bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Adipokines in cord blood and risk of wheezing disorders within the first two years of life
Authors: Rothenbacher D. , Weyermann M. , Fantuzzi G. , Brenner H. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryBackground
Adipokines are involved in the regulation of many inflammatory processes and are present at very high concentrations in cord blood of term infants.Objective
We analysed data of a large prospective birth cohort study to examine whether adiponectin and leptin concentration in cord blood are determinants of wheezing disorders in children within the first 2 years of life.Methods
Seven hundred and forty mothers and their newborns were included in this analysis. Adiponectin and leptin concentrations were measured in cord blood. The cumulative incidence of physician‐reported asthma or obstructive bronchitis was recorded during a 2‐year follow‐up.Results
During the first 2 years of life, asthma or obstructive bronchitis was reported by the caring paediatricians for 157 (19.6%) of the children. We found a strong interaction of cord blood adiponectin and history of atopic disease in the mother with respect to the risk of physician‐reported asthma or obstructive bronchitis (P=0.006). Compared with children with cord blood levels in the middle quintile (reference category), the odds ratios for physician‐reported asthma or obstructive bronchitis in the bottom quintile and top quintile were 0.14 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.02–0.90] and 2.12 (95% CI 0.67–6.66), respectively (P for trend=0.0003), among children of mothers with a history of atopy. This association was independent of other established risk factors. Leptin levels in cord blood were not associated with risk of asthma or obstructive bronchitis.Conclusions
In children of mothers with a history of atopy, concentrations of adiponectin in cord blood could play an important role in determining risk of wheezing disorders in early childhood.
Diagnostic accuracy of cytology and immunocytology in carcinomatous effusions
Authors: Metzgeroth G. , Kuhn C. , Schultheis B. , Hehlmann R. , Hastka J. 
Published: June 2007

Background:  Immunocytology substantially improves the diagnostic accuracy of conventional cytology in the diagnosis of carcinomatous effusions. Due to the unequivocal characterization of the various cell populations, a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 100% was achieved by immunocytology, examining samples of 1234 serous effusions.Objective:  Cytology plays a central role in the aetiological clarification of serous effusions. The sensitivity of this method for the diagnosis of carcinomatous effusions varies between 40% and 80%. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether immunocytology substantially improves the diagnostic quality of the cytological examination in the diagnosis of carcinomatous effusions.Method:  Consecutive serous effusions were examined by conventional cytology and by immunocytology. The immunocytological examination was performed on smears, using a standard panel of three antibodies against pancytokeratin, human epithelial antigen 125 and calretinin.Results:  Altogether, 1234 effusion samples were examined. A total of 603 effusions were caused by carcinomas, five by malignant mesotheliomas, 11 by malignant lymphomas and 615 by non‐malignant disorders. In conventional cytology, carcinomatous effusions were correctly diagnosed in 314 samples, corresponding to a sensitivity of 52%. In 31 specimens (5%) tumour cells without further specification were described and in 161 samples (27%) the presence of tumour cells was suspected (84% overall sensitivity). A total of 97 carcinomatous effusions (16%) were diagnosed false‐negatively and 50 (8%) of the 615 non‐malignant effusions false‐positively (92% specificity). In immunocytology, 561 carcinomatous samples were correctly diagnosed, representing a sensitivity of 93%. In six cases (1%) the presence of tumour cells was suspected. A total of 36 carcinomatous effusions (6%) were diagnosed false‐negatively (94% over‐all sensitivity). Out of the 615 non‐malignant specimens, there were no false‐positive diagnoses (100% specificity).Conclusion:  Immunocytology is a simple, cost‐effective, routinely practicable method which substantially improves the diagnostic accuracy of conventional cytology in the diagnosis of carcinomatous effusions. Therefore, we recommend the use of immunocytology in all those cases where cytology on its own is not completely unequivocal.
Effects of livestock breed and grazing intensity on biodiversity and production in grazing systems. 4. Effects on animal diversity
Authors: Wallis De Vries M. F. , Parkinson A. E. , Dulphy J. P. , Sayer M. , Diana E. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractFinding an optimal balance between livestock production and grazing impact on animal diversity is important for the development of sustainable grazing systems. This paper tests the hypothesis that extensification of grazing management enhances animal diversity. Similar treatments were applied over a period of three years to sites in the UK, France, Germany and Italy. There were three treatments at each site: moderate grazing intensity with a commercial breed (MC), lenient grazing intensity with a commercial breed (LC) and lenient grazing intensity with a traditional breed (LT). Animal diversity was studied at the species level for birds, hares, butterflies and grasshoppers, and at higher taxonomic level for ground‐dwelling arthropods. Bird and hare numbers were low and showed no overall treatment effects. Species richness and abundance of butterflies and grasshoppers were higher for treatment LC than for treatment MC, both for species preferring short open grasslands and those preferring tall grasslands. There was no difference in the impact of commercial or traditional breeds. Most ground‐dwelling arthropod groups did not show consistent treatment effects but some taxa showed site‐specific responses, generally indicating a greater abundance at lenient grazing intensity. Overall, the study showed that lenient grazing intensity enhanced animal diversity on grasslands at a small scale within 3 years. By comparison, the effect of livestock breed differences was negligible. Follow‐up research is needed to elucidate the processes leading to increased biodiversity in patch mosaics and to establish the generality of these findings at larger spatial scales and longer time scales.
Effects of livestock breed and grazing intensity on biodiversity and production in grazing systems. 1. Nutritive value of herbage and livestock performance
Authors: Isselstein J. , Griffith B. A. , Pradel P. , Venerus S. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryReduction of grazing intensity and the use of traditional instead of commercial breeds has frequently been recommended to meet biodiversity and production goals in sustainable grazing systems in Europe. To test the impact of such practices across a range of contrasting grassland types, integrated measurements of foraging behaviour, agronomic production and botanical, structural and invertebrate biodiversity were made over three years on four sites in the UK, Germany, France and Italy. The sites in the UK and Germany were mesotrophic grassland with high productivity and low to moderate initial levels of plant diversity, and were grazed by cattle. The French site was a semi‐natural, species‐rich grassland grazed by cattle. The Italian site contained a wider range in plant diversity, from species‐rich to mesotrophic grassland, and was grazed by sheep. The treatments were: MC, moderate grazing intensity with a commercial breed – this was designed to utilize herbage growth for optimum livestock production; LC, lenient grazing intensity with a commercial breed – this was designed to increase biodiversity by not fully utilizing herbage growth; and LT, lenient grazing intensity with a traditional breed – this was also designed to increase biodiversity. Neither fertilizers nor pesticides were applied. The nutritive value of the herbage and the performance of the livestock were measured. Mean stocking rates were proportionately 0·30–0·40 lower and mean sward heights and herbage mass on offer were 0·30–0·50 higher on the LC and LT treatments compared with the MC treatment. The proportion of live and dead material, and leaves and stems in the herbage, its chemical composition and nutritive value were little affected by the treatments. Individual livestock performance, measured as liveweight gain, showed no consistent response to treatment. In Germany, performance on the MC treatment was slightly lower than on the LC and LT treatments but no such difference was found on the sites in the other countries. Livestock breed did not have a strong effect on livestock performance. In the UK and France the traditional breeds had a lower performance but this was not the case in Germany or Italy. Livestock performance per ha of the LC and LT treatments was up to 0·40 lower than of the MC treatment. It is concluded that biodiversity‐targeted extensive grazing systems have potential to be integrated into intensive livestock production systems because the individual livestock performance reaches a similar level compared to a moderate grazing intensity. Traditional breeds did not have a production advantage over commercial breeds on extensively managed pastures.
Climate change and grasslands through the ages: an overview
Authors: ’t Mannetje L. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryChange from cool to warm temperatures and vice versa have occurred throughout geological time. During the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (206–65 million years ago, Ma) the climate was more uniformly warm and moist than at present and tropical rainforests were widespread. Grasses evolved during the Jurassic period and they expanded greatly as the climate differentiated with reduced rainfall and temperatures. C4‐grasses probably arose during the Oligocene period (24–35 Ma). During the Miocene period (23·8–5·3 Ma) grasslands expanded into huge areas (e.g. prairies in the USA, steppe in Eurasia, and pampas and llanos in South America). During the Quaternary period (1·8 Ma till now) some twenty‐two different ice ages with periodicities of about 100 000 years occurred. Eighteen‐thousand years ago, north‐western Europe had a polar climate with tundra vegetation and the Mediterranean region was covered by steppe. During that time Amazonia was so dry that it was covered in extensive areas of savanna and the Sahara expanded rapidly. Only in the last 10 000 years has a closed rainforest covered the Amazonian region again. However, 9000 years ago a brief period of global warming caused excessive rains, which caused the sea and river levels to rise in north‐western Europe with tremendous loss of life. The present period of extreme dryness in the Sahara only started some 5000 years ago and then the desert expanded rapidly into the Sahel. Before that the Sahara was covered by steppe. Global warming took place between about ad 900 and about ad 1200 or 1300 just before the Little Ice Age (1550–1700 ad). The article concludes with a description of temperature and vegetation changes that are occurring in Europe at present. It is predicted that C4‐grasses, which are already present in southern Europe, will further expand but that, in the short term, land abandonment will have much more deleterious effects than temperature change due to increased wild fires, loss of biodiversity and desertification.
Temperate grasslands and global atmospheric change: a review
Authors: Soussana J‐F. , Lüscher A. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryRecent reviews confirm and extend previous observations that elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations stimulate photosynthesis, leading to increased plant productivity. Elevated CO2concentrations tend to reduce the sensitivity of grassland ecosystems to low levels of precipitation but induce progressive nitrogen (N) limitations on plant growth which can be alleviated by supplying a significant external input of N in the form of mineral fertilizer or through the increased use of N‐fixing legumes. Other nutrients, such as phosphorus, can act as the main limiting factor restricting the growth response in legumes to atmospheric CO2concentration. The botanical composition of temperate grasslands is affected by the rise in atmospheric CO2concentration, possibly through a decline in the relative abundance of grasses. Elevated CO2concentration will also alter the feeding value of herbage to grazers both in terms of fine‐scale (for example, crude protein concentration and C:N ratio) and coarse‐scale (legumes vs. grasses and C3‐ vs. C4‐species) changes. The management guidelines of grasslands will need to be adapted to global atmospheric and climatic changes and to increased variability in climate.
Effects of livestock breed and grazing intensity on grazing systems: 3. Effects on diversity of vegetation
Authors: Scimone M. , Rook A. J. , Garel J. P. , Sahin N. 
Published: June 2007

SummaryFinding an optimal balance between livestock production and grazing impact on plant biodiversity is an important issue in the design of grazing systems. This paper describes a study of the effect of two levels of grazing intensity combined with different animal breeds on plant biodiversity and sward structural diversity of semi‐natural grasslands conducted over 3 years in the United Kingdom (UK), France (F), Germany (D) and Italy (I). There were three treatments at each site: moderate grazing intensity with a commercial breed (MC), lenient grazing intensity with a commercial breed (LC) and lenient grazing intensity with a traditional breed (LT). Grazing livestock were cattle in the UK, F and D, and sheep in I. Only grazing intensity had clear effects on vegetation diversity, the effects depending on site‐specific vegetation characteristics. In more diverse pastures with finer scale heterogeneity in F and I, there was little effect of the treatments. In less diverse swards with higher grass dominance and coarse‐scale heterogeneity, the number of species decreased from initial levels on the lenient grazing intensity treatments (treatments LC and LT), because of increased dominance of grasses reducing the cover of other species, particularly legumes. The structural diversity of the pastures was more affected by level of grazing intensity than botanical diversity. In more diverse, semi‐natural grasslands, structural heterogeneity was not affected by the treatments. In less diverse, more productive swards, structural heterogeneity decreased where large patches were initially found on the UK site, and increased where smaller patches were initially found on the D site. It is concluded that management systems to conserve diversity need to consider carefully the background environment, and that more knowledge of the mechanisms involved is needed at farm and landscape scales.
The immune response during a Strongyloides ratti infection of rats
Authors: WILKES C. P , BLEAY C. , PATERSON S. , VINEY M. E. 
Published: June 2007

SUMMARY A range of immune parameters was measured during a primary infection of Strongyloides ratti in its natural rat host. The immune parameters measured were interleukin‐4 (IL‐4) and interferon‐γ from both the spleen and mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cells; parasite‐specific immunoglobulin G1(IgG1), IgG2a and IgG2b in serum and in intestinal tissue; parasite‐specific IgG and total IgE in serum; parasite‐specific and total IgA in intestinal tissue and rat mast cell protease II in intestinal tissue. Parasite‐specific IgG1, IgG2a and total IgE in serum and parasite‐specific IgA and rat mast cell protease II in intestinal tissue all occurred at significantly greater concentrations in infected animals, compared with non‐infected animals. Similarly, the production of IL‐4 by MLN cells stimulated with parasitic female antigen or concanavalin A occurred at significantly greater concentrations in infected animals, compared with non‐infected animals. In all, this suggests that there is a T‐helper 2‐type immune response during a primary S. ratti infection. These data also show the temporal changes in these components of the host immune response during a primary S. ratti infection.
Tumour necrosis factor α contributes to protection against Giardia lamblia infection in mice
Authors: ZHOU P. , LI E. , SHEA‐DONOHUE T. , SINGER S. M. 
Published: June 2007

SUMMARYGiardia lamblia is a ubiquitous parasite that causes diarrhoea. Effective control of Giardia infections in mice has been shown to involve IgA, T cells, mast cells and IL‐6. We now show that Tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) also plays an important role in the early control of giardiasis. Mice treated with neutralizing anti‐TNFα antibodies or genetically deficient in TNFα were infected with the G. lamblia clone GS/(M)‐H7. In both cases, mice lacking TNFα had much higher parasite numbers than controls during the first 2 weeks of infections. However, anti‐parasite IgA levels, mast cell responses, and IL‐4 and IL‐6 mRNA levels do not appear significantly altered in the absence of TNFα. In addition, we show that mice infected with G. lamblia exhibit increased intestinal permeability, similar to human Giardia infection, and that this increase occurs in both wild‐type and TNFα deficient mice. We conclude that TNFα is essential for host resistance to G. lamblia infection, and that it does not exert its effects through mechanisms previously implicated in control of this parasite.
Modelling advection and diffusion of water isotopologues in leaves
Authors: CUNTZ MATTHIAS , OGÉE JÉRÔME , FARQUHAR GRAHAM D. , PEYLIN PHILIPPE , CERNUSAK LUCAS A. 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTWe described advection and diffusion of water isotopologues in leaves in the non‐steady state, applied specifically to amphistomatous leaves. This explains the isotopic enrichment of leaf water from the xylem to the mesophyll, and we showed how it relates to earlier models of leaf water enrichment in non‐steady state. The effective length or tortuosity factor of isotopologue movement in leaves is unknown and, therefore, is a fitted parameter in the model. We compared the advection–diffusion model to previously published data sets for Lupinus angustifolius and Eucalyptus globulus. Night‐time stomatal conductance was not measured in either data set and is therefore another fitted parameter. The model compared very well with the observations of bulk mesophyll water during the whole diel cycle. It compared well with the enrichment at the evaporative sites during the day but showed some deviations at night for E. globulus. It became clear from our analysis that night‐time stomatal conductance should be measured in the future and that the temperature dependence of the tracer diffusivities should be accounted for. However, varying mesophyll water volume did not seem critical for obtaining a good prediction of leaf water enrichment, at least in our data sets. In addition, observations of single diurnal cycles do not seem to constrain the effective length that relates to the tortuosity of the water path in the mesophyll. Finally, we showed when simpler models of leaf water enrichment were suitable for applications of leaf water isotopes once weighted with the appropriate gas exchange flux. We showed that taking an unsuitable leaf water enrichment model could lead to large biases when cumulated over only 1 day.
Plastid tRNA Genes trnC‐GCA and trnN‐GUU are essential for plant cell development
Authors: Legen Julia , Wanner Gerhard , Herrmann Reinhold G. , Small Ian , Schmitz‐Linneweber Christian 
Published: June 2007

SummaryHigher plant chloroplast genomes code for a conserved set of 30 tRNAs. This set is believed to be sufficient to support translation, although import of cytosolic tRNA has been proposed to provide additional tRNA species to the chloroplast. Previous knock‐outs of tRNA genes, or the pronounced reduction of the level of selected tRNAs, has not led to severe phenotypes. We deleted the two tRNA genes trnN‐GUU and trnC‐GCA independently from the plastid chromosome of tobacco. No homoplastomic tissue of either ΔtrnN or ΔtrnC plants could be isolated. Both mutants exhibit occasional loss of leaf sectors, and mutant plastid chromosomes are rapidly lost upon relief of selective pressure. This suggests that the knock‐out of both trn genes is lethal, and that both tRNA species are required for cell survival. Surprisingly, the impact on chloroplast and cell development differs pronouncedly between the two mutants. Heteroplastomic ΔtrnC and ΔtrnN tissue exhibit different aberrations of the internal membrane systems and, more importantly, heteroplastomic ΔtrnN plants are variegated. Accumulation of tRNA‐N and plastid‐encoded proteins is reduced in white sectors of ΔtrnN plants, and differentiation of palisade cells is abolished. Our data demonstrate that plastid tRNAs are essential, i.e. not complemented by cytosolic tRNA, and have a differential impact on chloroplast and plant cell development.
Partial host fidelity in nest selection by the shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis), a highly generalist avian brood parasite
Authors: MAHLER B. , CONFALONIERI V. A. , LOVETTE I. J. , REBOREDA J. C. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractObligate avian brood parasites can be host specialists or host generalists. In turn, individual females within generalist brood parasites may themselves be host specialists or generalists. The shiny cowbirdMolothrus bonariensisis an extreme generalist, but little is known about individual female host fidelity. We examined variation in mitochondrial control region sequences from cowbird chicks found in nests of four common Argentinean hosts. Haplotype frequency distributions differed among cowbird chicks from nests of these hosts, primarily because eggs laid in nests of house wrensTroglodytes aedondiffered genetically from those laid in nests of the other three hosts (chalk‐browed mockingbirdMimus saturninus, brown‐and‐yellow marshbirdPseudoleistes virescens, and rufous‐collared sparrowZonotrichia capensis). These differences in a maternally inherited marker indicate the presence of a nonrandom laying behaviour in the females of this otherwise generalist brood parasite, which may be guided by choice for nest type, as house wrens nest in cavities whereas the other three species are open cup nesters.
What Do Dragons Think About in their Dark Lonely Caves? [1] or Critical Studies: The Importance of Knowledge
Authors: BANCROFT ALISON 
Published: June 2007

Increasing numbers of Critical Studies publications are currently reaching the market, with teachers receiving numerous advertising materials and catalogues to persuade them to buy. This paper considers the content and approach of some of these materials, with particular reference to the teaching packs, and examines some of the issues that the decisions embodied in these publications raise for art teachers and for Critical Studies teaching.The orthodoxies that would seem to be developing are worrying, and rigorous debate is needed to expose and explore the grounds on which categories of inclusion and exclusion are constructed. It is argued that such debate needs to be underpinned by knowledge of the paradigms in operation, and that access to such knowledge is essential, for both teachers and students, if Critical Studies is not to degenerate into imaginative speculation or indoctrination.