bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
GadX/GadW‐dependent regulation of the Escherichia coli acid fitness island: transcriptional control at the gadY–gadW divergent promoters and identification of four novel 42 bp GadX/GadW‐specific binding sites
Authors: Tramonti Angela , De Canio Michele , De Biase Daniela 
Published: September 2008

Summary Escherichia coli has the remarkable ability to resist severe acid stress for several hours. With the notable exception of the gadBC operon, the most important genes involved in acid resistance are present within the acid fitness island (AFI), a 15 kb H‐NS‐repressed and RpoS‐controlled genome region. The AraC/XylS‐like transcriptional regulators GadX and GadW are also encoded within this region. In this article, we show that gadW transcription occurs from two native promoters, which are affected by the transcription of the divergently transcribed and GadX‐dependent gadY small RNA, and from the gadX promoter. The gadXW dicistronic transcript is subjected to post‐transcriptional processing in which GadY is involved. In contrast, gadW transcription negatively affects gadY transcription. By aligning the GadX/GadW binding site on the gadY promoter with the GadX/GadW binding sites previously identified in the gadA and gadBC 5′ regulatory regions, we generated a 42 bp GadX/GadW consensus sequence. DNase I footprinting analyses confirmed that a 42 bp GadX/GadW binding site, which matched the consensus sequence 5′‐WANDNCTDWTWKTRAYATWAWMATG KCTGATNTTTWYNTYAK‐3′, is also present in the regulatory region of the slp‐yhiF, hdeAB and gadE‐mtdEF operons, all of which belong to the AFI. The presence of five GadX/GadW‐specific binding sites in the AFI suggests that GadX and GadW may act as H‐NS counter‐silencers.
The legwd mutant uncovers the role of starch phosphorylation in pollen development and germination in tomato
Authors: Nashilevitz Shai , Melamed‐Bessudo Cathy , Aharoni Asaph , Kossmann Jens , Wolf Shmuel , Levy Avraham A. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryStarches extracted from most plant species are phosphorylated. α‐Glucan water dikinase (GWD) is a key enzyme that controls the phosphate content of starch. In the absence of its activity starch degradation is impaired, leading to a starch excess phenotype in Arabidopsis and in potato leaves, and to reduced cold sweetening in potato tubers. Here, we characterized a transposon insertion (legwd::Ds) in the tomato GWD (LeGWD) gene that caused male gametophytic lethality. The mutant pollen had a starch excess phenotype that was associated with a reduction in pollen germination. SEM and TEM analyses indicated mild shrinking of the pollen grains and the accumulation of large starch granules inside the plastids. The level of soluble sugars was reduced by 1.8‐fold in mutant pollen grains. Overall, the transmission of the mutant allele was only 0.4% in the male, whereas it was normal in the female. Additional mutant alleles, obtained through transposon excision, showed the same phenotypes as legwd::Ds. Moreover, pollen germination could be restored, and the starch excess phenotype could be abolished in lines expressing the potato GWD homolog (StGWD) under a pollen‐specific promoter. In these lines, where fertility was restored, homozygous plants for legwd::Ds were isolated, and showed the starch excess phenotype in the leaves. Overall, our results demonstrate the importance of starch phosphorylation and breakdown for pollen germination, and open up the prospect for analyzing the role of starch metabolism in leaves and fruits.
Spatial patterns, species richness and cover in weed communities of organic and conventional no‐tillage spring wheat systems
Authors: POLLNAC F W , REW L J , MAXWELL B D , MENALLED F D 
Published: September 2008

SummaryHeterogeneous field conditions are ubiquitous throughout agricultural systems and have given rise to the practice of site‐specific management, in an effort to increase sustainability and/or homogenise growing conditions and thereby increase crop yields. The spatial pattern of weeds in conventional systems is widely accepted to be aggregated, but there have been no scientific studies regarding the spatial pattern of weed distribution in organic systems. Using a combination of aggregation measures and quadrat variance techniques, this study compared the spatial pattern of weed distribution in conventionally managed no‐tillage spring wheat fields to those of organically managed spring wheat fields. Per cent weed cover data (by species) were collected in the summers of 2005 and 2006 from transects located in conventional no‐tillage and organic spring wheat fields. Weed cover was aggregated in both the conventional and the organic systems, but the patterns of aggregation were different for the two systems. Conventional no‐tillage systems showed a patch/gap pattern, while organic systems showed multiple scales of patchiness with few gaps. These results suggest that processes causing aggregation in the two systems may be different and that site‐specific management may be applicable to organic systems as well as conventional spring wheat systems.
A classification methodology for the risk of weed infestation using fuzzy logic
Authors: BRESSAN G M , KOENIGKAN L V , OLIVEIRA V A , CRUVINEL P E , KARAM D 
Published: September 2008

SummaryDespite modern weed control practices, weeds continue to be a threat to agricultural production. Considering the variability of weeds, a classification methodology for the risk of infestation in agricultural zones using fuzzy logic is proposed. The inputs for the classification are attributes extracted from estimated maps for weed seed production and weed coverage using kriging and map analysis and from the percentage of surface infested by grass weeds, in order to account for the presence of weed species with a high rate of development and proliferation. The output for the classification predicts the risk of infestation of regions of the field for the next crop. The risk classification methodology described in this paper integrates analysis techniques which may help to reduce costs and improve weed control practices. Results for the risk classification of the infestation in a maize crop field are presented. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed system, the risk of infestation over the entire field is checked against the yield loss map estimated by kriging and also with the average yield loss estimated from a hyperbolic model.
Crop rotation effects on Cyperus rotundus and C. esculentus population dynamics in southern California vegetable production
Authors: WANG G , McGIFFEN Jr M E , OGBUCHIEKWE E J 
Published: September 2008

SummaryControl options for Cyperus rotundus and Cyperus esculentus (purple and yellow nutsedge) were evaluated within three cropping systems in the low desert of southern California: (1) standard vegetable crop rotation (weed‐free, uncontrolled nutsedge and cultivation) with spring cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) – summer fallow – winter broccoli (Brassica oleracea), (2) cover crop rotation (halosulfuron and smother crop) with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum)/corn (Zea mays) – summer sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense) – Winter Fallow, (3) rotation with solarization (non‐solarization and solarization) with spring wheat – summer fallow/solarization – winter broccoli. After two growing seasons, broccoli was planted without Cyperus control, to study the effect on yield. Cyperus rotundus tubers increased from 0.66 tubers per m2 to 1260 tubers per m2 in the uncontrolled treatment over two seasons. Cultivation during the growing season reduced C. rotundus tubers by 93% compared with the uncontrolled plots. Cover crop rotation did not reduce the number of C. rotundus tubers significantly, despite the dense sudangrass canopy shading the soil during most of the summer. Cyperus rotundus was effectively controlled by the solarization treatment. All methods controlled C. esculentus, especially when there were no crops growing in the summer. When broccoli was grown after two years of various management strategies, the cultivation treatment showed a 44% yield reduction compared with the weed‐free control, while the solarization treatment increased broccoli yield by 64% compared with the non‐solarization treatment. Rotations that included sudangrass had low broccoli yield when either C. rotundus or C. esculentus were present.
Molecular and quantitative genetic differentiation across Europe in yellow dung flies
Authors: DEMONT M. , BLANCKENHORN W. U. , HOSKEN D. J. , GARNER T. W. J. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractRelating geographic variation in quantitative traits to underlying population structure is crucial for understanding processes driving population differentiation, isolation and ultimately speciation. Our study represents a comprehensive population genetic survey of the yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria, an important model organism for evolutionary and ecological studies, over a broad geographic scale across Europe (10 populations from the Swiss Alps to Iceland). We simultaneously assessed differentiation in five quantitative traits (body size, development time, growth rate, proportion of diapausing individuals and duration of diapause), to compare differentiation in neutral marker loci (FST) to that of quantitative traits (QST). Despite long distances and uninhabitable areas between sampled populations, population structuring was very low but significant (FST = 0.007, 13 microsatellite markers; FST = 0.012, three allozyme markers; FST = 0.007, markers combined). However, only two populations (Iceland and Sweden) showed significant allelic differentiation to all other populations. We estimated high levels of gene flow [effective number of migrants (Nm) = 6.2], there was no isolation by distance, and no indication of past genetic bottlenecks (i.e. founder events) and associated loss of genetic diversity in any northern or island population. In contrast to the low population structure, quantitative traits were strongly genetically differentiated among populations, following latitudinal clines, suggesting that selection is responsible for life history differentiation in yellow dung flies across Europe.
Sampling genotype configurations in a large complex pedigree
Authors: Szydlowski M. , Gengler N. 
Published: September 2008

SummaryMany genetic problems can be solved by Monte Carlo method. This often requires sampling genotype configurations over pedigree. Current available samplers are inefficient for large animal pedigrees. A new sampler suitable for large complex pedigrees has been developed and evaluated. The sampler uses simple and iterative peeling algorithms alternately. The sampler was compared to two other samplers on hypothetical pedigree of 79 individuals and recessive disease. The behaviour of the sampler was evaluated in four experimental designs on real bovine pedigree of 907 903 animals. The application of the sampler was also exemplified in identical by descent study.
Influence of hop yard ground flora on invertebrate pests of hops and their natural enemies
Authors: Grasswitz T. R. , James D. G. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractA 3‐year study in Washington State, USA examined the influence of hop yard ground flora both on the invertebrate pests of hops [including hop aphid (Phorodon humuli Schrank), two‐spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) and hop looper (Hypena humuli Harris)] and on their natural enemies. Each year half of the experimental plots were sown with a mixture of ‘insectary’ plants [including California poppy (Eschscholzia californica von Chamisso), dwarf cornflower (Centaurea cyanus L.) and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench)]. Season‐long average cover provided by the flowering mixture ranged from 2% to 26%, with some blooms being present for most of the season in each year. In terms of vegetation, the other main differences between cover‐cropped and control plots were in the proportions of bare soil (which was always significantly higher in control plots) and the percentage of Chenopodium album L., which was significantly higher in the cover‐cropped plots in two of the three seasons. Populations of spider mites on hop foliage were significantly lower in cover‐cropped plots than in control plots in 2 of 3 years, while mite numbers in the cones at harvest were generally low and usually did not differ between treatments. Responses of hop aphids were much more variable, with no consistent treatment effect on either leaf or cone infestations. Larval populations of hop looper tended to be higher in cover‐cropped plots in the first two generations, but usually not in the third (final) generation. Of the beneficial invertebrates, spiders and nabids consistently reached higher average densities in the ground flora of cover‐cropped plots than in control plots in all 3 years, while anthocorids, geocorids and parasitic hymenoptera reached higher mean densities in the former plots in 2 of 3 years. Adult coccinellids were higher in cover‐cropped plots only in 2006.
Virulence of Hessian fly (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in the Fertile Crescent
Authors: El Bouhssini M. , Chen M. , Lhaloui S. , Zharmukhamedova G. , Rihawi F. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractThe Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor (Say), is an important insect pest of wheat (Triticum spp.) in North Africa, North America, southern Europe and northern Kazakhstan. Both wheat and this pest are believed to have originated from West Asia in the Fertile Crescent. The virulence of a Hessian fly population from Syria against a set of cultivars carrying different resistance genes, in addition to other effective sources with unknown genes, was determined in the field and laboratory at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) during the 2005/2006 cropping season. Only two resistance genes (H25 and H26) were effective against the Syrian Hessian fly population, making it the most virulent worldwide. This high virulence supports the hypothesis that Hessian fly coevolved with wheat in the Fertile Crescent of West Asia. The ICARDA screening programme is using this Hessian fly population to identify new resistance genes to this pest.
Relationships between Milk Production, Ovarian Function and Fertility in High‐producing Dairy Herds in North‐eastern Spain
Authors: Yániz J , López‐Gatius F , Bech‐Sàbat G , García‐Ispierto I , Serrano B , Santolaria P 
Published: September 2008

ContentsIn the dairy industry worldwide, reproductive disorders are a major cause of economic losses and a challenge to scientists and technicians. In recent decades, declining fertility and increasing milk production have been widely reported in dairy cattle. In this article, the relationships between milk production, ovarian disorders and fertility in high‐producing dairy herds are briefly described. We carried out a retrospective study of 23 204 lactations included in a reproductive control programme in north‐eastern Spain, a geographical area experiencing both warm and cool conditions. The data were collected between 1991 and 2007 and refer to cows first inseminated or examined 45–80 days postpartum in five well‐managed, commercial, Holstein‐Friesian high‐producing dairy herds. Ovarian disorders were classified as ovarian inactivity or hypofunction, cystic ovarian disease, sub‐oestrus or silent ovulation and sub‐luteal function. Ovarian hypofunction and milk production increased throughout the study period and there was a decrease in the pregnancy rate to first artificial insemination (AI). Cows suffering ovarian hypofunction were efficiently treated using combined progestagen‐prostaglandin treatments. The incidence of ovarian cysts showed little variation with time. Treatment of this syndrome may include different GnRH‐based treatments or manual rupture. During the last 5 years, sub‐oestrus was the predominant dysfunction (42.1%) compared with the cystic (6.3%) and ovarian hypofunction (12%) forms. Response of sub‐oestrous cows to treatment with luteolitic agents was usually higher than 60%. Ovarian function and fertility were dramatically impaired during the warm period. However, during the later years of the study, the inclusion of fans and water sprinklers for the warm season appeared to overcome the seasonal effect on fertility.
Improving the Efficiency of Insemination with Sex‐sorted Spermatozoa
Authors: Vazquez JM , Parrilla I , Gil MA , Cuello C , Caballero I , Vazquez JL , Roca J , Martínez EA 
Published: September 2008

ContentsThe sorting of X‐ and Y‐chromosome‐bearing spermatozoa by flow cytometry is nowadays one of the most apt assisted‐reproduction technologies in livestock production. Potential economic and biological benefits, as well as those related to easier management of herds, have been reported arising out of the application of this technique, especially in cattle. Yet, the sex‐sorting procedure induces damage to spermatozoa, affecting their function and fertilizing ability. Different species present varying degrees of susceptibility to damage from the sorting process and each has its own requirements for sex‐sorted insemination procedures. Thus, several new protocols and strategies have been designed for the handling of sorted spermatozoa, with the main objective of optimizing their fertilizing ability and the consequent application of flow‐cytometric sex‐sorting technology. This article reviews current advances in this technology, pointing out the components to be improved before this technology may be widely applied in different domestic species.
MRI of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease
Authors: Kong A , Kleinig T , Van der Vliet A , Bergin P , Coscia C , Ring S , Brooder R 
Published: September 2008

SummaryThe key MRI findings in five cases of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) are illustrated with four ‘definite’ and one ‘probable’ according to World Health Organization criteria. Close attention to fluid‐attenuation inversion recovery and diffusion‐weighted imaging sequences are important for diagnosis, noting especially restricted diffusion in cortical and deep grey matter. Our study and those of others show predominant cortical, caudate and thalamic involvement. This pattern is highly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis. Fluid‐attenuation inversion recovery and diffusion‐weighted imaging signal abnormality becomes progressively more extensive and bilateral as disease progresses, but may become less pronounced in end‐stage disease because of atrophy.
Increased detections of leptomeningeal presentations in men with hormone refractory prostate cancer: An effect of improved systemic therapy?
Authors: Lin C , Turner S , Gurney H , Peduto A 
Published: September 2008

SummaryMetastases from prostate cancer occur largely in bone through a haematogenous route. Metastatic spread of prostate cancer to the leptomeninges was rarely seen in the past. However, there has been a recent increase in presentations of leptomeningeal spread from prostate cancer in our institutions. Between 2004 and 2006, four patients were diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer with leptomeningeal metastases in our centres. All four patients had hormone refractory prostate cancer and had previously had chemotherapy. The median survival of these patients was approximately 15 months from the time of hormone refractoriness. The prognosis of leptomeningeal metastasis secondary to metastatic prostate cancer is poor, ranging from 2 to 7 months as seen in our series. New cases of leptomeningeal metastases seen in our series are hypothesized to be secondary to the use of effective modern systemic treatments. A parallel might be drawn with the increased rate of central nervous system metastases in breast cancer since the introduction of effective cytotoxic treatments and more recently targeted therapies. We suggest the clinicians to be aware of the potential change of natural history and pattern of progression in metastatic prostate cancer.
Planning and implementing an implanted fiducial programme for prostate cancer radiation therapy
Authors: Thompson A , Fox C , Foroudi F , Styles C , Tai KH , Owen R , Laferlita M 
Published: September 2008

SummaryUsing implanted gold seeds as fiducial markers to verify the position of the prostate in radiation therapy is well accepted and is becoming the standard of practice and requirement for international multicentre trials. In 2006 the decision was made at the Peter MacCallum Caner Centre (Peter Mac) to plan for and implement this process as standard clinical practice for radical dose prostate treatments (74–78 Gy). Before this, programme verification of field placement for prostate cancer radiation treatment was routinely carried out using regular off‐line electronic portal imaging with matching of bony anatomy. A small multidisciplinary team investigated and assisted in the implementation of this new practice across the Peter Mac sites at East Melbourne and our three satellite centres. Issues considered included seed size, number and position in the prostate, implant equipment, imaging equipment and procedure and consent and information forms. The use of a custom made fiducial pack, comprehensive patient information and a daily on‐line imaging process was implemented. The experience of the first 28 patients at Peter Mac from January 2007 to May 2007 inclusive is reported on.
Quality of life of young adults with congenital hypothyroidism
Authors: Sato Hirokazu , Nakamura Nobue , Harada Shohei , Kakee Naoko , Sasaki Nozomu 
Published: September 2008

AbstractBackground:  The aim of the present study was to investigate health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) and the living conditions of young adults with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) detected on newborn screening.Method:  Among medical institutions that care for CH patients in Japan and were approached to in the present study, 78 institutions agreed to participate. The World Health Organization Quality of Life‐26 (WHO/QOL‐26) was used for measurement of HRQOL. CH patients who gave consent after receiving an explanation from their physicians filled in questionnaires at home and sent them by mail. This survey involved 51 CH patients (15 male; 36 female) whose mean age was 21.1 ± 2.7 years (±SD; range, 18–27 years). The data from WHO/QOL‐26 forms completed by 43 patients (12 male; 31 female) were compared with those for healthy individuals.Results:  Mean WHO/QOL‐26 scores were 3.51 ± 0.43 for male patients and 3.59 ± 0.42 for female patients, and there were no significant differences between them and healthy individuals (men, 3.32 ± 0.42; women, 3.35 ± 0.49). No significant difference was observed between patients and healthy individuals on any domain of the WHO/QOL‐26. Their degree of educational attainment was not poor.Conclusions:  The HRQOL of young adults with CH detected on newborn screening was not poor.