bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long‐term stability of heart rate variability in chronic stable angina pectoris, and the impact of an acute myocardial infarction
Authors: Björkander Inge , Forslund Lennart , Ericson Mats , Rehnqvist Nina , Hjemdahl Paul , Kahan Thomas 
Published: March 2009

SummaryBackground:  Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the balance between cardiac parasympathetic and sympathetic autonomic influences. Reduced HRV has adverse prognostic implications. The time course for changes in HRV over prolonged periods of time and the influence of an acute coronary event on HRV are not well established.Methods:  Heart rate variability was assessed in patients with chronic stable angina pectoris, who were followed for 3 years within the Angina Prognosis Study in Stockholm. Patients who suffered an acute myocardial infarction after the study were re‐examined after this event. We assessed HRV by the simple geometric method differential index, and traditional time‐ and frequency‐domain measurements of HRV.Results:  The differential index was essentially unchanged during the study (i.e. the ratio month 36/month 1 was 1·00 ± 0·06, n = 261). Also most other time and frequency indices of HRV (SDNN, r‐MSSD, SDNNIDX, total power, and VLF, LF, HF respectively; n = 63) remained largely unchanged; pNN50 and LF/HF were, however, less reproducible. In 21 patients with a subsequent acute myocardial infarction, SDNN, SDNNIDX, total power, LF and LF/HF were reduced following the event, whereas differential index, pNN50 and HF remained unchanged.Conclusions:  Differential index and other indices of HRV are stable and reproducible in patients with chronic stable angina pectoris. High‐frequency HRV (reflecting cardiac parasympathetic activity) and the differential index changed little following an acute coronary event, and may be suitable for predictions of the future risk of sudden death even in the presence of a recent acute coronary event.
The Fear of Death
Authors: Chappell Timothy 
Published: March 2009

AbstractTaking a somewhat indirect route that includes some autobiographical reflection, I address three questions. One is what it might mean to say, with Socrates, that philosophy is “studying for death”. The second is why Christians should fear death at all, if the good of Heaven is really what they believe is beyond it. The third is the question what difference it makes to your philosophical view of death if you are a believer.
Two Theories of Soul
Authors: Charlton William 
Published: March 2009

AbstractI (1) outline two accounts the Catholic Church gives of the human soul, calling them the Lateran and the Vienne doctrines, and (2) argue they are inconsistent. (3) I run over several difficulties in the more popular Lateran doctrine. (4) I look at three uses to which Catholics might want to put a theory of the soul, and question whether either of the theories on offer can meet their needs. (5) I distinguish the Biblical idea of resurrection from the Greek idea of immortality. Finally (6) I commend the Vienne doctrine as philosophy but advise supplementing it with a view of creation, salvation and sanctification as forming a continuum rather than a discontinuous series of episodes.
Henri de Lubac: Reading Corpus Mysticum
Authors: Hemming Laurence Paul 
Published: March 2009

AbstractHenri de Lubac's Corpus Mysticum, published during and immediately after the conditions of wartime France, had a profound influence on the theology and actual practice of not only Catholic, but also much Protestant liturgy in the course of the unfolding liturgical movement. The interpretative keys of the text were established primarily by Michel de Certeau and Hans Urs von Balthasar, and have emphasised a historical shift from understanding in the connections between a threefold hermeneutic of Christ's ‘mystical body’. The ‘mystical body’ is variously understood as the Eucharist itself, the extant body of the Church, and the actual body of Christ. The conventional reading of this text is to claim that de Lubac traces a shift, occurring in the High Middle Ages that points away from the body of the Church to an objectification of the eucharistic species, resulting in the highly individualistic piety that manifested itself in the Catholicism of the nineteenth century. This paper challenges that hermeneutic key as an oversimplification of a much more subtle reading suggested by de Lubac himself and intrinsic to the text of Corpus Mysticum, and suggests that de Lubac understood the real shift to be the triumph of a certain kind of rationalism, exemplified by Berengar's thought, emerging to assert itself as the basis and ground of theological thinking, eclipsing the grounding character of the liturgy as the source of meaning in theology. It examines de Lubac's late claim that Corpus Mysticum was ‘a naïve text’ and asks what kinds of naïvety are indicated in this statement.
Lumen Gentium No. 8, and Subsistit in, Again
Authors: Welch Lawrence J. , Mansini Guy 
Published: March 2009

AbstractFrancis A. Sullivan says that the one Church of Christ continues to exist perfectly in the Catholic Church, and is present imperfectly in other churches and ecclesial communities. However, he thinks Lumen Gentium 8 also enables us to say that the many churches, non-Catholic and Catholic, are all in the one Church of Christ, since to say the one Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church means no more than “continues to exist in” the Catholic Church. In this way, he denies the identity of the one Church of Christ and the Catholic Church. We point out that magisterial documents since Vatican II have consistently refused this proposal, and have instead spoken only of the one Church being present or operative, according to degrees, in non-Catholic churches and communities. We argue that while it is true there is “ecclesial reality” outside the Catholic Church, in that there are elements of truth and sanctification outside of her, the one Church of Christ of which Vatican II expressly speaks is the Church with all the gifts of unity and instruments for salvation with which Christ endowed it. The Catholic Church is not contained in any larger divinely willed and dominically instituted ecclesial reality, and it is without qualification the one Church of Christ and the one Church of Christ is without qualification the Catholic Church.
Seed germination ecology of Portulaca oleracea L.: an important weed of rice and upland crops
Authors: Chauhan B.S. , Johnson D.E. 
Published: March 2009

Abstract Portulaca oleracea, a C4 species, is reported to be a serious weed in 45 crops in 81 countries. Experiments were conducted in the laboratory, the screenhouse and the field to determine the influence of environmental factors on seed germination and seedling emergence of P. oleracea. In the laboratory, germination in the dark was low and was not influenced by the tested temperatures (35/25°C, 30/20°C and 25/15°C alternating day/night temperatures). In the light/dark regime, however, germination was lower at 25/15°C and 35/25°C than at 30/20°C (70%, 75% and 81% germination, respectively). In conditions of 106 mM sodium chloride or −0.34 MPa osmotic potential, seeds germinated to only 50% of maximum germination of the control. Germination was not influenced by buffered pH solutions ranging from 5 to 9. In the screenhouse, germination was greatest for seeds placed on the soil surface, but emergence declined with increasing seed burial depth in soil; no seedlings emerged from the depth of 2 cm. Seedling emergence and seedling dry matter were markedly reduced by the addition of rice residue to the soil surface at rates equivalent to 4 to 6 t ha−1. In the field, seedling emergence of P. oleracea was greater under zero till (ZT) (17–20%) than under minimum tillage (6–10%), a likely reflection of low seed burial and exposure of seeds to light with a ZT system. This study identifies some of the factors enabling P. oleracea to be a widespread weed in the humid tropics, and the information could contribute to improved control strategies.
Alternative Splicing and Differential Expression of Two Transcripts of Nicotine Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate Oxidase B Gene from Zea mays
Authors: Lin Fan , Zhang Yun , Jiang Ming‐Yi 
Published: March 2009

Abstract With the exception of rice, little is known about the existence of respiratory burst oxidase homolog (rboh) gene in cereals. The present study reports the cloning and analysis of a novel rboh gene, termed ZmrbohB, from maize (Zea mays L.). The full‐length cDNA of ZmrbohB encodes a 942 amino acid protein containing all of the respiratory burst oxidase homolog catalytically critical motifs. Alternative splicing of ZmrbohB has generated two transcript isoforms, ZmrbohB‐α and ‐β. Spliced transcript ZmrbohB‐β retains an unspliced intron 11 that carries a premature termination codon and probably leads to nonsense‐mediated mRNA decay. Expression analysis showed that two splice isoforms were differentially expressed in various tissues and at different developmental stages, and the major product was ZmrbohB‐α. The transcripts of ZmrbohB‐α accumulated markedly when the maize seedlings were subjected to various abiotic stimuli, such as wounding, cold (4 °C), heat (40 °C), UV and salinity stress. In addition, several abiotic stimuli also affected the alternative splicing pattern of ZmrbohB except wounding. These results provide new insight into roles in the expression regulation of plant rboh genes and suggest that ZmrbohB gene may play a role in response to environmental stresses.
CHEF PROCEDURES: A RAPID HIGH‐TEMPERATURE METHOD FOR SAMPLE PREPARATION, A HIGH VOLTAGE HEPES BUFFER SYSTEM AND THE USE OF NUSIEVE® AGAROSE
Authors: KINSCHERF THOMAS G. , YAP MEE‐NGAN , CHARKOWSKI AMY O. , WILLIS DAVID K. 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT A rapid, high‐temperature method of sample preparation from gram‐negative bacteria for contour‐clamped homogenous electric field (CHEF) electrophoresis is described, which utilizes a diethylpyrocarbonate nuclease inactivation step for preventing latent degradation of DNA. Also described is a simple 4‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)‐1‐piperazineethanesulfonic acid buffer system that permits high‐voltage CHEF electrophoresis in standard apparatus while preventing the strand scission events associated with tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane buffers. Finally, the use of NuSieve agarose in combination with standard analytical agarose was compared to specialty CHEF agarose, demonstrating the potential use of this reagent in CHEF gel separations. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSContour‐clamped homogenous electric field (CHEF) gel electrophoresis is a widely used technique in epidemiological and comparative genetic studies of microorganisms. Standard techniques work variably well, making options that can be used to “tweak” methodology useful. In this article, we describe a rapid, higher‐temperature variation of sample preparation that yields inherently stable DNA with a more efficient usage of expensive reagents. Also detailed is a simple electrophoresis buffer that eliminates the tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane‐mediated strand scission events that have complicated the comparison of bacterial strains in some studies. This buffer permits the use of the higher‐voltage electrophoresis conditions used in many studies without the addition of potentially harmful chemicals. Finally, we demonstrate that the combination of NuSieve (Lonza) branded agarose with standard agarose can be used effectively in CHEF gels, thus expanding analytical options while also providing an alternative to maintaining other expensive specialty agaroses. The methods herein may be applied in whole or in part, allowing their possible inclusion in existing or future protocols as desired.
RAPID DETECTION OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS IN LUNG TISSUE USING A FIBER OPTIC BIOSENSOR
Authors: DENTON KIMBERLY A. , KRAMER MARIANNE F. , LIM DANIEL V. 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT There is no rapid diagnostic technique at medical examiners' offices to determine if a decedent is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Present diagnostic testing requires at least 1 month for results. The RAPTOR, a portable, automated fiber optic evanescent wave biosensor, was used as the platform to develop more rapid assays to detect M. tuberculosis from lung tissue. Positive biosensor detection was obtained 80% of the time at cell concentrations of 106 cells/mL, 96% of the time at 107 cells/mL, and 99% of the time at 108 cells/mL of live attenuated M. tuberculosis (ATCC 25177) suspended in phosphate‐buffered saline with 0.1% Tween 20 (PBST). Live attenuated M. tuberculosis suspended in PBST and seeded into decedent lung tissue was tested using the RAPTOR. Positive detection was obtained 96% of the time at 107 cells/mL and 100% of the time at 108 cells/mL. Detection of M. tuberculosis in lung tissue homogenate was possible within 3 h.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSDevelopment of a rapid method to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis from lung tissue at autopsy would be a significant benefit to medical examiners' offices and pathologists worldwide. Rapid diagnosis would enable those possibly exposed to an infected decedent to be informed of M. tuberculosis infection in a timely manner. Biosensor assays on seeded lung tissue show it is possible to detect M. tuberculosis in 3 h using the RAPTOR biosensor, instead of 1 month using current, conventional tests, when there are 107 or more cells in the assay sample. Tuberculous cavities may contain 107–109 activelymultiplying organisms. Sample preparation and assay protocols involve common laboratory practices and could easily and quickly be learned and implemented by laboratory staff. The RAPTOR is user friendly and could be used by medical examiner staff at time of need. The biosensor assay may also have potential applications for use on biopsy tissue from living individuals who have heavy pulmonary or disseminated infections by M. tuberculosis.
DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIWELL ANTAGONISTIC ACTIVITY ASSAY FOR THE DETECTION OF BACTERIOCIN PRODUCTION BY LACTIC ACID BACTERIA
Authors: YAAKOUBI KAOUTAR , BENKERROUM NOREDDINE , WIOROWSKI FLORENT , SANSON FRANÇOISE , HAYDERSAH JULIEN , CHEVALLIER ISABELLE 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT A total of 300 strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were screened for the production of bacteriocins active against Listeria innocua or Escherichia coli by using two different techniques: the conventional well‐diffusion assay and a newly developed one based on turbidity measurement of the growth of an indicator bacterium in the neutralized cell‐free supernatant of the putative bacteriocin‐producing strain. The latter technique, designated as the multiwell antagonistic activity assay (MW3A), offers advantages over the previously known methods. Notably, it allows testing simultaneously a large number of LAB for the production of bacteriocins against more than one indicator strain, while including appropriate controls for confirmation of the bacteriocinogenic nature of the inhibitory substances. Furthermore, five enterococcal strains were shown to produce bacteriocins active against the gram‐positive and gram‐negative indicator strains used in this study, suggesting that these enterococci or their bacteriocins have good potential to enhance food safety and keeping quality.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe present study describes a rapid and semiautomatic nephelometry method to screen for bacteriocin‐producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The method uses a microtiter plate where the inhibition of the growth of indicator strains in the presence of a bacteriocin is revealed by a decrease in OD as function of time. Concomitantly, this method determines the proteinaceous nature of the antimicrobial substance and its mode of action (i.e., bactericidal or bacteriostatic) while excluding the effect of interfering antimicrobials produced by LAB (e.g., hydrogen peroxide and organic acids). Furthermore, the newly described method differs from previously described ones by its ability to test for a relatively large number of putative bacteriocin‐producing strains using different controls and indicator strains, and allow early detection of bacteriocin‐producing strains (within 24 h). Another feature of this method is its ability to detect with confidence bacteriocins active against gram‐negative bacteria. These performances have potential to be used for rapid detection of LAB having strong capacity to inhibit pathogenic or spoilage bacteria by means of bacteriocins for possible applications in food preservation strategies.
DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A LOOP‐MEDIATED ISOTHERMAL AMPLIFICATION METHOD FOR DETECTING ESCHERICHIA COLI O157 IN RAW MILK
Authors: WANG DEGUO , LIU FEI , HUO GUICHENG , REN DAXI , LI YONGGANG 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT In the present study, we report the performance of a loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay detecting foodborne pathogen Escherichia coli O157. Three pairs of primers were specially designed for recognizing eight distinct sequences of rfbE gene. Time and temperature conditions for amplification of E. coli O157 were optimized to be 40 min at 65C. The LAMP assay gave artificially contaminated raw milk sample detection limit level of 410 cfu/mL which corresponds to three to five cells per reaction tube, while the detection level of conventional polymerase chain reaction was 4.1 × 104 cfu/mL. Data on naturally contaminated raw milk samples indicated that the LAMP method was highly specific and sensitive, giving 100% concordance with the ISO 16654: 2001 reference method.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe loop‐mediated isothermal amplification method reported here provides a powerful tool for the detection of Escherichia coli O157 in raw milk samples because of its specificity, sensitivity and rapidity.
IDENTIFICATION OF NEW TARGET SEQUENCES FOR PCR DETECTION OF VIBRIO PARAHAEMOLYTICUS BY GENOME COMPARISON
Authors: ZHU DONG‐SHENG , ZHOU MIN , FAN YI‐LING , SHI XIAN‐MING 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT A genome comparison method was used to identify specific target sequences for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and the CDS value of this bacterium was compared with that of 139 other bacterial genomes. It was found that 20 CDS of V. parahaemolyticus were relatively specific according to their E value in BLAST (a new tool for comparing protein and nucleotide sequences), and four of them were selected for the design of PCR primers. There were positive amplification products of these four pairs of primers from nine V. parahaemolyticus strains, whereas there were no amplification products from nine other Vibrionaceae strains and four non‐Vibrionaceae strains. An evaluation of detection sensitivities revealed that these four pairs of primers can be used in a PCR assay for the detection of V. parahaemolyticus.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSAn automatic BLAST method was developed in this study, by which species‐specific sequences can be screened out rapidly. In this way, new and specific genes of Vibrio parahaemolyticus were identified to be used as target sequences for PCR detection. In terms of acceptable specificity and sensitivity, the four pairs of primers were selected by screening, which can be applied in PCR assays and other molecular methods. These kinds of methods might become commercial detection products in the new future. In addition, this method for searching specific DNA sequences can also be used for the mining specific sequences in other genus and species, such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus, etc.
IDENTIFICATION OF CELLULOLYTIC BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM THE TERMITE COPTOTERMES CURVIGNATHUS (HOLMGREN)
Authors: RAMIN M. , ALIMON A.R. , ABDULLAH N. 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACT The aim of the present research was to isolate and identify cellulolytic bacteria from the gut of the local termite Coptotermes curvignathus (Holmgren) present in the vicinity of the University of Putra Malaysia. The isolates were cultured in a medium containing carboxymethyl‐cellulose and cellobiose. The bacterial species were tentatively identified by using the Biolog reader as well as the Bergey's manual and later confirmed by 16S rRNA sequence homology. The species were all novel strains and identified as Bacillus cereus strain Razmin A, Enterobacter aerogenes strain Razmin B, Enterobacter cloacae strain Razmin C, Chryseobacterium kwangyangense strain Cb and Acinetobacter strain Raminalimon. Biolog reader was not able to identify one of the bacterial species in which it was identified as C. kwangyangense strain Cb by 16S rRNA sequence homology. The GenBank NCBI/EMBL accession numbers for the bacterial strains are EU294508, EU305608, EU305609, EU169201 and EU332791 for B. cereus Razmin A, E. aerogenes strain Razmin B, E. cloacae strain Razmin C, C. kwangyangense strain Cb and Acinetobacter strain Raminalimon, respectively.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe experiment describes the isolation and identification of cellulolytic bacteria from termites, using Biolog reader and polymerase chain reaction technique. Termites are common insects in tropical regions and thrive on wood and cellulolytic materials. Hence, the bacteria isolated may be useful in the degradation of cellulosic materials to increase their digestibility and possibly production of metabolites and enzymes.
Safety and efficacy of mid‐term pregnancy termination using aglepristone in dogs
Authors: Pettersson C. H. , Tidholm A. 
Published: March 2009

Objectives:To investigate effects and side effects of aglepristone in terminating pregnancy in bitches.Methods:Twenty‐two bitches were treated in mid‐pregnancy with subcutaneous injections of aglepristone at a total dose of 20 mg/kg. Short‐term follow‐up (one to two weeks after treatment) included clinical examination and abdominal ultrasonography in 18 of the dogs. Long‐term telephone follow‐up was recorded for all 22 dogs.Results:Pregnancy was terminated in 21 bitches (95 per cent). Signs of abortion occurred one to eight days after treatment. Vaginal discharge was evident in 17 (77 per cent) dogs. Obvious signs of parturition were seen in nine (41 per cent) dogs. Eight dogs (36 per cent) developed anorexia, and in two (9 per cent) of the dogs a local reaction at the injection site was evident. Two dogs developed pyometra two and four years after treatment, respectively.ClinicalSignificance:Aglepristone, when administered in mid‐gestation, is effective in terminating pregnancy. Side effects are few and transient.