bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
In vitroresponses of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells to whole-cell, particulate and soluble extracts ofLeishmaniapromastigotes
Authors: Telino E , De Luca P M , Matos D C S , Azeredo-Coutinho R B , Meirelles M N , Conceição-Silva F , Schubach A , Mendonça S C F 
Published: December 2005

SummaryWhole-cell and soluble extracts of Leishmania promastigotes have both been used as skin test antigens and have also been tested as vaccine candidates. However, the differences in antigenicity between soluble and particulate Leishmania fractions are not known. We evaluated in vitro responses of PBMC from 30 American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) patients and seven noninfected donors to different antigen preparations from Leishmania promastigotes, namely Leishmania amazonensis and L. braziliensis whole-cell extracts, as well as soluble and particulate fractions of L. amazonensis. All Leishmania antigen preparations stimulated significantly higher proliferation and interferon (IFN)-γ production (but not interleukin (IL)-10 production) in PBMC from the leishmaniasis patients than in cells from the control subjects. The L. braziliensis whole-cell extract stimulated significantly higher cell proliferation and IFN-γ production than the L. amazonensis whole-cell extract in the group of patients but not in the control group. This result can be explained by the fact that the patients were infected with L. braziliensis. Again in the group of patients, the PBMC proliferative responses as well as the levels of IFN-γ and IL-10 stimulated by L. amazonensis whole-cell extract were significantly greater than those elicited by the L. amazonensis soluble fraction but were not significantly different from those elicited by the L. amazonensis particulate fraction. We found a higher antigenicity of the particulate fraction as compared to the soluble fraction, what suggests that the antigens present in the particulate fraction account for most of the antigenicity of whole-cell Leishmania promastigote antigen extracts.
Alveolar macrophage function is altered in patients with lung cancer
Authors: Pouniotis D S , Plebanski M , Apostolopoulos V , McDonald C F 
Published: December 2005

SummaryThe alveolar macrophage (AM) is believed to be of central importance in the immune response against infection and tumour. We examined patients with lung cancer in order to evaluate the immuno-stimulatory potential of AM in lung cancer. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples were obtained from patients with adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, large cell undifferentiated lung carcinoma, small cell carcinoma and control subjects. AM were isolated and phagocytic function, flow cytometry and cytokine analysis were assessed. AM from patients with small and squamous cell carcinoma had impaired uptake in vitro of 40 nm fluorescent polystyrene beads. AM from patients with small, squamous and large cell undifferentiated carcinoma showed impaired uptake of 1000 nm fluorescent polystyrene beads. Secreted levels of TNF-α and IL-1 from AM of patients with small, squamous, and large cell undifferentiated carcinoma were decreased compared to controls. Secreted AM IL-6 levels were decreased in small and large cell undifferentiated carcinoma. AM from adenocarcinoma patients showed similar levels of IL-10, IL-6, IL-1 and TNF-α compared to controls. Phenotypic analysis demonstrated that patients with small cell carcinoma were the only group that showed a decrease in MHC class II surface expression. Surface expression of ICAM-1 and CD83 was decreased on AM from patients with large, squamous and small cell carcinoma compared to controls but not adenocarcinoma. Mannose receptor levels were only decreased on AM from patients with squamous and small cell carcinoma but not adenocarcinoma and large cell undifferentiated carcinoma. We conclude that there are type-specific alterations in uptake ability, cytokine secretion and phenotype of AM from lung cancer patients, which may result in an inability to stimulate anti-tumour immunity. The observed differences between lung cancer subgroups may explain previously reported inconsistencies in descriptions of AM characteristics in lung cancer.
Global warming and positive fitness response in mountain populations of common lizards Lacerta vivipara
Authors: CHAMAILLÉ‐JAMMES SIMON , MASSOT MANUEL , ARAGÓN PEDRO , CLOBERT JEAN 
Published: December 2005

AbstractRecent global warming threatens many species and has already caused population‐ and species‐level extinctions. In particular, high risks of extinction are expected for isolated populations of species with low dispersal abilities. These predictions rely on widely used ‘climatic envelope’ models, while individual responses, the ultimate driver of a species response to climate change, have been most often neglected. Here, we report on some changes in life‐history traits of a dispersal‐limited reptile species (a poorly studied taxa) living in isolated populations. Using long‐term data on common lizards collected in southern France, we show that individual body size dramatically increased in all the four populations studied over the past 18 years. This increase in body size in all age classes appeared related to a concomitant increase in temperature experienced during the first month of life (August). Daily maximum temperature in August increased by 2.2°C and yearling snout‐vent‐length increased by about 28%. As a result, adult female body size increased markedly, and, as fecundity is strongly dependent on female body size, clutch size and total reproductive output also increased. For one population where capture–recapture data were available, adult survival was positively related to May temperature. All fitness components investigated therefore responded positively to the increase in temperature, such that it might be concluded that the common lizard has been advantaged by the shift in temperature. We contrast these short‐term results with the long‐term habitat‐based prediction that these populations located close to mountain tops on the southern margin of the species range should be unable to cope with the alteration of their habitat. To achieve a better prediction of a species persistence, one will probably need to combine both habitat and individual‐based approaches.
Diagnosis and quantification of bone marrow fibrosis are significantly biased by the pre‐staining processing of bone marrow biopsies
Authors: Buesche G , Georgii A , Kreipe H‐H 
Published: December 2005

Aims:  Marrow fibrosis (MF) is an unfavourable, often lethal complication of haematological neoplasms. Although biopsy technique and staining procedure are standardized, the prestaining processing of bone marrow biopsies (BMBs) varies markedly without any existing data on its significance for the diagnosis of MF.Methods and results:  In this study on 712 BMBs from 296 patients with chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis (CIMF), chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), or healthy bone marrow, MF was a characteristic complication of CML and CIMF. However, diagnosis and quantification of MF and detection of its prognostic significance were significantly biased by fixation, decalcification, embedding, marrow tissue shrinkage during biopsy processing and the thickness of marrow sections (P < 0.000005). The relevance of these influences was explained by their effect on the marrow volume to which the fibre content was related, whereas the stainability of fibres was not affected. Semiquantitative grading of fibrosis and measurements of fibre density could not be adjusted to various methods of processing of bone marrow biopsies (P < 0.003).Conclusions:  Evaluations of MF and its prognostic significance should consider the bias due to the prestaining processing of BMBs and the necessity of an adjustment to the thickness of tissue sections and the degree of marrow tissue shrinkage.
Wound healing after paranasal sinus surgery: neutrophilic inflammation influences the outcome
Authors: Watelet J B , Demetter P , Claeys C , Van Cauwenberge P , Cuvelier C , Bachert C 
Published: December 2005

Aims : After failure of medical treatment, functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) remains the best treatment for chronic sinusitis (CS) and nasal polyposis (NP). The precise mechanisms involved in wound healing after sinus surgery remain unclear. The aim of this study was to explore systematically the different histomorphological processes and cell populations involved in the wound repair of the paranasal mucosa.Methods and results : Biopsy specimens from patients operated on for CS and NP were collected 1, 2 and 6 months after surgery and compared with baseline and control specimens. A pathologist blinded to biopsy status evaluated the haematoxylin/eosin‐stained sections for oedema, fibrosis and inflammatory reaction, and the immunohistochemical preparations for epithelial replication, myofibroblasts, macrophages, neutrophils and eosinophils. Samples from NP showed significantly more oedema than those from CS. At baseline, oedema showed a significant correlation with macrophages, neutrophils and eosinophils, while fibrosis was inversely correlated with neutrophils. During healing, after a short increase at month 1, oedema decreased. Fibrosis and myofibroblasts showed an inverse relationship. Finally, during the postoperative period, both macrophages and neutrophils were increased when compared with controls.Conclusions : The severity of the neutrophilic inflammation appears to influence the formation of fibrosis during wound repair after sinus surgery.
Melatonin hormone profile in infertile males
Authors: Awad Hosni , Halawa Fawzy , Mostafa Taymour , Atta Hazem 
Published: December 2005

SummaryMelatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland. There is much controversy about its relationship to the male reproductive process. In this study, seminal plasma as well as the serum melatonin levels were studied in different infertile male groups and were correlated with their semen parameters and hormonal levels. One hundred twenty male cases subdivided into six equal groups were consecutively included; fertile normozoospermic men, oligoasthenozoospermia (OA), OA with leucocytospermia, OA with varicocele, non‐obstructive azoospermia (NOA) with high serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and NOA with normal FSH. Semen analysis, estimation of melatonin, FSH, testosterone (T) and prolactin (PRL) hormone was carried out. Mean level of serum melatonin was higher than its corresponding seminal concentrations in all investigated groups with a positive correlation between their levels (r = 0.532, p = 0.01). Serum and seminal plasma melatonin levels in all infertile groups were reduced significantly compared with their levels in the fertile group. The lowest concentrations were in OA with leucocytospermia group. Melatonin in both serum and semen demonstrated significant correlation with sperm motility (r = 607, 0.623 respectively, p = 0.01). Serum melatonin correlated positively with serum PRL (r = 0.611, p = 0.01). It may be concluded that melatonin may be involved in the modulation of reproductive neuroendocrine axis in male infertility. Also, low levels of melatonin in semen were observed in infertile groups having reduced sperm motility, leucocytospermia, varicocele and NOA.
How to test different density‐dependent fecundity hypotheses in an increasing or stable population
Authors: FERRER MIGUEL , NEWTON IAN , CASADO EVA 
Published: December 2005

Summary

We report on a simulation study of increasing and stable populations working under two different hypotheses of density dependence of fecundity: the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis (HHH) and the individual adjustment hypothesis (IAH). Our aim is to find critical differences between the two regulatory hypotheses in natural populations.
Populations under HHH show a strong negative relationship between fecundity and the coefficient of variation of fecundity. We also found a strong negative relationship between fecundity and skewness, demonstrating that, as fecundity decreases, the form of the distribution of brood sizes changes, being more left‐skewed due to more territories failing to produce any offspring.
This strong relationship was found only in the simulations of populations under HHH; whether increasing or stable, and under different ratios of good : poor territories and different population sizes. In contrast, no relationship between mean fecundity and skewness was found among simulations under IAH.
Populations under IAH also showed a significant relationship between mean fecundity and the coefficient of variation of fecundity, but with a lower slope than in populations under HHH.
In conclusion, skewness was found to be an adequate critical test that showed significant and strong relationships with mean fecundity only in populations under HHH, whether increasing or stable. This test is useful for species with a discrete distribution of offspring with a small number of integer categories, including most of the bird and mammal species.
An experimental test of the effects of food resources and hydraulic refuge on patch colonization by stream macroinvertebrates during spates
Authors: NEGISHI JUNJIRO N. , RICHARDSON JOHN S. 
Published: December 2005

Summary

The passive or active movement of organisms between habitat patches plays important roles in achieving ecosystem resilience to disturbance and long‐term control of population levels. However, causal mechanisms of disturbance‐induced movements of mobile biota across heterogeneous habitat patches at a relatively short time‐scale are little understood.
We experimentally tested the effects of food resource values on macroinvertebrate colonization of hydraulic refugia from spates in a second‐order creek. Experimental cages were colonized by macroinvertebrates with combinations of resource types (natural or polyester leaves), and extent of exposure to stream flow (exposed to or sheltered from current); one half of each set was collected before and after a spate. This experiment was repeated over three spates of varying magnitude and seasonal contexts.
Pre‐spate colonization was consistently greater for the cages with natural leaves relative to artificial leaves regardless of the extent of flow exposure. Two autumn spates with relatively low and stable antecedent flow conditions caused large movements of organic matter and macroinvertebrates across the stream, showing community‐level accumulations into hydraulically sheltered patches independent of food treatment. The smallest spate with high and variable antecedent flows during winter resulted in negligible responses, which we interpret to be a result of depletion of easily transportable organic matter and organisms.
Two detritivorous taxa, the mayfly Paraleptophlebia spp. and stonefly Despaxia augusta (Banks) were the most responsive to autumn spates, and had disproportionately higher colonization rates of cages when provided with natural leaves during the largest autumn spate. Preferential settlement in food‐enriched hydraulic refugia was attributable to taxon‐specific mobility related to efficient acquisition of detritus resource, whose availability varies spatially and temporally.
Our findings suggest (1) detritivorous macroinvertebrate colonization of hydraulic refugia can be influenced by hydraulic controls as well as food resource value, and (2) pre‐spate environmental conditions in terms of resource distribution and availability may pre‐condition organisms’ susceptibility to spates and also affect refugium usage, at least in food‐limited, detritus‐based stream systems.
Macrofungal diversity in fragmented and disturbed forests of the Western Ghats of India
Authors: BROWN NICK , BHAGWAT SHONIL , WATKINSON SARAH 
Published: December 2005

Summary

Despite their functional importance, little is known about how and where fungi can be conserved. It is important that we understand the consequences of habitat degradation and fragmentation for fungal assemblages if we are to devise successful conservation strategies.
We investigated the effects of fragmentation and disturbance on the diversity and landscape distribution of fungi in tropical rain forests in the Kodagu district of the Western Ghats of India. We recorded macrofungi on three occasions over a wet season, in 0·125‐ha plots in 10 forest reserve sites, 25 sacred groves and 23 coffee plantations.
Despite a long history of isolation from continuous forest, sacred groves had the highest sporocarp abundance and the greatest morphotype richness per sample area, while coffee plantations had the lowest. However, coffee plantation samples were more diverse for a given number of sporocarps than a sample of a similar size from other forest types.
Ordination by non‐metric multidimensional scaling suggested that sacred groves had a macrofungal assemblage that was distinct from other forest types. This compositional difference was primarily because of the presence of a group of dead wood and litter decomposing fungi. Coffee plantations and forest reserve sites had very variable but overlapping compositions.
Neither sacred grove size nor distances between a grove and continuous forest accounted for a significant proportion of the total variation in their macrofungal richness.
There was no significant correlation between dissimilarity in macrofungal assemblage composition and geographical distance between sample sites. However, we found strong congruence between patterns of dissimilarity in macrofungi and trees between sites.
Synthesis and applications. These results imply that macrofungal distribution patterns at a landscape scale are determined by habitat requirements rather than dispersal or local population dynamics. This means that habitat degradation is a more serious threat to fungal diversity than fragmentation. Sacred groves, although small, are important for fungus conservation because they provide unique types of habitat.
Effectiveness of the Swiss agri‐environment scheme in promoting biodiversity
Authors: KNOP EVA , KLEIJN DAVID , HERZOG FELIX , SCHMID BERNHARD 
Published: December 2005

Summary

Increasing concern over the loss of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes was one of the reasons for the introduction of agri‐environment schemes in Europe. These schemes compensate farmers financially for any loss of income associated with measures aimed to benefit biodiversity. Nevertheless, more than a decade after the introduction of the schemes, only a limited number of studies evaluating their ecological effects have been published. We assessed the effect of the Swiss agri‐environment scheme that was designed to maintain and increase species richness in hay meadows. In Switzerland, hay meadows under this agri‐environment scheme (ECA hay meadows) are the most widely adopted environmental measure to conserve biodiversity.
We tested whether meadows under the agri‐environment scheme had higher species richness and species evenness than control meadows, whether species richness and species evenness were higher in the centre than at the edge of meadows, and whether these effects differed between geographical regions.
Biodiversity was sampled in 42 hay meadows in three different regions, using a pair‐wise comparison of ECA hay meadows with conventionally managed hay meadows. Biodiversity was estimated by assessing species richness and species evenness of four taxonomic groups representing different trophic levels: vascular plants, grasshoppers, wild bees and spiders.
Species richness of vascular plants, grasshoppers and wild bees was significantly higher on ECA hay meadows than on control meadows, but species richness of spiders did not differ. These results were consistent across the three study sites, except for the species richness of grasshoppers, which showed no difference between the ECA meadows and the control meadows in one region.
Species evenness was significantly higher on ECA hay meadows than on control meadows for plants and bees but not for spiders and grasshoppers. These results were consistent across the three study regions for bees and spider species only.
The species richness of vascular plants and spiders was higher at the edge than in the centre of both ECA and control meadows, suggesting a more extensive management in the meadow edges and a high species exchange between adjacent habitats for these two groups.
Synthesis and applications. We conclude that the Swiss agri‐environment scheme for hay meadows positively affects biodiversity. The scheme should be maintained and farmers should be encouraged to engage in long‐term extensive management. For spiders, the current management restrictions are not sufficient, most probably because of inappropriate vegetation structure. Therefore, organisms that particularly depend on vegetation structure should be targeted with additional restrictions: not only the time of the first cut but also the frequency of subsequent cuts and the mowing technique may have to be adjusted.
Edge effects on flower‐visiting insects in grapefruit plantations bordering premontane subtropical forest
Authors: CHACOFF NATACHA P. , AIZEN MARCELO A. 
Published: December 2005

Summary

Over the last decade, there has been much concern about the decline in pollinator abundance and diversity caused by different types of anthropogenic disturbances, including deforestation and habitat fragmentation. However, little empirical information exists documenting this decline and its consequences for cultivated flowering crops. We tested the hypothesis that remnants of natural habitats act as a source of flower‐visiting insects for neighbourhood crops.
Over 3 consecutive years we evaluated flower‐visiting insect diversity, visitation frequency and composition in four grapefruit Citrus paradisi Macf. plantations at increasing distances (edge, 10, 100, 500 and 1000 m) from remnants of subtropical premontane forest in NW Argentina.
The frequency of visits to grapefruit flowers decreased by more than twofold as distance to the forest increased and the flower‐visiting fauna became more depaupurate. Even the feral africanized honeybee Apis mellifera, the dominant flower visitor to grapefruit flowers, showed a decline at distances > 500 m from the forest edge. However, the greatest relative declines occurred among stingless and solitary bees as well as other native flower visitors, which were rarely seen a few hundred metres inside the plantations. In addition, flower‐visiting insect faunas among plantations became more homogeneous as distance from the edge increased.
These trends were consistent over years and among plantations up to 50 km apart. Thus, we can conclude that negative forest edge effects on flower‐visiting insects inside grapefruit plantations are widespread in the increasingly deforested landscape of NW Argentina.
Synthesis and applications. This study provides empirical evidence for considering remnants of natural habitats as a source of both native and alien flower‐visiting insects that can be potential pollinators for agriculture. Increasing edge density in agricultural lands, through preservation and restoration of natural habitats, can foster stocks of diverse and abundant insect pollinators.