bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Immunohistochemical analysis of coeliac mucosa following ingestion of oats
Authors: Srinivasan U , Jones E , Carolan J , Feighery C 
Published: March 2006

Summary
There is now considerable clinical evidence that oats do not activate coeliac disease. Nonetheless, a reluctance to include oats in the gluten-free diet remains. Because gluten-induced damage is accompanied by activation of the gastrointestinal immune system, the purpose of this study was to investigate if similar changes were induced by oats ingestion. Small intestinal histological sections from 10 patients who ingested 50 g of oats daily for 3 months were investigated for possible evidence of immune activation. Tissue obtained before and after oats challenge was stained with a series of antibodies directed against the following molecules: human leucocyte antigen D-related (HLA-DR), Ki-67, CD25, CD54 [intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1)] and mast cell tryptase. None of the patients developed clinical or laboratory evidence of adverse effects. The distribution of intestinal HLA-DR expression was not affected by oats ingestion and the crypt epithelium remained unstained. In the pre-oats biopsies, the percentage of Ki-67 positive enterocytes, 29·5 ± 6·9 [95% confidence interval (CI) 13·9–45·0] did not differ significantly from that found in postoats biopsies, 41·2 ± 3·7 (95% CI, 32·8–49·6), P = 0·19, not significant. Furthermore, oats ingestion did not alter the number of CD25 positive and tryptase positive cells. Finally, the distribution and intensity of ICAM-1 staining was unchanged by dietary oats. In summary, detailed immunohistological studies of biopsies from patients ingesting oats for 3 months did not reveal evidence of immune activation. Together with other reported findings, this study strengthens the view that oats can be included safely in the diet of gluten sensitive patients.
Acid hydrolysis of easily dispersed and microaggregate‐derived silt‐ and clay‐sized fractions to isolate resistant soil organic matter
Authors: Plante A. F. , Conant R. T. , Paul E. A. , Paustian K. , Six J. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryThe current paradigm in soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics is that the proportion of biologically resistant SOM will increase when total SOM decreases. Recently, several studies have focused on identifying functional pools of resistant SOM consistent with expected behaviours. Our objective was to combine physical and chemical approaches to isolate and quantify biologically resistant SOM by applying acid hydrolysis treatments to physically isolated silt‐ and clay‐sized soil fractions. Microaggegrate‐derived and easily dispersed silt‐ and clay‐sized fractions were isolated from surface soil samples collected from six long‐term agricultural experiment sites across North America. These fractions were hydrolysed to quantify the non‐hydrolysable fraction, which was hypothesized to represent a functional pool of resistant SOM. Organic C and total N concentrations in the four isolated fractions decreased in the order: native > no‐till > conventional‐till at all sites. Concentrations of non‐hydrolysable C (NHC) and N (NHN) were strongly correlated with initial concentrations, and C hydrolysability was found to be invariant with management treatment. Organic C was less hydrolysable than N, and overall, resistance to acid hydrolysis was greater in the silt‐sized fractions compared with the clay‐sized fractions. The acid hydrolysis results are inconsistent with the current behaviour of increasing recalcitrance with decreasing SOM content: while %NHN was greater in cultivated soils compared with their native analogues, %NHC did not increase with decreasing total organic C concentrations. The analyses revealed an interaction between biochemical and physical protection mechanisms that acts to preserve SOM in fine mineral fractions, but the inconsistency of the pool size with expected behaviour remains to be fully explained.
Large HIV‐specific CD8+ cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte (CTL) clones reduce their overall size but maintain high frequencies of memory CTL following highly active antiretroviral therapy
Authors: Weekes Michael P. , Wills Mark R. , Sissons J. G. Patrick , Carmichael Andrew J. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryCytotoxic T‐lymphocytes (CTL) play an important role in the control of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. Following highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), most studies have demonstrated a decline in the frequency of HIV‐specific CTL. We analysed the effect of HAART on the size, phenotype and function of individual HIV‐ and HCMV‐specific CTL clones, using clonotypic oligonucleotide probing specific for the T‐cell receptor (TCR) β‐chain hypervariable sequence of defined immunodominant CTL clones specific for peptides of HIV or HCMV, and quantified the limiting dilution analysis frequencies of CTL precursors (CTLp) specific for the same viral peptides. We found that the clonal composition of CD8+ T cells specific for HIV gag and env epitopes was highly focused and did not change after HAART. Following HAART, there was progressive contraction of HIV‐specific CD8+ clones, especially in the CD28– CD27– subpopulation – the remaining cells of contracting HIV‐specific clones were predominantly CD28– CD27+ CD45ROhi. We observed maintenance of strong functional HIV‐specific CD8+ T‐cell responses in limiting dilution analysis following HAART, indicating preferential loss of HIV‐specific cells that have reduced cloning efficiency in vitro. Following HAART, we also observed selective expansion of HCMV‐specific CD8+ clones. Most HCMV‐specific CD8+ clones were predominantly CD28– CD27+/– CD45RAhi following HAART. In one subject, a Vβ6.4+ clone specific for HCMV pp65 selectively expanded following HAART, without expansion of two other Vβ6.4+ clones, indicating that individual clonotypes specific for the same peptide can show different kinetics and phenotypes in response to antiretroviral therapy.
Mechanisms of cytotoxicity of eugenol in human osteoblastic cells in vitro
Authors: Ho Y.‐C. , Huang F.‐M. , Chang Y.‐C. 
Published: March 2006

AbstractAim  To evaluate the mechanisms of cytotoxicity of eugenol in human osteoblastic cells in vitro.Methodology  Cytotoxicity and cell proliferation assays were performed to elucidate the toxic effects of eugenol on the human osteoblastic cell line U2OS. Furthermore, the effects of antioxidants catalase (scavenger of H2O2), superoxide dismutase (SOD, an extracellular superoxide free radical scavenger) and N‐acetyl‐L‐cysteine (NAC, a cell‐permeable glutathione precursor) were added to discover the possible mechanisms of eugenol‐induced cytotoxicity. Paired Student's t‐test was applied for the statistical analysis of the results.Results  Eugenol demonstrated a cytotoxic effect to U2OS cells in a dose‐dependent manner (P < 0.05). The 50% inhibition concentration of eugenol was approximately 0.75 mmol L−1. Eugenol also inhibited cell proliferation during a 4‐day culture period (P < 0.05). Addition of NAC extracellularly protected the cells from eugenol‐induced cytotoxicity (P < 0.05). Neither, SOD nor catalase provided any protective effects on eugenol‐induced cytotoxicity (P > 0.05).Conclusions  The levels of eugenol tested inhibited growth and proliferation of U2OS cells. Eugenol has significant potential for periapical toxicity. These inhibitory effects were associated with glutathione levels.
RNase R affects gene expression in stationary phase: regulation of ompA
Authors: Andrade José Marques , Cairrão Fátima , Arraiano Cecília Maria 
Published: March 2006

SummaryIn nature, bacteria remain mostly in the stationary phase of the life cycle. Although mRNA is a major determinant of gene expression, little is known about mRNA decay in the stationary phase. The results presented herein demonstrate that RNase R is induced in stationary phase and is involved in the post‐transcriptional regulation of ompA mRNA. This work is the first report of RNase R activity on a full length mRNA. In the absence of RNase R in a single rnr mutant, higher levels of ompA mRNA are found as a consequence of the stabilization of ompA full transcript. This effect is growth‐phase‐specific and not a growth‐rate‐dependent event. These higher levels of ompA mRNA were correlated with increases in the amounts of OmpA protein. We have also analysed the role of other factors that could affect ompA mRNA stability in stationary phase. RNase E was found to have the most important role, followed by polyadenylation. PNPase also affected the decay of the ompA transcript but RNase II did not seem to contribute much to this degradation process. The participation of RNase R in poly(A)‐dependent pathways of decay in stationary phase of growth is discussed. The results show that RNase R can be a modulator of gene expression in stationary phase cells.
A measure of the within‐chromosome synergistic epistasis for Drosophila viability
Authors: ROSA J. M. , CAMACHO S. , GARCÍA‐DORADO A. 
Published: March 2006

AbstractIn order to detect possible synergistic epistasis for viability in Drosophila melanogaster we assayed the relative viability of chromosomes II in: (i) panmixia, (ii) forced total homozygosity, and (iii) homozygosity for, on the average, half of their loci. As these genotypes were constructed using exactly the same set of chromosomes in the three cases, the design allows us to estimate the inbreeding depression rate at two different inbreeding levels in the absence of purging natural selection. Overall, no consistent synergistic epistasis was found. However, there was a small fraction of chromosomes whose severely deleterious effect when homozygous was almost significantly larger than expected from their viability when homozygous for half of their loci. This suggests occasional but important synergistic epistasis, which might confer evolutionary advantage to recombination in tightly linked genomes. Nevertheless, such epistasis is unlikely to be an evolutionary advantage driving the evolution of sexual anisogamous reproduction, as its contribution to overall viability is small when compared with the two‐fold cost of anisogamy.
Tobacco smoking habits among a cross‐section of rural physicians in China
Authors: Smith Derek R. , Wei Ning , Zhang Yi‐Jie , Wang Rui‐Sheng 
Published: March 2006

AbstractObjective:  To investigate the prevalence and distribution of tobacco smoking among rural Chinese physicians. Design:  A self‐reporting survey adapted from previous international studies. Setting:  A teaching hospital in Hebei Province, China. Subjects:  A complete cross‐section of 361 physicians working in all hospital departments. Results:  The overall response rate was 79.2%, among whom 15.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 12.0–20.4) were current smokers and 1.0% ex‐smokers (95% CI 0.4–3.1). There were no female smokers when stratified by sex, although the prevalence rate among male physicians was 31.9% (95% CI 24.8–40.0). The prevalence of smoking varied widely by hospital department, ranging from zero in the obstetrics and gynaecology department, to 32.6% in the surgical unit. Smoking rates also varied by age, with physicians younger than 25 years having the lowest prevalence (6.3%). Although they only accounted for 7.1% of the entire group by number, the highest smoking prevalence was seen among physicians aged 50–54 years (31.6%). Conclusions:  Although our study suggests that smoking is an important health issue for rural Chinese physicians, the distribution of risk is not uniform. Future preventive measures will, therefore, need to consider the individual situation of physicians who smoke, particularly those in the older age groups.
Utilisation and clinical efficacy of echocardiography in a regional hospital
Authors: McLean Rick , Malek Sharafat , Corish John , Sienkiewicz Garry 
Published: March 2006

AbstractObjective:  To determine utilisation and clinical efficacy of echocardiography in a regional setting. Design:  Consecutive patients referred for echocardiography studied prospectively using a pro‐forma to be completed before and after echocardiography. Setting:  Regional hospital in New South Wales. Participants:  A total of 103 consecutive patients. Main outcome measures:  Utilisation and clinical efficacy of echocardiography. Results:  No significant abnormalities were detected in 41.7% of patients, but unexpected abnormalities were found in 31.1%. For 60% of pretest diagnoses there was a clinically important change in diagnostic certainty following the test and changes to treatment occurred in 30.1% of patients. A total of 19 patients with neurological events underwent echocardiography but none had cardiac thrombus demonstrated although thrombus was demonstrated in additional seven. Conclusions:  Echocardiography appears to be used appropriately in our regional setting, resulting in major changes to diagnostic certainty and leading to alterations to treatments in almost one‐third of patients. Education in relation to the use of echocardiography in patients with neurological events is warranted.
Mental health referral role of rural financial counsellors
Authors: Fuller Jeffrey , Broadbent Jessica 
Published: March 2006

AbstractObjective:  To quantify the proportion of rural financial counsellors’ (RFC) clients requiring social, emotional and stress‐related (SESR) assistance and the referral of these clients to other services. Design:  Survey of all Australian RFCs. Setting:  Rural and remote agricultural locations in Australia. Participants:  Australian RFCs employed over the months of November and December 2004. Main outcome measures:  The proportion of counsellors’ clients who required assistance with SESR problems and the proportion of these who were referred. Counsellors’ usual referral networks, rating of referral difficulty and ranking of strategies to improve referrals. Results:  Counsellors reported that on average 20% of their clients required SESR assistance and half of the counsellors referred more than 75% of these clients. Referrals were mainly to GPs, mental health teams, personal counselling and health and welfare organisations. Almost half (49%) reported that referrals were difficult because of rural clients’ reluctance to acknowledge such problems and use mental health services, as well as the lack of these services. Counsellors were placed in a practical role dilemma when clients raised personal issues that were beyond the counsellors’ role but were linked to the financial reason for presentation. Strategies identified to improve referrals were to network with mental health and personal counsellors in the region, training and a referral guide. Conclusions:  Because RFCs are a first contact for rural people in crisis, they could be brought into a local counselling network. This network could improve the process of referrals and build local mental health system capacity.
Postembryonic epigenesis of Vasa‐positive germ cells from aggregated hemoblasts in the colonial ascidian, Botryllus primigenus
Authors: Sunanaga Takeshi , Saito Yasunori , Kawamura Kazuo 
Published: March 2006

We investigated whether Vasa was a germline‐specific marker in the colonial ascidian Botryllus primigenus, and whether it was inducible epigenetically in the adult life span. We cloned a Botryllus Vasa homologue (BpVas). The deduced open reading frame encoded 687 amino acid residues. It was expressed specifically by germline cells such as the loose cell mass, oogonia and juvenile oocytes in the ovary, and the primordial testis (compact cell mass), spermatogonia and juvenile spermatocytes in the testis. The loose cell mass, the most primitive germline cells, showed an ultrastructure of undifferentiated cells known as hemoblasts. The hemoblasts did not contain electron‐dense materials or a mitochondrial assembly in the cytoplasm. These organelles appeared later in the oogonia and oocytes. When the loose cell mass and developing germ cells were eliminated by extirpating all zooids and buds from the colonies, BpVas transcripts disappeared completely from the vascularized colonies. After 14 days, when the colonies regenerated by vascular budding, BpVas‐positive cells reappeared in some cases, and in 30 day colonies, BpVas‐positive germ cells were observed in all the regenerated colonies. These results show that in B. primigenus, germ cells are inducible de novo from the Vasa‐negative cells even at postembryonic stages.
Clinicopathologic features of patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma who are seropositive for α‐fetoprotein‐L3 and those with combined hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Okuda Hiroaki , Shiratori Keiko , Yamamoto Masakazu , Takasaki Ken , Nakano Masayuki 
Published: March 2006

AbstractBackground:  Some patients who are seropositive for lectin‐reactive α‐fetoprotein (AFP‐L3) have intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). There have been no studies regarding the features of ICC patients seropositive for AFP‐L3. Thus, the purpose of the present paper was to compare the features of ICC patients from the viewpoint of two different tumor markers, AFP‐L3 and carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19‐9.Methods:  The ICC patients who underwent hepatectomy (n = 51) were divided into three groups, and their clinicopathologic features were compared: (i) group A, seropositive for AFP‐L3 ≥ 15%; (ii) group B, seropositive for CA 19‐9 ≥ 37 U/mL; and (iii) group C, seronegative for both AFP‐L3 and CA 19‐9. The features of combined hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma (n = 11) were also studied.Results:  Group A had a higher positivity rate for hepatitis viruses than group B (60%vs 20%, P < 0.05). More patients in group A were misdiagnosed as having hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at surgery (70%vs 5.7%, P < 0.001) who also had chronic liver disease (80%vs 25.7%, P < 0.01) than in group B. Seven, 10 and 11 of the 11 patients with combined hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma were seropositive for AFP‐L3, CA 19‐9 and hepatitis viruses, respectively. Ten were diagnosed as having HCC at surgery and nine had chronic liver disease.Conclusions:  Patients with ICC seropositive for AFP‐L3 and those with combined hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma have features close to HCC. The present study has, for the first time, identified a subgroup of ICC patients, seropositive for AFP‐L3, having features close to HCC that are very different from those of the classical ICC patients seropositive for CA 19‐9.
Hepatitis B core antigen expression pattern reflects the response to anti‐viral treatment
Authors: Uzun Yusuf , Bozkaya Hakan , Erden Esra , Cinar Kubilay , Idilman Ramazan , Yurdaydin Cihan , Uzunalimoglu Ozden 
Published: March 2006

AbstractBackground:  In hepatitis B early antigen (HBeAg)‐negative patients, response predictors to current treatment regimens are not well known. Hepatocyte cell cycle may influence hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) expression, which is a major target for antiviral immune response. The aim of the present paper was to evaluate the role of HBcAg expression in liver tissue and the rate of hepatocyte proliferation in response to antiviral treatment in chronic hepatitis B.Methods:  A total of 33 chronic hepatitis B patients (nine HBeAg positive, 24 HBeAg negative) treated with either lamivudine and interferon combined or lamivudine alone were included. Liver expressions of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and HBcAg were immunohistochemically determined. The HBV‐DNA levels were measured by a hybride capture assay. Complete response was defined as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization and HBV‐DNA negativity.Results:  At the end of treatment, 23 patients (67.7%) were responders (12 of 23 were sustained responders), while 10 (33.3%) were non‐responders. Age, sex, ALT, HBV‐DNA levels, HBeAg status, histological activity, fibrosis scores and PCNA labeling index were similar in responders versus non‐responders at baseline. The number of patients with positive HBcAg staining was lower in responders compared to non‐responders at the end of treatment (17.4% vs 80%, respectively, P < 0.001), although a similar number of sustained responders and non‐responders had positive HBcAg staining.Conclusion:  Absence or a low level of HBcAg expression may predict the end of treatment response to current therapies, especially in HBeAg (–) patients. The PCNA determination does not predict treatment response.
Preliminary study of chemical bile duct embolization to treat hepatolithiasis in rabbits
Authors: Li Fu Yu , Cheng Jing Qiu , Mao Hui , Li Ning , Jiang Li Sheng , He Sheng , Cheng Nan Sheng , Dong Jia Hong 
Published: March 2006

AbstractBackground:  The high recurrence rate of hepatolithiasis is still a problem to be solved. The purpose of the present study was therefore to carry out a preliminary study of the practical value of chemical bile duct embolization (CBDE) to treat hepatolithiasis in rabbits.Methods:  Chemical bile duct embolization was performed with phenol or absolute ethanol along with N‐butyl‐cyanoacrylate. The feasibility and effectiveness of CBDE for chemical hepatectomy was assessed by investigating histological changes, biochemistry for hydroxyproline and in situ hybridization for collagen I.Results:  Histologically, the mucosal epithelia of the embolized bile ducts were entirely replaced by collagen fibers, thus effectively eradicating chronic proliferative cholangitis. Also of note, the diseased biliary duct lumens were completely filled with N‐butyl‐cyanoacrylate, thus effectively preventing calculus formation. The hepatocytes also disappeared completely in the periphery of the embolized lobe, demonstrating that the desired effects of chemical hepatectomy were achieved through CBDE. In a further comparison of embolizing agents, the phenol‐cyanoacrylate embolized livers and bile ducts had a higher level of hydroxyproline and collagen I than those embolized with ethanol plus cyanoacrylate.Conclusion:  Chemical bile duct embolization is a promising approach to prevent the recurrence of hepatolithiasis and to achieve the effect of chemical hepatectomy.
Passive avoidance training decreases synapse density in the hippocampus of the domestic chick
Authors: Nikolakopoulou A. M. , Davies H. A. , Stewart M. G. 
Published: March 2006

AbstractThe bird hippocampus (Hp), although lacking the cellular lamination of the mammalian Hp, possesses comparable roles in spatial orientation and is implicated in passive avoidance learning. As in rodents it can be divided into dorsal and ventral regions based on immunocytochemical, tracing and electrophysiological studies. To study the effects of passive avoidance learning on synapse morphometry in the Hp, spine and shaft synapse densities of 1‐day‐old domestic chicks were determined in dorsal and ventral Hp of each hemisphere by electron microscopy, 6 and 24 h following training to avoid pecking at a bead coated with a bitter‐tasting substance, methyl anthranilate (MeA). The density of asymmetric spine and shaft synapses in MeA‐trained birds at 6 h post‐training was significantly lower in the dorsal and ventral Hp of the right hemisphere relative to control (untrained) chicks, but by 24 h this difference was absent. A hemispheric asymmetry was apparent in the ventral Hp where the water‐trained group showed enhanced shaft and spine synapse density in the left hemisphere, whilst in the MeA‐trained group only asymmetric shaft synapses follow the same pattern in relation to the right hemisphere. There were no differences in asymmetric shaft synapses in the dorsal Hp at 6 h post‐training, but at 24 h post‐training there was a reduction in the density of shaft synapses in the right hemisphere in MeA compared with control birds. These data are discussed in relation to the pruning effects of stress and learning on synapse density in chick Hp.