bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Factors Affecting European Farmers' Participation in Biodiversity Policies
Authors: Siebert Rosemarie , Toogood Mark , Knierim Andrea 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis article reports the major findings from an interdisciplinary research project that synthesises key insights into farmers' willingness and ability to co‐operate with biodiversity policies. The results of the study are based on an assessment of about 160 publications and research reports from six EU member states and from international comparative research. We developed a conceptual framework to systematically review the existent literature relevant for our purposes. This framework provides a common structure for analysing farmers' perspectives regarding the introduction into farming practices of measures relevant to biodiversity. The analysis is coupled and contrasted with a survey of experts. The results presented above suggest that it is important to view support for practices oriented towards biodiversity protection not in a static sense – as a situation determined by one or several influencing factors – but rather as a process marked by interaction. Financial compensation and incentives function as a necessary, though clearly not sufficient condition in this process.
Muddy Waters: The Political Construction of Deliberative River Basin Governance in Brazil
Authors: ABERS REBECCA NEAERA , KECK MARGARET E. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractOver the last two decades, numerous international conferences and organizations have espoused managing water as an economic good, involving participatory forums in systems of decentralized management at the river‐basin level. In the 1990s, Brazil adopted such a model. More than a simple transfer of power from the national to the local level or from bureaucratic to deliberative decision‐making, however, this process requires multi‐directional power transfers among a variety of policy arenas and actors and among national, state, municipal and river‐basin institutions, as well as a complex — and ongoing — negotiation over the meanings of both water pricing and participation. Focusing on the politics of reform legislation in the state of São Paulo and nationally, the article examines how political‐institutional features of federalism and executive‐legislative relations constrained the passage of reform legislation, and how pro‐reform actors attempted to surmount such institutional limitations with networking strategies and by fostering incremental changes in practices on the ground.
Context Sampling Descriptive Assessment: A Pilot Study of a Further Approach to Functional Assessment1
Authors: Garbutt Nathalie , Furniss Frederick 
Published: October 2006

Background  The ability of descriptive assessments to differentiate functions of problem behaviours might be increased by systematically sampling natural contexts characterized by different establishing operations. This study evaluated the stability of such characteristics, and variability in challenging behaviour, for three school contexts.Method  A 10‐year‐old girl with severe intellectual disability and her carers were repeatedly observed in three situations hypothesized to vary in levels of demand and attention presented by carers.Results  Levels of demand and attention were stable within, and varied systematically between, contexts; however, characteristics of one situation were not as expected. Levels of problem behaviour were reliably higher in one context than in the other two.Conclusions  The demand and attention characteristics of two natural contexts were found to reliably resemble some antecedent conditions typically used in experimental functional analyses. Context sampling may improve the power of descriptive assessments to differentiate functions of problem behaviour.
Disease modifying therapy for AD?1
Authors: Golde Todd E. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractAlzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in industrialized nations. If more effective therapies are not developed that either prevent AD or block progression of the disease in its very early stages, the economic and societal cost of caring for AD patients will be devastating. Only two types of drugs are currently approved for the treatment of AD: inhibitors of acetyl cholinesterase, which symptomatically enhance cognitive state to some degree but are not disease modifying; and the adamantane derivative, memantine. Memantine preferentially blocks excessive NMDA receptor activity without disrupting normal receptor activity and is thought to be a neuroprotective agent that blocks excitotoxicty. Memantine therefore may have a potentially disease modifying effect in multiple neurodegenerative conditions. An improved understanding of the pathogeneses of AD has now led to the identification of numerous therapeutic targets designed to alter amyloid β protein (Aβ) or tau accumulation. Therapies that alter Aβ and tau through these various targets are likely to have significant disease modifying effects. Many of these targets have been validated in proof of concept studies in preclinical animal models, and some potentially disease modifying therapies targeting Aβ or tau are being tested in the clinic. This review will highlight both the promise of and the obstacles to developing such disease modifying AD therapies.
Alois Alzheimer and Alzheimer's disease: a centennial perspective
Authors: Small David H. , Cappai Roberto 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe year 2006 is the centenary of the famous presentation of Alois Alzheimer which first described the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since this presentation, enormous progress has been made in understanding the biology of AD. The central role of the β‐amyloid protein (Aβ) in the pathogenesis of AD and the relationship between plaque and tangle pathology is now much better understood. In this article, we review the current status of the amyloid hypothesis of AD and its role in the development of future therapy.
Metal limitation of cyanobacterial N2fixation and implications for the Precambrian nitrogen cycle
Authors: ZERKLE A. L. , HOUSE C. H. , COX R. P. , CANFIELD D. E. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTNitrogen fixation is a critical part of the global nitrogen cycle, replacing biologically available reduced nitrogen lost by denitrification. The redox‐sensitive trace metals Fe and Mo are key components of the primary nitrogenase enzyme used by cyanobacteria (and other prokaryotes) to fix atmospheric N2into bioessential compounds. Progressive oxygenation of the Earth's atmosphere has forced changes in the redox state of the oceans through geologic time, from anoxic Fe‐enriched waters in the Archean to partially sulfidic deep waters by the mid‐Proterozoic. This development of ocean redox chemistry during the Precambrian led to fluctuations in Fe and Mo availability that could have significantly impacted the ability of prokaryotes to fix nitrogen. It has been suggested that metal limitation of nitrogen fixation and nitrate assimilation, along with increased rates of denitrification, could have resulted in globally reduced rates of primary production and nitrogen‐starved oceans through much of the Proterozoic. To test the first part of this hypothesis, we grew N2‐fixing cyanobacteria in cultures with metal concentrations reflecting an anoxic Archean ocean (high Fe, low Mo), a sulfidic Proterozoic ocean (low Fe, moderate Mo), and an oxic Phanerozoic ocean (low Fe, high Mo). We measured low rates of cellular N2fixation under [Fe] and [Mo] estimated for the Archean ocean. With decreased [Fe] and higher [Mo] representing sulfidic Proterozoic conditions, N2fixation, growth, and biomass C:N were similar to those observed with metal concentrations of the fully oxygenated oceans that likely developed in the Phanerozoic. Our results raise the possibility that an initial rise in atmospheric oxygen could actually have enhanced nitrogen fixation rates to near modern marine levels, providing that phosphate was available and rising O2levels did not markedly inhibit nitrogenase activity.
Alteration of iron‐rich lacustrine sediments by dissimilatory iron‐reducing bacteria
Authors: CROWE S. A. , ROBERTS J. A. , WEISENER C. G. , FOWLE D. A. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTThe reduction of Fe during bacterial anaerobic respiration in sediments and soils not only causes the degradation of organic matter but also results in changes in mineralogy and the redistribution of many nutrients and trace metals. Understanding trace metal patterns in sedimentary rocks and predicting the fate of contaminants in the environment requires a detailed understanding of the mechanisms through which they are redistributed during Fe reduction. In this work, lacustrine sediments from Lake Matano in Indonesia were incubated in a minimal media with the dissimilatory iron reducing (DIR) bacterium Shewanella putrefaciens 200R. These sediments were reductively dissolved at rates slower than pure synthetic goethite despite the presence of an ‘easily reducible’ component, as defined by selective extractions. DIR of the lacustrine sediments resulted in the substrate‐dependent production of abundant quantities of extracellular polymeric substances. Trace elements, including Ni, Co, P, Si, and As, were released from the sediments with progressive Fe reduction while Cr was sequestered. Much of the initial trace metal mobility can be attributed to the rapid reduction of a Mn‐rich oxyhydroxide phase. The production of organo‐Fe(III) reveals that DIR bacteria can generate significant metal complexation capacity. This work demonstrates that DIR induces the release of many elements associated with Fe‐Mn oxyhydroxides, despite secondary mineralization.
Liver‐type fatty acid binding protein in serum and broncho‐alveolar lavage in a model of acute respiratory failure because of surfactant depletion – a possible marker for lung damage?
Authors: Lachmann R. A. , Werchan S. , Schachtrup C. , Haitsma J. J. , Spener F. , Lachmann B. 
Published: October 2006

SummaryIntroduction  Liver‐type fatty acid binding proteins (L‐FABP) have been shown to be present in alveolar macrophages and type II pneumocytes of the lung. This study determined levels of L‐FABP in serum and broncho‐alveolar lavage (BAL) during experimental acute respiratory failure (ARF) to evaluate whether this molecule can serve as a marker for lung damage.Methods  Male Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 24) were ventilated and either lung lavaged or lavaged and treated with surfactant, and compared to ventilated, non‐lavaged controls. Blood samples were drawn every hour for 4 h to measure L‐FABP concentrations in serum. At the end of the experiment a BAL was performed to determine L‐FABP levels in BAL fluid. L‐FABP was measured with a sandwich enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays.Results  Serum L‐FABP concentrations rose significantly during the first 2 h of ventilation in all groups compared with baseline values. After 2 h L‐FABP levels were significantly higher in lavaged animals compared with the ventilated controls and to animals treated with surfactant. After 4 h of ventilation, L‐FABP in BAL was significantly higher in lavaged, non‐surfactant treated animals compared with the ventilated controls.Conclusion  In the early phase of experimental ARF serum L‐FABP levels correlate well with the degree of lung injury.
Androgen Treatment and Muscle Strength in Elderly Men: A Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Ottenbacher Kenneth J. , Ottenbacher Margaret E. , Ottenbacher Allison J. , Acha Ana Alfaro , Ostir Glenn V. 
Published: October 2006

OBJECTIVES: To review published, randomized trials examining the effect of androgen treatment on muscle strength in older men.DESIGN: Systematic review using meta‐analysis procedures.SETTING: Computerized and manual searches.PARTICIPANTS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Register were searched for trials. Key words included testosterone, androgen, sarcopenia, muscle loss, aged, aging, elderly, older, geriatric, randomized controlled trials, and controlled clinical trials. Sixty‐five nonoverlapping studies were found. Meta‐analysis methods were used to evaluate the 11 randomized, double‐blind trials.INTERVENTION: Testosterone or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) replacement therapy in healthy men aged 65 and older.MEASUREMENTS: Tests of muscle strength.RESULTS: The studies included 38 statistical comparisons. The mean g‐index (gi) adjusted for sample size was 0.53 (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.21–0.86). Subanalyses revealed larger effects for measures of lower extremity muscle strength (gi=0.63, 95% CI=0.03–1.28) than for upper extremity muscle strength (gi=0.47, 95% CI=0.12–0.84). A larger mean g‐index was found for injected (gi=0.95, 95% CI=0.33–1.58) than topical (gi=0.26, 95% CI=0.08–0.42) or oral (gi=−0.21, 95% CI=−1.40–1.02) administration of testosterone/DHT. Effect sizes were related to study characteristics such as subject attrition and design‐quality ratings. Sensitivity analyses revealed that the elimination of one study reduced the mean g‐index from 0.53 to 0.23.CONCLUSION: The results suggest that testosterone/DHT therapy produced a moderate increase in muscle strength in men participating in 11 randomized trials. One study influenced the mean effect size.
Costs and benefits of host feeding in the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma turkestanica
Authors: Ferracini Chiara , Boivin Guy , Alma Alberto 
Published: October 2006

AbstractFemales of the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma turkestanica Meyer (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) generally host feed after ovipositing on the first egg of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) they encounter. We measured the impact of host feeding on the fecundity and longevity of females, in absence of host or food, and on the fitness of their progeny. We also determined if the frequency of host feeding is influenced by the humidity level at which T. turkestanica females developed. Host feeding increased egg production by 70% but decreased female longevity. This impact of host feeding on the longevity of females is probably due to the allocation of carbohydrates to egg production at the expense of somatic maintenance. Humidity did not influence the occurrence or duration of host feeding. The size of individuals developing in eggs on which females host fed was smaller, indicating that their fitness was affected.
Granulomatous arteritis in cutaneous lesions of Churg–Strauss syndrome
Authors: Chen Ko‐Ron , Sakamoto Michiie , Ikemoto Kumiko , Abe Riichiro , Shimizu Hiroshi 
Published: October 2006

Background:  Although granulomatous arteritis is usually found in extracutaneous Churg–Strauss syndrome (CSS) lesions, the vasculitis in CSS cutaneous lesions typically shows small vessel vasculitis (leukocytoclastic vasculitis) without demonstrating the feature of granulomatous arteritis confirming the proper classification of CSS in the category of granulomatous vasculitis.Methods:  Four deep excisional biopsies were obtained from three untreated CSS patients who presented with livedo reticularis and subcutaneous nodules. Tissue blocks were recut and submitted for hematoxylin and eosin and elastic tissue staining to evaluate the histological features of the affected vessels. Immunostaining for histiocytes, lymphocytes, and neutrophils were performed on serial sections to confirm the cellular infiltration.Results:  In all specimens, subcutaneous granulomatous arteritis was observed. The unique histological feature distinct from other vasculitic disorders is characterized by marked infiltration of histiocytes and multinucleated giant cells in and around the disrupted subcutaneous arterial walls mixed with an eosinophilic infiltrate. In two specimens, granulomatous arteritis was found in the subsequent serial sections, not in the initial sections. The initial section may show extravascular granulomatous inflammation without evidence of vasculitis.Conclusions:  Granulomatous arteritis as identified in the extracutaneous lesions can also be found in subcutaneous CSS lesions presenting with livedo reticularis and/or subcutaneous nodules.
Cross‐species amplification of Lolium microsatellites in Poa ssp
Authors: Kindiger Bryan 
Published: October 2006

AbstractCross‐species amplification of 47 Lolium ssp. microsatellite primers were evaluated across eight Poa species or subspecies. Of the 47 evaluated Lolium simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs examined, 18 generated one or more amplification products. Of these, only two resulted in the identification of Poa ssp. microsatellite motifs, of which only one was complementary to the microsatellite motif identified in Lolium. Though few Poa ssp. microsatellite regions were identified, several of the amplification products were polymorphic within and across the Poa ssp. and could be utilized as markers in Poa ssp. intergeneric hybrid studies. Results of the research suggest the use of Lolium microsatellite derived primers to identify complementary SSR regions in Poa is not an effective approach for the development of microsatellite markers in Poa.
Numerical Aspects on
the Prediction of Stability Boundaries of Two-Phase Natural Circulation Circuits, Considering
Flashing Evaluation
Authors: Zanocco P. , Delmastro D. , Giménez M. 
Published: October 2006

Abstract
In this work, the stability of a two-phase, natural circulation circuit is analyzed, using a specially developed model. This thermohydraulic model results in a set of coupled, nonlinear, first-order partial differential equations, which are solved by means of the up-wind finite difference method, using combinations of explicit and implicit methods for the numerical integration of the different balance equations. An adaptive nodalization scheme is implemented, minimizing the error of the propagation of small perturbations through the discretized volumes and especially the ones having two-phase flow regime. A linearization method is implemented by means of numerical perturbations. Frequency domain calculations are carried out, allowing a rapid visualization of the stability of the linearized system. Two cases are analyzed: a test case, where the code is compared in a wide range of qualities with an analytical model, and an application case, where the model is used to analyze the stability of an integral reactor cooled by natural circulation. The CAREM prototype is taken as a reference. In both cases, the numerical diffusion and integration errors are analyzed in the stability limit prediction by means of a convergence analysis using different nodalization and numerical integration criteria.
ThedpsGene of Symbiotic “CandidatusLegionella jeonii” inAmoeba proteusResponds to Hydrogen Peroxide and Phagocytosis
Authors: Park Miey , Yun Seong Tae , Hwang Sue-Yun , Chun Choong-Ill , Ahn Tae In 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTTo survive in host cells, intracellular pathogens or symbiotic bacteria require protective mechanisms to overcome the oxidative stress generated by phagocytic activities of the host. By genomic library tagging, we cloned adps(stands forDNA-bindingprotein fromstarved cells) gene of the symbiotic “CandidatusLegionella jeonii” organism (called the X bacterium) (dpsX) that grows inAmoeba proteus. The gene encodes a 17-kDa protein (pI 5.19) with 91% homology to Dps and DNA-binding ferritin-like proteins of other organisms. The cloned gene complemented thedpsmutant ofEscherichia coliand conferred resistance to hydrogen peroxide. DpsXproteins purified fromE. colitransformed with thedpsXgene were in oligomeric form, formed a complex with pBlueskript SKII DNA, and protected the DNA from DNase I digestion and H2O2-mediated damage. The expression of thedpsXgene in “CandidatusLegionella jeonii” was enhanced when the host amoeba was treated with 2 mM H2O2and by phagocytic activities of the host cell. These results suggested that the Dps protein has a function protective of the bacterial DNA and that its gene expression responds to oxidative stress generated by phagocytic activities of the host cell. With regard to the fact that invasion ofLegionellasp. into respiratory phagocytic cells causes pneumonia in mammals, further characterization ofdpsXexpression in theLegionellasp. that multiplies in a protozoan host in the natural environment may provide valuable information toward understanding the protective mechanisms of intracellular pathogens.
sbcB15
and Δ
sbcB
Mutations Activate Two Types of RecF Recombination Pathways in
Escherichia coli
Authors: Zahradka Ksenija , Šimić Sanela , Buljubašić Maja , Petranović Mirjana , Đermić Damir , Zahradka Davor 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT

Escherichia coli
cells with mutations in
recBC
genes are defective for the main RecBCD pathway of recombination and have severe reductions in conjugational and transductional recombination, as well as in recombinational repair of double-stranded DNA breaks. This phenotype can be corrected by suppressor mutations in
sbcB
and
sbcC
(
D
) genes, which activate an alternative RecF pathway of recombination. It was previously suggested that
sbcB15
and Δ
sbcB
mutations, both of which inactivate exonuclease I, are equally efficient in suppressing the
recBC
phenotype. In the present work we reexamined the effects of
sbcB15
and Δ
sbcB
mutations on DNA repair after UV and γ irradiation, on conjugational recombination, and on the viability of
recBC
(
sbcC
) cells. We found that the
sbcB15
mutation is a stronger
recBC
suppressor than Δ
sbcB
, suggesting that some unspecified activity of the mutant SbcB15 protein may be favorable for recombination in the RecF pathway. We also showed that the
xonA2
mutation, a member of another class of ExoI mutations, had the same effect on recombination as Δ
sbcB
, suggesting that it is an
sbcB
null mutation. In addition, we demonstrated that recombination in a
recBC sbcB15 sbcC
mutant is less affected by
recF
and
recQ
mutations than recombination in
recBC
Δ
sbcB sbcC
and
recBC xonA2 sbcC
strains is, indicating that SbcB15 alleviates the requirement for the RecFOR complex and RecQ helicase in recombination processes. Our results suggest that two types of
sbcB
-sensitive RecF pathways can be distinguished in
E. coli
, one that is activated by the
sbcB15
mutation and one that is activated by
sbcB
null mutations. Possible roles of SbcB15 in recombination reactions in the RecF pathway are discussed.
Expression of the
trxC
Gene of
Rhodobacter capsulatus
: Response to Cellular Redox Status Is Mediated by the Transcriptional Regulator OxyR
Authors: Zeller Tanja , Li Kuanyu , Klug Gabriele 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT

Despite the importance of thioredoxins in cellular functions, little is known about the regulation of
trx
genes. To understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of the
Rhodobacter capsulatus trxC
gene, the expression of this gene was investigated. We describe OxyR-dependent redox regulation of the
trxC
gene that adjusts the levels of thioredoxins in the cell.
Agr Interference between Clinical
Staphylococcus aureus
Strains in an Insect Model of Virulence
Authors: Fleming Vicki , Feil Ed , Sewell Andrew K. , Day Nicholas , Buckling Angus , Massey Ruth C. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACT

Repression of virulence by
Staphylococcus aureus
strains from different Agr groups has been demonstrated in vitro and is proposed as a means of competitive interference. Here, using the insect
Manduca sexta
, we show for the first time that this interference also occurs in vivo within a mixed population.