beyond the capacity of most organizations, and a simpler approach is required to accommodate limited financial resources. A case is made for the use of sedimentary heavy metals as an easy and inexpensive indicator. The advantages are that sediments identify the “pristine” condition and give baseline information against which future management strategies may be benchmarked, and that they differentiate solely human-induced change from natural variation. Sediment indicators in depositional environments are also less dynamic than those associated with water and biota. Our objective is to demonstrate that sediment-bound heavy metals data provide the spatial extent and magnitude of chemical change, as well as the risk of biological stress attributable to contamination in estuarine ecosystems. An assessment of this scheme involving seven New South Wales (Australia) estuaries suggests that sedimentary heavy-metal indicators used in a weight-of-evidence approach, with data collected during the recent Australian National Land and Water Resources Audit, enhances estuarine condition assessment.
Improving Hospital Preparedness for Radiological Terrorism: Perspectives From Emergency Department Physicians and Nurses
Authors: Becker Steven M. , Middleton Sarah A. 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACTBackground: Hospital emergency department (ED) clinicians will play a crucial role in responding to any terrorist incident involving radioactive materials. To date, however, there has been a paucity of research focusing specifically on ED clinicians’ perspectives regarding this threat.Methods: At the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a series of 10 focus groups (total participants, 77) with ED physicians and nurses at hospitals in 3 US regions. Participants considered a hypothetical “dirty bomb” scenario and discussed their perceptions, concerns, information needs, preferred information sources, and views of current guidance and informational materials.Results: Study participants consistently expressed the view that neither EDs nor hospital facilities are sufficiently prepared for a terrorist event involving radioactive materials. Key clinician concerns included the possibility of the hospital being overwhelmed, safety of loved ones, potential staffing problems, readiness problems, and contamination and self-protection. Participants also expressed a need for additional information, strongly disagreed with aspects of current response guidance, and in some cases indicated they would not carry out current protocols.Conclusions: This study is the first to examine the views, perceptions, and information needs of hospital ED clinicians regarding radiological terrorism. As such, the findings may be useful in informing current and future efforts to improve hospital preparedness. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2008;2:174–184)
When in doubt, chimpanzees rely on estimates of past reward amounts
Authors: Beran Michael J , Evans Theodore A , Harris Emily H 
Published: September 2008

Summary
Many animals can repeatedly judge the larger of two sets of food items. However, it remains unclear as to what information might accrue regarding the relative rates of return from these repeated responses. Information about overall rates of return is, in fact, unnecessary to perform well at the task itself. However, if an uncertain situation arose, such as when the quantity in one set was unknown, that information would be useful in determining whether to select a known quantity or an unknown quantity. We gave chimpanzees this test. First, they made multiple judgements between two visible food sets that varied in the number of items across trials. Then, they were faced with the same combinations of set sizes, but only one set was revealed while the other remained unknown. Rather than using a specific quantity as a threshold for choosing the known or the unknown set, the chimpanzees' choice of the unknown set varied in relation to the rate of return from responses in the first phase (when both sets were known). This indicated that the chimpanzees' decisions in the face of uncertainty were guided by a sense of how well they were rewarded overall during the session.
MATERNALLY EXPRESSED PAB C-TERMINAL, a Novel Imprinted Gene inArabidopsis, Encodes the Conserved C-Terminal Domain of Polyadenylate Binding Proteins
Authors: Tiwari Sushma , Schulz Reiner , Ikeda Yoko , Dytham Lindsay , Bravo Jaime , Mathers Lucille , Spielman Melissa , Guzmán Plinio , Oakey Rebecca J. , Kinoshita Tetsu , Scott Rod J. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractParental imprinting is important for seed development, but few imprinted genes have been identified in plants. The four known imprinted genes in Arabidopsis thaliana encode transcriptional regulators. Here, we describe a novel imprinted gene, MATERNALLY EXPRESSED PAB C-TERMINAL (MPC), which encodes the C-terminal domain of poly(A) binding proteins (PABPs). PABPs play roles in mRNA stability and translation. MPC interacts with proteins that also interact with the C-terminal domain of typical PABPs, suggesting that MPC may regulate translation by modulating PABP activity. In the endosperm, MPC is expressed only from the maternal allele. Reduction of MPC expression affects seed development. In dna methyltransferase1 (met1) mutants, MPC is ectopically expressed, and the paternal allele is active in the endosperm. CGs in the 5′ flanking region and gene body of MPC lose methylation in a met1 background. Both regions are required to confer imprinted reporter expression, suggesting that the gene body contains imprinting control region elements. In Arabidopsis, DEMETER (DME) activates expression of maternal alleles. MPC expression is reduced in flowers and seeds in a dme-4 mutant but only after fertilization in dme-1. We conclude that other factors along with DME promote MPC expression and that DME has indirect effects on imprinted gene expression in endosperm.
Characterization of the steric defense of the HIV‐1 gp41 N‐trimer region
Authors: Eckert Debra M. , Shi Yu , Kim Sunghwan , Welch Brett D. , Kang Eunchai , Poff Emily S. , Kay Michael S. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractDuring viral entry, HIV gp41 adopts a transient conformation called the “prehairpin intermediate” in which a highly conserved therapeutic target, the N‐trimer, is exposed. Despite extensive discovery efforts, potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies that target the N‐trimer are elusive. We previously demonstrated the N‐trimer is protected by a steric block that prevents large proteins, such as antibodies, from accessing it. Here we further characterize the steric block and identify its source. To study the N‐trimer steric accessibility, we produced two sets of C‐peptide inhibitors (a potent inhibitor targeting the N‐trimer) fused to cargo proteins of increasing size facing either the virus or cell side of the prehairpin intermediate. Both bulky inhibitor sets show a steric block, but the effect is more pronounced with virus‐side cargo. Additionally, both sets maintain their potencies in a modified entry assay that removes possible sources of target cell steric hindrance. These results implicate a viral source, likely gp120, as the primary component of the steric block. In addition, we studied the steric accessibility of the “pocket” region of the N‐trimer, a highly attractive drug and vaccine target. We demonstrated a pocket‐specific antibody, D5, is more potent as an scFv than as a full‐length IgG, suggesting the N‐trimer steric restriction extends to the pocket. This characterization will facilitate the design of sterically restricted antigens that mimic the steric environment of the N‐trimer in the prehairpin intermediate and are capable of inducing potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies that circumvent the N‐trimer steric block.
Ethnic variation in lower oesophageal sphincter pressure and length
Authors: VEGA K. J. , LANGFORD‐LEGG T. , JAMAL M. M. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryBackground  Oesophageal manometry (OM) is used to diagnose oesophageal motor disorders. Normal values of OM among United States ethnic groups are only available for Hispanic Americans (HA).Aim  To obtain normal values of OM in adult African American (AA) volunteers, compare these with those obtained in HA and non‐Hispanic white (nHw) volunteers to determine if ethnic variation in normal oesophageal motor function exists.Methods  Healthy AA, HA and nHw were recruited from the Jacksonville metropolitan area. Ethnicity was self‐reported. Exclusion criteria were symptoms suggestive of oesophageal disease, medication use or concurrent illness affecting OM. All underwent OM using a solid‐state system with wet swallows. Resting lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) pressure and LOS length were measured at mid‐expiration, while per cent peristaltic contractions, distal oesophageal contraction velocity, amplitude and duration were measured after 5 cc water swallows.Results  Fifty‐six AA, 20 HA and 48 nHw were enrolled. All completed OM. AA had significantly higher resting LOS pressure, LOS length and distal oesophageal contraction duration than nHw (P < 0.05).Conclusions  Significant ethnic exist in OM findings between AA and nHw. These underscore the need for ethnic specific reference values for OM to allow for correct diagnosis of oesophageal motor disorders in AA.
Systematic review: primary and secondary prevention of gastrointestinal cancers with antioxidant supplements
Authors: BJELAKOVIC G. , NIKOLOVA D. , SIMONETTI R. G. , GLUUD C. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryBackground  The evidence on whether antioxidant supplements prevent gastrointestinal cancers is contradictory.Aim  To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of antioxidant supplements in preventing gastrointestinal cancers.Methods  Using the Cochrane Collaboration methodology, we reviewed the randomized trials comparing antioxidant supplements with placebo or no intervention on the occurrence of gastrointestinal cancers. We searched electronic databases and reference lists until October, 2007. Our outcome measures were gastrointestinal cancers, overall mortality and adverse events. Outcomes were reported as relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) based on random‐effects and fixed‐effect models meta‐analyses.Results  We identified 20 randomized trials (211 818 participants) assessing beta‐carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium. The trial quality was generally high. The antioxidant supplements were without a significant effect on the occurrence of gastrointestinal cancers (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.83–1.06, I2 = 54.0%). The heterogeneity seemed to be explained by bias risk (low‐bias risk trials RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.96–1.13 compared to high‐bias risk trials RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.43–0.80, test of interaction P < 0.0005) and type of antioxidant supplement (beta‐carotene potentially increasing and selenium potentially decreasing cancer risk). Antioxidant supplements had no significant effect on mortality in a random‐effects model meta‐analysis (RR 1.02, 95% CI 0.97–1.07, I2 = 53.5%) but significantly increased mortality in a fixed‐effect model meta‐analysis (RR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02–1.07).Conclusions  We could not find evidence that the studied antioxidant supplements prevented gastrointestinal cancers. On the contrary, they seem to increase overall mortality.