bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Deproteinized Bovine Bone Used as an Adjunct to Guided Bone Augmentation: An Experimental Study in the Rat
Authors: Stavropoulos Andreas , Kostopoulos Lambros , Mardas Nicolaos , Randel Nyengaard Jens , Karring Thorkild 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT Background: Promising results have been reported following treatment of periodontal and peri‐implant bone defects with deproteinized bovine bone grafts, but their influence on bone formation has not been clarified. Purpose: The goal of this study was to examine whether implantation of deproteinized bovine bone (Bio‐Oss, Geistlich AG, Wolhusen, Switzerland) influences bone formation when used as an adjunct to guided bone augmentation (GBA). Materials and Methods: A rigid, hemispherical, Teflon capsule was loosely packed with a standardized quantity of Bio‐Oss and placed with its open part facing the lateral surface of the mandibular ramus (test) in 30 rats. At the contralateral side of the jaw, an empty capsule was placed (control). Groups of 10 animals were sacrificed after 1, 2, and 4 months. The volumes of the space created by the capsule and of the (1) newly formed bone, (2) remaining Bio‐Oss particles, (3) soft connective tissue, and (4) acellular space in the capsule were estimated by a point‐counting technique in three or four histologie sections, taken by uniformly random sampling. Results: Bone formation at 1 month was limited in both tests and controls. After 2 months, the mean volume of the newly formed bone occupied 9.0% of the space created by the capsule in the test specimens compared with 23.8% in the control specimens (p <.01). After 4 months, the respective figures were 11.6% (tests) versus 38.7% (controls) (p <.01). Conclusion: It can be concluded that Bio‐Oss, used as an adjunct to GBA, interferes with bone formation.
Using vegetation indices derived from conventional digital cameras as selection criteria for wheat breeding in water‐limited environments
Authors: Casadesús J. , Kaya Y. , Bort J. , Nachit M. M. , Araus J. L. , Amor S , Ferrazzano G. , Maalouf F. , Maccaferri M. , Martos V. , Ouabbou H. , Villegas D. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe ability to assess green biomass is of particular interest in a number of wheat breeding environments. However, the measurement of this and similar traits is either tedious and time‐consuming or requires the use of expensive, sophisticated equipment, such as field‐based spectroradiometers to measure vegetation indices (VIs). Here, conventional digital cameras are proposed as affordable and easy‐to‐use tools for gathering field data in wheat breeding programmes. Using appropriate software, a large set of images can be automatically processed to calculate a number of VIs, based on the performance of simple colour operations on each picture. The purpose of this study was to identify a set of picture‐derived vegetation indices (picVIs) and to evaluate their performance in durum wheat trials growing under rainfed and supplementary irrigation conditions. Here, zenithal pictures of each plot were obtained roughly 2 weeks after anthesis, and the picVIs that were calculated were compared with the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), an index derived from spectroradiometrical measurements, and with the grain yield (GY) from the same plots. The picVIs that performed best were the Hue, CIE‐Lab a* and CIE‐Luv u* components of the average colour of each picture, the relative green area (GA) and the ‘greener area’, similar to GA but excluding the more yellowish‐green pixels. Our results showed a high correlation between all these picVIs and the NDVI. Moreover, in rainfed conditions, each picVI provided an estimation of GY similar to or slightly better than that provided by the NDVI. However, in irrigated conditions during anthesis, neither these picVIs nor the NDVI provided a good estimation of GY, apparently because of the saturation of the VI response in conditions of complete soil cover and high plant density.
Regional Planning in Queensland's Rangelands: Challenges and Prospects for Biodiversity Conservation
Authors: MCALPINE CLIVE A. , HEYENGA SONJA , TAYLOR BRUCE , PETERSON ANN , MCDONALD GEOFF 
Published: February 2007

AbstractIn Australia, the Commonwealth and State governments are increasingly devolving natural resource management (NRM) responsibilities to regional bodies. This move has led to the development of regional NRM plans. Native vegetation and biodiversity conservation, along with soil, pasture and water resources, are key components of the regional NRM plans in Queensland's extensive rangelands. This paper outlines and applies a set of criteria for evaluating the native vegetation and biodiversity content of accredited regional NRM plans for Queensland's rangelands. The evaluation showed considerable variation in the comprehensiveness of the information and knowledge base and management action targets among plans, including the poor articulation of impacts of excessive grazing pressure on biodiversity. The NRM plans lacked effective integration of natural resource, native vegetation and biodiversity conservation targets and actions. Several regions had too many biodiversity targets, many of which were poorly integrated. This is symptomatic of a limited understanding of rangelands as ecological systems and the lack of an integrated planning framework. We conclude regional NRM planning is not a ‘silver bullet’ for biodiversity conservation in the rangelands, but rather, it is the beginning of a long road to address complex, multi‐scale problems at a regional level.
The Parkes Elvis Revival Festival: Economic Development and Contested Place Identities in Rural Australia
Authors: BRENNAN‐HORLEY CHRIS , CONNELL JOHN , GIBSON CHRIS 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThis paper discusses the annual Elvis Revival Festival in the small town of Parkes, 350 km to the west of Sydney, in rural Australia. It explores the way in which a remote place with few economic prospects has created a tourism product, and subsequently captured national publicity, through a festival based around commemoration of the birthday of Elvis Presley, a performer who had never visited Australia, and certainly not Parkes. The Festival began in the early 1990s, when a keen Elvis fan rallied promoters (and other fans) around the idea of bringing Elvis impersonators to the town for an annual celebration. Since then, the Festival has grown in size, with notable economic impact. The town now partly trades on its association with Elvis, constituting an ‘invented’ tradition and place identity. Yet the festival is not without tensions. The images of Elvis and the traditions generated by the festival challenge those who wish to promote Parkes through more austere, staid notions of place and identity. For some, Elvis is a means for the town to generate income and national notoriety, while others prefer less ‘kitsch’ tourism attractions such as a nearby (and nationally famous) radio telescope. Results from interviews with key players and surveys of visitors demonstrate how ‘tradition’ is constructed in places (rather than being innate), and how small places, even in remote areas, can develop economic activities through festivals, and create new identities – albeit contested ones.
Dworkin's Theory of Law
Authors: Smith Dale 
Published: February 2007

AbstractRonald Dworkin is one of the most important, and one of the most controversial, contemporary legal philosophers. This article elucidates the main aspects of Dworkin's theory of law, discussing both his key criticisms of legal positivism and his own positive views about law. The article also briefly examines some of the major controversies surrounding Dworkin's theory of law, such as the debates arising out of his right answer thesis and semantic sting argument.
The Embodied Cognition Research Programme
Authors: Shapiro Larry 
Published: February 2007

AbstractEmbodied Cognition is an approach to cognition that departs from traditional cognitive science in its reluctance to conceive of cognition as computational and in its emphasis on the significance of an organism's body in how and what the organism thinks. Three lines of embodied cognition research are described and some thoughts on the future of embodied cognition offered.
Application of the Fluorescence Polarization Assay for Detection of Caprine Antibodies to
Brucella melitensis
in Areas of High Prevalence and Widespread Vaccination
Authors: Ramírez-Pfeiffer C. , Nielsen K. , Smith P. , Marín-Ricalde F. , Rodríguez-Padilla C. , Gomez-Flores R. 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT
The screening Rose Bengal test (RBT), the buffered plate agglutination test (BPAT), and the confirmatory complement fixation test (CFT) are currently approved by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for diagnosis of goat brucellosis. However, RBT (at 3% or 8% cell concentration) is known to be affected by vaccinal antibodies. In the present study, Mexican and Canadian OIE tests were compared with the fluorescence polarization assay (FPA), alone or in combination, using indirect and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays as classification variables for goat sera obtained from an area of high prevalence and widespread vaccination. The relative sensitivities and specificities were, respectively, 99.7% and 32.5% for RBT3, 92.8% and 68.8% for RBT8, 98.4% and 84.8% for Canadian CFT, 83.7% and 65.5% for Mexican CFT, and 78.1% and 89.3% for FPA. The use of FPA as the confirmatory test in combination with other tests significantly increased the final specificities of the screening tests alone; BPAT, RBT3, and RBT8 plus FPA resulted in final specificities of 90%, 91.2%, and 91.3%, respectively, whereas for the combinations RBT3 plus Mexican CFT, RBT8 plus Mexican CFT, and BPAT plus Canadian CFT, specificities were 65.5%, 63.2%, and 91.7%, respectively. We suggest that FPA may be routinely applied as an adaptable screening test for diagnosis of goat brucellosis and as a confirmatory test for screening test series. Some advantages of FPA are that its cutoff can be adjusted to improve its sensitivity or specificity, it is a low-cost and easy-to-perform test of choice when specificity is relevant or when an alternative confirmatory test is not available, and it is not affected by vaccination, thus reducing the number of misdiagnosed and killed goats.
Cellular Immunity in Adolescents and Adults following Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Administration
Authors: Meyer Claudius U. , Zepp Fred , Decker Michael , Lee Martin , Chang Swei-Ju , Ward Joel , Yoder Sandra , Bogaert Hugues , Edwards Kathryn M. 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT
Cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses to an acellular pertussis vaccine administered to 49 subjects, a subset of participants in the National Institutes of Health-funded adult acellular pertussis vaccine efficacy trial, were evaluated and compared with antibody responses to vaccine antigens. Levels of proliferation of and cytokine secretion from lymphocytes cultured in the presence of pertussis toxin, filamentous hemagglutinin, or pertactin were measured before vaccination and 1 month and 1 year after vaccination. Statistically significant increases in lymphocyte stimulation indices and cytokine secretion were noted at both 1 month and 1 year after vaccination. Brisk pertussis antigen-specific immunoglobulin G responses were also noted at 1 month after vaccination, but these responses had declined by nearly 50% at 1 year after vaccination. These studies clearly demonstrate that both cellular and humoral immune responses occur after the administration of acellular pertussis vaccines to adolescents and adults but that the CMI responses are of greater magnitude and longer duration. CMI responses may be a better correlate of long-term protection.
Evaluation of the Partec Flow Cytometer against the BD FACSCalibur System for Monitoring Immune Responses of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients in Zimbabwe
Authors: Manasa Justen , Musabaike Hazvineyi , Masimirembwa Collen , Burke Eileen , Luthy Ruedi , Mudzori James 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACTA single-platform volumetric flow cytometer, the Partec Cyflow SL_3, was evaluated against a BD FACSCalibur/Sysmex XT1800i dual platform for measuring CD4+lymphocytes, total lymphocytes, and the percentage of CD4 lymphocytes in whole-blood samples for monitoring the immune systems of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS patients. Statistical analyses for precision, correlation, and agreement were performed. Coefficients of variation (CV) of 5.8, 4.6, and 3.9% were obtained for low, medium, and high CD4+cell counts, respectively, using the SL_3, and CV of 3.7, 4.0, and 0.94 were obtained for the same categories, using the BD FACSCalibur. Significant correlations (P< 0.005) between the two assays for CD4 counts, total lymphocyte counts, and percentages of CD4 were obtained, with correlation coefficients of 0.99, 0.96, and 0.99, respectively (n= 229). Using the Bland-Altman plot, mean biases of −18 cell/μl (95% confidence interval (CI); −91 to 54 cells/μl), −0.8% (95% CI; −3.6 to 2%), and −36.8 cells/μl (95% CI; −477 to 404 cells/μl) were obtained for comparisons of CD4 counts, percentages of CD4 cells, and total lymphocyte counts, respectively. The effects of the age of the samples on the three parameters were also analyzed by comparing results from the same samples analyzed at 6, 24, and 48 h after collection. The correlation coefficients for comparisons among different time points for the same machine and among all the time points for the two different machines were greater than 0.90. These data showed that the Partec Cyflow SL_3 assay is comparable to the BD FACSCalibur/Sysmex XT1800i dual-platform method for measuring the amount of CD4+cells and total lymphocytes and the percentages of CD4 cells in blood samples for the purpose of monitoring HIV/AIDS patients.
Structure-Activity Analysis of Quorum-Sensing Signaling Peptides from
Streptococcus mutans
Authors: Syvitski Raymond T. , Tian Xiao-Lin , Sampara Kamal , Salman Alan , Lee Song F. , Jakeman David L. , Li Yung-Hua 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT

Streptococcus mutans
secretes and utilizes a 21-amino-acid signaling peptide pheromone to initiate quorum sensing for genetic competence, biofilm formation, stress responses, and bacteriocin production. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of truncated peptides and peptides with amino acid substitutions to investigate their structure-activity relationships based on the three-dimensional structures of
S. mutans
wild-type signaling peptide UA159sp and C-terminally truncated peptide TPC3 from mutant JH1005 defective in genetic competence. By analyzing these peptides, we demonstrated that the signaling peptide of
S. mutans
has at least two functional domains. The C-terminal structural motif consisting of a sequence of polar hydrophobic charged residues is crucial for activation of the signal transduction pathway, while the core α-helical structure extending from residue 5 to the end of the peptide is required for receptor binding. Peptides in which three or more residues were deleted from the C terminus did not induce genetic competence but competitively inhibited quorum sensing activated by UA159sp. Disruption of the amphipathic α-helix by replacing the Phe-7, Phe-11, or Phe-15 residue with a hydrophilic residue resulted in a significant reduction in or complete loss of the activity of the peptide. In contrast to the C-terminally truncated peptides, these peptides with amino acid substitutions did not compete with UA159sp to activate quorum sensing, suggesting that disruption of the hydrophobic face of the α-helical structure results in a peptide that is not able to bind to the receptor. This study is the first study to recognize the importance of the signaling peptide C-terminal residues in streptococcal quorum sensing.
Siamycin Attenuates
fsr
Quorum Sensing Mediated by a Gelatinase Biosynthesis-Activating Pheromone in
Enterococcus faecalis
Authors: Nakayama Jiro , Tanaka Emi , Kariyama Reiko , Nagata Koji , Nishiguchi Kenzo , Mitsuhata Ritsuko , Uemura Yumi , Tanokura Masaru , Kumon Hiromi , Sonomoto Kenji 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACT

The expression of two
Enterococcus faecalis
virulence-related proteases, gelatinase (GelE) and serine protease (SprE), is positively regulated by a quorum-sensing system encoded by the
fsr
gene cluster. In this system,
E. faecalis
secretes an autoinducing peptide, gelatinase biosynthesis-activating pheromone (GBAP), which triggers the FsrC-FsrA two-component regulatory system controlling the expression of two transcripts,
fsrBDC
and
gelE-sprE
. In the present study, we screened actinomycete metabolites for inhibitors of
fsr
quorum sensing.
E. faecalis
was cultured with each actinomycete culture supernatant tested, and the production of gelatinase and the production of GBAP were examined using the first screening and the second screening, respectively. Culture supernatant of
Streptomyces
sp. strain Y33-1 had the most potent inhibitory effect on both gelatinase production and GBAP production without inhibiting
E. faecalis
cell growth. The inhibitor in the culture supernatant was identified as a known peptide antibiotic, siamycin I. Siamycin I inhibited both gelatinase production and GBAP production at submicromolar concentrations, and it inhibited
E. faecalis
cell growth at concentrations above micromolar concentrations. Quantitative analysis of
fsrBDC
and
gelE-sprE
transcripts revealed that siamycin I suppressed the expression of both transcripts at a sublethal concentration. Siamycin I attenuated gelatinase production even when an overdose of GBAP was exogenously added to the culture. These results suggested that siamycin I inhibited the GBAP signaling via the FsrC-FsrA two-component regulatory system in a noncompetitive manner. The sublethal concentrations of siamycin I also attenuated biofilm formation. Treatment with siamycin could be a novel means of treating enterococcal infections.
Control of EpsE, the Phosphoglycosyltransferase Initiating Exopolysaccharide Synthesis inStreptococcus thermophilus, by EpsD Tyrosine Kinase
Authors: Minic Zoran , Marie Corinne , Delorme Christine , Faurie Jean-Michel , Mercier Gérald , Ehrlich Dusko , Renault Pierre 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACTWe studied the roles ofStreptococcus thermophilusphosphogalactosyltransferase (EpsE) (the priming enzyme), tyrosine kinase (EpsD), phosphatase (EpsB), and a membrane-associated protein with no known biochemical function (EpsC) in exopolysaccharide (EPS) synthesis. These proteins are well-conserved among bacteria and are usually encoded by clustered genes. Exopolysaccharide synthesis took place in the wild-type strain and a mutant lacking EpsB but not in mutants lacking EpsC, EpsD, or EpsE. The three mutants unable to synthesize EPS lacked the EpsE phosphogalactosyltransferase activity, while the two EPS-synthesizing strains possessed this activity, showing that EpsC and EpsD are required for EpsE function. An EpsD phosphorylated form was found in all strains except theepsCmutant, indicating that EpsC is necessary for EpsD phosphorylation. Moreover, the phosphorylated form of EpsD, a supposedly cytoplasmic protein, was found to be associated with the plasma membrane, possibly due to interaction with EpsC. Finally, the EpsD and EpsE elution profiles in a gel filtration chromatography assay were similar, suggesting that these two proteins colocalize in the membrane. Mutation of Tyr200, predicted to be a phosphorylation site and present in a conserved motif in bacterial phosphoglycosyltransferases, led to EpsE inactivation. In contrast, mutation of Tyr162 or Tyr199 had no effect. Taken together, these data show that EpsD controls EpsE activity. Possible mechanisms for this control are discussed.
Regulation of Gene Expression inStreptococcus pneumoniaeby Response Regulator 09 Is Strain Dependent
Authors: Hendriksen Wouter T. , Silva Nuno , Bootsma Hester J. , Blue Clare E. , Paterson Gavin K. , Kerr Alison R. , de Jong Anne , Kuipers Oscar P. , Hermans Peter W. M. , Mitchell Tim J. 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACTRecent murine studies have demonstrated that the role of response regulator 09 (RR09) ofStreptococcus pneumoniaein virulence is different in different strains. In the present study, we used a murine pneumonia model of infection to assess the virulence of a TIGR4 rr09 mutant, and we found that TIGR4Δrr09 was attenuated after intranasal infection. Furthermore, we investigated the in vitro transcriptional changes in pneumococcal rr09 mutants of two strains, D39 and TIGR4, by microarray analysis. The transcriptional profiles of the rr09 mutants of both strains had clear differences compared to the profiles of the parental wild-type strains. In D39Δrr09, but not in TIGR4Δrr09, genes involved in competence (e.g.,comAB) were upregulated. In TIGR4, genes located on therlrApathogenicity islet, which are not present in the D39 genome, appeared to be regulated by RR09. Furthermore, several phosphotransferase systems (PTSs) believed to be involved in sugar uptake (e.g., the PTS encoded by sp0060 to sp0066) were strongly downregulated in D39Δrr09, while they were not regulated by RR09 in TIGR4. To examine the role of one of these PTSs in virulence, D39Δsp0063 was constructed and tested in a murine infection model. No difference between the virulence of this strain and the virulence of the wild type was found, indicating that downregulation of the sp0063 gene alone is not the cause of the avirulent phenotype of D39Δrr09. Finally, expression of rr09 and expression of three of our identified RR09 targets during infection in mice were assessed. This in vivo experiment confirmed that there were differences between expression in wild-type strain TIGR4 and expression in the rr09 mutant, as well as differences between expression in wild-type strain D39 and expression in wild-type strain TIGR4. In conclusion, our results indicate that there is strain-specific regulation of pneumococcal gene expression by RR09.
Membrane Composition Changes and Physiological Adaptation byStreptococcus mutansSignal Recognition Particle Pathway Mutants
Authors: Hasona Adnan , Zuobi-Hasona Kheir , Crowley Paula J. , Abranches Jacqueline , Ruelf Michael A. , Bleiweis Arnold S. , Brady L. Jeannine 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACTPreviously, we presented evidence that the oral cariogenic speciesStreptococcus mutansremains viable but physiologically impaired and sensitive to environmental stress when genes encoding the minimal conserved bacterial signal recognition particle (SRP) elements are inactivated. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of isolated membrane fractions from strain UA159 and three mutants (Δffh, ΔscRNA, and ΔftsY) grown at pH 7.0 or pH 5.0 allowed us to obtain insight into the adaptation process and the identities of potential SRP substrates. Mutant membrane preparations contained increased amounts of the chaperones DnaK and GroES and ClpP protease but decreased amounts of transcription- and translation-related proteins, the β subunit of ATPase, HPr, and several metabolic and glycolytic enzymes. Therefore, the acid sensitivity of SRP mutants might be caused in part by diminished ATPase activity, as well as the absence of an efficient mechanism for supplying ATP quickly at the site of proton elimination. Decreased amounts of LuxS were also observed in all mutant membranes. To further define physiological changes that occur upon disruption of the SRP pathway, we studied global gene expression inS. mutansUA159 (parent strain) and AH333 (Δffhmutant) using microarray analysis. Transcriptome analysis revealed up-regulation of 81 genes, including genes encoding chaperones, proteases, cell envelope biosynthetic enzymes, and DNA repair and replication enzymes, and down-regulation of 35 genes, including genes concerned with competence, ribosomal proteins, and enzymes involved in amino acid and protein biosynthesis. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR analysis of eight selected genes confirmed the microarray data. Consistent with a demonstrated defect in competence and the suggested impairment of LuxS-dependent quorum sensing, biofilm formation was significantly decreased in each SRP mutant.