bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Resistance vs recovery: morphological strategies of coral reef sponges
Authors: WULFF J. L. 
Published: July 2006

Summary

An inverse association between ability to regenerate and structural complexity (i.e. internal differentiation and integration), illustrated by comparisons among animal phyla, suggests a dichotomy between suites of morphological traits that promote recovery from damage vs traits that promote resistance to damage.
The phylum Porifera is particularly suited for exploration of relationships among regeneration, resistance to damage and complexity. Sponges are noted for their structural simplicity and great facility at regeneration, relative to members of all other animal phyla; but sponge species vary widely in ability to recover from damage, and in overall morphology and skeletal properties.
Morphological strategies related to resistance to damage and recovery from damage were explored using data on the amount and type of damage incurred by 576 sponge individuals representing 67 species in a major hurricane. Five weeks of monitoring each individual for continued deterioration or recovery demonstrated an inverse relationship between the extent of injuries dealt by the storm and recovery success.
A trade‐off between morphological strategies that promote resistance to damage vs those that promote efficient recovery could result in the disproportionate and permanent loss of resistant species, as these poor recoverers are increasingly overwhelmed by multiple simultaneous challenges.
Optimal toxicity in animals: predicting the optimal level of chemical defences
Authors: LONGSON C. G. , JOSS J. M. P. 
Published: July 2006

Summary

Prey species that defend themselves with toxins operate under constraints that affect both the benefits and costs associated with this trait. To date, there has been only limited work on understanding these benefits and costs.
We present a mathematical model that accounts for costs incurred by toxic animals throughout their life cycle, using known parameters from the ecological literature. These costs are traded against the benefit of a reduced predation risk. Factors involved in modifying this risk are discussed, particularly the relationship to population density.
Explicit, quantitative predictions of the model include: an increase in the optimal level of toxicity as predation pressure increases; a decrease in the optimal level of toxicity as cost increases; and an increase in optimal toxicity as the length of juvenile life stages increases.
We show that toxicity will not be favourable under a combination of high cost and high predation, and cite examples to support this case.
Predicting the functional response of a farmland bird
Authors: STILLMAN R. A. , SIMMONS V. L. 
Published: July 2006

Summary

Mechanistic models may be able to predict how changes in agricultural practice influence farmland bird populations. A key component of these models is the link between food and competitor densities and the rate at which birds consume food, i.e. the functional response.
This paper tests whether the functional response of a farmland bird, the rook Corvus frugilegus, can be predicted from three parameters: searching speed, food detection distance and handling time. It is often difficult to measure the functional response of farmland birds directly, but it may be possible to measure behavioural parameters more quickly.
We performed experiments in which rooks fed on a range of artificial food densities in two grass sward heights. Food detection distance was greater in the shorter sward, but sward height did not influence searching speed or handling time. The functional response could be accurately predicted in both sward heights.
We show that the functional response of a farmland bird can be predicted from parameters that can be measured more quickly than the alternative of measuring the functional response directly. This implies that the functional responses of other farmland birds may be predicted using a minimum of information.
The fundamental operating principles of electronic root canal length measurement devices
Authors: Nekoofar M. H. , Ghandi M. M. , Hayes S. J. , Dummer P. M. H. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractIt is generally accepted that root canal treatment procedures should be confined within the root canal system. To achieve this objective the canal terminus must be detected accurately during canal preparation and precise control of working length during the process must be maintained. Several techniques have been used for determining the apical canal terminus including electronic methods. However, the fundamental electronic operating principles and classification of the electronic devices used in this method are often unknown and a matter of controversy. The basic assumption with all electronic length measuring devices is that human tissues have certain characteristics that can be modelled by a combination of electrical components. Therefore, by measuring the electrical properties of the model, such as resistance and impedance, it should be possible to detect the canal terminus. The root canal system is surrounded by dentine and cementum that are insulators to electrical current. At the minor apical foramen, however, there is a small hole in which conductive materials within the canal space (tissue, fluid) are electrically connected to the periodontal ligament that is itself a conductor of electric current. Thus, dentine, along with tissue and fluid inside the canal, forms a resistor, the value of which depends on their dimensions, and their inherent resistivity. When an endodontic file penetrates inside the canal and approaches the minor apical foramen, the resistance between the endodontic file and the foramen decreases, because the effective length of the resistive material (dentine, tissue, fluid) decreases. As well as resistive properties, the structure of the tooth root has capacitive characteristics. Therefore, various electronic methods have been developed that use a variety of other principles to detect the canal terminus. Whilst the simplest devices measure resistance, other devices measure impedance using either high frequency, two frequencies, or multiple frequencies. In addition, some systems use low frequency oscillation and/or a voltage gradient method to detect the canal terminus. The aim of this review was to clarify the fundamental operating principles of the different types of electronic systems that claim to measure canal length.
Psychiatric inpatient units for children and adolescents with intellectual disability
Authors: Smith P. , Berney T. P. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBackground  Inpatient beds for the psychiatric assessment and treatment of young people (under the age of 18 years) with intellectual disability have become scarce although there is pressure to redevelop them. In the UK, 63% of the NHS beds are at Prudhoe Hospital. This study examines their rôle and utility in relation to community services, both local and national.Method  A case note study of the 96 young people admitted over three years was supplemented by a standardised interview canvassing the opinion of the staff involved, both within the units and in the community.Results  Two groups emerged: those with more severe disability who were admitted for neuropsychiatric management (63%) and those, predominantly adolescent, whose problems were closer to mainstream psychiatry but whose intellectual disability prevented their needs being met adequately by mainstream services (37%). Admissions were equally divided between those from the immediate vicinity and nationally. For 43% the primary aim was to disentangle the extent of the environmental effect on the individual: the remainder were admitted for various reasons including, for example, the need to protect the individual from harming themselves or others, unusually complex or hazardous treatment or the carers inability to cope with the treatment plan. All admissions were thought appropriate but, had the community resources been better, 18% were avoidable.Conclusions  Admission is necessary for a small number of young people who are not readily managed within mainstream units. While the number may be reduced by better community provision, this is likely to partially offset by better case finding. Inpatient facilities should be closely linked with community services; a point reinforced by the prolongation of admissions because a shortfall in community resources.
A general variance predictor for Cavalieri slices
Authors: CRUZ‐ORIVE L. M. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryA general variance predictor is presented for a Cavalieri design with slices of an arbitrary thickness t ≥ 0. So far, prediction formulae have been available either for measurement functions with smoothness constant q = 0, 1, … , and t ≥ 0, or for fractional q ∈ [0, 1] with t = 0. Because the possibility of using a fractional q adds flexibility to the variance prediction, we have extended the latter for any q ∈ [0, 1] and t ≥ 0. Empirical checks with previously published human brain data suggest an improved performance of the new prediction formula with respect to the hitherto available ones.
Direct and efficient stereological estimation of total cell quantities using electron microscopy
Authors: NYENGAARD J. R. , GUNDERSEN H. J. G. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryStereological estimation of total subcellular quantities in bioscience is presented in this report. Special emphasis is placed on the use of electron microscopy, which under certain circumstances may be combined with light microscopy. Three strategies based on the Cavalieri principle, the disector and local stereological probes through arbitrarily fixed points for estimation of total quantities inside cells are presented. The quantities comprise (total) number, length, surface area, volume or 3D spatial distribution for organelles as well as total amount of gold particles, various compounds or certain cytochemical markers.
A brief update on lung stereology
Authors: OCHS MATTHIAS 
Published: July 2006

AbstractLung stereology has a long and successful tradition. From mice to men, the application of new stereological methods at several levels (alveoli, parenchymal cells, organelles, proteins) has led to new insights into normal lung architecture, parenchymal remodelling in emphysema‐like pathology, alveolar type II cell hyperplasia and hypertrophy and intracellular surfactant alterations as well as distribution of surfactant proteins. The Euler number of the network of alveolar openings, estimated using physical disectors at the light microscopic level, is an unbiased and direct estimate of alveolar number. Surfactant‐producing alveolar type II cells can be counted and sampled for local size estimation with physical disectors at a high magnification light microscopic level. The number of their surfactant storage organelles, lamellar bodies, can be estimated using physical disectors at the EM level. By immunoelectron microscopy, surfactant protein distribution can be analysed with the relative labelling index. Together with the well‐established classical stereological methods, these design‐based methods now allow for a complete quantitative phenotype analysis in lung development and disease, including the structural characterization of gene‐manipulated mice, at the light and electron microscopic level.
Clear imaging of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) signals of Ras activation by a time‐lapse three‐dimensional deconvolution system
Authors: YOKONO TAKESHI , KOTANIGUCHI HIROTO , FUKUI YASUHISA 
Published: July 2006

SummaryA procedure for a time series of three‐dimensional Förster resonance energy transfer observation of a cell has been established. It employs quantitative deconvolution and three‐dimensional views of intensity‐modulated displays. The development was done with Raichu, a synthetic Ras protein capable of producing Förster resonance energy transfer upon its activation, for which two‐dimensional imaging has been established. This method gave much clearer images of Förster resonance energy transfer than does the usual method without deconvolution, even though the signals were relatively weak. The results suggest that this procedure is compatible with weak fluorescent light, which is prone to photobleaching.
Analysis of recrystallized volume fractions in uranium using electron backscatter diffraction
Authors: MCCABE RODNEY J. , TETER DAVID F. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryElectron backscatter diffraction was used to examine the recrystallization behaviour of warm, clock‐rolled uranium. A new uranium preparation method was developed, resulting in acceptable specimen surface finishes nearly every time, even for as‐rolled specimens. Recrystallized fractions were differentiated from unrecrystallized fractions using differences in the grain average misorientation, a measure of the internal level of misorientation within a grain. This new approach better estimates the recrystallized fraction than hardness measurements, and has the advantage over standard metallographic techniques of providing texture information.
Atomic force microscopy imaging of actin cortical cytoskeleton of Xenopus laevis oocyte
Authors: SANTACROCE M. , ORSINI F. , PEREGO C. , LENARDI C. , CASTAGNA M. , MARI S. A. , SACCHI V. F. , POLETTI G. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryIn this study we report an atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigation of the actin cortical cytoskeleton of Xenopus laevis oocytes. Samples consisted of inside‐out orientated plasma membrane patches of X. laevis oocytes with overhanging cytoplasmic material. They were spread on a freshly cleaved mica surface, subsequently treated with Triton X‐100 detergent and chemically fixed. The presence of actin fibres in oocyte patches was proved by fluorescence microscopy imaging. Contact mode AFM imaging was performed in air in constant force conditions. Reproducible high‐resolution AFM images of a filamentous structure were obtained. The filamentous structure was identified as an actin cortical cytoskeleton, investigating its disaggregation induced by cytochalasin D treatment. The thinnest fibres showed a height of 7 nm in accordance with the diameter of a single actin microfilament. The results suggest that AFM imaging can be used for the high‐resolution study of the actin cortical cytoskeleton of the X. laevis oocyte and its modifications mediated by the action of drugs and toxins.
Calibration and standardization of the emission light path of confocal microscopes
Authors: CHO E. H. , LOCKETT S. J. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryRecently, there has been a large expansion in the usage of optical microscopes for obtaining quantitative information from biological samples in order to determine fundamental biological information such as molecular kinetics and interaction, and heterogeneity within cell populations. Consequently, we built a highly stable, uniform, isotropically emitting and convenient‐to‐use light source, and designed image analysis procedures for calibrating the emission light path of optical microscopes. We used the source and procedures to analyse the quantitative imaging properties of a widely used model of laser scanning confocal microscope. Results showed that the overall performance was as high as could be expected given the inherent limitations of the optical components and photomultiplier tubes. We observed that the photon detection efficiency did not vary with photomultiplier tube gain and that the highest dynamic range was achieved with relatively low gain and 12‐bit digitization. Practical applications of the light source for checking the transmission of optical components in the emission light path are presented.
Preparation of TEM samples of metal–oxide interface by the focused ion beam technique
Authors: ABOLHASSANI S. , GASSER PHILIPPE 
Published: July 2006

SummaryThis paper describes a procedure to prepare metal–oxide interfaces for transmission electron microscopy by the focused ion beam technique. The advantage of this procedure is to allow the observation of metal–oxide interfaces of irradiated samples with a homogeneous thickness without the need to have an instrument inside laboratories that are specialized for the manipulation of irradiated materials. A transmission electron microscopy sample is prepared by this method and analysed.
An automatic method for identifying appropriate gradient magnitude for 3D boundary detection of confocal image stacks
Authors: GUAN Y. Q. , CAI Y. Y. , LEE Y. T. , OPAS M. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryGradients play an important role in 2D image processing. Many edge detection algorithms are gradient‐based. We are interested in 3D boundary detection which can be considered as an extension of 2D edge detection in 3D space. In this paper, an algorithm to automatically and quantitatively measure the suitability of gradient magnitudes in detection of 3D boundary points of confocal image stacks is presented. A Measurement Function is defined to evaluate the suitability of each gradient magnitude chosen to be the threshold for 3D boundary detection. The application of Gauss's Divergence Theorem provides a solution to calculate the Measurement Function numerically. The gradient magnitude at which the maximum of the Measurement Function is achieved can be utilized as the most appropriate threshold for gradient‐based boundary detection and other operations like volume visualization.
Novel Mutation in the Interferon‐γ‐Receptor Gene and Susceptibility to Mycobacterial Infections
Authors: Storgaard M. , Varming K. , Herlin T. , Obel N. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractIn 1981 we presented a patient with Mycobacterium intracellulare osteomyelitis and depressed monocyte cytotoxicity. It is now demonstrated that the molecular defect was a never‐before‐described nucleotide deletion at position 794 (794delT) in the interferon‐γ‐receptor alpha‐1 gene. The genetic defect was passed on to his daughter who was diagnosed with non‐tuberculous mycobacterial osteomyelitis at the age of 7 years.
Intrathecal vs. intramuscular administration of human antitetanus immunoglobulin or equine tetanus antitoxin in the treatment of tetanus: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Kabura L. , Ilibagiza D. , Menten J. , Van den Ende J. 
Published: July 2006

SummaryBackground  Mortality caused by tetanus is still a serious health problem in developing countries. Apart from immunization, early treatment with equine antitetanus serum (ATS) or human tetanus immunoglobulin (TIG) is the real treatment that can avoid death. On pathophysiological grounds intrathecal administration would be preferred because of high concentrations of the antiserum in cerebrospinal fluid and thus around the nerve roots. Many studies concluded on its effectiveness whereas others did not find any superiority of this method. However, most of those studies were not random and/or had no sufficient weight.Objective  To assess the efficacy of intrathecal therapy with ATS in neonates and adults.Methods  Meta‐analysis: Clinical trials were identified by searching Medline, the Cochrane library and Current Contents. Published randomized studies in English or French comparing intrathecal therapy and intramuscular therapy (IMS) were analysed with Revman, R, and Stata software. Treatment effects were evaluated by relative risk (RR) between intrathecal vs. intramuscular administration.Results  A total of 942 patients were included in 12 trials, 484 in the intrathecal group and 458 in the intramuscular one. The combined RR of mortality for intrathecal vs. IMS was 0.71 (95% CI, 0.62–0.81). The superiority of intrathecal therapy also emerged when the analysis was performed in subcategories of both adults and neonates and for high and low dose of intrathecal serotherapy.Conclusion  Intrathecal administration of ATS or TIG is more beneficial than intramuscular administration in the treatment of tetanus.
Demodicosis in nine prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus)
Authors: Jekl Vladimir , Hauptman Karel , Jeklova Edita , Knotek Zdenek 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis case report describes the clinical signs and treatment of demodicosis in nine pet prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). Clinical records including history, clinical examination, microscopic evaluation and fungal culture of the skin lesions were available for all nine animals. In seven animals, blood was obtained for haematological and biochemical analyses. Clinical signs comprised bilaterally symmetrical alopecia extending from the middle part of the back down to the skin of the thighs and the dorsal and ventral parts of the tail. Demodex mites were found in skin scrapings from all cases. Treatment with amitraz at 250 p.p.m. resulted in resolution of lesions and hair regrowth. This is the first report of demodicosis in this species.
Competitive interactions between chick‐pea genotypes and weeds
Authors: PAOLINI R , FAUSTINI F , SACCARDO F , CRINÒ P 
Published: July 2006

SummaryGrowing chick‐pea in sustainable systems requires the use and development of more competitive genotypes which can complement the effects of reduced input weed control. A 2‐year study assessed the competitive ability of 13 genotypes grown in either the presence or absence of weeds, in a split‐plot design including the weeds in pure stands. Crop and weed density, phenology, relative biomass of crop (RBc) and weeds (RBw), crop yield characters, crop biometric traits in the absence of weeds, relative biomass total of mixtures (RBT) and crop competitive ability (Cb = ln RBc/RBw) were recorded. Lines C136, C120, C101 and C106, and cultivars Pascià, Visir and Sultano gave the best seed yield in the absence of weeds (1.8–2.0 t ha−1 DM). Weeds reduced yield by 75% and 83% in C136 and C133 and by 87–97% in the other genotypes. Weed biomass in mixture (mainly Chenopodium album) averaged 4.42 t ha−1 DM. Chick‐pea genotypes C136 and C133 were the most competitive, but weeds were more competitive than any of the chick‐peas. Cb was correlated directly to the height of first fertile pod (r2 = 0.84) and inversely to the insertion angle of primary branches to the vertical (r2 = 0.77). Intergenotypic variation for competitive ability could be exploited in integrated weed control using more competitive genotypes, or used in breeding programmes aimed to develop highly competitive cultivars on the basis of easily screenable characters.
Audit of nurse‐led‐training for epipen in a District General Hospital
Authors: Ratnaweera D. , Von Trilsbach J. , Rangasami J. , Green D. A. , Puliyel J. M. 
Published: July 2006

Background:  A community‐based study in the London Borough of Hounslow, which included patients in our District General Hospital (DGH) Paediatric Department, found that most families who had been prescribed adrenaline auto‐injectors could not use them properly. This prompted the establishment of a new protocol for doctors and an Allergy Clinic where one nurse was responsible for training all patients.Aim:  This audit was done to reassess this service 3 years after the changes were made.Methods:  68 of the 81 (83%) patients followed up in our District General Hospital Nurse led Allergy Clinic agreed to participate. They were compared with the District General Hospital sub‐group of the previous study.Results:  We found that most patients now reported they were trained to use the devise, had written instructions, were able to demonstrate competence on a dummy and would appropriately call an ambulance. This was significantly better than the previous situation.Conclusion:  The study shows that training can be improved in a DGH setting with the strategy of protocolised prescribing and a Nurse led Allergy Clinic.