bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cytokine gene polymorphisms in Colombian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Guarnizo‐Zuccardi P. , Lopez Y. , Giraldo M. , Garcia N. , Rodriguez L. , Ramirez L. , Uribe O. , Garcia L. , Vasquez G. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients exhibit alterations in cytokine production that may be relevant to SLE pathogenesis. There is evidence that cytokine gene polymorphisms control cytokine production; thus, these polymorphisms may be associated with SLE or its clinical manifestations. To establish the association of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α), transforming growth factor (TGF) β1, interleukin (IL)‐10, and IL‐6 gene polymorphisms in Colombian SLE patients and their clinical manifestations, 120 SLE patients and 102 healthy controls were studied. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were studied by sequence‐specific primers polymerase chain reaction (SSP‐PCR) at: TNFα−308 (G/A), TGFβ1 codon 10 (C/T) and codon 25 (G/C), IL‐10 −1082 (G/A), −819 (C/T) and −592 (C/A), and IL‐6 + 174 (G/C). Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐DRβ1 was typed by SSP‐PCR. SLE patients had increased frequency of allele C at TGFβ1 codon 25 (P = 0.0001, odds ratio (OR): 4.25, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.17–8.35) and allele A at TNFα−308 (P = 0.0004 OR: 3.9, 95% CI: 1.65–5.80) compared with healthy controls. There was higher frequency of GC genotype at TGFβ1 codon 25 in SLE patients (P < 0.0001). Extended genotypic analysis showed that SLE patients have decreased frequency of TNFαLow/TGFβ1High (0.50) compared with healthy controls (0.80) (P < 0.0001). No association was found between these polymorphisms and SLE clinical manifestations except for Sm and Ro autoantibodies that were associated with TNFα allele A. There is an association between TNFα−308A/TGFβ1 codon 25C with SLE susceptibility in Colombian population. This association may result in a highly inflammatory response with a decrease regulatory function mediated by TNFα and TGFβ1, respectively. The TNFα−308A/TGFβ1 25C genotype may be one component of genetic susceptibility to SLE in Colombian population.
Tissue‐resonance interaction method for the noninvasive diagnosis of prostate cancer: analysis of a multicentre clinical evaluation
Authors: Da Pozzo Luigi , Scattoni Vincenzo , Mazzoccoli Bruno , Rigatti Patrizio , Manferrari Fabio , Martorana Giuseppe , Pietropaolo Francesco , Belgrano Emanuele , Prezioso Domenico , Lotti Tullio , Villari Donata , Nicita Giulio 
Published: August 2007

OBJECTIVETo determine, in a multicentre prospective study, the accuracy of the tissue‐resonance interaction method (TRIMprob, new technology developed for the noninvasive analysis of electromagnetic anisotropy in biological tissues) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer.PATIENTS AND METHODSTwo hundred patients (mean age 67.4 years) scheduled to have prostatic biopsies (because of a prostate‐specific, PSA, antigen level of ≥4 ng/mL or a suspicious digital rectal examination, DRE) were preliminarily examined while unaware of their clinical details using TRIMprob in five different centres. The final diagnosis obtained with TRIMprob was compared with the final histological diagnosis after extended biopsies.RESULTSOf the 188 evaluable patients (mean PSA level 9.3 ng/mL, sd 8.8; mean prostate volume 62.0 mL, sd 32.4), 61 (32.4%) had a positive biopsy for adenocarcinoma of the prostate. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy of TRIMprob were 80%, 51%, 44%, 84% and 60%, respectively. The prostate cancer detection rate after biopsy was significantly higher in patients with a positive examination (49/111, 44%) than in patients with a negative TRIMprob (12/77, 15%; P < 0.001). When TRIMprob results were combined with DRE findings the sensitivity and NPV both increased to 92%.CONCLUSIONTRIMprob seems to be a useful tool in the diagnosis of prostate cancer and can increase the accuracy of PSA or DRE results. The high NPV suggests that this new technology might be useful to reduce the indications for prostatic biopsy or repeated series of biopsies in patients suspected of having prostate cancer.
Increased expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily 1 in the bladder predicts the response to intravesical instillations of resiniferatoxin in patients with refractory idiopathic detrusor overactivity
Authors: Liu Hsin‐Tzu , Kuo Hann‐Chorng 
Published: August 2007

OBJECTIVESTo investigate the correlation of transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily 1 (TRPV1) mRNA expression levels and the clinical outcome of intravesical resiniferatoxin treatment in patients with idiopathic detrusor overactivity (IDO), as such treatment with vanilloids can be effective for DO.PATIENTS AND METHODSIn all, 28 patients with IDO refractory to anticholinergics were enrolled and treated with four weekly intravesical instillations of 10 nm resiniferatoxin. Eleven patients having ureteroscopic surgery served as controls. Two bladder wall biopsies were taken from the posterior wall by rigid cystoscopy. TRPV1 expression in the bladder wall samples was determined by individual quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemical staining. Responders to the therapy were defined as those with an improvement in an urgency scale by ≥1, and with improved general satisfaction. Baseline TRPV1 expression was compared between responders, nonresponders and controls.RESULTSAt 3 months, 14 patients (50%) were responders and in the other 14 the treatment failed (nonresponders). Bladder biopsies were available in seven responders and 11 nonresponders. Transcript levels before treatment correlated significantly with the therapeutic effect of resiniferatoxin (P = 0.004), with higher TRPV1 mRNA expression in responders (median 1.50, range 0.89–2.78) than nonresponders (0.74, 0.34–1.32). Responders also had higher TRPV1 expression levels than a control group (P = 0.067), but the TRPV1 transcript levels of nonresponders were not significantly different from those of the control (P = 0.367).CONCLUSIONSuccessful intravesical resiniferatoxin treatment is closely associated with the over‐expression of TRPV1 in the bladder mucosa and submucosa in patients with IDO.
Knowledge Management in Higher Education: a comparison of individualistic and collectivist cultures
Authors: MOSS GLORIA , KUBACKI KRZYSZTOF , HERSH MARION , GUNN ROD 
Published: August 2007

The research discusses the impact of national culture on the processes of knowledge management (KM) in Higher Education. In particular, it focuses on the extent to which teamwork approaches to IC development are favoured in individualistic and collectivist cultures.The study was carried out in two phases. The first, aimed at generating emerging theory, involved interviews in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in an individualistic culture (UK). The second, aimed at testing emerging theory, utilised questionnaire responses from researchers in an individualistic (Australia) and collectivist society (Slovenia). The results revealed that, in the first phase, the absence of teamwork resulted in feelings of isolation and reduced research output. In the second, there was a statistically significant correlation between engagement in teamwork and membership of a collectivist society on the one hand, and engagement in teamwork and increased research output. This article shows the value of teamwork in facilitating KM, and the extent to which it is facilitated in a collectivist culture.
Institutional Change in the Spanish Higher Education System
Authors: PEROTTI LORIS 
Published: August 2007

The article describes institutional change in the Spanish higher education system over the past two decades. It singles out four variables in explaining this change: (i) demography, (ii) economic environment (the so‐called knowledge society), (iii) the role and interests of academics and politicians, and (iv) the supranational stimulus to converge (Bologna Process).Although after Franquism each of these factors had notable consequences on tertiary education, at least initially it seems that supply‐side factors were very important in sustaining institutional change in Spanish universities. Above all, politicians and regional governments boosted democratisation by opening new universities (which since 1980s have increased in number from 32 to 70), by lowering entrance requirements, and by keeping fees low. At the end of the 1990s, European declarations (Sorbonne, Bologna) increased the significance of Europe, with a twofold effect: they induced governments to introduce change in higher education systems (convergence), but they also highlighted the difficulty of combining the role of the state (as signatory to international declarations) and peripheral institutions (Comunidades autónomas and autonomous universities).
Negative density–area relationships: the importance of the zeros
Authors: Pautasso Marco , Weisberg Peter J. 
Published: August 2007

ABSTRACTAim  Estimates of abundances and densities of birds and mammals have often been shown to be scale dependent, in that population sizes over large areas are overestimated if extrapolated from surveys of small plots. Previous tests of the mechanisms suggested to cause this decelerating scaling pattern found evidence of a biased choice of small plots in patches of homogeneous habitat. Here we show that negative density–area relationships can also arise as result of not considering plots where individuals of the species or assemblage of interest are absent in surveys of differing spatial resolution.Location  We took a complete census of violets (Viola spp.) in 800 m2 of chalk grassland in Wye, Kent, UK, and used human population censuses for Finnish, Swiss and Italian municipalities, English districts, states of the USA and European countries.Methods  We used mixed models of logarithmically transformed number of individuals or densities as a function of area.Results  The census of violets shows that by increasing the survey resolution and by not considering plots without individuals, the effectively occupied area diminishes and a negative density–area relationship arises. The finding that negative density–area relationships are also common for people is evidence that the non‐random choice of plots in population surveys of varying areas can be responsible for many observed negative density–area relationships. The shallower slope of the people–administrative area relationship for Switzerland and Finland compared with Italy, as well as for England and the USA compared with Europe, confirms that less than proportionate individuals–area relationships can be the consequence of larger plot areas containing a higher proportion of areas without individuals.Main conclusions  Densities should be reported together with the effective areas for which they were estimated. It should be clearly conveyed whether or not plots where the surveyed species was absent were included in the density estimation.
A comparison of no‐take zones and traditional fishery management tools for managing site‐attached species with a mixed larval pool
Authors: Le Quesne William J F , Hawkins Stephen J , Shepherd John G 
Published: August 2007

AbstractNo‐take zones (NTZs) can generate higher larval production by sessile, sedentary and site‐attached species per unit area than in exploited areas, and may increase recruitment and yield compared to status quo management. Whilst NTZs may be considered an essential part of optimal management, few studies have specifically compared the effects of NTZs with those of correctly applied gear and effort controls.A yield‐per‐recruit (YPR) population model, based on the sedentary abalone Haliotis laevigata, was used to compare the effects of management by minimum landing size (MLS), effort limitation and NTZs, either singularly or in combination. Initially, a minimum basic YPR model was used. Three additional assumptions were sequentially added to the model to see if they affected conclusions drawn from the model. The additional assumptions were the inclusion of: (i) a length–fecundity relationship; (ii) an age‐dependent natural mortality function; and (iii) mortality of undersized individuals due to fishery operations. In the absence of undersized mortality caused by fishing, under virtually all conditions the population is best managed with a combination of MLS and effort control, without any NTZs. For simulations that included mortality of undersized individuals in the fished area, under nearly all circumstances NTZs were considered an essential part of optimal fishery management, and management incorporating NTZs greatly increased the sustainable yield that could be taken.
Effects of cryptic mortality and the hidden costs of using length limits in fishery management
Authors: Coggins Lewis G , Catalano Matthew J , Allen Micheal S , Pine William E , Walters Carl J 
Published: August 2007

AbstractFishery collapses cause substantial economic and ecological harm, but common management actions often fail to prevent overfishing. Minimum length limits are perhaps the most common fishing regulation used in both commercial and recreational fisheries, but their conservation benefits can be influenced by discard mortality of fish caught and released below the legal length. We constructed a computer model to evaluate how discard mortality could influence the conservation utility of minimum length regulations. We evaluated policy performance across two disparate fish life‐history types: short‐lived high‐productivity (SLHP) and long‐lived low‐productivity (LLLP) species. For the life‐history types, fishing mortality rates and minimum length limits that we examined, length limits alone generally failed to achieve sustainability when discard mortality rate exceeded about 0.2 for SLHP species and 0.05 for LLLP species. At these levels of discard mortality, reductions in overall fishing mortality (e.g. lower fishing effort) were required to prevent recruitment overfishing if fishing mortality was high. Similarly, relatively low discard mortality rates (>0.05) rendered maximum yield unobtainable and caused a substantial shift in the shape of the yield response surfaces. An analysis of fishery efficiency showed that length limits caused the simulated fisheries to be much less efficient, potentially exposing the target species and ecosystem to increased negative effects of the fishing process. Our findings suggest that for overexploited fisheries with moderate‐to‐high discard mortality rates, reductions in fishing mortality will be required to meet management goals. Resource managers should carefully consider impacts of cryptic mortality sources (e.g. discard mortality) on fishery sustainability, especially in recreational fisheries where release rates are high and effort is increasing in many areas of the world.
Reporting and advising on the effects of fishing
Authors: Jennings Simon 
Published: August 2007

AbstractScientists hold different views about environmental management. These views may drive their interest in the subject and help them to address a wide range of research issues, but they can also affect the ways in which research results are interpreted and reported. Studies that mix science and perspective can compromise public and scientific understanding of fishing effects, as perceived differences in evidence may actually reflect differences in interpretation. To improve the rigour of ‘fishing effects’ science, it would help if the benchmarks used to assess whether fishing effects ‘matter’ were always made explicit. These benchmarks might be the objectives set by the management authorities and/or a series of alternate objectives proposed and stated by the scientist. To demonstrate how the reported significance of fishing effects can depend on objectives, I use a simple model to predict the response of fish populations and communities to fishing. Fishing effects that would be reported as negative in relation to preservation or biodiversity objectives, such as declines in size, abundance and trophic level, occur at lower fishing intensities than those associated with meeting sustainability objectives for target species. When fishing pressure is so high that both conservation and fisheries objectives are not being met, the initial management actions to meet a range of objectives are likely to be compatible (e.g. reduce capacity, support alternate livelihoods).
Investing in African fisheries: building links to the Millennium Development Goals
Authors: Heck Simon , Béné Christophe , Reyes‐Gaskin Roberto 
Published: August 2007

AbstractDespite the large economic and social benefits fisheries can offer to address Africa’s development needs, investment in African fisheries and aquaculture has been remarkably low. However, if fisheries and aquaculture are to meet the challenges of technological change, institutional reforms and resource mobilization needed in support of the sector’s development potential, fisheries stakeholders must make the case for investment much more clearly within the context of wider socioeconomic development. In this paper, we argue that the global consensus around the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) offers an important opportunity to pursue this agenda in Africa. In particular the MDGs’ human development focus provides a compelling framework for articulating the comprehensive value of fisheries for poverty reduction and long‐term socioeconomic development. The paper has two objectives. The first is to examine the direct and indirect links between fisheries and the individual MDGs, drawing together findings and lessons learnt from recent African case studies with relevant examples from elsewhere. The second is to translate these findings into recommendations for action in support of improved investments in fisheries aimed at increasing the overall development value of the sector.
The implications of a feelings‐based approach to fish welfare: a reply to Arlinghaus et al.
Authors: Huntingford Felicity , Adams Colin , Braithwaite Victoria A. , Kadri Sunil , Pottinger Tom G. , Sandoe Peter , Turnbull James F. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThe welfare of fish is a topic of increasing debate touching on a number of complex scientific and ethical issues and constructive dialogue between groups with differing approaches to the topic requires mutual understanding from both perspectives. In a recent review aimed at stimulating debate on this topic, Arlinghaus et al. (2007) explore the question of fish welfare in the particular context of recreational angling, by means of a critique of a review of fish welfare in general written by ourselves (Huntingford et al. 2006). We entirely agree with the desirability of debate on this topic and recognize a number of valuable qualities in the commentary by Arlinghaus et al. However, we argue that the critique has some serious flaws. In the first place, by rejecting a feelings‐based approach to welfare, it fails to address the aspect of welfare that is at the heart of much legitimate public concern. Secondly, while advocating an objective, scientific approach to fish welfare, Arlinghaus et al. fail to present their own agenda (that recreational angling is morally acceptable) in a transparent way. Thirdly, they seriously misrepresent the position taken in Huntingford et al. (2006) on a number of important issues. In this reply, we address these points and then discuss briefly the areas of agreement and constructive disagreement between the two reviews.
Enhanced phosphorus nutrition in monocots and dicots over‐expressing a phosphorus‐responsive type I H+‐pyrophosphatase
Authors: Yang Haibing , Knapp Jane , Koirala Pratistha , Rajagopal Divya , Peer Wendy Ann , Silbart Lawrence K. , Murphy Angus , Gaxiola Roberto A. 
Published: August 2007

SummaryPlants challenged by limited phosphorus undergo dramatic morphological and architectural changes in their root systems in order to increase their absorptive surface area. In this paper, it is shown that phosphorus deficiency results in increased expression of the type I H+‐pyrophosphatase AVP1 (AVP, Arabidopsis vacuolar pyrophosphatase), subsequent increased P‐type adenosine triphosphatase (P‐ATPase)‐mediated rhizosphere acidification and root proliferation. Molecular genetic manipulation of AVP1 expression in Arabidopsis, tomato and rice results in plants that outperform controls when challenged with limited phosphorus. However, AVP1 over‐expression and the resulting rhizosphere acidification do not result in increased sensitivity to AlPO4, apparently because of the enhancement of potassium uptake and the release of organic acids. Thus, the over‐expression of type I H+‐pyrophosphatases appears to be a generally applicable technology to help alleviate agricultural losses in low‐phosphorus tropical/subtropical soils and to reduce phosphorus runoff pollution of aquatic and marine environments resulting from fertilizer application.
Search for Correlations Between Genotypes and Electrophysiological Patterns in Migraine: The MTHFR C677T Polymorphism and Visual Evoked Potentials
Authors: Magis D , Allena M , Coppola G , Clemente L Di , Gérard P , Schoenen J 
Published: August 2007

Interictally, migraineurs have on average a reduction in habituation of pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials (PR-VEP) and in mitochondrial energy reserve. 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is involved in folate metabolism and its C677T polymorphism may be more prevalent in migraine. The aim of this study was to search in migraineurs for a correlation between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and the PR-VEP profile. PR-VEP were recorded in 52 genotyped migraine patients: 40 female, 24 without (MoA), 28 with aura (MA). Among them 21 had a normal genotype (CC), 18 were heterozygous (CT) and 13 homozygous (TT) for the MTHFR C677T polymorphism. Mean PR-VEP N1-P1 amplitude was significantly lower in CT compared with CC, and tended to be lower in TT with increasing age. The habituation deficit was significantly greater in CC compared with TT subjects. The correlation between the cortical preactivation level, as reflected by the VEP amplitude in the first block of averages, and habituation was stronger in CC than in CT or TT. The MTHFR C677T polymorphism could thus have an ambiguous role in migraine. On one hand, the better VEP habituation which is associated with its homozygosity, and possibly mediated by homocysteine derivatives increasing serotoninergic transmission, may protect the brain against overstimulation. On the other hand, MTHFR C677T homozygosity is linked to a reduction of grand average VEP amplitude with illness duration, which has been attributed to brain damage.
Cultural capital or relative risk aversion? Two mechanisms for educational inequality compared1
Authors: Van De Werfhorst Herman G. , Hofstede Saskia 
Published: August 2007

AbstractIn this paper we empirically examined two explanatory mechanisms for educational inequality: cultural reproduction and relative risk aversion, using survey data taken from secondary school pupils in Amsterdam. Cultural reproduction theory seeks to explain class variations in schooling by cultural differences between social classes. Relative risk aversion theory argues that educational inequalities can be understood by between‐class variation in the necessity of pursuing education at branching points in order to avoid downward mobility. We showed that class variations in early demonstrated ability are for a substantial part cultural: cultural capital – measured by parental involvement in highbrow culture – affected school performance at the primary and secondary level. However, relative risk aversion – operationalized by being concerned with downward mobility – strongly affects schooling ambitions, whereas cultural capital had no effect. Thus, we conclude that ‘primary effects’ of social origin on schooling outcomes are manifested through cultural capital and not through relative risk aversion (in addition to other potential sources of class variations such as genetics). Relative risk aversion, and not cultural capital, affects schooling ambitions, which is relevant for our understanding of secondary effects.