bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Acute effect of low‐flux hemodialysis process on the results of the interferon‐gamma‐based QuantiFERON®–TB Gold In‐Tube test in end‐stage renal disease patients
Authors: Hursitoglu M. , Cikrikcioglu M.A. , Tukek T. , Beycan I. , Ahmedova N. , Karacuha S. , Sansal M. , Ozkan O. , Celik V. 
Published: September 2008

Abstract: Background. Screening for latent tuberculosis infection before solid organ transplantation is mandatory, but this is not so easy in uremic patients on hemodialysis (HD) treatment. The newly developed interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ)‐based QuantiFERON®–TB Gold In‐Tube test (QFT‐G) seems to be superior to the other available tests.Objective. To investigate the acute effect of the low‐flux HD process on the results of the QFT‐G assay.Methods. A total of 56 HD patients participated in this prospective study. They were dialyzed under low‐flux HD for at least 1 month before blood sampling for QFT‐G assay. This assay was performed before and after the 4‐h low‐flux HD session.Results. Compared with the pre‐dialysis level, there was an obvious reduction in the IFN‐γ production level (in response to the TB‐antigen cocktails) after the HD process (P=0.00). The pre‐dialysis test result was negative in 21 (37.5%), positive in 33 (58.9%), and indeterminate in 2 (3.6%) patients. One pre‐dialysis negative result changed to positive after the HD process. On the other hand, 7 pre‐dialysis positive and 2 indeterminate results become negative after HD (P=0.012).Conclusion. In order to maintain the sensitivity of QFT‐G assay in chronic renal failure patients on low‐flux HD treatment, it is better to perform the test immediately before (not after) the HD process.
Gross and Microscopic Anatomy of the Pineal Gland in Nasua nasua– Coati (Linnaeus, 1766)
Authors: Favaron P. O. , Mançanares C. A. F. , De Carvalho A. F. , Ambrósio C. E. , Leiser R. , Miglino M. A. 
Published: September 2008

Summary Nasua nasua, coati, is a mammal of the Carnivora order and Procyonidae family. It lives in bands composed of females and young males. The pineal gland or epiphysis of brain is endocrine, producing the melatonin. Its function is the control of the cycle of light environment, characteristic of day and night. For this research, five adult coatis were used, originating from CECRIMPAS‐UNIfeob (Proc. IBAMA 02027.003731/04‐76), Brazil. The animals were killed and perfusion‐fixed in 10% formaldehyde. Pineals were measured and a medium size was found to be 2.3‐mm‐long and 1.3‐mm‐wide. Pineal gland was located in the habenular commissure in the most caudal portion of the third ventricular roof, lying in a dorso‐caudal position from the base to the apex. Pinealocytes were predominantly found in the glandular parenchyma. Distinct and heterogeneous arrangements of these cells throughout the three pineal portions were observed as follows: linear cords at the apex, circular cords at the base of the gland, whereas at the body a transition arrangement was found. Calcareous concretions could be observed in the apex. The pineal gland was classified as subcallosal type [Rec. Méd. Vét.1, 36 (1956)] and as AB type [Prog. Brain Res. 42, 25 (1979); The Pineal Organ, Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer‐Verlag (1981)].
Relationship between Carbon Isotope Discrimination and Mineral Content in Wheat Grown under Three Different Water Regimes
Authors: Zhu L. , Liang Z. S. , Xu X. , Li S. H. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractCarbon isotope discrimination (Δ) has been proposed as an indirect selection criterion for transpiration efficiency and grain yield in wheat. However, because of the high cost for Δ analysis, attempts have been carried out to identify alternative screening criteria. Ash content (ma) has been proposed as an alternative criterion for Δ in wheat and barley. A pot experiment was conducted to analyse the relationship between Δ and ma in flag leaf and grain. Plants of 10 genotypes were cultivated under three different water regimes corresponding to moderate, intermediate and severe drought stress obtained by maintaining soil humidity at 75 %, 55 % and 45 % of the humidity at field capacity, respectively. Δ and ma in flag leaf and grain showed significant differences between the moderate, intermediate and severe drought stress levels. Significant correlations were found among genotypes for Δ and ma in flag leaf under severe drought stress, and for Δ and ma in grain under intermediate and moderate drought stress. In flag leaf at anthesis, Δ was negatively associated to K content and positively to Mg content. At maturity, Δ in grain was negatively correlated with Mg and Ca contents in flag leaf and grain, respectively. These results suggested that these traits may be potentially useful traits, which could be surrogates for Δ.
Exogenous Application of Abscisic Acid Improves Cold Tolerance in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
Authors: Kumar S. , Kaur G. , Nayyar H. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractChickpea suffers cold stress (<10 °C) damage especially during reproductive phase resulting in the abortion of flowers and pods, poor pod set, and reduction in seed yield and seed quality. One of the ways in modifying cold tolerance involves exogenous treatment of the plants with chemicals having established role in cold tolerance. In the present study, the chickpea plants growing under optimum temperature conditions (28/12 °C, as average maximum and minimum temperature) were subjected to cold conditions of the field (10–12/2–4 °C; day/night as average maximum and minimum temperature) at the bud stage. Prior to exposure, these plants were treated exogenously with 10 μm abscisic acid (ABA) and thereafter again after 1 week of exposure. The stress injury measured in terms of increase in electrolyte leakage, decrease in 2,3,5‐triphenyl tetrazolium chloride reduction %, relative leaf water content and chlorophyll content was observed to be significantly mitigated in ABA‐applied plants. A greater pollen viability, pollen germination, flower retention and pod set were noticed in ABA‐treated plants compared with stressed plants. The seed yield showed considerable improvement in the plants treated with ABA relative to the stressed plants that was attributed to the increase in seed weight, greater number of single seeded pods and reduction in number of infertile pods. The oxidative damage measured as thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances was lesser in ABA‐treated plants that was associated with greater activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, ascorbic acid, glutathione and proline in these plants. It was concluded that cold stress effects were partly overcome by ABA treatment because of the improvement in water status of the leaves as well as the reduction in oxidative damage.
Oxidative stress in ecology and evolution: lessons from avian studies
Authors: Costantini David 
Published: September 2008

AbstractAlthough oxidative stress is a central topic in biochemical and medical research, the number of reports on its relevance in life‐history studies of non‐human animals is still low. Information about oxidative stress in wild birds may help describe functional interactions among the components of life‐history traits. Currently available evidence suggests that oxidative stress may impart an important physiological cost on longevity, reproduction, immune response or intense physical activity. Given the gaps in our present knowledge, it is still premature to attempt to draw definitive conclusions and basic questions (e.g. how is oxidative stress generated and how do organisms cope with it?) have yet to be fully explored under natural conditions. Therefore, caution is needed in developing hypotheses or drawing general conclusions until additional data become available to perform more rigorous comparative analyses.
Pan‐oceanic distribution of new highly diverse clades of deep‐sea diplonemids
Authors: Lara Enrique , Moreira David , Vereshchaka Alexander , López‐García Purificación 
Published: September 2008

SummaryMolecular rRNA gene surveys reveal a considerable diversity of microbial eukaryotes in different environments. Even within a single clade, the number of distinct phylotypes retrieved often goes beyond previous expectations. Here, we have used specific 18S rRNA PCR primers to investigate the diversity of diplonemids, a poorly known group of flagellates with only a few described species. We analysed surface and deep‐sea plankton samples from different oceanic regions, including the water‐column in the Marmara Sea. We retrieved a large diversity of diplonemid phylotypes, most of which formed two novel distinct clades without cultured representatives. Although most marine diplonemid phylotypes appeared to be cosmopolitan, they showed a marked stratified distribution through the water column, being very scarce or absent in surface waters. The small and specific diplonemid diversity found in surface samples and the fact that most sequences of uncultured diplonemids found in other studies came from deep‐sea environments suggest that the two major uncultured diplonemid clades group species preferentially inhabit the deep ocean.
Oxygen sensing drives predictable migrations in a microbial community
Authors: Finlay Bland J. , Esteban Genoveva F. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryOxygen sensing is widely practised by aerobic organisms ranging from bacteria to vertebrates, and a dominant oxygen‐sensing mechanism may persist among all aerobes. We traced population migrations of 10 species of the larger aerobic ciliated protozoa living in lake sediment, and in the 15 m water column of Esthwaite Water in the English Lake District (UK). In so doing, we discovered that the character and dynamics of the lake sediment and water column were remarkably predictable in performance over a continuous period of almost 2 years. Increasing warming of the lake sediment, coupled with low oxygen tension, resulted in the emergence of aerobic ciliates out of the sediment and their migration into the water column. And with the annual collapse of thermal stratification in the water column, the whole annual cycle was repeated. In an unusual discovery, we found that particular ciliate species seemed to be ‘linked’ to other (functionally different) ciliate species partners via the ambient oxygen tension. The favoured hypothesis is that all ciliate species in a particular body‐size range seek out a particular, preferred oxygen tension. If that is the case, the ‘cement’ providing the cohesion of the ciliate community might actually be the preferred oxygen tension. The principal aim of our study is to clarify the microbial migration itself, not the response of the different ciliate species to oxygen gradients once they have established themselves in the water column. The latter happens once the organisms have migrated out of the sediment together, driven by the ambient oxygen tension.
Cloaca‐like deformity with faecal incontinence after severe obstetric injury – technique and functional outcome of ano‐vaginal and perineal reconstruction with X‐flaps and sphincteroplasty
Authors: Kaiser A. M. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractObjective  Surgical technique and outcomes report.Summary background data  Three to eight per cent of vaginal deliveries are complicated by third‐ or fourth‐ degree perineal lacerations, resulting in a cloaca‐like deformity in up to 0.3%. These three‐dimensional defects result in often debilitating incontinence and symptoms similar to a rectovaginal fistula because of the lack of the distal rectovaginal septum.Method  Between 2001 and 2006, 12 women (median age 37, range 20–57) with faecal incontinence and a postobstetric‐injury‐associated cloaca‐like deformity underwent an ano‐vaginal and perineal reconstruction with X‐flaps and sphincteroplasty without primary faecal diversion.Results  The patients presented 13.0 ± 2.9 years (range 0.5–29 years) after the obstetric injury. The median Cleveland Clinic Florida faecal incontinence score was 16 (range 12–19). In addition, one patient complained of vaginal discharge, another of dyspareunia. All patients had an open rectovaginal communication with a large anterior sphincter defects (mean 160.2 ± 22.8 degrees, range 113–180). Resting/squeeze pressures were 28.0 ± 4.4/63.2 ± 8.1 mmHg, respectively. Pudendal neuropathy was present in five patients. The median length of hospital stay after surgery was 5.3 ± 0.7 days. Three patients experienced a postoperative rectovaginal fistula, two of which closed spontaneously, whereas the third required faecal diversion and a bulbocavernosus flap. After surgical follow‐up of 9.8.3 ± 2.8 months and long‐term follow‐up of 38.9.0 ± 6.9 months, all the patients were satisfied with regards to overall function, continence and cosmetic result.Conclusion  Cloaca‐like deformity resulting from severe obstetric injury is often not given appropriate attention. Reconstruction of the original anatomy is complex but achieves good results and does not require a prophylactic faecal diversion.
Morbidity related to the use of a protective stoma in anterior resection for rectal cancer
Authors: Mala T. , Nesbakken A. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractObjective  To evaluate morbidity related to the use of a protective stoma in rectal resection for cancer.Method  Seventy‐two patients undergoing anterior rectal resection for cancer combined with a protective stoma (1993–2005) were included. Loop ileostomy was applied in 61 patients, loop colostomy in 10, and end ileostomy in one. Data regarding the primary operation were recorded prospectively, and stoma complications retrospectively.Results  Five patients (7%) developed stoma complications immediately after the primary operation, and 14/70 (20%) following hospital discharge. The stoma was closed in 62 (86%) patients after median 4 (range 1–11) months. Five patients (8%) developed complications in hospital after closure. Two patients (3%) died, one of ileal anastomotic leak and one of myocardial infarction. Five patients (8%) had late complications after closure. A total of 19 patients (26%) developed stoma related complications. Eight (11%) of these were reoperated. Premature stoma closure was necessary in two additional patients. Nine patients (13%) ended up with a permanent stoma. Fourteen (19%) patients developed signs of rectal anastomotic failure, six (8%) of whom needed reoperation. One died.Conclusion  Significant morbidity is related to the use of defunctioning stomas. A protective stoma cannot always prevent serious complications of a rectal anastomotic leak, and a proportion of the patients will not have the stoma closed.
An evaluation of treatment decisions at a colorectal cancer multi‐disciplinary team
Authors: Wood J. J. , Metcalfe C. , Paes A. , Sylvester P. , Durdey P. , Thomas M. G. , Blazeby J. M. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractObjective  It is mandatory for treatment decisions for patients with colorectal cancer to be made within the context of a multi‐disciplinary team (MDT) meeting. It is currently uncertain, however, how to best evaluate the quality of MDT decision‐making. This study examined MDT decision‐making by studying whether MDT treatment decisions were implemented and investigated the reasons why some decisions changed after the meeting.Method  Consecutive MDT treatment decisions were prospectively recorded. Implementation of decisions was studied by examining hospital records. Reasons for changes in MDT decisions were identified.Results  In all, 201 consecutive treatment decisions were analysed, concerning 157 patients. Twenty decisions (10.0%, 95% confidence interval 6.3–15.2%) were not implemented. Looking at the reasons for nonimplementation, nine (40%) related to co‐morbidity, seven (35%) to patient choice, two changed in light of new clinical information, one doctor changed a decision and for one changed decision, no reason was apparent. When decisions changed, the final treatment was always more conservative than was originally planned and decisions were more likely to change for colon rather than rectal cancer (P = 0.024).Conclusion  The vast majority of colorectal MDT decisions were implemented and when decisions changed, it mostly related to patient factors that had not been taken into account. Analysis of the implementation of team decisions is an informative process to monitor the quality of MDT decision‐making.
Increased QT variability in cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy
Authors: Piccirillo G. , Magrì D. , Mitra M. , Rufa A. , Zicari E. , Stromillo M. L. , De Stefano N. , Dotti M. T. 
Published: September 2008

Background and purpose:  Although sudden death (SD) accounts for numerous cases of premature mortality in patients with cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), the risk factors responsible for this dramatic event remain unclear. We sought possible differences in the QT variability index (QTVI) – a well‐known index of temporal dispersion in myocardial repolarization strongly associated with the risk of SD – between a group of patients with CADASIL and healthy controls.Methods:  A total of 13 patients with CADASIL and 13 healthy volunteers underwent a 5‐min electrocardiogram recording to calculate the QTVI. All the patients also underwent a clinical assessment, including functional status by Rankin score, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan for quantitative analysis of T2‐weighted (T2‐W) and T1‐weighted (T1‐W) lesion volume (LV).Results:  Short‐term QT‐interval analysis showed significantly higher QTVI (P = 0.029) in patients than in controls. In patients, notwithstanding the limitations of the small sample size, QTVI also well correlated with T1‐W LV (r = 0.747, P = 0.003) and T2‐W LV (r = 0.731, P = 0.005).Conclusion:  Because patients with CADASIL have increased temporal cardiac repolarization variability as assessed by QTVI, this mechanism could underlie these patients’ risk of SD. Whether this easily assessed, non‐invasive marker could be used to stratify the risk of malignant ventricular arrhythmias in patients with CADASIL and, possibly, to guide their therapeutic management warrants confirmation from larger prospective studies.
Delta EEG activity as a marker of dysfunctional linguistic processing in developmental dyslexia
Authors: Penolazzi Barbara , Spironelli Chiara , Angrilli Alessandro 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe present study used delta EEG band to test the hypothesis of a cerebral maturational delay and a functional altered cerebral asymmetry for phonological processing in dyslexic children. A group of 14 children with dyslexia and 28 matched controls participated in a linguistic paradigm in which the same words were processed in three tasks: phonological, semantic, and orthographic. Delta amplitude was computed as an index of cortical inhibition in four different phases of word processing. In anterior sites, controls showed left activation (reduced delta) during the phonological task and bilateral activation in the other two tasks. Conversely, children with dyslexia showed greater overall delta amplitude, indexing a cerebral maturation delay and an altered language laterality pattern. In the phonological task they had larger left anterior delta (inhibition of left frontal linguistic locations) and smaller left posterior delta amplitude (activation of left posterior sites silent in controls). Results support the phonological deficit hypothesis of developmental dyslexia and the validity of EEG delta band as functional and clinical measure of language laterality.
The rating of perceived exertion during competitive running scales with time
Authors: Faulkner James , Parfitt Gaynor , Eston Roger 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThis study assessed the relationship of the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) with heart rate and pacing strategy during competitive running races of differing distance and course elevation. Nine men and women competed in a 7‐mile road race (7‐MR) and the Great West Run half marathon (GWR; 13.1 miles). Heart rate, split mile time, and RPE were recorded throughout the races. The RPE was regressed against time and %time to complete the 7‐MR and GWR. Although the rate of increase in RPE was greater in the 7‐MR, there were no differences when expressed against %time (inferring that the brain uses a scalar timing mechanism). As the course elevation, distance, pacing strategy, and heart rate response varied between conditions, this study has provided evidence that the perceptual response may have distinct temporal characteristics during distance running. The results provide further evidence that RPE scales with the proportion of exercise time that remains.
Phosphorylation of GRK7 by PKA in cone photoreceptor cells is regulated by light
Authors: Osawa Shoji , Jo Rebecca , Weiss Ellen R. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe retina‐specific G protein‐coupled receptor kinases, GRK1 and GRK7, have been implicated in the shutoff of the photoresponse and adaptation to changing light conditions via rod and cone opsin phosphorylation. Recently, we have defined sites of phosphorylation by cAMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKA) in the amino termini of both GRK1 and GRK7 in vitro. To determine the conditions under which GRK7 is phosphorylated in vivo, we have generated an antibody that recognizes GRK7 phosphorylated on Ser36, the PKA phosphorylation site. Using this phospho‐specific antibody, we have shown that GRK7 is phosphorylated in vivo and is located in the cone inner and outer segments of mammalian, amphibian and fish retinas. Using Xenopus laevis as a model, GRK7 is phosphorylated under dark‐adapted conditions, but becomes dephosphorylated when the animals are exposed to light. The conservation of phosphorylation at Ser36 in GRK7 in these different species (which span a 400 million‐year evolutionary period), and its light‐dependent regulation, indicates that phosphorylation plays an important role in the function of GRK7. Our work demonstrates for the first time that cAMP can regulate proteins involved in the photoresponse in cones and introduces a novel mode of regulation for the retinal GRKs by PKA.
Modulation of pro‐survival and death‐associated pathways under retinal ischemia/reperfusion: effects of NMDA receptor blockade
Authors: Russo R. , Cavaliere F. , Berliocchi L. , Nucci C. , Gliozzi M. , Mazzei C. , Tassorelli C. , Corasaniti M. T. , Rotiroti D. , Bagetta G. , Morrone L. A. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractLoss of retinal ganglion cells occurs in a variety of pathological conditions, including central retinal artery occlusion, diabetes and glaucoma. Using an experimental model of retinal ischemia induced by transiently raise the intraocular pressure (IOP), In this study, we report the original observation that ischemic retinal ganglion cells death is associated with the transient deactivation of the pro‐survival kinase Akt and activation of GSK‐3β followed, during reperfusion, by a longer lasting, PI3K‐dependent, activation of Akt and phosphorylation of GSK‐3β. Under these experimental conditions, retinal ischemia induced the expression of Bad, a pro‐apoptotic protein, member of the Bcl‐2 family. The detrimental effects yielded by the ischemic stimulus were minimized by intravitreal administration of the NMDA receptor antagonist, MK801, that reduced the expression of Bad and significantly increased Akt phosphorylation. In conclusion, our present results contribute to unravel the mechanisms underlying retinal damage by high IOP‐induced transient ischemia in rat. In addition, these data implicate the pro‐survival PI3K/Akt pathway and the observed reduced expression of Bad in the neuroprotection afforded by MK801.