bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Genetic relatedness and disrupted social structure in a poached population of African elephants
Authors: GOBUSH KATHLEEN , KERR BEN , WASSER SAMUEL 
Published: January 2009

AbstractWe use genetic measures of relatedness and observations of female bonding to examine the demographic signature of historically heavy poaching of a population of free‐ranging African elephants. We collected dung samples to obtain DNA and observed behaviour from 102 elephant families over a 25‐month period in 2003–2005 in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. Poaching reduced the population by 75% in the decade prior to the 1989 ivory trade ban; park records indicate that poaching dropped significantly in Mikumi following the ban. Using 10 microsatellite loci, DNA was genotyped in 203 elephants and pair‐wise relatedness was calculated among adult females within and between groups. The Mikumi population is characterized by small group size, considerable variation in group relatedness, females with no first‐order adult relatives and females that form only weak social bonds. We used gene‐drop analysis and a model of a genetically intact pedigree to compare our observed Mikumi group relatedness to a simulated genetically intact unpoached expectation. The majority of groups in Mikumi contain 2 to 3 adults; of these, 45% were classified as genetically disrupted. Bonding, quantified with a pair‐wise association index, was significantly correlated with relatedness; however only half of the females formed strong bonds with other females, and relatedness was substantially lower for a given bond strength as compared to an unpoached population. Female African elephants without kin demonstrated considerable behavioural plasticity in this disturbed environment, grouping with other females lacking kin, with established groups, or remaining alone, unable to form any stable adult female‐bonds. We interpret these findings as the remaining effect of poaching disturbance in Mikumi, despite a drop in the level of poaching since the commercial trade in ivory was banned 15 years ago.
Morphological and molecular variation in tiger beetles of the Cicindela hybrida complex: is an ‘integrative taxonomy’ possible?
Authors: CARDOSO A. , SERRANO A. , VOGLER A. P. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractCurrent taxon assignments at the species level are frequently discordant with DNA‐based analyses. Recent studies on tiger beetles in the Cicindela hybrida complex identified discordance between mtDNA patterns and the entities currently defined by the taxonomic literature. To test the accuracy of morphologically delimited groups, five named taxa (species) from 24 representative sampling sites across Europe were scored for 41 external morphological characters. Three of the named taxa were ‘diagnosable’, that is, defined by between one and three characters unique to each group. Newly sequenced ITS1 and existing mitochondrial cox1 markers established 20 and 22 different haplotypes, respectively, but only cox1 produced (four) diagnosable units. Phylogenetic analysis and statistical parsimony networks showed poor congruence of character variation with the taxonomic entities (and each other). Variation in morphological characters was therefore tested directly for association with DNA‐based nesting groups at various hierarchical levels using permutational contingency analysis. Significant statistical associations of 11 (of 13 variable) morphological characters were observed with nesting groups from ITS1 and mitochondrial DNA markers, predominantly at the 4‐step level. The analysis demonstrates the need for formal tests of congruence with morphological variation at the level of individual characters, a step that is omitted from recent studies of ‘integrative taxonomy’. In addition, statistical correlation of particular morphological characters with DNA‐based nesting groups can identify the lowest hierarchical level at which various character sets show congruence, as a means to define evolutionarily separated entities supported by diverse data sources.
Families in space: relatedness in the Barents Sea population of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)
Authors: ZEYL E. , AARS J. , EHRICH D. , WIIG Ø. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThe kin structure and dispersal pattern of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of the Barents Sea was investigated during the spring mating season using two complementary approaches. First, individual genotypes based on the analyses of 27 microsatellite loci of 583 polar bears were related to field information gathered from 1146 bears in order to reconstruct the animals’ pedigrees and to infer geographical distances between adult bears of different relatedness categories. According to the data, the median natal dispersal distance of the male animals was 52 km while that of the females was 93 km. Second, the relatedness of pairs of adult bears was estimated and correlated to the geographical distance between them. The female dyads had a much stronger kin structure than the male dyads. The ‘pedigree approach’ revealed a male kin structure which could not be detected using the ‘relatedness approach’. This suggests that, on a broader scale, effective dispersal is slightly male biased. Despite fidelity to natal areas, male‐mediated gene flow may nevertheless prevent genetic differentiation. Males might occasionally shift their home range which could therefore lead to a male‐biased breeding dispersal. Our results showed that a nonterritorial species such as the polar bear that has a high dispersal potential, lives in a highly unstable environment and migrates seasonally is still able to exhibit a distinct kin structure during the mating season.
History and evolution of alpine plants endemic to the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau: Aconitum gymnandrum (Ranunculaceae)
Authors: WANG LIUYANG , ABBOTT RICHARD J. , ZHENG WEI , CHEN PING , WANG YUJIN , LIU JIANQUAN 
Published: January 2009

AbstractHow Quaternary climatic oscillations affected range distributions and intraspecific divergence of alpine plants on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP) remains largely unknown. Here, we report a survey of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA variation aimed at exploring the phylogeographical history of the QTP alpine endemic Aconitum gymnandrum. We sequenced three cpDNA fragments (rpl20–rps12 intergenic spacer, the trnV intron and psbA‐trnH spacer) and also the nuclear (ITS) region in 245 individuals from 23 populations sampled throughout the species’ range. Two distinct lineages, with eastern and western geographical distributions respectively, were identified from a phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequence variation. Based on a fast substitution rate, these were estimated to have diverged from each other in the early Pleistocene approximately 1.45 Ma. The analysis of cpDNA variation identified nine chlorotypes that clustered into two major clades that were broadly congruent in geographical distribution with the two ITS lineages. The east–west split of cpDNA divergence was supported by an amova which partitioned approximately half of the total variance between these two groups of populations. Analysis of the spatial distribution of chlorotypes showed that each clade was subdivided into two groups of populations such that a total of four population groups existed in the species. It is suggested that these different groups derive from four independent glacial refugia that existed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and that three of these refugia were located at high altitude on the QTP platform itself at that time. Coalescent simulation of chlorotype genealogies supported both an early Pleistocene origin of the two main cpDNA clades and also the ‘four‐refugia’ hypothesis during the LGM. Two previous phylogeographical studies of QTP alpine plants indicated that such plants retreated to refugia at the eastern/south‐eastern plateau edge during the LGM and/or previous glacial maxima. However, the results for A. gymnandrum suggest that at least some of these cold‐tolerant species may have also survived centrally on the QTP platform throughout the Quaternary.
Tug of war between continental gene flow and rearing site philopatry in a migratory bird: the sex‐biased dispersal paradigm reconsidered
Authors: LECOMTE NICOLAS , GAUTHIER GILLES , GIROUX JEAN‐FRANÇOIS , MILOT EMMANUEL , BERNATCHEZ LOUIS 
Published: January 2009

AbstractNonrandom dispersal has been recently advanced as a mechanism promoting fine‐scale genetic differentiation in resident populations, yet how this applies to species with high rates of dispersal is still unclear. Using a migratory species considered a classical example of male‐biased dispersal (the greater snow goose,Chen caerulescens atlantica), we documented a temporally stable fine‐scale genetic clustering between spatially distinct rearing sites (5–30 km apart), where family aggregates shortly after hatching. Such genetic differentiation can only arise if, in both sexes, dispersal is restricted and nonrandom, a surprising result considering that pairing occurs among mixed flocks of birds more than 3000 km away from the breeding grounds. Fine‐scale genetic structure may thus occur even in migratory species with high gene flow. We further show that looking for genetic structure based on nesting sites only may be misleading. Genetically distinct individuals that segregated into different rearing sites were in fact spatially mixed during nesting. These findings provide new, scale‐dependent links between genetic structure, pairing, and dispersal and show the importance of sampling different stages of the breeding cycle in order to detect a spatial genetic structure.
Curative effect of autologous platelet‐rich plasma on a large cutaneous lesion in a dog
Authors: Kim Jung‐Hyun , Park Chul , Park Hee‐Myung 
Published: January 2009

AbstractA dorsal tail mass (1 × 1.2 cm) was observed on a 10‐year‐old castrated male, Shih‐tzu dog. A biopsy of the mass was performed and diagnosed histopathologically as a follicular cyst. A necrotic lesion (2.5 × 3 cm) developed at the biopsy site 1 week after sampling and failed to respond to 2 weeks of normal saline cleansing and systemic antibiotic administration. Autologous platelet‐rich plasma was applied to the lesion which gradually improved over a 4‐week period possibly by a contribution to the secretion of growth hormone, which can accelerate tissue regeneration. This case report suggests that autologous PRP may be beneficial in the management of large skin defects or in delayed wound healing.
Diesel oil‐induced alopecia in two cats
Authors: Declercq Jan , De Bosschere Hendrik 
Published: January 2009

AbstractTwo cats were presented for acute onset of rapidly progressive, bilaterally symmetrical hair loss of the ventrum and limbs. Alopecia occurred within 2 weeks after accidental skin exposure to diesel oil. The remaining hair epilated easily in affected areas. Denuded skin was strikingly dry and had adherent scale. Erythema and demarcation between affected and normal skin by a liquid‐line were present in one case. Above this line, the hair could not be removed. The head and the footpads were not involved. Systemic signs were not observed. Both cats made a complete recovery without treatment. Histological examination in one cat revealed severe orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis, mild to moderate acanthosis, follicular keratosis, a moderate dermal infiltrate of mast cells and an almost complete absence of sebaceous glands. If skin contact with diesel oil occurs in a cat, thorough washing of skin and haircoat after soaking in prue vegetable oil is recommended.
Evaluation of Grain Filling Rate and Duration in Bread and Durum Wheat, under Heat Stress after Anthesis
Authors: Dias A. S. , Lidon F. C. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractBread and durum wheat genotypes were submitted to heat stress during the grain filling period, and relationships between grain weight and accumulated time from anthesis until maturity, using days after anthesis and growing degree days, were described by cubic polynomials. Maximum grain weight and the duration and rate of grain filling were estimated from the fitted curves. It was found that bread and durum wheat exposure to high temperatures significantly decreased grain weight and hastens physiological maturity (shortening the grain filling period). High temperatures significantly affected the rate (on a growing degree day basis) and duration (on Julian day units) of grain filling. The grain filling rate, on a thermal time basis, was positively associated with the final grain weight and the estimated maximum grain weight. The duration of grain filling does not appear to be a limiting factor for genotype grain weight stability, being mainly fixed by temperature. Grain weight of the controlled plants was positively correlated with the final and maximum grain weight of heat stressed plants. It was concluded that a high grain filling rate and a high potential grain weight are major traits that can be useful to improve heat tolerance of Triticum under Mediterranean environments.
Multi‐level rural community engagement in health
Authors: Kilpatrick Sue 
Published: January 2009

Abstract Community participation in health is consistent with notions of democracy. A systems perspective of engagement can see consumers engaged to legitimise government agendas. Often community participation is via consultation instead of partnership or delegation. A community development approach to engagement can empower communities to take responsibility for their own health care. Understanding rural place facilitates alignment between health programs and community, assists in incorporating community resources into health care and provides information about health needs. Rural communities, health services and other community organisations need skills in working together to develop effective partnerships that transfer some power from health systems. Rural engagement with national/state agendas is a challenge. Community engagement takes time and resources, but can be expected to lead to better health outcomes for rural residents.
Impact of rurality on health practices and services: Summary paper to the inaugural rural and remote health scientific symposium
Authors: Gregory Gordon 
Published: January 2009

Abstract This summary paper for the symposium provides a brief overview of the papers by Craig Veitch, John Beard and Max Kamien that deal with the environmental, socioeconomic and political descriptors of ‘rurality’. Those three papers deal with a number of fundamental truths about rural and remote health, including the fact that internal migration is an important and poorly understood factor in determining community and health outcomes. A brief treatment of the issue suggests that selective internal migration is likely to mean that the burden of illness in rural and remote areas is even higher than that suggested by the published figures. The paper then asserts that thinking in the rural and remote health sector in Australia focuses largely on the negative aspects of the current characteristics of rural areas. A self‐evident definition of ‘rurality’ is offered that has it defined by the set of factors that currently characterise places, communities and individuals outside the major cities. The paper suggests that each of these characteristics has an upside or benefit, as well as a downside or risk, and that giving greater attention to the former will provide a better basis for informing rural health policy and practice than the deficit view alone.
Evaluating the outcomes of rural health policy
Authors: Farmer Jane , Currie Margaret 
Published: January 2009

Abstract With the development of policies specifically relating to rural health and health care provision, it seems apposite to consider evaluating their outcomes. Although little has apparently been done that specifically studies policy or processes, much of rural health research implicitly ‘measures’ policy effects; for example, study of the effects of rural medical education. Given what is known about the policy‐making process, rural health researchers should beware of thinking that policy outcome evaluation might be straightforward or that evidence produced from evaluation will seamlessly influence future or evolving policy. Nonetheless, as rural health research and policy mature, it is worth adopting some of the complex approaches to health policy outcome measurement and applying them to understand our field – to find out the extent that policy, and indeed our role and research, have effects on rural health and care provision. In this paper, we identify some of the quirks of policy and policy evaluation and provide examples.
Estrogen receptor‐binding fragment‐associated gene 9 expression and its clinical significance in human testicular cancer
Authors: Fujimura Tetsuya , Takahashi Satoru , Urano Tomohiko , Xiaoqiang Liu , Ogushi Tetsuo , Muramatsu Masami , Ouchi Yasuyoshi , Kitamura Tadaichi , Homma Yukio , Inoue Satoshi 
Published: January 2009

Objectives:  We previously demonstrated that estrogen receptor‐binding fragment‐associated gene 9 (EBAG9) is a tumor promoting factor in renal cell carcinoma (Ogushi T, Cancer Res. 2005; 65: 3700). Here, we evaluated EBAG9 expression and its clinical significance in normal and malignant human testicular tissues.Methods:  We investigated the expression of EBAG9 in 90 testicular specimens (28 benign testicular tissue and 62 testicular germ cell tumor samples) by immunohistochemistry using rabbit polyclonal anti‐EBAG9 antibody.Results:  Positive immunostaining of EBAG9 in the cytoplasm was found in 32 (52%) cancerous lesions, whereas the immunoreactivity of EBAG9 was weak in benign testicular tissues. Serum lactate dehydrogenaze (LDH) level was significantly higher in EBAG9‐positive cases (715.0 ± 727.3) compared with the negative cases (221.4 ± 126.8) (P = 0.0016). The EBAG9‐positive cases among the patients with advanced clinical stage (Stage II and III) more frequently belonged to the intermediate or poor risk group in the International Germ Cell Consensus Prognostic Classification System (IGCCPCS), compared with the EBAG9‐negative cases (P = 0.0012).Conclusions:  These findings suggest that increased expression of EBAG9 may play a significant role in cancer progression and aggressiveness in testicular germ cell tumors.
Clinical efficacy of naftopidil on lower urinary tract symptoms after radical prostatectomy
Authors: Ishizaka Kazuhiro , Machida Tatsuya , Tanaka Masaki , Kawamura Naoko , Nakamura Keisuke , Kihara Kazunori 
Published: January 2009

Objective:  The management of lower urinary tract symptoms that persist after radical prostatectomy remains to be established. We investigated whether an α1‐blocker, naftopidil, improves LUTS in patients ≥1 year after radical prostatectomy.Methods:  A total of 29 male patients received 25 mg/day of naftopidil for the first week, then 75 mg/day for 4 weeks. The frequency‐volume chart, international prostate symptom score and quality of life index (QOL) were examined before and at the end of the 5‐week administration in all subjects.Results:  Total international prostate symptom score (I‐PSS) and I‐PSS subtotals associated with voiding symptoms and storage symptoms were significantly decreased at 5 weeks compared with baseline (P < 0.001 each). QOL index was significantly improved with naftopidil for 5 weeks (P < 0.001). From analyses of the frequency‐volume chart, mean and maximum volume/void were significantly increased (P < 0.05 each).Conclusion:  Lower urinary tract symptoms detected in patients ≥1 year after radical prostatectomy were markedly improved with administration of naftopidil at 75 mg/day. These symptoms could represent a novel target for medical treatment by improved understanding of the symptom pathology in the near future.
Risk of concomitant carcinoma in situ determining biopsy candidates among primary non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer patients: Retrospective analysis of 173 Japanese cases
Authors: Hara Tomohiko , Takahashi Mutsuo , Gondo Toshikazu , Nagao Kazuhiro , Ohmi Chietaka , Sakano Shigeru , Naito Katsusuke , Matsuyama Hideyasu 
Published: January 2009

Objectives:  To determine candidates for bladder biopsies among Japanese primary non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer patients according to the risk of concomitant carcinoma in situ (CIS).Methods:  Between January 1992 and August 2006, 173 primary non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer cases underwent transurethral resection of the bladder tumor with bladder biopsies for the detection of CIS. Correlations between biopsy results and preoperative/pathological features were retrospectively analyzed.Results:  Positive cytology was statistically associated with the presence of concomitant CIS in multivariate analysis (P < 0.01). Abnormal cystoscopic appearance outside the tumor almost achieved statistical significance in multivariate analysis among preoperative factors (P = 0.06). In our series, one (12.5%) of eight low‐risk, 18 (24.7%) of 73 intermediate‐risk and 41 (59.4%) of 69 high‐risk cases had CIS in normal‐looking sites, respectively. In cases with a single papillary tumor and negative cytology, one of 16 (6.3%) had concomitant CIS in their biopsy specimens at the normal‐looking sites.Conclusions:  All non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer patients with positive cytology are candidates for additional random biopsies. Targeted biopsies should be performed for all suspicious areas in the bladder mucosa. Random biopsies should be considered in cases with the macroscopic types of cancer for predicting intermediate‐ and high‐risk cancer.
Low‐frequency extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy improves renal pelvic stone disintegration in a pig model
Authors: Gillitzer Rolf , Neisius Andreas , Wöllner Jens , Hampel Christian , Brenner Walburgis , Bonilla Arturo Alvarado , Thüroff Joachim 
Published: January 2009

OBJECTIVETo compare disintegration rates for renal stones treated by 60 vs 120 shock waves (SW)/min at the same energy settings, using standardized validated artificial stones in a pig model.MATERIALS AND METHODSGypsum artificial stones (13 × 6 mm) were inserted into the renal pelvis on either side of 12 anaesthetized pigs by open surgery. Extracorporeal SW lithotripsy (ESWL) was applied using a new electromagnetic lithotripter (Lithoskop®, Siemens AG Healthcare, Munich, Germany) at 60 and 120 SW/min; 3000 SW were applied to each kidney with the same energy settings. Stone fragments were collected after nephrectomy, passed through calibrated test sieves, and weighed. Fragment size categories were stratified according to the sieve hole size as set by the manufacturer. Fragments of ≤4.75 mm were defined as capable of spontaneous passage. For each pig the number of stone fragments of the respective size categories was counted and weighed. The results were analysed statistically using the Mann–Whitney U‐test.RESULTSFor fragments of >4.75 mm, the median (range) fragment counts were 0 (0–1) for 60 and 1 (0–3) for 120 SW/min (P = 0.006). For small fragments of 2.0–2.8 mm, the median fragment counts were 15 (4–24) for 60 and 10 (2–25) for 120 SW/min (P = 0.033); for fragments of 1.0–2.0 mm the respective values were 42.5 (9–81) and 21.5 (6–56) (P = 0.004). Of the total stone fragment mass in the 60 and 120 SW/min groups, 4.34% and 31.31% were >4.75 mm. There was complete disintegration yielding fragments capable of spontaneous passage in 10 of 12 renal units at 60 and in three of 12 renal units at 120 SW/min. The mean treatment time was 55.4 min for therapy at 60 and 34.3 min for therapy at 120 SW/min (P = 0.001). One parenchymal haematoma of 15 × 10 mm developed in the 60 SW/min group and another of 20 × 10 mm developed in the 120 SW/min group.CONCLUSIONESWL fragmentation with equal energy application yields significantly smaller fragments at 60 than at 120 SW/min. The theoretical stone passage rate could therefore be ≈80% for 60 vs 25% for 120 SW/min ESWL. Renal haematoma formation was comparable in both groups.