bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nucleotide sequence variations of the major structural proteins (VP15, VP19, VP26 and VP28) of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), a pathogen of cultured Litopenaeus vannamei in Mexico
Authors: Molina‐Garza Z J , Galaviz‐Silva L , Rosales‐Encinas J L , Alcocer‐González J M 
Published: February 2008

AbstractWhite spot syndrome virus (WSSV) was first reported in farmed Litopenaeus vannamei stocks in Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico during 1999 and continues to cause severe shrimp losses. WSSV genes encoding nucleocapsid (VP26 and VP15) and envelope proteins (VP19 and VP28) of a Mexican isolate were cloned in the pMosBlue vector. The nucleotide sequences of these genes were compared with WSSV isolates in GenBank. VP15 is highly conserved, and VP26 showed 99% homology to a Chinese isolate. The VP28 fragment demonstrated 100% homology to the majority of the isolates analysed (UniProt accession no. Q91CB7), differing from two Indian WSSV and one Chinese WSSV isolates by two non‐conserved and one conserved replacements, respectively. Because of their highly conserved nature, these three structural proteins are good candidates for the development of antibody‐based WSSV diagnostic tools or for the production of recombinant protein vaccines to stimulate the quasi‐immune response of shrimp. In contrast, VP19 of the Mexican isolate was distinguishable from almost all isolates tested, including an American strain of WSSV (US98/South Carolina, GenBank accession no. AAP14086). Although homology was found with isolates from Taiwan (GenBank accession no. AAL89341) and India (GenBank accession no. AAW67477), VP19 may have application as a genetic marker.
First cases of amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Norwegian seawater farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., and phylogeny of the causative amoeba using 18S cDNA sequences
Authors: Steinum T , Kvellestad A , Rønneberg L B , Nilsen H , Asheim A , Fjell K , Nygård S M R , Olsen A B , Dale O B 
Published: February 2008

AbstractAmoebic gill disease (AGD) was observed in seawater farmed Atlantic salmon at four geographically distant locations on the western coast of Norway. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first detected AGD outbreaks in Norway. The outbreaks lasted for 7–12 weeks in late autumn 2006 and were for the most part concurrent. The crude, cumulative mortality was in the range of 12–20% at three farms and 82% at a fourth. The histopathology showed uniform parasomal amoebae in lesions characteristic for AGD. Another gill disease, proliferative gill inflammation (PGI), was also present to a variable degree and the distinction between the two gill problems is discussed. Seawater temperatures were 3.5 °C higher than average before disease outbreaks, which subsided in early winter. The geographical and time pattern of these outbreaks strongly indicates simultaneous infection from the marine environment. Two contiguous 18S cDNA sequences, obtained by reverse transcriptase PCR from gill tissue with AGD‐related lesions, showed highest similarity (99.2%) to a newly recognized species designated Neoparamoeba perurans and maximum likelihood analysis demonstrates that they represent Norwegian strains of this Neoparamoeba lineage.
Endogenous ouabain and cardiomyopathy in dialysis patients
Authors: Stella P. , Manunta P. , Mallamaci F. , Melandri M. , Spotti D. , Tripepi G. , Hamlyn J. M. , Malatino L. S. , Bianchi G. , Zoccali C. 
Published: February 2008

Abstract.Background and methods.  Endogenous ouabain (EO) is markedly raised in patients with chronic renal failure. As high EO induces myocardial cell hypertrophy in vitro and it is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in essential hypertensives and in patients with heart failure we investigated the relationship between plasma EO and LV mass and geometry in 156 end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. EO was measured by a specific radioimmunoassay and by mass spectrometry.Results.  On univariate analysis, plasma EO was directly related to LV mass (r = 0.26, P = 0.001) and LV end diastolic volume (r = 0.25, P = 0.002) and these relationships held true in multiple linear regression models including a series of potential confounders. Patients with eccentric LVH (n = 41, i.e. 26%) had the highest plasma levels of EO when compared to patients with other patterns of LV geometry (P = 0.001). Furthermore, plasma EO had diagnostic value for eccentric LVH because the area under the corresponding ROC curve (68%) was significantly greater (P = 0.002) than the threshold of diagnostic indifference. In this analysis, the sensitivity was 91% and the specificity was 36%. The positive predictive value was 33% but EO had a remarkably high negative predictive value (92%) for the exclusion of eccentric hypertrophy.Conclusions.  In ESRD patients, plasma EO is independently associated with LV mass, LV volume and eccentric LVH. The results of this study are compatible with the hypothesis that EO is involved in alterations of LV mass in ESRD.
Association of F11 receptor gene polymorphisms with central obesity and blood pressure
Authors: Ong K. L. , Leung R. Y. H. , Wong L. Y. F. , Cherny S. S. , Sham P. C. , Lam T. H. , Lam K. S. L. , Cheung B. M. Y. 
Published: February 2008

Abstract.Objectives.  F11 receptor, also known as junctional adhesion molecule‐1, in the autonomic nervous system is implicated in the development of hypertension in spontaneous hypertensive rats. We investigated the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the F11 receptor gene (F11R) with hypertension and central obesity in Hong Kong Chinese.Methods.  Seven tagging SNPs were identified in the HapMap database. Genotyping was performed using Sequenom MassArray in 263 hypertensive subjects and 393 normotensive controls, of whom 263 matched the cases in age and sex.Results.  When subjects on anti‐hypertensive medication were excluded, rs790056 and rs2774276 were associated with lower systolic blood pressure (TT:124.8 ± 18.3 mmHg vs. TC + CC: 120.2 ± 15.5 mmHg, P = 0.004 and CC: 124.7 ± 18.5 mmHg vs. CG+GG: 120.5 ± 15.1 mmHg, P = 0.007 respectively). Comparing 213 subjects with central obesity with 213 controls matched for sex and age, rs2481084 and rs3737787 were associated with lower odds of central obesity (odds ratio = 0.516, P = 0.002 and odds ratio = 0.540, P = 0.005 respectively). All these associations remained significant after correction for multiple testing. Analysis of statistically similar SNPs suggested that the causative variants for systolic blood pressure were located in F11R, whilst those for central obesity could be due to causative variants in the transcription factor 1 gene immediately upstream.Conclusions.  F11 receptor plays a role in blood pressure regulation, not only in rats but also in man. The link between F11 receptor and central obesity merits further investigation.
Soluble CD40L, platelet surface CD40L and total platelet CD40L in congestive heart failure: relationship to platelet volume, mass and granularity
Authors: Chung I. , Choudhury A. , Patel J. , Lip G. Y. H. 
Published: February 2008

Abstract.Background.  Many complications associated with congestive heart failure (CHF) have a thrombosis‐related aetiology, which may involve platelets. The immune modulator pair CD40‐CD40L has been proposed to be an important link between inflammation and thrombosis and may be important in the pathophysiology of CHF.Objective.  To study soluble CD40L (sCD40L), platelet surface CD40L (%GCD40L) and total platelet CD40L (pCD40L) levels in CHF patients, their relationships to other platelet indices (platelet volume, mass and component) and to assess their prognostic value.Methods.  We measured sCD40L (by ELISA); pCD40L (by a platelet lysate assay); platelet surface CD40L (%GCD40L) expression by flow cytometry; mean platelet volume (MPV), mean platelet mass (MPM) and mean platelet component (MPC); in 108 patients with stable CHF. Levels were compared with 37 ‘healthy controls’ and 63 ‘disease controls’. After a median follow‐up period of 490 days, clinical endpoints were determined.Results.  pCD40L was significantly higher in CHF than disease controls, but not sCD40L or %GCD40L levels. CHF patients and disease controls had higher MPV (one‐way anova, P < 0.0001), whilst MPC was significantly lower in CHF patients (P < 0.0001), compared to healthy controls. All indices related to CD40L (i.e. sCD40L, pCD40L and %GCD40L) were neither related to disease severity or left ventricular ejection function, nor to clinical endpoints at follow‐ups.Conclusion.  Patients with stable CHF patients did not exhibit enhanced levels of CD40L and the latter did not predict clinical events at follow‐up. The lack of difference in CD40L levels between CHF and disease controls suggests that CD40L may not have a major role in CHF per se, but in the comorbidities associated with CHF.
Cholesterol efflux pathways and other potential mechanisms involved in the athero‐protective effect of high density lipoproteins
Authors: Tall A. R. 
Published: February 2008

Abstract.Plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels bear a strong independent inverse relationship with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Although HDL has anti‐oxidant, anti‐inflammatory, vasodilating and anti‐thrombotic properties, the central anti‐atherogenic activity of HDL is likely to be its ability to remove cholesterol and oxysterols from macrophage foam cells, smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells in the arterial wall. To some extent, the pleotropic athero‐protective properties of HDL may be related to its ability to promote sterol and oxysterol efflux from arterial wall cells, as well as to detoxify oxidized phospholipids. In cholesterol‐loaded macrophages, activation of liver X receptors (LXRs) leads to increased expression of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) binding cassetter transporter (ABCA1), ATP binding cassetter transporter gene (ABCG1) and apoE and promotes cholesterol efflux. ABCA1 stimulates cholesterol efflux to lipid‐poor apolipoproteins, whilst ABCG1 promotes efflux of cholesterol and oxysterols to HDL. Despite some recent setbacks in the clinical arena, there is still intense interest in therapeutically targeting HDL and macrophage cholesterol efflux pathways, via treatments with niacin, cholesterol ester transfer protein inhibitors, LXR activators and infusions of apoA‐1, phospholipids and peptides.
Stroke event rates in anticoagulated patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
Authors: Lip G. Y. H. , Frison L. , Grind M. ,   the SPORTIF Investigators
Published: February 2008

Abstract.Aims.  To test the hypothesis that stroke and systemic embolic events (SEE) in the stroke prevention using an oral thrombin inhibitor in atrial fibrillation (SPORTIF) III and V trials are different between paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation (AF).Methods.  Data analysis from two cohorts of patients enroled in the prospective SPORTIF III and V clinical trials (n = 7329); 836 subjects (11.4%) with paroxysmal AF [mean age 70.1 years (SD = 9.5)] were compared with 6493 subjects with persistent AF for this ancillary study.Results.  The annual event rates for stroke/SEE are 1.73% for persistent AF and 0.93% for paroxysmal AF. In a multivariate analysis, after adjusting for stroke risk factors, gender and aspirin usage, the differences remained statistically significant with a higher hazard ratio (HR) for stroke/SEE in persistent AF [vs. paroxysmal AF, HR 1.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–3.36; P = 0.037]. In ‘high risk’ patients (with ≥2 stroke risk factors) annual event rates for stroke/SEE were 2.08% for persistent AF and 1.27% for paroxysmal AF (adjusted HR = 1.68, 95% CI 0.91–3.1, P = 0.098). Elderly patients had annual event rates for stroke/SEE of 2.38% for persistent AF and 1.13% for paroxysmal AF (adjusted HR = 2.27, 95% CI 0.92–5.59, P = 0.075). Vitamin K antagonist (VKA)‐naïve paroxysmal AF patients had a 1.89%/year stroke/SEE rate, compared with 0.61% for previous VKA takers (HR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.11–1.01, P = 0.052).Conclusion.  In this large clinical trial cohort of anticoagulated AF patients, those with paroxysmal AF had stroke rates which were lower than for patients with persistent AF, although both groups had broadly similar stroke risk factors. Subjects with paroxysmal AF at ‘high risk’ had stroke/SEE rates that were not significantly different to persistent AF subjects.
The first postmodern pandemic: 25 years of HIV/ AIDS
Authors: Kallings L. O. 
Published: February 2008

AbstractScience responded to the challenge of AIDS by rapidly identifying aetiology, describing pathogenesis and transmission routes, and developing diagnostic tests and treatment. However, this did not prevent the global spread of HIV, with 25 million fatal cases so far, another 33 million infected, and disastrous socioeconomic and demographic consequences. In spite of unprecedented political attention and financial resources, the response is falling further behind the growth of the epidemic. This is partly due to the unique characteristics of the virus, such as persistent infection, vertical transmission and a variability that allows it to escape immunity and antiretroviral drugs, and partly due to human characteristics such as a strong procreative instinct, drug use and ostracism. Denial, myths and complacency are major obstacles to rational measures. With no cure or vaccine in sight, scaling up prevention is of paramount importance. To meet the goal of universal access to prevention, treatment and care by 2010 would require a quadrupling of funding to an estimated US$42 billion by 2010, including adequate overall strengthening of healthcare systems, but in any case, the world will have to learn to live with HIV for the foreseeable future.
Pyrethroid tolerance is associated with elevated expression of antioxidants and agricultural practice in Anopheles arabiensis sampled from an area of cotton fields in Northern Cameroon
Authors: MÜLLER PIE , CHOUAÏBOU MOUHAMADOU , PIGNATELLI PATRICIA , ETANG JOSIANE , WALKER EDWARD D. , DONNELLY MARTIN J. , SIMARD FRÉDÉRIC , RANSON HILARY 
Published: February 2008

AbstractSpraying of agricultural crops with insecticides can select for resistance in nontarget insects and this may compromise the use of insecticides for the control of vector‐borne diseases. The tolerance of the malaria vector, Anopheles arabiensis to deltamethrin was determined in a field population from a cotton‐growing region of Northern Cameroon both prior to and midway through the 4‐month period of insecticide application to the cotton crop. A 1.6‐fold increase in the median knockdown time was observed. To determine whether this increased tolerance was associated with constitutively elevated levels of genes commonly associated with insecticide resistance, RNA was extracted from F1 progeny from family lines of field‐caught mosquitoes and hybridized to the Anopheles gambiae detox chip. The experimental design avoided the confounding effects of colonization, and this study is the first to measure gene expression in the progeny of gravid, wild‐caught mosquitoes. Several genes with antioxidant roles, including superoxide dismutases, a glutathione S‐transferase and a thioredoxin‐dependent peroxidase, and a cytochrome P450 showed elevated expression in mosquito families collected during the insecticide‐spraying programme. These genes may constitute an important general defence mechanism against insecticides. Intriguingly, the levels of expression of these genes were strongly correlated suggesting a common regulatory mechanism.
Evolution of ecological specialization and venom of a predatory marine gastropod
Authors: REMIGIO E. A. , DUDA JR T. F. 
Published: February 2008

AbstractUnderstanding the evolution of ecological specialization is important for making inferences about the origins of biodiversity. Members of the predatory, marine gastropod genusConusexhibit a variety of diets and the ability to capture prey is linked to a venom comprised of peptide neurotoxins, termed conotoxins. We identified conotoxin transcripts fromConus leopardus, a species ofConusthat uniquely preys exclusively on hemichordates, and compared its venom duct transcriptome to that of four otherConusspecies to determine whether a shift to a specialized diet is associated with changes in the venom composition of this species. We also examined the secondary structure of predicted amino acid sequences of conotoxin transcripts ofC. leopardusto identify substitutions that may be linked to specialization on hemichordates. We identified seven distinct conotoxin sequences fromC. leopardusthat appear to represent transcripts of seven distinct loci. Expression levels and the diversity of conotoxins expressed byC. leopardusare considerably less than those of otherConus.Moreover, gene products of two transcripts exhibited unique secondary structures that have not been previously observed from otherConus. These results suggest that transition to a specialist diet is associated with reduction in the number of components expressed in venoms ofConusand that diverse venoms ofConusare maintained in species with a broad dietary width.
Chloroplast phylogeography ofDipentodon(Dipentodontaceae) in southwest China and northern Vietnam
Authors: YUAN QING‐JUN , ZHANG ZHI‐YONG , PENG HUA , GE SONG 
Published: February 2008

AbstractThe evolutionary history of plants in the southeast Tibetan Plateau might be the most complicated around the world because of the area's extremely complex topography and climate induced by strong tectonic activity in recent history. In this research, we implemented a phylogeographical study using chloroplast sequences (psbA‐trnH andtrnQ‐rps16 intergenic spacer) onDipentodon, a monotypic or ditypic genus (D. sinicusandD. longipedicellatus) distributed in southwest China and adjacent areas including Myanmar (Burma), northeast India and northern Vietnam. A total of 257 samples from 16 populations from the southeast Tibetan Plateau (D. longipedicellatus) and the Yungui Plateau (D. sinicus) were collected. The results revealed thatDipentodonhad 11 haplotypes for the two intergenic spacers, high genetic diversity (hT = 0.902) and high genetic differentiation (NST = 0.987 andGST = 0.948).amovaanalysis showed that the component of among‐population within region/species (55.25%) was unexpectedly larger than the among‐species/region component (43.69%), which indicates that there is no justification for recognizing two species inDipentodon. Correlation of pairwise genetic and geographical distances showed thatDipentodonpopulations in the southeast Tibetan Plateau may have suffered more habitat fragmentation than populations in the Yungui Plateau because of the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau than populations in the Yungui Plateau have. Nested clade analysis showed that 11 haplotypes formed two 3‐level, three 2‐level and seven 1‐level clades, with eight clades showing significant geographical association. However, clade 2‐1 and 2‐2 did not cluster together, although they are distributed in the same region (Yungui Plateau) and belong to the same species (D. sinicus). This led not only to incongruence between haplotype network and geographical distribution of 2‐level clades, but also to paraphyly ofD. sinicustoD. longipedicellatus. We concluded that the incongruence and paraphyly may result from incomplete lineage sorting during the rapid and extreme tectonic events of the Tibetan Plateau. The results reported here will no doubt provide new insights into the evolution of biodiversity on the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas, and a historical framework for the conservation of biodiversity in this area, includingDipentodon.
Host–parasite interactions in oligotrophic stream ecosystems: the roles of life‐history strategy and ecological niche
Authors: GEIST JUERGEN , KUEHN RALPH 
Published: February 2008

AbstractBiodiversity in fluvial ecosystems is under pressure as a consequence of their degradation. Conservation strategies for endangered freshwater molluscs and for salmonid fishes have been proposed but they are typically poorly integrated. Here, we examined for the first time the genetic structure of a critically endangered obligate mollusc invertebrate parasite, the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera), and its vertebrate host fish, the brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario), in European headwater streams. We compared genetic differentiation and diversity with productivity and ecological habitat features of both species in nine different European streams from the drainage systems of the Danube, Elbe, Weser, Tuuloma, Kemijoki and Aulne. Genetic differentiation was more pronounced in pearl mussel than in brown trout, although the drainage‐specific patterns were generally similar. Genetic diversity of host and parasite was negatively correlated. The most oligotrophic, postglacially colonized areas represented genetic diversity hotspots with high conservation priority for pearl mussels, whereas their host fish displayed low diversity in these areas. This pattern can be explained by differences in the ecological niches and in the life‐history strategies of both species. These results question the effectiveness of single‐species approaches in the conservation of genetic aquatic resources and suggest that genetic information from species with different life‐history strategies, such as invertebrates and fish, should be considered simultaneously for geographical conservation prioritization in stream ecosystems.
Defining reproductively isolated units in a cryptic and syntopic species complex using mitochondrial and nuclear markers: the brooding brittle star, Amphipholis squamata (Ophiuroidea)
Authors: BOISSIN E. , FÉRAL J. P. , CHENUIL A. 
Published: February 2008

AbstractAt a time when biodiversity is threatened, we are still discovering new species, and particularly in the marine realm. Delimiting species boundaries is the first step to get a precise idea of diversity. For sympatric species which are morphologically undistinguishable, using a combination of independent molecular markers is a necessary step to define separate species. Amphipholis squamata, a cosmopolitan brittle star, includes several very divergent mitochondrial lineages. These lineages appear totally intermixed in the field and studies on morphology and colour polymorphism failed to find any diagnostic character. Therefore, these mitochondrial lineages may be totally interbreeding presently. To test this hypothesis, we characterized the genetic structure of the complex in the French Mediterranean coast using sequences of mitochondrial DNA (16S) and for the first time, several nuclear DNA markers (introns and microsatellites). The data revealed six phylogenetic lineages corresponding to at least four biological species. These sibling species seem to live in syntopy. However, they seem to display contrasted levels of genetic diversity, suggesting they have distinct demographic histories and/or life‐history traits. Genetic differentiation and isolation‐by‐distance within the French Mediterranean coasts are revealed in three lineages, as expected for a species without a free larval phase. Finally, although recombinant nuclear genotypes are common within mitochondrial lineages, the data set displays a total lack of heterozygotes, suggesting a very high selfing rate, a feature likely to have favoured the formation of the species complex.